Author's Note: Hey guys, it's me again. I know that this seems to be coming a little bit too soon, but here is the second chapter. I will read it over and change what needs to be changed tomorrow, since I like rereading my stuff after it's updated, because I find it easier to spot out my mistakes and such. I have a few mistakes I have to fix from the first chapter, and I will get to those tomorrow as well. Anyway, this is sounding more like "Dirty Laundry" than I had originally intended, so I'm gonna try to steer clear of the same events happening, such as Sasuke being in Sakura's homeroom, and Karin getting all up in Sakura's business and all of that crap, because to be honest, I hated that. I'm instead going to focus on the other pairings, while keeping true to the SasuSaku thing. There'll be other pairings along the way, which I'm not going to point out, but SasuSaku is the only one that will actually end up happening sometime in the story. That much I know. Anyway, here's the next chapter. And feel free to point out mistakes. It's 2:03 A.M. right now, so I'm half-dead. Anyway, enough explanations and crap like that. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I own Tamura Misaki, and Tamura Natsu, and any of the other characters that are not in the show or manga. I do not take credit for Kishimoto Masashi's work. Arigatou.

"Mom!" I called, leaning back in my desk chair to tilt my head toward the door that opened seconds after my voice drifted all the way down the stairs. My right leg bobbed in midair, bouncing on my left knee to the beat of the song that wafted from the radio on my desk beside my left pinky toe. My jade eyes locked with my mother's gray ones, and a soft smile broke out across my face. "I want to get my hair cut!"

She suffered from a muscle spasm at that comment. "What? I thought you agreed to keep your hair long for this year of school?"

"I don't really like it long anymore. It gets on my nerves, and it's really hard to wash, day after day," I leaned back further in my chair as I replied, smirking. "It almost makes me think twice about washing it."

"Now Sakura, what did I tell you about personal hygiene?" she sputtered in reply as I eased myself back and forth across the wooden floor, my foot firmly gripping onto the side of the Victorian style desk. I flipped my long pink hair back, and sighed. She'd never give up.

"I know what you told me. I'm not stupid you know," I snorted in reply, as I brushed my fingers through the smooth strands beside my jaw. "I just don't want it reaching down past my ass anymore."

She almost had a stroke at my comment. It wasn't necessary, since it was an over exaggeration. My hair only reached past my shoulder blades, perhaps the middle of my back. But still. "Sakura, what did I tell you about cussing in this house? Go wash your mouth out with soap! Now!" I sighed, and reluctantly rose to head to my bathroom, silently cursing as I padded across the lacy carpets.

I lived in an old Victorian style house, or…A house that was modeled to be Victorian-like on the inside. My mother was obsessed with Queen Victoria. She even dressed up like her on her good days, which today definitely wasn't one of them. My bedroom was supposed to be like a Victorian Princess's chamber back in the day, but I didn't really like the frilly blankets and swaths of satin for the curtains. They drove me insane. Just like the ridiculous size of my bathroom.

It was easily the size of a pick-up truck across, with a length of…I didn't know it was so huge. I could walk into it and play hopscotch for a good five minutes before I reached the other side. And I didn't like hopscotch. The shower stretched across the back wall, smelling of fresh plant and essential oils, like the rest of the room. My mother believed that nature was the way to keep clean, just like royalty way, way back in the day believed.

I stopped at the sink, and stared at myself in the mirror, narrowing my eyes at the flowered edges. I loved what I looked like, but my long hair was too much of a pain in the ass to take care of day after day. My face was oilier than the oils that steamed from the soaked shower floor, evident that I had just taken a shower not too long ago. The entire room billowed with steam as I wiped the mirror with my right arm in annoyance.

I watched the droplets slid down the glass-like surface of the mirror, disturbing the angry reflection staring back at me from the depths of the mirror. That was my face, twisted in anger and irritation. My mother's uptight tendencies were really annoying, and it pissed my friends off to no end. I hadn't had a friend come over in I didn't know how long. And my father didn't make anything better with agreeing with my mother like he did. And that made me mad too. My mother was like a tyrant in this sense.

