There must be some kind of mistake, right? How did she produce a long chapter in the matter of a day? Well, I got home from college...and went on a writing spree. I won't be able to update again for at LEAST another week and the last chapter was so short, I figured I needed to deliver something today. And once again, all of your kind reviews make me such a proud author :) I just want to keep writing and never stop!

Like most other high schools, rumors this juicy spread like wildfire. All it took was those few people who heard their fight to go tell their friends, who went off and told their friends. The rumor had spread around overnight about how Sakura lost her virginity to Sasuke, one of the schools hottest womanizers. Some of the guys joked around about how Sasuke was bad in bed, but others thought maybe it was Sakura just being frigid. They also made comments about how skinny she was and how she lacked breasts. Some, however, did manage to defend the rosette and compliment her shapely ass.

And then there were the bitches like Himiko with her friends twisting things around. They whispered together saying how Sakura was secretly a whore and gave herself away to many guys before finally getting Sasuke's attention. Some of the girls at school even said Sasuke only decided to do it because Sakura pleaded and begged for his dick. Like most rumors, lies like those were spread around.

Only a few people knew the whole truth. Besides Sakura and Sasuke who engaged in the sex act, Gaara knew as well. Temari did to, as well as Ino. Suigetsu knew from Sasuke. Kakashi knew what was going on without even being told much. But despite a good third of the school hearing something about their hook-up, Naruto was yet to find out.

Sakura laid in her bed on this Thursday evening, having convinced her mother she had the flu. In a way, she did. Next to the hidden bouts of crying, she couldn't muster herself to eat. If she tried to, it would only come back up. This wasn't a virus though - it was due from her awful conflict earlier in the week. The Haruno was in no physical state to go to classes, but she was also afraid of going back. She would have to see Sasuke every day until Winter break when her class was finished. If it was in her power, she wouldn't go back to school until January. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

Besides missing school, Suigetsu didn't come over on Wednesday because he actually withdrew the invite. It shocked her at first, but then Sakura remembered how close that male was to Sasuke. And knowing Sasuke, he probably wanted to keep everyone away from her. She was glad, however, that the blue haired male didn't come over. She didn't need anything confirmed anymore because Gaara had done it all.

Well, before she passed out Tuesday.

It was a very low point for her and additionally embarrassing. In her current position on her bed, Sakura lifted her left hand to look at the note she held once more. After passing out, he had left her a note. She didn't come to her senses and wake till her mother knocked on her door to let her know she was home. Of course, her mother knew nothing of Sakura's life. She was gone all the time working - it was like living with a stranger.

The Haruno sat up in bed, beginning to scan the note again. Understandably, this is very hard for you to digest emotionally. There is more I need to tell you of Sasuke if you want to know. All you have to do is ask. Again, only if you want to know. Let me know if you need me and take it easy. I will not be speaking to Sasuke for quite some time after pulling this. I'll look out after Naruto too - Temari told me he saw you crying and instantly wanted to destroy the source. You know how he is about you; it's like an inner demon come out when he gets this angry. It's going to be hard to hide this from him, but I'll do my best.

This is what brought her to her current dilemma. Sakura's phone had been blowing up the past few days with people who had heard about her and Sasuke. Of course, she knew it would happen. Part of her was happy though because this is something Sasuke didn't want to leak. It was revenge in a way, though bittersweet. This rumor getting around was a double edged sword - although it would give her great pleasure to have the fact he sucked in bed to spread around school, it would also make her look bad.

It didn't matter in high school if you slept with one guy or 20 - if you weren't in a convincing relationship, you were automatically labeled a whore. No doubt she would get threats sent to her from other jealous girls, or suddenly find herself surrounded by pussy-hungry man sluts. Hopefully having her good friends close to her would be enough to ignore all of the other students with their harsh words. Only the bold ones would approach her - most the others would end up whispering to the nearest by person to go 'hey, that's the new school slut, Sakura. She totally hooked up with Sasuke! Now who is she going to go for next?'

Sakura set the note back down on her night stand, taking a moment to reflect on the last part of the note. "Naruto…"

He had texted her that Tuesday asking what had happened, being typically concerned. Her simple reply was 'I don't want to talk about it.' Since then, he didn't text her, giving her the respected space she needed. But Gaara was right - she couldn't keep this from Naruto forever. He was one of her closest friends, yet she had kept him in the dark about this Sasuke thing. Now that it had come to a very painful, abrupt halt, and half the school aware of it, how much longer could she hold it off? Sasuke was basically his closest friend, and if he knew about what his raven friend had done to her…it was not going to end well. Had Sasuke even told Naruto about how he was a woman chaser and got whatever he wanted from them? How he used them and threw them away?

