Disclaimer: I own Usui Sai and Hikari. Peiterusa Kinetsu is Pei-chan's alter-ego. Masashi Kishimoto owns the rest.

Chapter 5: The Start of Something New

THE UCHIHA BROTHERS: EACH WITH HIS DUBIOUS AFFAIR
By: Peiterusa Kinetsu

This week was one hectic week for the Uchiha brothers. Uchiha Sasuke was spotted visiting a lovely lady who looks a great deal older than him this Saturday. As soon as the door opened, a young little boy, who looked rather similar to the actor, ran up to him and hugged him. In Sasuke's hands were bags that resembled gifts. Could there be a hidden relationship between Uchiha Sasuke and his undisclosed wife?

However, don't be surprised yet, for an outrageous revelation was made by the older Uchiha, himself! Last Saturday, Uchiha Itachi and his band were spotted at the Ichiraku Ramen Bar. The infamous member of CriMson Night had strolled over to a booth occupied by a group of people and he seemed to have had a rather intimate conversation with a mysterious girl. In the end, it was revealed that the woman had lived with him for a period of time! Uchiha Itachi was never seen with a companion before, and here we found out that he was living with a woman. Just who is this girl with pink hair and emerald jade eyes?

Usui Sota didn't like many things.

His list of dislikes definitely outweighed his list of likes and although he did not like to admit it, the latter list centered on his brother, Sasuke-nii.

Sai liked Saturdays because they marked the beginning of the weekend, meaning that his nii-chan would visit him. As opposed to Saturdays, he loathed Mondays. They marked the ending of their brotherly time and the beginning of a new week, which meant school, and Sota did not like school. He found school to be a nuisance, especially when he already understood half of the things they were doing, such as forming words, learning kanji characters, adding and taking away numbers, and coloring inside the lines.

He wasn't as smart as his brother, but at least he was ahead of the game in his class. For a six year old, that was something to be proud of. However, a new student had transferred into their class the previous week, and from what Miyako-sensei said, she was younger than all of them. To Sota, this was a rivalry.

At first glance, there wasn't even anything special about her. Sota didn't understand why a four year old was in his class. It wasn't like she was pretty enough to skip a grade. She didn't look any smarter either. She looked like the smaller version of all the girls in his class, with sunny yellow hair and dark brown eyes. Sota thought that was a bizarre combination, but compared to her sister, it seemed quite normal. When the girl peeked into his class, she was accompanied by her sister, a pretty lady with pink hair and emerald eyes. Now that combination was weird.

The girl had been clutching her sister's hand tightly and looking really scared. However, the older pretty girl behind her ushered her in and whispered something into her ears. The little girl then ran hastily into the classroom and bowed down, "Hikari-desu! Onegaishimasu!" She then ran back to her sister and hugged her legs.

Annoying! Sai was displeased with the girl already. He thought that because she was four years old and got to skip a grade, she would be mature, and that got his hopes up; maybe for once, he could have someone to relate to. However, she couldn't even speak in proper sentences. Miyako-sensei talked quietly to the girl before she nodded and took her hand.

While he was happy that she didn't fawn over him like the other girls, he also didn't like her. Just two days with her in the class had created serious problems. Miyako-sensei decided to assign him to be her school buddy.

School buddies were one of the many things on his dislike list. It was a weekly activity where each student had to co-operate with another friend in the class and get to know each other. The activity included working on projects together and Sota did not like teamwork.

Sota had tried very hard to convince Miyako-sensei that Hikari couldn't be his buddy. The best reason he could come up was girls had cooties. However, sensei didn't understand his logic and told him to be a man like Naru. Growing up and becoming a man was at the top of Sota's to-do list, so he stopped his protests and decided to deal with the situation like a real man would.

It was something that would make his nii-chan and okaa-san proud. But as soon as he agreed to it, he regretted it. The girls in the class used the opportunity to befriend him, which he greatly disliked.

"Sota-kun, have some of my crackers!"

"No! Sota-kun is going to have my cherries! Okaa-san says that eating fruits is healthy for you!"

The two girls were annoying and tried to share their snacks with him. He didn't need their food; Okaa-san had packed him enough for three people. They also had the tendency to touch his hair. Seriously, what was so special about hair?

Worse of all, the girl that he was supposed to befriend held no interest in him. Sota didn't mind though, because that meant he didn't have to suffer spending time with her, but Miyako-sensei had noticed.

