Disclaimer: Naruto is still Kishimoto Masashi's property, all right?

A/N: Anyeong haseo, minna – san! I want to thank you guys for reading my story and for answering the question in the previous chapter. Don't forget to review after you finish reading this chapter. The answer's going to crack you up, I tell ya.

Chapter 7: School Affairs Part Two

"Mi – tsu – ke - ta."

Sakura blinked in disbelief. 'Mitsuketa?'

What did Uchiha – san meant by that? What did he find? What was he doing out here in the rooftop anyway?

Wait…what did he mean by 'Mitsuketa?'

She swallowed.

He couldn't mean…

Was he looking…for her?

But why?

Why?

"You're Uchiha… Itachi – san, am I right?"

"…………"

"You're Uchiha… Itachi – san, am I right?"

All she heard was silence followed by a short "Hn" from the boy in front of her. Sakura then continued sobbing until they ceased. She was beginning to sniffle when she got to hear him talk.

"Finally. I thought you were about to create a huge waterfall out of those tears."

Sakura sniffed. "Even if I did, it would still be useless. I can't even sell this to the water company."

He smirked. "Good girl."

She was about to smile too when she felt something pressed against her palm. She lowered her gaze and found out it was a navy blue handkerchief. Sakura looked up at him curiously but she couldn't see him clearly because of her tears.

"Take it."

"But…"

"Just take it. Don't worry, I'm not going to charge you for that."

Sakura chuckled at his sardonic humor.

…………

She was still wiping her tears when she caught him staring blankly at the charred pieces of tissue paper next to them. For a moment there, she could've sworn she saw his onyx eyes turned to crimson. She immediately averted her gaze away from him; afraid she might've discovered something forbidden.

He immediately stood up from where he sat. He fingered a burnt piece of tissue petal and spoke, "What happened here?"

She lowered her head. "My…uhm…I…"

He sighed. "Spill it."

"My classmate and I were assigned to make five hundred paper flowers out of tissue paper. We somehow finished a hundred of them until sunset when…" Sakura choked on her words as new tears sprang forth in her eyes. "My…boyfriend got mad at me because I forgot to meet him in front of the school's main gate. Out of anger, he made a bonfire right here in the rooftop using the flowers that my classmate and I painstakingly made."

Instead of answering, the boy crushed the burnt piece of tissue petal in his palm. "Hn, figures." He gave her a cool look. "I don't know what's going on between you and your boyfriend but, from the way you said it, I'm sure you're not having a good time with him at all."

Sakura did not say a word. She clutched the blue handkerchief tightly in her fist. Even if Neji was not the kindest boyfriend in the planet, she was still in love with him. "I appreciate your concern, Uchiha – san. However, I'm capable of handling my own problems. My boyfriend…I…you should not be so judgmental of him."

Uchiha – san did not respond to her words. He stared at the slightly burnt box next to her. "Looks like I have to buy another one of those," he muttered to himself. He glanced back at the pink – haired girl behind him. "Pinky, looks like you're coming with me tonight."

"Huh?" Sakura was baffled. "What do you mean I have to come?"

Slightly irritated, he simply grabbed her wrist and dragged her towards the exit. Sakura was caught off – guard but she allowed the raven – haired boy to drag her to whatever place he was taking her.

Even though she knew that her day ended up bad, it looks like she had to thank Uchiha Itachi – san for arriving just in time to save her from her emotional instability. Honestly, after all the years she had been with Hyuuga Neji, Sakura never experienced this type of giddiness in her entire life.

Uchiha – san gave her another ride in his car and this time, she didn't quite understand his actions. Earlier, they made a stop in front of a bookstore where he bought art supplies for reasons unknown to her.

During the entire drive, Sakura couldn't contain herself any longer. She decided to ask. "Anou, Uchiha – san. What are the supplies for?"

"Project," he answered dryly. His onyx eyes were too focused on the road. Well, his brother told him to drive carefully, so be it.

"Oh," she replied meekly. Gosh, she already wrote a long list of favors coming from Uchiha Itachi. Adding this ride would surely make her all of her debts a lifetime credit.

Silence filled the entire car; finally the drive was over in just thirty minutes. Sakura barely breathed when Uchiha – san finally put the car into a halt then turned off the engine. She squinted at the two – story bungalow house, uncertain.

"Where…where are we?" she asked nervously.

The guy next to her only sighed then picked up his purchases from the backseat. He opened his car door and stepped out. "Get out," he ordered flatly.

