Okay, so obviously Sasuke messed up, and now it's time for the friends to get to work. This chapter is mostly about their scheme. Enjoy :)

Previously on SSHS:

Naruto growled. "Who fed you this crap, anyway?!"

"It was that Karin girl."

SMACK!

Hinata and Naruto stepped back in shock! Out of nowhere, Tenten had appeared and punched Neji in the face with enough force to knock him down!

Neji sat on the ground, rubbing his cheek. I was caught off guard. Towering over him was none other than Tenten. Judging by the darkness in her eyes, she was beyond pissed! Naruto was holding her back as she tried to come at him again.

"You bastard! Why the heck would you listen to her? Don't you know that thing lives to torment Sakura on a daily basis? Oh wait, you don't because you just ignore what goes on like everybody else!"

Hinata figured Tenten was letting out all of her pent up anger at once. "Tenten…"

"Why? You've never given a crap until now! So why would you care this time? You should've left it alone! She was happy! For once, she was actually…"

Tenten stopped struggling. Her body seemed to slump. Neji was shocked when her shoulders started trembling. Naruto's eyes widened, too; he wasn't sure what he should do.

There's a crying girl in my arms! There's a crying girl in my arms! THERE'S A CRYING GIRL IN MY ARMS!

Neji looked away. The sight of her crying was just so…

Tenten spoke again with a shaky voice. "You have no idea what's it like… to be neglected…"

Hinata could tell she wasn't just talking about Sakura. Tenten had feelings for Neji for the longest time, but he never acknowledged them.

Neji stared at the trembling girl. Neglected? What does she mean by that?

He thought of what she said. He remembered that Haruno mostly kept to herself, so he never really bothered. However, he had no idea she was going through so much. But it was true: he never concerned himself until now.

He thought of the evidence presented to him. The photograph clearly depicted that Sasuke had feelings for her; he never even considered the possibility. He thought of the fact that if Karin hadn't brought up Hinata, he would've minded his own business. Yet he played right into her hands and became her pawn.

"What have I done? This is terrible," he whispered.

"It's fine, Neji. You were simply concerned about me, weren't you?"

Neji's eyes shot up to Hinata as she smiled. "She used that old trick, didn't she?" She was well aware of how overprotective he was when it came to her.

Naruto decided it was time to speak up. "Alright. Let's find everyone else. It's time to get those two to make up!"

"Hey, guys."

They all turned to Shikamaru, who was standing there with a flash drive. "I think you should hear this."

Everyone had gathered in the commons area as Shikamaru played the recording.

Kiba eyed him suspiciously. "Say, when did you get this anyway?"

"I set this up while you and Naruto created that distraction."

Kiba and Naruto blinked. Distraction? Weren't we fighting?

"This is what Sasuke was doing when he was alone. I figured it'd explain what was bugging him, but I never imagined it'd be crystal clear."

They listened as Sasuke was singing. Naruto's eyes narrowed. "What the heck? This isn't one of the songs I gave him! He's supposed to-"

"Naruto! Can't you tell he's singing from the heart?!" Ino screamed.

Naruto rolled his eyes. He'd never really get girls.

Tenten spoke up. "So, what now?"

Ino smirked. "Don't you worry about a thing! I already have a plan." She turned to the guys. "And you'll have to cooperate. Got it?"

They weren't too thrilled about taking orders from Ino, but they figured they should go with it.

"Okay, so here's what has to happen."

Sasuke slowly walked onto campus. His mood hadn't changed; he was getting pissed at just about anything. There was only one way to fix this. But will she listen?

He scanned the crowd around him, trying to spot any sign of pink. She takes school seriously; she wouldn't skip again.

He froze when he finally found her. She was sitting on a bench, writing in a notebook. A strange feeling of relief started to come over him. She's here.

Her eyes caught sight of him; he could swear they widened. Then she suddenly got up and took off. Sasuke remained where he was standing; that feeling of relief had been crushed. She's avoiding me…

This continued for the rest of the day. Sasuke kept trying to get her attention so he could talk, but she kept slipping away. He even tried passing her a note in class, but a fan got a hold of it and tore it up when she saw it wasn't for her. Sasuke grit his teeth. What else could he do?

Naruto watched as Sakura practically ran away from Sasuke. That's got to be frustrating. He knew it was time to put Ino's plan into motion.

"Hey, Teme. Come on, it's time for rehearsal."

Sasuke remained silent but led the way anyway. Naruto sighed as rubbed his neck; he wasn't sure how much longer he could watch his best friend act like this. He's like a freaking zombie!

Once the band was set up, Shikamaru nodded at Kiba, who spoke up. "Hey Sasuke, how about you pick the song today?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Why the hell should I do that?"

Kiba narrowed his eyes. "Cut the attitude already! Pick a song to let out that stress."

Naruto nodded repeatedly. "Yeah, you obviously want to get this off your chest."

Sasuke turned away. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about this!" Naruto chucked his notebook at him; the picture was taped onto the cover.

