Chapter Eighteen:

Taking All Shattered Ones

"Cause you always want what you're running from. And you know this is more than you can take."

The morning was crisp and silent; the only sounds that could be heard were the numerous birds chirping their melody from the opposite side of the hallow walls of her home. Her eyes were focused on Kiako; her hair was sprawled out. Kalei was lying on the floor, head facing her right, watching the sleeping child curled up on their living room floor. Kalei's eyes were weary; her body, sore, but her heart—no longer ached. Since the process—the transition—had started, her emotions were slowing dissipating—but her physical pain, this was increasing. Her body was processing change, and the episodes were beginning to become unbearable. She had to finish what she started without wavering resolve. Without emotion, she stared as Kiako, who was curled up in a ball facing her sister, submerged in peaceful slumber. Her features look tranquil, happy. Minutes passed until Kalei pulled herself up and sat. Face emotionless, she clutched her chest with her right palm, strands of her hair falling all around her.

She was ready—and there was no going back. She was already too far into the madness. There was nothing that could save her now.

After clearing her head, she stood and walked to the door, looking back at her sister. She felt nothing, and stared with bare eyes. After a pause, she faced the door and took a deep breath. Immediately after opening it and taking a small step out into the fresh air, she noticed Taru standing about 15 feet from her front door. She stood without movement for a brief moment, meeting his eyes and noticing the frustration in them. She slowly closed the door behind her. He could read no emotion on her face.

"I did it. I told her how I felt." He spoke firmly, eyebrows crumpled, revealing the uncertainty in his explanation.

She did not respond—only took another step toward him and watched his facial expressions.

"Are you happy now?" Once again, he spoke, taking a step toward her. He felt guilty for what had happened last night. Though his emotions for Sakura were true, he knew his motives partially were not, and ultimately, he knew she walked away unhappy last night, and that was not exactly his goal.

It was Kalei's goal.

She scoffed. "Of course I am." Her eyes bore into his. "You did well."

Taru's face was distressed, and he put his head down. He knew Kalei had impure intentions—he knew that what he was doing was wrong. She had grown to be one of his best friends, and he was…attached….to her? Was that the correct terminology?

"I drove a wedge between them. I know that was what you wanted, but my feelings for her are true. I told her, but I did it also because I meant what I said." He spoke calmly.

Kalei smirked, the look of a sadist all over her face. "I don't care why you did it."

Taru's eyes shot up to meet her own, noticing her intimidating smirk. She slowly walked up until she was in line to the right of him. She stopped abruptly and let out a short, unnerving laugh as well. It made Taru cringe, and he turned his eyes to her.

"I noticed Kiako has been calling you 'big brother' lately. That's cute." She reached her hand up and simultaneously he turned his head toward her to watch. They met eyes and she slowly rested her hand on the right side of his cheek. "Do not get attached, Taru." She finished while her voice remained lifeless.

Within seconds, he felt his chalkra slowly leaving his body and flooding into hers. He closed his eyes for the remainder of the 10 or 20 seconds he felt it dissipating. This was nothing new to him—this was becoming more frequent. He was left with a flight fatigue and felt weak immediately after she was done. Her hand remained lightly placed on his cheek.

"Don't forget my end goal. If you don't want to be the one hurt in the end, my suggestion is to quit while you are ahead." Her voice was chilling, emphasizing the last of her words. "Do not pursue Sakura." Their eyes stayed intertwined and her face grew serious, almost threatening, as her eyes narrowed.

He swallowed hard, listening to her voice and the menace that crept in it.

"If you get in my way, I will kill you."

Once she spoke her last words, she removed her hand. Her face was full of hate, but remained composed. His brows were furrowed. He stared at her, feeling his hands becoming clammy. She remained piercing his gaze for a few moments later, and then turned away from him and walked on.

"I'm going. Remember what I said, Taru." She spoke, while in stride away from him.

