-0-My Sakura-0-

Wow! I would have never expected so many reviews on my first chapter! THANK YOU!! I'll try to do my best!

Please Enjoy!

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Sakura woke up the next day, her ankle even more swollen than the day before. She had tried to ice it down, and yes, even though the ankle didn't swell as badly as it could have, it still hurt.

Sighing, she glanced at her pink alarm clock. 9:45 am. OH NO! I slept in! Then as she flung her covers aside, she suddenly remembered that Kakashi had told them that they would have no missions today.

Flopping back onto her bed, Sakura suddenly remembered what had happened yesterday. She had sprained her ankle on the way back, Sasuke had carried her back on his back, and then there was all the chaos and madness about the dance which everyone was FORCED to attend.

Then it hit her: Sasuke had agreed to be her partner for the dance!

"Oh my! I still have to find a dress!" Slowly but carefully getting up, Sakura limped towards her closet. Opening it, she found a couple of casual dresses, those which she usually wore everyday, and her kimono.

Taking out each outfit at a time, Sakura studied each of them carefully before tossing them to one side on her bed. Too loose . . . hm . . . A bit too casual . . . Nope. Too small . . . It doesn't fit me anymore. So why on earth did I still keep it here?. . Hm . . . Way too formal . . . hm . . . The kimono's too fancy and formal for something like this . . . What? That's it? No more dresses? Sakura looked around in the closet, moving aside old cardboard boxes and shoe boxes. Empty coat hangers hung onto the closet bar. Sighing, she closed the closet door and leaned against it.

"Guess I should buy a new one," she considered. "Since tomorrow is the dance, I should hurry." She looked down at her swollen ankle and tried to move it. It still hurt a lot, but it should be better by tomorrow.

She hopped back to her bed and spotted a roll of medicine tape on her dresser. Picking it up, she wrapped it firmly around her ankle and tucked in the ends. After carefully testing her leg on the floor, she stood up. It didn't hurt as much now.

I'm going to have to take it easy today, she thought as she found her wallet and put it in her shoulder bag. With that, she walked slowly down the stairs and finally left her house.

Sakura walked down the street, trying to ignore the slight pain in her ankle. As she turned at the corner of the street, she thought back of what had happened the day before.

"I . . . I was wondering, Sasuke-kun. I know you'll probably say no, but would you like to go to the dance with me as a friend? We don't have to dance or anything and it's the least I can do for you for carrying me back to my home. I know you don't have a partner yet, s-so . . . would you like to go with me?"

He had looked down and turned around at that. Sakura had almost immediately regretted asking him once she saw his reaction. Sure she liked him and all, but if she was going to lose Sasuke like this, then she would rather stay being friends with him than lose him due to this conversation. What surprised her the most was his answer:

"Pardon me?" she had said when she couldn't hear his reply.

"I said, what time?"

He had actually agreed to go with her.

Sasuke-kun . . . I won't embarrass you in anyway, but I want you to know how much I care for you. I really do, Sasuke-kun. But . . . just how would YOU react to me once I tell you, Sasuke-kun? What if . . . what if you never look my way again—

"Sakura!"

"Huh?" Turning around, Sakura was very surprised to see Ino walking up to her. What was even more surprising was that Ino hadn't called her 'forehead girl', but Sakura. "Ino, what are you doing here?"

"What do you mean what am I doing here? I'm looking for a new dress!"

"Oh. Me too." Rather awkwardly, the two walked side by side.

"Is it true?" Ino asked her suddenly.

"Is what true?"

"That Sasuke-kun is going to the dance with YOU! Is it true?"

"Well, why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Well, is it?" Ino glanced at Sakura again enviously.

"So what if it is?" Sakura answered back, turning her head to look at the shops.

"So it's true?" Ino questioned her again. Sakura was starting to get annoyed by her ex-best friend.

"Yes! It's true!" Sakura said loudly. Some people passing by stared at her. "But . . . we're only going as friends. He's probably going to ignore me for the entire dance."

Damn! Why is she always the lucky one? Ino thought enviously. "You're still lucky though!" she muttered angrily under her breath. The two stayed silent. After a minute of silence, Sakura turned to Ino.

"Ino, who are you going with to the dance?" she asked.

"Huh? Me? Oh! I'm going with Shikamaru."

"Shikamaru? He actually asked you?"

"No. I asked him, since he found it too troublesome to go up to girls and ask them to the dance. And he is –" Ino suddenly felt her cheeks going hot. "--one of my t-team mates."

Why am I blushing? This is only Shikamaru I'm talking about, not Sasuke-kun!

"Oh. I see." Sakura turned her head again and stopped. Beside her was a clothing store. "I'm going to go into this shop."

"Okay. I'll go too." Just like old times, the two walked in together as if they were best friends. The events of what had happened between them the day before ceased from their memories.

