I've got to apologize for the century-old updates. I'm not good in keeping readers hooked firstly because of the sluggish updates. I can't believe this story is already two-years old yet I'm still in chapter seven. This story has been too complicated and will be more complicated after this chapter. The good thing is that I have managed to weave the storyline after months of chapter delay. I plan to make the story no more than fifteen chapters. I thank everyone who has been supporting this story until now.

SOS

VII.

I was not too keen to wake up the day after I slapped Uchiha Sasuke but the rain outside my window woke me up extra early. The catastrophe that awaits me to school combined with the supposedly drowsy power of the weather should have enabled me to return to sleep. It did the opposite and so for two hours I lie awake thinking how Sasuke would retaliate later that day. What made me more anxious was that my mind could not imagine my own demise. What would Sasuke do to me? Tie me up a tree and let ants march down my body like in the medieval days? That would be very dramatic… and tragic.

I took a bath and ate right after. The last thing I prepare every morning is my bag. I went to my room and gathered my books and notes. I dashed out but returned five seconds later when I remembered that I forgot something. I grabbed my phone on the lamp table and noticed an unread message was flashed on its screen.

From: unregistered number

Can we talk before class starts? My car is parked in the faculty department. It's the only red car there.

-Gaara

I was shocked. Why would he want to meet up? Better yet, what good would it bring me if we meet up? The way his message was constructed implied that he was not that adamant about the meeting. But still I owe him. He did not see me at fault for his neck injury. At least that's how it appeared to me or he would have been crossed at me when we met yesterday. I might at least show some appreciation by yielding to his request of meeting him.

Thus, I was thankful that I woke up early. I arrived at school and it seemed the place was deserted. That was a good thing if I have to meet with Gaara. With yesterday's commission about his neck injury, the last thing I needed was nosy students. I ran to the back of the building where the faculty department was constructed. Running in the morning made me forget about Uchiha Sasuke. But not so long.

-

I arrived at the parking lot panting from running. Gaara was leaning on the bumper of his red car. He had his eyes closed and looked like someone having the hell of a time in choosing between good and evil. Knocking him off the trance seemed impossible.

"Morning," I greeted. His eyes opened. "So why do you wanna meet up?"

"I'd like to help you" Gaara said. I creased a brow in confusion. As far as I remember, I had never asked for any sort of aid that would have elicited such response from him. He crossed his arms. "with Sasuke, I mean"

I stared wide eye at him. Gaara was amused at my expression. I would have savored that moment and took out my camera phone had I known that Sabaku Gaara had never been amused at something for years. I was speechless and he found that an opportunity to speak again.

"You're the one who sent the letter to Sasuke. No girl has thought about that"

Although I have guessed long before that he knew something about it, I was still shocked at this outright disclosure. At the same time, I was relieved. Gaara knew I sent the letter for the wrong reason; He thought I sent it to catch Sasuke's attention. He did not know that that letter was sent by mistake and I was just pretending to like Sasuke. Either way, I decided not to disclose the whole truth. I might as well deprive the truth from him as it might serve me well in the future.

After I have gathered my thoughts, I asked "Why would you help me?"

"Why not?"

He stepped forward.

I gave him a weak punch on the shoulder to hinder him from advancing. "What are you doing?"

It was easy for him to have his arm circling my waist. His head advanced to the side of my neck. Sensitive to the auburn locks that began tickling my skin there, I unhooked myself from him. My mind registered the fact that he was going to give me a kiss. It repeated in my mind like a loop and got me stepping back from him. A gap formed between us as we stared at each other for the longest time. If actions speak louder than words, I did not want to take his recent action as the answer to my previous question.

My heart began beating wildly. I was supposed to have the upper hand but I was losing control. Feeling my heart pumping in frenzy against my chest worsened the situation. I did not want him to know that he almost had me there. Almost. During that short intimate moment, I realized how hot he was. I mean he was hot as Sasuke was in a different way. It was dangerous.

"Students are coming." Gaara said "Let's go".

He led the way back to the campus and not knowing what to make of the situation, I simply followed him in silence.

-

"Ino, are you alright?" Tenten asked when she arrived. I was the earliest student in our room and she was wondering what devil possessed me. With my cousins Naruto and Kiba infamous for never coming never late, it was so natural for them to think the same about me.

"Most of the time, I'm punctual" I said.

"I mean about what happened yesterday, Ino"

"Oh," I clicked my tongue. Yesterday's event was like a century ago after I slapped Sasuke. Nothing consumed my mind right after I slapped him. I totally forgot about what a bitch Sakura had been toward me "I'm fine"

"You missed four classes." Hinata said.

