Here's chapter four, ready and waiting! Enjoy.

Naruto's not mine.

Chapter Four

The time had come for her to leave. Sakura had spent the last few days spending time with her friends, and they had been determined to spoil her silly before she left. Hinata, Ino and Tenten had taken her shopping, their treat, for new clothes that she would need in Suna. Temari had advised on what was best for the climate, and had even pitched in for some things herself.

Naruto had plied her with a ton of ramen, determined that she wouldn't forget the taste when she went to Suna.

"Baka!" Temari had berated him. "There's ramen in Suna!"

Kakashi and Sai had also given her gifts. Sai's had been a portrait of team seven, and though Sakura couldn't take it with her on the trip to Suna, Temari had assured her that she could send it there, so there would be no problem. Kakashi had bought her a new katana, one he knew she'd had her eyes on. The blade was polished steel, with gold filigree near the handle, which itself was cherry blossom pink and also inlaid with gold, matching its scabbard.

Sakura could have cried at this gift, and Kakashi said, "Hey, it's not like it was that expensive!"

"But it's not cheap, either," she berated him, sniffling a little.

He shrugged. "It was the least I could do, anyway," he informed her, making her want to cry again.

"You know I'll never use it," she told him, sniffling a little. "It's mostly for decoration, anyway." Kakashi'd just shrugged.

Now, however, it was time to go, and Sakura stood in her house, looking around one last time before leaving. She had so many good memories here, and the fact that there wouldn't be anymore was making her want to break down into tears. But she wouldn't; she would remain strong. No longer was she that weak, emotional little girl anymore. She could control her emotions!

"Hey, Sakura, you coming?"

The sound of Temari's voice called to her through her slight daze, and Sakura practically ran out of there, not wanting to dwell on the life she was giving up.

"I'm coming!" she called as she ran, and once outside, both women fell into step together as they walked towards the main gates where, undoubtedly, all of their friends were waiting for that final farewell.

She was right, for the most part. Not everyone was there, but her closest friend's were. Naruto, Hinata, Ino, Shikamaru, Sai and Kakashi-sensei. Temari was standing a little apart from them, seemingly trying to remain apart, since she was technically taking Sakura away from them. Sakura sighed. She hoped that Temari wasn't going to be so distant for the next couple of days or so.

Naruto immediately barrelled into her, giving her one heck of a bear hug. "We'll miss you, Sakura-chan!" he declared, and Sakura had to forcefully remove him from her so that the others could say good-bye as well.

One by one they each gave her their own version of the hug Naruto had given her (only Ino's came close to matching the rib cracker dealt by the hyper Kyuubi container) and finally it was time to go. Ino was in tears as she made Sakura swear never to lose touch, and the pinkette promised. Then she and Temari left, Sakura making sure she turned back every now and then to see the faces of her friends until they were out of sight.

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Gaara stood in the hallway of his home, staring at the boxes that were in the room before him. Really, he'd expected more of them, since even though Sakura was a kunoichi, she was still female, and they tended to have more stuff than was necessary. As it was, it seemed that all that had been sent ahead were two suitcases full of clothes, two boxes of stuff that included medical texts and ninja equipment alongside little ornaments and some other totally useless stuff. Plus there was a carefully wrapped painting, though he had no idea what it was of.

Right now, Gaara was holding a katana, one that looked like it had been made for Sakura, since it was cherry blossom pink, and he wondered who'd given it to her. Or maybe she'd bought it herself? Normally he wouldn't go through people's things, but a couple of servants had taken it upon themselves to unpack everything in preparation for Sakura's arrival. They really should have waited, he thought, and he was convinced that she was going to want to punch someone for it.

He sighed, then carefully put the katana on the desk before turning and leaving the room. Another thing that he knew that Sakura was going to be mad about was the fact that all of her things had been put into his room. It was a Suna custom that when a couple got engaged, they were already as good as married, and were well within their rights to then move in together. He also figured that the elders were hoping that living in close quarters with one another would help them to 'get to know' one another. They really wanted them to start having children right away, though they were smart enough not to say anything to him about it directly. Yet. They were probably just biding their time.

Snorting in disgust at the thought of the elders, Gaara made his way to the kitchen to have something to eat. Having children was not something he really cared about, but if Sakura wanted them, then he supposed he could, one day. But he didn't even know if they would be compatible in that department. They'd hardly ever spoken to each other. The most words she'd ever spoken to him was to check if he was injured after a mission he'd assisted with once in Konoha. And the most he'd ever spoken to her was to tell her that of course he wasn't injured; he had his sand.

Gaara had now reached the kitchen, and he found Kankurou there, already eating.

"Hey bro," the puppet master greeted him. "How's it going?"

"Hn."

The grunt was his only reply as he made a beeline for the fridge. After a moment of rummaging around, he found something quick and easy and sat on a stool to eat his food.

"So, Sakura should be here tomorrow," Kankurou said, making small talk. "Has her stuff been put away yet?"

Gaara nodded. "She's probably going to flip about it," he commented.

Sighing, Kankurou stated, "I don't think that we should worry about her flipping over that. You didn't hear this from me, but the elders are planning on putting in a clause on the marriage contract for her to be at least pregnant within a year."

Almost choking on his food, Gaara lowered it and asked dangerously, "They're what?"

Kankurou rolled his eyes. "They want the two of you to have an heir," he all but repeated. "And soon, too."

This was the last straw. While he knew he'd be able to handle the suggestion that they have kids, practically forcing them was another matter entirely, and Gaara stood and disappeared in a whirl of sand, only to reappear in his office. Striding out and into the hall, he headed towards the elder council chambers to give those idiots a piece of his mind.

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Temari had finally loosened up enough to be entertaining on their journey, and she and Sakura talked and laughed about everything and nothing as they made their way to Suna. A couple of times they ran into other shinobi; once it was an Anbu team headed back from a mission and the other was a couple of low class rogues who thought it might be fun to harass them. But they were no match for Temari's wind jutsus and Sakura's charka laden fists.

Now they were almost at Suna, and Sakura had been silent for awhile now, which she knew was kinda freaking Temari out at that point. But the pink haired Anbu medic felt that she had a right to be moody at this point, since she was about to be faced with a life that had already taken her away from everything and everyone that she loved. But she tried not to be too sad about it, and swore to herself that she was going to make this work, one way or another.

Even though the thought of being married to Gaara still freaked her out. Even though the idea of having to sleep with him in order to have children was worrying her brain like crazy. Even though she knew that Gaara probably hated the idea that he'd been manoeuvred into this. And even though, despite everything, she was, in a way, looking forward to this a little, but only from the perspective of what was best for her village. Otherwise, she was screaming to herself on the inside that this was all wrong. How could it not be?

And yet, a couple of hours later, she walked through the gates, Temari beside her, giving off the aura of the calmest person in the world.

There'll be face to face with Gaara and Sakura next chapter! Please review.