Hmm. My first fanfiction.

Not much to say here, except please read and review. And I don't own Naruto.

Rejection, Uchiha-Styled

Konoha park. A pleasant breeze is blowing, the sky is clear. It is a fresh morning but the park is empty; the swings glide lazily back and forth.

Ahh. This is the day to sit under a tree and watch the clouds go by. Peace and —

"SASUKE-KUUUUUUUUUN!"

— quiet.

Said Uchiha sighs as he gets up from his seat on a park bench and turns to face the incoming threat — more commonly known as his posse of fangirls. There is no use running. He swears each fangirl knows his hairstyle, outfit, height — heck, they even memorize his smell — by heart, and they can most likely pick him out in a crowd of people.

Three seconds later, he is assaulted.

"Sasuke-kun, will you go out with me?"

"I'm free Saturday night, Sasuke-kun, will you be doing anything on Saturday?"

"You idiot, Sasuke-kun is MINE!"

"No he's not! He's mine! He likes girls with long hair, right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke inches away slowly. "Erm. No. Now leave me alone."

"Sasuke-kun is playing hard to get!"

"Don't worry, Sasuke-kun, I'll get you!"

"No you won't!"

A full-scale catfight breaks out. Sasuke, with years of training which keeps him alive from being crushed by the fangirls, successfully evades them and sprints off, leaving a trail of dust.

Smooth getaway, Uchiha, he congratulates himself.

Of course, it doesn't last long. Because, as stated previously, the fangirls have indeed memorized his smell and are tracking him through Konoha like a pack of hellhounds.

From the distance, a figure shrouded in a dark blue cloak watches the entire process amusedly.

It is mid-afternoon in the Konoha marketplace, and so far Sasuke has successfully avoided the fangirls.

And again, of course, it doesn't last long.

"There he is! SASUKE-KUN!"

Sasuke considers sinking into the ground and disappearing, but an Uchiha has more dignity and self-control than that.

A short brunette latches on to his arm and whines, "Sasuke-kuuuun, go out with me?" With the puppy dog eyes. And the eyelashes fluttering.

…..Sasuke is not impressed.

Fail. Epic fail.

"No. I'm not going out with any of you." He attempts to disengage himself from the fangirls.

"But why?"

"Because I —" here Sasuke struggles to think of a good reason, "— I have a girlfriend already."

Silence.

Sasuke mentally smacks himself. Nice, idiot.

And then, like a tidal wave, the barrage of questions come.

"WHO IS SHE? HOW DARE SHE STEAL MY SASUKE-KUN?"

"I'll kill her! Where is she, Sasuke-kun?"

He is stumped. Where is his imaginary girlfriend, anyhow? The fangirls are waiting for his answer, and Sasuke decides on a reckless decision.

He climbs on a wooden crate in the middle of the marketplace and says, "Your attention please, everyone." His voice is not loud, he does not yell, but his tone is commanding and everyone stops to listen. Sasuke Uchiha is a well-known, popular individual, especially among the ladies.

"I am sure that certain… people…" he gestures vaguely towards the mob of adoring fangirls, "think that I, at the age of sixteen, am in need of a girlfriend."

Giggles in the background.

"Therefore, I, Sasuke Uchiha, will agree to take a girlfriend —" squeals and more giggles, "IF she can beat me in a ninja duel."

Abruptly the giggles stop.

There is a stunned silence, then one exceptionally brave fangirl attempts to tackle Sasuke, and the others follow.

Sasuke pushes them back none too gently, reminding himself that yes, their punishment is long overdue, they have been harassing him for years, and he is entitled a right to beat them back.

Two minutes and eleven seconds later, the fangirls fall back, nursing their injured pride. A few wiser ones give up and turn home, while others are crying hysterically — "I'LL NEVER GET SASUKE-KUN!" — but quite a large number of fangirls still remain.

Whether they are exceptionally determined or stupid, Sasuke cannot decide.

And at that moment, a figure in dark blue steps out from the shadows.

There is something about the figure, something about her — Sasuke knows the person is a girl — that attracts Sasuke's attention.

She steps up to him and the fangirls, and says, "I heard about your announcement. I would like to challenge you to a fight."

The signature Uchiha smirk appears.

"It seems like even strangers cannot resist the Uchiha charm."

"Oh, I didn't challenge you to be your girlfriend. I'm a ninja, believe it or not, and I only want to try my luck against the famous Uchiha."

