Hello, readers! So, before you read, I just wanted to say something really quick:

This story takes place between chapters 699-700 in the manga. HOWEVER. You should know that I've read some sporadic chapters in the manga (the ones with reanimated Itachi, and the last two chapters), but I haven't read the whole manga... So, I'm really sorry if there are any inconsistencies. I just want you all to know that, just in case ;)

Okay! Now you can go right ahead and read away :)

That night, Sasuke found himself unable to sleep. He lay in his bed, tossing and turning, unable to forget Sakura's harsh rejection.

Hours passed, and the young man lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. He didn't even blink. After several hours, Sasuke stood and began slowly pacing the floor of his bedroom. He couldn't hold still any longer. The clock on his wall read 3:25, but he could care less. He didn't care about ANYTHING. All that mattered in the entire freaking world was the fact that Sakura SHOT him. Right in the HEART.

Metaphorically speaking, that is.

Sasuke was madly pacing now, walking about his room and running his fingers through his hair with mad frustration.

"She wasn't supposed to say that," he began muttering to himself, over and over again. He was starting to look like he belonged in an insane asylum. Finally, Sasuke somewhat came to his senses and stopped in the middle of the room, loudly talking to himself. "Why? Why did she turn me down like that? I'm a changed man, aren't I? Have I not changed enough? Am I not as good-looking as I used to be? It's my hair, isn't it?!"

Suddenly, Sasuke was struck with a sick, horrible realization.

"Oh, God," he said, raising his new, artificial hand to his brow. "There's someone else, isn't there?! Oh shit! Ohhh, SHIT!" Sasuke grabbed the sides of his head, taking handfuls of hair in his hands. Who? Who had Sakura fallen for while he was rogue? Who could it possibly be?! Sweat was dewing up on the Uchiha's forehead and trickling down his face.

What a drama queen...

Suddenly, Sasuke uttered one, hushed word to himself.

"Naruto."

It had to be him. He had loved her since they were young, too. And he had always been there for her, always by her side. Plus, the ladies couldn't resist him, now that he was a grown, handsome, and amazing shinobi. Who else could she be in love with besides him?

Sasuke felt utterly betrayed by his best friend. How could he do this to him? HOW?!

"NarutoooOOOO!" Sasuke's somewhat composed demeanor snapped, and he began to yell like a madman. "YOU FILTHY TRAITOR!" Without thinking much, Sasuke ran down his stairs, threw on a long, black cloak to cover his jammy-jams (they had puppies on them), and ran furiously out into the darkness. He HAD to get some answers!

xXx

"Naruto! Open this door!" Sasuke yelled, banging on his best friend's apartment door. "Don't make me break in there, because I will! Mark my words! I am seriously PISSED and-"

Sasuke suddenly heard the door to the right of Naruto's open, and there stood a tired, grumpy-looking man with untidy, brown hair. "Hey, kid!" he yelled in Sasuke's face. "It's almost four in the morning! People are trying to sleep!"

"This is important!" Sasuke rudely insisted, motioning to Naruto's door.

"It can wait, or you can shut the hell up about it!" the man yelled.

Sasuke let out an angry growl. "Chidori!" he impulsively yelled. Bolts of lightning struck up his arm, crackling with electricity.

"Oh, so THAT'S how you wanna pla-"

And then Sasuke hit him in the stomach.

The man flew back into his apartment and hit the far wall. Sliding to the floor, he let out a miserable groan.

Normally, since Sasuke had turned his life around, he wouldn't do something so extreme. But in THIS case, he was in a foul mood, and it was early in the morning, AND he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. Plus, he was fairly new to this whole "good guy" thing.

"You're fine," Sasuke grumbled, reaching out and shutting the man's door for him.

Suddenly, Naruto's door opened, and there stood a sleepy-eyed Naruto, rubbing his eyes. "W-what happened? Sasuke, what's wro-"

Naruto couldn't finish his sentence. Sasuke grabbed his sleeve and dragged him forcefully back into his apartment. Slamming the door before Naruto could react, Sasuke looked into his eyes, challenging him. "It's you, isn't it?" he said without any explanation. His eyes were bloodshot, and one of his eyelids twitched furiously without stopping.

Naruto cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. "What's me?" he asked, confused and sleepy.

