Well guys, it's the third piece. The third arc.
I'm so thankful for each and every review. EACH AND EVERY. It's been like a boost to continue with this.
Kind of like a slap from you guys telling me to keep on typing!

Enjoy! And don't forget to slap me! No, I mean review! REVIEW! :)
xx

I was walking down the dirt road and eating a popsicle. It was a hot day. It always was. Here, in the countryside.

What can I say? It's been four years since my little escapade. Rather than being fifteen, I am now nineteen.

Aiko, Natsumi and Natsuko have sent me various calls and emails. But I deleted my accounts and made new ones.

Jun, Daisuke, Kou and Hiro all tried to contact me as well. So did Kyou. And Shikamaru. And even Gaara, Naruto and Kiba. And maybe even Nina and Hitomi.

I think that Tsunade and Kakashi even tried - mostly Tsunade. Kakashi? Ugh, his book still haunts me. Even to this day.

But Sasuke? Did Sasuke send me at least one email? One text? Well, I don't think he did. I kept my accounts for three weeks before I deleted them.

Maybe he sent something after five weeks. But how would I know? That was the past.

There was a brush at my skirt and found that it was just some village kids running by. My hair swayed in the wind.

I had gotten rid of my red streaks and my hair was fully black now and ended near my stomach.

Yeah, I had grown it out. And my face was more matured. It was no longer a teenager's face, but an adult's.

Too bad for my personality. I was still immature.

"Keiko! Wait up!" Yelled a familiar voice.

I smiled before turning to see Haru. Before you think anything, he isn't my boyfriend. We're just really close friends. He's like my brother.

"Hey Haru." I said as his hair glimmered in the sun. It was a dirty blonde colour, and he really was too dense to realise how good looking he was.

His face fell when he looked to the popsicle in my hand, "Are you serious? I just got you one!" He exclaimed as he held two more of the same one.

"Hey, it's fine. I can eat two." I said.

He grinned, "You know, what would I do without you?"

"Probably eat the both of them?" I asked.

"Yeah, whatever. So I'm not smart. Whoop-Dee-Doo." He rolled his eyes in a joking manner.

"You know I love you." I said.

"Who wouldn't love me?" He grinned before we walked off.

XXX

I groaned, "Get the hell off, Haru." I pushed his body off of me and he rolled to the other side of my bed.

And don't misunderstand here. We're not lovers. We just happen to share an apartment. I mean, it's cheaper and we can look to someone for help.

I sat up and rubbed at my eyes before there was a knock on the door. I groaned, "Coming!" I yelled before I stood and walked over.

I opened it and gasped in surprise as I woke up immediately. Before me was Uchiha Itachi. He didn't look much different, but he was there.

"Who is it, Keiko?" I heard Haru ask. I didn't reply.

"Wh-" I started, "What are you doing here?" I asked before noticing that maybe my tone might have been a bit vicious.

He gave a half-hearted smile, "Sorry. But I had you tracked down. Don't worry. I have no tricks up my sleeve."

I frowned at him.

"But I do like you. Not in a romantic way, but a friend way. And the way that everyone sees it back in Konoha? You're running away." He said.

"I'm not!" I exclaimed, "I'm just thinking. Taking some time off."

"Four years off? And what about education?" He asked.

"I have a tutor!" I exclaimed.

And I did. Haru tutored me. He was actually really and incredibly smart.

"Really? Is it that farmer down the road? Or is that the university?" He asked harshly.

"Listen. Konoha? I don't have anything to do with it anymore. I'm no one there now. And I don't care. Because I like my life here." I exclaimed.

"What the hell?" I heard Haru's voice beside me. He opened the door wider so that he revealed himself to Itachi.

I thought that maybe it might have looked a bit misleading since he only had loose black tracks on.

He looked to Itachi and I noticed that Haru was a bit taller than him. Haru was the best guy that I knew - beside Kyou and Shikamaru.

Itachi raised his brows at the sight, "So this is what you meant by tutoring."

I glared, "Uchiha Itachi." I hissed out. "If you came all the way here just to insult me, you're better to just piss off."

Yeah. I had become pretty spunky over these four years. Haru had shown me to stand up for myself, especially in the state that I was in after Sasuke.

He looked taken aback before he set his jaw, "Fine." He said, "But even though I'm pissed at you, come to me for help whenever you need it."

