The rest of Sasuke's day was spent shopping.

Yes, Sasuke Uchiha was actually shopping. Scented candles, fancy food, and nice clothes were for the most part what he bought that day.

It was night when he had finished setting everything up at the training grounds, where he had decided their "friendly gathering" would take place. It was only a few minutes away from where Sakura lived, so the walk wouldn't be far. Sasuke left everything there, heading to Sakura's house. By now, he figured, she would probably be home, but hopefully not asleep.

He looked at the fancy new watch he had bought as he arrived at her front door. "Seven o'clock. Perfect." He knocked lightly on the door.

After a moment, a confused Sakura Haruno answered. "Sasuke? What are you doing here?"

Sasuke gave her a light smile. "Come with me. I want to show you something."

Sakura frowned as he reached for her hand and pulled her out of the door. "Sasuke, where are you taking me? And...why the hell are you wearing those clothes?" She gasped, and her eyes widened. Jerking her hand out of his and stopping in the middle of the road, Sakura cried, "Sasuke, I am NOT going to go on a date with you! I'm dating Naruto! I'm not interested, okay?"

Sasuke ignored her, scooping her up in his arms forcefully and carrying her instead.

Sakura struggled in his arms and finally growled, punching him in the chest. It appeared not to have even hurt him. "Let me go!"

"Nope. I have something very nice set up for you at the training grounds, and I want you to come see it."

Sakura sighed angrily and went limp in his arms. "As soon as you set me down, I'll run!"

Sasuke didn't reply.

After a few more minutes, Sasuke arrived at the training grounds and walked through the woods to the clearing where he had first been reunited with Naruto and Sakura.

Sakura gasped at what she saw.

A picnic blanket was laid neatly on the ground and two plates of food were on top of it, along with two glasses of wine. Vanilla scented candles littered the ground, and lastly (Sakura wasn't sure whether this added to the romance or completely ruined it) Rock Lee stood next to the blanket, playing lightly on a violin.

Sakura stared at the boy. "Rock Lee?"

Rock Lee stopped playing and looked up at her. "Oh, hey Sakura, Sasuke found out I can play the violin and black-"

Sasuke cut him off by mouthing the words, "Gai-sensei..."

"Black...ened my coffee!" Rock Lee exclaimed. "Yup, I drink my coffee black, and Sasuke made it for me! So in return I agreed to play for you guys today!"

Sasuke nodded silently while Rock Lee looked at them nervously, before returning to his playing.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Okay..."

"Well, here we are. Can I put you down or will you run? I'm sure you remember that I'm faster than you."

Sakura glared at him. "Fine, I won't try and run. But be honest...this is a date, isn't it?"

Sasuke put her down on the blanket and blinked, choosing his words carefully. "This is...me spending time with you, who is my friend, and having dinner together. With some candles and Rock Lee playing the violin."

"I know what we're doing, Sasuke. But I want to know if you consider it a date."

Sasuke sat down across from her and scratched his neck. "If you do."

"Well...I don't."

"Okay, then neither do I. Wine?" he asked, pointing to her glass.

Sakura looked down at it. "We're too young to drink."

"It's only a little. We're not going to get drunk."

Sakura blushed at the image of herself and Sasuke drunk together. "Er...thanks but no thanks."

Sasuke shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said, taking a sip.

Sakura looked from him to her plate of food suspiciously. "I know you put the love potion in my drink yesterday, Sasuke," she said suddenly.

Sasuke went red and spit out the wine. "What? Uh...I...how did you know?"

"It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. You were the only one who touched my drink." She smirked. "Plan didn't work out how you wanted, huh?"

Sasuke glared at her. "If Naruto hadn't pushed me out of the way..."

"...then I would have killed you as soon as it wore off. You're lucky."

Sasuke scoffed. "Please. You would have realized how much you loved me and came running into my arms, leaving Naruto behind!"

Sakura scowled at him. "Is that really how things work in your little fantasy world, Sasuke?"

Sasuke frowned and took another sip of his drink. "Are you going to eat?" he asked.

"If you switch plates with me I will."

Sasuke rolled his eyes and switched them, grabbing his fork and taking a bite of the shrimp he had bought. He grabbed his head suddenly, opening his eyes after a moment and looking at a random tree.

"Oh tree...tall, sexy tree..." Sasuke cried, running over and wrapping his arms around it, much to his own amusement and Sakura's annoyance.

"It was NOT like that," she told him, trying to suppress a smile as Sasuke pretended to lick the bark. "Stop it, you're acting like Naruto!"

Sasuke frowned and immediately turned to look at her. "Already tried that. Didn't work." He walked back over to her and sat down again.

"So that's what was wrong with you this morning. You gave up pretty easily."

"I have a feeling Naruto would have sat there and argued for hours, so I ended it before that could happen."

"He probably would have..." Sakura said thoughtfully.

Sasuke finished the rest of his food and moved his plate, lying down on his side and looking at her. "What do you like about him so much?"

Sakura sighed happily. "I don't know...just, everything I guess. He's annoying sometimes, but he has a sense of humor too...and he cares about me a lot; all of these years he's cared about me more than anything, and after a while...I started to care about him, too." She blushed.

Sasuke noticed the violin still playing and said, "Hey, Rock Lee, thanks for coming, but you can go now."

"Yes!" Rock Lee cried, dropping the violin and running off. Sakura watched him with raised eyebrows.

