Disclaimer: All standard disclaimer apply.

- - - - - - - - - -

There's nothing wrong with trying something out for a change.

Tenten's words rang through Sakura's mind that night while lying on her bed. She sighed. Why is it that her friends won't understand why she's doing this? She thought of how those three jumps into relationships. She shook her head. Maybe they were expecting her to do the same as them. Okay, so those three can pull that off perfectly, without qualms, but not her.

Then she remembered her talk with her mother after their dinner.

Tomiko said that her daughter was wasting opportunities, because once Sakura enrolls in medical school, boys and other things like impulse celebrations would not be entertained anymore. She told Sakura to enjoy herself while she can and that there's nothing wrong in liking a new guy—her mother knew about Gaara—and said that she understands how Sakura feels, since when she was in High School, she had experienced the same. Tomiko once broke up with a guy who was not serious with her. And then there was Kaji, Sakura's father, who was the biggest jerk in the whole campus—Sakura laughed at this tidbit—and he was also the one her mother was avoiding the most.

The similarity is uncanny. She was like her mother, her mother's ex was like Gaara, and her dad was like...was like...who would play the role?

...Neji?

A frown made its way to her face. For heaven's sakes, she'd been thinking about him almost all day long! Damn, damn. There are other guys. There are other guys, there are other guys. That, she kept chanting in her head. But who else?

...Lee?

She shuddered. Lee is sweet, too damn sweet actually, that it makes her teeth brittle. Not that she doesn't appreciate the boy's kindness, it's that Lee is just...Lee. And he's too much like Gai-sensei.

Neji...her crush for the last two years. If you could still call that just infatuation. She had known him for very long—Sakura and the girls are childhood friends—but she had never noticed nor paid attention to Neji before. They never talked much before, and everything between them was cordial at best. They probably don't remember how each other looked like when they were under fifteen, and both could care less.

Oh, scratch that. Neji could care less, but Sakura does—she doesn't know that yet. It was ironic that she had decided to stay in the shadows while wishing that Neji would notice her.

As she realized she was thinking about Neji again, she furrowed her eyebrows, buried her head in a pillow, and screamed. Maybe it will take some time for her to realize that she is the one causing her own frustrations.

The words of Tenten and her mother streamed through her thoughts once again.

"It's childish to think that if you simply allow the world to spin around you and let things happen everything will be okay. Life is not merely an existence, it's an experience. I say grow up, make mistakes, take risks, maybe even fall in love. Take heart, have faith. Life's too short to be wasted on maybe's and if only's, Sakura. Don't hide yourself."

Sakura sighed at the thought of her mom's words. She couldn't tell whether her mom was only referring to her concealment of herself, or something deeper. But just one look at her mother, she couldn't help but agree. It was like a silent request from her mother for her to change back.

It was hard on Sakura's heart to deny her mother anything, but...

Why is it that they're making a big deal out of her appearance? It doesn't mean that she's not going to have any more boyfriends if she looks like this. Beauty is only skin deep! Well, yeah, it's going to cut off the arrivals at least seventy percent, but still...

Sakura groaned. Thinking too much of this is giving her a headache. She decided to sleep now, and maybe tomorrow, when she isn't exhausted and sleepy, she'd understand.

- - - - - -

Never had they thought that such an idea could be formulated. The girls were glad that those two were there to help out.

The time was nearing eight o' clock, and the group was still talking about Sakura and Neji, making it already a three and a half-hour straight planning. The girls arrived at the Hyuuga estate at four, the boys at four-thirty, and they had even talked it over the 6 o'clock dinner.

It really was surprising to know that Kiba was feeling a little irritation towards Neji. He said that other than his annoyance, he was just concerned with his friend. He said that it wouldn't do Neji any good in the long run if he doesn't return back to earth, he feels that he's so high up already. He also stated that it could get Neji in trouble in the future if he doesn't stop prancing around with women all over the city.

