-Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto .

-Thank you for the reviews :D I am inspired when I see your reviews :D (*hint hint*)

-l337sparta: about the correction of Sapphire, I thank you very much. xD I didn't see that. I meant to put Ruby. xD Gomen! I blame pokemon, they name their games in gems and now I'm getting them mixed up. xD And about my story being similar to another story, how so? Is it VERY similar? (So I read it) Wow…the similarities are uncanny. O-O But, the similarities lie in the narratives. I think she's much better than me. XD My narrations are like broken sentences . Anyway, thank you again for your correction :D Now I have to check my other chapters—just incase. xD

-if anyone else finds any corrections: spellings and etc. please tell me xD

-Pibinezz: Ahaha I post fast because…well at the moment I have all the time to write and the plot is certain until chapter 6. After that, however, I might slow down a bit because the plot after that is blurry. Need to sharpen a few kinks here and there. :D If my story were divided into arcs, it would be like saying the first arc was fixed, but the rest aren't. xD

-minniemousemom: Ahaha maaaaybe :D

-I have some new story plots that I'll be working on after this one. I'm not sure which one to do first though. xD (see profile)

XxxxxxX

Chapter 5

~The Lost Angel~

Six Akatsuki members were in the external base's living room. Kakuzu sat on a recliner, unusually staring into space instead of counting cash. Itachi sat on the recliner opposite to the money-lover and was glaring at something non-existent. Kisame sat on one side of the couch and Deidara sat on the other. They made sure to keep the space in the middle unoccupied—for the sake of their memories. Sasori and Hidan chose to stand on opposite corners of the room.

The way the six were positioned, to someone coming in from the front door, it was symmetrical. And this was exactly what he thought when Zetsu walked in through the front door.

Hidan smirked at the plant-like spy as he walked in through the front door. He, unlike the others, was the quickest in moving on from. Death like this was nothing to him; he'd seen children slain—usually by him. "Oh so you use doors now, fly-trap?"

The others glanced at the doorway and Zetsu felt the gloom of the room, save for Hidan who had just insulted him. "Leader wondered why he received no post mission report,"

"He wondered if you all died," His dark half stated with a hint of mockery in his tone.

At the word 'died', Deidara and Kisame's eyes further darkned while the smug smirk on Hidan's face was wiped off. So maybe he was a little bit affected.

Itachi furrowed his eyebrows, "We are alive." He said refusing to look at the akatsuki spy.

"I see…" The white half of Zetsu studied the others while his dark half looked around the room.

"But one person is missing. The tasty pink haired girl…" He bluntly stated as if they weren't already aware of her absence.

"Hm, you're right," Zetsu's white side noticed the pink girl was indeed missing. He wondered if the girl was cleaning somewhere in the house. Usually, she would run up to him and ask if he needed watering, for she thought he was a real plant.

"Li'l bitch is dead." Hidan said with a scowl on his face. He had said it so bluntly that it almost sounded as if he didn't care. But, knowing Hidan, he was just trying to deviate himself from being affected by her death. (And he was)

"Ah, shame, she seemed tasty…"

Itachi shot a glare at Zetsu. The bastard wanted to eat Sakura! He resisted the urge to hit the plant man.

"Anyway, I'm sure leader sama would want to hear about this…" His white side said, noticing the surrounding gloom.

Shifting themselves, they did certain hand seals. In a few seconds, Leader sama's image appeared before them.

"Leader sama…" They all said in unison.

XxxxxxX

Pain stood on top of the Main Akatsuki base. He was currently looking at the other akatsuki members. He saw Deidara and Kisame on the couch, Itachi on the right and Kakuzu on the left recliners. Hidan, Zetsu and Sasori were standing. His eyes roamed searching for someone who wasn't there.

"Leader sama…"

His eyes returned to the akatsuki members. "Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, Sasori, I take it your mission was successful…?"

"Yes."

"Leader sama, when is the next mission?" Pain raised a brow. They were never excited to go on missions. This show of enthusiasm is suspicious.

