Disclaimer: Naruto is Kishimoto Masashi's property.

A/N: Hello again, minna – san! Part 5 of the School Affairs is here! As of now, I'm still indecisive about the pairings and I just finished reading chapter 307 of the manga. Anyways, please enjoy the chapter and don't forget to give me a review after reading this!

Chapter 10: School Affairs Part 5

"What if," she began and clenched her fists tighter. "What if…what if I told you I like you; what will you say?" Upon saying those words she blushed again, afraid that Sasuke might take her words as a joke.

…………

He didn't laugh.

Great. She confessed her feelings for him right then and there.

He said nothing.

But to her surprise, Sasuke bent his face closer to her. "Why the hell are you asking me that now? Of course I like you. Did I do something wrong in order for you to think of me that way?" he answered, ending it with a question.

"I…" was he really serious? He liked her? "I…" she smiled through her thick bangs. She was already content with his answer. She swatted his hand that was still on top of her head. "Nah! That was nothing, Sasuke! Just checking you out about somethin'. Why don't we head back now and see what Itachi – san is making for dinner?"

Sasuke blinked but nodded nonetheless.

'Girls. They're all weird creatures.' He mused as he followed Tenten back to the direction of his house. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind and he mentally smacked himself.

He forgot Sakura.

They were already walking when Naruto who was running all over the place, stopped right in front of them. He panted in disbelief when he saw Tenten standing side by side with none other than his or her desired object of affection.

"Yo! I don't believe you guys! Especially you, T! Why didn't you tell me that you were searching for Sasuke – chan? You little sly," the blond teen feigned hurt as he placed a hand above his chest. Tenten glared as she walked past him.

'Now's my chance,' Sasuke thought as Tenten was finally out of earshot. He spun on his heel and was about to run to the opposite direction when Naruto's hand clamped on his shoulder. He eyed the other boy with a suspicious look.

"What?" he asked.

"Where the hell are you running off to now, Sasuke – chan?"

He shrugged his shoulder from Naruto's grasp. "Nowhere."

Naruto gave him a sly look. "I don't believe you."

Sasuke glared daggers at him. "Then what should I do to make you believe me, you wily fox?"

The blond boy puckered his lips. "Give me a hot torrid kiss!"

SMACK!

"OW!"

Sasuke cracked his knuckles. Damn Naruto!

Naruto rubbed the spot where Sasuke had punched him. "Itai! You're so mean! How could you hit such an innocent and vulnerable being like me?"

He resisted the urge to punch him again. "I hit you where I want to at any time and place, dobe. So stop screwing me around."

Instead of being offended, Naruto smirked. "Ooohhh…didn't know you like being the sadist one, Sasuke – chan. I wonder, what T will react once she finds out about this little secret of yours?"

Sasuke smiled thinly. He wants to play, eh?

Walking towards Naruto, he lifted his chin and tilted it so that their faces were in mere inches. The blond yelped in surprise as Sasuke's lips hovered next to his ear, his warm breath tickling him.

"Leave the game for another time, kitsune. Right now I have to find Neji's pet. I left her back at the alley somewhere when I ran after Tenten," he whispered huskily then let go of his chin.

Naruto's blue eyes widened slightly. He was entirely caught off guard by Sasuke's actions. Suddenly, his eyes lit up when he remembered something. "Oh! Don't worry about Neji's girl, Sasuke."

"Why shouldn't I?" he asked dryly.

Naruto grinned. "I met her at the alley while I was searching for T. She was barely standing and was unable to go back by herself so I walked her home. What happened?"

The raven-haired boy shrugged. "She and T had a fight."

The blonde's blue eyes widened again but this time, out of surprise. "Nani! No wonder Neji's girl didn't stand a chance! So T did a number on her didn't she?"

"Aa. It was an unpleasant sight. And I barely saved Haruno from being clobbered by her."

"Tsk. If Neji finds out that T knocked out his girl, he'll throw a fit and kill every single one of us! What should we do?" Naruto wailed.

Sasuke sighed. "Beats me."

11:00 PM

In the living room…

Itachi stared at the cooking section of the magazine he was browsing. 'Hm…another way to sauté vegetables without the use of oil…' he mused as his eyes greedily absorbed every instruction shown in the article.

It was then that Sasuke entered the living room. He just came out of the shower and was now drying his hair with a towel. He saw his brother staring oddly at the magazine. "What are you doing, 'Nisan?" he asked wryly.

"Reading."

"Hn," was all he said as he slumped down on the other side of the sofa.

