I realize it takes so long to get these up..
And I'm sorry for that.
Well, I hope you like this chapter..
Read and review..
And I'll try to get the next one up sooner!

Chapter Sixteen:
The Face Inside

"And I've lost who I am and I can't understand why my heart is so broken, rejecting your love."

The room was screaming at her. It's walls were howling bloody words of pain, anxiety, and sorrow, but she couldn't make out any of them. The voices in her mind were too loud and too jumbled, yet there was silence filling her to the brink of insanity, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Sakura walked slowly and painfully through Tsunade's large office, taking tiny steps to her desk, where on its shiny wooden surface was a beautiful tall glass vase, teeming with bright yellow and orange flowers of many kinds. They looked like flowers picked from the Eternity Garden. Flowers Sakura had once found so beautiful.

After walking like a zombie through the empty and grieving village, Sakura had found herself at her masters office. Or what use to be her office.

It was hours later and the sky was a dark pale blue with all the invisible clouds hiding the stars. It was late and Sakura was tired. She was tired mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Upon reaching the desk, Sakura shivered. The clock hanging on the wall to the right of her chimed an eerie melody, indicating it was midnight.

A day until Sakura's birthday.

She slowly turned the vase and found a white slip of paper with pink designs on it. It was addressed to Sakura, and as she read it, her eyes burned, but she could not cry. Were all her tears were dried out?

-

Sakura,

I wasn't sure what to give you, considering you've given me so much.

But I hope you know I've given you my blessing, my appreciation, and my pride.

And that's more than I could give anybody else.

Tsunade.

-

In an unconscious rage, she picked up the glass vase, took a step to the right of the desk, and dropped it. The glass, fragile enough, shattered into a million tiny pieces at Sakura's feet, and she stared at it blankly, watching water bleed all over the floor and soak up the white note. Tsunade must have had somebody put this here for Sakura. The last thing she had left of Tsunade. And she wanted to get rid of it.

This doesn't make any sense.

She slowly got onto her knee's, feeling the sharp pieces of glass sink into her cold flesh. The pain wasn't enough to wake her up from the unbearable nightmare. It just wasn't.

Lady Tsunade, how could you just go and leave me all alone like this?

This time, she felt a few tears escape her pale green eyes as she rested both her palms on the floor, taking in more shards of broken glass. She felt the warm liquid, blood, seep from her skin, and she took a deep breath, smelling insanity ooze from within her.

How could you do this to me? How could you go and leave me all alone? Not you, too...Lady Tsunade. Why would you do this?

Her eyes found a larger piece of glass mixed in with the smaller ones and she very slowly and timidly brought her hand over to grasp it. She grabbed hold of it and squeezed it gently, causing the blood from her hand to flow faster. Taking another deep breath, she brought it up to eye level, staring at it with an intensity like a fire burning through a dry forest.

I don't want to be alone anymore.

After a few seconds of deliberating, she closed her eyes and cleared her mind, feeling numb and out of touch with herself...out of touch with reality. In one swift movement, she turned the glass to the sharpest, deadliest point, and thrust it toward her vulnerable neck. She felt a sharp, intense pain creep around her neck and instantly felt her senses slip away as she opened her eyes and saw everything blurring into darkness. The glass piece fell to the floor with the others, and she was unconscious before she could even tell if she had fallen into the other shards.

-

"Take care of everything, got it? One screw up, and I'll have your heads." Tsunade winked at Kakashi as he and Kurenai stood on either side of a pouty Kiako.

"Yes, Lady Tsunade." Kurenai nodded.

"Stop looking so grim...I'll only be gone a couple of days." Tsunade groaned. "And don't forget...nine days until-"

"Yeah...yeah...don't worry. We'd never forget that." Kakashi moaned.

-

Kakashi sighed, walking into the waiting room. Eight days had passed already. Eight days ago Tsunade had left, and told Kakashi not to forget about Sakura's birthday. And he felt miserable, not just for the situation, but also for her. How did this happen on somebody's birthday? Sakura's none-the-less. No way could there be a god for something this incredibly horrible to happen.

