Chapter Six

Holding the umbrella firmly above her head, Sakura silently watched Tadase fighting Ikuto while Amu stood between them, though away from the fight. The bright light emitting from the boys' weapons was filling the area and Sakura noticed how perfect the scene was – two boys, both complete opposites, competing for Amu's affections. Looking away, she realised that the thought of Ikuto fighting for Amu was a lot more painful that it should have been. She bit her lip, looking up again in just enough time to see Amu transform into Amulet Heart. Watching this she glanced towards Katsumi – even her transformations were 'Lonely' when compared to Amu's beautiful amulet.

However, a second glance told her that the amulet's power had increased greatly, and Amu was viably glowing. She felt warm and bright just looking at the taller pinkette.

"Sakura," Ikuto gasped, looking over at her. She saw a reflection of light in his eyes and took a step back, the reflection moving with her. Looking down, she realised that the warm light wasn't from seeing Amu, but was a result of her glowing, too.

"That's strange," she muttered, glancing at Mitsu. As soon as she met her youngest Chara's eyes, the warmth increased and the words just spilled out of her mouth, "Watashi no Kokoro: Unlock!" Sakura called, holding her hands in front of her heart and twisting them. Mitsu flew towards her, smiling sweetly as her egg closed around her and she flew into Sakura.

Sakura's whole form was covered with golden light and her hair floated loosely around her. She spun around quickly, the light unwrapping itself from around her, starting at her head. The light unwrapped to reveal a thick yellow headband atop her head, the golden rays of light sweeping through her loose strands of hair. It continued to unwrap down her torso, revealing a white dress with splits up her left side to her hip, a sparkling golden belt wrapped around her waist from her chest to her hips.

The light unwrapped from her feet, showing gold ballerina slippers tied with ribbons of the same colour up to her knees. Sakura spun around again, the light settling around her before fading to reveal a sheer gold fabric flowing from under her belt, opening in the front and covering the back of her dress to her knees. It also fell out of the front of the belt, two parts attaching themselves to gold bracelets on Sakura's wrists. In a burst of sparkles, a gold sun appeared on Sakura's headband and she smiled, raising her arms above her head.

"Chara Nari: Lonely Sun!" she and Mitsu called at the same time, twirling and bowing her head until she came to a stop, a sweet smile on her face and her arms raised.

"No way," Sakura muttered as she continued to glow, the golden light around her spreading to meet with the light pink light emitting from Amu. They met around Ikuto, who then heard a noise. He reached into his pocket and pulled something out, holding it up to look at.

"The Dumpty Key is resonating," he realised, looking up from the decorative piece and at Sakura.

"The rain seems to have ceased," realised Setsuko, looking around.

"Ah!" they heard Miki gasp, "Look!"

"A rainbow!" cried Amu with a large smile.

"It's beautiful," breathed Sakura. As the sun shone down on her, she felt her spirits lift. The sparkles on her belt glittered in the light, even as the glow around her subsided.

"Sakura," Ikuto called to her as he walked in her direction. He took her hand, looking deeply into her eyes, and smirked. "Allow me to 'walk' you home," he requested. Sakura smiled a little.

"And by 'walk' you mean...?" she trailed off. Taking this as permission, Ikuto lifted the girl from the ground and leapt up into the trees, carrying her back in the direction of her home. Sakura rested her head on his chest as she wrapped her arms around his neck and, for the first time in days, she felt safe and secure.

She felt at peace.

Sakura awoke suddenly, sitting up in bed. She looked around her room, taking in the sight of the packed boxes casting shadows in the dimly lit room. It was still very early in the morning, as was apparent by the cast of the sunrise through her room, and her Charas and Tsunade were most likely still sound asleep. A glance to the Chara eggs on her empty dresser confirmed this.

Getting out of bed, Sakura did notice something falling from her mattress and rolling under the bed frame as she walked to her window and quietly opened the curtains, looking out at the sunrise. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she realised that the day had come, even with all her prayers and wishes, and today she would be leaving her new home and going back to Gakure.

The girl wasn't surprised that her dream had ended with Ikuto. Her mind was focusing on only him lately, revolving around the teen and whether or not he was thinking about her as much as she was thinking about him. Not that she expected him to, but she hoped nonetheless. Sakura told herself that, if she weren't moving, she would have remained angry at Ikuto longer, but in truth she knew that she couldn't hold a grudge against him for any more than a day or two, and it had already been a week.

Giving in was never something Sakura admitted to, and so she decided that forgiving Ikuto so easily was the lesser of two evils – she could either forgive him, thus acknowledging that it was impossible for her to stay mad at him, or continue her anger wallow in loneliness. Given these options, she would pick Ikuto over being alone any time, but then she would even pick Tadase over being left by herself for a long period of time.

Rubbing her eyes, Sakura decided it was too early for such philosophical thoughts, and so she turned around and climbed back into bed. In a few hours, the apartment would be empty and she would be in a truck, on her way back to Gakure for the foreseeable future.

