A/N - Okay... Last one. This is it. Let's do it.

Bundles are nice right? You don't gotta wait to figure out what's next. It's such a joy

DISCLAIMER - I do not own Naruto

Song used for this chapter – MorriseCode x Genesis – Mark My Words

My heart sunk as I instantly moved to follow Sakura's retreating back, but was stopped when Tayuya grabbed my waist. I turned my eyes to her, giving her a desperate look, pleading that I needed to go. But Tayuya only kept calm features, muttering "She needed to find out either way. And I could see it, Ino. You didn't have to heart to tell her yourself."

Pushing her away, I asked the question I dreaded to hear the answer to, "You knew she was there?"

"Games are over, isn't that what we agreed on?" Was her only reply.

My heart twisted in a sickening way. "You didn't even give me a chance, Tayuya! How could you?"

"I know you, Ino. You weren't able to do it when it was all three of us. You wouldn't have been able to do it alone. I was helping you out."

"You were being impatient and selfish," I accused, my heart sporadically picking up speed. I felt weak, like I wanted to throw up. Sakura. She was getting further away by the second, closer to me losing her as a friend, and yet I couldn't bring myself to run after her.

I was being drawn into this argument on purpose. Because it spared me a few more moments before being completely broken all over again. It gave me a gracing period before I would have to deal with losing someone I thought to be very important to me.

"Maybe," Tayuya muttered, slipping her hands in her pockets as she frowned, "Only if you can tell me you would have done it. Soon. Not a month from now."

I swallowed and turned to walk away, "I need to go find her."

Tayuya, who was known for proving a point in an argument, didn't bother calling me out over the fact that I didn't, couldn't, answer. Instead she let me leave, which I both was grateful and hated her for.

Before my knees could give out on me, I picked up the pace of catching Sakura.

The lake was still crowded, fireworks still bursting in the sky as everyone cheered and roared. There were a sea of people around me and I had to focus on catching a mere glimpse of Sakura, which was impossible. First it was too bright, the fireworks like lightening in the sky. Then it grew too dark as I was shoved more than once, but was apologized to by being dragged for a drink.

If this was any other time frame, any other moment in my life, I would gladly join into the fun. But enjoying myself was the furthest from my mind. Finding something to laugh about and cheer to was something I could all but hope for.

Right now, my eyes were set ahead, as if seeing the future. How hard everything was going to be now. How unfathomable it was to think I could actually come out of all of this happy. How I let this go so far that I ruined any possible chance of surviving.

But I kept stalling out of fear.

Fear of losing Sakura.

Because I knew that all along it would be her leaving me. I knew since the moment I held onto her on my bed, sobbing that I was sorry the night I had another attack of memories. Of feelings. Of regrets when Tayuya had gone. I clung to Sakura because I knew how this was going to play out, and I didn't have the strength to tell her to leave.

And she didn't have the common sense to not stay.

I felt all the more guilty she was being dragged along.

All the more guilty she continued to be around, reminding me her feelings were still there like I could forget. Like I could ignore that look in her eyes. That smile on her face. The way she laced her fingers with mine. Steal kisses like the thief she pretended to be.

I should have told her stop then.

But she made it undeniable the reason she was still around. To win me.

So every tug at my waist seemed like a trap. A trap I foolishly attempted to indulge in. A trap I laid for myself as I let her slip between my spread legs, kissing her in her bed. Scratching at her back when I knew I wasn't supposed to.

I should have shoved her away then.

But she took my fears and gently placed them in my face. As if she were so sorry to do. Reminding me she was there when Tayuya left. That nothing about what happened then could be forgotten when I tried to do just that. Forget. And I played into the fears, not wanting to be alone. So I hung on to Sakura.

I should have ran then.

And here I was, chasing her down, knowing this was going to happen and yet I wasn't prepared for it. After all the time I had to let it sink in. After all the work I did to help Sakura get used to the fact that it wouldn't be her. That it wasn't going to be her. That she entered a losing race.

