Once again, my deepest apologies to my beloved readers for the delay. I really don't like taking so long to update, but I've had 2 national exams to study for, that and the block that seems to not want to go away and let the ideas flow freely… that's really pissing me off, it's passed annoying now…

Anyway, This chapter isn't one of my biggest, but it isn't one of my shortest either… I hope you all enjoy!!

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to the awesome miss.AnoniiemouSe because her reviews always make a grin plaster itself in my face!! Keep reviewing, I love those reviews, and make them as long as you like, I don't mind, in fact, it's all the more inspiring!! Oh, and, I hope you like the small texts in italic I put before each change of set!! please let me know!!

Also, because I like to make people feel special, my special thanks to schellin because your opinion of what I write is very important to me!!

To the 2 above mentioned people, thank you so much, your words make me proud of myself!!

…

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the honour goes to Masashi Kishimoto, who made us the greatest manga ever!! On a side note, the plot of this story is mine, so, please don't plagiarise it!!

Chapter 22 – Life's methods

Sometimes life had a way to screw you up in a way that made everyone think it was your fault, when, sometimes, even if you had done something differently, the result would have been the same. But we never know that, because we can't go back in time, we can't make, in the same occasion, different choices and choose the best, it's just not possible.

And then, when life screws us over, we start falling, and falling, and falling, and it never ends, we just keep falling, and we never try to stop the fall, because we're screwed, and there's nothing else for us.

At least that's what we think, that's what life makes us think. It's not necessarily the truth.

Friday, 16th May

He looked at the sky as he left the building, it looked strange, looking at such a blue sky. He hated it, because it was as if the elements were mocking him. It was a perfect day, the sky was blue, there were only a couple of small white clouds flowing gently through the sky, there was a light warm breeze and the streets were full of cheerfulness.

It was like a provocation, for a list of different reasons.

After so much, he was still on probation and had to do community work for at least another 5 months or so.

He had just left the hospital after having almost all of his body covered in burns that could have killed him.

Well… Sakura. Enough said.

And then, the Dobe just had to be in a clingy, cheerful, mood today.

"Damn it." he hated everything right now, especially because this mess… he was the cause of it all.

He glanced at the blond idiot and rolled his eyes, he was blabbering about ramen and Hinata with that stupid foxy grin on his face… figures the idiot would get over things that easily, life was great for him.

He saw a few familiar faces as he walked down the streets towards the Uchiha compound (to his annoyance, Naruto was still walking next to him), all of which ignored him, the only one that seemed to not give a damn about him (which meant not ignoring him, and instead smiling fakely and keep doing whatever like nothing was wrong) was Sai. The bastard was too… too himself for his own good.

"I'll have to kick his ass someday." He though to himself, images of ways to beat Sai flashing through his mind.

"For once I agree." His inner said, nodding, and then grinned as a flash ran through his mind. "How 'bout we beat him like this? Should be fun!!" for once he agreed with his mischievous inner, beating Sai with the wind jutsu he'd being working on would, indeed, be fun.

He let go of his thoughts when he saw the gates of the Uchiha estate coming closer, if there was one thing he didn't want, it was Naruto still blabbering while walking him home.

"Hell no." his inner exclaimed. "Ditch the dobe." He vehemently agreed, he was gonna ditch the dobe.

"Oy Dobe." Naruto kept rambling for a couple of seconds, while still walking (when he, himself, had stopped) and then looked back over his shoulder.

"Eh? What is it Sasuke-Teme?" he raised a brow, so now it wasn't just Teme, it was Sasuke-teme?? Great, now he couldn't pretend the stupid nickname wasn't for him. Just great.

"Beat it Dobe, you're not walking me home." He stated firmly, so even someone as dense as Naruto could understand, and he started walking towards the large (a little decayed) gates.

He heard Naruto saying something, but he wasn't paying attention, he didn't want to anyway. The only thing he knew was that he had something to do, he didn't knew how though. And he still hadn't figured out, exactly, what it was that he had to do.