I opened the drawer that bumped up against my right thigh as I shifted, and pulled out my favorite kunai knife. Adorned with a crimson tassel on the end with a small satin heart dangling from the tassel, I kept this treasure all to myself. My mother didn't know I had it. She had told me to get rid of it when I'd turned sixteen a few months ago, but I'd refused. I'd insisted that I'd need it to defend myself in case we became under attack again, like with the Sound Village two years ago.

Even though I'd been trained by Tsunade-sama herself over the past two summers, and my mother knew that, I still hung onto this kunai like it was my lifeline. She'd given it me the day I'd mastered the technique of focusing my chakra into one of my fists and releasing it all at once. The technique I'd named Ōkashō, or Cherry Blossom Impact. She'd given it to me as a present, telling me that Ōkashō was to be my primary defense, but if it should fail, I'd need a backup. And thus, I'd received the kunai I held in my hand so tightly.

"To think I'd have to use it to chop my hair off…" I murmured to myself, gathering the bunch of hair that hindered me so deeply in my hands gently as I set the kunai down on the sink, instead lifting a black ribbon from the small box on the right side of the faucet.

I prized the ribbon in my hand just as much as the kunai on the sink. After all, I'd only started wearing it because a boy whom had annoyed the hell out of me had suggested that I take to tying my hair up when I ate natto. In truth, he'd had a point. Back when I was seven, I'd eaten with hardly any restraint, and didn't care how unlady-like I'd looked. But now that I was sixteen, I wanted to look pretty and lady-like, despite the fact that my mother constantly shoving her lessons in femininity on me like she was.

As I skillfully tied my hair up with little effort on my part, I thought back on the boy I'd met that day. Uchiha Sasuke had been his name, and I hadn't seen him since. I'd heard from the girls at school that he was homeschooled due to not being outgoing enough to make many friends, with the exception of the annoying yet playful Uzumaki Naruto, who was an entirely different story. But the blackness of his eyes that day, they had captivated my attention. And not only that, I'd longed to see them again from that day on.

I shook my hair out, the ponytail swinging out behind me like a horse's tail, and I reached for the kunai again. I was sick and tired of having to wash my hair twenty times a day just to make sure it was clean. Plus, it'd be a nice change since the first day of sophomore year was today, and for the rest of the years of school I'd had long hair. I wouldn't have to worry about it constantly getting in the way during Gym class, or pulling on my head and making my roots even oilier than usual. Shorter hair was a must.

And so, I took the ribbon in my hands as I slowly lifted my kunai to the gathered ponytail, and smiled. My best friend Yamanaka Ino had taught me how to cut my hair for myself. She had long hair as well, but unlike me, she loved it. She took the time to take care of it, and primped and polished it every time I'd go over to her house, and we'd give each other makeovers like little girls did on their days off. But I'd never enjoyed myself. I hated long hair.

The instant I felt the kunai give way, I noticed the luminous pink strands falling to the bathroom floor from my reflection in the mirror. My head suddenly felt lighter, and I shook my newly cut hair out, carefully shifting from foot to foot, as the strawberry streaks rained from the back of my head to the floor behind me. The feeling was nostalgic, as I flashed back on the memories of that time, that one summer when I was twelve.

I'd been cornered, caught off guard by some lowlife punks who thought it would be a good idea to pick on a girl, since they weren't strong enough to take on someone their own size. Or the same sex. I'd been caught while I'd tried to make a run for it, and one of the boys had viciously taken a hold of my pink hair as it had fallen out of my ponytail, as well as the black ribbon, the black ribbon that I'd held close to my heart ever since that day when I was seven years old.

While they'd held me to the ground, I'd had no other choice. I'd reached into my purse, and pulled out my wallet, pushing down on the button on the side that contained a small knife. And I'd done the one thing I could think of to get me out of that situation: I'd chopped off my hair. I'd then proceeded to beat them over their heads a few times, making sure that each and every one of those losers had blood threading from their broken noses, and had walked all the way home proudly, despite the disastrous state my hair had been in.

I'd kept it short for a while, but the summer everyone went off to study abroad for a little while, I'd grown it out again, too lazy to walk my butt down to the hair dresser's and sit and wait for two hours while she trimmed my hair down to the length I liked it, barely touching my shoulders, if not at all. Around there. But now that school was starting again, I'd seen the need to chop it off one more time, for it had grown to be too long. It just got in my way too much.

