Apathetic Silence: Sorry about the cliffhanger from last time, but truth be told, my cousin has been giving me tips about nearly everything that she learned while writing stories, and I figured I should give those a shot – especially with cliffhangers. But yeah, I might have done too much already? As for the "Sakura not yet confessing part," well, I wouldn't want them to just be together so soon, plus, it builds tension and tension is supposedly good for... romance, right? Okay, I need my cousin right now...

Anyway, please notify me about some abrupt changes, if any. Like for instance, are their characterizations still going good? As in the character development; I'm aiming for gradual, but is it working out right? Specifically Sasuke's; I'm starting to get why my cousin finds him hard to write and at the same time, amusing to work on.

Also, I apologize for the very late update. Adjusting from my once schedule as a student to a working employee was pretty rough, and my family had undergone a few financial problems so I had to focus on that first. Lastly, I guess the "Narutard" in me is kind of dying down, but I simply can't abandon this story or this pairing just yet.

As for my cousin, I asked her if she has anything to say, all she said was sorry for not updating as frequent as she could – both work and school isn't helping her out, not to mention some family issues and being an officer of their school's main organization. She does promise to make an update or two once the Holiday break arrives.

She clenched her fists when he took too long to answer, so she turns to him, mouth open and ready to lash out - but instead, she stops to see him looking elsewhere, his gaze narrowed slightly and staring off into the distance.

"...Sasuke?"

He didn't react to his name but just remained stationary, until he closed his eyes and stood up, hands pocketed. Sakura watched him walk towards the railings that prevented him from falling.

"I thought that..." he began; his voice a little softer than normal. "You'd actually confess by now."

Sakura flushed and turned away. "Um... um... I... well..."

He sighed silently as she tried to explain herself, and then he looks at her over his shoulder with a small frown etched on his face.

"SorryIcan'tbehonestrightnow." He said to her in his thoughts, before heading back next to her and placing a hand on her head, making her stop her rambling and look at him. He then sits down and gives her a small smile, afterwards, pulls her head to his shoulder with his tilting to hers. "If you're upset that I didn't pick you up today, then I'm sorry."

Sakura just turned redder. "D-Don't be so full of yourself!"

Immortal Sin
"Intimacy"

She fidgeted under the gaze of Tenten and Ino, before looking towards Hinata who sent her a tiny smile and then went back to work.

"So... what's the agenda for... next week?" She asked, turning to Hinata. "Or rather, is there something that we need to..."

Hinata giggled at how nervous Sakura is currently feeling under both Ino and Tenten's glare.

"Sasuke-nii's on it."

"Again!" She stood at this, her hands slamming on the table that she completely forgot about the other two women who are now taken aback by her reaction. "That... that... ugh!" She walks over to Hinata and looks at the files the quiet girl has. "What did he take?"

"He only left these." She pulled out a stack of papers from under the table that were neatly piled together. Furthermore, Sakura had seen that they were alphabetically arranged as well, and the string that bound them together prevented the papers from falling out of line.

"...He arranged them."

"Yeah," Hinata nodded. "But he figured that you'd get mad again if he also delivered these to the faculty, so he left the task to you."

"...It's just a simple job!" Sakura yelled. "He took the rest!"

Hinata smiled. "He thinks that telling the sports club Captains to clean up after practice sessions would be a tough one, given that they're mostly guys and would stand up to you."

"YOU TOLD HIM THAT DIDN'T YOU?"

"He asked."

"...Hinataaa!" She ended up hitting her own head on the desk as if doing a head bang. "What else did he tackle?"

"Um... he met up with other committees to remind them of keeping a few members in line, specifically those who are in-charge of the library since some students return veryoverdue books."

"...I never had a problem with committee leaders."

"Most of which are girls," Hinata smiled "who happen to be his frequent customers a week ago."

She scowled at this. "...Anything else?"

"He talked to the students who were playing ball in the hallways and gave them a good lecture."

"I already told them to stop last time!"

"And they still played ball."

Sakura sighed. "...What else?"

"He went to the senior classrooms and told the class representatives to remind the students to clean up before heading out."

"...And?"

"He arranged these," she patted the stack of papers from earlier. "In alphabetical order, signed everything that needed to be signed, and also bound them so that you wouldn't have a hard time carrying them and worrying over the fact that you might trip – for the klutz that you are."

Sakura snatched the paper which Hinata brought up and read Sasuke's small note. She can recognize his hand writing alright – it was neat and had a blunt message, but also left behind a teasing tone to it.

