There was a formatting error with the last attempt at uploading so yeah... in case you got the notification twice... that's why? hehe.
Enjoy, I hope.
The weekend came to an uneventful end, aside from Kakashi quietly kicking Sasuke and Naruto out of his home.
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Once the yelling had subsided, Kakashi and Naruto took a moment to let out a relieved sigh. However, noticing that there was not a single sound coming from his daughter's room, Kakashi began to show, once again, signs of anxiety. He gave them a few more minutes before he stealthily climbed the stairs, Naruto silently behind him.
He slowly opened the door, and his breath had immediately caught in his throat. How can he explain the sudden protectiveness, only a father can understand, he felt at the sight of his daughter lying in bed with her "boyfriend"?
He noticed Sasuke shift slightly and saw the way his eyes widened once they met with his. He noticed Kakashi's body tense, ready to explode if anything, and quickly held out his hand, palm forward, and his eyes begging him to hold on. With Kakashi frozen in place, Sasuke gently moved his arm from around Sakura's shoulders, making sure not to jolt her awake. With his arm free, he secured the blanket around her, before carefully sliding off her bed.
Sasuke cautiously stepped towards Kakashi, who Naruto was hesitantly nudging out of the room the closer Sasuke stepped. Once they were all out in the hallway, Sasuke closed the door behind them. He hoped that Kakashi would at least let them get to the ground floor before he started his scolding and possible yelling.
Taking a visible settling breath, Kakashi turned and descended the stairs. The two teens gave each other a quick, questioning look before slowly following the man.
They made it to the foot of the stairs when they realized Kakashi wasn't waiting for them there. Instead, they saw him holding his front door open for them, his face void of expression.
Naruto whined, "Really Kakashi-sensei?" he grudgingly walked to the door, "Nice going, Sasuke," he muttered, as he passed the threshold.
Sasuke stepped behind him, pausing beside the older man, "I found out something else," he said quietly.
Kakashi held his dark look at his student, "We'll discuss that later. I am very tempted to hit you right now, and that wouldn't be convenient for either of us."
Doing his best to hide the twinge of fear he felt, Sasuke nodded before leaving the house.
Naruto stood quietly by his friend's car, waiting for Sasuke to unlock the doors. Once inside the blond decided to ask, "What did you find out?"
"I'll tell you later."
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Sasuke had told his friend his new theory before school on Monday; Sakura possibly hated herself for not looking like her mother.
Naruto refused to believe it at first. The idea was absurd in his opinion. There were a number of girls that looked nothing like their mothers, Sasuke agreed even adding on that some girls shared their father's features more than the other, but there was no denying Sakura's discomfort and her tears at the subject. He did not mention the pain in his chest at just the memory.
"Why though?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Okay, yeah we probably know why she hides her face. But now it just added on another why to the question."
"Yeah, I know," Sasuke muttered, But I do have an idea, "Just another thing to get through."
Naruto leaned fully against the wall, the halls pretty much empty from the early hour, "Why didn't you pick up Sakura today?"
Sasuke lowered his head slightly, "Kakashi texted me not to bother today."
The blond gave a scoff, "He's still pissy about Saturday?"
"Shut up."
"Hey, I'm not the one who was caught sleeping with his girlfriend… in her own house!" Naruto gave out a laugh, before he remembered suddenly of whom he was talking about, "Don't get any funny ideas, bastard. I let that time slide because you guys weren't doing anything, but try something, I dare you, and I will –"
"Finally realized the complications of your cousin dating your best friend?" a familiar bored voice spoke.
Both teens turned to see the top of a spiky top knot ascending the staircase beside them.
"You're surprisingly early today?" Sasuke commented.
"Yeah, well Temari is less likely to get up on a Monday than I am," Shikamaru responded with a yawn.
Lifting a dark brow, Sasuke turned towards Naruto for more context.
