A/N: AU. This is set almost two years after Gaara raped Sakura.

Gaara won when Deidara tried to capture him. Suna was demolished and had to be rebuilt. Sakura was sent with others to help with the wounded and rebuilding efforts. Then she returned to the leaf. It's now 2 years later, Sasuke Uchiha died trying to destroy Konoha, and Kakashi is Hokage.

And the most important detail… Gaara still has Shukaku. Second most important would have to be that over the last 2-4 years, joint operations between Konoha and Suna have wiped out the Akatsuki completely. Yes, that includes Madara.

Also, I'll be writing the immediate aftermath of Gaara raping Sakura in as flashbacks. This is important, promise. In The Monster Within, Gaara and Sakura were 19, and here they are 21 years old… approximately.

WARNING: this chapter contains descriptive death. Not to say that my writing skills are very good with accurate portrayal. But, you have been warned!

'Character Thoughts'

'Inner Sakura'

'SHUKAKU'

Chapter 2 – Memories.

The next morning, Sakura Haruno showered, dressed, and ate the breakfast brought to her and her best friend Ino Yamanaka before joining their other two companions, Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara outside the apartment building for V.I.P visitors. Suna was warm, all day long, but in the morning, there was this serene breeze that swept through, not ruffling clothes, or hair, but felt nonetheless.

She had avoided this place for almost two years, finally giving in because of the Hokage-sama's orders. She really did not want to be here. She returned her friends' morning greetings and as a group, they all made their way to the village exit, having made arrangements to meet the sand ninja joining them on this mission to Amegakure on their way out of Suna.

A long time ago, Sakura had been fascinated by the life of a sand ninja, when Naruto had asked Kankuro all about it. They had just lost Sasuke to the last attack he would ever make on Konoha and both Kankuro and Temari had come to the leaf as part of a diplomatic mission. In his grief, Naruto had been even more unbearable than usual, while Sakura had simply mourned with a kind of quiet dignity. Everyone had been expecting her to blow up and break down, but she simply had no tears left to shed. Sasuke had chosen his path, and at least this way he was at peace.

'And I can get on with my life,' she thought, readjusting her gloves unnecessarily as they stopped at the village exit.

There were guards above their heads, but a slight wind had picked up, half obscuring them from view and Naruto smirked at Sakura as though he had just figured her out finally, and the last eight years had never happened.

"So," he said, drawing the word out. "I hear you didn't want to come on this mission."

The only person who had known this was Ino, though Sakura had not explained to her why. She glanced at her before turning back to face Naruto. Even Shikamaru looked surprised at her.

"That is none of your business Naruto," she said coolly, hoping to dissuade his interest without getting into a huge discussion about it.

They were still waiting on Temari and her team, and Sakura didn't want the sister of the Kazekage to find out about her reservations. She wanted to put the reason behind her reluctance behind her, but it kept cropping up when she least expected it. She didn't think she had changed much since that day in the Wind Shrine, but both Naruto and Ino had often told her there was something different about her. Ino had continually told her she was a jittery mess, while Naruto had started to be concerned about her when she stopped pummelling him into the ground every time he spoke before thinking. Even Sai had eventually caught on, calling her an uptight cow. Of her closest friends, only Kakashi had noticed without saying anything, that single eyebrow of his raising in surprise while he remained silent. He was the Hokage, and so his concern for her welfare was not just as a friend. But she couldn't tell any of them why – ever.

And so the façade went on.

Naruto lost his smirk, confused now. "Why didn't you want to come?"

She sighed, annoyed. "Naruto, it doesn't matter. Shut it would you?"

She still felt like pummelling him. That urge hadn't gone away. But somehow, being on the receiving end of such abusive and reckless violence had stopped her from raising her hand to anyone else, even Naruto. She just couldn't bring herself to do that again. Images of Gaara shoving her hard against stone and feeling the force of his attack fracture her left scapula haunted her every time she even thought of hitting the blonde knucklehead.

'You need therapy.'

She ignored her inner voice and sighed again, staring out over the desert.

"Well anyway," Ino said, perhaps to hide her guilt at letting Sakura's reluctance to assist their allies slip. "We should probably keep that to ourselves, okay Naruto?"

He wanted to protest some more, but under her icy glare, he relented. Shikamaru groaned, rubbing the back of his head, troubled. "It's none of our business anyway, just as long as it doesn't interfere with the mission."

"Shikamaru, how could you even suggest that?" Ino asked, incensed. "As if Sakura would even do that!"

