As usual, your reviews keep me going. And OMG I got more than 100 reveiws now. Wieee... :))
Thanks for the people who reviewed for the last chapter! kushina88, Meet the Angel (I think being angry is an understatement. Hah!), OsexyinoO, hime-sama 3, HushPurple17 (the answers on all of your questions lie in this chapter. I hope it won't disappoint you), HarutosakurabaLOVER (I'm apologizing this early. You'll find out why as you read on), Shiro Hikari, Jaded Eyes 56 (The concert goes on. –grins-), KEEP STILL (Boy, don't you have strong ESP), Sasuke is loving it (You are my 100th reviewer! Hooray!), Copy-nin, csimiamigirl73 (Sakura would have to bare everything. The pain and all is just a consequence of keeping her secret from her friends), SakuraKissy (Lily is pretty much different from Naruto and Tenten, which makes it harder for Sakura to divulge her secret but time will come), Merridaine (well, thank you!), frienz4ever , 93addict (Ah, you should 'cause it won't be happening in this chapter. Sorry), deedee2034, shina desu, angelnessa101, Blackbaka21, princess10, Blazing Aurora, 666Shukakugrl28 and I AM A MIZAKI FAN C; (Thank you for being one).
Don't we all long for some action? I think it's time for this…
-
;
-
Title: The Girl I Used to Know
Chapter 6: The Secret's Out!
-
;
-
"What do you mean he isn't coming?"
Karin lifted her chin with an air of professionalism, albeit with a streak of offensive superiority lingering behind her raised fine brows. "Didn't Uchiha-san inform you that he declined everyone else's offer to watch the concert tonight? He told me that he won't be coming." Karin then casually pointed the loads of files beside her table. "See these? These are the papers he'll be signing once he arrives. He told me to prepare them beforehand. There's no way he'll be leaving this office without taking care of them all."
Ino's equally fine brow twitched in annoyance. Contrary to what Sasuke's secretary believe, Ino could be a veritable glaring machine.
"Is there anything else you need, Yamanaka-san?" Karin inquired, obviously unfazed of the Yamanaka heiress' unspoken threat. "Or do you want to leave a message? I'll make sure it gets to Uchiha-san."
Ino almost puked at the redhead's sarcasm – almost, for she vowed never to succumb to the low-class secretary of her future (self-proclaimed) fiancé. She placed her hands on her curvy hips for sometime, whipping a thinking façade, before her face finally lit up with a plan.
Karin noticed the change in fascia of the freaky blonde girl she loathes the most, but decided to watch and wait what Ino has up on her sneaky sleeves.
"Well, since Sasuke-kun won't attend the concert tonight in Tokyo Dome, then I guess I have no further need to be there too." Ino flipped her blonde hair behind her before she sat comfortably on the chair in front of Karin's desk. "Maybe I can wait for him to arrive. After all, I have all night to do so. What do you think?"
Karin fought the overwhelming urge to slap the blonde girl right then and there for using that dreaded suffix only she has the right pull out. Ino could be close to the youngest Uchiha, Karin knows that much, but a bloodshed might as well happen when Ino threatens to cross Karin's well-put borders around her boss. Besides, this is her territory. "If that's what you want. But may I inform you that Uchiha-san has a meeting in fifteen minutes. That'll probably take at least two hours. I hope you brought enough patience with you."
Bitch, Ino mouthed, but not enough to intimidate her. "Really? Do you think he'll mind if I tag along? Sasuke-kun knows how easily someone like me gets bored. To think of it, that might even be a brilliant idea. I've known their investors personally and I'm sure they'll all be happy to accommodate me. What do you think?" Eat that, sucker!
Karin shuffled the paper in front of her before sluggishly turning to the smirking blonde. "Were you saying anything?" she asked, her eyes wide and naïve. "Oh, my bad." Karin almost grinned in victory when Ino's face blanched. "Do you want me to get you some tea? You don't look so well, Yamanaka-san."