"Bastard..." she hissed, crumpling the paper.

"But you love him anyway."

"Sadly- HINATA!"

"I knew it."

Sakura just grabbed the stack and walked out, leaving Hinata to Ino and Tenten who just gaped and asked what had happened. The Secretary of the Student Council merely smiled.

Some of the students cleared the hallway as she walked on with a dark aura surrounding her. The few people who dared to defy her actually ended up backing away at the sight of her scowl and muttering self. Some even asked if that was really their President.

"When I get my hands on him..." she mumbled lowly.

"Kaichou!"

She quickly turned to face the boy who called her, the frown on her face making the boy step back in alarm.

"Oh, sorry... uh..."

Sakura sighed and gave a small smile. "No, I'm sorry, I'm just having a bad day."

"Oh." He returned the grin and eyed the stack of papers she was carrying. "Do you need some help with that?"

"Hm? Oh no, no." She shook her head. "This is about the only job I have left so let me do this."

"...Huh?"

Sakura sighed and then turned to the window with a pout upon spotting a dark-haired student speaking to the Soccer Team Captain.

"Uchiha Sasuke took about every job I have."

"But... he's your assistant, so..."

"He's supposed to assist me, not do everything." She sighed yet again as her gaze softened. "But... I guess I have to thank him. I've been a whole lot less stressed because of him."

The boy chuckled and looked at where she was staring as well. "Despite that, he's still an enigma."

"Feh." She turned around and proceeded to walk. "It's all on the outside."

The student followed her and laughed. "Maybe to you, but to the rest, we see him differently."

"And how do you see him then?" She paused. "Er..."

He shook his head. "My name's Hinamura Daisuke."

"...Great. You both have the same last two syllables."

He blinked. "Oh, Sasuke, and then me, Daisuke." He laughed.

"So... my question?"

"Ah, right." Daisuke nodded. "He doesn't talk much unless needed or spoken to. Even some of the team Captains are afraid of him when he approaches. The teachers... well, they sure have high respects for him that it makes me wonder if the whole faculty knows him."

"Well, the Principal is a family friend of his, so that's got to be a plus."

"So are some of the students here, but..." Daisuke looked outside the windows they passed by. "No one treats them like they do to Uchiha Sasuke."

"Hey, his name does have a familiar ring to it."

"It does?"

"...sort of." She shrugged, and then looked back at the purple haired boy who had the same eye color as his eyes. She had to hold back a laugh at his messy locks, and wondered what else she could compare him with Sasuke. "Theirhaircolormatchestheirrespectiveeyecolors,theirnameshave'suke,'andboththeirhairstylesaremessylookingyetitsuitsthemboth."

"So, you and him?"

She blushed at the question.

"Confirmed." Daisuke grinned.

"N-No!" She stammered. "Well, not yet."

"Yet?"

"I..." she flushed. "I haven't... told him yet."

"Wait, heconfessed to you?"

"Surprisingly." She murmured, trying to hide her face behind the stack of papers. "I still can't get over it either."

"Oh. That issurprising."

"What is?"

They stopped in their tracks when Neji stood in front of them next to Lee and Kiba.

"Oh, hey guys." She greeted them with a smile. "Daisuke, I think you already know them?"

"Of course." He grinned. "If I know Uchiha Sasuke, then I should also know Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and... er, sorry dude, I'm not sure about your family name, but it's Kiba right?"

The brunette nodded a bit. "Inuzuka." He provided, recalling the last names that the others came up for him, with "Uzumaki" meant to be Naruto's in order to lesser complications.

"There you go, Inuzuka Kiba."

"You didn't answer my question." Neji reminded, eyes narrowed. "What's so surprising about Sasuke confessing?"

Sakura blinked and recalled Shikamaru's words from yesterday, at how Neji was quite protective and defensive of anything related to Sasuke.

"Well he's... a bit anti-social to some, and... he doesn't strike me as the type to be the first one to confess to a girl."

"So you are saying he is indifferent and cold." Neji stepped forward as Kiba instantly held him back. He merely shrugged Kiba's arm and sent Daisuke a glare.

"Huh?"

Sakura stepped in front of Daisuke, her small stature not entirely hiding Daisuke from Neji's view – then again, all the guys were at least half a head taller than her.

"Neji, don't jump to conclusions."

Neji averted his gaze to her, and she could feel how cold the atmosphere was.

"Daisuke was merely saying his opinion."

"Which can also be considered an insult to Sasuke."