Hinata feels the same. Her cousin's ways sometimes made her want to clobber him. Then she suddenly thought about something she never had given the time to think about. Why is it that her Neji-nii-san was so drowning himself in women? Yes, it was actually nothing to think about if you look at the obvious shallowly. He's good-looking, he's rich, and of course, he would use that to his advantage. But why is it so when he was in junior high, he wasn't like that? And he was a snob, actually, never paid attention to women much. Unlike now, he's spending almost all his time with them.

So let's say that it's normal for males to desire more than one female. But every female?

Kiba is definitely right. Her cousin's habit is getting out of control.

"So, Hinata-chan, when are we going to start?" Naruto asked. "I'm getting excited."

Their plan was not to ask or persuade Sakura, but to do something to make her return by her own, so the transformation wouldn't seem forced. If she changes, they must make sure that Neji wouldn't see her yet for at least a day.

As for Neji, they would make him ask out Sakura without telling him her new look. And how would they do that? Of course, pick on his pride. And of course, never backing down from anything, Neji would ask her out, albeit reluctantly, just to prove himself.

"Maybe the day after tomorrow." Hinata replied. "And we should really get a cat so Neji-nii-san wouldn't think there's another thing we've been discussing aside from what he heard. But I still can't think of a believable reason as to why you and Kiba should buy one for her."

They thought about that. The cat was just a stupid cover up. It was Naruto's fault for thinking about a neko. But then again, they almost got caught if not for that cat-buying alibi. Neji would most definitely suspect something if they don't really give Sakura a cat.

"You think it, Naruto," Tenten said. "You were the one announcing about a 'project'. And the cat was your idea."

"Eh?" Naruto scratched his head and turned to Kiba who only shrugged. Well, they couldn't exactly blame him for that, can they? Since nobody knew that Neji would just pop in the living room like that without warning. He tried to think of a reason that would seem believable for Neji and Sakura. They're not close to Sakura, or anything. So it's hard. He shook his head and said, "I can't think of anything."

"As if you can think in the first place." Kiba said nonchalantly, earning them laughs from the girls.

"Why you—!" Naruto shook his fist. "At least I'm not stupid enough to be bashed by a locker door!" he shouted, then blinked, "Wait, that's it!"

Seeing the questioning looks of his companions, he told them that Kiba could buy Sakura a cat as an apology for making a scene in the lockers. Tenten agreed, saying that an apology was owed anyway, so it was perfect, as they would no longer have to act. They had decided that Kiba would buy the cat since he was the one who angered Sakura. But Kiba had disagreed and insisted that Naruto should, saying that he couldn't buy a cat and bring it home, reminding them that he has a house full of dogs, and pointed at Akamaru who was sleeping at the foot of the sofa.

It was settled then. Naruto would buy the cat later and then he and Kiba would give it to her tomorrow, as Ino said, saying that it is best for Sakura to have the cat before she changes back, so she would really believe that the neko was for amends purposes. Because if they give the cat after she changes, it would seem the two were making a move on her.

And in the next day, Kiba and Naruto would follow Sakura to the library and make her overhear the two of them discussing about a conversation their group had—which they wouldn't have, just making Sakura think they did—saying that Neji wouldn't for his life try to ask Sakura out, whilst inserting numerous insults. The kind of insults that conform to Neji's arrogance, and the ones that would definitely anger a female.

Their purpose is to make Sakura change back in anger, and to direct that anger straight to Neji. If she did change back, they would make sure Neji wouldn't see her. Then they would challenge Neji into asking Sakura out. Then, of course, an angered Sakura isn't agreeable. And it would give Neji a hard time—that's what they hope, so they should make Sakura really angry.

It would really be a nice surprise for Neji to see the girl he was going to ask out against his will had turned into a beautiful specimen, and was angry at him.

