A/N: Hey again, I hope you all had a brilliant Christmas! So I stand corrected by one of my reviewers: blueblossomkunoichi, that "Urasai" doesn't mean shut up. I looked it up and it actually means "noisy" (As in, 'you're noisy!'), which I guess can work too, but the word I should have used is "damare" which really means shut up. –Grins- Thanks!

Moving on, this chapter is dedicated the 90th reviewer: Oro, but thanks to everyone else who reviewed too!

*this chapter has been edited, as promised in chapter one

Disclaimer- Oh jeez, I don't own Naruto; if I did Sasuke would not have ever left to that snake perv!

Sakura's thoughts

Sasuke's thoughts

(A/N)

Chapter 7: Complexity


"Will you tell me again why we are doing this?" Sasuke asked impatiently. Sakura smiled. "Sasuke-kun, I just want to talk to them and get lunch; it wont take long," she replied. Sasuke grunted in response. As they neared Ichiraku's, they noticed that Naruto and Hinata were gone. I wondered how long they would stay there…Naruto can spend the whole day at this shop. Hinata must have convinced him to leave. I didn't want to see the idiot anyway.

"Let's have lunch here anyway, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said. "Hn."


Kakashi was standing outside the door to Sasuke's house when they arrived. He was reading his book. Sakura sighed. "Hi Kakashi. What brings you back here?" she asked. He looked up from his book and smiled at Sakura. "I just wanted to talk to you, if that's alright," he responded.

"Sure, Sasuke-kun, you can wait inside if you want," she said. Sasuke looked at her suspiciously. What does Kakashi have to tell Sakura that she doesn't want me to hear? "Please?" She was giving him chibi eyes. (That's right folks, adorable chibi eyes)

"Hmph, fine." As soon as Sasuke shut the door, Sakura turned to Kakashi. "So, what's up?"

"Well, your plan is working very well," Kakashi said. Sakura raised her eyebrows. "How do you know? What did Sasuke-kun do," she asked curiously.

"He said he wanted to 'take a walk', then while we were going through the town he ditched me. I think he was looking for you; he seemed really pensive and alert." He went to look for me? No way, Sasuke-kun doesn't care that much…does he? She glanced at the house. Is he really jealous of Shikamaru, or just incredibly bored? No, when Sasuke gets bored he trains…but there's just no way I take priority of his plan of revenge on Itachi. So, why? "Kakashi, you're sure he went looking for me?" she asked hesitantly.

"Not positive, but I don't know where else he would have gone, so I'm pretty sure. Also, when he came back he was really frustrated…what exactly did you do with Shikamaru," Kakashi asked interestedly. "We played Shogi," she said smirking. Kakashi blinked. Shogi? Suddenly he started laughing really hard. Sakura stared at him. What's so funny about playing Shogi? "Hey, sensei… what are you laughing at?" Sakura asked confused.

"I told you," he said between huffs, trying to catch his breath, "not to call me that, I'm not your sensei anymore." She nodded.

"But why are you laughing?" she reiterated. "It's so funny! Sasuke thought…hahaha, wow, it was just a simple game but I'm pretty sure Sasuke was thinking something completely different," Kakashi wheezed breathlessly. Something different, like what? (Poor innocent Sakura) "Sakura, just don't think about it. But hey, he must really be jealous now! Anyway, I have to go; I think Tsunade wanted to give me another mission. See you around!" Sakura waved and said goodbye. After Kakashi was out of sight, she turned and headed back into the house. Where is Sasuke-kun now? She looked around and couldn't find him. Shit, what if he was listening to us? I didn't sense his Chakra but he could have been hiding it…where are you Sasuke-kun?! After another minute or so of searching she started to get impatient.

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Sasuke-kun?"

"Sasuke!"

He is going to get it when I find him! She was about to shout his name again when she felt a presence behind her. "What?" asked the voice from behind her. Sakura jumped and wheeled around, a blush rising on her cheeks. Sasuke was standing there with an unreadable look on his face. She opened her mouth to respond when she realized how close he was standing to her. She closed her mouth and swallowed nervously. "Sasuke-kun, I was looking for you," she said softly. What the hell! What happened to 'letting him have it'? Just because he's hot doesn't mean he can get away with being annoying!

"Hn."

