Standard Disclaimer: I own the story and the writing, but not the characters themselves. This will remain true for any and all stories I post including any more chapters I add.

We used to play these ice breaker games in the beginning of the year. One year we just sat in a circle and the teacher pulled questions out of hat. Every kid would answer the question, and you had to be honest.

"What is your favorite color?" their instructor happily chirped and looked expectantly to the boy on her right.

"Blue."

And then "Pink."

"Blue"

"Green"

I muttered out a "Navy" with my arms still crossed over my chest.

And around the circle it went until it came upon the most peculiar girl I had ever seen. How I hadn't noticed her when she walked in I couldn't fathom. Her hair was pink, though not blindingly so. It was tied back in a fashion that just emitted she simply had no time for styling it, yet the pieces that fell out framed her face almost angelically. Her eyes were captivating to the point where you forgot how to turn your head away. A color of green that does not exist in our world outside of her. Her skin slightly tanned, her voice soft but her head held high. Her body petite yet toned. Curvaceously intoxicating, but under the soft skin were practiced muscles. Her nose and her lips were perfection, begging to be touched. In that first glance at her I noticed every feature. I saw the lightest dusting of freckles across her nose and that her eyelashes were dark in contrast to her hair and eyes.

That was the first moment Sakura Haruno shocked me.

"Red." Was all she muttered, slightly amused by our answers.

From that moment on, I heard only the questions and her answers to them.

"What is your best friend's name?"

Ino

"How many siblings do you have?"

None

"What is your earliest childhood memory?"

...

When it came to her, she faltered. The class looked at her expectantly, finally enjoying the game as it was at least getting sort of interesting. But if you could look at Sakura's eyes you could see it was not an easy question.

"I-I was 14. I woke up in the hospital to a bunch of strange faces. A woman kept crying, her husband trying to squeeze her shoulders. As if the action of physically holding her would keep all the little broken bits from falling out." She didn't really look at anyone when she spoke. Her eyes simply seeing beyond our classroom. Back to that day. "I was told my name and my age, and that the people who were crying were my parents. I was also told I had retrograde amnesia, and after some tests and couple nights in the hospital for monitoring, I would go home with these people I did not know, to a life I did not remember. That is the farthest back I have."

This was the second time Sakura Haruno surprised me.

The class was silent after that and the new teacher didn't know if she should continue with the game to get the attention off the girl, or console her student who had obviously been through a great deal in the last couple of years.

I don't really recall much else of that day. Just that the air felt thick, and that no matter where I looked the rest of the day I couldn't find a sliver of pink.

I didn't gain the courage to talk to her until two years later. But that doesn't mean I didn't know her. It sounded creepy in a sense and if I weren't so mesmerized I would probably say that it was, but I watched. Every day, the things I should –The way she scribbled notes with her left hand, and that she always color coded her class books to her notebooks. That she wore a simple silver ring on her right hand. That her hair was straight and she would try impossibly hard to get it to have the slightest curl on special occasions. –And I watched the things I shouldn't –How her skirt hiked up when she sat, the way her lips parted when she smiled with that Ino girl. The way her one uniform shirt that was too big for her would shift when she was bored in class and show that curve where your neck meets your shoulder.

And I listened. To the things I should –"Hi Sasuke!" never 'Sasuke-kun', because she simply wasn't the type. And when she answered the teacher's questions or volunteered to lend a hand after school. When she said her birthday was March 28th. –And to the things I shouldn't. –Her first kiss was stolen by some miscreant who thought it was ok to force himself on her. And her mother was very sick. She only ever sang in the shower and long car rides. She loved mashed potatoes and strawberries but of course not together.

I waited. Because despite how normal she was, that was exactly what was so petrifying. I had dealt with hotshots before. With snarky, arrogant bastards of men who thought they had the world at their feet. Quite frankly I was one of them. My father was the founder of a huge corporation that my brother and I would take care of when the time came. I had fortune that I could spend on anything I wanted no questions asked. I was indisputably intelligent and the female population claimed my looks to be more outstanding than any photo shopped actor they had ever seen.

