That's Life Chapter 5: Avoiding, a naruto fanfic

Disclaimer: Same as always.

Chapter 5: Avoiding

"No way! Then what?" Sakura leaned onto the table, just so she didn't miss a single detail. She was over at Tenten's place one Thursday afternoon. The two had become really good friends over the past three weeks.

"What do you mean 'then what?'" she laughed, "that's it. End of story."

"Damn," she twisted her face in disappointment; "it was getting good too. I can't believe you actually had the guts to smash that vase over his head! He could have died, or gone into a coma!"

"Sakura-chan," she paused for an extra dramatic effect, "this is Lee we're talking about. That kid will never die no matter how many times you kick, punch, throw or smash a vase over his head. I wonder what he's really made of sometimes…"

"True," she had to agree, "I would have done the same probably. I mean, he is extra-nice to girls but sometimes it just gets way out of hand." She ruffled her light pink hair. "Anyway, you and Neji training again today?"

"Yes. I think he's practicing for a competition now," the brunette said plainly, "I should get going too. He isn't very happy when I'm late. I remember this one time when…"

It was the second week of August. School was just around the corner, but they all pushed that to the back of their minds. Sakura had spent most of the time hanging out with the girls; Hinata, Ino and Tenten that is. But she'd also spent some time with the others, only at the estate of course. She'd learned a bunch of new things. Like how Naruto could be funny, as well as loud. That Tenten was great at throwing objects, namely pencils, to maim people at school when they were bothering her. And also where the druggies hung out in town, and never to go to them unless you wanted to "turn into another Shikamaru," as was described by Ino, and another dispute followed.

However, through all of this, she'd gained a better virtue. That of being able to talk more easily in front of people. She didn't stutter or want to wither away and die when she was embarrassed. Now all she had to do was threaten to beat the crap out of them, and the discussion was settled.

She waved goodbye to Tenten and opened the iron gates to her abode. Maybe now was the time to call her friends. She could use something more to further brighten the mood.

The rest of the day went rather smoothly. She'd only managed to get a hold of Haku. She listen to his usual rants and raves, but it was still nice to hear from an old friend.

The next part of the day, didn't so smoothly. Here's how it worked. It started with her mother, asking her to cook a simple TV dinner, so that she could have it quickly, instead of running out to the store. Seemed pretty simple at the time; push a few buttons, leave it in the microwave and then presto! It's done. Well, no one actually reads the fine print on these boxes.

So how was she supposed to know you weren't supposed to hit the defrost button? You had to let it sit out for a few hours and then heat it. Well who knew that? Who ate TV dinners anymore anyway?

So to cut the story down, she'd left it for the time and wandered upstairs. It wasn't until she came back down 5 minutes later, to realize that there was smoke coming from the appliance. Not knowing exactly what to do, she rushed and threw a glass of water at it, forgetting it ran on electricity. Yes, it started to spark. In other words, she'd just killed her microwave. 'Just genius Sakura,' she'd congratulated herself before dragging herself to her room, where she was forced to stay for the rest of the day. That and she was banned microwave privileges for the next month.

So when morning came, it was a relief. She got dressed quickly, putting on a loose tank and black shorts. Her pink hair was tied in a messy bun, as she made her way downstairs and prepared to heat up her drink in the microwave. Only to realize that she'd been revoked of that convenience, not to mention it was broken beyond repair.

Oh well, it seemed she'd be having a cold drink today.

"Sakura!" called her mother from upstairs, "come up here, there's some stuff you need to put away!"

"Coming!" she called back and in one gulp had finished her glass. She put it in the sink, telling herself she'd wash them later.

"Put that box away will you? I think they're your old keepsakes. If you don't want them, throw it out," her mother had called from her room.

"Yes, yes," Sakura replied, taking it off the floor and dashing into her room. She didn't want to be late, after all. She was to meet at Ino's place. However, it was yet another clumsy moment on her part, when she slipped on a pencil in her room, and came crashing to the floor. It was a wonder why she wasn't dead yet.

The lid of the box came off, and it's contents scattered across her floor. "Oh my Lord. Will this day get any worse?" she mumbled furiously and picked up everything in a rush. She replaced the lid and shoved the box into a corner, telling herself she'd deal with it later.

