AN: Hi everyone! I just wanted to thank you all PROFUSELY for the reviews, follows, and favorites! I'm so glad to know that this story is appreciated. For those concerned that Sakura "hasn't had any action" or isn't as "badass" as she should be; just you wait! The chapters coming up will have a LOT of action and Sakura will be kicking plenty of ass, I assure you. ;] I know how powerful she is and I plan to make full use of her abilities. Also; I've provided links to some drawings below so that you can see the all of the characters I've added into this story (just remove the spaces in the links)! Just so you all know what they look like. If the links don't work, PM me and I will provide you with them. I hope you like them and enjoy the chapter!

Setsuko: thefancyburrito. deviantart art/Setsuko-Hoki-686713964

Tetsu: thefancyburrito. deviantart art/Tetsudaite-686713744

Fushigi: thefancyburrito. deviantart art/Fushigi-686713009

Makoto: thefancyburrito. deviantart art/Makoto-Mori-686736710

Jourei: thefancyburrito. deviantart art/Jourei-Jinsoku-686714270

Chapter Ten: Reinforcements

Sakura's mouth fell open. After everything they'd gone through already – and Setsuko was missing? Sure. She could just be late. But in the whole time Sakura had been teaching at the hospital in Suna, the tanned woman had never once been late, not even by a minute. It was much more probable that she was missing…

What the hell else could go wrong?

"We should find her!" Sakura growled, her hands clenching into fists. The adrenaline was pumping through her veins, making her exhaustion and hunger fade into the back of her mind, not important anymore. "If something's gone wrong, we need to rescue her and –"

Gaara held up a hand and her protests died in her throat. His expression was one of anger – he was just as upset as she was. She could feel Kankuro's body tense up behind her. The tension in the room was palpable, and there was a momentary silence that stretched on for far too long before the Kazekage spoke. "We will decide what to do once the shinobi from Konoha have arrived."

"W.. What?"

"Two days ago I sent our fastest hawk to the Leaf with a coded letter explaining the situation. I received a response yesterday. Three Leaf ninja are on their way as we speak. They should be here by nightfall, if all goes well."

Sakura's eyes widened. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest – she would be able to see people from back home. Maybe in the group were some of her friends… The thought made her heart hurt with relief. "Why am I only finding out about this now?" the pinkette whipped around to face Kankuro. "Kankuro, why didn't you tell me?!"

His face betrayed his guilt. "I'm only just now remembering it," he admitted. "And at the time I heard about it, I obviously wasn't thinking clearly…"

Sakura's face fell and the anger drained out of her shoulders. "I guess you're right," she said softly.

"I'm sorry."

She turned back to Gaara. "What do we do until then?"

Gaara grimaced. "Well, unfortunately… you're still a prisoner… at least until this gets resolved."

The pinkette stared at the floor. "Right."

"I'll take you back to your room," Kankuro volunteered quietly.

Sakura turned to follow the brunette out of Gaara's office. But before she went through the doorway, she turned back, her hand pausing on the doorknob. "Who did they send? From Konoha?" she asked.

"… They didn't say."

XXX

Back in her room, Sakura could feel the adrenaline fading, but she was still restless… and hungry. Increasingly so. Within a few minutes she could feel her stomach rumbling so viciously that she felt the urge to throw up. She opened her mouth to say something to Kankuro, but he was one step ahead of her.

"I'm getting you something to eat. I don't care if they won't allow it," he said, taking her by the shoulders. He gave them a squeeze, frowning. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Unfortunately I'm going to have to post another guard at the door. As much as I don't want to… we'll both be in trouble if I don't."

She nodded in understanding. Leaning in, Kankuro gave her a kiss on the cheek that was brief but left her heart racing. And she watched him go, shutting the door behind him.

Pressing her ear to the door, Sakura heard a quiet and brief exchange between Kankuro and someone else who was distinctly male with a ragged tenor voice. Sakura tried to wait patiently. She really did. But her restlessness was growing increasingly hard to control. She wanted to know what was going on and being kept out of the loop was infuriating – even if she did understand why. Eventually, Sakura put her weight against the door so she could try to speak to her guard. "What's your name?" she whispered.

