DISCLAIMER: I do not own the 'Naruto' or 'Naruto: Shippuden' series or characters.

Please enjoy my chapter :)

SASUKE'S FEELINGS

The moment I had finished singing my song, Naruto took my hand and led me out towards the corridor. Sakura, sensing that Naruto was seeking a private moment with me, distracted everybody else with a game of:

"Twister, anyone?" Sakura grabbed the game and disappeared deeper into the room, trying to avoid the mad stampede of eager gamers trampling her as they went past. Confused, I followed Naruto where he led me and he leaned me up against the wall. He smiled tenderly at me and gently kissed me. I responded tentatively and wrapped both arms around his neck, pressing him closer.

"Didn't know you like ballads, Naruto." I whispered, coming up for air and resting my forehead against his. Naruto chuckled and wrapped me up into a hug.

"I don't. But I heard that song once at the Ramen shop when I was coming down to visit you at the hospital and it got stuck in my head." I felt my face fall in disappointment.

"Oh."

"But I realised that it kinda reminded me of you and all the shit that happened to you over your life. And I realised how much I wanted to be the person who would be there for you." I perked up instantly.

"That's so sweet." I replied, cupping his cheek. "I'm really glad we're going out." I added.

Naruto looked embarrassed before replying.

"Yeah, me too. Although, I don't really want Sasuke to kill me for dating you." He added, frowning at the possibility. I chuckled and took his hand, leading him back out to the Rec Room and sat back down on the couch, watching everyone else trying to tie themselves into pretzels on a dotted rubber mat. It seemed Sakura was winning the game.

"If he was going to kill you he would have tried to do so when he slugged you in the face back in the memory." I reminded him.

Naruto was also watching the game. He chuckled softly.

"Yeah. I guess." He agreed and laughed when Kiba made the wrong move and caused everybody except Sakura to collapse on top of each other.

"Wanna play twister?" Naruto asked with a challenge in his husky voice. I smirked at him.

"Only if you don't mind being beaten by a girl." I teased. Naruto frowned at the possibility.

"Who says you're gonna win?" I turned my head and looked him straight in his defiant blue eyes.

"Me!" I declared and pecked him affectionately on the end of his nose. Hopping up, I strode determinedly towards the game, but stopped when Sasuke's face suddenly appeared in my head.

Oh right! I need to let Sakura in on my other plan...

I searched the room for Sakura who had temporarily disappeared and finally saw her emerging from the kitchen drinking from a plastic cup.

"Hold on a second, Naruto! I need to talk to Sakura for a second." Naruto focused on Sakura for a second as the girl in question heard her name get called out and who called it. She strode over to us with a huge smile on her face.

"Okay!" Naruto pecks my cheek and then rushes over to the others who had started gathering contenders and got this really ambitious grin on his face.

"Hey Guys! Move over, it's my turn!" He rushed past Sakura at top speed and practically dove into the crowd.

"HEY!"

"Naruto!"

"Get off me! You moron!" came the annoyed outbursts of our friends as Sakura and I looked at Naruto in astonishment.

"Uh? Anyway..." I started, taking Sakura's hand and leading her back to the couch as we watched Naruto grinning with embarrassment at his annoyed friends.

"I have something to tell you in confidence." I explained to a bubbly looking Sakura.

"Of course, you can tell me anything. You're one of my best friends." Sakura was so happy. My jutsu really must have cheered her up. I could only imagine what her reaction was going to be when she learns what I have to tell her next. I grimaced uncomfortably at her as I responded.

"Okay. I've been talking to Sasuke in the chatroom." Sakura's eyes widen from shock.

"You what! When?" she cried.

"On and off ever since we came back from our mission. He wanted to talk with me privately. And he's told me some interesting things."

Tenten puts on a song that I recognised as 'Last Friday Night (TGIF)' . But Sakura and I barely notice as Sakura is focused entirely on what I had to tell her about Sasuke.

"Like what exactly?"

I narrowed my eyes sternly at Sakura before I answered her question.

"Now this is where you have to swear to me you'll tell NO ONE. Not even Naruto. You promise?" I asked. Sakura nodded. "I swear. What is it?"

"I asked Sasuke whether or not he missed any of his old friends in the past two years he's been in exile from Konoha." Sakura's face twisted in hope.

"What did he say?"

"Not a lot. Just said that 'there are a few of my old friends I do miss'. But he didn't actually say who. The stubborn idiot." Sakura's face dropped with disappointment.

"Oh." I placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder, impatiently.

"I'm not finished yet. I then asked him if he missed you, despite how much you really annoyed him." Sakura looked at me fiercely when I said this.

"Hey! I haven't done anything annoying to him." she protested. I looked at her incredulously. I repeated her words from the past.

""Oh, Sasuke! I swear you're so smart!", "Yeah! You're totally right!" " Sakura looked confused.

"What's wrong with that?" she asked.

"To quote Naruto: 'What's right with that?'" I responded. I sighed as Sakura suddenly got her stubborn face on.

"And what did he answer to your question?" Sakura asked, pouting. I smiled, knowing that she was definitely going to like my answer.

"He said he has missed you. But he doesn't want to have a relationship with you, because he doesn't want to put you in harm's way. He truly likes you, but only when you're not fawning over him. Then he doesn't want anything to do with you."

Sakura's face lit up like a candle.

"He, he really does like me?" I nodded.

"YES!" Sakura cheered.

"Which brings me to my second confession..." I added. Sakura stopped cheering and looked at me with worry on her face.

"What is it?"

"I have a surprise for everybody tonight, back at my house."

Sakura instantly got excited.

"Really? What is it?" I sighed.

"Here's the thing. I'm gonna tell you, because I need somebody I can trust who knows what's going on, but it's not going to be much of a surprise for you when it actually occurs." I promised her. But Sakura waved away my concerns.

"You can count on me. What's the surprise?"

"I'm gonna do something similar to what we did back in Orochimaru's lair. But this time, it's going to appear like we never left my bedroom... and Sasuke's coming via this deep sleep vision. The vision we went on back at Orochimaru's lair is known as the Sharingan Vision." Sakura frowned thoughtfully.

"Is that what we did?" I nodded.

"I'd like your help in making sure people don't attack Sasuke when we all go under and he suddenly appears. Please?" Sakura paused for a moment, looking unsure about if she should or not. Her feelings for Sasuke were clearly still very strong, because during the slow dance she clung to Gaara so tightly, it looked like she was cutting off his circulation.

Finally, Sakura nodded.

"Alright then. It'd be a great opportunity to see Sasuke again without him trying to kill us." I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thanks. But don't let Sasuke know that I've told you." Sakura traced a cross over her heart with a sincere smile on her face.

"Cross my heart." I hugged my best girlfriend tightly.

"He's your date for tonight. Just don't make it obvious, and sit with him, me and Naruto. You cool with that?" Sakura nodded enthusiastically. The both of us got up and headed over to the Twister game, where Naruto and the rest were tied up in pretzels again and Naruto had also been caught in a headlock by Kiba and was getting the noogie of his life.

"Ow! Hey! Oh, c'mon, man! Let go!" complained Naruto, as Kiba dug his knuckles into Naruto's scalp. I went on to beat them at several games.

When it was time to knock off for the night, nobody was ready to head home for bed. Which was lucky because it was the best opportunity to announce my idea.

"The party isn't over yet. It's continuing back at my place. I've got a surprise for you all..."