Engagement On Hold

Summary: (AU) Uchiha Sasuke is Konoha High's reigning prince. Haruno Sakura is…? Who is she again? What happens when the guy everybody knows finds himself engaged to the girl nobody knows?

Genre: Romance/Humor/Drama

Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Itachi/Sakura (What's wrong with me? I don't really know.)

Author: pei-chan

Beta-reader: Ruru Kitsuneko

Disclaimer: Wouldn't it be nice if Sasuke and Sakura were really engaged in the Naruto series? Then again, that would only occur in our dreams… ne?

A/N: Well, I promised to update during July right. I didn't say the specific date, but hey, it is July isn't it. I wouldn't want to spoil you, so if you want to know who won the contest and find out the right answer, just scroll down to the very end.

EDIT: Many readers have asked me for the picture, and I sincerely apologize for not going my job and sending it to you. I finally found the picture online and the link can be found in my profile page.


Chapter 9―Second Bet

A small and warm smile appeared on her lips as she murmured softly.

"Thank you."

Slowly, he opened his eyelids and squinted his onyx orbs, trying to get used to the light. He brought his hand up and placed the back of it on his forehead. He sighed softly. Why the hell did he dream about that of all things?

Frowning, he sat up on his bed, thinking about the girl he met during the festival. He had to admit that she was pretty and attractive. Unlike all the other girls he met, she was the most mysterious of them all. Yes, she was quite a mysterious person indeed.

He couldn't deny that when he first laid eyes on her, he had flushed at the sight of her. Her kimono was both revealing and elegant at the same time. He could even picture an image of her when her whole body became wet. Her clothes were stuck on her body, outlining and revealing all the hidden curves her body possessed.

He couldn't help but flush at the not-so innocent thought, as he slapped his forehead in an effort to swat the image out. That was enough thinking. He needed to get ready for school and thoughts like those were just going to distract him. Getting out of bed, he promptly got himself ready for school.

However, it seemed that he still kept on thinking about the mysterious girl even as he got to school.


"Going to school already, dear brother?"

Slowly, the said brother turned to face the owner of that annoying voice—his older brother—with a glare on his handsome features. "That's none of you damn business," he replied in a low voice.

Itachi shrugged. "It's just that I'm really proud of my punctual brother. You're a real great role model." He snickered, irritating his younger brother.

Sasuke's temple twitched in irritation. He knew what his older brother was up to and he wasn't falling for it. "What do you want, Itachi?" Sasuke growled.

"Whatever are you talking about, dearest brother?" Itachi smirked as he saw Sasuke cringe when he heard the word 'dearest'.

"That's it! I'm out of here." Growling, Sasuke turned around and made his way to the front door when Itachi's voice stopped him dead in his tracks with his next words.

"How was your garbage collecting duties? Did you have fun at the sight of the female population blushing, giggling, and—oh, that's right—drooling at the sight of you?" Itachi paused as he waited for his younger brother to turn towards him before continuing, even though Sasuke merely gave him piercing glare.

At that moment, Sasuke really wished that glares could kill, because he definitely wanted to pierce a hole through Itachi's body. He wanted to do something that would bring pain towards his so-called brother Itachi, but all he could actually do was glare at him.

"I must say, you really have quite a unique charm that attracts the ladies even if you were dressed as a foul-smelling garbage collector." Itachi gave Sasuke a maddeningly amused smile.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted with great irritation.

"Too bad I came to the festival and stole some of your fangirls," Itachi remarked casually, watching Sasuke out of the corner of his eye.

"Go ahead. I'm not stopping you," Sasuke replied flatly. "It's even better that you were there. That way I have fewer girls to glare at and you have more girls to flirt with. I'm happy and you're happy. We're both happy." He didn't sound happy when he said that though.

"Honestly my dear little brother, I can't believe you would be so vile—with the ladies no less," Itachi tsked.

"Hn, like I care," Sasuke snarled.

"Too bad. I even met this pretty girl during the school festival. Problem was though… she doesn't seem to go to Konoha. I wonder who the person who brought her was… and where she's from…" Itachi stated out loud without bothering to look at his younger brother straight in the eye.

"And why do you think I would care about a random girl that you met during the school festival?" Sasuke frowned.

"Because this specific girl was someone… who I saw with you below the bridge, drenched wet." Sasuke's onyx orbs widened as he speared a glance at his older brother who was—obviously—smirking.

"I wonder… what have the two of you been doing?" Itachi asked, his smirk becoming more conspicuous than before.

Sasuke immediately looked away, blushing slightly, which wasn't left unnoticed by Itachi. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sasuke, I know you definitely know what I'm talking about," Itachi chuckled. "Don't worry; I was the only one who saw your romantic moment under the setting sun together," Itachi continued, chuckling along the way. Not really, he added mentally.

Sasuke blushed at the comment. How did he know that? "You were spying on me now!" Sasuke turned back to his older brother with yet another piercing glare.

"No, no, don't get me wrong. I was merely following the lovely lady—curious to where she was headed. I planned to talk to her, but you beat me to it. I must say… I never knew you had it in you." Itachi gave an amused smile. "And here I thought that those rumors about you being gay were true. I must say that you proved me wrong—which is a great relief, by the way."

Sasuke growled and balled his hands into fists. "You bastard!" He stomped towards his older brother and grabbed his collar forcefully. "I'm going to kill you, Itachi!"

"Now, now, no need to be violent." Itachi said calmly, not caring about the fact that his younger brother's fist was enclosed around the collar of his shirt, while glaring at him with pure murderous anger. "Tell me, what do you think of her?"

Sasuke was taken aback by Itachi's unexpected question. His grip loosened on Itachi's collar, but he still retained his hold on his shirt. "What?" he frowned.

"What do you think of her?" he repeated.

