A/N: Okay…

This story will notbe updated as soon as my others (not that those are updated on a daily basis either. sorry). This is just for when I get stuck on something and want to write or when I inspiration or need help or…other things like that. You know? You know, right? At least it's longer than most.

So, onward and upward!

This is AU (Alternate Universe)

Review, please. Thank you, fans and newcomers!

—****

Open mouthed gawk. Wide eyes. "He is mine," determined stare.

—****

Boring, boring, boring…, my inner droned on. I slumped farther into the palm of my hand. I had learned this already. There was so much not right with moving—especially moving to another country. Did Mom not know I was perfectly fine in Suna? Didn't I tell her I was doing good in school? That a "change in scenery," as she called it, would only hinder my progress? That I had been taking honors classes at home—where Gaara could tutor me if it was needed? Now I can't even talk to my "brother."

I missed Gaara. I missed my brother. Of course, he wasn't really my brother; we were just raised together. He was the closest thing to a brother I'd ever get, considering my mother's sexuality. The redhead was my lifeline when it came to my mom, when I wanted a laugh, or when I just needed a shoulder to cry on. He's about three years older than me.

And Temari, too. I missed her. It was my shoulder she used when she needed to cry. Mine was the ear she wined into about her day or about anything else. When we needed a day in the mall, we went with each other. She's five years older than I am.

Kankuro as well. Him and his puppets. I laughed under my breath. Honestly, one could not pull that boy away from those things. Some would say it was an unhealthy obsession, but his family—and that includes me—says it's just a childish thing some people never grow out of. I'll never grow out of my immature sticking-out-my-tongue attitude, Temari will never grow out of her shop-till-we-drop values, Gaara will never grow out of his death glower, and Kankuro will never grow out of his puppets, no matter his age—if he was my age, Gaara's age, Temari's age, or four years older than I am now.

Some silver-haired pervert—who thinks himself a teacher—walked around the front of the room, repeating a lesson my uncle had already taught. Said pervert seemed nice enough…but his voice was so effing soothing and I barely got any sleep last night! He was putting me to sleep. I know he's a perv because I saw him reading my uncle's brother's porn book.

I sighed and dug myself deeper into my palm. My pink locks fell to my green eyes. I eagerly put them behind my ear, glad to have something—anything—to do. Kami, take me out of my misery, I begged God.

Kakashi-sensei continued in his lazy tone, "And in the Renaissance, da Vinci invented the helicopter. But the technology needed…"

Yeah, yeah—wasn't invented yet to make it… Blah, blah, blah! What I wouldn't do to have Gaara at my side right now. At least he would make this bearable. A known face would make me less despondent. Frowning, I doodled Gaara's tattoo onto the margins of my notes. And then when I was done those awesome red things on his forehead, I went on to Temari's blue-green eyes. And Kankuro's always-there purple smirk. That dude was in love with face paint. I couldn't say I blamed him, it did work for him.

A gloved hand slammed down on my paper. I felt wimpy. Scared, my eyes counted the five white fingers that both had trapped my pencil and covered Temari's eyes. I whimpered softly and shrunk down in my seat. "Haruno Sakura…" he said my name slowly, as if wanting to draw out the most pain from my eyes that he could. Too bad I wasn't looking at him. "It seems we are missing a boyfriend. Are we?" He lifted the page from my desk, his one visible dark eye appraising the smirk, tattoo, and eyes.

"No, Kakashi-sensei," I muttered.

"Well then? Who are you drawing during my history class?"

I stared at the place where my page once laid. "Not one someone. Three someones. My family—the tattoo is my brother's…the eyes are my sister…the smirk is my other brother…" I mumbled lowly.

"Homesickness? Didn't they come with you?" Kakashi-sensei asked. I couldn't see his eyes, but his tone showed something like sympathy. I didn't want sympathy, but I wasn't going to lie either.

"No, sensei. They stayed in Suna." No need to tell him we weren't biologically related, right? If I was going to get sympathy, I might as well milk it.

"And why did you come?"

"I didn't want to leave Mom alone," I whispered. It was true. They had asked me to stay. The page lightly landed on my twirling fingers. I hadn't notice I started to play with them until the paper landed. I felt like Hinata. I missed Hinata. Shyly, I looked up to see Kakashi's soft eye.

"Don't doodle, Sakura-chan. You'll miss the lesson," he murmured. I smiled, happy to have no reproach. He was so nice, aside his lazy behavor. His eye hardened to the teacher stare he had given me at the beginning of the class. "Da Vinci's first name?"

"Leonardo."

