A/N: Hello! Originally, I wasn't planning on making a sequel for Foolish but inspiration struck so here we are. Apologies if it took over 3 years. I hope you'll all enjoy this as much as the first chapter!
Edited 08/06/2020: I added some parts here and there and adjusted some scenes. Nothing too major. Just some rewrites to hopefully make it a bit better.
Disclaimer: I only own Naruto in my dreams!
Foolish (Part II)
by: Kerfluffy
Sasuke Uchiha is confident.
He was born an Uchiha. The youngest child of the clan head. Second-in-line as the Uchiha clan's successor. Number 1 rookie of his class. One of the most eligible bachelors amongst Konoha shinobi. There was absolutely no reason for him to lack in self-esteem.
Although, his reputation is not as immaculate as he would have liked.
Sasuke Uchiha. Also known within the village as the bastard who constantly cheats on his girlfriend, Sakura Haruno, the village's adored medic-nin.
Apparently, the most frequent gossip around the vineyard is that he is constantly seen engaging in 'intimate acts' with the president of his fanclub, Ami Watanabe. Whether or not these rumors are true has not yet been confirmed by the Uchiha in question.
But the lack of confirmation didn't deter the furious Godaime hokage from assigning him tedious low-rank missions.
"Tch. Damned hag." Sasuke grumbled as he exited the hokage's office.
Sasuke scoffed. As if he didn't see the malicious glint in the blonde's amber eyes when she gave him the mission scroll.
The raven haired teen strode through the busy streets of Konoha, hands in his pockets and head held high. His domineering aura enveloped him. A small smirk graced his lips at the looks of envy and admiration thrown his way, but it left as quickly as it came.
After completing yet another worthless mission yesterday, Sasuke decided to let the hokage's wrath die down before taking up a new assignment. Besides, if he had to chase down Tora the cat for the nth time, he couldn't guarantee that the cat would be returned to its owner alive.
Walking a few more blocks, the young Uchiha finally spotted the huge white building of Konoha General Hospital. Onyx eyes glinted in the sunlight as his signature smirk graced his lips once more.
No doubt, today was one of the rare days when Sasuke Uchiha was in a pleasant mood. But a visit to his cherry blossom might make it even better.
Sasuke Uchiha was not in a pleasant mood.
The raven haired blinked as he attempted to process the words of the pink-haired kunoichi.
The Uchiha planned to visit his girlfriend in an attempt to surprise her, but lo and behold, he was the one surprised.
"What?"
Arms crossed in front of her chest, the pink-haired kunoichi sighed and leaned back in her chair. Sakura tried her best to not roll her eyes at his intelligent inquiry.
While Sakura appreciated being visited by her teammates every once in a while, she still had duties to attend to. The busy medic-nin doubted she had the time and energy to entertain a moody Uchiha. After all, the damned papers aren't going to sign themselves.
"You heard me clearly Sasuke," Sakura said.
The medic nin put her pen down and stood up to stretch. If Sasuke was so adamant in talking to her then she might as well take a short break.
"Sakura if this is about Ami I swear to kami Yamanaka's only making that up," Sasuke stated. He narrowed his eyes and scowled.
'Of course. And the whole village is making it up as well.'
'Shut it inner, you're not helping.'
'Just break it off already. I never understood why we chose him over his brother.' Her inner remarked with a sigh.
'I don't think it's appropriate to think of Itachi while we're breaking up with his younger brother.'
'My thoughts are your thoughts darling.'
"Sakura."
The young Haruno snapped back to reality and shot a deadpan stare at the Uchiha. "For the fifth time Sasuke, you heard me clearly. Let's end this already."
"How many times do I have to tell you. The rumors about Ami and I are bullshit. She's the one who keeps pushing herself onto me." The irritation in the Uchiha's voice was evident, but the medic's temper was far worse.
"Then please explain to me why you don't push her away? Is a measly fangirl too much for you to handle Sasuke?" Sakura spat out as she slammed her hands down on her desk and glared at her teammate.
