A/N: Hello my lovely readers! Thank you to those who helped me reach 200 reviews!

Rich Boy, Poor Heart II

Chapter Eighteen

000

JULY 26

"He…he what?" Ino demanded once Sakura had finished explaining Sai's intentions to her. The blonde threw one of her pillows across the room in a quick fit.

"The nerve! You're a taken woman! And he…he," She gasped for air after her voice had hit an unpleasant octave. Sakura frowned.

"I…It's okay though. Sasuke-kun took care of him. But…" The pink-haired girl trailed off, sighing. Ino gave her a look of disbelief.

"You don't feel sorry for him, do you?" The blonde asked, grabbing Sakura's shoulders, startling her.

"Ino, I have to at least give him…you know…a proper closure," The pink-haired girl declared. Ino groaned dramatically.

"You just feel sorry for the guy, that's all. But I guess as long as it's closure, it's fine. Just don't let him do anything, alright?" Ino asked. Sakura smiled lightly, and nodded.

"I swear the next time I see that guy…" She muttered angrily, causing Sakura to giggle.

000

"Ino told me you're going to talk to him again," Sasuke said disdainfully, glancing over at his pink-haired girlfriend. She sighed and made a face.

"It's okay, Sasuke-kun. It'll be quick and easy, I promise," She told him, smiling. He scowled.

"And you can't be around, alright? I want you far away," Sakura said strictly, poking his chest.

"That's something I can't do," He told her, crossing his arms.

"I'm not leaving you alone with that guy anymore," He added crossly. Sakura stuck her tongue out childishly.

"I'll be just fine, Sasuke-kun. I won't let him touch me!" She announced, beaming. He sighed as he stared at her.

"You're really something," Sasuke told her as he pushed her away. She giggled before running off to go find Sai.

000

Sakura sighed heavily as she entered the house again. She couldn't find Sai anywhere.

Glumly, she plopped down onto the couch and rested her elbows on her knees.

"He's not anywhere inside the house…he's not by the koi pond…where could…" She blinked, and then smiled.

The pink-haired girl ran outside again. Sure enough, the ladder was angled so that anyone could climb up onto the roof.

As stealthily as she could, she climbed up each step, and peeked over the roof. Sai was sitting there with his legs crossed, and looking up at the sky.

Sakura knocked on one of the roof tiles, and the boy whipped around.

He didn't smile, and turned back around as if she wasn't even there.

"Sai…" She muttered as she began to hoist herself onto the roof. Suddenly, she lost her footing on the ladder. Her hand caught onto the ledge of the roof, but quickly slid off.

She gasped. She felt an unbearable pain, heard Sai's yelling, and then everything else seemed to sink into darkness.

000

Sakura felt horrible. Her head was painfully throbbing and her left arm felt extremely stiff. She whined softly as she opened her eyes.

"Sakura!" Ino cried out as she hugged the girl's head. Sakura winced.

"Ino, calm down!" Ten Ten said, pulling the girl back. The blonde sniffed, and Sakura was surprised to see that Ino's eyes were bright red.

"T…the doctor said…you might go into a coma…but I'm so glad that you didn't…" The blonde said, rubbing her eyes.

A loud sigh was heard, and Sakura turned her head to see Sasuke sitting in a chair right next to her, with his arms crossed.

"Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said.

"Only you can manage to fall down from the roof and break your arm…" He muttered sourly. She hadn't realized until that moment that her arm was broken.

She marveled silently at the cast on her arm.

"Oh, Sakura-chan!" Mikoto said loudly as she stroked the cast gently.

"You should've seen how scared Sasuke looked when Sai came in shouting about how you fell!" Naruto shouted, causing the Uchiha to blush.

"I thought I saw you shed a few tears earlier, dobe," Sasuke teased as Naruto then turned red.

"I just…got something in my eye," He mumbled crossly. Sakura beamed at them.

"Oh, where's Sai anyway?" She asked after she had realized that he wasn't around.

"Ugh. Sasuke shooed him off," Ino said, rolling her eyes. Sakura frowned at Sasuke, who looked away quickly.

"Sasuke-kun, you should be glad he was there to tell you that I fell," She told him. If she could, they were pretty sure that she would be crossing her arms right now.

"I think we actually should've given Sai a chance, teme. He cares about Sakura-chan too," Naruto pointed out. Sasuke scowled.

"If Sakura didn't decide to go clear things up with that bastard for what he did, none of this would've even happened," He shot back.

"Oh, Sakura-chan, you'll have to stay in here for about two days," Mikoto said sadly. Sakura pouted.

"But there's only a few days of vacation left…and I'll be spending most of it in this hospital…" She said, frowning.

"I'm sorry…" The pink-haired girl muttered. Sasuke put his hand on top of hers and sighed.

"It can't be helped then. I'll stay with you here," He told her, nodding. She blushed and looked around frantically.

