Crimson Love

Hello and welcome to chapter eight!

Wow, this story is moving fast as shit! 8 chapters already? (and 80-some reviews, last time I checked. Thank you)

I noticed everyone felt real sorry for Kimimaro… yeah. Me, too. Poor guy is so unloved. Well… he's loved by everyone BUT Ino… Shizuka and Sakura just love him to pieces, ne?

This chapter took me a while to write. I was a little preoccupied with… stuff. Like, I moved recently, so we're still moving stuff from the old house to the new one. Plus, I'm trying to get my two Italien greyhounds house-broken. Oh yes, and now, I have to write a chapter for one of H-R's stories, isn't that wonderful?

Sigh. I am so under appreciated.

Anyway, here's the new chappie… hope you enjoy it. (Is not in the least bit hyper… actually, she is feeling rather depressed… for what reason, she does not know)


Chapter Eight: Die Gefühle von Ukon

"I refuse!" Neji shouted.

"Come on, please, Neji?" Sakura begged, for what had to be the second time that day.

"I refuse! No! Don't get me involved in your little love-circle!" Neji held up his hands.

"Ple-e-ease, Neji? Sempa-a-a-aii?"

Kimimaro said nothing, walking in Sakura's shadows. He, personally, was relieved it wasn't him Sakura was picking on. Sakura was Kimimaro's friend, and Kimimaro was a good friend, but he didn't want to get involved, either, after a certain point.

"I just need you to be my boyfriend for three days, ok?" Sakura begged. "Please? Just three days?"

"No means no!"

Sakura looked at Kimimaro, who shrugged lightly. She sweat-dropped. She'd gotten used to him following her; she actually thought it was kind of cute; but he could be a little more helpful!

"I don't get what you're so worked up about," Neji said, pulling Sakura from her thoughts. "So what if Ukon's ex-girlfriend is in town? It's not like they're getting back together."

"I would think you'd know," Sakura said coyly. "After all, you freaked out when Shizuka went on a date with Itachi."

Neji stopped dead, his back to them.

"That's cold," Kimimaro whispered.

"I know." She winked. "One more push and he's done…" She turned back to Neji. "For all we know, they were probably making out all night!"

Kimimaro's jaw dropped. "What!"

Sakura sweat-dropped. "I was kidding…" She yelped when she felt cold fingers encircle around her neck.

"If you do not shut up," Neji growled in her ear, "I will make it so you never draw breath again. Got it?"

Sakura nodded mutely. He released her and went into his class. "Come on, Kimimaro," he called over his shoulder.

Kimimaro looked blank for a moment, then grinned and followed the older boy into the classroom.

Sakura frowned slightly, thinking. Ok, now there's no way that plan'll work… We need a new plan. (One that doesn't include that asshole!)

Assuming a thoughtful expression, she went into her classroom.

(Meanwhile)

"Shizuka-kun," Orochimaru called, knocking on her door. "I came home early to see if you needed anything!" He frowned slightly when she didn't answer. "Shizuka-kun?" He slid open the door.

The room inside was empty. He went over to the bathroom and looked, but that was empty too, as was the closet. Scowling darkly, he stormed out of the room and down the hall.

(Later)

Shizuka peeked around in her window before opening it. "Ok, the coast's clear." She swung her legs over the sill and stepped in, followed shortly by Itachi, handing her a few of the bags, which she quickly put in her closet or under her bed. When the load was finished being transferred, she went back over to the window. "Thank you, sempai," she said sweetly.

Itachi smirked, leaning in. "It's a pleasure, Hakai-teki," he whispered, before pressing his lips against hers.

Shizuka's eyes widened. Oh my god! She starred at him as he pulled away. "What the hell was that?" she managed.

"A kiss, Hakai-teki."

She starred at him as he suddenly disappeared, climbing up into a tree and scaling the wall. Oh… so that's how he got in… she thought absently before going back to her closet to change into her pajamas. (How did he get in when he had her with him?)

(Meanwhile)

(Do I use that enough, or what?)

Sakura tossed Yamiko a visible scowl when they left the school. Once again, the girl was hanging all over Ukon, cooing and petting his hair. Ukon's face was expressionless, and he didn't say anything, but he didn't tell her to stop, either, as he headed over to the limos with the others.

Kimimaro turned to Sakura. "Are you going to Ino's flower shop?"

"Huh?" Sakura dragged her gaze away from Yamiko and Ukon to look at the white-haired boy. "Oh! Yeah. Neji's going with us, too." She turned to the black-haired boy.

Neji rolled his eyes. "I'm only going because you won't give me any peace if I don't."

