Song of a Cherry Blossom
by Diana-san

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter 17

Sakura muttered to herself as she walked towards the door of Icha Icha. What's with him? First, he tells me to stay close to Sasuke and then he does weird things like putting his face up to mine.

Sakura hugged the jacket as she entered the club and tried to not make eye contact with the patrons who were there that night. She was embarrassed since she knew her outfit made her stand out greatly among the crowd.

Idate looked surprised to see her as he waved to her from his place behind the bar table. She quickly gave a wave back as she hurried to the back of the club.

"Sakura!"

The cherry blossom whirled around as she saw Tsunade come out of the storage room with a case of bottles.

"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called out breathlessly.

"What are you doing here? I thought we gave you the night off! Weren't you supposed to be at some fancy party? I thought I fired you for the day!" Tsunade barked.

"Calm down Tsunade-sama! If you just let me get one word in, then I might tell you why I am here," Sakura exclaimed.

Tsunade set the case down as she glanced at Sakura's outfit. "Are you Cinderella running away from the ball?"

"Something like that. Where is Jiraiya-sama?"

"He's in the break room with Anko. I think they're playing cards," Tsunade replied with a sigh.

Sakura grabbed Tsunade's wrist as she dragged her to the back room. "I have something to tell you guys."

She opened the door to find Jiraiya and Anko in a heated argument about the rules of the game. They both glanced up as Sakura and Tsunade enter the room.

"Sakura! What are you doing here?!" they both exclaimed.

The pink-haired girl crossed her arms. "Well, I was made aware tonight that Sai knows of my little not-so-secret secret."

Tsunade and Anko shared a look of confusion while Jiraiya began a coughing fit. Anko quickly got up from her seat and grabbed a pitcher of water to pour some water for Jiraiya. As he grabbed the teacup and gulped down the water, Tsunade walked over to Jiraiya with a menacing glare. She lowered her position so that her eyes were leveled with Jiraiya's own. "Did you do something you were not supposed to do?" she said with an accusing tone.

Jiraiya smiled sheepishly. "Well…you see…"

"JIRAIYA!" Tsunade's tone raised to an alarming roar. Tsunade raised her arms in a position ready to pounce and strangle Jiraiya but Sakura held her back.

"Relax Tsunade-sama! I'm not mad!"

Everyone turned to look at her. "You're not?" they echoed in unison.

Sakura shook her head. "I mean I was peeved at first to find out that he knew and was playing along the whole time." She folded her hands together. "It can't be helped since he is the reason the club is faring better now."

Jiraiya jumped out of his chair to hug Sakura. "I'm so sorry Sakura! I'll never ever ever drink too much again and spill your secret to anyone else!"

Tsunade grabbed Jiraiya's hair as she pulled him away from the young girl. "Stop crushing her!"

Anko sat back in her chair. "How did Sai end up finding out about her other identity?" she asked.

The room was silent for a moment as Jiraiya grinned sheepishly. "I guess alcohol may be my weak spot…"

"YOU GUESS?" all three females exclaimed in unison.

Two weeks ago

Jiraiya grinned as he sat in the back of the bar with several bottles of sake in front of him. He sat up as he saw his friend enter the bar and quickly, he waved over to him. Danzo Shimura sighed as he sat down with his friend Jiraiya. "What? Did you already have a few drinks without me?"

"Just a tad," Jiraiya said with a grin.

Danzo took off his coat as he ordered another serving of drinks. "So what did you call me here for? This is certainly out of the ordinary to hear from you after so long."

A waitress came over and placed an extra cup and two bottles of sake down on the table. Jiraiya waved her off in a hurry to get rid of her.

"I'll cut to the point then Danzo. You have to help me. Icha Icha needs a revival!" Jiraiya waved a finger at Danzo. "You manage that teen pop star Sai right? Let him come perform at my club with Saki," Jiraiya proclaimed as he stood up and slammed his hand down on the table.

Danzo looked unfazed. "Settle down Jiraiya. You drank a little too much. Even if I wanted to help you, Sai is a really picky guy. He wouldn't agree to it just because I ask him too," he said as he poured himself a drink.

"C'mon, there must be some way for you to convince him."

"And I'm not just the manager. I am the president of his record label, ANBU ROOT. Besides, Sai is too busy preparing for his role for his upcoming movie. I don't think he has the time."

Jiraiya clenched his fist as he tried to rack his brain for something to say. He picked up the sake bottle and took a swig of it. "Movie schmovie! Let me tell you something, real life is a lot more interesting. Didja know that Saki and Sakura are the same person? How's that for a movie plot twist?!"

