-0-My Sakura-0-

Once again, thank you so much to ALL my reviewers out there who have reviewed my story! I admit that this is the hardest fan fiction I have ever wrote so far! Thank you! I will do my best! Please enjoy!

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"I can't believe it! Sasuke-kun's going to be here soon!" Sakura quickly brushed her pink hair one more time, looked at her self in the mirror, and glanced at her pink alarm clock. 6:30.

Today was the dance and without a doubt, Sakura was incredibly excited about it. Sasuke would be here soon, and she was certain that they were going to have a fun time, even if they were just going as friends.

Ding dong! "The doorbell! Sasuke-kun is here!"

Running to the door, she opened it and smiled when she saw that Sasuke was standing there, hands in pockets. He actually for once did not look annoyed to see her.

"You ready?" he asked a slight smile.

He smiled at me, Sakura thought as she tried not to smile so wide.

"Yes, I am."

"Then let's get going." Sakura was about to nod when she suddenly noticed that the light blue sky was turning into pitch black. Lightning suddenly appeared from a distance. She opened her mouth to tell Sasuke what she was seeing, but found that she could not talk or even move. Sasuke looked at her weirdly. It looked as if she was suspended in motion.

Sakura's eyes widened as suddenly, a lightning bolt hit the ground 3 metres in front of her house, and from within the smoke, emerged a dark figure. She watched in terror as the dark figure ever so slowly, creep up the porch stairs and neared Sasuke.

"Sakura, are you okay?" Sasuke was asking her. Sakura tried once again to move, but could not.

Behind you! Behind you! Sasuke-kun, her mind was yelling.

The figure appeared right behind Sasuke, but he did not seem to notice anything happening behind him.

"Sakura? What's wrong?"

Run Sasuke-kun! It's right behind you!

The figure was much taller than Sasuke. A bolt of lightning flashed, casting a bit of light onto the figure's face. Two familiar red eyes.

Sakura tried to scream, but her voice felt as if it was disconnected from her.

"Sakura—"Sasuke was about to say.

SASUKE-KUN! LOOK OUT!

The person raised a kunai above its head and plunged it into Sasuke's head. Blood spewed out as Sasuke's eyes crossed. He collapsed to the ground.

Sakura's mind snapped.

"SASUKE-KUN!" she screamed a loud. Silence. She quickly sat up, sweat beading her forehead. Her hair was slightly damp. Her heart was pounding in her throat.

It had been a dream. A nightmare.

Sighing, she laid back onto her pillow, trying to calm herself down. Her breathing was still uneven, and she wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. It was still dark outside. Finally, her breathing slowed down to a calmer pace and her gasps and panting gradually stopped. Her heart's pounding also decreased, but at a much slower pace.

Glancing at her clock, she saw that it was 3 o'clock on its glow-in-the-dark numbers and hands. She lay on her back for a complete minute before shifting to her side. She pulled her covers higher as her mind still replayed the most horrifying part of her nightmare.

SASUKE-KUN! LOOK OUT! she had tried to scream out. But of course, he couldn't hear her.

The person had then raised a kunai above its head and had plunged it into Sasuke's head. Blood immediately had spewed out of Sasuke's head as his eyes crossed. He then collapsed to the ground.

Sasuke-kun, she thought in fear as she remembered him being killed right in front of her. Those eyes . . .

When the lightning bolt had flashed, it had allowed her to see only the eyes of the murderer in her nightmare.

Sharingan, she realized. She knew very well who it was. She pulled the covers even higher.

It took her another hour to go back to sleep.

-

The sun shone through the window as Sasuke finally opened his eyes. He blinked a few times, staring at the ceiling. That's right, there were no missions today either. They've all been cancelled due to the dance. The dance. . .

The dream!

Sitting up with a start, his eyes widened as he recalled the dream he had last night.

He had been dancing with her again.

Dancing. . .

Then it hit him: he had been confessing his love to her.

Confessing. . . my . . . m-my. . .

"Dammit," he muttered under his breath. Sasuke clenched his fists tightly as his teeth clenched. His brow arched as he wrestled with his anger and frustration. Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!