He turned his head back in front of him once more and swallowed hard again. He slowly rubbed his left wrist, staring at the inside of it. He couldn't see it right now, but he knew it was there. It contained the answers to so many of her dark secrets. He glanced up briefly and found Kiako staring out the window, watching her elder sister walk off. He frowned, closing his eyes tightly.

If he had only been more cautious, less trusting, he might have been in a different position at this moment. But he closed his eyes, and his thoughts drifted to Sakura, and he wanted to see her. At least as much as he could before Kalei was done.

Her pacing was slow, and she was trying to keep her mind from anything other than last night. She focused on the sun rising, the colors painting the sky, and the fact that from this point on, she had some rather big decisions to make. Her life was changing, and she was being forced to step up and make her mentor proud.

She was walking slowly toward the city hall. She stopped in front of it once she had reached her destination and looked up, face shaped to show her thoughts. Her hair rustled gently in the morning breeze, and she felt an odd peace and calm. She knew that Tsunade was looking over her, and would provide her with guidance on her journey. She knew what she had to do.

Closing her eyes and breathing in deeply, she yearned for a sense of fulfilment. She knew she had to be strong. Stronger.

"Sakura."

She opened her eyes slowly—Taru's voice breaking through her inner thoughts. She turned her head at first to look back, seeing him standing there with a compassionate look on his face. She then turned her body completely and he smiled at her. It was infectious really, as she found herself bare a small, but true, smile herself.

"Taru." Sakura answered, voice filled with warmth.

He took a step toward her. "I know you have things to do this morning. I'm sorry for coming to find you like this." His voice seemed desperate to relay a message to her. She listened intently, smile fading, but no resentment for the previous night on her face. He paused, knowing to word what he wanted to say very carefully. "Last night didn't go as I had planned. It wasn't how I would have wanted to do it. I'm sorry about Sasuke."

She tilted her head, a small smile forming. The mention of Sasuke's name pulled at her heartstrings just slightly, but there was no reason to let him see that.

"It's okay." Was her plain and simple reply. She let out a small laugh. "Those things usually don't go like we plan."

He blinked a couple of times and sighed with relief. After he let out a small laugh himself, he took a couple more steps until he was within an arms distance from her. She didn't move, merely watching him approach.

"Sakura, I do—I have feelings for you. I have for a while." He spoke gently, now his face showing a bit of pain. "Ever since we started going on missions together, I feel like I have grown to know you. And…there are things I want to tell you, but before I do, I need to know if you feel anything at all for me."

Her eyes now widened. She stared into his eyes. A brief pause followed his words.

"I…" While their eyes were intertwined, he felt so much like he wanted to reach out and touch her. He heard her start and stop her sentence. He could see in her face that she was struggling to find an answer to his question.

"It's okay; I know you have history with Sasuke. I just need to know…if there's something worth fighting for." In his words, there sounded like deeper meaning, and as he spoke, his eyes drifted to the dirt below his feet and in between them, his expression becoming distraught.

Sakura didn't know what to say. She watched his expression and he looked troubled, making her feel uneasy. She knew she wasn't helping by being at a loss for words. This whole time her goal had been to move on from Sasuke. They never really had anything working between them, never really were on the same page at the same time, and they couldn't seem to understand the way each other felt. They seemed more preoccupied in trying to make sure they could never be together. Was that really what she wanted? With everything that had happened, could she really afford to keep playing these games?

"Sakura?" Taru's voice snapped her from her inner ramblings.

"Uhh." She stared, reality coming back to her. "Sorry. Look, Taru, aside from Sasuke, I care about you, too." She replied. Their eyes met again and the wind bustled softly around them. She let out a sarcastic laugh. "I should probably try to move on. Sasuke and I don't have anything working for us. There isn't anything like that." She stated, eyes drifting away, eyebrows furrowing a bit at the sad realization of what she just said.

Taru reached out with both hands and seized her right hand, earning her full attention once again. She stared down at their hands.

"Let's try. Let's try it." He said simply.

She looked back up to him, her eyes wide.

She didn't know how to respond to that.

A moment of silence passed.