Sasuke became silent. What did he think of her? He… didn't know. But… still… he wanted… I want to see her. Letting go of Itachi's collar and dropping his hand back to his side, he turned around and walked away. He didn't want to have this conversation. Most importantly… now that it's about a girl, he didn't want to continue the conversation any further.

"So, do you want to see her?" Itachi asked slyly with a smirk on his features.

Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks once more. He stared at the marble floor wide-eyed. How could his brother… read him so easily? No matter, he still needed to get out of this mess—fast!

"Shut up! Like hell I would care about some random girl I just met!" Sasuke retorted at his brother without bothering to turn around to face him. After snapping at Itachi, Sasuke stormed out of the mansion, not wanting to hear any more of Itachi's insinuating comments. The door slammed shut loudly, making Itachi wince slightly at the impact of the sound.

"Dear little brother, you are so in denial. You're such a stubborn fool." Itachi chuckled with great amusement as he fixed his gaze at the door where Sasuke just stormed out of. Truth is, he also wanted to know who the mystery girl was. His curiousity was getting the better of him. Actually, was there even anything else?


"WHAT!"

"Now, now, calm down, Sakura," Temari said, laughing nervously.

"Calm down! How could I possibly calm down? She was just playing me for a fool!" Sakura growled ferociously. She spun around to say to her mother, "You paid the school just to create that last minute festival!"

So that's why it sucked, Temari commented dryly in her mind.

"You just wanted to dress me up as a girl—didn't you!" Sakura pointed her index finger towards her mother, Sumire, accusingly.

"Maybe," Sumire drawled, smiling slyly. "If you weren't so stubborn about dressing up like a real lady for your fiancée, then I wouldn't have had to go through such drastic measures."

Sakura growled once more, glaring holes at her mother's figure, which Sumire ignored easily. Being a mother sure has its good points.

"Hm, so… did you attract many handsome men during the festival?" Sumire smirked, quite delighted inside.

Sakura balled her hands into fists and growled more viciously than before.

Mother, you are just making things worse, Temari sighed, deciding to stay in the side lines. She didn't want to get mixed up in this.

"STOP CHANGING THE SUBJECT—DAMMIT!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs, her voice echoing throughout the entire room… and maybe, even the whole mansion.


"Was that Sakura that just screamed?" Kankuro asked his younger brother who was beside him. They were both sitting on the couch, watching television.

Gaara merely nodded without saying a word.

"I so do not want to get mixed up there," Kankuro stated selfishly, cringing at the thought of the things that would happen to him if he were to—try and get mixed up in a… woman's affair.

"Women are such complex creatures," Gaara stated dryly.

"Tell me about it," Kankuro grumbled as he ran his hand through his hair.


"Well, did you?" Sumire asked again, a small giggle escaping her lips, while completely ignoring Sakura's previous outburst.

"…" Sakura looked away from her mother and stubbornly kept silent. Both Sumire and Sakura had a staring contest. Sakura was glaring holes at her mother, while Sumire calm, questioning stare utterly dismissed her daughter's violent nature and then proceeded to blowtorch Sakura's already on-the-verge-of-exploding temper and smiled—which obviously irritated Sakura even more.

Temari watched her stepmother and stepsister's staring contest with a sweatdrop forming on her forehead. Suddenly, she shuddered unconsciously. Is it just me… or is staying here making me feel weird? I'm even imagining shards of icicles blowing in the wind, Temari shook her head, trying to snap herself out of the chilly trance. Why am I still here again? she thought offhandedly. Oh yeah, because I needed to stay here just in case Sakura decides to flee, she sighed.

"Did they drool at the sight of you and tried peering through your clothes because of how sexy you looked?" Sumire asked innocently, breaking the already charged silence.

Sakura was taken aback by what her mother said and blushed—whether in fury or embarrassment it wasn't easy to tell—at the question, though her words settled that emotional anomaly. "Mother!" she exclaimed, her cheeks flushing in embarrassment. "Stop that!" she snapped.

"Sakura, I suggest you do what Mother says," Temari whispered quietly as she leaned towards her stepsister's ear.

Sumire smirked. No, she didn't hear what Temari whispered to Sakura. She wasn't concerned about that at the moment. She had another thought in mind. "Sakura dear, I suggest you answer the question instead of cursing your own mother…" Suddenly, Sumire's lips quirked into a dark and sly smile that sent shivers of dread running along Sakura's spine. Utterly nervous now, she gulped uneasily. "… Or else I'll make you dress up like a real lady for the rest of your precious school life whether you like it or not" ―Sumire's threatening tone abruptly and freakily changed into a sweet and innocent voice― "would you like that to happen, Sakura dear?"

Sakura quickly shook her head in fear.

"Good," Sumire smiled. "Now, tell me."

Sadly, Sakura had to tell her mother the details of what had happened during the festival. She tried her best to ignore her mother's squeals of delight as she finished through her story. Sakura decided to leave, while Temari frowned at the details that her stepsister informed her about—albeit unwillingly and under duress.

Disgusting. Men are really—disgusting and perverted creatures, Temari thought brusquely.

"Oh, but then, how about your fiancée?" Sumire asked excitedly. "Did you meet him?"

Sakura didn't get into the little intimate details—correction, she didn't say anything about meeting any of the Uchiha brothers. Whether she was too uncomfortable to say anything about it, or she just didn't want to. She inwardly flinched when she heard her mother's question.

She slid her gaze towards Temari who was beside her from the corner of her eye. Temari looked at her when she felt her stepsister's gaze on her. Sakura emerald gaze at Temari's direction was wordlessly imploring, 'Help me.'

Glancing at the grandfather clock located beside them, Temari was immediately able to come up with a plan. Well, here goes. "Mother, we have to go or we'll be late for school," Temari interrupted.