"Get some sleep."

Kakashi looked up from the white floor to see Taru slouching on the dark purple couch. His body position looked as if he were comfortable, but his tense shoulders and wide eyes gave him away. He was tired and nervous, but most of all, he looked terrified underneath it all.

Letting out a sarcastic and quiet laugh, Kakashi turned and started walking toward the exit.

"I think you should go get some sleep. It's already past midnight. Naruto went home with Sasuke. Why are you still even here?" His low tone reached Taru, who sat up and leaned into his knee's,

After a long pause, Taru spoke firmly. "Kalei." His tired and dull eyes rested on Kakashi, who was glancing over his shoulder at the brown haired boy. "Kalei's still here. I'm waiting for her to wake up."

Kakashi nodded and turned around. "Alright. I'm going to go check on Kiako then." He started walking to the door and Taru rubbed his hand roughly over his face, turning his head toward the floor.

This didn't seem right at all. He knew it wasn't, but he never thought it would feel this so completely...

"Excuse me."

A nurse walked into the waiting room, which was empty except for Taru, and called to him. He glanced at the clock, not even realizing it had been a whole twenty minutes since Kakashi had left the room.

"Miss Hitsuchi is ready for visitors. That's who you're waiting for, right? Would you like to come see her?"

Taru swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes, thanks."

The nurse nodded and turned to walk down the hallway. In an instant, Taru was behind her, feeling fidgety but suddenly flooded with relief. After what seemed like forever of walking, they reached an open door and the nurse turned to Taru and bowed. She then turned back toward the waiting room and walked off, leaving him to see Kalei alone.

He took three deep breaths and walked into the doorway, spotting Kalei facing away from him and soaking wet with a white towel wrapped around her tan, slim body.

It took him a moment to remember how to speak.

"Wow." Came his low, rigid tone.

Kalei brought her hair to her right side and rung it out, causing droplets to fall on the floor beside her unmade bed. The bathroom door to her left was still open and Taru could see the light through the doorway. She had clearly just showered but how long had she actually been awake?

"Yeah, wow." She replied solemnly. She was so quiet he could barely catch her words.

"You're okay?" He spat instantly, the words rushed and showing all his inner relief. He took a few steps into the doorway and sighed so heavily his shoulder heaved up and then down. He then watched Kalei as she turned around slowly. When her eyes met his, his heart stopped.

There was something in her eyes that he hadn't seen in what seemed like forever.

Tears.

Not falling down her red cheeks...her cheeks that looked like they were filling with life. Just pools of sadness cradled in her dark, mysterious eyes.

"I'm okay." She whispered. She dropped her towel and turned toward her bed, where her clothes were folded neatly. Taru, seeming completely unaffected by her being naked, took another step toward her and ran his hand through his dark, long hair.

"When's your interrogation?"

"Had it already."

His eyes widened at her quick, monotone response. "Really? How long have you been awake?"

Kalei slipped on her underwear and bra and glanced over her shoulder at Taru. "A while." She then turned her attention back to her clothes.

Taru frowned. "Okay...well, what did they all ask you?"

Quickly, and gracefully, she slipped on a white turtle neck and black pants, emphasizing her skinny figure. The silver heart pendant that Kiako had been wearing earlier was draped beautifully around her neck.

"When did you put this on me?" She asked quietly, running her slender fingers over the emblem.

"Right when I found you."

"I see."

"What did the ANBU want to know?"

"Just what happened."

Taru perked at eyebrow at her as she ran her fingers through her wet hair. She walked to the bathroom, turned off the light, and turned to Taru, now giving him her full attention.

"What did happen?" Taru asked, now hushing his voice. Kalei glanced at the doorway and then at Taru. After taking two steps toward him, she narrowed her eyes. She was now only about two feet from him and he could smell a different scent to her. It was a mix of peaches and cinnamon, and it seemed to smell sweet and spicy all in one. Kind of like Kalei's attitude in general.

