Chapter 4

It was a sad and miserable day as Ino's coffin was lowered gently into the cold hard ground. Lines of mourners dressed in black paid their respects as Sakura sat alone in the mass of people. Tears had stained her face as she felt depressed, sad, alone. She admitted though, the place was beautiful. Lined with white flowers all in bunches everywhere around the room. The funeral was held in a small church just outside of town. The mass of people who were there, she had never seen before while Ino was alive. Aunts, uncles, cousins who had never seen Ino in life, milking the sympathy of her death, it sickened Sakura to the bones.

"Sakura," her mother's voice said in a whisper. "It is okay if you want to leave. No one will blame you."

"No," she said quietly, her voice almost breaking, "I have to stay, for Ino." Her mother smiled, squeezing her shoulder as the preacher took stage.

Sakura tuned out of most of it, thinking about the night of the attack. The club was now closed down till further notice while police inspection had occurred, but Sakura knew what would happen. Like anything that happened in the town she lived in. The police would forget and moved on.

As everyone left after the service, Sakura remained. Her parents left her alone, promising to meet her at the Wake as Sakura looked at the tombstone in sadness.

Sakura wondered where Kakashi was, probably mourning the loss of his own friend. She could tell in that split moment, they were close, childhood friends as if, but now. That friend was nothing but an empty shell in the ground. Sakura knew now how deep it hurt to lose someone close like that, old wounds scar deeper.


The Wake was a miserable affair. Set in a little restaurant that Ino liked, too people gathered in one room trying to pay their respects at once in the dozens, made the entire thing seem useless. As Sakura stood in one of the corners of the room, she heard a loud cough beside her. She looked up to find her manager beside her, shaking his head at the thing.

"How pointless," she heard him mumble. "Ino hated most of these people." then he walked off. Sakura sighed, it wasn't uncommon of him to just walk off or be dreary towards everything. The man had lost a lot when he was young. Sakura wasn't surprised that he had this reaction.

Sakura smiled sadly as Ino's mother and father walked up besides her, they looked sad but kept up appearances. Ino's mother smiled sadly as Ino's father looked more than miserable. Tears were rolling down the cheeks of Ino's father as his wife tried to comfort him in his grief, Sakura remained quiet, unsure of what to say.

"Honey," Ino's mother whispered rubbing his back tenderly. Sakura looked away, what could she say to these people who had just lost their future and their dreams. "Sakura is here, try being strong for Ino."

"I'm trying woman," he snapped, storming off as Ino's mother looked tenderly at Sakura.

"I'm sorry Sakura, he hasn't been the same since Ino passed," Ino's mother said with content. Sakura nodded understandingly, an awkward moment of silence passed between them, "I am sorry to leave you by yourself but I must speak with other mourners." Ino's mother walked off as Sakura bowed.

As Sakura walked sadly out to the balcony, watching the trees sway sadly in the wind, the world seemed dark and useless until….

"It seems we meet again," she turned around to find a familiar silvered haired hit guy.

"It seems we do," Sakura said with a coy smile.

"You see, before you call me a stalker, I am here for my own reasons." She smiled as she saw him, dressed a black tuxedo with a glass of champagne in his hands made him rather tempting, but then again, he was rather older than her.

"What reasons?" Sakura asked him rather shocked he was there, beside her, a dog like scent about him made her drawn to him, dangerously drawn to him.

"The reason hit guys get paid," Sakura looked at him shocked as she realized his pointer finger around the glass was pointing to a strange haired man from the far corner of them. "You see him."

She shyly looked, unbelieving of herself. She knew she should of been running far, far away from him, yelling to everyone a hit man was here, but she wasn't. She was staying still.

"Yes."

"That man is Gato."

"Of the shipping corporation?!"

"Yes, and he is also one of the big underworld leaders," Kakashi spoke with dead seriousness, Sakura' eyes widened in shock. That man was a trust able business man, as if he could be some underworld gang leader "And he is worth $70,000. Are you afraid? Are you going to tell?"

Sakura sighed and shook her head, "I won't tell, just why him?"

"He is a bad man."

"And you will be a bad man for killing him, so why?"

"I need the money."

"Why do you need dirty money?"

"To pay for a fallen friend's funeral," Kakashi said quietly as Sakura nodded. They both had been hit hard by the loss of fallen friends.

"But killing him isn't right," she tried to reason but he raised his hand. "Please listen to me," She snapped at him as he began to walk into the crowd, getting closer and closer to Gato as she followed behind trying to reason.

Sakura sighed and took his hand, yanking him into a spare room and slamming the door on him and she crossed her arms. "I can't let you kill him, not at Ino's Wake. Please, just kill him somewhere, I want…" Sakura fell to her knees, sobbing in just pure sadness for her friend as Kakashi rubbed her back. "Please…. Don't kill him here."

"I'll wait till the end," Kakashi groaned as he slid down the wall next to her. "If that will make you happy." Sakura nodded slowly as Kakashi stared upwards, "So have you found a new job?"

Sakura shook her head again, "No, not since the shootout."

"Pity that bar was closed down," Kakashi chuckled, amused by the thought, "Me and the boys loved it there. But I think I loved you there more." Sakura looked shocked, blushing madly making Kakashi laugh. "You are quite the shy girl."

Sakura smiled, "Why do you wear that mask?"

Kakashi looked at her like she had seven heads, "Why do you have pink hair?"

"I was born with it."

"Really? I thought you had to dye your hair to get it that pink."

And with that, they talked the entire night and into the morning.

End of Chapter

Sorry if Kakashi or any of the characters is a bit OOC, I'm trying to keep with their character and personality. Please review and read on, I'll give you a cookie. Any comments are greatly appreciated