Phantasmagoria
Chapter Four

The next morning, the shit hit the fan.

I woke up to the beeping of my phone. No one ever called me at night – I was kind of particular about my sleep back then – unless it was really important. So I rolled over, blinked once at the clock (8:30 a.m. – I was supposed to have an extra hour of sleep!), and reached for my cell, lying on the nightstand beside me.

I sat up as soon as I saw the Caller ID.

"Ino? What's wrong?"

"Sakura!" Ino sounded winded. On her end of the line, I could hear conversation – a lot of it. People shouting, voices pressing all around. I couldn't make out what they were saying. "Oh my God, Sakura."

"Ino! What happened?" I swung my feet over the side of the bed, shivering as I yanked off the comforter. "Where are you?"

"I'm outside – I was going to class, and I saw campus police, and I was kind of worried, you know how paranoid I am, I thought they were there for me but they obviously weren't and—"

Ino only rambled when she was really, really anxious. Her voice rose in pitch until, wincing, I cut her off.

"Ino. Breathe. Tell me what happened!"

"It's Shikamaru – he just got arrested."

-x-

"I don't believe it," Naruto said for the umpteenth time.

"Well, believe it," I said glumly from my seat beside Ino. Her head was on my shoulder, long, white-blonde hair spilling across my arm. I patted her hand consolingly, but I didn't know what to say.

"Shikamaru's not like that," Naruto insisted. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to try and grow marijuana right on campus. Or at all," he added hastily.

But, really, I wasn't so sure. Shikamaru had always been kind of weird. Drugs would explain a lot. I met Kiba's gaze. He was leaning against the wall opposite the couch Ino and I sat on. He was quiet.

The four of us – along with Chouji, Lee, and Neji – sat in a back corner in the Student Centre, gathered around three forest green couches surrounding a low white table. We weren't the only group around, and definitely not the only one discussing Shikamaru.

After Ino had told me the news, I had thrown on an outfit, brushed quickly, and all but flown down to the Student Centre to meet her, not even bothering to shower or brush my hair. She had been standing outside with Chouji, looking shaken. I had called Naruto, and the four of us left campus to find a quiet place to get breakfast and talk. I had skipped lecture, of course. Well, some things were more important.

After that, the four of us had changed location to a café, Naruto's room, the library, and, finally, the Student Centre, slowly gathering up more and more friends. Now it was evening, and we were still in shock.

Tenten appeared at my shoulder, carrying a soda each for Chouji and Ino. Ino took hers with a mumble of thanks, lifting her head from my shoulder. I rubbed it absently – her head had been heavy – and looked across to Chouji. He looked to still be in shock, simply staring down at his big hands. Tenten set his soda down on the table in front of him.

"Have some faith, Sakura-chan," Naruto said. "The cops messed up. Shikamaru'll be back."

"I hope so, Naruto," I said, but I didn't completely believe it. Shikamaru had been found, not only with the evidence of his little project in his room, but actually in the woods lining the edges of campus, only feet away from the plants, marijuana lining his pockets. What else could it mean?

Lee clapped a reassuring hand on Chouji's shoulder.

"Shikamaru's smart," Tenten said. "He'll find a way out of this."

"And if he's guilty?" Neji asked, in a common display of his complete lack of tact.

With a strained smile, Tenten stepped back to grind her heel into Neji's foot, eliciting a wince. Bravo, Tenten.

After that, they dispersed, until only Naruto, Ino, Chouji, Kiba, and I were left.

Naruto leaned over to open Chouji's soda. It fizzed and popped, and he handed him the drink. "Don't look so down, man. it'll be okay. You know he's innocent."

Chouji stared unseeingly at the soda can in his hands. "Yeah…" Poor guy. Chouji was a sweetheart, and always happy. Seeing him so upset was disturbing. Heartbreaking.

"Naruto's right," Ino said, surprising me. she had been quiet and anxious, pale-faced, for most of the day. Now her tone was surprisingly firm. "He'll be back in no time."

