---
♥ Chapter XXII: Breakaway ♥
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I can't take it anymore.
Sakura stared intently at her – no, Cindy's – bed. Thank God Cindy wasn't staying at Cecilia's. She was staying at her boyfriend's, Daiki's, place.
I can't stand seeing them everyday. Together. Happy.
She clenched her fists as she felt her tears coming again. "Sakura? Are you in there?" she heard her aunt call. She knew that her aunt was worried. Despite her weird personality, aunt Cecilia was a kind and caring person.
I feel like I've been betrayed. But really, I haven't. It's just that... he loves her, but not me. What does he see in her that he can't see in me?
"Sakura? You haven't eaten enough for days. I've made your favorite dish – don't you want to come out and eat?"
It's just all a confusing mess of trouble. I just want to let go of this entire situation... to get away... to... break away...
"No, aunt Cecilia. Gomen", she responded with a kind of muffled voice. "I... I'm not hungry."
Maybe I should just break away. To spread my wings and learn how to fly from the problems. Fly, like a bird...
Fly away... break away...
---
"NAANIIIII!"
"Is it because of Sasuke?"
"Ino..."
"Or James? Is it, Sakura?"
"Tenten..."
"Sakura-chan! You can't leave!"
"Naruto..."
"Yo, Sakura... leaving gets you nowhere."
"Shikamaru..."
"Yeah. Shikamaru is right, Sakura."
"Neji..."
"I agree with Neji and Shikamaru, Sakura! You just can't leave like that!"
"Temari..."
"Sakura, is it because the barbeques here aren't good enough?"
"Chouji..." Sakura sighed. "I'm sorry, guys. Really sorry."
"Really sorry? Can't you just tell us what's wrong instead?" Tenten exclaimed. Then she caught sight of Kari approaching them. "Kari! You can't believe what Sakura just said! She said she's going back to Tokyo!"
Kari narrowed her eyes. "Is she?"
"Yes! Help us convince her to stay!"
"..." Kari looked at her with disgust. Then she said snottily: "I'm glad you're going, Haruno. Maybe I can have Sasuke-kun for myself, then."
All of them looked at her in surprise.
"At first, I wanted us to become friends. But as time went, I realized you were becoming a serious threat. That you and him weren't just friends. You were something more. It was a sign of danger, and I had to prevent you."
"Kari-chan... you're kidding, right?" Sakura said weakly.
Kari's lips curled into a scornful smile. "I certainly am not, Sakura."
"Kari... how could you do this to Sakura?" Tenten exclaimed and stared at her. "I thought we were friends! Friends don't do this to each other!"
"Well, friends don't lie or break their promises either!" said Kari shrilly.
"I never lied, or broke my promise", Sakura whispered. "I never did, Kari-chan. Believe me."
"I don't." Kari looked at her contemptuously. "I don't believe you, Sakura."
"I always thought you were a slut, but I never thought you were this slutty, Hikari!" Ino screamed. "You... you... you bitch!"
"And that comes from the number one slut Yamanaka Ino, who could've committed suicide for Sasuke-kun if he asked you to", laughed Kari dryly.
"Don't call her a slut, Hikari", Shikamaru replied warningly.
"Kari-chan...", Hinata began quietly, and then shook her head.
"Kari-chan, you're... you're joking, right?" Naruto smiled unsurely. "This... this is a huge prank, right? You almost convinced all of us..."
"I'm not doing any silly, meaningless pranks, unlike you, Naruto", Kari said with a cold gaze in Naruto's direction.
"Hey...", Naruto started, but Tenten cut him off.
"Kari, why? Why did you do this for Sasuke? Was it really worth it? Do you think so?"
"Yes." Kari looked at her with an icy smirk. "Because my worst rival is leaving. Isn't that a reason good enough for me to serve this purpose?"
And with those words she trotted away, looking most triumphant. Sakura looked at them with a sad smile.
"See? Another reason for me to leave."
---
"Sakura, is this really worth it? Like I asked Kari... is it really worth it?"
Tenten looked slightly reproachfully at her friend, but Sakura merely smiled.
"Yes, Tenten, it is."
"But, Sakura... you'll come back, right?" said Tenten hopefully. Sakura looked at her for a moment, and then sighed.
