A/N: By the way, if you haven't already realized this, I will be doing everything my way from the fight at the Chunin exams on to work with my plot better. Sorry if you don't like it! Also, I have a poll up on my profile about which story(ies) I should update next so...if you read any of my other work you can vote. 4.28.12. IMPORTANT: I'm sorry about not updating, but my computer was mauled by a virus from an infected e-mail I opened from my friend not knowing her e-mail had been hacked and the hacker sent out to everyone in her contact book a computer killer. It has been in the shop before last night but I was coming home from a party and fell straight into bed. The good thing is, Best Buy's Geek Squad kicks ass and saved all of my stuff. All my documents, all my internet favorites, hell even my internet history was saved!

Staying with Tsunade at the hospital had been an interesting adventure with the blonde woman's insane temper and drinking habits, but despite all that she really was a kind woman. Currently, Sakura sat beside Ino in the stand's front row since her wheelchair would fit nowhere else at the arena for the final section of the Chunin exams and she was wringing her hands in anxiety. Sitting in her wheelchair with her left leg still in a cast to come off in a week since it had been hurt worse, she had been unable to pace which was her usual form of venting anxiety or anger.

First there was the whole Sasuke being missing and his match being postponed and the fight had only added to the stress. Already she had been to the point she almost tore her hair out when Naruto had fought Neji with all that the blond idiot had been up against. She was extremely relieved when he'd won and Ino had agreed with her it was an amazing match.

After that was Shikamaru and Temari which had at least been a somewhat easier to watch match because she didn't know Temari and wasn't particularly close with Shikamaru. She had been shocked when the lazy genius had just given up, but then again so had the rest of the crowd been. When the time came for Gaara and Sasuke's match she was jumping out of her skin nervous and Ino had to yell at her for straining her health. At first, only Gaara had been there standing in the middle of the ring with his arms crossed and gourd on his back. She, staring at him, recalled their talk.

Flashback

Sakura had been wheeling herself towards the flower shop to visit Ino in her boredom when she saw Gaara perched on a rooftop staring down at the civilians like they were ants. She had waved her hand and called, "Gaara!" His cold gaze had snapped to her and she had to fight the urge to drop her gaze to the ground. "Come down, I want to talk to you."

The red head had just stood there staring at her and after several minutes of him standing still she was about to leave, thinking he didn't want to talk to her, when he leapt off the building. A platform of sand flew from his gourd to cushion his jump and it slowly lowered him to the ground before her wheelchair. "What?" he asked in his grating voice that gave her goosbumps.

"I wanted to thank you I guess for...not killing me? That sounds weird but Tsunade-sama said you could have easily hurt me worse and you didn't, so thank you!" She flashed him a broad smile and he stared at her like she'd grown a third head. "And I know you're not supposed to look a gift horse in the mouth and all," she added with her expression molding into one of confusion, "but I just wanted to know why. I know I'm not special and we've never met before."

Gaara stared at her for a moment, eyes fixed on hers, before his eyes began roaming her body picking over her every detail only pausing on her injuries. "You do not fear me."

Sakura's expression turned to one of surprise and she replied, "What?"

"You do not fear me. In that match I sensed determination to not fail in front of the Uchiha and fear from you, but the fear was of death. Not even death by my hands, just death itself." His face remained impassive while he spoke, but she saw a spark of curiosity when he talked to her.

Her mouth formed an 'o' and she nodded, working to understand what he meant. "So...because I didn't fear you, you thought I was different and didn't kill me?"

Before she got an answer he just disappeared in a swirl of sand leaving her to blink. When she looked down to begin wheeling herself along she found a small vile with sand in it on her lap. She smiled at it and tucked it in her pocket before continuing on her way.

End Flashback

When Sakura had entered the arena Sakura's heart had involuntarily dropped realizing the Uchiha prodigy and Gaara were going to fight. What if Gaara gets hurt? Sakura couldn't help but wonder. Once the match commenced Sasuke darted towards Gaara at such a speed he almost wasn't visible as he moved. Gaara's expression was one of aggravation at the lack of upper hand he had in the match as he lashed out of sand tendrils that she couldn't help but wince at when they smacked against the ground.

Sasuke managed to slip through the tendrils and neared Gaara before the red head pulled his sand in around him forming a very familiar cocoon. Sasuke threw fast kicks at the cocoon, appearing quickly at one side of the sand shell and then at another, but it didn't even crack. Things continued like that until the sand exploded outwards throwing Sasuke backwards. Sakura's hand flew to the vial of sand in her left pocket and she gripped it tightly as some sort of reassurance. Sasuke was quickly back on his feet and going at Gaara with a quick procession of attacks that only wore on Sakura's nerves. When Sasuke managed to land a kick on Gaara, hitting Gaara right in the face, she nearly screamed and had to clamp her mouth shut while gripping the vial.

Gaara's head had been turned sideways from the kick and when it turned forward again it contained a rather disturbing smirk. That was when a ticking noise began echoing through the arena and Gaara's smirk disappeared. Quickly he summoned his sand towards him before having it lift himself off the ground and push him up to the stands. He landed on the stands and leapt towards Sakura just as a loud sound filled the air and everything began to shake.

When Sakura pried her eyes open, her ears ringing and vision spinning, she found she was on her back on the ground with Gaara holding himself up above her with his knees planted on the ground outside of her legs. It was dark around them and she couldn't tell where they were. "Gaara what ha-"

"Are you hurt?" She was stunned by the question and still wanted to know what was going on.

"Gaara, why is it dark? Where are we? What happened?"

"Are. You. Hurt?" Gaara repeated angrily.

Seeming to only hear his words then Sakura blinked and glanced herself over. "No. I'm fine."

"Good. We are surrounded by my sand and it protected us from the explosion. Stay down and hide under the benches. Don't come up until the medics from your village arrive." The sand suddenly retracted into Gaara's gourd. Gaara stood up and moved away from them revealing their surroundings which could only be described as chaos. People were screaming for help and screaming in pain, there were red splashes all over, the arena had been completely obliterated and a huge pit was all that was left with the walls being completely crumbled. Sakura looked to her right shaking in fear to find Ino lying on the ground not moving.

She quickly moved to her friend finding a pulse on her wrist which brought a heavy, and shaky, breath of relief. She stared around in complete horror as she saw debris buried deep in some people made her lean over and throw up everything she'd eaten for lunch. The morbid sights were just too much for her. Gaara was stilling standing there glancing around the arena with an unreadable expression.

When his gaze returned to her he growled, "Get under the benches," and then disappeared. She didn't do as he asked, concern for her friends overwhelming her. After pushing Ino under the benches for cover Sakura forced herself to her feet and began walking around slightly dragging her leg with the cast. It was such a burden at a time where she needed to be quick. She pressed herself against one of the pillars at the railing of the stands and looked around to see what was going on. Ninjas she did not recognize were swarming into the stands and attacking people.

Ninja's she knew, especially senseis and other genin, were fighting against the attacking ninja and protecting the civilians. She managed to pick out Kakashi and Naruto working side by side nearby protecting a large ground of injured civilians. She then realized Sasuke had been in the arena during the explosion and moved from her hidden spot to lean over the damaged and falling apart railing to search for the raven haired boy.

When she saw him she had to suck in a deep breath. He was following after Gaara and the two were running from the arena out into the forest. That was when she made the decision to follow because seeing those two running out to where they could battle without restraint made her terrified. She pushed off the railing landing in the pit with some protest from her injured leg before running off after the two.