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BAM!

Sasuke stood up, panting. The tree in front of him collapsed. Huge holes formed by his Chidori had caused it to collapse. Smoke rose from the fallen tree.

He had been training for almost 4 hours now. First he had practiced his Taijutsu moves, then he did some simple Ninjutsu moves and finally, after taking a break, he had practiced with his Chidori. Now, he sat under a tree in the shade, trying to catch his breath and regain chakra.

Damn, I'm still not strong enough! Sasuke thought angrily as he stared at the half melted tree. How am I supposed to defeat Itachi in this state?

He angrily punched the ground with a fist in frustration. Why am I not as strong as he is? What does he have that I don't? Is something here affecting my capabilities?

An image of Sakura suddenly popped into his mind.

"Sasuke-kun, you know, you don't have to carry me all this way," she had said yesterday when he was carrying her on his back to her house. "Kakashi-sensei only assigned you to carry me back to Konoha, not to my house."

"Well, you can barely stand, so how do you expect to go home like this?" he had responded back, implying the fact that she was weak.

"Well . . . uh . . . guess you're right." It was then did he feel her breath next to his ear. "Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

He had felt all so awkward when he heard her say those words. That feeling . . . it was so . . . so strange.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Those words just stood out to him from one whom he had never paid much attention to until recently. Then there was that . . . that dream.

Sasuke had felt so sickened when he woke up to realize what he had been dreaming all night. Usually, he slept dreamless nights away and only very so often nowadays did he get a nightmare about his parents' death or his brother killing him. But . . . to have a dream about . . . a girl ? . . . Sakura? . . . this was a first.

What worried, or rather scared him the most was the fact that he had been dancing with her under the moonlight in his dream. And he had been wrapping his arms around her lovingly.

--around HER lovingly—

He shuddered and stood up, teeth clenched. Sharingan appeared in both his eyes.

WHY CAN'T I STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS!!?!? Sasuke charged up his Chidori and in one move demolished another tree. The tree split in half and wood chips flew in the air. Sasuke looked up, breathless once again. His Sharingan shone in the light of the sun.

"Ow!" Groaning, he clutched his arm as a sharp pain ran through it like the blade of a knife. He had used too much power in the last Chidori attack. His arm trembled and his muscles ached with pain as he kneeled down. Cursing, Sasuke looked up again at the tree.

Uchiha, forget about her! Besides, it was just a dream. And dreams mean nothing! It has nothing to do with reality either. It's only . . . it's only . . . a coincidence. That's all! It's not even . . . fantasizing . . . If you were to have a good dream, it would be to defeat Itachi! Not about Sakura! . . . Yesterday night was only a coincidence. So focus on your target and your only goal, Uchiha! That's your only way to succeed in life. . .

Standing up, Sasuke clutched his arm. The pain had lessened, but he knew he had to rest. He had wasted too much chakra and he knew it.

Might as well go home, he thought as he walked out of the forest he had been training in. Even though he forced himself to think of avenging his clan by killing his only sibling, Sasuke's mind unconsciously kept wandering back to the dream he had of him and Sakura dancing together.

He did not even notice that Kakashi had been watching him for the past half hour behind a few trees in the forest.

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Kakashi sighed as he watched his student walk away frustrated and confused.

Sasuke . . . I guess even a guy like you has emotions somewhere in that cold heart of yours, right?, he thought as he took out "Come Come Paradise". It's not like you can hide yourself like this forever, despite your only goal in life.

The jounin waited for 15 minutes before he too exited the forest.

Eventually, he'll realize that he may have to choose between his life here in Konoha and his life of revenge against Itachi. That is, if he decides to continue on living like this.

Kakashi looked up at the clear sky, noticing how peaceful it looked today. Birds were chirping in the trees while flowers were gently blowing in the breeze. A single pink flower stood out in a patch of white flowers as it swayed with the direction of the wind.

It's possible that Sasuke may be able to live a life with Sakura if he decides to stay here, but if he chooses to still kill Itachi, that just might never happen. That's what makes the dance so interesting, Kakashi thought as he stared at the pink flower. I wonder what he'll do . . .

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Ten-Ten walked down the road, carrying a shopping bag. She had just bought a new dress and was feeling rather good about it.

Her mom had let her buy a new dress as an early birthday present, which made Ten-Ten extremely happy. Once she had entered one of the clothing stores, she had run into Sakura and Ino, who were also getting new dresses. She was actually surprised to see the two of them not bickering at each other for once ever since they were no longer friends. Pretty soon, the three of them were searching around for dresses, giving each other advice.

Finally, Ten-Ten had found a dress which she found rather charming and simple. She decided that this would be the one dress she would have.

