notes: And here's the much anticipated fifth chapter of Just a Little Bit! Sorry for leaving you guys without an update for so long, but here we are at last!

We've got some Naruto characters mentioned in this chapter and a little look into Sakura's past. And some KyouSaku fluff for all you fangirls out there ;D

This chapter is dedicated to my lovely Hope for our awesome conversation which left me with such great muse and new ideas and for writing Before the Nightmare, a SaiSaku oneshot that's kind of a prologue to Gorgeous Nightmare. I suggest you guys check it out and leave Hope a whole bunch of love!

Also, IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT in the ending AN! Be sure to check it out once you finish the chapter!

Enjoy!

See you at the bottom.

::

Just a Little Bit...

Of Reminiscing and Breaking the Ice

::

You've got pressure dripping off your shoulders

::

The red light blinked a few times before going out, a dim white light shining in its stead. It wasn't exceptionally bright but managed to light up the inside of the elevator well enough.

A look of horror seemed to be permanently painted onto Sakura's face.

"No. No.Nonononononono." Sakura said as she dropped her cup and threw herself against the doors of the elevator, trying to pry the metal apart. She swallowed her screech of rage as she pounded her fists on the doors and quickly began to freak the fuck out.

"Oh, come on!" she exclaimed as she clawed at where the doors met, inwardly begging them to open. She glanced over her shoulder at the disturbingly stoic Kyouya and groaned in frustration.

"Anyone, anyone, but him! He's worse than Sasuke!" she cried before her voice dropped to a whisper as she gave the doors a reproachful and pleading look, trying to persuade the elevator to free her. "I think he's out to get me."

At the derisive hum from behind her, Sakura slowly looked back over her shoulder at the boy, eyes widening comically as she half expected him to pull out a gun and shoot her. Kyouya pushed his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and eyed her with a frown.

"If you are already reacting as such, there is no hope of us calmly figuring this out and escaping." He announced, words nearly taking a physical form and viciously stabbing her.

Sakura glared before pouting and finally sighing as she slid into a sitting position. She was overreacting; he couldn't hate her that much.

"Believe it or not, but this isn't the first time I've been stuck in an elevator." The pinkette said offhandedly. Kyouya sat as well and watched her curiously.

"Oh?"

She nodded and thought back, smiling wryly. "Yeah. Only, I at least had Naruto to keep me from going crazy." She eyed him and pursed her lips. "You aren't nearly as entertaining as that idiot. Hell, even Sai always has some sort of thing on hand to pass the time." She groaned and let her head fall back against the doors. Kyouya frowned at the unfamiliar names and filed them away for further investigation.

"Give me your cellphone." Kyouya demanded suddenly after a few moments of silence. Sakura raised an eyebrow at him and her face twisted in confusion.

"What, why?"

He regarded her coolly, rolling his eyes a miniscule amount.

"To call the mall security or somebody so that someone knows we're stuck here." He deadpanned.

The rosette blinked, "Oh. Um, sure." and reached into her pocket to pull her phone out, quickly handing it over to him. She frowned as she watched him quickly dial a number.

"What's wrong with your cell?"

"I accidentally left it in the limo when Tamaki was hurrying us along and only noticed so now." He replied, holding her phone up to his ear with a scowl.

She nodded to herself and soon lost interest in the boy. Sakura leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes, tuning Kyouya's conversation out; only vaguely aware of him making another call once he was done with the first. After a few minutes, her attention snapped back to him at the sound of his annoyed grunt. She cracked an eye open and gazed at the disgruntled boy.

"That's the third time. The idiot isn't picking up." He muttered, eye slightly twitching. She sat up and regarded him fully, pulling her beanie off her head.

"And by 'idiot' you mean...?"

"Tamaki. I thought it would be best to let him and the others know where we are. But the buffoon isn't answering."

Sakura took off her scarf and coat, nodding to herself. "You probably have the other Host's numbers memorized; just call one of them to gather everyone together."

Kyouya rolled his eyes and she snorted in annoyance.

"That was the plan."

He was about to make another call when Sakura's phone suddenly started vibrating and the sound of Beethoven's 5th filled the elevator. Kyouya raised an eyebrow at her choice of ringtone and Sakura felt her face heat up. She reached out for her phone but he blatantly ignored her and answered the call, holding the phone to his ear coolly.