Naruto was the opposite - shy, sweet, and he liked to court a girl and put her on the pedestal. It couldn't be that big of a deal if Naruto knew he did it to some random girl that meant little to nothing to him. But if he found out that his best friend slept with the girl he's had a crush on for the longest time? If he found out that he called her a cunt and broke her heart? At that point, Naruto just might try to break Sasuke's face.

It took a lot to make Naruto truly angry, and when he got worked up over something, he lost it. There was no stopping Naruto in his path of fury until he reached the end to it, destroying the source.

Sasuke.

This left Sakura in an even bigger predicament. She found herself looking out her open window to the grey sky. Rain steadily fell, leaving everything quiet and peaceful. It might have been dreary as well, but it helped soothe her heart. Nothing was quite as relaxing as rain. "Should I…break it to him?" The out loud thought hung for a moment before she wanted to change her mind. "…Or maybe I should let things run their course and stay out of it. I would only hurt him more…"

In retrospect, what would be better to hear? Would it be better for Naruto to hear it right from Sakura 'Oh, Sasuke and I had sex and I gave my heart to him. But on Tuesday he crushed me and tore me apart saying I was a useless piece of shit!' Or should she not be the one to tell him? If he didn't catch wind of it already, he would by next week. Time was running out.

For the last three days, I've been wallowing alone in my own misery. I've been trying to block out everyone else and avoid something that can't be avoided. The weak, ill feeling she had been feeling for so long was beginning to lift as her mind shifted. Sobbing and complaining is only making me feel worse about the whole situation!

Now, her green eyes lit up with a burning flame of determination. I'm done hiding! I'm done being afraid! The fire spread to her heart, exciting her whole body with a new found energy. The sickness was over. The mindset of regret had faded. The broken feeling faded - the sadness gone. All that she felt was a burning in her heart to get up and do something about the source of her turmoil.

I want revenge.

No more would she let Sasuke believe he beat her down to rock bottom. He had for a few days there, but all that was left was up. She needed to get back to school and face her enemy. She needed to get back to her friends and reclaim the life she loved before he came into the picture. And most importantly, Sakura needed to talk to Naruto. She knew she was the only one who could do it now.

Now she was set out to tell him the whole and absolute truth tomorrow - anyone else who told him couldn't be trusted, especially not the gossip students loved to blow out of proportion. A devious grim came across her lips as she started out into the grey world surrounding her. "I'm going to dress up tomorrow and look better than I have ever looked. And I'm going to be happier than I ever have been!"

A laugh kicked up under her voice as excitement rose in her chest. She was rolling on this and it wasn't going to stop. "Tomorrow, regardless of what anyone thinks of me, I'm going to flirt with other guys and piss Sasuke off! I'm going to be so confident and radiant he'll regret doing what he did to me!" The Haruno paused to admire this idea of hers, smiling still. Never had she felt so good about something before.

"And when he comes crawling back to me saying sorry, I'll tell him what I've been through and how never again I'll make that same mistake!" Sakura finally kicked herself hard enough in the ass to suck it up and to make a change. She was going to stand up for herself in the biggest way tomorrow to rub it in Sasuke's face. He couldn't keep her spirits down - she was too strong. Too determined. He wouldn't be able to knock her down tomorrow even if he had a bulldozer.

"Tomorrow," Sakura smiled, "will be the day I start to get my revenge."

"Holy shit."

Her cheeks flared up in a full pink blush, lightly hitting Kakashi's shoulder as she got in his car. She flung her book bag into the back seat before sitting down. "I don't look that much different."

"Yes you do." Sakura blushed a bit more as she looked at her handsome professor, taking note his face was much out in the open. And looking extra sexy. If it were allowable for her and her teacher to be in a relationship and he were a bit younger, she would go for it. But that wasn't how fate decided things would work, so the Haruno and the rest of the high school girls had to admire this piece of art from afar and not touch it.

But toady was a good day if even this man was shocked at her appearance. "I don't look…bad, do I?" As the Hatake began driving to school, he looked back over at Sakura to…evaluate her attire.

"Well, yoga pants are all the rage these days and you pull them off very well. Plus you have on a lovely scoop top neck and a fitting cardigan. It looks very good on you." Sakura wasn't used to dressing up and wearing fitting clothes that showed off her body. By no means was she going to dress like a skank and wear a short little skirt and have her boobies hanging out. Instead she took the other route by hiding certain parts but revealing some others. She wasn't letting her ass hang out, but she was showing off its shape in the yoga pants. The scoop neck helped elongate her neck, and the cardigan helped to class it up. She also wore a nice pair of flats.