"We were in the middle of somewhere, I don't remember, and we were ambushed. There were easily twenty, no, thirty shinobi surrounding us. I saw Pein and Konan, not Toby, a.k.a. Madara, but I didn't get a good look. They were in the shadows." Taru watched her eyes intently as she spoke very matter-of-factly. "Next thing I knew, they attacked Tsunade and I. I was caught, knocked unconscious, and the rest is a blur."

After a long moment of silence, Taru nodded, a stoic expression taking over his face.

This is wrong.

"That's what you say if anyone asks." Kalei whispered more dangerously and Taru nodded once more, feeling a tingly sensation creep over his skin. Is this what evil felt like, or maybe the plain flat out guilt...to an unbelievable extent?

"Kakashi's with your sister. Naruto's with Sasuke. Grandma Tsunade's body is already being...taken care of." He choked on the last part and Kalei nodded. "But...you're okay? When my team and I were sent out to look for you and Tsunade..all I could think about-" He repeated quietly, choking on the end of his words.

After a moment, Kalei smiled faintly and placed her hand on his cheek. Her cold skin made him shiver. "Am I ever okay?" Her eyes bore into his as he opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He turned his cheek into her hand and groaned. "It will be okay soon, I promise you." Her smile faded and so did her soothing tone. She gently patted his cheek and turned to walk away from him as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned to watch her walk away and she glanced over her shoulder at the doorway.

"Thanks for everything." She wasn't quite smiling, but her face had more emotion. Taru, on the other hand, smiled back, his mischievous smile, only this time there was a tame hint to it, and nodded.

"Anytime, Kalei."

Her eyelids felt unnaturally heavy, and her stomach was flipping, revealing a sick feeling deep inside her, this making her dizzy and nauseous. She attempted to twist her arms and legs into motion, but felt weak. Realizing she was on something soft and warm, she slowly peeled her eyes open. After being successful at that, she blinked a few times to clear her blurry, sleepy vision.

She was...in her room? It was dark and her eyes weren't quite adjusted, but she could tell from the feel of her bed, the scent of her sheets and the window on the wall to the left of her. She tried to sit up quickly, a bit in shock, but felt a sudden numbness creep over her and she fell onto her back once more. Letting out a soft groan, she cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and halted herself up onto her left elbow to glance around and make sure she was in her room. A tiny, dim light was coming through her half-open door and it illuminated something odd in her room.

She raised both her eyebrows curiously as she noticed Suigetsu and Karin sprawled on the floor with one blanket between them. Well, not quite between them. Suigetsu had it draped over his body while Karin had both her arms wrapped around herself loosely. And they were asleep. Their breaths were the only thing that could be heard in the room, and Sakura stared at them for a moment, unable to clearly process why they were sleeping...on her floor.

She couldn't even pinpoint what she was feeling right now. Curiosity? Maybe. Anger? Somewhat. Numb? Completely. Sad? Yes.

Suddenly, everything started to come back to her, making an intense shiver of terror dance down her spine. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The terrible stinging feeling was there behind her eyes, but they wouldn't tear up. She had cried all her tears, clearly. There was nothing else to do.

And then everything else was coming back to her, too...and then all she really wanted to know was...

...why wasn't she dead?

She clearly remembered charging that shard of glass toward her neck so how come-

Her eyes shot to the two sleeping freaks on her floor and she ground her teeth together, feeling suddenly and incomprehensibly angry.

So that pain in my neck wasn't the glass. It was one of those two taking a shot at a pressure point.

All the thinking made her head start to throb so she took a few more deep breaths and slowly got onto her feet, feeling stiff and rather nauseous. She stumbled two steps to the foot of her bed toward her closet to grab some clothes, when she looked down and realized she was in new clothes; pink shorts that hugged her thighs and a long sleeve white shirt.

Ugh.

