A Haunting Kind Of Memory

Chapter 10

O O O

Tsunade sat down the phone slowly and blinked at the wall opposite her. With Sakura's explanation still running fresh in her mind, she stood and walked at a brisk pace to the front desk down the hall. Through one of the archways, she could see a few of the patients idly playing chess and watching game shows on the ancient television. It was almost impossible to believe that Gaara had once been haunting those same rooms, just like the current lost souls.

"Danzou, I'm going to be gone for a few days, I need you to watch over things here. Is that understood?"

The scarred man, previously flipping through documents on the various patients, stared up at the Head through his slit-like eye as she stood impatiently in the doorway. Very calmly, he said, "Is there a problem, Tsunade-hime?"

Tsunade gave him a thin-lipped smile as she pulled a writing pad and pen from her lab coat pocket. "Personal issues. You understand, don't you?" Danzou's lip curled slightly at the implication. "I will need all of my calls forwarded to this number while I'm gone. I will have internet access, so if something needs my approval, email it to me."

"Of course."

Tsunade really despised having to put Danzou in charge, but there was no other choice. The rest of the employes were practically infants when it came to running the asylum. And Danzou, disregarding his impulsive and rather destructive orders, was the most capable. Besides, it was only temporary.

It's not like he would be overthrowing her authority and taking over the facility while she was gone. She'd kill him if he tried.

"Are you going to tell me why you are suddenly taking a vacation?" Danzou asked, words sickly polite and coated in acid. "Certainly you are not being over worked."

Tsunade bit back her retort and settled for giving a strained smile. "Oh, no. If anything I would take a vacation to get away from annoying parasites that sliver through these halls." she said dryly, giving the older man a pointed look. "A former patient of mine was in an accident and I must speak with his doctors. Give them background information and the like."

Danzou raised a single eyebrow. "An accident?" he asked, his tone oddly satisfied and amused

Realizing how her statement must have sounded and how Danzou was going to take it, Tsunade narrowed her eyes and slapped down the piece of paper with her number on his desk. "He was hit by a car while walking with his brother to his automotive shop. His mental status if perfectly fine." she said icily, wishing to bash Danzou's head into the desk for even thinking one of her patients could have a relapse.

"Ah, how tragic. I hope he recovers well."

They both knew he didn't care either way.

Tsunade pinched the bridge of her nose and turned around, feeling a headache coming on. "I'm leaving. I will be back Monday. Don't ruin the place while I'm gone." she said warily, unable to hold her tongue with her frayed nerves.

"Wouldn't dream of it," Danzou muttered after her before returning to the documents on his desk, a curious smile curling his lips.

O O O

"I hate this part."

"Shh."

"Come on, I mean, look at her expression. She's such a horrible actor."

"Shh!"

"I'm just saying that I could make Shino have a more believable orgasm than that."

"Ino!"

Ino shrugged and licked her spoon clean of RazzleDazzle Strawberry ice cream. "There you go looking scandalized again. Sheesh, you'd think you were a blushing virgin at the mention of sex sometimes."

"It's not the talking of sex that scandalizesme. It's hearing you put 'Shino' and 'orgasm' in the same sentence that throws me for a loop." Sakura shot back, affronted.

The young blonde gave a sultry smile. "Did I tell you that he has a B and D fetish? I'm not kidding. Maybe not so much the discipline part, but the bondage..." she trailed, eyes glazing over as she reminisced, a flush rising high on her cheeks.

Sakura pushed off the couch and shoved Ino her Gin 'n Tonic with a roll of her eyes. "Here, cool yourself down before you climax all over my couch."

Ino had the decency to look slightly embarrassed as she accepted the alcohol and sipped it, sucking on an ice cube for good measure.

"So," she said, putting down her drink and standing with her hands on her hips. "You called Tsunade earlier, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"Is she going to come down?"

"I believe so."

Ino sighed heavily and picked up the half empty carton of ice cream. "God forbid you give a lengthy answer." she grumbled as she ran a finger around the rim of the carton before sucking on it and walking to the kitchen to put it back up in the freezer.

