Long time no see! I apologize for my writing hiatus. I was recovering from a brain injury for a while and found it difficult to write. But now I'm able to write again! Thank you all for your kind comments and passion for my story. I appreciate every follow, fav, comment, and message. It's really brought a lot of light into my life.

Now, without further ado, let's get started on this chapter.

Enjoy!

Kisame's POV

Five Months Later

A cry of a lone gull emits overhead as Kisame drunkenly settles himself on a patch of sand not too far from the reaching waters of the ocean.

He momentarily watches the growing populace of the birds above him as he untwists the cap of a nearly empty bottle of liquor, and is mesmerized by the white wings that sweep against the backsplash of a new sunrise: A cascade of pinks and purples on a deep blue and slightly star-speckled sky. With a fixated gaze on the horizon, he brings the rim of his bottle to his lips and takes a swig before screwing the cap back on and turning his attention to the water before him. Briefly, the whiskey in his hand is an afterthought.

The sapphire-colored ocean glittered from the rays that emitted from the progressing sun like a precious jewel. As always, the scenery was breathtaking. Even the birds that hovered over him ever so slightly didn't distract Kisame from the paradise of Melbourne's beaches.

Despite everything that had happened in the last year, Australia was the same utopia it had always been.

He wondered then, why isn't the beach and its waters comforting me the way it did in the past? A tired wane of his typical smile appears on his lips as an abstract memory cruelly eases forward in his mind…

He's transported back in time to a morning where emerald eyes shine brightly at him. He smiles at her as a jingle of her laughter fills the room and she softly caresses his bare chest. Their lives aren't complicated yet by the outside world. Sakura leans forward and kisses him.

He flinches at the memory as if it's a physical blow and shakes his head to clear his mind.

As of late, no matter what he did, he couldn't stop thinking about the pink-haired succubus that had easily waltzed into his life and became a fixture.

Sakura Haruno.

Oh wait, it was Sakura Uchiha now, wasn't it?

He shakes his head as a pain suddenly rattles his chest and squeezes his heart. Kisame inhales once, the salty air filling his lungs, then exhales a hearty breath out. He does this for a good couple of minutes. Breathing in and out.

And while partaking in this ritual, for a moment he closes his eyes and listens to the water. It's hush caress of waves stroking the quiet beach and its tranquil dips and dance as fish and birds grace its surface is a familiar and comforting sound. And yet, it's a bandaid on a gaping wound.

He's admittedly overtaken by resilient grief. And has been since his father broke the news to him of Sakura's sudden engagement to Itachi Uchiha while they were still in Japan. Just thinking about it made his eyes water and the pain of his chest intensify.

Breathing felt like an impossible task. And so he-

Unscrews the cap of the bottle in his hand and takes another long swig.

The brown liquid is acidic and bitter. He squinted slightly as he pulled the bottle from his lips and exhaled a stark breath out. Then relaxed a second later and again fixated on the dazzling view of the waters before him.

The ocean. The sea.

And while staring at the beauty of the ocean, his mind drifts back to her. At one point in time, his mother warned him of Sakura. The same went for his father. How could he have not seen what she was capable of? Of her steady shift in temperament? Of her sudden change of disposition towards him?

He chuckled.

Neither of his parents would say it, but it hung in the air.

I told you so.

Even so, Kisame knew he would have done everything again if he had the chance. Down to the T. He would have asked her out at the bar during their first encounter, would have followed her to Japan, would have pushed her out of the way of the car, would have loved her… All the same.

Why?

Because love was a twisted thing.

After months had passed, after he heard the news that she married that Uchiha prick, after everything… He still cared.

He still loved her.

Kisame's eyes turned from the waters to the now empty bottle in his hand. He dropped it in the sand and stood upright.

Stumbling, he walked the short distance from the beach and to his home. Thinking, while also not-thinking, about a certain pink-haired woman that turned his life upside down.

Sakura's POV

The Same Day

She did what was expected of her.

She voided the MR deal and reconstructed the partnership to Hoshigaki senior's liking, she saved Kisame, and she married Itachi.

She was selfless in the whole ordeal.

Everyone won...

Except for her.

Sakura turns within her bed and blinks her eyes open.

Without looking at the clock she knows it's too early to get up. And yet, she also knows she won't go back to sleep. She mentally scoffs, as if she were properly sleeping, to begin with.

With a squint, she looks past the sleeping body next to her and focuses on the open window across from their bed. Momentarily, she takes in the seemingly quiet city skyline. The glittering lights almost look magical in the middle of the night.

Minutes later, she shifts her gaze to the man sleeping next to her.

Itachi.

For a moment she admires his good looks and intelligence. Then the adoration passes and her feelings morphe into disgust. Of his power as an Uchiha, and for herself because she was married to him for all the wrong reasons.

Upon occasion Sakura wonders, If she never met the Uchihas, if she was never adopted, how would she have turned out?

Happy, maybe.

Slowly, Sakura sits upright and peels off the thick comforter from her person. And quietly, she tiptoes out of her bed. Sakura made a beeline through the dark bedroom to the connected master suite's bathroom.

Somewhere within the depths of her exhausted mind as she walked into the small room and locked the door behind her she knew that she was, in fact, pitiful. Still, it was something, to have these few moments of peace to herself. Lately, Itachi was always hovering over her. And when he wasn't, someone from her family was. She wasn't sure if it was out of some twisted form of perceived male protectiveness, or what. What she did know was that it was eating her alive.

Each day it seemed as if she withered away just a little bit more.

For whatever reason, she had thought that the wedding would be the end of her problems. She thought Itachi would be satisfied with just marrying. She was naive and wrong.

Itachi truly saw her as his wife. And being a wife was a huge responsibility and required additional sacrifices. Apparently, on that list, personal space was one of them.

Itachi encouraged her to sell her loft and move in with him. "It's only proper," he stated matter-a-factly. She reluctantly obliged. After all, he wasn't wrong. It would be strange for her to not live with her husband. So she downsized her belongings and then she sold her loft. Months passed and suddenly Itachi asked her of her thoughts concerning children.

It was then that Sakura realized how badly she fucked up.

She married Itachi; not out of love for the UE heir, but because of a deal to preserve the life and happiness of the man she truly cared about. And in the midst of everything, she was not only deceiving Itachi, she betrayed Kisame.

So the question was, what was she going to do about it?

Sakura's hands began to sweat as she reached for the silver shears in her vanity's drawer.

Grabbing her thick long ponytail, she haphazardly cut off the entire thing.

Sakura couldn't take who she had become. But there was no going back. So, she was going to have to reinvent herself. To someone who was stronger and more confident.

Shaking fingers ran through her new pixie. Bits of long strands of missed hair hung from her head in awkward spots. She looked mental.

Even yet, Sakura felt as if she could finally breathe.

It was time to fix the mess that had become her life.