Karin must have changed her.

How long had she been sleeping?

"You're awake. You can sleep more if you'd like."

Sakura slowly turned her body to face Suigetsu, who was cooing to her in a whisper. One eye was open and he had his body slightly turned away from her, as if he were still extremely sleepy.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered back, as equally groggy. Every joint was sore, every muscle was tight. Every swallow hurt and every heart beat stung.

Suigetsu slowly sat up, pushing the blanket to the side of him. Karin continued to sleep, letting out muffled snores.

"We stayed with you. I tried to stay awake but," He glanced at Karin and then back at Sakura, shrugging and grinning slightly, "we ended up crashing."

"How long was I asleep?" Sakura asked immediately, slowly making her way to the door. Her steps were robotic, and Suigetsu could tell she was tense. It had to be from the tragic news. Her body shut down; it couldn't take anymore.

"Maybe you should lie down-"

"How long?" Sakura cut him off, reaching the door and putting her hand on it to steady her. She turned around to face him and rested her back on the door, her green eyes piercing his.

"Maybe twenty some hours. It's been a whole day, Sakura."

Without warning, when Sakura tired to take a deep breath, it caught in her throat, making her try to gasp for more breaths. Her back slowly slid down the door and she clutched onto her shirt, trying to breath.

"Oh god..." She cried under her breath. Suigetsu immediately jumped up and over Karin, waking her, to crouch by Sakura's side.

Karin sat up and rubbed her eyes, assesing the situation. "She okay?"

"So...Lady Tsunade...it wasn't a dream...she's dead...and she's probably already being buried...?" The breaths came harder and Suigetsu pulled her hand off her shirt and pulled her into him, squeezing her head to his chest.

"For the love of God, will you breathe?" His snarled, with more worry than annoyance. Karin shifted to get a better look at Sakura. "I don't know what they are doing as far as any burial goes, but I do know it's been a whole day and you need to get yourself together and go make arrangements with that Shizune woman." He hissed again, feeling Sakura slowly, and rigidly, start catching breaths. He heard her grunt furiously into his chest, trying to completely regain composure.

"A whole day..." She croaked, her voice harsh from gasping. "You still haven't explained...why you're here."

"Why else?" Karin murmured under her breath with clear resentment. "Sasuke wanted us to make sure you'd be okay."

Sakura's eyes widened and she pried herself away from Suigetsu's grip, feeling able to breathe now.

"Where's Sasuke?" She asked, turning her attention to Suigetsu.

"Not sure. I think with Naruto." He answered.

A pause.

"How's Naruto?"

"How would I know?" He asked calmly, being careful not to upset her.

She nodded and sighed, getting to her feet. It hurt, but she managed, and Suigetsu and Karin stood up right after her.

She didn't feel strong, she didn't feel normal, and she didn't feel complete. But she had to hold herself together at least for a couple more hours until she could lock herself up inside her own house without anybody interfering her grieving.

To mourn in agony; that was the only birthday present she wanted.

And oh, what a birthday she was having!

Sasuke solemnly walked through the streets of Konoha. They once looked so familiar. Now they were desolate and dead, grieving with pain nobody here had felt in a long time. He didn't really know what to feel, so he shut it out of his mind. Better to feel nothing than to feel something in this situation.

He had just left Naruto at the city hall with Shizune and Kakashi and now all he wanted was to walk around and loathe this place normally, as if nothing had ever disturbed its placid aura.

In the midst of his thoughts, he felt a raindrop hit his cheek and he stopped to glance up at the dark, pale sky. Without warning, something made him feel severely uncomfortable; a bad feeling overcame him, as if something horrible were about to happen. He swallowed hard and took a few more steps.

He was walking by an old deserted building toward the end of town. It's grey concrete was chipped and cracked and screamed of poor abandonment. When he reached the end of the building there was nothing but grass and patches of dirt and a long stretch of lonely land that reached over until you came to the border of the village.