"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. . ."

Sasuke flipped his blankets away, rage running through him. He panted angrily, clenching his fists even tighter.

Why. . .?

He slammed a fist down onto the mattress, making the entire bed sway. He did it again. And again. And again. He did it over again and again. And with each blow, he yelled "DAMMIT!" in his head.

How is this happening to me! Why is this happening to me! WHY!

Finally, he stopped and flopped onto his stomach, head down, his hands still in fists. He tried to calm himself down, but couldn't. His hands trembled with rage as he closed his eyes tightly.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun. . ."

Why am I still . . . still so weak? . . .

He finally sat back up after lying on the bed for a whole five minutes. It was 8:15. He had woken up a bit later than he usually did. Absentmindedly, he glanced at the photo of Team 7. Sasuke's eyes wandered around the photo for a bit, before finally resting on Sakura.

Sakura . . .

Her smiling face stood out from the picture. There was a sense of naivety written on her face. He unconsciously stared at her.

The image of him dancing with her in his dream resurfaced. It was the same as last time, only this time . . .

Sasuke shivered, then turned away from the picture. He felt sick again. It had happened again.

It . . . It's probably a coincidence, he thought to himself as he got off the bed. Dreams and illusions are meaningless. Besides, she means nothing to me—

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

He turned on the light to the bathroom and stared at the mirror.

Am I? . . .

His reflection stared back at him. Confusion ran through his eyes. He frowned and turned on the tap. He splashed some water onto his face and grabbed a towel.

Uchiha, you have to remember your goal in life: to kill Uchiha Itachi. If anything gets in your way of your goal, you must rid yourself of it. It is the only way you will ever become strong.

He wiped his face dry and stared back at his reflection.

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

No . . . I can't . . . But . . . does she really mean that much to me? I mean, she's just Sakura. I respect her both as a team mate and a friend, but . . . do I actually like her in that sense? . . . Dammit! Get a hold of yourself Uchiha! Your main goal right now is to start training, not daydream about Haruno in front of the mirror!

Sasuke quickly brushed his teeth and changed into his usual clothes. 15 minutes later, he was walking into the forest to perform his daily training/exercise regiment, trying his best to ignore his thoughts on the dance and his dream.

-

"Ah!" Tsunade yawned loudly as she stretched from her chair. Now that things had slowly but steadily settled in Konoha, she could finally give the younger ninjas a little break for themselves.

I never would have guessed that the Third would have to undergo so much stress as a Hokage, she thought tiredly. She looked at the scrolls and parchments surrounding her desk and groaned. More paperwork . . . just great, she thought to herself.

A knock came from her door. Looking up, she saw Hagane Kotetsu and Izumo come into her office.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Hokage-sama, all the food has already arrived for tonight's dance," Izumo said.

"That's good," she stated. "Have you finished the decorations for the school gym yet?"

"They're about 95 complete," said Kotetsu. "It should be finished during late afternoon."

"Great. Keep up the good work."

"Say, Hokage-sama?"

"Yes?"

"I know this is mainly a dance for the students and most of the jounin instructors, but will you be attending the dance as well?"

"Huh? Me? W-ell . . . yes, I will be attending it. It is important that I check up on the younger ninjas, since it has been quite a while since I've socialized with them or their teachers, other than relating their missions. Besides, I could use a break too."

The two ninjas bowed, then left the room. Tsunade watched the door close, then got up and stood in front of the window. Konoha looked a lot more peaceful than it did during the last few weeks. She sighed.

Wonder if Jiraiya's gonna show for the dance . . .

-

"Chouji! You took my piece of meat again!" Ino exclaimed as she watched Chouji eat up her slice of beef.

"Sorry, Ino. You know how hungry I get during lunch." Chouji stuck out his chopsticks again and picked up 5 pieces of meat this time in one swipe. Shikamaru sighed. Asuma was treating them again to Japanese BBQ for lunch.

"You better leave some food for us at the dance," Ino murmured as she popped a piece of meat into her mouth.

"Speaking of dance, when should I pick you up, Ino?" Shikamaru said, turning to the blonde.