It wasn't even time for breakfast and today already sucked.

She looked back at the window with a frown. For a moment, she had felt warm and peaceful, much like she had when the girls were born. Eyes widening, Sakura rushed to her bed and checked it, only to sigh when she found no new egg.

"Who am I kidding?" she huffed, "Five eggs? Doubtful."

{-}

Lethargically, Sakura stirred her spoon in her cereal, every now and then raising the spoon to take a bite. She watched the morning cartoons on TV as she ate, Tsunade bustling about in the other room making sure everything was packed and ready to go. She licked her lips to make sure no milk was left there. Sakura cleaned her empty bowl in the sink, along with the spoon, and turned off the TV, taking in the silence of the room.

She breathed deeply, her thoughts a jumbled mess while outwardly she appeared as calm and collected as ever. In her mind, Sakura was screaming, wailing, kicking and crying like the child she was, begging for the words to convince Tsunade to stay here, or to let her stay, but her mind and mouth wouldn't listen to the pleading and Sakura remained silent. She stood, glancing around the kitchen.

"Sakura, are you ready yet?" called Tsunade as she re-entered the room, tutting under her breath when she saw the bowl and spoon on the drying rack. Quickly unpacking a dish towel, Tsunade dried the kitchen ware and packed it all away in its respective box.

"I don't want to leave," Sakura told her bluntly, meeting Tsunade's eye. The blonde hesitated before she sighed heavily.

"I know," she replied.

"Then why are you making me?" the pinkette persisted desperately. She wrung her hands together and her eyes filled with tears that she refused to cry, even though she was getting close. Tsunade hugged the girl tightly, embracing her and attempting to soothe her.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," she murmured. "I hope one day you will understand that I'm only doing what is best, but for now you'll just have to do as you're told. Go and collect the rest of your things – the moving van will be here soon, and we need to make sure we're ready to have to movers put everything inside."

"Yes, Tsunade," she responded weakly. Sakura stumbled towards her room, opening the door. "Roll call," she said, looking around.

"Radiant Red!" giggled her first-born Chara, twirling into view.

"Beautiful Blue," continued Setsuko, calmly playing along with her sister's game.

"Gallant Green!" barked Mari happily, flexing her little arms.

"Gorgeous Gold," finished Mitsu, flicking her hair back with a flourish.

"Is it time?" asked Setsuko, seeing the look on Sakura's face. The pinkette nodded glumly and the Charas silently packed their own belongings, placing the small items in Sakura's last open box. When they were done, Sakura began moving her boxes out of her room and into the main hallway, ready for transportation.

Walking back inside her room, Sakura looked around.

The walls were bare; the bed was stripped of its sheets and the plain dresser empty, the built-in closet open and filled only with bare hangers. It looked abandoned, and never lived-in. She wondered how anyone could look at a room like this and see anything but a blank canvas – Sakura hated to leave behind a place with no proof of her existence. It felt too ghost-like, as though she had never been there in her live.

Biting her lip, Sakura spotted something under the dresser and crouched down, reaching to pull it out. Her eyes widened instantly as she took in the sight of her broken mahogany box, the lid askew and the smashed glass cherry blossom in clear view inside. Simply staring at this broken memory she was shocked – even though it had no practical or aesthetic use anymore, this ornament still held meaning and could still push her to wonder – what would her father say if he saw her give in like this?

Scowling, Sakura clutched the box to her body protectively.

She had to leave. She was just a child, after all – nothing she could say would convince Tsunade to allow her to stay.

Sakura paused.

What about something she could do?

{-}

Tsunade walked out of the kitchen, towards Sakura's room. She sighed sadly, knowing that the girl was unhappy about moving again – it really was for the best, though. She would hurt, and she would long for everyone she would be leaving behind, but this was better than the heartbreak she would feel if Tsunade allowed her to continue seeing that Tsukiyomi boy. She stood by the doorway and knocked, but received no reply.

"Sakura," she called, "I'm sorry. I know you want to stay, but..."

Knock, knock

"Hold on," she muttered to the pinkette, walking to the front door. Opening it, Tsunade was greeted by the worried face of Shizune. In the younger woman's arms was her pet pig, Tonton. "What is it?"

"The neighbours said they saw Sakura climbing through her window!" she cried, scared for the safety of the child.

"How?" frowned the blonde, "She's in her room, I was just..." she trailed off, her eyes widening and her pupils shrinking in fear. Bolting for the pinkette's room, Tsunade shoved the door open and froze.

Blue curtains blew in the light wind from the open window.

The room was empty of life.

{-}

Sakura shifted the backpack on her shoulder, the weight of it slowing her down a little. Having packed a variety of things she would need, Sakura had made a hasty escape from Tsunade's apartment through her window. She's ignored the yelling from the neighbours – who were on the street, having just gotten home – and ran with the hope that, by the time Tsunade realised she was gone she would have gotten far enough.

