It's here! It's really, really here!

I'm sorry for being such an ass and forgetting to post this before spring.

DISCLAIMER: NARUTO/NARUTO SHIPPUUDEN © Masashi Kishimoto

- "Her forehead isn't wide. It's humongous." -

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- Chapter 5 -

Outdistance

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- SasuSaku -

Hinata blew her bangs as she applied the final touch to the confectionery she had been working on for the past 20 minutes. She was about to put it inside the fridge when a maid interrupted her.

"Hinata-sama, your father has arrived."

"Okay, Kaneda-san. I'll be out in a minute." She told the old maid while putting the stuff in the fridge. She wiped her hands with a paper towel and rushed out to greet her father.

"Welcome home, father." Hinata bowed down in respect. "How was your day today?"

"It was fine," Hiashi replied. He gave her daughter a pat on the head and ordered a maid to give him some towels. "How about you? Is your friend here yet?"

Hinata offered to help him take off his coat. "Yup!" She answered with a smile. "She's in my room at the moment. Uh, father, would you like to rest for a while? I suppose it has been a tough day for you at work."

"No, no," Hiashi shook his head. "I'm fine. Besides, it's already dinner time. I'll just go change into my robes."

The walk with Neji to the dining hall was something she would never, ever forget. They talked about a lot of things, mostly about her studies, how she and Hinata were doing at school. He asked her about her hobbies and interests, and she found out his likes and dislikes in return.

She could tell that those ten minutes were so far the happiest ones of her life. She had come to know him better, and she had been careful to not let him know about her feelings for him. She asked only a few questions to make sure that he won't get annoyed with her or whatsoever, and she was very pleased to be given the answers she wanted to hear.

When they reached the dining hall, they were welcomed by a very shocked yet delighted Hinata.

"Oh, it seems that there's no need for me to fetch you in my room anymore," Hinata grinned, which made Sakura blush a bit. "Come on, Father is waiting for us."

Neji gave way to Sakura and let her in first, all the while glancing at his cousin's smiling face. He gave her a puzzled look, which was answered by the same toothy grin.

"E-Excuse me for my intrusion…!" Sakura immediately bowed her head down at the sight of Hinata's father. She was really nervous now; so much that her feet were stuck to where she was standing, blocking Neji's way. Hiashi raised his eyebrows at this, and chuckled at what she had just done.

"It's okay, child. Come on in." He told the nervous pinkette. "Have a seat."

Sakura seemed too nervous that she stumbled her way to the table, and, as if acting on reflex, Neji shot an arm forward caught her by the waist. She gasped at what just happened, and blushed furiously at the feeling of his arm across her belly. Neji in turn felt somehow the same, minus the blush and gasp, as he marveled at the softness of her body against his arm. He immediately, but carefully, let go of her and helped her recompose herself.

The sight surprised Hiashi a lot, and an idea formed in his head.

"So, Haruno Sakura, right?" Hiashi asked after drinking a cup of tea. "I can't thank you enough for agreeing to my daughter's request. I may not seem like it, but I'm very grateful to have you here with us, because this is the very first time Hinata had brought a friend over for dinner."

"It…It's my pleasure, Hyuuga-sama." Sakura stuttered.

"No, just call me Uncle," the old Hyuuga insisted. "It won't hurt, would it?"

This time Sakura blushed furiously. She looked down on her food and shook her head. "Yes… Uncle."

"It sounds great, doesn't it?" Hiashi smiled.

The dinner went on for about an hour. Hiashi asked Sakura about school, her family, her hobbies, and things of the like. Sakura eventually got used to the old man and answered every question rather enthusiastically. All the while the old man smiled at her. Neji couldn't help but smile at her, too, which made her blush once more.

After the dinner, Sakura told them that she already had to go. Hiashi asked Neji to walk her home, and he did.

When they finally reached Sakura's home, she thanked Neji for the walk and went in the house with a huge smile on her face.

Morning came in quickly, and Sasuke was just about done packing up for school. Last night was a total shocker, and he didn't sleep at all. He couldn't sleep. The idea that his brother knew Sakura bugged him all night. 'Til now, even.

Before he left the study room, he gave the sakura lanterns a last look and headed out.

"Mom," he called out to his mother who was busy preparing their breakfast. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Sasu-chan," Mikoto smiled and placed a toast on Sasuke's plate. "You're up early. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Uh, yeah…" he lied. He took the toast and spread butter on it. "Aniki and I were talking about the sakura lanterns you wanted. They're in the study room. By the way, where's he?"

"Oh, your brother went out early today as well. Did he tell you that he will be working as a teacher in your school starting next week?"

Sasuke nearly dropped his toast to the floor.

"What?" He thought he misheard her. "M-Mom, are you serious?"

"I'm serious!" Mikoto pouted and let out a laugh. "I'm sure you're excited now. I think he will be teaching freshmen this year."

