Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Sakura just stood idly by watching Matsuri hugging Gaara so normally as if she did it every day. She wondered what it felt to hold him so close, he even returned the gesture towards her. It was rare for her to see someone like him be involved in such an intimate position.

His casual reaction to her must mean that the two were obviously close. Possibly lovers.

Her heart sped up and ached briefly longing for a relationship such as theirs. She wanted to be held, kissed, and more by someone who welcomed her loving presence and equally returned it.

She continued to watch them. How after being released from the hug, Matsuri still stood close by Gaara and engaged him in the conversation by constantly poking his arm or glancing at him waiting for a response or lack of.

She hadn't meant to look at him so long to be caught as different green eyes met and Sakura was mad enough to imagine that Gaara had sent her smile her way without completely expressing the emotion. She had to be seeing things; her head still wasn't screwed on right.

"Sakura, are you alright?" Kankuro whispered in her ear pulling her back from her own little world.

"Yeah," she replied, finally able to pull her gaze away from the Kazekage and onto his older brother, "Fine."

"Clearly not, wait…Don't tell me our little pink haired beauty is jealous of all the attention Matsuri is giving my dear ol' brother." Kankuro smirked handing Sakura a drink of what appeared to be whiskey and watched in amusement as she tipped her head back and drowned it all in one sip.

"You think I'm beautiful?" Sakura replied licking her lips and found the brunette shooting her a questioning look with his painted eyebrow shooting upwards; even with a suit on, he still chose to wear his puppet war paint. "What? I picked up more than just the basics when working with Tsunade."

"Ah," he replied sipping his own drink that appeared darker than the one he gave her. "Remind me to treat you to martinis instead. Can't have you drunk before the night even begins."

That had made Sakura laugh hard and it seemed that everyone in the vicinity had heard her too. Their eyes redirected to the pink lady with a beautiful smile and a killer jab as they watched her abuse the Kazekage's bodyguard.

"Watch yourself Kankuro," Sakura teased feeling all the eyes roam her body and couldn't help but feel encouraged to continue her tongue-in-cheek with the man beside her. She leaned into him, a sly smirk playing on her lips talking to him as if she was telling him a secret, "I won't be the one in trouble tonight. I can hold my liquor better than Tsunade herself."

"We'll see about that," Kankuro's cheeks tinted pink and then he laughed almost dropping his drink at the girl's boldness. She sure was a handful and he couldn't help but look over at his brother knowing he was on the receiving end of her attention. His laugh died down as Gaara's piercing eyes stabbed a warning sign through him.

Kankuro couldn't help but frown at his little brother's childish behavior. Kankuro unconsciously placed a hand down Sakura's back leading her towards a nearby bar stool in retaliation. His brother had no right sending him such a look when he had Matsuri practically hanging off his arm; it wasn't fair to Sakura.

"Hey, what's going on with you?" Sakura asked noticing how tense his jaw was. "Kankuro?"

The puppeteer looked down at the pink haired girl releasing a frustrated sigh in defeat. No matter how much he wanted to make his brother give into his jealousy and pay him back by getting together with Sakura, Kankuro knew he couldn't go through with such a plan. He saw Sakura as a really close friend and he could never see her as anything more than that.

Besides, he had a huge crush on his brother's date, but Mitsuri only seemed to have eyes for Gaara since he could remember. For all he knew, he was invisible to her.

"Kankuro?" Sakura asked once more knowing he was distracted by something very important to him. She had to distract him from whatever bad thoughts he was currently having and resorted to picking up her wet napkin.

Since her time in Suna, Sakura learned that threats also worked here as they did on her boys back home.

"If you don't tell me what's bothering you, I'm not going to hesitate to wipe more than that frown from your face," she threatened him and managed to break his composure as he laughed. "Imagine what everyone would say if they knew you were actually that ugly under all that makeup,"

With a sleight of hand, Kankuro traded her weapon for that of a calming draught in the form of a wine glass.

"You do that Sakura, and I'll tell everyone your dirty little secret," Kankuro returned her a threat of his own, and something in his eyes troubled Sakura. He was formulating a plan of sorts and for someone as tricky as him, that was never good news for everyone around him.

