Chapter 2: "Sadness Is But A Wall Between Two Gardens"

Kahlil Gibran

(Author's Note) (Edit: 12/29/18 - I will try to work on and get ch3 out asap. Harass me if I take too long. I also edited this chapter, fixed some grammar and added a few words here and there)

Hey everyone! I'm going to try to keep this as short as possible but I just wanted to answer some questions that I received as well as clarify some things about the story.

Sasuke WILL be in this story, he will be showing up in a few-ish chapters. He will be a mainstay for this story. He'll be a little calmer in this story, as well as dating a certain someone whom I know all of you can guess.

For everyone wondering about how Sakura feels about Naruto in this story then this is the chapter to pay attention to. I will have Sakura reveal her feelings for Naruto in this one.

Be sure to leave a Review, Follow/Favorite both me and this story as well as check out my Profile. Please answer the Poll while you're there to vote for my future stories!

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[I think a great Idea with this story would be to create 2 endings, one where Naruto dies and the shinobi world goes into chaos, and another where he survives and gets the happy ending. It would really make it interesting to see both sides of the story.]

Thanks for the review, I wish I could reply in person. Unfortunately, I won't be able to go that route and have two endings. I can't say much because of spoilers but everything happens a lot sooner than you are all expecting. ;) Not so subtle wink.

Hope you like it and have a great day!

Chapter 2: "Sadness Is But A Wall Between Two Gardens"

Kahlil Gibran

Note: (Kami refers to a divine being in the Shinto religion, as well as being the equivalent to God in Naruto. So any use of kami is a replacement for God.)

"Normal conversation/Narration"

'Thoughts'

"Mind Jutsus"

"Kurama text"

(About an hour later)

"How're you feeling, Forehead?" Ino asked as the two sat down in a booth at a restaurant not so far from the hospital. They had decided to go get some early lunch before the big dedication ceremony.

The pinkette shrugged once as she skimmed through the menu, she only ever ordered one thing, so why even read it? "I'm doing good." She answered, shrugging. "The throbbing pain in my head finally died down. Which I'm grateful for."

Her blonde friend nodded with a smile. "Well, getting hit by a hundred foot demon fox would do that." She stopped for a moment as a waitress arrived and asked for their drink orders. Ino ordered a green tea and Sakura a water.

"Don't remind me," Sakura groaned, holding her head. "I swear, my head didn't stop spinning for half an hour after I woke up. I had to tell Naruto I was fine so he'd calm down." She picked up the chopsticks and started playing with them absentmindedly.

"You should've seen how everyone freaked out though." Ino said laugh. "Kakashi-sensei tried his best to calm everyone down but once they saw Kurama they all lost it."

Sakura sighed, leaning on one elbow against the table. "I know. It's like they forget how Kurama helped save the village." The waitress returned with their drinks. They both thanked her before she left with their lunch orders. "It took me like fifteen minutes to get Naruto to stop apologizing back at the hospital." She said offhandedly.

Sakura didn't miss the knowing smirk that her friend wore. She was almost afraid to ask. "...What?"

"Oh, nothing." She answered, trying to look as innocent as she could. But Sakura could see the wheels turning in her head.

"What?" Sakura asked again. "I know you want to say something, Ino."

Her friend smirked. "There you go, talking about Naruto again. You keep bringing him up like you wanna talk about him." She gave her friend a flirty look. "You're not cheating on me with my favorite blond, are you?"

The pinkette let out a groan, pointing her chopsticks at her. "First of all, we aren't dating-"

"You're breaking up with me?" Ino joked with a fake pout. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"-And second, I told you that I don't have feelings for him."

"Not wanting them and not having them are two completely different things, Sakura." Ino retorted.

"I told you that's not how it is." Sakura sighed. "Let's talk about something-"

This time Ino rolled her eyes dramatically. "You and I both know that's bull, Sakura." She leaned in a little and lowered her voice so that they wouldn't be heard. "I know that you like him. You know that you like him. Everyone except him knows that you like him. So why not just tell him?"

Sakura let out a 'huff'. "I told you why, Ino." She really didn't want to have this conversation now. With everything going on today this wasn't the day to talk about it. Not that she would've wanted to talk about it any other day.

"Well, tell me again." Ino pleaded. Her joking tone had gone away, replaced by a more serious one. "Because I still don't get it. You've admitted it to me that you like Naruto. That you have for awhile. And that you know that he likes you back. Why don't you just tell him?"

