Highschool of the rich and the famous

by Lastwords

Haruno Sakura gets a scholarship to the expensive Rockwell Academy, where she recieves Uchiha Itachi as a senior mentor. Life as a teenager is hard especially when you have a past just waiting to bite you in the ass. AU fiction SakuraXItachi

8. Ignorance is Bliss

Chapter 8: 'Ignorance is bliss'

A/n: WOW people 56 reviews!! [As I'm writing this, that is where the figure stands forgive me if it has changed] I never expected such good feedback!

I need ideas for titles for the chapters so please review or PM me any ideas you have for titles, I'd be very thankful.

Now on with the show…story…thing. AH well we all know what I mean…well I do anyways don't know about you guys…

Lastly I apologize for the late posting (I know you've all grown old in the space of time between chapter 7 and 8), I have been busy and my life isn't as smooth sailing as the Disney channel so forgive me. 0.o

Sorry that it's shorter then the rest but we must make do.

Enjoy

R&R

Lastwords

-XXXX-

"A dare's a dare."

Sakura got up and went over to Sasuke, who now looked…embarrassed to say the least. His lips were pressed in a thin line, taking years off his pale face. Sakura bent down and grinned at him.

"Hey you guys I don't think Sasuke wants to do this." Sakura's green eyes stared deeply into Sasuke's, no butterflies erupted in her stomach, she didn't feel a rising heat on her skin or within her, no sparks, no fireworks. All she could see was coal black eyes and that's when she figured it out.

She felt nothing for Sasuke, not even a slight thrill at his handsome features. Whereas Itachi had her breaking out in a hot and cold sweat at the same time, she understood the difference and even though her grandmother had done it she figured she wouldn't be able to. She couldn't grow anything without a seed, involuntary Itachi and Sakura had a seed. Whereas Sasuke and Sakura, they didn't even have soil to grow the thing in.

Everybody waited as the two just seemed to stare unknowingly into the depths of the other person's eyes. Ten-ten cleared her throat but neither budged.

Sasuke looked into those green eyes and he felt a horrible sensation of a flipping stomach. They way he used to when he told his father something he wanted him to be proud of, he felt warm too warm and it wasn't because the temperature had suddenly risen. He could feel sparks, see fireworks. Within the depths of those green eyes he could see a future a beautiful happy future.

Before he knew it Sakura's lips had embraced his in a kiss.

A kiss that was brought on by a dare, but a kiss none the less, his hands reached out to grab her head and pull her closer but she was already stepping away. The kiss was over and Sasuke had a horrible sensation of sinking within his stomach.

Ten-ten clapped and grinned at Sakura who smiled in return.

"Let's do this." Her smile wasn't cruel, but rather mischievous; rubbing her hands together she set her eyes on Hinata who turned violet red. Sakura knew the answer to that question Hinata would choose truth; but Naruto on the other hand….

"Naruto, truth or dare?" She had barely asked the question when the blonde yelled "DARE BABY!" She smiled and cast her eyes towards her tomato red friend.

"I dare you to kiss Hinata, properly not a peck." If Hinata could get any redder she'd have invented a new colour. Sakura grinned as Naruto shrugged, got up and went over to Hinata smiled at her and told her to relax before kissing her.

The kiss stared out as a dare kiss, but turned into something very different. The make out session was believable…because it was real. The two of them weren't stopping or pulling away. Sakura smiled at Ino. Ino just shrugged and mouthed 'Neji' Sakura rolled her eyes.

Now was not the time for ruining the fun, Sakura ended up having to pull the two off each other. She didn't miss the smile shared between them and the interlacing of fingers.

"Ino?" Was all Naruto said before he went back to examining Hinata's hand.

"Truth." the blonde proclaimed

"Best bang?" he joked.

"Your mom!" She exclaimed with a smoothness that was quite frightening.

Naruto just shivered as he imagined the child that relationship could produce.

"Okay seriously, most embarrassing thing you've ever done?" Naruto's eyes looked up and met Ino's, this should be good.

"I got drunk one night since my brother was throwing a party with booze and I let..." She paused as she cringed "I let Lee feel me up."

Everyone, save Sakura laughed loudly. Ten-ten wasn't able to breathe all she could imagine was: green spandex and bushy eyebrows going near Ino's assets.

"How did he get into a party of your brother's?" Ten-ten asked when she composed herself.

"Oh em I actually don't know but still that's my embarrassing moment." She smiled at Ten-ten "Okay bun girl let's see, truth or dare?"

"Dare." Ten-ten smiled, she was confident there was nothing Ino could do to her here-

"Next time I'm with you and we see Neji you have to tell him you want him…anally."

Except that.

"WHAT?!" Ten-ten screamed, how the hell did the blonde come up with these things?

Ino just smiled in a winning sort of way. "Hey I live with Deidara and he's friends with Hidan, that dude is pretty fucked up and I was exposed to it at a young age. Deal with it."

Ten-ten was purple in the face from mortification. She huffed before going onto Hinata.

"Truth please," Hinata's little voice stated.

The game continued until everybody grew bored or in Shikamaru's case fell asleep. The girls spent the night (Breaking school rules) in the guys' dorm room that night.

