Chapter 3: Encounter At The Mall

Disclaimer:I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.

Speaking "blah blah"

Thinking 'blah blah'

Inner 'blah blah'

----------------------------

When everyone had gathered up at the mall, they all went inside together.

"Oh, and before I forget to ask you later on, what's your number?" asked Naruto, taking his cell phone out of his pocket. They both gave each other their cell phone number.

"Hey, we want your number, too!" butted in Ino.

"Okay, here. Everyone put your number in my cell phone," said Sakura as she first passed her phone to Ino. "And give me your phone so I can put in my number."

After they were done giving away their number, they continued to walk inside of the mall. Ino's eyes brightened up with every store that they passed. Sakura noticed how hyped up Ino got, just with one store that she saw. It was kind of creeping her out. She never knew anyone who got this happy over shopping.

'She's strange,'thought Sakura.

"Let's shop and then eat," insisted Ino.

They were all now standing in the middle of the mall. They had stopped walking so that they could talk about the current situation.

"What are the boys going to be doing while we shop?" asked Tenten.

"They have to follow us, even though they don't want to!" said Ino as she looked at the guys evilly.

All of the boys' jaws dropped. A look of horror was shown on their faces.

"Why do we have to follow you?!" complained Naruto.

"Yeah! Why can't we go look for something to do? Then, when you're done, we can just meet up somewhere," said Kiba.

"Fine. Meet us as this exact spot in two hours!" said Ino, giving in to his idea..

"Two hours? Does it really take you two hours to shop?!" asked Sakura aghast.

She was giving Ino a look of pure shock. Ino didn't know what Sakura's problem was. I mean, it was only two hours.

"It usually takes her about five or six," muttered Shikamaru.

"Wow, that's a long time just to shop," said Sakura.

"Two hours is a little bit of time, but it will have to do. We came a bit late, and the mall closes early on Monday!" said Ino. "Now let's go. See you guys later!"

Ino dragged Sakura away from the guys. Sakura was mystified of what would happen on her 'journey' of shopping, with Ino. Tenten and Hinata followed after Ino and Sakura.

"Okay, Sakura, listen up," Ino suddenly said, still dragging the poor girl to who knows which store. "We're going to shop for the two full hours that we have! So, we have to go around as fast as we possibly can to every store that has fabulous clothes!"

"Ino, relax. I don't think she does as much shopping as you do," said Tenten. "Actually, I don't think anyone in the world shops as much as you do, so calm down. Let her get used to your crazy shopping ways. Don't shop so much, just this once."

Ino suddenly stopped dragging Sakura and let go of her- much to Sakura's relief. She turned around and looked at Tenten with wide eyes. Tenten gave Ino a stern look, it was almost as if she was her mother.

"Okay…" pouted Ino. She looked over at Sakura, "Is there any store you like to shop at, in particular?"

"No, not really. Let's shop in one of your favorite stores," suggested Sakura.

"Okay! Let's get a move on!" said Ino, pumping her fists in the air. She was all hyped up and happy again. They all followed her, Sakura followed almost reluctantly- Ino seemed crazy to her. The other two girls were used to Ino acting like this, so they didn't seem to mind much.

"Sakura-chan," called Hinata, making Sakura turn her head slightly towards her while they continued to follow the sprightly blond. Tenten and Ino also turned their attention towards Hinata, wanting to listen in, to the their conversation. "It's okay if you don't want to answer, but I was wondering, why you were put in a school for delinquents? I know you're a gang leader, but you don't seem like a bad person."

"It's okay, I don't mind. The reason my parents put me in that school was because they know that I'm a gang leader, and they don't approve of that. They think that I will grow up to be a person that kills and steals from innocent people. They don't understand me, and they never will," said Sakura, a sad smile spreading onto her face.

"If they disapprove of it, then why are you a gang leader?" asked Tenten with an arched eye brow.

By now, they were all into the conversation. They were all actually wondering of how someone like Sakura, came to be the leader of such a fearful gang. Obviously she must have had something in her past to compel her to do it. In all of their eyes, she seemed much to nice to be part of a gang, nonetheless the leader of one. She looked like an ordinary teenager, there was nothing scary or dangerous about her -except for when you got her angry- but, that was a different story.

"Being a gang leader isn't bad," shrugged Sakura. "I know many people think that gang leaders are ruthless and cold, but that's not true. I became a gang leader so that I would be able to protect myself, my friends, and my family from anything or anyone who tries to harm them. I don't do it for the fun of hurting others. I can't stand people bullying others, so if anyone messes with me or my friends, I will make sure that they don't get away without feeling some pain."

'I knew she was way too kind to be a gang leader just for the fun of hurting others, ' thought Hinata as she smiled at her.

"There's another reason isn't there?" asked Ino, eyeing Sakura suspiciously. "Did you have anything or anyone that bothered you in your past?"

