Chapter 11 – It's All Gone Wrong
Holding onto her virginity was probably the cause behind her getting so wound up over Itachi's innocent touch, wasn't it? Ino would've laughed at her reaction. It wasn't like he molested her – he was comforting her the same way any of her girl friends would have.
Why had she and Sasuke held off on doing anything sexual? Part of her hadn't wanted to do it, in all honesty. Sure, she was interested in kissing him and she definitely found him attractive, but sex? At thirteen? At fifteen? Maybe she was more traditional than she'd originally thought, or maybe Ino was right in calling her a prude? Sasuke never seemed to mind too much, but then again, he was from a traditional family. Abstinence was expected of him and his family trusted his restraint greatly – the fact she was allowed to stay over proved that. He would hate to break their trust.
They abstained from the things others of their generation did carelessly partly because they wanted to respect the trust given to them, but mainly because they just didn't want sex. Not at the time, anyway. Now they were older, they knew what they wanted. They were sure about their relationship. Kind of.
The bottom line was that they learned many things over the years. Had they been having sex when they first got together, they wouldn't have known what the hell they were doing. They knew nothing of contraception or other forms of safety. Emotionally they weren't ready for that humongous step. Sakura understood perfectly that others didn't see it as much as a step as they did a shift of their foot, but to her, it was everything. She wasn't like her friends. She didn't drop her underwear as soon as she entered a relationship.
Stepping out of her changing cubicle, Sakura did a spin for the designer. She was watching her closely, tapping her lips in deep thought before asking her to squat, then lunge.
"You can move easily enough," she said, though still continued to frown.
"Is something wrong?"
"It looks tight." Walking towards her, she waited for permission before reaching out, tugging on the sports bra. Sakura looked to the ceiling, embarrassed when she felt her body attempting to jiggle in response – would have, but it was all strapped down too firmly. "How does it feel?"
"It is tighter than my usual sports clothing," admitted Sakura and she glanced downwards. "But it's also a design I'd never usually wear myself."
The woman hummed and stepped back again, once more assessing her critically. It was difficult holding back old insecurities, wondering if it was her body that was making it impossible. Was she too fat for the outfit? Even though Sakura knew she wasn't fat, and knew her working out kept the extra pounds at bay, it was still disheartening not being able to fit properly in an outfit her size.
"Don't get me wrong, you look good," the designer told her. Gods, were her emotions really that easy to read? The older woman was in deep thought again, her hands fidgeting with the tape measure. "I'm simply worried that you may start aching – your breasts look very constricted."
Nope, that would be her ordinary flat chest. Holding back that remark, Sakura quickly ran through several warm up exercises, repeatedly testing the waters with both her sports bra and the high waisted pants. She felt comfortable enough and she was definitely going to avoid slipping out of her outfit during the photo shoot, which was a major bonus.
"As long as Kurotsuchi-san likes it, I guess that's all we can ask for," Sakura told her with a smile and a shrug.
"Maybe, but I'll order the sports bra in the next size up just in case. I need to put an order in anyway." Walking towards her clipboard, she jotted down the note to herself. "Don't take this the wrong way, Haruno-san, but you're growing into a woman now – your body is still developing and will change a lot throughout your life. Your breasts happen to make your top half a size bigger than your bottom half in terms of sports gear, bikinis and the such. Does that make sense to you?"
Kind of, she guessed. But the bikini she'd purchased not too long ago fit her perfectly. Or… did it? Was the push up effect enhanced by the fact it was too small for her? Oh Gods, had people noticed it was too small for her? She would have to go though the pictures again to see if it was.
"Send Uchiha-san in for me, please."
Oh, so she was being sent away. Refraining from pulling a face at the flippant way she was dismissed, Sakura took a deep breath, braving herself for the return to the changing room.
The minute walk was agonising, her palms sweating as she tried to remind herself the hug was normal. It was one friend comforting another. But the fact that she had to tell herself that, meant it was anything but normal, right? In her eyes it did.
He was seated by the table when she returned, her dainty knock belying her easy smile. Clearly, the healthy way to move on from what had happened, was to ignore the guilt in her stomach. If she ignored it, it would eventually go away and cease to be a problem, wouldn't it?
"That is…" He blinked in surprise, lowering his phone. "Quite the change."