Sasuke gaped. When did he get this? He couldn't help but stare at her smile for just a little bit. He snapped out of it and lightly tossed it aside. "What does that have to do with anything?"

Neji couldn't take it anymore. "Uchiha, this is about what happened with Sakura. I understand now that I was in the wrong, and I apologize."

This surprised everyone in the room. Neji Hyuuga never apologized for anything!

Sasuke looked at him for a second. "Hn. Whatever."

Neji took that to mean his apology was accepted. "Sing what you want to say, Uchiha."

Sasuke thought for a second. What I want to say to her?

His mind wandered to her for the past couple of days. He couldn't help but feel guilty. Sakura thought he found her to be worthless, but that was far from true. His memories of her kept popping up in his head.

He saw her on the roof after facing down those girls.

"I know we're not exactly friends, but could you maybe stay? I'm just… sick of being alone."

He saw the way she smirked when he refused her help.

"Please. If I didn't help you, you'd be here all night!"

The way she smiled when she handed him a guitar in the store…

"Care to show me what you got?"

Her childish antics at the photo booth…

"Sasuke! Wanna do it?"

The way she hugged him as she cried…

"Thank you, Sasuke..."

Sasuke knew she was the only one to make him act differently; she always had some sort of power over him that he couldn't escape. Now he hurt her, and all he wanted was for her to know how important she was. It didn't matter if she forgave him; he didn't deserve it. She just had to know…

At that moment, the perfect song revealed itself in his mind.

"…Got it. Follow my lead."

Sakura sat alone in the courtyard. She sighed. She thought she was ready to face Sasuke; a day with her mom can work wonders! But… as soon as she saw his face, his gaze made her panic. Her body reacted by running away without her permission. I promised myself that I'd move on, but…

"Sakura?"

She looked up and saw Hinata looking at her, concern etched in her face.

"Yeah?"

The shy girl fidgeted a little before she tried to speak. "Umm… th- there's something w-we think you should hear."

Sakura raised a brow. "We?"

Hinata nodded. "Th-they're waiting for us."

Sakura had expected Ino and Tenten; she didn't expect to see Neji and Shikamaru as well!

"Uh… what's going on?"

Neji turned to her and…

Inner Sakura had a panic attack! HE'S BOWING! WHY IS NEJI BOWING?!

Chill! It's not like he's on his hands and knees! He's just bending a bit.

BUT THIS IS NEJI HYUUGA!

…Good point. I'm confused.

"N… Neji?"

He slowly rose. "I owe you an apology, Miss Haruno. In a way, Uchiha was set up by me. I caused his outburst."

Sakura stared for a second, then she gave a sad smile. "Thank you, but I don't see how it's your fault. He said what he said; no one forced him to say it."

Neji's eyes widened. Why won't she blame me? "But…"

"Sakura. I doubt he actually meant it. It's rare, but he can use sarcasm once in a while."

Sakura looked at Shikamaru and noticed the flash drive in his hand. He followed her gaze and nodded.

"This is something he recorded at free period. Actually, he didn't know we were recording. However, he sang it to you."

Sakura stood there dumbfounded as Shikamaru set up his laptop and played the recording. What Sakura heard made her heart almost shatter all over again.

I'm not a perfect person.

There's many things I wish I didn't do.

But I continue learning.

I never meant to do those things to you

And so I have to say before I go

That I just want you to know

I found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

And the reason is you.

I'm sorry that I hurt you

It's something I must live with everyday.

And all the pain I put you through.

I wish that I could take it all away

And be the one who catches all your tears

That's why I need you to hear

I found a reason for me

To change who I used to be

A reason to start over new

And the reason is you

I've found a reason to show

A side of me you didn't know

A reason for all that I do

And the reason is you. And the reason is you.

Shikamaru stopped the recording. He looked over at Sakura and tried his best not to smile at the silver tears streaming down her face. I guess it worked. He thought back to what Yamanaka had said.

"Sakura communicates best through music. Naruto even said that's what Sasuke did last time. So, we need to get him to sing for her again."

Hinata gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "Sakura?"

"I…I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I trust him? K-Karin tried to tell me he'd do this, and I was so sure it wasn't true! But when I heard him… I just…"

Neji's eyes softened with concern. "It's understandable. Karin had set the whole thing up. She sent me after Sasuke."

Sakura hands fisted as her body trembled. "I can't believe… I fell for that…that bitch's trick. Now what? How can… how can he ever forgive me?"

Shikamaru scratched his head. This is getting troublesome. "Well, the only way to find out is to apologize to him."

He put his hands behind his head. "It won't be easy, though. Besides, with the festival being a few days away, we're going to be busy with rehearsals."

"Rehearsals?" They all looked at Sakura. The tears had stopped, and now the wheels in her head were turning. She wiped her eyes and smiled. "I think I've got an idea. Tell the rest of "Will of Fire" to meet us in the music room right now."

I know, the conflict hasn't resolved, so we'll have to see what Sakura has up her sleeve, now won't we?

Music: The Reason by Hoobastank (whatever that name means)