"That's not it - I noticed you did your hair and added some make-up. I must admit, you look quite stunning."

Yes! That's exactly what I was going for!

In her mind, she fist-pumped in victory. Sakura decided to make her cheeks rosy with some powder, added some lip gloss for sheen, and added some light eye make-up to bring out her green eyes. And by putting her hair back, she could show off that pretty face. She felt amazing about herself today.

"Out to make someone jealous today?"

Once Kakashi asked that question, she knew she was busted. Nothing could get past this man! Her head remained held up high, though voice a little lower in confidence. "I'm sure you've been told what happened. I'm going to get my revenge and make him regret doing what he did to me."

The man next to her said nothing for a moment, as if he were carefully choosing his words to come back at her idea. "Just be careful and don't let it backfire."

"Backfire?"

They pulled into the school, Kakashi parking his car in one of the staff spots. He turned off the ignition and looked his old student right in the eye. "You could get ripped apart by some of the girls. I believe I overheard a rumor that you begged and pleaded for it and only got it because you're so shallow. These girls don't appreciate having 'their man' shared."

The Haruno rolled her eyes, keeping herself above the garbage that was spread around. "I'll be fine, Kakashi. I won't let anyone bring me down."

Evidently, he still didn't believe her. "If you need somewhere to hide, there's always my classroom." She tried to laugh at it like it was a joke, but judging from the expression on his face, he was being dead serious.

Sighing and shaking her head, Sakura grabbed her book bag from the back seat and made her way to the doors. As soon as she walked inside, the judging began. People around her began to gawk and whisper. Was it because of the rumor, or because she looked hot enough to actually attract a decent amount of attention? The rosette did whatever she could to ignore the hallways stuffed full of people, and to just make it safely to her locker.

As soon as I get my book bag put away, I need to find Naruto and talk to him. Hopefully he'll be at his locker. She made it though Senior hallway in once piece and took a left up the next hall to reach her destination. Sakura expected to see the word 'whore' on her locker, but to her surprise it was blank. Maybe there are threat notes shoved inside? She rotated the lock, putting in the combination and unlocked it to see it only held her school books. Perhaps none of the preppy girls paid any attention to her before, therefore never knew where her locker was?

Sighing in relief, the Haruno emptied the contents of her book bag and gathered her supplies for the first few classes of the day. This included her 2nd period Sociology class with Sasuke. From what Ino had told her, Sasuke missed the rest of Tuesday and Wednesday, but was at school yesterday. So chances were that he was going to be here today. Sakura, don't get yourself wound up. Get back at him…be more happier and confident then you ever have been.

As she shut her locker and turned around, she saw a ball of spiked, yellow hair. Oh. That was easy. He was at his locker, like she hoped. Sakura began walking toward him, through the thick of the crowd. However, as she got closer, she saw that look in his eyes.

Naruto stood there with a familiar looking female - her hair was a dark color, thrown up into two buns, one on each side. Sakura never saw much of Ten-Ten these days, but apparently Naruto did. As she approached, she caught the end of what the other female was saying. "…yeah, she's been home the last few days because of him. I can't believe you didn't know this -"

Ten-ten looked right into Sakura's eyes at that moment, knowing she had been caught red handed informing Naruto about the rumor. She was too late. The blonde glanced over his shoulder to see what his friend was so shocked at, only to see the Haruno standing there, speechless.

As soon as Sakura saw the burning anger in his eyes, she knew exactly where he was going to do. "No, wait, Naruto-"

"I'm going to kill him for this."

Sakura went to reach out for Naruto as he passed her by, but she wasn't nearly as quick as him. "Naruto!" He bolted up the hallway toward the small staircase, pushing everyone out of his way. Sakura was quick to pursue, struggling to keep up through the crowd. "Don't do this!" He didn't stop. He wasn't listening. There was a hot trail behind him, and more than just Sakura was following him - they were doing it out of curiosity, knowing shit was about to go down. The Haruno just wanted it to stop - she wanted to calm Naruto down and tell him herself. It was alright for him to get upset; that was more than understandable. But she couldn't get him to listen - nobody could stop him until he got to his target and took care of things.

As he reached the dreaded row of lockers by the stairs, Sakura was finally able to grab onto Naruto's jacket. She tried to look around to see if Sasuke was at his locker, though ultimately she couldn't tell. "Calm down and listen to me!" He paused - he actually stopped for a brief moment to look over his shoulder.

