Chapter 2 – Family Issues
School was boring. She just wanted to go home, get online and speak to Avenger–S. Was that clingy of her? Probably.
Images of what he could possibly look like kept running through her mind, making her bite her lip. Cute, or sexy? It wouldn't particularly matter to her if he wasn't attractive, for they were only talking, but… It wasn't exactly unknown that she had a bit of a superficial streak. And she may be beginning to develop a crush on him. Was that even possible? Could you have a crush on somebody you've never even met before?
Oh Gods. What if it turned out that he was a she? Not that she'd be disgusted or anything, because if it turned out that she knew that person, and liked them as a person, perhaps she'd give it a try?
"Sakura."
Sakura's head snapped up, eyes widening and a blush sweeping across her cheeks. "Yes, sir?"
"You were staring into space again," her sensei reprimanded her with a sigh. "Honestly, Sakura. You're the top student in this class – in your year. Don't start letting me down now."
"Sorry, Iruka-sensei."
Some in the class giggled, while others looked at her with annoyance.
That was her. Haruno Sakura, the biggest geek in her year. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment. How could she just zone out like that? She needed to pay attention, for her grades were everything to her. If she didn't get all As in her results, then she may as well kiss goodbye to the opportunity she had been given. There would be no going abroad and helping out at hospitals, or learning whatever they wanted to teach her at that hospital. Luckily, no one she knew was in the class, meaning she wouldn't be distracted as easily unless her thoughts kept drifting to–
No. Avenger–S did not exist until school was over!
Determined not to be distracted once more, Sakura stuck her head down and got to work, much to her sensei's happiness. She was thankful for how hard he pushed her. It was because of Iruka that she had received such a generous offer. The last person to be given an offer like that had been the legendary Senju Tsunade. She was known all over the world now for her skills. Sakura wanted to be just like the blonde when she was older, only, she wanted it all sooner. She wanted to surpass Tsunade.
She was known as a genius. Not even eighteen years old and already she was receiving opportunities and offers the great Tsunade didn't receive until her early twenties. And like Iruka had just stated, she was the smartest student in the school – well, besides Nara Shikamaru, but he didn't put any effort into his exams, so didn't get the results he should. But being the brightest came at a price. Barely any social life. She had… two, maybe three friends? She had dated one of her friends before but they decided to stay friends. It was easier that way and thankfully nothing became awkward between them. Unfortunately, he had also moved away, back to his home town. And Sakura kind of, really, missed him. They still talked, exchanged emails, called each other… but… Sakura sighed. It was horrible going from talking to somebody every day to suddenly only speaking a couple of times a week depending on how busy they both were. Hopefully, if she got to go to the hospital, he would be able to meet her, since it was in his home town.
The sound of the bell had Sakura sighing with relief, quickly jotting down the homework that had been set and shoving her things into her bag, standing with a long stretch. It had been a double period and sitting in more or less the same position for an entire hour and forty or so minutes was uncomfortable.
Just as she stepped out of the classroom however, somebody slammed into her, knocking both herself and whoever it had been to the ground. It was with a shriek that Sakura pulled on her skirt, trying to keep her underwear covered. That was one of the bad things about a pleated skirt. With pretty much every move, it flipped this way and that. Don't even get her started on the troubles she had to go through when it was windy.
Oh why wasn't she surprised that, once she looked over at the other person, there was a blond stuttering out an apology?
"Naruto," Sakura spat, quickly getting to her knees and grabbing his collar, shaking him roughly. His blue eyes were wide with horror and fear when he saw who exactly he had knocked over. "Watch where you're going, you idiot!"
"You walked into him."
The voice had her tensing, had her heart racing, but Sakura quickly forced herself to calm down. "Hardly. I was leaving my class when he knocked me over." Her fresh apple green eyes snapped to impossibly dark ones, narrowing dangerously. "Don't even try blaming me for that, Sasuke."
Slowly, as to not anger her further, Naruto's large hands encircled her wrists, thankful that the crowds were separating and continuing going to their next classes. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. I didn't see you."
Didn't see her? She had pink fucking hair. Hard to miss her! "Whatever," Sakura muttered, letting go of him and yanking her hands out of his hold like she had been burned. "Just don't do it again."
