Song of a Cherry Blossom
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 9

Sasuke plopped the cherry-head girl down on a couch when he got home. Sakura made no efforts to move and laid there on the couch like it was her home. Sasuke sighed as he sat down in a nearby armchair. He started to dry his hair with a white towel but then threw it on the carpet floor.

"What am I going to do with you?" Sasuke muttered.

He stood up and walked over to Sakura who was sleeping peacefully despite the fact that she was running a high fever. Sasuke placed his hand once again on Sakura's forehead. She had cooled down slightly but the fever was still high. Sakura's breathing was slow and unsteady and she shivered even though she had a blanket over her. Sasuke got down to his knees and began wiping Sakura's face with a wet towel. The feverish girl stirred for a second but made no notion of being awake. Sasuke glanced at Sakura as he leaned against the sofa.

Now who's going to have to change you out of the wet clothes you're in?

Sasuke sighed. "This is going to be a long night."

Sakura yawned as she drowsily opened her eyes. The morning rays of sunshine came through the window and touched against Sakura's cheeks. A familiar white ceiling came into view and it made Sakura feel at ease. The cherry blossom girl closed her eyes as she was glad to be in her own room. She had a dream the night before that she was in Sasuke's house and was glad that it was just a nightmare. She snuggled deeper into the comfortable blankets that made her feel like she was sleeping on a cloud. In fact, it was the first time she had such a good night's sleep.

Must be because of my silky blankets. Silky blank-wait! When did I ever have blankets made out of silk?!

"Hey, wake up!" a voice called out.

Sakura frowned at the voice. Where's that voice coming from? It sounds a lot like-

"Hey, you pig! Stop sleeping so much."

Sakura stuck her arm out from under the comforts of her blankets and swung it out at the voice as if that would quiet down the sound. "Annoying alarm clock," she muttered in her sleep.

"OW! My nose!" the voice yelped in pain.

I need to get that alarm clock fixed. I must be hallucinating if I think that my clock is starting to talk and-

Sakura bolted upright from the bed as her brain suddenly came into realization. Sasuke got up from the ground while clutching his nose. Sakura grabbed a pillow and slammed it down on the figure that was getting up from the ground.

She screamed at him. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! PERVERT!"

Sasuke grabbed the pillow and flung it across the room. "PERVERT?! WHO ARE YOU CALLING A PERVERT? YOU BROKE MY NOSE!"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM THEN?!" Sakura yelled at him.

"YOUR ROOM? Take a good look around you. Like you afford to live in a room like this!"

Sakura stopped yelling and paused to examine her surroundings. "Oh."

Sasuke glanced up at Sakura. "Oh? OH? Is that all you can say? You broke my nose without even making sure what you were doing!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "You men are such big babies."

Sasuke raised his arm as if he was going to hit the girl. Sakura eyed him as if daring him to hit her. Sasuke grumbled some curses under his breath and slowly lowered his arm. He stood up while still rubbing his supposedly "broken nose".

"Breakfast is downstairs," he grumbled as he walked to the door. "Even though you don't deserve it," he added in before closing the door behind him.

Sakura stuck her tongue out at Sasuke's back for the last comment. She yawned as she briefly combed through her messy hair with her fingers. She glanced in a nearby mirror and frowned. Something was different about her but she couldn't place her finger on it. Sakura turned around and glanced back in the mirror again. Nothing seemed out of ordinary there. Her cherry-colored hair was as messy as ever, her emerald green eyes were as green as green could be, and she had on her regular pajamas…

Wait a minute! Since when did I wear pajamas that were made out of silk?

Sakura touched the sleeve of the shirt and then closed her eyes as she tried to remember when she ever put them on. What came across her mind was a long and white blank.

Sakura shook her head to clear her thoughts and sat down on the bed as she tried to remember what even happened the night before. "It might even explain how I got here," Sakura mumbled as she eyed the bedroom.

