TEN
A week passed swiftly after Neji and Sakura's break up. Rumors spread all over the school that Neji found a new girl friend. Some said that the Hyuuga was turned off because Sakura wasn't a virgin any longer. But only a few managed to procure the truth, though still exaggerated. Those students said that Sasuke came to the "rescue" only because he was jealous. But of course, he wasn't…yet.
After another week, new topics entered their interest. One of the news was that Gaara of Suna was to enter that school the next week. On the third week, the news was proven to be true. Gaara was seen entering the school gates without his sister, Temari.
On the first day of that third week, Sasuke and Naruto were enjoying a stroll before the first class when Sakura jumped in their way. The two men were startled because of her appearance. Her face was red, her smile was so animated, her eyes twinkled and her hands were clasped together in a seemingly insane happiness.
"Are you—?" Naruto was interrupted by a sigh of admiration that escaped her pinkish lips.
"You have a new 'love of your life'." Sasuke said exasperatedly.
"I don't know how you guessed it right but—" Sakura's smiled widened. "You're right!"
Naruto's jaw dropped. Sasuke clapped his hand to his forehead.
"Aren't you going to ask me who?"
"Here we go again." Sasuke muttered.
"No, it's not Neji." The pink head blinked happily. "Guess!"
"Me?" Naruto asked.
"God, no!" Sakura laughed, thinking it was a joke.
"Then tell us so we could continue our walk." The Uchiha rolled his eyes.
"Gaara!" Haruno almost squealed.
Naruto's jaw dropped lower until it reached the earth's inner core. Sasuke, on the other hand, stared.
Sakura eyed the two alternatively. Her parted lips closed and then she placed her hands on her waist. "What?"
"He's creepy Sakura-chan!" Naruto shuddered. "Just the thought of his eyes makes me want to cower in fear."
She looked at the raven head as if asking if he had something bad to say too. But instead of speaking, the Uchiha shrugged the issue off and then walked past her.
"Sasuke-teme! Where are you going?" the blonde called out but Sasuke did not turn.
After the Uchiha had disappeared in sight, Sakura bit her lip and inquired if Sasuke hated Gaara like how he hated Neji. Naruto replied that Sasuke never talked to him about the red head.
"Well, as if he ever does talk about anything about him." He added with a smirk.
"Uzumaki."
The two turned and saw someone that cause two different reactions. Naruto perspired and his knee trembled. Sakura blushed and ended up holding the blonde's arm firmly.
"G-Gaara…" He replied with an awkward smile. "W-Welcome!"
"Where is Uchiha Sasuke?" Gaara asked monotonously.
"I think h-he headed t-to the library."
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Haruno proposed with her sweetest smile.
Gaara eyed her and then walked away from them without another word.
"Isn't he cute? He looks like a doll." Sakura sighed dreamily.
"A killer doll if you ask me." Naruto gulped. "I wonder what he wants with Sasuke."
On the other hand, Sasuke sat near the window at the library. A book was opened before him but his eyes were blind to the printed letters. He searched his mind for answers for the past inquiries. First, why did his boss want to kill him? Second, how did Gaara know all about it? Third, why was Sakura so eager to have a boy friend anyway? Yes, even that he thought of.
He also contemplated on the past events: His short bonding with his brother, the incident with the Suna boy, the revelation, the singing with his friends and the injury on his ribs.
"Uchiha, I see you're unoccupied."
That voice. Sasuke did not want to look at the speaker. His hand automatically touched the bite he obtained weeks before.
"I came here for business."
"What do you want?" Sasuke felt himself shudder. There was a certain fear that was built in the Uchiha's system.
"I own you now."
Sasuke's head turned to meet Gaara's eyes. Those eyes had no room for lies. "What do you mean?"
"Kabuto, your past owner, realized that you are still alive. Since they could no longer take you back, I proposed something other than killing you." Gaara paused. "I bought you because killing a skilled assassin is not practical."
"You fucking crap! You think you can just go and buy people?" Sasuke spoke through gritted teeth.
Gaara's blank expression did not change. "I can."
Sasuke forgot about his fear in that instant for he simply bolted upright. His angry face was inches away from the red head's calm face. His clenched fists were trembling but he restrained them from hitting the boyish face before him.
"They told me about a secret…a secret concerning a certain lady." Gaara watched how those onyx eyes softened in submission to those words. "That secret will remain ours if you serve me."