"I don't know, Tenten. I honestly don't know."
"But... Paris is great! I mean, the shops, the people, the city – everything!"
"Yes, Tenten, I know. I love Paris. But I'm firm on my decision. I'll leave, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. And right now, I'd like a slush ice, if you don't mind." Sakura arose from her chair and walked towards the cafeteria's counter. Tenten sighed and looked at her friends, forcing herself to smile.
"Well, it was worth a try, wasn't it?" she said.
"The thirtieth try the same day. I wonder if the thirty-first will work?" Temari sighed.
---
"Yo, foolish little brother! What's up?"
Itachi stood on the threshold, grinning broadly. Sasuke raised an eyebrow when he saw him and then sighed.
"OK, come in, then."
Now it was Itachi's turn to raise an eyebrow, and as he walked into the room, he said: "Hey, are you being normal today? You never say 'OK, come in, then' to me. And what was that sigh about?"
"Nothing", Sasuke muttered. "It's just... nothing."
"'Nothing'? And that's why you look like the world has come to an end? Ha!" Itachi then looked at him with an amused smirk. For once in his life, Sasuke realized how damn annoying his own smirk could be sometimes, especially when he saw the exact clone of it in somebody else's face.
"OK, look, Itachi, if you came here just to annoy me, then get the hell out of my room", he snapped menacingly.
"Seems like somebody is in a bad mood, eh?" Itachi's smirk widened. "But I didn't came here to annoy you. I wanted to ask what's up, since you've been all gloomy since... yeah, I don't know. Since I came home. I know you've never had much of an appetite, but still..."
"Hn. It's nothing."
"Yeah, right. Tell the big bro what's up, can't you?" Itachi sat down next to Sasuke on his bed and poked him on the forehead.
"Ow! Can't you ever stop doing that?" Sasuke snarled as he rubbed the sore spot on his forehead. Itachi's pokes were never gentle, like normal pokes; they were, despite the little strength he put in them, abnormally fierce.
"No", Itachi chuckled. "Okay, tell me now, won't you? It has something to do with Cindy, doesn't it?"
"Yeah", Sasuke muttered.
"I never heard much about you guys since I left. Did you two hang around or what? I heard some rumors about her and Daiki, but..."
"She left me to help that teme two-time his girlfriend, and now she comes around again", Sasuke interrupted, looking irritated. "And to top it all off, she has convinced Sakura to believe I only saw her as a friend because I saw Cindy in her."
Itachi frowned. "Sakura? As in Haruno Sakura, my fiancée's little sister?"
"... Yeah."
"You're friends with her? Geez, that reminds me of when you were kids..."
"WHAT!" Sasuke stared at him, bewildered. Itachi blinked at him in astonishment.
"We... we knew each other? From before?" Sasuke asked abruptly.
"Yeah, you don't know? She gave you a discount on tomatoes for your birthday. I remember that you got all sulky when I said you had gotten it from your girlfriend, and you said she was just a girl you had got to know." Itachi shrugged. "I thought you knew that."
"No, I thought it was Cindy who was that girl."
"Nah, Cindy has been to Konoha once or twice, but I remember that you didn't get along with her. It kind of surprised me when you said you two had become a couple."
"We didn't get along?" Sasuke stared at him in disbelief. "And Cindy has met me before?"
"It surprises me that you don't remember. I remember that you hated Cindy. I met her once when I fetched you after school 'cause kaa-san commanded me to. She was a real diva, and you hated her."
Sasuke looked as though Itachi had told him he had dropped down from the moon.
"I used to know Sakura's sister back then too, but not that well. Then we met again at Harvard and we got to know each other together, and eventually ended up falling in love."
"Sakura... she... was..." The girl with the discount on tomatoes? She was that girl? Sasuke felt more confused than ever. Which was quite of a surprise since the recent events had not been little confusing, come to think of it.
"Yeah, she was that girl." Itachi glanced at him curiously. "But what's with her anyway? Are you two... friends?"
And the Uchiha smirk was turned on again. Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
"Yeah, friends and nothing more", Sasuke mumbled.
"So let me get this straight. Cindy broke up because she wanted to be with Daiki, then came back to cheat on Daiki and then told Sakura you're friends with her because you saw Cindy in her?"
"Aa."
