Chapter Seventeen
Sakura's eye twitched slightly as she sat in the classroom, surrounded mostly by young girls and their mothers. Over her school uniform, which she hadn't had time to change out of yet, she wore a simple white apron.
"This is fun, right, Sakura-chan?" beamed Temari, sat beside the pinkette. "You spend so much time with Gaara, or Kankuro, or Sasori, that we never really get the chance! It's strange, since you never used to spend much time with my brothers – except Gaara, of course," mused the blonde, placing a finger to her chin in thought.
Twitching again, Sakura looked to her Charas, all of whom were floating around the room, getting a better look. It wasn't like she could tell Temari that the reason she was hanging around Kankuro and Sasori so much now was because of Karasu and Hiruko. Offering Temari a half-smile and a shrug, Sakura could think of nothing to say.
"Not sure," she said after a moment. "I guess I just wanted to get to know them better, since we're all living together now."
"Make sense," nodded Temari, "however, I still need to spend time with my baby sister!" she grinned. "Plus, there's this gorgeous guy in my middle school class that I've been wanting to make chocolates for."
"Temari-nee…you can't cook," Sakura said as gently, but bluntly, as possible.
"I know!" groaned Temari. "That's what the class is for! So I won't poison him with my feelings."
"R-Right, but," the pinkette frowned. "Why didn't you just ask me? I'm a pretty good cook."
"You can cook, and you can bake," nodded the blonde, "but your chocolates suck. This class is for both of us."
"…I have no one to give chocolates to," she muttered, looking down at her hands on the worktop. Temari glanced at her and wilted slightly, seeing how upset the younger girl seemed.
"Buck up, kiddo," Temari smiled. "I'll bet there's loads of guys in your school who would kill to get Valentine's chocolates from you."
'Yeah, but I don't want a guy from my school,' Sakura thought, though outwardly she offered Temari a smile.
"Welcome, everyone," greeted their teacher, a blonde man with a smile on his face. "I hope we can all enjoy learning how to make delicious chocolates today."
Sakura looked up and froze, spotting another head of pink hair standing across the room. Amu was there, with her mother and little sister. She hadn't noticed Sakura yet, but the pinkette knew it was only a matter of time. After the incident a few days ago, where she was unable to Chara Nari, she had been avoiding all of the Guardians, though Amu and Yaya were the most persistent in getting her to talk to them.
}-{
"Sakura, there you are!" gasped Amu as she jogged towards the smaller pinkette. They were at school, though Sakura was avoiding eye-contact. The only reason she had stopped was because of Katsumi, insisting and prodding until she did. Mitsu was staying home, looking after Nanami.
"Yeah, sorry, but I'm really busy right now," Sakura mumbled, hoping to get out of the conversation quickly.
"Saku-chi!" cried Yaya, jumping at and latching onto Sakura before the pinkette could get away. "What happened? We just turned around and you were gone!"
"Nagihiko said you ran off because you couldn't Chara Nari," Amu added, looking worried. Sakura tensed and frowned.
"Just a glitch, I think," she shrugged. "Getting used to a new Chara and all."
"If you're sure?" questioned the Joker, raising an eyebrow. "If you need to talk to anyone –"
"I said I'm fine," Sakura interrupted, shrugging Yaya off and walking away.
}-{
'Please don't let her see me,' she begged internally.
"Today, we'll be making chocolate truffles," the teacher continued as everyone settled on a work station. "We'll begin with the ganache."
Listening to his instructions carefully, Sakura and Temari each grabbed a large bar of chocolate and began chopping it up. Once it was in small enough pieces, they put it in separate bowls and heated their cream before adding it to the chocolate, stirring it until all of the chocolate was melted. Once cooled enough to work with, their ganache was ready.
They spooned their ganache into piping bags and began to squeeze it out into separate truffles on a baking tray. Sakura focused, making sure they were all even and nicely shaped, while Temari simply worked as quickly as possible, ending up with oddly-shaped blobs of all different sized. The pinkette smiled slightly at the blonde's work, knowing it reflected her rashness perfectly.
"And, done!" announced Temari happily, placing her piping back to the side as he observed her truffles. "Perfection…kinda…" she tilted her head, sighed, and shrugged. "Ah, well, he'll still like 'em!"