"Taru, I—"

"Sakura! Taru!"

Both Taru and Sakura jumped slightly and looked off to the side, noticing Kalei approaching. She was the one who had called out to them and Sakura was startled at her presence.

In that instance, Taru dropped Sakura's hand and felt sadness and frustration take over him; instantly, he clenched his fists at his sides. He didn't know what to do. He couldn't oppose Kalei—not in his current state.

"Kalei…uh, hi." Sakura replied in a nonchalant voice, not sure about how she felt seeing Kalei. Were they on mildly good terms?

Kalei reached them and offered a small smile to Sakura. She then looked at Taru, who met her eyes. In them, he was able to see her irritation and menace.

"Sorry to interrupt, Taru. Can I steal her for a bit?" Kalei stated, but he knew it wasn't a question. He also noticed the seriousness in her tone. He stared her down for a moment, while Sakura merely stood by, confused. After a bit Taru looked back at Sakura and then once again at Kalei.

"…Sure." He said quietly. With one last pained look at Sakura, he took a step back and turned around. Sakura watched, her face becoming slightly pained.

"Hey Taru, see you later?" She said a bit loudly, calling out to him. He stopped and looked back at her. He offered her the most real smile he could offer.

"I hope so." He said, longing in his voice.

Kalei twitched, irritated with him as he walked away. After he was out of hearing distance, she turned back to look at Sakura, who met her eyes and tried to offer a smile, still unsure of the relationship between the two of them.

"I know this is weird for you—for me too—but I want to make amends." Kalei said simply, her face still stoic. She offered out her hand. Sakura stared at it for a bit, raised an eyebrow, and met her hand in a handshake.

"Sure." Sakura replied. Her voice was soft. She didn't have time to deal with this, so the best thing to do was be the bigger person and call a truce. She had bigger things to deal with. She needed to step up into the role Tsunade had left for her. There were expectations that needed to be met, and she was tired of grieving. It was time to move past it. "There's no reason for us not to move forward from the past." She finished.

Kalei nodded. "I agree." They released hands. "Which is why I wanted to see if you would come over to my place tonight?" She continued, earning a slightly shocked look from Sakura, who blinked in reply. "I think we should talk about the things left to do in the aftermath for the village—and also, about what happened…with Lady Tsunade." She finished.

Sakura twitched and a gloomy look overcame her. "Oh."

"We should talk about things going forward, too. I want to help you with whatever path you take this village on."

Sakura paused, hesitant to answer on if she was ready to talk about these things aloud, with Kalei no less. But she was the one who went with Lady Tsunade—maybe Sakura could find some solace in finding answers?

"Yes. Sure, sounds good." Sakura replied, her voice shaking, her she offered up a small, and somewhat sad smile.

Kalei offered up an identical smile. "Sounds great. You know where I live. How does 7pm sound?"

"That's great. I'll see you then." Sakura turned her body, ready to walk off. She offered a wave and Kalei nodded back. After relieving herself of a deep breath, Sakura walked off.

Weird, Sakura thought. But there was no bad to be found in a truce between the two of them. Besides, after how things went with Sasuke yesterday, Sakura felt tired of fighting. She didn't see anything left to reach for with Sasuke anymore. He had stormed off without even listening to her. And Taru. She didn't know what to think about any of that. But right now, she had bigger things to worry about.

As Sakura walked off, Kalei watched her. Her face was serious, almost resentful, as she watched without emotion. She pulled out an empty vial from her pocket and stared at his carefully in the palm of her hand.

Tonight was the night to begin her last steps.

Sakura was shuffling the last of her footsteps until she was outside Kalei's residence. She paused, staring at the house with reluctant eyes. Tonight, she could find some answers. After sorting through mounds of paperwork and dealing with numerous village elders today, she knew the importance of what she had to do. She took another step toward Kalei's door and stopped abruptly; feeling a presence in the distance behind her. She knew the chalkra was Sasuke's.

