Disclaimer: Nope. Do not own Naruto.

A/N: Hmm… I would like to thank Aria's star for giving me a very important tip! And also, thank you for the people who gave reviews on the previous chap. Here's the next one. Hope you enjoy it.

Chapter Four: Oh no! WTF!

"EEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!"

He screamed. Yep, he did.

His scream was high – pitched, an equivalent to the scream that girls have.

He couldn't believe it.

He was capable of producing a girly scream.

And to add it all, his scream echoed throughout the garden, scaring the night creatures lurking in the shadows. A poor cockroach had to creep away from him looking desperately for shelter. An owl made loud whooooinng sounds.

No one could blame him.

He was too tense.

His brother… his brother turned into a ghost!

An exceptionally girl ghost!

Unfortunately, the girl whose hand he was holding cocked her head to one side. Realizing that he was still holding it, he dropped it immediately as if it was hot. The person in front of him moved closer to him, curiosity shining in her eyes.

Jeez, he was freaking out. "D – Don't come any closer!"

"Why not?" she asked.

"Y – you're…" the boy took a few steps backwards.

The girl, who was a bit unmoved by his sudden display of fear decided to move closer. "I'm…?"

"A GHOST!" The boy dashed madly away from her heading towards the deeper recesses of the garden.

Still stunned, the girl scratched her head.

A ghost?

Who?

Her?

"What… was that all about?" Sakura asked herself. Apparently, that boy she encountered earlier was weird. She was mistaken for a ghost. It was too bad that she didn't get to take a second look at the boy who suddenly ran away before she even get a chance to know his name.

"It must be the clothes." Sakura fingered the hem of her simple white dress. She was wearing white all over. "Poor guy, he really must be drunk in order for him to hallucinate like that."

She started to head back to the party. Her thoughts were still filled about the strange guy she surprisingly met moments ago. "No, I should not think of him. Neji might get angry if he finds out that I met someone he didn't know." She then began to run, despite the fact that she was wearing stilettos.

And besides Neji might be looking all over for her.

Itachi finished his fifth glass of scotch when he heard the sound of footsteps prancing madly towards his direction. To cover up his amusement, he made a straight face as he made his way towards his panting brother. He regarded him with a questioning look.

"Sasuke. Where in the heck have you run off? I've searched the entire house looking for you."

Sasuke gulped in huge amounts of air. His face was contorted into an expression of shock, Itachi could not understand why. His little brother was acting weird. Well, on the other side, he was already weird to begin with.

As the elder brother, he decided to inquire of his brother's object of fear. "Sasuke. What's wrong with you?"

His brother looked at him fearfully. Sasuke grabbed his brother not – so – gently, shaking him by the shoulders. "'Nisan! I'm glad you're okay! I thought… I thought…"

Itachi poked Sasuke on his forehead. "You thought what? Get off me, Sasuke! You're making me doubt about your gender!"

Upon hearing another insult to his ego, Sasuke reverted back to his cold demeanor. Rubbing his forehead, he glared at his brother. "Itai! Why did you poke me on the forehead?"

"Because you were acting like a weak girl."

"I'm not acting like a girl!"

Itachi sighed. "All right, whatever." His onyx eyes slightly widened as he remembered something. "Sou dayo, I saw Hyuuga Neji here at the party. And it seemed like he was looking for you."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. "Hyuuga? What the hell is he doing here?"

"Beats me."

Dusting dirt off his clothes, the younger Uchiha gave a long sigh. Of all the worst people he never wanted to meet, it was Hyuuga Neji. Well, he never even knew the real reason why he and Neji hated each other. The Hyuuga clan was known as one of the four aristocratic families of the elite society in the entire Konoha.

And sharing the number one rank with the Hyuugas was his own clan.

The Uchiha clan.

Sasuke ran his hands through his messy raven hair idly. He never really wanted to be tied down to that very prestigious name. Everyday, he was being fawned over by the crowd, being chased after by paparazzi and worst of all, being stalked over by mindless hordes of fan girls.

Who knew that the life of a socialite was much more publicly criticized than a celebrity?

Before he was about to answer that question in his thoughts, Itachi nudged him on his elbow. His back straightened when he saw none other than his father striding towards them with that cool posture of his. Formality graced Sasuke's features when his father finally stopped in front of them.

Great. He was still recovering from the trauma he had earlier and now this happens.

"Sasuke."

