Genjutsu

Sports weren’t usually his thing, but he did know how to play a few selected ones like basketball, soccer, baseball and even tennis. Being an ANBU, he of course knew all kinds of martial arts, including Kendo. However, being forced to be in the locker room of the basketball team, surrounded by a lot of the male students he already knew by face, name, or reputation, was something he did not enjoy.

“This is stupid.” He muttered, arms crossed while his bag was still slung on his shoulder. “I still have a mission tomorrow.”

“Lighten up Sasuke! You said that yesterday!”

“Hn, dead last.” He opened his eyes and glared at Naruto. “The Hokage postponed it, since today is apparently the ‘holiday’ I hate.”

Naruto gasped and pointed an accusing finger at Sasuke, earning a blank look from the ANBU.

“Blasphemy! How can you not like Valentine’s Day?!”

Sasuke raised a brow. “I’ve got plenty of reasons.”

“Don’t feel bad Sasuke.” He turned to see Idate enter the locker room. “I didn’t get chocolates either.”

“Oh, I only got one.” Naruto murmured, mumbling Hinata’s name.

Kiba smirked. “I’ve got five, and I bet Neji’s gonna win this year again.”

Neji looked at them when all eyes looked at him expectantly. “I don’t know.” He said with a shrug. “I heard Gaara, the Suna exchange student, was rivaling mine.” All the guys, except for Sasuke, whistled in awe. “Still, you’ve won for what, three times a row in this favorite guy contest. Surely you’ll win again this year.”

They turned to Sasuke who looked bored and uninterested.

“And you?” Kiba asked. The Oto student narrowed his eyes at them, making Idate nod. “I feel for you buddy, I don’t have chocolates either.”

They watched as Sasuke walked over to the table they were circling around, took his backpack, opened the zipper and turned it upright, causing a lot of neatly wrapped gifts and sweets to come out and fill up the large rectangular table. He raised a brow at Idate, as if telling: You were saying..?

Chapter 5: Closer

“Well, Neji still has a lot.” Lee muttered, staring at Sasuke’s pile.

“Hn. You should see my locker, desk and dorm room.” Sasuke muttered, taking his empty bag and walking out of the room, not minding how they all gaped, including Neji.

“Hey! Your stuffs!”

“I don’t like sweets.” He retorted to Kiba, and left.

Silence filled the locker room as Naruto cleared his throat and turned to Neji. “So, you still in the lead?”

“No. My dorm and locker are clean.”

“And Gaara?”

Neji shrugged. “Same.”

Kiba snickered. “Someone’s gonna get dethroned.”

“Good.” The Hyuuga said, sighing in relief. “I’m glad someone finally came to take away the spotlight.” He smirked. “I’m sure Uchiha’s having a grand time with all the attention he’s getting.” Of course, they knew he was being sarcastic.

Sakura stared at the pictures that were on the paper pinned on the bulletin board. She knew that her partner was going to be a candidate, and she was sure he had a chance to win.

“He’s here!”

She heard females scream from every corner, squealing like love-sick teenagers. It made her cringe, knowing that only one person caused this uproar.

“Oi, if you’re not doing anything, we need to get ready for tomorrow.”

A twitch and a vein popped as she turned to him with a glare and pointed at his portrait that was on the bulletin board. He followed her index finger and read the words printed on the sheet.

“Guy contest? What the heck is that?” he furrowed his brows. “It’s pretty useless you know.”

She blinked. So someone else had the same thought she had? That was cool.

“Why would people bother to have this if it’s not important?”

“Finally, someone who has common sense..!” Sakura yelled exasperatedly. All the other ninjas she talked to regarding this matter gave her a weird look whenever she’d voice out her opinion. Even Shikamaru, the guy who supposedly thinks everything is troublesome, found this contest amusing. “The Hokage believes that it’s a way to relieve stress from the ninjas by letting them have fun.”

“Hn. From the looks of it, only female ninjas seem to be…” he trailed off, eyeing some girls from the corner of his eyes who were apparently stalking him.

Sakura noted the irritated look on his face. “Alright, first of all, they are free to stalk you or any guy who are candidates. Next, you are not allowed to ignore them, snap at them or brush them off when they talk to you. If you don’t abide by these conditions, you are disqualified.”

“Hn. Great.” He said, seeing a female Chuunin ready approaching him. “And here comes my ticket to disqualification.”

“You can’t do that.” Sakura muttered, sighing. “A lot of people will lose interest once they find out you’re out.”

