Disclaimer: Nope. Naruto is still and will always be Kishimoto Masashi's property.

A/N: Anyeong haseo, minna – san! Hope you're not too shocked on my previous chapter. Gomene, but that was also part of the story. (Grins) Anyway, please enjoy this next chapter and don't forget to give me a review after you finish reading this!

Chapter 6: School Affairs Part One

"Move it a little higher! No, I mean a bit lower! No, tilt it to the right…no uh, left! No! Are you deaf, nerd boy? I said to the left! LEFT!"

Sasuke sighed as he moved the enormous banner to the left. As part of the Cleaning Group, they were to assist the Decorating Group led by Nara Shikamaru. Whoever in the right mind appointed the laziest person in the planet, he didn't know.

With a hammer poised on his hand, he was now on the verge of tacking the edges of the banner to secure it in place when…

"Wait!"

PAK!

"No I changed my mind. Move it towards the center!" the droopy-eyed Nara ordered as he went through the list of things needed for the other decorations.

Muttering curses under his breath, Sasuke nursed his sore thumb. He accidentally pounded it with his hammer when he got distracted by Shikamaru's drone – like voice. He angrily yanked the banner towards the center then hammered its edges, effectively keeping it in place. He finally stepped down from the ladder and observed his work from below.

Perfect. There were no tilts and slip-ups this time.

He was about to go when he felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. He turned his head around and sweat dropped when he found out that it was Shikamaru.

"What?" he asked weakly. Please no more work…

"I know this is too troublesome but I want you to start making five hundred tissue paper flowers," Shikamaru ordered flatly then gestured toward the huge brown cardboard box next to him. "I want them done right away, if not now then tomorrow. Got it?" He then turned away from Sasuke to focus his attention between choosing the right color scheme for the festival's booths.

Sasuke was inevitably left alone with the huge cardboard box next to him. He crouched down on his heels and sighed. 'After putting up that annoying banner, he now wants me to make hundreds of paper flowers out of tissue paper? The man's crazy' he grumbled as he stared at his other classmates who were also busy with their own designated work.

Naruto was under the Food Committee. A small chuckle crossed his face as he saw his friend fighting a losing battle of wills while trying to defend his suggestion of putting up a ramen stall. Of course, when you have Yamanaka Ino as the leader…well, let's just say that she's a tough one to deal with.

He averted his gaze from Naruto then shifted to Ten Ten who was on the verge of pounding a guy bigger than her. Sasuke sighed when he finally remembered that Ten Ten belonged to the group that would host the Jail Booth.

Keeping in mind that he also had a job to do, he turned to the huge box in front of him. "Might as well carry it back to school. I can't make paper flowers here in the open. They might think that I'm a gay doing a girl's job," he said to himself as he attempted to lift the box.

Damn. Too heavy.

He heaved the box using two arms and with shaky steps headed back inside the school. Maybe he would do his work at the rooftop. No one would be stupid enough to bother him there.

"Here's the last of the decorations. Is there anything more that you wanted me to do, Shikamaru – san?"

Shikamaru browsed through his clipboard. 'Hm, almost all of the decorations are complete except…' he thought then tapped his pen.

'The paper flowers.'

He turned to his fellow member with a lazy smirk. "Looks like I need some help in making paper flowers."

"Paper flowers?" his subordinate echoed.

"Yeah," he replied then scratched his chin thought. "I assigned the paper flower thing to that nerd guy but I'm sure he won't be able to finish all five hundred of those flowers in time." When he heard his subordinate groan he winked. "I order you to help him, SA – KU – RA."

Sakura gave him a disbelieving look. "I – I don't know, Shikamaru – san. Can you assign me to another task? I'm certainly not…I'm certainly not on good terms with him right now you know."

"Oh, you mean the scene at the cafeteria?" he asked. When she nodded, Shikamaru sighed again then stared at the white clouds that loomed at the sky. "Sometimes you should loosen up, Sakura. Almost everyone knows about your infatuation with a certain Hyuuga. However, bear in mind that not all knew of your attraction to him. Particularly the nerd boy that is."

