Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine.

Chapter 4

In all the sixteen years of Sasuke's life, he never did believe in miracles. But all that changed in an instant when the fox boy came and jolted him out of his raging desire for the annoying pink-haired girl who was standing so provocatively right in front of him.

If Naruto hadn't stopped him in time, he really would have kissed her.

That single thought sent chills down his spine…

Kissing her means the death of him. He wasn't sure if he'd still be able to stop himself from doing something much more satisfying…

Gods, from the way he was feeling a while ago, he might have branded her as his own right then and there!

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed happily as he hurried towards them, his right hand waving frantically in the air in his usual greeting. Sasuke frowned, disliking the way Naruto seemed to be so bubbly and carefree all the time. He should be the one who should suffer these hormonal problems! Not him!

"N-Naruto…" Sakura stuttered, her voice all shaky and nervous. Sasuke glanced at her direction and noted the way her cheeks continued to flush as red as a tomato.

Sasuke couldn't help but be amused.

"Hey, Sakura-chan! What are you doing--" Naruto stopped in mid-sentence as soon as he got a look at Sakura's worn out dress. His eyes widened in shock before he looked at her straight in the eye. "What the hell happened to--" He stopped again when he laid eyes upon the dark-haired Uchiha.

The fox boy stared hard at Sakura's torn dress before looking right back at Sasuke. His gaze shifted back and forth between the two of them for a few long seconds before he finally stopped and glared daggers at Sasuke.

Somehow… Sasuke knew what the dolt was thinking…

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Naruto's fuse exploded as he pointed an accusing finger at the indifferent Uchiha. "How dare you lay your hands on Sakura-chan in a place like this!" He was just about to get ready to pounce on Sasuke when Sakura whacked him hard on the back of his head.

"Naruto, you pervert!" She screamed at him, her expression still as embarrassed as hell. "Sasuke-kun didn't do anything to me, so keep your dirty thoughts to yourself!" She scowled at him before crossing her arms over her chest and turning away with a huff.

"But, Sakura-chan…!" The fox boy complained as he rubbed the small bump on his head.

"Be quiet!"

Sasuke felt his lips twitch at the comical sight. These two never change…

"If Sasuke bastard didn't rape you…" Sakura glared dangerously at him. "Err…touched you…" he chuckled nervously. "…then what happened to your clothes?" He motioned to her dress and almost got a bloody nose when her busted zipper revealed the tiny triangle of skin between her breasts.

Sakura yelped in surprise and covered herself from Naruto's perverted eyes. Hinata, who was hiding behind Naruto, immediately rushed towards Sakura in order to assist her.

Sasuke felt the familiar urge to shove Sakura behind him again. He never did like any other men seeing her like that. Even if he knew that Naruto already had his Hyuuga girl, he still couldn't help but be a little possessive…

Possessive? Now where in the hell did that come from?

"Are you okay, Sakura-chan?" He heard the Hyuuga girl, Hinata, shyly asked Sakura. Sasuke noted how her pearl eyes fill with utmost concern as she helped their pink-haired teammate with her busted zipper. "Did someone hurt you?"

Sakura shook her head in embarrassment. "Uhh… no, Hinata-chan." Sasuke caught her stealing a glance at him before she once again directed her gaze at the Hyuuga girl. "Lee-san and I trained this morning. He got a little rough on me, that's all."

"A little rough?" Naruto asked sarcastically as he once again looked at Sakura's battered form from head to toe. "It's more like Thick Eyebrows messed you up real good!" He was about to open his mouth to say something again when a thought suddenly crossed his mind. "Say…" He started, his eyes squinting as he rubbed his chin in wonder. "Why were you training with Thick Eyebrows, Sakura-chan?"

Again, Sasuke wanted to thank Naruto for that. He tried to ask Sakura about that himself, but the words came out wrong. Instead of asking her why she was training with Thick Eyebrows, he sounded like he was accusing her of doing something really indecent with the green beast!

Well… he did accuse her of doing something disgusting with that damn beast.

They were surprised when Sakura suddenly got all quiet. She heaved a deep sigh before she decided to meet Naruto's confused gaze. "I want to be strong… and Lee-san seems willing enough to help me train."

Naruto raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Really? But you could have asked me to help you, Sakura-chan! I'd be more than willing enough to help! Hinata-chan will help, too! We could train together!" He exclaimed excitedly as he pulled the blushing Hinata beside him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

Sasuke made a quick glance at Sakura's direction and noticed the way her green eyes flashed with distant longing. However, as soon as her lips twisted into a smile, the sadness was gone. "N-No, thanks." She replied cheerfully. Sasuke could sense that her smile was fake. "Besides… with you being so silly and reckless and all, I doubt Hinata-chan and I will learn from you!" She teased him with a laugh.

