(Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews! Remember, if you're reading, please review! Warnings and disclaimers apply to all chapters.)

And the Beat Goes On
Chapter 10 : Down in the Dumps

Black consumed his vision. Blood spattered across the hard asphalt. He was breaking in half, breaking, breaking -

He snapped. He heard the bones go and he found he couldn't even scream. He could feel his vertebrae snapping back, ripping through the skin.

The nausea bubbled up, threatening to make acid trickle down his throat. What really killed him, however, was the waiting, the anxiety - when, when would it stop?

He was crying, but his tears were blood and he couldn't breathe - his breath stuck in his throat, until he thought his lungs were going to explode. He felt dizzy. Pain was the sole thing keeping him from dying - it kept reminding him he was still alive. He wished it would end.

He could hear voices in the background, fuzzily at first, then he could hear it more clearly and he picked up Naruto's voice, screaming over and over, begging his tormentor to stop.

Bang, bang, bang. There was gravel in his wounds and his forehead smacked the ground - blood obscured his vision. Cold, clammy fingers, all over him, touching him -

No, no, get off! He tried to push them away, but they remained, demanding, persisting.

Sasuke woke up, startled, panicked, feeling worse than he had when he'd gone to sleep. He felt sick - the nausea from his dream had become reality and in becoming so, increased tenfold. His breath didn't catch in his throat, but was laboured and his head throbbed painfully. There was no blood, but he couldn't see straight. There was no screaming, but he couldn't hear a thing.

Somebody brushed up against him and he froze, a sense of defenselessness welling up inside him. 'Stop touching me, I don't want to be touched, stop touching me, go away, go away. . .'

Whoever it was, they were breathing down his neck now, raising gooseflesh on his skin and he wanted to die. He screwed his eyes shut, then glanced over to his left.

Naruto was curled happily at his side, but it didn't do anything to relieve him. The blond had his fingers curled about his upper arm, and they were cold and clammy, and their grip was possessive, reminding him too much -

He knew it now. It was terrible, and it was sickening and it was disgusting -
He'd been raped. He couldn't lie to himself any longer. He was shaking slightly, whimpering and he was disgusted by his own weakness, yet powerless to act and stop this.

He was so ashamed! He was so weak! How could he have let something like that happen? He'd let himself be defiled, thrown to the ground and fucked. It made him sick. He should have stopped it - he could have stopped it -

He wanted to cry. He scooted away from Naruto, uncomfortable with the close proximity. He shouldn't have wanted to Naruto to go away. He knew the other boy was only trying to help him.

But he just didn't feel safe! He eyed Naruto warily, as if he could transform into that damned monster at any point in time. He hated Gaara vehemently at that moment, for spoiling his bond with Naruto.

He felt cold. He didn't think he could be close to anyone ever again. This was why he'd distanced himself in the first place. You made bonds to break them and in the end, you got hurt.

He rose from the bed, watching the world spin about him, confusing him. He was disoriented, but something demanded that he get up, that he get away from -

He stumbled across the floor, as if in a trance. He felt clumsy, he felt stupid. He wanted to be sick. He somehow managed to stumble across the hall, into the bathroom. He didn't quite remember how he got there. Everything was like a vague dream. Hazy.

The urge to retch was greater now. He leaned against the closed door, which he didn't remember closing, breathing hard, shaking. His skin was slick with sweat and he closed his eyes involuntarily. The images that his memory dredged up were more than enough to make him open his eyes again.

Oh, gods. He smelt Gaara on him. He reeked of Gaara and the knowledge, coupled with his present nausea, forced him to retch violently. He stumbled to his feet again, watching the room spin around.

He was going to faint, he felt so weak -

He felt so dirty, as if he hadn't washed in weeks. He was filthy, and he knew it and goddamn it, he was going to be clean -

The shower wasn't helping. It made his wounds sting and bite and he winced, but it wasn't making him clean. He could still feel the defiling touch, still felt the blood that had dried on the backs of his thighs, mingled there with another, unmentionable fluid. He could scrub at his skin until he bled, but it wouldn't do any good, he'd never be clean, never, never -

He stumbled back from the shower, his wet hair still clinging to his neck like icy fingers, making him shiver.