At first he didn't answer. In fact it took him so long to speak that by the time he did, she'd nearly given up. "None of ya business, traitor."

She pursed her lips. Sakura strongly considered arguing with him to try and prove her innocence, but she knew that wouldn't do any good. "Look, I just want to know what's going on with the hospital," she murmured. "Have they made a decision on what to do? Where have you moved all the patients?" the worry in her voice was evident.

He was silent again. "Are you really not going to answer me at all?" she huffed.

"What, so you can find out where the rest of the patients are so you can escape and kill them off too?"

She grit her teeth. She could feel the anger welling up in her chest, making it hard to breathe, and in an effort to keep calm, she backed away from the door. For a moment, her rage-riddled brain considered breaking through the damn door, taking down the guard, and going to find out what was going on herself. But obviously… she couldn't do that for a number of reasons.

If it hadn't been for hearing Kankuro's voice outside the door, she would've driven herself crazy with her internal warring. "Just had to get myself some breakfast," Kankuro said. She could hear the smile in his voice. "Thanks for guarding the door buddy."

"No problem. I'd do anything to make sure the traitorous scum in there can't escape."

Kankuro's voice grew tight. "We don't have any proof of that yet." A brief pause followed. Kankuro continued before the other Suna ninja could argue. "You can go now. Thanks for covering me."

Sakura heard the guard's footsteps recede into the hallway and there was a long, uncomfortable silence. She continued pressing her ear against the door until long after the other man left. Suddenly the door opened and she nearly fell back onto her butt. Flushing in embarrassment, Sakura stumbled back a few steps and regained her footing. The sight and smell of food was enough to wash all embarrassment away, though – her mouth watered uncontrollably and without a second's wait the pinkette grabbed at the bags in his hands and took them to the middle of the room, setting them on the floor. Sitting cross-legged, Sakura took the take-out boxes out of their bags and went to town on the food.

Kankuro soon joined her, but didn't eat. She poked him with her chopsticks. "Come on. I can't eat all this alone."

The look on his face was rather grim. "I'm just worried."

Sakura frowned, lowering her gaze to the box of rice in her hands. "I am too. I don't know what we're going to do if we can't find Setsuko. She's the only link proving my innocence… And plus, she was a good friend. She was one of the only people who made me feel comfortable here… Besides you, of course." She nudged him playfully.

A small grin curled his lips. "Remember the last time we ate take-out in the middle of the floor?"

Her own grin was equally playful. "I do remember… I distinctly remember that one part…" Sakura moved closer to Kankuro, setting her chopsticks aside. Her green eyes locked with his own dark hues.

"What part is that?" His voice was quiet, ragged as she came closer to him. "Why don't you remind me? Jog my memory?"

"Gladly," she responded, climbing into his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. Kankuro's hands settled on her hips, his dark eyes clouded with desire, and one of Sakura's hands curled in his brown hair, pulling them closer together. Her mouth met his and, in opposition to the other times, she now guided the kiss. She was in control. And it felt liberating. The kiss was slow, gentle, with hints of passion that made her blood burn, every inch of her skin tingling with want – no, with need.

Finally Kankuro broke the kiss, both of them short of breath, and he asked in a raspy voice, "Aren't you still hungry…? You should eat, Sakura."

"I'm hungry for something else, now," she replied softly, and she could feel him shiver under her.

But Kankuro was quite stubborn – as much as herself, if not more so. His hands slid up her body, making her squirm against him, until his fingers gripped her shoulders, keeping her at bay. "As much as I really don't want to stop you, you need to eat… You need to keep up your strength. We don't know what's going to happen."

His words were sobering and she sat back in his lap, sighing. "You're right… I'm sorry."

His gaze grew warm and a calloused hand reached up to brush his thumb over her cheek tenderly. "Don't you dare apologize," he said, amused. "A guy would kill to have you coming onto him."

His compliment made her giggle. The smile still on her face, Sakura retreated to the floor and continued to eat. This time Kankuro joined her. Despite their terrible situation, the air was light as they spent the rest of the afternoon together.

