It all started with that dream...
folder
Naruto › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
22
Views:
2,228
Reviews:
143
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Category:
Naruto › Het - Male/Female
Rating:
Adult ++
Chapters:
22
Views:
2,228
Reviews:
143
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Conflicting Agendas
A/N: Just a 1chp update for now but i should be done with the next soon;) Thanks as always for your really great reviews=) Pls R&R...
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Chp11: Conflicting Agendas
”Yo.” Of course, it was him. “Sasuke,” Kakashi nodded. Sakura smiled at the new arrival. What was he doing here? Again. “Kakashi?” Sasuke voiced his surprise. “What are you doing here?” Kakashi gave a little laugh. “I noticed Sakura alone and I just wanted to quickly say hi…” Kakashi hoped that he didn’t look too guilty. He felt like his thoughts were laid bare for everyone to see. He had been about to ask her. He really was about to. The words were practically on the verge of spilling off his tongue if they had but a second more together. ‘Well, I would have asked her eventually...,’ he amended sheepishly.
Sakura was still flustered from what had transpired what felt like mere seconds before. She was a little annoyed by the interruption but nervousness won out. She hoped she didn’t look too guilty. “What are you doing here, Sasuke?” she asked, voicing her puzzlement. Sasuke was really acting out of character these days. She remembered her suspicions of late, an uneasy feeling taking root in the pit of her stomach. Could it be true? Could he possibly have feelings for her? She wondered how she felt about that…She forced the thoughts away, branding them absurd. After all, it was impossible! She forced herself to look at their relationship, all their interactions, closely. To look at it hard. It was true that he had been acting out of character these days, she mused, but that was nothing compared to years of having made his feelings about her in the romantic sense clear. That there was none. Nil. Zip. Nada. Besides, she reasoned, she should feel glad that he appeared to be more cheerful of late. It was good. No matter what, she wanted him happy. He had probably just recognized that she had retreated, so to speak. That she wasn’t about to jump him at any given moment, she thought wryly. And in return for being a friend to him for once, he had probably just reciprocated, her reward being that of a definitely not stoic young man. Yeah, that was it. He had needed her to be a friend for once and had let her truly know him in return. And that was that.
The suspicious notions didn’t really go away but Sakura managed to push it as far back as she could, the back of her mind welcoming it to being just a fading product of her thought process. She welcomed the relief. Yes, she needed to be Sasuke’s friend for once. He was here now to talk to her and even if it meant suppressing her intense desire to root him away from the spot so she could continue where she had left off with Kakashi, then so be it. He could join them, she thought with heavy disappointment. The moment she had shared with Kakashi, her perfect opportunity, had been lost to the recent recesses of the past anyway. She wallowed in her dismay. Still, she couldn’t do anything about it…
His deep voice interrupted the thick fog of dismay and disappointment that emanated in great waves from the twosome that had laughed away but a moment before. “I meant to ask you something before, Sakura, and I just…I just wanted to ask you now…” Sasuke willed his cheeks not to give in to the blush he felt creeping on. That would be a sight! He didn’t feel like indulging his former teacher and team-mate in the rare sight right about then, of all times! He still had to get the question out somehow, after all! Really, he couldn’t even be sure he still knew himself, what with all these unfamiliar feelings and reactions he had been entertaining recently…His dark eyes lifted to meet her gaze in a silent enquiry as if asking for permission. If only his eyes could do all the talking, he groaned inwardly. He didn’t feel like voicing out his question…Even now, he wasn’t even completely sure he could string out the proper sentence! He wasn’t sure if he should ask for privacy either. He felt like the intruder as it was, he thought uneasily. It was just Kakashi…After all, IF he managed to ask, everyone would know anyway, Sasuke reasoned. And he would probably just lose his nerve again if he was left with just her before him…
Kakashi arched a silver eyebrow. Sasuke just gave an imperceptible shake of his dark head, answering the silent enquiry as to whether the jounin should leave. Kakashi acknowledged this with the slightest of nods in return, remaining where he was. He frowned slightly. He wondered what was going on. He felt disappointed at being interrupted but he couldn’t help wondering why they were interrupted in the first place. What question it was that Sasuke came here to ask the beautiful woman in their midst. The beautiful woman that, right about then, was wearing an amusing expression that could only be described as quizzical. Kakashi almost smiled. She looked adorable. But it meant that she had about as much idea of the Uchiha’s agenda as he himself did.
