Author's Notes:

Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews! I really appreciate your time to type down your comments and I really thank you all so much! So anyway, here's chapter 2. I think I'll be posting chapters up every week or every two weeks, or maybe if I actually get out of my "I'm-soopah-lazy-face", I'll update sooner than that. Okay!

Oh, and chapter one was more of a prologue. Yeah...

IMPORTANT:

In this story, they had finally managed to retrieve Uchiha Sasuke from sound. They're all around sixteen or seventeen in age, so there. There are also some sub-pairings such as ShikaIno, NaruHina and LeeTen. So, I hope you don't mind.

Chapter title:

The Second Chance

Chapter summary:

Sakura and her friends talk about her problem, as they try to convince her that maybe-just maybe...he wasn't the right guy for her. But the news of Sakura giving Sasuke a second chance made it harder for the girls to knock some sense into Sakura.

Story title:

In The Midst Of It All

Story summary:

In the midst of her grief, she finds herself irresistibly falling for the least expected person. Problem? She's already in a relationship with Uchiha Sasuke. SasuSakuNeji

Disclaimer:

I don't own Naruto, or any character here. Masashi Kishimoto does.

"Oh...Sakura, why do you hurt yourself like this?" asked Yamanaka Ino as she sat down next to Sakura who leaned her back against a tree. Ino placed a hand on her shoulder and she looked at her best friend sympathetically.

Through the years, the two have finally managed to repair their friendship when Ino finally found someone to truly love.

Sakura hugged her knees closer to her chest as she buried her face in her hands. Tenten and Hinata looked at each other before kneeling in front of Sakura, to show support for their friend.

The four were at the park, conversing casually. By this, it actually meant talking about Sakura's relationship problems with Sasuke. It didn't actually mean that the girls didn't like Sasuke for Sakura; they were actually thrilled two years ago when they found out that the two were going out.

They were just looking out for her well being.

"Look Sakura, this may be a bit heartless to say but...why don't you just let him go? You deserve so much more than him." said Tenten. Sakura groaned as she shook her head rapidly.

"I can't. I promised him years ago that I would always stay by his side. I just can't break that. Besides, I lov-

Ino's laughter distracted Sakura and the three of them turned to look at the blonde-haired beauty. Ino, in turn, stared at the three of them gleefully.

"Love him? Oh, Sakura...Are you sure you really love him?"

"Of course I am! I've loved him since I was twelve, Ino." she replied hastily, turning away from Ino instantly. It might be because of the fact that she didn't like being questioned about her love for the Uchiha prodigy, or it might be because she didn't want the three of them to see the emotion that was reflecting in her eyes. It was confusion.

Sakura knew then and there that she wasn't entirely sure about her feelings for Sasuke, which irritated her all the more.

The three looked at her back, and it was then that Hinata asked the question that would surely confuse her more and might actually bring her back to her senses.

"Or...do you just feel obligated to love him?" Hinata asked quietly as she fiddled with her thumbs, an old habit that she still hasn't grown out of. Sakura's head snapped up at this.

She turned around to face all of them again, a miserable look clearly shown in her beautiful face. Ino, Hinata and Tenten gave each other looks, trying to hide their smiles. They knew it now, they might be getting somewhere.

"Honestly...I really don't know." The pink-haired girl said sadly. The four were silent for a few seconds, taking in the cool air that blew past them, smelling the aroma of the trees in the park. It was a very relaxing atmosphere.

"Anyway...What did you do after he told you that you were-you were- um-

Tenten didn't want to finish to sentence. But she just couldn't find the right words to substitute it. Sakura smiled inwardly.

"-of no importance?" Sakura finished for Tenten, a small smile on her face. Tenten started to look uneasy as she glanced towards Ino, who was biting her lip, and Hinata, who was fiddling with her fingers.

"Don't worry guys. It's all right to talk about it." she said as she looked down for a while before looking up again. "But, do you really want to know what I did?" she continued, and the other three looked at her quizzically.

Sakura bit her lip for a second, before turning to them again.

"I sort of gave him another chance."

Sakura started laughing to herself and Sasuke's onyx eyes stared at her, annoyed. He didn't like laughing when it certainly wasn't time to laugh.

"Oh Sasuke...Of course..."

He raised an eyebrow. He also didn't like it when she talked with no sense.

"What?"

"It was stu-no, wait...so stupid of me to even ask." she said her smile going up tenfold. Sasuke glared at her. What was so funny? There wasn't even anything funny. He didn't like laughter, it was annoying.

"If I were of any importance to you, ha! Seriously, I get dumber with each minute that passes me by!" she said loudly. Sasuke glared at her yet again. When would she leave? He needed to train now.

"I should've known what the answer would be. I shouldn't have asked it." she said, her laughter slowly dying down, and Sasuke felt relieved. He wouldn't care if she left right then and there. Truthfully, he would have been contented-

"I should not have asked it...Then I would have spared myself from all the pain I'm feeling right now."

