"Did you see Teraks face?" Sakura said laughing with Gaara on the way home.
He chuckled "He looked like he was going to throw up when Aelea began playing the piano!"
"Reckon that little boy next to him was the one they want to be leader?" she asked suddenly stopping still and leaning on a fence.
Gaara shrugged joining her "Does it matter?"
Sakura grinned "The boy adores Aelea"
"nani?" Gaara pulled back in shock "How could you tell?"
"Didn't you see the way he looked at her when she sang and played? Its obvious"
Gaara shrugged and carried on walking am I that transparent?
Sakura joined him making their steps line up
"You didn't sing" Gaara suddenly said
"hm?" Sakura responded raising her eyebrow
"You didn't sing in the garden, or at all at the party"
"No, I didn't did i?" Sakura looked thoughtful
"You promised" Gaara said stopping
Sakura turned and standing still sang a clear pure note.
It seemed to last forever to Gaara. It was so sudden but the sadness in it caused him to shiver. When she finished Sakura turned and carried on walking.
"Whats wrong" Gaara asked when he caught up to her they were almost at his home
"Nothings wrong"
"I can smell your tears"
"I never realised you had such profound sense of smell"
"It comes with the insomnia and demon"
Sakura slowed down "I'd forgotten about Shukaku"
"Hes quiet a lot now days – don't change the subject" Gaara opened the gates to the mansion and walked her up to the house
Once inside Sakura removed her shoes and headed for the kitchen. She calmly began making tea.
Gaara leant against the wall watching her
"When I was younger" she said watching the leave steep "I was told I couldn't be a ninja, as an only child my parents didn't want that for me." She was staring off into the distance now "For all that they didn't seem to want me around, to my parents the family business meant more to them. They began to force me to do music, a 'safe' occupation and it destroyed my love for it" Sakura sat down placing tea out on the table "Then at the age of 8 I enrolled into the academy, my parents couldn't do anything, and they still hadn't forgiven me – even when they were dying"
Gaara nodded about to speak further when the phone began to ring.
"Who'd be calling at this time?" Sakura asked as he stood to answer it
"Hello?" he asked "Ah Hokage-sama, yes she is, I'll put her on"
Sakura grabbed the phone from Gaara's hand "Tsunade-sensei? Is something wrong? What? Ok…I'll set off in the….now? Hai, Hai, Hai sensei"
Sakura hung the phone up quickly
"Something's happened in Kanoha" She explained pulling out the kami hari and allowing her hair down "I am requested back ASAP, can you get this bow?"
Gaara nodded undoing the bow on Sakura's Obi before she removed it and began to go upstairs
She's leaving
She had to sometime
I don't want her to go
Don't be stupid Gaara was worried, his demon had never sounded so…pathetic
Don't let her go…she'll not come back to us
What? Of course she will
We're going to lose her! Shukaku was thrashing trying to get Gaara to stop the pink haired woman who had rushed downstairs changed with her backpack ready to go
Be still! He screamed in his mind pushing the demon down as Naruto had shown him
Shukaku was silent. Gaara looked at Sakura who had obviously been saying something to him "…call you when I get back"
"I'll take you part way" he muttered impulsively wrapping his arms around her
Sakura and Gaara appeared part way across the desert; the hidden village in the sand was just visible, as were the trees of Leaf country.
Gaara still had his arms wrapped around Sakura's small frame, at some point she had wrapped hers around his waist.
Now they stood silently holding onto one another.
"Come back soon" Gaara said quietly I love you he allowed himself to think as green eyes looked up at him
"I will be back coon-kun" I wish I didnt have to leave Sakura buried her head in his chest before backing away and running.
The things you humans never say
What do you want Gaara growled walking back to the village
Well its obvious you've gotten over the denial stage…you said it
It makes no difference how I feel, it never has made any difference how I FEEL
It does to us, and it does to her, I can already feel the emptiness Gaara could too, the empty feeling in his stomach, with a sigh he headed to the grocery store.
She'll come back
Yes…but she may not come back to us
What do you mean?
I sense something in Kanoha, it's the boy
Gaara paused glancing back towards Kanoha him
The store keeper was just sweeping his steps in the fresh dawn when the Kazekage made his way toward him.
" Ohio Kazekage-sama!" He greeted him
" Ohio" Gaara greeted, with a flick of his wrist the sand plaguing the keepers steps moved
"Ah ariguto! It always seems to stay away longer when you do that!" the old man said hanging up his brush "Cookies Kazekage-sama? I just got some more of those triple chocolate ones you like"
"Ariguto" Gaara said fishing some money from his robes
Sakura meanwhile was nearing home. Kanoha's walls loomed; the guards greeted her with worried faces as she entered and told her Tsunade wanted her right away.
As if they need to tell us that she mentally snorted
This better be good that evening was just starting to get good…you like Gaaraaaa
Oh be quiet about that, besides if this isn't we can make her teach us some more stuff
Oh! We could nab some manuals for Gaara – he seemed to enjoy healing
Yeah!
Hehee love how she scowls when we demand teaching when she's got a hangover
Meanwhile Sakura had reached the Hokage tower and run up to Tsunade's door Yeah remember when….
HOLY CRAP!
"Sasuke!?"