Chapter 13 – Like it never happened
Sakura stood underneath the showerhead and let the water glide over her face and down her body. It had been thirteen days since she was let out of hospital and Sakura had managed to successfully avoid Sasuke for those thirteen days.
She felt so awkward around him now that even the thought of him made her want to cringe. She'd… kissed him. As in, lips touching lips, and she'd liked it. Sakura could literally bash her brains out against the wall right now if she wanted. But would it work? Or just leave a nasty mess for her to clean up afterwards? Not that it mattered; she'd still done it.
Sakura's nose scrunched up under the flow of water as she remembered it, not out of disgust, more like embarrassment. She'd been distracted by his touch, so much so that when he did kiss her she happily complied. Even though she'd frozen at first, she still kissed back, and that was enough to put her in the wrong.
This couldn't be happening to Sakura, she didn't do love, she couldn't do the whole romance thing. Sakura wasn't exactly famous for romance; in fact, she was probably the opposite of sentimental. Plus the last thing she needed was getting close to someone, like she'd already said before; Sakura had already broken enough laws for her liking.
So here she was, ducking and diving from Sasuke's radar whenever the chance presented itself, he was even calling her up to his office at every chance he could get, he clearly wanted to talk about the whole thing, unlike Sakura. She would love nothing more than forgetting the whole thing and act like they did before. Fat chance of that happening any time soon, she didn't think he was the type of person to willingly forget something like that. Mind you he was engaged to Karin, he most likely wanted to forget it as much as her, it might ruin what they had. That red headed sloth was pretty fickle after all and it would give her the chance to clobber her, well, try to anyway. Karin looked like the catfight type, not the fist-to-fist type that Sakura was.
Sakura huffed and spluttered water back up to the showerhead, she was fed up, and was pretty much content to spend the rest of her life in the shower. The world outside the cubicle was complicated and annoying, two things that Sakura hated with passion.
But all good things had to end so with a groan Sakura turned off the shower and climbed out, wrapping a huge oversized fluffy towel around her and another slightly smaller one around her head. Sakura padded out of the bathroom and into her bedroom, the room was warm and cozy, something she loved about this room but was faced with something not so lovely sitting on her bed.
Ino sat there, crossed legged in the middle and leaning back against the headboard, waiting for Sakura to exit. She was still wearing her maid's uniform as she grinned over at Sakura, her pale fringe covering her left eye as her right eye twinkled.
"You do realize you've been in their way over an hour right?" She pointed out, an amused look now covering her face. Sakura merely rolled her eyes as she walked over to the bed, scrubbing her hair with the towel as she went.
"What's up forehead? I'm bored and you seem to be holding back from me these days." She pouted. Sakura raised an eyebrow at her remark and sat on the bed next to Ino, giving up with the towel drying and left it in the messy heap it was currently styled in.
"Who says I'm holding back, Pig?" Sakura shot back, throwing the towel into the corner of the room to pick up later and tightened the towel wrapped around her body. Ino snorted and rolled her eyes, causing Sakura to give her a glare.
"Forehead, you can't hide anything from me. I'm like the Buddha when it comes to gossip." She joked, Sakura laughed a little along with Ino at that one, it was pretty true after all.
"Common Forehead, I promise not to tell and it might help you, you never know." Ino begged, giving her the beaten puppy look, something that even Sakura couldn't resist. After five minutes of intense staring she caved with a huge sigh and looked down at her hands where they'd began to twist nervously around each other.
"Sasuke kissed me." Sakura mumbled. Ino almost didn't catch it; she had to lean forward so she could hear, but when she did her mouth fell open, practically brushing the bed sheets she was sitting on.
"He what!" Ino yelled, getting up on her knees and leaning over to get closer to Sakura. Sakura just attempted to hush her friend as she began to make a scene; Ino was waving her arms around frantically as she knelt on the bed, her mouth open and her eyes as wide as dinner plates.
