Disclaimer: I still own nothing! Nothing, evil people! So don't sue me, all I have to pay the guy who DOES own thiswith is a paperclip and a cat! (believe me, he doesn't want the cat.)

This took a while to get out...my little sister insisted on playing happy peppy music while I was writing. It shows...as does my annoyance with her. So be prepared for volatile-ness ahead...

Chapter Six: Still Not Part 2

Sakura walked right up to the front desk, smiling at the clerk, who looked a little harried. "How can I help you?" she asked distractedly, trying to find her pen without ignoring her. She was looking increasingly desperate as she lifted stacks of paper and rifled through drawers.

"Is Tsunade-sama in?" asked Sakura, reaching over the counter and plucking the pen from under a half-eaten poptart.

"Oh, thank you! Yes, but she's with a patient right now—if you would care to wait, the Hokage shouldn't be much longer." The woman took her pen and delightedly started scribbling down notes, filling out paperwork.

"Thanks." Sakura turned and sat down in a large, overly-cushioned chair, leaning her head back and watching the clock.

By the time Tsunade emerged from one of the doors, the secretary had managed to actually organize about half the papers on the desk and lose her pen again.

Sakura had been dozing lightly, but she snapped awake and almost hopped out of the chair, calling "Tsunade-sama, can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sakura," said Tsunade, turning. "I haven't seen you for a few days. How have you been?"

"Great, how about you?" lied Sakura easily, smiling.

"Well enough. There are a few people who I'd like to string up by their—

"-cough-" The secretary pointedly interrupted the Hokage before saying anything regrettable.

"Well, they're irritating, let's leave it that way. Anyway, follow me. I'm finally free for a bit, so we can talk comfortably."

She went through yet another door, this one opening up into a long hallway. The first door on the right was open slightly. Tsunade pushed it the rest of the way open and closed it behind Sakura as she stepped into the "office" part of Tsunade's own little apartment at the hospital.

"What is it?" she asked, sitting down behind the large desk. She swept up the miscellaneous junk covering the surface with her arm, dumping it unceremoniously on the floor.

"I would like a mission," said Sakura. "Is there anything available?"

"That depends. How soon can you be ready, and what class are you up to?"

"I can leave within half an hour, and I'm pretty sure I can handle B by now."

"Hm..." Tsunade went through her files. "There's an escort...an undercover, but you'd need to find partners...another escort—you don't want him, he's worse than Jiraiya, I usually assign a boy for that one...let's see..."

With Naruto

Naruto finished his ramen, only puzzled over Sakura for a minute or so. He was pretty sure she was acting oddly, but it was hard to tell with her; she wasn't very easy to read.

After paying, he wandered aimlessly for a while. He had already trained all morning, Jiraiya was nowhere to be found, and Kakashi was on another mission, along with Iruka. That left...absolutely nothing to do.

He passed by Shikamaru, who was cloud-watching, and Ino, who was bothering him.

"N-Naruto-kun," said a shy voice behind him.

"Waa!" He hadn't even known anyone was there and jumped high, spinning impressively in the air to land on his feet facing Hinata.

Hinata was one of the few people who managed to stay shorter than Naruto himself. She looked up at him, blushing slightly. Naruto recovered fast, covering by grinning hugely and saying "Hi Hinata-chan!"

"Hi..." her fingers poked together.

"Why do you do that?" he asked, attention caught.

"Oh—um, well...it's a habit," she admitted, sweet voice barely above a whisper. She stuffed her hands in her pockets.

"A habit, huh? I don't think I have any habits like that." He thought about it for a second or so. "Nope."

Hinata had intended to ask Naruto about Sakura, but being near him made her conveniently forget about everything else. The world could have crashed around her, and as long as neither her nor Naruto was squished, she wouldn't have noticed. She was holding some cookies; with a start, she ducked her head and whispered

"I—I made...something for you..."

"Really? For me? Wow, nobody ever does that!" Naruto focused intently on her, like a dog that has seen a juicy treat.