"If you're talking about my high tolerance for liquor, I'm sure people already know that I frequent the bar here often," Sakura said tilting her head, trying to see what exactly he was getting at. The boy was clever, she'd give him that.

"That's not what I meant." Kankuro tutted calling the bartender over for another drink and once he was sure no one was listening, he said in a low tone, "I was referring to your attraction towards Gaara."

That shut Sakura up and almost made her spill her drink over herself. Almost.

"You know better than I that it can't happen," Sakura frowned pushing her drink away, suddenly sober and it was such a shame that her mood had been killed this early into the party.

"That is after all why I am on this mission Kankuro. I'm here per Nara Temari's urging request to make sure who Gaara chooses as a wife will be well-versed in political jargon and inter-country unity. She knows you're not capable of updating her on the relevant issue and personally asked me to come on her behalf. I'm just here to babysit and nothing more. I can't interfere."

"While my sister is happily away on her honeymoon, I find it completely unfair that we have to sit back and just watch those we love come together with another. It's not fair that we can't pursue them."

"Don't put words in my mouth," Sakura said pulling him closer to her in case anyone decided to listen to their banter.

She didn't want to risk any eavesdroppers start a few wildfire rumors. With his hand in hers, she continued tugging him to the other side of the room with fewer occupants.

"It's not his fault Kankuro," Sakura sighed her eyes roaming over the room brimming with a mix of potential brides, politicians, and friends, "If there's anyone to blame, it's the council."

"If only Chiyo-baasama was still here then she could stop them from making a fool of themselves by pushing forward such an appalling decree." Kankuro huffed, "You know what bothers me most? Gaara's not even fighting it. He's just going along with this silly game."

It was Sakura's turn to scoff, "You know he isn't enjoying it."

She was staring at Gaara as she said that. She didn't know when she had fallen for those ocean eyes or his red hair that clashed horribly with her own pink strands. The Suna heat hadn't done her any favors as it lightened her hair into a pastel shade she had yet to get used to.

Gaara just continued listening to another politician that had approached him, still not walking away from Mitsuri's side who seemed just as reluctant to leave him too. But there was something in Gaara's stance that kept Sakura hoping; if she was reading him right, he seemed just as uncomfortable as her.

"Oh please, don't act like it isn't bothering you either," Kankuro said eyeing Sakura in her very beautiful outfit.

She was wearing a deep crimson dress that seemed to emit a dignified air about her. It just so happened that there were gold details on her dress that sparkled to reveal an outline of the one-tailed beast along with delicate cherry blossoms adorning her waist. Her hair had been swept off to the side in a bun, a single seal pin holding it in place reminding everyone who dared to tough that she was still a deadly kunoichi.

He knew she had bought it with the intention of impressing someone special tonight considering she had dragged him along, "You know, you'd be perfect."

"What?" Sakura asked not quite understanding his compliment.

"You'd be the perfect wife for Gaara. You're already knowledgeable about our world and you have the reputation of a kunoichi and you're from a civilian family. You'd be supported from all sides in Suna and with your connections to the previous Hokage and Naruto, they can't say no to you as a candidate."

"Are you out of your mind?" Sakura couldn't believe what she was hearing. Kankuro had obviously gotten insane and seeing Gaara with Mitsuki had tipped the scale into 'madman'.

"It makes sense-"

Sakura cut him off before he could spew any more nonsense, "Look, Kankuro, I have a life I need to return to back in Konoha and I can't just walk away from all that."

"That traitor Sasuke managed to do it. Naruto also left for a good while to train under the other infamous Sannin that wrote porn. You asked them both to tag along without batting an eye. We both know you're not in love with that bastard anymore, so tell me exactly why you can't go after the person you love this time."

Sakura knew all this was true and it sure hit a sore spot in her. She was hesitating because she didn't want to end up hurt again. Sasuke had scarred her confidence in self-love, twisted her heart in deception and conditioned her to think that the pain he caused in her was love. He had toyed with her emotions, made her feel like she was nothing if she didn't have him by her side. Sasuke never thought of her as more than an annoying teammate and she had failed to see that until the war had ended.

She bit her bottom lip in worry. She was afraid that Gaara was too much like him. They were both composed and silent. Both strong and had been exposed to hatred and mistrust in love at a young age.

