Disclaimer: Naruto and all its characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.

Author's note: My longest chapter yet! Thank you so much to those who followed and/or reviewed the story. Your suggestions help me write better. Enjoy!

Chapter 5

Elementary school

"Sasuke-kun! Look at what okaa-san gave me for lunch!"

Said boy looked up from his book to stare critically at her. He was quiet for a few moments, contemplating on what to say to the girl who interrupted his reading. Before he could voice his chosen response though, she had already beat him to it.

"Look, look!" she shoved a box in his direction. He glanced at it in disinterest,

"What's so special about it? It's just a bento."

She giggled at his response. He looked at her like she was crazy, before she elaborated, "Look at this compartment!"

He did. The second biggest compartment of the bento was filled with his favourite food—tomatoes. He vaguely wondered how he had missed it the first time.

"Your lunches always had tomatoes in some way, so I figured you liked them. Anyway, I told my okaa-san to pack extra so that I can give them to you. I hope you like them!"

Without waiting for his response, she carefully transferred all the tomatoes from her bento to the already empty lunch box sitting next to him. She stood up, looking pleased with herself.

"I'm gonna go find Ino-chan now! Bye-bye Sasuke-kun!"

That afternoon, when Iruka-sensei told them to do a group colouring activity, Sakura immediately dragged Naruto and Sasuke's arms to a nearby table.

"What?" Naruto whined, "Why are we with the teme again?"

"I told you, Naruto, it's because we're friends. Right, Sasuke-kun?"

They both turned to look at the quiet boy, expecting some sort of vague denial that usually came from him after such a statement. It was only after a few moments that they started on their colouring, Naruto and Sakura with their eyes still wide in surprise.

He hadn't denied it.

Junior high

"What on earth, Sasuke-kun? What did Lee ever do to you?"

Sasuke muttered something incomprehensible.

Sakura moved closer to him and cupped her ears. "What did you say?"

"Tch. Nothing."

Naruto chuckled from his place at the teacher's desk in the empty classroom that they were in. He grinned widely, and the evil glint in his eyes told Sasuke that he was up to no good.

"It's not nothing Sakura-chan. Lee was flirting with you, you know?"

Sakura looked confused. "No, he was just being a gentleman. I've already rejected him once. And what does this have anything to do with this anyway?"

If possible, Naruto's grinned widened, "You don't understand, Sakura-chan. Teme was just defending what he thought was h—" he never got to finish his sentence, however, as Sasuke had expertly flung a textbook straight onto his face with enough force to send him tumbling onto the floor.

"What the hell, teme?" Naruto shouted, "What was that for?"

Sasuke shot him a deadly glare.

"You know what that was for, idiot. Shut your mouth and mind your own business."

"Both of you, just shut up!" Sakura yelled, having had enough. The both of them quieted immediately.

She exhaled deeply and rubbed her temples. Her headache was getting worse.

"Sasuke. This is precisely the show of violence that got you suspended in the first place. You really need to learn to control your temper." Sakura chastised, her voice low. She looked dead serious now.

She sighed. "You two are way more trouble than you are worth. Naruto has gotten way too many detentions to count, and now Sasuke got himself suspended for a month for assaulting another student. Keep up the good work and no decent high school will accept you guys."

Sasuke stayed silent but didn't look as though he regretted what he did. Naruto, on the other hand, looked as cheerful as ever as he slung an arm around Sakura's shoulders.

"But we have you to keep us in line, Sakura-chan!"

"Right," she said dryly, attempting to free herself from her cousin, "What will you guys do without me, indeed? You can't just rely on me for your whole life you know."

Secretly, Sasuke hoped that her words weren't true.

High school

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan! I asked Hinata-chan to prom, and she said yes!" Sakura had never seen Naruto look so excited, except for the time when Ichiraku had an all-you-can-eat day for a dirt-cheap price.

"What did I say, Naruto?" she chuckled. "Told you she would say yes! So, are you guys dating now?"

"Ehehehe," Naruto looked embarrassed now, with a bright red blush across his cheeks. "You know I've had a crush on her for ages, but I don't know if she feels the same."

