Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi. Hoo-yeah!
A/N: Hisashiburi, minna-san! Finally, after finishing cram school and taking the entrance tests, I'm happy to say we're back in business! For those who haven't grasped the meaning of cram school, it's a preparatory institution wherein they provide you learning for advancement for your chosen school career. Kinda like a review center that my beta–reader keeps on saying the last time.
But enough about me! As a gift to our beloved readers, we decided to add a little spice in the story.
Thank you very much for answering the question in the previous chapter, your answers really made me crazy (and I was laughing my head off to most of them). This really meant that you loved the story and that gives me inspiration to make you some more (It's also fun to make Sasuke's life a living hell). Anyways, let's ditch this intro and head on to the story!
Recap:
"DDDDAAAAADDDDDDEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!"
Both teens went silent for a moment. Sasuke immediately averted his gaze from Haruno then focused instead on the baby he was holding. 'Kami-sama, oh no…' he thought pleadingly as the simulator giggled, waved his arms in the air and kept on calling him Daddy. He turned to Sakura who was staring at him, her eyes wide and mouth gaped open like a fish.
Yep. They both heard it.
With shaky fingers, Sakura pointed at the baby. "Why did Koichi-kun stop crying when you simply held him? And…" she moved her finger upward, this time at him. "Then he called you daddy."
When Sasuke made no move to answer, she continued. "That's really weird. Because Kurenai-sensei told us that the baby could only talk after he hears the voices of his parents. And the only voices he could recognize are mine and…"
"And?" he asked shakily.
"Suke-san's." Sakura walked closer to him, determination fused in her pupils.
Sasuke suddenly had an inkling to step back just like what he was doing now. "Sasuke-san…" she began, her voice smooth. "Are you by any chance…"
NO!
DON'T SAY IT!
IF YOU DO…
I"LL…
"…Suke-san?"
Chapter 23: Behind the facade
Itachi sighed as he surveyed each and every aisle for his dear brother's presence. He rounded up to another corner and there he caught sight of Yamanaka Ino leaving the girl's bathroom. His eyebrow went up. He decided to follow the blond teen. He had a hunch that he might find his brother in this way.
"If that girl is here, then that means…"
……………
There was stillness in the air.
In the midst of it all, a pink-haired girl stood. With confused green eyes and her mouth in a huge "O", her finger still pointed at the boy in front of her. On the other hand, the boy who was holding the infant stimulator looked petrified with his pale skin becoming even paler and his onyx eyes as big like dinner plates.
And the culprit…
Giggling and waving its mechanical arms to and fro all the while calling…
"Dadddeeee! Daaadddddeeee! DAAAADDDDEEEEEEE!"
It was a good thing that Sasuke was holding the baby tightly or else he would've dropped it on the floor. He was rigid as a stick and surely, if Sakura pushed him slightly with her finger he would easily fall down onto the ground with a loud thump.
Yup. As quoted earlier. Petrified.
With the words echoing in his head, 'What to do…what to do…'
Inside our dear Uchiha's brain, five well-thought of strategies was formed. And the choices were…
Shrug his shoulders and say, "I'm sorry but you've got the wrong person."
Admit the truth and say, "Why didn't you say so? Come here and give daddy a kiss."
Hands the baby to Sakura then run like a freaked out cheetah.
Do nothing. Just glare hard.
What the heck? Drop dead.
And now, analyzing these choices according to Uchiha Sasuke's reasoning…
There's no way I'm going to be able to find my way out by lying. She will still continue to prod and demand that I'm Sasuke! And if that happens, then that will be the end of me!
(Sweatdrops) As if I have the guts to do this! I already made a mistake at the last festival and I'm determined to keep my body intact. No freaking way. She already gave me the cooties!
The hell! I'm not going to do this! She'll think that I'm a gutless coward!
WTF? I'm kinda doing it right now…
Since when did I come up with this…ehem, stupid idea?
And the list went on and on.
