[ Chapter 11: Unexplained Good-Bye ]

There was a scream in the crowd as a man fell to the ground dead. Another man, the one who stabbed and robbed the one who fell, fled from the crime holding a large bag full of western merchandise. The vendor who sells the western goods makes a lot of money, but stealing directly from him is difficult because a lot of people are there and it's easy to spot who is stealing what. However, the people who transport the goods through the street and into the stall are usually out unchecked, so stealing from them is a matter of just killing and taking. The thief ran past Sasuke, who was alarmed that no one was doing anything. A woman screamed, but that was it. Everyone else just went about their business without noticing so much.

"Is anyone going to do something about that?" Sasuke said to Sakura, who was also disinterested in the murder that just took place.
"Someone will probably get rid of the body after a few days." Sakura answered nonchalantly "Probably when the body starts to smell."
"What kind of place is this?"

-----

Sakura forcefully pushed the man into the wall. They met at the usual spot behind the back alley. The mattress was there and the stall was partially closed, as always, the only thing was that he fought back. Just as the man turned around, Sakura moved to punch him in the stomach. While the man was wincing in pain, Sakura wasted no time and pulled out a kunai to stab him in the side with. She made contact, but not enough to kill him. Sakura paused for a second to think of something to do next. In that second, the man changed at her and knocked her onto her back and into the ground. Although he was still clutching onto his side, he stayed on top of her to pin her to the ground. He blurted out words of anger that Sakura did not listen to. She looked up into his angry face. He might as well start foaming in the mouth, Sakura thought. Sakura looked to her side in disgust. The man held his position on top of her. His breathing was heavy and swift, and by the sound of it, Sakura was sure it wasn't because he was out of breath. The man roughly shifted on top of her, a stiff lump could be felt against her inner thigh. Sakura's skin crawled. Even after he'd been attacked, he was still aroused from earlier, he may even be more aroused from what was going on now. The man slowly loosed his force on top of her without realizing it. Waiting for the right moment, Sakura lifted up a knee and kicked him away. She turned over to lift herself up again. As she moved to face the man, she took out her kunai again to stab him. The force from the attack was enough to stun him, allowing Sakura to move in for a proper kill.

The man fell to the ground. Sakura slashed off the blood from her kunai and looked at his lifeless body lying on the ground. Without a word or expression on her face, Sakura walked out of the stall.

Standing a few feet away from the entrance was Sasuke. Sakura didn't seem to resist when he asked to go with her, so there he was. But, she told him, he would have to start worrying if she were told to have him as a "client". If he were, she wouldn't object. If he actually came, she would have tried to kill him, just as a rule of thumb. Sasuke gave a nervous laugh; she seemed serious when she said it.

"So this is-" Sasuke began in a questioning tone.
"Wait." Sakura interrupted "Let's not talk around here. Follow me."

Sakura lead Sasuke to the closed off path into the mountains. With no one paying attention, Sakura slipped into the small opening with Sasuke following behind her.

"If you're going to ask me question about what I'm doing," Sakura said "it's a better idea if we talk in private."

The two walked two miles into the mountain. The path split a few times, mostly when leading to one of the abandoned homes. Sasuke looked at Sakura who walked a few paces ahead of him. Her short hair brushed against her bare shoulders. Without turning around, Sakura spoke as she walked.

"That's what I do to earn money." Sakura said, referring to her business in the back alley "They pay a lot more than I need, but the extra cash doesn't hurt. I can save it up for an emergency or whatnot."
"Those men," Sasuke asked "what kind of people do you usually deal with?"
"All lot of different men, actually. You'd think they're all perverts, but not all of them are. Most, but not all. There are men who are into dirty sex and there are men who are really good guys with wives, but things just aren't working out. As far as their pasts go, I'm not told about that information. And quite frankly, I don't care."
"You're not told that information? Does that mean you work through a middleman?"
"Yes. Someone arranges clients for me. I don't have to meet anyone before hand, I just meet them there the night of."
"Do you know the middleman?"
"Well... Middleman probably isn't the right word. The person who arranges the clients is more like my benefactor or caretaker. He's helped me out for the past two or so years. So in addition to arranging clients, he does a few other things for me. Caretaker things."
Sasuke watched the vague sense of sentimentality in Sakura's face. This caretaker of hers seemed to be someone of importance. "Who is he?"
"... I can't tell you."
"Why's that?"