"What did he work with?"

"Everything."

"Did you have this lesson before?"

"Yes."

"You are excused."

"Arigatō," I muttered before picking up my things and swinging my bag over my shoulder. As I slipped out the door, I heard Kakashi-sensei saying something about The Last Supper. I grinned. I decided I liked him. He was like my mom. If I knew something, she wouldn't bother saying it again.

My green snakeskin bag, bouncing alongside my shoulder, reminded me of my cell phone. I dug for it. Unlocking the HTC, I searched for Hinata's number. She had called me this morning, saying she was sick. She'd need someone to talk to. I searched the contacts until I found Hinata's shy, lavender eyes staring at me from inside her picture. It rang five times.

"Sakura-chan," she sniffled, "aren't you in school?"

I grinned. "I got let out 'cause I knew it all." Hinata's soft voice heightened to a sneeze. "You still have that cold?"

"H-h-hai…" She sneezed again. I could imagine her playing with her fingers on that king-sized bed of hers. "What are you d-d-d-doing?"

I ignored her stutter, used to it. Her father was an asshole for doing what he did to her. "Walking. Why?"

"Be-be-because a cousin of mine has-has lunch no-no-now," she stuttered. "You're-you're-you're in Uchiha High? He has a-a scholarship there."

"Does he?" I turned the corner. There was a door staring me right in the face. Above it was a sign that said, Shokudō. Talk about luck. "I just found the dinning room." Phone to my ear, I pushed the door open. The buzz of the lunchtime hit my ears through the cell phone. Shouts erupted. My eyes flipped from wooden table to wooden table.

"Really? He has long hair…"

I spotted dark brown hair, swaying with soft laughter, from my place in the corner of the wall. He had a soft face, with eyes identical to Hinata's. It was undoubtedly that this was the Hyūga cousin from the second branch. "Brown hair? Lavender eyes?" I asked. Hinata's soft approval was only a background noise. "Do you want to talk to her?" I waited for her 'yes.' "Alright. What's his name?"

"Neji."

Confident, I strode to him. He was right next to a brunette with a pineapple ponytail, another brunette that was so dang cute with his flab and cubby cheeks—like a little baby—and some guy in green spandex. I refuse to go into detail of how tight it fit him. Shudder. Another brunette, a girl, had panda-ear buns. She smiled at me. Neji looked at me with cryptic mauve eyes.

"Hey, Neji," I smiled. My third mother—mother of my three "siblings"—loved the secure smile. "I have your cousin on the phone—Hinata, not Hanabi." I listened to Hinata's soft voice coming through.

"Tel-tell him I-I miss him…," she muttered. Her shy smile and finger-playing came into my mind's-eye. I could even see her eyes as if they were right in front of me. Which, in a way, they were—on Neji's face.

"She's sick," I tell Neji, looking him in the eye. "She misses you."

Neji's peach hands tightened around each other. He frowned at me. Pupil-less eyes glared at me. In that glower, they've lost their resemblance to Hinata. No one with eyes as hard and rude as those could be related in any way to my shy little girl, who I loved enough for her to be my daughter. No one with cruel eyes could be a Hyūga. Neji growled at me, "Do I know you?"

I smiled, determined. "Nope! Not at all. I'm Haruno Sakura, Hinata's friend."

"Can-can I speak to h-him?" She sneezed again.

I turned my face to the cell phone cradled between my cheek and shoulder. I spoke into the receiver. "Sure, Hinata-chan. Don't be so shy." I nodded, almost sure that she could hear the small gust of air whooshing and that she would know I was encouraging her. I turned to the longhaired seventeen—perhaps, maybe he was eighteen—year old. I pulled the phone from my ear and stretched over the table to give it to him. Neji looked at me like I was nuts—which I might've been, for all he knew. "Are you just as shy as her? It's just Hinata!" Skeptically, he took it from me.

"Hinata-chan?" he asked. A smile spread through his face. My doubts were gone. This was Hinata's relative. It was obvious in the way he lighted up. I smiled at their similarity. Hinata always lights up when she speaks to her family. I sat in the crevice left between Spandex and Ponytail.

"Hi!" I beamed. "I'm Sakura. You are?"

Spandex grinned back. "Yosh! The new kid!" I held back a groan. "You have youthful hair," he commented. I scowled.

"If you're trying to say 'pink,' I know. Before you say anything, it isn't dyed. My mom just…got sperm from the wrong bank," I worded the sentence carefully, trying to elute the least laughs. "Your name?"

"Rock Lee."

"Hey, Lee. Nice to meet you." I turned to the dude in the ponytail. "And yours?"