Of course, so that their plan wouldn't get busted, the girls would calm her down—it was sure that Sakura would tell them first, then attack Neji—and tell her to just ignore Neji, and not mention to him what she had heard from Naruto and Kiba. They would tell her that it would be a total blow to Neji's pride when a supposedly nerdy girl isn't going to pay attention to him.

"So, we're all set?" Ino asked.

Kiba nodded. "Damn, but I never thought that Hinata could be so devious."

He said that, reminding the group that though he had the ideas, it was Hinata who made most of the plans. Everyone expected the Hyuuga to blush or feel embarrassed. But Hinata only smiled. "It's in the blood." She said, earning laughs from her friends.

"True, true," Naruto said in between laughs, "But Neji wouldn't fare to that."

- - - - - -

The unladylike howling and screaming of females had overpowered the screeching sound of rubber to vinyl. Almost three-fourths of the female population of the student body were present in the school gym for the afternoon training of the Konoha basketball team.

Sasuke is in a bad mood. As always. First Tenten, now this. It was clearly shown in the way he passed the ball to his teammate who almost lost equilibrium with the force of the pass. The reason? They have a new coach. And the said coach was annoying the hell out of him the moment Tsunade had introduced the man to the team.

Uchiha Itachi, twenty-four years of age, six-foot-four, was the new head coach of the Konoha High School basketball team. He had graduated from Konoha University, where he had played and led the collegiate team into the championships for four consecutive years. Sports fans and enthusiasts had expected him to turn pro the moment he graduates, but he surprised everyone by choosing to coach, since the team's former head coach had retired last trimester.

That is clearly the reason why the gym was crowded. It was like a championship game, the bleachers were filled with people and fangirls—who were torn between Sasuke and Itachi.

The sound of a fox-40 whistle had resounded through the gym, signaling the end of today's training. The team assembled in front of their coach for last instructions and then headed to the locker room. The crowd disappeared slowly, but still desperate fangirls stayed at the entrance of the gym to see the Uchiha siblings off.

It was eight o' clock in the evening when the gym doors were closed.

The Uchiha siblings went to the parking lot beside the gym, Sasuke still furious of the fact that he was going to be trained by his brother. Itachi was amused, and is clearly showing no signs of hiding it.

As they reached the parking lot, Itachi suggested to his ototou to ride on his car, since they were both on the way home, and to leave Sasuke's motorcycle there, since the campus grounds were safe, and it wouldn't be stolen. And typical Sasuke, he refused and sped away, not even bothering to wear his helmet.

He didn't even greet his mother when he reached home, just walked past her and straight up in his room. As he dumped his bag and coat on his bed, something fell out of the left pocket of his coat. He ignored it and went in the bathroom to shower.

When he went out of the shower in his bathrobes and faced the bed, there he saw the previously ignored object that had fallen out of his coat. He paused in towel-drying his hair and reached for the item on the floor. It was an ID, but it was not his. He was sure of that, because he always puts his on his bag, and never on his coat. He flipped over the plastic card.

Haruno Sakura. Student no. 05-003929. Block A.

He wondered why Haruno's ID was on his coat. It must've unclipped from her when she had bumped into him on the lockers and it slipped through his coat pocket, since he was holding her close. He frowned. Now he had no choice but to give it to her. She wouldn't be able to enter the campus without her ID. He looked at it again and narrowed his eyes. In the picture, she was not wearing the eyeglasses, her hair was down and not frizzy. She was...dare he say it?

Pretty.

He read again the name. It was definitely Haruno Sakura, the pink-haired nerd who likes Neji. But she looks different. And he was sure that there was no other Haruno Sakura on the campus. And if ever there was another, she would probably not have pink hair. Or green eyes. Those features are difficult combinations, rare as they are. And there was no other girl who had been less than ten feet from him other than her today.

He suddenly got curious and allowed himself to compare the girl in the picture and the one who had bumped at him in the lockers. First, her glasses. If she was pretty—the photo said so, why would she bother to wear that hideous eyewear, when obviously she doesn't need it? That he was sure, because she had recognized him when she was not wearing them, where she was supposed to be squinting blind. And when he had held it, he noticed that it was thin, no magnification.