I tied my black ribbon back into my newly cut hair, and set about evening up the ends. My kunai chopped and shaved the unruly ends of strawberry locks down as I gently slid the sharp end of the knife against the shafts of scarlet, a soft smile on my face. I knew my mother would have a fit when she saw me next. But I didn't care. It didn't matter to me. It was my hair, and my life. I wasn't going to deal with her "ladies need to have long hair" crap. I was sick of it.

A knock on the door startled me. "Sakura, I don't hear the faucet running!"

"O-Oh, right, sorry Mom!" I called, reaching for the faucet with one hand and harshly knocking the handle with my index finger on my left hand.

The familiar smell of lavender and aloe flowed into my nose as the plant essence infused water ran into the drain soundlessly. I hurriedly finished evening up my sides, back, and the rest of my hair, being careful not to cut the back of my neck with the kunai, and shoved a bar of soap into my mouth. Scooping up water with my hands, I tilted my head back and dumped the water into my mouth, frothy foam bubbling along my tongue. I swung around and proceeded to pick up the fallen strands of hair, my hands full of it, and whipped them into the toilet, flushing them down as I flung the rest into the trash can by the door. After I dusted myself off, I was ready.

"Sakura, I'm telling you now that if you don't-" I swung open the door, and pointed my right index finger at the bar of soap I was struggling to keep in my mouth. She smiled in approval, and inclined her head toward my door, blinking. "I'm going to get your breakfast ready, alright?"

I nodded, and spat out the bar of soap onto my floor in disgust. "Jesus Christ, that stuff tastes like sh-" My mother threw me a glower from over her shoulder, and I snorted in response. "-crap. I can't believe we use that to clean ourselves. It should be illegal as of today."

"Sakura, you need to pick that up off the floor right away, you understand me? I will not tolerate this insolence. You are sixteen years old. Act your age," she scolded before turning and walking away. I sighed in relief as she headed down the stairs, my door shutting behind her. Thankfully she hadn't noticed my short hair and the kunai I'd been clutching in my hand until my knuckles were white.

I turned toward the mirror, and grimaced at the pink snow on my white shirt as I put the kunai away. "I'm going to need another shower, unfortunately…"

I hadn't thought ahead before I'd chopped my hair off. As of this moment, I only had thirty minutes to get to the school before I'd be considered late on my first day. And on top of the white shirt, I hadn't even had the decency to put on shorts. What an unlady-like girl I was, walking around in just a white shirt and underwear. What a sight I must've been.

I flung my white shirt and underwear onto the floor, and jumped back into the shower once again, washing my hair with a smug smile on my face. I couldn't wait to see my mother's reaction. I was sure to get a kick out of it. I flung around the idea of her having a stroke and palpitating on the floor or her possibly suffering from another muscle spasm, but I washed those ideas away along with the frothy foam of the soap in my hair and along my body.

Once I finished washing and shaving myself for the second time that morning, I hurled myself out of my bathroom and slide to a stop in front of my closet. Being a fan of the Gothic Lolita style nearly my whole life, I carefully slid a red and black pleated skirt with black lace along the edges on over my clean underwear, smirking as the skirt rippled in the wind that blew through the window.

I attached the clips of my bra and adjusted the straps before I slid another white shirt on, the buttons undone and fumbling around in between my fingers. I carefully buttoned up, and reached for a black sweater that stretched taunt over my chest, with a folded collar and sleeves I folded back often. I tied a white ribbon at the slightly open part just above my breasts into the shape of a bow, and admired myself in the mirror.

I looked more preppy than Lolita at the moment, but as I tied my black ribbon into my hair in the same shape as the one on my sweater, I looked and felt like I was a Lolita. Slightly. I pulled on black thigh highs with lace on the edges of them and slid my feet into some black boots, holding my hands out at my sides as I looked back at myself one more time. That's better.

I crossed my room one more time to blow my hair dry, and quickly grabbed the radio from my desk and swiftly plugged it into the wall inside the bathroom, as I pulled a brush through my hair. The hot air that blew from the blow dryer made quick work of my shorter hair, the pink locks falling in luminous strawberry streaks, straight and light. I sighed, and washed my face, taking care in avoiding my eyes until the very last moment, my lids squeaky clean as well. Once I was done with cleaning up and brushing my teeth, I dabbed my wrists with perfume, and shut the door behind me.