Sakura smirked. "Yeah, that's right." She turned back to Kimimaro. "Are you ok with going to her shop? I mean… she is going to be there…"

Kimimaro nodded, smiling. "Of course. We should get nice things for Shizuka." (Um… I think she's gotten enough nice things today to last her a lifetime, Kimi-kun…)

Sakura nodded, smiling, as the three of them got into the limo. To Sakura's immediate dislike, however, Ukon followed them in.

"The other car's going a different route," he explained, closing the door behind him.

Kimimaro nodded his understanding of this while Sakura sat next to the window and scowled out it. It could have been worse, she reasoned. Yamiko could be here.

Tap-tap-tap.

Speak of the devil, she thought darkly as Ukon rolled down the window, revealing Yamiko's smiling face.

"You'll call me, right, Uk-kun?"

"Eh." He shrugged slightly, rolling the window up again before she could say anything else.

"….'Uk-kun'?" Kimimaro repeated, smirking.

"Oh, be quiet."

They reached the flower shop just as Ino did, both their and her rides coming from the same place. Ino raised an eyebrow when she saw them get out. "What are you doing here?" she asked suspiciously.

"We're here to buy flowers for Shizuka," Sakura answered coolly, not forgetting Ino's rejection of Kimimaro (who was hiding behind Neji). "She's sick today."

"Oh." Ino waved good bye to Hinata, whose dad had driven her home, then went into the shop. "Come on, then. I'll help you pick something out." She raised an eyebrow, noticing Ukon. "You're here again?"

He just glared, going over to a display of tiger lilies.

Sakura turned to Ino. "He's been here before?" she asked quietly, looking at a display of zinnias.

"Yeah. He was here yesterday night, real late, asking for a flower that would mean 'love' or something. I thought it was kind of weird, but I helped him anyway." Ino shrugged. "Why?"

Sakura shook her head. "No reason," she answered.

Kimimaro suddenly appeared at her elbow, clutching a few white gardenias. "I like these," he told Sakura in his quiet voice.

"They mean 'sweet love' and 'refinement'," Ino told him mechanically.

Kimimaro nodded. "I want these." He then went over to look at a display of yellow zinnias with Ukon.

"One kind of flower is enough," Sakura said, watching him.

"No…" He shook his head. "These are for… someone else."

Sakura starred at him until comprehension dawned on her. Oh… those are for Ino. She glanced at her friend, who was helping Neji with the carnation display. I can't believe he likes her so much… she's the exact opposite of cuteness!

Ukon came back with Kimimaro and two stargazer lilies in tow. Kimimaro now had a single yellow zinnia in one hand with his other flowers. Sakura looked around, looking for a nice, pretty flower that Shizuka wouldn't absolutely hate. She settled for a chocolate cosmos. It was a nice, dark shade, and she had a feeling Shizuka would like something dark.

Neji came over, as well, looking particularly harassed, carrying a small bouquet of red carnations and striped carnations. Ino looked particularly proud of herself, having satisfied four customers at once. She went behind the counter and rang up their orders.

Kimimaro, through much shuffling and begging looks, managed to be last in line, behind Sakura. When Ino finished wrapping Sakura's flower, he shyly approached the counter and set his selection down, asking for the yellow zinnia to be wrapped separately. After he had paid, he held his two packages for a moment or so, then held out the yellow zinnia to Ino, starring at the floor as he did.

"Huh?" Ino looked at it. "What…? I'm confused…"

"Just take it, Ino," Sakura said, smiling at Kimimaro, who was blushing a pretty shade of pink.

"Um… Ok…" Ino took the flower. "Thanks."

Kimimaro blushed even darker at that, and stammered, "It's—I—well—you—It's—you're—"

"He says 'you're welcome'," Sakura translated before steering the blushing Kimimaro away.

Sakura looked at Neji's purchase once they were all in the car. "'Wish I could be with you' and 'admiration' all in one bouquet, huh, Neji-chan?"

He just glared. "Shut up. She's a thieving little brat. She forced me to get two kinds."

Kimimaro started to say something, but stopped himself and contented himself with just looking out the window.

"What's your flower mean, Ukon?" Sakura asked, forgetting that she was mad at him.

He gave her a look. "I didn't ask. It's just a flower." When he caught the look of shock she gave him, he said, in a mocking voice, "Oh, I'm sorry, that's right: flowers make the world go 'round and can cure all ails and make one feel alive again. They can also show feelings and emotions. Right? Is that what you're thinking?"

She shook her head. "No, I was just thinking that you sound much more intelligent with your mouth shut."

He glared while Kimimaro and Neji chuckled to themselves.

When the car pulled through the gates to Shizuka's house, Ukon glanced at the steps and suddenly groaned.

"What?" Sakura asked, frowning.

"Give this to Shizuka-sama from me, ok?" He gave the stargazer lilies to Kimimaro and opened the door, stepping out.

