So I've kept this little plotbunny under wraps for quite some time, and I'm finally getting the nerve to type it out. It's probably going to be reaaaally long, but hopefully I can get in a few chapters a month. Not all will be as long as this first chapter, but it will still be (my best) quality. (;

Enjoy (and review for any comments or suggestions)!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Naruto franchise and stuff.


Sakura Haruno. Student at Konoha Academy. Strawberry-blonde hair. Green eyes. Dancer. Intelligent. A smile that could melt hearts. And currently, nervous as fuck.

Standing in front of her mirror, she smoothed over her skirt again and buttoned her crisp white shirt slowly. She ran through her long hair, untangling the soft waves with her delicate fingers. Her mascara had already been applied, her hair washed, her deodorant on, but something just felt missing…she looked again only to –

"God, Sakura! Stop staring at yourself like that!" her (adoptive) mother scolded. "I get it, you're young, you're gorgeous. Boys will be tripping over each other to talk to you."

Sakura shot her a glare while sliding on her tan leather backpack.

"You have to say that. You're my mom."

"Going from an all-girl middle school to a coed high school….my little baby's growing up," her mother lamented, hands clasped together dramatically. "Soon you'll be off to college, then getting married, then popping out babies—in that order."

"Ugh..," Sakura groaned. "you're acting like an empty-nester again, Shizune."

"I can't help it," her mother sighed dramatically, handing her money to buy lunch with. "I feel like I'm 45."

"—But you're 32."

The older woman grinned.

"You're so lucky to have a MILF as a mom."

"And with that," Sakura hurriedly started, all but sprinting to the door. "I'm going outside to wait for Hinata and her cousin."

"DON'T BREAK TOO MANY HEARTS!"

door slam.

Sakura let out a nervous breath, checking her phone to see Hinata's be here in a few minutes! text. She leaned against her house while she waited, reflecting on the day ahead. Hinata, her second closest friend through middle school, was the sweetest, most introverted girl you could meet. She was a bit heavy, but still moved with the grace of a ballerina. Sakura had never met Hinata's cousin Neji (who was going to be driving them to and from school everyday, since Sakura lived on the way there), but the dark haired girl assured her that he was polite and well-put-together. "You'll get along well, Sakura" she smiled with a light touch on the back. "He's just as school-crazy as you are."

If Sakura didn't know Hinata as well, she could have sworn that she was playing matchmaker.

However, the magnitude of today brought her back to focus. Since she was an only child, she didn't have anyone to tell her what the first day of high school would be like. Her adoptive mother, Shizune, had grown up in Japan, so the only parenting she could do was buy the school supplies and provide the money for lunch. Sakura had never been one to have large circles of friends, so she didn't know any older kids (particularly boys) very well. All she had was two best friends, a backpack with her school supplies, $5 for lunch, and her class schedule.

This made her stomach churn apprehensively.

Luckily, the soft swssh of a four-wheel drive snapped her out of her thoughts, the spotless white paint of a BMW pulling into her driveway. She squinted to see the faces in the front seats, but there was no need, seeing that the driver, (with ninja-like speed) had already parked and gotten out of the car to greet her.

The boy was tall and thin, with rich brown hair smoothed into a style not unlike most CEOs. (parted slightly to the side but still kinda up but still kinda confined) He walked to the back door of the car, pulling it open and gesturing for her to enter. Snapping out of her daze, Sakura fast-walked as gracefully as she could manage. When she reached him, he gently shook her hand with a warm smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sakura. I'm Hinata's cousin, Neji. She has told me much about you," he said politely, his tone smooth and professional. (Is this what all high school boys are like? All the movies I've seen sure were wrong..she thought confusedly) He radiated pure maturity, and you couldn't help but assume he was the type of student teachers dream of. All this made Sakura feel a bit uncomfortable. Not a lot, but…a little bit. She forced a smile and ignored her thoughts.

"Hopefully good things!" she laughed, wincing at her trite response. Oh well. At least she managed to say something.

"Just that you were an intelligent girl that is as beautiful as you are passionate," he smiled, leaving her alone to blush profusely as she got in, and he closed the door and sat in the front again. She glanced over to the passenger seat to her friend Hinata, who chose to remain blissfully silent, listening to the two. It was times like this that Sakura wished Hinata was more talkative. Sakura never could get the formal-smalltalk-thing right.

"T-thank you, but she was exaggerating quite a bit," she managed to stumble out as he backed out of the driveway and headed towards the school. (which was thankfully only 5 minutes away by car)

"Well, you certainly are attractive, and I guess I'll find out the rest as we get to know each other better."

ohmygodohmygodI'mbeingflirtedwithwhatdoIdo.

Unbeknownst to Sakura, Hinata sat with a very uncharacteristic smirk on her pretty face..

"You actually might share some of those AP classes with Neji," Hinata added, back to her usual sweet expression. "He's a sophmore."

"Hmm..usually APs are left for upperclassmen. If I may ask, what are your classes, Sakura?" Neji asked gently. Sakura frantically pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from the outer pocket of her bag, smoothing it out on her knee.

"Accelerated French 1, AP Biology, 2D Art, AP Literature and Composition, Advanced Pre-Calculus, AP US History, and Gym."

"Math and English," he replied.

"What?"

"We have Math and English together."

"Looks like you will be spending a lot of time together," Hinata giggled.

"I'd be happy to tutor you when necessary," Neji smirked.

Oh no he didn't.

If there was one thing Sakura was sure of, it was her academic record.

She threw him an impish smile. "We'll see who tutors who," she challenged.

But it was at this moment that they arrived at the school, stealing Sakura's attention from the back of Neji's head to the giant grey brick building that she would spend the next four years in.