"Sota-chan, what did I tell you?"

"But she didn't want to make friends! I tried!"

"Hikari-chan is new, so you have to try really hard to make friends with her. She is very shy."

Yeah, new kids were definitely going on his list of dislikes. He thought sourly as he trudged towards the drawing area where the new girl was crouched over the desk and drawing a picture of a person.

"Who's that?" Sota asked pointedly as he looked at the picture.

Hikari looked up and stared at him, "Who are you?"

"Sota," He replied casually and sat in the seat next to hers, picking up a red crayon.

"I'm Hikari." The new girl introduced herself with a bright smile that showed off her pearly white teeth.

"I know. So who is that? Is that your father?"

"It's Naruto-oyaji!" The girl grinned as she proudly showed him her picture.

"Oyaji? So he's not your otou-san?"

"No. Hikari doesn't have a dad. Naruto-oyaji is like my father. He cares for me a lot."

"So you're drawing him?"

"Yeah, along with Sakura! Naruto-oyaji isn't talking to Sakura and Sakura is really sad."

"Is Sakura his girlfriend?"

Before she could reply, a new voice piped in, "Don't talk to her, Sota-kun! She doesn't have a father and Okaa-san says we shouldn't play with kids like that!"

It was his classmate, Marika; a girl who wore a lot of jewellery and always had her hair done up in the Princess Style. She always declared him to be her prince, which really annoyed him. He didn't even know the girl. Usually, he would ignore her, but her comment made him mad.

"Well, I don't have a father either." He glared at her, his onyx eyes full of anger. "If you can't play with kids like that, then why are you talking to me?"

Marika stared at him, clearly speechless at his declaration.

"If you don't want to draw, then go away!" Sota said crossly.

Marika walked away, quiet at the revelation. When Sota averted his attention to the former girl he saw that she was clearly hurt at Marika's comment. Her blond bangs fell down, covering her eyes and he saw her wipe at her eyes as well.

"Hikari has a father." He tried to cheer up. "Okaa-san said that in order for a kid to be born, both Otou-san and Okaa-san is needed."

"Okaa-san said that Otou-san is busy accomplishing his dream. When he accomplishes his goal, he will come back to meet Hikari!" The tears were gone, replaced with optimism. "How about you, Sota-chan? Where is your father?"

Although he was seven years old, he was much more mature for his age. He would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous. While Hikari's father was accomplishing his dream, his father never knew of him. When he was a child, he had asked his mother why every other kid had a father except him. It turned out to be a taboo subject, for his mother had a mental breakdown.

"I'm sorry, Sota." It was the sentence she kept repeating as she bent down and hugged him, apologizing to him over and over again, like a mantra. When she had calmed down, she told him that his father never knew of him. "It was better that way," she told him gently.

"I don't know. I never asked," He replied."You're lucky. You have your uncle. You also have a sister, and a mother."

"Hikari doesn't have—"

"—You're lucky because you have many people who care about you. I only have Okaa-san and Sasuke-niichan."

Hikari stared down at her drawing, and then she looked up as if she had thought of something brilliant. "Sota should visit Hikari's house! Sota will get to meet Jiraiya-oyajii, Naruto-oyaji, Sakura, Hinata-neechan, and Tenten-neechan." She smiled eagerly. "Hikari will ask if Sota-chan can come this weekend!"

"I can't. Sasuke-niichan is coming over—"

"Sasuke-niichan can come!" She exclaimed with a smile as she grabbed his arm. "Sasuke-niichan can meet Sakura-neechan. Sota-chan is Hikari's first friend."

"I didn't say I was your friend."

She dropped his arms brusquely as if his arm it burnt her.

"Oh."

The dejected look was back in her dark eyes and he stiffened, not knowing what to do. Usually, Sota was relentless with his words, but not having a female friend made him realize he had a soft spot on crying girls.

"Fine," He grumbled, "I'll come, but you better ask first."

The moment she stepped into the classroom, the chatter amongst the students came to an abrupt stop and the air tensed. It was silent, as if the room was unoccupied; the feeling of being a foreigner in a hostile environment made the pits of her stomach churn. Her classmates stared at her impassively and she knew that the damage caused by the tabloids could not be undone. They were unnaturally quiet and a trace of contempt was visible in their eyes.

