A/N: I just wanted to thank iiNeko-Chan, Genuinely-Unique, blackirishawk, LadyDream3512, Yuuki-Hime 2097, yuchi1994, and Xionnight for their reviews. You guys are so awesome you don't even know. While I was writing the chapters for three of my stories, this one got more reviews than Turquoise Dreams, which was gonna be updated first. So as I did say the one with the most reviews gets updated this one goes first. I really didn't think this story would get as good a response as it did but I'm glad I was proven wrong especially since it's my first Sakura fic. Please let me know how I did in this chapter and if you have any other suggestions, I'll be more than glad to hear them.

Rating: M

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Bleach

New Day

As was to be expected, she did not go on the beach trip with the rest of the group. She was happy for Sasuke and Tenten, they had been able to find love and happiness with each other, but the wound was still new. It would have been too soon for her to see them together, and that pain was something she was not willing to experience yet. Knowing that they were together was one thing, but seeing them was something completely different. It would be like pouring salt into an open wound.

Ino had came to visit her the day after Tenten's visit, alarmed that Sakura had not answered her phone calls or texts since the day before. They were in constant communication all day everyday. When the blonde arrived at her door and saw the condition her best friend and rival was in all she could do was hold her in a tight embrace. Sakura still felt a bit numb and was in a state of shock, but when she felt her friend's arms around her, she crumbled for the umpteenth time and cried until her eyes couldn't shed any more tears. Ino merely stood there and hugged her; she didn't talk while she cried and waited patiently for her to let it all out. When all that escaped Sakura were dry sniffles, Ino grabbed her hand and slowly led her to sit on the couch.

When Ino asked her what happened Sakura told her about Tenten's visit and what she had told her. It was painful just remembering about it. When she finished retelling the event Ino just looked sadly at her pink haired friend, "I'm so sorry Sakura. I… we lost him." Sakura knew it was hurting Ino too, she had also been in love with Sasuke for almost as long as she had been. They had even stopped talking to each other for several years when they found out they both liked him. They were over that now and she was glad. Who would have thought that it would be her rival that would comfort her in a situation such as this?

They cried together a while longer, mourning the loss they had suffered. Ino had finally left her, but not before promising she'd check up on her several times a day, through a phone call or a visit. Sakura was actually glad, she knew being by herself would only allow her time to dwell on her sadness.

The days leading up to the trip, she had received regular phone calls from her girl friends each leaving an excited message about the upcoming trip and how they couldn't wait to have fun together, about how it would be an unforgettable trip. The morning of the trip, she received even more phone calls and an equal number of messages wondering where she was. The day after the rip she received more. They had all seen Sasuke and Tenten together and now knew the reason for her absence. The girls gave up on calling and decided to visit her instead, knowing full well she'd be there. They had all gone individually; the first had been Hinata, then Orihime, then Tatsuki, and finally Rukia. There was nobody else that knew and shared her pain as well as Hinata and Orihime, and she was glad she wasn't alone. Hinata had told her about her confession to Naruto and his rejection. She wondered if it was some sort of karmic justice for making Hinata suffer because of Naruto, and when she voiced her thoughts Hinata had scolded her for thinking that way. Hinata was just too kind but in a way Sakura still blamed herself. She would be eternally grateful for having Hinata as one of her best friends. Even Uryū, Ichigo, Chad, and Naruto had called her to check on her.

The rest of the summer went by in a blur. She spend her days occupied, never wanting to be alone except to sleep for fear of dwelling on them. But she knew she couldn't run from her thoughts and her feelings forever; her nights were horrible, she cried herself to sleep every night and the first person she thought of when she woke up was him. She pictured those onyx eyes whenever she closed hers.

Tenten and Sasuke had tried getting in touch with her, but she had yet to return a phone call or text. They had even sent messages through their other friends and she had received every single one, but she still couldn't do it. She wasn't ready to face them. No, not yet. She knew it would happen soon there were only a few weeks left before the start of the fall semester and they were all going to Karakura University together. Not just that, but they were going to be living together. They had all decided it would be best if they all stayed at the apartments on campus rather than the dorms, and had gotten together in groups of three. Ichigo, Uryū, and Chad were to be staying together. Naruto, Sasuke, and a friend of theirs from middle school would be in another. Orihime, Tatsuki and Hinata would be together. While Ino, her and… Tenten would be rooming together. It would only make things worse for her.

She missed Tenten terribly; while Ino and Sakura were still fighting it was Tenten who had been by her side. She didn't want their friendship to end like this, and she knew that the brunette was only waiting for her to approach her, whenever she was ready. Tenten knew her that well. She would have to approach her soon; she didn't want to start off the school year on the wrong foot. Their college life was supposed to be great! It was an experience that they were all looking forward to experiencing together— it was something she wanted to experience with Tenten.