Sasuke sat back, his eyes endlessly searching his mind for consolation. It was the same promise Kabuto told him the day he took him as his slave. Seconds passed before he learned to compromise and ended up nodding without a word.
Gaara eyed him for some seconds before leaving the confounded Uchiha. Sasuke stayed there, seated uncomfortably until the first period bell rang.
"You're late, Uchiha." His Physics teacher paused to take a good scrutinizing look at Sasuke. "Not just because you get straight A's doesn't mean that you can attend my class with shameless tardiness."
Sasuke wasn't in the mood to listen to the house rules so he slipped into his seat and stared at the board. The number of formulas bored him for he knew them a year in advance. He was in a light reverie, thinking of what could have his destiny been if only he didn't meet Kabuto.
"Dear Sakura-chan, I am your… wait…"
Sasuke twitched. At the corner of his eyes he could see Lee scribbling something carefully on stationery that was scented with lavender. His face was pink and his eyes were darting to the seat somewhere behind Sasuke from time to time. A few more seconds of observation finally revealed that he was eyeing Sakura. And most probably, he was also writing that sweet letter for her.
The Uchiha wanted not to care but since Sakura represented the lady in his memories in some ways, he grew irritated. He even watched how slow Lee wrote the sugar-coated letters and how his round eyes moved at every line. And every second that passed made his temperature rise bit by bit.
"Uchiha, I am really losing my patience with you."
Sasuke's attention returned to their teacher who was glaring at him. He glanced at Naruto who whispered to him that their teacher was asking a question.
"Tell us the formula for Tangential Speed. That is easy if you were listening." His teacher said as he crossed his arms.
"Pi times the twice of the radius. All divided by the period of rotation or revolution." Sasuke answered effortlessly. His classmates gaped but his professor just sighed.
"Alright Uchiha, sit down but try to participate more." The Physics teacher shrugged and continued on.
"As if you need to." Naruto smirked.
"Hey, Sasuke." Lee called onto him, waving a white envelope in front of him. "Would you kindly pass it to Sakura-chan?"
Sasuke reluctantly took the envelope and then passed it behind him. The person seated behind him received the object and gave it to Sakura. The Uchiha, despite the fact that he was getting a lot more curious than usual, turned to his right to see Haruno's reaction.
Sakura smiled and then chuckled to herself.
Sasuke's lips slightly parted. She's…interested?
"Uchiha!"
Naruto jerked awake and the rest who were secretly eating candies choked. Sasuke, however, returned his eyes to the board without much reaction other than annoyance.
"How many times do I have to tell you to keep your attention here?" the teacher tapped the solutions on the board with a stick.
"The answer is five Pi over three." Sasuke said nonchalantly. "Is that what you were supposed to ask me?"
The teacher snapped. "Detention!"
- - -
An hour after dismissal of classes, Naruto and Sakura walked side by side as they approached the detention room at the end of one of the deserted corridors. Sakura was worried about the impulsive nature of the Uchiha but Naruto assured her of that being "normal".
"But it isn't right to put him to detention because he could answer the teacher without listening." She said with a heavy tone.
"You do not really know him, do you?" the blonde interlaced his fingers behind his head. "He's a stubborn jerk whose words are terribly blunt. I can not blame the teachers if they resort to that." He thought for some seconds. He stopped and muttered, "But he was different when we were young."
"Here he goes!" Sakura interrupted Naruto's line of thoughts when she spoke out loud.
The door opened and there came out the Uchiha whose face was as stern as ever. His hands were in his pockets, a sign that he was reposed. He looked at the two people before him and then walked ahead.
"Hey, we didn't come here to be left you know?" Naruto yelled happily and followed his best friend.
Sakura looked at the retreating back of the Uchiha. I don't know him? Oh well… She smiled to herself. We still have years to know each other anyway. She caught up with the two and then searched her shoulder bag for something.
"Hey guys," she showed them the envelope Lee gave her hours before, "since you're my friends, I think it's just proper for me to tell you about this."
The two stopped at their tracks and watched the changing expression on her face.
"Lee invited me to study with him tomorrow morning!" Sakura exclaimed, her face blushing real red.
It took seconds before Naruto managed to process the information. "And you said…?"
"Yes!" Haruno squealed.
"HN."
The two looked at Sasuke and they didn't know if he snorted in purpose or he just accidentally made it quite loud. His back was turned towards them when they tried to decipher what he was thinking. Naruto and Sakura's eyes met as if asking what was wrong.
"Um, Sasuke—?"
"Let's go home." The Uchiha went on without another word to either of them.