Sumire merely shrugged uncaringly. "Oh don't worry, it'll be fine. It's just—"

"Mother," Temari reminded in a reprimanding tone.

"Fine, fine, go ahead," Sumire sighed, waving her hand for them to go. "We'll talk about this later."

With that said, Sakura gladly ran out of the door, relieved to be out of the awkward situation. Temari walked behind her, following after her swiftly running figure.


The two siblings walked towards their school. It seemed that Gaara and Kankuro had already left without them, not bothering to wait any longer. It didn't really matter. The four of them didn't really go to school together. They mostly pretended not to know each other in school grounds for reasons unknown—it probably had to do with the fact that no one would actually believe they were related anyway.

"Why didn't you want to tell mother if you had any sort of encounter with your fiancée during the festival? Wait… did you even have a fateful encounter with each other?" Temari asked her as the two of them walked towards school.

Sakura remained silent for a while, but nodded reluctantly about a minute afterwards. "I did meet him," she replied with a faint blush on her cheeks.

"So, how was it?" Temari asked with avid curiosity. Her gaze was fixed on Sakura's face, waiting patiently and a little desperately for the answer.

Sakura lapsed into silence once more. She lowered her head, casting her features in shadow and effectively hiding any expression from Temari's view. Clutching her shoulder back more tightly than before, Sakura came to a halt, making Temari stop walking as well a few feet ahead of her.

Temari blinked at Sakura's figure, trying to figure out what was going on. Will she tell her or not?

Slowly, Sakura lifted her head up to look at her step sister once more. This time, there was a sly smile on her lips. Bringing her hand to her mouth, she placed her index finger on her mouth and winked, earning her a cute image of a little girl.

"It's a secret, that's why." Sakura giggled and smiled.


The two siblings immediately parted as they both arrived at the school grounds of Konoha with a little time to spare before the bell rang to signal the start of classes. Walking towards the school campus alone, Sakura attempted to use that alone time to relax and enjoy her natural surroundings—she was kind of a nature girl. She felt that she ought to relax as much as she could, since she had a feeling that something would definitely be happening once she entered through the doors of Konoha High. Yes, another day—another pain in the ass.

"Oi, Gaara!"

The said catatonic Sabaku turned around to face the same person who usually called to him every single day. He knew who it was. There was only one person who would take the time to bother him every single day, even though Gaara merely gave him the same catatonic gaze every time they ran into each other. It was him.

He shifted his gaze towards the spiky blonde hyperactive boy running towards him with the same grin plastered on his face. Oh great. What does he want now? Actually, what could he possibly want from him anyway… that… Uzumaki Naruto.

Gaara merely gave him a blank stare.

"You know, you should come and eat with us at lunch. I always see you sitting alone." Naruto said.

Gaara continued to stare at him blankly like he didn't hear a single word that Naruto just said… or maybe, he just didn't care. I wouldn't want to sit with loud mouths. Yeah, he didn't care.

"Aren't you lonely?" Naruto asked.

Not really, Gaara replied to himself. I prefer being alone. He didn't want to answer, thinking—hoping that the blonde boy would finally leave him alone for good if he did. Frankly, he had been doing that for months now and it still didn't work. If he's not going to stop bothering me, then there's only one thing left to do. With that thought in mind, Gaara brushed past Naruto and walked away from him, leaving him standing there blinking in confusion because of his unexpected action.

Gaara continued to walk away, satisfied that he was finally alone… that was until he heard the sound of running footsteps coming up from behind him. So much for being alone, he sighed to himself.

"Ah—wait! Gaara!" Naruto called out from behind. "I want to tell you something."

"Not interested," Gaara replied bluntly and nonchalantly.

Naruto's shoulders slumped down and a pout came to his lips as he finally caught up with the emotionless and rather annoyed Gaara. "But—it's something rather important!"

This was the last straw. He didn't care. No, he didn't care one bit at whatever it was the blonde boy wanted to tell him. Whether it was a deep dark secret of some crap like that—he didn't give a damn. He just wanted to be alone. Couldn't he just understand that? Did he actually have to say something in order to get some peace?

Gaara was about to tell Naruto off when a female voice interrupted them and called.

"Gaara."

The said annoyed Sabaku and even the baffled Naruto turned around to see a golden blonde girl with her hair tied in a set of four pigtails on the sides of her head and the nape of her neck with a blank expression on her face.

"Temari," Gaara greeted.

Temari's temple twitched at her little brother's form of address. If she had any doubts as to his respect of lack thereof, there was none now. "That's Temari-neechan to you!" she hissed with her fists clenched.

"Since when did I ever call you that… and since when did you start caring," Gaara stated coolly like the matter was nothing to him—which was true anyway, so it was a moot point, really.

Temari was taken aback by her younger brother's reply. Yeah, he was right. He never did call her 'neechan' before―just Temari. She didn't really mind all those other times… so why start now.

Not knowing what to say, Temari averted her dark green gaze away from them and turned to look at nothing in particular, as she scowled inwardly.

"Temari-senpai!" an enthusiastic voice chirped, making Temari turn back to face a grinning Naruto.

Somehow, Temari felt a bit nervous at the look she was being given by the young blonde boy. "Naruto-san," she greeted back.

"You dyed your hair back again," Naruto said, disappointment evident in his voice.

"What?" Temari frowned in confusion.

"You should know."

"What are you talking about?" Temari asked, getting irritated. She was getting more and more confused with each word that came out of Naruto's mouth.

"You looked very pretty during yesterday's festival." Naruto grinned ignorantly.

Temari became even more confused now. What was he talking about? "Huh? But… I didn't go to the festival," she replied, shaking her head slightly, her expression still baffled. It was too boring for my taste, Temari silently added.

