Here is the next chapter. I hope you all enjoy. It's getting close to the end now...so I'll probably be writing faster.
Please review. It's much appreciated. I'd like to thank all those that do review, and a special thanks to those that have read my story all the way through, and post their opinion a lot. Thanks again!
Anyways, enjoy!
Chapter Nineteen: Dirty Little Secrets
"My hopes are so high that your kiss might kill me. So won't you kill me, so I die happy?"
Sasuke was counting down the time until he could train. 5 days. Just 5 more days. Then he could go to his own home, train...and after a few weeks...leave this village and find Itachi. He had his teammates out around the area, trying to catch onto the location of the Akatski. Once they did, they were to come inform Sasuke immediately. Then he'd leave and finish up what he needed to do. All would be well.
It had been a few days since he had last talked to Kalei, Sakura, or Naruto. He had spent his time either at home or on the track, getting his body ready for some serious training, meaning he had had no contact with the three of them in about 3 days. And he was perfectly okay with that. It gave him time to clear up his mind.
And right now, he was just about to take a cold shower. He was hot and sweaty from running and needed to cool off badly. He was in his towel when he heard a knock at the door.
Damn, who would that be? He slowly walked over to the door, debating on if he should answer it. But the knocking kept coming louder and faster, so he just grabbed the doorknob and pulled it open.
Wow, he shouldn't have done that.
"Ohhhh Sasssssuuukkeee!"
Ino started squealing, a giant smile gracing her face. Sasuke stared at her, a look of annoyance on his.
"Ino. Quiet." He snapped
She slowly stopped squealing. Her, Shikamaru, and Choji were standing outside his door. Shikamaru looked bored, as usual...and Choji just stood there, a grin on his face,
"Okay...Sasuke- are you busy?" Ino asked calmly, a smile still plastered on her face. She ran her eyes up and down his body, just now noticing he was in a towel.
"A little." He said, shrugging.
Shikamaru sighed. "We'll make it quick."
"We just wanted to see if you maybe had a card or something to give to Sakura." Choji bellowed.
Sasuke's eye brows raised, and a confused look flooded onto his face. "A card?"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Yes. You know...like a congratulations gift for becoming part of the ANBU Black Ops!!" She squealed gleefully.
She...what? Why didn't she tell him?
He blinked thrice and leaned against the door frame, one hand holding onto his towel. "ANBU, huh? Didn't know."
"You didn't? I thought she would have told you." Shikamaru asked curiously.
Sasuke just shook his head. He thought that too. But apparently not.
"Well, some of us have just gotten her a gift or whatever...and we just wanted to see if you did. I'm giving them all to her tomorrow night, when Lady Tsunade assigns her squad!" Ino said happily.
"Hn."
"I'll take that as...you don't have anything?" Choji asked, his eyes narrowing.
"Nope." Sasuke pulled his weight off the door and raised his eyebrows. "Now, If you'll excuse me..."
Ino's face twisted into a frown. "Well, okay. Sorry, Sasuke." She said, turning around and walking away.
"Later." Shikamaru said, him and Choji turning to follow Ino.
Why would he get her anything? She hadn't even bothered to mention it to him. Besides, he didn't really care. He was just a little shocked, that was all. Since when had Sakura been strong enough to make it to the ANBU?
He turned around and shut the door, leaning back against it. He wasn't sure if he even wanted to see Sakura right now. It would just confuse him again. That wasn't what he wanted.
He sighed and closed his eyes. He needed to focus. On Itachi. On training. On leaving...
"That was rude."
His eyes shot open to find Kalei standing right in front of the steps leading up to the second floor, and the bathroom. She had her arms crossed in front of her, a smile on her face.
"Hn."
"Wow...we don't talk for 3 days and that's all the feedback I get. Nice." She said, leaning against the wall to her right.
"Why are you here?"
"Bored." She rolled her eyes. "Besides...I have to check up on you sometime. I'm putting in my last report on you tomorrow morning."
