A/N: Hi everyone! New chapter up yay...okay so it's not my longest, but honestly it's part intro to another side story and a tie in to the main story, so I hope no ones disappointed! Hopefully I can keep up with writing this at a faster pace, and if so, who knows how quick the next one will be up! No promises, so I don't have to break them ;)

And a quick note, for those returning and anyone new. I've noticed a few concerns here and there from readers about some characters either being too weak, or before anyone even mentions it, some being annoying. I just want to point out I don't dislike any of these characters. I do however enjoy character development, so while some characters aren't ideal right now, I fully plan for most of them to grow, mature and change through out the story. I hope you'll enjoy it as well! And on that note, enjoy this chapter.


"HIII-YAA!" Screaming more as a means of venting than actual necessity, Sakura brought her bare fist forward to crash into the bark of a tree, ignoring the tiny prickle as skin made contact. Instead, a somewhat satisfied smile creased her lips as the tree burst from the force of her hit, splitting apart as the top began to topple over. Without missing a beat, she twirled around so that her hands to reach up, grabbing hold of the falling oak. Readjusting her feet once the weight hit her arms, she took a moment to simply hold the tree above her head, staring ahead at the empty valley.

Then, narrowing her eyes, she took two quick turns to build up speed and flung the tree outward, her hands immediately coming back so that they could block the sun from her eyes as she peered forward, watching the tree's path. Mentally, she had a target in mind, yet as the tree fell nearly a meter off course she silently cursed. Planting her hands on her hips, Sakura let out a slow heavy sigh and shook her head; that was her third one so far, and her aim was completely off. Well, she couldn't just keep tossing trees about, especially not when they were so old and…kinda lovely frankly.

Certainly if she was actually practicing within the training rooms, they'd let her throw about weight balls or beams, anything that could be replaced. That's where she should be, inside, instead of standing out beneath the afternoon sun, the clouds forming in what would no doubt be a typical spring afternoon. She wasn't dressed to be outside, her turquoise yoga shorts and double layered purple and pink tank top was hardly warm enough for the cool climate. She hadn't even bothered to put on a proper pair of shoes, her toes feeling the cool hair blow across them easily in the black flip-flops she'd put on to simply avoid walking barefoot. The facts were, she'd been on her way to the cafeteria with Tenten, as the two had decided on a quick lunch before heading toward the training room they managed to sign up for and go over a few warm ups. Tenten had told her to wear as little as possible, and to insure she could be flexible; she also made a point of stating she'd be taking her shoes off. In the end, Sakura had simply surmised they would be doing some sort of yoga or martial arts warm up thingie. It was really all Tenten's thing, and she was just planning to go along with it.

Over all, not a bad plan for a day, right? Wrong, because the moment they entered the cafeteria her eyes fell upon Sasuke, and that's when it happened. When her mind suddenly started working again and the most obvious thing of all hit her right in the face; Sasuke and Hinata would be sharing rooms! That…that's… "…just not FAIR!" Running her fingers through her hair again, she let one grab hold of her braid and gave it a gentle, but firm tug in frustration.

She honestly was doing everything in her power not to get jealous, not to be upset at her best friend and definitely not to obsess over Sasuke anymore. Tenten's advice had been sound, if she honestly wanted to gain his attention; she had to do the opposite of what she had been doing, so here she was, trying to do just that! Only to have something like those two sharing rooms get thrown in her face, and the worst part was that she'd been so blinded she completely forgot! She knew the new rule took into effect this term, she knew she'd be sharing rooms with Tenten without a choice in the matter, so how on earth had she forgotten that the same rule applied to her best friend and long time crush?

Groaning, she curled into herself while kneeling on the ground. After seeing those two together, it all clicked in her head and she simply couldn't stay there. She didn't want to freak Sasuke out by acting possessive, and she definitely didn't want to make Hinata think she was upset at her, because really, she wasn't! Just jealous…oh so jealous! So she gave a rather pathetic excuse to Tenten and dashed out of there, yet instead of returning to their room she ran outside, away from any prying eyes where she could…destroy and throw trees? "Talk about pathetic." Mumbling to herself, she let her eyes slowly open as her fingers started playing with some of the newly grown grass, ignoring yet another cool breeze that ran over her body.

"I do believe the training rooms are there to specifically avoid destruction of property." The sudden voice out of nowhere caused her to freeze up, yet it wasn't even the words themselves spoken but the voice that had uttered them. She didn't recognize that voice, couldn't place it with any of the students or teachers. There was the possibility it was simply someone she barely spoke with, but something about the cold edge to each word that struck her in a way that seemed to say no, she'd definitely remember hearing this voice before.