She hurriedly did what she was told to do. He locked the doors then lifted his purchases on one arm. Still ignoring her, he walked down the cobblestone path towards the house. Sakura trotted after him, slightly annoyed that her questions were unanswered.

This is the last straw. "Where the hell are we, Itachi – san? You don't mean to tell me that you're taking me here in the deepest end of the suburbs! This is called kidnapping you know! I'm warning you, if you're planning on harming me Itachi – san, I'll scream!"

The boy in front of her abruptly stopped. Sakura yelped when she collided onto his back, sending her backwards. His onyx eyes were cool and untrusting; she thought that she might faint from his intense gaze.

"Look lady, I'll say this once so be quiet." He huffed. "You're pining for the wrong Uchiha. And if you're going to end up as one of my brother's idiosyncratic fan girls, I suggest you consult your mom first before you join his psychologically abusive fan club."

"Wrong Uchiha? What are you talking about?" she echoed out loud.

As an answer to her question, the house's main door suddenly opened. The man similar to the guy in front of her crossed his arms. One dark brow rose up. "I know I sent you out earlier for a ten minute errand, ototou. And do you know what time it is?"

The guy next to her shrugged. "11:55 PM. So what? I already did your damn order, so shut up and be happy with it." He walked past his brother and entered the house.

Sakura blinked. The guy was downright rude! Actually, ruder than Neji – kun! And he was not even a gentleman! He left her alone on the sidewalk while he entered the house without inviting her in! The nerve!

The man who was still standing on the doorway turned towards her direction. He gave a lopsided grin. "So I see. We meet again, Haruno – san."

"Y – you must be…um…Uchiha Sasuke – san! It's so nice to see you again!" Sakura exclaimed, bowing her head in greeting.

The man laughed and made a flapping gesture with his hand. "Looks like you've got confused again but never mind. Why don't you come inside? I'm sure my ototou has some reasons for taking you here at our house."

"He'd better have. He dragged me here without even answering all of my questions," Sakura sighed as she went inside the house. The man closed the door behind him then motioned for her to sit and wait in the living room.

While waiting, Sakura tapped her black leather shoe on the red-carpeted floor. She was still confused in distinguishing one Uchiha from the other. Well, she couldn't blame herself. They both looked alike --- as in so much alike that they could easily pass themselves off as twins. Well, the rude Uchiha – san was different in personality than the kind Uchiha – san. That pretty much separated them apart.

…………

The kind Uchiha – san finally appeared in the living room holding a cup of tea. He set it first on top of the coffee table then sits on one of the lounge chairs opposite Sakura. "I apologize for my ototou's rudeness. He's really not that bad. It's just that he has a huge chip on his shoulder that fully requires surgery to disappear."

Sakura accepted the tea with heartfelt thanks. "Arigatou for the tea, Sasuke – san. But I'm sure Itachi – san and I must've started on the wrong foot. I'm also bad in dancing so maybe that's the reason."

Instead of being annoyed at the fact that she was calling him by his ototou's name, Itachi rolled his eyes. This girl proved to be a lot denser than he thought. "How nice. He also sucks in dancing as well. Oh, I almost forgot," the kind Uchiha winked. "I know he and I looked the same but let me share with you some little secrets about him. He's left – handed. He has a habit of running his hand through his hair whenever he's nervous. He never smiles, just smirks but you'll rarely see him smirk. He's always edgy so don't bother in surprising him, it won't work. And there's another big secret about him…"

Sakura moved closer to listen further. "What is it?"

"He's…"

"Just what are you telling her about me, 'nisan?"

Itachi covered his laugh with his hand. "Nothing. I just gave Haruno – san an advice on how to tell us apart, Uchiha Sa…su…ke – san."

Sakura immediately glanced back at the younger Uchiha who was standing right behind his brother. He was not smiling. She gulped. Following the kind Uchiha's advice, she could tell right away who one from the other was. "Y – You're the real Uchiha Sasuke – san!"

Sasuke only gave her 'the' look.

Itachi laughed weakly. "Well, now that she's able to tell us apart, I can leave you two in your own private world." He stood up from his seat then headed towards the kitchen. Inside, Itachi stifled his laugh as he got two tumblers from the cabinet and poured tea in them.

He immediately snapped a finger. "Shoot. I almost blurted out that my stupid ototou can scream like a girl."

…………

Sakura lowered her gaze at him. "I – I…I'm sorry. I guess I mistook you again for another person. But," she explained and looked in his cold onyx eyes. "I swear, I really couldn't tell you apart!"