Itachi rounded up to once more another corner. "Hmm…I lost sight of Sasuke's classmate. He's not going to forgive me if I don't find him in time. He doesn't want to bump into Sakura-san in fear that he'll get himself in an impossibly tight spot with her." He sighed when he couldn't find any sign of Ino anywhere. "Oh well, time to look for another lead."
While finding his younger brother, his mind swirled into numerous events which were sadly about their near future. After Sasuke's graduation, they would move out from their home and back to the Uchiha mansion. From then, Sasuke would be recognized as the next president of the Uchiha Industries with Itachi as his right-hand man. Fugaku would remain in the company as the head of the board of trustees. For Itachi, that would be his father's way of keeping Sasuke stringed for his own personal benefits.
Their mother on the other hand was rather…spineless. Yes, he thought of her as spineless from the beginning. She couldn't even voice out her feelings and she couldn't even protect his ototou from their father's malevolence. If only things didn't turn out to be bad from the beginning…
"Well, enough of the sorry part. I still have to find him," he said to himself, turning right to the fruits aisle.
…………
Meanwhile…
After planning and rejecting hundreds of other choices from his head, Sasuke's brain took a major drastic turn. "Uh…nooooo! I'm running out of ideas! Think, Sasuke! Think brain of mine, think! If I don't do something now, it's going to be bye-bye for me! Damn it…"
Because of his overexerted effort of utilizing his wits, Uchiha Sasuke's brain gave up on him. In lay man's terms, he was experiencing a severe case of mental block. Now that his brain went on temporary hibernation, his limbs got affected. His jaw also dropped then his eyes went wide. And thus…he became even more petrified.
Like a stiff rigid post.
Added that the baby was wiggling in his rigid hands…it was a hilarious sight.
Which unfortunately, our equally scared Haruno Sakura-san noticed this weird behavior.
"S-Sasuke-san? Are you all right?"
'I'm doomed…doomed…doomed…'
"Sasuke-san?"
'I'm doomed…'
"Are you all right?"
He only looked at her. With his eyes glassy. Almost dead.
'Doomed…doomed for eternity…'
"…suke-san?"
'Waaaahhhh! Ni-chan! Save me!'
…………
As if on cue, Itachi appeared. The raven-haired man practically floated his way into the scene. Sakura blinked when she caught notice of him however, his brother was too damn stiff to acknowledge him. The older Uchiha raised an eyebrow at the sight before him. Pretty and adorable Haruno-san was somewhat engaged in a face-off with his little brother.
However, his ototou rather had turned into a post while holding a squirming toy.
'Oh, this must be what he was referring to as his baby boy. How cute,' Itachi thought.
He felt the icy chill coming from his brother's direction. He sighed. Time to break the ice.
"Haruno-san, I'm surprised to see you here and," he added with a hint of teasing on his tone. "Looks like I have no trouble in finding my little brother at all because he's with you."
Sakura squeaked. Weird. Why do girls do that all the time?
Itachi sighed again as he patted her head in an affectionate manner. "I was just kidding, Haruno-san. So, how's it going?"
"Umm…I…anou, Itachi-san…"
"Hm?"
"You see…I…"
"You what?"
"Well…" Sakura flexed her rather stiffening finger as she pointed again at the object of her regard. Itachi followed her gaze and mentally sweat dropped to what she was referring to. Standing in front of them was none other than his brother who apparently been turned to stone by the pink-haired medusa in front of him. And in his arms was an electronic toy with arms and feet flailing happily while crowing out the words...
"DDDAAAAADDDDEEEEE! DDDDAAAAADDDDEEEEE!"
Again and again.
"Daddy?" Itachi blinked at the loud miniature in his brother's arms. He didn't mention that this Ochibi could talk. 'Sasuke never mentioned this one little tidbit to me,' he thought. Turning to look at his brother, the raven-haired Uchiha noticed that Sasuke hadn't moved even an inch from his spot.
He bit back a laugh. "Oh, I see. He's frozen solid. I wonder what caused him to be like this." Or maybe, his brother's nightmare finally came true. As if that was going to happen anyway. He tapped his brother on the cheek and chuckled at his lack of response. "Oi, ototou. You should be ashamed of yourself. Here you are standing in front of a very pretty girl and you got yourself tongue-tied. What's wrong?"