Sakura followed him, seeing almost at once why he was suddenly so skittish. Orochimaru glared at them from where he was leaning against the door frame.

"Kimimaro, take our guests to Shizuka's room," he ordered. "Ukon, you come with me."

"Hai," Ukon muttered, followed his 'boss' into the house. Sakura instantly began to worry. She turned to Kimimaro.

"Do you think he found out Shizuka was on a date the other night?" she asked, a worry-frown appearing.

Kimimaro shrugged. "It's possible."

"I'm going to go yell at her," she said firmly, going into the house. She knew her way now, and stormed on a one-way path to Shizuka's room. Not bothering to knock, she threw it open. "Shizuka?"

Shizuka looked up from where she was reading a manga in her bed. "Hi," she said tiredly.

"Does your dad know you were on a date?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms as the boys caught up to her.

"What?" Shizuka asked, a little too loudly and frantically. "N-No… I don't think so… What are you talking about?"

"Your date with Itachi, last night," Sakura clarified.

Was she imagining it, or did Shizuka look relieved? "No, stupid," Shizuka said, laughing. "Why would I tell him that? I'd be grounded for life!"

"Hmm." Sakura gave her the chocolate cosmos. "This is from me. I have to go to the bathroom." Even though she wanted to see Shizuka's reaction to Neji's bouquet, she wanted to see if Ukon was getting… hurt… again. She didn't care if she was supposed to be mad at him, or if he wasn't speaking to her: she had come to the conclusion that she just had to take care of him when he was injured. She quickly found the bathroom and stood outside, listening to the room across from it. It didn't take long before shouting began.

"You knew!" she heard Orochimaru shout. The shout was followed by the sound of a fist connecting to a jaw; Sakura watched the shadows dance across the rice paper wall in horror. "You knew she'd be out and you let her go anyway!"

"N-No, Orochimaru-sama…"

"You're defying me now!" A kick to the gut. "Have I ever been wrong!" Another kick. "You and your brother aren't worth the trouble I have to put up with to keep you!" A punch to the side of Ukon's head. "I'd get a lot more production out of things if I just left Kidoumaru and Tayuya in charge of them!" Ukon's body fell over; Orochimaru started kicking him in the ribs. "I think I'll just let you bastards go!"

"N-No! Orochimaru-sama, please!"

Sakura chewed her lip, feeling her heart break at the pain and fear in Ukon's voice. She clutched her hands together at her chest, watching the shadows.

"If you disappoint me again, I will!" Orochimaru shouted, kicking Ukon in the face before going to the door.

Sakura froze when he came out. He looked at her oddly. "B-Bathroom," she stammered, pointing to the door behind her.

"Oh." He smiled at her. "Have I mentioned it's a pleasure letting Shizuka-kun have a friend her own age? Please feel free to come over at any time." He patted her on the head before going down the hall.

As soon as he was out of sight, Sakura ran into the room where Ukon was. "Oh my god, Ukon!" she cried, running over to the crumpled heap on the floor that was his body.

"Sakura…" He struggled to sit up so he could look at her. With her help, he managed to sit against the wall, holding his rib cage as he did and breathing heavily. "Please tell me… you didn't hear that…"

Sakura didn't answer; she was too busy starring at his face; there was blood trickling down the corners of his mouth, as well as from a cut under his hair, darkening the soft lavender tresses with blood. He had a huge bruise above one eye, as well as on his cheek, and a bloody nose, not to mention the small cuts here and there, formed by Orochimaru's shoe or heel. It looked so… scary. "U-Ukon…" she finally managed, reaching over and touching the bruise on his cheek lightly; he flinched, as usual. "I'm… I'm so sorry…"

"For what?" he asked, grinning slightly, despite the obvious pain he was in. "You didn't do anything."

"It's just… this always happens to you… for no reason." She sniffed slightly, feeling her eyes water.

"Eh…" He closed his eyes. "I hate letting you see me like this…"

She looked up at him, unshed tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. "What?"

"Can you help me to my room? I have bandages and stuff there."

Sakura nodded, wondering why he'd changed the subject so quickly, taking his free arm and putting it around her shoulders. He carefully stood up, leaning on her slightly. She staggered as his weight passed on to her. He was heavier then she thought. But she was determined to get him safely to his room, so she didn't say anything, helping him out of the room.