“Why?”

“To put it simply, they all believe that you can dethrone Neji.”

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. “And I care because..?”

“If you don’t,” she turned to him. “You can say goodbye to Oto’s reputation.”

Honestly, Sasuke could care less, but he owed the Otokage a lot. For granting him this mission for a chance to seek her, for teaching him helpful techniques not everyone can learn, and many more. “Damn.” He cursed, turning to the girl who asked him a few questions. Sakura could only laugh at his misery.

“Lighten up Sasuke,” she patted the boy’s back when the girl quickly finished her questions and left. “Think about the positives. Like how people will admire you more, and Oto will be well-known. Next, there’s a cash prize for the winner, lastly, you-”

“Won the bet against you.” He finished, smirking to take a look at her. She blushed and looked away. “Yeah, thanks to you, I gained more fans…” she twitched when she heard guys calling out her name. Sasuke raised his hand to push away her bangs that covered her face, causing Sakura to have wide eyes, redder cheeks and to look up at him as he gave a small smile that almost seemed unnoticeable. “At least it’s teamwork.” He joked, turning around to leave.

“Teamwork my ass! So if you have to suffer for your popularity, I have to as well?!”

“Yup.” He answered as she followed him outside the school building to head for their dorm. “Anyway, at least you look good.”

Sakura stopped, her face still adorning a blush when he said that.

“…Gaki?” he turned to her.

“Did you… mean that..?”

Sasuke raised a brow. “I don’t say things for nothing you know.” He sighed when she didn’t seem satisfied. “Yes, I meant it, alright? Now let’s go.”

“Where..?”

“We need to discuss about our mission, somewhere private.”

“Okay.” She followed him inside their dorm, waiting for him to finish dumping his school things near the bed before heading towards the door. “Eh? Sasuke, where-” he cut her off as he gestured her to step outside. “This place can have ears, might as well take a walk outside campus.”

Sakura followed without a word, staring at her partner as they stepped out of campus and headed somewhere quiet: a nearby coffee shop. He entered and waited for her to come inside, still having a questioning look on her face. “This might take a while, so, go ahead and order.”

“Eh? Why didn’t you say so?! I didn’t bring my wallet!”

“Did I say you were going to pay? I just told you to order.”

She blinked, and then laughed. “Should I consider this as another date?”

“Hn.”

“Kokuzoku..?” Sakura repeated, eyeing the folder which contained the information of their mission. “I’ve heard of them, but I haven’t really encountered them.” She looked down at her lap. “Are they dangerous?”

“My last encounter with two of their members had me ended up in a hospital with broken ribs, a broken arm, and chakra exhaustion plus cost two of my teammates’ lives.” He lowered his head at the memory. They were a team of ANBU, four of them to be exact. One was a medic, two were newly appointed ANBU (him included), and the other was a veteran. It was his first ANBU mission then, and only he and the medic survived that encounter with the Kokuzoku.

Sakura felt her spine tingle from fear. Uchiha Sasuke was left in that state after an encounter with the Kokuzoku. She never really thought that he’d end up like that. In her eyes, he was the perfect example of an ANBU, save the fact that he seems to like annoying her.

“I told the Hokage to reconsider in sending you with me in this mission.” He said, noting her eyes. He could detect the fear she was having. “You can personally refuse this mission, so that he can appoint someone else. You are, after all, the only family your mother has. She can’t afford to lose you, and you can’t abandon her just like that.” He got up and took the folder from her. “Let’s head back.”

“…”

He stopped when she didn’t make any move at all.

“Sakura..?”

“I’m… I…”

He grabbed her hand and raised her to her feet. “Let’s go.” He said, assisting her in heading back to their school, ignoring the eyes that were directed at them, specifically by the female ninjas in Konoha. They reached the Hokage’s office and entered after being told to come in once Sasuke was done knocking.

“Is there something you need?” Sarutobi asked when he saw the two.

“Aa.” Sasuke led Sakura to a vacant chair and had her sit down before taking the other chair opposite of her. “Assign someone else with more experience for this mission. I can’t afford to have Sakura be distracted by fear, nor would I want her to go through with this.”

Sarutobi frowned. “We talked about this Sasuke.”

“I know, Hokage-sama, but look at her.”

Sarutobi did, and he wasn’t shocked at all to see how the girl was frozen with fear.

