Chapter Fourteen

It had been a long journey from Gakure, and they were still a day away from their destination, but his travelling companions would not shut up. Well, two of them, at any rate. The arguing back-and-forth was beginning to get on his last nerve, but their fourth companion refused to pull over and make them stop for fear of being late.

Settling in, the boy simply did his best to ignore them as he closed his eyes and pictured arriving at their new home, pictured seeing her again.

Sakura.

{-}

"How did you know I was here?" Sakura asked, lifting her face from the boy's chest to look up at him.

"Amu texted me," he replied, his usual grin falling easily onto his face. "I can't believe you didn't tell me yourself!" he laughed.

"I would have, but I had my phone taken away!" she defended, pulling away from him and crossing her arms with a pout. "I...I got your letters. Did the soccer match go okay?"

"More than okay!" he enthused, "We won, but it would've been easier with my lucky charm there!"

"I missed you, Kukai," Sakura sniffed, hugging him again.

"I gotta go, Sakura-chan," Yaya butted in, tapping the pinkette's shoulder. "Call me tomorrow, though!"

"I promise," Sakura nodded and Yaya skipped off, in the direction of home. "So, how's Middle School going?"

"Not too bad," shrugged Kukai as the two began walking. "I kinda feel like I've been forgotten a bit since I left elementary school, though."

"You never had a problem with showing up at random before," the girl smiled, nudging him. "Why let yourself get forgotten now?"

"I dunno," he sighed. "It's...different. Every time I go by the Royal Garden now, they have so many stories and have met so many people...I can't always connect with it anymore."

"I know how you feel," Sakura agreed. "When I went back to Gakure, everyone had grown up so much. They would talk about things I didn't know and laugh at jokes I didn't understand. It was hard, but they were still my friends, so I couldn't tell them."

"I'm glad you're back, Sakura," smiled Kukai, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Me too."

The two were quiet, just looking at each other for the longest time. Sakura smiled and causally inched away, and Kukai sighed. Brushing past the awkward moment, Kukai told her all about his classes, and his friends in middle school, while Sakura told him about the new Guardian-like club she had set up in Gakure.

They walked through the town happily, stopping for dinner before Kukai walked her home when it started getting dark. The two talked and laughed like friends, but every glance and every smile held something much deeper.

Neither said a word.

{-}

"So, I am getting a new guardian?" questioned the pinkette, on the phone to Tsukasa. She had arrived home to the sound of her landline ringing, and rushed to pick it up.

"Of course," he replied. "They should be arriving tomorrow, sometime after six."

"Who?" she asked, frowning.

"A friend," the man told her mysteriously. "I'm afraid I have to run, Haruno-san, I have a lot of errands to run. See you at school on Monday!"

"Yeah, see you," she muttered, hanging up with a sigh.

"You expected roommates, Saku-chan," Setsuko reminded her, settling on Sakura's shoulder.

"Yes, I did, but not a guardian," Sakura nodded, "but he said 'a friend'. I wonder...does that mean someone from Gakure?"

"Probably," yawned Mari, stretching out her limbs. "Enough chatter, though. I'm tired."

"Me too," agreed Katsumi, rubbing her eyes.

"Okay, let's go to sleep, then," Sakura nodded, changing into her pyjamas and heading to bed. As her Charas settled down to sleep, Sakura headed over to the window.

She had seen Yaya, and the strange relief at know the orangette was happy to see her again had lifted a weight off her shoulders. Amu, Tadase and Rima seemed well, too, and for that she was strangely happy – even she didn't realised how much she'd missed them. Seeing Nagihiko was unexpected, but not an unpleasant surprise, even if they didn't really talk.

When she had come across Kukai, she had practically exploded with joy. He had almost been forgotten in her move back home, as Yaya had filled her mind the entire time. Once she saw him, however, all the sadness from missing him came back and she couldn't help but run to him.

Still, though, she knew someone was missing.

