Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters… I'm sure WE ALL KNOW THIS BY NOW…..

Gomen Gomen Gomen'nasaaaaaiiii for the late update…! I got a stomach virus or something like that, and I was bed ridden in pain, agony, the list goes on… :[ But, I'm feeling better now and I got right to work. I can't believe I'm already in the 100 range of reviews! Thank you all so so much, I really appreciate it. Here's chapter 12. Enjoy:]

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Sakura stretched out her arms comfortably, her eyes fluttering open frantically when she heard a sudden knock on her door. It was early in the morning—too early for anyone to be up except for a few of the professors. However, circumstances were different today… weren't they? Sakura glared down at her clenched fists as she recalled the events of the party—Ino's immaturity resulting in Tenten's leaving.

The knock on her door reoccurred and she got up to answer the door. When she peered through the peep hole, she saw Tenten: suitcase in hand, and Neji standing beside her. A frown curved downward on her lips as the reality once again smacked her in the face: her friend was leaving. She threw the door open and hugged the brunette. "You—you really have to go?!" She forced back sobs. Tenten hugged her back, Neji catching the suitcase's handle before it collapsed to the floor.

"She was a Yamanaka… I've got no choice," she responded mournfully. "Plus, my family's grounding me for a week for getting on a Yamanaka's bad side—seeing as that could result in bad business for our company if you know what I mean…" her voice trailed off. Sakura released her and rubbed her eyes of tears as she nodded. "But!" Tenten continued, "I um… after that week is over, here's my phone number so we can keep in touch," she smiled, her optimism raising a smile to the pinkette's lips. After being handed the scrap sheet of notebook paper, Sakura stared in awe.

"R—really? I'll… I'll really be able to talk to you again…?" She asked in unbelief. After all, all of Sakura's previous friends had left before any of them were old enough to have cell phones or anything of the sort, resulting in her losing any sort of contact with them whatsoever. Previous circumstances led Sakura to believe that once a friend left, everything was gone for good.

"Of course we can…!" Tenten smiled weakly. "You have to tell me how the rest of your classes go and everything… I'll be finishing my education online."

"Tenten," Neji got her attention, glancing over quickly at the hallway clock. "Your ride should be outside by now."

"R—right," she stammered, her speech followed by a barely audible sigh. "I'll text you in a week, Sakura—or sooner; let's hope my parents make the time shorter or some sort of miracle like that!" She giggled, waving as she walked off with Neji. Sakura watched them go until they got to the elevator; she then retreated back into her dorm room fully and tried to comfort the hole in her heart. At least I haven't completely lost another friend… she encouraged herself. I can't talk to her for an entire week though… so much can happen in one week—she might not even remember to text me… she lamented, trying to drive all the depressing thoughts out of her mind.

If anything, she could text Tenten first. After all, she did have her number, right? After a quick breath, Sakura shook her head and gathered her things for her shower. The water felt good on her skin, removing the tension she had felt traveling through all her nerves when she dwelled on exactly why Tenten had to leave. Her hands scrubbed through her wet mop of pink hair as she closed her eyes. "I'll just make you both suffer!"… Ino really is heartless… she's selfish—abusive—just a filthy excuse for a human… she's the kind of rich that the poor stereotype—she's the one that makes people like Sasuke look bad!

Hot tears travelled down her eyes as her anger portrayed itself. Once she completed her shower, Sakura stepped out of the tub and dried herself, tying her towel around herself as she began to iron her school uniform. It's amazing… how both terrible and wonderful things can happen all in one day... she mused, comparing the circumstances with Tenten to the ones with Sasuke in the limousine. "Sakura… I love you…" he said it… he really said he loves me… An instinctive smile spread on Sakura's lips as she giggled. It felt… nice to be loved and appreciated—to know there was someone out there that cared about you that much.

Her smile turned into a frown as she remembered the background of Sasuke's entire life. Unlike her, he hadn't lived alone, but he had lived ignored, unloved, and uncared for. His existence was abhorred amongst his family, and he knew it starting from a very young age. So how could someone like that, who was shown absolutely no love in his entire childhood, know how to love someone? Was it just instinct? Sakura allowed a breathy sigh to ease out of her throat as she dressed herself. If everything stays the way it is, I think I'll be able to survive a week without Tenten… I won't have anyone to talk to about Professor Uchiha, but at least I'll have him to talk to… I think everything will be okay. She mused, straightening her tie before she strode out of her room and headed to the staircase.