Yeah, she supposed it was. While the dress had been anything but conservative, it certainly covered a lot more than her current outfit. The fancy spaghetti straps of her sports bra (she counted eight in total, all crisscrossing) worried her, especially if they were doing the photo shoot outside, for she would end up with the worst tan lines. The yoga pants were high waisted and three quarter length, tucking and flattening where necessary and she'd noticed that, while walking back to the dressing room, that they didn't slip down while walking – a good sign, for the cheap workout pants always did.
"I guess it's safe to say we'll be doing some kind of workout for one of the photo shoots," she said with a shrug. "Do you think there'll be more?"
"This may be the backup plan." Standing, he added, "I take it the designer would like to see me again."
Her cheeks burned. "Yeah, sorry."
Fortunately for her, he left with a mere nod, leaving her alone to her thoughts. Sighing, she approached the mirror, assessing the outfit for herself. Her breasts didn't look bad at all, she decided. The designer wasn't wrong, but they didn't look bad either. The sports bra kept them in place rather well, if you asked her and was doing its job better than could be expected of a flimsy, strappy bra. It wasn't something she would've chosen for herself, given the fact it did look so flimsy, however she knew someone like Ino would snatch it up in a heartbeat.
"Now I'm turning to dust in a world that's twisted. Don't come–"
She all but pounced on her bag, quickly finding her phone and answering the call with a breathless, "Hello?"
A pause. "Are you okay?"
The earlier blush on her cheeks raged and Sakura sat down, biting her lip to try and contain her excitement. "Yeah, I'm fine, Sasuke-kun. My phone was across the room," she lied. Telling him how excited she was about talking to him was out of the question – he'd think she was desperate. "What's up?"
"Do you want to meet up tonight? When you're back?"
Even she knew her smile was ridiculous, but as Sakura caught sight of her expression in the mirror, she found that she loved it anyway. There was a glow to her complexion, her smile beaming and creasing her eyes.
"Yeah, but I'm not sure what time I'll be home. It shouldn't be too long, though. Itachi-san thinks we're being measured for the last outfit now." Smile simmering, she told him, "You should have seen the dancers doing their photo shoot, Sasuke-kun. They were so elegant."
"Are you enjoying it?"
"Definitely," came her easy reply. "I don't think this is where we'll be doing our photo shoot, though." There was a hum, followed by a familiar clicking sound and she frowned. "Sasuke-kun, you're not driving, are you?"
"Handsfree-"
"Sasuke-kun!" she scolded. "That's just as dangerous-"
"Stop yelling," Sasuke muttered with clear frustration. "I wanted to talk to you."
Even though her heart melted, she stuck to her guns, saying, "And I don't want you to crash and die, so I'm going to hang up now. I'll have Itachi-san take me to your place instead of home, if that's okay?"
"Sure. I have no other plans."
"Okay." There was another pause and she smiled hopefully, telling him, "I love you."
"See you."
Her heart sunk at his response and she slouched in the chair, biting her lip once more to try and hold back the emotions. Since when had the response to 'I love you' been a goodbye? Was that really what he thought she meant when she told him she loved him? That she was saying goodbye? Was he an idiot? No, she didn't want to force the sentiment from him, because if he didn't mean it, it would crush her. She simply… wanted more affection. Not just physical affection, she wanted emotional affection, too.
The whole sex thing, she understood. She got it. He didn't want to disappoint his parents or break their rules and, if they didn't have sex at the Uchiha Manor, then who knows where it'd be? She didn't want that of her first time – somewhere sleazy and possibly dirty. It had to be special.
Being so emotionally closed off, however, was entirely different. Nobody asked that of him, he merely–
He was copying his father, Sakura realised with dread. Itachi had warned her of it before, saying that their parents' relationship was the only relationship he really had to go off. Yes, there would have been relationships around the school, but more than once he'd shown disgust towards those who openly flaunted their love, cringing whenever he saw open displays of affection. He would never take notes from them – he was too much of a prude.
Looking down at her phone's lock screen, she frowned. At most, in front of others, they held hands or gave a peck on the cheek. Recently, they'd made out in front of others – kind of. They'd been swimming while the others were still on the beach and the moment hit them. That was what she liked. Not kissing for the sake of kissing, but kissing when they felt it.
The screen going black had her sighing and leaning back, hair flowing over the back of the chair. Her knees came up, feet resting on the edge of the hard plastic.
It was that pathetic position Itachi found her in and via the mirror, she saw his concern, his frown deepening at the sight of her phone.
