My Own Worst Enemy

Chapter 6 - Tears and Fears

Japanese words used in this chapter:
Gomen - I'm sorry
Hontoni - Really
Nani - What
Tadaima - I'm home/I'm back
Ohayou - Good morning
Daijoubu - Alright (can mean both: Are you alright? and Yes, I'm alright)
Hai - Yes
Anou - Ummm
Arigato - Thank you

Sakura awoke back in the hospital just before dawn and was instantly caught between murderous rage and suicidal depression. She realized immediately, now that her brain was fully awake, why Itachi-sama had been different last night. It hadn’t been Itachi-sama at all. Last night, the man before her had been too short, too slender, too warm. He’d responded too easily, too quickly. It hadn’t been her beloved Itachi-sama. It had been his traitorous little brother. Sasuke had tricked her. They all had.

Why did they have to bring her back? Why couldn’t they just leave her there, let her look for Itachi-sama in peace? Why couldn’t they just forget about her? The naïve, innocent little blossom had flown on the wind, leaving only the bare branches of its skeletal tree behind.

But they wouldn’t forget, no matter how hard she shoved it in their faces that she was not the girl they claimed to know and professed to love. No matter how much she spat on their affections, they kept coming back for more. She couldn’t stand the look of hurt in their eyes as she pushed them away. She didn’t want their pity.

The worst of them all was him. She could hear him outside her door, waiting, pacing, sitting, breathing. He only left to sleep at night, and even then he didn’t leave. He put another ten feet of space between them, and that was all. He was out there right now, sitting there, waiting for someone who didn’t exist.

She hated him. She hated the way he made her skin crawl. She hated him tearing her away from Itachi-sama. She hated how much he looked like his brother. She hated how she felt when she looked at his Itachi-sama face. She hated the look that face had worn when he’d seen her with Itachi-sama. She hated what Itachi-sama had done to her in front of him. She hated what Itachi-sama had done to her. She hated Itachi-sama.

That thought stopped her cold, and suddenly she was sobbing, loud wracking cries that hurt her throat and left her unable to get her breath. The tears soaked her pillow as she wept, and then without warning, there were arms around her, pulling her against a strong, warm body. She didn’t care who it was, although she knew instinctively from the moment he first touched her. She just needed someone to hold her while she cried, and cry she did.

She cried for all the pain she had endured, for the innocence she’d lost, for the child torn away from her before it even had a chance at life, and for the hurts she’d caused to all her loved ones. She was suddenly afraid that she’d finally succeeded in pushing them away, just as she realized her need of them. She clutched at the shirt in front of her, begging him not to leave her, to forgive her for being so cold to him, for pushing him away.

Sasuke smiled through a few tears of his own as he held her closer. “I’m not going anywhere, Sakura. I’m here. I’m staying.”

Her weeping only increased at his statements, but it was no longer the lonely, hollow, unending sobs of before. These tears would stop, and eventually, they did. Still, she clung to him, and he gently rubbed her back, trying to remember how his mother had comforted him when he’d cried as a child. It was a strange experience for him, and it made something inside him that had long been cold and hard soften and begin to warm.

When she finally relaxed her grip on him, he helped her prop herself up with pillows and let her sit back against them. He wasn’t sure what he should do now, but he didn’t want to leave her just yet. So he took one of her hands in his and held it firmly, letting her know that he was still here for her and giving her his strength to draw from.

She relaxed against the pillows, squeezing his hand, reassured that he was there. It actually surprised her that he was sitting with her after all the horrible things she’d thought about him and done to him. A few more tears escaped as she remembered, but his warm hands quickly brushed them away. Startled, her eyes flew open, locking with his own. Green and black searched each other for several long moments before he leaned in and gently brought his lips to brush against hers. “Welcome home, Sakura.”

Her eyes flitted across his face for a time, her face a complicated mix of emotions, until, at last, she smiled and his heart almost stopped. Launching herself at him, she wrapped her arms around his neck, knocking him off the bed. He caught his balance before they hit the ground and swung her up and around, finally planting her feet on the floor. She giggled, and he couldn’t help smiling at her and the light that was starting to dance in her eyes again.

“Tadaima, Sasuke-kun.”