-and more truthfully, Sasuke didn't feel the need to be guilty.

"-and then for lunch, Hinata and I had chicken ramen!" the fox-boy finished as he smiled dreamily, reminiscing his wonderful time with his girlfriend just a few hours ago.

The coffee-haired boy next to him raised an eyebrow. He respected Naruto all right, but there were times when he gets too unbearable. But luckily, even though quite unbelievable, the Hyuuga prodigy had finally managed to get used to the presence of the self-proclaimed future Hokage.

"For dinner, I was hoping to ask her out for miso ramen. It's not actually our daily routine, but ramen tastes better when I'm eating it with my Hinata-chan!" said Naruto happily. Neji, deciding to ignore him, looked forward, estimating their time of arrival at the Hyuuga Manor.

"...about five more minutes." He said to himself as he spared a glance at the love struck shinobi next to him. He smirked to himself as he noted that behind Naruto's smile, there was something else.

"What's your problem?" asked Neji flatly. Naruto, caught off-guard with his question, turned his head to look at the genius beside him. He rubbed the back of his head as they continued to walk.

"What? Nothing! Nothing! I'm not worried about her!" exclaimed Naruto as he tried to laugh it off. Neji resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

This mind-reading crap was useless for Naruto. He didn't need to observe him carefully, you could possibly read him like an open book, and he gave off clues too easily.

"I didn't say anything about you being worried about her." said Neji calmly. Naruto looked confused for a while.

"Wha-? But you- she-he- damn it!"

Neji looked forward yet again. They would possibly reach the manor in three minutes. He could already see its huge structure not far away.

"Fine...I'm just worried about Sakura-chan." said Naruto sadly as he recalled what had happened yesterday and the wait she had to experience a while ago. He never liked her being unhappy. She just really didn't deserve all the pain that bastard was bringing her.

Neji raised an eyebrow as he spared another glance at Naruto.

"Uchiha's girl?" he asked blankly. He had immediately thought that Naruto was upset about Hinata or something. Naruto nodded sadly before he sighed as he rubbed his temples, staring at the ground below him.

"She's just sacrificing so much for someone who doesn't even freaking care."

"It's not my fault you asked that question. I was only being honest." Sasuke said coldly as he took a kunai from his pouch and examined its sharpness. Perhaps he would ask Kakashi later to spar with him using only kunais and taijutsu.

Sakura stared at the ground before she breathed in deeply, feeling a little bit more relaxed. She tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear again before she looked up.

Sasuke ignored her. He frowned as he stared at the kunai in his hand. It was too blunt. He needed sharp kunais.

Sakura watched him with her emerald eyes. Amazingly, she didn't even shed a single tear. She was used to it-

"Should I give up now?" she inwardly asked herself as she breathed in again.

-and she was fed up with it. Sure, she was used to being treated like this, but that didn't mean she liked it.

Sasuke still didn't even glance at her. Would it be rude to just walk away from her? Wait...Would he even care if she found him rude? No. Not really. He wouldn't.

Sakura rubbed her temples as she stared at Sasuke's back.

"Should I let him go, now?" she asked herself yet again.

"Hey Hinata, thanks for having me over again." muttered Sakura as she ate another spoonful of strawberry ice cream. Hinata smiled at her gently before sitting down next to her, a cup of ice cream in her hand.

"No problem, Sakura. I know you always cheer up as long as ice cream is involved." Hinata said and both of them giggled.

After their talk in the park, Hinata had invited Sakura over to cheer her up. Apparently, the news that Sakura gave Sasuke another chance to redeem himself angered Ino and Tenten so much. Not really angered, they were just shocked that Sakura had managed to give the bastard another chance.

"What? Sakura, he doesn't deserve you!" She remembered Ino saying this. At the time, she was upset that her friends couldn't support her, but now that she thought about it, they were just trying to protect her.

Sakura groaned as she stopped eating her ice cream for a while, leaning back on the Hyuuga's kitchen chair. Hinata bit her lip. She hated seeing her like this.

"Hinata...Was I wrong to give him another chance?" she asked, her green eyes full of sadness and misery. Hinata gently placed her cup on top of the counter before returning to Sakura.

"Sakura...What does your heart tell you?" she asked. Sakura sighed before looking up.

"I really don't know."

Hinata patted Sakura's back as she smiled at her, trying to give her more reassurance. "Sakura, what was the reason you agreed to be with him?" she asked.

Sakura turned away from her before replying.

"Because I love him." She said simply. Hinata was just about to reply, when she was cut off by Sakura, who looked very distant just at that moment, as if she was trying to remember something from the past.

"Hinata...I agreed to be with him, to help him with the revival of his clan. I started it already, and I'm going to end what I started. There were times when I thought of just letting him go, but that was just it. I thought of it, but I just can't do it-

Sakura wanted to let her tears fall, but it didn't. She had cried over him too many times years ago, and she didn't want to start again.