“Being a burden aside, she lacks experience for this mission. The worst that could happen is that we both may die, or one of us will.”

“Sakura,” Sarutobi spoke, causing the girl to look up. “Do you wish to be replaced for this mission?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but couldn’t really voice out what she wants to say, because a part of her wanted to say yes, while the other wanted to be strong and firm to accept the mission. But thinking back about Sasuke’s description of the Kokuzoku made her shake again, like how water affects her during a fight. She briefly glanced at Sasuke, who was staring at her, his eyes telling her to give up the position, to refuse the mission.

“You’re always worried about me.” She thought, looking down. “Why do people always have to look out for me?” her fists clenched at the memory of how her father died, how her mother was in a coma, and how she decided to become a ninja to protect her loved ones, and to protect the people from going through the fate she had encountered and still is. “No.” she said, raising her head to give a look of determination to Sarutobi, who smiled at the bravery she showed.

“Sakura-”

“It’s okay Sasuke.” She looked at him. “I want to do this, I want to fulfill my obligation as a Shinobi.” She gave a smile. “And I want to be able to watch your back, as you watch mine.”

He was taken aback, but ended up sighing and looking away. “Hn. Do what you want.”

“It’s settled then. I’ll postpone this mission on the day after tomorrow, so that you can both properly prepare yourselves. Besides, there’s a slim chance that you may not encounter the Kokuzoku at all.”

The way back to their dorm was a silent one, and she was getting edgy and shifty about it.

“Thanks for worrying though.” She began, looking at him. He only spared her a glance before looking back ahead. “Uh… maybe you can teach me a few tricks I should know for this..?” he ignored her, and she sweat dropped and tried to think harder of what possible conversation she can start. It was still quite a long way back to their dormitory after all. “So, do you think I can handle the pressure?” she looked up at him in a hopeful expression, but again, she was ignored.

“Damn it Uchiha! Stop ignoring me!” she stepped in front of him, preventing the ANBU from advancing. “Say something!” he looked down at her calmly as she glared at him, before her eyes softened and lowered, looking away from his gaze. “I’m scared, and you being silent isn’t helping me at all.” She shut her eyes, forcing her watery orbs to go away or dry up, refusing to show him tears. “I’m so pathetic, I feel so weak. Can’t you say something to assure me or encourage me? Annoy me, hell, just talk to me! Even your one word response will be fine!”

He didn’t say anything yet. How can he? His mind was jumbled. He couldn’t think straight. He can’t even decide what to say, or what to do. So he resorted to keeping his mouth shut, though he felt really bad for not doing anything about her state. “You asshole.” She hissed, wiping her tears angrily as she turned her back on him. “Forget it, let’s just go.”

The air was tense in their dorm, since he was just sitting on the window sill, eyeing the things happening outside while she stared at him discreetly, looking for any signs of him saying something. He’s been silent the whole time, and she hasn’t uttered anything too after her insult earlier.

“…Damn bastard.” She whispered to herself, not knowing that he had heard her. “The least you could do is make fun of me.” She muttered. “Anything to keep my mind of off the mission…”

“Tch.”

Well, at least she got a response, somewhat.

“Know what? Forget it. You are an Oto ANBU after all. It’s only normal for you to be this cold.” She glared at him. “I just wished you started like that when you first came here. That way, I didn’t have to hope or believe that you aren’t so bad. I guess I stand corrected.”

He smirked. Finally, something he can comment on.

She noticed his lips and she twitched.

“You’re not even standing,” he turned to her, still smirking. “Cherry.”

Oh how she hated it when he called her that! It makes everyone think that it’s his pet name to her; which leads to possible thoughts from the ninjas that they could be a couple.

“You son of a-” she cut herself off and turned to the side. “Damn you, asshole…”

“Hn.” He adjusted his position so that he was facing her. “Look, I’m sorry if I didn’t say anything, I really didn’t know what to say.” He shrugged and leaned back against the window. “I mean,” his cheeks flushed slightly. “I’ve… had a rough past, if you fear water, I fear losing someone. Whether a teammate, family member, friend or superior. I never manage to overcome the guilt I always feel afterwards.” He closed his eyes and tried to relax. “Up until now, I still can’t get over the fact that it isn’t my fault that my comrades died after encountering the Kokuzoku. I always tell myself, if I had been stronger, I would’ve prevented their deaths.” He smirked and opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling. “Damn this place. It caused me to be vulnerable.” He eyed her, seeing how her eyes were wide and teary. “Actually, damn you for making me feel soft.”

