Chapter Thirty Three: Some Guys Have All the Luck

Tip: Hearts Grow Day is the equivalent to Valentine's Day

A/N: This takes affect one week later. Sachiko is healed of her wounds and is a bit happier with her situation. Also, they are in the earlier weeks of the month of February.

Sachiko: (Mumbling under her breath)

Author-sama: What's that Sachiko?

Sachiko: (Sigh) Nothing… let's just get this over with.

Author-sama: Don't be so down Sachiko-chan! Things will be happier in this chapter.

Sachiko: I guess…

Author-sama: GRRR… THINGS WILL BE HAPPY BELIEVE IT!!

Sachiko: You're starting to sound like Naruto… and strangely… I believe you…

Author-sama: GOOD… Story now!

The Kazekage was taking a stroll around Suna one break of day. He didn't care that the council had given him such an extended honeymoon. Gaara had a job to do either way and overseeing his village was apart of it. Sachiko had said she understood and that she would spend time with his sister, Temari. He sighed to himself as he thought about the relationship between him and his wife. She had been trying to make an effort to get to close to him but usually he just pushed her away or made an excuse to avoid any physical contact with her. She was always trying to be nice to him and tried to talk to him at times but he had kept his responses limited to only a few words. He had to give her one thing; she was persistent.

Gaara found a bench to sit on and relax. Sitting there, he looked out to the people of Suna. There were many young couples about his age walking around, holding hands, and enjoying life. Gaara swung his gourd in front of him and leaned on it, peering out from atop it. He rapped his hands lightly against the gourd as a couple walked by, the girl giggling at the boy for getting ice cream on his face. The girl had a ring on her finger and so Gaara guessed she must have been engaged to the boy. He frowned at them. They were so happy together and they hadn't even gotten married yet. Their happiness would most likely continue through their marriage and then through their children, Gaara had guessed.

The handsome redhead stood up from his spot, swinging his gourd back around his back in its rightful place. He was tired of watching the couple flirt with one another shamelessly in front of him. Frankly, Gaara had found it distasteful and disrespectful. Walking through the desert village's streets he found more and more couples filing out of the buildings. It was as if love was everywhere except there was none for him.

Soon another couple had walked by. Gaara had recognized the shinobi to be Kankuro. His brother was walking alongside a petite brunette he had been dating. She had her hair pulled up into two buns and wore a pink outfit. Gaara knew her to be a ninja from Konoha. Kankuro was grinning at her like an idiot as she carried a bouquet of red roses. Gaara scowled, finally realizing what day it was. It was the disgusting holiday known to man as Hearts Grow Day. It was a day that had plagued him for his seventeen years of life on the planet, having never received any gift or felt the need to give one. It was a day where silly people, lost in their infatuation, went all out to buy gifts for their significant others to prove their love.

"Hey Gaara," Kankuro said to his brother as he waved. Gaara looked over his brother, seeing that Kankuro's arm was wrapped around the girl called Tenten's waist. Gaara could feel his lip beginning to twitch into a curl at the sight but he gained control of his facial muscles and willed his mouth to stay in a straight line. Gaara nodded at his brother to acknowledge his existence. "You remember Tenten," his brother said casually.

"Konnichiwa Kazekage-sama," she greeted politely, "How are you and your wife?" Kankuro visibly winced. He had forgotten to tell her not to ask Gaara those personal questions. Kankuro had remembered Tenten's aversion to Sachiko though and had thought it as her way of seeing if Sachiko's life was better than hers. Girls could be so catty.

"Fine," Gaara lied easily as he glared at Tenten's red roses. He hoped they would wilt into dead little grey shrivels and turn to ash.

"Are you two doing anything fun for Hearts Grow," she asked sweetly, though Kankuro was trying to hint to her not to ask anymore questions. Kankuro felt like smacking his forehead but had maintained his cool under pressure.

"No," Gaara replied as he gave her and his brother a dirty look. Kankuro knew this was Gaara's way of telling him to leave him be before he said something rude to him or his new girlfriend.

"Well Gaara," Kankuro said before Tenten could say anymore, "We're going to go to lunch now… I'll see you later." Gaara nodded, dismissing him. He was tempted to use Sand Coffin on Tenten's roses but refrained. It wouldn't necessarily improve the reputation of Kazekage. He watched as Kankuro wrapped his arm around Tenten's waist again, pulling her close to him. Gaara looked down to his own arms; his arms were empty.