"You know what? We should go out tomorrow, we haven't done that in a while." she called from the kitchen.

Sakura grimaced. Shopping was the last thing she wanted to do right now. "I'm not really in the mood, Ino."

"Well, then get in the mood. Why don't we go to Victoria's Secret? I need a new bra." Sakura stifled a giggle as Ino returned, holding the collar of her cropped shirt away from her so she could look at her bra.

Ino looked up and flashed a grin. "I think it's a good idea."

"Ino..."

"Sakura, you can't deny the cliche, alright? You know how it goes. The girl gets heartbroken and when she goes to her best friend, usually the best dresser and more flirtatious of the two, not to mention drop dead gorgeous," she flipped her hair and struck a pose with a bright smile. "they take the mandatory shopping trip."

"When I find that friend, I'll tape back together my sliced credit cards and do exactly that."

Ino frowned sharply and dropped her model stance. "We're going. Don't make me drag you out there tomorrow, because believe me I will. You don't want your neighbors thinking you're some kind of weirdo, do you?"

Sakura winced, remembering all the times she had stood in her empty driveway and swore loudly, stamped her feet, and yelled that she needed a damn car. "Too late for that."

Ino's cellphone rang and while she answered it, Sakura busied herself with knocking back her own drink and flopping back on the couch. Another romance film was starting on the television and with a scowl, Sakura punched the remote and changed the channel.

Tuning out Ino's voice, Sakura sighed and watched the health channel; doctors slicing up a stranger and fixing his ailments.

She wondered what Gaara was doing, if Temari had told him that she had seen her, and if Kankurou was okay. She had left before getting any news on him, and she felt guilty. Of course, her guilt was unjust. She had nothing to fill guilty over.

Really.

But she did.

She felt guilty for running out, for not saying a word. Then again, it's not like Gaara deserved any words from her. None of them did, now that she thought about it. Sakura sighed and groaned to herself. She was just being a bitch now. Temari and Kankurou had nothing to do with what had happened between Gaara and herself.

Looking down at her fingers, she twined them together and for a fleeting moment remembered the heat of Gaara's skin on hers, his lips on her ear, whispering, whispering, whispering.

With a jolt, Sakura realized that she was on the verge of tears. Her chest was throbbing painfully and she was filled with the need to see him again just to see those clear eyes. Clear, not clouded by insanity or medication.

Maybe he had changed...?

"Stop it," she ordered herself quietly. "Just stop it." Tears were pooling in her eyes. "Don't do this to yourself. Breathe."

Ino's happy voice floated over Sakura, dragging forth a form of resentment because she was so happy with the love of her life while Sakura was struggling to keep her twice-shattered heart intact.

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I'll be--" Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura saw Ino freeze and knew that she wouldn't be able to brush off her pained expression as nothing. She was coming apart at the seams.

"Shino, I'll call you back." She hung up.

In seconds Ino was at her side, wrapping her in a tight hug and whispering comforting words quietly as tears streamed down Sakura's cheeks. Sakura curled against her, giving up the fight and letting herself cry because she deserved it.

There was no need to explain why she was crying or what she had been thinking about or even what she was feeling. That's what best friends were for, really, Sakura mused. They knew immediately without any hints. Ino had always been that way. Since they were kids.

Once, Sakura had been teased about her big forehead again by the pack of vulture-like girls that circled the playground. Ino had been at the snack bar getting herself and Sakura an ice-pop. When she got back, Sakura wasn't crying, but Ino had just known immediately what was wrong. Like some kind of dead-on intuition.

Without a word, Ino had handed Sakura her ice-pop, turned on her heel, and marched across the playground to the sandbox where the vulture pack were. Sakura couldn't hear what was said from her place under the slide, but she had watched Ino scream something and shove her sour apple ice-pop into the girl's nose, making her scream and flail in the sand.

The principal had sent Ino home that day, but not before Ino could get back to Sakura and give her a wide grin and say, "It's what best friends do, ya know?"

Ino rubbed Sakura's shoulders gently and pulled the Afghan off the back of the couch to wrap over her. "You loved him a lot."

