DISCLAIMER! Don't own Naruto.

Chapter Two

Konoha University's location was, in Sakura's word, interesting. It was in the middle of a modern city but surrounded by a thick green forest. Its environment was an intriguing mix of modern and old heritage. This mixture could easily be seen by the differences of several buildings and infrastructures inside the campus. The oldest building, known as the Shodai, built at the same time the school which was founded almost a hundred year ago stood at the center. As the school grew bigger, more colleges and faculties were established thus more buildings were added. Eventually, as the time went by, the style of the buildings built at the later time were more modernized.

The latest building was made of reinforced glass comprising of eight floors and was found inside the compound of the College of Arts (CA). This was due to the increasing number of students applying in their department. The administration also thought that new equipment and facilities would do additional good to the students. Despite the increasing number of students in this college, they only comprised almost a sixteenth of the total population of the entire university. Their compound was also found at lower right corner, near the Main Gate of the university.

Not long after the Entrance Ceremony (which made the start of the new academic year official), the Spring Orientation for the freshmen followed. Obviously, the new students were excited. Almost everywhere, one could see them roaming around. Chattering endlessly with their newfound friends and kept asking questions to the Senpai (upperclassmen) they met.

On the said day, Naruto and Sakura decided to meet after fixing their schedules to tour the campus together.

Wearing a simple plain white shirt, black leggings and black sneakers, Sakura pulled her gray hoodie over her head to cover her long pink hair tied lopsidedly at her nape, and did what she had to do that day. She was already done before lunch. Her schedule was easy to fix. Naruto seemed to be not as lucky though. He called Sakura to tell her he could not eat lunch with her so she should go ahead and eat, which she did.

She decided to check the school cafeteria which was located at the near right side the oldest building. She got Carbonara and a pack of blueberry yogurt drink and chose a vacant seat near the wall. Not too long later, a beautiful girl with a long blond hair tied at a back with side bangs and blue eyes lighter than Naruto's approached her.

"Mind if I join you?" She cheerfully asked as she set her tray at the table and sat down before Sakura could even answer. She held her hand out. "Ino Yamanaka."

Sakura shook her hand lightly with her own as she also introduced herself. "Sakura Haruno."

"Your name sounds familiar. Are you famous or something?"

Both pink eyebrows shot up. "I don't think so. But Sakura is a common name."

Ino nodded. "Interesting hair color. Did you dye it? Or natural?" She asked as she started on her vegetable salad.

"Thanks, I guess. It's natural."

The blond girl looked up with wide eyes. "Seriously?"

The rosette nodded.

"I would be glad to have that hair. I mean, in entertainment world, that's definitely catchy and would help people to easily notice you. But hey, I am not saying that I hate my hair or anything. I actually love it!"

Ino, Sakura decided, was like the female version of Naruto. She was talkative and showed her emotions easily. She said whatever she thought about out loud. She was blunt, seemed to be brave, and straight-forward. Qualities she was already used to and actually liked. Therefore, she found herself her newest girl friend. They continued to talk and before Sakura knew it, she too became talkative in front of her. They exchanged trivial opinions about the school and what their experiences so far. They talked about fashion which got Ino really hyper. Sakura was shocked to find out that Ino was the only child of the famous actor, Inoichi Yamanaka and a former model.

"Right, I forgot to ask but please tell me you are in College of Arts."

Sakura smiled. "I'm actually taking pre-med in Faculty of Medicine and Surgery."

"Damn, meeting you after this would be hard. CA compound is really far from yours. By the way, I am from CA-Faculty of Performing Arts. I am into acting."

"It's not that far."

The not ladylike snort that came from Ino made Sakura laugh. "Yeah, right. You haven't been to our compound, yeah?"

The rosette shook her head.

"You should! I mean, our building is really awesome!"

"I would when I find time." Sakura hesitated for a second before asking, "Do you like acting?"

"Oh no! I don't simply like it, I love it!" Ino's eyes were shining and Sakura could not help the small twinge of envy she felt and she wondered where did it come from. Then Ino told her new friend how she got involved in acting which was not hard to guess considering her family background. She was actually a child star then stopped acting to focus on studies and have at least a normal childhood before going back to acting in her high school years.