Upon his re-entry of the room, he found Naruto sitting up, looking at him with confused blue eyes. The blond looked relieved upon seeing him and gave him a small smile. "Feeling better?" he asked, almost gently.

Better! How could he feel better! He felt worse, so much worse and he wasn't ever going to be better and Naruto knew that. Why was he smiling! Did he think this was funny? It wasn't funny, it was never going to be funny, except in a cruel, ironic way.

"No," he growled, his voice weak and grating, yet still holding all the coldness and anger he could muster.

Naruto's face fell. "No? Oh. . .lie back down then and get some more sleep. You look tired."

It was true. Sasuke was tired. It wasn't physical though, it was a mental weariness that made him want to fall down and sleep for the rest of forever. He wanted to break down, he wanted cry, he wanted to hurt Naruto, he. . .he. . .

He was so confused. Being confused made him angry.

Poor Naruto was the only one there that he could vent on. Even if it wasn't really Naruto's fault, even if he wasn't really angry at the blond -

"Get out," he growled.

Naruto blinked stupidly. "Wha?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "I said get out, you idiot."

Naruto looked very, very confused, but slowly got up from the bed. "Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked, concern overriding his confusion.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and glared. "Nothing's wrong."

"Sasuke, please! You can tell me!"

Like hell he could! Naruto was prying, trying to get him to admit defeat, admit his weakness. He wasn't going to! Naruto could pry all he liked, but Sasuke would never, ever admit defeat.

He pointed at the door and gave Naruto a pointed look. "Get out."

Naruto's expression was pleading. "Sasuke!"

"I said get out! Get out of my room, get out of my house, get out of my life! Out! I never want to see you again!"

It was rare to see Sasuke become anything more vehement that annoyed. But now. . .now he was viciously angry, filled with something that Naruto could only compare to murderous rage. Scared out of his wits, the blond did the only sensible thing he could do.

He got out. He ran blindly, out of the room, down the stairs and out the door. He ran all the way back to his house, fuelled by confusion, by fear. But most of all, he hurt. Not in a physical kind of way, but the kind of emotional ache one gets when one's feeling, very vehemently, a certain way.

He felt betrayed.

Iruka was startled when Naruto rushed by him, into the house, making the teacher nearly drop the armload of papers and books he was carrying. "Naruto -"

The only answer was the faint sound of a door slamming somewhere upstairs. Iruka sighed and let himself into the house. "Now what's wrong," he muttered, slipping off his shoes, glancing in the direction of the upstairs.

Naruto, meanwhile, was sitting on his bed, trying to stop crying and figure out what the hell was going on. He should have known. His social life was a complete disaster, so his love life was bound to follow suite.

He should have known this would come back and hit him in the face! Sasuke, Sasuke he hated, Sasuke he still wanted to hate and now he couldn't and -

Augh! He wasn't thinking clearly!

Sasuke was being such an asshole! Sure, he was traumatized and angry and confused and upset, but he had no right to take it out on Naruto! After all, he was just trying to help! But nooo. . .Sasuke was too high and mighty for help and when he got stomped, he had to stomp somebody else to make himself feel better.

Bah! Why did he believe anything Sasuke had ever said? It was just a bunch of bullshit, and he'd known it all along, but he'd really, really -

Wanted to believe that there was someone out there who could at least like him. Sasuke could at least stand on the same ground as him, when nobody else could. Or at least, Naruto had thought he could. In all truth, Sasuke and Naruto were never on common ground, no not ever. Sasuke had to be on top, had to be superior and for chrissakes! Naruto wished he'd just get off whatever fucking pedestal he'd placed himself on and see eye to eye with him!

He'd said he loved him, then told him that he'd never wanted to see him again. Two-faced bastard.
Well, it wasn't hard to do just that. Naruto couldn't care less what Sasuke did now. Fuck, he could jump out a window and Naruto would not bat an eye. They were through.

Sniffing loudly, he wiped his eyes on his forearm and slid off the bed.

It was about time he gave up on Sasuke. It was about time he opened his eyes.

- - - - - - - - - -

It was a week and a half, almost two before Sasuke set foot in the halls of the school. Really, it should have been much longer, but somehow, his body had warded off the virus much sooner than was normal. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely wasn't normal. The doctor was worried about a relapse.