By the time she left, after saying goodbye to Ino and Sakura, it was almost noon. She had decided to stop by the ramen bar to get some lunch before she continued on. She was not surprised to find Naruto already there and she was very surprised to find Hinata right next to him.

It turned out that Naruto had invited Hinata to eat lunch with him, since he had an extra free meal pass. Ten-Ten could not help but smile as the extremely shy Hinata blushed whenever Naruto said something to her.

After lunch, she left the two of them alone, and continued on home.

She looked at the birds flying in the air as she walked down the road.

Neji . . .

What had happened yesterday was still crystal clear in her mind.

It had started just like any other day would. As usual, she had been training, this time with Neji. Lee and Gai Sensei had gone down to help some people with some heavy equipment, leaving Neji and her alone training.

"It's so hot today," she had said, when the two of them had sat under the shade of a tree for a break.

"I know," he had answered back. It was pretty quiet for almost a minute, before he spoke again.

"Say, Ten-Ten?"

"Yes?"

"You know that stupid dance Gai told us about?" Gai Sensei had told them of this dance once they had all arrived. She was pretty excited about the fact that they were FINALLY going to do something not-ninja-like, but she was pretty nervous aboutfinding a partner as well. Lee seemed pretty hyped up about the idea too, but Neji had simply grunted.

She turned back to respond to his question.

"Uh-huh."

"You found a partner yet?"

"No. Not yet. I was too busy practicing my new move that I haven't had the time to ask anyone yet. Have you found a partner yet?"

Secretly, she had been hoping that he hadn't, so that she might have a chance of asking him if she could be his partner. She was quite relieved when she heard his reply:

"No."

She had blown out a sigh of relief in her mind, but it didn't stop her from wondering who he would like to go to the dance with. He spoke up once again.

"Say, Ten-Ten?"

"Yeah?"

"You . . . you don't have a partner right?"

"No. Why?"

"Oh nothing." Normally, even a guy like Neji hardly asked HER so much questions concerning her and not about training.

All the questions he had asked her had almost convinced her that Neji was interested to see if she was single and would like to go with him. But she had told herself that this was only HER daydreaming of what her perfect life would be and not reality-wise.

Besides, she had told herself, Neji probably might go for someone prettier than me, like Sakura or perhaps Ino. So I might as well stop convincing myself that he MAY possibly like me and that I MAY possibly have a chance of going with him to the dance.

What surprised her most was when Neji said to her:

"Ten-Ten, do you . . . do you want to go with me to the dance as my partner?"

She had not been expecting him to ask her that at all, which was why she had almost immediately started to blush. Her heart had been pounding against her chest so loudly that she was almost afraid that he might hear it. She had quickly agreed to be his partner, and ever since then, she had been daydreaming countless times of what her perfect night with him at the dance would be.

Ten-Ten smiled as she looked down to the shopping bag in her right hand. I wonder if he'll like how I look in this, she thought as she turned on the corner of the street.

She still considered the fact that he may have only asked her to be his partner just because she didn't have a partner yet and they happened to know each other.

But if he had only asked me through this perspective, then why did he get so embarrassed or, possibly, shy about asking me? she thought. Could it be that, he really does-- . . . nah, I'm probably imagining things again!

The young ninja continued down the road, before she turned left and arrived at her house.

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DARN YOU SAKURA!!!! Why are you ALWAYS the lucky one with Sasuke-kun? Why is it NEVER EVER me?!

Ino kicked a rock from the ground as she walked down the road. Sure Sakura had been her best friend, and despite the fact that they had just shopped together in peace, she was still jealous.

She was in a very miserable mood. Anyone in her position would be. It wasn't just Sakura she was pissed at; it was also Sasuke.

"Ino, no offence, but you talk way too much. Even for a girl," he had said the day before, when she asked him to be her partner for the dance.

"Sasuke-kun-" She about to tell him that she didn't mean those things she had said earlier, which she actually didn't, but he didn't let her have the chance to tell him.

"I don't want to go to the dance with you. Go find somebody else."

Those words had hurt her. It felt as if she had just received a slap in the face. What was worse was that Sakura had been there when he had said those words to her. She really hadn't meant half the things she had said to Sakura. She had only said them so that it would have made her look better compared to Sakura, so that Sasuke would have chosen her instead. But apparently, it only looked as if she was being a bully towards her former best friend.

Ino sighed.

"Ino, must you force him into making a decision like that? He doesn't even like you."

Huh? Ino paused. Those words sounded so familiar. Who said it? She thought for a while. Then it dawned on her.

Shikamaru . . .

He had been on her team, and yes, they've been through a lot of hardships together, especially through the Chunnin Exam. But ever since the Chunnin Exam, they've learned to trust each other just a little bit more.