"He kissed me." Sakura deadpanned, speaking more clearly and giving Ino a bored look. She couldn't believe it! Someone like Sasuke kissed Sakura? It was unheard of…
"Forehead, are you shitting me?" Ino asked, she sat back on her knees and faced Sakura her eyes still as wide as before. Sakura's brow scrunched up as she stared out at the far wall, wondering how she could get out of this one.
"I knew I shouldn't have said anything." She muttered darkly. Ino shook her head from side to side so fast it almost looked like a blur. Sakura looked over and raised an eyebrow.
"How could you have kept this from me! Have I taught you nothing?" Ino yelled in her banshee cry, causing Sakura to cringe in pain.
"You didn't teach me anything to begin with!" Sakura yelled back, the smallest amount of acid leaking its way into her voice. Ino gave another beaten puppy look and Sakura sighed, she'd never win with a look like that, you'd have to be heartless to refuse that look!
"Sakura you're so cold." She sniffed. With an irritated huff Sakura leaned back on the headboard, now willing to spill her guts if it meant she wouldn't become another victim of that look again.
" When did he kiss you? What was it like? Was there tongue?" Ino gushed, her lone eye shinning with excitement as she prodded for details. Sakura sighed and began to talk in a bored tone of voice.
"At the hospital, no there wasn't tongue but that didn't stop it from being, oh I don't know!" Sakura groaned, not wanting to admit that it felt so good she thought her kneecaps had melted. Ino raised and eyebrow at her friend and giggled, Sakura was so innocent at times!
"Oh Sakura, Sakura, Sakura, just what am I going to do with you?" Ino pondered, flopping back against the head bored as she stared at the roof in deep thought.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Sakura inquired, raising an eyebrow. Ino snorted at the comment, turning her head round to face her friend.
"I mean you quite clearly have no idea about kissing, do you? Have you ever even been kissed before?" She asked, causing Sakura to choke on her own spit, that question caught her off guard.
"W-what do you mean? Of course I've kissed someone before!" Sakura stuttered, her cheeks glowing bright red as she flustered through her words. Ino's grin only grew wider at her reaction, this was turning out to be a lot more fun than first anticipated.
"Forehead, have you even been with a guy?" Ino teased, both eyebrows reacting the sky as she watched Sakura's reaction. Her cheeks only became redder as Ino prodded for more information. This was going to get good.
"Forehead, How inexperienced are you exactly? I actually feel bad for Sasuke, it probably felt like kissing a donkey." Ino teased, Her flipped her fringe out of her face before it fell back into place. Sakura's face was now entirely red, even the back of her neck was red!
"Oh shut up Pig, I doubt you've done much more than me!" Sakura growled. Ino only laughed at the comment, how ignorant was she about this stuff anyway?
"You wish Forehead, you see I am on a completely different level from you." She stated proudly, folding her arms over her chest. Sakura only raised a pink eyebrow, but it had no effect seeing as her face was still bright red.
"You see my little Foreheaded chum, I have done the deed. Unlike you, my little innocent flower." Ino grinned with the air of self-importance and watched as Sakura stuttered and spluttered at the comment, fully understanding what she meant.
"Why are you so persistent Pig, it was only a kiss, nothing more." Sakura growled, her face not turning any other colour except red. Ino only snickered at her, the girl just wasn't getting it, the reason she was being so annoying was because it was only a kiss. This was Sasuke Uchiha she was talking about here, Sasuke… Fecking…Uchiha. Sex god of 2011 and the most good looking man Ino had ever laid eyes on, and what was Sakura doing, bloody avoiding him! The woman clearly was blind, or had no taste, either way it was painful for her to watch.
"Forehead, it was not 'only a kiss', you are so blind sometimes." Ino complained. She huffed and slumped on the bed, looking over at Sakura. Her cheeks had finally started to turn back to their normal creamy colour, but she doubted they'd stay that way for long.
"And how exactly am I blind? I can see perfectly fine thank you very much." Sakura said with heavy sarcasm that made Ino snort from her slumped position on the bed.
"I don't mean literally, you moron. I meant that you quite clearly can't see what's in front of you." Ino stated, avoiding the glare that was sent her way from her friend.
