Sakura explored the abandoned wing, checking classrooms and such. She saw the girl's bathroom was filled with old grafitti, notes of who slept with who, who was hot, who was not, who was a bitch, ect. There was one stall that had poetry scratched into it, but the fire left only the words "blood... death... die... gore" visible. Sakura rolled her eyes and went to the mirrors. They were all cracked, leaving Sakura's face distorted. She reached into her bag and pulled out lipstick. It was a bright red, far too tacky for Sakura. She uncapped the lipstick, and wrote in big letters: "Sasuke Uchiha isn't all that bad." then wrote in smaller letters: "Shikamaru and Neji are still asses though." She laughed at her immaturity, then walked out of the room. She walked around casually, subconciously touching her stomach. It was hard to believe that there was a baby growing inside her. She continued down the abandoned hallway, seeing a door. It was boarded shut to keep students out. However, Sakura was a shinobi, and easily removed the boards, granting her acess to the outside world.

Love Is A Burning Thing
And It Makes A Fiery Ring
Bound By Wild Desire
I Fell Into A Ring Of Fire

Sakura gave a sigh of relief when the fresh air entered her lungs, you don't realize how stuffy the air in a building is until you compare it to real air. She stretched her arms high above her head, casualy turning. She froze suddenly, seeing two adult-figures in shouting distance. Luckily, the two didn't notice Sakura, who knew that she should get away before the option was impossible. However, like all teenagers, Sakura had a stubborn curiosity that refused to let her not figure out what was going on.

Sakura crouched low, crawling closer to the two. The baby in her protested at this posture, but Sakura ignored it. She remained out of sight, but that meant she couldn't see the people. She ducked under a wall, leaning her head in as close as physics would allow so she could hear. One of them was a woman, and she hyper-venalating, obviously angry at the other person. "Don't look at me like that," a voice spoke, and Sakura nearly lost her cover, that was Kakashi-sensei!

"Look at you like what?" The other voice was so filled with sarcasm that it couldn't be anyone other than Anko.

"Like you hate me," Kakashi answered dryly.

"Well, I do. So there."

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

"Liar," Sakura could practically hear the smirk in Kakashi's voice. "If you hated me, you wouldn't have come."

"I just wanted to see if you'd be man enough to face me." Typical Anko, insults at every turn.

Sakura heard Kakashi chuckle, "I love seeing you so... feisty." Silence. Then: "Flattering me won't get you in my pants." Sakura nearly lost her cover again, this time because she nearly laughed.

"It did the first time." Sakura's eyes widened, she knew Kakashi-sensei was a pervert, but she still never thought he'd ever get a girlfriend. Then again, I didn't think he'd get any takers.

"That, and enough beer to make me an idiot."

Kakashi chuckled again, "You're just going out of your way to break my heart, aren't you?" Sakura heard the laughter in his voice. And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

"Well," Anko started, "you could say-" What ever Anko's sentence was, she didn't finish it. Confused, Sakura peeked one eye over the wall, quickly ducked behind it again. Kakashi and Anko were locked in a tight embrace, passionately kissing one another. And Anko sure as Hell wasn't drunk.

The bell rang, dissapointing Sakura, who was hoping to see an example of compliant birds and bees. Kakashi and Anko both vanished, a puff of smoke in their place. Sakura reluctantly stood up, glancing at the clock. Lunch. Great. She just wasted half of her school day moping.

She walked over to the cafeteria, but was stopped by some of Sasuke's fangirls. "Well well. If it isn't the school skank. So, what were you doing with Sasuke-kun?" Sakura just glared at the girls, then attempted to shove past them. "I can't believe Sasuke even gave you a second look. I've seen girls on the street better looking then you." Sakura held her tounge, refusing to give the girls that satisfaction of knowing their insults were acknowledged. She felt her shoulders grabbed and thrown against the wall. Sakura was about to struggle out of their grip, but then Sasuke's words rang in her ears, "This child is your child, not anyone else's. Protect it like a mother should." Sakura froze, if she refused to let these girls get to her, they'd leave her alone, whereas getting in a fight could damage the child. She relaxed her muscles, trying to appear unfazed. "I can't believe Gaara or that new kid would hang out with you. You seem like a total bitch to me."

"If you want Sai, you can take him." Sakura rolled her eyes. Big mistake.