"When Temari started college this year she missed most of her Monday morning classes, so Shikamaru decided to help out a bit."
"Hn," Sasuke turned a mocking smirk to the yawning teen, "Someone's being a responsible boyfriend."
"Yeah, whatever," Shikamaru said, scratching the back of his head, "Better to help out now than to have her all sad and whiny by the summer."
"So what? Decided to go to Temari's school then?" Naruto asked, "I mean, Hinata and I want to go together but considering her grades are years better than mine."
"Not to mention her dad wouldn't let his daughter go to a mediocre school," Sasuke added.
"Yes, thank you!" Naruto said bitingly, "But yeah."
"Yeah, decided. Relationships require effort and right now, me going from her school to here, is a lot more effort than I signed up for, it'll just be easier," Shikarmaru yawned before he gave Sasuke a pointed look.
Noticing the look on the lazy genius's face, Sasuke frowned slightly, "What?"
"What about you and Sakura?"
The teen raised a dark brow.
"After high school, you guys haven't talked about it?"
Sasuke's gaze fell to the wall beside them, "Ah, no, we haven't actually." There was nothing to discuss…
"Really? Three years of dating and nothing like this even earned a conversation?"
Three years… he gave a pointed look to Naruto, who was finding the ceiling very interesting all of a sudden.
"We're just thinking for ourselves right now, I mean if we end up going to the same school, that would be a good sign don't you think?"
"So what? Letting fate take the reins?"
"Sure."
"Didn't see you as much of a romantic Sasuke, but whatever," Shikamaru let out another yawn, "Well I'm going to catch whatever little sleep I can get before classes start. See you." He said as he gave the two a lazy wave of his hand and went on to his classroom.
Once Shikamaru was out of hearing range, Sasuke gave Naruto a stern punch to the arm, "I didn't ask before because I didn't really see a point to it, but what on earth did you tell everyone about me and Sakura?"
Naruto chuckled nervously, "Hear me out, because you have to admit it was pretty clever of me to think of this on the spot."
Sasuke crossed his arms, signaling the idiot to continue, "So, I told the school, that you guys met through me. Now here's the setting, remember a time when I was video chatting with you and I was at Kakashi's place with my parents?"
Sasuke vaguely remembered, "Yeah."
"Well Sakura was in that day but she had already greeted us before I called you, so she was back in her room, but in my version I said she came down to greet us while I was talking to you and that's when you caught a glimpse of her." He waited to see a reaction from his dark haired friend, receiving none he continued, "So, you asked who she was and I turned my phone over on her, she was still hiding her face but I introduced you guys regardless. And then, since it would be weird for me to know every little detail of how you guys started dating, I said that you both somehow got in contact with the other and have been in a long distance relationship for three years, you know phone calls, video chatting all that good stuff."
Sasuke stood there silently for a few seconds before he simply stated, "Just saying we started dating this year would've been good enough."
"But then people wouldn't have taken it seriously."
"So three years is a serious relationship?"
"Uh, I think more than serious, especially for you."
Sasuke frowned at that, "What do you mean?"
"Actually no, even a month would've been serious for you."
"Explain, idiot."
"Dude, you haven't dated anyone. I don't think you even had crushes before. The school knows this, so imagine all of a sudden being aware that the, and I'm quoting this, "hottest guy in school" is taken and by a girl no one has even seen before, the scandal," Naruto finished with an exaggerated gasp.
"It still caused a bit of a ruckus," Sasuke muttered.
"But not as big," Naruto reasoned, "Think about it, so far Sakura's been only the center of whispering gossip, no one has tried to approach her on the matter."
"She's never alone to give them the chance."
"True, but knowing that the two of you didn't just meet and ended up going out helped. I mean these people weren't around three years ago so they can't really say anything."
"… You just thought about these benefits now didn't you?" Sasuke accused.
"Give me some credit, teme… and yes."
"So what was your reasoning to why I acted like I didn't know her at first?"
