Learning to Beg Sasuke's POV

Disclaimer: I’m damned sure Naruto don’t belong to me. Yup, yup, yup. It belongs to creator and mastermind Masashi Kishimoto-sama (Does anyone else think I’m kissing ass? Yeah… I thought so…)

Author’s Note: Yay! We have Shonen Jump down here at California! Finally, I get to have some decent manga! Well, even though I’ve only read the first chapters of Naruto I have to say, I love it! I’m rooting for Sasuke/Sakura pairing but that doesn’t seem to happen any time soon, does it? Well, I felt the need to find good fanfics, but failed, and found very little Naruto fanfics, websites, and images. Only Japanese sites, which is sad really, since I have no drop of Japanese in my veins. Luckily, I came to my trusty and found some good fanfics. Most of them, however, are Sasuke/Naruto, which is sort of disturbing, and a very limited amount of Sasuke/Sakura. After reading a particularly good one, Learning to Beg by Uchiha Nyu I became inspired. I liked the fic so much I decided to write it on Sasuke’s P.O.V. (Uchiha Nyu’s is written in Sakura’s P.O.V.) So now, thanks to Uchiha Nyu-chan, who’s letting me post it, I present you Learning to Beg, on Sasuke’s POV! Enjoy!

Rating: Considering the nature of this fic, and after much consideration from Uchiha Nyu-chan and me, we’ve decided to put a PG rating on this fic. Nothing to worry about, just a bit of insinuation but nothing concrete you dirty minded people!

Summary: It takes place before the Chûnin exam. (When that happens, don’t ask me, I haven’t read that far yet!) It’s supposed to be overly sappy and fluffy, so if you don’t like fluff, stay back, I warned you! Be warned lots and lots of sweet fluff ahead, if you suffer from molar, incisor, or fang problems, the author refuses to pay any dentist bills that may be caused by the reading of sugary SasuSaku fics. Don’t complain, I warned you properly. Oh, and before I forget, there’s out-of-character-ness in this fic, so don’t complain.

Learning to Beg

Author: Brianna Darknight

(Sasuke’s POV)

By: Brianna Darknight The Angel of Darkness

Inspired by: Uchiha Nyu-chan’s Learning to beg. (Sakura’s POV)

It had been a hard task to leave her in the morning. The inviting warmth of her body, her engulfing scent of cherry petals, and the idea that she would be able to liberate me of my loneliness; made me hesitate, upon leaving her side.

I could not stay.

I could not give her false hopes of feelings I was unsure of. I would not be so cruel as to do that, for just a few more moments of peace, warmth, and… love.

That’s why, hesitantly, I lifted my arms off her small and soft body and proceeded to leave. Unconsciously, her body clutched against me after being denied comfort and warmth. When I had risen, however, I made sure her body was snugly covered with the blankets. My hand ventured up to the soft skin of her cheek, but I could not bring myself to caress her.

I could not be so cruel to her!

I was trying unsuccessfully to smooth my unruly black hair, looking at myself in her mirror, when I noticed a dusty hair dryer sitting on the dresser. On impulse, I reached to touch it, as well as all the other trinkets on top of that dresser. I wanted to hear the stories behind them:

Why that hair dryer was unused?

What those silly little bottles of color were?

Not today, however, maybe I would learn about this some other time… maybe, just maybe.

Walking up to her door and giving her one last look; I left. The door remained open as witness and proof of my departure.

My walk home was uneventful and… cold.

Now that for the first time, I had experienced what it was to have warmth, the morning seemed cold. I arrived home too quickly, it seemed. As I was lost in confusing thoughts and emotions and feelings I had never felt before had began to arise. I could not identify what these feelings meant however.

I longed to be with her, speak to her, laugh with her, and so many other things. The thought of loosing her would be unbearable and it brought a pang to my heart that left me breathless.

I could not let that happen.

I would let no one hurt her.

It did not matter that she was a strong Genin and could clearly protect herself. I still felt a need to keep her safe.

“Why?” I asked myself softly as I entered my house, “Why do I want to protect her so badly?” Puzzled as I was, I decided to shower quickly and leave to meet, Kakashi-sensei, even if he was be as late as usual. After taking a brief shower and dressing in a clean training outfit; I left home.