Sakura shifted on her two feet. "I know. It wasn't his fault that my date with Neji – kun got screwed up in the first place. I got mad at him because of foolish reasons."

"Exactly. Since you're going to help him out then while you're at it, apologize to him when you're done." He clapped a hand behind her back. "If you two can't make it in time then continue it tomorrow."

Sakura nodded then started to walk back towards the school to look for the said person.

On the rooftop…

Sasuke winced when the edge of the tissue paper sliced through his finger. He dropped the half made paper flower he was making and sighed. He stared at the numerous paper cuts he received from the tissue paper.

'Honestly, how could a thin tissue paper cause several damages like these to my hand?' he contemplated ruefully.

He eyed the flowers he previously made from the past hour and a half. Twenty. 'Four hundred and eighty more to go…' he smugly thought. He picked up the paper flower he dropped earlier then resumed his work. He hated to admit that he had to thank the Home Economics teacher for teaching him how to make the flowers.

"I never knew that I'm good at this," he muttered, throwing the now finished flower to the small pile next to him. He picked up a long thin wire and a red tissue petal then proceeded to tape the petal at the tip of the wire. While holding the wire on one hand, he used the other to pick up another tissue petal then taped it again onto its tip, continuing the process until the entire tip was encircled completely with tissue petals.

Sasuke threw the flower to its pile and was about to grab another wire when he sensed a presence coming from behind him. Not bothering to turn around, he spoke flatly. "If there's anything you want me to do, you could tell me later. I need to finish all of these by tomorrow."

"Is that all you have to say to me? After all, Shikamaru assigned me to help you with your work."

Surprised, he turned around to face the intruder. His mouth went dry when he saw none other than the pink – haired girl whom he met at the supermarket. "W – What do you want with me?" he blurted out.

Sakura smiled at him. "Like I said to you before, I'm here to help you." When she sensed his hesitation, her smile faltered. She could tell by his bewildered expression that he was afraid to communicate with her. "Is it okay if I help you?" she tried again.

'It is more okay if she would leave,' Sasuke thought glumly. He wouldn't want to mess with Hyuuga Neji. Especially since he was in his geek mode and supposed to play the part of a weakling. But, judging from the number of flowers he was about to make and the lack of help…

"I…It's okay. Even if I disagree, I still couldn't finish these in time," he replied feebly. Admitting weakness in front of a girl was too much.

Sakura smiled. So the nerd boy had pride. She sat cross-legged in front of him then stared at him. Apparently the nerd boy ignored her as he continued to work. The silence was starting to annoy her. "Can you teach me how to make those?" she asked.

Instead of answering, Sasuke handed her a wire and a tissue petal. Sakura accepted them with a confused expression. The boy sighed then pushed his glasses back to the bridge of his nose. He threw his finished work on the pile then picked up another wire and tissue petal. Holding them out in front of her, he began to show her how it was done.

"First hold this wire with your dominant hand. Then use your other hand to tape the tissue petal on its tip. Keep doing this until the entire tip of the wire is covered with petals," Sasuke explained and demonstrated the procedure.

Sakura observed with interest. Well, that wasn't hard to do. She glanced at the wire and petal in her hands. "Piece of cake," she said to herself. She grasped the wire with her dominant hand as Sasuke told her to do then picked up the petal with the other hand.

She yelped.

Sasuke looked at her at the corner of his eye. Even though he was wearing three inch thick glasses, he could still see that the pink – haired girl experienced the dreaded paper cut.

Well, looks like he wasn't alone in that department.

Naruto stretched out his arms like a cat. Finally, school's finished and the meeting will be continued tomorrow. He scanned the entire area for any signs of his friends. "Only T's here. Where the heck is Sasuke?" he asked himself.

"Yo, foxface!"

He turned around and smirked when he saw Ten Ten jogging towards him. He gave a big wave. "Yo, T!" he greeted.

Ten Ten stopped in front of him. "Did you see Suke?"

"No. Why do you ask?"

"Because we're going home together damn it!"