I still can't believe I'm going to the dance with that . . . lazy bum! Ino thought to herself as she continued on home. But, I guess he's not as bad as I used to think of him. Besides, I've kind of gotten used to him and . . . in a way, I sort of found myself being more comfortable around him than around Sasuke-kun. But . . . why?

Ino stopped. She didn't know why, but she suddenly found her heart pounding and her cheeks were warm. Shikamaru . . .

"Ino, must you force him into making a decision like that? He doesn't even like you. Besides, most of us guys don't judge a girl by her physical appearance."

Those words which he had said, had somehow forced her to think about Sasuke-kun less naively. She only held onto her crush for Sasuke because . . . .

Because . . . because. . . Ino tried to answer herself. Well, he's SASUKE-KUN! The hottest guy in school, and also the number one rookie! But is this the only reason why I like him? I mean, I barely even KNOW the guy!

An image of Shikamaru popped into her head again. That lazy smile of his . . .

Why does Shikamaru keep appearing in my mind? Ino realized. She continued walking, carrying her shopping bag and swinging it forwards.

Could it be . . . could it possibly be that . . . that I've fallen in love with Shikamaru?

A scarlet blush went through her entire face.

NO! No way! I mean, HELL NO! That's out of the question! There's no way I could have POSSIBLY f-fallen for a guy like Shikamaru . . . right?

"Guess I'll have to find someone else. Say, did you find someone to go to the dance yet?" she had asked Shikamaru the other day. He peered at her before sighing and closing his eyes.

"No. It's too troublesome going up to a girl and asking to her to that troublesome dance."

"Well, how bout going to it with me?"

"With you?" He had paused, as if considering his choices, and then turned back to her. "Okay then. You better not back out on me or else I'll have to find some other troublesome person to go to the dance with."

Ino looked up from the ground and looked at the sky. The sky was pretty clear, with white clouds in the air.

He's probably watching them right now, Ino thought. She sighed. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . I like Shikamaru a little more than just a friend. But . . . I doubt he doesn't even have time for girls.

Maybe, it's about time I faced reality and realize the fact that Sasuke-kun's never going to be mine. Perhaps I should give up on chasing after him, and start paying a bit more attention to Shikamaru. He may not be as handsome as Sasuke-kun, but at least he's a lot nicer.

Ino felt just a tiny bit better inside. She smiled.

I better get home quick before my mom yells at me for being late at the flower shop.

With that, the blonde continued down the road, with her shopping bag constantly banging against her leg.

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Hinata came home an hour after noon after having lunch with Naruto. It had been a great day for her so far, since she actually got to eat with NARUTO twice in a row now.

She was actually walking around by herself around noon after training with Kiba and Shino. She wasn't even thinking about eating lunch until she saw Naruto by the ramen bar.

He had immediately greeted her good morning when he spotted her on the road. "HEY HINATA!"

She had instantly blushed like a tomato and greeted him good morning back. Naruto grinned and then beckoned her to come over to where he was.

"OY! Hinata! You want to join me for lunch? I happen to have an extra pass here."

Sh-should I? I really want to stay with him, but . . . what if Father gets mad at me—

"Come on Hinata! It'll be my treat!"

"Uh . . . o-okay." She had timidly walked towards him and had sat down next to the excited fox demon boy as a bowl of ramen was placed in front of her, steaming with BBQ pork, some vegetables, small pieces of fish cakes, soup, and lots and lots of noodles (ramen). Hinata watched as Naruto handed over another pass to the chef.

"Th . . . thank you, Naruto-kun."

"Now, now, now! There's no need to thank you! I should be thanking you for being my partner for the dance." He was still happy that she had agreed to be his partner, despite the fact that Sakura had rejected him.

He had then continued on about how everyone, or girl that is, was trying to hunt down Sasuke to ask him to go to the dance with him. But Hinata hadn't heard a single word he had said.

"Now, now, now! There's no need to thank you! I should be thanking you for being my partner for the dance." He had been grateful for her being his partner. Hinata had blushed a shade darker, while the chef had noted her face and had chuckled. Naruto however, was still going on and complaining about how Sasuke was nothing but a jerk and that he didn't understand how all the girls could like such an anti-social guy like him.

Finally, after finishing her lunch, she had said a polite thank you to Naruto. She was about to go home when Naruto had asked her, "Oh! What time should I pick you up?"

"Um . . . the dance starts at 7:00. Uh . . . is 6:30 too early for you?"

"6:30? Nah. That's okay. I'll pick you up at 6:30 then."

"Okay. Thank you. D-do you remember how to get to my house?"

"Your house? Oh yes! Don't worry, I'll be on time!" Naruto had once again grinned widely at her, earning him another blush from Hinata.

"Okay then. I'll s-see you t-t-tomorrow. Thank you for the l-lunch."

"Bye Hinata! I'll see you tomorrow!"

