Thanks for all the lovely reviews guys. I really appreciate it.

/

CAT IS OUT OF THE BAG

Sasuke massaged his throbbing head as he heard the distinct noise of his doorbell. He groaned with annoyance and buried his face in the pillow. His fever was only getting worse and he was in no mood to entertain any guests. He stayed still, hoping that the intruder would leave before a loud banging started on the door. He muttered profanities and slowly got up with difficulty. If it was Naruto, he won't be going back alive that's for sure. Instead his obsidian eyes met with a pair of olive as his anger puffed away in a moment. Sakura had an unimpressed scowl over her face as she studied him closely. Sasuke loved seeing her variety of expressions as he smirked at her.

"So, you missed me that much that you came to my apartment huh?"

Instead of replying, she placed the back of her palm over his burning forehead and almost winced at the high temperature.

"You Idiot! I can boil a freaking egg over your head right now."

She scolded and he let her in as she placed the bag on his couch, indicating that she was just returning from the university. He didn't want her to come over just so she could babysit him or something.

"You go and lie down on the couch mister."

He cocked his eyebrow at her and she just rolled her eyes with frustration before dragging him to the end of his couch and forcing him to sit on it. This time Sasuke scoffed at her as he folded his arms.

"Tch. I am fine."

"As if! You didn't come to class for two days Uchiha! And you look so pale and weak. Have you even eaten anything? "

He didn't reply as she walked over to his refrigerator and took out the ice tray and grabbed some towels and a mug of water from his bathroom. She sinked the cloth properly in the icy water before placing it over his forehead and wiping it slowly. Sasuke hated being taken care of or depending on someone for help, it was due to this that he rarely invited his mother to his flat. She would treat him like an eight year old and pamper him all day.

He rested his head on the cushion as he began to feel a lot better than before as Sakura discreetly tried to remove the excess heat from his body. She finally got up after a while when she was satisfied that he was better than before and entered into his kitchen. Sasuke dozed off in the meantime as he still felt a lot weak.

"Get up Sasuke!"

He half opened his eyes to glare at the pink head as she smiled at him. His nostrils tingled with smell of a hot liquid as she took a spoonful from the bowl and brought to his face. Sasuke eyed it with suspicion as he regarded her closely.

"What is it?"

"It's a healthy soup. It would give you all nutrients and make you feel better."

He has never seen a soup of this color before as he hesitatingly sipped from it. Color drained from his face at it's unique taste as he coughed a little.

"Are you okay? Have some water?"

Sakura asked with concern as she handed him the glass of water and he gulped it down before addressing her.

"I never knew there was a way to kill the natural flavor of food."

Sakura sulked and pouted as she buried her face in hands.

"I am a terrible cook I know that. Not everyone is blessed at everything like you jerk! If it's that bad then I will just go and get…"

"No."

He grabbed her wrist as she tried to get up before he took the spoon and fed himself. He was finished in five minutes and only then he realized how hungry he was.

"I am sorry it tasted so bad."

She was ashamed as he flickered her forehead and shook his head with mirth.

"It wasn't that bad if it didn't kill me."

Sakura didn't understand if he was serious or joking as she took the utensil and washed it in the sink. She returned back to him and took out some medicine and ordered him to take it as he swallowed the pill half heartedly.

"Your shirt is all sweaty and wet Sasuke. You should change it."

"I am too tired to move Sakura. Won't you help me now?"

He teased her as her cheeks puffed with anger and she sighed. She moved her hand towards the button of his polo shirt and started opening it. Her eyes flickered to his face momentarily and she saw him staring intently at her and froze. It was as though he was devouring her with his naked eyes and she blinked and looked down to hide her blush.

"Umm..Don't stare like that, it's making me feel comfortable."

"Why Sakura? You are the one who is undressing me. You should be ready for the consequences."

She let go of his shirt and pushed him away before standing up.

"I am not helping. Go and change by yourself Sasuke."

He opened his mouth to pass some snarky remark again but she looked royally irritated as he decided to spare her for now and got up before heading to his bedroom. It was at this moment there was a faint noise of a door unlocking as Sakura frowned. Before she could comprehend what happened, the door swung open and Naruto entered with his usual goofy grin.

"Teme! Look who is…"

Sakura froze on the spot as Naruto stopped midway on spotting his best friend casually sitting in his best friend's apartment. He rubbed his eyes to see if he was dreaming and gaped when she was still present in the room.