There was a moment of silence. Sakura turned to face Sasuke, seeming like she was going to say something, but she didn't. Sasuke looked back at her. His eyes wandered to the strap of her shirt. He could make out the jagged edges of the scar on her chest. A pang of guilt began to hang in his arms and chest. It didn't take him long to figure out where it came from. It was the scar he gave her the night he thought he killed her. He accidentally attacked her once before; that time he only gave her a welt. The second time, however, he was attacking with the intention to kill and Sakura ran into the line of fire. The place where he would have made contact was the same as where the scar was. He was the one who gave it to her. Every time he saw her, he would look at it and feel guilty. Look at what you did to her, his mind would tell him, and look at where she is now.

"I have my reasons." she said, turning around again to continue walking.

-----

"Here." Sasuke said handing Sakura a cloth covered object.
"What's this for?" Sakura unwrapped the object, revealing a pink teacup. "A tea cup?"
"A tea cup."
"Why did you get me a tea cup?"
"I saw it at one of the stalls..." Sasuke said, realizing he was lying to her "The pink and the cherry blossoms... They reminded me of you."
"Right, because my name is Sakura..." Sakura didn't appear pleased "It's probably something you would have given that other Sakura you mistook me for."

Sakura examined the ceramic tea cup. It seemed like a strange gift to give her. It looked like it was meant for a child, and it seemed considerably old and even used. She was convinced Sasuke really did have it for that other Sakura, maybe it even belonged to her. Or he got it used from somewhere. Sakura decided on the latter possibility. Sasuke didn't seem very interested in that other Sakura since he mentioned her. Still, it was a nice gesture, even though this cup was used. Sakura looked at the cup more closely. Why does it feel so... So familiar. She held it up to her face and made a motion as if she were taking a sip. It feels like I've held this exact cup before...

"No, no. That's not it." Sasuke said trying to defend himself, though the explanation was true in a strange and distorted way. "I saw it and it reminded me of you. In fact, it seemed like the perfect cup made just for you."

Sasuke's last comment echoed as Sakura heard them. The sound of a familiar female voice spoke from the far corners of her mind.

It's perfect for you, Sakura-chan!

Because it was made just for you...

A blurred vision of an older woman flashed in Sakura's mind. From her point of view, Sakura looked up at the older woman, whose face was blurred out, handing her the pink tea cup.

"You don't want it?" Sasuke asked, bringing Sakura back to reality.

Sakura took a few deep breaths. "No... I accept..." Sakura looked down at the tea cup. What was that? "Thanks... It was a nice thought."

-----

"Is the killing part required?" Sasuke asked while out on the mountain with Sakura walking, again, to no particular destination.
"No, it is not required."
"So why do you do it?"
"Originally, it was a choice between having sex with someone for money and killing them for money... I think you understand my decision."
"So does that mean you've never actually slept with a man?"
"Yes... I've never slept with a man..."
"Do you like killing them?"
Sakura looked away, she didn't want to answer that question. "That's not the right question to ask me."
"Why's that?" Sasuke asked, still pursuing answers.
"Why the hell should you care?" Sakura turned away. Of course I don't... But...
"I'm trying to help you, Sakura..."
Sakura turned back, looking at Sasuke with sad eyes. "Do I like killing them?... No I don't like killing them. Maybe there are some... Or, actually most... There are some people who deserve to be killed. There are men who are so grossly perverted that they make girls who aren't willing feel dirty themselves for being in the same proximity as them. There are men who soil women with just their eyes, men whose touch leave a filthy stain that a person will always have weigh down on them for the rest of their lives. It is that kind of man who deserves to be killed."

Sakura's voice was earnest and truthful; she meant every word she said.

"But you said you don't like killing. What do you not like about it?" She turned with a dodgy reflex. "There have been people who I didn't want to kill, people who didn't deserve it... There was one person I killed... She was different from all the other people. For one thing she was a woman, and I was sent out to her rather than her coming to me. No reason was given to me as to why I had to go out of my way and kill this woman. I didn't say anything because I was specifically told to kill her, and I was in no place to protest, so I went... That night, it was raining very hard..."