"You're a coward," Kankuro frowned reading her like an open book. "He's not Sasuke. Gaara's different; you have always stood up to him and he has always seen you as a worthy opponent."

With that, Kankuro walked back to the bar scouting potential threats from his seat, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Sakura constantly praised herself for being smart since she could remember passing the chunin exam with a perfect score. She was always paying attention to the "underneath" in Kakashi's strategies and when evaluating their enemies' plans. She had even managed to be in the top of her class at the hospital and despite recalling all her medical studies with perfect memory retention, Sakura had failed to see the truth of her feelings that Kankuro had so harshly pointed out.

She was in love with Gaara because he was the opposite of her former love interest.

She had been witnessed to how different Gaara compared to Sasuke. The sand wielder always acknowledged her presence in the room, he always listened carefully to every word she spoke and remembered her favorite drinks and food. Gaara didn't fume in silence when he was angry, no, he took out his frustration during his personal training time within the sand arena.

Gaara didn't run away from responsibility; he took it upon himself to become the Kazekage because he wanted to fight and make a difference. Sasuke had taken the easy way out and turned against his village and refused to come back. It was clear who was the better man.

There were also the moments they shared that Sakura had come to cherish and would miss when she left back home. She could remember their shared dinners as if it were yesterday. She would help in the hospitals when she wasn't needed around the office and he would wait for her, insisting to walk her home together because she was under his care.

They would order take out and sometimes when he brought work with him, Sakura would help sort the papers out thanks to her vast experience aiding Tsunade in that matter. She had often caught him staring at her as she nibbled her bottom lip in concentration those nights, and when she smiled back at him, he sheepishly looked away.

Sakura was comfortable with him, more so than with any of her other boys. She had often dropped her guard around him and if they weren't doing paperwork, they would often speak of the war or their past insecurities. Gaara was a good listener, waiting until the end of her rant or story before choosing to criticize her or share a rare story of his own.

Sakura had once thought she could get used to this until he would ask her opinion about one female or another a council member had recommended for him. His questions always bordered on whether she thought the potential candidate looked smart enough or if he should bother wasting his time with a girl who looked like a brat. He had once asked her if his future wife would understand him as well as Sakura did.

His eyes had looked so helpless, and she recalled wanting to give in to the urge to touch his face and run her hand up to his scar. To run her hand in his red locks and confirm her suspicion that it was indeed as tangled as it looked.

"Dammit Kankuro, why did I have to realize this now?" Sakura mumbled, her hand running down her face in defeat.

"Trouble in paradise?" a masked male voice interrupted her overwhelming thoughts and Sakura couldn't help but feel curious about the mysterious man next to her.

"There is no paradise…sir," Sakura cautiously replied not knowing this man's name. "If you don't mind me asking, why the mask?"

"I'm just a mere escort of the Rain Daimyo's daughter attending here. The elders insisted that male escorts should mask their features in order to not interrupted the Kazekage's party held intentionally for him to meet potential matches for the role of his Kazehime."

Sakura noticed that the man wasn't particularly happy with such a request but went through with it nonetheless. She also noticed that he didn't have a hitai-ate, but his chakra aurora told her otherwise.

Sakura looked around the room, feigning ignorance about his somewhat concealed chakra, noticing that he at least wasn't lying about other escorts having some sort of guise on – whether that was their headband covering a side of the face, bandages, or masks. She mentally cursed wondering if Kankuro was drunk across the room or still capable of recognizing any potential threats despite going through a heartbreak.

By the looks of it, Kankuro had just ordered another glass of what appeared to be brandy glaring at his little brother. At least Gaara appeared to be sober despite being preoccupied with an engaging conversation with very beautiful women. Sakura couldn't bare looking much longer as a dark-haired girl brushed her hand with Gaara's and Sakura quickly looked away at what appeared to be her new mysterious company.

Taking it upon herself, Sakura decided that she would take over Kankuro's job to secure that the Kazekage was safe with this man beside her.

"You still didn't answer my question though," Sakura said eyeing what appeared to be a mask made to resemble a raven and effectively covered the top half of his face. It took a second for her to filter that it was made entirely out of wood, "Why this mask?"

"Ah," he answered not quite expecting to be asked that and shot her a captivating smile. Sakura was astounded to find that his soft lips looked familiar as he continued speaking, "I just happen to like the art, it takes a lot of skill to make something like wood beautiful."