With that, she grabbed her bag and got up, dusting down her uniform and after a final glare at the two boys, watching how Sasuke reluctantly held out his hand and helped Naruto to his feet, she rolled her eyes and left.
For about a year she had been best friends with the pair of them and with that friendship came popularity. However, after being friends for a year, suddenly Sasuke turned against her (for what she believed to be for no reason at all) and it was easier to say that things had only gone from bad to worse since then. So, instead of having many friends, Sakura now had two or three. And one of them lived in a different country.
To her, the rest of the day passed in a blur and nothing important happened.
The bus was packed when it arrived, making her sigh with annoyance and instead of getting on, she waited for the next one, putting her earphones in and listening to music to pass the time. It wasn't long until a hand was on her shoulder and capturing her attention, though. Actually, it kind of scared her, making her gasp and turn around quickly, ripping out her earphones and eyes widening at the person stood before her.
"What do you want?" she asked awkwardly, fixing the strap on her bag and pushing the hand on her shoulder away.
"To say sorry for earlier." Naruto frowned. "Without Sasuke there and making things awkward."
"Things are already awkward. And you've already apologised."
"But you didn't accept my apology."
"No. I didn't."
"Why?"
Why? For several different reasons that Sakura couldn't be bothered going into detail about. She sighed. "If you're here looking for an apology from me for reacting the way I did, you're not going to get one."
Much to her surprise, Naruto grinned. "I knew you'd still be the same!"
Around the age of thirteen, Naruto had gone away for a while with his godfather. It had been just after the Sasuke incident and he had tried so hard to stay there, to be there for her, but Sakura had smiled and shook her head, telling him to go with Jiraiya (his godfather). At a young age, Naruto's parents had died, though Sakura wasn't sure how and she didn't feel like it was okay to ask him how they passed away. It seemed insensitive to her. Having his godfather find him after all that time, having him turn up and asking Naruto to join him for a few years, had been a dream come true for the blond. Jiraiya had told the school that he would teach him as they travelled (Sakura didn't know how the hell that was allowed) and not even three months later, they were gone.
So why did she feel angry with Naruto? Sakura wasn't even sure. All she could think about was how lonely and hurt she had been when he left and Sasuke ditched her.
"Want to go and get a hot chocolate?" he asked eagerly, blue eyes bright with happiness and excitement.
Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you paying?"
Naruto chuckled, scratching under his nose with the length of his finger. "Yeah!"
And it was with that innocent, carefree expression that Sakura felt all anger towards him leave her. How could she be angry with him for something he truly wanted? Spending time with the only family he had left (that Naruto was aware of) had to have been great for him! He seemed so much happier now.
She nodded, giving him her own smile. Just as he threw his arm over her shoulder however, her smile slipped away and she glared up at him (secretly surprised by how much he had grown, as he used to be shorter than her), silently asking him if he wanted his arm ripped off. He slowly retracted his arm and grinned sheepishly, holding out his hand.
"Are you trying to start rumours of us being together?" Sakura sighed, though slapped her hand into his anyway. It felt comforting in an odd way. His hand was so much larger than hers and warm, though not so much so that his palm was sweaty.
"Not at all, although I wouldn't mind having rumours of being with you spread around." He smirked at her.
It was the beginning of winter and the temperature was dropping rather quickly this year, unlike the last. Last year it had been much too warm for snow but it seemed like they were going to get it this time. Good. Sakura liked the snow. She liked it best when it stayed pure white and untouched, but absolutely detested it when it turned into the black sludge it often did.
"How long has it been?" Naruto asked once they were inside the café, ordering their hot chocolates as well as muffins – much to Sakura's delight. "Like… Two years?"
"Four."
He winced, staring down at the ground. "And Sasuke never…?"
"No. Not once," she muttered, accepting the cup from the woman at the counter and following Naruto to a window table. "We tend to just ignore each other."
"But…" Naruto frowned, obviously feeling incredibly guilty. "You made other friends, right? You weren't just left by yourself?"
Would telling him the truth hurt him? Sakura sighed. "I was alone for a while – nobody wanted anything to do with me after being kicked out of the 'popular group'. After a while, though…" She gave him a small smile. "Your friend became mine."