-XXXX-

The next morning Akane got up early and went to the school car park to drive home. Her journey was smooth and she encountered no problems on her way home, when she got home she found the house to be empty and she smiled knowing her mother was in work.

Guess I won't have to think of an excuse to visit her office then Akane thought as she left the house to go find her mother. She entered the air-conditioned building and smiled, it was always bright and clean in here unlike the clients. She waved at the receptionists and walked to an office she knew all too well.

'Doctor Kobayashi' was written on the gold panel upon the door; her mother the psychiatrist was waiting behind that door. Now all she needed was some alone time with her filing cabinet to see if this Haruno girl had a history.

She understood from the school file the codes being used, codes even Emi wouldn't know, codes you'd only know if one of your parents was a doctor for mental illnesses or conditions.

Code 3.

Akane smiled brightly at the thought, and knocked. Oh yes she was about to dig up some serious dirt.

A distant "Come in!" was heard and Akane opened the door slowly, she smiled at her mother. Her mother smiled and got up giving her daughter a huge hug. It had been too long since she had seen her precious Akane.

Sitting down opposite her mother they chatted for a while before Mrs. Kobayashi declared she needed to go do something in the main office, Akane smiled and said she'd wait. Once her mother had left the room Akane shot up like a light and ran to the filing cabinets.

Bending over she quickly flicked through the alphabetically organized files, blue for a boy and pink for a girl. She grinned when her fingers landed upon a 'S. Haruno'. This really had been too easy, getting up she walked over to the photocopier and as quickly as she could she photocopied every sheet in the file. Placing the file back where she fond it and closing the cabinet she put the photocopied pages in her bag.

Operation destroy Sakura had finally begun, she couldn't help but grin. When her mother returned she was still grinning like a crazy person and a slightly worried look crossed her mother's face. Akane explained that she was tired and wanted to go home, getting up she said goodbye and left her mother alone, once again, in her office.

The drive home was enjoyable and Akane couldn't wait to read what she'd found out, the file looked thick; Sakura obviously had a history. A very deep juicy history, Akane's grin could only be described as pure and utter evil.

Sitting down on her bed she unfolded the pages, preparing herself for anything.

-XXXX-

Itachi was sitting in his bedroom in a thoughtful state of mind; his room brought back memories from a long time ago. Everybody's childhood was marked out somehow in their bedroom, be it through teddy bears on the shelving units, photographs hanging on the walls or quirky knick-knacks obtained when the person was young. Each person's room said something about him or her, but as the person got older the room also changed, the walls would see many colours, and the bed would see different patterns for duvet covers. And the person who owned that room would change also; yet the room would always hold some form of childhood memories no matter what the age of the person. The teddies would stay and the photos would also, people changed but they kept elements of their former selves.

Itachi's room was painted (Now) a deep dark blue colour; it made the huge room look smaller, more intimate. The bed spread was a simple black one, no pattern, no fuss. It looked and felt silky; the room was simple but extravagant. His bed was king sized one, though it didn't take away from the sheer size of the room. He had a mahogany desk and sitting on that desk was an Apple Mac pro computer; a leather chair was placed in the space provided by the desk.

Itachi was neat, as was his room; his closet was filled neatly with clothes of various colours for various occasions. The room has a wall with 3 bookcases lined up together, making it appear like a mini library. Each case was filled to the brim with books, ranging from old to new, from encyclopedias to dictionaries. Some books were dog-eared giving way to the fact that Itachi read them often. A simple family photo hung above the desk, showing Itachi at the age of 3 and Sasuke as a new baby; the woman holding the baby in her arms was smiling brightly but the man next to her had a blank face looking cold and hard.

The room had a door leading into Itachi's own bathroom; including a bath a shower a sink and a toilet. One of the walls in the room was made completely of glass acting like a huge window with black black-out curtains pulled at the two sides of it. The window gave way to a view of the garden behind the house; the garden was magnificent in its own right. The grass was mowed to perfection, the trees and plants grew neatly, and the tall trees had lights dotted about them giving a sensual lighting to the garden at night time. There were pathways for people to walk on when viewing the garden, and a wooden decking with garden furniture under a canopy to protect it from the rain.

The Uchiha household screamed of wealthy people, there was nothing cheap or tacky in sight. It was grand and immaculate, spectacular and magnificent and yet the teenage boy sitting in his bedroom was not happy. He was not happy at all.

Sure, he was born into a rich family and he could have easily graduated at the age of 13 but still. Not known to many people was the fact that life as an Uchiha was not perfect nor was it fun. The luxuries that came with money became disinteresting at a young age and what people didn't know was that money would only bring you short lived happiness. Itachi's and Sasuke's father was a cold man, an emotionless man a man who was driven and narrow minded. He was rude and obnoxious and nobody had the authority to correct him, he didn't care about making people like him. He only wanted people to want to be him. He was a business man and business man who taught his children: You never give anything except pain, you work until even your hair hurts and then you continue working. You don't show emotion, you don't feel, you don't care for anyone but yourself. You don't second guess yourself and most of all you never have any weaknesses.