"Whatever." Sasuke sat down on the floor next to the coffee table. "Already used to it. It's not everyday someone would stop in front of me and say, "Ohayou, Itachi – san!" whenever I walk out in public." He gave her a cool stare. "Mistakes like that happen all the time."

"I guess so." Sakura looked back down at the tea in her hands. "So, why am I here anyway?"

Sasuke stood up and started heading back from where he came from. "Staying for the night."

Shocked, Sakura immediately stood up as well and followed him. "W – What? That's impossible! I can't stay here. I need to go home too, you know!"

"In that condition?" Sasuke gave a dull look at her disheveled appearance. Sakura blushed furtively under his stare. He walked down the hall and stopped in front of a door. He opened it then ushered her inside.

Sakura stared at the well – maintained bedroom. Everything was pale blue – from the furniture, to the dresser and to the four – poster bed at the center of the room. She walked slowly towards the bed, running her fingers through its fringed quilt. Grateful as she was, she still couldn't accept his offer. "I…I just…" she managed to say.

"Don't worry; the stay's free of charge as well." Sasuke paced quietly out of the room and grasped the doorknob.

"Good night." He closed the door.

Itachi was sipping his tea when his brother entered the kitchen. He gave him a cocky smirk. "Well?" he asked in greeting.

Sasuke huffed and sat down on the stool next to his brother. Itachi handed him another tumbler filled with tea, which he received with quiet thanks. He was sipping his tea when his brother spoke.

"What are you planning to do with her, ototou?"

"Nothing."

Itachi rolled his eyes. "You can't hide anything from me. You're planning something 'fishy' about her, aren't you?"

Sasuke choked on his drink. He glared at his brother while he wiped the remains of the tea on his face. Itachi only gave him a coy smile.

He sighed as he leaned his back on the edge of the table. "Right, I'll tell you, Mr. High – and – Mighty."

"Spill."

"When I went to the supermarket to buy your milk, I overheard some girls talking about her 'not coming home from school'. I decided to drop by at school. I found her at the rooftop right next to the paper flowers we made only to find out that the stupid Hyuuga burned all of it into crisp." Sasuke crossed his arms and grunted angrily.

Itachi was silent for a few moments before he spoke.

"So what are you going to do about it?"

Sasuke hopped off from his stool and stretched his muscles. "What else? I'm going to make those damn flowers from scratch. Nara's going to need them by tomorrow and I want this done and over with."

"Oh." Itachi stood up from where he sat as well and eyed Sasuke with a furtive glance. "Are you sure that you're going to make a whole bunch of it before the school tomorrow? You only have a couple of hours left and it's already 12:15 AM, mind you."

Sasuke returned his brother's glance with an evil smirk. "I already took care of that. Naruto and Ten Ten are on their way here to help and," his smirk widened. "You're also going to help us, 'Nisan."

His older brother sighed. "As if I had a choice. You're testing my patience, Sasuke. You know I can't stand doing junk that you and the women love."

"Don't get started with me, 'nisan," Sasuke warned dangerously. Something caught his eye and he pointed at the small brown paper bag in front of them. "What the hell is that?" he asked.

Itachi followed his gaze and he let out a small laugh. "Oh, that? That's for Kisame's pet piranha. I met him outside while I was taking a little walk. While you were wasting your time, I went to the supermarket and bought pet food for his fish."

"Nani! You had the nerve to order me around and buy your junk when you already had enough strength to take a little walk! Not just any walk, but a trip to the supermarket nonetheless!" Sasuke groaned.

Itachi fanned his hand just above his neck. "Ooohh…hot, hot, hot. Seriously ototou, try to calm yourself a bit more, will you? No wonder Haruno – san is so afraid of you."

His ototou scoffed. "Who cares about what she thinks? I'm already doing her a large favor so shut up."

"Right."

The sound of the doorbell brought an end to their little quarrel. Itachi went outside the kitchen to answer the door, leaving his little brother to tidy up a bit. Sasuke was washing the used tumblers when Itachi finally appeared in the kitchen.

"Sasuke. Your reinforcements has arrived," his older brother announced flatly.

Sasuke put the tumblers back inside the cabinet, a frown marring his face. He turned to peek at his brother who already disappeared from the kitchen and apparently, went back to the living room to prevent Naruto from doing anything suspicious. Sighing, he closed the cabinet, dried up his hands and followed his brother back to the living room.

2: 00 AM

In the living room…

"Itai!" Naruto yelped when he accidentally cut his finger with the thin edge of the tissue petal. He dropped the paper flower he was making and flung his hand out to the three bored people working in front of him. "Look at what that freaking paper did to my finger!"

