---
♥ Chapter VII: Maybe II ♥
---
Finally back in their chamber, Sasuke sighed out of relief and reached for his backpack, which he knew he had thrown close to the door. As he opened his backpack, he heard Sakura scramble around in the room.
"What're you doing?" he asked, now with a normal voice since they needn't whisper anymore.
"Looking for my bag", she answered. "I want to find an electric torch."
"I've gotten one here", Sasuke said, picking up his from his backpack and switching it on. "And your bag is over here, too."
Sakura grinned and walked towards the source of light, but as she did so, she tripped over something…
… and fell right on top of Sasuke, their faces an inch away from each other.
This made both of them go red in the face, and Sakura muttered an inaudible 'gomen' as she opened her bag and got her lunchbox out of it. Sasuke did the same, and they both sat down on the floor and ate in silence.
---
"I can't believe we made it, at last", Tenten grinned happily and threw herself on the bed. "Aaaaah… what a soft bed." She closed her eyes.
"Who said you were going to sleep in it?" Neji asked as he drew apart the curtains to reveal the moonlight. "I want, too."
"Hmph. You'll sleep on the floor if you don't want to die."
"What? But I haven't brought a sleeping bag!"
"Not my fault."
"You're pitiless", Neji said, putting on a pouting face. Tenten resisted the urge to go and hug him.
Dammit! Not again! He knows I always fall for that act… well, he is pretty kawaii when he does it… DAMMIT!
As Tenten's stomach began to groan loudly for food, her thoughts were driven away, and she jumped off the bed and quickly got her bentou out of her bag. "Mm… food. Seems like I haven't eaten for years", she commented as she shoved mouthfuls of rice into her mouth with chopsticks.
"How can you bring something as boring as rice when you can make your own bentou for once? I mean, we get to eat rice everyday in school", Neji asked as he himself had his little feast consisting of noodles and soy sauce.
"Rice isn't boring. It tastes good, it's traditional and it's healthy", Tenten argued. "Besides, I hate noodles."
"You do?" Neji repeated in surprise.
Tenten stuck her tongue out at him. "Not really, but I just made fun of your bentou because you did it to me."
Neji rolled his eyes. "Wanna swap?"
"Nani?"
"I want your onigiri." He eyed the onigiri next to the rice in the lunchbox. "And you can have some of my vegetables. Seems like you're obsessed with healthy food, ne?" he teased.
"Not!" Tenten protested. "But okay, fine to me. Don't you have any meat instead? I want a hamburger."
"Go to McDonalds."
"Like there is anyone out here."
"Do it when we come home, then."
"But I want a burger now!"
"Like I care."
"Hmph."
"Hmph to yourself."
---
"Aaaah! Ramen!" Naruto exclaimed and hungrily ate the entire bowl of instant ramen in one gulp. Hinata giggled.
"Naruto-kun, you're funny", she laughed.
"Ne, Hinata-chan", Naruto said, looking at her with his blue, blue, blue eyes, which made a pink tint appear on Hinata's cheeks. "When you don't stammer, you're much cuter than usual. Can't you talk normally instead?"
"Ah… I'll t-try, Naruto-kun", Hinata smiled back. "Naruto-kun, you still seem hungry… I brought some ramen to you…"
She hid an embarrassed blush and shyly handed her some more instant ramen from her backpack. Naruto's eyes glimmered out of joy.
"Arigatou, Hinata-chan! You're the best!" he thanked her and immediately started to make some more instant ramen (thanks to Hinata's heated water, but how can it stay hot after an entire day?).
---
Night came. At Sakura's and Sasuke's, Sasuke was lying on his bed, and Sakura had curled up in her sleeping bag on the floor. Unfortunately for her, her sleeping bag was kind of old and second-hand (it had been Cindy's) and thus, it was in a crappy state. She shivered out of cold when a sudden bolt of lightning attracted her attention.