It didn't help matters that despite its cold edge, the strange voice was deep, with a smoothness that in any other situation might had made her shiver. She did shiver, but she told herself it was due to the weather, not the strange voice, and finally gathered enough courage to peek over her shoulder in the direction that voice had come from. What she saw caused her to loose balance, toppling onto her side as her eyes widened in slight shock.

He…he certainly wasn't anyone she recognized from school, yet as he stood there, entirely ignoring her presence while his eyes focused instead on her mess out in the valley, she couldn't miss a few obvious things. His eyes, for one thing, were the same dark pools of onyx she often fantasized about when it came to Sasuke, and while his hair wasn't nearly as dark, it still resembled black, perhaps a charcoal brown. Whoever he was, he kept it longer too, for while he had nearly the same chin-length pieces in the front of his face, at the back it was long enough to warrant tying up with a string…wait wait wait why was she concentrating on his looks so much? So what if he was nearly as hot as Sasuke, though he had less of a pretty boy look going for him and more of a dark knight feel.

Shaking her head, Sakura silently cursed herself to stop ogling the guy and finally went to stand up, brushing herself off from the cold grass as she did so. His words returned, finally, as she simply avoided looking at him and focused instead at…that rock. Yes, that rock lying innocently on the ground not three feet from him would do nicely.

"Well maybe I felt like destroying property." It was a childish response, she knew full well even as a light blush coloured her cheeks, but the whole situation had her trying to play catch up. She'd been so in her own world of moping, she hadn't even heard him coming up on her! Than one couldn't forget his resemblance to her long time crush, only to be floored by how different they also were. He just…stood there, as stoic and quiet as Sasuke ever would, in his black jeans and hoodie under a jacket combination, entirely void of emotion, exactly like Sasuke! Despite that, there was an air about this man, that the moment his eyes peered toward her for the briefest of moments as he considered her words, wiped away any blush she'd previously had. He…he wasn't just quiet and stoic. He certainly wasn't shy or secretive. Something about the way his eyes had flicked toward her, taken in everything they deemed necessary only to glance away in apparent disdain made her feel…small. She didn't even want to keep standing there, only her feet wouldn't quite move despite all her silent pleading. She had a feeling he wasn't quite done with her.

"Sakura Haruno." Her name never sounded so clinical then it had at that very moment, yet even so her eyes snapped toward him as she wondered how he even knew it. "I wasn't aware blatant destruction of private property was a favourite pastime of yours. That certainly is a trait one would have weeded out of your system some time ago I would say; leads me to wonder what other traits you've kept hidden from the Council."

Blinking, she turned her full attention to this strange man now, ignoring how his thumb slid into one of his pockets while he still kept his attention on her destruction, because it most definitely was not smooth looking. Tenten was right; she so had a problem with fangirling.

"How…do you know my name? Who are you even, only authorized people are even allowed on this property!" Right, that's where her guts were, finally returning as she formed her hands into fists and let her eyes narrow accusingly. Well, she couldn't just let a stranger wander around, especially if he knew her name. Though they were in more peaceful times, random attacks weren't unheard of.

He didn't even chuckle, yet the tiny upturn on his lips as he smirked held more effect on her than had he actually made a sound. Somehow she just knew he found her funny. "Mind explaining what's so damn funny mister!" Okay, maybe he looked only a few years older then her, so he didn't quite quality for the term mister. His attitude however wasn't of a regular teenager or even a man in his twenties, so mister it was!

"Itachi Uchiha." He didn't even change his tone of voice when speaking his own name, the same clinical feel remaining there, yet as the name slipped past his lips he finally turned his head toward her. Oh great, this was the infamous older Uchiha brother, a true genius so the stories said, and rumours spoke of his sadistic sense of humour as well. Dark eyes narrowed in on her own emerald ones and held her stalk still for a moment, daring her to say a single sound. Finally, after what seemed like a decade to the poor girl, he turned away once more, though this time he was facing the main building. Sakura couldn't find it in herself to breath yet, which was probably a good thing as he dropped another tiny bombshell upon her. "I'll be your new teacher as of today; I'm afraid I'll have to add this to your evaluation Sakura."

Exhaling, Sakura wrapped her arms around herself so that she could use her hands to rub at her arms, not even trying to pretend it was the wind that made her shiver this time. She wasn't sure though if it was his relation to Sasuke, the fact he was now their teacher and would be holding this little stunt over her, or how he'd finally changed his tone of voice to say her name in the end. It wasn't as if he'd caressed it or anything, quite the opposite. His stare had held her in place, making it impossible for her to move aside, yet it was the way he spoke her name that made her feel as if he'd already evaluated her. Sized her up for whatever her worth was, and found her unwanting. It was…dozens of words ran through her mind to describe the feeling she had at being judged so quickly by the elder Uchiha, yet one word of all stood on top. Despite his cold air, or the utter lack of emotions in his eyes that froze her with a single look, it wasn't fear that was coursing through her veins at that moment. It was unscrupulous, unreasonable, unwarranted…frankly, it just wasn't fair! And this time, she was most definitely right about this.

