The Narutoverse and everything in it is © Masashi Kishimoto
The ideas found herein, however, are mine.
Well, FollowTheLemon (the writer formerly known as CheddarPixie), here you are. The first chapter of the story, Because I refuse to write OOC, I had to think for a bit on just how to bring the two together, so there's (quite) a bit of backstory on what's going on. It's a little slow-going in the romance department so far, but hopefully the plot itself will keep you entertained, and don't worry: the next chapter will have much more of that romance you all seem to like.
Also, as a side-note, all of these fics of mine, I think, will take place in the same world. If you see the KAN logo in the summary, the stories are related, so keep an eye out for some details that piece together the whole story! ;)
The office of the Fifth Hokage was, as per usual, something of a mess. Unfiled papers covered the desk, and more than a few of them had fallen to the floor, working like something akin to carpeting. Tsunade, however, was not at her desk, which was something that was also quite the norm. She'd stepped out onto the balcony, to feel the light breeze, cool from the mountainside, drift down upon her. Things were tense, but peaceful, what with Akatsuki all but eliminated.
"I need a drink," she whispered, her doe-like eyes blinking once before she turned, moving back into her office. Her hand reached down to open the drawer containing her hidden bottle of sake, when the door burst open, and a very out-of-breath Temari stood. Beads of sweat stood out on her fair features, and her breathing was ragged. Tsunade frowned, instead deciding to take a seat. If something had gotten to the girl this badly, it was probably important. "Come in, come in," she gestured, and the girl strode forward, still trying to catch the bits of breath that eluded her. "What's wrong, Temari?" the Hokage asked, fearing the worst.
Temari manged to get her oxygen intake under control, and bowed once to the Hokage before standing at her full height again. "Hokage-sama, something has happened in Suna, something our intelligence believes to be Akatsuki." As she had expected. The woman sat up a little straighter in her chair, motioning for the girl to go one. "While we have no definite leads, the act was sinister and cowardly, and we can think of no others who may have done something like it."
Tsunade frowned. "What happened, Temari? I cannot send assistance if I do not know what we're up against. Is it an attack, what?" The woman crossed her arms, leaning back in her chair. Whatever it was, the Hokage had no doubt that it was something rather vile, as Temari was normally quite level-headed, and anything that could get her this riled up was rather impressive. Though she had asked, Tsunade wasn't entirely certain that she wanted to know what had happened in Suna.
The young woman from Sand nodded, taking a deep breath to steady herself, her eyes closing. As she exhaled, she opened them again, steadily meeting the Hokage's gaze. "A disease was released in Suna, one that only affects those who are not yet adults. It seems to only affect those of the age thirteen and younger, though a few who are fourteen were also affected." Though she tried to keep her emotions in check, the woman's lip trembled, and a single tear began making a trail down her cheek. "Tsunade-sama...our medic-nin are not equipped to handle this. We humbly request assistance from Konoha," she finished with a bow.
The Hokage's eyes widened, letting out a breath as she leaned forward in her chair. She would go herself, if not for the fact that she was Hokage, and she had no idea how long the disease would take to treat. Shizune was off on a mission, also, which limited her options further. Tsunade closed her eyes, forcing herself to think with precision, rather than emotion, though images of her little brother flashed through her mind. She drew in another breath before exhaling again. "You!" she said, speaking to one of the guards standing outside her office.
"M-ma'am?" he responded, stepping inside of the room and bowing. The tone in her voice, after hearing the Sand-nin's story, made him a bit unsure as to what his duty would be.
"Fetch Haruno Sakura, and bring her here." The man bowed again, obviously relieved, and turned to leave. "Have her bring Yamanaka Ino, also." Again, the guard graced her with a bow before turning and darting off, happy that he wasn't being sent out.
Temari's gaze moved from the guard, back to the Hokage. Though she looked relieved that her request was being handled so quickly, there was evident confusion on her face. Concern flashed across her features a few times before she finally spoke, looking like she hoped she would avoid a reprimand. "Ino-san, Hokage-sama?" she asked simply.
Tsunade gave a nod as she leaned back in her chair. "If what you say is true, then the children have been affected by this disease. Often, children don't know what's wrong with them when they're ill, if they're conscious at all. Yamanaka-chan's family technique allows her to take control of someone, as I'm sure you know." Temari nodded. "When she is doing so, any damage that goes to her target is also felt by her. So she should be able to use her technique on a child, and be able to accurately get across what is troubling them." The Hokage gave a nod. "She's also a medic-nin, though she is still learning. I think that she will be quite important, considering the circumstances."