"Did something happen?"
Her gaze drifted up to the ceiling and she sighed. "Sasuke-kun called."
"Oh?"
"He wants to meet tonight," she told him. There was a quiver deep in her chest and the tears threatened to start up again, but she remained strong. At least, she liked to believe she did. "I said 'I love you' and…"
As she had moments before, he sighed. "And he didn't say it back."
Gods, it sounded even worse when someone else said it and it damn near made her start crying again. Ugly crying, she meant. There was a sob building up its power, prepared and all too willing to take control of her. If it did, Sakura believed she would be crying for a while.
It didn't surprise her when Itachi made his way around the chair, bringing another so that he could sit in front of her, so that they could talk at eye level, rather than him seemingly talking down to her.
"What makes you so sure he does?"
The words cut deep, there was no denying that. And they cut so deep because in all honesty, she didn't know. Not truly. Telling herself the little things told her that he loved her was stupid, wasn't it? Saying he said one thing, while meaning another. That when he told her to do something, it was because he didn't want to see her hurt because he loved her.
"Because…" She shrugged pitifully. "We're still together and it's nearly been five years."
"That doesn't necessarily mean he is in love, Sakura-san," he told her with a sigh. There was a sad look in his eyes – or was it pity? "Couples remain in loveless relationships for a number of reasons-"
"Mainly because of children-"
"Or to protect their image."
"He wouldn't-"
There was no impatience or annoyance in his features or tone. He remained calm, serious. "You need to stop justifying his actions and guessing at his intentions. The truth is, we don't know what people are thinking. People are capable of looking you in the eye and lying through their teeth. The sooner you realise that, the better."
He was right. She knew he was. She simply wished that he wasn't.
"Did Sasuke say why he wishes to meet tonight?"
She shrugged, gaze returning to her phone. "No, but I'm guessing just to spend time together. We've gone from spending every day together, to hardly even talking."
"You think he misses you?"
"You don't?"
Itachi sighed again and sat back in his seat, stretching out comfortably. "Despite my believing you deserve better, Sakura-san, I don't think my brother is completely heartless. Of course, he misses you. I see it in his face every day."
It was pathetic how her heart skipped at his admission. "You do?"
"However," he added more sternly, frowning at her, "I do think you are both on a dark path."
What in the hell was that supposed to mean? "What?"
"If things continue as they are, you will both be extremely unhappy, stuck in a loveless, emotionally abusive marriage." Just as she went to argue, outraged, he cut her off swiftly, telling her, "Do not argue with me, Sakura-san. I know the signs."
"How-"
Oh, she was getting tired of him cutting her off. "How?" he repeated, expression showing vague disbelief. "Have you met my parents, Sakura-san? Do you understand how much Sasuke idolises our father?"
Okay, but… "He idolises you, too."
"But I was gone for years, for most of your relationship. He would have had no one but our parents to look to for an example. Tell me, do you think their relationship is healthy?"
Sakura thought back to the way Mikoto tiptoed around her husband, wary of angering him or worsening his never ending bad moods. She was the perfect wife. Never answering back or talking out of place, having meals on the table at the same time every day, answering his every beck and call. It certainly wasn't a perfect marriage, but–
Green eyes went wide as Sakura realised she'd been about to defend Fugaku's bullying. How in the hell was her mind wired? Why was it okay for him to terrorise his wife, but absolutely despicable for him to bully his son? Why was it so different? Why did that seem normal to her? Was it because that was steadily what they'd been progressing to?
"I…" The words died on her tongue as her emotions almost overwhelmed her. "How do I prevent that without leaving him?"
There was a tense moment of silence before he murmured, "Personally, I would like to see my mother stand up for herself." His shoulders were stiff, muscles growing rigid. "It is one thing for her to cower before her husband when he is unpleasant towards her, but it is an entirely different matter when his short temper and abrasive personality tears down her children and their significant others."
He was talking about the night that pushed Sasuke too far, wasn't he? Her body language quickly copied his, her muscles tensing. Was his stomach twisting similarly to hers? Could he feel the uneasiness of where their conversation was heading? Gods, she hoped he didn't pry. She hoped he avoided that night – she did. Going back to it and recalling the fear that had not only swept through her, but confused the hell out of her too, was something she didn't want to do. So, she decided to ignore it on the guise that she was being forgiving. It happened. They couldn't change the past. It was best to move on from it.
