Before someone karate chops me in the head, I'm really sorry for the obscenely long delay. But I've been swamped with finals and I also had the worst case of writer's block ever. As an apology, I made this chapter a little longer. I'm really not that satisfied with this chapter, but it's been festering on my computer for long enough. I'll probably edit this a couple of times...
Anyway, I offer my sincerest apologies and hope you enjoy this... long-awaited chapter.
Fancy Footwork
Chapter 3: Faux Pas
"Hold on tight, Kitten," Deidara shouted over his shoulder. Sakura tightened her grip on him as the bike roared threateningly and sped forward. They weaved between cars, barely avoiding scraping against trucks as they slid past. For some reason, she couldn't tear her eyes from the road, even as her heart pounded furiously against her ribcage. When they arrived at KU twenty minutes later, even when Deidara turned the motorcycle off, her arms were locked in place.
"Sakura-chan? You can let go now," Deidara laughed. But Sakura could barely hear him over the ringing in her ears. Deidara twisted around in her tight grasp. He shook her shoulder but her tense muscles refused to let go.
"I… I can't move my arms, Deidara-san," she managed to choke out. Deidara unsuccessfully attempted to stifle his snort. Sakura gritted her teeth as the shame burned her cheeks. She felt like an idiot, clinging to him and shivering. She could feel the passing people stare at her and she wanted to really become invisible. But as hard as she tried, her muscles refused to budge.
"Deidara, you're late," Itachi interrupted as he emerged from a nearby building. His dark eyes took in Sakura positively glued to Deidara's back and he arched his eyebrow at her.
"Help me please," Sakura requested in a tiny voice. Itachi's eyes lit up with understanding as he took in Deidara's bike and her absolutely terrified expression.
"Deidara does drive like a maniac. Here, try to relax," Itachi said. He reached out, ignoring Deidara's suddenly murderous glare, and carefully pried her arms off of the blonde. A squeak escaped her mouth as Itachi slipped his hands around her waist and lifted her into the air like she weighed nothing. Her face burned as he set her down on the pavement. Even though he quickly released her, she could still feel the lingering warmth of his big hands.
"We'll head up first," Itachi said as he placed his hand on Sakura's elbow and steered her towards the now-familiar building with huge windows. Deidara's acid stare followed them as Itachi held the door open for Sakura. Her blush intensified as she quickly thanked him and darted inside. She ran up the stairs. Itachi followed, taking one big stride for each pair of her hurried steps. When they reached the studio on the fourth floor, Sakura all but flew into the room.
"Good timing, Sakura-chan. What shoe size are you?" Sasori immediately demanded as he grabbed her and dragged her to a spot on the floor.
"Um… 23? What's going on?" she dazedly replied as she watched Sasori hurry around the room gathering cases and closing curtains. In between, he looked up at her, mouth filled with pins and then looked back down at the sketchbook in his hand.
"Will she fit?" Deidara demanded as he burst into the room. Sasori threw Deidara a glare as he finished up shutting all the curtains. He looked around and spotted Itachi and Kisame standing in the corner, watching the chaos unfold. Sasori seized Deidara's shoulder and spun him around to face Itachi and Kisame. The blond stared blankly until his blue eyes lit up with inexplicable fury.
"Out!" he exclaimed. Itachi simply blinked as Kisame snorted.
"What is wrong with you two? Are we not invited to the tea party?" he mocked. But as he spoke, Sasori began unbuttoning Sakura's blouse. Sakura squeaked as she tried to pry his hands off of her. Sasori suddenly stopped and looked up at her, pins still resting precariously in his mouth. His strong fingers refused to let go of the shirt as he stared. For a moment, his sleepy eyes lit up, as if he had had a sudden epiphany. As he leaned in closer, Sakura panicked.