"I'll try five next" I teased her.

She smiled at me which felt strange because my life was not worth smiling at. I had put myself in a grave position firstly because I just wrecked our plan. I was supposed to make Sasuke fall in love but look what I did. I was supposed to worship the land he trudge on and pretend to love him like no other god but look how I slapped him like no other bastard.

I was contesting whether I should tell them about it. Tenten conceived the plan. Every progress into getting close to Sasuke was all thanks to her. She had the right to know it especially when I just blew everything. But if I told them about it, I also have to disclose about how I woke up naked in Sasuke's bed. I was afraid of what they might think of me especially that I had kept it a secret for so long.

Another thing I was contesting to tell them was about Gaara. To help me with Sasuke because he has taken fancy of me, which I was not sure yet, was totally wrong and I knew for sure it would lead to some ugly contingencies. In the end, I decided not to tell it too since I was not sure about Gaara yet.

The second thing that put me in a grave position was Haruno Sakura. What would ensue from our clash yesterday? She was the mother of all bitch, the bitchiest of all them. To have her as your enemy was to have a constant bitch bitching every seconds of your life. I knew it because that's how the life of those girls competing against her love interests and academic life turned out. She's the terrific bitch.

The third thing that put me in a grave position was yet to come— Suigetsu.

I was untangling my hair. I was almost in the campus when the rain began falling again. My hair got all these tangles when I ran under the rain. I felt for my brush inside my bag and discovered that I had left it back in my room.

"Hey, Hinata can I borrow your brush?"

"Sure, but I think you should, uhm, hurry up"

I looked at her. "Why?"

"Somebody's here for you"

Hinata was looking at the backdoor. I followed her stare. Since I was in the second to the last row, all I had to do was turn my head sideway and I would be looking straight at the backdoor. My heart skipped when I saw Suigetsu outside. For seconds, we just looked at each other.

I got up on my feet and went outside. Suigetsu stepped away from the backdoor and leaned on the wall outside our room. He was a real bum. A funny look was expressed on his face. I swear he always looked so damn amused it made me go insane.

"How's life lately, huh?" His feet shifted.

"Fine until I saw your shitty face" Suddenly, I had this huge desire to slap him across the face. He might have sensed it because he raised his hands in defense and spoke immediately.

"Hey, hey, I just wanna check on you after I've heard about yesterday. What's wrong with you?"

Now, I really did slap him and he raised his hands higher so I won't reach his goddamn face "I'll tell you what; you cheated on me so fuck off before I shoot your ass"

"You paranoid pig. I never cheated."

"Oh, yeah? Tell that to me and Karin"

"Tell that to me and Sasuke"

I looked at him in utter disbelief.

"Gotcha" His smile grew wider. His teeth revealed. His feet shifted again. "You won't admit it 'til I say his name, huh" He told me that he saw me and Sasuke dining in a restaurant. I remembered that day when I saw him with Karin stepping out the same restaurant Sasuke and I went to.

"You don't have any idea about me and him" I gritted my teeth. "How about you? It's as if I haven't dropped the name 'Karin'?"

He tossed his phone at me and I caught it in air.

"Call her"

I did not know where this would lead us but because Asuma-sensei would be coming any moment I obliged to his prodding. Before I dialed her number, I swore one thing to him; this better be not bullshit or I'll shoot him between his fucking eyes. After three rings, somebody answered.

"Hello. Hello! Who the hell are you? Where's Suigetsu? Hand the phone to him. I'll bleed that bastard's ear!" After some more swearing of how she would kill the bastard, I looked at Suigestsu. He looked back at me grinning like a little devil.

Xxx

Suigetsu had to repeat his freshman year because of a delinquency case. Before he repeated, he had made friends. One of his rare female friends was Karin. The first time they saw each other after months was when I saw them in the mall. Suigetsu had told her that the reason she did not have a boyfriend yet was because she acted brusquely. According to Suigetsu, Karin was offended and tried to prove him wrong by being playful with her kiss. That was the moment I saw them.

Suigetsu further teased her by bragging how he would be an effective help if she needed. He was just fooling around but Karin took it and would leave him not until he lived up to his word as an 'effective help' in pursuing this one guy. As it turned out, Karin was pretty hooked up with someone— someone unattainable in the name of Uchiha Sasuke.

"What?!" Hinata and Tenten looked at me in disbelief.

Kurenai-sensei failed to come during the fourth period and for some reason, the sub failed to come too. I made the vacant time useful by telling them the story.

"Why haven't he cleared it right away?"

"You know Suigetsu is no romantic guy. If I avoided him for weeks, even for months, he would not mind it. He would not ask for me. He would not call me. How the hell would he know something is already wrong in our relationship?"