It was Saturday, the day of Lee and Sakura's bonding through studying. And though high school students didn't have classes, one student was awake early that morning. That teen was seated on the bed, his legs crossed in a form of an Indian seat. His back was slightly slouched, giving him a boyish look from afar. His white hands were holding a mobile phone and he was looking at it as if he was in deep thought. His eyebrows were knitted together though his expression was milder than usual. He lifted his finger once or twice to press a number but he would retreat his finger again and stare at the phone for again for thirty minutes.
"Uchiha-sama!" Someone who knocked on his door took his eyes away from the phone for some seconds. "Breakfast is ready!"
"Ah." Sasuke replied uninterestedly. He looked at the phone once more like an indecisive child before placing it down on the bed. He lied down and then stretched his arms as he gazed at the ceiling. Fuck. What the hell is wrong with me?
Someone knocked once more and it was the same servant. "Uchiha-sama, you're brother is asking for you." Sasuke eyed the door and began to move.
Itachi, on the other hand, sipped his morning tea as he watched his brother walk down the stairs. He was surprised to see that Sasuke actually went down when he asked him to. Something was new that day and he was interested to know it.
"Otouto, what made you wake up at such early time?" Itachi asked even before the younger got to sit.
Sasuke still looked irritated for his brother tried to open a conversation but it was obvious that something else bothered him.
Itachi gave his brother a whole body glance before eyeing the wireless phone in his hand. He lifted a brow and then placed his cup down after giving off a smile. "You brought the phone here."
"What?" Sasuke's blankness was palpable. He abruptly placed the phone on the table and then sat down.
The crimson orbed Uchiha shook his head. "Who's the girl?"
Sasuke stared at his brother. "What?"
"What's her name?" Itachi asked with a sly smile after finishing his cup. He signaled one of the maids to refill his cup as he waited for his brother's answer in amusement.
"What the fuck do you mean?"
"Do you have to curse every time someone reads your eyes?"
"I don't like it."
"That's why people try harder to do so." Itachi said as he crossed his legs. "So who is she?"
Sasuke snorted and took a heavy bite of his garlic bread.
"You stay in your room for hours, staring at the phone, trying to dial but couldn't. And you absent-mindedly brought the phone with you. What could be a better explanation that a new found girl?"
Sasuke gritted his teeth. "Loquacious jerk."
"I know how it feels, otouto."
"Shut the fuck up."
Itachi sipped tea as a reply to the fuming Uchiha.
Sasuke you idiot! What's going in your head? Sasuke bit his lip and stared down on his half-eaten bread. After some seconds, he stood up, grabbed the phone and then marched upstairs.
His brother was right, it was a girl. Only, he wasn't going to dial a number of a girl. As he thought of it, it began to rain. The soft taps of the rain drops made an unrecognized rhythm that only sentimental people could hear.
Sasuke dropped to his bed, his stomach not caring to complain about not enough food. He held the phone in the air, in front of him. Was he going to call or not? Since when did this become so hard? Bleak eyes searched the room for a sign and yes, he saw one: rain.
Sasuke finally lifted a finger to dial the number he was meaning to call. Press by press the tension built up in his chest.
It rang. Once…twice…thrice…
"H-Hello…?"
"Naruto." Sasuke closed his eyes, thinking that he finally made the first step. "I—"
"SASUKE-TEME! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO WAKE ME UP? IT'S ONLY SEVEN IN THE MORNING AND I STILL NEED TO SLEEP UNTIL TEN!"
Sasuke couldn't, however serious it was, say sorry. "I need something."
"WHAT? IF THAT ISN'T WORTH MY SLEEP—"
"A number."
Naruto's temper gradually lowered. "Number?"
"Are you deaf or what?" Sasuke covered the tension within him with insults.
"I am NOT deaf Sasuke-teme!" Naruto yelled. "I mean what number?"
Sasuke sighed, not wanting to believe that was actually to say it. "Mobile number."
"Whose?"
The Uchiha cursed under his breath. Naruto wasn't making things any easier. He wasn't making it easier for himself either. Why was he doing that shit anyway? What was so wrong with him?
"WHOSE NUMBER? DAMMIT!"
"S…"
"Stop hissing and tell me!"
"Sakura, alright?!" Sasuke felt like shouting as well to alleviate the so-called shame but then he didn't.
Naruto was silenced.
"Are you going to give me the number or what?" Sasuke could only be very vocal with his best friend.
"Why?"
"What 'why'?"
