Kay guys, I'm pretty sure I won't have to edit this ten times like I did the last chapter. I'm sorry about that by the way; I've been having tons of formatting problems lately. After this, it might be a little while before I do another update, since I plan to go back and revamp chaps for a more consistent format and cleaned up grammar, etc.

Enjoy!

I woke up to yet another one of the morning phone-calls that had become so routine and customary as of late. I cracked my eyes open, annoyed to find out that even Mr. Sun was too good to wake up at this hour. My skull was aching as I sloughed off the arm hanging around my neck to take a peek at the clock. The only thought in my mind was that it was too damn early for this. I grabbed my phone out of my pants-pocket, grumbling the best 'shut up' I could manage at the moment. It was three AM. I flipped the phone open disdainfully and put it to my ear.

"What," I growled. It was more of a stab than a question. The person on the other end made a cringing sort of noise.

"Sakura?" It was a female voice, a familiar one, I might add.

I groaned, unable to recognize it in my current state. "None other, you've reached the Haruno hell-hole hotline. To whom the fuck am I speaking?" I asked, thoroughly annoyed.

She sighed, "It's Ino."

"Great, just who I didn't want to be talking to at three in the morning. It could've been Sasuke, but no it has to be you. I thought we went through this already." I ran a hand through my hair, giving up on getting any sleep for the rest of the night.

"Look, Sakura, I just want to talk," she said. Her voice cracked. It sounded like she'd been crying.

Serves her right for cheating on me, damnit. Who the hell does she think she is, calling me in the fucking wee hours of the morning? Does she want me to become a serial killer?

I gritted my teeth, "You could've talked to me – before you ditched me for some guy. You could have, but you didn't, and now you expect me to just sit back and pretend like everything's okay? . . Well it isn't, and I'm not going to pretend. You can forget about that."

Now she definitely sounded like she was crying. "Sakura, please."

I let out a loud exhale, too tired to refuse. As much as I wanted to hang up, I couldn't bring myself to make the effort. After all, if I was too tired to hold the phone to my head, I was too tired to bring my hand up to end a call. The logic was perfect.

"Fine, but this better be over with before Hinata wakes up," I replied. The silence on the other end when I mentioned Hinata's name was deafeningly clear. Then it happened.

"Y-you slept with Hinata?" The half-wail, half-scream nearly pierced my eardrums. If I didn't know any better, I'd say the phone was on speaker. I broke my logic without a second thought, clutching my temple in hand as I clambered out of bed. I stubbed my toe on the way out of my room. Cursing indignantly, I decided to reply. Somehow, I managed to sound calm and recollected, unlike usual.

"No, I haven't, Ino," I answered as I tried to regain my composure, letting out another breath. I straightened up, glad that Hinata still hadn't stirred in the slightest. My head was still pounding from earlier. I heard sounds of relief on the other end as I closed the door. I sighed. Half-consciousness was really catching up to me. "Is this all you wanted to talk about?" I asked, although less venomously than I'd hoped.

A muffled brushing sort of noise came through the line, which I assumed to be her flipping her hair, as she often did when frustrated. She took a deep breath and spoke, "Look, all I wanted to say is that I'm sorry, okay?"

To be honest, it was believable, but I had to at least pretend that I wasn't as gullible as I looked. I needed to keep my pride, one of the last things I had left. Besides, I reasoned, she was probably just going to step all over my ego later anyways.

I huffed, "Yeah, right. If you were sorry, you wouldn't be with him. You're always leaving me for these losers – all the time! It doesn't matter what I do, you fuck with my emotions anyway." By now I was in the bathroom, practically screaming at the phone. I continued, "If you cared about me at all, you wouldn't be such a two-faced bitch, and dammit, don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about!" I panted until I caught my breath again, leaving silence in my wake. The thought of her and that boy sickened me.

Seconds later, another loud exhale came through the line. "Sakura, I dumped him yesterday morning." Her voice was failing as she choked back a sob. I didn't know what to say; she kept talking, "Gaara, that guy that never talks to anyone, him and that kid with the puppets and make-up, they asked me out. I said no to both of them, but they kept coming back. At first it was just them, but then it got worse. They started following me around in the mornings before school – a big crowd of them. They wouldn't leave me alone until I went with them!" She finished the sentence with a sniffle. My jaw dropped. I knew exactly who she was talking about – the kids from the 'sand-castle village,' or wherever the hell they came from, and their lackeys. How could I have been so ignorant before?

