AN: I apologise sincerely for the delay in posting this chapter. Without going into too much detail, it's been a difficult time for me and I am only now starting to overcome everything that has happened. I have somewhat fallen away from these fandoms, and as such this story, but I am dedicated to finishing and giving my readers an ending, and not just a rough final chapter. I cannot promise frequent updates, but I promise to see this through.

Thank you to all who have stuck with me, and with this story, and a special thank you to AC253, who left me a review in Lonely Shugo that reminded me why I began writing to begin with - to provide a piece of fantasy that people enjoy, that makes them smile, and that they want to read again and again. I don't know when I will post the next chapter, but I want to continue and I want to do it right. I want to write something that will make you laugh, and cry, and smile, because I write this for me, but I post it for you.

Without further ado...

Chapter Twenty

Two pairs of knees hit the ground as Sakura and Ikuto fell, clutching their heads. The pinkette whimpered and kicked her feet at the ground, backing away from the teen as quickly as she could. It felt like the pain lessened the further she got from him.

"Sakura?" breathed Ikuto when the pain stopped, seeing her sat a solid ten feet away. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes.

"You felt that, too?" she asked, hand going to her chest in an attempt to rub away the pain.

"Yeah," he nodded. Yoru floated towards him, worry on his face. "I'm okay now, Yoru."

"Saku-chan," Nanami called, also worried for her mistress. Sakura offered no verbal reassurance, but nodded her head slightly to let her Chara know she was alright.

"What was that?" Sakura wondered aloud, taking a deep breath.

"I'm not sure," Ikuto sighed. "It's been happening more and more. I didn't think I could hurt someone else," he added, looking guilty.

"It wasn't you," Sakura assured, looking slightly stunned. "It's been happening to me, too. Do you think it could be…?"

"Easter?" he groaned, climbing to his feet. "It seems likely."

"What can we do?" she asked as she stood, keeping her distance regardless of how badly she wanted to be near him.

"I'll figure it out," he frowned. "After last time, I don't want you involved."

"I already am," the pinkette pointed out. "This isn't the first time this has happened. It's been going on for days."

"Maybe it's just leftover dark energy from the ring?" he suggested. "It's likely that they aren't targeting you, but whatever they're doing to me is being drawn to the dark energy left in you."

"Maybe…" she considered.

"I'll figure it out, I promise," he swore. "For now, we…we just have to keep our distance."

"…Okay," Sakura agreed quietly, looking at the ground as she took a step back.

"Sakura –"

"It's best if you leave now," an icy voice sounded from behind Ikuto. The teen turned, seeing a slightly older man behind him, while Sakura sighed.

"Sasori, I was just coming inside," she told him, walking past Ikuto and leaving a wide berth between them. She didn't want to risk that pain again, especially not in front of Sasori.

"You should have been home over an hour ago," the redhead scolded. "Inside, now."

"I'm sorry," Ikuto bid quietly as she passed him. Sasori hustled her inside, glaring at the darker haired teen. After the redhead followed her in and moved passed her, leaving her in the open doorway, Ikuto turned and leapt up into a nearby tree, disappearing from view.

"I'm sorry, too," Sakura whispered, watching him go from the doorway.

She closed the door.

{-}

Sakura sat in her room, knees pulled up to her chest as she curled up in the corner. Nanami sat beside her quietly, not wanting to upset her mistress, but worried all the same. After a moment, Sakura took a deep breath and shifted, stretching out her legs in front of her.

"Ikuto was right. It's definitely Easter," she confessed to her Chara, who tilted her head up. "Back when I worked for them, they…there was this ring – it did something to me, and the girls. It turned them into X-Charas. The dark energy hurt us, all of us, and it felt just like that."

"X energy is dark, Sakura-chan," Nanami supplied. "Perhaps Ikuto-san is right, and it never completely left your body? It could just be remnants of that."

"It could be," sighed the pinkette, scooping Nanami up and holding her in her lap. "…I don't want anything to happen to you."

They were quiet again after Sakura's statement, just sitting close. Eventually, the silence was broken by someone knocking on her bedroom door, and Sakura's shoulders tensed. She knew what this was about, and it soured her mood just thinking about it.

"Sakura!" Temari called through the bedroom door, a stack of empty boxes by her feet. "Sakura! You have to pack!"