A cool morning greeted me and the fresh breeze seemed to clear my troubled mind. The first rays of gold and red were visible in the horizon as the sun rise approached, making the path lighter and easier to see. I was walking faster than usual, I noticed, as suddenly the bridge came in to view. My heart sank when I didn’t see her there, already waiting.

Pulling my cold hands inside my pockets, I slowed my pace now that I had made sure she was not there yet. I looked down at the ground thinking.

What do I tell her? What do I say? My mind ran with different options as what to say. Nothing, however, appeared fitting. Last night… last night… even as confusing as it was, had happened; and I had to say something to keep myself from thinking it was only dream.

I looked up from my feet. Only to be greeted by the glorious sight of her walking toward the bridge. She, as well, seemed to be lost in thought, looking at the ground she walked upon. Her hands squeezed together, wringing nervously. My heart, I noticed, soared with happiness at her sight, and I had to stop myself from running to her side to meet her. This brought me new baffling questions.

What had made me want to run and greet her?

What would my running to her have accomplished?

Why had I stopped myself?

I let out an exasperated sigh and closed my eyes. The road was so familiar, I did not fear stumbling nor falling. I simply walked, my eyes closed, my hands still in my pockets, to lean against the usual spot on the bridge. The old wooden boards of the bridge groaned under my weight. They seemed to creak louder under my every step, as if my heavy confusion added weigh to my stride. Her hurried steps caught my attention, yet I remained there, calmly leaning against the wood, my eyes unopened. I feared, my seeing her once more, might make me do something I’d regret. I felt an unexpected pang in my heart, as I heard her greeting, in a would be cheerful voice.

“Ohayou, Sasuke-kun.” Her voice, I observed, trembled a bit.

Do I dare look at her? I asked myself, slowly opening my eyes and turning my face to see her.

“Aa…” I greeted back and rapidly closed my eyes once more.

NO. I could not look at her yet, I needed to calm myself first. I needed to figure out what all this mixed-up feelings inside me meant and then I would be able to look to her properly.

Hoping I did not offend her with my monosyllabic greeting, for the last thing I wanted to do now is hurt her, but I could not risk doing something foolish.

Not after last night…

Last night…

Every year, I dreaded the coming of this day. Yet, as I had sorely come to realize over the years, time did not stop, quickened, nor skipped at one’s will. However, though it did not seem logically possible, I was willing to bet it did the contrary. Time seemed to slow when you whished it went fast. Of course, when you wished it to quicken, it would slow down.

Naruto, my teammate, had left to the Ichiraku, with Iruka-sensei, to eat some ramen. A chuckle almost left my lips. Naruto and his one-track mind, thinking of nothing else but ramen throughout the day. Kakashi-sensei had as well departed somewhere, but I could not care less. The only one that remained there was Sakura. Maybe she would leave, or maybe my ignoring her would get rid of her.

Grateful for the uneventful morning and a quiet night I hoped would follow, I sat silently reminiscing on events that happened long ago. Agonizing memories of death and torture from my past began to resurface as they did every year. That’s when her voice broke my train of thought.

“Ne, Sasuke-kun, what’s bothering you?”

I contemplated the answer. I could be cold, mean, and distant, breaking her spirit, and making her leave. Did I want to be alone, though? Something inside said no. I didn’t want to be alone, not again, not tonight. I hesitated, yet answered firmly.

“It’s nothing.”

Maybe she had noticed my overstated coldness throughout the day, my silence during training, or my lack of focus in the mission. The gleaming gash on my right cheek the cat had made was proof of that. All in all, she had noticed and read my distress with the small hints I gave. I was thankful that she cared enough about me to notice. I took my usual brooding position, but she did not leave. She stood there, administering unspoken support, even if she hadn’t noticed. Finally she sighed defeated.

A few minutes passed before she made another sound.

She punched a fist into her palm and let out a lively, “I know!” A bit startled, I wondered what she knew. “Ne, Sasuke-kun? I have a little favor to ask of you.” She said brightly turning to see me.

Intrigued, I straightened my back and looked at her. I blinked questioning.

“Hmm? Nani?” I felt not in the mood for an sinuous conversation.

