What's up guys? I'm going to start by saying that this is my first story ever published on here, ironically enough. I've actually been around for ages here on fanfic, and now we talking years. However, I've never had the guts to ever convert from just a reader to one of the authors. I kind of find it a big deal...? I don't know how many of you have been through my type of deal, but I'm willing to bet most of you can relate to it being nervewracking when it comes to posting your first story. You keep asking yourself, will someone read it? Will someone drop a comment on whether or not its interesting or just plain crap? Yes? No? These are questions I keep asking myself all the time, and I haven't even published a story yet, lmao. Until now, of course.

So, I hope those that take the time to read, will enjoy it to at least some part. This story already has its plot finished, and I got many more chapters to come, with lots of plot twits and action. even though it might not be liked all too much, I'm still going to keep posting chapters regularly. I'm not one to leave a story uncompleted, because that's just a shitty feeling for both the author and the reader. Completing a story is one of the best feelings out there, don't you agree?

Before you all begin to read, I want to say that this story was madly inspired by GreenRoseRegalia and her story Aftereffect. I was literally obsessed with her story, so I highly suggest you go read it. It's amazing.

For those that don't know, this is an AU Highschool Sasusaku story, because that's where the most drama tends to be.

Anyway, on with the story!

Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing but the plot.

Introducing,

Affirmation and Affliction

It has begun,

Into the dark below,

Evading shadows.

- Starset

Chapter One - Fatal Encounter

Outside it was foggy, the mist drawing in between buildings, making it impossible to spy even five feet ahead. Barely there contours of buildings and light flickering of lights were the only signs of the city. While everyone was huddled up in their comfortable beds, sleeping peacefully, there were those few that did not.

Instead, those few people where plagued, haunted, by tragic terrors and sorrowful pasts. Those few people weren't able to escape their own hell, for every time they closed their eyes… The internal nightmares of their reality begun.

The scream echoed throughout the house, scaring the girl to her very core, her body tense and shaking from the fear that was coursing through its system. Her eyes were wide open, with silent tears running freely down her cheeks. Only a minute ago had she been in the embrace of her mother, being told that everything was fine - but that embrace ended quickly when she was forcefully ripped away from the secure warmth of her mother's hug. And just seconds ago, had her innocent mind been exposed to the unfathomable cruelty of the life on Earth, for she had been forced to witness how her mother screamed in pain when a knife dug into her back, her form crippling to the floor and falling with a dull thud. Three shadows loomed over her then, ready to end her life as well, however - they were called off by the man leading them before they managed to do anything that would have been irreversible.

"Leave her." He had said, his voice deep and demanding.

"She is not worth the trouble."

His piercing gaze then met hers, and they interlocked into a staring contest. None of them disengaged, partly because her emerald orbs were stunned into silence. Even if she did want to turn her gaze away, she found it impossible.

A few more seconds passed by before he finally twisted his eyes away from her, and turned his back to head towards the door. The darkhaired man flicked his hand to his subordinates, signalling them to leave. They all walked out the front door as if nothing was wrong, as if they had just been here on a friendly visit.

But it was all but friendly.

However, the little pinkette didn't register that he or his henchmen left, even when the door shut with a loud bang, emphasizing their departure, for her mind was still stuck on the fact that his eyes… they had been the colour of red.

Since the group had departed, and she was still breathing, meant that apparently no harm would come to her. He had stated it actually, but it did not ease her in the slightest. Instead, she walked over to her mother's body, sinking to her knees and grabbing a hold of it. She shook her mother, believing that if she shook her enough times then maybe she would finally respond, and wake up from her 'sleep'. She refused to give in to the fact that her mother was gone, really, actually gone, as in inevitable gone.

Her silent crying turned into full blown sobs that wracked her body like waves when her attempts turned to be fruitless. She lied down and curled up to her mother's side, the still warm body nothing but a morbid remembrance that she had once been alive, and breathing.

