Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Kishimoto Masashi. You'll never hear the end of this statement.

A/N: Welcome back minna-san! Our exams are finally over. My beta reader and I are currently suffering from psychological trauma due from the endless hours of torture we had undergone in answering those horrendous questions. I almost gave up answering the test after question number 3. Yet I still finished it and now, we're just waiting 'patiently' for the results. (keeps fingers crossed)

By the way, I want to thank you folks for giving us the moral support for our exams. So, we are giving you guys a treat. Also, please bear with us for a little while longer, my beta reader decided to cut some parts of the story in order to make the story more interesting, and to make you guys eager for the next chappie. Who knows what might happen next… (grins).

So in the end, the school affairs arc will not yet reach its conclusion. But enough of that! Here's chapter 13! Please read to your heart's content and don't forget to give me a review to know what you guys think. Ja!

Chapter 13: Rendezvous at the rooftop…and the search is on!

Now, it was her turn to scowl. "What? I can't stay! There's someone waiting for me right this very moment! I simply can't sit back here and wait for the sun to set."

"Too bad," the raven-haired gritted his teeth as his hold around her wrist tightened. "Since I'm out here in hiding and grabbed you by accident, I have no other choice but to detain you here with me until the festival's over."

Sakura swallowed. 'Didn't he know that the festival's going to end with the fireworks display? And the fireworks will not even start until exactly 7:00 PM! Who is he kidding?' she thought anxiously. Afterwards, she bonked herself mentally. 'Of course, I forgot. Sasuke-san is from Sunagakure University. Stupid memory gap!'

When the girl in front of him didn't respond, Sasuke sighed. He released his hold on her wrist then dropped his hand to his side. "Fine. You can go. I almost forgot that you've got a certain Hyuuga waiting 'patiently' for you."

Crossing his arms, he added, "And also, I'm not the type of a guy who ruins a long-term relationship regardless of how dysfunctional it can be."

"Maybe…but," Sakura smiled thinly. "You don't have the right in the world to tell me those things, Sasuke-san. Despite how awful he is, we're still together and I love him. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go back to him."

She gave a curt bow then scurried towards the door. Before opening the door, she paused. She looked back at him, eyes locked with his. "Seriously, why are you here? It's not like you to come barging in to someone else's school uninvited."

He placed his hands in his pockets and cast her a wary glance. "Do I have to answer that? Seriously?"

"Yes."

"It's…I…" Sasuke raked a hand through his hair. 'This is ridiculous! I should have worn my other clothes instead! Stupid Itachi for making a fool out of me and forcing me to wear this clothes! If it weren't for him, those women would not harass me in the first place! And if it weren't for him I…wait a second!'

A light bulb popped inside his head. He then looked at Sakura.

'Wait! I remember! Last night, she gave me an invitation to come here to school! I could use that as a reason why I'm here. Now how am I going to do this…' he thought.

Feigning innocence, he began. "So you're really going to deny that everything that happened to me back there was entirely your fault in the first place?"

"Huh? What did I do?" Sakura asked, her brows knitting together in confusion.

He shrugged. "Don't deny it. I got attacked by all the females in this school because of you."

"Wha…? What am I denying for? You just came out of nowhere and swept me away from Neji-kun! And now you're blaming me for all the troubles you went through?" Sakura retorted harshly. She was now mad because their conversation was getting worse.

Even he was getting pissed. 'What the hell? Looks like I have no choice but to help her remember about last night!'

Running a hand through his hair, he winced when his bruised tongue grazed the back of his teeth. Sasuke glared at the girl in front of him then eventually sighed. "You're really clueless. I even came all the way from Sunagakure just because a certain unhappy girl invited me to attend their school's festival."

Green eyes blinked in bewilderment. "W…What…? Did I do that?"

Have little patience, Sasuke. "Say that stuff again and I'll kill you."

"But I…" Sakura sagged weakly against the doorframe, considering his words carefully. 'I…I don't understand… Sasuke-san came all the way here because…of…' she swallowed inwardly. 'Because of me…he even accepted my invitation to go here…'

"But why?" she mumbled silently.

"Why? Does it always have to be a why?" He walked towards her, his footsteps nearing.