"What are you doing?" she suddenly exploded, grabbing Sasori's hands in hers, crushing the knuckles together. She heard the joints grind together under her fingers. Sasori winced but refused to let go as he looked over at Deidara. Very slowly and deliberately, he spat the pins in his teeth in Deidara's direction, narrowly missing his face. Sakura held on tight as her furious gaze narrowed in on the blonde too.
"Deidara… did you not explain this to Sakura-chan?" Sasori ground out between his teeth. He flinched when Sakura squeezed extra hard and one of his knuckles popped loudly. Deidara's blue eyes widened as he looked between the two.
"I forgot," he finally admitted.
The explosive silence in the room almost made Sakura forget to struggle. She scowled when Sasori slowly turned back to her. His hands slowly relaxed, releasing the front of her shirt.
"Haruno-san… would you please let go of me?" Sasori coolly asked, looking over her shoulder at Deidara. Sakura's eyes narrowed but she refused to release her tight grip. But when Sasori looked down at her, something about his chilling smile made her fingers slide off of him.
"Thank you," he said with a polite incline of his head as he massaged his hands. He strode across the room, plucking a magazine off a random pile and rolling it tightly in his hand. The laminated paper squeaked pitifully in his iron grip. With each step Sasori drew closer, the color seemed to drain out of Deidara's face. The blonde's feet shuffled back until his back smacked against the wall, leaving him with nowhere else to go. Sasori loomed over him, gold eyes burning.
"Deidara," Sasori began with a pleasant smile that sent chills down everyone's spines.
"Weren't you supposed to explain everything to Sakura-chan on the way here?"
Deidara slowly nodded.
"Then why is she under the impression that I'm trying to molest her?"
Sakura scrambled to fit her buttons back into the respective slots while the men were distracted. But in the struggle with Sasori, some of the buttons had flown off and rolled away, never to be seen again. With so many buttons missing, her entire upper chest was left exposed. As she tried to figure out a way to hold the fabric together, a finger tapped her shoulder and she jumped, knocking the top of her head into something solid. She stumbled backwards, rubbing at her skull. She peered upwards, only to find Kisame clutching his chin with one hand. In his free hand, he held out a few white buttons that matched the remaining ones on her shirt.
"Thank you?" she hesitantly said. Kisame flashed a grin and dropped them in her outstretched palm. Sakura jumped again as something warm settled over her shoulders. She peeked over her shoulder and found Itachi standing behind her. His soft hoodie was draped over her, covering the parts that her now defective blouse failed to hide. A soft blush crept over her cheeks as she thanked him. He nodded and then turned his attention to Sasori who was now wielding the magazine high over his head.
"WHY DIDN'T YOU EXPLAIN THEN?" Deidara hollered, nearly nose-to-nose with Sasori.
"Because it was clearly your job to explain. I thought she was just being modest at first," Sasori replied in such a cool tone with a blasé shrug. The two argued bitterly as Sakura pulled her arms through the sleeves of Itachi's hoodie. Kisame guffawed as she experimentally lifted her arm and found that the fabric went past her fingertips.
"Thank you," she whispered to Itachi with a wide smile. He nodded before he strode up to the arguing pair and seized them, spinning them around to face Sakura. Deidara's mouth was wide open, his mouth frozen mid-swear while Sasori's lips were pulled down in a frown. They both stared at Sakura drowning in Itachi's white sweatshirt. She stared back, carefully inching away from Sasori until she bumped into Kisame standing behind her. The bigger man put his hand on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. When she looked up at him, he made a light punching motion, promising to hit Sasori if he made her uncomfortable. The uncomfortable knot in her chest loosened considerably and her frown smoothed out.
"Ah, it looks like I scared you. I apologize, Sakura-chan," Sasori said with a little bow. Sakura eyed him for another moment, digging her fingers into the big front pocket of the sweatshirt. But she slowly nodded and Sasori cracked a small smile. He took a small step towards her and Sakura could feel Kisame's hands tighten slightly on her shoulder, urging her to relax. All of the sudden, Sasori got down on his knees, taking her hands in his. He looked up into her face, golden eyes wide with sincerity.