Sakura smoothed the creases on her white floral skirt. She was still enthralled at the strange person she met at the shadowy parts of the garden. It was too bad she didn't see the person's face because of the lack of lighting but she knew that the voice used earlier was rich and deep.

The person was definitely male.

But she doubted the screaming part.

"Maybe I should've followed him then asked his name. It's good to have new friends, especially since he's an interesting fellow." Sakura was still chuckling when Neji's voice startled her. Suddenly conscious for her lack of modesty, she finished smoothing the rest of the creases in a fluid motion then turned to face her boyfriend with a shy smile. "Neji – kun."

The look on Neji's face worried her. "Where have you been? I thought I told you to stay within the vicinity of this party."

"I was…" She lowered her gaze and then started to fidget. "…looking around the garden."

Neji was not convinced. He grabbed Sakura on her upper arm then leaned closer to her so that his mouth was near her ear. "Saku – chan, as much as I love you so much, the one thing I really don't like is that you're not following my order. What if you accidentally met someone that you didn't know? Who knows? I might not be able to save you in time if you're taken away to who knows where."

Sakura squeaked at the sting of threat laced from her boyfriend's voice. Though he had a point, she chose not to argue. One thing the whole school did not and would never know about Hyuuga Neji despite his showering of affection towards his girlfriend was that he had a tendency of hurting her.

Physically.

Emotionally.

Mentally.

Satisfied at his girlfriend's meek reply, he brushed a few strands of rosy pink hair away from Sakura's face then kissed her on her forehead. "Very good. Don't worry we'll be leaving soon. Just as soon as I meet up with someone I would like to see after several years of separation."

"Who Neji – kun?" Sakura asked curiously.

"A childhood friend."

…………

Fugaku regarded his two descendants with formal looks. It had been four years since Itachi took Sasuke with him to live far away from their watchful eyes. Since then, he tried to make contact with the two of them, even sending Sasuke to a prominent college, the Sunagakure University.

He closed his eyes, opening them again as he stared at the two youngsters who closely resembled him. "Itachi. Sasuke."

The two younger Uchihas bowed in respect. "Otou – sama."

"You two look well. Especially you Sasuke. The University at the Country of Sand must be suiting your interests."

Sasuke flinched. He made a fake smile. "Yes. As a matter of fact, the environment there suits me just fine."

Itachi let a smirk grace his features. His brother was doing his part well. It was almost perfect but hey, it was the least he could do. He stared back at his father. Fortunately, the Uchiha patriarch was taking Sasuke's words very seriously.

Fugaku gave a smile. "That's good news. And since you're now graduating from the university, then I can leave the entire Uchiha Industries to you."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I'm in my graduating year of high school, Otou – sama. Don't push it."

"Whatever." He then turned to his firstborn with a wary glance. "And you're going to help your ototou in any way you can right, Itachi?"

"As you wish Otou – sama."

Sasuke clenched his fist. This was absurd. Even after he graduate from college, his father was still planning to manipulate him. He cast a look at his elder brother. By the tight set of his jaw, Itachi was also thinking of the same thing.

"Very well. I must take leave of you both. I have important guests to take care of. It was nice to see you again, my two rebellious progenies." Fugaku turned on his heel then strode away, making his way towards Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage of Konoha and his wife Mikoto.

…………

When their father was finally out of earshot, Itachi gave Sasuke a reassuring smile. "You don't need to worry about what chichi said, otouto. He was only securing your future."

Sasuke snorted. "He didn't have to. He is only ruining my life."

"Maybe. But there are some things that are needed to be taken care of."

"Like what?"

Itachi raised a sleek finger then pointed it behind Sasuke's shoulder. Sasuke followed the direction of his finger, a groan emitting from the back of his throat when he saw Hyuuga Neji --- 'the' Hyuuga Neji walking purposely towards them with a small woman trailing behind him. Neji's gray eyes spotted him, his cold glare ineffectively rooting him on his spot.

"I will leave you both for awhile. But remember, we'll be going home soon," Itachi whispered to Sasuke's ear before he left his younger brother's side to mingle with the crowd. Sasuke took a deep breath then faced Neji's aristocratic face with a firm set of his jaw.

"Hyuuga."

Neji raised one eyebrow before returning Sasuke's greeting with a curt nod.

"Uchiha, I never expected to see you here in your father's party. I thought that you would never remove that huge stick up in your ass," the Hyuuga prodigy greeted with a smirk on his face.

