(A\N: I'm sorry this was so late...but I hope you enjoy it! You guys don't want to hear my rant anyay. :D)

Kakashi whirled to glare at Deidara, his Sharingan blazing. "You! Do you have any idea what will happen to her now?"

"Don't, Kakashi-sensei." Sakura whispered, and both men turned to look at her. She was clenching her fists tightly, and she was shaking a bit. But she merely looked up, tears swimming in her eyes but never falling. "It doesn't matter."

"What do you mean? Of course it matters Sakura—"

"By the time Sasuke and the others find a way to deliver my headband and their information to Konoha…Tsunade-shishou will already think I am dead."

Silence echoed in the clearing.

Chapter 15

Picking up the Pieces

"The man who throws a bomb is an artist, because he prefers a great moment to everything. He sees how much more valuable is one burst of blazing light, one peal of perfect thunder, than the mere common bodies of a few shapeless policemen. An artist disregards all governments, abolishes all conventions."

--Mr. Lucian Gregory from The Man Who was Thursday

The steady sound of her shaky inhalations was like a soothing metronome in the darkness. It was such a quiet sound—he had to strain his ears to hear it, even if she was only a few feet away. But he heard it. He wondered if he heard it only because he was trying to so desperately, or if because he knew that somehow, in some way, he had caused those tears.

He supposed that was true.

But at the same time…he knew it wasn't.

He frowned, giving a small huff as he turned over onto his side, his back facing her soft sobs. He scowled into the darkness. She had made her own decision. She had been the one to heal him and accompany him on his trip. She should have left him to die if she didn't want trouble. Yes…she'd brought this upon herself. He wasn't going to allow himself to feel guilty for something he didn't do!

Another shaky inhalation.

He gritted his teeth before turning onto his back and then craning his neck, twisting to the side to look at her small figure—only to meet one cold gray eye and one dangerous crimson. He didn't flinch, even though he wanted to. Staring down Hatake Kakashi, the legendary Copycat ninja, was not something one did lightly, and Deidara was no exception.

Kakashi was lying on Sakura's other side, his arms wrapped around her slim figure. She was clutching him like a lifeline, still trembling even though she was unconscious, having cried herself to sleep hours before. Her face was buried in Kakashi's chest, but still he could hear her small whimpers. It was those kinds of moments, when she looked so small against Kakashi's broad figure, that he realized how young she was…like a little child…like the innocent little angel he'd named her as.

Deidara broke eye contact with the seasoned shinobi first and looked up at the ceiling, remaining on his back. He wouldn't give the older man the pleasure of scaring him away, so he wouldn't turn around completely. He wasn't a coward…and he sure as hell wasn't going to leave his back unprotected to a man like Kakashi. He'd butcher him with a kunai before he could so much as blink.

He'd thought Hatake was already asleep.

The uncomfortable, tense silence grew, but Deidara refused to buckle beneath it. He closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep. Tomorrow…he'd deal with that tomorrow. Today for today. Living like that was easier for him, and there was no point in worrying about what MIGHT happen when it was likely it wouldn't happen at all.

The hotel room was cramped, and it suddenly seemed much smaller. The air seemed thinner, and he opened his mouth to breathe in, feeling as if he were drowning.

They'd found the small town sometime during the night. Kakashi had placed a genjutsu over them, making them look like nothing more than a man and his two children, weary from travel. While they'd still been regarded with suspicion, they'd been given a room. The genjutsu hovered over them still, but Kakashi's cold eyes seemed to burn through them—burn through his bushy gray beard and large eyebrows and bulbous nose. It was like the second skin—that layered genjutsu that he knew Sakura could have done better—was peeling off layer by layer, even though he knew that it had been expertly placed and wouldn't come off until Kakashi released it.

Sakura hadn't been in her right mind to place the genjutsu over them. She'd been in a kind of daze ever since the Uchiha child had left them. Shock, he guessed. Shock over what? She hadn't expected the brat to go back with her and love her, did she? No…what was it then?

Surely she couldn't be so shocked over the loss of her village? That was preposterous. Why would any shinobi love their village so much? It was stupid to be loyal to anyone, especially a bunch of hypocritical bastard clan lords and kages. Deidara's frown deepened, and he glared at a discernable stain on the ceiling.

