Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto

Recap:

"What was that…?" murmured Sasuke, combing his fingers through his jet black hair before glancing down to read the first sentence of the entry that he had been reading in Itachi's journal.

Tonight…was horrible…Akira died…protecting Sakura.

"Kiba! Gaara!"

Both Kiba and Gaara turned around to see Itachi hurrying inside the hospital room. Both of them had bandages around their wounds from fending off the enemy while trying to get Sakura far away from the hang out.

"Itachi…" murmured Gaara as Kiba glanced towards the door that they were waiting outside of.

Itachi stopped in front of them, his breath sharp and shallow from rushing.

"Where…is Sak?" asked Itachi, his eyes worried.

Kiba clenched his fists as he glanced downwards. The idea of Sakura being hurt and him not being able to do anything about it worried him more than anything.

Gaara glanced sideways at the quiet Kiba.

"Sak's…in the emergency room…she's in surgery right now" explained Gaara, helping to answer for Kiba as well. Kiba frowned and muttered something incoherent under his breath.

Itachi sighed, relieved as he collapsed into the seat next to them.

The minute he had heard that Sakura had been stabbed and was losing a massive amount of blood, he had rushed to the hospital where Gaara and Kiba said they were. But if Sakura was in surgery, then it helped his worries slightly.

"Surgery? Do you really think that those goody goodies strangers would be able to help Sak?" mumbled Kiba, a slightly disgusted tone in his voice. He had never really trusted adults let alone doctors especially when it came to Sakura. He had stopped trusting the majority of adults ever since…Akira's father sent someone to try to harm Sakura yet ended up…killing his own son. All adults were traitors who could spout lies and deceive young children while hiding their ill intentions.

Itachi glanced sideways at the irritated yet worried Kiba.

"Kiba these doctors are trained professionally to handle these kind of fatal situations. Not all adults are that bad" reassured Itachi as he clenched his fists tightly, trying not to think about how vulnerable Sakura was at that moment.

Gaara nodded in agreement.

Kiba merely cursed and held his head in his hands as he thought about the outcome of Sakura's surgery.

Itachi took a deep breath as he tried to calm himself down.

"So…tell me exactly what happened" beckoned Itachi as he leaned back against the bleak white wall of the hospital.

Seeing as Kiba was still in no mood to talk, Gaara took the liberty to explain what had occurred. It was always in these kind of situations that Gaara had the talent to remain calm even though he was completely worried inside. He had always been like that since they were young.

"An…enemy gang member…stabbed Sak when I was fending off another boy…she…lost consciousness just as Kiba arrived and we rushed to the hospital which was when we called you. She kept losing blood even though I wrapped my shirt tightly around her stomach" explained Gaara, the slight wavering in his voice the only apparent and physical sign of his worry. It was only then did Itachi actually notice that Gaara wasn't wearing a shirt.

"I see…what about Sak's parents?" asked Itachi, attempting to act more mature in this situation.

"They…are on a business trip at the moment" replied Gaara easily. It wasn't that strange for adults of major corporations to leave their children behind to attend to their business.

Kiba hissed dangerously as he massaged his aching forehead.

"Dammit…I need a cigarette right now" growled Kiba, frustrated.

"Kiba, you're not allowed to smoke in the hospitals" reminded Itachi as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Kiba turned to glare at Itachi who glared back at him.

"Tch…Uchiha, do you seriously think I would follow rules willingly?" growled Kiba, his eyes narrowing further as Gaara gazed at the operation room door.

Gaara sighed.

Hospitals and Sakura brought back memories of those nights 4 years ago when they had all waited for Sakura. Those long nights when Sakura hadn't woken up and when…all their futures had changed. Gaara frowned as he remembered the morning after Sakura had woken up. She had been like a lifeless doll.

He could remember how her lively green eyes had been blank and the way that her face had been expressionless.

She had been so fragile and hurt…

Flashback:

"I'm sorry Mr and Mrs Haruno" apologized the doctor as Gaara, Kiba and Itachi sat near the quiet Sakura. Gaara dared a glance at the silent girl and instantly felt his heart clench. Her long hair was limp around her pale face and her green eyes were like a void.

Empty with no life in it.

Her face was as cold as stone and she just stared ahead, almost like she wasn't acknowledging her surroundings. Gaara tentatively reached over and took one of Sakura's hands into his own and shivered when he noticed how cold her hand was.