"Haruno Sakura's phone, Ootori Kyouya speaking."

The elevator was silent for a few moments as Sakura watched him with idle annoyance and Kyouya waited for the person on the other line to speak. He raised an eyebrow at their silence and almost hung up when a deafeningly loud and furious voice erupted from the receiver and left his ears ringing.

"WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU AND WHAT THE HELL HAVE YOU DONE WITH MY NIECE?"

Kyouya jumped and held the phone away from his ear. Sakura's eyes nearly bugged out in surprise and she scrambled to his side as fast as she could.

"Auntie?" she squealed, fumbling with the phone. The person on the other line was silent for a moment before she began screeching again.

"SAKURA? OH KAMI, SAKURA! I HEARD YOU! DON'T WORRY; I'M COMING TO GET YOU!" Her yells became muffled suddenly as she undoubtedly turned away from her phone on her end to shout over her shoulder. "SHIZUNE. GET MY TASER!"

Kyouya eyed Sakura in slight amusement as she blanched and attempted to choke out her words.

"Tsunade! I'm fine, really!"

"Sakura?" Came her concerned reply. "You're okay?"

"Yes, yes. I'm perfectly fine."

"Who was that who answered your phone then?" Tsunade's voice took on a more stern tone and Sakura groaned, turning away from the bemused Kyouya.

"That was just one of my senpais from school. We're both stuck in an elevator at the mall. He was using my phone to make a few calls." she explained calmly, rubbing the back of her neck.

A pause.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING AT THE MALL WITH A BOY? YOU ARE BY NO MEANS OLD ENOUGH TO DATE."

Sakura jumped in surprise, face twisting with horror, and Kyouya cringed at the loud yell, face going pale.

"HERE I AM, WORRYING MY ASS OVER YOU; CALLING YOU, OUT OF THE GOODNESS OF MY HEART, TO LET YOU KNOW THOSE KIDS MISSED YOU YESTERDAY, AND YOU'RE SHIRKING YOUR SCHOLARLY RESPONSIBILITIES WITH SOME BOY FROM SCHOOL! I BET YOU HAVEN'T EVEN DONE ALL YOUR HOMEWORK! Some niece of mine you've turned out to be."

The pinkette's face burned and her jaw dropped as she fumbled for an answer. Meanwhile, Kyouya was nodding knowingly.

So that's where she got her short temper.

"Tsunade! I-"

"Don't you 'Tsunade' me, young lady! You're lucky I've got patients that need me right now and I currently don't have time for this shit! But you can be sure as hell I'll be calling Kakashi. He can kick your ass into gear. I expect a full explanation as soon as possible!"

Sakura groaned and tried to console her aunt, massaging her forehead as she ignored Kyouya's amused smirk. "Auntie! You're blowing this way out of proportion! You're seriously overreacting."

"Ha! I'll show you overreacting, Sakura!"

Confused by the vague threat, Sakura raised an eyebrow and waited for Tsunade to speak. Suddenly, the sound of a mad cackle filled the elevator.

"Guess who's signed up to play 'make-overs' all next Saturday afternoon with the kids!"

"Wha-? Tsunade!"

"Bye Sakura-chan, enjoy your weekend!"

"Wai-!"

But the line went dead and Tsunade's wicked laugh was cut off before Sakura could confront her aunt. She groaned and buried her head in her hands. She blatantly ignored Kyouya for the next few minutes, forgetting that he had wanted to call the other hosts. He seemed to have forgotten as well and was currently contemplating the conversation he had overheard.

When Sakura's phone started ringing again, she gave a moan of frustration and held it to her ear, not bothering to check the caller I.D. since she had a pretty good guess who was calling her.

"Hello?"

It was just quiet enough in the elevator for Kyouya to hear the somewhat tired voice speak on the other end and he listened carefully, trying to appear as if he wasn't eavesdropping.

