Disclaimer: Blech, I don't own Naruto. But if I did . . . think of all the havoc I could cause . . . hehehe.

Last Chapter:

There was a pause, "No . . . I guess I don't"

Chapter 10

Apocalypse; the end of the world as we know it. Some believe that this occurrence won't happen for billions of years. Some say that with our careless actions we, as human beings, are already slowly leading Earth to its end. But who's to say how many years Earth will still be here? Who's to say that that is the exact amount of time left? No one because, perhaps, the apocalypse has already happened—at least to some. Of course, she was a part of the "some." Not many people can understand how their worlds "end", maybe because the life they are living blinds them. Maybe because they choose not to know, in fear of it happening to them. Or maybe, just maybe, their world did end, and they just didn't notice it yet. Whatever the reason, apocalypse doesn't completely refer to the physical state but also to the emotions. Just before your eyes, everything you once knew will be gone, everything you loved will be gone, and you'll walk the earth unconsciously while the mind is trapped in a void. There wasn't really anything to cure this, but sometimes there were the couple people who were able to put back the pieces that were broken so long ago. How long it takes, it's impossible to say, everyone is different; hopefully others will be able to follow their footsteps in the future.

Two weeks. Two weeks was all it took for her world to crumble. Sakura's world. Only sixteen and it seemed like everything was against her, making her life miserable. Wasn't it just a few years ago that she, the new girl, perhaps found a new, real home at last? Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that she was having one of the best summers of her life with her three best friends anxiously waiting for the start of their junior year? And wasn't it just a few days ago that all she knew and trusted fell because he had to come back? Come back from her past. Come back to her life. Sitting cross legged on her twin sized bed, leaning on the back wall, Sakura sighed heavily, as if it could simply take all her stress away. Alas, sighing doesn't get rid of them, and neither did much of anything else, but there wasn't much she could do. Silently thinking clamed her jumping nerves throughout the whole weekend so far — it was a wonder how she didn't go insane — and she found herself doing the same. 'Today is Monday, September 18. It is the start of the third week of school, but instead of a somewhat safe-haven, it will become hell. Luckily, I have two hours until I am forced to meet my doom.' Sakura's first thoughts startled her, it was a little over dramatic, yet she couldn't deny the truth weaved within those words. Sighing — she seemed to be doing that a lot these days — she tried looking at the upside of things, 'Well, I get to see my friends again . . . but that means having to experience their scrutinizing stares. I get . . . is there an upside to this? At least, if I'm at school, then I won't have to be under surveillance of my parents, whose stares are a million times worse than my friends. One upside against how many downsides again? Oh yeah, one hundred.'

Straightening out her legs to prevent the beat of pins and needles, Sakura brought a new atmosphere within the room. She yawned, and for once she realized how tired she was. Her alarm clock had no need to wake her because once again, she had awoken panting from yet another nightmare — the third one to be exact. When she jerked up from her once peaceful sleeping position, she realized that she still had a little over and hour till she would hear the buzz of the clock. Of course, Sakura knew that she could've fallen back asleep, but she had two reasons preventing her from doing so. One, she was all set to leave, so there was no point. Two, she knew that if she did happen to fall back asleep, she would only jerk awake again due to another dream. Staring at the ceiling, Sakura let yet another yawn escape, and couldn't help but analyze her life so far. Like hypnosis, she felt herself spinning — drifting — into a light sleep. 'Maybe I'll just close my eyes, just for a little bit . . .' And there she went, drifting, to one of the only memories that were anything but horrible . . . a far off memory . . .

"Where are you taking me?" Between her giddy giggles, she managed to say that one sentence as he was guiding her through with his hands covering her eyes. Hearing no answer, Sakura was filled with a sense of excitement and anxiousness. He was always like this, giving her a great surprise to brighten her day. She didn't even consider him as close as a normal guy, he was so different — but in a good way. His hands were still blocking her vision when he stopped, and could hear the sound of a car door opening. Helping her inside and putting on her seat belt, she could feel his hands lifting off her face, but he beckoned her to keep them closed. Following his orders, her eyes were shut tight, but it was a strenuous task to stop the urges of peeking. Out of no where, Sakura could feel a smooth cloth being pressed against her face, and tied around, creating a blindfold. The roar of the car's engine vibrated; they were finally moving. "Where are you taking me?" She asked again playfully.