"No."

Shocked at his defiance, her grip loosened. She stood there, alone, watching Naruto walk right up to a locker next to Ino's. That's when she saw Sasuke, not even a few feet away from her. "You piece of SHIT!" She watched as Naruto got right into the raven's face and grabbed the front of his shirt, then shoving him into his own locker. A crowd started to gather at the sudden explosion. Ino had even shrieked and booked it the hell out of there to Sakura's side. Somehow Sakura found herself pushed near the front of this site, her friend right next to her. But neither of them said a word in this intense moment.

Sasuke looked right into those burning blue eyes, though had nothing to say. Naruto wasn't even close to done. "How DARE you do that to Sakura! You stepped all over her and then THREW HER AWAY!" Again, he slammed Sasuke back into the locker, trying to evoke a response. "NOBODY deserves that! What the FUCK did she do to deserve that?"

Everyone around was dead silent, listening to this one-sided yelling fest. "Nothing."

"What the hell do you mean by NOTHING!"

Sasuke's face remained stoic and unmoved. Did he even notice Sakura was standing right there, front row, watching this? He hadn't seen her yet - he couldn't have know. "I said nothing. She didn't do anything to deserve it."

The raven seemed very keyed into Naruto, looking right at him and blocking out everyone else. People began to whisper at Sasuke's response, confused at what he said.

The Uzumaki was still fuming - his nostrils were flared, breathing heavily. His eyes almost looked like they were turning red from anger - but that was impossible. All of his body was tense, as if he were pushing Sasuke into that locker with everything he had. "Then why? WHY!" Naruto demanded an answer, conjuring up all the anger within him. It was evident to Sakura that Ten-ten had relayed a rather accurate story to him, because there was no hint of her being a shallow pleading whore. It was of Sasuke being the bad guy - which he was - and how he used Sakura. Naruto must have put two and two together with her breakdown Tuesday. But she dared not enter the middle of this no matter how bad she wanted to. Yet again, Sasuke deserved to be pummeled to dirt. And for some reason, even though he deserved it, she couldn't stand to watch him get beat up. It yanked at her heart.

"I don't know why."

"STOP THE BULLSHIT!" Naruto clenched harder onto Sasuke's shirt, showing no sign of calming down.

"I don't know, but it was wrong of me."

The Haruno was floored at this reply. Did he just admit…he was wrong to do that to me? The whisper amongst students kicked up even more at this, even Ino leaning over to ask if she heard him right.

The chatter stopped when the blonde began to yell once more. "She isn't the worthless piece of shit, you are. You're the saddest excuse for a man - no, a BOY!" That's when it happened - Sasuke's eyes quickly scanned the crowd, and within just a moment, his eyes fell into Sakura's gaze. He was looking right at her, and kept eye contact. He looked so sad and broken - he looked like how she felt the last few days. And, keeping his gaze with hers, he replied Naruto.

"I know I am. I'm much worse than that…"

What…what the hell is going on? Sakura questioned the whole situation and everything that had been said. Was this another trick or something? He admitted he was wrong to do that to me, and he won't even defend himself. He's kicking himself down…over me?

The rosette couldn't stand to look at Sasuke anymore - she could feel the tears threatening to kick back up. This can't be real. Those things he said to me the other day…how can he care? She was left torn and confused. Sakura was just used, right? He didn't care did he? What Gaara told her about Sasuke actually caring she disregarded as a complete lie. But now she was seeing Sasuke admit his faults. Nothing was making sense anymore.

"You deserve to be beat within an inch of your life for this."

"You're right - I do." Her eyes closed and broke away from this, afraid she would see something she didn't want to. Naruto was about to beat Sasuke to a pulp. The crowd was even getting worked up, waiting for the punch to land. Mainly the guys though.

Once more, Naruto shoved Sasuke hard into the locker. "WHY WON'T YOU FIGHT BACK!" The blonde was clearly frustrated at his friend for not talking back, let alone try to escape and deck him in the face.

He only had one simple reply. "Because I deserve it." The students were roaring for the fight to break out. Sakura, however, stood there looking at both the males again, then at Sasuke. She might have broke the gaze from him for a minute, but he was still looking right at her.

"ENOUGH!" Suddenly, the students began to scramble away with the roar from an angry woman. She quickly worked her way up to the two males and pried Naruto away from the Uchiha. "What is the meaning of this?"

Even though everyone else had basically beat it, Sakura remained standing there with Ino. She was too shocked to move. Maybe she wasn't meant to hear any of those things Sasuke said, but he seemed like he really meant it. The Haruno was completely torn and had no idea what to believe anymore.

