A/N: This is the second version of this fic. I hope it's much better as a whole cuz of my extensive editing. Just to explain a few things – this all probably takes place in a slightly alternate Naruto world where Sasuke never left for the Sound. Naruto and Sasuke and the other Genin are around 14 years old. This is mostly about Naruto and Sasuke, but there are other pairings as well (I'm gonna tell a number of stories at once). I hope you all like that style, but just remember that it means there are a ton of different scenes instead of one long scene in each chapter, although I'll put in a couple like that too.

Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, the poem below belongs to Izumi Shikibu, and the fic itself belongs to meee

xxx

Yesterday,

what were my reasons

for sighing?

This morning,

love is more painful still.

- Izumi Shikibu

Chapter 1 – Worthless

Sunlight streamed through the window, blinding the dark-haired ninja, who had been sleeping peacefully with a faint smirk on his lips. But now Sasuke sat up and growled, eyes becoming slits as he got out of bed and closed the blinds. The Uchiha hated being woken up in the middle of a good dream about a certain hyperactive ninja, even though he knew the dreams would never come true.

All of this, including the realization that his crush would never like him back, had put Sasuke in a very bad mood indeed. He dressed quickly and stormed over to the door, eyes widening and then closing in disgust upon opening it. It's the day before Valentine's Day . . . Sasuke remembered with horror.

Knowing his infinite following of fangirls, many of them would try to get Valentines to him early to make sure he got their heartfelt confessions of love. Already, pink envelopes and hearts had been shoved under his door and plastered to the walls outside. Boxes and vases of flowers crowded the narrow hallway, making it impossible for him to leave his room.

Sasuke turned around in defeat and opened his window, climbing out onto the roof below it and breathing in the fresh morning air.

The Uchiha leaned against the wall, hands in his pockets, eyes studying the street below him. None of the girls had spotted him yet, but he realized that he'd better get going or they'd see him . . . and there was no knowing what might happen to him then.

As he was turning to go, his eyes caught on a bright yellow head of hair. It was heading towards the forest outside the village. Naruto . . . Sasuke whispered, heart beating faster. He knew his rival would be using all his time to train. His eyes filled with an indescribable emotion as he narrowed them. He's getting stronger every day and I'm still weak. Sasuke cursed and slipped into the shadows to follow the receding form of his supposed enemy with only one thought in his mind.

I need to prove myself to him . . .

xxx

It's the day before Valentines Day . . . ugh, what can I do? Shikamaru sat with his head in his hands, his lips in a small frown. He looked up at the clouds drifting lazily in the February sky. With a sigh, he pulled out a sheet of paper and a pen, and wrote . . .

Dearest Hinata . . . Valentine's Day is a day no one should spend alone. Would you like to have lunch with me on the hill just outside the village at noon? We can just watch the clouds float overhead and talk together about anything . . .

Shikamaru

He swallowed and sealed the card in an envelope. A faint blush covered his cheeks. Shikamaru would give the letter to Hinata tomorrow after breakfast. Speaking of breakfast, he felt slightly hungry.

He sighed again. At least he got that over with. He had been so nervous, which was quite unlike him . . . but what if she didn't accept? What if . . . she thought he was worthless? They didn't really know each other . . . what if she thought he was a lazy good-for-nothing idiot? Shikamaru groaned and stood up, fidgeting with the letter in his hands.

xxx

Naruto stood in the middle of a clearing, shafts of morning sunlight falling around him. He was breathing hard and his knees shook with exhaustion. Even though Kakashi-sensei had given Team 7 the day off (saying something about lovebirds and Valentines and the road of life), the blonde ninja wouldn't let himself stop practicing for one moment. He told himself that he had to get better to beat Sasuke, who just seemed to get stronger and stronger with no effort, while Naruto felt like no matter how hard he tried, he just stayed the same loudmouth hyperactive ninja with no talent.

Naruto growled in frustration. "Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" he yelled. He had to keep practicing his rasengan no matter what!

A pair of dark eyes watched from the shadows of the forest. The trunks of all the trees around Naruto were marked by the rasengan—the blonde ninja had been training for hours. Sasuke wondered where the boy got his strength—he didn't appear to be dangerous, and yet . . .

Sasuke winced, remembering their fight on the roof of the hospital. If Kakashi-sensei hadn't intervened, Naruto would have won. The Uchiha clenched his fists in anger. I'm weak! I'm too soft . . . if only . . . if only I had more hatred . . .

He'd repeated those words to himself countless times by now.

He closed his eyes for a moment, shaking the image of Naruto's face, bathed in sunlight, out of his mind, and then disappeared silently into the trees.

xxx

Naruto sighed and flopped back on the grass of the clearing. He was done practicing for today. He looked up at the sky, lit with afternoon sunlight. Haven't seen Sasuke or Sakura all day . . . I wonder what they're doing . . .

Springing back up with a grin, he started walking back to the village. Time to eat some ramen!

xxx

Sakura snuggled closer to Lee as they stood together, arm in arm on the bridge, looking over the glittering waters of the river. He rested his head against hers, savoring the scent of her hair.

"Remember it's Valentine's Day tomorrow?" the female ninja murmured into her boyfriend's ear.

Lee nodded. "Sakura-chan . . . are you—"

"Of course I'm going to spend it with you, silly!" she exclaimed, taking his shoulders and pulling him closer for a kiss.

"Sakura! Bushy-brow! So this is where you've been!" Naruto's loud voice cut in as the two ninja were about to bring their lips together in a soft kiss. They sprang apart as Naruto dashed onto the bridge and ran up to them.