"Oh! So Sakura didn't want to attract attention to herself, so she asked you to just act like a complete stranger towards her while on school grounds. But after seeing so much of the attempted abuse and actual harm being done to her you decided enough was enough," Naruto grinned at his story, "Even made you out to be the hero, teme, be grateful."
"Yeah a hero that came towards the end of the school year."
"I explained that too!"
"Sakura asked me not to interfere?"
"Yeah… wait…"
Sasuke shook his head, "There's a pattern to this story Naruto and it's that I would do whatever Sakura asks me to do."
"Isn't that how it is?" Naruto asked cautiously.
"No, if it were, I wouldn't have gotten as close as I did."
They stood there in silence, listening to the sounds of the first students chatting down the halls, and up the first flight of stairs. Sasuke knew the question Naruto wanted to ask him and he didn't know how to answer it.
"For how long are you planning to keep this up?"
There it is… "… Until I get the answers I need."
Naruto frowned slightly, "And then what?"
"What?"
"What happens to Sakura?" he clarified.
And that's where he didn't know how to respond, "I don't know."
"The only thing you didn't plan out?"
"What plan? This whole thing was done on an impulse. I came up with the reasons later," he let out a humorless chuckle, "Just a curiosity filled impulse."
"I hope," Naruto began, "This impulse you have doesn't decide to hurt her."
Sasuke raised his eyebrows, "There has to be feelings for it to hurt, Naruto. Sakura and me, its all fake. You know this better than anyone else." He ignored that strange feeling at the pit of his stomach once those words came out. Its not real.
Naruto gave his friend a skeptical look, "You sure?"
"Yes, by graduation, Sakura and I will go our separate ways, and no one can bother her then."
"So you plan on taking this to graduation?"
"Well, that's probably when I'll get the answers I need –"
"And if you don't? What are you gonna do? Follow after her, continue on as her "boyfriend" until you get what you need?" Naruto's frustration was becoming evident, "C'mon Sasuke, that's a load of crap."
"No one said I was going to do that!"
"So graduation comes along and you'll just let her go, regardless of whether or not you get your answers?"
Naruto didn't miss the second of hesitation that crossed Sasuke's face before he turned and began to head to the classroom, "Yes."
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It was odd. Ten minutes before class was to start and Kakashi still wasn't in. The classroom filled with the regular students. Sasuke sat in his seat, glancing at the empty desk to his right. Kakashi said not to bother…
He looked back at Naruto who gave him a worried expression. Sakura's attendance was spotless, as Naruto had told him before; she never missed a day not even a second late.
Sasuke watched the clock tick the minutes away. Only 3 minutes left… this didn't make sense. Sakura would be less likely to come late, especially if she's all about not drawing attention to herself. If she was late, there was a chance she could sneak in through all the mindless chattering of the other students. But even then, knowing some of his classmates, one is bound to call Sakura out, he'd have to step in again. But where are they?
Car trouble? Car… accident… no, no, no, no. That should be the last thing he should be thinking about.
"With a minute to spare," Kakashi's voice spoke cheerfully as he entered the classroom.
Sasuke's head snapped up at the sound. His teacher walked in, his visible eye crinkled in a smile, and despite his best efforts Sasuke noticed that he was out of breath. He probably came running up the stairs.
But his teacher's presence was the last thing in his mind, as he was sure Naruto's and possibly the few on lookers who kept their eye on Sasuke.
He did a subtle glance around, and noticed that Sakura was nowhere in sight. He noticed the whispering around him, regarding the empty seat beside him.
"She's not here?"
"They probably had a fight."
"She got dumped already."
"Three years my ass."
"Can't face her ex I bet."
"So pathetic."
How he wanted to give those idiots a piece of his mind. He settled for turning his head in their direction, his glare evident and potent enough that the whispering girls gulped and remained silent.
He wanted to ask Kakashi right away where she was. Was she okay, has she come out of her room since then… is she okay?