Whoever said their rivalry was unspoken? "No, thanks. I just had mine a couple of minutes ago. Besides, I am allergic to some stuff. No one knows what might be on your tea," Ino huffed, resting her back on the comfy chair.
Karin rolled her eyes away from Ino. Ino is just downright crazy. The first time she ever saw that girl, which was on a party where Karin became Sasuke's official secretary (care of Mikoto-san), the fiery spark had been there. Karin immediately smelt something fishy lurking behind Ino's preppy façade. Just by watching from afar, Karin can distinguish what people call Ino's sweetness from her true, flirty self. The blonde was just hiding behind her family's prominence and had been using it to elevate her social status. Getting close to Sasuke was just the first step, Karin could tell. It's a good thing that her precious Sasuke-kun hasn't set his sights on such girls.
Karin's eyes then turned back to the mob of blonde hair in front of her. Glaring was an understatement. Ino's eyes were so narrowed that they were reduced to slits, interpreting to something close to 'I know what you're thinking, bitch!'.
Those sea foam eyes then looked down as Ino fished for her cellular phone in her glittery pouch bag. "Maybe I should call Sasuke-kun, it's getting late after all."
Karin's fists bundled dangerously. "Uchiha-san would surely inform me of any changes beforehand. He will be here in a couple of minutes."
"I'll call him just to make sure. You're just his secretary anyways," Ino bit, her tongue rolling effortlessly to spite the redhead.
Karin gritted her teeth. That came out wrong – very wrong. "You should," she dared. "For it seems like you are getting left far behind of his activities. Not that he was doing that on purpose though…"
Ino's eyes flashed instantly. She flipped her phone open without tearing her gaze on Karin. Pressing Sasuke's speed dial number, she grinned. "We'll see about that."
-
;
-
The look in his eyes made Sakura flinch.
"What do you mean?" she asked softly, her eyes surveying Sasuke's with mild curiosity.
"Hn."
Sakura fought the urge to pinch her cheeks. It's not everyday that the Uchiha Sasuke would ask something from her. Really. And for some reason it scared her to the bones. "You want me… to watch the concert with you?" she clarified, her voice trembling, for she'll never forgive herself if she misunderstands.
"That's amazing, ne, Sakura-chan?" Naruto suddenly chirped, relieving the tension. "Look, he got a meeting in like ten minutes but he chose to join us. Just like in Junior High, right?"
Sakura blinked, her eyes alleviating. "Yeah." She smiled.
Tenten's eyes widened in disbelief. "Is that a 'yes'?" she mumbled in astonishment.
Sakura bit her lip to cap the overwhelming warm feeling coursing on her body. Her gaze went back to Sasuke's, meeting his searching obsidian orbs with unadulterated happiness. It's like what she had always dreamed of since the day she had set her eyes on him. Sasuke had always been out of her reach since the beginning. He was never one to indulge into a conversation, let alone convey his inner musings to anyone. But then, Sakura remembered with a weird mixture of glee and disbelief that he had changed as time passed, and it made her stomach churl in contentment and satisfaction that those changes had always been for the best.
Tenten grinned upon realization dawned her. Their mission to persuade Sakura succeeded and it was all because of an unexpected help coming from the other quarter of their circle. It was a good choice from Sakura's part, for Sasuke was able to whip four front row tickets for tonight in a single phone call. Tenten never knew it was actually possible to add a couple of seats in front for extremely special guests an hour before the concert starts. And she never expected she'll be one of those 'extremely special guests'. Ah, the marvel of being acquainted to the Uchiha heir.
"Yosh! Sakura-chan's coming!" Naruto cheered at the top of his voice, as Tenten and Sasuke let out a shaky breath of relief.
Sakura, who was still in a state of bewilderment, reminded herself to breathe. The fact that Sasuke himself asked her out was still rapping on her mind, and she can't help but to get touched. It was the moment Sakura had been waiting for since he came to her life, and she can't settle without gushing with her Inner Self.
