A/N: 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.

All flashbacks will be in Italic, and clearly marked.

Chapter 3 – Encounter

– Flashback –

"Medic!"

The unfamiliar voice broke Sakura Haruno out of her unconscious state. She'd just arrived in Suna, badly hurt and in the arms of the Kazekage. She looked up, but he refused to meet her eyes. For a moment she forgot how she had ended up this way and once the memory of him shoving her up against the stone masonry in the Wind Shrine came flooding back to her, she struggled in his arms, panicking.

But he held her against her will, carried her into the Suna hospital, and toward help. The warmth of his grip sent her senses into overdrive and spasms of pain arched her body. Something was inside her; pain, like a worm, wriggling through her, tearing through her. She cried out, her arms clawing at the Kazekage as the pain deepened. She felt like she was dying.

And then quite suddenly, she felt calm. A foreign hand on her head and chest was healing her and the chakra felt warm and inviting. She could feel her troubles just fading away. When the Kazekage left the room, she let her guard down and allowed sleep to overwhelm her.

When she finally woke, someone was whispering nearby. She shifted softly, but they didn't notice. Sakura rolled her head to the side and spotted another hospital bed nearby. On it, she recognised the Konoha Anbu operative, sleeping peacefully. His name was Tonetsu. He was injured, but for the most part, seemed to be recovering nicely. She sighed, relieved, and turned her head in the other direction. Nothing. She couldn't see if Kima or Hawk were nearby and frowned, trying to sit up. But the exhaustion and a stabbing pain in her abdomen wouldn't let her up.

Sakura moaned softly, drawing the attention of the two nearby medics and they rushed over to her.

"Lady Haruno," one of them said respectively, "you are still injured, you need to rest."

It felt so weird to her, to be on the receiving end, as her visits to Suna had only seen her healing them. Fate had turned the tables on her apparently. She grabbed the one who had spoken, remembering him now, from her last visit. His name was Shima. He was the second cousin of the head of the medical core.

"Shima," she said softly. "The Kazekage…"

He nodded to her, not understanding. "He brought you in here and then left immediately to personally track down the rest of your team. Tonetsu over there is resting just fine." He indicated to the sleeping Anbu she had already noticed. "Don't worry, I'm sure the rest will be found, just give it time."

He smiled at her as her body started to betray her desire to stay awake. The Kazekage was tracking down her team? Why would he do that, after…?

– End Flashback –

X X X

"I'm worried about Sakura," Temari said to Naruto, shortly after the team had split up.

She was currently running alongside Naruto Uzumaki, Shikamaru Nara, Rokka Namura, Matsuri Hamanaku, and three of Naruto's shadow clones that took the forms of their other companions (Sakura, Ino, and Kankuro). She hadn't introduced the two Chunin by their full names to the leaf ninja, which she realised in hindsight had been slightly disrespectful. Still, she rarely went by Sabaku herself, so it seldom occurred to her to add family names to introductions.

"She's tough," Naruto said. "She can handle this."

"That's not what I meant."

Shikamaru glanced at her in that typical, lazy way of his. "Because she doesn't seem herself?"

Temari nodded her head and Naruto lowered his eyes onto the ground self-consciously. Matsuri and Rokka remained silent, but were listening.

"There is something wrong!" Temari groaned loudly.

"We don't know what it is," Shikamaru said, realising she was about to burst. "Just that she didn't want to come here."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto roused on him. "That was her business!"

The cloud watcher shrugged. "I know, but it still is. If it affects this mission, Temari deserves to know that her friend is not comfortable. It would be so troublesome in the middle of battle."

"That's what you guys were talking about when we were about to leave Suna," Temari deduced. "Don't worry Naruto, I won't say anything, and both Matsuri and Rokka are good at keeping secrets."

The two Chunin nodded their heads respectfully. The blonde knucklehead sighed, relenting.

"It's not that I don't trust you Temari," he said, "it's just that Sakura's been this way for a long time."