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

The leader raised her arm, ready to strike. In her current state, Sakura couldn't have time to defend herself, even if she didn't care about the child. Sakura closed her eyes, waiting for the punch that never came. Confused, Sakura looked at the girls. The leader was trapped in her position, her arm was held over her head by Temari. The blonde leaned down and glared at the girl, "You don't want to finish that strike. Trust me." The leader seemed frozen, contempt written all over her face. "How pathetic, taking out on Sakura just because Sasuke wouldn't give you a second look." The leader turned quickly to see her lackeys disappeared. She swore loudly, pulled her arm out of Temari's grip and walking off.

Temari turned to Sakura, who was beyond the point of being shocked. "Listen," Temari sighed, "though he won't say it, Shikamaru feels guilty about what he did. He'll call me a lying and troublesome woman for saying that, but it's true."

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

"Neji too." Tenten walked into view. "They're just very insecure. Like children," Tenten laughed. But she sombered immediately, "But we're even worse," she confessed, "Shikamaru and Neji both had it tough. We were just being bitches for the sake of it."

"You just annoyed us, so we were tough on you. You always seemed so secluded, like you thought you were better than us," Temari continued somewhat sadly. "It pissed us off, and we lost our tempers. But," Temari smiled, "we were wrong about you. You're a pretty tough chick." She gave a half-hearted laugh.

"So, we want to apologize," Tenten looked at Sakura guiltily, almost begging for forgivness. Sakura nodded slowly, still not 100 sure if this was for real or if she was dreaming. Tenten and Temari smiled understandingly, walking with Sakura into the cafeteria.

The Taste Of Love Is Sweet
When Hearts Like Ours Meet
I Fell For You Like A Child
Oh, But The Fire Went Wild

A couple of perople looked Sakura's way with sneers, but quickly turned away when they noticed Tenten and Temari's arrms slung over her shoulders protectively. Shikamaru and Neji both glared at their girlfrieds, but not the "What the hell are you doing?" glares, but the "You told her didn't you?" glares. Sakura glanced and saw Sasuke talking with Naruto casually. Apparently, rescuing Sakura redeemed Sasuke in Naruto's eyes. Sakura gave a half-hearted smile in the direction of her friends, who gave mixed responses. Kiba seemed untrustful of this sudden change of heart, and Sakura didn't blame him. Gaara nodded once and moved over to Neji and Shikamaru's table. Sai just looked emotionless, before turning to his own crowd of fangirls. Naruto nodded and gave Sakura a thumbs up before returning to his argument with Sasuke; a sure sign they were friends again.

Sakura was led over to te table, her palms sweating. Both Neji and Shikamaru refused to meet her eyes whether out of contempt or embarassment wasn't obvious. Ino sat between them, giving a small wave to Sakura before glaring at both of the boys for their rudeness. Sakura was pulled down onto the seat, and squeezed between Tenten and Temari, who were directly across from their boyfriends. Naruto and Sasuke were both to the left of Sakura, leaning against the table and arguing. Gaara stayed right behind Sakura, and Kiba had grudgingly walked over and sat on the table. Sakura looked up and saw both Shikamaru and Neji avoiding her gaze. Ino glared at them again, "You two stop being babies and apologize!"

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

Shikamaru responded with something along the lines of "Troublesome woman," and Neji was silent. Temari reached over, grabbing Shikamaru's pineapple ponytail and forcing him to face Sakura. Stubbornly, Shikamaru closed his eyes, earning an angry reaction from his girlfriend, who hit him over the head. Another mumble of "Troublesome," came from Shikamaru, who glanced at his girlfrined, who had her "I'm gonna kill you" face on. Shikamaru sighed, "Listen, uh Haruno-" Temari hit Shikamaru again, who rolled his eyes, "Sakura. About earlier... God this is troublesome."

Sakura gave a weak laugh, "Is that your favorite word or something?"

"Favorites are troublesome," Shikamaru replied, "like women."

Sakura laughed, a real laugh this time, and the mood lightened. While no amout of coaxing could force an apology out of Neji or Shikamaru, they were at least able to sit comfortably. Ino wasn't acting like the ditz she used to be, and there were no insults (other than the usual "Teme!" and "Dobe." from Naruto and Sasuke), however every time Sakura and Sasuke's eyes met, Sakura would quickly look away in embarassment. Ino noticed this, and felt a small twinge of jealousy over her ex-boyfriend, but ignored it as she laughed with her friends. Ino leaned forward, "I hear the seniors are throwing a party after school. Wanna come crash it with me?"