Sakura choked out a sob when a hand swept her chin up so that her eyes now were drowning in their intense black counterparts.

Sasuke muttered a quiet "Hn." He stared down at those tearing eyes of hers, never breaking the contact. Suddenly he had a feeling that he was beginning to like her green eyes.

'The color of polished emerald', he concluded.

"Regardless of what transpired to me earlier," he began and she shifted uncomfortably. The black-haired teen gave a faint smirk. "Why did I come here, you ask?"

Sakura could not seem to take her eyes off him. There was something about the elusive Uchiha Sasuke that she couldn't point a finger to. Whether it was because of his mysterious aura or the way he switched his personalities in just a brief second. Ironically, she was closer to Itachi-san even when his younger brother was the same age as her.

And now, she didn't know what to think anymore.

He was now leaning towards her, their noses almost touching.

"I came here…"

She blushed, whimpering at the huskiness of his voice.

Their lips were mere inches apart.

"…For you."

"T-This couldn't be happening!" The voice from the back of her head screamed. Sakura's breath hitched in as she felt the soft graze of his lips upon hers. Her arms immediately flung out in order to push him away from her. Instead, they landed on either side of his arms, clutching tightly on his sleeves.

The next thing she knew, he buried his face on the crook of her neck.

Sakura gave a tiny yelp.

And a loud groan was heard.

(Stomach growling sound)

4:30 PM

At the school grounds…

Neji stomped furiously as he left the marriage booth. He was extremely angry and embarrassed of the show he unwittingly put earlier. What's that you ask? Instead of the blushing bride he was expecting to kiss earlier, his irresistibly puckered lips slammed themselves wetly against a cool metal post. Talk about a big, wet smooch.

Worst part of it all, it was seen by a huge crowd of spectators.

And don't forget about his bride who suddenly whooshed out of nowhere and left him suffering from humiliation.

"Where the heck did she went off to now?" he snarled, kicking a soda can angrily with his foot. Sakura was beginning to get on his nerves now, if she continued being distracted like this he'd…

"Hyuuga!"

Neji turned at the sound of his name being called. His brow rose up when he saw Akimichi Chouji and his gang of bullies stopped simultaneously in front of him. "Did you find her?" he demanded.

Chouji bowed his head. "Sorry but we couldn't find your pink-haired girlfriend. We practically looked everywhere but there's still no sign of her."

"What?" Neji grabbed Chouji by the collar and glared at him. "I don't care if we have to stay here overnight, I want you to find her and bring her to me. If she has someone with her, especially if that person is a 'he', drag him out here as well! Do you get that, fat ass?"

"Fat ass?" Chouji squealed in surprise.

Neji gave him a dirty look. "Yeah, stupid fat ass. If you don't want to hear me calling you by your taboo name, you better follow my orders. Understand?"

The heavyset guy flinched. Neji was not the type of guy to be messed with. Gulping, he nodded. "Yes, sir." Turning to his buddies, he yelled. "All right! Split up and start searching!"

"Hai!" His heavyset buddies yelled out simultaneously as they went on their separated ways to look for Neji's object of regard.

…………

Meanwhile at the other side of the school…

Ino fanned herself with a paper fan. It surely was a very humid afternoon. She cast a glance at her co-teammates as they managed the stall. Before she finished surveying the area, her blond brow rose up when she noticed something awfully peculiar.

"Where the hell is Naruto?" she growled when there was no sign of him anywhere at the stall.

She turned to Hinata. "Hinata, have you seen Naruto?"

"I'm afraid not, Yamanaka-san. Maybe he went out to take…um…a break somewhere," the dark blue-haired girl mumbled.

Ino's nostrils flared in anger. "What the hell? He took a break by himself? Without even consulting me?" She cracked her knuckles, taking pleasure in hearing the loud cracking sound. "He's gonna get it!"

"C-Calm down, Yamanaka-san!"

…………

"Achoo!"

"Hmm, you've got a bad cold there. I wonder who's thinking of you right now?"

Naruto yanked the tissue from Tenten's outstretched hand. He covered his nose with it then sneezed. "Whatever." After tossing the tissue paper into the trash bin, he glanced at his friend slyly. "Who knows? Maybe it was Sasuke-chan who's thinking about me!"