Somehow it looked even more intimidating in person than in the brochures.

They had got a pretty good parking spot, considering that they were only 10 minutes early. Sakura gulped apprehensively. Neji did the whole door-opening thing again, and after seeing her visibly nervous expression, rubbed her shoulder comfortingly.

"I'll show you to your first class," he offered. (but it was more of a command) Hinata quietly slipped away, leaving the two alone with a sly smile. (she didn't admit that she shared first period with Sakura, and thus would also benefit from going with Neji)


They talked comfortably, with Neji explaining all the nuances of the school, particularly the stuff the school doesn't put in a brochure. As he looked over her schedule (which she had hastily given to him once asked) he rattled off each teacher's description.

"Mr. Sarutobi's always stressed from his constantly-pregnant wife (I think they have close to 3 kids now), so he smokes about 2 packs a day and occasionally "spruces up" his coffee in the morning. All you have to do to make him like you is to give him as little trouble as possible. He isn't so fond of kids who ask a lot of questions. Mr. Uchiha is the uncle of 3 of the students here, and they're all stereotypical pretentious jocks, if that tells you anything about his opinion of kids. Just avoid any unnecessary contact or talking. Mrs. Sarutobi prefers to be called by her first name, Kurenai, and is Mr. Sarutobi's crazy wife. She likes her girl students, so you're fine. Mr. Hatake is always late and hates teacher's pets, and Ibiki used to work in a prison, so he's pretty tough. Orochimaru is rumored to be quite "fond" of his male students, and Mr. Gai is quite, um..eccentric."

"How do you know so much about the school?" Sakura wondered, staring at him in amazement.

"I'm the sophmore class president."

"What does that mean?" she teased. "You just get bragging rights?"

"Hmm…not quite," he smirked. "It means I always get my way."

Was there a double meaning in there?

"Is my classroom much farther?" Sakura asked carefully. "I don't want to make you late.."

"It's actually right there," he smiled, pointing to a door a few steps away. At this, they both stopped walking. "My class is only a few down from here."

Sakura fiddled with her uniform skirt.

"So…um..thanks for taking me here," she smiled cheerfully. "I probably would get lost if I tried it on my own."

At this, he chuckled lightly.

"You do know there's a map of the school on the back of your schedule, right?"

Sakura flushed in embarrassment as he handed her schedule back to her, flipping it over to see that, yes, in fact, there was a map clearly labeled on the back.

"The student council added that this year," he said amusedly. "For Freshmen who don't know what they're doing."

She huffed lightly at his last remark, before the bell (signaling the 5 minute passing period before the first class) rang. At that, she stomped over to the door behind her, not bothering to say goodbye after she had been made fun of.

However, her steps came to a halt when she heard Neji laugh.

"Wrong door. Yours is the one to the left of that."

She gave him a childish pout, only to watch him wave goodbye and exit to his class. Now alone, all she could do was face the inevitable: the dreaded first period.

It couldn't be that bad, could it?

She opened the door slowly, before walking in with as much confidence as she could muster.


1st period was going really well, with both of Sakura's best friends in the same class: Hinata (of course) and Ino. There wasn't that many other kids, mostly because Spanish was the more popular foreign language. Mr. Sarutobi seemed quite thankful for the small class size, so after a brief introduction to the coursework syllabus, he let them talk amongst themselves.

Instantly, Ino shot over to where Hinata and Sakura were sitting (since they had been in alphabetical order. Hyuuga…Haruno..)

"Holy shit, have you seen some of the guys in this school?" she practically drooled, hands clasped dramatically over her heart.

Ino Yamanaka had been the official best friend of Sakura Haruno since Kindergarden, when Ino started strangling a girl that was bullying Sakura. After that, they went right into friendship bracelets, sleepovers, and talking on the phone for hours. Where Hinata was soft and quiet, Ino was stick-thin and boisterous, with long bleach-blonde hair pulled into a tight ponytail. Sakura could bring up anything remotely related to fashion or attractive men and Ino could gleefully talk for hours, even though Sakura didn't have much to say on either topic. Even though they were very different, Sakura loved to hear Ino's energetic and emotional rants or dramas. As for Ino, she loved having a friend who loved her for her personality, not the designer clothes her parents bought.

"Not really," Sakura responded, rolling her eyes. "Though I'm sure you're already making a literal 'to-do' list."

Hinata giggled. "Sakura was too occupied with one boy to see any others."

Ino's law dropped.

"Sakura Haruno!" she gasped out, scandalized. "Why have I not heard of this!"

Sakura's cheeks quickly reddened, much to her chagrin.

"I-It's nothing. I just met Hinata's cousin Neji this morning, and he walked me to this class."

Ino and Hinata looked at her expectantly and leaned in a bit.

"..and we talked."

They leaned in more.

"But nothing else happened!" Sakura insisted. "And nothing will!"

"Oh come on, Sakura," Hinata smiled kindly. "You know that you will eventually need to meet boys. Naruto doesn't count."

"Easy for you to say, Hinata," Sakura grumbled. "You and Naruto are pretty much married. You don't have to worry about this stuff."

"Neji's a good start. He seemed to like you," Hinata added, ignoring Sakura's comments.

"Okay, but does 'seeming to like you' mean he wants to get in Sakura's pants?" Ino hastily asked. "Because Sakura, honey…you will need to meet boys that way too."

"Ino!" Hinata squeaked out. "I really don't want to hear about my cousin like this!"

"Just saying…." Ino huffed. "This little virgin mary over here needs to loosen up this year. If she dies alone, I put myself to blame."

"Ino…." Sakura hissed.

"I'm serious. You're already hot as fuck, it's a shame these uniforms don't show a little more boobage," she sighed remorsefully, staring down at her chest. "Then again, I'm built like you two."

