You Only Live Twice

Chapter 11: Change

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France

Sakura sighed as she hung up her cell. She had just finished talking to Sasori. When her brother had heard what had happened, he demanded she came to the coffee shop he worked at. She had declined, saying that it wasn't safe enough and that he shouldn't go home either. As for her, she told him that she would stay with Sasuke. When Sasori opposed she had reminded him that his friend Itachi lived in the same place.

She had to admit she wasn't hot about the idea. Sasuke was a person she could not understand. Most of the time he brooded, even though he seemed to have the perfect life. He was mean with his friends yet they stayed by his side. She was confused as to how to behave around him. Should she smile when she sees him, should she even greet him, and if yes how? Should she touch his arm if she wanted his attention? Should she hug him if he needed comfort…?

Sakura violently shook her head in attempt to stop her train of thought. This wasn't the time to think like that. Not when she was far from the girls…

After much discussion, it was agreed that it was better if the girls were separated until they can figure what to do. Sakura could stay with Sasuke, while Hinata went along with Neji. Naruto agreed to take Tenten even though she threatened to kill him in his sleep. Temari left with Shikamaru with no arguments, unlike Ino who protested even when she was already in Sai's car.

Sakura sighed yet again and plopped down on her new bed. Wincing, she cursed herself for forgetting about her sore ribs. Sasuke had gone about half an hour ago to collect her stuff and she was left in her new room to… do nothing. Sighing yet again, Sakura looked around. This room was bigger than her own. It had huge windows with dark curtains, a huge plasma TV that emerged from the wall, a couch with a small glass table and after climbing a few steps, a huge bed was waiting for her. But the best part was the walk in closet and her very own bathroom. Even though she couldn't fill it, she had always wanted one. Sasuke's mother probably needed a few of those.

A knock on the door pulled Sakura out of her thoughts. Finally, Sasuke was here with her things.

"Come in," she called. It was definitely not Sasuke.

"Sorry to disturb you, dear." It was a beautiful woman no older than 40 with raven black hair and eyes. It was evident where Sasuke took his looks. His mother was stunning. And Sakura could only stare in awe.

"I just wanted to introduce myself," she continued. "My name is Mikoto, I'm Sasuke's mom." She said with a smile as she closed the door behind her. "I heard from Sasuke what happened."

Sakura froze. Surely he couldn't have told his mother.

"I'm so sorry that your house burned down. But I am glad Sasuke was near enough to save you."

Sakura almost scowled. Did he now…

Putting on a fake smile Sakura spoke up, "Yes, I was very lucky to have him around that time. I could have been in a far worse state."

Mikoto smiled and put a hand on her shoulder, "That's my boy. He's always taking care of others."

Were they talking about the same person? Sasuke always caring?

Mikoto waved her hand in front of her face, "Never mind me. I just came to tell you that you are welcome to stay for as long as you want. I am glad that Sasuke has finally brought a girl here. I was starting to worry."

Sakura paled and then turned twelve shades of red, "Wait, we are not…He is not… I'm just…"

Mikoto laughed and put a hand on her shoulder, "I know dear. Don't worry. Everything comes with time. Sasuke is not an easy person and from what I can tell you are the same." She sighed and turned towards the door. "Well, I leave you to rest now. If you need anything let me know."

"Thank you," called Sakura before the woman smiled and closed the door.

Well, that was weird. But she had to admit his mom was a very sweet woman. His father must be special to have won her.

Half an hour later, there was another knock on the door. This time it was Sasuke. He had a huge bag in his hand which he threw on the bed.

"Thanks," she said when he turned to leave. "Was there anything unusual in the house?"

"I wouldn't know. I've never been there before." He answered without turning.

"Were my brother and Deidara there?" She kept asking. As if she was trying to do anything to make him stay. Which was ridiculous…

"No."

When he was at the door she was already desperate, "Thank you for your hospitality….and for saving my life. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you."

He stopped with his hand on the door handle and stood there for a few moments. Then he turned the knob and said, "Don't worry about anything. Get some rest. You are safe here."

"I really don't understand you," she called as he started to shut the door behind him.

He stopped and turned his face to her, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you barely talk to me and yet you let me live in your house even though you know it might put your parents in ?"

Sasuke sighed and came back in the room. After shutting the door softly he climbed the stairs to the bed and sat down next to her. "My father isn't the nicest person in the world and he rarely had time for the family but he took his time teaching me something."

"What is that?"

"Justice will come only to those who seek it."

Ino sighed as she put the last of her clothes in the wardrobe. She was welcomed warmly by Sai's aunt, who was an elderly woman with grayish hair and friendly smile. The room she was given was small, but very homey: a single bed, a desk and a wardrobe. Sai's aunt had mentioned belonging to her other nephew but he had recently moved out to his own apartment.

Ino was grateful to the woman for her hospitality but she didn't want to be there. Not after what had happened between Sai and her. He pretended as if nothing happened but she couldn't do the same. Not when every time she thought about it, her insides leaped and her heartbeat raced in her chest.

