A/N: I started this back in January, but I am back at school and am taking seven classes. Needless to say, this semester it will be harder to post updates.
Break went by so fast, but I'm glad I got chapters up for you guys on my stories. :) I hope you guys like the different aspects of this one, seeing as it has the two main POV's. Anyway—here is another chapter with mainly SasuSaku!
Sasuke POV
(Tuesday—2:00 PM)
"Sasuke-kun!" My ears twitch at the sound of her voice and I turn around to see her hurrying figure. She has heavy books in one strong arm while the other tucks a strawberry strand of hair behind her ear. Her green eyes watch my face, as if in search of something.
"Hn?" I furrow my eyebrows, curious as to what she's looking for. After her eyes dart to the faces around us, she motions for me to follow her. I do, and we both sneak off to an empty hallway on the other side of the building. I keep my composure but inside I am even more confused. Finally she stops in front of a classroom and opens the door.
She flicks the lights on and sets her books down on one of the dusty desks. I copy her and set my own bag, then pull out the chair and sit. "This classroom hasn't been used in years, so we should be fine talking in here."
"Talking about..?" I raise my eyebrow. She rolls her eyes and grabs one of her folders, then pulls a loose piece of paper out. She slams it onto the desk and the image instantly catches my eye.
There in our town newspaper is a low resolution image of three figures wearing the clouded hoodies. All of their faces are hidden in the darkness, but my heart speeds up anyway. My eyes flash to the headline—The Akatsuki have striked again. Underneath it says the date from last month, about the same time Itachi disappeared.
"I've been looking into the group, you know, to see if we could find out any of their secrets. This was the most recent article about them." I look up at her just in time to see a frustrated look pass over her face. We make eye contact then and her stance becomes a little more confident.
"These are all the articles I have found since they…started with you." She hands me a dozen more, and I flip through them quickly. None of them mention sexual abuse, but all involve stealing and cuts on the victims from blades. Thankfully no one was murdered in the acts.
"I'm the only one…" I murmur to myself. Knowing that I'm the only one being sexualized gives me an odd sense of relief. Sakura slams her fist on the desk next to me which causes a reverberation in the small room. Her green eyes seem to have darkened slightly in anger.
"You are probably an initiation act for them. Agh!" She punches the wooden desk again. Although the anger inside fills me with revenge everyday, watching Sakura react to it makes me wonder just how much I truly hate the individuals or if it's just me hating myself for being weak.
The chair scrapes the floor beneath me and Sakura looks up while I stand. Her fists are already red from the exertion of the few punches, yet she doesn't pay attention to them. All her attention is on me, and I fear it always has been.
"Sakura." I pause, wanting to word my question right. "What are you planning on doing?" She runs her hands through her hair and sighs.
"My first thought was to go to the police. But Itachi..He's one of the chiefs, right?" I nod, knowing this was my first thought all those years ago. "Your Father is the head of FBI for crying out loud..."
I place my hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up at me in surprise. "You can't be involved, okay?" The words come out sounding harsher than I intended, and her green eyes start to become wet. We lock eyes for a minute longer, as if we're arguing with each other.
Suddenly there is an obnoxiously loud ringtone being played and Sakura quickly looks down and fumbles through her purse. She mutters to herself and hurries to grab all her books again. "I—uh—I did what you said and I signed up for the volleyball team. We have practice in ten minutes. I'll..I'll see you around, okay?"
She rushes out without a reply, leaving me alone in the eerily quiet classroom.
(5:45 PM)
It's Tuesday night. The night my parents and Sakura's parents meet every week. With interested looks, my parents watch me grab my bag and head outside with them.
"Where are you going, Sasuke?" My Mom's demeanor makes me tense and I nod my head in the direction of their car. "The Haruno's. Sakura and I are studying tonight."
Their exchanged glances leave me wondering if they are happy or annoyed by the situation. Without another word I continue down our driveway to the car and grab the handle. I throw my bag into the seat and then get inside as well.
They enter the car a minute later and we silently drive to Sakura's home. To keep myself busy, I pick up my phone and read a text from Naruto.
I gotta talk to you about something tomorrow, teme. And don't blow me off!
I roll my eyes and send a text back. Once it shows delivered, I exit the app and go to my calendar. I scan the days until I find the one with my note, reminding myself of Itachi's arrival date. According to another phone conversation between my Mother and Itachi, he should be back two weeks from today. I squeeze my eyes close and listen to the motor as we drive.