He didn't respond and the blonde Kunoichi was even more infuriated.

"Do what?" Kankuro's voice broke Sakura out of her lulled state and she noticed Gaara standing behind him, immediately.

"Don't ask," Shikamaru warned him.

Behind Kankuro, Temari and the rest of their team waited. Sakura recognised Matsuri, but not the dark haired boy standing next to her. He seemed to be the same age as her, and kept furtively glancing at her. Perhaps a crush.

"Sakura, Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru," Temari said, coming up to them, "you remember Matsuri, right? And this young man is Rokka. They'll be accompanying us. They're from the squad that first spotted the unusual activity around Ame. They'll know what we're looking for."

Sakura bowed slightly, though silently, to them. Naruto seemed excited, while Ino looked politely intrigued and Shikamaru only nodded his head in response. Matsuri and this Rokka were the only ones not Jōnin – they were Chūnin.

"Well," Kankuro said jovially. "Shall we be off?"

"See ya Gaara!" Naruto called happily, earning himself a slight smile from the Kazekage as the two squads turned away from Suna.

Sakura couldn't help herself. She had had no intention of meeting the placid stare of those pale eyes, but they were just there, reeling her gaze in. He looked calm, but she felt a strange vibe of longing off of him, like he was waiting impatiently for something to happen.

Gaara had used every trick he could think of, from silent tantrums to outright ignoring his siblings. He did not want to see them off at the village exit. Sakura would be there, and he had resolved to himself that he would avoid her at all costs. She couldn't be alone with him ever again, and he intended to make their contact only both professional and minimal from now on. This was the only way to make sure she was safe. He would not give Shukaku an opening to take advantage of her. He would rather die.

But both Kankuro and Temari had become insulted by his actions, thinking his reluctance had more to do with them. Their calculating stares and infuriated glares had won the argument and he'd accompanied them after all. Still, they seemed to sense he was uncomfortable, and so they didn't push him any further than that. The walk down to the village exit had almost killed him. It was only for less than ten seconds, but seeing Sakura again brought out all the emotion and urges she always invoked in him. He had been wanting to avoid that, dammit!

He returned to his office, intending on getting some work done. At least with Sakura out of Suna, he could concentrate. Shukaku was silent, though waiting patiently for the return of the pink haired Kunoichi. Gaara then decided to meditate, once his paperwork was done, returning to his bedroom and sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed for support. It didn't matter what position he took, as long as he was comfortable.

Hana had recently tried to get him to cut off his chakra flow in an attempt to prevent the demon chakra from coming through. She believed that this was how Shukaku could control him. It was, according to her, through the clear, wind based chakra that the demon possessed. So, with a chakra suppressant tag on his skin, Gaara attempted to meditate, knowing all the demon could do was enter his subconscious. Still, he was wary, not certain exactly how it was that these images were coming to him, regardless of his precaution.

They avoided the nearby border to River Country as they trekked through the desert toward Amegakure. Almost every ninja nation was having trouble with the political relations with Yuga due mostly to the fact that their village was no longer "hidden". But more recently, the problems had escalated and the ninja of Yuga had been increasing the number of their patrols, warding off other Shinobi from the country, not just the area where their village resided. The Hokage was concerned, as was the Kazekage, but it didn't appear, at least for now, that it was connected to what was going on with Ame.

Sakura groaned inwardly, glancing east, toward their border, remembering the trip from Konoha to Suna. They had expected to sense the Yuga ninja, but seeing as though they were taking their normal route through their neighbour's land and not detouring anywhere near the formerly hidden village, Sakura had not anticipated any trouble. Still, the stares they were getting were not appreciated. The masked ninjas watching them made no effort to conceal themselves and followed the Konoha party all the way to the border, as though escorting them. She had no doubt that they were making certain that their leaf neighbours stayed on the path and didn't cause any problems.

But everyone knew that the relationship between Konoha and Suna was stronger than it had ever been, so there was no confusion as to where they had been headed.

"Still troubled?" Ino asked her, running alongside her best friend.

Temari was nearby so Sakura only nodded.

The sand Kunoichi glanced at her. "What's the problem?"

"No problem," Ino said, chuckling in that high-pitched way she did that made anyone realise she was lying.

Temari rolled her eyes. "I can see that."

"Nothing to do with the mission," Sakura said firmly.

"If you have a bad feeling it could be about the mission," Temari said. She glanced at Shikamaru. "Maybe someone should go ahead, scout out the area before we head in."

