Author's Note: Second Naruto fan fiction. Enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

WARNING:
AU: Everyone here are just normal, people. No ninja things or whatsoever.
OOC: Characters may be different from the original characters

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Chapter 2: A Brothers' Rivalry

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"I'm home," Sasuke said in a low voice and kicked off his shoes.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun! Welcome back!" A woman wearing an apron came from the kitchen to greet the teenage boy who just arrived.

He ignored her and walked upstairs, heading toward his room. On his way there, he peeked into his older brother's room since the door was a bit open. What is this idiot brother of mine doing, Sasuke thought.

Not before long, Itachi himself opened his bedroom door wide open. "Yo. Do you want something, Sasuke?" His lips were formed into a mocking grin.

"L-Like I would want anything from you!" Sasuke blurted out and continued on his way to his room. He heard Itachi chuckle and close his bedroom door. Onii-san no baka. He entered his room and closed the door behind him. He plopped himself on his bed, thinking about that pink-haired girl. He stared at the ceiling, wondering whether his brother liked Sakura or just wanted her as a friend like he did. But then again, he did want to walk her home and he did pull her closer to him. Do normal friends do that? Sasuke wouldn't know: he's barely had any friends--ever--that is, if he's even had any friends at all.

Envy came over him. His brother was ahead of him yet again. It's always about his brother. Itachi is a genius. Itachi is so athletic. Itachi is so talented. Itachi this, Itachi that; that's all he ever heard from people, including his own father. Now, he was going to have Sakura, too. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows, not wanting to lose to his brother yet again. He was smart, athletic, talented, and all those other things just like his brother yet he barely got praised. This time, he thought, I'll be the victor. Sakura will be my friend and not a single thought of onii-san will cross her mind.

He heard someone knock on his door. "Sasuke, time for dinner," a feminine voice said.

He scowled when he heard the woman's voice. How he hated her. Uchiha Mikoto: Sasuke's step mother. He hated his dad for marrying her two months after his real mother died. He hated his older brother for siding with their father about the marriage instead of being against him. He felt angry and betrayed. That's when he started distancing himself more from people; the brother who he was once so close to seemed like a wholly different person. (A/N: Since this is fan fiction, I made Mikoto their step mom even though she's Itachi and Sasuke's real mother in the manga and anime.)

"I'm not hungry right now," he replied coldly. He didn't like eating together with his brother, his dad, and that woman as if they were one happy family. Because they weren't. Through Sasuke's eyes, Mikoto only married his father, Fugaku, because of money. Through his eyes, Mikoto was nothing but a slut who messed up his family.

"Okay," he heard her say softly.

Stupid woman. Sasuke closed his eyes. A small smirk appeared on his lips. He jumped off of his bed and got a few pieces of paper, scribbling carefully on each, one by one.

--

"Sakura," Sasuke called out.

The pink-haired girl had just arrived to school. She stopped in her tracks and turned to see who was calling her.

"Hey," Sasuke said and smiled, showing his dimples. He's been waiting for her to come for a while now. He was standing by the school gates and ran to her side just now.

Sakura smiled back. "Good morning, Uchiha-san," she greeted. So the conceited bastard does have manners after all.

She headed toward the building and he walked beside her. "You can call me Sasuke," he said in a somewhat sheepish manner.

"Okay. You look cute when you smile," she told him. "Your dimples make you look even cuter." She giggled. He kind of looks like his older brother...

Sasuke blushed at her comment. He was already used to being called "hot" and all that other stuff from girls of different ages and he didn't even care the slightest bit. Yet this girl right here made him blush. He wondered why such a thing happened.

Sakura's green eyes brightened when she saw Itachi not so far away. "Ita-" she started to say when a girl grabbed on his arm with a wide smile on her face. She frowned in disappointment. She heaved a sigh.

"What's wrong?" asked the raven-haired boy beside her. He let out an "Ah," when he saw the girl clinging to him. He smirked.

"Ohayo (Good morning)," Sakura greeted Itachi when she passed by. Instead of just one girl clinging to him, another one came up to him and started getting a bit too close to him.

"Sakura!" Itachi exclaimed, making her stop. "This is-" he started to say but was interrupted by the purple-haired girl clinging to her.

"Mou, Itachi-kun, pay attention to me," the girl whined. "You did after all, leave that letter in my locker."

"What?!" the other girl near him shouted. "What is this about? Itachi-kun wrote a letter to me," she said, waving a letter in the purple-haired girl's face.