Having pulled an all-night shift, the medic's lack of sleep was catching up to her. It definitely wasn't helping her control her temper. Not to mention the mountain of paperwork waiting at her desk.
'I think I need some sake.' The medic let out a frustrated sigh as she rubbed her temple. 'Great. I'm turning into shishou.'
"Did that Yamanaka pressure you to do this?" Sasuke asked as he towered over her, having made his way to her desk amidst their conversation.
Sakura couldn't help but stare at Sasuke. There was a part of her that ached as she saw the confusion in his eyes. He looked lost and torn, like a perplexed child who couldn't understand the world.
She could feel herself getting lost in those beautiful dark orbs, just like when they were genin, and it was dangerous. Her care for her teammate almost made her withdraw her decision. She was half-tempted to tell him that she wasn't serious about ending their "relationship". Afterall, she did commit herself to helping him.
When Sasuke asked her to help him avoid his father's incessant preparations of countless omiais, Sakura accepted without hesitation. She did not harbor romantic feelings for the young Uchiha; that certainly wasn't the case. He was her teammate. She certainly would have done the same if it were Naruto, or Sai. The only difference is that those two would have probably treated her much better.
Perhaps she was at fault. If only she had not agreed to Sasuke's absurd request then maybe they would not be in this mess; maybe then she wouldn't have to question her worth, both as a teammate and as a woman. She dove headfirst, unaware of the chaos it would ensue, and now she was suffering for it.
A bigger part of her was screaming to put herself first; to stop letting him walk all over her; to stop deluding herself that ending their relationship would also break their bond as a team; to stop settling for less, and to find someone who would actually respect her. She could certainly do better than this.
She was just so damn tired. She wasn't sure if she could still put up with whatever this relationship of theirs seem to be. Plus, if the rumors were true then she'd actually be doing Sasuke a favor.
Sakura inwardly scoffed. As if she hasn't done him enough favors already.
"Of course not. If Ino pressured me then I would've done this a long time ago."
The kunoichi sighed as she straightened her posture and crossed her arms. As a form of restraint or as some sort of comfort, Sakura didn't really know.
"I'm doing this for myself Sasuke."
Onyx clashed with emerald as Sasuke stared at her for a moment. It was as if he was searching for something in her eyes, in her gestures, in her expression. Just anything to prove to him that she was doing it against her will, because damn it he was confused.
"Hn."
And he left.
As soon as her Uchiha teammate slammed the door in his wake, Sakura relaxed and plopped down in her chair.
"I swear to kami, I'm not paid well enough to handle pissy little Uchihas." The pinkette muttered under her breath as she moved to gather the rest of the unfinished paperwork.
Hastily arranging the files on her desk, Sakura glanced at her watch and cursed before grabbing her belongings and rushing out of her office.
'Stupid Sasuke!'
She was going to be late!
To say that Sasuke Uchiha was in a foul mood would be an understatement.
Considering how the raven-haired teen was stomping - "walking in a strong manner" because Uchiha's do not stomp damn it - through the village streets and exuding an ominous aura, it could certainly be deduced that whoever gets on the last nerve of the Uchiha would be introduced to the wondrous nightmares of the Sharingan.
"Why hello baby cousin."
An arm suddenly hooked itself over Sasuke's shoulders and the young Uchiha almost ripped it off. Luckily the owner of the said arm had faster reflexes and flash stepped in front of Sasuke.
Shisui grinned and ruffled his cousin's hair, completely oblivious to Sasuke's darkening mood. "Now why are you sulking on such a fine day. I could sense your brooding from miles back."
"Shut up Shisui."
Sasuke shot him a menacing glare and made his way around Shisui, silently praying to Kami that his annoying cousin wouldn't follow him.
But apparently Kami was not available for requests at the moment.
"I just got back from the hospital and I saw Sakura-chan. She wasn't in a good mood either." The older Uchiha slung his arm once more around Sasuke and fell into step with him. "Does that have something to do with you? Or maybe she's just cranky from not getting enough sleep."