How dare he waltz in here, read her file, watch her at one of her worst moments then evaluate her as unwanting! No way in hell did he have the right to hold this over her, to God forbid, deny her a promotion because of one tiny moment of a breakdown! Especially not when she'd finally found the drive to be serious in her training again. Reaching for the rock she'd so innocently focused on earlier, she curled her arm backwards, lifted her leg straight up in the air, and flung the poor thing as far as she could. Wisely, she threw it in the opposite direction of any buildings, and away from one Itachi Uchiha.

Gah, as much as she adored Sasuke, she was already starting to loath his brother.

~XDXDXDXD~

Hinata followed Sasuke back to their room with a bit of a heavy heart, something that apparently went entirely unnoticed by the aforementioned boy. She quietly slipped into her private room to change into more exercise ready clothes, yet the moment she heard the tiny 'click' that signified her door was shut, a heavy sigh escaped her lips.

Lunch had turned into an emotional roller coaster, the result of which left her in her current depressed state. Upon first arriving, she'd gone into line behind Sasuke, fully intent on merely eating and then returning and avoiding any troubles whatsoever. Naruto showing up had been a surprise, one she greatly enjoyed, but one entirely unprepared for. She had been entirely content to merely watch her partner and crush banter in their friendly terms, as it tended to go on for quiet some time in her personal opinion. Strangely however, today's ended quite abruptly with Sasuke simply turning his back to her crush, and while Naruto seemed upset at first, his attention had then turned to her.

Oh how her face had heated up the moment he gave her an ounce of his attention. It only grew hotter, if that was imaginable, the moment his arm went around her shoulders and he leaned in to whisper in her ear; that's when her personal heaven ended and her emotional conflict began. Despite appearances, Naruto had leaned in, quite obviously, to remind her of their little trick on Sasuke, and to make sure she still hadn't breathed a word of it to the boy. Honestly…she'd entirely forgotten about that part of their conversation in the library some time ago, focusing entirely on the fact that her crush found her weak. His words had inadvertently reminded her, and just like that he had walked off, skipping ahead of her to grab his lunch while leaving a rather distraught Hinata.

The Hyuga clan was an upfront family, avoiding anything that ran along the lines of deception and coercion; they spent generations building their reputation into a family with strict discipline and absolute truth. Outright lies went against everything the Hyuga's stood for, which was perhaps why her cousin was often teased at amongst his friends. A truthful and honest girl was considered cute and cherish able, yet when those same traits found themselves in a male he ended up being referred to as a stick in the mud by his fellows.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Hinata began chewing on her bottom lip worriedly. Ratting out on Naruto certainly wouldn't get on his good side, and she was trying to impress the boy. At the same time, she couldn't lie to Sasuke, that simply went against everything her family stood for, and she wasn't about to destroy her family beliefs, generations of tradition imprinted into her, simply to attract the attention of her crush. If Naruto couldn't handle the fact she didn't lie well…Hinata simply hoped he could forgive her.

Then again, as long as Sasuke never asked her anything, she wouldn't be lying. Deception was something her family frowned upon as well, yet it was also understood that at times one had to look the other way in order to achieve goals, and so long as no one was hurt, it could be over-looked. Yes, she could go that route; feign innocence until Sasuke asked her; she was quite certain the little boy genius would catch on. Despite Naruto's opinion on his genius plan to bother Sasuke, it was easy to see through, and the raven-haired boy would certainly catch on quickly. That merely left Hinata sitting on the sidelines, waiting for someone to speak to her.

Another sigh with a shrug this time, she decided it was time to change instead of continuing to mope about. Sasuke had suggested they spend the afternoon in the training room, and it wouldn't do her any good to disappoint him so early on. Pulling open one of her drawers, she gave a tiny smile while glancing at all the clothes Ino had made her pack. Most of it was unnecessary in her opinion, yet Ino had insisted she'd want as many change of clothes for lounging about her room.

Fingers playing with the sleeve of a cotton pj tank top she'd insisted on bringing, her eyes widened rather quickly. She could remember Ino's shock that she would bring it along considering how much skin it showed, as well as the tiny holes woven into the design that nearly gave it a see through effect. Back then, she couldn't figure out what was so wrong with wearing it around her bedroom, yet with the turn of events now, Ino's shock, and then the slow smirk that had plastered itself onto her face all made sense. She knew! Well of course she knew, Hinata had been foolish enough to forget on her own about sharing a room with Sasuke, but honestly couldn't Ino have bothered to mention something earlier? Her cheeks exploding into a blush, Hinata quickly shoved the top further into the drawer and decided she wouldn't wear it, ever. She had plenty of sweaters and long-sleeved shirts that would suffice.