He wouldn't admit that secretly he was pleased with the turn of events. Sakura was an amusing person, and he didn't mind keeping her around—especially with the fact that she was a medic-nin and he tended to get injured quite frequently in his line of work. And she was cute too, which was always a bonus.

What he really could do without was Mr. Father-figure Hatake. What the hell was that man, her chaperone? He was a loyal Konoha shinobi, and as far as Deidara could tell, he hadn't defected from the village. But that meant that he would need to return soon to check in. But Kakashi had decided to travel with them, to protect Sakura now that she would no longer be able to return to Konohagakure.

Damn bastard, yeah!

And so now here they were…in a one person hotel room, with no plans for the next day and no idea what would happen to them. No doubt the Akatsuki thought Deidara was dead and would have replaced him by this time—che, I'm fuckin' irreplaceable, they'll never find someone good enough, yeah!—and that meant…that he was free too.

He blinked. He hadn't really dwelled on that since waking up from 'death'. All he'd thought about was revenge against the Uchiha brat.

Akatsuki thought he was dead. He…was free. He blinked again. He'd been forced into Akatuski by Uchiha Itachi, in that humiliating battle that had made him hate the Uchiha more than anyone else on the planet. He gritted his teeth in anger, before he forced himself to relax, his jaw aching with the effort.

There was no point in running. He couldn't hide from Akatsuki forever. They would spot him and he'd be punished for not returning sooner. Besides, they'd probably gone back for his ring—damn indestructible thing—and when they couldn't find it, they'd most likely know he was alive, or that someone else had it. In their search for it, they would find him.

"Akatsuki."

Deidara's visible eye narrowed as he turned his face a bit to glare at Kakashi. "My name is Deidara, yeah, get used to it. What do you want?"

"Talk softer." Kakashi snapped in a harsh whisper. "Sakura is sleeping."

"Che, whatever." But Deidara lowered his voice anyway.

After a moment of silence—during which Deidara wondered if he should say something or not—Kakashi spoke again.

"Tomorrow morning, Sakura and I are leaving. We part ways then."

Deidara went cold.

He suddenly sat up, blue eyes bright in the darkness. "What the hell, yeah?" It was a shout, and Sakura's eyes flew open—brilliant absinth that literally glowed in the semi-permeable shadows—and she sat up as well, grabbing the kunai she'd hidden beneath her pillow. She relaxed a second later, noticing that the only shinobi in sensing distance were herself, Deidara, and Kakashi. Her eyes darted from her sensei behind her, who had also sat up and had a hand on her shoulder, to Deidara, who was glaring intensely.

She opened her mouth to speak, looking like she was going to snap at the both of them for waking her, when her eyes glazed over and her shoulders slumped. Everything seemed to come back to her in that moment and she lifted a hand to her wet cheek. She brushed the tears away absently and whispered, "What were you two yelling about?"

"Tomorrow we're leaving."

"And?"

"Without him Sakura. You and I are going to Snow Country. We'll get in touch with the Hokage somehow and clear all of this up." When Kakashi mentioned Deidara, his eyes narrowed in disgust.

Sakura stiffened and her eyes flickered in confusion. "Kakashi-sensei what…but…?" The look fit her more than the lost, haunted visage he'd seen since their encounter with Uchiha Sasuke.

"There is no reason for us to travel with him, Sakura. He is an Akatsuki member and an enemy. Now that we no longer have a common goal, we do not need him."

"What do you mean 'no common goal'?" Sakura almost yelled as she turned to Kakashi, emerald eyes alight with confusion and indignation. Yes, she'd always looked best with that angry glint in her eyes… "Sasuke is still out there!"

"What are you talking about, Sakura?"

"He's dangerous, Kakashi-sensei. And we…" She swallowed. "Naruto wants him back and no matter what, we have to do something about him. Even if we have to kill him, we have to do something." He saw her close her eyes and her face twist in pain at the mention of killing Sasuke. It angered him a bit, that she still cared enough for the little twerp to not want to kill him.

"Well as you can see, our goals are the same, yeah." Deidara answered back smugly, smirking at Kakashi who glared from behind Sakura. "I want him dead, you want him dead. Let's just go kill the brat and then we'll all be happy and can go our separate ways, ne?"

"Why do you need our help?" Kakashi questioned harshly.

"Your dear Sakura-chan hasn't fully healed me. I can't fight him with my chakra like this and hope to win, yeah. And you two can't beat him either…I have the best chance, and that's with my full chakra and my clay."