Tenten ears turned red. "What…the? You're really a dreamer aren't you, foxface? There's no way that Sasuke would even think about your sorry ass! If I know, he's probably too occupied in hiding himself from the clutches of those wretched women to even think about your crappy face!"

Her blond friend grinned slyly. "Oh really? Then whom else should he be thinking about? You?"

"What? Me? No fricking way!"

"Oooooohhhhhh! I can see that you're blushing, T!"

BAM!

"Ow!"

Tenten rubbed her sore knuckles. "That's what you're going to get if you still continue your sorry bitchin' Naruto!"

Naruto rubbed his reddening cheek. "You're so mean! I'm going to tell Sasuke-chan that you're hurting me again!" He then ran to the opposite direction of the school.

"What…the? Come back here, you dumb weenie!" Tenten screeched as she went after him. The hell! They were supposed to continue searching for their raven-haired friend but the stupid fox had begun his wild goose chase again.

She would definitely go after his hide so that she could clobber him until he could no longer walk.

"Damn! Where are you, Sasuke?" Tenten grumbled as she increased her speed.

Back at the rooftop…

"Man, I'm so hungggrrryyy…" Sasuke mumbled against her neck. His deep voice sent shocks of vibration into Sakura's body, causing her skin to tingle. Without a word, he collapsed with his weight fully resting against her body.

Her eyes went wide as she was toppled off balance. Her back slammed against the doorframe with a loud bam, bringing Sasuke with her. Sasuke groaned again as he curled himself into a ball at her lap, his stomach growling afterwards.

Seconds passed before one of them made the first move to talk. Sakura took deep breaths as she looked down at the boy groaning consistently. She shakily raised a hand to stroke his coal-black tresses. Clearing her throat, she began, "A-Are you all right, Sasuke-san?"

He only grunted in response as another rumbling took place.

Sakura bit her lip to keep from laughing. "You should've told me in the first place instead of announcing that 'detaining' comment earlier. You should've said that you were hungry," she said lightly.

Sasuke brought his face up to look at her. "Geez, I'm almost dying here because of the excruciating pain my hunger is giving me and now you're making fun of me? That's low. Practically low," he retorted.

"Apparently, you're the one who's at the low here. Lying lowly at some girl's lap," she fired back.

"W-What? I'm not! It's just that I…ooowwww…my stomach…"

Sakura giggled. She never thought that there was an alternative to bring the high and mighty Uchiha down to his knees. And the only one who had done it was none other than his very own stomach. "Is there something that you want me to do, Sasuke-san? Do you want me to go outside and get you something to eat?" she offered earnestly.

The boy moaned. "If you go out, those obsessive fan girls of mine might corner you in some dead end and ask for my whereabouts. I don't want to risk my hide so don't even try of going out there and saving yourself."

The pink-haired girl sighed. The boy was blatantly arrogant. "Then do you have any other options? Aside from doubling over in pain?" she asked instead.

Sasuke slowly raised himself into a sitting position. One arm placed in front of his stomach. "I already bought four bags of octopus fritters to eat. I believe they're out here somewhere. You can go and get them for me."

"How demanding," she mused wryly. Sakura stood up, scanned their surroundings then finally spotted the four bags he was talking about. Shaking her head, she walked towards the brown bags and snatched all four of them. Afterwards, she went back to the brooding boy and handed the bags to him.

"Here you go," she said.

Sasuke grabbed them immediately then began filling his mouth with food. Sakura watched him, a smile tugging at her lips. "Looks like someone is really hungry," she commented.

"So? I don't care," he grumbled then swallowed. After emptying the first bag he gobbled the next. Sasuke didn't stop eating until he finished all four bags. After tossing the last bag, he was rewarded with a loud burp.

"Sounds like you're full."

"Yep, I am." Sasuke patted his stomach proudly. "I thought I was about to die from starvation. Running away from those women really makes you very hungry."

Upon realizing that he was having an actual conversation with a girl who was his enemy's girlfriend, the Uchiha stilled. There was no way he was actually engaging in a normal conversation with her! Earlier they were clawing at each other's throats then the next, they were buddy-buddies? Weird!

