Here's the second chapter! Sasuke, Neji, and Naruto are introduced here and also some other characters. Hope you like this chapter!

Disclaimer: Well…you guys should know by now that nobody owns Naruto…only Masashi Kishimoto but we do own our made-up characters (such as Nagasaki and Sasuki). Naiya is a made-up character that my friend made. As for the other made-up characters, we just named them with a random name.

Summary:

A young, intelligent fine girl named Haruno Sakura, who lives in a lower class, had rose up in her society. As she continued to climb on top, a man that she met had changed her life and vise versa. This man named Uchiha Sasuke, who is a rich and powerful general of the Konoha army, became interested in this woman, though only to use her to gain more power. Will love ever bloom for these two opposite people? Can she melt his icy heart? Or are they just going to have an isolated relationship as a friend/acquaintance…or even more? (AU) ((SasuxSaku))


Chapter 2: The Drill and the Dinner

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Stomp.

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Halt!

A young 18-year old man was standing with two other men behind him, watching the army do their daily march with his cold onyx orbs. As he continued to observe at the drill, something caught his eye that made him move from his position and start walking to the source. "You there." His voice was stern as this young man stopped in front of another person who seemed a bit tense from his intimidating presence.

Uchiha Sasuke, a handsome, smart young man who had ranked higher than anybody else was in the army at a very young age; he was the leader of these men, training them to excel in the military and developing them to become a strong army in order to protect their country from a war that could potentially occur at any time.

The man who was called gulped since the general was not a person to be messed with. "Yes, sir!" He said as he stood up straight in his position while saluting this so-called general.

With an impassive expression upon Sasuke's face, he stared at him with his usual cold eyes. "You were not in sync with the rhythm of the march." Even making a mistake in the march is not acceptable for this Uchiha. He wanted things to be perfect.

The young man froze from his position as his "general" lectured him upon his error, "That won't happen again, sir!" He would make sure of that he did as he was told to since he didn't want to make the general upset again, added to the fact that he was new.

Seeing that the new soldier assured him of doing a better job next time, the general merely said, "Hn, it better not." With that, he turned around to face the horizon and said, "Dismissed." His figure was now walking away since the job was completed for the day.

One of the men who was behind Sasuke inwardly rolled his eyes as his vanilla colored orbs watched his retreating figure. 'Typical. It is always with the 'cocky' attitude of the Uchiha whenever there is something wrong.' This man, named Hyuuga Neji, wasn't really fond of Sasuke's attitude when it came to the military. Though he was second in command of the army, and older by a year (Neji is 19 years old), he wasn't afraid of the Uchiha's attitude like everybody else was. He was calmer with things and he didn't prefer to talk to people in a stern tone. Turning to the army of men, who were still lined up in to their assigned positions, Neji said, "Training will start tomorrow. You may take your leave."

The exhausted army of men started to leave the grounds, but the one that Sasuke "lectured" was still frozen in the same place. Neji's milky white eyes wandered off towards the guy who was still in his spot and noticed none other than the known "loud-mouthed-blonde" walking towards to the young man.

The yellow-haired man strolled over to the devastated soldier and spoke in a calm manner, trying to reassure him that everything would be ok. "You must be new, right?" As he asked this, he the blonde one noticed the nervous look upon the guy's face. "Don't worry about him! You'll do great next time, dattebayo!" The blonde young man gave him a thumbs up and grinned sheepishly. It wasn't strange for Uzumaki Naruto, the one that gave encouragement to other people, to act like this.

The man looked up at Naruto's azure orbs as a smile now replaced the frown upon his lips. "Thank you, sir."

"Hehe, it was nothing. Call me Naruto, ok? Calling me 'sir' just makes me sound old!" Naruto said as he once again gave him another grin. "Ano sa! Ano sa! (Hey! Hey!) What's your name?" He asked, for curiosity had loomed over this blonde's head. It wasn't that he was always nosy; it was just because he liked to make new friends.

"Mizaki Aoyama." The young man answered. Talking to Naruto seemed to make him feel released his anxious feeling. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Naruto. I must take my leave now. Thank you." Aoyama bowed in Naruto's direction and turned around to depart.

"Ja ne!" Naruto yelled while waving his hands like crazy. As the departing figure disappeared, Naruto's sapphire orbs wandered towards Neji. "Well, I'm going to go somewhere and eat ramen! You want to come?"

'Typical Uzumaki.' Despite Neji's thoughts, he still had great respect for Naruto because that same loud mouth was the one who opened his eyes…the one that released him from the darkness that overcame him. Neji, a Branch member, loathed the Main Family in his clan since he thought that they killed his father, Hizashi. But everything changed when Naruto spoke to him, with the help of his father's letter that was given to him by Hiashi, his uncle from the Main Family.

Snapping out of his short reverie, this Hyuuga slightly shook his head, declining Naruto's offer, "No thanks. I have dinner to attend to. Nagasaki and Naiya will prepare it and expect for their brother to return home." Neji knew his sisters well, especially Nagasaki, his youngest sister; he wouldn't want to be late because Nagasaki was the one who came up with this idea and she was also the one who allowed Naiya, their oldest sister, to help out with dinner.