"Sakura-chan? Do you have any idea why Tsunade just called me screaming, and I quote, 'She's doing stupid shit again, Kakashi! Go Responsible Adult on her ass and make her be my adorable, innocent niece again! I can't handle this teenager-crap!'? She sounded like she was about ready to demolish a building again. And what's this about you being at the mall with a boyfriend?" Came the other person's voice. He'd sighed occasionally as he spoke but took on a suspicious tone with the last words.

"Sensei! I tried to explain to her what was going on but she just wouldn't listen. There's no boyfriend, just a friend from school; we're both stuck in an elevator between floors and he happened to be using my phone when she called." Sakura explained, rubbing her forehead.

"What? Have you called mall security yet? How long have you been in there?"

"Yeah, yeah. Only about ten minutes I think. It's all good; they should be coming to get us out soon."

"Actually," Kyouya interjected suddenly, "I don't know the number for this mall's security. So, I called the Ootori Secret Police, but it could take them an hour or two to get to us."

Sakura sighed and leaned back against the wall, "Never mind, it sounds like we'll be in here for a while."

Kakashi hummed to himself and Sakura waited for him to speak.

"Well, it sounds like you're fine and have everything figured out for now. Call me back later after you've gotten out; I want a full explanation."

"Geeze, thanks for the concern Sensei." Sakura murmured, snorting to herself. "How about you come over tomorrow, around noon, and I tell you all about my marvelous first week of school and everything that's been going on?"

"Ah, sounds good. I'll be expecting lunch, preferably something salty."

"Sensei!"

"If you get too pissed off, punch a hole in the wall, but cover your fist with something so you don't get it all cut up like last time. Or just recite the poem to yourself."

"Yeah, yeah."

"See you tomorrow, have fun with your boyfriend, Sakura-chan, but not too much fun."

"Sensei!" Sakura's shriek of embarrassment put a smirk on Kyouya's face and she made sure not to make eye-contact as her face burned. Kakashi's chuckle was cut short as the call ended and she groaned.

"Man, why are all the adults I know so embarrassing and weird?"

::

Let me be the one to relieve it.

::

When Kyouya suddenly stood and started walking around the elevator, eyes pinned to the ceiling, Sakura could only watch with a raised eyebrow, pulling herself farther into the corner to keep out of his way. The silence hung heavily in the air until he stopped below what looked like a vent, face thoughtful and classes glinting. Sakura crossed her arms and watched him, inwardly guessing what he was thinking.

"That's a really bad idea." she said simply, leaning back against the wall. Kyouya glanced over at her but quickly returned his attention to the vent, mentally figuring how high up it was.

"It's obvious that no one will be here for a while, so I might as well try and get us out of here myself." he answered, testing out the strength of the metal railing that circled the inside of the elevator.

She scoffed and fiddled with her scarf, "Trying to climb up there is a really stupid idea. The railing won't give you a proper foot hold; you'll just fall and hurt yourself." When he seemed to ignore her, she merely rolled her eyes and continued. "I should know. Sasuke tried the same thing and was unconscious until they finally got us out."

Kyouya sent her an annoyed look and began to climb onto the railing, feet on either side of the inner corner as he tested his balance. "I'm not going to fall."

She snorted and waved offhandedly.

"That's what Sasuke said."

He rolled his eyes and braced his hands against the ceiling, inching forward to the vent. He pushed against the metal to see if it would move and adjusted his feet to get closer. Sakura watched, inwardly calculating if the inevitable fall would split his head open or not.

As Kyouya tried to pry the metal grate off, his foot moved a tiny bit and lost its grip against the slick metal of the railing. His leg flew out from under him and he lost his balance. He tried to brace himself with the ceiling but only managed to twist himself around and hit his head against the railing as he fell to the floor, the impact of his body shaking the elevator. Just before he hit his head, as he was falling, he managed a surprised, "Shit!"

Sakura sent the unconscious Kyouya a knowing look and sighed.

"Sasuke said that, too, when he fell."

She waited a few moments to see if he would come to, but, when he didn't stir, she stood and walked over to him, kneeling down to check him over. He was out cold, but, luckily, he hadn't broken anything. She sighed once more to herself and rolled Kyouya over onto his back, moving him into a more comfortable position. She removed his crooked glasses and frowned at the cut they'd left, just above his right eyebrow.