With that, she had once again walked down the main road and had turned a few turns before she arrived at the path to her house.

Hinata felt her cheeks warming again for millionth time as she thought back to the things she had done today. Naruto-kun . . .

When she arrived home, she could hear from outside within their property that her father and her cousin were fighting each other again.

"Hah!"

"Hy-ah!"

"HAH!"

" . . . HYAH!!"

She spied them through a window, glancing at Neji, who was panting with his forehead glistening with sweat, and her father, who was getting into another battle stance.

I'd better bring some tea for them, she thought as she went to the kitchen.

She brought out the tea 5 minutes later when the two had sat down to take a break.

"Thank you, Hinata," her father said as he took a cup and sipped the tea.

"Thanks, Hinata-sama," Neji said quietly (thanks to reviewer 'Random person' who pointed out my mistakes in the first chapter ). Hinata bowed politely and kneeled behind the two men as they talked to each other in a polite manner.

Finally, Hinata's father stood up. "Neji, Hinata, please excuse me while I attend to some business." Hinata nodded and her father nodded back in reply. He then turned to Neji. "I enjoyed fighting you today. Please come by again whenever you have the time."

"Thank you, sir," Neji replied. They both bowed and Neji sat back down while Hinata's father left the two of them alone.

Neji turned around so he could face Hinata, who was currently daydreaming and staring at her lap. He propped one knee up while the other one stayed on the ground cross legged style. He leaned against the post which supported the roof (think of the scene of Neji at Hinata's house in chapter 238 in the Naruto manga if you know what I mean).

"Hinata-sama, you're going with Naruto to the dance, right?"

"Huh? . . . Y-yes . . . I am, Neji-niisan," Hinata answered her cousin, not staring at him. Neji noted that her cheeks were once again turning into a shade of pink.

"Is he nice to you?"

"Oh y-yes. He is. He . . . treated me to l-lunch today again. Naruto-kun is just . . . he's very nice to me."

"I see."

Hm . . .

He looked down. "You like him, don't you?"

"!"

Silence.

But Hinata was sure that her cousin could hear her heart pounding like a drum.

She didn't dare respond. Her face sure did. It had turned as red as a strawberry, and her hands were trembling, even though she had folded them in her lap.

"It's okay. I won't tell him." Neji finished the rest of his tea and set the cup onto the tray. He cleared his throat and looked up to her. In his mind, he was almost chuckling to himself as he saw his poor cousin trying her best not to look embarrassed in any way. "Don't worry, Hinata-sama. Naruto's a good guy. You won't find a guy like him anywhere, I guarantee you that."

Hinata finally stared up to her cousin, forcing herself not to tremble or act embarrassed. She bowed her head.

"Thank you, Neji-niisan."

"Heh. No need to thank me."

There was silence again for a few seconds, before Hinata surprisingly spoke up.

"Ten-Ten . . . she's pretty, isn't s-she?"

"Ten-Ten?" Neji shifted uncomfortably and stared at one side so that Hinata could only see the left side of his face. He answered her after a moment of silence, not looking at her. "Yeah. I guess so. But I really don't look at girls that way, if you know what I mean."

"Mm. . ." Hinata nodded.

"I do think of her as a good friend and a trustworthy team mate. . . Okay . . . she is pretty," he finally gave in. Hinata fought back a giggle. She had never heard her cousin talk like this before. It was almost cute to see a guy like Neji talking this way.

"I'm going with her to the dance, cause she didn't have a partner, and neither did I," he murmured. He finally turned his head towards Hinata, his eyes staring at her. He smiled as she politely returned his smile back.

"I'd better get going too," he said as he stood up. "I'll see you at the dance. Okay?"

"Mm." Hinata nodded. She followed after him as he walked towards the front door and said a polite goodbye to him. Then she closed the door and went back to retrieve the tray with the two empty cups.

Shikamaru lay on his back as he stared at the clouds. He was in his usual spot and was watching the white clouds float by in the sky. Chouji had just finished his bag of BBQ chips and now lay on his back too next to his best friend.

Still can't believe I'm going with Ino to that troublesome dance, he thought to himself. I was going to ask her to be my partner anyhow, but I wasn't sure if she was still after Sasuke. Aw, darn that guy! How is it that all the girls find him so attractive, especially when he's such a troublesome jerk?

He sighed. A sudden image of Ino appeared in his head.

"Guess I'll have to find someone else," she had said when Sasuke had rejected her. "Say, did you find someone to go to the dance yet?"

"No," he had answered her. "It's too troublesome going up to a girl and asking her to that troublesome dance."

She had scoffed at that, since he had always answered all of her questions in a similar manner, especially when they were concerning about him.

"Well , how bout going to it with me?"

