A/N: Thanks for the reviews, again. ARGH my contact is tickling my eyelid xD. I'm new at the whole take-in and take-out the contact thing, so most of the time, my eye is bloodshot because I accidentally stabbed it with my finger --;. So there you have it, my very eventful life.

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Day 9

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Tenten was panting hard.

She hadn't gone for a good run in a long time, and though she was usually pretty fit, Sakura had them going at a pretty good rate. Hinata could keep up with them, but they had lost Ino halfway there. She was now lagging behind, staggering to catch up.

Two bloody miles!

Tenten knew that two miles was probably not that big of a deal to some people, but she wasn't one of them. Sakura was running so fast that it was breakneck, and once again, Tenten had not trained for running for a very long time. She was clutching her side, panting, before long. Hinata was faring better, as Tenten knew that Hinata had been getting up early to go for runs in the mornings. Hinata was looking much more panicky than any of them, though. She seemed too worried about Naruto to process that he had a crush on Sakura.

Tenten was in a grim mood. She wanted to strangle Rock Lee. Of all people, he came by and told bigmouthed Ino all about Tenten's lie, and then Ino of course told Sakura the next day once she got the chance to gloat in her face. This was all Lee's fault. She ground her teeth.

"Crap," Sakura cursed, and stopped to look around at their surroundings. People were staring at the three panting girls, (and Ino, who was forcing her way desperately through the crowd towards the others). "I think we're lost," she admitted.

"Lost? We're trying to stop my best friend and your boyfriend from killing each other and you say we're lost?" Tenten asked, taking a step forward. Sakura glared at her.

"You know what? If you have a good idea right now, I'd like to hear it!" she screamed. "I'm doing the best I can, but it's not like they're going to post direction signs as to where they're going to beat the brains out of each other!"

"That'd be mighty helpful," Tenten muttered venomously under her breath, kicking the asphalt in frustration. For once, she wished that Sakura had something that she didn't: a sense of direction.

"A-Ano…" Hinata's voice stuttered even more than usual from her panting. Her white eyes were still wide, though there was a small string of confidence in her tone.

"Hm?" said Tenten.

"It's t-that way," Hinata said, pointing at a left turn. Tenten raised her eyebrows in surprised, something she had learned from Neji, and Sakura pursed her lips skeptically.

"You know where...?"

Hinata nodded uncertainly, and turned to run. Tenten shrugged at Sakura and followed her. Pretty soon, Ino caught up, and the four of them were running again.

Tenten felt like her lungs were about to burst out of her chest. It burned like Hell, and it hurt to breathe in or out. It seared the inside of her nose and her throat. Her legs felt like jelly. She kept running.

In truth, Ino had no reason at all to be coming with them, but she did anyways. Tenten felt a strange twinge of gratefulness of this action. Ino didn't usually do kind things for other people.

They slowed at the sight of the building.

The tall office building was like most others in the city: gray, with black windows and stretching in a boring rectangular shape straight up to the sky. The address number read 7290. "This is it," Sakura affirmed. They cautiously, warily crept down the side alley dividing this building from the next. Garbage bags stunk up the alleyway. Tenten wrinkled her nose.

They came to a rotting wooden fence at the end of what seemed like a walk to forever. Tenten and Hinata both climbed it without much difficulty, but Sakura couldn't find a foothold, and Ino refused to step on the garbage bags. Finally, relinquishing her pride for a moment, Sakura allowed them to heave her up. Ino sighed and shook her head when Tenten offered an arm from the other side.

"You guys can go on. I'm pooped. I am not moving another inch." And with a sigh, she sank down onto the pavement. Tenten shrugged, and slid back down the fence.

"Suit yourself," she called.

At the other end of the fence was the building site of a new area of homes. The workers had already quit work for the afternoon, to resume when the sun would sink behind the horizon. The giant yellow machines they used stood still, the terrifying black teeth used for moving dirt glinting in the midday sun.

Sasuke and Naruto were both standing in an empty patch of dust and dirt, about 100 meters away. Tenten had to look through the hollow boards of a house to see them.

"Naruto! You idiot!" she screamed as loud as she could, her legs running before she made the conscious command for them to move. "Stop it!"

He either didn't hear her, or ignored her. His blue eyes were narrowed in an expression of intense hatred. His body was covered in dust, and there was a large gash across his face. He was doubled over, one arm clutching the left side of his ribcage. Sasuke stood straight, smirking, his arms folded, not a single scratch on him, as far as Tenten could see. His black eyes were cold.

"Teme…" Naruto hissed.

"Dobe. Weak as ever," Sasuke inclined his head.

Naruto let out a roar of fury and charged at Sasuke, taking aim at his head. Sasuke dodged easily, caught the arm, and twisted it behind Naruto's back. Tenten could see now that Naruto had never stood a chance, but she would have had to have seen it to believe it. Naruto was not easily beaten, out of pure stubbornness alone.

