A/N: This is set almost two years after Gaara raped Sakura.
Gaara won when Deidara tried to capture him. Suna was demolished and had to be rebuilt. Sakura was sent with others to help with the wounded and rebuilding efforts. Then she returned to the leaf. Sasuke Uchiha died trying to destroy Konoha, and Kakashi is Hokage.
And the most important detail… Gaara still has Shukaku. Second most important would have to be that over the last 2-4 years, joint operations between Konoha and Suna have wiped out the Akatsuki completely. Yes, that includes Madara.
In The Monster Within, Gaara and Sakura were 19, and here they are 21 years old… approximately.

This chapter is a taste of things to come, if you get my meaning. I've been told dream sex is still considered Lemon, so if that is true, then yes, this chapter contains Lemon. Turn away now if descriptive Lemon bothers you. ;)

Enjoy!

'Inner Sakura'

'SHUKAKU'

Chapter 10 – Voices In The Night.

Ino Yamanaka entered to the room she shared with Sakura with trepidation. She noted that her friend was already dressed for bed and tucked under the covers, her back to the door. The blonde sighed and undressed as she rummaged around in her belongings for her bed clothes. She was certain Sakura was still awake, but ignoring her. She pretended to think Sakura was asleep and dressed, slipping between the sheets of her own bed.

Ino had been looking to hook up with Ari tonight, the bartender at The Zephyr, but couldn't seem to stop thinking about Sakura and found herself wanting to come back and make sure her friend was alright. That fell through of course, once the pinkette made it clear that she wanted to be left alone, by ignoring her. The blonde loved her friend but was beginning to get frustrated. She watched Sakura for a while before closing her eyes, actually trying to get to sleep, now that it was getting late.

Certain from her laboured breathing that Ino was indeed asleep, Sakura shifted her head to glance at her.

'Good.'

But the pinkette couldn't sleep. She stared out the window from her position on the bed, thinking about Gaara. Ino had fallen asleep quickly, so she didn't hear the renewed sounds of Sakura sniffling that escaped the pinkette's mouth as Sakura wondered where Gaara was, what he was doing. She had returned to the room, finding herself on the verge of tears and unable to stop them once they started. The last thing she needed was for Ino to realise this.

And come morning she would have to leave Suna, but she didn't want to. She wanted to stay in the land of wind, at least until Gaara came back. She rolled over to stare at the ceiling. As if that was the simplest thing. That he would suddenly turn up at the entrance to the village like nothing was amiss, with an excuse that would satisfy the council and everything would go back to the way it was before.

'Before I found myself too scared to be in the same room as him.'

But she wasn't scared of him anymore. He had stopped himself from raping her again, and she knew that he had never wanted to hurt her. Somehow, this made her feel warm; loved perhaps. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. Distant sounds of small birds and a light twitter that made her think of the birds back home: the ones that drew the attention of the higher levelled ninja trained to respond to their call.

All day she had heard Gaara's voice in her head, on top of that inner version of herself. She was mentally challenged, she was willing to admit it, but this had felt different. It was as though Gaara was actually with her, in her mind, calling to her. She could feel him, all around her. It sounded so ridiculous, she knew, but with everything she was feeling and all that had happened between them, Sakura did not doubt that the voice in her head was Gaara's. She groaned at herself.

'Go to sleep!'

X X X

Eventually, Sakura fell into a restless sleep. Arguing with Naruto and enduring his hateful words had exhausted her more than she'd realised. It was a few minutes before she started to dream, but to Sakura, this was real.

She was standing in the doorway to the Kazekage's bedroom, dressed only in a semi-transparent dressing gown. The warmth in Suna indicated to a heat wave, but being in the desert, this wasn't unheard of. Sakura walked up to Gaara, who was sitting on the edge of his bed, watching her intently. He wore only a thin shirt and pants, not hot in this weather as he was more used to it. Sakura of course, was already sweating. This was why she had nothing on under the gown.

He kept his face impassive, but his roving eyes told her what he was thinking. She was so beautiful to him, he had told her this already, but it was nice to see it proven. She stood directly in front of him, his eyes widened slightly and she knew that he could see straight through the thin material covering her naked form. He reached out, ghosted his hand over her curves, inhaling deeply at the sight.

Sakura traced the kanji for love on his forehead as Gaara undid the tie on her gown and let it drop to the floor noiselessly. His hands brushed her skin this time, just soaking in the sight and feel of her. Then his hand ran down her collar bone, trickling over her breasts, making her sigh deeply. He smiled at that and took a hold of her, pulling her toward him and onto his lap. She giggled, pushing him onto his back and helping him with his clothes.

His shirt came first, and then she tugged on his pants, moving down with the material and kicking it off the bed with her foot. He looked better without them anyway. She climbed on top of him as he shifted on the bed, moving toward the pillows. He ran his hands up, along her legs, brushing her soft skin seductively as she bit her bottom lip. He was such a tease.