Sakura wanted to facepalm herself at his density. "Naruto, I have known the both of you for quite a long time, and I can safely say that you at least won't be rejected outright. She even agreed to go to prom with you!"

"I guess you're right. I'll ask her to be my girlfriend after prom."

Sakura smiled, and she was giddy with happiness for her two friends. "Good luck Naruto! Even though you don't need it."

"Thanks Sakura-chan!" He looked at her with a mischievous grin, "And how about you? Who are you going with?"

Sakura huffed, blushing, "No one. Who says you need a date for prom?"

"Eh? Has the teme not asked you yet?"

"What?" Sakura blushed deeper, "W-why would I ever go with that cold-hearted, violent-tempered jerk? Even if he asked, I would never agree!"

"Really?"

At the sound of the new voice, Sakura froze.

Speak of the devil.

"S-Sasuke-kun! We were just talking about you. I, mean, we weren't. Yeah, we weren't talking about you at all!"

Sasuke stared at her, his look clearly questioning if she took him as a fool.

Naruto took this as his cue to leave and took off as soon as he muttered something about meeting Hinata.

The two didn't seem to have heard him. Sakura was determinedly staring at anywhere but Sasuke, while Sasuke seemed to be intentionally pressuring her with his intense gaze. After a while, it was Sasuke who snapped out of it first.

"Hn. I'll pick you up at 6." And with that, he left a wide-eyed and gaping Sakura behind, wondering if all that studying and worrying about the welfare of her troublemaker friends had finally made her lose her sanity at last.

It was the bell that woke her up of her reverie. It was only then that she realised how Sasuke had read right through her.

Prom

The entire car ride on the way to the venue had been filled with awkward silence. Sakura was nervously fidgeting with her fingers while Sasuke just looked like he was plain ignoring her. In the darkness of the car, she had entirely missed the faint blush that he was desperately trying to make disappear.

When they got there, Sakura was immediately overwhelmed by her friends, gushing at how pretty she looked, even though they all looked just as nice.

Naruto not-so-discreetly nudged Sasuke's side with possibly a bit more force than necessary as Sasuke hissed with the pain, "Isn't Sakura-chan pretty tonight? Have you told her how beautiful she looks?"

Sasuke looked more than a little annoyed, "Of course I haven't."

Naruto actually looked surprised, "What? Why haven't you?"

"Why should I?"

Naruto had a disbelieving look on his face, "Girls like it when you compliment them." He said matter-of-factly, "Actually, everyone likes it when they get a compliment, except maybe you. You should make a move on Sakura-chan before she finds someone better, ya know."

That got Sasuke's attention.

"Find someone better?" he all but hissed the words.

Naruto realised his mistake, and before his friend could go on an angry rampage, he amended, "Just joking! We all know that Sakura-chan has only had eyes fir you."

Sasuke hasn't exactly calmed down, but the murderous intent had disappeared. Before neither of them could say anymore, Sakura came bounding up to them.

"Let's go inside guys. It's freezing out here."

While walking inside, Naruto was actually seriously contemplating something. It was almost graduation after all, and it was already decided that they were going to separate colleges. If nothing happened between his two best friends now, it would be more unlikely to happen in the future.

Suddenly, Naruto's face lit up, as though a light bulb has been turned on in his brain. He inwardly patted himself on the back for coming up with such a brilliant idea. He raced up to Sasuke, who had gained quite a lead on him when he slowed his pace to think, and quickly swiped something out of his vest pocket before Sasuke could even react.

"Hey! That's my phone you idiot!"

Naruto ignored him. "Hey, hey since this is such a momentous occasion, shouldn't we take a photo to commemorate?"

Sasuke was about to protest, but Sakura interrupted him with a cheerful agreement.

"Good idea, Naruto! Let's ask someone to take a picture for us."

"No need, Sakura-chan! I feel like playing photographer today and I will take you and teme's pictures."

"Eh? Really, Naruto? Shouldn't you be in a picture with us too?"

"We can take a group pic later! We should have one with everyone else too. But for now, I'll just take one of you two!" Naruto whipped out Sasuke's stolen phone, "With this!"