Sakura decided she just needed the rest of the summer for herself, at least just that. When the school year started that's when she'd fix things, if they were still fixable. She needed to focus on herself for a change. A new life meant a new her and that's what she was going to do. She let out her frustrations by running. She had been athletic all her life, but she had never run so much in her life. She ran every day for miles at a time, too engrossed in her thoughts to keep track of the distance. All she knew was that by the time she finished her lungs and legs were on fire from the exertion.

The week before the start of school, she decided it was time for her new look, the look of the new Sakura. She called her friends, she felt she needed them there for moral support, and asked them to accompany her. Tatsuki was away on a tournament, Orihime had taken a trip with Rangiku, and Rukia had gone to the beach with Ichigo and his family, leaving only Hinata and Ino to accompany her. She felt a little sad but in a way she thought it was better; a smaller group meant they would spend more quality time together.

They started the day going over to Hinata's for breakfast, the girl was the best cook out of the entire group— in fact of anybody she knew— and everybody looked for any excuse just to get a taste of her cooking. After breakfast they headed over to the shopping mall. Sakura and Hinata were not big fans of shopping, but luckily they had Ino there to help them. At first Hinata did not want to buy anything for herself, but after some serious convincing by both Sakura and Ino she gave in.

"College life is a new beginning and that means it's a new you. Out with the old Hinata and in with the new! Nobody will know who we were in high school and nobody will really care! We can be who really are and nobody will judge us— not our families, not even our friends." Ino wanted to make sure that both of her friends realized what a great opportunity this was for them, especially for someone like Hinata.

They bought quite a bit of everything; they stopped at shoe stores and bought at least one pair of different kinds of shoes ranging from flats to boots. Their next stops were clothing stores and they each bought several outfits. Sakura and Ino convinced Hinata to buy some dresses that she would have never been seen dead wearing. They were a little bit above her knees and strangely enough she had fallen in love with them when she saw the dresses. Sakura had bought some things that she would have never even considered wearing before either. Her style had always been preppy and feminine before, but the items she picked now were more edgy but still feminine. Even Ino picked out clothes that were different from her usual style.

They even went into a lingerie store to buy new pieces. When Ino showed some rather provocative, by Hinata standards anyway, lingerie to the lavender eyed girl she turned an impossible shade of crimson. "Oh come on Hina, you never know when you might need it. I mean this could be when you finally meet that special someone."

"Shut up Ino! You're making it sound like you're more experienced in this sort of thing than we are when we all know you're still a virgin too! Besides you're just making Hina uncomfortable, she's already gone out of her comfort zone enough as it is with some of the clothes she's bought." Sakura scolded Ino.

Ino blushed at being called out on her "lack of experience" by Sakura. "W-well I was just trying to suggest something new to her. Cute and sexy underwear will give her a confidence boost. You really should try something other than what you're used to Hinata. You'll feel a lot better in them too!"

Hinata furrowed her brows in thought, "Well, some of these are c-cute. I'll see what I find that I like Ino, but I don't promise anything."

Ino brightened instantly, "Thank you Hinata, I know you're bound to find something you'll like."

When Hinata walked off to look in other areas of the store, Sakura approached Ino, "Don't push her Ino. There are some things that are still too much for her and this can be overwhelming her. She's still our gentle Hinata."

Ino scoffed at her comment and blew her long bangs away from her eyes, "Please, Sakura you make it sound as if she's fragile. You're not giving her enough credit. She needs this too, a new look to go with a new her. She can leave the shy and quiet Hinata that her family hated behind, and give way to the stronger more confident version of her that we all know and love. Let her do this Sakura."

Sakura stayed quiet looking intently at Hinata looking through several pieces and wrinkling her nose slightly when they were too transparent or when she came across the occasional g-string. "Maybe you're right Ino."

An hour and a half later they made their way to the parking lot to drop of what they had bought. The last stop of the day was the beauty salon; a completely new look from head to toe. They didn't even have to wait long since Ino was a regular customer and didn't need an appointment.

A beautiful woman with short blonde hair with three braided locks and green eyes greeted them. She was rather tall compared to the three teens. "Ino Yamanaka, it's nice to see you." Her voice was strangely soothing, "I see you brought friends."

Ino bowed slightly, "Hello Tia. I'm here for my regular visit and my friends wanted a new look. We wanted new hairstyles as well as make up."

