A/N: I can't help but post this fic. It's been saved in my documents for a month! Just know that I will not abandon Biohazard. It's just currently in need of more action and cliffhangers. I keep watching Resident Evil 1 and 2, Zombie Loan and other zombie related movies that have military men or policemen as the ones who destroy these guys. That's how much I'm dedicated to finishing a story!

Genjutsu

"Exchange students..?!"

The principal of Konoha Institute for Ninjas cleared his throat and looked up once more. "Yes, you see, my former student has requested for his school and mine to get to know each other better. And we've decided that one male and one female ninja from here will go there to replace the other two ninjas he'll be sending."

The students of the whole school began muttering to each other as some of their teachers tried to hush them. When the noise only got louder, the principal had decided to keep them quiet himself. "SILENCE!" he yelled, causing everyone to shut their mouths and stare back at the old man. "As I was saying," again, he cleared his throat. "He will be sending two ninjas, one male and one female, over here. From what I hear, he's sending over one ANBU level and one Jounin level, but he won't reveal which one is the boy or the girl." He closed his eyes. In Konoha, their year levels differed from the school he was talking about. Here, the first years are considered to be ninjas-in-training, the second years are labeled as Genin, the juniors as Chuunin and the seniors as Jounin. To get to ANBU level, the seniors must first perfect all of the three basics in ninja: Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu.

Aside from that, you must learn at least a basic of being a medical nin to attain the ANBU level. This was how tough Konoha is, but their tuition here is fair enough, yet still pricey compared to the other school he was talking about. Yet the good part in being able to study in Konoha is that you graduate as a high-level Jounin, and if you're lucky, an ANBU. This was the only ninja school available in Konohagakure, same goes for other cities like Suna, Mizu and the like.

"So, who are you sending?" one student asked after raising his hand. Sarutobi looked at him first before smiling slightly. "I've already picked two candidates. Except the other one volunteered to go there, and for permanent transfer."

Mission 1: Trustworthy

"No way! You got picked?!"

He laughed at her shocked look. "Yeah, I was surprised myself when Sarutobi-sama suddenly came up to me and told me that he had chosen me." He pushed up his glasses and leaned against his locker, waiting for the girl to finish. "Damn, if you go, who else am I going to learn medical jutsu from?" she asked with puppy dog eyes. He laughed again and patted the girl's head. "Come on Sakura, I'm sure you'll do fine, after all, you are aiming to be a medical ninja right?"

"Yeah Kabuto, but still, the gang and I are going to miss you, especially your useful notes!" she teased.

"I kind of figured that out." He said, grinning. They headed off to their meeting place with the gang, running into an overdramatic Lee who hugged Kabuto and cried. "I heard the news! This must be awful! You'll be transferred there against your will Kabuto-san!"

"Lee-san, it's not that." Kabuto said, pulling away. "As a Jounin of Konoha, I must do this task, I will fulfill this missionwhether I like it or not." He said with a smile. "Beautiful Kabuto-san!" he cried. "I will wish you luck!" Sakura giggled when Kabuto rolled his eyes at her, directing the gesture to Lee and the three of them continued making their way towards the table.

"Hey guys!" Sakura greeted when they reached the picnic table. "Hey!" they all replied. "I heard that three students from Suna will also be visiting here." One said. Sakura turned to the girl with blinking eyes. "How'd you know that Ino?"

"I'm under Anko-sensei's extra-class for spying Sakura, what do you think?" she asked, sticking her tongue out playfully. "Anyway, Sarutobi-sama already sent three other students over there, glad it wasn't anyone from our class." She glanced at Kabuto. "Again…" she added.

"Darn, five people are taken from Konoha."

"Don't worry about it Ten-Ten," Kabuto said. "So, who's the other one going to this school I'm headed?"

"Her name's Kin, she's from class 5. She wanted to permanently transfer there since her boyfriend studies there." The girl replied, sighing. "And the fact that the tuition in Oto is cheaper since-"

"Oto?!" they all exclaimed with bewildered faces. Ten-Ten nodded and raised a brow. "What's with your reactions?"

