Chapter 2

They were just out of the door when Sakura turned to them, speaking as she walked backwards through the town. "There was a great anticipation for your stay, as well as the celebrations. I have to apologise for this but until I can get a room at the inn I'll have to have you stay at my apartment. I've prepared a room for you there. Is this acceptable?" Gaara looked up, only his eyes visible. "hn." Sakura looked at him confused for a second before turning. She walked them the rest of the way and opened the door. She took them to their room and pointed out the restroom, next to theirs and tried to think of anything else.

"I'll have dinner ready in an hour and a half. You all should probably rest for now, I know it's been a hard journey for you." Temari sighed as she unbuttoned her jacket and pulled it off, hanging it on the wall. She wore a beautiful navy blue kimono tied with a red obi. Kankoro wore an outfit very similar to what he'd worn the last time he was there, only his makeup was darker. Garra looked around the room as Sakura smiled to them. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Water." Gaara spoke quietly and Sakura nodded. "Oh, of course!" Sakura bowed as she backed away from the room.

She was being left with this mess. 'Naruto, I hate you so-"

"Of course. Everything will-"

'what was that?" Sakura looked around, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. It must have been in her-

"But what about her?"

She looked around, still no one around. 'I've gone delusional.'

"Maybe not." Sakura stood still, now more terrified than before.

She got the water and sighed, walking up to the room. She knocked and waited while Kankoro opened the door. "Here, if you need anything else," 'I don't know if I can do this...'

"You're not doing too bad so far..." Sakura looked around again and noticed the look on Kankoro's face. "I'm sorry. I'll be in the-"

"Does that happen often?" Gaara's eyes narrowed again as he looked at her. Sakura looked at him surprised for a moment. "What?" Gaara stood and walked over to her, glaring straight into her eyes. "Tell me." Sakura glared at him for a moment bef-

"Purple."

"Purple?" Sakura looked around again, now feeling a migraine coming on. Gaara looked at her and looked over at Kankoro. He nodded.

"Yes, purple." Gaara looked at her and all she could do was nod. "A-alright." Sakura sighed. She wasn't going crazy after all. Gaara was the one talking.

"No." She backed away, her head down. "I'll be in the room next to yours." She pointed and Gaara nodded.

"She used to have confidence. It's sad to see such a ninja break like this...' Sakura walked down the hall, the last words to run through her head stabbing at her. 'I'm not broken.' She thought, only to get a return. "Please! Look at you! You hear me and all you think is that you've gone crazy!" Sakura shook her head. 'I am crazy. I'm hearing voices.'

"Ones that are heard not only by you." Sakura began to laugh.

"Purple." Sakura froze. 'Okay, so you do have a point there. Maybe it was coincidental.'

"You still don't realize what's happening, do you?" Sakura looked in her room, finding the weapons a welcome sight. She closed the door behind herself and sighed. 'Finally, release...'

"..."

Sakura sat to meditate for a minute to clear her head and began to relax. It was a few minutes till she pulled out her sharpest kunai and sat on the floor, removing her shorts. Her lower hip was covered in small gashes, each lined up perfectly with the others. She held the kunai to her, feeling the chill of the metal against her skin and sighed as she turned the blade slightly. She pulled the kunai up quickly and gasped at the sharp pain the knife left. There was almost no blood, there never was, just the pain. It took her over, took out the pain in her head as the wound would heal. Giving her a reason to have the pain seemed to make it seep out. She sat there for a moment before placing a bandage over the cut. This one was a little deeper than the last one. She'd have to be careful. If she kept it up she would have to start using the larger cuts more often. She pulled the shorts back up and looked into the mirror. She reached over, grabbing a thin metal hair stick and pulled her hair back. She looked into the mirror and placed another smile on her face before looking into her own eyes. For a second it looked like there was someone else in her eyes. She shook her head sadly. 'I'm really sad.' She smiled again as she walked away from the mirror.

Dinner was made quickly, Sakura looked through what she had bought and knew she couldn't use the eggs, as they had exploded when they froze. Fortunately she'd left out the fruits and veggies, and she made a beef stir fry, cut the fruits and made a platter with them, she made a cream cheese and a caramel dip, and decided to cheat a little with appetizers. She ran to the little pastry shop a few doors down and bought a rack of baklava, she'd heard it was really good, and some little biscuits with garlic, cheese and herbs baked in. She ran back, and began setting up, pulling out plates and such and after her work, when she looked around the table, she found she was absolutely terrified. Those eyes, every time they narrowed she wanted to flinch. She wasn't able to the last time she'd seen them that way. She still had a small sliver of tree bark embedded in her shoulder from that. She looked up the stairs and walked up, knocking lightly at the door.

Sakura didn't even look up, she just kept her head down the whole time. "Dinner is ready." She backed away and turned, walking downstairs. She was slightly surprised to find that only Gaara came down. He looked around the kitchen, looked down at the table and his eyes narrowed as he looked at the biscuits. "I'm not sure what you eat, what kinds of food. I hope you like this." She could feel his eyes staring at the back of her head as she kept herself bowed.