They actually got to his room rather fast, since he didn't have a limp or any bruises on his legs this time. He stopped her when they came to a door with a sign that said, 'DO NOT ENTER WITHOUT BEARING GIFTS' and opened it with his free hand. Sakura cast a glance around as she helped Ukon to the bed. It was a queen-sized bed, like Shizuka's, with dark lavender blankets and light lavender sheets. Next to it was a small night stand with a lamp, an alarm clock and a book called whose name Sakura couldn't exactly read. It was probably in German. The bed was set in the corner under the window' at the foot of the bed was a desk, with a lap top, a few pieces of paper, a whole mess of CD's, and a few framed pictures. Just out of reach of the door, which was western-style, was a tall dressed with a mess of random things on it, like hair things and buttons. In the other corner that wasn't taken up by the door, bed or desk was a CD player with huge speakers and a CD rack next to it. On the walls and ceiling were several posters of bands Ukon probably liked; among them, Sakura saw 'Coal Chamber' and 'Rammstien' glaring at her in cut-like letters.

"Sakura." Ukon pointed. "The bed."

"Oh! Sorry!" She helped him over to his bed, where he sat down carefully and started unbuttoning his shirt. "W-Where're you doing?" she stammered, blushing lightly.

"I got blood on it," he answered, taking it off. Sakura took a moment to stare at his curved shoulders, smooth stomach, and lightly-muscled build before he said, "Could you stop starring at my chest and get me a shirt out of the third drawer?"

"I wasn't starring," she muttered, going over to the dresser and opening the third drawer. All she saw where black shirts. "You're a Goth at heart, aren't you?" she asked, picking out a black T-shirt with a picture of a bleeding skull on it and bringing it to him.

"Why, yes, I am, how could you tell?" He pulled the shirt on over his head. "The First Aid kit is in my desk, if you could get it."

Sakura went over to the desk and found the First Aid kit in one of the drawers, hiding amongst some magazines (NOT porn, sickos). She brought it over to him. He took a small box labeled 'arnica' out and popped two in his mouth. "For bruising," he explained, putting the arnica back in the box. "It helps blood to clot."

Sakura's mouth formed a small 'o' of understanding as he started taking out wash clothes and a small basin. "Can you go to the bathroom and fill this up with warm water?" He held out the basin to her. He pointed to a door she hadn't noticed before, by the stereo system.

She nodded, going in the bathroom. Ukon's bathroom was a lot plainer then Shizuka's, with a shower stall, a sink, and all that other stuff. Even in here, however, he had posters and whatnot. Across the room from the door Sakura had come through was another door, but she didn't bother to think about that as she filled the basin up and brought it back to him.

"Lock the door," he ordered, clearing a space on his nightstand and setting the basin on it.

"Which one?"

"Both, please." He soaked one of the wash clothes in the water and started washing the blood off his face.

She went and locked the door to his room, as well as the bathroom door, then went back to see if he needed any help. He gave her a box of band aids and she nodded, taking a few out and applying them to the cuts on his face and neck while he washed the blood off his chin. When they were finished, he started treating his nosebleed, leaning his head back and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"I hate nosebleeds," he told her, rather nasally. "It just feels weird."

"I never had one," she admitted.

"Yeah, right, you're the good little girl who never gets in fights?" He tossed her a look.

"I don't!"

He at her, surprised. "Really?"

Sakura paused for thought. "Well, there was that one time in kindergarten when Ino-pig tried to make Sasuke play with her instead of me, but—"

"You've had a crush on that dude for that long?" he interrupted, raising an eyebrow.

Sakura nodded, smiling dreamily, cupping her face in her hands as she thought of her darling Sasuke-kun. "Yeah…" she said in a dreamy voice.

Ukon bore a look of disgust. "Kill me now."

She gave him a look, recovering from her dreamy phase. "What? You've had girlfriends before, you know how we are!"

"None of my girlfriends were idiots."

Sakura gave him a look, then closed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, they were bright and shiny as she clasped her hands before her face. "You'll call me, right, Uk-kun?" she asked in a perfect imitation of Yamiko. "Oh, Uk-kun, I absolutely love your new hair length!" she continued, reaching out and petting his hair, which she found was silky and smooth under her touch. "It's so cool!"

"Ok, that's enough." He ducked under her hand. "So I had one idiot girlfriend."

"Don't you mean 'have'?" Sakura asked huffily, sitting back on the floor, crossing her legs.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "No. 'Had'." He suddenly got a huge, silly grin on his face. "Oh, I see!" Ukon laughed, grinning hugely. "Is widdle Sakura-chan jealous of widdle ol' me?" he asked in a mocking, baby-voice.

Sakura blushed, resisting the urge to smack him. "No!" she snapped. "I-I wasn't… jealous…"

Ukon continued to sport the huge grin. "Uh-huh, sure you weren't."

"I wasn't!"

"Yes, you were."

"No, I wasn't!"

"Were."

"Wasn't!"

"Were."

"Wasn't!"

"This is a rather pointless conversation, isn't it?"

(Meanwhile)

Shizuka raised an eyebrow as Sakura left the room. She looked down at the chocolate cosmos. "What's this for?"