Sakura bit her lip, glaring indignantly at Deidara. He knew it annoyed her that he'd said she had no chance. He had to admit…working with her, fighting together with her…had been exhilarating. They were like a well-oiled machine. They seemed to know each other's movements before they made them. Her destructive fists enthralled him, drew him in. That kind of explosive power in such delicate looking hands…if that wasn't a turn on for a man he didn't know what was. He coughed, turning his head to the side and glad for the darkness of the room.

"Let's talk about this later." Sakura finally muttered, and Deidara noticed that the dull look was back in her eyes—whether from sadness or fatigued he wasn't sure. "I want to sleep."

"Whatever, yeah." Deidara grunted. "You need all the beauty sleep you can get anyway."

"Bastard." She snapped, but it ended in a yawn and he watched her curl against her sensei once again, one arm resting on his hip while both of his drew her against him. He gave Deidara one last glare, one that stated they would talk about this more in the morning for sure, and then closed his own eyes, chin resting against Sakura's head.

Deidara knew Kakashi wouldn't sleep until he did, so…the man willed himself to fall into slumber, even as his hand tensed and his fingers curled around the dagger hidden in the sleeves of his shirt.

Tsunade wasn't quite sure what was going on, or what she was going to do, only that there were two three-foot stacks of files on her desk and half of them needed to be signed before the day was out.

Damn.

She rubbed her temple, feeling a stress headache begin to build behind her eyes. She felt as if she'd aged so much in the last month…she gave a small sigh—a wistful, depressed sound—and looked down at the current file she'd been reading.

Normally these things would be done by now, with both Sakura and Shizune helping her. But Shizune was working overtime at the hospital to make up for Sakura's absence, so Tsunade was left alone to her Hokage duties.

She'd always hated paperwork…but over the past week she'd learned to loathe it. She glared down at the paper, willing it to burst into flames just from the force of her glare. She finally reached out and grabbed her teacup from the corner of her desk and brought it to her lips. She took a seat and grimaced, forcing herself to drink.

Cold again…

The bitter herbs rested on her tongue and made her nose burn. She and Sakura had been working on the concoction together before her apprentice's disappearance. It was a stimulant, like soldier pills, but without the dangerous symptoms that came along with them. There were no side-effects that they knew of yet—unless dying from the sheer noxious taste counted—other than a small lag in energy a few days later and mild headaches. But compared to being bedridden for days on end after your body burned up all of its energy and chakra, the thing was a godsend. If only they could get it into a solid form…after all, you couldn't stop a battle to boil tea.

The thought of working alongside Sakura, laughing and joking and sifting through medical and botany journals, made a dull ache form in her chest. It was a feeling that never really left these days.

Will I continue to lose everyone that I care for? Is that my curse? She glared down at the file on her desk and clenched her fist.

I can't stand this!

Not only was Sakura gone, but Kakashi had gone missing, separated from his ANBU group in their search for Sakura. No one knew if he was dead or alive. The loss of their infamous copycat ninja and her apprentice was a harsh blow. Only her very trusted subordinates—and Sakura's nosy friends—knew about their absence. Otherwise, Tsunade knew Danzou would take full advantage of the situation.

"Hokage-sama."

She blinked, looking up as a young ANBU appeared in her doorway. She hadn't even heard him enter. She nodded at him, trying to put a name to the man behind the mask. He was an ANBU captain, and she tried to know her captains well enough to recognize them outside of her office. He was a fairly new one, if she remembered correctly. He'd been the captain of the team she'd sent to find Sakura.

A hawk mask…yes, he seemed so familiar… His hair, a deep chocolate brown that shown burgundy when the light hit it just right, was tied back in a ponytail. The soft sound of a bell chiming caught her attention. She blinked. It was attached to the end of the hair-tie, and when he moved, it continued its melody. It was a soft sound, almost discernable.

It clicked.

"Oh." Tsunade muttered, not realizing she'd said it aloud.

Haruno Kawanari…Sakura's cousin and fiancé.

Kawanari had always watched out for Sakura. Even now, Tsunade could feel an anxiousness in him. She had not wanted to take the ANBU team away from finding her apprentice to go on another mission. It had broken her heart to do so…but they couldn't afford to lose the ANBU team, especially not their greatest genjutsu and seal user, Kawanari. He was a prodigy in that sector and with the bands of Waterfall-nin that had been patrolling the area, it was impossible to continue the search. Besides, she was getting so much pressure from the citizen AND shinobi councils…Danzou was enjoying her frustration, and she wouldn't be surprised if he'd had a hand in Sakura's disappearance.