And then her eyes. He would admit it was the prettiest thing he had ever seen. It was like staring at a green colored crystal, embedded with darker jade. It made him wonder, why hide an asset like that? And she was not ugly—that was from what he had seen, she was up close, and he had every chance to memorize her features. As he remembered how she looked like without those glasses, he wondered again, why? He could say from what he had seen that she was much prettier than Tenten.

With that thought, he suddenly had this idea. Why not ask Sakura herself? It would quench his curiosity and she could be a way for him to know Tenten better.

He was attracted to that brunette, even before Rock Lee did. But Sasuke being Sasuke, he did not do anything about it. Maybe he had given her a hint before, when he had not been able to control himself and knocked out poor Lee unconscious. Actually, he was just plain jealous, or more like irritated, that someone who is such an eyesore like Rock Lee had Tenten's attention and she was not doing anything to stop the idiot from talking even though she was clearly uninterested herself.

He shook his head as he sorted out his thoughts. What the hell. One moment his head was spraying compliments on Haruno Sakura then in the next it had shifted to the woman of his desires—yes, desires. He was a healthy male after all, with active hormones, so no surprise there.

He glanced at the wall clock at the corner of the room. Nine-fifteen p.m., Haruno must be sleeping now, so he decided to drop by her house tomorrow morning. He smirked. He could just imagine the face of the girl when she realizes that he discovered a bit of her secret.

That, he thinks. What he doesn't know that there are still many secrets to reveal.

- - - - - -

Sakura had been staring at her mirror for the last thirty minutes. She had woken up an hour early, and her parents must still be sleeping. She had woken up at four a.m., because she had slept in early. She walked in the bathroom the moment her eyes opened, not noticing that the sun hadn't risen yet. Thirty minutes later, when she went back in her room, she was surprised to see that it was still kind of dark outside her window.

Four-thirty. That was what the clock read when she looked at it. She groaned. She doesn't have anything to do this early in the morning yet. She could prepare their breakfast, but her mother had warned her not to touch the stove in the mornings, reasoning out that the smell of the meals she would cook would stick to her clothes. And they have their own cook, so there's no reason at all for Sakura to prepare their food.

That leaves her with another hour and a half to wait for breakfast. She had already arranged her things last night, so she doesn't have anything to do with her time, and she was not up to the idea of reading her books this early. Then her eyes caught her vanity. She sat in front of it, and as she was staring at her reflection, she had been reminded of what she was thinking before she went to sleep.

She shook her head. Is this the reason she woke up before daybreak? To have time to think about it?

She inspected her reflection, from the roots of the hair above her forehead to the downside of her chin. Nothing has changed much since four years ago. She started to comb her still damp hair, and thought that it would again turn frizzy once it dries. Sakura then noticed her eyeglasses lying beside her other combs. She picked it up and mused. This was the one thing that hides her true self to the world. And it made her think again. She closed her eyes and thought of her mother's words.

"...Enjoy yourself while you can."

"...Make mistakes, take risks..."

"Don't hide yourself."

She opened them and stared at herself once again. If she do what her mother said...

...Then what? It would be just the same as before.

But then again, her mother had a point. And she was tired of her best friends pestering her. They really went at it almost the whole day yesterday. What more if she had joined them last night?

She sighed. This is really becoming a headache. They had not asked her about this in almost three years. Why start now?

She held her glasses and stared at it for a while. Then she was reminded of Sasuke and Neji in the lockers. The way Sasuke stared at her, it had scared her a bit, it was as if he was searching for something in her. And then Neji, when he was smirking that half-smile smirk, and it was directed at her...