Temari gave a wince. "I apologize, Hokage-sama. I did not mean to doubt you."
As she spoke these words, the sound of footsteps came from the doorway, along with the sounds of what seemed to be a low growling. Seconds later, Sakura and Ino both appeared outside of the door, each one attempting to beat the other inside. Sadly, the result was that both were stuck in the doorway, with neither able to get past the other. "I thought you said you were thin, Ino-pig," Sakura grunted.
"It's your big forehead that's keeping us from getting through, Sakura!" the blond countered, before both of them managed to get through, miraculously keeping their balance. As one, they bowed to Tsunade, who just shook her head slowly. Perhaps having the two work together wasn't a good idea, after all.
"Sakura! Ino!" she barked sharply, and both girls stood straight, not expecting Tsunade to be so harsh. Obviously, something was wrong. From the wall, Temari watched, unable to help a small smile appear on her face at seeing the two being disciplined. Tsunade glanced down at the drawer with her sake, regretfully wishing she'd thought to get some a bit sooner. Her eyes returned to the girls, and she placed her elbows on her desk, interlacing her fingers. "A situation has arisen," she said, her eyes moving to Temari.
Both girls followed the gaze, and Sakura looked back at Tsunade. "What is it, Tsunade-sama?" she asked, her tone soft and serious, now. She could tell, from the tense mood in the room, that whatever was wrong, it was big. She exchanged a look with Ino, and felt bad about their entrance now. If only Ino didn't get her so riled up...
The Fifth frowned, her eyes moving back to the two medic-nin. With precise detail, she relayed the information that Temari had given her to Sakura and Ino, noting the change in their expressions as she did so. "So you see," she concluded, "Suna needs our help quite badly. Sakura, as you are next in command of the medic-nin after Shizune, I'm charging you with this operation. Ino, you are under her jurisdiction, so please keep your rivalry under control. This is a grave matter."
Sakura and Ino nodded slowly, still not having completely grasped what they'd heard. It was difficult to think of something like that; a disease that could target only children. The pink-haired girl looked to Tsunade, a frown on her face. "So will it just be us two, or am I taking some of the others with me? And when do we leave?" she asked, managing to keep her voice steady despite the emotion running throughout her. All those children...
"You will leave as soon as you are able," Tsunade spoke, answering her second question. "As for others, take eight with you. Ten medic-nin should be enough to supplement the Sand's own. Though I'm sure you were already thinking this, Sakura, take those who specialize in disease treatment." The girl nodded, giving a bow to Tsunade.
Ino gave a sympathetic smile to Temari. "We'll have everyone ready in about a half-hour. So meet us at the gate then, okay?" The fan-user gave a nod, accompanied by a smile of thanks, before the three of them emptied out of Tsunade's room, leaving the woman alone with her thoughts.
"Okay, now I need a drink," she mumbled to herself, reaching down to the drawer.
The time passed quickly for Sakura and Ino, not having been on a real mission in some time. Their status and rank had made it difficult for them to do missions that could be done faster, and easier, by others. Aside from that, their skills made it necessary for them to be at home in Konoha, what with Sakura's natural medic-nin abilities, and Ino's own growing ones, along with her family technique, which allowed her to relate the condition of those unconscious or unable to speak coherently. The experiences had toughened the girl, but she was still quite vain.
"All ready?" Sakura asked, slipping her arms through the straps of the pack she was carrying. The other medic-nin nodded in response. Though some had been there longer than the girl, both her determination, and the fact that she had been trained by Tsunade, making her one of the more skilled. Even if any of them resented her or her abilities, none of them spoke a word of it, preferring to work as a team, rather than ten individual ninja.
Ino tossed her head, hoisting her pack as well. "I don't know if I agree with you being in charge, Sakura. But Hokage-sama directed that you were the leader for this mission." The blond's gaze met the senior medic-nin's, the tension between the two of them nearly tangible enough to be cut with a chakra scalpel. With a sigh, the Yamanaka girl turned away. "So I'll listen to what you have to say. For this mission, at least."
Sakura nodded in response, a small smile spreading on her face, despite Ino's harsh words. The pink-haired girl knew Ino than most, with the possible exception of Shikamaru and Chouji, and knew that though the tone and words were harsh, the intent was genuine. "Thank you, Ino-chan," Sakura said softly in response, causing a light flush to appear on the other girl's face. Turning to the rest, she gave them a nod. "Temari-san is probably waiting for us at the gate. It's already been thirty minutes; if we don't hurry, we'll be late." The assembled nin gave an affirmative sound and the hospital room was suddenly empty, despite how full of life it had been.