'Oh Shit! This is just what I needed right now.'

Sakura cried out mentally as she nervously got up from the couch and grinned at him.

"Hey Naruto! Thank god you are here. Your asshole best friend fainted on the road and I just happen to pass by it and so I brought him back home. He is running a fever and.."

"Stop lying Sakura."

It was Sasuke who interrupted her as he walked into his drawing room in changed clothes. He paused by Sakura's side to place his palm on her shoulder assuringly. Naruto squinted his eyes with suspicion as it darted between both of them.

"Will somebody tell me what the heck is going on here?"

"Sakura is my girlfriend"

Naruto looked comical as his jaw dropped to the floor and he shakingly pointed a finger towards them.

"Wha..What?"

"I won't repeat myself."

Sasuke stated flatly as he sat down on the couch while Sakura face palmed at Sasuke's bland explanation and Naruto's terrified expression. She shot a glare in Sasuke's direction before trotting towards her malfunctioning friend.

"Hey Naruto! Snap out of it."

He came out of his daze as he scratched his head.

"I am sorry. Looks like I opened up the door to an alternate reality where two of my best friends are seeing each other. I should go back to my own world."

He stumbled upon his feet as he started heading towards the door before Sakura roughly grabbed the back of his shirt and brought him inside and practically threw him on the chair.

"Stop being so overdramatic Naruto and listen."

And so she narrated all that conspired between them over past two years as Naruto grew stupefied with each passing minute. It took him another twenty minutes before he was able to calm down and got his voice back.

"This is so much to take for me."

He whispered as Sakura looked guilty and patted his hand comfortingly. Sasuke sat aloof as usual, although he could feel his headache returning back.

"I understand if you get angry Naruto. We shouldn't have kept it hidden for long. We are really sorry!"

Sakura exclaimed as Sasuke twitched his eye at the we part while Naruto nodded emptily.

"It's okay. I guess congrats and all."

His voice was barely filled with any enthusiasm as Sakura sighed and sat cross legged on the carpet.

"So..You are okay with it? I mean this wasn't the reaction I expected from you."

"Yeah. I am so okay that I have become speechless."

"Cut the crap dobe! She is mine now so it doesn't matter."

"THE FUCK DUDE! SHE IS NOT YOUR PROPERTY. STOP REFERRING HER LIKE THAT!"

"I don't need advice from you."

"IF YOU EVER HURT SAKURA I SWEAR I WILL BEAT YOU TO A BLOODY PULP."

"Hn! Like you could."

"YOU WANNA GO AT IT, COZ I AM READY."

"Sure. But before that. How the hell do you have my apartment's key?"

"You weren't answering our calls and refused to let me in so Aunt Mikoto lent me the spare key. By the way she is also on her way here. "

"HOW THE HECK DID SHE HAVE A KEY? I NEVER GAVE HER ONE."

"Well, she made a copy of it so she could visit you anytime."

"DOES ANYBODY NOT KNOW ABOUT PRIVACY?"

"HEY! We all thought that you might have drowned into sea of your emo-ness."

"…"

"Ok fine. Just me. But your mom thought that you might have chocked on the potpourri sink and died."

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS SANITY?"

"DON'T SHOUT AT ME. I CAN SCREAM LOUDER THAN YOU..!"

"SHUT UP! YOU ARE GIVING ME MIGRAIN!"

Both of them halted their endless bickering at authorative voice of a very pissed off Sakura. She was practically fuming as she clenched her knuckles tightly. She inhaled deeply and grabbed her bagpack as she darted towards the door.

"I should go now. Your mom is coming so I guess you will be fine. Bye Sasuke, Bye Naruto."

The door slammed shut behind her as Naruto winced lightly while Sasuke sulked visibly. He wanted to spend more time with her but now he was struck with his loudmouth friend and his Mother. He didn't want to face his mom's fury when she finds out how ill he is. This day just keeps getting worse.

/

Sakura twirled her hair as she listened to her best friend Ino. She forced a smile when Ino made a joke as she was clearly not paying attention to what the other girl said for the past thirty minutes. Sasuke had told her that it was no use hiding now as the most loud mouthed guy knew about them. She didn't want Ino to learn about this from someone else as it would just hurt her best friend. She was searching a perfect opportunity to drop the bomb as she sipped her coffee distractedly.

"Sak! Are you listening?"

