hi all, ok i think i promised i wouldnt leave it so long to update... and i did... sorry!!! all i can say is that end of the year schoolwork and stuff caught up with me and that now im officially on holidays so im gonna update much more often (which is good cos i really didnt wana uplaod this till i had the next chapter done too... that didnt happen but its close and i have the time so it wont take too long.

secondly, thankyou so much to everyone who wished me a happy birthday:) - and it was too so thanks peoples, virtual cookies and muffins to all :D

and thanks especially to all my wonderful, lovely, terrific, brilliantly fantastic reviewing friends who all deserve many more cookies and muffins than i could possibly give :) - i'll be replying to reviews quicker now too by the way :) - thanks to unspoiled rini, Rain Crystal, Gothic Saku-chan, Aiyo Rei, miroku girl15, Merridaine, .Wax.Butterflies. (who was my very very special 100th reviewer!!! cookies for all in celebration :D), starlit.kiss7 and dailyangel.

ok, quick recap before we get into chappie 16 and can i just say that in this chapter are some more interesting themes and if by the end of it you're unsure about continuing this fic because of what may be to come, know that it will get a bit worse before it gets better (and it will get better :)

ok recap:

'Oh!' The small sound broke Gaara out of his thoughts as he looked down to find Sakura had begun walking back the way they had come. After a few more steps she turned back to him as though she had only just remembered he was still there and said,

'Sorry, I forgot my lunch and should really go home and get it.' He looked at her oddly for a second, slightly worried about her again.

'Oh I'm sorry, do you know where to go to have lunch and your next class and everything?' she asked, mistaking his concern for her and thinking he simply didn't know what to do or where to go next.

'No I'm fine, did you want me to walk there with you?'

Touched by his kindness, Sakura smiled kindly at him.

'Thank you for the offer,' she said genuinely 'but its only ten minutes away, I'll be fine, you go and have lunch. Oh and… thank you, for before.' She added and smiled again before turning and walking away, leaving Gaara to drown in his thoughts.

'Definitely need to keep an eye on her,' he thought grimly before a light smile touched his lips, 'and change her bandages myself if she forgets again.'

This chapter is dedicated to daily, the brightest daisy i know, and her team 7, the sunlight on her petals :) (the things that happen in this chapter will get better very soon, be happy, take care and have fun:)

Masked Happiness

Chapter 16: Of Yellow Daisies and the Importance of Doors

The sunlight shone through the leaves of the trees that bordered the side of the road, casting a soft, dappled green light over Sakura as she meandered up the path towards her house, marveling at how peaceful everything felt. She had been in a hurry to get home and pick up her lunch and get back to school in time so as not to be late for her next class but as she walked she felt herself relaxing more than she had in what felt like years.

Forgetting, if only for a moment, the troubles that usually haunted her, Sakura took a deep breathe of the cool afternoon air, noticing a light fragrance on the breeze.

Wandering curiously to the side of the path she knelt and found a small patch of yellow daisies amidst the other shrubbery at the base of one of the overshadowing trees. Smiling to herself she picked one and, after gently touching one of the bright, velvety petals and inhaling deeply the soft, light fragrance, she placed it behind her ear and began walking lightheartedly up the path again, a small bounce in her step.

It didn't take long for Sakura to reach her house and after very briefly pausing at where the front door should have been she shook her head once with a small smile, deciding not to be annoyed at Naruto for now and just enjoy the new happy feeling that had been brought about by such a nice, untroubled walk home. A feeling she hadn't felt for so long it seemed almost unfamiliar to her and a small part of her wasn't quite used to it. All the same she didn't want to let anything break her out of it for as long as possible because she knew that it wouldn't last.

It never did.

But for now she was content and wanted to stay that way, and so she went into the bathroom to freshen up before heading into her bedroom to quickly brush her hair and adjust the daisy. Combing through her long pink hair with her fingers and watching almost in a daze as the curtains of hair parted and then flowed back together seamlessly like running water, she noticed how much the bright yellow daisy clashed with the light pastel coloured tresses it was perched in and grinned, thinking back to the many times in her childhood she had tried to wear different flowers in her hair, many clashing horribly.

She had often hated her hair colour but as she grew she had begun to like how much it set her apart from everyone else. And looking in the mirror now, she didn't mind the yellow on pink… the colours themselves were both light and conveyed a sense of happiness and the fact that they clashed so horribly just made her laugh.

