im so so sorry its taken so long to update, in the past few weeks ive had a lot of ups and downs... well its been very... eventful lol... sorta... whatever, anyway i really hope that everyone hasnt lost hope completely for this story (ive been a little down about everything, especially writing) so for anyone who is still reading this fic, thankyou!!!! -gives u cookies-

massive thankyous to everyone who reviewed: SnowySaku, dailyangel, Gothic Saku-chan, .Wax.Butterflies, xteenuh102593, starlit.kiss7, angstar54, wickedvampress, yukibozu and XxtaintedflamexX and everyone who has favourited or alerted this fic (or me :) - thankyou so much, its an unbelievable feeling to think that someone doesnt mind my writing and gives me a lot more confidence, thankyou!!!

hehe for the poll, well sasusaku it is angstar54 :) (and rightly so too :D) -- and its definitely going to get worse by the sounds of it (i think it would have done anyway but now there is quite a bit more demand for it so... poor sakura... 10 votes too (your 5 votes were added SnowySaku :) - and sorry daily (guess ur just too nice to see her go through anything else :)

also, this fic is dedicated to daily, because even when ive lost complete faith in myself and my writing (or dont message you for far too long, sorry! T-T) you're still an absolutely amazing friend, thankyou so much :)

Masked Happiness

Chapter 14: Midnight Meetings

Disappointed by the lack of a front door to slam shut behind her, Sakura stormed into her bedroom, contenting herself with slamming that door instead… twice, before throwing herself on her bed, quickly burying her face in her pillow, having finished releasing her pent up emotions.

Nearly drowning had drained her of more energy than she had originally thought and the painful walk home had done nothing to raise her spirits so, even though she knew she had been thoroughly exhausted when she left Sasuke in the clearing, she now felt completely dead.

Ten seconds later she was… completely dead to the world as she fell into a deep, dreamless sleep, seeing nothing but darkness.

-

Sakura awoke to complete darkness, so black that it didn't matter whether her eyes were open or shut.

She had a brief moment of panic as she found it hard to breathe and immediately thought she was drowning again, but instead of freezing water she found that her face was covered by her soft, warm pillow.

Taking a deep breath and sitting up she looked across to her alarm clock and was immediately annoyed to see that it was 3.05 in the morning… that irritating time of the morning that made her feel like she'd had both too much and not enough sleep.

Growling slightly at the simultaneous feeling of being wide awake and yet extremely tired, she clambered off the bed and took a long coat from its hook next to her bedroom door. Shrugging it on, Sakura then went to her window and sat on the edge before swinging her feet over so that she was sitting on the outside.

She sat for a moment, able to see the full moon from her perch on the window sill.

After a few moments she lifted herself up with a sigh to a standing position before turning around to face the outside wall of her house. After scrabbling for the ledge that was located above her head and barely within her reach, her fingers found the small familiar shelf of concrete and she painstakingly hoisted herself onto the roof.

She had always found it calming after an argument with her mother or when she couldn't sleep to sit on her roof and look out over the parts of Konoha visible to her or at the moon high above her. As all of the rooftops in Konoha were relatively close together (making it possible to jump easily from one to the next), the view that was laid out before Sakura as she sat down on the edge of her own rooftop was one full of balconies, other rooftops and glimpses of the street below, barely visible through the trees.

Breathing deeply and lying back so that her legs dangled over the edge of the building and the rest of her body was set against the hard concrete, she looked up at the many pinpricks of light overhead that always made her feel so small and insignificant, but in an oddly calming way.

Closing her eyes after a while, she could see the imprint of those stars on the backs of her eyelids as her exhausted body relaxed even more.

As she began to fall asleep (not wanting to because of where she was, but finding it hard to resist the pull of unconsciousness), she heard a faint sound and slowly opened her eyes in interest.

Seeing nothing on the street below, Sakura turned her gaze upwards to scan the rooftops around her. Eventually she saw in the moonlight, a small silhouette of a person crouched on the edge of a building not too far from where she was.

Standing up and realising how close to sleep she had gotten by how much effort it took her legs to support her weight, she took a few wobbly steps before regaining a bit of her energy and jumping to the next rooftop, and then to the next, making her way to the solitary figure of a boy bathed in moonlight.

-

Sasuke had been stunned when Sakura had stood (on her wounded foot no less) and, after thanking him formally, left him in a clearing after he had saved her life.