"Yah, yah. We know, we know. You got a freaking paper cut, for Yondaime's sake," Ten Ten sighed, finally wrapping a long strip of tape around the paper flower she was making. She threw her paper flower on top of the coffee table alongside with the other finished batch. Picking up another thin wire and blue tissue petal, she eyed the raven – haired boy next to her who was currently busy cutting petals out of tissue paper.

She rolled her eyes. "Sasuke, I still don't understand why we have to do all of this just for that pink – haired hussy's sake. Because she couldn't do this herself, she left you alone to tend her junk! And worst of all, she had that psychotic bastard for a boyfriend who's breathing down your neck since Day 1!"

"I'm doing this not because of her but because Hyuuga burned all of our work into crisp. Curse him, always making things hard for me," Sasuke grumbled as he snipped off some ragged edges on the petal he was working on.

Naruto sighed wryly as he tried to suck the blood off from his finger. "Yeah, Hyuuga Neji for a boyfriend. Who wants that anyway, huh?" Suddenly, an idea popped inside his head. Muffling his giggles, he sidled quietly towards the younger Uchiha who was still busy cutting out petals from pink tissue paper.

Itachi, who was also busy making flowers abruptly stopped and observed from his vantage point that the blond kitsune was planning to glomp his unsuspecting ototou. He sighed as he began to resume his work.

'Teens these days…'

On the other hand, Sasuke was entirely focused in shaping the edges of the tissue petal he'd just cut. He didn't notice a shadow looming above him and just when he was about to snip a slightly roughened edge…

"SASUKE – CHAN!"

SNIP!

"EEEYYYYAAHHHH!"

…………

Sakura abruptly woke up from her sound sleep. "Wha…? What was that?" she asked herself. She then looked around the room and after finding out that there were no strange occurrences, she flopped back in bed and resumed sleeping.

…………

Sasuke hissed angrily. He glared at Naruto who was clinging onto his neck. "What do you think you're doing, dobe? Look at what you did to my work!" His petals were snipped off at the center, thanks to Naruto who all of a sudden hugged him from behind.

Instead of getting annoyed by his words, Naruto snuggled closer to him, earning a look of horror from Sasuke and a very scary glare from Ten Ten. "Demo, Sasuke – chan! I want you take a closer look at my pinky." He held out his pinky for Sasuke to see. "See, I got a little boo – boo."

"Get away from Sasuke right now, or you're gonna get it, foxface!" Ten Ten warned.

Itachi only sighed and continued with his work.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Ten Ten. "No! I'm not getting off of Sasuke – chan until he sees my boo – boo!"

"I'm already looking at it, dobe. Now get off of me or I'll kill you," Sasuke ordered grumpily all the while prying Naruto's arms away from his neck. But the blond pushed his face close to his, so close that their mouths were…almost touching. He even batted his eyelashes prettily at him; the scene was entirely nauseating that Sasuke almost gagged.

"Sasuke – chan, before I get off of you, can you do me a teensy weensy favor?" the blond teen asked sweetly. Sickeningly sweet.

"What?" Sasuke asked curtly. He wanted Naruto to get off of his lap, pronto. They still had hundreds of paper flowers to finish before the school starts.

Ten Ten's face was red. Not from embarrassment, mind you. Her face was red because of anger. Anger because a certain foxface was luxuriating on the lap of a certain Uchiha. And he even asked for a favor, damn it!

"Naruto! Get off of him right now!" she yelled. That was it; she was screaming bloody murder right now! She was now standing and ready to pounce on Naruto anytime now. The blond only snickered and nestled closer to Sasuke's body.

Sasuke glared down at Naruto, already teed off at his actions. "All right! Just tell me what your damn favor is so that we could get back to work now!"

"Ehehehehe…I thought you'd never ask, Sasuke – chan," Naruto said coyly. He grinned evilly, his blue eyes crinkling with mischief as he leaned closer to Sasuke's ear and whispered loud enough so that Ten Ten would hear.

"Sasuke – chan, can you kiss my boo – boo?"

All hell broke loose.

A/N: What do you think? Oh, and I'm no longer sticking to the five part story arc. It was kinda hard for me to put a limit to my stories when I'm having an overload of ideas inside my head. Sorry to leave you guys in a cliffy again! Oh and if you have any suggestions for the festival, feel free to give me one. And also for the pairings because I made quite an unusual love triangle here. Arigatou for the reviews! Ja!

Had to make another question again:

"Did Sasuke kiss Naruto's boo – boo?"