"B…but you'll get bored! And…and"—

"Sakura-chan, this is Sasuke-chan's decision. There's not much you can do to change his mind," Mikoto said, smiling brightly.

"Are you…are you really okay with this?" Sakura asked, looking up at the Uchiha.

"I want to spend as much time as I can with you right now, Sakura," Sasuke replied, beginning to look embarrassed. Sakura beamed.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun," She told him.

"Ano…" Sakura started. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow.

"Can you…look for Sai? Tell him I want to see him," Sakura requested. Sasuke let out a frustrated sigh.

"If any of us see him, we'll tell him," Shikamaru spoke up from the corner of the room. Sakura sent him a grateful look while Sasuke narrowed his eyes.

"Ah…what an unfortunate event. But eh…I should be getting back to the summer home now. There's a lot to do, but…" Mikoto started, looking at Sakura's arm uncertainly.

"Ah, you can go Mikoto-san! It's okay!" Sakura said quickly, smiling. Mikoto wailed, much to everyone's surprise.

"You're such a nice girl, Sakura-chan!" She yelled as she walked out of the room.

"Mikoto-san is so…wonderful," Sakura commented as Sasuke scoffed, amused.

"Oh, that reminds me, me and Shika-chan had a date today," Ino said casually, looking up at the clock.

"Are you sure it's okay to leave like this just for that?" Shikamaru asked with his arms crossed. Ino immediately pouted.

"Shikamaru, just go," Sakura urged quietly. Shikamaru sighed as he watched her. He finally stood up and stuffed his hands into his pockets.

"Fine. Let's go, Ino," He gestured over to the door. Ino huffed before grabbing his arm and walking out of the room.

A few minutes later, the door slid open, and Sai appeared. Sasuke jumped in his chair, meaning to stand up and deny him, but Sakura gave him a quick look.

"…Shikamaru said that you wanted to see me," Sai said, looking over at Sakura, who smiled gently at him. Sasuke scowled, facing away.

"Yes! I just um…I was just hoping you wouldn't blame yourself on anything that happened to me," Sakura said carefully. Sai kept on the same facial expression the entire time.

"Of course I wouldn't. What happened to you was all your doing," Sai replied. Sakura's hurt expression quickly faded.

"Y…yeah, I guess so…" Sakura replied reluctantly. Sasuke finally turned to look at Sai, and glared at him.

"It is your fault," Sasuke said to Sai.

"Whatever Sakura decides to do has nothing to do with me. It's not my fault that she was being stupid," He shrugged. Sasuke stood up.

"Don't!" Sakura cried out. Naruto and Neji also stood up, looking alarmed.

"If you're not going to apologize, just get out!" Naruto snapped angrily. Neji crossed his arms, nodding crossly.

"Gladly," Sai remarked as he made to slide the door open. Sasuke landed a hand onto his shoulder harshly, forcing him to turn around.

"If you're not going to apologize, then you'd better stay away," The Uchiha said before pushing Sai towards the door. Sai said nothing as he left.

"Sasuke-kun…don't you think that was a bit…mean?" Sakura asked, frowning. Sasuke scoffed.

"He was the bastard…" He told her.

"Ah, Sasu-chan. Where's Sakura-chan?" Mikoto asked as she walked into the living room. Sasuke turned the page of the book he was reading. Naruto was seated next to him, reading a comic.

"She went to go look for Sai," He replied disdainfully. Mikoto sighed.

"Maybe you should be the one to talk to him, Sasu-chan," She suggested.

"Then again…you might murder him instead…" She added with a sweat drop. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

"Sai, you look terrible!" Mikoto gasped. Sai's face was red and his hair was sticking to his face from the sweat. He clutched his chest, panting.

"It's…Sakura…!" He started, and Sasuke and Mikoto immediately looked alarmed.

"What happened?" Sasuke and Naruto demanded, standing up.

"She fell. She fell from the roof…" Sai replied, causing Mikoto to put a hand over her mouth and begin crying.

"Where?" Sasuke continued, grabbing Sai as he ran out the door. Naruto followed suit.

Sasuke shook his head at the memory. He never wanted to see Sakura look like that again. He glanced over at the girl on the hospital bed, and frowned.

The room was pure silence, until the sound of Naruto's growling stomach echoed throughout the room. The blonde grinned, embarrassed.

"Heh…sorry, I'm a bit hungry…" He muttered. Sakura giggled.

"You guys can go on and eat. I'll be fine," She told them all.

"Ah, sorry, Sakura-chan," Naruto said quickly before leaving. Hinata smiled and gave Sakura a quick squeeze of the hand before following Naruto out. Neji and Ten Ten exchanged farewells with her before taking their own leave.

"Sasuke-kun, you can go eat too," Sakura said, tilting her head to the side. He sighed.

