Chapter Twenty

Sasuke was sick of everything in his life going wrong. It seemed like no matter what he did the people he cared about always suffered. First his parents, then Hikari and his brother, and now even his teammate had been targeted. He was beginning to wonder if this assignment was less and less about Hikari and more and more about him. He supposed it wasn't that unlikely. There were plenty of people, Uchiha especially, who wanted revenge for what happened four years ago. And it wasn't like he could blame them. If he hadn't been the perpetrator he'd probably want revenge too.

Sakura stirred in her sleep and Sasuke glanced down at her. His face softened when he noticed she'd kicked off her blanket and he gently pulled it back up to her chin. It was strange what losing one's memories could do to a person; she was even sleeping like a six year old.

His hand absently passed over her cheek and forehead before stopping to push back her silky pink bangs. He watched as her eyelids fluttered for a minute before they slowly opened. Rather the pulling back, Sasuke leaning in closer watching with mild amusement as her eyes went wide and a blush erupted across her nose and cheeks.

"S-Sasuke-kun…" Sakura said, her voice small and young sounding. Sasuke did his best to hold back a frown though he couldn't hide the light irritation in his voice.

"Remember anything?"

Sakura flinched at his tone and Sasuke mentally scolded himself. He wasn't mad at her, not in the least. He was mad at himself, at his inability to protect her.

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to snap at you."

"I-it's ok-kay." Sakura said and Sasuke sighed.

"I guess you still don't remember."

Sakura shook her head, looking ashamed. "S-sorry."

"Don't be," Sasuke said. "It's not your fault."

"Oi, Teme," Naruto said suddenly from the door. "Any progress?"

Sasuke turned with a light frown and shook his head. "Not yet. Did you see the nurse on your way up?"

"Yeah, she said that they were still working on treatments and that she'll probably just remember on her own."

"You believe that?"

"No, but I hope it."

"Aa."

"N-Naruto? Sasuke-k-kun?"

Both boys turned to face their pink haired teammate, Naruto looking apologetic.

"Ah, sorry Sakura-chan," he said. "We didn't mean to shut you out like that. Don't worry about it okay? You just focus on getting better."

"O-okay…"

Sasuke stood and patted her hand awkwardly; it was a lot harder for him to show concern for her with someone else present.

"We'll be back after dinner."

"We'll catch that bad guy Sakura-chan," Naruto said with a thumbs-up. "It's the promise of a life time!"

Sakura smiled nervously and gave a timid wave before the boys disappeared and the door slid shut. Not long after they left a nurse bustled in with a wide smile and a tray of…something that she rather hoped was edible. Her six-year-old mind wanted to instantly refuse it but something inside her made her quietly submit (Cha! This could be our last meal!) and she ate it without a fuss.

She'd only started on her apple when the door opened again and in ran a flustered red head. Sakura stared at the girl for a minute, thinking she looked rather familiar, when the girl let out a yell of despair and frustration. Sakura jumped in surprise, her heart racing in fear.

"W-what's wrong?" Sakura said. "A-are you…okay?"

"Naruto-kun and Sasuke-san aren't here!"

"N-no, they left a while ago."

"Did they say where?"

"N-no?"

"Argh!"

Resolve welled up in Sakura's heart, though she didn't understand for what or from where, and she pushed aside her food tray to focus on the strangely familiar girl.

"What happened?"

"Ino-san took over Moegi-chan's body to tell us that the Uchiha are planning a coup and I can't get in to see the Hokage because the whole place is guarded by the Konoha Police! And they're Uchihas! I-I don't know what to do or who to tell or where to go or who to trust! Why are you missing your memories! You're a genin and I'm still in the academy! I don't know what to do with stuff this big!"

Sakura blinked and something clicked in her mind for just a second. "Ichigo-chan."

Ichigo burst into tears. "You have to help me nee-chan!"

Sakura looked almost frightened as the younger red-head collapsed against the bed and sobbed into the blankets. She awkwardly patted Ichigo's hair as just a few things started to come together.

