I apologize for the long wait, I had a little writer's block, homework and other stories, but the writers block is me best excuse. So here's the next chapter.

Ch 10: In the Stars

"Yeah, let's go!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "Hopefully they have ramen." He grinned sheepishly.

His teammates sweat dropped. "Naruto, you know ramen isn't healthy. Don't you think you should try something new?" Sakura asked.

"Why would I do that?"

"I'm saying there's more to life than eating ramen. You can't become Hokage on that stuff, it also requires healthy foods."

"Well I'll become the first Hokage eating ramen." The blonde said indifferently. "So are we going to go eat or what?" he jumped up and opened the door, looking back at them.

"Sure, why not?" Sakura followed after him, the other three shrugged, Sasuke the last.

--

They took a seat in a circular booth in a nice restaurant, with maroon walls as were the cushions to the chairs. Sasuke and Kakashi were on the outside. Sakura sat beside Sasuke, between him and Naruto, Sai to his other side between him and Kakashi.

A waiter came up with five waters and menus. He was kinda cute, with pale blonde hair and pale blue eyes. There was a black apron over his white t-shirt and black jeans. "Hello, I'm Akio and I'll be your server. Can I get you anything to drink?"

There was a course of teas and Akio seemed to notice Sakura for the first time. "Is there anything else I can get the lady?" he smiled genuinely at her. Pink formed on her cheeks as she looked at him. Kakashi, Sai and Naruto sent a quick glimpse at Sasuke to see him glare at the boy, one that went unnoticed by the two.

"No thanks," he left as Sakura's foot accidentally brushed against Sasuke's for a brief moment and they met their eyes for a moment before Sakura turned her head down toward her hands – which were in her lap, this also was seen by the other three, but not the footsy part.

Naruto instantly opened the menu and quickly looked for ramen, "This so sucks! They don't even have ramen!" he shouted.

"Naruto be quiet, it's not polite to be so rude." The medic scolded him, then smirked. "Now it looks like you have no choice but to try something different."

The blonde nearly had a heart attack, "You can't be serious?! What am I going to do without my daily dose of ramen?!"

"Naruto, you talk about it as if it's a drug." Sai stated.

"Isn't it!" he was now holding his face with both hands and drooling while he was in a trance.

"Naruto…" Kakashi said firmly, snapping Naruto out of it, only for him to see the disgusted looks on his friends' faces. Sakura sighed and shook her head and Akio returned with their tea.

"Have you decided?" he asked, smiling once again at the kunoichi. The Uchiha's glare was again unknown to the two.

"Do you have any ramen?" Naruto asked.

"I'm sorry, only what's in the menu." The boy looked at him, apparently annoyed for the interruption.

"You should get some ramen in this thing." Naruto suggested with a pout.

"Naruto…" Sakura scolded him quietly.

"I do try to tell them to put ramen in the menu," the waiter stated.

"Really?" the future Hokage beamed, he apparently didn't know that was sarcasm. "You're gonna get a better tip just for that!"

The rest of the team sighed at his denseness. "So have you decided?"

Each ordered, but while they did so Akio was writing as he watched Sakura - who was pretending to avoid him by acting more interested in the fancy quality of the restaurant. He then reread them to make sure he had he order right – which he did and left saying, "I'll be back with your orders."

Once he was gone, Naruto leaned closer to Sakura, "You seem to be catching quite a few peoples' eye Sakura." He wiggled his brows in somewhat a perverted manner. The kunoichi's eyebrows twitched.

"I don't try to get attention purposefully." She said.

"But you have grown beautifully, Sakura." Kakashi smiled under his mask. "It seems like yesterday was when you all were 12. You've all matured. I think Naruto will be the first to walk down the isle."

Said teen started choking on his tea, Sakura pat his back, "It's… a bit early to be thinking of that, Kakashi…" Naruto said gasping for air. Sakura giggled at him, suddenly her voice was music to Sasuke's ears as he smiled slightly, but the others thought it was because of Naruto.

"Sakura may be the second," she then turned a deep shade of red, "and Sasuke the last. My, you grow up so fast." Kakashi sighed.

"May I be excused for a moment? Sasuke would you let me out please?" the medic gave him one of her smiles as he stood up for her to get out. "Thanks," then she walked in a different direction, toward the ladies room. The Uchiha seated himself again, arms crossed and his impassive expression resurfaced. His eyes shifted from Sakura to the others, only to discover all three of them looking at him.

"What are you looking at?" his voice held no emotion.

"You." Naruto stated.

"Obviously." He said flatly.

"How long has this been going on?" Kakashi asked.

"How long has what been going on?" Sasuke inquired, arms still crossed.

"How long have you felt something for her?" Sai answered.

"Who?"

"Sakura."

"Stop trying to avoid the questions, Sasuke! We only have a few minutes. Now answer the question." Naruto said.

"Hn. You think I feel something for her, I couldn't careless what she does, who she's with, as long as she's not hanging on me."