And as soon as he uttered those words, she got up and tackled him to a hug, her eyes shedding more tears as he closed his eyes and slowly returned the embrace. She really was an annoying girl, but somehow, that may be the very reason why he’s getting too attached to her. And he doesn’t know if he should be afraid of that realization or not. Right now, he just needed to be there for her.

“I know that… a girl like you who lacks experience, and also had a rough past, is afraid of the idea of having to encounter these people, afraid of dying. I know the feeling.” He opened his eyes again and looked at her, seeing how she continued to let her emotions out. “Sometimes, holding up a strong façade in front of others can be a tough burden, you’re lucky that you can break down, like right now.” She looked at him as he too, looked at her. “I really envy you,” he muttered, wiping some of her tears. “I can’t bring myself to cry when I want to; I can’t even drop this reputation or impression. So while you’re still a Jounin, make the most of it.”

He wasn’t entirely surprised when she pulled him in for an embrace.

“Just because you’re an ANBU, doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to feel every once in a while.”

“Hn. You weren’t brought up in Oto…”

“You’re in Konoha now, forget about what Oto taught you for the time being.” She pulled away and gave a reassuring smile. “Shinobi are humans too, even if they are used as tools.”

Sasuke eyed her for a while before sighing and placing a hand above her pink tresses. “Whatever.” She knew that he meant to thank her, but she didn’t bother to push her luck, and just beamed.

“Good luck, Sasuke-san.”

He raised a brow at the girl who said that, who soon blushed and walked away from him in a faster pace, giggling all the while. His eyes blinked before turning back to his partner who laughed, noting the clueless expression on his face. “Today’s the results.” She explained, walking ahead, backpack secured, hands clasped behind her back, hair down and the forehead protector worn as a headband. “She’s just wishing you luck. She probably voted for you.”

“Hn. And you?”

“Me? I don’t vote.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “I may be the only female ninja here who doesn’t vote in this stupid contest.” She shrugged. “Neji always seems to win anyway, but this year, you’ve got a chance to dethrone the king.”

“Who says I want to?” he asked nonchalantly, walking alongside her as they trudged down the hallways, ignoring the looks a few of his fans sent his way, only to blush when he’d spare them a glance. “Honestly, if I can back out, I would.”

“Unfortunately, the faculty is in charge of the candidates, so boo hoo for you.”

“…Boo… hoo..?” he repeated, quirking a brow at her and an amused smirk. “Nice word.”

“S-shut up!” she cried, walking ahead of him.

They reached their designated classroom and took their seats, knowing that Kakashi wouldn’t be arriving after another hour or so.

“Be sure to wake up early tomorrow.”

Sakura gave him a questioning look.

“Mission.” He said, taking out a book and read the page where he last looked at the other day. “We have to get to the destination as soon as possible, and to get to our transportation, we have to be early.”

“Right…” she muttered, suddenly recalling something. “Before I forget,” she took something out of her backpack, “Here.” and handed the object to him with a smile. Sasuke closed the book and set it down, eyeing the red colored box she was handing him. “How did…” he trailed off, taking the box of chocolate flavored pocky from her. She smiled and cocked her head to the side a bit. “Well, yesterday, during break time, I passed by Hokage-sama on my way out to get you something for Valentine’s. Your Otokage visited to see how you and Karin were doing.”

Sasuke remained silent, eyeing her as she continued.

“Of course, I greeted him when Hokage-sama introduced me to him, and he asked me about you, we talked, and I ended up asking what I can give you.” She giggled when Sasuke turned slightly red. “Apparently, he once gave you a box of chocolate pocky as congratulations for your promotion to Chuunin level.”

“Tch. I told him not to tell anyone…”

“Aww… don’t I get a thank you?”

“Hn.” He shut his eyes, cheeks still red. “…thanks.”

The class raised their heads when the Hokage spoke through the intercom, letting the students be aware of a few news that he was just told of, followed by the announcement of the winner for the favorite guy contest.

“Wow, I heard Hyuuga, Uchiha and Sabaku’s votes are close!” one ninja said to his seatmate. “No kidding! It’s hard to tell who’s gonna win!” the other said, as they turned back to the intercom to listen on who were the top five out of the fifteen candidates.

“Coming in for fifth place goes to Nara Shikamaru.”

“Tch. Troublesome.” He muttered when he heard some of his female classmates clap.

