Even as Fugaku Uchiha's son, Sasuke can't seem to get into contact with him Friday night or even on Saturday. No, it's Sunday evening before the frazzled man is able to do anything in regards to Sakura's sudden disappearance.
It isn't just him that's worried, either. Karin, Itachi, and even Ino have asked him if he's heard anything from the pinkette. If her best friend doesn't know where she's gone, the situation must truly be serious. A million possible scenarios have run through his head this past day and a half.
His index finger taps the steering wheel anxiously as he pulls into the large round-a-bout leading to his parents' massive home. He's rather on edge, not only because Sakura is missing but because he didn't sleep a wink last night. He couldn't.
Above all else, a sense of dread has turned his stomach round and round. Immediately after discovering her abandoned apartment, Sasuke came to the conclusion that her meeting his father is the cause of her disappearance. While laying awake all night, though, he realized that might not be the case, at least not entirely. On Friday morning, Sakura had uncharacteristically hugged him at the office, crying softly and clearly attempting not to burst into sobs.
The Uchiha man can't help but feel cheated. They were just starting to get the swing of things. He was well on his way to earning her complete forgiveness for the mess that'd been made. It feels as though a limb is missing or something. It's a deeply uncomfortable feeling that he's never experienced in the past.
As the man steps out of his car, hands the keys to the valet, and begins stalking toward the main entrance of the mansion, his entire body is itching to hit something. There's so much stressful energy crackling beneath his skin that he doesn't quite know what to do about it. Sasuke ignores the greetings of maids and butlers as he heads for the unnecessarily extravagant dining room, too focused on getting some answers from his father this evening. When he steps through the double doors to said room, his eyes lock firmly onto Fugaku's, narrowing defiantly for the first time in his life.
He takes one step toward the large dining table and opens his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by his mother pulling him into a soft embrace, "Oh, Sasuke! I'm so relieved you actually came! We were starting to worry you wouldn't show." She whispers where only he can hear as he awkwardly accepts the hug, "Dear, please behave yourself tonight. Your father is in a particularly foul mood and I don't want you two to argue."
Sasuke has to put effort into keeping his expression still when the woman pulls back to offer him a warm smile. She gestures to the seat across from Itachi, "Have a seat so dinner can be served, Honey."
Almost on autopilot, Sasuke obeys.
It's at this moment that he realizes there's an unfamiliar face at the dining table, right beside his older brother. It's a tall, thin woman with straight brown hair, dark eyes, and a calm demeanor that doesn't seem to come naturally. Itachi's glare steals Sasuke's attention from the stranger. The usually mild-mannered and good-spirited elder Uchiha brother resembles the younger one more at this moment than ever in the past. If looks could kill, the spot on the wall across the room would burst into flames.
The room is tense and silent as the kitchen staff serves the meal. Once the Uchiha family and their guest are alone again, they begin to eat wordlessly. Or rather, Mikoto and the unnamed woman begin to eat. The three men at the table continue to exchange terse, irritated glances.
Sasuke can feel the accusations rising in his throat the longer his father refuses to hold his gaze for more than a few moments. The grip on his knife and fork tightens. The rage and confusion begins to bubble and rise from the pit of his stomach until it reaches the point that he can't choke it back any longer.
Just as he opens his mouth to break the awkward silence, Mikoto cuts him off yet again, "I can't believe we forgot to introduce you to our guest! This is Izumi Kagemine. She and your brother are to be married." His eyes widen. He isn't able to contain his surprise this time. His eyes dart between the composed woman and his still-seething brother. Now it makes perfect sense why Itachi's acting so oddly.
Izumi bows her head politely and speaks as though reading directly from a script, "It's an honor to meet you. I look forward to becoming a member of your family."
"...Likewise," Sasuke manages, not understanding what suddenly prompted an arranged marriage when Itachi has managed to avoid one for so long.
This news only proves to make the man more unstable. No longer can he hold back. He locks eyes with Itachi, "You're actually going to marry this woman?"
"Sasuke!" Mikoto snaps in a reprimanding tone. "Don't be rude to our guest."
He ignores her and keeps his attention on his older brother, who narrows his eyes. The man responds in a way that makes it clear he's feeling trapped by the situation, "Father arranged our engagement."
Before Sasuke can react in any way, Mikoto hisses, nudging his shin under the table, "Apologize to Izumi this instant."
