Learning to Love
By: yume-chan29

Standard Disclaimers Apply.

Author's notes- Entry Four:

Holy Cheese Ding Dang Schnickerdoodle.

…I UPDATED. (Queue Dramatic Music) After a year. Of Hiatus. Which I didn't even clarify. Ohmigawd, SQUEE. I seriously thought about discontinuing this fic because of several reasons: 1) It was totally and utterly out of the Naruto timeline. You see, I started this fic before I even heard about the timeskip. So naturally, I had NO IDEA that Hawt!Gaara becomes Hawt-Gaara-Kazekage-Sama! Among other things. 2) Major Writer's Block. Had it for the longest time because I wanted so much for the story to flow evenly. I overthought (yes, I'm positive that it is not a word) and my brain imploded. 3) Laziness. When I finally came up with the idea for this chapter, I thought no one would be interested anymore seeing as I hadn't updated in such a long, long time. 4) Preoccupied. Enough Said.

Apparently though, some of you really wanted this fic to be continued. And since I liked the plot in itself (and I love the fans of this story) I decided to give this old thing another go. So yeah. Forgive me for deliberately ignoring this fanfiction for months on end. Your perseverance, my dear, dear reviewers, has made me update! Finally.

Dedicated to my AWESOME! Reviewers.

Don't like, don't read! Love, secrets, fluff, angst, jealousy, and tragedy ahoy!

Chapter 4: Pervert!

She was running.

But from what? She didn't know. Given the obvious circumstances, all she did know was that she wanted to get the hell away from it.

It was dark.

Quite dark, in fact, that even as she was a ninja, she managed to stumble upon a tree root.

Oomph. Idiot!

How the hell was her follower seeing through the inky blackness?

She got up in rush, the presence behind her emanating daunting waves of charka, superiority, and…was that…amusement? The guy was smirking at her, she knew it. And if not for the fact that she was in a predator-chasing-prey sort of situation, where she was in the less favorable of the positions, she would've turned right around to give the jerk a piece of her mind and—!

Wait…why was she running on the ground of all places?

She cursed under her breath, berating her own stupidity. Quickly, she jumped into a tree branch, and continued her way from there.

The looming stalker followed suit.

Oh crap. The guy was obviously a shinobi.

Why was said shinobi tracking her? Again, she didn't know. What she did know, however, was that allowing herself to be captured would mean trouble.

"Can't run forever, Haruno."

Oooohhhh, hell. The very capable shinobi behind her, hunting her, with intent for sure-fire evil, knew her name.

Not to mention he was gaining insurmountable speed.

She panicked, putting whatever energy she had left into her legs and started into a sprint.

But the ninja was too fast for her.

Before she knew it, the being tackled her from behind, grabbing at her waist. She tried to struggle out of the man's grip but to no avail. Her attempts turned to catching on a tree knob to halt their fall, but her efforts only proved fruitless.

She clutched her eyes closed in frustration.

The male landed on the ground first. His feet gracefully floating back to Earth in the practiced Shinobi way. Somehow, through the flailing, she felt he had shifted her position so she now lay in his arms, bridal style.

It would've been almost romantic by how closely and gently he held her…if not for the fact the guy had malicious purposes and was currently holding a kunai to her pulsing jugular.

When she opened her eyes, in a last ditch effort to see her killer, she managed to catch a vague glimpse of…white?

Just as the guy was tearing open her throat with his weapon…

Sakura woke up in a cold sweat.

She brought a hand to her face, rubbing her temples and taking deep breaths in an effort to calm herself. It was her second getting-viciously-murdered-by-shinobi-in-dark-forest dream in a row!

The pink-haired kunoichi sighed shakily. It must be nerves, she told herself.

She was tense about her training with Neji today and that anxiousness had caused bouts of irregular frightening nightmares. Nothing out of the ordinary. Really.

Sakura crushed a face to her pillow, breathing a quiet 'Who am I kidding?', before grabbing her alarm clock.

Only, 4:35. She still had time. Her session with the Hyuuga wouldn't be for another 1 hour and 25 minutes.

Making a quick decision of what to do now that she was wide awake, she got up, put on what she'd officially dubbed her training suit (after all, none of them had commented yesterday), brushed down her bed head, and walked out the door.