XXX

It turned out that the Konoha shinobi didn't arrive until early the next morning. Kankuro had stayed with Sakura the entire night, although he had to leave the room periodically to make it seem like he was only guarding the door. Still, despite having him beside her for the most of the night, Sakura's sleep was fitful. She couldn't stop tossing and turning; her brain was restless with worry and anticipation. Who would Konoha send? Would these new arrivals help to clear the air, or would they only make things worse? Had Setsuko come back from her mission yet, or was she still missing?

So when 6:30 AM rolled around, Sakura punched Kankuro's shoulder, causing him to roll over with a grumble. He slung a bare arm over her, pulling her in close and nuzzling his face into her shoulder sleepily. "A few more minutes," he mumbled against her skin.

Her face flushed. His closeness was causing her to feel all warm and tingly inside – and for a moment, a big part of her wanted to just stay in bed with him all day – but the concern won out and she stubbornly patted his shoulder. When he didn't stir, Sakura hit him harder. "Kankuro!"

He lifted his head and the sleepy look on his face made her smile despite herself. His gaze shifted over to the clock near the bed. "Holy shit, Sakura, it's only 6:30…"

"The ninja from my village must've arrived by now! We have to go see!" Sakura sat up, pushing his arm off of her. "Plus; what if they send someone to summon us? We can't be caught like this!"

Finally he sat up too, rubbing his head and grumbling incoherently. Too immersed in her own worry to really focus on him (even though she very much appreciated the view of Kankuro Sabaku without a shirt), Sakura got up and began dressing herself. He followed suit, and soon the two were out the door without even a brush through their hair or a glass of water.

The journey upstairs was quiet; once, while they walked, though, Kankuro grabbed her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Arriving at the Kazekage's office near the top floor, they knocked on the door, hearing the murmur of voices from inside. The voices all paused and they heard Gaara's: "Enter."

Kankuro opened the door, allowing Sakura to enter first – and she was met with a familiar sight that made her eyes fill with tears.

"Ino!" She cried and flung herself forward, falling into the arms of her closest friend.

The blond hugged Sakura tightly, worry and love in her visible blue eye. "Are you alright?" she asked. "How are they treating you? If they've hurt you, I swear I'll – "

"We're right here," Kankuro interjected sullenly. Ino met his gaze with a defiance that was almost scary.

Sakura stopped the fight before it even began. "I-I'm fine," she sniffled, straightening up and wiping her eyes with the backs of her hands. "I—" when she lifted her gaze to Ino's face, she noticed a few marks here and there – it was obvious the blonde had been in a scuffle. "W-… What happened?"

"We were stopped very rudely by the guards at the gate," a deep, rich voice said from behind Ino; Sakura looked past her to see another familiar face. A tall man with tanned skin, long, jet-black hair, and a long scar over his left eye towered over all of them. He wore the new standard Jonin jacket with a black shirt and pants and black ninja boots; a purple forehead protector glinted from his forehead. His name was Jourei Jinsoku; he was a shinobi from Konoha as well, a few years older than them, and a very talented swordsman. Sakura had even heard that he'd trained with the samurai in the Land of Iron when he was younger, but she didn't know him well enough to ask.

Sakura also noticed the third familiar face; he gave her a small eye-crease smile as he stepped forward, brushing some black hair out of his face. "It seems that this situation has all of the shinobi here on their guard," Sai said, coming to stand beside Jourei behind Ino. "Though I suppose I cannot blame them."

Ino scowled. "I can. The Kazekage had given them strict orders to let us in; but they wanted to try and start a fight." She whipped around, her angry blue eyes focusing on Gaara and Kankuro. "Does the prejudice in your village really run this deep? It's shocking."

"Unfortunately, it does," was Gaara's sober reply. His voice was soft, his eyes pensive. "That's always been an issue here. Things aren't as bad as they used to be, but the situation at-hand has made things worse. People are afraid…"

"I can't blame them for being afraid," Sakura admitted. "I'm scared myself. Those two… what they plan to do… What they've already done… It's terrible."

"Who, Sakura?" Ino asked, frowning.