And he made her blush. Maybe he had heard what Kiba had said, and probably he was amused, that's why he was smiling at her like that. That bastard. Now that she thought of it, he was amused! Bastard. Amusing himself with other people's embarrassment. And he should know better than to think what Kiba said was true—though it is, actually—everyone in the campus knew that Haruno Sakura isn't interested in anyone. That is, if they were even aware that she does.

Or maybe he thought that she likes him—which is still the truth—and he probably was inwardly gloating, proud of himself, that he had charmed even Haruno Sakura.

Her grip on the glasses tightened. That's one thing she hates, men who are too full of themselves.

She placed the eyewear down, and stared back at her reflection, inhaled deeply, and nodded at herself.

She had decided.

- - - - - -

"Shit."

That's probably the fifth time Sasuke had said that, because it was the fifth dead end he had driven in this morning. It was really a good thing he had woken up early to find Haruno's home, because he had been driving around for an hour now, and he still haven't found her house. He was starting to regret not bringing his motorcycle, finding the house would be much easier.

Now he was having thoughts to just go back and let her suffer not being able to get inside the campus. After all, it was her fault for not looking at where she was walking, so she bumped at him, and now her ID was stuck with him.

He drove back at the entrance of the street, grabbed Sakura's ID, and read the address once again.

2115 Actuarial street

"Shit."

He had passed by the street written at the ID. How could he be so stupid? Now he had to find that street again. He made a sharp turn to the rightthen another, and passed some streets forward. Auditing, Assets...he then turned left, and then...there!

He recognized the street. He definitely had passed this way. Maybe because it was still kind of dark, so he didn't read the street sign clearly, or he was just lost in his deep musings.

Sasuke drove slowly along the road, looking at left to right, reading the house numbers. 2108, 2109, 2110...

He noticed that the houses here were mostly large. Almost just like theirs. 2112, 2113, 2114... He stopped at the next house, and noticed the height of its gate. It was like a fortress, with walls as tall as the gates, security cameras on each column beam. The gate was almost ten feet tall, with security cameras on each side of its column. He stepped out of his vehicle, and the devices both focused on him.

An opening at the side of the large gate opened and two men dressed in black suddenly approached him. They were armed, Sasuke noticed. He raised an eyebrow. Sakura's family must be of high status—well, that's obvious—but with armed men as guards? Not even the Uchiha clan needs that.

"Good morning, sir," one of the men greeted him. He was fully alert, it was heard in his voice. "I believe we don't recognize you sir, may we know your name and purpose of coming here?"

It was like entering an embassy. He was reminded of the Hyuuga estate. It was almost the same. Cameras on the gate, men with guns guarding the entrance..."Uchiha Sasuke." he said, "I'm returning something of Haruno Sakura's possession."

The men recognized his surname. And they knew better than to question the young man. One man turned around to signal to the other guards to open the gates, and the other bowed slightly to Sasuke to say, "Our apologies, Uchiha-san, for holding you up. You may drive in now, sir."

Sasuke nodded at the men and returned inside the car. Maybe he was deemed suspicious because it was very early for visitors to drop by. He glanced at his wristwatch. Five-forty-five. Very early indeed. And he hadn't eaten breakfast yet.

He watched as the large gates slid open and he again raised an eyebrow. Mechanical gates? He wondered what the Harunos do for a living. He drove forward, and was awed at what he saw. Beautifully manicured lawns, stretching square meters by square meters. He slowed down to observe more of the surroundings. He suddenly thought of his mother, and he was sure that if she were seeing this, she would be squealing in envy at the beauty of the gardens.

The aura inside the gates was different. Totally different. Sasuke had expected something similar to a military base camp. Well, their gates sure did look like the ones in there. But what he saw was like the gardens of a castle, and he unconsciously compared it to their garden.

Moving forward, through the path under shades of trees, he saw a large fountain made of marble at the end of the pathway. Then ahead, the house was in sight. No, scratch that, it was not just a house, it was a mansion. The fountain was in the middle of the circular path. He drove half around the fountain and at the far left of the edifice he saw numerous vehicles, and he was somewhat relieved that there was not one like his car.