"Yes?" She finally questioned, seeing him standing ramrod straight in front of her. He seemed anxious to speak, but also reluctant. He'd only returned from his previous mission—the one she'd sent him to get him away from Sakura's retrieval—a few hours before, judging by the fresh bloodstains on his vest.

"I came to give you my report." He nodded his head and handed her a scroll. "Also Hokage-sama, I had wondered if you had gotten any word—" He stopped speaking as several chakra signatures appeared outside of the room and three masked ANBU burst into the door.

"Hokage-sama!"

"What is it?" Tsunade snapped irritably.

"This…we've just gotten word. This message was addressed to you from Tazuna, the famous architect in Wave country."

"Tazuna?" She remembered the man. He was famous as a bridge-builder in Mist, as well as most of the rest of the shinobi world. He'd also been the client on one of Team 7's first missions as Genin, if she remembered correctly… "Very well, let me see it." She took the scroll from him and opened it quickly. She scanned the few lines and time seemed to slow. The ANBU in the room watched her eyes widen in shock and the color leave her face.

The scroll fell from limp fingers.

"Hokage-sama!" All of the shinobi present rushed forward, unsure of what to do.

"She's…"

"Hokage-sama?" That was Kawanari.

"She's dead." Her voice was hollow and numb. "My apprentice is dead."

The genjutsu prodigy slowly slumped to his knees, the sound echoing in the silent office.

"Dammit Ero-sennin…I hate this!" Naruto punched the tree beside him in anger, and he welcomed the pain that blossomed in his hand, his knuckles tearing and bruising against the harsh bark.

Jiraiya gave a grunt of annoyance. "Listen Naruto, we can't get you anywhere near those Akatsuki, got it?"

"But then why am I here in the first place!?" Naruto growled out angrily.

"Because the best place to hide you is in plain sight." Jiraiya grumbled. "But that doesn't mean we're going to lead you straight to their leader."

Naruto glared down at the ground, but didn't push the issue anymore. "…hey Ero-sennin, have you found anything out about him yet?"

Jiraiya shook his head. "I've been unable to get into Rain without fear of detection. That barrier is too complex." There were so few people who would be able to make a barrier on that scale...he had no idea what could possibly be going on in Rain.

"I can't do anything." Naruto whispered. "I can't go into Rain and I…I can't even protect Sakura-chan. If I'm going to become Hokage one day I…I need to be able to at least protect the people that I love the most!"

Jiraiya's gaze followed him, and all he could do was place a hand on Naruto's shoulder and give it a gentle squeeze. "I promise Naruto, if Shikamaru and the others get any information on Sakura's whereabouts, we'll head there, consequences be damned."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock, before a bright smile appeared on his face. "Really? You mean it?"

Jiraiya ignored the small twinge of guilt that filled him, but it had been worth it to see Naruto's smile. "Yeah Naruto. We'll find her."

Sakura calmly ran her fingers through her tangled hair. She didn't have a brush with her, as she sat on the edge of the only bed in their small room. Kakashi had gone downstairs to checkout with the innkeeper and gather some supplies.

Deidara was taking a shower in the attached bathroom.

Sakura knew Kakashi was only a second away in case she needed him. Kakashi didn't trust Deidara at all—wise choice—and she knew he'd never leave her alone with the blonde Iwa-nin.

As she sat on the bed, a sharp pain blossomed in her chest and tears sprang up in her eyes. She covered her face with her hands and let out a small gasp, urging the tears away. This had been happening more and more lately.

Weakling.

Failure.

She really couldn't do anything…and now, the one thing she'd held onto, her one constant in life—Konoha, that village ALWAYS needed her, she was important there!—was gone now. She'd never be able to go back. She was either dead to them—the best option—or labeled a missing-nin, which was something she would never be able to stand.

To be thought a traitor by the village she loved so much…the pain in her chest intensified and she pressed a hand to her heart, clenching her eyes shut and gritting her teeth. She hated herself for being so emotional. She hated that she couldn't be stronger, especially at a time like this when all she could do was rely on herself—and Kakashi!, a part of her whispered fervently, We can always rely on Kakashi-sensei, he'll always be there for us!