"Fushigi and Tetsudaite… I don't know where they're from but… I can't…" the pinkette rubbed her temples, her head aching. "It's hard to describe…"

"And we still have no proof that these people are real, as much as I want to believe Sakura," Gaara explained, his face grim. "She's told us what's happened, but we didn't see any of it for ourselves…"

Ino brought a finger to her chin thoughtfully, her pink lips curled into a frown. "Well. I could certainly use the Mind-Body Transfer jutsu and link your mind to Sakura's. That way you could see right into her memories yourself. Would that clear up the issue of her innocence?"

Gaara looked mildly surprised, but nodded. "It won't change the fact that the shinobi who know about this are all calling for Sakura's execution… But it's a start."

"Well you're the Kazekage," Kankuro said heatedly. "They have to listen to you! If you say Sakura is innocent, then they have to follow along."

Gaara gave his brother a wry, grim smile that held no humor in it whatsoever. "Some of these shinobi are the same ones who just tried to have me removed from office."

"We took care of them," Kankuro responded fiercely. "All the traitors are now sitting in jail—"

"Let's get down to business," Jourei interrupted, his face grim – but then again, from what Sakura knew, it always was. He was a dedicated shinobi, he loved Konoha and upheld his duty to the village more fiercely than most other ninja she knew, but he was also very serious and deadpan. He didn't have much room for humor in his mind. He continued, his hands on his hips. "Can you prove Sakura-san's innocence or not?"

Ino shot the man an irritated look. "Of course I can," she growled, gritting her teeth. "I'll do anything to prove it. Now," the blonde continued, turning her attention to Sakura and Gaara, "I'll need you two to relax, close your eyes, and open your minds. It'll feel a bit foreign and you're gonna feel the instinct to block it – don't."

Sakura closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. Ino had only been in her head once before – during the chunin exams all those years ago. Back then, it had been in an attempt to attack her. She was going to have to work hard not to block Ino's consciousness. And there it was – that probing that felt so intrusive – and Sakura grimaced, trying her best to keep her mind open and pliant to Ino's grasp.

And suddenly there was another presence in her head – no, two – and it felt so heavy that she could feel the weight on her shoulders. She resisted the urge to sink to her knees. "It's alright, Sakura. Show us what happened." Ino's voice was soothing, but Sakura still felt uncomfortable. Still, with much effort, she opened her mind and conscious brought herself back to a few days prior – starting with Kankuro sending her back to her room. That was when she'd found Fushigi, sitting on her bed with that smug expression on her face. Sakura painfully recalled every single detail from then to when Kankuro had found her in the middle of the desert, making sure to leave nothing out – as much as she didn't want to relive it all.

And when it was all over, and Ino retracted Gaara and herself from Sakura's mind, the pinkette suddenly felt weak… sleepy. This time when the urge to sink to her knees came, she gave in and collapsed – but Kankuro caught her before she could hit the ground. "Sakura!" he looked down at her, concern in his dark eyes. From her peripheral vision she could also see Ino stumble, being caught by Sai.

It took a few minutes for her to regain her bearings, but with Kankuro's help, Sakura got back onto her feet. She looked over to see Gaara sitting back in his chair in a slump, looking tired – and shocked. When his blue-green eyes focused on her, they were wide. He looked stricken. "Sakura," he exclaimed softly, and there was something a bit intimate about the way he said her name and she found herself unable to look away from him. Gaara swallowed heavily. "I'm sorry… Really, I am sorry."

Sakura finally tore her gaze away. "I understand why you needed proof… There's no need to apologize."

"Well, in any case… There is no doubt about your innocence." Gaara finally stood from his chair and turned towards the open window, looking out at the bleak morning sky. "But the fact remains that not only is one of our own missing… but those two criminals are out there somewhere."

"We need to capture them!" Kankuro growled, his grip on Sakura tightening. She hadn't even noticed until now that he was still holding onto her protectively. The thought that her friends were watching made her shift nervously; what would they think about her dating someone from another village? On that note; were they… dating? What were they? Sakura quickly shook her head and returned her thoughts to the present.

"We need to rescue Setsuko first and foremost," she said, determination shining in her eyes. "She has friends here. She has a family—" her eyes widened. A sudden realization hit her. "Her wife," she muttered. "Setsuko: her wife… Does she know what's happened? If not, we need to tell her!"