Temari leaned against the gate, chatting lazily with Tenten, who was on guard duty. The weapon-master looked positively bored to tears, as most on guard duty did. Since Akatsuki had been routed, there was very little danger in the world anymore, which left the poor girl without much to do. "So anything new with you and Shika-kun?" Tenten asked, a smile on her face. Since Asuma's death, Shikamaru had become much more...serious, and far less lazy. He'd managed to make Jounin in a very short amount of time, something that he'd been able to do for awhile, but just hadn't gotten around to it.
The blond shrugged, the wind tugging at her kimono lightly. "Not all that much, really. He's been a lot more busy with all of his jounin duties. He still acts as Konoha's liason to Suna, when he has the time." She smirked, looking over at the girl. "I don't think the crybaby will ever get up the balls to ask me out, though. I'm probably going to have to be the one to do anything about it." She let out a small laugh. "Kankuro is completely against it, but that doesn't surprise me. He's always been protective of Gaara and I..."
As she trailed off, ten shinobi suddenly appeared in the clearing, led by Sakura and Ino. The pink-haired girl gave a smile to Tenten. "We're ready, Temari-san," the medic-nin said with an affirmative nod, looking quite ready for travel.
Tenten blinked, looking back and forth between Temari, and the ten medical shinobi who had suddenly made their presence known. "Something going on in Suna?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. Temari hadn't said anything, but she had noticed that the woman was a little off from how she normally acted. Her calm and confident demeanor was somewhat subdued, something the kunoichi picked up on quite quickly. She'd learned to read such emotions from her time with Neji, as the boy rarely gave emotion to anything he ever said.
At Tenten's words, Ino stepped forward with a nod. "Yeah. There's a disease spreading, and they've requested our help." She shrugged her slim shoulders. "I'm not sure how much I'm allowed to reveal, but the situation isn't good, as it stands." Tenten frowned, obviously looking concerned. "Don't worry, Ten," Ino continued, giving the girl a smile full of her usual confidence. "With Konoha's best on the case, we'll be back in no time!" She gave a thumbs-up and a grin, and then faltered. "I...didn't look like Lee just now, did I?" she asked with a groan.
The other girls let out a light laugh, with Tenten shaking her head to let the girl know that she had not, in fact, looked like her good friend Lee. The other med-nins watched with fairly stoic faces, though one could easily tell that they weren't used to this situation in the least. "Okay," Sakura said, slamming her fist into her open palm. "Let's get going. Temari-san, lead the way." The sand-nin nodded, pushing herself off of the wall and darting forward off towards Suna. Sakura and Ino gave a quick wave to Tenten before following,
The shimmering, liquid-like sunset cast its few last rays of sunlight upon the Hidden Village of Sand. The three kunoichi and the medic-nin stood just outside its gates, waiting for entrance to be granted to them. "Since the disease, our security's been rather tight," Temari explained as the doors slowly began to open. "It's sad that things like this have to happen to Suna," she whispered softly, referring to the recent attack of Akatsuki on Gaara.
As they entered, the two medic kunoichi looked around, a frown etched onto their faces. "It's so...quiet..." Sakura whispered, her brow furrowed in concern.
"That's because all the kids are sick," a voice said from their right. Though the Konoha shinobi were quick to their weapons, Temari didn't even flinch at the voice. From the shadows emerged a young man in a black suit, though his face was devoid of its normal purple paint. His hood was pushed back, revealing his dark brown hair, giving him a fairly odd look to the Konoha natives, who were used to seeing him battle-ready. "If they weren't sick, there'd be a hell of a lot more noise, even at this time of night," he muttered, his arms crossed over his chest.
"What's the matter, Kankuro? Couldn't sleep without your big sister to watch over you?" Temari asked with a smirk, and though the sibling fight didn't seem to be overly violent, the unfamiliarity of it made it strange to Ino and Sakura.
Kankuro gave a snort of laughter. "Yeah. Right. No, Temari, Gaara just sent me out here to keep an eye out for you all. Apparently there's more than a few who think that Konoha was behind the attack." At this, several of the medic-nin, including Ino, glared at the puppet-master. "I'm not saying I'm one of them," he responded, then shrugged. "But it'd be bad if the help we requested as attacked and killed. The tension between Suna and Konoha was be stretched to its limit. It'd look like a damn trap." He turned, heading toward the Kazekage's tower. "C'mon, Gaara's waiting for you."
