Woe… I'm Life's Whore
Woe… I'm Life's Whore
Naruto discovers some funky feelings. A LOT of drama ensues. AU SasuNaru, plus other pairings (surprise ). Some possible OOCness.. plot-line a little more serious than the title.
Main Pairing: SasuNaru/NaruSasu Others: GaaNaru/NaruGaa KibaShino/ShinoKiba
R&R
Chapter Eight: Punching Walls
"Sasuke!! Sakura?! Guys?"
Naruto's echoes bounced up and down the hallways. Students were giving him odd looks from in their classrooms as he passed, disturbing their classes with his yells.
"… that idiot…" Naruto mumbled under his breath, turning another corner, getting lost in the school he should have known back-to-front. A glimpse of black hair and a loud 'Nrgh!' from a stairwell told him he had at least found one of them.
"Oi! Sasuke," Naruto said, fronting an angry, frustrated Sasuke. He had obviously just punched the flimsy school-grade wall, and had made a decent, fist-shaped dent in the weak plaster.
"I can't find her anywhere, Naruto," he rotated slowly on the spot, facing the blonde and letting his eyes flip over the boy, regaining his cool.
Naruto took a step towards him, "…Sasuke."
He offered condolence in the form of an embrace. It was kind of awkward, he was stiff, and unsure as if it was the right thing to do, and if it made him any less manly…. he'd have to work on it later.
After a few seconds, hands slipped back around his waist and he felt Sasuke's warm breath on his neck as he nuzzled into it. Naruto loosened up, feeling his muscles grow less tense. He put a hand on Sasuke's head and gently petted it.
"Hey… dobe," he heard a voice say next to his ear.
"Yeah?" Naruto said softly, ignoring the insult.
"… I hope you don't think I need commiseration…"
Naruto paused for a moment. Not faltering in his gentle petting.
"… Sasuke…"
"…Yeah, dobe?"
"… what's commiseration?"
Sasuke lifted his head and smirked at the boy. Dammit! Naruto thought. It must have been an insult after all…!
His face fell from concern to a frown, and he tried to wriggle out of Sasuke's grasp with a 'tch', but firm arms refused him any form of escape. He felt warm lips on his neck and his eyelids distinctively fluttered closed and he leaned back, giving Sasuke all the room he needed.
"Sasuke??"
The mouth removed itself quickly and Naruto felt himself being shoved down to the floor, just as Sakura and Ino turned into the now crowded stairwell.
"There you are," she grinned. "Sasuke, you lied to me," she said, pouting and grabbing an arm, "you're not dating Ino at all! … what's Naruto doing on the floor?"
At least she hadn't figured anything out, perhaps they were overacting. "He fell down the stairs."
"Did not!" Naruto flushed. Why'd he have to say that? That was totally…
"Uncool, Naruto!" Ino said. "Why can't you be suave like Sasuke-kun?"
Naruto pouted angrily, a slight thrill sparking down his spine when Sasuke shot him a brief look out of the corner of his eye, but not enough to mollify his annoyance.
"Don't you have something you want to tell Sakura, Sasuke?" Naruto said.
"Ino, go away," Sasuke said, hinting a dangerous attitude towards her.
"Oh, Sasuke, you can be so cruel," Ino gave him puppy-dog eyes.
"I need to talk to Sakura alone," he said, a little more dangerously.
"Come on now, Sasuke, Ino's my best friend, I'm sure she can hear it too."
Naruto looked at the poor girl empathetically. She thought Sasuke was finally going to ask her out. Of course she'd want Ino around to hear it. They'd fought over him since their hormones had kicked in, it would be a won battle. As long as Sasuke didn't take no for an answer…
"Fine," he said, unphased. Naruto's stomach fell, before he could do anything to stop him, Sasuke continued.
"I wasn't joking."
Sakura's face fell. This wasn't what she was expecting. She blinked and pulled a couple of confused faces.
"What are you talking about, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes and placed his hands deep in his pockets. "Before, what I told you. What made you run out of the room. I wasn't lying."
Sakura blinked some more. Ino was looking at the floor, just as confused.
"What do you mean, Sasuke? You told me you'd never date Temari if your life depended on it… so…"
Sasuke rubbed his eyes, "I'm not dating Temari. But I wasn't lying."
There were a few more moments of heavy, cold silence. Naruto bit his lip, and Ino saw and gasped.
"Oh my god…" she breathed, almost falling over.
"Ino…" Sasuke started.
She gasped again and shook her head a few times, hand at her mouth. Her eyes flicked over Naruto and she turned on her heel and flew down the hall.
"INO!!" Sasuke yelled, "Don't tell anyone!!"
Naruto watched the blonde ponytail disappear. He sighed. "Do you think she'll listen?"
Sasuke shook his head, "With a mouth like that? Not a chance."
Naruto's brow creased in frustration and confusion. He felt for Sasuke's hand, anything to make this seem a little less complicated. His fingers brushed their counterpart and they reacted, twining together.
A small thud came from behind them. Naruto's stomach flipped back, Sakura….
He jumped away from Sasuke's hand and turned around, how could he forget so quickly?
"Sakura…" he said, gently.
The girl had tears streaming down her face. She had slunk to the floor after seeing their hands link together, her moment of realization.
Naruto felt the guilt. His conscience was quick to act in situations like this, and he cursed it. Sakura wasn't sobbing, or pounding her fists uselessly on the floor, she was doing something worse. She was staring, wide-eyes, mouth hanging pathetically open, staring straight through Naruto and Sasuke, futile tears leaking down her cheeks and dripping onto her plaid school skirt.
Naruto bent down to the girl, resting his hands on her shoulders. "Sakura…" She remained lost. Naruto felt the sting of tears in his eyes. "Sakura… please look at me."
Her head slowly turned until their eyes connected. Her face kept the expression. They remained like that for a while, Naruto just wishing for something, anything that would say it was okay.
Sakura lifted her hand slowly. Naruto knew it was coming. He didn't stop it. He felt like he deserved it, somehow. It came down hard across his cheek, with a loud slap. Naruto felt the pain seep in, staring at the floor, praying that it would be alright. A few more moments passed.
Sakura closed her eyes tight and the sobbing started. Naruto held her in a comforting embrace, while she drew out long, staggered breaths into his school shirt. He gently rubbed her back. A small voice came from the tangle of shirt and tears.
"I'm sorry, Naruto."
Naruto felt something cold and wet slide down his own cheek. She came up and flung her arms around his neck. He hugged her tightly.
"I'm sorry, too, Sakura."
He heard a giggle streaked with tears and a blocked nose. She let go and fumbled for a tissue in her bag. "Don't be."
Sasuke offered her a hand up while Naruto grabbed her bag for her.
"Sorry it happened this way, Sakura," Sasuke told her, resting a hand on her shoulder.
Sakura gave him a slightly pained smile. The tears didn't falter, but there was no more sobbing. She wiped at them with the tissue and took her bag. They stood there in silence for a while.
"You alright, Sakura?" Naruto asked cautiously.
"For now…" Sakura gave a small smile.
"You know…" Sasuke started, "Even though I'm a prefect and don't encourage wagging, I think maybe some milkshakes are in order…"
Sakura grinned, "Second."
They looked at Naruto, who shrugged. "Looks like its unanimous!"