FIVE

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Uchiha Sasuke had a newly sharpened pencil held in between two fingers. He tapped the table with the eraser end of the pencil, thinking of the design of the prom venue. That wasn't just an extra project. He knew that his teacher trusted his architectural skill since he constantly won structural designing contests in his school. And he also knew that one of the wishes of a graduating student was a great Senior Prom… and he'd have to make the place a blast.

Apparently, his mind wasn't ready for the design. For almost half an hour, his head swam through the pools of scenes that happened hours before.

Everyone stared down on his private part for a whole minute. Sasuke was, of course, appalled. Haruno Sakura, who appeared terribly perplexed, screamed and ran out of the room.

"S-Sasuke—" Kiba wanted to change the topic but he saw the Uchiha shaking out of fury and embarrassment.

"My clothes." His words were cold and deadly. He knew by the look in their faces that they were guilty.

At first, no one moved, but the second Sasuke spoke in a lower tone, they scrambled to get his clothes. Seconds after, Naruto gave him his attire. He slammed the door shut and clothed himself.

Sasuke looked up from the large clean paper (where he was supposed to draw the draft) and checked the digital clock inches away from his lamp desk. One forty-five. He dropped his pencil and stretched out; he interlaced his fingers under his head while his ankles crossed on the table. His onyx orbs shut out the ashen light of the lamp. His chair tilted and stood on its hind legs.

I feel…so tired…

Soft fingers traced his neck and they found his nape. Slowly, the hand, which possessed the fingers, kneaded his flesh in the most delicate way. The massage was addicting and terribly erotic.

"Wake up…" Someone mumbled to his ear with great affection.

"One…minute…" Sasuke heard himself moan and then he tilted his head slightly to get a side of his neck touched.

Soft lips pressed ever so lightly on his lips. Sasuke smiled.

"…otouto."

The Uchiha jerked awake and his chair fell back along with him. His head hit the floor while one of his legs remained up against the edge of the table. He opened his eyes after recovering his senses and moved his limbs to get a more compromising position. Sasuke rubbed the back of his head and gradually stood up from the floor.

"You have always amazed me with your stunts, otouto."

Sasuke looked up and saw Itachi with arms crossed. His eyes were of darker shade but nonetheless, his tone remained light and amused. "Itachi?" The younger Uchiha needed seconds before starting an argument. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Apparently, I have just awoken you." The scarlet-eyed Uchiha waved his pointy finger.

Sasuke suddenly felt like puking. "You kissed me?" He felt that the kiss was some kind of heavenly and unreal. Soft. Gentle. Romantic. But now that he realized that Itachi was the one who gave him that kiss, the words went in reverse.

Itachi inclined his head to the right. "How was it? Did you like it?"

Sasuke grimaced. "NO."

"Or maybe you want another since you smiled."

"Shut the fuck up and leave my room!" Sasuke pointed at the door with a trembling finger.

Itachi just smiled.

"NOW." Sasuke was now blushing real hard. He couldn't believe how he was defeated by his own human emotions. His brother gave off a soft chuckle before leaving the room. He just watched without another word before pertaining to the toppled chair on the floor. He pulled it up after recovering his temper and sat back in front of the study desk.

Sasuke stared again at the blank paper in front of him and then searched for the table for the pencil he was holding minutes ago. But what caught his eye was not the pencil but a gun—its silver shimmering under the lamp light.

Itachi gave me a gun?

Hours ago, he killed Sarutobi. Hours after that, he went to Kiba's residence. And now, hours after his return, he stared at the gun before him. He was reminded that there would be a frat war two hours before the start of classes. And when he gets to school, he'd be sailing to another island together with his other classmates for an educational trip.

He clapped his hand to his forehead. He had not yet slept and though he was bushed, he didn't feel like drifting off to slumber.

Ring!

Sasuke stopped from placing his arm through the sleeve of his polo shirt. He used his other hand to grab his cellular phone from the bed.

"Sasuke!" He reckoned it was Naruto's voice.

Sasuke placed the phone in between his shoulder and face as he slipped his other arm into another sleeve. "What?"

"We're already here at the terminal."

"Who's there?"

"Shikamaru, Lee, Kiba (he heard him yell), Chouji—"

"What?" Sasuke halted and then continued fixing his buttons.

