Courage? Are you kidding?

C'mon, Sakura…do it! Haruno Sakura thought furiously to herself. Sasuke's rabid fangirls were mobbing around the poor Uchiha once again, and it wasn't looking like he had any jutsus readily available to clear a path away from them. He remained expressionless, but Sakura could tell from the vein that was popping on his forehead that he was immensely irritated.

Sakura, get your act together! She told herself again in a kind of insane pep talk. You learned enough sense to stop chasing Sasuke around years ago, now you have to show those girls that they should do the same! For Kami-sama's sake, they still call him "Sasuke-kun."

Frankly, she didn't know how she would do this. She had one idea in the back of her mind, but that required unbelievable courage that she simply didn't possess. It was out of the question. But she couldn't stand seeing Sasuke in obvious distress amidst the giant crowd of screaming females. For once, he needed her help and not the other way around.

I'm going to make a fool out of myself. If I say anything, they'll just call me forehead girl again, Sakura thought sadly, her self-esteem lowering. Worse, Sasuke could say, "What the hell are you doing?" in the middle of it. Being embarrassed in front of him is something I just can't stand.

Sasuke had not yet realized that Sakura was watching the scene. He was getting beyond irritated. His usual cool façade was slipping, and sooner or later he would be tempted to use Goukakyuu no jutsu on these insane women just to remove them from his path. He quickly swatted a girl's hand away as she reached to grab a fistful of his shirt. He winced as he stepped on a dropped box of chocolates intended for him, and the stench of overused perfume was unbearable. What the hell could he do!

Sakura took a deep breath. You've only got one idea. Use it. Yes, it's completely impossible. But it just might get rid of these girls for a long time, not just for today. Imagine how much Sasuke would enjoy that. Exhaling loudly, she brushed her bangs away from her forehead. Mustering up all she had learned in her training with deception, she attempted to call upon her inner seductress. Not that she had one, but she could pretend.

This was it. Now or never. Sakura replaced her nervous and worried expression with a calm one, and smirked slightly at the fangirls as she made her way through the crowd. The girls glared at her, but did nothing to impede her progress through the mob. After all, she was one of Sasuke-kun's friends, and no one messed with them if they didn't want to be roasted by Sasuke's fireball jutsus.

Sakura sauntered past the last of the women, her attitude growing more confident as she got into the role of a self-assured woman with a mission. A person truly worthy of Sasuke.

"Ladies—" Sasuke finally protested, but his words were only responded with "Eeeee! He spoke! Sasuke-kuuuun!" He was backed into the side wall of Ichiraku's ramen store. A sudden chill ran up his spine. A familiar aura was coming to the front of the crowd. Who…was that…?

Sakura had to shove the last girl a bit roughly out of her way to get to Sasuke, as the ones closest to Sasuke seemed to have earned their place there by fighting their way through the pack.

"Girls, BACK OFF!" Sakura said firmly, causing the squeals and titters to silence.

"Haruno Sakura," One girl in the crowd boldly spoke, a malicious note evident in her voice. "What gives you the authority to give us orders?" she challenged.

"Because I'm—" Come on, Sakura, Sakura told herself once again. This is it. Don't screw it up.

"—his girlfriend."

Numerous shuddering gasps echoed throughout the area. The same girl who had spoken pointed an accusing finger at Sakura.

"You lie!" she shrieked.

"Actually, I'm quite honest," Sakura said smoothly. She sidled up to Sasuke, who wasn't sure whether she was going to help him or join his legion of fangirls. Either way, things couldn't turn out good, right?

Stupid Sakura, Sasuke thought angrily. She'd be a lot more reasonable if she'd just act normal once in a while.

"I'm not lying, right, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura put extra emphasis on the suffix to his name, which she had not used in years. Sasuke was intelligent; he caught on to her game. Although at this point, he would much rather choke himself then pretend to be Sakura's boyfriend.