Upon reaching the end of the building, he slowed and glanced around it, surprisingly catching something off in the distance. Maybe he was simply seeing things, for the rain had picked up to a steady fall, but after focusing his eyes, he noticed two people off in the distance. One person was on his or her knees with their right arm outstretched to the sky and the other person was simply standing about five feet in front of the other person looking down at them.

After observation, Sasuke recognized the people.

Taru, in baggy brown pants and a dark green sweatshirt with the Konoha emblem on the front, was staring down almost disgustedly at Kalei, who was in a strapless black dress that reached her knees and became loose right at her hips. She had on long black gloves that reached past her elbows and her right hand was grasping at something in the air. Her black hair was matted straight down her back, for her head was tilted up toward the sky.

Sasuke felt a shiver run down his back at the awkward scene and he activated his sharingan to get a better look. A sharp pain trembled through his skull and he flinched, slowly pushing it away from his thoughts.

Taru's eyes looked pained and focused and Kalei's eyes were squinting, her teeth clenched tight and lips curled as if she were in the utmost agony. And her hand swayed slightly; her fingers curled and her wrist twisted as if searching for something in the sky. The rain poured around both of them and then Sasuke caught a glimpse of something truly disturbing and completely atypical.

Among the raindrops painting Kalei's face, he noticed a tear fall from her tightly closed eye...only...the teardrop looked red from where Sasuke was standing. A brilliant red that quickly shot down her cheek and then was washed away by the rain.

Suddenly, she opened her eyes and he noticed her chest heave as if in need of air, and he quickly turned and slid over a step so his back was against the rough concrete wall. Out of sight.

He didn't want to be seen watching them. Something looked wrong right now and he wasn't sure what his excuse would be for spying. His eyes turned from a deadly red back to a dark onyx and he shuddered, feeling a sensation of relief melt through him. His head still throbbed but it was dull and ignorable.

Sasuke didn't normally feel like this, so he felt a surge of uneasiness.

Something was going on with Kalei. And Taru must be involved.

Sasuke focused his eyes on the wet ground in front of him. His stare was intense and his breathing was heavy...until out of nowhere a single cherry blossom petal fluttered in front of him. His eyes locked on it and after a moment, he brought his hand out and caught it in the blink of an eye.

There are no cherry blossom trees around here...

He stared at his closed fist and then after a second or two, opened it to reveal his hand was empty. There was no cherry blossom petal in his hand.

His eyes searched the ground around him but it was nowhere to be found.

Great. I'm hallucinating.

Then, he swallowed hard...piecing his bad feelings together.

Sakura.

And something made him take off back toward town.

-

She sobbed loudly, cradling her head in her hands, comfortable in the fetal position, while Tsunade watched her. Just like a baby, Sakura was whining about Sasuke not coming back. But unlike a baby, it had been seven months, and everybody had expected Sasuke to be back by now.

"Sakura." Tsunade spoke slowly. Sakura's wailing continued. "Listen to me. This is no time to have a break down. You're suppose to go on a mission bright and early tomorrow."

Sakura's head shot up and the sight of her swollen, red eyes making Tsunade flinch. It's not like she was being too hard. She just needed Sakura focused.

"He's not coming back, is he? I mean, he'd be back by now. He's dead, isn't-"

"He is not!" Tsunade whispered harshly, looking around the room.

It was 2 in the morning and Sakura had come all the way down to the city hall to talk to Tsunade. She was wide awake with paper work, but irritable by it too, so the interruption from Sakura was not a pleasant surprise. However, when she heard Sakura's crying and listened to her worries..she couldn't help but sympathize and realized she needed to help Sakura. Everybody had felt a broken heart before.

"Then what?" Sakura choked, her words barely audible through the squeaking and deep breaths. "He isn't coming home? He doesn't want to be here?"

Tsunade sighed and crouched down to Sakura's level. She reached over to hold Sakura, but Sakura swatted her hands away and buried her head in her hands once more. This time, without giving Sakura any option, Tsunade used her strength to pull a reluctant Sakura into her arms.