Sakura shot up in rapid speed, her breath hitching and eyes on the verge of tears. Her chest was heaving, and every intake of breath was a challenge. She grasped at her chest with her hands, trying to calm the furious pounding of her heart and ease the pressuring pain, for her chest was coiled tight, painfully so, from the feelings of guilt and ache at the complete abandonment that she was currently feeling. She knew this procedure well, because it was the afterglow of her nightmares, they always left her in such a state - always on the verge of a panic attack. She let out a shaky breath, her body tilting slightly forward.

It was that dream again.

It had been some time since she had relived that particular dream, before it had just been… lesser nightmares, none featuring her mother's death. The scream however, had always been present, but the scene itself differed. Sometimes it would just be the shadows of the leader's henchmen looming over her or a continuance of what the men would've done if he hadn't called them off. The scene where her mother got stabbed had somehow been avoided whenever the nightmares occurred, which happened at least once a week. The remaining days that weren't affected by the nightly terrors, just contained sleepless nights, and for that she was thankful, even if the thought of being thankful for not getting sleep was somewhat… disturbing.

She sighed and wiped her pink tresses from her face, feeling the moist texture of her hair. It was dripping wet, and Sakura frowned at the discovering. Grabbing a tassel and twisting the tresses up into a messy bun, left her sighing at the relief of not having to have the wet hair slapping her in the face anymore.

Sakura then slowly rose up from her leaning position in her bed, silently as to not wake her sleeping friend, Ino. Hinata was only a couple doors down, bunking with someone else, so there was no worry to waken her other friend inside the building. And it was a relief, to have Hinata bunk with someone other than her, for unlike Ino, Hinata would just break down as well at seeing her in such a low state.

Ino, however… She knew Ino would pity her if she had woken up to her nightly terrors, and Sakura just couldn't stand seeing the guilt and the pity in her best friend's eyes. She didn't need pity, and she didn't need to see the guilt and regret in her friend's face whenever her nightmares occurred.

Ino held grief over the fact that she wasn't there when Sakura needed her the most, and the pinkette knew she was beating herself up over it. That's why she rather have Ino being sound asleep than awake to witness her pinkhaired friend at her lowest. It was better that way.

A stray thought of possibly catching some more much needed sleep got her to glance at the clock that was situated on the nightstand between the beds.

It read 05:00 AM.

… Which meant it was still early in the morning. Very early, but still too late, ironically enough. She let out another sigh.

So much for the idea of catching some more sleep.

There was no way that she would be able to fall back asleep now, not when she was due to wake up in two hours anyway. The first day at KHS, Konoha High School, was today, and she admitted to herself that she was a little nervous. The place was unfamiliar to her, she didn't know the rules or the social norms of the students there. All she knew was that it was a rich kid's school, and that just scared her all the more, for she wasn't rich.

She wasn't like Hinata who was an heir to the Hyuuga family, and she certainly wasn't like Ino… A Yamanaka with looks that bordered on insane perfection and a personality that allured pretty much anyone she talked to. Her family was part of the business world, and one of the most successful ones out there. Sakura however… She was just a simple ordinary human being who only got in because of her godmother's help, because of Tsunade.

She lent Sakura her aid and gave her the opportunity to follow her dreams. Her mother had gone to KHS, and so, she had set out the goal to follow in her footsteps. The only reason she was at KHS, was simply because of the generosity of her godmother, nothing more, and nothing less.

'There's absolutely nothing special about me…'

She ended that train of thought before it got any longer. Thinking like that lead to nowhere, it would only give her more reasons to despise herself for, and she believed she has enough of those already.

Besides that KHS was a rich man's school, another scare factor for her was that they were freshmen - newbies. There were rumours that freshmen were the targets for the sophomores and seniors to play pranks on… And Sakura preferred not being a victim for some rich brats looking for fun. No way, it wasn't going to happen, ever.

Or so she told herself. But she, to her misery, had this uncanny affinity for bad luck, which probably would bring her to some sort of demise anyway.

And that was guaranteed.

Thirdly and lastly, the thought of them being freshmen, only brought forth the fact that, once again, they would have to relive being the first graders all over again, and it left Sakura feeling bittersweet.

The hierarchy of high schools was something she resented but also knew was inevitable. It was natural to sort the weakest from the strongest, it lies in the human genetic code. But still,

It didn't make it the more right.