Naruto stayed silent for a moment, thinking about how Neji was fortunate enough to have a family. This young man didn't have on because he was only an orphan. But a man named Jiraiya, a famous writer of this novel called "Icha Icha Paradise" (Come Come Paradise), took care of him for a while. Although it seemed as if he had a lot of work to do, something he called "researching," Jiraiya handed Naruto over to Kakashi, who gladly accepted Naruto. Ironically, Kakashi was bribed with free issues of "Icha Icha Paradise" if he takes care of this young boy.

Despite what Naruto went through throughout his life, the smile on his face never left, even if he felt sorrow. But he would never let that get in his way from rising to the top in his country.

Finally responding to Neji's statement, he answered, "Ok, see you tomorrow then! Ja ne!" Naruto ran off in the other direction, happily remembering that he will eat some ramen for dinner with his driver, Iruka.

Neji, on the other hand, sighed as he crossed his arms while leaving the grounds to go to his white limousine, where his driver awaited.


At the ramen shop…

Night loomed over the village as a slurp was heard from a ramen stand named "Ichiraku." "Mmmm! Ramen! Ramen! Ramen!" Ten stacks of empty bowls stood in front of a blonde young man as he continued eating his eleventh bowl.

Another man with a scar across his nose sweat dropped at Naruto's antics. "Naruto! Slow down. You're going to choke yourself!"

Naruto shook his head, indicating that he wouldn't suffocate from the ramen that he was gobbling. "Mom't…wmrmy. (Translated: Don't worry)"

Iruka shook his head and continued on eating his ramen. More slurping was heard from the man beside him as he looked over to say, "Well, when you finished-"

He didn't get to finish with his statement since Naruto cut him off. "Finished! Ah, that was delicious, dattebayo!" Naruto said as he stood up from his position. "C'mon, Iruka! Let's go home!"

Again Iruka sweat dropped and stood up from his position, "Ok then." Then the driver paid the bill to the man, Teuchi, who ran the ramen shop. Naruto was already inside the car with Kakashi as Iruka came out and hopped into the driver's seat. Their destination: home.


Meanwhile…

A white limousine stopped in front of a huge white mansion. Without waiting for the driver to unlock the door, a Hyuuga had already opened it himself, since he really didn't want to waste time waiting for someone to open the door for him. As he got out of the car, a sigh escaped from his lips. 'I must be careful when entering the house.'

Before Neji could even go inside the house, he was about to step away from the door… but it was too late. Someone opened the door and jumped onto him. "Neji-niisan! You're home! You're home!" A young girl jumped happily as she greeted her older brother.

Hyuuga Nagasaki was the youngest sibling of the three from the Branch Member of the Hyuuga clan. She was always cheerful, but she could be a handful to her siblings.

Neji stood still from his position as his little sister, Nagasaki, beamed at his direction, "Nagasaki, why must you do this 'greeting' whenever I return home?"

Nagasaki was about to respond but another Hyuuga had arrived. "Neji, I am glad to see that you are back home. Now, it is time to eat dinner." Naiya, a 22-year-old Hyuuga, said as she appeared from the doorway. She was the most responsible one, especially whenever Nagasaki seemed to be in trouble.

A nod was seen from Neji as he walked inside the house, but he stopped in his tracks, "Nagasaki, are you coming in or not?"

Hearing that question from her brother, Nagasaki ran inside and said, "Already did!" Her voice faded as she went inside the house to eat dinner.

'Typical little sister.' Neji sighed as he slightly shook his head while walking inside the house to the dining room.

As the young man entered the dining room, Naiya and Nagasaki were already sitting in their seats. "Neji-niisan! We're invited to drink some coffee with Ino-chan! Please say yes! Ne? Naiya-neechan is coming along too."

Naiya sipped on her drink as she placed her cup gently on the table, "I am only accompanying you because you might get into trouble." The youngest Hyuuga grinned sheepishly.

Sitting on his seat, Neji shook his head from the invitation, "No, thanks. I will be busy tomorrow."

A saddened sigh was heard by the two eldest siblings, but Nagasaki quickly replaced her expression with a happy façade. "Don't worry, niisan. It's alright if you're busy. I understand!" 'He's always busy…' Before her siblings could even say a word, she finished her food and said, "Goodnight! I'm going to bed now." She ran upstairs and closed her bedroom door. 'It can't be helped…'

A sigh was heard from Neji as Naiya glanced at him, "Neji, no need to worry. I shall take care of Nagasaki."

The middle Hyuuga shook his head as he also finished his food, "Maybe we should plan something for her next time. Just the three of us. It is much better when our little sister is smiling." 'I do not want to see her fallen face…just like last time when that incident occurred.'

A smile was tugged upon Naiya's lips as she said, "I'm sure that she would enjoy that idea. Now it's time for me to retire to bed. Goodnight, Neji." Naiya stood up from her position and headed towards her own bedroom.

