Disclaimer: The existence of Hikari-chan belongs to me. Masashi Kishimoto owns the rest of the cast.

Chapter 4: The Love that was Unreciprocated

It felt nice, strolling down the streets of Tokyo with the important people in his life. If Naruto was his seventeen year old self, he would've been envisioning impracticable images of a family consisting Hikari, Sakura, and him. In a sense, they were already a family – even if they weren't related by the same DNA – but their "family" was entirely different from the kind that Naruto wanted.

"Sakura, I want ice cream!" Hikari used her most charming voice as she pointed eagerly at an ice cream stand in the park.

Sakura's emerald eyes gazed at the pointed object before looking back to the little girl. "How about another time, Hikari-chan? Jiraiya-ojii-san is taking us to lunch today."

Hikari's mouth puckered, showing that she was discontented with the reply and Naruto knew he had to step in, "Awe Sakura-chan, it's just only this once."

"Naruto!" Sakura chided, her emerald eyes pierced right at him with a dangerous aura "What did Jiraiya-ojii teach us?"

He shrugged with a lopsided grin present upon his face. "Did that geezer even teach us anything?"

The woman beside him rolled her eyes, "Well, I don't want Hikari-chan learning any bad habits and that includes eating desserts before the main meal."

While she chided him, a small smile graced her face and Naruto felt as if he had found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. It was rare for him to see Sakura smile. He could tell that she only saw him as her best friend and he was proud to say that he was one of the very few people she would lean on when she was in desperate need, which was rarely, for Sakura was talented and very stubborn.

When he was in his teenage years he had developed a small crush on his best friend. Slowly, it developed into love, and until this very day, Naruto wasn't ashamed to admit that he still loved her. It pained him to know that Sakura only saw him as a brother figure. The countless years in which Naruto held onto his feelings for her, Sakura never reciprocated it.

"Naruto-oniisan!" Hikari whined as she put on her best puppy dog face; a face which he couldn't resist and only Sakura was immune to.

He looked over to his pink haired girl and smiled, "How about after lunch?"

If someone asked him just how much he loved Sakura, he wouldn't lie about it. Naruto knew that he would always put her before anyone else, even before his Hinata. He knew he was stupid for holding onto an unrequited love, but he just couldn't let go. However, Sakura had made it clear that she would never return his feelings. Her heart already belonged to another person, and like him, her feelings were unreciprocated.

After the incident, he knew he couldn't proclaim his love for her. Of all his fears, the one that anxious him the most was the idea of Sakura leaving his life. It had happened once and he couldn't afford to let it happen a second time.

"Naruto, if you really love me, then do it for me," Her voice was monotone, void of any emotions. Gone was the high-pitched cute voice of a child. It sounded hoarse and broken, just like her. She didn't look like the Sakura-chan he used to know.

Naruto clenched his hands into two fists along with his jaws. The request was outrageous and if she wasn't in such condition, he would've lashed out at her. He couldn't accept it. "I can never stop loving you. You know that, Sakura-chan."

She stared directly into his eyes, "What you feel for me isn't love, Naruto. Yes, I know you love me, but right now, it's just an infatuation. A long time crush. You don't love me the way I love him. One day, a woman will come barging into your life and break down the image you see of me. When that happens, I want you to give her a chance. Don't always cling onto me, because I might just leave you."

He never believed her words. Not until she disappeared from his life for a period of six months. God knew where she went and during that time, he was vexed. In fact, he vaguely remembered losing his sanity. Depression struck him and he couldn't concentrate on his studies.

When she finally came back, Naruto didn't care whether or not his feelings would be reciprocated. All he wanted was Sakura to stay by his side. It was because of her plead that he got himself a girlfriend. It was a jerk move to date Hinata while still liking Sakura, but Naruto held no guilt for it. When the meek girl confessed to him, Naruto had told her straight out that he was in love with Sakura. The girl accepted his selfish love. Naruto knew that while he couldn't love Hinata par up to Sakura, he would try his best to grant the girl happiness.

"How about this, Hikari-chan? Your crayons are worn out. I'll buy you a new set rather than an ice cream cone."

Immediately, Hikari's charcoal eyes widened and a delighted smile emerged on her face. "Really Sakura? Pinky swear!"

Locking fingers with the little girl, Sakura grinned, "I promise."

