Disclaimer: Naruto is still the property of Kishimoto Masashi.

A/N: Anyeong haseo, minna – san! I humbly apologize that I'm still unable to form pairings because of my undoubtedly weird ideas for this story. You'll see what I mean when you finish this story and get into the later chapters. But don't fret; I will still continue this story. I just added some…"things". Please don't forget to review; I really want to hear from you guys. Arigatou!

Chapter Five: A bunch of foolish lies

"You?"

Both of them exclaimed at the same time. Sakura could not believe her eyes at what she was now seeing in front of her. She rubbed her eyes, pretending that everything was all a dream. When she opened her eyes, she almost fainted.

He was still there.

And he was tapping her on the shoulder.

"Yo, ojousan," he said coolly all the while tapping her on her shoulder. "Before you decide to check me out, I suggest you finish paying up your groceries from that pretty lady at the counter then we'll get to know each other better."

She blinked. This guy was blunt. Was he really this accommodating whenever Neji wasn't around? "Uh… hai!"

Smirking, he left her side then went to the next counter to pay for his purchases. Sakura barely managed to hold herself together even after the cashier handed her receipt and the plastic bag full of groceries.

"Thank you. Please come again."

Giving the cashier a weak smile, she grabbed her plastic bag then headed out the door. Before she took a few steps away from the supermarket, she heard that same deep voice calling her.

"Wait. Where are you going?" The guy from before asked her. He was also carrying his own bag of groceries on his right hand.

Sakura turned her head sideways, giving him a weak smile. "Home." She didn't want to give Neji another heart attack if he finds out that she had been talking to another boy.

But this guy didn't know the limits of her boyfriend's anger. "I'll give you a lift home. And judging from that heavy bag of groceries you are carrying, you're not going to last for three minutes." He walked away from her, obviously heading back to his car.

After fighting a battle of wills inside her mind, Sakura decided to follow him and almost tripped over her own bag of groceries. She trailed after him, gathering enough courage to speak with him. When she was finally near him, she blurted out. "A – Arigatou… Uchiha Sasuke – san."

The guy stopped halfway from walking. "What did you say?"

"Anou…" Sakura crinkled her brow. "Arigatou?"

"No. After that."

She was starting to become confused. "Uchiha Sasuke – san?"

The guy immediately laughed. She was now beginning to worry. Why would Uchiha Sasuke – san laugh at her?

"You're close but sad to say I'm not the Uchiha you're seeking after." The guy smiled as he went to her and without word took her groceries with his other hand. "I'm Sasuke – san's older brother. Uchiha Itachi."

Embarrassment heated her cheeks. She immediately bowed her head in apology. "G – Gomenasai! I'm sorry I mistook you for someone else…I - Itachi – san! It's just that I…you and Sasuke – san are so alike in many ways."

Itachi shrugged. "Nah. We're not alike if that's what you're implying." He began to walk ahead of her. "Now that introductions are over, as promised, I'll give you a lift home."

Instead of arguing to herself that she might face her boyfriend's consequences, Sakura agreed.

Itachi finally reached the car and pulled the keys from his pocket. He set the bags down and was about to open the door when he stopped.

The car was already open.

He yanked the door open and was greeted with another brooding face similar to his. "What the hell…?" he started then continued, "I already told you many times to stop scaring me, ototou! And since when did I give you a permission to sit on the driver's seat?"

His younger brother smirked. "Ever since I was old enough to drive your car, stupid." He got out of the car and ignored Itachi's glare. "Don't look at me like that. You look like you're about to eat me."

"You're lucky I'm vegetarian, Sasuke. Or else I would have tried your suggestion right about now," Itachi retorted, a smirk finally appearing on his face. Sasuke gave him a glare instead and was about to lend his brother a hand on the groceries when a sight stopped him.

There was a pink – haired girl about his age standing in front of him.

"And you are?" he inquired.

The pink – haired girl smiled at him. "Haruno Sakura. It's nice to meet you again, Uchiha Sasuke – san."

'Uchiha Sasuke – san?' He squinted his eyes. Now, he remembered. At that particular time during the party. Yep, it was the girl he met last time at his father's party.

To put it simple, it was Neji's pet.

"You're Neji's pet," he finally said out loud.

The girl's smile suddenly reduced to a frown.

Itachi crossed his arms. "Stop calling her names, ototou. Remember what Naruto said before, a girl is not considered a pet."

Sasuke glared at him. He didn't like being scolded. And certainly not in front of Neji's girlfriend. Who knows? She might spread silly rumors to Neji about the youngest son of the Uchiha patriarch being scolded by his elder brother after he called a girl names.