As usual, she met Professor Uchiha in the hallway. When she saw his face, memories of the previous night dashed through her mind, causing a red blush to race across her face. "You're so tight…" Gah! Stop, it, Sakura! Be normal—I mean heck, how long can you dwell on one topic?! This is just going to make things so awkward.

"Ms. Haruno," Sasuke greeted her with a curt nod, a smile playing at the corner of his lips, but never fully portraying itself.

"P—Professor Uchiha," she nodded back, her awkward smile curving on the side of her mouth while a nervous laugh plagued her voice. She mentally rebuked herself for allowing that much of her nervousness to show so obviously.

As they headed for the cafeteria, Sakura fiddled with the pleats of her skirt, trying to think of anything other than her night in the limousine with her music professor. However, the more she tried not to think about it, the more it ground into her mind, making her remember with more intense detail than she was previously.

"Ms. Haruno," Sasuke stated, glancing over at her slightly. For once, Sakura was more than grateful that he interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes?" She responded much too quickly, her eyes looking up at him with some sort of eager anticipation. He chuckled lightly, amused by her awkward behavior.

"We're here," he said simply, pushing the door of the cafeteria open with his back as he leaned into the room casually. All the waiters and waitresses were bustling around the large room, getting the food to the professors. The teachers conversed engagingly, an occasional laugh breaking the drone of voices from all the separate subjects. Sakura felt a smile tugging at the corner of her lips as she allowed her eyes to wander around her surroundings. She didn't feel the same immense hatred that she once did for the rich—she no longer clumped them all together into a central bubble of "who acts like what". Rather, she compared them as human to human; that is what Sasuke had taught her to do, and through that reasoning, her hatred for all the rich waned down to a hatred towards those who were ruthless, and purposely caused pain to others surrounding them: people like Ino.

Much to Sakura's surprise, she spotted Neji sitting alone in a far off corner. Wasn't it only time for the professors to be being served? "Professor Uchiha, what's Neji doing here?" She whispered, tugging on her professor's sleeve to attain his attention. He glanced over to the brown haired Hyuga.

"Don't know," he grunted simply. "Same thing as you, I might guess."

"He's not here to see you!" Sakura argued, crossing her arms over her chest. Sasuke looked down at her, a smile playing at his placid lips.

"You're here to see me?" Her face blushed profusely as her arms fell back to her sides. She turned around quickly to hide her face from his knowing eyes.

"W—well," she stammered, trying to find some way to contradict his very true statement. Sasuke chuckled under his breath as she continued to amuse him more and more.

"I won't keep you—go ahead and ask him; he'll more than likely be good to you considering your friendship with Tenten," he explained, encouraging her to venture out of her box. Sakura swallowed hard, but complied to her professor's suggestion. She hesitantly made her way over to Neji and stood across from his side of the table.

"Um, Hyuga?" Neji's eyes darted up, not expecting anyone to come up to him, considering it was the time for the professors to be eating and not the students. So what on earth was she doing here at this time? She should still be sleeping.

"Why are you awake?" He asked curtly, neglecting her question.

"I always eat with the professors," she explained quickly. "But you never do—and I know that… are you doing okay?" Neji hesitated, and then folded his hands in front of his face, taking a breath before answering.

"Ino is a Yamanaka. I, a Hyuga, can do nothing about the circumstances. That powerlessness is what's bothering me."

"We both can't talk to Tenten for an entire week…" Sakura lamented, hanging her head. Neji nodded and ground his teeth.

"We apparently have a mutual enemy that both of us can do nothing about," he noted, speaking of Ino. The pinkette nodded and frowned.

"Why is she so… I don't know, powerful, I guess?"

"She's a Yamanaka: second richest in Konoha, second only to the Hatake. Seeing as there are no Hatake students in this school, she's the only student with all the power. There's no middle man to control her. That's why she's so powerful—not to mention she's spoiled to death by her father," Neji grumbled gruffly. Sakura nodded, a thoughtful "hn" nearly escaping her lips before she quickly shook it off.

"Well, it was nice talking to you, Hyuga," she smiled briefly, bowing slightly before her friend's boyfriend. He nodded in turn, showing her a form of respect. And with that, Sakura returned to Sasuke.

Slipping into her seat beside him, she spread her skirt down lower, straightening it with her small hands. Her food had already arrived while she was conversing with Neji, so she immediately began eating the delicious morsels before her.

"No! Students know for a fact that—"

"Guy, please, stop screaming…" Kakashi groaned, massaging his throbbing temples with his thumb and index finger. "You can just admit your wrong, yeah?"

"Wrong?! I'm not wrong! Physical education is much more youthfully important than some stupid physics class!" Guy argued, lifting his fist in emphasis. Sakura giggled, but Sasuke groaned a sigh very similar to Kakashi's frustrated ones.

