*dodges rotten tomatoes being thrown* OMG I'M SORRY I TOOK SO LONG! I've been caught up in job hunting and going to the dentist and taking revenge on my silly ex-boyfriend, who is an asshole. Here's the next chapter okay! Love you, cutie.

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Chapter 9 - What's Happening?

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Ino stared at Sakura, who was pretending to find whatever Naruto was saying about his tomato soup funny, and then she shifted her gaze at Naruto, who was animatedly bragging about something in his tomato soup. What disturbed Ino more was that their hands were intertwined together on top of the table like it was the most natural thing in the whole wide world? Like, what was happening? When did these two start holding each other's hands? She directed a glare at Sakura. "What the hell is happening, Sakura? Why are you holding-" She pointed a finger at Naruto. "-hands with him? When did this happen? Did I miss anything?"

Sakura hesitated but then she finally said, "He's my boyfriend now."

Naruto grinned as he scratched the back of his head. He had a light blush on his cheeks.

Choji, who was sitting beside Ino, choked on his food and immediately reached for the glass of water in front of him. He started hitting his chest with a clenched hand.

Ino's jaw dropped on the table as she tried to mentally process the four words that Sakura just said. He's my boyfriend now. Boyfriend now. BOYFRIEND. What the hell was happening to the world? Since when did Sakura like Naruto? Maybe as a friend, but she never got the bulletin where in Sakura fell in love with Naruto. Last Friday, she was still gushing about Sasuke in their Geography class, and now she's holding hands and saying that Naruto was her boyfriend. Do you see what the problem is here?

Shikamaru arrived on the table and grinned. "Hey Naruto! Hey Sakura!" He greeted but then he noticed the intertwined hands on top of the table. "Eh? Hey, Sakura, are you aware that Naruto is holding your hand?"

"H-H-He's her..." Ino tried to say as she started to compose herself again. She cleared her throat. "They're a couple now."

Shikamaru's eyes almost jumped out of their sockets then he started coughing as if he was choking on his own saliva. Choji quickly handed him a glass of water. "W-What? When did that happen? Did I miss something?" He handed the glass back at Choji. "Thanks, Choji."

Choji nodded with a smile. "Hehe, I choked on my food too."

Naruto grumbled. "Hey! What kind of reactions are that?"

Shikamaru laughed then he proceeded to sit down beside Naruto and threw an arm over his friend's shoulder. "Anyway, congratulations. You'll find out soon enough that having a girlfriend is a drag, especially since your girlfriend is Sakura."

Sakura glared at Shikamaru. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sakura," Ino said with a serious face. "Can I talk to you for a bit?" Sakura nodded then she started to stand up. Ino noticed that Naruto was also starting to get out of his seat. "Where are you going Naruto?"

"With Sakura, of course."

Ino growled. "Well, I have to talk to her about girl stuff. Alone."

Naruto was going to protest but Shikamaru cut in. "Yessh, let them go, Naruto. Why don't you tell us how you became couple instead of listening on girly gossip?"

Naruto glanced at Sakura then he grinned. "I'll just be here, Sakura-chan."

Sakura returned the smile. "Yeah. I won't be long, Naruto."

Ino pulled Sakura out of the cafeteria and they both stood near the trash bins, where no one was around. Ino placed a hand on her hip and glared at Sakura. "What the hell really happened, Sakura? Did I miss a memo or something? What happened to your feelings for Sasuke?" She blew her long fringe away from her blue eyes.

"Still here." Sakura replied with a sigh. "... But I can't tell you, Ino. I just can't tell you."

"And why not?"

Sakura snorted. "Because I can't. I don't even know what happened."

"What about Sasuke?" Ino asked with a frown. Sakura has admired Sasuke since they were in pre-school... She was always talking about Sasuke last Friday and now came Monday, she's Naruto's girlfriend. Something wasn't right here.

Sakura lowered her gaze. "H-He likes someone else, Ino."

Ino gasped. "Oh my God! Is it me?"

Sakura finally laughed as she playfully smacked her friend's arm. "Oh Ino! You're so funny sometimes!"

Ino stuck her tongue out at Sakura. "Who said I was joking, forehead?! So is it?"

Sakura glared at her. "NO, PIG! Stop dreaming! It's not the two of us!"

"WHAT? Then who is it?" Ino burst out shaking Sakura's shoulders. "We need to find out who it is! We need to! You bitch! You know who it is! Who is it? Tell me, Sakura!" Sakura managed to get away from her. "SAKURA! Get back here! You need to tell me! We need to destroy that bitch! Sakura! I'm your best friend, goddamit!"

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Shino watched as the two noisy females hurried away from where he was hiding. He was looking for his spider, which somehow managed to escape the little cage he made. He replayed the scene which played out in front of him a minute ago. Oh so, Sasuke Uchiha was human after all. Sasuke Uchiha liked someone. This was a case to be solved by none other than himself. He pushed himself out of the bags of trash and dusted his white coat.

Shino had a mission.

He was going to know who Sasuke Uchiha liked.