Naruto gave a sly smile. "Oh really? You're so mean, T! Just because you have a crush on him too, you would steal him away from me!" When Ten Ten squeaked at his response, he elbowed her playfully at the ribs.

The brown – haired girl glared angrily at him. "Grr…foxface…if you don't want to see my dark side, you better be nice to me."

"Chill, T! I know you want to keep Sasuke all to yourself, so let's go together and start searching for him," Naruto prodded, yanking Ten Ten by her arm then trudged back towards the school.

…………

Meanwhile, Neji scoured the entire school grounds, searching for Sakura. He already checked the gymnasium, the physics laboratory, cafeteria, almost everywhere. When there were still no signs of his pink – haired girlfriend, Neji muttered curses under his breath as he made his way back inside the school.

On the rooftop…

"All right! Three hundred and seventy five more to go!" Sakura squealed in happiness as she tossed her finished paper flower to the now huge pile in front of her. Sasuke sighed as he taped the last tissue petal on his paper flower. He hated to admit to himself that they both did a great job.

Well…almost.

With a flick of his fingers, he flung the finished paper flower amidst the enormous pile. He squinted at the now setting sun then sighed again. He turned to Sakura. "School's over. We'll continue this tomorrow."

She nodded, her hands folded on her lap. Though they spent doing those paper flowers for about an hour and a half, she never got to talk or even apologize to him. After staring at him for quite some time, Sakura decided to strike up a little conversation.

"Anou, uh…" she began. Damn, how can she strike up a conversation if she doesn't know his name? What should she call him? Calling him by his uh…nickname? That would be very insulting.

Unless…

"Anou," she began again, this time calling his attention. She somewhat succeeded in getting his attention after seeing his baffled look. Sasuke pushed his glasses nervously back into its place.

"W – What is it?" he croaked. He never wanted to blow off his cover. And he didn't want that to happen, especially in front of her. He turned away from her, focusing instead on arranging the flowers and materials back inside the cardboard box. When she didn't answer, he sighed then decided to take part in the conversation.

"Is there something you wanted to ask me?" he asked, lowering his voice quietly.

Sakura's whole countenance lit up. She clasped her hands together. "Anou, since we're going to be buddies for this job, why don't we get to know each other?"

"Buddies?" he echoed in amazement. 'Was this girl nuts?' he added as an afterthought.

"Yes," she answered. A smile was etched on her face. "Because Shikamaru assigned us together in this task! That's why I considered you and me as buddies." When he didn't answer, she bit her bottom lip. "You don't want to be buddies with me?"

It was a dumb idea. But he could not care less.

'Think of Neji and the wrath of hell he would bestow upon you once he finds out that you're messing with his girl,' the voice at the back of his mind said. 'And not only that, you will become the laughing stock of the school if he finds out that you've been hiding under the disguise of a nerd,' the inner voice swaggered.

Ugh. Neji Hyuuga besting him.

Low.

"I think," he began. Sakura stared at him with her curious expression. He coughed as he tried to distract himself but folding the flaps of the cardboard box into place. He hated being close to a girl. Well, Ten Ten was an exception but still…

"I think it's better if you stay away from me, Haruno – san."

Her green eyes blinked in disbelief.

"He's not here! Damn, where the hell did that guy go?" Naruto grumbled angrily, closing the door to the science lab. He ran a hand through his spiky blond hair as he thought of the possible places Sasuke would hang out.

He heard footsteps and his smile widened when he saw Ten Ten approached him. "Well?" he inquired.

Ten Ten's expression was glum. "He's not in the classrooms nor in the gymnasium. The cafeteria is already closed and the library's empty. Looks like he's nowhere to be found."

Naruto snapped his fingers. "Which means, he's either at the toilet or he already left."

"We'll split then. You check the toilet, as in every, toilet here in school while I double-check the classrooms. Who knows? He might've come back for his stuff," Ten Ten ordered as they parted ways.

…………

"I think it's better if you stay away from me, Haruno – san."

His words stung. But she did not feel pain after hearing them. Although she still felt a slight numbness, she could feel deep in her heart that he was only being rude. She smiled again; refusing to acknowledge the pain she was experiencing.