"Ino, why didn't you tell me?" I asked urgently, "I would've kicked their asses seven ways to Sunday if I knew they were doing that crap! You know how defensive I get." I could feel my face pulsing with anger, my free hand clenching the hem of my shirt with a vengeance.

Ino sighed again, "I didn't want you to think that I was just using you for protection."

That makes ten strikes for jackass in one week, my inner self declared nonchalantly.

Dammit, I can't believe I didn't even ask her about this in the first place! I growled inwardly, Wait a minute- Since when did you start counting, you little bastard? Is this some kind of game to you?

Wait, make that eleven, it corrected itself in response. I gritted my teeth.

Ino went on, "I didn't mean to make you mad. Forgive me?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I forgive you... but we need to talk." I listened to myself speak. It was so unnatural; no distant, perhaps, makes for a better description.

"Talk? Isn't that what we're doing?" she asked, sounding confused.

I clarified, "In person, I mean."

"Oh," was Ino's reply. If enthusiasm were a light bulb, we'd both be tossing ours out by now. It was just so awkward. I could hardly stand it. When I didn't say anything in return, she added, "You can come over to my house, I guess."

I agreed to the idea, but she cut me off before I could get the words out of my mouth.

"Call me back when you get here," Ino said, pausing, "I'm hanging up now."

"Wait!" I begged, relieved when she seemed to comply, "I need to tell you something first . . . I'm sorry."

She let out a breath, shuffling in the background, "It's okay . . I should be apologizing to you. I was being stupid when I canceled our date."

I sighed, "Um . . I'll be over after I wash my hair and change clothes, okay?"

Ino hummed a confirmation and hung up, leaving me to listen to the dial tone for a few seconds before pressing the 'End Call' button. I checked the time – 3:27 AM. It was still too early for this.

I stared at the screen, unable to help but ask myself, Did that really just happen? My heart thumped against my chest strong and hard as I laid my phone on the counter, beginning to strip out of my clothes. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw myself in the mirror. My reflection was about as attractive as a dead lobster. Just looking was painful. I rubbed my eyes and turned away.

I wonder if I always look like this . . That would suck, I thought, shedding the last vestiges of my decency and tossing them into the hamper as I stepped into the shower, not bothering to grab a towel. It was pointless to; I'd just end up using it to dry up the floor or something else stupid. I closed my eyes and turned the water on full blast. The image of myself looking into the mirror was still burned into my brain.

Well, at least I don't look that bad. It could be worse, right? I shook my head under the torrent of liquid, trying to wash the color back into my skin. That was a lie.

Finally, something we can both agree on. The voice, less annoying than usual, decided to rear its pretty little head.

I laughed, Nice try, that joke's almost as pathetic as this shower curtain that my parents put up after they broke the door fighting over a hairdryer. What a shame.

Twelve, it stated simply; I squeezed a glob of shampoo into my hand and began massaging my scalp, furrowing my brow.

Now I was just confused. If only I had some caffeine pills lying around, or patches, either would work. My foggy mind struggled to comprehend. Twelve? What?

Twelve jackass points for you, that's what. Wake up and smell the coffee for once.

I rinsed the suds from my hair, taking a few extra moments to wash the rest of my body. How was I supposed to know what you were talking about? I'm not crazy like you!

The thing cleared its throat as I scrubbed away at myself, And just who do you think you are? I'm you, and while you're not necessarily me, me being crazy means you being crazy. Geez, for a smart kid, you're pretty dense.

You just called yourself dense, I thought, giggling in triumph as I finally managed to rid my body of the last suds and stepped out of the shower. I felt like a genius... until my other half had to rain on my parade.

It laughed dismissively, No, I said you were dense. Is your attention span really all that short?

I could swear I saw the thing sitting cross legged, wearing one of the cheapest grins I'd ever seen. I grimaced. Ugh . . This is fucking great. It's 3:30 in the morning and I can see myself without a mirror. That's really, really nice... Not. I let out a loud sigh, so low that it almost sounded like a growl, running my fingers through my hair to get it in some semblance of order.