"How long have they been at it?" Sakura whispered her question to her music professor. Sasuke shook his head, leaning down to whisper back.

"Since before we got here…"

"Ooh boy…" Sakura stifled her laugh as she watched the two continue to argue comically—well, Guy was quite comical.

After breakfast, Sakura travelled over to her English class and settled in her seat, situating her books and notes properly on her desk, while dust flew up in her face. She couldn't help but sneeze after breathing in a good amount of it through her nose. Once retrieving her homework out from her binder, the class had now begun.

Minute and minute passed in class. Sakura shifted in her seat, her eyes glued to the chalkboard as terms were being written down. Her fingers were clasped around her pencil, the tool scratching down her notes on sheets of her paper. Her book was open to the correct page, notes also covering the white of the paper in her text. But was she paying attention? Hardly.

She was uncomfortable, reaching different levels she thought she were impossible. She felt as if eyes were on her, watching her every move, but whenever she turned to the direction she felt the menacing heat, there was no one looking at her—no one even remotely close to looking at her. A fuzzy heat resonated in her head as the air of menacing eyes returned to her subconscious. Chewing on her eraser, she took a quick glance back, only to see the same result as usual: no one. Why am I so on edge? She gulped down the lump in her throat.

Her English professor's voice droned on her ears, mixing with the heavy air in twists of eerie sounds. Sakura heard everything in a buzz—the chalk hitting the board, the pencil scratching down notes, the breeze washing in through the window, and feet shuffling against the flooring as the swung under the seats. "Ms. Haruno…" She heard a voice in a low drone, muffled by the waves of oddities she was struggling against. "Ms. Haruno" She heard it again: more sharp and calling, more demanding. It sent chills to her arms and she hugged them closer to herself. Her vision clouded and her fingers numbed. Everything began to go black and she fell off her chair, her body heavy with the loss of control.

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Sakura felt a groan threatening to ease out her throat, but when she heard voices, she did not want to signal her awakening. What had happened to her? She wanted to know. That voice… who is it…? She peeked her eyes open in small slits, hoping no one was looking at her. She was lucky that no one was. There was a tall woman, short black hair falling only about an inch below her neck. From her apparel, Sakura guessed she was the nurse. The nurse? What am I doing in the nurse's office?

Her emerald eyes dashed from place to place in the room, the voices still dead on her ears. She couldn't make out the words from the muffled voices, but she still wanted to know who was in the room with her aside from the nurse. She spotted her English professor, standing beside her bed talking with the nurse, and beside Professor Kurenai was Professor Uchiha. A smile tugged on her lips. Had he come to check on her?

After some time, Sakura could finally make out what they were saying:

"Shizune, people don't just faint," Sasuke argued, sounding clearly annoyed as he spoke with the nurse, who looked rather intimidated by the Uchiha.

"W—well, that's the story I got from Professor Kurenai!" She explained, quickly scratching down something on a piece of paper. Kurenai shook her head.

"I'm serious, Uchiha, I was calling on her and she never answered, then she just… fell," she explained to the raven, sounding as if she had said it enough times already.

"She just fell? Oh, that makes sense," he grunted sarcastically. "And I guess she walked to the nurse's office all by herself too."

"M—Mr. Uchiha…" Shizune mumbled with concern. "I have her test results if you want to look at them…" she handed them over to him nervously, trying to appease his apparent anger. Sasuke took a deep breath, calming his nerves, and accepted the results from Shizune. His small eyes widened in unbelief.

"Drugs?" He breathed in, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. Sakura held back a gasp. Drugs?! I'm not doing drugs! Her heart pounded. What was going on?

"Sasuke," Kurenai looked over at him, "you spend the most time with her out of anyone in the entire school. Anyone can make a note of that—even Uzumaki."

"What of that?" He swallowed a bit, still taken back by what he saw on the papers.

"Has anything out of the ordinary happened lately? Has she acted differently?" She continued to interrogate him. Sakura swallowed hard. Anything out of the ordinary? That would mean… when we… but no, I know I wasn't drugged—he wouldn't do that! And I would have fainted back in the limo! She argued with her mind.

"Everything was as usual this morning, she was somewhat… amusing, however," he noted. Shizune looked back at her own copy of the results, and then over to the pinkette lying in the bed, who quickly shut her eyes to keep from being noticed. "I don't think that she did it herself," Sasuke defended her readily when he saw the look on Shizune's face.

"What makes you so sure?" Kurenai asked, looking over at the freshman professor.