Suddenly it dawned on her. She gasped as she covered her opened mouth with her hands, letting it all sink in slowly. "Noooooooooo," she moaned softly as she thought of something. "Please tell me that it wasn't him who changed my clothes," Sakura choked out in a low whisper. The cherry blossom glanced at the door where beyond it sat Uchiha Sasuke eating his breakfast. Sakura gave a small nervous laugh. "No, he couldn't have," Sakura said to convince herself. She went to sit down in front of the vanity desk where she briefly combed through her hair again while getting distracted by her thoughts.

"He wouldn't," Sakura said as she nodded along with the mirror version of herself. Sakura frowned. "Would he?" Sakura asked weakly as she let her fingers fall down and tapped against the tabletop. Feeling agitated, she slammed her hand down on top of the table. She jumped out of her seat and rushed out of the door and into the hallway.

I am going to need some answers or else I will go crazy from not knowing.

Sakura walked to the end of the hallway and down the large staircase. Sakura continued walking until a pleasant aroma filled her nose. She followed the scent of food and came upon a large mahogany door. Sakura pushed open the door and was almost blinded by the brightness inside. Windows lined one side of the wall and all the curtains were pulled back to let the bright morning sunshine in.

Sasuke was sitting at the very end of a long dining table with a newspaper in his hands. Sakura marched down along one side of the table and came to a stop in front of Sasuke so that she blocked any light that was coming through the windows. Sasuke gave a deep frown when his light became blocked by the pink-haired girl. He sighed as he glanced up at Sakura.

"What do you want?" he asked in annoyance.

Sakura ignored his question. "You know what I want. I want some answers."

Sasuke turned back to his paper and remained his cool exterior expression. "Answers? What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Sakura pointed accusingly at Sasuke and exclaimed, "Don't think I will forgive you for touching me. If you tried anything, I swear I will kick you over to the next millennium."

The ebony-haired man turned a page in his newspaper and smirked. "Try anything? And what do you mean by that?"

Sakura glared at him. "What do you mean by that?" Sakura mimicked. "You know what I'm talking about so don't act like you don't know."

Sasuke gave a fake yawn. "No one would want to do anything to you anyway… flatsy."

Sakura's eye twitched. "YOU LITTLE…" She reached out to try to strangle him but Sasuke jumped out of his seat before she could.

Sasuke smirked. "Relax. It wasn't like I looked on purpose."

Sakura let out a low growl. "Come here chicken-hair so I can break you into little pieces." Sakura cracked her knuckles as she walked slowly to Sasuke.

Sakura threw a fist out but Sasuke quickly held it back with one hand. "If you let me finish..." Sakura glared as she tried to use her other fist but Sasuke caught that too with his other hand. "...I didn't change your clothes." Sakura squirmed underneath Sasuke's grip as she attempted to kick him in the shin but failed.

Sasuke laughed at Sakura's attempts before letting go of her which caused Sakura to fall forward. Sasuke stuck out a finger and flicked Sakura's forehead.

"Later forehead girl," he remarked as he walked away.

Sakura touched the spot on her forehead where Sasuke had flicked her and let out a scream of frustration. "UCHIHA SASUKE! YOU ARE GOING TO PAY!"

Sakura stomped down the hallways as she tried to let out all her anger in her steps. She had decided to find her clothes from yesterday since she didn't know where Sasuke went off to. A few turns and once down a set of stairs led her to a long dark hallway. A light was on at the end of the hallway and Sakura silently walked towards it. The slippers on Sakura's feet barely made any noises and when she neared the lighted up room, she could hear voices coming from the inside of the brightly lit room.

Sakura stopped and peeked in the room as she carefully shielded herself in the shadows of the dark hallway. Two middle-aged women were inside and doing a basket full of laundry. Sakura could see her clothes lying on top of the basket.

The cherry blossom raised her hand to knock on the door but stopped when she heard her name being brought up in the conversation.

"Did you hear about Young Master and that girl Sakura?" the shorter and stouter of the two women exclaimed.

Young Master? They aren't referring to that idiot are they? Sakura wondered. She laughed to herself at that ridiculous name which did not suit the idiot Sasuke at all.

"Yes! The whole staff heard about how Young Master brought home a girl yesterday night," the taller one replied excitedly. "One of the maids said that he was going to propose to her but she fainted from the excitement so that's why he carried her home."