Itachi eyed him at the corner of his eye then reverted his gaze back to his reading. "I heard from Naruto that Tenten attacked Haruno – san."

"Yeah, she did."

He stopped abruptly from his reading. "Did something happen?"

"A simple misunderstanding," his brother answered dismissively.

"Oh." Itachi started reading again. "By the way Sasuke, do you still remember what I told you to do days before your school's festival?"

Sasuke huffed. "I do. And stop pestering me about it. I'm only going to do it because it was your order. And also, for you to stop bugging me."

"Good," Itachi replied and flipped the magazine into the next article. "And aside from my order, I'm also giving you an errand."

"An errand?"

"Yep. An errand. You'll find out tomorrow. For now, get some sleep. Tomorrow's the start of the festival, right?"

Sasuke rose from his seat. "Whatever. Sheesh, you sound just like Okaasan."

Itachi flapped his hand to shoo him away. "We're born out of the same mother, Sasuke. It's pretty obvious that I inherited some of our Okaasan's genes. Now be a good little boy and run off to bed."

"And that same gesture. Eeww…I knew it. You are planning to become a mother someday."

The older Uchiha flashed him a glare and Sasuke trudged to his room. Itachi then heard the door being slammed shut. He resumed back to his reading.

"Poor boy. He is really dense," he smirked.

8:00 AM

The day of the festival…

"All right! Good morning, my beloved students! This year's Konoha Academy Spring Festival is about to begin!" The head principal's voice boomed from the speakers. Inside the school, he watched his students having the time of their lives from his window.

Students cheered in excitement then dashed to the stalls of their choice. The festival's major attractions were the stalls that had LOVE as their main theme. Apparently, the Kissing Booth, the Blind Date Booth and the infamous Marriage Booth were the current bestsellers.

Ino fanned her face with a paper folded in half. She cast a glare towards the people flanking the Blind Date Booth from across their stall. "The hell! That booth's stealing all of our customers! Why can't they understand that food is more satisfying than love?"

Naruto heaved a sigh as he continued to poke the octopus balls with his metal stick. Making takoyaki was their fearsome leader's idea. Ino stated that octopus balls were less in cholesterol and were okay to eat especially for girls who were conscious of their weight. What made them believe all that she said about takoyakis was beyond reasoning.

Especially since they're the ones doing all the preparations, the cooking, the packaging, with Ino strutting around with her chin up in a haughty manner. "She acts like a dictator while we slave over the hot stove!" Naruto groaned, wiping his forehead with his sleeve. "Sheesh, and it's so hot!"

"Don't burn the octopus balls Naruto or I'll kill ya!"

The blond boy gritted his teeth. "Yes, Madame!" He continued to poke the half made balls, thinking of ways of how to get even with his fellow blonde. Maybe dye her hair bright orange. That would be interesting.

While enduring the scorching heat from the stove, Naruto averted his eyes towards the bright blue sky. A grin made its way across his face. "I wonder how T is faring. She's in charge of arresting all the criminals. I hope she doesn't go too far in that job of hers…"

…………

"You're under arrest! For crossing over the white line!"

"What? But I just sidestepped on it by accident! Don't arrest me, please!"

Tenten gave a loud roar full of authority. She clamped her hand around the victim's upper arm. "According to the rules made by our booth, you are not permitted to cross this line," she explained roughly then jabbed the line she and the person were stepping at with her foot.

The victim, Inuzuka Kiba protested. "I didn't know! The line was so poorly drawn! Even a naked eye could not see it!"

Steam shot out of Tenten's ears. "Pffftt! Insulting an authority's work, now you're really going to jail!" She yanked Kiba by his arm and dragged him towards her booth.

Kiba screamed and tried to pry his arm from Tenten's devastatingly iron hold, knowing that he would spend 15 minutes inside a makeshift jailhouse. And judging from her reaction when he insulted the messily scribbled line beneath them earlier, he would've bet a thousand yen that it was Tenten's work.

She wouldn't give him another 20 minutes sentence if that weren't true.

With Kiba behind bars, Tenten snickered as she headed towards the police desk with a logbook. She wrote the name of her latest catch them stamped her logbook. '25 down,' she thought giddily.

…………

Meanwhile…

Sakura finished adding the last of the decorations onstage. There was a band going to perform in the afternoon and since she was in charge of the decorations…well, let's just say she decorated the entire stage. After putting her roll of tape and scissors inside the box, she dabbed her face with a handkerchief.

"Nice work. You've done a great job Sakura."

She smiled at her leader. "It was nothing, Shikamaru. I had to do my part in the committee. Slacking off was not included in my plan from the beginning."

