-A/N: Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Nartuo series…unfortunately :..(

Italics like this mean its thoughts in a characters head

Love Conquers All

Sequel of A New Life

Ch. 2 Secrets

Sakura tapped her fingers on her desk and let her mind wander during class. It was calculus material she already knew and all she could think about was the rude customer from a couple days ago. She kept telling herself she was being paranoid but it was just too odd the way the redheaded girl would not stop watching her. Sakura knew if she ever saw her again she couldn't forget; she had bright red hair and eyes after all. Sakura gave a small sigh and shook her; she really was overreacting. All the trouble with Danzo a year ago had gotten to her even though she was positive it was over. Danzo was spending a life in jail and there was nothing else he could do to hurt her or her friends. Sakura gave a smile at the thought. I'm just overreacting, everything's perfectly fine.

Sasuke glanced over at his girlfriend for a quick moment, he was happy to see her smile. He could tell something had been under her skin the past couple of days but she wouldn't tell him anything. He thought she'd tell him anything but figured if it was important then she'd at least tell him, or it was so important she didn't want to tell him. Sasuke gave a small sigh, he really wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to pressure her and accuse her of lying, even if he knew she was. Their relationship hardly consisted of arguments and he didn't want to start one. He traced his eyes over the room; Hinata and Naruto were making goo goo eyes at each other causing Kiba to roll his eyes. Ino gave him a small glare motioning to let the couple be even though they both knew Ino was envious. Chouji was secretly eating a bag of chips while Shikamaru slept and Shino stared out the window. Sasuke let his eyes settle on Sai for a moment; they had actually become really good friends after the incident with Danzo. Sai had proven himself to be a good person and great friend; he watched as Sai's coal eyes shifted from the teacher. Sasuke raised an eyebrow noticing him stare and turned to see where the gaze followed; his eyes widened a little…it was Ino. Sasuke made a small expression of surprise but shook it off; Ino certainly wasn't his type but they were decent friends. Sasuke gave a small shrug not noticing Kiba get a defensive look on his face over the stare; Ino wasn't as unwanted as she thought.

The second class went by as quickly as the first and lunch was soon in session. Sasuke a kept a close eye on his girlfriend like he usually did but she seemed to be less distracted than the past two days. He wanted to say she was acting normal but it wouldn't be the first time Sakura faked being okay. Still, he decided not to push it and let her be and gym was soon in session. Sakura leaned over and tied her shoes as Hinata and Ino finished changing into their uniforms. Ino eyed the necklace hanging around Sakura's neck, "I still can't believe Sasuke got you such a romantic present."

Sakura rubbed her fingers over the heart necklace and it's engraving; she gave a soft smile, "You just don't know him like I do."

Hinata giggled, Naruto's behavior was never a secret so him being a romantic was easy to see but Sasuke kept his thoughts to himself. Sasuke was never the one to show much emotion and nobody but Sakura and occasionally Naruto got to see the softer side to him. Sakura braided her long hair to side and gave a small look at Ino, "So is there really nobody that interests you?"

Ino gave a small sigh and flipped her ponytail over her shoulder, "Not really…I mean I know plenty of attractive guys but they don't interest me."

Hinata pulled her long hair into a bun, "Well guys are interested in you."

Ino rolled her eyes, "Like who? Most guys just come after me for the wrong reasons."

Hinata gave a nervous glance at Sakura, "Well…there's someone in class who I catch staring at you?"

Ino's eyebrows raised, "Really? Who?"

Hinata fidgeted a bit giving a guilty look at Sakura. Sakura gave a funny look in return wondering why Hinata kept looking at her so weird. Sakura's eyes immediately widened when she caught Hinata's train of thought, "Oh…Sai is?

Hinata gave a small nod. Ino quickly looked at Sakura, "Come on Forehead, I would never date your ex-boyfriend."

Sakura glanced down a little, "No…actually it's okay… I mean," she looked back at Ino with a big smile, "we're all friends now and he's a really good guy. Both of you deserve to be happy and I wouldn't mind if you did that with each other."

Ino gave a big smile and hugged her, "Thanks, but I highly doubt Sai's actually looking at me."

Hinata gave a small smile and chose to let Ino think that; she'd figure it out on her own. Sakura pulled away from the hug and tilted her head, "Come on we have class."

