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ta-hah~
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Little Piece of Heaven |
Note: I didn't deliver on my deadline for the next chapter -_- As an apology I've decided to post a snippet of what I HAVE done so far (there's more, but it's an unorganized mess!)
------
Chapter 26
“You're thinking about him again, aren't you?”
Moving her green eyes from the ceiling, Sakura frowned at Ino defensively. An empty gesture at best; her room mate had been spot on.
“I can't seem to go long without doing so...” Sakura sighed, her expression softening.
Ino set her mouth in a firm line. Sakura had been staying with her ever since Sasuke's return from the mission. She tried not to ask too many questions as initially Sakura had locked herself in the bathroom and cried relentlessly after asking to stay. The pink haired girl had experienced a soul crushing betrayal and was lost at a junction: the in between of not knowing where she was or what she wanted. The conflict in her head had been so intense, all she could do was cry to drown it out.
Sakura's mind stayed blank and she had been adamant on avoiding any discussion of Sasuke for some time; this led Ino to keep from her details of a confrontation with Sasuke not too long ago.
Ino had just finished eating lunch with her teammates, working her way through the busy market to get some shopping done alone when Sasuke appeared as if from nowhere.
“Yamanaka,” he acknowledged plainly. It was rare for him to call her by name, an indication he wanted her cooperation through strained politeness.
“Sasuke-kun!” Ino had greeted happily, though she knew that a level of uneasiness was sung through her voice. There was only one perfectly obvious reason Sasuke would seek her out, and that reason was wrapped in solitude in the spare bedroom of her house.
She already knew she would be powerless under the interrogation to come. Though Ino had long ago accepted her connection with Sasuke paled somewhat pathetically against the connection he had with Sakura, a small part of her still vied for his attention just as the hundreds of other fan girls in the village did.
Goddamnit.
Did he have to stand there in his sexy black ensemble and smoulder those dark romance novel eyes so goddamn far into her she could feel them burning the back of her head?
He didn't even have to try to make her salivate!
“She's staying with you... right?”
A fair distraction. It was hard to fantasize about someone while their attention was focused primarily on someone else. Another woman to be painfully exact.
“Um... well... you see...” Ino stammered, fumbling with her words for time. There was no point in lying but she had felt the need to delay him from marching through her front door. Sakura's current state at the time would not handle such a confrontation.
He didn't wait for her to confirm, but he didn't move a muscle either. “How is she?”
The blonde girl swallowed hard, searching for the answer least likely to disturb him. “Well, she's... not quite herself these days.” Her eyes darted away from the hard stare on Sasuke's face. “But it's getting there.” she added quickly.
His onyx eyes analysed her crudely, openly telling her that he detested things being sugar-coated for him.
“I heard you just had your meeting with the village council,” Ino chipped in quickly, eager to change the subject. “Do you know yet if they've... made any decisions?”
“Who knows. Don't concern yourself with it,” Sasuke answered distractedly.
Ino had lost his interest and he was turning away. The mask of indifference clutching his persona seemed to lack, however; betrayed by the hint of sadness that spoke from his eyes. She had seen it. A glimpse for a mere fraction of time... it was an alien characteristic that was too hard not to notice.
“I know you must miss her!” Ino blurted out.
He stopped with his back to her, showing clear signs of dysphoria, but none of turning back.
“I think... no, I know she misses you too.”
Ino wasn't sure what had happened after that. Either she took too long to blink, or enough people were passing by between them, but Sasuke had disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived.
She shook off the memory. It wasn't much, but it might have been an upset for Sakura to hear at the time.
The pink haired girl rolled off from the couch from where she had been daydreaming. Moving towards the kitchen, Sakura began organizing the items she had bought from the market.
“Did you have fun shopping with Neji today?” Ino inquired, distracting Sakura from her thoughts.
She smiled. “It's nice spending time with him. He's a good friend.”
“Too good,” Ino chided. “Please tell me you're aware of how he feels about you.”