"Ne, ne, Sasuke-teme, I believe this deserves a couple of additional backstage passes!" Naruto pointed out, ready to take this up to the next level. The conniving two always had this thought in the back of their minds, and the master plan they built all boils down to it. They got Sasuke and Sakura spend the concert night together, all right, but what Naruto and Tenten were really after was the opportunity to ask for backstage passes. Sasuke was now in such good mood that Naruto's sure he'll never decline. He turned to Tenten with a thumbs-up before he bounced towards Sasuke. "Onegai, teme!"
Sasuke threw him a spiteful look. "They didn't issue such."
Naruto's face morphed into mischievousness. "They? But teme, you're their boss! I'm sure you can make some arrangements," Naruto insisted, with Tenten nodding in affirmation behind him.
"I won't," Sasuke resolved, glaring the two.
"Teme!"
Sasuke stared Naruto down with annoyance, his eyes narrowing into slits. "That'll be impossible."
Tenten tilted her head in inquiry. "How is that?" she pressed.
"Because," Sasuke replied with a tone of finality.
Naruto frowned, crossing his arms around his chest. "You got to whip two additional front row seats without breaking a sweat and now you can't ask for backstage passes? Teme, I'm sure your underlings would be glad to obey any of your orders. It doesn't hurt to ask for a little bit more," he rationalized, wagging his index finger in front of Sasuke's face.
"Dobe, you know how much backstage passes cost?" he bit back, swatting Naruto's hand away.
"We do, as well as the tickets you provided," Tenten replied, smirking.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes.
Tenten raised a brow before she clamped Sakura's shoulder's, evidently snapping their pink-haired friend away from her inner bemusement. "Besides, I'm sure Sakura would be glad to have such passes, right, Sakura?"
Sakura blinked slowly, realizing in shame that she had been spacing out for the past couple of minutes. "What passes?" she asked absentmindedly, meeting Sasuke's gaze.
"What else but backstage passes! Sakura-chan, you'll get to see Mizaki-chan in flesh, exclusively! Isn't that the best thing in the world?" Naruto asked excitedly, knowing that if they get to Sakura to agree, Sasuke wouldn't think twice in giving them the last of their wishes. As any Mizaki-fan could attest, the opportunity of meeting her pop star angel personally was the first and last of Naruto's lifelong aspiration.
"Hai…?" Sakura mumbled, entranced by Sasuke's drowning orbs.
"See? See? See?" Naruto exclaimed, swooning towards Sasuke.
Sasuke need not to be told twice. He paused thoughtfully for a second, before sighing in defeat.
"That's more like it, dattebayo! Mizaki-chan, here we come!"
-
;
-
Ino's brows creased in the middle, her polished nails tapping the tabletop impatiently, and Karin took this as a good sign. A very good sign, indeed.
"He's not picking up?" she inquired, voicing out the blonde's thoughts. A smirk crept on her lips when Ino tensed. "Now that's too bad," Karin purred, her voice filled with concealed triumph.
Ino turned to the secretary with a murderous glare, the receiver still on her ear. "Shut up or I'll make you! Can't you see I'm making a call?"
"But it seems like he wasn't picking up at all," Karin exclaimed, disregarding Ino's threat. She watched in pleasure as Ino desperately hoped and prayed for Sasuke to pick up, but the disappointment on the Yamanaka heiress' face was enough for Karin to pull her victory dance.
Ino closed his flip top phone swiftly before she turned murderously to Karin, her sea foam eyes returning the same disgust. "Well, I don't think you're one to talk, seeing that he still hasn't arrived yet."
Karin huffed casually. "He's just late," she replied.
"Oh, and here I am thinking that he'll always inform you beforehand." Ino chuckled. "Not that he was doing that on purpose though…" Ino repeated, glad that she was able to reverse the situation.
Karin's eyes narrowed sluggishly before she gripped her pen holder tightly. "Bitch, you asked for it!"
And so the war began…
-
-
-
Ring. Ring. Ring.
The four halted on their tracks as a sound of a phone ringing echoed along the empty hallway.
Naruto paused and fished his cellular phone on his back pocket. He glanced at the screen and realized that it wasn't his after all. "Could it be yours, Sakura-chan?" he asked. He had to tap her shoulder to break her trance just to get her attention. Apparently, she still hasn't got over the fact that she'll get to be with Sasuke for the night.
