"I'm not crazy, I'm just a little unwell…"

It had been one week since their first encounter, one week since Gaara was assigned to the girl nicknamed 'the lost cause,' one week…

One long, exhausting, horrifying week.

And after that second day, it seemed that their progress had been hemmed.

He had assumed that much, it was ignorant to believe that she was actually opening up. Her behavior, as in, her personality, was a lie.

She had dissociative identity disorder, or multiple personalities. Which seemed to be the conflict between Kinari and Sakura. What was so special, was that both Kinari, and Sakura, were real people.

But… To see her change sporadically, so often, even with this knowledge, it was just simply exhausting.

What was worse, he had no clue where to start in helping her. Sure. There were clues, set like a scatterplot. Trying to make sense of it all when there was no real pattern. They were trying to draw facts from fiction, despite just how hopeless this was, Gaara couldn't just give up. There was always an answer, always a way, always a loophole or a backdoor.

The human mind was indeed complex, but there was just so much to be learned from this…

How could they just toss her aside like that?

"WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Shattered glass, and raining sand.

The results of that once decorative jar of white smashing against the beige wall of his office.

Who?

"Sakura…"

Shikamaru..

"Get out of my head…" The laptop screen was slammed shut, a finalizing touch to the flare of anger that had erupted from the red head like a volcano.

But I am you.

Silence.

Deafening.

His ears hurt. His temples. His mind ached, like a lasso stretched around it, and was pulling, further and further away, just waiting for him to finally snap…

Gaara took a sharp inhale of cool air, once, twice, and then a third time, his shaking fists settling by his sides as he relaxed once more, unwinding enough to lean back in the desk chair.

He hated that voice, he always had. It was, as Shikamaru had once told him, a remnant of his father, lodged in his memory from years of trauma. Sometimes, when his temper was triggered, that voice managed to plague his thoughts again.

His therapy?

Exercise.

Running was his preferred form, if not for the obvious health benefits, but for the fact that it allowed him to clear his mind, to empty it of all of the bad thoughts, to picture every conflict as a new door, in a long hallway. And in his hands, a set of dozens of keys. He had the power to unlock them. But that was up to him and himself alone…

"What happens when I can't figure out what key is for which door?"

Shikamaru sat across from him, feet swung up onto the desk lazily, a cigarette hanging from the corner of his mouth, unlit. "You have all the keys don't you?"

"But if they all look the same?"

Shikamaru chuckled softly, his seemingly amused eyes falling shut, "Bummer, when that happens, isn't it? You tell me, Gaara. Do you break down the door anyway, or do you try the keys until one of them works? Sometimes… That's what life is. It's a pain in the ass. But, you can't expect your problem to be solved without some sort of… resistance. Retaliation. Like an obstacle. Sometimes you might even realize that your 'problem' door, might actually be the one solution you needed. And with the effort, searching for the right key, you could find gold."

"And if it doesn't exist?"

"If it does?" The dark haired male lifted a brow, the corner of his mouth quirking upwards in a smirk.

"I don't like to place my bets on 'if's' and 'what if's.'"

"Then stop missing the point, you're acting like there's no point. I told you the point, the point is life. This is living. You open doors, and you close doors. Sometimes you walk until your feet bleed to find the right door." A drawn out sigh, relaxing once more. "This metaphor is getting old... Gaara. You need to find a reason. To live. That's your motivation to open and close those doors. Otherwise, you aren't living. You're just dying."

During these early morning runs, Gaara often reminisced to the past. He thought about things, sometimes too much. Trying too hard to wrap his mind around something that was as simple as it was complex- why live?

Why exist?

Why help someone who couldn't be saved?

Why fight a fight that no one would win?

In the beginning, he thought it was the right thing to do, and then, he even went on to think that it would make his career should he accomplish success.

Now, he was starting to see it as Shikamaru's laziness being dumped onto his shoulders. This girl had plenty of issues, some just breaching the surface, others obvious. But what she needed more than anything, was a caretaker. Someone to ensure that she ate, bathed, slept. Because she didn't seem to care.

She wasn't living.

She wasn't opening any new doors.

She was like he was once, stuck in the hallway.

Gaara had found his reason to live, and that was to help people that have suffered as he had. To be some sort of… guiding light in their ominous pit of darkness.

But, he also understood reality.

He was no saint. He wasn't a messiah or some holy figure to look up to. He was a doctor, a psychologist, a therapist, a…. janitor.

Bottom line, he was receiving cases he couldn't handle at his level. Cases no one could figure out. He couldn't help them. He can't help her.

And above all of his demons, above everything, that he hated the most.

So instead of trying to figure her out… He had something else in mind. He would nurture her.

Because at the end of the day, only she could unlock her doors.

