Author's Note: I changed the name of the FF to Happiness? because it is a better title for the storyline. I don't want to give anything away, but I will say the concept of happiness is what I am playing with in this story. Enjoy and thank you for the reviews. They really help motivate me to write!

Chapter 2: Unwanted Engagement

"Sasuke-sama. Welcome back."

Sasuke briskly walked past the line of men giving them a slight nod to show he had acknowledged their greeting. He could never get used to his men bowing their heads at him. Just a year ago, he was standing alongside them bowing his head to his brother. Sasuke clenched his hands as he remembered finding his brother on the brink of death. Maintaining his poker face, Sasuke gave out his orders.

"Bring the idiot to my room. Until further notice, continue preparing for the assault in the morning."

"Yes."

Knowing that his men would not disobey him, Sasuke made his way down the darkened hallway until he reached his room...or in this case, his brother's old room. Another image of Itachi's smiling face before he died flashed into Sasuke's mind.

"Don't worry Itachi, you will be avenged."

Casting aside all thoughts of Itachi, Sasuke slid the screen door and entered the room. It was big to say the least. The room had been separated into two areas. The first room was where Sasuke held all of his meetings with the group members he trusted. The other room was his bedroom which was where he headed to change out of his clothes. Flicking on the light, Sasuke barely noticed how stark and empty his room was. Save for a bed and a nightstand with a lamp, there was nothing else in the room to even hint at someone living there. Just as Sasuke took off his shirt, the door to his room swung open.

"Sasuke, you're back."

"Get out."

"No way. You had at least half of the guys wake me up from an awesome dream to come to your room. I will leave when I feel like it."

To make his point, the guy strolled past Sasuke and plopped himself down on the bed.

"I was only 30 minutes late in returning and you were able to fall asleep. If only some idiot had followed the plan instead of going off to do his own thing, I wouldn't have had to deal with Furido's men chasing after me. Isn't that right, Naruto?"

"Hehehe. If it makes you feel better, I had to deal with those damn dogs and one of them even bit me. Look."

Sasuke turned to see Naruto thrusting his hand in Sasuke's face. On it was a tiny scratch which only irritated Sasuke. Swatting away Naruto's hand, Sasuke walked to his closet to grab a shirt.

"Ow."

"You will live."

"You never know. I could die from rabies."

"If only."

Sasuke walked out of his closet in fresh clothes and looked at the 21 year old blonde haired boy sprawled on his bed. He reminded Sasuke of a cat and the fact that he had three scars on each side of his cheek didn't help. Even though he didn't fit the image of a yakuza, Sasuke knew Naruto strictly followed the yakuza code. Of course, he was also an idiot that refused to follow orders and constantly annoyed Sasuke. Still, he was one of Sasuke's most trusted member out of the Karasu group.

"Is everything ready for tomorrow?"

Immediately Naruto's expression changed from laid back to serious.

"Yeah, all of your bombs are in place for your 'surprise' engagement gift for Furido's group tomorrow. They won't know what hit them."

"That will mark the beginning of the end for Furido's group. I will destroy them."

Naruto arched an eyebrow as he saw Sasuke begin to brood over his plan to crush Furido. He actually pitied Furido because he knew that Sasuke would make sure they suffer. Besides, Naruto wanted to see them pay. His mother and father died in the massacre along with his girlfriend, Hinata. Naruto reached up to clasp his locket that he wore over his heart. It contained pictures of his parents and Hinata.

Sasuke looked over at Naruto and saw him holding the locket. When Naruto had heard about the attack, he immediately set out for the Naka district. Sasuke had to stop him and the two of them went at it until they both collapsed on the ground. It took awhile for Naruto to forgive Sasuke from preventing him to go find Hinata and his parents, but Sasuke had promised him vengeance and that was exactly what Naruto was going to get.

"Don't worry Naruto, they will pay."

Naruto looked up at Sasuke and nodded in response.

"What about the girl who is suppose to marry a member of Furido's group?"

"She will be killed as well. Anyone associated with those bastards should die. Besides, I heard their marriage will be nothing more than a means to strengthen an alliance with another group. I am sure the girl would rather choose death than be used as a pawn. I would be doing her a favor."

"Poor girl. If she was a boy, then things would have been very different."

"It is expected, especially if you are born into the gokudo."

"Hmph, are you saying we were doomed from the start?"

"Who knows?"

Naruto sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He tried to be optimistic about everything but what Sasuke said was true. Once born into the gokudo there was no escaping it.

"Anyways, what took you so long?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in response to Naruto's question.

"Come on Sasuke, I know you are one of the best fighters in the group. It shouldn't have taken you that long to escape."

"Something unexpected happened."

"Oh?"

"One of the men knew about an alleyway that would lead them directly to the Karasu's main house. I had to hide for a bit."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as Sasuke revealed this new bit of information.