Oh, I know; it's wonderful. Now if only you were a narcissist, I wouldn't have to listen to you complain about it. I'm surprised you didn't notice until now.

"I'm going fucking crazy . . fuck," I paused, "And since when did I cuss this much? . . Oh, that's right, since last year . . . Never-mind-" I turned around to see a faint representation of myself standing behind me, clearly visible in the mirror, "and since when was I this attractive? . . just kidding – but not really." I smiled; the shower really did help.

Were you even listening to me?It asked, fuming. Watching its mouth move with the words was getting kind of creepy.

Seeing as no one else was going to care, I gave up on reasoning with it in thought, especially since that was getting old. I sighed, splashing some cold water from the sink onto my face, "No, I guess not, but I have a proposition for you." I shot it a look, waiting for an approval.

It nodded.

I left the bathroom and started down the hall, heading toward my room, whispering, "Since I can see you, I might as well give you a name-"

The shade-like thing cut me off excitedly, "It's about time-"

I sighed and did the same, staying on the point, "As I was saying, I might as well give you a name, but I need to know something," I paused in thought, "If I can see you, can anyone else? . . and can you touch anything?" My twin passed me, touching a hand to its chin. It took a moment before speaking.

Well, I'm guessing, since no one's said anything before, no, but if by 'touching things' you mean 'moving things,' I'll have to try that first.

I stopped talking for two reasons; for one, we were just outside of my room by now, and two, I was cold. I quietly went inside and grabbed the closest clothes I could get my hands on. Incidentally, it was a green shirt, a sports bra, some black jeans, and the same red and black striped atrocity with the frappe stain on the shoulder that Naruto had constantly insisted was cool since that last time we went to the mall together. I put them on as quickly as possible and started back for the bathroom for my shoes and socks after realizing that I'd taken them off up there, but not before leaving a note for Hinata. I took the nearest pen I could find and tore a scrap off of the first piece of paper I saw, scribbling in the prettiest handwriting I could manage. I stuck it on the back of the door as I left the room.

It read:

Hinata,

Sorry for leaving you last night. I hope you had a nice sleep. If you want food, there's still some pizza in the fridge . . or some ramen in the cabinet – whichever you prefer. Anyways, just so you know, I'm not mad at you.

3 Sakura

PS: Hearing you sing yesterday was like . . one of the most amazing things ever. :)

I looked in the mirror, laughing wryly at my reflection. My clothes were ridiculously undersized, at least for my tastes. The hoodie was at least two sizes smaller than I remembered, pulling up over my belly button when I stretched. The only thing worse was the shirt, which only further proved my lack of boobs, what with it being skin-tight and all. Despite that, the pants weren't so bad. Besides being a little tight, they still fit over my favorite converse shoes. I ran my fingers through my hair again, just to make sure I looked alright, eventually giving up when it absolutely refused to do what I wanted.

I gritted my teeth and snatched a brush from the increasingly deteriorating vanity, preparing to put put my hair up. Man, Sasuke wasn't kidding last week; I could seriously use a haircut, I concluded, reaching for a rubber band and sliding it over my wrist while I brushed. I took a swig of mouthwash as I did so, swishing it around and spitting it out. After a few brush strokes, I took my hair in one hand and went around it a few times with the rubber band, satisfied with the pop it made as I let go. I shook it a few times in the mirror, just to make sure it looked nice.

Wow, someone cleans up good . . sort of, so can I have my name now? I'm getting tired of being called 'it' all the time; I'm a girl, the shade-thing, or girl, said, sounding impatient.

I chuckled, I don't see why not. I was going to think some more on it, but I guess if you want a lame-ass name, I could do that... How about Kariyo? I think it's some kind of Hawaiian name...

After a few seconds, surprisingly, she agreed, Fine with me, now get out of here and go to Ino's already!

"Gladly."

I took my phone from the vanity and replaced it in my pocket, along with the wad of money that was in my jeans from the day before and raced outside, hopping on the bike without a second thought and pedaling away. The night air was cool against the exposed skin of my neck and face. I could feel my skin prickling in the wind. As usual, the neighborhood was near pitch-black and eerily quiet. Sakura petals fell from the trees in the chilly breeze, twirling in the air. I slowed down to turn onto the next road and pedaled hard, resolving to get there as fast as possible.