"I know, you told me, remember?"

"Oh, right," he chuckled.

He had told her yesterday that Sakura hadn't been herself for almost two years.

"So," Matsuri said, curious. "No theories as to why Lady Haruno didn't want to be here?"

Naruto shook his head as Rokka frowned at them, keeping his eyes on the horizon. They were supposed to be keeping their guard up. But as Shikamaru rolled his eyes at the male Chunin, Rokka realised their guards were up. He couldn't wait until he was good enough to be a Jounin, and lost his disrespectful expression. Well he needed to concentrate, so listened in, without taking part.

"It clearly started in Suna," Shikamaru said, "but she's so tight lipped, even Ino doesn't know."

"Do you remember anything odd from two years ago, Lady Temari?" Matsuri asked.

All eyes were on her (except Rokka's) and the blonde Kunoichi shook her head. "No. But we all know she was attacked by rogue ninja, along with an Anbu squad, and I remember seeing the state she was in. I've never seen someone so traumatised."

'Except for Gaara, years ago, when he was still calling Shukaku his mother.'

"Did you tell the Kazekage?" Shikamaru asked.

"Yeah, but Gaara took it from there. I have no idea what happened to her."

"We should ask Kazekage-sama when we get back," Matsuri said. "If whatever happened is still affecting her, we are duty bound to do everything we can to help her."

Shikamaru groaned. "More work? What a drag."

Temari chuckled and Naruto rolled his eyes.

"We sound like a bunch of gossiping Yamanakas, so let's just let it go, okay?" He said.

"And don't tell Ino that Naruto made fun of her family," Shikamaru said wisely.

He could already see, in the direction of Amegakure, a soft, indistinct column of grey coloured smoke, as though there was an encampment up ahead. It would seem they were expected.

X X X

Sakura Haruno was worried. Okay, she'd been worried from the moment the Hokage, Kakashi Hatake had ordered her to accompany the squad heading to Suna, but this was different. Why would the ninja in Ame suddenly start building up, if not for war? She couldn't stop the strange feeling that this was not their intention. On either side of her, Ino Yamanaka and Kankuro were watching for traps and ambushes, the clones Naruto had created to look like the rest of the group doing the same thing. She had to remind herself they really weren't Shikamaru Nara, Temari, Matsuri, Rokka, or Naruto Uzumaki. The blonde knucklehead had perfected his shadow clone and transformation jutsus on a scale no-one had done before. He truly was his father's son.

Sakura glanced at Ino and Kankuro. Only Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, and Kakashi knew that Naruto Uzumaki was the son of the late, fourth Hokage – as far as they knew. When the pinkette had found out, she'd been so dumbfounded that she hadn't noticed that Naruto was mocking her with one of his trademark grins. He had known for quite some time so he was blasé about the whole thing by that point. It had fascinated him to no end how she'd reacted to the information; he had told her that his reaction was worse, but he wouldn't say how much worse. This of course, flared up her curiosity, but he wouldn't relent.

Time passed, as it always did, and they left the desert behind, finally travelling into the neighbouring land. It had taken more than a day and they rested at the border before heading in. If they were attacked, they would need to keep their strength up, after all. Sakura spent the time trying to think about the best way to approach this situation. She was a decent strategist, though not as good as Shikamaru, or even Temari, but she believed that an anticipation of an ambush was a sound tactic. She relayed this to Ino and Kankuro and they agreed. The party then travelled in a line, with the transformed clones taking up the front and rear most positions, with Kankuro, Ino, and then Sakura in the middle. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to do.

It wasn't long before the assumption of an ambush proved true.

"Stop," Kankuro said softly and they all complied.