"I have witnessed my father strike my mother on three separate occasions and each time, Mother blamed herself," came his quiet admittance and Sakura was horrified to see the great shame in his eyes. Why would he blame himself for his father's actions? "Sasuke, on the other hand, has possibly seen it more often." Once more, their eyes met and she knew – oh, she just knew – that he could see through her ignorance. "Witnessing Sasuke behave in the same manner, followed by your own tendency to blame yourself, is… too much. The similarities are too much."
"I…" What could she possibly say to that?
His gaze was intense and knowing, although it wasn't impossible to see through her lies. When she passed it off as nothing major, just the heat of the moment, it wasn't said convincingly enough. Others didn't know the specifics of what happened – all they knew was that it was an argument. Itachi saw too much, however. He saw Sasuke shove her.
"What else happened, Sakura-san?"
Maybe her sports bra was too tight, because her chest was suddenly killing her, like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter. "I…" She swallowed hard, trying and failing to ignore the memories assaulting her, reminding her of Sasuke's forceful hands on her body, of his knee prying her thighs apart. "It was nothing."
But he was disbelieving. Rightly so. "Did he hurt you before I walked in?"
Stop digging, she mentally begged. "No."
"Then what happened? How did it escalate to him hurting you?"
"I pushed him into-"
"Do not blame yourself."
It was getting too hot for her. "I'm not. He needed space and I kept pushing him and pushing him until he couldn't take it anymore."
"Why were you pushing him?"
"Because he thought the best thing was to break up with me after-" Realisation had her falling silent, breathing in a sharp intake of breath and eyes going wide, lips pursing. "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"What did he do?"
Why did it matter so much to him? Why would he want to add to his guilt if he was already experiencing so much of it? "Leave it alone."
"I can't. None of it adds up," he replied simply, eyes narrowing fractionally. "Before that incident, you were both getting on well. You had learned to open up to one another."
Now he was just repeating her thoughts on it all. "Itachi-san, I-"
But he wouldn't leave it alone. "Why are you protecting him? What is so bad that you cannot tell me what happened?"
"It has nothing to do with you-"
"It does, Sakura-san. It is my fault why-"
"He forced himself on me!" she snapped at him, much to the horror of both herself and Itachi. He stared at her, features deadpanning (she believed his jaw would have gone slack, had he been the type to stare open-mouthed at someone). Weakly, she added, "You can't blame yourself for that."
The uneasiness he was feeling was obvious. "He…"
Shit, she shouldn't have said it. She should have continued to ignore his persistence, remaining silent on the whole matter. Admitting what had happened – saying it out loud – cut her deeply. Not only had it happened to her, but Sasuke was the one who did it. The boy she loved and always gave her all to.
And like they always did, her eyes welled up with tears. "He wasn't thinking clearly. He was upset-"
"Nothing will ever excuse this." The steeliness of his voice only made the tears fall faster. "What Sasuke did was unforgivable."
"Yet I'm willing to forgive him," she told him firmly, eyes hardening regardless of the tears. "As soon as Sasuke-kun realised what was happening, he stopped. He knew it was wrong."
Some of the tension in Itachi's shoulders relaxed. "He didn't…?"
"Rape me?" It felt disgusting even saying the words while talking about Sasuke. Thinking of her boyfriend violating her in such a way, harming her so brutally, had her hairs standing on end and stomach clenching painfully. "No. He would never do that."
He wanted to say something. She could tell from the look in his eye. But something was keeping him from doing so, forcing him to hold his tongue. Whatever it was, she was grateful towards it, because she was done with the conversation. Seeing that look on his face…
"I want to leave," she informed him and stood, already heading to the door before he could copy. "Kurotsuchi-san will have our exact measurements now – there's no reason for us to stay."
"Sakura-san, my brother-"
Whirling around, she glared at him, snapping, "Made a mistake. Don't be like the rest of your family and climb on his back, too."
Her words silenced him and sensing her victory, she left the room, intent on changing back into her clothes so that she could leave.
"Would you like to listen to music?"
"No, thanks."
The tension was still there between them, suffocating her. Deciphering what the main cause of the tension was impossible, but she knew it was about Sasuke, too. Keeping her mouth shut would have been better, however, she couldn't do that when Itachi was blaming himself for his brother's actions. There was the added bonus of it feeling oddly relieving having it off her chest, too. What would it mean for Sasuke, though? Would Itachi say anything to him? Bringing it up again to find out wasn't an option. Already, the tension was unbearable. She didn't plan on adding to it any time soon.