Sasuke craned his neck sideways to glare at his brother. Up until now, he was doing his hardest to recover from the shock. With the wailing baby still locked within his grip, he bitterly knew that he has to find a way to escape this horrible dilemma. And he had to act fast before everything results into a lifetime trauma. Taking a deep breath, he tried to make himself appear normal then gave the people in front of him a shaky smile.
"I'm fine, 'nisan. You don't have to worry about me," he answered in between clenched teeth. He loosened his grip on the baby's sides as he glared at Sakura who immediately shrank under his gaze. "Haruno-san and I were just having some kind of…"
Sakura piped in. "A conversation, Itachi-san."
"A misunderstanding," Sasuke growled.
Itachi nodded, even though confused at the events. "Uh-huh, a misunderstanding."
"Yes, a misunderstanding!" the blushing Haruno nodded.
"Call that a life-to-death misunderstanding!" his brother affirmed.
His older brother's expression went stern. "Okay. A misunderstanding? Fine, I got it."
Sasuke and Sakura let out a sigh of relief. Finally, someone understood his or her little 'situation'. But then, Itachi burst out laughing with a hand running through his hair in an I-don't-know-what-you're-talking-about gesture, they were proven wrong.
Dead wrong.
"Gomenasai, but I don't get what you're talking about! What's the misunderstanding all about? Hahaha."
Both teens sweat dropped. How forgetful of them! Of course, they hadn't told Itachi-san about their predicament. YET. Before Sasuke cursed himself for his stupidity, Sakura stepped in. To ease things up and avoid the infamous Uchiha Sasuke's glare, she filled the older brother in with the details. While the younger Uchiha, on the other hand, tried his best not to crack under pressure. And the baby, who suddenly found an interesting hobby of pulling his supposedly 'daddy's' bangs was not helping at all.
After hearing everything, Itachi put his laughter on hold. "Let me get this straight. As soon as you put little Koichi-kun in my ototou's arms, he suddenly waved his arms and legs and called him Daddy? And now, what you're saying is…"
Sakura twiddled her fingers nervously. "…um…then I remembered that Kurenai-sensei told me that once Koichi-kun recognizes his mother and father's voice, he will call them as his 'Mommy' and 'Daddy". But the problem here is, Koichi-kun only responds to my partner, Suke-san. And Suke-san technically, is his daddy. Which means…"
Itachi gave Sasuke a knowing look. "I see. So the father that Koichi-kun should be responding to is not my little brother here but your partner, Suke-san." Sakura nodded eagerly while Sasuke groaned. "Okay. Now I finally get it." He then walked towards his brother who took a step back. Upon reaching him, he grasped his brother's shoulders.
Sasuke looked at his brother coldly. "W-what are you planning to do, 'nisan?"
Itachi bowed his head, his expression hidden behind his bangs. "I can't believe this…"
"Can't believe what?"
"What a gutless coward you turned out to be."
Sasuke's eyes widened. Was his brother pressuring him to admit the truth to Sakura? And didn't he use that line from the beginning?
Then Itachi stared at him in the eye. Then shook him hard. "How dare you, stealing someone else's wife! If Suke-san were here, he'd pound the living daylights out of you. And what's this? You're even stealing his baby!"
Sasuke gave up the remaining self-respect for his brother right that very minute. "What are you babbling about Itachi! I didn't steal her away from whomever guy she's with! And in any case, shouldn't you be helping me in finding a way out of this? And," he pointed at Sakura. "Don't even think of going on her side!"
"Oh? And care to explain why the kid called you Daddy?" his brother offered helpfully.
Damn it, he was really going to kill his brother.
"I don't know how this happened. The baby started yelling Daddy at me! What was I supposed to do?" Sasuke ranted. They were getting nowhere! He threw Sakura an accusing look. "This is all your fault. If you didn't ask me that stupid question, I wouldn't be facing my brother's bad side!" he said angrily.
The girl squeaked. "I-I never meant for this to happen…I'm so sorry."
