Author's Note: I would like to thank all followers and reviewers of this fanfic and for every reader's patience for my not-so-fast update on this story! Much appreciation is given to those who are so nice and patient.

Chapter 4: Budding Feelings


Sakura's POV

"Naruto Uzumaki!" I ran after Naruto and didn't bother to explain things to Sasuke first. The pain I saw in Naruto's eyes terrified me and nothing was more important than Naruto at that moment.

Naruto was about to make a turn into an alley when I picked up my pace and got hold onto his shoulder. Much to my discontent, Naruto tried to run away and I had no choice but to violently grab onto his arms.

"You're not going anywhere!" I forcefully turned Naruto around and was met with tears streaming down his blue eyes. My hold onto his arms softened as I stared, completely speechless and stiff. Naruto turned his gaze away from me and had it fixated on the ground instead.

There were so much emotions going through his eyes that I couldn't catch up. I didn't understand what was wrong and the sight of someone I truly care about looking so hurt was unbearable.

It took me some time before I could bring myself to speak. Even when I did, my throat felt tight and I held onto my chest as if it could calm me down.

"Naruto, what's wrong?" My voice was so soft compared to Naruto's sobs, which made everything even more painful to watch. I've known Naruto for the longest of times and I never saw him so sad. He was always so cheerful and silly that I didn't know he can look so torn.

I squeezed Naruto's arms gently to push for a response. He had always been the type to speak up or shout whenever he was upset. I was scared to see that he was hesitating to tell me what was wrong.

Naruto's eyes finally left the ground but the way he looked at me was just too painful. He bit his lips before pushing my hands away from his arms. He was pushing me away gently but the emotional pain was unbearable.

"I really like you." Naruto's words pierced through me in an instant. My eyes widened in both surprise and confusion. But the sincerity was real and I knew he was not joking.

"I really like you, for the longest of time. I know you don't feel the same but seeing you with another guy was more painful than I thought." Naruto's sobs became louder and he shut his eyes in a failed attempt to stop more tears from pouring down. "And the pain is unbearable knowing that you didn't even tell me about it!"

Tears began to blur my sight as I took in Naruto's words. I had been oblivious of his feelings for all these years and my feelings were a mixture of sadness and guilt. I wanted to tell Naruto that I wasn't really in a relationship and everything was an act.

But what good would that do for him? At the end of the day, I couldn't return his feelings.

I love Naruto as a best friend and there was nothing more to that. My mind was running wild out of fear that our friendship would hit rock bottom. If it did, I would be crushed.

"Na-" Before I could say anything, Naruto wiped off his tears and managed a smile. He looked at me through his glistening eyes and spoke between sobs.

"Don't worry, Sakura. I'll be alright. I still like you, a whole lot, but I treasure our friendship more than my feelings for you."

I could no longer hold onto my tears and let it flow as I sobbed pathetically. Naruto meant so much to me and seeing him being so selfless made me feel so loved and guilty at the same time. Naruto deserved so much more than my incapability to return his love.

Naruto held me into his arms and rubbed my back. He allowed me to pour my feelings out even though he should be the one given the space to cry.

"Don't you dare feel bad. This is my choice." Naruto held onto my shoulders and looked straight into my eyes. The smile he had on was the most mature I had ever seen from him. "This just means there is another girl out there for me. I bet she's more feminine and nicer than you, Sakura!"

Even though I knew Naruto was trying to lighten up the atmosphere by being his stupid self, I truly wished what he said was true.

Somewhere, there was a girl who would love Naruto with all her heart and bring him all the happiness he truly deserved.


Sasuke's POV

I stood behind a wall as I watched what was happening between Sakura and the blonde. I might not know who he was but I could figure most things out soon enough.

I decided to walk back to the car when I saw the blonde walking away. I waited for some time before Sakura came back, her swelling eyes were evidence for the tears she shed.

I didn't say anything but instead, opened the door to the passenger's seat for her. Without a word, Sakura got into the car and I closed the door after her. Once I got into the car, I knew better than to ask her too much about what just happened.

As Sakura stared out of the window, I started driving us to a place my usual self would avoid.

It took Sakura 15 minutes of silence before she noticed that I was driving us to somewhere she didn't know. She finally snapped out of her thoughts and turned towards me.

"Where are you taking us?" She looked around and was obviously confused when she couldn't recognize where she was.

Knowing that we were very close to our destination, I didn't answer her and continued focusing on the roads. From the corner of my eye, I could see a frown forming on Sakura's face as she was about to demand an answer from me.

Her annoyance was turned into surprise when she saw where exactly I had taken her to. I parked the car as she stared at the castle-like building through the window.

"It's the new cake factory!" Sakura was grinning like a little girl and almost seemed to have completely forgotten she was so upset earlier.

Gâteau Château, which directly translated into Cake Castle from French, was newly opened in Tokyo. It was a place where customers can bake their own cakes alongside award-winning French pastry chefs and decorate them afterwards. One of the main selling points was how extravagant and 'dreamy' the place was.

But the luxurious Gâteau Château came with a high price.