It took him a few moments to think about it, his expression one of confusion, thoughts written all over his face. His friend? Naruto thought back to when he was thirteen years old, trying to remember all of his friends. At that time, there hadn't been too many of them, so it didn't take him all too long. "Ah! Gaara!"
Her smile widened. "Yeah. Gaara and I became best friends."
"I didn't see him today, though," the blond stated curiously, scratching his chin and squinting his eyes. "And I can't remember him ever getting sick, so where is he?"
"He moved back to Suna about a year ago."
Immediately, his features saddened. "And you were alone again?"
She shook her head with a soft frown. "Not completely. During those three years, I made two other friends – Hyuuga Hinata and Rock Lee."
"Isn't Lee the guy who takes gym way too seriously?"
A chuckle escaped her, making Sakura's features brighten and in return, Naruto's did the same. "We like to call him 'enthusiastic'. Training and sports are his life, Naruto. Like ramen is yours and like studying is mine. It means everything to him."
He grinned before a softer, more hesitant smile took over. "You're happy now, though, aren't you?"
"…Yeah."
Whether he could tell that she was only partly telling the truth, Sakura didn't know.
As soon as she returned to the two bedroom flat she shared with her mother, Sakura immediately felt cold. There was an uneasy feeling in her stomach, one that was begging her to turn around and run back down the hall, take the elevator and leave for a while. She couldn't do that, though. If the feeling in her stomach, in her heart, was right (not to mention she saw his jacket), then Sakura knew she could not leave her mother alone in the flat. Not with him. There was no telling what he would do.
Reluctantly, Sakura finally stepped further into the flat, shutting the front door loud enough for them both to hear her and instantly, all conversation stopped.
"Sakura?"
Who else would it be? She bit back the remark and instead made her way over to the living room, pausing to hang up her jacket and remove her plain black shoes.
The moment she entered the living room, a mixture of feelings stirred in the pit of her stomach. Anger, disbelief, hatred, sadness and pain. Why? Because sitting opposite her mother on one of the charcoal grey sofas, was her father.
"Go to your room for a bit, Sakura." Mebuki sighed, refraining from rubbing her temples. "I will come and talk to you in a moment."
She left without a word, her feet dragging across the wooden flooring as her body felt much heavier than it had in a while. What the hell was that bastard doing back? Why had her mother let him in? Sakura bit her lip and shut her bedroom door after herself, dumping her bag to the ground and going straight to her laptop. It was too early, part of her knew that, but she needed somebody to talk to. And right at that moment in time, nobody other than Avenger–S would listen.
It made her heart melt how he was already online and it immediately caused some of the tension in her body to relax.
Fall–of–the–Blossom: Hey.
Avenger–S: What's up?
Fall–of–the–Blossom: My dad's back.
Avenger–S: Is that a bad thing or…?
Fall–of–the–Blossom: Bad.
She winced, hearing her mother suddenly yelling at her father, her voice going up an octave or two.
Avenger–S: Why? Are they fighting?
Fall–of–the–Blossom: They're always fighting whenever they're together. But sometimes my dad gets a little rough.
Never before had Sakura ever told anybody about what she had seen one night.
It had been late in the evening, possibly extremely early morning, when her father returned home from the bar, completely wasted. Nothing new there. Only, her parents hadn't been aware of the fact they had woken her up with their screaming. It had been terrifying. All Sakura could hear was yelling and banging and when she finally gathered enough courage to sneak out of her room and creep to the top of the stairs, what she had seen had, quite simply, scared the hell out of her.
Kizashi had had Mebuki by her hair and was yanking hard on the blonde locks, earning a whimper with each tug, but that wasn't what scared Sakura so much. It had been the fact he was holding a knife to her mother's neck. Before Sakura had even been aware of what she was doing, she was crying loudly and running forward, beating her tiny fists into her father's back, screaming at him to let Mebuki go, to let her mother go! In response, she had been backhanded and due to the force, she stumbled and had fallen through the glass of the coffee table. It had stunned Kizashi enough for Mebuki to knock him off her, for her to run over to Sakura to make sure she was okay. Luckily, there had been minimal damage. The most she got was a busted lip and a couple of scratches.
That had been the turning point, the thing that ended the marriage of Haruno Kizashi and Mebuki. It was one thing for him to hit Mebuki, but the woman would rather die a thousand deaths than have her daughter suffer through the same thing. Whether he regretted hitting her or not did not matter.