"Sasuke-san? Are you all right?"

He immediately collected himself. "Hn."

Sakura smiled, her eyes crinkling. "What should we do then?"

"I thought you're going down to meet with Hyuuga."

"Oh, that? I…" Sakura paused then added, "…I'm sure he wouldn't mind if our pretend wedding would be postponed for awhile." She patted the white wedding veil still miraculously attached to her head.

'Amazing. It didn't even fall after I tackled her', Sasuke thought. He scratched his head, obviously forgetting the other purpose he promised to Itachi earlier.

Reaching out a hand, he fingered the hem of the veil and gave a tiny, discernable smirk. Sakura immediately blushed at their closeness. "Aa. But are you sure? You're certainly dressed up for a wedding. And let me guess, the groom's not a happy one since he would have already found out that his bride ditched him at the altar," he commented.

"Not ditched. I was abducted. By you," she fired back.

Sasuke scoffed. "Whatever."

5:30 PM

Itachi cracked one eye open and saw that the sky was beginning to darken. Groggily, he squinted his eyes at his watch and winced at the time. "Damn, it's almost time for the school festival to end. Where the heck did that stupid brother of mine tottered off to now?" he asked himself.

"Yo! Itachi-san!"

The older Uchiha popped his head out of the car window. He saw his buddy Hoshigake Kisame walking towards the direction of his car. He waved a hand for the shark guy to join him. Kisame finally stopped in front of his car then grinned. "What are you doing here, Itachi-san? I'm sure you didn't stop here just to get a drag."

Itachi sighed. "Nope. I didn't come here for a drag. I'm simply waiting for my ototou who was apparently not back from the festival."

"Oh? That's strange. I think you've been planning something right behind your brother's back. And the reason why your brother's not returning yet is because you made him do something for you. Am I right?" Kisame guessed.

"Hm…very brief and concise. Your answer's very direct to the point. I applaud you for that, Kisame," Itachi replied, unimpressed.

"Heh."

The door swung open and Itachi stepped out of the car. He stretched out his legs. "Since you're already here, why don't you come with me to the festival? Outsiders are allowed to go in and out of Konohagakure anyway."

"Sounds like a good idea," Kisame scratched his head. "But what about your brother? Aren't we supposed to look for him?"

His friend smirked. "Sasuke is not a difficult person to locate. If we see a trail of girls chasing after somebody, then that's him. If not, then we'll just check every nook and cranny of the school just in case he might be hiding from them now. That would totally ruin the grandeur of my plan."

"Grandeur? What plan?"

Itachi shrugged nonchalantly. "He has to find a girl by the end of this day or I'll burn his precious, dorky wardrobe into ashes."

Kisame sneered. "You're such a devious person, Itachi-san. You really love tormenting your younger brother, don't you?"

"I know. I take pleasure in it."

"Heh."

…………

5:45 PM

School Rooftop

Sasuke peered through the hole in the doorknob. When he saw no other people staying outside the door, he heaved a sigh in relief. "Yes! No one's there," he said giddily to himself. Running a hand through his raven spikes, he turned to the girl behind him. "We can finally get out of here since there are no longer people hanging outside. I think it's because the festival is reaching its end."

"Great," Sakura replied sarcastically. They'd been sitting for the rest of the afternoon in utmost silence and she was getting bored. Earlier, she was interacting quite well with the stoic Uchiha but a few minutes afterwards Sasuke-san distanced himself from her once again. The petal-haired teen clasped her hands together.

'I don't blame him. He's maintaining his distance because I'm Neji-kun's girlfriend. The more he criticizes my relationship with him, the more Sasuke-san and I get into each other's nerves,' she thought sadly. 'From the looks of things, we won't really become friends after all…'

"Oi."

She looked up to see Sasuke staring directly at her. She fidgeted the hem of her skirt nervously. "W-What is it, Sasuke-san?"

He sighed. "Since we're leaving this place, why don't I drop you off at the Marriage Booth? I'm also headed for that same route since the exit is just right on its way."

