Chapter 6: the confusion begins

The goal he had in mind, as he walked down the dimly lit corridor, was to furtively slip out of the fortress completely unnoticed. He figured that this would be easy to pull off since it was four 'o clock in the morning, and no one would be awake. Even if they are awake, it's not like they're wandering around looking for me, right? He thought cautiously to himself.His plan was very executable, yet somehow he had the gut feeling that things wouldn't go according to plan.

He stopped for a moment to listen. All he could hear were faint footsteps coming up from behind him. The one thing he hoped for was that they were anybody but Ginji's. With the quietest feet he could possibly accomplish, he rushed to the door. His heart pounded, as he fumbled around and struggled to open it. The footsteps grew closer and faster with every passing second. It was grating him; he had to escape somehow.

"Makubex…" began a soft female voice, "what are you doing?"

He let go of the door, let out a deep sigh and leaned his back against the door.

"Well, I was…"

"What's troubling you?" Sakura questioned as she moved closer to him.

"It's nothing, re-"

"You know you can tell me anything," she said calmly, as she touched his face.

"Yesterday…" As he paused, Sakura removed her hand from his face, and her hands slid down to his chest, while she leaned against him. "What about yesterday?"

"I think…Ginji hates me." This surprised Sakura, as she would never expect him to have any sort of conflict with Ginji.

"Why would anyone ever hate you?" She said as she wrapped her arms around him, and embraced him tightly.

"I kind of-" before he could finish, Ginji seemed to walk into the hallway out of nowhere.

"Oh…" He began as he smiled inquisitively. Makubex blushed immediately in sheer embarrassment, as he saw the beginning of a great misunderstanding. This one specific incident that will cause problems that take many years to remedy.

Great…now he thinks that I have feelings for Sakura.

All he wanted was to shout "It's not her I care about, it's you!" but once again, the words refused to come out. "Sorry to bother you two, but I was just looking for a little midnight snack if that's okay." As Ginji looked happy and somewhat hungry, Makubex just stood there completely stupefied. His mouth was dry, his hands were shaking and his fingertips were numb.

Sakura glanced over at Makubex, and when he didn't respond to Ginji, she answered "Go down that corridor, take a right and then head south." Ginji nodded a few times, whiles she instructed him.

"Thanks!" Ginji replied, as he walked away and turned a corner, out of sight.

"So what were you saying again?" Sakura questioned.

It's useless trying to avoid the question. I might as well tell her; everyone will find out anyways.

"I kissed him."

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that among friends I guess…" she replied in an uneasy tone.

"In that way."

Sakura was silent. Not only was she completely shocked, but crushed as well. Ever since she met Makubex, she had always been able to look past his age and love him for the man who he truly is; even when he was much younger. Sakura had always been his savior, the sole confidant who provided the solace he desperately hungered for. She never regarded her feelings as strange or obscure, but figured that age didn't matter in the end.

As she watched him grow, she always hoped that he would see her as more than a friend and a sister figure. He entrusted her with everything, and she with him as they had an infallible understanding of each other. Sakura wanted nothing more than to move on and forget about him, but she wasn't able to. No matter how hard she tried to push away, she always found herself right back in his arms. She would never be able to resist those pensive blue eyes and was completely aware of this fact.

"Mmm-" she began to say his name, but stopped at once when she saw the cold, expressionless look that began to settle on his face. His eyes were empty and his visage could be described as similar to that of a porcelain doll.

"I need to take a walk," Makubex began nervously "To clear my head."

"Okay." She replied apprehensively, while she looked away. She couldn't bear to look at him knowing what he thought about Ginji and would never think about her.

He will never be mine, or even Ginji's for that matter, Sakura thought sadly, I just hope he finds happiness… even if it's not with me.

Sakura watched in anguish as Makubex walked out of the door calmly, with pain set deeply into his eyes. He turned his head to the side, and silver hair shifted over his eyes before he slowly strode away. To her, it was the moment he walked out of her life forever. Makubex walked with his head lowered and in her assumption, was on the verge of tears. She knew that he would return, but whatever it was that they had between them would never be the same. Sakura reached out her hand to him and when she realized that he kept walking, her arm remained extended in hope that he may turn around.