XXX

"You realize its…4:50 in the morning, don't you?"

She grinned sheepishly. "…It had entered my mind once or twice, yeah."

He rubbed his eyes once. Twice. Blinked once. Twice. Three times. Crap. Still there.

She clutched her hands together, all the while smiling, "You know as well as I do that Naruto wouldn't have woken up at this hour. Ino needs all the beauty sleep she can get. (Inner Sakura guffawed hysterically at the comment) And Tsunade-sama would be suffering from her usual Tuesday morning hangover. You're the only one I could turn to!"

He sighed tiredly. "And to what exactly, do I owe the…pleasure of your appearance?"

Sakura giggled lightly, pushing past him and into his apartment. "A talk." She answered simply. "A nice long talk."

He huffed exasperatedly again and looked to the pink-haired chuunin who'd already made herself comfortable on his couch. The man walked over to his kitchenette calling a quick, deadpanned, "I'll make coffee." Over his shoulder.

The 16-year-old grinned. "I knew you'd see it my way, Kakashi-sensei!"

XXX

His visible eye blinked with Sakura's tale.

He'd known for quite some time now (on account of his own personal…resources) that the Leaf and the Sound had never been on good terms. He'd also heard the rumors of an upcoming war. And had investigated the sources. Thoroughly.

But this…this he hadn't been informed of. Naturally, it'd come as a surprise. That Haruno Sakura, his little Sakura-chan of Team Seven, who he'd always unconsciously doted on, could very well bridge the difference between Konoha's victory and defeat.

She had a bloodline limit too. A super healing one. Being Hatake Kakashi, of course, he'd heard the reports of aforementioned Super!Healing powers. But he'd never took it upon himself to look into said reports. And never would he have thought Haruno Sakura would be harboring such a jutsu within her.

"So you need to obtain a certain level before activating your Bloodline Limit?" Kakashi questioned, sincerely interested.

"Yeah." She said glumly, "Jounin."

"Oh, well." The gray-haired man's mask creased, a sign he was smiling, "That shouldn't be too hard for Tsunade's apprentice." His pink-haired student had really grown.

"That would've been true, if Tsunade-sama hadn't decided to take desperate measures! She hired me some trainers because she's kind of busy with other more…important matters."

"Trainers? Like who?" The Jounin took a careful sip of coffee.

At the question, Sakura fidgeted a little, turning a shade to match her hair, till she answered in a soft mumble, "Neji-san, Gaara-san, and Sasuke-kun."

If Kakashi hadn't been so reserved, he just might've choked on his drink. "Those three?" His eyes crinkled with amusement at her nod and the way she dug her back more snugly into the cushions of his sofa. "How…interesting."

"Yeah. You could say that," Sakura muttered, sarcasm dripping off her words. She took a sip at her steaming cup. "If by interesting you mean horrifying." Inner Sakura hollered a rambunctious, "SCARY BASTARDS!"

He raised a brow. And she continued, "I mean, I had to meet up with all three of them yesterday, Hokage-sama's orders. They acted like children (obviously, because they're superiority-complexes don't allow them to listen to reason!) but still. Those guys are so strong. Way stronger than me."

In a blunt tone he replied, "Well, I think that's why Tsunade hired them to train you."

"That's not what I mean, Kakashi-sensei!" She voiced, exasperated, "I can't shake the feeling that being in their presences is…I don't know…life-threatening."

Kakashi looked unusually affected by her words, though his eyes returned to normal with the blink of an eye. He patted her shoulder cheerily, "Ah. Don't worry about that Sakura. You're just nervous."

She blinked at him, skepticism in her emerald eyes.

"Really." He reassured her, "The feeling will wear with time." With that Sakura visibly relaxed, drinking her coffee to the last drop. She casually glanced at her watch and she jumped up.

"Oh crap! If I don't leave soon, I'm going to be late!" She put her cup down, rushing over to the door. "And if I'm late Neji will kill me for sure!"

Inner Sakura was giving her a migraine with her screams of, 'RUN, SHANNARO!'

