If you are on this page, I commend you for your bravery! Unless, of course, you didn't read the first chapter... This part is fairly short. Once again, there is some Japanese terminology that may not be familiar, so here they are defined:

hai-yes

gomen nasai-sorry

konichiwa-good afternoon

ojiisan-grandfather (or in Naruto's case, old man)

ano-doesn't really have a meaning, maybe something similar to "um"

Happy reading!


Sakura had been waiting outside of the ramen bar for 15 minutes. Being her modest self, she had decided to wait for her friends before eating.

"And Naruto says that Kakashi-sensei is bad," she muttered under her breath. "He and Sasuke-kun are just as terrible." Just then, who would show up but the raven-haired Uchiha himself. His handsome face was as emotionless as ever, and his hands were stuck inside his pockets. Unfortunately, he was being followed by a gaggle of girls, led by none other than Natsu Ame. This girl was the archenemy of both Sakura and Ino. While pretending that she was an extremely nice person, Ame was popular also because of her looks and rich parents. As the giggling crowd neared her, Sakura nonchalantly called out,

"Still stalking Sasuke-kun, Ame?" The red-haired girl cast a withering gaze at her pink-headed opponent.

"Oh, it's you, Haruno." Her tone of voice conveyed nothing but venom.

"Hai, it's me. Anyway, don't you think you should stop following him?"

Ame gave a contemptuous laugh.

"What do you care? After all, you did say that you didn't like him anymore. Why are you still shielding Sasuke-kun then?"

"This is as a friend, not a crush. Anyway, shouldn't you be going now? I thought you had to do something at 1 o'clock, and time is running out."

"Gah! You're right!" Ame screeched. She and her band of followers dispersed. Meanwhile, Sasuke was dumbfounded. How did his most loyal fangirl suddenly transition from full-out crush to just friends? Not that he cared, of course. He had just been feeling something over the past few days…

"They seem to give you a lot of grief, huh?"

Her clear voice, like the tinkling of bells, cut off his thought. Sasuke nodded absentmindedly. However, he noticed that Sakura's fingers were fidgeting. She was obviously uncomfortable about something. Just then, Naruto appeared on the scene.

"Hey guys! Gomen nasai for being late, dattebayo!"

"Hn."

"Took you long enough."

"Anyway, let's get some ramen!" The blonde ninja led the way into the small stand. The three took their seats on the stools. Turning to his customers, the kindly old man who ran Ichiraku greeted them.

"Konichiwa, Naruto and Sakura. Who's this, Uchiha Sasuke? Welcome!"

"I'll have a pork miso ramen, ojiisan!"

"Miso ramen."

"I'll have the same thing as Sasuke-kun."

Teuchi nodded and stepped into the kitchen. Meanwhile, the three chatted amongst themselves.

"So Naruto, how are you and Sasuke-kun doing in your apartment?"

"We're fine so far! How are you doing in your own house, Sakura-chan?"

"It's good, although sometimes I forget that my parents aren't there."

She laughed. Sasuke found that he rather liked that lilting trill. The dark-haired shinobi gazed at her, masking his stare with indifference. She looked pretty today; fresh as a blooming flower in a meadow.

"What about that mission you had the other day?"

"It was a success! That criminal was easy to take down."

"I see."

Sakura continued questioning and answering Naruto. Deep inside his heart, Sasuke felt a little twinge of annoyance. She wasn't directing anything at him, except for a couple of little peeks when the pink-haired kunoichi thought he wasn't looking. However, when he had noticed and glanced at her, Sakura had quickly averted her eyes. This only served to infuriate him even more. Naruto was just as bad. He wasn't trying to make contact with his friend either, although he was probably too busy speaking with Sakura to turn away.

"Ramen's here!"

Ayame and Teuchi walked out of the kitchen balancing bowls of hot noodles. Placing them in front of each customer, the two Ichiraku owners resumed their tasks of cleaning plates and washing utensils. Naruto and Sakura continued chatting. The whole lunch was passed in silence by Sasuke, who quietly slurped at his ramen while getting crabbier and crabbier at his friends. When the members of the former Team 7 got up to leave, the raven-haired shinobi quickly said good-bye and set off for the training ground. He felt that some alone time was needed.

Sasuke stared competitively at the wooden training dummies. Summoning up his chakra, he muttered,

"Chidori nagashi!"

Blue streaks of lightning-like chakra were emitted from his body. They slashed out at the wooden posts. In a matter of seconds, what was originally a field of training dummies was now a mess of splinters. Satisfied, Sasuke began to work on his taijutsu. He figured that the trees wouldn't mind getting kicked around a little. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of Sakura. She kept looking over her shoulder, as if she were afraid that someone would see her. However, that was a touch on the idiotic side, as many people were weaving their way around the pink-headed girl. Quickly, Sasuke jumped onto the top bough of a nearby tree, deciding to observe his former teammate. Sakura stopped in front of a large tree. She took a fighting stance and balled up her fist. Chakra began to emanate from it, and the kunoichi rammed her gloved hand into the tree. An astonished Sasuke witnessed the sturdy oak explode into little fragments. Sakura continued to work on her moves. After what had been seemingly an hour, the dark-haired shinobi was feeling cramped. Doubting that he could take anymore of kneeling on the rough bark (in khaki shorts, no less), Sasuke jumped onto the ground in front of a panting Sakura. She started in surprise. Ignoring her astonished expression, Sasuke looked at her calmly.

"Do you need a sparring partner?"

"Oh! Ano, it's okay. I was just going. "

She smiled awkwardly and fairly ran out of the training ground, leaving her friend behind. The Uchiha stared after her. Why was she always so jittery around him? Having nothing else to do, he trodded toward Naruto's apartment.


How was it? Bad? Good? I'd like to hear your opinions.