Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

"So," Iruka-sensei started, practically breaking the silent tension that was dominating in the place. "How were your summers?"

Everyone slumped unto their tables. Groans and whimpers sounded all over the place, possibly because of the insane heat and Iruka-sensei's out-of-this-world comments. Sakura looked around, eager to know what other stuff they might have been saying. An eerie silence took place among them and Iruka-sensei was scratching his head anxiously, probably wondering about what else to take up. "Well—seeing there's no reply to my question…"

He paused and continued, "I'd like to introduce, by the way, the newest member of our student body—please come in front—Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sakura hit her head on the wall upon hearing the name. She still can't get over it—the fact that they're classmates is just too disturbing. He stood up from the seat at the back part of the room (she also observed that he wasn't as sociable as the other men were) and went to the front. As he passed by Ino's seat, the femme fatale cast her turquoise eyes in quite a seductive manner at him, only to be badly ignored. Amused, Sakura stuck out her tongue in quiet victory. Well, victory over the pig, that is.

Sasuke kept hushed all the while Iruka-sensei was presenting him to the class. He made absolutely no comment, but every now and then, a girl or two would make that clichéd fangirl-ish sound (the one that goes, "haaaa", which is often translated into "he's so damn cute" or something like that in English). Sakura heaved a sigh. What do they see in him anyway?

The bell clamored along the halls of the academy. Finally, Sakura thought. The break is finally here. Oh, finally!

She thanked the gods of recess for showering her with the most beautiful blessing she could've received that time. There was nothing more like a good ol' break to rid her mind of the image of a certain hot (?) bastard named Uchiha Sasuke. Well, she considered him a bastard—the other females thought he was the cutest heartthrob ever. Even Ino, who is ostensibly the snobbish brat, seemed to like him. Well, she supposed, I'm different—unlike them, I won't fall for a guy like him. Never. Na-ah. Nope—no way.

At least, that's what she thought.

"Naruto," she called out to her ever-hyperactive best friend who was already chatting with Sai. Of course, his boisterous laughter (with the matching leg-slaps) couldn't be missed out. Sakura darted toward them to complain about the teachers' choices for her classmates. "I can't determine who's worse—Ino or that jerk?!"

"Sakura, Sasuke's not a jerk," he claimed, although there was a trace of a whisper saying, "Though he may be one sometimes." He continued, saying, "He's just—well—chauvinistic! I mean, you two will get along sooner of later… Or maybe even do more than just that."

Sakura slapped his arm and huffed. Get along? Who does Naruto think he's referring to?! There's no way in heaven (or in hell) I'm going to be friends with him. No way.

And it went on. Naruto merely stared at his friend (who's a girl)'s 'idiosyncrasy' which she did by muttering gibberish to herself. He'd never understand women's pains. But then again, he didn't have to.

"And besides—it's pretty obvious that he's a playboy!" She continued.

"How could you even say that?"

Sakura fingered her hair for a moment. "Well… For one thing, he's, um, good-looking and—"

"Aha! So you do think he's hot!" Naruto was jumping around in a preppy manner. Sakura let out a moan of regret after saying one of the most ridiculous things, that is, next to the clause "Naruto is sexy".

"Dammit, Naruto—I don't!" Sakura huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, the pink fringes of her hair covering her emerald eyes. "If there's anyone here I'd least be happy with, it would be him!"

Then, out of the bushes, a figure jumped out and sat beside Naruto. "And who's that?"

It was Sasuke. There was the eerie coldness in his voice which was present the first time he spoke to her that morning.

"You know, Sakura—I don't really get why you're so mad with Sasuke," Naruto suddenly popped out of nowhere in the conversation. He gave Sasuke a mock punch, saying, "He isn't that bad. I mean, it's not like you've actually met him before, right?"

Sakura let out a small yelp. Sakura knew better than to talk about her bumping into Sasuke the day before. "Right."

Naruto grinned widely and uttered, "And just because he called you a 'stupid waitress', that doesn't mean you should curse him to death, right?"