He shrugged. "Whatever." Slowly, he started walking toward her.
She sighed and put her arms up, blocking his way up the steps. He stopped right in front of her and gave her a weird look.
"What are you doing?" He asked, annoyed.
She groaned. "The less I talk to you...the more of an ass you seem to become. Is this natural?"
"For me, yes." He said, placing his hand on her arm. "Now, move."
She shook her head, causing a small smirk to crawl onto his face. He pushed down on her arm roughly, causing it to fall down, and he walked past her up the steps. She turned around and watched him, a frown on her face.
"You're boring, Sasuke." She shouted, child-like.
He lifted up a hand to wave, but never looked back. He reached the top of the steps and turned to go into the bathroom.
"You mean to tell me I was the last person to find out?"
"She didn't think you'd care!"
Okay...so his curiosity got the better of him. He took a day off of pre-training and went to meet up with Naruto at Ichiraku, offering to buy him ramen if he 'answered all his questions'. And all those questions...were about Sakura. And why she hadn't told him about her being in the ANBU. He thought this would have been a big deal to her. And shouldn't she have told him? After all...he was supposed to be somebody important to her.
"Whatever. I don't care." He said, looking away from Naruto.
"Well...apparently, you do. Or you wouldn't have asked to meet me here." He said, slurping down a noodle.
Okay...so he cared a little. But whatever.
"But why do you care? I mean...you told her that there was no hope for you two in the future. She needs to move on...and she might be trying to completely-"
"Forget me." Sasuke finished, looking back at him.
Naruto grunted and shrugged. "Maybe."
Sasuke rolled his eyes and swallowed hard. This...sucked.
All of a sudden he heard a familiar giggle behind the drapes, and an even more familiar voice follow it..."Ahhh, hey...can I get uh-"
Sasuke looked back to see Sakura, one hand holding up the drapes, the other limply at her side...and a completely surprised expression placed on her face when her eyes met Sasuke's.
Oh great- perfect. Sakura... Sasuke just stared at her. That was all he could really do.
"S-Sasuke...Naruto-hey!" She said, as Naruto turned around, slurping down another noodle. He quickly glanced at Sasuke and back to Sakura, a nervous laugh escaping his lips.
"Hey Sakura." Naruto said, scratching the back of his head..
She slowly looked to Sasuke. "What's...going on?"
"I was just about to ask you that." Sasuke snapped, causing her to flinch.
Naruto's eyes widened and he stood up, exchanging glances between the two. "I...I should go."
Sasuke's face twisted into a glare and he stood up as well. "No. We will." He grabbed Sakura's wrist tightly, causing her to gasp quietly, and yanked her out from under the drapes. He kept his hold tight, walking in front of her...basically dragging her. He pulled her a ways down the street until they reached an alley, in which he pulled her into, her back leaning slightly against a building wall.
"Ouch...Sasuke- let go." She grumbled, pulling her wrist out of Sasuke's grasp.
He turned to face her, a glare imprinted on his features. "Yes, that's what I did. Or tried to do. But it's not working." His voice was low...but shaky.
She raised her eyebrows, questioning his words. "What are you-"
"Why didn't you tell me you made ANBU?" He interrupted her, trying to pretend like what he almost admitted didn't happen.
That's why he's so upset? That's why he pulled me here? Her brows furrowed. "Why does it matter?"
He bit his lip. "It doesn't...but I thought you would have told me."
"Why?" She asked, adding a little bite to her voice. "It's not like you care."
He looked away, shoving his hands into his pocket.
Silence.
"Yeah...and that's why I didn't tell you."
"Well, you should have." He looked back at her, meeting her green eyes, burning with anger.
She tightened her jaw. Whatever...this guy is so... "What's the difference if I tell you or somebody else does?"
"It's important to you right?" He snapped, his quivering voice rising.
She rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Well you told everybody important to you the important news." He mumbled, not realizing that he was saying a little bit more than he would have wanted.