"There are currently no big ones. Kakuzu should be able to keep the income flow, however, with his bounty missions."

He heard soft footsteps behind him and knew it was Konan. He didn't turn to her, and instead continued, "There is also the problem of the shinobi villages."

At the mention of shinobi villages, several pairs of eyes lit up. "It seems that they are very intent on taking out all threats. That includes Akatsuki. I received information a while ago about shinobi with missions to take these threats out."

"We fucking know." Hidan butted in. "Kakuzu and I were fucking attacked last night, those bullshit Konoha nin bastards."

Again Pain's eyebrow quirked up in question, "Konoha nin?" He sighed, "I take it no one was injured?"

"No one was injured," Sasori was next to speak, "However, one is dead."

Pain furrowed his eyebrows. Who was dead? They were all there. Wait, then the one who died was—

He felt Konan stiffen behind him. So, she was thinking of the same thing.

"So…the cherry blossom is dead?" he tried to hide the throbbing pain in his chest. Pain, it really never stops does it? She but become another link in the chain of hatred.

Sasori nodded. Even if his gaze was directed at him, Pain knew even Sasori was quite shaken by what he had said.

He felt Konan move towards him. She stopped next to him and began to speak, "How did she die?" Konan looked stoic. Her blue hair and white rose were the same as it always was. But her eyes were filled with worry. Pain couldn't bear to see her in such a state, but he didn't do anything, for Konan was strong. She always was.

"A Konoha nin launched a huge lightning attack. Hidan and I were strong enough to stay alive after the attack, but the range of the attack was too big." Kakuzu's emerald eyes refused to meet the leader's amber ones. He felt her death was his fault, and he couldn't take the guilt.

"Sakura, she—" His voice was breaking, "She foresaw the tactic the enemy was going to use and ran to warn us. I tried to push her away but…"

The others had turned to Kakuzu. He didn't tell them what exactly happened and neither did Hidan. They had been blaming him for the past few hours knowing Sakura had died under his watch. But now, they understood that he—they—tried his best to protect the cherry blossom. The immortals cared, and they spent their mourning hours accusing them. They hated the constricting guilt that arose inside of them. Remorse was a bitch—that was clear.

Konan frowned. She turned away and walked inside the base. Sakura has—had been, she corrected herself—like a daughter to her. She treated her like they were blood. The feeling was too painful. It felt like she had just lost her own child.

Pain was tempted to chase after her, but that could wait later. He focused his attention onto his members—at least he tried to. The thought of his daughter-like cherry blossom dead was stuck in his mind.

He mentally shook himself, "I see…it is…regrettable…" He tried to pick his words carefully. They—he—were currently in emotionally vulnerable states. The cherry blossom was a part of their lives, though not so significant as to destroy the core of their being. No, too much events in Pain's lives had already done that. Besides, how can someone break something that is already broken?

"Thus we need time to recover. Akatsuki shall lay low for the mean time. We will strike when they least expect it." Then he ended the transmission.

Pain sighed and turned. He gave one last look at the Rain village. The sky cried, its tears fell from heavens above and landed on the earth below. Pain stretched a hand forward and felt the raindrops slosh on his palm. It first landed on his fingertips and slid to the center of his hand. Soon, the water had pooled and overflowed. It spilled through the gaps of his fingers and fell to the ground.

He turned, his akatsuki cloak spraying the droplets that had settled on it, and walked inside the base. His eyes were dull and his eyebrows furrowed.

Her death…will not be in vain. When we start moving, Konoha will be the first to crumble. Konoha will know true pain.

XxxxxxX

Pain entered Konan's room quietly. He found her sitting on the sill of her window staring into the pouring rain. The window never held any view, just never-ending, pouring rain. He walked towards her and stopped a few inches away from her. "Konan?"

Her eyes turned to meet his. She had sensed his presence long before, how couldn't she? His presence was an overwhelming one—power surged through his veins like it was natural. And as far as she knew Pain, it was.