He nodded back at her. "Smart. I suggest Kankuro and Ino. Their styles are better suited. Meanwhile, Naruto?"

"Yeah!"

Temari chuckled at his enthusiasm as Shikamaru continued, "can you create some shadow clones and transform them into the rest of us to accompany Kankuro and Ino?"

"Why not just have him create copies for us all?" Sakura asked.

"We need to split up," Shikamaru said. "If either of the two teams encounters a hostile force, the copies won't last as long as the real things. There would be no point in keeping us all in the same place."

"Then I'm going with them," she said. When he opened his mouth to disagree, she cut him off. "There are only two of them, but six of us, it's not exactly even. They'd need more to increase their chances."

Shikamaru smiled slightly. He couldn't argue with her logic. "Alright, Naruto, do it."

Naruto created five shadow clones and transformed four of them into perfect duplicates of Temari, Shikamaru, Matsuri, and Rokka. "You know what to do," he told them.

He turned to face Kankuro, Ino and Sakura, who were about to depart with his clones. "If I'm forced into an extended fight with Sage Mode, which I doubt will be necessary, a clone will disappear; no idea which one. This more than likely, won't happen, but just in case, be aware of this at all times."

They nodded in agreement and the first team picked up their pace. Temari slowed down to allow them to increase the distance, and the rest of her team copied her. She watched Sakura until the other team was out of sight and wondered about her. Naruto had mentioned, shortly after they'd arrived in Suna yesterday, that Sakura wasn't the girl Temari remembered. He had no idea why, as the pinkette refused point blank to answer his or anyone else's queries on the subject.

But Sakura's closest friends had noticed the change shortly after her return to Konoha less than two years ago. And the last place the pinkette had been was Suna. Temari realised something then, glancing at Naruto as he kept his determined eyes on their target.

'Could it be that whatever the reason is is why she's so troubled right now?'

'Sakura…'

He was in a room; dimly lit, it stank of human waste, and was bare, except for the chains against the brick wall behind him. He remembered they had shackled him for two days, torturing him, interrogating him for information, not knowing about the demon within. The war within himself had already started. How was he going to get out of here if Shukaku wouldn't give him peace of mind?

His jailers brought a young girl into the cell, thinking he would care if they killed her in cold blood right in front of him. But the only one that mattered to him was the Kunoichi who had been on his mind for days now. She was all he could think of.

'I ALREADY TOLD YOU TO FORGET ABOUT THAT SLUT.'

The demon didn't care; it had never felt what it was like to love. It could never understand. Gaara watched himself suffer, remembering what it was like to be caged, like some animal, but not sure who this suffering man really was. This was just a dream after all.

He had never been imprisoned in a place like this, or at all. For years, his father had sent ninja after him, to assassinate him, not imprison him. And instead of being angered enough to kill the fourth Kazekage, he had found the challenge of fending off these attacks a comforting one. It had taught him how to survive − that and Shukaku's stubbornness. The demon knew if its vessel died, it too would perish.

So what was this image of a dirty, ragged man that looked too much like him to be a coincidence? Could Shukaku see into the future? No, that was not it. This felt like the past. Perhaps a memory.

He could not move, the pain in his limbs were due to an injury. His jailers were ruthless, and he knew that once they got the information they were looking for, he was expendable. But this wasn't where it was all going to end. He had a demon on his side, what did they have?

A bitter smile twisted his features and he looked up as the door to his cell was unlocked and opened cautiously. The man was just bringing him food. He was perhaps fifteen years old and trembled slightly as he lay the plate down. Gaara had to remember that these people had been told he was a monster, even if they didn't know why.

As the boy turned to leave hastily, Gaara took the opportunity and pounced. His chakra was not as depleted as they had thought, and he'd used the last few hours since their most recent assault on his body to rejuvenate. Okay, so the demon had helped as well.

The boy screamed, the beast behind him ripping through his flesh, ripping the vertebrae of his spine away from his body in one quick, fluid motion. The cry of pain lasted a mere moment before the body toppled to the floor, lifeless. In an instant, Gaara muffled his guard and tore his tongue from his mouth before he could raise any more alarms. More guards were approaching, he could sense them.

Two dead, fifteen more to go.

Gaara watched this ragged stranger kill them, as though he were both the killer and an unseen spectator. But he felt the blood as if it were his own. It showered him with its warmth and he was reminded of the heat and passion of a lover.

'Sakura…'

A/N: And another one down. It took longer than expected, but I hope you like it! So, what do you think? Good or bad, don't hold back. Just no flaming please!

R&R.