Itachi bonked him on the head. "Quit picking on Haruno-san, Uchiha Sasuke. I thought I taught you better than that. Respecting the opposite sex is one of the basic qualities that a gentleman should have."
"I'm not a gentleman!"
His brother flapped his hand in a dismissive manner. "Okay, okay…you didn't have to remind us that you like sadism."
Sakura blushed like a ripe tomato on what she heard.
Sasuke's cheeks flushed crimson. "Shut up!" Eyeing his brother for what seemed the umpteenth time, he decided to give this up. "We're not getting anywhere! Itachi, we only had a simple misunderstanding. Apparently, this little midget here mistook me for his Daddy. That's all."
Tapping one manicured nail, Itachi replied. "And what about the part that this baby called you daddy? Sasuke, not even I can vouch for what you're saying. This is an infant simulator we're talking here. He may have an encoded chip that will instantly recognize Suke-san's voice and your voice. Unless…"
He gave his brother a smug look. 'I wonder how he will be able to come up with a plan to escape this very deep hole he dug himself into…'
Sasuke braced himself for the startling conclusion.
"…you really are Suke-san."
Sakura's eyes widened.
On the other side of the mall…
"Man, its hot!"
Naruto fanned himself with a fan while holding Sachi on the other. Since they were given a day-off, they decided to crash into the mall. Casting a wary glance at the person sitting across him, he laughed. "Why the long face, T? Just because Sasuke-chan didn't come with us, you'll do nothing but sulk all day. We're at the mall, take Sachi with you and have some fun!"
Tenten gave him a glare. "I'm not good with kids, particularly that whining infant simulator you're holding!" She ran a hand through her pony-tailed locks. "And that stupid Sasuke! Can't believe that I have to do my hardest to get his attention! The nerve! He chose those stupid sales on canned tomatoes rather than me!"
Her blond friend gave a low laugh. "Well that's Sasuke-chan for us. The densest being that ever walked the Earth."
"Argh!" she finished her orange juice in one huge gulp. Tossing the paper cup into the trash bin next to her, she sighed. "Although, Sasuke's a dummy when it comes to situations like this…I'm kinda happy whenever I see him like that."
Sachi giggled happily when her father cuddled her. Naruto raised a brow at that statement. "Hmm…yeah. The all dense and no reaction personality. Even though we've been friends with him for a long time, I still think that the Sasuke we're hanging out with and the one in geek mode are two different entities."
The girl smirked. "That's because he's good in acting."
The blond smiled. "Maybe."
Man, was foxface trying to tick her off? "Hmph! So what? Are you saying that he's different when it comes to us? And what of the pink-haired ogre? Don't tell me that she is doing something to Sasuke behind our backs!" Tenten demanded, clenching her fists.
Naruto laughed, obviously enjoying his friend's discomfort. "Haha. I sense jealousy. Don't worry I'm sure that she is not doing anything gory to our Sasuke-chan! He's not going to let that happen, I assure you."
Sachi whined for her mother's attention. Naruto handed the baby to Tenten who reluctantly received her. "Looks like dear little Sachi wants her mother's attention. You know, if you're going to be nice to her then maybe you'll have a chance to be Sasuke-chan's wife!"
To his amusement, Tenten stared at him with stars in her eyes. "You think so?"
"That was a joke."
She glared at him angrily.
…………
Now he would really kill his brother.
Sasuke gave his brother a threatening look, daring him to repeat what he just stated earlier. Beside him, Sakura stood rigidly with her eyes still wide. Itachi on the other hand, looked smug. And somewhat happy that he dropped the bomb with the same effect as those C4 nukes that his friend Deidara made as a hobby.
Well, with Koichi whining on the way…
"Will you take this one off my hands? And please stop his whining." the raven-haired teen shoved the baby to Sakura. She made a startled gasp but accepted him anyway, almost forgetting that she was supposed to change his nappies. After mumbling some sort of an excuse, she tottered off to the bathroom.
…………
Now back to the brothers…
When Sakura was out of earshot, Sasuke confronted his brother. He grabbed him by the collar and hissed at his ear. "What the hell was that for? You dared to test my patience!"