"Yeah you did. You even dyed your hair a pretty shade of Cherry Blossom that matched your kimono!" Naruto chirped enthusiastically.

How dare he? Pink? She dyed her hair pink? There was no way that was going to happen! She was fine with her own hair color—thank you very much! She wouldn't even give a damn about going to that stupid festival that had only been arranged because of their mother's big ego. She always wanted to be on top. That insane woman.

"You know, Temari-senpai, you looked so much better with your hair dyed. You should dress like that more often. That way, guys wouldn't think of you as a tomboy." Naruto chuckled.

Her hands reflexively balled into fists, and she gave a low and furious growl. He just crossed the line. Now, she was going to make him pay—real bad. "What did you just say…?" Temari asked in a low tone, her teeth gritted in suppressed anger.

"Eh?" Naruto blinked. He then realized his mistake when he saw her fearsome facial expression. She had a murderous glare that made him cringe.

Her fists throbbed as she growled viciously. She brought back her right fist to deliver a powerful punch right at Naruto's face. "That's it! How dare you! You—"

She suddenly gasped as a hand tightened on wrist before she could deliver the fateful punch. Temari's owlish gaze trailed towards the person who stopped her until it rested on her younger brother's expressionless gaze.

"Gaara…?" Temari murmured staring at him with the same shocked expression as before.

"Naruto… I suggest you go. That is… if you still want to live with your bones intact," Gaara said bluntly, looking back at Temari blankly.

Naruto nodded nervously and quickly walked away in the opposite direction from them. He didn't want to spent another minute in close proximity with them. Temari was too scary at the moment. She might just do what Gaara was assuming. He pushed unnecessary buttons that eventually got Temari ticked off.

From what he remembered, Gaara said that it was his sister that Naruto saw during the festival. He assumed that it was Temari even though Gaara told him that his sister wasn't from around Konoha. Ah! He was just confusing himself.

Judging from Temari-senpai's reaction, I guess she's not the mysterious girl during the festival. If that wasn't her… then who was she…?


Sensing that Naruto was completely gone, Gaara released his grip on Temari's wrist, letting their arms fall down to their sides.

"What was that about?" Temari snapped, as she sent her younger brother a peircing glare.

"You shouldn't do that," he replied calmly, keeping his inscrutable gaze towards her.

Temari snorted. "Why shouldn't I? He insulted me—twice!" A growl escaped her lips. "Pink? He said my hair color was pink! He even had the guts to call me a tomboy!"

"You shouldn't be so mad at him."

Temari sent another glare in Gaara's direction, which he dismissed easily. "And why not? H e―"

"Actually, I was the one who told him that," Gaara said bluntly.

"What? You told him my hair color was pink?" Temari frowned in disbelief.

"No. I came here with Sakura because of that school festival. To be frank, nobody recognized her… not even Naruto. He even thought that she was my… girlfriend. Eventually, I told him that she was my sister. Knowing only you as my sister, he immediately assumed that you were Sakura," Gaara explained nonchalantly.

Temari merely stood there in silence looking at him in utter shock. She still couldn't get over it, could she?

"So, aren't you going to pound on me now? I thought you wanted to vent your anger out on somebody. I'm the one who you should pound on," Gaara said imperturbably.

Suddenly, Temari turned around and walked away from Gaara without inflicting any pain or damage to his body.

Gaara merely stared at her retreating back in silence; however, he saw her figure quivering. She must still be angry.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Gaara asked, stopping her in her tracks.

Temari seemed to take a deep breath before continuing to walk away, not even bothering to give Gaara the reply he wanted.

"So, does that mean you forgive me? Wow, I'm touched." He didn't sound very touched though, since his tone was quite unemotional. Ice-faced bastard. That tone wouldn't be able to convince anybody even if his tone turned sweet and touching.

Temari whirled around and gave him a glare. "Think again. I'm furious at you and Sakura. Don't think you're getting off that easily." With that said, she turned around once more and stomped towards her homeroom class. In fact, she was stomping quite loudly that it echoed throughout the hallway.

As Gaara watched his sister's retreating back, a small uncharacteristic smirk slowly appeared on his lips. It's not that you don't want to hit me… it's because you can't hit me, can you… Temari-neechan.


She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, savoring the peaceful scent and sweet sounds of nature. She opened her eyes only to blink in confision as she saw a familiar raven-haired man leaning on the bridge, watching his own reflection on the water below. His raven locks were tied back into a ponytail that hung loose on his back. He seemed to be deep in thought.

"Itachi-san," Sakura frowned. What is he doing here?

The said Uchiha turned to face her with an inscrutable expression that showed the full extent of his handsome features. He straightened and gave her an amused look. "Ah, if it isn't my dear brother's fiancée," he replied offhandedly as he trailed his onyx orbs from the shoes she was wearing towards her black-clothed legs. His gaze continued to slowly trail upwards to inspect her pleated lavender skirt, her white-buttoned blouse before it finally rested on her face. She blinked nervously at him through her thick glasses as he tilted her head to the side, making the loose strands of her hair not twined in the haphazard Chinese double bun follow her head's actions.

"What are you doing here?" Sakura asked, frowning with mild curiosity.

"Being in the Academy (University) has its good points," Itachi replied, giving a small smile—or rather—a small smirk.

"So I've heard. You don't have classes today, do you?" Sakura asked, crooking an eyebrow in his direction.

"I don't," he stated baldly.

"Then—"

"I'm… on a mission," Itachi interrupted Sakura from uttering the rest of her sentence… or was it a question?

Sakura blinked and frowned in utter confusion. "Mission? What kind of mission?" Uchiha Itachi sure was a very complicated guy. He spoke in bits and pieces that left you hanging, just for his pleasure of watching the person struggle to make heads or tails of what he had said.

"I'm here to search for… someone," Itachi said with cool nonchalance.