"I have to go." Ino gasped when she noticed the big round clock at the top of the double door of the cafeteria. She started to pack her things while saying that she have a pictorials at two pm. "Call me when you visit our building. I will give you a tour!"

"Really? I am looking forward to that."

"Give me your phone." The blond immediately entered her number and rang her mobile so that she could save Sakura's and then left.

She really acted like a close friend and Sakura found that she did not mind, which was surprising. She was actually not fond of nosy people but maybe because Ino felt like Naruto in some ways, she felt herself relaxing around her. It would later surprise them both that meeting each other was actually not hard considering that they lived in the same apartment building.

Eating done with no company and nothing better to do, Sakura sat at one bench placed at the Sandaime Park located in front of the Shodai building. There was a big water fountain at the center with a statue of a robe-wearing old man that was holding his beard and seemed to have a faraway look. Surrounding the fountain were beds of flowers separated by benches. There were also several trees on the outer boundary of the park that served as shades to more benches scattered around. The park was actually not full of people but it was a place where you could observe the people walking toward and from the cafeteria and Shodai Building, and other more buildings actually. She could not help but noticed some few people that caught her attention.

One of them was a tall man with silver-white hair that defied gravity, holding an orange book that barely concealed his already masked face while walking away from the Shodai. Of course the man would caught anyone's attention, Sakura thought. She could easily say that the man was from CA. Basis? Well, he was weird. Naruto was weird. And the similarity was enough of a reason. The man looked up from the book as if he felt that he was being stared at, and met Sakura's startled eyes. Both his eyes crinkled in a happy smile before he continued on his way. Weird, she repeated, just to reinforced her earlier thoughts.

Another was a pale person, yes person, because she could not decide yet if the person was a man or woman due to his or her long black hair and long pale green robe. The person was wearing long earrings and…was that make-up? The person's pupils were slitted like that of a snake and she could swear she had seen the person's tongue was really long too when it slipped out just to licked his lips. He wore a seemingly innocent but scheming smile. He saw the masked man with silver hair to nod in acknowledgment when he met this she-he person.

Moving on, she next noticed a group of three, two ladies and a man, that just walked out of the cafeteria. A part of the crowd of people walking by stared at them, unsubtly. Well, understandable, they were a set of good-looking people. This time, she could say that they were students like her, too. Two were probably siblings since they both had pale lavender eyes and pale complexion. The other was probably their friend. Hmm, Sakura mused, maybe the girl's friend but something more for the guy? She saw the girl with her hair styled tied into two buns on her head and the guy walking closer than how friends should be. Their arms were touching, while the siblings were maintaining a respectful distance between them.

Several more walked passed her line of sight but she could not find others that stood out just like the people she observed beforehand. Eventually, she got tired of looking at people and played some games in her phone.

"TEME!" A loud shout rang through the moderately crowded long hallway.

Sasuke, several meters away from the source of voice, decidedly ignored the call without missing a bit and hastily paced forward (as dignified as an Uchiha would and could), trying (in vain, he realized) to put as much distance as possible between him and Naruto.

Oblivious to the attention he was garnering, Naruto thought that Sasuke did not hear him or he did not like being called a 'teme' or he was simply being a 'bastard' as usual, he decided to call out to him again in a louder voice.

"UCHIHA SASUKE!"

Sasuke's steps faltered into a halt. Eyes closed, he refrained from rubbing his temples. Incoming headache, he could feel it. He did not just do what I thought he did.

But he did shout. He could feel the stares at him coming from everywhere. He could feel the attention concentrated ten times the usual (which he was already immune to and easily ignored).

If they did not have all of the attention before, they surely did now. Every heads in the vicinity turned. Most of them, majority female, knew who Uchiha Sasuke was. Just who would not notice such a hunk? At the back of his head, Sasuke could hear the fangirls alarm ringing.

Jaw clenched, he turned and waited for Naruto to reach him.