"That's…that's very kind of you, Sasuke-san. But," she waved her hand no. "I'm going to be all right. It's better if I go alone. If Neji-kun finds out that I was with you, he will…" she trailed off, remembering the incident about the paper flowers. She didn't want to see Neji hurting Sasuke because of her.

Sasuke only raised a brow. "Okay. If you say so."

Sakura sighed in relief. She bowed to him in farewell and was about to leave when a hand grabbed her wrist. Her green eyes flickered in confusion. "Is there something wrong, Sasuke-san?"

"If I can't drop you at the booth, then maybe you can help me find an easy route out of this building. I'm not yet sure if those obsessive fan girls of mine are still hanging around here or probably waiting for me outside the school," he explained off-handedly.

She was too easy to read. Sasuke instantly knew what the girl was thinking. He already knew that Neji would most likely hurt Sakura again because of her disappearing act earlier. Accompanying her to the marriage booth would be his way of apology for stealing her from her wedding ceremony and also, staying close to her would lessen detection from his fan girls.

"I…" Sakura was speechless. Well, there was nothing wrong about that. She would just guide the raven-haired teen to a safer route outside of school. Afterwards, she'd face Neji's consequences because of her desertion at the ceremony. She was now prepared for any attacks he would make anyway.

"Of course, Sasuke-san."

6:00 PM

At the marriage booth…

"What? She's not back here yet?" Neji bellowed angrily. He slammed his fist against the booth's wooden post, causing the makeshift altar to quake.

Lee raised his hands in total surrender. "Gomenasai, Neji-kun. But what we've been saying to you earlier is true! Sakura-san is not here, and she hasn't come back ever since."

The Hyuuga spouted curses as he smashed his fist again, creating a huge crack on the altar. The other students' in-charge of the stall cowered in fear while Lee remained firm. Neji glared at him, curling his hand into a fist.

"One last time. Tell me where Sakura is or else…!"

"I already told you, Neji. Sakura's not here."

Neji aimed his fist and was about to hit Lee's face when a hand grabbed his wrist, missing his target a mere inch. The glassy eyed Hyuuga spun his head around to glare at the person who stopped him from attacking the thick browed student. "What do you want? Do you want to get hurt too?" he snarled as he finally took a good look at his adversary.

And all of a sudden, he hesitated.

His attacker had his arms crossed and was looking at him grimly. Neji slowly lowered his fist. "Shit," he mentally cursed himself. Out of all the people he messed with, this person was the only one able to withstand his violent behavior. On the other hand, Lee slumped weakly against the post as he breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's nice to see you again, Hyuuga Neji."

A/N: And there you have it, chapter 13. I only sneaked out of my very busy schedule just to post this and I…(looks around and sees beta reader tapping her foot impatiently)…well, here's the question and answer portion!

"Who stopped Neji from attacking Lee?"

And as another treat, here is an excerpt from the next chappie! Hope this will make you more eager…

…………

"Let's do this," he finally said.

"What?" Sakura asked, confusion marring her face. Kakashi eavesdropped on the conversation and was grinning madly. Sasuke knew that their literature teacher was relishing on his discomfort that he decided to give up and go with the flow.

He faced Sakura and cupped her chin with his free hand. He angled it upwards so that she was looking straight at him. "Look, I don't want to repeat things over and over again. So listen up." Sasuke took a deep breath then spoke again.

"We'll continue where we left off."

"What? Do you know what you're saying Sasuke-san?" Sakura screeched.

Sasuke ran a hand through his black tresses. "Of course I know! That's why we're going to do this in the first place. And besides, I'm already sick of this perverted," he pointed to Kakashi, "sicko dictating what I should or should not do! And no doubt even insulted my sexuality!"

Sakura shook her head. "But it's wrong! I-I don't want this to happen, I just want Neji-kun to…"

Sasuke yanked her hard so that she slammed not so gently against his chest. "What…so now you prefer Neji-kun over me? I don't think so."

…………

How was it? Did that satisfy your hunger dear readers? Please don't forget to answer the question and wait patiently for the next chappie! For the names I'll just post it in the next chapter too, so don't be disappointed. Ja! (being led outside of the computer shop by the beta reader)