Kami, sometimes Shisui could just be as worse as Naruto. It was not appeasing Sasuke's mood in the very least.
"Shisui."
"Yes, baby Sasu-cakes?"
"Would it kill you to shut up." Sasuke glared and roughly removed his cousin's arm around his neck. "And don't fucking touch me."
Shisui let out a dramatic gasp and clutched his chest with both hands. "Is that how you treat your favorite cousin? Oh how you wound me Sasu-chan!"
"Idiot." Sasuke muttered under his breath and continued walking amid Konoha's market place. It's a wonder how his cousin even got promoted to Anbu.
The younger Uchiha was prepared to leave the vicinity and just go home, when a flash of pink caught his eye.
Sasuke turned to face the direction where he thought he saw his girlfriend. 'Ex-girlfriend,' he reminded himself bitterly.
He was about to brush it off as an illusion, but he suddenly saw a pink-haired girl sit in one of the window booths of a nearby café.
What the hell was Sakura doing there?
She even seemed to be waiting for someone.
"Hey Sasuke why'd you suddenly become so quie–" Shisui's eyes widened as he followed Sasuke's gaze.
'Shit! Not good. Not good.' He panicked as he glanced back and forth between Sasuke and the café. ' I better get him out of here quick!'
Shisui immediately slung his arm over Sasuke's shoulder, ignoring the younger's protests. "I just remembered! Mikoto-san told me to bring you home early if I ever see you!" Shisui nodded. "Mhmm! Yup! She did! She told me she was making a full-course meal out of tomatoes today!"
Sasuke snarled as he struggled to get out of his cousin's iron grip. "What the hell is wrong with you!? Let. Me. Go!"
"No can do Sasuke!" Shisui tutted, stubbornly keeping his hold on Sasuke.
Having enough of his cousin's mindless antics, Sasuke shoved his elbow into Shisui's stomach. The elder Uchiha quickly dodged, grabbed both of Sasuke's arms and locked them behind his back. "What the heck are you trying to do?!"
"Ah-ah Sasuke. I'm doing this for your own good."
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Fine. Let's go home."
Shisui looked at Sasuke suspiciously before slowly releasing his hold. Rubbing his reddening wrists, Sasuke started to make his way towards the Uchiha compound and away from the café.
"Finally." Shisui let out a relieved sigh.
But his relief was cut short as Sasuke suddenly turned around, his sharingan swirling dangerously, and looked towards the direction of the café.
Sakura was definitely sitting in the window booth.
But she wasn't alone.
And the sight of her companion was enough to make Sasuke's blood boil.
Shisui quickly paled as he saw the ominous look on Sasuke's face. "I-it's not what you think Sasuke. Why don't you calm down for a minute and then we'll head over there like adults?"
"Calm down!?" Sasuke snapped. "Is that why you're desperately trying to get me away from that damned café?"
Shisui was about to retort but Sasuke scoffed. "Tch. Of course you'd side with him. You're his dog after all."
The shunshin master's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Heh. Go on then. Do whatever you like Sasuke." A mischievous glint shone in Shisui's eyes as he grinned at his cousin. "We all know Sakura-chan's going to choose him anyways."
And Sasuke saw red.
The panting medic-nin stood in front of the cafe near the market, her posture slightly hunched over as she tried to catch her breath. She let out a sigh of relief as she checked the time. Rushing through the rooftops from the hospital to the cafe seemed to be the right choice. She was just in time.
After taking a few deep breaths, Sakura straightened her posture and run a hand through her hair. 'Is he here already? I don't sense his chakra.'
'He could be masking it for all we know.' Inner stated offhandedly. 'Now go inside already! It's not a good impression to be late on the first date!'
'D-Date?! What the hell made you think that inner?'
'Uh he invited you out? You know, two people. Alone. Cafe.'
Sakura rolled her eyes and blocked out her inner persona's deluded ramblings.
After she deemed herself presentable, the pink-haired kunoichi entered the cafe. Green eyes roamed the establishment, searching for any sign of a certain dark haired shinobi.