With this new objective in mind, and a certain clarity coming over him in a wave of relief and relaxation, Gaara jogged back to the "asylum," through security, and straight for her room. It was breakfast time…

Clad in his running shoes, a black under-armor shirt, and sweating like he had just left a sauna, he entered her room.

Or… No. That wasn't right. Where…?

He laughed.

There was one problem. He didn't have his keycard with him…

Oh, the irony.

Less than ten minutes later, he was back, breathing rather heavily, from running, no doubt. Fumbling with the card until he managed to unlock her door, listening impatiently as the mechanics clicked and unlocked, the door popping open from its frame.

"Fuck are- What?"

She stood there. Nose to nose with him. Right where the door had been.

"Don't curse."

His jaw fell open, a meek attempt to defend himself, though unable to draw up any phrase to compete. "I… You, but… Why?"

"Because, I don't appreciate vulgar language." She stared at him, almost cockily, folding her arms and shifting her weight onto one leg. "Its rude, you know. And unprofessional."

"N-no… I mean…" He sighed, pointing over her shoulder and back into the room. "Back up? Please."

After staring for a moment longer, unamused, she shrugged and shrunk back into the space, seating herself on the chair. "You're late… You smell. You look different… You didn't comb your hair or try to cover your tattoo, you're not wearing white… Am I in trouble?"

And just like that, she was completely surprising him, again. Was he really that easy to read?

"I…"

Was he the patient here? No. Take control… Gaara.

"No. You aren't… It's time to eat. Breakfast, remember?"

His attempt to salvage his composure wasn't going unnoticed, nor did it seem to work.

"You've never been late. Did something happen?" Sakura wasn't looking at him any longer, staring at the bed. "I don't want to eat… Come. Sit."

The worst part of his profession, was that he couldn't argue with a patient. Like customers in a store, they were always 'right.'

And so he crossed the room, making sure the door shut behind him, and sat on the bed. "Yes?"

"I want Chinese… and sushi, and ice cream. Strawberry, ice cream. I want to cut my hair. I want more hair dye, I want to get new clothes, and I want to go to a fair. I want cotton candy, and I want to go to high school. I want to know what is going on, and why I'm stuck here. I want to be free. I want to be a nurse. I want Shikamaru. I want Him to go away, and I want you to be a fucking doctor for once and make the dreams go away."

As she spoke, without running out of breath or skipping a beat, his eyes widened, evergreen hues boring into her.

"You… made a bucket list?"

She finally cracked a realistic grin, that of the girl he had gotten to know in the past few days, giving him an excited nod. Even though a portion of her list did disturb him. When she nodded enthusiastically, like a child being offered ice cream, he nodded as well, setting his palms against his knees.

"Well… Okay. Okay, yea. That's fine… we can… tackle the smaller things first, okay? Do me a favor." He picked up the journal that she was always writing in, was about to hand it to her, but before he could even continue what he was saying, she let out a sort of battle cry and, literally, tackled him.

He huffed softly, wincing a little when his back met the cheap mattress, staring up at the pink haired girl in shock, just as she pried the book from his hand.

Note to self- don't touch the journal.

"Sakura?"

She was practically straddling his torso, hugging the journal to her chest, head tilted down far enough that her hair shadowed her eyes, concealing her expression.

This was not going to look very good on cameras.

"Sakura… I need you to, uh… get off of me. Please…?"

There was no response. Aside from the gentle rocking motion her body moved in, a natural means of self comfort.

Oh God, that really wasn't going to look good on cameras…

"Sakura, look at me…" Just stay calm, just stay calm… Comfrot her. She's just afraid…

"Look at me, Sakura, it's okay…" He lifted a hand cautiously, letting his pale digits rest against her cheek, taking note of the slight flinch. She knew he was there. She was still aware, that was a good sign. So was the fact that she was letting him this close.

Progress.

"Now, look at me…" He repeated those words, repetition was known to calm anxiety, or at least, it was meant to. Gently, he tipped her chin up, gaining view of her facial features again, a droplet contacting with his thumb.

Water? Oh…

Her eyes were filled with tears, pained tears. She stared at him, her shoulders beginning to sag, and shake. When their eyes made contact, she lost her fight. The tears came freely, but she still didn't make a sound. No, instead, she fell forward, her forehead onto his shoulder, sobbing into it quietly.

She didn't cry for long, much to his surprise. She was done in a few seconds, but remained there, sniffling softly, his mind reeling on how to approach this situation for the long haul. Because honestly, he didn't know what the fuck was going on…

"You stink…"

Her voice was a small whisper, mumbled into his shirt. Gaara exhaled slowly, closing his eyes with a nod.

"Yea. I guess we both should shower first."

… She was giving him that look, he had known her for a week. And already, he had picked out her "did you really just say that?" look.