"You don't know?!"

"Duh, I wouldn't be asking if I knew, Naruto."

Naruto frowned. "Well, my dad said that students from Oto are strictly trained. They only follow rules when needed, and they're so emotionless! So cold! So un-human!" he exclaimed, raising both hands up in the air. "Don't you mean inhuman..?" Sakura corrected. Naruto looked away with a stubborn face, muttering to himself. "Ms. Smarty-pants…"

Unfortunately, Sakura heard this.

"Konoha..?"

"Yes," he answered, turning on his chair to face the teen. "I picked you to represent our school due to your records." He added, picking up the folder which contained all the data the boy before him had. "And from the looks of it, you're someone who can awe them, someone who can show them how Oto trains ninjas, and how you will all turn out." a smirk made its way to his face as he looked up at the impassive boy. "Besides, I don't want to disappoint my former teacher." He leaned back and looked out the window. "I want him to be proud of me."

"I'm pretty sure he already is."

"Hm, praise from you is very unusual," he turned back to him. "Is there something you want from me?"

The boy looked down for a while before looking back at the principal. "Orochimaru-sensei, if an opportunity comes to me to seek her, can I-"

"You need not say more. I assumed that you would ask me this, that's why I made your transfer there to be until the school year ends, at most, or until you get what you've been aiming for." He smiled a bit, a rare sight to see from Oto's principal. "Now then, prepare your things, you will leave at exactly 7.30 in the morning tomorrow, it will take you an hour to get there through the train." He dismissed the boy but when the teenager turned to make his leave, Orochimaru opened his mouth to say something.

"And just a little warning, I unfortunately picked Karin's name…"

"Tch. Damn it."

"Aww man… Kabuto left already…" Naruto muttered, eyeing the now empty seat that was at the far end of the room, right in the back, but positioned in the middle column. "Naruto-kun, I'm sure he'll come visit…" his seatmate assured. "Yeah, I hope he does Hinata-chan," he forced a small smile to assure the girl that he was okay. "Man, Kakashi-sensei is late again." He added.

"Shouldn't you be used to it by now?" Sakura, who was standing before his seat next to Ino and Kiba, asked. "What're you three doing here?" Naruto questioned. "I thought old man Sarutobi called you? And you two, shouldn't you be posting the announcements on the bulletin board?"

"Done with it." Kiba answered.

Sakura had an annoyed look on her face. "Unfortunately, I have to tour this new guy around the campus." She sighed. "Being the class representative, I have no choice."

"Sakura-chan, why you..?" Hinata asked. "Why not the batch representative..?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious that this guy is going to be our classmate, and the girl will replace Kin in class 5, where our batch representative is in, therefore…" she smiled at Hinata who already got the message. "I just hope the guy would be easy on the eyes and wouldn't be too conceited…" a sigh escaped her lips again as Ino waddled her index finger from right to left at Sakura's face. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're forgetting that this student will be from Oto, therefore, being conceited will most likely be a part of his personality, and I bet he's going to be u-g-l-y! Good luck on that Sakura." She grinned.

"Gee, thanks for ruining my day Ino…"

The door slid open as the whole class turned to see their teacher arrive, surprisingly, not reading the orange book he always carries with him. "Good morning class, sorry I'm late, I had to help my neighbors get rid of the fire that-"

"Save it sensei!" the class yelled.

Kakashi pouted playfully. "You're all so mean…" he said, walking up towards his desk. "Anyway, the student our principal was talking about is here, class, please welcome," he extended his left hand towards the door in a welcoming gesture as the student stepped in. "Uchiha Sasuke of Oto Institute!"