Sakura only giggled since she knew Shikamaru, obviously not surprised that he made it in the top five again.

“Fourth place belongs to Inuzuka Kiba.”

“Holy shit! I’m fourth?!” the boy asked, bewildered.

“Third place goes to Aburame Shino.”

Shino did not bother to comment for he was listening to his mp3 player, even though his fans were throwing him heart-filled gazes.

“Second goes to Sabaku Gaara.”

Gaara blinked, clearly not expecting he was going to be part of the top five. Although he heard his sister comment that he didn’t even bother to see that he was a candidate, at the same time, comforting Kankuro who was crying because his name wasn’t called, nor was he included as a candidate.

“For the winner, I’d like to call someone first for this student needs to vote between the two to end the tie.”

Sakura froze. “But… I’ve never voted!”

Sasuke raised a brow. “Isn’t that pretty stupid?” he sighed. “If one of the two would win, then what place would be left to the other when Sabaku has taken the second place?” he turned to Sakura who nodded stiffly at his comment. “You okay?” he asked, sweat dropping at his partner’s behavior. “Y-yeah, I’m fine. I was also thinking about what you said…”

Sarutobi, as if hearing them both, added: “The loser of the two will be the first place, in other words, the first runner-up. Meaning the winner will have to be this year’s favorite guy.”

Again, Sasuke questioned this. “Why would there be a runner-up needed? It’s not like the winner has to perform a specific role for the school.”

“Y-yeah. Hm… maybe if he fails to be… you know, a good role model Shinobi?”

Sasuke shrugged but continued eyeing her. “So, what’s with you?”

“Nothing!”

Sarutobi then called five names, saying that one of these people haven’t voted yet, and in order to save the embarrassment of the said person, he’s calling four more girls.

Sakura heard her name, along with Hinata’s and another girl from their class, and two more from another. She glanced at Hinata who muttered that she already voted, albeit it was vaguely heard due to her soft voice. Sakura gulped and glanced at Sasuke who eyed her for a while before smirking. Apparently, he soon caught on, she did say so herself earlier that she doesn’t vote, meaning she was the culprit.

“Ah damn. He’s gonna find out which of the two I’ll vote for!”

The five girls reached the principals office, and he asked all five to choose between the remaining two candidates who received an equal amount of votes. They picked their guy and Sarutobi took told them to write their names as well so that he can distinguish which one was the right paper. Sakura was only thankful that none of them commented that they have voted, so she was safe.

The Hokage then told them to return to their respective classes and picked out the paper that he was looking for, smirking due to his prediction coming true. “Well then, time to kill the suspense.” He leaned over to the microphone. “Alright, our remaining two candidates are Hyuuga Neji and Uchiha Sasuke. So, who will be this year’s favorite guy?”

Sasuke raised a brow. “Okay… I didn’t exactly expect to be a part of this…” he muttered, sweat dropping at some of his female classmates who were giggling and eyeing at him, squealing when he spared them a glance. “Ah shit.”

“What do you think Neji?” Tenten asked.

“Hm?” he smirked. “Uchiha’s going to suffer this time, not me.”

“Last year’s winner, Hyuuga Neji, takes first place, making Uchiha Sasuke this year’s favorite guy in Konoha, congratulations to our ANBU-ranked Oto transfer student.”

The girls who voted for him cheered, while those who remained loyal to Neji, cried out their sorrows. Although, Neji only snickered, knowing the hell that Sasuke will be encountering soon enough.

“Hn. Cherry actually voted for me?” he smirked and closed his eyes. “Funny, I would’ve thought she’d vote for Hyuuga since she knows I know she’s the person who hasn’t voted.” He glanced at the empty seat beside him. “Figures why she won’t show up yet…”

“You’re postponing the mission again?”

Sarutobi clasped his hands together and nodded. “It would seem that your attendance is required for the small fair the school will be having.”

“A fair for what..? And why am I needed?”

“It’s some sort of short festival the school holds after a favorite guy contest.” He cleared his throat. “Since you are the winner, you are to attend this festival. Besides, I am the Hokage so you basically have no choice.”

Sasuke twitched and sighed, nodding before exiting the office. “This is not like Oto at all…” he muttered, slapping a hand against his forehead.

Small festival, yeah right - apparently, this little fair isn’t little at all. It sure didn’t look ordinary. Sighing, Sasuke pocketed his hands and began walking around in his school’s uniform, not bothering to change into a hakama. The Hokage didn’t say it was required anyway. All he said was that he should be there. Problem is, he can’t seem to find his partner anywhere, and he needed to have a word with the girl.