Finding no sign of the Anbu captain, Sakura made her way further into the cafe and took a seat amongst one of the window booths. The medic has always favored sitting near windows. There was just something peaceful about watching all sorts of people interact and pass by, all lost in their own worlds.
'But sitting near the windows means you'd easily be seen with him.'
'Is it really that big of a deal inner?'
'Well you know how fast rumors fly in this village,' Inner paused, 'but then again, we certainly wouldn't mind being linked with him~' she added with a dreamy sigh.
Sakura propped her elbows onto the table and rested her chin on her interlocked fingers as she mulled over her inner's statement.
She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous. Sakura honestly considered not showing up, but then again he'd probably just hunt her down and corner her somewhere. A fact which her inner delightfully pointed out.
Besides, it wasn't as if this was a date. It certainly doesn't seem the case. After all, she just happened to receive an innocent little note this morning asking her to meet him at this certain café in the afternoon. Nothing in the note made it seem like a date.
But still, Sakura couldn't help but fidget at the thought of being alone with the Anbu captain, even if it wasn't an "official" date.
"I hope I'm not bothering you."
Glazed emerald eyes suddenly snapped into focus as a familiar baritone voice reached her ears. Sakura felt her cheeks flare at being caught off-guard. "Ah, Itachi-san. Sorry, I was thinking of something."
The Anbu wordlessly slipped into the seat across hers, but Sakura knew better than to take his silence lightly. The medic-nin narrowed her eyes in annoyance as his eyes met hers. Onyx orbs gleamed with unconcealed mirth.
"Anyways," Sakura cleared her throat, "why did you wish to meet up?"
"Hmm?" Itachi raised a brow. "why indeed."
Sakura warily watched as the Uchiha heir copied her posture: elbows on the table, chin on interlocked fingers. Albeit, he was leaning a bit too much towards her direction.
'What the hell is he doing?' Sakura screamed inside her head as she felt her face heat up again at their close proximity. The Uchiha's face was just inches from hers and she could feel the intensity of his gaze boring into hers.
"Have you ended it?"
Itachi's question pulled her out of reverie.
Sakura nodded. "I don't think he took it well."
"I see," he paused, "did you inform him about us?"
"Us?" Sakura rolled her eyes at the smug look on the Uchiha heir's face. "He left right away so I wasn't able to tell him that his older brother was seducing me."
Itachi let out a soft chuckle, and Sakura couldn't help but laugh as well. She didn't know what she was so nervous about before. Sure, he made the butterflies in her stomach go wild and her heart pound like crazy, but Itachi's presence was also calming. While she still did not know him too well, she was able to freely voice her thoughts and it was absolutely refreshing.
"Itachi," Sakura hesitantly said, "are you actually serious about this? About us?"
"If I did not intend to pursue you then I would not have invited you out." Itachi stated bluntly, not a tinge of hesitation in his voice.
It did not surprise her as much as she thought it would, but hearing it come from his own lips made Sakura feel lighter. As if his words magically dissipated all of her unease. The medic-nin never thought that she would feel so relieved to hear him say such things.
Sakura let out a small chuckle and shook her head at her silliness. Since when did she start reverting to her old lovesick self?
Emerald clashed with onyx as she lifted her head to meet his eyes. Sakura's breath hitched as she found herself getting lost in beautiful dark orbs for the second time that day. But it was a far cry from the first.
It was certainly different than Sasuke's. His eyes were guarded, wary and arrogant. Dark, ebony orbs that always, always looked at her with disdain.
But Itachi, his gaze never failed to ignite a flame within her. His eyes were also guarded and wary, but never arrogant. Dark, onyx orbs that always, always shone with unmistakable mirth and admiration.
Sakura's lips curled into a soft smile, which Itachi returned with his own gentle, albeit smaller, smile. The pink-haired cherry blossom was absolutely sure she could spend all day admiring the beautiful man before her.
But alas, all good things must come to an end.
And that end just happened to be a seething Sasuke Uchiha making his way towards their table.