Still smiling and feeling peaceful and carefree she heard what she thought might have been a muffled knock at her front door and with a last look at herself in the mirror and a lingering smile, Sakura went absent-mindedly to answer it. As she walked out of her bedroom several insistent thoughts flashed quickly through her uncaring mind, 'I wonder who that is… have I taken too long getting my lunch?... maybe its Kakashi-sensei wondering why I'm late… maybe he thinks im skipping… or Gaara… maybe he didn't know his next class after all… or Sasuke… nope… Naruto?... now why would Naruto come to my house… heh maybe he's finally come to fix my…'

Her train of thought came to a very abrupt halt as her face fell and her jaw dropped. Her mind which had been racing up until a second ago had shut down completely leaving her with no thoughts whatsoever and, as such, no way to get out of the situation she found herself in. There, standing imposingly in her front doorway and blocking the sunlight as well as any possible chance of escape with his large, threatening form, stood the one man Sakura had thought she would never see again. Would never have to see again. Even after that phone call that seemed so long ago and so unimportant now, she hadn't thought it was possible, not really.

But here he was.

They both stood, staring at each other, his face inscrutable, her's completely blank from shock. And then he was moving, forwards, towards her. Before he went more than three steps Sakura had stepped back and as he took another she matched it in her effort to get away from him. Seeing him sneer so suddenly made her blood run cold and a second later she knew why as her back hit the doorframe of her bedroom.

She couldn't take her eyes from his and knew that if she did he would take the chance.

As it was a decision that had to be made quickly and the choices were either to stand against the doorframe and wait for whatever was to come or to corner herself further but put more distance between herself and him, Sakura knew there was no choice at all… she had to get away from him.

It all happened in a split second.

She broke eye contact as she twisted her body around the doorframe and almost fell into her bedroom. Regaining her balance quickly she lunged at the door in an effort to close it and block him out… out of her room… out of her mind… 'He can't be back! He just can't!', but he had read her actions and had lunged a second before she had and thrown his foot between the door and the frame, obstructing any attempt at closing it. Throwing herself against the door with all of her strength to at least keep him from coming in, she felt him push from the other side.

He was pushing only slightly, enough to keep her where she was for fear that if she weakened he would overpower her, before she realised that he was strong enough to have done it already anyway. He was toying with her. Whimpering as he applied the slightest amount of added pressure she suddenly heard a loud groaning sound that sent a chill down her spine and made her realise a second too late that they must have been pushing on different sides of the door.

There was a terrible Crack that echoed around the house and inside her head as the wood in front of her splintered before the door broke apart completely… and his face appeared through the newly made gap above her.

Pushing away from the broken door in alarm and barely noticing the splinters of wood that were sticking out of her hands and the few that she could feel stinging her face where they had flown across it when the door had split, she could only watch, panicked, as he pushed the door open slowly, tormenting her with the knowledge that he was coming and she could do nothing.

'Come on!' she shouted at herself, her mind suddenly kicking into gear, 'this is why you became a shinobi isn't it!? Options, options… window? No, he'd beat me, he's faster… fight? He'd beat me there too, he's stronger… this really isn't helping' she thought, dismayed and suddenly feeling weary. She may have forgotten the events of the past two days in the haze of panic she was battling but her body hadn't and after the long draining moments of fear that she had just gone through and the knowledge that much much worse was surely to come, her body had started shutting down out of fear and exhaustion.

Growing slightly dizzy for a moment, Sakura quickly shook the feeling away as she began to panic more at the sudden loss of control of her own body. 'No! Not now!' she thought wildly as she saw the man before her chuckle softly, obviously seeing her distress and fatigue and realising, like she had seconds before, that she was no match for him whatsoever.

He had been unsure when he first arrived of how much she had grown and what she had made of herself. He had heard of course that she had begun training and learning the ways of the shinobi but he didn't know how far she had progressed and had to at least be wary until he could determine if she was any match for him. She wasn't.

As he slowly and deliberately took long, sweeping strides towards her, she continued to back away, falling to the floor as she tripped backwards over one of the many small piles of clothes she had left there that morning. Not even bothering to get back up she continued to push herself backwards away from him using any and every bit of strength she could find as he grew closer and closer, a small smiling lifting the corners of his mouth into an evil sneer.

As her back once again hit a hard surface she looked up briefly to see the wall of her bedroom. She was no where near her window and silently berated herself for her stupidity even though she knew well that he wouldn't have allowed her to continue moving had she been close enough to it to escape.