"We all got flowers for you," Kimimaro explained, bestowing his own bouquet, as well as Ukon's flower, on her. "To make you feel better. It was Sakura's idea. The purple one is from Ukon."

"Thanks," Shizuka said, giving her 'brother' a smile.

Neji's eyebrow twitched. "What's with the hand?" he snapped as she held her hand out to him expectantly.

"You mean that's not for me?"

He rolled his eyes and tossed the carnations at her. "Fine. Here."

Shizuka gave him a sarcastic little grin while Kimimaro curled up into a ball at her side. She petted his white head absently, beckoning Neji to sit in the chair with her other hand. (They all just treat Kimimaro like he's their pet! Oh well… he's pretty lovable, I guess)

Neji sat down accordingly, looking around her room curiously, since he hadn't really gotten a good look at it the other day. "Oh, yeah," he said suddenly, remembering. He took a folder out of his book bag. "Iruka-sensei gave me your homework and class work to give you." He tossed the folder on her bed.

She looked at it in contempt. "Dammit," she muttered, picking it up and looking through it.

"I can help you today, though," Neji added when her expression instantly began to fall. "There's no soccer practice today or tomorrow."

Her face brightened slightly as she tossed the folder at him.

"Hey! I said I'd help you with it, not do it for you!"

"Shizuka-kun?" Orochimaru knocked on the door, pulling it open, his face set.

"Hi, Daddy." She smiled at him sweetly from the bed.

"Where were you this morning?" he asked in a would-be calm voice.

"Um… What?"

"I don't like you sneaking out without telling me," Orochimaru said. "I guess you're grounded now."

Shizuka's jaw dropped as he left. "What the fuck? How'd he find out?"

Neji nearly fell off his chair. "You mean you actually were out?" he cried, recovering.

"Yeah, but only for about three hours." She groaned, pulling at her hair. "Aw, man… This sucks!"

"Ha ha, you're grounded," Neji said, pointing at her mockingly.

She turned to glare at him.

Shit.

(Ukon's room)

"Oh, this one, you'd like this one." Ukon clicked on a track on his play list on the lap top. He clicked "add to burn list."

Sakura looked over his shoulder where she was carefully washing the blood out of his hair with a washcloth. He was burning her a CD of all his favorite songs. She pointed to one of the tracks. "What about that one?"

He looked. "Oh, that's SR-71. Good band." He clicked on it. "It's called 'Non-Toxic'," he said as the music played. "You want it?" He clicked a little further down on the track so she could listen to the singing. At her nod, he added that to the 'burn list,' too. "Oh here, you gotta listen to this one." He clicked on a track called 'Toxicity.' "You cannot say you have lived until you listen to System of a Down." (That is so true)

Sakura actually thought it was a quiet song… until the music picked up.

Ukon turned to grin at her. "It's cool, isn't it?"

She nodded, deciding it would be better to just agree to everything he said. She didn't personally like very loud songs, but he'd been so excited to make her the CD that she'd let him just put any song he wanted on it. "There." She wiped the last of the blood out of his hair. "All clean."

"Thanks." He reached up to touch the now-clean hair. He added another song to the 'burn list.'

"What's that one?"

"A surprise," he answered, clicking the 'burn to CD' function. After it was finished, he took the CD out and got out a sharpie, writing 'Sakura's CD' in bold letters and popped it into a case, giving it to her. "You can listen to it when you get home."

She took it, smiling slightly as she looked down at it.

"What?" he asked when she was silent.

"…Why did Yamiko break up with you?" she asked, not looking at him. It had been bothering her, ever since Kimimaro had said Ukon hadn't told anyone why.

"Who says she broke up with me?" he asked, after a few moments of silence.

"…Kimimaro."

"Oh." He scratched his chin, looking uncomfortable. "I guess I can tell you…"

"Why didn't you tell anyone else?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Ah…" He gave her a half-grin. "Because of the reason."

"Which was…?"

"Well, she would get scared whenever I was…" He thought for a moment. "…Hurt and she said the 'stress' was too much for her to handle, so she broke up with me before we moved."

Sakura's eyes widened. "So… that's why you couldn't tell anyone… because then they'd know, and Sakkon would…"

"Yeah."

"Then… She's a nasty bitch."

"Yeah, I guess that's accurate." He gave her a grin.

"I didn't think you went for the whiny kind of girl, though," she said casually, looking at one of the posters over top his bed, which showed a skeleton holding a cigarette and a vodka shot with the words 'NAME YOUR POISON' under it.

"I don't," he said huffily. "She was pretty, and nice, and made me feel good about myself. That's all."

"So you used her?"

"No!" he snapped quickly. "I really did like her!"

Sakura just raised an eyebrow.