What an ungentleman – like thing to do.

Angrily, he yanked the bags with his own two hands then proceeded to load them at the trunk of the car. Good thing he was not wearing his usual geek attire. The girl was even studying at the same school as him and he didn't want his cover to get blown off.

"Anyhow," Itachi began then wringed his hands. "We should head out now. Sasuke, you take the wheel."

What the heck? "But I…"

"No buts ototou. Haruno – san, am I right?"

"Um…hai."

Itachi opened the back door of the car. "Get inside. My little brother is going to be your chauffeur for the night. You may order him around as you wish."

Sasuke almost dropped the groceries that threatened to spill when he loaded them inside the trunk of the car.

How dare his…brother!

Mumbling words of thanks, Sakura slid inside the car. Itachi settled himself on the front seat while waiting for Sasuke to enter the car. Sasuke finally slid on the driver's seat then closed the door. Sliding the key into its slot, he started to turn on the engine. When it was warm enough, he brought the car into motion, leaving the supermarket in a trail of smoke.

Hours later…

"You guys are soooooooo laaaaaaaaate!" Naruto whined in greeting as the two Uchiha siblings finally entered the house. Sasuke muttered curses under his breath as he headed for the kitchen with the bag of groceries tucked under his arm. Itachi was the last to enter, a smug smile on his face.

The door to Sasuke's room opened and Ten Ten's head popped out. "I thought that I heard you guys arriving. And I was right."

Itachi dragged himself tiredly on his couch. "Man, I can't believe we drove all the way to the supermarket just to buy packs of ramen. I swear if you make us go there again Naruto, I would eventually kill you."

"Hehe. Sorry about that!" Naruto chimed in response. He settled himself comfortably on the floor.

Ten Ten sank to the sofa next to Itachi. "Heh, foxface will never change." Her brown eyes averted to the kitchen. "What's up with Sasuke? Did something happen when you were gone?"

"No reason. He just got mad at me for ordering him around. We accidentally met one of his classmates at the supermarket. I ordered Sasuke to take the wheel and gave the girl a lift home." Itachi shrugged his shoulder self-righteously. "Thought to give him some education on being a good gentleman."

The brown haired girl cocked her head to one side. "Who's the chick? Someone me and foxface know?"

"Could be. Her name's…what…oh yeah…Haruno – san. I heard Sasuke muttering about her being Neji's pet or something," Itachi supplied.

Ten Ten snapped her fingers. "Oh yeah! The pink haired hussy! And since when did she start to have a liking on Sasuke? She already had that Hyuuga pain-in–the–ass tightly wrapped around her pinky!"

"She may be Neji's pet, T, but she's still a girl," Naruto retorted coyly. He folded his arms and formed a pillow at the back of his head. "So what if she's starting to like Sasuke? The guy doesn't have any bad sides and he needs to have a girl anyway. And what's more, is that she's also hot if you ask me."

Ten Ten snatched the pillow tucked behind Itachi's head. The older male grunted when the back of his head landed on the stiff headrest of the sofa. She smacked the pillow straight at Naruto's face. "You ogler! And since when did you start fantasizing about Hyuuga's girl? Whose side are you on?"

"Ow! Cut it out! Of course I'm on the teme's side! It's just a crush, T!" Naruto protested, shielding his sore face with his arms. Ten Ten gave a low growl and continued to pound him with the pillow. He groaned as he tried to capture her wrists that were gripping his collar with his hands. "I take it back! Ow! I was only kidding!"

Sasuke finally came out of the kitchen, a tray of drinks on his hand. "Finally finished sorting out the groceries," he muttered to himself, proud of his organizing abilities. He caught sight of his two friends tackling. "What are they doing?" he muttered again and before he knew it, his left foot tripped over a magazine.

"WHOA!"

The tray and its contents (again!) sailed into the air and crashed on top of the two wrestling teens. Sasuke gulped when he felt two angry gazes being shot on his way.

"Uh – oh…gomenasai," was all he said before he dashed away from the living room.

Naruto glared at Ten Ten, an evil smirk plastered on his face. "As what I was saying before, which bad side does the teme have, T?"

"All sides," Ten Ten answered back, also with an evil grin on her face. They stood up simultaneously then bolted after Sasuke, their war cries ringing throughout the entire living room.

Itachi cracked one eye open, taking in amusement as he watched Sasuke being chased and tackled by two angry slopping wet teenagers. He smirked as he closed his eye then pretended not to hear his brother's screams from the kitchen.