"Stop where you are right now," Sakura warned, Hinata frantically nodding in agreement. "I don't want this to turn into that time you started crying in the middle of Victoria's Secret because I was two sizes bigger than you."

"Maybe it's all the cheerleading practice," Ino mused aloud. "Maybe I should switch to Poms to join you?"

"Now you just sound silly, Ino," Hinata smiled. "You and Sakura are both very athletic. I'm pretty sure cheerleading and dance are mostly the same thing anyways."

"Spoken like a true band nerd, Hinata," Sakura teased.

"Then again," Ino added. "All that fancy flute stuff you do must make your fingers very talented and ready to-"

Much to Hinata's embarrassed delight, the bell cut Ino off, leaving the three to pack up their things and head to their next classes. Sakura had AP Biology next, which she found on the map Neji had shown her easily. All she had to do was go down the stairs and she would be there.

As she walked through the hallway, she couldn't help but discreetly check out all of the students, seeing the kids she's be spending the year with. She vaguely wondered if they could somehow sense she was a Freshman. The uniforms made it harder to distinguish between the traditional stereotypes: jocks, sluts, punks, nerds, etc. But in fact, she rather liked it. The girls wore dark green skirts that reached above the knee, and the boys wore long pants of the same color. Both had white button-up shirts, which Sakura wore with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The uniform was given a more official look with the matching green tie worn by all students with the "Konoha Acadamy" insignia embroidered on in silver thread. The only freedom was with shoe choice, which Sakura happily met with a pair of electric green ballet flats.

It wasn't long until she arrived to the Biology classroom, walking inside the already open door. She was one of the first few to get there, so she glanced around the room to look for any sort of seating chart.

"And you are..?" a velvety voice asked. She looked over to the speaker, only to see (presumably) her teacher at his desk.

She pretended not to notice that he was (definitely) young-looking for his age and (most definitely) very attractive. He was slightly pale and had a lean build, with a thick mane of black hair that looked like he had just run his hands through it. However, seeing his dark eyes twinkle with (delicious) amusement, she remembered Neji's warning: this man was probably a dick.

"Sakura Haruno," she replied quickly, unexpectedly receiving a small smile from the man.

"Don't look so scared," he chuckled, looking over a piece of paper in front of him. "You sit….let's see...ah! Front row, right in the middle."

At this point, all Sakura wanted to do was sit down in relax, but Mr. Uchiha didn't seem to pick up on that. Instead, he kept on talking.

"I have to admit, this is the first time I've had a freshman place into this class," he smiled, the happy expression looking out of place with his intimidating appearance. "Though now I can see you already look very mature for your age."

Sakura fought the urge to overanalyze that last part.

"If your past grades are any indications of your hard work, then we'll get along very well this year."

"Thank you, Mr. Uchiha," she mumbled politely, used to teachers fawning over her scores. He then left her alone, with the 2nd period bell ringing. During the course of their conversation, the rest of the class had slowly filled in, the seats on her sides taken. All attention was now on the teacher, who faced the class with an icy disposition that he had not shown earlier.

"I'm sure you have all picked up your textbooks over the summer, meaning you have at least glanced through them," he started. "I will not quiz you today, but I am letting you know in advance that once a week, there will be a randomly-chosen day where you will take a 20 minute test on the reading. And those will be very, very specific. Every night, expect a workload of at least 30 minutes, and latework will not be accepted."

Light groans and sighs were heard throughout the room, but it only took one glare to silence them.

"But in order for me to be able to teach effectively, I need to know about you, particularly how you prefer to learn. Take out a sheet of paper, and on it, answer the questions I have written on the board."

He then sat back at his desk to start doing work on his laptop, leaving the class to look up at the whiteboard.

Name/Age/Class

Extracurricular activities (including jobs)

3 words that describe you

Why you chose AP Biology

Study Habits

Sakura bit the end of her pencil in concentration, staring at the blank piece of paper in front of her. There was 10 minutes left in the period, so she'd better hurry. She started writing furiously in order to finish:

- Sakura Haruno, 14, Freshman

- Varsity Poms and Volunteer work at Konoha Hospital, but I expect to join more once the school year progresses

- Ambitious, Loyal, and Stubborn

- I aim to be surgeon when I am older, so I need to prepare myself with high-level classes, particularly those in science.

- I like making notecards and little mnemonic devices to remember tough material

She had barely written the last two words when the bell rang, dismissing them. Plopping down her paper on the pile in the front, she raced to her 4th period class, 2D Art, since it was on the other side of the school. (Yes, that's right. AP Bio was 2 periods every single day. Thankfully time flew by today.) She had to remember to thank Neji profusely for the whole map-thing. Without it, she'd be one of the few clueless freshmen wandering through the hallways.

It took a few minutes to reach the Art class, but there was thankfully still many seats open. She was about to slide into one near the door when a loud voice nearly gave her a heart attack.

"OH MY GOD, SAKURA! WE'RE IN THE SAME CLASS!"

She snapped her head around. There's only one person she knows with that volume and that was—

"—Naruto!" she frowned, looking to see if he had angered anyone with his outburst. "You need to be careful speaking so loud!"

He was sitting in the fourth row (the back, of course) and gesturing wildly towards the empty seat next to him. She sighed, sitting down and facing him. She still could barely believe this was Hinata's boyfriend, even though she was the one who had set them up initially. He was the quiet girl's perfect opposite: tan, blonde, charismatic, and talkative. This year, he was one of the few freshman to make it onto the varsity football team, making him already quite popular.