Sakura had felt it at the same time. They weren't alone. As the forerunners of this mission, they were also the bait, in case the Ame ninja decided to attack them. Sakura shifted her back to Ino's, pulling out her kunai as her fellow teammates made similar movements. They were only here to test the Ame Shinobi, to see how they reacted to foreign ninja near their territory (the capture or kill order was secondary this time, but they intended to capture one of them closer to Ame itself). Normally the Shinobi of another village were well within their rights to defend their territory, but the treaty stated that they could only attack any other ninja within a mile radius, and only if they believe them to be a threat.

But they had only recently crossed the border, so any attack directed toward them would show them how seriously these ninja took the treaty. If the rogues were indeed up to something, they were about to attack. Sakura lifted her kunai to deflect several enemy blades, receiving her answer.

Ino grunted behind her. "Idiots!"

Kankuro's puppets had yet to make an appearance, and Sakura realised he was trying to draw the enemy toward them, to get them close before trapping them in. But a moment later, as they sensed the chakra around them building, he bent down, holding the scrolls out before him and summoned them.

"Crow, Black Ant, Salamander!"

Kankuro attached the chakra strings and got to work. The Black Ant and Crow disappeared as the enemy came at them. There were four of them, but Sakura could sense their confidence, and figured there were more in hiding. They bore the Ame insignia on their headbands and wore their distinctive ninja uniforms. At least they didn't have to guess who their attackers were. And none of them were masked, the glint in their eyes very clear.

"Distract them," Kankuro said, and Sakura and Ino nodded, the clones mimicking the motion.

He jumped up and out of the way, preparing as Salamander formed its shield to protect his companions. The clones of Temari, Naruto, Shikamaru, Matsuri, and Rokka darted in all directions as more ninja emerged from the safety of the trees around them. This wasn't a forest, like the one between the land of wind and Konoha, but it was cover enough. At least the sparseness allowed for a larger battlefield. The clones engaged the new enemy (numbering six) with kunai and senbon, while Sakura and Ino attacked the four who had first appeared.

Sakura threw out her arm again as the angry face of the enemy ninja bore down on her, pressing his kunai to hers in an attempt to throw her off balance. She shifted her weight, forcing chakra into her feet to keep her balance. She was stronger than he clearly believed. Was it the pink hair?

'Sakura…'

A voice in her head startled her and she almost lost her grip. It was a low tone, mesmerising, and deep. It sounded like… Gaara. But that was impossible – he was still in Suna!

Ignoring the voice, she kicked out, hitting the Ame Shinobi in the shin. He lowered his kunai and she swiped out at him, slashing his clothes. A long, red mark appeared on his chest as she pierced skin. He was shocked, taking a moment to realise she had turned her kunai into a chakra scalpel. It had torn straight through his uniform, but the wound, while effective, was not that deep.

'Sakura…'

She lost her triumphant feeling, frustrated and tried to block out that voice. She was definitely losing it. The rogue came at her again, this time angrier, but sloppier. He wasn't used to being the one bleeding, it would seem. A sudden desire flooded Sakura's senses. She wanted to tear this man apart with her bare hands. She shook herself, the image that had suddenly appeared in her mind of his body ripped apart and bleeding out fading from her mind. Where the hell had that come from?

She glanced at Ino, who hadn't noticed, and sighed with relief. The blonde was holding her own well enough. They had fought alongside Kankuro before, so they knew what he was up to the moment he started calling out his jutsu.

"Poison Mist Inferno: Consecutive Needle Combo!"

Sakura and Ino didn't bother avoiding the attack. Salamander's shield could withstand incredible impacts, as well as guard against poison attacks. It rose to deflect it from the two Kunoichi. Ino spun around as Sakura did, with the puppet behind them. The clones were running toward them and at the last moment, jumped up, and out of the way as Sakura slammed her chakra fist into the ground.

"Remind me not to piss you off," the clone of Temari said.

Sakura had to remind herself it was actually a clone of Naruto.