She turned around and saw Sasuke on top of a building across the street. He was stopped and staring at her as well. The two seemed equally surprised to see each other. Moments passed as they both looked longingly at each other, like there was so much to say but too much distance between the two. Sakura's face crumpled, showing a bit of her pain, like she wanted to reach out to him, and she peeled her eyes away, staring at the ground beside her. Sasuke's face remained indifferent.

He looked like he was off on his way to do something, in his regular shinobi attire, but bouncing off the buildings with a destination in mind. Sakura returned her eyes to his once more.

The only thing wandering through his mind right now was why she could possibly be going to Kalei's home. Realizing he didn't need to participate in this awkwardness anymore, he closed his eyes and jumped off, leaving Sakura staring at empty space above the buildings.

She frowned and sighed, turning around after a moment to head in to see Kalei.

"You have a nice home." Sakura said awkwardly as Kalei let her in and they sat on the floor of her bedroom.

Kalei smiled just as awkwardly back and let out a brief giggle.

"Thanks." She replied shortly.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something and then closed it, realizing she didn't actually even know what to say. Moments of silence passed.

"Do you remember when I came into the hospital, the first time we met, and you were so fidgety about something that when you were handed me a glass of ice water you spilled it all over me?" Kalei broke the silence now, offering Sakura a smirk.

Sakura blinked a couple times, recalling the memory, and a hint of red surfaced on her cheeks. She giggled, "Yeah…yeah, I do." She pretended to knock on the side of her head. "That was embarrassing." Sakura recalled it with a slight smile on her face. She remembered she was so nervous because Lady Tsunade had just chewed her and Naruto a new one for putting a hole in the wall in one of the city streets during one of their squabbles.

"That was freezing cold, by the way." Kalei chirped again, smile growing ever so slightly.

Sakura stuck out her tongue. "My bad." She thought back on some of her other memories with Kalei. "I remember the next time I saw you after that. I was on a mission with you and you teased me the whole time. I didn't know it was you until the first night of the mission when you finally took your mask off."

Kalei snickered, raising her hand to her mouth. "You made it so easy. Everybody thought it was so funny."

The two giggled briefly before silence came over them.

"As fun as it is reminiscing about the old days, I wanted to talk to you about the ones moving forward." Kalei said again, her voice more serious, but her face a little more lighthearted.

Seriousness overcame Sakura and she nodded.

"I haven't talked to Kakashi much, but in Lady Tsunade's passing, the village has requested Kakashi be the next Hokage. He is still uncertain." Sakura mumbled, her eyes down. "Naruto might not be ready yet; as I am sure the elders are thinking."

Kalei listened carefully. "I'm here to help with whatever you need." Sakura met her gaze and nodded. Kalei continued, "I think we need to keep the Akatsuki at the forefront of our minds. They are who ambushed me and Lady Tsunade."

Sakura's breathe hitched. "What exactly happened?" Her voice was becoming strong and fierce.

Kalei took a deep breath. "One night we came across them. We were resting when they came along, and they were particularly interested in Lady Tsuande." Her eyes grew dark. "They kept talking about wanting the tailed beast within Naruto. Lady Tsunade obviously was rash and full of vengeance. She released her stored chalkra immediately, but there were four Akatsuki members—we weren't strong enough."

Sakura swallowed hard, feeling beads of sweat form on her forehead. She grew shaky.

Kalei's face was emotionless. "Two of them attacked me and two attacked Lady Tsunade. I was weak, and they got the best of me. One was the black and white individual and the other was the shark." Her eyes closed tightly, as if she was straining herself for the memory. "They knocked me out," She continued, her voice growing shallow, as if the memory pained her, "and when I woke up, Lady Tsunade was lying across the clearing from me. I….I tried to get here as soon as I could, but she never regained consciousness and her chalkra never recovered. Right before I reached the village…" Kalei's eyes met Sakura's, who were turning glassy, but her expression was strong and focused. "She was…she was gone."

The two sat in silence for a bit. Sakura clenched her fists as they rested on her lap and she nodded, swallowing back her tears.