He stopped in front of the entryway, which was already opened, and a woman was standing in there to greet him.

A man in blue coat suddenly went to the side of his door to open it for him. When he stepped out, the man bowed at him and greeted him in the most polite way possible.

Sasuke approached the woman in the entryway, whom he had thought at first was Sakura. She had pink hair and dark blue eyes, and looked like she was in her late forties.

The woman smiled at him, "A nice morning to you...Uchiha Sasuke-san, is it?"

He nodded, "Just Sasuke, ma'am." He bowed slightly. "And a good morning too." Being polite isn't natural for Sasuke, but he is when needed, just like now. He wouldn't ruin his father's image by disrespecting someone of high status such as this woman before him.

She led them inside, and to the sitting room. Sasuke had fought the urge to whistle in awe at the interior of the estate. High ceilings, frescoes on the walls, stained glass hall dividers...

She sat down on one of the single couches and gestured for him to do the same at the one on front of her. She smiled at him again. "I'm Haruno Tomiko. Sakura-chan's mother. I've been told you're looking for her."

The woman moved with grace, something he remembered Sakura didn't have. He smirked inwardly. The girl was clumsy. "Hai. I apologize for coming this early, ma'am." Sasuke said, with face straight as a wall, "But your daughter had accidentally left her ID with me."

Two maidservants came in the room and placed a teacup each in front of them on the coffee table. The porcelain cup had a handle, and the tea being poured smelled like dried apples. He never liked western tea, he preferred the local ones, which were strong. But for cordiality's sake, he would have to drink it.

"I see," The woman nodded and said, "You know, I should be the one apologizing, because you had to bring that back here. My daughter could be so careless sometimes..."

"It's quite alright, Haruno-san."

The woman smiled again. She was starting to like this boy. He was very polite. Well, she shouldn't have wondered. He was an Uchiha, and it was natural for them to be like that.

Oh, how wrong Tomiko could be.

"Good morning, dear." A deep voice echoed through the room.

Sasuke stood up in his seat and bowed to the man who had entered the room, and greeted him. The man with dark brown hair and green eyes regarded him and sat beside his wife.

Tomiko introduced Sasuke to her husband, and told him the young man's purpose. She almost laughed at the expression Kaji had shown when he was told that the boy was here to see their daughter. The older man had suddenly turned cold and overprotective.

"Dear, it's not what you think," She smiled at her husband. "Sasuke here was actually very nice to bring back Sakura-chan's ID, she left it with him. You know how our daughter could be at times."

That said, the man had warmed and grinned at Sasuke. The Uchiha was slightly creeped out with the way Sakura's dad had smiled. It had reminded him of Naruto.

"Well, I'm glad to hear that," Kaji said, and turned to Sasuke. "Uchiha Sasuke, Fugaku's youngest son, right?"

"Yes, sir."

"Nah, you don't have to be that polite, m'boy," he said, "Fugaku-teme happened to be my buddy in High school."

Tomiko glared at her husband and slapped him on the arm.

Fugaku-teme? Sasuke blinked. And he had almost laughed at the similarity of Naruto and Sakura's dad. Tomiko apologized to Sasuke for Kaji's description and then he was surprised again when the older man had cut in and said that they were rivals in everything, and Tomiko couldn't help but add, "Rivals in what, on who's the biggest jerk?"

"Well, I wouldn't win on that one." He turned to Sasuke, laughing. "Your father's a natural when it comes to that."

Sasuke smirked. He would love to retell this to his father later. He wondered what his father's face would look like. Haruno Kaji was his buddy, eh?

"Are you even aware that your voice is heard from upstairs?" a whining voice resounded through the room. "Dad, it's too early for you to be—" Sakura noticed the new person sitting on their couch. "Oh." They just stared, both surprised to see the other. What was Uchiha Sasuke doing so early in the morning in their home? And how did he knew where she lived in the first place? "Good morning. Mom, Dad, Sasuke."