Sakura looked down at the floor, as they finally entered a store. Her eyes showed some sadness in them. But, in a second her eyes quickly turned back to being all happy and bright.

"Actually, yes," answered Sakura. "I was always bullied and teased in the past, and I could never do anything to defend myself. But then I met Naruto, and he was the only who helped me. Everyone treated him wrong because, for some strange reason, he has whiskers. We were always bullied, so, in a way, we were the same. This is what made us become friends. It hurt when ever I saw him get beat up, and I couldn't do anything."

The three other girls all looked at Sakura in understanding. It all made sense to them now. The reason as for why she became a gang leader was all so clear to them.

"So, now that you're a gang leader, many people fear you. And if anyone messes with you or your friends, you'll be able to help instead of just standing there and watching helplessly." repeated Ino. "Wow, I can understand why you're a gang leader."

Hinata and Tenten both agreed with Ino.

"I just don't understand how on earth you have so much strength. I never saw anyone knock somebody out just by three punches!" said Tenten.

This made Sakura laugh.

"Well, I told you a bit about me. What about you guys?" asked Sakura.

"Well, you know my name is Tenten. I like to play sports, and Neji is my boyfriend. I like to hang out with my friends, I hate sluts like Karin, and um, I don't know what else to say!" introduced Tenten, shrugging at the end.

"I already told you that my name is Hinata. I like to spend time with my friends, I don't like people who bully others, I like making new friends, and on my own time I like to go somewhere where there is peace and quiet so I can relax," said Hinata softly.

"The name is Ino Yamanaka, as you already know. I love to shop! I hate school! I love boys! I don't like sports so much, but I do play a few, and I like to hang out with my friends," said Ino enthusiastically.

"What sports do you guys like to play?" asked Sakura curiously.

"I would have to say soccer and football," said Tenten, in a thinking pose as she thought of all the sports that she enjoyed playing.

"Cool! Mine are volleyball, soccer, and football," said Sakura.

"Oh my gosh, I love volleyball!" squealed Ino.

"I only like to play soccer. I'm not really interested in any other sport," said Hinata.

"Maybe over the weekend, we can hang out and go play some soccer. I have a backyard, if you ever want to come by and play," suggested Sakura.

"We should really do that. It would be awesome," said Hinata happily.

"Try-outs for soccer are in about three weeks, so we could practice at your house," said Tenten.

"Really? Okay, so I guess that's the plan. We can all meet up at my house every week on a certain day, and we can play soccer. That will help with practice," said Sakura.

"I don't think I'm going to try out for soccer," said Ino.

"You can come to hang out and watch," said Sakura.

"Okay good, because I don't want to be alone in my house with my two annoying parents," muttered Ino.

They all started to walk around the store and started looking for outfits to buy. When they were done, they went to a few other stores. After about two hours of shopping, they went to the place where they told the boys to meet them. Ino had ten shopping bags, Hinata had six, Tenten had four, and Sakura had two.

They were talking and laughing as they walked to the spot. They were already becoming such great friends.

"You don't shop a lot, Sakura," noticed Ino, looking over at the amount of bags Sakura held in her hands.

"Are you sure it just isn't that you shop too much?" said Sakura, with a raised eye brow.

"You don't even know how much I really shop," said Ino. "Today I shopped a little bit because Tenten-chan told me not to overdo it."

"I would hate to imagine how much you shop in your full four hours," giggled Sakura.

"Yeah, it's unbelievable how much she shops! I don't even know where she puts all of her clothes," laughed Tenten.

"Where do you put all of your clothes?" asked Hinata.

"I put them in all of the closets in my mansion. Duh," said Ino.

"How many closets do you have?" Sakura thought aloud.

"I don't know. Ask my maid, because I don't keep count," said Ino.

"Not that you would be able to keep count anyway," muttered Tenten.

"Hey! What's that suppose to mean?"

"You're failing math," said Tenten, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I am not failing math. How would you know anyway?"

"Actually, you arefailing math. Genma-sensei told you in front of everyone in the class," said Hinata.

"Math isn't the only subject you're failing. You're also failing about three other classes," said Tenten.

Ino glared at Tenten. "And how do you know about my grades?" she asked.

"Ino-chan, you don't study for any of your tests, and you don't do work," said Hinata.

"It's not my fault all the teachers bore me! It doesn't help with the fact that I don't understand anything they say!" said Ino defensively.

"Ino-chan, if you want to start passing, I could help you out," insisted Sakura.

"I do, but you don't even know what we're learning right now," said Ino. "You just came into our school from discipline school, and I doubt they taught you what we're learning here."

"Well, when I start classes tomorrow, I'll see what you're learning, and I'm sure I can help you out. I was in discipline school for a while, but not my whole life. While I was in school, I was a straight-A student, so I'm sure I can help you in some way," said Sakura.