"You're sure these are for a guy in your class, and you're not just gonna send them to Shikamaru by post?" Sakura hummed as she finished her truffles, seeing Temari tense out of the corner of her eye. The pinkette smiled slightly, knowingly, while Temari smirked.
"And what if I am?" she grinned, crossing her arms. "You think he'll like them?"
"He'll think they're 'troublesome'," Sakura laughed, "but I guarantee he'll eat them all and send you something back, and not just because his mother will make him."
"Good," Temari nodded, satisfied. "Now, who're you giving yours to?"
"I'll probably just eat them myself," Sakura mused, glancing at her chocolates.
"W-What?" gasped the blonde. "Unacceptable! Quick, think of guys you know and say the first name that comes to mind!"
"Uhh, Nagihiko?" she blurted, remembering that he was the one who told the others about her inability to Chara Nari.
"Okay, another name!" Temari prompted, rolling her eyes.
"Kukai?" Sakura tried, thinking immediately that she needed to see him soon – he always gave good advice, and she needed it right now.
"Try again," said the blonde through clenched teeth.
"Ik…" Sakura trailed off, unable to finish the word. "Gaara," she said instead.
"Ding-ding-ding!" sang Temari. "You two would be great together! He'll love them."
Sakura said nothing, only eyeing her sister-figure as the blonde plotted how to turn Sakura from 'like-a-sister' to 'sister-in-law'. She rolled her eyes slightly and glanced back to where Amu was standing, noticing with some approval that the taller pinkette was working on her own, not having deferred to Suu for a Chara Change.
"Looking good!" praised the teacher. "Now, we'll finish them off by creating the chocolate shell. This procedure is call tempering."
At this point, the chocolate-making procedure became somewhat trickier. The pair made sure to monitor their chocolate carefully while heating, cooling, and then re-heating the mixture, but Sakura was sure hers turned out somewhat rough, while Temari's was a little too fluid. Still, after shaping their ganache and dipping it into the tempered chocolate, the pair had great fun decorating their truffles.
Unable to help herself, Temari ended up shaping and decorating hers in a way that resembled shogi pieces. She had a little trouble icing on the characters, but they were recognisable. Meanwhile, Sakura had separated her truffles out, leaving all of them round, but decorated them with simple patterns – waves, a crown, a cherry blossom, and so on. The three left when she was finished starred up at her, plain.
Picking up her small piping bag again, Sakura carefully drew out the picture of a cat, then a love heart, and finally a soccer ball. As she pulled back, she felt rather than saw Temari hovering over her shoulder, observing her creations. Her eye twitched a little and she threw Temari a curious look.
"So," she pointed at the heart truffle, "that's one's obviously for Gaara, and that's very cute, by the way, but…" she pointed at all the others, "who're the rest for?"
"My friends," shrugged Sakura. "People from school, mostly. I made some for you, too, and for Kankuro and Sasori."
"No!" Temari wailed, "These are supposed to be your declaration of love! How will Gaara know you two are supposed to be together if you're giving out chocolates to everyone?"
"M-Maybe we aren't meant to be together?" Sakura attempted, but she froze at the glare Temari aimed at her.
"You will be my sister-in-law," she muttered. "I had high hopes for you and Gaara, but I will marry you to Kankuro or Sasori if I have to."
"E-Eh?" Sakura stuttered. "T-Temari-nee, I don't need to marry one of your brothers for us to be family."
"…That's so sweet of you, Sakura-chan," beamed Temari, suitably placated for the moment. "Now, let's pack these all up and head home. This sweet smell of chocolate is making me nauseous."
"Ever the romantic, nee-chan," giggled Sakura, following Temari out of the room, making sure to keep her head down when she passed Amu, though the taller pinkette didn't seem to notice her.
They arrived home quickly, and both set out to boxing and wrapping their truffles. Temari wrapped all of hers up in one large box, covering it with green wrapping paper, before she placed that in another box with bubble wrap. Wisely, Sakura did not mention that, as Temari would be posting the chocolates on Valentine's Day, Shikamaru would never get them in time.
Sakura, meanwhile, had placed her own in six different boxes. Two small boxes each contained three truffles, while a slighter larger one holding five, one for each of the Guardians, and another box had the last twelve, for Sasori, Kankuro, Temari and Gaara. The older teen was very disappointed that Sakura wouldn't be giving Gaara his own box, but the argument was no longer moot.