His intense, bright blue gaze was like a sea she could drown in, made all the more sparkling by the interest and focus that was bent on her in that moment.

"I...here," she managed, unable to meet his eyes anymore. She held up the bag without looking at him.

The bag was orange, small like a gift-bag. Hinata had carefully tied it with a blue ribbon, the same intense aqua as Naruto's eyes, making sure the bows were the same size and easy to untie, and that the ends of the ribbon curled just right. The cookies inside were actually the fifth batch she had made; Hinata was unwilling to give burnt, undercooked, flat, or otherwise imperfect cookies to Naruto.

She knew he probably wouldn't notice, but that didn't matter. What mattered was that he accepted them.

"Wow, thanks Hinata-chan!" Naruto took the bag. He pulled off the ribbon and opened the bag. His eyes widened. "Cookies!"

"Y—yes. I...made them..." she whispered. Her courage failed her and her voice trailed off. She debated running away, and had actually started to back up when his voice stopped her.

(A/N: In Japan, when a girl gives a boy cookies, it usually means she likes him. This, of course, totally goes over Naruto's head.)

"This is really good! Hey, where're you going?"

She glanced up. Naruto was regarding her with a confused expression on his mobile face, blue eyes reflecting puzzlement. A cookie was hanging comically out of his mouth, as he hadn't bitten off the part between his teeth yet.

She giggled slightly, so quietly it was debatable whether he heard it or not. She tried to think of a convincing answer for him, but the words flew out of her head when there was suddenly a cookie right under her nose.

"Wanna share 'em?" asked Naruto.

With Ino

Ino carefully arranged the flowers in the vase, making sure each one was displayed to make it look the most beautiful. This particular set was for a sick person; most of the flowers either symbolized wellness or possessed actual healing qualities, like the lavender she had used as a sort of background.

When she was finished, she gently set it behind glass on a shelf next to a bouquet of roses.

There really wasn't much else to do. She swept up the flower cuttings and threw them away, mindlessly rearranged a few hapless daffodils, and then sat and twirled a small lock of pale hair.

Even daydreaming wasn't helping her out. She was bored; her father had asked for her to help out, then left when she arrived. That had been about two hours ago.

Maybe someone will stop by...that would be nice...I'm BORED. She sighed. Really, really, really bored. She plopped down on a stood behind the counter.

The front bell rang. Ino perked up, taking her chin out of her palms. Someone was opening the door. Sliding off the stool, Ino hurried over.

"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop," she said brightly, flashing a smile. "Are you looking for anything specific I can help you with?"

The man was taller than her, and Ino had to tilt her head back to see him clearly. His hair was lightish brown and neatly combed, tame and short. His face was nothing to comment on: neither thin nor plump, not ugly or pretty. Not even an unusual shape; it wasn't round or square or heart-shaped or anything. Just...face-shaped. His clothing was plain, a simple shirt and pants. He could have blended into any crowd.

"No, I'm just looking around. Thank you." He brushed past her.

Ino stepped back and leaned against the wall, watching him. He made a slow round of the store, and Ino noticed that although he stopped frequently, he never actually studied the flowers. He seemed to be just looking at them without really caring or paying attention.

Why would he come here if he didn't care about the flowers? Is he just killing time? She sighed. She wished Sakura would hurry up and visit; even fighting was interesting.

Suddenly she heard an odd little sound. She jerked her head up and looked around. Nothing seemed out of place. I swear I heard something. Someone else is here...

Thinking quickly, Ino pretended to go back to her train of thought, letting her eyes glaze over again. She kept her ears open and her hands tensed to perform seals, watching everything out of the corner of her eye.

If it's Kiba-san or Naruto-san playing some dumb prank again, I'm going to feel really stupid...and totally kill them of course...

There were a few tense moments of silence. The man was looking at a rose arrangement in the back. Ino was between him and the door. The clock ticked.

The door burst open and a loud voice yelled "Hands up NOW!"

Ino dove to the floor, rolling underneath a table and springing up on the other side, kunai in hand and pointed to the door.

