Disclaimer: Naruto and all characters associated are not mine.

A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all my reviewers and readers! I'm up to 2,000 hits now! Plus, I have gotten overwhelming responses from the last two chapters. So here it is, as promised, Chapter 6!

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Good Luck Charm

somebrokenhearts

Chapter 6: The Explanation

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Naruto and Sasuke both leaned in to hear the tale

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"Sakura Haruno was my girlfriend. My first ever girlfriend. She was my best friend, and I liked her very, very much."

Sasuke sighed,

"Cut the sap. Could you just tell us what happened."

Kiba suddenly looked sad and aged beyond his years.

"I sold her out—"

"WHAT?!" Naruto shouted in disbelief.

Kiba scowled at the blonde.

"Will you two QUIT interrupting!"

Naruto mumbled an apology.

"I guess I should start at the beginning. It was two hours or so before the championship game. This was two years ago by the way. I was a sophomore, the backup for the backups on the football team. Sakura was the only one who convinced me that a backup was better than nothing, and that I should continue playing on the team. If it wasn't for her, I would have quit before the first practice. We were about to get on the bus, and she gave me a kiss and whispered 'good luck'."

Naruto giggled.

"Immature dobe."

"Hey! He said KISS!"

The look Kiba gave the two boys was enough to shut up normal people for good. But one was an Uchiha and the other an Uzumaki, so it didn't quite work that way.

"As I was saying, it was the fourth quarter. There were only a few minutes left on the clock, and we were down by two points. Our kicker completely missed the goal post, he was inept, and the opposing team got the ball and started sprinting down the field. He was tackled, and surprisingly fumbled the ball. I don't know how it happened, but I was first to grab the ball that squirted out between the players, and I ran with it before a dog pile formed…

WHAT NARUTO?!"

"Hehheh. Well I was wondering why you were in the game? I thought you were just a backup. D-d-don't hurt me!! I was just curious!!"

Kiba just shrugged.

"The coach subbed me in at the last minute. I guess he figured that since we were losing, I might as well get some action."

"Ohhh…well then—"

"JEEZ! Dobe! Do you ever shut up?" Sasuke almost, almost, showed some anger.

"Ahem. So I was running down the field as fast as I could, thankful that Sakura made me go to all the practices, and all I was thinking in the back of my mind was how Sakura was the only one that wished me good luck, so I would win this for her."

"Did you make it?" Naruto asked.

"Yah. I did."

"Well you don't have to look so sad about it! YOU WON THE GAME!!"

"You don't get it Naruto! Sure, I won the game, but I was so hoarded by reporters and fans that I never saw Sakura once that night, or even the next day. And you know what the worst part is, I told the wrong people that she was the only thing that kept me going. She was my 'good luck charm,' I told them. Goddamn bastards. They believed every word I said, and took it to heart."

Sasuke's eyes widened knowingly, "Gorou and Haruki."

"Yep."

Naruto scratched his head.

"But weren't those the guys who talked us in to transferring here, Sasuke?"

Kiba suddenly looked furious beyond comprehension; the waves of heat rolled off him in torrents.

"YOU!! You want to USE her don't you!? Just like the others!!"

"What others?" Sasuke asked, still cool as a cucumber.

"WHO?! EVERYONE! Suigetsu, Neji, Lee, Gaara, you know of them right?"

"Yes, I've heard of them," he wasn't really what one would call verbose.

"TEME! KIBA! YOU MAKE SAKURA-CHAN SOUND LIKE A WHORE!!"

If Kiba could possibly get anymore angrier, he did. Veins popped in his forehead, he towered over the two soccer players, and his muscles rippled with the tension in his body.

"SHE. IS. NOT. A WHORE!" he bit out of clenched teeth, "How dare you say that when the only reason you two even TRANSFERRED to the school was so you could USE some poor girl for your own selfish needs! If you want to win something, win it by your own accords, not by counting on another!!"

Sasuke's calm façade cracked a tiny bit.

"That wasn't going to happen," the raven-haired male spit out, "I would never, ever rely on anyone. Not even a girl."

Naruto looked at Sasuke in disbelief. His teme was such a hypocrite.

"Really now," Kiba said in a mocking tone, "Then pray tell, why did I overhear you telling Gorou and Haruki that you would do quote, 'anything,' to win."

Sasuke's apathetic mind couldn't take the sudden onslaught of intense emotion that was threatening to break through.

"I didn't mean it like that," he mumbled pathetically, afraid that if he said anything else, his whole story would come tumbling out and everything he'd ever worked for would be ruined.

"Don't ever hurt her, I mean it," Kiba sneered.

Sasuke had finally found an opening in Kiba's logic. Ha! Uchiha's always won the battles.

"So what have you done, Kiba? You've stood by and watched her get used by so many guys. You think that's hurt her? You're the one who started this whole mess, why don't you fix it?"

Kiba seemed to deflate suddenly, like a popped balloon.

"Believe me, I've tried. But I don't rule over her life, Sasuke. And as much as I care for her, I just can't stop it. I wish I could. But the real truth is, I don't think I care about her enough. I'm weak. I bow into this whole social system. I don't have enough presence to stop the whirlwind that Gorou and Haruki created. She never once turned her back on me, but I've deserted her."

