A/N: A few terms used in this story are:

Dan – Japanese onomatopoeia for "bam" or a punching sound.

-chan – Japanese honorific that is used mostly for women and little boys unless when in a teasing matter. Lovers and close friends use this a lot.

-san – Japanese honorific for Mr, Ms, or Mrs. People who use these are usually not very close to the person they call by –san or, in Hinata's case, are really shy and polite.

Kyaa – Japanese scream of surprise or fear like "ah".

Gyodon – Japanese dish of rice topped with various and varying ingredients such as tempura.

Taiyaki – Japanese fish-shaped cake usually filled with either chocolate or sweet bean paste.

Nee – Japanese for "hey".

Ne – Japanese for "right" or "isn't it".

I don't own Naruto/Naruto Shippuden. If I did Sasuke and Sakura would be married by now and Karin wouldn't exist.

That's Gross!

...

"Sakura-chan, you're here!"

Said nine-year old groggily groaned in reply, barely lifting her feet off the ground as she made her way to her desk in the classroom. After she sat down and placed her black messenger bag under her seat she leaned over on her desk and closed her dazed eyes. It was only the first day of school and she already prayed for summer.

Yamanaka Ino, Sakura's friend-rival, frowned and stomped over to the young rosette.

Sakura didn't seem to notice the presence as she continued drifting into deep sleep. Ino was having none of that.

"HARUNO SAKURA!"

"Kyaa!"

DAN!

Sakura gasped and held her hands to her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the shaking blonde on the ground beside her desk. One should never miscalculate Haruno's reflexes when woken.

"I'm so sorry—"

"You punch like a boy!" Ino shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the now fully awake girl.

The other students of the class who had watched the scene unfold burst into laughter. Sakura huffed and looked away.

"So what? Maybe I don't like being a weak little girl always needing saving." She snapped, huffing and looking away.

Ino scowled as limped back to her desk, clutching her side. If it left a scar on her sensitive skin she'd make sure to kill Sakura later, but for now, she'd groan in pain and ask her friends to take her to the nurse.

"Did you guys see that," Sakura heard from a group of rowdy boys behind her.

"That girl just punched another girl!" Sakura rolled her eyes, it wasn't like it was that big of a deal.

She plopped down in her desk again and prepared to sleep some more before class when they spoke again.

"Don't you know who that is? Haruno Sakura, that really scary chick that acts like a boy."

"She's really uncute, not shy or girly at all. She even wears shorts instead of the girl's uniform skirt."

"You guys are right; she'll never get a boyfrie—"

"Hey," Sakura looked up in surprise at the unfamiliar voice that sounded very close to her. There before her stood a boy with black hair and matching stygian eyes void of any emotion. The class fell silent at the sudden call from the unfamiliar boy.

"Isn't it pretty girly to talk about someone behind their back? Are you afraid to get beaten up? Pitiful."

The boy nonchalantly turned away and sat back down in his seat, to the direct left of Sakura. She stared in awe as the boys stuttered to the right of her trying to think up some witty comeback.

"W-well, your hair is too long, it looks like a girl!" One of them, presumably the leader, shouted.

He immediately shut up when Hyuuga Neji glared at him from across the room, flipping his long hair over his shoulder irritably.

The mysterious boy with black hair didn't even acknowledge he was being talked to.

Sakura gulped nervously and glanced at him.

"Thank you." She finally got the courage to whisper, voice weak from being close to tears a few minutes ago.

"Hn." The boy replied, not taking his eyes off his thick novel. Sakura twitched in annoyance at his lack of response.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, what's your name?" She asked, hoping for real words this time.

The boy glanced over to her curiously before replying.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you can just call me Sasuke though."

And that was officially the day Sasuke became Sakura's best friend and vice versa.

"Sakura-chan, you're here!"

Said fourteen-year old grinned and waved at her friend Ino.

"Yo."

The grin quickly faded when the blonde reached over with open arms to embrace the rosette. Sakura pushed Ino away lightly.

"I don't do hugs."