Sasuke Uchiha was not ordinary in the slightest. For everything I had in my desirable life was simply my reward for being emotionally stifled and short tempered. I had only one good friend and a few close enough to have seen my estate. But they were boys. They didn't care that I rarely talked or that I thought most people were too dumb for their own good.

Sakura Haruno was different. She was so accustomed to the everyday life of a lower middle class family and the struggles gave her empathy and understanding. She knew that her intelligence was gifted but not beyond reason. That every grade was the product of undisturbed hours with her books. She knew that goals could be set and worked for and achieved and that bad things happened and she was no exception. She made friends and laughed and picked flowers on particularly boring walks home. And one day, she looked me dead in the eye and smiled, not her carefree smile that I had become accustomed to, but one full of depth, saying that she had been through something hard that day, but in true Sakura fashion she would not allow the weight of it to bring her down.

That was the third time Sakura Haruno surprised me.

I had become so used to a life where powerful men whined like children and exacted revenge when they did not get what they wanted, that she was so far out of my realm. She was too good for me in ways I didn't want to imagine.

No matter how much Naruto would have made fun of me for thinking it, and God knows I would never admit that I had, I wondered what we could have been like if we were born in a different time. She a Lady and me a Nobleman. Or even both of us peasants in the dark ages, because if she was there by my side, I know I would be better than who I am right now.

Sometimes I thought of trying to bring her into my world. Of leading her through the malicious and calculated iron gates of business tycoons. Where no one cared about the good of anything, and only took steps that would put them ahead.

To an extent I thought she could do well there alongside me. She was different than them, determined yet unpredictable with an unwavering morality. She could make changes and spark new inhibitions. But there was a problem with that thought.

My world was one where you didn't show weakness.

And Sakura Haruno showed all of her weaknesses. Because in a way that I only grasped through watching her, it gave her, her greatest strengths. She didn't have time to waste on figuring out who she was and following orders blindly and being insecure. Her life started fourteen years in, and she wasn't going to waste another breath. It was something I greatly admired, but also feared. They would take everything she was, dissect it, and find the most brutal way to tear her apart, so she would never try to get back up.

Maybe she could handle it. But then again, I could never be sure, and the light in her eye, the sound of her laugh, the determination on her face, were not things I would risk.

I would not sacrifice her to a world that cruel.

I had already come to terms with the fact that my infatuation with her had gone well past the point of sanity. I didn't take pictures, or have things locked in my room or have these deep seated fantasies about her. I just simply wished she could have known me too. In years of classes together, my importance to her was nonexistent, and she would one day forget me. Yet I myself indisputably wanted her in every way.

I wanted her to jump into my arms when she got an A on the test she had spent so many hours preparing for.

I wanted her to high five me and give me that blinding grin when she scored a goal or reached the top of a new mountain.

I wanted to let her tears soak my shirt whenever she need be.

I wanted to pull her running through the rain.

I wanted to be the one she retold all of the fiction stories she read for fun to.

And I would admit, I wasn't unacquainted with the side of me that wanted to lay her down in my bed and pleasure her in every way she would let me.

I wanted Sakura to be something in my mundane existence that I would never allow her to be.

I swore I wouldn't be like the other men of my destined career. I wouldn't be selfish the way they were. She was my only proof that I had held to that.

I had already decided two years ago, that I would never bring Sakura Haruno down with me.

And in my senior year I was so close to achieving that goal.

Until the day she approached me.

"Is this seat taken?" She had her bag already on the desk beside me when she asked. I knew that voice, but I didn't want to look up to meet her eyes.

"Yes." It came out as more of a painful grunt and I looked straight ahead choosing to barely acknowledge her. If I could just get her to go away.

"O-Oh, uhm, alright." I let out my breath as she turned to leave before she stopped and looked back. I glared at her, hoping that would be the last of our encounters. She walked away.

In the years before, Sakura and I were civil to each other. She didn't often talk to me, and when she did she was nice, and I pretended she didn't exist for her own good. It was the farthest I'd allow our relationship to go. Any closer and I would lose control of all the thoughts in my head, the facts I should know versus everything I did.