"When?" Ino forced herself to look at Shikamaru and almost immediately felt her cheeks go warm. "Hmmm . . . . l-let's say 6:35? Is that okay with you?"

"Yeah. Is it okay for you thought? Because all of the girls spend so much time making sure they look nice before they actually leave." How absolutely troublesome . . . damn, I'm glad I'm not a girl . .

"Yeah! Of course 6:35's okay for me. You'd better not be late though," Ino said hastily, wiping her mouth with a napkin. Shikamaru eyed at her for a few seconds before nodding and breaking his eye contact from her. Chouji flashed him a smug grin, nodding towards him and then towards Ino. Shikamaru groaned, face flashing.

"So Chouji," said Asuma. "Who's your partner then, since Ino and Shikamaru are both paired up together?"

"Oh. I'm going with Kiba's cousin," the chubby Genin said happily. "It was a last minute decision, but she's pretty nice, even to an unpopular guy like me."

"Well," Ino cut in. "Maybe if you eat less and train more to lose some weight, more girls will actually like you."

"Hmph! What about you? You're always dieting and putting on too little weight," Chouji grumbled. "It's not good for you health, you know."

"That's because I'm a girl," Ino shot back.

"So?"

"What do you mean 'so'?" Ino exclaimed. "If a girl is too fat, she won't have ANY luck in the future with boys and she'd certainly become an outcast. Guys only go for thin girls, you know."

"Well, guys don't always prefer skeleton-thin girls," Chouji said, putting down his chopsticks. "Right Shikamaru?"

"Huh?" Great. . . Ino's getting pissed and my best friend just dragged me into this conversation? . . . How troublesome. . . "W-ell, I . . . I guess. But Ino's right about you. You should spend more time training. That way, you can become even stronger." Chouji smiled at that. "And Ino," Shikamaru said, turning towards her. "Even though you are a girl, gaining one or two pounds isn't going to kill you, right?"

"Exactly," Chouji agreed.

"AH! Don't you guys ever get it!" Ino said exasperatedly. "Thin girls are what guys go for when choosing a girlfriend. Besides, I'm only dieting to get Sasuke-kun to notice me," she added, clasping her hands together and sighing, her cheeks pink. Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

Sasuke again? What's so great about Uchiha anyhow? What the heck do girls even see in him?

"Sasuke doesn't seem like the type who likes any type of girl," Chouji said with his mouth full. "Besides, even if he did, don't you think he would have chosen someone else as a girlfriend?"

That comment hit a nerve. Shikamaru watched as a vein bulged out of Ino's forehead.

"WHY YOOOOOUU! Who are you to judge, you fa—"

"Ino!" Shikamaru cut in. "That word is a forbidden word. Now let's stop this argument on Uchiha and lower your voices. We're causing a ruckus in the restaurant."

"Alright then, if you three aren't going to eat, then—"

Asuma got cut off as Chouji interrupted him.

"Noo! I'm not done eating yet!"

"Chouji! Quiet! You're so loud," Ino complained. Shikamaru sighed, secretly relieved that Ino was no longer praising Sasuke and that they had steered away from the conversation on Sasuke.

-

Hinata nervously tugged at her dress. She didn't have to buy a new one because she had already had one in her closet, ready to be worn. It was a light shade of purple and was sleeveless. It was extremely simple, which suited her quite nicely, and a yellow short sleeved sweater made of silky smooth material matched it.

She sighed.

"Th . . . thank you, Naruto-kun," she had said when Naruto had treated her to lunch yesterday.

"Now, now, now! There's no need to thank you! I should be thanking you for being my partner for the dance."

Her heart thumped.

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

Her pulse quickened.

"Hinata-sama, you're going with Naruto to the dance, right?" Neji had asked her the other day.

"Huh? . . . Y-yes . . . I am, Neji-niisan," she had told her cousin.

"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."

She hadn't even expected her cousin to go on. But he did.

"You like him, don't you?"

She didn't even know how it had all started, but somehow, she had ended up falling for the mischievous obnoxious fox-demon boy.