As soon as she sat, the teacher. Mrs. Sarutobi, gave them the long stereotypical speech about they were quickly becoming adults, and should take their studies seriously..blahblahblah. To be honest, Sakura zoned out after the first 5 minutes. After all, she only took this class because once semester of art was required to graduate. (a stupid rule, if you asked her)

Thankfully, Mrs. Sarutobi finished with a few minutes left in the period, so she could catch up with Naruto.

"Sakura, you'd never believe the things I am hearing in the hallway," he begun, looking at her intensely. Sakura looked at him quizzically. "All the boys can talk about is a red-ish blonde freshman with a rockin' body and green eyes."

She gaped at him.

"There's no way you mean—"

"Yes it's true! My own little Sakura has become an overnight sex symbol!" Naruto sighed dramatically. "Looks like you'll need me to protect you from all the evil upperclassmen's perverted advances!"

"Shut up, Naruto," she grumbled. "You're only trying to make me feel good. You probably heard ONE person say something like that."

He gave her a stern look.

"Sakura, I don't think you understand what guys talk about in their free time. You don't even want to know the details some were going into-"

"Okay! I get the point!" Sakura grumbled. "It's just that I haven't even met a new person yet, well, besides teachers and stuff. The only people our age I've talked to are Ino, Hinata, and Hinata's cousin."

"Neji?" He scrunched his nose. "He's an ass."

Sakura frowned. "He seemed nice…."

He ignored her, continuing on. "I'm gonna introduce you to someone during lunch. You have 6th hour, right?"

"Yeah.."

Riiiiiiiiinggg!

"Ah, well that's my cue to leave for English," Sakura smiled. "Have fun in your next class, Naruto."

"And don't make the teachers hate you already," she added quickly.

"Okay, meet you at the front of the lunch room!"

".. and don't break any hearts, Sakura!" he called out as he walked away, earning a few stares from passing students in the hallway.

"Now you sound like my mom…" she muttered sardonically, before starting to walk to her English class at the end of the hallway. But she snapped her head to the side when she felt a hand brush her shoulder.

She turned to face a boy who looked strangely familiar, with shaggy auburn hair and tired-looking eyes. He was only an inch or two taller than her, but that didn't really distract from the fact that he was prettydamnfinelooking. She shoved down a blush.

"Excuse me," he said in a smooth tone. "Are you perhaps going to English with Mr. Hatake?"

She gave him a suspicious look, but stopped walking and stepped to the side so they could talk a bit.

"Yeah..why?"

"You were just in my art class, and it looks like we have English together as well," he smiled. (That's why he kind of looked familiar) "I'm Sasori."

"Sakura..um..nice to meet you?," she replied softly, before turning away to walk like before, only to have him fall in step by her side.

"What year are you? I don't think I've seen you around," he asked.

"Freshman." (She always felt stupid admitting that she was so young)

He let out a low whistle.

"You've probably heard this a lot, but you definitely look older," he complimented (?). "I'm a junior. How are you in AP English?"

"I can be a nerd at times," she laughed. With his last comment, she had definitely softened up to him, so she felt a lot more comfortable. They talked until they reached the door, though it was more of Sasori giving her a detailed analysis on what to expect with Mr. Hatake. Once they came into the classroom, Sasori told her to sit next to him, in the middle of the third row since he was pretty much the only person she "knew" in the class.

However, once they sat down, someone else decided to occupy the empty seat to the right of Sakura, turning to face them. She didn't bother looking over until she saw the minute glare that crossed Sasori's face.

"Itachi," he grumbled in greeting.

Her mouth went dry. This is what young girls picture when they dream of attractive upperclassmen. He was pretty pale (everyone here seemed to be), which was dramatically offset by midnight-black hair that reached halfway down his neck in disheveled layers, with eyes that were just as dark. He was fairly lean, giving him a fashion-model look. However, his toned forearms hinted at the delicious muscles that could be underneath his uniform.

It was a shame his face was nearly expressionless, with a very serious demeanor. Did that mean he was one of those pretentious guys Neji warned her about? Ah hell, she didn't need to like the man's personality to find him attractive.

"Sasori," he said slowly, his voice orgasmically pleasant. "Why don't you introduce me to your beautiful companion here?"

Before she could restrain herself, Sakura answered for him. "I'm perfectly capable of introducing myself, you know." The boy raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Her name is Sakura. She's a freshman," Sasori finished, his eyes cold.

After her little outburst, Sakura was getting some serious awkward-situation vibes, so she frantically tried to think of an escape. Oh wait! I almost forgot! Neji has this class too! And right on cue, the brunette walked into the classroom, giving her a small wave. Without warning, Sakura shot out of her seat to sit next to him instead of Sasori and Itachi. (Much to their shock)

Neji gave her an amused look. "You seemed a little desperate to rid yourself of your other company," he teased, shooting a small frown to the two upperclassmen who were now staring at them. "Not good at making friends?"

"Heh," Sakura said sheepishly. "I think I'd prefer to sit with you from now on."

"So how's your first day been?"

"So far you've been 100% right about my teachers. You should sell your advice.."

"Whatever I can do to help," he smiled. "Did you meet anyone new yet?"

"Euh, just those two," she admitted, pointing back to the two boys who were currently arguing heatedly and glancing over every few seconds.

"Hmm," Neji frowned. "They're not the best of people. I'll introduce you to some others eventually."

Riiiiiinnnnnngggggg (class beginning!)

Sakura sat up straight in her desk, waiting for the teacher to come in.

And waited.

She glanced over to Neji, who was writing in his school planner.

And waited.

Itachi and Sasori were over there doing their other homework.

And waited.

And waited.

And…sank back down in frustration after 20 minutes. However, the door to the classroom viciously swung open a few minutes later, and in walked a 30-something man who was very tall and had grey hair. (Poor guy..she thought. Must be bad genetics.) As he walked in , she couldn't help but notice the obvious: he had a giant beard that legitimately obscured the entire lower half of his face from view. Umm..what..

