A/N: Yay, winter break!!! Yet I have about five more frigg'n essays to write!! T.T I'm sorry I haven't been updating unlike all those other authors who are updating like, three chapters everyday…I probably won't be updating until next year! (beginning of January)

Disclaimer: I hate Santa!! He didn't get me Naruto for Chirstmas!!! He didn't get me a Sasuke plushy, either!!! 3 Now I'll never own Naru-chan….T.T (for those of you used to the usual disclaimer, insert the whole Korean girl and Japanese man thing here)(and no, I don't hate you Santa!!!)

Warnings: I really DON'T think I have any swearing here…even if there were, this is a T, so w/e…deal with it.

I'm NOT American, so expect some (because Santa didn't give me a beta reader for Christmas either) grammar and spelling mistakes…

-This is a contest entry for Chibi Shino's contest!!!

-READ AUTHOR'S NOTE ON THE BOTTOM EVEN IF YOU DON'T READ THE STORY!!!

.v..V…v….How to remove a Curse mark….v…V..v.

.v..V…V..v.

Haruno Sakura was a 19-old girl with shoulder-length pink hair, and sparkling green eyes.

Though she was not tall, she was lean with a creamy, flawless skin (despite her profession as a ninja), was considered "beautiful" by many (she was often called "Konoha's Blossom"), and even had her very own (desperate) fanclub, consisting of majority of Konoha.

Not only that, but she was a respected and skilled medic and kunoichi, an ANBU, and she had close and trust-worthy friends.

Her life couldn't get any better- yet she currently felt miserable.

Why, you ask?

Because Uchiha Sasuke thought she was a pathetic, crazy retard.

She didn't do anything wrong, really.

She might have tried rubbing an eraser on his neck, tried to burn him, but hey, she was only trying to help him!

Sakura sighed, leaning against her bed on her bedroom floor.

On her lap were a hand-size pink notepad, and a thin, hard-covered book that read How to remove a cursed mark.

She had already seen the dangers of the cursed mark Orochi-gay-maru(yes, she called him that) had given him, how it could even take over him; and that was what she was worried about. She wanted to get rid of the mark, so that Sasuke would be safe from giving into his hatred and his inner demons.

Pursing her lips, Sakura picked up her notepad and started flipping through it, where she had written down the plans from the book.

Pg.1

Plan 1: Try erasing it with an eraser, just in case it's fake.

Okay, so she was quite sure that the mark was REAL, but she DID try- just to make sure it was.

Attempt: In hospital bed.

Result: FAILED.

Reaction: Stared at me weirdly, avoided me for about a month.

Sakura inwardly winced at the memory. It had not really been successful, and had not done her reputation any good.

Flashback

Sasuke was now lying on the hospital bed, sleeping.

He had been found unconscious just a couple of days ago, right outside the Konoha border.

He had been brought immediately to the hospital, and Sakura had been assigned to heal him, since all the other nurses were likely (or at least try) to take advantage of the dark-haired Uchiha's state.

Sakura gulped as she stared at the Uchiha, making sure he was indeed asleep, then took out a white eraser from her pocket.

Nervously, she approached, and when she was just about to rub it—

"Sakura, what are you doing with an eraser?"

The Uchiha had woken up.

Sakura stepped backwards, tripping over her own foot, and landing on the ground.

"It's, it's not an eraser! It's a…a…modified medicine of sort! Yeah!"

And with that, she sprinted out of the room to inform Tsunade of Sasuke's awakening.

End Flashback

Smooth, Sakura, she thought to herself at the memory.

Then she flipped to the next page.

Pg 2:

Plan 2: Use duck tape. If he's really a man, he'll endure the pain!

Attempt: At his home, in the middle of the night.

Result: FAILED.

Reaction: First told me I was a stalker; didn't talk for another month.

This plan had not gone as well as planned, either; but she did enjoy the last part.

Flashback

Sakura quietly opened the window, and stealthily crawled to his bedside.

It had been three months since his return, and he was on probation/house arrest; whichever one fitted.

She had reacquainted with him, and he had forgotten about the "eraser incident". Now here she was again, about to do something so stupid even Naruto would not ever dare to do.

Sakura carefully lifted the cover and slid it down a bit, so she had access to where his cursed seal was. She took out a roll of duck tape from her pocket, cut off a piece and place it over his seal.

As she reached to pull of the seal, though, she was suddenly grabbed by the wrist, and tugged down.

She yelped, and moments later, found herself pinned down by a very furious Sasuke.

Please be shirtless please be shirtless please be shirtless, her mind screamed, and luckily, kami-sama was on her side today.

On top of her was the one and only Uchiha Sasuke (though a bit pissed), growling only in baggy sweatpants.