Someone? Sakura became even more curious of his intentions even more. "Why?"

Itachi closed his eyes and gave a conspicuous smirk that unknowingly made Sakura quiver in nervousness. He walked towards her, and stopped when he was right beside her small frame. Sakura's leafy orbs trailed over his figure as he got closer and her head turned slightly to the side, now staring at him carefully when he reached her side.

He leaned down, bringing his lips close to her ear. Sakura merely stood there in shock unable to move a muscle. She felt his warm breath caressing her ear. She could have sworn that she felt his smirk grow more pronounced. She stared wide-eyed at the concrete floor, arguing with herself whether she should move or not.

What am I doing—in this awkward situation? Why don't I move? Move damn it—move!

She wasn't able to comply with her mind's wishes when her body seemed to have a mind of its own. She merely stood there as Itachi whispered huskily in her ear, his breath tickling it as he spoke.

"You're going to be late for school… so how about I tell you later. Meet me behind the school after the last bell rings… that is… if you're interested."

That was the last thing that Sakura ever heard him say as he straightened himself up and walked away, but not before brushing his arm against hers along the way. This was what took Sakura out of her trance as she slowly turned around, staring at his retreating back.

Giving him one last glance, Sakura turned around and ran up the stairs leading to the school's front doorway. She opened the door and ran inside, rushing towards her class so that she wouldn't be late—and to escape from the lingering presence Itachi had left around her.

Itachi paused on his way towards the Academy grounds as he heard the sound of the door being slammed shut. He turned around, transferring his gaze towards the door that led inside of Konoha High. His calm façade soon faded as a sly smirk grazed his lips.

"It seems that I've already found the person I'm looking for," he chuckled softly. "I can't wait to see the look on her face when I tell her." His smirk grew wider at the thought of their upcoming meeting.

He couldn't be sure she would even bother meeting him after school; however, he already did something that would ensure her meeting him later. She'll definitely come.


"Where is she?" Hyuuga Hinata sighed as she looked around the cafeteria for any sign of her best friend. It was already lunchtime. Sakura told her to go on ahead and that she would catch up later. Yeah, 20 minutes ago, she thought wryly.

Hinata stood up and walked out of the cafeteria, trying to find her best friend… wherever she was. She walked down the hall, tyring to register in her mind any place where Sakura could be. "Where is she?" she murmured, scanning the area with her pearl colored orbs.

If she's not here, then she should be… Hinata thought, her eyes focused on the floor. It was then that it hit her. She knew where she was. It was at that place. She was sure. Sakura was at that place… where the two of them first met.


Flashback

She curled herself up into a ball in a corner, feeling it was the best way to comfort herself. She had always been teased and picked on because of her timidity. She didn't have the guts to defend or stand up for herself. She could only cry, fidget nervously and hide. Today was just the same. She was already in high school and still… she couldn't do anything to defend herself. She was still the same girl as before: the timid Hyuuga Hinata that would rather stay in the background.

Being teased yet again, her only source of comfort was a place where she could be alone and reflect peacefully. At least here, she wouldn't be bothered by anyone. It was quite depressing that even her cousin didn't think too highly of her. He always said that he expected more of a Hyuuga… just like what her father always said—even if she was still in the room. Being a Hyuuga meant that it was their responsibility to be the top of everything. To be known by everyone—respected by everyone. Hinata knew now how a great dissapointment she was.

She wasn't the top of the class; she was more of an average girl with average marks. She wasn't known by everyone. Actually, she wasn't really known or to be frank… noticed at all. She was always left in the sidelines, but she prefered it that way. She liked being an average student. How she could with a family of overachievers breathing down her neck she didn't know… She wasn't respected. In fact, contrary to the usual treatment of the Hyuugas, she was being teased and taunted constantly.

She hated herself. She wanted to be someone who could make her father proud… but she just didn't have the guts to do it. She didn't know if she was afraid or if she was just confused. Maybe she was confused… she didn't know.

She cocked her head to the side, stealing a glance at the students at the school grounds enjoying their lunch and having fun. And here she was contemplating about how much she wanted another life. Another chance—a change. Somehow, watching them having fun made her sad.

I wish I could join them.

Suddenly, the sound of the door opening snapped Hinata out of her reverie. She immediately swung her gaze to the side where the door was located. She wanted to see the face of the person who came in. It was a girl like her; however, she didn't really fit the general description of a 'pretty' girl. Actually, she looked pretty… uh… yeah.

The foreign girl stretched her arms upward like she had just woken up from a deep sleep. "Ah, alone time at last…! Finally, some place where those snobs won't be bothering me," she said happily.

Hinata could only stare at her in owlish perplexity. Who was this person?

The said girl locked her hardly discernable sea foam orbs in her direction. The girl had hair a soft shade of cherry blossom pink, which was unflatteringly tied in two buns on either side of her head. She also had thick glasses that obscured her eyes as she continued to stare at Hinata. "Eh? I never knew someone was here."

The girl walked towards her, keeping her gaze locked on the timid Hinata. "What are you… doing here?" she asked curiously yet kindly.

Hinata merely kept silent, not knowing what to say.

Taking her silence as a reply, the girl approached her and plopped down to the ground next to her. "You don't mind do you?" she asked.

Somehow, Hinata was able to let the words slide from the tip of her tongue. "… No…"

The girl gave a sigh… of exhaustion maybe. "So, tell me: what are you doing in a place like this… isolated from everyone else?" she asked in the same kind tone.

Hinata merely lowered her head, staring at the concrete floor sadly. She didn't want to answer that.

The girl was looking at her from the corner of her sea foam orbs as Hinata lowered her head to the ground. She didn't want to tell her, huh? "Well, you know why I'm here?" she paused, waiting for a reply, which she didn't get. She just decided to continue the one-sided conversation. "Don't worry; you're not the only one who's being teased and taunted every single day."