She wasn't sure if he was looking at her or concentrating on the road, but she could feel his hand grasping hers and giving it a gentle squeeze. How she loved his touch, it always gave her a secure feeling; she knew she would be able to trust him. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise would it? Just hold on tight, we're almost there." Although she couldn't see him, she was sure he was giving her one of his smiles again. 'There he goes again, being all mysterious.' Smiling to herself, Sakura sat there patiently, playing with her hands, waiting until they finally reached their destination.

It seemed like fifteen minutes had gone by when suddenly the car went into a slow stop. He turned the ignition and closed the door behind him, going around the car to open Sakura's door for her. Reaching for his hand, she had to ask, "Are you going to take off my blindfold now?" Answering with a simple "nope", he carefully led her up some stairs, through a door, and as soon as they entered the place, she was blasted with cool air-conditioning.

"Just a little more to go Sakura," he canted to her. She could barely contain her excitement, as she was seated in a chair, and immediately she knew they were in a restaurant. Her hand lifted to the knot behind her head, but before she was able to even feel the fabric between her fingers, his grabbing it and placing it down on the table. "No cheating! I'll take off the blindfold, but still don't open them until I say go." Carefully, his hands unknotted the blindfold, lifting it off, but she dared not opening her eyes. Sakura knew he spent a lot of time and effort on this, and she didn't want to ruin it for either of them. Through her eyelids, she could see the little light, and could tell that it was well lit. But the question was: Where were they? The squeak of a chair against a wooden floor filled her ears; her hands were taken in his and finally he told her, "Okay Sakura . . . go."

Sakura's eyes fluttered open — it took a moment to adjust to the brightness — and she found herself sitting in the center of the restaurant. But it was no ordinary one, it was the one that she's always wanted to dine in, but was too expensive for her alone. How did he find out, she didn't know, "I — I can't believe it. How — I don't know what to say. This — Thank you!"

"Happy Birthday, Sakura"

Zzzz! Zzzz! Zzzz!

Gasping for air, Sakura jumped up from her sleeping position, eyes darting to the source of the sound that woke her up. But it was only her alarm clock, telling her it was time to wake up. She gave a nervous laugh, and stood up to cease the constant buzzing. As silence once again found refuge in her room, she plopped on her bed, her back facing the ceiling. That moment she realized that her cheeks were wet, 'Had I been crying the whole time?' Turning over on her backside, she thought about the dream — more like the memory — she just had. What caused her to think of this one? She had to admit, this was one of the only one that didn't make her cringe, yet it made her shed a few tears. It made a dent in her heart to relive that night once again; was it because she knew that no matter how much she hoped, wished, and prayed that things will never go back to the way they were? But she didn't stray on the matter to much, she still had a while before school would start, 'Maybe I'll just lay her for a while . . .' However, instead of anything happy, her mind was filled with another "dream" . . . haunting her once again . . .

"Sakura, wake up! You're going to be late for school if you don't come down now!"

Sakura woke up with a start, and saw that thirty minutes had elapsed, and had that much time till school would begin. Groggily, she rubbed her eyes, and trudged downstairs with her backpack. She took a seat at the table, and poured herself cereal and milk, after all breakfast was the most important meal of the day. But as she looked at the cereal floating in the ocean of milk, she didn't feel hungry and shoved it aside. The whole time her mother had her back turned to her, washing dishes Sakura guessed. "Sakura you better get dressed, otherwise — oh, you already are . . ." Her mother turned around, and looked contemptuously at the uneaten bowl in front of her daughter. Sakura saw the question in her eyes, and tilted her head to the table. She seemed to be doing that a lot — focusing on whatever was below her like it was the most fascinating thing in the whole wide world, when it clearly wasn't.