Gaara nodded gravely. "I'll send someone to fetch her. I want to tell her myself."

XXX

When Makoto Mori burst into Gaara's office about twenty minutes later, she was out of breath and there was an enraged look on her face that told Sakura she was prepared to fight anyone and everyone who got in the way. "Where is she—" the short woman began but her words died in her throat as her eyes wandered the room… and settled on one person. Her eyes widened and she gaped like a fish out of water – and when Sakura turned to see who or what she was looking at, the pinkette's eyes landed on… Jourei?

The tall man's normally tan face was fairly pale and there was a stricken look on his face – more expression than she'd ever seen from him. The silence filled the air and the tension was so palpable it could be cut with a knife. Finally, Kankuro broke the silence. "I'm guessin' you two know each other."

"Yes," Jourei responded, before locking his jaw and narrowing his eyes on her. Sakura didn't know what was going on but she could see strong emotions on both of their faces and knew that they had some sort of history. But Jourei was nothing if not focused, so he broke his gaze away from Makoto and said, "Let's get back to business."

"Right," Gaara said, folding his hands behind his back. "Makoto-san, did the courier tell you the situation?"

"He told me enough," she growled, her eyes narrowed angrily. "He told me my wife is missing. I plan on going to get her, with or without your help. Preferably without."

Sakura took a step forward in protest. "I'm going too!" she said firmly, determination in her green eyes. "There's no way you're going alone. Two against one? The odds aren't great, no matter how talented someone is."

"I'm pretty damn talented," Makoto shot back. Pointing a finger at Jourei, she snarled, "You can ask him. Now where is she?"

Sakura briefly glanced at Jourei. He looked angry, angrier than she'd ever seen him before. She was getting irritated herself; her short temper didn't help matters. "The fact of the matter is, I'm going! And no one is stopping me! And if we work together, then our odds of rescuing Setsuko are much better." Sakura grimaced. "We don't know where she is. We don't know where those two criminals are, either…"

There was a sober silence. Ino finally broke it, her voice quiet, so quiet that no one heard what she said.

"What?" Kankuro prompted.

"Senkai," Ino repeated, her arms folded over her chest, one hand lifted to touch her chin thoughtfully. "I remember hearing that name in your memories, Sakura… What's the significance there?"

Realization dawned on the pinkette and her eyes widened. She unwittingly grabbed Kankuro's arm, overcome with emotion. "Senkai," she said. "Tetsu said that name… there was a sort of awe or reverence in his voice. He'd said…. 'Senkai will be pleased.' I'm willing to bet that this 'Senkai' is the leader of their group…"

"That's not much to go on," Gaara said pensively.

Kankuro grit his teeth. "It's better than nothing!"

Gaara nodded. "… You're right. I'll put out feelers, send some ninja into all of the other villages. Ask around. Do some recon. Of course I'll send word to the other Kage, first."

Kankuro gave his brother a wry smile. "You've really got this Kazekage thing down pat."

"Well, this alliance between the villages certainly helps," Gaara admitted, giving Kankuro a tentative smile.

Makoto interjected, her voice harsh. "I can't wait that long!" she snapped. "I'm going after her. I don't care if you come or not, I'll –"

"How are you going to find Setsuko if you don't know where they've taken her?" Sakura stepped in. "Look… Give us a little time to gather some information. You can't just go scour the shinobi nations for her… You could spend years looking and not find her!" Stepping forward, the pinkette pleaded earnestly with the tanned, short-haired woman. "Please. I want to help. Setsuko is my friend… I want to find her as much as you do."

"I sincerely doubt that," Makoto spat. There was fire in her misty violet eyes. Finally, she seemed to relent, despite the tension in her shoulders. "… Fine. Come and get me when you find anything. And I mean anything."

And she left, slamming the door shut behind her.

XXX

A week went by, and Ino, Jourei, and Sai stayed as guests in the Kazekage tower. During that week, Gaara had sent out several letters using the Sand's fastest courier hawks, also sending out more than ten shinobi to gather information. The wait was agonizing – although it was nice to have Ino around. They'd even went out together as a group to have lunch on more than one occasion – and while they mostly talked about what was going on back home, and all the crazy things Naruto did while Sakura was gone, the conversation always strayed back to the situation at hand.