"I'm serious!"

(Speaking of all that mushy girlfriend stuff…) "What's L-I-E-B-E mean? In German?" Sakura asked.

"Liebe?" he repeated. "It means 'love'. Why?"

She shook her head. "No reason. Kimimaro and I were playing with his hand-held and that word came up." Ich denke, dass ich Sie liebeThen… if Kimimaro's translation was right… it means 'I think I love you'… Sakura's eyes widened. Oh my god! She turned to stare at Ukon, who was still talking.

"Oh. Yeah, it means 'love'. And 'Ich liebe Sie' means 'I love you'." He shrugged, holding his hands up casually. "Es ist einfach."

"What's that mean?"

"'It's simple'."

"Not if you don't know the language, it isn't!"

"Es ist nicht mein Fehler, den Sie dumm sind." (T: It's not my fault you're stupid.)

"Stop that!"

"Halten Sie was auf?" he asked innocently. (T: Stop doing what?)

"That!"

"Was?" (T: What?)

"That!"

"Was?" (T: What?)

"Ukon!"

"Ja?"

"I will smack you if you do not stop!"

"Ich möchte sehen, dass Sie versuchen." (T: I would like to see you try.)

"I will!" she cried, beginning to understand the meaning.

"Warum breche ich Ihr Gesicht nicht?" (T: Why don't I break your face?)

"What?"

Ukon sighed. "Sie sprechen kein Wort des Deutsch." (T: You don't speak a word of German.) "Ok, I'll stop."

"But what did you say?"

"Nothing."

"You insulted me, didn't you?"

"No."

"Did you?"

"No."

"I'm serious, Ukon, did you insult me?"

"No."

Sakura was interrupted by someone calling from the other side of the bathroom door. "Knock-knock. Who's there? Why, it's Ukon's bestest baby brother, Sakkon, returning the CD he borrowed! Oh, ok, come on in, baby brother! Ok, I will!"

The door knob rattled.

"Why the fuck is the door locked?" Sakkon shouted, rattling the knob again.

"Oh, sorry." Ukon grinned, going over to the bathroom door and unlocking it. "When are you going to stop answering the door for yourself?" he asked his little brother, stepping aside so Sakkon could come in. "I could be buck naked for all you know."

Sakkon scoffed. "Please. It's not like you look any different then me."

"Idiot," Ukon muttered, taking the CD Sakkon held out.

Sakkon noticed Sakura standing by Ukon's desk and frowned. "What's she doing in here?" he asked, pointing.

"Huh?" Ukon glanced at Sakura. "Nothing."

"What happened to your face?" Sakkon asked, noticing the band aids.

"Oh, I opened the window to let some air in and the tree branch came and hit me in the face," Ukon answered at once, pointing to his window, where a tree branch was pressed against the glass.

"Clutz."

"Oh, go do your homework, kiddie," Ukon said, feigning annoyance as he pushed the amused Sakkon back into the bathroom and closing the door. Turning back to Sakura, he explained, "The other door leads to his room."

"Oh." Sakura shrugged. "I don't think he likes me very much."

"Ah, don't mind him, he doesn't like anyone." He waved it off. "Plus, he's an idiot, if he can't see you're pretty cool in your own twisted way."

She sweat-dropped. "I guess I should take that as a compliment." She glanced at the clock on his lap top. Wow I've been here for a while… "I should go see Shizuka," she said hesitantly. She liked hanging out with Ukon, but Shizuka might think something was wrong if she took so long on a 'trip to the bathroom'.

Ukon nodded lightly. "Yeah, ok. Her door's five down from mine." He followed her to the door. "If you can't find it, just come on back here, ok?" he added, opening the door.

"Ok—ACK!" She yelped as a grey blur sped into the room.

"Kamikaze!" Ukon cried, going over to his bed and picking up the grey cat where it sat on his bed. "This is my cat," he explained, turning to show the feline to the temporarily traumatized Sakura. "He has twenty-one toes. Say hi to Sakura, Kamikaze," he said, making the cat's many-toed paw wave at Sakura.

"That is a seriously fat cat," she said, going over to pet the kitty.

"No, he's not, he's just well-fed and well-rounded," he corrected, feigning offense.

"Uh-huh, sure." Sakura rolled her eyes, going over to the door. "See you later, Ukon."

"Say bye to the mean lady, Kamikaze," Ukon said in a purposely loud voice as she left.

Sakura found Shizuka's door with ease, even without Ukon's directions, since it was the only door in the whole house with a 'NO SOLICITORS' sign. When she opened the door, she found Kimimaro asleep with his head on Shizuka's knee while Shizuka and Neji worked on verb charts and conjugating.

"He was pretty lonely today," Sakura said quietly, so as not to wake Kimimaro.