Frowning, Sakura continued to remove items from her basket. “It's not like that.” She paused. “I mean, it is like that... but it isn't. We're friends. He knows Sasuke and I are... complicated”
“'Complicated'... is that what you 're calling it?”
“What would you have me call it?”
“Epically dysfunctional? That's getting warmer.”
“You don't understand,” Sakura sighed. “How could you? I don't even understand.”
“I understand that Neji doesn't stand a chance,” Ino countered, casually helping Sakura distribute the groceries. “I understand that the moment you heard Sasuke was in danger of being exiled, you asked to speak to the village council.”
“I know where you're going with this...”
“AND...” the blonde continued. “I understand that despite how cursed, angry and destroyed Sasuke is... how loud and controlling those inner demons seem to get... it all seems to take a back-seat when he needs to lookout for you.”
“Ino...”
“Look forehead, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm simply telling you what I know. You've been avoiding him because you're afraid and it's trapped you in this weird funk... but I think when you see him you'll know what to do.”
Sakura's eyes swept the floor. “And if... I'm not ready to see him?”
Ino shrugged. “Then you're not ready to know.”
The blonde smiled, tossing her friend an apple before heading away to her room. For Sakura's sake, she would not dwell on the topic of Sasuke for too long.
A half-smile crept onto Sakura's lips as she caught the apple. “My forehead's my best feature now by the way,” she called.
-------
“Sakura-san? Sakura-san?”
She blinked once, allowing the sudden film over her eyes to descend as two small tears down her cheeks.
Sakura had stopped by a bakery in the marketplace to grab a quick pastry for lunch when it happened.
The young girl at the register held out Sakura's order, perplexed at the sudden change in Sakura's demeanour. One minute she was her cheerful, polite self and the next she was standing like a ninja caught in flashlights. She had begun to worry for the woman when tears began filling those fearful green eyes... Surely their prices weren't that high.
“Sakura-san, are you alright?”
Reality set in like a cold shower. Sakura shut her eyes fast, trapping in the tell-tale liquid and shook her head quickly.
“I'm so sorry,” she laughed. “Something's in my eye. Wow, that sure stings!”
“A-Are you sure?” the girl asked. “I mean, you looked terrified...”
“No, no,” Sakura assured her, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. “I was just... remembering something I forgot to do and then some dust got in my eye. It's fine, really. I'm fine...”
As a result of the near-catatonic influence Orochimaru had subjected her mind to, brief glimpses of her torturous nightmare still invaded her dreams, and sometimes, even randomly to her thoughts when she was awake. Sakura's mind was still slowly healing from the episode, thanks to the help of an occasional visit to Konoha's resident therapist. Fortunately now, there were no more nights of waking in abrupt hysterics and crying until she forgot what had awoken her in the first place. Now they only caused a mild disruption that opened her eyes in a confused flutter before calmly returning to sleep. During the day however, the stab in her thoughts could be classified as a little more than irritating.
Though few and far apart, if the incident suddenly became the forefront of what she recalled, Sakura would lose focus for a second. Only a second. Enough to sometimes lose her footing, enough to occasionally shed a tear, but not enough for anyone to really take notice.
Though certain people could always be accounted for.
“If you're sure...”
As if just realizing the young girl still had her arm extended, Sakura quickly went looking for her coin purse. “I'm so sorry, Yui!” she apologized, a small sniff escaping her. “How much do I owe you?”
The girl opened her mouth to answer, but was quickly at a loss when the bag was snatched from her hand and placed into Sakura's.
Without sparing another glance at the startled shopkeeper, Sasuke kept his focus on Sakura as he absently slammed several coins on the counter before ushering her away by the forearm.
Dumbfounded by the sudden exchange, Sakura stared at the bag in her hands and feebly attempted to string words together. “W-What are you-what are you doing...?”
“Uchiha-san? What about your change?” the bakery girl called after them.
Stopping just out of earshot from the cart, Sasuke's calculating eyes looked Sakura over. “What happened?” he demanded.