The class gaped, eyes wide and blinking as Sasuke walked towards the center and stopped to face them. His right hand held onto the strap of his backpack while his left was pocketed in his pants. Like most guys in Konoha, his white short-sleeved polo's buttons were undone, revealing the black shirt he wore inside. His dark blue denims were a straight-cut style and his black shoes were leather. But what shocked them were three things: one was that he was wearing a black shirt instead of a red one that was for Jounin, next, he did not wear a forehead protector – whether it was Konoha's symbol or Oto's, and that he wasn't as ugly as Ino had predicted- two of which only meant one thing…

"Holy shit! He's an ANBU level ninja!" Naruto cried, pointing a finger at him as he stood up with gawking eyes. Kakashi smiled in amusement. "Very good Naruto, I'm at least glad you listen to Iruka-sensei's class with regards to proper uniform, rankings and forehead protectors." He turned back to Sasuke, still smiling behind the mask he wore. "Yes class, Uchiha-san here is indeed an ANBU level ninja from Oto. Why else did we not give him a forehead protector? And the fact that his shirt is black instead of red, unlike the rest of you boys here." He teased. "The girls in Oto also have the same uniform like you do here: white short-sleeved polo with black skirts and color-coded vests, as well as the necktie which will be black, red if you're in ANBU level." He gave another beaming smile, or at least, that's what it looked like behind the mask due to his expressive eyes.

Like the other Ninja schools, Genin levels wear green shirts/vests, depending on their gender. Chuunin levels have blue ones, Jounin have red and ANBU have black. (Teachers wear their usual clothes in the anime – just make their sandals closed-toe types)

"Now then, Uchiha-san, please tell us something about you."

Sasuke remained silent for a while, his eyes looking down at the floor before turning back to the class before him. "I'm not sure what to tell you," he said, his eyes calculating and serious. "As an ANBU, giving out any information about me is unnecessary, therefore, it's best that you just get to know me during my stay here, in that way, you get to test your stealth skills, andknow something about me." The class began whispering to each other. "However," he added, his eyes turning a bit colder as the class froze up. "If I catch you, know that you won't be able to escape."

"Man… this guy's creepy…" Kiba thought, gulping.

Kakashi, on the other hand, found this amusing. "Hm, I'd like to try that out then, Uchiha-san, but since you'll be my student starting today," he placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "I'll just call you Sasuke." He soon tightened his grip, making Sakura stand up. "Sensei, you're hurting him!" she exclaimed, noting how deep Kakashi's fingers had dug. "Nonsense Sakura," he said, narrowing his eyes at the male teen. "I'm sure Sasuke won't mind if I get rid of his kage bunshin."

"What?"

A poof was heard and 'Sasuke' was gone.

"Hn, took you long enough to figure that out."

Everyone turned their heads to the back door where Sasuke was standing, leaning against the closed door as he raised his head and opened his eyes. "I guess I still ought to comment on how fast you got it, still, it was slower than my sensei's." Kakashi eyed him and smiled. "Well, I'm no sannin like Orochimaru-san, Sasuke, but I have to admit, you're pretty good at hiding your chakra." He turned to Sakura. "Not even my best student figured that out, or could fool me so easily."

Even though not everyone knew to whom he directed it at, Sasuke could tell that it was the pink-haired girl who stood up, seeing how she tensed and how her fists clenched tightly. Her eyes that had a glare directed towards him was a dead giveaway, and he couldn't help but turn to her and smirk. "This girl is amusing but…" he thought, watching her grit her teeth. "Annoying..."

"…what?" she spat.

"Hn, I said you're annoying."

"Teme, how could you say that to Sakura-chan?!" Naruto yelled, standing up again. Sasuke turned his head to him. "Dead-last, Haruno-san just annoys me with the way she's directing her glare at me." He turned back to Sakura. "Sorry if your teacher thinks like that." His smirk did not waver at all, nor did his stance or poise, and it irritated Sakura more when she heard some of her female classmates gush about him, and from her peripheral vision, their blushes looked like love-struck types. What really made her angrier was the fact that she too, found him intriguing, especially when he smirked at her. Pushing that away though, he called Naruto a dead-last, which he was in this class, and he knew her last name. This ANBU was dangerous…

"Alright, alright, let's save the friendly conversation for later. Class is about to start." Kakashi called for the class' attention once more. "Sasuke, please take your seat over there." he pointed the one next to Sakura, where Kabuto used to sit on. "Hn," he picked up his bag from the floor and headed towards his seat, glancing at Sakura who glared at him again. He smirked, and her brows knitted together some more. "Mind if I call you 'Cherry'?" he said in a hushed tone, sitting down and turning back to Kakashi, catching the blush that ran across her face when he asked that. "Don't you dare, bastard…"

"Hn, it's a free country anyway," he smirked at her once more. "Cherry."