But Sakura felt as if she was somehow cheating Kakashi. He was leaving Konoha for her. He was risking his own status as a Konoha shinobi in order to stay with her when she knew that he could easily return. In the beginning, right after Sasuke had left—Sasuke!—she'd told Kakashi to go back to Konoha and pretend he'd never seen her.

He'd merely said the line that made her chest ache even more.

"Those who betray their mission may be trash…but those who betray their teammates are worse than trash."

It hurt so badly…

What about Sasuke? He'd betrayed them. His revenge, his hatred and cruelty…she supposed she'd always been in denial as she'd searched for him. She'd always expected that after she and Naruto reasoned with him, they'd finally be able to bring him back and he'd be the same boy he'd always been. He was lost and confused and that was all.

But that wasn't the truth.

He wasn't lost…he was broken. He was shattered and she couldn't put all the pieces back together! He was broken beyond repair and he was a monster. She tugged on her hair painfully, feeling her scalp itch and sting.

She'd come to terms with it earlier in the morning, when Deidara and Kakashi had been asleep—or pretending to sleep—and she'd realized that Konoha really didn't need her at all. Maybe they never had needed her.

She just seemed to be a liability to everyone.

But she swore that now, now she would help Konoha even if they didn't need her, because she was still a loyal Konoha shinobi dammit! She would find Sasuke…and she would make sure he would never hurt Konoha again. He was a danger to them, in more ways than one. With the Sharingan he posed a threat, and now the only two Uchiha members still living were missing-nin. Also he was strong, horrifically strong. Sakura knew that if Sasuke had used the curse seal—that damnable curse seal that Orochimaru had placed upon him and Naruto had spoken of with such anger—that she and Deidara would have lost. Both of them had been lacking chakra and against someone like Sasuke…in order to defeat him they would have to be at their best.

"You're thinking too hard. Your brain is going to explode, yeah."

Sakura's head shot up at the sound of his voice and his breath against her ear. She shot backwards on the bed, and her knees caught on the end, causing her to fall onto her back with a small yelp. It wasn't loud, but she half expected Kakashi to come running up the stairs and barge into the room.

He didn't, and she realized that something must be horribly wrong.

Deidara was looming over her now, in nothing more than a towel hanging low on his hips. She swallowed, watching a droplet of water falling from his hair and travel down his chest, slipping down his abs and gathering in the small indention of his pelvic bone before slipping down—

And then he was leaning over her completely, arms on either side—oh god what was he holding the towel up with now!?!?!—and his face was inches from her own. His blue eyes were cold, but they burned with an intensity that made her go hot and cold at the same time.

She squirmed, and panic filled her, but at the same time she couldn't move or breathe.

"Sakura-tenshi…I thought I told you that I'd punish you for keeping things from me, yeah." He murmured dangerously, and his smirk grew. The water from his hair was dripping onto her shirt, soaking it. She barely felt it when a droplet hit her cheek.

"I…it was…don't give me that!" Sakura snapped back, trying to must up courage and failing miserably. "I don't have to explain myself to you!"

"Mmm…" Deidara's nose grazed her cheek. "Explanations aren't necessary…but a punishment is, yeah."

"Get away from me!" Sakura's voice rose an octave. Where the hell was Kakashi-sensei? He was within sensing distance which meant he had to be able to hear her!

"I may not be as good with genjutsu as you or your sensei yeah…but even I can put a good silencing jutsu on a room if I want to." And Deidara's smirk grew as the color drained from Sakura's face.

"S-stay away…" Sakura whispered, horror overcoming here. Oh god…he was going to kill her…or rape her. Or rape her and then kill her—or kill her and then rape her if he was really THAT sick and twisted.

Dammit, this is Deidara we're talking about! Sick and twisted is his middle name!

But at the same time, the thoughts were fleeting. Somewhere, deep inside, she felt like he wasn't going to hurt her. She knew it was stupid to think that, but her gut instincts had never been wrong before. She didn't scream or try to move, she just looked up at him and waited.

Like a deer in the headlights.

One of his hands traveled up her leg, and her skin felt sensitive and hot where his fingers had been. It was like he was branding her, and her inside squirmed. But her body warred with itself. She was afraid of him—she'd always be afraid she suspected, because this was Deidara and he was just as likely to blow her up as he was to kiss her.

"S…stop…" She managed to stutter out, because she felt too warm against the cold sheets.