The combination of the poison jutsu and the earth shattering was fatal to the ninja who had been fighting the clones, but there were still four others. It was the reason Kankuro had made the Black Ant disappear at the beginning of the fight (the Crow had since reappeared). He loved forcing the enemy into a corner, where the Black Ant was waiting. He pulled on the chakra strings as the remaining Ame ninja jumped back to avoid the poison.

They fell backwards and straight into the waiting belly of the Black Ant and were sealed up tight.

"Secret Black Move: Iron Maiden!"

Kankuro loved this part. He skewered the enemy, and made a mental note to use a better cleaner for the mess it had made inside the Black Ant and on Crow. He always likened this trapping puppet to a beast, swallowing its prey whole. He sighed, realising he was enjoying it too much. They all relaxed as the puppets dispersed and only the enemy bodies lay strewn over the battlefield. But Kankuro didn't liken that to a battle. He had fought alongside Ino and Sakura enough times that it was more like a well rehearsed dance. No enemy had ever escaped their combined attacks, not that Ino got to use her jutsu this time. He shot an apologetic look at her when he realised he had stolen the show. Sometimes he just got carried away with his puppets.

Ino smiled slightly at him, though irked, to show he was forgiven. She was definitely going to show him up, next time.

"Looks like they don't put much stock in the treaty after all," the clone of Naruto said.

Kankuro snorted softly. "You know as well as I do that a treaty is not absolute. The past has taught us that much. War teaches us our folly, but it would seem these missing-nin have yet to learn theirs."

"Such wisdom," Ino said, surprised. "Did Temari tell you that?"

"No," he said, a slight tinge of pink on his skin.

All of the clones laughed along with Ino, but Sakura ignored them, staring down at the dead bodies on the ground. It wasn't over; she could sense the eyes watching them, but could not sense where or who they were. The second group had yet to catch up, and she worried for them. They should've caught up by now. She tuned back into the conversation as Kankuro relayed yet more words of wisdom.

"It isn't always the strongest ninja that wins the fight."

Sakura looked up as the Naruto clone glanced at her. It was so surreal to her that Kankuro would say this. Ino inhaled softly, catching on a moment later and also glanced at Sakura. Her friends were sweet, but the concerned look on their faces was unnecessary. She stared down at the dead rogue ninja, the memory of another bloodied enemy coming to her.

– Flashback –

Naruto was kneeling on the ground, Konoha in ruins amongst them, but the fight was over. Sasuke had attacked them and failed, at great cost. Sakura watched him, suddenly cut off from her emotions. She was beaten, bloodied and moments from passing out, but at least she would survive. There was silence all around, and a soft wind ruffled her clothes, but she kept her eyes on those bright blue ones.

Naruto continued to stare at her, half ignoring the limp body in his arms. It was Sasuke. His body was dead, broken, and blemished with his blood. He had just taken his last breath and fallen into Naruto's waiting arms, as Sakura stumbled and fell backward. She was lucky to be alive.

The silence between them grew, as Naruto's expression was a mixture of regret, horror, and silent pleading. But he somehow managed to keep the relief on his face from fading completely. He was so upset, having lost his best friend, knowing he would never be able to save him, and looking at the pinkette he still wanted to spend the rest of his life with staring at him as though this was just an ordinary day was tearing him apart. She could see it on him, clear as day.

Sakura had hardened her heart to this, not wanting to deal with the repercussions of Sasuke's death. She felt faint and in an instant, Naruto had laid Sasuke down, jumped up, and landed lithely behind Sakura to support her as she fell unconscious.

– End Flashback –

Sakura echoed Kankuro's words mechanically. "It isn't always the strongest ninja that wins the fight."

'Sakura…'

She sighed. That voice was not as creepy as what had happened the day Sasuke Uchiha had died.

X X X

A/N: Sorry, no Gaara this chapter.
I gave Rokka and Matsuri last names. He's an OC, and her surname is not mentioned in the canon… as far as I know.
Again, it's longer than I intended, but it's getting into the nitty gritty now, so please review! It makes me feel better… *rolls eyes* ;D

R&R.