There was something to be said about the childhood idea that boys were mean to the girls they liked. Cause I would be as mean as necessary to to keep her away from me. To make her think I couldn't stand her presence. Sakura Haruno could not get close to me.

"Good morning students, I trust that you're all very excited for the start of your senior year?" Kakashi Hatake asked as he strolled in with the bell.

There were grunts from some of the class and hollers from the more excited few. Most of the class remained silent waiting for this year's game.

The games they made us play were in fact heavily pushed by the school board in order to promote class bonding and a more successful work environment. We had been doing them every year, and by now we knew everyone in our classes, apart from maybe a few unfamiliar faces who probably just phased up in the school's academic system.

"As seniors I nominate a vote." Our teacher turned to us then. "Every year you do those little team building icebreakers to get to know each other. But by now I'm sure you all know who your friends are, and don't intend on really expanding upon your selected groups. So either we use one of the items on this piece of paper" he held up a sheet of faculty approved suggestions, "or we can just have a study hall, in which you can listen to music, sleep, catch up on the summer reading you didn't do, whatever you choose."

At that the class got to talking. What he said was true we, for the most part by our senior year, had already settled in. But we also were so used to them at the start of every year, that it felt wrong to miss out on it.

"So all in favor of the icebreaker?"

A few hands went up, but unmistakably one of them belonged to the pink haired girl.

"The study hall?" And the majority of the class cast their vote. "Alright, enjoy." he muttered while pulling out a book and propping his feet up on the desk.

The students quickly rearranged desks, pulled out ipods, and chatted happily with each other. I watched Sakura look very confused and almost upset on her walk over to Ino's desk. Ino made efforts to cheer her up and the two talked about something in hushed tones.

Even Hinata, another friend of Sakura's, and a girl not known for being very outspoken made an effort to collaborate with the two.

I simply pulled out a book I should have finished for english but had yet to actually take any interest in. Slipping in my earphones and flipping the pages to my last dogeared spot I tried to drown them out of my mind.

One year left to get through and I wasn't going to blow it on anything stupid. When this was over I could find sanctuary in the secluded lifestyle of a business exec. My brother Itachi and I had been learning the ropes to running our corporation for years. And while he was obviously farther along than I am, I would still have an office and stack of important tasks to complete upon my graduation. My father didn't even want me going to college. He said it was a waste of my time and that everything I needed to know about our company was in my blood.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. It was well known Kakashi Hatake was the most relaxed teacher in the entire school, so I pulled it out and placed it directly on the desk. Reading through the notifications until I noticed a message from my best friend.

This game is literally the weirdest one yet, we have to act out scenes from movies I've never even seen.

While the idea of Naruto Uzamaki standing before his entire class scratching his head was amusing, I suppressed my urge to smirk.

Thats probably because everything you watch is garbage.

An immediate response told me he wasn't even trying to pay attention to his classmates this year.

Shut it, you wouldn't even know, all you do is sulk and glare at things. If I didn't come over you probably wouldn't even know what a movie was.

That is not all I do. But i still caught myself glaring at the phone, willing him to feel it.

So what did your teacher pick? Anything interesting?

Nothing actually, he gave us a study hall.

WHAT? How is that fair? Is he even allowed to do that? Wait so what's Hinata doing?

I rolled my eyes at the question. Naruto just recently realized he had a thing for a certain girl in my class, but had yet to make a move. The boy was loud, brash, spontaneous, abrasive….but apparently even he was too intimidated to approach a girl of such intelligence.

Naruto wasn't in my class because his grades kept him with the slower learning students. Every class supposedly learned all the same material, but the student's phase was determined by how quickly they could grasp the concepts and the grades they got. By now you knew the majority of the people in your classes because the system had pretty much determined your phase level years ago and you've been with the same kids ever since. This is probably what Kakashi had realized already and why he thought by now we didn't need introductions to the same people anymore.

