Standard Disclaimer Applied

Thank you to all my reviewers! You make me so happy! (tear drops pop out at enorming speeds, audience sweatdrops)

I'd especially like to thank LilDevil66 (sp). There'd be no point of having a best review contest, you'd win everytime. Yours always crack me up, even if they do always go off on a tangent. I dedicate this kickass chapter to you!


Powerful


"Anyone can give up, it's the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that's true strength."

-unanonymous


Chapter 7

Just as I had expected, Naruto was already at Ichiruku's Ramen Shop. He eats here everyday he can for lunch. Kakashi was also there; he sometimes joined Naruto for lunch. Now, most surprisingly, Sasuke was there as well. I'm beginning to not like surprise, at least when it comes to him.

I should have turned around right then when I first saw him and walked right out of there, but Naruto had already caught sight of me and was now waving me over. "Ohayo, Sakura-chan!"

I nodded my head in greeting. "Oi, Naruto, Kakashi, Sasuke."

"Yo," came Kakashi's reply. He was too busy reading one of many notorious Icha Icha Paradise books to look up.

Sasuke "Hn"ed in turn. Typical. What more could I expect?

This had to be the first time all of Team 7 was together. Well, just us, I mean. Sure, Naruto and I had gotten together to hang out plenty of times. Sasuke and Naruto had hung out a few times since the Uchiha came back. And Kakashi…I'm not sure…sometimes he was there and sometimes he wasn't.

Anyway, this was the first official time Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, and I had actually been together, not counting Sasuke's "Welcome Home!" party or his wedding/reception. Those did not count simple because we weren't remotely near each other for more than the thirty second long greetings. Well, at least I wasn't.

I sat down beside Naruto in the booth. It felt strange not sitting at the bar. We always sat at the bar. Maybe but once had we ever not sat there since Ichiruku's got an expansion. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We could very well ask you the same question, Sakura," said Kakashi.

"Well, I just got off my shift. I was hungry. Ichiruku's was like, ten minutes away; plus, I get the valued customer discount here."

"It all adds up," replied Naruto, nodding his head as if I had spurted out some weird old prophecy, "We were all meant to meet here today! It's destiny!"

"Hn," answered Sasuke, "Dobe, you've been hanging out too much with that Hyuuga freak."

Our already awkward situation suddenly became extremely tense. Sasuke just sipped his drink as if nothing had happened. Kakashi looked up from his book (GASP!) and was now staring at Sasuke as if he was insane. And Naruto just sorta looked from Sasuke to me back to Sasuke to me. And I, well, you can already guess what I did.

"Bastard! You can't call Neji a freak!" I hissed.

"I just did."

"Guys! Keep it down!" said Naruto, looking at the both of us fearfully.

I quickly responded, "Only if Sasuke apologizes!"

Sasuke scoffed. "Apologize for what? The truth?"

"Shut up!"

"Face it, Sakura. Your boyfriend's a destiny-worshipping freak who's got his panties in a bunch because he was born a Branch member. He's better off with that Tenten girl."

I wasted no time in thinking it through. The very next moment, I had kicked Sasuke with a chakra-infused foot underneath the table. His chair slid back a few feet into a couple's table and knocked the man's drink over, consequently spilling said drink all over Sasuke. I had created quite an uproar with a simple move.

And I wasn't sorry in the least.

The glare I received just then was the worst out of every one before. Sasuke was pissed; that much I could tell. But I was pissed too. And I wasn't about to revert back to my old ways and ask for forgiveness. No. It was my new mission in life to get over Sasuke, and I was off to a good start. I returned his glare as best I could. There's no backing down now.

He stormed out of the restaurant and never looked back. I watched him leave, still glaring full force. I then folded my arms and smirked as he opened the door. This was one of my more powerf—

No! You idiot!

What the hell? Where did that come from? I looked around slowly, eyeing everyone in sight. No one else seemed to have heard it, though it was definitely close by. Everyone was either still staring at me or the Uchiha who had just slammed the restaurant door. Where did that voice come from? And more importantly, why was it calling me an idiot.

Okay…it sounded like a girl's voice…and it was kinda familiar. Hey, I'm off to a good start. No one else heard her, so that was pretty weird. She called me an idiot, which was rude. And the sound of her voice had sounded close by, but at the same time kind of fractured and distant, similar to someone talking in a cave of sorts. Or maybe…

No. It couldn't be. Inner Sakura wasn't real. She was just somebody I had imagined as a little girl, someone who was strong and honest when I couldn't be. But she was a figment of my imagination, as strong and honest as she was, and had disappeared along with my other childhood dreams of... … … Sasuke…

But it couldn't be. It simply wasn't possible. She was like an imaginary friend; she wasn't real. I had stopped hearing her a long time ago, almost as if she never existed. Inner Sakura was gone. Wait, no. Inner Sakura was never here to begin with. Much better.