Sasuke eyed the girl on the floor. She had froze in her shuddering and looked kind of frightened in the moonlight (he, like Neji, had drawn apart the curtains). Another bolt of lightning appeared and she made a sudden yelp, and blushed.
"You afraid of the thunder?" he asked tonelessly.
She turned her head to him slowly, and nodded.
A silence fell again. As another heavy bolt of lightning could be heard, Sakura curled up tightly. When the rain continued to fall heavily, she slowly eased and whispered: "S-S-Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn?"
"Can… can I come up to the bed?"
He stared at her. "Why?"
"Because… because…" She swallowed. "I… I'm afraid."
If it had been a fangirl, Sasuke would definitely have said no. He would then have known it was just a plot to seduce him, but this was Haruno Sakura, not one of his fangirls. He thought of it a while, and then more lightning could be heard, and Sakura looked so pitiful, he at last shrugged. "Do whatever you want."
Sakura earned him a grateful look and crept up in the bed, cautious not to come too close in case he'd get mad.
More silence. Then, Sakura asked: "Ne… Sasuke-kun?"
"Hn?"
"Can we talk?"
"Why?"
"Because… then I won't think of the lightning." She smiled nervously. "But if you don't want to, that's fine by me."
"Whatever."
"Okay… what do you want to talk about?"
He shrugged.
"Ne… maybe I can ask you something?" He looked at her, still wearing a blank expression, though he couldn't help but admire her beauty, wearing pink PJs that exactly matched her hair, he could see her perfectly formed figure (they had changed clothes by taking turns of changing – one changed and one went out, then they did the opposite). "Why do you… dislike Kari-chan?"
He grunted. "She's just one of my annoying fans."
"But… she's kind."
"Hn."
"Sasuke-kun… have you ever liked a girl?"
His head shot up abruptly, and then he calmed down again, returning to his old, chilly self. "Why wonder?"
"Ne… just seems like you push all girls away. But everybody must have had a crush, right?"
"Hn."
"Sasuke-kun?"
"Yeah, I've had one", he muttered, irritated.
"Really?" Her eyes lit up. "Who?"
"Nobody in particular."
"Ah… I see." She looked disappointed again. "Did she like you, too?"
"…"
"Eh?"
"Hn."
"That's a yes or no?"
"… Aa."
"She liked you too? You were a couple?"
"Why do you ask so much?" he snarled.
She smiled apologetically. "Gomen. I think I asked too much, ne?"
"Hn."
"Then ask me a question, if I talk too much."
"…" Sasuke thought for a while. "Fine. I ask you the same."
"Ne?"
"If you've liked any guy."
"Aa… yes…" Her eyes turned sad for a second, before she turned her face away. "… his name was… Don." She uttered his name softly, which made Sasuke stiffen. He had never heard Sakura like this. "He… he never liked me. I thought he did… so when I told him about my feelings… he pretended to feel the same…"
For some reason, Sasuke felt his anger arise. "Why?" he asked shortly, trying to hide his aggression.
"Because he just wanted to become friends with my friend. Alisa… and once, I left them alone… I trusted them with each other… but then I forgot something and hurried back to fetch it… and I caught them in a kiss." Sakura was about to cry. "I… I got shocked. And mad. I didn't want to talk with them, I just locked myself up and when they tried to explain, I shouted at them to go away. I never met them again, but I always heard gossip about their perfect relationship from others…" A tear trickled down her cheek. "I saw them together, all the time, but we never talked."
Sasuke felt something prick in his heart. The same thing had happened to him…
Flashback.
"Sasuke-kun…?" Cindy smiled at him sadly.
"Ah, Cindy? What's with you?" Sasuke pulled her into an embrace, and attempted to kiss her, but -
She pulled away, and shook her head. "Sasuke-kun, I just wanted to come here and tell you something important."
"What?" Sasuke grinned, but despite his happy smirk, he sensed something was wrong.