Neji smirked and thought, 'I am sure she will.' Sitting up from his spot, he walked back to his bedroom.


Darkness now surrounded the village of Konoha while the moon and the stars were the only light in this dark abyss of night.

A black limousine had arrived in the driveway of a pastel massive mansion. The driver stepped out from the vehicle and went to open the passenger's seat. Sasuke stepped out from the car as he slung his jacket on his right shoulder; his coal eyes stared into the figure who was watching him from the window, but it quickly disappeared. 'Sasuki.'

Closing his eyes, he entered the mansion as maids and butlers greeted, "Welcome back, Master Sasuke." Sasuke basically ignored them, thinking that it's pointless to welcome him back home.

A young woman wearing black attire was leisurely walking down the stairs as she stood in front of Sasuke. Staring into the same onyx orbs, Sasuki, Sasuke's twin sister, informed him, "Dinner is ready in ten minutes. I expect you to be there." With that, Sasuki walked off to the dining room to help with the preparation.

Sasuke, on the other hand, just merely released a grunt. Somehow, he's irritated with Sasuki's "bossy" attitude. Even though Sasuke had the same demeanor as his twin, he refused to admit it. They both ordered people around since they were both some type of leader. Sasuke was in charge of the military, while Sasuki was head of the Air Force. In addition, their parents died while Sasuke and Sasuki were very young; therefore, they couldn't help having a cold attitude towards others.

Also, their oldest brother had left them six years ago. Heck, they didn't even know his whereabouts. Unlike Sasuki, Sasuke didn't care about where Itachi was located; he had lost respect and trust from his oldest brother…for abandoning them.

Quickly shaking these thoughts from his head, Sasuke walked to the dining room, where his sister awaited him.

Sasuki, who was already sitting down on a chair by the dinner table, looked up at the arriving Uchiha with an emotionless expression, "Since it is Sunday tomorrow, Yamanaka Ino…I am sure you know her…has invited us for a cup of coffee at InoShikaChou Corp." Sasuki said as she sipped some herbal tea. 'And I guess some bickering will be heard from her also.' Knowing Ino, Sasuki just inwardly rolled her eyes since Ino will be bothering her brother about going to go out with her and such. Such pointless antics.

The young man who sat down replied with a "No" from the invitation. Sasuke hated…no…loathed being around parties and such with other people whom he hardly socialized with.

Without making eye contact with her brother, she continued to sip her tea until Sasuki said, "Do not be rude. Somehow, every invitation you get…you always reject them. But now is the time that you will agree to this term. Understand that."

Again, a "No" escaped from Sasuke's lips as his eyes were glaring at Sasuki's direction.

Narrowing her darkened orbs, Sasuki gently placed her teacup back onto the table as she intertwined her hands together and laid her head on them while staring at Sasuke, "Fine. You win, niisan (brother)"

At first, Sasuke had a triumphant look upon his face, but wait…did she just gave up that easily? Oh, Sasuke knew that she wouldn't be the type of person who would just quit that easily until she got what she wanted. That was the purpose of her being in the debate team when they were in high school. His sharp eyes looked suspiciously at his sister's direction, "What's the catch?"

The female Uchiha motioned her hands in the air, indicating that this situation wasn't really a big deal…or was it...? "Oh, it's nothing. I guess I will just go there…alone. Who knows what I might say or bring to their lovely place." 'Even though as much as I hate wasting my time there, I cannot reject their offer.'

That statement really ticked Sasuke off. She was threatening him alright, but with what? A frown replaced his impassive look as he stared at Sasuki, "What now?" Sasuke hated it whenever his sister won an argument; she always got her way with these "threats." Such an evil sister she was.

"I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that I'm evil. But it cannot be helped. I am sorry if I am evil, but I want you to accompany me to their invitation. Or else…" Sasuki said as she lifted something from her purse; a picture with a child version of Sasuke.

Slamming his fists on the table, Sasuke stood up from his position after he saw the embarrassing picture of himself when he was a small child. "Give me that!" He demanded as he walked to where Sasuki was sitting.

Swiftly putting the picture away back inside her purse, Sasuki smirked and replied with a "No. It is mine." She wasn't really intending to show it to anyone, but she needed something to convince her dear brother. She wasn't really the type of sister who was evil…as Sasuke puts it. She just didn't want her brother to have a bad reputation to the public, like being known as a "cruel-boy-who-rejects-every-invitation-he-gets" title.

Sasuke growled from his sister's annoying antics and stomped back in to his seat. "Whatever." Just as long as she didn't show that picture to anyone, he would be ok…though he still hated that idea of going to other places.

Sasuki ignored Sasuke's short statement and continued on eating her dinner while Sasuke grumbled. This day had turned out badly for him.


Well, that's it for this chapter. Sorry it took us awhile to update since we have been busy with school work.

-x-Hyuuga Nagasaki-x- & .:.Uchiha Sasuki.:.