Remember, right, left, right, left, left, fourth house by the blue street light...

"Can I do this all over again?" I asked myself, standing out front of Ino's house with the bike in tow. "What happens if this is all a lie?"

Even if it is, is it worth not trying, only to find out that it was true to begin with?

I didn't answer, letting the bike fall on its side as I approached the door. Then I remembered; Ino wanted me to call her. As I dredged my phone out of my pocket, a creeping fear lodged itself in my chest. The face plate was blank. I flipped it open. The screen was dimly lit – six messages, three missed calls, no voice mails, critical battery.

"Dammit."

I pressed a button to pull up my contacts list. Maybe, just maybe, something in my life would go as planned. The screen lit promisingly for a moment . . then went black.

Great, I sighed, slamming the thing shut and walking around to where I remembered the fence being. It was nowhere in sight. Apparently, Ino's parents had discovered just how easy it was for people to hop into their back yard. A proud new wall stood where the old wooden gate had once been, making the former obstacle look like a feeble excuse for a picket fence.

"Well, isn't this just wonderful," I said, seething to myself, "You could've told me your parents got a new fence installed, Ino, but oh no, Sakura doesn't have to know about anything, now does she?"

I growled, eyes searching for a way over. I thought about using a safety pin to pick the lock, but the thing didn't even have a door to it! It seemed impossible. I could have tried to scale it too, but then I remembered, I was never good at climbing huge walls. Every option pointed to failure. My attention turned itself to the house; there was always the easy way, knocking out front, but no, I couldn't do that. Sakura never took the easy way, never. I stood there for a few minutes, thinking hard.

Before I turned back to the wall, I noticed a growth of ivy on the side of the house, adjacent. Had that been there before? I cocked an eyebrow. It seemed to reach over the barrier and down the other side. Why hadn't I noticed it until now? I approached the vines. A wooden sort of grate was under it, the cheesy kind that you'd expect in some kind of stealth game, placed just so that a ramdom James Bond-sy character could use it for a good measure of espionage goodness. I shook the grate with my hands to see if it was stable. A leaf fell from around the top, barely missing my open mouth.

It looks pretty secure, I guess.

I nodded, Yeah, but just you watch if this thing falls as soon as I get to the top . . or on the other side.

I'm sure you- I mean we'll be fine.

I glanced back to find Kariyo smiling at me adorably, pale green eyes following me on my climb . . Wait, did I just describe my conscience as adorable? No matter – I clawed my way to the top of the grate, almost falling as I crossed over to the other side. My foot slipped, the imbalance tearing the fingers of my left hand away from the vines about half-way down. Flailing, my other hand lost its grip and I fell backward. I tried to scream, but my voice caught in my throat, resulting in a choked gurgle when I landed.

My back hit first, the rest of my limbs crashing down hard. My neck snapped on impact, leaving me incredibly delirious. I didn't dare move. I didn't think I could. My ears were ringing with the force of a thousand jet engines; I could hardly breathe. Was that crunching noise the sound of my neck breaking? The stars were spinning above my head as a dull pain pulsated wholly through my being. I was dimly aware of something jabbing into my hip, as well as a vague wet feeling creeping its way around the area. When my hearing returned, a hissing noise, like that of running water accompanied it. I blinked, flicking my tongue at the salty taste in the roof of my mouth.

Is . . Is that blood? My mind slowly recovered its thinking capabilities. I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again before attempting to pick myself up, immediately recoiling at the head-rush when I did so. Green tendrils hung freely from where my body had been. A piece was missing at the top of the grate, a piece that was now in my tingling hand. True to my estimate, I was a few feet from the midpoint. The fall I took must've been at least ten feet, if not fifteen. Not exactly 'kill you' high, but still dangerous.

Kariyo stood drunkenly over me, wavering slightly when the wind blew. I must've taken one hell of a hit from the drop. She looked as like she could've fallen over at any moment. I spat out a chunk of skin from my cheek, bitten off in that last whiplash-worthy moment. My head was still swimming.