Ino looked worried as Sakura really looked bothered by something. She wiped off her sweaty brows and sighed slowly.

"I have to tell you something very important Ino."

"Okay. Okay, I am all ears."

She nodded as she too placed her cup down and leaned forward in anticipation.

"I am seeing someone. Actually for a while now."

"WHAT? AND YOU DIDN'T MIND TELLING YOUR BESTIE! THAT'S SO MEAN!"

"There was a reason behind it."

Sakura spoke carefully as Ino frowned and raised her perfectly carved eyebrow. The atmosphere felt heavy as Sakura fanned herself to get rid of the heat, even though the A.C was on.

"His name is Sasuke."

Silence. Pin drop silence settled between two girls as Ino looked flabbergasted. She didn't dare move an inch while Sakura poked her hand.

"Umm..Ino! Ino! Are you listening?"

The Yamanaka girl snapped out as her eyes wildly darted between the table and the pinkette.

"Ohh, so what is his full name? Sasuke chan or Sasuke Saito. There are so many Sasuke right! Haha.."

"You know him. It's Uchiha."

Sakura glued her eye towards her coffee as she was afraid to watch the betrayal in her eyes. Even though Naruto was greatly shocked, he recovered soon and was infact happy for the two of his best friends getting together. But Ino was a different story altogether. She didn't see the changes in Sasuke. She didn't hang out with him like Naruto or she did. He was still the womanizer asshole in her eyes.

"Uh..come again."

Ino blinked as Sakura mustered the courage to look up and caught her palm gently in hers before rubbing it soothingly.

Fourty minutes later

Ino have been quiet for a while now and Sakura was getting impatient. She still held her hands and massaged it slowly before laying her head on the table. She was exhausted mentally and her silently hyper venting friend wasn't helping either.

"You broke up. With Gaara. Because of him."

Ino finally opened her mouth and stated as a matter of fact while Sakura flushed.

"If you put it that way then…"

"What. Is. Wrong. With you? Have you lost your rational sense?"

"Ino. I know that you are.."

"NO. YOU DON'T KNOW. You don't know."

She lowered her voice when everyone turned their eyes on her at the loud outburst. Sakura bit her lip. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Since it's your words, I maybe willing to believe that he has changed. Okay. He might be smitten by you so does that mean he loves you?"

"No! I know that. We are too early for that stage and I am pretty sure that I don't love him too. "

Ino pinched her nose and dragged her chair to the other side as she spoke.

"That's fine and judging by your story I agree you were tempted to be with him. But Sasuke has always been a smooth talker. He knows how to charm a girl and use it to his advantage."

"I get it Ino. But he used them for sex and we haven't done it yet so that rules out your theory."

Ino looked disappointed as she sat straight and a melancholic smile spread over her face.

"What happened to you Sakura? You weren't like this before. You have changed. You don't want to hear anything against him? What has he done to you?"

Sakura seemed distressed as she looked to her side. How can Ino accuse her of becoming shallow? Ino sensed her pained face and entangled their hands as she spoke softly.

"I don't want to hurt your feelings. I understand how you feel. I have been there once. Sasuke is like a drug, he robes you of all the vice thoughts. He loves excelling control over others. He treats girls like his.."

"Possession."

Sakura finished for her as she glowered at her while Ino nodded hesitatingly. She removed her hands from the blonde girl's grip as she folded it briefly over her chest.

"You want to know why I chose to be with him? Why I left Gaara? Because Sasuke was willing to fight for me Ino. He never wanted to give up on me. On the other hand, Gaara gave up simply. I wasn't worth his time. People called me cheating whore on his face and he never tried to defend me! I never intended to cheat on him! I was alone on that bloody Christmas but Gaara didn't bother to force me to spend our first Christmas together. He just agreed simply to whatever I said. Screw it, you guys were a lot more persuading than he was. It was Sasuke who tried to make that day special. I may not know him longer than you, but I sure know Sasuke better than you Ino! And besides I forgave you for what you did and you have changed too. So, why not him?"

Ino was stunned at the passionate confession of Sakura as she knew that she had sunk deep into Sasuke's grasp. She probably won't listen a single word against him.

"Alright Sakura. It's your decision. But I want to ask you a question and you have to give me the most honest answer. Okay?"

Sakura seemed doubtful as she processed her words for few seconds before shrugging firmly and asking her to continue.

"If Sasuke ever asks you to choose between himself and your career, what would you choose?"

"What?"