Chouji looked at her. She smiled encouragingly; he managed a small one in return.

Ino stood up. "Come on," she said. "I'll walk you back." When he protested, she said, "Fine. You can walk me back. Okay? Let's go, big guy." She nodded at Naruto, then stepped past me. Chouji got to his feet as well, and the two of them left.

And then there were three.

Naruto came over to sit by me, looking worn. He rubbed at his eyes.

"I'm worried, Sakura-chan," he said, suddenly sounding exhausted. I patted my shoulder – the one Ino had recently vacated – and he leaned heavily against it, sighing.

"I know," I said, smoothing a hand over his soft blond hair. "But he'll be fine."

I looked over to Kiba; he was watching us, a little smirk on his face. Probably amused by the way I was mothering Naruto.

"Are you hungry?" I asked Naruto. He hadn't eaten dinner yet, and it was getting late. "I'll buy you ramen."

Naruto perked up, as I knew he would. His bright blue eyes were still tight with worry, but he nodded, getting to his feet. "Yeah, yeah! your treat, Sakura-chan. Don't back out now."

Well, there went all my earnings for the month.

"You coming?" I asked Kiba, standing up and stretching my arms over my head.

"Nah, I should get back to my room and actually study. Besides," he added, straightening from where he had been leaning against the wall, "I think Naruto wants you to himself for a bit."

"He can share," I said. Yeah right, I know.

"Sure," Kiba agreed, but with a gleam in his eyes. He knew as well as I did how untrue that was, even after only three days of knowing Naruto. He's not what you would call complex. "But I can't."

"You are a brat," I informed him, bending for my purse. I stifled a yawn. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Not sooner?"

"Good night, Kiba."

I left the Student Centre alone, rubbing my arms the moment the cool evening air hit me. Naruto was waiting for me, examining a poster advertising an upcoming guest speaker, some writer named Jiraiya.

"Sorry," I said. "Ready to go?"

"For ramen, when am I not?" he asked, falling into step beside me. "So… are you still going to Tenten's party this Saturday?"

"It's still on?"

"Well… yeah. and I think it's a good thing, get people to loosen up a bit. So make sure Ino comes, okay?"

"Yeah, whatever." We crossed into the parking lot, and headed for Naruto's car. The night was silent and still, the wind rustling softly through the trees. Not many people were out in the parking lot besides us, and I tipped my head back to stare at the sky. Stars were starting to peek out, and the moon was only a sliver in the sky. "Oh, but I have work that day."

We reached Naruto's car, a shiny orange BMW (I know, what was his deal?), and split, going to our respective sides of the car. He looked at me over the hood.

"…But you're still going, right?" Naruto asked, unlocking his car with a beep.

"Yes, Naruto. God." I opened the passenger-side door and slid in to the leather seat. "Maybe I'll ask Hinata along," I mused, snapping the belt in place as Naruto got in on his side. "By the way, didn't your car get, like, towed?"

"Yeah, Dad got it back. He said it was all just a misunderstanding, my car got accidentally towed." Naruto snorted. "Probably the towing company was trying to cover their asses. But whatever. No ticket for me!"

"That's good to hear," I said, "Since I doubt you have any money."

Naruto shot me a sheepish grin as he backed out of his space, and I shook my head.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Naruto said after a few minutes of driving in silence. He cruised to a stop before a red light. "My dad actually does know Sasuke!"

"Really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows and opening Naruto's glove compartment for the mints he kept in there. "Huh. Small world."

"Small town," Naruto corrected. "Man, that could've saved us so much time, if we had asked him at the beginning."

"Like you would have really asked him," I said. "Anyway. What did he say about Sasuke?"

"Not much. He said I should try and get along with Sasuke, said he'd be a good influence on me. so I'm thinking about inviting him to Tenten's party."

I laughed, popping a mint in my mouth and returning the tin to the glove compartment. "Yeah, right. Can you really see Sasuke at a party?"