Grasping her shoulders, he pulled her in for another kiss, relishing in her newly-restored warmth. Feeling something curl not unpleasantly in his stomach, he tightened his grip, but immediately released her and backed off when she whimpered in pain. “Gomen, I forgot about your arms.”

“It’s alright,” she tried to reason, but he shook his head. Taking her hand once more, though far more gently this time, he led her back to her bed and got her comfortably situated. They sat there for almost an hour, not saying anything, just processing everything that had happened and enjoying each other’s silent company.

Their reverie was broken by Ino’s entrance into the room. The quiet scene before the pale blonde was tender enough to melt even the coldest heart - and it had, if the ever-so-slight smirk on Sasuke’s face was anything to go by. But what caused Ino to drop her bag of hair care products in shock was the genuine smile gracing the face of the kunoichi on the bed. She hadn’t seen her smile since well before she had disappeared, and to have it back lit up the room immediately.

Not caring that she was intruding on what had obviously been a private moment, she flew to her best friend, nearly tackling her with her enthusiasm. “Sakura!”

Ino was almost in tears as her friend’s arms came up around her shoulders and patted her back. “I’m sorry it took me so long, Ino-pig.”

Laughing, the blonde sat back, wiping her eyes. “It’s good to see you again forehead-girl.”

Sasuke’s smirk grew at the friendly insults as he watched the pair cautiously get reacquainted. Then he remembered why Ino had come in the first place and the barest hint of pink stained his cheeks as he stood to go.

Before he had taken two steps, Sakura had a hold of his arm, and he looked back into her eyes, now full of fear and loneliness. He smiled, diffusing her worries. “I’ll be in my room. You can send Ino to get me when you two are through.”

“Promise you’ll come back?” Her voice was small, and she looked down, immediately ashamed of her weakness. She was perfectly capable of surviving without him, she just didn’t want to be alone, and he had said he wouldn’t leave her.
A flick to her forehead pulled her out of her thoughts, and she looked up to see him actually smiling at her. “Promise.” She watched his back as he left the room and shut the door behind him, then turned to meet the inquisitive gaze of her best friend.

“Do I want to know what’s going on?”