And the three were just staring at her, blinking.

"What?"

Her mother had squealed and hugged her. Her daughter was back to normal! She was beautiful again! Maybe Sakura had taken her words seriously last night. Ah well, that's good.

Sasuke continued to stare at her. This is the Haruno Sakura in the ID. He inspected her thoroughly. Properly cinched uniform, and her skirt seemed shorter than usual. Those legs sure are creamy...

—ahem.

...No hideous eyeglasses, and no frizzy hair. It looked like it was blow-dried even. He was right, she was much more beautiful than Tenten. But, he still prefers the brunette.

"You know, Sakura-chan," Haruno Kaji stood up and inspected his daughter. "You kind of remind me of Tyra Banks with that forehead of yours."

"Daaad!"

- - - - - -

After the little celebration at the sitting room, Tomiko had told Sasuke to have breakfast with them. He was about to decline when Sakura whispered to him to just agree because she didn't want him to see her mother's puppy dog eyes—which was supposed to be cute, but with her age, it looks creepy.

Well, he hadn't eaten breakfast yet anyway. So he accepted the invitation. The Haruno couple had led the way to the breakfast room, and before Sakura followed suit, he gave her the ID. She was surprised and asked him why he had that and he told her that it was the reason he was there so early in the morning.

"Must've slipped when I bumped into you." Sakura said. "Thanks for bringing it here, Sasuke."

"Hn."

Sakura gave him a look. Was that even a response?

But she was surprised at Sasuke's reaction—or the lack of it—when he saw her get-up. She fought the urge to blush right then and there, because Sasuke had seen her real image. She had not intended for any of the boys in his group to notice her like this. Damn.

She led him to the breakfast room, and when they had all settled down, Sakura had wanted to hide herself under the table in the next moment. Her father was telling Sasuke his High School stories with Uchiha Fugaku! My goodness, it was so embarrassing. One look at her mother tells her that she shares the same feeling as her. But Sasuke seemed to be enjoying it, as he was slightly smirking whilst listening to her father story-tell their misadventures.

Then after their breakfast, Sakura really wanted to hide herself under that heavy-clothed table. Oh how she needed those glasses now. Why? Her mother had asked Sasuke to give her a ride on the way to school. Didn't her mom realize that it was already embarrassing enough that he had brought the ID and he was subjected to her father's early morning silliness? And Sasuke didn't even show a sign of disagreement. It was like he was actually planning to ask that from her mother.

Maybe to ask her about her appearance? Of course. It was a shock to see her suddenly transform to this. What she was worried about was, when Tenten sees her go out of the Uchiha's car, and she got the wrong impression, seeing that Sakura is sporting a new look. Oh damn, damn. Maybe this was not a good idea at all?

She was now on the seat beside Sasuke, and she was spacing out. Again.

"Haruno."

"Huh?" She was startled. "Ah, oh. Sasuke, what is it?"

"You're spaced out."

She blinked. "Yeah, I am. Sorry."

"Explain."

Sakura turned to him. What's he saying? "Explain what?"

"The eyeglasses."

Eyeglasses? What the hell is he—oh, those eyeglasses. She knew he would ask about that. But she didn't grasp the context of his question. By her silence, he assumed that she was confused with his question. As he stopped at a red signal, he turned to face her.

"Explain why you wore it, when you clearly didn't need it."

- - - - - -

"That cat is just like, so cute." Ino said, looking at the cat that Naruto was carrying—it was on a cage, of course. It was a white fluffy fat cat, the kind of feline that most cartoons portray as sassy. "I am so envious of Sakura right now."

"I could get you one if you like," Naruto offered.

Ino shook her head, declining, at the same time, smiling. It really was surprising to see those blondes not shouting at each other. They had actually been civil with each other in the last ten minutes the cat was presented to them.

