Damn, how long has it been? Well, sorry for the late update, I was sick for God knows how long and I was too lazy to update. Schools over so I have all summer to update. I'd like to thank everlastingxwish, my ever loyal beta. Remember to vote because if I don't get enough by the time my chapter is edited, I won't update. Yeah, I know, I mean. Just vote. Bold italics is Inner Sakura.


''Alright! You four against you four,'' announced Zabuza. Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, and Naruto got into their positions as the four other boys did the same. Since Sasuke was the tallest, he went to the center. From a birds eye view, it looked like an arrow. A boy with brown hair and brown eyes was opposite of Sasuke.

''Ready? Go!'' yelled Zabuza as he blew the whistle and tossed the ball in the air. The two centers both jumped at the same time, but Sasuke got the ball first. When he landed, he ran toward the hoop. A defender was blocking his way. He stopped, dribbling, thinking of what to do next and trying to keep it away from the opponent. In the corner of his eye, he saw Neji running toward the hoop, open. Sasuke smirked as he jumped to shoot...


With the Girls

''Damn it, Tenten! Do you want to kill someone with that ball!'' shrieked Ino as she saw Tenten serve a hit, hitting a girl in the stomach.

''Eh heh, 10-0'' she said, scratching the back of her head. The three sighed. Half an hour later, they were done.

''Yay! We made it on the team!'' yelled Ino, jumping up and down in joy.

'Iguess she forgot about before...well, its better for me...' thought Sakura.

''Hey, why don't we go see the boys?'' suggested Sakura. When Ino and Tenten turned to look at her, they had a smug look on their face.

''Sure, Sakura. I'm sure you want to see your precious Sasuke-kun,'' Ino grinned evilly. Sakura blushed and tried to hide it.

''N-no, I just want to see them before we leave, and I need to ask him something.''

''Yeah, you wanna ask him out right?'' said Tenten.

''N-NO!''

''Oh yeah, then why do you keep stuttering like Hinata does with Naruto?'' Hinata blushed at this.

''I-I don't know…''

''Admit it, you like him!''

''I don't like him!''

''So why do you keep staring at him?''

''Fine! Fine! I admit that he's hot, but thats it!'' Ino and Tenten still had their smug look on their face.

''Are you sure?'' They asked, unconvinced.

Hinata decided to stop their interrogation.

''Um, come on guys, leave her alone" They decided to stop their interrogation, but planned to continue later.

''Alright, fine.''


''Well done! You four are quite good. Here's your uniform and tomorrow I will assign your positions. '' said Zabuza.

''AH! I'm tired!'' yelled Naruto as he lay on the bench.

''It was a good game,'' said Neji, downing water.

''Too troublesome to bother. Their defense wasn't even doing anything.'' said Shikamaru as he too, lay on a bench with his jersey over his face. Sasuke wasn't tired, so he was shooting, improving his skills.

''I'm not surprised. Most of the guys here can't even shoot,'' It was silent in the gym, except for Sasuke's dribbling. Everyone left.

''HI!" yelled Ino from behind the three who were on the bench. Shikamaru and Naruto jumped and fell on the floor. Neji just stood up straight as he spit out his water in surprise.

''Ino! I was trying to sleep goddamn it!'' said Shikamaru as he got up and lay down again.

''Don't you sleep enough?'' She asked knowing quite well he did enough of that in class.

''Yes, but it was quiet and I'm tired, so I decided to sleep!" he yelled in annoyance.

''So how'd you guys do?'' asked Tenten, completely ignoring the bickering couple.

''We all made it on the team.'' Neji informed, as calm as ever.

''We probably would have anyway. The guys we had to go against were so easy! We did the same plays like..." He rose his hands in front of his face so he could count. He had ten fingers up.

"...Ten times, and they still fell for it!'' said Naruto. Neji and Tenten both shook their heads, feeling sorry Naruto was cursed with his stupidity.

''How 'bout you?'' asked Shikamaru.

''We made it, but Tenten has got to stop hitting people with the ball.'' said Sakura as she glared at her. Tenten merely smiled widely in return.