Sakura shook her head with a secret smile all her own. “I’m not sure I even know.”

~~~~*~~~~

True to his word, Sasuke returned an hour later to find Sakura freshly scrubbed, with her hair lightly curled, and, for the first time in days, dressed in something besides black. The emerald green top was trimmed with jade ribbon that matched her eyes around the mandarin collar, armholes, and hem; it was sleeveless, to allow her bandages to be changed more easily. She wore matching capris, and a jade and emerald barrette held a small chunk of hair from each of her temples back behind her head, leaving only her bangs to frame her face. He thought she looked exquisite, and he allowed his feelings to show on his face, knowing how delicate she was at the moment and that she needed the reassurance.

Sure enough, her nervousness left her face immediately and she returned his smile with a shy one of her own.

Just then, an exuberant ball of orange, blue and blonde bounced into the room. “Sakura-chan!”

Her grin grew larger and more confidant as she opened her arms to hug her enthusiastic teammate. “Ohayou, Naruto!”

Naruto stood at the foot of her bed in shock. “You… you’re ok with hugging me, Sakura-chan?”

She stiffened for a moment until she realized that he wasn’t trying to insult her, he was genuinely concerned. A shaky smile crossed her face as her eyes teared up again. “Come here, Naruto,” she replied, holding her arms out once more.

His hug was as enthusiastic as its giver, but he was astonishingly gentle, making sure not to upset any of her injuries. “Sakura-chan… daijoubu?” his breathing was a little ragged, and Sakura was startled to hear him sniffle. He was crying?

Patting his back softly, her smile strengthened even as tears streamed down her cheeks. “Hai, Naruto. I’m ok.”

Neither of them pulled back until they had both stopped crying, and it was actually Sakura who instigated that. Despite the comfort he was giving her, it was still difficult to allow someone to hold her. In fact, as her euphoria over Sasuke’s earlier behavior wore off, she was starting to feel like she was cornered. And when the blonde boy took her hand, it didn’t help. The sensation of being trapped only grew as she realized that the two young men now controlled both her upper limbs, and she was too sore to make a good account of herself with her legs alone.

Sasuke was the only one to notice her distress, however. “What’s wrong?” he asked, as verbose as ever. He also wouldn’t let her shrug it off as nothing, even though she tried. Finally, she gave in.

“Anou, would you mind moving over to the same side as Naruto and Ino, Sasuke-kun?” She instantly felt ridiculous for requesting that, but before she could take it back, he stood up, squeezed her hand once before releasing it, then moved his stool over beside Naruto’s. She smiled up at him gratefully, and he almost smiled back, which was the equivalent of Ino’s grin, before laying his hand loosely on her upper arm. That she could deal with, as they were both occupying the same limb and she had a side of the bed completely free, so she could bolt if she needed to. She started to relax, and chatted with Ino and Naruto about inconsequential matters.

Slowly, the room began to fill, and she was surprised to see how many people were concerned about her. And best of all, if any of them moved to the empty side of the bed, Sasuke gave them a death-glare until they backed off, leaving a clear route from her bed to the door. All of the Rookie 9 stopped by as well as a few others, as their schedules permitted, Shikamaru taking Ino off with him for a short mission when he left.

Lee brought her more flowers to add to the dozens left by him over the last few days. He also seemed the least surprised by her remarkable recovery. “Nothing can stop a fountain of youthful strength and beauty, such as yourself. You are in the Spring of your Youth, and are still blooming.”

She wasn’t quite sure what all he meant by that, but she understood the sentiment, and thanked him.

She wasn’t too surprised to see Kakashi. He’d stopped by almost daily since she’d come back, and only a mission could keep him away. He’d brought her books, fortunately not from his favorite series, and her scrolls and brushes on her first day in the hospital. She hadn’t really put them to much use, but she would now that she had determined to get back to her studies. He always wore that inane smile of his, complemented her, and told her stories of things that probably never happened, but he swore did on some of his crazier missions.

Today, he was accompanied by another man, however, one she hadn’t expected.

“Iruka-sensei!” She smiled at her former instructor from the Ninja Academy, and he handed her a bunch of wildflowers.

“Don’t ask me what they mean, ‘cause I don’t know. But they smelled nice.”

She looked around, trying to find something to put them in when Sasuke held out his hand. “I’ve got something in my room. I’ll be back.”

Handing the flowers over, she watched him go, and kept an eye on the door for his return as she chatted with her teachers. True to his word, he returned with the flowers in a glass of water and handed them back to her to set on the table at her far side. Her smile, which had faltered a bit in his absence, lit the room again and, much to Kakashi’s amusement, he smirked in return.

Stepping a little closer, the silver-haired jounin moved to reach for Sakura’s hand, but stopped at the warning glare from the young man at her far side. He quickly took stock of the situation, and stepped back a bit before lightly tossing her a book. “Here, it’s new.”