Life had a way to show us things, filling our lives with riddles, riddles we have to crack in order to keep moving forward. Clues are given to us among the way, of the most strange sorts and origins, sometimes we don't even know what it means until much later, and when that's the case, then we get stuck, because what we figured out was supposed to mean something before, and not when we figure it out.

Life sucks, that's a fact, but we still have to live.

Friday, 16th May

She sighed and closed the last file, what she had just read for the… she didn't knew how many times she had read the damn classified files by now, she just knew that it would make a lot of people go down if she shared the info.

But she already knew the general picture, what she had read was a detailed version of what Aniki had told her. He had also told her what was to happen in the near future, and for how much she didn't like it, she knew she couldn't stop it.

Her curiosity was high, though, because, of all times, and of all people, why were the files with her (so she kinda knew why but that didn't matter) and why were they intriguing her so much now. And why now of all times?

She liked to believe that everything had a reason, even if sometimes she couldn't find a plausible reason for things to happen. But life wasn't about plausibility, life was filled with abstract and incomprehensive things, so why would she understand everything? There were probably things she understood that other people didn't, and vice-versa.

Sighing, she pushed the files to the other side of the table and took the black notebook, she just knew that there was a lot of things that mattered in there, she just knew (she didn't know why she knew, she just did) that she would find answers to a lot of questions in this black notebook, that once upon a time belonged to Uchiha Itachi.

As she was about to open the notebook, she stopped and raised her head to the window, she could swear she had just heard something, someone, land on her balcony. She focussed and raised a brow, there couldn't be a lot of shadows that had the shape of spiky hair on the back of the head.

She knew that he would stay there until she opened the door, or until he decided that she really wasn't gonna acknowledge him, so she took the files and put the notebook on top, then she got up and took the files, there was no way she was going to let anyone see them, not yet at least, and especially not him.

"And I wanted to read it." she whined to her inner, that seemed to have deserted her for some reason. "Traitor." she grumbled in her mind and put the files in the only room of the house where she never let anyone enter, mostly because she had it sealed with a powerful jutsu and under a just as powerful genjutsu so no one would know about the room.

She walked back to the living room and peered out of the window, he was still there, still in the same spot, she could bet he was leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets, his eyes closed and his brooding demeanour (as if freezing everything around him) making him seem imposing, his hands either shoved in his pockets or crossed over his chest, his lips in a thin line, and his poker face on.

She sighed and opened the sliding window that led into the balcony, she couldn't just ignore him, it wasn't in her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked calmly while observing him from the corner of her eyes, he was there just like she had thought, his arms crossed over his chest.

He was silent for a while, she could swear he was measuring his words, calculating his words for the best outcome of it all. Sometimes you just had to improvise, at least she thought that way.

"We need to talk." She mentally rolled her eyes, so much pondering for such simple words… well, he wasn't really good with expressing himself with his closed demeanour anyway.

"The weather's nice." She saw him frown and clench his jaw, and she had to contain her giggle, because, as it turns out, she liked messing around with him, his reactions were fun, and unexpected (he was always so controlled that most of his actions seemed programmed, seemed… mechanical and were predictable) and she liked seeing them.

"The weather sucks." She heard him mutter under his breath. She rolled her eyes and nibbled her piercing lightly.

"We-" she cut him off.

"You're a lousy kisser." It just came to her mind. So she was kinda-- ok, so she was lying, but he didn't have to know that, besides, she had spoken in a way that sounded truthful, so…

He turned to her, and she mentally smirked (oh yeah, it really was fun), he was scowling at her, and anyone could see that his pride was being stepped on, and he didn't like it, that and the genuine –it wasn't shock, what was it called again?? Surprise, that was it- surprise dancing in his eyes. It really was fun to watch.

"I…" she raised a brow at him.

"You what? Are a good kisser?" she scoffed and walked to the railing. "I've had better kisses." She spoke softly as she looked at the sky, her words holding a certain nostalgia, a happy one. A small golden sparrow flew from the sky and landed on her outstretched hand chirping happily and dancing around in her hand. She had always liked birds.

