The third part. You will be three quarters of the way done when you finish.

"Dude, I'm totally in!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the two. Kiba and Naruto had way too much energy for their own good. Is this really the reason the guys had gotten together?

The blond man turned to him expectantly. "So that's everyone but you, Bastard. You in or out?" Everyone right now included Kiba, Naruto, Neji, and Shikamaru.

Sasuke scowled. "Yeah, because going to some club and watching a flock of women try to hang themselves on me is exactly how I want to spend my Friday night," he said dryly. He heard Neji snort from a few feet away, and he heard what suspiciously sounded like a 'troublesome' from Shikamaru. Sasuke wondered what they bribed him with.

Naruto and Kiba looked at him like there shouldn't be anything else he'd rather be doing. Is that all his friends ever thought about? He hated a lot of noise and hated large groups of people that always seemed to focus on him. He failed to see how putting the two together was going to be a good time for him.

"You could share a few of them, you know." Naruto, ever quick to sulk, scrunched up his nose. Did he not understand that Sasuke didn't even want them in the first place?

"You can have them." He grimaced. There was nothing worse than having some ditz try to hang on your arm and screech in your ear all night. "Shouldn't you be more focused on someone else anyway instead of some mindless fangirls?"

Failing to get the hint about the shy girl who always watched him, Naruto only answered with a confused "Huh?" Was the guy bipolar or something? Sasuke could've swore it was just last week that he talked about asking her on a date. "Whatever. So you're really not going?"

Sasuke just gave him a blank look, silently asking the question of why he should.

"Come on. Even Gaara's going." Sasuke couldn't deny that he was impressed, and he wondered how they got him to go too.

Monotonously, he added, "I'd rather stay home with my cat." Even if he was partly joking, Cherry was much better entertainment than these guys, especially when they were all together. He preferred going to sleep without a major headache, thanks.

Kiba laughed, and Sasuke sent a glare in his direction. "Yeah, we can kinda tell." His ever-present dog's ears were down, and it seemed to be looking at him. "Akamaru can smell it on your clothes. He had a bad run-in with a couple cats once."

A few snickers rang out in the group, and he turned to glare at the rest of them. "It's not my fault she likes to sleep in my clothes basket." It's not like he could've stopped her anyway. Cats were funny like that, he learned.

Naruto 'aww-ed' and spoke up in a mocking tone. "Does she sleep with you too?" This caused the ring of laughter to increase, and Sasuke crossed his arms, frown still in place.

"Shut up. She's a good cat. Much better company than you losers."

Annoyed, he turned and started to walk away, ignoring their calls and Naruto's question. Absently, he marveled at how fast he went from not wanting anything to do with the cat to defending her.

-

-

Sasuke entered his room, rubbing his towel through his unruly wet hair. A mass of red fur followed shortly after, and Cherry made a soft thump sound as she landed on top of his bed. Wandering over to where one of his windows should be, he flicked on the air conditioner and shivered as a blast of cold air came into contact with the water droplets still clinging to his skin.

His house didn't have central air, but he found that he only really needed the cool when he slept. The small unit was just the right size to cool his room, and it didn't cost that much to run. Taking the towel off his head, he checked the temperature setting quick before he threw the wet towel into his dirty clothes bin.

He looked over to his bed and found Cherry looking at him. She seemed to do that a lot, but he was used to it by now. After a few more weeks of being here, sleeping in his room wasn't even new.

Absently, he thought back to what Naruto had said earlier that day and fought back the urge to grimace, the laughter still crystal clear in his mind. It wasn't any of their business anyway.

She meowed, and he was brought out of his thoughts. He saw what she was touching and answered her. "No, Cherry. Not today." She had her paw on the remote sitting near the foot of the bed, but on his words, she ran up to the headboard and laid on the pillow next to his. She curled into a little ball and poked her head up while looking at him, clearly asking him to follow.

He found that she liked the cool air too. It must be hot for her with all that fur, and after he started to let her sit in his lap, he found he didn't mind her near when he slept either. She wasn't like those other cats that woke you up in the middle of the night by chewing on your hair. She appreciated sleep too.

It was strange, but Sasuke knew she somehow understood him. It was a little ridiculous too, but he couldn't help but think it. There were always people that said they understood their pets. He would've scoffed at them before, but now he thought he understood what they meant. He was pretty sure it went both ways.