It didn't matter to me, of course. I remembered Sakura mentioning that she loved desserts, especially cakes. But good ones are pricey so she stopped having them to save up money for school.

I had to open the door to the passenger's seat to return Sakura from her shock.

"We're seriously going to Gâteau Château?" Sakura stared at me in disbelief as she got out from the car. I raised an eyebrow at her question and gave a sarcastic answer she deserved.

"No, we're not. We're here to breathe in the fresh air and look at that ridiculous 'castle' from afar."

Sakura rolled her eyes at my response as we walked towards Gâteau Château. The excitement in Sakura could obviously be seen from her eyes. Despite feeling rather out of place being where I was, I was glad I decided to do so.

A frown just didn't belong on Sakura.


Sakura's POV

"This is your first-time baking, right?" I asked Sasuke as we began kneading the dough. I knew the answer to my own question and it wasn't because of how uncomfortable Sasuke looked. A 'young master' like himself never had to pick up any pans and pots, that was for sure.

"Hn." What seemed to be a half-hearted reply could have easily annoyed me if it weren't for the fact that I was too happy. I always had an overflowing love for cakes but my financial situation simply didn't allow such joy in life.

Moreover, the way Sasuke was taking everything seriously despite the clear discomfort made him charming.

The baking process went by smoothly with the assistance of the friendly French pastry chef who could only communicate with us in English. Never had I ever been so glad that I spoke fluent English, which I picked up from having English classes at school since I was young.

Sasuke, who had better English skills than I did, had great conversations with the chef as we prepare the cake. The chef who was assigned to help us was also the owner and founder of Gâteau Château, so they talked a lot about the reasons behind the chef's decision to come all the way to Japan to start the business.

Business was never exactly my field of interest but it was interesting to see how engrossed Sasuke was into the conversation. Their conversation never stopped until the cake was baked and brought out from the oven and the pastry chef had to attend to an urgent matter.

Sasuke and the founder of Gâteau Château exchanged name cards while another pastry chef helped us set up the decorative tools and ingredients after helping us layer the cake with white buttercream.

The pastry chef briefly told me what to do before leaving to help another group of people. When Sasuke was back to the table, he looked at the cake and despite his usual expressionless face, I could sense that he was rather proud of the outcome.

"Looks decent." I ignored Sasuke's underrated comment and proceed to thinking of what to do next. There were frosting of various pastel colours and candies in different shapes and sizes. My mind was running wild with ideas when something cold suddenly touched my cheek.

I jumped a little in surprise before turning towards Sasuke with a glare. The frosting was cold on my skin and Sasuke did not seem guilty for what he did.

"You looked as if you're in your own world so I had to bring you back." Sasuke's nonchalant response amused me more than it did annoy me. I was about to reach out for a napkin but Sasuke got to it faster than I did.

Again, with his expressionless face, he whipped off the mess he caused and said something rather unexpected.

"You actually look like a cute child with cream on your face."

My face heated up in an instant as I tried not to look too flustered. Luckily for me, Sasuke turned away before my face turned into an unbelievable shade of red.

I shook my head as if it could stop my mind from going wild and placed my attention back to what we were doing.

"You're a fast learner." I was proud of myself for sounding normal even though my heart was still beating faster than it should.

Sasuke smirked and being the over-confident person he was, just had to say something to boost his already soaring ego.

"I'm a genius, aren't I?"

My earlier heavily blushed face was almost entirely gone from hearing what Sasuke said. I rolled my eyes to show my annoyance but truth to told, I was beginning to get used to how cocky Sasuke could be at times.

Because despite the arrogance, he was surprisingly sweet and kind-hearted in his own way.

If he weren't, he wouldn't have brought me to Gâteau Château to cheer me up. He might not have said any comforting words or asked me if I were alright, his actions spoke louder than anything he could have spoken.

And I would be lying if I said I wasn't touched by what he did for me.


Sasuke's POV

The time spent at Gâteau Château turned out to be far from what I had initially expected. I would never have thought I would find baking interesting at the least. It wouldn't be a hobby of mine but I would say I found it enjoyable.

Though to be fair, Sakura's company played a huge part as to why it went great.

The way she smiled throughout our time spent in Gâteau Château was beautiful. I could see she was having lots of fun and that itself made the whole atmosphere comfortable. Seeing how she was being true and sincere made me feel like I could just relax and be whoever I was.

And it was something I appreciate more than Sakura could ever know.

I drove her home after we finished the cake we made, which was so good the two of us finished it off without a complaint. Sakura thanked me for the day as she got off the car and I found myself saying, "See you soon."

To be frank, I would really want to see her soon. A part of me was starting to miss her as I drove away towards my home. It was a foreign feeling and very illogical too. It almost made me feel stupid, which was another thing I was unfamiliar with.

Once I reached home, all I wanted was to go back to my room and take a nap. It had been a fun but long day at the same time. Moreover, I was hoping a nap could snap me out of all the weirdness I was going through.

"You're home, Sasuke." My mother was reading a magazine in the living room when I walked passed. "Shikamaru arrived half an hour ago to see you. He is waiting in your room right now."