"Not together!" His cheeks were beginning to burn, the corner of her lips twitching upwards, into a smirk.

"I was going to say we should eat first…"

He almost found out. Gaara did. I don't like him. But I do. He isn't like the others, like Shikamaru was. He doesn't think the same. He…

He isn't a hundred percent set on figuring me out, now its like… he's trying to just, take care of me. Physically. Rather than mentally. Why? I don't know. But it's nice. It's nice to have someone that reminds me, to eat. To lecture me, on the importance. And while it's nice, it is, he's being such a hypocrite.

Everyone here knows he's hurting. You don't have to be sane to know that.

Something inside of him isn't right. He's going to slowly fade away. I think Shikamaru knew it too, he spoke of something, something similar. I made a decision, then, to do as he does. As Gaara does. I'm not going to worry about Him or Shikamaru, or anything. I'm going to take care of him. Make sure he eats, and sleeps, and wears the correct clothes.

Because seriously, he looked ridiculous in the running uniform. The lab coat doesn't suit him either, so I guess new clothes are in order.

He smells like sand.

"Sakura? It's time.." There was a light knock on her door, twice, with only one knuckle…

She could see his exact expression, the way he carried himself, and the hesitation he held in opening the door, even though he was the only one who could open it. He was a funny person, to Sakura, and honestly, she loved to figure people out.

She was good at reading them, figuring out quirks, and the like.

Gaara Saihara was no different.

In about two seconds he'd mumble, unconsciously, that he was coming in. Like it mattered, what did he think? That she's naked in here?

In about four, she'd hear the swipe and light clicking sounds from his keycard, and in five, he would be standing there. No longer in a lab coat or an ugly runners uniform, but…

She was pleasantly surprised, even if the blank look on her face didn't show it. He was dressed, rather nicely.

Black and red suited him very well, in fact, his choice in the colors seemed to hint at some darker side… a side Sakura was more than willing to find out about.

Because of course, he wasn't the one that was going to figure her out, she was the one trying to figure him out.

"Why are you staring at me?" He raised a brow at her, quizzically, self consciously rubbing the back of his neck. "Are you ready? You didn't forget, did you?"

Sakura, ever the sarcastic one, blinked once, twice, and then shrugged, looking back to her writing. "I think you're early. Your hair is still wet."

"Well I did just shower…" His mumble was of self defense, a trait she noticed more often than not. He was always defending himself. Always on the defensive. She could only imagine what he would do on the other end of the spectrum.

Closing the book, she stood up, wandering over to him, taking in more of his dress.

His undershirt was black, long sleeved, most likely to protect from the desert sun. Over top of that, he had on a red shirt, a pair of dark gray, casual jeans, black shoes… It was almost as if he was going for a bad boy look.

She giggled at the thought, mentally drawing in smudged eyeliner around his eyes.

"Why are you laughing…?"

"Hmn? No reason… Can we go to a makeup store too?"

For the first time, or for what felt like the first time, she saw a huge change in his persona. A smug, cocky expression washed over his features, and he stepped aside to let her through the door.

"I have plans… just hurry up. I'm not really supposed to be allowing this."

A red headed male paced along the city gates, waiting, though it felt like he had been waiting forever. Sand shifted beneath his feet in an uncomfortable fashion, his lazy gray eyes wandering across the desert horizon. A figure, cloaked in black began an approach, causing the pale ginger to stiffen, ready for any possible attack.

"You're Deidara's friend?" The unknown man stopped, dropping his hood to reveal raven black hair, and even darker onyx eyes. "Sasori."

"I… Yes, you are?"

"I do not expose that information. All you need to know, is here. And, your first pay, as well."

The man handed over a black duffel bag, one that could be used for the gym, or other excursions. "Your instructions are there. We will not be in direct contact. You will speak to me indirectly, through Deidara."

"Instructions? Look, I don't think you understand, Deidara just told me to wait here. I'm not a… whatever you are… What is this? Some kind of… gang? I'm just-"

"We need you because you bear similarities to a certain person. We only need you to be seen at a certain place, at a certain time. That is all you will be needed for. Your instructions are inside."

The man frowned, studying the other in disapproval. "You have a very simple task, Sasori. If it is not completed, I will hunt you down. Personally. Do not make this personal."

With nothing left to say, the man in black continued on his walk, past the red head, and into the city of sand.

WOOOOOO! I'M BACK!

So, this was extremely fun to write. As always, please leave a review. I love hearing from you guys.

And as a bit of incentive...

Poll: What couple would be cool to see while Gaara and Sakura are out and about?

A. Naru/Hina

B. Shika/Tema (this would be so awkward...)

C. Tenten/Neji (meh... I mean I guess.)

D. Kiba and Akamaru because there is nothing cuter than a boy and his dog tbh.

E. Kakashi. -Because its Kakashi.-