"Sakura. She's in love with you, isn't she? She accepted your confession, but not mine."

Naruto's eyes widened and he stared at his friend. "Sasuke, are you being serious? You confessed to Sakura?"

"Don't beat around the bush!" Sasuke insisted. He slammed his hand into Naruto's chest, shoving him hard against the wall. "Answer my question!" he yelled right in Naruto's face.

"I never confessed to Sakura, you jerk!" Naruto was now riled up by Sasuke's rude behavior. He smacked the Uchiha's hand off of his chest. "We're not in love! This is the first time I'm hearing about this!"

"Hm," Sasuke scoffed, closing his eyes. "You're a liar."

"Well, you're being an idiot! And I'm not lying!" Naruto argued back.

"If you don't tell the truth," Sasuke said, raising his hand threateningly, "I'll Chidori you like I did to the man next door!"

Naruto's mouth fell open. "You mean you would hurt Ken? Come on, Sasuke, Ken's a sweet guy. You know better."

"I didn't come here to get scolded," Sasuke briskly said, ignoring the fact that Naruto had used the word "sweet" to describe his grouchy neighbor. "I came here to get answers from you, Naruto."

Naruto groaned loudly. "Ugh. Look, Sasuke, Sakura and I AREN'T IN LOVE. She even told me I was like her brother once! Now that would be gross if she was dating her own brother."

Sasuke sighed. That was one of those things only Naruto would say...

"Besides, I've moved on," Naruto said, his blue eyes brightening. "I think I'm in love with someone else."

Sasuke didn't even think to ask who. He was filled with too much relief to care just yet.

"But you confessed to her, and she turned you down?!" Naruto said, getting excited.

"Tch," Sasuke scoffed, closing his eyes and turning his head away. "I don't think it's any of your business.

"Yes it is too! I'm your best friend, so I have a right to know!"

Sasuke rubbed his hand over his face. "Fine. Yes, she turned me down. She said I had hurt her too much in the past."

It was silent as Sasuke remembered the terrible evening.

"Sasuke..." Naruto said quiet and comfortingly. He placed his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder.

Sasuke smiled up at his friend, waiting for his condolences. What are friends for, after all?

And then, Naruto's big mouth opened.

"You know, you really do deserve it. I mean, she did everything for your sake for years and you just kept turning her down and ignoring her. Seriously, what did you expect? Did you really think she would just forgive you that easily? It's not like she was just going to forget all the torture you put her through. If you think about it-"

"That's ENOUGH, Naruto!" Sasuke yelled angrily, interrupting Naruto's lecture. "Dammit," he muttered, nudging Naruto's hand off of his shoulder. "What can I do to show her I'm sorry? That I really do care?"

Naruto scratched his head thoughtfully. "Well, Sakura says I'm dense... whatever that means... but that's not going to stop me from trying to help you! Why do you like her? Why do you want to be with her?"

Sasuke thought for a moment. "Well, she's perfect. And just an amazing person. But I doubt me telling her that would do much."

"Hm..." Naruto said thoughtfully. "Are there any other reasons?"

"Well..." Sasuke said. "I would like to have my clan repopulated as quickly as possible. And I suppose that I want her to be the one to help me reproduce." He looked up at Naruto expectantly, waiting for him to say something. "I can't do it myself, you know," Sasuke said, as though Naruto had no clue that men couldn't asexually reproduce.

"Well..." Naruto squinted his eyes and scratched his head. "Did you tell her that?"

Sasuke thought a moment. "Well... no, I haven't," he said. "Do you think she'll want me if I tell her?"

Naruto flashed Sasuke a big, toothy grin. "Sure! They say you're supposed to be honest, right? If you say that to her, then you're being honest about how you feel!"

Poor fools... neither of them knew anything about love.

Unfortunately, because he knew nothing about love, Sasuke listened. "Okay," he said, perking up. "I... I think I'll tell her! In the afternoon!"

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" The blond fist-pumped. "She won't be able to resist you!"

And with that, Sasuke left, feeling a new wave of confidence. When he got home, he was able to get some rest, having some serious delusions that everything would be okay the next day after he talked to his love.

Ah, poor Sasuke... Let me know what you think, and I'll have the next chapter up ASAP- thanks for reading :)