As promise, two chapters. I'm still waiting for a reply from my beta about The Wonders of Karma so I'll update this story to kill some time. There might be a possibility that I am going to update more, depending on my mood and the progress of this story and my other one.

Speaking of other story, feel free to check it out. It's obviously in my account and it's called The Wonders of Karma. It's a crossover between Inuyasha and Naruto with Sakura (obviously) as the main character. Reviews are highly recommended (very recommended indeed) and appreciated. Thanks for all the support so far. Also, Juugo's last name was totally made up, so don't go complaining that it's not his last name.

By the way, italic words could either be thinking or flashbacks, aight?

Enjoy and review ;)


"Nothing, absolutely nothing." Gaara sighed in irritation as he stared, eyes half open, at the files in front of him. Specifically, the files of pinky or Haruno Saku– and yes, it was the school files. His older sibling, namely Kankuro, had snorted when he saw the name on pinky's file a few days ago. Gaara couldn't really blame the guy, even he had to admit that the name sounded more like a girl's than a boy's. Anyway, it had been a week since Haruno Saku, pinky, came to the school and so far there was absolutely nothing worth knowing about his current annoying enigma. It was all the basic information, like academic grades –the boy was an absolute genius, with only straight A's– and physical education and his name, age, birthday.

You know–

Useless stuff.

Gaara fingered the paper's tip and eyed the picture of Saku, noting that his pink hair was actually natural. As he continued to stare at the picture, Gaara couldn't help but think he really did look like a girl.

A cute one.

Gaara blinked at his own thought. Did he just really think that, again? He shook the thought away, flipping through the other pages and scanning every single one of them. Gaara slowly sat up straighter, as his eyes widen to its original size. He grabbed the page, and traced the words with his finger.

Last school: Tomo Gakuen.

Never mind the fact that pinky was from one of the elite schools in Japan, Gaara had heard someone say that he was expelled from two schools. Flipping through the pages, Gaara stopped at the academic records and narrowed his eyes. It was the same thing. There were only grades for one school, Tomo Gakuen. What the hell? It was either the rumors that were entirely wrong, or pinky's information was filled in incorrectly.

"Gaara, we have to get going!" Gaara heard the voice of his older sister, Temari, yell from downstairs.

"I'm coming," Gaara said, putting the files under a bunch of other folders, before grabbing his school bag. Making sure to lock his door, Gaara went downstairs.

"Good God, Gaara! You're slower than Chiyo-baa-sama," Temari said, rolling her dark eyes at her younger brother. Gaara remained silent, as he watched his sister tie her hair in her usual four ponytail style.

"Where's Kankuro?" Gaara inquired, closing the car door.

Temari shrugged, grabbing her keys from her bag.

"Probably still asleep," she guessed, "he stayed up late yesterday making his homework; he's always complaining about how hard college life is," Temari stated, slowly driving out of the garage of their mansion.

Yeah, mansion.

The Sabaku family was one of the riches families in Japan; it was truly a wonder why Gaara was enrolled in Saruwatari. Though it wasn't a bad school, it wasn't the best one either.

"Homework?" Gaara raised an eyebrow annoyed in disbelief, "Since when did that idiot do homework without you threatening him to?" Gaara ended, glancing at his watch.

6:30 A.M

Damn it, Temari. Way too early.

"Who knows? I'm just glad I didn't have to hear his annoying voice so early in the morning," Temari answered, honking at one car that almost crashed into her. Gaara sighed as his sister rolled the window down to yell at the driver, who in return rolled his window down and yelled back.

"Keep driving," Gaara muttered, hiding his face.

Temari growled one last time at the driver, flipping him the bird, before driving away.

"So, how's school, Gar-Gar? Any problems for you, Mr. Scary-Leader-of-1D?" Temari suddenly asked jokingly.

"First, don't call me any of those two. Second, school's fine; nothing unusual." Besides the fact that I'm starting to question my sexuality. Gaara added in his mind, glancing outside.

"That's good. I heard you got a new transfer student?"

Gaara simply nodded at the question.

Temari's face wrinkled in confusion, "Well, that's weird." She mumbled, spiking Gaara's interest.

"What do you mean 'weird'?" Gaara questioned, his face as emotionless as always as he looked away from the window to stare at his sister.

Temari shrugged, "Well, your principle, Sarutobi-sama, isn't really one to accept transferees, is he? Especially when it's already halfway through the semester." Gaara raised an eyebrow at his sister questioning.