But that still didn't solve the mystery of the mysterious voice, now did it?

Quietly, I decided to examine this wonder later. I probably needed to return to the present where everyone else was.

Well, Naruto was gawking, with a bit of noodle hanging out of his mouth. Kakashi's one visible eye had widened and was staring at me closely. They both seemed a little surprised.

No! You idiot! I couldn't help but frown as the words I repeated in my head. Safe to say, they didn't make my feel any better the second time. They seemed to give off some weird, ethereal echo. It was pretty creepy. But soon the haunting words were drowned out by the overlapping voices of the restaurant's occupants as they resumed their previously interrupted conversations.

"Sakura," Kakashi asked, "What was that?"

I smiled a little at his and Naruto's utterly confused faces. Well, only Naruto looked utterly confused; Kakashi had regained his façade. These were my friends. They had always been, never once turning their backs on me, even in the worst of times. I guess they were my family too. We had been through so much together, and there was more that we would have to overcome, including the rebuilding of Sasuke and ours friendships and then helping him get settled back into Team 7. it would be tough; that was guaranteed. But we had survived and held fast as other storms came through, and this would be no different.

Remembering back to a lesson my old sensei had taught the team years before, I said, "Always expect the unexpected, remember?"


I arrived at the Academy just in time. The bell, signaling the end of Nahoko's school day, rang just as I sat down on the bench from before. Man, I wish I had good timing like this all the time.

As I waited there for my little friend, I remembered the two mysterious voices I had heard in the last hour. I had yet to reach a reasonable suspect for either.

The first voice had just been a low chuckle. I'm not sure what I did that was so funny though. I'm not that worried about this voice, except that some man must have been spying on me. Kinda creepy.

Now, the voice I had heard in Ichiruku's made no sense. It was loud, clear, audible. Why had no one else heard it? My thoughts had found their way to my old pal Inner Sakura, but…

As I said before, I had yet to reach a reasonable suspect.

"Ohayo, Sakura-chan!" I heard. Recognizing that voice immediately as Nahoko's, I turned and waved as she ran towards me. She reminded me so much of my childhood days, almost too much. Nontheless, it was refreshing.

She was panting a little as she came to a stop in front of me. "Ready to head home?" I asked.

Nahoko smiled just then; she was still out of breath. Truth be told, she had an absolutely dazzling smile. I pray to the Almighty that she never picks up my knack for fake smiles. Nasty habit. I really have to start trying to stamp it out of my system soon.

Finally, Nahoko spoke, "No, not today. I have to buy some groceries for Naota." She then held out a short grocery list with some cash paperclipped to it. The list consisted of various baby foods, diapers, and baby wipes.

Nahoko's baby brother, Naota, was almost seven months old now. He was a cute little baby with hazel eyes (just like Nahoko's) and small feathery brown hairs starting to fill out on his head. Now, why Nahoko's parents decided to have kids almost ten years apart; I honestly didn't know. When I voiced this question to Nahoko; I did get an answer.

"Well, Kaa-san just got remarried to this man named Aito. He wanted a baby, so they had Naota. And Kaa-san's been complaining about it ever since."

Sadly, this answer only left me with other questions. What happened to Nahoko's father? Is he dead? Did her parents get a divorce? What?

I felt a ping of sorrow for the young girl, whether her father was dead or not. My own parents had gotten a divorce shortly after I had turned sixteen; though ( I see it now) their marriage had been going downhill for years. They were the kind of parents who held onto their crumbling marriage for their kid's sake. For me.

At first, I had tried to piece their love life back together too. But all my efforts proved futile, and I watched the split-up from afar. It was like watching sand slipping through my fingers and knowing I was helpless to stop it.

Helpless. Weak. Fragile. Insignificant. I hate it all.

But their divorce was a long time ago, and my perspective has changed drastically. My parents were miserable together and on the verge of hating one another; it would have been a sin to keep them together any longer. I guess it's something you understand with age.

Now, where was I? Oh yeah…

Nahoko and I casually strode into a nearby store and made a beeline for the baby aisles. I waited patiently as the young girl explained which brand an why in the diaper section. Baby foods were easy to find, and so were the baby wipes. We were out of there in no time.

"So, how was your day, Nahoko-chan?" I asked.

"Well," she drawled, "At first it was boring. You know, same old, same old. Except when Marumi put tacks on Iruka-sensei's chair. You should have seen his face when he sat down! It was priceless!"

She was laughing hard and smiling brightly, so different from the first time I had met her. I soon found myself grinning as well. She really does have a beautiful smile, thus so contagious. I probably should have scolded her for making fun at Iruku's expense, but I didn't have the heart. I, myself, hated ominous clouds shadowning my sunny days.