He said it in a mad voice that I had to laugh. Who became mad at you and then wanted to help you.

"Seeya." I waved him off before going back inside.

"Who was that?" Haru asked as he crossed his arms and leaned on the wall as he looked to me.

"Uchiha Sasuke's brother." I said calmly. I shrugged, "Nothing big."

"You can go back." Haru said.

I looked up to him in surprise, "Huh?"

"You can go back to Konoha if you want." He said. "I know you want to."

"I do." I admitted, "But not for Sasuke."

He gave me a look.

"Okay, maybe a bit for Sasuke. But my friends are there. Of course you're here. You're my best friend." It was true. He was. He had pulled me out of my depressing state and had put up with me. He'd stuck by me for four years straight.

He nodded. "Then go." He said softly, now standing. His arms were no longer crossed.

I shook my head. "I can't leave you." I said. "You've helped me immensely. And it's just-" I paused, "Without you, I'd feel so weird."

He grinned before ruffling my hair, "Want me to come with you?"

"Eh?" I asked.

"I'll go with you." He stated rather than asking this time.

"It's not that simple." I told him, "And you'd be treated like some sort of bitch because of me."

"You're not a bitch." He said seriously, "I would have known already if you were." He grinned, "And you said you'd feel weird without me. And truthfully, so would I. You're like my sister. My little sister." He said with a grin. "I feel responsible for you. And plus I need to go kick this Sasuke in the butt. Literally. I will."

I smiled. "Haru?"

"Yeah?"

"You're my best friend." I said it genuinely.

He grinned and hugged me, "What are you getting all mushy for?"

XXX

"Oh shit." I said as the train had arrived at Konoha. "I shouldn't have done this. Oh my God. I regret coming here."

Haru patted my back, "Calm down Keiko."

I breathed before groaning and placing my head between my legs. My long black hair cascaded around me.

I sat up as the train stopped. "Shit. Haru. We're here." I stated.

He laughed and grabbed the both of our bags, "Let's get going."

I reached for my bag but he pulled it away from me as we walked, "I'm fine carrying them both." He said.

I was nervously looking around, hoping that we wouldn't notice anyone.

A whole lot of the female population didn't notice me, though they noticed Haru's tall physique and his good build as he carried both bags.

"Why'd I bring you?" I asked him, "Of course you'd stand out."

Haru laughed, "Then maybe you shouldn't have brought yourself either."

"Huh?" I asked.

"Look at the guys. They're gawking at you." He said with a grin.

I looked around to find that every guy that I looked at whipped their heads away from me.

I grinned to Haru, "They're probably just gay."

"Uh. Yeah. That's creepy." He said. "Anyway. We have a meeting with someone called Tsunade."

"Tsunade?" I asked in alarm.

"Yeah. The principal for the University we're going to. You didn't think that we'd laze around like bums, did you?" He laughed.

"When did she become principal?" I asked.

"Just this year, I think." He answered.

"Haru. She was my principal from high school." I said to him.

He looked to me with a worried face, "Do you want to go to another Uni?"

"No." I said firmly, "We're going to this one." I walked on with my skirt and cardigan swishing around.

I used to be a jeans girl. But I had become accustomed to skirts and dresses.

XXX

"Konoha University." Haru had whistled out as we stood at the gates.

I felt as if I were about to hyperventilate. We had already dumped our bag at the apartment that we were staying at.

It was close to the university and I was glad that Haru was staying with me.

"You okay?" He asked me with a concerned look.

I looked up at him. "I'm scared." I admitted.

He hugged me, "Hey, it'll be alright." He said softly before letting me go. He grinned, "Anyway, I have that whole brother role, don't I?"

I gave a short laugh, "Thanks Haru."

We walked in the gates and I felt the pain as I bit my lip from my nerves.

Haru must have noticed, because ruffled my hair softly.

I smiled to him as I fixed it afterwards.

We walked in to the building and I already saw heaps of students around me.

On the bulletin board was a picture of someone who was all too famillair. Including 6 other pictures.

It was the 'Four Princes'. Inuzuka Kiba, Subaru no Gaara, Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

I stared at his picture. His fringe had grown a bit longer and his hairstyle was the same.

Then underneath the prince photos, there was a title, 'The Three Princesses'.

I felt like squealing in delight when I saw that it was Kiyomi Natsumi, Haru Natsuko and Sayuri Aiko.

