I'm just giving you all a heads up. This chapter is dark, angsty, and tragic. It consists of mostly flashbacks, and if you absolutely cannot handle death and stuff, I suggest you turn back now. Just thought I'd warn ya.

Before Sakura could reply to Temari's demands, small whimpering noises turned all attention back to Ino. She was crying softly now, and Hinata could tell she was trying to hold it back. Hinata watched on in amazement as Temari turned away from the pink head, who finally collapsed in the sanctuary of Gaara's arms. She was crying too, and Gaara did nothing except rock her back and forth gently.

"Come on, take it," Hinata heard Temari murmur, and Ino hesitated only a second before shakingly taking her hand. "We're going to get you home, all right?" she went on. "I think you've had enough for one day."

Surprisingly, Ino didn't object. She let Temari lead her and the others around the building of their school. They walked past the science section, which was still under construction from the fire, and Temari opened the passenger door to her Civic.

Tenten and Neji had finally showed up, and their faces told them they saw everything. Tenten looked uncharacteristically grim, and Neji's face was devoid of emotion. Temari turned to them and sighed in relief.

"Neji, I'm going to take Ino home. Can you drive the lot of you to my house?"

"Sure thing." Hinata's cousin nodded. "All right, all of you, you heard her." They obediently piled up in the car, and in silence they drove off. Sakura was on Gaara's lap as usual, and Hinata on Naruto's. Hinata glimpsed at Sakura's defeated looking face. Her emerald eyes were hazy with what seemed to be… grief?

----

The group sat on the Sabaku family's couches downstairs, where only weeks before they watched The Grudge and had a mad pillow fight. They were in complete silence. Even the knuckleheaded Naruto couldn't find anything to say. They turned to see Temari making her way downstairs. Hinata saw that her cheek was a bright and angry red from her brother's doing. Hinata flinched as she imagined the echo of the slap.

"I'm sorry, Temari," Gaara finally whispered.

"It's okay." Temari looked absolutely exhausted, and Hinata felt like she would start crying from the defeated expressions on her and Sakura's faces.

"What… happened there?" Hinata finally spoke up.

"I'll explain," Gaara said heavily. "If you don't mind, Naruto."

Flashback…

"Gaara! No!"

The scream came from his sister, but he could barely hear her over the blood roaring in his head. His cheek still stung from cold steel ripping open the pale skin, and the feel of dripping blood was making him go mad.

"Leave me alone!" Gaara's fist swung, and nailed their tormentor in the face. His thirteen year old sister was lying on the ground. Her legs were scratched up from a knife, and same with her face.

And all Gaara could see before he went mad was that color. Crimson ribbons weaving down her face. She was hurt. She was hurt badly.

"Hunt, hunt! Kill, kill!" The thoughts were going crazy in his mind, the thoughts he could never eliminate. Not after help. He still hurt animals for the fun of it, and he wanted to kill. He wanted to spill a living thing's blood. He wanted the smell…but not from his siblings. Not from her.

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Monster!" the kid yelled. "Get away from me, you freak!"

And he snapped.

Flicking out a knife from his own pocket and ignoring Temari's shrieks of "No! Don't do it!" he slashed and stabbed. Blood splattered his face, but that just strengthened his cravings. He wanted blood, and he wanted it now.

"Stop it!" the kid howled in pain, wrenching backwards from the crazed kid.

"Gaara, please! Stop!" Temari screeched. Struggling to her feet, she flung herself in front of the victim, kneeling down on the stained sidewalk.

"Get out of my way!" Gaara lunged forward, ready to stab his own sister to get to his assailant…

But his motion was stopped.

There was a grunt, and Gaara looked through blood splashed eyes to see a shock of blonde hair, as well as determined blue eyes. His hand was clutching Gaara's, forcing the knife away. He met this kid once or twice, but Temari knew him quite well, apparently. Her eyes went wide.

"Naruto! Get out of here!"

"Not while you're still hurt!" Naruto shouted back, and with a final grunt, he pushed Gaara as far as he could, away from Temari and the injured hoodlum.

Gaara let out a frenzied cry before Naruto grabbed his arm again. He looked at Gaara straight in the eyes, and the redhead was taken aback from the grim look there.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Gaara started in surprise.

"Being called a monster… thinking no one cares about you… and all you want in the end is attention…"

Naruto pushed Gaara back a little bit more.

"But the thing is, Temari and Kankurou care about you. They may suck at showing it, but they do care," Naruto added dangerously. "Look at her."

Gaara didn't move.

"Look at her!"

Gaara jerked his head towards his sister. To his surprise, he saw tears running down her face. She reached out with a hand. "Gaara…"

"Look." He jerked his head back towards the blonde again. "I understand, all right? I understand your pain so much it hurts. But I won't let you put my friend in danger. And she's your sister. Don't you dare hurt her."

"Why do you care…?" Gaara finally spat out. "Why do you care what happens to her? What happens to me?"

"She's my friend. She's one of my special people." Gaara began to shake.

"And you and I are the same. I can't let you make this bad of a mistake."

End flashback…

"My parents died in a car accident when I was five," Naruto said quietly. Hinata jerked her head towards him, her eyes wide. "When I was put in an orphanage, they just saw me as another kid who lost their parents. No one cared about me. He rested his chin on his hands. Hinata began to tear up.