“Man, Sakura-chan looks really cute!”

“Tell me about it! A cute and pretty face.”

“Hn. When there’re fan boys, there’s Sakura.” He thought, looking around as he spotted the two Chuunin who were talking about his partner. Actually, everywhere he turned; every guy, and a few girls, talked about Sakura. How it was the first time they saw her in a kimono, with her hair down and looking so lady-like. He decided to approach a few guys to ask of her whereabouts, sharingan activated since he was getting annoyed of not finding her amongst the crowd.

“Where is she?”

“U-Uchiha-san…” a genin piped, him and his Chuunin friend gulping at the sight of the ANBU. “Where is who..?”

“Sakura.”

“J-jail booth.”

Sasuke deactivated his sharingan and headed over to the direction the two guys pointed at. He didn’t really mean to scare the two, he just can’t help but look intimidating to some.

A sigh and a giggle here.

Okay, so he wasn’t intimidating to everyone, because like Sakura had fan boys, he had fan girls.

“Tch.” He reached his destination and pushed aside the crepe papers that were used as a design for the entrance of it. Glancing around, he spotted Sakura seated on a bench, looking annoyed while Kakashi stood smugly before her. “Sakura.” He called out, noticing her freeze before turning to glare at him. He raised a brow at the reaction but chose to ignore it. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you…” he muttered.

“Are you here to bail her out, Sasuke?”

He turned to Kakashi who looked at him expectantly.

Thinking that he won’t be able to talk to his partner regarding the mission, and something else, he sighed and nodded - wishing that he didn’t when Kakashi told him that he had to pay the price by wearing a hakama.

“You have got to be kidding me…”

“Nope. You have to or she stays here.”

Sasuke sighed and snatched the clothing from Kakashi, putting it on over his uniform before turning back to Sakura. “Let’s go.” He said. Sakura narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms, turning her head away and not getting up from her seat. “I’d rather stay here.”

“I don’t have time for this Sakura. Let’s go.”

“I’m staying.”

“Come on. I had to change into this to bail you out, so let’s go.”

“I didn’t ask you to bail me out.”

Kurenai, who was also part of the jail booth, turned to Sakura. “But just earlier you said you wanted to get out of here.”

Sasuke smirked and raised a brow at Sakura who flushed but still did not stand up, nor look up at Sasuke.

“Get going Haruno. Rules are rules.”

She froze at Morino Ibiki’s voice before nodding and getting up, following Sasuke outside.

“Whoops! You forgot something!”

They both turned to see Kakashi walk over to them.

Click. Click.

And they looked down at their wrists that were bound to each other by handcuffs.

“And here is the only key to it!” he had the key in his palm, but it soon melted when he used a fire jutsu.

“What the hell?! Sensei get this thing off!” Sakura yelled.

“Too bad, the key is gone.”

The two glared daggers at him, about to threaten him when Ibiki appeared and told Kakashi that he was needed by the Hokage, leaving the two no choice but to walk around with their wrists cuffed together against their will.

“This is your fault Sasuke, get this thing off!”

“How is it my fault? You were the one who was being stubborn.” He glanced at the metal handcuff. “A fire jutsu should be able to melt the chain…”

“What? And get my hand burnt? I don’t think so!”

Sasuke twitched. “Annoying. It’s just the chain and not your freakin’ hand.”

“Yeah? What if you accidentally light my hand on fire, huh?”

“Sheesh. Girls.” Sasuke rolled his eyes at this as they both walked around in hopes of getting the handcuffs off. “Don’t you have a hairpin with you?” he asked, glancing at her. She looked up and glared at him. “What do you think? I have my hair down, thanks to you, so I don’t have pins with me!”

“I was just asking.”

“And I was just answering.”

“Damn it, what the heck is wrong with you?”

“You!”

He raised a brow, but she just ignored him as she continued seething. Sasuke shook his head in annoyance and looked around in hopes of finding something to get the chains off. During this time, he didn’t notice how Sakura was staring at him, her inner self complimenting him in his hakama, glowering at the other female Shinobi who also fawned over him, commenting how it wasn’t everyday that they see Sasuke in such clothing. She also twitched when her fans ogled her in her kimono.