Her mother looked at her with a worried expression, and let herself walk over to the table and take a seat before her daughter. Sakura, however, didn't even give a glance upwards, like she didn't notice what was happening around her. Clearing her throat quite loudly, she tried to grab Sakura's attention, but she still wouldn't stir. "Honey?" Sakura knew that her mother was there, and she was well aware that she was trying to have a nice mother and daughter conversation with her, but she didn't want to. Huffing a small "yes", she gave her mother a small bit of that satisfaction that she was listening. "Is something bothering you?"

Sakura hated questions like this. 'There's no such thing as a stupid question.' The fact of the matter was that there was such thing as a stupid question, and this happened to be one of them. Obviously, something was wrong, she was her mother! Shouldn't they know things like this? But the reason Sakura hated this particular question was that she hated answering them. Especially because of the dilemma she was facing right now. She didn't want to tell her the truth, she couldn't tell her the truth even if she did want to. Getting some strength within her, she willed herself to look at her mother, "No." The answer seemed to disappoint her; did she want to hear some heartbreaking sob story?

She pursed her lips at her, and folded her hands asking more firmly, "Sakura are you sure?" Sakura nodded her head to assure her that everything was just dandy, but whatever she did, her mother didn't seem to be buying her responses. "Come on, you can tell me anything, seriously, what's wrong?"

Now her anger was rising, "Why do you always automatically think something is wrong? Maybe I'm just not hungry, that's all. And if you excuse me, I'm going to be late for school." She shot it back at her mother, venom with every word she said. Reaching down to get her backpack, her mother's hand swiftly pulled it back just as Sakura was about to leave. She tried tugging harder, but her mother wouldn't let go of her bag, and she was forced to stand there, glued to her spot. This was like the movie that was on TV, full of drama every minute, but this wasn't some stupid scripted scene. It was her own life playing in front of them. "Mom let go, I'm going to be late." Tugging once more, her mom wouldn't give up.

"Not until you tell me what's going on!" Her mother's voice was booming, echoing against the walls. Sakura silently thanked God that her father already left for work a long time ago; otherwise, she'd be having hell right now. If you thought her mother was harsh, you definitely haven't met her father. "Don't think that I don't notice what's been happening. Coming after school, running into your room, never coming down except to eat, and sometimes that doesn't happen! And how much sleep have you been getting?" She paused to hear her daughter grumble a low "enough", and continued her little lecture. "Sakura are you listening to me? I don't care if you're late, but you're not leaving this house!"

She had enough of this. Sakura didn't care anymore. She didn't care if she hurt her mother; grabbing her backpack with all her strength, she saw her mother grasp her hand and massage it. Lashing out at her, she stepped backwards to get away, "Why do you always want to but into my life? If I tell you nothing is wrong, then believe me! I'm your daughter for God's sake! Don't you trust my word?" By this time she was screaming, and she didn't care if the neighbors could hear. They could call the police and she wouldn't mind. Her mother was about to say something in objection, but she cut her off. "No, Mom, don't. I don't care. I don't care what you have to say. I don't care if you tell Dad. Just leave me alone!" And with what she had to say done, Sakura stormed out of her house, slamming the door behind her, walking back to school.

000

"Sakura! Sakura!" Just about to open her locker and put her things in, all the while trying to forget about what happened this morning at breakfast. She looked around for the person calling her, hoping that it wasn't anyone that she was trying to avoid. Turning around, she saw that it was only Ino running up to her to talk before the bell would ring. Quickly, she put her backpack and other junk inside and took out all the things she needed for class. Sakura didn't bother going up to Ino because she knew that if she did, it would end up as a crash. "Sakura!"

"I heard you already the first time!" It took a lot for Sakura to yell back due to the fact that she took all her screaming power out on her mother. Strained, her voice cracked a little, she would need some water later.

It wasn't long till Ino was right in front of her, looking glamorous as usual. How many hours did she spend in front of the mirror? Two? Three? Definitely not only an hour . . . Sakura realized that she had been talking to her, and tried figuring out what she was talking about with what she was hearing already. " — tried calling you on Friday after school, and on Saturday, but you weren't answering your phone!"

"Wait, what?" Taking out her cell phone, but making sure none of the administration would see, she saw that she had several missed calls. 'Hmm . . . I didn't even notice my cell phone ring . . .'