The person in the doorway held several shuriken, three more of which were in the floor following her path, one of which was stuck to the wall where her head had been.

"Who are you and what do you want!" she snapped habitually, knowing she probably wouldn't get an answer.

"I'm a ninja and I want every yen in this store!"

Ino's eyes widened in disbelief. Not from fear; her entire mind went blank except for a single thought: Who the HELL is this stupid! She was having trouble actually believing him for a second. She felt the huge anime sweatdrop descend over her head.

"Wait. You want all the money...from a flower shop," she repeated.

"You heard him," snapped the first man, who now held up his hands to form seals. "Better hurry, or you're dead."

Ino's face was blank. You have GOT to be kidding... "You guys realize this is a hidden village, right?" she asked slowly.

"No backtalk! Move!"

"How stupid can you possible be?" she snapped incredulously at the newcomer, irritated at being bossed around.

"What are you talking about?" demanded the second man. The first one began to sign. His fingers were a little clumsy and he was by no means the fastest person ever.

"One: this is a flower shop. Who robs flower shops? Two: I am Yamanaka Ino. Chuunin!" She finished sharply, suddenly flinging out a hand and yelling "Illusion-Counter no Jutsu! Rebound!"

The first man's poorly-formed genjutsu backfired in his face. Without pausing, Ino dodged sideways and threw the kunai at the same time, knocking both the man's shuriken out of the air and narrowly missing his face.

Ino glanced back at the first man. He was staring, wide-eyed, at nothing, starting to babble a little. The illusion must have been something to do with a nightmare. Content that he was temporarily out of the way, she returned her attention to the second one.

He seemed surprised that she'd countered both shuriken; apparently he had been under the delusion that one or the other would hit her. Whatever. Idiot never heard of kunoichi, did he? Time to teach him.

She didn't give him a chance to recover; walking straight up to him, she socked him in the face. Really, really hard. What a fool.

He fell backward out the door, jamming it open. "Third, I'm a chuunin on PMS," she snapped. "You're blocking the entrance," she informed him irritably. "Move it!"

He was too groggy to actually do anything. Ino turned briskly away, stalked up to the first man, and hit him sharply on the back of the neck. He dropped like a stone, temporarily out of his misery. Foam flecked at the corners of his mouth. Weakling! Couldn't even get out of his own jutsu! And it wasn't even a good jutsu! She yanked him up, dragging him none-too-gently toward the front of the shop and heaving him out the door, watching him land with a large thump and a wet, sickening crack on the hard-packed dirt.

"Jerk!" she yelled after him, even though he probably couldn't hear her. She rammed the door the rest of the open with her hip and literally tossed the other man out after him. "Idiot! Come back when you can call yourself a real ninja instead of the dress-up act you're playing now!"

She was still fuming at their stupidity. It was insulting that they would try and rob her, more so that they called themselves ninja.

"Uh...is this a bad time?" asked Shikamaru. "I can come back later..."

"Huh? Oh! Shika-kun! These idiots just tried to rob the flower shop! Can you believe that?" She crossed her arms, irritated. Then suddenly she smiled at the Nara boy, anger completely evaporated for no apparent reason.

"Why would anyone rob a flower shop?" he asked, eyeing them skeptically. He decided to ignore the 'shika-kun' part for now. It would probably turn out way too troublesome to try and persuade her to call him anything else anyway. Annoying as it was.

"I don't know." Ino shrugged. Then suddenly she glanced up at Shikamaru through her eyelashes. "Who cares, anyway? I'm hungry," she decided. She sidled closer.

Shikamaru sighed resignedly. Ino was undoubtedly going to start flirting again. And he knew that by 'I'm hungry' she meant 'buy me something so I know you like me.' "Haven't you eaten yet? Never mind. I just came by for some flowers."

Ino pouted. "For who?" she asked sweetly, the sugar covering the hidden edge that warned the genius it had better not be a girl getting flowers.

"Kiba," he answered. At Ino's raised eyebrow and eye twitch, he stammered "Uh—that is, Kiba's sister!" Damn, he was digging himself deeper. Now she was almost glaring at him. "I mean, I need flowers for Kiba to give to his sister!" This was not going well. Not at all.