In the background: "HOW DARE YOU INSULT SASUKE-KUN, YOU UGLY LITTLE —"

Sasuke glares them into silence.

His ego is deflated just a bit from the mysterious girl's retort, but he doesn't let it show. "Very well then." He gives her a mock bow, "Uchiha Sasuke. As I'm sure you already know."

She curtsies, graceful and light. "Haruno Sakura."

Then she takes off her dark blue cloak, lays it on the ground a few feet away, and flips her shocking pink hair. She raises her head, and piercing emerald meets dark onyx.

There is something in her emerald eyes, a sense of certainty that unnerves him just a little. Then he smirks, because he realizes she is different, she is one in a million, she is special, and she is going to be his.

Sakura Haruno.

They settle several meters apart, motionless, watching.

Sasuke decides to play nice. "Ladies first."

Irritation flashes in Sakura's eyes, and she lunges forward with a kunai in her hand that wasn't there three seconds ago. She thrusts the kunai to his neck, and he ducks out of the way, taking out a kunai of his own, and parries her next blow.

She kicks out with her foot and he grabs it, but jerks back when her other fist lashes out to him. They are locked in a graceful dance, slashing, parrying, at times close together then jumping back. By this time a crowd has gathered, watching the battle between the infamous Uchiha and the mysterious lady newcomer. But Sasuke and Sakura do not notice the crowd; they only have eyes for each other.

She dashes forward, ducks low, and attempts to knee Sasuke in his "area."

He catches her knee, eyes her skeptically. "Getting dirty now, are we?"

Her response is to stick her tongue out, and Sasuke realizes her innocent face might just be a façade.

After a particularly close kick to the head that misses by only a few inches, Sasuke decides to step it up.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

A fireball comes roaring to life and crashes into Sakura's spot.

Smoke obscures Sasuke's vision for a bit, but he contents himself by saying that Sakura is down — even though, he admits grudgingly, she put up quite a fight. Better than his fangirls, that's for sure.

The smoke clears.

Ha. No one has been able to stand up to the Fireball Technique head-on, though I suppose I could have toned it down and gone easier — wait, where is she?

He activates his Sharingan — left, no; right, no… up, no — and senses her chakra just in time — BELOW!

He jumps up a mere heartbeat before her chakra-infused punch crashes below him and creates a crater on the ground.

Sasuke flips backward and lands some distance away from Sakura, both of them sizing each other up.

He is impressed.

"Go out with me," he blurts.

Sakura giggles. Such ego.

"Beat me, and I might reconsider." She smiles, a coy look on her face.

She takes the offensive again, another chakra-infused punch coming his way. He dodges, and a hole is made on his previous spot. He retaliates by throwing several shuriken her way, but she manages to deflect them with her kunai.

He sprints toward her, but suddenly Sakura disappears, and Sasuke stops in his tracks, kunai raised. Once again, the Sharingan saves his life.

Right. He stabs with his kunai, but before he makes contact, she disappears again.

Left. He dodges her kunai, but he's wondering why she continues in this persistent disappearing and reappearing when she knows he can block them all.

He is given his answer a mere four seconds later, when Sakura appears in front of him, aiming a punch to his head.

At the same moment Sasuke senses someone behind him — a clone! — and attempts a last-ditch effort to defend himself.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"

A volley of mini fireballs rocket into the two clones — one in front, one behind him — and effectively wipes them clean.

He breathes a sigh of relief —

— and senses Sakura's chakra, coming from above him.

Sasuke tries to react, but even though he can see where the attack is coming from, his body can't move —

And Sakura falls down on him, grabs his shirt, and he feels his chakra being drained out of him at an alarming rate. He does not have time to twist out of her grasp, and he falls down on his back, chakra drained, Sharingan deactivated.

Cold metal is placed against his neck. Sakura's kunai.

"How…?"

Her green eyes are sparking with triumph, she is wearing a victory smile. "I'm a medic ninja. Draining chakra is just another alternate form of healing."

Grinning, she puts her kunai away. "How does it feel to lose, Sasuke Uchiha?"

He is speechless.

Sakura continues. "Either way, I win. I'm sorry, but I don't think we are meant to be."

She puts on her dark blue cloak (which has miraculously appeared unscathed by the fiery battle) and bounds away, leaving him shell-shocked, staring at her retreating form.

"That'll teach you to belittle girls, Uchiha."