title: love month
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ!
rating: T-M
summary: oo2; He manipulated events in order to get closer to her. Maybe, he thought as he realized the situation, it drew them further apart.
.oo2.
Manipulate
Uchiha Sasuke couldn't help himself. Due to the fact that he was raised a spoiled, rich brat with looks and money, his behavior had changed from the innocent young child to an arrogant, egotistical bastard.
People simply fell on their knees and kissed his shoes with their lips at a snap of his fingers. Girls clung onto him like there was no letting go, and guys worshiped him with jealousy and wishful thinking.
He was considered a "Prince." And he definitely acted like one. Though he was a typical player, using girls and dumping them, he couldn't help but eye a certain girl from far away.
Sasuke honestly didn't know why he was attracted to her. It could've been her bright pink hair, or maybe her sparkling eyes that never showed disappointment or sadness…or maybe it was her curvy figure that he liked so much, with the right measurements and whatnot.
He wanted her. No other woman could satisfy him as much as Haruno Sakura could, and he would do anything in his power to have her in his arms.
.
.
.
Money can't buy everything, money can't make you a king…
Sasuke remembered the old tune that his nursery school used to sing about how a few bucks can't make somebody happy or buy love. Scoffing, Sasuke would always play in the corner with his blocks and build an entire empire, ignoring the fact. Money could control people. Make them do things.
Money was evil, and if it was in the wrong hands…well, then.
He saw how throwing a few dollars on the ground could change even the calmest people. They sprang for it like hungry animals waiting for their prey.
Just a few papers in his pocket could toy with peoples' feelings, and he loved having the sensation of power and control over everybody, like a king.
Unfortunately, as much as those dollars could persuade people, it didn't seem to change Sakura. As much as she eyed them warily with suspicion and secret delight, she always looked away from him with a frown on her face, as if she was disappointed…or ashamed at him.
He wanted to chase after her, but the group of girls had slowed him down. Instead, he watched her retreating figure sway away as she took one more step further from him.
.
.
.
"I want you to send somebody over to the Haruno household and look over them secretly. Do not let them know that you are there, or else." He stressed the last word harshly, making sure that they knew exactly what would happen if they had managed to get themselves caught.
Hanging up his phone, he sat on a classroom's table and sighed, looking at the contacts of ex-toys and Naruto, along with his family's numbers. Calling one of his top servants, one who watched over him since he was a little boy, he pressed his number (speed dial 2), and waited one beep until a slithery voice echoed, "Hello?"
"Kabuto. I need you to get Haruno Sakura's files from the school."
"Haruno…Sakura? Is that a new one of your toys? My, my, young master…you sure go through them quickly."
Sasuke would never allow somebody to talk about Sakura like that. He nearly hung up, but instead gritted his teeth and said, "Shut up."
Then, he pressed the end button, running a hand through his hair. He would do anything to get close to Sakura, even if it meant manipulating events in order to have her acknowledge him as Uchiha Sasuke, not the Prince that everybody saw him as.
.
.
.
"She's a nice girl, that Sakura. A little quiet, but very smart and loves books. Almost always gets top marks, if not for Shikamaru."
"Sakura? Yeah, I know her. She's sweet. Very pretty, too. But she doesn't really talk to anybody a lot. Kind of keeps to herself."
"Why are you asking me about her, Sasuke-kun? Are you interested in her? She's not very interesting. Just really quiet and really nerdy. Always hangs out in the library during free periods. Now come here—"
Sasuke had interviewed (done the dirty work by himself!) nearly all of the students in their grade, hearing the same things. She was quiet, very smart, and kind of a loner. Which was a shame, because, as he often heard, she really was beautiful. If she tried, she could've been one of the most popular girls in the school.
Sasuke felt his pocket vibrate. Pulling out his phone, he said, "Hn?"
"Young master, we have gotten the information that you wanted on Miss Haruno."
Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief. Instead of berating the servants for not being quick enough, he smirked—almost a smile—and said, "Thank you." It was odd coming out from his mouth, as he had never said the words out loud before, but before the servants could respond, he hung up, putting the phone back in his pocket.
Just then, a hand tapped his shoulder from behind. He felt a light finger on his skin, nearly flinching at how gentle the touch was, and then turned around to see none other than Haruno Sakura staring at him with a small smile, tilting her head to the side while her bright green eyes shone. She was on her tip-toes, too short to look at him eye level, never mind tapping his shoulder.
"Sasuke-san?" she said in a quiet, sweet voice. He was so touched at how well the words came out of her mouth that he wanted to pick her up and spin her around.
"That's me."
Before he knew it, the smile turned into a grimace, and the light touch of her fingers turned into a quick, painful slap of her hand. Before Sasuke knew what was happening, she had stomped onto his toe and raised her sweet, gentle voice into a loud shrill.