-I-I just can't let him go...I can't, because I promised him...I promised him a long time ago that I'd always be by his side." finished Sakura sadly. She glanced at her half-empty cup of strawberry ice cream, not wanting to look at Hinata in the eye.

Hinata sighed deeply, before turning to the pink-haired kunoichi beside her.

"Well...When are you meeting him again?"

"The day after tomorrow at Ichiraku. He said to meet him there at twelve."

Suddenly, she bit her lip as she slapped herself inwardly. It was foolish, what she was thinking. She knew she could never let him go. No matter how many times she thought of it, she would never do it. She thought of it, but she just couldn't do it.

Sasuke, noticing her lack of words, glanced at her from the corner of his eye. When would she leave?

"Aren't you leaving?" he found himself asking her. If she didn't plan on leaving anytime soon, then that would mean he'd just have to find another training spot.

There was silence for a few seconds, until she broke the solemn moment.

"No..-

"No?" Sasuke thought with a smirk on his face. Typical her, she's just too persistent. She still hasn't grown up, has she?

-no...I won't leave you. I promised you I would always stay by your side. I'm not about to break that promise." He heard her say. He didn't have any reactions. He knew her. She would never leave him.

She knew too. She would never have the courage to give up on him. Or possibly, she would never have the courage to give up on him...yet.

"Na-naruto-kun! What are you doing here?" Hinata asked shyly with a shocked expression on her face. Who wouldn't? Just imagine your boyfriend unexpectedly entering your kitchen with a huge smile, and then would suddenly engulf you in a hug.

"Hinata-chan! I missed you so much!" exclaimed Naruto happily as he hugged her. The color started to drain from Hinata's face due to the lack of oxygen.

Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from laughing at the sight before her. It was actually sweet, really. But if she didn't stop Naruto, she would probably lose one of her best friends.

But before the words could come out of her mouth, someone entered the kitchen with such a powerful aura that could make anyone scared.

"Naruto...Stop it, you're crushing her." Neji said as he entered the kitchen, his hands inside his pocket. Sakura and Naruto turned to look at him, before Naruto came to his senses and finally noticed that he was slowly crushing his Hinata-chan.

He let go immediately, a shocked expression on his face. Sakura had to admit that the sight was pretty pathetic, yet very touching at the same time.

"I am so sorry, Hinata-chan!" he cried out and Hinata nodded rapidly, smiling gently at Naruto. "Do-don't worry, I'm fine Naruto-kun."

Neji stared blankly at the couple, before walking away from the entrance of the kitchen and towards the refrigerator. Sakura turned to look at him, not wanting to distract the couple.

"Hey Neji-san..." she said. Neji gave her a sideward glance in order to show acknowledgement, before turning away from the refrigerator with a bottle of water. Neji then chose to settle down on a chair a few seats away from Sakura, while he drank his water.

"Anyway, the reason I came here was to ask you out for ramen tonight. I know it's not our routine, but please come Hinata-chan!" exclaimed Naruto and Sakura turned her attention back to the couple.

Hinata smiled gently as she stood up and shyly held Naruto's hand.

"Of course, Naruto-kun...Let me just go grab a jacket." said Hinata and Naruto hugged her happily, before they started to walk away from the kitchen table.

"Take care Sakura-chan...Oh, and um...Neji-san, please tell father I went out." said Hinata gently as she turned around to face both of them. Naruto halted and turned around too, his arm around Hinata's shoulder.

Sakura smiled at the two of them, waving her hand. Neji nodded as he stopped drinking from the bottle, his silver eyes staring directly at Naruto, as if saying "Take-care-of-her-or-my-uncle-will-kill-me".

"Have fun, Hinata!" called Sakura as Hinata and Naruto walked out of the kitchen.

"Fine...Meet me at the Ichiraku on Wednesday, at twelve." Sasuke said suddenly. Sakura's green eyes widened at the sudden invitation from Sasuke.

She started to doubt him, wondering if he would ever come.

"What? Are you coming or not?" Sasuke asked her, an irritated expression on his face. He just wanted to train again. This was possibly the fastest way.

...it was then that Sakura decided that everyone deserved a second chance. She looked up and smiled at Sasuke's back.

"Just-just please...Show up this time."

"Hn."

Sakura breathed in deeply, before she tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear.

"I will come...Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

There was silence for a few seconds, before he surprisingly broke it.

"I think you're forgetting an important fact. As soon as I finish killing him, I just need you for the revival of my clan, nothing more." He said coldly.

"Yes...I know." She said, a sad smile gracing her features.

He walked away.

Yeah! Finally, next chapter starts off when Sakura and Neji talk. I've been waiting so much for it. Well, it's not exactly that NejiSaku-ish yet, since it's just like getting to know each other, but you catch my drift. Hehe.