That confused Sakura causing her to ask, "You made it?"

"Only one of its kind," he replied with a mirthless laugh and Sakura couldn't comprehend if he was still talking about the mask or something else. That was until he extended his hand at her, "May I have this dance?"

She tried to catch her breath again, this mysterious man appeared to be full of surprises and as she placed her hand in his to feel his callouses, she knew that he had to be a ninja. There was no doubt that he was suppressing his chakra, but as he pulled her closer to the lit dance floor, Sakura finally realized that the man had bright red hair.

She inwardly laughed at the irony for missing such a crucial detail. She met his eyes, shocked to be saddened by the fact that they were a muted brown rather than a piercing jade.

"I do hope I'm not stealing the attention of a future bride away from the Kazekage," he said engaging her in light chit chat. "But it's not every day that one crosses paths with a very talented kunoichi."

"You know who I am?" Sakura asked suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with her proximity to the unknown man, but she had to bear with it to do her duty. Once she knew who his identity and confirmed him harmless, she would walk away and join Kankuro's empty seat beside him.

"It's only fair if I knew who I was dancing with," Sakura sweetly replied not anticipating how his hand on her back had lowered to rest barely above her bottom. She unconsciously arched forward to try and place some distance from his hand and her back but had unintentionally closed the gap between them and found herself trapped in his arms instead.

"It's reassuring to see that you're still as graceful and impatient as ever Sakura," he chuckled, but his finger poked a particular spot on her back causing her to wince and look up at the man. It had been the same spot she had been stabbed in by none other than…

No, it couldn't be.

He just continued to smirk, watching as she struggled to piece his identity, so he gave her a little clue as his other hand appeared over her head to trace her seal, "But this here is new, little girl."

"Sasori?" Sakura gasped in a hushed tone, hoping to some god out there that she was currently beyond intoxicated and imagining things in her drunken stupor.

"Now, now, don't do anything rash with your impressive strength, kid." Sasori smirked pulling her even closer than she thought possible and whispered in her ear, "Wouldn't want to steal the spotlight from this happy event with our reunion."

"H-How?" Sakura managed to speak in her current state of shock, "Why are you here?"

"You always had a bad habit of asking too many questions," he replied leading them to another room, this one emptier than the last.

Sakura was quite thankful that they were heading away from Gaara who she couldn't bear to see get hurt again by this man tightly holding her.

"Are there others?" Sakura demanded forcing him to stop with her strength, "Answer me Sasori."

His grip just tightened around her some more and she was certain she would be bruised come morning; that is if she even made it out alive with this unexpected encounter. Or maybe this was just a bad nightmare and she actually was asleep – well, a girl could hope right?

"You worry too much," he replied, and Sakura felt her body slowly moving on her own accord towards a balcony away from prying eyes. "And for the right reasons, I assume but I promise you, it's just me, little girl."

Sakura let out a sigh of relief and decided to just play along, allowing him to continue dragging her in the direction he desired. She really didn't want to jeopardize the lives of so many people around them; there would be too many casualties and she wasn't even in her own village to instigate such a fight.

Sakura scowled, Sasori must've known how she would react in such a setting for he seemed content that she wasn't putting up much of a fight. Once they were exposed to the stars and secluded, Sasori released his chakra strings on her and instead chose to keep one of her hands in his own in case she decided to do something silly like run away.

Sakura didn't dare tug her hand away afraid of any repercussion and instead directed their conversation, so she could get more information out of him and possibly learn something valuable that would help her escape and catch him.

"How are even alive Sasori?"

Sasori just tutted her, released the seal pin in hair and watched as her pink tresses fell around her shoulders. He smiled, happy to learn that her hair was still rather short and ruffled her head as an owner would to his dog.

"Let's just say, like many of those lucky to be alive from the war thanks to your seal, I am also grateful to know someone who managed to heal my heart and place it back into my un-rotting body." He replied in an angry tone that Sakura figured he wasn't all that happy to be returned into his human body rather than a puppet one.

As Sakura anxiously watched him remove his mask with his free hand, she also noticed under the moonlight that he wasn't that fifteen-year-old boy. He looked older, some of his features had hardened into that of a slender and much taller man. Had she always been this short?