Danzo's ears perked up as he glanced up from his cup. "Sakura? That waitress you hired awhile back that you always talk on and on about?"

"I'm telling you. You should sign her as soon as she graduates. She's gonna be fammmousss! And it's all thanks to yours truly!" Jiraiya grinned a wide-toothed grin as he downed the last of the sake in front of him.

"I bet Tsunade begs to differ," Danzo replied calmly.

Jiraiya slammed the bottle down and it wobbled on the table before falling to its side, already empty of its content. "Ahhhhh Tsunade! Where is she? I miss her!" He hiccupped as he buried his head in his arms.

Danzo sighed. "I assume I'll be taking you home tonight."

There was no response as Jiraiya was already fast asleep and dreaming peacefully away. Danzo sighed again. "Well I will mention this to Sai. But I can't make any promises."

He waved for the check. The same waitress from before came over with the check as she began to clear the table. Danzo took out his card and the waitress took it and scurried to the front register.

"I'm never drinking with you again," he muttered as he glanced at the check.

Tsunade closed her eyes in frustration. "You asked Danzo for a favor and you let him pick up the check?!"

"Sorry! I passed out that night!" Jiraiya apologized as he held his hands up to calm down Tsunade.

Sakura sighed. "Well, we can't help it now. Sai isn't exactly holding the secret above my head but I'm not quite sure what his whole intentions are. It seems there is more to his reason in coming here."

With a quick glance at Sakura, Tsunade crossed her arms as she observed the girl. It went by quickly but Tsunade caught the look of distress across Sakura's face. "That doesn't seem to be the only thing on your mind Sakura," Tsunade commented.

Sakura bit her lip. Tsunade was always perspective of her feelings. "I just need to clear my mind of a few things," she stated. Not wanting to say more, Sakura excused herself as she left the break room to go to the back room.

Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade. "Do you think she's lying about not being mad?"

Tsunade said nothing but there was worry in her eyes. "No," she murmurs. "Sai is the least of her worries right now it seems."

Sakura flipped a light switch as she walked in the back room. The piano lied in her view and she collapsed onto the piano bench chair in exhaustion. She let out a low frustrated sigh as she buried her head in her knees.

"So much happened today," she murmured. She closed her eyes as she thought back to the kiss with Sasuke and then back to Sai's words.

"How dare you," she muttered under her breath. "Making me fall for you like this."

The next day, the sound of birds chirping loudly to indicate a new morning awoken Sakura. She blinked her eyes as she lifted her head up. She rubbed her forehead as she felt an imprint of the piano edge on the left side of her face.

She glanced around her surroundings as the back room came into clear. I must have fell asleep last night without realizing it, she mused. Fighting back a yawn, she blinked and rubbed her eyes. A tired expression crossed her face. Even though she fell asleep for the whole night, it felt as if she hadn't slept a wink.

She got up to stretch as she realized she was still in last night's outfit. Walking out of the back room, she headed towards her dressing room to find a more comfortable outfit. Sakura changed into her waitress uniform and carefully hung the white dress on a hanger. Seeing as it was Saturday, there was another hour until her shift began. With a deep sigh, she sat down on the small couch behind her.

The rest of the day was slow as she worked the day shift and watched customers filter in and out throughout the day. The most exciting thing that happened was probably when Anko asked her to sneak dango from Jiraiya's lunch box. As night fell, she glanced at the clock to watch the minutes tick by. Tonight she was scheduled to perform again. She went to her dressing room as she changed into her outfit for the night. As she tucked a curl of blonde hair, a knock came at the door.

Sakura glanced at her watch. She wasn't set to perform for another two hours. She got up as she walked to the door. "Anko, I'm not going to sneak you any more dango-"

She frozed as she saw who was at the door. "Sasuke!" There, standing in front of her was Uchiha Sasuke in the flesh. He smiled as he leaned against the door frame. As he straightened up, he stumbled a little and fell into Sakura's arms. Sakura grunted as the weight of Sasuke landed against her small body frame. A whiff of alcohol caught her nose as Sasuke's hair grazed against her skin.

"Sasuke! Are you drunk?!" Sakura asked in a panicked voice.

He lifted his head as he glanced up at Sakura. "You know my name?" he slurred.

Sakura's body tensed up. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a reply. Shoot, did I blow my cover? She glanced up and saw her reflection in the mirror of her vanity table. Hair was blonde and eyes were blue.

"Ahh, Sakura must have told you about me. Does she talk about me a lot?"