Sakura gave Sasuke a glower when she noticed that he wasn't even listening to their conversation at all—nor was he interested. He just sat there on the bench made of cement, leaning against the beautifully carved pillar supporting the roof of the covered walk. He was looking at something, though Sakura couldn't make what it was out of it. It could have been the sky, or the trees—or even Ino who was at the other side of the field. Sakura cringed. She told herself it could be anything but Ino.

It is an important matter, that is, that Sakura and Ino were once best friends. It was only until then when the blonde had to enter the cheerleading team and developed a keen sense of pride which somehow made her disgusted towards anyone who wasn't in the status of 'popular'. Surely enough, Sakura was well-known in her own way which was through being noticed because of her high I.Q. and potential in the arts and medicine, but it was greatly different from the popularity you get from being a cheerleader. When you are in the same level as that of Sakura's, which is only attainable by the smartest pupils in the campus, you receive not only the respect and admiration of the pupils and teachers, but also envy from wanna-be's. When you're a cheerleader, on the other hand, the first things you'd be given when strutting along the corridors like the world was at your feet were the amazed glances from the people around you, particularly the boys. Cheerleaders were regarded as the glamorous girls along with the rich ones; normally, they'd be among the prettiest in the school and would have that strange charm. Ino was like that. She had long lovely blonde hair which neat fringes covering her right eye which was turquoise in color. She had a nice body too—with smooth curves and a perfectly thin frame which went well with the usual purple outfits she wore when she wasn't in her uniform. Sakura once was jealous of her, but forgot about it when she became the top student of their batch.

Anyhow, going back to the story, Sakura was broken out of her thoughts when the bell rang to signify that they had to go back to their rooms. Of course, Naruto went with Sai who was, much to his annoyance, a classmate. The two were constantly arguing about many things, but were, in some way, friends. Sakura hesitated walking alongside Sasuke, who was still keeping himself quiet. Now that she had thought about it, Sakura realized that she had been taking the issue a little bit too far. Maybe, she thought. Maybe if I try talking to him… I'll—

She was cut off yet again when a hand pulled her out of the way.

"My dear Sakura," said Ino. "It would be a bit inappropriate if you'd be seen with Sasuke-kun, wouldn't it? I mean, a sight such as a hot guy like him hanging out with a bookworm like you isn't that much of a scene, don't you think?"

Sakura tugged away from Ino's grasp. "What are you blabbing about? I'm not hanging out with him, and I trust those piggish eyes of yours can see it as clearly as I'd expect them to."

"Whatever. I don't care how you'll explain it; just don't go near him or even think of doing so."

"Why would it matter to you, anyway?" Sakura was getting intrigued by this.

"Don't butt into people of a higher status's business, Sakura. A guy like Sasuke wouldn't probably notice you, besides."

And with that, Ino left her there, partly shocked, partly sulking. In silence, she paced toward the classroom and saw that not many have arrived yet. She sat in her usual seat beside Hinata and propped open a novel she just bought yesterday in the bookstore.

"Sakura-san," Hinata suddenly whispered out. "Do you think Uchiha-kun's intelligent?"

She gasped. Of all people, she just had to be the one Hinata would ask. "Sorry, Hinata, I'm just not the right person to answer that. Why're you asking, by the way? It seems to be merely a random thought."

"Well, it sort of is. I—I just wondered about it." She paused and continued, "He looks like an intellectual to me, in a way…"

Sakura thought about it too. She glanced at Sasuke's direction, and noticed that he was still in deep thought, as she concluded. Then an idea fluttered into her mind. "Hinata, are you taking an interest in him too?"

The Hyuuga girl blushed, and looked as if she was about to mutter 'yes', but her answer said otherwise. "N-no, of course not. Why?"

"Sorry," Sakura smiled. "I didn't mean it like that. It's just that, of all the boys here, that Uchiha person's the one who received the most attention from the females, as far as I'm concerned. He even beat your cousin, sad to say."

She remebered the other Hyuuga. Neji-san, she thought. He was quite handsome, she would say. And very sharp too. He was the Pupil Government President and had a fair share of fan girls.

Hinata was about to say something else when the teacher came in and started his lesson on Environmental Science. They were already in high school, which meant that every year there would always be a different teacher or two. He gave an introduction so simple, and yet containing so many complicated topics.