In an exact time of one minute and three seconds, she had packed up her purse, fixed her hair and was ready to take an extremely long 20 minute walk to Ino's house in the middle of the town. It was actually on top of the flower shop the Yamanaka family owned.

'My sandals are still by the door…owch!' she'd stepped on something that was sticking out of the carpet. A pin of some sort. It must have fallen out of the box when it spilled. 'I'll put it away later,' she tossed it onto her dresser and then proceeded with her walk.

"You're looking more tiered than usual," the blond girl commented as she took a seat across from Sakura, who was currently half-sleeping on.

"Yes well, I didn't have breakfast this morning. I broke the microwave yesterday," she replied hungrily.

Ino laughed. "You silly child. There are plenty of things you can make without a microwave. Like eggs for example. They only need a stove."

"Knowing my luck, I'd burn down the house if I tried. I don't think I'll use any cooking appliance for awhile."

"Fine," Ino said standing up, "I'll make you some eggs. Then you have to be up and ready for action. Some people will be here shortly."

"Who?"

"Um, I'm not quite sure. I invited everyone. But who even bothers to show up are people who haven't anything better to do." With that, she disappeared around a corner into the kitchen.

Sakura let her head rest on the table a bit longer. This definitely was not how things were back home. Sure she'd gotten used to the same people everyday, but that same…feeling was still missing. Hopefully not for too long. What would she be doing now back home? Probably the 100 Ghost Story ceremonies. Those were always the best parts of summer; trying to see who you could scare shitless.

She actually wanted to propose the idea of a 100 Ghost Story evening, but maybe she'd wait until she knew everyone a bit better. She could imagine seeing Naruto exaggerating a story with a flashlight stuck right up to his chin, laughing evilly.

"What are you smiling at?" Ino questioned, as she set the scrambled eggs down in front of her friend.

"Oh nothing," Sakura took the fork and began to eat, putting tiny pieces in her mouth at a time, "tell you later."

"So where to?" Ino asked cheerfully, as Sakura, Rock Lee, Naruto and she stood at the base of the flower shop. Tenten had canceled at the last minute, saying she had to train with Neji. Hinata…actually, no one had heard from her. Shikamaru, well no one expected him to show up anyway. Finally Kiba, he said that some relatives were coming over and was being forced to see them through.

"I say Fire Country. It's been forever since I've last been there," suggested Lee, "I'll treat. Consider it as a welcome to the new girl." He gave a sincere smile.

"Yeah, that sounds good. Especially if I don't pay," Naruto instantly agreed.

"Okay, that's fine. I think Sasuke-kun is working there too today…um, Sakura?" Ino stopped and looked at the girl who had her back to the three of them.

She had stopped listening as soon as Lee had spoken two words. 'Fire' and 'Country' in the same sentence. This, was very bad.

"Get out of my sight. Next time, I'll kill you."

That meant he was going to be there. This had to be the worst option possible. Still, she should be safe around other people…right? As long as she didn't wander off somewhere and…

She jumped when a hand rested on her shoulder. "Sakura-chan, you okay?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. A-are you sure you want to go there? I mean, um, isn't there another place you could show me…or…" she fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Oh come on! I bet you're just nervous because you-know-who will be there," Ino elbowed her friend before dragging her off.

'If you only knew,' she mentally sighed giving up. It was useless to try and talk her out of it.

It couldn't have been two minutes before they were sitting down at a table, again in the corner, of the ever-so-popular café. Sakura played with her hands uncontrollably.

"You're really pale, Sakura-san. Are you feeling ill?" asked Rock Lee, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Um, yes, a little bit. I should go home after," she said quietly. Why was this scaring her so much? Surely he hadn't been serious…right? I mean, someone was bound to find out if he did…end up killing her. She shivered.

"Well we haven't seen these faces in awhile," the unmistakable voice spoke. The pink haired girl froze, afraid to look up, for she knew who it was.

"Well we've had other things to do besides waste our lives away here," Naruto sneered.

The other chose to ignore that. "So, what'll it be?"