"Why?" she asked quietly.

Sasuke shrugged his shoulders as he heaved the box and set it next to the water tank. He would leave it here for the night so that tomorrow, he could finish the remaining flowers. He looked at Sakura, surprised to see her quivering shoulders.

A lump began to form in his throat. "Was I wrong?" he ruefully thought. Oh yeah, he totally forgot. He was supposed to be the nerd, the shrink or whatever he could come up with to address himself. And judging from the weird expression on her face, he gulped.

Yep. He did something wrong.

He became downright rude.

"H – Haruno – san," he began. Sakura lowered her head, refusing to look at him. Sasuke turned to face the railings, his hand grasping the metal bars. "Y – You don't have to believe whatever I said earlier. It's just…" he swallowed, "…it would be wrong if you're going to make friends with someone like me."

Sakura finally lifted her chin to look at his back. A faint smile crossed her face as she clasped her hands behind her back. She cursed herself for getting emotionally affected by his words. She never expected that she; a popular girl in Konoha Academy would experience a rude entrée from a class lowlife.

She strode towards him, standing next to his side and grasped the metal bars with her own two hands. They both watch the sun descending from the horizon and the sky slowly turning from orange to blue. Sasuke moved away from his spot when the first two stars began to appear in the sky.

"Ne," she called out to him. He glanced back at her. Sakura gave him another smile. "We're going to finish the flowers tomorrow, right?"

He nodded.

Sakura tapped her chin with her finger. Then she clapped her hands together. "I know! Why don't we meet here together at the rooftop right after school? We could finish the flowers in no time."

"I…" was all he could come up with. "I don't understand. Why are you saying all of these to me?"

To his surprise, she poked him on the forehead. His onyx eyes widened and he took a step back, rubbing the reddening spot at the center of his forehead. That had hurt! Only his older brother had the nerve to poke him like that! And now…a girl did that stupid gesture to him!

To his misery, the girl before him laughed. She was looking at him as if he was the dumbest person on the planet. Sakura giggled then stuck her tongue out at him. "You're so weird!" she commented. Seeing his face reddening from embarrassment, she decided to take it back.

"What I meant to say is…I want the two of us to know each other better." Her green eyes crinkled. "Although I know that you're probably annoyed with me because I'm disturbing your privacy, but I want us to be friends."

He took a step back. "I don't want us to be friends."

Sakura restrained herself from hitting the boy so hard that his glasses would fall off. "Don't you experience loneliness once in a while?" When he didn't answer, she stepped forward in front of him. "I know. Each and every one of us does. But I'm amazed at you. Because despite all of the bullying you experienced, you still managed to shrug it off and pretend as if nothing happened."

Sasuke glared at her through his thick glasses. "That's because I don't want anyone prying into my personal life. Pretending is much more simpler than retaliating. You tend to gain and lose something at the same time." He walked past her to reach the exit. He then grasped the knob with a firm grip.

'I got carried away again,' he smugly thought.

She offered friendship. And he declined it. Why did he do that? Well, sure she was Neji's girl but that bad – ass Hyuuga never even had a clue that his one and only rival also went to the same school as him.

Disguised as a geek of course.

He sighed as he let go of the knob. Why not? It would be nice if he would get close to Neji's pet and pump information out of her. That would gain him an advantage against Neji. Nope. Bad idea. Bad idea.

But…

"Girls are not considered as pets ya know."

"I…" he began. "Where did that come from?"

Well eventually, Sasuke turned to Sakura with a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. He couldn't believe himself that he was also agreeing to her idea. "About your idea. I think that would be nice, Haruno – san." He grabbed the knob again then opened the door. He glanced back at her and bowed. "I'll see you here tomorrow right after school. A pleasant evening to you, Haruno – san."

Sakura blinked one and twice when he finally left. "W – What was that?" She asked herself. Surely she heard that quote some time ago.

But where?

Flipping a few strands of her pink tresses away from her face, she walked towards the exit, only to be ran over by her own boyfriend. Neji stared down at her, a vein ticked just above his temple. Sakura lowered her eyes down to the ground. "N – Neji – kun…" she began.