"With you?" He was surprised that she actually asked him. Yes, it was troublesome going to a dance already, but to go to it with Ino? Okay, he thought. Maybe it's not THAT troublesome. "Okay then. You better not back out on me or else I'll have to find some other troublesome person to go to the dance with."

"I won't. Don't worry, you can trust me."

He did, and he still did, ever since the Chuunin Exam. Before, he had thought of Ino as nothing but another crazy Sasuke fan that didn't care about anyone but Sasuke and herself. But later, he discovered that he had misjudged her. Yes, even though she did sometimes talk a bit too much with a tongue much too sharp for even his taste, she did care about other people other than Sasuke.

He had finally put his trust in her during the time they were in the second part of the Chunnin Exam in the forest, and even though their 'mission' to save Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto from the 3 Sound ninjas was unsuccessful, he learned to trust Ino more.

She had also cheered him on when he was fighting against Kin from the Sound ninjas and Temari from the Sand ninjas. He learned to regard her more as a friend and her teasing compliment of how he was a chuunin had certainly embarrassed and flattered him.

Chuckling to himself at the thought of Ino dancing with him face to face, he turned towards Chouji.

"Oy Chouji! Have you found a partner yet?"

"Heh. I'm going with Kiba's cousin. Kiba's going with Shino's cousin, and Shino's going with my cousin."

". . . Are you saying you three swapped cousins?"

"Well, yeah. Both their cousins know my cousin and all three of them know each other from being at the same school. Besides, it's just a cover up. Meanwhile, we can just hang out and laugh at you guys when Ino asks you to dance." Chouji laughed. "I cannot imagine you dancing with her! That's so not like you! Dancing already is not like you, but dancing with Ino? Haha! You've got to be kidding me!"

Shikamaru, face all red, stared at Chouji with his eyes narrowed and his eye brows furrowed as his best friend rolled around on the bench, laughing.

"Hey man, knock it off!"

"What's so funny?" Kiba asked as he walked up the stairs with Shino next to him.

"Oh. Shikamaru dancing with Ino, that's all!" Chouji blurted out before Shikamaru could stop him.

Shino raised his eyebrows at that.

"There's no way I'm going to dance with her," Shikamaru muttered.

"Hah! Of course you're going to dance with her! Even if you don't want to, we'll make you!" Kiba grinned as Akamaru barked from the top of his head. Shikamaru sighed. How on earth did these guys suddenly know about this?

Shino chuckled to himself. He had to agree that the thought of Shikamaru dancing with Ino was pretty funny, but at the same time, it was something no one would want to miss for the world to see.

"No way," Shikamaru denied.

"Stop denying the fact that you like her, man!" Kiba barked loudly. "You know that it's true!"

"What the hell—"

"Shikamaruuuu!" Chouji sang in a teasing tone.

"It's not true—"

"Denial," Shino stated.

"Guys! It's not—"

"That's why we HAVE to make you two dance together!" Kiba shouted. Akamaru barked again, and stuck out its tongue at Shikamaru.

Shikamaru groaned. How troublesome. . .

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke sat on top of the roof top, letting the soft breeze blow his bangs back. He was pretty tired from all that training he had done in the morning, and had just finished eating. He let his legs dangle off the edge of the flat roof top as he stared down onto the road below him.

It was then did something pink catch his eye below in the road. Turning his head downwards towards that pink colour, he spotted Sakura, who was walking down the main road, with a shopping bag next to in her right hand. She was still walking slowly, due to her ankle, but didn't seem as weak as she had yesterday.

Sasuke squinted to catch a closer glimpse at her. She was smiling at that moment, the breeze blowing her hair back, and her eyes seemed to be sparkling.

He turned his head as his eyes followed his pink haired team mate down the main road.

Uchiha, you have to stop this nonsense! No matter how nice she is towards you, you should never EVER allow a GIRL to get in the way of your goal: to kill Uchiha Itachi.

He turned his eyes away from her for a second, confused. Why can't he stop staring at her?

When he turned his gaze back towards her, he was frustrated to find Lee running up to Sakura from behind. Sakura turned around at the call of her name, and smiled when Lee approached her. Sasuke felt his eyebrows furrow as Sakura smiled at him as he talked to him. His eyes began to narrow when Lee once again gave her another flower.

What was this . . . strange feeling?

Damn . . .

"What are you staring at, Sasuke?" a voice came behind him. He tried not to show that he was embarrassed or surprised at being found at such a place. Turning his head around slowly, he found himself staring at his jounin teacher, Kakashi. Sasuke glared at him for a moment before he turned his back towards him again. He quickly looked down and stared at the opposite direction of where Sakura was as his sensei glanced at the direction he had just been looking at.

"Ohh," Kakashi breathed out.

"What do you want?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Ai. Sasuke, you must realize this," Kakashi said as he saw that Sakura was waving goodbye to Lee as they departed. "You cannot choose both Sakura and your goal to avenge your clan."