"Dobe." He glared at the blond.

"Yo Teme!... Whoa! Woke up on the wrong side of bed? Your glare is ten times scarier than usual."

"What do you want?"

"Oh geez. Relax! Relax!"

Sasuke just glared more, if that were possible, then Naruto finally noticed the looks they were receiving.

He gave a nervous laugh. "R-right, we should go look for Kakashi-sensei now." He pushed Sasuke to move on and they quickly left the place before any girl could even muster the courage to approach them.

"Just where exactly is Kakashi-sensei?!" Naruto whined when they reached a safe distance away from the crowded hallway. "If not for him, I could meet Sakura-chan already!"

Sasuke raised an elegant brow and quickly placed the already familiar name. It was Naruto's girl bestfriend-slash-sister that he wanted him to meet for a long time now but never had the chance. The blond kept on talking about her that he almost felt like he already knew the girl. "Right, you said that she was enrolled in this school."

"She is!" Naruto beamed and then frowned. "It would have been great though if she entered our faculty. I mean, we talked about this when we were young, you know!"

"I know." He answered and let Naruto rant again about his childhood which he already heard hundred times.

He remembered quite clearly how gloomy Naruto's mood was right at beginning of their first year in junior high school. It was surprising that Sasuke almost forgot his own foul mood due to the fangirls he amazingly gathered on the first day of school in a new school.

He asked Naruto what happened and regretted asking the second the blond turned to look at him with teary puppy dog eyes and started whining about a certain Sakura.

"S-Sakura-chan left me!" Naruto sobbed. Sasuke wondered who this Sakura was but he was not curious enough to ask about her. Probably one of his long list of friends.

"She quit Mom's dance school. She even withdrew her application to this school and went to Suna without telling me anything!"

The brunet raised a brow. "How did you know?"

"She told me."

"Dobe, you just told me she did not tell you anything."

"Well, she did not."

Sasuke gave an exasperated sigh. He wondered why did he put an effort to actually talk to Naruto sometimes.

"Well, she did not say anything. I haven't seen her since last month."

"Then, how did you know?"

"She informed me. She left a letter for me to my Mom before she left. You're really stupid sometimes, Sasuke."

Sasuke felt an eye twitched.

Afterwards, Naruto would talk bits and pieces about Sakura that Sasuke did not even have to ask who she was.

Sakura was a friend he made when she entered his mother's dance school when they were five. Their parents were friends, apparently.

Sakura was really cute and Naruto admitted she was her first crush until she hit him on the head when she caught him peeking at her skirt when they were six. It was the first time a girl made Naruto cry. They started to treat each other like siblings since then.

Sakura was small and light that he could easily carry her and execute the moves smoothly when lifting is a part of their routine and they were partners in dancing.

Sakura entered and won the Elementary Division-Solo Category of Konoha Dance Competition held annually while Naruto was second when they were seven.

Sakura moved away from Konoha when she was eight due to his father's job but their family returned and finally settled again when she was ten.

Sakura grew from cute to beautiful as the days gone by and Naruto had a hard time keeping the possible suitors away from her. ("It's for their safety," Naruto murmured. "Seeing her beating one boy who was so persistent was enough. It would be cruel for the others to have the same fate.") It seemed like Sakura grew stronger as more boys went after her even though she was only 11.

She had a great memory that she could remember the steps by watching intently. Even though she could remember the steps, there were times she could execute them well and she was stubborn enough not to stop till she gets them right.

Sakura was spring. She's the embodiment of cherry blossoms.

She loved dancing as much as Naruto loved ramen.

She was a great dancer. She had pink hair and bright jade eyes and a really beautiful smile.

Without even meaning to, with Naruto feeding his brain information about Sakura since they were 12, Sasuke had built an image of her. A female counterpart of Naruto that had pink hair and jade eyes. He felt perplexed when Naruto told him that he wanted him to meet her. One Naruto was enough. But then, the opportunity never came. Suna was not near, and Naruto could only meet her by tagging along when his grandfather had a trip to Suna. Sakura never visited Konoha since she left. Starting from his first visit to Sakura and as the years went by, Naruto's stories about Sakura changed. And when they reached high school, Naruto almost never talked about her again. Not because they had a quarrel or something but simply because there was nothing more he could talk about her.

