"Last call for bets! Everybody! Last call! One. . ."

"One second!" The pink-haired girl shouted from somewhere inside one the rooms. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed in irritation. He couldn't understand what else could be more important than him. He crossed his arms across his chest when three seconds passed and still, his friend wasn't barreling into the living room with her toothy smile and annoying the hell out of him like what he expected her to do the first time. He expected her to drop everything she was doing when her mother announced the he, Sasuke Uchiha, her best friend, visited her in their house. His lips turned downwards in distaste when Sakura was still not yet there after another five seconds. Sakura was making him wait. He does not like waiting.

He didn't notice his older brother's watching eyes from beside him. Unnoticed by him, Itachi was smirking beneath the tea cup raised to his lips. Really, Itachi thought, his brother was always so restless when it comes to his Sakura.

Mebuki Haruno was discreetly looking at the little Uchiha boy glaring at the door to their living room while carefully setting the strawberry desserts on the table. She smiled. Really, her daughter shouldn't let her friend wait so much. She decided to put the adorable pouting boy out of his misery.

"Sakura Haruno! If you don't come here soon, I swear to Kami-sama I'll hide all your books somewhere even your dad would not find!"

As soon as the Haruno matriarch mentioned hiding books, soft pattering of feet could be heard from afar, getting louder by the second. At this, Sasuke's displeased frown formed back to his usual nonchalant expression. However, everybody could see the way his eyes crinkled fondly around the corners and his shoulders perk up from its crouched form.

From across the table, Kizashi Haruno narrowed his eyes at the young boy.

The door to the living room slowly opened and a pink head peeked in, her eyes searching. When emerald met onyx, the little girl let out a delighted squeal.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura ran past the door and stopped inches from where the little boy sat beside his aniki. "Look at what I'm wearing Sasuke-kun!" Sakura raised her arms, showing the flaps of her pink, cherry blossoms embossed kimono. Her hair was up in a bun, held by a large pink flower with three green beaded strings; which she took so long to fix. She grinned and twirled in front of her friend, ecstatic that he was there when she first got her ceremonial kimono.

"Sasuke-kun look! It has cherry blossoms all over it! Isn't it beautiful, Sasuke-kun?" When she looked at the boy in question, she wasn't met with the loyal agreement that she wanted to see from him. Instead, she was met with a face covered with bangs.

"Ne, Sasuke-kun?" She asked her friend when the upper part of his face remained covered with his hair. She poked his shoulders and he flinched back as if electrocuted. Both the Haruno parents were confused with how the boy was acting, even Itachi frowned in curiosity. What was wrong with his otouto?

When her friend flinched at her touch, Sakura promptly stepped back, afraid that she did something to hurt him. "Sasuke-kun. . .are you okay?"

Sasuke Uchiha nodded, his eyes still hidden by his hair.

"Are you sure?"

Sasuke Uchiha nodded.

"Do you need anything?" Sakura asked, after all, he was in her home. She was trained to be hospitable by her Okaa-san.

Sasuke Uchiha shook his head. Sakura sat down beside Sasuke in childish ignorance and everybody started eating the delicious desserts Mebuki prepared for the afternoon. Kizashi was asking Itachi about his training while the matriarch fussed over all of them, making sure that their cups are always filled with tea. Little Sakura chatted away happily about what she did that morning and how her mother helped her wear the kimono. Sasuke remained silent throughout the afternoon snack, more silent than usual. Not a single peep was heard from the little boy.

Itachi Uchiha was growing more concerned.

The Harunos were just plain confused.

Sakura was unperturbed by her friend's silence. After all, her Sasuke-kun was not really known to be a chatter.

When the little Haruno finished the story about her adventures while tying the obi to her kimono, she turned to ask a question to her almost mute friend. "Should I wear the kimono too when I visit your house, Sasuke-kun?"

The two children didn't notice the table grow unusually quiet, watching their interaction like a shadow show. Everybody could sense that this was the question.

Mebuki was listening in rapt attention, so invested with the direction of where the cute relationship of the two kids was going.

Kizashi was at the edge of his seat, silently daring the Uchiha boy to say the wrong thing; to make his flower princess cry. Oh, if he dare; his fingers already itching in bloodlust.

Itachi, noticing his sensei's glare to his younger brother, was silently praying- yes, praying- that Sasuke would miraculously grow a bone about socialization and say the right thing.

After a long three second-silence, with Sakura, still looking in question at her friend, Sasuke finally answered.

"Don't."

Sakura's pretty grin faltered. Mebuki's eyes dropped in disappointment. Kizashi was poised to get his hands on the young boy's neck. Itachi was seconds away from hauling his younger brother out of the house, away from his murderous sensei.

"It might get dirty when we play. The. . ."

Sasuke paused.

". . .sakuras pretty," He finally mumbled out after a few seconds.

Sakura, glad to hear that the reason why Sasuke didn't want her to wear the kimono was because he thought the sakura designs were pretty and he didn't want her to dirty it. She immediately broke to giggles. "Baka no Sakura. Of course, of course. I didn't think about it like that. So smart Sasuke-kun! I'll just wear another dress tomorrow!" She grinned, her mind finally distracted by the unfinished dango in front of her.

Mebuki mentally pumped her arms in victory; if a boy knew how to complement a woman's clothes, he's on his way to knowing how to complement the woman herself.

Kizashi was frozen in confusion; should he strangle the boy? But the Uchiha brat didn't actually say a bad thing. . .it was a fact, after all that his princess's kimono might get dirty. He even complemented the designs. But still, he felt like the right answer by his standards should have been yes.

Itachi meanwhile wanted to congratulate his otouto. He can't believe he almost missed it. If he wasn't sitting directly beside his little brother when he moved his face, he wouldn't have noticed those two little patches of red on his cheeks and catch his otouto's little slip-up. Really, Sasuke was no doubt smarter than him at that age, with that kind of skill to play with words. He snorted, covering it with a cough. Uchihas are perfect with everything, they wouldn't ever be caught saying anything grammatically incorrect.

The sakuras pretty. Itachi mentally laughed. More like, Sakura's pretty.