I was chasing her down.

When I should have just let her go.

As my paced slowed, as I realized what I was doing- circling around the same mistake I have been over and over again- I finally caught glimpse of her.

Standing there.

Beer in her hand and sad smile on her face as she stared at the fireworks.

My heart hammered.

My throat had gone dry.

My knees became weak all over again.

And I took a step back. Forcing myself away from the same mistakes I always made.

Took another, because I was scared of doing the right thing yet pretending I was only doing her a favor if I left now.

Another to run back to Tayuya and hoping she could shield me from the world just as well as Sakura did when it was the other way around.

But bumped into someone behind me when I reached step four.

I turned to see Tayuya there, giving me a frown. Her eyes wandered my cheeks, and I realized I had been crying. Quickly brushing them away, I said, "You were right. I wouldn't have been able to do it. Let's just go home."

Her eyes wandered behind me as she quietly stood there. Tensing, I grabbed her waist and tried to push her to walk with me, "Please, Tayuya. Please take me home."

"We can't until you give her back the hoodie," she mumbled, slipping her eyes back down to me.

My heart froze as I remembered it being ripped off me when Tayuya and I got to the car, her growling she didn't want me wearing anymore of Sakura's things. I sucked in a breath and promised, "I'll give it back to her later."

Her only response was her handing over the keys. When I gave her a desperate look, she mumbled, "Walk her to go grab the hoodie and call me when you're ready to go."

Just when I was about to plead, she walked off, tugging at the folds of her beanie. Effectively snatching away my escape. Swallowing, I watched her go before turning back to where Sakura had been. This time around, she was watching me.

My heart hammered, knowing my last chance of leave had just left with Tayuya. And though I had no way out, I felt myself frozen there. As if I stayed planted in that one spot for long enough, I could manage a way out of the inevitable.

It hadn't mattered. Sakura had decided to walk over to me instead.

Again, like so many other times tonight, I wanted to run. I wanted to be anywhere right now but here. But with whatever was left of my energy, I stayed there until she reached me.

And sucked in a shaking breath when she finally parted her lips to speak.

"So, let me guess, this is some sort of test?" Sakura joked humorously, smile at her lips that was as empty as the hallow feeling in my chest. I tried to think of a response, but she only continued, "Or, what, an example of the few things I'll have to bite my tongue on."

"Sakura," I began weakly.

Her eyes glinted, "Or, and this one is my best bet, you pretending something like what just happened isn't something I should be concerned about."

"I… don't know what to say," I replied pathetically.

"Then why are you here?" Sakura demanded in bewilderment, "Why the fuck are we talking? Why the fuck am I at this party if I just came to see that?"

"I was going to ask-"

Stupidly enough, I was going to tell her about the hoodie in the car, but she cut me off, "If I was okay? IF I was holding up fine? If anything bothered me about the scene, because it shouldn't. Why would it? It isn't like I haven't been trying for you for months."

"No," I rushed out, shaking my head as I scrambled, "I don't know. I'm-"

"Don't," she all but yelled, taking a breath with a laugh as she shook her head, "Don't. I swear if you say you're sorry, I'm going to lose it. I am. Something so stupid, so fucking small as a pile of words, are going to completely shatter me."

"What else do you want me to say?" I almost begged, not knowing what else to do. I felt trapped, like I was shoved here to deal with a fire, but there was nothing I could do to help stop it from burning everything down. Every one of her memories. Her laughs. Her smiles with me.

"For you to explain to me, at which exact moment, had I already lost?" Sakura shouted, pointing at me with a glare so intense I felt all my memories burning away too. Every day I spent with her in the science room. Every awkward smile she'd give me when I caught her being a dork. Every excited look in her eyes whenever she talked about space.

I shook my head, unable to speak.