Yes life as an Uchiha involved fancy cars and women falling all over you. But Itachi always though he'd give all that up just to be allowed some room to be a normal teenager. His father would not allow it, every conversation with the man was about work or felt like an interrogation. Itachi closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. All had been going fine earlier until his father came in.

His mother had finished preparing dinner and was sitting down talking to Itachi; Itachi got on very well with his mother. She was the polar opposite of his father and he figured that's probably why he got on so well with her. They had only been talking for a few minutes when his father had arrived home. The man was as stony as usual and Itachi just ignored him, that only got him so far. The man then started asking him why he wasn't at school, his mother being who she was told him to let him eat but he had ignored her. His father continued with pressing the matter until Itachi picked up the bowl he was eating from and threw it at the wall without saying a word. His face was dangerously blank as he watched the bowl smash into tiny pieces, standing up he left the room.

That was how Itachi found himself sitting on his bed in his bedroom feeling unhappy. Yes he was definitely unhappy.

Itachi lay back on the soft matters and closed his eyes, he would never sleep he wouldn't be able too but he could try calm himself down a bit. Breathing deeply he heard noises downstairs then the opening of the front door. His mother squealed one word 'Sasuke'. Itachi didn't bother getting up to greet his brother; he didn't bother answering back to his mother informing him of the younger sibling's arrival. He didn't care; he was in fact pissed off. Uchiha. Itachi. Did. Not. Get. Pissed. Off.

The house fell silent once again and Itachi was left to file through his thoughts.

There was also something else making him unhappy. Something that had been bothering him in school, on the drive home; something he hadn't been able to figure out.

Sakura.

How could one girl cause him so much turmoil? How could she be so complicated to figure out?

Everytime he tried to analyze what had happened he drew a blank. He couldn't think up any possible solutions for her actions at the end of the night. Why had she gotten upset? Why had she kissed him back then pushed him away?

Itachi smirked to himself; he could still taste her in his mouth. He could still feel her warm skin beneath his fingertips, her smell in his nose. He had no doubt about it Sakura was a puzzle he just had to figure out.

-XXXX-

Sakura woke up to a pain in her neck; she had slept in a funny way. Her head was lying on Ino's arm but her body was facing the other direction causing the pain. Sitting up and stretching she clicked it easing the pain slightly. Sasuke had left last night to go home and Sakura didn't find herself missing him. Shaking Ino she nodded towards the door, Ino being a morning person was perky and ready to go in less then 2 minutes. Today was the day she got to meet Ino's family.

After returning to their dorm and getting ready the girls set off for their (Ino's) drive to Ino's house. Ino's car was lovely, as to be expected, a purple convertible with a bumper sticker saying 'Born to be wild'. Sakura laughed and climbed in, the day was sunny and warm (Eh hello California people DUH) but still was slightly colder then usual. Only people born or living in the state long would notice though.

The drive was pretty short; Ino lived quite near the school. When they arrived Ino pressed a button on the intercom outside the gates, a voice with a Spanish accent spoke.

"How is dis?"

"Hola Ana, its Ino." Ino smiled, she obviously knew the person speaking.

"AH! Sí muy bein! It is nice to be hearing your voice again Senorita Ino."

There was a beeping noise and the gates opened slowly, revealing a house that belonged in a magazine.

"Holy cow," Sakura mumbled to herself, she felt inadequate already.

Ino just grinned and drove up the driveway to park in front of the house. A maid was waving madly from the front door.

"Ah Senorita Ino it is nice to be seeing you again so soon." She embraced the blonde who hugged back.

"Nice to see you to Ana, this is my friend Sakura from school." She gestured to Sakura who smiled and waved.

"Hey,"

Ana shocked her with a hug too, and a kiss on both of her cheeks.

"Any amiga of Ino's is an amiga of mine," She smiled brightly before looking her up and down. "Es muy, muy bonita!"

Sakura just looked confused Ino smiled and translated.

"She said you're very, very beautiful." Sakura blushed and looked down.

Ana brought them inside smiling like a loon and calling out to other people to announce Ino's arrival.

A tall man with slightly longer then normal hair came from a door at the end of the hall.

Ino didn't really resemble him that much except for her chin and cheekbones, also he walked in that confident manner that Ino did too.

"Daddy," She smiled hugging him "Meet my new friend Sakura." Ino's father hugged her for a tiny bit more before releasing her and looking at Sakura. He smiled, making his face look softer.

"Nice to meet you," He said holding out his hand which Sakura gingerly shook. She felt very self-conscious.

Ana the crazy maid seemed to have disappeared, Sakura didn't know if she was thankful or not for that.

Ino's father led them down the hallway and into the kitchen, which was massive and full of expensive looking things. Even the windows look expensive! She thought as she glanced around, almost missing the woman sitting in a chair looking out the open glass door before her into the garden.

In her had she was holding a sketchbook, that looked old and in her other had was a pencil. The page was full of lines connecting up into a wonderful drawing of the garden before her. Ino whispered.

"Mom likes to draw," Sakura just smiled wondering if Ino drew too.

The women after a few seconds of glancing at the book and then at the garden got up and brushed herself down. Before hugging Ino and smiling at Sakura.