Itachi didn't appear surprised. In fact, he yawned much to his brother's annoyance. "Quite the opposite, ototou. And based from the reaction you made earlier, I say my plan worked."
Suddenly, the urge to teach his brother a lesson quickly dissipated. The young Uchiha raised an eyebrow. He threw his brother a suspicious look. "I don't believe you. You trapped me. Just when I thought I could put this situation behind, you plunged me into a deeper hole! Now I can't come up ways to make that girl forget about what happened earlier."
Itachi poked Sasuke on the forehead. "Foolish little brother. Haven't you realized that she was already suspecting you from the moment that baby called you Daddy? Lying would not get you anywhere. And even if you ask me to do it for you, it will be useless."
"I know!" Sasuke's expression went grim. "It's just; it's still too early for me to shed my façade. Until I finish my senior year and graduate with honors, I'm not going to revert to my old self."
His brother's expression softened. He patted him on the head in a comforting manner. "Even though you come up with pathetic ideas, I still support you. Once you graduate from Konoha Academy otousan is going to hound you to replace him as the next head of the company."
Sasuke huffed. "That manipulative old geezer."
"Whatever. So let's set that aside for a while and focus on the problem at hand." Itachi tapped a finger under his chin. "Judging from what she said earlier, I think that there's a way in order for you to escape this dilemma. However, I'm going to need your cooperation for this one."
Kami-sama, was he this willing to go under his brother's control? "Anything. Just help me get out of this mess."
Add to his horror, Itachi laughed. Rather evilly in fact. "Good."
Sasuke scuffed his shoes nervously. "So what should I do? Kill that dumb toy? Silence that girl? Finish them both? Tell me right now!"
"Okay. First, I want you to…scream like a little girl."
"I'll do it, I'll…WHAT!" He grabbed his brother again and shook the hell out of him. "Are you nuts? I thought you understood what I'm saying earlier! I told you to help me get out of this mess that Haruno created. Not to help me make a fool of myself!"
Itachi yanked his brother's hands off him. "Hai, hai. I was just testing your self-control, ototou. Earlier, you looked like you were raped by thousands of your fans. Repeatedly. Since you're so alert and ready to kill, I guess you're prepared enough for my plan to work."
The younger teen's eyebrow twitched. "If this is another one of your sick games, I'm going to take this matter in my own hands."
"Don't worry. You'll like this idea. But first," Itachi replied. He brought his hands forward, palms upturned. "Position your hands like this."
Sasuke was still skeptical but did it nonetheless. With a grin, Itachi brought his hands down, hitting his brother's hands with a loud smack. "Banzai!" he said.
"What the hell was that, 'nisan?"
The older answered with a grin. "Fighting spirits cheer from Kisame. Your good luck charm in case you face Haruno-san's wrath."
"Argh! WHY YOU! YOU'RE PLAYING ME!"
"Achoo!" Sakura wiped her nose with a tissue. She finally finished changing Koichi's nappies and her darling baby dozed off to dreamland. Sighing, she threw the 'wasted' diaper in the trashcan then set off to where her supposed 'husband' and Itachi-san are. As she made her way to them, numerous thoughts filled her head.
Everything suddenly turned strange.
She was wrong. Asking that stupid question to Sasuke-san. It was clear that he hated her. But she couldn't think of any reasons why he suddenly acted that way. Maybe it was because of Neji. Since Neji was still her current boyfriend (cooling-off) and he was Sasuke-san's rival, it was reason enough for the obsidian-eyed male to simply dislike her.
Well that was okay with her.
"But…I'm still uncertain," she said to herself. Glancing down at the baby in her arms, she took a deep breath. "Why would Koichi-kun respond to Sasuke-san? It's weird. The baby should only respond to Suke-san since he's officially the father. How did that happen? Unless…"
She was still in deep thought that she wasn't able to…
BUMP!
"YEEOOOOWWWWWWCCCCCHHHHH!"
"EEEYYYYAAAHHHH!"
"WWAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"
"Oh my, I'm so sorry!"