"Really?" asked Ino a bit surprised. "Okay…if you can help me, that would be great. I really don't feel like listening to my stupid, boring teachers."

"You're going to make Sakura-chan tutor you?" Kiba asked out of nowhere.

The guys overheard the last few sentences the girls said. The girls hadn't noticed that they had already arrived at the middle of the mall, where the rest of the guys were waiting for them.

"Well, I really need to bring up my grades," said Ino.

"Oh," said Kiba.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, wondering why Ino should explain herself when she's visibly failing.

"I hope you guys had fun! Now, let's go eat, because I'm starving," said Naruto, rubbing his stomach.

They all agreed and decided to get pizza and eat it at one of the tables in the food court. They sat at the table while Hinata and Tenten went to go order the pizza and drinks.

A hand slammed down on the table that they were sitting at. Sasuke looked up and glared at the guy who had slammed his hand on the table and at the guys who were standing behind him.

"Well, well, well, fancy meeting you here, Sasuke. Oh, and now you have another friend that hangs out with you losers. My, my, my, ain't she a pretty little thing," said the guy who seemed to be the leader of the group as he grabbed Sakura's chin.

Sakura smacked away his hand furiously. "Don't put your dirty fingers on me. Who the hell are you anyway?" asked Sakura she stood up and glared at him.

The male smirked. He found her reaction quite amusing.

"Sai," hissed Sasuke angrily. "What the hell do you want?" Sasuke stood up to match Sai's height.

Everyone in The Shinobi stood up, seeing the other gang, The Executors. The Executors all had smirks plastered on their faces, The Shinobi all had a look of anger. It seemed like they would all fight any minute now.

Sai had raven hair that reached just a bit over his shoulders, and he looked a bit like Sasuke. He is the leader of The Executors. Just like Gaara, he hated Sasuke.

'So his name is Sai?' thought Sakura, watching the whole scene in interest as she tried to figure out what was going on. 'I'm pretty sure that Darien told me about him before....'

Sai ignored Sasuke and had his attention on Sakura.

"You're a feisty one, aren't you?" smirked Sai. "Who are you, and why are you hanging out with these losers?"

"I'm Sakura, I'm the leader of The Emerald Slayers. I'm sure you heard of them," said Sakura. "And these people aren't losers. The only losers I see are you and the people behind you that I believe you call a gang." Sakura looked at the people standing behind Sai and sent them a dirty look, before turning her attention back to Sai."You're known as The Executors, right? I thought the name Sai sounded familiar."

Sai glared at her. "How do you know that?" he asked.

"My gang encountered yours once before, and they told me about you," said Sakura.

"So, you're the long lost leader of The Emerald Slayers?" asked Sai taken back.

"Not long lost, but yeah, I'm the leader. What's it to you?" asked Sakura strongly.

"Nothing." answered Sai. "I just never thought a girl would be the leader of The Emerald Slayers."

"Well, a girl is the leader, and I'm that girl," said Sakura defiantly. She didn't like him. He seemed to think of himself as higher than everyone else around him, and she could visibly see it; the way he stood with much confidence, kept that annoying smirk on his face, and the way he talked with authority. He acted smug. Sakura didn't like smug.

"I never thought a girl as beautiful as you would ever be the leader of a gang," said Sai.

Sakura didn't say anything, just remained with an impassive look on her face and defiant stance. She was tired of all of the smug gang leaders coming up to her and saying how they never expected 'a beautiful girl such as her' to be the leader of The Emerald Slayers. It was really starting to infuriate her.

"Why not leave your gang and join mine?" asked Sai with a smirk.

"Why not leave me the fuck alone and get a life?" asked Sakura hotly.

Sai's smirk dropped. He hadn't expected that to be her response.

'Why is it that they all have some sort of interest in her?' thought Sasuke, and he looked her over. 'I have to admit, she is pretty, and she does have a feisty attitude. The fact that she is the leader of a very tough gang makes it obvious that she is tough. I guess Gaara and Sai have a reason for being interested in her, but she won't be hanging out with them. She'll be with my gang. It wouldn't hurt to get to know her better. Though I'd like it if they would all stop coming up to her and saying the same crap. It's getting really annoying.'

"I'll have my eye on you, Sakura. My gang is open when ever you decide to join. See ya, Sasuke," Sai said as he smirked and left with his gang following close behind him.

"I think I've seen enough gang leaders," said Sakura getting angry. "First that Gaara guy, and now that weird kid named Sai!"

"You wouldn't leave your gang for them, would you?" asked Ino, already knowing her answer but, just wanting to make sure.

"Hell no! I would never leave my gang. Everyone in it is like family to me, and they are all like brothers to me," said Sakura.

