A/N: Old submission for Sasusaku Month 2014 Day 15. Prompt: Her Side of the Story. Read this one first and then read "His Side of the Story"
"SHANNARO!" her final blow came hitting the ground, creating a large crater in which Sasuke, Naruto, and Sai had barely managed to dodge. They had been sparring for an hour, perhaps more, they couldn't tell, what's clear was that they were all exhausted.
After delivering her final blow, Sasuke came towards her with his chokuto. She managed to leap backwards to avoid it. Naruto on the other hand was busy dealing with Sai's ink beasts.
Sasuke swung his chokuto but was soon held back with a kunai. Skillfully, she swung her hand towards his abdomen, but he was quick to react. His other hand gripped on her deadly fist to hold it back. When she felt that he was gaining control, she tried to pull back, but it caused him to gain an advantage as he pushed her back with his sword skills. The spar ended when he held the blade close to her neck.
Naruto and Sai had also ended their match with Naruto all tied up by an ink snake. Naruto claimed that he lost in purpose so they would end the spar right away and head to Ichiraku's to enjoy some ramen. Sasuke thought the dobe was just a sore loser.
"Hn. Loser."
"Hey teme-" Naruto was cut off by a certain loudmouthed red-headed Uzumaki who was skipping towards Sasuke, yelling his name.
"Sasuke-kun!" she wrapped her arms around his bicep in an untoward manner.
Who in the world did she think she was, showing up all of a sudden and claiming Sasuke as her own.
Sakura was jealous alright. Dead jealous. Her eyes were squinting in annoyance as she witnessed the whole scene unfold before her eyes.
She was so immersed in the sight of Karin holding onto Sasuke that she didn't manage to notice Naruto and Sai's exchanged anxious glances.
"Karin." Sasuke replied stoically. Sakura could read the displeasure on Sasuke's face. He seemed to always get caught up by this sudden outburst from his former teammate. Sakura was hoping she wasn't going to stay in Konoha. But then again her abilities could be useful for the village.
That would be as far as Sakura wanted her to be; a valuable asset to the Leaf. The last thing she wanted her to be was one of Sasuke's fangirls.
"So.. Wanna-"
"No."
"Tch. I haven't even finished my sentence." Karin pouted, acting all sulky.
"My answer is still no."
"Tomorrow then?" she was persistent alright. He really didn't want to be dealing with this every day for the rest of his life. Sasuke needed to get her away from him. Sakura needed to get her away from him. But how?
"No." he shot a glare at her.
"Alright then see you tomorrow." she retracted her arms and skidded away from the group, leaving them jaw dropped and shocked from her such bold actions.
"Tch." apparently that had resulted Sasuke's mood to deteriorate. Instead of heading towards Ichiraku's, Sasuke gathered his stuff and marched back to his apartment.
So much for a lunch together.
.
.
She was hoping the red-headed sensory nin wouldn't come back the next day. But oh how she was proven wrong. There she was, sitting on the office desk, more importantly Sasuke's desk, in the police station.
Sakura was just about to enter the police station to see him when she witnessed the interaction from his window.
Sakura watched Karin as she was sitting on the corner of his desk, her legs were folded and she was wearing her usual ninja clothing with shorts that were too short for Sakura's liking. She was leaning on her right arm as she fiddled with her hair. She seemed to be talking to Sasuke. Sakura decided to stop and see what would happen next.
She noticed Sasuke wasn't looking at her. He was closing his eyes as if it would be able to tune her presence out. His arms were folded on his chest. She couldn't tell what they were talking about, but when Karin's hand suddenly landed on Sasuke's shoulder in such a flirtatious, she couldn't bear to witness anymore of this, whatever this is.
She turned around on her heels and stormed back into the hospital to finish some work she actually had already finished. Just so she had a place to go to.
.
.
"Like seriously Ino, who does she think she is? Sasuke was clearly not amused but she kept pushing herself!" The pink-haired kunoichi was flaming and letting all her anger out in front of her best friend who was listening attentively.
"Mm hm." Ino nodded.
"And then, I just saw her flirting with him in the police station." Sakura sighs. She knew she shouldn't be thinking about it too much since their relationship had improved so much and she knew he was and would not be interested in Karin.
"I think you're a bit overreacting on this."
"I know. I just. Argh! It drives me insane! What if he was sort of enjoying this? Just the slightest bit? I mean it's not like he's immune to temptations." Ino sighed and took pity of her best friend who was seriously bothered by this.
"Okay first of all, you're his girlfriend, Sakura! That's all there is to it! I'm sure he won't betray you like that. And even if he did, he'll pay for it!" Ino said as she made a fist. She knew how much jealousy could get into someone's head. Nevertheless, she was there for her friend.
"You're right. I'm just over thinking this right?" Ino gave a firm nod. She'd better be right.
.
.