"Whoa," said Ino, holding up a hand and poking him in the nose, cutting off the incriminating, embarrassing words he was stumbling over. "Start over. You need flowers why?"

"Kiba's sister is sick," said Shikamaru. (A/N: Does anyone know the NAME of his sister? I don't.) "He asked me to get some flowers for her since he doesn't want to get them himself."

Ino rolled her eyes. "No, Kiba isn't the type to buy flowers. Never mind that he could just pick them." She turned on her heel and went back inside.

Shikamaru sighed in relief and followed her, feeling like he'd narrowly escaped something altogether unpleasant.

­With Sakura, about an hour later

Sakura glanced at the little slip of paper in her hands.

Rank: B

Category: Retrieval

Objective: Locate and obtain scrolls.

Detail: Scroll of the Winds, Scroll of Shadows, Scroll of the Waters, Scroll of the Flames, Scroll of the Earths

Her mission was simple. Go to the Village of the Hidden Mist, steal the five scrolls, return. It had been easy to understand, but Sakura knew why it was B-rank. She had heard of those scrolls before; they used to be here, in Konoha. But a long time ago they had been taken away and sealed off in secrecy, deemed to dangerous to be kept where they could be read.

But now Tsunade had reason to believe that the Mist-nins were actually using the scrolls. And since she had finally been able to find out where they were, she had only been waiting for the first able ninja to approach her for a mission.

Sakura would have to leave at dusk, travel as far as she could, and then set up residence in a hotel near the scrolls' hiding place. That leaves me...one hour until I need to leave. Enough time to see Hinata and stop by Ino's shop.

She folded the slip of paper and stuck it in the shuriken holster on her thigh, inside the little hidden pocket in the top. Good thing Hinata gave me those energy-bars. I think that's all I'm going to be eating until I get back.

There weren't many people on the streets anymore; it was dinnertime. She caught a glimpse of a family through an open window, sitting around a table. They were smiling and looked happy. It was almost possible to feel the love inside that house all the way out in the street.

Resolutely, Sakura turned away.

At the Hyuuga Mansion Thingy

Yumi sighed in irritation. Hinata-sama was hopelessly distracted, and even Neji-sama was more distant than usual. Well, he was brooding more anyway. Stupid teenage hormones. Is there no child with sense?

Hinata stared dreamily into her soup, blushing slightly. Yumi carefully bumped her as she walked by. Hinata started and snapped her head up, eyes wide and embarrassed.

"Oops. Watch out, Hinata-sama; pull that chair in."

"Where are you going, Yumi-san?" she asked, regaining her shy composure.

"Bringing that twit her dinner," said Yumi distastefully.

"You could be a little nicer to Hanabi," stammered Hinata. In truth, she didn't care for her bratty, spoiled little sister either, but Hinata was protective of everyone. Even Hanabi.

Yumi snorted instead of deigning to actually reply. As she walked by, she snapped "Neji-sama! I expect that food gone when I get back. You hardly eat."

"Not hungry," he mumbled without looking up.

"I didn't ask if you were hungry. I ordered you to eat. Now do it!" And she left before he could argue.

Distractedly, he stared at his reflection in the glass of water. It was somehow irritating to him that the Haruno girl could act so...different. She had been completely spent the day before. Then she suddenly had the energy to run? And she had glared at him...like she was his equal. Like she wasn't the second-weakest girl he'd ever met. She was still optimistic, despite being beaten down three times before finally achieving chuunin, despite never having accomplished a solo mission.

He had promised himself that he would stop obsessing over fate, but being around Haruno made it very difficult. She was so obviously destined to weakness and failure...but like Naruto, she refused to accept that. And that bothered him, almost the same way it bothered him that Hinata refused to acknowledge her own weakness.

"Tomorrow is the Festival of Family," said Hinata timidly.

"And?" he muttered.

"I—I was thinking—we could go," she faltered.

