A/N: Wow, another chapter of Entanglement is up! I'm trying to stay consistent with writing every once in a while, but it's a little difficult when I have so many essays and tests to write... It makes me not want to open Microsoft Word for as long as humanly possible...

Writing this chapter was really nostalgic for me because I was in Osaka, Japan on an exchange, and to write this chapter I had to go back and search up a lot of places in Osaka that I've been to (for example, Namba) and tried to remember what each place was like. It was a trip down memory lane, and I miss Japan a lot.

Anyways, thanks for reading.

"Hey, hey!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear, "Why didn't you guys come down for the ramen special set?" Naruto inquired, earning a deep red flush from Sasuke. Really, if anyone would just let him forget what had happened during that lunch time...

"Sasuke and I had some things to discuss," Sai smiled. His eyes glanced sideways at Sasuke, whose fists were clenched and turning pale. Sasuke's eyes met Sai's awkwardly. God, he didn't even know he was capable of such horrid acting. Sasuke then looked up at Naruto, who looked slightly confused. Naruto scratched his head. What could the two possibly have to talk about, nevertheless have in common? It seemed somewhat suspicious. Before Naruto could open his mouth to say another word, Sakura sauntered up to the group, looking grim.

The three looked up at Sakura, who did not look deflated very often. "We're running laps today," Sakura sighed as she dramatically dropped into the chair in front of Sasuke. She leaned over his desk and pouted, "You know I hate running laps, Sasuke-kun." He pushed himself back in his chair and grimaced slightly. Running laps was also not one of his favorite exercises in P.E. Naruto kept his grin on his face, reminiscing of the last time Sasuke and Naruto had a race together. They had been nose to nose in the race, without a prominent winner. Perhaps it was this year that things would all change and Naruto would get the lead for once.

"I don't mind running!" Naruto boasted.

"Neither do I," Sai said, "Long distance or short distance." Naruto gave him a high-five and a thumbs up.

Sasuke let an inaudible sigh escape from the depths of his chest and closed his eyes. How troublesome... He had not worked out nor trained in a very long time and thus, was afraid that perhaps he wouldn't be the one with the best time in his class. Sasuke liked to keep it so that he was at or near the top percentage at all times, regardless of what the subject or activity was. It was his Uchiha pride – genetics seemed to have favored the Uchihas in both athletics and academics; however, also cursed them with their goddamn pride. On the other hand, Naruto did have a strong sense of pride, but also learned to accept that perhaps he was not the smartest kid in class or that he wasn't always the lead player on the team. But that acceptance made it so that Naruto could realize his mistakes and improve himself, unlike the prideful Uchiha.

The four headed down to the dirt field behind the school, where running exercises were held. All their other classmates had already arrived and stood around, chatting amongst each other. Sakura held her breath as she saw the P.E. teacher approaching, clipboard and whistle in hand. Although he was in full running gear, training pants and matching sweater, there was undoubtedly a small, square bulge in his pocket. No, it was not what you are probably thinking. Sarutobi Asuma was well-known in the school for his uncontrollable smoking habits. One before class to prepare himself, and a few afterwards to regain his composure. Where he smoked was not a mystery to the students and teachers alike. Immediately after the bell rang, he would rush out of the classroom to the rooftop or the teacher's smoking area on first floor, depending on where the classroom was located, to light up a cigarette in pure relief.

The class ignored his arrival and continued their conversations. Evidently, it was quite difficult to gain the respect of students.

Sarutobi-sensei coughed. A few students glanced his way.

"Ahem... You guys know the drill. Let's start the warm-ups." He indicated for everyone to line up. Students sighed and formed the warm-up lines lazily.

The rest of the class passed by regretfully without any significant events and it was a completely normal day for the students – minus Sasuke and Sai. As class ended, the students all filed back to their classroom without their teacher's word. As they all passed Sarutobi-sensei, they bowed slightly to show respect, but not quite enough. No one made eye contact as they all scurried away, tired. He sighed and waved everyone away, pulling out his smokes and heading to one of his signature spots to smoke. Naruto, Sakura, Sai and Sasuke trailed at the end of the pack, dragging their feet along the dusty ground.

"I... Told... You," Naruto managed to heavily breathe out a meagre sentence.

"...What?" Sasuke replied, trying to hide this own heavy breathing. Sakura and Sai looked at the two, slightly confused.