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(begin flashback)

Sakura watched the woman from outside the open window. The rain outside fell ominously hard and Sakura could feel it. It wasn't just the knowledge of what she was about to do that told Sakura something was wrong, it was the way the rain fell that night and the way the woman cried in the darkness. Sakura felt like she wasn't supposed to be there, she wasn't supposed to do what she was about to do. If not for the fact that killing is wrong in and of itself, then for this specific woman who was crying in the dark. Sakura watched, the pit of her heart sinking to the pit of her stomach. The woman she watched wore clothes for mourning. It was, Sakura guessed, the funeral of someone dear to the woman. It can't be right to kill a woman in mourning.

The woman seemed to have caught a glimpse of her in the reflection of the mirror. Sakura quickly hid herself just enough so she could still see the woman while not being spotted. The woman turned around, her face looked so tired...

Something about the look on the woman's face compelled Sakura to step forward. For split seconds, Sakura felt like she should go to the woman and comfort her. For no apparent reason, Sakura felt like this stranger "It's okay. You're not alone." or anything that would make that woman smile again. But she couldn't. She was told to go to this place and kill the woman and Sakura was going to do so. No questions asked.

The woman looked up at Sakura with a gasp. Sakura stood before with a solemn look of death. Do you know your death is upon you? Sakura's face said, trying very hard not to let the wrongness of the situation bother her. The woman looked at Sakura with desperate relief. Her green eyes gave Sakura an eerie sense of familiarity.

"Are..." the woman said, stumbling in her tears "Are you a ghost?"

Sakura said nothing. Her solemn stare turned into sudden pain. Suddenly, she didn't want to kill the woman. Something in the woman's eyes seemed to familiar and too endearing to take away.

Kill this woman. a male voice said in Sakura's mind.

But she couldn't disobey an order. Not one that he gave her.

Sakura shook her head to a resolution. She pulled out a kunai and took a step closer towards the woman. Without any resistance, the woman closed her eyes, as if in acceptance of her coming death. Sakura stood behind her, the blade placed right at her neck. Before the sharp metal could slice into the woman's flesh, she spoke in a whisper.

"All I wanted to do is see you again..." the woman said "And tell you once and for all good-bye..."

Tears slid from the woman's eyes as Sakura slit the woman's neck. Sakura watched the woman's body fall to the ground, a strange smile immortalized on the dead woman's lips. That very second, Sakura felt empty. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. She just killed a woman she didn't know, but it was still wrong. It was the way the woman looked at her, the strangeness of her green eyes, and the creepy way the woman said good-bye to her although they never met. Sakura didn't understand. It shook her so violently inside that she couldn't think, she could only be empty. That very second, in all her emptiness, Sakura felt like she really was a ghost.

(end flashback)

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"That woman with green eyes..." Sakura said to Sasuke "That woman who was mourning for someone she loved... The night I killed her, I felt so wrong. It was so strange being there. She said good-bye to me as if she knew me, but I'm sure it was the delirium of her grief. She wanted to say good-bye to someone--anyone--and I was there. She smiled as she died, as if grateful for being put out of her misery. But even if she wanted it, I still felt wrong. I still felt like I made a mistake that I can't apologize for... That blood shouldn't have been shed... It flowed too thick... I always knew killing people was wrong, but that woman... Her haunting sadness... I will never forget it..."

Sakura looked at Sasuke with sad eyes. His own eyes were widened at the story.

"Sakura..." he said shocked, almost horrified, at what he just heard.

...

Sasuke entered his room in a rush. After Sakura finished her story, silence followed, both of them still unsure of what to make of what had just been told. Sasuke quickly left, saying he would return another time. He ran the entire way back to his room at the inn.

"Sakura was the one he did it..." he said out of breath "Sakura was the one who killed her mother..."

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Author's Note: More clarification for things I may not have been very clear on. In chapter 10, Sasuke tells Sakura in the food stall that he mistook her for another Sakura. The Sakura he was speaking to, and the Sakura who will be mentioned from here on out is the real Sakura. This other Sakura that Sasuke periodically refers is something he made up on the spot so that Sakura doesn't realize she is the person he's looking for. So there is no other Sakura, Sasuke only pretends there is to keep something of a cover. Get what I mean?