Naruto tried to twist out of Sasuke's grip, but now they were close enough to see that Sasuke's veins stood out in his hand, he was gripping Naruto so hard. Naruto struggled harder, and Sasuke pulled his arm further back. Naruto grunted in pain.

"Uchiha, I'll kill you for this!" Sakura screamed at him, her green eyes furious. Sasuke turned to look at her inquiringly, though his expression was indifferent. It was rather obvious to everybody there that there was little Sakura could do to him.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata cried out, her eyes wide in fear at the expression of pain on Naruto's face. However, the blonde managed to wink at her.

"Oy, Hinata-chan! What're you doing here? It's no place for a lady! Sasuke-teme, lemme go. Can't you see that Hinata-chan's here?"

Sasuke ignored him completely.

"Right ol' bastard, he is," Naruto said, nudging his head in Sasuke's direction. Hinata bit her lip, and took a few more steps forward. Instantly, Sasuke shifted his position to defensive, never taking his eyes off of Sakura, lest she take a punch at him.

"Let. Him. Go," Sakura said very slowly, in a deadly tone.

"Hn." Sasuke drew a pocketknife from his pant's pocket, so that only Sakura could see. He switched it open, and raised his arm. His intention was clear. Sakura's eyes widened in horror.

"You wouldn't," she said, though her voice wavered with uncertainty. "You…you can't."

"Foolish girl," Sasuke said, ever cold, and brought the knife higher so that Naruto and Hinata could both see it too. Naruto's eyes narrowed, but Hinata looked ready to faint. She didn't take any more steps forward, for fear that Sasuke would do something drastic.

"All this over me?" Sakura said in a voice meant to calm him down a little. "C'mon, it's stupid. Let him go, Uchiha. Let Naruto go." She took a step forward. This felt like some kind of cop-and-robbers show, the scene where they approach the hostage. "If you kill him, then I'll kill you," she added menacingly. "Don't have any doubt about that. My word is good."

Sasuke twitched his hand so that the knife drew blood from Naruto's jaw. For his credit, Naruto didn't even flinch.

"You don't even care about me! He challenged you, remember?" Sakura screamed at him, because talking didn't seem to be getting through. "What would you kill him for? I don't even know you anymore! This isn't some old feudalism movie! This is the 21st century! You can't just kill him, Uchiha!"

"I care little for his life," Sasuke drawled indifferently.

"I do!" Sakura screamed. "Sasuke, let Naruto go!"

Sasuke twisted the knife so that it was pressing against Naruto's throat.

"Heh. Sasuke-teme, whatever else you are, you aren't a killer," Naruto said. "You gonna kill me? Teme, you coward, with your knife tricks. Fight me like a man!"

It sounded like something out of a movie. Except that there was nothing funny about it.

"Naruto!" Sakura screamed. It seemed like she was doing a lot of screaming. She was going to go absolutely crazy if she didn't vent her frustration, and yes, her fear, in some way, though.

Sasuke paused, and turned to look at her. "The dobe says he loves you," he said coldly. "Do you love him?"

Sakura faltered, the words caught in her throat. "I…what?!"

"Do you love him?" Sasuke repeated calmly.

Sakura calculated her answer carefully. Which was the right answer, yes, or no? Which one would make Sasuke just let Naruto go? Which one would make him come back to his senses? She'd never seen him come close to being like this. What was wrong with him today?

"I…don't…know," she finally said slowly, scrutinizing him for a reaction.

"Answer me!" Sasuke demanded, this time a hint of hysteria edging his normally cool tone. It threw Sakura off balance. She hadn't heard him talk with that kind of voice for a long time.

"Put away the knife, and I'll tell you," she said.

Sasuke smirked, back to his old self in a moment. "No…" He lowered the knife slightly, "…or yes?" He brought it back up, and made a shallow cut on Naruto's neck. In a second, everything fell into place. Sakura realized what this was all about, what this had been about all along.

"You…" Sakura choked, "You wanted to fight him?" she demanded. "You weren't just humoring Naruto when you accepted his request? You and I both know that we're not boyfriend and girlfriend," she accused him.

"Hn." Sasuke gave her a look that clearly said, "it's about time that you figured that out". All along, Sakura had assumed that Naruto had just challenged Sasuke to one of their rather frequent brawls, (where Sasuke always won), but this time because of her. She had never actually met Naruto before this, but Sasuke had told her enough.

She had seen Sasuke in plenty of fights. His opponents weren't what you would call lucky. But he had wanted to fight Naruto? That little fact made all the difference.

"Uchiha…you-"

She had been about to call him something pretty unpleasant, but he cut her off. "Sasuke-kun. You. Will. Not. Call. Me. Uchiha," he hissed. She blinked in surprise.

"What?"

"Say it!" he demanded.

"What the Hell are you-"

"Sakura," he hissed.

She sighed. "Sasuke-kun. Are you happy now?"