Slightly annoyed, he had made his way home to clean up and change out of his cold, wet clothing before going to bed. Training and life-saving really took it out of him.

The next morning he got up and dressed as usual and, after doing his usual Sunday morning errands, he walked up the streets of Konoha, taking in the beautiful day it was as he slowly made his way to Ichiraku. No need to hurry.

Upon sight Naruto had immediately given him a headache with his overly loud shout of,

'Teme!'

After hitting him upside the head, Sasuke sat calmly in his seat, silently glad that it was lunchtime as he was hungrier than he'd like to admit.

Arriving late like always (but not as late as he was when it came to training… food is a different affair altogether after all), Kakashi ordered his own ramen just like Sasuke and Naruto had moments earlier. Sitting in a row, Naruto quite noisily and at a frightening speed, Kakashi hiding each mouthful somehow and Sasuke eating normally (and compared to Naruto, quite calmly), the three of them ate their ramen.

Clearly having noticed sooner but too hungry to have mentioned anything until after at least half of his ramen had been consumed, a much less hungry and more sociable Kakashi said to no one in particular,

'I wonder where Sakura is.'

'She's probably asleep.'

Looking at Sasuke slightly startled that the boy had replied at all, let alone what he had actually said, Kakashi simply said,

'Oh? Why's that?'

Naruto, curious enough by now to have put down his ramen to watch Sasuke's strange bout of talkativeness suddenly piped up and said,

'Because that's where she was last time she was late for ramen, remember Kakashi-sensei?'

Thinking back to when they had both missed training and even to yesterday when she hadn't shown up for lunch, Kakashi nodded and didn't say anything else, but inside he was thinking about whether or not something else had happened.

After a moment he looked at Sasuke again.

'Why did you think she would be asleep Sasuke?' he asked quietly, his voice only heard by Sasuke and not carrying to Naruto as loud slurps issued from him. Kakashi hadn't expected Sasuke to know where she was, and the fact that he had spoken with certainty led Kakashi to believe that there was more to the situation then he knew.

'…'

'Sasuke?'

'She was pretty busy yesterday,'

'And how do you know that?' slight surprise slipping into Kakashi's words over Sasuke knowing about Sakura's day. He often doubted Sasuke even knew what colour her hair was, given the lack of attention he paid her.

'I just do, and if she's going to get any stronger she needs the rest.' Replied Sasuke, reverting back to his usual non-caring 'avenger' way of thinking as he focused on no one holding him back.

Well at least to Kakashi.

On the inside Sasuke had wondered where Sakura was too and, thinking about what had happened yesterday, he had concluded that she must be resting and trying to get over the exhaustion that was sure to come of nearly drowning and of her foot healing. Not to mention the fear he had seen in her eyes. Each would take a toll on her and he wouldn't have been surprised to find that she slept until tomorrow.

Having thought this, he also found that he was once again asking himself the question that had been bothering him since yesterday… Why do I care?... she's just another fangirl, even if she is acting strange at the moment… and I have bigger things to focus on. And he tried once again to push the thoughts of her from his mind… tried.

-

Slowly approaching the figure on the edge of the rooftop who she was now able to see in more detail, her mind raced. Red hair…

I know he's the same guy from before… the one who attacked me… but he must know I'm here and he hasn't made any move to attack so maybe its ok?... and… well, he doesn't look mean or anything… just… lonely…

Summoning her courage she said softly,

'Hi, do you mind if I sit?'

After a moment Sakura saw the maroon head in front of her move forward in a nod and she sat down on the edge next to him, not too close (just in case) but still in touching distance, she wanted to be careful but she was also curious as to who he was and why she kept running into him.

There was a long time of nothing but silence, where Sakura simply sat and watched as the mystery man next to her played with what appeared to be a small amount of sand in the palm of his hands whilst staring out into the distance.

Eventually he broke the silence and hearing his voice for the first time, Sakura decided it was one of those voices that even though she was sure it could sound quite scary and deadly in a different situation, she was calmed by it and, no matter what he actually said, it felt as though his tone reflected a general desire to help in some way. It also reflected sadness and she suspected that that too was something that didn't change with him no matter what he actually said.

Smiling softly and thinking to herself about his voice, she had to replay what he had said in her mind before she could respond.