The girls walked out and filed out with the rest of the class to the football and track field as Gai stood proud waiting for his students. Sasuke wrapped his arm around Sakura's shoulders and the class stood waiting for instructions. Gai gave a big smile letting the sun reflect off his white teeth, "Today shall be an intense game of flag football! You shall use your youth to bring your team to glory and feel the power of victory!"

He quickly handed out equipment to the red and blue team and discussed safety rules. Kiba quickly stepped up beside Ino, "You ready to win?"

Ino kept her gaze on Sai wondering about what Hinata said, "Yeah…"

Kiba followed her gaze and quickly gaze a jealous look and swore to tear Sai's blue flag off him. Naruto quickly gave Hinata a kiss on the cheek before walking over to his blue team, "Don't go easy on me!"

Hinata giggled as Sakura and Sasuke stood behind her all on the red team. Sasuke gazed over the blue team that included Shikamaru, Chouji, and Shino; he gave a smirk, "Just gotta take Dobe and Sai down and it's an easy win."

Kiba immediately stepped forward, "I'll take care of Sai."

The rest of team glanced at him wondering what was getting him so determined but decided not to ask. They set up on the field with blue team having the ball and Gai blew the whistle. The teens quickly went running trying to steal the ball as it was passed and avoiding getting their flag stolen. Naruto caught the ball and gave a smirk as he ran towards Sasuke trying to get past him. His eyes immediately widened and Hinata stepped in front of him and twisted around him and grabbed his flag. Naruto's jaw drop as he stared at Hinata and Sasuke snickered before taking the ball. Hinata gave a cute smile, "You said not to go easy on you."

Naruto's jaw remained hanging as she kissed him on the cheek and ran off to continue the game and Gai whistled him off the field. Sakura laughed at the scene as she continued running and stole a couple of flags. Ino quickly avoided people trying to grab her and glanced up to see Sai heading towards her but before she had the chance to think about it Kiba tackled him and took his flag. He held it high in the air and gave a proud smile to Ino, "I got him!"

Gai whistled at him, "No tackling! Kiba you're out, Sai stay in!"

Kiba's eyes widened, "What!?"

Ino stepped up to them, "What the hell Kiba? Sai are you okay?"

Sai quickly stood and put his flag back, "I'm quite alright, don't worry about me."

Kiba fumed as his heart twisted in jealousy and he walked off the field. Ino kept her eyes on him a moment contemplating what Hinata said and quickly took off past him to continue the game. Sai's eyes traced after her before he returned to the game. Sakura slowed down a little watching the way Sai looked at Ino but quickly shook her head; she had Sasuke. She wasn't jealous, she was perfectly happy with Sasuke, it just felt odd having an ex-boyfriend she was with for so long like her friend. She truly didn't mind them together it just felt a little odd. In the midst of Sakura's train of thought Shikamaru slipped past her and grabbed her flag. She blinked and Gai whistled her off and she gave a sigh; there was just too much going on in her head. The game went on and soon Shino, Chouji, Ino, and Hinata were out. There was only a few left per team and Sasuke had the ball. Sakura sat at the sideline cheering for him as Naruto kept yelling at Sai to take on Sasuke. Sasuke quickly ran forward with two behind him as Sai headed towards him; Sasuke managed to grab his flag first and kept running. He was almost to the touchdown line when Shikamaru slipped past all of them and grabbed all their flags. Everyone stared at Shikamaru as he yawned and held the flags in the air, "Can I take a nap now?"

There was a small pause before laughing began and blue team started cheering about their win. Sakura gave a small giggle before wrapping her hand in Sasuke's and giving him a kiss on the cheek, "You did a good job."

He gave a small sigh and let it go knowing how smart Shikamaru was. They spent the rest of class running the track and talking. Sakura happily jogged beside Sasuke doing most the talking but she didn't mind since she knew he was listening. She gave a small giggle at side mark he made about Naruto getting taken out by Hinata and glanced around. Her jade eyes graced over the blue sky and green landscape but halted at a distant figure. She narrowed her eyes trying to focus on the details; she tensed a little realizing it was someone with a camera. It was hard to tell details but it looked like a woman with all her hair shoved in a hat. Sakura's heart sunk immediately as she felt like the camera was following her. She cast her eyes away and stared at the ground trying to let the fear pass. She told herself she was overreacting; she'd spent too much time overreacting to things. It's probably just a news reporter…yeah a news reporter.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes catching Sakura's sudden turn in behavior. He opened his mouth to ask about it but Gai blew the whistle to end class and she tossed him a small smile before taking off. Sasuke's suspicions grew as she headed straight for the building without even speaking a word to her friends. Sasuke walked up beside Ino and Hinata and kept his eyes on Sakura, "What's bothering Sakura?"