"Why not? Maybe he likes them." I didn't reply, and Naruto said, "Or maybe not. But still. I can be very persuasive, Sakura-chan."

I made a face. I knew that all too well; Naruto had managed to drag me to that garage sale, after all.

My phone beeped then, and I fished it out from my jacket pocket. I flipped it open to find a text waiting.

"Kiba texted me!"

"Congratulations," Naruto said flatly.

"Quit being such a baby," I admonished, pulling up the text. It wasn't much.

bring me back some coffee? too lazy to buy it myself.

Lazy or broke? I replied.

so suspicious. maybe i just want to see you.

I burned red, and I could feel myself grinning like an idiot. Naruto took one look at me and rolled his eyes, pulling up in front of his favorite ramen shop, Ichiraku. I was embarrassed, but I couldn't help it. it was a lot like he was back in the book again, being almost too sweet, only now I didn't have to worry about a time limit.

Fine, will do. We'll be back in an hour.

I put my phone away, got out of the car, and followed Naruto into Ichiraku.

"Can't he leave you alone for five minutes?" Naruto grumbled.

"He loooooooves me," I sang.

-x-

"Naruto, you suck. You suck like a vacuum. I'm broke now. flat-out broke. Broke like a—"

"I get it," Naruto said hastily. Then he shot the paper bag in my hand a very sour look. "Didn't stop you from getting too large coffees and muffins. Face it, Sakura-chan, you're just discriminating 'cause I'm blond and cuddly." He fished his keys out of his pocket. "If I looked more like Kiba, you wouldn't care."

"Shut up," I said. What the hell, I'm not that much of a slave to my boyfriend. Or any guy. I am woman, hear me roar. "I couldn't buy it for myself and not him. then I'd look like a pig."

Naruto laughed but – wisely – chose not to comment. He unlocked the door to his room and pushed it open. I followed him inside to find Kiba sitting on the couch, textbook in his lap. He looked up when I entered and smiled wide – but not at me. At the coffee in my hands.

"Caffeine!"

"Also, love of my life!" I said pointedly, and he grinned. I walked over, handed him his cup and paper bag, then lifted the lid of my own, settling myself on the other end of the couch.

Naruto frowned at us, unwinding the scarf from around his neck. "Can you not flirt in front of me?"

"Sure. Sakura, let's go to your room."

"NO!"

I laughed. "Relax, Naruto. I'm leaving soon. I have work to do, anyway." I moved to get up, then, on impulse, leaned over and pecked Kiba on the cheek. Then I got to my feet before he could see my cheeks turning pink.

"Bye, Sakura-chan." Naruto didn't sound happy.

"Bye, Sweetheart."

As I closed the door behind me, I could've sworn I heard Kiba laughing.

-x-

Shikamaru got out. The case against him was strong, but he continued to deny charges, so he was out of trouble – until his trial, anyway.

"But he's suspended," Ino said. "He's staying with his parents until the trial."

I wanted to comfort her somehow, but she was driving – dropping me off at work – so I could only offer her words. "I'm sure everything will be okay. He's innocent, right?"

Ino rubbed her eyes wearily. "Yeah. Right."

"Don't worry, Ino." She didn't reply. "Come on, Tenten's party is tonight. You should come, take your mind off things."

"I don't know…"

"Come on, Ino. Everyone's going. You need a distraction."

She exhaled, sending her bangs fluttering. "Okay," she finally agreed. "I'll go."

"Great. Ride with Naruto, Kiba, and me."

Ino gave me a small smile. "Thanks, Sakura. I'm sorry for being so moody."

"It's fine," I assured her hastily, "You're just worried. We all are."

She stared straight ahead at the road and didn't answer for a long time. Her grip on the steering wheel was so tight, her knuckles were turning white.

Only when Ino had pulled into a parking spot in front of the pet store did she turn to me, fidgeting with the sleeves of her magenta hoodie, and speak. "It's not just that," she began awkwardly. "I mean… he says he didn't do it, but what if he did?"

I stared at her. "Shikamaru wouldn't do that," I said slowly. "You should know that better than anyone."

