I know, I know. It's been….forever. Sorry. But I've been busy…. And, if you've read my author's note on my last chapter of Life's Better With An Uchiha On Top, then you'll know that my father died in late December, so I haven't wanted to really do anything creative. I hope you guys understand, and I really, really hope that you guys don't get mad.

I'm too lazy to go back and look, but my last reviewer told me that my characters are IC. I was shocked, to say the least. I wasn't even thinking about that. Of course, Sasuke's a little more touchy-feely than usual, but thanks for telling me. It makes my feet feel all warm and fuzzy. No, wait, that's my heater and my cat. Well, you know…. Thank you.

And if anyone asked me any questions, then I'm sorry, but could you ask again? I don't want to have to go back and forth. Sorry.

Alright….

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any blonde affiliates of said ninja.

"Y-y-you're dating S-s-Sasuke U-Uchiha?!" a quiet voice asked in alarm.

Everyone turned to look at Hinata, who had awoken at all the yelling and was staring at Sakura with wide eyes. "Um…yeah, I am, I guess…." Sakura rubbed the back of her neck and said, "Why?"

Hinata stood gracefully, her eyes still on Sakura, and said, "You can't go out with him! You can't!"

There was a weighted silence in the gym as everyone stared at Hinata in shock. Naruto's gaze went back and forth between the girls so fast that his neck snapped. Sakura gave him a pointed look, then her eyes swiveled back to Hinata and she said, "What are you talking about? What's wrong with him?"

Hinata's eyes got wider and wider as she said, "H-he's S-Sasuke!"

Before Sakura could reply, Naruto snapped his fingers. "I got it! I know where I know that name from!"

"You know Sasuke?" Sakura asked in surprise. "How?"

He beamed. "Oh yeah, we've been friends since we were twelve!"

"….and you just thought of this suddenly?" Ino asked, then added, at the blonde's nod, "Idiot."

"Wait, you're dating Sasuke Uchiha?!" Neji said.

Sakura threw her hands up in the air and said, "Yes, yes, I'm dating Sasuke Uchiha, kind of! Why is this such a big deal?!"

"Well, right now, Hyuga Corp. is planning a merger with Uchiha Corp., of which Sasuke is CEO," Neji explained. "Uncle, Hinata, and I have been meeting regularly with him and his brother."

"Brother?" Sakura's ears twitched. "He has a brother?"

"Exactly how long have you known Sasuke?" Hinata asked, again not stammering.

The pink-haired girl's cheeks flushed slightly and she felt the unnerving urge to press her index fingers together as she muttered, "Um….since last night…"

Hinata's eyes were wide and wild as she said, "Sakura, you absolutely CANNOT date him! He's a player, and a bad person, and he's-he's-he's SASUKE!!!!!"

"I'm aware of who he is, Hinata!" Sakura growled, then immediately regretted it when her friend winced. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm sorry, Hinata, but--I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself! I know you're just trying to help, but you can't coddle me the way Neji does to you!"

"I don't coddle her…" Neji muttered beneath his breath.

Sakura sighed. "Neji, you won't let Naruto even get close to her."

Naruto's brow wrinkled. "Yeah, I don't get that. Is it because I'm sick? I would never give Hinata the flu, Neji!!!!!!!!!!!"

"The flu-? Never mind," Sakura said, wiping her brow off. "Geez, it's like a sauna in here! What do you people do in here all day, sweat?!"

"That's the general idea of a gym, Sakura," Ino told her. "Isn't that why you're here, too? To sweat off all those muffins?"

Sakura's eye twitched. "H-how do you know about my muffins?! Karin told you, didn't she?! Ooh, I'm gonna kill her!"

"No, you let it slip last week at Naruto's party. Oh, and you also told me about a really embarrassing underwear incident in the ninth grade--" Sakura hurriedly slapped her hand over Ino's mouth and laughed nervously. "Heheheh…Ino, repeat that story and I will put you in the morgue!"

Naruto's expression was confused. "Well, that doesn't sound so bad, Sakura. I mean, sure you gotta smell all those dead bodies, but you can always just plug your nose or something!"

"Right…. And on that note of idiocy, I think I'll leave you people to your argument and work out!" Sakura said, then paused. "Uh, does anyone have any workout clothes I can borrow?"

Like an angel, a girl with a brown bun on either side of her head came out of a door with the heading OFFICE with some clothes thrown over her arm. "Hey guys," she said. "I couldn't help but overhear your SHOUTING, so I'm here to tell you all that if you keep on yelling like this, then I will kill you all and cut you up and stuff you down a garbage disposal. Oh, and I've got some stuff for you to wear, Sakura."

"Thank you, Tenten!" Sakura told her, grinning as everyone immediately shut up. "I can always trust you to understand my need to work out!"

"Oh, I don't, really," Tenten replied, handing the clothes over. "As you were bouncing around out here, I noticed you were jiggling again and figured you needed to get into shape really fast."