"Why the sudden interest?"
"I just want the number."
Naruto surprisingly laughed. "You're a god in academics, Sasuke-teme." He grinned. "But you're a goddamn loser in lying."
"What the hell do you—?" Sasuke sat upright.
"You can not lie to me." The blonde replied with an air of confidence. "So you're worried?"
"You're the one who likes her. You should be, not me." Sasuke looked outside the window.
"Correction, dearest idiotic friend!" Naruto happily answered. "I-L-O-V-E-H-E-R. So I don't need to check on her. Does trust ring a bell?"
The Uchiha uttered a "hn" to cover up the defeat. "Just give it a rest and tell me the number if you can't send it."
Eight o'clock that night, Sasuke was seated on his bed, legs still crossed. One of his hands held his phone while the other rested on the bed. His brows met again and this time, he was more nervous. He had been in his room since a couple of hours ago. He was debating with himself whether to call or not to call. Sasuke's eyes had been transferring from the raining environment outside to the phone in his hand.
Sasuke lied on his bed, realizing that he had been a fool those past hours. He spent his day thinking over that shallow issue. Why did the call matter anyway?
"Fuck." Sasuke said to himself before lying on his stomach. His face was shadowed by the dark clouds that brought rain throughout the day. He glanced at the phone again and after some seconds of pondering, he attempted to dial a mobile number again.
I can't. He dropped his finger. He sat upright, thought about the shallow problem he had now and then slowly placed his phone down in front of him. He realized he was indeed an idiot.
Sasuke sighed and shook his head, knowing that it was just a waste of time. Since he skipped dinner, he simply lied down and urged himself to sleep when his phone rang. He sat up again, irritated by the sudden call when he heard someone's voice.
"Um, Sasuke?"
"Sakura." Sasuke replied awkwardly because of it was utterly unexpected.
"I'm sorry. Are you busy?"
"No."
"I have a favor to ask of you." Silence. "Um, can you, um, please fetch me here?"
Sasuke slid off the bed and then looked outside the window. "Lee?"
"I forced him to go since someone called earlier and said that his grandmother was rushed to a hospital." She replied with a soft laugh. "The taxi cabs are all taken and I can't stay for too long or my father," she paused as if saying a wrong word, "will kill me if I get home late."
Sasuke thought he was insane. He was actually granting Haruno a favor. "Tell me where you are."
- - -
Sasuke stopped in front of Sakura and opened the door for her. After that, he drove away from that place.
"I'm really sorry if I disturbed you." Sakura forced an ashamed smile. "I really had no choice. I'll make it up to you in a way or another. I promise."
"…" Sasuke was mute as ever.
When the car stopped due to the traffic light, he pulled his handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to her without looking at Sakura.
"Thanks." Sakura took the handkerchief because she thought that he might be vexed if she didn't. She looked at it with much joy. She couldn't believe that the Uchiha had somehow considered her as a friend. Well, that was her point of view.
As they drove past structures enlivened by dazzling lights of entertainment, Sasuke sometimes glanced at Sakura who was content with watching the luminous designs. She always faced him to smile but he would quickly turn away and focus on the slippery road. But she would never cease to try to catch his attention to tell him how happy she was through a simple smile.
But Sasuke didn't want her to look at him through his eyes because he feared that he might uncontrollably smile as well.
The horror.
"Oh, here we are." Sakura chirped though she sounded gloomy.
Sasuke stopped in front of Sakura's house and waited for some seconds before moving. He was to get out of the car when Sakura stopped him and pulled him towards her. Sasuke was rather shocked to react when Sakura suddenly embraced him tightly.
"Thanks so much for being a great friend." She whispered with much emotion. After that, she winked and went out of the car. She ran towards the front doors and then waved at Sasuke for the last time before opening the door with her keys.
Sasuke was stuck in that last position where Sakura embraced him tight. He was red and warm all over. No other girl had ever embraced him with much emotion other than infatuation. Sakura's affectionate action was sincere and he was taken aback. He placed his hands on the wheel, looked straight ahead, stepped on the gas and went home.
Minutes after, Sasuke was back to where he was: sitting on the bed with his mobile phone in both hands. There was a difference though.
"Hello Sakura?"
He managed to call her at last.
A/N: My sincerest apologies to all my readers! Chapter ten was delayed for weeks! I even lost count! I am really sorry! If you find Sasuke's change of heart quite abrupt, I have an explanation in the next chapter (hopefully)! Anyway, I'm REALLY sorry!