A NEWER BEGINING...

"OK team 7,that'll be all for today..."

"Sayonara,Sakura-chan!"

"ja--"

"see you guys tomorrow..."

Today was just like any other day...Sakura had spent her morning training with Kakashi,Sasuke,and Naruto.No mission was assigned,things in the

leaf village had been running rather slow and it was almost starting to piss her off(as if she DID'N'T have a short fuse to begin with...).Things now were different.

She wasn't a thirteen year old girl anymore.She was a beautiful,young seventeen year old woman,but it wasn't just her appearence that had changed.She had matured and she wasn't weak anymore,physically and emotionally.She wanted to show it to Sasuke,who had never saw strength in her,and to Naruto,who always babied her and never saw what she REALLY was capable of.'Something is bound to come up sooner or later...'she thought to herself.

She brushed a few pieces of her long,pink hair away from her eyes,and tucked it all behind her ear,and flopped down in the soft grass,on the forest floor.Sakura had no reason to go home.She had no chores,and really no work that had to be done.She decided to stay and rest there...there was no hurry.

She gazed up at the sky at the clouds lazily drifting over head,feeling a cool breeze blow through her hair and in to her clothing,and she smiled.She liked it. Sakura closed her eyes and fell back on to the warm earth,unaware that HE was watching...

Cold,green eyes scanned over her tired figure from above,looming over her quietly in the branch of a near by tree.'she looks happy...'he thought'..I know her...from some years ago...'squinting a little,trying to remember just who she had been when they were younger.'oh yes...Haruno Sakura...hmmmmm,she is different,happy;peaceful.She isn't worried about her team-mates.She looks as if she isn't afraid of accusing eyes and mean accusations like she was,she doesn't look like she'd be afraid of me,she is just now...drifting.Alone and happy...I envy that...I want that...happiness'

He quickly snapped out of that state of thought when he saw her look up at him...SHE was now looking at HIM.Not in fear,not in pain,but in...annoyace...Shit...his cover blown...oh well...

"Gaara...what the fuck do you want...you are blocking my light...and also,WHY,may I ask,are YOU in Konoha?"she was slightly peeved...Why was he there..."I was just on mission...to deliver an important scroll to the Hokage..."he jumped off the branch he had been perched on and landed on the ground,hovering right over Sakura's head...

"Yeah...Can't you see I am enjoying myself?What do you want from me?"she re-closed her eyes,pretending he hadn't interrupted her alone-time...

Gaara leaned down,nose to nose with Sakura.Her eyes shot open...'wait!Why is he so close to me?'she was screaming on the inside...He planted a kiss,gently on her forehead...

"...I want happiness...a new begining" And with that being said he disappeared,in a puff of sand and smoke...

"...I want happiness...a new begining"she repeated,as a blush crept to her cheeks...

TBC

this is for Emily