''How many girls did you hit?'' asked Neji.

''Almost everyone!'' she replied lightheartedly with a grin. They all laughed (Neji smiled) except for Sasuke, who wasn't even paying attention. He was still shooting.

''You, with the attitude,'' Sasuke turned around to face a guy around his age. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

''I want to fight you,'' the guy said with determination. Sasuke raised both his eyebrows.

'Grrrrrr, its always Sasuke!' thought Naruto with a fist. Hinata noticed this and wondered what he was going to do.

''WHAT!'' said the others. ''LEE!''

''Why?'' asked Sasuke, emotionless. He didn't give a damn. He could kill him in a heartbeat, and he would never know what hit him.

''I want to prove my love for Sakura!'' Everyone fell anime style. Lee blew her a kiss, and Sakura dodged it, feeling slightly faint.

''Your love? That's why you want to fight me?''

''Yes, I want to prove that I am better than you. That I deserve her, not you!'' A good guy pose and flashing grin almost blinded everyone.

''Wait. First of all, you're not better than anybody. Second of all, she's not even my girlfriend." The Uchiha said emotionlessly.

''She's not? Well, I know for one that she likes you!''

Sakura gasped, her cheeks tinted red. Sasuke turned to look at her. He had a smirk on his face.

'Well, doesn't that make my job easier...'

''Don't blame me then. If she doesn't like you, deal with it.'' said Sasuke with a glare.

''This is how I am going to deal with it. I am going to prove that you're not worthy of anything!'' Lee overdid it. Sasuke tried to control his rage, just barely refraining from tearing Lee into pieces. He called him unworthy. Sasuke intensified his glare as Lee got ready to fight.

''No! I'll fight you!'' said Naruto as he ran with his fist drawn back, ready to punch him. Lee pushed his hand down and Naruto lost his balance but he landed on his hands, pushed himself up to swing his leg at Lee's head. Lee just moved his head out of the way and spun his leg around in a roundhouse, causing Naruto to spin away, hitting a wall. (A/N:If you don't know what the hell I just said, think about when Lee wanted to fight Sasuke, and Naruto got jealous so he fought him, which ended very quickly).

''Naruto! Are you okay?'' asked Hinata timidly, as she rushed to his side and kneeled beside him.

''Ow!'' he said as he rubbed his head. ''Yeah, don't worry Hinata! I'm fine!'' he said with a grin. Hinata blushed furiously.

Sasuke sighed at Naruto's stupidity.

'dobe…' Sasuke thought.

''I don't have time for this. Leave me alone,'' he said, trying not to kill the annoying teen right then and there.

''You will fight me for Sakura's love… unless you are a coward...!'' said Lee, provoking Sasuke. It worked effectively, as Sasuke's rage took over. He was about to run toward Lee, but he stopped suddenly. He clutched his neck as it throbbed in pain. Lee took this to his advantage, and ran toward him.

Sasuke seemed occupied with the pain, but he saw Lee charge towards him. Lee made a jab at him, but Sasuke leaned back, his back at a curved angle.

''Whoa!'' said the others.

Sasuke went on his hands and used his legs to throw Lee away from him. The Uchiha did a backflip and landed on his feet and continued clutching his neck.

'Shit! Of all times, it had to happen now…'

Lee got up after clutching his head in pain from the impact and was about to run again when Neji, Shikamaru, and Naruto stopped him.

''Hey, hey! Stop! Don't fight him! He'll beat the shit out of you!'' yelled Naruto.

''Stop being so goddamn troublesome and go. This is such a drag. You're fighting him because Sakura likes him?''

''Hey!'' Shikamaru ignored her.

''They just met each other! We just met him! Sakura doesn't like you! Get over it!'' Lee stopped struggling and left.

''I'm sorry, please forgive me,'' he said, apologizing quite sincerely. They all nodded ,except Sasuke. He kept rubbing his neck, trying to stop the pain. They all looked at him, waiting to hear his answer. Sasuke felt the gazes of the others.

''What?'' They gave him the knowing look.

''Hey, I'm not saying anything. He started it, and he's lucky that I didn't finish it.''