"Yeah, Neji told me you took care of him, thanks," Shizuka said in a quiet voice, as well, smiling gratefully.

"What is he, a pet?" Neji rolled his eyes.

"Duh!" both girls said at once.

Neji rolled his eyes again as Kidoumaru and Tayuya suddenly burst in. "Shizuka-sama, are you seriously grounded?" Kidoumaru asked, grinning; he wasn't wearing his trench coat for once.

Shizuka glared. "Yes. Now get out of my room."

Sakura's eyes widened as Kidoumaru lifted not one set, but three sets of arms defensively. "Sorry, Shizuka-sama," he said, grinning still as he and Tayuya turned to the door.

"W-W-W-Wait just a second!" Sakura cried, finally finding her voice.

Kidoumaru and Tayuya turned to look at her. "What?"

"Those…Those arms…" Sakura pointed to Kidoumaru's six arms.

"What about them?"

"Can you actually use them all?" she asked, her eyes still wide. So that was why he wore the trench coat; to hide the extra sets of arms.

Kidoumaru nodded, grinning slightly as he lifted all six, the top two to go behind his head, the bottom two to go on his waist and the middle two to wave at her. "Sure, I can."

Sakura gasped, looking amazed. "That's so cool!" she cried, running over to touch the spot where the arms met at his shoulder.

"Eh, get off." He shrugged her off, looking slightly bored with the attention as he and Tayuya left.

Sakura turned and grinned at Shizuka, who was smirking with amusement. "He has six arms!"

"Really?" Shizuka cried, pretending to be shocked out of her mind. "Neji, did you know that?"

He shrugged lightly. "It came as a bit of a shock, yes."

Shizuka looked around absently. "What's today?"

"Today?" Neji thought for a moment or so. "Um… Friday, I think."

"Hnn." Shizuka turned to Sakura. "Can you spend the night tomorrow? You're fun to talk to at unearthly hours."

Sakura shrugged. "I'd have to ask my mom about it this time. But I'm sure she said yes if she actually met your dad…"

Shizuka shrugged. "I don't see why you go to all this precaution. I never have to ask my dad's permission, so long as I have one of the five with me."

Sakura rolled her eyes at this lack of authority. She had already discerned that "the five" meant Kidoumaru, Tayuya, Jiroubou and the twins. However, she thought it was kind of odd that someone as obviously tightly wined as Orochimaru would let his only daughter go where she pleased with just a few teenagers as guardian.

"Oh yeah, by the way…. Tomorrow is the twin's birthday," Shizuka said randomly, filling out one of the verb charts under Neji's instruction. "In case you care."

Sakura looked up, eyes wide. "Huh? It is?"

Shizuka nodded. "They're turning eighteen."

"…I thought they already were eighteen."

"They're seventeen, but it was so close to their birthday that we all just rounded up the numbers."

"Are you guys going to do anything for them?" Neji asked.

"Nah. They told us to stop taking them out to dinner when they turned sixteen." Shizuka shrugged. "They told us to just send cash."

Sakura ended up thinking about the twin's birthday all during her visit with Shizuka. She wanted to do something special for the twins… something that would make Sakkon be nice to her, and make Ukon think…

Wait… what did she want to make Ukon think? He was her friend… sort of… and she wanted to do something nice for her friend…

…Who just so happened to think he was in love with her.

Oh god, things weren't this complicated in Middle School! she thought, starring out the window of the car. Ukon was driving her home, with Kimimaro and Neji in the back seat. She refused to look at the lavender-haired boy sitting next to her… she knew she'd break out in a furious blush if she did.

"First stop, Hanuro residence," Ukon said, pulling into Sakura's driveway. "Home of the pink-haired freshmen and sexy mothers."

Sakura tossed him a glare, opening the car door and getting out. "Ha ha ha, shut up," she snapped, closing the door and turning away before he could see her blush.

She turned as the car pulled away, Kimimaro waving shyly at her back through the back window. She smiled and returned the wave, then turned to her porch. She raised an eyebrow. "Sasuke-kun?"

The youngest Uchiha looked up from where he was sitting on her porch steps, waiting for her. "Sakura."

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

He gestured to Ukon's car as it disappeared around the corner. "You went over Shizuka's house again?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I've been going over there pretty much every day."

"I don't think you should."

She starred. "Huh?"

"Those… people. They're dangerous."

Sakura couldn't help but agree, thinking of Orochimaru, but she argued anyway. "I don't think they're that bad. They—"

"I don't want you to go over there anymore."

She gawked. "Wha…?"

"It's dangerous for you to go over there." He looked up at her again, his dark, onyx eyes boring through her.

"Well, excuse me," she said through a scoff, "but I think I'm quite old enough to take care of myself!"