"He's not dead, Sakura. Just believe he isn't dead." Tsunade whispered to her.

And she held Sakura until the morning, when she finally fell asleep. Tsunade called off the mission she was suppose to go on and she layed down beside Sakura, in the middle of her office, and fell asleep with her.

-

Sakura tightly shut her eyes against the memory fogging her thoughts. She could now feel the rain hitting her shoulders and the puddles of water she trudged through. Walking blindly through the streets of Konoha in the pouring rain...what better way to spend a birthday.

"Sakura."

Sasuke.

After registering the voice in her head, she slowly pried her heavy eyelids open and noticed Sasuke, ten feet from her, soaking wet and staring at her with a face she hadn't seen before. It was almost emotionless, except Sakura could notice the worry in his eyes and the way he held his body.

She just stared at him blankly, eyelids droopy and body slouched. She never said anything. Never moved.

"...Your birthday..."

Now her eyes slowly opened wide and her body started shivering. Suddenly pools of tears flooded her eyes and overflowed but nobody could tell. It was raining.

Sasuke...how did you...how did you know...

"How did you know...?" She whispered under her breath, dropping her head down so her wet hair fell in front of her. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head. Sasuke, obviously unable to hear her, took a step toward her.

"How did you know it was my birthday?" She whispered again to herself. Sasuke hadn't heard, but he noticed her knees suddenly give out and as she was almost about to fall to her knees, he ran to her side.

He used his speed and reached her before she had even started falling, and he caught her as she fell into him. And then the wailing started. She left both her arms and her side and buried her face into Sasuke's shirt. Her back shook and the rain drowned out most of her sobs, but they were loud, and Sasuke had never seen her cry this hard before.

But he was proud of her. She hadn't broken down in the hospital. She had held it this long, and that was good enough.

It was Sakura. Emotional Sakura. And he was always expecting her to cry.

It's okay Sakura. I'm here for you. My birthday present for you...is just to be with you right now...when you need someone most.

He slowly let himself rest onto his knees and he shifted Sakura so she was on her knees as well, only her knees were slanted to the left and she was leaning into him from her side. She turned her head to the left a bit and continued to cry. Continued to bawl uncontrollably.

Sasuke just held her, keeping his hands tight on her back so she knew he was keeping her safe. He wanted her to know he was there for her. She had somebody to count on.

He glanced down at her, kept a burst of pain rip through his skull and squinted his eyes. His vision became blurry but he shook it off. Then, as he brought his gaze back up, he noticed Kalei, two feet from him, standing tall in the rain.

He jumped involuntarily and immediately glared at her. It was instinct.

How did she just appear here? Is she that fast? And why didn't I notice her chalkra or hear her?

Then he relaxed his glare as he noticed her holding out a cherry blossom branch. Now confusion gripped him as he heart Kalei softly and gently call Sakura's name.

Sakura opened her eyes and turned her body to Kalei, hiccuping from the crying fit. Her eyes widened and focused on the cherry blossom branch.

-

Sakura had picked a small cherry blossom branch off a tree by the side of the road, and was twirling it around in her fingers. It made her feel happier for some reason...

Kalei's chest slowly moved back and forth, like she was just focusing on breathing. Her eyes watched the ruffling water being pelted by the raindrops, when all of a sudden she seen a sakura branch fall into the water in front of her. Her eyes slowly widened.

"You know, the rain's not so bad...once you get used to it." Sakura uttered delicately. She had tossed the sakura branch into the water, watching it get absorbed by the raindrops.

Sakura was completely caught daydreaming when Kalei thrust her hand in front of her, cherry blossom branch outstretched. Sakura eyed it curiously and then grabbed it gently, wondering why Kalei was giving it to her.

"Something so beautiful should not go to waste." Was her answer. Sakura held the flower as the petals slowly came off.