The man smiled as Sakura put on her shoes hurriedly, getting up and waving her goodbye. When she was set to sprint, she quickly turned around to face her former teacher, "Thanks so much Kakashi-sensei! We should have nicer, longer talks more often!"

She was out the door in a flash.

The jounin slowly walked back to his place on the couch, settling down on the black cushions.

From beneath his mask, a frown engraved his features, hoping against all hope that his former student's usually accurate first instincts were wrong this time around.

XXX

"Ah! N-Neji-san!" She panted softly, as she scanned the premises, "I'm here!"

She glanced down at her watch. 6:00 on the dot. Sakura smiled at her good timing, before getting into a fighting stance. She wouldn't be caught off guard as she had been yesterday.

Her boots crunched on the grass beneath her and birds hooted in the distance. Aside from that however and the occasional, whooshing of air through the trees, it was…quiet.

Really, really quiet.

Damn it! Where the hell was he?

In an instant and a flash of chocolate brown locks, he was suddenly in front of her, attacking her full-force, using his well-practiced taijutsu and moving to close her charka holes. Sakura gasped as she felt him hit a spot on her arm but quickly reverted back to defense mode, thinking up ways to put some distance between them.

He was closing in on her. Fast.

Shoot.

She needed space. His close-range attacks barely gave her enough time to dodge and block much less counter.

Thinking quick, she stabbed a kunai harshly into the tree behind her causing birds to flutter and fly about. As his Byakugan had been activated, the sudden shift in movement caused a millisecond distraction. Just enough for her to flip back and jump into a branch.

Instinct told her to run. And run she did.

Sakura bit her lip, pondering over her next move. What was she going to do next? It wasn't as if she could hide, what with his Blood Line Limit activated. Could she maybe, jump backwards and go for a direct attack? The element of surprise could work in her favor…

…or otherwise, get her slaughtered.

Why the hell was he attacking her all out like this anyway? He was supposed to be training her! Not attempting murder!

And that's when the sense of déjà vu got to her. She now knew why the area was so eerily familiar.

Her dream. It was as if it was being enacted, right here, right now. The only thing missing was—

"Can't run forever, Haruno."

Gulp.

Sweat beaded down her forehead with her exertions and an onslaught of nervous breakdown.

Killing. Is. Against. The. Law. (And is only permitted under dire circumstances). Her mind uttered repeatedly. Hyuuga Neji would never risk his reputation, his freedom to kill little old me.

…Right?

'You blackmailed him!'

'Shut up, Inner. He knows he'd go to jail, life time sentence, at the very least, if he ever made an attempt on my life.'

'…The guy's rich. He has…sources. One which may include burying a dead body and keeping details fully under wraps.'

'Shut UP, Inner. Neji-san's a good shinobi. Only evil shinobi kill for petty reasons!"

'…LOOK BEHIND YOU.'

Carefully, Sakura turned her head to gaze back at her follower. And the ninja behind her, easily obtaining more speed, did not look like a nice ninja.

Before she knew it, he caught up. And everything happened as it had in her vision. The grasping. The falling. The struggling. The landing.

Even the part where he quickly held up a kunai above her head…

A loud scream tore through her throat, echoing through the trees around them as Neji brought the weapon down.

…to tear through her shirt and her skirt in one quick swipe.

"What the hell do you think you're doing, YA PERVERT!"

She put an arm up to slap him, which he caught with a smirk.

SLAP!

So she slapped him with her other hand.

Getting up, she made a quick attempt to cover herself up, glaring daggers at the guy she thought was going to kill her just seconds ago. He too stood, returning the glower and putting a gentle hand to his reddened cheek.

"That's the second time you've injured me, Haruno."

She seethed, "I am NOT taking this from the guy who first attacked me upon my arrival, chased me down, then proceeded to rip my clothes off!"

He glared, "You make it sound as if I wanted to rape you or something. …You're still decent."

And she unconsciously blushed a bright crimson, looking down upon her current wardrobe. The fishnet shirt barely exposed her skin as it was tight knit, but it wouldn't have mattered much anyway seeing as how she was wearing a modest sports bra underneath. Her shorts were skintight…but then again, Lee wore that unyielding, green jump suit all the time and it wasn't as if people were complaining (…anymore.)

He was right.

