Day #2
She arrived to her room quietly, no one noticed what happened. Her parents apparently didn't suspect the reason for her bad temper, which Sakura was thankful for.
After her family teased her with "you actually love Naruto," she didn't feel like talking to them. How dare they assume that? If those feelings had been true, she would be crying uncontrollably at the moment. Her case was different. She cried out of desperation and immediately silenced herself out of pride.
She detested showing weakness, especially if she had been hurt. That only proved to her attacker that they had won. Naruto had defeated her, but that didn't mean the fight was over. There was still something that could lift her spirits.
He had helped Ino so she could get closer to Sasuke-kun, but Sakura suspected that Ino hadn't confessed her feelings yet. She knew that, no matter how much Ino showed her extroverted side to the world, there was a limit she would never cross. She was afraid to declare her love, and though she would never admit it, her behavior was proof of that.
Sakura clenched her fists tightly in a sign of determination. This time, she would have the advantage.
The ninja ran and jumped between the buildings until he reached the top of a mountain representing the faces of the Hokage. He sat on one of them, and all he could do was cover his face.
From the beginning, he felt prepared for a rejection due to Sakura's obvious feelings, and he understood that they wouldn't become a couple because he desired it. His thoughts were a total irony, but it was the truth. He couldn't continue with secrets and tricks.
The right thing was to reveal his agreement with Ino, no matter how difficult it might be because he believed for a moment that the consequences would be minimal compared to his actions. He thought there might be a chance for forgiveness. He wished that would be the best-case scenario. Instead, he made Sakura cry.
He would have preferred to get yelled by Sakura, that she hit him, or something that didn't result in hurting her. The happiness of others was more important than his. Sakura's feelings were more relevant than his own.
"I'm an idiot," he said with a broken voice.
He wished everything that had happened was a dream, a nightmare.
Naruto closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He bit his lower lip to stop his mouth from trembling, but he felt a bitter taste. He had torn his lip.
It had been a while since the last time he had cried like that. Before entering the Academy, it was a common occurrence, specifically after villagers called him by nicknames and prevented their children from getting close to him. They said he was a monster that needed to disappear, just like the Oishii's old lady had thought. He noticed it in her gaze.
Had Sakura noticed? Was she aware of that look? Wasn't she conscious of who they thought he was?
Naruto shook his head to clear his mind. He had to think about how to resolve his conflict.
The blonde had her head resting on her arms. She was still in the flower shop, not paying much attention to the occasional customers. She couldn't ignore the whole damn mess that happened all because of her desperation, wanting to win Sasuke Uchiha's love, as if it were the easiest thing in the world... For Naruto, it was.
With her nails, she began to scratch the counter. She didn't want to know anything about the traitor or his triumph over Sakura. She wouldn't even dare to lay a finger on him. There was no point in hitting him
All that was left for her to do was to unburden.
"Miss, how much is the vase?"
She looked somewhat carelessly at the vase and told him the price. The customer frowned at her attitude, but without thinking much about it, he left the money on the counter and walked away.
Ino took the payment and put it inside the cash register. She hadn't even counted the bills and coins.
"I have to go," she said in a low voice, trying to convince herself that it was necessary.
"What?"
There was still a woman looking among the shelves decorated with flowers and vases.
"The store will close in a few minutes," she said.
The girl approached the door and put the closed sign. Most likely, when she got home, her mother would be angry for closing without notice, but her situation was a broken heart. She couldn't control that.
After a few minutes, the last customer left with a bouquet of flowers, and finally, she left.
"It has to be a joke."
He had made it clear that he wanted to stay out of their love affairs because he simply wasn't in the mood for problems or a relationship. The only thing crossing his mind was to train until he became a powerful ninja. Nothing else. He had a clear goal in life.
Why had they involved him? The signs of interest he showed were nonexistent. He didn't care enough about anyone to declare unconditional love. He didn't even believe that was possible.
"Sasuke-kun."
Sakura Haruno knocked on the door again, gently but also insistently. She had been interrupting the silence that Sasuke liked so much in his apartment for at least three minutes.
He sighed in desperation. The more he postponed the situation, the worse it would get.
Putting aside his concerns, he lazily went to the door. When he opened it, he could tell that the girl was agitated and, to some extent, he could sense fear, but she was determined to disturb the peace of his day.
"Did Ino came?"
Amazing. She had found out about what had happened. If she thought she could be his girlfriend just because Ino Yamanaka couldn't, she was quite mistaken.
"Yes," the response was short and sharp. Maybe that way, she would regret speaking to him and leave already.
"She... she said that..."
"Yes," he repeated, this time with more strength to reaffirm the annoyance she caused him.
She blinked several times quickly. It seemed like she was processing what he had said. He didn't blame her. Usually, he stayed silent in the face of her actions and responses simply because she existed. Ino and Sakura were annoying, but this time, they had crossed his tolerance limit that helped him to ignore them.
"I'm not interested."
Surprisingly, the girl pressed her lips together and lowered her gaze. Sasuke expected her to be more foolish or even get yelled at, but fortunately that wasn't the case.
"Fine."
He cursed Naruto with his thoughts. He hated admitting that his emotions were enough to provoke a change in himself and others. He hadn't even spent a day reflecting on the matter.
Because of him, he felt pity for the annoying girls.
"It's not personal."
Sakura was paralyzed, showing no signs of wanting to meet his gaze. That reaction caused a slight discomfort in his stomach, so he wished again that Naruto had kept his mouth shut from the beginning.
"I don't like anyone," he continued.
She shook her head. Taking a deep breath, she silently left.