'Yep. They're now definitely going to eat him alive,' was his last thoughts as he drifted off to sleep.

Minutes after, inside the kitchen…

Sasuke finished squeezing off the excess water from his shirt, which he got from the previous bout. After engaging into a water fight using the faucet with Naruto and Ten Ten, it was obvious that he was terribly fighting a losing battle. It was two against one and even though Ten Ten was a girl, he still lost.

He gave a small sigh as he scrutinized the overflow of water that was formed after the battle. The height of the flood reached his ankles. "This flood should probably be gone by morning," he said to himself. 'Or else call the plumber if the vacuuming doesn't work…' he added as an afterthought.

"Sasuke," Ten Ten called out from the doorway. She was only wearing a blue sports bra and shorts. "Can I borrow some of your garbs? Foxface wouldn't let me borrow some of his, though I don't know why. He said I might ruin the quality or something."

"No prob." He left his shirt hanging by the hamper next to the fridge. He motioned Ten Ten to follow him back to his room. Inside, Naruto was playing computer games and was yelling battle cries. Sasuke shrugged nonchalantly as he flung his closet door open and rummaged for a while.

Ten Ten took a seat at the edge of the bed. She watched the curved bend of his back as he continued searching for clothes that would fit her. A blush crept to her cheeks when she noticed that her gaze was lingering too much on his backside.

"I see someone staring at someone else's back tonight…"

She glared at the blond boy who, to her demise, stopped from playing and was now teasing her. "T's having what? A crush? Guess who…"

"Shut it, foxface! I was just staring at the door!" she fired back. Naruto only smiled as he turned back to his game.

"Really? Looks like our precious T is starting to have a crush on…" he trailed off with his singsong voice.

She was now beginning to see blood. Her fists were clenched and were ready to pound the living daylights out of Naruto. "Quit it, foxface! I'm not having a crush on…"

"Crush on who?"

Both of them whirled to find Sasuke staring clueless at them, a blue oversize shirt on his hand. Naruto gave a little laugh while Ten Ten glared at the blond.

"Well? I'm waiting," Sasuke added.

Naruto stuck a tongue at him. "Crush? Well, I've got a crush! Yeah, a crush on someone else and I'm not going to tell the both of ya!" He gave Ten Ten a knowing look with a smirk on his face. 'Looks like I'm going to spare you on this one, T…' he thought happily.

Ten Ten understood his look and breathed heavily. Now she owed Naruto a favor. She turned to Sasuke with a look that would convince him that she was also pissed at Naruto. "What do you mean you're not going to tell us who your crush is? That's not fair! Right, Suke?"

Fortunately, Sasuke was unsuspecting. "T is right, dobe. We're your friends and we're supposed to be open with each other. So spill it out."

Naruto raised up his hands in defeat. 'Time to spice things up…' he mentally thought. "All right, I'll confess. I've been hiding this to myself for quite sometime now. The truth is…I'm having a crush on…"

Ten Ten's eyebrows rose up in confusion. What the heck is he saying?

Sasuke crossed his arms as he smirked. Now this was something new. Their ramen – obsessed buddy is now going to admit to the two of them about someone he liked. And from the looks of things this was an event worth remembering for.

"The one I liked is…" Naruto grinned widely then pointed a finger.

"…you, Sasuke – teme!"

Ten Ten fell off the bed.

Sasuke's smirk began to crack.

Naruto laughed then placed a hand above his chest as if he was relieved to get that confession off his body. "Whew, finally took that one out! Now how was that?" He turned to face his two friends. He sweatdropped when he took notice of their pale and blank faces. "Guys?"

Ten Ten was the first to recover. "What the hell…? Foxface, don't tell me that you're a…you surely don't want to hear what I mean."

"That I'm a what?"

"A gay. Cross dresser. Transvestite. Bisexual. Anything else that we could add as a suffix to your name, dobe?" Sasuke added wryly, still shivering from the fact that one of his closest male friends gave up on his manliness and shockingly admitted his affections to 'him'. He wrapped both arms around himself.

It was way too…weird.

Naruto is gay.

His gay friend had a crush.

On him!

Freaky!

"Eeeyyyaahhhh…! Naruto don't make me doubt about your gender!" was all he said as he ran out of the room and headed for the bathroom. Ten Ten blinked at Sasuke's sudden action, obviously angry with their blond friend for making such an annoying confession.

She turned to face him, cracking her knuckles loudly. "What have you got to say for yourself, Foxface? Don't tell me you're really a girly girl in between those legs of yours?"