Sakura glowered at him. "You wish!" she grumbled as she pushed Sasuke away. She realized it was a little harsh of her since he could barely stand up on his own but she couldn't help but feel a little peeved. Did he come here to look for Saki or Sakura?

Sasuke collapsed onto the floor but managed to sit up after some effort.

"How do you always keep breaking into my dressing room?" Sakura asked in exasperation.

"You always let me in," he stated matter-of-factly.

Sakura glared at him. "Please leave."

In an instant, Sasuke stood up and grabbed her by the wrist. "Saki," he said in a hushed tone. The stench of liquor flew up to her nose as she turned away in disgust.

"How are you so drunk? You're not even of age!"

"I have my ways." The way he said it, she couldn't tell if he was bragging or just stating a simple fact.

She tried to release her wrist from his grasp but he held on even tighter. "What are you doing?" she demanded to know as she continued to struggle from his hold.

He released her wrist as he cupped her face into his hands and pulled her closer. With a smirk, he lips came crashing down onto hers. He kissed her forcefully with not an ounce of sincerity in the kiss. Her thoughts raced back to the kiss from the night before. In comparison, the two kisses were as different as night and day.

She stood there stiffly, and his hold on her loosened as he broke free. He released her and stepped back as if surprised by her lack of reaction.

"Did you not like it?" Sasuke questioned as he furrowed his eyebrows at her.

Sakura didn't know what to say as she stared at the boy standing before her. Seemingly confused and not in the right state of mind. Her hands unconsciously clutched at her heart as she felt her sakura pendant hanging from her neck. She toyed with it as she closed her eyes in frustration.

She opened them as she look back at Sasuke. "Do you like playing around with other people's feelings?" she said softly. "You have a girlfriend, don't you?" she blurted out as she clenched her fists in anger.

Sasuke smirked as he watched her play with her necklace and then yell at him. "If that's the issue, it shouldn't be. Ino and I aren't the least bit serious about each other," he arrogantly stated. His face darkened as he hesitated for a second before adding, "She holds no value to me."

Sakura's clenched fists unraveled as she suddenly realized the meaning in his response. Value, huh?

That's right. At the end of the day, to an Uchiha, the girls he date hold no monetary value to him. They were merely small fishes in a big pond.

"Who you know plays a great role in your success. Who you marry can play an even greater role." Sai's words came to mind as she realized that despite how close in distance Sasuke was, they were miles away when it comes to their social standing order.

Sakura stood in silence. Ino, Sakura, Saki, these are just names on a list for him.

She blinked as she realized tears were brimming at her eyes. But as she turned away from Sasuke, the same nagging voice came gnawing at the back of her mind. "He likes you. He won't admit it but he does." Sai's voice echoed in her mind.

"Sakuuuuuraaa!" came a singsong voice as Jiraiya strolled by the door. He stopped as he stared at the scene before him. "I-I mean Saki!" Jiraiya gulped. "Uh, Sakura-chan? Have you seen Sakura-chan?" he managed to blurt out in an attempt to cover up his earlier flub.

Sakura began to speak but stopped when she saw Sasuke quickly duck behind the door in an attempt to hide.

"U-uh, Sakura isn't nearby is she?" Sasuke asked in a panicked loud whisper.

Sakura and Jiraiya exchanged glances.

"Are you by chance, hiding from Sakura?" Sakura asked, almost bemused by Sasuke's actions.

A faint blush crept onto Sasuke's face. Either that or he was glowing from the alcohol in his system.

Jiraiya sniffed around him. "Kid, you've been drinking!"

Sasuke turned his head in guilt as Jiraiya dragged him out from behind the door.

"What do you want me to do with him Saku—I mean Saki-chan?"

Sakura coughed as she waved Jiraiya to put Sasuke down on the couch. "I'll deal with him. Just leave us two."

"Are you sure?" Jiraiya glared at the boy on the couch. The white-haired man leaned in closer to Sakura as he whispered, "You know boys are wolves. You don't know when he'll jump and attack."

"I'll be fine Jiraiya-sama!" she whispered back.

He nodded but left with a reluctant look on his face as he closed the door behind him. Sakura turned to face Sasuke as he sat there silently while fidgeting with his fingers.

"Do you like Sakura?"

He glanced up in surprise at her. "N-no!" He looked down at his hands. "I-I like you," he finally said after a few seconds. "Not her," he muttered. "Not at all," he said to himself.

Sakura crossed her arms. She could sense the hesitation in his response and the way he was trying to talk himself into believing his words. It wasn't hard to see through his play when he was not even sober enough to realize how bad at lying he was. "Your kiss just now sure as hell doesn't seem like it," she pointed out.