"A traitor?"

"I don't know, but I need you to be on alert."

"Fine. Now tell me, where did you hide?"

"In an apartment complex."

"Did you find any hot girls?"

Sasuke remained silent as his thoughts immediately went to Sakura. He didn't even realize he was smiling.

"You did! What did she look like? What's her name? How would you rate her on a scale of one to ten?"

"Get out."

"Come on!"

"Out!"

Naruto grumbled as Sasuke pushed him out the door.

"You aren't going to tell me anything?"

Sasuke responded by slamming the door in Naruto's face. He could hear Naruto cursing as he began making his trek back to his room. Satisfied that he was gone, Sasuke leaned against the door and briefly raised his finger to his lips as he recalled the taste of Sakura. After he takes care of Furido's group, he will definitely be visiting her again. Walking over to his bed, Sasuke laid down and fell into a light sleep all thoughts of revenge replaced with his encounter with Sakura.

"Sakura...Sakura"

"Okaasan?"

Sakura eyes flew open as she awaken from her slumber. Expecting to see her mother beside her bed, she was shocked to see nothing but darkness. Panic began to rise in Sakura as she tried to comprehend what was happening. Why couldn't she see anything?

"Sakura."

"Who's there?"

Suddenly, she felt a pair of hands grasp her shoulder.

"It's me, Kakashi. Everything is alright."

Sakura slowly relaxed as she realized where she was and who was standing beside her. Kakashi's soothing voice helped calm the panic she had felt when she had first woken up.

"I'm sorry, I just got a little scared."

"I understand."

Kakashi glanced at Sakura before walking over to the window and opening it. Sounds from the busy streets flooded the room. Hearing the noise, Sakura slowly reached her hands out and made her way to the window. Kakashi didn't bother to help her, because he knew she would refuse him. Still, he carefully watched her to make sure she didn't bump into anything.

Sakura stopped at the window and allowed the sun's warm rays to caress her face. Gently, she brushed her hand over her eyes as she tried to visualize the scene outside her window. A small sad smile appeared on her face as she bitterly remembered her ability to see was taken from her a year ago.

"Sakura, I heard about what happened last night."

Following the sound of Kakashi's voice, Sakura turned her head towards Kakashi's direction. Kakashi froze for a bit as he saw Sakura's clouded eyes. Unable to look at her, he turned away and awaited her response.

"Yes, Seito stopped by to see if I was alright since there was a man who had infiltrated Furido's main house."

"Seito?"

Sakura heard the disgust in Kakashi's voice. She knew that Kakashi hated him and decided it was best to change the subject.

"Mhm. You would think that Furido's group would've been able to capture one man but it seems that is not so. Why would my father want to form an alliance with this weak group?"

"Because, the alliance would help bring down the Karasu group who is responsible for your mother's death and your...injury. They might not be the best, but they have a lot of members."

"You can't tell me you believe the Karasu group is actually responsible for what happened. Naka district was under their control and only the children and wives of the members lived there. The leader of Karasu wouldn't benefit at all from attacking that district. Anyone with a bit of common sense could see that. Plus, I do not blame them for my mother's death or my inability to see. Furido's group is the one to blame."

Kakashi sighed as he listened to Sakura's rant. She was right of course. Sakura was always perspective and that could be attributed to her constant presence at each of the Haruno group's meetings. Although Kizashi was at first pleased with his daughter's interest, the injury that she had sustained from the Naka district incident resulted in Kizashi cutting her out of the Haruno group's activities. Still, Sakura was able to weasel out information from the other members.

"Yes, I know. It is all a rouse. Kizashi wants to keep an eye on them and thought it best to form an alliance that couldn't be broken..."

"So he decides to use his daughter like a pawn and offer my hand in marriage in turn for their alliance. I know."

Kakashi heard the anger in Sakura's voice and felt a pang of guilt. He had tried to convince Kizashi there was another way, but he was a stubborn old man. He was dead set on marrying Sakura off, whether she wanted it or not.

"It seems that is all I'm good for..."

Kakashi sharply looked at Sakura when he heard her whisper those words. In a few strides he was by her side and roughly shook her.

"No you are not! Don't you ever say that Sakura. Do not let the fact that you can't see change your perspective of how you view yourself!"

Sakura was surprised at Kakashi's reaction but she knew where he was coming from. He had lost his eye protecting her from Furido's assault on Naka district.

"I'm sorry. That was a very insensitive and stupid thing for me to say."

"It's alright, because I can understand where you are coming from."

No, Kakashi couldn't really comprehend, if he was being honest with himself. He had only lost one eye while she was forever forced to live in a world encompassed in darkness. Never knowing whether it was day or night.

Sensing Kakashi was thinking about something sad, Sakura reached out to caress Kakashi's cheek.