"The way you look at her suggests otherwise Sasuke." The Jonin sighed at the boys lie.

"And how do I look at her?" Sasuke scoffed with this interrogation.

"Like you like her." His blonde haired best friend replied.

"Whatever."

"You can deny it, but we can see it. You're opening up more than you think." Naruto shook his head. "I'm surprised Sakura hasn't noticed." They remained silent so Sakura wouldn't interrupt and hear their conversation. A minute later Sakura walked back up to them, she didn't even ask Sasuke to move when he did it without sparing a glance at her. Then she noticed the others were quiet.

"Uh… is something wrong?" she managed to break the silence.

Naruto beamed, "No, Sakura nothings wrong. We just thought we'd enjoy the silence."

She raised a brow, "Naruto, when you're quiet is the day when you're in your grave." Sasuke took his seat again.

The blonde crossed his arms in a pout, turning away, "I can be quiet, I just simple choose not to." Sakura giggled again, getting Naruto's attention.

"I wouldn't want you to be quiet for the world, you're just being you." Naruto grinned.

Their order came shortly after and only Naruto and Sakura seemed to be talking, the blonde mostly and every once in a while Sai or Kakashi would comment but Sasuke never spoke. "Sasuke, are you ok?" Sakura asked.

"Hn." He answered, still seeming to avoid her as he continued with his meal.

The medic sighed, 'He's in his shell again.' Then she said, "You can tell us anything you know, whenever you feel the need to talk."

'I don't need to tell anyone anything. The other three seem to know everything.' He growled inwardly, and was glad when Sakura didn't push him any farther.

When dinner was finished, they readied to return to their rooms. "Hey Kakashi, don't forget to pay Akio a better tip for suggesting they add ramen to the menu!" the hyper teen shouted, disturbing other people who were trying to dine in peace.

"If you keep it down, there are other people trying to eat without being interrupted." Came his reply.

"Naruto and his ramen. Gotta love him though." Sakura smiled at her teammates' idiocy, she was in between Sasuke and Sai but more in the front. The Uchiha smirked at his best friend.

"Is everyone ready?" Kakashi asked as he received several nods and his favorite pupil's followed him like ducklings.

"Alright, let's have a meeting once we all get ready for bed. Sakura, knock before you decide to walk in and see something you shouldn't." Kakashi grinned under his mask.

Sakura was turning deep scarlet. "Good Lord, Kakashi-sensei-pervert!" she quickly disappeared into her room before the others could even pull out their key – door slamming in their faces.

"Is there a reason you said that?" Naruto asked. "Though I wouldn't mind." He had a perverted grin.

"I think you scared her for life." Sai said.

"She's got a perverted side to her, you know." Naruto answered as he shut the door behind him once they entered the room. "You obviously haven't heard some of the things that come out of her mouth… though not as bad as Pervy Sage." They could hear the shower running in the other room. Naruto and Kakashi grinned.

Sasuke raised an irritated eyebrow, "Perverts," as Sai just sat on a bed and began to draw.

"C'mon Sasuke!" Naruto shouted. "You probably think something along those lines."

"Hn." He knew if he said anything it would be used against him by this knucklehead friend of his as he sat down on the chair, arms crossed and eyes closed.

Shortly afterward the meeting they were to have was called to session. Sakura stayed as far away from Kakashi and Naruto as she could she was still at the door that connected to her room. "Sakura you go and sit down." Kakashi said.

"No thanks, I might need a quick escape." She answered, staying in her spot.

The meeting was simple, just about what they were going to do while they were there, and Sakura thought about getting herself a massage at the spa. She began daydreaming about some guy giving her a massage. The others seemed to notice her spacing out and Sai waved a hand in front of her face. "Ugly?" she grabbed his hand out of reflex.

"Sakura you were spacing out on us." The blonde Kyuubi boy said.

"I was just thinking about getting a massage. So we're finished, right?" she didn't even give them a chance to answer and returned to her room, closing the door with a gentle click.

Naruto walked over to the door and knocked, "You know Sakura I could give you a massage, free of charge."

"No! I couldn't do that to Hinata, and how could you?" came her answer.

"What, I didn't mean like that! Get your head out of the gutter, Sakura!" Naruto shouted, earning a hit on the head from the dark haired Uchiha.

"Idiot…" he mumbled.

"Well, it seems that Sakura won't be joining us this evening," Kakashi said, grabbing his favorite book. "Do what you please."

Sai just sat down and began drawing whatever came to mind. Naruto turned on the TV, deciding to enjoy a little free time before he went back to training. Sasuke just sat in the chair and looked out the window at the darkening sky when he decided to get some fresh air.