"Sakura, are you coming? You've been getting dressed for fifteen minutes!" I grabbed my bag and stuffed all of my school stuff into it, my hand lingering on the wallet with the tiny knife hidden on the inside. I smiled at it, and slid it into my desk, locking it with the key I had on the key chain that held a bunch of different keys, in other words, my ways around. "Sakura!"

"I'm coming! I'm right here!" I shouted back, slamming my bedroom door behind me as I took off down the stairs, my bag slung over my shoulder. "Geez, could you give me a break already? I just woke up not more than twenty minutes ago!"

"Sakura, did you pick up that bar of soap off your floor like I told you to?" I thought for a moment, and set my bag down on the floor beside my elegant chair at the dinner table, where my mother had laid out a lofty spread for my father, herself, and I. Nothing about picking up the bar of soap jumped to mind.

With a raised index finger, I smirked. "You want to know something mother? That patch of floor outside my bathroom is extremely dirty, so I figured that instead of picking up the bar of soap, I could leave it there to assist you when you went and cleaned my-"

Her eyes narrowed on reflex. "Pick it up. Now."

"Way to put a damper on my mood, Mom," I muttered as I turned around, and took off up the stairs before she could see my hair. "As always."

"Well if you listened to what I told you the first time I said it, then you wouldn't have to keep attempting to cover your butt like a peasant," she replied, her tone slightly snobbish sounding to me. "Queen Victoria once said-"

"To hell with Queen Victoria," I grumbled as I picked up the offensive bar of soap and flung it into my trash can smoothly. "May plague curse all of her houses…"

"What was that, Sakura? I couldn't quite hear you!" I slammed my door again, and flew down the stairs, sliding into my chair once more. My short pink hair swung out behind my head, my hands tightening as I waited for her to notice it. But she didn't, thankfully. "Alright, help yourself to anything here! It's your first day of school, after all!"

"Thanks Mom," I answered, quickly filling my plate full of food, then proceeding to shovel it into my mouth hurriedly. I knew it wasn't lady-like and elegant, but I didn't care. I just wanted to get out of there.

My mother sat down and gave me a quick once over. "Sakura."

"Yes?" I asked, pieces of natto and dumplings falling from my mouth. She narrowed her eyes and gave me a glare. A nasty glare. I knew what was coming.

"You'd better do your best today, and don't get distracted, got it?" I blinked and jerked my head back, completely surprised. What the…? I could've sworn that she had been about to rail me for my hair being shorter. Despite my utter shock, I nodded.

"Yes ma'am," I replied respectfully, and finished off my food as quickly as I could, only exchanging words with my mother in between bites. Once I finished clearing my plate, I drank the suspicious smelling liquid in the cup, and spat it out almost immediately afterwards. "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU PUT IN THERE?"

My mother gave me a sly smile. "I put sake in it. That was your father's cup, Sakura."

"ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?" I roared, my eyes white with rage as my fists clenched at my sides. I couldn't contain my explosion. "HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I ASKED YOU NOT USE SAKE AS A BREAKFAST DRINK IN THE PAST FEW YEARS, HUH?"

"Queen Victoria used-" My fist slammed into the table, pieces of wood flying up into the air with my sudden anger.

"SHE'S DEAD, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" I continued, tossing my head in anger, heedless of the shortened pink strands flying into view of my mother's sight. Her eyes narrowed once more.

"You cut your hair," she pointed out calmly. I stopped dead in my tracks, and snorted.

"What of it?" I answered smoothly, my emerald eyes apathetic. She fumed as she folded her arms over her chest. I swung my right fist back to my side, and grabbed my bag. "I've got to go. Later."

"We're talking about this when you get home, got it, young lady?" I threw her a hand sign from over my shoulder, and turned to look back her, shutting my left eye playfully.

"Yeah, whatever," I answered, before opening the door and shutting it behind me before she could lecture me about Queen Victoria.

