Thirty five minutes later, Haruno Sakura arrived and unhappily realized she was not being treated. Hinata had a big, cold, delicious-looking Caramel Frappuccino, Saul had a much smaller simple lemonade, and at her seat was just a cup of plain water. The man looked up at her with clear amusement.

"Why don't you have a seat?"

Sakura scowled. Still, she sat down.

The pink haired woman was notably much less animated now than what he had seen in the anime. She was kind of flat, downcast, in person. He guessed most of what he had seen from her was her trying her best around Sasuke. 

Saul nudged Hinata. Although she was nervous, they had discussed this in the thirty minutes prior. She needed to become more confident, and Sakura could use a woman to ease herself into the subject. Saul-kun was right there. She could do this!

"Hi S-Sakura chan. It's nice to meet you!"

Hinata looked back over to Saul, and he gave her an encouraging smile.

"Hello... Hinata." Sakura smiled. For a clan girl, she really didn't seem all that threatening. Guess not everyone was like Ino. 

"It wouldn't be good if I-I took too much of your time, right? Sakura, why do you like Sasuke-san?"

Why did she like Sasuke? Cha! She had literally every reason!

"Sasuke-kun is cool, smart, strong, handsome, I love how he is in every way! It's the best thing to watch him think; he's always so serious! Sasuke's absolutely PERFECT!"

She got really animated huh. Hinata looked like she was at a loss on how to continue, so Saul stepped in.

"What do you think he wants in a potential partner?"

Sakura paused. What he wants? She didn't really know, but she'd start with the basics. The pink haired girl began with a blush on her face.

"Well... Hehe. I'm sure he'd love a kind, sweet girl who'd do anything for him, right? I know he loves long hair. And-"

Sakura continued on and on, lost in her own fantasies. Saul was kind of tuning it out at this point, realizing she really knew absolutely nothing about Sasuke. He interrupted her incessant chatter. 

"Sakura, may I show you something? It's extremely important to know regarding Sasuke."

Saul formed the seals for the mind body palm. Time to start getting her used to the concept of him using Genjutsu on her.

Sakura was mostly ignorant of Genjutsu, not really having any experience with it other than when Kakashi-sensei showed her Sasuke dying. There was no one who'd really thought to actually teach a civilian ninja like her about it - the academy didn't even cover the basics. She believed it was limited to just showing illusions, so she readily agreed.

"About Sasuke-kun? Show me then."

"Hold out your hand."

Saul placed his palm, glowing purple and red, on top of hers. Suddenly she found herself outside the academy, watching a 12 or 13 year old Sasuke walk home with his parents. 

"What's the deal with showing me something like this, huh? This doesn't tell me anything; I know Sasuke-kun isn't an orphan."

Saul materialized next to her. 

"Sasuke is an orphan now. Well, it's not just limited to that."

"What do you mean?"

How could you be so oblivious about someone you 'liked'? The entire Uchiha clan had been wiped out for over five years now! No wonder the future Sasuke could never bear to stay at home with you - you always loved an idealized version of him. He was practically an outsider to his own wife!

Saul sighed. "If you ever asked Sasuke, he'd tell you. His parents were murdered."

Sakura was shocked. "What?"

Saul continued, "Not just his parents. The entire Uchiha clan, except for him, was wiped out. He became an orphan, just like Naruto."

Oh no, Sasuke-kun... Have you been suffering all this time? Suddenly she understood his goal, the one he mentioned to Kakashi-sensei. He wanted to kill a certain man. 

"Why? Why would someone do something like that!? That's horrible!"

Saul shook his head. He didn't exactly know how much information was released to the public, so he wouldn't say. He waved his hand again to show an image of Sasuke, cold faced, training desperately at the academy.

"Do you see the secret behind his 'genius?' Sasuke is a man motivated by revenge. All those things you mentioned about what he might want in a woman; they're irrelevant. He needs someone capable, someone who could help him get justice, retribution. Even Naruto is closer to someone he'd like than you."

His words hit Sakura like a punch in the gut. She knew she was useless. She couldn't even beat Ino, much less compared to someone like Naruto in terms of strength. But what was she supposed to do? She tried! She didn't have some special bloodline to rely on!

Then came the anger, the bruised ego. What right did he have to speak to her like this? Wasn't he just a civilian ninja too? Saul didn't have any right to make any of these points! He was even worse than her at the academy!

"So? Sasuke-kun still needs a home to come back to. A place to finally rest after all his hard work, someone to take care of him. I can do all of that! I'm better than that idiot Naruto for Sasuke, much less someone like you!"

Her response had almost nothing to do with his point; Saul could see Sakura was just grasping at straws now. The funniest part was, she was still 100% wrong!

"Are you sure about that? With my methods, I bet, without a shadow of doubt, that in one day of meeting Sasuke I could already get a better impression from him than he has of you! Want to give it a try?"

Sakura really wanted to call him out on the bluff. However on the inside, she was insecure. She already knew from the fight with Kakashi that she was the one holding the team back the most. Saul seemed so confident! Was he really just bluffing?

Sakura sighed. Naruto really knew who he was recommending, huh. 

"Ok Saul. Fine. I'll listen. What should I do to make Sasuke-kun like me?"

Saul shook his head. He snapped his fingers, and suddenly they were back in the coffee shop. He stood up and patted Hinata's shoulder. She stood up with him.

"W-wait! Where are you going? You have to tell me about Sasuke first!"

"I don't 'have' to do anything for you. I don't owe you anything, and you've already been incredibly rude."

"But Naruto-san... He said you owed him a favor. And he told you to help me. So tell me!!!"

"I can't see how Naruto benefits by seeing his crush with another man. I've already gone out of my way to come and see you - If you want my help you should at the very least be polite and respectful. And offer something in return - I'm not revealing anything to someone like you otherwise."

Sakura was completely red-faced, trying not to lose her temper. Someone like her? How DARE HE! 

She stood up abruptly, leaving the water on the table untouched. 

"I think that's enough. Actually, I'll do just fine pursuing Sasuke on my own. I don't need 'someone' like you to tell me what to do. I hope you have a nice day!"

Sakura stormed out of the coffee shop. Saul watched her spandex clad ass sway back and forth, jiggling with each rage filled stomp. He smirked. She'd come find him again later... At that time, he'd be able to bring his plans with Sakura to the second stage.

Author's Note: And so his plans with Sakura continue. Unlike Naruto's astronomical odds, Sakura actually has a chance of getting into a relationship with Sasuke as long as she stops being stupid about it and actually tries to convince him from an angle related to his goals or motivations. Saul of course does not want to see this happen. 

I've done some foreshadowing regarding the angle he's going to take with Sakura in the future. Once she's desperate she will come to him to learn. At that time she'll be most vulnerable to what he as in mind. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed the Ch!