So, IM BACK and so sorry to have been gone for so long! Surprisingly, this chapter was pretty easy to write when I jumped back into it. Probably, because I had been mulling over it for weeks. Anyway, GO BACK AND READ THE FIRST TWO CHAPTERS. I have updated them.

I hope you enjoy!

Sakura opened her eyes the moment the light from her window gazed upon her. She turned herself around in her oversized bed and glanced at the clock sitting at her bedside. The metal clock was nearly silent as it's hand easily shifted to seven o'clock in the morning. Sakura sighed and slumped heavily into her plush pillow.

Yet, another sleepless night, she thought sadly. Ever since she had returned home, Sakura had been tossing and turning, her thoughts filled with Gray. She felt bad for the way she had left him at the gate of Fairy Hills and it kept her up all night, tossing and turning. She just couldn't seem to break his longing face from her vision, she could practically see it every time she closed her eyes.

Sakura quickly shook her head the moment the picture of his sad face returned to her. She had to distance herself now or she would never be able to handle herself in the future. Her teacher had always told her to never grow attached to things that would never stay forever. She would think after all these years she would understand that by now.

"Sakura," Her mentor chided, his only eye looking down at her in disapproval. "You have to hit the target before it goes away."

At the young age of seven, Sakura looked up at her grey haired mentor and whimpered. She turned away and stared at the creature only a few feet away from her, seemingly unsuspecting of the danger it was in. Her 'target' was a small rabbit, one that Sakura had seen and befriended whenever she returned to this area of the forest. The small animal would always return at the early hours of the day, sniffing and snuffling at Sakura until she gave up the treats she had for it. Sakura knew the thing only came around for food but she had come to adore it, nonetheless. Somehow, her mentor had caught it, like he had done many other creatures in the forest, for her daily target practice.

"Can't I go back to aiming at the bullseye on the tree?" She asked quietly. The man only stared at her, his dark eye boring into her with no emotion. Sakura waited for her response but after awhile of not receiving one, she returned her attention to the rabbit. It had gotten closer to her now, sniffing at Sakura as it waited patiently for it's daily snack.

"Hit it, Sakura."

The command was soft and gentle but Sakura flinched as if she had been hit. She didn't want to hit the poor animal, especially when it had done nothing wrong. It was her friend, the only thing that didn't call her names, or hit her when she made mistakes. She didn't know she was speaking out loud until her teacher had placed a hand on her shoulder.

"You're a mage of Sound, Sakura." He said, "You have no friends."

The realization hit Sakura like a bucket of cold water. Finally, someone had said and crushed all the life out of her in the process. That's right, she was a mage, and a mage of Sound, at that. They had a mission to complete and that meant no one could show emotion, no one could show weakness, and no one could have friends. Before she had even realized what she was doing, Sakura raised her hand and the kunai she gripped with it and swiftly threw in between the rabbit's eyes. The small animal instantly fell, not a noise leaving it as Sakura literally watched the life drain from his eyes.

Her teacher patted her head, a grim look on his masked face. "You can't grow attached anymore, Sakura. You only lose more people that way."

Sakura looked up at her mentor, her green eyes nearly as emotionless as his remaining eye. Her teacher stared down at her, brushed aside her tears, and turned away before she could see his own.

The sound of Sakura's alarm suddenly broke her from her reverie and she sighed roughly. Now, that she had returned to Magnolia Town, it was only right that she put in some work at the guild. Throwing back at her blankets and walking into her closet, Sakura set out to get ready for the day. When the fear of seeing Gray again nipped at her stomach, she chose to ignore it until the pain eased.

Unfortunately, it only grew worse when he became the first person she saw as she walked through Fairy Tail's doors. He was leaning on the side of the many pillars that lined itself throughout the building, almost as if he had been waiting for her. Sakura froze, worried as to how she was supposed to react in his presence. Just as she turned to face him, she noticed the boy was beginning to sway, his dark eyes narrowing with confusion. Sakura's fear instantly turned to worry as she reached out to him. A wave of fatigue suddenly hit her the second she moved.

Gray was quick to steady her. "This must be..." He said through gritted teeth.

Sakura tried to form the words with him but it felt as though all of her energy was being swept away. She didn't get a chance to see how other people were reacting before Gray fell, instantly dragging Sakura down with him as he went. One by one the Fairy Tail members began to fall or hunched over in their seats as they were dragged into a deep slumber. Glasses fell and eyes gently fell shut as the cause of it all ventured closer to their guild.

The only one that seemed capable of staying awake through it all was Makarov. The older man stifled a yawn to the sleep magic but managed to stay awake through it all. He watched with a small scowl as a figure appeared before him and his unsuspecting guild mates. The figure wore dark and torn robes that covered his body from head to toe. Even his eyes were difficult to see as his dark blue head gear cast a shadow over the top of his face. The man moved swiftly and elegantly over the sleeping mages until he stopped in front of the mission board in the back of the building. He seemed uninterested in the type of mission and what rank it was, choosing to grab a random sheet and walked away with it.

Makarov glared at the man as he laid the mission out in front of him. "Mystogun." He said in quiet greeting.

