Sakura could only stare as blonde hair whipped across the falling Shizuka's face, covering her clenched eyes and gritted teeth. Blood was splattering from multiple bullet wounds on her chest and her arms were stretched out wide. Sakura leapt into action before Ino's sister could hit the floor. She caught Shizuka underneath the arms and tried to drag her to the side, but Shizuka's dead weight stopped her. She collapsed into the side of the street, one hand cradled under the girl's neck and the other under her back. With blonde hair sticking to the side of her face and since it was tilted to the side, Sakura could only see one eye, part of her nose, and her mouth behind the curtain of her golden hair.

"Shizuka…" she breathed.

The girl didn't move.

"Shizuka!" At Sakura's louder shriek, the girl's eye flashed open with a gasp leaving her slightly parted lips.

"Let me go!" Sakura looked up to see Ino struggling with Itachi, but it was no good. He held her tight, so Ino couldn't even see her own sister.

"Sakura…" The pink haired girl jerked her head down to see Shizuka had turned her face to her. She was reaching over with a blood splashed hand, but she stopped her movement once her arm came in her line of vision. Her eyes widened in sheer terror and her bony arm trembled.

"It's so red… and it's mine… it hurts…" Shizuka choked out, turning her hand in horrid fascination. "I'm scared. I'm so scared. Sakura…?" She let out a small moan, and Sakura found that her mouth was practically glued shut in fear. Blood was splattered all the way up to the young girl's chin and her white shirt had several holes and was completely stained scarlet.

Shizuka glanced down and her eyes widened even further in shock and horror. Her hand shot up to her neck. "What? Oh no, I broke the necklace! I promised… It was precious to big sister… She's going to kill me, Sakura! It was so important to her…" She made that small choking noise again.

Sakura was shaking like a leaf and tears were slowly making their way down her face. Shizuka had raised her arm, stretching out her fingers.

"I'm such a klutz," she moaned painfully. Tears were streaming down Shizuka's face too. "Tell me the truth…Do you think… Ino will ever forgive a helpless case like me?"

Sakura could only watch as Shizuka curled her face in her elbow. Her last words were a whisper. "Someday… forgive me."

The raised arm fell and lay softly on the ground, fingers curled up. With a large thump of Sakura's heart and a sigh from the dying girl, Shizuka's breathing stopped.

"No… it can't be…" The thought pounded through Sakura's head like a throbbing pulse. "No! It just can't!"

"Come on, Shizuka, open your eyes!" Sakura pushed her back and forth, with no reaction from the girl. "Don't do this to us! No! Shizuka!" she screamed, finally burying her head in Shizuka's neck, breaking down in sobs. Police lights lit up the area, and Itachi let Shizuka's big sister go. Sakura looked up from the girl's body and Itachi shot her a sick grin before withdrawing his gun.

"Say hi to my little brother for me…" Itachi breathed, before he pointed the gun to his head and fired.

Ino screamed as his body hit the ground, clutching her head. Her sister was dead as well as her assassin, and she was going crazy. Sakura joined in her screaming, until finally the police pulled over.

End flashback…

"Ino never forgave me," Sakura finally whispered, staring at her hands as if they were the ones that spilled Shizuka's blood. "When I did the undercover work, I did that partly because I wanted to say I was sorry. She only let me in because it would have made her look stupid in front of all her friends. But when I finally got the spine to apologize, she blew up at me. Said really mean things, and I got mad. So when Hinata threw that cake… I was too mad at her to think straight." She buried her face into her hands. "I'm an awful, awful person. I should have died that night, not Shizuka."

"That's not true, Sakura," Tenten said softly, tears freely running down her face from the tragedy.

"Yeah. It's not completely your fault Ino hates us," Temari said softly. "I'm going out with Shikamaru, remember? And he had a crush on me since forever."

Hinata got up and gave Sakura a hug on the other side of Gaara. She was crying too, tears racing down her face unchecked.

"And it was Shizuka's choice to save you," Hinata added gently, sniffling. "She thought you were worth saving. That's why you're still alive."