"I… I want to break up."
Sasuke's grin abruptly faded away. "What?"
"I want to break up."
"Why?"
"Because… oh, I'm so sorry, Sasuke-kun! I've never liked you."
I've never liked you. I've never liked you. I've never liked you.
Those words kept echoing in Sasuke's mind, as he felt himself captured in a nightmare. He laughed nervously.
"You're kidding, right, Cindy? It's a funny joke, but –"
"I'm not kidding, Sasuke-kun." Cindy gazed at him melancholy. "I… I've indeed never liked you."
"Then why did we get together?" he asked. "When I told you I loved you… you said you felt the same…"
"I…" Cindy looked pitifully at him. "Sasuke-kun, gomen nasai. I was lying. I wanted to get close to your cousin."
"Toushte, Cindy?" he demanded to know, raged. "But all those kisses we've shared… all those moments… all those dates…"
"Sasuke-kun, for a while… when Daiki-san said he had gotten a girlfriend… I tried to love you. But I couldn't. I kept seeing Daiki-san in you, because you're cousins and so alike each other. But Sasuke-kun… I appreciate you. I like you… as a friend."
Sasuke stared shocked at her. As a friend! "But…"
"But I've come to the conclusion that I need to break up", Cindy interrupted him. "Partly because I don't want to pain you anymore. Partly because Daiki-san says he feels the same."
"He's two-timing his girlfriend, and you help him do it?" Sasuke commented, furious.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun. I don't feel more for you than just a friend. And I'll be leaving for Paris tomorrow. Sayonara."
And she walked away, leaving him there – heartbroken, sad, angry, jealous… and lonely.
End Flashback.
"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said gently. "You look troubled."
"Ah… it's nothing", he quickly waved away his memories and looked at Sakura. Then he saw her face full with tears.
Those tears I wished to shed but couldn't, thinking of myself as a coward…
"Sasuke-kun…?"
Those tears I felt burning in my eyes when she retreated, but I held back…
"Sasuke-kun?"
These are those tears. The tears that now fall from her eyes in my place.
He wiped away a droplet that fell from her left eye. "Don't cry", he murmured. "It doesn't help to cry when you're heartbroken. Just leave it to be."
She blinked in surprise, and smiled warmly. "Arigatou, Sasuke-kun. I'll try not to." And Sakura wiped away the rest. "It's kind of comical, I persuaded myself not to cry when I found Don and Alisa kissing, but how I've begun to cry now when it's already been a year."
"…" Me too, were the words that came across Sasuke's mind, but he couldn't make himself say them. "Sakura. Do you've any siblings?"
"Ah…? Oh, hai. My onee-chan, Haruno Shizuka." Sakura beamed. "She's pretty and smart, and she's better in everything than me. But she's really kind, too. Five years older. How about you, Sasuke-kun?"
"Uchiha Itachi, 23 years old, engaged to some girl he met in US, better than me in everything", Sasuke replied.
"What a coincidence. My sister did the same… got engaged to a man she met in the US…" Sakura giggled. "For the first time, her name actually suited her. Onee-chan has never been quiet, like her name means. But when she met him… she became so embarrassed she couldn't even manage to utter a word, and when she did, she stuttered. Kind of funny."
Sasuke smirked. "You mean like you did in the car?"
Sakura's cheeks turned pink. "Ah… but I was just… never mind", she swiftly said, looking away in embarrassment.
"You know, Sakura", he found himself saying. She turned her head in astonishment. "You look cute when you're embarrassed."
"Ah? Oh, a-a-arigatou, Sasuke-kun", she stammered and blushed even more, turning away to hide it.
Sasuke chuckled, grabbed hold of her chin gently and turned her head. "You should look at the one you're talking with", he smirked, making her go even redder in the face since his face was very close to hers.
"Ah, o-okay, Sasuke-kun."