"..."

Ino gave her friend an exasperated look. "I just don't know what you're so afraid of. I mean, what do you expect to happen? For him to turn you down? We both know that he likes you. I just- I don't get it-" Ino looked like she was having a hard time even trying to understand Sakura's reasoning. "What are you so afraid of?"

"That I'll break his heart again!" Sakura hissed out, a little angrily. She tried her best to keep her voice down. Thankfully the restaurant was busy so her sudden outburst wasn't heard. That would've been so embarrassing.

"I'm sorry." She apologized. "I- I didn't mean to snap at you like that."

Ino just waved it off. "I know, don't worry 'bout it." She placed her elbows on the table, pushing her drink out of the way. "Listen, I-"

"I just don't want to hurt him again." Sakura admitted. "I lied to him about loving him once. And that nearly broke him… I just couldn't… I couldn't do that to him again."

"But you won't." Ino interjected. "You have feelings for him now. You wouldn't be lying. Sakura… you've told me all this before, but I still don't understand why. You wouldn't hurt him this time."

"How can you be so sure?" Sakura questioned quickly. "How can you be so sure that if we get together that he won't have to one day choose between me and his job as Hokage and he'll choose me and choose wrong?! Preventing him from becoming who he's supposed to be!"

The blonde said nothing for half minute. Only looking towards her friend with a sad look on her face. "...Sakura," She started hesitantly. "You don't think that… he'll see you as… a burden, do you?"

"..." The pinkette said nothing, only turning to face away from her best friend.

Ino took her hand. Speaking in a broken voice. "Oh, Sakura. He would never- I mean, this is Naruto we're talking about. You know that you could never do anything to make him upset."

"That's not true." Sakura countered. "I've hurt him before."

Ino let out a long breath. "Yeah, you're right. You have." She admitted. "But that was before you realized what you were doing. You two are best friends now. You know him better than anyone. You know what he wants better than anyone."

Sakura played with her water glass. "He wants to become Hokage and learn more about his parents." She took a drink from her glass. "I'd just get in the way. He doesn't have time for-"

Whaaack!

"Owww!" Sakura cried, looking at her friend accusingly. "Did you just- why did you hit me?" She asked, rubbing the red spot on her arm.

"Because you're being an idiot, Sakura!" Ino fumed, her hands waving around wildly. "With this stupid idea in your head that your not 'worthy' or whatever to be with him. He's just a guy, it doesn't matter what either of you have done in the past, you both have feelings for each other. So why not just get together so that both of you can be happy?"

The pinkette didn't say anything for a few seconds. Just looking down at the table, mulling over her words inside her head. After a few more seconds she let out a long breath. "...It's not that I don't feel 'worthy' of being with him." Sakura started. "I've gotten over my… self esteem issues." She took another long breath. "I know that he likes me, and that he'd be happy to be together. And I feel the same… but…"

"...But what?" Ino prodded carefully.

"But I think that I would just mess things up again." Sakura admitted, looking down at the table. "He's been doing just fine with training to become Hokage without me. He's grown up. Maybe- maybe he doesn't need me to be happy like when we were kids. Maybe I'll just end up holding him back again."

Ino looked at her friend for a minute, mulling over the words that she had admitted to her. Ino could see were Sakura was coming from a little bit. At least, why Sakura was seeing it that way. Sakura had always blamed herself for a part of why Naruto's life had happened like it did. Maybe if she had treated him better, given him a chance and dated him instead of chasing a man who never loved her, maybe Naruto wouldn't have felt so lonely for so long. Even if he would never admit it, all of his friends knew that he had always been lonely until the group accepted him all those years ago. She had Shikamaru to thank for that.

Ino thought it over a little bit more before she leaned in to talk to her best friend. "Or maybe you two will help each other grow." She countered softly. "Maybe- maybe if you two get together you'll help each other become happy."

Sakura didn't say anything so Ino just continued. "Look, I won't push it anymore, okay? But just promise me one thing, okay, Sakura?" The pinkette nodded her head softly. "Just listen to your heart. If it says, and I mean really says to let go of Naruto then listen to it. But if it says to confess to him, then do it. It may sound cliche, especially coming from me, but always listen to your heart."

"My heart's led me astray before." Sakura admitted in a low voice. "I don't know what to think anymore."

Ino nodded, accepting that. "I get that. I really do. I've had feelings for the wrong people before." Ino admitted before remembering that they had feelings for the same guy at one point. "But you knew that. Mr. Emo Hair and all."

