So I know this chapter is way short, and I will hopefully have a new chapter up really soon. I just felt that it needed to end there. So sorry but I hope you like it :)

Chapter 22 -- Halo

There's an anchor around my heart, Dragging me down, Beneath the waves in silence I fall. There's a halo above my head Spinning me 'round' Cause I don't know if I'm alive or dead

--

Waking had not been the easiest thing for Sakura to do. It wasn't so much that her body was against it but her mind that was keeping her shut in her dream world. It was here she could pretend that she hadn't seen Sasuke shove his sword through TenTen, here she could pretend that Ino's throat had never been cut, and it was here she could pretend that neither had been her fault.

But as with all sleep, waking was inevitable.

Tears pulled at her eyes as she realized what horrible news she would have to give Neji and TenTen. Her heart beat faster and her breath came heavy thinking of a pathetic way to apologize. And despite how much she desired forgiveness, she knew she did not deserve it.

Sakura knew what Sasuke had been capable of. He pierced Naruto's heart without on ounce of remorse. Yet she had gone to him blindly and with ignorance clouding her rationality.

She had been stupid. She had crossed a line somewhere. She had mistaken herself. She thought that just because Sasuke was still the same, that he would still act the same. As confusing as that thought was, it was utterly and completely wrong. He had to prove to himself and to others he was a heartless, soulless bastard.

Though she knew better and though her feelings for Sasuke hadn't been altered by his actions, she was in no position to think about him. There was too much damage that had to be dealt with.

A whine and a cold nose pressed to her cheek. Akamaru sneezed and then licked the tears from her face. "I'm okay." She whispered patting his head. The tears however told him she was lying and he whined again scooting closer. The exhaustion of last night over took her and her arms wrapped tight around his neck to bury her face into his fur, seeking comfort, "Oh Akamaru, what have I done?"

"Sakura." Kiba's voice filtered through her sniffles. "You alright?"

"Hai." She mumbled without pulling her face away. "Is TenTen awake?"

"Iie. What happened? Neji and Lee, Choji and Shikamaru, none of them have exited their tent. No one's talking."

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Well someone's got to. None of us like being kept in the dark. I brought you breakfast. You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

"You used up all of your chakra, Sakura. You need to eat."

"Where's Naruto?"

"Down by the lake. He won't talk to anyone either. He's pretty pissed off. We all are. I thought you said you weren't going to fight. How could you think you could take Sasuke on your own?"

"Please, Kiba."

"I know. You don't want to talk about it." Akamaru whipped his head with a growl. But with a snap of the fingers the animal pulled reluctantly away from Sakura, whining as he did so and slandered to Kiba's side, laying down beside him. Sakura's bloodshot eyes rose over to him. He sat a few feet away, her food set in front of him. He's frustration and anger was prevailing upon his brows as he gazed down at her. "You and Naruto have got to stop living in your fantasy world. Sasuke is not your friend, he's not your teammate. He's Konoha's enemy and that makes him your enemy."

Kiba seemed to cut himself off. Maybe it was her tears, or the washed blood that still stained her hands as she covered her distressed face but he stalled. He closed his eyes sighing out brutally, trying to rid himself of all of his rage.

"He came back." She whispered through her hands. "He came back to help."

"Help what?"

Her hands fell and she curled tighter into a ball underneath her covers, hugging her pillow. "With TenTen. He knows how to heal. He saw me heal and he knows how. He was going to help."

"Or finish the job." The depress of her eyebrows stopped him once again. He was causing her pain, something he was certainly not used to doing. With a little self-cajoling he pushed himself on his hands and knees and laid out beside her, resting a hand on her arm soothingly. "Gomen. You had a terrible night. I usually don't try to make it worse but I am completely frustrated and angry with myself for letting you go. For Neji and Choji and Shikamaru going, without the rest of us. And for not knowing what transpired. But I guess it will have to wait." He moved and kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you're okay. Will you please eat?" She nodded weakly and he hurriedly received it and pushed into her hands. "After this, I think it will be best if you go talk to Naruto. He's really out of it."

--

With Akamaru at her side, helping her keep steady, Sakura was able to make it to the river bank. She tired easily with all of her chakra drained but she no longer felt so sick now that some food rested in her stomach.