"I... Beat... You!"

"You didn't, stupid," Sasuke let out a painful puff of air from his lungs, "Sensei said we were completely tied. He must've been looking away when I crossed the finish line before you,"

"Yeah, well obviously he was looking away because he didn't see me come in a foot faster than you!"

"Ha-?! You must be joking. I could hear your pathetic panting behind me for the whole race,"

"You're lying, teme!"

"No I'm not, dobe!"

Naruto leaned into Sasuke's face. He smacked his forehead against his best friend's, rubbing his red, sweaty face into Sasuke's. Sasuke glared back at Naruto. Who were they kidding? Everyone knew it was a tie, but Naruto and Sasuke wanted to find a winner.

"Guys, it was a tie." Sai and Sakura said, both monotone in unison. They both rolled their eyes and looked at each other. Boys.

Sai and Sakura headed up the steps by themselves, leaving the bickering boys to their own silliness.

"It was me!"

"No, it was me!"

"Don't kid me, we all know you're not even capable!"

"Capable?"

Scoff.

"Do you even know what that means?"

Glares continued to be exchanged.

"Fine, since you can't admit your own defeat, we'll see next time!"

"Fine by me. I'll just win again," Sasuke smirked and began to walk away. Naruto couldn't fool him for one second. Sasuke knew that he would always win, no matter the challenge. Naruto wasn't capable of beating the golden Uchiha blood rushing through Sasuke's veins with his own pathetic genes. Naruto was adopted as a child and did not know who his parents were. He grew up embarrassed, although it was not needed. Little did he know, his parents were truly great people. Naruto wasn't inferior by the slightest, but no one would acknowledge it due to his mysterious background. Everyone, most notably Sasuke, thought he was just an unwanted love-child as a result of an irresponsible one-night stand.

Naruto watched as Sasuke strode away, leaving Naruto in his shadow.

Sometimes, he longed to be Sasuke.

"What took you guys so long?" Sakura put her head in her hands, gazing up at Sasuke. Sasuke glanced at Sakura and took off his P.E zip-up sweater. He threw it onto his desk and slumped into the seat next to Sakura's desk. He brought his chair closer to her. Almost too quickly, Sakura turned red. Had she been this starved of Sasuke's affection for the time he had been away? It had been too long since they had a real conversation, nevertheless the slightly flirtatious, lingering skin-to-skin contact that they intermittently shared previous to his absence. Before Sasuke had left, Sakura and Sasuke were close. Not close enough for Sakura's liking, but close enough to be comfortable around each other. He wouldn't feel annoyed by her presence, and never minded her subtle touches, vice versa.

"It's nothing," He leaned over in his chair and let out a small sigh. "What's next?"

"We have Modern Japanese and then we can go home," Sakura imitated Sasuke and leaned over. She whispered into his ear, "I'm sure you were a bit faster than Naruto."

He let out a small smirk and leaned back. "I thought so."

Sakura smiled in response. She studied his face carefully. He was pale, and a proportionate balance between masculine and feminine in appearance, although slightly leaning toward more feminine appearance. Although he acted stern and manly, Sasuke's face almost didn't match. He looked sufficiently like a man, but Sasuke's features were too soft to suit an aggressive personality. Perhaps it was that Sasuke still needed time to grow sharper, more masculine features. They were still young, after all. Sakura looked into his dark eyes and caught them in hers.

"What?"

"Nothing," She replied softly. He leaned over closely. Her heart thumped in her chest, her breath hitched. He avoided her eyes and took a small piece of fluff out of her pink hair. So cliché, Sakura couldn't help but to think as she let go of her breath. Her heart remained beating.

He grinned and flicked the lucky piece of fluff away.

"Sasuke, you left me on the field by myself!" Naruto growled as he stormed into the classroom. Sasuke turned away from Sakura as his attention was caught by Sasuke. He stood up and walked to Naruto, proceeding to argue with him. Sakura looked down at her shoes as Sasuke was taken away by Naruto. She couldn't help but question herself as to whether her unrequited love was ever going to be returned. She sighed and slumped into her seat.

"You guys are so noisy," Sai approached the two boys squabbling in the hallway. Naruto pouted in protest, earning a light flush from Sai. Cute, he thought to himself.

