Crossroads
Callista Miralni
disclaimer: nothing but plot. You can find all the fun things I used as a reference to build this story on pinterest: /callistamiralni/crossroads/
Alas, this was extremely difficult to write in the original. Perhaps my edits at the beginning will help make sense of the entire thing.
"Uzumaki!"
Naruto and Sakura stopped as a classmate jogged towards them. "I'm glad I finally caught up to you," Morino Idate exclaimed. "I've been chasing after you since you passed through the Quad."
Naruto sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "Ara? You have? Sorry about that Morino. You should have yelled louder."
"I've been yelling. You're just too caught up with the pretty girl you're with. Morino Idate by the way. What's your name?"
Sakura returned the bow. "Haruno Sakura," she answered stiffly. "I'm a friend."
Idate's eyes widened at her name. "Haruno Sakura? As in the Haruno Sakura?"
"I didn't realize my name was known outside of the classroom," Sakura replied wryly.
"Everyone knows who you are," Idate babbled. "You're the pride of this institution, along with Uchiha Sasuke. Is it true Senjuu Tsunade offered to mentor you through medical school?"
Sakura stiffened. "It's true."
Naruto threw an arm around her shoulders. "Isn't she awesome?" He grinned. "We're going to get married."
"Su-ge." Idate's eyes were wide with admiration. "Uzumaki, I didn't realize you hung around such accomplished people. Uchiha-san's your mentor and Haruno-san is your girlfriend. How did you get all the good karma?"
Sakura wiggled out of Naruto's hold. "He's being stupid," she said sharply. "We're not dating, we're just friends. Naruto-kun can't get that through his thick skull. If you will excuse me, I have somewhere to be."
Without another word, Sakura stormed off to the student union, their intended destination.
"Ano..."
Naruto sighed. "Isn't she mean?" He said with a fond smile. "Don't let her tough act fool you—Sakura-chan's the kindest person alive."
Idate sweatdropped. Is this what they mean when they say love is blind?
It had been gnawing on her thoughts since graduation. Ino had to know what was going on. Picking up her cell phone, she composed a text and sent it to six different people.
Has Sakura-chan been acting weird lately?
Hinata replied first. She hasn't been online lately but I'm sure she's busy preparing for med school. Why?
Tenten answered second. Weird how? Saki-chan's always weird.
It's summer. Sakura-chan's usually never around during the summer. Karin shrugged off her query.
Sai's response made her twitch. Not anymore than usual. Are you crazy Ino-chan?
Kiba's direct response made her question her choice in friends. Nope.
However, Sasuke's answer surprised her the most.
Wouldn't you be acting different while you're in the midst of a life-changing transition?
Of course she was overreacting, Ino tried to assure herself. Aside from getting married, graduation was the biggest event in their young lives. It marked the passage from a comfortable student life to the fast-paced corporate world.
Why did she still feel so uneasy?
"Hahaue."
Mebuki turned around and saw her eldest daughter standing in the doorway of her office. How unusual for Misaki to be visiting at this time. Usually, Kizashi kept their children busy in the office.
While Sakura was groomed to take over the hospital from a clinician's standpoint, Takashi was trained in healthcare administration and handled the business section of the hospital. Misaki, with her degree in marketing and public relations, handled all the PR work for the hospital and the family's charity foundations. It was expected that Kazuto would manage the foundation when he graduated.
"Take a seat," Mebuki gestured to the chair in front of her desk. "It's not every day you come to visit me."
Gracefully, Misaki sank into the chair. "I'm sure you're busy," she began. "So forgive me for being direct Hahaue."
Misaki hardly asked for forgiveness. She was always the type who did what she wanted, consequences be damned. This simple statement piqued Mebuki's interest and she set her case file aside.
"Why are you doing this to Sakura?" Misaki's piercing jade eyes simmered with anger. "You never did this to Takashi-nii or me, so why subject her to this? Why are you and Chichiue always so harsh on her?"
So this is what this was about. Misaki would never understand, even if she bothered to explain their reasons. It was best to let her draw her own conclusions, false as they were.
It would only make the charade easier.
"Sakura shows the most potential. You were gifted with beauty-"
Misaki flinched. She hated the reoccurring comment. Didn't anyone else see how beautiful Sakura was?
"-but Sakura can heal. She was born to take over the hospital and she can only do so with this arrangement. Do not interfere with this Misaki. I will make sure you regret it with every fiber of your being if you do."
Of all her children, Misaki looked the most like her. The gods, however, decided to have their fun and molded Misaki to be her entire opposite.