She had questioned herself so many times before why she had a crush on him, or even how she had ended up liking him in this sense; but she could not clearly state an answer.

'Naruto-kun, I have always watched you . . . watched you for all these years . . . why is that?' she had questioned herself when she was fighting Neji in the preliminary matches in the Chuunin Exam.

Perhaps, it's because he's always so . . . noisy. Or maybe perhaps he's always smiling. Or maybe . . . maybe because he's not afraid of being himself around other people, she thought to herself. Maybe I look up to him because of this . . . But . . . how can I ever tell him how I actually feel about him?

She clasped her hands tightly together, biting her bottom lip.

How can I ever be myself around him . . .? What if he actually does not like me being around with him? What if he hates me? . . .

"Don't worry, Hinata-sama. Naruto's a good guy. You won't find a guy like him anywhere, I guarantee you that."

Hinata stood still. Yes, Neji was right. Naruto was one in a million. And he was also a very kind person, especially towards her.

She had often hoped and even prayed, that somehow, he would acknowledge her more than just a peer from his school. But never before had she ever expected him to treat her to lunch.

He had treated her twice in a row to lunch, and that was more than she had wanted from him. Now, in 4 hours and a half, he was going to go to the dance with her, as her partner.

He had chosen her to be his partner, despite the fact that Sakura had rejected him. But still, she was the one he had chosen as his partner. It was her . . . and no one else.

Naruto-kun, I'll try to be as brave as you are, I'll try to be your friend, and I'll try to be myself . . . especially around you. . . Perhaps, through this dance, I will be able to change myself . . . by looking at you for strength . . .

Hinata smiled, her cheeks flushing.

She then glanced at her dress again and very gently, fingered the smooth material before she left the room.

-

"Crap! What am I supposed to wear for the dance!" Naruto exclaimed as he went through his closet.

He hadn't known that the fact that you were supposed to dress up for the dance didn't apply for just girls, but for guys as well.

He would have very much like it better if they would have allowed him to just go to the dance as he was, but then, he didn't want to embarrass Hinata, since it had already taken him a long time just to find a girl who would actually go with him to the dance.

"Thank god Hinata agreed to go with me, otherwise I'll be even more screwed," he muttered as he pulled some clothes out of his closet. Most of them looked just like the one he had worn everyday, and some were just too weird for a dance.

"Where is that suit I had?" It turned out that he had gotten himself a nice looking suit a year ago from someone who had no longer wanted it, but it was good enough for him. Unfortunately, he had never worn it before and since it was a year ago, he had no idea where he had last put it.

Clothes hangers fell to the ground as a pile of clothes piled up behind him.

"Wonder if Sasuke's even got himself a partner yet," he wondered aloud (obviously, he was the only who had not found out that Sasuke was going with Sakura). "The guy's so popular he can find a partner within 1 second after he announces that he needs a partner. Sakura's probably found a partner too. Maybe 'Thick Brows' is going with her, since he's always giving her flowers."

He moved aside four more cardboard boxes and cheered when he found his suit, jammed into the back of his closet, still in a plastic bag which was covered with dust. Sneezing, Naruto took the suit out and took off the tape from the bag. Taking the suit out, he was surprised by the fact that it had not looked crumbled.

"Hah! I can save myself some ironing time!" he said, grinning from ear to ear. He quickly undressed himself and tried it on. Miraculously, it still fitted him perfectly.

"YES!"

The suit was black, with a white dress shirt, and a black tie. The pants were also black, with pockets.

Naruto took off his forehead protector with the proud symbol of Konoha and ruffled out his hair.

Then he looked back at the mirror. He looked a bit odd in a suit, but decided that he looked great.

Hinata would love to see me in this tonight, he thought excitedly as he loosened his tie around his neck.

Strangely, he realized that his thoughts had landed on the quiet Hyuuga girl. She was always so kind and polite to him, even when he was annoying the crap out of everyone else.

I should treat Hinata more nicely, since she's always so nice to me, he thought. That's why I will not embarrass her tonight at the dance!

Glancing at his alarm clock, which was seated on his dresser, he saw that it was almost three thirty.

Hm, he thought. Might as well try to find my dress shoes.