"She was so young…" She breathed out a sigh. Her blue hair had been turned into a navy blue shade, and her eyes…

Her blue hair was beautiful, true, but it had always been her eyes that captivated Pain. For one, their real color had yet to be established. On bright mornings her eyes were of a captivating soft amber color—Pain figured it was because of the sun—and on dark evenings, it was a bluish gray with golden highlights.

Now, they were gray with dim amber hints on her iris. She used to be so kind; he had to admit that he missed that kindness from her. But, she had hardened. Could he blame her? She was stoic, but truth be told, her resignation was a miracle. If anyone else had been in her place, and Pain knew how much she had gone through, they probably wouldn't have lived long enough.

"She was…" He managed to say after a long choked silence. "And it is painful…the loss…" He took slow steps like someone approaching an untamed beast. His body pressed against her backside and his hands latched themselves on her shoulder. "But you of all people should know that pain is inevitable."

She kept still, and let his words echo through the room and in her head. "But…her death will not be in vain."

Her eyes slowly turned to him. Her piercing gray eyes stared into his ringed ones. "How so?"

"She was an epitome of the world we want…" His spiked hair that once belonged to his other teammate, Yahiko, flickered back and forth with the rain's wind. "It just means that our world is as foul as we thought it was. Do not fret my angel"—for he was a god, and she was his right hand—"Soon, we shall create a world where our Sakura could have lived in. A clean paradise, just like the one she is in now."

Pain leaned down and pressed his lips against her cold ones. It was a peck, a chaste kiss that managed to calm Konan. For a moment, she remained perched on the windowsill. It was only after a few moments of tranquility that she leaned back and rested her heads on his chest.

XxxxxxX

White light flooded the vicinity as eyes fluttered open. She inspected the room. It looked so clean; it was probably the affect of everything being white. The curtains surrounding her were a translucent white, just enough to see silhouettes of the objects outside, the sheets on the bed were white, even the ceiling was of the same color.

Where was she?

A shape that resembled a female figure emerged from her left side. The curtains were drawn back giving way for the sunlight. She groaned as her eyes squinted from the sudden intake of light.

She turned to the woman who stood on her left. The woman too was in white. Her blouse, skirt, shoes, stockings and hat were white. She would have been a 'white lady' if it weren't for her physical features. She had dark brown hair neatly tucked into a bun, her eyes were of chocolate brown, and her clipboard that she held pressed against her chest was black.

"Hello there, little one. So you're finally awake?" The woman asked her before beaming her a radiant smile.

No reply. The woman ignored her silence and continued.

"Now, you're probably wondering where you are?"

A slow nod.

"You're in a shinobi village. The village hidden in the leaves or Konoha to be exact."

Her eyes widened. Konoha? No. Not here. Anywhere but here.

The woman gave her a concerned look and opened her mouth to ask what was wrong when the door slid open. An old man, probably in his 50's or 60's entered. He wore a white and red robe and a hat that had fabric sewed from the sides to the back like a veil. On the hat there was a kanji letter. She read it as 'Ho' meaning 'fire'.

He gave an abrupt nod to the nurse as a sign that he would be taking over. The nurse bowed in respect to him before walking out of the room and shutting the door after. The man stared at the girl for a few seconds before he took a seat on her right side.

"I believe Misako-san told you where you are?" Misako san? She was probably the woman who was there earlier.

She gave a nod.

The man gave her a small smile, "Now child, do you know what you're doing here? Or how you got here?"

She shook her head. He looked at her with a small frown, disappointed at the inability to get answers.

"You were brought here by one of our shinobi. Unfortunately, he didn't make it back in time and he died on the way back from his mission."

He? Who was 'he'?

"He was an honorable shinobi," his eyes held a distant look. Regret, maybe?

She didn't speak and waited for him to continue.

"He was found by a patrolling anbu squad. They found you unconscious in his arms. The medic-nins said it was the huge chakra loss that killed him. They guessed he used his lightning techniques too much."