"Damn, that might scar. I think I have a Band-Aid somewhere, though." she murmured as she searched her pockets. She "Aha!"-ed in victory when she found the spare bandage and quickly put it on his cut, grinning cheekily to herself.

"Hope you don't mind Hello Kitty, Kyouya-senpai~" she snickered under her breath. The rosette sat back slightly to observe her handiwork and her head tilted to the side slightly as she frowned. 'He looks so different without his glasses...'

After a moment's thought, she grabbed her scarf and coat and rolled them up together, putting the bundle under his head as a cushion.

"Well, Ootori-san." she mused in a mock-professional voice, "It's my pleasure to inform you that you're going to live and will probably wake up in a few minutes, but," here her grin returned, "You're going to have a really nasty bruise on your forehead and an awful headache."

Sure enough, the beginning of a bruise was starting to bloom. She debated poking it to see if he'd react but her phone suddenly started ringing again. She frowned because she didn't recognize the number, but answered nonetheless. The person on the other line spoke before she could say anything.

"Hello? Hello? Who is this? How did you get this number?"

Sakura paused as she quickly put a name to the familiar voice and remembered that Kyouya had called Tamaki earlier. "Tamaki-senpai? It's Sakura." She was about to tell him about their current predicament but he quickly interrupted her, his happy voice ringing in her ear.

"Oh, Sakura! It was your phone that called me? Hm, I'll have to add your number to my contacts. Oh, oh! Where are you? Are you enjoying your marvelous day out? Are Haruhi and Mother with you?"

"Um, well, you see, the thing is, we're kind of stuck in an elevator between floors and can't get out. Haruhi-chan wasn't with us, luckily, and is probably somewhere in the mall."

A pause.

"MY POOR DAUGHTER! ARE YOU ALRIGHT? ARE YOU INJURED? IS MOTHER THERE WITH YOU? OH KAMI, OH KAMI. ARE YOU OKAY?"

"Calm down, calm down, Tamaki-senpai. I'm fine." She said before muttering, "Honestly, you're worst than Tsunade." off to the side.

"Y-you're alright?"

"Yes."

"Not scared or feeling claustrophobic?"

"No, no. I'm okay."

"Good, good. And Mother?"

"He's here with me."

"Excellent. Put Kyouya on so I can yell at him for putting my poor daughter in such an undesirable situation."

She sighed and glanced over at the unconscious Kyouya. "Um, the thing is, Kyouya-senpai is unavailable at the moment."

"Nonsense!" Tamaki replied, "He can put aside whatever he is doing and talk to me. This is much more important."

Sakura sighed and poked Kyouya's unmoving shoulder. "He can't, Tamaki-senpai. He hit his head trying to get out. He's out cold right now."

Another pause.

"GODDAMMIT, MOTHER. HOW COULD YOU LEAVE OUR DAUGHTER SO ALONE AT SUCH A TIME? Sakura! Put the phone next to his ear! I'll wake him up!"

"Tamaki-senpai!" she screeched in frustration, "Really! Just go find security and get us out of here!"

"Yes, yes. Right away." Came Tamaki's voice, "I'll go find Haruhi and get help. Hold on my darling daughter, Daddy's coming!" The line went dead and Sakura groaned as she realized she hadn't told him where in the mall they were. She was about to call him back when her phone beeped and died, sending her a regretful flash of red light before it turned off.

Sakura stared down at it in disbelief.

"Oh, come on!" she said, voice taking on a slight whining tone. She pressed random buttons, tried everything she could think of, but her phone didn't respond. The rosette groaned and sat back, slipping her cellphone back into her pocket. Her gaze traveled to the ceiling and she sighed in boredom. "What would Naruto do?" she mumbled to herself.

She made a face at the thought and snorted. "Naruto tried to use Sasuke's unconscious body as a boost to get to the vent in that elevator and he only succeeded in hurting them both." She rested her chin in her hand and frowned, glancing over at Kyouya before shaking her head to dispel the thought.

"What would Sai do?" she asked herself next. "Sai brought out a whole bunch of sharpies and we all drew on Sasuke to curve our boredom." She grinned at the memory and sat back, thinking of what her other friends might have done if they'd been stuck in an elevator.