“What’re you looking at?” he asked, looking at her as she turned away abruptly. “Hmph. Just thinking how bad you look in a hakama.” She snorted. “You look ugly in it.” He, again, raised a brow at her behavior, but didn’t bother to comment. Meanwhile, her inner self had kept saying that she was in denial with the whole Sasuke in a hakama thing.

“You so wanna jump him right now!” her inner squealed.

“Pfft. Like hell. I just want to get away from him.”

“Liar! You obviously love the idea of being handcuffed to him!”

“What in heaven’s name gave you that idea?!”

Her inner cackled. “If you hate him so much, you would’ve used your super strength to unchain the cuffs-ooops!” Inner quickly slammed her hands against her mouth, panicking when Sakura got what she meant and dragged the Uchiha somewhere less crowded. “What the-” she ignored him and tugged at the chains that bound them, a victorious grin on her lips when the chain was broken. “Finally! Freedom!”

“Hn. Now that that’s settled, we still…” he trailed off when she turned to walk away. “Sakura, why are you avoiding me?”

She stopped and raised a brow at him. “Avoiding you? Pfft. Please…” she rolled her eyes and attempted to walk away when his next sentence made her stop once again. “You know, I wished you just voted for Hyuuga instead of me so that I wouldn’t have to put up with this.”

Sakura abruptly turned to face him with a glare. “Excuse you. What? You think you’re that popular that I’d vote for you?” she snorted. “And what makes you think I did?!”

“You were just yelling in my ear on our way to class earlier how you’ve never voted, until today.”

“You heard wrong.”

“How the fuck can I hear wrong when you were screaming it in my ear, damn it!”

They both glared intensely at each other, both challenging the other to back down, but neither showed such signs.

“Yo! Sakura, teme!”

They both broke away from their leering contest and turned to see Naruto approaching them with Hinata, Neji and Tenten.

“Wow! You look nice Sakura.” Tenten said with a grin. Hinata nodded, also voicing out her opinion regarding Sakura in a kimono. The girl addressed, of course, ended up blushing and disagreeing with them both. Naruto grinned widely at this. “Ne, Hinata-chan! Do you mind if I date Sakura for now? She’s really pretty!”

The pink head twitched and glared at Naruto, not minding how Hinata giggled at the way the blonde joked. “How dare you do that to Hinata?!” and she punched Naruto. She glared at the blonde for a moment before walking away, ignoring Tenten’s question of where she was going. Neji then glanced at Sasuke who stood still, staring at where Sakura ran off to with an irritated look.

“So, Uchiha, how’s it like being the favorite guy?” Neji asked with a smug smirk.

“Completely heaven…” he muttered sarcastically, looking away with a “tch”.

“Welcome to my used-to-be world.”

“I wished you still won though.” He hissed, attempting to walk the opposite of where Sakura headed until Hinata called him back. He turned to glance at the female Hyuuga. “You can’t just leave your date alone…” she said in a soft voice. He raised a brow, silently asking for elaboration. Neji sighed and crossed his arms. “You don’t know the rules? Well, as this year’s favorite guy, your partner is your date for this festival, and the two of you are supposed to be together.”

“What happens if I don’t follow these… rules?”

Neji shrugged. “But I can assure you the consequences won’t be pretty, knowing how our Hokage works.”

Sasuke couldn’t help but agree to that and sighed, twitching as the blonde idiot started rambling about ramen, and if that wasn’t bad enough, he suddenly made suggestive looks at him, grinning slyly and saying how he and Sakura are just waiting for a chance to be alone, that Sakura is somewhere in a secluded area, awaiting for his arrival. Sasuke, of course, was tempted to shove a kunai up the dead last’s ass.

He caught a glimpse of Sakura who was motioning for him to head to where she was, so he walked over to her, blending in with the crowd, ignoring how Naruto and the others called him.

“Chill, I just went to take a look at something.” He said, coming back to them.

Sasuke and Sakura eyed the group and Sasuke’s bunshin before turning to further isolate themselves from the group of four. “There, now I don’t owe you anymore for bailing me out.” She said, attempting to leave again when he grabbed her wrist. “Walk away from me again, and I’ll just end up following you.” He let her go when she didn’t make a move to leave. “You’re my partner, and since I’m this year’s… favorite guy…” he muttered the last part. “Hyuuga said I should be with you for the whole time this festival is being held.”

“Damn it.” She muttered under her breath, sighing and walking elsewhere as Sasuke followed, satisfied that she did not run away from him. Maybe this time, he can finally talk to her regarding the whole thing. “Why did you vote for me?”