"I still need you to take your clothes off."
Sakura's eyes rolled back. Kisame grunted as he caught Sakura as she toppled over. Sasori stared blankly. Itachi stepped forward to help Kisame lower the limp girl to the floor. Deidara met Kisame's eyes and they both burst into laughter.
When Sakura came to, she was aware of something cool running over her cheek. She squirmed as she felt the water run down her skin and onto her neck, making her shiver. When she cracked her eyes open, Uchiha Itachi's dark eyes were looking down at her. There was a bottle of water tilted over her face, barely dripping on her.
"She lives!" she heard Kisame chuckle from somewhere nearby. Itachi twisted the cap of the water bottle on and rubbed at her cheek with a towel. Sakura grumbled as she swatted his hand away and sat up, taking a moment to look out one of the windows. She noticed, with a sigh, that the sky was completely dark.
"How long was I out?" she asked, trying to smooth her hair down. Deidara was sitting cross-legged to her left, wearing a mischievous grin. He snuck a glance over his shoulder, stifling a snort.
"About ten minutes," the blonde replied. He pressed his lips into a line, obviously trying his best to stop smiling. Sakura nodded slowly as she looked over at Itachi. His arms were folded over his chest as he leaned against the wall. When he met her eyes, he lifted his eyebrows at her. After a moment, he held out the mostly full bottle of water to her. She shook her head.
"If you're wondering, Sasori's meditating on his sins in the corner," Deidara gleefully announced, pointing at the far end of the room. Sakura followed his finger and found Sasori crouching in a corner, chewing unhappily on a lollipop with loud crunching noises. His sleepy eyes met hers and she felt a blush flame across her cheeks as she remembered how close she had come to being shirtless in front of him. As she shrunk into Itachi's soft sweatshirt, Kisame suddenly stood and kicked Deidara over.
"What the hell, Tuna-boy!" Deidara snarled as he sat up, rubbing at the shoe print on his sleeve.
"This is technically your fault so you should be in the corner with Sasori," Kisame said with a smug smile. The blonde scowled.
"Kiss my butt, Sharkie," he spat. Kisame, nonplussed, shrugged.
"I would, Deidara, but you're not my type," he sniffed. Sakura giggled as the two began flinging verbal jabs at each other. She sat, listening as the insults grew progressively worse, spanning from "moron" to "narcissistic man-woman". Deidara sprang to his feet, as if the added height would somehow strengthen his argument. Sakura scooted back next to Itachi and pressed her back against the cool wall. He spared her a sidelong glance, meeting her smile with a tired shake of his head.
"I would apologize for their behavior, but I guess you're already used to it," Itachi sighed. Sakura nodded. They went back to watching the impressive battle. Deidara, who had run out of insults, swung his foot towards Kisame. Kisame, despite his size, was surprisingly light on his feet as he took a step back to dodge. Instead, he grabbed Deidara's leg and tossed him aside, roaring with laughter. Deidara retaliated by hitting Kisame in the back of the knee, sending the taller man sprawling across the floor. They both scrambled to their feet, fists raised and ready for combat, when Sasori suddenly stood and pushed through the dueling pair.
Sasori took long, brisk steps and stopped directly in front of Sakura who unconsciously shrank against Itachi's side. The red-head cleared his throat and crouched in front of her. He reached into the pocket of his sweatpants and pulled out a red lollipop. As he carefully placed the candy in Sakura's palm, he looked straight into her eyes.
"Peace offering," he simply said in his completely serious voice. Sakura stared blankly up at him, her fear overcome by her confusion. Sasori closed her fingers around the candy as he cleared his throat again. Sakura's eyes were drawn to the light tint of pink at the tips of his ears. It suddenly dawned on her that this was Sasori being embarrassed. She covered her mouth with her free hand, trying to hide her smile. Sasori didn't seem to notice as he spoke.