Her phone began ringing and she checked it, wincing when she saw that it was Tsunade calling her. Rejecting the call, Sakura trekked on. She wasn't sure where she was going, or even how long she was going carry on, but she knew that she wouldn't leave without a fight. Frowning from the effort of carrying her heavy bag, Sakura found a bench and rested for a moment, staring up at the sky.

"Saku-chan," said Katsumi to get her attention, "we can't keep running. You have to go back."

"I won't," Sakura protested. She stood from the bench and glanced at her Charas. "I can't leave another place, just when I've grown to love it."

{-}

Kukai spotted her when she was resting on the bench.

At first, he wasn't going to draw any attention to himself. After she had rejected him, Kukai decided that the best thing was to give her space for a while before approaching her again, starting over with friendship and seeing where it went from there – hopefully, a little better than last time. However, when he spotted the rather large backpack she was struggling with, he was far too curious to remain silent.

"Sakura!" he called, waving a hand. She turned towards him sharply, looking confused, before her face cleared and she smiled.

"Hi, Kukai," she greeted when he got closer. Sakura put her bag back on the bench and tilted her head, "What're you doing here?"

"Walking home," he stated, nodding to the soccer ball under his arm. Sakura hummed considering. "Where were you headed?"

"Uhh, that's a little harder to explain," she muttered, looking away. Sensing her discomfort, Kukai bit his lip and frowned.

"Do you want to come over mine for a while?" he offered, noticing the way her eyes lit up, "You can stay for dinner, if my parents agree," he added, hoping to brighten the already happy look on her face. It worked and Sakura beamed at him as she nodded, moving to pick up her bag. Kukai beat her to it, and instead pressed his soccer ball into her arms.

"What're you doing?" asked Sakura, looking at the ball in confusion.

"Trading," Kukai smirked, swinging her bag onto his back. Smiling slightly, Sakura held tighter to his soccer ball. "What've you got in here, anyway? It's heavy!"

"That's also kinda hard to explain," Sakura stated nervously.

"We have time," Kukai retorted, leading the way to his house.

{-}

By the time they had gotten to his house, and Kukai had asked his parents if Sakura could stay for dinner – which she could – the pinkette had very nearly completed her story. Half way through, she had come up with the idea of staying with Kukai, and so she told him all about Tsunade's plan to move, her worries and trials with Ikuto, how much she truly missed her old friends, but how much more she knew she would long for her new ones.

"So, I was hoping to just hang out here for a while," Sakura concluded after explaining her plan to Kukai. She was sitting in his room, the boy in question merely staring at her. "What?"

"You can't do that, Sakura," he told her seriously. She sighed.

"I know," she agreed. "It was a hope, and a shoddy one at that. I just want to stay here, and –"

"You have to go," he said firmly, cutting her off. "Tsunade is your family, and your old friends didn't cause you nearly as much heartache as everyone here has. Think about it; back in Gakure, did you ever get used as a puppet in an evil plot, or did you ever feel insignificant to the point of useless around one other person, or get so confused about your feelings that you would just cry inside until you went numb?"

"...No," Sakura realised quietly, knowing he was right.

"I'll miss you, Sakura," he sighed, "You have no idea how much, but you need to go. It's what's best. I want you to be happy – you'll miss it for a while, but in the end your life won't be nearly so messed up. You could go back to living a normal life. You'll even connect better now, since there are people back there with Charas and no Easter!"

"Oh, yeah," Sakura murmured, remembering Itachi and Kisame, and everyone else the older Uchiha had told her about. She then recalled Naruto, and how he seemed to almost know there were Charas there, and that he would probably hatch one soon. She smiled.

"You know it," Kukai nodded.

"Yes," Sakura replied. "I guess...I have to go."

Then he just held her, holding back tears at the knowledge that he may never hold her again, and Sakura thought about how life would be back in Gakure.

{-}

When Sakura had gotten back home, Tsunade had lectured her about running off until the moving van arrived. Then it was just a case of packed everything away into the van and piling in, with Tsunade driving, Sakura in the middle and Shizune in the passenger seat, holding Tonton. Katsumi, Setsuko, Mari and Mitsu were in the back, taking a nap in their eggs. They were excited about getting to know new Chara friends but, much like Sakura, they knew they would miss their current friend too much.

Sakura felt cold all over as a jolt burst through her, much like a few days prior when Minami had a Chara Nari and become a Nazo Chara. She felt a pull, her every instance begging her to find and resolve the issue, but she couldn't and it was killing her. The feeling grew the further she got from wherever she was meant to be until finally it disappeared all together. With her last link gone, Sakura finally allowed herself to cry.

She was really leaving.

Having left her old bed behind – it being a piece of furniture owned by the landlord – Sakura never thought to look under it.

A grey egg lay still beneath the bed.