"No!" Sakura huffed, admittedly childishly, but she had been upset since Ikuto left the night before. Having Sasori, Kankuro, and now Temari prompting her to uphaul her life for the third time in a handful of months was doing nothing to improve her mood.

They had spent the entire day reminding her of the move, with Sasori mentioning it at breakfast so often that Sakura had left half way through and shut herself in her room. Kankuro brought her some lunch, which she accepted, and some carboard boxes, which remained in the hall with him after she closed the door on him. Gaara had come up with dinner, but thankfully had handed over the plate without a word. Now, three hours later, it was Temari.

"This is happening, whether you like it or not," Sasori yelled from downstairs, having heard her objection. "You keep us waiting, and we'll leave your stuff here."

She wanted to scream, was fulling prepared to throw open the door and tell the Sabaku siblings exactly how she felt about the decision, but a sound distracted her. A beep sounded from her phone, startling Nanami, who had been perched beside it. Sakura glanced around, frowning at the light on her screen that signified a text.

For one blissful, blindly hopeful moment, Sakura wanted to believe the message was from Ikuto. That he had found the source of the pain, that it was over, that he wanted to see her, and…

"It's from Kukai," Nanami said without prompting. Instantly, Sakura's mood went from bad to worse.

She hadn't seen or spoken to Kukai the previous night, as she had originally intended after leaving Amu's. While a few hours of silence couldn't really be interpreted as avoidance, she knew her own intentions well enough. By this point, Kukai probably knew as well. With Ikuto no longer an option, at least for the foreseeable future, the thought of accepting Kukai had become too real, too frightening. A few hours were the start of weeks of no contact for Sakura, but for Kukai it was a nerve-wracking wait for rejection.

With that in mind, she picked up her phone.

Left things a little weird last time. Can we talk?

-Kukai

She read the message three times over, considering her response. He could genuinely just want to talk it over and discuss how to move forward. Only, Sakura didn't know that she could. She liked him, more than a friend, and she was tired of running from him for the distant promise of a 'maybe someday' with Ikuto, who had never mentioned romantic intentions with her and who she often found in the company of Amu.

Sakura shut down that train of through before her mood worsened even more.

Her phone beeped again, cutting off her over-thinking.

I'm outside

-Kukai

Eyes wide, Sakura stood up and grabbed her coat, hurrying downstairs and out the door with Nanami following close behind her. She ignored the Sabaku siblings and their attempts to call her back, muttering vaguely that she was stepping out and that it was important. She knew Gaara would stop them from following.

Spotting Kukai, stood a few feet from her doorstep with his hands in his coat pockets and Daichi perched on his shoulder, Sakura wasn't sure how to react to him. She wasn't sure if she could react, at least not the way he hoped.

Before she could decide, the door closed behind her, the loud slam drawing his gold-green eyes towards her. They stood, frozen, staring, saying nothing for a moment. Clearly, he was as unsure as she was, but Sakura didn't know what to say to him in that moment.

"Sakura," he began, turning and walking towards her a little. He stopped, nervously shuffling his feet.

It felt awkward – something Sakura had never experienced around Kukai. Still, he had been the one to text her, and she couldn't think of anything to say to him. Sakura bit her lip, thinking desperately for words to speak, but thankfully Kukai beat her to it.

"I heard about the Chara Nari issue," he said at last, though those were not the words Sakura wanted, or expected, to hear.

"Did Nagihiko tell you?" she asked, a scornful edge to her tone that she instantly regretted. Honestly, she was a little surprised no one had told him sooner.

"Tadase did," he corrected, "along with some other things," he added, tactfully ignoring how Sakura's cheeks turned a little pinker with her – correct – assumptions. "Sakura…what's going on with you?"

"What do you mean?" the pinkette frowned, feeling a little defensive. Nanami floated forwards and perched on her shoulder, drawing his gaze for a moment.

"You took off to Gakure without a word," he began, fists clenching in his pockets as he tried to keep calm. "No one hears from you for months – I know that lady took your phone away and hid our letters, but you still could have written to us. When you get back, it seems like everything's going to be great, you're getting along with everyone, even Amu, but…you're pulling away again now. It's a bad habit for you."

"What is?" she snapped, crossing her arms.

"When things go wrong, you pull back to deal with it yourself. I get that you pretty much raised yourself, and that's what you're used to doing, but like it or not, you have friends now," he smiled, taking a step towards her. "We want to help, and you can let us. You just have to trust us."