"What is it with you when it comes to Sasuke?" She suddenly asked, and noted how Lee stood rigid all of a sudden while Kiba cursed a "fuck" under his breath.

"You," He seethed, "of all people, should not have asked." And his fists clenched.

"Neji, let's go." Lee held his shoulder. "It was... just an innocent question."

"She has to know." Neji shoved Lee back without breaking eye contact from Sakura. "She has to realize right now if she ever wants to be with him."

"What... what are you saying?" Sakura grew more and more confused. She didn't think Neji was this bad.

"You caused him so much pain Haruno Sakura."

"What?"

"For years... you never, not even once, remembered."

"What are you talking about Neji?"

His brows furrowed even more. "After everything he has done for you, you easily forgot about it, all of it."

Her eyes blinked and narrowed down, unsure of what exactly Neji meant.

"Sasuke was the one who sa-"

"Neji."

He cut himself off and glared, afterwards, relaxed and turned to face Sasuke. From the perspective of others, Sasuke looked calm, normal even – but Neji, Lee, and Kiba knew he was far from it.

"That's enough." He told him, hands pocketed and pose emitting an air of nonchalance, but his narrowed eyes said it all.

"I'm sorry." He answered, nodding once and giving Sakura one last look before taking his leave, Lee flashing Sakura a farewell smile before following, while Kiba sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"I... I wasn't able to..." Kiba murmured, and Sakura could see how tense he was feeling.

Sasuke walked pass him, but gave him a short pat on the head and then proceeded to where Sakura was.

Kiba had let out the breath he was holding before taking his leave.

"Er... I... I'll leave you two then." Daisuke uttered. "Erm... Kaichou, Uchiha." And he left.

Sasuke kept his gaze on Sakura who was looking back at him, her head filled with so many questions.

"Forget anything that he said."

"Wha..."

"Please."

She was startled at his tone, and how his eyes are filled with something close to pain or... possibly... regret?

"...Okay." She lowered her head and let him lean her forehead to hers, a hand on the back of her neck while the other rested on her waist.

"I love you, okay?"

She closed her eyes. "Mm."

"That's all that should matter." He murmured, and she shakes her head, making him puzzled.

Sakura lifts her head and meets his gaze. "My feelings should matter too, you know."

He lets out a small smile, forgetting about his anger earlier.

"I... I also..." she flushed and looked away.

"Tell me when you're ready." He planted a kiss on her forehead, and then took the stack of papers from her, all the while keeping his smile. "Right now, let's head to the faculty."

Despite him taking her remaining job for the day, she just follows him, yet he slows down a bit so that they can walk next to each other.

She punches his arm lightly, and he looks at her with a raised brow.

"That's for calling me a klutz."

And he ends up laughing at that.

"Neji, you shouldn't have said such things, it's not Sakura's fault and you know it."

He continued to walk down the stairs, his glare still in place while his fists remained clenched.

"Neji!" Lee grabbed his shoulder to stop him, but Neji pushed him back. "Calm down!"

"I am not letting what happened before happen again!" He seethed. "Five years, Lee. Five years..." he looked down and let his anger consume him, before letting out a heavy and long sigh which calmed him down a bit.

"I know." Lee stated just as Kiba arrived. "I wouldn't want him to be depressed again as well, but we have our orders."

Kiba frowns at this. "Honestly, I'm with Neji."

"What?" The two Immortals exclaimed in surprise.

"I really think that Sakura should know, but not just because it's to prevent Sasuke another shitload of pain, but also because it would be fair to her."

Lee gave a small smile at this. "Sasuke doesn't want her to know, so we shouldn't let her know."

"But why?" Kiba narrowed his eyes. "It's only giving him a hard time this way."

"Troublesome."

The three men turned to see Shikamaru, Shino, and Naruto come down from the stairs next to them.

"What's troublesome?" Neji asked with a scowl.

"You and older dog boy there." He gestured with his head. "Sasuke has his own reasons for keeping the truth from Sakura, and trust me when I say it's for our own good and hers."

"And Sasuke's?" Neji asked.

Shikamaru does not answer and merely turns away. "Personally, I want Sakura to know everything as well, but our Lead Knight says otherwise."

"You didn't exactlyanswer me."

"No Neji," he shook his head. "It won't be for his own good..." he gives a light chuckle. "At least until he's sure he won't have to leave again."

"Leave?" Shino voiced out, just as surprised as the rest.

"All of us of course, including these two." Shikamaru yawned. "Geez, I hate my job as second-in-command."

"Wait, what do you mean by leave? Why would we leave?" Lee asked.