However, Thursday morning, Sasuke set foot in his home room, much to the cheering approval of his fan girls. He was a little thinner, a little paler, a little sleepless and much moodier. He ignored the girls and took his seat.

Naruto glared at him from the back of the classroom. He noted, with grim satisfaction, that Sasuke's injured arm was still bound up tight and in a sling.

When the lesson began, Tsunade didn't bother bringing the class's attention to the fact the stoic boy had returned. Instead, she launched into her lesson, rambling on and on about rhetorical devices and other such nonsense nobody seemed to really care about.

The lesson dragged on and on and on. It seemed as though it would never end. The classroom was still hot and stuffy, despite the fact it was late September, almost October.

At long last, the bell gave the students their reprieve and they gathered their things, heading out into the hallways. Naruto lingered a little, feeling none too inspired to rush out and stand for fifteen minutes in the halls, by himself, before his next class began. He certainly wasn't going to dash right to his next class either.

Glancing up from his books, he caught sight of Sakura and Sasuke. They were conversing. Sakura was blushing terribly, and she kept looking at Sasuke, her eyes full of 'love'. Naruto could have gagged at her expression, but instead, he was overwrought with a pang of jealousy. He wasn't quiet sure why. Sakura had been his long time crush and while she'd never liked him back, he'd always thought that maybe. . .

Or it could have been the fact that Sasuke, his ex (it still felt funny to think of him that way) was on the rebound.

Almost angrily, he slung his books into his backpack. He was about to throw it on his back and leave as quickly as he could, but something made him stay.
That something was the snippets of conversation he was catching.

" - I was wondering if you'd like to go to the fair with me, Sakura," Sasuke all but cooed. His voice was coated in sugar and it made Naruto's stomach twist.

"Oh, Sasuke!" Sakura gushed.

Envy consumed him. He still wasn't sure why, but it did. He practically ran out of the room.

Two could play this game, he decided, anger and jealousy coursing through his veins. And this time, Sasuke wouldn't be the winner.

- - - - - - - - - -

Iruka sighed. Kakashi glanced over at his fellow teacher, silently asking him what was wrong. The younger teacher rolled his eyes. "Naruto's what's wrong," he said, humourlessly.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow, asking another question. Iruka sighed again. "Oh, he's been skulking around the house for the past week, like some sort of. . .I don't know what, but it's driving me batty."

Kakashi was glad they were alone in the lounge. If anybody else witnessed Iruka seeming so dejected, it would have been a crisis. For some reason, most of the teachers thought Iruka only had one mode: really cheerful. And most of them complained about it, but if Iruka acted otherwise, hell must have frozen over.

Kakashi had never understood people. They were all crazy, as far as he was concerned.

"He won't talk to me about it. He won't tell me what's wrong. There's something wrong."

"Maybe you should stop prying?"

This earned the silver-haired teacher a glare from the brunet. Kakashi cowered a bit. Iruka was scary when he was mad.

Again, the younger teacher sighed. "I think it's got something to do with Sasuke - they haven't spoken to each other all week. Not even an insult."

Kakashi frowned. "Do you think maybe they. . ." He waved his hand about, as if to indicate what he meant and trailed off. "Split," he finished finally, noticing that Iruka was sporting the "you're-holding-me-in-suspense-here-hurry-up-and-finish-you-absent-minded-fool" look. He suspected he had to give that look to Naruto quite often as the blond was easily distracted.

Iruka didn't reply for a moment. "That's what I'm afraid of."
"Naruto mention going to the fair?" Kakashi enquired.

Iruka shook his head. "Not a word. And worse, I heard a rumour that Sasuke asked Haruno Sakura to go."

Kakashi grimaced. "Ouch. Not good."

Iruka sighed. "The thing that worries me is that Naruto doesn't seem sad about it. He seems mad."

Kakashi bit his lip. "Do you think he's planning to get back at Sasuke?"

Iruka gave Kakashi a pointed look. "I wouldn't put it past him," he grumbled.

"Hn," was what Kakashi said in reply.

They fell silent.

- - - - - - - - - -

At ten to eight, Saturday evening, Lee showed up on Sakura's doorstep. The fair grounds were just a short walk away.

Lee was grinning ear to ear. He had been ecstatic all week and now, his excitement was coming to a head. He felt like he had been walking on air all evening.

He knocked on the door.

He smiled wider. He was going on a date with Sakura!

