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Pressure Points
Chapter 4 – choices

Disclaimer:Don't own Naruto

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"I was abandoned."

Silence reigned through the room, as two pairs of eyes skeptically looked at the lone Uchiha. One pair looked at him skeptically because she had known that such a secret was a painful wound to bear, knowing too-well the security such secret wounds provided. The other looked at him with disbelief, replaying the words over and over to make sure that they were indeed real and not whispers of the wind. In turn, the Uchiha stared outside the window, desperately trying to find an escape in such a breach in his security.

"What do you mean? You're the son of Uchiha Fugaku! He was my peer!"

There was an odd red flash in Sasuke's eyes, but as quickly as it had appeared, it had disappeared. Tsunade noticed this, her eyebrow rising with curiosity, but said nothing. Sasuke remained unfazed by the fact that his irises and completely changed color, but faced his headmistress with such ferocity even Tsunade was surprised.

"That Uchiha Fugaku died."

"Stop talking nonsense, Sasuke! Uchiha Fugaku is still alive!"

Yuri quickly jumped out of Sasuke's hold and into her bed, pulling the covers over her and wishing for all the yelling to stop. Tsunade and Sasuke were each reaching their breaking points to a fiery temper, both not used to such confusion and patience.

"I didn't mean it literally," Sasuke exasperatedly said, running his pale fingers through his raven hair, "I meant that the Fugaku you knew is different from the one that I know."

Tsunade's eyes widened. She was slammed headfirst into a reality in which she was unprepared, in which she could not summon her defenses to keep her from such chaos and confusion. She dearly wanted to believe that the medical student before her was lying; she remembered working with Fugaku and remembered respecting his skills and genius. Tsunade absolutely did not want to accept the fact that the Fugaku that she remembered as a little brother, had changed.

"I know you remember him as that dandy student, cold as ice but sweet as a flower. Such a paradox, but such an accomplishment. I know you remember him as the one who fell in love with Mikoto, married her, bore children, and became one of the most accomplished surgeons out there. But you know, somewhere along the line, the sweet flower was replaced with a serpent. A bitter serpent enshrouded by ice, greed, and desire."

Silence once more reigned between them. Tsunade's eyes widened, her mental state beginning to break down at such words of blasphemy! She honored Uchiha Fugaku; he would never stoop so low! She knew he wouldn't!

"He fooled everyone. He got so full of himself, he threw it all upon Itachi and me. And of course, Itachi naturally showed more promise at the time. My father found it troublesome to keep a son whom just ate away his time and money, when he had other affairs to attend to, sending me to that orphanage. There, I met Yuri. She was probably only four-years-old at the time, always in the Sister's hands. She was always bullied, so I became her 'brother'. We grew close while I was there for a few more years, until they let me out to live on my own. After, I still paid Yuri some visits, knowing how lonely she could get. Then, my father found me, and begged me to return because Itachi had stooped to an all-time low. He sent me to this university, and I hadn't seen Yuri until the day she arrived."

At every word she found herself confused. She was supposed to be strong; she had watched so many patients die in her hands! Why was it so hard for her to accept the truth? Was it because that she had trusted Fugaku to take care of the sons that he had told her, long ago, that he would cherish and protect? Or was it because that she had believed Fugaku would not have stooped to such a low, once being an epitome of a surgeon?

"Sasuke, can I really believe you? Your father did all that?"

The question was followed by silence, which Tsunade took as a painful 'yes'. She offered him a tiny smile.

"I suppose that's why you transferred here, then? To meet your father's expectations?"

With a curt nod from the Uchiha, Tsunade's diminished happiness now rekindled, and her smile grew into that of a genuine one.

"Like I've said with Sakura a million times," she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I know you can surpass even your father someday."

The Uchiha narrowed his eyes and looked at his feet, willing the tears brimming at his eyes to never fall. He had promised himself, the day he was left at the orphanage, that he was done being a weakling. He was ready to evolve; he was ready to change to prove his father wrong. As shots of bitterness began to flow through his veins, the Uchiha looked Tsunade in the eye, offering her a bitter smirk.

"Well, that was certainly a sob story, ne?"

Three pairs of eyes quickly turned to the door, where they had found the refreshed Sakura leaning against the frames. She offered all of them a tiny smile, the weariness of the night hidden behind her professional façade. Yuri quickly lightened up and jumped from her bed, tackling the medic into a full-force hug. Sakura laughed and picked the girl up, smiling when Yuri quickly embraced her.

"Sakura-chan! I thought you wouldn't come today!"

"Sakura, I thought I told you to stay in your room."

"Oh please, Sasuke," she said, instinctively dropping the childhood suffix to shelter herself, "I'm not a dog."

