Naruko P.O.V

Since the divorce, I have spent my time going in and out of Konoha to complete missions, but even when I was back in the village, I never once saw Sasuke, and that was for the best.

I was walking out of Ichiraku's when I ran into Shikamaru. He called to me with a bitter tone, catching me off guard. He seemed upset as he asked to speak with me.

Talk? What does he want to talk about?

"Um, okay, sure. Where do you wanna talk?" I asked, a little confused.

He walked up to me and grabbed ahold of my arm. "Let's go somewhere a little more private."

We ended up at the park, sitting on a bench underneath the bright light of the lamp post. The atmosphere around us was tense, and a dreadful feeling overwhelmed me.

This feels off. No, he seems off...

"Naruko, I need to know something..."

My heart began to beat madly in my chest. "What...?" I asked, anxious.

"Do you truly love Sasuke?"

Hearing his name for the first time in weeks brought back feelings that I tried to hide away. The pain I had dug deep into myself was beginning to resurface. My body began to shake; I didn't want to remember him. I was trying to move on.

"Sasuke...?"

"Did you love him?"

Tears began to form in the corner of my eyes as I nodded to answer his question. "Yes."

I still loved him but had been trying to let him go. He didn't want me anymore, and I had to accept that.

"Then why did you break his heart?"

I was taken aback by his accusation. What? Me?

"I didn't break his heart," I spat, feeling offended, "He's the one who broke mine."

He folded his arms impatiently with a sigh. The way he looked at me was enough for me to know that he didn't believe me. "Are you lying?"

That word! That fucking word! Why does everyone assume I'm lying?!

"Are you serious?! Why would you think I'm lying?!" I yelled angrily while standing up.

"Calm down Naruko-"

"No! I'm sick and tired of being called a fucking liar! First, Sasuke called me a liar for telling him the truth, and now you are too, for who knows what reason! I don't understand...I've never lied to him... I've had no reason to lie to him or to you!"

I yelled in frustration, yanking on my hair as I felt tears slip from my eyes. This is so stupid! Why is this happening to me?!

"Why're you even interrogating me?!" I yelled angrily, "You're making me feel as if I did something wrong, but I haven't..."

He sighed again, scratching his head nervously. "It seems I got myself caught up in something troublesome again...what a drag..."

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my tears. "What're you talking about, Shikamaru?"

He closed his eyes, folding his arms as if trying to make sense of something. "Can I ask you about what happened that day?"

"What day?" I asked while wiping my eyes.

"The day you guys broke up."

My eyes widened in shock. Why does he want to know about that? This is strange-why is he suddenly asking about my relationship with Sasuke?

I hid my hands inside the sleeves of my jacket to wipe my nose. "Why?" I asked, "Why are you suddenly asking me about these things?"

"I...I just want to know what happened from your point of view."

It felt as if he was hiding something. A part of me didn't want to share, but I had nothing to lose. I hadn't spoken about the breakup to anyone except Granny Tsunade and a few outsiders when I was out on missions. This was the first time anyone asked.

Reluctantly, I sat back down beside him and decided to comply. "I don't know why you want to know, but I'll tell you..."

The pain resurfaced in my heart as the memories came flowing back. The physical and emotional pain of being thrown away was unforgivable.

I held onto the clothing that hovered over my heart as I looked at the ground.

"That night, I was on my way home after spending the day with Sakura-chan. But before getting home, Sakura-chan and I ran into Gaara. I hadn't seen Gaara since we broke up, and I wanted to speak to him to apologize again and see how he was doing. Sakura-chan left, and Gaara took me home."

"Wait, you were with Sakura when you ran into Gaara?" He asked, completely confused.

"Yeah. By the time I got home, I ran to hug Sasuke after not seeing him all day, and that's when everything went wrong...We had another argument, and then he suddenly said we were done.

He left me and never told me why...! He never told me what I did wrong! I still think about what could have gone wrong, and nothing makes sense. How could we have gone from being in love to hating each other in a day?! It doesn't make sense! You can't lose feelings that quickly, right?!"

I was angry and heartbroken, and no matter who I told my story to, they would all give me the same response: "He's lost feelings." "It wasn't meant to be." "There're better people out there than him."

I sighed as I wiped my tears and crossed my arms. "I still don't believe Sasuke could just suddenly leave without a valid reason, but maybe I'm wrong..."

I thought back to the time I saw him and Sakura from the window in the Hokage's office. My heart sank in my chest as I thought about him with someone other than me. I was jealous, heartbroken, and angry.

Shikamaru stood up from the bench, stretching his back with a load yawn. "I hate drama," he muttered.

"Then why'd you ask?" I mumbled, feeling insulted by his lack of empathy.

"If you have to know," he began, "Before I saw you, I had spoken to Sasuke."

"What...?"

"I took him out to eat, and he let the whole situation slip after a few shots."

Huh?

I felt my hands grow moist with nervous anticipation. "What did he tell you?" I asked in fear.

He stayed silent before sighing again. "I'm just gonna ask: Naruko, are you pregnant?"

My face flushed red at the thought of carrying Sasuke's baby. "Huh?! Of course not! How could I be pregnant when I've never had sex!"

"What?!" He yelled in disbelief, "You've never had sex?!"

"No! But why are you shouting that like you're judging me?! Don't tell me you and Tema-!"

"Stop! Don't even go there," he said, turning a light shade of pink.

I gave a pout, wanting to know if my ship had sailed or not.

"I don't know how this happened, but Sasuke told me he had seen your pregnancy test."

"Huh?! But I've never taken one!"

"Then who's pregnancy test did he see?"

"How should I know?!" I shouted.

There was a moment of silence as he stared at me with a look of concern. "Naruko... Sasuke thinks you're pregnant with Gaara's kid."

"What the-?! How?! Why?! That doesn't make any sense!" I yelled, completely taken by the thought that he would believe such bullshit.

"I don't know how he saw it, but whoever framed you clearly doesn't want you two together...and I think I might have a person in mind..."

"Who?!" I yelled angrily.

What kind of sick person would do this to me?!

He shook his head, indicating he didn't want to say anything. "Before we jump to conclusions, we need to figure out who's pregnancy test that was. Because once we find the owner of the pregnancy test, that could lead us to who had it and who showed it to Sasuke."

"Wouldn't it be the same person?" I asked.

"No...If my hunch is correct, the one that took the pregnancy test probably doesn't have anything to do with your situation. It had to be someone else, and luckily, I think we have our first clue."

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter that Hinata had sent to all her friends, inviting us to her home for a party to celebrate the news of her pregnancy.

That's right! Hinata's pregnant.

"The party is this weekend, and this will be the perfect opportunity to find out who's the mastermind behind this ridiculous lie."

My heart began to tremble in fear and excitement. "Shikamaru, do you think-after we catch the person-Will Sasuke and I...?" I bit my lip, scared to speak a hopeless dream into reality.

He patted me on the head with a smile, "You guys are going to be okay."

I felt my heart light up with hope at the thought of having him back in my arms.

I'm sorry, Sakura-chan; I'm taking Sasuke back.