Chapter 9 - Crushing Emotions

Fade sat on her bed, staring blankly at the wall. So many emotions swirled around inside her, causing her heart to suffer with every beat. She was in denial. She looked down at a picture frame in her hands. She stared at the four smiling faces.

A picture of Team Alpha before they had left Konoha.

Crystal's smile brought more pain to her already aching heart.

Betrayal hurt more than the death of someone you loved… for when a person betrays you, and you care about them, the person you've grown to know has died… but their body still breaths; the body of someone who has deceived you.

How could she not have noticed?

Tears stung her eyes as memories flooded back to her. She wrapped her arms around her knees and cried all throughout the night.

xXxXxXx

Mimic and Flame sat emotionlessly in Flame's room, both still in an aftershock over the incidents earlier today. Mimic's eyes narrowed in anger as she clutched her fist.

They had grown up with her.

They had loved her.

They had trusted her.

And she betrayed them all.

She suddenly punched the wall closest to her, causing the tower to shake, and leaving a large hole in the wall. Flame's eyes slowly looked over at her damaged wall, but said nothing. She had learned at a young age that betrayal was common amongst ninjas… her own boyfriend betrayed her and his village. She was use to it.

However, she couldn't say the same for her two other teammates.

Or Naruto, for that matter.

She sighed and looked out her window, pain deep within her eyes.

'He's probably blaming himself… just as he did with Sasuke.'

xXxXxXx

Naruto stared down at the ocean beneath him, his eyes clouded with sadness. His fist clenched tightly.

He had failed his sister just as he failed Sasuke. Except this time, he won't chase after her. He knew…

He knew that she wouldn't come back.

The cold look in her eyes was exactly the same as Sasuke's.

A look of sadness; a look of hatred.

He couldn't save her.

"Naruto?" He was brought out of his self-pity fest by Kagome's concerned voice. He turned and watched her sit down beside him, pulling her legs to her chest.

It was silent.

"I'm sorry." She whispered, making the pain that already grasped his heart, throb more.

"For what?" He asked simply, not turning to look at her.

Kagome didn't know how to respond… she just wanted the pain she knew he felt to diminish.

So, she embraced him from behind as she had down to Inuyasha so long ago when he had killed the bandits while in his demon state.

Naruto's eyes widened at the unfamiliar contact before reaching his hand up to rest over Kagome's.

"Naruto…" She whispered, her eyes clouding in pain. "It's okay to cry…" She finished; causing his eyes to soften and tears began to form.

'Kagome… you don't know… the feeling of being useless… I'm a failure.'