She looked into my eyes before answering, and I noticed a faith blush adorn her cheeks. “Can you help me train?”

I blinked once more, again, and again.

Of anything I had been expecting, training, came as a surprise. Had she not noticed my lack of focus whilst we trained? And here I thought she had noticed it. However, training would sufficiently rid me of the torturing night that followed, so with a small nod, I agreed. Maybe she would be able to tire me enough and I would have a dreamless night when I finally left home.

Nothing could have prepared me for what followed…

“Iya… that’s not it…” I gasped. “Itai… ughh… Sakura…” I breathed her name silently. “--yamerou.. Itai da yo! Aahh… ugh. Fft…ah!”

“It’s not any of these… how about this one?” She asked touching the next one.

“OI! What do you think you’re… ah! Hey, yame-- ugh!” I gasped once more. “Ita… itai… itai yo… Saku--RA!”

When she had mentioned training, I had not realized she meant acupuncture training. Now, after an hour of using me like a pincushion, she had hit the wrong pressure point and paralyzed me completely, and it hurt too! I managed to roll on my side to try to ease the pain. I found, painfully, that only augmented the torture, so I rolled back to my stomach.

At first, it had been pleasurable. The stress and anxiety was leaving my body, and I felt extremely calm, as I hadn’t felt in a long time. I was relaxed and softly drifting to a stupor, lying on her cool bed, shirtless, her soft hands carefully piercing needles to my skin.

Oh, but the excruciating pain that followed was unnerving.

“I… I’m so sorry, Sasuke-kun!” I heard her whisper the apology from above me. “I’ll take them all out now. Then you should be able to move again.” She said soothingly, her voice guilt-ridden. With excruciatingly patience and care, she began the task of extracting the needles off my back. I relaxed my body, knowing that if I moved or jerked, I ran the risk of being killed!

“I’m really sorry, Sasuke-kun.” She voiced another apology as she was about to remove the last needle. Her warm fingers brushed softly against my skin as she did so, sending a wave of delight down my spine. It was more than delight, it was ticklish, it made me want to laugh.

“Ha.” I jerked, actually cowered, hoping she had not noticed how sensible the spot she had just touched was. I was able to restrain a fit of senseless laughter. I bit her pillow for strength. She was quiet for a moment and I only hoped she had not noticed.

“Sasuke-kun…” Her voice was incredulous. “Are you… ticklish?” She whispered amazed trailing a her fingers down my spine.

She had noticed!

She had noticed!

Help me God!

I let out a jovial laugh that sounded strange even to me.

“I KNEW IT!” She exclaimed in satisfaction.

“Yose! Oi…” I could not stop laughing. “Hahaha… Sakura!” It was even hard to breathe. “Yame-- Hahahah… YAMERO…..”

She continued her tickling and proving, making me come to the point of squirming, crying and… begging her to stop. My attempts were fruitless however, and soon, I was trying to take revenge by tickling her as well. She was ticklish in her sides, and stomach, but mostly in the abdomen, which gave me the advantage, as I was taller and heavier than her.

Our battle lasted for an eternity, it seemed.

In the end, we both panted heavily, lying side by side, on her bed, our eyes closed. My shirt lay on the chair, folded nicely. I tried to recover it, yet, exhausted, I let it fall and fell back at her side. I cradled my aching stomach, even breathing made it ache, I had given up trying to retrieve the shirt. It felt good being at her side, in such intimacy. I groaned tiredly, turning to her I noticed she had fallen asleep, a smile brightened her features. After a moment of silent watching, my eyelids became heavy and I started drifting into the early stupor. I fell asleep, right by her side, for what seemed only a couple of minutes, when in reality it had been half an hour.

I stood promptly when I awoke, noticing the time on the alarm clock set on her dresser. I tried to smooth my hair while pulling my shirt on, but failed. She, as well, had awoken, a puzzled look in her face.

“Sasuke-kun…?” She asked in a small voice. “Something wrong?”

I thought for a moment. Wanting, strangely as it seemed, to kiss her for helping me tonight. I waked over to her, determined to plant a kiss upon those rosy-half-opened lips, yet in the end, in my cowardice and insecurity, I ended up patting her hair as I sat next to her on the bed.

