Hey, all! 'Tis KRISH-un, and I'm apologizing SEVERELY for forgetting to update yesterday. I even had the day off, but being sleep deprived makes you forget things, I suppose.

Wow, we're over 100 reviews! Thank you to all who have been reading from the beginning, I admire your devotion.

That being said, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

(P.S: Have any of you seen Sweeney Todd, or RENT? They're my music obsessions right now, And I'm just wondering.)

Sasuke lay uselessly on a medical futon. Karin had assigned him to strict bed rest for more than two days as he healed.

A knock echoed from the other side of the door. "Sasuke-sensei…?" Chikazi's head popped into the room. "Can I come in?"

Sasuke smiled slightly at the sight of her face. "Since you technically already are, sure, why not?"

Chikazi flushed red, but opened the door fully, stumbling into the room. "A-Arigatou…" She muttered.

Sasuke's eyes widened as they settled on the huge bags of groceries contained in Chikazi's arms. "How the hell did you even get in the door?" He asked, halfway from amusement, half from mild surprise.

Chikazi smiled sheepishly, placing the grocery bags down gently onto the floor. "I-I'm not sure of that myself, Sasuke-sensei…" She laughed, shutting the door fully behind her.

"Excuse me." Suigetsu's voice was indignant behind the closed door. "I was about to go in there, Chikazi-chan."

Chikazi flushed even redder, reopening the door, "I-I'm sorry, Suigetsu-san! I didn't know you were coming!"

Suigetsu let out a barking laugh, showing off his spiky, shark-like teeth. He stepped into the room. "That's fine, Chikazi-chan, but, please, drop the honorific already." He glanced over at Sasuke, still laying on his futon. "How're you holding up, Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke smirked, "Good enough, I guess. I'm almost fully healed, as much as Karin doesn't want to believe me."

Chikazi snorted. "Karin." The other two looked over at her, eyebrows raised. She ignored them, organizing the groceries.

Suigetsu shrugged. "Just be on the lookout, Sasuke-san. You wouldn't want Karin to rape you in your sleep...Not that Chikazi would let her, anyway." The black-haired female sent him a death glare, and went back to her groceries. Both men chuckled in amusement.

The men talked for a little while longer. Suigetsu eventually left, sent on another errand by Sasuke.

Chikazi finished up with the groceries. She sighed, wiping sweat off her forehead. It was twilight, yet it was still so hot! She sat back on her heels, glancing out the window, mentally noting that the other three wouldn't be back for a while. Her thoughts flashed back to Caya. How long had it been since she had disappeared? 'Only a matter of hours…' She answered her own mental question. She sighed yet again. It wasn't fair! Why did Caya have to go back while she was stuck here? She pondered this thought for a few minutes, finally coming to a conclusion: she was lonely without Caya. She wondered why she had never felt this way before. The answer came spinningly quickly to her: She had always known that Caya was somewhere in this world, but now that she wasn't, Chikazi was really alone. 'What can I do?!' She agonized. 'I don't want to leave Sasuke, but this feeling…' She sighed for the third time, having realized her fate. 'Karin…If I'm going to go home without Sasuke's interference… I'll piss her off. She'll kill me…again…and everything will be-!'

"Chikazi." She jumped, spinning to look at Sasuke.

"Y-Yes, Sasuke-sensei?" She smiled slightly, hoping her slightly negative thoughts wouldn't show on her face.

"What're you thinking about?" Sasuke studied her facial expression. Her eyebrows furrowed just a little, which she did when she was thinking about something important.

Chikazi smiled, "Nothing, Sasuke-sensei. Just random stuff." She looked back out the window, mentally chastising herself for wearing her emotions so clearly on her face.

Sasuke sighed wearily to himself, "Chikazi…" He whispered. "Come here, please."

Chikazi looked over at him, blinking in confusion, but did what he said. "Yes, Sensei?"

Sasuke sat up, pulling her into a hug. She started in surprise. He held her close, "Chikazi… I know this is definitely not the right time, but…" He held her out to look at her. "Ever since my fight with that Akatsuki… I've realized… I can't fight without knowing you're safe… And…" He hugged her again. "I've realized… I'm in love with you…"

Chikazi pulled away from him, "Wh-What?!"

Sasuke stared straight into her eyes, deep black meeting sky blue. "I'm in love with you, Chikazi, and I want you to stay with me."

Chikazi looked like she was going to protest, but was cut off by him bending forward and pressing his lips to hers. She melted against him.

Sasuke pulled away, smirking, one raven eyebrow raised. "You were saying?"

Chikazi scowled lightly. "That's not playing fair. And, you have horrible timing, Sasuke-sensei."

Sasuke looked humorously offended, "What do you mean, I have horrible timing?"