"And you're doing a fine job living," Naruto finally spoke up. Sakura jerked her tearstained face towards him. "I mean, come on. Look at the aftermath. Sasuke cheated on you with Ino; you lost three of your most valued friendships. Sasuke. Shizuka. Ino. But now look at you. You're always hiding this and you're really happy. You're going out with Gaara now, and you made awesome new friends. You're not a horrible person. Because you did one thing that Ino is failing to do. You're caring for others rather than yourself. You keep living, for Shizuka's sake."

Sakura only started sobbing harder, burying her face into Gaara's shoulder. Gaara rocked her back and forth, whispering into her hair. Naruto, Tenten, Temari, and even Neji got up and encased the emerald eyed girl in a group hug.

"I miss her," she croaked. "Hell, I miss all three of them."

"I know you do," Gaara whispered softly, burying his face in her hair. "Let it out."

Sakura responded with a fresh burst of tears, and a few seconds later she was crying her heart out. Hinata tightened her grip on her in response and the group held their sobbing friend. They sat there for hours, waiting for Sakura to finish crying. Eventually she was so exhausted from crying she fell asleep on Gaara's shoulder.

"She's in no shape to go back home," Temari murmured. "Hinata, Tenten, you can go home if you like, but I'd appreciate it if you stay here."

"We're staying," Tenten replied immediately, and Hinata dipped her head in assent.

"Same with us. We can sleep in Kankurou's room since he's gone," Naruto added for himself and Neji. Kankurou, being in advanced art, was on a field trip in Paris, seeing "The Louvre" museum. Good thing too, the world's biggest drama king didn't need to be in this spectacle.

"Thanks, you guys. So… are we going to school tomorrow?" Temari asked tiredly, her eyes begging for an objection.

Naruto was the first to break the ice. "Oh gee lemme think uh NO."

"Fantastic. Now let's get Sleeping Beauty to bed, she needs to sleep."

----

"Hinata! Wake up!"

Hinata became aware of multiple thumps on her shoulder. She was rolled on her side in the dark green sleeping bag Temari provided, and Temari herself and Tenten were sleeping in similar sleeping bags next to her. Sakura, providing she was in really bad shape, got Temari's bed for the night.

Hinata groggily opened her eyes to see Naruto shaking her. "Naruto? What is it?"

"It's eleven o' clock." He leaned down to give her a quick peck on the lips. Sakura and Tenten are already awake. Help me wake up Temari, will you?"

"Oh no you don't, you stupid squirrel!" They heard Temari shout in her sleep, and she shot up to an upright sitting position. Hinata and Naruto sweatdropped as Temari jerked herself around, her eyes groggy with sleep.

"All right, where did it go?" Temari asked in a no-nonsense voice.

"Where did what go?" Naruto asked, scratching his head in puzzlement.

"Naruto, don't play dumb with me! Where did the fucking squirrel go?!" Temari demanded exasperatedly.

Naruto promptly burst out laughing while Hinata shook her head. "Temari, you were dreaming," she said at last.

Temari tilted her head in confusion. "Oh." She blinked. "Okay." Then the events of last night hit her full force.

"Where's Sakura?" she asked frantically.

"Upstairs, with Gaara and Tenten. Neji's still waking up," Naruto reported. "They only woke up about fifteen minutes ago."

"How's Sakura?"

"She kinda looks like she got attacked by that squirrel you were dreaming about," Naruto laughed humorlessly. "Much better than yesterday, though."

"Oh good. Come on Hinata, let's go see her."

----

When they went upstairs and into the kitchen, Hinata saw that Naruto wasn't kidding. Sakura's normally well-combed long hair was in a tangled mess on top of her head, her eyes were still bloodshot from crying with deep circles under them, and her face was pale as a ghost. She sent them a cracked smile.

"I swear I don't feel as bad as I look," she reassured them.

"Well, I suppose that's a good thing," Temari said slowly, sweatdropping. "Feel free to stay as long as you like; I doubt your mom needs to know about this."

"No she doesn't. Thanks a lot. I've already called Tsunade and explained about the fight. She excused all of us from school today." Sakura smiled wider, and already she looked loads better.