Okay . . so maybe I was wrong, she said, mumbling. She knelt next to me, gesturing toward the painful protrusion under my right buttcheek, I think that's a water hose.

I mouthed an 'oh,' since my voice hadn't returned yet. I couldn't bring myself to roll over just yet. I tried, but only ended up gasping in agony. After a second, I threw myself on my side, nearly drowning in the flood of water that was beginning to engulf me. The cold substance splashed me in the face, shocking me into motion. I turned the flow off, closing the handle, though the action was enough to bring tears to my eyes. It hurt so much.

I stood and stumbled my way in front the balcony, just wanting to lie down the entire way. The breeze cut through my wet clothes like a hot knife through butter, chilling me as I trudged along. Luckily, my arms were mostly intact. I picked up a pebble from the flower beds as I had done as a child, hurling it at her window with all of my strength. I missed by a long shot, hitting the wall instead. It was probably for the best, seeing as it most likely would have busted the thing if I had been able to hit it. The rock was pretty big for a pebble.

The popping sound that rang out afterward echoed in the air like a gunshot, infuriating the neighboring animals. I repressed the urge to scream, knowing that if I did, it would probably be the last word anyone heard out of my mouth. My vocal chords ached with a fire like never before. When this method had no effect, I went back to the hose, painstakingly bending over to grab it and turning the spray in the direction of her room for a few seconds. I wanted to shout her name at the top of my lungs in exasperation, and I did . . in my mind.

My mental screeching was answered by the sound of Ino's window opening, as well as a sharp pain in my ear upon hearing my name. I craned my throbbing neck up high to see the most worried face she'd ever given me.

"Sakura!" she cried out, her voice barely registering in my dulled senses. I didn't answer, but watched as she ran from the window, no doubt heading down to see me. I looked to the vines again, somehow expecting her to come around and climb over. That wasn't the case; she came full speed from the other side, wrapping me in an excruciating embrace. I hissed audibly, causing her to release me. She looked me over with concern in her eyes. "What happened?" she asked, cupping a tentative hand to my cheek, "Why didn't you call?"

I winced, but leaned into the contact, clearing my throat. The remnants of my previous anxiety were long gone. I started, "I tried . . but-" my voice cracked and I looked down, sifting through my pocket to pull out my phone, no doubt ruined, judging by the cracked face-plate and water soaking it down. I opened it to emphasize.

"But how did you get so . ." she trailed off, letting the hand fall from my cheek, to my shoulder, and finally to her waist when she noticed the displaced vines on the grate and the flooded area by the wall where my form was imprinted in the mud and grass. Her mouth gaped.

She didn't ask a question, but I tried to speak anyway. My voice was hoarse, "I couldn't figure out another way in without waking your parents up . . so I tried to climb over the wall, sorta."

"You're soaking wet. You should've knocked," she chastised. I dipped my thumbs in my pockets, looking down, partly out of habit and partly out of aversion to pain.

"Yeah," I muttered dejectedly.

Ino gave me a look akin to saying, 'Sakura, you're an idiot.'

I cringed, nodding, "I know, it was stupid, but you don't have to worry about me-"

"Sakura, you could've gone around the other side!" she yelled, interrupting me. The realization hit me pretty hard. I scrunched up my face into a goofy sort of smile. It was good to be with her again, even if I was cold, wet, and mildly delirious.

"Um . . Oops?"

"Get in here."

With that, she tugged me by the wrist, pulling me towards the house. I laughed humorlessly. There was no way I could protest; the concussion was mind numbing. I nearly fell into her as she helped me out of the back yard and inside. My head was pounding. I felt drunk, what with the two of us staggering around on the first floor. She offered to carry me instead of being my crutch, but I refused, knowing that it'd probably result in the both of us taking a tumble. I'd had enough of falling already. She probably wasn't strong enough to pick me up anyway.

Ino watched tiredly as I crawled my way up the near never ending set of stairs. She tried to help, but I wouldn't let her do that either. I was too stubborn. After what seemed like an eternity, I made it to the top, slumping in a heap on the wooden floor as soon as I came to it. She looked at me with pity in her eyes. I felt like a retarded stepchild.

"Ino, don't look at me like that . . . " I grumbled, forcing myself back to my feet again. I nearly fell back in the process, the only thing saving me being the steadying hand she gave just before I tipped over.