Avenger–S: Rough? As in violent?
Fall–of–the–Blossom: Yeah…
Her heart was pounding in her chest, her breathing quickening and her palms were sweating. It terrified her to be telling someone, to finally speak out about what had happened. However, what made it easier was that this was all over instant messenger. She didn't know the person she was actually speaking to. All he knew about her was that her username was Fall–of–the–Blossom, she was a female and had been handed a great opportunity while still in high school. That made it easier.
Avenger–S: Has he ever been violent with you?
Fall–of–the–Blossom: One time, which led to the divorce. My mom once told me that she could put up with being beaten, but the second he raised his hand to me was the moment their marriage was over.
There was a pause in Avenger–S's reply, telling her that he was stunned and didn't know how to reply. At least, she believed that was his reaction.
Avenger–S: Have you never contacted the police? A man who beats his wife and child should not be walking free. He should be locked away.
Fall–of–the–Blossom: No, we didn't.
Avenger–S: Why not? It's not your fault and it's not your mother's fault, either.
Sakura smiled sadly.
Fall–of–the–Blossom: It's not as simple as that. You make it sound so easy! If our roles were reversed, would you have your father arrested?
The reply was immediate.
Avenger–S: No. I'd kill him if he ever laid a hand on my mother and that's if my brother doesn't get a hold of him first.
Her eyes widened. Just who the hell was she talking to? Was he a murderer? No, he couldn't be! He was still in high school. Sakura shook her head, growing angry with herself. It was naïve to think like that. Her old friend (the one she had dated for a few weeks – Gaara) had a violent streak about him, had always been saying how he wished he could get away with murder and other threats such as those. It was simply his temper, his way of handling things. Perhaps it was the same for Avenger–S? It would explain why his username had 'Avenger' in it.
The thought of killing her own father sent a shiver of fear up her spine. Would she be capable of doing such a thing? Since that incident, she had taken up self-defence classes and went twice a week, but still… This was the man who had helped create her. He was her father.
Suddenly, before those thoughts could go too far, there was a knock on her door.
"Come in!"
The door opened and her mother popped her head in, giving her a small smile. "Sakura, your father would like to speak with you for a minute. Please will you come into the living room?"
She nodded, her eyebrows knitting together. "Just give me a second to finish off this small part of my essay and I'll be in there."
"Okay." The blonde nodded, a proud look entering her eyes despite what was happening. She was so happy that, despite everything, Sakura still kept her head down and studied hard. She wouldn't end up like her. "Oh and I think we'll order out tonight. I was supposed to defrost the chicken earlier, but what with you-know-who turning up…"
She made him sound like Voldemort. Sakura smirked at the grimace her mother pulled before she disappeared back into the living room.
Fall–of–the–Blossom: I've got to go! Mom's calling me. Apparently my dad 'wants a word'.
Avenger–S: Message me as soon as you're done talking.
Fall–of–the–Blossom: I will.
Avenger–S: I mean it. Don't let him hit you or your mother again and if he does, ring the police this time. He won't stop until he's made to.
Fall–of–the–Blossom: Right. Thanks. I'll speak to you later.
With that, she set her messenger to 'away' and lowered her laptop lid.
Walking back to the living room, despite the short distance, felt like it took an incredibly long time and as soon as Sakura stepped into the living room, she almost wished she hadn't. She almost wished that she'd stayed out with Naruto, because the way her father was looking at her, was the way he'd always smiled at her while growing up, before she discovered he'd been beating Mebuki.
"Hi, love." Her father smiled.
Sakura returned it with a twitch of her lips, sitting down on the opposite sofa. If he was bothered by her keeping her distance, he didn't show it. "Hey," she replied awkwardly, looking around the living room of the flat to try and find something to do. It wasn't too luxurious, as they had just enough money to get by, but it was comfortable and stylish – neither she nor Mebuki would have it any less. After a moment of silence, she inwardly sighed. "Mom said you wanted to ask me something?"
Nodding, Kizashi sat forward, a large smile on his face and making him appear at least five years younger. "I'm getting married."
She frowned. "That's not a question."
