I know it has been really really long since I updated. And I'm sorry :( I've been busy, but that's not a very good excuse.

So here you go! Another completed chapter.

I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 7

"Did you hear about Sakura?"

"Of course, do you think it's true?"

"It must be. The whole school's talking about it."

Trying her best to ignore the stares and whispers that seemed to be following her no matter where she went, Sakura trudged to homeroom in a final attempt to escape the attention. What a way to start a Friday morning. Listening carefully as she walked, Sakura picked out words like "whore" and "slut". The funny thing was that instead of the usual furious glares she expected, Sakura found students glancing at her in pity and averting their eyes as soon as they caught her looking.

Confused and a little bit frightened, Sakura quickened her pace and thanked her lucky stars that her ankle had fully healed already. Yanking the classroom door open, she made her way to her seat beside an anxious Ino.

"Hey babe, you alright?" Ino asked timidly. Worry coated her every word.

"And why wouldn't I be?" Sakura's calm reply disguised her inner turmoil she was currently experiencing. She unzipped her bag and fished for the necessary school supplies.

"Do you know specifically what they were talking about?" Sakura shook her head and Ino continued softly, "Sakura, they were talking about your mom."

"What? Why?" Unintentionally slamming her Biology textbook onto the desk, Sakura's tone took on a frantic edge and her eyes became wide. For once the rumors actually made sense. She racked her brain for any incident where she might have let something slip about her mother but nothing came to mind.

Taken aback by Sakura's sudden outburst, Ino shrugged and pointed to the front of the classroom signalling that their sensei had already entered. Cupping her chin in her hands, Sakura tried to concentrate on her sensei's monotonous drone.

Her day went by quite smoothly. The sorry glances and nervous looks she received were not hard to bear. In fact, it was quite comforting to know that the majority of the student body were concerned about the fact that she had no mother instead of judging her for that. Sakura walked to the cafeteria with Hinata and Ino.

"Hey look everyone, it's nobody's child!" Karin's piercing squeal rang out followed by irritating peals of laughter. She was the first person you went to for hot juicy gossip in the school. Everybody stopped what they were doing and turned their attention to her. She wasn't very hard to spot. Her bright red locks stuck out like a sore thumb.

"Shut up." Ino's voice was just as shrill.

"So it's true? You live alone because your whore of a mom's dead?" Satisfaction shone on Karin's face as her friends snickered.

"You tell me since you're obviously the one with the big mouth who told the whole world."

"Nope, this time I heard it from Blondie." Karin chuckled smugly as she saw panic and confusion flicker through Sakura's eyes. She knew the exact conclusion Sakura had jumped to. "So tell me, how many guys did your mom screw before you came along?"

"A lot less than you have this week," Sakura spat out smugly, thoroughly enjoying the effect her retort was having on Karin.

"What? Are you looking for a fight bitch?" Getting out of her seat, Karin placed her hands on her hips and tried to look intimidating. Sakura could feel Hinata trembling beside her; she was never one for violence.

"Really," Sakura muttered as she stalked towards Karin with a slightly sadistic smirk forming on her lips. "Do you really want to go there? Cause I was thinking how useful this tray would be for smashing your head. Don't you think so?"

"Ooh, burn!" A familiar tenor voice rang out and the entire cafeteria burst out in laughter. Backing up a couple paces, Karin cleared her throat nervously and tried to come up with a clever response. The tips of her ears turned as red as her hair and soon she was fuming. Glaring daggers at Sakura, Karin let out a girly shriek in frustration and stomped out of the cafeteria.

Sakura scanned her surroundings and caught Sasori's eye. Giving her a wink, he swaggered out of the cafeteria to tell Deidara.

"Did you really think she was brave enough to fight our Sakura?" Ino teased a giggling Hinata. Sakura's moment of confidence had passed and she pondered about what Karin said. Had Deidara somehow found out about her personal life?

Sakura could not help thinking about the incident at the canteen for the entire day and by the time the final bell rang, she had already mentally build a wall around herself. She found herself giving vague replies and shutting out anyone who wasn't Ino or Hinata. She was conscious of the cold and unfriendly aura she was practically radiating, yet she made no attempt to control herself. Pleading with Ino to help her cover up if Deidara asked about her, Sakura mumbled a quick 'bye' to the only two people she still trusted and made a beeline for the exit.

Itachi felt someone rush past his slender frame. Tilting his head slightly to the right, he caught sight of a pink ponytail swaying side to side with each step said person took. Deciding to tell Deidara that Sakura had already left the school compound, Itachi pushed his way through the sea of students swarming out of various classrooms and headed in the direction of Deidara's class.

"That's what you get for leaving class late," he thought and shuddered. Though he would never admit it, the sensation of bodies pressed against his own scared him immensely. 'Claustrophobia' other people called it. He however liked to think of it as the natural reaction to invasion of personal space any normal person should have.

"Seen Sakura, un?" Deidara chirped from behind Itachi, causing Itachi to jump in fright and Deidara to giggle in an embarrassingly unmanly fashion.

"She left already," Itachi huffed; annoyed that Deidara had managed to frighten him. "What did you do this time?"

"Nothing un, I swear," Deidara replied puzzled. Waving and shrugging nonchalantly, he dismissed the issue; and for the second time since Sakura broke her foot, he started off for home alone. Anyone who saw him would think he was perfectly fine, but Itachi knew him long enough and could safely assume that Deidara would find his mind wandering back to her sooner than he would have liked.