The woman named Tia smiled curtly, "Good choice, Ino." She turned to look at the other two girls. "My name is Tia Harribel and I am the owner of the salon. I have just the girls for the task, and I know you'll love the way you look when they are through with you." Tier looked over her shoulder and called out, "Girls? We have new clients." From behind her three women walked up. "They are my most talented stylists, Cyan Sung-Sun, Emilou Apacci, and Franceska Mila Rose." She pointed to each one respectively and then turned to the teens standing in front of her, "You won't be disappointed. Girls you know what to do."

The stylists walked to one girl each; Cyan led Hinata to the back of the salon, followed by Emilou with Sakura, and finally Franceska with Ino. They all disappeared in different directions and Sakura became a little nervous. This was her first time doing something so drastic to her look.

Sakura was led to a chair where her hair would be washed. Emilou chuckled softly and smiled at the pink haired girl, "Relax, it'll be fine. Is it your first time?"

Sakura blushed, "Is it that obvious?"

The stylist giggled this time before answering, "Just a little. There's nothing to worry about. I have done this many times. You'll love what I do with your hair."

Sakura smiled back at the woman that looked to be about the same age as her and noticed her eyes for the first time. They were a different color, one was amber and one was ice blue. Sakura was intrigued by the beautiful shades of blue and brown and was not aware she had been staring too long.

Emilou cleared her throat, "It's called heterochromia, when the pupils are two different colors. A lot of people don't like them and think it's strange."

"I don't think it's strange, actually I think they're beautiful. I had never seen anyone with heterochromia before." Sakura continued to look into her amber and ice blue eyes intently.

"You're the only person other than Harribel who has told me that." Emilou smiled warmly.

"All three of you seem to respect her a lot. A much deeper respect one would have for their boss."

Emilou gently led Sakura to tilt her head back before she began rinsing her hair. She then shampooed it and massaged her scalp. She looked thoughtful and Sakura wondered if she had said something she shouldn't have. "We do respect her greatly. Harribel is more than a boss, she's like our mother." Sakura could see the dark haired girl had a far away look in her eyes. "We were all orphans and lived in the same orphanage. Harribel is ten years older and was adopted first. Her new parents loved her so much and wanted to make her happy every way they could. She had always looked out for us when she was at the orphanage. Everybody was being adopted, everyone except us, and nobody wanted to take us in. So Harribel convinced her parents to adopt us. She told them that's what she wanted for her 18th birthday— three little sisters— Cyan and I were eight and Franceska was ten. She told her parents that she'd work as soon as she turned 18 and she'd help them support us. Since her parents loved her and would have done anything she asked, they accepted and brought us home the day of her birthday. We couldn't have been more blessed with such great parents. They loved us as much as they loved her and we were all a happy family." Sakura started to feel a knot in her throat, for some reason she knew the story wasn't going to have a happy ending.

"Three years ago there was an accident. Our parents were in a hurry to get home, it was Harribel's birthday and our anniversary, the day we finally had a home. It had been raining most of the week and it had been especially heavy that night. There was a curved street a mile before they got home. A truck driver fell asleep behind the wheel and swerved into the opposite lane. The cops said my dad tried to avoid it and swerved but he lost control of the car and hit a tree at high speed— they were killed instantly." Emilou's eyes looked sad and tired, as if she had run out of tears she had cried for her parents long ago. "They left us money, it's as if they knew they wouldn't be with us for long. Harribel had to become our mother and father overnight. She opened this salon and got it going; it has been incredibly successful. We joined her as soon as we could even though she wouldn't let us. She said our education was her top priority."

"So you guys go to school and work here?" Sakura felt a deep respect for the girl.

"Yes, Cyan and I just graduated high school and we'll be starting at the university next week. Franceska will be starting her third year."

"Really, what university are you going to?" Sakura asked.

"We'll be going to Karakura University."

"That's where my friends and I will be going to! You know what would be great? If you guys hung out with my friends and I! You'll love them, there's so many of us! Most of us grew up together but others have joined throughout the years." Sakura was beginning to get excited at the thought of having new friends.

Emilou couldn't help but smile at Sakura, "You know for some odd reason I feel like I can trust you. I've never told anyone else about our life. Actually I don't have any friends other than my sisters." She said sadly, "I think I'd really like that… to get to know you and your friends."

She had finished washing and conditioning Sakura's hair. Sakura sat up and held on to Emilou's hands once she was free. "You won't regret it Emilou, they're gonna love you! Our group is mixed, there are boys and girls but we all get along great. I can't name them all right now because you'd have to meet them for me to introduce them-"

The black haired girl laughed at Sakura's hardly contained excitement. "Sakura I can hardly wait to meet your friends now." Emilou helped Sakura get up and led her to where she'd be cutting her hair, "Alright, Sakura what did you want to do with your hair?" She asked as she let her take the seat and began brushing out her hair.