"…what did Itachi see in her? To…"

"…she looked too innocent to be…"

She felt her chest tightened as a wave of whispers resounded through the classroom.

"…and he's older than her by five years. Don't they have any shame?"

Her mind was in the state of chaos.

"… she was somewhat cute."

She could embrace the degradation bestowed upon her. She didn't mind that; it wasn't like she did anything wrong besides living with a man who was two years older than her, but the fact that Naruto avoided her made her heart ache. This was why she didn't like attachments. Attachments could only cause her anguish. It never brought her any contentment. It was a reason for her detachment to people. However, from the previous events, she realized that she had depended too much on Naruto. Naruto, who was her best friend; the one who declared his everlasting love to her, the one who never gave up on her while everyone walked away, the one who stayed by her side through all the rough times, was now ignoring her. Inevitably, he had torn down the barriers surrounding her heart, and just when she finally allowed him into her life, he pulled out and left her another hole in her heart. He was supposed to trust her, damn it, not ignore her! They were best friends and best friends understood each other. He was supposed to let her explain. He was supposed to forgive her.

"Are you going to cry, new girl?" A high pitched frosty voice mocked, "Is this your way of seducing Itachi-kun?"

Someone sighed.

"I feel sorry for Sasuke. Now I understand why he hates his brother."

"What are you talking about? He knocked up a woman who is in her thirties!"

Was it going to be like the past? Was the past going to repeat itself? No it wasn't. It was her past that caused this. If she wasn't stupid when she was younger, the present wouldn't have occurred.

"No wonder they're of the same bloodline."

Did she regret her wrongdoings in the past? Of course, she did. That was why she was repenting. She was repenting for her past foolish decisions and because she was repenting, they had no right to criticize her. They had no right to judge her, especially when she didn't cause them any trouble. She had already disowned her past life. There was no use in resurrecting it. Why did they want to involve themselves in such matter? Why couldn't they just focus on their own life?

"I kind of feel sorry for the kid."

The classroom door slid open with a loud slam causing the entire classroom to go silent. Sakura looked up and jade met obsidian. His eyes narrowed before he diverted them and sauntered over to his desk.

"Oi Uchiha! I didn't think you had it in you!" A guy leered, "To think you would knock up a woman who could practically be your mother. Good thing she's hot eh? I'm incredibly jealous."

Immediately, the whispers dissipated, trodden by an overpowering cold, incensed aura emitted by the Uchiha.

"Maybe that's the reason why you broke up with Arisugaki Karin?"

"What the fuck do you guys know?" Sasuke stood up and growled, "You guys don't know a fucking single thing. Rather than just making stupid assumptions from the rumours you read, why don't one of you gather up the courage and ask me the fucking truth? Of course you'd rather enjoy the lie because you guys live pathetic lives, only to find humour and joy in someone else's private life. You guys just can't leave me alone, can't you? I'm a fucking human being too. "

He looked so enraged that she thought she saw his eyes flash red. It was said that Uchiha Sasuke was cool and aloof, never once lost his temper, but that rumour was perceptibly fallacious, for the man before them had the aura to kill.

Sasuke left his seat, grabbed her arm and pulled her out the classroom door, slamming it behind him.

"Naruto-kun, you're killing Reira-chan."

Hinata's timid voice penetrated his thoughts, bringing him back to the morning reality.

Naruto stared down to find his Lily of the Valley drowned in water.

"AHH! REIRA-CHAN!" He cried out in alarm as he dropped the sprayer, which fell down onto his feet, causing him great pain. "Itai!"

Hinata sweatdropped at the sight. It was just like her boyfriend to pull off a stunt like that, but she also knew he was under great stress. Naruto-kun was a simple-minded person, who was ready to accept all truths and forgive even the worst crimes. His actions and thoughts were straightforward and he did things on a whim. It was rare that Hinata saw him troubled and when he was, she knew that it was a profound matter.

"How are you?"

"What do you mean, Hinata-chan?" Naruto scratched his head as he laughed loudly, "I'm doing great as always!"

She stared at the ground, feeling the tensing atmosphere between them. "Naruto-kun is still thinking about the matter that happened last Saturday."