"I… worded my request badly. I should have explained better. So, I'm going to try again," he said as he got on his knees again. He clasped her lollipop-holding hand in his.
"Sakura-san, will you be our model please?" Sakura was suddenly aware that Kisame and Deidara had stopped arguing and were now watching the very strange exchange. Kisame, who had Deidara in a headlock, looked down at the blonde with a sly grin.
"So you needed a model for your photo shoot. Here I was thinking it was a porno-" Kisame's laughter was cut short as Deidara elbowed him in the stomach and wriggled free.
Sakura tried to process the request in her head. Model? Her confusion shone through her face as she scrunched up her nose and a little wrinkle appeared in her forehead.
"Model?" she finally echoed. Sasori's shoulders seemed to relax a little.
"I'm sure Deidara's bragged to you already, but he's a cosmetology student. Well, I'm majoring in fashion design right now. Every school year, there's a big project where a cosmetology and a fashion student pair up and they have to participate in a fashion show for a grade. Unfortunately-" Sasori began explaining but Deidara popped up interrupted with a frown.
"Unfortunately, the girl who had agreed to model for us flaked on us," the blonde finished. Sasori shot him a flat look.
"That's because you slept with her and then you slept with her friend…. Within the same week," Sasori pointed out. A gasp escaped Sakura's mouth at the accusation. Deidara sputtered, turning a light shade of pink as he tried to deny any such thing. Eventually, he weakly nodded and avoided looking up at Sakura.
"…Modeling? I don't know if I…can," Sakura quietly admitted. But as she lowered her head, Sasori caught her under the chin and tilted her face up. Deidara crouched beside him and took hold of her hands that Sasori had just released. He smiled, blue eyes shining with sincerity, and Sakura was struck by just how much he resembled Naruto at the moment.
"Please, it's just for a photo shoot today. If you don't like it, we'll find someone else to walk at the fashion show," Deidara pleaded with big eyes that melted her heart. Sakura chewed on her bottom lip. As a general rule, she preferred to stay out of the spotlight, both literally and figuratively. But as the two men hovered over her, faces bright with desperation, she felt her firm resolve turn to jell-o. And Sasori's next words effectively stuck a fork in it, deflating everything.
"You can keep the clothes afterwards."
"YES!" she immediately blurted out. A second later, she clapped her hands over her mouth, mortified that her body had responded like that. But Deidara was already on his feet, cheering happily. Sasori squeezed her hands and stood too, grabbing Deidara by the arm.
"We're going to have to take your measurements, Sakura-chan. Hence… the earlier stripping," Deidara called out as he began gathering the black cases scattered around the room. Sakura nodded dumbly, watching the two men scramble about gathering measuring tapes and pins. She had almost forgotten that Itachi was sitting beside her when he lightly nudged her arm. When she looked over, there was an amused tilt to his lips.
"You really like clothes, don't you?" he observed. Her cheeks burned as she buried her face in the big sleeves of his sweatshirt.
"I… It just slipped out…. I don't even know," she groaned. Kisame chortled as he walked over. He held out a hand to her with a wide grin. She hesitated for just a moment before she placed her hand in his and was pulled to her feet. Despite his intimidating stature, Sakura already knew that she could probably trust Kisame with anything… except food.
"I know Sasori can be a creep, but he's a professional. I promise it'll be fine," Kisame said, patting the top of her head. Sakura made a face, eliciting another chuckle from the big man.
"Itachi and I'll be sitting right outside the door. Just shout if you need us," he assured her, ruffling her hair. Itachi patted her shoulder lightly and she knew he was trying to comfort her too. She reluctantly nodded and then watched as her last two shields against Sasori's uncanny ability to quickly undress people left the room. Fortunately, as Itachi and Kisame exited, another man entered the room. Half of his short hair was black while the other dyed green, which surprisingly suited him well. His dark eyes were serious as he set a gigantic black case on the floor.