Hinata, Kiba and Tenten were sitting at the next bench beside them, talking—or more like scheming. Tenten sat on the far end of the bench, away from the cat, because she is allergic to animal fur. Akamaru was not present today—much to the disappointment of the fangirls, because Kiba did not play in the fields this morning—, as there could be a chance that the puppy would attack the cat.

They were in their building's lover's lane, a series of small benches in front of the main entrance of their main building, the park where Tenten and Sakura talked yesterday after the locker incident. They were waiting for Sakura so that the boys could give her the cat, and then proceed with their plan. All their classes would start at eight o' clock, and there was still an hour to go.

Ino was still playing with the cat and talking to Naruto when suddenly a pair of hands went in front of her face and covered her eyes. "What the—?"

"Guess who!" a semi-high pitched voice said.

The group turned to the person behind the bench with smiles on their faces. Then their smiles faded, and a look of shock and disbelief slowly wrote itself on their faces. They blinked, stared, and then gasped. Then they all pointed a shaky finger at the girl. And Naruto almost dropped the cage at the sight. The trademark pink hair and green eyes was there...

"SAKURA?!" They all exclaimed.

The girl pouted. "Mou, I was making Ino-pig guess!" then she smiled at them, even at Naruto and Kiba.

"What, it's forehead-girl?" Ino pried Sakura's hand off her face and stood up, turned around, placed a hand on her hip and prepared to leash out on the girl who had smudged her eye make-up. "Haruno Sakura, are aware that you had ruined...my..." she trailed off, ruined make-up suddenly forgotten.

Ino, along with everyone in the group, was staring with utter surprise and fascination at the girl who standing before them.

Sakura was feeling kind of creeped out. She is not used to the feeling of many eyes on her, even when she was always being looked at before, so she eyed at them nervously and said in a voice so soft it could rival an angel's, "...What?"

Immediately after that word went out of her mouth, her three best friends had all jumped at her from in front of the bench, squealing at the top of their lungs, toppling her over and onto the abrasive concrete. It was a very good thing they were wearing very high socks, or she could have nasty scratches on her legs.

Naruto and Kiba quickly went behind the bench and helped pry the overly ecstatic females off their pink-haired friend who was almost crushed with the combined weight of her three friends—though the three of them would only weigh as much as a single man.

The three sobered from their excitement, and were all sitting on the ground, circling Sakura, who was still on the process of sitting up. And when they were all sitting straight, facing one another, they smiled and had quickly fixed their disheveled hairs. Then the four of them laughed.

"Oh my god, this is just like the old times," Ino said, nearly crying, as she was reminded of the things the four of them do before. This was one of the group things the four of them always do together—when they are going to have a little chit-chat they always fix their hair all together before starting a conversation, when they are about to eat they always say 'bon appetit' rather than itadakimasu, and many more others—they missed doing all those things because Sakura was rarely present.

"Yeah," Tenten said, feeling the same, and then exclaimed the next, "Group hug!"

Naruto and Kiba watched as the girls embraced each other. Suddenly, a thought crossed the both of them at the same time, and then with widened eyes, they exchanged glances, as they realize that now Sakura was back to her true self, their plans are not going to be much of use now. They decided to tell the three later, seeing as the girls were overjoyed with their—one could call it, reunion.

As they released each other, Sakura smiled at her best friends and said, "I'm back!"

"You absolutely are," Hinata said, a big, dazzling smile on her face. "And you know what this calls for." She said, with a sing-song voice.

They smiled even more brightly and exclaimed all at the same time, "A girls night out!"

"Oh, finally!" Ino said, flipping her hair back, turning to Sakura, "Genma's going to be so happy to see you again, baby girl, the guy misses you so much!" she said, then, "I so can't wait to go clubbin' with forehead-girl!"

"Ooh...Hinata's keen eyesight is going to be put to use again!" Tenten said, "Time for some...manhunt!"

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