I'm a little depressed. This is the last chappy of this fic, and it's so short...After this i'll be stuck with nothing but oneshots until i get another big inspiration. And to top it off, i've got a small case of writers' block. i keep coming up with random sentences for new fics, but it always stops before i can really get into the groove.

Anyways, thank you so much to those who've stuck with me and my little fic from the beginning. You're all the best. It is the reviewers who gave me the confidence to keep this story going, and my hat is off to all of you.

Heh. By the way i talk, you'd think i've been writing this fic for years.

Enjoy, buds.


­­­We should make it home tonight or early tomorrow morning. Temari-san hasn't sighed since we told her we were almost home. She almost seems…too eager to complain. I can't imagine why.

Stony-Face and Tenten-chan are simply hilarious. They keep having these awkward moments when they say things at the same time or meet each other's gazes only to find that they can't look away. And then they'll realize what they're doing, and look away, all red-faced. All in unison. I swear, they're a perfect match for each other.

It's been raining since we left Suna. Almost like the rain clouds are following us. Not the happiest of omens.

Temari-san seems to be on the brink of laughter. "Why is it that the rain starts as soon as I leave Suna?"

"What do you mean?" Gai-sensei asks for all of us.

She sighs for the first time since breakfast. "Suna is a desert village, so rain only comes a couple of times a year." Another sigh. "There's always a big festival when the showers come. There's dancing and music and circuses, and flowers everywhere. But I guess the Chunin Exams are more important. But then again…" She looks morosely up at the sky, letting the water splash her face.

"Does it rain a lot in Konoha?" she asks, looking at Sensei.

He smiles. "Relatively. Enough that we have flowers year-round, except for in the dead of winter."

She sighs, but it is a happy, content sound. "That sounds nice. You get tired of cactus flowers after years of nothing but."

Wow. So there is a human inside of all her pretenses.

"Well, then, you'll like Konoha."

We get there at sundown, mainly due to the fact that Temari-san insisted on gliding on her fan the rest of the way, causing us to run just to keep up. This time, I'd run beside Lee-kun, and he willingly kept pace with me, even though I could tell that I was slowing him down.

At the gate, Temari-san hops down from her fan, waiting as we catch up.

With her escorts, she steps through the gates, only to stop and gape at our home.

"I'd forgotten how beautiful this place is," she murmurs.

Just as we arrive, Shikamaru-kun passes a building across the way from us.

Temari-san's eyes suddenly start sparkling. "HEY, CRYBABY!" she yells at the top of her lungs, much too loudly. I have no doubt in my mind that even her little brothers back in Suna heard her call.

A completely uncharacteristic eagerness lights up Shikamaru-kun's usually apathetic eyes. When he sees Temari-san, he smiles for a split second before frowning.

"Oi, Loudmouth. What are you doing in Konoha?"

She grins, scrunching up her eyes. "I'm the Suna delegate for the upcoming Chunin Exams."

His eyes widen by a millimeter, but when he speaks, his voice is toneless. "Well then, as troublesome as it is, I guess we're coworkers. I'm running the Chunin Exams this time around."

The Suna kunoichi's eyes widen just a bit, and a light blush touches her face, her smile showing that she considers troublesometo be a term of affection. "Well then, I guess I'll see you around," she says, not longer looking at him. Instead, she averts her gaze to Gai-sensei. "We should go report to your Hokage."

We set off again, and I look behind us to see Shikamaru-kun staring at the back of Temari-san's head, oblivious to my attention.

I wonder if Shikamaru-kun will have a new cloud-watching buddy anytime soon…


Lee-kun and I sit by the Creature's Lake, the place where I first proclaimed my love to him. The water has not changed in all these months. The Creatures must be neat-freaks.

This is our place. No one else knows that it even exists. No one will ever bother us here. Here, we can be truly alone.

I think Lee-kun loves this place. Whenever we come here, he seems so at peace with the world. He doesn't worry about missions, or Konoha, or being a shinobi. The outside world can't touch us here. The only things that exist are me, Lee-kun, and the lake. The rest of the world is gone.

Inhale. Exhale.

Lee-kun lays back to look up at the sky. I join him, sprawling out on the ground, burying my face in his shoulder. His arms winds around my waist, pulling my body up against his. My face grows hot, and I'm sure I've turned pink. As far as our physical relationship goes, this is a little stretch on our usual comfort zones. By nature, we are both a little awkward, physically at least. Our sudden close proximity is strange, but I like it. I wrap my arms around him and close my eyes, noticing that he is a little warm, too.

"This is heaven," he murmurs.