Ino pouted while Sasuke chuckled and Naruto laughed, patting her on the back. The small group sat around one of the large tables that made up the homeroom. Naruto sat a seat away from Ino on his right who was directly across from Sakura with Sasuke on her right. They always ended up sitting together whether intentional or not, but it usually was.

The small group chatted for a while (minus the ever silent Sasuke) about how their summers were and the changes in each of their appearances. As usual Ino's hair grew out quite a bit and her style became even more fashionable and girlish. Naruto didn't wear as much orange but he still wore a lot of it and he wasn't wearing his goggles for once. Sasuke's hair was only a tiny bit longer but styled in its usual unintentionally messy way that it didn't make much of a different; he also wore more black than usual. Sakura didn't really change at all. Her hair was still the same shoulder-length height she'd kept it since third grade and she still wore skinny jeans, vans, and Hot Topic shirts with matching concert merchandise.

"Ah, Hinata-chan is here." Ino suddenly announced, looking at the now tall girl shyly walking towards their group. Naruto blushed and his beam was so bright it almost hurt Sakura's eyes.

Sasuke shrugged and returned to looking out the window.

Ino stood to hug the girl excitedly.

Sakura just smiled and waved.

"Hinata-chan, your hair is so long now!" Ino sang, turning the girl around to examine her appearance.

"You look really nice, Hinata."

Hinata blushed and looked down shyly at Naruto's compliment.

"Th-thank you, Uzumaki-san."

"How many times do I have to tell you you can call me Naruto!" He joked, walking over to sling an arm across her shoulder and boldly kiss her on the cheek.

Ino could be heard cooing when a sudden voice broke through the chatter.

"Good mornin', guys!" Kiba cheered enthusiastically. Ino squealed and literally jumped into his arms, giving him a rather adulterated sloppy kiss right on the lips which he happily returned.

Sakura shot the group a disgusted look they didn't seemed to notice and Sasuke gave a small smile, grabbing her hand from under the table. She returned the smile and looked back at the now (fortunately) not making-out couples.

Okay, well maybe one other thing changed during summer Sakura forgot to mention.

"Nee, why don't we all go out together now? It'll be like a double date!" Naruto suggested, his arm around a blushing (but smiling) Hinata.

Ino bounced excitedly in Kiba's arms who grinned like a fool.

Sasuke and Sakura sweatdropped, again being forgotten by the lovey-dovey couples.

"Totally! Where to?" Ino agreed, smiling sweetly and her boyfriend.

"Ichiraku's!" Naruto exclaimed as expected. He looked down at his girlfriend with sparkling eyes. "What do you think, my love?"

Hinata blushed and smiled back.

"Anywhere is fine as long as I'm with you."

"I love you, Hinata."

"I love you too, Naruo."

"And I love you, Kiba." Ino said, kissing him on the lips.

"Me too, Ino-bear."

"I think I'm going to throw up." Sakura whined, clutching her stomach as she ruined the moment.

Sasuke nodded in agreement, disgust evident in his uncomfortable face expression.

Ino sighed and rolled her eyes, reluctantly breaking away from Kiba's embrace.

"You guys would understand if you two ever get together! I swear you guys are complete idiots for not dating yet."

The two teens just shrugged.

The group eventually decided on a small café named Rasengan in a more arcade and anime-influenced part of Tokyo. They all slid into a booth by a window that looked out to the busy street and blinding sun. Ino sat at the end of the left side with Kiba way too close to her a short distance from Kiba was Naruto with Hinata way too close to him.

On the other side of the booth were Sasuke and Sakura sitting together in disgust.

"What do you want to order, Ino-poo?"

"Did you just compare your girlfriend to fecal matter?" Sakura asked, smirking when Ino sent her a glare and a grossed out expression.

"I think we should get the Lovers Deluxe Platter, baby." Ino replied, pointing a manicured finger to a section on the menu.

Naruto perked up and gasped at the menu.

"They have Rasengan Romantic Ramen!" Naruto shouted, fist-pumping excitedly. Hinata giggled and snuggled into his chest.