Now most kids did shift phases for at least one or two classes. Naruto actually got to come up to my class for History. His interest in world leaders, class struggle, and war heros caused him to actually pay close attention to that class. He surprisingly knew a lot on the subject and excelled in it.

Making out with Shikamaru. You know how they were lab partners last year.

A couple minutes for Naruto's shock to set in and I finally got back: Shut up asshole. She's not like that. Even I know that.

I turned back to my book, ignoring Naruto's continuance of messages asking me what she was really doing because as his best friend I should be putting in a good word for him. Or when he gave me an in depth description of himself acting out Les Miserables, which he did not know was a tragic musical about rebellion and prostitution and a love triangle.

By the time our first class was over I had to physically restrain myself from hitting my only close friend over the head.

When the bell rang I made my way to Sarutobi Asuma's room for math, seeing Sakura and Ino walking just feet away ahead of me, I remembered Hinata wasn't usually in our math class. The girl was extremely smart and hard working, but her fear of getting the wrong answer often inhibited her success in the subject. She actually phased down for the class.

I saw her cousin, Neji, fall into step beside me with Shikamaru coming up on my other side. While I hung out with the two fairly regularly, I took solace in the fact they were both content with doing most things without conversation.

I snuck another glance ahead of me and for the first time I had trouble keeping my thoughts to myself. I turned to Shikamaru "Don't you and Ino have a thing?"

He glanced over at me, confused by my sudden curiosity but not caring enough to question it. As well as probably annoyed because he knew that I knew the two had been dating since last year. "Yeah, you know when she's not mad at me. That girl spends her free time coming up with annoying things for me to do with her, I swear. Then she gets mad when I complain."

"In her defense, you complain about everything." Neji added.

Shikamaru sighed and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "She's troublesome, I'll admit, but she's also the only girl I've ever known to be worth the trouble. So I might complain a lot, but I usually do what she wants anyway."

I didn't hang out with Shikamaru alone, but he was so far my only real connection to Sakura. The boyfriend of her best friend was part of the reason I could keep up with her life. Ino was a real chatterbox, and with Naruto now pursuing Sakura's other close friend it seemed that the boy was constantly prying for information about Ino's girls night outs.

Though when Naruto did it, he got the information he wanted. I on the other hand didn't have the patience nor blunt behavior to just ask about Haruno's life.

Strolling into the classroom I sit quickly next to Neji and without even realizing it scope out where the girls placed themselves.

I had spent too long obsessing over this pink haired girl that it was beginning to become too hard to conceal.

I mentally berated myself. I've gone two years without being able to express any interest in the only girl I had ever thought about, and it was finally catching up to me.

When I first realized she was more than a pretty face to me a month into sophomore year, I convinced myself I would never fall for her. A few months later, I settled for telling myself I would never let anyone figure out I had fallen for her.

I was good at ignoring people. Girls often through themselves at me, and I kept them at bay by first glance usually. And after becoming so attached to Sakura sophomore year, ignoring them only got easier. I had something to distract myself, and I was sincere in saying they weren't my type. Because I was sure I would never feel as strongly for any other girl as I did right now, for the one two rows ahead of me and two seats to the left.

In previous years Sakura was easy to ignore, she never really tried to talk to me unless the class called for it that day, and every time she smiled, I was quickly reminded that if I truly desired her happiness I wouldn't get involved.

Uchiha's had very good self control.

Until today. I glanced again, noticing she had made her math books blue this year, and that she had tied her hair up a moment ago, and then I shifted my gaze out the window to her left.

I could do this. I'd just have to adjust my strategy.

"Well, I think we should take a little practice test to think about the proper applications of formula's in everyday life." Our teacher said, smiling broadly, toothpick between his teeth.

The class groaned as he passed out papers but he assured us they wouldn't be graded. I focused on every question, because school was the greatest distraction when I let it be.

When class ended I went through more of the same with each class. I payed attention to the students who came and went based on the class but the majority of us stayed together. Even Ino was grinning broadly as she through her arms around Haruno. She had made it to chemistry in our phase this year. From what Shikamaru had mentioned, he and Sakura had tutored her nonstop the year before so she didn't have to phase down for science this year. But despite how proud the two girls looked and even glad to have Hinata back with them, Sakura still seemed conflicted.