The girls glanced up at him and gave a confused glance. They followed his gaze to see Sakura way in front of the class, heading into the building. The girls pondered a minute but couldn't think of anything…except for Sai. Ino gave a look to Hinata wondering if that could be it; Hinata understood the gaze and gave a look of confusion. Hinata quickly turned to Sasuke, "Uh, she hasn't mentioned anything. W-we'll go ask!"

Sasuke narrowed his gaze as the two other girls took off after Sakura; he knew they were lying. Hinata was a terrible liar; Sasuke gave an agitated sigh, he didn't like her keeping things from him. Hinata and Ino quickly followed Sakura into the dressing room beating all the other girls there. Ino narrowed her eyes at Sakura gripping her hand on her locker and staring off in thought, "Hey Forehead, why'd you take off?"

Sakura popped her head up, pulled from her thoughts, and looked at their concerned faces, "Oh…um, the summer heat. You know how hot it gets."

Ino narrowed her eyes, "Don't lie, you were acting funny during class and the only thing that could've upset you was…was that Sai might like me! If it bothers you just tell me! I promise I won't date him!"

Sakura's expression twisted and she furiously shook her head, "No, no, no that's not it! I promise I don't care if you date him. I really don't mind, I'd be happy to see you together."

Ino let her arms fall to her side "Then what is it?"

Sakura avoided Hinata's and Ino's gaze, "It's nothing, I'm just being paranoid. It's really nothing."

Hinata's eyes filled with concern and she put a hand on Sakura's shoulder, "Paranoid? Did something scare you?"

Ino and Hinata quietly waited for her answer with nerves rising in their hearts. Sakura glanced over as other girls started walking in the locker room; she shook her head and gave her best fake smile, "No, I promise I'm fine. The heat just got my mind a little edgy I'm sorry if I got you worried."

Ino and Hinata paused a moment as Sakura started to change and cautiously took her answer. They finished changing but Hinata cast a small glance to Sasuke, "As long as you promise you're fine…but you're definitely making Sasuke-kun worried."

Sakura froze a moment and tensed a little; she gave a small sad look and a nod. She needed to keep her act together better. Sakura took a deep breath as they walked out of the dressing room and into a hallway and she glanced up at Sasuke. She immediately cast her best smile and held his hand shoving all negative thoughts to the back of her mind, "Let's go to class."

Ino and Hinata kept an eye on her but somebody else was as well. Sai narrowed his eyes as he watched Sakura's smile; he stepped beside Hinata and Ino, "Why's she upset?"

The girls blinked in confusion. Hinata furrowed her eyebrows, "Sakura?"

He nodded, Ino glanced at Sakura, "She looks fine."

Sai focused his gaze, "No…her smile's fake. Something's definitely bothering her."

Their eyes lingered on Sakura and worry seeped in their hearts for her; they didn't know what to do. Their last class dragged by as worry, paranoia, and jealousy ran through the minds of the teens. Sakura kept her facade through class but Sai could tell it was fake and now her best friends knew too. At the end of class Sasuke walked Sakura out to her car like usual giving her a kiss goodbye before she went off to work. His eyes lingered watching her drive off before he turned and walked to his car. Sasuke glanced up once he got near his car to find Sai waiting for him. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, "Something wrong?"

Sai gave him a serious look, "I don't know if you can tell but something's seriously bothering Sakura."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and paused a moment, "I had a feeling…but how'd you know that?"

Sai crossed his arms, "I've always been good at seeing fake smiles, especially hers."

Sasuke gave a small nod knowing Sai had known her longer than him. He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave a lightly concerned glance at him, "How can you tell?"

"Her eyes, the way there's a crinkle around her eyes and she also tends to close her eyes when she's trying not to cry."

Sasuke absorbed the information feeling a little jealous Sai knew something about her he didn't but he had learned to accept that as part of their friendship. Sasuke looked up at him with a small sigh, "Thank you for telling me."

Sai gave a nod and started backing away from the car, "Any time, just promise to get it out of her."

Sasuke nodded as he opened the car door, "You got it."