"N-nani?"
"I think someone's calling you," Naruto pointed out, sticking his finger to point her sling bag.
"Really, now?" she said, extremely embarrassed. She pulled her phone from her bag and saw that someone was really calling. "You're right, Naruto." She blinked. Tsunade? Why was our manager calling us now? Inner Sakura inquired inwardly, tapping her chin.
"You better take it, Sakura-chan. I guess we'll just be waiting for you at the parking lot," Naruto proposed. He then turned to Tenten and Sasuke for their affirmation.
Tenten grinned before she tapped Sakura's shoulder playfully. "Don't take long, okay? We wouldn't want to be late for the concert. Ja!"
Sakura nodded slowly, her attention still floating aimlessly as she saw her friends round a corner. She blinked before her gaze fell absentmindedly on her phone. Her mind was still racing and it was hard for her to shun her Inner Self who had been cheering inwardly for the past minutes after Sasuke's proposal. It all felt like a dream, and Sakura felt light for some reason. For once, it seemed like she was drifting in happiness that she can't fully grasp. Without thinking straight, she pushed the answer button. "Mosh mosh?"
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU THINKING, YOU IDIOT?! YOU'RE LATE! WHERE ARE YOU NOW?" asked the speaker on the other line. Sakura winced as she felt her eardrums bleed at the sudden exclamation. She felt her temples and stared at the phone unblinkingly, her thoughts still messed up.
Unbeknownst to Sakura, Tsunade was already on a rampage. She had knocked Shizune out with her inhuman strength upon knowing that Sakura still hadn't came back to her apartment. She was supposed to arrive a good thirty minutes ago, especially since she has a concert in an hour the most. Tsunade curled her fingers on her phone when she noticed Sakura's lack of response, fueling her anger even more.
"SAKURA, SPEAK UP! WHERE ARE YOU NOW?" she asked, lowering her voice a bit.
A bit? Yeah, right, Inner Sakura mumbled.
Sakura's brows furrowed confusedly. "I'm still in school. Nande?" she inquired as nothing seemed to make sense.
Sakura heard a crashing sound on the opposite line. She bets Tsunade had smashed her palms on the nearest table in agitation. By the cracking sound she heard almost immediately after the loud impact, Sakura could imagine the table in shambles.
"IN SCHOOL?! IN SCHOOL?! WHY ARE YOU STILL THERE?"
Sakura scratched her head at her manager's antics before she replied casually. "You won't believe what happened!" she started out excitedly, a blush threatening to invade her already flushed face. "Do you know Sasuke-kun asked me out? Well, not just me. There's also Tenten and Naruto but the point is he decided to treat us all for a late-night concert in Tokyo Dome tonight! Isn't that great? I mean we all get to hang out together—"
Tsunade felt her brows twitching madly, her fist curling in fury. So this was all because of a damn invitation from the Uchiha heir – and it swept Sakura out of her sanity. Tsunade should've known. "YOU'RE NOT FORGETTING, YOUNG WOMAN, THAT THAT CONCERT WAS NONE OTHER THAN THE SAME CONCERT YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO SING INTO, RIGHT?!ARE YOU CRAZY? THERE WOULDN'T BE A CONCERT TO START WITH IF YOU WON'T GET YOURSELF DOWN HERE! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"
Sakura felt the weight pulling down her jaw, with her mouth falling unconsciously as realization hit her like a speeding train.
Tsunade cursed inwardly. She knew Sakura all too well that the teen was in a state of utter shock that no one could drive her back to the real world. Why does it have to happen now, of all times? And why does it have to be Sasuke, of everyone else? Tsunade had to drag Sakura down to her dressing room now before the situation gets more out of hand, if that's even possible in their current state. Dammit, Sakura. She kicked a lump lying motionlessly on the floor in front of her as she ended the call. "Shizune, wake up…" The lump remained unmoving, that is until Tsunade shook the body rigorously. "Shizune, I said wake up!" she ordered.