That did it. He stuffed the whole thing in his mouth and rushed out. "I'm going now, Mom! Thanks for the food!"

Mikoto stood at the kitchen, staring confusingly at her son's plate. Finally she smiled and tidied up the table.

"Oh, Sasu-chan. You never sleep with the light on, and your room's very well lit up last night."

The kitchen was then filled with chuckles and giggles.

'Sh…shit! I knew it!'

Beads of sweat ran down Sasuke's face as he ran across their hallway. He was nervous; very, very nervous. He knew there was something weird with what his brother said last night. Itachi was probably teasing him, or something. Yes. That had to be it.

When he finally reached the front door of the house he was welcomed by surprised maids. "Sasuke-sama, please be careful on your way to school."

"Y-Yeah…" he replied. When he went outside, Naruto was waiting for him near the gate.

"Oi, teme. Did you d—" Naruto paused. "Are those eye bags?"

"Tch," Sasuke muttered. His mother knew he was lying all the while. He sneered as he looked away from his blonde friend. Furrowing his brows, he cleared his throat and walked to their school's direction.

"—and then the girls started singing that new song! Oh, teme, I wish you were there! There's this hot ch—oomph!"

"Shut up for a bit, will you?" Sasuke bellowed. "I'm not interested in those kinds of things."

Naruto cursed something inaudible as they walked all the way into their building. When they reached the door, he caught sight of Sakura talking to Hinata in a corner. His eyes went wide as he saw what the pink haired girl was holding.

"Hey, teme! Isn't that your—"

Sasuke immediately covered Naruto's mouth and whispered into his ear, "If you're not going to zip it I'm gonna crush your jaw."

Naruto forcibly pulled Sasuke's hand away from his mouth. "All right, all right! Sheesh! You didn't have to be so worked up about it!" He rubbed his cheek. "It's true, right? That's your jacket they got there."

Sasuke frowned and pulled Naruto forward past Hinata and Sakura. He looked behind to make sure they were far enough from them.

"Dobe," Sasuke started. "I have something to tell you."

Said dobe turned his head to side. "What?"

"It's…her," the raven-haired teen tightened his grip on his bag's strap. "I've…I've already met her before we did."

"Who?" Naruto asked. He thought about it for a while. Scanning through everything he remembered that had happened these past few days, he finally got his drift. "Oh, you mean Sakura-chan—"

"Shh! Keep it down, dobe!" Sasuke immediately turned his head everywhere to see if anyone had been listening, which made a set of blonde eyebrows rise. It's the first time he had seen his bestfriend act like that. What about Sakura-chan? There are many Sakura-chans in Japan, so why did he have to make such a big deal out of it? It's not like Sakura-chan's around, either.

"So…what about her? What exactly do you mean about what you said earlier?" Naruto asked again.

Sasuke titled his head opposite to Naruto's direction. "It… It all happened the day before yesterday. I came back to school after you left me…" and he trailed off. Naruto listened all the way through. His eyebrows rose once again when he told him that he carried Sakura all the way to her home.

"You…you what?!" the blonde yelled rather loudly, which caused some heads to turn to their direction.

"F-Fuck it, dobe…" Sasuke mumbled between gritted teeth. "One more unnecessary word from your lips and I'll make you want to shut up for the rest of your life."

Naruto cringed at his words.

Sasuke cleared his throat once more. "So, yeah… I carried her all the way from the rooftop to her home at Shinjuku Bldg."

"N-No way, teme! Did anyone see you? Did you get caught?"

"Of course not, stupid. That's why my jacket's with her. I used it to hide her. If I did get caught, they'd lock the rooftop and accuse me for sexual harassment…" Sasuke blushed. "…or something like that."

The blonde saw the faint blush creeping up his face. He inwardly smirked as he continued with his talking.

"She wasn't heavy, really. But the entire walk was so damn boring." Sasuke reached up to touch the side of his neck. "That was…until she did this…thing…agh, I don't know how I should put it…"

"What exactly did she do to you?" Naruto sounded so intrigued.

"She…she suddenly drew her face closer to my neck and…" this time he blushed heavily, "her lips were so wet and…she kissed me right here." He pointed the spot.

Naruto could only stare at him.

"She's the very first woman to drool on me like that."

"Forget it. I'm going home. I'm sorry, Naruto-kun."

"B-But Sakura-chan," Naruto grabbed her bag strap gently. "The president just requested this! We have to buy everything on this list!" He whined as he waved the piece of paper on her face.

Sakura sighed as she took the paper and scanned the list quickly. She sighed once again in defeat.

"See? The four of us are just enough to carry these! Right, guys?" He turned his head behind him, where Sasuke and Hinata stood. "A-Ano… Thank you so much for coming with us, Hinata-san! It must be a bother for you to be here."

Hinata smiled rather sarcastically in return. "It's okay. Sakura-chan and I were meant to go out today, anyway. That was, until you guys came and interrupted us and robbed us of our precious time."