Sakura turned a bright red. Proposed?! To that THICK-HEADED, COLD-HEARTED, EMOTIONLESS ICE BLOCK?!

First I get dragged her while unconscious and now I'm part of everyone's gossip?! Sakura's head screamed.

The two women inside continued their conversation while unaware that the subject of their discussion was standing right outside and going mentally crazy.

The stout woman nudged the taller and skinnier one and whispered loudly even though no one was in the room to hear them except for Sakura who remained hidden. "I heard that Young Master was planning to elope with her instead because he knows that his father wouldn't approve of her."

"She doesn't look like she comes from a wealthy family," the tall one remarked. "Old Master would have a heart attack if he heard that Young Master Sasuke was marrying a pauper just like Itachi-san married that lower class girl."

The stout lady nodded. "After all, no one is suitable enough for an Uchiha than someone from the upper class."

Sakura seethed. Well, excuse me if I don't meet everyone's expectations.

The sixteen-year-old had decided that she heard enough and she marched right in the room. The talking ceased immediately when the pink-headed girl walked in. Sakura smiled sweetly. "May I have my clothes back please?"

The tall lady looked down in shame like she was caught doing something guilty as she handed Sakura the garments of clothing. Sakura thanked her and strode off leaving the two women barking at each other in sharp whispers.

"Now look what you done!"

"Me? You started it! Now, if she rat us out then we might get fired!"

Sakura laughed when she left the two women bickering inside. Carrying her clothes, she found the room where she had slept in the night before and entered. The bed was already made and it looked like it was cleaned from top to bottom during the time she had left thirty minutes ago. She closed the door and made sure to lock it before changing back into her old clothes. She tossed the pajamas on the bed and was about to leave when she noticed a picture tucked behind a small golden trash container. She pulled the picture out and smoothed out the wrinkles.

It was a picture of someone who looked exactly like Sasuke but a few years older. The tall man had his long hair in a ponytail and he was dressed casually. His arms were draped over a young looking lady who was probably the man's girlfriend.

I wonder who this guy is. Could he be that guy those two ladies mentioned in the laundry room? Sakura wondered. Itachi-san… I bet he was a whole lot better than that idiot Sasuke.

Sakura placed the photo on top of the vanity table and decided not to ponder on the subject anymore. She left the room and closed the door gently behind her before going downstairs and looking for the front door. Sakura skipped down the red carpeted stairs all the while wondering how she was going to even find her way out since finding her way to the dining room was a mere accident. Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she almost ran into Sasuke at the bottom of the steps.

"What are you still doing here?" Sasuke asked with a slightly amused smile on his face.

"I was just leaving," Sakura shot back.

Sasuke smirked. "You aren't lost are you?"

"Of course not!" Sakura turned her head away so that she couldn't see his face. "In fact, I know exactly where I am going," Sakura lied.

Sasuke smirked as if he didn't believe her. "Okay then," he said as he walked up the stairs.

Sakura shut her eyes and resisted the urge to ask him for help.

Sasuke turned around and called out, "Hey forehead!"

The pink-headed girl turned around at the sound of the name. "What?" she asked while totally forgetting what he had called her by. Sasuke threw something down and Sakura caught it before it fell to the ground. "You might need this," he said as he jogged up the rest of the stairs.

Sakura looked dumbfounded at the item in her hand. It was some sort of paper. She examined the front and almost tripped over the last step of the staircase when she saw what it was.

"A map? He gave me a map?!" Sakura exclaimed in shock.

The petal-haired girl opened the neatly folded piece of paper to reveal a large colorful map. Rooms and hallways were marked and numbered and a small but readable legend was printed at the bottom right corner. Even a small compass was printed at the top. Sakura squinted at the piece of paper. She could barely even tell which room was which and even where she was actually located on the map. "How can anyone use this dumb piece of paper," she muttered.

Sakura stared frustrated at the map before crumpling it up and then reopening it. Sakura slumped down on the steps of the staircase. She moaned as she let the large map covered her face. "I'm never ever going to find my way out."