His pink-haired princess opened up the door, just finishing putting an earring in her ear. "Hi Sa- " She stopped short when she noticed who was standing at the door. Her smile and cheery attitude took a nose-dive. "Hi Lee," she grumbled. Just great. Why couldn't Sasuke have shown up first!

Lee smiled and offered her the flowers he had picked especially for the occasion. "These are for you, Sakura," he said, his smile getting even wider. If he kept that up, his face would break in half before the evening was over.

Just then, another, less cheerful fellow decided to turn up on the Haruno doorstep. It was none other than one brooding, Uchiha Sasuke. He looked less than thrilled, but it didn't deter Sakura from squealing and throwing herself at her "dark prince", knocking poor Lee out of the way in the process.
"Sasuke!"

Sasuke merely grunted in reply and peeled the overly-clingy girl off him. Lee glared at Sasuke, then appealed to Sakura, feeling hurt and rejected.

"Sakura! What is he doing here! I thought we were going to the fair together!" he cried, feeling terribly, terribly wronged. He just knew he'd been duped.

Sakura fidgeted nervously. She hated awkward situations! "Um. . .well, I tried to tell you I was going with someone else, Lee," she said, trying to sound as apologetic as she could. It was hard to do, as she was standing right next to the love of her life, feeling like she could burst with joy.

Unsure of what else to say, she grabbed Sasuke by the wrist and dragged him off to the fair ground. "Bye Lee!" she cried loudly, waving her hand frantically, as she ran away.

Lee's cheerful mood deflated and the flowers in his hand might as well have wilted as he held them.

- - - - - - -

Ino was not happy. No, she was not happy at all. Shikamaru, in her opinion, had led her on. And in all truth, he had. He had asked her to go to the fair with him. He had failed to mention that it wasn't a date and that he was taking a group of people with him.

Ino fumed as she walked alongside her friend, prepared to hit him as hard as she could the next chance she got.

First off, there was Chouji. Ino found the boy disgusting, as he was always stuffing his face with something. He wasn't thin, but he wasn't necessarily grotesquely fat either. He was Shikamaru's best friend, so he had to be tolerated.

Then, Shikamaru had invited Kiba and his "date", Hinata. Kiba had agreed, only because he thought that it might help Hinata relax a bit. Being one on one with another person you barely knew could be very nerve-wracking and everyone knew Hinata was very shy.

Kiba had also invited another person, Shino. Shino was tall and silent, and he never said much. He was supposed to be very good at biology and the sciences, but he kind of creeped Ino and most everybody out. It was said he collected live insects and kept them in his room. Ino shuddered at the thought.

Next, there was Neji, who would have never gone anywhere willingly, except for when he was dragged somewhere by TenTen. Ah, the things people did for love. Needless to say, Neji was sulking. TenTen was fairly good company, however. Hinata was just too shy, and the fact her cousin was there seemed to have compounded it.

Currently, they had just been joined by one loudmouthed loser, Uzumaki Naruto. Shikamaru didn't seem to mind Naruto, even was on the verge of forming a friendship with the blond and it irked Ino. She didn't want to be seen with the biggest loser in the whole school!

So, they rambled on in one big group, as teenagers often do, toward the fairgrounds. Shikamaru was being lazy and slightly annoyed, Chouji was talking about cotton candy, Ino was fuming, Neji was sulking, TenTen was chatting to Ino. TenTen was notorious for being able to carry on a one-sided conversation for hours. Hinata was being shy and quiet, Kiba and Naruto were yelling and being very, very hyperactive. Shino merely followed along behind them, like a shadow.

This is how they were when they came upon one very sad and dejected Lee. "Hey Lee!" Tenten cried, racing over to meet one of her friends.

Lee just looked at her sadly. She frowned. "Hey, what's wrong? I thought you were going to the fair with Sakura!"

"She went with Sasuke," Lee murmured, piteously.

Ino was there in a second. "What? She actually got away with that! But I thought -"

She glanced back at Naruto, who was having a yelling match with Kiba.

Lee shrugged. "Apparently, Sasuke asked her."

Ino stood there, bewildered. "What? That makes no sense! Unless -"

She frowned. "Unless he's being a total prick."