“I-I...” She blinked rapidly, willing the tears to simply evaporate. “Something... in my eye just now... Sorry, I...”
He stared incredulously; an eyebrow moved slightly higher than the other to emphasize. He didn't buy it of course, and this was it. This was the epitome of what could shred her carefully preserved facade to pieces. Sasuke saw through her like nobody else could. A single stare left her feeling exposed and terribly vulnerable at this point. With an open entity, he could easily pick her apart without saying a word.
Sakura swallowed hard. It had been so long-panic flooded at the sight of him. Someone she loved, someone she trusted, someone she'd die for... standing before her as if he hadn't betrayed her, hadn't tried to kill her, hadn't lost his sanity to the overwhelming lust that darkness had to offer.
Whatever it was that Ino wanted her to discover, it wasn't any more solved than it had been weeks ago.
“I should go,” Sakura blurted out quickly. With her speech instantly severed, she turned to leave.
His hand shot out and clamped over her wrist. “What happened?” he repeated, anger now heavy in his voice.
Flustered and somewhat agitated, Sakura's panic flew to their point of contact at her wrist. “Nothing, Sasuke... Just leave me alone.”
He seemed to contemplate this in his mind, but his hold didn't lessen. “Not happening.”
“I'm warning you,” Sakura said lowly. “Let go.”
He glared back, driven by the embedded male urge to advance on any given challenge. “You're warning me?”
She didn't answer, and though he was at complete odds with the tonality of his voice, Sasuke reluctantly released her wrist. She held it quickly to her chest as if there were scorching electricity behind his touch.
The Uchiha frowned at her instinctive reaction to recoil from him, noticing it took an unnatural amount of energy to keep his voice calm and controlled. “Don't tell me it's nothing, Sakura.”
Again, the pink haired girl didn't respond, only looked away at such an angle that eyelashes blocked what view he had of knowing her thoughts.
She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. “You know what it is,” Sakura answered finally. “I have to go...”
xo leanne | fanfiction profile
Leave a msg or try adding me if you want to read what spews from my mind.
Little Piece of Heaven |
Note: I didn't deliver on my deadline for the next chapter -_- As an apology I've decided to post a snippet of what I HAVE done so far (there's more, but it's an unorganized mess!)
------
Chapter 26
“You're thinking about him again, aren't you?”
Moving her green eyes from the ceiling, Sakura frowned at Ino defensively. An empty gesture at best; her room mate had been spot on.
“I can't seem to go long without doing so...” Sakura sighed, her expression softening.
Ino set her mouth in a firm line. Sakura had been staying with her ever since Sasuke's return from the mission. She tried not to ask too many questions as initially Sakura had locked herself in the bathroom and cried relentlessly after asking to stay. The pink haired girl had experienced a soul crushing betrayal and was lost at a junction: the in between of not knowing where she was or what she wanted. The conflict in her head had been so intense, all she could do was cry to drown it out.
Sakura's mind stayed blank and she had been adamant on avoiding any discussion of Sasuke for some time; this led Ino to keep from her details of a confrontation with Sasuke not too long ago.
Ino had just finished eating lunch with her teammates, working her way through the busy market to get some shopping done alone when Sasuke appeared as if from nowhere.
“Yamanaka,” he acknowledged plainly. It was rare for him to call her by name, an indication he wanted her cooperation through strained politeness.
“Sasuke-kun!” Ino had greeted happily, though she knew that a level of uneasiness was sung through her voice. There was only one perfectly obvious reason Sasuke would seek her out, and that reason was wrapped in solitude in the spare bedroom of her house.
She already knew she would be powerless under the interrogation to come. Though Ino had long ago accepted her connection with Sasuke paled somewhat pathetically against the connection he had with Sakura, a small part of her still vied for his attention just as the hundreds of other fan girls in the village did.
Goddamnit.
Did he have to stand there in his sexy black ensemble and smoulder those dark romance novel eyes so goddamn far into her she could feel them burning the back of her head?
He didn't even have to try to make her salivate!
“She's staying with you... right?”