Deciding to forget the whole problem, she was already planning on stopping by Sasuke's apartment on her way to the hospital. As she was getting closer to her destination, she noticed that his door was open. Finding it a little odd, she approached slowly and peered through the crack.
When she finally stood on the doorway, that's when she saw Karin, again. She was leaning towards Sasuke, her head and hand placed on his chest, tracing lazy circles.
That was it. That was her limit. She didn't know what else to think besides the fact that another woman was trying to win his heart. Her feet started to move on their own, leading her away with heavy steps.
Darting away on rooftops, she mumbled some incoherent thoughts and took a longer route towards the hospital, trying her best to calm herself down.
Upon arriving at the hospital, she instructed the nurses at the front desk not to let an Uchiha Sasuke enter her office. At that moment. he was the last thing she wanted to see.
Thankful but utterly disappointed, he didn't show up even once.
.
.
She had plans to go out with some friends the following day, but judging from her sullen mood, she decided to take a rain check, especially if it meant having the possibility of crossing paths with either Sasuke or Karin, or perhaps both of them together.
The thought of it just sickened her even more.
Deciding to stay home and read medical scrolls the whole day, she had a cup of hot jasmine tea on the coffee table, and a bowl of strawberries.
Her day of "relaxation" was beginning to unravel her nerves. But life had other plans.
She heard a knock on her door. Grunting in frustration, she contemplated on whether she should get up and answer it or pretend she wasn't home. She was really not in the mood to talk to anyone.
She figured it was most likely Naruto coming over to claim her ramen stash. She finally decided to let the stranger think she wasn't home.
"Sakura." Came a voice from outside. She could recognize that voice from anywhere. It was Sasuke. Her whole body tensed, all that relaxation had done nothing when her worries and overthinking came rushing back.
If this was Sasuke on her doorstep, there was no use pretending to hide. He could easily sense her chakra.
Walking to the doorstep, she leaned on the door.
"What do you want?"
"I want to talk to you." She let out a sigh. She wasn't in the mood to talk to him, especially after what she had witnessed yesterday. All she wanted was to curl back on the couch, and be left alone to drown in her sorrowful thoughts.
However, her better self knew that wasn't the solution. She opened the door to let him in. She could use some explanation from him.
Her eyes landed on his bland expression, trying to search for any body language. She was waiting for him to start but he too was examining her expressions before continuing. It's amusing how they were both were always so wary of each other.
"You're angry." He finally spoke.
"Yes. Thank you for the hint." he scanned her face one more time before coming to a conclusion.
"Is this about Karin?"
"I don't know. Shouldn't you be going out with her or something?" Sasuke was clearly unamused by her response. He couldn't believe she was jealous and that she had thought he was cheating on her. But if he had to be in Sakura's shoes, he had to understand that her point of view was understandable.
Sasuke sighed and prepared his whole being to explain everything to Sakura.
"You're my girlfriend Sakura. I won't prefer to be with anyone else other than you." her expression remained steady, unchanged. He knew he had to elaborate. "Yeah Karin had asked me out, but I declined. She knows I belong to you but she's just like that."
"But I don't see you turning away from her." Which, to be fair, was totally false according to Sasuke. Sakura just didn't see their whole conversation and encounter so she wouldn't know that Sasuke did reject Karin. He did push her away and he actually snapped at her for her inappropriate behavior.
"I saw her flirt with you in the police station the other day." Sakura demanded for an explanation.
"She asked me out, but I said I had plans with you. Remember? But you didn't show up." Oh, she remembered all right. She remembered turning away when she was just about to enter the police station.
"I was just… Frustrated." Frustrated wasn't anywhere near what she was feeling, but it was the only word she could come up with.
Idiot. Sakura muttered to herself. She couldn't believe Sasuke thought she forgot. She would never forget a date with him.
"What about yesterday?" She remembered all too well of Karin's little visit to Sasuke's apartment. Again, he sighed.
"She asked me to leave you."
That bitch. It took her her entire will power not to march to her door and crush her. But she didn't waver and listened to the rest of his story.
"She said despicable things about… You and your strength as a kunoichi." How dare she question her abilities as a kunoichi and a medic nin. For all she knew, she was a better fighter than her. Now her ego was finally skyrocketing in an unpleasant way.
"I knew you were there that day." Sasuke added. Sakura had to regulate her breathing, just to dissipate her anger.
"That's when I snapped and told her to stay away from me. That I only belong to you." Sasuke continued. Somehow, that was the only explanation she needed. Her gaze softened and her fists unclenched.
Sasuke took a step towards her. Then another, until they were an arm's length away.
Sakura looked straight into his eyes and she could see his determination. She knew Sasuke would never lie to her, and his expression had proven it.
When he felt her becoming calmer, he closed the gap between them and brushed his lips over hers. Her hand crawled up to wrap around his shoulder.
When they pulled apart, he asked her.
"Does that convince you?" she giggled and nodded, pressing back her lips to his.