He often wondered what she was thinking because of this. He wondered what she would say if she could talk. He rolled his eyes at the memory of his friends. She'd probably have more intelligent things to say than they did.

Coming to the edge of the bed, he picked up the remote and placed it on top of the TV on his dresser. He didn't have a TV in the front room (one of the reasons Naruto didn't like to hang out here much, thankfully). He didn't watch it much anyway. Sometimes before bed he'd flick through channels to see if anything interesting was on. Cherry had become used to this custom too.

Standing in front of the box for a moment, he caught sight of the furry reflection. Before he knew it, he was imagining what she would be like if she wasn't a cat.

He bet she would have a soft voice if she could speak, one that would match her skin. He knew that would be soft too, just like her fur. He couldn't really picture her with red hair like her fur depicted, but he wasn't sure what else matched her. She didn't seem like a blonde in his mind, and brown or black just didn't fit the image. She would have green eyes, just like she did now, and they would glitter like diamonds when the light hit them.

He imagined a pleasant laugh, a sweet sound that struck a chord in his memory. An image came to mind then of a soft, pink veil of hair and creamy skin. She was laughing, and it was like listening to the most pleasing music. Startled, he realized that that image already had a name attached.

Shaking his head, he turned to head to bed. He hadn't thought of Sakura Haruno much since high school. He briefly wondered what she was up to now. He didn't even know if she stuck around Konoha after graduating. It was too bad he didn't keep in touch. He knew where most of his other friends had gone off to. He didn't bother to ask at the time. Maybe he should. Ino probably knew exactly where she was.

Pushing it out of his mind, he sat down on the edge of his bed and reached back with a hand to pet Cherry, who was waiting patiently. She began to purr instantly, and he couldn't help the small smile that appeared on his face for a few seconds.

Reaching over to shut of the light next to his bed, he then pulled the sheet over him as he laid down, liking at least a part of something covering him while he slept. He mumbled a goodnight to the form next to him, and he fell asleep listening to the soft lullaby her rumbling made.

-

-

Sasuke turned the heat down on the burner that held the pasta he was making. He was currently mixing together a special blend of tomato sauce he learned from his mother. He hoped Cherry liked spaghetti.

It had been nearly a month since he'd adopted Cherry, and he still hadn't bothered to go out and get any cat food. As far as he was concerned, her just sharing what he had wasn't that big of a deal. It was a lot easier too. She wasn't picky about many things. He found that she was particularly fond of the sweet and sour chicken he made.

Currently, she was watching him stir chunks of cut up tomatoes into the sauce. She had jumped up on the counter, but she was keeping her distance. He normally didn't tolerate that, but she seemed genuinely curious and not up to no good. She liked to watch him, and it didn't matter what he was doing. He would let it slide this once.

He finished cutting up the rest of the tomatoes and set them aside so they could go on top of his creation once it was done. There was no use in letting good tomatoes go to waste.

He stirred the sauce a little bit more, turning down the heat to let it simmer. He caught movement out of the corner of his eye while doing so and saw Cherry inching closer, sticking her nose out. She took a large step closer and stilled when he spoke.

"Ah, ah." She looked at him after his slight reprimand. He wasn't angry, but it probably wasn't a good thing to teach her to get into food all the time. She meowed faintly, and he caved, giving her a slight smile before rubbing her chin. She purred, as usual.

Covering the sauce, he took the spoon he used to stir it and dabbed a little onto his finger before throwing the utensil into the sink. Holding it out to the cat, he watched as Cherry came closer. She sniffed it for a minute before trying it. Satisfied, she finished and licked her lips. He petted her again and picked her up, setting her on the floor gently.

He left the kitchen to go sit on the couch, letting their dinner cook for a bit. Cherry trailed behind him.

-

-

The soft, evenly spaced knocking at his door told him that it wasn't Naruto on the other side. He was glad for that at least. He didn't think he had any more room for another pet.

Unlocking the bolt, he made to open the door. The sight of Itachi on the other side almost made him groan. He forgot his brother said he was coming this afternoon. The older man just smirked at his reaction, as if he could read Sasuke's mind. Begrudgingly, Sasuke opened the door wider to let Itachi in.