She caught it adroitly but dropped it immediately upon getting a single look at the orange cover. “Sensei!” she shrieked, picking the book back up only to hurl it at him.

Kakashi caught it between two fingers not an inch from his face, then scratched his head. “Oops, wrong book.” He pulled out another, and held it out. It was the latest issue of a shojou manga he knew she’d been following, having seen her read several issues on various missions with Team 7. So, when he’d seen the display in the book store on his way back to his favorite section, he’d picked it up.

Sakura blushed when she saw what it was and took it quickly, hiding the title from Sasuke, though she didn’t doubt he could guess it correctly. “Arigato, Kakashi-sensei.”

After another hour or so of chatter, the Hokage strode into the room, banishing the visitors so she could examine her patient. The small crowd broke up good naturedly, and Sasuke sat in his usual spot of the floor of the hallway to wait, waving off Iruka and Naruto’s offer of ramen.

He didn’t have to wait nearly as long as he thought he would. Not five minutes later, Tsunade poked her head out the door to wave him inside. He obeyed her more for Sakura’s sake than that of her position, and was relieved to see Sakura sitting on the edge of the bed, though she wasn’t smiling until he sat beside her, and that was shaky at best. He tried to reassure her with his gaze until she looked away, and he too turned his eyes to the Godaime.

“Well, youngsters, I assume you know why I need to talk to you. What in the world happened last night?” Her posture was not threatening, but Sakura still shook like a leaf before the sannin’s gaze, and Sasuke felt a renewed sense of helplessness when even tightening his grip on her hand did nothing to reassure her. He wished he could wipe it all away, rid the world of anything that scared her or caused her pain, but he knew it would only do more harm than good. This was her story, and he had to sit back and let her tell it.

Slowly, she began the tale. She stopped at the part where she noticed Sasuke’s presence, unsure how to go on. Sasuke figured she’d had a hard enough time of it, and he took up the thread. “At first, she thought I was my brother. I had borrowed the night guard’s cloak, so I looked more like him than I’d realized. After she called me by his name, though, and I pulled back…”

“Pulled back from what?” Tsunade interrupted, looking up from the notes she was furiously scribbling.

“I was trying to force myself on him,” Sakura whispered, barely louder than her breathing. Sasuke squeezed her hand comfortingly, and she returned it until her knuckles were white.

“Ah,” was Tsunade’s only comment as she made another note. “And why did you not pull back immediately, Sasuke-kun?”

He blushed, and it was his turn to squeeze her hand for reassurance. “I’ll admit, at first I was too stunned to think.”

“And your body took over when your brain shut off, I understand.”

“No,” Sasuke shook his head, not wanting Sakura to think he had only kissed her because his body wanted it. “I willfully took advantage of the situation. I only stopped when I realized she didn’t know it was me.”

Sakura was crying again and was starting to curl in on herself. “Gomen, Sasuke-kun. I didn’t mean to hurt you, too,” she managed between sobs. A tug on his hand told him she wanted him to let go, but he refused, taking her hand in both of his.

“It’s alright. It happened. It’s past, now. You’re here.” With those words, he returned his attention to the third person in the room. “Anyway, she went into a flashback, I think, started babbling, begging me to only beat her a little for her lapse in calling me ‘Master.’ She still thought I was Itachi,” he hastened to clarify.

“I see,” the Yondaime continued writing.

“After a minute, she started wincing, like someone was hitting her, and then she really started thrashing around. She could have hurt herself, so I had to… I’m sorry Sakura, but I had to. I knocked her out, and brought her back here, made sure the nurses had her, then I went to bed.”

She knew there was more that they weren’t saying. One doesn’t go from trying to return to a psychotic maniac to holding hands with his little brother just like that. But she knew that this was all she was going to get until she could grill them individually, or more accurately, until she grilled Sasuke individually. Sakura was still too fragile, and anything could push her back over the edge.

Finishing writing the last of their words, as well as her thoughts on them, she closed her notebook and stood. “Sakura needs her rest,” she declared, but stopped Sasuke from leaving with a raised hand. “Would you please stay with her for a bit longer? I think she could use some relatively quiet company, for a change. I’ll leave word with the nurse at the desk that you have familial status, and aren’t to be disturbed.” And with that, she let herself out.

Sasuke didn’t say anything for a long while after Tsunade left, just sat there and held Sakura’s hand. She didn’t say anything either, but the silence was far from comforting this time. It was thick and heavy, weighing down on their emotions so much it felt like physical pressure. Neither of the pair knew where to start.

“I’m sorry!” they both suddenly blurted out at once, unable to stand the quiet any longer.

Sasuke looked at her in shock. “What do you have to be sorry for?”

