A/N: Here we go, chapter 21! Be prepared; this is over 2,000 words. I hope you enjoy.
Oh, and happy Independence Day to all of my fellow American readers!
The next two days went by slowly.
On Friday, Sakura eyed the girls around her. Every single girl who wasn't already in a relationship had strikingly red hair, even redder than Karin's would ever be, and it was long and pulled into a bun.
With some of the girls who had short hair, she noted that they'd resorted to using wigs. She rolled her eyes.
"Someone kill me before the disease gets me too," she sarcastically remarked to Shikamaru.
He only chuckled as she banged her head against her desk.
Next, during lunch hour, Sasuke actually walked up to her table and asked to speak with her in private.
She followed him out into the hallway and onto the roof, where she leaned against the railing.
"What's the story, Steve?" She asked nonchalantly. "Come to commend me for not conforming to your ridiculous kinks?"
Instead of snarking back, his eye twitched and he replied with, "Have you returned Akane's phone yet?"
Caught off-guard for a moment, she recovered and frowned. "Of course, I did that almost a week ago. Why?"
He didn't answer right away, but only began to walk away. "Good."
"Oi, bastard! Don't just walk away from me when you have explaining to do!" She shouted with clenched fists. "Why does it bother you?"
He paused, then turned. His eyes flashed red for a second. "Because. She's important."
Her own eyes narrowed. "So that's your game, eh? I see."
She stormed past him, clapping him on the back with a wry grin. "Congratulations, dip. I'll make sure she gets the word."
"C'mon, Sak, cheer up." Tenten pleaded, making some last-second touches on her makeup before carefully slipping the mask in place. "Why did he make you so mad?"
"Because," she fumed, folding her arms. "Apparently he's so caught up on her that he starts white-knighting and accusing me of stealing it!"
"Oh calm down, he probably meant that he didn't want to get into a fight with you." Ino scoffed.
Sakura looked her straight in the eye. "Ino, I've known you for half of my lifetime. I've known Sasuke for three-fourths of that lifetime."
"I get it, you know him more than I do." She rose her hands in defense and brushed down her dress when she stood up. "Still, I think you should apologize."
"Pfft." She sighed and let Hinata put her necklace on her, the cold metal stinging her neck. "When he apologizes for playing a knight in shining armor."
"Whatever, melodrama queen." Ino led her by the hand. "Your carriage awaits."
Instead of her usual getup, Sakura placed a tiny tiara on her head and wore white evening gloves. She'd bought a white and silver mask and was wearing the pretty white heels with the silver diamonds at the toe.
"Let's just go before I call off my entrance," she sighed heavily.
The party was, once again, in full swing, and Sakura easily found Sasuke loitering around the yard. He seemed to be expecting her arrival any moment, as he immediately walked over once Hinata halted in front of the Uchiha mansion and extended his arm once she opened the door.
"Akane," he greeted with a hint of a smile. "I've been waiting for you."
"Did my prince not fall for the tricks of others?" Her giggle was light and airy, a complete 180 from her sullen mood before. She gracefully stepped out of the car and took his hand. "I'm flattered."
A light flush spread across his cheeks as he led her inside. "None of them wore the necklace. Of course I would wait."
Inside the mansion, it took all the pinkette had not to jaw drop.
Every single girl in the immediate vacinity had red hair, pinned up in elaborate buns, and each one wore a replica of the silver and gold dress that the attendant had showed her.
Oh, come on, she thought. No wonder he didn't fall for it.
"Shall we head to somewhere private?" He offered.
Dumbstruck, she could only nod as he swept her away up the stairs.
Meanwhile, Ino had regrouped with Sai and was heading to the garden with Neji and Tenten.
"Hm, I wonder where Akane is." Tenten hummed with a frown when the group realized neither she nor Sasuke were in the garden.
"He probably took her up to his room." Neji answered, glancing up at the balcony. "There would have been too many witnesses down here."
"Yes, let's go." Sai encouraged, tugging on Ino's hand. "It won't be long before this place is swarmed with copycats."
Naruto scratched his head. "Hinata-chan?"
His date had disappeared a few minutes ago to grab some water for the both of them, but it had been far too long.
He searched the kitchen again before heading to the main party area.
Finally, he saw her. "Ah, Hinata!"
He raced over to her and tapped her on the shoulder.
The girl jumped and swiveled around, and his heart dropped.
"Whoa, sorry!" He apologized to the dark-eyed girl in front of him, clutching her cup of punch. "Have you seen Hinata Hyuuga anywhere?"
Wordlessly, she pointed towards the stairs, and he thanked her before jogging off.
Shikamaru and Hinata wandered the halls.
"Man, what a drag," he commented, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I know I've been here before, but I don't think I've ever been in this wing of the house."
"Me neither," she agreed quietly, clutching his arm in worry. "Naruto-kun's gonna be wondering where I am..."
"All we need to do is find Temari and go back downstairs." He glanced over at her with a frown. "I know she's never been here before, so she must've gotten lost."
Suddenly, a blonde appeared from around the corner in front of them, chatting with a redheaded guy.
"Temari-chan!" Hinata called, and she turned to look at them. "Where have you been?"
"Ah, sorry!" She laughed sheepishly. "I found my brother while looking for the restroom. I don't think you've met."
She gestured to Shikamaru. "Shikamaru, this is Gaara, my younger brother. Gaara, this is Shikamaru, my boyfriend."
His dark-rimmed eyes narrowed. "So you are Shikamaru."
"So I am." Shikamaru seemed more tense than before.
"If you don't treat my sister well, I will personally see to it that you never have the capacity to date again." His hand clenched into a fist.