He began digging into his closet again.

-

Sasuke opened the door to his apartment and stepped inside.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it and sighed.

What am I going to do, he thought to himself. I know very well what my goal is . . . but . . .

He had made his decision that afternoon, rather reluctantly, but he had no choice. Kakashi was right. It was either one or the other.

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

He knew that it was impossible for him to choose both things at once.

Wait a minute! Sakura means nothing to me. Nothing! he reminded himself. But if so, then why is it that I keep regretting the decision that I have made? And why . . .

An image of Sakura flashed through his mind. Those bright eyes, that glossy hair, that innocent smile . . .

Why do I find myself thinking of her?

Sasuke stood up. Walking up to his closet, he glanced at the suit he was planning to wear for tonight's dance. It was black, with a navy blue tie and white shirt. It was neatly ironed, with no speck of dust anywhere in sight.

Tonight, I'm just going to act as casual as I can, he reminded himself. And I won't dance with anyone. Not even-

A sudden image of his dreams in the past few nights flashed in his mind.

" . . . . . . . ."

He stood still, heart pounding loudly.

Dammit!

He looked down onto the floor.

I can't do this . . . I can't do this . . . why? Why is this so hard for me?

Turning his head sideways, his eyes caught onto the picture of Team 7. Sakura's smile was the first thing that stood out from the picture.

The dance was tonight, and in perhaps a few hours, he would have to go pick Sakura up. He would also have to make his decision right then and there at the dance. If he chose either one of his choices, then he would have to walk that path, probably forever.

He stared at the picture for a few seconds, before he finally turned away and walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

-

"Hey Tsunade-sama?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think the purple dress looks better on me or the red one?" Shizune held up two dresses, one in each hand on a clothes hanger. Tsunade glanced at them, then finally said, "The purple one, of course."

"Okay." Shizune put the red one back onto her closet and closed the closet door. Tsunade herself was already dressed in a pink dress with a low collar. A green (the same shade of green on her usual jacket with the 'gambling' symbol) sash bound around her waist.

She stared out the window as Shizune changed.

"Say, Shizune?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you going to the dance with Genma?"

"Genma? Oh yeah! Yes, I am. He asked me the other day if I would like to accompany him for the evening." Shizune walked towards a full length mirror and examined herself. "Since it was optional for jounins to go with other jounin teachers, he thought that he'll just ask me."

"I see. I hope you two will have a great time together."

"Thanks." Shizune turned around, smiling. "You know, Jiraiya's probably going to ask you to dance tonight."

"Oh?" she responded, pretending to be surprised.

"Well duh! He IS Jiraiya after all. And it's pretty obvious that the two of you did have something going on-"

"Now, where did you hear that bit?" Tsunade asked as she turned around.

"Oh. It was only a rumour, not to worry, Tsunade-sama." Shizune faced Tsunade and flashed her a smile. Tsunade stared at her for a few seconds, then smiled back.

"Is Genma going to pick you up?"

"Yep."

"Okay then. I'm just going to head over to the gym to check up that everything is in order. Take your time and have fun. I'll see you later."

"Okay. I'll catch up with you later. Take care." Shizune watched as the door closed. She glanced at her watch. It was 5:30.

-

Sakura stepped out of the shower at 5:50. Grabbing a scruffy pink towel off the towel rack, she dried her hair and her soaked body as her mind jumped excitedly on thoughts on the dance.

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it! I'm actually going with Sasuke-kun to the dance tonight!

She wrapped a towel around her head after she put on her bathrobe. Glancing at her face in the mirror, she observed her features. Green eyes . . . small nose . . . big fore head . . .

Smiling at herself in the mirror, she thought of Sasuke coming to pick her up for the dance. He would of course, look like his usual cool self, with his cool trademark hairstyle and his barely seen but rather shy grin.

"Ahh . . ." Sakura breathed out, thinking about him. She always got tingly all over whenever she thought of him.

A sudden image of the Sharingan she had seen in her dream appeared in her mind.

She paused.

That was . . . that was definitely Uchiha Itachi, she realized. He's the person Sasuke-kun wishes to kill . . .