He couldn't help but wonder what she was up to. Sakura wasn't acting like herself. This was a side to her that Sasuke had never seen before. What happened to her jittery movements whenever he was around? What happened to her stuttering, her shaky smiles? He decided that for the time being, he would just have to go along with her scheme.

"Y…N…Sakura is my…girlfriend," Sasuke said awkwardly.

"Sasuke-kun cannot possibly be HER boyfriend!" Many people accused throughout the crowd. "This must be some kind of trick!"

"Fine," Sakura said, smirking at all of them. Let's just see them call me forehead girl one more time. "I'll prove it to you."

Sakura moved to face Sasuke. Forgive me later, okay? Sakura begged Sasuke, as if he could receive the telepathic message. She slid her hand slowly up Sasuke's arm, which caused his eyes to widen. What was she doing?

Her hand kept moving until it came to rest behind Sasuke's neck. Pressing her small body against his, she leaned in and touched her forehead to his, their lips barely apart. The looks she gave him gave him chills. There was no trace of embarrassment in her eyes. This close up, he could only see determination. She gave a sexy little seductive grin before sealing the gap between them, closing her lips over his.

Mournful shrieks emanated throughout the fangirl mob. Wails of "Sasuke-kuuun!" and "Haruno, you bitch!" rippled through the jealous audience. Sakura slowly pulled away from Sasuke, and intertwined her fingers of her free hand with his.

"Now, if you all don't mind leaving us alone, we have somewhere to go," Sakura said. The fangirl crowd, feeling defeated, wilted back and dissipated, most dejectedly wandering back to their houses for tissue boxes. Sakura coolly led Sasuke away, until they reached the woods where they used to train so often under Kakashi.

Sakura released Sasuke's hand, brought her palm to her forehead, and sighed loudly. "I am so sorry for that," she said. "It was really all I could think of. Hopefully now they'll leave you alone—"

"That kiss," Sasuke interrupted. Sakura froze. Great. Here was the part she feared—being rejected by Sasuke once again. She did not expect gratitude, or even a small smile. She would be content if he didn't say anything at all. However, that was quickly becoming out of the question.

Sakura gulped. "Y-yes?" She stammered, cursing herself for letting her old stuttering habit resurface. Gazing down at the hard earth and brown soil below her, she pretended to be interested in anything other than whatever look Sasuke could be giving her now.

"Where did you learn to do that?"

Sakura gasped and glanced up. Sasuke was looking at her seriously, with no trace of disgust in his face.

"I don't understand."

"I've never seen you act like that. It was completely unlike you." Sakura cringed. Rejection was still painful, even after all these years. When would she ever learn?

"Sakura," Sasuke continued. "Have you always been like that?"

Sakura tore her gaze away from him. Her courage shown from before was diminishing, but she would not let it completely get away from her.

"I'm trying to work on being more confident, Sasuke," she confessed. "No more stuttering or crying whenever someone teases me. I'm almost a woman now; I should be over these things." She turned away from him, still not managing to meet his eyes.

"First of all," Sasuke spoke, sounding a little annoyed. "You're seventeen. As far as I'm concerned, you already are a woman." Sakura blushed at the compliment.

"Second of all," he continued, "what you showed back there wasn't confidence. That was outright seductive." Redder shades layered themselves on Sakura's face. Sakura was embarrassed at how even at seventeen, she could still blush like a schoolgirl.

"Thirdly." Sakura finally turned back to Sasuke, forcing herself to look up. Dark onyx eyes bore into hers, and she found that once she looked at them, she could not quite tear herself away.

"I am going to see more of that side of your personality," Sasuke finished."And when I do, we will have repeats of that little performance." He smirked.

Sakura almost giggled. Sasuke could be so indirect sometimes. Stepping closer to him, she grinned.

"You know, you could just ask me out, instead of giving me that big speech," she said mischievously. Sasuke's smirk widened.

"That wouldn't be any fun, now would it?" he replied, reaching up to tangle his fingers in Sakura's hair. He moved toward her until their bodies were touching, taking no notice of Sakura's blush.

"Let me try now," Sasuke commanded, giving a small smile as he claimed her lips.