"I see." Was her somber reply.

Kalei noticed her distress.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura jumped and looked to Kalei, who met her gaze. Sakura saw what appeared to be pain and concern on her face. Feeling a sense of relief with the conversation, she felt a tear escape her face. She was shocked. Quickly wiping it away, Kalei noticed and stood up, earning a confused look from Sakura.

"I'll make us some tea." Kalei said, trying to offer a smile. After a moment, Sakura nodded, failing to offer one back. After a brief pause, Kalei exited the room and Sakura sighed inwardly to herself.

She didn't feel any better knowing the answers. Honestly, she was hoping that having the conversation out loud might help, but it didn't. She wanted to murder each individual of the Akatsuki, like so many others who had suffered a tragic loss at their hands. But Sasuke and Tsunade were both proof of how vengeance and thinking irrationally were not the answers. She had to find a way to even the score, while keeping a calm composure. She had to do this right, or she, too, would end up losing her life, along with many others from the village, after she would be gone.

Sakura heard Kalei's quiet footsteps enter the room. Kalei closed the door enough so that there was only a small crack. She sat back down in front of Sakura, extending a cup of warm tea to her. Sakura hesitantly took it and smiled at Kalei.

"Thank you."

Kalei nodded, taking a sip of her own. Sakura watched carefully.

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Sakura said again. Kalei looked at her, looking puzzled. "I mean, I know we called a truce, and I am glad. I don't want to fight. But I appreciate you inviting me over tonight. I needed closure. And answers." Sakura stared thoughtfully at her cup of tea.

"The past is the past. I have moved on." Kalei said, pulling Sakura from her philosophical state. Sakura nodded. Maybe this was a good thing for the two of them. It was. It definitely was.

"Cheers." Kalei said kindly, offering up what looked to be like the most real smile Sakura had seen in a while. She extended her half drank cup of tea in front of her, inducing Sakura to toast hers back, a small but genuine smile on her face as well.

"Cheers." Sakura mirrored her, clinking her glass against Kalei's. She brought the warm tea to her lips and took many, deep gulps. She was thirsty, and this felt calming. She finished her tea and brought the empty cup down to her lap, savoring the warmth of the porcelain glass in her hands.

Kalei watched her carefully.

"So, are you done with Sasuke?" Kalei asked her expression bare again.

Sakura, startled, blinked a couple times and crumpled her brow. "That's a weird question—for you, anyways." Sakura sighed. "But it's hard to be done with something you really never started." She tapped her finger on her chin, thinking back to their awkward encounter.

Kalei narrowed her eyes. Sakura continued to stare into her empty cup, feeling a sense of intense calm wash over her.

"Ehhh. What about Taru?" Kalei asked again, leaning back on her right palm to hold her up.

Sakura blinked a couple times again, not noticing her inhibitions were becoming hazy. This time, she looked up, meeting the eyes of the girl across from her.

"He's cute and nice. He…he is…I like him….he's good looking. He wouldn't be as rude or cold as Sasuke. He…" She rambled on, her eyes becoming glassy. She yawned suddenly.

Kalei smirked inwardly to herself, noticing Sakura trying to blink away a haze coming over her.

Sakura felt herself becoming very sleepy. She was seeing doubles of Kalei in front of her, and she felt her body growing weak. Was she really this tired? Was she holding this all in? Within moments, she fell back, unconscious and asleep, the glass falling out of her hands and rolling across the floor. Kalei kept her eyes on Sakura; Kalei's face now cold and stoic.

Sakura's breathing grew choppy, and Kalei knew she was asleep.

"Good night, Sakura." Kalei's voice dripped with resentment. She shuffled over on her knees to the right side of Sakura's body. She felt a sharp and sudden pain in her chest then, but decided to ignore it. She knew it was a side effect of her transition.