"Sakura-chan, this is Zetsu. He's a photography student," Deidara explained. Sakura quickly bowed to him and he replied with a small nod. From his neck hung an expensive-looking camera covered with dials and buttons.
This time, she was prepared when Sasori ushered her behind a corner of the room shielded by a white folding screen and quickly helped her undress. She stood, in just embarrassingly white underwear and bra as Sasori nonchalantly took measurements. His hands were cool and nimble, never lingering long enough to make the ordeal unbearably awkward. After what seemed like a million years, he tossed her a bundle of clothes to change into.
"I'm sorry. This must be terribly uncomfortable for you," he apologized as he turned his back to let her change in peace.
"That's alright, Sasori-san," she replied, almost feeling bad for how bad he felt, even as her cheeks burned with shame and self-consciousness. She quickly forgot about all her negative feelings when she looked down at the dress in her hands. It was made of a flowing white fabric that was soft to the touch. She pulled it over her head, straightening out the hem as it settled over hips and subtly flared out. The skirt was made of a translucent, almost tulle-like material that settled over her skin in light, airy folds.
"Can you help me?" she shyly requested, pointing to the thick blue ribbon that wrapped around just under her chest and trailed down the back of the dress. Sasori turned and froze. He surveyed her for a moment, nodding slowly as he carefully analyzed each part of his masterpiece. With a satisfied half-smile, he obligingly took the ribbons in his hands and made a big bow on her back.
"Deidara, come see this," Sasori called out as he placed a hand on each shoulder and pushed her out from behind the screen. As he spoke, Deidara, who had been fussing with a large cosmetics case, turned. He did the same thing Sasori had done, nodding and making little mental notes. After his analysis, he strode up to Sakura, took her face in his hands and kissed her noisily on the top of her head.
"Perfect! Let me do your hair and make-up," Deidara said with a grin, seizing her hands and dragging her across the room. Sakura, head spinning with the fact that a man had just touched her with his lips, blindly followed. She came to just as Deidara sat her on a little round ottoman.
"I can't believe she fits so perfectly," Sasori sighed, shaking his head as he sat on the floor at Sakura's feet.
"You look even better than our old model did, Sakura-chan," Deidara agreed as he began to comb through her hair with his fingers. He began brushing it and rubbing some kind of cream into the thick pink locks. The soothing motion began to lull her into sleep until Zetsu began testing his camera and a bright flash filled the room.
"I don't think I can do this," Sakura nervously said, fidgeting a little in her seat. Sasori glanced up at her, eyebrows lifting just the tiniest bit.
"Just think 'I'm the happiest girl in the world' and everything will be fine," he said with a shrug.
So twenty minutes later, after Deidara had styled her hair into loose curls and dolled her up with make-up, Sakura found herself much less anxious when the two men helped her to her feet.
"Shoes?" Deidara asked Sasori. The red-head shook his head.
"Her feet are too small. It'll look fine barefoot," he said and the two partners nodded to each other.
They gave her a gentle push to the white backdrop and lights Zetsu had set up against a wall. She stood in front of the camera as a strange sense of excitement filled her. It was strange, since she had never done anything like modeling before, but the feeling she had was something she remembered well. It was this same sense of happy anticipation she felt while dancing. So when Zetsu announced that he would be taking a few test shots, she nodded eagerly.
"Just try to be natural," he vaguely instructed her. So she stood, arms at her sides and feet together, looking straight into the camera. After a couple of flashes, Zetsu sighed and leaned against his tripod.
"Too stiff."
Sakura tried to slouch a little, willing her limbs to loosen up just a little, but under the glaring scrutiny of the camera, she couldn't do anything. She cast a desperate glance around the room and Sasori immediately stepped in. He took Sakura's hand, lifting it to press a light kiss to her palm. Sakura drew in a sharp breath, cheeks flooding with heat. As she looked into his dark gold gaze, the camera flashed several times. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Deidara grin and bound over, throwing his arm over her shoulders. Under each succession of blinding flashes, the duo hugged her and tickled her like it was the most natural thing in the world. Gradually, the plastic smile faded as Deidara's ridiculously corny antics and Sasori's almost ridiculously nonchalant expression overcame her anxiety. Every once in the while, she was shoved back behind the screen, tossed clothes to change into and then dragged back out.