He saw her staring at him and gave her a quick wink, which Sakura didn't know how to react to at all. So she blinked.

Now, at the front of the room, he cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"So…5th period, guys," he monotoned. "One hell of a party."

A few kids giggled because he "swore." He waited for them before starting back up.

"The name's Mr. Hatake, and I prefer to let you all talk," he said casually. "So student-led debates and discussions will be paramount this year."

A few groans were heard.

"Hopefully you've kept up with the assigned summer reading….because there will be a test on Sophocles' Oedipus trilogy tomorrow. And if you decide to take a sick day…well, you won't be able to make it up," he smiled, though it was pretty obscured behind his beard.

"Now, I want to go around and have everyone introduce themselves! Name, grade, hobbies, and what you want to do with your desolate lives!" he exclaimed with saccharine sweetness. "Starting with…Hyuuga over there!"

Neji looked up from his planner and frowned. Obviously this teacher was not exactly a student favorite.

"Neji; sophmore. I'm class president but I'm unsure of what I want to major in. However, I will most likely work in my family's business."

Mr. Hatake nodded to Sakura, who tried to swallow down her nerves. She felt all eyes turn to her. After all, she was the youngest kid here.

"Um..Sakura. I'm a freshman and on the varsity Poms team. Hopefully, I will be able to follow my dream of being a Surgeon when I am older," she said with faux-confidence. Thankfully, no one seemed to laugh or think she was weird, so she passed the social test.

She kind of zoned out during the next 7 kids' introductions, until it got to the two upperclassmen she had been speaking to earlier.

"Sasori. Junior. I've won many art competitions, (smirk) and I specialize in sculpture. I plan to major in art history and the eternal language of Latin."

"Itachi. I'm a senior this year, and I have played on the Varsity Basketball team all four years of high school. I wish to study law with a bachelors degree in Public Policy."

Damn it. Everyone seemed so much smarter in high school. And this probably wasn't even half her academic competition.

Riinnnngg!

Mr. Hatake cleared his throat.

"Alright class, remember the test! I expect only the best this year!"

Sakura rushed to pick up her bag and leave, since she needed to meet Naruto for lunch before she got swept up in the busy hallway traffic, but a tap on her shoulder stopped her. She turned around to see her teacher right behind her.

"Sakura," he smiled. "I find it very impressive how you are in so many upperclassmen courses at so young an age.."

"Thank you," Sakura said, softly returning a smile. She loved hearing praise of her academics. It was her guilty pleasure to be very proud.

"..But don't think for even a second that because of that I will go easy on you."

Her face paled.

"Um…thanks..I guess," she replied before all but running out of the classroom.


Sakura stood awkwardly at the entrance of the cafeteria, playing with the edge of her skirt (it was becoming a nervous habit). She wished she could take our her phone to entertain herself, but she definitely didn't want to risk a detention on the first day of school. Some people passing by slowed down to stare at her, so she felt a bit uncomfortable.

She thought back to what Naruto had said earlier.

"All the boys can talk about is a red-ish blonde freshman with a rockin' body and green eyes."

She sighed inwardly. What does that even mean? But before she could reflect any further, a familiar voice shocked her senses.

"SAKURA, THANKS FOR WAITING. WE GOT HELD UP IN OUR LAST CLASS!"

We..?

She looked up to see Naruto walking fast to her, waving his hands wildly. Passing students looked on in wonder and amusement, Sakura giggled a little. Naruto always had a tendency to attract attention: good or bad. Her focus was so set on her blonde friend that she failed to notice the more serious figure following behind him.

"Sakura," Naruto panted after running over. "I need to introduce you to someone! He's an ass, but it's okay since he's going to be my best friend and all this year."

Sakura gave him a wry look. "And where is this 'best friend' of yours?"

A boy stepped forward, his inky black eyes locking with her own.

"Sasuke," he grumbled softly. But Sakura barely had any time to register his annoyed tone because she was too busy having a heart attack. Her cheeks flushed, stomach light, and head swimming, she somehow managed to form a coherent sentence.

"I'm Sakura. Are you a freshman, too?"

She took a second to study his perfect appearance. He actually looked a lot like the Itachi in her previous class, except a warmer version. His hair was shorter and a little ruffled, like he just got caught in a (sexy) wind. She also couldn't ignore the muscular forearms and defined shoulders his figure boasted. Though his face maintained a steady look of disinterest, she could see the hint of amusement beneath.

"Yeah," he responded. I had totally forgot I asked him a question. "Haven't seen you around before."

"Sakura went to some all-girls school before this," Naruto complained. "She never had time to hang out because she was busy doing all her smart-person stuff."

"It's called a Hospital Internship," Sakura sighed. "Now, do you guys wanna find a table? We're already about 10 minutes into the period and no one's eaten anything."

Naruto's face lit up. "Thanks Sakura! I almost forgot, seeing that you and the douchebag's conversation was so interesting," he said with a very unmasculine giggle.

The douchebag..?

Sasuke shot the blonde an icy glare. "Don't call me that."

"Why? It fits."

"Because it just makes it more obvious how idiotic you are."

"Hey! We don't go there, Uchiha! Leave my grades out of this!"

"Naruto, the school year literally just started. Technically you have all A's," Sakura sighed. Naruto grinned, then offered her a high-five. (which she denied)

"Thanks for that, Sakura!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes (handsomely) and pointed to an empty table a few feet from them. "Let's go."

Okay, Sakura. From here on out, you are under no circumstances going to act like a pathetic fangirl. Got it? Yes, he's beautiful. Yes, he's hot. But he's probably not single, and definitely not the type of personality to mesh well with your own.