And then…
"YYYYOOOOOUUUUU!!!!!"
…………
Back to our hero…
Sasuke glanced at his watch for the fifteenth time.
30 minutes.
"Damn that girl, where the heck is she? Changing that toy's diapers shouldn't take for more than 5 minutes," he grumbled, pointing angrily at his watch.
His brother didn't share his enthusiasm since he was too interested in the bargain bin next to him. His deep-set eyes caught sight of a press-on nail set for half a price. "Hmm…I wonder if buying those ones will save me the effort of having a manicure…" he mused, looking at his own nails.
Sasuke sighed heavily. "And he said that he was going to be serious." Watching his brother fawn over his nail art made him cringe. Itachi was the vainest person he had ever met in this planet! "He's too busy examining his own nails instead of helping me in my problem! Seriously, where's the brotherly love here? He…He chose his own dirty nails over me!"
Ignoring his brother, he decided to wait for his 'wife' a little longer. "If she doesn't arrive for another 30 minutes, I'll go," he said to himself. Anyhow, he needed to go back to the suite and make dinner before Sakura does.
For Tenten, this was beginning to become one of her unlucky days.
Staring at the girl in front of her, her blood began to boil. Ignoring Naruto's protests of not hurting her was not an exception. Even Sachi's wails when she accidentally squished her were no big deal. This girl in front of her was an enemy and must be obliterated quickly.
Too bad, foxface decided to be on the peaceful side. "T! Don't even think about doing it! You know what will happen if you start picking a fight with Sakura-chan!"
Sakura-chan?
"You creep! You calling her Sakura-chan pisses me off!" she snarled, eyeing the other girl with fury. Knowing that Neji's pet was the cause of her demise provided fuel to her all-consuming anger, and readiness to kill.
Naruto still blocked her way. His blue eyes filled with concern. "You're not going to hurt her, T. Remember what happened last time? I'm sure you didn't forget what he said to you about her."
Tenten froze.
Sakura blinked. She was clutching Koichi-kun so tightly that he might scream at any minute. "W-what's going on here…I don't understand what you guys are talking about. I'm sorry I bumped into you guys, it's just that I…"
"You stay out of this, bitch! I'm not done with you yet!" Tenten snarled.
Hearing those words also made Sakura's blood boil. Her face immediately changed from confused to anger. "Why you! First things first, I'm sorry I bumped into you. But I'm not going to forgive you for calling me names! Even if you're stronger than me, I'm not going to lose to you without a fight!"
Her opponent sneered. "Ooohhh, just watch me!"
Naruto stepped in-between them. "Stop it you guys! T, I already told you to stop! If Sasuke finds out about this, I don't know what hell he will put us through if you attack her…"
"Don't tell me you're going to side with that pink-haired ogre! I see, so she has charmed you!" The furious girl pointed a finger at him. First was Sasuke. Then Naruto? What the hell has gotten to her friends? She clenched her fists and spat at Sakura. "You snake-charmed my friends. Now there's a whole lotta reason for you to go down!" She snatched her hand back from Naruto's grip and charged towards Sakura.
Naruto raised a hand desperately for his friend then whined. "T! Don't be an anti-hero!"
Sakura tried not to giggle at the blonde's words. But there was no room for laughing when she dodged Tenten's punch. She sidestepped to avoid the other's girl's kick and she managed to push her away. Tenten accidentally slipped then fell backwards, her butt smacking on the cool concrete. The pink-haired girl watched her rise up then resumed attacking again.
She was still able to dodge Tenten's attacks when she began to feel a slight rustling. Her eyes went down to Koichi-kun who was beginning to open his eyes. "Oh no! Koichi-kun, he's waking up. What should I do?" she shushed the baby quietly, but not until she felt the other girl's fist connected with her cheek.
…………
"Sakura! Where did you go?" Ino muttered under her breath as she went out of the bookstore. Sakura suddenly disappeared and she had no idea where she was. Clutching her infant simulator close to her chest, she resumed searching for her friend when she bumped into a familiar face. "Oops! Sorry I didn't mean to bump into you." She looked up then smiled. "It's nice to see you here, Neji!"