It was when they were on the final outfit that the door opened and Itachi casually peered into the room. She stood in the middle, flanked on either side by Sasori and Deidara, who were each holding one of her hands. Sakura wore a flowing white top dotted with daisies and red ribbons for straps. Paired with it was a pair of calf-length black leggings with white polka dots to make her look somewhat like a retro princess. The same flowers were tucked into her hair and scattered around her bare feet. She laughed as Deidara joked and half-flirted with her, barely noticing as Zetsu took dozens of pictures. The photographer paused as he clicked through the pictures, scrutinizing them with a thoughtful expression. After a moment, he looked up and met her anxious expression.
"Perfect," he simply said, giving her a small smile. Deidara immediately enveloped her in a tight hug, pressing a giant kiss to her forehead. Sasori gave her shoulder a squeeze before he went to Zetsu to shake his hand and thank him for his help.
"I'll get the prints to you by next week. It was good seeing you guys," Zetsu greeted after he had packed up his equipment and slung his large bag over his shoulder.
Sakura stood in the corner just outside the folding screen. The stared down at the gorgeous outfit that made her legs look so very nice and long. With a sigh, she went to slip behind to change back into her uniform. At the beginning of the photo shoot, Sasori had apologetically sat down and re-sewn the buttons back onto her blouse. She touched the white buttons, remembering the shock of the camera's flash blinding her but making her heart pound at the same time.
"That looks good on you," Kisame said, making her jump. He grinned apologetically when she looked up at him with wide eyes, hand clutching her chest.
"You should keep that on when we go out," he continued, gesturing to the feminine outfit. Sakura automatically smoothed her hands over the airy folds as she looked up down. She looked back up at Kisame, shaking her head.
"It doesn't look right on me," she quietly said with a half-smile. Almost immediately, Deidara's face appeared under Kisame's arm, his blue eyes narrowed with indignation.
"You look beautiful, Sakura-chan," Deidara scolded her. Sakura let out a little laugh but Deidara grabbed both her shoulders, his forehead furrowing with irritation.
"Don't laugh. Listen to me, Sakura-chan. No one has ever looked so good in Sasori's clothes," the blonde firmly said, shaking her a little. Sakura stared at him, a little confused as to why he was insisting so strongly. When his scowl deepened, she slowly nodded and Deidara's expression lightened as he set her back on her feet.
"All we need to do is fix your hair a little," he declared as he spun her around and twisted her hair into a knot at the base of her neck. He then pulled all the flowers out of her hair, leaving just one tucked behind her ear. Deidara surveyed her for another moment and then nodded.
"You look perfect," he firmly said, poking her in the nose, and went off to clean up his equipment. As Sasori circled the room, retying all the curtains, Sakura looked herself over in the mirror. To her surprise, the girly look did suit her. The pretty girl in the mirror smiled back at her and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. As she spun around once, Itachi's reflection appeared at her shoulder.
"It suits you," Itachi said with a little incline of his head. Sakura watched her cheeks turn a soft shade of pink as she smiled up at him.
"Thank you," she quietly said and watched his lips curl upward. As she looked up into his reflection's eyes, she saw unspoken words lingering there. But when she turned around to speak, she was interrupted.
"Time to go eat, Kitten!" Kisame declared, clapping his hand on her shoulder. Sakura blankly stared at him.