…………

"What are you doing out here in the rooftop? Didn't you remember that we're supposed to meet at the school's main gate?" her boyfriend growled.

Sakura kept her gaze on the ground. "I was making paper flowers. Shikamaru – san ordered me to for the festival. I guess I lost track of the time when I was supposed to meet you."

"You were making paper flowers? Out here in the open?" Neji prodded.

"I – I was…" Sakura fidgeted. She didn't want to argue with Neji. But knowing her boyfriend's homicidal intents, honesty forced her to add. "The truth is that I was helping my classmate to finish all of the paper flowers by tomorrow."

Neji still didn't buy her explanation. He searched everywhere for her. She should come up with a better reason than that if she wanted him to forgive her. Wait, didn't she mention a classmate earlier? He eyed his pink – haired girlfriend coolly. "You mentioned a classmate. Was it a she or a he?"

"Neji – kun, I don't think…"

"Answer me Sakura. Was it a she or a he?"

She bit her lower lip. "It was a he."

He automatically brought his hand up and slapped her.

Sasuke finished packing the rest of his things when Naruto and Ten Ten finally found him. He raised a brow questioningly at their haggard appearances. "What happened to the both of you?" he asked nonchalantly.

Naruto panted as he stared wearily at him. "D – Damn you, teme! Where the heck have you been? We've searched the entire Konoha Academy just to look for your sorry ass!"

"Nowhere. Come on, let's go. School gates are about to close in one hour. I don't want to get locked up in here," the raven – haired boy replied instead. He slung his bag over his shoulder then walked out of the classroom.

Ten Ten shrugged her shoulders then followed Sasuke, leaving Naruto with his mouth hanging open. The blond boy blinked then snapped out of his thoughts. "Wait for me!" he yelled as he dashed out of the room and trailed behind them.

Nighttime came.

At the Uchiha house in the suburbs…

Sasuke yawned as he finished reading chapter 48 of Konoha's history. He closed the book then put it back in its customary place next to his glasses. "Damn that Kakashi…how dare he, assigning me to cleaning duty again! And that stupid lazy – ass Nara, ordering me around and forcing me to make those paper flowers!" he cursed as he open the blinds covering his window.

Moonlight spilled through his window, faintly illuminating his dim room. Folding his arms on his desk, Sasuke sank his face between them. For the first time in his entire life, never had he experienced fatigue for just one day. His thoughts drifted back to a certain pink – haired girl and at one particular scene at the rooftop.

"She wants me to be her friend. Me, a low class jerk, nerd, shrink and a weakling," he muttered to himself. "Well in reality, I'm a complete opposite of those descriptions at school." And besides, she doesn't know what she was asking.

She didn't quite know the capabilities of Hyuuga Neji once his trust has been betrayed. He closed his eyes as he remembered a vague memory during junior high. He saw Neji punched his girlfriend right on her face when he found out that she had been seeing another boy. He broke up with her immediately, but it was later found out that the other boy was a distant cousin.

Sasuke was about to surrender to sleep when someone tapped him on his shoulder. He batted the hand touching his shoulder but it still continued tapping him. Giving up, he muttered curses under his breath and glared at the intruder. "What the hell do you want, 'Nisan? It's already ten in the evening."

Itachi crossed his arms. "You forgot something, Sasuke."

His brows furrowed. "I did?"

"Yep." Itachi made his way back to the door he came in. "You forgot to buy milk from the grocery store."

Sasuke rose up from his seat. "But I…we already went there when it was your turn! Why didn't you buy some when we were already at the supermarket last time?"

Itachi slapped a hand dramatically over his forehead. "Oops…what do you know? I totally forgot to buy one." He smirked at Sasuke's disbelieving look. "Oh, and don't forget to lock the front door when you go out," he added as he left the room.

Sasuke grumbled another batch of curses as he grabbed his jacket from the bed and stomped out of his room, slamming the door behind him. He then strode towards the living room and pocketed the car keys, which Itachi left on top of the coffee table. He opened the front door and was about to lock it when he heard his older brother's voice coming from the doorway.