She raised her eyebrows, feeling something boiling up inside her. Anger? Confusion? Either way...he had basically told her that he thought he wasn't important to her anymore...and he...was...well, half right. She couldn't keep fawning over him. It's not right. Hopeless...they had no future like that. And she felt that distancing herself a bit would help get things on the right track. But he was making it more difficult by saying these things to her. Normally she should be happy...but...
"What the hell!" She shouted, taking a step toward him. His face flashed a small look of shock, but quickly returned back to his glare, eye's never leaving hers. "You can't keep doing this to me!" She shouted again, clenching her fists at her sides.
Sasuke ran his eyes over her body, noticing her fists at her side. His eyes narrowed.
"One minute you care...the next minute you don't. I don't understand!" She closed her eyes tightly, raised her right arm, unclenched her fist, and thrusted her palm at his chest. Pushing him. She was pushing him. He lightly swayed, but kept his stance. His glare softened. She literally was trying to push him away.
She pulled her hand back and brought up the other one to push him again, but Sasuke slapped her wrist down and held it tightly, causing Sakura to open her eyes. They were glassy, and angry.
"Tell me. Tell me- right now." She hissed, making Sasuke angry...slightly uncomfortable. His eyes shifted down to his hand, strangling her wrist.
"You're in no position to make demands." He took a step toward her, startling her a bit and causing her to step back. She narrowed her eyes and pushed her chin up, showing him intimidation wasn't going to work.
"Make up your mind. You're two-sided...confused...in this position...no matter how hard you try...you'll...you'll never kill Ita-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Sasuke had grabbed her other wrist, pushed her up against the wall, and pinned her wrists above her head. She squealed a bit in shock, her gaze now down at the floor. They were so close that their bodies were touching slightly, and she knew this proximity could destroy her.
"S-Sasuke..." She whispered quietly.
"Wanna finish that sentence?"
Great! Way to piss him off, Sakura! She shook her head violently, wishing he would just let go and walk away.
But that wasn't happening.
"Finish. That. Sentence." He demanded, tightening his grip on her wrists.
It won't do you any good keeping your face down like a puppy. She slowly raised her head, and met his eyes. A blush flew across her face quickly. They were so close. His bangs lightly touched her face, as he had his head tilted down to look at her. His breath smelled of sweet tea from Ichiraku.
She swallowed hard, knowing she should have watched her tongue. Stupid...stupid...
"You'll...you'll...never..."
Her breath on his face was making his sense's numb. Images of the night they kissed were running through his head. This was why he didn't want to see her. But now he was screwed. Here, he had her, practically in his hands, and there was no turning back.
He slowly leaned forward and whispered ever so gently in her ear.
"Kill Itachi. That's what you wanted to say." His lips brushed her ear, sending chills through her body. "So say it." He pushed his body against hers even more, causing her to gasp slightly.
"No. No...it just came out. Please stop doing this to me, Sasuke." She whimpered as Sasuke pulled his head back a bit. He looked into her eyes. Now their noses were touching, and her breath was growing shallow.
"You can't keep pretending you care about me...it hurts..." Her voice was shaky, eyes pleading for him to release her. His face slowly grew emotionless...stoic, causing her heart to stop. He really was extremely cute.
He sighed, letting Sakura smell his sweet breath. "Who said I'm pretending?"
Her throat tightened. "It's not fair...you won't stay...but you keep playing with my mind...I don't know how you feel..." Her voice started fading.
"Say it."
What? Say what? Her eyes searched his.
"Say it." He repeated, loosening his grip on her wrists.
"Say what..." She muttered softly, feeling the pressure of his gaze.
Silence.
"I love you." His breath ran over her face.
More silence.
"Say...'I love you.'" He repeated, his voice was low...smooth...entrancing.
She felt tears pricking at her eyes. "I love you..." She said quietly.
He slowly released her wrists completely and brought his arms to his sides, their bodies still close, the gap between them never reopening.