I took off down the street once I broke free of the perfectly aligned stone steps my mother had arranged over the summer, and ran down the dirt path as fast as I could. My phone vibrated in my bag, alerting me to a new message, but I didn't bother answering it. I was in enough of a hurry as it was. I didn't bother with trivial matters such as text messaging or internet, unless it was for a school project or something like that. Other than those instances, I hardly touched my phone.

The streets were slowly coming to life, as the sun steadily rose up above the stone faces that I looked toward each and every day upon my arrival at school. The teachers seemed to see the need in making us pledge our allegiance to the Hokage that had fallen way before or past their times like mindless drones. Sorry to say it, but I hated the pledge. It was kind of…annoying.

I turned the corner and passed by the sweets shop that had been my second home during my early life, lifting my hand to wave at Misaki, who was stuck tending to the shop while Natsu left to make-out with his girlfriend behind the shed at the back of the store. My left eye closed to wink at her, and she tilted her head and smiled softly back at me as I continued running toward the school. Poor, poor Misaki. Even at twenty five years old, she was still being treated like a puppy dog. I couldn't help but feel bad for her.

I swung my face back forward, and continued running through the half empty streets, weaving through the people that barely populated the main street, the street that led directly to the school. I could see the Hokage building coming up as well, and my spirits lifted. That's where I would hide out after school today. I would call my mother and tell her that I'd been asked by the Hokage to help out Tsunade-sama at the hospital, and I'd be off the hook as far as that "conversation" my mother and I were supposed to have goes.

The number of people increased once I reached the courtyard, and I slowed down to avoid tripping over someone by mistake or on purpose. I didn't want to sully my half good reputation on the first day back at school. God forbid I received a detention on the first day of sophomore year. My mother would have a heart attack. Oh the irony of it all.

I hopped up the modest stone steps of the school and sighed once I walked through the doors, swinging my head back and forth, trying to remember where my locker had been the last time I'd seen it. I turned toward the right, and lifted my finger to my lips. Memories flashed across my mind, until I decided to stop standing in the middle of the two way intersection in the lobby. I took off down the hall that lead to the East Wing, where I hoped to find my locker.

"Well, I heard that she was planning on being a rebel when she came back to school," a smug voice commented from beside me. I stopped, and swung my head toward her, opening my mouth to say something, then thinking better of it. Finding my locker was more important.

And so I ran down the hall once more, weaving through girls that stuck to the sides of the hall like glue, knotted in thick clumps that seemed to take up the entire hallway, while the boys dappled the already scarce open space with baseballs and Nintendos. My jade eyes scanned the left and the right sides of the hallway, until I reached the very end, the huge ceiling high window opening up to a huge view of the center courtyard.

I smiled, and put my hand on my hip as I watched the birds flit from rose to lily to daisy, as the bees and butterflies flew from flower to flower. My favorite cherry blossom tree sparkled in the center, overlooking a luminous sapphire pond alive with leaping fish and turtles. I loved that pond. I'd often studied there last year and received high marks on all of my tests because of it. It was quiet, and serene, and it was like my own special place. That's why I loved my locker so much.

I turned to locker #114, and placed my fingers on the lock lightly. "Here we-"

"Haruno Sakura? Is that you?" I turned to my left, and blinked. Blonde hair, and a skimpy outfit that shoved off her midriff, Yamanaka Ino stood in front of me with her sky blue eyes sparkling brightly. "You…Don't look like her, and yet you have the same locker as her?"

"No, Ino, it's me. I just cut my hair this morning, that's all," I pointed out, pulling a piece of my pink hair out for her to look. Ino sighed, and threw her arms around me.

"Sakura, it's been so long! How are you?" she asked, hugging me tightly. I wriggled out of her grasp, and exhaled. Her hugs were way too tight.

"I've been better. My mother's furious at me for chopping off my hair this morning," I answered, turning back to my lock. Ino watched me skillfully turn it and open it without any trouble, and lifted an eyebrow.

"You're pretty good at that, Sakura," she pointed out, as I threw my bag into the locker. I turned and faced her, smiling slightly.

"You think so?" I challenged, smirking. She sighed.

"I hate it when you get like that. So, anyway, before I ask you about your summer, guess who's coming to school here!" I cocked my head to the side, deciding to play dumb. I didn't know better. And to be honest, I didn't really care all that much.