Kakashi continued with his lecture, calling on students to read the next passages. Sasuke could tell he was avoiding him, even more obvious than that, he saw the way his free hand fidgeted with his pen, he was anxious. So was Sasuke. He wanted to ask. He wanted to tell him what he found out. He wanted Kakashi to give him an explanation. This was dragging. Everything was taking too long.
It was a long while ago that he stopped paying attention, he just needed to talk to the man alone.
"Uchiha."
He lifted his head slightly, "Translate the next line for us." Shit.
As Sasuke stood, preparing to make a fool of himself, the classroom door slid open. He didn't recognize the short, black haired woman. She seemed out of breathe and bit frightened.
"E-excuse me Kakashi, Tsunade-sama needs to see Uchiha Sasuke in her office right away."
Letting out a sigh, Kakashi motioned for Sasuke to move to the door.
Without hesitating, Sasuke walked towards the woman and continued on his way to the principal's office.
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He had only met the woman at the head of the school once, and that was a vague memory. Just like any other regular student, Sasuke was nervous, there were a number of reasons as to why the principal would want to see him, and even more so that Sakura wasn't in school… which brought more ideas to his head.
Did she know… of course she did. It was the most hypothetically trending topic in school for the last two weeks it's been revealed. The other thing was how much she knew. Did she know it was a farce? If she did, it could be a bit easier to explain. If she believed it to be true, just a bit more acting he has to do. There was also a very small chance that Sakura was even the reason as to why Tsunade called for him. He let out a quiet sigh, if it was just about colleges contacting him she could have saved that for later or even after school.
As he approached the door, her secretary, he had only just remembered her name being Shizune, led him to the seats by the door while she entered the office, presumably to announce him.
There wasn't really a point in taking a seat, since the woman came back out almost instantly all the while telling him to step inside.
Hesitantly taking a step forward, he heard the door being clicked closed behind him. Now, he didn't normally take much time to fully inspect a person before, unless it was someone he would have to personally deal with more than once. But there was something about Tsunade that caught his eyes, coincidentally, it was her eyes. Not necessarily in color. If he hadn't seen a photo of her late daughter he would've never looked twice but he saw them, the similarities in their shape and the familiar hint of brown and gold. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that she was indeed Rin Haruno's mother. But there was something more familiar in those eyes, he couldn't place it, but it was eating at his brain.
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Her voice, full of all the authority she possessed, snapped him out of his thoughts. He straightened his back in acknowledgment.
"As I'm sure you're aware of," she began, straightening in her seat as well, "Sakura is my granddaughter."
He mentally winced at the mention of his supposed girlfriend.
"Now, I don't like to mix the personal with work," she glanced to the side, "If I did, half of the girls in your year would be failing if not expelled," she muttered lowly. "However, when Sakura, who has never missed a day of school in her life, is all of a sudden absent, I have to ask why. Especially," her eye shot back to him in a pointed glare, "when two weeks ago she suddenly has a boyfriend."
Sasuke didn't dare look away, "You think I have something to do with her absence."
Her glare didn't lower, "I think your name has been appearing a lot in Sakura's life lately. And I honestly don't know what to make of it."
"What is there to make of it?"
She notably folded her hands in front of her in her desk, "That is exactly it, now is it safe to assume you don't know why Sakura isn't in today?"
He nodded, "I was just as shocked and possibly just as worried as you are," his mind shifted to the empty desk beside him, "It doesn't feel right without her here," he muttered to himself.
Tsunade didn't miss that, "I respect my granddaughter's privacy, but I hope you can understand that I do worry," her eyes remained stern, "Is there anything you can tell me?"
Sasuke hesitated, this is where it can all go wrong.
"I don't want to sound rude…," he began, "But you have to understand I don't know you…" he tried to reason, "There is something I know… or well something I suspect… I know you love Sakura, she's your only granddaughter, but even if I did know you enough to confine this to you, I want Kakashi to be the first to know."