She just giggled, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were tipsy, Sakura."

I frowned. "Shut up. I'm only like this because your parents decided to put a tempting little grate right next to a wall. What kind of cruel bastard does that?"

Her laughing only got louder, but she stifled it quickly when I shot her a look. She straightened up and threw my arm over her shoulder for the remainder of our stair climbing adventures. Every once and a while I'd catch a distressed look on her face, but my constant bitching was enough to keep her smiling. After all, if Sakura feels good enough to complain about each and everything, she must be okay, at least according to Ino-logic. She stopped outside of her room for a moment, unlocking the door and opening it for me.

"Why do you keep your door locked?" I asked, my headache easing enough for me to talk normally . . for the most part. My speech was still a bit slow and bedraggled; I knew I'd surely be feeling this later, most likely with lots of bruises.

She shrugged, helping me in as I limped, "I don't like the idea of anybody coming in when I'm not around. You understand, right?"

She emphasized 'when I'm not around' as if she'd really meant to leave it out. I thought back to all the crazy boyfriends she'd had, nodding, "Yeah, I guess so."

She took off the light jacket she wore, turning to face me. I braced myself with the doorknob to keep from collapsing. Underneath it, she wore a black, spaghetti-strapped top, showing off her shoulder muscles and arms. I blushed slightly. Maybe she was strong enough to carry me.

"Sakura?" Ino cooed, sounding a mixture between concern and amusement.

"Hnn?" I answered, jolted out of the mini-fantasy my brain had begun cooking up.

Ino chuckled and tossed the thing into her closet, "You're so out of it; it's not even funny."

I made a face, defending, "If you fell on your head, you'd be out of it too!"

"Right," she said, skeptically, "Last time I checked, concussions didn't make people go all goo-goo eyed like that."

I huffed, "I was not going all goo-goo eyed – I was just dizzy!"

Ino smirked, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "You're the worst liar, Saku-chan. So anyway, what did you want to talk about?"

I could feel the color draining from my face just slightly as I tried to recall. I hadn't specified in the first place. After some deliberation, I said, "Nothing, I guess. I can't remember." I peeled out of the soaking hoodie I was in, almost suffocating when it got stuck over my head. Ino helped me get if off. I looked between it and her with some uncertainty. "Where am I supposed to put this?"

She shrugged, "I don't care, but you're changing out of those before you even think about getting in my bed." When I didn't respond, she took the thing out of my hands and tossed it to the floor. My shirt was next on the list. The fabric pulled away, revealing the pale skin underneath. My chest hammered away with reckless abandon. I grabbed her hands before my bra came into view, almost whimpering.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I hissed, tugging her wrists downward.

She blinked, eying me as if I'd gone insane, "I'm getting you out of these wet clothes. What does it look like?"

She smiled playfully, but I stayed firm. "Could you like . . find me some clothes first?"

Her eyes widened. "Oh, right."

She laughed it off, going to the closet and rummaging through the racks for a bit. I stood behind her nervously, biting my lip and toying with the hem of my shirt. She turned to me with a pair of jeans and a flashy blouse.

"Something like this?" she asked hopefully.

I shook my head, "No, like . . shorts and a t-shirt. I'm sleepy, not straight."

"Oh," she said simply, putting the hanger back and slipping past me to her dresser. She pulled out the top drawer and rifled through it for a second or two before pulling out some boxers and a black top. Both looked strikingly similar to the clothes she wore. I had to catch them before they hit me in the face. Happily, I was lucky enough to do just that. I slipped into them as fast as I could. They fit nicely, despite being a little tight.

"Thanks," I muttered, almost laughing at the look on her face when she saw that I'd already put them on. "What? Never seen a quick change artist before?"

Okay, so that's the end of the chapter. :)

I'm still having a title discrepancy here, but eh, it is what it is. Here's some deserved explanations for the stuff in the chapter.

As for the name, well, that comes from the quick change in how Sakura's feeling through the chapter, as well as the last line, of course . . and Inner Sakura's name, that comes from the Japanese romanization of the Hawaiian name, "Kaleo," which means "voice." I thought it was perfect at the time, but eh, looking back, not so much. Whatever. It's better than nothing, eh? Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!