He let go of her chin. Still blushing, she asked: "Sasuke-kun… how did you meet Neji and Naruto?"
"Them?" Sasuke's smirk disappeared. "Well, we've known each other since we were kids. Ever heard of Konoha? Small town outside Tokyo."
"Yeah! I was born there!" Sakura beamed. Sasuke stared at her. Could it be…
… her? He had always thought it was Cindy, they were so alike, but…
Flashback.
"Saaasu-kun!" he heard her shout. "I know you're there somewhere! Saasu-kun!"
"My name is not 'Sasu-kun'", Sasuke pouted as he showed up behind her. The girl spun around and hid a gasp.
"Sasu-kun!" she scolded. "Don't scare me like that!"
"I'm NOT 'Sasu-kun', get it?" Sasuke growled.
"Okay then, Sasuke-kun", she sulked. "Anyway, it's your birthday! What the hell are you doing?"
"I've run away from home", he muttered. He remembered meeting her once, and seeing her in school, but he had eventually forgotten her name. Somehow, he knew she could be trusted.
"On your birthday?" the girl gasped.
"How do you know it's my birthday?" he demanded to know.
"Because… because…" She flushed. "Ino-chan told me! I got you a present from her…"
Sasuke groaned. "Again?"
"But I dropped it on the way", she added unhappily. "I managed to save my own from the pool of water, though… here." She shoved the gift untraditionally into his hands, and blushed hard, turning away, making her soft pink hair tickle his face.
"ACHOO!" he sneezed as it gently tickled his nose.
"Bless you", she giggled.
"Thanks", he muttered and ripped off the paper from the present, and blinked at the contents in surprise. "Ne…"
"Um, I've heard you like tomatoes, so… I got you this", she said embarrassedly.
Sasuke could've laughed out loud. It was a price discount on tomatoes! Or not just one, but at least twenty! Like he needed them anyway, his family was rich as hell.
"All the girls bought stuff like chocolate or flowers or something… but I thought I wanted to give you something you actually could use, but my pocket money wasn't that much because I just spent it on mom's birthday gift, so…", Sakura explained, embarrassed. Sasuke grinned at her.
"Arigatou!" he smirked.
"Eh? Nani?"
"I said: 'arigatou'!"
"You liked it?" she smiled widely.
"Yeah! A lot! I love tomatoes, thank you!"
"Ah…! Daijoubu!" she replied happily and trotted off. "I gotta get home now, my parents must be mad… I just ran off instead of washing up, but I just wanted to give you this gift in time, I've not been out all day and if I washed up, maybe I wouldn't be able to get free before it got dark, and then I'd probably not be able to go out…"
He grinned. Maybe he shouldn't run away, after all…
"Oy... you! What's your name?"
"My name is…"
End Flashback.
Years passed, and Sasuke gradually forgot her name as she moved. He had only met her twice in private, otherwise he just saw her with Ino, who never let him talk. He had always thought it was Cindy in secret, but he had never told it to anyone…
… but could it be that it was Sakura who was the girl who gave him the price discount of tomatoes?
"Aa. Well, there're two big schools in Konoha – the Konoha Academy and the Konoha School. The one you're attending now is the moved Konoha Academy. Tsunade, our principal, got tired of our rival school, Konoha School, and Konoha School's principal, Orochimaru, who wants me as his student because I've the best grades in PE, and at Konoha School, PE is the most important subject." Sasuke sighed. "Anyhow, Tsunade moved this school to Paris, and changed the name to 'Sakura Mankai High' to disguise it so Orochimaru wouldn't stalk us all the way to Paris, and most people dropped off the Academy to attend the School instead because they didn't want to move to Paris. But me, Neji, Naruto, Tenten, Hinata, and several others didn't want to attend the School, so we persuaded our parents to move to Paris – see, all of us are rich dudes, so it's not like a big problem – and then we came here to attend Sakura Mankai instead. We didn't have that many students at first, so we just hung about with each other, and that's how I really befriended Neji and Naruto."