'Actually, he's lucky I didn't kill him...and that it was almost freed...'

''I understand. I'm sorry for everything. And Sakura?''

''Hm?''

''Good luck with him. I know he'll treat you right!" Blowing one last kiss, and striking one last pose, he left Sakura blushing madly. Everyone started laughing. Sasuke saw her blush and smirked.

'If she does like me, she'll trust me...'

''AHA! I KNEW IT!'' said Naruto, pointing an accusing finger at Sakura.

''Well, this day was certainly interesting!'' Tenten grinned enthusiastically as she watched Sakura chasing Naruto around the gym getting a few good hits.

''Quite. '' Neji agreed amiably.

''Then, should we go?'' Hinata suggested shyly. They all nodded andgathered their belongings and headed outside.


''So you gonna ask her?'' said Naruto impatiently as he waited for Neji's answer.

''Yeah." he replied sounding a bit hesitant.

''Let's invite the others too!''

''All right.'' he said with a sigh.

''All.'' said Neji, catching the attention of the others.

''Would you like to come to my house on Friday?''

''You mean a sleepover?'' asked Ino.

"Yes, if you want."

''Yeah, sure!'' agreed the girls quickly, after taking little glances at each other.

''If I can sleep, I'm going,'' said Shikamaru.

''What time?'' asked Hinata.

''After school!'' said Naruto.

''What about you, Sasuke?'' The dark-haired boy thought it over.

''No.''

''Why not?'' asked a curious Tenten.

''Don't want to.''

''Please, Sasuke?'' Sakura begged.

''No.'' he said stubbornly, shaking his head.

''Please? For me?'' she asked with her irresistible puppy dog eyes.

'Goddamn it… not the eyes...'

He sighed.

''Maybe, if I'm not busy, then.''

''YAY!'' she said as she hugged him tightly. They both heard the sound a camera makes when it takes a picture. They blinked at the others. The gang all had their phones pointing at them. If you looked closely, you would see the very, very slight tint of red on Sasuke's face.

''AW! You look so cute!'' said Ino as she showed them the picture she took on her phone. Sakura turned red and let go of Sasuke.

''We have to go, right Ino?'' said Sakura with a forced smile.

''Uh, yeah?'' said Ino, a tiny bit afraid of what Sakura would do.

''Bye!'' she said with a smile, but it then turned into a mischievous smirk as she looked at Ino.

''Sakura?'' A confused Ino asked tentatively.

''Ino, you have a 10 second head start. One…Two…Hey!'' but Ino didn't listen for she was running her ass off, a trail of gray dust following her lightning-quick footsteps.

''INO!'' Sakura yelled.

''GET BACK HERE!'' The girl yelled with her fist out.

''Are they even going the right way?'' asked Sasuke as his eyes followed the amusing sight.

''Eh, knowing Ino, she'll lead Sakura home. She's not stupid enough to get lost. Later.'' said Shikamaru with a wave, hands stuck in his pockets.

''Yup, well bye! Hey, Hinata I'll walk you home. I don't live that far from you!'' suggested Naruto.

''O-okay, t-thank you, N-naruto-kun,'' she said quietly, blushing as Naruto lead her home.

''Eh heh, no problem!'' he said scratching the back of his head with a blush.

''It's getting late. Bye!'' said Tenten as she headed home.

''Bye,'' said Neji. His eyes followed her until she turned a corner, out of his sight. He sighed.

''I suggest you don't take long,'' Sasuke started conversationally, managing to sound smug and casual at the same time.

''What?''

''If you don't tell her, someone else might,''

At this, Neji glared at him.

''I didn't say it was me; she's just an old friend. She's all yours,'' and with that, Sasuke left, leaving Neji to ponder his thoughts on his way home.


''Stupid Ino-pig. Taking that picture. God that was so embarrassing!'' Sakura ranted while frying some chicken.

'Damn straight! But at least we got to hug Sasuke!'

'Yeah, but I hope things won't be awkward because of it...'

'Why would it?'

'I don't know...he's not like other people...and won't Sasuke's fangirls get suspicious?'