One question Ino had asked while at lunch one day continued to bounce around in Sakura's head for the rest of the week. "So… I noticed the way Kankuro-san was touching you, back in the Kazekage's office," Ino had said, giving her a playful nudge. "I never would've picked him of all people, but you two look adorable together. Soooo…. Is he your boyfriend?"

Sakura remembered the flush that covered her face, the heat blooming all the way down her neck. She wasn't sure she'd ever been so embarrassed in her whole life. Ino had also commented on the tan she'd recently acquired, but her question about Kankuro was what had stuck with the pinkette. It brought her back to the thoughts she'd had in Gaara's office… What were they? Were they dating? They'd had sex… they'd kissed… And she knew without a doubt that she had strong feelings for him, and that he returned those feelings… He was the right person. She'd figured that out. And suddenly, she thought that figuring out her feelings might've been the easy part… the hard part was deciding what to do about them.

So near the end of the week, one night as they were having dinner yet again in the floor, this time in Kankuro's room, Sakura fell silent in the middle of conversation, her thoughts turning inward. She was having trouble deciding how to bring it up.

Noticing her sudden silence and the pensive look on her face, Kankuro poked the pinkette with his chopsticks, his brows raising. "Crow got your tongue?" he teased. When she didn't answer, his brows furrowed, concern filling his dark eyes. "Hey… what's wrong?"

Sakura's eyes lifted to meet his gaze and she gave him a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I'm alright."

"Obviously not," Kankuro responded, setting his box of take-out on the floor. Moving a large wrench out of the way, he scooted closer to her, leaning in. "Talk to me, Pinky."

What was the best way to bring this up? Blurt it out? Beat around the bush? No; Kankuro didn't seem like the type of person to appreciate being discreet. He would want her to be straight-forward. Taking a deep breath, Sakura let it out and looked at him again. "What are we?" she asked.

Silence.

The brunette stared at her, surprise registering on his features, his brows raising so high they disappeared into his wild brown hair. Then, confusion. "… Why are you asking?"

She blushed, embarrassed. Her face grew hot she could feel the cold air on the tips of her now-red ears. Averting her gaze, Sakura looked at the floor, picking at a spare thread on the carpet. "I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything."

She felt a hand touch her shoulder tenderly and she lifted her eyes to find him smiling at her. Amusement danced in his warm eyes. "What do you want us to be?" he asked softly.

"I… I don't know. I've never done this before," Sakura admitted. "All I know is that… I want to be with you. You're… you're the right person."

He grinned roguishly. "That's what I was hoping to hear." Leaning in, Kankuro lifted a hand to brush his fingers through her hair. "So, Sakura Haruno; will you be my girlfriend?"

She felt that heat flood her face once more. "Y-Yes," Sakura replied shyly, biting her lower lip.

Kankuro grinned happily at her, but when she bit her lip, his gaze lowered to her mouth and he suddenly became entranced. The hand touching her hair trailed down her face until he grabbed her chin gently, his thumb running over her lip slowly. "It gets me really riled up when you do that," he said huskily.

Suddenly Sakura felt heat flood the rest of her body, something deep in her core clenching tightly, almost painfully. Every single nerve ending in her body was distinctly aware of his presence, of his touch; so when the brunette's free arm looped around her waist, palm laying flat on her upper back and drawing her close to his body, her breath caught in her throat and her hands went to his chest. "K-Kankuro," she protested, embarrassed, although the last thing she wanted was for him to let her go.

"If you don't want me all over you, then don't bite your lip," he growled lustfully, using his thumb to make her release her lower lip. "Although if you'd like, I could bite it for you."

Sakura didn't even know what to say to that. Somehow she found her heart racing, the blood burning hotly through her body. Finally, she just said how she felt: "Please."