He just smirked at her, reveling in her appraisal of him.

"What do you want?" Sakura curtly asked, not embarrassed one bit that she had been checking him out.

"Well, when one hears that the young Kazekage has come of age to pick a bride and hears that a pink-haired medic is also in town only to learn that she has become the center of attention of said Kazekage, one tends to worry Sakura." Sasori casually replied caressing her cheek before cupping her jaw so she could look straight into his eyes, "It pains me to see you watching him just as eagerly as he is, little one."

Sakura could barely register what he was saying. There were two blaring thoughts going off in her head, the first revealing that Gaara was interested enough in her to be keeping an eye on her throughout the evening between his talks. And then there was the fact that Sasori seemed to believe he had a claim on her and disapproved of her actions swooning over Gaara.

She was not prepared to be hit with all this information at once.

"Why do you care Sasori? You should be dead and not meddling in my life, I killed you!" Sakura shouted, her free hand clutching his own that was now on her neck.

He squeezed a little and Sakura could feel her windpipe crushing inside as she gasped and was even less prepared for what happened next.

Sasori had taken advantage of their position and had kissed her. Angry, Sakura shut her mouth closed, biting his bottom lip in the process and without wasting another second, she head-butted him as he fell back clutching his forehead.

Sakura took a few steps back and undid the blossoms on her waist, effectively dislodging the long train of her dress and exposing her legs so she could move more comfortably. There also happened to be a holster attached to her thigh where she retrieved a kunai and pointed it at the invasive man before her.

"I won't hesitate to kill you again Sasori, this time permanently. So, tell me, why are you really here?"

Sakura watched in horror as he just laughed manically one hand still clutching his head, "I've forgotten how painful that could be. It's good to see you haven't lost your determination because you're going to need it, but can you really blame me for wanting to have a little fun before you die at my mercy?"

"You're deranged!" Sakura shouted in fury willing her hand not to shake as the other one turned into a fist. "I'm stronger this time, Sasori, I'm not the same girl you remember."

"But you are," he laughed pulling out his own sword from a scroll. "Have you ever been kissed Sakura? Touched in places you never thought could be touched?"

He then lunged for her and Sakura dodged, knocking a vase in the process.

"Mind you," Sakura grunted through her movements, dodging another attack, "that is none of your concern."

"Of course, it is!" Sasori smirked managing to attach his chakra strings on her leg and root her in place. He began walking closer to her and arm extended to grab at her neck once more, "Everything that involves you, interests me, my little girl."

On instinct, Sakura cut the chakra strings off her and jumped off the balcony managing to land perfectly on a nearby roof instead – or as Sakura called it, luring danger away from the home and into an open arena.

"You're still innocent, still ripe for the taking," Sasori jumped after her, a crazed look in his eyes, "I won't let that child of a Kazekage have you."

Sakura continued to jump farther away from the party, finally landing on an open field of sand away from the civilians with the man hot on her heels.

"He's no better than I am. He's a killer too," Sasori shouted, he was so close to her, but she had ducked and landed a hit on the ground throwing him back away from her.

"He's changed his ways unlike you," Sakura replied with a snarl. "You're too caught up on your grudge with me to have started a new, peaceful life elsewhere. Yet here you are trying to avenge your death."

"You should feel honored that I came back for you."

Sakura had thought she'd hear that phrase come from someone else close to her, but she never in a million years thought she'd hear it spewed from Sasori's very own mouth.

For a second, Sakura blinked and standing before her was Sasuke. She wasn't in Suna anymore, she was back home a few feet away from the entrance gate. That illusion soon disappeared as pain soared through her body from a flying pin that scraped her upper arm and drew blood.

She shook her head, ridding herself from distractions and angrily glared at the red-haired male in front of her, "Fine. You want a dance? Well, then, let's dance Sasori!"

"That's more like it, little girl," he shouted back, that smirk never leaving his face and Sakura wondered the best method to rid it from his features.

There fight had been like the first one, she was dodging pins left and right, dodging his outstretched limbs and flying chakra stringed traps. She continued to evade his attempts at catching her or stilling her movements, throwing punches in between to land a hit but he was too fast.

She was a close-range fighter and would tire herself soon against his long-distance attacks. She needed to get closer somehow.