"I'll bring us both back some food. What do you want?" Sasuke asked her, approaching the door. Sakura brought a finger to her lips.

"Mm…I've been craving miso soup," She shrugged. Sasuke rose an eyebrow.

"Is that all?" He asked. Sakura nodded happily. He sighed, rolled his eyes, and left the room.

000

"You know…I really had a feeling that you would get me more than just miso soup…" Sakura told Sasuke as he set down her food in front of her. Her tray consisted of sushi rolls, a sandwich, and a large bowl of miso soup.

He sat down beside her, with his tray consisting of the same thing.

"Ah…it was your right arm that broke wasn't it?" Sasuke questioned when he noticed her having trouble using chopsticks with her left hand. She blushed, and nodded slowly.

"I'll have to take care of that," He said as he took her chopsticks away from her. He picked up a piece of sushi, dipped it into the soy sauce, and held it up against her lips.

"You…don't really…" She began. But he pushed the food against her mouth. Reluctantly, she opened her mouth and let him feed her. Her face turned red as he chewed.

"Heh…" He looked away. She pouted.

"What…?" She asked curiously. He looked back, smirking.

"You're…cute," Sasuke said before picking up a spoon. He lifted a spoonful of miso soup to her mouth.

Sakura huffed before opening her mouth and slurping the soup. After they had both finished eating, Sasuke took out a small package.

"And for dessert…" He muttered, opening up a box of chocolate pocky. Her eyes lit up happily.

"Here," He said, poking a pocky stick into her mouth. She lifted up her left hand to hold it, but Sasuke quickly grabbed her hand and lowered it back onto her lap.

Smirking mischievously, he took the other end of the pocky stick into his own mouth. Sakura blushed and made to back away, but Sasuke pulled her back in.

"Whoever finishes the pocky stick wins," He mumbled through the stick in his mouth. She glared at him playfully, but began to eat the pocky. He followed suit, slowly.

Sakura shut her eyes as she continued eating. She could soon feel the pocky stick growing smaller, and Sasuke's breathing coming closer.

Once she felt his hot breath over her lips, she blinked her eyes open and saw that the pocky stick was nearly nonexistent. Sasuke looked coolly into her eyes before eating up the last of the pocky, and pressing his lips onto hers.

Unconsciously, Sakura clutched onto the front of his shirt and pulled him closer. A sound passed through Sakura's lips, and Sasuke quickly pulled back, panting for air.

"Sorry…" He muttered, glancing away. Sakura sighed shakily.

"You always apologize every time we kiss," She pointed out, a faint smile growing on her lips. He sighed and ruffled his hair.

"It's because I feel like I'm taking advantage of you," Sasuke explained. Sakura rose an eyebrow.

"And why's that?" She asked. He scowled.

"You're in a hospital bed with a broken arm, and I forced you to eat a pocky stick with me. Tell me that that doesn't sound like taking an advantage," He told her. She stuck out her tongue.

"You're not taking advantage," She answered back, grabbing onto his hand.

"I like you, Sasuke-kun. Do I have to say that every time?" Sakura asked. Sasuke smirked.

"Maybe you should," He whispered before kissing her again.

000

"I'm so sorry I didn't come here earlier, Sakura!" Rain cried out as she burst into the hospital room. Itachi soon followed after her.

Sakura widened her eyes in surprise, and Sasuke sighed.

"She came running all the way here," Itachi said. Rain huffed.

"You have no idea how bad I felt when I heard you broke your arm!" She continued, shaking her head. Itachi wrapped an arm around her in a comforting way.

"Ne, it's okay, Rain-chan," Sakura replied. Rain frowned.

"I'll visit everyday!" Rain declared while Sasuke scoffed. Itachi smirked.

"Little brother, are you going to stay here twenty-four seven?" He asked, teasing. Sasuke glared at him.

"And so what if I am?" Sasuke demanded.

"That's cute," Itachi mocked.

"Itachi-kun! If I were in the hospital, wouldn't you stay with me?" Rain asked, irritated.

"Of course," He answered back, right away. Rain rolled her eyes.

"Then stop bothering Sasuke with what he's doing. He's being perfectly sweet," She pointed out. Sasuke smirked smugly at his older brother, who glared back.

"Eh. Let's go out somewhere, Rain," Itachi spoke up, grabbing the girl's hand.

"Ah, fine…we'll be back tomorrow, Sakura-chan!" Rain called out before Itachi dragged her out the door. Sakura waved weakly as she door slid shut. She sighed.

"What? Are you bored?" Sasuke asked. She smiled.

"Nope! Sasuke-kun is here, so I'm happy!" She replied in a chirp.

"You know…we still have some pocky left," Sasuke pointed out, gesturing to the small box on the table.

Sakura blushed, and then smiled as she plucked one out and held it against his lips.

END JULY 26

A/N: Thank you for reading! I think there are only about 3 three or four more chapters left!