I brushed it off. The only class where anything particularly out of the ordinary happened was of course history. Naruto came waltzing into the room broad grin and all and shouted the moment his eyes found me.

"Teme! There you are." And then he plopped down in the chair beside me.

"For the last time dobe, quit calling me that."

"So listen teme, I have an idea this year and I need you to just go along with it." He was looking at me with that goofy grin and I knew I couldn't agree to anything he said.

I smirked and raised an eyebrow at him, "And what's this great plan of yours?"

He turned to face the door when we could hear Ino's loud voice coming down the hall. I turned away, staring out the window, finally getting back in my routine of not caring about anyone that came through that door. Especially not a girl.

"So I thought we could go dress shopping early because if we take the train we could be at the best boutiques in like an hour –" but of course she was cut off.

"Hinata! Hey we saved you guys seats!" He gestured to the three seats in front of us still unoccupied.

How did I not see this coming? Hinata's heavy blush didn't stop her from looking at Ino and Sakura who simply shrugged and walked over to where we were. The blonde obviously happy to be near her boyfriend anyway.

I clenched and unclenched my fists until I could resist the urge to pound Naruto's face into the desk. Fine. It's not like I've never been this close to them before. But with Naruto's sad attempts at flirting and Ino's constant rambling to Shikamaru, it was like Sakura, Neji, and I were the only three left to converse. And Neji was no use because he was rather protective of his cousin and made it very clear he didn't want Naruto going near her. He took the desk on Naruto's other side to join the conversation. Leaving Haruno to stare at me expectantly. She gave me a small smile and I looked away from her. Instead pulling out my phone to distract myself.

Anko Mitarashi, our history teacher was writing things on the board so I pulled out my notebook to begin copying it all down. At that Sakura just turned back to face the board, pulling out a red notebook.

Ms. Mitarashi turned to us and gestured to a huge pile of old history books covering her desk. "Everyone grab a book and get ready, were getting right to work this year."

Naruto jumped right up to get both him and Hinata a book but at Neji's glare grabbed a third to please the girls cousin.

I followed the other classmates up to the stacks, Sakura being directly in front of me, almost bumped into me when she turned around to get out of the pack. Upon seeing me however she smiled and looked at the copy in her hands, holding it out to me. My fingers twitched to accept her kindness, and in the past sometimes I did. But today hasn't been as easy as in the past so I was being extra cautious.

I reached over her head and grabbed my own from the stack, quickly turning away from her deflated look and going back to my seat.

"Grab your book and sit down. I need to talk to the class," the teacher once again urging us to hurry up and get seated. When we were all back in our respective spots she gestured to the board behind her. "These are all topics we will be covering this semester. You will each partner up, pick a topic, and present for forty five minutes on the subject at the end of the semester. You will be expected to go far beyond the information we cover in this class so pick a topic that interests you. However it is only one pair per topic so have back ups in mind in case you can't get your top choice." The whispers of people pairing up had already begun so she slammed one of the remaining books on the desk, effectively silencing us. "You will be expected to work outside of class with each other and have at least ten sources. Along with the presentation you will be expected to have a powerpoint, a visual aid, or something interactive for the class. As well as a research paper on your topic. How you divide the work is your business, but before you go teaming up with your good friends keep in mind you will be teaching the class about your topics. You will be working on this presentation all semester and it is often very stressful. Work with someone you will do well with. Who will do their share of the work, and who you won't lose a friendship with if you get into a fight. And trust me your grade will suffer if we can see your hostility towards each other. I'm not going to be your therapist. And this is one of my toughest assignments of the year. Don't slack off."

Her little speech actually proved to hit chords with the class. Everyone being much more calm and logical in whom they were teaming up with. Next to me Naruto was tapping Hinata on the shoulder. "Hinata, would you like to be my partner? I think we'd make a great pair!"