Ino gave her an irritated expression, as if she didn't feel like she wanted to explain again, but was going to anyway. "Is your large forehead making you lose your concentration?" Before Sakura could retort anything back at her, Ino continued. "Anyway, I said that we — Hinata, Tenten, and I — were wondering if you were busy on Friday, and we called you, but you weren't answering your cell phone. Then we tried on Saturday, but you still didn't answer! So I came here to ask where you were. . . . So where were you?"

Sakura couldn't tell her exactly what happened, and she didn't want to deal with this right now. Closing her locker, she headed to Kakashi-sensei's class with Ino trailing behind. Grumbling to herself, she gave her a little answer so she would quit pestering her. "Sorry, Ino. I was preoccupied . . . with things."

Instantly, she saw her eyes give her "the look." Ino said, "Oh, you mean like maybe Sasuke-kun things? You know I've noticed him try to follow you around school last week, and saw him go after you after school on Friday. Don't worry, I understand, you and him were probably 'busy'" She put air quotes around "busy", and she was still giving Sakura the You – were – flirting – with – him – so – I – understand – why – you – didn't – answer look.

"No, Ino that's not — "

"I mean, after all it is Sasuke-kun, and I might have done the same thing if I were you," She babbled on, and was starting to give Sakura a head ache. She had it all wrong.

"Ino, no, I — "

"Sakura don't deny it, you don't have to hide things from me or your friends. We understand! And I — "

She couldn't take anymore of her constant babbling about her and Sasuke. Ino just wasn't listening to her! "Ino!" Abruptly the both stopped walking to Kakashi's classroom, looking surprised as Sakura. "Why does it have to be about Sasuke? It's not! I've been trying to tell you that nothing happened! Why are people doing this to me now?" She wasn't trying to upset Ino at all. She wasn't totally yelling at her anyway. It was more to the world, but that reason couldn't hide the fact that Ino had a hurt expression on her face. Changing her once anger to a calm apologetic one, Sakura stopped Ino from going away. "Wait, Ino, I'm sorry . . . again. I just have a lot on my mind right now, and it's a little overwhelming for me. The truth is nothing happened between me and Sasuke on Friday, it — it was nothing. Actually, I don't really care about him anymore. Just don't try to cut me off next time." Right away, Ino brightened, and linked her arms together with Sakura.

"It's okay, but you're seriously over Sasuke?" Instead of the happy tone Sakura was expecting, Ino looked at her suspiciously. Nodding to her, she heard her say, "Okay!" But the whole time the together to the classroom, Sakura could feel the tension between them. It was like a giant wall was squished between them, and no one said anything after. Biting her lower lip, Sakura wondered about what happened. 'Why does it seem that no one trusts me anymore?' And that's when she finally felt the weight of the lies she's been telling on her back, pushing her down to the ground.

000

When Sakura and Ino walked into the room, they were greeted by Hinata and Tenten, who were already seated in their desks. Ino rushed into her seat, but Sakura sauntered to her desk with no enthusiasm whatsoever. Saying her quiet hellos to Hinata and Tenten, she looked around the room to see if he was here yet. But the whole time she knew that the three of them were giving her puzzling looks, and she pretended like she didn't notice. Then she heard the whispers, and immediately she knew Ino was telling the both of them what happened in the hallway. Feeling a little betrayed, Sakura looked back at her three best friends, and saw that they were huddling together discussion something. It wasn't until Ino made a small motion with her head headed towards Sakura and Hinata looked that they noticed that she was staring at them. They quickly went back to their original seating positions, smiling at Sakura like nothing was wrong, so she forced herself to return the gesture. The urge to say something to them was strong, but she didn't want them to talk about her even more than they already were, so she gave them the pleasure of finishing her task of scouring the room so they could continue talking. As soon as she did, the frantic whispers came back immediately, and Sakura decided that she wouldn't disturb them anymore than she already did.