Temari sighed before explaining, "A similar thing happened with Kankuro once, remember? Sarutobi-sama would've denied Kankuro's transfer, hadn't it been for Okaa-san, who was friends with his wife," Temari replied the unsaid question, taking note that they were almost at Gaara's school.

"Well, Haruno do seem to get along very well with Sarutobi-sama …" Gaara muttered, remembering once he saw pinky and Sarutobi-sama laughing at the hallway.

"Haruno?" Temari asked, moving her eyes from the road, "Did you just say Haruno?"

Gaara nodded absentmindedly.

She wrinkled her brow, "Where have I heard that name before?" She mused, pulling the car to a stop.

"Yosh, we're here. Should I come pick you up?"

"No, not today. I'm going somewhere after school, so I'll just walk home," Gaara injected, stepping out from the car.

"Alright. Don't stay out too long, you hear? Kaa-san is going to make me deaf with her lecture, if you do." Gaara smirked, nodding and closing the door.

"I'm not kidding Gaara!" His sister threatened him, "I swear if you do, I'm going to show you exactly why Kankuro is scared of that rubber ducky!" Temari raised her fist.

Gaara just shook his head, and walked inside school, ignoring the yelling coming from his sister. It was still very early, the school felt calm and seemed nearly deserted, just the way Gaara wanted it to be. He took his time at walking to his classroom, relishing the peace and silence. When he reached it, he wasn't surprised to see the classroom empty and simply walked towards his chair, laying his head down on his arms once sitting. He was up almost all night trying to figure out Haruno, occasionally questioning his own masculinity, so he was dead tired. But before Gaara could make it to dreamland, he heard a voice outside of his classroom.

"I heard that the first years got a new student a week ago."

"Yes, I met him two days ago…and to be truthful, I don't like that guy, something's off with him."

Gaara heard a velvet-like voice answer, and he knew immediately that it was none other than Uchiha Itachi talking. Meaning it could only be the members of the Akatsuki, who stood outside of his classroom.

"I agree with Itachi," one said, "Rumor has it that he was chucked from two schools because of fighting but he seemed harmless and…innocent, way too innocent, actually." Akasuna Sasori, Gaara confirmed, recognizing the voice.

"Oh, come on! Did you see how tiny that guy was with his pink hair and huge emerald eyes? That guy is no threat, and he doesn't look like he wants any trouble, let alone make it!" The gruff voice, one that Gaara could easily identify as Kisame, yelled.

"This Haruno might not be here to make trouble, but my guts tell me that he could be trouble if something were to happen." Gaara nodded at his statement. It looks like he wasn't the only one thinking so.

"Puh-lease, unless I see it for myself, I'm not going to believe it. You know what they say, 'To see is to believe.'" That was the last Gaara heard, before their footsteps slowly echoed away from the classroom. Slowly bringing his head up, Gaara glanced at the seat beside him, the seat of pinky.

"Just who are you, Haruno Saku?"


"Wahhh… so tired!" Sakura exclaimed, stretching as she walked. "I wonder how Ino-pig and Hina-chan are doing?" Sakura mused, slightly skipping as she passed by different kinds of stores. School had already ended, and Sakura once again managed to avoid brawling with anyone for the whole day, though, she did feel like someone kept on staring intently at her.

And honestly, it was scaring the shit out of her. The fact that she can't find who it was, no matter how hard she tried to look, made it worse.

"Screw you, whoever you are, you psycho stalker…" She mumbled quietly to herself, rummaging through her bag for her book.

Smiling as she pulled it up, she opened it, "What page was I in?" She wondered, flipping through the pages, looking for the last line she had read. Grinning when she found it, she put on her reading glasses –yeah, she needs glasses to read, deal with it! – and hummed lowly.

"What the fuck is wrong with you, Micheal? She obviously loves you! It's almost pitiful to read, you stupid shit! Even a blind person would be able to see that! …Well, maybe not a blind person, a semi-blind would be able to se-"

"Haruno Saku, right?" Sakura stopped mid-step, glancing up from her book. Spotting the gray blazers, she slowly looked up at the three guys in front of her, eyebrow raised at them.

"Do I owe you guys' money?" She asked, her voice monotone.

"What?"

"Well, do I?" She asked impatiently.

"…No?"

She smacked her book close, "Then yes, I'm Haruno Saku." She confirmed, voice back to her usual cheerful tone. "So, who do I owe the pleasure for this visit from the almighty Yoshiki Gakuen?"