Instead of getting mad at her insults, Naruto laughed hysterically. Holding his insides, he laughed and laughed, obviously enjoying the entire scene. Steam began to shoot out of Ten Ten's ears as she tackled Naruto and pinned his arms in an agonizingly tight hold.

"Don't laugh at this situation, idiot! You've created quite a mess here and I suggest, no order you to clean it up right away!" she hissed, squeezing his arms so hard that he winced.

Naruto ignored the pain in his arms as he looked at her. "Geez, T! I didn't know you are this overprotective of Sasuke! Am I assuming that you indeed have feelings for him?"

Blush began to form at her face. "No I'm not! I just…I just hate seeing him get hurt that's all!"

"Oh, is that all?" Sitting up, he felt Ten Ten's grip loosen and was able to free his arms. He poked Ten Ten on the forehead, a poor imitation of Itachi's affectionate gesture. "B-A-K-A. I already knew right from the start that you liked him, T. And during those years, Sasuke was the only person you didn't beat up even when he would always call you by your real name. Which, you've always hated since middle school."

Ten Ten smacked his arm. "So what? And you're gay! You like him too!"

Naruto winked. "Yep! Not only do I like him, but also I love him from the bottom of my bowl of ramen!" Seeing a vein on her temple twitching, he laughed. "What? Afraid of a little competition?"

Ten Ten started beating him with her fists. "I'll kill you Naruto!"

Screams, howls of pain and laughter filled Sasuke's bedroom.

…………

Meanwhile, inside the bathroom, Sasuke sat on top of the toilet seat. Knees tucked under his chin and arms wrapped protectively around himself, he was still trying to recover from the trauma he had earlier after receiving Naruto's confession.

'My brother is going to have a fit tomorrow once he hears about this. Or rather, laugh until his sides hurt, knowing that he finds out another interesting fact about my life.'

Geez, the issue about the nerd thing lasted for years and still hadn't changed. Itachi was too traumatized and he didn't want to bring that up again.

"Oh man, I'm freaking out, why is this happening to me?" he muttered to himself. He was too damn tired from dealing with all the pressures --- from being bullied and insulted at school --- to meeting up with your enemy's girlfriend --- to being ordered around by your only brother and also --- to hearing out your guy friend's confession that he likes you!

Good grief. He was now suffering the effects of major emotional trauma.

"Gwaahhh! I'm thinking too much! Stop! Stop!" he cried out, his hands supporting his temples. His screams eventually filled the entire bathroom. He yelled at the ceiling above him. "Please just spare me if only for one day! Please! Just one day!"

Outside the bathroom, Itachi rubbed his head in irritation. He couldn't sleep peacefully on the couch because he was hearing screams coming from his brother's door and now --- also from the other side of the door he was facing. He was planning to have a pee then resume sleeping --- this time on his own bed, but now, after hearing his brother screaming from the other side, he doubted.

Was his brother starting to crack? That would not be good at all.

He gave a loud knock on the door. "Oi, ototou. If you're really having a tough time defecating, I suggest you put all of your strength in your rectal muscles, not on your throat muscles." Itachi whistled his way towards his bedroom, smirking to himself.

The screaming halted.

The next morning…

Itachi ran a hand through his disheveled hair as he ambled his way to the kitchen. It was seven o' clock in the morning and it was time for Sasuke to go to school. Naruto and Ten Ten already left, saying that they have to get there early than Sasuke.

'Looks like Naruto – kun is happy today. I wonder what happened last night?' he thought, remembering Naruto's smirks and looks of mischief whenever he would glance at Ten Ten who rolled her eyes. Yes, something definitely happened last night. He even got worried about Sasuke's little predicament in the bathroom.

Speaking of his brother…

He sighed. Even now, he couldn't stand seeing his younger brother in his measly attire, especially that one particular outfit he often liked wearing to school --- bright orange turtleneck with matching bowtie, beige sweater and green – yellow striped pants. Oh, and he almost forgot that Sasuke wears those foggy glasses to complete his attire.

"Geez, please don't let me see him in those clothes. Please, just for this one day," he muttered over and over again as he entered the kitchen.

He blinked.

"Ohayou, 'nisan!"

The next thing he knew…

He fainted.

…………

Minutes after…

Sasuke scratched his head, wondering why his brother fainted in the first place. During breakfast, he caught Itachi staring at him with those bloodshot eyes of his. Annoyed that he always knew the reason for those scrutiny, he took a glance at his clothing. "Is there something wrong with my clothes, 'nisan?"

'Just when I thought I would never see those clothes again,' Itachi huffed. "Do I still have to answer that?"