Naruto watched Sakura's smile widened as she stared at the petite girl skipping down the road in happiness. If anyone could make Sakura happy, it was Hikari.

"Sasuke-niisan!" The little boy screeched as he ran to tackle him into a hug.

A woman stood behind the little boy smiled at the sight, "Sota-chan, I want you to be on your best behaviour while you are with Sasuke-nii. He has a lot of work, so you better not cause him any trouble."

"Hai okaa-san!" The said boy grinned cheekily at his mother and Sasuke smiled.

Before meeting Sota, the word 'family' didn't exist in his vocabulary. His father was always busy with the company, having meaningless flings with countless women while his mother attended to the meetings overseas; having flings of her own. Itachi was the only person he actually spent time with, but he would often disappear for a few days before returning home. When Sasuke asked his brother where he went, he would get a vague response. In the end, Sasuke gave up on his family altogether.

However, it changed since the day he discovered that one of his father's flings, Usui Yukina, had borne an illegitimate son.

He found her in the rain, her body exhausted from standing in the showering cold world for a long period of time. His father had already retired to bed, refusing to see the poor woman standing outside the gates of his house. Everything was dark, and the sky was pouring and Sasuke felt guilty.

"Are you another one of my old man's…" He trailed off at the thought that the word he was going to label her was too callous and shameful. "…flings?"

While the woman's brown hair was wet and her eyes were splotchy, she was attractive. He could tell she wasn't affluent by her clothes, but she had respectable taste in fashion.

She managed to put on a faltering smile and throw her pride away as she said, "Is it possible to meet your father?"

"He has retired for the night. Do you want me to pass on a message?"

She hesitated and the hope in her face waned, "No, it's okay. I'll try again tomorrow morning then."

Feeling pity for the woman, he said, "You know, even if you stay here all night, he still won't see you, right?"

"You know, Uchiha-san, I said I was going to cut ties with him, but I can't. I'm bound to him," At his puzzlement, she explained, "I'm not doing this for him, nor am I doing this for myself. I'm doing this for my child. At least, I want him to know that he is the father of my child. However, maybe it's better if he doesn't. That would save Sota from adversity when he grows up."

The woman was rambling, and he was certain that she was crying while rambling off her speech.

"How long has it been?"

She paused and a forlorn smile spread across her face. "Sota is turning three this upcoming October. I'm sorry for intruding your rest, Uchiha-san. I will take my leave now."

He gave a silent nod. "Do you want me to drive you home?"

"Oh no, its fine, Uchiha-san. I can manage by myself."

"I insist. After all the mess that he caused, I'm sure you've gone through a lot."

She nodded and followed him to the garage where all the cars were kept.

"So you're not going to tell him." It was a statement. The woman froze and then she shook her head.

"I'll be okay on my own." Despite her statement, he knew that it was all lies. If she was okay on her own, she wouldn't have shown up at the Uchiha compound.

"The child needs a father," He voiced out clearly as he turned to face her.

"But the father..." her voice cracked for the first time and tears escaped her eyelids.

"...will reject him." he finished the sentence off and she lowered her head. Sasuke knew his father's personality. He knew that the man would not accept shame to befall the Uchiha family. Even from his faults, he would use his influential power and money to cover all sides of the story.

"I'll visit Sota every week. I'm sorry that he won't take responsibility for what he's done. I'm sure that if you need financial aid, he will be able to help you though."

"No, it's fine. I just wanted him to know that he has another son alive in this world. That's all I want to do for Sota. But you're a sweetheart. Thank you for offering, Uchiha-san."

"Sasuke. You can call me Sasuke; and your name, Ms?"

"I'm Usui Yukina."

At first, he visited her because he felt pity for the woman. It wasn't her fault that his father was an asshole and had knocked her up, but more than so, he wanted to spend time with his half-brother and be the brother that Itachi couldn't. In the beginning, Sasuke only visited once a month, but as Sota grew older his visits became frequent.

Now that Sota was turning five, the visits became a ritual. The first thing Sasuke did every Saturday morning was drop by the small condo. For the weekend, Sota would spend time with him, and it made it easier now that he moved to an apartment with Shikamaru.

"I heard you broke up with your girlfriend."

He scowled at her statement, "It's nothing, Yukina-san."

"But you liked her didn't you?"