Sasuke gave an offhanded shrug. "What can I say? I'm quite unpredictable." His onyx eyes hardened. "I knew you're not the type to make pleasantries Hyuuga, so spill it out."

"As expected from the number one teen idol of Konoha. Your mouth is still blunt as ever."

"Hn."

Neji waved a hand at him as if he was batting something offending. "Never mind. I didn't come here to start a fight with you." Seeing Sasuke's unwavering look he smirked again, wider this time. "I came all the way here just to see my one and only childhood friend. And it seems that the University in Sunagakure must be giving you quite a stir."

Sasuke picked up a shot glass of scotch from the wine tray next to him. He downed it all in one gulp; the bitterness of the wine burned his throat. He was too pissed off to even savor the taste. "How touching. You came all the way here just to see me," he sneered.

"You're not pleased. I can tell," Neji replied smugly. "By the way, I have someone for you to feast your beady little eyes on." He stepped aside to reveal a small petal – haired girl who was standing behind him. "I want you to meet my fiancée, Haruno Sakura. Sakura – chan, this is Uchiha Sasuke, my childhood friend."

Sasuke only raised a brow. "She's a…fine woman." Looks kinda familiar… He lifted her hand then planted a kiss at the center. "A pleasure to meet you, Haruno – san."

Sakura squeaked at the contact. Beside her, Neji was fuming although he had kept his smile fixed on his face. She instantly withdrew her hand away from Sasuke's hold, giving him a shaky smile. "I – It's nice to meet you too, Uchiha – san."

Neji stepped in between them. "Now that you two had been properly introduced…" he interrupted, glaring at Sasuke. "Forgive me for my rudeness, but I'm afraid that Sakura – chan and I would have to go."

"So soon?" Sasuke asked. His mouth curved into a sinister smirk. "Let me guess. You wanted to spend time all alone with your new 'pet'?"

Sakura blushed at his rude remark.

Neji continued glaring at him. "Ha ha. Very funny Uchiha. Despite your looks, it seems that there's not a single female here alive that could tolerate your dirty attitude."

Sasuke shrugged. "Perhaps it is still early for the females to get into my good side. A pleasant night to you, Hyuuga." He turned his back on them. Before walking away, he settled a lingering look at Sakura. "Haruno – san."

She did not blink even when Sasuke had finally taken his leave of them.

Naruto and Ten Ten were waiting outside of the car when Sasuke finally reached them. It seemed that his blond friend was fully stuffed from eating bowls of ramen.

Ten Ten on the other hand, was sifting through her pockets and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. She took one stick then handed the pack to Itachi who was sitting inside the driver's seat.

All three of them looked up to see Sasuke trudging towards them. Itachi raised a brow at him as he finally gotten a stick then proceeded to put it in his mouth. "Had a good time with your little reunion, ototou?" he asked.

"Aa," he replied curtly. Itachi handed him the packet of cigarettes, which he gratefully declined.

His older brother snorted then lighted his cigarette. He blew a small cloud of smoke. "I thought you were about to bust Hyuuga's brains back there."

"Nah. I was about to. But I didn't because he brought someone with him."

Itachi smirked. "He did?"

His younger brother sighed as he leaned back against the front door of the car. "Aa. He came all the way here just to flaunt his pet to me."

Naruto's head popped from nowhere. "Really? He has a pet? A dog? Cat? An iguana?"

"No, you idiot!" Ten Ten's hand came out from nowhere also and smacked Naruto's head. "What Sasuke meant was that Neji brought a girl with him! You know, the pink haired hussy who follows him around at school!"

"Ow! But a girl is not counted as a pet ya know!"

"When it comes to elite societies, girls of low stature are considered pets. I wonder what Hyuuga thought when he picked out that girl as his fiancée," Sasuke mused.

Pink hair?

His brow furrowed.

I've seen that girl somewhere. I just can't remember where…

"Yo, ototou." Itachi broke his thoughts. "We better go. You have classes tomorrow. And besides," he added, giving a tiny discernable smile. "It's time for you to go back to your façade. Again."

Sasuke shrugged as they flanked inside Naruto's car. This time, it was Ten Ten who took the wheel. "You guys are already drunk --- two of you on Scotch and the other one on Ramen broth. I don't want to end up dead with you guys if we get hit on a post somewhere."

The three boys groaned in response as the car sped through the night. However, the stillness of the night was immediately shattered when an ear – shattering scream.

"I FORGOT TO DO THE HOMEWORK!"