Sakura's parents died. Her only relatives left were living in Suna. She was under the care of her father's parents.

Sakura became a model student.

Sakura became reasonable.

Sakura learned how to act.

Sakura was both smart and stupid.

Sakura had stopped dancing.

Sasuke's image of Sakura as Naruto's counterpart crumbled slowly.

"I'm going to meet Sakura-chan after Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. "Go with me, teme, so you can finally meet her."

"Aa." He immediately agreed. Finally placing a face to someone's name he had been hearing for the past five years would be a relief. At least he could make sure that Naruto did not have an imaginary friend.

It took her awhile but Sakura caught the noticeable change in the volume of the noise of the crowd. It turned quieter and people, especially women, seemed to stopped and stared—really stared. She pulled back her hood and tilted her head several times, trying to peek through the sea of people walking slowly, to see what the cause was when she first heard his presence (no one would argue that he was not loud) before actually seeing him walking toward the park she was staying at.

Sakura was impressed. She knew that Naruto grew up handsomely but she did not expect him to have this much effect on women around him. Tall, lean body, clear bright blue eyes, unruly soft blond hair and healthy tan complexion. Maybe because she grew up with him so the effect was lost on her? And since she was used to Naruto's good looks, he subconsciously became her benchmark when it came to judging a boy's face. And only few came near that benchmark. The guy before with pale lavender eyes was one.

She stood up and started to walk to meet her friend when she felt her steps falter just a bit. Of course this much of a reaction from a crowd would be too much just for Naruto alone. Even the trio before did not have this much effect. How could she not notice the man walking just a bit behind Naruto? Tall, lean body almost similar to Naruto, dark hair that glinted blue against the sunlight, aristocratic nose, thin pink lips, and dark eyes that could seem to pierce right though you with just a stare. She already had an idea who this guy could be. An afterthought: he definitely reached the benchmark. Surpassed it? No comment.

Sakura never made a big deal when it came to looks. But she did know how to appreciate beauty when she saw them. And this guy was definitely appreciated.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto gave the girl a bear hug, and Sakura knew that some girls were glaring at her. At least they were not screaming at her and kami! She just hoped that bullying does not occur in college. How immature would that be?

"Naruto." She greeted.

"Sorry to make you wait!" He let go and looked at her, sincerity was clearly seen within his eyes. She loved how expressive Naruto was. One could easily tell what he was feeling.

"You better be."

"By the way," he gestured to the man beside him, "Sakura-chan, this is Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha. Teme, this is Sakura-chan! Finally!"

Finally, the two echoed in their heads.

Opposite to Naruto's loud and cheerful introduction, the two were silent and stared at each other. Obviously, this was not the reaction Naruto was expecting. He fidgeted after a few more seconds of tense silence. Unknown to him, the two noticed his discomfort and shared an amused looks which eased the tension. As if reading what each other thought, they hid a smirk and purposely prolonged the silence.

When Naruto was about to burst. Sakura was the one that decided to break the silence. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sakura Haruno." The girl offered a handshake out of courtesy.

Sasuke stared at her and she felt unnerved under the scrutiny. He hesitated before finally returning the gesture lightly. "Same here."

Sakura felt the glare directed at her intensified and she sweat-dropped. She felt uncomfortable under this kind of attention. She let go of his hand and unconsciously pulled the hood back over her head.

"Now then, tour around the campus, let's go!" Naruto exclaimed with a punch in the air as he started walking. The two rolled their eyes and followed him.

Sasuke was not sure what to think or what his first impression of the girl. Considering that he already had an image of her, he could not help but compare the one in front of his eyes now to the girl that Naruto described. She was not the same young girl that Naruto met and stayed with him in Konoha. This girl was closer to the Sakura Naruto met during his visits in Suna. Long pink hair covered by a bit loose gray hoodie, dull jade eyes and pale complexion.