"Burn!" Naruto shouted, howling with laughter as his pink-haired friend's grin faded faster than a light bulb going out.

"Oh, that is soooo mean, Tenten!" Ino said. "I have to say, I didn't think you had it in you."

Sakura finally allowed a crooked smile to appear on her face as she said, "Oh, gee, thanks, Tenten, I really needed that blow to my self-esteem, thanks a lot!"

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Okay, sorry, that was a little cruel. But seriously, you only come here when you're bored or when you're feeling fat. Admit it."

"So what makes you think I'm not bored? I don't jiggle!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Sure you don't," Tenten murmured, then brightened. "Well, I've got a date with the hottest guy in town, so I'll just leave you all to your non-jiggling!"

From where he was ignoring Naruto's rambling, Neji did a double take at her words. "Wait, where are you going?" he questioned, a frown marring his pale face. "Who are you going out with?"

She put a hand on her hip and glared at him. "That, Neji, is NONE of your business, so I'll thank you to shut up!" As she sashayed out the door, Neji's eye began to twitch horribly.

Ino laughed. "Nice going, Casanova. If you keep interrogating her like that, she'll never figure out that you have a megawatt crush on her and you'll never hook up with her!"

Lee gasped dramatically and pointed his finger at Neji, shouting, "Neji, you are in the love with Tenten, a lovely friend of ours?! How horrifyingly awful!"

"Why are you talking like that--Never mind, just shut the hell up and leave me alone!" Neji snapped at his long-time friend, then stomped off towards the office that Tenten had exited just minutes earlier. Then he turned on his heel and yelled, "And I don't like her!" Slam.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we believe you, Neji! Not."

"I heard that!" Neji's voice retaliated from inside the office. "Get the hell out of my gym!"

"No!" Lee yelled, falling at Sakura's feet and clutching onto her leg. "Do not leave, Sakura! My love for you is like a cataclysmic orb of energy that threatens to burst through my chest!!!"

"Lee--! Get the hell off of me!" she yelled, shaking her leg, trying to dislodge him like an overenthusiastic puppy. "I don't want your love!!!!!!!!!!!"

He suddenly flew off, hitting the opposite wall with a thud. "Oh Sakura, you are so mean to me and my youthfulness!" Lee sobbed. "Mr. Gai was wrong. You'll never see me as a loveable person, even with my shiny bowl-cut hair that drives women crazy!"

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, maybe mentally insane, but….. Never mind. I'm sorry, Lee. I don't want to be mean, but… I'm kinda sorta dating Sasuke now. I'm really, really sorry." With a sigh, she continued, "Anyways, I'm gonna go change and then work off some calories. See you guys later. Naruto, don't blow up any more toilets."

As she walked away, the enraged blonde shouted, "I WAS FRAMED!!!!!!!!!!"

Hinata smiled at him kindly. "I-I have to go, N-Naruto, but I'll see you l-later."

"Hold on, Hinata, I'll go with you!" Neji told her, running out of the office. "I forgot all about that meeting today. Naruto, don't touch her."

Naruto pouted as the cousins left the gym, Hinata still smiling at him and Neji giving him a dirty look. It was about five minutes before he realized….. "Hey! Where did everybody go?! Hello…? Anybody…?"

XxXxXx-.-.-.-.-xXxXxX

A lot of people had seen Sasuke Uchiha angry, mad, slightly annoyed. But hardly anyone had seen him furious. He generally reigned his temper in around other people, taking it out only on his brother Itachi or his friend Naruto. At the present moment in time, he was livid. He'd been in a board meeting all morning, mainly because Hiashi Hyuga refused to start the meeting without his daughter and nephew. They finally showed up, two hours late, saying they'd forgotten. Then, all throughout the meeting, the daughter, whose name he couldn't recalled, kept sending him veiled glares and sniffing whenever her opinion was asked of anything, which wasn't often. The nephew, Neji, was slightly better, but he still seemed annoyed, and three hours into the meeting, they'd gotten nothing accomplished and had only succeeded in becoming sick of the others' voices. Sasuke announced the end of the meeting in an annoyed tone and strode from the boardroom without exchanging goodbyes.

Finally sinking into his desk chair in his office, he spun it around several times in boredom. That's when he noticed the pink note lying on his desk. His chair stopped mid-spin and he snatched it up, a mental picture of Sakura popping into his head. Unfolding the pink paper, he read the first few lines, and the uncharacteristic smile that had bloomed to life on his face disappeared. Reading further, a scowl took its place, then he crumpled the note into a ball and tossed it angrily at his trash can.

A minute later, he went and retrieved it, smoothing it out and rereading it.