Sakura just hoped she wouldn't find herself at the bottom of the figurative ladder. But knowing Ino and how she could be, the possibility of being placed there was very slim. She appreciated it, really, and quite honestly, it was one of the many reasons why she liked being Ino's best friend so much, the benefits were just too great. And of course, the fact that Ino also practically was the sister she never had was another reason behind their friendship. Their bond goes all the way back to kindergarten, where she met Ino for the first time. She remembers that specific day clearly, where their first day of a strong friendship started. The blondehaired gossip queen had defended her against a couple of bullies teasing her about her pink hair and large forehead, telling them to get lost, only to nickname her Forehead-girl after they left. Sakura retaliated by calling her a pig and ever since, the nicknames had stuck.

Sakura smiled at the memory of it before heading to their shared bathroom to freshen up.

After refreshing herself and wiping her face clean from water, Sakura pondered on what to do in the remaining two hours that she should've been sleeping away. A flashback to the dream caused the pinkette to frown, shaking her head to rid herself of the images.

"Leave her."

The feeling of abandonment was fleeting but regardless of that, it was still there, and she had felt it. The feelings of cold dread and panic washed over her, crept up her spine, causing her throat to tighten and making it hard for her to swallow properly. Ultimately, she knew she would have to do something that would take her mind off of things, something that would distract her from her traitorous mind. Looking around, she caught sight of her training shoes, and an idea sparked in her head.

She could go for a run.

It would be the perfect thing to do if she wanted to find relief from her distressing thoughts, the perfect outlet to escape her feelings.

To just run from them.

Maybe then the anger and sorrow and anxiousness would disappear, the exhaustion flushing her system clean, and leaving her an open window to find some peace.

She needed it right now, all the peace that she could find, to delete the images of her nightmare. Her mind flashed the gruesome scene of three shadows looming over her, and the ebony haired man's voice telling them she wasn't worth the trouble…

"Leave her."

"She is not worth the trouble."

Her brows dipped, and she quickly walked over to the side of her bed and grabbed her duffel bag along with her headphones, phone, and running shoes, and headed out. The quicker she got out, the quicker she could reduce the state of mess that she was in.

She walked with careful steps when entering the hallway, mindful of the other sleeping girls in their dorms. Currently, she presided on the third floor, where her and her friends' dorms were located. There were no boys inside the building, just girls, and for that, she was grateful, because if there had been boys here…

'They would probably harass us at every given opportunity.' Sakura thought inwardly, and made a turn to reach the staircase.

The building that she was in, had three floors in total - the two top floors reserved for dorms, which were divided into different sections - senior, sophomore and freshmen wings, and the bottom floor was an area for students to mingle and socialize. So the building had to be pretty huge, if it were meant to contain so many students. Especially if it even had a kitchen, which was one of its highpoints in Sakura's opinion.

That was only the start, however, for right next to the building in which she was presiding in, there was another building, that is exactly as huge as its neighbour. And opposite the two buildings… there were two more identical ones, used by the gender that can pee while standing.

In total that makes it four huge buildings - all of them which students of KHS were currently residing.

It truly was a blessing that they were separated by gender, two ginormous houses for each gender, or else it was guaranteed that chaos would ensue. Sakura believed that theory, even though it hadn't been proven – and it could stay unproven, because she wasn't exactly up for testing its liability.

The reason that backed up the decision of gender separation, was KHS's belief that it would prevent certain actions taking place. Little did they know, however, that people snuck in anyway - after the given curfew time.

Alongside their plan of separating the males and females from another, there was this nicely added curfew that happens at 09:00 PM sharp every weekday, where boys had to head back to their building and girls to theirs.

Of course, students were permitted to socialize outside their respective buildings after the assigned time – no issues there, it was just simply prohibited for guys and girls to be in their opposite gender's dorms. So they wouldn't break the golden rule of converging in certain actions.

