I know I have some grammar and spelling mistakes... sorry.

And thank you all for your opinions and feedback. It makes me very happy to know that you all like it. ;D

Oh, this is a long chapter for my long absence... sorry if it's too long..., but not much happens. It's 9k words by the way. I won't ever write this much in one chapter again, but it seemed awkward to just cut it off in the middle, so I made this chapter long. Plus, I had a lot of time to write. :D

It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."


Silently Lost

Discrete

.

.

Sakura talked the whole time. Talking let her ease the silence Sasuke was trying to create. She thought that in doing so, when the time came, she wouldn't be as heart-broken. She didn't want to leave, to leave him, to leave what they had.

To never see him again.

Sasuke's prolonged silence to her attempt to create a conversation bothered her even more. Why wasn't he sad that she was leaving? Was she nothing to him? Did he not care about her? Was all the time they spent together nothing?

At this point, she squeezed her cat to her chest unconsciously in confusion. It wiggled, somewhat surprised. She looked down and rubbed his head, stroking his back. There was no point in pondering over this— After all, he was just one human being. He could be replaced. Yes, replaced.

No, Sasuke could never be replaced; however, she continued to chant in her head that this was for the best. This way, the parting wouldn't be as bad. Yes, that was it. It was her own fault that she was in this predicament; she couldn't blame anyone but herself.

"Sasuke," She started, but received no reply or indication that he had heard, so she continued. "do you even know where my new home is?"

He was silent for a long time before opening his mouth to say, "Yes."

His short answer indicated that she should stop talking, that it was getting on his nerves. So she sat, quietly in her seat with her cat in her arms. She wasn't even in the mood to be excited about being outside. She would rather stay in that small condo for the rest of her life than depart with Sasuke.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the large, tall wooden wall that they were driving next to. It went on forever, never-ending. They reached the gate to the long, prolonged wall and he pulled out a card to scan on what Sakura thought to be a small black box on the wall. He swiped it over the scanner and the gate opened.

And then she was surprised.

The whole area behind the barrier was amazing— no, amazing was an understatement, it was beautiful.

It was as if the gate protected this haven, this paradise.

He drove through and all she could do was stare. Never before had she seen such greenery before. Living in the city for so long, she never thought of ever being able to see such a beautiful wonderland. The grass was cut, but not cut as to look unnatural. It wasn't wild-like but it was at the same time. Trees, large, tall trees stood like guardians as they drove by, their leaves providing shade for the road. As they passed the trees, she glanced up to stare in awe at the sky, so blue and clear, not a cloud in sight. Such a place seemed too good to live in.

And at the middle of the plot of land was a large oriental manor. It looked very traditional and Japanese to Sakura. She got out once Sasuke stopped the car and ran up the large stone steps and over to the large stream at the front of the house. She watched the clean, pristine liquid run around the house and under the steps. She followed it to the back of the house and was surprised to see it lead to a large pond. The large house was a geometrical "U" shape and in the middle of the "U" was the pond. this area looked like a common area for relaxing.

She leaned down to look into the clear water and was delighted when the sight of fish caught her eyes. Her cat pawed at the water, trying to swipe at the unusual creatures that it had never seen before. Sakura laughed and swiped her hand into the water as well, the liquid cool and refreshing on her hands.

The cool wind blew against her face, taking the summer heat away. She tilted her head upwards to look at the large tree covering the pond, its leaves providing them with shade. She smiled and bowed at the overgrown plant. "Thank you very much."

Sakura straightened herself up in a standing position and observed the building itself— The roof was flat but arched at the corners, the shingles also arched, the doors covered in a pale greenish brown color paper. Never before had she seen a sliding door before. She ran over and pulled the two doors away from each other in opposite directions.

The doors lead to a common room; a table in the center, four pillows placed at each side on the floor, bookshelves pressed against one side of the wall, and a tray of tea on the surface of the table. She looked at the floor and was greeted with unfamiliar floor planks. They were a pale brown color with dark, rich brown frames securing each mat. She rubbed her hands on the mats and then walked back outside to the pond.

Sasuke was there to greet her, an eyebrow raised slightly. "Well?"

He was asking her if she liked this place, this place that was going to be her new home, this place that he would not be apart of. She glared at the floor, suppressing the tears threatening to pool at the edges of her eyes. "I," she started, then bit her bottom lip. "hate this place."

"Whether you hate it or not, it's your new home." He said, a tone of hurt in his voice. Sakura looked up to look at him and Sasuke's eyes widened upon seeing her tears. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to live in this place. You're not going to be here anymore..." She trailed off then slumped to the floor with a thump! "I don't want you to leave!" She cried and rubbed her eyes while trying to suppress her sobs.

She heard Sasuke's footsteps in the grass fade away. Surprised, her whipped her head up to see him nowhere in the vicinity. She panicked and ran to the front of the house and found him unpacking her stuff. She stared and watched him unpack.

After all the luggage had been pulled out of the trunk, he looked up at her, his eyes passive. "How can you leave me if this is my house?" Sakura's eyes widened and she stared at him in disbelief. "Now," he pointed to the smaller luggage. "help carry this. It is your stuff after all."