Lee glared and Sakura crossed her arms with lowered eyebrows. Naruto laughed nervously, realizing that he had just interrupted an intimate moment.

"Ehhh . . . have you guys seen Sasuke?" he asked, shifting his feet.

Lee glared even harder at the mention of his girlfriend's former crush. "NO!" he spat out.

Sakura put a hand on his shoulder and then looked at Naruto, raising one of her eyebrows menacingly. Naruto took the hint and ran away as fast as he could. No need to get beaten up by Sakura before a good bowl of ramen!

xxx

The sun shone brightly in the blue February sky, piercing the heavy darkness of the forest. Sasuke breathed heavily, leaning against the trunk of a tree for support, unable to summon enough energy to make another chidori. Damn it . . . one more . . . can't I get one more? No, no . . . I'm too weak . . . too weak . . . His eyes widened in horror. He looked down at his hands, unable to make fists any longer, fingers burned by the chidori.

The dark-haired ninja let out a groan and fell to his knees. His vision blurred as tears of anger fell on the grass of the clearing. He gritted his teeth and clenched his burned fingers, biting back a cry as daggers of pain shot up his arms.

Sasuke staggered to his feet and closed his eyes, opening them full of determination. "Chidori!" he gasped. The blue-white light buzzed in his palm, flickering.

xxx

Naruto scuffed his feet as he walked along the street, not looking where he was going, deep in thought. He turned a corner and bumped right into Kakashi, who walking the opposite way, reading his book as he did so. The two ignorant ninja fell over in the dust of the road.

"Naruto!" Kakashi said, picking himself up and dusting off his clothes. "How nice to see you this time of day! Although you should watch where you're going . . ."

Naruto raised an eyebrow at his sensei, who gulped, realizing that he had been the one reading the book as he walked. Naruto raised a finger. "Kakashi-sensei, isn't that like the ramen-thief calling Akatsuki corrupt?"

Kakashi laughed. "Naruto, ramen-thieves aren't nearly as corrupt and evil as Akatsuki!"

The hyperactive ninja crossed his arms, his glare silencing the older ninja. "Yes they are! You know what?! I bet Akatsuki organizes systematic ramen-stealing missions!"

Kakashi suppressed a laugh, nodding solemnly at his student.

Naruto tipped his head to the side. "Uh, sensei, do you know where Sasuke is? I can't find him anywhere and—"

"I was just looking for him myself," Kakashi mused. "I was going to go look for him and make sure he got some rest. He's been training so hard these days and I don't want him to exhaust himself. Why do you ask?"

Naruto fidgeted. "Oh, uhhh . . . life is boring without someone to compete with??" It was at least partly true. But the real reason Naruto was so anxious to find Sasuke was that he couldn't stand to be apart from him for too long . . . even fighting with the Uchiha was better than being alone. Because if they fought, Naruto could show Sasuke that he wasn't weak, that he was worthy of . . . something. Naruto couldn't name it.

Kakashi's visible eye became a half-moon as he laughed. "Riiiiiiight…..well, I'm off." He took one step and then spun around again. "Oh! Don't forget—tomorrow's Valentine's Day!" he winked. Turning on his heel, he continued down the street, reading his book as he walked. "Ah, young love . . ." he murmured to himself, laughing a bit evilly. Genin could be so clueless about these things. Especially Naruto and the Uchiha.

A flabbergasted Naruto waved a finger at his retreating form. "WHAT? WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

"Huh? Oh, I just said that there's a new kind of ramen that you'll love!" his sensei explained without missing a beat. The copy-ninja waved to his student and disappeared around a corner, leaving Naruto to growl angrily at his back.

xxx

Lee and Sakura walked hand in hand over the grass in silence. Lee stopped suddenly, looking back at the sun, which was setting behind the bridge, sending needles of orange light over the river. His thoughts were interrupted by Sakura's voice.

"Lee . . . is that Kakashi-sensei? Look!"

Sure enough, a form was dashing out of the shadows of the forest, carrying a bundle of clothes. Both ninja turned in puzzlement as the figure drew closer.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked warily, taking a step toward the forest.

Lee peered into the darkness that was quickly descending on the village. "Kakashi-sensei! That is you!"

Kakashi sprinted past the pair of ninja, not stopping for an instant. Lee and Sakura dashed after him, looking closer at what he was holding in his arms; what had looked like a bundle of clothes turned out to be an unconscious Sasuke. The Uchiha's skin was beaded with sweat, but his face was peaceful, as if he was sleeping.

"What happened to Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked worriedly as she ran alongside her sensei. Lee stiffened and lowered his bushy eyebrows.

Kakashi looked down at the ninja in his arms. "He's hurt. He needs to be healed. There's no time to explain." The copy-ninja receded in the distance, leaving the two teenagers to look at each other in confusion.

The two started walking back to the bridge. Sakura took Lee's hand and leaned on his shoulder. "I wonder what happened to Sasuke-kun. It looked . . . bad. I wish I could help."

Lee took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. "Sakura-chan, I'm sorry I always . . . get like this when you mention Sasuke or when Sasuke is around . . . it's just—"

Sakura squeezed him a bit too hard, cutting of his sentence. "I know. It's okay." She smiled up at him but he was still silent, staring across the river. "You know, I think you're waaaaaaay better-looking than Sasuke anyway," Sakura added with a grin.

Lee gaped for ten minutes.

xxx

A/N: lol, I have to disagree with Sakura there (I think Sasuke is . . . WAY HOTTER . . . ahem) but a girl can have her opinion, can't she? XD