Not that many heeded that rule anyway. The students thought the rule existed only for the purpose of being broken. Although Sakura didn't really mind, she guessed it was a good rule to have, but if not a little childish because, honestly? This is high school, it's the peak of every teenager's life, of course they'll do their damnest to experience it to the fullest. Not that the pinkette would be going there anytime soon, though. Being in a guys' dorm to do… well, do the nasty… It wasn't her type of thing.

Far from it.

Sakura shuddered at the thought. Sure, she would love to find a boyfriend that loved her… but she wasn't going to sleep around just for the joy and, ah, pleasure, of it. For her, being intimate with someone had to have meaning, she couldn't just do it for the sake of fraternization. She could catch herpes... or worse, AIDS. Which of both she didn't want.

The pinkette finally reached the bottom floor after walking down the three sets of stairs, and turned left from the staircase towards the double doors that would lead to the outside grounds. The air was chilly, Sakura realized, when pushing the hefty wooden doors open. She was met with an especially cold wind to the face, and frowned at how her body shivered from the coldness of the breeze. Being cold wasn't something she liked, actually, she despised being cold. It meant that you just ended up shivering all the time and hacking your teeth. She preferred warmth, and heat, not freezing coldness.

Ironically though, she was anything but.

Her blood circulation in both hands and feet was slow, it being caused by a genetic disease that made them to constantly be cold. It had been passed down from her father's side, she had been told when she asked why she always had such cold hands in younger years.

It was something that bothered her, really, having the genetic disease, because every time she touched someone, they would flinch at the sudden coldness of her hands. Therefore, if possible, she would avoid coming into unnecessary contact with strangers.

Her friends didn't mind her… condition, in the slightest though, and for that she felt forever thankful.

Letting out a puff of air, she proceeded towards the section where the gym was located, zigzagging between the gigantic buildings. The gym was stationed to the far side of the boys' dorms, quite a distance away, so it took some time to reach the place. It gave her enough time to plan her route for her jog, and she figured that running a couple laps around the hall would suffice. At least for today, she could explore later in what other paths that were available for running.

Sakura bent down and re-tied her running shoes when reaching the steps of the gym, having already been inside and changed, and then proceeded to plug in her headphones to her phone. She scrolled through her music, looking for a song that would inspire and help her start off running. After a little scrolling, she finally found it and pressed it, the tunes immediately reverberating inside her head, all the while shutting out the outside world.

The song Centuries by Fall Out Boy echoed with its lyrics, and she found herself singing quietly along, despite her untalented voice. The song was set on repeat, for once Sakura was stuck on a song, she could listen to it for ages. It was a habit that people thought weird, but she didn't mind as long as the song did its job to soothe her. Ino and Hinata had long gotten used to the looping of Sakura's most favoured songs, both of them fully convinced that some part of Sakura's mind was insane. For only an insane person could listen to a song a thousand times and never tire from the same rhythmic pattern.

Right?

Sakura started into a slow jog, running a few laps to warm up before escalating into a full out run. Breaths were harshly pushed out of her nose and mouth, while copious amounts of air were inhaled. Her mind was still uneasy after a couple of laps, and it somehow didn't bode well. Somehow, it felt like she was waiting for something to happen, something terrible, and unwanted.

The lyrics kept going, and she jogged at a fast pace, wanting to feel the power of her legs pushing her further forward, each sprinting step making her feel unstoppable.

Some legends are told
Some turn to dust or to gold

Sakura wiped the sweat that was accumulating on her forehead and temples from the tempo she was running at. She hindered it from stinging her eyes by wiping it away, for it was an uncomfortable sensation to have liquid dripping into her eyes. If she could avoid it, then she damn would.

But you will remember me
Remember me for centuries

… "Leave her."

The pinkette's brows tilted downwards and she frowned at the sudden phrase popping into her head. It was the third time her mind reminded her of the words spoken in her nightmare. She couldn't figure out the reason why her mind tortured her in such ways. It was her mind. But then, why couldn't she control it?

And just one mistake
Is all it will take

Her breaths were becoming harsher with every new spoken lyric. Her mind was a traitor, she mused, anger igniting and building up inside the pinkette.

"Mom, don't leave me."

Thud.

"I'm sorry, honey, mommy was too late."