The woman in question lifts a hand and shakes her head, an obviously fake smile on her lips, "It's alright, Ma'am. Marriage is an important decision. Your son is simply worried about his brother. I'm not offended."
It's at this point that Sasuke metaphorically throws caution to the wind. He turns his glare onto Itachi and barks, "So, because Father says to marry her, you'll do it?"
The entire table becomes so quiet, a feather falling to the ground could've been heard. The elder brother looks taken by surprise.
"If he tells you to only eat vegetables or to kill yourself, will you obey him then?"
Izumi coughs, choking on a mouthful of water. She covers her mouth with one hand and lowers her gaze to the table. Her discomfort is almost palpable. No one makes a peep as Sasuke turns his glare onto the woman, "And what about you? If your family tells you to spend your life breeding heirs with a man you've never met, what will you do?"
"Sasuke Uchiha! What has gotten into you!" Mikoto stands, anger evident on her usually calm face.
The man stands, too, but looks down at his father instead of mother. His voice is laced with poison as he hisses, "What did you do?"
There is a long moment of silence. Fugaku calmly sets his utensils down, not that he's used them, and comes to a stand. He leers at his youngest son before surprising everyone present by punching him right then and there.
Sasuke stumbles, his chair clattering to the ground behind him. Everyone is out of their seats by this point. Mikoto hurries around the table to wrap an arm around Izumi and guide her away from the scene, Itachi not bothering to spare them a glance while studying his father and brother with attentive eyes.
"Uchiha men control their emotions. No son of mine loses his composure so recklessly." Fugaku says.
Sasuke wipes his bleeding lip with the back of his hand before straightening his spine and biting back, "Yeah, that's worked out real well for us all, hasn't it?" He gestures at Itachi without looking his way, "Your eldest hates the family business, but he's too afraid to pursue anything else because of what you might do." Then, he gestures at Izumi, who's composure has finally disappeared so that fearful tears fall quietly down her face, "And there's this poor woman who has no idea what hell her family has sold her into."
Finally, he gestures to his mother, "And Mom…." Sasuke does spare the woman in question a short, sad look before shaking his head and glaring at his father again, "Your wife has to tiptoe around your temper. She spends her days cleaning up the messes you make living out your days as a god damned money-hungry robot!"
Fugaku Uchiha suddenly grabs his youngest son by the front of his shirt and hisses down at him. It's almost surreal to his children because it's the first time true emotion has graced the man's features. "You will apologize to everyone here, and you will leave. I'll not have you make an even bigger mess of this evening."
Rather than obey, Sasuke grabs onto his father's shirt and pulls him so it's easier to glare right into his eyes, "What did you do to Sakura?"
As quickly as a snap of the fingers, all the rage in the CEO's eyes disappears, if only for a moment. Realization meets them, and then all emotion disappears. He shoves Sasuke away, sneering down at him, "..."
Tears prickle at Sasuke's eyes, but he blinks them back. "She left because of you; I just know it." His voice raises as he barely holds on to his self-control, "Where is she, Dad?"
"Sweetheart…." Mikoto mumbles through tears from the sidelines.
Fugaku clears his throat and soothes out his clothing before addressing the other three in the room, "Have the staff clean this up." Then, he turns and leaves the room without another word.
Sasuke, and the others, are understandably surprised. He snaps out of it quickly and hurries after his father, who seems to want to speak without an audience. Once the duo is in the CEO's personal office, Sasuke speaks more calmly than before, "Tell me what you did."
His father walks around the large desk and takes a seat, interlacing his fingers on its surface before finally meeting his gaze, "Have a seat."
"Did you threaten her?" The Uchiha man does as requested but refuses to give up on his quest to obtain the truth.
"I may be a monster in your eyes, but I'd never stoop so low as to threaten an innocent woman," Fugaku says. He pauses before changing the subject, "Of all the so-called truths you told out there, you failed to mention how I've affected your life." "
You…." Sasuke breathes before anger warms his face like it had minutes ago in the dining room, "That doesn't matter. Now, where is Sakura?"
"I'll tell you everything." The man before Sasuke is cold as ice, right down to the tips of his fingers. How he'd had flames in his aura just a bit ago seems like a fever dream now. He's back to being the unfeeling robot like usual.