The young Kazekage walked through the streets of Sand and saw all the couples drooling over each other; it sickened him. He scowled as he trudged down the next few streets, scaring some of the people in the village.

Gaara scowled even more when he saw Matsuri running up to him. She was a girl that had trained under him a few years back. Matsuri had taken a liking to Gaara and never left him alone even though he was married to Sachiko already. The fact that she kept hopelessly flirting with him didn't seem to change his opinion of her. If anything, it only worsened it. Gaara, not the greatest gentleman, still found it disrespectful to brazenly flirt with the spouse of another. But it wasn't as if Sachiko had minded it. Any time she saw Matsuri chatting away with Gaara she had turned the other way. It was as if she wanted Matsuri to flirt with him and steal him away from her. Gaara's own sister usually had spoken with Matsuri about her open attraction to the married Kazekage. Sachiko would stare over at the scene, but say nothing.

"Ohayo Gaara-Sensei," she said with a low bow graciously. She looked back up at the Kazekage and smiled warmly, her little heart beating like a hummingbird's.

"Ohayo," the Kazekage mumbled back to her unresponsively. She blushed at his apathetic attitude, loving his quiet way.

"I… uh, got you something," she stammered as she brought something out from behind her back, her face having a touch of deep crimson. Gaara never let his scowl fade from his face as he received a small, one-sided card that read 'Happy Hearts Grow Day'. It was a cute little card that she most likely purchased from the card store. Gaara hated cute.

"What," Gaara hissed, "Makes you think that it is proper for you to give me this if I have a wife?"

"Well, you know… it's not just from me," she lied, hoping that would calm him down, "It's from all of your students, Sensei… and we just thought it was a… er… nice gesture. Think of it as a thank you gift." She bit her lip. It made her terribly upset that Gaara continued to ignore her advances toward him. All the times she had seen the Kazekage with his wife they looked unhappy. If they were so unhappy, why couldn't Gaara leave his wife for her? Matsuri stared longingly at the Kazekage, hoping for a nice reply.

"I see," the Kazekage said in his low voice, "Well you should all focus giving valentine presents or these types of thank you gifts to those your age that are not married. It's inappropriate and out of place. Now take it."

Matsuri had to follow the order, and sadly took back the heart card. The only bright side of the matter was that Temari had not been with him to rebuke her for her unsuitable decisions. "Sorry, Kazekage-sama," she breathed, "It won't happen again… Gomen Nasai." Matsuri disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

After Matsuri left, he wiped his hands off on it as if the heart card left some disgusting residue on him. Next Gaara continued his stroll through Suna and soon caught sight of his sister sitting on a bench with his wife. He was a bit hesitant to approach the two but had come to the conclusion that he should greet his wife in some manner because he had spotted some of the council members out and about. If they saw him ignoring his wife he knew he was in for a long lecture from them and he wasn't in the mood. As Gaara drew nearer he heard them having a conversation that peaked his interests. He concealed himself nearby so he could eavesdrop.

"So," said Gaara's sister, Temari with a sly grin, "You ever get anything on this day when you were back in Konoha?" It had crossed Gaara's mind once or twice that Sachiko had some admirers back at the Leaf Village. He wouldn't doubt it. From what he could remember, Sachiko was shamelessly flirting during the time they had gone to the Chunin Exams in Leaf about four years ago. Just because the girl had lost her memory didn't mean she had lost her personality or any attention she received from boys.

Sachiko blushed a bit but tried to regain her composure by saying, "Well not really… I mean flowers from friends… and stuff."

"And stuff," repeated Temari with a wily smile. She gave Sachiko a devious look, knowing Sachiko had a lot more to say but wanted to keep quiet about it. "I don't think you're telling the whole truth."

Sachiko turned bright red from Temari's comment. Sachiko nervously laughed, wondering how she could phrase her words in such a way that didn't let Temari know too much without making her think the information was enough. "I had an admirer or two… I got a lot of attention from him—them!"

"Oh," Temari acted surprised. She had caught Sachiko on something. "Sounds like you had a bit of a fling?"

"Temari-san that is a badly chosen question to ask a married woman," Sachiko replied, knowing how to tell Temari when she had overstepped her boundaries.

"You're right, you're right," said Temari, shaking it off with a disappointed look. The two girls grew quiet for a moment and Gaara was about to come out from his hiding spot when Temari's eyes lighted up with amusement. "What if Gaara got you something?"