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Sasuke Uchiha was being watched. He could feel it. The question was: WHY? He stopped in front of his locker and slowly opened it. He couldn't see anyone paying attention to him so why was he getting a feeling that he was being watched? He traded his books in English for his history book. He closed his locker and started walking away. Sasuke saw Itachi getting out of the gym with Kisame. "Itachi." He greeted. Truth be told, Sasuke was always happy to see his older brother. "Are you heading somewhere?"

Itachi smiled at his younger brother before he poked Sasuke's forehead playfully. "No, you will not cut classes. Go to your next class." Then his expression became serious. "You're bugged." Itachi reached for Sasuke's uniform pocket and pulled out a small beetle. "Literally." He crushed the small bug between his fingers. "See you at home."

Sasuke smirked. Itachi was always keen with his observations. "Hn."

"Bye, little bro." Kisame said, reaching to ruffle Sasuke's hair but Sasuke was fast. He quickly swatted Kisame's hand away to which made Kisame laugh. "You're so touchy, Sasuke."

Sasuke glared at Kisame.

"Kisame," Itachi called with an amused look. "Let's go."

Kisame playfully shoved Sasuke to the side as he passed him by. "Later, Sasuke."

Sasuke brushed off the part where Kisame touched him as he continued on his way to his next class. He was about to enter the room when Hinata arrived on the door at the same time as he did. She was panting lightly. He raised a brow.

Hinata glanced up at Sasuke and smiled. "S-Sa-Sasuke-kun." She greeted with a little bow. "G-Good Morning."

Sasuke felt heat rush up to his face which made him quickly look away. "Ah, good morning." He gestured her to the door, urging him to go inside before him. It was the gentlemanly thing to do. Hinata nodded then quickly stepped inside. She glanced back and muttered a thanks before she hurried to her seat. Ah, of course, he almost forgot. They were classmates in this subject. He was about to step inside the room when someone called his name. He looked up and frowned.

Naruto was waving his arm like crazy while his other arm was around Sakura's shoulder. He pulled her closer to him and grinned. "Sasuke, Sakura's with me now." Naruto gloated. "I guess, I won this one huh?"

Sasuke narrowed his gaze at the dobe. He didn't like the way Naruto spoke, like Haruno was some kind of prize that he deserved. He shrugged, "Nobody cares." he stated with a stoic expression on his face.

Sakura gasped as she stared at up at him. Her green eyes wide. Sasuke almost wanted to take what he said back and explain to her that he didn't mean it like she thinks he did. She's misreading him but instead of explaining, Sasuke stood his ground and was about to walk inside the classroom when Sakura quickly walked passed him as she dragged Naruto behind her. "Let's go, Naruto. Don't waste time on Sasuke-kun." He heard her say.

Naruto stuck his tongue out at Sasuke as he allowed himself to be dragged by his new girlfriend. He laughed. "Bye, Uchiha!" He taunted then he noticed Hinata sitting by the corner. She was busy reading a book. "Hey Hinata-chan!" He greeted with a smile. "Good morning!"

Hinata glanced up from her book and blushed. "G-Good Morning, Naruto-kun!" She greeted, then she turned to Sakura, who stood beside Naruto. She looked angry. "Good Morning, Sakura-chan."

Sakura turned to look at Hinata, and then she smiled. "Good Morning, Hinata-chan." She let go of Naruto and proceeded to take the seat beside Hinata. "Can I sit beside you, Hinata-chan?" She needed some peace and quiet today and she wasn't getting that with Naruto. He was so noisy. She can't hear herself think or speak for that matter.

Hinata nodded.

Naruto gaped at his girlfriend. "Sakura! But you always sit beside me!"

"I want to sit with Hinata, Naruto." Sakura replied, glancing at Naruto, who was pouting. As she turned her attention to her phone, she noticed Sasuke's attention directed at her... Sakura sighed and then she glanced at Hinata, who was back to reading her book. "Of course, he's not looking at me. I forgot." She muttered as she flooded Ino with text messages.

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Kiba skipped happily as he popped in inside Naruto's classroom. "NARUTO! I heard the news!" He beamed as he jumped on his friend's back. He grinned. "You lucky boy! You finally got your girl huh?" They high-fived. "Congratulations, bro!" Kiba turned to where Sakura was sitting. He waved at her. "Hey Sakura! Glad you finally gave this idiot a chance!"

"Yuh." Sakura replied before she turned her attention back to her phone.

Kiba raised a brow then he leaned in closer to Naruto. "What's wrong with her? Did you piss her off again?"

Naruto shook his head. "Not that I know of. She seems really moody today."

Kiba shrugged. "Must be her time of the month. You know how girls are. Anyway, tell me all about it, Naruto! Shikamaru was too lazy to retell the story so I hurried here instead. Hehe. How did you become a couple? Everyone at school is talking about it!"

Naruto's eyes sparkled. "REALLY? We are like the power couple now!"

They high-fived again.

