Chapter One

Sakura walked up to her house and was surprised that her parents were still awake.

'Sasuke is still here.' She thought with hard feelings.

'Che, probably babying him and Saki. Always about Saki.' her Inner chimed in, annoyed. Sakura snorted and walked inside, ready to face her parents. At once, as if her parents were expecting it, they got up and proceeded to yell at her.

"What do you think you are doing out so late?" her mom yelled.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" her dad said sternly.

Sakura looked around the living room. Her parents were standing up in front of her and she could see Sasuke and Saki on the couch next to each other with slightly disappointed faces.

'Che, they're not even worried.'

'Of course, but if it was Saki….'

"Answer back!" her mom yelled before continuing. "What is this... Why do you smell?"

As if their noses weren't working before, the rest of the people took in a breath and slightly cringed.

"YOUNG GIRL. WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING?! WE DID NOT RAISE YOU TO BE LIKE THIS!" Her father had snapped and in response, Sakura's face was wiped of blankness and replaced with anger. The anger she had been holding in for years.

"YOU WHAT? YOU DID NOT RAISE ME! WHO WAS THERE TO PRAISE ME FOR MY ACOMPLISHMENTS? WHO WAS THERE TO HELP ME UP WHEN I WAS DOWN? WHO WAS THERE TO GREET ME ON MY BIRTHDAY? YOU ALL LOOK AT SAKI AND IGNORE ME, SO DON'T EVEN SAY THAT YOU EVER RAISED ME BECAUSE I RAISED MYSELF." Sakura was fuming and her wrath was worse than Tsunade.

"I'm sorry for not being Saki. I'm sorry for not being as good as Saki. I'm sorry for ACTING LIKE MYSELF!" Sakura was on a roll. "And would you like to know why I was out? I was healing a couple of Jonin on border patrol and they were smoking. They offered some alcohol to me saying that it won't be long that I would be drinking myself and I wanted to taste it so I did. Now do what you always do; pay attention to Saki and leave me the fuck alone." Sakura growled out before she stomped up to her room.

Her parents stood there for a couple minutes, shocked, before her mother yelled out.

"DON'T YOU DARE USE THAT LANGUAGE AT US!"

They were prepared to storm Sakura's room before Saki stood up and stopped them.

"Let me handle it." she said softly. "You should go home, Sasuke. Tell your brother I said hi and that I can make it to tomorrow."

He nodded at her and looked at Sakura's room with worried eyes before leaving.

Her sister had stopped trying to talk to her an hour ago. She would knock on the door and plead that she talk to her but Sakura would have none of it. She glared at the picture on her shelf next to her bed; it was a happy picture of her and Saki, before all the comments had started.

'We'll show them… We'll show them what they missed but for the time being, act normal. We wouldn't want to ruin our surprise…' her Inner said with a smirk.

Sakura agreed and went to sleep. She set an alarm early enough so she could get up without anyone knowing. And when morning did come, she got dressed and ready. She left the house through her window and kept her door locked. She went to the hospital and started her rounds. The only praises she ever got were from the children she healed; none of the others gave a thank you. It was afternoon that she got a visitor from her office.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" Sakura asked dryly but inside, she couldn't stop her heart to beat erratically. Her Inner managed to tone it down to a regular heartbeat by the time he started to talk.

"You and I know that the border patrol story was bullshit. What happened." he commanded and Sakura smirked at him.

"Oh, and why would you like to know? Why don't you go find Saki and make out with her or something?" She leaned back from her chair and looked at her nails, as if he was no one important.

Sasuke growled and pounded his fists on her table. "We're not like that, we're just friends. Stop avoiding the subject."

Sakrua glared at him from her position and got up.

"Now that's bullshit. The entire village knows you two have a thing. Now fuck off. My life is my life. And that fucking table you're breaking is expensive. Why don't you go and drool over Saki like everyone else." She gave him a death glare before sitting back down.

'Does she really think like this? Does she think no one cares for her? What happened?' Sasuke thought forlornly before responding.

"What happened to you? You were so happy and-" he said softly before catching her glare.

"Life happened."

"But I don't understand. You became a doctor by the age of 15 and-"

"Saki made Anbu that age too."

"That doesn't matter because-"

"OF COURSE IT MATTERS. ANYTHING I DO, SHE DOES BETTER." Sakura had had enough.

Sasuke froze and kept quiet before quietly replying.

"We're not dating, we just meet up so I can fill her in on what's been going on with nii-chan. I meet up with her so I can get to know you better."

Sakura tensed and looked at him. She felt a shimmer of hope but she crushed it.

'Heh, had to resort to Saki to know about me. Never even asked me anything. Always drawn to Saki.'

She looked at him in amusement.

"You couldn't have just gone up to me, huh?"

"Well I tried but you always seem to push people away."

"Ne, how about those times you ask me where Saki is?"

"I… I didn't know how to talk to you." He admitted and Sakura laughed. He could sense the dark tone in her laugh. She thought in her head for a bit before replying.

"If you wanted to be friends, just ask." 'It's too late Uchiha, I've made my decision.'

Sasuke smirked and held out his hand.

"Friends?"

"Friends." And with that, Sakura shook his hand. Inwardly, she laughed darkly, knowing that it wouldn't matter. She would leave him in the end and show him all the pain she had felt. Only during that time she will show him how her life has been life but for now, she'll do her best to actually become friends with him.

'Although I want to, I can't love you. Love only gets in the way and I do hope that you won't get in the way.'

Sasuke did not know what she was thinking and was too happy to even think of anything like that. He concealed his happiness and replaced it with a smirk.

'After all, first comes friendship, and next comes love.' he thought.

If only Sakura had known that all those meetings with Saki were about her. If only Sakura had known that Sasuke cared more for her than she did to him. If only Sakura had known that he watched her and was angry that the civilians talked to her like that. Only then would Sakura change her mind and not join the Akatsuki but it seems like everything came too late.

It seems like in Sakura's life, everything always came too late.