'Please stop staring please stop staring please stop-'

"Shut up! God, do you ever stop moping and whining?" She looked up at Gaara, his hand on his head. It took a second to realize it wasn't him talking, though. He shook his head and sat at the table, poking at the foods. "He'll only eat the fruit." Sakura wanted so badly to growl at the voice in her head. 'Why's that?' "He's a vegetarian."

She remembered the murderous look in his eye when he smashed Rock Lee. The mental image of him with a picket sign with the earth on it, patting baby rabbits on the head. She barely caught the maniacal laughter but wasn't able to keep in the giggles afterwards. Gaara looked up at her, startled. Sakura realized she must seem insane by now and bowed again. "Gomen, Kazekage-sama." His eyes narrowed again and Sakura felt the skin at the nape of her neck prickle. She looked down, grabbing an apple from the table and stood against the wall, looking out of the window. "Aren't Temari and Kankoro coming down?" Gaara looked back to the table. "They sleep." Sakura nodded. 'I have to find my Tupperware.'

"Don't bother. Just eat it tonight or throw it out."Sakura felt the inside of her skull pang and reached up, holding her head. 'Why are you in my head?'

"Not quite sure on that one, let me check with my secretary." Sakura felt another pang in her head and gasped, dropping the apple out of the window. Gaara looked over at her, his eyes now dangerous. "Sakura." She turned quickly, diverting all of her attention to him. "Yes, Kazekage-sama?" Gaara stood and walked over to her. He put his finger under her chin and lifted her face till she met his eye. He was about two inches from her when his eyes narrowed. Sakura couldn't hide this flinch and Gaara seemed to withdraw for a second before looking into her eyes again. "I... Uh..." Sakura was now terribly uncomfortable by this closeness. He seemed to snap out of the gaze and jumped back. "I'm sorry. Sometimes I forget myself..." He turned and walked away, grabbing an apple on his way out.

"Told you." Sakura stared, it took a second to regain her thoughts after that. "What was that?" Sakura whispered, and again the voice responded. "He tried to see me. Silly boy, he knows it doesn't work like that." Sakura shook her head. "Why is he looking for you? Who are you?"

"Not yet." Sakura nearly laughed at this.

"Just eat your damned apple and keep your head! You'd think that she's-"

Gaara came back down the stairs, his eyes highly angered and his fists balled. "I'm stepping out." Sakura held up her hand. "Should I-"

"No." She watched curious as he walked out. She caught a gleam as he walked out. "What was that? Was he panicked?" The room as well as her head were silent.

She ended out falling asleep in the kitchen, her head on the table. It was about two hours later that she was awaken, Kankoro shaking her shoulder. "Hey, where's Gaara?" Sakura looked at him. "I don't know. I tried to ask if he wanted me to go, but he stormed out. He looked furious about something." Kankoro nodded. "I take it that was a bit ago?" Sakura nodded.

"Not my fault. That wasn't me." Sakura sat bolt upright and looked over at the door, just in time to see it open. Kankoro looked at her as Gaara walked in and sighed. "oh." Sakura looked over at him and sighed. She stood and backed away from the table to bow, wiping the last bit of sleep from her eye. "Is there anything you need, Kazekage-sama?" He turned to her, his hand on the mark on his forehead. "Please stop calling me that." Sakura looked up, a little off guard. "Excuse me?"

"The last time I was here you called me Gaara. The reason I came here was to get away from that for a bit. I tried to warn the Hokage, though I don't think she understood." Gaara's glare at her was unsettling to put it lightly. "Yes, Gaara. Is there anything that you need?" He stood, his eyes closed as he tried to think.

"You need to relax... It's just...look at your...mess." Sakura found herself in the same position as Gaara, and Kankoro noticed it as well. "Un, you alright?" Sakura looked over to Gaara and found him glaring at her, and she looked over to Kankoro to find him looking at her as well. "Me?" He nodded and Sakura smiled politely. "Yeah, just a little tired..."

"He knows you're lying." Sakura looked over at Gaara and realized the voice was right. "I'm sorry, Gaara." She bowed and ran to her room.

Those eyes, the way he stared at her, it was so chilling.

"But it makes you curious." Sakura slid to the floor. 'Not curious. Afraid.' "You've never been afraid, except that day with Sasuke." 'You have no right...' Sakura felt her hands fist and her teeth clenched at those words. "It's true. When he turned to you, those last words he spoke, you thought they may be his last."

"Stop it." Sakura spoke, out loud. "You were wrong. There's been a whole chapter in his life you missed..." "STOP IT!!" She screamed unintentional, and the pang in her forehead was now a full out explosion. She jumped back to her feet, and stumbled towards the door, to find Kankoro already there. "Hey, you're not doing so well. Come here, we're goin' to the hospital." She shook her head as the voice in her screamed, and she coughed, feeling blood in her mouth. She fell to her knees spitting the bitter red liquid to the floor.