"You've got to be kidding me," Sachiko stated, shocked at Temari's bravado. Temari's audacity had never ceased to alarm her. Sachiko lifted a finely arched eyebrow at the blonde girl, waiting for an explanation.

"Just a joke," the spunky, dirty blonde said with a laugh, "Shikamaru isn't really the romantic type either so I never get anything. I'm lucky if he remembers our anniversary." She rolled her eyes with the last statement. "He actually gave me a rose this year… and do you know what he said?"

"What did he say," Sachiko asked, already laughing from Shikamaru's old wise cracks. She missed the wild and world-weariness type of personalities of the Konoha ninjas she knew.

"He said," Temari said in a voice like Shikamaru's, "Picking this rose was such a drag. I got pricked by a thorn. That was a bigger drag. Hearts Grow is so bothersome… But you wanted me to get something for you, so I did it… But I'll have you know how vexing it was for me."

The two girls fell into a giggling fit when Sachiko said, "Well you and Shikamaru really like each other… So he should get you a rose. I can't believe you asked me if Gaara would get me anything. We may be married but… he's not too fond of me. I've been trying hard to get him to be more responsive. He doesn't like me very much though… this I know."

"Hmph," Temari grunted as twirled her dinky rose in her hands, "If you say so."

"It would be a nice gesture… but we don't demonstrate any type of affection with one another," Sachiko said with a small smile, "In fact, we get on each other's nerves quite a bit for there to be any kind of affection between us."

Temari laughed again and said, "I think that's why he's always liked you."

"From what he's told me… I've always irritated him to no end," Sachiko declared with a puckered frown. It was also his usual excuse for hurting her. Sachiko sighed, knowing she had to admit that Gaara had been treating her much better than the week before but who was she to judge how long it would last?

"Yes… but in a different way than everyone else… You argue with Gaara and everyone else is too scared to do that," Temari explained as she sniffed the dinky rose Shikamaru had given her, "You treat him like a person… That's something Kankuro and I fail to do at times. I'm sure Gaara appreciates it. And don't tell him I told you but before you lost your memory, he had a big soft spot for you. Back then, Gaara having a soft spot was unheard of… He let you get away with a lot of things that he would have killed someone else for."

Sachiko stretched her arms out beneath her head, not sure whether to consider what Temari said. Sachiko wouldn't believe it until she actually remembered it and there was no telling whether she would regain her memory or not. Sachiko looked over to her husband's sister and said, "Eh… whatever, Gaara doesn't care about this holiday… and neither do I."

"Hearts Grow isn't just a day to get the person you love or like something… It can be a friendly gesture or just a way to show you appreciate that person," Temari explicated, "That's the common misconception of Hearts Grow Day. It's not always some passionate romance. It can be a day to just show that special someone you care."

"Temari-chan," Sachiko said with a chuckle, "Would you like me to get you Hearts Grow gifts?" The blonde was pretty clever at hiding what she really wanted but Sachiko had grown accustomed to her hidden messages.

"Well, considering this rose is a bit undersized and lonely… I wouldn't mind," Temari stated with a furtive smirk, "And I think Shikamaru would get some more gifts for me if he thought I had another admirer."

"You're sneaky," Sachiko said as she threw back her head in laugher, "But good plan… I will go get you something to make him jealous with!"

Temari laughed as well, "Nothing wrong with poking a little fun… I could do the same for you and Gaara. He seems stoic principally but I don't think he'll appreciate the thought of someone after his wife… I think he'd be rather jealous."

Sachiko stopped laughing and grew serious, "Why is it you keep pressing Gaara on me? I understand he and I are married but whether he chooses to involve himself in this holiday or not is of no concern to me."

"Eh," Temari grumbled, "Gaara is difficult most of the time but trust me… he's fond of you in his own hostile way."

Sachiko began to laugh again and said, "You have a disturbed mind, Temari-chan."

"Maybe I do," she replied, "Well I'll be waiting right here when you get back with my gifts… Shikamaru is supposed to meet me here in about an hour or so... You have plenty of time."

Sachiko nodded, "Hai." The dark blue haired girl stood up from the bench and looked over Temari for a moment. Temari was bossy and aggressive whereas Shikamaru was passive and often bored. The two were attracting opposites. Sachiko had enjoyed listening to the two carry a conversation. To say the least, it entertained her. She nodded to Temari one last time before leaving.