Naruto protested with a frown and a loud 'Hey!'. The two girls giggled at him before Naruto gaped at Hinata in disbelief. "Not you too, Hinata-chan!" The Hyuuga girl stifled her giggle, but Sakura just laughed even harder.

Sasuke, who still hadn't said a word ever since Naruto and Hinata came, watched them silently at the sidelines. He wasn't exactly watching them. His gaze was more focused on the pink-haired girl. Her radiant smile, no matter how fake he knew it was because he could still sense the sadness surrounding her, irritated him.

It irritated him to no end because he knew that her smile was going to haunt him again tonight.

Sensing that he'd only get into more trouble if he stayed here any longer, Sasuke backed away from them as silently as possible before he turned around and walked away. He wouldn't want Sakura pestering him again with all her ridiculous questions. He could only hope that they wouldn't sense his escape.

But that was wishful thinking in his part.

"Hey! Sasuke bastard!"

Damn that stupid dead last! Sasuke didn't stop walking, knowing that Sakura's going to call him next. He really didn't want to hear her voice right now. He could hear loud footsteps running after him, forcing him to grit his teeth together in annoyance. "What do you want, Naruto?" He snapped. He didn't want to deal with his idiocy right now.

"Lighten up, Sasuke!" Naruto slapped him good-naturedly at the back, almost making him stumble in his steps. Sasuke gave him one of his dangerous glares, wishing that it'd scare the wits out of the stupid fox boy so he'd just leave him the hell alone. But since when did Naruto get scared of him? He followed him until the girls couldn't hear or see them anymore. "You did something to Sakura-chan, didn't you?"

Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes at him. "You left your girl behind?" He asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

Naruto's shoulders slumped down. "We were supposed to go out on a date, but since Sakura-chan needs some help, we have to postpone it. I wouldn't want Sakura-chan to walk stark naked in front of everyone to see." He exaggerated, but Sasuke was secretly relieved that Naruto was the one who had dealt with Sakura's problem, not him.

He didn't want to walk Sakura home with her looking so…. Sasuke stopped his train of dirty thoughts.

"…that Thick Eyebrows shouldn't have left her looking like that, right Sasuke bastard?" Sasuke then realized that Naruto was babbling again. He had to admit that he was right, though. Thick Eyebrows shouldn't have left her looking so vulnerable like that.

That was why he was going to teach that damn beast a lesson or two.

"Anyway…" Naruto started again. "You did something to Sakura-chan didn't you?" He asked him again, much to Sasuke's annoyance.

"What are you talking about, dolt?" He snapped, wanting to get away from the fox boy as soon as possible. He was supposed to do something and it was already getting late!

If only he remembered what he was supposed to be doing…

"Well…" Naruto scratched his head. "Hinata-chan said something about… never mind." He shrugged it off, thinking that what he was about to say wasn't all that important. "You wouldn't have the gall to do something like that anyway…" He muttered mostly to himself, but Sasuke heard it loud and clear.

"What?" He narrowed his eyebrows at the grinning fox boy. He didn't like it when he had that annoying grin plastered on his face. It was as if he knew something that he didn't.

"Well…" Naruto snickered. "Hinata-chan said that you were gonna kiss Sakura-chan a while ago." Naruto's face lit up, his grin turning devious. "Can't believe that Sakura-chan finally got through you! Damn, it's about time she knocked some sense on that stubborn head of yours!"

Sasuke's hands were itching to strangle the grinning fox boy beside him. "What in the hell are you talking about?" He looked at him incredulously.

"Stop acting like you don't care, Sasuke bastard." Naruto scolded him as if to say that he knew what he was going through. "Do you really think that I'm stupid enough not to see the way you stare at Sakura-chan for the past few days?"

Sasuke's glares turned icy.

"Well… okay, fine! Hinata-chan noticed it first, but anyway…" Naruto's face turned serious. "If I were you, I won't run away. I have no idea why Sakura-chan still has feelings for a bastard like you, but hell!" He threw his hands up in the air in exasperation. "I get sick and tired of the way you guys strangle me to death with all that sexual tension going around whenever we go on missions!"

Sasuke was shocked, but he didn't dare show it. Naruto had to be joking. He had masked his desire perfectly well!

…right?