"You said yourself that I spend the most time with her. I would know her the best; she wouldn't do that." Sakura felt his eyes on her, looking at her face steadily. Rather than how she usually felt eyes menacing when they looked upon her, this look felt soft, gentle, and caring. Something trusting was in the look that she felt her professor giving her. She smiled inwardly; even if Sasuke was the only one that trusted her, at least there was someone that did trust her. She didn't need a crowd of people on her side, she just needed her professor: Professor Uchiha.

Feeling satisfied with what she had overheard, Sakura groaned, allowing her awakening to be known. "She's waking up," Kurenai noticed, pulling up a chair beside the bed.

"Hn," Sasuke grunted, and when Sakura's eyes opened and rested on his onyx orbs, she saw his knowing look: he knew she had been eaves dropping. A slight blush tinted her cheeks and she looked away. Sasuke allowed a placid smile to curve on his lips as he also pulled up a chair beside the bed.

"Are you feeling any better?" Shizune questioned Sakura, cutting in front of the two concerned professors, seeing as they were taking her job away from her rather eagerly. Sakura nodded silently, bringing herself up with her hands and leaning her head on the head board of the bed. "Any dizziness?" Sakura shook her head to respond, and then attempted to speak.

"I'm okay," she responded in a raspy voice.

"Have you done drugs?" Kurenai blurted out. Sakura's eyes widened as she was taken back.

"What? No! Never!" She defended herself with honesty drowning her voice. Sasuke peered over at Kurenai. Shizune sighed, too afraid to ask either of the professors to step out and allow her to continue to help Sakura: which was her job.

"Um, Ms. Haruno," Shizune attained the girl's attention, "your test results showed signs of drug usage. Could you explain how your morning progressed?" Sakura pushed herself higher on the bed and folded her hands on her lap, restraining her fingers from fiddling with the soft material of the blanket so her truth would seem more legitimate when she told her story.

"I woke up sad… because my friend left this morning because she was expelled after the party yesterday—because I stood up to her and went against a Yamanaka…" she mumbled, hanging her head. "And then, um…" she hesitated to continue, knowing Sasuke would know exactly what she was talking about. "I thought about other things that happened yesterday—like… being around friends and… stuff…" She saw a faded blush tint the cheeks of her music professor.

"Did you eat anything abnormal? Breathe in anything…?" Shizune continued to question. Sakura strained to remember.

"When I put my books on my desk… a lot of dust flew up and I breathed that in…" she recalled, looking up at Shizune innocently.

"Someone set her up," Kurenai said readily, glancing over at the Uchiha, who was currently allowing a smug smirk of victory spread on his lips. Shizune nodded and got up.

"I should go take samples of it. We're going to have to search rooms and see if we can find any remnants of the 'dust'," she explained. "Ms. Haruno, you should get some rest for the remainder of the day." Sakura frowned, not pleased with that suggestion in the least.

"But I didn't even get through one class today… I feel a lot better now, I—"

"Haruno," Sasuke interrupted her, looking at her sternly. "Rest," he ordered. Sakura bit her bottom lip and hung her head, her fingers fiddling with the blanket resting on top of her.

A bell went off and the four in the room all looked up towards the clock. "That's my cue," Sasuke said simply, getting up from his seat. "I'll be back after class," he looked over to Sakura with an assuring nod. She nodded back smiling a bit at his promise. When he departed, her emerald eyes dashed over to Kurenai, who still remained sitting on the chair across from her bed.

"You two are very close," she noted, a smile tugging at her lips. The pinkette allowed a small smile to form as she hung her head, her bangs covering her face.

"He's the only one who treated me like I'm worth something…" Sakura heard Kurenai let out a slight gasp and she looked up to meet her English professor's eyes. "What is it…?"

"It's… nothing," she cleared her throat. "Those are just words a lot of us senior professors have been waiting to hear from his lips about someone," she explained.

"I heard what happened to him…" Sakura frowned sadly, her mind recalling how his voice shook in mixed anger, hurt, confusion, hate, and even a tint of love as he told her how he grew up.

"Who told you?" Kurenai asked warily.

"He did," Sakura mumbled, breathing out a sigh as she looked towards the wall. Depressing thoughts clung to her; she could never forget them. Events such as that stood out to her, and engrained in her mind until she could put herself in that person's shoes and almost experience what they went through herself. Kurenai's eyes widened.

"He told you, huh? Hatake told me… I'm surprised Sas—excuse me, Uchiha opened up to someone like that…" Kurenai sighed. "I saw him once, when I was at a party—I was thirteen then. He always had the goofiest looking grin on his face while he chased after his brother…" she lamented, a sad smile forming over her pale features. Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. Why would Sasuke follow his brother around? Didn't his brother hate him?