"This activity will test your skills as a jounin, or ANBU in Sasuke's case. If you are able to defeat me in record time, you get a perfect mark on your grade. However, if it takes you too long to get me, you fail." He checked the reactions from his students. "And afterwards, I will be pairing you up for sparring, it's for bonus points. Let's get to the cliff then!"

He led the way and pointed down at the foggy depths below. "I have one kage bunshin down there that will be timing your fight. I will leave one more to stay here with you, and another to monitor your every move. Oh, and in order to get a perfect score," he turned to his students with teasing eyes. "You'll have to attack with the intention to kill me." And he jumped after making a kage bunshin who held onto a clipboard with the class' names written there. Everyone was able to see how their sensei landed perfectly on the waters below. From above, a special technique was done so that they could watch the fight, but the one(s) who will be fighting against Kakashi won't get a clear view of his or her surroundings.

"First up is Uzumaki Naruto!" The kage bunshin said. Naruto gulped and stepped forward, taking a deep breathe in before diving down the lake, landing on the water's surface with one knee kneeling on it while his other feet fell flat on the top. "Alright sensei, get ready to give me a good score, dattebayo!" he ran around the water, trying to find his teacher as he kept his guard up.

"He's not very good in chakra control…"

Sakura turned to her right to see Sasuke with his hands pocketed in his pants' pockets casually, looking down at the fight that was already happening. She hated to say it but, he's right. Naruto was never good in controlling his chakra. "Well, ever since he found out about his huge amount of chakra stored in him, he's… been reckless."

"It's the ninetails, or more famously known as Kyuubi, isn't it?"

Her eyes widened and she abruptly turned his head to him. "How did..?"

"I did my research on all of you before getting here."

"Are you that suspicious of us?!"

"No, it's what Oto teaches ANBU level ninjas."

"Oh, so, how many ANBUs are in Oto?"

Sasuke didn't answer for a while. "The whole senior batch is labeled as ANBU."

"W-what?!"

He smirked and turned to her. "Fooled 'ya there, didn't I?"

She blushed and glared at him. "It's not funny!"

"Hn, but it's somewhat true. To Orochimaru-sensei, the seniors are considered to be ANBU for even passing third year. Yet those who only lucked out are still marked as Jounin. Unlike the rest of the school, Oto has junior high for newbies, when you're in first year, you're already a genin, unless you show a far better potential, you are allowed to skip pass that rank. Karin, the girl who came here with me, is older than me by two years, but since she started as a genin late, she was held back. Although sensei doesn't consider her as ANBU ranked because she shows too much… emotions… to be an ANBU."

"But… she's only human…"

"True, but you won't become an ANBU if you're too expressive." He turned to her. "Remember this, a ninja can say anything if he keeps an impassive face, because the enemy won't be able to tell if he is lying. Yet when that ninja is very emotional or easily shows his feelings, then the opponent will be able to tell." He turned back to the fight below, seeing how Naruto was caught by Kakashi's trap. "Hn, I guess he fails."

More students were called, some failed, some passed, and few were able to defeat Kakashi in record time. "Well, looks like we have two more students left," the clone Kakashi said, directing his look towards Sasuke and Sakura. "So, which one of you wants to go next?" he asked with amusement. Sasuke glanced at Sakura who stood still, slightly nervous. "…You want me to go first?" he asked in a whisper. She looked down, feeling embarrassed that she was letting her fear get to her again. "N-no, it's okay, I'll go." She took a step forward, but he discreetly grabbed her wrist. "Don't push yourself if you can't, think about it first, you're a ninja, and a ninja must not decide on emotions or pride alone."