'Why do you do it?' He had asked softly, never taking his eyes away from his sand.

Puzzled and unsure of what he was talking about, Sakura furrowed her eyebrows,

'What do you mean?'

'When I fought you in the forest, your arm…'

He trailed off but Sakura knew exactly what he was talking about. Unsure of how to answer she countered instead with a question of her own.

'Who are you?'

For the first time he turned to look at her and she saw the darkness surrounding his eyes and the sadness that dwelled in them,

'I am Gaara.'

Sakura smiled and fought the urge to say how very nice it was to meet him like her mother had always taught her to say when meeting new people. She doubted that it was suitable for this particular moment.

Instead she held out her hand and said,

'I'm Sakura.'

Slightly startled by how open she was and how she had straight away held out a hand to shake, clearly already trusting him at least a little, Gaara grasped her hand briefly in his own and though he didn't smile, the sadness in his eyes seemed to fade a little.

Smiling a bit more, Sakura went to take her hand away after he had grasped it and turn back to the view, feeling quite content to just sit… but clearly he wasn't. He didn't let go of her hand and looking back, not scared but a little surprised, she saw the slight regret in his eyes before he grasped the sleeve of her jacket and pulled it carefully up her arm.

It was as though her thinking was sluggish because by the time she realised what he was doing and what he would see, he had already seen it.

In the glow of the moon, the scarred skin on her forearm shone with a luminescence that made each scar almost sparkle as the whiter skin tissue on her already white arm reflected the moonlight.

Looking at her arm sadly, Gaara then looked up to her face and saw a few different emotions fighting for dominance on her face.

He saw disgust and knew it was directed at herself.

He saw sadness that seemed to go far deeper than usual and almost radiated from her as she tried not to let it consume her.

And he saw fear. The fear that somebody had found out, and the panic of not knowing what he would do next.

Sakura watched him as his eyes roamed over her arm, before looking back up into her eyes. She wasn't sure what to feel but when he placed a hand gently over her arm she felt the impulse to do several things at once.

She shivered slightly at the touch of warmer skin on hers, she flinched away almost unnoticeably because of the slight pain that shot through her arm at even this light touch and she felt like she wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out because she couldn't stand the thought of more people knowing… seeing what she had done. She looked down, feeling ashamed of herself and not knowing what to do, realising that she was completely vulnerable at this moment and hating it.

Like a chain reaction, he saw each emotion and felt the tremble and flinch under his hand, his eyes growing sadder again when she looked away and he saw the shame and vulnerability on her face.

'This may hurt a bit,' he began to say as her head shot up, suddenly scared again and wondering why and how she had gotten herself into this situation… Sasuke would never get himself into this kind of mess she thought before thinking grimly and that's why I'm so weak.

Quickly she tried to think of what he might do and how to escape him if she needed to. She calmed however when he spoke again.

'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you panic, but I need to get the sand out of your arm or its only going to cause you more pain and it could become infected.'

Looking him in the eye she relaxed noticeably as her thoughts whirled, I cant believe I've even met him… and he attacked me before… and now he's helping me… and that I was bold enough to approach him… what was I thinking?!... I must have been half asleep… or really stupid… but he seems ok, not too bad anyway… and if it makes the pain stop then isn't it worth it…? Worth more pain to stop more pain… I must still be half asleep…

Nodding her head, Gaara turned his body so that he was facing her a bit more and took her arm in both hands. Slightly worried about what he was actually going to do, Sakura continued to look questioningly as he silently located each grain of sand still lodged in her arm.

Because it was his sand he could locate its whereabouts and summon them. But that was the problem.

'They're deeper than I thought,' Gaara muttered to himself before looking into Sakura's eyes and saying,

'I need to summon the sand from the cuts in your arm or else they'll stay there and continue to cause you pain, but because the cuts have closed up for the most part it will hurt.'

He didn't sound like he was telling her, it sounded as though he was asking for permission, as though the fact that it may cause her pain meant that it was something he couldn't do… or didn't want to do.

Smiling slightly and sadly, Sakura looked at him intently for a moment before saying,

'I don't mind, and besides you need your sand back.'

Looking back at her for a moment, an unrecognizable emotion crossed his face before he moved to sit directly in front of her, his legs crossed beneath him and placed one of his hands directly on her arm, covering all of the cuts. Closing his eyes, he concentrated and began to extract each grain of sand from beneath her skin.