Days dragged. Since Suigetsu had no one to spend his time with, he had finally obliged to help Karin. His brilliant idea led them to stalk Sasuke in a restaurant. That was the day Sasuke and I went to a date. He said he was so shock to see me with him and that when Karin asked him if the girl was Sasuke's girlfriend, he could not reply right away. He ended up saying maybe. He was helping Karin with Sasuke and here was his girlfriend cheating right in front of them. So Suigetsu took it that I was cheating on him. He could not tell it to Karin that I was his girlfriend; that would have hit right on his male pride.

"You're dumb, both of you, I swear"

"But that proves he loves me. He broke his silence when he realized I'm in dilemma"

"Congrats then. You figured out he loves you. I didn't know this was just all for a test of love."

It was a short-lived happiness thanks to my friend Tenten.

"Does Suigetsu know about the letter?" Hinata asked.

A long pause dwelt among us three.

"No" Tenten and Hinata eyed me. "I told him I thought he was cheating on me. I thought we were officially off. That gave me reason to date other guys like Sasuke. I did not mention about the letter"

Hinata opened her mouth then closed it. She decided not to be frank for our friendship's sake. Tenten was another case. She uttered what Hinata could not speak about.

"Oh, Ino, look at you. You're the one who's cheating now."

Xxx

After that letter incident, dismissal at Konoha High had never been this fun. Although I had a little dispute with Tenten after she accused me of cheating, I still found it more peaceful than any other days. Kiba and Tenten were teasing Hinata to Naruto. Suigetsu and I were walking behind the four of them. We had decided to reconcile since it was just a case of misinterpretation and miscommunication and also, since we still love each other.

"God knows what that fucker can do to any female specie" Suigetsu said. I told him that Sasuke and I dated only once and that was the end of it. If every girl pursued Sasuke because of his charms, every boy hated him for his charms because they knew what a man-whore it had developed Sasuke into. After some thinking, Suigetsu added. "You never did anything, you know, kiss and stuff with him?"

I caught Tenten glimpsing at me. She was silently listening to our conversation.

"Never," I replied to Suigetsu.

The locker area was crowded when we went there. Suigetsu left my side to have his things. His locker was away from us. Naruto and Kiba also had their lockers away from us. Tenten, Hinata and I were left alone.

"You should have waited 'til we finished the plan. With you and Suigetsu back together, you seemed to me as if you're cheating. It sucks." Tenten said.

"Suigetsu can wait if he truly loves you" Hinata said although she was not capable of getting angry at me. She was too kind-hearted for that.

"I'm the one who can't wait…" I whispered and the two pretended not to hear it.

Hinata accidentally dropped her notebook and I picked it up for her. When I stood up and handed it to her, she appeared as if life has drained out of her body. She looked pass me with frantic eyes. "Sasuke's over there. I-I think he's looking for someone."

"I think it's you he's looking for. Guess our plan is still on" Tenten said as she looked at him. She could easily do that for she had nothing to hide from Sasuke. I tried to hide myself from his sight. Tenten and Hinata were puzzled. They did not know that Sasuke was looking for me for a different reason and that it was definitely not because our plan was working well. He was looking for me to kill me.

"Why are you hiding, Ino?" Hinata asked for I was evidently shielding my face with the locker door.

"What the hell? You're supposed to get his attention and not hide. You better not tell me it's because you and Suigetsu are back together" Tenten said as she pulled me away from my locker. I said it was not the reason. I was not just feeling well disposed for it. Tenten was adamant "I dunno why he's looking for you but we better not waste the opportunity"

"Not today, Tenten"

"What's wrong with today?"

"I just slapped him yesterday" I finally confessed.

"You what?!"

"I said I just—" I was supposed to confess the whole truth but Hinata cut in.

"Gaara's walking our way" Hinata's voice quavered. I had to stop from talking and look. For a split second, my mind was caught in a daze. My stomach churned as a muddle of emotions surfaced in front of me. Had this been an ordinary case, I would have been delighted to have three boys in my life. But mine was no ordinary. These three boys needed to be appropriated at once… or they would kill me.

From a peripheral view, I caught sight of Suigetsu returning from his locker. With Gaara approaching us, it would not be long before Sasuke came too. "Oh, fuck. Get Suigetsu away from here, please" I told Tenten and Hinata.

"I won't help you to cheat" Tenten said at once.

"Tenten, let's just do it this once." Hinata said sensing that this could turn out to be an ugly scene if the three meet.

"Please, Tenten" I looked at her with pleading eyes.