"Hey baby, who might this be?"

"This is Sakura a new friend from school."

Ino's mother smiled and shook her hand before looking at her hair.

"What an unusual colour, it's brilliant!" Ino's mother looked genuinely awed by the hair before composing herself.

Ino definitely received most of her looks from her mom. Her eyes were a bright blue and her hair was the colour of sunlight and moonlight mixed together, her face was just like an older version of Ino's. The woman brightened up the room just by being in it.

"Are you girls' hungry? We're having breakfast in a few minutes."

-XXXX-

The morning was hot and by the looks of it going to get hotter. The sky was cloudless and the heat was heavy save for a slight breeze. Sasuke was sitting in his kitchen opposite his mom he had bee talking to her about Sakura and suddenly a weird look crossed her face. Not an unkind look no more of a Déjà vu look, since then she had been staring out the window from the table thinking.

Who was I talking to recently who said that? She knew she'd heard it somewhere before but she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Mom are you okay?" Sasuke asked drawing her attention back to him. She smiled a warm smile.

"Yes, yes. I just thought I'd heard of that name before I can't remember where, maybe it was on the TV. Are you hungry?" She stood as her youngest son nodded and she began making breakfast still trying to figure out where she had heard that name before.

The chat had been nice, she rarely got to talk to Sasuke he was always so busy trying to impress his father. But she knew he was a very sensitive boy who just hid that beneath the emotionless mask his father had taught him. She hadn't seen Sasuke so animated before, while talking about this Sakura his eyes had softened and he had smiled a couple of times. She was happy for him the last girlfriend he had; she figured had been emotionally unstable. She was beautiful yes but crazy none the less.

Maybe Itachi will know where I-

And then it hit her.

Itachi.

She had heard that very same name off her older son's lips last night. Closing her eyes she shook her head.

This isn't good.

Both sons talking about (Most likely) the exact same girl, no that wasn't good at all, that right there was a recipe for disaster.

Mikoto didn't let on though; she continued making the breakfast without loosing her cool. This was just a problem, sadly, that Itachi and Sasuke would have to work out on their own.

Itachi walked into the kitchen, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. Mikoto knew he'd been awake for hours Itachi barely slept ever just like his father he suffered from a severe case of insomnia.

"Breakfast is almost ready if you're hungry Itachi." She glanced at him, normally he looked like he was tired but today he looked exhausted.

"Hn." Was all he said before he sat down opposite Sasuke.

Mikoto returned to chopping the vegetables, Itachi, for some unknown reason, was in a very bad mood. The food was served and Mikoto left the kitchen to go upstairs, leaving the two teenagers together.

"Itachi,"

"Sasuke,"

Sasuke was pissed off now. He knew Itachi was in a bad mood and figured he didn't want to talk so he pushed the matter, yet Itachi's voice was smooth and composed. That pissed off Sasuke; Itachi was everything he wanted to be. He was always that much smarter then Sasuke, that much more likeable, his father preferred him, his mother was closer to him but also he seemed to have some form of relationship with Sakura. Sakura that name kept ringing through his head, night and day and now after that forced kiss his dreams were full of big green eyes and soft pink hair.

"Why is Sakura hanging around with you?" He couldn't control his curiosity any longer.

Itachi smirked slightly. "Why don't you ask her, she's your friend correct?"

Sasuke felt the urge to twitch; this man was as easy to read as hieroglyphics while being blind. "Answer the question."

"You have no authority to boss me around Sasuke."

"Damn it Itachi!" He slammed his fist down on the table, successfully making the glass in front of him wobble.

"If I didn't know better Sasuke, I'd say you were jealous."

Sasuke wanted to attack his brother. He was getting nowhere with this except getting angrier and angrier with each passing moment.

"But I do know better, don't I Sasuke?" Standing up Itachi looked down at him with cool calculating eyes. "Because you are an Uchiha, and as and Uchiha any emotion is a weakness. Jealousy in an emotion…" He trailed off implying silently that Sasuke in fact had a weakness, making him a failure as an Uchiha.

"I advise you to stop sulking around like a 2 year old and do something useful. Until then father will only see you as the youngest."

Itachi walked calmly out of the room and out of the house. The gardens were his favorite part of being at home, not known the many people Itachi liked the outside. He found peace in the silence and understanding that Nature seemed to have with itself, how it always seemed perfectly in balance. Itachi didn't strive to be emotionless, that was second nature to him, he didn't strive to be the best that was Sasuke's job, he was content with his natural intellectual abilities but the only thing Itachi did strive for was balance. Something he never seemed to have.

The day was getting warmer and was looking to be beautiful, Itachi watched as bees flew by to the honeysuckle and collected nectar, yes nature was peaceful and always in balance. Itachi figured, by the teachings of his mother, that if he observed it enough maybe one day he could understand how to achieve it.

-XXXX-

Sakura was currently lying on Ino's bed laughing at the photos Ino handed her, photos from junior high, from her childhood and even baby photos. Ino and the gang seemed to have been friends for a long time. All sharing something that Sakura didn't have with any of them, it made her sad but she figured there's no time like the present if she wanted memories she should start taking photos now.