--

Sakura was walking around outside. She stopped and leaned her head up to take a deep breath. The air felt refreshing, soothing her lungs. She had always loved the feeling and a soft breeze made its way through her pajama's which consisted of pink sweats and pink tank-top. There were many stars out, the moon was full and the brightest light of all. Glancing around she found an area were she could star gaze. Once she sat down she brought her knees closer to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, taking in another breath. It was so calm and beautiful there. She could see the stars, when in Konoha, you'd have to be in a space where you could see the sky overhead – and there were few.

After a few moments she felt a familiar presence behind her a few yards away. She made no move to acknowledge him, but he knew she knew he was there because he had seen her head slightly rise when she sensed him. Sakura heard the grass shift to her right as he sat beside her. She gave him a smile, knowing he caught it. "Can't stand them?" she asked, turning slightly to look at him. He, however, kept his gaze to the stars.

"Hn," a small smile graced his lips, "sometimes I wonder if they'll ever change."

"But who would want them too?" the kunoichi asked, looking elsewhere. "That's just who they are, I wouldn't want them to change for the world."

Sasuke gave her a glance that went unnoticed to her before quickly returning it. Sakura then lay back on the ground arms under her head. "The little dipper." She muttered. The Uchiha looked down at her. "I found the little dipper." She answered a question she was thinking he was going to ask.

"I knew what you were talking about." He turned his head away.

Then Sakura found a completely different symbol in the stars. She blinked, just thinking that she found the Uchiha crest in the dark blank above their heads. "Uh, Sasuke…" she trailed.

"Hn." He replied.

"I found the Uchiha crest in the stars." Sasuke blinked, looking up curiously. It had only taken him a moment to find it. But he also caught something else encircled with it.

'Is that the Haruno crest around it?' he then wondered if Sakura had seen it. She did have sharp eyes in their Genin days, and she still did, but if she knew she didn't say anything. 'Does she see it?'

'What does it mean?' Sakura asked herself curiously, though she was looking around so Sasuke wouldn't suspect anything if she seen it.

'Who knows?' Her inner stated slowly. 'Maybe it's a sign.'

'A sign for what?'

'I'll leave that to you to figure out.'

Sakura just stayed silent. 'It's probably nothing. Nothing at all.' She concluded, brushing it off. "Hey there's another one and it looks like someone's fighting someone. The one winning looks like it's a female and the one laying down looks like a male. Do you see it Sasuke?"

He looked for another second and found it, giving a nod that he had found it. The shapes were male and female, but the male looked to be pained of what was going on, almost as if he was fighting someone precious to him.

Then Sasuke looked at it from a different point of view, he could see the male standing up, hand to the females' cheek, her face was pained and a tear was escaping her eye. The males' eyes seemed to be forgiving.

"Sasuke? Do you see the other picture? You have to look at it differently." The female ninja said beside him. Then she looked to the left of the picture in the stars she was looking at and found the male and female sharing a kiss after whatever was going on between them.

"Yeah." This time he answered with a word.

"To the left there's a different picture."

Sasuke tilted his head to the left and instantly found it. "What do you think it means?" Sakura asked.

The Uchiha shrugged, "It's just a picture, and it doesn't mean it means anything." Deep down he thought it meant something, though he wasn't sure why he felt like it would. He looked back to the stars to see the Uchiha fan with the Haruno crest around it. 'What does it mean? It can't mean that, I don't care about her.' Then his attention went from the first picture, to the second, and finally to the third. 'It means nothing, she means nothing. All of this means nothing. It's just a picture, doesn't mean it's a message.' His thoughts were cut short when Sakura stood up and stretched.

"I think I'm ready for bed. Are you going to stay out here Sasuke?" she asked.

He silently rose and started walking, making Sakura catch up. They arrived to their rooms in silence. "Good night, Sasuke." She smiled kindly at him before disappearing into her room.

Sasuke placed the key in the door and softly whispered, "Night, Sakura." He was barely able to hear what he said and entered his own room. Naruto was still watching TV and Kakashi was already in bed as was Sai who was in the same bed as Kakashi. 'Guess I'm sharing a bed with Naruto.' Sasuke then grabbed a change of clothes and began changing into a black t-shirt with his family emblem and black boxers before walking over to the bed and bringing the blankets up to his waist, it was pretty warm. However, his thoughts were on the stars, something disturbed him about it. Pushing the thoughts away he succumbed to sleep.

--

Once Sakura entered her room, she walked over to her current bed and lay down. She was trying to think of the pictures, mainly the Uchiha and the Haruno crests plagued her mind. Like Sasuke, she pushed it away, after thinking of what he said.

"It's just a picture, and it doesn't mean it means anything."

Sakura sighed, 'He's probably right. It could be nothing.' With that, she closed her eyes, completely unaware that the cherry blossom pendant began to glow a soft pink.

--In Konoha--

A figure sat on a rooftop, gazing at the sky. "It's about to begin…"

I originally had a different idea for this chapter, but I like the way this one turned out better. Again sorry for the long, long, long wait, the plot is about to begin. Reviews are welcome and appreciated, so is criticism… and hopefully the writers' block has passed.