"OK. So it's true? You saw Cindy in her?"
"No, I didn't. At first, maybe, but later... Sakura is Sakura. Cindy is Cindy."
"So who of them do you like the more?"
"I..." Sasuke hesitated. "At first, I thought I loved Cindy as before. But now I don't know. I keep getting annoyed because of her voice and attitude, and I keep wishing she was like Sakura. But I never felt that way about Sakura. I liked her for the way she was. But Sakura and me... we're nothing more than friends. If even that, because she now obviously is determined to break our friendship."
At this, Itachi began chuckling. Sasuke looked at him with a disapproving glance. "What?"
"Don't you realize it, Sasuke?" Itachi said between his laughs. "You aren't seeing Cindy in Sakura... you're seeing Sakura in Cindy."
Sasuke looked stunned at this statement. "You mean..."
"Yeah, that you loved Cindy before, but not now. When she came back, you saw her as Sakura. You were obviously blinded by your past love to her, that you thought that you were in love with her again, but when you began developing new feelings you began seeing her as Sakura."
"Then why didn't I fall in love with Sakura in the first place?"
"Because you denied it. I think you were afraid to open up to new people after what Cindy did. Maybe you didn't want to..." Itachi grinned. "... spoil your precious friendship."
"So your point is that..."
"That you're obviously head over heels in love with Sakura. You really are foolish, aren't you, Sasuke?" And he began laughing again.
And Sasuke couldn't do anything else except agreeing with him... for once.
---
"Sayounara, Paris. Sayounara, minna. Sayounara..." Sakura looked at the setting sun outside her window with tears in her eyes. "... Sasuke-kun."
Tsukiko: Uh-oh! Sakura is off to Tokyo!... Or is she? Will her friends be able to stop her in time? And what'll Sasuke do when he finds out? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
Inner Tsukiko: -sighs- God, you sound silly.
Tsukiko: -pouts- Am not!
Inner Tsukiko: -rolls her eyes- Anyway, the next chapter will be published October 21st or October 22nd! Please leave a review and ja ne!
Review Corner (Happy 400 reviews:D Guys, I love you sooo much, you've completed my dream about making an appreciated SasuSaku fic:) And... OH MY GOD, 400 reviews, I can still remember when this fic was first published and I was super-excited about having 10 reviews xD Arigatou gozaimasu, I love y'all! Keep on reviewing!)
Ur2tRoUbLeSoMe90: Thanks, I will try :D
nickygirl: Thanks :D
werwolfofkonoha: Thanks, I'm unstuck now, but the 25th chapter will be one helluva chapter xD; I think this is the longest chapter so far, but I'm trying to insert as much KakaKure as possible, so it's getting a bit long e.e;
silverdragon994: You're welcome, and thank you too:D And wow, a fanfic dedicated to me? (Sorry for not noticing it until now x.x; I didn't check my mail..) Thank you so much! I'll read it as soon as possible :D
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bunnyandpuppylovercutie: No, I'm sorry, I'll only update once a week now, on Mondays :( I'm sorry, but my real life is busy xO I hope it's okay... but thanks anyway:D
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Hanyue-Chan: Thanks xD And yeah, jealous Sasuke is DA AWESOMENESS x3
hushhushyou: Yeah, it sucks when he's being stupid, isn't it:( But thanks:D
Blackieismybaby: That would actually be an awesome idea xD -gives you a hammer to do it with xP- And thanks for the review!
silverkage-chan: Lol, it surprises me that you and everybody are not caring about killing Hikari anymore xDD But that wouldn't be a bad idea. Anyway, thanks for the review:)
MistressBlossom: Yes, that stupid jerk needs to learn how to apologize Dx But maybe he will in next chapter... -smirks evilly- Thanks anyway:D
rosesRred16: Thank you:D
themangaloverofdoom: ... Thanks? xDD
tiffanylicis: Yeah, poor Sakura :( Thanks for the review anyway:D
rebel-girl: Well, he gets his punishment now, doesn't he? xD Thanks anyway:)
Crazy Gal42: Yup, there're going to be five bonus chapters xD And if there're going to be 500 reviews before the last bonus chapter, there're going to be 6 bonus chapters, and so on :O And thanks:D
Kawaii IceCream: Wow, thanks:D And yes, Sasuke hating Cindy is great, isn't it? XD
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els1324: Yeah xD; I kind of feel sorry for Sasuke, even though he still was a jerk in the last chapter Dx Thanks for the review, anyway:D
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Claud-kun: Thanks:D And yeah, isn't it awesome when he stops being dense for a couple of minutes and realizes what he truly feels? I've to say that Itachi is totally kickass in this chapter. xD Without him, stupid Sasuke would never realize anything.