"Oh, great. This better be not regular" Tenten said as she and Hinata strolled away. When I turned back, I saw Gaara was almost near. He was walking a straight path and it was not inevitable given that the students were dodging his way. Having a distinct red hair made him a tough guy to barge with.

"Hey," Gaara greeted.

Once I heard his voice, my heart began beating irregularly. Gaara stirred the hell out of me.

"H-Hi,"

He was looking at me. "What?"

"Why are you shaking?"

I realized I was indeed shaking all over. I told him the truth. "You make me nervous"

"Because I tried to kiss you this morning?"

Oh. My. God. He did not have to say that with these students around us. The damage was done. Everyone around me began whispering. I opened my mouth but closed it again. I had nothing to say after the revelation was unveiled. He was right after all.

Behind Gaara, I saw Hyuga Neji approaching us. "Why'd you left us behind, Gaara?" Neji said when he reached us. When he saw me, he put his arms in Gaara's shoulder. "Hey, I'm beginning to think that your neck injury is no accident. I bet you've been playful with her. She's the same girl, right?" Neji gave me an over-all look which made me very uncomfortable.

"Who's the same girl?" Shino asked who had also reached us by then. He arrived with Uchiha Sasuke whom I dared not look at the face. I was cowardly rooted on my spot as I looked at his well-ironed uniform. As a conversation among the boys commenced in front of me, the memory of slapping Sasuke flashed repeatedly in my head.

"I was asking her if she would go for a date" I heard Gaara say to Neji which knocked me off my musing.

I eyed him. "Hey, what are you talking about?"

Behind us, I heard Tenten and Hinata return with whom I dreaded were with Suigetsu. I heard his voice asking Tenten what was happening which confirmed that Suigetsu indeed was with them. I heard Tenten not replying. For some reason, they failed to stop him from coming in the scene and for that I wanted to die. With Suigetsu among the many students who began watching, the anxiety would be just enough to kill me.

"You didn't ask me for a date" I nudged Gaara on the rib and he chuckled softly. Oh, the bastard. The people around us thought it was cute. I thought it was horrible.

"No need to be shy about it" Neji chuckled too.

I pulled Gaara close and whispered to him. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Oh, please. Save your PDA later when we're gone" Shino said. I immediately moved away from Gaara.

Neji spoke again. "Okay. Okay. I get it. We'll leave you and your precious girl. Let's go, Sasuke. Sasuke?"

I did not know where I dug that courage to look up at his face. Sasuke was scrutinizing me with revulsion in his eyes. My heart which moments ago had returned to regular beats was again skipping like a horse in a race track. I thought I was going to have a breakdown. He was staring at me in such a fashion that made me want to run away.

"You're worse than I thought" Sasuke finally spoke as he stepped forward with his hands clenched into a fist. This was that demise I could not imagine; Sasuke beating me up. "You… I thought I could forgive you after yesterday. I'll make it quits!"

I stood still in horror. Gaara stepped between me and Sasuke.

"I don't know what happened between you two but you might as well respect her while I'm here"

I could feel the tension in the locker area choking me. I did not want things to turn out this way. Gaara was making my life more horrible. And he should have known better than to make a bold act in the campus with Sasuke. Everyone was watching us, Suigetsu included. Oh, the horror!

Sasuke took a step closer. Gaara did not move.

"Move away"

"Make me"

Silence ensued. The longer the silence dwelt between Sasuke and Gaara, the greater the tension that built.

"I know what you're doing. Stop it"

Gaara did not reply. The corner of his lips curved into a smile.

"You can't have her" Sasuke's jaws tensed in aggravation "She's already mine"

"I don't see a label"

"Why not find one when you undress him on your date tonight?"

"You're ridiculous," Gaara took me in the arm and dragged me away from the scene. We had no more three steps when I was pulled back on the other arm by Sasuke.

"Tell to that cocky bastard I'm telling the truth" Sasuke shook me violently.

I did not know what he was talking about and I certainly did not want to ask a frustrated Uchiha Sasuke.

"Tell him!"

"You're scaring her, Sasuke"

"Tell him we hooked up on my party"

At first everyone was looking at Sasuke. Now, everyone was looking at me. I could hear Tenten cuss and Hinata pray to God.

"Liar," Gaara finally got me away from Sasuke. It was easy to notice that Sasuke allowed it after he had announced our hook-up.

"I-It's not true" I managed to speak for my goddamn sake. "I-I just slept with him" To say that was the biggest mistake in my life. It was worse than writing that cursed letter.

Sasuke smirked.

Gaara paused.

Everyone blanched.

"Sleep is as bad as having sex, you know" Shino said.

I was a dead meat then.