"Come on! We'll treat you to dinner," he insisted, pulling her forward. Before she could protest, her shoes were slapped onto her feet and she was swiftly escorted downstairs and out of the building. When she finally managed to get her bearings, she was sitting in the back of a sleek black car with tan leather seats. Very carefully, she peered into the driver's seat and found Itachi looking back at her. From the passenger's seat, Kisame gave her a toothy grin. Sasori climbed into the empty spot next to her and tossed a paper bag into her lap.
"What's this?" she inquired. When the red-head simply shrugged, she peeped into the bag and found all the clothes from the photo shoot. She gasped as she ran her fingers over the soft folds of the white dress on top. A wide smile stretched her face as she impulsively flung her arms around Sasori in a tight hug. Before her mortification could catch up, Sasori responded by squeezing her with one arm.
After a short ride to the restaurant, the waitress, who clearly was familiar with the men, immediately greeted them. She paused to give Sakura a double-take but quickly recovered her friendly smile and ushered them to a booth. And there, Sakura sat, wedged between Itachi and Kisame while Deidara and Sasori flanked either side.
But before she could pick up a menu, Kisame said, "We'll have 5 udon bowls." Seeing her puzzled expression, Deidara laughed.
"We always order the same thing here. Sorry, Sakura-chan," he chuckled. But Sasori, with a completely serious expression, set his glass of water down on the table and turned to her with a furrowed brow.
"Tell me, Sakura-chan. You're a great dancer, so you've probably performed in front of other people before. So why are you so… unconfident?" he demanded and the entire table went silent. The table jerked as Deidara tried to kick him under the table but hit wood instead. Sakura stared at him with wide eyes, equally shocked and flustered. She could feel her face grow hot as she stared down at her hands.
"Um… it's kind of a long story…" she began, twisting her fingers together.
"Well we certainly have time," Itachi kindly said and his warm voice helped soothe her fraying nerves. Sakura sucked in a deep breath through her nostrils and slowly nodded. She looked up at the four curious faces surrounding her and gave a shaky smile.
"I grew up poor," she began.
My parents ran a small café together. They barely had enough to make ends meet but we were happy together. I remember on weekends, I would sit in the shop, greeting customers and making small talk with the regulars. And my mom and dad were so in love. It was like a fairytale to see them so affectionate with each other even after ten years of marriage.
But I noticed… that things became a little strange.
When I turned seven, I noticed that my dad started coming home really late on certain days. He kept saying he had plans with friends and he would leave mom and me alone a lot. At first, my mom didn't say anything because dad did have friends from his high school in Kyoto that sometimes came to visit. But as the months stretched on, I could see my mom getting stressed out. When she thought I was in my room doing homework, she would stand in the kitchen doing dishes and just cry.
Just before my eighth birthday, my mom found a business card for a nearby hotel and decided to investigate. She was worried that my dad had gotten involved in some bad loans or something since it was such a high-class hotel we couldn't afford. So one day, after school ended, she took me to this hotel. When she asked the front desk, they said that my dad frequently came to visit and that he was staying at one of the suites upstairs. That poor lady even escorted us up there. But when we knocked, there was no response and we began to get worried so the woman from the front desk opened the door.
Sakura suddenly stopped speaking, her knuckles turning white as they gripped the table. The silence pressing around her made her eyes sting with shame at the mere memory that sat on the tip of her tongue. But to her surprise, it was Itachi's hand that touched her arm, silently urging her to go on. Taking another deep breath, she nodded again, even as the acid churned in her stomach.
It was my dad…. And another woman… doing… you know.
My mom was horrified. As… the woman… was… bouncing, she saw my mom and she screamed. That startled my dad, who looked up and saw us standing in the doorway. He pushed the woman off and began to get dressed while trying to explain things to my mom.
And my mom, my brave and beautiful mom, shut that door and walked back home, not crying once. I remember a few days later, she was sitting next to me on the couch, sliding divorce papers over to my dad on the coffee table.
As my dad was packing his stuff up, I remember watching him from the door. And I asked him, 'Do you still love me, Daddy?'
And he just kept his head down, loaded his stuff in the truck, and drove away.
