Yes, it's another THIRTY MINUTE ONESHOT. You know how I love writing these when I need inspiration for my other fics or when I'm under stress. (Technically, they aren't written in thirty minutes...more like, an hour, sometimes more. I just say thirty cause I always write the first section or first half within thirty minutes and the last section in another thirty minutes...)

My inspiration for this fic: The pimple on my chin. Urgh.

He turned restlessly when he woke up. Even as a child, he never liked waking up too early; it made him grumpy. Tangling his fingers into the dark hair, Sasuke slowly opened his eyes and scanned his room.

At fifteen, the boy did not like to clutter his room. After all, Orochimaru often moved to other lairs so he had to too. The room was mostly filled with a bag, stuffed with some clothing, his bed, weapons and scrolls. Really, it would help if he had a mirror, especially in the morning when he woke up or after training when he had to check the wounds on his face to see if there was any medical attention needed.

Unfortunately, because he didn't have a mirror, he had not seen what was on his face until after he took a bath and glanced at the imperfection that had grown on his face on the water's reflection; he frowned.

He snuck out of the area later, knowing that the snake-like man would lecture him not to when he got back– telling him that many are after them, this and that, all the things that Sasuke knew but didn't care.

The boy, after about three years, was growing tired at the old man not teaching him any new techniques and decided to go out on his own for a little while, search for some new things that might... inspire him to come up with a new move. However, before he left, Sasuke fidgeted with the strands of hair that fell in front of his face as he stared at his reflection in the water.

Because Sasuke Uchiha is a boy who needed to train really hard to kill his brother; a boy who betrayed his village to join Orochimaru. He is a boy with a lot of pride and barely a heart...as well as a boy who's got a zit.

Because any boy going through puberty, despite who they are, needs to make sure their acne is covered and unseen.

XxXx

Near Perfection

By: Xmarksthespot

XxXx

Sakura rose her arm, shielding her eyes from the sun as she tiredly went through the fields.

Her mission: collect herbs to make balms and medicine. It was a simple mission so the rosette was sent alone.

The girl had matured, especially compared to her younger self. She kept her short, choppy hairstyle and got out of the dress she used to wore. Instead, it was just a simple red tank top and tan shorts.

The rosette hummed a tune as she bent down, picking the green plants and placing it in her basket. However, it was the startling sounds of fast moving winds that made her flinch. Jade eyes quickly turned to her side and her gut strangely told her to approach it.

As she walked forward, she realized that it wasn't the sound of wind, but rather a sword moving really quickly. It was confirmed that it was a sword when Sakura peaked through the trees and bushes, watching a strange man swing his blade around.

She was amazed by the simplicity of his movements. Slowly gulping, Sakura remembered she hadn't been that amazed by someone's talents since the first time she met the idiot who rejected her, Sasuke Uchiha.

Knowing that it could be dangerous, Sakura took a step back. Her steps were silent as she backed up, but unfortunately, despite how stealthy she was, the man behind the trees could sense her and spoke up.

"Who's there?"

Sakura gulped, holding steadily onto the basket of herbs and planning to flee as soon as possible without attracting too much attention and arriving safely home without causing too much trouble. There were many times that Sakura hated being nosy, and this was one of them.

Sakura's steps backwards got quicker and quicker as the footsteps towards her got louder.

By reflex, she pulled out a kunai to block the incoming weapon that was launched at her. When Sakura moved her weapon away from her face to clearly see who was in front of her, the basket in her arms dropped, spilling the pile of plants she had just picked.

The girl was in shock, not sure of what to do. In her head, she wondered if she was strong enough; Sakura knew she was strong, but wasn't sure of her abilities compared to him. But what was really going through her head was the flashbacks; he was telling her a simple 'thank you' before he left, but not after knocking her out and leaving her on a (freezing) bench (in the middle of the night).

Sakura found it strange that she had learned to control her emotions very well during battles and extreme measures – it was a necessity to learn how to control your emotions when working at the hospital– but her body had allowed her to build the rage as well as the chakra that was increasing within her fist.

She could feel her heart beating – rapidly – and her breathing quicken. Knowing that there was really no chance of her bringing the boy back on her own, she decided that fighting him wouldn't be a smart choice. However, maybe a smack or two would help calm her down...

"Sakura." He simply greeted – it was in an unfriendly tone. Actually, not really in a specific tone considering his voice was emotionless – as he slowly moved his sword back, assuming that she wouldn't attack.

"Bastard," Sakura replied, looking away from the person staring at her.

He gave an exhale, smirking afterwards. "I see you've taken on the dobe's nickname for me."

Sakura shook her head. "It's completely for different reasons, Sasuke." She avoided the suffix 'kun'. "He calls you that because friends give each other nicknames. I call you that because you left me on a freaking bench."

Her voice was a lot colder than Sasuke had expected. It amused him though, that a few years could change the pink princess by that much.

"Sasuke..." Sakura said. She didn't expect him to reply so she got her stance ready and waited for him to look up. Just one punch, she told herself. She counted in her head.

One

Two

Three

She threw herself forward, lifting her fist and aiming for the Uchiha's face. It was Sakura who smirked this time. She had known him for years and, as predicted, knew the boy would underestimate her, not even bothering to dodge the girl. Sakura licked her lips when her fist met with the pale face, startling Sasuke.

She watched as he looked at her, shocked at her strength. Cracking her knuckles afterwards, Sakura fidgeted with her fingers.

Something felt...gooey. It was some sort of..substance on her fingers. The girl lifted her hand, staring at the whiteness that was on her hand. It was also a bit red, like blood.

Looking up, Sakura bit her lower lip, preventing herself from laughing at the Uchiha who kept rubbing the side of his face. When he removed his hand, there was a large, somewhat bloody spot on the side where his hair was covering earlier.

"Sasuke...did I pop a zit?"

XxXx

"Sakura-chan! You're finally back," Naruto cheerfully said, pulling the rosette into a hug. Despite being a bit more mature than he was younger, the blond was still as optimistic.

"Hey Naruto," the pink haired girl carried her basket back into the gates of her vilage.

"What took you so long?"

Sakura licked her lips, smiling. "I had to ...heal someone."

Naruto's one brow rose with a questioning look. "Why, what happened?"

"I almost scarred a pretty-boy's face and he was pretty mad."

Any of you have inspirational music that you listen to when you read or write fanfics? I'm in need of some (PM or tell me on your review please?)

I'm currently listening to When I Go by Snow Club..its the song on the Ritz commercial. Yup.

Thank you for reading and please review.