She was grateful when a knock pulled her out of her thoughts. But when she saw who was at the door she regretted it immediately.

"Have you settled yet?" he asked in his soft yet emotionless voice of his. His polite smile made her want to slap him across the face and hug him tightly at the same time. "Almost. Thank you for letting me stay here."

Her answer was automatic. This was what she was supposed to say. In order to be polite.

"No worries. Nobody uses this room anymore since my cousin moved out."

Before she could stop herself, she asked, "Why did he leave?" If she could only slap herself right now…She didn't want to know his story.

"He wanted to relive our aunt. Taking care of two boys is not that easy and she is not in great health."

"What about your parents?" she asked.

"Don't know them. My parents, my aunt and my uncle died in a car crash when we were both one."

Ino stopped hanging her clothes and turned to him. She didn't expect an answer like that. How was she supposed to hate him after he said that? "I so sorry."

Sai waved his hand, "I don't dwell on it much. My aunt is all I have now and I want to take care of her."

Ino turned back to her task, "I'll make sure I don't stay long. I don't want to burden your aunt."

Sai smiled again, "She is delighted to have you here. She's been missing my cousin so much. I hope having you here will cheer her up."

She said nothing. He shouldn't be nice to her. He shouldn't be telling her his story. He shouldn't be making her feel sympathetic towards him. She should hate him. She shouldn't be even talking to him.

"Ino," he said and his time his tone was serious. She could tell his polite smile was gone. "I sorry about what happened-"

"I would appreciate if you didn't bring that up," she said as she turned to face him. "I would also appreciate it if we talked only when necessary. I'm thankful to your aunt but don't think anything's going to change between us."

With that she shoved him out of the room and slammed the door in his face. Leaning against the door, she sighed and slid down. There was a soft knock before Sai's voice came through the door, "Dinner will be ready in fifteen minutes."

After that she could only hear his retreating steps.

"Here's your room," said Shikamaru as he dumped a huge bag on the single bed. "It's nothing fancy but you still have your essentials."

Temari nodded as she looked around. A small cozy room with two windows, a bed, wardrobe and desk. Nothing fancy indeed. "Thank you."

"No problem." He answered. "I'll leave you settle down. My dad is still at work but you'll get to meet him at dinner. He's always there or my mom will have his head for dinner." He meant to make a joke but he soon realized that Temari had probably seen similar visuals. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Don't worry about it."

Shikamaru frowned. She sure was a tough girl but even she couldn't handle everything. And even if she tried, all those feelings would build up…and eventually explode. In other words, drive her completely insane. "You don't have to act tough if front of me. I've seen you cry already."

She stopped unpacking and turned to glare at him, "You still don't take this seriously, do you?" When he didn't respond and continued looking impassive she exploded, "You can get killed any minute, along with me. Keeping me here will probably endanger your parents! Hell, even your neighbors! This is not a joke!"

"I know," he answered simply. Which naturally made her angrier. She threw at him the first thing she got her hands on. It turned out to be a towel and it smacked him right in the face. That made her feel a little bit better.

Shikamaru took the fluffy towel off his face and threw it on the bed behind her. "You aren't angry about my indifference right now. Tell me what it is."

Temari let out a dry laugh, "Oh, so now you are here to comfort me and make me feel better about myself. Look, don't you have anything better to do that bug me?"

Sighing, Shikamaru walked passed her and sat on the bed, "Not really. Now tell me."

Temari still stood facing the door where he had been previously standing. Her shoulders tensed and for a second Shikamaru thought she was going to turn around and punch him. But he wasn't ready for what he was when she turned to face him.

The sadness in her face broke his heart. He had never seen such an expression on anybody. A look of complete desperation, anguish and disappointment. Her voice trebled as she spoke, "I promised myself that I wouldn't drag anyone else in this mess. And today I dragged the five of you in. My friends can't have a normal life because of me. My father is dead. I have no home. Tell me how am I supposed to deal with all of this?"

Shikamaru stayed frozen for a few seconds just trying to take everything in. He was known as a genius and he usually had answers to everything. The answer he gave her was unusual for him. He usually did everything to stay out of trouble but this time the answer went against everything he believed in.

"You are supposed to fight."

Hinata gazed at the setting sun from Neji's balcony. She had just finished settling in her room (which was previously Neji's). He had a small apartment with one bedroom so he was to sleep on the couch for an unknown amount of time. When she asked him why he hadn't asked her father for help he had just brushed it off saying that this was more than fine. The neighborhood wasn't the best but she could guess Neji managed just fine on his own. After all he was well trained to protect her.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

Hinata froze on hearing Naruto's husky voice. She had almost forgotten that he lived in the same building as Neji and she certainly didn't expect him to pop out in the net balcony. She turned her head slightly to the side to look at him from the corner of her eyes. He was as usually grinning at her, which made her heart flutter and her face go red. Images from the night at Karin's party came flashing as her blush deepened further. She tried to calm herself by repeating in her mind that he was drunk and didn't remember anything.

"Trying to catch some fresh air I guess?" he prompted and she realized she'd never answered his question. He probably thought she was a stuck up rich girl.