'Oh crap.'
'Damn it. We haven't even ordered yet.'
After Shisui tried and failed to keep Sasuke at bay, the younger Uchiha marched into the café, his sharingan blazing wildly, and demanded to speak with his brother.
The other patrons of the small establishment were startled by the rampaging Uchiha and kept shooting worried glances towards their direction. It was fortunate that the elder Uchiha quickly complied, therefore saving the café from being unnecessarily destroyed – by the rampaging Uchiha or by an irritated pink-haired medic nin, who knows?
Which brings them to the current situation at hand.
The two Uchihas stood at the training grounds inside the Uchiha compound. The elder's gaze, composed and calculating; the younger's, overwrought and piercing.
Sakura and Shisui stood along the sidelines, watching as the tension grew thicker by each passing second.
"Shouldn't we stop them Shisui?" Sakura's nervous gaze flickered from one brother to the other.
"It's all right Saku-chan. Itachi can handle him." Shisui stated cheerfully. "Plus, Sasuke needs to blow off some steam."
"Tch. Who even gave him the right to be angry?" the medic-nin muttered.
Shisui chuckled and ruffled Sakura's hair. "You're too anxious Saku-chan. Don't worry you'll have Itachi all to yourself once this is over~"
The pink-haired kunoichi swatted his hand away. Her snarky retort died on her lips when Sasuke finally made his move.
In a blur of black, Sasuke threw punch after punch at Itachi, engaging in full-taijutsu combat. The Anbu merely blocked Sasuke's attacks and increased the distance between them.
"You just have to take everything away from me, don't you Nii-san?" Sasuke spat as he rushed towards Itachi.
Knowing he wouldn't get anywhere using taijutsu, the younger Uchiha grabbed his katana and swung with great force. Itachi quickly parried with a kunai and held back the weight of Sasuke's sword.
"What right do you have to steal her?"
"I am afraid you're mistaken dear brother." Itachi stated as he pushed back against the katana and threw a swift kick, sending Sasuke across the field. "Stealing requires possession."
The Uchiha heir titled his head in appraisal as he watched his younger brother land on his feet.
"I am certain that Sakura-san would not appreciate being referred to as a mere… object." Itachi met Sasuke's scathing glare with his own impassive gaze. "I also doubt that she appreciates being used."
Sasuke's eyes widened. He couldn't possibly know? Could he?
"What the hell are you talking about?" The younger Uchiha spat. His glare intensified tenfold.
"Playing the fool does not work with me Sasuke." Itachi stated, raising an eyebrow in mock question. "Although, I must say, you already are quite foolish."
"How did you find out?" Sasuke could feel his pulse getting quicker. Out of anticipation or anger, he couldn't quite pin down.
Itachi's appraising gaze turned to icy slits as he held his otouto's glare. "To abruptly be in a relationship during the period where one's father frequently pesters his youngest son about marriage is quite a coincidence is it not?" the prodigy stated.
His tone was indifferent, there was nothing taunting about it, but it still grated Sasuke's nerves. "Che. So you figured it out through that 'mere coincidence'?"
"Perhaps."
But the younger of the brothers forgot that this was Itachi Uchiha. Anbu Captain. Genius. Prodigy. Uchiha heir. Even the littlest coincidences do not bypass Itachi Uchiha.
"Since your relationship with Sakura-san was merely for show, then you would not mind if I courted her." Itachi smirked at his otouto's scowl. "Surely you don't expect Sakura-san to keep pining after you?"
Sasuke's last nerve snapped. It wasn't as if he regretted losing Sakura. He wasn't even sure of his feelings towards his female teammate. But Sasuke absolutely hated losing to his brother; that he was certain.
The younger Uchiha's eyes bled red and the sound of chirping birds filled the field. "You're despicable Aniki."
"Perhaps." Itachi calmly met Sasuke's gaze. "But you're no better."
Sasuke let out a raging cry as he charged towards his brother, the chidori sparking wildly in his hand.