Neji didn't look up. "No."

"But—"

"Someone's here," he said shortly. He pushed his chair back and rose. Walking coldly to the door, he opened it a bare width.

"Neji-san," said Sakura, smiling at him. "Is Hinata-chan inside?"

"..." he opened the door, making an effort to stop glaring at her like he'd like to kill her. He settled for giving her a contemptuous look which she ignored in favor of waving to Hinata and hurrying over.

"I got your cookies and energy bars," said Sakura. "Thanks, Hinata-chan. I thought I would stop by and let you know I'm not dead!" she laughed.

"Oh, you're alright," murmured Hinata, smiling. She stood up. "I was worried...so Ino gave you the cookies?"

"Yeah I had a few. They're pretty good. Yumi-san's?" she asked.

"Yes. Hey, S-Sakura," said Hinata as Neji re-entered and sat at the table. "The Festival of Family is tomorrow."

Sakura flinched. Hinata didn't see it, but Neji caught it. He saw her tension, saw a cheerful mask drop over her already bright face.

"Yeah, are you going?" she asked positively.

"If I can convince Neji-nii-san to come," answered Hinata quietly. "What about you?"

Sakura smiled widely. Neji was willing to bet, for just an instant, that the smile was fake. But in the next moment, he wasn't so sure; Haruno seemed incredibly sincere. "No, I have a mission. I'm leaving later tonight."

"A mission? On a Festival day? Sakura-chan, you should have told Hokage-sama no!"

"Oh, don't worry about it. I don't mind, my family isn't really into festivals anyway. I'm the only one who really likes them."

I don't think I've ever seen her family at a festival, thought Neji. Actually...I've never seen her family at all. That wasn't unusual; shinobi often preferred a certain level of anonymity. But this was Haruno Sakura. Someone like her should have carried a picture of her mother and father with her in a purse or something. But he'd never even seen that. Odd.

"I'm going to go see Ino-chan at her flower shop," said Sakura. "Want to come?"

"Sure," said Hinata. She turned. "Neji-nii-san, can you please tell Yumi-san that I went with Sakura-chan?"

"Hn." That meant yes.

"Thanks." She followed Sakura out.

Yumi paused right before opening the door to Hanabi's room. Steeling herself, she slid the screen open.

"Hanabi-sama, your dinner be waitin. Are you awake, child?"

"I am not a child, fool!" came the disgruntled voice from under several blankets.

Yumi declined to answer that. "How ya feelin?" she asked briskly instead.

"Horrible, since you asked so nicely. And where is the tea I sent for half an hour ago!"

Yumi clamped her self-control down. "On the table next to you. Right where I said it 'ud be."

"Why wasn't it announced? I had no knowledge it was there," demanded Hanabi.

"You were sleepin. I didn't want to wake you," said Yumi tersely. I didn't want to have to deal with a little spoiled brat. Sometimes, girl, you are so lucky your sister defends you. Don't know why she does it, since you're just as nasty to her, but I guess she's just a nice girl.

"Hmph."

"Well, dinner's announced. If you be hungry, eat. If not, I be back in an hour." Yumi set down the tray next to the cold tea and turned to leave.

"You didn't ask if I wanted anything," complained Hanabi.

"I assumed you'd tell me," grumbled Yumi. Spoiled, conceited, sadistic little—

"Oh. Of course. You may leave, then."

Yumi didn't say good-bye; she wasn't sure her composure could last that long. For Hinata's sake, she tried to be nice to the youngest Hyuuga...but the brat was making it damned hard. And frustration was not something Yumi dealt well with.

Sakura & Hinata

"Sakura-chan, where have you been?" asked Hinata worriedly. "I thought you would come by earlier."

Sakura laughed a little, sheepishly, and put a hand behind her head. "I actually slept past noon," she admitted. "Then I had to run a few errands. I came here right after," she added. Ha! Not even lying, said Inner Sakura.

"Oh."

"Hinata-chan, did you give cookies to Naruto?" asked Sakura.

Hinata blushed, turning her skin a bright, dark red. "Um...y-yes."