She could feel the dark aura starting to irradiate from him, and that made her smile, he was jealous, and she just knew he was the possessive kind of guy.

"Who?" she knew he was talking about the male that kissed better than him, but she decided to play dumb, and she wouldn't tell him anyway, it wasn't of his business.

"Who what?" with her free hand she petted the sparrow, who chirped happily.

"Who else have you kissed?" his words were dark and uttered between clenched teeth, really possessive and really jealous.

"A lot of guys, I've had my share of seduction missions, sometimes you just have to kiss someone to get the intel you need." And it was true, she didn't knew about him, but everyone, shinobi or kunoichi, had kissed at least a few times while on missions in order to succeed, it wasn't that they wanted to, it was needed for the sake of the mission. Although, while on missions, the only kisses she'd given were close-mouthed pecks, nothing more, but he didn't have to know that.

"I'm not talking about missions." She smiled and outstretched her hand again, lifting it lightly. The sparrow chirped, bounded a few times on her hand and then took flight, the sun reflecting in the golden tones of its wings.

"I know." She whispered and turned to him. "But I'm not telling who it is." She smirked and walked closer to him, stopping just before their bodies touched. He glared at her, but she held his gaze, he truly was just a child that needed someone to care for him.

They stayed in silence, if someone saw them, they would think it was romantic, two people, just staring into each others eyes, but there was nothing romantic, it was like a game, the one who spoke first, depending of the words, would either win or loose. Or something like that.

"What happened?" she decided not to play dumb on this one and just be blunt.

"Not telling you." He frowned, his eyes narrowing. "But I'm sure you didn't come here to talk about that." Her hand lifted and she let her fingers trace his cheek and jawbone, a smile on her lips, a soft one. "You either came here to demand something or to say thank you." She paused and watched as his frown deepened, she wasn't dense and naïve anymore. "If you came here to demand something, then please do, I'll either give in or send you away." She kept smiling as he gritted his teeth. "If you came here to say thank you" her voice was soft. "Then you're welcome." She tiptoed (damn him for being taller…) and kissed his cheek.

When she leaned back she giggled quietly at the light pink colour that settled in his cheeks, and after the (coughhotcough) make out session on the cliff, she thought it was really cute. When he wasn't in a battle, some sort of mission or just being an ass, he really was innocent, like the child he had once been.

With a smile (she liked the moment) she walked back to the window and only stopped before entering when he spoke.

"What did baa-chan do to you?" she looked over her shoulder and shrugged.

"3 months probation." It wasn't a big deal, it would be like a vacation. And then she smirked lightly, it was more of a half grin half smirk of amusement.

"And since when do you call Tsunade-shishou baa-chan?" she giggled and entered the living room when he turned his face away from her like a stubborn, pouting child.

Life wasn't always easy to live. Many people that could have been great died at birth, others died in battle, and others killed themselves.

Things happened for a reason, but it wasn't always fair, because sometimes (a lot of times) those things that happened made people suffer, and that pain made people break.

When people broke, there wasn't much that could be done, there weren't a lot of ways to heal them, but we just can't stop trying, hope is the last one to go. At least it should be.

In the past, with 14 year old Sakura

The night was nice, there were clouds and the stars (because there weren't city lights) were clear, the moon also looked nice.

If it had been in Konoha, the sky wouldn't have been so clear, unless there was a total blackout. The Tea country was nice, especially in the small villages, because at night people slept, and so there were barely any lights, only one or another in some houses, but from where she was, they looked like small twinkling fireflies.

She was currently in a tall oak tree, on one of the last branches, and the view was beautiful.

She could see the ocean, far away, and the lights of the city near the coast. And then there was the sky, so clear it almost looked as if you were in it. And even if she was on a tree, she was very comfortable.

She wouldn't be smiling so softly if she was in Konoha, she wouldn't have been able to.