Sigh.

Can't blame a girl for dreaming.

Once they all sat down, Sakura discreetly checked the time on her phone underneath the table.

"Ugh, We only have 20 minutes left," she groaned.

"What class do you have next?" Sasuke asked, surprising his two tablemates. He wasn't exactly the type of person to initiate conversation.

"Math," she said in a trying-not-to-be-too-desperate-but-being-mysterious-and-sexy way. "I need to go buy lunch, so I'll be back in a bit."

Sasuke and Naruto nodded, watching her walk away into the lunch line.

"She's hot, isn't she?" Naruto grinned knowingly.

"You have a girlfriend. Don't say things like that," Sasuke disapprovingly replied, though his eyes never did leave Sakura's lithe frame until she was completely out of sight.

"But you don't…"

"Naruto. I know where you're going with this, and you need to just-"

"—All I did was ask you a question," Naruto teased. "You filled in the rest."

Sasuke sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Okay, fine..Yes, she is physically attractive. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"She's in all those nerdy classes. Some of them more nerdy than yours," Naruto said, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Come on, she's a girl," Sasuke said, rolling her eyes. "She can't be that good."

"No, seriously. She's won awards for that shit. I swear, all she does is study for fun."

"Some people actually want to do well in their classes, Naruto."

"I also just happen to have her number on this piece of paper I have here, and if you are interested…"

"…"

"Take the damn piece of paper."

"…"

"GODDAMMIT YOU ARE GOING TO KEEP THIS AND TREASURE IT."

By the time Sakura came back to the table with an apple and a protein bar, she came upon Naruto and Sasuke about to strangle each other, with Naruto practically shoving a piece of paper down his poor friend's throat.

"Um, is something wrong?" she asked carefully. Both boys snapped into their normal seating positions, though Naruto had managed to shove the piece of paper in Sasuke's fist.

"What's that on the paper?"

"N-Nothing!" Naruto laughed, rubbing the back of his head. Shrugging, Sakura sat down across the table and quickly began to eat her food, watching the two do the same after pulling out their lunchbags with lightning speed.

"I have Math next, too," Sasuke started. Oh my god he talked to me. "What class exactly are you in?"

"Advanced Pre-Calc. The school wouldn't let me take AP Statistics until next year," she explained.

"Me too," Sasuke said slowly. "E-except the part about AP Statistics..I'm in your class, I guess."

Naruto's jaw could have dropped to the floor. The great Sasuke Uchiha was nervous! (Even though he knew that Sasuke would rather have died than admit it) He crunched on his dry ramen noodles (that he had packed that morning as he was running out the door).

"Well now I know two people in the class!" she smiled gratefully.

"Who else do you know?" Naruto asked, suspicious.

"Neji! You know, Hinata's cousin?"

Naruto's face turned grim.

"You mean…the guy who tries to sabotage every date Hinata and I go on?"

"Uhh..he's a nice guy…"

Now it was Sasuke's turn to glare. "He isn't."

"Do you know him, too?" Sakura asked.

"…"

"You don't, do you."

"I've heard enough about him.."

rrrriiiiinnnnnnnnggg

Naruto sighed dramatically. "Lunch is over..ugh"

"We better get going to Math class," said Sakura to Sasuke. "I heard that Mr. Morino is really intense."

Meanwhile, in Sakura's dream world:

"Of course, Sakura," Sasuke smirked. "But you are forgetting something."

"What is it?" she gasped out, drowning in his intense eyes.

"This."

He grabbed her tiny hand with his own large hand, and she marveled at how soft they were for a man. Not too soft, just perfect.

They walked slowly, Sasuke giving her hand the occasional squeeze and glancing over to her blushing cheeks. Soon, they stopped in front of a large door, and he pulled her close to his chest. *cue the stronger blush*

"Sakura," he said smoothly in a hypnotic tone. "I've been wanting to do this from the moment I saw you."

And before she could answer, his face neared her own, and she could smell a hint of cologne and she reached forward with her lips to meet his-

"So are we going, or what?" Sasuke frowned, looking at Sakura's weird expression. Was she feeling sick?

"Oh. Oooh. Okay, Yeah. L-let's go," she stumbled out, mentally berating herself.

Then they walked together, (no hand holding) even though he seemed a little too far from her side than she would have liked. Oh well. It was a nice fantasy.

This time, when they reached the door, he held it open, letting her walk in front of him.

What a shame. She would've preferred a kiss.

But when she came in, she saw the pale blue eyes of her favorite sophomore, so she gave him a soft wave before going over.

"How are you, Neji? Haven't seen you in a while," she teased.

"Could be better," he frowned. "I don't get a lunch period this year, so I can't eat until after school."

"That's horrible!" Sakura sympathized, not noticing Sasuke behind her, not-so-subtly glaring at the brown haired boy. "You can't change it?"

"Well, I'd rather not switch out of Math and English," he explained. "I'm rather fond of the classmate I share them with."

"You're so nice to help me out," she grinned. "It'd hate being the lonely freshman."

"But you have me in this class," Sasuke shot in. She had almost forgotten he was there!

"We can all sit together!" Sakura said happily. "Here, let's sit in the middle so that we can-"

"Fancy seeing you here, Sakura," another voice joined in. She turned to her right to see Sasori standing there, though not well-received by her other company.

"You shouldn't interrupt," Neji stated calmly. "It's very rude."

"Go sit by your own friends," Sasuke growled.

Rinnnnng! (But no one moved to their seats)

"I am planning to," Sasori said, pointing to Sakura. "And here she is."

