Sakura Haruno crinkled her nose at the girl in the mirror. The design was straight out of Hollywood, a dressing room mirror with lights framing her reflection- but she felt far from a star. She stripped, trying to smile at her reflection as her shirt came off. It was useless though, as her face was a window into her soul (which was more or less crushed presently). The only thing in the bathroom aside from the essentials was a picture, golden-framed with exclamations of "FRIENDS" all around the frame. Ino had spent 20 minutes prepping them both for that picture, although the only people who'd ever see it were Sakura and herself.

The pink-haired girl started to smirk, but even as the corners of her mouth turned up she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. She'd been looking for her fatal flaw in the mirror. Something she'd overlooked before- her massive forehead? Maybe her skin was too dry in the winter, or her breath was too foul when she first woke up. He'd never mentioned something being wrong with her, but it was obvious from the look he'd had in his eyes. Sasuke's dark eyes, wide with shock, as she walked in on him and her best friend.

It was hard at first, going from "us" to "me". But it helped that she didn't talk much anymore, that she didn't go out much anymore. She never did much but mope, really. When her hands moved to the picture, propped up in the corner by the sink, she had intended to simply set it face-down. She really didn't mean to pick it up and throw it at her reflection, shattering the glass which then flew towards her. It was only after she threw up her hands to protect her face and was greeted with unspeakable pain that Sakura realized what she'd done.

There was blood, all over her floor and her sink and her body, source unknown. She laughed, fully aware of how stupid she'd been- maybe that was her fatal flaw. She lazily bandaged herself, cleaning the shards of her mirror off the bathroom floor. Crouched on the bathroom floor, picking up the pieces of something she could never dream of fixing, Sakura finally allowed herself to cry.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"Sakura, this is definitely not what it looks like." Ino gasped, grabbing her shirt to cover herself as she pried Sasuke's lips off her neck. Sasuke looked up with his mouth agape, full of excuses and explanations and other bullshit. Ino already had her pants on, and was running her hand through her blonde hair, grasping for words.

"I just felt this connection with him, I've liked him since we were kids, you know, and he said you two weren't getting along, I didn't know how to tell you because I know you-"

"Love him?" Sakura choked out, standing in the doorway to her apartment. "Well that's alright Ino, you always do get what you want don't you?" she cooed softly, placing the groceries on the kitchen counter. Sasuke had come out of his trance and immediately pulled on clothes, breathing audibly louder. His hair stuck out in all the wrong places, and his eyes were soft as opposed to their usual sharpness. He began to plead, pushing Ino away from him in twisted hopes of redemption. Sakura simply closed her eyes and pointed to the door, unable to speak anymore. They both gathered their things, with the black-haired boy lingering in the doorway.

"Is this it, then?" he spat out, speaking more to the floor than to Sakura. "You're going to end three years over this?" Sakura nodded, turning to meet his eyes. She smiled weakly, refusing to speak. "Guess I really fucked up," he whispered before the door slammed shut in his face.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Sakura worked as a secretary for a prestigious company. Sabaku Inc. had its roots in both law and medicine, though they also owned several factories and were essentially filthy rich. The family was evidently rather messed up after the death of the Sabaku sibling's mother. But Sakura didn't care much about their or anyone else's personal problems- she had opted out of university to work and support Sasuke, who was in-between jobs ever since he was old enough to have one. She regretted the decision immensely, but it didn't make a difference- her parents had nowhere near enough money to send her to medical school anyway. All her regrets swam around in her head, getting worse every night (or so it seemed).

Sakura had first thrown up intentionally at the tender age of 12. She learned quickly that those who threw up were sent home regardless of their temperature or symptoms. And, while she loved school, she'd occasionally forget assignments or need to escape a friend she'd had an argument with… or sometimes she was genuinely sick. Either way, Sakura was a professional, and had certainly perfected her technique in the 6 years since her humble beginnings.

It started out as a release. Her thoughts would get too loud, analyzing her imperfections and contemplating suicide, that the only way to stop them would be to dispose of them. She hadn't used her technique since Junior year, over a year before the 'Sasuke incident', as she referred to it inside her fragile mind. But it was easy enough to start again- her body seemed to welcome the break in monotony.