"I won't regret anything," Misaki replied softly. "I wonder if it is you who will feel remorse when Sakura's life collapses around her five years from now and there's no one else to blame but you and Chichiue."
Without another word, Misaki got up and left Mebuki to her thoughts. The woman smoothed the tension from her face, staring at the door to her office.
"You're a fool, Misaki, if you haven't realized how much your sister loves him."
-ino-
She could only see Sakura's back from the doorway.
"Hey," Ino called out to her. "Are you okay?"
The other woman didn't turn around. Sakura wrapped her arms around herself tighter. "Yeah. I'll live."
Her choice of words unsettled Ino, but she wasn't about to let Sakura know that. "Temari-san called," she informed her, taking a seat on the edge of the deck. "They're in the middle of negotiations with the terrorists. She's inside the building and agreed to help him find whatever they're looking for in exchange for Kazuto-kun's safety. He's with the paramedics right now being treated for his wounds."
"What happens if they don't find it?"
The sound of crickets filled the gap. Neither one could say what would happen if whatever they were looking for was not found.
"And to think," Ino attempted to be humorous. "My biggest concern for the evening is why everyone was being so secretive."
Sakura tensed again.
"We were so close to finding out too! But then... all that happened. Sakura-chan, you know, right? Will you tell me?"
Facing her, Sakura's lips were taut. "Ino-chan, I don't think it's a good idea."
"Oh come on!" The woman needled. "It's not like I'm going to tell anybody. Who is there for me to tell? I can't even get on facebook and announce it to the world."
"Ino-chan, you can't announce it to the world. It's a big deal-"
"So just tell me already," she said impatiently. "I thought we were friends. Best friends even."
"We are best friends. I just can't tell you."
"You know," Ino narrowed her eyes. "You won't even talk to me anymore. Sakura-chan, you know you can trust me but you don't. If this is how you're going to be, maybe we shouldn't be frien-"
"I'm engaged!" Sakura exploded. "I'm engaged and there's nothing you can do or say about it. I'm getting married in October and I'm not even in love. My mother's been planning my wedding since I came home from school and I've been playing pretend with Uchiha Sasuke to make it seem voluntary and not an arranged marriage."
Sakura turned away from her quickly, shoulders shaking. Ino was glad she was already sitting down or else her knees would have given out from under her.
"Engaged?" She repeated weakly. "To Sasuke-kun?"
"Yes," Sakura confirmed, wiping her tears away. "To Sasuke-kun."
The door slammed shut and Ino turned around to come face to face with the one person she knew would not take the news of her engagement well.
Naruto.
-sasuke-
Standing at the bottom of the stairs, he could hear every word Sakura screamed at Ino. Naruto was already at the door, holding it open, before he stepped outside.
"Is it true?" Naruto asked as Sasuke slid the door open. "Are you really engaged to Sasuke?"
Sakura whispered his name. "Don't... don't do this."
"What am I doing?" Naruto said bitterly. "It's not like I bared my heart to you again and again. Did you and Sasuke have fun making me look like an idiot? A girl like you, deprived of attention because of her beautiful older sister Misaki, relished in the attention I gave. I bet you had fun stringing me along."
"Naruto-kun, stop it," Ino demanded. "Don't do this right now."
"No, we need to do this now," Naruto snapped. "What would have happened if the announcement happened at the party like it was supposed to? You would have gotten a good laugh at humiliating me."
Sasuke put a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto, it's not her fault."
"You're right," he replied, facing him. "There's also you."
His head reeled back as Naruto punched him in the jaw. Ino screamed. Gingerly, Sasuke touched his jaw and wasn't surprised to find it tender to the touch.
"I trusted you!" Naruto yelled. "You knew I was serious about Sakura-chan; why the fuck would you pull a stunt like this? You were supposed to be my best friend."
Wincing, Sasuke glared at him. "You, serious about Sakura? Don't make me laugh. Infatuated, I'd believe, but you don't love her. You don't love anybody but yourself."
"I love her!"
"Get real, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled back. "I'm your best friend; I know you better than anybody else. You love the attention Sakura brings you. You love the rise in status, the prestige that comes with being associated with her. You think I wanted to invite you out to those parties this summer, even though I knew you would act like a jealous jackass? Do you think the one choice I was allowed to have for my goddamn wedding I wanted to waste on you? I was going to ask you to be my best man, to stand by me at that altar as my brother, but I see my choice was wasted on a fool."
He didn't need to see Naruto's face to know his words hurt him, true as they may be. Shepherding Sakura and Ino inside, Sasuke paused at the door to say one last thing to him.
"You may not like being stuck on this island with us, but I'm glad you're here safe."