"What would Ino-Pig do? Well, she wouldn't have been in an elevator in the first place. "C'mon Forehead, let's take the stairs! Elevators are for lazy people; we need to burn some calories!"" she mocked with a grin, crossing her legs as she continued.

"What would Kiba do? He'd howl and bark and make other animal noises to get someone's attention. What would Shino do?" she paused, face twisting into a frown. "Actually, I don't know what Shino would do. Sit quietly and wait for rescue?" Sakura shrugged and went on.

"What would Chouji do? Heh, he wouldn't share his snacks, that's for sure. What would Shikamaru do? Damn lazy genius would come up with a elaborately brilliant escape plan but wouldn't tell anyone or try to accomplish anything because it would be, "Too troublesome."" She sighed and closed her eyes, mumbling under her breath.

"What would Hinata-chan do? Poor thing would be hyperventilating in a corner. What would Tenten-chan do? Meh, Tenten wouldn't really care and would probably just pull out her iPod, blast some catchy tune full volume (which would then be stuck in my head all day), and play with whatever weapon she had on her until rescue came." She chuckled to herself and continued with a smile.

"What would Neji do? Probably take charge and try to escape," she smirked blindly here, "But would try to get out through the vent, fall, and be knocked unconscious like Sasuke." She laughed aloud, now much calmer and in a better mood than before.

"What would Lee do? Well, after a very moving speech about the Power of Youth, he'd jump straight up through the vent like Superman, shimmy up the cables like a squirrel, pry open the doors to the next floor like the Hulk (he's certainly green enough), and go get a rescue party or probably just Gai, all the while yelling "Yosh!"" she laughed, "Because Lee is just that awesome."

"You think very hightly of your old friends, don't you?"

Sakura's eyes snapped open and darted to Kyouya, who was apparently conscious now. He groaned as he sat up, hand touching his bruised forehead carefully. Sakura willed down her blush of embarrassment at being caught talking to herself and snorted at him.

"Of course I do; they're my friends. And I told you that was a bad idea."

Kyouya sighed and leaned against the wall, massaging his temples to soothe away his headache. He frowned as he thought to himself. That had been very uncharacteristic of him, falling like that. After a moment, he suddenly realized that he wasn't wearing his glasses, but soon found them, folded up next to where he'd been laying.

He noticed Sakura's scarf and jacket bundle and figured she'd moved him around when he'd been unconscious. He reached out for his glasses and the makeshift pillow, glancing up at the pinkette. She seemed to be lost in thought and Kyouya felt himself smirk.

He slipped his crooked glasses into his pocket and tossed the bundle to her, breaking her reverie as it smacked her in the face. She seethed as her gaze darted to him, a glare forming, but he spoke before she could say anything.

"Thanks."

Sakura frowned at him before colling off, sending him a small smile and nod.

"No problem."

She paused, considering something, before speaking again.

"Any chance you'll use that to reduce my debt?"

Kyouya simply smirked and looked away, chuckling under his breath. Sakura sighed and leaned back, absentmindedly separating her scarf and jacket, as her nose twitched in annoyance. It was fortunate that Kyouya looked back at her at this moment and noticed the bright red bead of blood appear just under her nose. He blinked in surprise before catching her attention.

"Haruno-san..." he began unsurely. Sakura looked over at him, eyebrow raised in question.

"Hm?"

"Your nose is bleeding." Kyouya answered bluntly, watching in vague curiosity as her eyes bugged out slightly and her hand darted to her nose. She brought her hand down and sent the blood on her fingers an irritated look. She quickly returned her hand to her face and pinched her nose as she leaned forward, muttering an agitated, "Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap." under her breath.

She fervidly searched her pockets for some sort of tissue to catch the blood, all the while cursing to herself. She stopped, however, to find Kyouya crouching in front of her, a handkerchief held out to her. Sakura sent him a thankful smile and accepted the cloth, dabbing at the blood under her nose.

Kyouya sat down beside her and watched curiously, trying to remember if her file had said anything about frequent nose bleeds or other medical issues.

After a few minutes, her nose seemed to have stopped bleeding and Sakura sat back, sighing halfheartedly. She silently considered Kyouya's ruined handkerchief in her hand before deciding that he probably wouldn't want it back. Her gaze traveled to the ceiling and he frowned to herself.