“I already told you! I didn’t!” she turned to glare, only to be met by a pair of damn straight serious onyx eyes that stare back at her with eyebrows narrowed, indicating that he was not going to buy that excuse.

“Fine. Believe what you want.” She hissed, taking a seat on a nearby bench and crossing her arms, head turned away from Sasuke with a stubborn look. He sighed and tried to calm down, getting riled up wouldn’t make things better. So he just sat down next to her and sighed, not attempting to ask her again. She was a tough code to crack, Haruno Sakura. He can crack any cryptogram puzzle anyone would throw at him, be it above ANBU level code or not. But Sakura was different, her mood swings were weird and hard to avoid, especially since he’s her partner, seatmate and dorm mate. He had no escape from her punches and fury if she’s in a bad mood. Hell, he wouldn’t dare ask if it was that time of the month for her, fearing another broken jaw.

“Our mission starts the day after tomorrow, that’s the final date.” He said, earning a nod from her. “Be sure you’ve pack whatever’s necessary for you, and to be on the safe side, bring as much weapons as you can,” he paused. “Actually, just make sure you have extras.” Another nod from her, and he glanced at the girl, eyeing her from the corner of his eyes. “You’re sure you can handle this?” she nodded again, and he didn’t bother to say anything else, knowing that she’d still remain silent.

A growl from her stomach caused him to abruptly turn his head to her as she flushed and cursed, getting up to buy something from one of the many food stalls. Sasuke tailed after her, paying for what she ordered. “I can pay for myself, Sasuke.” She murmured, refusing to take the food that she ordered but was purchased by him. “Tch. You’re with me, and me being a guy, it’s only right that I pay.” He took the bag and placed it on her hands, leaving her gritting her teeth in annoyance as they moved to another food stall. “I’m paying this time.” She said.

“Don’t make me take your wallet again.”

“You won’t be taking anything.” She hissed, putting her wallet inside her kimono, on the chest area. He raised a brow at this. “How are you going to pay without having to take your wallet out of that place? You’re going to attract a lot of men… to stare.” He blinked when she paid the owner of the stall with her own money, yet he didn’t even see her take her wallet out. “How did…”

“Even ninjas can do magic tricks.” She muttered, smirking and turning away. He sighed and followed her, getting ticked at her attitude. “What’s up with you anyway?” he asked, not used to her behavior.

“…You.” She said, turning around with a glare. “You’re my problem.”

“Hm. Amusing, these two…”

Kakashi turned to the Hokage then back at Sasuke and Sakura.

“They’re getting along pretty well, don’t you think?”

Kakashi nodded; a smile behind his masked face as he observed, from Sarutobi’s office window, how Sakura had yelled and how Sasuke retorted angrily. She seemed to growl in annoyance before making a move to walk away again, when Sasuke grabbed her wrist and pulled her to him, their eyes meeting, noses almost touching and lips so close yet so far. He watched as Sasuke mentioned something to her, stared while Sakura failed miserably to keep her blush from showing. Their glares were intensifying that the silver-haired jounin resisted the urge to jump over there and push Sakura to Sasuke to make their lips touch.

“Yup. They certainly make a great pair of in-denial fools.” Kakashi said, taking an orange book out of his back pocket and opening it to read the contents, yet despite the words his eyes read, his mind kept going back to his two students. “It’s only a matter of time before they finally snap.”

To be continued…

Next on Genjutsu: Chapter 6: Lovebirds

“Sensei…”

Kakashi looked up from his book to see Naruto shakily raise a hand, head turned towards Sasuke and Sakura who were standing and glaring at each other, at the same time, throwing insults back and forth, the whole class watching. “Yes, Naruto?”

“Aren’t you going to stop them or at least, tell them to break it up?”

He eyed Naruto then at the couple who fought like old married couples. “Nah. We can’t get in the way of lovebirds Naruto.” The noise stopped as Sasuke and Sakura’s head lowered at what Kakashi said, slowly turning to him with bangs shadowing their eyes, the whole class silent and awaiting what was to happen next. “You see,” Kakashi continued. “If you tear the lovebirds apart, the one left would die in misery.” He grinned behind his mask and simply caught and avoided the kunai and shuriken thrown at him by the ANBU and Jounin.

A/N: Well, hope this long chapter is satisfying for now! Up next, Ai no Tsubasa! Though it may take a while as well.