"But she didn't like me," He answered fore fully, wishing for the subject to be dropped. Sure, the woman was one whom he trusted, but he just wasn't ready to open up and discuss their relationship with her. "She only dated me because of who I am. She didn't like the real me."

Apparently, it looked as if Yukina understood, for she brought the topic to a close "Women are hard to predict, but if you guys are meant for each other, I'm sure things will fall in place again. Are you staying for lunch?"

He nodded and a gentle smile bloomed on her face. It was rare that the male actor was able to stay for lunch, for his schedule didn't allow him much free time. However, whenever he could, she was ready to make a big feast for him.

"Make yourself comfortable while I go make lunch and I'll let you know when it's done. Sota seems to have a lot of stories to tell you."

At that, the young boy who was clinging onto him grinned and dragged him to the family room. "Sasuke-nii, did you bring the game?"

He pulled out a case that contained a game for the ps3 system and Sota cheered.

"So, how was school this week? Did you make any new friends?"

While Sota inherited his looks from both his mother and his father, he seemed to have inherited the Uchiha remote personality. Making friends for Sota was always hard for he was a boy with few words to strangers. Apparently, he didn't like useless talks, which was like Sasuke. Sasuke understood Sota's reasons for the lack of communication. There was no reason talk to pretentious people and pretending to care about things that in reality, he didn't.

At that question, Sota sulked, "No. All the other kids are idiots. The boys fight and the girls are lovesick."

Sasuke chuckled at Sota's answer. True, kids knew way too much in today's society. They were already declaring love to each other even though they were only five. He was already twenty, yet he was still struggling with finding out who he was and who he liked. While he was doing that, it seemed like the whole world had sped up.

"And a new girl came."

At that, Sasuke's quirked an eyebrow. It couldn't be that coincidental.

"What's her name?"

Sota gave him a bizarre look, as if he had grown another head and then shrugged. "I don't know. Uzumaki something, I think."

"Uzumaki?" The name was familiar, but he couldn't identify where he heard it before.

"Yes. Her father was an idiot – very loud and happy. He was praising her while he sent her off, said something about making him, Uzumaki Naruto, proud," He rolled his eyes as he put the disc inside the system.

Sasuke ruffled his step brother hair. He knew that that the boy was envious of the girl's father, for he grew up without a father. When Sota asked about his father, both Sasuke and Yukina said that his father had died in a car crash and the boy had accepted the answer without questions.

"Ready for another round of losing?" He smirked.

"No way, I'm gonna beat you today!"

While setting the dining table, Usui Yukina smiled as she watched the two boys duel in whatever game they were playing.

"I'm glad you didn't take after your father, Sasuke."

"Miyuki, is there a package or an envelope for me?"

"I'm sorry, ojou-sama, but I haven't received anything under your name." She nodded and then ushered the maid away. Staring up at the ceiling, she sighed.

"Wow, Temari-nee, whose gift are you waiting for? For you to ask subsequently every single day and look like this, is it that important?" A deep male voice whom she recognized to be her older brother chimed from above the stairs.

She groaned, "I'm in no mood for this, Kankuro. How about getting back to me in a couple of days?"

"I'm not that stupid, you know. For the past three years, you received a pot of plants or seeds for your birthday. It's from the ex of yours, isn't it?" Kankuro smirked as he made his way down the serpentine stairs. Teasing his oldest sibling was always his highlight of the day.

"It's not from Shikamaru," she retorted, cheeks red in anger, "In fact, there wasn't even a name on it."

Kankuro nodded his head nonchalantly, "Just watch, the person will replace the plant this year. Now, don't you have a date this year? Once you walk out the door, your ex will probably sweep you away from those men Mother is trying to set you up."

"Yeah, because Shikamaru is the prince charming type," Temari laughed dryly and rolled her eyes "That lazy ass will probably just bid me off to the omiai, like he broke up with me because it was too troublesome to date a woman from a rich family. Thinking about it, I don't even know why I liked him in the first place."

"Well, I do see Mother's side of the story. Of course she wouldn't let you date him; Shikamaru isn't the son of any large companies and he's three years younger than you." The forbidden love between the eldest daughter of the millionaire Sabakus, who owned a casino chain and a fashion line, and a genius from a standard family had made the headlines at a certain point in history. Due to the different social class, their mother had prohibited their relationship.

