Thank you for all the reviews everyone! Ok, about the way I write, I know it's a little confusing, but the reason I do it that way is because they usually fight with their inners or each other and they immediately retort back, so yeah. Besides, I'm more comfortable writing this way. I might do it differently in my next story though. Did they fix the line thing yet? Anyway, review me plz!

Note: Sasuke's OOCness is explained this chapter, just too lazy to write it earlier and he's wasn't supposed to figure it until now. (I'm making this up as I go.)

Disclaimer: Megan doesn't own Naruto or Kakashi, now get on with the story.

Ch.12: Friend and Foe

The four of them were walking to the bookstore near the middle of the village. "So Sasuke, what's your friend like?"

"Hn."

Sakura laughed. "Fine, I won't ask any more questions." They walked ten more blocks. "We're here." stated Sasuke.

The bookstore was pretty average. It was two stories. The top floor was a residential. The actual shop had shelves and shelves of books. Sasuke stared at the store before opening the door. The bell above rang as they entered. A voice came from the back of the store. "I'm sorry, but we're closed no- Sasuke! Hi! Oh, you must be his friends, right? Hi."

"Sasuke, you never mentioned she was a girl," Kakashi stated.

"Hn."

"Teme's got a girlfriend!"

POW!

Naruto was knocked unconscious. "Sasuke! What'd you do that for?! Baka! Now we have to wait until he wakes up. Honestly, I thought when you guys grew up, you'd mature a little more."

"Aa."

"Apology accepted." Sakura said.

Ayame sweatdropped. "Don't worry, they've always been like this, although, no matter what Sakura says, they have matured. The reason they act like that is because we've sort of become like a family. We've been bonding since the first test I gave them when I first started teaching them."

"Odd. You don't look old enough to be their teacher."

"I'm flattered, but I am old. 37 to be exact."

"That's not old."

He chuckled and smiled. That's exactly what she says." He pointed his finger. Following it, she spotted Sakura. "You mean her?"

"Yes." he said.

'He must really love her. I can see it in his eye and the way he looks at her. I wonder if she knows…..'

"Oh! We forgot to introduce ourselves!" Sakura exclaimed. She pointed to herself. "I'm Haruno Sakura, the unconscious idiot over there is Uzumaki Naruto, you've already met Sasuke, and the silver-haired pervert you're talking to is Hatake Kakashi."

"Pleased to meet you, I'm Honda Ayame. I own this place."

Sasuke looked at Ayame, studying her. Her black hair was an inch or two longer than Sakura's. It was still in a ponytail, bangs framing her face. Actually, Sakura and her looked a lot alike except for the hair and instead of green eyes, Ayame had reddish-brown ones behind a pair of glasses. He stopped staring and kicked Naruto lightly. "Looks like I hit him too hard. He'll probably be out for another fifteen minutes."

"I'll change out of my uniform, be right back. You can look around if you'd like."

"Thanks," said Sakura.

"No problem." and Ayame went upstairs.

'Why was I staring at her?' Sasuke thought as he wandered the store when he happened upon Kakashi. "Ah, Sasuke. Come to look at the Icha Icha too? I always knew you were a perv."

Sasuke's eyes turned sharingan.

"Calm down. Sasuke, I was only kidding."

'He's showing his emotions more freely now. This is a surprise.'

His eyes turned black again. "Hn."

"I'm back!"

They stepped out of the shelves to see Ayame. She had changed from her red floral-print dress and beige apron into black jeans and a blue tank top. (The opposite of what Sakura was wearing.)

"You look nice. Ayame-san!" Sakura exclaimed.

"Please. Call me Aya or Ayame."

"So what'd I miss?"

"Hn. Dobe."

"Shut up. teme!"

"Guys. Calm down before you break something. Especially with the property damage you're capable of." said Sakura.

"Fine."

"Hn."

Ayame grabbed a jacket and locked up the shop. She ran over to her new friends. "So where are we going?"

"Dunno." Naruto said.

"Sasuke didn't tell us anything," stated Sakura.

"So Ayame. Tell us about yourself."

"Um, well. I live by myself in the bookstore. Both my parents are dead and I have an older sister. We don't talk much anymore."

"Hm. Sounds a little like teme. I think we'll get along great."

"Oh. I didn't get a chance to ask before, where are you guys from?"

"They all looked at her and unanimously said "Konoha."

"Konoha……You mean you're THE Uchiha Sasuke?! And you're the famous UzumakiNaruto?! And you two are the famous Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi?!"

"Yes. That's not a problem, is it Aya?" asked Sakura worriedly.