'What do you mean by the first sentence?'

'He's cold-hearted, you know…? But…'

'But what?'

'I think he has a reason for why he's cold...maybe...'

''Oh shit!'' she swore as she was snapped out of her thoughts by the putrid smell of burnt chicken.

''Great, there goes my dinner. I'll just go buy something from the store…'' So Sakura put on her shoes, slung on her purse and went to the store.


''$10.87.'' stated the sales clerk. Sakura paid for her food. She bought some sushi (A/N:onigiri I think it was) and the local newspaper.

"Stupid people with their stupid prices..." she grumbled.

She left the store and headed home. It was already dark and it started to rain so she picked up her pace. She saw on the news that there were people being kidnapped, raped, etc. She didn't want to be one of them. She was only a few blocks away from her house when she heard something shatter, like glass. She turned around and saw a few men in an alleyway. They turned to face her.

''Well, look what we have, boys'' said one of them while the others stopped using their drugs and looked at Sakura. They sized her up, head to toe.

''Pretty…'' said one of them with a sadistic grin. Sakura glared at him, her anger rising by the minute.

''Hey babe, why don't you join us? We got plenty!'' said another with that same 'seductive' grin. Sakura scowled.

''No thank you, goodbye.'' she said and continued on her way, but a one of them stopped her.

''Come on,'' he said pushing Sakura into a corner.

''NO! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go!'' she said, trying to get away, but the man grabbed her arms.

''You don't have to go anywhere. You're staying with us."

Sakura's eyes widened. The man leaned in to kiss her, but Sakura uppercut him in the chin, making him fall back. Sakura got pissed.

''Don't fucking touch me!'' she went to the man she just hit and step on where it hurts the most.

''AI! MI COJONES!'' (A/N:its Spanish)

''What?'' said Sakura in confusion. But before she could even move away from him, she was cast aside by a punch to the face.

'Ow, that must've hurt...'

'No, really!'

Sakura had just got to her feet when the man that just punched her grabbed her hair. (A/N:play ''Bad Situation'')

''You shouldn't have done that,'' he said. He was about to kiss her again when she punched him in the nose, causing his nose to bleed. The man held it in pain, his eyes closed. Sakura took this opportunity to return the favor, so she did a roundhouse kick to his head.

"Ha! You deserved that!" said the two angered females.

''Feisty, I like that,'' commented another. Sakura turned to face him, but didn't just see one, but a whole group of them.

'Goddammit!'

One of them had a needle filled with drugs. ''Hold her!'' he commented, and the others tried to grab her. The first one that came at Sakura was sent flying back by her punch. The rest to out their knives hoping to scare her, but Sakura just smirked. She hit all who came at her. She dodged all to the attacks sent toward her, but because of their numbers, Sakura was pushed into a corner, where someone was behind her. He grabbed her arms, while another man grabbed her legs to make sure she wouldn't kick.

Sakura struggled to get out, but they held her too tight, so she screamed, hoping to be heard by someone. The two men took her to who seems to be the leader. They set her down before him but still held her tightly.

''You know, you're very pretty'' he said as he tested the tip of the needle. He held her chin and turned her head to the side. Sakura tried to move, but couldn't. Tears fell, waiting for the worst to happen, but it seems it didn't.

''GET THE HELL AWAY FROM HER!'' yelled someone, and kicked the leader in the stomach, causing him to fly back. He ripped the other two away from Sakura, causing them to land in a heap behind him. He then loomed above her and held out his hand. Sakura opened her eyes seeing Sasuke above her, holding out his hand. She accepted it and he pulled her up.

''You okay?'' he asked, a tint of concern in his voice and eyes.

''I've been better'' she replied. They abruptly turned their heads to see the leader coughing up blood.

''Boy, your going to regret that,'' he said and he took out his gun. Sakura's eyes widened as he pointed it at her. She closed her eyes and heard him pull the trigger. She didn't feel anything, but the arms of Sasuke holding her. She heard the horrifying sound of bullet ripping through flesh. She opened her eyes and they widened in shock. Sasuke had his head down, but Sakura felt something wet on her shoulder. She looked at it and saw a red substance.