With the chocolates boxed and in the fridge, Sakura eyed one of her boxes – a black and blue one – with a slightly frown.
{-}
Sakura stood in the kitchen, the smell of bacon, eggs, sausages, hash browns, fried bread and mushrooms exuding from the room. The smell woke the Sabaku siblings and the four of them seemed to float downstairs, led by their noses.
Turning to place the last plate on the table, Sakura jumped slightly to find all four of her housemates already sat down, staring at the food. She smiled a little, placed down the plate, and sat in her chair, looking between their hungry faces.
"Happy Valentine's Day, guys," she said before spooning some scrambled egg onto her plate. The others weren't far behind, Kankuro and Temari instantly falling on the food while Sasori nodded his thanks and began to take some of the bacon. Gaara remained still, just staring at the box of chocolates in the middle.
"Is that…?" he trailed off, staring at the truffle with the heart on it. Sakura followed his gaze, her cheeks turning a little pink.
"Oh, yeah, I made that for you," she muttered. "I mean, the chocolates are for all of you, but that one…is for you."
"…Thank you," Gaara smiled, reaching for it. Just before he could grab it, his hand was smacked away.
"Real food first," Temari growled at him through a mouthful of mushrooms.
"Y-Yes, nee-san," he muttered, turning to fill his plate with the food Sakura cooked. "Sakura, classes are cancelled today, right?"
"Yeah, for the Valentine's competitions and stuff," she nodded. "I think our school is the only one in the world to take this kinda stuff so seriously. We're still expected to go to school, though, and the teachers will take attendance."
"Shame," Gaara sighed. "I was hoping to skip school."
"There will be no delinquency under my roof," Sasori said calmly, a steely look in his eye that left no room for argument.
Sakura smiled slightly, looking around her new little family.
Up in the pinkette's room, Nanami was watching her sisters talk and play amongst themselves, her thoughts going a mile a minute. By the time Sakura came up to retrieve them, with Katsumi complaining about there being too much to do, Setsuko reminding all of them to watch out for stampeding girls, Mari grinning as she hoped to be caught in the middle of it, and Mitsu longing for her man-slaves, Nanami had made her decision.
Not really listening to her Charas, Sakura and Gaara chatted all the way to school.
{-}
When she arrived at her classroom, boxed truffles in her bag, Sakura was slightly stunned by the long line of girls coming out of the classroom to Star Class. She poked her head in, muffling a laugh when she saw that all the girls were lined up to give Tadase Valentine's chocolates. Judging by the stack next to him, this had been going on a while already. She was honestly surprised to see Amu sat at her desk rather than waiting in the line.
"Tadase sure is popular," noted Setsuko, eyeing the chocolates appreciatively.
"Humph, all this effort for one who should be bowing at their feet!" scoffed Mitsu, referring to her ideal world where the men happily served the women.
"Saku-chan, perhaps we should leave the chocolates for the guardians in the Royal Garden," suggested Setsuko.
"Yeah, good idea," nodded the pinkette, backing out of the crowded room. "I'll go right after attendance."
After their first, and only, class of the day, Sakura hurried out of the classroom and outside the school before she could be caught in the mob of people on their way to the assembly hall for the contests. Uninterested in the various competitions, since all of them seemed rather silly – aside from the chocolate making contest, which was okay – Sakura decided to drop off her chocolates and leave, knowing Gaara was going to attend the Valentine's events.
She made it to the Royal Garden, looking around and smiling as memories of the place came back to her. She sighed slightly, digging the box of truffles out of her bag and placing them on the table. A note on them read 'To the Guardians; Happy Valentine's Day. From, Sakura.'
When she turned to close her bag again, another box caught her eye – wrapped in dark blue paper, with a black bow, was a small box of four chocolates. She had made them for Ikuto, without really thinking, but doubted she would be able to give them to him. She sighed sadly, pulling the box out of her bag and holding it in both hands, staring at it.
Nanami watched her, shaking her head slightly.
"I…can't…help…it…" ground out Katsumi before she burst upwards, loudly laughing. "As the Chara of Love, I declare this day to bring an end to all fighting over who Sakura will be with for the rest of her life!"
"Eh?" Sakura said, stunned by the proclamation.
"For too long there has been dispute!" Katsumi continued. "Sakuto, Sakukai, GaaSaku, Sakuhiko, Sakairi, Tadakura!"
"T-Tadakura?" she echoed quietly.