"What are you doing here?" he sneered.

"Checking…on…you? Requested by Tsunade-sama…?" Sakura answered, unsure of what she was even saying.

His grip loosened, and she quickly rushed out the window I came in from.

Sakura was a very happy girl for the rest of the night, beside the fact that Uchiha Sasuke officially thought of her as a stalker.

End Flashback

Sakura was no longer a rabid, lovesick fangirl; she was now strong, mature and independent.

But she still savored the scene of Sasuke in his bedroom, very shirtless, with her fidgeting, and-

Naughty, naughty Sakura. She stopped her thoughts before they got anywhere else.

Sakura once again flipped the page.

Pg 3

Plan 3: Attempt to whack off with a fish.

Sakura might have tried the first two stunts, but she was NOT that stupid.

Seriously, whacking a frigg'n cursed seal with a fish

Whoever had made this book had some wild imagination.

Pg 4

Plan 4: Burn off. Hey, I never said this wasn't going to hurt!

True, it never really guaranteed the safety of the subject. So, as idiotic as it may sound, Sakura tried. Unsuccessful, once again.

Attempt: During a punishment/D-rank mission of helping out at the ramen shop

Result: FAILED.

Reaction: Stare at me like I grew two heads and I had gone psychotic, seemed very concerned for my mental state and others' physical well-beings, and made a bet with me.

It had taken place seven months after his return, which was five months after the duck-tape-in-a-bedroom-with-a-shirtless-Sasuke incident.

Sakura had waited for a while until her next attempt with another plan, for she didn't want Sasuke too suspicious of her.

Sasuke was still on probation, so team seven was not allowed to go on regular missions yet- instead, they were given a D-rank mission to help out at the ramen shop.

Naruto had been beyond enthusiastic, and so had been Sakura, for she would get a chance to try the next plan in the book.

They, Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke and Sai had worked in the kitchen for a few hours- and Sakura was vigilantly waiting for the moment to strike.

Then, when Sasuke was occupied with amusing himself by listening to Naruto and Sai's arguments, Sakura had picked up the metal chopsticks that she had place over the fire for the last hour, and aimed it at his seal mark.

But Sasuke had easily dodged it, and had quickly grabbed Sakura's wrists.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" He had shouted angrily.

Of course he had every right to be angry. Those burning chopsticks could have killed him if they had hit him on the neck.

"Sakura," he had started, looking straight into her eyes, "This is the third time you tried a stupid stunt on me since my return, and I'm getting frustrated."

When she did not answer, he had continued.

"Look, I'm going to make a bet so that you'll stop. If you don't pull off anything stupid on me for the next year, I'll do one thing you want me to do. Whatever it is. But if I catch you doing an unreasonable stunt again, it's the other way around. Deal?"

She had only meekly nodded, for his figure was intimidating.

Sakura sighed. How could she have agreed to such a thing? By next year, the cursed mark might have already taken over him, and it would be because she had not been able to get rid of it!

But seeing the next plan suggested in the book, the mark was not going anywhere.

Pg. 5

Plan 5: Ask the clan leader to remove it. Hey, who better to do it then his clan?

Orochi-gay-maru was buried six feet under, by the hands of his darling Sasuke-kun, and Sakura didn't plan on sneaking around the sound territory, poking at grounds to find the dead pedophile.

All of her attempts had failed, and now she didn't have anything new to try to remove the stupid seal.

There has to be something more in here, Sakura thought as she picked up the book How to remove a Curse Mark, and flipped through.

Chapter two: How to remove a cursed seal made by a snake freak

Sakura mentally slapped herself—how could she have not noticed that there was a second chapter?!

Plan 1: Make the subject drink the anti-curse potion instructed below.

Ingredients: 3 Tomatoes, 1 cup of wasabe(Japanese spicy paste thing), 2 cups of grinded raw salmon, …

Sakura grinned.

Oh, she knew how to make this work without Sasuke knowing that it was her who had given him this.

.v..V…V..v.

It was the day of the New Year's Party. Ino had volunteered to host the party at her place, and all of rookie nine and team Gai were invited—which of course, included the teachers as well.

Sakura showed up at Ino's an hour before the party to help her set up. The first thing Sakura did when she came in, was head straight for the refrigerator, and hide a bottle of some sort of liquid deep behind other objects.

"Sakura, what is that?" Ino asked.

"Nothing, I'm getting water, that's all," Sakura replied, and Ino didn't question her best friend.

Hour later, guests started arriving. Surprisingly, everyone had made it except Lee and Gai, who were on a mission.

(Even Sasuke was there, though he was actually forced to come by Naruto; but Sakura really didn't care why as long as he was actually there, because her plan required his presence.)