"What's wrong? Please doctor…tell me what's wrong with Sakura" begged Mrs Haruno, tears welling up in her eyes as she held her husband's hand tightly.

"Mr and Mrs Haruno…your daughter has recovered but…there is a permanent injury to one of her wrists. It will be fine as long as she doesn't strain it but…she will not be able to compete in gymnastics with her wrist like that" explained the doctor formally. Gaara and Kiba's eyes widened as they turned to look at the quiet girl.

Sakura…? Not being able to do gymnastics…?

That was not right…

Sakura loved gymnastics.

Itachi held Sakura's other hand and squeezed it.

On one of her slim wrists was an angry red scar that contrasted darkly against her pale skin.

Sakura's mother sobbed as she burrowed her face into her husband's shoulder as she kept mumbling something along the lines of not my beloved little angel.

Gaara watched sadly as tears slowly fell down Sakura's cheeks from her emotionless eyes. But she still did not budge as she sat there, crying.

"Sak…"

Gaara held a hand to his head. He didn't even know why he was thinking of those things at a time like this. The hospital…was not a place of good memories. It had taken months for Sakura to open it slowly once more but even now he felt that there was still a part of her that was locked up. None of them had been the key that were able to unlock that part of her heart.

When he looked at her, he felt almost lonely even though she would be there beside him. Every time he looked at her, he noticed sadly how she would always look over her shoulder.

She would always look back.

Back into the past that she could never pull away from.

There was always that distant look in her eyes no matter how much she smiled and acted cool.

He just hoped that she would be able to make it through this one so that they would be able to tell her the truth and so that she could move on and stop looking behind her with those far away eyes.

He wanted her to look ahead.

Most of all, Gaara wanted to see her truly smile.

-
Kiba frowned as he leaned against the pillar just outside the hospital, a cigarette held between two of his fingers. That stupid Uchiha had kept being so mature that Kiba had eventually given up and retired outside to smoke.

Seriously, he had forgotten just how arrogant an Uchiha could be.

He shivered slightly as a cool breeze blew against his bare arms.

Kiba couldn't stop worrying about Sakura.

This operation seemed to be going on for so long and the longer it was, the more anxious he became.

"Sorry Sak…sorry Akira…" mumbled Kiba as he took a long drag from his cigarette. Running his fingers through his hair, Kiba tried to think of anything that could help take his mind off the uneasiness that he was feeling.

Glancing up, Kiba instantly wish he hadn't.

Those overwhelming walls of the hospital instantly reminded him of the night that he had stayed with Sakura when she was in the hospital. He hadn't wanted to leave her side after the doctor had confirmed that she would never be able to do gymnastics and after…they had told her that Akira was gone.

Sighing, Kiba leaned against the pillar before crouching down and putting his head in his hands, his cigarette still held between his two fingers. Both Gaara and him had resigned from their glory to remain by Sakura's side as she recovered and to show that if Sakura couldn't do what she loved most, then both of them wouldn't do what they excelled in either.

He knew that Sakura had been hurt by the idea that Akira had betrayed her but he also knew that what hurt her the most…was that she hadn't been by his side when he had…disappeared from this world.

Sakura was living a life of regrets…

Kiba sighed as he took another long drag from his cigarette.

"Sak…don't cry" soothed Kiba as she sobbed in his arms. The minute her parents, Itachi and Gaara had left, Sak had broken down in his arms. She was so fragile that he was scared that if he held her tightly then she might break.

He guessed that since he had been the second one to meet Sakura when they were children, he was most likely the closest one to her now that Akira was gone which was why she was crying to him…

"K-Kiba…th-there's n-nothing l-left n-now! E-everything i-is g-gone…I d-don't h-have A-Akira…I d-don't h-have m-my g-gymnastics…" sobbed Sakura as she clutched the front of his shirt tightly.

Her long pink hair trailed down her back as Kiba gently stroked her hair in an attempt to reassure her.

"Sak…you have us don't you? I'm not Akira but Gaara, Itachi and I will stay by you…so..don't cry…" murmured Kiba as he continued to stroke her hair.

He heard her sobs slowly begin to stop as she clutched his shirt.