Sakura was thrown aback by this out of blue question as Ino waited patiently for her answer. She bit her lip and laughed half heartedly as she answered.

"I don't think it will ever come to this. And suppose, if it does. I will definitely choose my career."

Blue eyes widened with utter shock as she listened to the pinkette.

"This may seem rude and other's might wonder why I even agreed to come into a relationship if I wasn't going to prioritize it but! The only notion of him asking me to choose is more than enough for me to not be with him. I can't be with a man who doesn't acknowledge my goal. Ino. I spent years seeing my father tearing up from inside. He couldn't provide me much better things due to his handicapped condition, yet he kept a smiling face as to not upset me. We sold almost everything for his knee operation but it didn't work in the end."

Sakura have become awfully emotional as of now as she tried to control her tears. She still remembered how they almost ended up on streets due to this.

"I vowed to myself that day. I want to see my Dad standing on his feet again. He was my inspiration Ino! I am struggling for that day. And that's the reason; I can't let anyone or anything stand up in my way. If Sasuke ever does. I will leave him."

Ino hugged her tightly and kissed her head lovingly as Sakura wept in her arms. This was the only assurance she needed. She was still the same Sakura. Nothing can deter her apart.

/

Sasuke closed his textbook and removed his reading glasses before switching off the lamp. He have one more year left in this University no country before he would be leaving for USA. He have already filled the application form and started preparing for the entrance test. Although, he was pretty sure he would score well. Intelligence was a god gifted thing in his family. They were natural when it came to academics. He drank some water as he flopped on his bed.

He grabbed his phone from the bedside table before ringing to his favorite person. It was after fourth ring that it was picked up as he greeted.

"Hey!"

"Hey you."

Her beautiful voice replied as he rolled over his stomach.

"I figured you won't be asleep yet."

It was 2 o'clock in the morning. There was a faint humming voice of approval and some shuffling of books as Sakura spoke.

"I have to prepare for thesis. What about you? Still awake!"

"I thought of touching my books today."

She snorted on the other end as he lifted up his pillow and settled his head on it.

"Sasuke, Can I ask you something?"

"Hn."

"You believe in me right. I mean, I will become a good doctor nah?"

"Judging by the amount of study you do, I am rather surprised that you haven't become one yet."

There was a slight chuckle as she knew that he was dead serious. Sasuke smirked too as he listened to her bubbly laughter.

"I will take that as a compliment. "

"Sakura..!"

His voice turned heavy as he heard her breathing through the cell.

"Talk dirty to me.."

He spoke as sensually as possible as Sakura turned crimson red and almost dropped her pen. She adjusted herself on the study chair as she didn't know how to respond. She was always fine until they talked about other trivial matters but when it came to this, she never knew what to say. She was an immature after all. It was Sasuke who would seduce her over the phone sometime before she would hang up in utter humiliation.

"I don't know how to.*

She answered straightly as she dotted down the notes on the rough sheet. She heard Sasuke's husky laugh as he continued.

"What if I teach you?"

She chewed on the end of her pen and smacked her head with her palm. Of course, he won't give up unless he scandalized her. He didn't need her approval however as he started.

"What is the color of your underwear today?"

She rolled her eyes and propped on her elbow as she answered.

"Why do you wanna know?"

"Tell me first. Then I will tell you mine."

"Shut up pervy Uchiha! I have no interest in these things."

His husky laughter resounded through her mobile phone as she smiled to herself. She loved the sound of his voice.

"Why? Are you asexual?"

"Alright. I am hanging up now."

"Mine is blue. Now tell yours."

She almost dropped her cell phone as she so did not want to hear it. He was impossible.

"Like I even remember! I am always in a hurry in morning."

"Check it now."

"Nope."

"Are you even wearing one?"

"Aaggh! For the last time Sasuke shut up."

"I am wearing though. In fact it's the only thing I have on. Does that turn you on Sakura?'

"Shut up. I am going to study now and you, are going to bed."

With that she hung up the phone as quickly as possible before turning her attention back to her notebook. Ino was wrong. Sasuke won't ever put such a ridiculous option in front of her.

Little did she know that fate have some others plan for her.

/

So, how was the chapter? Finally, Naruto and Ino know as well. They are nearing their graduation and something big is going to happen before that? What will it be?

And to those who think that Sakura have changed, then nope. You can clearly see she is still as headstrong as ever.

Read and review …

~Sora.