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

"No thanks," Naruto looked behind him at Ino, "I'm gonna visit Hinata at the Hospital." Neji twitched at this.

"Who?" Ino asked, with similar questions written on Shikamaru and Temari's faces.

"Neji's cousin," Naruto answered, the smallest hint of accusation in his voice. Neji noticed this and turned to glare at Naruto, his white eyes narrowing. Naruto readily accepted the challenge, holding what appeared to be a staring contest with the Hyuga. Sasuke sighed and rolled his eyes, stretching his arms.

"What about you guys?"

Temari gave an apologetic smile, "Sorry, Gaara and I have family matters to attend to." Gaara nodded, confirming this.

I Fell Into A Burning Ring Of Fire
I Went Down, Down, Down
And The Flames Went Higher

"I don't do parties." Sasuke's voice had no apology in it, but the coldness didn't affect Ino, who knew Sasuke wasn't intending to sound uncaring.

"Well," Tenten started, "will there beer?"

"Probably not, since the one throwing this part have parents home at this time. Spiked punch for sure though."

"I'm in." Tenten grinned.

Neji glanced at his girlfriend, before agreeing as well. "Sounds troublesome," Shikamaru stated, before agreeing too.

"How about you two?" Ino asked Kiba and Sakura, who looked surprised at the invitation.

"Nah. My friend and I have to check in with our boss." Sakura knew it was just the regular check-in with Tsunade.

And It Burns, Burns, Burns
The Ring Of Fire
The Ring Of Fire

"I'll come." Sakura smiled, ready to indulge in her 15 seconds of popularity before time ran out. No one objected, making Sakura smile wider, not noticing Sasuke glance in her direction for a few seconds. Ino noticed however, and felt that jealousy again. She quickly shook it away, Sasuke made it obvious enough that she had no chance with him. And, who could blame him? Sakura was smart, pretty, and had this big mystery about her. Ino was just some slut. Who'd pick her over Sakura? She wasn't going to waste this potential friendship over a rivalry.

"Can I bring a friend?" Sakura asked, thinking of Lee. Ino smiled and nodded, thinking of Sai. The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and beginning of the next class, which meant Sakura and Temari got to see Anko.

.:Anko's Class:.

Sakura noticed Anko was a lot happier than she usually was during their classes. She was giving a lecture on the essential tips on fashion for going unnoticed in a rival town. It was simple things, like pinning up your hair if it was long and hiding a message in it. Or making a secret compartment in your purse for an extra kunai. Anko's distraction was obvious when she finally said in the last half-hour, "That's it. Now shut up until the end of class." Of course, she didn't expect a classroom of undistracted girls to remain silent for long, but just long enough for her to think straight. Sakura saw Temari writing in her journal, maybe doing some doodles. The other girls were talking with ther BFFs and such, not even noticing their surroundings. So, Sakura rested her head on her palms and watched Anko, trying to guess at her thoughts.

As it turned out, she didn't need to guess when a knocked sounded at the door. It opened to reveal the masked Kakashi. He smiled at Saukra under his mask, before turning to Anko. He was speaking in a whisper, but Sakura paid attention and heard every word.

And It Burns, Burns, Burns

"We need to talk," Kakashi started.

"There's nothing to talk about. We're adults, it's normal for us to kiss without any feelings."

"Yes, but we both know that wasn't a meaningless kiss." Kakashi looked at Anko sternly.

"Okay, so maybe it wasn't. Then just ask me out. Stop beating around the bush."

"It's not that easy..."

The Ring Of Fire

Anko stood up suddenly, slamming her fists on her desk. Everyone suddenly silence, watching the drama unfold before them. "This isn't easy for me you idiot!" She glared at Kakashi, "I'm not just going to sit around and wait for what's never going to come! When you finally grow some balls, come find me. Then we'll talk." Ako walked out, forgetting about her class. She slammed the door, so hard that the glass in the window broke. Sakura looked at Kakashi quizzicaly, who responed with a sigh before he walked out after Anko.

Silence. Then: "So... is class over?"

The Ring Of Fire

AN: I haven't been in a The Soundtrack mood lately, sorry for the late update ; I'm working on The Kyubi's Curse and a Kingdom Hearts fanfic, so forgive me. And this chapter is dedicated to my mom, mostly cause she has Ring of Fire as her ringtone XD