Sasuke glanced at Sai, who was turning slightly crimson. Sai turned away, feeling flushed. Naruto was completely oblivious to the effects he had on Sai. But Sasuke had a gut feeling already. It was a tad strange, he thought in attempts to wrap his head around why Sai would turn so red from Naruto's annoying pouting. He looked at Naruto, whose arms were crossed angrily. Naruto's pink bottom lip protruded ever so slightly. Sai coughed, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts and obvious staring.

"What are you guys doing this weekend?"

They both turned to look at Sai. Sai crossed his arms and smiled.

"I'm having my art exhibited at a show this weekend. If you guys don't have any plans, you should come by."

Naruto jumped out of his spot and grabbed Sai's hands.

"What?! Really?!" He squealed excitedly.

Sakura leaned out of the classroom's sliding window, having heard their conversation.

"I'll be there to support you!" She threw him an encouraging grin and a thumbs-up.

Sasuke remained standing silently, wondering how talented of an artist Sai was. He had heard good rumors about his creativity and distinguished style, but had never seen it for himself. Sasuke nodded slowly to himself and decided perhaps if he had time, he would drop by too.

"I'm so there! What time is it at?" Naruto's hands were still on Sai's. Sai contained himself this time, and remained calm at this contact.

"It's all day, really. Ends at 5pm, though."

"Okay! Yes! For sure! Just believe in me!" Naruto bounced in his spot, apparently excited. Sai could not take his eyes off of his strangely captivating best friend.

It wasn't long before the four realized it was already the weekend. Saturday classes were over early, and all the students were scrambling out of the school to begin their weekend. Sasuke would go home and lie down in his bed gloomily while on the other hand, Naruto's family planned a visit to see their grandparents. Sai would routinely bike home instead of taking the train on Saturdays in order to take in the scenery and perhaps gain some ideas for his next project. Sakura usually took the train home on Saturdays, but today she would go shopping with Yamanaka Ino, her best friend from class 3-3, in attempts to find a new outfit for the art exhibition on Sunday. She had to look her best for the first day she would meet Sasuke outside of school, without their not-so-flattering school uniforms. The four walked through the school gates together to go their separate ways until the meeting tomorrow.

"Oh, crap," Sakura muttered under her breath as she checked her phone.

"What's wrong?" Naruto piped, peering over at her phone. Sakura glanced up.

"Ino just canceled on me. Has a sudden goukon to attend." She groaned and furiously tapped away in response to Ino's disappointing message. Naruto kicked a pebble with his foot.

"I wish I could go with you, but I'm visiting my grandparents today..." He moaned. His shoulders dropped, suddenly depressed.

"I have to go, sorry!" Sai hopped on his bike and cycled ahead of the group.

"Bastard..." Sakura muttered under her breath as she saw Sai speeding away, obviously to avoid shopping duties. Sometimes, when Ino was not available, Naruto and Sai were dragged along to go shopping for clothes and make-up with Sakura. She claimed that she needed a 'boy's opinion', but they both knew Ino had ditched her again for another goukon.

Sakura looked over at Sasuke, her only hope. He avoided her gaze. He could feel a hole burning into the back of his skull.

"Alright, alright. I'll go with you." He groaned. She squealed in excitement. Shopping with Sasuke – it almost seemed surreal. It would be like shopping with her boyfriend, if Sasuke would just like her back. Shopping for clothes, shoes, accessories, bags, undergarments... She blushed as her mind subconsciously wandered to a more perverse thought.

"See you, Naruto." They both waved as parted ways, heading into the train station. They chatted casually on the train to go to Namba Dotonburi and Shinsaibashi. They exited through the Shinsaibashi exit, ending up on the outskirts of the chaos. Shinsaibashi was a part-outdoors shopping centre, with individual stores lined up on either side of the street in a long line of stores to visit.

Sakura grabbed Sasuke's arm and smiled. "Let's go this way!" Sasuke closed his eyes and prepared mentally for a shopping excursion he did not ask for. He enjoyed shopping at times, but it was not very often. After all, his brother always took the time to buy all his clothing for him. There were stores on each side of Sakura and Sasuke, full of women's clothing, accessories, shoes... And it did not end. Sakura's eyes glistened with excitement as she looked around. She wanted everything. She wanted new make-up, shoes, bags, clothes! Alongside the clothing stores were some trendy restaurants and cafés, mixed with a McDonalds chain and Starbucks.