She knew very well about Sasuke's dark past. It had a huge influence on him.

Especially on his ambitions, she thought.

She still remembered those words which he had said: "I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man."

She knew he would stop at nothing to kill him, but –

What if . . . what if he never comes back alive?

Sakura shuddered. Her smile dropped.

I must convince him somehow not to pursue Itachi, otherwise . . . otherwise . . . he might just end up hurting himself even more . . . I want to stop him from getting hurt . . . I don't want him to be alone anymore . . .

Sakura wiped her eyes with the towel she had unwrapped from her head.

Sasuke-kun . . . I don't want to lose you . . . ever . . . especially not like this . . . I just wish that there'll be some way I can tell you about the way I feel about you. . .

"Argh . . . stupid me. I'm so weak . . . I can't even think about Sasuke-kun without crying my eyes out," she muttered to herself.

Cheer up girl! Tonight is going to be the night of your life! Even if Sasuke-kun doesn't want to dance with you, you should consider how lucky you are to have him as your partner!

Sakura felt a bit better, and took out her hair dryer.

But deep inside, her heart could not wipe away that dreadful thought of Sasuke leaving her . . . forever.

-

Ino glanced at herself in front of the mirror. Her blonde hair was tied up into a neat bun with a purple beaded elastic hair tie. She was wearing a sleeveless dress with a low V-neck collar. She wore small purple earrings to match her outfit. A see-through purple shawl came with the outfit.

She had actually liked the dress very much. It brought out the colour of her eyes and suited her blonde hair quite well. She had applied on only a little bit of eyeliner and lipstick, which helped sharpen her face a bit.

Sighing, she glanced at her watch. 6:30. Shikamaru would be here soon.

She felt her cheeks go warm again.

Shikamaru. . . Why do I keep thinking about you? Why is it that I can never try to forget you?

Ino checked herself once more in the mirror, then decided to put on her strapped low heeled sandals and wait by the door.

-

Ding dong!

Neji waited patiently as he waited for Ten-Ten to answer the door. Dressed in a black suit with a black tie and white shirt, he wore a black headband to cover his cursed forehead mark instead of his usual forehead protector.

It was really rare for him to wear such formal attire, but everyone else was doing the same.

I still can't believe I'm actually doing this, he thought to himself. Going to a dance is one thing, but actually asking Ten-Ten to go to the dance with me? That's a whole different story.

He had screwed up his calmness and courage just to ask her to go with him during that time they were training. He was extremely glad to discover that she had not been 'taken' yet by someone else and had used that opportunity to ask her.

I wonder . . . wonder what will happen tonight at the dance?

He stared at the sky. The sun had lowered and evening had already approached. He turned back around towards the door just as it opened. Ten-Ten appeared from behind the door. Neji felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at her.

She was dressed in a dress that was a shade of purple and pink combined. It had a Chinese collar and was sleeveless. Unlike her usual Chinese collar, this collar was not tied from the middle but from the side. The dress was long and slim and there was a back slit on the lower part of her dress.

Her hair was still fixed into two buns, but she had clipped on some beaded flower clips around them. It was extremely neat and tidy, and made her look even prettier. She had applied only a light coat of lip gloss for make up and nothing else. It took Neji a while before he could actually stop observing her and say something.

"H-hey," he finally managed to say.

She smiled at him, making him blush in embarrassment.

Quick, say something back to her, he told himself.

"Um . . . you . . . you l-look very . . . very . . . pretty." He quickly avoided her eye contact to save himself from embarrassment. Ten-Ten giggled.

"Thank you," she said shyly. Her cheeks were pink now. "You look very handsome too," she added. Now it was her turn to avoid his eye contact. Neji blushed.

"Thanks."

There was awkward silence before Neji spoke up again.

"Ready to go?"

"Yes."

With that, the 'couple' walked down the road together, talking in polite manner as they stared into each others' eyes.

-

"Crap! I'm late!" It was 6:40 by the time Naruto left the house. He ran down the road hurriedly, trying not to mess up his neatly polished dress shoes.