"How dare you! How dare you do this to my family? I can understand if you want to pick on me, but dragging my family into this? You are a complete bastard!"
He held a hand to his cheek as he took in her words. Sasuke didn't quite understand what was going on, but the anger she showed and the pain of her slap…he realized that he had hurt her.
"What—" he began.
Sakura stepped away as he stepped towards her. "Leave me alone." She gave him a look, her sparkling eyes dimming, and she stepped away from him, walking away quickly as her hand made her way to her face, a quick left-to-right motion, as if she was wiping tears away.
I only wanted to be with you…he thought. Even if it meant manipulating events in order to have you acknowledge me as Uchiha Sasuke, I did it.
So why did it turn out like this?
.
.
.
It was no sooner than the next day that everybody knew what was going on with the Haruno family.
"Can you believe that they're dirt poor? I can't understand how they could bring her to this kind of school with their money!"
"I heard she has to take part time jobs to support her family, along with tutoring her little brother."
"Poor girl. Her dad's an alcoholic and her mom, I heard, is…mentally crazy." A student made a little "cuckoo!" sign with his finger.
Sasuke saw at how Sakura became one of the least known people in the school to one of the most infamous ones. And it was his fault.
He had fired the servant for giving him false information, unable to perform his job right. He had, in fact, got caught by somebody who had seen him stalking the Harunos, and, in an attempt to flee, left the notes he had taken on their family. That somebody was a student who had taken the information, looked it over, and leaked it on her personal blog, adding that it was the Prince who had ordered this information.
Sasuke's popularity had gone downhill. Girls no longer clung to him anymore, and guys just jeered at him.
But Sakura, stronger than anybody else that he knew, continued to come to school despite the leering and the taunts. She had ignored them, her eyes red and puffy, and couldn't help but ignore Sasuke every time she walked past him.
It would have been better if she glared or spat at him.
"Sakura—" he would call out.
She kept on walking.
.
.
.
"Hey, what are you—put me down!" she screamed as Sasuke took her by her wrist and covered her mouth, leading her to the janitor's closet and locking the door.
Sakura attempted to scream again, but Sasuke pressed a finger to her lips gently, showing that he meant no harm. With fear and panic in her eyes, she bit down on him, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Calm down, Sakura."
"How can I? You locked me in here and you're taking me hostage. After all that you did…it's like adding insult to injury."
"Just…hear me out, okay?" He grabbed her shoulders as he straddled her, her back against the walls while his knees were on either side of her.
"No!" she said, trying to push him off. He took her wrists in one hand and held her ankles with the other. Her eyes gleamed with fear, and he tried to comfort her in hushed whispers. "I want do anything, I just want you to listen to what I've got to say—"
"HELP!" she screamed as she struggled against him. Sasuke became frustrated. She really was stubborn…he couldn't cover her mouth with either hand, so instead, he pressed his lips to hers in an attempt to keep her quiet.
It was the best decision he'd ever made.
She tasted warm and sweet…like honey, and smelled like fruit. He had never gotten a good whiff of her scent, but smelled her aroma as she always passed by him in the halls…and now, he was in heaven.
There was no tongue involved. Just lips on lips. Once he felt her stop struggling, she looked up at him, her face rosy in color and her eyes calmer. He, too, softened his expression and let go of her limbs.
"Just listen to me for sixty seconds, okay?"
Sakura couldn't respond. She touched her lips with one hand, and Sasuke realized by her (innocent) actions that he had taken her first kiss. Inwardly, he smirked and cheered at himself.
"It's true that I'm an arrogant jerk. I know that. But ever since I laid eyes on you…you've filled my mind nonstop, and I'm literally thinking of you all the time. You make me fucking crazy that nothing I do makes me sane anymore. It's also true that I had people find out about you, but only because I wanted to know you more. I can't…I'm not good at social relations, and I was just afraid…" Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair. "You already looked at me like you didn't like me, and I understand, but hoping that someday we could actually have a conversation and you would look at me like a normal guy…"
Sasuke, unable to think of anything else to say, sighed again. "Here's the key." He handed her the only way out of the door, and her fingers trembled as she reached for it. Instead, she took his hands in hers and looked up at him.
"Thank you for telling me that." Her voice was quiet again, and she looked up into his eyes. "I really appreciate it."
"So I guess this is goodbye?" he asked, his voice trembling. Sakura didn't respond.
"No. I don't think it is." She stood up, dusting her clothes off, and gave him a small smile. "I think it's just the beginning."
Sasuke, understanding what she meant, smiled. He felt as if he was about to explode in happiness. Getting up, also dusting his clothes, he held a hand out for her to take.
"Hi, I'm Uchiha Sasuke."
Inspired by Desire Climax!
Slight changes, revised 7.8.14