A/N: Hey guys! How y'all doin'? By the by,

MERRY CHRISTMAS

A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF US!

Soo… guys, I'm gonna need your opinions on something and I hope it won't be such a bother to ask for your help, cause I'm really having a hard time deciding on this matter. So, here it is.

What do you guys prefer, SHIKATEMA & INOSAI or just plain old SHIKAINO?

I'm fine with both so I dunno what to pick. So, I decided to put it up on a survey. I'll be waiting for your picks on your reviews! Thanks. :)

And here's the next chapter…. Enjoy!

Standard Disclaimer is applied.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER RECAP:

Sasuke twisted the door knob then jerked it out of the way as he continued half-dragging Sakura out of her apartment. She was just about to jerk her hand away from his grasp and demand what the hell was going on when she heard the sounds of breaking glass.

Like it was some kind of ominous sign, their pace increased as Sasuke dragged her farther from her apartment.

As they reached the end of the corridor, where the metal stairs were located by the side of the building, she was stunned when Sasuke spun around, swept her into his arms bridal-style, and then jumped out from the building.

Free-falling from the fourth floor of a building didn't feel so good; Sakura was an indisputable testament to that. Especially if you continue to feel no resistance at all and continue to land below surely in a heap of pancaked limbs. Seconds away from splattering to the ground, she was surprised when she heard a weird tearing noise followed by a flap.

As pieces of her favorite gray cotton shirt fluttered to the ground, she felt herself being lifted higher to the ground. Sighing in relief she settled back on Sasuke's chest, which she noticed was now bare and warm.

Having wings sure is handy. She thought to herself.

A few seconds later, she got queasy. They were getting higher steadily, and Sasuke showed no sign of stopping from getting much higher. She expected they'd only move forward now since they were way above the ground now. The roofs of the buildings below them were minuscule, like she was looking down from a city made from Lego. Even the lights of the town beneath them were tiny, the scene was mesmerizing. It felt like she was staring at a sky full of twinkling stars, only it was below her, not above. It was still pretty dark, though dawn might be coming quite soon, which just added to the magnificence of it all.

Finally, before she could squeak to Sasuke that it was high enough, their movement upward finally slowed down, until they only moved forward.

Being carried in the arms of a gorgeously hot probably-angel feels really enjoyable, Sakura thought.

She looked up to see his sharp cheekbones that hid the view of his handsome face as he looked straight ahead. She basked in the warmth of the moment; those strong muscular arms that supported her whole weight effortlessly, those huge fluffy wings taking the both of them high above the ground into the vast endless pre-dawn sky, and that strong warm chest she was leaning (and secretly nuzzling) onto.

As if he noticed her excessive staring and usual (but still weird) gawking, he looked down at her. And exactly at the right moment, the sun rose majestically over the horizon. The first rays of the sun hit the town beneath them in its warm golden luminance. But all of these went unnoticed to Sakura. At that instant, all that remained was Sasuke.

The mellow rays of the sun touched his face, and it was like Sakura was seeing him for the very first time. His hair looked amazingly dark, but with a hint of blue in it as it was bathed in the sun's rays. His face was almost too painfully and utterly beautiful. It was so different compared to staring at him in the misty darkness of the sky before daybreak. Sakura felt her heart skip a beat then start thundering in her ribcage like a bullet train. She swore she could hear her heart beat with her own ears.

And just as her heart raced frantically, she saw Sasuke's perfectly curved eyebrow raise, as if he heard her heart pound in her chest too. She flushed in mortification. Sasuke, remaining clueless of the effect he had on her, cocked his head slightly to the side, frowning slightly as he wondered why Sakura was acting this way.

Gosh, that truly adorable head tilt and cute pout did it. Weak kneed, she felt like she melted into a mess of pink goo. Good thing she wasn't standing, but her legs felt boneless and jelly all the same. Embarrassingly, she felt her breath hitch as she sucked a gulp of air, feeling oxygen-deprived. Man, he should stop (as Bella would say,) dazzling her like that.

She shook her head at him, half-annoyed and half-relieved at his apparent cluelessness. Shifting her gaze away, she realized how weird things progressed. Earlier (well, it was already past midnight by then, but whatever… you get what I mean), she was just busy hanging out and getting drunk with her best friends (mostly just them, actually), and now here she was (wearing her favorite PJs); flying above the city at the crack of dawn in the arms of the most gorgeous (but kinda clueless) creature she have ever met, who was now shirtless with black-and blue wings protruding from his back.

Huh, who knew I had such luck. She snorted inside her head.

Sakura could barely comprehend why she was wherever she was right now, much less believe it herself. Banishing other thoughts away, she continued enjoying the moment. This could well probably be a once in a lifetime chance.

Before she could start singing "Oh, happy day!" inside her head, she remembered what happened just before the two of them escaped hurriedly out of her apartment.

Sasuke's reaction was really strange, she thought to herself.

He looked absolutely no-kidding furious, as if he were ready to attack someone, probably mangle and dismember them to death. Even if the image she saw only lasted for a second, it was like the mental picture was branded at the back of her eyelids, pulsing and reminding her of that horrifying moment. She fought back a shiver as she felt her skin crawl. It was really shocking to see that handsome, calm, or you could say, apathetic Sasuke act like that. It was as if he turned into a different person, a different being entirely. She sighed. Thinking about it makes her head pound in a headache. She dismissed those thoughts away and started to think of the other mystery that puzzled her.

Someone just broke into my apartment. Robbery? No, it seemed too well-timed to be a coincidence. Besides, who in their right minds would actually try to rob a financially-struggling college student, and through her window nonetheless? No, definitely not. Whoever it (or they) was who wanted to break into her apartment wasn't afraid of discovery. They made too much noise by going through the windows. And that was another mystery. She was sure as day that who entered her apartment weren't ordinary robbers. They wouldn't get anything worth robbing in her small and sparsely-decorated apartment anyway. Going through a window of an apartment in the fourth floor of the building would be pretty difficult to manage, unless you had wings and can fly. That was only one plausible solution left.

Whatever happened back there was related to Sasuke, the mysterious winged creature she picked up in the middle of the road.

A/N: So, what do you guys think? Well, I think I really loved that cheesy sunrise part. :D

Please tell me your comment and the answer to the question on my note above on your reviews, 'kay? I'll be waiting for them. :]

Oh, hope nobody got confused on the Twilight reference back there. Since I'm pretty sure almost anyone would know who Bella is. And just a side-note, for Twi-haters out there, please no flames. We have our own preferences in books and movies so please, mind your own goddamn business. I'm getting tired of all the bullpoop I always get from insecure haters. :P

That's all folks, till next time. :)