Thud. Her foot hit the earth with powerful force.

"Mom, no! Don't leave me… Don't leave me here alone!"

Thud thud. Each step vibrated through her muscles, each step expressing the infernal furnace of anger and guilt that the pinkhaired girl was currently feeling.

"I'm so sorry, Sakura dear…"

Thud, thud, thud.

"NOO! … Mom…"

THUD. A footprint was left in the dirt, the impact diverting the once even ground from its linear surface and into a depth.

We'll go down in history
Remember me for centuries

"You better remember the face of your mother's killer, so you'll never forget how useless you were, not being able to save your beloved mother's life. Pitiful, and weak."

Silent tears were now running down her cheeks, her mind bringing forth image after image, each one more horrible than the other. The made up conversation between her mother and her - the picture created to symbolize the betrayal she felt over her mother leaving her alone in the world, and the whispered taunts from him nothing but imagination, however it might as well have been real for it spoke of how Sakura felt when her mother got murdered. She was useless, just like he had said. She was weak, pathetic.

She heaved in breath after breath, her mind more distressed than before when she started her jog. She had to do something, anything, to break the spell the song was weaving onto her. So she did the first thing that came to her mind, she switched songs.

I'd Love to Change the World – Matsubs Remix by Jetta sounded through her earphones.

Almost instantly, the pinkette felt relief flood her senses at the new song. No more did she have to hear the misinterpreted lyrics of her previous choice of soundtrack. The slow beat and bass in her newly chosen song calmed her racing mind. Turning the volume up higher, it drowned out everything, her breathing, her heartbeat, the thud of her feet hitting the earth packed ground, everything. Her anger died down, the fire no longer being fuelled, and the guilt was slowly washed away.

With the calming song wiping away her misery, Sakura thought back on what happened only moments ago. The lyrics of the song had somehow triggered her to react strongly, her mind lashing out in anger, as if some kind of defence mechanism. She knew that she had been scarred, and hurt badly over the terrible event of her mother's death, but for her mind to be so quick to anger over a few choice words? It was new to her. She had never experienced anything like it. She had had songs on replay before, some more depressing than others, but it had never triggered anything. She had a short fuse, yes, but this short? No.

Maybe it was because the dream she had dreamt was the original scene from which all her other nightmares diverted from? Maybe that was the reason?

Reliving the specific scene of seeing her mother getting stabbed is what must have triggered her anger, or so Sakura believed. It was the only reasonable theory that was applicable to what had transpired only moments ago. It had been a long time since she had actually seen her mother get killed. Her nightmares always just sort of… jumped over that particular gruesome part. She didn't know if it was her mind trying to tell her something or if it just liked messing with her.

It probably wasn't the latter, she hoped, which meant it had to be the former.

Maybe her mind wanted her to accept the fact that what has happened, happened, and that she just had to… deal with it? To just… accept it?

Impossible.

There was no way Sakura could ever forgive those men for doing what they did, nor would she ever accept that she had to say farewell to her mother once and for all. In doing so it meant that she would have to let herself remember the times when her mother was still alive. Those memories had been repressed a long time ago, she didn't want to recall the times where her mother was in the world among the living, for it would force her to acknowledge her death, as well. Some days, the good days, she could still pretend that maybe her mother was alive after all, that she wasn't lying buried 10 feet underneath the soil. But inwardly she knew it was false hope. Of course she was dead. She had been dead for almost three years now.

She had seen her die dammit.

Sakura shut her eyes, willing the thoughts to end, and shook her head. Keep riding that train of thought and she would be in no better condition than when she woke up. Instead, she shifted focus to her running.

Sweat freely poured down her face, making it stick like a second layer, and her face was covered in a blush of red from her efforts.

'I probably look hideous.'

After running a few more laps, her legs started to protest and screamed at her to stop. So she did, sitting down on the steps to the P.E. Hall to catch her breath. Minutes ticked by before her breath finally regulated back to a normal and steady intake of air. The pinkette rose and stretched a little before heading inside, intent on taking a hot shower. She let out a sigh of bliss at the thought of warm water cascading down her back and unwinding her tense muscles. She really needed it, craved it.