Peeking outside, Sakura searched desperately for a flash of blue, but saw nothing. She sighed, making sure her window was unlocked, before closing the curtains and slipping into bed, hugging her cat plush Iku-chan tighter than ever.

{-}

"Saku-chan, wake up, wake up, wake up!" a chorus of little voices yelled, pulling Sakura from her slumber. She opened one eye groggily and lifted her head from her pillow, clutching at Iku-chan.

"What?" she yawned, stretching.

"Snow!" screamed Katsumi in excitement. Sakura, now a little more awake, raised an eyebrow.

"Snow?" she repeated, looking to a more level-headed Chara.

"It's snowing, Saku-chan," Mitsu smiled brightly. "Everything is white outside!"

Quickly, Sakura moved from her bed to her window, still holding the large navy blue plush, pulling open her curtains in one movement. She gasped when she beheld the winter wonderland outside. All over everything, there was snow, and it was still falling gracefully from the sky like droplets of frozen joy. She grinned widely, rushing around her house as she washed and dressed for the day.

Once she had pulled on her red winter coat over her white jumper, and her blue jeans, black boots, and cream hat-scarf-gloves combo, Sakura rushed through her front door. She did, however, turn back once she was halfway out to place Iku-chan back inside, on her sofa. When she had done that, she darted back outside.

The girl spun in the street, the snowflakes drifting to her and landing on her head. Giggling, she lifted her hands, catching the snow in her glove-covered palms. She looked up, watching as the pale grey clouds floated overhead, dropping snow like a baker dusting pastries with icing sugar. Sighing happily, Sakura closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of the cold snow melting on her cheeks.

"Sakura-chan!" yelled a familiar voice. Sakura turned, watching as her Charas soared over to greet their friends as the Guardians – minus Amu, but with addition of Kukai – approached her.

"Morning," she greeted them with a smile. "Where are you all headed?"

"Over to the school," explained Tadase with a polite smile. "Yaya was going to play in the snow for a while, and she found Rima and Nagihiko on the way. I was already headed over there, and I ran into Kukai."

"I just wanted to leave footprints," Kukai grinned easily. "Then Tadase and I bumped into Yaya and the others, so we all just decided to head over together."

"Oh," nodded the pinkette.

"You wanna come with?" asked Kukai. Sakura grinned.

"Sure," she agreed. "Let me just lock up."

As soon as she had locked her door, Sakura and the group began their walk to the school. The snow was coming down lighter than before, and they made good time, catching up and chatting happily. Sakura walked between Yaya and Kukai, splitting her attention between the two, while Yaya kept looking back to make sure Rima and Nagihiko – who she had apparently dragged only – hadn't escaped.

When they entered the school courtyard, it wasn't as empty as they had expected, and Kukai let out a disappointed sigh to see that someone had already dotted the grounds with footprints. Yaya was the first to spot Amu, the Joker watching over her sister while Ami ran around in the snow.

"Ah, you already beat us here, Amu-chi!" Yaya yelled in greeting, waving her arm at the taller pinkette.

"Yaya, guys," she realised as they came closer.

"And here I thought I was the most fired up!" Yaya grinned. "Even Sakura-chan was out playing in the snow before me!"

"We wanted to be the first to leave footprints," explained Kukai.

"Did you all come to play in the snow, too?" she asked.

"More like dragged along," Rima told her monotonously. "I was out shopping and Yaya caught me."

"Same here," admitted Nagihiko. Sakura looked back, eyeing him for a moment, and he smiled back.

"I was called here by the chairman," Tadase added.

"And so, since we're all here anyway..." Kukai trailed off.

"Let's play," Yaya began.

"Our hearts out!" she Kukai said together, pumping their fists in the air. Amu sweat-dropped in disbelief while Sakura shook her head, a fond smile flashing across her face.

"This is not the way I imagined things would go," the taller of the two sighed, but she went along with it anyway.

The group played for a while, Yaya and Ami building a snowman while Amu, Rima and Kukai jumped in the snow. Tadase headed off to see the chairman, and Sakura stood back with Nagihiko. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and frowned.