"Ah," She ran over and picked up the boxes, then looked back at him. "then we're staying together?"

"Whether I like it or not." He said and swiped his thumb across her teary cheek, catching a stray droplet.

She watched him carry the luggage up the stairs and go through the front doors.

She could stay with him? It was okay? Was this a reward?

"TSUNADE-SAMA, I LOVE YOU!" Sakura yelled and ran into the house with Sasuke. He smacked her on the head for yelling.

They walked side by side, boxes in their arms. "Well?" Sasuke asked again, a smirk tugging slightly at his lips.

She smiled up at him and joyfully replied, "Un. I like my new home."

.

.

Naruto came over later that day. He was ecstatic that she was living with Sasuke, saying things like, "Now I can just accidentally bring Hinata over and it'll be okay! Oh! Why don't we have a party today? You know, to celebrate Sakura coming here? I'll go and invite everyone-"

"No." Sasuke bluntly replied while sipping the tea that Sakura had made. He looked up at the blond from his book and quirked an eyebrow. "You just want to see what Sakura looks like drunk. What a sinful man you are."

Sakura repeated Sasuke's insult. "Sinful man," then giggled and set down a refreshing cup of tea for Naruto as well. "Sorry, if I don't have permission from Sasuke, I can't do it."

"Then just beg him. As a one-in-a-life-time request. Please?" Her blond friend bowed before her and smiled. "Please? Neeee~."

"No, I don't have permission!" Sakura laughed and sat down on a cushion next to Sasuke. She looked over his shoulder and at the pages of his book. "What are you reading today?"

The man grunted and flipped the book to the front cover, showing Sakura the title of the novel. Sakura scurried off and came back with four books. Naruto groaned in frustration. "WHY AREN'T YOU GUYS ANY FUN? STOP READING AND START LIVING!" The blond rolled around back and forth on the tatami mats, his hands rubbing his head frantically. He got up and bowed before his dark-haired friend. "Please, Sasuke. Just let Sakura have fun— just once! Sakura, you can introduce yourself like this— Hello! I'm Sakura, and I'm Sasuke's girlfriend. He's quite a control freak so-"

The man was hit in the middle of finishing his pleading. Sasuke slammed the edge of his book and hit Naruto in the perfect center line of his head, his hair flattened from the impact. The blond rolled around again, his screams of pain silent.

She laughed and clapped her hands together when she saw Naruto in agony, nursing his bruised head. "You two are awful..." Naruto whispered while his two friends read, ignoring him, the guest. "Ne~ Let's go out-"

Naruto's phone vibrated, and he fumbled with the device to answer the call. He walked out of the room to take the call and Sakura watched him leave. She pulled at Sasuke's sleeve, her eyes somewhat disheartened. "I want to go out."

"Then go out." Sasuke replied, his eyes still fixed on the pages of his book.

She shook her head and pouted. "I want to go out."

"Then go." He said again passively.

"Out!" She said pointing to a photo that she pulled out from her book. "Here. I want to go here!"

He looked at the photo and saw the green scenery of a park: people were walking, children were playing, dogs were running, ducks were swimming, and planes were soaring. She held the photo close to his face and he pushed it away. "A park?"

"Un!" She grinned. "Let's go look at dogs!"

He went back to reading his book. "Then you can visit Kiba's clinic."

"Kiba? What's that?" She tilted her head and grinned. "Is that the name of a dog?"

He smirked, but continued to read. "I guess you could say that."

"Ne~ let's go to the park! The Park!" She pleaded and rolled around with her cat.

Sasuke glanced down at the brooding girl. "What book did you read."

"Marley and Me." She smiled, then started to tear up. "Ah~! Marley was such a loyal dog... it's not fair that he died..."

He continued to read and ruffled her hair, his eyes still attached to his novel. " It's because everything dies eventually."

She pouted, her cheeks puffed out. "Would you cry for me if I died?"

"Dunno." He smirked, his eyes still on the pages of his book. She huffed and rolled around some more with her cat settled between her slender arms.

She finally stopped her brooding and laid still, her body splayed out defenseless on the tatami mats. Today, her choice of clothing was a cool, pastel blue dress with no sleeves as to cope with the heat; the thin material of the dress made the summer warmth more bearable, the end of it reaching her knees. He had never seen her wear anything but dresses as they were all she had, and every one of them either reached her knees or past. None of them were higher than her slender, delicate knees. It was modest, considering what the woman of Konoha usually wore.

Noticing that he was examining her, she kicked her legs, the thin material of her dress showing more skin than he wanted. "What's wrong?"

"Fix your clothes." He said, and swiftly looked back at his book.

"Is there something on me?" She asked and flipped on her stomach and placed her cat above her head.

"No."

"Ah." She re-flipped her body and laid on her back again, the cat now on her stomach. "It's hot today."

The soft thumps of footsteps caught Sakura's attention, and she turned to look at her blond friend returning to the room. He no longer had his phone in hand. An eerily happy smile radiated from his face, and Sakura was left wondering what had made him so happy. Then she remembered that Naruto did have a so called "mate" or "partner." But she liked the word "mate" better. It was more scientific.

She looked up at him from her position on her back. "What's got you so happy now? Did your mate call?"