-

Sakura's eyes met Kalei and she felt her hand raise up to take the flower. Her fingers curled around the sakura branch and once she had a grip on it, she brought it down in front of her, her pale eyes never leaving Kalei's mysterious ones.

"Thank you." Sakura whispered.

Kalei nodded after a moment and turned to walk away. She had acted almost as if Sasuke wasn't even there. And this made him uneasy.

He turned his attention to Sakura to make sure she was okay. But the wailing had stopped...and now all she was doing was staring at Kalei like a kid stares at something new. Her eyes were wide and Kalei was the only thing in the world at that moment.

An hour and a half later, Kalei was at her house, showering.

She slipped on a black, long sleeve sweater and baggy white pants and let her wet hair fall all around her body.

She still felt dirty. Unclean. She couldn't wipe the blood from her skin.

Trying to push the past few days out of her mind, she walked down the hallway into her dark room, not turning the lights on. When she was a few feet in the door, she noticed her window was open, somebody sitting in it.

It was Sasuke.

She glanced at him and then turned her attention to her dresser to the left of her door.

"Hey." Sasuke said. His back was resting against the ledge, his knees were bent up and he was resting one arm across both of them while the arm closest to Kalei was resting beside him. He was on the opposite side of the room, right across from Kalei.

"Hey yourself." She replied, messing with something on the dresser. Sasuke couldn't see what she was doing, though his eyes had pretty much adjusted to the dark. She was in the way.

A moment of silence passed and Kalei started to feel uncomfortable, so she turned around and stared at Sasuke, only to notice him staring at his own feet. He noticed her turn around, but never moved his gaze.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Kalei asked, her words icy.

Sasuke glanced up at her and in that moment, Kalei felt all the feelings she had felt for Sasuke, and still felt, flare up inside of her. It was the way the moonlight slipped through the window and illuminated his body...his eyes...his face...

"For earlier...with Sakura?" He paused and Kalei sighed, realizing that all those feelings were worthless. What a joke. "Whatever you did, it helped. I finally got her home."

Kalei just stared at him and an awkward silence filled the room. Even Sasuke felt it...the feeling that there were things between them...a past they had left behind.

"Sure." Kalei responded in her monotone voice, turning back to her dresser. This time, Sasuke noticed her reach her hand over to a music box on the corner of the dresser. She rested her hand on top of it and then just stopped.

Was she waiting for him to leave?

"It's a shame, really." Kalei spoke again, not bothering to look at Sasuke or even turn to face him.

He listened to her and nodded, now turning his body so his back faced her, too, and his legs dangled outside the window.

"Yeah."

A pause.

"Glad you're okay." He said as he dropped out the window and out of sight.

Kalei just stood there for a minute or two, her heart pounding in her chest.

He's easily ignorable. Just ignore him.

She glanced over her shoulder and a wicked smirk crossed her lips.

I need him so...it's best to just ignore these feelings.

She turned her gaze back to the dresser and opened the music box with the hand that was resting on top of it. She reached inside it and pulled out a tiny glass vial filled with a crimson liquid. Inside the music box were two empty vials just like the one she was holding.

It was her secret.

It was her beginning and her end.

Taru stood outside her house, on the street, gazing at her home. It was two in the morning, so he wasn't expecting her to be awake...all the lights were off...but...

He wanted to talk to her. He wanted to tell her. He needed to tell her... They still weren't exactly on good terms but...

He sighed, shaking his head and cursing himself silently. He was being a stalker...this was ridiculous! What if Sakura saw him standing outside her house?!

He turned and started to walk down the street, feeling sad, confused, guilty, and so many other emotions he couldn't pinpoint.

Sitting up from laying down, Sakura glanced over the edge of her roof, watching Taru walk away. He had been standing outside her house for about ten minutes now and Sakura had quietly been watching him. She couldn't sleep, so she had spent the night on her roof thinking about everything.

And as she sat up, watching him walk away, she wanted so much to talk to him...

But something told her she should stay away.

Next Chapter

The End Is Beginning