She bent down so that her eyes were leveled with his. "In fact, Sakura told me about how you two kissed."

His ears reddened. "T-that's because…"

"If you're trying to use me to get Sakura to hate you, it's not going to work."

He looked up at her. "It's not?" he echoed.

"She already hates you."

His face fell. "Oh," was all that escaped his mouth.

Sakura smiled slightly as she watched the shoulders of Sasuke hung in disappointment as he stared at the floor. He closed his eyes as the effects of the alcohol was beginning to take control of his body and make him weak with sleep.

She thought back to what Sai said to her last night. She bit her lip as she recalled a similar conversation she overheard that time she woke up in Sasuke's house.

"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 words echoed back clearly in her head as if it was just yesterday.

Sasuke knows this as well as I do now. We are from two different worlds. We can't be together.

"Sasuke," she whispered.

Sasuke didn't move as he stayed slumped in his position with his eyes heavy with sleep.

Sakura closed her eyes as her parents came to mind. Something her mother once told her in the past now resonated within herself and made much clearer sense now that she was older.

A young Sakura marched angrily through the living room after slamming the front door when she reached home. Her mother patiently watched as Sakura slumped on the living room couch with a scowl on her usual, cheerful face.

"What's wrong Sakura? Did you have a fight with your friend?" her mother asked.

"No," she responded with bitterness. "Cause we are not friends no more so it's not considered fighting."

"Is she still ignoring you?"

"It doesn't matter anymore because we're not friends, Mom." With that said, Sakura crossed her arms and glared at the floor.

"Honey, what did I tell you about giving up?"

"Don't give up fighting for what you love," Sakura recited with a sigh as she uncrossed her arms. It was something her mother had always repeated over and over to her whenever Sakura felt like giving up.

"Yes, exactly, so why are we giving up now?"

"But Mommmm…" Sakura whined.

Sakura's mother bent down beside her as she pulled out a compact mirror from her purse. "Look Sakura, what do you see here?"

"It's a mirror from your purse Mom."

"Yes, but what do you see in the mirror?"

Sakura shrugged. "I don't know. Me?"

"That's right Sakura. And you know why you see yourself?"

Sakura stared blankly at her mother. She wasn't sure if this was a trick question or if her mother finally lost her marbles.

"Because you are the living proof of love not giving up. Your dad and I wouldn't have had you if we gave up on each other when we were facing our worst troubles. But he fought for me and I fought for him and I'm so glad that we did because we got a beautiful little girl named Sakura."

Sakura sighed. She didn't know where this was going. It wasn't like she loved her best friend like how her mother loved father. She bit her lip and responded in a way that she hoped would please her mom. "Okay, I'll go talk to Ino-pig tomorrow." But it was a lie in her heart. There was no way she was ever going to be best friends again with her friend anymore. She didn't care what her mom said about giving up because it wasn't her doing it first.

Ino gave up on me first, Sakura thought.

For the first time, Sakura's heart fluttered inside because she felt as if she finally now understood Sasuke. They weren't living in different worlds. They just both chose to give up too soon.

Don't give up fighting for what you love, Sakura recited in her head once more.

With a swift move, Sakura bent down and kissed Sasuke. The same intensity as the night before but no longer with any questions or doubts of why she was doing this. Simply because she wanted to fight for once.

"Sakura?" he breathed out as Sakura pulled away from the kiss. His eyes slowly opened and a state of confusion was visible on his drunken face as he tried desperately to keep awake. Sakura smiled as she hugged him. It was quiet as she stayed still, inhaling in the scent that was Sasuke. When she pulled away, Sasuke was sleeping peacefully on the couch. The alcohol had finally overtaken the boy.

She knelt down on the floor as she gazed at him. She brushed back a strand of hair from his face. "I don't know what to do," she whispered. "I don't want both of us to get hurt."

I'll fight for us. At least, I'll try this time.

She got up as she pulled a blanket over him. She smoothed out the wrinkles in her dress as she fixed her appearance in the mirror. The sound of the clock ticking down the seconds echoed throughout the room.

A knock came at the door. "They're ready for you," came Anko's voice behind the door.

Sakura opened the door slightly as to not reveal the presence of Sasuke to Anko. She slipped through the door silently as Anko handed her a microphone.

"Ready?" Anko asked.

Sakura nodded as she took a few deep breaths as she walked towards the stage. The light seemed brighter than usual and the sound of the crowd was deafening in her ears. As she walked up the steps, one thought rang clearly through her mind.

I'll fight. For my dreams. For my goals. For you.