In a moment of complete epiphany or utter stupidity, she would later debate her sanity in this situation, she let him land a chakra string on her arm. Immobilized, a pin went through her wrist effectively jabbing her pressure point and paralyzing her chakra covered fist.

What she hadn't counted on was it being laced with poison. This meant her time was limited and she cured out loud catching his attention and making him think he finally caught his prize.

Sakura kept calm as he pulled her closer in a loving manner which she so desperately wanted to run away from. He entangled her paralyzed hand with his own and brought it up to his lips to kiss it, never breaking his eye contact with her silently telling her he was in command. She wasn't sure if he even had a soul behind those dull brown eyes.

"Go ahead kill me," Sakura said barely above a whisper, her voice trembling and releasing the fear she was trying to hold back. "Show me how you're better-"

"As you wish," he cut her off and engaged her in another kiss instead, this time he wasn't rough but sweet and soft as if taking his time to flavor her. Sakura blamed it on the poison that she felt her bottom half of her body unable to move and panicked, but when she tried to pull her head away, he just held onto her tighter and deepened the kiss.

Sakura decided then that something was wrong with her mind as she temptingly gave into the sensation tingling in her chest. Her eyes slid closed and the last thing she recalled seeing was his red hair, but she wasn't kissing Sasori anymore. No, she was imagined that those soft lips were Gaara's and snapped out of her trance when his rough hand trailed up and caressed her neck.

Sakura had come to learn a few days ago that Gaara had soft hands, and she just couldn't pretend anymore. Her other hand entangled itself in his hair and she nibbled his bottom lip to distract him from the flowing chakra escaping that hand and sinking into his head.

He quietly succumbed into her embrace, his hold loosening on her and his breathing was laborious and heavier than it should have been from a passionate kiss.

"Guess I am out of my league, Sakura," he replied with a mirthless laugh, "Go on, kill me properly. I just wanted to see you one more time…"

"Who revived you Sasori?" Sakura asked trying her hardest to forget that fact that their lips had been intertwined mere seconds ago. She instead laid them down on the ground before they could both topple over in exhaustion.

"If I tell you, will you crush my heart with your bare hands? I don't want anyone else to do it but you," Sasori said in a quiet, insecure child-like voice and Sakura moved his head to rest on her lap as the remainder of her chakra continued pouring into him to lock his joints in place and freeze his nerves. "Please, Sakura, put an end to my torture. I play no part in this new world."

"First tell me who did this to you," Sakura asked freezing her ministrations, she couldn't let him die without knowing this vital piece of information. For all she knew, her home could be in trouble right now.

"Promise me Sakura, I don't want to come back," Sasori asked and Sakura was moved with compassion reminding her that he was just an insecure boy in the body of a man.

"I promise," Sakura hummed, her hands running through his hair to reassure him of it. "Who did this to you?"

"Orochimaru," Sasori said, his eyes falling close while Sakura's chakra engulfed his insides and made him feel all warm and fuzzy. "Goodbye, little girl."

"Shh," Sakura whispered watching him fall into a forever slumber, "Rest now Sasori."

Once she was certain that Sasori was dead and would be unable to come back to life, she gently pushed his still warm corpse to lay beside her instead. She needed to inform the Kazekage and her own village that Orochimaru was back.

Kankuro arrived shortly after to witness Sakura toppling over what appeared to be a dead ninja's body. Hesitatingly, he paused mid-step once he caught sight of the red hair on the corpse.

"Is that…?" Kankuro choked because surely he had to be imagining things.

"Yes, it's Sasori," Sakura hissed out not being able to move her arm, the poison seemed to have finally reached her upper body seeing as she could no longer hold herself up straight. "Are you going to stand there all day or help me up?"

"Right, sorry," Kankuro said picking up the girl in one swift motion with the help of his strings. She was stiff, and he could tell she couldn't hold any of her weight even if she tried.

He examined her injuries, however, there was nothing noticeable like a gaping hole to have caused her to lose blood and be in an almost drowsy and faint state she was currently in. But, knowing from past experiences that he was most unfortunate to experience if these injuries were made by Sasori, then that left immobilization from something more malicious than bodily harm.