So far, her search seemed to satisfy her. There was no sign that he was here yet, and possibly he wasn't going to be in her classes at all. That little piece of hope, lightened her spirits, and she didn't even mind what Hinata, Tenten and Ino were saying about her. She was about to relax herself into her chair, until she realized that there was someone in the back corner of the room. Exhaling, trying to convince herself it wasn't him, she turned and gazed at the person sitting in that particular place. Well, for one thing, it wasn't him, that she could tell you. But it was someone who was close. Sasuke. She tried to turn her attention away from him, but it was if some magnetic force was telling her not to move. It was a good thing that he was looking — glaring — outside the window with his arms crossed. Even though she couldn't look away, she was so sure that he wouldn't notice her staring anyway. It seemed like there was more on his mind than Sakura. Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, she let herself relax. Again, she tried to get something else to occupy her, but she knew nothing would, unless she really wanted to hear the little discussion. Which she didn't, even if someone paid her. Then, as if by sheer luck, her notebook fell off the face of her desk, a few papers scattering here and there.

And when Sakura picked up her whole mess, she went to look at Sasuke's tiny corner once more, but this time all went wrong. As her eyes went up to see if he was still gazing out the window, her eyes met right into his. Yes, this time, Sasuke caught her staring at him. Locked in the same place, Sakura came back to her senses and with an ungainly maneuver, she went back looking toward the front of the classroom. Praying that he wouldn't come over to say something to her, she didn't hear any movement coming from him. For once it seemed her prayers were answered, and she sighed in relief, letting her head fall to the desk. For a moment, she thought she heard a chair move, but she shrugged it off thinking that was just another student adjusting their seat, and continued laying there. Like early this morning, she could feel the effects of her short sleeping periods. They were catching up on her, but she couldn't afford being caught in class asleep. Yawning — again — she felt her eyelids getting heavier and heavier until . . .

"Hn. Are you that tired?"

Her eyes opened, and her head shot up just to meet Sasuke looking at her face to face — well, looking down at her face to face. Sakura just stared up at him in awe, and from the corner of her eyes, she could see that no one seemed to be noticing what was happening, not even the Sasuke fan girls. 'Maybe if I create a diversion, he'll go away.' Nonchalantly, Sakura rested on her right hand, her elbow propping her up, and her left arm began grazing the desk, pushing her notebook. It was almost off the edge, and Sakura forcefully shoved it too the ground. Papers were sprawled over the surface of the tiled floor, and she gave Sasuke a fake apologetic smile, leaning down to pick up her fallen notebook. However, since Sasuke wasn't in a desk it was easier for him to reach all her stuff, and before Sakura knew it, he was the one gathering everything. Not even getting a single sheet of paper, she looked at him expectantly and held out her hand so he would give it back. But as she did, he let his hand with the notebook go further from her and held it by his side. "Sasuke, give me back my notebook right now," Sakura said sternly, shaking her hand for Sasuke to place it there.

Sasuke rolled his eyes giving a small "hn", and it was just within her reach that he jerked it back, and started flipping through the pages. Fiercely whispering his name so she wouldn't draw attention to themselves, she tried getting it back, but he wasn't listening to her. When he did finish looking through, he still didn't give it to her, 'Isn't it considered a felony to look through someone else's personal items without their permission?' To make it clear to him, she tapped her foot loudly, but all he did was still stare back at her blankly. It seemed like it was forever until he finally . . . spoke. He made sure that his voice was low enough so only she could hear, his eyes darted around the room first, and began. "I'm not going to give it back to you, at least not yet. Don't think that I'm just going to forget everything that had happened. Maybe I don't understand what's going on right now, but I will. Just because I let my guard down on Friday and let you get away, don't think that it will be so easy."

"Sasuke!" She hissed at him. The way he was talking to her was in such a calm way it was eerie to hear it, even if he was the one talking. Her eyes silently pleaded with him to just hand her back her notebook, but he wouldn't budge. He reflected her pleading looks by smirking at her head on that Sakura wanted to wipe it off with the chalk board eraser. "Sasuke hand it to me—" And just like that the bell rang, Kakashi entering the classroom on time beckoning everyone to settle down and get in their seats. Now it was Sakura's turn to smirk at him, and she held out her hand once more tilting her head to the side. Grunting, he tossed it at her and didn't look back as he went to his corner, but when he did the notebook bounced off the edge and fell — for the third time today.