"There is only one other gang that hangs around these streets, and they're called the Sound. I wonder if their leader will like you, too. Who knows? Maybe even Sasuke-teme will start to like you," Naruto joked.

Sasuke glared at Naruto to silence him. Sakura looked over at Sasuke and was having a hard time trying to refrain herself from blushing.

'Well, he's definitely the hottest guy I've seen,'thought Sakura, her eyes still on Sasuke. 'And he's the only gang leader who hasn't flirted with me. I definitely like him the best out of all the gang leaders that I've met so far. But, what if he did start liking me? I don't think that I would mind so much...ah! Stupid Sakura, don't ever think like that!'

Sasuke could sense someone staring at him, so he turned his head and was taken back when he saw that it was Sakura. Her face flushed and she immediately turned away. Her actions caused Sasuke to smirk. Naruto saw the little scene between the two and didn't say anything but, grinned.

"The pizza is here," said Tenten as she put the tray of drinks and pizza boxes down on the table. "What happened?"

She noticed all the pissed of looks on all of the guys face- except Naruto and Sasuke who seemed to find something amusing. Sakura's face with slightly flushed and she looked a bit embarrassed. Tenten and Hinata were quite confused of what had happened while they went to go get the pizza and the drinks.

"The Executors came to give us a little visit," said Neji. "And it seems Sai has some interest in Sakura,"

"This is troublesome," muttered Shikamaru.

"Oh boy. Sakura, I don't know what you're going to do with those gang leaders after you," said Tenten. 'Wait, is that why her face is flushed? Because Sai likes her? Don't tell me that she actually likes him! Ewww! No, that's definitely not it. But, then what is it?'

"I'm not going to do anything. As long as they leave me alone and stay out of my way, I could care less," said Sakura nonchalantly. She had recovered fully from her embarrassment of being caught staring at Sasuke. "Anyway, let's eat!"

"I agree! I'm hungry! I get the first slice!" said Naruto.

"No you don't, I do!" said Sakura, glaring playfully at Naruto.

"Aw, come on Sakura-chan, you know that's not fair!" whined Naruto.

"I don't care. I'm getting the first slice so move it!" said Sakura as she playfully pushed Naruto and went over to the box of pizza. Naruto pushed her, and she fell. She glared at him, and he stuck his tongue out at her. He opened the pizza box and reached for a slice but, Sakura jumped on his back and made him fall on the ground.

"HAHA! Don't mess with me, Naruto-kun! You have no chance," said Sakura as she sat on his back and started eating a slice of pizza.

Naruto was pounding his hands on the floor like a little kid. "Sakura-chan, you're a cheater! Get off of me!" Naruto said playfully. Sakura laughed and got off of him as she helped him off the ground.

'They really were best friends. They sure joke around a lot,' thought Sasuke as he eyed the two.

'They have a cute friendship,' thought Ino, smiling at the scene.

'They're like brother and sister,' thought Hinata.

Everyone ate their pizza and had small talk. Once they were done, they left the mall.

"That was so much fun!" exclaimed Naruto. "We have to do something like this again!"

"Yeah, I have to agree with Naruto. It's fun hanging out with you, Sakura-chan," said Ino.

"It's fun hanging out with you guys, too. Hopefully, we can hang out like this again," said Sakura as she smiled at them.

'She has a nice smile,' thought Sasuke as he shifted his eyes away. 'What the heck did I just say?'

"Will you be sitting with your gang or with us tomorrow at lunch?" Tenten asked, they never got the chance to ask her.

"Oh yeah! Is it okay if I sit with you guys?" asked Sakura. "I was talking with my gang, and they thought it would be better if I stayed with you guys during lunch. They said that they wanted me to start hanging out with Naruto again since he's my best friend. Also, they said that they know that we all don't mind, but people would be looking at us weirdly because I would be the only girl at that table and you know how people love to start rumors."

"Hn, we have no problem with that," said Sasuke.

Sakura smiled at Sasuke. "Thanks, Sasuke. I'll see you guys tomorrow. I forgot that I have to unpack a few more boxes." said Sakura. "Bye! I had a great time today!" She ran to her car, got in, and drove off.

"She's a really nice person," said Hinata absentmindedly.

"I know! She's great, isn't she? I always thought of her as the best sister I could ever have. I'm glad that we crossed paths again," said Naruto, sighing happily.

"We should be getting home now, don't ya think?" asked Shino.

"Yeah, see all of you later. Come on, Hinata, I'll drop you off at your house," said Naruto.

Everyone said their goodbyes and parted to go home.

As Sakura was driving home she was thinking about something or, rather, someone.

'That Sasuke sure is interesting…and hot. I want to get to know him better. There is just something about him that attracts me to him.' thought Sakura. 'Oh well, I'll see what happens tomorrow.'


A/N: I hope you liked the chapter, please review!

- X Emerald Goddess Of The Night X-