Pulling out a sports bra instead, she went on to another drawer and reached for the grey sports tank top she'd managed to talk Ino into letting her buy. The mesh around the shoulders and bottom certainly accommodated Ino's desire for her to show off more skin, while Hinata personally preferred the fact that the shirt didn't form to her body. Instead it hung loosely with a string at the bottom that could be tied so as to insure it didn't ride up in any way. Grey knee-shorts went on next, the elastic around her knee's insuring that once again, nothing would move out of place. While she had consented to revealing more skin then usual, she was not about to wear clothes that could 'move' and 'show some skin' as Ino had adamantly wanted. Besides, these particular shorts had the added bonus of side pockets she could button shut, and extra storage was always a bonus!

Once dressed, she took a moment to braid her hair up, lacking the desire to deal with it swooshing about everywhere. A simple ponytail would have normally sufficed, but the added time it took her to braid her hair helped calm her nerves, after all she was definitely showing off more skin than she was comfortable doing. With a deep breath, she sat on the edge of her bed again and went about pulling on a pair of socks, then the new running shoes she'd bought; she was certain that with Sasuke in charge of their training, she was definitely going to be exerting herself more then she'd ever before. Glancing at herself in the mirror as she stood up, Hinata paused and began frowning, uncontrollably. Her teeth bit down on her lips even as she pressed them together and her arms went to wrap around her waist, for despite all her arguments about why she liked the top, wearing it was completely different. The mesh material at the bottom of her top was just high enough, and her shorts rested just low enough on her hips, that if one bothered to look they could see her bellybutton!

Dashing to another drawer, she shuffled through a few things as a knock came to her door, a rather impatient sounding Sasuke speaking from the other side.

"You done yet?"

"Waah…yes! Just….just give me a second!" Where was it…she knew she'd packed a sleeveless zipper hoodie. It was made for tennis playing, or at least the sales clerk had told her, so it was supposed to breath completely, but most importantly she could leave it half zipped and conceal her stomach entirely! Ah ha, there it was, under the grey hoodie…pulling it out, she quickly unzipped it and tossed it on, shutting the drawer with a quick push from her bottom and rushed for the door. Her fingers were still adjusting the waist around her hips when she finally pulled open the door, peering up at a rather silently fuming Sasuke with a shy smile. "S-sorry. I couldn't find my hoodie."

"Hn." It was all he said, yet she was oblivious to his appraising glance as her eyes were focused instead on her fingers which kept fidgeting with her waist. She did however notice how he hadn't moved yet and after a moment lifted her eyes up to peer at him curiously. Before her mouth could even open to ask him anything, he cleared his throat and turned on his heels, heading straight for the main door. With a shrug, she hurried after him, shutting her bedroom door as an afterthought.

Once out in the hallway, Hinata followed along behind Sasuke by a few feet and took a silent moment to appraise him. Truthfully, she'd never given the boy much attention with her eyes solely focused upon Naruto, and although she couldn't deny he was soft on the eyes, she'd never really looked beyond that. And so Hinata took a moment, the time between walking from their room to the training room, to actually look at this heartthrob that had become her partner for the next two weeks.

He'd kept his hair in it's usual style, that strange 'chicken-butt' hairstyle that Naruto often made fun of. Than again, she supposed he didn't have to worry about it getting in the way like her own long locks often did. At times like this, she considered cutting it to her chin once again.

While he had changed clothes, he was still completely clothed in black. Silently she had to wonder if he owned any colours in his closet, surely some blues, or even grays and whites, right? His black shorts reached beyond his knees, baggy like the type she usually saw on basket-ball players. Combined with his loose t-shirt and those stylish black sneakers, she could actually see him on a court bouncing a ball around. The image made her give a tiny giggle, for she was certain that even there he would remain as stoic as ever.

"What?"

The sudden question surprised her, causing her to jump slightly as she'd been trapped in her own little world. Peering slowly toward him, she arched a brow in question.

"You were laughing." That had been out loud?! A deep blush crept onto her cheeks as she quickly looked away.

"S-sorry, it was j-just a s-silly, s-stupid thought."

"Hn." There he went again, with merely one word, or rather sound, it felt as if he had just told her to stop fooling around. That single syllable sounded so condescending! Silence resumed as they continued on to their training room, and once again Hinata was left thinking how she would survive two weeks of this, with Sasuke. If she did some how survive, surely she deserved a medal of sorts, or at the very least, a survival award.