Sasuke closed the door and turned to follow his brother, who seemed to be heading towards the kitchen. He watched Cherry jump up onto the counter partition, and he frowned slightly as he saw Itachi stop and smirk.

Turning back towards the door, Itachi commented, "I didn't know you had a cat, Sasuke."

Not that it was any of his business, but Sasuke could never help always rising to the bait. The fire to defend himself burned strongly, even if Itachi hadn't meant anything by the comment. "Naruto dropped her off here."

"I see." Itachi took a finger and scratched at Cherry's ear, where she normally liked it, but Sasuke noticed that she didn't start to purr. She was curious about this new person but still wary. She eyed Itachi a little strangely, and then looked over at him, as if she was wondering if this person was okay. Sasuke liked her more already.

"If it was dropped, why don't you just drop it somewhere else? I didn't take you as a cat person."

Sasuke glared at the older man's airy comment, speaking like it wasn't a big deal. Even though Itachi was no longer facing him, he didn't stop with his silent threat. He hoped the man could feel the holes burning through him.

"Or perhaps you don't have the nerve. Would you like me to do it for you?"

Did the man intentionally try to piss him off? Sasuke supposed he did, but he couldn't help getting worked up over it, like always. To anyone else, it wouldn't sound like anything special, but he could read the underlying message in the words. They always had a competition of sorts between them. It was an Uchiha thing.

Stalking past him, Sasuke approached the counter and picked Cherry up. She halfway meowed, a sound coming out without opening her mouth. He came to understand it as her questioning tone. He stroked her chin, making her purr now that it was him instead of his brother touching her, and glared at the source of his annoyance today.

He began to turn and walk away, cat in his arms, when Itachi spoke up. "Calm down, little brother. I was only joking." Sasuke scoffed at his chuckle. Itachi hardly joked. "I can see you're quite fond of your cat."

Ignoring his brother, Sasuke kneeled down to set Cherry on the floor. He spoke in a low voice. "Go lay down, Cherry." With another rub under her chin, she ran into the living room and jumped up on the back of the couch. She proceeded to make a spot to lay in and turned her attention back to him. Satisfied, Sasuke got up.

Itachi was looking at him with a smirk on his face. "Does it sleep with you too?"

What was with everyone and asking that question? Did it really matter where she slept?

"She sleeps wherever she wants."

Itachi just laughed lightly, the sound grating on his nerves much like nails sliding down a chalkboard. Scowling, he made his way into the kitchen with his brother following.

-

-

The door closed behind Sasuke rather violently, but he didn't care today. The surly expression didn't leave his face as he stalked to the living room and sank down on the couch. He swore if one more woman tried to pull moves on him to get his phone number he was going to lash out. Trying to drool on him was not going to get his attention in a positive way. Were people seriously attracted to that?

In his opinion, it was a little pathetic that he couldn't get from one class to the next without someone trying to grope him. He learned forward and set his elbows on his knees so he could cradle his head in his hands. He groaned.

"Ugh. Women. They're ridiculous."

A soft thump sounded next to him, and he was aware of the paw that was touching his leg, something she had taken to doing. He raised his head a little and looked to his right, seeing Cherry nosing his arm. Leaning back, he allowed her to crawl into his lap. He ran his hand up and down her back, and she purred. She had long stopped asking, and Sasuke didn't mind his lap partner.

Cherry nudged his chin with the top of her head and meowed, and he chuckled lightly. That was her equivalent of asking if he was okay. "Well, all women but you." Stroking behind her ear, he let out a heavy sigh as he relaxed into the cushions.

He calmed down soon after that, and it was probably because of Cherry. Besides seeming to understand what he said, she also was always able to make him feel better. He sighed again. Maybe Naruto's jibe about being lonely was actually right. He never really thought about it, but then again, he never seemed to have time to seek other company besides his friends.

He supposed it wouldn't be so bad if he wasn't reminded of it all the time. Even if she didn't mean to, his mother always hinted that he should start planning on how he was going to settle down after school. Sasuke knew she only wanted what was best for him, but it was a little hard to juggle school and having a life, let alone adding finding a girlfriend on top of that.

It was hard to just pass it off though when Itachi always had women throwing themselves at his feet too. Itachi didn't turn down all of them like he did, though the older man had yet to settle down at the age of twenty four. He liked to bring around his newest arm candy occasionally, and it never failed to disgust him on how they batted their eyelashes and dressed sparingly.