Hinata swung her gaze towards her, staring at her in disbelief. Well, that sure got her attention. "Are you being… teased, too?" she asked shyly.

"I won't lie to you, but yeah, I do get teased a lot—everyday even." the girl laughed nervously.

"I see," Hinata said sympathetically.

The girl turned towards her and gave her a smile. "Hey, there's no need to be sad over me. I don't really care what those snobs do just to feel good about themselves. It's their life and I have mine. Why should a bunch of losers bring me down and control my life?" she snorted, "Never going to happen."

Hinata couldn't believe this girl. Somehow she felt a bit jealous of her. Even with all the adversity she's been through, she still had a positive mind and wasn't letting it get her down. She wanted to be like her.

"See there," the girl pointed down to where Hinata was looking before. She pointed her index finger towards the school grounds below. She gave a devilish giggle. "Right now, just looking at them down there, don't you think they look like a bunch of small ants to you?"

Hinata blinked and looked at the school grounds where random students were walking around. She couldn't help but admit that, they did indeed look like a bunch of ants. With this thought in mind, Hinata couldn't help but giggle a bit.

The girl smiled as she heard her giggle. "When I go here with a problem on my mind, I just look down and watch them walk around the school grounds," she said, swinging her gaze back at the grounds near the bottom of the building. "It comes to my mind that at least when I'm here, I feel more superior to those people down there. I feel like I can step on them if I wanted to." She laughed a bit and scratched her head sheepishly. "But that would be quite a sadistic thought, now wouldn't it?" she laughed softly. "Even if it's a mean way for me to feel good about myself, it helps me get through the day."

Hinata's pearl like orbs widened in shock. Those words… meant a lot to her. Somehow, she understood what they meant. This girl knew what she was worried about… and actually tried to cheer her up. Even coming from a stranger, she felt really connected with this person.

"Um… I'm sorry."

The girl turned towards her and blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

"Anou… my name's Hinata—Hyuuga Hinata," she said nervously, even though she felt, that with this girl, there wouldn't be any reason to be. "I haven't introduced myself yet… I'm sorry," she apologized again.

The girl merely giggled and smiled, "You don't need to apologize. There's nothing to apologize for. I haven't introduced myself either. Me—my name's Haruno Sakura." She gave a comforting smile at her direction, "Nice to meet you, Hinata-chan."

End of Flashback


She opened the door that led to the rooftop. With the bright afternoon sunlight illuminating and blinding her, she winced and brought her the back of her hand to cover her face in reflex. She walked further in the rooftop, while allowing her lavender orbs to adjust themselves to the bright light. Her eyes trailed across the area, trying to find the person she was looking for. And there she was…

Her lavender orbs became focused on the figure leaning on the rooftop's railing before her with her arms crossed. Her sea foam orbs were looking at the ground below just like she used to when they first met.

She decided to approach her carefully. "Sakura… chan?"

Responding to her call, the said girl slowly averted her gaze from looking at the solid ground at least 50 feet or more below her. "Hinata? What are you doing here?" she asked.

Hinata continued to walk towards her and stopped when she was just right beside her. She lifted her hand that held a bento box. "I brought us lunch, but you stood me up at the cafeteria," Hinata sighed.

Sakura laughed nervously. "I'm sorry. I was kinda preoccupied."

"Did something happen?" Hinata asked anxiously. She began to untie the knot of the bento box.

"Oh, the usual," Sakura lied. Not really. It was much worse than the usual. She had just heard rumors going on that she was her brother's girlfriend—Gaara's girlfriend. Not only that, but the other girls were talking about her being the infamous Uchiha Itachi's girlfriend. That just made things worse.

A huge problem… A very huge problem! Not good. Definitely not good at all! It was bad enough hearing the rumor about her and Gaara being together, but hearing a rumor about her being hooked up with Uchiha Itachi was just too much for her to handle. Too much stress.

It's mother's fault. If she didn't force me to dress up like a—girl—then none of this would have happened. Now, everyone thinks that I'm a slut… even though they don't know that the person that they're referring to is me. Ugh, this is definitely not good, Sakura sighed.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Hinata finally opened the bento box and revealed its contents. Everything looked very delicious—and healthy.

"Here you go," Hinata handed Sakura a pair of chopsticks.

Taking the chopsticks from her best friend's hands, she snapped it into two and chirped. "Itadakimasu!" She took a piece of meat and plopped it into her mouth enthusiastically.

"So, Sakura-chan, did you come here to think… about something?" Hinata asked as she ate a piece of sushi.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I'm just confused and I just came here to relax." She paused, her thoughts suddenly drifting away. Hinata merely looked at her best friend carefully in silence.

A minute later, Sakura spoke once more in a more cheerful manner. "So, how was your date?"

"Uh… um… it was fine." Hinata flushed as she heard the word 'date'.

Sakura gave off a sly smirk. "Hm, did something happen?"

Hinata nodded hotly as she managed to give off a small smile.

Sakura squealed in delight at her best friend's luck. "You did? How did it go?" she asked enthusiastically. So, they kissed already. Ah, Hinata-chan, you're so lucky! She was happy for her best friend. Finally, her romantic life was going somewhere.

"We talked about food a lot, while we picked up garbage and cleaned the streets." Hinata's face gave way to a smile, remembering the things that had happened.

Sakura's shoulders slumped when she heard this. "Hinata… garbage picking…?" she asked in disbelief.

Hinata nodded meekly. "Why? Is something wrong with it?"

"Nothing…" Sakura sighed. How dense. She wouldn't exactly call talking about food and picking up garbage… romantic. So much for her best friend's romantic life going somewhere… A giggle came from Sakura's timid best friend making her snap out of her reverie.