"Tell me," Sakura demanded, watching me intently, digging deeper into my eyes as if she could find the answer herself, "When was it? Back when you were in that cabin with me and your friends, staring at your phone every night for a text from her? Or before then, when I'm guessing when you guys kissed in the first place? Because you can't tell me you didn't know until this very second. Until this very moment. Don't fucking lie to me. I was here with you all god damn night. If you were going to magically choose someone, it wouldn't be the person who wasn't here!"

"I just..." I began, attempting to string my words together, "I didn't know what to do. I just wanted to keep being friends."

"And you thought the best way to do it was to string me along?" She asked in disbelief, shoving her hand through her hair as she took a step back ,"Like I was your favorite toy you didn't want to lose. Giving me this whole speech about how I need to be okay with everything, but the joke was that I didn't have a choice but to be okay with it to begin with."

"You're wrong," I said quietly, watching her with a shake of my head.

"Am I?" She countered with a laugh, "Because it makes perfect sense, now that it's all said and done. I was your comfort pillow until she came back around. And just in case she left again, you kept me here, until this moment. Until you finally got her."

"Stop!" I shouted, an angry sting coming to my eyes as I forced out, "Just stop. You weren't strung along, Sakura. You decided to follow by yourself."

"Did I?"

"You did," I bit off firmly, taking a step towards her, "I told you to stay away. I told you I was fine."

"You weren't!"

"It doesn't matter!" I shouted back, fists balling together as I tried hard to keep the tears back, "It wasn't you're job to fix me, we both knew that, but you went ahead and did it anyway. And what happened after that? What happened when you kept trying to pick up my broken pieces? You caught feelings."

"I knew since the moment I met you-"

"You knew since the moment you saw how shattered I was, and how easy it was for you to pick up the pieces, but not a before that." Taking a shaky breath, I whispered, "Don't accuse you chasing after me as my fault. I already hurt this much actually trying to do the right thing-"

"The right thing?" She asked, watching me intently as she shoved her hands in her pockets, "Is she the right thing? Because you look at her like she can solve all of this, but you're forgetting who was there to solve it the first time around."

"She can solve all of this," I mumbled back, look away from Sakura's eyes, "Someone who has enough power to completely wreck you has more than enough power to make everything alright again."

A snort left her lips, disbelief in a single breath whispering between us. "I can't believe I fell for this shit man. Like I could honestly get the girl."

"Honestly, Sakura, you have me but it isn't enough."

"Fuck off," she bit out, but the harshness in her tone had dropped. It sounded flat and void of caring, "Don't tell me some stupid shit like that."

"I'm-"

"Don't," she mumbled, her jaw locked together as her fists balled in her pockets, "Don't. Because you saying sorry means all of this is finally over. I'm not going to have you. You're not going to be mine. After all this shit, it's done. Those two words are going to fucking shatter me."

"It doesn't have to completely done. We can still be friends," I offered, but was only cut off by her laugh.

"Friends," she repeated, her chuckle hallow, "No offense Ino, but after all of this. You hurt entirely too much to keep around."

My heart cracked.

"I can't do it," Sakura continued, shaking her head as she looked away from me, "I seriously can't. You say she can fix everything, then let her fix this shit. Because I'm not sticking around to watch this all go down. No. I've stuck around long enough."

Taking a step away from me, she continued to avoid my eyes, "I'll... just whatever Ino. I'm heading home."

I felt my throat constrict as I opened my mouth, but no words came out to stop her. Instead I watched her walk off, fireworks still popping in the sky as she did so. New years as fresh as the smelling of smoke from the firecrackers around us. Not even an hour into it, and I managed to ruin the entire year.

Swallowing back my hurt, I picked up my phone and dialed Tayuay's number. She answered within the first ring, and asked softly, "Did you manage to give her back her hoodie?"

It seemed like such a stupid question, such a selfish question, but I knew exactly why she was asking. I knew it was her way of asking how it went. So I took a breath to answer, but a sob broke through as I said, "I didn't have the chance to."