The images from the newspapers flash in my mind, and I cringe at the violence that my brother is secretly involved with. Then my thoughts drift to Tenten's dare of all things. I admit that it was the catalyst for Sakura and I talking again, but it isn't the cause anymore.
Sakura is smart—she always has been analytical and brilliant. With her help I've already seen the situation in a different light, plus learned more about the gang as a whole. I've let someone else know about the pain that I have gone through, and my mind doesn't feel as pressured.
I sigh as we pull into their driveway, then park. Before I can escape the car, my Father turns and eyes me suspiciously. "Behave yourself, son." I frown and feel my ears heat up in embarrassment. Out of all the things for him to imply…
"Now, honey. Don't act like that. You're embarrassing Sasuke." I grit my teeth and break out of the car before I say something I'll regret.
As I make my way up their sidewalk, Sakura opens the door with a frowm on her face. I raise my eyebrow in question once we lock eyes. She shakes her head in my direction and then greets my parents behind me.
"Hello, Mikoto-san. Hi, Fugaku-san. How are you guys tonight?" Her sudden cheery attitude seems to ease their spirits as they make their way through the front door. My mother and Sakura exchange a quick hug and then she leads the three of us to the dining room.
Both her parents—Mebuki and Kazashi Haruno—are sitting at the table bickering when we come in. Once their eyes land on us, they stand up and put on strained smiles. This is where Sakura gets it from, after all.
Our mothers hug and then head into the kitchen to bring out dinner while our fathers shake hands. Sakura sneaks up next to my side and gives me a sideways glance. "How was volleyball?" I ask nonchalantly.
She breaks out into a grin and starts to gush, almost making me regret asking. Almost. However, before she can explain too much, the conversation is dropped as the food is brought out and the table is set.
We all sit down at the table and murmur our thanks, then start to pass the food around. I am across from Sakura and next to my Mother, who gives me a glance every now and then as they talk.
The three women discuss a future shopping trip at the new mall, although Sakura slightly frowns at the mention of it. I watch her then as she starts to twirl the same piece of broccoli around her plate, until finally stabbing it and plopping it into her mouth. Curious as to why she has reacted this way, I try to make eye contact.
Her green eyes leave my Mother's smiling face and look into my own eyes. A slight pink shade starts to appear on her cheeks, but her eyes have a somber look. Mebuki clears her throat then and we both look to Sakura's Mother.
"It was nice of you to come by on Saturday, Sasuke. Sakura doesn't get out as much as we wish she would, and rarely has people over anymore." Sakura smacks her face and groans at her mother's words while both of my parents dark eyes land on me. I hadn't told them about grocery shopping with Sakura or about eating dinner here that night.
"We just studied, nothing particularly fun in that." I reply to satisfy my parents suspicion. I sense their eyes still on me, but I ignore them and instead direct my attention back to Sakura. She seems to understand and stands up.
"That is why Sasuke came over tonight, Mom. So, if you don't mind, we're gonna go to my workout room." We both stand up at the same time and then all four of the adult's eyes watch us carefully as I pick up my backpack and we make our way out of the dining room.
Once out of the room I grab Sakura's arm and whisper in her ear,"What was that all about?" Her reply is a finger to her lips to quiet me and she continues to lead me to her workout room.
After I walk into the room she checks the hallway and then closes the door with a sigh. "Sorry, Sasuke. My parents have been bugging me about Saturday and now that you actually came for our family night…" Her voice trails off as her fingers run through her hair absentmindedly.
Without thinking I raise my hand and fix my hair as well, but then I realize my mimicking and quickly stop before she notices. Thankfully her eyes are fixed on the window—wait—!
CCRRAAASSSHHH. Sakura and I exchange a quick look, then dart towards the broken window to retrieve the heavy object now on the wooden floor. She picks it up and carefully dusts a few glass shards off before examining the item. Sakura frowns, unsure of it. "what do you think, Sasuke? Is it connected?"
She hands me the paperweight and I squeeze it in my hand. It is a hard stone type material, although the center seems to hold something more dense. I flip it a few times in my hands to try to find a way to open it, but don't feel any opening. "Maybe. I've never seen it before."