Morning…

At Konoha Academy…

Donned with three inches thick foggy glasses, Sasuke made his way quietly through the school's corridors. It was six thirty in the morning and there are no students yet loitering around the campus. He took a deep breath as he finally reached the door with a plaque on its glass pane. The plaque read: Chemistry Lab.

Sasuke turned his head sideways, checking to see if there's a trace or hint of smell of a person lurking around besides him. Finally convincing himself that there was none, he tested the doorknob for any jinxes. "Nope. Looks like there's are no electrocution on this one," he whispered to himself.

"Well, now that there's no one here, I should start finishing up those bullies' homeworks," he said again, to himself. He flicked the knob then opened the door with a swift movement. The door gave way with a loud BAM! and he immediately stepped inside. He heard something fall then the last thing he knew he was engulfed in the darkness.

SPLAT!

The entire student body pinched their noses in disgust when the offending odor permeated the entire classroom. All eyes glared to only one isolated person sitting in the farthest corner of the room. The poor perpetrator bowed his head all the while burying his face in the textbook he was clutching on for dear life.

Oh yeah… This was going to be a very long day…

…………

"What? You went with Neji to a very exclusive party?" Ino gasped.

They were in the school cafeteria, sitting side by side in a table facing glass doors overlooking the school gardens. The blond girl flipped one wavy strand of her tresses away her face. "And not just any exclusive party," she added with a gush of excitement. "It was a party for the Uchiha clan!"

Sakura sighed as she twirled her glass of iced tea absentmindedly with a straw. "Ino, I don't understand why you're so excited about that. It was just a party and Neji was only there because he wanted to see his childhood friend."

"Pshaw. You mean your pathetic boyfriend had a friend in that party? Hmph! He must be very dopey, having Hyuuga Neji for a friend," Ino commented wryly.

"He's not pathetic!" Her petal – haired friend retorted. She continued to swirl the iced tea, her green eyes intent while doing her job. "And Neji – kun even introduced me to his childhood friend."

Interested, Ino clasped her fingers together and formed an arch beneath her chin. "Really. And who's the friend Sakura? Is he someone we know?"

"Maybe. I think his name was Uchiha Sasuke."

Ino fell off her chair due from tremendous thrill. She clutched either sides of the table and used them to hoist her up from the floor. "W – What? I don't believe it…'the' Uchiha Sasuke is Neji's friend? This…is too shocking!"

Sakura's brows furrowed together, confused. "I don't understand. What was so shocking about that? Uchiha – san was a very quiet person. He wasn't even smiling when he and Neji finally met after years of separation."

Her best friend since childhood tapped her fingers loudly together. "Of course who wouldn't? Saku – chan, your boyfriend is the worst living being here in the planet! From the way he treated you in the past four years, even Sasuke his childhood friend shunned away because of his behavior!"

Sakura did not say a word. Ino's words were all true. And from the looks of Uchiha Sasuke's face when they met at the party, he was not very pleased at all. "I – I don't know…Ino – chan," she whispered quietly. "Even if I wanted to break free from him, I just…"

"Whoa! Hey watch out!"

Both girls turned their faces when they saw a boy tripped on a banana peel. He jerked forward, the tray of food slipped from his hand. The tray sailed into the air, and before they knew it, a loud shriek echoed throughout the entire cafeteria.

Sakura looked down in horror. The tray crashed in front of her, its contents hit the floor with a splash at the same time spilled carelessly over her white skirt and the lower half of her pink shirt. Ino stared wide – eyed while the students surrounding them shook their heads fretfully.

Teary eyed, she averted her gaze to the one who caused the accident.

Her green eyes widened.

It was none other than the nerd boy from her class.

He was lying face flat on the floor. After a few seconds, he immediately sat up, pushing his thick glasses frantically to the bridge of his nose. "Anou…" he began, focusing his gaze at the girl standing in front of him. He gulped when his gaze stopped and saw the huge stain in her clothes.

"G – Gomenasai…" he blurted out, hands and knees on the floor. He bowed his head as he apologized again and again. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to… I'm sorry! So very sorry!"

She wanted to kill him. "Why did you…" was all she managed to come out from her mouth. She was mad. She and Neji were planning to go to Ichiraku after class. And now…her dress was ruined by…by…by…

A total loser!

"Just don't come near me you pathetic life of a jerk!" Sakura cried out as she ran away from them and out of the cafeteria.

Her reputation had already gone down thanks to him.