The other man, 'Mystogun', regarded him for a moment before sliding the paper closer to him. "I'm leaving."

Annoyed by his rude gesture, Makarov snapped. "Turn off your sleep magic!"

Any other member would have instantly moved into action at the guild master's request, but Mystogun didn't seem all that worried. He turned away, stepping over more members as he went, and counted down his departure. The closer he got to one, the lighter Makarov felt the sleep magic get lighter. Eventually, the spell had disappeared, taking Mystogun along with it.

Instantly, the sleeping mages began to awake, returning to their seats and fixing things that were moved out of place. They moved groggily as they grumbled to each other their discomfort.

"Geez, does he always have to use such strong sleep magic?" One mage grumbled.

Lucy gasped as she jumped awake, watching as the rest of her friends did the same. "That damn Mystogun..." The blonde quirked a brow at that, confusion written all over her face. It seemed the longer she stayed at Fairy Tail, the harder it became to understand what was 'normal' in this crazy guild.

Sakura sprung herself forward and into a sitting position the moment she gained consciousness. Her head was still groggy but at least something had cushioned her fall before she fell asleep. She looked down to inspect her 'cushion' when she realized she was sitting directly in Gray's lap, who had chosen at the very moment to suddenly go shirtless. The boy was still waking up, unaware of the flustered mage sitting on top of him.

"Ugh, was it Mystogun again?" The ice mage struggled to get a hold of himself.

"Gray." Dark eyes looked up at the sound of his name being growled. He blanched at the sight of Sakura sitting on top of him, porcelain face blushing a tomato red. He instantly raised his hands away before she could possibly accuse him of doing anything perverted.

"I promise you I only caught you before you cou-"

Gray stopped himself mid-sentence. Sakura's glasses were off, he noticed. There was no reasoning with her now. He only had one fleeting moment as Sakura grabbed him by his shoulders, her grip unbearably strong as she lifted him up and over her shoulder. The ice mage went spiraling into the bar, just barely missing Mirajane standing behind it. Sakura faintly heard Happy calling another K.O. in the distance as she fixed her glasses.

"How dare you try to cop of feel!" She mumbled under her breath. "Trying to use Mystogan as an excuse."

There was that name again, Lucy thought slightly irritably. "Who is Mystogun?"

Leon, who hadn't been too far from Lucy was first to speak up. "He's practically one of the strongest mages of Fairy Tail. He's in line for possibly being the strongest mage we have here.'

There was silence as the Stellar mage looked up in surprise towards Leon. The man could barely say two words to her without breaking into a sweat. Yet, here he was speaking to her so nonchalantly. If only for a second. The moment he realized who he was talking to, the spikey haired teen widened the amount of distance in between them. Lucy didn't seem to notice, she was more surprised that she had just witness one of Fairy Tail's strongest mages at work.

Sakura picked up from where he had left off. "He doesn't like for us to see him, for some reason. So he puts us to sleep in order to grab a job off the board."

"All that because he doesn't want to be seen?!"

The pink haired mage shrugged. "Makarov-sama is the only one who has seen his face, apparently."

"No. I've seen it too." A voice pierced through the quiet guild. All eyes turned their attention to a spikey haired blonde leaning against the railing of the second floor. His rock music could be heard despite his distance, but that didn't seem to deter him from hearing their conversation.

A few members gave a surprised murmur. "Since when were you hear, Luxus?"

Lucy looked up to Sakura for more information but it was Gray that answer her. The ice mage suddenly appearing at her side. "That's also a candidate for Fairy Tail's strongest."

Lucy felt herself get flustered with all of these new and powerful members she was suddenly meeting. She knew Fairy Tail was popular and strong but she didn't think they would be this overwhelming. Though not many of the other members seemed all too impressed by it. The people Lucy seemed to affiliate herself with the most looked as if they had no care in the world who was the strongest. Well, all except for Natsu.

"Luxus! Get down here and fight me, you bastard!" He shouted.

"But you just lost to Erza." Someone pointed out.

"Yeah, and you just got a draw to Sakura! Don't get too cocky, Natsu."

"SHUT UP!"

Luxus laughed. "They're right, Natsu. If you can't beat some low class mages like them, what makes you think you can beat me?"

The temperature in the room suddenly dropped as the red and pink haired mage stepped a little closer to the stairs Luxus was leaning on. They obviously were more than a little bit upset about Luxus' accusations. Gray grabbed a hold of each of their hands, stopping them before they could get too close.

"Hey, calm down." He mumbled, the last thing they needed was to destroy the entire guild with such a petty little fight.

"Why don't you come on up here?" Luxus taunted. "All three of you should come up here and face me now if you really think you can handle me."

Natsu was the first to spring into movement. He jumped nearly a few feet away from reaching Luxus when a large hand reached out and slammed like a bug into the floor. The oversized hand stretched itself from the bar area, where it was connected to a glaring Makarov.

"Knock it off, Natsu." He said. "You know you're not allowed up there."

"The second floor?" Lucy looked up in confusion. "What's wrong with going up there?"

"The second floor is for S-class mages only." Gray said. "Of course, Erza can go up there but people like us have to stay here where rank isn't an issue."