Reaching down, she unbuttoned the top of Sakura's shirt, exposing her chest. She then bit down on the tip of her right thumb, and pressed it softly to the tip of her left to transfer the blood that was surfacing to each thumb. She then began rattling off numerous hand signs, focusing her chakra in the tips of each of her fingers. After a few seconds, she felt the blood transferring to multiple fingertips, and she felt her hands growing hot and tingly. Her chalkra was building up, and becoming visible. She continued to do a number of hand signs before placing her hands together and closing her eyes. She then transferred all her chalkra into her right palm and released her hands. Slowly, she placed her right hand in the middle of Sakura's chest and brought two fingers from her left hand to her face and started chanting to herself quietly. The chalkra from her right hand immediately started burning and she could feel it transferring through and into Sakura's flesh, harnessing itself to her chalkra. After about a minute, she grabbed her right wrist and felt the last of her chalkra slip from her hand into Sakura's body. Sakura's face, meanwhile, was marginally furrowed in pain, but she never regained consciousness. Kalei knew her body was in pain, but the sedative she had slipped in her tea was strong, and would keep her from waking from just about anything for a short period of time.

After the jutsu was done, Kalei left her hand on Sakura's skin, glaring down at her face. Kalei's teeth were clenched. She hated Sakura. What she felt right now was more intense than anything she had ever felt. It was a pure resentment she had never felt before. She assumed this was from the change going on in her own chalkra.

Suddenly, she felt another presence nearby. She raised her eyes and noticed Kiako peeking through the door at what had transpired. Kalei held her gaze; Kiako's eyes were full of worry, her eyebrows furrowed. Kalei ignored her, looking back down at Sakura. She removed her hand and buttoned her shirt back up. When she returned her to gaze to the door, she noticed Kiako was gone.

Kiako trotted her way through the hall way, to the living room, to the door, where she opened it to find her sister standing there, one arm resting against the door frame, the other on her hip. Kiako gasped, scared by Kalei's speed and sudden appearance.

"Where are you going?" Kalei asked, her voice harsh, face stoic and scary. Kiako took a step back and raised her thumb to her mouth.

"No where." She replied quietly.

Kalei removed her hand from her hip. "You look frightened."

Kiako swallowed hard and shook her head side to side.

Placing both hands back on her hips, Kalei leaned forward a bit. "How about we play a game? Would you like to play a game?" She said in a falsely happy voice. Kiako hesitated, but slowly and ever so slightly nodded, knowing the question didn't sound do much like a question at all.

"How about we play Hide and Seek? You go hide, and I'll come seek." Kalei said again, her eyes narrowing. "I'll even give you a head start." Her voice was emotionless.

Kiako stood for a moment, staring at her, when after a bit she nodded and took off running past Kalei. Kalei turned back and watched her run off until she was out of sight. She then went back inside the house.

When Sakura came to, she was on her side slightly drooling. She sat up slowly and rubbed her eyes, noticing Kalei on the floor next to her, sleeping with a peaceful look on her face.

You don't see that often, Sakura thought.

"Kalei…" Sakura said softly, reaching over and nudging Kalei, whose eyes fluttered open slowly upon feeling Sakura's touch. "I think we fell asleep."

Kalei sat up, her hair a mess. "Uhhh. Wow, yeah." She yawned and lightly tapped her cheek in an effort to wake up. She let out a brief giggle.

Sakura also let out a little chuckle and stood up, feeling groggy. "I better get going. I'm sorry I crashed on your floor." She looked at the clock on Kalei's bedroom wall. "It's ten already." Feeling slightly embarrassed, she offered Kalei a frown. Kalei shook her head, stood up too, and shrugged.

"That's totally fine. It's been an exhausting couple of days." Kalei said. Sakura nodded and Kalei walked her out of the bedroom, through the house and to the door. After saying their goodnights, Sakura began walking down street back to her house. Kalei watched her leave, with narrow and menacing eyes.

Weird, that went relatively well. I can't believe I was so tired, Sakura thought to herself.