Sakura grinned. "Good for you! I'm glad you finally did it!"

Hinata smiled slightly. "Yes...I did it." She picked her head up a little. "I did it," she repeated, more firmly.

"That's right, be proud!" encouraged Sakura. "You're not afraid anymore! You can do anything! Come on, repeat it," she added.

"I—I wouldn't go that far..." whispered Hinata.

"Oh come on Hinata, you know that's true. You could do anything if you really wanted to."

"I c-couldn't beat Naruto-kun," she pointed out.

"Do you really want to? Well, neither can I. So we'll train until we can kick his sorry little butt!" laughed Sakura. "And then you can get him some ramen, he'll feel better, and you'll have the boy of your dreams in no time."

Hinata giggled, still blushing.

Sakura spotted the flower shop up ahead. The light was on inside. When they got there, Hinata gasped and Sakura stopped for a second. Then, with a smirk, she rang the bell loudly and opened the door, startling Ino and Shikamaru out of their kissing.

"Ah!" Shikamaru actually hopped away from her, shoving his hands in his pockets. Ino shot him a deadly glare that promised pain later, then grinned hugely to her friends.

"Hi! Glad you guys stopped by," exclaimed Ino cheerfully. "Shika-kun and I were just discussing different kinds of flowers for sick people."

"Yeah, it showed," teased Sakura. Ino stuck out her tongue.

"I'm leaving," muttered Shikamaru. Ino glanced at him.

"Come back soon," she called after him. He didn't actually reply. Ino winked at Sakura and Hinata. "He's the one that actually wanted to kiss," she whispered confidentially. "Which was surprising, but I'm not complaining!" she giggled.

"Um...good for you, Ino-chan," murmured Hinata.

"Hey, I'm going to that Family thing tomorrow with my dad," said Ino. "You guys wanna meet somewhere?"

"Okay," said Hinata.

"I'm not going," said Sakura. "I have a mission. I'm leaving later tonight."

"Aw, Sakura-chan! You've never gone to this with me! Ever! What's the deal?"

"My family isn't in to festivals," said Sakura lightly, shrugging it off. Before Ino could say anything, she added "I just stopped in to say hi...I should probably go pack."

"Stay for some tea at least," said Ino. "I know you, you can pack in five minutes. Besides, you have to tell me something."

"What?" asked Sakura, vague unease growing in her stomach.

"Is this a mission where you're going to want to look like a civilian?" asked Ino.

"It would help," said Sakura.

"Thought so. Come to the back with me," said Ino.

"What? What are you going to do?" she asked.

"Normal women don't have pink hair past their butt. I'm going to fix that for you," said Ino firmly.

"You're not dying it," said Sakura. "We tried that, remember?"

"Yeah, it worked about as well as sidewalk chalk on plastic in the rain," she grumbled. Then, more audibly, "I'm just going to cut it. Come on, it won't hurt. And you'll look better anyway."

Who asked you? Fumed Inner Sakura. But Sakura was drawn slightly. She didn't much like having to brush her hair out so much every morning...a haircut could be useful.

Hinata followed them to the back of the shop, where there was a roomy bathroom. Once they were all inside, Ino took out a small pair of scissors, razor-sharp and glittering in the light.

Sakura closed her eyes. She felt the forehead protector leave her head, feeling suddenly naked without it. She could hear some snipping and gradually her head was feeling lighter and lighter. Her neck was incredibly relieved. I didn't know hair weighed so much. "Almost done?" she asked cautiously.

"Almost. Just adding a few touches," said Ino. There were a few seconds of silence, the only sound being the snip of the dangerously sharp scissors.

"Oh," said Hinata suddenly. "Sakura-chan...you look...very pretty."

"Can I look?" asked Sakura.

"Alright! My best work yet," said Ino enthusiastically. "I've been wanting to do that to you for months. Yeah, go ahead and look."

Sakura opened her eyes and moved in front of the mirror. Her eyes widened and her breath stopped for a second.