She pulled him into a nearby store. As she browsed, Sasuke crossed his arms and stared outside at the train of people walking animatedly past him. Sasuke's blank stares into the crowd were responded with a few blatant stares, doe-eyed girls, and men who looked him up and down in jealousy. He didn't want to be the one to say it to himself, but he was one of the better looking men out there. Sakura returned to his side with shopping bags around her arms.

"Did you wait long? Let's go!" She snuck her arm around Sasuke's, dragging him to the next destination. Sasuke let out an inaudible sigh as Sakura squealed happily.

Shoes.

Really, it was self-explanatory. Girls who love their shopping? Love shoes. It was a simple equation that was universally known by all. Sasuke wished that he didn't know this fact. He wished it not to be true. Despite his protests, shoe shopping happened. Sasuke watched Sakura warily as she walked up and down the aisles of shoes that looked exactly the same to him. Sure, he was quite into his own style, but he detested, abhorred, loathed women's shoe shopping. He didn't mind looking at a woman with killer heels on, but he preferred not to be part of the purchasing process that usually occurred before the looking good process. Sakura's eyes shone in pure frenzy, looking at the shoes that encompassed and trapped her in a nirvana of footwear, from flats, chunky heels, stilettos to over-the-knee leather boots. Nothing mattered anymore. She was in paradise.

Sasuke had never sighed so much in his lifetime. He leaned against the wall, watching Sakura until he realized that trying on a bunch of shoes would take over an eternity. Sasuke glanced at his surroundings to see if there was any temporary escape from this tiresome environment. Girls were all pushing, shoving around him to snag those perfect pair of heels. Sasuke shouldered his way through the small crowd to find some fresh air. It was then that his eyes skimmed across a coffee shop. Why not grab an Americano while he had time? He trudged through the crowd of couples and excited girls, yet another sigh passing his lips.

Meanwhile, Sakura pulled out a pair of sleek, open-toed booties. Standing in front of the mirror, she tried on the shoes. Her eyes lit up immediately. And suddenly, she knew exactly what to wear for tomorrow's event.

"Excuse me, I'll get these!" She held up her shoes and smiled.

Sasuke approached Sakura, who was taking out her wallet to pay for her shoes. He shoved an iced coffee in her way. She looked up in shock, then smiled to see Sasuke, who was also sipping on a coffee.

"Thanks, Sasuke."

"Don't mention it," He replied in between steamy sips.

The store cashier looked at the both of them, smiling slyly.

"You two make a really cute couple," She said with a hint of bitterness, "I wish my boyfriend was as nice as yours."

Sakura beamed. Her heart thumped loudly against her chest. She bit her bottom lip from smiling too obnoxiously. Sasuke, on the other hand, turned bright crimson and coughed. To Sakura's disbelief, he did not refute the cashier's comment, but merely grabbed Sakura's bags and walked away.

Sakura shoved her wallet into her school bag and chased after him, making sure to thank the clerk and grab her iced coffee before she rushed out. The thumping in her chest grew with each step she took closer to him.

"Ne, ne," Sakura caught up to Sasuke, "Why didn't you say anything?" He shrugged.

"Too lazy," He said. Sakura smiled and slipped her arm around his. Sasuke did not respond to this, either.

Sakura awoke in the morning, feeling refreshed and bright. In fact, she could compare her mood to one of those cheesy, exaggerated movie scenes where the female lead would yawn, stretch, and smile with all her perfectly pearly teeth showing, her room basking in the warm glow of the sun. She smiled as she walked out of bed, stretching in front of her open windows. The weather was as the weather forecast last night had predicted – sunny, warm, with a gentle breeze. The day could not start off better. She made her way to the bathroom, a bounce in her step. Her parents were already out, but left her a breakfast consisting of eggs, toast, and miso. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, fixed her hair and applied her make-up, taking her time to make her daily routine a tad more special. Sakura then ate the breakfast prepared for her by her mother. The whole morning, she thought of Sasuke. God, yesterday was just the best day ever, Sakura thought as she took a large bite of her toast. Perhaps, if luck was on her side, today would be even better.

She sent out a group text to Sasuke and Naruto. "When are you guys going to Sai's show?" Sakura put her dishes away, and headed back into her room to change into her outfit, still dreaming of Sasuke.