In her pocket, her phone vibrated, alerting her of a message, but for the first time in a while, she refrained from checking it immediately.
She'd betrayed Sasuke by telling Itachi about what had happened, knowing the reaction the whole situation would receive. All Sasuke ever wanted was to be acknowledged, respected and praised – she'd taken that from him. How would Itachi ever be able to respect him now? After what he'd done? Had it been anyone else – anyone – and she wouldn't think twice about cutting that person from her life entirely, or enacting vengeance, or reporting it or whatever response it usually evoked. But because it was Sasuke, she…
"I would like to discuss-"
"Please," she begged weakly, pitifully. "Just… leave it alone."
"He hurt you, Sakura-san," came his softly spoken retort. The previous firmness of his voice, the demand to know everything, was missing and it irked her. "How am I supposed to leave it alone?"
"Do you want to know what pushed him over the edge?"
"Do not make excuses-"
"They called him 'spineless'. Compared him to you and how you can stand up for yourself. You're not afraid to go against your father."
The grip on the steering wheel intensified, his knuckles turning white. "Meaning it is only natural to force yourself on another."
It was shocking to hear the sarcasm, but what was more shocking was the coldness of his words. The anger in his features as he glared out at the road. "Let me finish," she demanded, heart thundering away in her chest. Anger was an odd emotion to witness on Itachi. It brought forth a mixture of feelings that she couldn't identify or single out. "We only have a few rules at your home. The main one being the doors to bedrooms must be open at all times."
"A rule that is technically unbroken, given the fact you were in his gaming room."
She nodded. "Sasuke-kun was trying to prove a point."
"If I recall correctly, it is not the first time he has used you to prove a point."
No, it wasn't. And honestly? As heart-breaking as it was to admit, and as pathetic as it made her feel, it definitely wouldn't be the last time. Why was she okay with that? Well, she wasn't. But she loved him.
There was a weighty sigh from beside her, causing her to look in Itachi's direction. She frowned at his expression, wondering what was going through his mind to cause such an outward reaction. Maybe he could read her thoughts? Was she mistaking his look of disappointment for something else? Why did it even matter? He was her boyfriend's brother, not her boyfriend. His opinion didn't matter half as much as Sasuke's did.
Yet…
"I wish you could see the truth, Sakura-san," he told her in a voice that matched his previous sigh. "I wish you could understand that what you are experiencing, is not love. It is infatuation."
Infatuation? How could he–
"You allow my brother to walk all over you. He belittles you, uses you and more recently…" The way his sentence trailed off, serious expression cracking and allowing her to see a flash of pain, cut her deeply. "How can you possibly believe that to be love?"
But the answer was simple, right? "Because if it wasn't, I wouldn't still be here. With him, I mean."
"If that is what it means to be in love, then I wish to never experience it."
A sudden lump in her throat forced Sakura to look away, unable to understand why his words caused her pain. Was it really that bad? Her love for Sasuke? To have someone so sickened by it, to the extent that it turned them off the idea of love entirely, made it hard for her to breathe. It broke her heart.
"What can I do?" she asked, voice sounding strangled. "Leave him? Write off the past five years because of a few mistakes he's made while under pressure? I'm not-" They interrupted one another, falling silent for a few seconds, before she continued quietly, saying, "I'm not making excuses for him, Itachi-san. It wasn't until recently that he started acting like this, so maybe…"
When she trailed off, he glanced her way, finishing the sentence for her with, "Maybe there is a chance to reverse the damage?"
"…Yeah."
There was a thoughtful pause, then, "Do you truly believe that?"
She tried to smile again. "Yeah. He's still in there."
"Then I wish you the best of luck." It seemed as though he had to force himself to smile, and soon he sighed, giving up on the task. "Please, be careful."
The journey home took too long, in her opinion – or was it more so due to the fact that the silence and the awkward tension put her on edge? It hardly mattered. When they were almost home, Sakura messaged Sasuke and he met her outside, barely saying two words to his older brother before they were sat in his car.
Their gaudy garage was more like a personal, underground car park, easily accommodating a bare minimum of twelve cars. She used to envy the Uchiha family, often looking to her own family and their comfortable home with disdain, but over the years she'd learned that it wasn't all it was made out to be. Just because Sasuke lived in a mansion, it didn't mean he was happy. None of them were. What was the point in having everything, if she was miserable?