"Even Kakashi-sensei's starting to look uncomfortable, but then again… maybe he's just itching for some action." Naruto said before he drawled on again with his lecture. "Sakura-chan likes you and I know that you like her back! You're just insensitive enough not to realize it. Stop acting like a rock and get on with it! Just look at what happened to both me and Hinata-chan!"

"Yeah, right. It took a year before you finally had the guts to ask her out… dimwit."

Naruto glared at him for a whole minute. "At least I'm not acting like a sex-crazed bastard."

Sasuke's dark expression was deadly enough to kill. "I'm not gonna take any advice from a dolt like you."

Naruto clenched his fist at him. "Oh yeah? Then I'm gonna make you… for Sakura-chan's sake."

How annoying could this day possibly get…?


"Damn that Naruto…" Sasuke muttered angrily as he brushed the blood on his busted lip using the back of his hand. He limped his way up the steps of his house and smirked when he remembered how Naruto staggered a few feet away from him when he delivered one of his powerful punches against his jaw.

That'll show him not to mess with me… He thought in smug satisfaction as he slowly climbed up the stairs to his room. Once he pushed his door open, he allowed his body to slump down on top of his bed. The mud from his clothes stained his bed sheets, but he was too tired to even care.

Even if some of his body parts were aching as hell, he was glad that Naruto decided to have a brawl with him. He needed to relieve his stress, and training didn't seem to work as well as having a fight with someone, especially with Naruto. He had to concentrate a lot whenever he was fighting with him, meaning that he was free from Sakura's persistent images even if it was just for a short while.

He scowled when he remembered Naruto telling him to stop fighting his desire for their pink-haired teammate. What in the hell's name was that dolt thinking? He was definitely not in his right mind!

Didn't everybody know that he doesn't have the time to get involved with a girl? He still had a mission to finish! A girl, especially Sakura, would only stray him off the path that he was so used to following! He followed that path ever since his bastard brother wreaked havoc in his life. He wasn't going to stop until he got his revenge and not even Sakura could stop him. He remembered telling her that.

And he also knew that Naruto heard him say that.

Naruto didn't seem to be aware of the danger, not to mention the emotional sufferings, that Sakura would go through if he succumbed to his desire for her. If he gave in to his feelings, he had to commit and devote himself to her. And that was one thing he was trying to avoid.

It wasn't that he didn't want her. His animal urges were proof of that. He just didn't want to be the cause of her sorrow.

He cursed the unfairness of life. Why was it that he was the one who had to suffer the most? Why was it that he was the only one who was suffering these unwanted urges?

If only he hadn't kissed Sakura back then. If only he hadn't tasted her. If only he hadn't touched that enticingly soft body of hers…

Naruto's words flashed inside his mid yet again. He told him to give in to his feelings… to his desire…

He couldn't do that! He wouldn't do that! But it seemed so damn unfair that he had to suffer like this. The more the days gone by, the more his desire grew even stronger. He swore that someday, Sakura would find herself sprawled on his bed with him on top of her!

So what was he going to do? Totally deprive himself of sleep so his nightmares wouldn't add to his raging desire? Stop seeing Sakura so that she wouldn't provoke him from doing something that he knew both of them would regret someday? Or just imprison himself inside his house, hoping that his teammates wouldn't remember him and drag him out?

He was a hopeless case… He knew it from the very first time he tasted her with his lips.

Again, and this time more persistent than ever, Naruto's words of giving in to his desire disturbed his thoughts.

There's got to be another way to get out of this mess… He thought desperately. He just had to think very hard. He shut his eyes tightly, hoping that some way or another, he would be able to find a solution to his distress…

Just then, a single thought crossed his mind. His eyes snapped wide open.

The idea seemed absurd and overly dangerous for him, but he couldn't think of a better idea. But then again, it wasn't like he was the one who started this crap in the first place. He just realized that it was her plan that started all these shit! It wasn't his fault to begin with! He was a man after all, and it wasn't his fault that he'd feel this way after all that had happened. Sooner or later, she'd be able to understand the reason for his actions.

And it wasn't like he was going to do it because he wanted to. He was going to do this so that she would know about what really happened a few weeks ago. If he remembered it right, she had asked him about it.

She wanted to know why he was angry with her, right? She wanted to know why he kept on avoiding and ignoring her, right?

Well… it was time for her to know the truth. Maybe this was the whole reason why he was suffering so much. Maybe his conscience wanted him to tell her the truth about what really happened between them.

It wouldn't be right to keep this little secret to himself after all.

She had every right to know. It was her plan that started it.

To be continued...