Ino's room was plain white, with sketches all over the walls of, as Ino explained, Greek goddesses. Some holding objects, some surrounded by picturesque scenery, some alone, some clothed and some naked. The sketches were done by Ino's hand and she seemed to have a general interest in Greek mythology because she knew which Goddess was the Goddess of what and what the objects they were holding symbolized.

The room was styled in a Mediterranean manner, with arches and tiled floors. Pastel colours were on the walls and all around the room. Candles were placed all around the room also, judging by their colours Sakura presumed they were scented. On shelves Ino has various items, such as different types of crystals, shells and stones. She had jars lined up with ground down stones and herbs labelled accordingly. Sakura would have never suspected such a traditional side to Ino. The room was filled with sketches, Sakura soon realised that Ino was also artistic; her sketches were brilliant and very striking all seemed to have something to do with powerful women from history.

"That's one from my 13th birthday where Naruto got cake on his face," Ino supplied as Ino grinned at the photo of young Naruto covered in cake.

"We should take photo's Ino, I want to be able to look back and have something like this." Sakura looked up to see a smiling Ino.

"I thought you'd never ask, yep we should and we will, alone and together with Hinata and everyone."

Sakura smiled, she liked the idea of that; when around Ino Sakura felt a sense of belonging something most people searched for.

Sakura looked at the next photo, Ino was being given a piggy-back by Naruto and both were grinning. Sakura smiled, the look of pure joy on both their faces was something that was contagious it made you smile along with them.

"Hey Ino where's your bathroom?" Sakura asked after putting down the pile of photos.

"Outside in the hall," Ino supplied lying on her bed with her eyes closed.

"Helpful," Sakura got up and left looking for the bathroom.

Opening a door, she was met with a room full of different types of paintings and drawings. The skill of each was amazing.

This must by Ino's mom's art studio. Sakura thought as she stared in awe at the gorgeous art pieces. Closing the door she continued her search for the bathroom.

The next room she stumbled upon was simple and small with no artwork in sight anywhere. The room had bookcases and a desk, Sakura presumed this was Ino's father's study Ino had explained that he wasn't artistic.

Closing a door yet again Sakura opened another door, to see a huge room filled with statues and figurines made of clay. The room had suspicious looking boxes all around the place, some open revealing their contents which reminded Sakura of fireworks and explosive materials.

There were bumper stickers on the walls with catch phrases and sayings, some were symbols used in science for dangerous materials.

'ART IS A BANG' was pained boldly in white against the black walls. Doing the math, Sakura guessed this was Deidara's room.

Trying, again, to locate the bathroom Sakura smiled when the room behind the door had a sink, bath, shower and toilet. Closing the door behind her she sighed, keeping up with the lifestyles of the rich and the famous was really and truly exhausting.

-XXXX-

The day had been a lazy one for the girls; they had spent most of in lounging around in Ino's room. Sakura had taken an interest in Greek Mythology and Ino had been very eager to inform her of everything she knew about all she drawings she had upon her walls.

"Hey Ino would you or could you draw me a Goddess?" Sakura asked, her eyes scanning the sketches on the walls, they were truly amazing.

"Huh? Oh sure, but which one do you want; there are loads to choose from, not just the ones on the walls." Ino glanced at Sakura who had stopped leafing through the photo's before her, her eyes were staring at the sketches as she took in the careful strokes the pencil must have made to get everything correct.

"I don't really know, why don't you choose, yeah that's it I'll let you choose" Sakura looked up to see a grinning Ino, which normally wasn't good news.

"Okay! That'll be fun, it'll be like my little art project for a while. Now hmmm who will I choose?, I think I'll do some research on some extra ones until I come across someone who reminds me of you." Ino looked so childlike and innocent which was odd because Sakura knew Ino was far from innocent. But the look she had on her face made her look ten years younger and so beautiful, she looked full of pure glee.

"Okay," Sakura said as she looked down at her hands, Ino was busy gathering books from her bookshelves on mythology to bring back with her. Sakura stared at the lines on her hands. Ino was wrong; she would never be like any of those women. They were all powerful, amazingly beautiful, strong minded, independent and strong. They're all brave, honorable and they'd never be taken advantage of. Sakura was weak and not amazingly beautiful, she wasn't strong minded and she wasn't independent and most of all she had been taken advantage of.

You can look all you want Ino but you won't find someone, Sakura thought bitterly to herself.

Ino was sitting at her desk typing something into her computer as she leafed through the pages of an old looking book.

Sakura lay back on the soft bed and closed her eyes. For a moment she blocked out the noise of Ino's fingers hitting the keys, of the cars outside, of everything; and she pretended, pretended that the double bed underneath her was hers. That the huge house was hers, the gorgeous parents, the clothes, the friends; for a moment Sakura pretended everything in her life was okay, that she was rich and she was happy.

It was such an easy thing to do, to just pretend to be content for just that moment. Sakura slowly opened her eyes and looked at the ceiling, but it wasn't true because she wasn't content and life for her sadly wasn't easy.