Naruto laughed and sat down next to the rosette. "She's not my mate but my fiance, and it so happens that she wishes to come over to see you," He looked over at his dark-haired friend still reading his book, ignoring them.

Sasuke said nothing but continued to read, his expression passive as always, as if he wasn't even listening.

"Ah!" Sakura flipped back onto her stomach, but not before moving her cat on her head again. "But we don-" She stopped to look at the man sitting passively beside her, his eyes still fixated in reading his novel.

Sasuke looked down at her and then glanced at the blond man, his eyes narrowing. "What's it about?"

"My fiancée just wants to ask you something, but she wants to do it in person." Naruto laughed and looked down at Sakura, who was kicking her legs again. "She wants to ask Sakura something too."

The pink-haired girl's eyes widened as big as buttons. "Me? Why me?"

He smiled and pat the girl's head. "'Cuz, you're interesting."

.

.

Naruto's fiancée came about an hour later, and Sakura was amazed. She was beautiful: porcelain white skin, long, dark purple-hued black hair that was cut neatly just above her slender eyebrows, slender, curvy, petite, and lady-like— not to mention her beautiful pearly white eyes adorned with long eyelashes that contrasted her dark hair wonderfully. Her clothes were quite casual, but even so it made her look classy; a one piece lavender dress with a thin dark purple belt at her waist and white flats. She was the quintessential woman.

"Good afternoon, Sakura-san." She smiled and her beauty made Sakura stare in a daze. Even her voice was beautiful; sweet, soft, and graceful.

Naruto wrapped an arm around the picturesque woman's shoulders. "Sakura, this is Hinata, my fiancée."

Sakura was scared to approach such a beautiful woman, and hid behind Sasuke. "Ah... hello..." Her voice trailed off, her usual hyper personality robbed by this woman's presence.

Sasuke smirked and patted the girl's head. "Don't tell me after all that talk about wanting to talk to other people, you're actually scared to take the chance?"

Sakura looked up at him and gave a worried look, her eyes wide.

"Ah," Hinata waved her small slender hands in protest. "I-I'm not scary at all! Do I really look scary?"

"No!" Sakura protested and stood up to face the other woman. They were surprised at her sudden protest. "I'm actually nervous to talk to someone as stunning as you— I've just never seen someone so beautiful before." She blushed and looked down at the tatami mats, scared to face the other woman.

The four stood in silence, but Hinata broke it by giggling gracefully, her voice resonating across the room like a bell. "You're the second person to tell me that."

"Second?" Sakura looked up and tilted her head. "Then, was Naruto the first?"

"Yes." She smiled, her teeth like glimmering pearls. "To be honest, I-I can't even believe I'm marrying some as great as N-Naruto-kun..." Her face flushed bright red and she cupped her cheeks in her palms.

"Really? I kind of think you're wasted on him." Sakura frowned and looked at the blond. "I mean, he was thinking about ot-"

"AH!" Naruto covered her innocent but deadly truthful mouth before she slipped out his taboo. "Otters! We were thinking about going to the zoo to see some otters!"

Sakura's face brightened up and she jumped up and down, her eyes bright with eagerness. "The zoo? You mean where they keep all the exotic animals? Let's go! Let's go!"

Sasuke pulled on Sakura's wrist and pulled her to sit. She did as he motioned and sat obediently. "No."

Sakura raised her eyebrows in an interest to slide around his command, a playful smile on her lips. "No as in~... no let's go to the zoo instead of the park?"

"No." He said again and continued to read. "What did you want to ask, Hinata."

"Ah!" She smiled and rummaged through her small shoulder bag; it was made of black leather, attached to her body with a long slender strap. The bag reached her hips. Sakura observed the woman as she continued to look for whatever was in her bag. Sakura guessed she found it when the woman made another Ah! sound.

In between her slender hands was a white letter. She held it with two hands and formally handed the letter to Sasuke, who got up and accepted it with two hands. The two bowed, and Sakura stared at them. "Why are you two so formal?"

Hinata smiled and put her hands back at her sides when Sasuke took the letter. "It's because it's an important letter." She looked back at Sasuke and bowed deeply. "Naruto and I would like to invite the both of you to our wedding. It takes place on the 5th of this month."

Sasuke looked at the woman with a skeptical gaze. "Why are you inviting Sakura as well? You don't even know her."

"She's a friend of Naruto-kun's." She smiled and looked at the rosette, her smile genuine. "And Naruto-kun said you would leave her home alone if I only invited you. Would you mind me asking why you are keeping her enclosed in your house instead of letting her go out?"

He gave her a passive look. "I'm not allowed to say."

Sakura smiled and wrapped her arms around Sasuke's neck. "I'm his girlfriend. As you know, Sasuke-kun can be kind of a contro-"

The man in her embrace rebelled against her actions and grabbed his book. It hit her head with a twack! "Don't repeat things that stupid idiot said."

She nursed her bruised head and smiled. "It's a joke! Was it not funny?"

"No," Naruto laughed. "It sounded very believable."

"What part?" Sakura asked.

"Everything." Hinata smiled and then bowed again. "Anyway, please come to the wedding next week. Does Sakura-chan have a dress?"