"T-Tsunade-sama?" Shizune mumbled, disoriented. She had to plop her hands to support her for her head was spinning like crazy. Her blurry gaze fell on a well-pissed Tsunade before everything made sense. "Where's Sakura-chan?" she immediately exclaimed, bolting up in record time.
Tsunade let out a shaky sigh before she looked down to her. "She's still in school. Fetch her up now. And fast," she commanded, with Shizune nodding now and then. Tsunade's hazel eyes then narrowed into slits – a scene Shizune had never seen before, even with Tsunade's late-night alcohol spree every week. She could tell that this is going to be a long night. "Make sure no one sees you. Especially that Uchiha. I need her here in fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes or Anko would never be able to finish Sakura's makeover in time."
Shizune took a delicate gulp. "H-hai…"
-
;
-
Sakura swept a glance at her surroundings. A mountain of clothes, a dresser and Anko fixing her image – yep, she's in a makeshift dressing room alright.
Her brows furrowed in the middle as she caught her manager's reflection by the dresser mirror, seeing the same treacherous glare Tsunade pulls out whenever some things are needed to be settled. Her glance then fell down on her lap as Anko did her hair.
Tsunade knew that silence all too well. "I had Shizune to keep your friends at bay. She brought you here from school and called your friends." She watched Sakura's reaction slowly. "She told them that you already left for work." She had to heave a sigh upon seeing the lack of response from the pop star, who'll be having a number in no less than ten minutes.
"You're not going to ask me how their conversation went?"
Sakura bit her lip. Anko had to restrain her from doing so to avoid ruining her lips. Her gaze then traveled back to her own reflection. She realized that she wasn't Sakura anymore – Anko had already performed her marvelous trick for her transformation. With the dazzling sapphire eyes instead of the emerald ones, with her raven hair replacing her pink one cascading down her back and with the marvelous outfit laid especially for this night, Sakura realized from that instant that she was no longer Haruno Sakura.
Not anymore.
She is Akaya Mizaki from this moment.
What she was a couple of minutes ago had vanished from thin air. What happened earlier was none of her concern, none of Akaya Mizaki's concern.
Tsunade seemed to have thinking the same thing upon recognizing the professional glint on her talent's eyes. They had been pulling this stunt for a year now, and Tsunade knew how much Sakura changes once she conquers the stage.
"You're up in five minutes," Tsunade said before she walked out of the dressing room, feeling slightly anxious. It is true that she pretty much had the situation under control – Tsunade knew that Sakura, or Mizaki for that matter, was never one to break down in the middle of a performance. The pop star never fails to fall short on everyone's expectations. But there's one thing that kept on bouncing on her mind, making her feel really edgy since the concert commenced.
Tsunade never expected that Sakura's friends will show up tonight, despite of what happened earlier.
Tsunade never expected that he will show up.
Uchiha Sasuke, Tsunade thought inwardly, rubbing her temples. She walked aimlessly from the backstage to the door that leads to the stage, hearing the guitar-screeching and drum-beating deafeningly, courtesy of one of the front actors for the night. One more song from this budding band and Mizaki's up. But the problem was far from that.
Tsunade won their bet. Sasuke came.
An exasperated sigh came out from her lips as she leaned on one of the walls for support, her knees surprisingly turning weak. She braced herself for what yet to come 'cause she knew it'll be something grave--something she notices every time she wins. As to what it is, Tsunade just prayed that things would soon all back into place.
-
;
-
Naruto sat on the edge of his seat before he slumped back on it again. He took a small sip from his drink before he shifted uneasily once more. The ear-splitting noise coming from the current band performers didn't reach his ears; instead, a thought came reminding him over and over again as to how close he would be seeing Mizaki from now. If the distributed fliers were right, Akaya Mizaki would be next and the mere thought of it kills him in anticipation.
"Stop it, dobe. It's annoying," Sasuke snapped and amongst the laser light display spilling around the audience, Naruto could see the evil glint on Sasuke's eyes.
