She inserted a huge amount of chakra into her hand and broke through the second layer, hitting Gaara on the cheek.

Gaara flew through the air, falling through the ground.

On the inside she was cheering, but that came to an endwhen she saw Gaara's face…It…It was crumbling.

Another defense!?

" Let's call this a day, you need to rest." He said while standing up. The cracks on his face disappeared again, as if nothing had happened.

Sakura walked to her tent and went inside, she needed a shower, but she could do that the next day, it was too late now.

She laid down, drifting into sleep, her whole body was aching. But, the pain was most definitely worth it.

Chapter 4

Day 2

Bright sunrays shone upon Sakura's smooth pale skin, sprinkling it in their warmth. A soft, warm summer breeze tussled her soft pink hair. She was sleeping peacefully, enjoying the sound of falling water…Wait a minute…Falling water? Sunrays? Wind? When she went to sleep she was 100% sure she was

inside her tent! Her eyes shot open and immediately took in her surroundings. And what she saw, shocked her. She was hanging above a huge lake near a waterfall…Upside down.

" I already thought you wouldn't really like this." She heard a voice say.

Her head whipped around and her eyes locked with Gaara's.

" YOU THINK!?" She yelled at him, where did he even find the guts to hang her up a tree!?

She was pissed. Off.

She saw thousands of colors surrounding Gaara…But one caught her attention…He was being shy? Concerned? Shaken up? …

Careful and alert, weird…

" Anyway…" He continued, his deep voice ringing in her ears. " I want you to try and escape, without using any chakra."

No chakra!? What was he? Out of his freaking mind!? Ok…Never mind, he was, but still, there was just no possible way she would succeed. If she would cut the rope, she'd fall and she would most definitely hit the rocks hidden under the water's surface. She cursed in her mind.

" He wasn't trustworthy Sakura, I only did you a favor." He said coldly.

Sakura's eyes widened, What was that!? She looked around desperately. Great, her mind was playing tricks on her, niiice… But as she looked around something caught her attention…It was an object, hidden within the leaves of the tree, but as she looked closer she could see colors encircling it, crimson, eerily and dangerous crimson, and she only knew one person that had that kind of color circling around him all the time…Gaara. Sakura smirked, if it weren't for her bloodline limit she never would've seen it. Her eyes turned to slits and focused on the object, it was a short sword with a rope attached to it. Suddenly she knew how to escape. This whole thing wasn't just about escaping, it was about being alert and aware of your surroundings, she looked to her right and saw the waterfall.

She knew what to do.

Carefully she bend her body so she could reach the rope that kept her up in the air. Only one foot was bound so she could easily climb up. With shaking hands she grabbed it and pulled herself up bit by bit. Her feet were firmly keeping her in place by straddling the rope. Slowly but surely she reached the branch on which the rope was tied up.

" You don't know him!"

" Uughh!" What was happening to her? Where were the voices coming from?

" A little bird told me."

" Birds do not talk."

She aimed, holding the rope with her left hand, and then…She threw.

" Remember me…"

Her body visibly stiffened. 'What!?' What was happening? That voice…Just seemed oh so familiar…Vaguely she could remember blue…Icy blue. Where did she see it? She shook her head and looked back at the knife, which had embedded itself in the hard rock wall next to the quickly dropping water. She smirked, tightening her grip in the rope. With great balance she steadied herself upon the rope, carefully placing her feet on it, balancing with all her might. Sweat drops formed upon her bigger than average forehead as she bit her lip. Carefully connecting her feet with the rope, she stood. Her arms were spread out horizontally, helping her with her balance. Then she bend over, untying her legs, letting the rope drop. When she was done she focused on walking the rope again. Carefully putting her feet in front of one another over and over again, leaving her perfectly balanced. A smirk grew upon her face, she was doing it, and she was doing it friggin' good if she might've said so.

Gaara just stood there, watching her with cold eyes. She was trying good yes, but she was forgetting something important. His eyes narrowed as she reached the end of the rope, he saw her bend forward, trying to get a hold of the stone wall…Yes trying.

Sakura's eyes widened. "Shit!" She cursed softly, she had been doing good yes, discovering hidden objects in her surroundings and using them to her advantage, but apparently she had forgotten the fact that there had been a waterfall falling from the immense cliff. Thus making all the rocks and stones slippy within a 7 feet radius. Her face fell, there was no way she could climb the wall without her chakra, she was strong yes, but she couldn't withhold long enough for her to get down. She looked at the ground where Gaara stood watching her carefully, she had done exactly what he had thought she would do. Sakura felt shame taking over her pride as she looked at those cold and indifferent blue eyes…She had failed him…Failed, yet again. Tears started brimming her eyes, she didn't want to feel helpless, she wanted to prove she was strong damn it! Then all of the sudden, a scowl took place upon her pale face, no, she hadn't failed, not yet! She could make it! She could be strong!

Adrenaline started rushing through her body, her eyesight became sharper as she felt her motivation take away all her sadness and insecurity. Just watch me Gaara…Watch me win!