"There's nothing in front of me Pig, Sasuke doesn't like me in that way." Sakura huffed, crossing her arms over her chest and towel. Ino gave her a sideways look, silently asking if she really was that oblivious. Clearly though, she was. Damn pink heads…
"Forehead, he kissed you. That all in its self is pretty obvious, and he doesn't look like the kind to cheat either so that means it's a serious liking. Also he's engaged to Karin, that all on its own speaks volumes." Ino finished, giggling along with Sakura a little at the mention of Karin. She wasn't exactly very popular around the Mansion, given the way Fugaku talks about her when neither she nor Sasuke are around.
Sakura thought about what Ino had said about Sasuke, it couldn't be true, he couldn't love her. He knew what she was. Sakura was willing to believe anything at this point, she just needed an explanation as to why he'd kissed her, she needed something to make everything right again, back to the way things were.
But there would always be the memory of that kiss, that one hot, simple yet passionate kiss that felt so wonderful and thrilling that Sakura would never let it die. She knew it was no good remembering, but she couldn't help herself, a kiss like that would out shine any kisses she might receive in the future, not that she was planning on having anymore, but one could hope.
With a sigh Ino checked her watch and got up, she had to finish her shift before heading home, no matter how badly she wanted to stay she also wanted to keep her job. Sakura said nothing as Ino rolled off the bed and picked up the towel Sakura had thrown in the corner. With a wave of her hand a quick good bye Ino left the room, hoping that Sakura might consider what she said and get her head out of the sand. That woman deserved happiness, no matter how much she denied it…
…!...
Karin sat in the corner of some unknown bar with Suigetsu slumped over the table in front of her. Karin had finally managed to convince Suigetsu to meet up with her and report back. Karin wasn't too happy with the out come though, so she wanted to know what exactly went down.
Suigetsu sat there with his head resting on his arm as he nursed his beer with his free hand, not in the mood to talk at all. Karin had been holding back on her, something he wasn't too happy about, it may not affect him directly, but it certainly hurt his pride.
With an annoyed sigh Karin leaned back in her chair and looked over at Suigetsu, her arms folded firmly over her chest as she watched him with a cool gaze.
"Well?" She prodded, hinting at him to start talking. Suigetsu only looked up at her from his slumped position before speaking.
"You didn't tell me she could fight, Karin." He stated simply, watching Karin's reaction. Karin just scowled, did that make much of a difference? She didn't think so anyway, she was still out numbered.
"I fail to see how that makes much of a difference. I didn't even know she could fight. As far as I know she just hung around street corners and slept in newspaper." Karin remarked, causing Suigetsu to give her a sideways glance from where his head rested on his arm.
"Karin, she took out six of my men, six! She moved to fast and could knock someone out with one punch, you've gotten pissed off with the wrong woman." Suigetsu warned and sat up, his cheek a blotchy red from where he'd been leaning on his arm. Karin just gave an irritated huff and crossed her arms and legs, staring off to the side, nobody could make her change her mind.
"Are you saying that I was wrong? Don't judge me Suigetsu! It's how I do things." He looked at her with a bored gaze, taking a deep gulp of beer. He'd heard this mini speech many times before.
"How did the hole thing go anyway? She had a pretty bad head wound when I last saw her, that should be enough to get her into hospital." He observed. Karin twitched in her seat, she didn't like the outcome at all, not one bit. Thing's had only gone from bad to worse in face. That little rat had one-upped her, something she wasn't going to admit out loud.
"It's not worked out the way I'd planned, Sasuke seems to be avoiding me like the plague these days. The only time he's home is when I'm unconscious. And to make matters worse he was with her almost the entire time she was at the hospital." Karin huffed. Suigetsu lifted an eyebrow at her comment, wasn't she expecting that outcome? If Sasuke was having an affair with that woman (which he highly doubted) then wouldn't he be a little concerned for her well being and visit to make sure she's okay? He just shook his head at that one, Karin could be so blind when it came to things like this, she only saw things the way she wanted to see them.