Sakura sighed quietly and sat up, it was just past noon and they'd both have to leave soon to return to school. Days off never seemed to last long enough, she smiled though because today she had enjoyed herself. Today she got to know Ino a whole lot better and today she really appreciated their friendship.

"We'll need to be going soon," Ino said as she looked out the window and then at a clock. Sakura nodded in agreement standing up, Ino was shoving books into a bag while chattering away to Sakura.

Yes today had been good.

-XXXX-

Itachi was under no illusion that he was the only one who was interested in Sakura, Sasuke had made it pretty clear he wanted to try his hand at a relationship with her; but for some reason Itachi wasn't worried. He wasn't threatened by his younger brother's interest in Sakura, she was beautiful and it was only natural that people would be attracted to her but what mattered was who she was attracted to. And the relationship between Sakura and Sasuke was one that reminded him of the relationship between a sister and brother. Sakura didn't seem to be attracted to Sasuke in any shape or form. But Itachi, on the other hand, thought Sakura was attracted to him, and that right there was why he wasn't worried.

That was why as he was driving back to school he was smirking to himself, because as usual he had the upper hand over his younger brother.

The day had been long and slow, Itachi wasn't one for wasting time so he had used it wisely. He had been considering what Akane would try to do; he knew her mother was a psychiatrist and that she could access a lot of information if she needed to. He needed a way to stop her, a way to prevent her from doing something awful to Sakura.

But for the first time Itachi had drawn a blank, he didn't know what to do, there were so many things Akane could do here. The ball was in her court and she knew it and being an Uchiha, Itachi hated not having control over the next move.

His mother had been feeling in a 'Save the planet' mood today and that was why in the passenger seat was his broody younger brother. They didn't get to return to school separately, the silence was more then awkward but neither was willing to break it, or so Itachi thought.

"What do you want with her?" Sasuke asked, keeping his eyes ahead not even glancing at Itachi.

"Be specific Sasuke, I'm not one for wasting time." Itachi turned a corner carefully, also not looking at Sasuke.

"Itachi you know who I mean, stop playing dumb. Sakura," He hissed this time his eyes glaring at Itachi. "What do you want with Sakura?"

Itachi, if he was anyone else would've grinned, but he didn't.

"What do you want with Sakura, Sasuke? Or better yet, what does Sakura want with you?" He glanced at his brother who looked ready to explode.

"Itachi don't answer my question with a question of your own."

"You can't tell me what to do Sasuke; I am not under your command."

"I want her to be my girlfriend," Sasuke bit out. "What do you want with her."

"I personally feel that, that particular subject is none of your concern. Also, she doesn't seem interested in you in that way." Itachi turned another corner, keeping calm.

"You don't decide who she likes and dislikes Itachi!" Sasuke almost yelled.

"I never said I did, I'm just making an observation Sasuke calm down." Itachi looked at Sasuke who exhaled loudly.

"Why can't you just get back together with Akane, I like Sakura; I like her a lot." Sasuke sounded young, very young and for a second it took Itachi off guard.

Itachi kept silent after that, he didn't answer to anyone and certainly not to Sasuke. He liked Sakura too he liked her a whole lot, but he wasn't one for discussing feelings he kept to himself that's how he was. He really didn't feel like 'bonding' with his brother at the moment.

"That's just like you, to keep silent. I'm so fucking tired of this shit that you and dad do!" Sasuke yelled before also going silent.

Itachi didn't bother looking at Sasuke, he didn't have the energy.

For the rest of the journey the two brothers remained silent.

-XXXX-

Sakura's mother was sitting at the kitchen table, drumming her fingers lightly on its surface. She'd just gotten back from teaching the children at her school but she'd been distracted all day, something was bothering her. Maybe it was a maternal instinct but she had a funny feeling that Sakura was in some kind of trouble, she didn't like that feeling at all. Because the last time she felt it she had been out at dinner with Sakura's father and Sakura had been home alone, that was the night she'd been raped.

Natsuko (Sakura's mother), wasn't in a good mood which for her wasn't normal, she just couldn't wait for the holidays , to have Sakura back home where she could keep and eye on her. If Sakura was home Natsuko could make sure nothing bad happened, she had let it happen once, never again, never again would she let that happen, not to her baby.

Continuing to drum her fingers on the table Natsuko sat in deep thought thinking about Sakura, before all the crap had happened to her back when Sakura wasn't afraid to smile and laugh with true happiness.

Natsuko had sat so many times at this exact same table, thinking the exact same thoughts; this was the only time in the day when she was home alone, when her husband was at work and she had time to think, had time to cry about her failure as a parent to her little girl. All this time Sakura thought her mother was a fun loving woman and even though after the rape she had been upset also her spirit had soon picked up again, but Sakura was wrong; her mother wasn't a happy-go-lucky women, she was just as confused and scared as Sakura was. The only difference was Natsuko was a better actor then her daughter.

Leaning her forehead against the hard wood, Natsuko let out a long hard wail; she was sick and tired of the pain ruling her daughter's life. Sick and tired of searching for the man who caused it all and was still walking around free. Natsuko wanted to find that man and murder him with her two own hands.