"Even if we weren't spending time picking up garbage, I was really happy that we spent time together. That way, I was able to get to know him better. There's nothing more that I can ask for," Hinata said humbly.

Sakura sighed. Hinata could be such a saint at times, but that was what Sakura liked about her. Still, she wanted to do something for her. She wanted to bring them together… because it seemed like being with Uzumaki Naruto made Hinata extremely happy. But how could she do that though…

Her eyes trailed off until it rested on the bento box on Hinata's lap. Food? It was then that she found an answer to her problem. "Ne, Hinata, you said that you guys were talking about food? Why don't you make him some?"

"Eh?" Hinata blushed from shock.

"You know, make him lunch. You're a good cook anyway. Why don't you give it a try? I'm sure that because it came from you, he'll be more than happy to accept it." Sakura suggested, taking a bite of a sushi.

"But…" Hinata began to fidget nervously.

"I'm sure that because it came from you, he'll be more than happy to accept it," Sakura repeated patiently. "Don't worry about being rejected. Give it a try. You might like what happens." Sakura smiled. "Besides, he needs a new menu besides that ramen of his."

Hinata averted her gaze towards the bento box on her lap filled with food that she cooked herself. Why not? Maybe she will take that particular piece of advice.


This was it. She needed to get this matter cleared up—once and for all.

"Meet me at the back of the school… that is… if you're interested."

He sounded very suspicious already. Highly suspicious. Why would he want to tell her about it? What could he be planning? She walked outside the school, making her way to the back, to the place where he told her to meet him.

Somehow, at the back of her mind, she felt that it was him that spread those rumors. Heck, they just exchanged a few words during the festival and now, everyone thinks that they were together. Together…? The thought made her cringe.

At last she arrived at her destination. Her eyes became focused on the Uchiha peacefully lying on the grass with his onyx orbs unseen behind his closed eyes. She stopped just a couple of feet away from him.

"Took you long enough to get here," he stated in that gratingly annoying amused tone of his and that extremely unnerving smirk that—thank God—was left unnoticed by Sakura.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked firmly.

"Whatever are you talking about?" Itachi asked slyly.

"Don't play coy with me. You wanted me to come here didn't you? Now here I am," she stated sternly. "What do you want?"

"My, my, aren't we furious. Why don't you come and lie down beside me and relax under the bright afternoon sun for a minute?" Itachi suggested with his smirk still on his face. He closed his eyes as he tried to relax under the bright rays of the sun.

Sakura glared at Itachi's sleeping figure as she walked closer towards him. She stood just above him, growling in irritation at his relaxing figure. He was doing this on purpose―she just knew it! "I'm not here to play games, Itachi-san! What do you want me here for?"

Itachi opened one of his eyes and gazed at the glaring Sakura with convincing blankness in his expression. "Then… do pray tell—why do you seem mad at me, Sakura-san?"

Sakura was taken aback by his question. She gulped in nervousness. She couldn't just tell him that she was furious at him because of the rumors that spread about him and her being together. Besides, he didn't know that it was him and—"her" that the rumors were referring to. All the girls in the school said that, "The great Itachi-sama has a girlfriend that he met during the festival."

Nobody knew her name or where she came from. All they knew that there was a girl that got close to their 'precious' Itachi, and they'll definitely teach that girl a lesson when they find her. That is if they do find her. Sakura would rather stay unknown for her own safety.

Sakura turned away from him, trying to avoid his intense gaze. "I'm… I'm not… mad at you."

"And here I am, giving you some very valuable information and you're already snapping at me," Itachi sighed.

"What kind of information are you telling me—exactly?" Sakura asked curiously, "And why do you think I would be interested in it."

Itachi raised a raven eyebrow playfully. "Shouldn't you know?"

"How should I know?"

"Well, you are the one curious about what I'm going to tell you. So, don't you at least have any idea—what it is?" Itachi asked coolly.

Sakura mentally glared at her future brother-in-law. How dare he! He was actually playing with her by stalling her. He was wasting time—and the worst case scenario was—he was enjoying it. And his very joy was making her really—really annoyed! Very annoyed! Furious even!

"Stand up, Itachi-san. Stop playing games with me and be serious," Sakura ordered sternly.

Itachi merely gave her a blank stare. "I like the view from down here," he stated coolly, his onyx orbs suddenly fixated on Sakura's covered legs.

"What?" Sakura flushed in embarrassment and shock as she took a step back. Was he… flirting with her? How can he be talking about something like that at a time like this! Honestly, this guy just has no shame.

"You know very well what I'm talking about, Sakura-san," Itachi smirked, apparently pleased with the situation or rather the reaction he got from the girl standing before him.

He was teasing her and she knew it. She didn't know what he was talking about—at all. She was confused, but that didn't matter. If he was merely going to tease her to no end and not just get to the point, then there was no point in lingering here any longer. "If all you're going to do is play games with me, Itachi-san—then I'm leaving." Sakura turned around and started to walk away.

Before she could get far though, a calloused hand grabbed her wrist and tugged it, forcing her down. She gasped at the unexpected action. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the soft grass below with Uchiha Itachi hovering above her lying figure. His hands braced on either side of her head, effectively pinning her inbetween, and not allowing her even a miniscule chance to escape. Amused onyx orbs met stunned sea foam ones.

"You can stop hiding from me, Sakura-san." Itachi then leaned his face closer to hers, making her gasp involuntarily. "I know very well that it was you. That pretty pink haired girl that I met during the festival," Itachi whispered slyly into her ear, making shivers run across her spine. His breath tickling her ear was just making things worse as it made her tenser than she was before. "I even saw you having a nice and sweet moment with my foolish little brother… in the water even."