The silence was deafening. The air, already heavy with the sexual tension and disappointment exuded by both Kakashi and Sakura, was made heavier by the extended silence following the Uchiha’s declaration. Sakura, looking up expectantly at the handsome figure before her, didn’t know if she could handle another second of the ominous silence. “What is it?” she ventured. Her voice resonated in the peaceful glade, as if bounced from tree to tree, asserting itself. It had sounded unnaturally loud. In the silence that followed, her question appeared to echo endlessly in the winds. Sakura almost winced before hastily trying to breach the tension with a soft smile for him. Sasuke continued to stare intently at her upturned face but in truth, he was almost deliriously immune to the outside world. He felt like screaming. It was just a simple question, why couldn’t he just ask it? The words continued to whirl around in his head – ‘would you like to…? Could you please…? I’d love it if you…?' – but none of them sounded quite right! He felt the eyes of his former teammate and mentor boring into himself but he could hardly be aware of where they even were. He could almost feel himself breaking in nervous frustration.
“Is everything alright?” Sakura’s concerned voice interrupted the heavy air yet again but it was her hand now holding his that suddenly brought Sasuke back to reality. All the unnecessary tension, worry and frustration seemed to dissolve away like the forgotten blossoms drifting in the late breeze. It felt like the welcoming calm after a particularly tempestuous storm. All was fine now. All was good…And suddenly, he had the perfect words. Silently, he rehearsed them in his head as his eyes came to focus on the woman before him, oblivious to all else. Nothing mattered except her. He should just trust his feelings for her to guide him and she would complete everything else. “Sakura…” His hand itched to brush aside the lock of hair that had fallen forward earlier when she reached for his hand but he was loathe to move. Her gaze kept him where he was. He saw her eyes widen and inwardly, he smiled although his solemn expression never hinted at his inner feelings. As if to assure her, his hand squeezed hers of it’s own accord. “Tomorrow’s the night of the dance. I was really hoping you’d like to go with me.” His question ended with the merest questioning inflection reflected in his voice, in his dark eyes, the strong hope he felt never betrayed by as much as a flicker of his handsome features.
Sakura was floored. A few feet away, Kakashi experienced the same rioting feelings of shock alternating with dismay and disbelief. Without realizing it, the jounin held his breath as he waited in anticipation as to what Sakura would say. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling anything but happiness for the two, especially for the long suffering Sasuke, but he couldn’t stop the dull ache from spreading in his heart. He couldn’t stop the lump of disappointment from forming in his throat. Would it have been different if he had managed to ask her instead a few moments earlier? He felt cheated somehow. He studied the both of them. They made a picturesque couple, her fair and soft next to his dark and rugged. As their mutual former sensei, he was expected to be happy for them, not indulging in wicked fantasies about himself being the star in her love story. Like he had berated himself countless times before, he was more than a decade older than her, and her former teacher to boot. If, by some miracle, he had managed to win her, society would undoubtedly be unforgiving towards them. He didn’t want that for her. He must have imagined the interest on her part. Undoubtedly, she would think him a lecher if she ever found out how he felt about her. He felt disgusted with himself but he could also taste the regret, the disappointment. He tasted defeat.
“Sakura…,” Kakashi said with a smile disguising his pain. “I can’t believe you’re actually thinking this over,” he teased, “you’d make a stunning couple.” Kakashi got up to leave, sakura petals drifting off his sleek figure as he rose, in an ironic display of his discarding his impossible fantasies of being with the flesh and blood woman named after the same fragrant blossoms. “I might just take your advice and go unmasked!" Kakashi said with a wink. “If so, I’ll see you there, beautiful,” he continued as he chucked the stunned girl under her chin softly. “Sasuke, “he acknowledged with a pleasant nod before leaving in a cloud of smoke. Sakura was stunned. Had she imagined his interest? Her heart felt like it would break. Did he really see her as nothing more than his former student? Did he really think she was the same 12-year old girl he had instructed? Sakura was too stunned to collapse in a heap, which was what she felt like doing. She felt like sobbing her sorrows in the comfort offered by the calm serenity of her glade, just like she always had. Except now, all she could think about was his being there with her but a few moments before. And now, once unfailingly the source of her solace, the glade felt empty without him.
“So, should I take your silence as a yes?” Sasuke’s rich, smiling voice interrupted her thoughts. She didn’t know what to think anymore. All she could think about right then was how much she missed the presence of the enigmatic silver-haired jounin she was so crazy about. But apparently, he didn’t feel the same way about her. Her throat constricted. She felt like sobbing but the tears wouldn’t come. And Sasuke was still looking at her expectantly. How long had it been since he asked? Suddenly, Sakura felt like a fool, albeit a weary one. Kakashi would never be interested in her but Sasuke, the guy she’d always thought she loved, now seemed to be. ‘The irony,’ she thought wryly. She should forget the older man, logic reasoned. Only her rapidly breaking heart refuted the logic. But Sakura ignored its painful protests as she smiled into the depths of the dark eyes she used to get lost in, squeezing his strong, masculine hand. “Of course…I’d love to go with you,” she smiled, her voice little more than a whisper.