Crying alone in her kitchen at this time was a normal occurrence for Natsuko, but what wasn't normal was the big black jeep outside with blackout windows watching the house. Yet Natsuko didn't even notice when the engine started up and it drove away. She was too riddled with pain.

-XXXX-

The room was still dark even though outside the sun was shining high in the sky, the black-out curtains prevented the light coming in. There were candles placed oddly around the room giving a dim and flickering light, the smell of wax was strong as was the one of damp stone. The building was cold and it was old, but that didn't stop the figure in the corner from living there.

Years had passed, years and years and now it was finally time to strike back out again. Too much time had past, wasted time, time he could have been spent doing useful things. He was not a man who wasted anything and now he had to make up for what he'd missed.

The police had 'given up' he was free yet again, and this time he had spent many years planning the next move. Being in hiding gave one a lot of time to think and by God had he thought, he knew exactly what to do first.

The structure he had based himself in was old and damp, but that didn't bother him; he wasn't one for luxuries anyways. He was alone most of the time and that was how he liked it, he had time to research and think about every single thing he wanted to carry out. This time he would be satisfied, this time there would be no mistakes.

He chuckled darkly to himself as he flicked through some pages, looking for a picture. There it was, the photo of a girl with think brown hair and big brown eyes staring out of the page; she was beautiful and she was his next victim. She was a little bit old for his tastes but she'd do, she looked to be about 17 or 18 so he'd just have to settle.

Chuckling again he sat down and began to plan.

-XXXX-

The drive home with Ino was fun, they blared the radio in the car and sang along to the songs playing on it; other passengers had looked weirdly at them but they just laughed. Around Ino life always seemed that much easier, Sakura decided, she loved this girl, this permanently happy girl who never doubted herself or anything. Sakura wished she could be like that but she sadly wasn't and for her that was a let down.

The sun was still shining when they arrived back and it was still warm so Ino suggested they go for a walk. Sakura just nodded, she was tired but she didn't want to be left alone she had a weird feeling building in the pit of her stomach. A feeling she hadn't felt in a very long time, so she did the math and decided being alone wasn't the best thing to do.

After returning to the dorm and dropping off their stuff, Ino and Sakura set off to walk around the grounds of the school; since neither of them had seen the whole campus. The day was bright and warm and the grass had been freshly mowed. Making the whole place look even more extravagant, Sakura was still awed by the sheer size of the place not even mentioning the way it looked.

"Well this place is huge," Ino said as she looked around "Not that I didn't notice before, but it really is."

Sakura laughed and removed her shoes scrunching her toes up on the soft grass. "Yeah it sure is,"

Ino looked over at Sakura and the smile on her face dropped. "Sakura, I know that something is going on and I'd never force you into telling me about it but is everything okay?"

Sakura paused, how many times had people asked her that question people older then her who couldn't relate? How many times had she smiled and lied as she answered? Too many was the correct answer, too many times had she held the hurt alone and cried hoping it would go away. Looking at Ino she saw someone who could relate, someone real, a friend, a best friend, someone she could confide in.

Ino saw a dark look cross Sakura's pretty face, a look that didn't belong there; a look that was reserved for funerals and padded cells. "Sakura, you can tell me." Ino looked more serious then Sakura had ever seen "You're my best friend."

Sakura nodded and sat down on the grass hugging her knees to her chest, Ino sat beside her. Sakura drew in a deep breath, for once, willingly she was going to share her deep dark past with someone who might get it. Closing her eyes, she opened her mouth.

"3 years ago I was raped." Her voice cracked and she shook as she cried.

Ino was in shock, she wrapped her arms around Sakura but she didn't say anything; what was there to say? Who would have guessed? The little pink haired cheery smart girl was a victim of rape, of sexual abuse.

"Sakura I-" Ino was at a loss for words, what do you say to someone who tells you this? She wasn't upset that Sakura told her though; she was honored, Sakura obviously trusted her.

"I was home alone, my parents had gone out. It was one was those evenings when the sun was still hot and didn't want to set. I was outside in the garden trying to finish some type of assignment for school and I heard a noise inside. I thought my parents had come home early so I got up and went inside."

She let out a long hard wail and shook again in Ino's arms. Ino hugged her closer but didn't interrupt.

"Only it wasn't my parents, it was some man. A man I'd never seen before, he claimed he knew my dad and was there to collect something but he needed me to show him where the bedrooms were."

Another long hard wail

"I was young and naive I didn't think twice about bringing him to the bedrooms. I turned around to ask him something but he grabbed me and had me up against the wall. He pushed something over my mouth, it smelt weird and I blacked out, when I woke up he was on top of me, raping me. I remember the pain between my legs but there was some kind of needle in my arm, later on I was told my the doctors it was a drug used to temporarily paralyze someone. A drug that prevents the person moving, but it still allows you to feel what's going on, you're still completely aware."

"He didn't stop he kept going and going, I thought it would never end; I tried to scream but I couldn't and nobody came for me. He kissed me and groped me, he held my arms tightly so hard that there was marks on them. I was left on the floor of my room unable to move as I watched him grin and get dressed and walk away. They never caught him, they never could find him. They tried and tired but it wasn't enough he was gone. When my parents got home they found me lying on my floor with a needle in my arm and half naked. They guessed the rest, and their suspicions were only confirmed when they found semen on me and in me."