He then let her go as she stood there, thinking about what he said. After a few seconds, she walked towards the edge of the cliff and looked down. "I guess Sasuke isn't that much of a bastard or a jerk," she glanced back at him and gave a small smile of thanks. He was a bit taken aback by her actions, but he gave a small one of his own. "I'm in Konoha anyway…" he thought, watching the girl close her eyes and jump down the cliff.

She opened her eyes when she sensed that she was nearing the surface of the water that she did a front flip in mid air and landed perfectly on her feet, her chakra control was excellent and she hid it well, exposing just the right amount of it to keep her standing on water.

"You go Sakura-chan!" Lee yelled, waving a flag that had a chibi picture of Sakura. Sasuke sweat dropped at this and sighed before looking down, observing Sakura and Kakashi's distance. "Something tells me that this fight will be interesting to watch…" he closed his eyes and sighed. "If she does lasts long that is…"

Kakashi was hidden under one of the trees that grew taller than the water's surface, making the place look more like a swamp, plus the fact that there were vines hanging on the branches. How the students were still able to watch would remain an interesting mystery, even if a technique was used. "Where the heck are you..?" she whispered to herself, trying to calm down as the minutes ticked by. She didn't have too much chakra supply, and she was wasting most of them by keeping her body from sinking down below. At that thought, she shivered a bit, fear engulfing her once more as she hugged herself, her past haunting her again as she shut her eyes tight.

"Oh no, Sakura!"

She opened her eyes and was shocked to see her sensei deflect the three kunai that were heading straight for her. When the weapons sank down, Kakashi turned to give Sakura a stern look. "What's the idea of you freezing up like that?! You could've been killed!" his eyes softened when the girl looked down and shook. With a sigh, he scratched the back of his head. "I'll give you five points for the perfect landing, and three points for perfect chakra control; however, you need seventeen more points to get a passing mark, since the perfect score is forty points."

Kakashi eyed his student carefully before sighing. "Can you fight or not?" she shook her head a bit. "Alright, get back up there, you can make up for the points on another fight later, with another student." She gave a nod and walked towards where the clone Kakashi that was keeping track of the time stood. He then assisted her in going back up before jumping down again. Sasuke glanced at her as she sat down, her friends running to her to ask if she was okay.

"Sasuke, you're next." The clone said.

He gave one last look at Sakura before walking towards the edge. He closed his eyes first, then opened them again, his clan's technique activated. Instead of jumping, he ran down the cliff, surprising his new classmates of the speed he possessed as he made a few hand seals, stopping at one particular seal that Ino identified as the tiger seal. "Katon…"he reached the water's surface but still continued running towards his target, surprising Kakashi when he suddenly blew a big ball of fire that came from his mouth. "Goukyaku no jutsu!"

"He easily found sensei!"

Kakashi had to sink down the water to avoid the fire since going right would mean hitting the tree, going left would mean hitting the rock and going up would not help him avoid his clothes getting caught on fire since the flames seem to be too big for him to just evade. "Cunning…"he thought, recalling how the boy stood on the cliff for a short period of time first before running down the cliff. "He knew exactly where I was, I guess I'll be forced to use that too, but I can't."

Sasuke stood still when the fire faded, and he turned his head slightly to Kakashi who resurfaced, now standing a few feet behind him. "Correct me if I'm wrong but weren't your eyes black and not red?" he asked in amusement. Sasuke smirked. "I only use these eyes when I feel that my opponent is strong or stronger and when Cherry froze all of a sudden, I concluded that you were not a ninja whom I should take lightly," he slowly faced his new sensei. "Copy nin Kakashi, the son of 'White Fang'." He paused for a moment. "Although Orochimaru-sensei did not provide the information I asked for," his eyes narrowed a bit. "Why is he called 'copy nin'?"

"You did a lot of research Sasuke, very good." He then turned his back on Sasuke. "Unfortunately, I think I used up all of my chakra." He started to walk away but Sasuke spoke. "You're not a very good liar at all sensei," Kakashi stopped and turned to him. "In fact, you still have more than half stored in you, there's something that you're hiding from me," he looked at his teacher from head to toe. "Or is it because that one objective of this fight was to get the opponent to sink below?"