She ate once a day, allowing herself a small meal at night, when she couldn't take it anymore. But once the food went down, it was doomed to come back up. She'd hunch over the toilet, silence clawing at her ears, hoping this time, the release would work permanently. But it never did, and Sakura always went back to that cursed room where the mirror was still shattered, its pieces neatly piled by the sink. She got an amazing rush every time she entered the room, blood rushing to her fingers and legs and head- leaving them once she disposed of her demons in the porcelain bowl.

She had it down to a flawless routine. Work all day, go home and work out for lunch, work more, and then return home. She ate most nights at first, which she was terribly ashamed of. Her fatal flaw, she told herself, her weakness. She had no resolve. Ino had resolve, obviously. She was the one fucking Sakura's boyfriend that day, after all. Just thinking about this was usually enough to make her ill. As time went on, she discovered she could last even longer without food.

There were nights when she felt too tired to do anything. Some mornings, she couldn't get out of bed. She would phone in sick, highly apologetic, receiving sympathy from her boss who knew she worked terribly hard. In fact, she likely worked harder than most people employed by Sabaku Medical- working took her mind off of eating. Her mind was almost always on eating or working, though it occasionally drifted to Sasuke, or Ino.

She still had one good friend, however: a yellow-haired, loud-mouthed young man who had gotten her a job in the first place. Naruto Uzumaki was good friends with Gaara, the son of the owner of Sabaku Inc. and all of its branches. It's often said that it doesn't matter what you know, but who you know- this proved very true for Sakura. She was accepted for the job immediately after her first interview, although she had no prior experience as a secretary, nor a university degree. Gaara was the only Sabaku sibling that she had seen more than glimpses of. She'd been introduced to him on several occasions (Naruto was forgetful, and she must have met Gaara 'for the first time' at least 3 times so far).

Naruto may have noticed her changing, but he tried not to interfere. Known for her sometimes explosive rage, most people left Sakura to herself. After the break up, Naruto had been very supportive. But one can only help someone who refuses to help themself for so long. It was only when Sakura grew tired of sneaking to the bathroom after eating out with him and began to outright reject his invites for ramen that he grew suspicious.

She had hid her slowly-changing form under oversized clothes. Secretaries didn't have a very strict dress code, so she was able to easily trick people into believing nothing had changed. Her wrists had grown thinner- she only wore long sleeves now. Her skirts often reached to her ankles. It grew difficult as summer came and went, but she was typically cold anyway. Hiding had become an art form for Sakura Haruno.

So when Naruto called her to ask if she wanted to get ramen with Gaara and him one evening, she didn't suppose her rejection would be alarming. Naruto had no reason to be suspicious, she reasoned, as she had not appeared to change physically at all after the break-up. She was feeling weak that evening, more weak than usual. In an attempt to stave off hunger pains, she had chewed through an entire pack of gum. Thirty calories, she told herself- thirty calories she did not need. She was exceptionally proud of herself, however, having eaten nothing else in the past 32 hours and 15 minutes.

She hadn't acted like anything was different on the phone, and even as she hung up, she pretended not to hear Naruto declare that they were coming over. I should clean up, she told herself. But there was nothing much to clean up. The only signs that someone inhabited her small apartment were the shards of her mirror, stacked neatly near the bathroom sink, and the crumpled up sheets on her bed.

It was actually by chance that her body chose that moment to give in, as her stomach began to claw at her insides, and her brain promptly replied. The hunger pains were beginning to make her sick, and she hated throwing up bile more than anything. Rising from the sofa she'd been lying on in silence, she realized that she was rather dizzy. Dizzy spells were common- ever since she started losing weight (which had been happening for quite some time,) she'd sometimes feel dizzy and have to sit down for a while before it passed. This time was different, though, as she sat down and it didn't pass.

Maybe I should eat, she thought, ashamed and yet horribly tempted by the thought. She stood up cautiously, fearing a fall like she'd experienced a few night ago. She walked to the pantry, which contained only a box of cereal. Sakura's mind, being unable to decide between eating and not, was forced into action by her body. She didn't hear the knock at the door as her world began to grow darker. A loud voice calling her name fell on deaf ears, and certainly the sound of her hitting the floor would have drowned out Naruto's desperate voice anyway.


Hey guys! This is my first Naruto fic in... years. I'm still getting used to all the fanfiction features, etc. The formatting is driving me a bit batty, to be honest. But I'm finally satisfied... I think. Let me know if you have any input, thanks! :)