"Gaara," Temari said after Sachiko had left, "You can stop hiding." Gaara felt himself stiffen at being called out but wasn't too surprised that Temari had sensed him. He had no choice but to comply now that he was caught. He gave her a short nod and a grunt as a greeting. She patted the bench beside her, imploring him to take a seat. He looked at her curiously, wondering how she knew he was there. "I saw your reflection through the window from the store across the street… Don't worry; you don't have to thank me for holding Sachiko's attention while you hid." Temari grinned at her younger brother, waiting patiently for a response.

"I take it you have something to say to me," Gaara murmured as he examined his sister's rose. Temari had been correct; the rose was a bit on the sickly side. Gaara frowned, he didn't particularly care for that bum she dated but he chose to remain indifferent in the subject. It was of no importance to him who his sister dated.

"I suppose I do," replied Temari as she looked out to the crowded Suna streets. People were running around with roses, stuffed bears, and chocolates. "It's about the day… I'm not telling you to go out and buy her something… In my opinion, this whole Hearts Grow Day thing is all a bit tasteless and commercialized… But I think you should do something for her. Try taking her to that Hearts Grow Festival tonight!" Temari turned to her brother for his reply.

He closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them. His lips parted slightly to speak. "I will consider it," he said as he stood up, "But I have said this to you before. I am not interested in having a relationship."

Temari cocked her head to the side, gazing at her younger brother in disbelief. She was about to say something that was going to come off a bit rude but she didn't care. As the older sister, Gaara was to at least heed her suggestions; Kazekage or not. "Whether you are interested or not, you are in a relationship… I take it you were listening to our conversation?" He nodded simply, allowing her to continue. "I thought as much," she murmured, "She's been deprived of the life she wanted because she got married to you… Don't deprive her of a caring husband as well. And don't deprive yourself either." Temari looked deeply into her brother's eyes, her own orbs reflecting a genuine concern for him. "Gaara," she said to him, "You deserve happiness the most out of all of us."

"Do I," he asked her with a shrug, "Some guys have all the luck… Not me." He rose from the bench to leave. His sister had called after him but he ignored her and continued to walk down his lonely road.

NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD

Bells rang as the door was opened by a dark blue haired kunoichi. She stepped into the shop with a small smile on her face. She placed her hand in her pocket for a moment, counting her money. She glanced around the store carefully, examining an item or two from time to time. Her eyes fell upon some balloons. She smiled fondly at them as she remembered a sweet memory. It had been a Hearts Grow Day some time ago. Her best friend had bought her some balloons that read, 'Single and Ready to Mingle.' Sachiko laughed to herself; Naruto was a crazy one. She had been feeling a bit lonely that day but thanks to the blonde haired, whiskered shinobi, the day became better after that. Later that evening, her, Sakura, and Ino had threw a little mixer. They invited all the single people of Konoha to come and enjoy being unattached. Sachiko began to sulk as she thought of her dear friends. Sakura and Ino were no doubt throwing another party similar to last year's and without her.

She allowed her thoughts to linger in her mind a moment longer and finally cleared them away to make a purchase. She rather not have Temari wait on the bench for a long time and she also preferred to get it over with. Sachiko didn't want to bump into Shikamaru with all the secret admirer gifts in hand but she did want to see his reaction when he saw Temari with all of it. Sachiko grabbed two red heart balloons, a teddy bear that carried a box of chocolates in his arms, and a real bouquet of roses. It all amounted to all the money Sachiko had been carrying in her pocked but she knew Temari would reimburse her and if not, Sachiko would get more money when she went home.

Sachiko returned to Temari's side in no time with a triumphant grin on her face, placing all of her gifts strategically at Temari's lap. Temari's eyes lighted up when she saw everything. "You overdid it no," asked Temari with a laugh.

Sachiko shrugged, "I got you the works… we'll see what Shikamaru-kun says to that!"

"Says to what," asked a bored voice. Temari remained calm but Sachiko couldn't help but whirl around to see who it was. Shikamaru stood there, hands in pockets, with a look of ennui etched onto his face.

"To my secret admirer," said Temari, motioning to her gifts.

"You sure they're not something you bought for yourself," Shikamaru asked her as he examined the items carefully with his eyes.

"Are you accusing me of lying," asked Temari, getting upset as she shot him a dirty look, "Or are you saying that you doubt I have a secret admirer because I'm not attractive enough?"

"Oh boy," sighed Shikamaru. He shot a glance at Sachiko and said, "That's why I hate holidays like this. Girls are so petty and troublesome… Your husband's lucky that you're not like Temari. Believe me, it's a real drag."