Sasuke glanced at the strangely silent Naruto. Naruto noticed his friends glance, and spoke up.

"Kiba. What have the other…the other guys…were they really so heartless as to desert her?"

Kiba sighed.

"You see. The problem is that they all ended up liking her to some degree, but it was too much of a risk. You see, Sakura dropped me right after I won the championship because I was a jerk. They all think that if they go out with her afterwards, it will jeopardize their chances of winning other events. It's sad. The things athletes will do to win."

Sasuke stared at the tiled floor. A myriad of emotions ran through his mind. But the real question he had was, How could she still be so strong? She seemed like the type of girl, at first glance, who would throw herself into a relationship without any hesitation, and with the way things worked out for her, he thought she would be more than crushed every time.

There was only one answer: she was strong. And he, even though he would never admit it, envied her strength.

Sasuke, even though he was brilliant and great, had never really had to face challenges so complex and so heartbreaking.

Born a prodigy, soccer came as easy as breathing. He had quickly advanced up the ranks, becoming a young star. He never had may challenges along the way. Coaches loved him. Fans loved him. He was wanted everywhere, never turned down.

As he thought about the difference between his and Sakura's situations more in depth, he realized that he was the weaker one. The one who was afraid of challenges. The only challenge he had to face in life was his father.

His father was the only reason he had agreed to Gorou and Haruki's plan.

Damnit! He cursed in his mind. If he wasn't even brave enough to face his own father, how could he ever face his own challenges? Was he really weaker than a girl?

Naruto was strong. His life was presented with challenge after challenge since the day he was born.

Sakura. She faced heartbreak that no one could possibly have imagined.

He was so weak compared to them. So weak. So unworthy.

"Sasuke?! Teme!?" Naruto shouted out at his friend worriedly, noticing the strange glare Sasuke was giving the tiled floor.

Poke poke.

"Earth to stoic bastard! Why the hell is your face so scrunched up?"

Sasuke quickly snapped out of his reverie.

"What were you thinking about teme?! You were out for like ten minutes!"

Sasuke spared Naruto only a tiny glance.

"Nothing."

Naruto just sighed in disbelief, but he knew it was useless pursuing the argument.

"Whatever teme. But you know, I feel like we need to apologize to Sakura-chan. She…well…she shouldn't even be talking to us, knowing your stupid reasonings, I think she deserves like a medal or something."

Sasuke scowled at Naruto,

"Quit being stupid. Let's go."

"Eh?! Where are we going teme?!"

"Sakura's house."

"Are you going to apologize?!" Naruto's eyes widened. Never in his life had Sasuke apologized to anyone.

"No dobe. I'm asking her for help."

"Did you not hear a word I just told you?!" Kiba screamed into Sasuke's ear.

"Shut up. I heard you. I didn't mean that kind of help."

Kiba narrowed his eyes, "Then what do you mean?"

"Yah teme. You talk like you're frickin 80 or something."

Sasuke scowled at the two loudmouths.

"I need advice," he finally murmured.

Naruto burst out into a fit of laughter.

"HAHAHAHA! The teme needs advice?! OH! I get it! YOU REALLY DO PMS!!"

Kiba couldn't help but snicker too. The thought of the stoic Uchiha asking the pink-haired girl for advice was just too much.

Sasuke scowled deeper.

"I need advice on how to get stronger, okay?"

Naruto looked confused.

"Why from Sakura-chan?"

Kiba just looked at Sasuke, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Have you heard anything dobe? Obviously she's tough, and I need to learn how to become like that."

"Are you sure your not just going to USE her teme? Because I won't let that happen! I like Sakura-chan a lot, and you're friggin emotionless shell will not lay a HAND on her!"

Sasuke sighed, wishing the loudmouth blonde he called a friend would just shut his mouth.

"I am not going to take advantage of her."

Naruto turned to Kiba and said in a mock whisper,

"Well no duh. He doesn't have like ANY hormones. In fact, I'm pretty sure he's asexual. Dude, I bet he can do himself and like repopulate the clan that way."

Sasuke's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

"Shut. UP. Dobe."

Naruto scrunched up his face,

"Now now. Don't get all hot and bothered. I don't know if I can handle THE UCHIHA's raging hormones," sarcasm dripped from his voice.

Sasuke finally had had enough, and decided the best course of action was to mumble a 'thank you' to Kiba and drag the blonde out to his car by the ear.

As Kiba watched the two soccer players leave the building, he smiled.

He could see that Naruto cared for Sakura a lot. As did the Uchiha, even more so than the blonde, even if he would never admit it.

He was content. Naruto and Sasuke could fix up Sakura in ways that he never was able to. The thought saddened him a little bit, but the thought of Sakura back to her old self made things eons better.

"Hm. Why does Sasuke know the way to Sakura's house? He only transferred to Konoha a couple of days ago. That's strange."

Kiba turned and walked down the hallway, his hands in his pockets, whistling for the first time in two years.

A/N: I believe these extra long chapters deserve TWO author's notes! Haha. So you guys are awesome and I'm extra sorry, but it seems like the next chapter will take more time to finish because of school and such.

REVIEW! And I'll give you a virtual pony.