Naruto sat on the grassy floor, legs spread and bent with his arms resting over his knees staring blinding at the running water.

Their footsteps alerted him of her presence and he stiffened noticeably but did not turn to greet her. Sakura leaned down and smiled trying to catch his gaze but when he allowed her eyes to match his, her smile dropped nearly instantly. He turned away.

She had never been on the receiving end of his disappointment. It was an almost unbearable feeling.

Sakura roughly sat down but finding the words that needed to be said was impossible with the massive headache she woke with. And with the ever present tragedy she had to tell still in the forefront of her mind, she was incapable of finding why exactly she was here and not standing in front of TenTen's tent.

"You left." Sakura's green eyes flitted over to him. He stared prominently at the water. "You left and you didn't tell me."

She was going to be defensive. There had been a reason she had gone. And though that reason had been somewhat stained by the fatal wounds inflicted on her friends, she was able to find it as long as she was defending. "I didn't go there for a fight, Naruto. I went there to get them back."

"You went against my orders, Sakura." Her emerald eyes widened at his harshness and she blinked several times in bafflement. "I told you not to go."

"I couldn't leave them. Personally, I never knew you to give up like you did."

"I did it for a reason."

"What reason? Why didn't you go after Sasuke?"

His blue gaze turned to her suddenly, "I knew what he was capable of." There was shame as he admitted such a sentence. "And I was not about to sacrifice anyone."

"You told me he wouldn't hurt them." She lifted her water-filled eyes. "You told me they were safe."

"And they would have been. If you hadn't gone after them."

Blame. He blamed her for everything.

And yet somehow, it was different from what she blamed herself for. It was her fault TenTen and Ino were injured. Her fault that there was no longer a life growing.

But what Naruto pinned on her, was Sasuke's actions.

Her eyes widened at that. All this time she thought she had been alone thinking Sasuke had been altered in some horrible way and here Naruto thought the very same. He had just been going about it a different way then her.

"You're protecting him." She whispered. "You're protecting him from himself. All this time, you were saying he wouldn't hurt anyone, you meant he wouldn't hurt anyone as long as he wasn't pushed. You were protecting him." Naruto stood but she didn't stop, "You were trying to give him no reason to hurt anyone, to save him."

And all this time, she had been pushing Sasuke. She wanted to prove what a monster he had become, only to realize that he wasn't one at all.

Yet again, Naruto proved to be the better person. He had such faith in Sasuke it was sickening, how jealous she was.

She smiled and shook her head, "Believe it or not, but I understand that." Sakura looked up to him, his back facing her, rigid and stiff.

"Not anymore." He whispered

"Nani?"

"Next time I see Sasuke, I will kill him."

"Naruto you can't, there's something--"

"Weren't you the one telling me before all of this, that he changed? Well, I agree with you now. Sakura-chan, I have to kill him. It's the only way you and everyone else will be safe."

"Naruto, I'm telling you, you're right. I was wrong. you don't have to--"

Naruto swung around, his eyes filled with blood of his bijuu. He barred his teeth and growled dangerous, "If I can't leave you, you can't leave me. I will protect you, Sakura-chan and everyone else from him. He's my enemy now." With that admission, Naruto fled to the trees.

Sakura's brows knit in sadness as her eyes searched for him. She wanted to explain how Sasuke had come back. She wanted him to know that Sasuke was the same man, if not a better man, then before.

But her mind and heart stopped her. Naruto was not a priority despite this new turn of events. She needed to go to Neji and TenTen.

Yet that little thought fastened tears to her eyes. There was so much blame but it wasn't as much sorrow as there was guilt. Because still, even as she took step for camp, her thoughts returned to Sasuke. And how he had come back.

--

Neji was unblinking and unmoving, staring intensely upon the still sleeping form of TenTen. His legs were tucked up under him, and his hands were fisted upon his knees. He sat such a way for the past ten hours, waiting patiently it would seem to any outsider but inside, he was pounding at the walls of insanity.

"Neji, let's go eat huh? You didn't eat breakfast but at least try lunch." Lee begged sitting on the other side of the sleeping woman.

He was begging for nothing. A ninja trains one self to go without eating for days. A few hours is nothing. Lee only wanted to see him move, to hear him talk, to be told that TenTen was just fine and so was the baby.