"I know," Ino said glumly. She pressed her glossed lips together for a moment, thinking. Then she said, cheeks blooming red, "It's just… I mean, he dumped me without warning. And I had no idea why – not then."

"What, you think—" I tucked a lock of hair behind one ear, fixing her with a disbelieving stare. "You think Shikamaru does do drugs? You think that's why he dumped you?"

Ino looked miserable. "it could happen," she said weakly.

I didn't know what to say. Either I told her that sure, her boyfriend of five years did drugs, or no, he dumped her for an entirely different reason entirely. You see my problem.

"I think you need to have more faith in Shikamaru," I said. I was such a hypocrite. I smiled at her, hoped it was reassuring. "And, tonight, you're going to move on. Okay?"

"Okay," she said. Then, with a nod for emphasis: "Okay. Now get out of my car already. Pick you up at five! Bye!"

-x-

"I'm worried about Ino," I said, as I restocked the shelves of dog treats. Hinata was manning the counter, and she was nice enough to turn a deaf ear to my cell phone conversations when I was on duty.

"Yeah, so is Naruto." I heard him swallow as he took a sip of coffee. "He took Chouji out to lunch to try and cheer him up. I'm not so sure about it, though?"

"What?" I asked, crouching to stock the bottom shelves. I switched my phone to the other hand, rubbing my shoulder.

"Well, they're stressed. Of course they would be. You would be too, if I got arrested."

"Well, duh."

Kiba laughed a bit, and I took a moment to picture him, sitting at his desk with his textbook open in front of him, twirling his highlighter through his fingers. My heart warmed at the thought.

"But I don't know if they're as sad as you think they are."

"Of course they are! Like you said, if you got arrested, I would be crushed."

"But that's because I wouldn't have done anything wrong."

"Neither did Shikamaru," I pointed out, not totally believing it.

"Are you sure about that?" I didn't answer. "Well, okay, you know your friends better, I guess."

"Just… try to cheer her up tonight. Dance with her or something. She likes dancing, and she thinks I suck at it. Which I kind of do."

He laughed again, and then spoke, softening his voice: "I'd like to dance with you."

I burned red, and ducked behind a shelf so Hinata wouldn't notice, lowering my voice to nearly a whisper. "I'd probably step on your feet."

"I can take it."

My heart was pounding, and my jaw was starting to ache from smiling so much. I glanced up. The puppies sat in their pen, staring up at me. I moved closer, reaching out to pet Akamaru. "I have your dog here."

"Oh yeah?" Kiba said, brightening. "Let me say hi to him!"

I didn't want to risk the speakerphone, so I just waved my cell phone above Akamaru's head. He stared at it, bemused, until Kiba's voice came through: "Hey Akamaru! How're you doin'?" Then he started barking madly, jumping for my phone, and I had to pull it away, laughing.

"I think he misses you. you should come see him sometime," I said. I suddenly heard voices as the door opened, and cursed. "Customers, ugh. Duty calls, Kiba."

"Okay. I'll see you tonight. Have fun."

"Ew. Bye!"

Later, after the customers had left and we were closing up, I remembered the party and asked Hinata if she wanted to come. She burned red at the invitation and hesitated.

"It'll be fun, and Naruto will be there too. You'll have company," I said, pretending not to notice when she turned, if possible, even redder. Her crush on Naruto was cute, even if I didn't get it at all. "So will you come?"

She bit her lip, then nodded. "Um… a-are you sure I can…?"

"Of course!" I reached for the notepad and pen by the phone to write down the address. "I'll see you tonight, okay? It'll be great. Wear something nice!"

Hinata nodded, and when I handed her the paper, shot me an enormous smile. I mentally patted my back for being such a good friend.

-x-

Naturally, I was the first one to meet Naruto. I glanced at my watch: quarter past seven. We had agreed to meet at seven.

"They're late."