And it made her frustrated. "Then what were your motives anyway?"

He sighed exasperatedly, making his way for her. He fingered her armband with disapproval. "Simplicity is key to training to become shinobi. It's only natural for it to apply to your clothes as well."

He continued, "Without needless complications," This time he eyed the choker around her neck, "goals are better seen, and thus easier acquired."

Her emerald orbs never ceased narrowing at him, "I understand that now, thankyouverymuch, Neji-san. But that still didn't give you the right to massacre my clothes like this." She held up her hopelessly shredded tank top and skirt, "Why couldn't you just ask me to take it off?"

A corner of his lips lifted into a smirk, "Asking you to take off your clothes would have been…suggestive."

And Sakura's flush managed to darken. 'Yeah, because ripping them off was SO less suggestive!' Inner Sakura hollered sarcastically, steaming.

"Besides," He murmured, his face once again fitted into its usual stoic composure, his blank eyes holding that maturity beyond his years, "We've saved time for more training."

He took out a kunai from his holster, "Come at me, Haruno."

She lowered her eyes to her outfit (or lack thereof) for the final time, before pulling out her own weapon and charging at him.

XXX

She was laughing.

Hysterically.

And after training for seven hours straight with one ice cold, callous Hyuuga Neji, that was not the kind of response she really would've appreciated.

"Some friend you are, Ino." Sakura murmured, twirling her chopsticks in her untouched ramen. "Taking such amusement out of my pain."

The blonde girl let out another bout of giggles, before breathing in and finally responding, "He tore your clothes off?"

Sakura blushed, pounding a fist onto the counter in complete embarrassment, "Ino! Not so loud!" She hissed, sheepishly waving to the other customers at Ichiraku and the befuddled passersby, mouthing 'She's crazy' and hooking her thumb in her friend's direction. She then put a hand on her forehead in exasperation, "…That sounded so…X-rated."

Again, Ino let out another fit of guffaws. "But he did, didn't he?"

"Er…more or less."

Ino raised an eyebrow, "You think…" Then suddenly she put a hand over her mouth to stifle a gasp, "Maybe he's a…closet pervert?"

"Ino!" Sakura screeched, sounding appalled. Ino gave her a glazed look, an expression the pink haired girl was reading as, 'Drop the innocent act. I know you were thinking about it.'

The kunoichi sighed, finally taking a bite out of her food, "Yeah. Thought about it."

Ino squealed, her cerulean eyes sparkling in excitement and a tinge of amusement, "Seriously? The prestigious Hyuuga prodigy…Ecchi?" The girl laughed in mock distress, "Oh, the scandal!"

Sakura smiled despite herself. The thought in itself was preposterous. Nonetheless, a sudden barrage of images flooded her mind of Neji, a ridiculous bandana wrapped around his head and under his nose, sneaking into girls' rooms to steal their panties.

She laughed while Ino bubbled out, "That's why he specializes in taijutsu!" The blonde made a comical hand gesture, shaping out an imaginary woman's hourglass figure, "It's a more of a hands-on kind of practice."

They shared another moment of hysterics and Sakura added, now on a roll, "And he probably uses Byakugan (-snort-) to peek into the girl's baths!"

The girls laughed till they found it hard to breathe properly, exchanging more silly ideas of how Neji the Closet Perv! spent his time.

As they were so caught up in their fits of hilarity, they didn't notice the presence of two other individuals until they had already successfully eavesdropped.

"Who's hentai, Sakura-chan?" One familiar, boisterous voice questioned, taking the vacant seat next to Sakura, gleefully ordering some ramen.

Quickly, the carnation haired kunoichi looked back at her blonde friend, blushing and managing to sputter, "N-Naruto!" Her heart almost dropped into her stomach when she spotted the raven-haired Uchiha on his other side, "Sasuke…-kun!"

Before she could come up with a plausible explanation, Ino began, "Oh no one. Just the nephew of the great Hy—" Sakura had successfully muffled her mouth before too much information got out. She looked apologetically back at the two males before turning to her best friend and giving her the trademark Inner Sakura Look, 'Shut UP, Ino, you gossip whoremonger!'

"Eh?" The orange-clad ninja asked, already slurping at his soup.