"A huge bowl of spicy noodle death, very romantic." Sasuke retorted sarcastically under his breath. Sakura nodded in agreement chuckling lightly as she reviewed her menu and pretended four pairs of eyes weren't glaring at both her and Sasuke right now.

Just as Sakura made her mind a woman no younger than forty-five came to their table with a black apron and a notepad and pen in her hands. Her hair was golden blonde and tied back into long ponytail, somewhat like Ino's but a lot of gray. She gave them all a fake smile before asking, "What can I get for you all".

"The Lovers Deluxe Platter for me and my honey-bunny-love." Ino ordered, nuzzling Kiba's cheek.

Sakura made a gagging motion.

"Rasengan Romantic Ramen!"

The waiter blinked in annoyance before fake smiling again and writing it down.

She turned over to Sakura and Sasuke and smiled.

"What a cute couple you too are! Will you be having the same as them?" The waiter asked with a genuine smile as she motioned to Ino and Kiba.

Sakura blushed in embarrassment and waved he hands frantically.

"Ah, we're not actually dating, just friends!" The pinkette denied quickly. Sasuke nodded beside her.

The waiter frowned at this but asked for their orders.

They both just ordered a plain glass of water and everyone turned in their menus, Naruto "accidently" brushing Hinata's chest as he did so. Kiba didn't even try to hide his hands running devilishly up Ino's sides.

After a minute Ino (thankfully) broke the sounds of cheesy romantic sayings and coos to excuse herself to the bathroom. Hinata seemed grateful and took the opportunity as well.

Sakura sighed; finally feeling more relaxed with the buys than being surrounded by girls or head-over-heels love-sick teens.

"I already miss my Hina-cupcake." Naruto whined dramatically.

Sakura groaned and face-tabled. Even Sasuke gave a little sound of protest.

"Haruno-san," Kiba started. "They've been gone for a while, go check if they're okay, please!"

Sakura scoffed. "They left five seconds ago, I'm sure they're perfectly fine."

"But Sakura-chan, I love Hina-caaaaakes! You wouldn't understand, you're incapable of love!" Naruto protested, crossing his arms.

Sakura rolled her eyes and Sasuke hid a small smirk.

"Hey, dude, what's that?" Kiba suddenly asked, nudging his friend's shoulder and pointing to something behind Sasuke. He glanced back before returning his gaze to outside of the window.

"Pachinko." Sasuke answered monotonously.

"PACHINKO?" Naruto and Kiba exclaimed in sync.

Sakura rubbed her temple, her lovers-created headache worsening by the boys' loud voices.

"Sakura-chan, you've got to play with us!" Naruto yelled, grabbing the teen's hands in plead.

Ew.

Sasuke shot a death glare promising slow and immense pain at Naruto who quickly got the point and dropped her hands. Even Kiba tensed and nervously slid further from the girl.

"What are you, old men? Nobody plays Pachinko anymore, I'm not going." Sakura declined, wiping her hands on her black Dir En Grey shirt.

Naruto looked over and before he could even get the words out Sasuke shook his head.

The two sixteen-year olds exchanged looks and immediately sped off, leaving Sasuke and Sakura in clouds of smoke.

"Finally!" Sakura cheered, grinning in satisfaction that she and Sasuke were finally alone.

Sasuke gave her one of his usual smiles always dedicated to her no one else had ever seen on the Uchiha before. He abandoned the window and pulled her into his lap, arms wrapped around her thin waist.

They could hear Kiba and Naruto in the background yelling at their loss and demanding a rematch. Typical idiots.

"Come over tonight." Sasuke asked, honestly expecting her to agree.

Sakura giggled (something no one else had ever heard or seen from the girl) and kissed him on the cheek.

"Can't, Hinata and Ino are forcing me to go to the mall for the autumn dance thing."

Sasuke groaned and let his head fall back to not-so-lightly hit the glass window. Sakura rolled her eyes at his usual overreacting and looked back at Kiba and Naruto losing Pachinko.

"Just ditch." Sasuke suggested albeit hopefully.

Sakura shook her head.

"That'd be rude. I already skipped almost every event during summer because of you; I think I owe them at least one shopping trip."