Naruto wisely chose not to comment on my total hypocrisy. "Ino's never on time," Naruto said, like I should've known this. Which – okay, I should've. "And Kiba… probably working hard to impress you." He made a face.

I frowned at him. "What is up with you? why don't you like Kiba?"

I expected Naruto to look properly abashed. Instead, he only shrugged. "I don't know. something about him just… bothers me."

I blinked. "You really don't like him?"

Now he did look abashed. "I don't not like him! I just… don't totally like him. he's nice enough. I just… I don't know."

"Maybe you're just jealous." I shivered, rubbing my arms for warmth – why did I never remember to wear a jacket? – and added, "Can you unlock the car? I'm getting cold out here."

"Ah… actually, I'm not driving us."

"What? Then who is?"

as if on cue, a car pulled up in front of us. It was the same black Mercedes we had hitched a ride in almost a week ago. As Naruto and I watched, the door opened, and out climbed—

"Sasuke?"

"I told you I was inviting him along, remember?" Naruto whispered to me, then stepped away from his car to greet Sasuke. "Hey Sasuke! you're late."

Sasuke gave him a very dirty look in response. So cheerful.

"But everyone else is later," I said. "So we're not leaving yet. Are we taking your car?"

Sasuke scoffed. "I am taking my car. You are not." He shot a very disgusted look at Naruto's car – which I could understand.

"Why waste gas on two cars?" Naruto said. "Don't be lame." And he shoved past Sasuke and made to climb in.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Backseat. I'd prefer if I couldn't see you."

"Feeling's mutual," Naruto announced, and clambered into the back.

Huh. Naruto had made a friend.

I smiled at Sasuke. "So what made you decide to come?"

Sasuke wouldn't look at me. "I have to talk to you."

My eyebrows flew up – way up – at that. "Yeah? about what?"

He looked distinctly uncomfortable. "It's…" He coughed. It was kind of cute to see him so awkward, though I knew he'd have hated me if I said so. "Well, actually, it's about—"

"Sakuraaaaa!!"

I turned. "Finally!" I called out. Ino beamed at me in apology – but it wasn't like I had ever expected her to be on time – with Kiba in tow – which was a bit of a surprise, but whatever. I forgot all about Sasuke as they approached.

"Let's get this show on the road!" Ino said, rubbing her hands together in excitement. It looked like she was feeling better. then she noticed Sasuke. "Who's this?"

like she didn't know, if the not-so-sly smirk she aimed at me was any indication. Still, I went along.

"This is Sasuke. he's driving us. Sasuke, Ino. My best friend."

"Biffles for life!" Ino agreed. Moron. That was so redundant.

"And this is Kiba," Ino added. Right. She didn't know that the two of them had already met. And before Sasuke could say otherwise, I jumped in.

"Yeah! Um, Kiba's a friend of mine. From my year. We just met this one day, It's kind of a funny story—" God, I was not cut out for lying. "He's, uh, coming with us," I said, with a glance at Kiba for help.

Though Kiba didn't look happy. Clearly, no help was forthcoming.

I rocked back on my heels, floundering for something to say. Kiba looked mad – his lips were set in a frown, brows furrowed over burning brown eyes. Sasuke remained impassive, but there was a crackling, electric anger in the air between them. Even Ino seemed to sense it.

But as she opened her mouth to question them about it, the window beside me rolled down, and Naruto stuck his head out.

"Come on, guys! Par-tay!"

Spell broken, the four of us piled silently into the car. I sat in the front so Sasuke could tell me whatever it was he had wanted to say. But when I asked, he refused to reply.

"Later," he said, looking pale –paler than usual – and anxious.

So I would wait.

-x-

Ino went on ahead into the party, disappearing inside almost before the rest of us – by which I mean Sasuke and me, the only mature adults in the car – had even undone our seatbelts.

"Someone's eager," Kiba said.

"She's always like this," I told him, opening the door and climbing out. Though I stared after her all the same, kind of weirded out myself. Ino had seemed so sad and worried all week. How was she back to her bubbly, somewhat-irritating self already? Not that I wasn't glad. But it was strange.