Temari followed her brother without hesitation, and only a single faltering step started Sakura's journey, before her strides became swift and sure. The other ninja followed at a fairly close pace, their eyes darting about for enemies hidden in the shadows. Kankuro's little talk had them all on edge, now. But none of them dared speak to try and ease the tension; the silence seemed to fit the town. To speak would be to break the quiet aura that surrounded it, which seemed both unnatural and fitting at the same time.
Kankuro paused outside of the Kazekage's tower, knocking twice on the door. A simple slider opened, revealing the eyes of a man who, upon seeing the siblings, shut the slider and pulled open the door, allowing them all inside. "So where are all the children at?" Ino asked as they stepped inside, the cautious air not something she was used to. Talking helped to fill the silence, which she found vastly more uncomfortable than natural. "Are they in the tower?"
Temari nodded. "Under the tower is a rather large area that we use when strong sandstorms blow through. It's large enough to fit everyone in the town, though not comfortably, but one should be able to stand a little discomfort in order to live, I would think." She turned to glance at Sakura and Ino as she walked, then her head moved back to her brother's back, who was leading them underground. "We've converted the area into a sort of makeshift hospital wing for now, as our own building wasn't large enough to house so many."
Sakura paused at the sand ninja's words, her steps faltering. "There are that many?" she asked softly, the tone in her voice causing both siblings to pause and look at her. "I mean, you said that all of the children were stricken with this disease. But...just how many is that?" she asked, for the first time, a bit of uncertainty founds its way into her voice. She hadn't expected an overly large amount, for some reason, despite the fact that she knew just how many there were.
Kankuro gave her a look that was partly pity and partly exasperation. "Well," he said as he placed his hand on the door handle leading further in, "just take a look for yourself." Both Sakura and Ino winced as he pushed the door open, and the two girls glanced inside.
The room was fairly large, probably enough to house most of, if not all of Konoha, though as was said, it wouldn't be very comfortable. Just over half of the room was taken up by beds, both ones from the hospital and simple futons upon the floor. The sheer number of children that were there caused Sakura to place a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening in an expression of sadness. "This is...horrible..." she whispered, and Temari gave a nod.
"Which is why we requested your help as soon as possible." The young woman turned back, her gaze moving over all ten of the Konoha shinobi. "The place is chaos down there right now, but they have no real leader right now. The head doctor perished in Akatsuki's attack on Suna, and they've been floundering since then." She folded her arms over her chest, directing her gaze to the pink-haired girl. "They've all agreed to assist you, Sakura, so don't be afraid to give them orders. If we get a chain of leadership going, it may help the way things are going." Sakura nodded, then swallowed once. It was a daunting task, and a measure of her abilities as a doctor as well as a medic-nin.
However, the girl did not let any of these thoughts betray on her face, and her green eyes returned to Temari, giving her a nod to show she was ready. Kankuro gestured to the open door, and with a single deep breath to ready herself, the girl took the first step onto the stairs leading down into the main room. As she descended, the first thing that caught her attention was the smell. It wasn't overly disgusting, but it had an undercurrent of sickness and death, one that only further enforced her resolve.
Reaching the ground floor, she strode forward, pausing a few feet from the first bed. A few of the sand medic-nin noticed her and paused in their duties, as if waiting for her to speak. Sakura cleared her throat, to make certain she'd be heard over the din of pain-filled noises coming from the patients. "Excuse me!" she called, and the rest of the ninja, who hadn't seen her at first, glanced up. "I would like your attention. If you would all finish what you're doing and come over here, it would be appreciated greatly!" The sand medics nodded, returning to their patients.
Moments later, the fifteen or so medics from Sand stood before her, watching her with expressions that ranged from solemn to impatient to depression. Supplemented with her own, that gave her twenty-five to work with, including herself. Her eyes looked past the Suna ninja, looking over the beds that littered the floor. There were so many of them; she knew they'd still be short-staffed, but the extra ten she'd brought, plus the organization she'd assist with would make it plausible to help them all. However, she'd need at least two working on the cure for the disease at all times, if they wanted maximum efficiency. Mentally, she sighed. This was going to be a lot of work.