His tongue darted out, licking her neck, and she almost squealed. She shifted beneath him uncomfortably—he was so wet and the water was soaking her through. His body stuck to her clothes and her clothes stuck to her like a second skin. The thin layer of cloth did nothing.

She jolted, as his hand skimmed the edge of her shirt before brushing underneath it. Her face flushed a bright red. "Hey! Stop that!"

He wouldn't do anything…he wouldn't…and why did it make her whole body tingle?

He chuckled against her neck. "We're not finished yet."

"We're finished alright! Get off now before I kick your ass!" She growled out, trying to get out from under him. "You bastard I'll—oh!" Her body arched as a strange sensation filled her. She let out a small gasp, face flushing a deeper red. One of her breasts was cupped in his palm as he ran lazy circles over the bra-covered nipple.

"Wh…what are you…stop…" She couldn't think, because all she could focus on was his nimble fingers and the small sparks of pleasure that traveled down her spine as he pinched her roughly. "Ah!"

Deidara smirked as he breathed in her scent, his nose trailing her jaw. He'd known she'd give in to him eventually…no one could fight him forever. They two of them had been dancing around each other and their physical attraction for too long. He was frustrated and all he wanted to do was fuck her senseless, consequences be damned.

After seeing her fight, after watching her explosive fists and her bright emerald eyes alight with righteous anger…he knew he wanted her. He was the type of person to seize what he wanted with no fear of repercussion. He lived for the day and that was all that mattered.

God this was frustrating…he almost growled against her skin. Part of him—a small part—was urging him away. This was dangerous she was dangerous and he couldn't afford to become emotionally attached to this slip of a girl.

But he'd had an epiphany the night before.

She was dead to Konoha. That meant…she had no obligations to the village anymore. She didn't need to worry about them coming for her because they truly believed she was dead. He'd always kept her around because she was useful to him, knowing that he could kill her anytime he wished. But now…he wanted to keep her around just because. It was spontaneous, but that was how he liked things.

What the hell was wrong with him anyway? This shouldn't be happening! He needed to return to the Akatsuki whether he wanted to or not and she needed to return back to her village and be the little goody-two-shoes that he knew her as.

Speaking of being a prick…why the hell hadn't she slapped him yet?

He stopped his ministrations and looked down at her, opening his mouth to say something mean to get a rise out of her…and stopped.

He blinked, because her eyes held such an innocent acceptance and trust that it startled him. No, it shocked him to the core. He almost reeled backwards, because the emotion was so strong and unexpected. Her face was flushed and she was panting slightly, her mouth open. She looked utterly kissable, but the trust in her eyes kept him away. That innocence scared him, even as it drew him in.

She looked so easily breakable and from his experiences…he realized that she was. One wrong move and she would shatter, and he'd be left with broken pieces that he had no intention—or ability—to fix. He could take her now and risk her breaking, he knew that. She was young and innocent and she didn't understand the way he was making her feel or her body's responses to his touches. Even if she was a kunoichi and had been taught about sex, he knew she'd never experienced it, and her mind was overloaded with thoughts and feelings.

And yet she looked up at him with that single-minded trust.

There was a long moment of silence as the two stared at one another, before Deidara gave a small sigh. Then he did something Sakura hadn't expected at all. He slumped on top of her, his weight resting comfortably on her, his face buried in her chest.

"…you really are an angel yeah…" His murmur was muffled by her shirt.

Sakura's eye twitched as she realized he wasn't going to move.

"…pervert…get your face off of my chest!"

And that's when Kakashi burst into the room and Sakura realized that Deidara's towel had fallen off a LONG time ago.

(A\N: Wow…um…yeah…here's your chapter. A little DeiSaku in there for you, with the two of them trying to come to terms with their feelings for one another. Plus, I added in Sakura's fiance...some people were wondering how the ANBU captain had known Sakura when he'd told Kakashi to bring her back well...there's your answer! :D As you can guess, since Sakura hasn't mentioned him, it's because it is an arranged marriage. While she cares for him deeply, she doesn't love him like that...which will be explained later. :) I am going to try my hardest to update some other stories this weekend. I'm sorry this is so late. School and life in general have been hectic and I don't have much time for anything that doesn't involve homework and studying…anyway, I hope you guys liked it, especially my evil cliffhanger. :D

Sincerely,

Lady Hanaka)