While it came out sounding like an accusation, she knew that he would understand her feelings. Being a Hyuuga, she was never good at delivering her feelings. They were always misunderstood, especially when she was a timorous woman who went through a series of degradation from her family. In the Hyuuga family, she was a black sheep. It was Naruto-kun who supported her during those times.

"What are you talking about, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked with a broad grin on his face, but she wasn't his girlfriend for four years for nothing. She stared at him miserably, knowing that he was deeply affected by the affiliation between Itachi-san and Sakura-chan. Even after four years, the heart of the man who was her boyfriend did not belong to her, and she was a fool for wanting to hold onto the frayed red thread between them.

"You still love Sakura-chan."

While Hinata was timid and diffident, she was also direct and uncomplicated. Over the years, what Hinata learned was beating around the bush wouldn't ease the pain for the other. In fact, it could only cause inconveniences that were unnecessary for the future. What she hated the most was being a nuisance to other people and complicating matters. It never ended joyfully; the more time you let it wait, the worse it'd get.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan." Naruto rasped out quietly, his eyes clouded with shades of frustration as he stared down at the grass, guilty. "I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I'm sorry."

She watched him in silence and swallowed at his apology— his guilt of not being able to love her. She had always known. She had always known that the only person in his heart was his childhood friend, but still, she was fool for clinging on, holding onto the belief that one day he would see her and return her feelings. Even at the beginning of their relationship, he had admitted without hesitation that he was in love with another.

"I-I've always liked you, N-Naruto-kun. I-Is it possible to give me a chance?" It was a confession he hadn't expected. In fact, the girl, who was bowing down to the ground and handing over a letter like in the dramas he saw Sakura watch, had never even exchange a word with him once. That didn't mean that he didn't recognize her. He recognized her alright. She was Hyuuga Hinata, the pain-in-the-ass Hyuuga Neiji's cousin and a classmate of Sakura's. She was supposedly the heiress to Hyuuga Inc.

"Don't you have a fiancé?" He asked her. While Naruto was oblivious to many of the gossips at Konoha High School, he remembered Kiba mourning over the fact that the love of his life was engaged to someone.

Hinata blushed a scarlet shade of red, "I-I do. T-that's why I wanted N-Naruto-kun to know my f-feelings."

At her confession, he smiled. It felt nice to hear a confession from someone for a change. He was so used to proclaiming his love to Sakura that he never knew the feeling of actually being confessed to.

He gave her one of his infamous grins and said, "I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings because there's a girl I love. I would definitely give you a chance though…" He trailed off, "…if you weren't engaged."

The girl in front of him smiled sadly, "T-Thank you, N-Naruto-kun."

"You have a nice voice Hinata-chan, so you should show it off for the entire world to hear."

If possible, the girl before him flushed even a darker shade of red.

After Sasuke broke the engagement right in front of the altar, he was the one who comforted her. That was when she grabbed the opportunity and asked him out again.

"You said that you would definitely give me a chance if I wasn't engaged. Now that Sasuke left me at the altar, can you give me a chance? It might be Kami-sama's way of giving us a second chance."

So Naruto gave her a chance, in which she tried to prove that she was good enough, but no matter how much she tried, what she did, his heart still stayed with the same girl. Hinata knew that Sakura-chan didn't have any romantic interest in him. The girl only saw him as a brother, but in this tragic story, the brother was hopelessly in love with his sister. It was a sin—a sin against the will of God.

"I know her relationships aren't any of my business," Naruto closed his eyes and took deep breaths, "But every time I learn something new about her, my heart would hurt, as if it was breaking apart. I know she doesn't want me to love her, but I feel as if she doesn't even want me to be a part of her life."

Hinata wanted to cry. She wanted to say, "Then what about me? My heart is also breaking. I've been waiting for so many years, but Naruto-kun has never fully returned my feelings." However, like Naruto-kun, who was strong for Sakura-chan, she must also be strong for him. So instead, she took tentative steps and closed the gap between them. She embraced him from the back and caressed his back.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun," she whispered like she was his mothe, "Sakura-chan loves you, Naruto-kun. It's just that it's a different form of love. You're someone she trusts with her heart, and while she can't reciprocate your feelings, she will always love you. She didn't abandon you."

"So Naruto-kun, you've got to be strong for her. You've got to support her like you always did. Sakura-chan will tell you everything one day. When she's ready, I'm sure you're the first person she'll go to."