"Suna Medical Shinobi! My name is Haruno Sakura, apprentice to the Sannin Tsunade-sama. Your village has requested Konoha's help, and we will give it however we can. First off, we'll need to organize our resources. Taking care of a number this large will take some effort, but we'll give it our best. Now, have any of your shinobi been working with the disease to try and find a cure?" Silence greeted her words, and she couldn't help but frown. "You can't help them with the disease if all you do is take care of them!" she scolded, her brow furrowed in anger. "In that case, we'll have to work quickly. All right, everyone: here's the best plan I can see," she said, then began to unfurl her ideas.
Nearly ten minutes later, everyone stood, their eyes on Sakura. "Okay, you all know where you're supposed to be. "Kenji and Akio, you two start on the disease research." The two shinobi nodded, moving off to find a child who would work as their sample. "Ino, come with me. Everyone else, get to work. These kids aren't going to die, not while we have the ability to save them." The gathered medic-nins nodded, a new respect for the Haruno girl in their eyes. With another nod from her, the assembled shinobi darted away to fill their specific roles.
Following direction they'd received in their meeting, the two moved toward the oldest one afflicted. "So why the oldest one?" Ino asked as they walked. "Because his body is the most developed?" she continued, though she already had the thought that was the answer. "But wouldn't his body be close to fighting off the disease? Wouldn't it be better to look at one who was a little younger?" she asked with a frown. "What if it's just a fluke that he caught the disease?"
Sakura shook her head. "I don't think so. We'll check a few others if you want to be sure, though. And yes, because he's the oldest of them all, his body will be most likely to give a proper response to your jutsu. We don't want to get an incorrect reading, and focus on the wrong aspect of what the disease might or might not do." She frowned. "Coming up with a cure that might only make the symptoms worse is something that we can not afford, Ino." The blond nodded in response, knowing that Sakura was correct, as she normally was when it came to medical matters.
They paused beside the bed of a boy who was but a few years younger than they were. His skin was deathly pale, and a sheen of cold sweat covered his body. His eyes were vaguely reminiscent of Gaara's, so sunken in were they. His breathing was labored and shallow, and though he appeared to be asleep, the expressions on his face made it quite obvious that he was in pain. As they watched, he gave a moan of pain, his hand tightening into a fist for a few seconds before relaxing as he became quiet again. "You want me to go in that?" Ino whispered, distraught.
Sakura didn't respond verbally, but she placed her hands on her hips and raised a single eyebrow. Ino responded by crossing her arms over her chest and glaring, the two standing in silence. Unexpected, the boy let out a low, racking cough, which brought the two of them out of their wordless argument. The blond gave a sigh, then glanced down at the boy. "Fine, fine," she muttered, her silver-blue eyes taking in the unconscious boy for a few seconds before she moved her hands to perform the jutsu.
Seconds later, her body collapsed, and Sakura caught it with little effort, waiting for her friend to return.
The mind was dark, and Ino could tell that the boy was asleep for certain. Grumbling to herself, she concentrated, extending her presence throughout his body, so that she could feel where he was feeling harm. It took a few seconds, but gradually her body became suffused with the same agony his body was going through. The feeling was centered in her lower ribcage, just above where her stomach was. From the medical classes she'd taken, she knew this to be the approximate location of the liver, which was a rather scary thought, as the liver was one of the more important organs in the body, and could handle a number of diseases on its own.
Slowly, subtly, she removed herself from the boy's consciousness, and extracted her mind from his before returning to her own body. The change in coming from something so ill to returning to her own body was baffling at first, and she looked around for a few seconds, as if dazed. Her eyes fell upon Sakura, who was still holding her steady. Grumbling she moved away from the girl's grasp, standing up and dusting herself off. "The liver," she muttered.
"...What?" Sakura asked, though she had quite obviously heard Ino's words. "The disease affects the liver? Oh man," she groaned, resting against the edge of the boy's bed. Her eyes rested on the ground for a few seconds before they returned to Ino. "And you're certain?" The blond tossed her hair and nodded, giving her a look that said 'of course I'm sure.' The green-eyed medic-nin gave a sigh, running a hand through her hair before she stood, nodding. "Okay, okay. Did you get any other feelings of pain from the other organs?"
Ino shook her head. "Nada. The entire body just felt awful but it was centered on the liver." She shuddered. "Do I have to go in others?" she asked, a whining note in her voice. "I don't know that we have to...and I need a break before I do something like that again."