"No one really, Naruto. Just some…uh…random guy on the street." Sakura explained, finally taking her hand off a frustrated Ino's mouth.

"Aw." The blonde spoke, sounding deflated. Sakura thanked the heavens that Naruto was easily swayed. But Sasuke…

Sakura raised hesitant green orbs upon the Uchiha's form. Thankfully, their eyes didn't meet, as he was busy quietly eating his own noodles. His indifference had yet to squander so she assumed he just hadn't heard anything.

A thought suddenly hit her.

Oh. Training tomorrow. With Sasuke. Alone.

…Right…

Before Sakura could feel awkward about being within 5 feet of his presence, salvation had come around in the form of one Nara Shikamaru.

"Oi, Naruto." Four heads looked to the suddenly arrived shinobi. They each greeted him and the boy muttered his usual 'Troublesome' under his breath. "…Tsunade-sama needs you."

The blonde's eyes widened a bit in excitement. Sakura watched amazed as he gobbled down a third bowl in a flash, paid for it, and hurried to the lazy ninja's side, "Ah! Is it another mission?"

He shrugged, but before he could open his mouth to reply, a cheery Ino had just finished her ramen and bounded up to him. Her features then transformed from utterly giddy to a 'I'm-about-to-reprimand-you' stare. "Shikamaru! Why the hell didn't you come to dinner last night? My mom was expecting you, y'know!"

"I was busy."

Sakura grinned. Ino had taken to mothering Shikamaru a whole lot lately. When she'd asked the Nara, he'd replied that he just happened to be the closest one to 'bitch at', but Sakura knew better. They…especially cared for one another.

Hah.

She'd have to tease Ino about it later.

"Bye, Sakura(-chan), Sasuke(-bastard)!" yelled the two blondes simultaneously.

Shikamaru nodded his goodbyes and the trio walked out of the Ramen Shop.

"Oii!" Naruto called once more, annoyed with his being ignored. "My mission?"

They squabbled till they were but shadows in the distance. Sakura turned back to her soup, a bit of envy creeping its way into her system when she heard Chouji's name said in the distance.

Team Ten had always been close. After all, they were continuing the Ino-Shika-Chou legacy. But more than that, they were like family.

Now, Sakura knew Naruto and Kakashi-sensei were among her special people. Heck, even Sai had earned a somewhat special place in her heart. They had made a great Team Seven all right, but it had always been strangely…lacking.

…Sasuke. She sighed, taking another sip of her ramen broth. She'd let her relationship with him decay. And because of what? Fear?

…Sasuke…

"Sakura."

It'd been all her fault naturally. What the heck did she expect the Uchiha to do? Seek her out?

…Sasuke…

"Sakura."

Yeah, like that'll ever happen.

…Sasu—Oh CRAP. She turned her gaze to her side, suddenly remembering that no, the Uchiha had not yet left. And he was looking at her strangely.

Damn it.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" She said in realization, quickly slurping up her soup, and nervously hopping off her chair. "I kind of have to go—"

He grabbed onto her arm in a flash, his dark eyes narrowing at her. Her heart beat erratically against her chest and she quickly tore her limb out of his grasp.

Sasuke threw her his heaviest glance, quickly muttering an, "Annoying" in her direction.

Despite the unrelenting thrashes of her heart against her ribs, she managed a meager glower in return.

Finally, he got off his chair with a practiced grace, stalked towards her.

She fidgeted a bit under his glance but held her ground.

His gaze lowered over her attire and he raised a questioning brow, "What the hell did the Hyuuga do to you?"

Sakura blushed of her own accord, clutching her arms and shouting back defensively, "How do you know whether or not it was Neji…-san, who did this to me?"

He frowned at her in a way that made her feel somewhat inferior, "It's all over your face."

Inner Sakura rapidly punched fists in the air, hoping that maybe the rapid movement would cause her physical body to punch the arrogance off his expression.

"And it was the Hyuuga wasn't it?" He bit, smirking, "The one you were accusing of…'closet perversion.'"

Her eyes widened a fraction. Damn it, he had heard. That sneaky, remorseless bastard…

The Uchiha rolled his eyes at her, "You were being obvious, Sakura."