She paced slowly, feeling bleary and still sleepy. She retraced her conversation with Kalei, wondering when she could have fallen asleep when she thought on the part where she asked about Sasuke, and her mind wandered back to seeing him tonight. I wonder…where he is. She thought on that briefly for a moment before finding a resolve in her to take a guess. She stopped walked and decided to change course to the training grounds.

When she arrived, it was dark with a full, bright moon overcasting the area. She saw Sasuke, sitting across from the one of the wooden poles—the same one he was tied to the first time they had training with Kakashi. His legs were crossed, head slightly down with his eyes closed, and his hands were in the sign of the tiger. He must have been working on his fire jutsu. She approached him from behind until she was just a few feet away from him. She was sure he must have heard her, but he never moved.

"Sasuke." She spoke firmly.

After a few moments of silence passed, he figured she probably was not going to leave. Sasuke opened his eyes and slowly stood up to his feet. He turned to face her, not saying a word. He looked displeased to see her, but kept his expression unwavering.

She met his gaze. "I don't know why you stormed off last night. " He didn't budge, just stared at her, so she continued. "Though I don't owe you an explanation, last night was all Taru." Sasuke then flinched at the sound of his name. The two stood in silence. Sakura grew irritated quickly. "I'm tired of playing games, Sasuke."

"Then what are you doing here?" He now spoke back, his tone cold.

She started approaching him until she was about eight feet from him. She gestured to herself with her hand. "I'm here to tell you I don't have time for this. I am going to ask you one last time to tell me how you feel." She stood determinedly, staring deep into his eyes.

He looked down and thought on that. That was the number one question apparently everyone was wondering.

"Last time I remember us having this conversation, you and I decided we were starting over as fellow ninja—nothing more. You told me that was what you wanted." Sakura's voice was becoming angry and snappy. He scoffed at her remark, which irritated her more. For some reason, she felt unwell. Her chest was burning and she felt very drowsy.

"There is nothing between us." He responded. "This conversation is…" He trailed off, noticing something different about her. She didn't look sad, or weak. She harbored no hurt or offended look on her face. She looked completely fine with this conversation. She looked…stronger? It was as if she really did want to be done with Sasuke.

"I care about you." She said now, her voice solid, but he could feel her sincerity. "I always have and I always will. But if you can't answer my question, you need to figure out the answer on your own time. This village needs me now apparently more than you, and I'm tired of chasing you in circles. So this is it." She said, clenching her fists at her sides.

He listened, feeling the cool night air nip at his skin. After a moment, he nodded. He wasn't sure the response to this. He knew he didn't want her to go, but did he want her to stay? Wasn't he growing tired of these games, too?

Suddenly, Sakura started walking briskly toward him, until she was right up in front of him. In one fluid motion, she brought up her hands, seizing his face between them softly. She extended herself up onto her tip toes and firmly kissed him, earning complete shock from Sasuke. She caught him off guard and he didn't even have a chance to close his eyes before she pulled back and brought her hands down from his face. She took a step back and met his confused gaze.

"To starting over…" She extended her hand towards him and he stared at it like a child trying to comprehend complex algebra. He glanced back at her eyes and noticed the seriousness in them. He slowly extended his hand to hers. She took hold of his and something odd happened. Sasuke noticed a weird presence. For a minute, it felt dark. It felt…like Kalei. His breath caught in his throat as she firmly shook his hand and let go.

What was that…feeling? That dark chalkra?

Which reminded him….

"What were you doing at Kalei's tonight?" He asked abruptly. She ignored him, offering the best smirk should could, despite the saddening conversation they had just had. She turned on her heel and tilted her head to look back at him.

"Goodnight, Sauske." Was her only reply.

He watched her walk off, feeling something pulling in this chest, like he wanted to run after her, but yet he wanted her to disappear from sight. Would he ever be able to figure out these weird emotions? How was she able to just walk away like that? Knowing her, it was all an act. But more than likely, all the tragic events happening at the village had trigged her realization that she needed to focus on things more pressing than Sasuke.

And what about that sick, dark feeling he got when he first grabbed Sakura's hand? What was that?