She cocked her head to the side. Lightning techniques? Her green eyes watched the man intently.

"He was a strong and dedicated one, your savior,"

She raised a questioning brow, Savior? He was no savior. He attacked my nii sans!

"Well child, you are a silent one. I can understand why. You don't trust me?" He gave a small chuckle.

She didn't respond and kept her gaze fixed on him.

"Let me ease your distrust. I am the third Hokage of Konoha, but you can call me sandaime or Sarutobi san."

Her eyes widened briefly, Hokage? She should've guessed it. No wonder he and his attire were familiar.

"And you are…?"

She was hesitant to answer. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Sa-" she paused rethinking. She shut her eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Would it be right to tell them her name? There was no harm to it anyway…right? "Sakura…" her voice was soft, but audible.

The hokage's smile widened, "Do you have a last name, Sakura chan?"

Sakura froze. Last name? No I can't- She trembled for a few moments. That name, she didn't want to say it again.

Her eyes moved upwards to glance at the third; he was still smiling.

That name, she didn't want to think about it. That name, it was like taboo. That name, it had been a long time since she said it. That name, even her nii sans didn't know about it.

That name…

She mumbled inaudible words. "Sorry, could you repeat it please?" She shifted her gaze to her entwined fingers and fell silent for a long time.

That name was...

"…Haruno." Her lips burned at the mention of the name. Her head dropped as he pink bangs settled to cover her eyes.

The third too was quiet. He processed the name piecing together her first and last name, Haruno. Sakura. Haruno Sakura. A thought struck him.

"Sakura chan, are you by any chance the Haruno girl who went missing a year ago?"

Her jaded eyes lit and her skin paled. The third took it as a yes.

"So…you are from this village then. We're glad you came back safely. Your aunt will be happy to know you're okay."

Auntie?

"You're all rested up, aren't you? Let me ask the hospital to discharge you," A wide grin was plastered on his face; his eyes had a soft and understanding look. "I'll take you personally to your aunt."

The third stood and walked out the door. Sakura heard muffled voices outside the door. They were probably talking about her.

She sat there brooding in silence for a long time. So, she was filed as missing? I'm in Konoha? I'm…back? And Aunt was fine? That's good to hear. She gave a small but sad smile as the third re-entered the room with a smile on his face. "Let's go then Sakura chan."

She gave a curt nod before she slid off the bed and trailed after the hokage.

XxxxxxX

Sakura followed behind the third passing several nostalgic places. Her eyes roamed back and forth, left and right, taking in things of old and things of new. She remembered the pathways, they hadn't changed, and the stores. There were some new thrift shops, but that was all. In fact, everything was just like when she left. The hokage didn't take in the sights, unlike her, he was used to the village. He probably memorized every inch of it.

After a while of walking, the Hokage stopped in front of a civilian home. But it wasn't just any civilian home. It was Sakura's home. For a while, Sakura stood there frozen. Her knees shook uncontrollably, and her eyes were watering.

The hokage watched the girl stiffen then tremble, She was scared. But why?

He pretended not to notice and knocked on the door three times. A voice called out, "Just a moment, please!" Sakura recognized that voice. It was her aunt. It didn't help her trembling being as she shook more when her aunt called out.

There was a shuffling of feet before the door creaked open. "Ah, Hokage sama!" Her aunt looked the same time too. Her bold red hair and gray eyes—like her mother. Her mother…where was she? Was she safe? Somehow, Sakura knew the answer, and she didn't like it.

"Good morning, Akane-san," He nodded to Sakura's aunt, "I have wonderful news for you."

The red head cocked her head to the side just as Sakura did in the hospital. People always said she looked like her mother and acted like her aunt—at least the part where their reactions were similar. "Good news?"

"Yes, we found someone."

"You found- Really?" She gasped in delight, "You found Saku chan?" She had always been perky. A perfect wife—or so people called her. It was too bad she never married. Sakura's aunt had told Sakura once that she didn't need a man in her life—a downside to her perfection—because with the perfect wife, came the perfect independence.