"GAARA! GET IN HERE! I DUNNO WHAT TO DO!" Sakura sat there, feeling as if the world around her was shifting, mutating somehow, and all she could do was watch. Gaara came in and pushed her to her back. He looked in her eyes again and all she could do was scream, feeling as if her head were on fire. "No one's dead yet. You need to calm down." Gaara held her face up and glared directly into her eyes. She felt her head jerk up, and noticed the mark on his forehead. It caught her, and she stared at it. The voice in her head stopped screaming and calmed down, now the usual 'inner Sakura' she usually had instead of the one of the day. "It means love." Sakura stared at it, feeling her pulse fall and her breathing return without the shaking, clenching feeling. Sakura sat up, still holding her hand to her head. "Does it still hurt?" Gaara's voice was again a whisper as he spoke, but now it looked cautious. Sakura nodded and stood. "What did you do? It stopped." Sakura looked at him and he looked at her, his eyes now curious. "Did he?" She froze.

'are you still there?' "I am. You've finally figured it out, didn't you?" "Shukaku." Gaara stood and sighed. "How?" Sakura shrugged and looked over to him. "Now what? Is he still in you?"

"He is. He's always in me, only you seem to hear him, as I seem to hear the one in you," Sakura froze. "I don't have a demon." Kankoro crossed his arms, sighing off the stress of the last few minutes. "Everyone has a demon, Sakura." She looked up at him. Noticing the way in which he said it, he was right. "I mean the Shukaku type." Kankoro shrugged, pulling off the helmet of the outfit he wore, revealing shorter brown hair. "Permission to dress down, bro?" Gaara turned to him, nodding. "You, come on. You need to be seen now." Gaara took Sakura's hand and stood her up.

She was in the hospital again. "Ohayo Haruno-sensei! I thought you were on vacation?" Sakura smiled weakly. "I am. How's Sasuke?" The nurse smiled at her and played with the gloves on her hands. "He's gone. He was released this afternoon, he's staying at Naruto's till the trial." Sakura froze. "Trial?"

"Of course he DI-" "You know, it's not re-" "-ext week." Sakura stared at her. "I missed that, can you repeat it?" "You are human after all. It's not a ba-" "-till next week." Sakura felt the ping in her head. "I can hear you again." The nurse in front of her giggled. "I would hope so."

"Sorry, girlie. Not used to watching my mouth..." "Watching your mouth? I just heard something about being human." "Oh, never mind." "Sakura? You hit your head or something?" Sakura stared ahead, she'd forgotten about the nurse. "Please, can you get me a glass of water?" The nurse nodded, running off quickly.

"you need to calm down. This is a lot to try and understand. She has no idea what you're talking about. Let me out, I'll explain." Sakura looked around again. They must be close. She noticed she was able hear him better the closer they were.

They? Since when was Gaara a they? Since Shukaku started talking to her too... She sighed. 'It's always me that gets the oddballs.' "Yeah, I remember him." 'That's just mean! Naruto's not an... Never mind.' She thought about what was about to come out of her mouth. "You know, the glare he keeps giving you, the one that sends chills down your spine, you should really look at it some time. It's not as cold as it used to be." Sakura sat surprised for a second till they walked in, the doctor behind.

"You have quite a story here, Sakura-sensei." The doctor smiled at her and Gaara looked over at him. "Sensei?" The doctor looked over at him, pulling out a small hammer. "Yes, Sakura is one of the best doctors we've seen in years. We've been taking classes from her for the last few months." Gaara looked down at her, his eyes narrowing again, and this time Sakura did as the demon had told her and watched him. It was right, the look in his eye wasn't cold, but quizzical. She smiled at him politely out of force of habit and the doctor bent down at her knees. "You know the drill." Sakura nodded as the man tried to tap her knee, but was unable to. He tried again, the hammer seemed to be stopped by an invisible force. "Try it yourself." Gaara spoke calmly, but Sakura sensed tension, maybe anxiousness in his eyes. She nodded and took the hammer from the doctor and tapped the knee. "It doesn't work if I do it." She looked at the doctor. "maybe we should get someone more skilled as a ninja than a doctor." The man spoke, looking a little let down at the testing. "That's a good idea." Gaara spoke, sitting and again Sakura noticed him staring into her eyes. He waited till the doctor had left the room to do his own testing. "May I try something?" Sakura nodded, not sure what else to do. He was kind of the expert at demons, considering Narutos demon never talked to him. Gaara held out his hand hesitantly and placed it on her bare shoulder and closed his eyes.

Gaara sat there, quietly for a second before he shook his head. "Do you hear him?" Sakura shook her head, kind of feeling like a lost puppy. "If you don't mind, I want to try again, but I need to get closer." Sakura swallowed hard, feeling her vocal cords clench. She nodded, knowing if anyone could tell her anything it was him. He leaned in close to her, his hand still on her shoulder, his other hand on her cheek. She glanced down to it, caught off by this and she tried to keep a shudder off. "Look at me." Gaara's voice was demanding and Sakura turned back to him, her eyes wide and he just sat there for a second, glaring into her eyes. He searched the big green eyes for a second before he began to worry, Sakura could tell this was straight out scaring him.

Sakura heard the door open and sat there for a second till Gaara pulled his hand back, and it took her a moment to get used to the feeling of having her face back. "You two having fun?"