"Disappointed?" Sakura asked out of the blue.

Sasuke blinked and realized he had been staring.

"I was probably different with what you had in mind. Disappointed?"

"Not really." Because he did not have any expectation in the first place.

Sakura gave a small smile. "Naruto has a bias opinion of me. He sugar-coated everything for and about me. I bet he told you about me being springs and flowers or something."

Bingo. Sasuke looked amused. "How did you know?"

She snorted. "Oh please. Naruto is our friend. And he is not really a quiet person. So even though this is our first meeting, it feels like I already know you."

"…Hn."

Sakura raised a brow.

Sasuke smirked.

So that 'hn' is an agreement, huh. Sakura lightly shook her head and laughed softly.

"He was tense." Sakura answered when Naruto asked her what she thought when she and Sasuke finally met.

The two decided to have a dinner in a family restaurant that served ramen before heading home. Sasuke went ahead of them some time ago, saying something about dinner with his family.

"Ah, well. He's wary of the female population." Naruto reasoned before digging on his ramen.

Sakura looked up from the hamburger steak she ordered and remembered the dagger-like stares directed at her. "I think I can understand. So he's the 'teme'?"

"Yep!" He exclaimed, proud of the nickname he gave Sasuke. "He's a Bastard, I tell you!"

"Yes, you told me many times."

"Yesterday, we agreed to fix our schedules together. But then he started this morning without me! Well, I already expected that. Coz he's a bastard. But when I finally found him in the hallways and called him, he ignored me! As if I got the wrong person, my goodness, I have a 20/20 eyesight and I could never get him wrong even if he was more than a hundred meters away—"

"You called him from that faraway?" Sakura cut him off.

"…yeah? Something wrong?"

"There is Naruto! You cannot exactly shout inside the building. What if there were classes or meetings going on in the rooms?"

"There was none!"

"How could you be sure? Don't do it again."

"Oh, but I did! I called him again, this time using his full name and he stopped!" Naruto started laughing. "You should have seen his horrified face when he turned to face me, Sakura-chan. He started glaring at the people looking at us and his glare at me was suuuuuper times 100!"

Sakura gaped at her friend. "I can't believe you!"

Naruto laughed harder and pointed at Sakura's face. "That! That… (wheeze) face.. Haha.. That face! Hahaha! You looked just like him then! Hahahahaha!"

She immediately closed her mouth and frowned. Eyebrows furrowed and jaw clenched, gathering the strength needed in her one closed fist, she gave a hard and strong punch to his laughing friend. "It's not funny, damnit!"

"Ow… That's mean, Sakura-chan!"

"Serously! Have some consideration of you surroundings."

And so Naruto commenced on telling the girl another 'Bastard' story and she listened patiently.

Just like she thought, Sasuke was the opposite of Naruto when it came to personality. It was easy to assume considering the antagonistic attitude of Naruto when he first mentioned the guy to her.

Sasuke was a bastard.

Sasuke was the second son of the family that moved to the house next to Naruto's when he was eleven. Though their first meeting was when Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, brought him to KDC to watch when they were nine.

Sasuke was influenced to dance by Naruto and his other friends. He got interested when he saw them having fun doing some dancing in their neighborhood.

Sasuke was popular with women ("He's a jerk! I can never understand women's tastes." Naruto complained.) and he never enjoyed it ("Aside from being a bastard, he's weird!").

Sasuke, apparently, had an innate talent in dancing ("He's really good." Naruto grudgingly agreed) and beat the blond in Junior High-Solo Division when he joined the second time. Since then, the two alternately won the Solo Division in Junior High till High School of KDC.

Sasuke loved tomatoes as much as Naruto loved ramen.

Sasuke hated sweets. Naruto once played a prank wherein he mixed honey to his drinks and put sugar to his lunch. Sasuke retaliated by putting red pepper to all his ramen for a week.

Sasuke was Naruto's bestfriend and rival.

Sasuke and Naruto, Sakura concluded, were actually similar but at the same time opposites of each other.