He didn't really know why he wanted her to say it...but he loved it. He loved hearing those words.
She bit her lip. "Why...why did you want-"
"That's why."
Her mouth went dry and her heart started racing. She didn't understand what he was trying to say.
"That's why I...push you away...and...sometimes get close." His voice was quiet, nervous. He really didn't know what he was saying anymore. That usually happened when he was near Sakura.
"I dont understand." She asked shyly, causing Sasuke to clench his jaw. This was hard enough already.
"Because I love you? That's why?" After a minute of silence, a small smirk formed from his lips and he placed a hand on the cold wall behind Sakura, right next to her head.
"I'm not saying it again, Sakura." He chuckled out, almost seductively, causing her face to flush even more. Why did he have to be so cute!!??
She shook her head lightly. I don't understand.
"There's something I want you to promise me."
She numbly nodded her head, causing strands of her pink hair to fall in her face. But she was too dumbfounded to brush them away.
"Sakura..."
Oh my...gosh...what did he want. The tension was making Sakura's body tremble.
"Wait for me."
Silence.
"Promise me...that you'll wait for me. And if you will, after I find Itachi...I'll come back to Konoha. Back to you." His face was serious now.
She swallowed hard and took deep breaths. This was a dream. It had to be a dream. There was no other explanation.
"Sasu..." Was all she managed to reply with. But her reply caused an amused look to jump onto his face. He raised his hand and gently brushed the strand of hair out of her face.
"There's no other way. For some reason...every time I'm with you...it ends up like this. I'll come back after...I accomplish my goal. I don't know what I'm feeling but..." His voice trailed off as he noticed a tear escape her eye and trickle down her cheek.
He had made up his mind in that one second. With those words...he had given himself to her. And the funniest part was she hadn't even really noticed yet. He gently swooped his head down and brushed his lips across her cheek where her tear had fallen, and moved his lips to her ear.
"...but I want to find out." His whispered, causing goosebumps to crawl up her skin, and her breath to lodge in her throat.
She brought her hands up and rested them on his chest, grabbing his shirt. He slowly backed away and looked down on her, his heart racing. Wow, he hadn't felt so nervous in such a long time.
"Promise me." He said, or more demanded.
There was nothing she wanted more than to be with him. But it all seemed too good to be true. Slowly she nodded. "I promise."
The corner of his lips rose, creating a small smile. "Actions speak louder than words."
Her eyes widened.
Okay, it didn't take a genius to figure out where he was going with this. But...Sasuke Uchiha? Trying to instigate something? Since when?
Her face grew hot and a small smile formed on her lips. "Are you...asking for me to kiss you?" She mumbled, shyly.
A small laugh escaped Sasuke's lips. "I might be."
Sakura stood up on her tip toes and snaked her arms around his neck. He slowly moved one arm around her waist and put the other into his pocket.
She giggled and leaned closer to him. "You know, they say a kiss is another way of saying 'I Love You'."
Sasuke smirked. "Well then it's about time you kissed me." He said, his bangs falling slightly into his face as he looked down at her.
She rolled her eyes. "But what about you? A kiss means the same thing no matter who does it."
He pulled her into him and bent down so his lips brushed past hers. He gently spoke against her lips. "Then it's about time I kissed you."
Her eyes widened. What? Did he just mean-
But before she could say anything...his lips met hers, halting her train of thought and making her knee's go weak.
With this simple action, they had both made a promise.
We have resolved to endure the unendurable and suffer what is insufferable.
Love is a choice you make from moment to moment. And one is healed of a suffering only by expressing it to the full.
She didn't really know what would happen when he left...let alone what would happen when he came back. But she would wait for him. After all, she loved him. Always had. There was no changing that.
And as Sasuke kissed her...he couldn't help but wonder if he was really in love with her. Sakura Haruno. All those years...all the wasted attempts to break their ties.
Everything was slowly becoming more complicated.
And there was still much...
...He did not know.
Next Chapter: Ignorance Was Bliss