He smirked, and flicked the blade back into the handle, pocketing it as if nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. "Yes."

Sakura glowered at him. "I hate you." She ran over to Naruto the same moment that Hinata did, both checking the cuts on his face. Naruto shrugged at the sudden attention, convinced that it was nothing serious.

Meanwhile, during this entire episode, everybody had pretty much ignored Tenten, (good reason, too, she had made sure she was not in a position to be easily seen). Naruto had not noticed she was there, Sakura and Hinata had been too preoccupied. Now as the two girls fussed over Naruto, (Sakura was in a rare helpful mood).

The Uchiha glanced at her in mild interest, his eyes cold. "Who are you?"

"Nobody of interest," Tenten replied in an equally cool voice.

"Who are you?" he repeated as if she had not spoken. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Sorry, I don't associate with potential murderers."

He didn't give the knee-jerk reaction of anger. His face was calm and serene as he turned away from her, his curiosity sated.

"That tongue will kill you," he murmured acidly.

"Well, better wit than nothing," she replied as he retreated. She didn't make a move to stop him, though she probably should have. She really didn't see the point. Sakura would deal with him later, most likely on her own terms.

"Tenten-chan!" Naruto called, finally noticing that she was there.

"Yeah." She smiled weakly. "Are you okay?"

O0O

"Wow. That was…quite a day."

Tenten rolled her eyes at the blonde lounging on her bed. "You weren't even there, Ino. Quit talking big."

Ino rolled her eyes too and propped her arms behind her head, sighing. "Yeah, but now I wish I hadn't missed it. This place is so boring, it's hard to believe that this type of stuff still happens in a modern town. Reminds me of those old Western showdowns, except without the music." She chuckled, thinking she was funny.

"I'm g-glad that nobody was h-hurt too badly," Hinata murmured, perched awkwardly on her bed. Tenten nudged Ino to scoot over, and sat down too. Sakura was pacing back and forth across the floor, and ignoring their conversation.

"What're you thinking 'bout, Forehead-girl?" Ino finally asked, sounding like she wouldn't care if Sakura were planning an invasion of the world with penguins as her allies. Sakura glanced up, and then resumed her pacing.

"Seriously," Tenten said, "Aren't you tired out? That was quite an afternoon."

Sakura sighed, and climbed up to her bunk to flop down dejectedly. It was a rare time to see the usually upbeat girl in such a depressing mood. "It's hard to believe that they nearly killed each other over me."

"Meaning it's all your fault," Ino translated.

Sakura glared at her. "Gee. Thanks a lot, Pig."

"Well, still." Ino's trademark grin inched onto her pale features, her blue eyes shining with a dangerous glint. "Aren't you happy?"

"Happy?" Sakura repeated incredulously. "Why in Hell would I be happy?!"

"Your dear Sasuke-kun was willingly fighting Naruto for you," she pointed out. "He wouldn't let Naruto go until he made sure that you didn't like him. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"Does it?" Sakura said, bored.

"Yes!" Ino shouted, exasperated. "It means that he has feelings for you!"

"And?" Sakura asked, still staring at the ceiling.

Ino sputtered. Hinata and Tenten watched her warily.

"Uh…you want water or something?" Tenten finally said. Much as she did not like Ino, letting her just sit there sputtering and turning steadily purple in the face was probably not healthy. What kind of person would she be?

"I-Ino-san…" Hinata warned as Ino's sputtering increased. She clamped her mouth together.

"Ah. Sorry."

She squinted one-eyed at Sakura. "I just told you that Uchiha Sasuke likes you and you go 'so'?! What's wrong with you? Didn't you say you liked him or something?"

"I did," Sakura said coldly. "But, I have never loved him, I don't, and I never will. I believe I made that very clear."

"Isn't it something that he cares about you, still?" Ino prodded.

Sakura flopped back down into her bed. "Ino, he just nearly killed somebody today, and all you can think about is his love life?" Ino paused for consideration.

"Yeah," Tenten answered for her. "That's pretty much all that Ino thinks about. She's just that dense."

"Hey!"

"I'm much more concerned with the fact that he's never come close to trying to kill somebody before, and that he could try it again, and succeed," Sakura mused to the ceiling. "I couldn't care much less about who he loves, even if it is me."

Ino pursed her lips. "God, haven't you noticed that he's hot?"

Hinata blushed, Tenten gagged, and Sakura raised her eyebrow. "You are dense," she finally said.

Ino held up her hands in front of her in defense. "Hey, since nobody in here knows how to be a real girl but me, I have to do quadruple duty for you people too. Be a little more grateful, will you?"

Sakura snorted. "Right."

Ino sulked. Tenten found herself wondering what she had ever done to deserve this degree of punishment.

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A/N: Okay, I probably won't be posting much during the weekdays, so look out for updates on weekends. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Everything Sakura says is true, the whole thing about how she couldn't care less and everything. It contradicts with previous chapters, yes, but I will explain that later on.