Her hair had been cut oddly, almost untidily. There were two longer locks framing her face like long bangs, just like when she was fourteen. The rest of her hair had been layered and feathered, none of it past the base of her neck. When she moved, the air movement teased it into dancing and framing her face. She ran a hand through her newly shortened hair, amazed.

"Wow...Ino-chan...it—it looks great," said Sakura. "Thanks."

"I knew you would like it. The hard part was just finding a way for you to let me do it!" laughed Ino.

Sakura suddenly encountered a longer piece, about an inch wide at the nape of her neck. She pulled the shiny pink strands over her shoulder, holding it up in a finger-thick rope. "You missed a spot," she said.

"I couldn't bear to get rid of it all," said Ino. "And I know how to style it more interestingly with that longer piece with it."

"But—it looks kind of weird," said Sakura.

"Not when you do this," said Ino. She took it from her and started braiding. In less than twenty seconds, a finger-thick, shining braid hung like a cord from Sakura's head, seeming to emerge out of the rest of her hair with no discernible beginning.

"You could always hit someone with it," offered Hinata. "I'm sure it would hurt..."

"Yeah," laughed Sakura. "Thanks again, Ino-chan. I should be leaving soon, though..." she said suddenly, realizing it must be late.

"I'll walk home with Hinata-chan," said Ino. "Go ahead and run."

"Thanks! See you, Hinata-chan, bye Ino-chan!" Sakura waved and then ran out. She had half an hour to get ready.

Yes! Finally, something a little bit longer! (See, you dumb authorities, giving me time off and enough sleep makes a difference!) Anyway...yeah. Thanks to everyone who reads this!

I can't really think of anything to say...um...Spring Break is here! Yeah! Been here for a while actually but...oh well. Now I'm awake enough to enjoy it. Hm, that's rare...

Skip to the bottom, I'm replying to reviews now. Unless you reviewed, then look for your name. If I left you out, flame me for it or something.

Sasuke-Is-Mine
Ok you've made your point. I know I suck at writing, but must you point it out without making any suggestions at all? At least do me a favor: go back and"review" Ch. 1. Wouldn't want to think you actually missed a flaw in my awful writing. Make it interesting, review as "the Eternal Flamer" or something.

understar-san
Ah, so glad you like it! -warm fuzzies- Yay! ...uh...no one saw those fuzzies...-snatches them away and hides them under dark cloak- hehe...-nervous laugh-

xx-Tsumi-Chan-xx
oh no don't smack Neji upside the head...-evil cackle- I have that all planned ot already...bwa ha ha ha...oh ok good, typing "chan" and then "san" was kind of confusing...-

Dagorwen of Ithilien-san
ok!

neu chi no nai u-san
That's what happens next.

mad-killer-bunnies-alert-san
You like it? Ch. 5 was actually rather rushed, I never got the chance to proof-read it...hey wow, there you are!...cool...-squints- yup!

cocoa-latte-san
Hm haven't told you yet have I? oops.

Krista-san
Ah, that's the problem...I have very little time on my hands...-writes anyway-

Magus Black-san
Shh! Yes, but Shh! Dang, was it that obvious? -mutters something under her breath- and yes, Neji can get a swift kick in the ass from Lee...or someone...but he WILL get it...-evil cackle-
Thanks for saying this is unusual; Ayame-chan was worried this might become the stereotyped "Sakura can't take it anymore, becomes suicidal, someone understands, they fall in love" type story. No. NOT HAPPENING, AYAME!

Ayame-chan
Your review was AFTER I had the chapter written up. No, Sakura is not actually abused, suicidal, or 'the world hates me everyone sucks.' (the last one is already taken by Neji anyway.)

Bevy-chan-san
Here is the update!

waterfox-96-san
I couldn't find that profile. I looked, but I can't find them.

SilverMoons BlackWings-san
Juicy? ok. Yeah, odds are weird...

Silver dark rose-san
Yay! I love being stumbled across! (unless you step on me. Then it's uncomfortable.)

Ok, until next time...which may or may not be up before Monday...see ya.

Kage