"The semen sample allowed them to figure out who raped me but by that time he seemed to have disappeared. I was left to pick up the pieces."

Ino wanted to cry along with Sakura, the girl's life had been ruined by a man they never found. Hugging her tightly she whispered comforting words into Sakura's hair. The poor girl, but she was glad she knew because now she could help protect her.

"You're not alone anymore Sakura, I'm here I'm going to help you I swear."

They sat on the lawn until the sun went down and still they sat there. Neither of them spoke, the silence was comforting it wasn't awkward and neither felt the need to break it.

Sakura leaned her head on Ino's shoulder and closed her eyes. She always wanted a friend a friend like Ino, a friend who would walk with her through everything no matter what, would be on her side and fight with her until the end. She always wanted that and now she finally had it, she really and truly appreciated it.

After a while the two got up and went to the dorm room, both agreeing not to go into school tomorrow. Sakura needed the rest after telling that story to Ino since it was all fresh in her mind. Ino didn't want to leave the girl alone so she agreed to stay with her; they both sat together on the couch hugging one another silently.

"Ino," Sakura looked at the girl through watery eyes "Thank you,"

Ino just continued to hug her, because that was all she could do.

-XXXX-

Sasuke had left the car as quickly as he could, he couldn't stand being around Itachi; because he either felt worthless or angry or a mixture of both. The man that was his older brother was better at everything then him, and that got annoying. There was only so much Sasuke could take before he hit boiling point and being angry around Itachi only made him think of you as weak.

Walking back to his dorm room with his hands in his pockets he scowled, yes Uchiha Sasuke scowled. Opening the door and slamming it behind him caused his sleeping friend on the couch to jump up and get into a fighting stance.

"Naruto go back to sleep it's just me."

"Sasuke! You're back, how'd your trip go?" Naruto was as cheery as ever, even for someone who just woke up.

"Fine," was all he said before going off into his bedroom.

"So it went badly huh?" Naruto asked as he followed the dark haired teen.

"Just leave me alone," Sasuke said as he glared at the blonde.

"Okay man, chill." Naruto left the Uchiha to his own ways as he got ready to go out.

Sasuke sat alone for most of the day in his room, it wasn't fair the way after all this time he set his eyes on something and Itachi was already 3 steps ahead of him, he really liked Sakura and yet Itachi was already in the lead. He was sick and tired of it, he wanted to beat Itachi for once; to finally win and be satisfied but that would never happen because Itachi would always be the best. He'd always be the front runner, because somehow Itachi wasn't able to be second or third he was always first.

Sasuke clenched his fists and growled. Well not this time Itachi, this time Sasuke was going to be the front runner her just needed to figure out a way to do so.

Closing his eyes, he calmed down; no one could think when they're angry, one must be calm to have logical thoughts. Sasuke drew in a deep breath and began planning, yes this time he would win. This time he wouldn't settle for second best.

-XXXX-

Itachi knew Sasuke had gone off to plot ways to beat him in getting Sakura, but he wasn't worried. Sasuke wasn't a threat in his eyes, but rather an obstacle to overcome; he chuckled to himself, Sasuke thought that by planning he'd beat Itachi but that wasn't correct. Because when it came to relationships you have to have the other party on your side too. And Itachi had a feeling Sakura was on his side rather then Sasuke's. He'd been walking back to the dorm room when he heard her voice and the Yamanaka's, from where he was he could see them admiring the campus; then they both fell silent and the blonde looked serious. He saw that look cross Sakura's face again, that terrible look that didn't belong on her beautiful face.

They both sat down so he silently walked over quickly to see what they were talking about, he wasn't one for being nosy or for eavesdropping but he couldn't resist. He wanted to know why Sakura had that look on her face.

He reached his goal and smirked to himself that had been too easy, really. But the smirk vanished when he heard what Sakura said next. He was very sorry he had been nosy, because that fact had been none of his business and if Sakura had wished to tell him; she would have told him in her own time.

"3 years ago I was raped."

Itachi stood where he was unmoving for a couple of minutes as he took in that fact, he didn't even hear the rest of what they were saying. He left, that wasn't for him to hear and he was very sorry he couldn't take back listening in. He felt truly ill. He wanted to go find the man and kill him, Itachi had never felt so passionately about something before. He really felt the need to go murder that man.

-XXXX-

A/N: DUN DUN DUNNNNNN, and the plot thicken yet again. I apologize for the late posting, I have been busy and I had to deal with some shit so forgive me. I hope you enjoyed the chapter so thanks for reading please review.

I just want to make something clear: THIS STORY IS TAKING PLACE WITH THE CURRENT TIME OF THE WORLD (i.e., its May now and in the story it's also May) So yes the school year is nearing to an end for them too, and I know its like only 2 chapters ago when she first began but I'm not taking each chapter to be a day. So they are in time with us just keep that in mind.

I would talk more to y'all but i gotta pee so please excuse me thanks :]]

R&R