Nothing served as a better escape from her demons than hot showers.

She tugged off her sweaty clothing and threw them to the side where they landed on the wooden bench, and was just about to unsnap her bra when a thought popped into her mind. Chills ran down her back.

'Where is my towel?'

Shocked, and now distressed, the pinkette looked around the room and under the benches, but couldn't spot the white piece of fabric anywhere. It was gone.

She sat down heavily on the bench, its cool surface not helping her with her distress. She knew she had brought a towel with her, but it wasn't in the duffel bag, she looked, and it wasn't in the locker room either, as proved by her earlier frantic searching. Sakura clenched her jaw and fiddled with her fingers, all the while trying to figure out where she might have left it. Her brow furrowed in thought. Then, her eyes widened, and realization came crashing into her, her body flinching from the strong reaction. She remembered now where it was. Before, she had used it to wipe her face clean of sweat after running, so it wouldn't make her face itch when the liquid started drying into her skin.

She had left it outside. On the stairs.

Which meant she had to walk out there.

In her underwear.

For there was just no possible way that she would put on her grimy and sweaty clothes again just to get her towel. She'd rather endure the embarrassment of walking there in just a bra and panties. Sakura swallowed and closed her eyes, silently resigning herself to walk the walk of shame in her underwear. She simply had to if she wanted her towel back, damned be the anxiety.

'I'm at least lucky enough to be here early, so I won't have to worry about anyone seeing me…

… Right?' The pinkette thought, and swallowed again at the sudden nervousness that came rushing. It wasn't a big deal really… It was just outside on the steps, and she wasn't completely butt naked, she still had clothes on her covering her most sacred places dammit.

She let out a sigh before bracing herself and headed towards the locker room door, tipping on her toes, thinking and believing that it'll reduce the sounds that she made.

'Why was I so stupid…?'

She checked the hallway, and rechecked it again just to make sure that there wasn't a single soul out there to witness her fantastic display of state of undress, before stepping outside. She didn't even ponder on the scenario where some stranger would spot her in just her underwear… Especially if the stranger was a guy… The embarrassment would just be too much, she'd never be able to return. She would simply have to quit on her first day and never come back.

Okay, so maybe she did ponder on that scenario, because it was likely that it would happen, seeing that she had this amazing trait of bad luck. Yeah, no, the word luck didn't exist in her world, or her vocabulary, the meaning of it strange to her. 'At least I can hope it'll be a nice-looking guy seeing me this… naked. That would save me less embarrassment.' Sakura thought, and blushed at the mere idea that a random guy would see her like this. No guy had ever seen her without proper clothes on. There just wasn't anyone out there willing to deal with the emotional wreck that she is. Her walls were propped up too high. It would take someone very dedicated to even try tear down the defensive walls of her mind.

The air out in the hallway was a bit chillier than in was in the locker room, and it caused goose bumps to envelope her form, the tiny hairs on her body rising from the sudden exposure. She tiptoed further ahead, spotting the wooden structure of the double doors that would lead her to her beloved towel and, ultimately, to her rescue.

The boy shuffled along the dirtpath with a duffel bag swung over his shoulder, his feet directing him towards the P.E. Hall. There was a creaking sound that brought him out of his silent brooding, and he shifted his gaze over to where the sound came from, which also happened to be where the entrance to the building was that he was heading toward. The sight he was met with caused one of his brows to rise in slight amusement.

'That is new', he mused, and saw a girl with pink hair standing in the middle of the steps, about to grab what seemed to be a towel.

And she was wearing nothing but her underwear.

A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips, but he pushed it away. Instead, he went to lean on the lamp post next to him, letting his gaze wander over the form of the girl before him. Her body wasn't overly curvaceous, he noticed, but instead athletically built. That is, if her slim shaped body was anything to go by. She also seemed so… small. And fragile.

She was petite, he decided.

He then stopped that train of thought, and breathed a sigh of annoyance. The girl was still oblivious to his presence, so it appeared that he would have to make himself known to her. Closing his eyes for a few seconds, he pushed off the lamp post and cleared his throat to catch the unknowing girl's attention.