Shikamaru leaned lazily against the stage's support. "Yeah. You disappeared for unknown reasons. Ino informed me that you and Hyuuga had a fight."

"Not really. It was all a misunderstanding," Sakura answered curtly.

"Whatever. As if burning the entire batch of flowers you made before was a misunderstanding," the pony tailed boy shrugged nonchalantly.

The pink girl closed her eyes. "He's just possessive. It was also my fault in the first place. I should've met him in front of the school. Then all of this would never happen."

The bored guy yawned. "Always this. Always that. Man, you should really have a head for yourself, Sakura. From the way you said those things, you sound like Neji's lapdog." He grabbed the box of supplies and gave her a wink. "Enjoy yourself. We have three days of nothing to worry about."

Sakura thanked Shikamaru for his advice and watched him walk back to school. She glanced back at the stage and stared at her work. Maybe, he's right. She was even forgetting to take care of herself. "I never knew I would sunk this low. From being a sissy to Neji – kun's lapdog, what's next?" she asked herself.

She knew the girl named T was right. She was nothing more but Neji's toy. Even though he announced to everyone that she was his girlfriend, he never showed her any kindness. He even claimed her in front of Sasuke's father as his fiancée, but never once did he ever look her way.

Yet, they never lack in displaying their affections for one another but physical intimacy was not the thing she wanted from Neji. She wanted him to love her in the same way that she loved him. Nothing more.

"I just hope that everything will turn out fine after this day," she consoled herself as she turned her back from the stage and walked away.

10:00 AM

Students walked in and out of the school. There were also students from different academies like the notorious Otogakure University and the exclusive Kirigakure Academy who dropped by to enjoy the festivities. Everything was going well and the festival all in all was a complete success.

Yep, everything is fine. The only problem left is…how am I supposed to mingle with the people inside? Stupid brother of mine, I should never have listened to his ramblings.

From his vantage point, he eyed a couple standing not far from him. They were occupied in a heated lip lock and from the looks of things; they were getting ready to take it to the next level. He fanned himself. Of all the stupid things that Itachi had made up for him to do!

What the hell am I standing here for? All I have to do is to go inside and…mingle. That's it. Just mingle. Mingle…

He eyed the school's main gate and watched the pink-fringed banner with the words in big bold letters, WELCOME STUDENTS! To add it all up, it was also written in bright pink ink.

Screw Itachi's favor! I have to get out of here and hide! Ow! The sun is starting to burn my skin! I never should have left my glasses at home! Screw that! I never should have agreed to his favor in the first place!

He cursed as he remembered one particular scene at his house. He and his brother were engaged in a heated battle of wits. Itachi, of course, was in the winning streak.

Flashback…

"I'm not going!"

Itachi sighed. That was probably his tenth sigh this morning. He pocketed the foggy glasses inside his jeans as he glared at his younger brother. There was no way Sasuke's going outside with these dorky contraptions! He was supposed to spend the day as a normal human being and not as a clown.

Sasuke stood in front of him, his onyx eyes flashing with annoyance. He sported a dark blue denim jacket exposing the front of his black shirt. He also wore dark blue jeans in faded denim and finished the look with a pair of laced up rubber shoes.

Itachi forced his brother to let his hair down into its spiky state and was already satisfied when his brother attempted to ruin the entire look by wearing his hideous glasses.

"For the umpteenth time, you're not going to wear your dorky glasses! Why don't you feel conscious about your look for once, Sasuke?" Itachi scolded him with venom laced in his voice.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulder. "I am conscious. Which is why I need those glasses. I need to hide my face so that the students there would not recognize me."

Itachi flicked a finger painfully at his brother's forehead. "Foolish little brother. It was your fault in the beginning why those fan girls were after you. If you didn't go to that photo shoot three years ago then this would never happen."

The younger Uchiha waved his arms in exasperation. "I didn't know that that was a photo shoot! They told me that they're just going to use my picture for the school id! And I'm not foolish!"

"Pffftt! You really are foolish. You're an Uchiha for Yondaime's sake. Falling for the "We're just going to use your photo for the school id" trick! Even Otousan during his times knew when to say no to those vultures!"

Sasuke glared at his brother. "So what if I fell for that trick? After that, I learned not to interact with other people that have a camera slung on their shoulders!"

The older brother sighed. "Nowadays, people have cameras installed inside their cell phones, ototou."

"Whatever. But I'm still not leaving the house unless you give me back my glasses, 'Nisan," Sasuke declared smugly and crossed his arms.