“Last night, I…” she was shaking again, and she wouldn’t look him in the eye as she spoke, which wasn’t like her at all. “I tried to go back, and then I came on to you, and I know what you must think of me now. I’m sorry.”

“No, you don’t know what I think, or you wouldn’t be apologizing. You were scared and confused. It happens,” he squeezed her hand again as he said this.

Shoulder shaking even more, Sakura began to cry quietly. “Do… do you know what I did while I was gone? While I was with your brother? Do you know what happened there?”

He hadn’t been expecting that question, and shook his head truthfully. “Ino told me some of it, but I know she didn’t say everything.” Sasuke worried that she might be upset about her friend betraying her confidence, but she didn’t seem to mind it too much.

“She told you he raped me,” the statement had a hint of a question, and so Sasuke nodded in response. “Did she tell you that after a while, I came to him willingly? That I got pregnant?”

The first he had guessed on his own, having seen her behavior both while she was still with Itachi and attempting to return to him. But the second… “You’re carrying his child?” His voice was so choked he could have yelled or whispered, it would have had the same effect.

“No,” she murmured quietly, and he felt a moment’s relief followed instantly by concern.

“Did you abort it?” The question was valid and he wouldn’t have blamed her for doing so, though he was against the idea in general.

She shook her head, bowing it lower, trying to hide behind the silky pink locks. Her sobbing increased, a soft whining sound escaping her throat as she tried to hold it in. Not knowing what else to do, he moved to sit on the bed beside her and pulled her in to cry on his shoulder. He held her loosely, one hand still holding hers, the other on her head so she could pull away if she wanted, hoping she wouldn’t feel trapped that way. His actions startled her, but she soon began speaking through her tears.

“I got beaten up a lot while I was there, and I didn’t get much to eat, just Itachi-sama’s leftovers. My body couldn’t take it. I’d lost too much blood, and I wasn’t eating enough to replenish it and still carry the baby. I was two months along when I got kicked in the stomach. I knew something was wrong, but I didn’t expect that. I passed out, and when I woke up, the floor was covered in blood, and when I sat up, more came… so much blood. And then, I had to clean it up. Itachi-sama was mad that I’d made a mess of his room, and even madder that I’d lost the child. That was two weeks ago.”

He kept the dragon that reared with his anger locked tightly inside him as she spoke, but that last shook him out of his rage. He pushed her away just enough to see her face. “Two weeks? Are you alright?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, but he wasn’t fooled. “What’s wrong? Is it hurting you? Do you need anything?”

Her laugh was short and cruel. “Yes it hurts, and no, there’s nothing you can get me. Nothing helps.”

“There’s something else bothering you,” he stated as calmly as he could. “Tell me.”

Silence greeted his words, but he refused to budge, locking his gaze with hers, staring into her spring-green eyes for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, she looked away, but still he waited for her to speak.

“I’m scared,” she whispered, so softly he could barely hear her.

He wasn’t surprised by that, but he was impressed that she admitted it. “Don’t worry; I won’t let anything happen to you.”

“No, you don’t understand,” she cried vehemently. “I’m scared that I won’t be able to have children. That I can’t carry them.”

Mentally, he understood what a loss that was to her, but he was still a guy, and it was hard to comprehend a girl’s emotions at the best of times, which this certainly was not. “Is that so horrible? You could still adopt, if you really wanted kids that badly.”

“You still don’t get it. I can’t help you restart your clan!”

That was the last thing on earth he had been expecting her to say. “Is that what you’re so worried about?”

“Yes!”

“Well, don’t be,” his response was simple, but it left her unsatisfied.

“Why not?” she entreated. “Are you just going to get someone else to help you with that, now that I can’t? I’m not good enough for you now, am I?”

He was seriously confused, but he did know that a large portion of this would be resolved if he made her understand that he wasn’t intending to leave. Ever. “Sakura, look at me,” it was not a request, and she slowly obeyed, bringing her eyes, full of loneliness and despair, up to his.

“I’m not looking for anyone else. If you can’t carry my children full term, we’ll find another way. But I am not allowing anyone else’s blood into the Uchiha clan. You are the only kunoichi even worth considering, and I will not allow you to degrade yourself. You are the strongest female genin in the village, and you could probably beat most of the jounin, and even a fair number of the anbu in a fight. You’re the smartest ninja to hit Konoha in a long time, and you’re beautiful as well. I want you to be the mother of my future children. I won’t have anyone else.”

The look of shock on her face was adorable, and he found himself leaning in to kiss her gently before he could even think about it. Pulling away slowly, he saw that she was still stunned, but there was an air a joy as well. “Are you asking me to marry you, Sasuke-kun?”