Chikazi sighed, "I mean, here I am, making plans for Karin to kill me so I can go home to my own world, and then you go and confess your love to-!" She covered her mouth, immediately knowing she had said too much.

"What?!" Sasuke's eyes went insanely wide, "You WANT Karin to kill you?! Why, in all the hells, WHY?!"

She sighed. Damn, why did she HAVE to open her big mouth? "Yes, Sasuke-sensei, I do." She sighed. "I'm alone here." When he opened his mouth to interject, she cut him off, "No. I know you disagree with that, but I really am. This whole time I've been holding myself together because I knew that somewhere in this huge world of yours, Caya was there. It's a reassuring thought, knowing that someone for your own world is out there. But, now… not so much. It's creepy, knowing I'm truly alone. I know that you think you agree with me, but you really can't, Sasuke-sensei. No matter how much you distance yourself from Konoha, you still have people there who care for you." She paused, "Besides you, Sensei, I have no one in this whole world who cares for me in the slightest. It's not comforting." She looked down, then back up at him, "THAT is why I say you have horrible timing."

Sasuke stared at her, "Chikazi…" He murmured. He pulled her into another hug, whispering into her ear. "If you truly feel that way, I cannot stop you. But, just so you know, I do love you, and I am behind whatever you feel your path is."

Chikazi stared up at him, not quite believing what she was hearing. Before she could say anything, however, Sasuke was upon her again, his lips pressing against hers in a way she had wanted ever since she had first seen him.

What they didn't know was that, behind the thin door of their room, Karin was, and had been, listening. She growled to herself. That girl was always getting in her way! But… If she really wanted to die, Karin would be glad to give her what she wanted. Of course, she would have a lot of fun with it, not that Sasuke would ever know. Summoning whatever slight courage she had, she knocked on the door, "Sasuke-san?"

Sasuke pulled away from Chikazi, swearing sunder his breath. "Yes, Karin?" Chikazi, for her part, pulled herself a respectable distance away from Sasuke, trying to regain her breath from both his kiss and the suddenness of it all.

Karin pushed the door open, "Just checking if you were awake, Sasuke-san." She looked over at Chikazi, who was studying the wall. "I heard you, Chikazi. I know what you want." Chikazi turned back to her with startled eyes. Karin laughed, "Yes, I did. And you should know, I would be pleased to do what it is you ask."

Chikazi sighed, "Yes... That's fine, Karin." She turned to Sasuke, standing up, "I'm sorry for troubling you Sasuke-sensei. I won't be around much longer, so…" She placed a kiss on his lips, "Sayonara…"

Karin practically had to drag her out of the room. Once they were out of the hotel, she sighed, "So, how do you want me to kill you?"

Chikazi looked the other way, "I don't care. However you want to."

Karin twitched in major annoyance. "You bother me."

Chikazi grinned slightly to herself. "Yeah, I know. Believe me, I know."

Karin sighed, pulling her towards the woods. "Come on already, whore. I'm killing you, then going back to console Sasuke-san in his horrible misery."

Chikazi flinched, "Don't mention him…"

Karin smirked, knowing she had something here. "Why? Don't want to recognize the fact that Sasuke-san will be sad if you die? That he'll be, Kami forbid, miserable?"

"Please, Karin…"

Karin sighed as they entered the woods. "Fine, just a little longer though."

They walked for a while longer, Chikazi in silent agony, while Karin was rather enjoying herself. After twenty more minutes of this, they were in the center of the woods. Karin suddenly snarled, pushing Chikazi up against a tree.

Chikazi growled, trying to get free.

Karin held her there, not letting go, "I thought you wanted to die, you stupid whore!"

Chikazi smirked, "That doesn't mean I'm not going to fight back slightly, Karin. I don't have that much of a death wish."

Karin snarled again, slamming Chikazi's head against the tree. Chikazi's vision immediately blurred, and Karin dropped her to the ground. "You're losing a fair amount of blood, whore. In fact, you should be dying anytime now..." Chikazi's legs started tingling, and Karin let out a laugh of pure joy. "Yes, there we go. Enjoy your own little world, whore. It's been fun."

Chikazi felt the tingling move up to her chest, her lips fumbling to form words they just couldn't seem to make. "Karin…" She murmured.

"What?" Karin was staring down at her in contempt, wearing a most god-awful smirk on her face.

Chikazi fumbled some more, but finally managed to get what she wanted to say out, "T-Tell… Sasuke-sensei… I love him, too…" With that said, her head disappeared.

The last thing she heard was Karin snorting, "Yeah, like I'm going to do that." The red-haired girl ran off, leaving Chikazi to blackness and one last thought, 'Karin... you bitch.'

Yay for epic chapters! I hope you enjoyed it! R R, 'Kaythanks!