It wasn't a question, and she didn't expect an answer. Sakura felt grateful that Ino didn't use the popular lines, "You're going to be okay." or "Time heals everything." because they would both be a lie, and Ino had always been bluntly honest.

It's what best friends do, ya know?

O O O

It was dark and the moon was covered by a veil of clouds, peeking out in places to create a pleasant and peaceful sight. The house was completely silent, save for the occasional creak or groan of the walls settling and the T.V. downstairs buzzing on some random channel.

So why did he feel so alert?

Hidan dragged a hand down his face and got up from the bed, being careful not to wake Temari as she slept peacefully in the aftermath of their lovemaking. Hidan made a mental note to tease her about her loud expletives from before, since usually she was a quiet lover. The only noise she had ever made in the past was whispering gasps and moans.

It was a nice change though, he was definitely not complaining. Indeed, he would like to hear her call out his name like that again and again and never get tired of it.

After a moment of rummaging through the dark, Hidan pulled on a pair of jeans that hung low on his hips and made his way downstairs. He had learned years ago that you always trusted your instincts. Being in the Akatsuki had branded this little fact into his brain permanently.

So it was the stealth of a panther that Hidan crept down the stairs, avoiding the squeaky steps, and slipped into the pitch black kitchen. The stove light was on. They never used the stove light, ever. Hidan grit his teeth and pulled open a drawer, quietly taking out the butcher knife.

He was going to buy a gun in the morning. He had been trying to convince Temari for months now that they needed one for safety purposes, but she was dead set against it. Fuck it. If she refused the purchase of a firearm after this, he would buy it anyway.

He turned and padded across the kitchen, about to make his way to the living room. He froze, however, when something caught his eye on the counter. A cold sensation, like someone had dunked ice down his back, flooded through Hidan's veins and he stood stock-still with his eyes glued to the card propped on the fruit bowl.

In the limited moonlight filtering through the lacy hangings over the window, Hidan could see the black card with a violent red cloud almost blending into the apples. It was suddenly very hard to breathe.

Temari. He had to get to Temari because something bad was about to happen and he had to protect her and he wasn't there and what if something happened while he was still down here in the kitchen because she was alseep and she didn't know that they could get to her before he could and God, he had to get to Temari!

Hidan whirled and in the same instant the sound of rustling fabric reached his ears. Without even thinking of the possibility of it being Temari standing off to the side, Hidan flung the knife at the source of noise, feeling awareness creep over his skin and raise the hairs on the back of his neck.

In the same instant that the knife imbedded itself into the wall next to its' targets' head, the lights flicked on and blinded Hidan, making his pupils dilate painfully.

When his eyes focused on the man standing across the room from him, Hidan felt his stomach drop. Oh, God. They were going to be killed. Hidan was suddenly aware of all the times he never told Temari how much he loved her. His throat felt raw.

"Itachi."

Upstairs, Temari screamed.

A/N: I am sooo sorry this took forever to get out! My computer has been freaking out completely in the last week. It got so bad that I have to take it to get fixed. Thank God my mom knows a guy who will do it for a reasonable price. I'm actually surprised I was able to get on here. It's been blocking each and every site like crazy, I think it's in a lucid state right now. Okay, a few quick notes. I won't be able to update for a little while since I won't have my laptop, but I can access my email and stuff from my mom's laptop so don't let that stop you from leaving reviews!

CrystalVenom, I'm taking your Vamp!Gaara. Yes, that just happened. I just kidnapped him.

GG, I'm going to borrow your skillet because I need it to beat Vampy Gaara when he gets out of hand. :D *runs*

Sorry for the cliffhanger, hopefully you won't kill me. And, for those who were wanting it, sorry for the no lemon. I just couldn't find the will to do it. I was feeling lazy XD. I had this whole scene in my head of Temari and Hidan busting into their home all over each other and Kisame standing there with a sandwich saying, "Oh, carry on. Don't mind me." *sits down on couch and proceeds to munch sandwich and watch* Maybe I'll fit that in somewhere. Probably not. It was a funny thought though, haha.