The blonde gave a loud laugh from his position above everyone else. "You call yourselves mages of Fairy Tail. Don't make me laugh! None of you can compare to me. Not even the old man!"

And there he goes again, blathering off at the mouth like he usually does, Sakura thought with a shake of her head, which didn't go unnoticed by the Stellar mage.

Lucy can tell from the roll of the other member's eyes and Makarov's silence that this is a recurring thing in this guild. Now she sees why Gray and the others hadn't been all too happy to see Luxus. He seemed like a complete and utter jerk, if you asked her.

By the time things managed to cool down around the guild, Sakura had already been long gone, her new mission tucked away in her hand. If she was lucky, she would be able to finish the job earlier than expected and take a much needed rest. Her eyes grew cold as she watched the moon begin to glow in it's place in the sky.

"Remember Sakura, you don't have very long to complete this mission." Her teacher had warned her. "Orochimaru, won't wait much longer"

The pink haired girl nodded, grabbing her bag and swinging it over her shoulder. She was ready to for her mission yet again, though she was sad to be leaving her teacher once more. She knew he was lonely, locked away in the imprisonment she had been born in, but there was nothing she could do. Until she completed the mission, they both would be prisoners to this awful village.

"Hey," Her teacher grabbed her by the chin and lifted it so she was looking at him. "Don't rush things for my sake. I'm not going anywhere."

Liar.

Sakura could tell from the look in his eye. The longer she stayed away, the worse he seemed to become. The last time she saw him he had a rounder but firm face. Although he was constantly fighting and working, he seemed healthy. But now, after nearly three years of being away, he looked thinner and there were bags under his eye. Her heart clenched at the sight of him and he knew from her silence that his lies wouldn't do much for her anymore. He turned her by her shoulder and gathered her into his arms.

"I promise you, Sakura." He said. "Everything will be alright."

"You promise?" She looked up at him, hope burning in her eyes. He nodded at her and for the first time, his smile actually seemed genuine.

"Wait for me, sensei." Sakura whispered to herself and continued her stroll home. She stopped, however, when she felt a presence not too far away. She turned to her left, were the lone river streamed beside her but still didn't see anyone. Then she turned to her right, just barely coming across a lone and very dark alleyway. She continued to walk, although she eyed the alley way warily as she passed it.

Bang!

The sound of something falling behind her made her flinch and jump into action. Her blue book of the Nekomata instantly appeared in her hands ready for her to attack until she realized who her guest was. Gray, the ice mage, looked up at her in embarrassment at being caught. The sound of the loud noise was him bumping into one of the many merchant tables that littered this street's path.

"Gray!"

"Yo." He said sheepishly, "I wasn't following you honest."

Sakura glared at him with a roll of her eyes but didn't say anything. Of course, he wasn't following her. Especially when his apartment was in the opposite direction of Fairy Hills. Unaware of her mental bashing, Gray took notice to the Grimoire in her hand.

"What's with the grimoire?" He asked, with a scowl.

Sakura fought the flinch she felt coming on and twisted herself from facing him. All at once, she continued to move and returned her book safely in the confides of her Requip. "It's none of your business."

Gray easily caught up to her, cutting her off with a shout. "It is my business!" Sakura stood frozen as she looked up at him. "You've been acting really strange lately, Sakura. Don't think I haven't noticed."

"Noticed what?" She shouted back.

"You're hiding something, aren't you?!"

Sakura was ready to respond when the eerie feeling she had felt earlier had returned ten fold. She stopped whatever she was going to say to scowl in the direction it was coming from. It felt strange to make the accusation, but looked as though the shadows of the alley had suddenly gotten darker. What was going on?

"What are you looking at?" Gray asked, turning to look down the same alley, but Sakura quickly stepped in his line of vision.

"Nothing."

Gray narrowed his dark eyes at her. "What are you hiding? What's ov-"

The ice mage stopped when he noticed something moving from the corner of his eye. On the other side of the river was Natsu and Happy, giggling to themselves as they ran down the street. It wouldn't have been strange to Gray if he didn't happen to know they were going in the direction of Lucy's place, especially when he knew she was still at the party. Gray continued to glare at the two when he spotted something flapping in Happy's tiny paws. It looked like a sheet of paper.

Something cold and dreadful pooled in Gray's gut as he realized what it was in his hand. "Those idiots!" He grumbled, taking off after them.

"What are you doing?" Sakura called after him.

"Those idiots must have stolen an S-Class job from the guild."

"What?!"

Gray motioned for her to follow. "We have to stop them! Come on!"

Sakura watched as the ice mage ran off but turned her attention back to the alley way. The darkness she had seemed to eased down since she last looked but that was probably her imagination.

"Are you coming?" Gray called after her, breaking her from her trance. Reluctantly she nodded and followed Gray's lead through the city. Unaware of the shadow watching from behind her.

Phew! Finished!

So sorry for that wait, I swear I will try harder to update a lot faster. But with school and practice, I might only be able to update every one or two weeks. So please be patient with me. I promise I wont disappear again like before. Thank you to all those that reviewed before and put up with my crap.

Please Review!