"I… don't know… I don't know—what you're talking… about," Sakura denied in vain. She still kept on denying it even if it was futile. Even she wondered why. She knew that Itachi had already found her out, but somehow she didn't want to admit that the pretty girl that he met was indeed her. She didn't want anyone to know about her as that 'pretty girl' during the festival.

"Mysterious indeed," Itachi drawled, with his lips still in a smirk. He reached his hand out and stroked her flushed cheek.

Sakura could only stay silent as she kept her gaze on Itachi's onyx orbs like she was hypnotized by them. She didn't move as he continued to tease her cheek with his touch.

He abruptly stopped and withdrew his hand, content with the reaction that he received from the girl below him. "Are you still going to lie to me, Sakura-san?"

His words might have been the one that snapped her out of her trance. It was then that she got her voice back and was able to talk back to the smirking Uchiha before her. "I wasn't there at the festival. I stayed home. You're accusing me of something that I didn't do." She glared at him. She wouldn't admit it no matter how the odds were against her.

"Really now... Are you sure about that?" Itachi snickered as his onyx orbs gazed at her in seemingly perpetual amusement.

Sakura gulped at how he intently his gaze was towards her. It somehow gave her the creeps.

He reached his hand out towards her tied pink tresses and stroked it softly. Keeping his gaze on her, his hand reached towards the elastic that was keeping her hair into buns and slowly pulled it off, enjoying the friction that his hand made with the softness of her hair. As the elastic left her hair, the newly loosened pink tresses hung loosely around her face, showing the beauty of her unique hair color. The wind abruptly blew, dragging her pink tresses along the same direction that the wind was blowing to. For a while, the wind made her loose sight of the man who was hovering above her.

Tucking her hair behind her ear so that he could regain sight of her pale face, his hand unexpectantly and gracefully took hold of her thick lenses and pulled it away from her face. When there were no more glasses to shield her eyes away from his view, he saw shinning emerald orbs staring at him in shock. Her eyes seemed to reflect an aura of both knowledge and innocence in them, which sent a thrill to him.

Now, she looked exactly like girl that he met during the festival. However, this time, it seemed that her natural beauty was even more attractive than when her face was covered with artificial make-up, however expertly done. Her alabaster skin seemed much more silkier and smoother than before.

With a smirk he stated, "Let's make a bet… shall we? A bet that involves you and my foolish younger brother..."

Her shocked expression slowly changed as her eyebrows scrunched into a frown. She didn't speak. She didn't need to speak. Her facial expression spoke for her.

Carefully taking a thick strand of her pink tresses, he brought it to his lips and closed his eyes, inhaling the faint scent of cherry emanating from it. It was then that images of what he witnessed during the festival and his early encounter with his brother flashed in his mind. He knew now what he was supposed to do—what he could do. It wasn't for the benefit of his foolish-and-in-denial younger brother or for this young girl lying on the grass below him. It was for himself—for his own amusement.

Slowly, he leaned down towards her face again, making her gasp louder. In her mind, many thoughts ran through her head, but all of them seemed to be focusing on one thing. No… is he going to kiss me? I—no! I don't… I don't want this to happen. No—I can't let this happen. I need to get out of here—now! However, her body seemed to have a mind of its own. She couldn't move a muscle. All she could do was stay still and wait for the man before her to do what he pleased. With one last resort, she immediately closed her eyes tightly, refusing to see whatever was going to happen next. If this was the only thing she could do so that she wouldn't witness her first kiss being stolen then… so be it. At least this way, she could pretend that nothing ever happened.

However it seemed as if that wasn't what he had in mind.

Missing her rosy and moist lips on purpose, his lips went even closer to her ear. She could even feel his warm breath tickling her ear, caressing it softly. She could feel the amusement in his onyx orbs, even if she couldn't see them, creating tension for both of them. His eerie silence was making the girl below him quiver like a arrow about to launch from a bow string while waiting on what he was going to do, even if her eyes were still tightly shut.

Bringing his face a little closer to her ear so that his lips almost touched them, he whispered:

"I know that it will only be a matter of time before you fall in love with him."


Unknown to the two of them, a pair of dark coal colored orbs watched the scene before him carefully, absorbing every tiny detail that he received from his eavesdropping. Feeling that he already heard enough, he turned around and walked away, leaving the two alone for more private time. With his hands tucked inside his pockets, a thought grazed his mind.

I see… so that's how it is.

TBC


A/N: Wow, this chapter's really long! Yikes! I never wrote something this long before. It might even be the longest chapter in this fic… maybe not. Who knows. I tend to make my fics long. A bad habit of mine. I'm already in Chapter 9 and Sasuke and Sakura didn't even have an essential moment. Ugh, I'm hopeless. Anyways, I forgot to mention that this Chapter is a special treat for me not updating for quite a long time. I just wanted school to be over. Well, I hope this chapter had been worth the wait.


Chapter 10―New Student

The blonde boy continued to snicker conspicuously even though he tried his best to hide it, which only succeeding in making Sasuke more irritated. "What are you snickering about, dobe?" Sasuke glared at the blonde boy.

But that only intimidated his best friend as his smirk grew wider and his snickering turned into a soft chuckle. It took a while before his chuckling subsided, now only having a smirk forming on his lips.

Getting extremely irritated and annoyed, Sasuke decided to do something that would end this pathetic conversation. He turned around and walked away without casting Naruto a second glance. His walked towards his seat, ignoring Naruto's piercing voice as he yelled at his retreating figure to stop.

"What was that I saw in the hall?" Naruto chuckled loudly. The whole class suddenly became silent as they heard some possible valuable information about the infamous Uchiha Sasuke. Everyone needed to know about his interests, his strengths, and his weaknesses. It was more on the lines that they needed to know everything that the younger Uchiha was doing. To be frank, he practically didn't have any privacy―at all.

Couldn't they just leave him alone?


Updated: July 8, 2006