Sai gave a small smile and started walking towards his car. Sasuke got in his car and sat there a moment; he pulled down the sun visor of is car and looked at the picture of Sakura he secretly kept up there. His eyes hardened as he swore to figure out what was bothering her and relieve her stress; he didn't care what he had to do as long as she was happy.

_a couple of hours later_

Sakura quickly filled drinks and avoided Hinata's gaze, "I thought you let this go."

Hinata frowned as she filled napkin cases, "And I don't understand why you're lying. You know you can tell Ino and me anything."

Sakura placed the drinks on her serving tray and prepared to skate over to her customers, "I know and I'm not lying, just leave it be."

Hinata's frown deepened and she watched Sakura skate over and serve her customers. She eyed Sakura's work smile trying to figure out how it was different than a real smile; it was too hard to tell when she was faking. Hinata sighed and smoothed out a wrinkle in her lavender maid uniform and brushed her bangs to the side; she felt like Sakura was pushing her away. She cast the saddening thought aside and resumed her work and picked up a few menus for an incoming customer. Her eyes widened when she realized it was Sasuke and she quickly skated up to him, "Sakura's not on break for another hour."

Sasuke nodded, "That's fine, I can wait."

Hinata eyed his serious expression, "Let me sit you down."

Sakura glanced up to see Hinata seating Sasuke and gave a confused glance. She quickly brought her attention back to her customers and Hinata took Sasuke's order. Sakura followed Hinata back to the outside kitchen, "What's he doing here?"

Hinata pursed her lips, "He said Naruto is coming later but he wants to talk to you while you're on break."

Sakura paused a moment before casting another look at her boyfriend. It wasn't uncommon for Sasuke to visit her at work but he usually said something and she could tell by his expression something was off. Sakura tapped her fingers on the counter; it had to be important. Sakura sighed and returned to work letting time pass as they both waited for her break. It was only ten till her break when a familiar customer came in. Sakura's stomach clenched as the girl around her age walked up to her with a pissed look and adjusted her glasses, "Sit me down."

Sakura gave her best smile at the redhead trying to ignore the nerves haunting her mind, "Of course"

Sakura turned and led her to her table as she gripped the menu in her hands. All she could think about was how the redhead would not stop staring at her the last time she came. It was like she was analyzing every detail about Sakura. Sakura her down and offered her best fake smile, "What can I start you off with?"

The redhead cast a small glare with her matching eyes, "Shouldn't you be smart enough to remember what I got last time?"

Sakura gripped her hand in her dress, "Yes actually, I'll get your drink an order right away."

Sakura smoothly skated away but her face faltered the moment she turned her back. Sasuke's expression immediately narrowed as he caught Sakura's face. His girlfriend looked immensely uncomfortable. He quickly moved his eyes to the customer making her upset. His eyes narrowed as protection over Sakura sunk in his heart. The redhead looked around their age, had her hair jaggedly cut on one side, bright red eyes, glasses, a ridiculously short skirt, a skin tight white top showing her black bra, and really high red heels. The girl held an obnoxious demeanor but what caught his attention the most was how she kept her eyes on Sakura. He considered she could simply be watching her order but there had to be some reason Sakura was so uncomfortable around her. Sasuke's face became angrier as her red eyes shifted upon him. The redhead immediately froze and locked eyes with him. Redness spread through her cheeks and she slowly stood. She smoothed her skirt and tried to give her sexiest walk towards him. Sasuke kept his angry glance and stood before him and leaned over the table trying to get her face close to his, "You look awfully lonely."

Sasuke glared harder and tilted his head back, "My girlfriend will be sitting with me soon."

The redhead rolled her eyes and sat down, "You don't have to lie sweetie, I'm Karin."

Sasuke fought the urge to tell her how pathetically obnoxious she was. His eyes tilted as Sakura slowly skated up to them; she held Karin's glass of water tight in her hand. Sasuke could see the worry swirling in her eyes. Karin immediately frowned, "Mind giving me my water already?"

Sakura looked back at Karin and forced a smile back on her face, "Yeah, I'm sorry here you go…are you changing tables?"

Karin gave a smirk and batted her eyes at Sasuke, "Oh yes"

Sasuke opened his mouth to tell her to leave but Sakura cut him off before he had the chance. Sakura gripped her serving tray in her hands and put forth a smile, "Okay"

She immediately skated off to the outside kitchen before Sasuke could get a word in. Sasuke glared at the Karin and noticed how her gaze suspiciously lingered on Sakura, "What the hell is your problem?"

