Boo! So guys, I'm in a bit of a pickle. You see, while I was away, and when I wasn't studying (my exams are all over! Finally!) I was writing this. And now I've finished it :O Yes, the story is written out in its entirety on my laptop. But, I have two alternate endings, and I'd like to know which one you'd all prefer. So, here are your options:

1. Ending with a lemon or
2. Ending without a lemon.

See, I'm not sure if a lemon would ruin the story or not, so I'm leaving it up to you guys. Please say which one you'd prefer when you leave a review :)

And now to thank the lovely people who reviewed :D

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Dedication: No exams. Because I don't have any more exams until next term ^_^

.:{}:.

Time passes, and with it,

The heart begins to mend,

Under your faithful gaze,

It's like wonder will never end.

.:{}:.

It was so strange, going back to school on the Monday and pretending that nothing had happened. Acting as if Sakura's father hadn't been put in jail, that they hadn't retrieved evidence from me, and that Gaara hadn't finally left his father's house and gone to live with Naruto. It was just strange.

The next four months were filled with silences and fake smiles. Sakura and Kasumi did their best to try and treat me normally, though I could see how much the effort cost them. I appreciated the fact that not once did they raise their voice at me or seek to blame me, as I had expected them to. But a light had gone out in their eyes, and I mourned that I had come to Konoha in the first place and hurt them – indirectly – so.

But then thoughts of what if permeated my head. What if I hadn't have come to Konoha? Would Akumu have targeted Sakura instead? His own daughter? There wasn't a doubt in my mind that he was planning to do that somewhere along the line, and I was grateful that it was only I who had been subjected to his cruelty; better me, who had been through it before and had no real ties to the man. Gaara would probably still be living in his house at the mercy of his father. Maybe he'd be dead. Who knew?

There was a part of me the regretted coming to Konoha, but a part of me that was thankful. I was saddened by the loss of Sakura's friendship, but the fact that she didn't hate me and at least made an effort to be kind to me was better than I expected.

The Blood of Ivory

.:{}:.

Chapter 38

Naruto and Tenten had a weekend fling, which turned into a long-term fling. It took everyone two months to convince them that, yes they were dating and no, there was no such thing as a two month fling. They tried to pass it off as friends with benefits for a while there, but had no rebuttal as to why they often held hands in public. When they finally announced that they were a couple, I'm not sure whether sweat-dropping or congratulations were the first reaction. Probably some weird mix of both.

Sometime in late September, Sasuke asked Sakura for a pre-engagement, to which she readily agreed. They were both over the legal age of eighteen, and figured that they were obviously going to stay together. She became his fiancée in everything but name. Sasuke even got her a ring. Thankfully, that returned a little bit of the life to her eyes, and her smile no longer looked so strained. It was nice to see her like that. Recovering.

Gaara and I continued to get closer. It was an easy partnership. It was enough so that I could feel completely at ease around him. He could stroke my hair or whisper in my ear, hold me around the waist or kiss my lips without eliciting any sort of negative reaction from me. I was shocked at how much I'd changed.

One day, three months after Akumu had been taken away, I found myself smiling for no reason. I was so shocked I had frozen and, worried, Gaara demanded to know what was wrong. I turned to him, smiling, with tears of joy in my eyes, and whispered excitedly, "Look Gaara, I'm smiling! I'm smiling for n… no reason other than that I want to. And now look! I… I'm laughing!" His eyes had softened when I said that, and he smiled his own little coy smile, then lifted me up and spun me around.

I'll never forget that moment. That moment when I first realised that I was healing and I was happy.

As if to prove to myself just how far I'd come, I got a job at the local supermarket as a check-out chick. Being bombarded by so many people every day and so many different emotions left me exhausted, but it was the good kind of exhausted. I found that I had become better at smiling. It came to me almost naturally.

My stutter had all but disappeared, with only the occasional lapse. But that was okay. Everything was alright, and that was all that mattered.

After working for four months, Gaara had saved up enough money to buy a car. It wasn't anything fancy, probably around third-hand or so. But he said that as long as it could get him from point A to point B without too much trouble, he didn't mind. Jiraiya had insisted upon getting him driving lessons once he came to live with him and Naruto. Gaara had later told me in private that arguing with Naruto was pointless in itself. Arguing with the man who taught him how to argue was nearly impossible. I had giggled while he had scowled, finding the fact that Gaara had lost an argument to be quite amusing.

But there was one last thing that nagged at me. Something that I wanted to do after the trial.

I had to go back to my home and see if my sister was alright. I wanted to know if my father was treating her well. Had Hizashi been put in jail like they said? How about Neji? How was he holding up?

And I wanted to speak to Hizashi. I wanted to look him in the eye and tell him that he wasn't hurting me anymore. That I had moved on and gotten stronger, and that he could never hurt me again.

But first, I had to deal with the trial against Akumu.

In the week leading up to it, I was a frayed ball of nerves. My appetite had died again, and I found it harder to sleep. I had a meeting with the man whom the government had set to be my lawyer - paid by the state, they'd informed me - and we went over the sort of questions which would be asked and how I would answer. What I would do. How I would tell my story.

Sakura's and Kasumi's health degraded in that week, and the haunted looks returned tenfold into their eyes. Sasuke did the best he could to comfort his girlfriend, but I could tell that he was going crazy, feeling it wasn't enough.

She stayed at his place a lot that week, and I stayed with Gaara as much as possible too. Subconsciously, the three of us tried to give each other space, so as to deal with everything the best we could. Thank God Naruto and Tenten were there to keep some semblance of sanity in the group. I don't know how we would have survived otherwise.

And then, the day arrived like some sort of death bell. Dazedly, I dressed myself and meticulously prepared for court. I had stayed at Gaara's place that night, and in the morning all four of us – Jiraiya, Naruto, Gaara and I – drove to the court house, where it was to be held.

When I walked through the doors, I saw Akumu for the first time in four months.

Dun dun duuuuuuun! And the trial is up next ^_^ So I know that this was a little short and everything, but all the chapters after this are actually a pretty decent length. And I was right! 44 chapters all up! Don't ask me how I managed to fit in everything else that has to be done in to 5 chapters (is that right? Five? I suck at maths) but I did. OH MY GOD THERE'S ONLY 5 MORE CHAPTERS! *cries* now I'm not going to have a story addiction and won't have an excuse to procrastinate... :(

So yup, next chapter is written out, and you know your little blue button down there? That is officially your own little Update Quicker Button again, and yes, it must be utilised muchly so for an update ^_^ Please don't forget to leave your last chapter choice in a review!

Much Love, SapphireRivulet