He hadn’t really thought of it that way, but truth be told, it was what he really wanted. Granted, he was getting his goals a little out of order, but if she agreed to help him, he’d be guaranteed that the clan would live on, even if he died in his attempt to revenge his slaughtered relations. Of course, it would give Itachi another target to hurt him with, but he’d already taken Sakura and abandoned her. Sasuke doubted he’d bother to break her twice. And besides, he’d been a fool to loose her once. He wasn’t going to repeat that mistake again.

Not trusting his voice at the moment, he nodded solemnly, instantly realizing that she still had not said yes.

“Hontoni, Sasuke-kun? Hontoni hontoni?”

He nodded again, anxious for an answer, a smile, anything.

Slowly a twinkle came back into her eyes. “You really want to marry me?” The disbelief was evident in her voice.

“Hai, Sakura… chan. If you’ll have me.”

The endearment fell from his lips like sweet blossoms from a tree at the end of spring, and she couldn’t help but smile. “I accept.”

“Hontoni?” Now it was Sasuke’s turn to be pleasantly surprised. “You’d actually marry me?”

She nodded her assent shyly, blushing enough he could see her scalp redden at the part in her hair. He swiftly kissed her again, opening his mouth to drink her in. She parted her lips for him, and he again tasted cherry, chocolate and mint. Groaning, he pushed against her slightly, leaning her back against the pillows, the weight of his torso gently pressing down on her own.

Everything about her felt so good. Every inch of his body that touched her felt like it was being assaulted with fire and ice. His hands cupped her face, tilting it for a better angle, and he felt her moan vibrate against his lips.

He traced a line across her cheek and down her throat with his kisses; her next moan tickled his mouth as he licked the skin over its source. He nearly went insane as her hands softly caressed his ears, gently guiding his lips back to hers.

A knock at the door sent him jerking upright, catching her wrists in his hands, startled.

Blushing, Sakura tried to speak, but her tongue refused to cooperate. Looking to Sasuke, her eyes begged him to help her. He cleared his throat in an attempt to comply, but his voice sounded strange to his ears. “Come in!”

His oddly choked voice made her laugh, relieving the tension as a nurse came in with a tray of food and Sasuke released Sakura’s wrists, shifting slightly to sit at a proper distance. “Oh, Uchiha-san, I didn’t know you were in here,” the nurse beamed at them both, glad that her two most melancholy charges seemed to be over that phase.

Sasuke shrugged. “My teammate needed me,” was his short reply.

“Would you like your lunch here, or should I leave it in your room?” she inquired, setting Sakura’s tray on the table and helping the girl sit up to properly address her food, which was rather bland so as to be easy on her tender stomach.

He looked to the pink haired kunoichi questioningly, and fortunately, she interpreted the glance correctly. “He can stay, if he wants to.”

Sasuke nodded to the nurse, who, still grinning, brought a second tray in, this one containing a hearty soup, fit for someone who still had a bruised windpipe. The couple waited in silence for her to leave, which she did with the admonition that they eat up.

The aroma of Sasuke’s soup made her mouth water, and she regarded the tasteless gruel before her with nearly hidden disgust. He saw through her façade, however, and held up a spoonful of his soup.

She stared at him, uncomprehending for a moment. He sighed, and motioned a little with the spoon. “I’m getting sick of this stuff; it’s all they’ve let me have for the last week. You eat it.”

Slowly, hesitantly, she opened her mouth, letting him feed her, her face flushing even darker than before. He was surprisingly tender, carefully maneuvering the spoon for her with each bite, until the soup was entirely gone. She stared at the empty bowl, mildly horrified that she’d just polished off his lunch. “Gomen, Sasuke-kun. I didn’t mean to eat it all.”

He shrugged, having secretly enjoyed having the excuse to watch her eat. Her mouth captivated him like nothing he’d ever seen before, and watching her waste her warmth on the cold steel of his spoon was intoxicating. The slight smile that had crept over his face got a little more mischievous as he picked up her bowl and quickly downed the cheesy grits he found there.

Her blush grew deeper still, watching him eat with the same spoon she had just used, though she attempted to play it off as concern over the food swapping. “Sasuke-kun! Are you sure you want to be eating that?”

He shrugged, hungry enough after the emotionally draining previous twenty-four hours that he didn’t care if he was eating moldy bread. Finishing the bowl full, he smiled up at her. “I’ll take you out to eat for dinner, if they’ll let us. You need real food if you’re going to get back your strength.”

Sakura smiled shyly at him, amazed that he was asking her on a date, even if they were engaged. “You don’t have to,” she tried to refuse, not wanting to burden him.

“I do if I don’t want to eat here anymore, and I’m not leaving you here without me. Besides, like you said, you haven’t been getting enough to eat for months. We need to fix that.”

He would not let her refuse, and would not tell her which restaurant he wanted, forcing her to choose. She finally settled on a restaurant she had frequented in the past, as it had decent dumplings at a reasonable price. Sasuke started to tease her about her love for dumplings, purposely leaving the door wide open in several places for her to exact her revenge. After a few minutes she finally realized that it was okay, and soon was giving better than he.