"Crap, Sakura, were you poisoned?" He worriedly asked, gently setting her back down with care. "Please tell me you have an antidote."

"Stop it," Sakura barely managed to grunt out, she could feel sweat beading down her forehead as she tried to keep her eyes opened with every word she spoke. "My body is fighting it. Just stay, here with me. Please."

"Y-yeah, you got it," Kankuro was shaking his head in disagreement, but his words spoke otherwise. He needed to stay calm for her despite how much he was freaking out on the inside. Especially when he watched her blackout.

She almost looked as dead as the man lying by her feet. He quickly shook that image out of his brain, his brother would kill him big time for this.

There was something warm holding her down.

Sakura tried to tug herself away from the sensation, but it just held on tighter. The strange thing was that she didn't feel like she was suffocating. No, if she were to describe it, she would have said it was rather comforting.

She continued to stir in her sleep, playing this tug-o-war game as new vibrations entered the fray to try and tranquilize her into staying still. There was a caress going up and down what she predicted was her arms and cheek; her body shivered, covered with goosebumps as if it was purring in satisfaction at the loving attention she was receiving.

Feeling confident, she reciprocated the feeling squeezing back at what she realized was a hand in her own as she was finally coming to her senses.

And once the harsh light entered her vision, she would have never guessed to have been held by a man who had no reason to embrace her at all. She wasn't his to hold. He wasn't hers to rely on comfort. They weren't together. For Kami's sake, he was to be married to another despite what Sasori might have reviled last night. If it had even been last night since she'd been unconscious.

Stealthy extracting her hand from his, she managed to croak out, "How long was I out for?"

"Three days too long," Gaara replied with his usual disinterested tone of voice, but unlike all the other times, there was something burning behind those accusing eyes of his.

His voice reminded her of a possessive hound scolding one of his pups. Of course, she understood his intention to protect her considering she was on foreign soil, but there was no need for him to treat her like a child. It's not like he had the right to demand such a thing from her.

"Where is Sasori?" Sakura asked getting straight to the point of their conversation. There was no need to dance around the subject of what had caused her injuries on what should've been a quiet night.

"Kankuro sent the corpse to be examined," Gaara scoffed his hand itching to touch hers again. "What happened Sakura?"

"We danced," she curtly replied not wanting to get into some very disturbing details she preferred to forget of that night. "Then we fought. All he wanted was to rest."

"You're not telling me something," Gaara accused once more, almost growling at her omission of the retelling of her story. He didn't like being in the dark when it concerned the pink haired medic he had learned to grow fond of.

"It was Orochimaru, he resurrected him. Sasori didn't know exactly why he didn't seem to care." Sakura confessed feeling a bit sad for the lost puppeteer, "Seemed like he was let go after the experiment proved successful and came for me. He said he was following all the rumors, probably for a couple of months now which would explain his aging body, that led him back here. Ironic isn't it?"

The humor was lost on Gaara. He was more concerned about the fact that Sasori had been chasing Sakura around for a while and that left an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"I know what you're thinking," Sakura spoke watching him get up from his seat beside her to pace the room, "No matter what, he would've still come after me. Whether I was in the safety of Konoha or Suna, he would've shown up and demanded a rematch of our fight. Besides, I'm stronger than before, I can take care of myself Gaara."

That had him spinning on his heal and take steps towards her, "And if you had died?"

"I didn't," Sakura said, her eyes wide. They had been speaking for weeks now since her mission assigned here and she had always thought he respected her strength, saw her as the woman no one else had. However, she didn't ever imagine this to be spewed out of his mouth.

Sakura placed her hands on his shoulders to reassure him of this and looked him straight in the eye, despite the pain shooting through her own shoulder blades, "I wouldn't have."

"I know," Gaara admitted succumbing to her bravado. "You scared me Sakura."

Something inside Sakura broke as she watched his walls begin to crumble and she knew it would pain her to leave him. And it would torture her to see him turn around and marry another, so she couldn't bring herself to see him as a person who cared for her.

Sakura realized that she was cupping his face and she released her hold on him, quickly looking away from his face as she caught a glimpse of sadness wash over his eyes from the loss of her warmth.

"The first day we met, you pointed a kunai at me," Gaara said willing her back to look at him. He couldn't stand her ignoring him, he wanted her attention, craved for it.