How to tell lies to a friend?

To pacify, Neji answered, "Bring it here."

Lee smiled brightly, "Alright!" He glanced down at TenTen, touching her hand softly before running from the tent.

He wouldn't eat it. But it made Lee happy momentarily.

Neji didn't take this moment to touch her, to whisper in her ear that he was beside her. She needed no reassurance. She knew where he was if she was at all conscious in her semi-coma.

However, despite his rational thinking and despite the numerous times he had done it, his bloodline limit activated and searched desperately for a signature within TenTen's body.

"Neji-san." Sakura's voice.

He set straight his eyes and continued his stare upon TenTen's face. Light lit her pale features for just a moment before the tent flap closed again. He could see Sakura from the corner of his eye and yet the tears were still the first thing he noticed. She dropped to her knees a bit weekly and bowed till her forehead touched the floor. Her shoulders shook a little which surprised him more then he wanted it to. He didn't need her grief. He had enough of his own at the moment. Her voice filtered through her clenched throat, "The sword was too close. And it caused too much damage."

"I know." He cut her off. Hearing the words would make it all too real. And reality was something he didn't want to face right now.

She popped her head up, filled with fast running tears. His lavender orbs lowered slowly to TenTen's stomach but other then that, nothing else change in stature or in facial expression. "I saw it." He whispered. "For just a moment." A tighten of his fists, "And then I saw it no more."

Her brows depressed and her lip trembled. "I'm so sorry." She buried her face quickly in her thighs, cursing her inner self for being so pathetic and yet only crying that much harder. She needed forgiveness. She needed him to say those words because without them, the guilt would swallow her whole.

"I am sure," He stalled and waited patiently till her cries calmed. Her upper body lifted as she rubbed the tears from her face somewhat childishly. "you didn't come here to show weakness. If forgiveness is what you seek, I hold no blame. On you." Her lids lowered as she looked at the floor. She knew what he was implying. All his blame was directed to the one wielding the sword. "Or, if what you seek is information…" Her eyes widened and snapped to his so brutally he hadn't caught her movement. So he had been right about both. His attention went back to his gaze upon TenTen, it darted to her belly momentarily before it went back to her face. "200 miles to the north, 136 miles to the west. They hide in the caves. If they're still there, I do not know. That is where they were headed."

Her heart clenched in her chest making it almost unbearable to breath. To know that he had seen a part of her she ignored. To know that he knew where her heart was headed even after the brutal tragedy that had faced both of them. She had thought the guilt could not have been any worse, but somehow it demolished the floor right from under her. She lowered her head down in shame. But despite it she whispered, "Arigato"

"You saved her. My debt is repaid."

She stared at his profile with surpressed aw, her gaze grazing every line, every angle and every stiff joint. A poise that a slave sits before a master waiting for the next order. She wondered teasingly if TenTen was his master, even if its not practiced. TenTen is apparently his whole world.. How could anyone be so blind to that?

And to know that she caused such grief for them made her sick to her stomach. She wished to escape her skin and run without once looking back. Sakura bowed, so Neji would not see the disgust that dwelled inside. "Let TenTen know she needs to be careful. Her body is still damaged and I have no more chakra to give to her. When you get Konoha go directly to Tsuande-sama. And please," Her voice shook terribly in her pause, "Tell TenTen, how sorry I am." She stood quickly to leave so as not to disgrace herself anymore then she had.

"Sakura." She stalled not turning to look at him. "If I see him again…"

It was a sentence he need not finish, "You won't." She promised, stepping out just as Lee was running back over.

He smiled brightly at her, "Arigato, Sakura-san. For saving her."

She gave a weak smile and a sniff as he went inside. She rubbed her face leaving behind only a red face and swollen eyes.

Even though, her heart was broken and her soul was damaged. Neji's strength somehow eased her. He forgave her so readily. He didn't even hold blame. Would TenTen?

Sakura eased herself up against a tree. She was going to be like Neji. She was going to stand with the person she loved and not back down. Though Neji hated Sasuke, she knew he wouldn't blame her for leaving either. He would understand. And knowing at least one person wouldn't hold animosity for her departure, was enough to push her forward.

--