There was a moment of silence and Hinata felt him calming down, his frame loosening itself from the frustrations he felt. "I told you I would get over her."

She breathed, "I know."

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan."

Every time he apologized, she felt her heart cracking. It wasn't fair. Their love was a precarious balance. The love between Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto was always in turmoil. She wondered just how long she could hold up their precarious relationship.

His voice was soft and controlled as he uttered the next sentence that truly broke her. "You don't deserve this."

Several moments of silence passed as she fought back the tears that threatened to fall. She couldn't let him see her like that. She knew that their relationship would collapse if she did and she wasn't really to take the blow. Not yet.

Maybe if he wasn't Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who was hopelessly in love with his childhood friend, Haruno Sakura, and maybe if she wasn't Hyuuga Hinata, the girl who was a fool for clinging onto the love that had no stability, no true devotion, and no certain future, then maybe, they could create a happily ever after in their fairy tale.

Forlornly, because he was Uzumaki Naruto, the boy who can't let go, and she was Hyuuga Hinata, the girl who never gave up, their relationship was treading on thin ice, and she wondered just how long it would take before everything fell apart.

While he promised her the almost unattainable, she also promised herself the inconsolable. She promised herself to give up on him in a period of half a year. If he couldn't let Sakura go, then she would let him go, even if she, herself, became broken.

For now, holding him was just enough.

"What are you doing?" Sakura snarled as she pulled her arm away from his grasp. "Don't create even more unnecessary rumours in your life."

The September wind pulled some of the hair from her bun, gently flirting with them as they stood at the rooftop of Midori High School. Rays of sunshine flitted in and out of the cloud and he saw the petite girl drifting from reality. A pained expression was visible upon her face, as if she was remembering something.

"We need to talk." He stated nonchalantly as he leaned backwards against the railway of the school's rooftop, his obsidian eyes never leaving her face.

"Well, as much as I'm honoured to have Uchiha Sasuke's attention, there's nothing we need to discuss." Sakura retorted sarcastically. As if he'd known her for a long time, his hands snaked out and grabbed her arms just as she was about to escape.

"Oh Haruno, I believe it's quite the contrary." He drawled, just as the warning bell rang, "We have a lot to talk about, especially your relationship with my brother."

She halted briefly before returning his gaze with a smile that seemed to scorn him, "Oh Uchiha, you are too full of yourself. What makes me think I will tell you?"

"You said you didn't know me at one of my concerts, but just to let you know, I don't sing. That's my brother's job, and you're probably one of the many whores who he played wi—"

*SLAP*

His eyes widened at the unexpected impact that she made across his face. He had to admit that the slap stung. It could even leave a red mark.

"I don't know what image you conjured about your brother. I don't know what he did and didn't do to you, but don't you dare group me into that category or say that about your brother that in front of me!"Her eyes blazed with fury and she suddenly looked older than before. "He may be a jackass or a scoundrel to people, but to me, your brother was and is my hero."

Sasuke stared at her, stunned. Her actions and words caught him off guard. Haruno glared at him before freeing her arm from his grasp. She walked over to the fence, which defended her from falling over and stared up at the sky. The rage that she felt from before was immediately erased from her face and a small smile was placed on her face.

In a calm soothing voice, she said, "I don't care what people think about the whole scandal thing in the news, but you, out of all people, should know not to believe in it. It's always a story twisted up by the media just to bring in profit. They can make me a whore or Itachi a lecherous player who was living with a girl almost five years apart, but we all know it isn't true. While I am very angry at Itachi for disclosing our relationship, it's the truth and I can't hate him. At least not in this life."

The class bell rung, but they paid no heed to it.

Staring at her, he realized that she was definitely prettier than he credited her for. With some minor adjustments such as her hair and her outfit, he could see her being on the cover of Vogue or some other magazines that Ino once modelled for.

"I'm sorry. I should've known."

Although Sasuke was a celebrity, he had his code of conduct. Unlike other rising stars who got cocky, was rude, and believed they deserved respect from everyone around them, Sasuke knew that it was only right to apologize when he did something wrong. It was something he taught Sota after all. He smiled at the thought.

She blinked at his apology, and he almost applauded himself for stunning her for the first time. All the encounters he had with her were simply unpleasant or monotonous conversations- with him being the one to initiate it and her being irritated or infuriated. In fact, it always seemed as if she wanted to hide from him and have nothing to do with him. Maybe Itachi was the reason.