It made Naruto shudder to the brink of fear. It is quite evident that Sasuke still hasn't got over the fact that Sakura still left, despite of everything they had done to convince her to do otherwise. Naruto knew what Sasuke could possibly felt when someone called him upon reaching the parking lot, and informed them that Sakura had already left. For work. He immediately noticed the change in the façade of the Uchiha, his soft features now back to their hardened glory. To make the situation less awkward, Naruto just tagged an indifferent Sasuke to this concert to overlook what happened earlier – but it seemed that even that wasn't a good idea. Sasuke never even spared the stage a glance.
Naruto never knew what Sakura's reasons were for leaving just like that and it made him feel a fiber of disappointment towards her. She shouldn't have agreed in the first place. Then it wouldn't hurt this much.
"OHMIGOD, NARUTO! MIZAKI'S UP!" Tenten hollered, and that is all it takes to revive Naruto from his musings.
"MIZAKI-CHAN! GANBATTE NE!" he cheered, standing up. He could feel his adrenaline rushing and when the concert's host announced the coming out of Japan's most revered pop star princess, the whole dome fell into an uproar.
The first thing he saw was her three-inch high boots, then his gaze traveled in a daze to her leather skirt with a lustrous belt, up to her white, flowing top that hugged all her curves. Her hair was on perfect curls, and her face was that of a princess from heaven. She was like an angel coming down from dreamland, and on that instant, Naruto lost his voice.
His precious Mizaki-chan was right there, right in front of him. He never expected their seats would be this close that he can reach out for her and as Mizaki's sapphire eyes caught his, he fought the urge to faint right then and there from sheer happiness.
The overwhelming cheer of the crowd harbored Mizaki a genuine giggle, and from that instant, Naruto dropped dead in contentment.
"Oi," Sasuke muttered, poking an out-of-commissioned blonde lying unmoving on the floor. He noticed a blush creeping on Naruto's cheeks as Naruto sighed in pure bliss. Sasuke would have to restrain himself to sweat drop. Naruto had been waiting so long for this opportunity to happen only to faint in the first ten seconds of it. At least Tenten was able to last long, though when Mizaki began singing, she too, fell into a lump on the ground, a swelling satisfaction reflected on her features.
He shook his head, both on his friends' antics and the annoying cheers deafening his ears. The whole dome seemed to have come to life as everyone stood up, singing along with their favorite pop star. It felt kind of weird that anyone could be this popular. The die-hard fans here could attest to that.
But then, Sasuke never even spared Mizaki a glance, instead, he remained seated on his chair, as if waiting for time to past.
It doesn't matter how exhilarating it felt this moment could be, for the only person he wished was here would never be.
And it made all the fuckin' difference.
-
;
-
The smile that had adored her face through the course of her performance now morphed into a frown. Sakura had turned her back from the audience after singing four songs, and after thanking everyone for their support. She tried her best not to look affected but she knew her voice had faltered a couple of times – especially when her gaze accidentally falls upon him.
He wasn't that hard to point out. Even amongst the sea of cheering faces, Sakura can still spot that usual, spiky hair and the same face she learned to revere since she was a kid. Given her spot on the stage, Mizaki could see the whole dome in just a sweep glance and it overwhelmed her. But not that much, because the only person she had paid attention to since she stepped out never even raised his head to acknowledge her. It just felt disappointing to see everyone crying out her name, when Sasuke didn't even bother to open his mouth. Her heart wrenched and her eyes stung when every time she would cast a glance to the boy, he would fail to look up. Sakura or not, Sasuke never really paid attention to her.
Yes. She was nothing. And the worst part of it is that she had taken so long just for it to see.
"Mizaki-chan, here's your bottle of honey water," Shizune immediately offered, as she had been waiting for Sakura's exit by the huge doors dividing the stage into halves.
Mizaki's brows immediately furrowed. "Why didn't you tell me?" she asked angrily, her voice unbelievable strident.
Shizune just tilted her head in raw confusion. "Tell what?"