"Kakashi, remember this. It is because of you that I am still alive. Now come on, this is supposed to be my engagement day. Shouldn't you be happy that you don't have to watch over me anymore?"

"Haha, you are not getting rid of me. I will still be by your side even after you are married. I may not have been able to convince your father to stop the engagement, but I did convince him to allow me to stay with you."

"Darn."

Sakura secretly breathe a sigh of relief. Kakashi had been watching over her all these years and she knew that she was lucky he was still alive. After all, many men have lost their life at a young age. Once you become a yakuza your life belonged to the boss and if he asked you to die then you would do so.

"Hey Kakashi, when will I meet my husband to be? I may not be able to see what he looks like but I at least would like to know what he sounds like."

"In the evening. Your father will be attending along with all of the heads of the yakuza groups in Konoha. After all, you are basically considered royalty in our world."

"Princess of the yakuza...sounds disgusting."

Kakashi arched an eyebrow in response.

"Why?"

"I love all of our group members and I don't mind the yakuza lifestyle, but I loathe being respected because of my name. It was only luck...or some people might say a curse, to be born into a high ranking yakuza family. I rather make a name for myself and be respected for who I am and what I can do."

"..."

"Sorry, I'm ranting. Anyways Kakashi, let's go for a walk and then spar. I'll be damned if I have to depend on someone else to protect me."

"Alright, I'll wait for you outside, but only for a little bit. Soon you have to get ready."

"Fine."

Sakura waited until Kakashi left before feeling her way to the window. A small breeze blew a few strands of hair into her face and she quickly brushed them away. Reaching down, Sakura felt the familiar chain that contained her mother's treasured pendant. If she remembered correctly, it was shaped like a cherry blossom but was a bright red instead of its normal hue of pink or white. She recalled asking her mother once why it was red.

"Because Sakura, it is the color that best symbolizes our lifestyle. We live in a very bloody and hate filled world, but it is also a world that is filled with passion and above all love. I can guarantee you that you will see many people die. Some maybe people you barely know while others could be your relatives, but don't let that change your view on life. It is natural for people to die and before you try to jump in and say they would rather die a normal death, that's not true. I can tell you that anyone of our members would rather die for their beliefs or protecting the ones they love, because that gives their life meaning. So don't ever berate or stop anyone that is willing to do so. It is their way of showing their love and devotion to the gokudo lifestyle. That is why, red is the color that best suits us."

Sakura remembered looking up at her mother's beautiful face and saw a tear form in her eyes. A few days later, her mother died protecting her during the Naka district massacre. It was the last scene Sakura had saw before she had lost her vision. Feeling the tears forming in her eyes, Sakura quickly brushed them away. She had promised herself that she wouldn't cry. It would only be an insult to her mother's death.

"I won't cry."

Smiling to herself, Sakura turned on her heel and prepared to face the day ahead of her.

Kakashi stood outside Sakura's door waiting for her. He remembered what she had said earlier about how she wanted to be respected for who she was instead of her name. Little did she know that she had already gained the respect and admiration of every member of the Haruno group. Everyone in the group loved Sakura because of her personality and her views on life. She was refreshing compared to the constant looks of fear and hatred they got every time they left the main house. That was also the reason why Furido's group agreed to the engagement. The fact that every man in the Haruno group would be willing to do anything for Sakura would add to Furido's group strength. All Furido's group had to do was threaten Sakura and every member would be under their beck and call.

"Shit."

Just thinking about it irritated Kakashi. What was Kizashi thinking? The idea of having Sakura marry into Furido's group was stupid. A lot of the members weren't happy with the engagement either. Furido's group was infamous for not following the Gokudo lifestyle. They would sacrifice anyone just to make a profit or be considered the top yakuza group. The Naka district incident was the prime example of how ruthless and underhanded they were. Thank the kami that Kizashi had some common sense to allow Kakashi to stay with Sakura. Well not common sense, it was more of an agreement...

"Kakashi, let's go."

Breaking out of his thoughts, Kakashi turned to see Sakura standing in the doorway. Her long pink hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she was dressed in her work out clothes, red tank top and black shorts. How she even managed to choose her clothes amazed Kakashi.

"Kakashi?"

"Sorry. Let's go."

Kakashi gave his hand to Sakura and began guiding her down the stairs.

"What were you thinking about?"

"Nothing much..."

"Fine don't tell me, but when we get outside, please tell me what you see. I want to try to visualize it."

"Alright."

Kakashi watched as Sakura smiled in response and he felt his heart skip a beat. Silently, he cursed himself as he recalled Kizashi's condition in allowing Kakashi to stay with Sakura.

"Do not fall in love with Sakura."

A bitter smile formed on Kakashi's face as he remembered his immediate reaction when he heard Kizashi's condition.

"Too late."