After giving her friend a look, Sakura rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, fine. Go let Kenji and Akio know what you've found out, so they know that whatever cure they're working on can't rely on the liver. After that, start on your rounds with everyone else." Ino nodded in response, beating a hasty retreat from the boy's bed, still looking a bit ill from her venture inside of his mind. With only the noise of the children around her, Sakura frowned, turning her gaze back to the boy. He was fourteen, from what she'd been told, the headband from Sand still tied fairly tightly around his arm. The boy was a Genin, like she'd been not so long ago.
As she watched him, his eyes suddenly flew open and he sat up, panting. He looked around, a crazed look of fear in his eyes. "Shhh, lay down," Sakura said, placing a hand on his shoulder. The boy looked to her, and her heart went out to him, as he appeared to be positively frightened out of his mind. "You're still in Suna, with all the other sick children. Remember?" Her words seemed to have an effect on him as his breathing slowed, and he gave her a slight nod. "Okay then...lay back down. You don't want to push your body. We're from Konoha, and we're doing the best we can to help you and everyone else, okay? Even if you can't sleep, just lay still. Your body needs all the rest it can get," she whispered, using a cloth she had on hand to wipe away some of the sweat from his face.
The boy gave a soft nod, his eyes closing. Sakura gave his shoulder a light squeeze for support, and soon he was asleep again, though he didn't appear to be doing any better. The girl shut her eyes, using a fresh bit of the rag to wipe her eyes, which began to water as the realization of what was going on finally hit her.
"You're very gentle with them," a voice said from behind her, which sounded like velvet-covered sword. It was soft, but held a sharp edge to it.
She turned, expecting to see a medic-nin, but who she saw surprised her enough for her to let out a light yelp. "G-Gaara?" she asked, too surprised to use his title or a suffix. What was the Kazekage doing down here? "I-I'm sorry," she said swiftly, bowing to him. "Forgive me, Kazekage-sama." As she stood back up, she noted that the dark circles around his eyes were nearly gone, giving him a much more healthy, and much less creepy, countenance.
The boy, who was but a few months older than her, gave a small smile. "Do not worry about it, Haruno-san. I came to personally thank you for coming so quickly." The smile faded as his face as he looked around at the children. "This is a sad day for Suna." His commanding gaze turned to Sakura, and the girl could feel a light flush appearing on her face, though from embarrassment or something else, she couldn't tell. "I trust you will do everything in your power to help?"
She bowed again, more so she didn't have to look at his eyes than anything else. There was something there that made her insides squirm. It was...like Sasuke. "O-of course, Kazekage-sama," she said, her gaze slowly raising back to his eyes. The confidence and control he radiated was nearly a physical thing, and try as she might, she couldn't help the blush on her face. She hadn't felt like this since she'd last seen Sasuke. Why Gaara? And why now?
"You aren't sick, are you Haruno-san?" he asked, his hand moving slowly toward her forehead. "This disease wasn't supposed to affect those of our age, from what I was told."
Sakura forced a laugh, taking a step backward away from Gaara, who blinked in confusion. "N-no, Kazekage-sama. I'm just not used to the heat of the Wind country, is all," she lied, though she was relieved as he nodded, retracting his hand. "Thank you for the concern, though."
Gaara gave her another odd look, his eyes no longer holding the virtually psychotic hint that Sakura was so used to. They were kind, something that had been caused both by Naruto and the removal of the Shukaku. "I'll leave you to do your work, then," he said softly, giving her a brief nod. "Again, thank you very much, Haruno-san. If you need anything, from supplies to advice, I will be in my office." With that, he turned to leave, giving his siblings a nod as he passed by them, his white robes almost making him seem to float.
Sakura, without being sure why, watched him leave. Something was stirring beneath her breast, something that had long since turned cold since Sasuke had left them. Her friendship with Naruto had helped somewhat to fill the void, but she doubted she could ever see the loud boy as anything more than a friend. But...Gaara? What was she thinking? He was the Kage of Suna, and more than anything, he was Gaara. Her memories of the sadistic streak the boy had within him hadn't faded at all, though they were now confused. He had seemed so...kind, and concerned with the welfare of the children. "I need a drink," she murmured, a phrase, and habit, she'd picked up from Tsuande as she turned, beginning her own rounds.
Well, there you have it, Chapter One. I'm probably guessing something around 3-4 chapters for this, but you never know. And I'm still open to requests if there's something you want to see written. I /can/ do yaoi...but just don't expect explicit scenes. : D