Sachiko stifled a giggle as Temari stood up from the bench. "Well Shikamaru if you feel that way maybe you kind find a girl better suited for your drag-free world." Temari grabbed her new gifts and dropped the small, wilted rose on the bench. She began to walk away but not before shooting a wink at Sachiko. Sachiko smiled. This is where Temari shined; she was a pro.

"Now Temari," Shikamaru whined after, "Let's talk about this!" She stopped for a moment, asking him why should she. "How about I take you out for dinner after the festival? Some place nice…?"

"I guess," Temari replied shortly, "But you better order dessert this time and cover the tip."

"I will," Shikamaru told her, "Promise."

Sachiko laughed to herself all the way back to Suna Bastion. Those two were definitely too much. She had decided to take a stroll in the courtyard before she went back to her room. Sachiko didn't want to waste the day away by going to sleep right in the afternoon. She smiled as she picked a couple of flowers. Since Gaara wasn't going to get her any didn't mean she couldn't get herself some flowers to decorate her room with. She called over some maids and sent them to place the freshly cut flowers in some water and then put them in her room.

One of the maids came back to her and said, "Sachiko-hime… Lord Kazekage would like you to see him in his chambers right away." Sachiko sighed loudly. It was just like her husband to get into some strange mood and ruin the relaxing time she was having. Sometimes Sachiko thought he did it to her on purpose.

"I will be there shortly," she replied to the maid. She smiled a bit and nodded, urging the maid to go and give the news to the Kazekage.

Sachiko could take her sweet time if she pleased. After all, Sachiko doubted whatever Gaara wanted was as urgent as he had made it appear to be. Sachiko gathered up some sunflowers in her hands and carried them back to her room. She would place them with some of the other flowers she had asked the maids to set up in her room. For some reason Sachiko couldn't understand, she felt giddy and couldn't help but hum a cheery tune as she opened the door to her chambers. She found Gaara sitting at his desk, waiting patiently for her as she set up her sunflowers in a glass of water. She placed the vase of sunflowers at her nightstand so she could wake up to them in the morning and brighten up her day. She looked at the flowers thoughtfully for a moment and then turned to Gaara. She noticed his expression soften as she turned to him.

"Konnichiwa Gaara-sama," she said, treading softly, "You wanted to see me?" Her husband was wearing his burgundy garb. It was the color she had found him handsomest in. She looked up to his sea foam eyes, waves seemed to be splashing inside them.

He nodded in response as he permitted his gourd to slide off from his back. Sachiko could feel herself tensing up; afraid she had done something wrong to anger him. She could feel her wobbly legs backing up as her heart began to thump hard against her chest. She felt like her heart was going to bump against her lungs and send them flying out as Gaara approached her. The wind was nearly knocked out of her as Gaara pressed himself against her. She felt her body go stiff from her nervousness. Amusement could be seen in his eyes as he observed her edginess.

"Relax," he murmured in her ear, "I want to try something." Gaara had spent much time that morning observing couples and their behavior. He had found that younger couples around his age had spent much of their time kissing. He discovered that children often held hands, and some older couples spent much of the day gazing into the other's eyes. Gaara wasn't at all interested in holding hands or gazing into Sachiko's eyes like some love struck fool. He did, however, feel exceedingly lustful. He had caught many glimpses of her body when she had just stepped out from the bath or changed in the closet, and like a naught little boy that had just hit puberty, Gaara had spied on her in the nude with his third eye technique at times. Gaara felt no shame in what he did. He was a man, after all, and he was her husband. Being a husband meant having certain rights like those.

"I told you I would make you crave something else one day," Shukaku laughed wildly from the depths of Gaara's mind. The raccoon was practically doing flips as Gaara placed his head in the nape of Sachiko's neck. He remembered resting his head there once when he was a boy and he remembered a couple of other things as well.

He lifted his head from her neck for a moment to see the expression on her face. He was very much amused to see that she was incredibly flustered from his actions. Her cheeks had turned a crimson red color and he could hear her heart fluttering inside her chest like the wings of a hummingbird. Without warning, he pushed his lips against hers firmly. She let out a surprised squeak but quieted as the kiss deepened. She could feel his hands rest on her hips as he pressed her against the bed, nearly grinding on her with his own hips. Gaara's tongue lick at her bottom lip but she was too stunned to allow him entrance. After the shock had worn off she finally parted her lips slightly, his tongue diving into her mouth eager to meet hers. She expected that Gaara had never kissed anyone before in his lifetime. Surprisingly, his tongue knew exactly what to do as it caressed her tongue. She allowed her hands to bury themselves in his messy red hair. He pulled away from the kiss for a moment to enjoy the massage she was giving his scalp. He breathed out slowly through his nostrils, wanting more pleasure.