Sakura's eyes widened as she saw Sasuke charge at Itachi with intent to kill. She was ready to jump into the fray and give her teammate a piece of her mind, but Shisui held her back.
"Don't worry Saku-chan." Shisui assured her. "I know how much you'd like to bash both their heads in for being so immature, but let them handle it."
Sakura was about to retort when a flash of black suddenly dashed through the field, aiming towards Sasuke.
The medic-nin watched as the figure quickly grabbed Sasuke by the neck of his shirt and threw him into the lake. "What the-"
"Perfect timing Mikoto-san!" Shisui cheered as a spluttering Sasuke resurfaced from the lake.
"Okaa-san." Itachi greeted.
"Mikoto-san?" Sakura greeted, albeit in confusion.
'Che. And who said becoming a matriarch made my skills go rusty.' Mikoto thought triumphantly as she dusted herself off. Surely her sons must have gotten their skills from somewhere. And Mikoto Uchiha absolutely refuses to let her husband take all the credit.
"Oh hello Sakura-chan! Fancy seeing you here!" Mikoto greeted cheerfully.
"You see, I just had this nagging feeling that my sons might have been up to no good. Turns out I was right! Shisui here was kind enough to tell me where the racket is." The Uchiha matriarch waved her hand in the air animatedly, paying no heed to her soaked son.
"My, my. I do apologize on Sasuke's behalf for ruining your date with Itachi-chan!" Mikoto clasped her hands together and bowed towards the blushing medic-nin. "Don't you worry dear, I'll make sure to re-instill proper manners into this troublesome boy!"
Sakura suddenly found herself pushed beside the Uchiha heir who was just standing in the middle of the clearing a few moments ago. The kunoichi stumbled at the sudden movement and gracelessly lost her balance.
"What the-? Oh I'm sorry Itachi-san." Sakura smiled as Itachi steadied her. He gave her a small nod before slowly removing his arm from her waist.
"Oho-ho~ I'm sorry about that Sakura-chan!" Mikoto said cheekily. "Little old me must be getting clumsy at my old age."
"Well then, we'll let you two lovebirds be!" Shisui exclaimed as he appeared between Itachi and Sakura, throwing his arms around both of their shoulders, effectively shoving the pair closer to each other.
"Come along now Sasuke-kun! You and I have a lot to talk about~"
Sakura could only watch as Mikoto dragged Sasuke by the ear towards the main house, all while spouting off lectures about how "he should start treating girls right" and how "dare he use his teammate to fool his parents" with a whistling Shisui trailing behind them.
But before they could fully disappear from sight, Mikoto turned to face them once more and cupped her hands to her lips. "Oh! I forgot something! Sakura-chan! I'll be expecting grandbabies soon!"
Sakura turned beet red and coughed behind her hand. 'What the hell is Mikoto-san thinking?!'
'I'm sure you won't mind having kids with such an amazing man~'
Sakura closed her eyes in frustration at her inner and unconsciously let out a huff.
Too occupied with calming herself, the kunoichi remained oblivious to the world as an arm snaked itself around her waist. Suddenly, Sakura felt herself being pulled. Her eyes snapped open and the kunoichi found herself pressed against Itachi's body with his face very very close to hers.
"Ano... Itachi-san what are you doing?"
"You heard kaa-san." Itachi merely gave her a small smile and leaned closer. Sakura could already feel the warm tufts of air as he breathed. "Care to fulfill her request?"
Sakura felt her breath hitch as Itachi met her gaze affectionately. "May I?" He whispered.
Shyly nodding her head, Sakura hesitantly wrapped her arms around Itachi's neck as he slowly pressed his soft lips against hers. Emerald eyes fluttered close and Sakura's heart soared as she felt him smile into the kiss.
'I could definitely get used to this.'
A/N: There you have it folks! I hope it didn't disappoint. Please forgive the pathetic excuse of a fight scene. One of the reviewers suggested to put in a scene where Mikoto lectures Sasuke. Although it wasn't a full lecture, I tried my best to include it. *bows vigorously* Thank you for giving this story a chance!