"You and Tadase," Mari informed her with a yawn. "No one really supports it, but it was mentioned once, so there you go."
"No more!" the Love Chara cried. "Call out to the Gods of Love in your sweetest voice, call out for the love you want! Call out! Sakuhiko! Sakuhiko!"
"Oh, hell no!" growled Mari, "Sakukai, all the way! Sakukai!"
"Sakuto," Setsuko said calmly, though her voice seemed just as loud as the others.
"You three are so silly," giggled Mitsu. "It's GaaSaku, obviously. They are, after all, both from the same original series – err, town."
"Unfortunately, dear sisters, you are mistaken," Nanami piped up. "For you see, Sakura is unable to love."
They were all silent, staring at Nanami for her strange comment. The grey Chara merely stared back, blinking twice, before the silence was broken.
"W-What are you talking about?" Katsumi asked, frowning. "Of course Saku-chan can love. I mean, look at the heart!" the snorted, pointing to the large heart on her head.
"You are representative of confidence," Nanami nodded, "but not of love, despite your symbol. It is Mitsu who represents Sakura-chan's wish to be loving, to be loved, but rather than exude kindness and warmth, as she is supposed to, she commands slaves. What does that say of the one who wishes to be like her, to love like she does? It says that she does not know how to love."
"Not true!" snapped Mitsu. "I know how to love. The slave-thing is a character trait, not an exact representation. Besides, it's fun, it's not about love."
"Untrue," sighed Nanami. "I have observed you, Sakura. You want confidence, yet you constantly become withdrawn around others."
}-{
Unlike the other Guardians, she had decided to lean on a tree a small way off from the pitch, rather than sit with them and eat the food that Nadeshiko had prepared. She cast a glance at them and scowled, hating how easily they could just sit together and support their friend.
"You know, Saku-chan, you could go and join them," Katsumi told her, pointing to the Guardians and their Charas. Setsuko nodded her head in agreement while Mari sat herself down on Sakura's shoulder.
"If I wanted to join them, I would. I may be a Guardian, but I'm certainly not friends with any of them," she told her would-be selves sternly; they all sighed in defeat of their stubborn master.
}-{
"Ah!" cried Katsumi, her egg appearing around her and beginning to close. She struggled against it, but Sakura could only watch it happen.
"From Setsuko you wish for maturity," Nanami continued, not seeing Sakura's eyes widen when Setsuko's egg began to close on her, too. "Yet, you childishly become jealous at the smallest of things."
}-{
"Hey, Shion, do that thing you always do!" Kukai encouraged. Sakura looked away and sighed again, resting her head on the table. Kukai was never so comfortable around her and, as much as she hated to admit it, she was...
"Jealous," said a voice, breaking her thoughts.
"W-What?" asked Sakura, sitting up straight and staring wide-eyed at the woman, Shion.
"She's jealous?" questioned Amu, looking at Sakura.
"You asked me why I thought she looked so down, did you not?" smiled Shion brightly. "Well, I think she might just be jealous," the woman leaned towards the smallest girl, not including the Charas, at the table with a cheeky grin. "So, tell me, who's the lucky guy?"
"I don't have to tell you anything," Sakura scowled, getting up and walking out of the cafe.
}-{
Both red and blue Charas were now trapped in their eggs, slowly disappearing before her eyes. Sakura began to panic, breathing heavily as tears gathered in her eyes. "Stop this," she begged, looking between Nanami and the space her Charas no longer occupied. They were gone.
"You long to be brave and strong, and protect those you love, as represented through Mari," Nanami carried on, not listening. "Yet, you often turn from fights, looking for excuses."
}-{
"Maybe a Shugo Chara cannot be purified...but healed," she said, looking at Sakura and remembering how she healed the broken egg. Feeling the gaze of the Queen's Chair, Sakura looked back with wide eyes.
"N-No! That was one time, and it was only an egg!" she stated. "I can't –!"
"Haruno, that's someone's Shugo Chara!" Amu yelled.
}-{
"Mitsu is supposed to represent your wish to love and be loved," she persisted relentlessly, "and yet, here you are, with no idea if you love anyone, and unable to express any feeling of the like to the boys you think you are attracted to."
}-{
With the chocolates boxed and in the fridge, Sakura eyed one of her boxes – a black and blue one – with a slightly frown.