Instead of responding verbally, Kankuro responded by teasing her. Instead of kissing her like she'd expected, he merely moved the hand on her back slowly downwards along her spine. She shivered, eyes growing half-lidded, and her fingers fisted in his black shirt. "Kankuro," she whined, trying to use her grip on his shirt to pull him in. He only grinned at her, and the look on his face was both infuriating and incredibly sexy.

"What do you want?" He asked softly, his voice raspy. Despite the grin on his face, she could see the strain in his eyes. This teasing wasn't easy on him either. "Tell me what you want, Sakura."

She was so impatient that she finally looked him in the eyes, leaned in slowly, and murmured, "I want you to kiss me… Bite my lip…" moving forward, the pinkette put her mouth to his ear, her voice intentionally seductive. "Then take me over to that bed over there... Use your imagination for the rest."

She could feel him shiver against her and once again, she felt that sense of control. It made her feel powerful and it was liberating. Suddenly she felt something against her thigh, hard and unyielding, and realizing what it was, she blushed heavily. That control was relinquished when Kankuro took action. With a growl, he grabbed her face in a firm but gentle grip and claimed her mouth with a fierceness that left her quivering. This kiss was hurried, fervent, almost desperate, in contrast to the slow and languorous kisses he'd given her before. Shoving his tongue into her mouth, Kankuro used both hands to wrap around her body, one hand on her lower back and the other moving into her hair. His touch lit her on fire and Sakura couldn't help but moan into his mouth, her body pressing against his. When his teeth closed on her lower lip, she yelped in surprise but was soon overcome with dizzying desire. There was something so incredibly hot about the way he was nibbling on her like she was a fine delicacy…

"Woah," Kankuro exclaimed softly, releasing her lower lip and pulling back to look up at her in surprise.

"W-Wha?" she responded, opening her eyes to look at him, half dazed.

He smirked. "I can feel how excited you are."

Her eyes widened. When he nodded his head downwards, she followed his gaze between their bodies and could see a small wet spot on his black pants, right near the large tent formed by his erection. It was only then that she dully realized she'd been grinding her hips against him like a madwoman. Sakura cowed in embarrassment, covering her mouth with a shaking hand. "I-I'm so sorry—"

"Don't," he growled, using a hand to move hers away from her mouth. He looked at her earnestly, a possessive lust in his eyes. "It's fucking hot."

Before she could respond, he grabbed her up again and climbed to his feet, his mouth on hers once more. She kissed him back fervently, arms wrapping around his neck and legs going around his waist, and pressed against him when two large hands firmly squeezed her rear, holding her up.

Before she knew it she was pressed back into his bed – but something extremely cold and hard dug into her back and she jerked from the kiss. "O-Ow!"

Kankuro reached around her back and dug around, before removing the painful object. He held up a pair of pliers he often used to work on his puppets.

They both laughed and he tossed it aside before getting back to business.

XXX

The next morning, Sakura awoke, wearing absolutely nothing but a thin sheet. She felt something stir beside her and she rolled over to see Kankuro sleeping on his side, his broad chest rising and falling slowly as he slept. She yawned and curled up against him, snuggling closer. In response Kankuro's arm instinctively draped over her, his fingers curling in her hair, and she began to doze off once more. She hadn't slept this well in… well, ever. She could definitely get used to waking up like this; that was for sure.

She had just begun dozing off when there was a knock on the door. This caused Kankuro to stir as well and after offering her a sleepy grin, he rolled over onto his back and looked over at the door bleakly. "Coming," he muttered.

"The Kazekage requests your presence immediately, Lord Kankuro," the voice on the other side of the door said.

In ten minutes the two had dressed, brushed their teeth in the kitchen sink, and Sakura had run a brush through her hair. They made their way up to Gaara's office, both of them tense; the only reason Gaara would've requested them this early was if he had information on Setsuko. The thought of finally jumping into action made Sakura both excited and nervous. This time, she took Kankuro's hand, squeezing it. She earned a smile in return.

When they heard Gaara's "enter," Kankuro opened the door for her and they entered the office to see the rest of the group already there. Jourei stood in the corner stiffly, his posture rigid, while Ino waited next to Sai. They seemed to be standing very close together… Were they dating? Sakura made a mental note to ask the blonde when they had time. On the other side of the office, Makoto paced back and forth, a katana already strapped to her belt. She seemed even more restless and angry than before. "Finally!" the short woman exclaimed, her eyes bulging. "Did you stop and have breakfast before coming here?! Why don't we all go have some coffee first?!"