I heard from my mom that he had married that woman from the hotel. She also told me he died in a car accident a year later.
Sakura looked up when she heard an odd noise. To her right, Kisame's dark eyes were wide as he tried to stop the tears from flowing. He snorted, trying to stop his nose from running but he was forced to rub his eyes on his sleeve. Sakura couldn't help but crack a smile as a huge, muscular guy like Kisame cried over a sad story. Deidara silently patted his shoulder, obviously used to the big man's surprisingly sentimental side. Kisame sniffled and in as dignified a manner he could manage, he squeezed Sakura's hand before going to blow his nose.
My mom sold the café and took up a job at a consulting firm. For some odd reason, she kept being promoted and promoted until the company was paying for her to travel around the world to meet with foreign clients. She earned so much money that within a year, we moved out of our old, cramped apartment and into a nicer building. She bought me all the toys I had wanted, all the clothes I could want, as if she was trying to compensate for her not being there. But I didn't complain because I knew she would always love me.
"So your mother is…" Itachi began.
"My mom's in England right now. She said she's scheduled to fly to Thailand in a few weeks," Sakura explained. The table fell silent again as the waitress stopped by to drop off their steaming bowls of noodles. As she snapped the chopsticks apart, Sasori poked her in the shoulder.
"You never explained your problem with Itachi's brother," he reminded her. Sakura snorted as she looked into her hot bowl of udon. The men looked up at her with surprise as she met their gazes with a wry smile.
"Sasuke-kun was my obligatory first crush since he was the most popular boy in our middle school. Seventh grade, I decided to confess to him by making him these really beautiful homemade chocolates. I even made them bitter since I knew he hated sweets. When I handed them to him, he just walked off without thanking me. Later, when I was cleaning the classroom, I saw from the window as he dumped all his chocolates, including mine, into the incinerator," she explained, her eyes hard. But her expression softened as she dipped her chopsticks into the bowl.
"It was one of the rare times when my mom was home. I was so upset that I wouldn't leave my room for three days and I wouldn't eat at all. She was worried sick over me and she cried because she thought she had failed as a parent. After that, I decided that I would stop making such a fuss and making my mom worried. So I became the model student, quit dancing and decided to be as plain as possible," she finished with a half-shrug. But as she began chewing her first mouthful of noodles, Deidara shook his head.
"Because you've had unreliable men in your life, you can't trust them anymore," the blonde surmised, rubbing his chin. Beside her, Kisame swallowed quiet sobs as he slurped up his noodles, nodding in agreement.
"And since you haven't felt acknowledged by them, you've lost your self-confidence and twisted your self-image, yeah," he continued. Sakura paused eating to look up at Itachi with a skeptical expression. He nodded, as if agreeing with Deidara's points. She sighed. There was little use arguing with a man studying psychology.
To top it all off, as the waitress stopped by to drop off an extra dish in front of Sakura, she was dabbing the corners of her eyes with her apron.
"Oh, I didn't order this," Sakura said.
"Free of charge," the waitress sniffled as she headed back into the kitchen. Sakura sighed. Her life story had a tendency to make people cry, even if she had stopped seeing it as sad a while ago. It was her life and it had shaped her into the person she was now. In a way, she was glad that her dad's affair was exposed early since she and her mom were living much more happily without the man. But as she looked up into her new friends' sympathetic expressions, she felt a little glad that she had decided to share. As soon as she came to this new conclusion, Deidara slammed his hands onto the table and stood.
"I've decided, that WE," he declared, gesturing to his three teammates, "Will transform Sakura-chan into her true, lovely potential and help her get revenge on that bastard Sasuke, yeah!"
Sakura sank low in her seat as the rest of the restaurant broke into applause. As her face burned with embarrassment, she caught Itachi smirking before he tossed his sweatshirt over her head and hiding her from view.
She didn't know whether to hug Deidara or to have Kisame sit on him.
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