"N-n-no! It's an honor really. I'm surprised. I just need to get over the shock, I'll be fine."

"We're here." Sasuke murmured.

They were now in front of their new hangout, the now empty Tiger Lily Café. Ayame went in first. "Hello. My name is Yumi, how may I…Oh, it's you."

"Hi big sister."

"She's your sister?!" they all exclaimed (even Sasuke).

"Y-yeah."

"Hi Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi-kun, Ayame."

"Ahem."

"Oh, Sakura! I didn't see you there. My mistake." Sakura snorted. "So little sister, what brings you here?"

"Sasuke invited me to dinner with his friends."

"Fine." She seated them at a table and took their orders.

Sasuke sat next to Naruto and across from Ayame. Ayame was sitting next to Sakura and Kakashi sat at the head of the table. Ayame sighed. "I'm sorry about my sister's behavior. She's always been like that. We've never gotten along. You see, while we were both blessed with good looks in our family, I got the brains and it caused father to like me more. It only got worse as we grew up.

"We were both asked out a lot in high school. I was sought after more than she was and though I never accepted, she was jealous. It felt like she was being pushed aside again. A few years later, mother and father died. They left me the store and left Yumi her college fund. Even though she hated the shop, she wanted to sell it and become rich. She ended up spending her college fund on material possessions and ended up working here as a waitress. Ever since then, she's been bitter towards me and resents my existence. I think the reason she doesn't like you, Sakura, is because you remind her of me, so I'm sorry. I'm sorry for causing you trouble."

A few tears fell down her face. Sasuke's eyes turned sharingan and he started clenching his fist. 'I feel so helpless.'

Sakura noticed the tears too. She put her hand over Ayame's. "It's okay, Ayame. Thank you for trusting us with this. From now on, we'll help each other. You're our friend and friends stick together. Right guys?" Kakashi nodded, Naruto smiled, and Sasuke smirked. "Thank you," Ayame whispered. Sakura hugged her and smiled.

Yumi was watching them talk from a distance. She couldn't hear anything, but when she saw Sakura hug Ayame and everyone at the table cheer(A/N: Technically, they did), the glass she was cleaning shattered in her hand. Blood dripped down her hand and onto the broken glass below. Ayame's eyes widened. "Yumi!" Sakura, being the medic she is, rushed over to help her.

Sakura reached for Yumi's hand and she snatched it away. "I don't need help from a bitch like you."

Sasuke's hand gripped his glass tightly. Sakura ignored her. "Your hand says otherwise."

Sakura reached out to grab it. Yumi recoiled in disgust. "Don't. Touch. Me. Whore."

Sasuke gripped his glass tighter, his knuckles white. "Your hand needs medical attention! I work as a medic. Let me help you." Sakura tried to get Yumi's hand when Yumi pushed her.

"Sakura!" screamed Naruto.

Sakura was falling towards the ground and broken glass. She closed her eyes and braced for impact, waiting for the shards or glass to become embedded into her flesh. Five seconds passed, now ten. Sakura was confused. 'Shouldn't I have hit the floor by now?'

She cracked her eyes open to see Kakashi's worried gaze staring down at her. She blushed, realizing he was holding her in his arms. She blushed further and whispered a small thank you. He nodded and helped her straighten her body. Yumi was livid. "Kakashi-kun," she said in a sickeningly sweet tone, "why'd you help her?"

"Because she is one of the most important people in my life."

'And because I love her.' he thought, never taking his gaze off her. He turned to Yumi. "And I don't ever remember asking you to be so familiar with my name."

"She's pissed off sensei. I wonder what he'll do to her?" said Naruto as he glanced at the scene unfolding.

Ayame blinked. "He's angry? He looks perfectly calm to me."

"He's angry, alright. He might seem calm, but that's because remaining calm is part of being a shinobi. Kakashi takes it to a whole other level, it's ingrained into his very soul. He rarely shows his emotions up front, but he gives subtle hints as to what he's feeling."

Naruto looked at his reflection in the glass of water. "If you haven't noticed, his tone is sharper than before and he's glaring at her in a way which he rarely does outside of battle."

'He's right,' she thought. 'His aura is thick with anger and…something else that I can't place.'

Yumi sneered. "She doesn't seem so important. Like a little, insignificant bug. What'd she do to deserve your attention, Kakashi? I bet she slept with you just to get on your good side."

Kakashi and Sakura were stunned at what she said, so was Naruto and Ayame. Sasuke's anger spiked. His eyes turned sharingan as the glass shattered in his hand. Sakura heard the noise and looked towards their table. She gasped. "Sasuke!" She ran towards the table.