"It's only been five minutes," Ino retorted, folding her arms over her chest.

Ignoring Makoto's accusations, Sakura asked, "What's the news?"

Gaara stood in the middle of it all, hands folded behind his back. His expression was serious, as usual. "Seems the name 'Senkai' is fairly popular up north," the red-head began. "Rumors are especially heavy in Takigakure and on the border of the Land of Earth. Onoki has already given me permission to send a team to investigate and also said he would keep his shinobi on the lookout for Setsuko or the terrorists. I sent him descriptions of all three."

"So the Land of Earth," Sakura exclaimed. "That's where we need to go?"

Gaara nodded. "That seemed to be where the rumors are originating from. My moles told me that people refer to him as 'The Keeper.' It's unclear why. The rumors link him to a bunch of tea-houses, but I feel like there's more going on there. Now… I understand that not everyone may want to risk this."

"I'm going," Sakura said immediately, and there was agreement throughout the office.

"Alright then." Gaara's gazed moved over each of them – Makoto, Kankuro, Sakura, Ino, Sai, and Jourei – and there was hope on his normally deadpan face. "Go pack your things. Head out in an hour."

Everyone else went to leave, but Sakura lingered behind. Kankuro gave her a confused look, but she gave him a reassuring smile. He seemed reluctant to leave, but closed the door behind him. The pinkette was thankful for his trust.

Turning to Gaara, who seemed confused as well, Sakura took a deep breath. "Gaara," she began, but he cut her off.

"I see that you're with my brother," he commented softly. She tried to gauge his expression but he seemed very calm. Almost serene.

This only made her feel worse. "Gaara, I… I'm sorry – "

He held up a hand. There was a small smile on his face. "I'm happy for you…" he said. "Really, I am."

She frowned. It seemed that her terrible decisions weren't hurting him, but they were certainly haunting her. She took a step forward. "I'm sorry, Gaara…" she said softly, trying to swallow the lump in her throat. "I should never have…"

"It was my first kiss," he commented, turning to look out the window. The sun was already high in the sky, the heat bearing down on the bustling village. That serene smile was still on his face. "I truly enjoyed it. I'll remember it forever."

"Gaara, I…" Her eyes remained on him and she clasped her hands together anxiously. "I was… I was confused. About what I wanted. About… about who I wanted. I know that doesn't excuse what I did. I…"

She gave pause when the red-head turned from the window, stepped around his desk, and approached her. To her surprise, Gaara took her hands in his own, grasping them gently. He stared at her with eyes so intense that she had to look away. "It's good that it turned out the way it did, Sakura. You sorted out your feelings… That is something you needed to do."

Finally she looked back up at him, her voice full of emotion. "What… What if I had chosen you?" she asked quietly.

"My number one priority will always be my village," was his equally quiet answer. He didn't seem sad, or angry, or hurt; he was content. Like he'd come to terms with it. "As long as I'm Kazekage, I'm not sure I'll ever be able to get married."

Sakura gave him a small, sad smile. "Don't say that."

"It's true, and I'm okay with that…" he answered. "But the problem remains that I don't know who will carry on my name and assume my position in office when I'm gone. If I don't marry, I'll have no children."

"Well, I don't know if you've visited recently, but the orphanage is full of children who I'm sure would love to have the Kazekage as their father," Sakura said with a grin.

Gaara let out a chuckle; a strange, but pleasant sound. "Perhaps; but I don't think I'll make a good parent anyways."

"That's not true at all. If Naruto could be a parent, then so can you." Sakura smirked. "Could you imagine? Naruto, with a kid?"

They both chuckled.

XXX

Exactly an hour later, the group met just outside the Kazekage tower. Gaara appeared just to send them off. "Good luck," was all he said.

With grim expressions, the team of six set off into the sand, unsure of what was ahead, but certain of one thing:

They'd do everything in their power to rescue their friend and bring these terrorists to justice.