"So, c'mon Sasuke, I'll introduce you to my friends!" Naruto said eagerly. Sasuke just looked at him, then shifted his gaze to me.

"I need to talk to her," he said.

I started to nod – before I noticed Kiba walking away from us. Something in the set of his shoulders made me nervous, so I called after him. he didn't even pause.

Naruto flicked a glance at me. "Maybe he didn't hear you."

"…Maybe." But I didn't believe it. I didn't know what was wrong, but I had to find out. I turned back to Sasuke. "Just give me a minute, okay?"

Sasuke frowned. "Sakura, wai—"

But I had already run off. Some things could wait. Some things couldn't.

I caught up to Kiba easily enough. He was getting a drink in the kitchen, and I managed to corner him by the sink. He didn't look happy.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Why are you mad at me?"

"I'm not."

"You are. And don't say you're not – I can do this all night."

Kiba pulled a frustrated hand through his hair and blew out a breath. "It's Sasuke."

"Sasuke?" I echoed. It was starting to click into place. God, I was such an idiot. "Oh, Kiba, I'm sorry—I didn't even realize—" Of course Kiba wouldn't want to be around the brother of the Wishmaker who bound him to that journal – even if he had been the one to free him.

Kiba shrugged. "Yeah. Well." Then he shook his head and straightened. "And now he wants to talk to you? about what?"

"I don't know yet," I said, stepping closer. "But I'm sorry. Really. I didn't even know Sasuke was coming along. It was Naruto's idea."

Kiba raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"They're becoming friends. Or something." I waved a hand. "Whatever. We messed up. Please don't be mad."

He smiled at me and pulled me closer. "I'm not mad at you. You're my everything, remember?"

I laughed. "So cheesy." But I didn't mean it, not really. I liked being with Kiba – I loved being with Kiba. No one made me so happy. No one ever had.

So when he ducked his head down to bring his lips to my ear and said those three words – proved he felt the same – well, I forgot all about Sasuke. I forgot about Naruto and Ino and Shikamaru. I nearly forgot where I was, just stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed him, because there was nothing else that mattered.

"I'm sorry," he said, when I pulled away. "I overreact."

"It's okay," I said, reaching for him again. "You had a reason."

He laughed when I kissed him and pulled away again. "Do you want to know why I was locked away inside that book?"

I stared up at him, questioning. "I thought you said there was no reason." I thought of Itachi, and felt my face heat. If I ever met him…

Kiba hesitated. "Well, actually, I was going to say something about destiny, and how it was so I could be here with you…" I laughed, and he added, "Well, think about it. I'm supposed to be seven years older than you—"

"Creepy."

"—but I'm not. I'm here. And now I can tell you everything you want to know. We don't have to worry about time anymore." He coughed, suddenly awkward. "I'm sorry. I get carried away sometimes. I haven't talked in a very long time, you know."

"I know."

"I haven't talked…" Kiba stared unseeingly at me. "Haven't heard anything, seen anything… haven't touched anything," he said, softer now, as his gaze focused on me once more and he reached forward to trace the line of my jaw with one finger. "Haven't seen the world change. Haven't met anyone, until you come along."

My heart ached. Why had Itachi made him suffer so much, for so long?

His fingers trailed down the slope of my neck to the collar of my shirt, and my breath quickened when he followed the dip of the neck. Then he smiled, noticing my heavy blush, and pulled away.

Silence, but for the thumping of music and mix of happy voices from the next room.

"Am I the only one who wants to leave this party now?" Kiba finally said, looking at me in a way that sent tingles down my spine.

"No," I told him honestly. "But I'd better go see Sasuke first. It's okay," I added, at his expression, "We'll get a cab or something back to campus. Okay?"

"Okay." Kiba half-turned, looking out the kitchen at the mess of bodies enjoying the party. "I owe Ino a dance anyway, right?"

"Eh, she actually looks a lot better," I said, following his gaze. I could see Ino on the dance floor. "I'll be back soon, okay?" And without waiting for an answer, I was out the door.