Sakura stood in front of the mirror as she looked at her final outfit. She was wearing a slightly form-fitting overalls-style black dress. The dress ran down slightly above her knees, and accentuated the areas developed over years of puberty-hell. The dress reached up to cover her chest, but still managed to accentuate her bust. Underneath the dress was a cream boat neck shirt with 3/4 length sleeves. The final touches were her shoes bought with Sasuke the previous day, a few gold bracelets and matching earrings.

Just as she was checking herself out, a familiar ring tone flooded the silent house. She checked the number. It was unknown. Who could be calling her, if it wasn't Naruto or Sasuke?

"Hello?"

Naruto was dreaming. Ramen. Lots of ramen. Too much ramen. No, wait, that isn't possible, he thought as he floated around in his foggy, make-shift world with ramen in every crevasse. Everything else was uncertain, except for the ramen surrounding him. Sakura? He saw pink hair in the distance. He started walking towards her. Sakura? He called out. She turned around. She began to walk towards him, mouthing words. It was too blurry. What? He shouted. Wake up. Wake up, she mouthed.

"Gah!" He leaped up from his pillow. "What the hell!"

Naruto clutched his blankets, a little disappointed. The dream could have gone extremely well if he were able to stay asleep a little longer, he thought. Oh well. He tossed the thought away and looked at the phone beside him. Thirteen new messages and ten missed calls. He groaned. Who could be calling him so early in the morning? It was already twelve o'clock, hardly considered morning.

"Sakura?" He murmured as he opened his new messages, feeling slightly excited from all the attention. All thirteen were from Sakura. The first asked of when he was going to Sai's exhibition, the next ones consisted of "Call me now."

"Call me as soon as you see this." Naruto read the next message aloud. He scratched his head, puzzled. What could she possibly have to say that was so urgent? Curious, he dialed her number.

"Naruto?"

"What's up, Sakura?"

"Get ready quickly. There's been an accident,"

Naruto paused, he held his breath, afraid to ask, "Who?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"Neji-kun," Naruto stopped. He pulled himself out of bed, without a response to Sakura.

"I'm almost in front of your house, wait for me." And they hung up.

Naruto rushed to his bathroom to wash his face and quickly brush his teeth. It was still manner to arrive with proper hygiene, or so he was taught. He pulled on any sweater and a pair of pants. His hair was still in disarray, his face not properly washed. He called for a taxi, and waited for Sakura on his front steps. She arrived briefly afterwards, breathless and without a word to share.

The taxi approached the house, and the two climbed into the car.

"To the hospital, please."

The two glanced at each other worriedly on the ride there, but no words were exchanged. Neji was an old friend from elementary and middle school, although they did not meet very often as they entered into high school. Naruto and Neji had a long history of disliking each other; however, grew to overcome the negative feelings towards each other. As they came to their destination, Sakura pulled out cash from her purse and told the driver to keep the change. It was as they were heading to his room that Naruto decided to speak.

"How?" A single word came out of his mouth.

"He got stabbed." She murmured, pressing the elevator button to go up. Naruto couldn't respond.

They rushed into the hospital room that Hyuuga Neji was placed in. Clean, white walls enveloped them. It all looked bland, and dead. There was absolutely nothing good that came out of hospitals, from Naruto's experience.

Neji was lying on a hospital bed in the center of it all, connected to an IV drip. His eyes were closed, his expression soft and still. His long hair, despite it all, was without mess and was splayed around his head, almost in an angelic way. Sakura stifled a gasp as she saw him. Naruto was absolutely still. Beside Neji's lying body was Rock Lee and Tenten. They both sat beside him, looking sombre. They glanced up to see Sakura and Naruto enter.

"Thanks for coming," Tenten managed to speak first. Her hand was around Neji's unmoving hand.

"How is he doing?" Sakura softly spoke, approaching the bed.

"Um," Tenten looked down.

"They said he wasn't doing well." Rock Lee finally spoke. Sakura's knees suddenly felt weak. There was a lump in her throat. Naruto, who was staying back, came closer.

"He's going to recover, right?" He said faintly.

No one responded. Naruto could feel something in his chest drop. He clenched his fists. This couldn't be happening. No, this was a dream. Naruto had some fucked-up dreams. This was just one of them. The walls around Naruto shuddered and blurred, all too dream-like.

"No... That can't be right. He's a tough bastard, he'll get through it,"

"Naruto..." Sakura spoke gently. She slid her hands around Naruto's.

Naruto just stood there, looking at Neji's still body. He looked as though he were sleeping and would just wake up any minute.