"I think," Tsunade quickly said, cutting off to prevent a retort, "That Sasuke is right, Sakura. You're unfit to get stressed today."

Sakura shook her head while quietly laughing to herself, walking over to place Yuri back onto her bed.

"It's not like I have a choice, do I?" Sakura quietly whispered, "The media is going to pop up any moment now."

"Tsunade-sama!" All eyes were averted to the doorframe, where a frantic Shizune stood, quickly trying to regain her breath.

"What is it?"

"The media! They're all over campus, asking for Sakura!"

Sakura sighed and ran her delicate fingers through her pink locks, shoving her hands into her pockets. She muttered, 'I knew I had no choice' under her breath, cursing the nosy media and their craving for gossip. Before leaving the clinic room, she waved to the four inside the building, offered a tiny smile, and went on her way, ready to be bombarded by the media once she stepped out of the restrictions of the clinic.

"She's an idiot," Sasuke muttered, "She always has a choice."

Tsunade eyed the boy carefully before letting off a devious smirk, taking a seat beside Yuri and opening up the newspaper once more.

"Well, you're given choices here, aren't you?"

Sasuke turned and faced her, a small smirk present on his pale lips. Tsunade smiled and temporarily put down the newspaper, her chestnut eyes twinkling with mischief.

"I hope you make the right one, eh?"

In a few moments, Sasuke was gone, quickly trailing Sakura on her trek to her breakdown.

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Sakura mentally prepared herself for the sabotage through her personal bubble of privacy, forming answers in her mind for the questions the reporters were most likely going to ask. Her heavy footsteps continued to pull her forward, the fatigue and trauma of her father's death beginning to take over her, as the images and yells of the reporters came closer and closer.

Before she stepped into the world of chaos and demise, there was a firm hand on her shoulder. She abruptly stopped, her body tensing. The firm touch soothed her, the familiar aura of her best friend emanating from it. She sighed and formed a tiny smile on her lips, remaining still. A pregnant silence reigned between the two friends, before the words of a soothing baritone broke the tense atmosphere.

"Sakura, you're always given a choice," Sakura shivered when she felt his warm breath at her ear, "You don't need to give up."

"I wasn't, Sasuke. Wouldn't you understand?"

She turned around and met him in the eye, the electricity between them sparking and flaring. She bravely placed her pale fingers on his face, taking in the warmth that only he was able to provide her. In return, the Uchiha leaned forward, their lips almost touching.

"I would understand, Sakura," he whispered, the proximity of their flesh teasing the girl, "If I did give up."

Sakura averted her gaze to the floor, biting her bottom lip as she tried to force the oncoming batch of tears back. When she felt a finger under her chin trying to pull her face up, she attempted to resist, not wanting to look into the eyes of truth. When the finger pulled harder, she succumbed to the force and stared into the onyx abyss of her best friend, whom she had known to always be there for her. She saw emotions flooding from the dark, mysterious depths of her friend's heart, and she couldn't help but to offer a tiny smile.

"I believe in you, Sakura," Sasuke firmly said, "You don't have to stay like this."

Her smile faltered, and she tore the intense gaze, turning her back to him as she took one step forward towards the yelling reporters.

"Sasuke," she quietly muttered, her voice beginning to crack as tears began to form, "I'm sorry. I'm like this for a reason."

Sasuke let out an exasperated sigh and leaned against the wall, looking up at the ceiling with his eyes crossed.

"I'll play your little game, Sakura," he darkly muttered, "But I know you'll slip up if you remain the way you are. And I'm going to hook you back, no matter how much it'll hurt."

"Sasuke, do you hate me?"

It was an innocent, naïve question. She was surprised when she heard his footsteps walking away from her, echoing off the cold walls of the clinic.

"I don't hate you, Sakura," He firmly said, abruptly stopping for a few moments, "But I do hate who you've been."

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As Sasuke walked away, Sakura's heart stopped for a few moments. Tears began to fall from her eyes, her willpower no longer able to sustain them. She continued to walk on, towards the reporters, towards the people she despised the most.

She knew she couldn't change, even for her best friend and the person she still cared for.

But she couldn't help but wonder if she, too, hates who she's been.

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"Sasuke-nii, why didn't you tell her about – ?"

"Yuri, that's a later story to tell."

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A/N:So, I think I rushed this chapter, but uh, I hope it didn't bore you or disappoint you ...
Anywayy...the story is nearing the climax, so after this chapter, I promise things will pick up.

About the whole "hate who you've been" thing, I guess it does resemble "Who I Am Hates Who I've Been" by Relient K. So I suppose, if it pleases you, that I don't own it.

Also, sorry about my somewhat slow updates ... I have finals coming up and I just rarely have time when I'm free. So, hopefully I'll be able to update sometime over the weekend!

Thank you all for reading!