Sasuke scoffed and turned his head, still resting on the glass panel, to stare blankly at random space outside. He looked back when he felt Sakura squirming in his lap.

"They're probably coming back soon." Sakura explained as she sat back on her seat. Sasuke sat up and pouted cutely at her.

"I don't get why you want to keep our relationship a secret."

She sent him an incredulous look in response.

"You want to look like them?" Sakura asked, voice raised in horror.

Sasuke unconsciously shuddered and shook his head. He suddenly felt sick.

"Exactly. Plus that type of thing is embarrassing." She blushed and looked away.

Sasuke smiled and pulled her head back to kiss her softly on the lips.

Well, it was supposed to be light, but Sakura had to use her black magic on him and return the kiss a little more passionately. What type of Uchiha would give up so soon? Definitely not Sasuke, so he pushed back with equal force.

The two were in a full make-out session with moans and small noises escaping their heated lips when a loud and familiar voice brought them out of La La Land.

"Hey!" Naruto shouted, quickly approaching their table with Kiba following.

Sakura broke apart instantly and tried to make herself look presentable while Sasuke sent a glare at the oblivious blonde and childishly pouted.

"Can we borrow some change? Pleeeaaase? We'll win this time, we promise!" Naruto pleaded the two, Kiba begging as well.

"You still owe Sasuke and I for Ichiraku's last year you freeloading, idi—"

"Hn." Sasuke interrupted, tossing Kiba his whole wallet.

Both Naruto and Sakura stared at him in shock. Sasuke loaning money (or any act of kindness) was like a lion saving a sheep—rare and utterly amazing.

Sasuke shrugged and motioned for the back of the café where the machine was collecting dust. Naruto and Kiba nearly killed each other trying to make it to the machines before the raven-haired boy could change his mind.

"Why would you do that?" Sakura cried in concern and shock. Sasuke just smirked and leaned in to kiss her.

"So we can have a few more moments alone."

Just as the words left his lips the restroom door opened to reveal Ino and Hinata back, Ino with reapplied makeup and Hinata looking nervous and shy as usual.

Sakura faintly heard Sasuke curse under his breath and saw him rest his head on his palm and lean his elbow on the table.

After Hinata and Ino forced Sakura and Sasuke to watch their boyfriends fail at life—I mean Pachinko, and they finished their meals the group was standing in the middle of the sidewalk in front of a random arcade talking.

"It's getting pretty late," Ino stated as the sky turned a orange color from the setting sun. "I should probably head home before my mom freaks." She sent Kiba an expecting look and he squeezed her hand with a grin.

"I'll walk her home."

Hinata nodded and the group bid their goodbyes to the blonde and boy who smelled oddly like wet dog.

"I-I should get g-going too…" Hinata said quietly, looking at her feet.

Naruto grinned and took her hand.

"I'll walk you! Later guys, take care!" Naruto called over his shoulder, already dragging the blushing girl home.

"Goodbye Haruno-san, Uchiha-san. Have a safe trip home!" Hinata called, bowing before turning around and leaning against Naruto's shoulder.

Sakura smiled and waved the two off as they faded into the crowd of busy people.

She turned around when she felt a light tug on her arm. Sasuke pointed towards the entrance of the arcade with a pleading look and Sakura smiled, following him.

After about an hour the couple left with multiple bags of tokens and small prizes. They had received a few stares (mostly because of Sakura's awesome victory dances) but neither could care less.

When they stepped outside they were greeted to the crisp, exciting air of night and lights of signs, cars, and buildings lined the whole busy street. The chilly breeze faintly carried the mouth-watering but familiar smells of gyudon and taiyaki. Soft booming of loud music from the club on the next street filled their ears along with zooming cars and carefree laughter. It was officially night time, the time Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno could be a couple.

Sasuke smiled and took the smaller girl's hand. It was now a perfect moment.

"I love you, my little Saku-poo~" He teased.

And the moment's ruined.

Sakura rolled her eyes and snatched her hand from his.

"That's gross."

A/N: No real plot and more Japan references than usual... I hope you enjoyed it nonetheless.