"Gaara, please!" Temari pleaded quietly. "Don't worry, we're fine! Shikamaru's a dear to me."
Nevertheless, the redhead didn't stop staring into the brunet's eyes until Hinata made herself known.
"Ano, Temari-chan," she chimed in softly, "Naruto-kun will be looking for me. Can we get going...?"
"Oh, right! Of course! Sorry." She began to walk with the group back downstairs.
Just as soon as they turned a corner in the hallway, Hinata spotted him. "Ah, Naruto-kun!"
Naruto turned and beamed. "Hinata-chan! Where have you been?"
"I'm very sorry for disappearing," she said with a bow, "but Shikamaru asked me to help him find Temari."
"Well, glad you found her." He grinned at Gaara. "Hey-a, Gaara!"
Gaara's lips twitched. "Hello, Uzumaki-kun."
"Ah, peace at last." Akane sighed in relief as Sasuke shut the door behind them.
"I agree." He nodded, turning towards the balcony. "Shall we talk on the balcony?"
"Of course."
He opened the glass doors and the night air brushed past her face. She inhaled deeply.
"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?" She asked, sitting in one of the chairs sitting there.
"I wanted to talk about us," he replied, sitting next to her.
"Oh, dear," she frowned.
"N-Not like that." He blushed redder and shook his head. "I'm not about to do anything like that."
"Oh." She looked relieved and gave him a tiny smile. "What's troubling you?"
"I've come to the realization over the past few days." He still looked bothered by something. "Have you heard of Sakura Haruno?"
She paused. "She came to me several days earlier to return my lost phone. Why?"
He didn't answer.
She waited.
A strong breeze blew past them, and she instinctively rose a hand to where her tiara was to keep the wig from blowing away.
He glanced up at her.
"I think I may have... been lying to you," he admitted slowly.
She rose an eyebrow. "About?"
"My feelings." He sighed. "You are not the only one I'm attracted to."
What? Aw come on, she pleaded silently. Instead, she forced a smile. "Who?" Please don't be one of his fangirls, please don't be one of his fangirls.
His blush deepened and he took her hand. "Her name... Haruno Sakura."
Instantly, the heavy feeling across her shoulders lifted. "Really?"
"Yes."
Ah. So it's not a problem then.
She bit her lip, deciding between revealing herself right now or waiting.
"And I feel... like she's close to you." He loomed closer, his hands reaching toward her hair.
She flinched. Dammit, I hate making split-second decisions!
"Almost like..." His fingers were nearly in her hair.
She screwed her eyes shut. Better now than never!
Immediately, she stood, surprising him.
He had to admit, in the moonlight, her hair almost seemed a salmon pink. It was rather pretty.
"My apologies, Sasuke-san," she backed away from the balcony, "but I'm afraid I must go."
"Why?" He asked, standing up from the chair.
She glanced at him, almost in fear. "Because, I've remembered something I must take care of."
Immediately she kicked off her heels and broke into a run, rushing through his door.
"Wha- hey, wait!" He shouted after her.
She knew she wouldn't have long. At this rate, he'll outrun me! She screamed in her head. Damn me for going after a former football player!
She whipped out her phone and dialed Ino's number.
"Yes?"
"Ino, please, be ready to go immediately." She panted.
"What? Why? Why are you out of-"
"Just do it! I'll tell you later!" She cried, ending the call.
She heard his footfalls behind her, and she quickly jumped down the stairs, landing at the bottom of the stairwell.
She checked to see that her wig was still on before running again.
"Akane!" She heard Tenten yell.
The brunet caught up with her. "What the hell did you do?!"
"It's not what I did," she pointed her thumb behind herself. "It's what he did!"
"Quick!" Hinata was next to them, throwing Tenten the keys. "Drive her to your house for the night. I'll hitch a ride with Naruto!"
"Thanks, 'Nata!" Tenten called, grabbing Akane's hand.
The two of them managed to get into the car, locking the doors before Sasuke could catch up.
"Floor it!" Sakura ordered, and Tenten stomped on the gas pedal. Immediately, the car screeched away into the night.
"My question still stands, Sakura," Tenten glanced toward her, her shoulders still stiff. "What the hell happened?"
"He got too close to discovering who I was," she panted, checking the rear-view mirror. "Shit, he's gaining!"
"Dammit!" Tenten swore harshly before swerving into a forest road. "This is our only hope!"
Half an hour of driving later, Tenten pulled up to her house. Right as the car engine stopped, she and Sakura jumped out and raced inside.
"He's crazy," Tenten gasped. "Totally crazy."
"That's why I ran away, genius," Sakura shot back.
"Quick, up to my room. He wouldn't follow us into my house."
Even while Tenten was dragging her up the stairs, she mumbled, "That's what you think."
Sasuke screeched to a halt when he saw Hinata's car in Tenten's driveway. "Ama Tenten...?"
His eyes narrowed. Only one way to find out.
He pulled into the driveway, shutting off the engine and getting out. He crept along the side of the house.
"All the lights are off," he observed. "Perhaps she's asleep already?"
One part of him hesitated at the knowledge that at least one teenage girl was sleeping somewhere in the house, yet a larger part of him said fuck it.
He turned to the tree he knew grew next to her window and began to climb it. As soon as he reached eye-level with the window, he leaned closer, squinting.
In the darkness, he could make out a sleeping female form. The moonlight shining through the window exposed her brown hair. Not Akane.
He was about to climb back down when movement caught his gaze.
Tenten had rolled out of the way, and sleeping next to her was a girl with... short... hair...
His eyes widened.
A/N: Dun dun dun! He was so close to finding out! Did he make the connection? Find out next time! Please tell me what you thought, and I'll see you later!