Alright people! Chapter 3 is UP!

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The Power of Insight

Naruto was sitting at his kitchen table reflecting on the dinner he had just had with Sakura.

I'm kind of glad I didn't tell her about those rumors. Sasuke cheating on Sakura with that purple-haired chocolate lady? That teme is pretty stupid sometimes, but not that stupid. Besides, Purple Hair isn't all that great. I really could have started something bad. Well, once again, MY POWER OF INSIGHT PREVAILS! Oh yeah! Victory dance! I am so……

His self-congratulatory thoughts were interrupted by a furious pounding on his door.

Ugh, what do people want at this hour?

He trudged his way and opened the door. There stood Sakura, his beloved friend, sobbing and dripping blood all over the place.

"Holy…. Sakura! What happened?" Naruto asked as he pulled Sakura into house.

"Sasuke! I went… chocolate…..I hate…..oh, Naruto!" she wailed and slumped against a wall. She felt so tired. Naruto quickly scooped her up and laid her gently on the couch.

"Hey, Sakura, take it easy. You're bleeding and need to rest. I'm going to get some help. Just wait here," Naruto said as soothingly as possible. He stood to leave.

Sakura shot up and grabbed his arm. "No! Naruto, don't go! I…..Sasuke….I found him…. he doesn't love me anymore! What did I do? What am I supposed to do?" she questioned, her voice getting more frantic with every syllable.

He tried to calm her down.

"Sakura… breathe." She gulped the air down.

"Okay, now tell me what Sasuke did."

Sakura swallowed some more air, and exhaled shakily.

"He………..I found him………………..with that purple-haired whore."

So much for power of insight.

Sasuke stood there, looking at the results of his actions. Blood streaked the floors, glass and candy were everywhere. There were two bloody handprints on the door where Sakura had pushed her way through. It was all his fault. He had screwed up bad, and he knew it. His heart felt like it was at the bottom of his stomach, guilt eating away at him like acid.

"So that's her, huh?" she asked, playing with a lock of her hair.

"Yeah."

"Well, we were bound to be caught sometime."

"What?" How could she be so…..unconcerned?

"I assume that we're over now. And usually couples who split have some kind of little speech to, ya know, finalize things. So, I'll go first."

Sasuke just stared. She continued.

"You're a good guy. I really like you. I thought at first maybe I could make you mine; that you would leave her and be with me. But no, you loved her. You loved her more than anything in the world. I was always 'the other woman,' but I didn't care. I wanted you……..and you kept coming back to me. I don't know why you did, but you did. That was enough right then."

She chuckled, and flipped her hair back.

"I guess this is the part where I say something meaningful….."

Sasuke gave her a twisted smile.

"…let's see……oh, okay. You don't deserve her. Just by looking at her I can tell that she is something special. Seeing her reaction, (and my completely trashed shop) I can tell that she loved you. Now that you've stooped so low, she may never forgive you."

Another pause, another hair flip.

"But because I like you, I'm going to tell you what you should do. Run to her as fast as you can. Don't stop for anything. When you find her, get on your knees and beg for forgiveness. Cry and plead and pray that she will take you back. If you don't, you will lose her, and you're going to be the most miserable man on earth. You're going to feel a whole lot worse than you do now. Life will be a living hell. Don't let her go."

Sasuke slumped onto the floor and picked up a piece of glass. Feel worse than he did now? Impossible. He put the piece of glass back down. Her words cut him deeper than the glass ever would.

"Well, I'm done. It's your turn to say something, Sasuke."

He stood and turned to her.

"I'm sorry for making you go through this. You're good inside…………..go find someone else. You deserve something better than a piece of trash like me."

He leaned down and gave her an apologetic kiss on the cheek. She smirked.

"Heh, you got that right. Now hurry up and get over to her. Don't worry. Things work themselves out."

Sasuke was out the door in a flash.

Back at the ranch (Do they even have ranches?):

Sakura had now healed herself and was lying on Naruto's couch; face buried in her arms and sobs racking through her body. She cried out her sorrows to Naruto who was currently sitting next to her stroking her back and murmuring little comforts to her. He was a pro at this now; the product of a million crying sessions in the past.

"Oh Naruto! He doesn't want me! He wants some beautiful, exotic woman with purple hair and a chocolate shop and a high pretty voice! How am I supposed to compete with that! I thought he loved me! Naruuutooo!"

"No, Sakura, no. It's okay, it's okay." he cooed in a motherly voice. Naruto was always a little embarrassed when he used this voice because he thought he sounded….gay. However, this trivial problem was not going to stop him from helping his beloved friend. He would pretend to be gay for the rest of his life if it would benefit her.

"No Naruto! It's not okay! He doesn't love me anymore!" Her cries became louder and louder. The motherly voice wasn't working. Naruto sighed. He was going to have to call in the "Special Forces."

"Okay, Sakura, okay. I'm going to go call for reinforcements, and then we'll break out some ice cream, okay?"

Sakura quieted down a little and nodded. Naruto went into the kitchen to make the calls:

"Hey, Ino? Umm, sorry to call you so late, but we have a Code Pink…… yeah, we're going to need the big guns……..uh-huh. Thanks. See you in five."

"Hinata? Hey! Oh, uh, Sakura is having trouble again……….it's really bad this time……….alright. See you soon."

"Hey Tenten. Sasuke was a complete and total jerk and now Sakura is a mess………no! Don't kill him yet! We're still trying to figure things out………..well, maybe you should bring the kunai just in case………..Yeah, thanks, bye.

After finishing his last call, our blond friend went to his freezer and pulled out a special tub of ice cream that was reserved for times like these. And what flavor was it, you ask? Mango. That's right. Mango. Her favorite flavor. It was sweet and refreshing, not like strawberry or cherry that left that sickeningly sweet aftertaste. Whoever said that Sakura liked strawberry or cherry flavored things was obviously "judging the book by its cover". Remember folks; pink hair does not always equal a strawberry or cherry preference.

He walked back to Sakura.

"Alright Sakura, my friend, I called for backup, but while we're waiting, we can start on this ice cream here."

He popped open the tub and handed Sakura a spoon, grabbing one for himself in the process.

"So, before the help arrives, maybe you should tell me the whole story. Then we can get straighten stuff out, okay?"

Sakura sniffled some more and stuck her spoon in the creamy mango goodness.

"Okay…..sniff…..well, I was walking home………"

And so began their wait for the Special Forces.
Oh yeah, another day, another chapter.

I'll try to get chapter 4 up soon. School is a killer. You know, reviews make me write faster…..wink, wink