Naruto sweatdropped. 'A-Ah…so this wasn't planned at all…' "S-Still…I'm terribly sorry for this! We'll take care of your transportation fees!"

Sasuke glared at him. Naruto cringed.

"Alright," Hinata stepped forward. "Sakura-chan, let's go. We still have an assignment to finish."

Sakura continued to glare daggers at their raven-haired companion. "Why do you have to be here, you chicken-butt? You're annoying. Go home. We three can do this by ourselves."

Sasuke glared icily at her as she continued with her complaints. "Why should I? If anyone should leave, it's you. You're annoying, too, you know. You're—"

And the fight went on for about fifteen minutes. Naruto and Hinata could only look at them as their argument turned into a screaming debate which lasted for another fifteen minutes.

"Don't fuck with me, you weird woman! We came here first, and it's not like we're asking for this, either!"

"Shut up you good-for-nothing idiot! And keep your filthy mouth to yourself! If you're not going to shut up, I'm going to rip your tongue off and feed it to Akamaru!"

"Who said you could feed Akamaru, you stupid woman?! Only Inuzuka is allowed to touch and feed him!"

"And what's it to you?! I've already taken turns feeding him with Kiba-kun, you know! And why the hell do you know Kiba-kun?!"

"That's because he's my classmate, you moron! And he sits right next to me! Ah, what the hell?! I don't care about him! Shit… Anyway, go home! I don't need you!"

"Well, fine by me! I can't stand you, you...you bastard!" and she ran off.

Sasuke cursed and hesitated, and finally chased after her.

Naruto and Hinata sighed and stared at each other, then to the arguing two.

"So…do you come here often?" the blonde asked.

'Stupid, stupid idiot! Who does he think he is?! Argh, I hate him! I hate him so much!'

Sakura ran as far as she could to the train station. The idiot had crossed the line. It'd been only a three days since she met him, and now they were sworn enemies.

"Tch…fine! I don't care!" She stopped by a bench near a café, and sat down. She looked very pissed and tired. She lifted her head to look at her surroundings. She groaned and stared down at her watch. It was still early, and she left home without having breakfast. She felt hungry all of a sudden.

"Ah, hey, miss. Are you waiting for someone?"

Sakura froze at her spot. Great, now she was getting hit on by a fat guy with baggy clothes. She gripped the hem of her shorts and shut her eyes tightly.

'S-Someone…please…help m—'

"Yes, she is. Come on, Sakura, we're going now."

Sakura shot her head up to look at her savior. Her eyes went wide when she saw who it was. She was about to protest when she found herself being pulled away from her seat.

Sasuke looked at the guy and gave him his coldest glare which scared Sakura a bit. "If I ever see your face around here again," he picked up a soda can on the ground and held it close to the guy's face. "This is what'll happen to you," he crushed it with a hand and crumpled it until it couldn't get any smaller anymore, "but far more worse." Bewildered at what Sasuke just did, the guy cursed and ran off.

Sakura, still frozen at what just happened, clung tighter onto Sasuke's shirt. She stared at the hand that crushed the can and noticed that it was bleeding. She immediately grabbed his wrist and snatched the crushed can away.

"Y-You're bleeding!" She finally spoke. "You shouldn't have done that! Oh my god…"

Sasuke tried to pry his hand away from her but she held it tightly between both of hers. "S-Stupid…" he looked away from her. "Your sleeves will get stained!"

"It's alright!" She took out her handkerchief from her pocket and wiped the blood from his hand. He must've overdone it; normally when he did that his hand didn't bleed.

'What the hell is wrong with me…?' he thought for a moment. He looked at the panicking girl before him. His eyes softened as he let them linger across her face; her hair, her eyes, her lips…

"Really! You've been reckless! That can was dirty, you know! Come on, you have to get that wound cleaned!" She tried to pull him, but he stayed in place. "Don't act like a stubborn kid! Come on!"

Sasuke didn't move an inch. He was facing away from her. She must've forgotten that she was still holding his hand, and it made him blush furiously. When he noticed that it suddenly became silent, he fought back his blush and looked at her.

Sakura had her head down, looking at her feet. "Um…thank you…for saving me…"

That moment, he felt like his chest was going to burst. His feet were still stuck to the ground; he couldn't take it anymore. He suddenly felt the need to hold her close, and never let go.

*Insert evil laugh here*

Now, now, now…what's happening, huh? MORE INTERACTION!!! I feel so damn proud I'm getting teary-eyed right now.

Oh, come on, people! Don't be like that! You know what I want! It starts with the letter R…and ends with the letter W(or S).

(Whaddya know, it's RAINBOW(s)!!) –seriously, if you people think like this I swear I will crawl from under your bed and strangle you while you're sleeping. REVIEW, PEOPLE!! REVIEW!!

See you~ 'Til next update~ :)