-x-

Sasuke and Naruto were, not quite surprisingly, still right where I had left them. They seemed to be deep in conversation – serious conversation, judging by Naruto's expression – but broke off when I neared.

"Hi, sorry, about that." I looked from Naruto to Sasuke and back. "Am I interrupting something?"

Naruto smiled. "Nah, Sakura-chan. Sasuke was just telling me about how Wishmakers work!"

"Keep your voice down, idiot," Sasuke hissed, before I could say the same, and I laughed.

"Sorry, loud and obnoxious is his default," I said, then turned to Naruto. "Hey, I saw Hinata inside. She looked kind of embarrassed, she was stuck with Neji. I told her you'd go and keep her company, so…"

"Oh cool, she came? I'll go say hi! Later, Sasuke!" Naruto waited a moment for a reply. It didn't come and, with a roll of his eyes, he headed back to the house, leaving the two of us alone.

"You two are getting along," I observed. I was surprised, and not just at the two of them getting along. Sasuke had been holding a conversation at a party with Naruto. I hadn't known he had it in him.

Sasuke ignored me. "You took too long."

"I said I was sorry. Anyway, we can talk now. what's going on? And this better be good, I left my boyfriend alone for you."

Sasuke pressed his lips together. "Depends on your definition of good." He gestured to the empty sidewalk stretching before us. "Walk with me."

I complied, and Sasuke waited until we were at the end of the block before he spoke.

"It's about my brother," he said, turning a corner.

I followed. "The weasel?" Sasuke smirked a bit, but I hadn't been joking. The guy had trapped my boyfriend in a book. I hated him.

"Yeah. He's been sick for a while."

"Oh." And now I felt like crap. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Sasuke shook his head. "Not that kind of sick. It's… it's the kind of sick only Wishmakers—" He dropped his voice a little when he said the word. Kind of cute—"get." Sasuke pressed his lips together and was quiet for a moment longer. Our steps slowed. The night was crisp and cool, and I folded my arms for warmth. Sasuke didn't seem bothered by the cold. Maybe it was a Wishmaker thing.

Finally, he spoke again. "Making a wish requires a lot of energy, so we gather a lot of it from our surroundings. There are two types of energy: positive and negative. Wishmakers need positive energy. But recently... there's been a lot of negative energy around us. Around you."

I blinked. "I'm… sorry?"

Sasuke sighed, staring up at the darkening sky. "It's not you, Sakura. it's around you. everywhere you go, negative energy gathers in the air. It's spreading. My brother's getting sick. Weak."

A thought occurred to me, and I stared up at him. "But you're okay."

"I'm okay," he said. "But I wasn't on the way here."

I still didn't understand it. Stupid, stupid, stupid girl.

"You're not the source, Sakura. you're just its focus. The source—"

my phone started ringing and, automatically, I reached into my pocket for it. but my eyes were on Sasuke. his eyes flashed with something – something almost like pity – as he continued, before I could tell him to stop, because I knew what was coming – don't ask me how – and I knew I didn't want to hear it.

"—is Kiba."

My mind locked down, and I could only stare, first at Sasuke, then down at my still-ringing phone. when I saw the Caller ID, my stomach lurched and I snapped back to my senses.

It was Naruto.

So… I'm really sorry about the wait. A lot has gone on in the past five months, and I've been really busy. I actually had half of this chapter already done for a while, but I was just really unhappy with it, so a lot has been rewritten and polished up. now I know to never do a first-person chapter-fic again. But whatever, it's nearly 2,000 words longer in apology. Does that help?

Anyway. This chapter ended on a note I actually wanted to bring up later. But this fic has been dragged on long enough, thanks to that huge gap since last update, so I'm going to try and wrap this up within the next three chapters or so. Hopefully it won't be too jumpy.

This chapter gave me minor hell, so there may be some capitalization errors. If you see something, please tell me! Kiba's texts, of course, aren't capitalized on purpose.