Sakura leant forward to kiss his lips, forcing his hands to move out of the way and he instead became very interested with her breasts, cupping them and rubbing his thumbs in circles around the areolas. She was hard for him, feeling the moistening between her legs as she moved her kisses from his face and started trailing down toward his pelvis. She took the time to run her teeth over his nipples along the way, making him moan softly.

Sakura ran her hand along his shaft, the muscle twitching at the slightest touch and Gaara's excitement increased the volume of his reaction. She licked him softly, her hot breath increasing the stimulation as she massaged him with her hands and slid her mouth over the bulbous of his tip. He grunted, rising under her ministrations, and she pulled away before he could go too far.

Gaara flipped her onto her back and she let out a yelp of surprise. Those pale eyes stared hungrily down at her and she grinned, moving her legs to give him better access to her. He kissed her lips, the force of his mouth smothering. Then he mimicked her and moved his tongue down over her chin and jaw line but bit her skin as he went, hard. He left his mark along her flesh, stopping at her chest.

He suckled her breasts, using his tongue to play with the nipples. She moaned, gripping his hair tightly as he bit her again: hard enough to elicit a groan, but not to break skin. Sakura grunted his name, pleadingly and he continued south. She had never been so turned on in her life. He was using his teeth again, the pain mixed in with pleasure as he nibbled on her clit, his tongue lapping up her juices. She closed her eyes and cried out as he thrust his tongue inside of her and her body shuddered and writhed with every push.

Sakura came into his mouth and a moment later, snapped her eyes open, as she tasted herself on her mouth. Gaara was kissing her again, intermittent with moaning her name. He pressed up against her, aligning their bodies and lowered himself as she ran her hands along his back. She lifted her hips to meet him as he thrust into her and Sakura held on for dear life. Her vocalisation increased and she closed her eyes, feeling him squeeze her to his chest as he moved faster and faster with every beat.

That deep, sensual voice she loved so much moaned into her ear. "Sakura…"

She gripped him tighter, screaming his name.

"Sakura, wake up!"

Ino was shaking her, interrupting her thoughts.

Sakura rolled over and opened her eyes, glaring at her smirking best friend. She needed a moment to realise what had just happened and swallowed thickly, remembering now that she had just dreamed herself into the arms of the Kazekage. She groaned and sat up, realising also that Ino was sitting on her bed as well.

Ino grinned at the embarrassed look on her face. "Forehead, snap out of it. Stop moaning and sighing, you're turning me on."

"Don't even, Ino. You interrupted a good dream."

"Obviously, but you interrupted me first. I was making out with Genma and your screaming came at that pinnacle moment, you know, when you –"

"Shush." Sakura put a finger to her friend's lips. "That sounds like you were more than just making out."

Ino shrugged. "It's a euphuism really. But you get the idea. I was just getting to the good part, that –"

"Wait, I was screaming?" Sakura interrupted her again.

She remembered screaming Gaara's name in her dream and wondered if that had come out clearly, to Ino's ears. Her friend rolled her eyes and nodded her head.

"But as usual, you made no sense. Exactly who were you dreaming about?"

Sakura felt her face warm. "No-one, go back to sleep Ino."

The blonde stared at the pinkette, but Sakura was stubborn. So Ino just shrugged her shoulders.

"Fine, billboard brow, but you know it's inevitable. Whatever your secret liaison, I'll figure it out. You can't keep good sex from me."

Sakura groaned, lay back on the bed, and rolled away from her as Ino snickered.

But as the eventual sounds of Ino falling asleep reached her ears, Sakura could not reclaim her own sleep... again. She stood up and walked over to the terrace, still thinking about her dream, and the way she had screamed Gaara's name. She had a real memory of what it felt like to have him hold her close and push inside of her. It made her tremble just thinking about it.

Her hand went to her stomach and moved slowly downward as Sakura closed her eyes to the sensations building in her body. Seeing Gaara like that had brought on a stronger reaction in her than she had thought possible. He was so striking, his hair, that handsome face, that perfect physique. She couldn't stop the rush of pleasure she had felt. She knew that she had feelings for him, and that had things turned out differently, she would've started a relationship with him, at least, as much of one as she could, living so far apart. Her dreams also included her falling madly in love with him, moving to Suna, and marrying him. She'd often wondered if she wanted a family. All those years ago, when she was head over heels in love with Sasuke Uchiha, she had never doubted this was what she wanted.