"B-but…I w-want A-Akira…I w-want m-my g-gymnastics…" cried Sakura, releasing her hold on his shirt slightly.

Kiba's eyes softened gently though the pain remained in his eyes.

"Sak…don't worry…you'll make it through this…"

Kiba frowned as he stubbed his cigarette out before standing up. Sakura was his most important person and he was sure that she would be able to make it through this no matter what.

She had been strong with that incident and she would survive this for sure.

Kiba ran his fingers through his hair as he sighed.

He felt like a loser since he hadn't been able to protect her and now…she was back in a hospital. Kiba knew how much Sakura despised hospitals ever since that incident. She had said before that she hated how there was no warmth in a hospital and how it made you feel that everything you ever had was gone.

He could still remember that incident so long ago.

All the blood and that looming man with that glinting knife in his hand…

Kiba cursed under his breath.

What use was he? He hadn't been able to prevent Sakura from being stabbed. If only he had reached her sooner…if only he had been there.

"Sak…I'm so sorry Sak…" murmured Kiba to himself as he closed his eyes.

"Kiba"

Without bothering to open his eyes, Kiba frowned unconsciously.

"What do you want Uchiha…?" asked Kiba blankly as he opened his eyes tiredly.

Glancing to the side, he noted the lean figure of Itachi standing beside him. Kiba knew he should still be annoyed with the Uchiha but he was way too worried and tired to bother with him right now.

Kiba was too tired to bother about anything right now.

"Let's go back in and wait for Sak" suggested Itachi, looking up at the sky, his voice distant.

Kiba bit the bottom of his lip before realizing something.

"Hey…Itachi…?"

"Hm…?"

"Isn't this situation weird?" grinned Kiba sadly as he clenched his fists in remembrance.

Itachi turned to look at him, a knowing look in his eyes.

"You mean…like the incident…?" questioned Itachi, his voice low.

"Yeah…it seems like only yesterday that we were here trying to save Akira from dying from…a knife wound…" murmured Kiba, his eyes pained as he remembered that traumatic night. None of them could ever forget that horrible night that had drastically altered all their future plans and lives.

"Strange…both Sak and Akira being…stabbed…" stated Itachi, his voice pained as he looked downwards.

"No Uchiha…I reckon it's fate restarting over…"

"A hospital?" asked Sasuke, surprised as his father told him where Itachi was. His father merely nodded and returned to do his work once more.

Turning around, Sasuke frowned slightly as he raked his brain for possible reasons for why Itachi would possibly be at the hospital. Returning to the study, he picked up Itachi's diary before heading upstairs to his room.

"Oh…Itachi's room" commented Sasuke as he noted how Itachi's door was closed. Frowning slightly, Sasuke wondered if Itachi's door would be locked and if he should even try to open it.

Shrugging, Sasuke reached for the brass doorknob and turned it slightly.

He smirked.

As the door slowly opened, Sasuke slipped inside the room before shutting the door behind him. Looking around the room, Sasuke sighed.

Maybe he would be able to discover some more clues about Sakura's past.

He couldn't even believe he was resorting to go as low as a snoop but damn he would go for great lengths just to understand the girl that had captivated his interest.

Glancing around, he trailed his eyes over the bookshelves and the couch before settling onto Itachi's desk.

Strolling forward, Sasuke leaned over an open diary that lay on Itachi's desk almost as if begging to be read. Curious, Sasuke picked the diary up and held it closer to the light so that he would be able to read it without damaging his eyes that much.

Skimming his eyes over the page, Sasuke's eyes widened.

This…diary…held all the answers to Sasuke's questions except for one question.

That one question about the mysterious valued painting that Akira had hidden away.

Frowning slightly, Sasuke read one of the paragraphs on the open page that seemed to completely grab his interest.

My father is evil. My father's world is one of wealth and status and he will do anything to obtain that goal. Even if we are considerably wealthy, he still wants more and more.

He is a selfish man.

I am no son to him as I am merely a tool that he can utilize to reach his goal. Before I had followed his plans as I was naïve and did not understand that not everyone was an enemy to us. Being raised as one to never show emotion…Sakura was the angel that helped show me what it was like to have someone that you would give your life to protect.

Someone you could love.