ShiokuXRose: Lol xD Thanks, and I'll try to :)
arubadiamond: Thanks :D And yesh, jealous Sasuke is gooood x3
HeartAngel: Thanks :) Yeah, my friends wonder about that too, but well, I mostly think about what I'm going to write when I'm bored - which might be on the bus, or when I'm eating dinner and my parents only talk about uninteresting things. Or it just comes like a sudden inspiration 'kick'. It's hard to describe, it's like when you get kicked somewhere where it hurts bad, it just comes all of a sudden and it's so clear, just that being kicked is painful, getting an 'inspiration kick' is not. xD And I don't have lots of time, but I write when I'm done with my homework and have nothing to do. xD; My friends live too far away, so I can't see them, so instead I sit down in front of the computer and write fanfics. xD
SoraKoi The Water Goddess: Wow, I feel honored:D Thank you so much. :) And I update once a week, but if I've the time, maybe earlier. xD; So I'll try to update as soon as possible :D
CrAzY-SiLLy-Me: Arigatou gozaimasu :D
inner soul: Wow, thanks! ;D And yay, I managed to make you guys feel the feelings of the scenes! -dances about happily x3-
ruichi: Thank you very much:D And thanks again for the fic, by the way! I'll read it as soon as possible. :) (I hate saying 'as soon as possible'. x.x; I know I should probably say a proper day or something when I'm supposed to do it, but my real life is so busy so I never know when I can or cannot. T.T But as soon as possible, anyway! ;D)
cherryblossom9946: Thanks:D
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everlasting memories: Yes, somebody should've appeared with a bucket of water or something and thrown it at him... Dx Anyway, thanks:3
naruto-fan001: Thanks, and I'll try xD
Guys, I'm sorry for not answering your lovely reviews for such a long time - you don't know how awful it is to receive a bunch of great reviews from great people and not be able to answer them! It makes me feel like I'm ungrateful, or something :( Which I truly am NOT! I'm so happy that you like my fic so much, you've made my dream come true:D And HAPPY 400 REVIEWS! x3 I'm going to find the 300th and 400th reviewers as well, so that they can make their requests.
ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU! I LOVE Y'ALL! x3
Fanfiction News
This Is Not My First Time - STILL working on the 25th chapter, but believe me, this will be the LONGEST chapter in the entire fic xD; And to the 300th and 400th reviewer... please, PLEASE don't request NaruHina xD; Because the 25th and 26th chapter are going to be FULL with NaruHina, so PLEASE don't request more NaruHina, 'kay? xD; And no SasuSaku chapters either, sorry. :P
In Love With The Enemy - New fic! I'm still working on the first chapter, though. :P First I'll have to read more about the actual event (which is very useful since we're going to have a test about it in school as well xD), and then write more. :)
My Catastrophic Birthday - New chapter! I'm working on the next one. xD; But first This Is Not My First Time, it's more important :)
Forbidden Memories - Working on the second chapter. I've written a second chapter earlier, but somehow it has been deleted o.O;
I Had A Dream About You Last Night - STILL working on the next chapter! It's on a mini-semi-hiatus, because I've Writer's Block. x.x
The Curse of OOCness: Also having Writer's Block. D:
Sneak Preview of Next Chapter: Sayounara
"Sasuke, this is serious!" Tenten blurted out, stomping her foot in her ground impatiently. Sasuke knew this was a warning signal that Tenten was beginning to lose her temper. And believe me, not even Neji would want to challenge Tenten's deepest wrath. "Sakura is going to Tokyo today and she has even told her parents that she's coming and all! Can't you just become as cool as the damn SUFC think you are and ask her to stay? Is that so difficult?"
"I've told you, Tenten", Sasuke answered calmly, "She'll only get mad –"
"She wouldn't, you idiot! Don't you realize the fact she's leaving is because of you?"