You Cheated. I'm Reporting You.

At Sakura Haruno's furious shout, Naruto was kicked high into the air. He sailed over Sasuke, who was in front of him, and crashed to the ground, his nose bleeding and his whole body weak and aching.

Takasaki had used the exact same method right under Naruto's nose, and it had worked. Hinata was willing to help Takasaki cheat.

Naruto had used the method Takasaki taught him on Sakura Haruno. Why had she beaten him half to death?

It wasn't fair.

Naruto lay on the ground, a huge bump swelling on his head and Sakura's shoe print stamped on his cheek. He wailed in confusion, "What exactly did I do wrong?"

As for getting beaten up by Sakura Haruno, Naruto hadn't taken it to heart.

When it came to grades, he couldn't beat anyone in the class.

But when it came to taking a beating, no one could beat him.

It wasn't the first time Sakura had beaten him, anyway. It was no big deal.

Sasuke walked over with his hands in his pockets and glanced down at Naruto. Meeting Naruto's gaze, he gave a dismissive "Hmph." "Idiot."

That one word seemed to make Naruto explode with anger.

Sakura could call him that, but Sasuke couldn't!

Naruto sprang to his feet and pointed at Sasuke. "You bastard! What did you call me? You're the idiot!!"

Sasuke didn't even stop. He glanced sideways at Naruto, gave another dismissive "Hmph," and walked away.

Naruto pointed at Sasuke's retreating figure and yelled a few insults, finally managing to calm down.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, muttering in confusion, "Why? I did exactly what Takasaki taught me. Why did it work when Takasaki used it on Hinata, but fail when I used it on Sakura..."

Before he could finish muttering, Sakura Haruno's voice sounded beside him. "Naruto, did you just see Takasaki? The method Takasaki taught you? What exactly happened?"

Oh no.

Naruto thought to himself that he was in trouble.

He'd let something slip without thinking, and Sakura had heard.

If he told her about the method Takasaki had taught him, he'd be betraying Takasaki.

Of course he wouldn't do something like that to a friend.

At the same time, Naruto had a feeling.

Maybe he was imagining it.

Whenever Sakura mentioned Takasaki, her voice seemed to soften. She wasn't as fierce as before.

Naruto looked up at Sakura Haruno, puzzled, and shook his head. "I didn't say anything just now."

Sakura Haruno grabbed Naruto by the ear and yelled, "Stop playing dumb, Naruto!! Did you just see Takasaki? What method did he teach you? And what happened between Takasaki and Hinata!!! If you don't want another beating, spit it out!!"

If she hadn't heard Naruto muttering about Takasaki as she passed by, she wouldn't even have stopped to listen.

More importantly, she thought she'd heard that something had happened between Hinata and Takasaki that morning.

Hinata again!

Early that morning, she'd gone to Takasaki's house and waited for him, hoping to spend some time with him and get him to write her name in his diary more often. But she'd waited all morning for nothing because Takasaki had apparently moved somewhere the night before.

If the other owners of diaries were in the same situation as she was, that would have been fine.

After all, nobody else had gotten anything out of Takasaki, so at least it would have been fair.

But Hinata had crossed paths with Takasaki again that morning?!

It wasn't fair!

Why did she get to?!

In Takasaki's diary the day before, Hinata had already gotten an extra reward. Wasn't that enough?

And now she'd run into Takasaki again this morning. How could she be so greedy?

Sakura Haruno desperately wanted to know what had happened between Hinata and Takasaki that morning, and whether Takasaki would write about it in his diary.

She bent down, grabbed Naruto by the collar, and lifted him up. "If you don't want another beating, tell me!"

"Takasaki is my friend. You can beat me to death, but I won't betray him!" Naruto shut his eyes and shook his head resolutely.

As fellow dead-last students in the class, he and Takasaki were naturally close.

Never betraying a friend—that was his ninja way.

"Naruto, if you honestly tell me everything, I'll give you a kiss," Sakura Haruno suddenly said in a gentle voice.

"What?!"

Naruto opened his eyes and saw that Sakura was no longer scowling at him.

She smiled at him, a hint of tenderness in her eyes, and said again, "Naruto, you like me so much. You don't want me to give my first kiss to someone else, do you?"

She couldn't win over the boy she liked, Sasuke. But surely she could handle Naruto, who liked her.

Naruto swallowed hard.

Sakura continued, "Will you tell me now? I want to hear everything about Takasaki. The more details, the better."

As if under a genjutsu, Naruto nodded vigorously and told her everything he knew, leaving nothing out.

So eager to get Sakura's first kiss, he didn't notice her expression growing darker and darker as he spoke.

Especially when she heard that Hinata and Takasaki had hooked their little fingers together and made a promise, Sakura's fists clenched with a crackling sound.

What did Takasaki mean, saying he'd get closer to a girl by getting her to treat him to a meal?

What girl would go out of her way to treat a boy to a meal? Hinata had obviously planned the whole thing!

Hinata had gotten an extra reward from her diary yesterday, but she still wasn't satisfied. Now she was trying to steal Takasaki from Sakura too. She was so greedy.

And what was that about making a girl feel indebted to him so she'd help him cheat during the exam?

Takasaki was just another dead-last student. He couldn't even graduate from the Ninja Academy this year. He was weak, broke, had no family connections, and didn't even have parents. He was destined to be ordinary. Who would care about Takasaki owing them a favor? Clearly, Hinata planned to risk helping him cheat so she could get him to write her name in his diary more often.

The more Sakura Haruno heard, the angrier she got.

Naruto didn't notice her expression. He'd shut his eyes and puckered his lips, waiting for Sakura to give him the first kiss she'd promised. "Sakura, I'm done..."

"Then get lost!!"

Without a second thought, Sakura Haruno, already on the verge of exploding, punched Naruto and sent him flying into the roadside greenery.

She stomped furiously toward the school.

She couldn't accept it.

She'd waited all morning for Takasaki, only for Hinata to get all the benefits. She just couldn't accept it.

What made her even more upset was the thought that Hinata had successfully helped Takasaki cheat, and that Takasaki would write about it in his diary, earning Hinata another extra reward.

But exams were coming up soon after they got to school. It was too late to change anything.

Was there really no way to turn things around?

Wait!

There was a way!

Sakura Haruno stepped through the Ninja Academy gates and headed for her classroom. An idea seemed to occur to her, and she thought to herself:

So Hinata wants to help Takasaki cheat to get him to write her name in his diary more often, does she? Why can't I keep an eye on her and report her to the proctor for cheating?

Once the proctor kicks Hinata out of the exam room, Takasaki will panic. Then I can help him cheat, and he'll be especially grateful to me.

After I do Takasaki such a huge favor, he'll have to write my name in his diary. That makes it worth it.

With her plan in place, Sakura Haruno felt a little better.

She entered the classroom and saw Takasaki asleep with his head down in the last row, while Hinata was diligently cleaning the blackboard at the front with an eraser.

Hinata seemed to notice Sakura Haruno looking at her. She turned her head and looked back.

"Good morning, Hinata." Sakura Haruno waved, smiling at her. "Good luck on the exam."

"Good morning, Sakura. We'll both do well."

Hinata smiled and replied politely.

But being simplehearted by nature, she didn't notice the trace of jealousy hidden in Sakura Haruno's eyes.