Sasuke…who are you?

"Naruto, answer me!"

The blonde stood there, refusing to look at the Uchiha or the woman yelling at him. "Sasuke is an evil bastard, that's what."

Her brown eyes met with the darker pair to see him not even fighting back against the harsh words. "So the rumors are true then?" This time, the woman turned around to look back at Sakura. Even the principal of their school had heard what happened. All the Haruno could do was nod.

Quickly, she turned back to the males before her, holding each one by the back of their shirt. She had to make an effort to keep Naruto from attacking the raven. "Both of you, to my office NOW!" Even though she told them to go to her office, she insisted on nearly dragging them away.

And once more, as Sakura remained standing there, Sasuke glimpsed right back into her eyes. This gaze seemed to pierce into her this time, making her heart nearly skip a beat. Not from the intensity, but from the pure remorse she could see in them.

Only for that moment did she see into him, because following that second, the principal hauled their asses down the hall. Ino leaned over to Sakura, speaking in a softer tone. "Tsunade is soooo taking this out on Sasuke. The way it should be…"

Ino then saw something that made her change the topic completely - Sakura herself. "Wow, you look hot!" Even at that obvious compliment, the rosette said nothing. It didn't take Ino long to look up at her friends face to realize something was wrong. "Hey, Sakura…"

She felt her friend wrap her arm around her waist, guiding her down the hall. Sakura still carried around her books for the next few classes, but she didn't feel like she needed to. The school day hadn't even started and yet she wanted to leave already. Nobody had even done more than stare at her - all it took was this fight and that look Sasuke gave her. The things he said…they swarmed in her mind. "Ino, I don't know what to do or think after that…"

"Think of everything he lied about before. The guy pretended to reassure you to get in your pants! He put up a front for that very reason - what makes you think he actually feels guilt or meant what he said just now? He knew you were watching." When this conflict first went down on rather to sleep with him or not, everyone she knew advised her to NOT do it. But Gaara told her Sasuke actually did care about her…Ino hadn't know him that long. Asking Naruto was out of the picture since he almost destroyed the Uchiha. The only real person she could go back to was Gaara…or Suigetsu.

The Haruno found herself being guided toward the office, where the two boys had been taken. Even from outside in the hallway, the girls could hear a loud female voice yelling through the walls. "The look in his eyes…you can't fake that. I'm just…I'm so lost…" After a moment, she stopped, wondering why Ino had led them here. "Why are we here?"

When Sakura looked at her friend, she received a blank stare. "Really? This is Tsunade we're talking about, and this fight was over you. She's going to want to talk to you and play mom."

This was true. As soon as she was done with the two boys, she was going to send for Sakura right away. Besides, this got her out of English class and possibly the rest of the day. When Sakura came in her freshman year, she was a shy little book worm. For some reason, Tsunade decided to pick her to help with secretary work - maybe because Sakura did all her work? For her first year of high school she assisted the principal, who helped her come out of her awkward shell. 2nd year Sakura still hung around the office and even went to eat with the principal a few times. But this year they hadn't had much time to even talk.

Now that Tsunade knew her little assistant who she adored had been defiled by the Uchiha…there would be no remorse. That lady would berserker on him.

Ino patted her friend on the shoulder, Sakura walking into the front office. The yelling was even louder than she had though - even the staff gathered around paused from their work to look in the direction of the principals office. The Haruno did what she could to keep her mind busy and ignore the yelling.

She must have been in there a good ten minutes just yelling before it finally calmed. A few more minutes passed and the Haruno heard the door open. She didn't want to look up in fear of seeing Sasuke standing right there. God forbid he even try to talk to her. Fortunately, it seemed that Tsunade made them take the back route to avoid coming through the front of the office. Had they both been suspended for the day? Sakura would find out soon enough.

"Shizune! Go get Sakura right now!" The woman with short, black hair recoiled slightly and look over at Sakura, then back in the direction of the office.

"Uhm, she's already here waiting."

"Then send her in!"

Apparently Tsunade still liked to stay behind her desk and yelling at others from down the hall. Shizune looked at her, but Sakura already knew what to do. She stood and waved goodbye to Ino before heading down to the office. As she opened the door and walked into the room, she saw the big-breasted lady sitting behind the desk with just an empty chair before her.

"Sakura, why don't you have a seat?" The Haruno complied and made herself comfortable, knowing she would probably be in here for a while.

"Now…" Gazes locked, the principal leaned in, "…tell me everything."