'Blood...no…!'

She looked at Sasuke's shoulder and saw the hole the bullet made. Sasuke didn't move an inch.

''Sasuke!'' she yelled.

''Sakura? Are you all right?'' he asked slowly in a low tone, finally looking at her.

''Yeah! But you're—''

''Don't worry...'' he said as he let his arms fall. ''Sakura, you can't stay here.''

''I'm not leaving you!''

''Go.''

''No! I won't let you die!''

''Go, I'll be fine, I promise,'' he said and activated his Sharingan. He turned his back to her and faced the man who shot him.

''Hmph, you're pretty tough, kid. You could have been one of us, but you'll be dead before that happens.'' he said with a malicious grin as his men surrounded Sasuke.

''I'm already dead.'' said Sasuke as he looked at the leader in the eyes with his Mangekyou Sharingan. They took a step back, afraid of what he might do with his fearsome eyes.

''Sakura, go.'' he said as he started walking toward the leader, his shoulder a bit slouched, in reaction to being shot by the bullet. Sakura didn't want to leave him, afraid he might die, but she obeyed his wishes and headed home. She didn't turn back, in fear of what she might see.

Sakura saw home a few blocks away.

Almost there...I hope Sasuke-kun's all right...

And as soon as she thought that, she was knocked down. She looked up to see a blade comng down toward her. Sakura couldn't move in her state of fear, her body refused to. She closed her eyes, expecting her death. She didn't feel anything, only the sound of bones breaking and a scream of pain. She opened her eyes to see Sasuke next to her, looking at the body of the one who almost attack her.

''Sasuke!'' He looked at her, his Mangekyou Sharingan still activated.

''Sakura...'' he said and deactivated it. His head fell, but if you were to look closely, you would have seen a smirk. Sakura was about to run to him and hug him when blood was splattered on her face. She looked at Sasuke's facial expression; his mouth shut and eyes narrowed dangerously. She saw more blood falling rapidly, the blood changing the water into a red color.

Sakura saw something shine behind Sasuke. She looked closely and saw that it was a knife. Somehow, the leader was able to surprise Sasuke.

''Heh, looks like your boyfriend here couldn't do much.'' he smirked as he twisted the knife deeper into Sasuke's bullet wound. Sasuke clenched his eyes and fists in pain. He heard him cock the gun, turning the gun's safety off; the click resounding throughout the empty street.

''Too bad you have to die.'' His smile turned even more grotesque and cold. Sasuke opened his eyes and turned around quickly, making his wound even worse. He grabbed the gun, wrenched off the top part of it with ease and threw it aside. Sasuke looked at him, anger in his eyes. The leader fell to the ground, backing away in fear while Sasuke approached him. He stepped on his neck, while the leader held in an attempt to get him off, but Sasuke just applied more pressure.

Sasuke's Mangekyou Sharingan shone in the rain. He attacked the leader's mind, making him grab his knife and stab himself. Sakura did not see anything because of the flash of lightning, but she heard a gasp and a gurgle. When the blinding light faded, see saw Sasuke next to the body of the leader, his hands holding the knife loosely that was plunged into his heart.

''Sasuke...did you...?''

''No. He did it to himself,'' he replied evenly, handing her the food she had bought from the supermarket just a few minutes ago, but it seemed like light years.

''Sasuke...!'' But Sasuke didn't pay attention. His eyes were half closed and he had trouble standing up. His legs finally gave in after giving much of a fight, and he fell to the ground right next to Sakura resignedly.

''Sasuke!'' she yelled as she grabbed the Uchiha by his shoulders. He groaned as she shook him.

''Sasuke, please don't die! Hold on!'' she said frantically. She knew that Sasuke was gradually losing blood, and the rain made it worse. Sasuke pushed himself up to stand.

''Let's go.'' he stated, as if nothing had happened.

''Wait! We have to get you to the hospital!''

''Don't need to go there, I'm fine.'' he said. Sakura knew better, for if he was fine he wouldn't have been using the wall to support himself.