"Lots." Sasuke said and continued to read.

"Come on man, go out and buy her a new one to look pretty at the wedding. Sakura's dresses are too casual. This is a formal wedding." He smiled at Sasuke. "Come on man, for your best friend."

Sasuke was silent for a while before saying, "I'll think about it."

"Ah, then let's go together now." Hinata smiled and looked at Sakura. "I know a good boutique that sells the best dresses."

Sakura perked up and tugged on Sasuke's sleeve. "Let's go, ne?"

.

.

Sasuke drove the four of them to Konoha's shopping square, a place pretty serene as most of the shops were very expensive. Not too many people shopped here, other than the wealthy. The first thing Sakura did when she got out of the car was run towards the fountain at the middle of the plaza. Her footsteps made light thumping sounds against the white and brown ceramic tiles. The middle of the plaza was open to the sky, making it beautiful to look at the evening sky. The walkways with shops around the middle was covered with arches with opening that allowed for some light to shine through. She swished her hands across the placid clear water, the images of coins blurry due to her actions.

The fountain was hard, gray stone. She put her cat on the outer edges of the fountain and sat down next to it, her legs kicking back and forth.

Sakura didn't have shoes, so Sasuke had lent her some woman's sandals, saying they wouldn't care that she was wearing it. Now that she thought about it, Sasuke had looked somewhat disconsolate when he had given them to her, but she didn't have any shoes to wear. She would give them back after using them for the day.

She gazed down at the water, the coins shimmering brightly in the evening light. "Sasuke look! Free money!"

Sasuke smirked and leaned over her, his shadow blocking the light from the sun. "You shouldn't pick those up. They're flesh-eating monsters in the shape of coins. Pick one up and," he leaned down to whisper in her ear. "you die, your flesh ripped apart."

She stared at the water in the fountain, her eyes wide with fear. "You're joking... right?"

He straightened himself and smirked at her. "Your curiosity with be the death of you."

She grabbed her cat, whom was strolling around the outer edges of the fountain and ran toward Naruto and Hinata. "I don't want to be here anymore..."

Hinata smiled, somewhat worried that she had believed Sasuke's ridiculous lie. "Don't worry, the shop is quite nearby."

The woman guided the three of them to a somewhat large boutique. Sakura gazed up and noticed the name, "Gild the Lily" written in fancy, curvy letters with flowers dotting the letters. The glass windows displayed beautiful dresses, dresses that held the image of flowers in them. The dresses displayed behind the windows were white mid-thigh dresses what were poofy at the hips down. The two mannequins held a bouquet in their white hands and wore dainty golden sandals.

"Wow." Sakura stared at the dresses in awe. "They look like angels."

Naruto ushered them in and the door closed with the sound of chimes. Sakura looked back and saw a wind chime attached to the door, the slender, hallow metal rods attached to a white piece of wood that looked like the clouds. The sound was pleasant. She looked around the boutique and saw racks upon rack of dresses and shoes. The front held the shoes, the back held the dresses, and the corner on the right shelved accessories. Everything was neatly organized: all of the clothes, shoes, and accessories organized by color, then size.

In the back of the room was a small doorway with another fancy sign saying "Dressing rooms."

Sakura walked around and looked at the clothes. The dresses were fancy, like everything else in this boutique.

She looked at the back of the shop and saw Sasuke and the other two standing at the front desk, probably waiting for someone to help them. She skipped toward them and stood next to the ebony-haired male. She latched her hands behind her back and leaned on the soles of her feet and back on her toes, rocking back and forth.

Hinata rung the bell on the desk and the light ting! sound resonated across the room. A few minutes later, a beautiful woman came out from the back room in an apron. Her clothes were somewhat plain compared to the rest of the shop, but it suited the work that she had to do. She wore a white collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a black apron covering the front of her, and light blue denim capris that hung to her curvy figure. Her feet were adorned with white sandals that showed off her painted toe nails. Her hair was long, silky blonde tied up in a high ponytail with her bangs parted to the left. Her earrings were pink, flowery studs that didn't contrast her clothing too much. It was a good match.

Hinata smiled and waved at the other woman. "Good evening, Ino-chan."

"Ah, Hinata, Naruto," She looked at the dark-haired woman and gave a large, warm smile. "what brings you here? And with Sasuke and—" she stopped to look at Sakura, her eyes wide with surprise. "this pretty woman?"

"We're looking for a dress." Hinata said and gestured to the woman standing beside Sasuke. "For Sakura-chan."

The woman called Ino glanced at Sakura and gave her an analyzing stare. Sakura shifted in discomfort. Then the blonde clapped her hands together and motioned them toward the dresses. She rummaged around and picked out a skinny, black dress that looked far too short. "You'd look nice in this."

Sasuke groaned and looked at the blonde woman. "Are you even trying?"

"I always try." She said indignantly at the man, and put the dress back. "Though it might help if you told me for what occasion."

"Our wedding." Naruto said and looked at the dresses. "I think a nice red dress would look good on her."

Ino shook her head and slapped the blond man on the back. "For the wedding, a red dress attracts too much attention from the bride. She's already pretty as she is, especially with that unique pink hair." The blonde reached over and stroked her pink locks. "I think a beige or another pale color type would go well with her."