Sasuke fell in silence. That was the longest explanation he had ever had in his entire life. He didn't even know why he bothered to talk with this girl…
He looked at Sakura, who was rubbing her eyes and blinking to hold herself awake. "Ne, Sasuke-kun", she said sleepily.
"Hn?"
"… you're kind."
She smiled, before her mind dozed off and she traveled to the Land of Dreams. Sasuke couldn't help but hide a smile, and gently brushed away a couple of pink bangs from her forehead.
She sure is cute when she's asleep, he thought before dozing off, too. Maybe… just maybe, she's the girl I remember.
---
Sakura slowly awoke.
Her eyelids flapped a couple of times before she felt her head leaning towards something… and it wasn't a pillow. It moved.
Her lazy eyes traveled to the moving thing. A shirt? And a dark-blue one, too.
"Finally awake, ne, Sakura-chan", she heard Tenten's snickering voice say, and as her senses were awakened to life, she suddenly realized all her friends (except Kari) sat at the stools by her bed.
"Ohayou, everyone", she yawned. "Where's Sasuke-kun?"
"Look beside you", Naruto sneered, and Sakura blushed like mad as she realized she had been leaning towards Sasuke's chest and that he was still asleep. She quickly jumped off the bed and asked in a daze where the bathroom was.
"Want to vomit already?" Tenten teased.
"No, but I want to change clothes", Sakura hurriedly excused herself before moving out of the room.
Just then, Sasuke awoke. He rubbed his eyes when he realized everyone stared at him with spiteful glee from the stools.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he wondered, giving them glares.
"We were just watching the cute scene between you and Sakura", Neji taunted him. "I thought you said you didn't care for girls?"
Sasuke became bright red in the face. Dammit! he thought as he remembered what he had done in the middle of the night, awaking…
Flashback.
He awoke, to find a Sakura whimpering in her sleep. Tears were streaming from her eyes, and she was curled up into a ball. "Why are you doing this to me, Don? Alisa?" she murmured sadly in her sleep.
Sasuke looked at her a couple of times, and without knowing why, he pulled her closer and rested her head towards his chest. "It'll be fine", he whispered back. "Don't cry…"
Sakura's whimpering stopped, and her peaceful sleep continued. Sasuke smiled down at her, playing with her soft pink bangs before he felt himself drift off to sleep again…
End Flashback.
"Where's the bathroom?" he asked.
"You and Sakura even talk alike!" Tenten giggled. "She just said the same thing a minute before. She has gone there now, hopefully she won't be attacked on the way…"
"Attacked?" he repeated, trying to sound monotone as usual.
"Yeah. Everyone knows about what happened. Some fangirls finally got some clues out of Kakashi-sensei where you were and then they saw you… thankfully we just stopped them in time from waking you up", Naruto laughed.
Sasuke groaned and slapped his forehead, when Sakura entered again, wearing her normal clothes. As their eyes met, they both blushed and turned away, while everyone grinned mischievously…
Tsukiko: I'm sorry about the lack of NaruHina and NejiTen here. x.x; The original, planned version was supposed to have more of the two couples (including some minor KakaKure) in it,but then I realized this chapter would become friggin' long so I decided to have more SasuSaku in it instead.
Inner Tsukiko: Yay for SasuSaku!
Tsukiko: I hope Sasuke-kun wasn't too OOC in this chapter. xD And also, for NaruHina and KakaKure fans; I'm currently planning a bonus chapter for the two:) I hope you liked this chapter, and expect the next to come July 30th!