Hearing what my mother said, I grumbled in annoyance and knew I could forget about taking a nap. To have Shikamaru get his ass up and go all the way to my house to see me on a Sunday, it could only mean that there were important matters that were so important that it could not be talked about through a phone call.

I went into my room to find Shikamaru typing rapidly on his laptop. He seemed so focused that it took him a while before he noticed I was back.

"What's wrong?" I jumped to the point, knowing very well it was one of those times when neither of us had time for unnecessary bullshit.

Shikamaru finished whatever he was typing and closed his laptop before walking towards me. He sighed as he rubbed his temples, looking both exhausted and grumpy.

"My father received a call earlier on from the Kyoto branch of Nara Corporate and they told him that one of our major suppliers was just found out to have been involved in money laundering and had to close down. It has badly affected the Kyoto branch in just a matter of a day and my father wants me to see to the situation right away. I've done all the necessary research and found out that by having the Sunagakure Corporate as our supplier, we can settle the problem and fix the damage caused. I know you worked on a project with the owner of Sunagakure Corporate last year and I want to know if it is possible for you to connect me to him."

The person Shikamaru was referring to was named Gaara, the CEO and owner of the Sunagakure Corporate, the largest company in Kyoto and one of the most influential ones throughout Japan. Gaara was around my age but his capability and leadership made people respect him without a doubt.

Even I had to admit that he deserved my respect as well.

"I wouldn't say we are on really friendly terms but our partnership did go well. I'll call him now and see what he says."

Shikamaru thanked me before getting back to his laptop again, seemingly to be checking his e-mails for further updates. I stood against the wall as I dialled Gaara's number, who fortunately picked up almost immediately.

"Hi, Gaara. Hope you're well these days." As much as I hated small talks which were pointless, I knew better than to sound rude to someone who could save Shikamaru from the problem he was in.

"I am, hope the same goes to you, Uchiha. I assume someone as busy as you are did not call me just to ask how I am doing." Another reason why I respected Gaara was how alike we could be at some aspects. Small talks just weren't our thing and cutting to the chase was something we would always opted for.

"I am calling on behalf of my friend from the Nara Corporation to inquire for a possible partnership."

"Is it regarding the situation in their Kyoto branch?" I was amazed at how updated Gaara was to things happening around him. Not that it was something unexpected from him.

"It seems that you are aware of the issue so I assume you don't need me to explain the details."

"I am interested in the partnership offer. Do you think it is possible for your friend to come over to Kyoto for a face-to-face meeting with me on Tuesday afternoon?"

Judging from how urgent the problem had to be resolved, I was confident that Shikamaru would put down anything to attend a meeting with Gaara so I answered without asking Shikamaru.

"He would be."

"Great. I'll see him then. Oh, Sunagakure Corporate is holding a networking event on Tuesday night. You should come over if you happen to be available. All the major CEO of Kyoto will be there. It would be a good chance for you to make some connections if you ever wish to expand the Kyoto branch of Uchiha Corporate."

"I'll be there." I didn't have to think twice to know that it was a chance I could not possibly miss. The Kyoto branch of Uchiha Corporate had not been growing for the past years and I would want to do something about that.

The networking event Gaara mentioned would gain me the connections I needed to achieve growth in the Kyoto branch.

"I'll see you there then." Gaara hung up afterwards and I turned towards Shikamaru who had been listening attentively.

"He wants you to meet him on Tuesday afternoon. I'm going as well to attend a networking event they're holding on Tuesday night."

"I knew I could count on you regarding this." Shikamaru went back to work on his laptop after stretching a little to release some stress.

"I wonder if Sakura would be free to go with me." I was talking to myself and seeing how serious Shikamaru was, I didn't expect he would have heard me.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" Shikamaru stopped working and gave me a huge amount of unwanted attention. He was staring at me in both shock and curiosity, making me feeling even more uncomfortable by the second.

"You didn't hear anything." I was hoping Shikamaru would drop the topic but I should have known better than to think that would happen.

"You're starting to fall for her, aren't you?" Of course, you can count on Shikamaru Nara to go straight to the point. Not that I ever minded that side of him on most cases.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shikamaru followed me as I walked towards my wardrobe to take a change of clothing.

"Come on, I know you long enough to know that you're really falling for her. I kind of expected this to happen."

"Don't make yourself sound so smart, Nara. You don't know what you're talking about."

Shikamaru ignored what I said and seemed to be having so much fun that he could possibly forgot the problem he had at hand.

"Since you're taking Sakura to Kyoto, I should ask Ino to come with me. I don't want to be a lightbulb in this trip, that just sucks."

I was tempted to tease Shikamaru about his 'relationship' with Ino, like how I usually did, but if I were to do so then I knew he would tease me back.

I was so tired that all I wanted was a nice nap.

And whether I was really falling for Sakura or not, only time would tell.


Author's Note: If you're curious as to what will happen in their trip to Kyoto, stay tuned for the next chapter! My schedule is packed these days but I hope I can find time to write the next chapters. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter and don't forget to review. Every review, follow and favourite means a whole lot to me! See you next time and have a nice day!