The third nodded and stepped aside to reveal her pink-haired, green-eyed niece, "Sakura!" Akane ran forward, tears swelling in her eyes, and grabbed the girl in a bone-crushing hug. "Saku chan…My Saku chan…you're back."

Sakura gave a small smile, "Yes…Akane obaa san."

The third smiled, content that a family was finally at peace. But beneath the smile were questions. She has a loving aunt, why was she scared? He searched his thoughts trying to find an answer. Then, he remembered an event that probably caused Sakura's fear.

A year ago, if he remembered correctly, the fire country was going through economical crisis. There had been various internal conflicts within the council and the clans—like the Uchiha massacre. The shinobi village held the majority of the country's income. And when it became unstable, the rest of the land naturally followed. Thus, there was a fluctuation in the cash flow. But, being as the country's income depended on the shinobi, most of the cash also went to them. The civilian families were more affected with the economical crisis more than the shinobi families. Civilian families like the Haruno family.

"Oba san, what happened to mother?" sakura innocently asked. She had a gut feeling her aunt's answer would be dreadful especially since that happened.

Her aunt's smile melted into a frown, "Ah…you're mother…She…" her eyes clenched shut, "She's dead, Sakura."

Sakura was speechless for a while. With her jade eyes darkened, her skin and lips pale, she nodded, "Ah I see…"

Akane gaped at her niece. She expected Sakura to be shocked, but she was taking it unusually calm. "Saku chan…?"

She smiled, "Don't worry Oba san, I'm fine. I sort of…expected it." Her smile was forced and sad.

Akane grinned back and hugged her softly, "She's in a better place now, Saku chan…she'll always be with us…" She assured her niece realizing that despite her façade, her heart was wrenching.

Sakura nodded before she hugged her aunt in return. Her heart beat in a steady but hard rhythm. She was trying her best to stifle the tears that were forming in her eyes. She would not break, even when her heart had cracked and was cracking. Mother…watch over us…I hope…father is with you…I know it wasn't his fault…

The third gave a curt nod and walked away. That's right…He had remembered the events that took place a year and a half ago. On the same night as the Uchiha massacre, the Haruno family had finally broken after months of tension. Specifically, Haruno san, Sakura's father, had snapped.

Sarutobi slowed to a stop at the foot of Konoha palace.

Haruno san went into a break down and attempted to kill his family. He had succeeded in stabbing his wife, and went after his daughter, but Sakura ran. Unable to kill his daughter, and realizing what he did to his wife and what he was about to do with his own daughter, he killed himself.

We never found Sakura after that night. Her aunt filed a search for her, but seeing as there was no trace of her location, we never found her—until today. Still, it is certainly unsettling that she was found while on a mission to eliminate the akatsuki. Perhaps she became a side mission on the way back…still…

He shook his thoughts away, greeted the chuunin that guarded the entrance, and walked inside.

XxxxxxX

"Ne, Saku chan, let's get you cleaned up alright?"

The girl nodded happily. She was home, and safe. She could be satisfied with that wouldn't she? Wrong. She was struggling inside wondering if her nii sans were safe. They would come for her, wouldn't they?

And yet, the thought scared her. If her nii sans came for her, would she go now that she had been reunited with her aunt? The ten year old gave a small frown before she followed her aunt into the bathroom.

She stripped her clothes off and entered the tub as her aunt turned the shower on. Cold water suddenly splashed against her skin. She gave a small squeal at the sudden freeze. "Oba san!" She scolded her aunt.

Her aunt waved her hands in defense, "I'm sorry. I was too excited and forgot about the temperature."

Sakura pouted as she watched her aunt open the heater. She giggled softly afterwards, making her aunt smile in the process. "Ah so you're much better now?"

Her jaded orbs lit up, "Y-Yes." The ends of her lips tugged into a smile that grew wider when her aunt patted the top of her head. Her aunt was trying to make her forget her pain.