"Ino, I hate to break it to you, but I don't care," I replied, turning to my bag and pulling out my notebooks and my schedule. Ino huffed, and folded her arms over her chest.

"Well, I'm going to tell you anyway because I've been so excited for this year to finally start because of this," she continued, despite my blunt declaration. I rolled my eyes as she took a deep breath. "Uchiha Sasuke!"

I gave her one of my bored looks. "And your point?"

"Hello, he's like, my crush! My number one fantasy come true! Don't you understand?" I shook my head. I didn't understand. And again, I didn't really care all that much. She didn't let up. "Since he's coming here for school, then I can use my sexy looks to seduce him and be his girlfriend!"

I rolled my eyes again. "Like that'll ever happen."

"Sakura, don't be so pessimistic. You know how attractive I am to the guys, right?" As if on cue, one of the guys standing around the locker several down from us threw a spit ball at the back of her head. As she swung around to confront her attacker, I smirked cruelly.

"Yeah, you're attractive alright," I answered, my right hand on my hip. She lifted her fist up beside her head, and snarled.

"You know what Sakura…You and your little…" I cocked my head, and smirked out of amusement. Ino was hilarious when she was flustered. Even more so when you're the one who got her worked up. Sitting back and enjoying the show was the best part.

"Little what?" I asked coolly, Ino sighing out of exasperation. She'd given up too early. I pouted for a split second, then turned back to my locker, pulling the rest of my books out. "Anyway, Ino, it honestly doesn't matter to me if this "Uchiha Sasuke" shows up at school or not. It won't affect me all that much."

"But I thought that you-" I slammed my locker door shut, and leaned forward, my books falling to the floor as I placed my hands on my hips.

"It doesn't matter to me, Ino," I repeated menacingly, the blonde girl in front of me nodding quickly. "So drop the subject."

"Alright, alright," she relented, as I bent down to pick up my books. Her hundredth sigh echoed through the air above me. "Don't get your thong all tied in a knot."

"Shouldn't you be referring to yourself?" I answered directly, picking up the last of my books from the floor at my feet. Ino snorted.

"Surf board," she spat in reply. I fumbled around for my schedule, ignoring her. My hands poked around for the piece of paper, landing on a new pair of shoes. A new pair of black shoes. The toes were completely covered this time, unlike Ino's.

"Aren't you going to help her?" A new voice asked. I didn't quite catch it, but it sounded vaguely familiar. Ino shook her head, and snorted.

"Serves her right for insulting my beauty!" Ino answered, sticking her tongue out down at me. I could hear her tongue mocking me, even though my face and ears were averted.

"You were the one who was-" I began to reply, tensing my right hand. The open-toed shoe closest to my hand slid backwards smoothly.

"You haven't changed at all, Forehead." I jerked my head up, my pink hair swiveling beside my jaw as I lifted my face slowly.

I knew that voice. And I knew that insult. It was the same voice I'd longed for after I'd heard it that first time. It was the same insult my mind had repeated over and over in my head for the months following the first time I'd heard it. My jade eyes opened as I looked up at him, at the same onyx eyed, raven haired boy who'd dared to challenge me back in the candy shop nine years ago. The same boy whose name had rested upon my lips as I walked with him in my dreams. The same boy who I now wanted to punch in the face.

"Neither have you, Chicken Butt," I shot back irritably, rising to my feet swiftly while crossing my arms over my chest. His onyx eyes remained steady, placid, emotionless as he glared at me. "What?"

"You took my advice," he replied, lifting his eyes toward the ribbon in my hair. I snorted.

"As if I would tie up my hair simply because you told me to," I muttered back, waving my hand as I held my books to my chest, brushing past him. "I don't take orders from you, Uchiha Sasuke."

"You're still annoying," he answered as our shoulders brushed against each other. I swung my head toward him, a scowl twisting my features.

"You're still a jerk," I retorted sharply, before continuing on my way. Ino stared after me, and let her mouth drop.

"You two know each other?" she asked in astonishment. Sasuke shoved his hands into his pockets, and stopped at the locker next to mine.

"Nope," he answered, as my lip curled up while I walked away. "Never met her before in my life."