"So basically, you're objecting to it."

"Not really." Kankuro replied smoothly, "Personally, I don't care who you date."

"You never care about anything Kankuro, and that's where it led her life to be." Temari stated.

Immediately, the atmosphere between them tensed.

"How the hell would I know she was actually going to run away?" Kankuro growled, "She never listened to my suggestions, anyway. It was your fault that she planned on running away. All because of that boy. If you hadn't said what you did, then she would still be here, but then knowing Mother, she'd probably kill her, herself."

Kankuro stared up, to find that his sister was trembling and tears had escaped her eyelids"I'm sorry, Temari. I was out of line."

"Don't be. You're right. It was my fault, but I still believe she's alive."

"And what makes you think that?" A new voice interrupted, causing the two to whirl around at the foundation of the voice.

"Gaara!"

"Gaara-nii!" The two siblings hissed simultaneously at the eldest son of the family who leaned against the wall.

Sabaku Gaara merely lifted an eyebrow and stared vacantly at the two. "So?"

Temari breathed, "Every year, I receive some sort of gift relating to plants for my birthday, and Sakura was the only person who gave me a pot of plants every year. Besides you two, no one else knows my fascination with plants."

Seeing that no maid nor anyone else was within sight, Kankuro said, "But she died three years ago. The body was found."

"She was a rebel back then." Temari chuckled dryly at the thought, "Do you think she will die that easily?"

"I wish she made her own decisions, rather than concurring to the other people's judgements. Ironic how the moment she chose to do things her way, is the moment where her life ends." Kankuro commented, only to receive a glare from the oldest sibling. "I wonder where her life would be now if she hadn't run away…only to be murdered and thrown into the canal, to the point where her face was scrapped to the point where it couldn't be recognized."

"But there's something wrong with the pol—," At that moment, the doorbell rang and Gaara cast them a sinister look.

"I'm leaving, but don't let Mother hear you. We all know Sakura is a taboo subject in this household." The unsociable brother muttered forebodingly before he stalked off.

A maid scrambled their way, "Ojou-sama, Nara Shikamaru requests to see you."

The atmosphere of melancholy and nostalgia was dispatched in an instant as Kankuro smirked smugly and said, "Say Sis, what did I tell you?"

"I didn't expect for you to come out."

"I didn't expect you would still remember my birthday after four years," Temari smirked as she flipped open her fan. "Your gift is lovely."

"So why did you come here?"

"Well—" Before Shikamaru could answer her question, a limousine pulled up in front of the Sabaku's house. Temari looked at the black limousine before yanking his collar and pulling him towards the garage.

"Oi! Where are we going?" The young man exclaimed.

"Leaving here, obviously." Temari unlocked one of the doors of the car and pushed him into the passenger seat. She scrambled to the other side and climbed into the driver's seat. Pulling outside the Sabaku's residence, Temari sped on the road outside the city.

"Whoa! Slow down woman or else you'll get both of us killed!" Shikamaru exclaimed, fearing for his life. The woman beside him looked as if she had lost half of her mind.

"Oh stop being troublesome." Temari snapped, using his infamous phrase without realizing as her eyes glaring ahead at the road in front of her. "I'm making for a run obviously and when we get home, I'm going to say you abducted me."

Shikamaru sighed, "You're a really troublesome woman, you know that?"

They were out in the suburbs of Tokyo when Temari decided to park her car someplace not to his knowledge and get out the car. Shikamaru followed suit as they trudged down to the edge of the lake. The lavishing green meadow gleamed against the blue sky. Pine trees, along with small mountains obscure the whole platform stood in the background.

"Why are we here anyways?" But nevertheless, he lay down on the grass and stared up at the sky.

Temari never answered his question. She stared at the blue sky before settling down next to him. "We were talking about her again."

"Your sister."

"There wasn't a plant or seeds this year." Her voice was heartbreaking, and he felt as if his heart was going to break along with hers.

"But you don't even know if she was the one who sent it. They always came anonymous after all."

"I wish I hadn't chided her that day. If Mother didn't throw out the word 'disown,' then she wouldn't leave home. She's alive. I just know. The police aren't reliable. They couldn't even identify the body since it was torn to pieces and the face was scrapped. It was traumatizing, but despite that fact, I just know that she escaped it. She matured as soon as she heard the appalling news, so she can't die that easily. She definitely didn't die. There are still too many things she needs to do. She still owes the world too much to be able to die."

