Hiya, I am back with the sequel to Karma (.net/s/5519185/24/Karma) that I had promised!!!

Anyhow, just know and be patient with me this time, that this is going to be a very slow process, due to exams and other things going on. This is the intro, it is nothing special but I hope it helps you enter a bit into the climate. Reviews and the relative are cool, so please be as kind to comment and give me a stepping stone to inspire myself. My english isn't perfect and I am not much of a good writer so don't be surprised if this fails any expectations you had for this. I do this mostly for fun, though critique is welcomed- as long as it isn't flaming haha-.

Don't know when I will update next. Also, I need a beta reader, if you are interested pm me, please. Some requirements are that you are over 16 and you have some experience as beta. I hope this doesn't offend anyone.

To those of you who havent read Karma, you might feel a bit lost reading this-as lost as almost in any first chapter without the original background out there, haha- but I would suggest reading Karma if you want this to make more sense.

Thanks for your time. Au revoir, mon amours!

On Stage

Italy- Venice , 9:00 pm

Pink locks of hair fell on her front and embraced her face in a graceful way, as graceful as the narrow moves she made around herself which caused the wooden floor to cringe slightly under her balanced weight in the cold training room.

She took a look of her agonious, tired self at the side mirror. She fixed her hair, moving some locks to the sides, as she took a deep breath and smiled bitterly. Nervousness was taking the best of her as she kept dancing swaying herself around elegantly on her toes, practicing for tonight's ballet show, just one hour before it took place in that expensive infamous opera of Venice's centrals.

She could feel the sweat drops stroking her back in a threatening way but she promised inside herself that no matter what, she wouldn't lose her cool tonight. Because she couldn't afford to. So far, the tour née had been going well. If she ruined it last moment, she knew she would hate herself forever.

She had managed well in every appearance so far. It had started in march, some days before her birthday and it was going to end at 15 of July which makes it tonight, thus the nervousness.

She never felt so anxious before and she couldn't explain why. It was just a general bad feeling she had for tonight and for some reason she couldn't control the shaking of her body, untamed and paranoid as it was. She could never imagine why, she had never experienced it before, at least never again after her first two years as a ballet dancer.

She had received many awards and excited praises from popular magazines accompanied by great reviews from people of the sector but when it came down to it, secretly inside her, she had remained that little innocent girl who lacked confidence in whatever she did. She needed constant reassurance and even if she acknowledged her insecurities ,something inside was alarming her that this time it wasn't just about this.

They were to dance at the Swan Lake show and she had learnt all the moves by heart. She could perform them like she would recite the lines of an open book she held in front of her eyes, only more vividly, more originally, more excitedly.

And these special ways of hers were what got the audience captured every time she went on the stage and started her magic enchanting dance.

More over, it was that she put a deep part of her personality in it. A part she couldn't reach easily on a daily basis. It was that emotional part of hers that she had buried deep down inside her ever since that incident with a certain Uchiha boy had occurred in Konoha.

Sasuke Uchiha: a devil in an angelic disguise. That handsome, magnetic, irresistible eye candy that had scarred her heart and past in her hometown. And no matter what she had implemented all those years to everyone who knew about that story-not as many did-and to her own self, she had never managed to completely erase his memory, the feeling of his touch and the sound of his annoyingly calm voice out of her mind.

Though, this was something she would never admit to herself. To her, he represented everything she dreaded from her past in Konoha. Even things that had nothing to do with him: he stood for them all in her mind. It was a sweet nightmare she was willing to stay awake for the rest of her life in order to avoid forever, but also one that would pop up in her awake eyes even when she didn't want it to, even when she put all her power and focus to not let this happen.

She was never a master of her heart, ever the emotional one. But time had done its own bit on her. She had improved on both mind and appearance. Even the ''Sasuke trauma'' had got smaller by time. But Sasuke himself , he was like a stain that never really went away. But instead, it stayed persistently there, even if you try to wash it way , putting the best your strength every time. And right when you think you have achieved to shoo that little bastard of filth away, you see a hint of it still ghosting the spot you were scrubbing before.

He was her sinful pleasure, a very painful one at it, which she was struggling to convince herself she had left in the past.

Snapping out of her annoying dark thoughts that centered around a certain raven haired man, she looked at the floor pattern in agony. What was that painful feeling she was getting at her back? Now it wasn't time for cramps. Not now, Sakura. She thought. You got a show you need to perform and you will do it right. She talked inertly to herself, trying to raise her confidence.