"Do they know?" she asked. He looked at her, startled, before sighing and shaking his head.

"Tadase and Kukai do," he admitted, not even bother to lie to her.

"Not Amu?" Sakura hummed. "She was your...I mean, Nadeshiko-san's best friend."

"Yes," nodded Nagihiko, "and I would hate to just take that away from her. I am waiting for a good time."

"Waiting too long will only hurt her more," the pinkette said in no uncertain terms. "You should just get it over with."

"I would...but I'm afraid," he confessed, rubbing the back of his head.

"Of what?" questioned the girl. Nagihiko shrugged and smiled calmly.

"I don't want her to hate me," he laughed quietly, though there was no humour in it. "Despite everything, I still consider her my best friend. It's just..."

"Complicated," Sakura finished for him. "I don't understand it, but I'll keep quiet."

"Thank you, Sakura," Nagihiko said gratefully, taking her hand. The next thing they knew, a snowball had smacked Nagihiko straight in the face.

"Sorry!" yelled Kukai, who was not looking at all apologetic. Nagihiko smiled, though it was more creepy than friendly, as he bent down to scoop up some snow.

"You will be," he said pleasantly, chasing after Kukai and throwing snowball after snowball at the older boy's head. Sakura laughed at their antics for a moment before she spotted Amu, who looked worried and dazed.

"Are you okay?" she asked her fellow pinkette quietly. Amu blinked and looked up, her eyes wide and swimming with conflict.

'I should tell her about Ikuto,' Amu thought to herself, 'but what if she wants nothing to do with him? The last I saw, they weren't on good terms. What if she doesn't want to see him? I might drive her away again! Yaya would kill me! But what if she does want to see him? No, no way! She never wants to be around him – she's always saying he's around too much! If I tell her, she might feel like I'm forcing her to take him! She'll hate me! Sakura's so scary when she's angry, I can't get her angry, I just –'

"Amu?" Sakura called, concern in her voice.

"I-It's nothing, Sakura," she laughed falsely. Sakura raised an eyebrow, but didn't question it. 'I have to keep this to myself. No one can know that Ikuto is at my house...in my room...sleeping in my bed...What am I gonna do?! What about food? Has he eaten anything?'

Sakura backed away slowly as Amu returned to her previous state of daze and unawareness. That is, until Tadase returned and hovered over her, calling her name – which Sakura noticed saw still 'Hinamori-san' from him, a point that slightly confused her, as she had expected them to have progressed slightly since she last saw them.

"T-Tadase-kun?" Amu stuttered, jolting upright on the snow.

"You seem a bit out of sorts," he noticed worriedly.

"I-It's nothing, really," she assured him, smiling at everyone when she noticed Sakura, Rima and Kukai also giving her concerned looks. "Really, I'm fine!" she added with a big smile.

{-}

For the rest of the day, the group played in the snow. At first, Amu merely stood off to the side, but she suddenly got extremely hyped and was the most enthusiastic about building the giant snowman. Her attitude perked everyone else up, and soon they were all working on the snowman, except Yaya, who was building a smaller one of her own.

After the snowman was built, a snowball fight broke out, with Amu once again taking the lead on enthusiasm, though Sakura began to suspect she was just trying to tire out Ami so she could go home. Still, though, it was a lot of fun, and Sakura hardly noticed the time until it started to get dark.

"Saku-chan," Setsuko said to her quietly, "remember your roommates?"

"Oh, right," Sakura nodded. "Sorry, guys, but I have to go. I had a great time today, though!"

"Me too," smiled Tadase. "We should do this again before the snow melts."

"Yeah, yeah!" agreed Yaya, clinging to Sakura. "Do you have to go, Sakura-chan?"

"Afraid so, Yaya," she smiled. "I'll see you all tomorrow, though, okay?"

"Okay, Sakura-chan!" Yaya accepted, hugging her again before letting her go.

"See ya, Sakura," said Kukai, pulling the pinkette into another hug. Sakura waved to the other and headed off back home.