"He almost drank her blood last time, remember? If he has trouble controlling his urges, then that means we'll be just as prone to others. Something like that." He shrugs. "Plus the fact that Eclipse knows Sakura, and what her position is in Sasuke's life – or to be more specific, heart."

"Eclipse is planning to send us away again until he's fully over her?"

"Itachi's working on it." Shikamaru said while turning to Shino. "So for now, let's hope he'll get something done to not make Eclipse force us away. I doubt Sasuke would be able to pull through the second time around."

"Hinata refuses to say anything." Neji murmurs.

"She's bound by the rules as well, so it's only Sasuke who knows or will know."

"And given that he, too, is bound by the rules..." Shino sighed. "We won't find out until he tells us himself."

The soft sound from the air conditioner was calming to her ears, but she couldn't get her homework done properly with a pair of dark eyes looking at her so intently.

"Sasuke, I get that you're done, so if you could just look elsewhere?"

"What's wrong with looking at you?"

"It's distracting me."

"How so?"

She twitches and raises her head, yelping when he was but an inch away from her.

"I'll sue you!" She tells him once gaining back her bearings, her face turning beat red when he moves closer and lightly kissed the corner of her mouth.

"Go ahead and sue me, if it'll make me stare at you some more."

"S-Stop it already!" She looks away and rests her head on her folded arms on the table of her living room.

"I can't help it."

She tries to calm her heart down and boldly meets his gaze, blushing further at how serious he was looking at her right now.

"I just feel like I have to keep looking at you to make sure you're really here."

If he was smiling or smirking, she'd know that he was just teasing her, but the seriousness in his eyes made her fully aware of how sincere he was with his words. What she couldn't grasp was the fear she could see in those usually brave and proud eyes.

"Sasuke, what's wrong, really?"

"It's nothing." He shakes his head a bit and turns away. "I just... have a lot in mind right now."

"You can talk to me, you know?" She inches closer to him and dared to rest her chin on his shoulder, her eyes peering up at him to see his gaze still elsewhere. "Just tell me what you want to say, or can say."

He closes his eyes and sighs softly, before looking at her and placing a hand to her cheek to brush off some of her pink bangs. "As long as you know how I feel for you, then it's fine."

She grew confused at his words, but didn't pry any further when he leaned down and placed his lips on hers lightly, pulling away to let her know that he's still waiting for her answer, and until then, he wouldn't go any further.

"You don't have to hesitate when you want to kiss me." She tells him, moving closer to lessen the gap between their lips. "It's not like I'd push you away."

"I may not be able to control myself if you keep this up." He says with a light blush on his cheeks. "Your hands are too near there."

"O-oh!" She pulls back almost instantly. "S-sorry!"

He looks elsewhere, feeling how awkward it suddenly grew. "I... I guess I should go, since you can't focus with me around."

He moves to stand up, and upon seeing his back, she gets up as well and launches her arms around him, stopping him and pulling him against her body for an embrace.

"Don't go." She pleads against his back, her fingers clenching the front of his uniform. "Don't leave me."

Those were just the words he needed to hear to make him turn around and pin her down to the carpeted floor.

Had she not been distracted at how he was looking at her, she would have felt how painful the fall was.

"Damnit Sakura..!" He sounded pained when he said that, but it doesn't make her change her mind.

"Stay," she tells him, lifting a hand up to his face. "Please stay with me, don't leave me..."

"You know I..." he shuts his eyes and leans his forehead on hers. "…If I stay, I won't be able to hold back."

"I know." She closes her eyes and feels his lips on hers. "Idon'twantyoutostop..." she thought as he moves to her neck. "Idon'twantyoutohesitate..." she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him closer. "Maybe...justmaybe..." she let out a gasp when she feels his hand trail up her thigh and under her skirt. "Imayhavealreadygivenmyheartandmyselftoyoubefore..."

Her eyes open halfway when she feel her clothing loosening, and her fingers find their way to his tie, and then his shirt's buttons.

"I just don't know when and how long ago, but I believe that my feelings for you from whenever that time was just grew deeper now..."

She could feel his hands on her body, his palms warm against her bare skin as she shudders from both his touch and the cool air. Her eyes look up at his upper body which was lacking clothing, and his belt halfway undone.

"Sasuke..?"

She also notices that he has stopped touching her and kissing her.

"Sasuke what's-"

He cuts her off with a quick and light kiss, before leaning his forehead on hers and closing his eyes, his breathing heavy but slow.