She frowned. That's it. "What do you mean 'hn'? That's not a word! I was looking for you because you are on probation and you can't be alone! Don't you have anything else to say? You can't just run off like that!" she yelled, huffing. Sasuke stared at her for a moment. Wow, I didn't think I'd ever hear Sakura yell at me. He smirked. She's kind of cute when she gets mad like that. Wait, what?! Where the hell do these thoughts keep coming from? He shook his head to clear his thoughts, and when he looked back at Sakura she was giving him a weird look.

"Are you feeling alright?" she asked suddenly a little worried. He glared at her. "I'm fine," he said. R—ight. They must be coming from hanging out with Kakashi for too long. "Sasuke-kun, where did you go while I was talking to Kakashi," she asked suddenly. He better not have been eavesdropping.

"I went to get a tomato," he said simply. The heck, a tomato? She looked down at his hand. How did I not notice him holding a half eaten tomato?! Besides, I thought I checked the kitchen… "Ah, okay… Hey, Sasuke-kun?"

"Yeah?" he asked. "Do you want to go on a walk?"

"Why?"

She shrugged. "I just want to. Sometimes it helps me clear my mind." I could definitely do with clearing my mind.

"Hn." She sighed. That 'word' again. I guess some things will never change.


"Hey, Hinata-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun?"

"Will you train with me?" he asked. Hinata felt faint again. I can't hit Naruto-kun; it might hurt him! But maybe since he is so strong… "Sure," she said softly.

"Okay, let's go to the training fields," he yelled; Naruto grabbed her hand and started pulling her with him. Oh God, holding hands with Naruto-kun. Hinata's face heated up and she tried her hardest not to pass out.


The sun was going down and it was starting to get dark. Sasuke and Sakura had been walking all over the town, neither speaking much. As they passed by the training grounds a blur of orange and blue was visible. Hinata and Naruto were still at it. Apparently, from the looks of it Naruto was teaching Hinata new skills and she was picking them up rather fast. Of course they were both tired by now and would probably stop soon. If this is their way of bonding they certainly are unique. Then again, at least they can bond. Sasuke here is as talkative as a brick wall and cold as a glacier. It's pointless trying to get through to him.

"Sakura."

She looked over, disbelieving that he was actually about to start a conversation. "What's up, Sasuke-kun?" He was looking at Naruto and Hinata. "Fight me," he said. Everything is a demand with you, huh, Sasuke-kun.

"Sure," she replied. As they walked closer to the field, sure enough, Naruto and Hinata stopped fighting. Sakura was sure she heard Naruto say something about getting ramen. They were waking in the opposite direction and didn't see Sasuke and Sakura. God, doesn't ramen ever get old to you Naruto? How many times have you been to Ichiraku's in the last 24 hours?! Sasuke turned to face Sakura with a pensive look on his face.

"Are you ready?" he asked her seriously. She nodded.


They must have fought for an hour, and when they were done, Sakura was exhausted. Sasuke was breathing roughly and Sakura took this as a chance to sit down. It seems like he was holding back against me…"I'm stronger than you think, or were you just going easy on me, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura said angrily.

Sasuke scoffed. "I may have been going easy on you, maybe not…but about your strength, well, you are more tired and beat up than me. That must be saying something."

Sakura gaped at him. That was one long sentence for Sasuke! Plus, I'm not weak! "If that's what you think, then fight me again!"

Sasuke sighed. "Sakura, we both know that neither of us is in a position to fight." Says you! You're the one who always fought until you couldn't move so you can kill Itachi someday; what right have you got to say when I am incapable of fighting? She frowned. Oh well, I don't think I could honestly keep up a good fight anyway. "Fine," she muttered.

Sasuke smirked. I win.

"We should go back," she said. He nodded. Sakura was about to stand up when a hand shot out in front of her. Sasuke is lending a hand to help me up? No way! He was looking away, but it was apparent to her that there was a small tint of red on his cheeks.

He was blushing.

Sakura smiled and took his outstretched hand, pulling herself up. Maybe there is some hope for you after all, Sasuke-kun.


A/N: Yay, finally done with this chap 7! I have to say, I got stuck halfway through this chapter because I couldn't think of where I was going in this one. After a while (thanks to your amazing reviews) I had an epiphany and added about 2 ½ pages. Hope you enjoyed. I will dedicate the next chapter to the 100th reviewer!

Hint: This is an incentive for you to review! If you don't, well, you don't want to know the consequences. –Evil laughter-

7