A fair distraction. It was hard to fantasize about someone while their attention was focused primarily on someone else. Another woman to be painfully exact.
“Um... well... you see...” Ino stammered, fumbling with her words for time. There was no point in lying but she had felt the need to delay him from marching through her front door. Sakura's current state at the time would not handle such a confrontation.
He didn't wait for her to confirm, but he didn't move a muscle either. “How is she?”
The blonde girl swallowed hard, searching for the answer least likely to disturb him. “Well, she's... not quite herself these days.” Her eyes darted away from the hard stare on Sasuke's face. “But it's getting there.” she added quickly.
His onyx eyes analysed her crudely, openly telling her that he detested things being sugar-coated for him.
“I heard you just had your meeting with the village council,” Ino chipped in quickly, eager to change the subject. “Do you know yet if they've... made any decisions?”
“Who knows. Don't concern yourself with it,” Sasuke answered distractedly.
Ino had lost his interest and he was turning away. The mask of indifference clutching his persona seemed to lack, however; betrayed by the hint of sadness that spoke from his eyes. She had seen it. A glimpse for a mere fraction of time... it was an alien characteristic that was too hard not to notice.
“I know you must miss her!” Ino blurted out.
He stopped with his back to her, showing clear signs of dysphoria, but none of turning back.
“I think... no, I know she misses you too.”
Ino wasn't sure what had happened after that. Either she took too long to blink, or enough people were passing by between them, but Sasuke had disappeared just as quickly as he had arrived.
She shook off the memory. It wasn't much, but it might have been an upset for Sakura to hear at the time.
The pink haired girl rolled off from the couch from where she had been daydreaming. Moving towards the kitchen, Sakura began organizing the items she had bought from the market.
“Did you have fun shopping with Neji today?” Ino inquired, distracting Sakura from her thoughts.
She smiled. “It's nice spending time with him. He's a good friend.”
“Too good,” Ino chided. “Please tell me you're aware of how he feels about you.”
Frowning, Sakura continued to remove items from her basket. “It's not like that.” She paused. “I mean, it is like that... but it isn't. We're friends. He knows Sasuke and I are... complicated”
“'Complicated'... is that what you 're calling it?”
“What would you have me call it?”
“Epically dysfunctional? That's getting warmer.”
“You don't understand,” Sakura sighed. “How could you? I don't even understand.”
“I understand that Neji doesn't stand a chance,” Ino countered, casually helping Sakura distribute the groceries. “I understand that the moment you heard Sasuke was in danger of being exiled, you asked to speak to the village council.”
“I know where you're going with this...”
“AND...” the blonde continued. “I understand that despite how cursed, angry and destroyed Sasuke is... how loud and controlling those inner demons seem to get... it all seems to take a back-seat when he needs to lookout for you.”
“Ino...”
“Look forehead, I'm not telling you what to do. I'm simply telling you what I know. You've been avoiding him because you're afraid and it's trapped you in this weird funk... but I think when you see him you'll know what to do.”
Sakura's eyes swept the floor. “And if... I'm not ready to see him?”
Ino shrugged. “Then you're not ready to know.”
The blonde smiled, tossing her friend an apple before heading away to her room. For Sakura's sake, she would not dwell on the topic of Sasuke for too long.
A half-smile crept onto Sakura's lips as she caught the apple. “My forehead's my best feature now by the way,” she called.
-------
“Sakura-san? Sakura-san?”
She blinked once, allowing the sudden film over her eyes to descend as two small tears down her cheeks.
Sakura had stopped by a bakery in the marketplace to grab a quick pastry for lunch when it happened.
The young girl at the register held out Sakura's order, perplexed at the sudden change in Sakura's demeanour. One minute she was her cheerful, polite self and the next she was standing like a ninja caught in flashlights. She had begun to worry for the woman when tears began filling those fearful green eyes... Surely their prices weren't that high.
“Sakura-san, are you alright?”
Reality set in like a cold shower. Sakura shut her eyes fast, trapping in the tell-tale liquid and shook her head quickly.