Sakura opens her palms back up and I drop it into her small hands. She sets it on the table and then points to the window. My eyes follow her finger to see a white piece of paper stuck onto the glass. I put my arm out to stop her from getting it, immediately knowing the perpetrator shouldn't have gotten too far away. I decide to take a chance and grab the note.
Once the sliver of paper is in my hands I put my head outside and look around for anyone—especially someone with a black hoodie with bloody clouds. I let out a breath and duck my head back into the room. Sakura's eyes are glazed over and her arms are crossed defensively, but she nods at the paper in my hand.
I unfold the paper and written neatly it states:
The deeper you go, the harder it is to escape the darkness. Find the light before you are consumed by us.
"Is this a threat?" Sakura's shoulders shake slightly, but from the cold air now seeping into the room or nerves from the incident I have no idea. I clench my fist, and unsure of what to answer I just nod my head. Her green eyes stare into me as if she sees the battle going on in my head. The battle of my being stupid enough to involve her in this.
"Well, lets clean up I guess. I'm surprised my parents haven't come to see what happened." She turns her back and I assume goes to collect a broom to clean up, but all I feel is numbness and everything I see is a haze.
Minutes later we've cleaned all the glass up and then decide to study for our test next week. I pick up my backpack and unzip it to grab my notebook, then join the pinkette at the table near the window.
"What should I tell my parents about the window?" Sakura murmurs as she stares at the few shards still connected to the window frame. My stomach churns and the only thing that flashes through my head is to blame me.
I grit my teeth and hold in the venom that wants to escape my mind. I look back up from my notes to her, and am slightly surprised to see a smirk growing on her face. "I could tell them it was like old times—you and I and our mock battles, only instead of hitting you I hit the window. How's that sound?"
"Just use the curtains to hide it for awhile until I can call someone to come replace it." I dryly reply. I watch the glee leave her face and she reluctantly nods her head. "Yeah, okay." Instantly a pain hits me in the chest and I regret answering so seriously.
Sakura stands up and pads over to the window, then pulls the curtains to hide the eerie hole in the glass. Once seated again, she flips through her notebook and then lets out a sigh. "Time to study."
We start to quiz each other over words, places, and people of our literature class, and I slowly start to relax again. Seeing Sakura so focused on trying to get the knowledge across to me, who quite frankly could care less, makes me smirk a few times only to be kicked under the table and quizzed more fervently.
After an hour our studies quickly die down and we are left with an odd sound of both of our pencils scratching down information for the test. Then Sakura lets out a loud yawn and stretches her arms behind her head and I take this as a sign that studying is over.
"Are you ready for your first game of the season, Sasuke?" Sakura chirps. I pack my bag up and then look back at her smug expression. I quirk my eyebrows, unsure of what her silly intentions were this time.
"Aa, as long as the crowd will contain a pink haired friend of mine." I smirk and she chuckles lightly with a slight shimmer in her eyes.
"Since we have Friday off I'll be working all day. I gotta get some sleep the night before so going to your game will be perfect." She winks and I roll my eyes.
"Very funny, Sakura."
"I'm serious! Well, about working Friday. And I'll be at the game, I promise. I couldn't not be there for you and Naruto." I nod my head, knowing fully well that she's never missed a game. Not that I keep tabs on her, but she is one of our loudest fans.
A knock at the door interrupts our conversation and we both turn to look. "You guys done studying yet? Come enjoy your teenage years." Sakura's mother beckons for us to join them. Out of the corner of my eye I see Sakura roll her eyes and suck in a deep breath. Then she nods and her mother leaves the room.
"Recently they've liked playing board games like little children. Do you think our parents are going crazy?" I can tell she is joking, but Sakura sighs and then hops out of her chair, grabbing her study material. I pack up my things as well and we both leave the room.
Barely out in the hallway, Sakura stops and stares up at me. Her clear skin, bright hair and eyes remind me just how innocent she is in some ways—even with her monster strength. I swallow the lump that has grown in my throat, praying that the group never destroys her spirit.
Without thinking I brush away the silken pink hair from her forehead. I feel her tense underneath my touch, but a soft smile comes to her lips.
"Let's take care of our crazy parents."
This chapter has taken a lot of time, but I hope the little SasuSaku ending makes you guys happy. And those last lines are Sasuke by the way. :) He softens up with Sakura and their relationship has been so fun to write. Sarcasm oozes off of both of them, but they're so serious with each other too. I hope you guys enjoy it like I do!