A/N: Woo-hoo! Another chapter!

Ya know, for some reason, I keep thinking that Sakura and Ino were supposed to DO something relatively important… but I totally forgot what it was. I kinda like this result better anywayz; it's more realistic. I think you'll agree… actually, I'm pretty sure you will. 3

This chapter's Un-betaed because I wanna finish soon… I'll post the edited piece later.

Day Nine --

"Didja hear?"

"Hear what?"

"Sasuke-kun is gay!"

"What?"

"Yeah! He admitted it to his fanclub yesterday."

"No way!" Sasuke peered down at the small throng of girls.

Hn. He closed his eyes in thought. I'd better stay hidden for a while. Some might not take this well.

Quickly and quietly, he leapt from the tree he had been hiding in and took off to pass the time at the Uchiha estate's training grounds.

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Mutterings followed Sakura everywhere.

They weren't aimed at her -- that she knew – but their unknown topic was beginning to bother her, for every time someone whispered the news to someone else, the receiver would respond with a wide-eyed gasp before proceeding to freak out. Though the conversations had pestered her all morning, she hadn't been able to stop and listen to what they were about. Tsunade had asked her to perform house calls that morning, while she herself attended to more "official matters." Sakura scoffed. Apparently, being the Hokage requires a lot of sleep… But now she was done. Her final patient had been tended to. Now there was nothing standing in the way of her finding out what this scandalous news was.

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Ino stood behind the counter, feebly trying to distract herself from her perturbing thoughts by arranging and rearranging the flower displays located in the window of her family's flower shop.

Is he serious? She contemplated almost absentmindedly. A soft bell chimed, and the pale blonde looked up from her menial task.

"Ino!" Sakura said in almost an exasperated fashion. Ino tried to fake a smile, but inside she was a little nervous. Sakura was always a little overprotective when it came to her teammates.

"Morning Sakura!" She tried to cram as much cheer as she could into that phrase. Evidently, her voice sounded a little too peppy, because Sakura proceeded to give her a very strange and suspicious look.

"Ino, what's going on?" Sakura asked with a stern tone. Ino hesitated before grabbing her friend's wrist and pulling her into the back room. She has the right to know… The young kunoichi mused.

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"He did WHAT?" Sakura screamed in disbelief. Ino nodded solemnly.

"He told his fanclub that he was gay!" Sakura started at her best friend. "They had found photos of Naruto under his bed, and… he freaked out." Sakura blushed faintly at the thought of what those photos under his bed were for, but quickly shook her head to clear her mind. Her brow furrowed.

"Why would he tell them that? Why didn't he just… I dunno, threaten them out of his house?" Ino sighed.

"He did threaten them – after he told them he was gay." Figures. " I guess he was just sick of being stalked all the time."
Both girls sweat-dropped at the memory of a time when they too were loyal Sasuke Stalkers.

"This happened yesterday?" Sakura asked, trying to piece together the puzzle.

"Yesterday morning." The gears started to churn in Sakura's mind. She remembered how oddly Sasuke had been acting, but she had brushed it off then. Now she knew that something really had happened – something that convinced Sasuke that he needed to make a drastic move. Fast.

"So something really did happen between him and Naruto…" She said quietly. Ino gaped at her.

"HE CONFESSED?" Sakura shook her head.

"No… He was… pretty depressed when I talked to him yesterday." Ino contemplated this for a few second, then spoke.

"So either he confessed, and Naruto took it badly—"

"Or they got in a really bad fight—"

"Or someone else is after Naruto!" Both of them locked eyes and gasped.

"…I hope we're not right on that one…" Sakura muttered. The last thing those two needed was competition. Ino sighed, leaning back into her chair.

"Well, whatever. They can work things out at your party. Things can't go too badly, right?" Sakura's brow furrowed.

"I hope not…"

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Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha.

He loved this time of year because the village always looked so pretty with all the lights winding around the lampposts, store-front windows, and overhangs. Trees here and there were decked out in tiny paper lamps, and the snow made everything look so pure and untouched.

And the whiteness reminded him of a certain someone's skin.

He blushed all the way to his ears at that last thought, but after composing himself, he took another look at the scene before him. It really did look like Sasuke; the night sky, black as his hair and eyes and the snow was as pale as his skin. Sasuke really did look like a cold, winter night.

Naruto felt a small wave of giddiness wash over him when he thought about his gift for his crush. It's all-or-nothing in the game of love, and Naruto was living that line to the fullest. His gift would either destroy any relationship he had with his friend, or push that relationship to the next level. He felt himself shiver from something other than the cold. He was so nervous that his body shook and lumps kept getting stuck in the back of Naruto's throat.

"Mmmm… Cocoa!" Naruto said, rubbing his numb hands together. Just ahead was a small, red kiosk. By the looks of the people outside clutching steaming mugs, and the chocolaty scent lingering in the air, the vendor was selling hot chocolate. He quickened his pace, and readied his wallet.

"One tall cocoa please!" Naruto ordered cheerily. The vendor smiled at him.

"One cocoa, comin' up!" The vendor disappeared briefly before returning to the service window with a scorching cup of chocolaty goodness.

"Here you are! That'll be 125 yen." They exchanged smiles, cocoa, and change.

"Thanks!" Naruto clasped his hands lightly around the cardboard cup, feeling the warmth slowly seep into his numb skin. He brought it towards his face, allowing the steam to warm his stiff cheeks too before taking a quick sip.

"Yeah, so he admitted to it." Naruto's ears perked up at the sound of the feminine gossip. It was mildly entertaining, he mused.

"No way! I can't believe that he'd do something like that!" The first girl nodded.

"Well he did! And he wasn't even, ya know, skirting around the subject either! He just, said it."

"Bluntly?"

"Just as it was!" The second girl gasped slightly.

"I can't believe he's gay…" She whispered. Naruto briefly wondered if he knew this person.

"Yeah… So I guess his bloodline will end with him."

"Yeah, I guess so. Still, it's kinda sad to see such a great clan just, die out like that." The first girl simply shrugged.

"Well, the Uchiha's always were a strange bunch." Naruto spewed out all of his ingested cocoa, spitting and spilling the contents of his mouth and his cup all over the snow and himself.

"Aaahhh! Hot! Hot!" He said, trying to cover up his blatant surprise. The girls, who had turned to stare at him, turned their attention back to each other. Naruto watched them with wide eyes and bated breath for a few moments to make sure they weren't paying attention to him before dropping his cup and darting off into the night.

He laughed. A bright, melodic laugh that came from the depths of his soul.

He was gay! The Uchiha was GAY! Stopping at his roof, Naruto turned his gaze to the sky, still chuckling. He let out a breath of total happiness. The fog contrasted greatly with the black of the night sky.

I've got a shot… I've got a good, solid shot. He thought to himself, eyes sparkling and face smiling in earnest. Naruto burst into another fit of laughter, collapsing on his back, spread-eagle upon the dusting of snow on his rooftop. There was a nervous thrumming in his stomach, but he could honestly say that he was now more anxious than scared. He couldn't wait for tomorrow.

For tomorrow could either be the best or worst day of his life.

Vocab—

-125 yen – About a buck twenty five in American money. If you wanna get technical, it may be more around… $1.12? Ish?