Pain…Pain otou sama…How was he? How was everyone?

She pushed her thoughts away and closed her eyes feeling her aunts slender fingers massage the shampoo into her scalp.

"Ne, Saku chan…?"

"Yes Oba san?"

"Let's be a family again, ne?"

Sakura gave a curt nod, "un!"

"And this time...let's be happy."

She smiled at the proposal that was made and she happily agreed to it. She had a family again. But what about her other family? What would happen to them? She knew they would manage without her—for they were shinobi—but could she manage without them? There was a fight before she blacked out right? How were they? Were they safe?

She thought of the night before she went unconscious. If only she had been stronger, maybe she could have protected her nii sans…and her mother a long time ago. Would they forgive her? Would they welcome her back if she came to them? But the blond Kakuzu nii san and Hidan nii san had fought died, didn't he? They probably beat him…or he beat them and then died.

They were fine, weren't they? She told herself to keep calm. They were shinobi, they were strong whereas…whereas she was weak.

She was weak—Itachi nii san had told her before—and would die if she went out into the real world—Kakuzu had bluntly stated the night she was whisked away. And yet, if she was strong enough to defeat the konoha nin, then she wouldn't have been taken back to Konoha and be reunited with her aunt. So should she see her current position a blessing or a curse?

Questions, questions, questions! They kept popping out of nowhere and Sakura was getting tired of it. She was thankful that her aunt was massaging her head because it eased the throbbing headache she was feeling now.

With a soft smile, she emptied her mind and busied herself to the feeling of her aunt's fingers on her head.

XxxxxxX

That night, Sakura sat across her aunt on the dining table. Timidly, she raised a piece of pork and popped it into her mouth. It was quiet, enough to hear the ticking of the clock that hung on the wall. It would take her some time to get used to the silence of the home. She was used to the loud clanking of plates and chattering of her nii sans. Now, their voices were just distant echoes. Were they eating dinner like she was?

She stared dimly at her food, thinking deeply to herself. Her aunt, seeing her still, placed her chopsticks down and decided to start a conversation, "So, Saku chan…"

The girl was torn away from her thoughts, "Ah Yes?"

"Are you thinking of going to school?" Her aunt had gambled on this topic. It was a double-edged sword. It could either dampen her spirits at the prospect of suddenly meeting new people or raise them in the hopes of moving forward. Fortunately, it was the latter.

She gave a cheerful nod, "Un. But…" Her voice trailed away.

"But?"

"I want to go to a shinobi school."

Akane wasn't expecting that. She sat there staring wide-eyed at her niece. "So you want to become a shinobi?"

Sakura nodded, refusing to make eye contact with her. She long wanted to become a shinobi. She wanted to be a kunoichi—a female ninja—hoping that she could become strong. She told Kakuzu that she was going to become strong so she could follow her nii sans in missions. She wanted to be a shinobi like them. But first, she had to enter shinobi school and to do that, she needed her aunt's consent.

Akane felt herself speechless as a lump formed in her throat. Her niece who just came home from kami knows where—and she didn't bother to ask—wanted to enter a shinobi school. She wanted to enter a world where death and pain was there at every turn. But that was it, wasn't it? Death and pain already followed Sakura. It was obvious enough knowing what happened to her. She was tempted to decline Sakura, but something in Sakura's eyes wouldn't let her.

Those emerald eyes were like her father's except that Sakura's shined brighter. Where her father's eyes were dark green, hers was a bright green. She had always carried that glint in her eyes. The glint—it came from her mother. There was no doubt that Sakura was the spitting image of her late sister. But Sakura inherited far more than just looks. She had the same smile, the same laugh, and the same sparkle in her eyes. Sakura's mother was a woman to be admired. She was calm, kind, but she was naïve.

Akane once described her sister as innocent. Now, well, she just called her naïve. She wouldn't admit her sister was innocent—never again—because that brought her downfall.