Ino picked out another dress and put it against Sakura, to see what it looked like. It was a light green dress that stopped at her mid-thigh. There were no straps to hold it up against her shoulders. In short, a strapless dress that was far too short.

Sakura heard Sasuke sigh. "That looks like a clubbing dress."

"You can wear this at the wedding. It'd look nice with her shoulders so slim and whatnot." Ino smirked at the girl and nudged her. "Do you like it?"

Sakura looked at it and smiled. "Yeah," and she saw Sasuke turn to look at her from the corner of her eye. "but, I think it's too short..."

"Do you not like short dresses?" Ino asked and put the green dress back on the rack.

Sakura nodded. "I don't like feeling too much air on my legs..."

"That's a shame..." Ino smirked and looked for another dress. "You have such nice legs."

They looked around some more and Sakura followed Ino, letting her and Hinata judge to see which dress was the best. Naruto and Sasuke just went to walk around, looking at the dresses passively.

"Honestly, why don't you two help." Ino huffed and put her hands on her hips.

Sasuke quirked a brow and gestured to the clothes around him. "I'm looking."

"Sure you are..." Ino mumbled and went back to dress choosing.

All the dresses that Ino recommended for her were not to her liking. She wanted to avoid wearing dark colors, or vibrant colors. They looked around some more; Ino and Hinata were absorbed in choosing a dress that Sakura was left behind in their aesthetic critiquing.

A tug on her arm made her turn around to face his dark eyes. She looked at him and he placed a dress in front of her. His eyes moved up and down before he smirked in triumph. "There."

He handed her the dress and walked to the front of the store to pick out a pair of shoes. She looked down at the dress that he had given her and walked over to a mirror to try it against her. She was amazed; she really liked it. It was a chocolate-brown dress that ended at her knees, which she liked. The straps were thin and attached to the chest that emphasized the curvy-ness of her chest. It arched over the tops of her chest and arched low on her back, but not showing too much of her back. The waist was narrow to cling to her waist before somewhat flowing out like the bottom of a bell, but not too much flare. The bottom was ruffled and the white lace in the inside hung out at the end. Around the waist was a small bow the same color as the lace. She did want to avoid wearing a dark color, but the rich brown pulled at her. It didn't matter, she wanted this dress. Extremely happy at his attentiveness, she skipped over to him and they both leaned over to look at the shoes. "I don't like covering my feet." She said.

"I know," He said, his eyes focused on the choices in front of him. "but this is a formal occasion. You're going to have to get used to wearing closed-toed shoes."

He picked out a pair of chocolate-brown flats with a white ribbon bow at the toes and handed them to her. She looked at them before pointing to another pair of shoes — brown sandals with two-inch heels. "Sandals?"

"Can you even walk in heels?" He raised a brow and pulled at her cheek. "The weddings in a week. If you want to wear them, I won't stop you. Just know that they'll be a pain to walk in."

"Oh," she smiled and grabbed the shoes. "How hard can it be?"

It was hard. Sasuke had put the shoes on for her to try. He told her to walk back and forth with her knees and back stright. At first, she thought it would be a walk in the park, but sadly, it wasn't. It was hard to walk in them, the skinny heel was not much support and most of her weight was centered at her toes, making her stumble often. She also didn't like that he feet were bent from the high angling heel. After wobbling back to Sasuke, she sat down and kicked her feet. "I don't like them..."

"I thought so." He chuckled and unlatched the shoes from her feet. He handed her the flats again and raised a brow again. "Why don't you try these on."

She did as she was told and was glad when her weight was centered on all parts of her feet. "Un, I like it."

"I would recommend these socks with those shoes." Sakura turned around to see Ino leaning over her shoulder, a pair of thin sheets of material in her hand. "They stop at the shoe line. It's good for the shoes and your feet."

Ino looked down at the rosette and pointed at the dress. "Did you find a dress that you liked?"

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke, a smile erupting on her face and laughed, "Yeah, I did. By the way," Sakura noticed the sign of the shop again and decided to question the weird name. "what does 'Gild the Lily' mean?"

"Ah," Ino stood up straight and smiled. "It's an idiom that mean to decorate something that is already beautiful. The something being women."

"Do you like flowers?" Sakura asked.

"Un, my family owns a flower shop. I like fashion better, so I made this shop, trying to incorporate flowers into it somehow." She smiled and pointed to her dress again. "That's a nice dress though. Where did you find it?"

Sakura glanced at Sasuke again before saying, "In the brown dress section."

"Ah..." Ino responded.

.

.

Sakura had been living with Sasuke for about a week now, and the wedding was approaching near. There were some rules set that she was never supposed to disobey. They were: 1.) never touch anything in Sasuke's room, 2.) never run outside past 8 p.m alone, and 3.) never open the last door in the west wing of the house.

She wondered why the door wasn't supposed to be open. She made a joke earlier, saying that he probably hid dead bodies in there, and Sasuke only smirked at her, making the joke not funny anymore. What if he was warning her about it? What if there were dead bodies in there?