Sachiko wasn't sure if he was enjoying it or not. He wasn't a vocal person but usually was blunt about what he disliked, and it didn't help that he maintained a blank expression all the time. "Should I stop," she asked quietly as her hands began to remove themselves from his hair. He shook his head no and so she returned her hands into his hair. At that moment, Sachiko realized he had left his gourd uncorked because his sand was lifting her onto the center of the bed. His hands never left her hips as he hoisted himself on top of her, kicking off his shoes as he did so. Moreover she felt the sand pull her shoes off, Gaara's lips falling onto her own. Their tongues began to swirl around each other inside her mouth again, ripples of pleasure flying through her and him as well.

Gaara had never felt such surges of lust and pleasure going through him as he willed his sand to unsnap his garb from him. He lifted his hands as the sleeves removed themselves from his arms, revealing a black undershirt. He felt the lust grow more and more as he pressed his lower half to hers, stirring something awake. Gaara immediately controlled his sand to pull at Sachiko's skirt and tug it down; he desired closer contact.

As soon as Sachiko felt Gaara's sand pulling at her skirt, she removed her lips from him and pushed him away slightly with her hands. "I don't want to do that," she told him firmly, "We agreed not to unless we both want it…"

"I want it," he said gruffly, staring into her eyes with lustful teal orbs.

"I don't," she replied, holding her ground, "I want… I want to be in love first."

Gaara stared at her in disbelief, a scowl etching its way onto his face. His bright eyes dulled a bit as he let up. "I'm your husband," he told her, "I can have you if I want. You will do as I say."

Sachiko took a deep breath to subdue her rising anger, and then gave him a stern look. "I will not," she said to him through gritted teeth, careful to put emphasis on the word 'not'. "Let me tell you something," she hissed at him, "Being married means being One. Do you know what that means?" He sat up from her, knees placed on either side of her to support him to his position. He crossed his arms, waiting for her enlightenment.

"We are married and that makes us equal. So if I give fifty percent, you give fifty percent. No more and no less." She glared at him from underneath him, eyes filled with venom. She scowled at him, in wait of disagreement but he said nothing. "I've been trying so hard with you and you just won't let me… I've been trying hard to love you… And let me say this, it's not as easy as it looks. Now let me tell you why. I've been giving fifty percent and you've given absolutely nothing. So where does that leave us?" She breathed out, preparing for the grand finale. "Nowhere."

Gaara frowned as he distanced himself from her and put on the apparel he had removed. He sat at the edge of the bed, placing his shoes on his feet in silence. He could feel her penetrating stare on his back but did nothing about it. Instead, he stood up after his shoes were proper on his feet and swung his gourd back on his back. "I'm going," he said to her as he opened the door, about to exit the room.

"Where," she asked, hurt unmistakably dwelling in her eyes. Sachiko had sat up to watch him leave. Why was it he left her feeling alone and abandoned?

"Nowhere," he stated as he closed the door behind him.

Sachiko slumped into a slouching position, defeated by what life had given her and what life had taken away. She hugged a pillow to her, biting on its corner. Life and Serendipity were one in the same; both the same wicked mother. Neither had shown sympathy for her whatsoever. Sachiko frowned as she removed the damp pillow's edge from her mouth. She had thought up a better life for herself and had told herself to keep clinging to it and that someday it may come true. "If only it were that simple," she said sadly to herself, "There are no such things as fairy tales and dreams are meant for sleeping." Sachiko fell over and closed her eyes. If dreams were meant for sleeping, then she would sleep and dream all she wanted.

A/N: That's the end of this chapter!

Sachiko: I thought you said this chapter would be happier.

Author-sama: It is happier! He didn't hurt you and you guys made out and… er… stuff.

Sachiko: Hurt me? I'm emotionally damaged here!

Author-sama: You need to listen to that song that Paul McCartney sings… "Getting Better". It's getting better all the time Sachiko-chan. Just be patient.

Sachiko: (frowns) Whatever… REVIEW readers. Let's all cross our fingers that the next chapter will leave me less emotionally damaged. (leaves)

Author-sama: (muttering) Cry baby…