Sakura stopped crying and began talking about romance. "Sasuke-kun is handsome, cool, and talented! Everything about him has a charm girls can't resist!"
"Pfft, hahahaha~~~!" Yu burst out laughing.
Sakura snapped, "What are you laughing at!"
Yu laughed. "I'm laughing because you're a toddler who doesn't understand love~!"
Sakura said, "That's nonsense!"
Yu asked a soul-searching question. "All right, you say you like Sasuke. Do you know what foods he likes and hates? Do you know the environment he was born and raised in? Do you know the worries behind all that talent? Aside from being handsome, cool, and getting top marks in every subject at the Ninja Academy-all those obvious things-what else do you know about Sasuke?"
"I, I..." Sakura was momentarily lost for words, then retorted, "What do you know, then!!!"
Yu said, "I'm not infatuated with Sasuke. Why would I need to know? Besides, at least I know that I don't know! I'm not denying that you like Sasuke. I'm just saying your feelings are too superficial, too shallow, too cheap..."
Sakura grew agitated. "You're wrong!! I may not know any of that, but I desperately want to!! I just can't get close to Sasuke!!!"
Yu smiled. "Hehe, then let me ask you something else. Do you know what Sasuke truly wants?"
Sakura looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
Yu said, "At the end of our match today, you shot rubber bands at me to throw me off, right?"
Sakura said, "I wanted to help Sasuke-kun win!"
Yu asked, "Did you ever consider whether a victory won that way was what he wanted?"
"Huh...??" Sakura froze, remembering Sasuke's cold words that day: "Who told you to do something so unnecessary? There's a limit to how much you can look down on someone! You're seriously annoying!"
She still refused to give in. "B-but I... didn't want to see Sasuke-kun lose!"
Yu laid her feelings bare. "That's your own selfish wish. You don't want to see Sasuke stop being the best. You can't accept him without that glow of perfection, and you've never truly considered his feelings. In other words, your so-called love and what you think of as defending him are nothing more than self-gratification!"
"No, that's not true... I, I..." Sakura desperately denied it, but her weak voice had already betrayed her true feelings!
Yu said, "There's nothing wrong with liking someone, or with liking superficial things. The problem is when your understanding doesn't match what you want."
"Isn't Sasuke's attitude toward you a perfect reflection of your attitude toward Naruto...?"
At last, her defenses crumbled. "What the heck! Is it wrong to like someone, to want to get close to him, to want to do things for him? Just like when I hate someone and don't want him near me, is that wrong?? Why do I have to sit here and let you, my second-most-hated person, keep lecturing me? Boohoo, even my mom and dad have never talked to me like this! You're going too far!!"
Yu said, "Maybe, but you've got it wrong. I'm not lecturing you. I never waste words on people who don't interest me. I'm just speaking up for my friends, Naruto and Sasuke..."
Sakura fell silent and simply kept crying, until her voice was nearly hoarse.
When her sobs gradually quieted down...
Yu said, "Hey, do you know why Mizuki tied you up and brought you here?"
Sakura replied helplessly, "How would I know something like that...?"
Yu said, "Mizuki wants the Scroll of Seals, a scroll containing forbidden techniques, but he doesn't dare steal it himself. So he wants to talk Naruto into doing it. He was afraid Naruto would refuse, so he kidnapped you, the girl Naruto likes."
"I..."
Sakura was about to say something, but Yu interrupted her. "You want to say Naruto dragged you into this, right?"
"I'd say you're the one who got Naruto into trouble!"
"If you hadn't left school without permission and gone off to the secluded Riverbank, Mizuki wouldn't have targeted and captured you!"
"Then Mizuki wouldn't have been able to use Naruto to steal the Scroll of Seals!"
In fact, Yu had already taken out insurance with a "dream" to keep Mizuki from using Naruto!
Sakura argued indignantly, "You're just making things up! You got tied up and brought here too, so how do you have the nerve to criticize me!!"
Yu grinned. "Hehe, how can you compare yourself to me? I'm only tied up for fun..."
Snap!
With that, Yu snapped his ropes and stood up!
Sakura gasped. "Y-you..."
Yu said meaningfully, "Sakura, I'm not fond of you, but I wouldn't say I hate you either. I'm partly responsible for making you bald, so I could think of a way to help with your hair..."
Sakura responded uncharacteristically. "Heh, forget it. My hair will grow back sooner or later. But after what I did, Sasuke-kun can hardly help hating me!"
Yu sounded surprised. "Oh? I didn't expect you to have some self-awareness!"
Sakura said, "I've thought about it. You have a point! But I also want you to know that my feelings for Sasuke-kun aren't just empty words!"
"Oh..."
Yu's eyes darted as an idea suddenly came to him.
"How about this? I can get Sasuke to stop hating you, and even get you two together. What do you think??"
"Really????"
"But there's one condition!"
"Tell me, tell me!!"
"You have to keep that big bald head forever..."
"!?"
Yu held up two fingers. "Your hair or Sasuke-the ultimate choice!"
Sakura gritted her teeth. "Y-you..."
Yu lowered his hand. "Are you choosing or not? If you don't, I'll go pair Sasuke up with Ino!"
Sakura gave in. "I, I... I choose Sasuke!!!"
Yu said, "Good, then it's a deal, Bald Sakura Bro..."
"You!!!"
The moment Sakura opened her mouth, Yu took the opportunity to flick a piece of candy into it!
Gulp... Sakura swallowed it and nearly choked to death!
"W-what did you make me eat...!!"
"Hehe~, I always settle my debts. You shot rubber bands at me during the day, so I fed you candy at night. One good turn deserves another."
As he spoke, Yu headed for the door.
Sakura said, "Wait, untie me!"
Yu said, "I've got to settle the score with Mizuki. Figure it out yourself..."
Shortly after Yu left...
"You bastard~~~~!!!"
Sakura unleashed the power of Bald Sakura Bro and snapped the ropes through sheer brute force!
By the time she left the dark little room, night had fallen.
A cool breeze blew past, and Sakura couldn't help shivering!
The more she thought about it, the more she realized how serious the situation was!
"Mr. Mizuki is a Chunin! No matter how strong Yu is, he's still just a kid who hasn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy. How could he be a match for Mr. Mizuki? He'll be in danger! No... I have to tell the adults about this!"
Before you continue