She scanned the area with precision, searching for something that could help her…Then, her eyes narrowed at something…the rope…The rope she had left there hanging, how come she didn't think of it before!? As careful as she could she walked back again, being sure she looked like she was running. She reached the rope again and began taking the knot out that tied it to the large tree. When she was done she bent down. She tied the rope to the one she was currently standing upon and let it hang. Pulling it a few times to make sure it had been tied up strong enough she nodded in approval. She could proudly say that her knots were awesome.

With great strength she slid herself down the rope hanging miles above the ground. She started swinging her feet, making the rope swing with her, Gaara looked at her quizzically, what was she doing? Then all of the sudden she was out of view, he turned his head to see her connected to one of the immense trees. She steadied herself upon one of the large and old branches, she started pulling hard enough at the rope so it came lose. Then she tied it around her waist, tying the other end around the branch, steadying her feet upon the mossy bark she began hopping down, a smirk evident on her face. When she reached the ground she just gave Gaara a nonchalant look. Gaara smirked at her, she was good yes, he had to give her that one. He walked up to her giving her compliments about what she'd shown. An immense proud smile formed upon her face. She had done it!

" Come on, let's go back to camp. Try to remember the route if you can." Gaara spoke.

" …Remember?"

" Yes, remember, it might come in handy one day." Sakura looked at him with, her expression unreadable.

" Remember me."

" Say Gaara…?"

Gaara looked at her. " What?" He asked, his voice low again.

" Do you remember?"

" Remember what?" He asked aggravated, what was it with her and speaking of things that didn't make sense. She was silent for a few seconds, the wind took up and ruffled his spiky locks.

"…"

The forest seemed dead due to the heavy and immense silence.

" Remember me…"

" I know you idiot, you don't have to be so loud about it!"

" But! But!"

"Shut up! You want whole Konoha to know Sakura's been missing!?"

" Sasuke! We need to get help Damn it! Who knows what could've happened to her! 'tebbayo!"

Sasuke sighed, Naruto had a point yes, he just didn't want anyone to know because that would probably raise panic.

" Listen ok! How about you and I go search for her, then if we don't find her we go to the Hokage." Sasuke spoke, Naruto looked at him suspiciously.

" You promise?"

" I promise."

A huge grin spread upon Naruto's face. " Alright Sasuke!" He yelled, pumping his fist in the air. Sasuke scowled at his teammate, knocking him to the ground immediately.

" Hush! You idiot!"

Naruto rubbed his head while glaring at his teammate.

" What the heck was that for!? 'ttebayoo!"

Sasuke scoffed at him. " We don't want to attract any attention now do we?"

" Okay okay, I guess you're right."

Sasuke turned around, scanning his surroundings to check if there were any people who might've overheard their conversation. " What are you doing?" Naruto asked.

" Checking the surroundings of course."

" Ahaaa! Nice one!" Naruto exclaimed, starting to check his surroundings also. When they were sure no one had been there listening in on them they left for the woods, hoping they would find their teammate and friend.

" Say Sasuke…"

" Hn…?"

" Do you think your brother has her?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a look that had ' that's ridiculous' written all over it.

" What would he want from her? She just a weak girl, nothing special."

Naruto frowned. " She's not that weak you bastard, we just never give her any chance to prove herself, we always stand up for her before she even gets the chance to fend herself off."

Sasuke glared at his friend. " So what? Even if she would be strong there's no reason for Itachi to kidnap her."

Naruto was silent. " Maybe he fell in love with her." He eventually pointed out.

Sasuke scowled at him. " Why do you keep bringing my brother into this!?"

Naruto shrugged. " I dunno, it was just a possibility 'ttebayo."

Sasuke sighed.

They continued in silence, the air was heavy and damp, meaning there had to be a source of water near them.

" Say what?" Gaara asked her, giving her a questioning look.

Sakura sighed " Never mind, it's nothing really…"

Gaara kept on looking at her curiously. " You sure?"

Sakura nodded "yeah, really it's nothing."

…It's…Nothing…Right?

Gaara averted his eyes, looking at his surroundings again, ignoring the familiar feeling that had come over him when she had said the words. He then wondered about how his family was doing, would they be missing him? Did they worry about him? Or were they just worried about him killing people? They were afraid of him, that was obvious, besides everyone he had ever known had been afraid of him…Except for that girl…What was her name again? What did she look like? He didn't remember anymore, and he didn't really care any longer…That was what he was trying convince himself of. She had been the only one who hadn't been intimidated by him…

Gaara glanced at Sakura, catching her emerald eyes staring at him. She quickly turned her head.

" We're there!" Sakura exclaimed happily. Gaara turned his head forward again, seeing that they had indeed reached their destination. Gaara carefully landed on the mush forest floor, looking around the camp to see if anyone had been there.

" So…What are we going to do next?" Sakura asked as she landed next to him, the smell of flowers radiating of her body.

Gaara had to admit that her smell was intoxicating to him, almost forcing him to sniff at her.

