Author's note:

Thank you so much for the nice reviews..! ;w; How sweet! You make me want to update more. xD

Anyway, here is chapter 3 for your reading pleasure. D -munches carrots-

Chapter 3

"How dare he…"

The two were hugging tightly. It made him sick. What the hell were they playing at? Shinobi are fighters, not soppy, crying idiots. Besides, it's not like those two are in love. And he definitely wasn't jealous.

Not one bit.

Absolutely not.

I mean, what's the deal with hugging anyway? It's just holding another person. No different from holding a shuriken. Except maybe, a person would be larger. And warmer. And softer… What? No! There's no difference at all! And Sasuke really couldn't care less. He didn't need to ever make that kind of bodily contact. In fact, it would make you vulnerable to attack. The other person could easily assassinate you, while you were looking over their shoulder. Or closing your eyes… or burying your face in their comforting shoulder…

Frankly, Sasuke didn't give a damn about it. Especially as he watched Sakura crying into Naruto's shoulder. He didn't need that. He'd been alone for so long – why should that change now?

And Sakura… well, she was the worst of the lot. When she hugged him (which she tended to do quite often) he wouldn't feel anything. Of course not. What's the appeal of being so close to another person? When she'd fallen on him earlier, all he'd felt was irritation. Perhaps a little warm inside. And maybe rather comfortable. And a little bashful as he felt her now womanly chest press against him.

But the important thing was that he really didn't care. And as Sakura lifted her head from Naruto's shoulder and looked in his direction with those tears in her beautiful, green eyes, her cherry blossom hair strewn about her rosy face and her little pink mouth opened slightly, he'd felt nothing. He didn't care if she looked at him like that. He didn't care if she was upset. She was nothing more than a comrade.

That's what he told himself as he disappeared from her sight, cheeks pink. But, of course, he wasn't blushing. That was just because he was hot after training. Sasuke wasn't the kind of guy to blush, anyway.

He set off to his home. He would go there, shower, study for a while and then visit his old house in the abandoned Uchiha village. On the journey, images of Sakura's hurt expression wouldn't leave his mind. It was true, she'd grown into a pretty woman. Beautiful, even. Her body had matured and she had soft, sweeping, feminine curves. There wasn't a single guy who didn't have a crush on her at some point. Except Sasuke. He didn't like her in that way. However, Sakura had never paid attention to anyone other than him. What was her problem? It was probably just because he was so popular. Girls tended to be like that. Sasuke was aware that he was incredibly easy on the eyes. In fact, he secretly enjoyed the attention he got. All the girls fell for him, and all the guys envied him.

Every morning, he fashioned his hair into the usual perfect style. Recently, he'd even started applying a hint of black eyeliner to accent his dark eyes. Though, no one else would be allowed to know about that. If that wasn't enough, Naruto had forced him into having his ears pierced, and he wore simple, silver studs.

He was nearing his house, when he sensed a presence a short distance behind him. He chose to ignore it and continued on his way but as he moved, the person moved with him. Hmmm. He smelt a familiar scent. Cherry blossom perfume. Oh, for crying out loud…

He arrived at his front door and his follower stopped in a blossoming sakura tree nearby. He kept his back turned to them, but spoke coolly: "Sakura, I know you're there."

There was a short, awkward silence before his pursuer muttered, "Crap," and jumped down from her hiding place. He turned and looked over his shoulder at her. Blossoms were falling around her as she'd jumped from the branches and he was presented with his team mate surrounded by a rain of pink petals. He noticed how perfect she looked beneath the tree she was named after. Her bright jade eyes opened and she looked at him. He turned away suddenly, feeling his face grow hot. "What's wrong with me?" he thought.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun," she said, her voice a little shaky, "I just…"

"What is it?" he asked impatiently.

"Ano... I... well, you… I wondered… if… you were okay."

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Naruto told me why… it's been ten years, hasn't it? Since your clan-"

"It's none of your business."

"But, I'm your frie- … comrade. It's important that comrades are honest with each other, so they can work together as a team more easily. Like, I wonder why you were late this morning…"

"Stop talking."

"Right," thought Sakura, "If I can't talk, then I can use actions. After all, actions speak louder than words." With that, she walked up behind him and was surprised to meet no resistance as she put her hand on his shoulder.

The reason for this, was that Sasuke had frozen at the touch. His eyes shot to the gloved hand. "What is this warm thing?" He felt an unusual feeling inside himself – like he wanted to pour out all his sadness and fill the emptiness with her warmth.

Then, she spoke again, feeling a new bout of confidence, "Where were you this morning?"

His lips moved by themselves, as if he were under some sort of spell, "I was in-"

Author's note (yes, another one): Bwhahahahha xDDDD Cliff hanger! Wooo! xP

Where was he, I wonder? What will happen next? ;)