"C'mon! Move feet move!" He ran past a series of buildings. He had promised her that he wouldn't make them late for the dance, and if he broke that promise, he knew that he would regret it for the rest of his life.

I'm sorry Hinata! It was my fault!

He doubled his efforts and ran even faster. Surprisingly, it only took him 5 minutes to get to her house whereas usually, it took 15 minutes.

He was out of breath when he rang the doorbell. A rather nervous Hinata answered the door.

"Naruto-k-kun? Are you a-alright?"

"Hinata! I'm so sorry! Please forgive me for being late! I'll never do it again! I promise!" he exclaimed, as he started bowing to her apologetically.

"Naruto-kun?"

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!"

Hinata blushed.

"Naruto-kun, it's okay," she said, trying not to blush even more than she already had. Naruto had looked so handsome in a suit! "I-I'm sure we c-c-can still make it-t on time."

"Ready to go then?" He said, holding his arm/elbow out to her. Hinata almost felt like fainting. He had held his arm out to her!

That single clip of him holding his arm out to her and saying "Ready to go then?" replayed itself over and over again in her head.

Hinata blushed an even deeper shade of red, bit her lip, and looked up to his eyes.

"Y-yes." Rather shyly and reluctantly, she timidly reached out with both hands, placed them around his elbow, and walked down the steps with him.

I c-can't believe it! Naruto-kun held his arm out to me and we are walking together!

Her heart was beating like a drum and she kept smiling every few seconds as Naruto kept talking about how great the dance was going to be.

If only you knew, Naruto-kun . . .

-

Ding-Dong! Sakura stood up excitedly and walked over to the door.

She placed a trembling hand onto the door knob, took a deep breath, and opened it.

Sasuke's head turned towards her as she opened the door. He wasn't wearing his forehead protector and he was dressed in a suit with a navy blue tie. He had his hands in his pockets and did not look annoyed to see her.

"Hey," he said in his usual low voice.

"Hey," she said back to him.

"You ready?" he said with the tiniest hint of a smile tugging at his lips.

He smiled at me! Sakura thought as she tried not to smile so wide.

"Yes I am."

"Then let's go."

She nodded, smiling at him.

Suddenly she froze.

The dream. This is just like the dream!

Flash backs of her vicious nightmare swarmed her mind in a second.

Sh-Sharingan, she thought as she remembered those eyes.

She suddenly felt cold, as if someone had lowered the room temperature.

Sasuke-kun. . .

Itachi had struck him from the head and had killed him . . . just like that.

Her pulse quickened. What if something like this happens!

"Sakura?"

"Huh!" She looked up into the dark eyes. Sasuke was looking at her weirdly.

"Are you . . . are you alright?" he asked, still eyeing at her.

"H-huh? Oh. Of course I am!" She smiled another flashing smile at him and closed the door behind her.

They walked down the porch steps and down the road in silence. Sakura was still thinking about her nightmare and Sasuke.

"I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain man."

The imagery of Sasuke with his cursed seal during the Chuunin exam had scared her. That face of his . . .

She could never forget that horrifying feeling she had when she saw him attack the Sound Ninjas.

"I am an avenger."

Will he be like that when he goes to kill Itachi? She asked herself worriedly.

Sasuke glanced sideways at her. Sakura had a worried expression on her face and she was not talking.

What's wrong with her? He thought to himself. Well, it's not like I care or anything . . . but . . .

"Sakura."

"Hm?" Sakura looked up towards him.

He felt his cheeks flushing already before he could say what he was going to say. ". . . You look . . . very nice in that dress." He quickly shifted his eye contact away from her.

Sakura glanced at him, cheeks turning rosy pink.

"Th-thank you, Sasuke-kun," she said, smiling. "You look so . . . so handsome in your suit."

". . . . . ."

Sakura felt her heart lighten as she walked a little bit closer by Sasuke's side. He didn't move away.

She smiled.

The two of them continued on the road in silence, but this time, they felt more comfortable with each other's presence.

-

I'm sorry if this chapter was pretty darn crappy! My mind kept jumping around! Please forgive me! Please review! I will try to update sooner. )