Sakura felt a sharp pang in her chest. She didn't need to see this. What, is he rubbing it in her face that he already has these two girls? Was he saying that he didn't need her? She felt frustrated and wanted to cry. She turned around, ready to leave. She wasn't going to stay and watch girls swarm around him, flirting with him and touching him while she was right there. She didn't need crap like that in her life.

"Let's go Sakura. It seems like onii-san is busy," Sasuke smirked again and placed his arm around Sakura's shoulder. "I'll walk you to class." She didn't bother to take his arm off of herself; she was too upset. She just wanted to get away from Itachi and those girls right away.

"Sakura!" Itachi tried calling out, but it was no use. She was gone. With Sasuke. He grunted in dissatisfaction.

These girls are so annoying... It's all their fault. "Would you let go?" he asked in a deadly tone and stared at the two girls with eyes of malicious intent. They immediately stopped bickering and became silent. "I don't know who the hell wrote those damn letters but I do know that it wasn't me. Got it?"

Both of the girls nodded.

"And if anyone else happens to have that same letter, let them know that it wasn't me, alright?" he ordered.

They nodded once again. It seemed like Itachi would kill them if they didn't comply to his wishes.

"Good. Never bother me again." He walked to class, thinking of how to fix things with Sakura later on. As for the culprit who sent out those love letters, he could only think of one person who had the guts to do such a thing: Sasuke.

Success, Sasuke thought as they neared his classroom; Sakura's classroom was past Sasuke's. Now all I need is to comfort Sakura and we'll be friends. He smiled at the thought. My first friend...

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino yelled when she saw Sasuke's oh-so familiar figure approaching their classroom. She squinted, seeing that there was someone walking beside him. She gasped in horror when she realized that it was a girl. "Karin, look!" Ino said frantically and pointed toward Sasuke's direction.

Karin gaped at the sight. A look of horror was also on her face. "Haruno Sakura?!" she blurted out in disbelief. "B-But, s-she, g-girl," Karin stammered, not being able to say what she wanted because of the shock of actually seeing Sasuke walking with a girl. While smiling. And of all people, it was Sakura; Haruno Sakura. Why her, of all people? Karin asked herself. Sasuke must be out of his mind...

Karin was in the same class as Sakura, so she knew a couple of things about her. She was smart, somewhat bossy and demanding, pretty, a bit anti-social, but most of all, everyone knew not to mess with her or try to hook up with her. That is, only if they didn't want to die yet. Why? Because it was clear to all of them that Itachi, a well-known senior, wanted Sakura for himself. Sakura was the only one in their class who didn't know. None of them told her about Itachi's fondness of her because he threatened to harm them if they did.

I have to tell Sasuke, the red head thought.

Sasuke and Sakura passed by the two girls as if they were invisible. Ino acted up even more when she saw Sasuke's arm around Sakura. Karin got a little jealous, but she needed to tell Sasuke to stay away from her once she had the chance and when Sakura wasn't with him.

"Thanks, Sasuke," Sakura said softly when they reached her classroom. She forced herself to smile and went inside. Sasuke walked to his classroom too, which wasn't really far away.

"Sasuke-kun!" Ino rushed to his side. She opened her mouth to say something but Karin started talking first.

"Sasuke-kun," said the red head, "Listen, Haruno Sa-" The bell rung, signifying the beginning of the period and interrupting Karin. "Shit!" Karin ran to her classroom saying, "I'll tell you later!"

What was that about, Sasuke thought and shrugged. He always thought that Ino and the red-haired girl were weird. Whatever...

--

Sasuke hastily rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rung and headed over to Sakura's classroom, hoping to walk with her to the cafeteria. Plus, he also wanted to get away from Ino; she was trying to send him notes in class but he didn't want to read them. He even flicked one back at her face by accident. But he could care less.

He smiled unconsciously once he saw Sakura's flaring pink hair among the others' hair. "Sak-" Sasuke started to call of to her, but out of nowhere, Karin just appeared right in front of him, blocking his view of Sakura.

"Sasuke," she said anxiously.

He groaned. Not this girl, too, he thought, not wanting to deal with her right now either. Sakura was right there and Karin was getting in his way. What the hell could she possibly want from me now? "What?" he hissed venomously. This better be something worth it. He was watching Sakura walk farther away.

"It's about Sakura," Karin said.

"What about her?" Sasuke asked impatiently, keeping his eyes on the pink-haired girl. His eyes widened a bit and he furrowed his eyebrows a bit. Onii-san?! What's he doing out here? He still has class. Sasuke just wanted to push Karin away and get to Sakura before Itachi got the chance to take her away, but he was too late. Sakura had a sad and angry face while talking to Itachi and he dragged her away somewhere, pulling her by her hand. Dammit!

