A/N I keep forgetting…just shows how smart I am….um….i forgot, never the mind you.

Changed the Poll, vote again please…(messed the late one up…XD)

OH YEAH! Sadly I don't own this little yellow dude….orange, sorry Naruto.

Sakura woke up haggard in the morning, but she felt a little better as the sun rose slowly in the rosy sky. Dressing herself in simple jeans and a random red shirt, Sakura grabbed the cats and locked the house up. It was still too early for Naruto to be heading to school, but Sakura only wanted a bit of peace at the moment.

Unfortunately for her, Sasuke Uchiha had the same thing in mind. A nice morning walk would do him good, or so he thought. He never expected Sakura to be out early to. Lucky for him she had yet to catch sight of him, but if she did…

Sasuke was afraid of her anger.

So Mr Ice Cube waited many minutes until he judged Sakura had safely passed by. Letting go a sigh of relief, Sasuke re-adorned his mask of apathy and continued on his way to school.

Sakura was in homeroom already when Sasuke entered. He didn't so much as glance at her before putting his stuff down and taking his seat. Sitting some ways behind her, he glared at the back of her pink head. She did not seem to noticed this however as she gazed out the window, he mind traveling elsewhere.

After a few straight minutes of staring at her head, Sasuke stopped and rubbed his eyes. Some others came in as the time went by, and noise soon filled the room. When the bell rang, however, Naruto was no where to be seen.

Iruka entered and had started class by the time the blonde boy shoved open the door panting. "Y-you!" He gasped, pointing an accusing finger at Sasuke. "I-I-I waited for y-you….but you n-n-never showed up!"

Sasuke glared at Naruto who glared right back. Sparks flew at the intensity of their match.

"Hey, hey now guys. Let's not start a fight over this…." Sakura coaxed. It didn't help however as they continued to stare at one another. Do they even hear me? She wondered. Well, if they don't then…

CHA!

Turning in her seat, Sakura threw an eraser at Naruto's spiky head. When it made contact he broke off his match with Sasuke to see Sakura glaring at him now instead. Naruto sighed and took his seat, avoiding the green eyes that followed him dangerously.

Iruka continued his lesson that Naruto had just interrupted. The blonde boy glanced over at Sakura many times during class. By the time the bell rang, Naruto was no closer to the reason behind Sakura's disposition.

For the next few periods that Naruto had with Sakura, he would stare at her like that would give him an answer.

By lunch time he was seeing pink everywhere. Just as Sakura passed him on her way to her locker Naruto collapsed from some kind of strain in his brain. Sakura gasped and dropped her books, checking Naruto all over for his vital signs that she knew. When she felt a little better that he was okay, she scooted her books out of the way and slung one of his arms around her shoulder. Dragging his near lifeless corpse through the empty halls, Sakura felt very odd. It was so lifeless in the school when there were no kids running around telling jokes, gossiping and creating mischief.

At the nurse's office Sakura laid Naruto down on a bunk and looked around. The nurse herself was out to lunch and wouldn't be back for a while. Running back, the girl grabbed her stuff and threw it in her locker before swiping her lunch box out and racing back to the nurse.

Naruto still lay inside asleep so Sakura tried her best not to disturb him. Quietly she opened the window to allow a light breeze to cool down the now stuffy room. Taking a stool over to the bed Naruto lay in, Sakura began to eat her lunch and started to listen to the sounds of activity outside that reached her ears.

It was after she had finished most of her food, only a little left because she had lost her appetite after reading some of the posters hanging in the room about bodily functions and the such.

Naruto awoke as Sakura stood at the window, staring out. "S-sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

Startled, the pink haired girl looked over. "Naruto, you're awake. Good, I was worried something was wrong with you and the nurse was out so…" She paused seeing the furrowing of his brow.

"No. Not that. Before now, before this happened. All day you've looked sort of lost and out of it. What's happened?"

Sakura sighed deeply and took a seat once again on the stool. "It's just me…thinking. Two nights ago I saw…" She hesitated, not sure if she should tell Naruto what had gone on between Gaara and Sasuke.

"What? What is it? Did someone hurt you? Sakura-chan?" His voice pleaded her to tell him, and she desperately wanted to.

"Two nights ago I was coming home a little late and I saw Gaara-san and Sasuke-kun staring each other down. Suddenly…" Sakura choked slightly discomforted. "Suddenly they ran at each other and started to fight. I….I watched for a bit before I felt it had gone out of hand for a friendly match. I decided to intervene, but I was a little to late when I yelled for them to quit it and got clobbered by one of Gaara-san's fists. I remember flying a little ways before blacking out and coming to in Sasuke-kun's house. The rest you were there for." Sakura rubbed the cheek Gaara had hit as if it still hurt, which is sort of did, but in her heart.

"Why that…!" Naruto exclaimed.

Sakura glared at him. "Naruto, don't do anything." She warned.

He sat back like a child deprived of his candy. "But Sakura-chan, they both disrespected you and made you sad. They should pay for that!"

Standing up, Sakura pushed the stool back a litte. "Naruto, don't you dare bother them, you got that?!" Dumbly, Naruto nodded his head and watched as Sakura turned her back to him and left the room. Before she closed the door he heard her say something else. "I'm glad you're alright though, Naruto."

When the bell rang the nurse came back into her office to find Naruto beet red.

"Naruto-san, are you feeling alright? You look like you might have a fever, you're so red."

Quickly the blonde left for class, still glowing.

After school when everyone had left and Sakura finally had a moment of peace, she sat down at the piano bench. Studying the creamy white keys of the relatively new piano, Sakura sighed and, closing her eyes tight, began to play whatever her heart brought forth. Slow, steady, and melancholy, her song played out throughout the entire building, making the very bricks themselves sigh with despair. Sakura felt tears come to her eyes and she didn't know why. Cursing, she pushed the stool back and walked over to the window.

Looking out through the glass, Sakura rested her forehead against the cool panes and sighed. With time her body felt a little better and her tears stopped falling. Taking one last calming breath, Sakura detached herself from the window and looked back over at the piano, she didn't feel like playing anymore. Grabbing her things she left the piano room and eventually the school itself.

Back home Sakura put her bag away and quickly got the cats fed before she went out into the yard to finish the last of her weeding. Attacking the intruders fiercely, Sakura was able to let go of all her unhappiness and uncomfortable-ness and concentrate on one specific thing. Pulling those dang weeds.

Sakura felt a presence behind her and instinctively jumped up. Brandishing her gardening spade, Sakura blinked as the setting sun burned into her retinas. Some red flashed before her eyes, there a minute, gone the next only to be back again. Suddenly the form toppled over, nearly crushing some newly planted ferns.

"OH MY! GAARA-SAN! Did….did I kill him….is he…dead?"

A/N GAARA! Wee hoo. Okay, I lied. I forgot about Gaara's little thingy here, so Neji's not next…too bad.

Tant Pis.