Hearing his name being said, his eyes turned black and he noticed blood and broken glass on his hand. Sakura ran over to him. "Sasuke, are you alright?"

'She's…worried about me?' A warm feeling surged through him. It caused him to smile and Sakura saw it. She blushed while Naruto gaped. "Sakura, I'm fine. The question is, are you?"

She smiled at him. "Yes, I'm fine. Kakashi caught me before I landed on the glass." Sadness, guilt, and anger hit his heart. 'Why didn't I do anything? Why did I just sit there? I'm so useless. So…weak.'

"Sasuke."

"Hn?"

"I'm going to clean it out. This might sting."

Sasuke softly laughed. "I've been through worse, Sakura."

She chuckled, "I guess you're right." They smiled at each other as she flushed out the wound. While she did, the warm feeling increased in him. He felt truly loved for the first time in a long while.

Yumi smirked and was about to walk away when Kakashi spoke up. "I believe you owe her and I an apology."

"Sorry Kakashi, about what I said about you, I was just angry."

"What about her?"

"I don't believe I owe her one. I wonder why you associate with the likes of her when you have me?"

"I believe you have that wrong. Now about that apology."

"What about it?"

"Are you or not?"

"I believe not, now would you mind? I have work to do."

"Fine, but one more thing." Yumi turned to face him. "Hm?"

He brought his face near hers, a death glare in his eye. "If you ever hurt Sakura or any one of my friends, you'll wish death had come for you sooner." Yumi paled. Kakashi turned around and walked away.

Yumi stalked off behind the counter. 'I'm not done with you yet Kakashi. You will be mine, and I will have my revenge.'

Sakura had now finished picking out all the glass and was healing it. Sasuke leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Thank you," he whispered sincerely.

Sakura felt a tug on her heart. "Y-y-you're welcome," she stuttered, blushing. He smiled softly at her. 'He's smiling now. Something's changed in him, but what? Oh well, he's happy. I just hope he can stay this way.' she thought.

Sakura got off the floor and turned around to dust off her clothes when she ran into something hard and warm. She was about to fall backwards when she felt arms lock around her. She squeaked and looked up. It was Kakashi. She turned beet-red, her heartbeat quickened. "Thank you."

"No problem. Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." The smile she sent him chased all thoughts of jealousy away. He blushed slightly and said, "I'm glad, but I think we should leave now."

Naruto and Ayame nodded while Sasuke (who regained composure) said, "Hn."

Pushing in their chairs and paying for the broken glass, (A/N: They didn't pay for the food cuz they didn't get it.) and left.

Outside……

"Sakura?" Ayame asked shyly. Sakura stopped and turned to face her. "I'm sorry about earlier. My sister, she tends to act like that around my friends or anyone who looks like me. Basically, her enemies. I'm sorry she took it out on you."

"It's ok, Aya-chan! We've seen worse and we mean it. Remember that purple-haired fangirl in Konoha, teme?"

"Don't remind me."

"Although…" Everyone turned to look at Naruto. "If she doesn't like your friends Aya-chan, why is she only mean to Sakura and not the rest of us?"

"Yumi has a thing for older guys like Kakashi and since you're his friends, she treats you well. I believe she thinks you're a threat, Sakura. She might think that you're competition for her with Kakashi. The fact that you look like me only worsens it."

Sakura looked at Ayame. "You're our friend, that means we don't let anything happen to you. We might not have known each other long, but it feels like we have and that we're family. So, if she tries anything, will you tell us?"

"Yeah Aya-chan!" Kakashi and Sasuke nodded.

"Alright."

"Great!" yelled Naruto. "We'll drop you off on our way to the inn."

After Ayame left…..

"Hey guys?"

"What Sakura?" asked Kakashi.

"I've been thinking. If Yumi really doesn't like Ayame or me, do you think she might try something?"

"I don't know Sakura," he replied. "We don't know what she's capable of."

"I don't like her. Something's off about her, something wrong."

"I agree. The air around her seems stagnant and evil," said Sasuke. 'It's like when I was with Orochimaru…'

"Well, I'm tired. I'll see you guys later."

"Bye Sakura-chan!" A cloud of cherry blossom petals signaled her departure.

Kakashi turned to face Naruto and Sasuke. "We need to be careful now, especially since Yumi is focused on bringing Sakura and Ayame down. Hopefully, she doesn't do anything drastic."

"I just hope they'll come out of this fine."

"Aa." Sasuke looked up at the starry sky above them. 'I hope so too, Naruto. I really do.'