"We're not the best judges of character when it comes to crushes, are we?" Sakura joked.

Ino smiled to herself, it was good that Sakura was still able to joke right now. "No we're not." The blonde agreed. "I mean, can you believe that I once had a crush on Shikamaru." She put on a mock disgusted face. "I mean, guh-ross! He was like a brother to me growing up."

Sakura chuckled. "A lot of people thought that you two would get together."

Ino shivered. "No. Thank. You. That crush lasted for like a week, okay? We were just hormonal teenagers and I was still learning about the other sex. I was just confused."

"Well it could've been worse," Sakura chuckled. "You could've had a crush on Kiba."

"Or Shino."

The two friends simultaneously grimaced and shivered in disgust. "No thank you." The both said at the same time, causing them to smile at each other.

"How are you, Sakura?" Ino asked. "Like really, really feeling?"

"I'm," Sakura hummed for a second. "Doing okay, I guess. It's just been real confusing lately. Y'know? I just feel that with everyday that passes that Naruto and I grow further apart."

Ino gave her friend a confused look as she tilted her head in question. "What do you mean?"

"It's just once he's Hokage we won't be able to hang out as much, you know. He's been so busy lately that we haven't been able to have lunch for awhile."

The blonde smiled. "You mean your lunch dates?" Ino joked.

Sakura groaned. "They're not lunch dates. Just two friends-"

"Who both have feelings for each other." Ino interrupted.

"-Having lunch together." Sakura finished.

"In which he pays for you." Ino countered.

"He's just being a gentleman." The pinkette argued.

"Sure." Ino sounded unconvinced.

Sakura played with the food on her plate absentmindedly. "It's just that I'm worried that once he becomes Hokage that we won't be able to see each other as much, y'know? He'll be busy in meetings and I'll be busy at the hospital. Plus, you know all the new security that the ANBU added to the Hokage Tower, you just can't walk right in anymore and see Kakashi-sensei like we used to."

"Riiiiight," Ino nodded. "Now we have to set an appointment with 'what's her face' at the front desk."

"Kim." Sakura offered.

"Whatever." Ino waved off. "She has an attitude. Takes her job as 'Appointment Manager' too seriously. I mean, all she does is see if Kakashi-sensei is in a meeting and then let us up when he tells her to get back to work."

"True." The pinkette agreed.

"You'll have to get past her to just talk to Naruto when he becomes Hokage." Ino said.

"I know." Sakura groaned. "I don't think she likes me."

"That's because she has a crush on Naruto."

Sakura's eyes widened. "She does?" She asked a little too quickly. She inwardly cursed herself.

Ino smiled at her friend. "Yup." She popped the 'p'. "And what are you gonna do about it?"

Sakura gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, she has eyes for your man-"

"He's not my man." Sakura interrupted.

"-And she's gonna be working in direct contact with him for however long she manages to keep her job." Ino said. "It may surprise you, forehead, but other girls do like Naruto."

"I know that." Sakura mumbled. "I'm not an idiot-"

"Not if you ask me." Ino murmured.

"-But Naruto is allowed to date other girls. Just because I like him doesn't make him mine."

"You're right." Ino agreed cheerfully before instantly dropping the voice. "Him loving you makes him yours."

"Oh my Kami." Sakura groaned. "Let's not argue over 'like vs love' again, please."

"Whatever," Ino held up her hands in a giving up gesture. "But just think about what I said, okay? Sit down and decided if you're willing to live unhappily for the rest of your life just because you're scared to tell Naruto how you feel."

"I'm not unhappy." Sakura argued. "And I'm not scared either."

"If you weren't scared you would've already told him." Ino argued back. "And trust me, Sakura, you're my best friend, I can tell that you're not happy."

"But-"

"Look me in the eye and tell me you'd be happy not being with him for the rest of your life." Ino interrupted, her voice serious and daring. She waited a few seconds but when Sakura turned her gaze away and didn't say anything Ino knew she was right.

"I swear I'm not trying to push," Ino said softly, reaching for her hand. "Well, kinda, but I just want what's best for you. For you and Naruto. You two are my best friends, excluding Shikamaru, and he's happily engaged. That just leaves you two. I want you two to be happy."