A sliver of warm, golden sunlight shone down onto a messy bed through closed navy curtains to let in a small source of light into the otherwise dark room. Only in the area where the sunlight hit was warm, and the rest of the room had a bleak, sullen aura. The only door leading out of the room was locked and no light shone from underneath the door. No one was home to turn on the lights.

A muffled groan came from underneath the blankets, along with the stretching of long, slim legs, and the blankets that covered them were kicked off. Black hair peeked out of the blankets. For a moment, everything in the room was still again. The clock on the wall had used to tick annoyingly, until the batteries were taken out in frustration. The repetitive noise had been overbearing and only added tension to the bedroom, which was considered to be his sole haven.

Attached to the black hair was a pale forehead; below that was a pair of dark eyes, squinting in the dark sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and pulled himself out of bed. The surprisingly cold floor awakened him as his feet touched the floor. Did brother turn off the heating again? He thought as he caressed his cold feet gingerly. Underneath the heavy blankets it was too humid, but outside was chilly and barren. He clambered out of bed completely, risking the warmth of his feet to go adjust the heat from the living room area. The lights had been turned off and the air felt cool, as if the house had been uninhabited for a long time. His feet left a humid footprint on the ground as he stood to adjust the thermostat. What time was it, anyways? He looked at the clock in the living room, only to be disappointed. The clock in this room had stopped, and no one was ever home often enough to notice.

After turning the thermostat to his desired temperature, he shuffled back onto his bed to check his phone. It was one in the afternoon and Sasuke was still sleepy. He flopped onto his back and stared blankly at the ceiling. There was no one home, no one ever to disturb him or keep him company. The contrast of it all confused him – was it a good thing or a bad thing? It was increasingly more and more difficult to differentiate whether he actually craved company but grew accustomed to being alone, or if he was just a miserable old-young man that chased everyone away from admiring his lawn. He was sure he was a person like everyone else at first, but as time stretched on, Sasuke found himself enjoying the isolation and lack of human interaction. In a small way, he wanted to be separated from everyone else and instead, be looked up to like an idol or an entity. But becoming an idol meant for Sasuke to have to be noticeably superior in many aspects, which realistically, he was not. Deep in his consciousness, he too was aware of this true inferiority.

Deep in his own thoughts, Sasuke did not realize the eventual closing of his eyes, complete relaxation of his body, and finally fell back into deep slumber. In fact, several hours passed before the realization of his unconsciousness.

Sasuke's eyes suddenly shot open, and his body followed in a similar fashion.

"Shit, what time is it?" He murmured to himself as he turned on his phone's screen to check the time. It was already 3:30 pm. Sasuke swore under his breath. Why did no one contact him? Did Naruto and Sakura really just meet up without him? Shaking away his thoughts, Sasuke jumped out of bed and scrambled to find clothes to wear. After strapping on a leather watch, he grabbed a loose-fitting dark grey shirt with ¾ length sleeves, black fitted jeans, and a long, but light, camel colored jacket. Sasuke rushed into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth at the very least. Finally, he grabbed his bag from the living room and slipped into some plain loafers. There was no time to eat or take concern for his appearances. He glanced at his watch; it was almost 4 pm already. It took Sasuke at least thirty minutes to the art exhibition, and it closed at five. Why did no one contact me, he wondered before boarding the train to his destination.

A lone figure stood patiently in front of a wide building, not forgetting to check his watch often, but not so often for someone to think that he was stood up, or worse – that his friends completely forgot about his important art exhibition. It was already quarter to five, and no one had even sent him a simple message saying they could not attend. It was already almost time to close, and Sai felt demolished for once in his life. He did not know how the absence of friends after such expectations could do that to him. Checking his watch one final time, he turned around to enter the building. Sai had waited for hours outside, waiting for at least one person to show up for his big event. But his friends had regretfully disappointed him. Perhaps, he thought, they were just too busy to contact him. He walked into the building and toward his work lined up on the wall.

"Sasuke?"

A figure turned around on the spot.

"There you are," Sasuke's eyes met Sai's.

"You came alone?" Sai asked, astounded that Sasuke would be the only one to show up, let alone show up at all.

"Yeah," He shoved his hands in his pockets, "I have no idea where everyone else is. They won't reply to my messages."

Sai smiled slightly and walked up to Sasuke, "Thanks for coming."