"What'cha thinkin' about?" she leaned back against his warm chest and turned her head to look at him, his blue eyes greeted her, so clear and charming, and suddenly, it was as if butterflies were fluttering in her stomach.

She turned back to the sky, mainly to hide the soft blush spreading over her cheeks, and answered him in a whisper.

"Home." She felt him resting his head on her shoulder, and when his breath ran over her skin, her blush intensified, but she didn't say anything, she just acted normal.

"I haven't had one for a long time." She looked down, he didn't talk much about his past, where he came from and such. "But you know what? I don't mind that much." She turned her head back to him, her eyes questioning, why would someone like not having a home?

He looked at her from her shoulder, and the fluttering butterflies came back, because they were oh so close, and she could feel his warm, minty breath on her face, which made her cheeks gain a pink colour.

"…w-why don't you like h-having a h-home?" his eyes twinkled in amusement.

"I never said I liked not having one, I just said I didn't mind." He smiled (half smiled, half smirked) "Besides, you don't have to live somewhere to feel at home." His point was proven, and somehow, what he said made sense, although right now, she couldn't quite focus on his words, the proximity didn't allow it.

He suddenly chuckled quietly and then cupped her cheek.

"I'm curious." He leaned the tiniest bit closer and her blush turned a darker shade of pink. "Have you even done a seduction mission?" she swallowed the lump in her throat and let out a breath before answering a weak and stuttered '…n-no'.

He chuckled again and leaned the tiniest bit closer… again.

"Have you even kissed someone?" her blush became even darker and she tried to look away, but his blue eyes (now that she looked carefully, they weren't clear blue sky anymore, they were a darker shade of sapphire) didn't let her do so, so she just kept her eyes locked on his.

"…y-yes." He smirked in amusement.

"Oh really…" he drawled slowly, and her throat went dry. "When?" she swallowed again, trying to moister her throat, which didn't work that well.

"…w-when I w-was 8." Her voice was almost a whisper, damn him for having this kind of effect on her. He shouldn't, because usually only Sasuke-kun had this effect on her.

"Hmmm." He drawled softly. "That doesn't really count." He muttered slowly, and she felt the hand he had on her cheek starting to move to the back of her head.

"D-deidara?" she squeaked when he started leaning closer and his hand settled on the back of her head, his fingers intertwined on her hair.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna hurt you." He whispered, but she wasn't quite sure she should trust him anymore. "Just close your eyes… and feel." His smile was soft, and his eyes were truthful, so she closed her eyes, only because she trusted him enough.

A couple of seconds later she opened her eyes slightly when she felt something soft and warm against her lips, but she closed them again when she saw it were his own (she vaguely registered that his eyes were closed as well).

Just like he told her, she let her eyes closed and felt, and it felt nice. His lips moved softly against her own, and she just followed his lead, not knowing what else to do.

A few moments later (she didn't knew how much time had gone by) he broke the kiss softly, his lips barely grazing hers, as both breathed. She slowly opened her eyes to meet his own (still that darker shade of sapphire), but she had no idea of what to do next, so she did what her inner told her to (for once).

"Stop thinking and kiss him." And she did, she leaned towards him and closed her eyes when her lips touched his. He kissed back, and she didn't want the moment to end, it just felt so… so… nice and so… soul warming.

Life can really be a bitch and screw us over sometimes. Bad things keep happening, we keep getting screwed, and we keep cursing our existence.

But then, sometimes, good things happen too.

Please, pleaseeeee let me know what you think and what you would like see happening next, it would really be helpful and motivating!!

And isn't that little button with the 'GO' in it after the 'review' just tempting?? I bet it is!! So please, leave a review, even if it's short, I don't mind!!

I hope you all liked it, I'll try to make the next chapter quickly, reviews almost always motivate me to write faster, so…

Anyway, I'll stop rambling now…

Love you all so very much,

Kimi-chan!!

Oh, by the way, I have a cat named Pepsi and another one named Tsuki, how cool is that!! (My mom came up with Pepsi… --' really mature mom…XD)