Stepping closer still, he stopped only when he stood directly over her before he leant down towards her and reached his hand for her neck. Unable to do anything, Sakura looked up into his eyes and found them twinkling with such malevolence that her stomach turned and she couldn't stop the look of disgust that crossed her features. Still staring at him defiantly, her face set and ready for whatever he would do next she saw his face contort briefly as he saw in her eyes that she wasn't as submissive as she had once been. And then he smiled so widely and with genuine happiness that she couldn't stop the shudder that rocked her small crouching form.

Thoughts were whirling through his head so fast that he had trouble keeping up with them but when he saw her defiance he was reminded of the girl's mother, and how she had been like that too… long ago. But remembering what had come after… he smiled widely, giggling contentedly inside his head as he thought of what had come after and, as he continued to look down at the small pink thing in front of him he couldn't help the grin that contorted his features from widening even more… he would do the same with this one…

Feeling beyond scared as his grin grew so much that, in a different lifetime it would have been an infectious sign of happiness, she only felt disgust and tried to wriggle away from him as without further warning his hand shot out and grabbed her face instead.

Holding her chin in one massive powerful hand he squeezed painfully, seeing her eyes glaze ever so slightly in pain before he released her slightly and then moved his hand slowly down her throat until it rested at her neck where without further warning he squeezed again whilst simultaneously pulling her to her feet by her neck alone.

Gasping at the sudden loss of control and the feeling of breathlessness and pain, Sakura found her feet and straightened them underneath her to find that they dangled off of the ground and that she was being held up by her neck alone. As she had been unknowingly holding her breath from fear and had been forced to release it when she had been pulled up, she tried to inhale again and found it impossible, the weight at her throat and the pain from his squeezing grip constricting her airways too much for her to get any air into her lungs which were beginning to burn from lack of oxygen.

Gradually her vision slowly started to dim at the edges and she could blurrily see in his eyes that were now so close to hers, that he was getting immense satisfaction from this. She knew she was close to losing consciousness and just as her body went limp and her eyes starting flickering closed he let go, surprising her distant and foggy mind so much that her outstretched legs buckled and she fell to the ground gasping for air.

Amidst the new pain in her chest, her still clouded vision, her sore, stiff legs and the feeling of being literally sick to her stomach over everything that had happened in the past few minutes, she vaguely saw him leaning over her again. She stiffened instantly when she felt his mouth next to her ear and his hot breath ghost over her skin, all weariness forgotten as the sick feeling redoubled and assaulted her viciously; making her very glad she had missed lunch. Mentally preparing for the worst and knowing that her idea of 'the worst' was probably no where near as bad as his, she breathed in sharply when she heard his low rasping voice, threateningly slow and quiet, directly in her ear.

'Honey, I'm home.' He said sadistically with a grin before straightening and leaving the room with a low chuckle as Sakura began to shake uncontrollably and a single tear escaped her, sliding down her cheek and stinging when it made its way across the bruises blossoming on her chin and down her neck.

Drawing her knees up to her chest and curling into a ball, she absently reached out to the small pile of clothes that she had tripped on earlier and using them as a pillow she lay down in a ball in the corner of her room, shaking miserably and unable to form proper thoughts. As her breathing calmed and her panic and pure fear gave way to utter and complete hopelessness and an aching feeling that seemed to surround her completely, she raised her eyes slowly, scanning her floor and viewing her room from an angle.

Her vision already dimming as another wave of dizziness and exhaustion washed over her, she spotted a small patch of bright yellow amidst the clothes and wood splinters strewn around her room and using the last of her energy to focus her eyes on it she saw that it was the daisy she had picked earlier, evidently falling from her hair during the fight… or frenzied attempt at escape.

Forgetting about all else and finally giving in to the inexorable pull of sleep, her last thought was of the daisy and of how much it looked like a star, such a bright yellow amidst all of the darkness, the only piece of beauty and comfort, the only symbol of happiness and hope left in the shattered world that Sakura's bedroom… that her life had just become.

'Yes,' he thought as he walked into the kitchen and began pillaging the cupboards and fridge for food, still chuckling softly to himself, 'I will do the same with this one…'

'I will break her.'

okie dokey... an adult and still saying okie dokey... oh well lol, anyway, thanks to everyone who is still with this story, who is just starting to read this story and who have inspired this story :) - please know that it will get better!!!... i mean it'll get a bit worse too but eventually it will get better :) --- please review and let me know what u think, you know how motivational and important it is and how much it delights any writer :)

Have fun and thanks for reading :)