“Arigatou, Sakura.” I voiced in a small whisper standing up. She looked at me confused, but I was sure she had heard me.

“Huh? I didn’t really do anything…” She said in disbelief, “Really!” She exclaimed as I turned to look at her once more. “I just screwed up my acupuncture and--”

“I know you were aware that something was on my mind tonight.” I cut her. “But you cheered me up without asking what it was.” I looked into those bright green orbs. “Why is that?”

She looked down at the rose patterned sheets on her bed before answering.

“Because…because I knew you didn’t want to talk about it and I… I didn’t want… to upset you even more.” She said looking back at me.

I thought about it for a moment. I wanted to thank her somehow, not just with a simple word, “Arigatou…” yet it felt that was all he could say.

“Don’t worry about it!” She said in a lighter voice, “After all, Sasuke-kun, you know how I feel for you. I’d do anything for you.” She swallowed forcefully and then continued. “Ne, what do you think do you think about me?”

“Hmm?” She caught me by surprise, “ What do you mean?” I looked into her eyes once more.

“I mean… I was wondering… do you… would you ever care about me… the way I care about you?” She asked timidly.

I was unsure of my feelings, I wanted to rush and do things I knew I would regret if I didn’t think about it carefully.

“I’m sorry! I know this isn’t the right sort of question to ask and if--”

“Maybe.” I cut her, hoping it would sound reassuring enough.

“Huh?” She asked startled.

“Well, I don’t really know how I feel for you. Tonight… tonight really confused me, but it’s okay.” I said as I noticed her smile faltering. “Really. It’s okay.” I tried once again to reassure her. “ You’ve done a lot for me. Arigatou. I was thinking too much again… About things… anniversaries of certain slaughters… I though this year would be as lonely as it always was whenever the anniversary of the Uchiha massacre comes around… but you came along… and I wasn’t alone for once… and for that… I thank you.” I reached for her door, feeling better than ever, however not wanting to leave to quickly. It was over. I could not ask more of her.

“Wait!” She yelled before I went too far. I turned to see her. “Can you stay here? Just for tonight?” Her cheeks became a soft pink color. “I don’t want you to be lonely…” She whispered at last blushing more brightly. I thought only for a moment.

“Fine.” She looked up at me surprised and pleased. “But in the morning, I won’t be here anymore.” I explained.

She nodded eagerly.

I took her in my arms, her body soft and warm against mine. My shirt lay on the floor in a bundle. I noticed how perfectly she fit against me. She smelled of cherry petals, I noticed as well. Her skin was soft and warm. Her pink hair soft to the touch. I had never in my life felt so safe, so peaceful, and so loved.

It had been a hard task to leave her in the morning.

Now, she leans against the rail opposite to me thinking, most likely about the events of the night before.

Naruto’s voice reaches my ears. I turn to look at him. He runs joyfully towards Sakura.

“OHAYOU SAKURA-CHAN!”

“Eeep!” Is her only response.

That’s when it comes to me. Just the right words to reassure her and myself about what had happened last night.

“Don’t tell him!” I whisper to her.

“Huh? Tell him what?” She looks at me in disbelief.

“Don’t anyone that I’m ticklish. Or where I’m ticklish.” I respond in a playful tone. She graces me with a bright smile, hope shining in her bright green eyes.

“Huh?” She asks still confused.

“It’s a secret between us two alone.” I wink at her. Her face brightens with a soft pink color.

“Hai!” She answers brightly before our teammate approaches us.

I smile while she’s not looking. Naruto is trying to catch her attention.

Too bad, Naruto-kun, I think to myself as they begin to talk. You’re going to have to find another girl to lust after. Sakura-chan is taken! I let out a soft chuckle and they turn to see me.

“What kind of ramen did you say you had yesterday, Naruto?” I ask drifting the conversation to my friends favorite topic. “Because I had something better than ramen last night!”

Maybe… just maybe…

Author’s 2nd Note: Well, did you like it? I’m so happy for myself! I actually ended my first one-shot, first Naruto fanfic! Yay! Well, all you have to do, is review now, tell me how it was! Oh and Arigatou, Uchiha Nyu-chan!