"...I know." Sakura admitted. She opened her mouth but couldn't find the words right away. "...I just…. It's hard, okay? Not a lot of people want us together, you know that. I've heard more than my fair share of people calling me out for what I've done to him… Sometimes-sometimes I wonder if they're right. That I shouldn't be with him."

"Well screw those guys," Ino said angrily. "They don't get to decide who you get to be with. You want to be with Naruto, he wants to be with you, so just do it. Fuck whatever anyone says about it."

Sakura blinked. "You seem very upset about this…"

"Well yeah," Ino said, her voice rising slightly. "People are insulting my best friend! You know that I'd kick their asses if they'd ever say it to me."

Sakura smiled. "I know. And it means a lot that you'd do that for me."

"Think nothing of it, forehead." Ino waved off. "I know you punched 'what's her face' last year when she tried spreading the rumor that I was pregnant with Shikamaru's kid."

"Mina." Sakura offered. "She may have deserved it but I still feel kind of bad-"

"Yeah, her," Ino sneered. "We have each others backs. No one can mess with us."

"Like when we were kids." Sakura smiled.

"Whenever we weren't fighting each other," Ino mused. "Good times."

"That's one way to put it I guess." Sakura shrugged, taking a sip of her water.

Ino glanced up to the clock on the wall and groaned. "Ugh, I have to get going, Sakura. My mom needed my help at the shop with bouquets for the ceremony today."

"That's fine, I get it." Sakura replied. "I was thinking of talking to Naruto before the ceremony anyway."

Ino's eyes widened. "Ooooh-"

"Don't even." Sakura warned.

"-You gonna tell him or what?"

The pinkette just sighed. "...Maybe-"

Que Ino squealing .

"-I said maybe. Just not now, it's not the time for it." Sakura iterated. "I just wanna talk to him, y'know, with today being the anniversary and all."

Ino nodded, remembering. It was as sad of a day as it was happy. It was the two year anniversary of the death of Master Jiraiya. "You're right, his death hit Whiskers harder than anyone. Except for maybe Lady Tsunade." She looked to her best friend seriously. "You make sure that you're there for him today, okay? He won't admit it but it still hurts him."

"I know," Sakura nodded. "He was always there for me, it's the least I can do for him."

"Good," Ino said as she stood. "Now go find that knucklehead and see how he's doing. We don't need him depressed for the ceremony."

Sakura stood as well. "I'll just have to find him first, you know how he ran off last year."

Ino reached over to give her friend a goodbye hug. "Well if anyone can find wherever Whiskers hides, it's you. See you at the ceremony, forehead."

"See ya, Ino."

oooOooo

(Konoha Memorial Gardens)

Naruto sat on a park bench across from a statue, gazing at it with eyes looking elsewhere. He had been sitting at this bench for… how long had it been? He hadn't been keeping track. The Gardens had been remodeled greatly over the last few years. New sections and memorials had been added for every person who died during the last war, regardless of what village they were from. Naruto made sure to come here every year to pay his respects to everyone who had died. Everyone who he couldn't save.

Not many people visited this particular statue, since the ninja it was dedicated to didn't have many friends, and was older than most of the village, so Naruto didn't have many interruptions as he sat and watched it. He tried talking to it, but it never felt right, or more accurately, he never felt right talking to it. So he just sat and let his mind wander. So much that he didn't even register a certain someone sit down next to him until she put her hand on his.

Naruto blinked back to reality. "S-sakura-chan?" He asked surprised. "How did you know I'd be here?"

She just smiled, though her smile didn't reach her eyes. She glanced up to the statue they were in front of. "Because I know you, Naruto. You know that he wouldn't want you-"

"I was just paying my respects." Naruto interrupted.

Sakura didn't say anything to that. They both knew that he was lying. Instead she just sat next to him for a few minutes in silence and didn't comment when a few rogue tears ran down his chin. She had never been very close to Jiraiya-sama, but she knew that he was a great man despite his pervy actions. Lady Tsunade loved him, how much, Sakura didn't know for sure, but Sakura knew she did. Sakura also knew that Jiraiya-sama had been a father figure, the closest thing to a father figure, that Naruto ever had. So she knew that his death affected her best friend greatly. She just wished that she could do something for him.

It was a few minutes later that Sakura stood, still holding his hand. She silently tugged on his hand to tell him to get up. He looked up at her a little confused but finally stood after she tugged on his hand again. Once he was stood he gave one last look to his deceased Sensei and she led him away from Jiraiya's statue and further into the center of the Gardens, where a larger, better looking, in her opinion, statue stood at the center of a fountain.