It was plainly obvious to anyone and everyone that Sakura's father had snapped and was no longer safe to be around. That was why she left the household in the first place. She was scared. She was afraid something would happen and warned her sister, but she wouldn't listen. She was blindly in love with this man and trusted him too much. She opted to take Sakura with her, but her sister was so sure she would be safe.

She didn't listen, and look where it got her? She was killed by the man she had trusted the most. Her sister wasn't innocent—she was naïve, gullible and stupid. The day before the incident, Sakura had asked her why she didn't marry. She simply answered that she didn't need a man in her life. She never told Sakura the entire truth. She didn't marry because she believed Love destroyed women.

It saddened her quite a bit that Sakura had inherited her mother's trusting nature. True, people said Sakura acted like her in many ways: her bubbly personality, her cheerfulness, her boldness; but, Sakura was definitely her sister's daughter: the way she was innocent, the way felt the need to protect anything that was injured, her kindness, her desire to make everyone around her happy…she was just like her mother.

She didn't hate Sakura's mother, despite her stubbornness, nor did she hate Sakura's father, even with his emotional instability. Intruth, she hated herself more than anything. Akane was bold, but it was only in her words. When it came to actions, Akane was more reserved than anything. She had always considered herself a weak coward. It showed especially on the night it happened.

She should've stayed, because if she did, her sister would've probably been alive and Sakura wouldn't have disappeared. But instead, she ran away and only came crawling back when everything was safe. Akane did get her karma. She went home to a messed up and broken home and was left alone for a year and a half until the pinkette came back.

Pink hair. It was the only evidence that she was the child of Sakura's father and mother because her hair color symbolized the love that existed between them. Her mother was a red head, like Akane was, and her father had silver hair. Akane guessed the two had truly loved each other because their hair color had meshed and resulted to the pink hair girl.

"Oba san?"

Akane snapped back, That's right, Sakura wanted to enter ninja school.

Sakura eyed her and heard her give a sigh, "Alright Sakura, you can join Shinobi school."

Her lips tugged into a small smile and Sakura's did the same. She slipped off of her seat and embraced her aunt. "Thank you Oba san!" Happily, she raced up to her room.

I'm sure you thought about this, my little cherry blossom. Akane was grinning to herself, I am certain you won't make me regret my decision. After all, you are their child. And maybe one day, you can grow strong. Gain the strength neither I, nor your parents had. Grow, my little cherry blossom, then one day, spread your blooms so they would reach the hearts of many.

XxxxxxX

-So we see PainxKonan here. And we see that Pain too was affected by Sakura's death teehee. Personally I'm proud of this chapter. xD I decided to work on my narratives and came up with this. Though proud, I'm still a little unsatisfied. Lol. I still have a lot of broken sentences that seem…boring? I dunno. xD You guys be the judge. Oh and Zetsu makes an appearance! XD

-About Pain, I'm still getting around his personality and ideals. I know for a fact that only Konan calls Pain: Pain/Nagato. But, Sakura gets to call him Pain also because well…she's quite close and has no leader-subordinate attachment. :3

-In this chapter, we also see Sakura's past. Did anyone notice that in my other chapters, I never once placed why Sakura was crying in the park? Teehee. . And we also see her father and mother, er, at least in memory. How do you like her aunt? I imagined her to be perky, giddy and 'womanly' hehe. She also has female pride. xD

-This chapter signifies the last chapter in the first arc. xD I'm sorry if there was no romance (well there were hints but nothing major). I didn't want this story to be so fast paced. xD What do you guys think? Should I have put major romance in the first 5 chapters of the chapter?

-I'll admit, it was hard to think of a chapter name. xD So the "Lost Angel" can symbolize either Konan or Sakura. You take your pick . This chapter took me some time because I had to research my information. xD (My author notes are long )

-Oh yes, on Sunday I'm heading to the beach. xD I'm not sure if I'll have time to write, but I'm sure inspiration will come to me. (I was in another beach previously and was able to sort out the plot of this story there xD)

-Madam Obscurum, "...Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win." (Stephen King)