Dear Sasuke,

Why did you leave so suddenly? I woke up this morning and you were gone! Why didn't you wake me up? Did you leave with Sakura? I knew I couldn't trust her around you! There's something you should know about my sister. She's a bad person. She's done very horrible things in her life, and she can't be trusted. Meet up with me and I'll explain. I'll be at Cascara, that new bar on 52nd, at around three o'clock.

Love ya,

Karin

He gritted his teeth in annoyance. Did the woman really think that he wanted to meet up anywhere with her? But he sighed as he reread that one line. 'She's done very horrible things in her life, and she can't be trusted.' What did that mean? Sakura was annoying and cute and funny and strong-willed and stubborn, but she didn't seem like a bad person to him. Then again, he'd just met her the night before; Karin was her sister. It really wouldn't hurt to at least find out what she was talking about.

Making a quick decision, he grabbed his keys and wallet and left his office, calling out a cross goodbye to Angela, who was staring at him in surprise. He rode down in the elevator, his foot tapping in annoyance on the floor and trying not to acknowledge his male employee beside him, jabbering about his daughter and her new braces and the stock market. As soon as the doors whooshed open, he strode off, ignoring the employee's offer for dinner to go over his 'promotion'. Pfft, promotion. Were these people stupid?

He got into his car and drove to 52nd, pulling up in front of the bar. It was a classy place, but he barely noticed as he entered the front doors and searched the spacious establishment. The redhead was seated at a booth in the back, sipping some kind of red drink. She wore one of the most revealing outfits he'd ever seen, but he didn't reflect on that for more than a split second. He was too busy walking over to her, anger causing his voice to harden as he approached the booth and said, "You could have just come to my office."

Karin looked up, startled. Her clown-red painted lips curved into a smile and she replied, "Yes, but this place has alcohol. Besides, they don't check for ID."

He sat across from her, frowning as she scooted closer to him, her thighs almost touching his. "Look, I didn't come here for…..that… I came to find out what the hell you meant about Sakura being a bad person."

She blinked, then smiled wider. "Oh, have I got a story for you."

XxXxXx-.-.-.-.-xXxXxX

"Can't….move…. Need….muffin…."

"Oh, shut up, loser!" Ino growled, pressing the button on the treadmill monitor to make it speed up. "You're still a fat, pathetic moron that eats twice her weight a day!"

"Ya know….your pep talks…aren't….so peppy…" Sakura puffed, struggling to keep running as her friend punched the button three more times.

"Hey, I'm your personal trainer here! I'm trying to help you with your horrible weight problem!"

Sakura's left eye twitched. "I. Am. Not. FAT!"

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kiddo." Ino grinned evilly at her. "You better hurry up. If you don't burn one hundred more calories, I won't let you go and you'll miss your date with Mr. U-chi-ha!"

"It's…. Uchiha…. Moron…"

"Do you want to make it two hundred?!"

Half an hour later, Sakura had flopped into a puddle on the gym's women's shower floor, not caring that she was laying in someone else's filth. Ino surveyed her from a bench for several moments, then heaved a sigh and dragged her friend from the water's path by her feet. "Jesus, Sakura, why'd you work yourself to death? It's not very healthy! I told you to quit after the first hour!"

Sakura lifted her head and glared at her with a murderous expression. "Ino, if you don't help me up in five seconds, I'm gonna put my foot right up your--"

"Okay, okay, geez!" Ino helped her to her feet and handed her a towel. "And put some clothes on, this isn't a nudist colony! Although that would be interesting…"

Sakura rolled her eyes and dried herself off, dressing back into her clothes from earlier, toweling her hair roughly. Staring at herself in the mirror, she sighed. "Ino, do you think I'm pretty enough to be with a guy like Sasuke?"

Ino shrugged from her left. "I dunno, I've never met the guy. On a hottness scale of one to ten, what is his ranking?"

"Sixteen."

"Ouch." Ino shook her head sadly. "Sorry, hon, I'd give you an eight with make-up and great hair and awesome clothes."

Sagging against the mirror, Sakura blew out a long-suffering sigh. "Well, that's just it. I'm nowhere near pretty enough to date Sasuke. So why did he try so hard to get me to go out with him? I mean, the guy blackmailed me into one date! Then, he made me kiss him! I mean, really, that's just--"

"Wait, you kissed?! You didn't tell me that part!!!!!!!!" Ino squealed like a teenage girl. "Oh my God, how was it? Did it blow your mind?! Is he a good kisser?!"

Sakura paled as the blonde advanced on her, cowering against the mirror. "Uh--He-he-he kind of made me kiss him, a-and it was pretty good, and he's a good kisser….."

Ino grinned, settling back on the balls of her feet. "Congratulations, Sakura. Sasuke Uchiha, this guy who is supposedly a total hottie, has the hots for you. Welcome to Hell."

I am so tired! My sister is yelling at me to get off the computer so she can go on myspace. Seriously. She's a moron. Anyways, I finally found the time and inspiration to type this up. Sorry if there are mistakes or if it seems not as good as usual. Please review.