'KNEE. HIM. IN. THE. GROIN. SHANNARO!'

While she seethed inwardly, he quickly muttered, "Tomorrow. Kohaku Field. 6 a.m. sharp. Don't Be Late." He put emphasis in his last words, the threat lingering in the air.

When she could no longer feel his shadow looming over her, she trudged back home, dreading her future encounter, tomorrow's training, with Sasuke…kun.

…And damn it. She held up her piteous looking shreds of cloth. She had to get a new training outfit.

XxEnd chapter 4xX

A/N (continued): Whee! I have a lot of comments on this chapter.

1) I think Sakura's character is somewhat different from the first three chapters. In the beginning, she'd been more…I think girly and sweet. This Sakura has shaped out better (stronger, wiser, but still hella charming) because she's formed to…er…my maturity? XD.

2) I've wanted to do the Neji-Is-A-Closet-Pervert one for years. Hopefully you see in the logic? XD (And thought it humorous?)

3) Sorry the Action Scene (If you could even call it that) was so short and blunt and…un-action-y. Not exactly my forte…or my interest. Oo

4) Someone requested for more characters and so TA-DAH. I've put in a lot of characters! Kakashi-sensei, Ino, Naruto, and Shikamaru! Huzzah! Yes, Be proud of me. (grin)

5) Sakura's talk with Kakashi-sensei was not meaningless! I put it in to help with the element of foreshadowing…Bwahahaha.

6) I hope my writing has improved from last time. I mean, I am a year older. (sweatdrop)

7) ShikaIno is my favorite non-Sakura pairing. That's why I had to add just the tiniest of hints in there. XD So sue me.

8) This fic is officially AU and rated 'T' for language.

9) Sai is mentioned! SQUEE.

10) Get ready, Sasu/Saku lovers for the next installment of Learning To Love, cause it's Sasuke's training day. And Sakura's in for it. (Hopefully, it doesn't take me another year to get it out) (sweatdrop)

Review Responses: (here's hoping that ya'll are still alive and kicking) XD

Lady Light: Hahaha. Thanks for the review. And don't worry. I don't mind 'em short and sweet. XD

Crazy-antman: XD Here's the update! Which…uh…wasn't exactly soon, but…er…better late than never, right?

Apple-Mei-Mei: You can't take Mr. Fluffy-Snuggle! XP. Lol. Sasuke showed up in this chappie! Yay. Thanks for reviewing.

Kawaii Koneko92: XD Thanks. That was my fav part too. Here's the update!

Zakurrah-chan: HUZZAH for Sakura-centric ficcage! XD

Lady Nagome of The West: Argh! Me TOO! I hate it when they make her start bawling. In the beginning of my story, Sakura'll seem a little nervous around the boys (They ARE big and strong after all)…but soon enough she'll be whooping 'em, if you know what I mean. XD

Kurenai Chinoumi: Hehe. Thanks! Here's the update.

Hikari: An update for yoooouuuuuu. XD.

Slytherin Prince: XD And here it is! After…a year. TT …Don't hate me.

Fujiwara Yuriko: XD Thanks so much! Here's that update!

Freakenout: Hah. Training with the Hyuuga. What fun. Thanks for reviewing!

Doctor Meowzie: Hellz Yeah! SasuSakuNejiSakuGaa FOREVER.

Yokaigurl: XD Inner Sakura was probably thinking it. Thanks for reviewing.

Aemkea: And here's the Neji/Saku! Though…uh…not much…stuff happened. Oo It's a work in progress. XD

FormerAurora: SQUEE. How've ya been girl? XD. Oh! And thanks for the number thing. (searches fic for numeric error) Hope I didn't miss anything. (sweatdrop)

So-kun: Thanks for the review. I have no inclination towards any of the boys. …But don't worry! Gaara shall make an appearance in the next chapter! Whoo.

PinayPal: GAWD. Annoying. XP. Here's the update. Like I said. XD.

Hao'sAnjul: And I have written! XD. Enjoy.

Iluvanime493: Thanks for the review! And here is the eagerly awaited for Sakura/Neji training sequence. Hopefully, I didn't disappoint?

Moonshine and mustard seed: Here's the update! (Finally!) XD.