"What?" Naruto sounded confused.

"I mean: why is Chouji there?"

"He's already a part of this frat, Sasuke." Naruto raised his voice a bit to vie with the noise of the upcoming subway train.

"I told you before that he's not ready yet." Sasuke sat on his bed and placed his socks on with one hand.

"You sound like Hyuuga Sasuke-teme." Naruto leered. He knew that the Uchiha would stop speaking once he was compared to the Hyuuga.

Sasuke closed his eyes in agitation for he was reminded that Neji was part of their fraternity. He couldn't even bear the idea that he would be fighting alongside with him. "Fine." He snarled. "If he gets hurt, that's your call."

Naruto laughed and ended the call.

The Uchiha threw the cellular phone on the bed and picked the gun. He gazed at it for some seconds before slipping it into a holster. Another frat war. It was never new. Most of the male fourth years were into gangs and were not even daunted by news of dead students due to battles.

How did the Uchiha join the frat? He couldn't really remember. He wasn't a war freak but his skill encouraged groups to recruit him as a killer.

- - -

"Oi! Sasuke-teme!" Naruto punched him at the shoulder as a welcoming gesture.

Sasuke looked around for any sign of the enemy at the abandoned lot. "They're not yet here?"

"I bet they're scared." Kiba snorted. He twirled his pistol with one finger. "What do you expect from the frat we defeated twice?"

Shikamaru just shook his head thinking how troublesome frat wars were.

"Oi, Sasuke. Sorry about that incident okay?" Kiba shrugged.

"Hn." It was the interpretation of: don't remind me or I'll skin not only your sorry dick but also your fucking ass.

"Neji!" Lee called onto the approaching Hyuuga who had thug-looking guys behind him.

"I see your group is complete." Neji tapped his shoulder with the gun barrel. "Uchiha, glad to see that you can make it."

"…" Sasuke just threw him dagger looks.

"You might shoot me; hey, we're group mates here." Neji's lips curved into a smile.

"Shut up." Sasuke snapped.

"When did they hate each other so much?" Chouji whispered to those who were not included in the conversation.

"Airhead versus airhead. Two matters can not occupy the same space." Shikamaru answered.

"One has to burst to give way." Kiba nodded.

"But neither would volunteer." Nara added.

"Now I get it." Chouji smiled.

"Hey you homos! Stop that cat fight and start eyeing the area!" The frat leader, Kankurou yelled at the two and gestured the other men to follow him.

Neji and Sasuke exchanged final death glares before charging into the battle. From the other end of the lot came other high school students bearing baseball bats and pipes; others had guns in hands. Kankurou's group moved further forward before the front line lunged towards death.

Bullets rained and so did blood. Others smashed each other's heads with whatever weapon they held. Those who tried to escape was hunted down and trounced by groups.

Meanwhile, Sasuke rested his back on a defensive box and reloaded his gun. There was blood streaming from his forehead to his eyes because he was hit with a flying rock. He eyed the scene first before he went away from his hiding place. Sasuke shot down some students and evaded bats that swung his way. He ran towards the students who opposed his frat.

"Chouji!" The Uchiha spun and saw Kiba being pounded on by pipes. "Help!"

Chouji was just standing there with a long piece of wood in one hand. He stared, dumbfounded, at the sanguinary scene.

Move! Sasuke thought as he sped towards his frat mate. Fucking move! The Uchiha raised his gun and shot one of those who were trouncing Kiba. The others made their final blow before turning to Chouji but fortunately, the raven head shot all of them down.

"Chouji!" He nagged the teen from his shock. "Move it!"

"S-Sasuke…" Chouji's voice trailed away before he could even utter an excuse. He watched Sasuke rush to Inuzuka who was beaten up and to his ire, he was half-dead.

Sasuke stood up, his face up to the sky. Blood continued to trickle down his forehead to his temples. The yells and cries of both foes and friends became deafeningly silent. His grip around the handle of his pistol was rather light. I'm…tired… The psychological stress was wearing him down… terribly down.

- - -

There was a loud crashing sound against the lockers fifteen minutes before the start of classes. Chouji was seen slouched against the lockers with that pitiful expression in his face.

"Sasuke, stop it!" Shikamaru yelled and helped Chouji recover his balance.