She kept her gaze fixed on the teen. The arrogant look she suspected someone like him to hold was nowhere in sight, which shocked her a little. But at the same time, she could tell the honesty and concern the boy held for her granddaughter, and though she was suspicious of the teen, she couldn't really say he appeared to have any bad intentions.
"Let me know," her tone shocked him. It lost all its authority and surprisingly gained something he was certain he was never meant to hear… plead. Again back to the fact that Sakura had rendered her unable to step forward, though her position itself held her against favoring any particular student. She wanted nothing more than to help her granddaughter… than to know about her and what she's going through, that much was obvious to Sasuke and he would not deny it to her.
If there was a better person to come clean to, it might as well be to her.
"Sakura and I aren't really dating," he ignored the throb in his chest, "I, in a way, forced her to accept putting up this act. To get closer to her."
Tsunade resisted her storm of anger. The thought of anyone forcing her dear grandchild to doing anything tormented her greatly, she held her ground and continued to listen.
"I don't want you to think this was in attempt to gain some attention… to be honest if that were the case I probably would have done something like this early on, rather than now," he gave a humorless huff, before his eyes became glazed over in thought, "I saw something in her. It was something, I thought was curiosity at first. But it seemed like she found herself everywhere I was. Kinda like she was mocking me. It wasn't something bad but at the same time it was different… she was sad, that was clear… I wanted to learn more and more," he bowed his head, "I was told by more and more people to stay away, to keep my distance. Everytime, though," he held his fist in his hand, "Everytime I saw those girls all the taunts, the yelling, the actual attacks, I'm nothing to Sakura, Tsunade-sama. It was hard to ignore, it was harder to every single time I saw… or even heard of them talking about what they just did," he met her gaze, "Once I saw her face… I saw exactly how much sadness there was… I've never felt this feeling before or this need. This need to just… want to make her happy," his voice turned into almost a whisper.
That's what I want…?
He lost himself as he realized he said more truths than even he knew about. Honesty, was his best bet with Tsunade he figured. His heart beat was thundering loudly in his ear. The sudden swelling of his chest was the most uncomfortable feeling he's felt in a long while.
Tsunade wanted nothing more than to be mad at the teen before her… but she couldn't bring herself to not believe him. His eyes were lost and thoughtful, as if he himself couldn't believe what he was saying. However, the truth behind those words… there was no denying it.
"You want her to be happy?" she began, "I assume you mean in the long run because as it seems right now, I can't imagine a time where she seemed as miserable as she does now."
He held his ground, "There are a few things that need to get resolved before anything can get better for her. You have to realize this Tsunade-sama."
She sighed, resting her forehead onto her still interlaced fingers, "You know, we've tried taking her to a shrink… many times… just to see if she'll talk to someone about… whatever it is she's going through. She would greet them take her seat… and nothing more," he heard the defeat in his principles voice, "in a sad way I'm hoping you can actually do the job paid professionals couldn't." He heard her huff a small chuckle.
He didn't really know what to say for that. He wanted to give off a laugh himself, but it didn't seem like the time. He began to take his leave.
"Uchiha…"
He stopped short from the door. He turned to Tsunade, again her eyes bright but filled with something more… like… almost like… she was worried.
"Don't hurt yourself, Sasuke," she said with a sad smile.
Sasuke felt himself frown but nodded regardless as he left the room.
Everything so far had always been, "don't hurt her" but this was the first time someone had told him to care for himself…
He never considered that even being a possibility.
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Yeah… this was a long time coming, I didn't mean for it to take this long but it did… and I apologize for that.
I don't know if some of you can tell, but this is the most invested I've been with my fanfics. I felt bad leaving it untouched – well I can't say I've left it untouched. I came back to it so many times, but I couldn't get through… So I'll leave it at this. Sorry again.
Bare with me,
Ira