"That's because you're a suck up," Tenten joked.

"Oh, shut it."

Tenten laughed as she made her way to Temari's study, obviously to check her email.

"Well, I see you found my cereal," Temari said with a raised eyebrow at Sakura's bowl of Lucky Charms.

"Yeah, if you don't mind donating it to poor, sad widdle me just this once," Sakura replied, putting a mouthful of the marshmallow goodness in her mouth.

"Oh, I don't know…" Temari deadpanned before snatching the box for herself. She took out a bowl and a spoon. "Well, it's not like you gave me much of a choice. Want some, Hinata?"

"Yes, please," Hinata replied, plopping herself in a chair.

"Hey Hinata, phone's for you." Gaara thrust the phone in her face. She frowned, wondering who it could be.

"Hello?"

Hinata promptly had to pull the phone several inches away from her ear as her mother went on a rampage over the phone, screaming and hollering about something along the lines of "Where the heck have you been?!" and "Don't you know how to use a PHONE, I was so worried about you!". She looked at her friends exasperatedly, who were all putting their fists in their mouths to restrain from laughing. They couldn't handle themselves when Hinata made a show of looking at her nails, her imaginary watch, and her nails again, and then pretended she was bored out of her mind.

"Are you even listening?" her mother finally shouted.

"Yes," Hinata brought the phone back to her ear and lied, before wrenching the phone away from her ear again as her mother ranted and ranted about how worried she was, and that she didn't even call.

"Um, Mom? I slept over at Temari's house. I'm sorry I didn't call you, but I was really tired and I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry; I'll call you next time."

"You better!" she snapped. "And what's this about you missing school?"

"We're all excused. Anyway Mom, I have to go. Bye." Hinata promptly hung up the phone.

And just in time. Tenten exploded into the room, screaming at the top of her lungs. It took several minutes to calm her down, and she still wasn't sane enough to talk until Neji came into the kitchen, grabbing her from behind.

"Breathe in, breathe out," he instructed her. Tenten impatiently obeyed before telling her story all in a rush.

"Well, I kinda went into Temari's email, I'm really sorry Temari, I just wanted to check something, I know it was uncalled for and I'm really sorry-"

"Dammit, Tenten!" Temari shouted, causing Hinata to jump about a mile. "Would you just get to the goddamn point already?!"

"Every band member of Blood Kitten won a scholarship to any college of their choice!" Tenten blurted out.

A silence filled the room. Neji, Temari, Hinata, Sakura, and even Gaara's mouths dropped open. Once again, cue the cricket noises!

Then Temari let out the loudest whoop she could pull off, and Sakura screamed "Hallelujah!" at the top of her lungs. Gaara grabbed Sakura and swung her around in a circle, while Neji was practically having some sort of seizure.

"Oh my God!" Even Hinata was shrieking, and Naruto was hugging the daylights out of her.

"The judges said it was the best performance they've seen in a long time," Tenten added excitedly. "Jiraiya, in particular, was impressed."

Hinata and Sakura rolled their eyes at each other.

"But still! It won y'all a scholarship!" Tenten was jumping up and down at this point, clutching her hair.

Sakura let go of Gaara to tackle Hinata in a huge hug, laughing insanely. It was like the day before had never even happened.

"We don't need the past that hurts," Hinata thought happily. "It's the good memories that we have that heal us all."

Whew!

I know, it's really angsty at the beginning. But like I said to one of my reviewers, I'm good at humor and everything, but tragedy and angst just come naturally to me. I don't really know why, but it was a good break. Because with angst, I don't even have to try.

That would have been a really good ending… but I still have the soccer game to do and that stuff. But yeah, this story's going to end soon.

…

OH MY GOD!!!

Sorry, it just sunk in. Whew. I have maybe five chapters, max in me. Maybe less. Then this story ends. I just want to say that this has been one wild ride for me, and if you guys had half the fun reading this as I did writing it, it must have been pretty damn amazing.

Oh yes. Thanks to Sika'sheart for giving me the idea about the scholarships. I'm very grateful!