Not expecting to hear any type of sound while fetching her sacred white piece of fabric that would've been her lifesaver, her body startled and the pinkette swiftly turned around to where the sound came from, all the while fumbling with her towel anxiously. Her eyes were wide open in both fear and surprise, for she had been so utterly unprepared for anyone to walk by.

Her eyes scanned the premises and soon landed on the source of the sound, and her breath hitched.

For right under the shining light of the nearby lamp post, stood a human form, a human form that very much read male.

Her eyes were met with a lean and toned body from what she could see, because he was dressed a grey t-shirt and a pair of black, loose fitting jeans along with a pair of jays that blocked her vision, making her guess unconfirmed. She swallowed nervously, and let her gaze travel higher, not wanting to get caught ogling.

Only, they landed on the darkest pair of deep obsidian eyes that she had ever seen in her life. Her eyes widened even more, for his onyx orbs… They were like an abyss, drawing her in and exposing her to the world.

It made her feel all too insecure.

Immediately, she clenched her jaw, because she couldn't for the life of her turn her gaze away from his. He was too captivating. While her emerald orbs were like an open book, his eyes showed nothing. They were just… intense, and…

And full of mirth.

The bastard was finding the whole situation amusing.

He then shifted and the trance between them was broken, but with it, the reality of her predicament also came crashing, along with the embarrassment.

Because while he was dressed in clothes… She was only in her underwear.

Which explained the reason why he seemed so amused.

She was standing in front of him in only her underwear, flaunting her body for the world to see.

'But then why does he look so exasperated and irritated?' Her mind mused silently when her eyes swept over the rest of his facial futures, which, for the record, were nothing short of sexy.

The sheer amount of embarrassment that she was feeling at the moment made her take a deep breath, only for it to once again hitch in her throat.

The pinkette gulped, and threw the first words that came to her mind at him,

''Who a-are you?'' She said, all the while cursing herself inwardly for the shakiness of her voice.

The idea of trying to appear strong and unaffected flew right out of the window as fast as it came, she had already failed miserably.

The breath-taking ebony haired stranger however, disregarded her question and spoke in a slightly raspy voice, which caused Sakura to unconsciously gulp, again,

''You should cover yourself up.''

And that was when she realized that she had yet to wrap her towel around her body. Instead, she had only been holding it in her hands the entire time.

Damn it.

This stranger was witnessing her make mistake after mistake, probably thinking that she was a fool, a naïve and stupid girl. The thought tweaked a heartstring inside her, oddly enough.

She had to swallow down the thick lump in her throat before giving a reply,

''Y-yeah…''

He then started walking forward, making her subconsciously take a couple of few steps back, and she stumbled up the stairs, backwards. 'Great… More mistakes…'

While she thought that he would just brush past her and ignore her, which she was desperately hoping for, he did the opposite and came to a stop just right next to her, his arm brushing against her shoulder. She had to force her head up to meet his gaze once again, their eyes interlocking. He leaned in, and Sakura started to believe that the chance of a heart attack occurring was increasing per second the way her heart was beating - which was damn fast.

His breath tickled against her cheek, and all Sakura could do to not react in any sort of way, was to take silent quick breaths.

''… You have yet to cover yourself up.'' And with that, he straightened up and walked away, the sound of the doors being pushed open behind her drowned out by the rampaging thoughts that currently were raging a war inside her head.

Sakura quickly wrapped the towel around her body after he had left, not wanting a repeat of more incidents. She was still flustered from the stranger's behaviour, but also felt frustration and irritation rise within.

He didn't have to scare her half to death only to tell her to cover herself up. How hard could it be to just… Not lean in close to her and breathe on her face? Why couldn't he have done the straightforward thing and just tell her on his way in to the gym that she had yet to wrap the towel around her body? But no, apparently, that was not his style. He just had to be all intimidating and… and, breath-taking.

Literally.

She let out a frustrated sigh and turned to enter the building herself, finally being able to take the much longed for hot shower, all the while ignoring the fact that the stranger also was within the vicinity of the P.E. Hall.