Hikari was attacked. Itachi was in jail. Her team (what team?) was on a mission with Yotaro-san to prove Itachi innocent…from what? She tried to remember but pain suddenly erupted in her head and she retreated back behind her six year old self to hide from it.

"I-I don't know what to do, Ichigo-chan," Sakura said, her own lip starting to quiver. "I'm just a-a kid."

"You're not a kid!" Ichigo yelled, her head shooting up as more tears tracked down her cheeks. "You're a genin! A genin you hear me? And it's your job to help me because I'm not smart enough to help myself! So pull yourself together and do something!"

Her body seemed to move on its own and, as much as she knew she should be, Sakura couldn't bring herself to be afraid of what it had in mind. Rather then question her body's motives she just lifted Ichigo to her feet and climbed out of bed.

"Come on Ichigo-chan," Sakura said. "I may not know what's going on but I'm older then you, right?"

Ichigo nodded.

"Then it's my job to help you. That's what big sisters are for after all."

Ichigo swallowed shakily and smiled. "T-thanks Sakura-chan."

Sakura beamed a six-year-old grin. "No problem Ichi-chan!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As the Kazekage's son it was Gaara's obligation to accept the invitation to attend the Uchiha-Haruno wedding. It was a politically sound move that would surely benefit his village in the future, but that wasn't why he was going. He still remembered how he felt all those years ago when he first met that nosy little red-head that got herself into so much trouble.

Her brother, Kyo, had just become the acting head of the Haruno family and had traveled to the Sand village in an effort to establish free-trade routes. For reasons unknown to him, then and now, the little red-head girl had come along with her older brother and gotten lost in the streets of the village.

It hadn't even been a year after his uncle Yashamaru's assassination attempt that he met her. She had wandered into his compound near sundown and had proceeded to burst into tears and wail for her brother. Irritated by the sound, Gaara had left his sanctuary with the purpose of killing 'the annoying shrew'.

He wasn't expecting her to throw herself at him. She hugged him so tightly he would have thought she was trying to kill him except his sand hadn't reacted to protect him. She cried into his shirt for what seemed like hours before she finally fell asleep. Confused and intrigued by this strange girl that didn't run from him, Gaara proceeded to half drag her into his compound to lie down on his couch.

Since his curse prevented him from being able to sleep, Gaara had stayed up the whole night watching this strange red-head. His mother was screaming for her blood but somehow he managed to resist the call, at least until he learned why she wasn't afraid of him.

The next morning she woke 'happy to meet him and what was his name again?' She introduced herself as Haruno Ichigo from Konoha who was in Suna on business with her brother, Kyo-nii-chan. The next few hours were spent with her making them rice balls and telling him all about her family life. Somehow they ended up on the subject of his uncle Yashamaru, something Ichigo picked up on right away.

"I have a nephew too, you know," Ichigo had said. "He's a year older then me and likes to pick on me but Kyo-nii says that since Naruto-kun is Kyo-nii's son he's still my nephew even if he's older. I don't get to tell him what to do though which isn't very fun. I can tell my little nephew, Akira-chan what to do though, but he usually doesn't do it cause he's just a baby since he's three."

"Did you kill him?"

Ichigo looked at him like he was crazy. "Why would I do that? Akira-kun is so cute and fun and funny to play with. He can be annoying sometimes when he cries but I love him anyway."

Gaara flinched away at the word 'love' and gently massaged his forehead. The wound had healed so it didn't hurt anymore, just stood as a reminder of what 'love' supposedly meant.

"I was wondering," Ichigo said, chomping down on another rice ball. "How's come you have 'ai' written on your head? Is it marker?"

"My uncle tried to kill me," Gaara said making Ichigo's eyes go wide. "My mother gave me this as a reminder."

"Your mom drew on your head cause your uncle is a jerk?" Ichigo said. "Did she spank your uncle for being bad too?"

"No. She killed him."

Ichigo was silent.

"There's a lot of killing in your family," she finally said. "Are you going to eat that?"