"Why did Professor Uchiha want to be with his brother so much…?" Sakura asked hesitantly, tilting her head to the side. Kurenai sighed briefly.

"He loved his brother… he loved him so much—I mean, after being ignored for so long, you'd appreciate pretty much any type of communication. Itachi was the only one who ever spoke with him. He treated him with some sort of existence, even if it was hateful treatment," she explained with a bit of remorse in her voice. "And now with all contact lost, he has had no one to rush to for some sort of attention. It's odd, considering your state of wealth, but I'm happy that you two are friends." Sakura nodded, a smile forming on her lips. She knew that their relationship extended a bit farther than "just friends", and the closer they got the more each of their pain was eased.

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Time flew by as Sakura rested in the soft mattress, her hair tousled around the white feather pillow in loose strands. Professor Yuhi had departed quite some time earlier. Disappointment curled her lip as she realized she was missing music class. She would fall behind now, wouldn't she? A sigh eased out of her rosy lips as she brought her arm up above her head, resting it on the section of pillow left over that her head was not occupying.

This is the longest hour of my life… She frowned, her eyes darting over to the clock. When would music class be over? Maybe he got caught up… maybe he forgot… she lamented, pulling the blanket up over her face. She was glad to have all of her normal senses returned to her after being drugged, but now with her normal senses, she felt the ever present hunger she always got an hour before lunch.

She groaned as she felt her stomach growl lowly. She needed something to eat. Now; or at least as soon as possible—that "possible" being about an hour away. Sakura pushed the blanket down from her eyes and scanned the room around her: not a scrap of food was anywhere to be seen. I don't have a parasite! They can feed me! She whined in her mind, her pouty bottom lip sticking out. As she was about to slip out of bed, she heard someone approaching the room and quickly made herself seem innocent of mischief.

A grin spread on her lips when she saw Sasuke enter the room. "How did teaching go?" She asked him, sitting up, happy that she was no longer alone. He sighed exasperatedly and slumped onto a chair.

"Terrible," he grunted. "There're just some students who know how to get under my skin… that student being Uzumaki. How I manage to treat him like a prince is beyond me." Sakura giggled and shook her head a bit. She, too, did not like that blond haired boy, but something about the way Sasuke described his obnoxious behavior made it amusing. "Are you hungry?" He asked her on a brighter note. Sakura nodded and grinned wider.

"Yes!" He laughed at her excited behavior.

"All right, here you go," he gave her a small bento box full of something—whatever it was it smelled delicious. Her eyes widened as her mouth watered. She opened the box and looked up at him.

"Thank you so much, Professor Uchiha!" Her eyes danced with gratitude.

"Here," he handed her chopsticks, "I don't what you were planning on eating with, but I don't want to find out," he joked with a small smile.

"Hey! Be nice," she giggled, accepting the utensils and immediately beginning to eat her food. Sasuke leaned forward, resting his face in his palms, watching her eat with a smile playing at his lips. Sasuke watching her eat used to embarrass her, but now that she had spent a further amount of time with him, and since their relationship had strengthened, it felt natural and somewhat comforting for him to always have his eyes on her.

When she completed her food, she looked over at him. "Sasuke…?" She whispered his name, knowing that Shizune wasn't anywhere around at the present moment. He chuckled lowly.

"You're too much, Sakura," he mumbled amusedly, pushing strands of hair behind her ear. His lips pressed on hers gently in a kiss. Sakura felt him smiling into the kiss, causing her to respond by caressing his face with gentle strokes of her fingers. The kiss ended and he pulled back only slightly. "Shizune said you can sleep up in your room, so I'm going to walk you up there."

"Okay," she nodded, slipping out of bed carefully, making sure her legs were strong enough to support her. When she wobbled over, she fell onto Sasuke's lap. "Er, sorry," she giggled awkwardly, embarrassed of her position. He just looked at her, a small smile curving his lips upward. After helping her up, they headed for her room, where she would spend the rest of her day recovering from the oddity of being drugged in her English class.

oOoOo

And there you have it. :] Just a random A/N for you all, your reviews about liking Tenten and not wanting her to leave and things like that convinced me enough not to completely get rid of her—so kudos to you for changing this stubborn author's mind lol xD Hope you all liked this chapter, it's mostly like a preview for the upcoming drama of 13… prepare yourselves… Arigatogozaimasu for your support. Don't forget to R&R!

InaGaTa