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    Chapter I: Apology... Not Accepted
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    "My brother's dead, isn't he...?"


    The words were spoken in such a broken and lifeless way that made a chill run up the medical ninja's spine. Sakura slowly turned to the young Kaichu girl, her eyes downcast. All she wanted was to console her, to tell her that everything would be alright, but then she'd be lying to Jounetsu, and to herself.

    Jounetsu hung back, hands balling themselves into fists at her sides as she knelt by her younger brother's body. Her obsidian eyes, sparkling with unshed tears, were like bottomless black pits. Just as swift as Kitsuko had entered her life, he was gone. The happiness, the warm hugs, the days of just lying in the grass and enjoying each other's presence... they were all gone.

    She knew what her brother had gone through, having gone through death before. The endless darkness was enough to scar her for all eternity. Kitsuko didn't deserve this; he didn't deserve to be sent to that lifeless place where there was no light. Instead of being in that dark place for only a moment like she had, he was going to be stuck there forever. He was going to be stuck there, alone and scared...

    "Kitsuko..." she began in a cracked voice. Sakura could tell she was on the verge of tears. "I- I should have protected you... I’m a pathetic excuse for a sister... I..." Silently, the tears began to flow down the side of her cheek, falling onto her lap and staining them black. Her shoulders shook with each sob, fingernails digging themselves into the thin fabric of her pants and forming crescent-shaped welts on her knees.

    "Jounetsu-kun..." Sakura called to the young girl softly, hand outstretched and reaching out to touch the girl's shoulder. She had to say something, anything. She was one of the reasons Jounetsu's brother was dead, since she had healed Sasuke of the large wound from Jounetsu's ninjato on the impression that the young ninja was sent by the Raikage to assassinate him. It was her fault.

    "Jounetsu-kun... I'm sor-" Sakura stopped mid-sentence as her hand was roughly swatted away. Her emerald eyes widened. The look Jounetsu gave her was that of a person who'd lost everything important in their life. The sadness, the anger, the loneliness... to say it only made a guilty feeling well at the pit of her stomach would be an understatement.

    "Jounetsu-kun, I didn't mean to help him... I- I didn't know." Her words fell on deaf ears as Jounetsu was bending over her brother's body. In slow, stiff movements she removed the left wing from her angel necklace and attached it to a short silver string. She then slowly lifted her brother's head up and wound the string around his neck, tying it tightly in the back. When she pulled away the wing was settled at the center of his chest, just over his heart.

    "I suggest you leave, now," was all that came from the Kumogakure ninja's lips. She still had her head bowed, staring at the lifeless face of her brother, and had not bothered to face her as she spoke. Finding no reaction from the pink-haired kunoichi she rose to her full height, her eyes a stormy blue like the thunderstorm above them. "I said leave us!" she roared, voice booming over the rumbling thunder.

    Holding back tears, Sakura slowly stood from her kneeling position, albeit shakily. She was hesitant to turn around, for she had yet to apologize to the younger ninja. She clenched her hand into a fist at her side and met Jounetsu's angered gaze with her own filled with determination. Seeing as this was her last chance to get her message across, Sakura held the other ninja's gaze steadily.

    Just as she was about to open her mouth, she was brought to a halt by Jounetsu's next words. "Save your apologies for the council," the Kumogakure ninja said, anguish lacing every syllable. "There you'll be trialed for aiding the man who murdered my brother. I will not hold back, I give you my word." The words Sakura had meant to say died in her throat and was replaced by a hard lump, preventing her from getting even a single sound passed her lips.

    Her chest clenched at the twisted, sad smile Jounetsu gave her. Even from the subtle signs Jounetsu was giving her, Sakura could tell that she was stricken with grief but was trying her hardest to contain it. Sakura understood that the pain must be overbearing, consuming her entire being and changing her. She knew that she would never see the old Jounetsu again for as long as she lived, however long that was. The young Kaichu was changed forever and there was no way she would revert to her usual self. Sakura felt the guilt grow within the pit of her stomach. To be the reason of her brother's death... it hurt her too much. But the one who is really hurting here, she told herself as she gazed up at Jounetsu's cerulean eyes, is Jounetsu-kun.

    Did it really have to come to this? Sakura knew that if she had only listened to Jounetsu before... she felt so stupid. If she hadn't chosen Sasuke's side so quickly, and listened to Jounetsu's reasons, none of this would have happened. For what seemed like hours just standing there and gazing into each other's eyes, Sakura finally made a move to leave. She swiftly turned around, her cloak swishing behind her, but was surprised when something caught her hand before she could sprint off.

    Over her shoulder she saw Jounetsu, tearstained and head bowed. "Sakura-senpai..." the girl said in a low voice, making the older of the two kunoichis stop. Her voice from a while ago dissipated. "I never intended to be angry with you," at this Jounetsu turned to her side, the bangs framing her face hiding her eyes. "I know I shouldn't blame either you or Sasuke-senpai... but I hope that you understand why... I'm like this..."

    Sakura's body suddenly acted on its own, and before she knew what she was doing, she was embracing the young ninja in a tight, motherly embrace. Jounetsu's eyes widened a fraction of an inch before she slowly relaxed into the familiar warmth, much like when her mother had embraced her when she was just a small child. The medical ninja smelled of herbs and dried blood which could be seen caked onto her red top.

    A light sniffle filled her ears... Jounetsu's cerulean eyes rose up to meet watered over emerald ones. It took a while for it to register in the Kumogakure ninja's mind that Sakura was crying while holding her like a mother being separated from her child. Which wasn't entirely a lie since Jounetsu was, of course, still a child of thirteen. It's terrible to have her experience this at such a young age, Sakura thought to herself as she cried silently for the girl.

    When Sakura pulled away after a few moments, she put on the best smile she could muster and said, "I will find a way to make up for Kitsuko's death, and I want to be able to repay you someday. Until that day, I will never set foot on Kumogakure soil. I promise you." Jounetsu's only reaction was a curt nod of her head, which Sakura returned with a smile, her head tilted to one side. With no further thoughts, Sakura sprinted off, but just before she would be completely out of sight she chanced a glance back at Jounetsu.

    The young Kaichu stood tall against the backdrop of a raging thunderstorm, the wind whipping at her face and sending her dark silver locks dancing across her face. Her eyes that bore an uncanny resemblance to the sky stared off into the distance. Lightning flashed behind her, the roaring thunder following milliseconds later. She looked like Naruto as he had been when battling Sasuke, strong, determined, and most of all, driven... driven with a purpose of seeking the proper justice for her slain brother.

    Sakura blinked the rain out of her eyes, but even now she couldn't which one apart from the other, her tears mixing with the droplets of rain coming down on her. She turned her attention forward just as a range of high mountains covered Jounetsu from her view. She would stand by her word of finding a way to repay Jounetsu for her crime, whatever means necessary. When Jounetsu would press charges on her, she would not object. It was the least she could do. As she made her slow journey back to Konohagakure, she slowly wondered which poured harder; her tears, or the rain.