Ten minutes passed, and all seemed well for Sakura. Kakashi was giving a lesson — probably because he already finished his latest edition of the Icha Icha series — everything was quiet. As Sakura was taking the little notes she needed, she smiled to herself. He probably wasn't going to be in any of her classes, and wouldn't see him for the whole day, so there was nothing for her to worry about. Perhaps, he'll find something more interesting than her. She was getting worked up over a minor matter than didn't involve her.

Nchk! Nchk! Nchk!

There were three knocks on the door, but Sakura thought nothing of it and continued writing. Kakashi put down his piece of chalk and went to open the door, but someone already opened the door. Shizune walked up to Kakashi and talked to him about something, no one could hear what they were saying, and everyone stopped to see what was happening. Kakashi seemed to nod, and Shizune walked out the door, but for some reason she left the door wide open. Going up to the class, Kakashi smiled to the class — at least it looked like a smile, who could tell under that mask? "Class, I've just been informed that we have a new student in our class. He came late today because they still had to get his information into the school system. So I hope you guys give him a warm welcome."

Sakura's eyes widened in bewilderment, her breath stopped short. 'Oh my God, please don't be him. Please don't be—' Through the doorway, there he was, walking next to Kakashi with no hint of nervousness at all. He stood there, staring intently at his fellow students, and the whispers of all girls started. All the girls except Sakura. He smiled to the class, and the whispers grew in volume, but Sakura couldn't move at all. It was like she was frozen solid in a giant ice cube. "So," Kakashi said, "I'm Kakashi, and why don't you tell the whole class a little about yourself."

He stepped closer, and took a breath before speaking. "My name is Aku Miramoto, and I just moved here from Tokyo last Friday. The reason I moved here to Konoha was because my mother just got a new job offer here, and she shipped me along with her. Hopefully, I'll make a few new friends while I'm here." To everyone else in the class it was as if he was talking to them, but Sakura could feel that he was talking and looking at her the whole time. The questions she wanted to ask him but didn't attempt to try were finally answered in the most unconventional way, but it was something. Just as he said he wanted to make new friends, someone said pretty loudly, "Oh, you definitely will" and the rest of the girl snickered mischievously, but Aku didn't seem to notice and gave another bright smile. Looks like Sasuke is going to have some competition . . . Not like he'd care.

Kakashi thanked him for the introduction, and asked him, "Aku, did you have a tour of the school yet?"

Looking at him weirdly, Aku put his right hand behind his head, "No, was I supposed to?"

"Okay, why don't you choose someone from the class to be your tour guide for the rest of the period." Kakashi sighed, and waited for his decision as he looked around the whole class.

"I would like Sakura to be my tour guide Kakashi-sensei," Aku said brightly, but Kakashi seemed surprised that he already knew a student's name and was about to ask, but Aku finished his sentence. "Because we used to go to the same school, and I'm sure she wouldn't mind catching up on an old friend." Smile.

"Okay Sakura you can pack your—"

"No way!" Sakura slammed her fist on the desk, but saw that everyone was staring at her, and quickly changed her tone of voice. "I mean: No way I get to be his tour guide?!" Standing up her books were neatly in a pile and she walked to Aku, and waited for Kakashi to give them the signal that it was fine to leave. Together the walked out the door, but before she did, Sakura caught a glimpse of girls giving her an envious, heated glare. But Sasuke, Sasuke looked at her in such a way made her a little happy to be leaving.

END OF CHAPTER 10!

Okay, here it is chapter 10!!!!! Yay! I'm in the double digits at last! Woot! Woot! Victory dance! Hope you guys enjoy, and who can guess what's going to happen next chapter? No guesses? I guess you have to wait! Woot! Woot!

While I was writing this, I noticed something that was a big mistake, and I started freaking out, but after some clever research, I let it slide and I didn't change anything, so hopefully my information is correct. If you can catch the little fishy mistake then I might give you a prize. If you want you can find what seems wrong from the previous chapters. I was seriously freaking out wondering if I had to change things, but I didn't have to so yay!

Remember, READ AND REVIEW! Please . . .

GhostofYou