"Yes, I recall. What exactly does that have to do with any-"

"You scared me back then just as much as you did now," Gaara spoke impulsively touching the tips of her hair before moving down to grab her hand back into his, "I was afraid Shukaku…I was afraid I would have killed you."

Sakura's breath hitched, she found herself leaning forward and was stumped at how close Gaara was. Their lips were practically centimeters away from one another, she turned her head to the side not wanting to give in to the temptation to kiss him but found his breath on her cheek and neck enticing enough to regret her decision.

She was utterly doomed. She couldn't take this anymore, she needed him far away from her before she gave in to whatever she was feeling for a very unattainable man.

She squeezed his hand back, hard, and said, "What's your point Gaara?"

"I can't stand the thought of you in danger."

"Well, thanks," Sakura scoffed trying to extract her hand from his before she completely lost her mind. "You just described what being a kunoichi entails. I'm always going to be in danger protecting those I care about and if that means having to fight Sasori once again in the future then so be it."

"You're foolish," Gaara growled, not letting her go. He kept her hands in place, demanding her attention which he managed to get as her head snapped back to staring at his face in anger at his declaration. "You're always putting your heart on your sleeve and willing to give your life up. You were senseless enough to protect the Uchiha back then and now you've gone and put yourself in harm's way to ward off enemy ninja from attacking me. I don't want that from you; I could've defeated Sasori in that room and guaranteed everyone's safety including your own."

Sakura was speechless, not believing what he was saying. She had just managed to fix her heartache and nowhere was Gaara willing her to open herself back up.

"Don't you get it Sakura? I've cared about you ever since that day at the chunin exams."

"You knocked me out back then," Sakura found herself saying with a feather-light tone, cursing herself at how breathless she sounded.

"Because I didn't want you to get hurt," Gaara replied examining her face, wondering why she could see how beautiful she was for her to get injured. He wanted to protect her, not the other way around.

He truly was different from Sasuke and Sasori.

"I've been broken once. I can't let you break me a second time," Sakura said staring at his lips once more. She almost wished he was closer to her and it seemed like he read her mind as his nose touched hers causing her to blush beet red.

She pulled back but found that she couldn't, his hand was on her neck trapping her into their intimate position.

"Tell me you don't want any of this and I'll back off," he said watching her struggle like prey caught in a net by its predator and scurrying around to escape. "Tell me you don't feel anything between us."

"I do!" Sakura shouted giving in and pressing herself closer to him, his mouth pressed into her hair, "but you're to be married Gaara. That little detail complicated things!"

Gaara just laughed at that and Sakura knitted her eyebrows together in confusion wondering what the hell was so funny. She personally didn't find that predicament hilarious in any way; maybe he really was mad in the head.

"I've told the council to get out of my personal affairs. I can't let them pester the girl I really wanted to pursue a relationship with at my own pace," Gaara said proudly and licked the base of her neck, catching Sakura off guard as she released a moan. "They won't be bringing that topic up in their discussions anytime soon."

"Leave it to you to threaten the council," Sakura said with a chuckle of her own as she slumped into his ministrations, until another thought popped into her head, "What about Matsuri?"

"I was her teacher." He said matter-of-factly like that was the sole reason why he would never date the brunette girl that had been following him like a puppy for the last few days, "Besides, Kankuro likes her."

"You knew?!" Sakura baffled wondering why then was Gaara going along

"She was successfully warding off all the other women," Gaara replied with a shake of his head knowing they wouldn't get anywhere with all her questions, "Plus it had the added bonus of getting my brother and you jealous until you both worked up the courage to realize your feelings about us."

"You sneaky little devil," Sakura muttered, but she couldn't help the small upward turn on the corner of her lips.

"Will you stop talking and just kiss me?" Gaara practically demanded and Sakura was more than happy to comply.

Sakura was hovering over Chiyo's grave, carefully holding a burgundy box in her hands. With a heavy sigh, she opened the lid and peered down at the ashes that once constructed Sasori's heart. She could practically envision Chiyo's ghost graciously accepting the box and taking back with her to wherever she was now.

Sakura kneed and placed the ashes over her grave, a lone tear falling down her cheek as she smiled at their long-awaited reunion.

"Until next time old friend."