Shikamaru didn't say anything, but his gaze left the sky to the woman beside him who was showing him her vulnerable side.

"You're living in denial, Temari."

He was going to tell her about the Haruno Sakura that transferred into his class. The Haruno Sakura that somewhat resembled the youngest Sabaku who died three years ago, but seeing her in this state, he couldn't. He didn't want to give the woman hope, only to backfire into despair. He knew that Temari wouldn't be able to take it. It was too much; especially since she still hadn't moved on for the past three years.

He never knew Sabaku Sakura personally, except that she was a troublemaker back in her teenage years. While the girl was charismatic and enchanting, she was also doubtful of her abilities and followed the wrong crowd. Haruno Sakura was an enigma, from what he observed during their classes together. She was quiet, and distant but also assertive. Deducting from his observing skills, Shikamaru concluded that the two couldn't be the same person. He had to be sure before he went around confronting her.

Sakura didn't know how a restaurant could possibly attract so many guests at one thirty in the afternoon.

It was past lunch hour, yet it was deafening and crowded. There were frazzled waitresses scrambling from table to table, seating people, taking orders, and delivering food. Sure, the Ichiraku Ramen Bar had renovated into a small restaurant, but it was still crowded nonetheless.

Sakura sighed, knowing it would be a while before Jiraiya actually showed up, and she wanted to chide Naruto for choosing this place. Sakura wasn't exactly a fan of ramen after the month Jiraiya took a vacation and Naruto was on duty in the kitchen. Hikari was drawing in her sketchbook with the new set of pencil crayons she had bought for her.

The young child was humming some tune she had learned from school, paying no attention to the deafening surrounding, but for Sakura, it was a different story. She was becoming agitated. She was never good with large crowds, and here she was, stuck between chatters and crying babies. It was definitely not good for her health.

"The best part of the new game is that we can control it with our minds."

Naruto was rambling about his university's assignment, which she could care less about it. She only had so much patience, and an empty stomach with Naruto's useless ramblings wasn't helping her forget her hunger.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto's sudden shout startled her.

"Sorry Naruto-kun, it's crowded out there." The woman who arrived at their table apologized meekly. She looked frazzled and slightly out of breath.

"No worries! No worries! That old man isn't even here yet. Say hi to Hinata-chan, Hikari-chan!"

Hikari looked up and smiled, "Hi Hinata-oneechan!. Look! Hikari drew a picture of you and Naruto-oniisan!" She held up the small sketchbook with pride at her drawing.

Hinata smiled, "It's wonderful, Hikari-chan."

"I didn't think Ichiraku Ramen could get this many customers." Sakura commented as she stared at her surroundings.

Hinata shook her head. "No, I think it's because the members of Akatsuki are here."

At that comment, Sakura stiffened. Her fear only worsen when she caught sight of someone familiar coming in through the doors.

Oh no, it can't be. She thought in bewilderment. Just great. Her day just couldn't get any worse. The person looked up and his eyes widened for a fraction of a second.

She diverted her gaze to the side, but his familiar voice rang out through the crowd. "I didn't expect to see you here, Sakura-chan. I thought you left Japan for good. How come you never visit me after all those months of hospitality?"

At the corner of her eyes, she saw Naruto's jaws dropped; he was literally gaping at the person in front of him. Hinata was stunned, while Hikari was confused, staring from one person to another, not comprehending the situation. Some of the customers had dropped their personal conversations and were trying to eavesdrop on them.

"I didn't expect to see you here either, Uchiha-san." She smiled politely.

"Now, now, why are you so polite, Sakura-chan?" An amused smile played upon his lips, making her feel unsettled. Her emerald eyes widened. She knew what was coming. Her eyes tried to send messages to him, telling him to stop. He wouldn't dare saying what he was going to—

"After all, we did live together for a couple of months. Why don't you call me Itachi-kun, like you used to?"

The chatter in the restaurant suddenly stopped and all eyes were focused on them.

Note: This is not a filler chapter. This is a chapter that provides background information on our characters. A word of thanks to AnimeSiren who took her time to edit this chapter.

+K Tram~

Publication: 01.09.11
Revision: 09.06.11