A chorus of "the usual" came from the three. Again, they were all waiting upon Sakura, who still was looking down at the table.

"N…" she was even scared to talk to him. That's what he wanted, right? "Nothing for me." It had come out in a whisper, but at least she'd said it.

Something was off. Sakura had seemed fine this morning. Now she was acting like a deer caught in the headlights. With those big round eyes of his, Lee looked from Sakura, to Sasuke. He showed an unreadable expression and nodded before leaving. Nothing unusual there. He seemed normal, even looking and waiting for Sakura. Lee rubbed his gelled hair, he certainly didn't know what to do.

"Do you ever give up?" asked Naruto to Ino, who stared longingly towards the front.

"No," she snapped and returned to her dreamy mood, "why should I? Got a problem with that?"

"No, not really," he held his hands up in defense, "I was just thinking…" he paused. Maybe that wasn't the best thing to say, "No, never mind."

"Hmm?" Ino asked now mildly interested, "tell me, Naruto-kun. It isn't nothing."

"It's just…don't get mad at me and use those nails of yours because I swear if you scratch me again…" he watch her place them behind her back, so he knew she wouldn't pull them out and going for his face…again. "It's just, I think this one-sided Saskue thing has gone on too long. Sure I sound like I'm jealous about the bastard getting all the ladies but…" how to word this? He wasn't the best with this type of thing, "You know, there are other guys who'd like you a lot more if they knew you weren't so hung up over Sasuke."

Ino raised an eyebrow, "You mean like you?"

He smirked, "You wish."

Her eye twitched, "What was that? You saying I'm not good enough for you?" she placed her hands back on the table, ready for use at any time.

The blond male held his hands up in front of him, "Hey I said don't get me wrong! There are plenty of others…"

"You know, you actually sounded mature, for once," she gave him a signature smile.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I'm always mature!" he tried to contain his anger.

"Sure. I'll believe that when I see it…" she winked.

"Why you…" Naruto was cut off by the return of Sasuke, "do you mind? I'm in the middle of an argument here!"

"I'm not stopping you," he replied coolly, setting the orders down on the table, "you're the one who was so bothered by my appearance."

"Why you…" Naruto crossed his arms, not thinking of any reply.

"Don't mind him, Sasuke-kun. You're welcome here anytime, right guys?" Ino looked around the table. She started to wonder what was wrong with her female friend.

'God, I can't even look at him. That's what he wants, huh? I won't give him that satisfaction this time,' slowly, she tried to turn her head towards him. However, she was a tad too late, as he began to walk away. She never did look at his face today, but only managed to catch a glimpse of his upper body.

There was something strange on the shirt he was wearing. On the black sleeve, there was a symbol. She'd seen it somewhere before…

Sakura let out a sigh, she was safe. "Hey, Ino," she asked finally looking up.

"Yeah?"

"Does he…Sasuke-kun I mean, does he always wear a symbol on his sleeve? Like right here?" she motioned to her forearm.

"The Uchiha fan? I think so. It's his family's symbol. Ever since he was a kid he's always worn it somewhere. I think he used to wear a big one on his back, but now just the sleeve. Why do you ask?"

"Eh, no reason," she pushed back some loose strands of hair. It was bothering her, that Uchiha fan.

"Don't tell me she's fallen for Sasuke-bastard too?" Naruto grumbled.

"Sakura-san is different!" Lee defended her, in slightest hope he was right.

"Sure, no one can resist him," Ino stated in an a-matter-of-fact tone.

Sakura wished they'd all just shut up for one minute to let her think. Where had she seen it before?

'You can't be serious…' she thought with a sigh. "Sorry to skip out on you guys like this, but I just remembered to do something really important." She didn't look back before grabbing her purse and racing out the door. 'I bet that's not it, but something at home is. I know I've seen it!'

When she reached her house 13 minutes later, a new record for her, she immediately searched through the cluttered dresser. 'When I finally need something in this pile of crap I can't find it.' Then her fingertip pressed on a slightly pointed object. How many times was this thing going to poke her? At least she'd found what she was looking for.