"Drive carefully and don't wreck my car ototou."

The nerve of him!

"Whatever," was all he said when he opened the front door and left the house. Itachi crossed his arms again, a smug smirk pasted on his lips. "Looks like I'm also heading out to some quiet and reserved place..." he said to himself. He stared at the stars overlooking the night sky.

"I think I'll go out for a little stroll..." Itachi added mentally. "Who knows? I might see a familiar person out there tonight."

…………

Meanwhile...

Sasuke parked the car next to the grocery store. "Damn him, forgetting everything! He only wanted me to get out of the house so that he could invite his friends over," he grumbled as he turned off the engine. After getting out of his car, he pocketed his keys then trudged towards the supermarket.

Inside the supermarket, he went straight towards the milk aisle and grabbed the biggest carton. His older brother Itachi had been obsessed with milk ever since the day he was born. Sasuke strode towards the counter to pay for the milk when he heard certain voices coming from behind him.

"Hey haven't you heard the news? Haruno's disappeared and still hasn't come home to her house until tonight!"

"No kidding. Where could she be?"

"Nah, she might be on a date with Neji – kun. Everyone knows at school that they're officially a couple!"

"Yeah…I'm envious of Haruno – san. Having Neji – kun for a boyfriend, she's one lucky girl…"

Sasuke snorted. "Pathetic. Probably frolicking around with her boyfriend," he muttered to himself. He really has to get going now. He has school to attend to in the morning. Glancing at his watch, he made a slight wince when he saw the time.

'Damn, I have to make a run for it. Itachi's going to kill me if I he finds out that I took his car out for more than an hour.'

PING!

Sasuke blinked then focused his attention at the cashier who finally finished punching out his purchase in the cash register. "Finally, now I can go home." His expression went stern. "But..." He handed money to the cashier then without a word grabbed the carton of milk and left the supermarket. The cashier's eyes widened when she found out the customer forgot to get his change. She stood up then began to follow him outside.

"Sir! I mean, Uchiha – san! You forgot your change!"

The girls who were gossiping behind him stopped talking about Sakura. After hearing what the cashier said, their eyes suddenly turned into hearts.

…………

"Did I hear that right? Was that person really Uchiha – san? Konoha's number one pinup idol? I don't believe it! He was here the whole time! In front of us," Ami, the girl with the short hair, who informed her friend about Sakura's disappearance, gushed.

Her friend, Rika nodded eagerly. "I think so! Oh, why didn't we notice him right away? How are we going to tell our friends that we met Uchiha – san here in the supermarket? I mean, duh! He was right in front of us!"

Ami crossed her arms. "Never mind! Let's just tell the girls at school about what we saw here tonight. Trust me, Rika! We're going to be famous once they found out that we've gotten close to the elusive Uchiha Sasuke!"

"You're right on, girl!" Rika agreed.

Meanwhile…

Konohagakure Academy…

It was already nighttime. But she didn't move from her spot next to the school's water tank. With a thin wire on her hand, she wrapped a pink tissue petal around its tips then secured it with tape. She winced when she got another paper cut on her pinky.

It just wasn't fair.

Sniffing, she brought her hand up to touch her left cheek. It was hot. And it stung. She picked up another petal from the now slightly burnt cardboard box and wrapped it again around the tip then taped it. Hot tears began to course through her cheeks as she vividly recalled that particular event earlier.

…………

He automatically brought his hand up and slapped her.

She stepped back from the impact; the pain shot through her mind and frazzled her nerves. Her hand instantly went up to her cheek as she stared back at her boyfriend. She couldn't help but cry at his sudden inflict of pain. "W – What did I do?"

"As if you didn't know the answer to that, Sakura." Neji stepped in front of the cardboard box and brought out a handful of flowers. "Was these the reason why you didn't meet me at the school gate? Because you and your classmate made it?" An evil smirk went through his face. "Well, this is what I'm going to do with them."

He lifted the box then turned it over, scattering all of the flowers on the ground. He set the cardboard box next to it and kicked the flowers into a pile and to Sakura's horror; pulled out a lighter from his pocket. "What do you think will happen if I'm going to set fire on them?"

