Disclaimer applied.

A/N: I felt like updating this story. SasuSaku ftw.

P.S. FOR THOSE WHO BELIEVE IT’S LIKE ABSOLUTE BOYFRIEND…

I just want to say that you’ll be in for a surprise. :) That is all.

((Chapter Four))

“I told you that you didn’t have to make breakfast today!” The pink-haired female chided, an upset look in her eyes, “Didn’t I say I wanted to make breakfast for once?”

He winced a little, “…I forgot.” The table was once more filled with delicious bacon, eggs, and pancakes, “Next time?”

“Fine, next time. But please remember that.” She sighed before sitting herself down on the table, “Itadakimasu!” And she immediately indulged her food. Every now and then, she would glance up at him, her mind still on that event two days ago.

He gave her a glance, “…I want to re-introduce myself to you.”

“…Huh? What are you saying? Come on, it’s raining Sasuke! You can’t just stand here.”

“Please, let me.” His eyes seemed pleading, and she couldn’t help but give in.

“…Okay. But why?”

“Because I feel like I haven’t shown you the real me. And I…” He seemed hesitant, and she didn’t know why.

But she felt that it was important to him.

“…I’m Haruno Sakura!” He looked up at her, watching her drop her umbrella, a cheerful smile reaching her lips, “What’s your name?”

And a genuine smile appeared on his lips, “…Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke.”

“Well, I hope we get to know each other better then!”

And that was when she started to choke on her food. Her green eyes were wide when she had come to her revelation, and Sasuke’s eyes widened a bit too when she had started to choke on her food, “Sakura…?”

“I-It’s nothing.” She gave a fake smile, “Don’t worry about it!” And she continued to munch happily until his doubtful eyes looked away. She sighed inwardly before thinking back. Now she knew why she named him Sasuke!

The week before she found him, there was a newspaper article on the Uchiha Company and how the manager’s youngest son had been in a coma since he was twelve. She had seen a picture of the young boy who had an angry pout on his face as his older brother was teasing him, and she couldn’t help but think that Sasuke looked like…well, the little Sasuke. But what he had said two days ago…

“…Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke.”

She shook her head, her mind in a frantic. He had said UCHIHA. That was his real name. Uchiha Sasuke. But that was impossible if that little boy was still in a coma.

“Hey Sasuke…?”

“Hm?” He looked up from his food, watching her a bit curiously, “What?”

“…Never mind. I lost my thought.” She lied giving a nervous laugh, “I feel really out of it today.”

“…I can tell.” There was a smirk on his face.

“Oh yea, do you have anywhere to go today?” She asked cheerily, changing the subject, “If you don’t, come grocery shopping with me.”

“I have to meet up with someone.” There was an apologetic look in his eyes.

“Oh, alright.” She sounded a bit disappointed, “Well, if that’s the case, don’t be out too late, alright?”

“Sure.”

xXx What you got now, you got to give it up. xXx

“Hmm…I wonder what he’d want to eat tonight…” She thought out loud as she browsed the aisles. Her basket was half-way full, and she had wanted to make something absolutely delicious for him. She turned a bit red at that thought. She had never felt like this…

None of it was like the manga books she had read before. Suddenly, she reached a revelation, “I…haven’t read manga…in like…two weeks!” She looked astonished, her hands on the sides of her face, “…Oh my God…I’ve gotten off of my addiction. Thanks to…him.” She gave a soft smile, “Well, I guess he is pretty useful…oof!”

She was so caught up in her thoughts; she hadn’t noticed that she had bumped into someone, “I’m sorry!” She apologized. She looked up to find a man with unusual hair and a scarf around his neck and mouth.

“It’s not a problem.” He spoke a bit gruffly behind the scarf. An eye patch covered one of his eyes, and the way he dressed made Sakura worry a little. His eye widened a little when he noticed who he had ran into, “…Sakura Haruno…” He murmured under his breath.

“…? Do I know you?” She asked with a confused look on her face, “How do you know my name?”

“…” He sweat dropped, wanting to hurt himself for saying the name out loud, “…Let’s just say, I know Sasuke.”

“…you do!?” She immediately grabbed onto the sleeves of his coat, “You know Sasuke?”

“Uh…yeah.” He looked a bit uncomfortable; he felt a bit intimidated by the look she was giving him, “Is there a problem?”

“Oh no!” She let go, realizing she probably frightened him by her sudden outburst, “It’s just…can I talk to you?” She asked earnestly. Finally, she has found someone that might tell her a little bit about Sasuke.

“…Hmm…” The older man pondered, “Why is that?”

“I want to know more about Sasuke. About Sasuke being an Uchiha. And his family.” She looked determined.

“…Alright.” They stood still for a second, just staring at one another.

“Err..Actually, could I finish my shopping first?” She laughed a bit embarrassingly. The silver-haired man sweat dropped. Was this really the girl…?

xXx The old me is dead and gone. xXx

They walked their way to the park, side-by-side. She slowed down a bit, and he took this as his cue to turn around and wait for her question, “…What’s your name? You know mine, but I don’t know yours yet.”

“Kakashi. Hatake Kakashi.”

“How do you know Sasuke?” There was a curious glint in her eyes.

“I watch over him. Sort of like…a bodyguard.” He shrugged, “I’ve been under the Uchiha household for more than half my life. They made me the person I am.”

“…I see. They sound nice.” Sakura thought out loud.

“They are pretty weird parents to have. I can see why Sasuke is how he is. Same goes for his brother.”

“You mean Uchiha Itachi?”

“Yes. I’m guessing you read the news.” There was amusement in his voice, “How much do you know about Sasuke?”

“Hmm…nothing, basically. He doesn’t tell me anything.” She sighs, stuffing her hands in her pockets, “All I know is that he’s the same age as me, and that his parents don’t mind him staying with me.”