"For five fucking years I was ignored. So I started acting up, being goofy for the attention. Then he came. Iruka. He finally adopted me, and was the first person who cared. I wasn't like Gaara. When his mother died, his father hated all three of them. He got no attention from anyone. And he didn't realize his siblings cared. So… he kept to himself. Tortured things for fun. Until he saw that there were people that cared. Then he changed… and we're here now. Now... if we see someone we love hurt, it kills us."

The room went silent after Gaara and Naruto's stories were done. Hinata was quiet, remembering Sasuke's kiss and everything. She gave Naruto a hug, reassuring him in the only way she knew how. Finally, Sakura spoke up. "Thanks for telling us that, you guys." She rested her head on Gaara's shoulder. "We had no idea…" her voice cracked. "Some past we all have, huh?"

"Sakura, what happened back there?" Temari asked quietly. "Why is Ino like this?"

"It was all my fault," Sakura moaned, covering her face with her hands. "My complete, stupid fault. I'm a horrible person."

"No you're not," Gaara murmured. "Just tell us what happened."

"Ino isn't an only child," Sakura began. "She had a little sister, Shizuka. She was so spoiled. Spoiled, spoiled, spoiled." Her eyes began to get a distant look to them. She was shaking like a leaf, even Gaara's grip on her couldn't make her stop. "But she was different from Ino. Ino was always a little bit harsh around the edges, but not as bad as now. Shizuka was always nice to other people, even though she wanted everything. If I was sad, she would ask what was wrong and listen. If I was happy, she'd get this adorable little grin on her face…" Sakura trailed off before shaking her head.

"She looked up to Ino as a role model, you know," she continued quietly, her voice cracking with sobs. "All three of us were best friends… but Shizuka worshipped the ground Ino treaded. One day…"

Flashback…

"Come on Ino! You can do it!" Sakura and Shizuka called, while Ino was swinging her arm back. They were at the carnival, and Ino was trying her hand at bowling with glass bottles as pins. She let go of the ball with killer accuracy, and all of the glass bottles went down. The two girls whooped and hollered, while Ino went to collect her prize.

"Do you think she'll get that bear?!" Shizuka tugged on Sakura's shirt, her sea green eyes sparkling.

"Maybe." Sakura's answer was vague, but she knew Ino wouldn't. The bear was a second place prize, and Ino scored first. So she returned with a large, stuffed bunny.

"Ino! I want the bear! Play it again!" Shizuka wailed, pushing away the bunny.

"I don't want to!" Ino snapped. "I worked hard for that piece of junk, so just take it!"

"But I don't want it!" Shizuka stomped her foot. "I. Want. The. Bear!"

Ino rolled her eyes at Sakura, who just raised an eyebrow. Ino shoved the rabbit in Sakura's direction. While Sakura took hold of the stuffed animal, she watched in interest as Ino raised her arms behind her neck, taking off the necklace that hung there.

"Here, take it!" Ino shoved the necklace in Shizuka's hand. "It's got your favorite blue stone. It's a fake, but it looks like a lapis lazuli. Now stop whining!"

"Really, I can have it?" Shizuka squealed, jumping up and down. The bear was now forgotten. "But it's your favorite necklace, you never take it off!"

Ino nodded, her eyes glinting in a mix between amusement and annoyance. "You can have it. I've been meaning to give it to you for a while now."

"Really?! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" The eight year old squealed. "Sakura, can you put it on me?"

Sakura obliged with her request, putting it on the young girl. Shizuka was shaking with excitement, bouncing up and down once Sakura made quick work of the clasp.

"I'll never, ever take it off!" she promised. "Ever! That way, it won't get lost OR broken!"

End flashback…

"She was so adorable," Sakura choked out. Even though the memory seemed irrelevant, no one interrupted. Sakura was crying hard now, and she found it hard to speak. "But then in eighth grade, when she was ten, everything went wrong. As you know, I was going out with Sasuke then. He was a wonderful person back then… but…" Her facial expression darkened. "his brother, Itachi. The fucking slimeball…" Her fists clenched where she was sitting.

"He started a shooting with some of his other lackeys. He already killed his parents and left Sasuke for dead. Shizuka, Ino, and I were walking down that same alleyway…"

Flashback…

"Shizuka! Run!" Sakura screamed, pushing Ino's sister away from the violence.

Shizuka let out a terrified cry, and Sakura could feel the noise pierce her heart. She pushed Shizuka away again, and this time the girl started to run. Itachi and the others were going crazy with their weaponry, and people were falling left and right, but what scared Sakura most was that she couldn't see Sasuke.

"Where is he…" she thought, completely terrified for his safety.

"Sakura! Run!" Ino yelled, grabbing for her hand.

It was too late. One of Itachi's henchmen had already found them, and knocked the two apart. Another grabbed Ino by the shoulders, and wrenched her back.

"Sakura! Ino!" Sakura jerked her head up to see Shizuka had stopped running. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she started forward.

"Shizuka! No! Run for it!" Sakura screamed as the masked man threw her to the ground. She couldn't see anything now, only the gun aimed for her. She clamped her eyes shut.

The sound of bullets pierced the silence in the air, but Sakura felt nothing. The first sight that graced her when she opened her eyes was flying, yellow hair.

"Ino!" her mind screamed, but then reality hit her. The hair was too short.

It was raining. Raining the color scarlet. It hit her hair, her face, everything around her. But then she noticed something else. Something else that was raining…

"Blue… glass?"