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Chp11: Conflicting Agendas
”Yo.” Of course, it was him. “Sasuke,” Kakashi nodded. Sakura smiled at the new arrival. What was he doing here? Again. “Kakashi?” Sasuke voiced his surprise. “What are you doing here?” Kakashi gave a little laugh. “I noticed Sakura alone and I just wanted to quickly say hi…” Kakashi hoped that he didn’t look too guilty. He felt like his thoughts were laid bare for everyone to see. He had been about to ask her. He really was about to. The words were practically on the verge of spilling off his tongue if they had but a second more together. ‘Well, I would have asked her eventually...,’ he amended sheepishly.
Sakura was still flustered from what had transpired what felt like mere seconds before. She was a little annoyed by the interruption but nervousness won out. She hoped she didn’t look too guilty. “What are you doing here, Sasuke?” she asked, voicing her puzzlement. Sasuke was really acting out of character these days. She remembered her suspicions of late, an uneasy feeling taking root in the pit of her stomach. Could it be true? Could he possibly have feelings for her? She wondered how she felt about that…She forced the thoughts away, branding them absurd. After all, it was impossible! She forced herself to look at their relationship, all their interactions, closely. To look at it hard. It was true that he had been acting out of character these days, she mused, but that was nothing compared to years of having made his feelings about her in the romantic sense clear. That there was none. Nil. Zip. Nada. Besides, she reasoned, she should feel glad that he appeared to be more cheerful of late. It was good. No matter what, she wanted him happy. He had probably just recognized that she had retreated, so to speak. That she wasn’t about to jump him at any given moment, she thought wryly. And in return for being a friend to him for once, he had probably just reciprocated, her reward being that of a definitely not stoic young man. Yeah, that was it. He had needed her to be a friend for once and had let her truly know him in return. And that was that.
The suspicious notions didn’t really go away but Sakura managed to push it as far back as she could, the back of her mind welcoming it to being just a fading product of her thought process. She welcomed the relief. Yes, she needed to be Sasuke’s friend for once. He was here now to talk to her and even if it meant suppressing her intense desire to root him away from the spot so she could continue where she had left off with Kakashi, then so be it. He could join them, she thought with heavy disappointment. The moment she had shared with Kakashi, her perfect opportunity, had been lost to the recent recesses of the past anyway. She wallowed in her dismay. Still, she couldn’t do anything about it…
His deep voice interrupted the thick fog of dismay and disappointment that emanated in great waves from the twosome that had laughed away but a moment before. “I meant to ask you something before, Sakura, and I just…I just wanted to ask you now…” Sasuke willed his cheeks not to give in to the blush he felt creeping on. That would be a sight! He didn’t feel like indulging his former teacher and team-mate in the rare sight right about then, of all times! He still had to get the question out somehow, after all! Really, he couldn’t even be sure he still knew himself, what with all these unfamiliar feelings and reactions he had been entertaining recently…His dark eyes lifted to meet her gaze in a silent enquiry as if asking for permission. If only his eyes could do all the talking, he groaned inwardly. He didn’t feel like voicing out his question…Even now, he wasn’t even completely sure he could string out the proper sentence! He wasn’t sure if he should ask for privacy either. He felt like the intruder as it was, he thought uneasily. It was just Kakashi…After all, IF he managed to ask, everyone would know anyway, Sasuke reasoned. And he would probably just lose his nerve again if he was left with just her before him…
Kakashi arched a silver eyebrow. Sasuke just gave an imperceptible shake of his dark head, answering the silent enquiry as to whether the jounin should leave. Kakashi acknowledged this with the slightest of nods in return, remaining where he was. He frowned slightly. He wondered what was going on. He felt disappointed at being interrupted but he couldn’t help wondering why they were interrupted in the first place. What question it was that Sasuke came here to ask the beautiful woman in their midst. The beautiful woman that, right about then, was wearing an amusing expression that could only be described as quizzical. Kakashi almost smiled. She looked adorable. But it meant that she had about as much idea of the Uchiha’s agenda as he himself did.