"Karin, does he suspect anything?" He asked. Karin looked over at him and raised a perfectly sculpted brow, she guessed that the only thing he'd be worried about was his own back.
"Itachi's been snooping around, but the only thing they have on us is your hair colour. I think you'll be fine." Karin replied with heavy sarcasm, twisting a strand of hair n the fingers as she said so. Suigetsu nodded and wrapped his hands around his beer glass after taking another deep swig, taking in what had been said.
"How did they find out my hair colour?" He asked, slightly confused, if anything it should have been his reputation that they found out first. Karin snored at the comment and continued to play with the red strand of hair as she spoke.
"Apparently the rat caught a glimpse of it when you went in for the kill." She answered for him, giving him a sour look. Suigetsu just shrugged and looked into the amber coloured liquid, sometimes he wondered how this woman ever got him wrapped around her little finger.
"How long will it be until they found out it was you?" He asked, Karin sent a glare his way and humped, she wouldn't be found out that easily, plus Sasuke wouldn't suspect her, she didn't show him her violent side, also he loved her, well, she thought so anyway. And that was enough to put her off the wanted list.
"I'll be fine, I'm not that stupid, and don't you think it was all me! You did it too!" She snapped, Suigetsu just looked at her. He should have known that she'd shove the blame on him, just because he had agreed…
Something that he now regretted.
That woman was something else. She had managed to take on eight fully-grown, armed men and win. She was fast and strong, so strong in fact that she was able to break his bat in half with a simple punch. He had no idea what she was, but he knew for certain that he didn't want to come across her again. If he did then he didn't know what would happen. She was a force that shouldn't be reckoned with when angered. He knew it was only a matter of time before he got caught himself. He just hoped it wasn't by her.
With a sigh he finished off his pint of beer and stood up, ignoring the fact that Karin was watching him like a hawk as he did so.
"Where are you going?" She questioned, not moving from her seat. Suigetsu just grabbed his jacket and looked over at her before answering.
"Home. This is the last favor I'll ever do for you, Karin." His voice was solemn and low, showing his slightly depressed mood. Karin simply flicked her hair behind her shoulder and looked away from him.
Suigetsu was done with this, he knew he'd get caught and was prepared to tell them anything, he just wanted out of this right now. So with a depressed huff he walked out of the pub and walked down the street that led to his home, leaving Karin behind him to fume.
…!...
Sasuke was pissed, plain and simple. He sat there, in Itachi's laughably huge office with a deep scowl on his face, eating his lunch. Itachi sat at the opposite side of him with an amused look on his face as his younger brother sent a deep, dark scowl at the far wall, all the while shoving more rice into his mouth and chewing with vengeance. The whole scene was rather entertaining in Itachi's opinion, not that he was willing to admit that in front of Sasuke, he'd probably swing for him.
But even though he found the display of anger from his brother funny, he knew that something was up, otherwise he wouldn't be up here at all. It was a well known fact to Itachi that he was the only one Sasuke considered close enough to talk to, so when ever he had some sort of dilemma it wouldn't be long before he knew about it. But even then it did take some prodding from his part, as soon as Sasuke was in sight he usually would clam up and brood, much like he was now. So with an amused chuckle he lent back in his comfy leather office chair and looked over at his brooding brother.
"So, Karin still making those lunches I see." He joked, trying to get him to get out of that clam before he started asking question's, otherwise he'd be trying all day. Sasuke instantly stopped eating and looked down at the box in his hand and frowned, well, frowned deeper he guessed.
"Yes, apparently so." He said with heavy sarcasm, causing Itachi to snort. The look on Sasuke's face was priceless, his eyes traveled down to the box in his hands and Sasuke looked at it like it was filled with mold in stead of rice and egg's. If only Itachi had a camera…
"What's so funny?" Sasuke asked, raising a brow in what appeared to be an intimidating manner, it didn't work.
"Your face. Your looking at it like it's got some sort of disease inside or something." He said chuckling, not missing the small glance Sasuke gave the box again before looking back at him, his mouth set in a thin line and his eyebrows creased.