Naruto didn't have the strength to stop the raging Uchiha despite his conscience telling him to protect Chouji.

"People get hurt in frat wars." Lee tried to alleviate both sides.

"You get hurt but when you fight…" Sasuke trembled angrily, "but he STARED at Kiba while he was being murdered!"

"He's not yet dead!" Shikamaru retaliated.

"Not YET!" The Uchiha's voice grew in decibels. Naruto held the raven head back to keep him from hitting Chouji and probably, hitting Shikamaru as well. "So you'll wait for someone to die before you get him to realize what he just did?"

"Sasuke—"

"Shut the fuck up Naruto!" Sasuke shoved the blonde away. "I told you that he wasn't ready!"

Naruto just looked straight into his eyes before looking away. He couldn't believe that the Uchiha actually got enraged… and for the first time with a friend.

No words passed them. Only glares and sympathetic looks became their communication.

"I-I'm sorry." Chouji muttered.

Sasuke glared at him and uttered something inaudible to all those around. He placed his gun in his open locker and slammed the door shut before storming out of the locker room.

Get a hold of yourself Uchiha. Sasuke clenched his fists as he walked through the corridor. Most students stared at him for there was still a trace of blood on his face. When he noticed that they looked at him with a curiosity, he wiped his forehead with the back of his palm even before he reached the clinic.

"Good lord! What happened to you?" The nurse took him in and immediately placed bandage around his head.

"Just fix me up." He said. "We'll be leaving in a few minutes."

"Fourth years? Ah, be careful out there."

"…"

After applying medicine, Sasuke stood up and proceeded to his class room to retrieve his bag. There, he found only a few students for most of them were already aboard the ship. A get away at last. He thought before stepping out of the room. He saw, from the doorway, the ship that would take them to the island. It was sparkling white under the sunlight. There was some kind of peace in that sight. Maybe he was reminded of her again.

"Sasuke, could you please hand me another candle." The blonde lady gestured the Uchiha to come over.

Sasuke immediately ran for a spare candle and tripped over his own foot.

The lady chuckled and watched the blushing Sasuke return to her with an unused candle in one hand. "Here." There came the soft mutter of the young Uchiha.

The lady took the candle from his little hand and replaced the one in the candle holder.

"May I watch closely?" Sasuke's eyes sparkled with interest.

The lady nodded and eyed the Uchiha as he placed his little arms on her lap and kneeled down on the floor. He raised his eyes up at her and smiled.

"You're so pretty!" the raven head exclaimed.

The lady laughed and placed her thread and needle down on the table. "You're young and yet you already know how to flatter someone."

"What's 'flatter'?"

She only smiled.

Sasuke was sent back to the present when someone accidentally bumped him. He almost forgot that he needed to get aboard the ship. He continued on his way to the stairs and down to the dock.

The ship began to move a few minutes after Sasuke got in. When he entered, he immediately took notice of the eye-catching interior of it. The walls were shining in their white splendor; the furniture was new and polished; the plants that were used as decoration were fresh; the lights were captivating and expensive-looking. When he passed a counter, he heard a student explain to his friend that they were booked in a first-class hotel, which was situated somewhere in the island.

And who might have rented the ship and the hotel for the simple educational trip?

"Otouto, how's your head?"

Itachi. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched. He decided to walk away but his brother's words continued.

"Don't you like this ship I bought for you?"

Oops, was it written that it was bought—and not rented?

Sasuke saw through his peripheral view that the students were eyeing him. If he continued walking on, he might catch unwanted attention. He turned, ambled towards Itachi and hissed. "I-don't-care." How could he forget that Itachi bought the school? Great. He turned his back to his brother and went to the common hall.

So far, Itachi did not follow him there but he found someone else as irritating, if not more, as his brother. And not only did he find another irritating guy, he also found an irritating girl.

For some reason unknown to him, he watched Neji hold Sakura by the wrist and pull her towards him. Sakura tried to back away but Neji's hold was firm. Some male students, who were probably minions of Neji, were surrounding the two… leering and eyeing Sakura as if they were seeing a naked show.

"Neji, just let go…" He heard he say in the most pathetic way.