Sasuke looked at Karin with eyes that pierced like daggers. He just missed a chance to score points with Sakura. Now his plan might be completely useless now, so what Karin has to say better be important. Or else...

--

"Where are you taking me?" Sakura asked.

But she received no reply from the long-haired male who was dragging her somewhere. She got annoyed because he just dragged her away while she was on her way to lunch and he already had those other girls so why is he bothering her now? Even though she didn't want Itachi to do things like this out of nowhere, she couldn't help but feel a bit calmer because... Well, simply because she felt like that. She sighed and just let Itachi drag her to wherever. She'll find out what he wants soon enough.

Itachi opened the door to the rooftop and went there along with Sakura. It was bright and sunny outside. A mild breeze blew her hair and her skirt gently, causing them to get a little messy.

"Sakura," he said gently.

Her jade green eyes looked at him with such an expression. "What..." she said in a faint voice and faced her back to him. She was jealous of those girls he was with earlier and she was fully aware of that. She and Itachi weren't in a relationship or anything, but she couldn't help it. Sure, Itachi had the right to flirt with or even get together with as many girls as he wanted, but she just wished that he only paid attention to her.

She sighed. She only had a crush on him anyway. She would be able to get over him sooner or later...

"Look, about earlier," he said and took a step closer to her. "I'm sorry." Sakura cringed, hating how smooth and velvety his voice sounded. "But," he continued, "It was all a misunderstanding. I wasn't the one who gave those letters to those girls. Honest."

She didn't respond. How am I supposed to believe that? She thought it was stupid but she felt like crying. But she managed to hold the tears back. She didn't want Itachi to see her in such a state. That would just be plain embarrassing.

He frowned. "Someone else did it. I don't know why or who," he lied, "But it really wasn't me. Someone probably just wanted to play a prank on me, that's all."

Still no reply from the pink-haired girl.

Sakura felt his great arms around her from behind. They felt warm and made her feel safe. She felt her cheeks become hot. She hated the fact that she could melt right then and there. "You believe me, don't you?" he whispered into her ear. She felt his hot breath on her ear and felt her cheeks become even hotter. She hated it how he did that also. He could practically get anything he wants by doing that. She hated it, hated it, and absolutely hated how he always manages to get his way.

"Yes, I do," Sakura said. She stared at his face wondering if such a good-looking person was allowed to exist. She tilted her head. From here he kind of reminds me of Sasuke... I wonder if these two siblings are more alike than they seem...

"Itachi?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't you have class right now?" Sakura only had lunch with people who were in the same grade as her; she was a sophomore and Itachi was a senior.

"Yeah."

"Why are you cutting class?" she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Because," he smiled at her and finally released her from his embrace. "Sakura is more important to me."

She shook her head, her pink locks moving in the same motion. "Idiot," she muttered.

--

Sasuke looked at his food grumpily. He poked it and played around with it, not really having an appetite. He wondered what his brother and that girl were doing at the moment and where they were.

"Sasuke," Karin said cautiously. She didn't want to anger him any more and it already seemed like he had a negative aura around him.

He looked at her with his piercing dark eyes with a look on his face saying, "What the hell do you want?"

"About Sakura," she continued. Sasuke's ears perked up once he heard her name.

"What about her?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and motioning her to continue.

"I don't think you should keep hanging around her."

He slanted his eyes at her. "And why not?"

"Because if you do... You know that senior, Itachi? He has a kind of secret claim on her and anyone who tries to get close to Sakura like you're doing now gets... Well, bad stuff happens to them."

Sasuke scoffed at what she said. "Do I know Itachi? Hell, that bastard is my brother."

The red head looked at him with surprise. "He is?!" Her mouth was hanging open.

"Obviously. Are you an idiot? How many people have the last name Uchiha in Japan? Not a lot." An amused smiled was plastered on his usually stoic face. "Even if he is my brother and even if he tries to do stuff to prevent me from getting close to Sakura, I'll beat him at his own game." He smirked, picturing his brother's face once Sasuke finally got Sakura all to himself. "Besides," he added, "I always get what I want. And right now, Haruno Sakura is on my list."

Author's Note: There. Chapter two is finally done. How was it? I hope you guys enjoyed it! I'll try to update on a weekly basis, but I probably won't be updating next week because I'm going on my senior trip. :D If you have any comments or whatever, feel free to tell me; like ways for Sasuke to keep Itachi away from Sakura, who Sakura shoulds choose, etc. Possibly pairings: ItachixSakura, SasukexSakura, SaixSakura.

Review please! Flames are highly accepted.

Ja.

-Aimee