“I see…So he’s still hiding?” He murmured under his breath, “That’s very Sasuke-esque.”

“Really now?” She laughed, “The first impression of Sasuke…well, he was a bit arrogant and almost stubborn. But when I got to know him…I don’t know, he became so…”

“Lonely?”

“…Sort of. Yet, not really. It’s like he wants to tell me something, but he’s afraid to. I mean, I know there’s something about him that makes him different from everyone else.” Her emerald eyes stared up to the sky, “Sometimes, I wonder if God granted my wish.”

“…How so?”

“I remember, before I met Sasuke, I prayed to God. I asked God if He would send me someone…anyone that would get me out of this loneliness I felt. I would often read those sappy romance stories,” She was embarrassed, “And tell myself that even though I can’t find a love like that, I’d want someone to care for me, at least.” Then, a smile spread across her face, “And then…I found Sasuke. At first, I was shocked. I mean, it’s not every day you find a boy in a box, right?” She shook her head, “But then, I realized, he’s almost like me.”

“Ah…” His one eye stared at her, “…you seem to know him really well.”

“Eh? Really?” She scoffed, “To me, I don’t think so at all. I only know so much about him. I want to know more about him.”

“In other words, you’re interested in him as a person.”

Her face flushed red, “Well, I guess you could put it that way.”

Kakashi gave a small chuckle, “How adorable. Well, I’ll help you, since you’re cute.” He gave a wink at her.

“Really?”

“I’ll tell you what I can.” He sat down on a bench nearby and she followed suit, “Hmm…well, let’s see…Would you like to know about his parents?”

“I’d love to.” There was a grin on her face.

“Well, his mother is Uchiha Mikoto. She’s a very gentle, yet energetic lady. When you watch her interact with her two sons, you realize how much she cares for them. She gets excited over the littlest things. Then his father, Uchiha Fugaku, loves to tease Sasuke. I remember seeing Fugaku get on Sasuke’s nerves various times. It’s amusing.” Sakura could tell that his mouth was curved upwards, “Sasuke has a very loving family, I assure you.”

“Then…why would they just allow him to stay with me?”

“Because…you make him different.”

“…Huh?” She was a bit confused.

“Ever since Sasuke met you, he has become…well, different, in a good way. His parents saw him a few days ago and realized how much he has matured.”

“A few days ago…?” She said incredulously, “Wait…when!?”

“I believe two to three days ago.”

“Two to three days ago…” Then that meant that when she had found him at the park, he had just returned from seeing his parents, “Two to three days ago…he looked so sullen. He was standing out in the rain, and I tried to convince him to come back inside, but he refused to.”

“…And?”

“He said he wanted to re-introduce himself to me.” She spoke honestly, “To tell you the truth, I don’t understand. I still wonder why he said that to me. It’s like he’s trying to start over.”

“…So that’s what he did.” Kakashi laughed, “He re-introduced himself to you? I never expected that to happen.”

“Did…something go wrong with his parents?”

“Hmm…no, I wouldn’t say something went wrong. More like, Sasuke has reached a revelation of some sort.”

“I see…then I won’t delve any deeper into that.” She spoke softly, her hands on her knees.

“And why is that?”

“Well, he didn’t tell me he went to visit his parents in the first place. He must want to hide it for a reason.”

“I thought you said you wanted to know more about him.” He looked amused as he watched the girl struggle with herself.

“I know! But…it’s just, I don’t know. Sometimes, I really want to know, and sometimes, I don’t.” She admitted, “It’s hard with Sasuke.”

“I understand.” They sat there quietly as Sakura continued to think, and Kakashi waited for her to speak. A small noise made Sakura jump, and she watched him pull out a device, “…Huh, it’s already that time? Well, I’ll have to go now Sakura.” He stood up and Sakura followed, “It was nice chatting with you. Please continue to take care of Sasuke.”

“Ah…of course.”

“I made sure the groceries in the car were taken to your home, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Ah, I know! I don’t have to worry about such a thing.” She laughed, “Thank you Hatake-san. That really helped me.”

Sakura watched him walk away until he suddenly stopped and turned back around to face her, “Neh, Sakura…I just wanted to tell you a small hint.”

“…Hm?”

“Sasuke isn’t exactly Sasuke.”

A confused look appeared on her face, “…What?”

“Later,”

“Wait, what does that mean?” She knew he heard her, but he continued to walk away, “What…does that mean?” She whispered to herself, even more confused than before, “Sasuke isn’t Sasuke!?”

xXx Everyone’s a letdown it just depends on how far down they can go. xXx

“I’m back Sasuke!” She said in a cheery tone. She was taking off her shoes when Sasuke appeared at the door way, “How was your day?”

“…I got the groceries awhile back. Where were you?” He demanded. There was a look in his eyes that Sakura didn’t understand.

“I bumped into an old friend.” She said defensively, “No need to be so worried, Sasuke.”

He ran a hand through his hair, “…Whatever you say.” He shrugged, “Who goes grocery shopping for two hours?”

“Were you worried?” She asked, his back facing her.

His hand stilled in his hair, and he didn’t look back at her for awhile. His head slowly turned towards her, and she noted that his cheeks seemed a bit pink, “I was not.”

“You were!” She laughed, “Don’t worry, Sasuke! I wouldn’t just ditch you.”

“I wasn’t worried!” He retorted back clumsily, continuing his way, “Jeez, woman…”

As he disappeared from view, Sakura gave a loud and relieved sigh. For now, this Sasuke would do. She wouldn’t let Kakashi’s words get to her.

- END –

A/N: Did you enjoy it? There’s only around 3 to 4 chapters left of this story.