LovelyCloud: XD. Here's my UPDATE! Enjoy.

Mimic12355: Thanks so much! (blush)

Baby-U-Amaze-Me: XD. And I'm glad. Here's the long-awaited update!

Babykakashi: XDDDD. Hellz yeah. I pretty much despise Sasuke at this point. (Another reason why I took so long updating this fic). Gaara/Sakura training comes after the next chappie. Which I hopefully get to…soon.

Sailor Leo: SQUEE. I love Gaa/Saku too. Thanks for reviewing my humble fic. Gaara shows up next chapter so don't worry!

XxaoshixX- XDDDD. That's how I feel all the time! Except next to creepy I'd put HAWT. XDDDD

DeliciousAmbiguity: Yay for Neji/Saku! XD. Here's the update. Enjoy.

QWERT: Ah. The wise one who wanted Naruto to make an appearance! XD Well, TA-DAH! Here he is, among other characters too! XD

Bittersweet Ambitions: Here ya go! XD

DreamCatcher16: Hahaha. Things'll work out, don't you worry. Thanks for reviewing!

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Kikyou-sama: XD. Here's the update! Enjoy.

Shiroi Ookami: XD. Thanks so much. And here's the update!

Animevivverz: SQUEE. That means a lot coming from you. XD Thanks for reviewing! Here's the update!

Zora Olsen: Haha. …We'll see. And Sakura-chan shall forever be in control. Even if the boys are too stubborn to admit it.

Serenity Komoshiro: lol. Thanks! XD. You'll just have to wait (read, review) and see. XD

Iccena: XD. Whoo. For a minute there, I thought you WEREN'T going to laugh. XD

Soelle: Hopefully, you'll like how I portrayed Sakura here even more. Thanks for the review!

Lady Abbess: Thanks for the review. XD Here's the update!

-purply star- : XDDDD. Hellz yeah! You rock tooooooo! Thanks for the review!

Blacksheep18: XD. Here's the review! Hopefully, you're still interested. Oo

Heartless Ghost: So TA-DAH! Sasuke and Sakura and Neji show up! Huzzah! XD.

Sweet Assassin: Lol. Well. I finally got around to updating! XD. Thanks for the review (even after SO LONG).

Suteki no Baka: Seriously! Then Happy BELATED B-day! XD. Sorry it took so long! You must be a whole year older now, huh?

StarlitBaby: XD. Here's the update! Enjoy!

AznwitBra1nz: (blush) thanks! Here's the update!

Selene Crescent: XD. Thanks so much for your review!

Sakura4eva: Ehehehehe. (Whimpers) Here ya go! XD

Hopeless Romantic: lol. Thanks! Here's the update!

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Konoha's sexy flower: O.o (whimpers) Uh…here? XD. Thanks for the review!

XXFreak-headXx: XDDDDDD. Me toooo! My fav male characters of Naruto are Neji, Gaara, (and Shikamaru!) XD. Don't exactly like Sasuke anymore. And I heart Sakura-chan. XD. That's why this it Sakura-centric! Anywho I'm uber-flattered to know you like my fic as much as bagels…which is a lot. XD Enjoy the update!

Vines-throughXfate: Hahaha. Dudette. XD. Thanks for reviewing (even after SO LONG). Here's that update!

Icecream Skittles Addict: Hahaha. Hope I succeeded in giving her a spine. XD. Thanks for reviewing!

Kai'sgirl510: Haha. So…this was as soon as I could. XD. Thanks for sticking with it. Enjoy!

ShinjucAt: Honestly? It was your review that made me start writing the forth chapter. It pushed me over that edge, in inspiration. XD. Thanks for updating after so long. Yours was seriously the review that made me update.

Lemons: And Ta-DAH! The next chapter! Like magic, no? XD.

A/N (continued): Holy Crapper Moly. The review responses themselves took 3 pgs. And I didn't even write that much! O.o GAH. Sorry if I made typos, reviewers! It's kind of 3 in the morning over here. XD. I should be asleep…But I'm not.

Anyway, It thoroughly pleased me to find that many people liked Sakura hitting Neji with the rock. XD.

Please don't give up on me yet, reviewers!

Review Please!