Itachi almost wanted to pull his hair out because of frustration. His brother was one tough cookie. Well, if Sasuke could not be taken down with simple threats…

"You don't want to?" he asked innocently.

Sasuke remained firm. "No. I'm not going to step outside this house even if you carry me, 'Nisan!"

Itachi sighed as he ran his fingers through his raven tresses. "All right. If that's what you want, Sasuke." He walked briskly towards his younger brother.

"What do you want now, 'Nisan?"

"Aaahhhh! What in the fuck do you think you are doing!"

Itachi grabbed his brother by the waist and hauled him up on his shoulder like a sack of rice. "You said that you're not going to step outside the house even if I carry you, ototou. I'm simply trying to find out if that theory of yours works."

Sasuke beat his brother's back with his fists. "I'm not kidding, 'Nisan! Put me down!"

"Make me." Itachi strode his way towards the front door with his younger brother kicking and screaming like a toddler.

End of Flashback…

Sasuke hissed as he continued hiding behind the bushes not far from the school. After all that humiliation Itachi had put him through! He squinted at the bright sunlight filtering from his dark space. He also grimaced when he saw his brother's car parked right next to the school's main gate.

He sighed. "I've got to act fast and get this over with. That idiotic brother of mine will not be satisfied unless I get to spend the day inside that school! And also…"

…………

Flashback (Again!)

"What? You can't be serious!" he squeaked.

He huddled at the edge of the passenger's seat after hearing what his errand was supposed to be. His brother had that evil smile on his face as he put the car into a halt. Apparently, his stupid brother parked the car right next to the school! Eyeing the number of 'female' visitors entering and exiting the school from the windshield, Sasuke swallowed nervously.

Itachi turned to face his brother, his smirk unwavering.

"I AM SERIOUS. It's just for this day only, Sasuke. You're not going to leave the school unless I see a girl snugly wrapped in your arms. And don't even try to use Tenten on this one or else I'm going to reduce your dorky clothes into ashes."

He watched Sasuke clung for dear life on his seat. He smirked widely. There was no way his ototou could run out on this one. What Uchiha Itachi wants, Uchiha Itachi gets. And his brother would surely damn know as hell what would happen to him once his orders were defied.

Tapping his fingers against the steering wheel, he made a shooing motion with his hand. "Now get out and have a good time at that festival, Sasuke."

Grunting and muttering curses under his breath, Sasuke opened the door and stepped outside the car. He was about to close the door when Itachi called his name. "What?" he asked angrily.

Itachi grinned at him. "Don't forget to do my little errand or say bye-bye to your prized possessions, ototou."

Instead of answering, Sasuke slammed the door shut.

End of Flashback…

"I have no other choice. Go inside that festival, get hooked up with a girl and show her right in front of my brother's face! Yeah! That's what I'm going to do," Sasuke told himself as he clenched his fists.

He can do this! He can…He…

He eyed the school's main gate and saw different sets of girls flanking the stalls.

He huddled fearfully behind the bush.

No…I can't! I CAN'T!

…………

11:45 AM

Neji leaned further in his chair as he watched the horde of girls fighting in front of him. As always, girls clustered around him as they tried to get close to him at the same time shower him with money. Why, you ask? Well, he was under the committee who intentionally put up the Kissing Booth. Now he was the target of all females at school that were now currently dying to get their hands on him.

"Neji – kun!"

"Give us a kiss, Neji – kun!"

"I'll pay you a 100 yen just for a kiss, Neji – kun!"

"Che," he muttered under his breath. He tucked a hand under his chin as he eyed the girls with distaste. Right now, he was planning a way to get his Sakura back. But these girls were giving him a hard time. His glassy eyes glazed over when he saw his supposed girlfriend passed by the stall and completely ignored him.

"I don't like how things are going on between me and Sakura. I have to get her back before another man makes a move on her," he said to himself. Suddenly, an idea popped inside his head. He then smiled thinly.

Yes. He had a very good plan to get Sakura back.

Author's Note: What do you think of the chapter? Whew! Finally! The festival has begun! And Sasuke is now wearing normal clothes for a change! The problem is, how to get him inside the school and have a good time…well, he can't even escape the school since Itachi's guarding the main gates. Gomene but its now time for you guys to have another guess:

"What is Neji's plan?"

In addition, I'm very grateful to those who're doing their best in guessing the answers. As a token of gratitude, I'm going to dedicate the next consecutive chapters in their names! And also, for those who supported the story in such a long run, I'm adding their names as well! Thank you very much for the reviews and please wait for the next chapter!