The guy's big eyes had little black irises. Those eyes were half-lidded. I guessed he was falling asleep. "Don't you pay any mind to him," the girl told me. I switched my attention to her. Her smile powered mine. "That's Shikamaru. He's lazy."

I giggled. "Figures. I think he's asleep."

The girl looked at me with brown eyes. "I'm TenTen. The chubby one is Chōji. He's nice. You meet Lee—Konoha's Beautiful Green Wild Beast, as he calls himself. He's…youthful." I got the feeling I was missing some kind of inside joke. "And you know Neji—"

I laughed nervously and dragged my short rosy hair to my shoulder. I played with a thick lock. "I don't… I know his cousin. She wanted to talk to him…"

TenTen laughed. "You're funny, Sakura. Hey, I checked your schedule yesterday. Hey, don't look at me like that—my dad's the guidance counselor! Anyway, shouldn't you be in History with Kakashi?"

I grinned. "He let me off. I knew what he was teaching." I heard Chōji munching. "Leonardo da Vinci is easy."

"Hum-hum…" TenTen agreed. "After this, what do you have?"

"After your lunch, I have lunch," I said. "I think…" I swung my bag over onto the table and pulled out the notes I drew on and the cardboard paper they gave me with my nine periods on it. Period 6 was next. "Yup, lunch." TenTen's brown eyes turned to Neji's preoccupied state.

"Good. I think I can get someone"—she nodded her head to Neji—"to pull some strings."

I grinned. I missed my family, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad here.

—****

Moaning, I poked the goop on my plastic plate. I guess it didn't matter where you were—private school or not—lunch food was lunch food. I swear I saw it move. "Kami, ew!"

TenTen laughed. "Tell me about it. At least be grateful that it doesn't wink at you like last year's did."

Food winked? Maybe I should be more grateful. That settled it. "I miss Gaara." I slammed the tray down onto the table we were sitting at before. Neji was still in his chair, laughing and smiling—frowning when she sneezed, I guessed—with Hinata. Lee, Chōji, and Shikamaru had gone to Study Hall, where I deduced that Shikamaru would sleep, Lee shout Yosh!, and Chōji munch on potato chips.

TenTen sat next to me. "Gaara? The son of Suna's president?" Oh yeah. Uncle Kamdre was Kazekage. I had forgotten. I nodded. "You dated him?"

I groaned and slammed my fists to the table. "Why is that everyone's first guess? My mom was best friends with Karura before she died. She was my godmother. Gaara, Kankuro, and Temari. Gaara just happens to be my best friend."

TenTen's mouth made a little "o". I nodded. I glared at the clock above the doors. Come on time…go faster…, I willed. The bell rang. Time for the rest of the students to come in. A swarm of kids swamped in, fast as buzzing bees. TenTen gave my face a one-over. "Go throw that away. You're not going to eat it."

I gave her a grateful smile and ran to the trashcan. Coming back, I smiled at Neji. "Hey, Neji-san? Can I have my HTC back? I promise to give you her new number." Unwillingly, he gave it over. "Thank you," I said, then gave him the digits. I put the phone to my ear. "Hey, Hinata-chan?"

Hinata coughed, "Sakura-chan…"

"The teachers'll see us; I got to go. Talk to you later. Tell the guys I say hi."

—****

Lunch was over pretty quickly after I stopped glaring at the crap that was food. The bell rang seconds after I checked my schedule. I hit my head—duh, Study Hall! "See you at Math, Sakura!" TenTen called as she was dragged away by the waves of people. I nodded and followed the crowd to room C4. I sat by the door, so when I left I would be the first out and avoid the crowd. I grabbed a book—

—Only to drop it.

He was perfect, beautiful. My heart beat faster when our eyes met for a fraction of a second. Cold, dark eyes—the type of eyes that held mysteries and hidden secrets. Secrets that I needed to unlock. His hair was laughable, but that was its charm. Like a duck's butt. I needed to know his name. I needed to know him.

He was mine.

Determined, I picked up my worn Romeo And Juliet and stole peeks at him during the class. I wouldn't be like Temari. I wouldn't stalk the guy I liked… I would befriend him, to the best of my ability. I would get to know him, to love him. If I couldn't, he wasn't worth it. And with his mysterious ways, he was worth it.

He. Was. Mine.

—****

What you think? Continue?

Review!

And—

"Question of the Chapter!": Who is that mystery man! (If you can't guess, you're stupid. HELLO! DUCK-BUTT HAIR!)

Love and Saku(mysteryman), forever.