"Something happen with Karin? She's not usually this…open? About her affection's. It's almost like she knows her position as your betrothed is in trouble." Itachi mused, giving out a small, amused chuckle at the end. Sasuke eyed him wearily for a moment before setting his box on the side, loosing his appetite.
"I guess you could say that." Sasuke replied slowly, edging a little at what was going through his mind, not knowing if he should just come out with it or not. Itachi gave him one of those looks that told him to just spill the beans, not caring what he had to say, just as long as he said it. With a deep sigh he gave up, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms defensively across his chest as he prepared to just speak his mind.
"It's Sakura." He stated simply. He had been planning on saying more but clammed up half way through, Itachi was going to have to try harder than that to hear his problems.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at Sakura's name before chuckling; he really should have known it was about her. That half-breed was definitely more than a simple 'acquaintance'; maybe Sasuke was finally starting to realize that himself, one could only hope.
"And…" Itachi pushed. Sasuke just scowled at the desk and answered in a muffled voice.
"She's been avoiding me… And it's irritating." Sasuke scowled at the desk and slouched back in the chair he was sitting in. Itachi smirked. If only Sakura knew Sasuke could turn into a ten year old again by simply avoiding him, he was sure she'd find it as amusing as he did.
"And why exactly has she been avoiding you?" He prodded. Sasuke's cheek's turned slightly pink and Itachi's eyes nearly popped out of his sockets. Holy crap, what did he do? Itachi thought.
"Quit giving me that 'dear caught in the head-lights' look, it's disconcerting." Sasuke mumbled. His cheeks still dusted with the small pink blush. Itachi blinked a few times before answering, he didn't even realize he'd been making a face.
"Sorry, you caught me off guard for a moment. I didn't think it was possible for you to blush." Sasuke ignored the jibe sent his way before answering his older brothers previous question.
"What I did is none of your concern, Itachi." Sasuke growled slightly in his muffled response and Itachi looked heavenward, why did his brother even bother coming up here to talk if he was just going to clam up…
"If I don't know what happened then how am I possibly going to help you, don't be foolish." He joked and ignored the death glare sent his way.
"Who said I need your help?" Sasuke muttered back under his breath as he sunk further down into the chair, almost making Itachi chuckle again.
"Sasuke, why else would you be here?" Itachi answered with amusement clear in his voice. Sasuke sent him another Uchiha death glare before answering with plenty of acid in his tone of voice.
"You're enjoying this!" It wasn't a question; he just needed to say it. Itachi simply shrugged it off before asking Sasuke the same question again.
"Why exactly has she been avoiding you?" He eyed him carefully, looking for any sign's that might help him figure out what was going through sasuke's mind. However complex or confusing it may be. Sasuke's eyes returned to the spot on the desk again where he continued to scowl, muttering dark thoughts as he went, which Itachi ignored.
"I kind of kissed her." He muttered so quietly and quickly it was almost impossible for Itachi to pick up, but he just managed.
With a deep in take of air he sat back in his office chair, his eyebrows hitting his hair line as he did so. That was the last thing he'd expected, in fact he thought that maybe it was just one of their usual squabbles gone bad and the blush was just Sasuke feeling embarrassed about worrying over it or something. Not him kissing her, in fact, Sasuke kissing her wasn't even on his long, long list of things he might have done, it was very un-Sasuke like indeed. So much so in fact that he couldn't blame Sakura for avoiding Sasuke, he'd probably do the same in her situation, not that he was expecting Sasuke to kiss him anytime soon, but he got where she was coming from.
"How can you 'kind of' kiss someone?" He asked, disbelief clear in his voice as he spoke. Sasuke glared at the table, like he was trying to light it on fire and mumbled his response.
"Shut up Itachi."
"Do you like her then?" Itachi felt very immature for asking, but it couldn't be helped, he wanted to know. Sasuke's scowl deepened as he thought of the answer, but he didn't know how to say it out loud. In his mind he could all but scream it, which was amazing all in itself, but he needed to tell Itachi, he needed to get some outside help, someone who knew about love and loss, someone who had gone through the same as he did, and that someone was sitting right in front of him now.