Mizaki's fist bundled. "For once, couldn't you at least tell me that Uchiha Sasuke is here?" Sakura saw Shizune take a step back, shaking her head. "You knew this all along! Just like what you did back on the company's party. You always knew he'll be there but you never even cared to let me know!"
"Sakura…" Shizune mumbled, fear evident on her face. She had never seen Sakura like this before and it scared her. If this is what Tsunade had foreseen to be the awful thing that would be happening anytime soon, Shizune felt unprepared for it.
"You never really cared," Sakura exclaimed in gritted teeth, walking straight pass the older woman.
"Watch your actions, Haruno Sakura," came an ominous voice from behind.
Sakura wouldn't have to turn around to recognize the owner of that voice. Great. Now even her manger wants to get a piece of her. Good timing, Inner Sakura exclaimed in fury, we should all wreak some havoc on this place 'cause Kami-sama WE'RE MAD! SERIOUSLY, DO WE DESERVE ALL OF THIS?
"Are you happy now?" Sakura called out, turning to her manager. "I said are you happy now?"
"Sakura, stop it," Tsunade threatened as she approached the teen.
"I managed to get here and now there's actually a concert – are you happy now?"
Tsunade restrained herself. She knew that this wasn't the Haruno Sakura she knew. Is this what happens when that youngest Uchiha is concerned?
"We'll talk about this later. Get into your dressing room for now," she instructed.
Sakura scoffed before she turned and walked to the other side of the backstage, away from her dressing room.
"Haruno Sakura!" Tsunade yelled out in gritted teeth.
At that instant, Sakura felt the last of her patience evaporate. She turned to her manager in murderous eyes. "What do you want—?"
"I said stop it!" she repeated, her hazel eyes narrowing down to slits. It seemed like she, too was getting impatient of this childish runabouts. "This wouldn't have happened in the first place if you had informed your friends about your true identity right from the very start," Tsunade reasoned out. There. She said it.
At that moment Sakura froze. Tsunade would have to turn the other way to avoid seeing the hurt on the pop star's eyes. Realizations seemed to have hit Sakura as tears swelled up on her eyes. But she didn't dare cry. No. She had cried a countless of times already. Besides, it's all her fault; she won't be able to do anything about it The consequences of her decisions are haunting her in no end, this wasn't an exemption.
"Sakura," Tsunade started.
"I'm fine," Sakura exclaimed softly, her breathing now turning to normal. "I'm fine…" She chewed her lip for sometime before she sighed. "And I'm sorry."
Shizune let out a shaky breath that she wasn't aware she was holding. The crisis seemed to have been averted but she knew that Sakura would find it hard to sort things out, especially what happened now.
Tsunade sighed too, in relief before she tapped Sakura's shoulder in an assuring way. "Don't think about that now."
Sakura knew what her manager meant. "Okay," she mumbled before she looked down, embarrassed that she just snapped out like that. Despite all of her reasons, it still rude to raise her voice to the people she owed a lot f things to. She should've put her emotions in careful check and she can't help but to feel repentant. It scared her of the things she could possibly do all because thing's weren't seem so well. She looked up and nodded towards her manager, her eyes seeking for apology. She smiled when Tsunade just waved her away casually.
"Get some sleep. You need it."
Sakura nodded.
"Shizune will make sure you get home safely," Tsunade said before she tried making her exit, probably to drink her sake to celebrate the success of tonight's concert.
Sakura nodded once again before she turned around, ready to set off for her dressing room when she halted abruptly on her tracks. She wasn't sure but the person in front of her squinted, blocking the pop star's path. When the person looked up, Sakura was unprepared for what she heard.
"H-Haruno Sakura? Y-you're Haruno Sakura?"
-
;
-
Sasuke's debut was obviously postponed, again. I'm now actually sticking out to this plot I made so I think you'll have to wait. But at least I made some progress. And sorry about the last part, if ever it lacked conviction. I'm just so tired, that's all. And I'm pretty sure you figured out who found out Sakura's identity. I wasn't really planning to keep you in suspense so there. But you can always tell me your guess on your review to see if we're in the same boat. :))