She shivered thinking about it. Sasuke was a kind person, despite being somewhat violent sometimes, he was very calm. She liked that he didn't talk a lot, it gave her time to just sit and relax in the common room with him on weekends, the days that he didn't work. When Sasuke went to work, she was left with a pile of paperwork to file and sort until he came back. She wished that she took longer to sort them because after finishing, she would just sit around doing nothing. It was quite boring.

Around seven, he would come back and they would make dinner together. She offered many times to just cook for them while he rested, but he refused. A man who does not work, does not eat (what Sasuke usually said.)

After dinner, Sakura would turn on the bath for Sasuke and bathe after him. The shower here is different from the one in the condo; it's a soaking bath and not a shower, which she thought wasted a lot of water, but the water was relaxing. She liked it.

After that, she would get ready for bed. Her room was in the east wing while his was in the west. She didn't like how far apart they were, but couldn't complain. On the first day that she moved in, she attempted to sleep in the common room, but he carried her back to her room.

The nights were cool, and she spent the first two hours of the night in bed with her cat, reading and messing around. Sasuke worked in his office or read in his room at night. She would usually never go to see him at night, as he would just tell her to go back to bed.

But today, she walked over to the west wing.

She knocked on the second door on the right and slid it open. He was inside, sitting on his large futon with a book in hand. He looked up when she entered and went back to reading. "Go to sleep."

She shook her head and held her cat close to her chest. "I want to talk."

"What's wrong."

She sat down in front of him, careful not to sit on his futon. "I just don't get to see you a lot..."

"Are you lonely?"

"Un." She rubbed her arms and pet her cat. "Can I go to work with you?"

He half-laughed. "You'd just mess around in the office."

"But I'm so bored!" She exclaimed and hugged her knees to her chest. "I finish the paperwork in an hour or two and am left with nothing to do. Nothing!"

It was like she had gone back to being alone in the condo. Sasuke wasn't around much, and she was left to just lay around and sleep. She had run out of books to read. There wasn't anything that made her interested anymore.

"It's not like I can bring the work to the house." He said and flipped a page in his book. "And I can't return early because my secretary isn't as capable as you."

"Thank you for your compliment." She smiled, then thumped a fist upright on her palm. "Then why don't I just go work at your office? You don't even have to pay me!"

"How can I hire you if you have no paperwork?" He looked up at her and closed his book. She flinched, realizing that she was not actually a resident of Konoha. She had no paperwork even proving her existence. His words snapped her out of her daze. "If you want, I'll call Naruto over to keep you company."

"Ah, Naruto's busy with the wedding right?" She asked, tilting her head. "I can't do that."

"Then go outside and pick flowers or something." He said and continued to read again.

They sat in silence for a while. She could hear the crickets singing from outside his window, the wind blowing softly, the chimes ringing. She rubbed her legs from underneath her nightgown and looked up at the man in front of her. He sat there reading, like always, with his eyes intent on the pages.

"Can I sleep with you?" She asked and finally received a face showing emotion.

His face gawked at her, his eyes wider than usual and his mouth opened slightly showing his surprise. He had set his book down to look at her. "...What?"

She looked at him with round, innocent eyes. "Can. I. Sleep. With. You."

"Why...?" He questioned, his tone confused.

"I feel lonely in my room alone..." She said and placed her chin on her knees, her eyes straying away from his. "I don't like how big this place is— and why is it so big? What's the point of having such a big house if only two people live in it?"

"Because it's only really used for formal dinners with my clients." He looked at the girl and pat her head. "If not for that requirement, I would have gotten a smaller house."

She sat in front for a while again, before breaking the silence again. "So... can I?"

"No."

"Why~?" She whined. "I'll sleep on the other side! I won't bother you— I promise!"

She actually saw him consider the thought; he sat and looked down at the front cover of his book, his brows furrowed in thought. He looked up again after a several seconds and looked her straight in the eyes, his black orbs piercing her's. "Okay, but-" He pointed to the side next to him, "if you sleep— that means no talking. And you stay on this side." He pointed to the right side of the futon.

Her face brightened up and she rushed underneath the sheets. Her cat strolled over to her left side and laid down in between them. She saw Sasuke pet the cat and murmur. "Thanks."

He turned off the lamp that was providing them light, and everything went dark. The only light that came in was from the moon, whose light shone through the windows. Sakura turned on the futon and toward the left side, but only to be faced with his back and her cat's rising body. Frowning, she turned around again on her side. But she smiled afterward — after all, he was letting her sleep in the same room as him. That was enough.

.

.

Sasuke woke up the next morning greeted by warmth. The nights were usually cool and pleasant. He would usually wake up shivering from kicking his blanket around, being left with nothing to shield him from the cool night, but last night was warm. It wasn't unpleasant, rather, it was comforting.

He groaned when the morning rays shined through his window. Judging by the light, it was somewhere around seven or eight. He groaned and blinked, trying to dissolve the blurry morning images. The first thing he noticed as he was waking up was something pink.

That was weird. He didn't own anything of that color in the house.

Nothing... except for Sakura.

He snapped his eyes open and looked at the girl wrapped up in his arms, her face burrowed in the warmth of his chest. He admitted that he panicked, but he quickly got over it as she probably had no ill intentions— and partly because he had his arms wrapped around her made him at fault as well...