The silence was deafening. The air, already heavy with the sexual tension and disappointment exuded by both Kakashi and Sakura, was made heavier by the extended silence following the Uchiha’s declaration. Sakura, looking up expectantly at the handsome figure before her, didn’t know if she could handle another second of the ominous silence. “What is it?” she ventured. Her voice resonated in the peaceful glade, as if bounced from tree to tree, asserting itself. It had sounded unnaturally loud. In the silence that followed, her question appeared to echo endlessly in the winds. Sakura almost winced before hastily trying to breach the tension with a soft smile for him. Sasuke continued to stare intently at her upturned face but in truth, he was almost deliriously immune to the outside world. He felt like screaming. It was just a simple question, why couldn’t he just ask it? The words continued to whirl around in his head – ‘would you like to…? Could you please…? I’d love it if you…?' – but none of them sounded quite right! He felt the eyes of his former teammate and mentor boring into himself but he could hardly be aware of where they even were. He could almost feel himself breaking in nervous frustration.
“Is everything alright?” Sakura’s concerned voice interrupted the heavy air yet again but it was her hand now holding his that suddenly brought Sasuke back to reality. All the unnecessary tension, worry and frustration seemed to dissolve away like the forgotten blossoms drifting in the late breeze. It felt like the welcoming calm after a particularly tempestuous storm. All was fine now. All was good…And suddenly, he had the perfect words. Silently, he rehearsed them in his head as his eyes came to focus on the woman before him, oblivious to all else. Nothing mattered except her. He should just trust his feelings for her to guide him and she would complete everything else. “Sakura…” His hand itched to brush aside the lock of hair that had fallen forward earlier when she reached for his hand but he was loathe to move. Her gaze kept him where he was. He saw her eyes widen and inwardly, he smiled although his solemn expression never hinted at his inner feelings. As if to assure her, his hand squeezed hers of it’s own accord. “Tomorrow’s the night of the dance. I was really hoping you’d like to go with me.” His question ended with the merest questioning inflection reflected in his voice, in his dark eyes, the strong hope he felt never betrayed by as much as a flicker of his handsome features.
Sakura was floored. A few feet away, Kakashi experienced the same rioting feelings of shock alternating with dismay and disbelief. Without realizing it, the jounin held his breath as he waited in anticipation as to what Sakura would say. He knew he shouldn’t be feeling anything but happiness for the two, especially for the long suffering Sasuke, but he couldn’t stop the dull ache from spreading in his heart. He couldn’t stop the lump of disappointment from forming in his throat. Would it have been different if he had managed to ask her instead a few moments earlier? He felt cheated somehow. He studied the both of them. They made a picturesque couple, her fair and soft next to his dark and rugged. As their mutual former sensei, he was expected to be happy for them, not indulging in wicked fantasies about himself being the star in her love story. Like he had berated himself countless times before, he was more than a decade older than her, and her former teacher to boot. If, by some miracle, he had managed to win her, society would undoubtedly be unforgiving towards them. He didn’t want that for her. He must have imagined the interest on her part. Undoubtedly, she would think him a lecher if she ever found out how he felt about her. He felt disgusted with himself but he could also taste the regret, the disappointment. He tasted defeat.
“Sakura…,” Kakashi said with a smile disguising his pain. “I can’t believe you’re actually thinking this over,” he teased, “you’d make a stunning couple.” Kakashi got up to leave, sakura petals drifting off his sleek figure as he rose, in an ironic display of his discarding his impossible fantasies of being with the flesh and blood woman named after the same fragrant blossoms. “I might just take your advice and go unmasked!" Kakashi said with a wink. “If so, I’ll see you there, beautiful,” he continued as he chucked the stunned girl under her chin softly. “Sasuke, “he acknowledged with a pleasant nod before leaving in a cloud of smoke. Sakura was stunned. Had she imagined his interest? Her heart felt like it would break. Did he really see her as nothing more than his former student? Did he really think she was the same 12-year old girl he had instructed? Sakura was too stunned to collapse in a heap, which was what she felt like doing. She felt like sobbing her sorrows in the comfort offered by the calm serenity of her glade, just like she always had. Except now, all she could think about was his being there with her but a few moments before. And now, once unfailingly the source of her solace, the glade felt empty without him.
“So, should I take your silence as a yes?” Sasuke’s rich, smiling voice interrupted her thoughts. She didn’t know what to think anymore. All she could think about right then was how much she missed the presence of the enigmatic silver-haired jounin she was so crazy about. But apparently, he didn’t feel the same way about her. Her throat constricted. She felt like sobbing but the tears wouldn’t come. And Sasuke was still looking at her expectantly. How long had it been since he asked? Suddenly, Sakura felt like a fool, albeit a weary one. Kakashi would never be interested in her but Sasuke, the guy she’d always thought she loved, now seemed to be. ‘The irony,’ she thought wryly. She should forget the older man, logic reasoned. Only her rapidly breaking heart refuted the logic. But Sakura ignored its painful protests as she smiled into the depths of the dark eyes she used to get lost in, squeezing his strong, masculine hand. “Of course…I’d love to go with you,” she smiled, her voice little more than a whisper.