"Today's the 21st, right?" she asked, not really expecting an answer. Kyouya surprised her, however, and replied.

"April 21st, yes."

She groaned, rubbing her forehead, and let her eyes close.

"How long have we been stuck in here?"

Kyouya glanced over at her and answered.

"Probably about two hours or so."

"Mm."

The next thing Kyouya knew, Sakura was leaning against his shoulder, face calm and mouth parted slightly as she fell asleep. He inwardly panicked at first; she hadn't lost that much blood, had she? But, after a few moments, Kyouya realized that she was just sleeping and was in no danger. So, he left her be, resting on his shoulder.

Kyouya thoughtfully watched the strange, pink-haired girl who he had enjoyed messing with so much over the past few days. His gaze traveled over her face, lingering on her parted lips every so often, and he couldn't help smiling slightly.

She was so much more tolerable when she was calm.

'But,' he thought as he made himself comfortable, 'That short temper of hers is very entertaining.'

Kyouya wasn't quite sure when it happened, but he soon fell asleep as well, his head tilting to rest atop hers.

::

Let's get unprofessional

::

Both Kyouya and Sakura were jolted awake when the elevator suddenly shook. Their heads popped up, Sakura's just a bit quicker than his, and they knocked their heads together. They both groaned as they nursed their wounded skulls, Kyouya considerably more so than Sakura considering he already had a massive headache. The elevator shook again and they both sent each other questioning looks, gazes traveling to the ceiling as muffled echoes made their way down towards them.

"What the hell?" Sakura murmured as the sounds grew louder. Eventually, they were able to hear the echoes properly and realized that it was the sounds of voices, all speaking in unison.

"Hup, hup, hup, hup, hup."

The elevator shook once more and Kyouya frowned before hearing metal scraping against metal. He quickly grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her aside just as something slammed into the vent above them and the metal cover was sent flying downward. After a moment, Kyouya realized that he was holding Sakura to his chest and quickly released her, ignoring her in favor of rising and watching the dark hole in the ceiling

"Ootori Kyouya-sama?" Came a voice from above. Kyouya stepped forward under the empty vent, crossing his arms as he nodded. The Ootori Secret Police had come at last.

"Ah."

"And Haruno-san?"

Sakura quickly joined Kyouya and peered up into the darkness. "Yeah, that's me."

There was a sigh of relief and someone propelled down into the elevator, entirely dressed in black with a matching helmet on his head, visor pulled down to cover his upper face. The man bowed to both of them before turning to Sakura and holding his hand out to her.

"You first, Haruno-san. We are going to propel up to the third level where a medical team is waiting to check you both over." He said calmly with a small, encouraging smile. Sakura paused, glancing over at Kyouya before stepping back, holding her hands up as she forced a weak grin.

"No, no. I'm fine with going second. I'm perfectly okay. Kyouya-senpai, on the other hand, could possibly have a concussion and should be seen to first." She said, gesturing to the apathetic boy. Kyouya sent a raised eyebrow at her before shaking his head at the man, making his command obvious. The man saw the signal and nodded, holding his hand out to Sakura once more.

"Nonetheless, Haruno-san, my orders are to bring you up first with Ootori-sama right behind." He paused, grinning charmingly at her. "A Suoh Tamaki-san thoroughly requested so."

Sakura frowned, "But Kyouya-"

"Is perfectly fine." Kyouya interjected, "Your nose was bleeding earlier without proper reason to. Go, Haruno-san."

Sakura pursed her lips at him but relented, turning to grab her jacket and scarf before stepping forward to the patient man. He smiled at her and fastened a belt and harness around her, locking her securely to his harness. He reached up and pressed a button on the side of his helmet, gaze traveling upward.

"Birdy 1: secure. Lieutenant Tsurara returning to nest. Over."

Sakura had to hold in her laugh at such a ridiculous code and waited for Lieutenant Tsurara to take them upwards. He much have had received his go-ahead, because, in the next moment, he was wrapping his arm around her waist and they were propelling upwards slowly. They touched down on top of the elevator for a moment and Lieutenant Tsurara said something to the four or so men crowded around the cables suspending the elevator before they were moving up again.