Silence reigned once more, and Sakura realised how much she hated quiet. It made her feel alone, and afraid. Kukai was here, right in front of her, offering help with a problem her friends had helped her with before.

"Okay," she nodded, a small smile slipping over her mouth as she stepped closer to Kukai. He grinned, wrapping his arms around her.

For the first time in a while, Sakura allowed someone else to hold her up.

{-}

Sakura left the house quickly the next day, not in the mood for more talk of packing and moving. She knew she couldn't avoid it forever, but putting it off would suffice for now. Besides, she needed to see Amu, to tell her the good news, and to tell her about the move.

{-}

"You're with Kukai?" yelped Amu. She shrugged.

"You were right," Sakura told her. "Why wait for someone to maybe one day be with, rather than be with someone I like who likes me? So, thanks, Amu – your advice saved my love life!"

Amu was quiet, and when Sakura looked at her again it appeared as though she had completely frozen, her soul escaping through her mouth. Worried, she stepped closer, waving a hand in her face. Little did she know, Amu was only just now piecing together what exactly had happened on White Day.

}-{

"Not on purpose. I just… Anytime I think of Kukai like that, I think of…someone else. I like him a lot, but I feel like I'm betraying this other person with my feelings for Kukai."

}-{

"So, Tadase is in love with you?" Ikuto mused, leaning over the edge of Amu's bed. He had disappeared off somewhere, but it seemed he needed to return, if only to irritate and embarrass her.

"S-So? You love someone too, don't you?" she huffed, glancing over at him when he remained silent. Sighing to himself, he shrugged.

"I do," Ikuto confessed. "…Sakura."

}-{

At the time, she had called him out for lying, saying it was cruel to bully like that when he had been eavesdropping on Sakura's confession. Then, at the reminder that Sakura had left with the idea of being with Kukai in mind, Ikuto seemed to deflate and sank to the floor, falling asleep almost instantly.

"Amu, are you alright?" asked Sakura, frowning. Amu snapped back to the present, nodding her head vigorously.

"Y-You know how bad I am at giving advice, Sakura! You really shouldn't rely on me for that!" she laughed, badly faking but trying nonetheless.

"O-Okay," stuttered Sakura, even more concerned now. "Still – we're not exactly boyfriend/girlfriend, but it's a start. I'm happy, so thank you."

"What about the other guy?" she asked, almost crying at the look of absolute surrender in Sakura's eyes.

"That's over. There's no chance there, so I'm not going to dwell on it," she admitted, looking away from Amu. Spotting something in the room that was out of place, the shorter pinkette squinted her eyes at Amu's egg basket, shocked when she confirmed what she saw. "Is that…?"

"Sakura, maybe you should rethink this other guy –"

"Why is Yoru's egg here?" snapped Sakura, pinning Amu with a scorn-filled look that caused the other girl to flinch. "He's here, isn't he? Right now?"

"S-Sakura…"

"I'm here," confessed Ikuto, stepping out of the closet with Yoru on his shoulder.

The room was silent, Amu nervously looking between the stoic Ikuto and the angry Sakura. Slowly, but surely, Sakura's anger seemed to deflate into something more like acceptance, and she blinked before Amu or Ikuto could spot the tears in her eyes.

"Why?" she asked, the waver in her voice giving her away. "Why is that you're always with her? Whenever I think about giving you a chance, or accepting you into my life, or trusting you, I find you with Amu?"

"Don't do this," he sighed, looking away. He hated to see her this upset, but knew nothing he could say would fix it.

"Sakura, I'm sure it's just because you live with other people now," Amu explained, trying to salvage what she could see between them. If she didn't know earlier, it was clear now – Sakura loved Ikuto just as much as he loved her.

"You live here with your family. It hasn't stopped him," Sakura scoffed, wiping at her face when the tears refused to stay hidden.

"Sakura…" the other girl trailed off, not sure how to explain.

"Sasori was right. This place only hurt me. I finally thought I could be happy, and then this happens. It's my own fault – I'm so selfish, I thought I could be with Kukai and didn't think about you being with someone. I'm sorry. I guess everyone will be better if I move back to Gakure, for good."

"Move back?" frowned Ikuto.

"You're moving again?" gasped Amu. "You can't!"

"Why not? What's keeping me here?"

"Kukai?"

"That's not enough; not enough to put up with all this pain. I have to go."