Startled so bad, Sasuke accidentally nipped Sakura's nipple, but instead of shouting out in pain like he thought she would, she moved restlessly underneath him.

Oh, thought Sasuke pleasantly. She liked that.

He would have tried something else on her, but he needed to get out of Sakura's room right now.

Because, the voices were getting louder.

As Sasuke had wanted to prevent, Sakura's parents probably heard the noises coming from the room, and now they were anxious as to what their daughter was doing.

Sasuke, however, wasn't going to be there when they entered inside.

He lifted from Sakura, feeling the cool air rush the warmth they had created away, and slid off the bed.

Now he had to release the genjutsu off her.

"Hey, why is this door stuck?" asked a woman's voice. She sounded heated.

Quickly, Sasuke whipped out a sequence of hand techniques and released Sakura from the genjutsu. Any other day he would have let her wake on her own, but the situation didn't require for that right now.

The door rumbled.

" Sakura! Open this door up, now. What are you doing in there?"

Another lower voice spoke to the other. "She might be asleep, dear."

"Yeah right, then why would she block the door?" the woman's voice asked.

Sasuke moved to Sakura's balcony and started to slide back the panel. He was about to slip out, when he heard a sleepy voice call his name.

He stopped, heart sputtering.

" Sasuke? "

Sasuke didn't turn around to Sakura, thinking fast.

He decided to play one more trick.

" Transformation Jutsu. "

Sasuke turned into a dozen ravens that seemed to swoop toward Sakura.

She screamed, yanking her half-clothed body underneath the covers in fear, and sasuke flew out of the screen panel to safety.

In the same moment the sealing jutsu weakened under the parents' force and they burst into the room shouting, "Sakura!"

Sasuke was far away before any of them thought to check the girl's balcony

The next day, everything was back to normal.

"Why is he late, again!". Cried Naruto. As he was the first to get to the training grounds, he'd been complaining to no one until Sasuke came.

Now, however, Sasuke wished he'd been late, too.

"Will you stop your complaining," He finally told Naruto.

"You know Kakashi's always late."

Naruto's blue eyes glared knives at him. "Easy for you to say, Mr. Laidback. No one can faze you." He threw up his hands. You don't even care about anything!"

Having heard this from the blond headed boy in some form or another, he didn't bother to answer. They both knew his goals.

Naruto scrunched his face when Sasuke continued to stare into the horizon, most likely thinking he was ignoring him, and began to open his mouth again.

Kakashi appeared around the corner.

"Hey all," the masked man greeted, raising a hand.

"Kakashi Sensei!" exclaimed Naruto angrily. Sasuke just watched him silently as he stopped before them.

Naruto was all over him like flies to a pile of dung.

"Where ya been, huh?" he exploded. As he continued to rant, Sasuke subtly looked down the road for someone else of importance.

"Looking for Sakura, Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, watching him.

Surprised and a little guilty, Sasuke glanced at him. "Of course not." he said as casually as he could. "She'll be here whenever. It doesn't matter to me."

"See, that's the thing with you, Sasuke!" butt in Naruto. His eyes were like ice. "You don't even care about your teammates!" Then he turned on Kakashi with a whine. "Kakashi, why is he even on our team? Sakura and I can train just fine without him."

Why is he so annoying? Sasuke thought angrily.

"She's sick with fever." said Kakashi. " I just got a telegram from her parents saying-"

"Naruto!" Sakura's voice shouted, cutting off Kakashi. Everyone turned to see the pink haired girl running at full speed toward them. Her eyes were like the devil's-if he had green eyes.

"Sakura, we thought you weren't- " began Naruto, before Sakura rushed past Sasuke and Kakashi and punched the boy square in the jaw. Naruto was thrown off his feet and into the fence behind them.

Kakashi and Sasuke stared.

Sakura was huffing heavily, having run so long and so fast and so full of anger, before yelling at the half-unconscious Naruto.

"How dare you sneak into my house and cut my hair, you lousy son-of- a gun!" Her eyes went aflame. "I'll kill you!"

What?

Sasuke thought incredulously. She thought, after seeing him last night, that he had been Naruto? And taking a piece of her hair?

It didn't make sense.

And then Naruto revived, trying to explain himself fast when he saw Sakura coming for him with another serve.

"Wait, it was just a little piece, Sakura, c'mon, can't you take a joke?" he laughed nervously.

Sakura was blowing smoke from her nose. "You think cutting my hair without my consent in the middle of the night is a joke!?"

Sasuke saw the lock of Sakura's long hair on her right side cut close to her shoulder. It was a hefty chunk. He gazed at Naruto, who was still stammering at Sakura, with a mixture of relief and guilt.

So, he went to Sakura's house as well. However, since Sasuke had entered her home a little after the time they'd left training that day, Naruto had to have come after Sasuke left.

Then he had a horrible thought. What if Naruto had seen him? Wait a minute, no he couldn't have. Sasuke had transformed into ravens and flew like that for the rest of the ride home. Naruto probably only seen birds fly out of her room, as Sasuke hoped Sakura and her family had.

He was still safe. And thanks to Naruto's stupidity, he was covered from the blame of someone going to her house last night.

"This is why I hate you!" Sakura finally yelled, and crushed Naruto's head into the ground. It actually looked painful.

Naruto lay unconscious against the fence when Sakura wheeled on her feet and walked away from him.

And her suspicious eyes went to Sasuke. He felt his body freeze as she walked toward him and Kakashi, but the suspicion went away quickly in favor of their usual look of adoration.

Sasuke shouldn't have been concerned.

"Sasuke," she said sweetly. There was a blush on her cheeks. " Good morning."

"I'm right here, too, Sakura." piped in Kakashi, smiling. Sakura glanced at him, her mood visibly changed.

"For once, I'm here after you, Kakashi sensei. Isn't that ironic."

Kakashi was not lost to the dark aura Sakura was fomenting at him, but he reacted as if she was genuinely happy to see him. " Good morning to you, too. Aren't you supposed to be home sick?"

The question took her off guard. "Why? Did my parents say something?"

Sasuke wanted to know this as well. He was concerned as to why this day of all days Sakura was suddenly sick. Especially since she clearly didn't know of it.

Kakashi shrugged. " I got a telegram saying you would be staying home, Sakura. I figured you'd know."

It took a moment, but then Sakura's eyes reverted back to a demon's.

"All because Naruto broke into the house!?" she shouted, making Sasuke's ears ring. "What does that got to do with me, huh?"

"Maybe you should ask your parents now and we'll wait-" started Kakashi, but Sakura shook her head hard.

"No! I'm not going back there until we've trained. They'll just have to deal with it." said Sakura determinedly.

"Ok," sighed Kakashi. Under his breath he muttered something like "crazy kids", and Sasuke's name, but Sasuke already knew Sakura's reason for not wanting to leave was for him.

He turned to Naruto.

"Get up, Loser," Sasuke said. "We're about to start."

Lying splayed on the ground, Naruto's leg twitched in response. Sasuke sighed.

"I got him," Kakashi volunteered. And started toward the stupid boy, creating the hundred years of death jutsu as he went.

Nothing happened, Sasuke thought as training began. There was a little commotion going around Sakura, but, eventually it would blow over and everything would be the same. So, nothing happened.

Sasuke eventually convinced himself when training finally was dismissed. And, sweating and dirty, he went back home at relative peace.

Now, if only he could stop feeling tingly whenever he looked at Sakura.