Her eyes widened as, quite suddenly, he was in front of her, his long, nimble arms going around her shoulders, crushing her gently against his chest.

"I don't want you to be in danger…" he said softly. "I… I want to protect you… so you'll be safe…"

Sakura's went bug-eyed. Nani! What the hell is he saying? Then, slowly, it registered with her exactly what he was saying. Oh my god… Sasuke-kun… I've waited so long to hear you say that…

Flashback

"It means 'love'. And 'Ich liebe Sie' means 'I love you'."

End flashback

Sakura's eyes relaxed into a pained expression at the sudden flashback. But… what about Ukon…?

It was Sasuke's turn to let his eyes widen as, slowly, Sakura pushed him away. "I'm sorry… Sasuke…" she said softly, starring at the ground. "But… I think I already have someone…"

Sasuke continued to stare at her as, slowly, she went into her house and closed the door. His expression saddened slightly. So… it's just Sasuke now?

Sakura closed the door and leaned against it, sliding down it until she was sitting on the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, burying her face in them as tears started pouring down her cheeks. Sasuke… she sobbed inside. I'm so… so sorry…

She got up, tears still pouring down her cheeks, and went over to the phone. I need to talk about this, she thought, looking at the address book next to the phone. If I talk about it, I'll feel all better…

Her streaming eyes widened as she remembered something, and, reaching into her book bag, she extracted a folded piece of paper with some writing on it.

(Shizuka's House/Manor/Gang-head quarters)

Kimimaro jumped slightly when his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. Shizuka looked up from where she was reading a manga. He quickly pulled the device out and looked at it.

"Who is it?" she asked curiously.

"It's… Sakura…" He received the call. "Hello? Sakura?"

He was greeted with a few soft sniffles. "Kimimaro?"

Kimimaro's eyes widened. "Sakura, are you crying?" Shizuka's head shot up at this. "Are you ok?"

Snif-snif. "No…" And so, for the second time that day, Sakura, sobbing hysterically, poured out all her troubles and sadness to Kimimaro, who just sat there on Shizuka's floor, holding the cell phone to his ear and looking dumbfounded. Somewhere in the mix, he caught on to the fact that 'liebe' meant love, which meant that Ukon thought he loved her, and that Sasuke wanted to protect her from Ukon and that she had told Sasuke she 'had someone else' and that she really wished she'd get her period so she'd stop having hormone swings. "Thanks for listening, Kimi-kun," she said in a relieved voice. "I'm glad we had this talk."

"Um… sure…" Kimimaro turned the phone off and pocketed it.

"What was that all about?" Shizuka asked.

"I have no idea."


Sigh… review responses.

Dragonman180: Um… you're supposed to hate her. She's a slimy bitch. But yeah, it's kind of slutty of her to dump her and then beg for him back… Of course I will make the Naruto/Hinata pairing work! Duh! Have I ever paired them up differently? And damn you for voting for a whole triangle! D A M N Y O U !

HinatasBiggestFanBoy: …Why yes, yes it does mean 'love.' How'd you guess?

RedLotusNin and IceHunterNin: Eh… sorry if this chap disappointed you at all… What can I say? Ukon is just so pathetic when he's beat up, and Sakura just has to help him… As for the Orochimaru thing…. Yeah, sorry if I disappointed you. Don't worry, it'll get funny soon.

Kie-san: I (heart) guys like Kimi! I do! I love 'em to death! He's so shy and everything… Basically every girl's best friend. Yamiko wasn't that important in ANTR… she was Kankurou's friend… the one who wasn't his friend afterwards because he was related to Gaara. Yeah. We don't like her. I sent you the piccies, hope you like them!

Active-heart: I'm glad you liked it. Lee is awesome!

Joann: I read that fic… I know it sounded similar, but before I posted the first chapter of this, I e-mailed Ms. Hyuga and asked her if it would be ok if I just like… did something like that and she said it was fine. So don't sue! Onegai?

Riiight: Neji doesn't have the balls to say something like that, no da. I'm glad you liked it tho!

Mika: I like the Kimi-Tayu pairing too! However…. I thought his crush on Ino would be cute… ah well.

xl-twisted-lx: ..You need to stop threatening me. And here you go… update took about four days, hopefully that was fast enough.

Sten: Non-reviewing meanie! Lol, j/k. I'm glad you liked it! (feels happy that this fic was worthy of a review)

KageNoKatana: You gonna hafta read and find out, missie! (waves to Shukaku) Bai bai!

Riyo Shiban: Lol I'm learning German too, just from writing this… I'm glad you liked it!

Inusaiyan: Lol yes, mucha dilemma. But it's so fun to torture people, I can't help myself! And… I think Ukon is having a bit more luck in the women department now…