Tonight my father wants to…kidnap Sakura and hold her ransom but I cannot allow that. My father's methods when he is angry…is quite extreme…

Sasuke frowned slightly. He could easily guess that this diary belonged to Akira and he figured that Itachi probably had it since they were childhood friends. But this page in the diary kept talking about his father and Sasuke had finally found the reason as to why Akira's father had wanted to harm Sakura.

As he glanced at Itachi's diary before looking at Akira's diary, he sighed.

Turning to look out the window, a thought crossed his mind.

He wondered if…Sakura had seen these diaries…

Propping his hand under his chin in a thoughtful gesture, Sasuke contemplated on Itachi's reasoning to go to the hospital.

"Sakura…"

Startled, Sasuke turned around to hear where the voice had come from but…there was nobody there.

"Must have been the wind…" commented Sasuke, shrugging as he ran his fingers through his hair as he tried to figure out why Itachi had run off to the hospital…

Sasuke was sure that Itachi had run off after he had received that phone call in the study.

"Sak…hospital…"

Sasuke shivered.

He was sure that he had just heard another voice but he was probably just hearing things. Sasuke frowned. He couldn't be going crazy at his age…could he? Taking a deep breath, Sasuke stayed silent as he listened to see if he could hear that voice again.

After a while he sighed.

Now he couldn't hear that voice…

"Go…hospital…Sak…needs you…"

Sasuke's eyes widened.

Okay he was sure that the light whispering of words was definitely the voice that he had just heard. Refusing to believe that he was hearing voices, Sasuke attempted to think about Itachi's reasoning before he realized what the unknown voice had said.

Sasuke frowned.

The voice had said something about the hospital and he could easily guess that the name Sak was Sakura's nickname since he had heard people at the hang out call her by that name.

As realization dawned on him, Sasuke cursed.

"Damn…Sakura's in the hospital!" growled Sasuke as he grabbed the two diaries and turned on his heel to hurry out of Itachi's room.

If only he had turned around once more…

He would have seen the lone figure of a boy leaning against the window sill.

The boy's eyes staring after him.

"Sakura…what…happened to your hair?" gaped a boy as a girl stood before him. Her long pink hair now cut short, her eyes as cold as ice. The other boys looked on, too shocked to say anything.

Sakura had changed.

She was no longer that weak girl that had sheltered herself at home.

"I'm going to create my own gang" stated Sakura blankly as Kiba abruptly stood up.

"What..? A-Are you…what are you trying to do Sak?" exclaimed Kiba, shock written all over his features as Itachi reached forward to hold Sakura's hand in an attempt to change her mind.

Snatching her hand away, Sakura turned around.

The boys noticed how her back was straight and confident.

She was serious.

Looking at them over her shoulder, her eyes were cold.

"It's your choice. Follow me or don't"

Kiba gaped but her statement left little argument. If they were to abandon her now, they would have no hope of ever helping her to move forward.

As Gaara and Itachi stood up, Kiba walked with them as they followed Sakura.

"We'll always follow you"

The sun slowly rises to bless the new day but there is no blessing yet. A girl lies lost in between the world of death and the world of the living. Her mind jumbled and confused as she mixes past with present. Her friends wait…always waiting…for their sunshine to come back and warm their hearts once more. The wheel of fate is turning once more…starting from the beginning again as new loves and old loves cross paths on the crossroads of destiny. Everything and everyone is revolving…always revolving around the girl…just like how the wheel of fate favors the girl. Causing pain…bringing happiness…fate lays open like a book waiting for someone to write their own future.

To move on.

The wheel of fate turns once more.

Now…the past will catch up with the present.

Ta dah! Hoped you enjoyed this chapter XD Sorry I didn't write anything from Sakura's situation but I promise to write something from Sakura's point of view in the next chapter XD LOL well I hope you liked this chapter and thanks for all the awesome reviews!

Uh…sorry that this chapter wasn't so intense as the last but yeah…

Oooh I think I'll be able to finish this story before school starts and I go on my holiday so I'll attempt to write more XD

By the way, this whole moving on and moving forward thing in this story. Like moving on from old loves is aimed at my awesome friend who got dumped by her boyfriend through text message but she still can't forget him.

So for all the girls out there, here's a little message just for you!

Don't let a boy get the best of you because you are worth so much more and you deserve absolute happiness XD

Reviews please~

3 s2 Cherry Blossom s2