Not realizing his word choice Naruto looked baffled at the girls harsh blush. "S-Sure Naruto, I'd like that."

On my left Shikamaru was already listening to Ino happily talk about which topics she thought seemed the least boring. "And you can write the paper cause you're good with that and I'll do the presentation cause I'm great with making visuals that stand out and wow people! This is gonna be so perfect!"

It was that moment when I tensed. Naruto really knew how to fuck a guy over. I quickly glanced around Naruto hoping Neji was thinking the same thing I was. We would be good partners. Both smart and hard working. We could knock the project out in a few weeks and surely do well on it.

But Neji's back was to me. He was talking to a brown haired girl behind him. Leaning on the desk and offering a flirtatious smile, you could tell she had been interested in getting the boy's attention.

"Neji" I tried to quickly distract him. He cared about his studies and wasn't easily swayed by a pretty face. I probably still had a chance. "What topic do you wanna do?"

"I'm sorry Sasuke." He glanced at the brunette who was simply watching the situation. "I think Tensaraku here was in the middle of asking me."

"Oh please call me Tenten, everyone does." she said smiling and extending her hand to the boy. He took it and turned back to her.

I shifted my eyes across the room frantically trying to see who was available. There has to be at least one guy.

"You know I really don't bite." I shut my eyes and faced Sakura Haruno. Usually when I avoided people they got the hint. But her humored expression said otherwise.

So I said the first thing that came to mind, "The teacher said we should work with people we can do well with." sounding extremely bored by her presence.

She felt the insult, that much you could see. but she wasn't upset as expected. She was angry. She glared back at me with as much force as she could, "Fine, I get it Uchiha you don't think I'm good enough but last time I checked our class rankings say that I'm just below you. I can pull off this stupid project. And it looks like we're both out of options so just pick a topic and suck it up." She was spitfire that was for sure. And that was a problem.

My entire body tensed to stop myself from responding. She had self respect and knew how she deserved to be treated, so she wasn't gonna take my bullshit. It was exactly part of why I was so attracted to her. She had no qualms about matching me head on. There was absolutely no way I could work with her without letting something slip. And lord knows that the way she was looking at me with her eyes fired up and her hair falling out of her ponytail that I wanted to lock the door and throw her on a desk. No. You can't picture those things.

I turned to Ino, "switch partners with me."

It wasn't exactly a question but she wasn't surprised by my notion either. The annoyed look on her face and crossed arms however told me she didn't like it. "What is wrong with you? You're being such an ass. And besides, Shika and I already have everything planned out." She spared a look at Sakura to make sure the girl wasn't upset with her answer.

In response Sakura rolled her eyes at me. "Get it through your skull, you're stuck with me for a semester. You can hate me all you want after we finish." And then she sat down with a huff, arms crossed over her chest. She didn't talk to me about the details of the project like the rest of the class was doing, just started flipping through her history book.

I started listing the topics in the order I would want to do them in, trying to think about which ones Sakura wouldn't mind. She wasn't a huge fan of history. She used to tell Ino that she liked the stories but hated the little details we were often quizzed on.

When we finally had to report our picks to Mitarashi, Sakura didn't even look at me. I offered the History and Revolution of France and the teacher wrote it down. Sakura quickly scribbled it down as well but never turned to me. I thought she would like them. Peppin the Short, Charlemagne, and Joan of Arc would be good stories to keep her interested in the topic.

Naruto elbowed me in the side, "what the hell was all of that about? What did she ever do to you?"

I sighed. This year was gonna be the death of me at this rate. Naruto was the only guy I knew who wouldn't just acknowledge we were friends and just drop it. Of course he was gonna ask questions about either what she did to me or why I was being a dick. He had a very boisterous sense of right and wrong and liked to involve himself. "Drop it dobe."

He gave me a look that said his inquiry wasn't over but didn't press it further.

I stared at the back of Sakura's head before I realized what I was doing, shook my head and tried to focus on what the teacher was telling us.

When that failed I settled on thinking about Uchiha Inc. and my dreams for the future of the business.