The ninjas socialized, laughed, and conversed, each enjoying themselves in their own little ways. (Shino was talking with Kiba even, and Kakashi had for once, put away his dirty book to reunite with old companions and students.)

Though Sakura acted as she was enjoying her conversation with Tenten and Ino, her mind was actually occupied elsewhere; the bottle in the refrigerator to be exact. Her overwhelming anticipation was quite hard to hide, actually.

Hours had gone by, and it was only fifteen minutes before the clock would strike exactly twelve.

"Everyone wait here, I'll—"

"I'll get the champagne, Ino!" Sakura cut her off and headed towards the kitchen.

Sakura took out numerous cups, counted them exactly to the number of people, and poured equal amount of liquor in all.

Then, once she made sure the area was clear, Sakura excitedly took out the bottle from earlier.

Her heart racing with anticipation, Sakura opened the cap, and positioned the end over one of the glasses.

"What are you doing?" a baritone voice made her jump.

Sakura almost dropped the bottle and slipped, but a hand caught the bottle and an arm wrapped around her waist to prevent her from falling.

"A, ah, Sasuke-kun!" she managed to say.

Sasuke examined the bottle, sniffed the content, then quirked an eyebrow at her.

"This was for me, wasn't it." He stated more than asked.

Sakura gulped. How could he have known?

"Thought you would stick to the bet," he sighed, "it would have been your benefit. Care to elaborate why you've been doing stupid things?"

Sakura looked to the ground—she knew there was no way out of this one.

Too embarrassed to explain herself, Sakura shuffled through her pocket and held out her pink notepad to Sasuke.

Sasuke's expression remained unchanging as he flipped through each page.

"I found a book titled How to remove a Curse mark on the ground while you were gone," she said barely above a whisper, still uncertain about her actions, "thought I could do something."

Sasuke didn't say anything, but shoved the notepad in his pocket and walked away.

"H, hey!" Sakura called out.

"I'm taking this—the curse mark is not of your business," he slightly scolded, not turning around, "and I'll pick you up at seven tomorrow. Wear something nice. A bet's a bet."

With that, Sasuke disappeared from the kitchen, leaving a stunned Sakura.

"Sakura, where's the champagne?! We only have two more minutes to go! Unless you're drinking them all or something, hurry up!" Ino shouted from the living room.

Sakura snapped out of her thoughts. She looked thoughtfully at the bottle she had brought with her, then poured its contents into the sink.

"HURRY UP, FOREHEAD!!" Ino screeched again.

"I know, I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sakura quickly grabbed the trays and headed to where everybody else was.

The glasses were distributed to each person, and together, they counted down.

"…SIX…FIVE…FOUR…THREE…TWO…ONE!!! HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYONE!!"

Hinata giggled, Naruto and Kiba laughed, Ino kissed Shikamaru on the cheek(who now looked like a red pineapple), and Choji laughed at the scene.

Tenten hugged Neji unconsciously, Shino shared his drink with his bugs, Sasuke sipped his glass, and the senseis' eyes sparkled with amusement as they observed their former students celebrate.

As Sakura toasted with Ino, Hinata and Tenten, she knew that this year, something was going to be different.

v..V…v….The End….v…V..v.

.v..V…V..v.

HAPPY NEW YEARS, EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!

A/N: Everybody, thank you so much for reading my stories, reviewing them, putting them on alert and favorites, and so on!!

I'm just a new writer who began writing in early September, and I still don't believe the feedbacks I get…I'm not worthy!! XD

Thank you everyone for putting up with my spelling errors, my grammatical mistakes, and still enjoying the stories I try so hard to write :) (maybe I try too hard…hm…:P)

Special thanks to TightropeDancing, an awesome friend who encouraged me to make an account in the first place, and most of the time, first to review, and send me PM's…I love you so much!!

And to Natalie, who supports me at school…I know you're not a Narutard, and I won't force you into one, but yet you take time to read and review my stories. You're awesome, and I'm not a bunny:D

I'm sorry I haven't been updating Loathing- but I won't put it on hold!! I'll try to update that a.s.a.p!!!! And sequels to "Dear SakuPairing Fans" and "I"m a WHAT?!" will probably come out soon- I'm working on them :P

A big thank you and a Cookie to EVERYBODY WHO HAD READ MY STORIES:3

You guys know the routine now…:D

-REVIEW or I'll send A SAKURA WITH BURNING CHOPSTICKS, A PISSED OFF SASUKE AND A NINE-TALE FOX NARUTO AFTER YOU!!!-

Happy Holidays, everyone!!

-Bored Konoha Kuonichi- :)