And then Sasuke died. She started dating Naruto, and the blonde knucklehead had been her first. That hadn't lasted of course, because her heart wasn't really in it. Then Gaara had raped her. Looking back, she saw the common denominator. She sucked when it came to men. She liked the ones who didn't like her, and when one had feelings for her, she couldn't return said feelings. Then had come the violence of her "encounter" with Gaara, which was still haunting her. She knew the Kazekage was no pervert or serial rapist, even though the thought had occurred to her at the time. His demon was stronger than his restraint it had seemed to her. But he wasn't a monster, so she inevitably started to blame the entire thing on herself. Her "inner" told her off for this however and she'd returned to being confused about how the whole thing had even happened. But now…

But now Gaara was gone, adding fuel to the part of her that still blamed herself. She had not seen him lose control like he had in that abandoned building before, not since that day in the Wind Shrine. Of course, even then it was only reminiscent of the half transformed Shinobi she had tried to defend Sasuke against, in the woods outside Konoha. And now he had disappeared without a trace. Yet she could still feel the contours of his body against hers, the way he moved as he hovered over her, the way he had loved her in her dream.

Sakura stared out over Suna, and sighed deeply, distraught. She stopped moving her hand and looked down at it, half surprised at herself. Of course she was stroking herself; she had just woken from a sex dream about Gaara!

Despite what she had said to Naruto, she was desperate to find Gaara. She had to apologise to him, to tell him she had long forgiven him, and that she didn't blame him for his latest "attack" on her. She had no idea what it was like to have a monster inside of her. And although Naruto's bijuu was clearly not having this kind of destructive effect, she was certain there was a perfectly good explanation for Gaara's deteriorating mental state.

'And I'm going to find out what it is.'

Glancing backward, to make sure that Ino was still fast asleep, Sakura closed her eyes, trying to hear that voice again. It was Gaara's voice, she was certain. But how?

'It doesn't matter how, now just shut up, and concentrate.'

'Alright, alright.'

She focused on her memory of the last time she'd heard that soft, monotone voice in her head. She had just bowed respectfully to the Suna council after ignoring the venomous tone Naruto when she wasn't as obviously distraught over the disappearance of the Kazekage. Gaara's deep voice laced her thoughts almost immediately.

'Sakura…'

She had been surprised by the sound although it wasn't the first instance in which she'd heard him whisper her name. And of course, the hurt expression on Naruto's face was at that moment tearing at Sakura's heart, but she kept herself rigid. Her desire to hide the fact that Gaara's disappearance was ripping her apart inside had resulted in her putting too much apathy behind the tone in her voice, like he was unimportant. Naruto had no idea that the Kazekage meant more to her than she could put into words, so his response to her had been laced with a strong harshness to his voice.

Sakura sighed, forcing herself to stop thinking about how his words had hurt her and focused entirely on Gaara. The first time she'd heard his voice in her head had been during the mission to Ame. It was still ongoing, even now. That problem wasn't going to solve itself overnight. But Suna had bigger concerns now, what with Gaara disappearing in the middle of the night, and with no trace.

Much like the third Kazekage.

'Concentrate on the voice.'

That deep, sensual voice.

'Sakura…'

Sakura's eyes snapped open and suddenly she knew where to go. He had been trying to tell her, to show her, perhaps with the power of his demon, and she had been so blind! She packed a single bag, changed into her full ninja gear, and was just throwing a travelling cloak over herself to combat the night air, when Ino stirred in her bed.

'Now, of all times!'

How many times during the night did Ino usually wake up? This was more than inconvenient, it was crazy!

"Sakura, are you going somewhere?" Ino asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"Yes Ino, but I'll be back."

"We have our orders. We're not supposed to leave Suna until tomorrow. Where are you going?"

"Just for a walk."

Ino snorted, now sitting up. "And I'm pregnant, with triplets no less. Really, where are you going at this time of night? Not back to Konoha, without the rest of us?" She lowered her voice. "I know Naruto –"

"This has nothing to do with Naruto."

Sakura sat down next to her, feeling guilty. She knew her friend would not allow her to leave, and would raise the alarm if she tried to jump out the window right now. It was expected of her after all. So now, there was only one way this was going to end quietly. Her saving grace was that Ino wasn't expecting this.

"Hand me that, would you?" Sakura asked, pointing to the book on the bedside table.

Ino looked around, spotted it, and reached toward the book Sakura had loaned her. But before her fingers could grasp it, she let out a small gasp and fell forward, stretched out over the width of the bed. The pinkette had used minimal force. Just enough to knock Ino out, but it was mostly because of her medical training that she knew which part of the brain to strike, with just enough chakra to starve it of oxygen temporarily.

The sleep induced effect was instantaneous.

'She should be unconscious for at least the rest of the night.'

'I know, shut up.'

Sakura tucked her friend back into bed and walked out onto the terrace. It was time to go bring the Kazekage home.

X X X

A/N: Well, not "happy happy" but it's getting there, promise! This story has been a bit angsty, but I'm not a fan of unhappy endings, so anyone worried that this won't end well, worry no more. ;)
Love it or not, please tell me!

Sorry I haven't responded to each individual review for chapter 9, busy, busy. So I'd like to just take the opportunity now to say thanx for the review for that chapter. Mostly to those used to me responding via PM. Thank you so much! :D

R&R.