Sighing, the youngest Uchiha man takes his time thinking of a response before finally stating the truth, the feelings that have weighed heavily on his heart for years, "You have so many expectations. You take and you take and you take. You know how desperately I've wanted a single word of praise, so you've strategically withheld just that so I'll keep killing myself for your sake."
Sasuke feels sick to his stomach, his voice perfectly emoting his disgust, "You care more about the company and money than you do your own family, and I hate you for it."
Fugaku says nothing. He simply stares at his son with a guarded expression.
This irritates Sasuke because he wants to know the reason. He wants to know why he's been treated more like an investment than a child from the time he was born.
"I'm an idiot. I-I don't know anything because of you!"
Tears well in his eyes once more, this time actually threatening to overflow as the man struggles to explain himself to his father, "I can't hold a normal conversation, and I can't enjoy anything because all I've ever done is try to make you notice me. I don't have hobbies. I barely have friends. And I've…." He angrily wipes at a tear that overflows as he raises his voice again, closing his eyes, "And I don't know what love is supposed to feel like."
Sasuke wipes at his cheeks while the anger subsides, turning into fear and confusion, "I've hurt her over and over again because I'm like this, and she forgives me every time, and I don't know why."
All through the Uchiha man's gut-wrenching admission, his father simply watches and listens. It's clear Sasuke is finished when he reopens his eyes and glares down at the carpet. No more tears fall, but they remain welled up and ready to overflow if the stressful atmosphere doesn't resolve itself.
For a long time, more than an entire minute, neither says a word or moves a muscle.
Then, Fugaku speaks quietly, "I told Sakura to come to my office on Friday evening." His tone is almost somber, which stuns Sasuke enough to keep him quiet as he stares at his father.
"Before I say what we spoke about, let me say this: You have changed since hiring that girl. You aren't nearly as efficient in your duties, and you don't work as many hours." Sasuke's eyes narrow as he waits for the man to scold him, only to widen when that doesn't happen. "And I've been relieved to see it."
Wait, what? He's relieved? Sasuke is taken off guard. His mouth opens but words don't come out. His confusion is obvious, so his father continues.
"I'll be the first to admit that I'm not suited for being a father, but that does not mean I don't care for you and Itachi." He looks away from his son's gaze almost awkwardly, "I'm grateful that your mother is so gifted. Who knows how you two would've turned out without her."
To say Sasuke is bewildered is an understatement. He can't believe his ears. Who is this man sitting there? It can't be his father because he'd never say these kinds of things.
Fugaku sighs and then clears his throat, hardening his gaze and meeting his son's eyeline again, "I asked Sakura if you two are romantically involved."
Sasuke responds quickly, "Why? So you could scare her away so you can sell me off like you have Itachi?"
"I wanted to know because I didn't plan on interfering if Sakura was the one you see yourself with in the future."
All of this is shocking, of course, but one thing about that remark draws Sasuke's attention. "...What do you mean "was"?"
Fugaku's mouth clamps shut before his brow uncharacteristically furrows, "I…swore to her that I wouldn't say anything." Rage lights a fire in the Director, but his father continues before he can act on it, "If it means you'll stop hating me, then I'll tell you what I know."
He pauses before shaking his head, "When I asked Sakura if she sees herself marrying you someday, she started crying. She…." Fugaku swallows hard, his fingers tightening their grip, "She said her doctor told her she doesn't have long to live."
Just like that, Sasuke's blood runs as cold as ice. His face pales and he becomes nauseous, "What?"
His father nods with sadness glinting within his dark eyes, "She wouldn't tell me exactly how long she has, why, or where she plans to go, but it was clear she thinks her disappearing will hurt you less than…."
That's just like Sakura to worry about others while her life is very much on the line. Sasuke is beyond livid, of course, but he knows her intentions are to leave as small of a scar on his heart as possible. She would rather him hate her and think she abandoned him than have him know there's nothing he can do.
The man sits there for a long time just trying to process the news. Overwhelming panic and remorse takes the main spots in his emotions. The vibrant and energetic woman he's come to know is going to die soon? But why? And how? Of all the things he expected to have happened, this wasn't one of them.
Without speaking a word, Sasuke rises from his seat, turns, and walks out of the room.
He'll find her.
He'll find her, and he'll learn the truth no matter the cost.
Hey….😅
Y'all aren't mad, right? *dodges tomatoes*
Anyway!
For plot/drama/literary reasons, this chapter doesn't have Sakura's POV.
Stay tuned! ❤️