}-{
"Saku-chan!" cried Mitsu, trapped in her egg and fading. The pinkette looked at Nanami in disbelief.
"W-What have you done?" Sakura hiccupped, tears streaming down her face.
"I am the part of you that is always honest, Sakura," the grey Chara told her softly, expression finally giving way to sympathy. "It is…difficult, with so many Charas, for you to keep track of what you want; of who you wish to be. I represent just that – the person you wish to be, who is happy, confident, mature, loving, strong, brave. Everything that Katsumi, Setsuko, Mari and Mitsu represent, so do I."
"Then why?" she croaked. "Why were you born, if I already had them?"
"You were beginning to forget," Nanami frowned. "You forgot that my sisters were who you wish to become. Instead, you used their traits through a Chara-Change, rather than attempting to become confident, or loving."
"What now, then?" she sniffled, her eyes watery. "Are they just…gone?"
"Never, Sakura-chan," smiled Nanami, her face lighting up. "They're always here, but for now you need to remember what you wanted from them, and why we were all born. For now, you have me. In time, you'll have them, too."
Sakura was stunned, unable to respond to her Chara.
Katsumi, Setsuko, Mari, and Mitsu were all gone, but Nanami had said they would be back. It was confusing, but she did not see a reason why her grey Chara would lie to her. A final tear fell from her eye.
"Do you promise?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.
"They are at your home right now, sleeping in their eggs, waiting for when you become who you are meant to be," Nanami assured her.
Relaxing slightly, Sakura sat in her old Joker's chair to rest. She propped her elbows on the table and placed her head in her hands. Suddenly, a feeling of peace and belonging rushed over her and she looked up, staring around the Royal Garden.
"I had no idea how much I missed this place," she muttered, glancing at Nanami for a moment. "This was where I made my first real friends. It was a shaky start, but that was my fault mostly, since I never really put myself out there and socialised with them. They were patient with me, though, for the most part. Amu especially, with how I treated her. Kukai and Yaya, too – they always saw the best in me."
"There's a lot of good to see," Nanami smiled. Returning the gesture, Sakura stood and stretched out her arms.
"Classes are cancelled today for the contests anyway," she mused. "I think I'll just head home."
As Sakura wandered through the park, a feeling of unease lingered in the air, and the pinkette paused. She couldn't sense a Nazo Chara, but felt more like one had recently been healed. Shrugging it off, and assuming Amu had been able to take care of it, Sakura continued on her walk, glancing towards Nanami every now and then.
"Please, I'll take anything – nya!" she heard a small, very familiar voice call. Her heart clenched and she didn't even pause to think, instead running towards where the voice came from.
When she got close enough, she could see the small cat Chara. He hadn't changed a bit, and the sight of him make her feel so happy she almost screamed in joy. Yoru meant that Ikuto was nearby, or at least he knew where he was.
"Yoru!" she cried, watching him turn and freeze. She stopped running, thinking for the first time. 'Ikuto's been avoiding me. What if Yoru has, too? What if he told Yoru not to talk to me?'
"S-Sakura – nya?" Yoru gasped, tears filling his eyes as he floated up to her, colliding with her shoulder and hugging her. "Sakura, I missed you – nya! Where have you been – nya? Where's Setsuko – nya? Do you have any food? Nya?"
"Slow down," Sakura smiled, scooping him up. "I got back from Gakure a little while ago. Setsuko's…not gonna be around for a while, but this is Nanami," she said, showing Yoru her grey Chara. "I have some chocolates, if you're hungry?"
"Hungry!" he squeaked, nodding vigorously. Sakura dug out the box she had wrapped for Ikuto, handing them over to the Chara. "Thanks – nya!"
"They were for Ikuto, anyway," she shrugged, noticing how Yoru paused. "Do you know where he is?"
"…Yes – nya," he told her reluctantly.
"Does he…want to see me?" Sakura attempted, her heart filling with hope she knew would be crushed.
"I…I dunno," Yoru murmured, looking down. "I can't take you to him, Sakura – nya. He's –!"
"Don't worry, Yoru, it's…fine," Sakura frowned. "Just…let him know I said 'hi', and that I miss him."
Not saying another word, Sakura turned and left. Yoru, meanwhile, flew off in a beeline towards Ikuto, shouting for him the entire way. Sakura heard him and glanced back, seeing Yoru fly into a greenhouse.
'Why are you staying in there?'