Neji frowned distastefully. "How about you-"

"SIT ALL YOUR ASSES DOWN," an authoritative voice yelled. They four scrambled to find seats, and it ended up with Sasuke to Sakura's right, Neji to her left, and Sasori in the desk right behind her. A tall, tan man with scars running on the sides of his face glared across the room, arms crossed over his chest.

"As you might have heard, I don't take kindly to any bad behavior," he snarled. "My classroom; my rules. Do you follow me?"

The room full of students nodded frantically.

His eyes scanned over every single student, causing many hearts to start racing in fear. He stopped when he got to a head of strawberry-blonde. Sakura's face paled.

"Well, well, well. Looks like we have a treat this year!" he smirked. Sakura's whole body froze. Please God, I don't want to die now. I haven't even been kissed yet…Well….actually just once with Ino, but that's cause she slipped and our mouths just hit really close and I don't think that counts but still I just really don't want to d—

"We get to have the winner of the State Mathematics Testing Champion for the past years with us!" he exclaimed. Sakura sighed softly in relief, only to become really self-conscious with every person in the room staring her down.

He looked at her expectantly.

"Aah, yes. Um…that's me," Sakura said awkwardly.

"If you ever need any help, track down Miss Haruno here. I hate when you brats ask me stupid questions about our lessons."

And then he launched into an intensive lesson plan for the year, which she tried her best to pay attention to, ignoring the stares from the boys to her sides and the one behind.

She stayed silent when she felt Sasori's breath tickle the back of her neck.

She looked away when Sasuke tried to get her attention by throwing little pieces of paper at her foot.

At least Neji was able to…Oh wait. Now Neji was coughing really loudly to get her to look over.

She hatedwhen people treated her differently because of all the stupid academic awards she's won. Fuck this, she was bolting as soon as the bell came,

Riiinn(Sakura nearly broke into a run, shooting into the hallway)nnngggg


It took her a few minutes to find her AP US History classroom, since it was on the other side of the school. But she was thankful that she seemed to have lost Neji, Sasori, and Sasuke. Hopefully they wouldn't question her about it later, she just really didn't feel like having the "wow you're so smart I wouldn't have guessed" conversation.

She walked into the room, only to hear a low whistle. She thought nothing of it until she heard a voice accompanying it.

"Hey, babe." She looked up to see a boy with a vulgar look, with very pale hair and violet-blue eyes. He patted the chair next to him. (Apparently this classroom had tables and chairs instead of desks) She ignored him, choosing to head to a seat on the opposite side of the room, only to have him slide into the chair next to her.

"I'm Suigetsu," he grinned. "If I said you had a good body, would you hold it against me?"

She gaped, eyes wide.

Another boy shot over, this one ran with messy brown hair.

"Suigetsu! That's my favorite line, you little fucker!" he whined, pushing the pale-haired guy out of the way so he could face her. He cleared his throat dramatically.

"That shirt is very becoming on you (she smiled, thinking the line was over)..then again, if I were on you, I'd be coming too," he smirked. Her face scrunched into an annoyed frown.

"Is this some weird joke you do to everyone you meet?" she growled.

"Nah, only the cute ones," Suigetsu chimed in. "Though I can think of something else I can do~"

"I'm Kiba," the brown haired boy said quickly, scowling at his friend. "You a freshman, too?"

"Um..yeah?"

"Good!" he grinned. "Now if you want some more fresh man, I can give you my-"

She glared, shutting him up.

"If you want me to sit next to you, fine. Just stop with the stupid pick-up lines."

"I don't think they're that stupid.." Suigetsu pouted.

"Fine," Kiba agreed, sitting to her right. He scooted the chair right up to Sakura's. "You got a name?"

"Sakura."

Riinnnng! (class begins!)

Her first day of this class, and she was already stuck between two perverts. Brilliant.

Her thoughts went back to Neji's warnings earlier this morning. Wait, didn't he say that this teacher was a rumored pedophile?

"Good morning, beautiful students," a voice called out, vaguely sounding like a snake's hiss. The man it belonged to had long black hair, which looked way too feminine for male teacher to have. He was extremely pale, so the white shirt he wore was nearly the same color as his skin. Greeeeaaaat. He turned his pale amber eyes to her, as if he could hear her thoughts. She fought to remain calm, though he had only glanced at her for a millisecond.

"I have had quite the hissstory teaching this class," he said, waiting for laughter that never came. "And I imagine we will all get to know each other very well."

Okay, now she was just plain creeped out.

"So fill out the surveys placed on the tables, so I can learn more about you all. Afterwards, I'll be nice, just talk amongst yourselves."

Sakura reached for one of the sheets of paper and a pencil, nearly sweatdropping at the questions on there.

What is your first impression of your classmates?

Anyone you feel an instant attraction to?

What is your first impression of me?

What is your favorite food?

How athletic are you?

Have any cute nicknames?

She groaned, scribbling down some mildly ambiguous answers.

I haven't really noticed many of the students. But there does not seem to be a lot.

I do not really understand the question. They seem nice?

You seem very dedicated to your job.

I like strawberries a lot.

I'm on the varsity poms team, so I guess I'm pretty athletic. Does that pertain to the class?

My mom sometimes calls me saku-chan, because she was raised in Japan.

She hunched over her paper as she wrote, seeing that Kiba and Suigetsu were overtly trying to see what she put down. She nearly cried with happiness when the bell rang before anyone had started talking. Now she just had gym left, which didn't seem all too bad.


Holy Shit. She didn't know what she was talking about when she said it wouldn't be bad. The gym teacher was insane. First, he made them all step on a scale to be weighed, then took their heights, then asked them about their fucking family history of medical issues. Come on, really? To make matters worse, Mr. Maito (there was no way she was calling him Gai, like he had told everyone to) wore very small shorts, showcasing muscle-y legs that she definitely could have lived without seeing.