An annoyed look flashed in his eyes, an aggravated one. From her place in the kitchen, Mebuki glanced over the counter that was resting against a half–wall at her and gave a disapproving stare, silently asking Sakura if she was trying to start a fight. "No, I suppose it's not. My question is: how do you feel about meeting my fiancée?"
How was she supposed to answer that without getting into trouble? Sakura didn't want to meet the woman. She didn't want anything to do with her father's new life. In her personal opinion, the moment he raised a hand to Mebuki, it was over. It may have been over between her parents when Kizashi hit Sakura, but it was over between she and her father when he hit Mebuki. That was something she could never forgive him for. It went on longer than she was even aware and that knowledge only made her feel even sicker.
"Uh…"
"I told you she wouldn't feel comfortable." Mebuki rolled her eyes, though when he turned to glare at her, she dropped her expression and stared at him blankly, her features completely devoid of any emotion. "Look at her, Kizashi." She gestured to Sakura, who was looking more uncomfortable by the minute. "Sakura doesn't want to meet your new woman."
"She really wants to meet you, Saku-chan."
Inwardly, Sakura winced. That was what he used to call her when she was growing up. His little Saku-chan. After the incident, however, it had never felt right to be called it again. That man, the one who dubbed her as his Saku-chan, would have never hit her mother. In her eyes, back then, he had loved her with all his heart. At one point she had even wanted a relationship like theirs. All of those thoughts, dreams and hopes came crashing down when she saw him holding a knife to her mother's throat, however.
"Don't call me that," Sakura snapped before she could even stop herself, her anger, not for the first time, getting the best of her.
Kizashi's eyes narrowed. "What, you mean 'Saku-chan'? I've always called you by that name."
"Well stop it."
"Sakura–"
"No," she cut her mother off, quickly jumping to her feet. "I don't want anything to do with your fiancée or you, so you may as well leave."
A large hand grabbed her upper arm, roughly turning her around to face her now standing father. "She wants to meet you," Kizashi repeated through gritted teeth, glaring down at his daughter angrily. "You're going to meet her and you're going to play nice, do you understand?"
Sakura yanked her arm out of his hold and took a few steps back, closer to her mother. "No, I'm not. Do you understand?"
Another hand grabbed her arm, though this one was much smaller and definitely more gentle. Instead of it being rough and painful, it was comforting and soothing. "Leave, Kizashi. You asked Sakura and she said no. Respect her decision."
Kizashi shook his head angrily, his fists clenching tightly by his sides and trembling ever so slightly. "Respect her decision? How can I respect either of you if you show me no respect? I am your father, Sakura. I'm not one of your pathetic school friends." He took a deep breath, seeming to try and calm himself, but it obviously did no good. "You'll come around and when you do, just pick up the phone."
"I don't have your number."
"It's–"
"Let me rephrase that." Sakura narrowed her eyes, her heart in her throat and the adrenaline that was pumping around her body was amazing. "I don't want your number."
He took an intimidating step forward, glowering viciously at his daughter, but Mebuki was suddenly blocking the view as she stepped in front of Sakura, returning the glare with one of her own. "Leave."
Without a word, he did so, slamming the front door after himself.
Mebuki immediately sagged with relief, but a second later, she was shooting Sakura a disbelieving look. "Do you have to anger him like that?"
Sakura snorted. "I wanted to make sure that you remembered how much of an evil bastard he is." Mebuki's eyes widened, shock obvious on her face. "You nearly got back with him before, Mom, when he tricked you into thinking he'd changed. I didn't want that to happen again. And…" She grimaced, rubbing the arm he had squeezed. There was no doubt in her mind that there would be a bruise the size of his hand the next day. "I wanted to remind myself of that, too."
The older woman sighed and ran her hand through Sakura's hair, pushing the stray strands behind her ear. "I'll never go back to him, Sakura. You have my word. Now, go and finish your essay and I'll have your favourite takeout ordered by six, okay?"
That sounded great. Sakura smiled. "Okay."
A/N - Since the first chapter got quite a few reviews, I decided to update again!
Don't worry about the short relationship between Sakura and Gaara. It's kind of like those little experiments in high school that nearly always mean nothing and like she said: they decided it would be best to just be friends. There's no romantic feelings between them at all! Don't forget she's only had a couple of friends and as you grow up, you get curious and whatnot. Gaara was someone she trusted.
I hope you all liked this chapter! :-)