"I-I…Uhh…" Sasuke stammered, looking up to lock eyes with his older brother who was now staring at him with a small frown on his face, wondering what had his brother stuttering. Then his eyebrows hit the ceiling and he coked on his own breath, the final cog in his head clicked in his head, Sasuke was trying to say he loved her, which he already knew of course, but it was still a major step for Sasuke to be saying it of his own free will. Itachi had all but prepared himself to force it out of him, physically if need be.
"Holy cow, you really do, don't you." Itachi half laughed, half chuckled, his eyes lightening up as he said it. It was about time his brother admitted it, he needed this more than anyone after all. Sasuke only mutely nodded his head, it was a small movement, but enough for Itachi to notice. His cheeks were blazing red now from his still slumped position on the office chair and Itachi could only smile down at his brother.
"Congratulation's, little brother." Itachi spoke with optimism clear in his voice. Sasuke just glared, knowing full well that the optimism in his voice was not needed. Not when he was currently engaged to someone he would rather not see conscious and was also in love with someone who was half vampire and who was also avoiding him like her life depended on it. Sasuke really wanted to slap him silly for that smile his brother had plastered onto his face.
"Not helping Itachi." He growled. Itachi just raised an eyebrow and leaned back in his chair, intertwining his fingers and resting them on his stomach. He rolled his eyes before answering.
"Sasuke, if she's avoiding you then don't wait for her to come to you, go to her for god sake, use that brain of yours for something other than figures." He joked, earning a look from Sasuke. He was right, Sasuke thought, but keeping her in one place with him long enough was going to be a problem.
"I can't just go skipping off into the sunset with her in toe, Itachi. I'm still engaged to Karin." He shot back with annoyance and sarcasm deep in his tone of voice; he really didn't want to be engaged to Karin anymore. Ever since he'd fallen for Sakura he'd began to notice all the things he wouldn't have noticed otherwise about the redhead. Like how she was too picky and bossy, and how she hated things that didn't go her way and how she was ready to scratch any woman's eyes out if they so much as touched him. He was starting to notice who she really was, and not the woman she'd made him believe she was.
Itachi raised an eyebrow at that one, was he being serious? He was letting Karin get in the way of him actually being with someone he loved and not just simply lusted over. Sometimes Itachi actually wanted to smack him across the head with a shovel, it might smack some sense into him after all.
"Break up with her then. It's not your fault she's a bitch." Itachi deadpanned. Sasuke gave him a questioning look before Itachi spoke again, answering the unspoken question.
"Sasuke, she's a bitch, everyone hates her, heck, even Taya doesn't like her. And that's saying something." That really was saying something, Taya liked everybody, and he means everybody. Sasuke just grumbled for a bit before he sat up in the chair and placed his elbows in the desk and intertwining his fingers, his head just behind them.
"It would be dishonorable to leave her for another woman, she deserves a better explanation than that." Sasuke stated, Itachi only snorted from where he sat; now that was just an excuse.
"Sasuke, I will never understand you, you know that, right?" Itachi shook his head and watched as Sasuke stood up, and placed the box in his pocket. Sasuke only glared at Itachi as he turned on his heal, prepared to ignore that comment completely. He'd gotten what he'd wanted anyway, he knew what he was going to do about Sakura now, thanks to his irritating brother. Itachi merely smiled as his brother retreated from his office, so with a chuckle he called out in an overly happy voice, hoping to annoy his brother just that little extra to complete his day.
"Go get her tiger!" He heard Sasuke growl as he slammed the door, making his paperweight shake from the force of it. So with another entertained chuckle he returned to his computer where he'd been writing E-mail after E-mail before his younger brother had interrupted him.
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...Yo... =] thanks for reading! Sorry that it's been forever since i actually updated but the intrenet decided it was going to be awkward...'sighs'... i put the reason up on my profile if anyone was wondering why i'd stopped but it's started working again so we're all good!...Or so i hope... it might act up again but i've got my fingers crossed in hope that it won't. Anyhoo, please review! =]