Sometimes he wondered why Itachi even kept them around. He knew the older man disliked their attitudes as well. Maybe he was the smart one and just did it to keep their parents off his back.

The task wouldn't be so hard if their family name wasn't so well known. The Uchiha had long been a very successful family, and that hadn't changed to this day. It would be nice to find someone that didn't just want his money or a pretty face. He supposed he turned into some sort of conquest, and the winner got bragging rights. He wanted no part of it.

He didn't know what he wanted for sure. It was true that he was going to school for business, but what about after that? What was he really looking for out of life? He didn't know. Shaking his head, he decided that contemplating life could wait until he was in a better mood.

He slowly turned his body sideways, sliding up on the couch to lay down. He kept a hand on Cherry, and she didn't protest as he shifted. She laid on his chest as he continued to pet her, and he let his mind wander while being contented by the rumbling of her purr against him.

Why couldn't he find someone like Cherry? There had to be someone like her out there somewhere. Someone that would just be happy with what he could give them. He just wanted to be appreciated for who he was, even if he did come across as somewhat of a jerk. He would be nicer to her.

Cherry was happy just by being with him. Why couldn't life always be that simple?

She snuggled further into him, curling into a ball, and Sasuke closed his eyes, deciding to think about it later.

-

-

The TV station depicted fast moving objects and whirls of color, but Sasuke wasn't really paying attention to it. It wasn't that late, but he didn't have much else to do. The air conditioner was on, and he was laying on his bed, propped up by his pillows. Since Cherry's usual spot of the pillow next to his was occupied, she was resting in her new favorite place, on his chest.

She purred her contentment as he petted her, his other arm resting on his propped up knee. He started slowly flicking through channels, but nothing really caught his attention. In fact, he was feeling a bit drowsy. He attributed that to the fact that Cherry always brought that feeling of comfort with her, and her rumbling was rhythmic.

She nosed his chin, and he brought his hand up to scratch her ear, knowing what she wanted. His eyes flicked down to her, laying there and looking quite pleased. He smiled a little. He wouldn't ever admit it to the man, but he was glad that Naruto had left her here that day.

Without really thinking about it, he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. Anyone else was a different story, but he didn't really mind showing affection to his cat. She reciprocated well.

The TV flickered static for a moment, and there was a second of silence before Sasuke had sensed that something changed. He was all of a sudden aware of a greater weight on his chest, and when he turned his head towards Cherry, he was shocked to find vibrant green eyes framed by wavy pink locks staring back at him, though it didn't show on his face unless one looked at his eyes.

Her eyes were wide with shock, and he supposed his looked something similar. Neither of them moved or made a sound, and they were so close that Sasuke could feel the small puffs of her breath touch his skin. He could hear his own heart pounding wildly in his chest, and he was surprised the sound didn't echo off the walls.

She was draped over him, her hands bracing herself against him. He still had a hand on her back, where he had previously been petting Cherry. Despite the air conditioner, he felt the back of his neck start to heat up.

He knew who this was. This was Sakura Haruno, the very person he had thought about a week or so ago. She was the image that came to mind when he had imagined Cherry in a human shape. His brain had short-circuited, and he was failing to see the connection he knew existed. He would think of that later when there wasn't a woman sprawled on top of him where his cat had just been.

He took a second to examine her features while she was so close, time stilling as the suddenness of the situation had yet to catch up with real time. She hadn't changed much, he noted. Her hair was longer. He could feel it brushing his sides. Her skin was still the creamy peach he remembered, and her eyes still shone, even in the dim light of his bedroom.

She hadn't changed much, but that didn't mean she was any less beautiful.

Then, after the haze had passed over him, it donned on him what type of situation they were in. She seemed to realize at the same moment as well, because they both started to move at the same time. Awkward shuffling commenced.

Sakura's hands, which had previously been resting on his chest, were used to give her leverage to push herself up at the same time the Sasuke propped his arms behind him in order to do the same. Due to their close proximity, it was only natural that they would hit each other.

What Sasuke didn't expect, however, was her soft lips brushing up against his.