"You are very smart indeed Sasuke." Kakashi commented. "Yes, that isthe very main objective." He then ran back up to the cliff, closely followed by Sasuke as he looked at the boy from the corner of his eyes. "And yes, I do have a secret that you should not know of just yet. But in order to keep that, I must not fight you further."

"That was… fast…" Kiba said, seeing his teacher soaked and Sasuke remaining unscratched and not tired. "Shit, is he that good?"

"Well, he got me to sink, so, he wins." He laughed when his students fell down and glared dangerously at Kakashi. Sasuke left them to yell at the teacher who was trying to calm them down and approached Sakura who was standing at the cliff's edge, eyeing the setting below. "You still feeling weird?" he asked, startling her a bit. "…How did you do that?" she asked back, eyes narrowing slightly. "No one has ever figured out where sensei was hiding, but you just… charged and got him already."

"…it's called observing with gifted eyes."

"Huh?" she looked at him. "Before I ran down there, I eyed the scene carefully, trying to look for him. When I wasn't able to spot him, I concluded that he was using a genjutsu that hid him well. So, I used these eyes…" he closed his eyes and opened them again to reveal them red. Sakura gasped, knowing very well what those eyes were called. "Sharingan…"

"Aa, it enables the user to see through illusions and predict the movements of the opponent. That's why, when I was already heading for sensei, I had to make sure the ninjutsu I used would make sure that he has nowhere to go but below. He was trapped in between the tree and rock, if he jumped, I can still control the flame to follow his movements, if he backed away, I can throw some kunai at him which will make it harder to spot due to the fire."

She looked at him in awe as he deactivated the Sharingan. "I didn't become an ANBU for nothing Sakura."

"…You're good…" she complimented, but her fists clenched even though she was smiling a bit. "You're really good…"

"No," he answered. "I can tell that you are too, it's just a matter of knowing what to do, how to act and when to act. It's also a matter of being aware of your surroundings. Why you suddenly froze down there earlier is a mystery to me, but in the battlefield, never do that, especially if you're on a solo mission or on your own."

"…Yeah, thanks for the tip."

"Hn," he looked back at her again. "So, how come your hair is tied to a ponytail?"

"Eh?"

"Well, the only girls I've seen here in Konoha who have their hairs tied are Ino and Ten-Ten." He turned back to her. "And your forehead protector is around your neck…"

"It's… to keep sharp weapons from getting to my neck, and as for my hair, well," she looked away, her face a bit red. "…I don't want it to get in the way…"

"Alright then, let's start off with Sasuke and Sakura." Kakashi announced as the two stepped forward. "Alright, same objective, first one to sink loses. Fight as long as you can and don't kill each other or do anything that's vital. If I see a reason for me to stop the fight, I will. Clear?" the two nodded and he signaled them to begin.

They jumped and landed well on the surface; next they instantly sprang apart and started the fight by throwing shuriken at each other. Sakura blocked with her arms as the shuriken grazed her skin, causing blood to spill out as Sasuke deflected the star-shaped blades with a kunai he took out from his kunai holster. He slid back on the surface, causing water to splash around as he looked up to see Sakura do a back flip and land on her feet. From the looks of it, he managed to get her wounded, nothing vital but it was still to his advantage if she were to hide or use an illusion technique.

"I didn't even get a scratch on him…" Sakura said to herself, observing her opponent as he stood up from his kneeling position and twirled the kunai in his hand, throwing it back inside the holster. "Get in the way… huh?" he whispered to himself, eyeing her hair. He knew that she was lying back there when he asked about it; and the forehead protector, she placed it around her neck because of another reason. It wasn't due to the fact that it would prevent anything from hitting it, although it was a reasonable excuse. "But a jounin at her level wouldn't have that much of a problem…" he thought. "There's a reason behind it, and I'm going to find out in this fight." He soon ran towards her while she threw some kunai at him and backed away.