I mean, the guy was nice, but way too excited to be normal. Aren't gym teachers supposed to be bitter towards their jobs?

At least she had Ino right by her side, who had been grilling her for information on every person of the opposite sex she had even glanced at today. Right now, she was complaining about the gym uniform shirts. (we had to start dressing for gym tomorrow)

"The shorts are fine I guess, seeing that they're short, but I don't see why they have to be loose," she pouted.

"Ino, we can't wear booty shorts. You can't do anything athletic with your ass hanging out," Sakura reasoned.

"But we wear booty shorts for Poms and Cheer," Ino replied, knowing she was right. Sakura blinked.

"Uhh, well that's different, because…um…because-"

"Sakura! I didn't see you here!" cried Kiba, who had just ran over. Ino looked at Sakura with a oh-my-god-this-is-a-boy-who-knows-you-and-you-didn't-tell-me-about-him-you-fucking-bitch look. Seeing Ino next to Sakura, he looked them both up and down, much to their confusion.

"Is there something wrong?" Sakura asked.

"Damn, have you ever thought of you two making out? Cause I just did."

Sakura growled at him, but Ino just laughed.

"Lemme guess, none of those lines have ever worked before, right?" she said saucily. His shameful glance down answered her perfectly.

"I'm Ino, Sakura's best friend," she said before pulling him aside and whispering in his ear. "How much would you pay for Sakura's number?"

"Depends. Can you help me with her?" he whispered back.

"$20 and my advice is all yours"

"Deal"

Sakura could only watch hopelessly as her friend assuredly was scheming something unpleasant. They were talking so intensely, they didn't even notice the bell ringing. She sighed, walking to the parking lot to meet the two Hyuugas so she could go home.

When she got there, Neji was looking around impatiently, looking strangely agitated. She didn't know him very well, but she could tell the emotion was relatively new to him.

"Something wrong?" she asked, before looking over at Hinata, who was sitting in the passenger seat.

"Oh thank god," he sighed in relief. "You were later than I thought you would be. I got worried."

She looked at him strangely. It had only taken her a few minutes to get her stuff and get here. But she didn't dwell on it longer, opening the door for herself before Neji tried to. Soon after, the car speedily left the parking lot. She was unaware than even though she had shown up, Neji was still quite upset, due to him overhearing many people's interest in Sakura through hallway gossip. However, Sakura didn't notice, since Hinata was too busy grilling her on Sasuke.

"Naruto told me that you and Sasuke it hit off really well," Hinata smiled. "He was worried you wouldn't like each other."

"Sasuke doesn't like anyone," Neji butted in. "He's an ass."

"He said the same thing about you.." Sakura whispered to herself, before joining in with Hinata again. "He was very nice, actually. It's going to be great to have him and Naruto with me for lunch every day!"

"You guys can bond all you want~" Hinata giggled. "It's not often Sasuke meets a girl who doesn't attack him in a lustful frenzy."

Sakura frowned. She had expected that he was quite popular with girls, but she still didn't like to hear her theory confirmed.

"Do you know if he has a girlfr-"

"We're here," Neji intervened loudly. The opportunity to ask ruined, Sakura walked out with a smile and a wave, going into her house as the two cousins drove away. She was thankful that Shizune was going to work late tonight, because she really didn't feel like answering her endless questions about her day. She plopped down on her couch, turning on the tv so she had some background noise while she grabbed her phone to text Ino.

Sakura: You home yet?

She waited for a response. Did Ino have Cheer practice today? Shit, she probably did. Her need to gossip unsatisfied, she spent the next few hours showering, changing into her black silky pajama shirt and shorts, making dinner for Shizune for when she came home, and watching an episode of some weird reality television show. She was just starting another episode (who knew "Housewives of Garbage Men" could be so entertaining?) when her phone buzzed. She picked it up lightning-fast, only to frown lightly at the unknown number. She opened the text, wondering who it could be.

Unknown Number: Is this Sakura? Naruto gave me the number, so it might be wrong

Sakura: Yes, but who is?

Unknown Number: Sasuke. We met today.

Suddenly the song "You Belong With Me" popped into her head. Stupid Taylor Swift, raising her hopes for a cute little romance. She grinned like a drunk puppy as she saved the contact under "Sasuke 3".

Wait, fuck.

She changed it to "Sasuke" hastily.

Sakura: Yeah, I remember you.

"Perfect," she thought. "I sound a little committed, not too desperate, but open to conversation. Perfect."

Sasuke: We will have to pick Math partners tomorrow, and I wanted to ask you to be mine.

Her heart only registered the "I wanted to ask you to be mine" part.

Sakura: why?

Sasuke: Well, I didn't want to end up with someone I hated.

Her face fell. Well, at least he didn't hate her? That wasn't the romantic response she wanted.

Sakura: Well, once you put it that way…

Sasuke: So yes?

(Was he immune to sarcasm?)

Sakura: Sure. See you tomorrow.

Sasuke: Thanks.

She held her phone tightly to her chest, forgetting all about her plans to stay up late texting Ino. Right now, all she wanted to do was go to sleep and dream of little babies of pink hair and black eyes.


OKAY. Now, some of the changes to appearance are pretty far from the manga/anime, but I needed to make it "realistic" as possible. So no super-long hair (irl, shoulder length hair is the maximum for guys), no killing of people (sorry Akatsuki), and no being immortal (sorry Hidan).

Also, for pairing's sake, Madara is only in his early 30s. But he looks young. Yeah.

The beard thing for Kakashi is a bit odd, but a little more realistic than a mask. Whatever. Just tryin' it out.

REVIEW TO TELL ME WHICH PARTS SUCKED (OR DIDN'T SUCK).