" I don't know." He said, his voice not leaking any of the emotions he felt inside, for he had to admit that standing so close to her made him nervous… Too nervous. He saw Sakura looking at him curiously, her large emerald eyes scanning something that wasn't there, observing it, wondering about it.

" How about taking a trip to Konoha? I mean, I could show you around and we could eat something."

Gaara shrugged. He didn't really like the idea of being in Konoha, all the people there made Shukaku thirsty…And not for water.

Besides, he wasn't really the person for being social and stuff, he'd rather be alone instead of spending the day with this girl. Why had he agreed on training her again? Oh yeah, she would help him find out about his past… If he was into this already he could as well go with her right? It wasn't like staying here would make Shukaku any less violent, and he wouldn't really mind… Befriending the pink haired girl.

He sighed, " Ok."

A huge smile spread across her face. " Great! C'mon let's go! It's going to be great and…" Sakura just kept on rambling about what they were going to do, but Gaara didn't listen.

As he made some final hand seals, molding just enough chakra to launch a jutsu that would protect their camp he wondered about the Uchiha.

Sakura had been ignoring the heavy purple and blue clouds that had been surrounding Gaara ever since she had asked if he remembered. He was troubled, and she knew it, but what was he troubled about…Who was he troubled about. Sakura wasn't stupid, and she also wasn't as carefree as everyone thought. She knew what Gaara could do, it wouldn't take long for anyone to notice, for his dangerous aura could be felt from miles, it gave her the creeps somehow.

As she cast her view through the trees, she could vaguely make out a few buildings belonging to Konoha. They were almost there. Shrugging of the dark cloud that had passed over them in their silence she tried to make some conversation with Gaara.

" So Gaara, what's Suna like?" She already knew that for she had been there before, but that didn't stop her from asking.

" Dry."

…Sakura stayed silent for a few seconds.

" Oh…Ok. Well, do you have any best friends over there?"

"…No."

Sakura turned her head to him, his dark purple and blue hues started to turn black.

" Is that so, I don't really have a real friends either…" This obviously surprised Gaara.

" You don't?"

" Nah people always picked on me due to my large forehead." She spoke, pointing to her forehead.

" Because I don't like you! What's with that forehead of yours?" The girl replied. Sakura felt how her eyes started to water. Why did they always do this to her? She had never done anything wrong towards anyone, let alone the girl. One tear slid down her pale cheek." Look at the forehead girl! She's crying!" The other girl started to yell while she burst out into laughing." Forehead girl! Forehead girl!" All the children started to mock her. Sakura felt how more tears made it down her cheek. Her body trembled slightly an her eyes darkened. Slowly she closed them, trying to ignore all the comments but…

Suddenly she heard all the kids scream and when she opened her eyes she saw them running away as fast as they could. Sakura blinked a few times and looked behind her…

Sakura's eyes widened…What was that!? When had that happened?

" You okay?" Gaara asked, his voice lacking real concern.

" Uh…What? Oh, yeah sure! I'm fine, just feeling a little woozy I think." Sakura explained smiling at him.

" Oh..Ok…Well, if it makes you feel better, your forehead isn't that big." That made Sakura stop. What had he just said?

" You coming?" She heard him asking, his voice sounding far away.

Did he really just say what she thought he said? One of her hands travelled up to her forehead, touching it with her fingertips. It. Wasn't. that. Big?

A small smile formed on her paleface. As she started moving forward again her eyes warmed. Thank you…Gaara.

As they walked through the streets Sakura noticed how people stayed as far away from Gaara as they could, walking around him with an huge bow. She just scolded at them as she walked next to him, shoulder to shoulder though they weren't touching. Sakura showed him all of Konoha, instructing him with its history. It was a pleasant tour. She laughed a few times while he gave ever so small smiles. His mood had swung from black and depressed to blue and content.

Sakura thanked the gods that they hadn't run into any friends of her, saving them the trouble of explaining everything. And so, as the sun began the set, they walked back to the small camp. Their stomachs pleasantly filled and their problems all forgotten.

" Please Sakura, listen to your parents, I don't want you to get hurt." He spoke. Slowly he took something from under his shirt. It was a necklace, it consisted of a ball made of glass containing a pink flower. Sakura's eyed widened, it looked just like the necklace from her dreams! " Here take this, I have one too. This way we will always remember each other 'kay?" He said. With shaking hands Sakura took the necklace, carefully she hung it around her small neck. She smiled,

it looked beautiful.

" What is it?"

" Sshh, you hear that?"

" Hear what?"

" The water you Idiot."

Naruto tried his best to hear the sound too… Far away, an enormous waterfall could be heard.

" If anyone did actually capture Sakura, I'm sure they'd stop by the water, and when they stop, they leave a trail." Sasuke explained, Naruto's frown turned into an huge grin.

" You're a genius!"

They emerged from the bushes, running towards the waterfall. As they jumped into the trees the moon came into view, giving the forest an eerie effect. Every snapping twig could be heard, every bird and every mouse….Every footstep on the mush branches of the old trees, footsteps of the boys searching for their friend…