"Don't worry," she assured gently, "We'll give it to her soon, alright?"

I nodded, though she couldn't see me. Because any hope of this not being the last time I spoke to Sakura was a better hope than knowing I would never get the chance to give up her hoodie.

Because never having the chance means never seeing her again.

So I clung to Tayuya's whispers as she assured that it'll work out.

I clung because I would completely break if I didn't.

"So you choose huh?"

The voice cut throw me like glass. My hand with the phone clutched between my fingers fell from my face as I turned around to see Temari standing there, beer in her hand as she shook her head at me.

"Just like that, a couple of words, an extra push, and you quit fucking around," she continued, taking a leisure sip of her bottle.

My tears, which had just been flowing, felt like they completely dried at my spike of anger. Wiping my eyes, I bit out, "Not now, Temari. Seriously, just don't."

"I'm not coming at you," Temari said with a raise of her hands, a show of surrender, "I just came over to tell you-"

"That I fucked up? Again." I cut off, giving an empty laugh, "That I managed to run off another friend like I have some sort of sick twisted talent of not being able to keep anyone around."

"She's just a bit hurt," Temari reasoned, taking a step towards me, "Just give her some time."

"To what? Think of reasons why it's probably better to stay away from me?" I asked, wiping my eyes again, "But maybe this is a good thing. She gets to start her new year as if I never existed."

"Ino-"

"A couple of words and a good push," I repeated, giving her a look, "One talk with Sakura, and you see right through me?"

Temari frowned, "Tenten was telling me all the things that had been going on between you and Sakura. In her defense, she was worried."

I shook my head, smiling in disbelief, "So you talk to Tenten, then Sakura, and not push but shove me into making a move. Nice one Temari."

"I didn't think it would be pretty, but it needed to be done," she tried to reason.

I laughed again, "You're right. It did. I was toxic and Sakura didn't need me around."

"Ino seriously-"

"Just leave me alone." I wanted to shout it at her, but it hardly fell from my lips. I didn't have the energy to deal with her, or anyone else, tonight. I just wanted to go home. To curl in bed and try not to cry. I didn't deserve to, but who else was going to shed tears for me but myself.

Temari was moving towards me now, and I knew she wouldn't let it go. I knew she would keep going until I saw reasoning, some sort of hope, but even that was dwindling away fast.

Just as she was opening her mouth to speak again, Tayuya showed up. She gave me one look then proceeded to give Temari a glare that could have withered anything alive. Not that Temari backed off, instead she responded with a hard frown.

"Listen kid, she needs a friend right now. Not anymore extra bull-" Temari started.

"Exactly why I'm here, taking her away from you." Tayuya cut off in a low tone, "We're going home."

"Probably not the best idea," Temari replied, taking a step towards us.

"I don't give a fuck what you think," Tayuya bit out, taking my hand and lacing our fingers together, "I got it from here, kid. Apparently you're shit at being a friend."

Temari set her jaw, but Tayuya didn't seem fazed. Only gently tugged me back to the car.

Where we took the long drive home.

And spent the long night in my bed with her holding me.

Wow. Okay. So there it is.

It's fucking over.

Well in a sense. We still have the pleasure of the epilogue that will be coming next chapter, but that's it man.

It's fucking done.

Jesus man, I've been holding on to this story for too long. Granted, I was going to let it die, but it just blows me that it's finished.

Mind you, I gave it to my best friend before I posted. She was hurt. That's all she had to say. Her review of my hard work was, in qoute "I am hurt..."

Great. One life I ruined. What a success.

Anyway. I'll see you soon for the epilogue.

Until then, this isn't the last review you can post. But hell, humor me anyway. I'm sure it will either not get noticed. OR i'll get hate mails. Either is fun! I'm happy. All that matters.

So read review, tell me what you think.

I'll see you in the next and final chapter.

Shycadet loves you guys. And is still alive. Out.

ps, hope you guys are still alive too.