~~~~*~~~~

Naruto’s return found them both laughing, Sasuke far more sedately than Sakura, but it was still shocking to see him laugh in anything but a derisive manner. Even more astounding was the look he gave Sakura once he noted Naruto’s presence. “Do you want to tell him, or shall I?” Sasuke whispered to his intended before their teammate got close enough to hear.

“You,” she responded just as quietly before smiling up at the blonde.

“Naruto,” Sasuke began, but was unsure of how to continue until he glanced at Sakura’s smiling face. “We’ve got something to tell you.”

“Oh? Nani?” He cocked his head to the side. “Nani, nani, nani?”

“I asked Sakura-chan to marry me.”

Naruto took the news surprisingly well. And when Kakashi entered the room a few minutes later, he cheerfully blurted it out as though nothing was wrong. Sakura knew better. She could see the tears that Naruto refused to cry, but she couldn’t bring that up in front of Kakashi and Sasuke. Naruto would never admit to a weakness in front of them.

“Are you sure about this?” Kakashi questioned the couple. “You’re not just doing it to cover up other problems, are you?”

Sasuke shook his head. “We’re sure. We’ve been sure for a while; it just took me getting a two-by-four to the head to see it.”

Sakura giggled at the mental image, a sound which warmed the hearts of all the men in the room, and Kakashi could find no further grounds for objection. “When do you plan on doing this?”

Having no clue what all a wedding entailed, Sasuke had to defer to Sakura for that one. “Well, I’d like to have it as soon as possible, but my parents would object. I’m their only daughter, after all,”

Kakashi nodded wisely, and Naruto followed suit, though he had no clue what she meant.

“Why is that important for timing?” Sasuke asked, sincerely confused.

She looked at him quizzically for a moment, then smiled. “Because, you goof, my parents only have one daughter to throw a wedding for. My whole life they’ve been talking about how they want to give me this huge wedding, and how they’ve been putting aside money for it since the day I was born. But it will take time to arrange a wedding like that, with the dress, and the flowers, and everything else.”

For the first time, Sasuke realized what an enormous undertaking he had just agreed to, and looked to Kakashi for help. “Oh, no,” their sensei replied, “I am having no part in this. I’ll show up, eat your food and drink your sake, but that’s it!”

Sakura giggled, Sasuke looked pained, and Naruto attempted to appear wise and fooled no one. “Well,” the young Uchiha said at last, “at least money won’t be an object.”

Sakura’s face fell a little bit at that comment, and he hastened to explain. “I meant, if there’s anything you want for the wedding that your parents can’t afford, I can cover it.”

“Sasuke,” Kakashi warned, “I don’t think you realize what you’re offering.”

The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes at his sensei. “I am the heir to the entire Uchiha Clan. There were several hundred people that died that night, and even after all of their debts were paid off, it didn’t even dent the lump sum. I haven’t touched that money for twelve years.” He looked a little sad as he said it, but then smiled at Sakura. “I think it’s time we did. Don’t you?”

She smiled, relieved, but then her grin turn slightly evil, and he raised an eyebrow in response. “Oh,” she replied to his silent question, “I’m just imagining the dress my mother will insist on now.”

All four of them laughed at that, and the conversation continued along that line, playful banter back and forth, Kakashi and Naruto regaling the couple with wedding accidents and horror stories, while they teased their sensei about his state of bachelorhood, and Naruto about a certain girl who liked him. That last was especially fun, because he didn’t believe them at first, and when he finally did, they wouldn’t tell him who it was.


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Long time, no write. I am very sorry, dear readers. If you read the author's notes on the last chapter, you'll remember that my co-author, Lenera, had a serious run in with CO poisoning. We were hoping the effects would wear off in a week or two, but that does not appear to be the case. Unfortunetely, it is becoming aparent that she has permanent neurological damage. How severe, we've yet to determine, but it is causing her a great deal of grief. So thank you for your patience as we continue to struggle with this matter. And please, please, please get a carbon monoxide detector for every floor of your home, if you don't have one already. It is an experience best avoided at all costs.
Anyway, sorry to be all somber. It's been a long day and I'm worried for my friend. I hope you all have a great day and good reading!

Crimson Iris