"What the hell? L-look. I don't even know what you're talking about," Sasuke snapped as his fist clenched.

"Don't deny it, Sasuke," Kakashi said as he took out "Come Come Paradise". "You know very well what I'm talking about."

"Leave me alone," he grumbled.

"Sasuke," his teacher said after a moment of silence. "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

His heart stopped beating for a second.

Sasuke did not turn around, but rather, stayed silent. His heart however now vibrated loudly, increasing its pulse with each second.

". . . . . ."

"You're angry at yourself because you have allowed a girl to come between you and your goal to kill your brother," Kakashi continued on. "Now, you're frustrated and confused with what to do. You know you want to kill your brother, but at the same time, you know you can no longer ignore Sakura."

"Mind your own business!" Sasuke hissed under his breath.

Kakashi flipped a page in his book, finally looking up at his pupil from his reading. Sasuke's back was still towards him, but he could have sworn he saw his hands tremble.

Hm . . . . .

"I don't know what you want to do," Kakashi said, looking back at his book. "But let me make one thing clear to you: killing Sakura won't solve your problems. In fact, it will only add onto your misery."

Sasuke's head jerked at that.

Killing Sakura? . . . I wasn't even thinking about that. . .

Kakashi walked away from him about 2 feet before he stopped again. "I'll leave the decision up to you. You're old enough to think it through."

He paused. He was going to say a bit more, but he decided not to. Sasuke already had a lot of his mind. Kakashi sighed. "Remember to dress up for the dance."

With that, he disappeared off the roof in a puff of smoke. Sasuke turned around to see if he had gone, then turned back and sighed.

Why . . . is this happening to me?

He lifted his hands to his temples and closed his eyes.

"Pardon me?" Sakura had said to him after she asked him if he would like to go to the dance with her as a friend.

"I said, what time?"

"W-what do you mean what time?"

"I mean what time should I pick you up?" he had said in a louder voice. There was a pause before realization filled Sakura's voice.

"You mean, you'll go with me-"

"Hey, I'm only going with you as a friend, remember? . . ."

Only as a friend . . .

"So do you want me to come with you or not—"

"Yes. Yes I do. I do want you to come with me, please. . ."

She had wanted him to come. She really did.

"You cannot choose both Sakura and your goal to avenge your clan," Kakashi had said earlier.

He had already known that. It was either one or the other.

"Sasuke, you're in love with her, aren't you?"

Am I? . . . Is this why I am reacting this way?

"I don't know what you want to do. But let me make one thing clear to you: killing Sakura won't solve your problems. In fact it will only add onto your misery."

Killing Sakura? No, he would never do that. It's not even worth killing a weakling like that, he thought. Besides, if she means nothing to me, then I wouldn't feel any pain. Right?. . . But, that's only if she means nothing to me, which she doesn't . . . right?

"Argh! What's WRONG with ME?!" He punched the edge of the roof with a fist, teeth clenched. Small bits of cement flew off from the impact of his punch.

Sasuke panted angrily as he slowly lifted up his fists. His teeth clenched tightly as he tried to wrestle with his frustration.

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes tightly. "What . . . what should I do?"

"Foolish brother. If you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me, and survive in an unsightly way, run and run and cling onto life."

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun. . ."

"You cannot choose both Sakura and your goal to avenge your clan."

Sasuke finally opened his eyes and lifted up his head. It was now late afternoon. Evening would approach soon in a few hours. The sky was still clear, the breeze still blew in the air, and there were still birds flying in the air.

He turned around and got up from the roof ledge, walking away from where he was sitting just now. He sighed and leapt off the building to a smaller one beyond it and finally to the ground. He walked near the same path the forest he had been training in this morning was.

Turning his head, he was the same patch of flowers Kakashi had seen in the morning also. A single pink flower stood out from a patch of white ones. Staring at it, he considered his choices once more, more calmly this time.

He stared closer at the pink flower. Its soft coloured petals looked so soft and delicate, with its green stem and leaves. The centre of the flower was pale yellow. A single white line went down every petal, blending in with the pink colour.

Sakura . . .

He turned his head away, then continued down the path and walked home. The pink flower swayed in the soft breeze as the rest of the white flowers swayed with it gently.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After dinner, Sakura sighed and walked up to her room. She opened the door and closed it, as she approached her bed and sat on the edge. Her ankle had recovered a lot more now. She had frequently iced it down, following Sasuke's advice to ice her ankle to prevent swelling, and now, she could walk properly without having to limp.

Her dress hung in front of her closet. It was pink, but the shade of pink was darker than her hair and closer to a light shade of pinkish-red.