Said guy raised an eyebrow. "Ino. What the heck are you doing here? And how dare you take that toy without even telling me!"
The blond stuck her tongue out. "Why should you care? You never even touched this baby since never! And don't even act like the man of the house since you never even tried to play your role right!"
One of the reasons why he never liked Ino was because she wanted to play the dominant role. This was the opposite of what he liked to do. "Don't try to make me mad woman." And apparently, it was sickening him. For once in his life, he asked help to this woman in order for him to patch things up with his girlfriend. But, as the day goes by, Ino did nothing but order him around like some kind of a dictator.
However, Ino ignored his threat. "You know, if Sakura were here, I'll tell her to stay away from you. You're nothing but a disrespectful cretin. But where is she now? Lost! And I can't even find her! So, I'm taking my leave now and continue my search for her." She turned on her heel to leave when the brown-haired Hyuuga grabbed her upper arm.
"Sakura's here!" Neji demanded.
Ino yanked her arm free. "Yes! But I don't know where she is so…hey! Where are you going! I'm not yet finished talking!"
Neji ignored her as he went on a search for his missing girlfriend.
…………
Sakura was slammed to the ground, her back hitting the floor. "Ow…" she winced, the pain radiating from her back to shoulder. But at least, Koichi-kun was unharmed. Tucking the baby securely in her arms, she sat up, only to be yanked by the hair by Tenten.
"I'm not yet done with you," she hissed in her ear. She raised her fist up high, ready to plant it on Sakura's cheek. "Because of you, my life was ultimately messed up. If you weren't around, it would've been better!"
Naruto's eyes widened. This was unbelievable! T had gone insane! "Don't, T!"
"Say buh-bye to your beautiful face, bitch!" And she brought her fist down with increased speed.
Sakura closed her eyes and prepared herself for the impact.
A/N: There you have it! Chapter 23 finished! Now if I could just have a small break… (Hears beta-reader's footsteps) Oh well, maybe not! Anyways, I couldn't resist putting that bitch fight into my story! Tenten needed something to turn her anger to and since she already wasted her energy on Naruto…
But don't worry dear readers! I know you guys are going to ask if Sakura's going to end up dead in the next chapter, well…we'll see.
As an added treat to all my dear readers, here's an excerpt from our next chapter. We're feeling kinda generous so we decided to suppress your thirst and hunger…
…………
"Do you like me?"
Sasuke stared at the girl in front of him. He was speechless and the plate he was about to rinse ker-plunked in the sink. She was now moving towards him and he stepped back, trying desperately to increase his comfort zone. It was a good thing Koichi was tucked in for the night or he would've used him to hit her with it. When his back hit solid wall, he knew he was trapped.
She giggled her voice like fluty melodic tunes. "You don't have to run away like that."
Actually, that's what he was planning to do right now. He raised a hand in front of her, a stop sign. "It's better if you keep away from me. I already told you this before and I have to say this again. Stay away from me."
Hurt sliced her but she didn't let it show. Even the way he said those words seemed familiar. But unfortunately, she couldn't remember where. But right now, she wanted to know the truth from the squirming male in front of her.
He was always there for her.
Even if she didn't asked for it, he would be there.
'If only…if he only knew…'
…………
There you have it! Is this going to be the turning point of the series? We'll see in the next chapter. And since I'm reaching the end of my note, I'm leaving you guys with another one of my mind-boggling questions. It's not much…really. Just two questions, since I'm quite generous today.
First question:
In the story, what will become of Sakura?
a. She will be beaten into a bloody pulp.
b. She will push Tenten back and kick her ass.
c. She uses Naruto as a human shield.
d. She will be saved.
e. Others: (you guys can create the answer)
Second question:
Sakura's thoughts of Sasukein the last part of the excerpt:
a. That he looked yummy.
b. That he looked like her stuffed bunny.
c. That he and the nerd boy looked alike in some ways.
d. That he made her fall for him without even realizing it.
e. Others: (I'm giving you guys the chance to give an answer!)