Sasuke looked back at Sakura seriously. "What else?"

She blinked thoughtfully. "I know you don't really want to hear everything, but I could go on and on, maybe forever...I love him, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes softened and filled with hurt. "And all of that is what makes him better than me?"

Sakura smiled. "Not better. Just...he's special to me. That doesn't mean I don't care about you. I do, just in a different way."

Sasuke got up and scooted closer to her, looking at her lustfully. "Why can't I be special?" he whispered.

Sakura shivered, noticing his expression and looking away nervously. "Sasuke...please, don't start this. Maybe three years ago...but now...I can't, okay?"

She felt a pair of lips on her neck. "Why not?" Sasuke murmured.

Meanwhile, Naruto was ready to have dinner. As usual, he opened his fridge, looking for ramen. "Noooooooo!" he cried, slamming the door shut. "I'm out of ramen!" He opened his pantry to see if there was any in there. It was empty. Naruto searched the rest of the house frantically, to no avail. "I MUST have ramen!" he exclaimed, running to the front door and grabbing his shoes on the way. "To the store!"

Sakura shook her head and pushed Sasuke away without looking at him. "Stop it, Sasuke! Why do you have to keep doing this? Just go find someone else, okay?" She turned to face him, and Sasuke saw a tear roll down her cheek.

"Remember what you felt three years ago, Sakura?" Sasuke asked. "Remember how you kept pursuing me just like I'm doing to you right now? I always ignored you; I was an idiot back then. But now...just picture what it would be like..."

Uncertainty clouded Sakura's eyes as she looked into his. "I...I can't do that to Naruto, okay? I can't do it."

"Naruto will find someone else. He'll move on..." Sasuke whispered, leaning forward.

"No, he won't. Hinata's dating Kiba, Ino's dating Shikamaru...everyone's taken."

"That means there's nobody for me either," Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura blinked up at him. He had moved closer. "You have Karin."

"I don't want Karin, Sakura. I want you." Sasuke leaned in roughly and met her lips, but Sakura pushed him back by his shoulders, standing up swiftly.

"Stay away from me."

Sasuke looked up at her angrily. "I'm faster than you."

"I don't have to be faster. I just have to be able to fight."

Sasuke was up and in front of her in a second. "I'm also stronger."

Sakura found herself laughing darkly. "I seriously doubt that."

They looked at each other, and before she could blink Sasuke had her up against a tree and both hands pinned above her head. "Doubt it now?" he asked, leaning towards her again. Sakura kneed him in the groin angrily and he collapsed on the ground, gasping.

She took off through the trees at top speed, reaching the road in a matter of seconds. Sakura looked up and down the street anxiously. It was now fully dark; nobody would be outside this late. She heard footsteps from behind her. Sasuke had apparently recovered. Before she could think about it, Sakura took off to her right, Sasuke following beside her in the woods.

"I said stay away!" Sakura growled loudly.

"You don't mean that. You love me, Sakura. I know you do."

Sakura glared in his direction, failing to noticed the person standing in the road in front of her. "You're crazy!" she exclaimed. As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she slammed into the person, falling to the ground.

Sakura sat up quickly, coming face to face with a bewildered Naruto, who was holding a cup of ramen in his hand. "Naruto!" she cried, crawling over to him and wrapping her arms around him.

Sasuke watched angrily from the shadows.

"Sakura?" Naruto asked. "What are you doing out so late?"

Sakura closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. "It was horrible. Sasuke..."

Naruto hopped up at the sound of Sasuke's name. "Sasuke? What did he do to you?" He pulled Sakura up off the ground.

"He...um..." Sakura didn't want to tell him the whole story. He would overreact completely, and she didn't want either he or Sasuke getting hurt. It wasn't that big of deal. Sasuke wasn't REALLY going to do anything to her. Right? "He...kissed me..." Sakura finished.

Naruto grit his teeth and gripped her arms tightly. "He did WHAT?"

Sakura looked away nervously. "It wasn't that big of a deal...I just pushed him off and that was it, he didn't try anything else." She was lying through her teeth, and she knew it.

Naruto wrapped his arms around her protectively, burying his face in her neck. "I'm so sorry, Sakura...he's not here right now, is he?"

"I don't think so..." Sakura replied honestly, figuring Sasuke had left when she ran into Naruto.

"Alright." Naruto released her. "I'm not so sure about him anymore, though. Doing all these things to try and get you to like him... Listen, Sakura...I was thinking...would you spend the night at my house tonight? Just so I can protect you? It makes me nervous to think of you all by yourself tonight."

"My parents will be there," Sakura pointed out.

"Yeah, but..." Naruto blushed. "Not in the same room."

Sakura's cheeks went pink. "U-um...well...are you sure they won't worry about me?"

"They'll understand if we explain it to them tomorrow. Please?" Naruto asked. "For one night?"

Sakura finally smiled shyly. "Okay, for one night. Just for one night."

Sasuke watched angrily as Sakura and Naruto walked away, hand in hand.

He pictured everything in his head. Yes, that was perfect. Sasuke already had the entire thing planned out and implanted into his memory. With Naruto gone, Sakura would realize who she truly loved. Everything would become clear to her, as long as Naruto was out of the way. A dark smile replaced Sasuke's frown. Tomorrow night, while he was asleep, Naruto Uzumaki's ceiling was going to mysteriously collapse on him, and it would kill him instantly.