Sasuke was about to walk away when he saw Naruto pass him. From the look in his eyes, he knew that he was to let Neji have it. He grabbed his best friend by the arm and pulled him back.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Naruto didn't seem surprised to see Sasuke utterly calm when minutes ago, he was yelling his head off. "He can't treat her like that."

How could Sasuke forget that Naruto worshipped Haruno? But he also knew that the blonde was reckless, he'd get into trouble in no time. The raven head released Uzumaki and eyed him as he approached Neji. The Hyuuga, on the other hand, noticed the approaching blonde and averted his attention from the pink head to him.

"You seem to glare at me Uzumaki." Neji tossed his head coolly. "Something you want to say?"

"Let her go." Naruto commanded.

"You're telling me what to do with my girl friend?" Neji raised his chin up. "Since when did you have power over me?"

Sasuke felt the urge to approach the worsening condition. He felt like smashing Neji's face because of his triumphant smile. But he was indifferent. He should be indifferent. He was an Uchiha. He didn't care. But why was he looking not at Naruto but at Sakura's pleading face? And unconsciously, he took a step forward.

"You're hurting her." Both Neji and Naruto faced the speaker who was three steps behind Naruto.

Sakura looked into those raven eyes but she could not find any emotion.

"Uchiha?" Neji's smile became more palpable. "You appear to be a gentleman now?"

"Don't get me wrong Hyuuga." Sasuke cocked his head to the right. "I don't care about that pet of yours." He gave a side glance at Sakura's red face. "You're hurting her. That's just it."

"Let her go you asshole." Naruto spat. He went forward but he felt a strong arm stop him.

Neji released Sakura's wrist and crossed his arms. "Want to hit me before Naruto does, Uchiha?" He nodded to Sasuke's arm. "Why don't you just hit your fat friend for being such a sucker? He endangered Kiba's life by the way."

"Let's go." Sasuke turned Naruto away from the Hyuuga but he continued to leer.

"Turning away from me Uchiha? Afraid that I might hit back?"

At that instant, Sasuke spun around and planted a clenched fist on Neji's cheek. The Hyuuga fell back and hit some chairs near him. Some students started crowding around the encounter and were entertaining themselves by choosing who was to win.

"Neji—" Sakura rushed to the cream-eyed teen but he swatted her away. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and saw that there was blood.

"…you got it Neji." Sasuke eyed him with such great contempt.

Neji stood up and gave off a chuckle before charging at the Uchiha.

"WOOOOH!" The students cheered as the two attacked each other with punches and kicks. Sasuke hit the table and the next time, Neji hit the floor. But both men always stood up to make another attack.

Oh god… Meanwhile, Sakura watched the two men smash each other's good looks. Her hands were clasped together in confusion of what to do. Stop. She thought. Stop it! "Stop!" She cried when she saw Neji fly to chairs. "Stop it now!"

No one seemed to listen for the cheers were loud.

When Neji tried to stand, Sakura pulled him down, hushing him to stop.

"Shut up!" Neji shouted and charged at the Uchiha again.

Sakura stared at the two men hitting each other endlessly. "STOP IT! STOP IT!" She ran towards the two men and hurled herself in between them. She pushed her weak hands against Sasuke's chest and cried, "STOP IT NOW!" with leaking eyes.

Sasuke's raised fist gradually lowered when he saw those pained eyes. He also calmed down when he felt her feeble clenched fists against his chest. Even Neji halted when he saw Sakura restraining Sasuke.

"Thank you Sasuke…" she whispered, "…but please… stop hurting Neji."

Sasuke felt chastened for some reason. How could this girl be so insensitive and blind? She was hurting herself by protecting the man who gave her only the slightest respect.

Sasuke withdrew himself from Sakura. Maybe he pitied her. Maybe he envied Neji. Maybe he needed to retrain himself.

Maybe he was tired.

He turned his back on them and without looking back, he walked away.

END

A/N: I don't know what the hell's wrong with me. I'm confused by my own thoughts. I'm sorry for the humorless chapter. Gah. I can't get enough of angst! And the reason for Sasuke's mood swings and confusion? He's tired.

I am bound to hasten the pace of the stages between Sasuke and Sakura. Again, pardon for the crap and the chop. Awww…I need food.

Explanations about Sasuke's emotional outburst would be explained throughout the story.