Then after saying this and that, he asked a question that Sakura thought she might be the only one to answer. She eagerly raised her hand and beamed, and the professor, who later identified himself as Jiraiya the 'Toad Specialist', was about to point to her when another hand shot through the air. Sakura was startled to see that another person knew what the teacher was talking about. Uneasily, she moved to take a look at who it was. She'd be utterly insulted if it was Ino, but it turned out that it wasn't. In fact, the person wasn't even a girl.

"Professor," said a deep, cool voice. And then he began explaining.

She couldn't grasp the reason how a new transferee could answer one of the hardest questions. How'd he know that?

Yes, it was Sasuke. The Uchiha Sasuke—and by the time he had finished talking, all the girls went crazy, giggling and blushing. Sakura caught sight of Ino staring at his direction with those googly eyes of hers. She sighed, thinking of how more desperate her female classmates could possibly get.

But it weren't just her classmates. As the lunch bell rang and they all had to proceed to the cafeteria for a meal, almost all the girls gazed at Sasuke with much amazement. He did seem to mind—Sakura once saw him frowning from all of the attention he was getting. She took note that maybe this happened to him from where he was so he's probably used to all of it anyhow.

It just made her wonder so, that is to say, how she ended up in the same table the new heartthrob was seated in. She remembered not only Ino's petty threats which she was capable of ignoring, but also what Iruka-sensei told her before leaving for lunch:

"Sakura, may I have a word with you for a moment?"

She walked towards him and stood right before his table wherein he was arranging something. "Sir?"

He scratched his nose and let out a chuckle. "Sakura, if you would be so kind…"

"Yes?"

"I was thinking if you could act as a guide for Uchiha-kun, that is, if you might." He looked up and smiled cunningly. "He's a clever kid, just as you are, and you seem to be the right person to look after him as he tries to adapt to the environment here."

Sakura hesistated. "But sensei, why me? I understand your first point, but there are other people out there, like Naruto—and he knows Sasuke."

"Well, Sakura, you're very versatile. You're highly capable of doing things most of your age cannot. You're responsible. You don't easily forget. And…Sasuke's a boy." He stared at her for a while. "Having a girl for a guide is like adding cherry on top of a scrumptious sundae!"

"Shitsurei shimasu, sensei?" Sakura understood what Iruka-sensei was telling her; it's just that she didn't want to.

"Oh, yeah," she mumbled to herself as she ate a plate of umeboshi ochazuke. "I was told to do so."

She looked at Sasuke, who was eating a rice ball and still had a serving of sushi settled on his plate. He was quiet, still, and looked like he had no plans of talking to her at all. Beside him was Naruto, stuffing himself with ramen. Sakura simply groaned at the sight of the two men with her as Sai took a seat opposite her. "Another guy… Great."

She didn't know why she was feeling cruel towards men that day. She just brushed it off and continued munching.

"So, Sakura," Naruto ecstatically skipped towards her about five minutes after the dismissal bell rang. "Are you and Sasuke friends now?"

"That's a dull question, Naruto," she replied, neatly putting away her stuff into her bag. They were in the Physics laboratory and most of the other pupils have left already. Physics and Chemistry were the only subjects she and Naruto took up together and since Physics was held last every single day, the two went home together as they always have done.

"Whatever. You know, since you're in charge of Sasuke now, we should go home with him."

She huffed. "I don't know."

And with that, Naruto went out to 'find something'. Sakura decided to just go on outside without him and wait at the exit gates. They were used to that anyway.

Just as Sakura was about to run to the main floor, she bumped into someone and sort of fell off balance. She tilted her head up to find Sasuke quirking a brow at her in a cold way.

"Oh, it's you, Sasuke."

She got up on her feet and was about to walk away when Sasuke said, "Iruka-sensei told me I should walk home with you and Naruto."

Sakura gasped silently and turned to him. Iruka-sensei's really going to pay for this. "I suppose so."

Author's Note: So...There you have it (finally)! I've updated the story, and to make up for the loooong wait, I made it longer than I ever would have! Wheee...

later,

mia