“I'm so sorry,” she laughed. “Something's in my eye. Wow, that sure stings!”
“A-Are you sure?” the girl asked. “I mean, you looked terrified...”
“No, no,” Sakura assured her, wiping her cheek with the back of her hand. “I was just... remembering something I forgot to do and then some dust got in my eye. It's fine, really. I'm fine...”
As a result of the near-catatonic influence Orochimaru had subjected her mind to, brief glimpses of her torturous nightmare still invaded her dreams, and sometimes, even randomly to her thoughts when she was awake. Sakura's mind was still slowly healing from the episode, thanks to the help of an occasional visit to Konoha's resident therapist. Fortunately now, there were no more nights of waking in abrupt hysterics and crying until she forgot what had awoken her in the first place. Now they only caused a mild disruption that opened her eyes in a confused flutter before calmly returning to sleep. During the day however, the stab in her thoughts could be classified as a little more than irritating.
Though few and far apart, if the incident suddenly became the forefront of what she recalled, Sakura would lose focus for a second. Only a second. Enough to sometimes lose her footing, enough to occasionally shed a tear, but not enough for anyone to really take notice.
Though certain people could always be accounted for.
“If you're sure...”
As if just realizing the young girl still had her arm extended, Sakura quickly went looking for her coin purse. “I'm so sorry, Yui!” she apologized, a small sniff escaping her. “How much do I owe you?”
The girl opened her mouth to answer, but was quickly at a loss when the bag was snatched from her hand and placed into Sakura's.
Without sparing another glance at the startled shopkeeper, Sasuke kept his focus on Sakura as he absently slammed several coins on the counter before ushering her away by the forearm.
Dumbfounded by the sudden exchange, Sakura stared at the bag in her hands and feebly attempted to string words together. “W-What are you-what are you doing...?”
“Uchiha-san? What about your change?” the bakery girl called after them.
Stopping just out of earshot from the cart, Sasuke's calculating eyes looked Sakura over. “What happened?” he demanded.
“I-I...” She blinked rapidly, willing the tears to simply evaporate. “Something... in my eye just now... Sorry, I...”
He stared incredulously; an eyebrow moved slightly higher than the other to emphasize. He didn't buy it of course, and this was it. This was the epitome of what could shred her carefully preserved facade to pieces. Sasuke saw through her like nobody else could. A single stare left her feeling exposed and terribly vulnerable at this point. With an open entity, he could easily pick her apart without saying a word.
Sakura swallowed hard. It had been so long-panic flooded at the sight of him. Someone she loved, someone she trusted, someone she'd die for... standing before her as if he hadn't betrayed her, hadn't tried to kill her, hadn't lost his sanity to the overwhelming lust that darkness had to offer.
Whatever it was that Ino wanted her to discover, it wasn't any more solved than it had been weeks ago.
“I should go,” Sakura blurted out quickly. With her speech instantly severed, she turned to leave.
His hand shot out and clamped over her wrist. “What happened?” he repeated, anger now heavy in his voice.
Flustered and somewhat agitated, Sakura's panic flew to their point of contact at her wrist. “Nothing, Sasuke... Just leave me alone.”
He seemed to contemplate this in his mind, but his hold didn't lessen. “Not happening.”
“I'm warning you,” Sakura said lowly. “Let go.”
He glared back, driven by the embedded male urge to advance on any given challenge. “You're warning me?”
She didn't answer, and though he was at complete odds with the tonality of his voice, Sasuke reluctantly released her wrist. She held it quickly to her chest as if there were scorching electricity behind his touch.
The Uchiha frowned at her instinctive reaction to recoil from him, noticing it took an unnatural amount of energy to keep his voice calm and controlled. “Don't tell me it's nothing, Sakura.”
Again, the pink haired girl didn't respond, only looked away at such an angle that eyelashes blocked what view he had of knowing her thoughts.
She shifted uncomfortably and cleared her throat. “You know what it is,” Sakura answered finally. “I have to go...”
xo leanne | fanfiction profile