Reviews Corner
silverkage-chan: Thanks, I'm planning it now :D I'm glad you like the idea! But unfortunately, Cindy's identity won't be revealed until later on in the story. :P
sasukerocks: Thanks :D And hey, I agree with you, Sasuke rocks! Yay for Sasuke! x3
warming Sunshine: Hmm, you never know.. Cindy is a common name, isn't it? xP
Crazy Gal42: Hahah, okay ;P There was some SasuSaku fluff here, and more NejiTen is coming pretty soon :) There's, however, a slight lack of NaruHina, so I decided to make a bonus chapter featuring NaruHina and KakaKure, but I don't know when it'll appearin the story yetxP And yes, Cindy will appear later on.
sasusaku4eva101: Glad that you like my story, thanks :D
MistressBlossom: I will :)
Claud-kun: Sorry, I can't tell ;P Yeah, poor Neji XD
Zuan: I don't know if you mean Paris or Versailles, but if you mean Versailles, remember to go there in spring or fall, just not in the summer x.x It's freaking hot, I almost died when I was there this summer! Especially when you walk around in the gardens. Thank God I had at least brought a fan so I wouldn't completely die out of warmth. But thanks anyway ;D
frienz4ever: Sorry to disappoint you, but she will xP
yankeesfan76: Thanks :) Hehe, I won't revealher identity just yet..
sasusaku0386: You'll seewho she islater on xP And thanks ;)
Green Animelover: Thanks :D
puppydog101: Thanks :)
Sneak Preview of Next Chapter: Concern
"Hush. Don't get too fired up now", he smirked as he put a hand gently to her mouth. Sakura's cheeks turned bright red. "Your throat might get worse."
Fanfictions Coming Up!
Hi guys:D I'm glad that you like This Is (Not) My First Time so much, and I'm grateful for all the reviews I've gotten :) Anyway, to the topic... I want to ask you guys of a favor; can you please vote on which fanfic you want to see written next? I've a couple of ideas, but I don't know which one I should begin with...
Replacement - Obito asked Kakashi to take care of Rin in his place, and to grant his best friend's death wish, he obeyed. But what happens when Rin runs away because she thinks Kakashi's protectiveness is only for Obito's sake? And what happens when they meet, seven years later, both successful and skilled jounins and teachers of two teams, both called Team 7? KakaRin Minor SasuSaku
Genre: Romance
Don't Forget Me - During their last year in high school, we meet funny, kind and always late for class Haruno Sakura with her four friends, Naruto, Tenten, Neji and Ino. Then a new student arrives, ice prince Uchiha Sasuke, who Sakura's friend Ino immediately claims to be 'hers', and warns them not to try to 'steal' Sasuke. Then, to everybody's horror and surprise, something throws (well, roughly expressed) Sasuke and Sakura together, and just as suddenly as they're announced to be a couple, just as suddenly they're torn apart.. and once again thrown back together, in a cruel game of Hide-and-Seek, guessing and tag. Based on the Korean TV series, Dong Ji Lian Qu (I don't know its original title, tho, only the Chinese translation), which can be translated into something like 'Winter's Romance Tale' or 'Winter's Romantic Tragedy' or something similar (I suck at Chinese). NaruSakuSasuIno Slight NejiTen
Genre: Romance/Drama
Forbidden Memories - In order to free Sasuke from his curse, Sakura finds Orochimaru's henchmen who possess the power to granta wish for a high price... your memories that you must regain in order to make the wish come true, but you have a time limit... thus, Sakura becomes Orochimaru's test for Sasuke (who is forced to take care of her) to prove his loyalty and the fact that he has broken all bonds. But will Sasuke be able to pass the test? SasuSaku
Genre: Romance (mostly, it's slightly angsty here and there but it's mainly romance)
(A/N: If you find errors such as words pasted together likethis, sentences that are in bold or italics when they shouldn't be or sentences that are repeated even though they're not supposed to, please tell me. This happens a lot out of some unknown reason, and it isn't because it was like that from the beginning - no, when I edit the chapters after uploading them, they get like that. I don't know why, maybe it's my dad's computer being weird. And also, do the symbols ' and ... look weird? Because on dad's computer, it does.)