"Well, it happened last Saturday, while we were on detention!" Naruto started with a grin. "I was determined to tell her that day. I was going to tell her before we arrived at school, so I decided to pass by her house to pick her up, but that damn Sasuke was also there. He was going to pick her up! Believe it! So my plan was delayed but then, with Hinata-chan's help... She managed to drag Sasuke and her cousin, Neji away..."

Kiba's eyes widened. "What? Neji was also there?"

Naruto nodded. "Uh-huh! He seemed to be really wanting to talk to Sakura-chan alone too! But I beat them both to it, huh? Sakura-chan really has a lot of admirers!" He huffed. "I'm going to have to be strong to drive them all away from her."

"Speaking of admirers..." Kiba said as he sighed. He spotted Lee pressing his face on the glass window before Lee rushed inside the classroom. The guy had tears falling down his eyes as he stared at Sakura, who was oblivious to what was happening. "... Your first opponent is here."

"SAKURA-SAN!" Lee burst out, catching everyone's attention. He made his way to where Sakura was sitting. "Is it true? Are you and Naruto a... a... a... a... a... a... couple?"

Hinata slowly closed the book she was reading and glanced back and forth between a surprised Sakura and a teary Rock Lee. Wow, Sakura really had a lot of admirers, huh? Hinata felt so small. Of course, Sakura will have a lot of them... She wasn't weird like Hinata was. She actually knows how to keep a conversation going. Sakura was also smart and frequently spoke up about her views. Hinata caught sight of Naruto as he stood up from where he was sitting and made his way to where Sakura was sitting.

"Naruto-kun! Calm down." She found herself saying but of course, Naruto didn't hear it.

"Neh, LEE!" Naruto yelled, glaring at the older student. "What do you think your doing?"

Rock Lee turned to face Naruto. "Naruto, I'm merely asking Sakura-san a question."

"Naruto, sit down." Sakura said, glaring at her supposed boyfriend.

Rock Lee turned his attention back to Sakura then he got down on his knee and grabbed Sakura's hand and left a kiss on it. Sakura looked like she was ready to bolt out of there. "Sakura-san, please allow me to give you the love you deserve while we are both young and full of energy, for this is the springtime of our youth."

Naruto growled as he reached for Lee's green jumpsuit. "Hey! Don't touch my Sakura-chan!" He hissed, glaring at him. Lee had a clam face on. "Yeah, we are a couple. Do you have any problem with that? Believe it!" Then he laughed. "Must really suck to be you, huh? Caterpillar."

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Cut it out, you two."

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Sasuke let out a huff as he watched the scene unfold before him. Everyone was fighting over Sakura. Sheesh. Karin seemed to be annoyed as well. "Eh, why are they fighting over Sakura so much?" she said. Then she turned and wrapped herself all over Sasuke. "If someone tried to take me away, Sasuke-sama, what would you do?"

Sasuke felt a migraine coming. "Nothing." He replied glaring down at Karin. "Let go."

Karin pouted. "Oh, Sasuke-sama! You shy cutie! It'll be our little secret, you know!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Why can't some people take a hint?

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Iruka-sensei stepped inside the room while Naruto and Lee were fighting. He quickly sent the two to detention, where they were going to make up for the mess they made. He started class with a bad mood. He gave a pop quiz as punishment. Then he quickly dismissed the class. "Sakura, I don't want anymore fights about this. Whatever happened, that was the last one okay? Control your... uhm... boyfriend."

Sakura let out a sigh. "Yes, Iruka-sensei."

"Good bye, class." Iruka said as he walked out of the classroom.

Sakura turned to Hinata. "Hey, Hinata! Are you going to hang out with Kiba and the others later?"

Hinata nodded.

Sakura knew that after class, Naruto mostly hang out with Kiba, Shikamaru, and sometimes, Hinata was with them. "Oh, great. Can you do me a favor then?" Sakura asked with a smile. Hinata nodded. "Can you tell Naruto I went home first because my mom wanted me to do something? Please?"

Hinata nodded. "O-okay, Sakura-chan. I'll tell him."

Sakura smiled brightly then she leaned in and gave Hinata a kiss on the cheeks. "Thank you, Hinata-chan. I'll see you tomorrow then!" She waved as she walked out of the room. Thank God, the day was over. Sakura could wait to go home and spent the evening dipped in a strawberry bubble bath. Ino texted her earlier that she was going to hand out with Ten-ten. Sakura wasn't aware that they were friends, like when did that happen? Did she miss a memo? Maybe Ino was still a bit angry that Sakura would tell her who Sasuke liked. But it's not like Sakura can just blurt it out... Sasuke would know... Ino was a gossiper. She just loved talking.

"SAKURA."

Sakura looked up at the sound of her name and sighed. "What now?" She asked as she glanced back and forth Neji and Sasuke.

"I need to talk to you." The two boys said in unison which made them glare at each other.

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Ehh? What did Neji and Sasuke want from Sakura? I wonder how Lee and Naruto are doing at detention? Will Sasuke finally get some alone time with Hinata in the next chapter?