"To get information from someone, one must also give out even a little detail about himself. Just like how you'd say your name first before you ask for theirs." He tried to throw her a punch but she ducked. "Hn, she's fast."

"He wants close combat, but I'm not letting him get near me…" she did a few hand seals and performed a genjutsu, causing Sasuke to stop when the leaves that were on the branches of the trees began to flow around him, blocking his vision as he cursed and closed his eyes, reopening them to see the leaves disappear. Right now, he can't depend on his sense of sight, and he didn't want to use sharingan, he always saved that for later options or if he feels threatened."Her genjutsu is perfectly executed," he thought, closing his eyes and concentrating on the sounds of his surroundings. "But Oto is known for training ninjas in mastering their hearing senses…"he heard footsteps approaching, and the way the water sounded helped him detect his opponent, plus the scent of blood that traveled through his nostrils. "Found you." He did a few hand seals and turned around when he made the last seal. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" he spat out fireballs from his mouth as Sakura skidded to a stop and did a wind type technique that made the water she stood on rise to put out the fire. Her eyes widened when there were shuriken hidden in the flames.

She quickly dodged all of them, landing back on her feet but she froze when she sensed him standing behind her, one arm around her waist to keep her arms clipped to her sides while the other held a kunai below her chin. "Hn," he smirked. "You're fast, but I'm faster." And she felt her hair tie give way, letting her long pink locks fall."Those shuriken managed to cut my hair tie… and I didn't even notice…"

Sasuke heard whistles and yells from the boys above, and Kakashi was yelling something about a job well done in getting Sakura to get her hair down. He blinked and looked at her, seeing how her bangs shadowed her eyes. "You didn't want them to see you with your hair down…"

She shook and gave a nod. "They only care for my looks! Those boys would ask me out the moment they see me with my hair down! They don't even know me that well!" she elbowed him and that caused him to let go to aid his stomach as he eyed her with his brows narrowed. "Shit, I let my guard down…" she glared at him as the wind blew at them, he felt the breeze blow against his back, and he was a bit surprised when the zephyr blew against Sakura's face. His eyes softened and he returned the kunai. "You know," he began looking back up at her. "I don't blame them if they immediately ask you out, but you're right, I kind of feel the same about people liking you for your looks alone, but…" she was taken aback when he smiled at her. "You are beautiful with your hair down, don't be ashamed of it. Sure it gets irritating when too many people follow you, but you can always politely refuse them, if not, well, you're a ninja, go figure."

He smirked at the last part. "And judging from how you fight, I think the guys will get the message to back off once you're done giving them a punch or two," he got into a fighting stance. "Come on, let's continue this."

She nodded and also got into a fighting stance. They then charged at each other, engaging themselves in taijutsu as their classmates watched in awe and amusement. Their fight was like a rehearsed dance number, their timing in evading and attacking was perfectly done, and from what Kakashi observed, they seem to be enjoying the fight instead of detesting it. "This is interesting, an ANBU from Oto has a thing for Konoha's cherry blossom…"

"Ah!" she yelled when he caught her wrist and had it behind her, but he made sure that it wasn't too strong, and Sakura can tell that he was trying to be gentle in fighting her. "Are you holding back because I'm a girl?!" she asked with a glare. "No, I'm just controlling my own strength to prevent any vital damages." She rolled her eyes and had her right foot slid behind his right one and caused him to trip. He cursed and let go of her because he might break her arm if he didn't. He quickly sent chakra to his whole body to prevent from sinking, and he looked up when Sakura threw a chakra infested punch on him.

She hit him, but he turned into a log. "Kawarimi?!" she felt someone kick her back that she had to maintain her chakra control when she rolled over the water's surface. Quickly staggering to her feet, she eyed Sasuke who still didn't seem to be wounded or show any signs of being hurt. "His level is too high for me to handle, and I can't last longer than this." She clenched her fists. "This is the first time I feel like losing… no way, I can't lose. This guy… he can't just easily replace my rank in class… he's…"she ran towards him, pulling her hand back for a punch as Sasuke evaded all of her attacks, looking for the right moment to counter. "He's my rival!" she concluded and cursed when she felt her movements slowing down."Shoot, my chakra is getting lower!"