"I'm pretty sure you know why we're here." The guy in the middle stated, glowering at her in annoyance. Sakura immediately recognized him as Yasu Kawamura, vice-president of the student council in Yoshiki Gakuen. Meaning the other two behind him was Daichi and Arata, the secretary one-and-two. She had an idea as to why they were approaching her, but she had to admit, it was fun playing with people.

No, she wasn't a sadist; it just simply amused her to no end.

"Nope, I got nothing," Sakura said, placing a finger under her chin as looked at them, feigning innocence. Yeah, she really did know why they were approaching her, and who had sent him. But hey, it was that guy's fault for bullying her; she was just simply returning the favor. Maybe she would've been nicer to the guy, hadn't he made her drop her favorite dango that day. He learned a very important lesson that day.

Never come between a woman and her food.

"Does Arashi Imai ring a bell?" Daichi suggested sarcastically, crossing his arms.

"…No, there's no bell ringing," Sakura stated, shaking her head as a no.

"Then… how about we refresh your memory?" Arata suggested, a smirk on his face.

Sakura felt someone push her into the alley beside her, "Hey, watch it! This book is new!" Sakura snarled, gesturing to the small book in her hand.

"Sheesh! Not everyone is as rich as you…guys…" She trailed off, watching as several people from Yoshiki Gakuen started coming out from the shadows, each holding either a wood or metal pipe.

"This, Haruno Saku, is for our president."

"…Oh shit."


All his life, Hokkaido Juugo was feared because of his intimidating height and appearance. Though he was definitely strong, he wasn't a bad guy. In fact, he actually hated fighting. He found those people who fought, just because they wanted to prove themselves strong, idiotic. He especially hated it when the strong bullied the weak. No one knew that about him, though. They all assumed that he was a big, scary guy that would beat up anyone who dared to come within a one foot radius of him.

When he was younger, it had been uncomfortable for him because of the way people eyed him with fear, but as the years passed he learned to get used to it. But just because he was used to it didn't mean he liked it. No one wanted to be alone, after all. He wanted at least one friend, one friend that would see past his appearance. And to his utmost shock, and happiness, he was finally granted one that goes by the form and name of Haruno Saku. That guy was the first one who didn't let his appearance get to him, the first one to speak to him so casually. Juugo could still remember when he first seen him.

The first time he actually saw Haruno Saku, the pinkette looked like he was caught in the middle of a fight between the 1-D and 1-B.

Juugo was passing by the schoolyard; another fight was going on, just like always. He was ready to simply ignore the whole thing altogether, when something bright caught his attention. Freezing his actions, Juugo turned his head to the right, and spotted a short, long pink-haired kid –the guy appeared to be a first year, with his height and all, so it was fine for Juugo, who was a second year, to call him a kid– that he have never seen before creeping away from the intense fight. What confused Juugo, though, was that the kid kept on glancing back desperately, looking as if walking away was killing him inside. Juugo watched as different expressions flashed through the boy's face. From desperation to anger, to shame and then finally to determination.

All those in ten seconds flat.

Juugo remained still as he watched one of the 1-B fighters break loose from the pack, and make his way towards the lone boy. He shook his head, thoroughly disgusted of the whole ritualized ordeal. He had seen it many times, and he was even a part of it once too. Juugo felt a momentarily swell of pity for the short, unknown boy who was about to be beaten to a bloody pulp by his much, much larger opponent.

"Where has humanity gone?" He wondered out loud, looking away from the scene and walking towards the gate, only to pause yet again, moments later, by a deafening smash.

Turning around swiftly, Juugo flicked a strand of his dark orange hair out of his vision and scanned the fight for the source of the noise. The hound of brawling students clearly didn't notice a thing, much to Juugo's surprise, but his red-orange eyes soon locked on the pink-haired student he had been observing moments ago. Lying almost four or five feet away from said guy, among the broken remains of what used to be a bench, was the 1-B student who had aggressively approached the pinkette less than thirty seconds ago.

Juugo's eyes widen in disbelief, he wasn't sure what to think. Was he supposed to think that that little guy actually did that?

He silently watched as the boy's hardened eyes slowly softened, before his face looked absolutely regretful and sheepish. The other 1-D and 1-B students remained oblivious to what the second-year student had just witnessed.

The second time he saw Saku, Juugo one-sidedly considered them friends, though he had a gut feeling that so did Saku.

