Man of Honor

This is kind of a prologue to Anniekins's 'Disenchanted'. Do not read this OneShot until after you've read 'Disenchanted' because, really, you won't understand it all that much. So go read it ya poops!

幻滅を感じさせる

Sasuke was always there for Sakura.

He was there when she had broken her leg during the fifth grade camping trip. He'd helped her brace it and even held her crutches and books for the next two months of her ineptness.

He was there when she auditioned for the Romeo and Juliet play in freshman year. He'd gone through Romeo's lines with her for the next three months of rehearsal (although he had turned down her insistence that he play Romeo).

He was there at Karin's Valentine's Day Keg Bash in junior year when Sakura was ridiculed for being boyfriendless on "the most important couples day of the year". He'd selflessly pretended to be her significant other the rest of the party (and he'd even kissed her in front of everyone to prove it which gave Karin a heart attack and Sakura her reputation back).

He was also there on her eighteenth birthday when she took him aside, kissed him shyly a second time, and told him she loved him.

Sasuke was, without a doubt, Sakura's best friend. He knew her dreams (to publish a gigantic novel documenting her life) and career plans (surgeon) and the five different kinds of laughs she had (one for awkward moments, one for polite moments, one for hysterical moments, one for creepy moments and one for happy moments) and her favorite days of the week (Mondays and Saturdays) and her pet peeves (wrinkled papers, people who wear denim tops with denim bottoms, liars, hypocrites and tangled headphone cords) and her funny quirks (squinting during uncomfortable moments, standing on the tips of her toes when bored, eating burgers with a fork and knife and eating only the red Starbursts). He knew her best.

And Sasuke loved her.

But he was not in love with her.

-幻滅を感じさせる

Sakura blows a few strands of her long hair out of her face and her cute eyebrows crinkle together slightly as she focuses on a loose piece of paper resting atop the thick textbook in her lap.

The Situation Game

Objective: To solve the situation/riddle by only asking yes/no questions.

Situation/Riddle: A man is on the stairs when he suddenly realizes his wife is dead. What happened here?

Sakura frowns, drumming the table with her fingers as she ponders.

"Did he see her die?" she inquires lightly.

Sasuke, sitting across from her in the little café table, sips his mug of coffee and says, "No."

They are supposed to be reviewing Biology and Psychology (and maybe, if they can fit it, some Calculus) but Sakura loves these brainteasers so much and Sasuke always comes up with the best ones.

"Did she get murdered?"

"No."

"Are they old?"

"Irrelevant."

"Does he love her?"

Sasuke pauses, glancing at Sakura, whose gaze is still on the paper bearing the riddle. "Yes."

Sakura reaches across the table and, without looking up, wordlessly takes the large coffee from Sasuke's hand. He doesn't say anything either as she sips it deeply. They always share coffee because, with her, he's not as reserved in the germ-swap factor.

"Is she definitely dead?" Sakura continues.

"Yes."

"Did she die of natural causes?"

"No."

"Are they at home?" Sakura asks, finally looking up. Sasuke smiles. She's got it.

"No," he answers, preparing himself for the final bullet of questions.

"Hospital," Sakura says, this time alert and strong. She grins.

"Yes."

"Did a natural disaster hit the hospital?"

"No."

"Did anyone else die?"

"Probably."

"Does she have cancer?"

"Irrelevant."

"A life-or-death disease?"

"Yes."

"Was she hooked up to a machine?"

"Yes," he says.

"Life support," Sakura concludes, snapping her fingers. "Tch, duh. The power in the hospital went out while the man was on the stairs and it was then that he had this realization."

Sasuke rolls his eyes and turns back to his own textbook.

"Good," he congratulates her dryly, "Study time."

Sakura gives him a small, secretive smile and delves into her Biology.

幻滅を感じさせる

Sasuke had always been her ideal boyfriend.

He was smart, sweet (in his own, monotonous way), and he understood her. He took her in when she showed up at his doorstep at fourteen and supported her decision to emancipate herself from her bickering, uncaring parents.