It was much darker in the elevator shaft than in the actual elevator and Sakura quickly became grateful for the Lieutenant's comfortingly strong grip around her. She wrapped her arms around him as well for added insurance and she could practically feel him smile at her in the darkness.

"Almost there, Haruno-san. Talk to me if you feel nervous." He said.

All that came to Sakura's mind was the incredibly cliché, "So, you come here often?"

He laughed good-naturedly at the corny line and Sakura felt herself grin.

"Yes actually. But I prefer to use the stairs."

"Point taken. I'm going to have severe trust issues with elevators for the rest of my life."

"Were you terribly scared? Claustrophobic perhaps?"

"Tch. No way. I was just so bored."

He laughed again and Sakura soon noticed a light above them.

"Here we are." Lieutenant Tsurara said as they stopped in the light. Two men (dressed the same as the lieutenant) stood on either side of the opened doors. The men reached out and pulled the two to them, unharnessing Sakura and Lieutenant Tsurara. Once her feet were placed firmly on the ground, Sakura turned to thank her rescuer, but was suddenly pulled backward, a yelp escaping her lips, and found herself surrounded by the host club.

"Oh, Kami! I was so worried, Sakura! Never leave Daddy's sight again!"

"Saki-chan! Saki-chan! Are you okay? Takashi and I were so scared when Tama-chan told us you were trapped in a scary elevator!"

"Ah."

"Sakura-chan? Are you alright? You look pale; is that blood under your nose?"

"Hey, Pinky! How on Earth did you survive that long with the Shadow King, alone?"

"Isn't it obvious, Hikaru? She didn't! He's gone and stolen her soul; look how dazed she is!"

Between Tamaki's worried fussing, Honey's tears and cries, Mori's monosyllabic yet sincere responses, Haruhi's genuine concern, and Hikaru and Kaoru's jesting (complete with mock-serious worry and petting), Sakura had no idea how to make sense of her situation. Everyone seemed to be hugging and touching her in some way in their close huddle and she was feeling much more claustrophobic than she ever could have in the elevator. She was about to try and console her friends (she was perfectly fine, dammit) when someone coughed to catch their attention. They looked over to see Lieutenant Tsurara, a weak smile at his lips.

"If you will all excuse me, I need to escort Haruno-san to the medical team to have her checked over for any injuries." He said politely, giving a curt bow.

Sakura sighed and pushed to the front of the group, breaking free of the hosts' protective barrier. "I already said that I was fine; there's no need."

The lieutenant smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, but its protocol. And Ootori-sama had mentioned a bloody nose."

At Tamaki's horrified shriek, Sakura found herself being urged forward by the blond. "Go, go! Right this moment!"

"Tamaki-senpai!"

"Now! Go with, er..." Tamaki paused as he realized he didn't know who the man was.

Lieutenant Tsurara though this to be the perfect time to fully introduce himself. So, he removed his helmet and bowed once more.

"Ootori Secret Police officer, Lieutenant Tsurara Haku, at your service Suoh-san."

Had Sakura not been formerly pressed against the man's chest and already heard his voice many times, she might have though she was looking at a woman. Tsurara Haku was pretty – beautiful even, she realized. His warm, chocolate-brown eyes matched his shoulder-length hair which was pulled back in a low ponytail, two clumps of hair clipped on either side of his face.

Haku was about to say something when they all noticed Kyouya stepping out of the elevator shaft, a tall and muscular officer right behind him. Kyouya had appeared to have propelled up on his own and removed his harness as he walked. He seemed to notice their gazes and looked up, regarding them coolly.

"Kyouya!" Tamaki exclaimed, "What's this about Sakura having a bloody nose? What did you do?"

"Nothing." Kyouya answered as he approached them. "Her nose started bleeding out of nowhere." He turned to her then, "I was actually meaning to ask you about that."

Sakura's face twisted and she looked away, hand absentmindedly playing with her scarf. When it became apparent to Haku that she was uncomfortable and didn't want to answer their questions, he decided to help her out. He stepped forward, gesturing to the man that had followed after Kyouya.