It wasn't until her tutor came in the silent almost empty room and snapped her out of her paranoia that she realized what time it was.

''Sakura, hun, it is time you got your outfit ready for the show. We got only 30 minutes left before it begins and you are still training. Why do you overstretch yourself so much? You do this before every single show, while all the other girls are sitting nice and laid back and get a proper rest .Yet, you do better than all of my group combined. I really don't get why after all these years of training, you still don't believe at all in yourself.'' A cute petite woman with kind eyes said in a sweet tone, as she walked inside the room, with her brown hair caught up tight.

''Sensei, forgive me. I just want to be perfect. You know me.''Sakura smiled faintly as she let her hand drop off the side pole and raised her face to face the teacher.

''We have talked about this before. Perfection is but an utopia.'' Clair said smiling with confidence in her attitude.

''I know, sensei…I know…''Sakura did tired, sighing as she turned her head to the ground, analyzing the patterns, in impatience.

''Then, my lovely child, if you know this, why do you never listen to me?'' the woman asked in pure awe, her eyes reflecting kindness non the less.

''That is exactly why I will never stop trying to be perfect, sensei. Cause I know I will never achieve it. And this helps me find a meaning in what I do. To keep trying and become better every time…''Sakura said melancholically.

Clair smiled. She agreed with what her student said. After all, wasn't she the one who had taught her students that kind of philosophy? To never stop trying to improve yourself, no matter the difficulty of your goal.

But lately she had realized how much Sakura was overstretching herself, ever since their tour née had started and she grew to feel worried about her pink haired student.

But now it wasn't the time to talk with her about it. After all, tonight was their last show which would signal the end of the tour and after that all the girls were free to go and enjoy their vacations wherever they felt like, taking a long break from their busy schedule.

''I will be waiting at the girl's room. Giving confidence and last minute's tips to every one and all... Please, hurry up and come get dressed, hun, ok? There's not much time left.''she said kindly to Sakura as she eyed her one last time before turning her back on her and headed out of the room silently.

''Alright. I will be there very soon.''Sakura said with a fake reassurance. She didnt know if it would be a good idea to worry her sensei with the increasing pain she felt spreading on her body right now.

They didn't have the luxury to mess up. She didnt. And she would pull that last dance off with success, no matter what, as she had promised herself.

She closed her eyes tightly, trying to swallow hard on her bitter saliva. The bad feeling kept creeping up in her, making her nervousness bigger and disabling every other positive feeling she could find strength in some minutes before the actual operetta.

She could hear the singer starting off slowly with the song which accompanied the story and she felt flinching.

''Shiiit!'It has started already!''she thought in tension as she started walking towards the exit.

The dancers weren't out yet. In their every show, their soprano went first , as written in the script and she would start singing her song, accompanied by the infamous lake of the swans melody.

Then the girls, dressed in white, made their entrance gracefully one after the other, in the scene, making harmonious circles around the singer in a slow yet fitting motion.

She felt her cell phone shaking in her pocket and seconds later there came the tune of the ringing alert she had prearranged for whenever a certain Claris called.

With one rushed move she flipped it out from her pocket and opened it, placing in on her ear.

''Hello?'' her anxious voice travelled to the other line.

''Sakura, darling, it is mum. I called to wish you good luck with the show. Don't be nervous. I know you can handle it.'' A familiar voice came from the other end of the Atlantic.

''Mum, now is not the right time to talk. Thanks but I got to hang up. I will call you once it is over, okay? Love you.'' the pinkette said.

Before she shut the phone on her mum's face in an anxious and panicked hurry, she heard the annoyingly familiar voice one last time.

''Ok, honey. Love you, too. I am sure you will do just great!''

Beep.

She flipped the phone back in her pocket. Since she hadn't stopped walking at the time she talked, she realized in relief that she was already out of the dressing rooms.

With a move of her hand, she pushed the flat door and entered the room like a cyclone, avoiding the other girls as they picked on her playfully for her retard.

''I am sooowwyyyy!!! I wont take long…Okay?''she said clenching her teeth from behind the barrier, as she put off her training outfit. She grabbed the dress that was lying hanged on the side of the cover and she put it on, without much of an effort, used to this with all those years of doing the same thing.

She bended down fast and started doing up her laces around her ankles and legs, steadying her flats on those small but capable feet of hers.

She took a deep breath, barely touching her hair to make sure it was in place, all caught up, and walked out from behind the barrier and towards the huge mirror behind the tables in the side of the room.