"With Sasuke's phone?" she looked up at Sasuke, "Are you okay with that?"

"Hn."

"So it's decided! Stand closer you two."

"E-eh?" Sakura was blushing again, "I think we're fine where we are, Naruto."

"No you're not." Naruto pushed Sasuke into Sakura, nearly knocking her over.

"Idiot!"

"Hehe, sorry 'bout that. But anyway, smile!"

Sakura smiled as commanded, still embarrassed.

"I said smile, Sasuke-teme. Stop looking so grumpy. You'll ruin the photo!"

"Tch. Don't tell me what to do, dobe."

"Stop arguing you two. Today is supposed to be a celebration. Come on, Sasuke-kun. Cheering up never hurt anybody now, did it?"

He grumbled but conceded. "Fine." He forced his lips to curl up slightly. "Better?"

All embarrassment forgotten by now, Sakura took in Sasuke's 'smiling' expression and laughed softly. At the sound of her laughter, Sasuke's expression soften, and he looked more serene immediately. A genuine smile was threatening to appear.

"Okay guys! Smile for the picture!"

And they did.

Sakura sat in the darkness of her confinement, contemplating. She needed to get out of here, and her brain was already slowly formulating a plan. The food trays from the mysterious man's previous visits lay by her side, and she picked them up, testing their durability. It wasn't the best, but it will have to do.

She felt her way around the cell, eventually touching a lock that she assumed was connected to the door. It had been hours, and it felt about time for her next food round to be delivered. She hadn't gotten much answers, but she figured that she can get them after she escapes. Or rather, the authorities can. The prospect of having to deal with these criminals again after an escape doesn't sound pleasant.

She stood ready by the door, with the trays raised above her head. Her muscles tensed as she heard shuffling on the outside, getting closer. It was time.

The door opened a crack, before slowly widening.

"Hey girlie. Time for y—" A sickening bang was heard as the metal connected against his skull. The man slumped onto the floor immediately, and whatever he was holding clanged noisily onto the floor. Not bothering to look at the fallen man at all, she immediately ran out, and began searching for a way out of the place. As she took a turn down a corridor, her eyes squinted as she had to readjust to the light. When it finally did, the adrenaline in her veins pushed her to run as fast as she can, while also trying her best to stay quiet and memorising the interiors of what looks like an abandoned office building. The room she was locked in was most probably a storage room of some sort. The building was vast, and likely with several floors. The loud scuffle from her escape had also probably alerted someone to something. Her hopes were becoming bleaker.

Sure enough, it wasn't long before she nearly ran into another man, likely an accomplice of the criminal that brought her here.

"A tough one, aren't you? Didn't expect you to escape so soon. Too bad for you we need you locked up again. Boss's orders." He grinned maliciously, "But he didn't say how we do it, as long as we lock you up again. In which case, I can have some fun before I turn you in."

Sakura panicked and immediately began running down the hallway she came from, not realising until it was too late that she had taken a wrong turn and was now heading down a dead end. Her eyes widened in horror as the man slowly gained on her, the look on his face becoming creepier by the second. She pressed herself against the wall as much as she can and closed her eyes out of fear, waiting for the impact.

It never came.

She heard a grunt and slowly peeked her eyes open to see what's going on. Standing before her was a tall and dark-haired man. He was holding the other man by the collar. Looking from the dark-haired man's clenched fist and the other man's bruised face, she concluded that this man was her saviour. Her heart soared in hope.

"The boss said to capture her, not assault her. Do you want to jeopardise the mission by hurting the hostage? Stupid bastards." the man muttered, even though the other man was already unconscious. Sakura's heart plummeted. The voice was the same as the man who had given her food the first two times. He wasn't her saviour after all.

The man then turned to her. Now in the light, she could see his face clearly. She gasped, and her heart was beating so fast that it felt as though it might explode out of her chest. Her head spun. This was too much in one day. For standing in front of her was the man she has loved for years. The man who has been missing and presumed dead for months.

"S-Sasuke-kun?" she breathed, as if not daring to say his name after so long.

To her surprise, he merely narrowed his eyes at her, his face showing no sign of recognition.

"How do you know my name?"

Thank you for reading!