He could feel her breathing, the deep, calm rising of her chest against his. She was still sleeping, unaware of their positions. He had never really noticed before, but Sakura was actually very attractive. She was unique, everything about her was unique: her hair, her eyes, her personality, her interests. Sure, sometimes she can be quite demanding and annoying, but she is who she is. All of these things made her who she was.

Her lashes were long, beautifully caressing her porcelain cheeks. He brushed a few stray locks of hair away from her face, placing them behind her ear.

He decided to let her sleep longer. Today was Saturday after all, the wedding would be later in the day. It wouldn't hurt to let her rest a little longer. He carefully tried to pry her from himself, but she wrapped her arms tighter around him, rubbing her cheek on his chest.

For a sickly person, she was really strong.

A light giggling noise came from her, and he looked down to see if she had woken up; but she was just laughing in her sleep, probably thinking about books.

"...Sasuke..." She mumbled and giggled some more. "...boy...monster... fun... happy..." He could only chuckle and lay there.

"What are you dreaming about?" He murmured and watched her giggling subside.

They stayed like this, in bliss, in silence, in happiness, not knowing what would come.

Not knowing that everything dies eventually.

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.

Sakura started to get ready for the wedding around four. Sasuke told her to take her time, but she didn't understand why she would take her time. It wouldn't take her long to just put on a dress and shoes— in fact, it would probably only take her five minutes. She waltzed into her room and delicately grabbed the only gift that she had gotten from Sasuke and rushed to put it on. She slipped on the dress and was befuddled when she noticed the zipper in the back.

She turned around and tried to pull the tiny metal piece up the teeth, but with no avail. Was this what Sasuke meant by "Take your time"?

"Can you pull this up?" She turned her back to her cat and crouched down to point at the metal piece. "Just put it in your mouth and pull straight up."

The cat meowed and softly put its teeth on the zipper and pulled up with its head, trying to jerk the zipper up. She had gotten it up half way, but the rest wasn't budging. She didn't want to move because if she did, she thought the zipper would just move slowly back down again.

She reached back as far as she could to pull it up, but it wasn't moving. So, she wrestled with it.

After what seemed like thirty minutes, she heard a knock on the door. "Done?"

"Ah," She looked at her predicament. She didn't want him to see her so useless, not even able to pull a zipper up from on her back. "H-hold on for a second." But he came in anyway and found her on the floor on her stomach with her cat on her back trying to pull up the zipper. She looked up with embarrassment. "I said to wait."

"You took to long," he looked down at her and smirked. "and now I know why. Get up." She did as he told and stood in front of him, a frown on her face. He put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around. "You could've asked me."

"I can do it myself." She huffed and moved away from him.

"No," He chuckled. "you can't, just stay still."

She felt his cold fingers run up her back and pull the zipper up. He turned her back around and looked at her, studying her. "Good."

She dashed over to her closet again and grabbed the shoes that he had bought for her along with the socks. She slipped them on and stood up, a smile of triumph on her face. "Done!"

She left her cat at home and told him to watch after the house, and it just meowed and curled its body up on the wood planks of the common room, bathing itself in the sun.

She sat in the car with Sasuke, her eyes fixed on his clothing. It was the usual suit: black slacks, black blazer, gray dress shirt, and a dark-colored tie. But today, he wore a vest matching the color of his slacks underneath his blazer. The tie today was a dark, rich blue with white and gray stripes slanted northeast.

"You look good today." She commented while he drove. He only grunted a response.

The wedding was in a secluded area outside in a garden. It was really mesmerizing. The garden hedges were cut into shaped of arches, making a walkway to the wedding area. Naruto was there to greet them with a friendly smile. "Thanks for coming today guys."

He motioned them to sit in the front with some familiar faces. She saw the blonde woman at the boutique, Ino and Mikoto-san sitting on the other side of the garden with her husband and another man. Ino sat with a dark-haired man with pale skin. "Ah, I see people I know."

"Wow, you know people." Sasuke smirked and she slapped his arm.

"By the way," Sakura said and whispered into Sasuke's ear. "What exactly happens at a wedding?"

"Two people get married."

"Yes, yes, I know." She frowned. "But, why do you need a huge celebration just to be united as man and woman?"

He looked passively forward, his eyes emotionless. "Who knows."

She flinched. Sasuke was usually emotionless, but never his eyes. His eyes always showed emotions, even if he thought they didn't. Now that she thought about it, did Sasuke even have a mate? Mikoto-san did say he stopped playing the piano after someone important left. Was it his mate? A woman?

She tugged on his sleeve and he looked at her. "Do you have a mate as well?"

He only stared at her, his eyes no longer emotionless. "A mate?"

She was scared to nod her head. He responded more harshly than she expected. As she had thought, maybe it was a woman. "Yes."

"Don't joke." He turned away and looked at the altar where Naruto was standing. "Not everyone is cut out to be married."

"Are you saying that about you? Or someone else?" She asked, her voice quiet.

He didn't answer.

Sakura understood and stopped pressing the matter. If he didn't want to talk about it, she would comply. She looked back at him and paused when bells started ringing. She looked behind herself and saw the bride come in.