Sakura staggered to stop her boyfriend from what he was about to do. She clutched onto the sleeve of his uniform tightly. "No! Don't do it, Neji – kun! We worked hard to make those! Please don't do this, I beg you!"

Neji pushed her away. His lighter sparked, forming a little flame. Still smirking, he dropped it at the center of the pile. Within seconds, a huge flame engulfed the entire pile, reducing the finished paper flowers into ashes. Sakura watched helplessly as all of her hard work was gone… Everything went up in smoke. She sagged on the ground, her hand clutching Neji's pants.

"Why did you do that, Neji – kun? I…we worked hard for that…" she pleaded weakly. Neji kicked her hand aside as he turned on his heel and started to walk away from her.

"As long as you don't realize that you're completely mine, Sakura – chan. I'm not going to stop unless you accept me in your life," Neji answered coolly. He continued to walk and finally reached the door to the exit. Before he stepped a foot inside, he turned back at her. "I'm going to find out who's that 'classmate' you're referring to. I'm going to make that guy pay for taking notice of you."

Sobs could only be heard from her as he walked out of the door.

…………

Sakura wiped her tears as she forced herself to pick up another wire and tissue petal. She wrapped the petal around the wire's tip. "How am I going to explain this to him? Neji – kun made a bonfire out of the flowers we made. And right now, I only made five pieces. I'm surely not going to finish all of these by tomorrow." Her tears started to flow again.

The cool breeze of the night touched her tear – streaked face. Sakura momentarily stopped from her work to gaze at the dark starry sky. "I wonder if that boy is also staring at the same sky as I do," she said to herself. She glanced at her watch and winced when she read the time.

10:30 PM

'Crap. Looks like I have no choice but to stay here tonight,' she glumly thought. Sakura slumped back against the tank, her eyes brimming again with tears. "I really don't understand Neji – kun. I thought he was nice and caring but until now…" she covered her face with her palms. "I don't know what to think anymore!"

"Then why don't you stop thinking if you really don't know what to think anymore."

Sakura faltered. "W – Wha?" she brought her face up when she heard that oh – so familiar voice. "Could it be?" she turned around to find the same raven – haired boy whom she met at the supermarket. "Y – You're…" she swallowed again, her vision still blinded by her tears. She closed her eyes and allowed them to fall.

There was no sound or response from the boy leaning next to the doorway. Thinking that she was only dreaming, she sat up straight and tried her best to meet his cool gaze with her hazy ones. She watched him walking towards her, his eyes never wavering from their gazes. Sakura let out a choked cry when he finally stopped in front of her. He then sits back down on his heels and began to stare at her.

She could not look at him in the eye. She was too shaken from the events earlier and the surprise she was now experiencing right now. "I – I don't know what I'm supposed to say in front of you…" She wiped away her tears so she could finally get a good look of his face.

There was still no response from him. She laughed quietly. She couldn't even see him through her puffy red eyes. "G – Gomenesai. I couldn't even look at you properly because of my tears. It's just that…I – I'm surprised that you're…uh…here. Um…why are you here? Are you looking for something?"

Instead of the usual smile she received from him that night at the supermarket, he only shrugged his shoulder. However, to her surprise, he reached out with his finger and wiped a drop of tear that was about to fall from her cheek. Sakura's cheeks reddened slightly when he moved his face closer to hers and whispered quietly using that deep voice of his.

"Mi – tsu – ke - ta."

A/N: Chapter 6 finally finished! I made the School Affairs chapter into a 5 – part story arc. Since the School Festival would last for about 5 days in their time, I already showed what happened during the first day and it's all about preparations.

The next chapters are also going to be extra long. Next chapter will be: School Affairs: Part Two

If you want me to update earlier like this one, can you answer this?

"In this chapter, who is Sakura's mysterious friend?"

For the readers, reviews are a must! And if you're not going to give me a review…well, who knows when I'm going to make Sasuke stop being a nerd…? Maybe…never.

"Mitsuketa." – "I found you."