Her red eyes glanced back at him and she reached out across the table to grab his hand, "What do you mean?"

Sasuke pulled his hand back, "Your disgusting attitude and you continued to hit on me after I said I have a girlfriend."

Karin rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair, "Please you could do so much better than that pink headed freak."

There was a silent pause. Sasuke's eyes narrowed, "I never said who my girlfriend is."

Karin froze a moment and adjusted her glasses, "Oh come on, it was obvious…you two wouldn't stop disgustingly staring at each other."

Sasuke gave her an intimidating look before he stood, "And I won't look at anyone but her."

Karin gave a snarl as Sasuke turned and walked to Sakura. Sasuke pulled out his wallet and walked up to Sakura's boss. He pulled a few hundred dollars and grabbed Sakura's arm, "Here, I'm taking her for the rest of the day."

Sakura's eyes widened and she nervously looked at her boss, "S-Sasuke-kun, what are you doing?"

He pulled her in the dressing room and grabbed her stuff before leading her to the car, "You're done working today."

Sakura stuttered waiting for her boss to yell or come after her but he didn't. Her expression furrowed with worry as Sasuke hurried her away from the outside diner and she glanced back at Karin. The redhead was glaring and watching their every move. Sasuke quickly walked her to her car and looked seriously at her, "What'd she do to you?"

Sakura looked at him in confusion, "What?"

Sasuke looked deep in her eyes, "The girl with the red hair, what'd she do to you?"

Sakura's expression furrowed and she dropped her gaze, "Nothing…"

Sasuke's gaze harshened, "Sakura, tell me."

Sakura tensed a little, "Just leave it be."

Anger roared in Sasuke's heart and he pressed his hands against her car trapping her between his arms, "Damnit Sakura, tell me! I thought we didn't keep secrets!"

Sakura flinched at his yell and backed into the car with a scared look. Sasuke froze a moment realizing he scared her; he slowly brought his arms down and cupped her face with his hands, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell…but I can tell something's wrong, you can't keep lying to me. Tell me what's wrong."

Sakura looked up into his sincere eyes and looked down feeling a little guilty. She paused a moment and gripped her hands, "She came in a couple days ago, she didn't really do anything…she was just really rude…but I just felt like she was watching me and I got paranoid. I guess I just haven't completely gotten over everything from last year. I've just been overreacting, it's really not that big of a deal."

Sasuke gave a small sigh and pulled her into a warm hug. She clung to him embracing his warmth and he held her tight and ran a hand through her hair, "Was that so hard to tell me?"

She shook her head against his chest. Sasuke held her close, "Everything's over, if something was going to happen it would've happened a long time ago…and you know I would never let anybody touch you."

Sakura gave a small smile and looked up at him, "I know"

Sasuke ran his thumb along her cheek, "No more secrets okay."

She gave a nod and let her smile brighten a little, "Okay…I love you"

Sasuke leaned a little, "And I love you."

She got on her tiptoes and kissed him as he held her close in his arms. Sasuke smiled against her lips, "So I got you off work…"

Sakura gave a small laugh, "And if you do it again my boss might not let you come back."

Sasuke smirked, "Well I got you now so were going."

She giggled as he held her hand and they started walking in the direction of the park. The two were so in love they didn't notice Karin leaning against the edge of a building with a fancy camera and a furiously jealous look on her face. She growled as she dialed her phone and waited for a response.

"Yes~"

Karin glared, "Pinky's boyfriend is gonna be a problem."

There was a pause over the phone, "Then eliminate him."

Karin gave a smirk, "No…I want him to be mine."

There was a small chuckle over the line, "As long as you follow through with the girl."

Karin gave a big smile, "Of course Orochimaru-sama"

_author's notes_

So yeah it's been a while but I'm back in college, ended up getting job, and I'm a mentor so I'm quite busy and tired but I will keep you guys in mind. And yes I'm starting a little Kiba vs. Sai rivalry over Ino but I won't go too crazy with it and when one is picked I'll keep it light since not everyone with like it. Hope you guys noticed the manga connection with Sai noticing Sakura's fake smile and you liked the chapter. I'll try to work on Forgotten tomorrow since I've been getting requests to update. Please review! It really encourages me and I respond!