Hinata was beautiful, even more so now than ever before. The white dress contrasted her dark hair that was covered by a white veil. The dress ruffled down like a winding staircase starting from the top of her breasts to the ground. Her hair was pinned up, her bangs left alone while two braided strands wrapped around the high bun atop her head. Attached to the bun was a small hairpin, even though small, it stood out.

In front of her was a younger woman who looked much like Hinata. She threw out flowers occasionally as she walked by. Sakura was hit by one by accident.

She looked up at the groom at the groom and found him smiling like an idiot. She almost snickered in the middle of the ceremony. Naruto held her hand as Hinata walked up and they walked toward a man wearing a black suit and a small white square in the middle of his collar.

The two took turns to put rings on each other's ring finger, and then the man began to say words that she didn't understand. She sat there confused, watching the man chant his incantations from a book.

"Do you, Naruto Uzumaki, take Hinata Hyuuga to be your lawfully wedded wife?" The man turned to look at Naruto and he answered with a "yes." Then he turned to Hinata and said the same thing, but switching the names and the position of marriage. " And do you, Hinata Hyuuga, take Naruto Uzumaki to be your lawfully wedded husband?" She also answered with a yes and then the man said, "You may now kiss the bride."

Naruto leaned down and put his face to Hinata's. Sakura blinked while everyone else clapped for their exchange of saliva. Perplexed, she was late for the clapping.

.

.

After the ceremony was apparently a party. Everyone sat around a large white table while the bride and groom cut the triple tiered cake. She was utterly confused as to why they would clap just because Naruto and Hinata cut a cake. She cut cakes all the time. Nobody ever clapped for her when she did, so what was the difference?

"I would like for Sasuke," Naruto spoke and gestured to his dark-haired friend. "to give some words."

Sasuke stood up and crumpled what looked like to her a piece of paper into his pocket. "I've known the two of you, Naruto, Hinata, since we were kids. The three of us grew up together: going to elementary school, junior high, high school, and then college. I hate to admit it, but the two of you were the only few good friends that I actually had. Congratulations in your marriage, and I hope you two are bestowed with happiness."

His words were very precise and straight to the point. She had never heard him speak in such a way before, outwardly caring about someone before.

He sat back down and she clapped for him, along with everyone else.

She could feel several people eyeing her and she looked back at them, giving them a big smile. they only turned away from what she thought was embarrassment.

After eating, everyone stood up when music started to play in the background of the garden. She looked in every direction and found a band of orchestra players playing music on their string and brass instruments. She loved music; it was heartwarming and relaxing. She could relax and forget with music.

Sasuke was sitting at the table with her and several other people. They all chatted nonchalantly while she sat in awkwardness. Hinata and Naruto were dancing, Ino and her dark-haired mate were also dancing, and Mikoto and Fugaku sat on the other side with what looked like the Hyuuga family.

She watched the women dancing, their dresses flowing as they and their partner glided across the floor. They looked like birds, trying to attract attention from up above; if a plane flew by, they'd probably see them dancing.

Watching them dance brought back many memories of her past. She was born in an institute that took care of sick children, children sick beyond being cured. It was a place for them to be happy before they eventually passed away. It was a happy place for children to forget the inevitable end, a place without sadness, a place without fear.

It was not such a place for her though. She always envied the children who could take part in the parties and events hosted by the institute, as she could not enjoy such a luxury. The children could mingle and make friends, play games, talk, laugh, fight. She wasn't allowed to do any of that. None of it. Nothing.

Tsunade would always give her a roundabout explanation when she asked why she couldn't participate. Out of pity, the hazel eyed woman would occasionally return with cake and desserts for her. Honestly, even if she ate cake with Sasuke all the time at home, she hated it. It always left a bad taste in her mouth, no matter how good of cake it was.

But times changed. She frowned at her ironic situation. Here she was, finally able to experience something she had never experienced before, yet she was too much of a coward to do anything but stick to Sasuke like a baby chick following its mother. Pathetic.

Sakura watched the happy people, the people partying without a care in the world. "Ignorance is bliss..." She muttered and frowned even harder.

She stood up and walked away from the noise, from the ignorant people, from the people she envied, from Sasuke.

For the rest of the party, she sat outside of the garden on the stairs, tears streaming down her cheeks. She didn't even know why she was crying. Was it because she finally realized their separate worlds, that she could never be apart of such a world? Was her meeting Sasuke a sign of her greed, her greed for interaction?

Yeah, that was it. A world of happiness was not for her, she could never have happiness.

Because she was Sakura.

She already knew what she had to do.

.

.

Sasuke couldn't find Sakura anywhere. He had even told her earlier not to leave his side, but she had disobeyed. He would give it to her later. He started asking around for his pink-haired acquaintance.

"No, I haven't seen a pink haired woman."

"Was a person even invited to the wedding?"

"Sorry, I haven't seen a foreigner with pink hair."

He looked around some more and walked around the garden looking for her.

Sakura wasn't here.

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Doooooooone! Good job for being able to finish such a long chapter! :D

Please leave a review about what you thought. That would be much appreciated!

EnigmaLight— 10:27