She glanced over at Naruto again. The blond noted she was looking his way and looked away quickly. It wasn't like she cared about what Sasuke had done to Naruto, if he'd done anything at all, but the fact was, if he was still with said blond idiot and he was going on a date with Sakura, he was being a prick and he'd do it again.

"What an asshole," she muttered.

TenTen frowned. "Do you think they broke up?" she asked and again, Lee shrugged.

TenTen shrugged lightly and clapped Lee on the back. "Oh well! Forget them! Come with us - we're gonna have a blast!" she said enthusiastically.

Lee smiled. TenTen winked. "Besides, you can try again later! You know you'll win in the end!"

Lee's good humour was coming back to him now. "Yes! You're right TenTen! I'll never give up on Sakuran!"
He ran off to join the group. Ino glanced at Tenten. "You know how to cheer him up," she commented.

TenTen shrugged. "Lee's not hard to cheer up. It's Neji that's the absolute miser," she said with a frown and a glare in Neji's direction.

The group continued on to the fair grounds.

- - - - - - - - -

It was nearly eleven o'clock and the fair ground would be closing in about an hour's time. The group was rushing to and fro, trying to fit in a multitude of activities. They were having a lot of fun, even Shikamaru, who kept saying everything was "so tiresome", and Neji, who was being absolutely miserable.

As luck would have it, they ran into the conspicuous couple of Sasuke and Sakura. They talked with them, well, more of them talking to Sakura, as Sasuke didn't say much, and after about ten minutes, convinced them to join up with the group and do a few last minute things.

Ino and Sakura fell back. The blonde looked pointedly at her friend. "What's this all about?"

Sakura looked at her, bemused. "What's what all about?"

"You know," Ino hissed. "I heard Sasuke asked you."

Sakura broke into a toothy grin. "He did! I was really surprised, but he did!"

Ino stole a glance at Sasuke, who was currently involved in a glaring contest with Neji. Would those two ever get along? Probably not.

She looked back at Sakura. "Didn't you think it was odd though? I mean, he's with -"

"Naruto and him broke up," Sakura said quickly, cutting Ino off. "He said so himself."

Ino blinked. "Really? But did he say it was a mutual break up? Or why they did?"

Sakura glanced at her date warily. "Are you suggesting that he's using me to try and make Naruto jealous?"

"Just a thought," Ino muttered.

Sakura laughed lightly. "He broke up with Naruto. If it had been the other way around, I'd be worried."

Ino glanced again at Sasuke. "I'm worried still. Sasuke doesn't seem like the 'rebound' type," she said, waving her hand about a bit.

Sakura didn't reply. At last, she said, "Ino. You're just jealous."

Ino stared at her. Her mind was yelling at her to smack some sense into the pink-haired idiot she called 'friend' beside her. Couldn't Sakura tell she was just interested in her best interests! After all, what were best friends for!

"I'm over him," she said coolly, glaring at the back of Shikmaru's head. "I was supposed to be here with pineapple-head, but he decided to bring along some friends," she muttered darkly.

Sakura's eyebrows rose in surprise. "You're on a date with Shikamaru?" she asked, sounding incredulous.

"Yes, now shush! I don't want everybody to know!" Ino whispered angrily, her cheeks turning a little red, though it was hard to see in the darkness.

Sakura smiled. "Good for you! I always knew you two would make a wonderful couple!" she gushed.

Ino wanted punch her. Who made Sakura an expert on relationships anyways! She frowned and said, a little louder, "That wasn't very nice, what you did to Lee."

Sakura frowned and said nothing. Ino ploughed on. "I mean, he was really upset. And don't tell me you wouldn't feel the same way if you're beloved Sasuke did the same thing to you."

Sakura lowered her head in shame. "I know, but. . . I don't want to lead Lee on. He's a nice guy and everything, but I just don't like him like that. I think it was better this way, than if I crushed him later."

Ino pursed her lips and said nothing for a long while. "Well, he'll be there for you if Sasuke does anything stupid. He's not a bad guy. You really should give him a chance. I mean, Sasuke's nice looking, but he's such a prick."

Sakura made a face. "You're right. But. . .I think he can be nice. When he wants to be."

Ino sighed. "Sakura, just remember, you can't change people, no matter how hard you try. Don't get in too deep."