She brought her hands up to cup his face, her right one pushing his bangs away and caressing his cheek, making him lean to her touch.

"I don't think..." he began and opens his eyes to look at her. "I don't think I can do this to you just yet."

Sakura stays silent for a few seconds, before closing her eyes and catching her own breath. "Even when I said otherwise..."

"Aa..."

A small smile appears on her lips, and she meets his eyes with her own. "You're really something else, Uchiha Sasuke."

He gives a light smirk and plants a kiss on her forehead. "As you are, Haruno Sakura."

"And maybe... just maybe, I am grateful that you stopped because that means you respect me and my feelings, and that you really do love me."

"Know something?" She asks in a soft voice as he lays next to her, an arm around her waist while she continues to brush the back of his head with her hand, both uncaring of their nearly nude bodies.

He opens his eyes to look at her, letting her know that he's listening.

She gives him a gentle smile. "I love you too."

There's a tapping finger on his desk, and he looks at it before raising his gaze to meet the lazy dark eyes of Shikamaru. "You did not come home last night."

"Hn."

"You did not even leave us a message." He turns to his left as soon as Neji sits down.

"Furthermore," he looks to his right where Shino casually leans against the window pane and crosses his arms while keeping his shade-clad orbs on him. "You came here with Sakura."

"Which probably means..." he looks behind him to spot Naruto, Kiba, and Lee having wide grins on their faces.

"You got laid." They all said at the same time.

He stares back at them for a few seconds, before looking back down at papers that needed signing for the day.

"No, I didn't."

"Yeah right." Shino scoffed. "You spent the night at her place, intimate and all, and you didn't sleep with her?"

"Aa."

"Seriously?" Shikamaru asked, bewildered.

"Hn."

"Come on, tell the truth." Neji pressed on while leaning forward.

"I don't lie unless needed."

"Is this one of those?"

"No, Naruto."

"Oh."

"Then what the hell did you do?" Neji asked with a raised brow. "I mean, seriously, you stayed there and did nothing?"

He gave a small grin. "I didn't say we didn't do anything."

They all fell silent.

"Cut the suspense already!" Shino leaned forward just as the rest did. "What happened?"

"Second base."

"..."

"She confessed."

"..."

"We're official now."

"..."

He finished signing the papers and soon got up from his seat at the library. "I guess I better look for another place wherein you guys won't find me."

"Not a chance." Shikamaru snorted. "We've got these two." He looked at Kiba and Naruto.

"Hn." He glanced at the two Shifters. "You better not sniff me out when you pick up Sakura's scent." And he left the others staring at his back, bewildered at his words.

"Did he just... imply something?" Lee asked with blinking eyes.

"That's definitely a 'do not disturb' warning." Shikamaru smirked. "Well, let's leave him be."

"...I still can't believe he did not have sex with her." Shino mumbled, earning a hit on the back of the head from Neji who was smirking at him. "What the hell?"

"Shino, Sasuke is not like you."

"I do not sleep with women."

"Sure you don't." Shikamari snickered. "Like hell we'd believe that."

"I haven't since we got here at least."

"...Wow, you're losing your touch."

"Shut up Neji."

"That's everything." He announced.

She sighed and looked at the stack of papers, before meeting the eyes of her boyfriend.

"What?"

"Is this going to be a... daily habit of yours?" She glared.

He gave her a cheeky grin. "Every. Single. Day."

Surprisingly enough for the rest of the Student Council members, the President ended up letting a small smile, and then laughed before getting up from her seat. "Then let's call it a day."

"Uh... no protests? No shouting and complaining? Nothing!"

Sakura looked at Ino's confused stare, and then at Tenten gaping at her, while Hinata seemed to have seen the whole thing coming and just packed her things.

"Well, it's hopeless getting this guy to stop." She pointed at Sasuke with her thumb, and then looked at the said boy with a small smile. "And... I really should appreciate it."

"Wow... this is... new..." Tenten uttered.

"So we'll be going ahead then." She told them and took Sasuke's offered hand. Their fingers automatically intertwined with each other, and with one more nod from Sakura, the pair left the room.

"Even I'm surprised, actually."

She looked at the raven-haired teen and tilted her head. "Is it really that surprising?"

"Considering how you react whenever I do your job, yes."

"Well, it's different now, maybe... I don't know." She shrugged. "I guess I'm just... really... happy..."

He smirked at how her voice grew softer with every word. "What was that?"

She turned red at this. "Oh shut up!"

Apathetic Silence: No cliffhangers this time. It's an apology chapter.