They were all smiling in their photos and they all looked so beautiful. They no longer had their streaks and they had grown their hair - Aiko had a cheeky pixie cut that made her look so cute.

But underneath the princess photos, in black bold font was, 'Prince Uchiha Sasuke is still in search for his princess. A rebellious cinderella.'

Haru covered my eyes, "C'mon. It isn't the time to hurt."

I smiled gratefully to him.

"Keiko?" Asked a guyish voice.

I froze before turning but I felt a smile on my face as I saw my Spiderman, or was it Batman?

"Shikamaru?" I asked as I went up to him, Haru trailing behind me. I smiled, so relieved to see him. Especially relieved that it wasn't one of the 'Four Princes'.

He frowned, "Where the hell have you been?"

I remembered that I had took off for four years. "Uh, just hanging around."

"Yeah, right." Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "We searched every where for you. Literally everywhere. Kyou even fainted for trying to search for you without a week of sleep."

I gasped, "I wrote him a note." I spoke up.

"But you know him; he's stubborn." Shikamaru said. "Thing is though, I've missed you heaps. I lost my heroic charms." He joked.

I laughed and hugged him. He hugged me back before I heard him say over my shoulder, "Uh, who's this guy?"

I turned to see Haru. I grinned, "Haru. He's my best friend." I grinned before patting Haru's shoulder.

"Are you guys...?" Shikamaru asked awkwardly.

"Oh wow." Haru said with a grin, "No. For me, that's like kissing my own sister." He laughed light heartedly.

"Yeah, he's like my older brother." I said in agreement.

"Hey Shikamaru-" Came a familiar voice from the corner.

I turned to find who I was expecting and grinned to Kyou.

He stared in shock before dropping all his textbooks and running up to me before swinging me in a fantastically dramatic hug.

He spun me around a few times before letting me back on the ground. The whole time I was laughing like a child.

"Kyou!" I exclaimed. I smiled when I saw that he looked like he was about to cry.

He hugged me again. "You look pretty. As always." He said quietly in to my ear.

I grinned, "You look pretty too."

I could hear him chuckle at that one.

He let go of me and Shikamaru had retrieved his textbooks before handing them to him.

"Keiko." He said in a sweet tone, with a satisfied smile.

"Oh, Kyou." I said. "This is Haru. He's like my brother." I explained again.

Kyou shook his hand in a manly way, and Haru shook it back just as manly.

Shikamaru and Kyou stood just looking at me.

"Oh, Keiko." Haru started, "We have to go meet Tsunade."

Shikamaru laughed, "Tsunade will be tough bitch on you." He told me.

"Eh?" I asked, getting a bit worried.

"She was just as worried as we were." He said.

"Thanks for the warning. I'll whip out my nun-chucks if I need 'em." I said seriously.

They stared at me.

"Guys, she's joking." Haru whispered with a laugh.

They laughed after this. "Oh, hey, do you want me to tall Natsumi and that?" Shikamaru asked as he took out his cell phone.

"No!" I exclaimed suddenly. The three guys looked to me, "It's just-" I paused, "It'll be awkard. And if I do see them, well, not until I actually start lessons." I said with an apologetic grin.

Shikamaru nodded.

"Well, I'll see you guys around. Gosh, I've missed you both so much." I threw my arms around them and gave them a hug before I let go.

"I have to go now." I said with a wave as Haru and I walked off.

"They were nice." Haru said, sounding surprised. "Why'd you leave?"

I smiled sadly, "You haven't met Sasuke yet. The tension between us will probably choke you." I laughed bitterly.

Haru hit me softly across the head, "Don't laugh so badly. If you're going to laugh, make it sound feminine and nice. And lovely." Haru grinned, "Like my laugh. But cross out the feminine part of my laugh. And lovely. In fact, just add in a capital H.O.T." Haru said with a grin.

I grinned and hit him softly. "You always cheer me up." I said. "Thanks."

"Well, we're here." Haru said suddenly.

We were standing in front of a door that said, 'Headmaster Tsunade'.

"Headmaster, Principal, they're both the same." Haru waved it off casually. "You sure about this?" He asked me.

I nodded.

Guys, that's the end of chapter one! I hope you liked the start of it!
I know! Four years and they're all in Uni! They're all growing up! You better review otherwise the second chapter might not even come out!
Mwahahaha! Okay, but seriously. Please review!
Thank you for reading this!
You're amazing fans! xx