"I wonder what they'll be like," she mused, thinking on her new roommates as she hurried down the street.

{-}

Sakura paced back and forth across her living room floor, her eyes glancing every now and then to the clock on the wall. Her Charas sat on her coffee table, following her movements with their eyes. The pinkette paused, sighed, and continued pacing, her hands occasionally running through her hair. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, exhaling sharply through her nose.

Knock-knock-knock

"They're here," she mutter, her unwavering gaze stuck to the door.

"Get the door, Saku-chan!" cheered Katsumi, excited about who stood on the other side.

"Okay," Sakura responded meekly, shuffling towards the door. She took a deep breath and pulled the door open, emerald eyes meeting brown.

"Hello, Sakura."

"Y-You..." she trailed off, her eyes widening. Sakura stared at the figure in her doorway, her mouth open in shock. The person blinked and smirked, reaching over and tapping her chin to close her mouth for her.

"Kankuro and Temari will be here in a moment," he explained. "I went ahead to make sure you were actually, while they wanted to grab a couple of things from the moving van. Knowing how much you love snow, I'm surprised you're not out in it right now. We had to pull up a bit further down the street, due to parking issues," he said, pulling out his phone and texting his sister to let her know that the pinkette was home.

"S-Sasori-nii?" she stuttered, not expecting the tall redhead to be at her door.

"Gaara went for a walk," he continued talking as though he were an expected guest. "You know how he hates long car journeys. He should be here shortly. I, personally, wouldn't want to keep you waiting, but my little brother doesn't seem to share my love of punctuality."

"Not to be rude, but," Sakura bit her lip, "what are you guys doing here?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Sasori smiled at her.

"I was supposed to be meeting my new guardian..." she trailed off, looking at the twenty one-year-old with hope in her eyes.

"That would be me," he said calmly, "and, of course, I couldn't leave the others behind, what with them being minors."

"I guess that explains why this place is so big," Sakura nodded. "Oh, come in!"

"Thank you," Sasori said, bowing his head and stepping into his new home.

"Nice place," commented someone else. Sakura turned, seeing Kankuro and Temari, each holding a few bags. When she glanced at Sasori again, she noticed that he, too, had luggage with him.

"Hey, Sakura," greeted Temari as she placed her bags down to hug the younger girl. "Good to see you!" she laughed while releasing the pinkette, watching in amusement as Kankuro ran at Sakura and practically glomped her.

"I'm so glad we're living together," he sighed, moving back. "Gaara's been pouting since he found out you were leaving. Hopefully now he'll go back to just being sullen."

"Stop it," Temari glared, punching the brunette in the arm. He rubbed his new injury while Sasori cleared his throat.

"Why don't we get unpacked and I'll make us some tea," he suggested in a calm tone. "Hopefully, by then, we will no longer be waiting for Gaara," he added, an angry look in his eye when he said 'waiting'.

"Oh," Sakura perked up, "I'll make us all some tea. You three just focus on unpacking. There're five rooms, so we each have one."

"Thank you, Sakura," Sasori accepted. "That is very considerate of you."

The three left to find a room and unpack while Sakura breathed out a sigh of relief. After living alone for so long, it was enough of an adjustment getting used to Tsunade, but now she had four house mates. Sure, she lived with Katsumi, Setsuko and Mari, and then Mitsu later on, but they were an extension of herself more than house guests.

"Hey, Sakura," a small voice greeted. The pinkette looked up and smiled.

"Hey, Karasu, Hiruko," she greeted Kankuro and Sasori's Charas. 'If only Temari and Gaara had Charas, too. That would make this whole thing easier.'

The Charas floated away to their owners and Sakura bit her lip, looking at her forever-unlocked window. She wondered how the Sabaku no siblings would react to Ikuto dropping in, but then she frowned. If he had not come within two weeks of her returning, she began to doubt he ever would.

An aching in her chest made her wince and she thought that this may be what heartbreak feels like.

She missed him.