The pinkette stayed silent for a moment contemplating what it was she really wanted. She had let her pink hair grow midway down her back. She loved her long pink tresses and did not want to part with them, but she was already here and she couldn't back out now. "Okay I want to cut it off… just nothing too short. The style I'll leave up to you since you're the expert and I really don't know what would look good on me." Sakura bit her bottom lip uneasily.

"Are you sure? By the looks of it you've never cut your hair any shorter than it is now and it is a big step."

"I'm sure Emilou I think I'm finally ready for the change." For some reason Emilou thought she was no longer talking only about her hair. She noticed the brief look of sorrow that flashed through her eyes, even if it was only fleeting.

She wanted to take her mind off of whatever it was that had suddenly crushed her cheerful disposition, "So about your friends, is there anything I should know before I meet them? Are there some that you think I'll get along with better than others?"

That seemed to do the work; her eyes brightened up instantly and a smile returned to her lips. Emilou took that as her cue to turn her away from the mirror to get started. "I think you'll get along with everyone great. Out of all the girls I think you'll love Hinata and Orihime the most— Hinata is the one that's with Cyan right now— they're the kindest people you'll ever meet! Rukia is great too she's nice but she's tough too, don't let her small size fool you. Ino is just so much fun to be around, she'll cheer you up when you're at your lowest. And there's Tatsuki and… Tenten," her once cheerful mood seemed to vanish as quickly as it had come and Emilou knew that there was something about this friend that bothered the pinkette. Sakura forced a smile, "You'll love them too. They're a little tomboyish but we wouldn't want them any other way. They've both beat up quite the number of boys and girls for either bullying us or hitting on us. They're very overprotective.

Now the boys; there's Naruto, Ichigo, Uryū-" She spend the rest of the time talking about her friends and telling her how they had met. Emilou was glad though, except for the mention of a Sasuke she hadn't become thoughtful again at all, it seemed as if her friends were her sole reason for being, her whole happiness.

Emilou had finished with Sakura's hair but had yet to allow her to see it. "Okay Sakura I am done with your hair, but it's time for your makeup." She reached over to open some drawers underneath the counter and Sakura could hear her looking for her supplies, when she found them she placed them on top of the counter. "Now you don't need a lot, thank your complexion and beautiful eyes for that. All I want to do is apply a moisturizer with SPF as your base," she applied the moisturizer with a cotton ball. "Then I want you to apply the foundation," which she applied gently with a wedge. "Next is the eyeshadow which for your eye color earthy tones such as beige or tan would really make them pop. For your evening look you can use charcoal or hunter green. Then apply a little eyeliner, mascara, a little bit of blush and you're done!" Emilou stood back a bit and contemplated her finished look on Sakura. "You really do look beautiful."

"Can I see?" She asked tentatively, she wondered if she looked as good as her new friend made it sound. Emilou slowly turned her around fully so she could see her reflection. At first Sakura was speechless, she could barely recognize herself. Emilou had cut her hair up to her shoulders and fixed her previously-non-existent-bangs to frame her face, they rested just below her cheekbones. Her makeup was not over the top, which only proved that a little makeup goes a long way, especially when applied correctly. Sakura had never even touched the stuff before this day. The combination of the eyeshadow and eye liner really made her emerald eyes pop. "W-wow. You really outdid yourself Emilou. I didn't recognize myself for a few moments there." She ran a hand through her hair and loved how soft and silky it felt. Sakura turned to her and gave her a hug, "Thank you so much, Emilou. I love it."

She really did look like an entirely different person. When her and her friends had walked in the salon, she had looked like a young girl still in high school. Now that she had finished with her she looked like the young woman she was— the one that would be going out into the real world, leaving everything that plagued her behind. "No need to thank me Sakura. Now you are ready to take on anything."

A/N: Hope you liked this chapter too and please don't get impatient Grimmjow will be introduced soon, next chapter hopefully, I think we're finally ready for him. It will be so much fun! I don't know where Harribel and her fracción came out of, I was just writing this chapter and I thought of them. I didn't plan to add them too but the chapter just wrote itself. I wanted to explain Sakura's short hair somehow, you know how when she cut it in the anime it was real symbolical when the Sound Village ninja attacked them, Ino-Shika-Cho formation, and Sasuke's curse mark remember that? Well I like Sakura's shorter hair since it helps her look more grown up versus the long hair that makes her look like a little girl. So I wanted it to mean something too. Please review or send me a PM to let me know how I did. At least this chapter was longer than the last… Like I said the story that gets the most reviews will get updated first. I should be updating the rest of my stories throughout the week so if you're interested be on the lookout. Thank you for reading this chapter!

-Wyvernhail