"We really should head over to the medical team, Haruno-san." At Kyouya's blank look, he didn't bother telling him the same, "Zabuza, can you escort Haruno-san while I report in?"

The other man removed his helmet to reveal spikey, black hair and cold brown eyes, before raising an eyebrow at the brunette. Haku sent him a pleading grin, inwardly happy at the sight of Sakura's thankful smile. Zabuza sighed and nodded the pinkette over.

"Sure, sure, kid. This way; follow me."

It was as Sakura disappeared around the corner with Zabuza (Haku leaving as well) that they heard her speak suddenly.

"Hey, do you mind if I stop at a payphone for a moment? I need to make a call. I promised Sensei that I'd call him back..."

The rest of her conversation with Zabuza was lost to them and Tamaki turned to Kyouya.

"Aren't you going to have yourself checked as well, Kyouya? Sakura had said you were unconscious when I called." The blond said, lips pursing.

Kyouya regarded him apathetically, "I'll check in with my normal doctor later."

Tamaki sighed and put a hand to his head dramatically, "Oh, my poor daughter! Trapped with such a cold mother for so long!"

Kyouya blatantly ignored him as the twins snickered. Honey climbed onto Mori's shoulders and Haruhi checked the things she had bought as they waited for Sakura to return.

"I must admit," Tamaki said suddenly, "I much desire to meet this 'Sensei' Sakura is always talking about." The others murmured their agreements and Kyouya smirked to himself.

"Ah, you're just in in luck, father. You're perfect opportunity to meet this mysterious 'Sensei' happens to be tomorrow."

"Hm?"

"What do you mean Kyouya?"

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Kyouya chuckled at their mixed responses and crossed his arms. "Haruno-san has scheduled a get-together with him tomorrow, noon, at her home."

Tamaki grinned, "Excellent! We'll drop by and introduce ourselves to such an important figure in our dear Sakura's life!"

Haruhi groaned to herself; this could only end badly.

"Mah, Kyou-chan..."

"Yes, Honey-senpai?"

"Why do you have a Hello Kitty band-aid on your forehead?"

"...What?"

"It's so cute!"

::

Don't you know it's gonna feel much better with...

::

notes: Well, that's chapter five! It's much longer than I anticipated. And I hope there was enough KyouSaku in there for you guys!

I actually hadn't planned on putting Haku (or Zabuza) in here, much less the way he appeared. It just kind of happened. After he appeared, I kind of wanted to have this scene where he recognized Sakura from something that had to do with Konoha and all this bonding, but I decided to leave it out. Haku might show up again, it all depends on how you guys feel about him being in the story.

Don't worry; any questions you have will probably be answered sometime in the next few chapters.

Speaking of, the next chapter will mostly be what the hosts were doing while Kyouya and Sakura were stuck in the elevator. So, it will probably be a little short but that means I'll hopefully get it out faster.

So, the big mystery of who Sensei is has been solved! A few of you had already guessed or got close to it, but now your worries have been put to rest!

And, here's that IMPORTANTANNOUNCEMENT. I've decided to start taking OCs for this story that will appear, on and off, throughout most of the fic. Whether it's in the classroom or at the Host Club, they'll be popping up! But, take into consideration that these OCs won't have really important rolls but will be making cameos in chapters; this is something I want to do to let you guys all know that I adore you. I'll only be taking about 10 or so OCs (unless a lot of people really want to submit an OC, then I'll up the quota) and be limiting it to 2 OCs per person. BUT, please don't send in your OC's info just yet! Send me a PM or review saying that you want to submit an OC and I'll send you an outline of the information I need, this way I can keep everything much more organized!

PLEASE, have your PM feature working! And, you need to have an actual account so I can actually send you a PM. However, if a lot of anonymous reviewers who don't have accounts want to submit OCs, I'll most likely post the outline of info I need on my profile; so you'd just have to copy and paste, fill it out, and send it to me in a review.

Try not to make them too Sueish. Keep it simple, y'know?

Also, I've got a new poll on my profile that has to do with the pairings for this story. Be sure to check it out!

Thanks for reading guys, sorry for the wait!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!

Reviews = Love = Happiness = Inspiration = Faster Updates = More Smiles

Create some smiles, people.

::Thirrin73::