Sure indeed, it was a gold, or gold painted pin. It wasn't that big, but sure enough, there was the unmistakable design of what Ino had called the Uchiha fan. Why did she have something like this? The pink haired girl undid her bun, and lay quietly on her bed. She closed her eyes, 'Someone tell me. Why?'

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, taking it from his hand and running around in little circles joyously. "It's so pretty and neat and shinny!" her grin was unusually large.

"I thought you'd say that," he gave a relived grin as his dark eyes watched her dance around happily. "My brother says that we only give that to special people…"

The small girl wasn't listening. "Sorry, you say something?"

He sighed, he wasn't going to repeat that. "Take good care of it. I don't give those to a lot of people…"

"Kay!" she said in a high voice, and continued to giggle about shinny things.

"Sakura," he finally said in a more serious tone.

"Hmm? What is it…-kun?"

"…" how was he going to say this? "well…no, sorry. It's nothing. Never mind"

She gave him a curious look. "Okay…"

Sakura woke with a start. Another crazy little kid flashback. In the dream she hadn't heard the kid's name completely, but she knew. 'Why didn't I think of it before? They look exactly the same.' She stole a glance at the clock; it was 4:30. Maybe she'd still get down there before they closed. She knew this time, her fears wouldn't get the better of her, oh no.

She slipped the gold pin into her pocket, and set out once again. "Mom, I'm going out for awhile!"

"You seem rather distracted to me," the old shop owner commented, as the onyx-eyed employee sat down in the locker room. "Something happen?" he was carrying a tray full of three bowls of ramen.

"I'm fine, why do you ask?" he replied rolling his shoulders. They'd been awfully stiff since practice.

"No reason. You've just been going in out of thought lately." With that he left to serve up the last of his customers before closing. On Sundays they closed early at five, while on weekends and Saturday, it was midnight. Not that Sasuke ever stayed that late.

He opened his locker and pulled out a helmet. Damn, he couldn't concentrate like this. There was a stupid competition in a few weeks and he was still here, working all day just so he could live in an apartment and didn't have to go living on the streets.

He had the urge to punch the locker. He'd done that before, and it had been deducted from his check, so the dark haired teen wasn't about to be going about doing that again. "I'm going," he told the boss's daughter Ayame. She nodded and gave a wave, which he didn't return.

He opened the side door to the café, where he usually entered. It was a sort of alleyway. Really, it was just an opening between the place and the shop right beside it. The sun was lowering in the sky, so most of the place was covered in shadow. Still, he'd felt another presence.

A figure stood leaning against the opposite building, hands loosely by their side.

He knew instantly who it was, "What do you want?" he wasn't expecting a reply, and he didn't get one either. "Have you come for an early death?"

She stood staring at the ground, still remaining silent.

"Think I was joking?" he slipped off his right shoe. Inside he pulled out a silver blade. She was about ten feet from him, but she could clearly make out its features. The handle was twisted to look like a snake, and halfway up she saw the head, bearing its two large, pointed fangs.

Slipping the shoe back on, he walked slowly to her. "Are you scared, Sakura?" his voice was no longer monotone, but threatening like their last meet.

"No."

Her response had startled him a little bit. No matter, she would be soon.

Sakura's façade remained neutral. She'd told a huge lie just then. No, it had been truthful. She wasn't scared; she was downright petrified. Even though it was a small blade, she bet he could do major damage with it. Why was she here in the first place again?

He gripped the snake part tightly in his hands, and thrust it into a wooden fence that she'd been leaning on. It landed with a thunk right beside her cheek. She didn't even flinch. "Tell me why you're here. Next time, it's your throat."

She didn't say anything again.

Was she asking for death? His scowl deepened, when he realized she wasn't going to give in. "Bitch. Do you want to die?" his hand stayed glued to the hilt.

It was now or never. "You know, ever since I came here, I've met a whole bunch of people. This place…it's really quite friendly," she started in a quiet voice, avoiding his gaze. Then she silenced again.

"Keep talking, or else," his face bent closer, "when I don't get my way, I tend to lose control of my actions. You want to live?"

Normally this was a voice when heard this close up, could send a shiver down any woman's spine. But this was a threat. No time for pleasure.