He noted how her attacks slowed down, and with a confused look, he grabbed her wrist and she stopped, panting and feeling her knees give in. "Sakura, don't force yourself…" he whispered in her ear. She dreaded that feeling that invaded her body, that shiver… it wasn't the one for fear, she shivered because of the close proximity they have. "Get away!" she yelled, pushing him back. He almost fell backwards but instantly caught his balance. He saw that she stumbled backward, and he sensed that her chakra was long gone. The look in her eyes caused him to sprint forward to catch her before she falls, and before she could even sink below, he wrapped his arms around her waist to prevent her from going under the water.

Although he needed one hand to break their fall, so he concentrated chakra on that hand as it touched the water's surface. Sakura, in instinct, embraced his neck in a tight manner and buried her face on his chest, her body shaking again as he panted. He wasn't tired or anything, but when he felt an adrenaline rush a while ago in an attempt to save Sakura, it caused him to use up more chakra just to get to her in time. When he finally caught his breath, he glanced at her, noticing how her shut eyes were holding back what looked like tears.

He was on his knees too, and the lower part of her body was already underwater, but at least she wasn't completely below it. "This battle is over, Sasuke is the winner." Kakashi announced as the class cheered; some for Sasuke, some for Sakura for a job well done in fighting. "Alright you two, get back up here and dry yourselves!"

Sasuke sighed and tightened his grip around Sakura's waist since he only had one arm to keep her from falling. "Sakura, I'm going to let go now, okay?" he whispered. She gave a nod and slowly sat down on the water, trying to calm down as she delivered chakra on the right parts of her body. She was feeling tired, and scared, plus her chakra wasn't equally balanced, so Sasuke grabbed her wrist when he was finally on his own two feet, and pulled her up. She was shocked at the sudden action, and she fell against his body, his right hand held her left wrist, while his left was around her waist. "Tie your hair and we can go back up there." She nodded and took the handkerchief he offered to her, and used it as a hair tie. "Can you walk?" she gave a slow nod, still dazed from what happened. Seeing this, he did not hesitate to carry her in his arms and run back up to the cliff's edge where their classmates waited.

"Wow, that was one awesome fight!" one said. "Yeah! I can't wait for the next!" another piped. Kakashi smiled and called the next pair as Sasuke settled Sakura down a bit further from the class. She sat on the ground and wrapped her arms around her knees, her eyes half-closed and looking downcast. He noted how she was a bit soaked, so he took off his white polo and draped it around her shoulders, snapping her out from her deep thinking as she looked at him. He smiled a bit at her. "I can teach you how to swim if you want, just give me a call." And he got up and went to approach the class.

"Sasuke…"

He stopped and turned his head to her slightly.

"Why are you… so different around me..?" she asked. "You talk to me. You're so nice to me and…"

He remained silent for a while before turning his head away from her.

"I trust you." And he walked away.

Sakura eyed him for a moment before lowering her gaze, pulling his white polo closer to her. She turned to look at the young Uchiha and smiled as a blush adorned her cheeks.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" She then placed one hand over the handkerchief that served as her hair tie, "What have you done to me..?" and with one tug, her hair was down again.

You look beautiful with your hair down…

To be continued…

Next on Genjutsu: Mission 2: Pranks

He twitched and glared at her when he heard her giggling. "What the hell is the meaning of this Sakura?!" she only laughed louder as more girls squealed and looked at Sasuke then back at the pictures they were looking. "He's so cute when he's sleeping! I wish he was my room mate!" He marched towards Sakura and dragged her to somewhere private. She only laughed, even when he slammed her against the wall, trapping her there as he activated his sharingan. "What did you do..?" he asked in a low and dangerous voice. She grinned. "I took a picture of you while you were sleeping and sold it to the girls here in Konoha for money."

A/N: I know, Sasuke is too OOC for an ANBU and that he talks too much and such.