"The view isn't the best and in a few minutes the neighbors are going to start fighting but it still isn't that bad…" he continued, scratching the back of his neck.

"It's quite nice," she answered finally although it was barely above a whisper. Still he had heard it because he smiled brightly and looked at the horizon.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you," he said after a few minutes in silence.

Hinata shook her head, "There is nothing we can do about it now."

Naruto frowned, "Of course you can do something about it! Sure you can't bring back Temari's father but you can still bring the criminal to justice. What you can do is fight. Don't run."

Hinata gave him a small smile, "You sound awfully lot like my sister's boyfriend." Konohamuru would have told her the same and even give her a few ideas.

Naruto looked confused at first but didn't say anything. Silence engulfed them again for a few minutes.

"Is that why you ran away from me?" he asked quietly without looking at her.

"What?" her head snapped towards him so fast she could have gotten a whiplash.

"The night at the party when I kissed you and you ran away. You were afraid I'd get hurt? Or I just creeped you out?"

Suddenly, Hinata couldn't breathe. He remembered. All this time he's been pretending. Her chest became tighter and she felt light headed. She knew she had to get away before she fainted.

"I have to go back inside." She whispered and turned to slide the door open.

"If it's the former, I'm willing to take the risk."

The door slid shut.

Tenten expected her work with her new room with mild satisfaction. She had just finished arranging her clothes when her stomach growled. She realized had taken her almost four hours to clean up the abandoned room Naruto had given her. But the final result was satisfactory. It wasn't anywhere near her old one but it sufficed.

She rummaged through the refrigerator in the hopes of finding something to eat but found nothing. She wondered what Naruto and his dad ate when everything was out of date or already rotting. So now she was stuck in this apartment to die out of hunger.

She could ask him to go to the shop but he wasn't in his room. She briefly wondered where he had gone off to but quickly brushed it off. She didn't expect him to babysit her 24/7. In fact she didn't need him to go to the supermarket. She was perfectly capable of doing it herself. She had seen one a block away. What could possibly happen to her if she went one block away even if it was already dark?

Nodding to herself she slipped on her boots and jacket took some money out of her wallet. Feeling almost proud she exited the apartment and went down the stairs. When she came outside she shivered. It was kind of cold, she amended. Now that she could walk outside she could really tell this wasn't a very nice neighborhood. It was barely lit and she could hear someone fighting in an alley as she passed. Maybe going out wasn't such a good idea.

She started walking faster and looked from left to right frantically. Mentally she cursed her stupidity. If Kimimaro popped out of nowhere pointing a gun in her face-

"What are you doing outside?"

Tenten screamed. She turned around and without thinking punched the stranger square in the nose. He cried out and stumbled back a few steps. "What the hell?"

Tenten paled. It wasn't Kimimaro. It was far worse. It was Neji.

"Oh my god…" she whispered slowly. She watched in horror as he removed his hand form his nose to see it a bloody.

"You broke my nose!" he exclaimed.

"I'm so sorry!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

"You scared me!"

"So you decide to break my nose?"

"I was spooked out."

"Then you shouldn't have gone out!"

"I was hungry!"

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"I'm not a baby!"

"But you are in danger!"

By the time they stopped screaming at each other a crowd had gathered. Neji scoffed, "Great, now you announced to the whole neighborhood you are here."

"Oh, if I recall correctly, you screamed as much as me."

"Yes but this is my neighborhood. People know me."

"Are you going to stand here screaming at me or are we going to the hospital to fix your nose. Do you want a hunch on your nose?"

Fifteen minutes later, Tenten watched as the doctor put bandages on Neji's nose. She had to admit, he looked ridiculous.

"Tell me again," said the doctor. "How did this happen?"

Neji scoffed and looked at her from the corner of his eye, "A screaming lunatic punched me."

Tenten scoffed right back at him. Sure, she felt guilty but that didn't give him the right to call her names.

When the doctor was all done he ushered them to the reception to fill in some documents before going home. While in the middle of waiting for him to finish, Tenten remembered something, "You left Hinata alone?"

Neji looked up from the papers with an annoyed look on his face (the bandage made him look kind of funny when he did that), "No, she is with Naruto."

"He was gone when I left."

Neji sighed, "He is usually at the rooftop at that time of the night. He came to tell me you were gone. You could have written a not or something. He was totally freaked out."

"Oh…right." God, he was good at making her feel guilty. Poor Naruto. He probably had a heart attack, "So you went out to search for me?"

He went back to his paperwork without answering her question.

Tenten smiled. Silence usually meant yes.

A/N: Yeah, I updated! I never thought I would write again, seriously. I moved to study in another country and assignments started raining over me. But I had this night off and decided to update. Don't know when this will happen again though. Even now an essay is waiting to be written

This was more of a filler chapter but it was still imortant. The girls need some help in order to stop feeling sorry for each other. There wasn't much of Sasusaku but I don't want to rush it. So you just have to bear with me :)

Anyways, you know the drill. Reviews inspire me :P So help an essay-writing soul.