"Everyone seemed to welcome me with open arms. Well, almost everyone. Everyone but the person who's threatened to murder me when I happened to pass him by." She inhaled slowly, "Anyway, before I left, I used to live here. And…I had this friend, you see. He was really nice, good-looking too, well I think anyway…"

"Get on with it," he gritted his teeth impatiently.

She continued at the same pace, ignoring him, "Well, he and I were really good friends. When it was time to move away we…well made a promise to each other. And, I haven't heard from him since."

He waited before speaking again, "Is that all you have? You'd best think up something more."

She hadn't taken her eyes off the ground yet, "Since I came back, I've wondered something. Was he still living here? I didn't think so, judging by the faces I'd seen. And the stupid part is, I couldn't even remember his name. I was about ready to give up, no, I already had. But today something made me change my mind…" she rummaged through a pocket and pulled out the gold pin.

He stared at the object in her hand for a moment, "So?"

"It just struck me as odd, why I had something like this, and why you wore the exact same symbol on your shirt."

"My patience is running out, girl…"

She interrupted him, "So when I went home, I lay in my bed for a few hours. When I woke up, it was like…everything came back to me. And you know something," she paused, and continued in a whisper, "I was able to remember his name."

Some tension on his features disappeared. It was his turn to pause before answering. "And…what was his name?"

Emerald met onyx, "You interested?"

Then he used a word that she'd be hearing a lot of in the future, "Maybe."

"His name…was…" and finally, she seemed rid of her fear, "Uchiha…Sasuke."

She could hear the knife slide out of the wood, as he pulled away from her and to the opposite side. His back was facing her, and silence once again loomed in the air. He replaced the blade back into his shoe.

"You knew, didn't you?" it was more of a statement. "Why didn't you say anything?"

He ran his fingers slowly through his dark hair. "Well for one, how stupid can you be to forget a name like that?"

"What? Don't give me that crap! You're the one that…you know what, never mind," she'd already gotten out of one close shave with death, and she wasn't going to push him further.

"And besides," he continued, "that promise…well, it's rather non-existent anymore."

A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, "Is that all? You didn't say anything because of that? Seriously, that was my stupid child fantasy. I mean, who'd want to date a jerk like you anyway?"

He turned slowly, not really glaring, but she assumed that last comment had ticked him off a bit. "That was a joke, lighten up," she said more seriously. "There are girl's who'd die for you to look their way…from what I've heard. Anyway, I guess what I'm trying to say is…" and she spoke in a quieter tone, "c-can't we just start over? Like, without the death threats? I want…to be your friend Sasuke-kun." And then in her head, 'Lord knows you need one.'

Not saying anything in response as he moved further into the alleyway, he came back some moments later with a motorcycle. "Need a ride home?"

Sakura smiled, as she took that as a yes. He handed her his helmet. "Um, what about you?"

He shrugged as she sat down behind him, "I only have one. It doesn't matter."

"But what happens if you crash into something and fly off and crack your skull open?"

He shrugged again, "Oh well." Obviously, he wasn't to scared about dying in an accident. "And another thing, I like to go fast. You've been on one of these before, right?"

"Of course," she lied. This would be an interesting experience. The loud noise of the engine startled her. Her slender arms wove around his torso, and she wondered if he'd notice that she was clinging on for dear-life.

The streets and people past by in a blur. Oh how those crazy-ass fan girls would envy her now. She prayed that no one realized it was her, as the loose ends of her pink hair flapped uncontrollably into the wind. Hey, a motorcycle may have been dangerous, but it sure was fun.

Maybe, things would work out between the two of them, someway or another.

AN: Oh! Faster update this time! This chapter really came a lot easier then the others. For those of you asking for SasSaku moments, there you have it…in a way. Haha, I'm so evil. The thing with the microwave…I was really just being stupid and decided to put it in there. As a result, a long chapter with 8 pages! Actually, next chapter is extremely long, or it will be! So just one more filler chapter and I can start with school! Yay! Oh, and the end of this chapter really was just I needed to end it, so yes. I wasn't sure how Sasuke would react to Sakura, but there you have it. Excuse his language towards her too! He'll be a good little boy from now on, promise! So to end my rant now, I'll say please review! Kay?