She looked out of the tinted window, not missing Itachi's backwards glance as he entered the manor from the garage door, emotions concealed by a mask of indifference. It was hard explaining to herself why the situation hurt her so much, making her stomach twist uneasily. It wasn't because she was afraid of the possibility of him confronting Sasuke – she knew he wouldn't. So, what was it? The hopelessness of it all? A small voice in the back of her mind told Sakura that it was more to do with Itachi's disappointment in her. His views on her idea of love… hurt her. Deeply.
"You're quiet."
The softly spoken words had her attention returning to Sasuke, her gaze drawn to the tension in his muscles as he reversed out of his parking spot. Like always, he was a cautious driver, focusing intently on possible collisions or reckless drivers – nothing like his brother, who was cautious but confident. He assessed possible dangers while knowing his reaction time was good enough to avoid them.
Realising that she hadn't responded, she hummed. "Am I?"
A faint frown marred his features. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." She tried to smile. "It's just been a…" Long? Awful? "A trying day."
There was obvious awkwardness in the way he asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Her smile was more prominent, easier, seeing his effort. "It's nothing, just girl drama. Costume fittings, to be more exact."
"There was an issue?" His awkward demeanour remained.
"Kind of," she mumbled with a grimace. "I've been running a lot since…" She trailed off, frowning. "My muscles have toned up, I guess."
He nodded once. "You look healthier."
"I feel it."
Would it always be so awkward between them now? Slowly, Sakura's arms folded over her body, right hand clutching at her waist, the other, her arm. Gods, she hoped with all her heart that they would find themselves once more, that they would move on from what had happened and become stronger. But would they? Could they? It didn't matter how long it would take – as long as they got there.
They had to get there.
"I miss you," they said simultaneously and she bit her lip, failing to hold back her smile.
A faint smile crossed his own lips, their eyes meeting briefly before he focused on the road once more, swiftly indicating to pull into a nearby car park belonging to a supermarket. It was relatively empty, surprising for the time of day, but that was better for them. It gave them an ounce of privacy. With a sigh, Sasuke shut off the engine, shifting in his seat and after a moment, she followed his example, refusing to look away when they finally locked eyes.
"I don't want it anymore."
She frowned again. "What?"
"The break," he elaborated. "I don't want us to be on a break." Swallowing hard, his brows knitted together and Sasuke reached out, taking her hand. "There is nothing I can do to apologise for what happened that night and it will take a lifetime to try and make it up to you."
"Sasuke-kun, you don't-"
"Let me finish," pleaded Sasuke quietly. There was a weighty pause and she found herself unable to look away from his pained expression. The genuine struggle, the disgust and hatred towards himself, caused an ache in her heart. "I thought a break would help, but a break won't solve the issues between us. I was ignorant to believe it would."
Was she hearing things? Was Uchiha Sasuke willingly admitting that he was wrong? "Yes, you were."
Faintly, he smirked, but it quickly disappeared. "I don't want us to go back to the way things were before – clearly, it didn't work. We need more communication and to be more honest with one another."
More him than her, she wanted to say in response. Instead, Sakura recalled the way Itachi had fit so easily among her family, eating breakfast with them and talking like he belonged with them. "I want you to have dinner with my parents at least once a month – or every two weeks."
A single nod. "And we'll spend more time together. No phones, no distractions. Nothing will cause me to distance myself from you again."
Part of her grew uncomfortable at the seriousness in his expression and in the formality of his words – both of them being regular occurrences during his family's business-related dinner parties. It made her feel as though they were entering a contract, like she was signing her freedom away.
But because she wanted it to work, because she just couldn't picture her life without him, she nodded in agreement, fingers entwining with his.
A/N - There's been a couple of complaints about Sakura not "getting over" Sasuke or seeing how unhealthy their relationship is, but that is what happens in relationships like these and sometimes, they're BOTH somewhat oblivious to the true nature of the relationship. Should she start standing up for herself? Yes, definitely. But it's not that simple and it's not a sudden 180. She's spent 5 years of her life with Sasuke, growing up with him and in a way, she's also been conditioned to believe that kind of behaviour is normal. You can't have her idolising him or infatuated with him one chapter, then suddenly seeing he's bad for her the next. A victim, more often than not, will find excuses for their abuser. I did, when I was in an abusive relationship. Please be patient.