27: Contact

The maidservants were beginning to get nervous.

Sakura had been locked in her room all morning, without coming down for breakfast. Midday was fast approaching, and there was still no sign of the noble girl.

To make matters even worse, the room she had confined herself to had been silent for hours, leaving the rest of the manor clueless as to what was occurring behind the closed door. Ginrei had noticed his granddaughter's absence and tapped on the door, attempting to persuade her to join them for the noon meal. After that had failed, Sojun had walked by a couple of times, a concerned look etched on his face. Even Byakuya had come by, knocking on her door and calling for her to come out.

There was no response from within, and Byakuya had walked away with a huff. And the servants were left to wait, hoping that she would emerge soon.

xXx

Sakura took a deep breath.

Then another.

And another.

Once she deemed herself relaxed enough, her eyes fluttered shut, blocking out the rest of the world behind closed lids. Retreating into the deepest recesses of her mind, she reached out, grasping futilely for the elusive spirit that lingered there.

"Kiriaiseika!"

A sweet scent wafted by, smelling faintly of cherry blossoms, and then disappeared.

"Kiriaiseika, where are you?"

The scent returned, stronger than before, but Sakura was unable to find the source. Opening her mind's eyes, she whirled around, searching for the cause of the aroma. But everything around her was hazy, clouded by a dark mist that shrouded her surroundings and confused her senses. Was that a flash of pink she saw?

The noble girl closed her eyes again, and then opened them. There was nothing pink, just that strange mist whirling around her. Taking a tentative step forward, she looked around again. What was this place anyway?

Sakura flapped her hands a bit, trying to wave away the fog, but it was completely unaffected. Thinking back to Sousuke, she struggled to remember everything he had told her about Jinzen. He had said something about a place inside her mind…or had he? She couldn't remember anymore. All she could recall was the gentle waves of his chestnut hair, those warm chocolate-brown eyes locking on her own, that pleasant, musky scent he had.

Speaking of which, that sweet smell had returned again while she had been immersed in her thoughts. This time though, another presence accompanied it, the same presence she had sensed a few times before in her attempts at Jinzen.

"Kiriaiseika?"

The presence shrunk away, the smell dissipating.

Sakura squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated on the presence, discovering that she could still sense it faintly in the distance…and above? "I know you're there, Kiriaiseika. Why don't you come out?"

The dark mist thinned out, and for a fraction of a second, Sakura thought she saw a strand of long pink hair. And then the fog swirled across her line of vision, obscuring the strand of hair from view.

But a moment later, a dark pink cherry blossom fluttered down, dancing in an invisible air current that didn't seem to be affecting her or the surrounding mist. Sakura reached out and caught the blossom, fingers curling around it protectively lest the breeze blow it away. "Kiriaiseika? Is…Is that you?"

There was a derisive snort.

And then…

What, am I worth talking to now?

A/N: What, an update from me? Shocking, I know. *hides*

Anyway, I'm thinking that updates might get a little better for this now. Maybe. I'm not making any promises though, although I have straightened out my plans considerably for this. At least, for now. But my plans tend to change on me. (Like my Mello fluff turned Gokudera angst. *sighs* Not only did I change the character, but my idea went from being about Death Note to being about Katekyo Hitman Reborn! *sighs again*)

So, I am going to (tentatively) say that this story is not on hiatus anymore. As for everything else, well...*hides again*