"Aww man, I can't believe I actually got it dirty! Grandpa is going to kill me if I don't take this off," the pink head said to herself, opening the bathroom door. To the kid's surprise, and delight, the bathroom was relatively clean and not that smelly. The only one who occupied the bathroom was a huge looking guy with spiky orange hair, who raised an eyebrow at her after zipping up the front of his pants.

"Ah, sorry!" Sakura yelled, embarrassed that she was caught staring. He was probably thinking she was homo, or something.

Juugo watched from the corner of his eye as the pink-haired student, who appeared to be sulking, walked towards the sink beside him and pull out a stained handkerchief.

He raised a brow at her, "What are you doing here?" he asked causing the kid to glance at him questionably.

"As you can see," the kid slightly shook his wet handkerchief, "I am washing my handkerchief."

"No, I mean, why here?"

Saku blinked, looking lost. "Uhh, because it was the closest to my classroom?" the pink-head answered, unsure.

Juugo frowned, "Don't you know that no one comes here, because I'm here?" Juugo challenged, turning to Saku, who immediately raised a pink eyebrow.

"Sorry, but is your name written on the door, or did you have the paper from Sarutobi-sama proving that you own it?" Saku said, making Juugo blink at him.

"…No?"

"Then this is a free restroom." Saku went back to his dilemma, while Juugo was left speechless.

"Aren't…aren't you afraid right now?"

"…Huh?" the pink head looked at him weirdly, "What's there to be afraid of? All I see is the most pleasant looking bathroom in this school, and a fellow schoolmate."

Juugo gaped at him, "Fellow…schoolmate…?" Juugo repeated, looking as if the words were foreign to him. Saku didn't look like he heard him as he was furiously scrubbing the handkerchief, glaring at it when nothing happened. Juugo continued to gaze at the mysterious human being in front of him.

Saku turned from the sink, suddenly bowing, "My name is Haruno Saku by the way," He introduced.

"Hokkaido Juugo," Juugo replied, bowing as well.

"Nice to meet you, Hokkaido-san. Now, since this stain obviously won't come out, I should go before Gai-sensei kills me with a speech about how un-youthful it is being late."

Juugo chuckled, surprising himself. "Try dipping it in alcohol, then use soap to wash it off, that should do the trick," Juugo suggested while Saku grinned brightly at him.

Juugo managed a small smile, in spite of himself.

"I'll go try that. See you around, Hokkaido-san!" Saku said, walking towards the bathroom exit. "…I wonder if Shizune-nee-san would let me borrow some…"

Juugo remained in the bathroom for a few more minutes, staring at his reflection when he noticed the tiny smile that was praying his lips as he registered what happened.

After that, they started eating lunch together, not that anyone knew about it, and sometimes they even hung out together after school. It was the first time in a long while that Juugo felt so happy. All because of Saku, his friend, his very first friend.

It was only natural that he'd make sure that Saku was safe.

So when Juugo saw Saku get pushed into an alley, he wasn't surprised to find himself quickly running towards the ally, though it was a bit far from where he was. Hadn't it been for Saku's absurd hair color he wouldn't have known it was him.

"C'mon…" Juugo whispered urgently as he glanced back and forth between the red light and the alley.

Sprinting to the other side the second it turned green, Juugo prayed Saku wasn't hurt badly. Juugo froze when he spotted someone coming out from the alley and he felt relief surge through his body when he saw the familiar uniform of Saruwatari on Saku's body, which didn't have a single scratch or dirt on it. Saku slowly placed a pair of glasses on his nose, before taking out a red covered book from his bag pack. When he opened the book he started humming loudly as he walked away from the dark alley. Juugo stood still, waiting for the other three guys he saw to come out. When no one did after a couple of minutes, Juugo approached the alley and peered inside it.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

"Oh my God…" He whispered, staring, wide-eyed, at the scene before him.

Around twenty people were lying in all sort of positions –they looked to be thrown that way they– and they were either almost unconscious or are unconscious. Metal pipes, and wooden bats were dropped on the ground around them, broken in several pieces.

"Saku…did this?" Juugo realized, ripping his gaze away from the scene to the back of the walking pinkette.

Yes, Juugo is strong, and yes, he could have won against these weak looking people as well, and yes, he could have handled it without getting scratched. But, Saku, he didn't even appear to be sweating. Juugo silently gulped; there was more to his friend that just a good brain.

Something shinned on the ground, and Juugo glanced down. He knelt down and picked it up gently. Jingling the little keychain one last time, Juugo stood up and walked the opposite direction of Saku, without sparing even a glance at the mess in the alley.

"…You've got some explaining to do, Haruno Saku..."