With that said, she walked ahead a bit, to walk beside her "date." Sakura nearly laughed when she saw Ino punch Shikamaru, having no idea that Ino would have liked to smack her too and poor Shikamaru was receiving Ino's abuse on her behalf.

Though, even if she had known, she still would have laughed. It was funny to see Shikamaru get beat up by Ino.
Meanwhile, up at the front, things were a little more awkward. Most of the boys had been silent for about ten minutes. In fact, the thing that broke the silence had been Ino storming up and hitting Shikamaru, who started whining.

Kiba found this terribly funny and proceeded to make fun of Shikamaru. "Getting beat up by your girlfriend, huh, pineapple-head? That's sad, really sad."

Ino glared at Kiba. "Shut up, or you're next."

Almost needless to say, Kiba shut up. Ino was a scary person when she was angry.

The rest of the group was silent. Shino was silent by nature. Hinata was too shy to say anything. Neji wasn't the talkative type either. Tenten and Lee were absolutely dumbfounded as to why Ino was beating up their friend. Sasuke was busy glaring at the back of Neji's head, hoping maybe the Hyuuga boy would spontaneously combust. Chouji had some cotton candy and was preoccupied with such. Naruto was quiet because he was standing too close to Sasuke for comfort.

Half of him wanted to deck the other boy and beat him into a bloody pulp and scream at him. The other half of him wanted to cry and was vainly hoping that if he did break down, Sasuke would taking him lovingly into his arms and -

Blah. His thoughts were making him gag. Since when had he become so utterly mushy and romance-loving and - girl-like!

"Fuck you, Sasuke," he muttered aloud, completely forgetting he was standing within five feet of the cursed one.

Sasuke gave him a funny look and he went red and looked away.

"Naruto, is there something you want to say to me?" he asked, his voice cold and slightly bitter.

Naruto's face twisted up in anger and he turned back to glare at Sasuke. "Yeah! Yeah there is something I want to say to you! Fuck you, you stupid asshole! Fuck you! Go fuck yourself, you jerk! I hate you!"

Sasuke regarded him coolly, then said, "Nice to know."

He turned away. Naruto grabbed him by the wrist, digging his nails into the pale skin angrily. "You listen here!" He was on the verge of tears. "I don't know what the fuck your problem is, but you could have let me down a little easier! 'I never want to see you again' is pretty fuckin' harsh! But what the fuck do you care! You're a bastard and you don't give a fuck about anybody but yourself and -"
"Now, hang on a minute," Sasuke hissed, interrupting Naruto's rant. "You weren't just raped brutally, now were you? Were you! Would you want to see anybody in all the world after that! I didn't - I still don't! I want to be left alone! I'm scared, you know that! I don't like to be scared, Naruto!"

They failed to notice that the group had moved on and continued to stand there, yelling at each other.

"So! You still could have been a little nicer!"

"Nicer!" Sasuke's voice was shrill with anger. "Nicer! You want me to be nicer! You know what! Next time, I'll just let Gaara rape you, you ungrateful little fuck! See how the fuck you like it! See how nice you are after that!"

"What the fuck are you saying! Gaara raped you, not me -"

"He was after you, you fucking idiot!" Sasuke grabbed Naruto by the shoulder and shook him roughly, angrily. "I did that for you and this is how you fucking thank me!"

"You're the one who dumped me, you jerk -"

"Oh, just shut the fuck up!"

Sasuke forced his lips to Naruto's, plunging his tongue into the blond's mouth. Naruto struggled a bit, surprised and still angry.

When Sasuke let go of him, Naruto glared back up at him. "What the hell was that for!" he cried. How could - Why did! His brain wasn't working properly. One of his thoughts even had the gall to say, "Well. That was nice."

Sasuke looked at him, as if searching for the words. "I did everything because I love you," he said finally.

Naruto snorted. "That's what you said before!" he cried, tears brimming in his eyes. "And then you turned around and dumped me!"

"I'm serious, Naruto -"

"Words! That's all they are! They don't mean a goddamn thing!"

"Fine," Sasuke growled. "Don't believe me."

"I won't!" Naruto cried indignantly, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sasuke growled, but said nothing more. Instead, he started walking away.
Gods! Naruto made him so mad!

Naruto just stood there, in the dark, amid the noise and lights and general cheeriness of the fair, watching Sasuke go.

- - - - - - - - - -