"How was your day, Sakura-chan?" she chirped.

"Oh," I started, "it was pretty boring too. I scarred this innocent puppy's life with Ino's fish stew. I kicked Sasuke which knocked somebody's coke all over him. Plus, I heard some weird voices. Strange, ne?"

"Starnge?" she asked, "Sakura-chan, weird voices are classic signs of…" her face suddenly grew entirely too serious for my liking, "Of insanity."

"Nahoko!" I gasped. And then I caught a little flash in her eyes, the amusement, the hidden excitement. I knew right away she was joking, I did. But really, I worked in the hospital; I saw sanitarium inmates wandering with visitors from time to time in the cafeteria. I've treated and examined a few myself. And plenty of them heard voices inside their head.

Was I crazy?

Psh. No.

But—

No.

But then who's voice was that?

Nahoko's and my conversation drifted from topic to topic, nevre once faltering or returning to those strange voices, unlike my own thoughts. We reached Nahoko's house and bid goodbye (only after I glomped Naota-chan—Kawai!)


I walked home that afternoon in a daze, completely unaware of my surroundings, and Kiba who got pretty steamed when I failed to notice him trying to say "Hi" until he was a full six inches from my face. My mind remained wrapped around that voice.

I reached my apartment, only to be greeted at the welcome mat by the same puppy from earlier. His tail was wagging excitedly and he began barking upon my appearance.

I kneeled down and scratched him behind the ears affectionately. Then a thought struck me suddenly. "Sit," I commanded.

The puppy instantly sat his hindquarters down and sat in the regal sitting position. Hm, well-trained. And if he was trained, then he must have an owner. Only problem was, he didn't have any tags or collars.

I opened my apartment door, and, after stepping over the puppy, walked inside. He immediately followed after me, as I figured he would. That's about when another thought struck me, a little bit harder that the last.

He was far too cute for the pound.

I would simply put up some Found posters, and the dog's owner would finds its way to me. This way, there was absolutely no need for the loathsome pound. Till his owner came, he could simple reside here. If Ino had a problem with him, I could easily bribe her with an assortment of sweets. Ino had quite a sweetooth.

The puppy ran around a little bit, but then he curled up on the couch all cutely and went to sleep. I'm starting to rethink making those Found posters.

I set my messenger bag down as soon as I reached my room. First thing I did was take out my new list of why I should get over Sasuke and move on and tacked it up on my bulletin board. That way, it would never be out of mind or out of sight.

Then I walked over to the mirror on my dresser. I looked a bit dishelveled; it had been a windy day.

Remnants of Nahoko's and my conversation floated back to me. Insantiy? No. But then what?

They were just average-ordinary voices that no one else could hear.

Okay, that might not technically be ture. The woman's voice no one else heard, but the chuckle? I'm not sure; there's really no way to tell now. Still, one voice was enough to get me wondering.

Could it be Inner Sakura? No. Maybe? No. She was simply a figment of my imagination.

Then again, I had read about split personalities. Those made for crazy people, which I was definetly not. The books had described the dual personality as, and I quote, "a rare disorder in which the individual displays several functionally dissociated personalities, each of a complexity comparable to that of a normal individual."

And Inner Sakura was not a split personality of mine; she's just an old imaginary friend who was powerful when I couldn't be. She's out of my life now, and there's no room for some imagninary friend I don't need.

I viewed myself in the mirror once more; apple green eyes, bubblegum pink hair, pale face, I was all there. Nothing unusual. I was getting all worried and fretting over nothing. Inner Sakura was not, is not, and never will be real. Watching my reflection smirk back at me for my foolishness, I--

Wait a second, I don't remember smirking…


Wow, I like this ending. I just got done reading a story about this guy who's crazy and he talks to his reflection in the mirror every morning before he goes to work. Not like just talking, but having a real conversation and thinking his mirror replied back.

Okay, this story has officially changed from a character-driven story to a plot-driven story. There will be about 3 main conflicts, some minors in between.

1) Sakura must get over Sasuke.

2) Neji, Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata must prevent the arranged marriages.

3) (Well, it's sorta presented itself already, but just a piece. This will be probably the last conflict solved.)

Now, REVIEW! See, I put it in caps so it'd stand out and hypnotize you into reviewing. But seriously, I want to know what my readers think of the direction my story is going in. Critiquing is welcome but is has to be constructive. Oh, and I've already decided on the nejisaku pairing (in the earlier pretend poll it was unanimous), but there will still be sasusaku present just cause that's the way it's going down.

Are you still reading this? REVIEW ALREADY! There I go with those big letters again. (sigh)