"Hai. I don't want to ever move again. I'd happily stay here forever."

"You say something like that every time we come here."

"That's because I mean it."

Silence. Inhale. Exhale.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Nani?"

"I'm very happy that you're mine."

I snuggle closer into his body. "Me, too," I say into his chest.

"You're my life, Sakura-chan."

His taijutsu suit is very soft on the skin of my cheek. "I always will be. And you should know that the feeling is mutual. I wouldn't be able to go on if anything ever happened to you. But of course, you know that already."

He rolls onto his side, slings his other arm around my body, and links his hand around his other wrist. He lays his head down on my collarbone. "Let's never let anything happen to us," he whispers. "I couldn't bear it if I was the cause of your death, even if I was already waiting for you in the afterlife."

I kiss the top of his head, noticing that the weight on my chest is very soothing, rather than uncomfortable like you'd think it'd be. "I love you very, very much, Lee-kun."

He kisses my throat. "You have no idea how happy it makes me when you say that."

"I know how happy it makes me when you say it back."

"I love you very, very much, Sakura-chan," he replies obediently, sincerely.

I smile, and after half and hour of comfortable silence, I am asleep.


He is not the Red-Eyed Demon. He is not the curse-mark-covered monster that wouldn't care about my wishes even if I promised him mountains of wealth just so he wouldn't kill that Otonin Trio. He is not Sasuke-san.

He is Sasuke-kun. The young, beloved twelve-year-old that held my heart on a string for so long. Sure, he never wanted it, but he'd held it. Obviously Inner Sakura wants me to remember that.

Inner Sakura can shove it.

I turn away from him, but I am distracted when I notice that the action causes my hair to caress my elbows. I look at my body, and I am shocked to see that I, too, am twelve. Weirdo dream.

"Sakura-chan?"

His good, young voice automatically sends a shock through my system. My subconscious—despite the months of nothing but that new, imagined, horrifying voice—has his old voice stored perfectly, a flawless echo of what it had been in real life. I instinctively turn to face him, for some reason surprised to see that he is still there.

"What the hell do you want?"

He gapes at me. Obviously, I have never spoken to him like this before. Even in my dream, he is shocked. "What did I ever do to you?"

Annoyed that he doesn't remember how badly he hurt me, I sigh loudly. "Listen, Sasuke-kun, we've got to talk."

He raises an eyebrow. "Do we really?"

"Yeah, we do."

"About?"

"I—"

"And make it quick. I don't have all day."

Twitch. Even in my dreams he doesn't give me any respect.

"Sasuke-kun…I need to tell you…"

"And please don't say that you love me."

My face gets hot against my will. "That's not what this is about."

"Then get to the point."

I grind my teeth. I try to remember to breathe, but my breaths are shallow and angry, so I don't bother. After all, if this is a dream, then I don't really need to go through my regular functions.

"Sasuke-kun, the point is…that I've found someone else."

He smirks. "Good for you." He waits, and then scowls. "What, that's it?"

"Uh, yeah."

"And you felt the need to tell me…why?"

"I thought you'd like to know…do you want to know who?"

I couldn't care less about what loser decided to be yours. Can I go now? I've got to go train."

I let out a frustrated puff of air through my nostrils. "Sure. Whatever."

"See ya later, Sakura-chan."

He walks away.

What a dick.

"Goodbye, Sasuke-kun," I whisper. After all, all I ever wanted was a chance to say goodbye.

I turn away, and I see my Lee-kun running towards me, waving.

"Sorry I'm late, Sakura-san. It took longer than I thought to run around the Village 500 times backwards."

I smile at him. "Don't worry about it."

"Who were you talking to?"

I grimace. "Just some loser."

He cocks his head to the side at my expression, shakes it off, and then takes my hand. Just like a cheesy scene should always end, we walk away into the sunset.


I open my eyes.

As strange as it might sound, I think I just had a happy dream. And I think I finally have closure.

Inhale. Exhale. I look at Lee-kun, asleep in my arms, and know that everything will be okay, even if I never see Sasuke-san…kun in this life again. As long as I have my green love right here, nothing can touch me.

My life was good. But my new life is perfect.


Don't you love how i managed to work the title into the last sentence? Don't you think that was a good way to wrap it all up? Starting the fic (including Breathing) with a nightmare and ending it with a happy dream?

So, anyways, thanks again. Hopefully it won't be too long until I get to talk to you all agian. (Just depends on how long it takes me to come up with an acceptable oneshot.)

FLUFF FOREVER!!

Ja na,

Miyazaki A2