-

The burning in her arm felt incredible, as it literally felt like it was being torn apart from the inside out as the larger clumps of sand pushed against her skin. As the first few grains of sand left her arm through newly created bloody holes, the now reopened cuts they had escaped from began to bleed profusely and she screwed her eyes shut as the deeper grains and clumps moved towards the surface of her arm to make their escape as well like hot needles being jabbed into her arm repeatedly.

The pain only built as more and more cuts were reopened and the warmth of her blood coated her arm, making her shiver in the cool night air as the breeze made contact with wet skin. Feeling lightheaded she realised that almost every single cut was reopened by her struggling that day in the forest and that, by the time Gaara would have all of his sand back, every single one of the cuts she had on her arms would be open again.

After a few minutes Gaara opened his eyes slightly whilst still extracting sand, hoping to finish as quickly as he could to cause her the least amount of pain possible. Seeing her sitting with a grimace on her face and her eyes shut tight against the pain he marveled that she didn't whimper or cry out as so many others had done before.

The technique of inserting and then removing sand grain by grain from ones body was so painful that it was often used as a form of torture. He had hoped to extract the sand as quickly as possibly after the grains had unintentionally reopened and entered her cuts that day in the forest. He had tried once when she was fighting the strange silver-haired man in the same clearing a few days later. He winced at his thoughtlessness, of course it would still be painful and she had been in the middle of a fight so he had decided to leave it for the time being, despite the risks of worse pain and infection.

Looking at her now and seeing how even after nearly ten minutes of such pain and blood loss she managed not to make a sound, even as she broke out in a cold sweat and swayed slightly, he had to admit that he was very impressed. Pushing aside the question that still haunted him about the situation, he reached out with his other hand, never faltering in the extraction, to take her tightly balled up fist in a light but reassuring grasp.

-

Feeling his hand on hers made her relax her grip and, even though she didn't open her eyes (feeling as though the pain would have made her temporarily sightless anyway), she gripped his hand in return, feeling the comfort of a friendly touch through the pain.

By the time the last grain of sand had been extracted from her now swollen and blood soaked arm, Sakura was swaying dangerously.

Losing control of what happened to her body as it could no longer support itself, she felt hands on her shoulders guiding her fall sideways until she felt something soft and warm underneath her and felt her grip on consciousness finally slip out of her grasp.

As Gaara readjusted his position to make them both more comfortable, he eventually settled with his legs crossed and Sakura's tiny, crumpled looking form slumped comfortably in his lap as her breathing began to become less shallow and more regular.

Discreetly emptying the rather large amount of sand he had found in Sakura's arm into the gourd sitting beside him, he watched her sleep and softly stroked her hair a few times, watching how her breathing steadied even more.

Eventually he slowly gathered her limp frame into his arms, her head resting against his chest, as he took her in the direction he had sensed her come from earlier. As he landed on her rooftop, he looked down to see her eyelids fluttering and there was a flicker of a smile on his face as he carefully made it to her bedroom through the only open window.

Setting her down on the bed, Gaara quickly but efficiently cleaned and bandaged her arm, knowing the dressings would only need to last a few hours as she would no doubt re-do them when she woke up.

Having finished his task, he turned to leave through the window before a faint voice stopped him.

'Hey,' Sakura said softly, still half-asleep and weak from blood loss.

Gaara smiled and walked back to her bedside, taking her hand in his and giving it a small squeeze. Looking up at him with heavy eyelids and feeling completely disorientated, Sakura mumbled,

'I'll see you soon right?'

'Sooner than you think,' Gaara said nodding, 'for now just sleep.'

He went to her window again and as he climbed out he heard a faint voice.

'Thank you' before he disappeared, the ghost of a smile playing on his face.

alrighty, another chapter down and before everyone says that sucked i just wanna say i know and i know it sounded a bit random but it really will make sense soon and i tried my best with this one (i dont mind it... i guess... what do u think... let me know:) - please review, please please please?

oh, and as i seem to get more opinions if i ask specific questions, i was wondering, do you prefer longer or shorter chapters?

anyway, ill try to update faster than i did last time (as long as i do it again this month i will have so it shouldnt be too hard lol, i will try to update faster than that but with the end of the school year im not sure if i can... ill try though :) - till then, let me know what you think:)

thanx for reading :)