They'd signed their Otagakure University applications at the same time and had gone dorm shopping together. He'd even paid for her tuition (or whatever was left as Sakura'd gotten a huge scholarship).

But Sasuke did not kiss her again.

He couldn't. It wouldn't have been fair to let her think that she could be winning his romantic affections when, in fact, she wasn't.

But he did stay her friend. He cleared the awkward air whenever someone mistook them for a couple. He was honest, but not unkind and not once did Sakura hate him for being so.

幻滅を感じさせる

"Oh, I forgot to tell you what happened, like, ten minutes ago," Sakura asks, turning a page and dog-earing it. She glances up at Sasuke to see if he's listening. Of course he is.

"What?" he asks.

Sakura leans in and her gaze strays over to a table a little ways away. Naruto, Hinata, and a brown-haired-leather-jacketed boy are all seated together. She gestures to them.

Sasuke sneaks a furtive glance. "What?"

Sakura frowns a bit. "That guy over there. I think he tried to hit on me when I came in here."

"What?" Sasuke now looks a little appalled

"Could you say something else other than, 'What'?" Sakura teases.

"What happened?"

"We reached for the entrance door at the same time and he grabbed my hand and then asked if he could call me sweetheart." She sticks out her tongue and crinkles her nose to show her distaste.

"What did you do?"

"Just said sorry. And that I was meeting someone already."

Sasuke glances at the other table again. "Well, he can't be a complete moron if he's with Naruto and Hinata."

"I suppose. But come on. He tried to use a pickup line on me."

"…with Sasuke and Sakura-chan!"

Both of them look up as their names are spoken and, almost guilty for gossiping, Sakura smiles politely back at Naruto in recognition as he starts to make his way toward their table.

"I hope he trips on his way here," Sasuke mutters and the pink-haired girl laughs in reply.

幻滅を感じさせる

Sasuke realized she wasn't delicate after a while of being afraid to hurt her feelings.

Somehow, he'd always known, but he had to take precautions.

He liked having her around. She was a fantastic companion; dare he say it, his best friend. Everyone else could talk all they want. They weren't a couple but they made quite a pair.

Maybe, in the near future, Sakura would find someone to romantically love and they, in turn, would return the feelings. Sasuke would be more than willing to go through tons of post-breakup pep talks and tons of pints of Ben and Jerry's and tons of Kleenex boxes and tons of viewings of The Notebook just so long as she kept moving forward. He knew she would find someone someday; it was Sakura after all.

幻滅を感じさせる

The two look up as Naruto slaps his hands down on their table, causing the one shared cup of coffee to quiver.

"Come join us over there you brainiacs," he insists. "Oh, and you can meet Hinata-chan's new date!"

Sasuke and Sakura exchange a look.

幻滅を感じさせる

He will be there at her wedding. He will probably sit through dinner rehearsals and dress-fittings and flower-pickings and menu-plannings. He will be the one to make the, "Sakura, I am so happy for you," speech and mean it the most. He will be the one to wear the tuxedo and, hell, she can make the tux purple. He will wear just for her.

And then, he will make sure that her husband is the damn most respectable, perfect man in her life (well, second-perfect after himself) because no one deserves it more than Haruno Sakura.

Sasuke cannot be her boyfriend or future husband because he doesn't love her that way.

But he is, was, and forever will be the first in line for her man of honor.

幻滅を感じさせる

"Kiba, meet Sasuke and Sakura."

"We've met," Sakura says shortly, sending Kiba a withering stare.

Once upon a time.

幻滅を感じさせる

I'm a total diehard for SasuSaku but…this story made me love Kiba.

I guess you could consider it a prologue? It weaves in with the first scene of Disenchanted. I whipped it up within a day (and edited slowly throughout a couple of weeks after that) so it's kind of rough but I hope you like it, Anniekins!

Oh, and those Situation Game Brainteasers are so amazing. I discovered them this past holiday break. THEY ARE SO FREAKIN' FUN TO PLAY WITH YOUR FRIENDS.

(And according to Babel Fish Translator, '幻滅を感じさせる' means 'disenchanted'. Yes? No?)