It was sleeveless, with a smaller collar than the collar on her regular dress. The collar stopped past her collar bones and wasn't too low. The dress went past her knees and had small slits on both sides. A long white ribbon was tied around the waist and went around it twice. It was then tied to a small bow on the left side of the waist.

It had looked nice on her when she had tried it on. It was pretty slim, but she liked how it had looked on her. The dress had a little bit of sparkly glitter all about. It didn't stand out, but when she moved in the light, it showed a little bit.

It was the 4th dress she had tried on. The first dress she had tried on didn't quite fit her and she didn't like how it felt. The other two looked pretty weird on her. This one however, she liked immediately the moment she had tried it on. Even Ino had said that it had looked better on her than the previous three. The price was good too; not too expensive.

I wonder, if Sasuke-kun will like me in this, she thought, staring at the dress.

Sasuke. Uchiha Sasuke. He meant everything to her, and was everything that she had ever wanted; except for one thing. He had never given her the one thing she had wanted so much from him: love.

She had often wondered why her mysterious team mate was so secretive with his feelings. She knew very well that he had wanted to kill a man, and that man was his only sibling and other remaining Uchiha descendant.

But he had agreed to go to the dance with her. That was more than enough to make her happy, even though they were only going as friends.

Back then, when they had first met, he had called her "annoying". She immediately was shocked by the way her crush had reacted to her, and from then on, had watched her mouth more carefully. Eventually, she learned to treat him more like an actual person instead of a famous movie star, though she still liked him.

Then, there was the Chuunin Exam. That actually brought the entire team 7 closer together, especially Sasuke. He actually for the first time acknowledged her more as a team mate than an annoying fan girl and trusted her more. When Orochimaru had fought them, she had looked after him during the time after Orochimaru had given him that cursed seal. Her feelings for him had deepened during the exam, and she soon realized that he wasn't an idol to her anymore: he had become the person she had longed to love.

Now, he had treated her more like an actual friend, though he barely talked to her on average, which was normal for him anyhow.

She sighed. How was she ever going to tell him that she loved him?

Maybe the dance is the opportunity I've been waiting for, she decided. But . . .

She still remembered Sasuke's words. "I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man."

"I am an avenger."

She knew very well that he would allow nothing to stop him from fulfilling his ambition(s). She also knew that he may never acknowledge her again if she were to tell him that she loved him. It would just not be the same for either of them if she was to come forward with her true feelings. Sasuke might very well in fact ignore due to this incident and may never acknowledge her as a friend anymore.

Is this the correct choice: telling Sasuke-kun that I love him?

Sakura sighed as she lay on her back on the bed. She could almost see Sasuke's cool yet somehow shy grin. Those black eyes . . . that cool hair style . . .

I'll give anything just for Sasuke-kun . . . but what if he doesn't feel the same way as I do about him? What if . . . what if you'll never look my way again?

Sakura closed her eyes, her hand clenched around a handful of her blanket.

Sasuke-kun . . . I don't want to lose you . . . I'll do anything for you . . . just so you'll acknowledge me back . . .

She opened her eyes, and glanced at that wonderful and only picture of Team #7. She looked so much younger in that picture. Her eyes wandered to Sasuke. His usual frown was there. He almost looked annoyed to see his photo get taken. She smiled.

She couldn't wait to see him tomorrow when he would come to pick her up for the dance. What if –

What if he would allow her to dance with him? Just once even? Sakura grinned at the thought shyly as she felt her cheeks go warm. But like, that's ever going to happen. He's not the type to even go to a party, much less a dance. I can only hope for that moment . . .

Sakura smiled at the thought of Sasuke holding her by the waist as they danced to the soft music, with her hands around his neck.

If only . . . just if only my dream would come true . . .

- - - - - -- - - - - - -

Sasuke sighed as he flopped on top of his bed. It was dark outside and it had been a very stressful day for him.

Darn that stupid dance, he thought to himself. If it weren't for the dance, he would have trained a lot more with the time given.

He had thought over the options/choices Kakashi had told him about that afternoon, but had not come to a clean decision with what to do. He knew there was one other option he had thought about, but he wasn't sure if he would risk it.

It might be too risky. I could end up getting weaker both physically and emotionally, he had told himself.

Sasuke sighed. Damn it! Why me?! Why can't it be someone else? And why can't I get Sakura out of MY HEAD?!?!

He thought back of the dream he had the other night: He, dancing with her, holding her by the waist, with her, her arms around him. They had been looking into each others eyes and it seemed to last forever.

Sasuke shivered. I hope that never h-happens tomorrow at the d-dance.

Closing his eyes, he finally fell into a fitful sleep, and still, he dreamed the same dream again. But there was one main difference this time. In the first dream, they were only dancing with each other. In this dream, he was confessing to her how much he had loved her. . .

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

Please review! Next chapter will be updated late due to exams! Please be patient! I will do my best!!