''If we don't it's possible the bullet can travel to your heart, or you'll die of blood loss!'' she said stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. Sasuke looked at her with an expression of annoyance, but his onyx orbs met determined emerald ones. He sighed in defeat.

''Where's the closest one?'' he said in an annoyed tone, but inside, he inwardly smirked. Sakura beamed.

''Six blocks away. Come on, let's hurry'' she said as she led him to the nearest hospital.


''Please help! My friend's been hurt very badly!'' yelled Sakura, catching the attention of the people in the emergency room. Sasuke appeared behind her, shocking the people in his condition; still being able to walk. A nurse at a desk jumped and ran toward Sasuke, trying to support him.

''This way,'' she commanded, and she lead Sasuke into the emergency room. ''Tsunade!''

''What?'' asked a blonde haired woman.

''Tsunade? You're a doctor as well?'' asked Sakura. The woman only smiled.

"Hey, being a principal does earn you enough money to pay off debts..."

'Yeah, not enough of sake...'

''Look!'' said the woman holding Sasuke. Tsunade's eyes widened slightly and also went to help Sasuke.

''Let's take him to a free room. How did this happen?'' she asked Sasuke.

''Long story, call the police. You'll hear when I tell them.'' Tsunade nodded.

''Shizune! Go call them and tell them to meet me and this boy!'' she barked at her assistant.

''Yes, ma'am,'' and the dark-haired lady rushed to the nearest phone.

''Will he survive?'' asked Sakura, concern reflecting in her eyes.

''Well, it looks like he lost a lot of blood...I have to inspect his wounds more closely to determine whether or not he will…''

''Please hurry! I don't know if the bullet moved!''

''Bullet! Shit, I'm gonna need some help here!''

The last thing Sasuke saw was Sakura's concerned and guilty eyes before darkness took him.


''Huh? Where am I?...'' as he stared at the never ending darkness.

''In your mind...'' answered a mysterious voice.

''Who are you?''

''Your master...or have you forgotten that your gift allows me to speak to you in your mind?''

''Why are you here?'' he said getting to the point.

''You're going to be late...'' said the man in a mocking voice.

''I had to help the Haruno girl.''

''By protecting her? By risking your life?'' the man asked, clearly angry.

''She was attacked. I knew that if I risked my life for hers, she would trust me, and then I would be able to get more information for the mission in a less amount of time''

''I see. Well, you must still accomplish the mission I have for you tonight. Come as soon as you can."

''Hn."

A moment of silence.

"Just get out of my head."

''Ha! Still as arrogant as ever!''

''Get out.'' growled Sasuke and he returned to the somewhat comforting darkness.


Sasuke opened his eyes to see a blinding light. He closed them quickly, but reopened them, allowing them to get adjusted to the light.

''Sasuke!'' He turned to his side to see a smiling Sakura.

''Sakura?''

''You're okay!'' she chirped and hugged him tightly. Sasuke blushed slightly. Her arms brushed against his wounds causing Sasuke to flinch slightly in pain.

''Oh! Sorry!'' He ignored her apology and decided to ask something else.

''What happened?''

''Well, Tsunade brought you here and then you just collasped. Tsunade said it was because of blood loss.''

''How long have I been out?''

''I don't know, maybe 4 hours?''

''Sasuke?''

Silence.

''Thank you.''

''Hn?''

''If it weren't for you...I probably would have been dead...or worse...'' she said with fear-filled eyes of those horrible thoughts. She hugged him again, though not as tight as before.

''Don't worry about it. I wouldn't allow those men to do that to you,'' he said sincerely without knowing it as he hesitantly and uncomfortably hugged her back. She gave into his comfort, knowing that he would be fine and the guilt that weighed down her heart was gone.

''Thank you, Sasuke...'' Sakura had her face resting on his shoulder so she couldn't see Sasuke's smirk.


Yeah, short but I'll update soon, hopefully, if I'm not sleeping. Hoped you liked it so review and vote or I won't update because Itachi has a somewhat important role in the story depending on how it turns out.

Ryu Leonhart