"I should've asked your side of the story."

"I'm sorry Uchiha, but I won't tell you."

He found himself irritated at her response, but he should've known. She was an enigma, and she didn't want people prying into her life.

Before he could stop himself, the sentence, "You're definitely hiding something," rolled out of his mouth.

Immediately, the air tensed and he could tell that the defensive barrier surrounding her was activated once again. "Oh kami-sama. Can't you leave my life alone? Can't you guys just leave my past behind and stop trying to pry into my life? Do you want to push me until I can't breathe before you're satisfied? Do I have to die in order to fix the past? I already know I don't deserve to continue living, so stop rubbing it in my face! I'm trying to hang on, and if it was my decision, I would've already ended my life!" She was screaming; all the bottled feelings that she was carrying were pouring out of her.

She had snapped and Sasuke was bewildered. He didn't like the situation, especially when he was quite inexperienced with crying women. "I'm sorry, Haruno. I won't ask you about it again."

Haruno looked up, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. With a vile look on her face, she said, "Are you really? From the previous conversations, it seems like you won't stop at anything until you unveil my life to the world. Is it because you pitied me now that I've finally snapped?"

Sasuke took breaths of his own. "To tell you the truth, I wanted to know what you were hiding. You and Vita Winter are similar. I thought that if I understood you, then my ability as an actor would grow. I'm sorry that my contemplations would harm your mentality."

"I'm not weak, Uchiha."

"I know. I'm sorry. Really, I am, but rather than using my means to find out about your past, I will wait until you tell me."

"Oh really?" She gave him a critical look. "What makes you think I will tell you?"

"I don't, but I will wait patiently."

She laughed. It was laugh between incredulity and amusement. "Well, patience won't be the key to your success. My best friend has been waiting for three years now and he still doesn't know all the details."

As soon as she said that, the expression on her face was filled with guilt and warm liquid escaped her eyelids. "Oh Sakura, when have you become this weak? When did you start depending on people, unable to live on your own?" She murmured to herself as she wiped the tears away.

"It's okay to be weak. It's okay to depend on people."

She looked up at him, surprised. "You know, Naruto and Itachi said something similar to me."

It suddenly felt awkward and Sasuke felt as if he was out of character. He wasn't normally like this. He was supposed to be the aloof type. He wasn't the type to go around striking conversations with random waitresses or grab a stranger's arm and pulled her to the rooftop with him. He wasn't the type to confess his true thoughts, yet already, this girl, who he barely knew, was already making changes in his life. She wasn't even interested in his life, yet already, she broke his life morals and daily routines.

"Well Haruno, I guess I do have to pry it from you. Something tells me that you are the key to my growth in the showbiz world. Especially for my role in Broken."

"You want to be the most celebrated actor, don't you?" Haruno asked, "Even though you're widely known and the fame you bring back is enough to last you a life time, you're aiming for the top, right?"

"Hn."

"Well, as much as I would love to help you, I don't think I would want to. Something tells me that my life will definitely get complicated if I'm around you. I don't want that. I'm happy with the way my life is. I already have enough news featuring me. I don't need any more spotlights on me."

"I'll protect you," Once again, he said something unnecessary.

"What are you, my self-declared knight in shining in armor?" She asked humourlessly. She paused for a brief second, as if she remembered something, and bit her lips. Sasuke noticed that Haruno bit her lips when she was unsettled and hesitant.

"I've changed my objective. I don't want to know anything in your past. Just knowing you might help me with my growth."

"You're really indecisive, aren't you?" Her jade eyes narrow perplexedly as she stared at him.

"I want to know the present you. I want to be your friend."

"What are we, in kindergarten?" Haruno asked dryly. "No."

"Why not?" Sasuke demanded, almost pouting at her response.

He saw her bit her lips again.

"Fine, you can try being my friend, but I'm making no promises. You might not even gain anything from me."

"I'll take my chances. I'm Sasuke."

He found it rather amusing when Haruno stared at the hand awkwardly as if as she did not understand the meaning of it. Slowly, she extended her own and returned the handshake.

"Sakura."

A/N: I pretty much have this whole story figured out, so please be patient with me while you wait for the sporadic updates. It will be a bumpy long ride.

Please review~

+K. Tram~

Publication: 02.024.11
Revision: 10.29.11