The rest of the day was spent in Ichigo's company. She begged him to go outside with her and visit the market because she was curious but he refused. People hated him outside. He was safe where he was, just him and his mother, where no one could try to hurt him.

"Where is your mom anyway?" Ichigo asked and Gaara told her.

"That's dumb," Ichigo said. "Moms aren't made of sand. You probably have a special jutsu. My family can do that sometimes too." Her voice went low into a conspiring whisper. "I can do stuff like that with fire." She said. "Akira-chan too, but we're not supposed to tell anybody. You can keep a secret right?"

Gaara had shrugged and Ichigo's eyes narrowed as she leaned closer.

"What?" He said when she held out her pinky.

"Promise," she said. "You can't break a pinky promise."

Confused, but somehow flattered, Gaara wrapped his pinky around hers in a way he had only seen other kids do from the streets below his windows.

In the end she'd convinced him to go outside with her, though she'd had to wrap a scarf around his hair and mouth before he agreed. For the first time he was able to play with other kids, though it was mostly because they didn't recognize him and no one would have ever thought that the monster boy would be friends with such a cute girl.

When Kyo had finally found them Ichigo was scolded for running off and, just as Gaara was about to protect his new friend, he found himself pulled into his second hug in as many days. Kyo thanked him for taking care of Ichigo and the girl begged her brother repeatedly to let her new friend visit in Konoha.

It only took a conversation with the forth and an explanation of Gaara's past for Kyo to come to a decision: Gaara was welcome at the Haruno estate any time he wished. In the many visits he spent in Konoha at the Haruno home, he came to know what a real family and real love was like.

Naruto was taught him how to play pranks and Sakura liked to test her medicines on him. She said she wanted to cure his 'in-some-nee-ah' so she could become a doctor. Hikari was the big sister he'd never known and she took great pleasure in reading to him or just keeping him company. Even Itachi had become somewhat of a stable figure in his life. And of course there was Ichigo.

Ichigo was his best friend.

So while it was a good political move, while the Harunos and Uchihas were important to have as allies, and while the peace between the Sand and the Leaf was one that needed to be prolonged, that wasn't the reason Gaara left three days early for the wedding.

He was going home to see his family.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sakura and Ichigo left the hospital without a word to anyone. She wasn't sure why, but Sakura figured letting people know she was gone would be counter-productive. Especially if the Uchihas really were planning a coup, though what she was supposed to do with that information she had no idea.

Rather then dwelling on it, she instinctively went to the one place, outside of her home, that she felt the safest. Ichigo followed quietly, if not a little confused, as they slipped through the grate to the left of the Northern Gate. The walk from there to Sakura's sanctuary was rather short and Ichigo watched in frustration as her older cousin slipped off her shoes and dipped them into the lake's clear water.

"What are we doing here!" Ichigo demanded. "We're supposed to be stopping the bad Uchihas from taking over!"

Sakura shrugged. "It's nice here, don't you think? It's easier to plan if your relaxed right?"

Ichigo shouted in frustration. "You're such a kid!"

"Ichigo?"

Both girls turned at the familiar voice as the bushes rustled and Gaara emerged. His black rimmed eyes were narrowed in concern as he took in the two cousins.

"I thought I heard your voice," he said. "What's going on?"

Before Sakura had a chance to respond, Ichigo had darted across the clearing and thrown herself into Gaara's arms. He looked down at her in alarm before his arms closed around her waist and he looked to Sakura for an explanation.

"Sakura?"

She blinked and tilted her head in confusion. "And you are…?"

"Gaara!" Temari shouted as she and Kankurou made their way through the thick foliage. "Why'd you go running off like that? What if something happened and—Ichigo? Sakura? What are you guys doing out here?"

Sakura inched away, fear clearly showing on her face. "Wh-who are you people? What do you want?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed again. "Something here is very wrong."

End Chapter Twenty

Kaliea: I'm sure a lot of this is confusing but at the moment I don't care much. We're getting close to the end which is good and the next chapter should be the start of the war. 'Should' being the operative word. Don't forget to review.