It was after a few seconds that Naruto seemed to realize where they were going. "Sakura-chan," He grumbled. "I don't want to-"

"Well I do." She interrupted him, tugging on his hand. "Come on, you know that I like the statue. Let's go check it out."

Naruto grumbled again but eventually followed her to the center of the Gardens. The center of the Gardens had been remodeled the most after the war, formed into a large circle with a large, stone monument dedicated to each Elemental Nation with their unique symbol carved at the top. In front of each monument stood a plaque listing every person who died during the war that came from that village. It always made Naruto uneasy to come here. It was as if the souls of the fallen seemed to hang around the monuments, giving the area a somber atmosphere. Surrounding each monument stood dozens of bouquets of flowers, gifts, offerings, food and burning incense. Making the area feel more like a cemetary than a Garden, to Naruto at least.

They then came to the exact center of the Gardens, an area that Naruto didn't make it a habit to come to too often. They stopped just before a vast, man made pond/fountain at the center of the Gardens. The entire fountain was engulfed by willow trees swaying slightly in the wind, flowers of every shade and color, trimmed bushes of every kind lined the benches that encircled the fountain, to give the illusion that the fountain blended into the nature of the Gardens. Bees hovered from flower to flower, birds sung from the trees, rabbits and other small animals dashed from bush to bush. The entire area smelled of cherry blossoms and sweet fruit. All in all, the Garden was the most beautiful memorial that Naruto had ever seen. He looked at the center of the fake island at the center of the fountain/pond and his mood dropped.

He hated it.

At the top of the small island stood a single, stone statue of Naruto. His face was cold and stoic to Naruto, his features exaggerated to make him seem more serious, it's height, which was triple his, gave it an intimidating aura. A long, flowing cloak fell from his shoulders and carved in a way to make it seem like it was sailing in the wind. The statue stood atop a stone platform, engraved with the symbol for the Leaf village. On a large plaque in front of the railings around the pond one could read of the 'great hero, Naruto Uzumaki, who single-handedly saved the village from Pain and the Akatsuki, who would later save the entire world from Madara Uchiha.' If you continued to read further, and Naruto couldn't understand why you would, you would be able to read his entire life story, 'how he was born an outcast of the village, before nobly stepping up to defend his village in its greatest hour of need.' Naruto loved how they completely glossed over how he was ostracized by the entire village for his entire childhood, looked down upon, called a demon or a monster, used as a boogeyman by parents to frighten their children into behaving, spat on, driven to depression, forced to be separated from the other children by frightened parents, having his house graffitied and vandalized by the very people who now called him a hero. Being treated like no more than a burden for his entire life.

Yeah, Naruto loved how they seemed to forget that on the plaque. He had half a mind to have it either fixed or just have the entire thing taken done once he became Hokage.

Sakura watched as Naruto looked at his own statue, she knew that he hated it. He didn't want a statue to memorialize when he saved the village from Pain. He didn't want a statue that celebrated his life next to all of the memorials of the dead. Sakura could understand that. They stood in front of the plaque that detailed Naruto's life, she could see his hand clenched in anger as he tried to not look at it. She silently took his hand. He stopped instantly and looked at her, expecting her to tell him not to let it get to him.

Instead she kept her eyes fixed on the statue before looking around the Gardens, a content sigh escaped her lips. She spoke several seconds after. "This is my favorite statue in the entire Gardens." She mentioned casually as if it were nothing.

Naruto's brow rose and he opened his mouth to speak but she cut him off before he could start. "Do you know why?" She asked without looking at him.

"..." He didn't say anything, just stood there and let her speak.

She continued to look around the Gardens, taking in all of the beauty for half a minute before answering. "It's a constant reminder that someone is always here for me- I mean, the village. If anything were to ever happen, that we would have someone to turn to." She hoped he didn't catch her words slip, but from the sign of his face he didn't.

He wore an uncomfortable face as he let out a sigh. "...I told them not to build the stupid statue." He mumbled. "But Kakashi-sensei went over my head and had it built anyway."

"That's because he's proud of you, Naruto." Sakura stressed softly. "The entire village looks up to you now."

"The village knows nothing about me." He muttered, gesturing at the plaque with his chin. "They just write down stuff like this to make them feel better about themselves." He was silent for a few more seconds as he watched a dragonfly skim across the water. "...I always dreamed about having a life like this as a kid, but now…"

"...Now what…?" She asked after he didn't say anything for a while.