She took a look at herself, the glitter and the make up seemed untouched and unaffected. Her hair seemed to be holding fine, too.

She put her brightest fake smile on, turned to the girls that were waiting for her anxiously with widen from nervousness eyes and nodded.

''I am ready.''

A chaos of excited girly squeals ,which contradicted with her superficial serenity, filled the room as all them made their way, running in a pack, towards the scene.

Smell of heavy women's aroma and glitter was floating in the air, as Sakura went after her group, in a falsely collected mood, contemplating as ever.

The soprano now was close to that point of her song where the dancing girls made their entrance.

She pinned her feet on the ground behind girls who had now gathered to the sides of the stage and were looking both thrilled and nervous at the scene. She looked at the woman on the center of the scene who was using so confidently those heavy vocal cords of hers to produce beautifully sang low notes to grace the audience's ears, preparing herself.

She clenched her fist on her front, as she closed her eyes tightly and wished luck to herself.

''You can do this, Sakura.'' her inner self whispered to her soothingly.

When she reopened them, the lyrics were signaling the ballet's entrance on the stage.

She watched as one girl after the other left for the scene, twirling slowly around themselves with that confidence of someone who has been having never failing success for years. Taking strength in the proud and self assured team spirit, she set off for the stage, when her turn came, putting on her deceiving smile to please her demanding crowd.

You can do this, Sakura…

And thus the show began.

People watched in pleasure and delight as the pinkette was circling around herself in the most possible grace she could achieve. It was very obvious that she was better than the girls that surrounded her. Even if the choreography of the ballet was the exact same for every single girl except for a few variations, it was apparent that the girl had great skill.

The song had grown close to the middle and every single light in the vast opera had been turned off since long ago, besides some small ones placed in certain spots of the scene, gifting the stage with a suitable atmosphere.

Sakura breathed hard, but managed to keep her cool elegant facade as she caught the other girl's hands, when they united to execute a common part of their choreography.

The singer's voice now had got louder, and the dancing more intense-as if that was possible. And so had her pain that she was trying to hide all this time from the viewer's eyes. Somehow, she was taking strength, both emotional and physical from the girls that were holding hands with her on each of her sides.

Although, when a stroke of pain shocked her suddenly, she couldnt help the painful grimace that made its way to her face, like a lightning.

She lost no time and quickly managed to cover it up with a joyful and interested smile.

But she didn't manage to do the same with her shaking. She was still clenching slightly tighter on the girl's hands, but tight enough to warn the girls that something was wrong.

Loren turned her head slightly to the side, the fake typical overused smile never leaving her face. But her eyes weren't as joyful. Instead, she glanced at the pinkette with an uncertain hint of worry.

Sakura didn't miss this and returned the glance for some seconds of the minute back.

But this was enough to get the question that the worried girl wanted to pass on to her.

''I am fine.'' she whispered, high enough just for the girl to hear her and too low to be out covered by the melodic music for everyone else.

Loren squished her hand back, in an effort to show that she didn't believe her. But the show had to go on. And soon, as the programmed choreography demanded, the girls abandoned each others' hands and started making circles around the singer one after the other, doing a small leap in the end of their brief route.

Sakura followed after Marie, but now that the supporting hands had gone, she felt every last hint of effort to stay strong leaving her.

At this rate, with a head pumping from the headache and a body being seized by pain every passing second, it was a miracle she was still able to keep that smiling facade on her face without letting every other characteristic of her face being terribly transformed by what she was really feeling.

The violin in the background became faster and soon the ballet squad started swaying around faster, more intensely, more excited.

As her headache became bigger, she felt her body writhing in pain.

''Oh…god…''she stopped in her spot, dizzy and ravished by the persistent strange pain as she clutched her head with her two hands.

The music didn't stop, nor did the singer, nor did the dancers. But their attention seemed to gather on her, surprised and shocked as they felt at her sight, looking at each other with uneasiness. Even though, they kept dancing, they seemed to have slowed down their rhythm in shy awkwardness.

It all happened in a slow motion. Sakura didn't know when her mind stopped registering the music, the sound and the voices around her.

Nor when the girls had all stopped completely their movement and were now vastly surrounding her.

But it did register the moments she felt her body giving up on her, and all her ethical and emotional resistances crumpling down under the unbearable pain.

She blinked once, twice, looking at a curious audience far away in front of her, as the room was once again filled with full light.

And then, it happened. She fainted, collapsing on the stage, with that image still printed in her mind like a most dreaded scarring nightmare.