For an instant, he could only feel. There was nothing going through his mind other than how wonderful he felt at that moment and how soft her skin was. He barely noticed as one of his hands trailed up cup the back of her neck or when her hands fisted into his shirt. There was something that felt so right about it, and Sasuke had never felt that at peace in his life.

There was a spark of something, but Sasuke didn't know what to label it as. He felt a bit of satisfaction as he felt her responding as much as he was. Her hand was clenching and unclenching his shirt, and a small moan escaped her, evoking one of Sasuke's.

With a snap, both of them realized what was happening and broke apart. They managed to get all the way untangled this time.

Sasuke had bolted up from his side of the bed and was now standing in front of the TV. The tips of his ears turned a little red. He was boring holes into the other window in his room, a little embarrassed that he had gotten so caught up in an accidental kiss.

Sakura had rolled across his bed in the opposite direction and now stood in front of the air conditioner. He saw her shiver, but he wasn't sure if it was from the sudden cold air or what had just transpired. She was holding her arms in front of her, her hands gripping her shoulders. She wasn't looking in his direction either.

Sasuke brought his eyes over to her, and he watched her nervously look around before meeting his with her own. She gave a shaky smile and chuckled a little bit, although he knew she wasn't finding much humor in the situation based on the pink hue that had spread across her cheeks.

"Hi…Sasuke."

He was slightly surprised she remembered his name, but then he remembered that everyone in the city probably knew his name and face, old classmate or not. He gave her a nod in reply.

"Sakura."

She shivered again, and he wondered if she was surprised he remembered her name. Would she react the same if he called her Cherry?

Something hit him then, getting through the daze he was in, and appearing through the confusion like it had a spotlight on it. It had his mind whirling in ten different directions at a pace he couldn't keep up with.

Sakura was Cherry. Cherry was Sakura. He had lived with Sakura for month while she was a cat. She was a cat?

"So uh…" He was broken out of his thoughts by her voice. "I…uh…guess I should thank you. For…um, fixing me?" She posed it as a question, and Sasuke didn't know how to answer her, if he even should.

"So," he began, thinking on how to phrase his words. "You're telling me you've been my cat for the last month."

She nodded, and his brow wrinkled in confusion. He didn't want to think how that was possible right now. He wanted her to explain and realized that the look on his face must've said that, for she answered his question.

"There… was a cat in an alley." She began hesitantly, as if she didn't know the story that well. "I helped it out of a sack, but it wasn't a cat. It was an old lady."

There was a look of disbelief on his face, and Sakura saw it. She waved her hands in front of her and wobbled slightly, like she was unsteady on two legs. "I know it's hard to believe but-" She sighed. "She thanked me for helping her out, and the next thing I knew the world was a lot bigger than I was and I had this strange urge to stalk something."

Her eyes went distant, reliving the memory. "I…started thinking like a cat I suppose. Those thoughts sort of overrode my other ones." She frowned slightly. He understood that one. He never liked being out of control of himself. That's one reason he had never participated in the underage drinking his friends did.

"I made it out of the alley when I ran into Naruto. I tried to get away, but," she shrugged. "You know the story from there."

He nodded slowly, trying to absorb everything she told him. Despite the fact that it was impossible, her story seemed fitting for the time frame. He just couldn't wrap his mind around it. He was still trying to get over the fact that he had lived with a woman for over a month and didn't know it. Tack onto that that he had kissed that same woman he hardly knew anymore not a few minutes before and he had a real dilemma on his hands.

What was going to happen now? What did she think of this whole thing? Was she even half as confused as he was right now? He wondered if she had known who he was the whole time she was here, or if thinking like a cat had omitted details like that.

So lost in his thoughts, he didn't really register when she said she should be going. He sort of nodded, and he only came back down from the clouds when he heard the click of the front door closing.

What just happened?

He sat down on the edge of his bed slowly, just staring off into space. Sasuke stayed up for quite some time with that same look of confusion on his face, trying to figure everything out.

I thought this part was entertaining, but what about you?

This section is dedicated to Celsius Knight, a good friend of mine. He needs a little inspiration for writing more fics. Maybe you guys have some ideas for him? He's open for suggestions. He is on my favorites list if interested.

Also, thank you for checking out my poll. I see it went up a few people. You have my gratitude.

I was also thinking that one turn may deserve another. I had an idea once to visit this realm for a bit and torture a few more pairings. What say you?