"Now I just feel hollow. Like it's all fake. Like-like after everything I've done I still feel separated from all of them like when I was a kid." His face turned into a disgusted one. Sakura could see his now free hands as they had a death grip on the metal railing. "...My life is so much better now, everyone in the village loves me, kids come up to me just to say hi, I have a better apartment, I have a fridge full of food unlike when I was a kid, I have all the money I could ever want, I can come and go as I please, I get treated with respect… I…" He trailed off.

She took a small step closer, looking up to him. "Naruto?" She asked. "What are you trying to say?"

He was having a hard time trying to put it into words, she could tell that easily. He let out a breath. He looked away from her. "I'm not happy." He said simply. "I should be, I have almost everything I could ever want… But I'm not happy."

Almost everything, except you. Is how she took his words. It made her feel even more terrible.

Then after a few more seconds of silence. "What's wrong with me?" He asked, his voice just above a whisper.

Sakura grabbed his hand and reached for his face with the other, turning his face to look at her. When he finally looked at her he could see tears in her eyes. It nearly made him cry as well. "There is nothing wrong with you, Naruto!" Her tone had a feeling of finality in it, like her word was law. Like the point couldn't be argued. Her tough faced broke away, she bit her lip, trying to hold everything back. "You've had a tough life. Nothing was ever fair for you… People treated you terribly, I... treated… you terribly" Her voice faltered, causing her to stop.

She shook the tears away. "How people treated you was wrong. Nothing you've ever done was wrong. You're the greatest person I've ever met, Naruto. I- I-" She turned slightly so that she was fully facing him. Her mind was screaming so loudly to tell him, to confess to him how much she loved him, to kiss him and to promise that she would never let him feel that way again… But... she couldn't do it. She didn't want to risk hurting him even more. Kami knew that she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she ever did that to him again.

'Dammit, Sakura!' She screamed to herself. 'Just tell him. Look him in the eye and TELL HIM! He's looking at you now to say something, just SAY SOMETHING!'

"What would make you happy?" She asked before she could stop herself, leaning into him slightly. "What could I do to make you happy?"

Her words shocked him, she could tell, but he still didn't say anything. He just grit his teeth and averted his eyes from her.

'Just say it, Naruto!' She thought. 'Just say that you want to be with me, I'll say it back! I swear to kami! Just say it! Tell me those three little words, I'll say them back, I promise! I'll prove it to you! Just tell me… please." Her pleading thoughts turned weak in her mind. 'Please…'

Instead he just pulled away from her and turned back to the statue. His sudden movement almost made her stumble, her eyes widened at his sudden action. "...There's nothing you can do, Sakura-chan." He whispered softly. "I just wasn't meant to have a happy life."

She reached for him, but she was too slow. Just like her words. She was never fast enough. Never good enough. "Th-that's not true, Naruto! I-"

"Sorry, Sakura-chan." He interrupted.

"-love you." But before she could utter her final two words, he was gone. Disappeared as if he were never there. The only sign he was actually there at all was the faint signature of his chakra as it faded after his departure.

He teleported away from her using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

He left, ran away, left her, before she could confess. He didn't hear, he'd never hear her words. The pinkette dropped to the ground and cried. Not caring how pitiful she looked. Why couldn't he have waited two more seconds? What did she have to do to make up for every horrible thing she ever did so that she could be with him? Did kami just hate her? Did she not deserve to be with Naruto? Was this her sign to give it up? Sakura didn't know, she just cried.

Mad. She was mad at herself for waiting so long to tell him. If she hadn't been so scared… If she would've just given him a chance all those years ago…

Her life was always just a giant 'What if'.

Maybe… maybe she just didn't deserve him after all. Maybe this was a sigh from kami.

Maybe she should just stop trying.

(Author's Note)

Wow… that got much… heavier than I meant it to. A complete 180 tone shift from last chapter, huh? Well, hope you liked it anyway. I was planning to have more after this but I felt that it was best to end here, I'll just move the stuff I didn't get to next chapter, don't worry.

How'd you like the quote for the Chapter Title? It took awhile to find a good one about a garden that fit the context of the chapter. Hope it was okay.

Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you thought of the chapter with a Review. Go ahead and Follow/Favorite while you're at it. Check out my Profile and answer my Poll of you could. Also follow me on Twitter for updates.

Have a nice day,

Hephaestus