"Geez, Suke. When would they stop torturing your ass? You've been attacked by the bullies for 11 times now," Naruto mused as he dragged Sasuke out of the dumpster. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly, raking his fingers through his already matted hair.

"I don't know. From the looks of things, I even spilled food on a girl's clothes. Afterwards, Chouji and his football team cornered me again in the washroom and dumped my head in the toilet bowl for thirty minutes. The next thing I knew…I ended up here," Sasuke replied, wiping smudges of dirt on his face.

Ten Ten curled her fists together. "Still! I really don't like the girl who humiliated you in front of everyone in the cafeteria. Even though you already apologized to her, she still called you pathetic! She's a lucky bitch that I wasn't there when it happened!"

"Pathetic life of a jerk. Yeah, I already know. She told me right in front of my face," he muttered, cleaning his glasses thoroughly with the lower half of his shirt. He glanced down at his dirty rumpled self and grimaced. "I wasn't able to scrutinize her features but I begged at her feet for forgiveness."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Maybe that girl had a connection with those bullies who beat you everyday. After she left the cafeteria, Chouji and his gang of pigs already stood by the door waiting for you to come out. We all knew what happened next."

"Great. Just great," Sasuke muttered under his breath. He now had an enemy with the face and body of a girl.

"Anyhow, why don't we crash again to your house, Suke? School's over and we don't have anything to do at home," Ten Ten suggested.

Sasuke nodded. "Whatever. Let's just leave. I don't want to get into any more trouble."

Naruto pumped his fist wildly in the air. "Yay! Ramen, ramen, ramen, ramen!"

Ten Ten punched Naruto on his face. "Pipe it down, Foxface!"

Nighttime…

Sakura strolled downtown, wallet in hand. She sighed as she remembered the scene at the cafeteria. She bit her lower lip. She had done something wrong. She called the nerd boy a pathetic type of a person. Just like what Ino addressed to her boyfriend Neji all the time.

Pathetic.

"I couldn't believe that I got mad earlier. Sure, it was a really nasty spill. But…I yelled at him in front of so many people," she said to herself. She was not mean. She was too frustrated that her date with Neji would be inevitably postponed, which he did, all because of a stain!

She finally stopped in front of the supermarket's double glass doors. "Well, the least I can do is to apologize to that guy tomorrow at school. Even if others were bullying him because of foolish reasons, I should've been more considerate towards him. He apologized."

He even begged you on his hands and knees for forgiveness, a voice in the back of her mind crowed.

Sakura shrugged as the sliding doors of the supermarket automatically opened then stepped inside.

"Might as well get some shopping done."

A sleek black convertible finished parking in an empty lot next to the supermarket. Afterwards, the car door opened and the owner stepped out of the car. Muttering curses under his breath, he locked his door then made his way towards the supermarket.

The inside of the supermarket was bright that the radiance burned his eyes. It had a cheery atmosphere too. Begrudgingly, he made his way through several aisles, a market basket in his hand. He reread his grocery list again, cursing again at the words scrawled messily in the paper. "They made me go to the market just to buy all of these? Damn them."

He immediately went to aisle no. 35, with a sign marked RAMEN hanging above the ceiling. Later, as soon as he gets home, he'll eventually kill Naruto and chop him to bloody bits.

…………

Sakura finally headed to the counter, her basket full of food and household supplies. She stood behind a frail old lady who was having her purchases being punched down in the cash register by the cashier. She put her basket down for a while to rest her sore muscles. "Whew, after this it's another ten miles of walk from here."

When it was finally her turn, she skidded slowly next to the cashier then bended down to grasp the handles of her basket. "W – Wha? Damn, why wouldn't it budge? This thing is too…heavy…"

"Miss?" The cashier asked. She was worried that the pink haired girl might strain herself too much and snap her spine. "Do you need assistance?"

"No! I'm perfectly fine! I can handle this!" Sakura protested as she continued to heave with all her might. The basket still didn't budge. She almost yanked the handles of the basket off from its holes when out of the blue; a hand grasped the handles of her basket then hauled it on top of the counter.

Flushed at her weakness, she turned her head to face her knight in shining armor. "Thank you very much. I couldn't have done without…"

"You?"

Author's Note: Chapter 4's finished! Summer vacation's just around the corner. Thanks for the reviews in the last chapter! Comments, suggestions, opinions (not so cruel opinions) are welcome!

Next Chapter 5: A bunch of foolish lies