"We've talked about this, 'nisan. Ever since I entered Konohagakure University," his younger brother answered dryly. He finished downing his coffee in one gulp then placed the mug in the sink.

Itachi sighed as he stirred his coffee. "There are lots of ways to hide behind a façade, ototou. Why don't you try shedding off your geeky clothes for once? I heard from Naruto that you're going to have your School Festival in a few days. Also, he added that anyone could come and visit including those from the other schools."

Sasuke faced his brother and crossed his arms. "I know what you mean. You want me to go to my own school affair and wear a different disguise?"

"No, you're missing the point," Itachi retorted, waving his hand dismissively. "What I'm trying to say, is that instead of your geeky attire, you should wear your normal clothes when you attend the school festival."

Wear his normal clothes?

The usual?

Was Itachi kidding?

"The people there. They might recognize me," he protested in a small voice.

His brother laughed.

"They won't recognize you, considering the fact that your disguise in Konohagakure was… too geeky," Itachi retorted sarcastically.

He had a point.

Sasuke shook his head no. "Well I… I'm not going to do it. Hyuuga will hound me once he recognizes my face. And did I mention that almost whole of the student population in Konohagakure University consist of girls?"

"You already told me that a hundred times, one of the main reasons why you chose to stick to your ugly façade. Yeah you already did," Itachi replied flatly.

His younger brother shrugged. Surely it wouldn't hurt if he tried his brother's idea right? And besides, he was also getting tired of doing the same bullying routine everyday.

At least during the festival, he would be spared from those onslaughts and enjoy the activities as Uchiha Sasuke. A socialite studying at Sunagakure Academy and because of a friend's invitation came to Konohagakure for a visit.

Well, it was a fine lie but it'll do.

Rule number one in elite societies: Never let others know what's behind your mask. It could kill them and worse it could kill you.

After saying goodbye to his brother, Sasuke walked his way to school. Uchiha Sasuke never walked his way to school --- Suke does. And Uchiha Sasuke never experiences wedgies before the start of classes --- Suke does. And all in all, Uchiha Sasuke does not live the life of a geek.

Well…his other half does.

And his other half needs a break.

"Might as well try his suggestion. Naruto and Ten Ten would be happy if I told them about this," he said as the school's familiar building came into view. Just wait for a few more days, and then he would be able to leave his nerdy self inside his closet once the school festival begins.

Konohagakure Academy.

Inside the classroom…

"Ohayou, minna – san!" Hatake Kakashi, the school affairs coordinator at the same time the professor in literature greeted his students with his usual cheeriness. "As you've already known, we're going to hold our school festival in two days time. So, we're going to divide our class into groups. Each of these groups will be assigned to different kinds of booths, which they will maintain for the rest of the festival."

Sasuke groaned. 'Booths. Maintain.'

He would probably be assigned to the janitor booth for the fourth time in a row. The main reason why he hated festivals aside from squealing girls and dodging bullies was because of doing a janitor's job. Well, even though he survived those weeks of horrendous torture, it still sickened him to his stomach that he would do the same thing over and over again.

Maybe after college he would apply for a job in his father's company.

In the cleaning and maintenance department.

Kakashi pulled out a box from behind him and turne his attention to the class. "Well, to get started, I'm going to pick out names from this box. Afterwards, I'll put your names to your designated groups. I'm not going to hear and entertain any complaints, understand?"

When the students didn't respond, Kakashi gleefully began pulling out names from his box and dividing them into groups. After picking out the names, the students stood up from their seats and went to their designated groups. Sasuke also stood up from his seat and gulped when he saw where his name was assigned.

His onyx eyes traveled to where his assigned group was. And he didn't like it one bit.

All of the members assigned to his group were none other than Chouji and his gang of bullies.

And what group you ask?

The Cleaning Group.

For the fourth time in a row.

'It would be better if I start reverting back to my old self,' Sasuke thought glumly. 'I may die early at a very young age if this continues…'

A/N: What do you think? Well, the pairings are…uh, I don't know! See what I mean? Sasuke was already having problems in dealing with his nerd status at school, add Naruto's confession and Ten Ten's crush on him --- what's a guy to do? There are so many links right? That's why I couldn't pick out a definite pairing. Yet! Oh and what's this? Sasuke is planning to shed off his nerdy personality? What couldn't be better? I mean, what would everyone in his school think?

Sorry! Have to leave you all in a cliffy again! And I decided to post this earlier than I expected to not disappoint you readers. Arigatou for the reviews! Ja!

Next Chapter 6: School Affairs Part One