A/N: Sorry for the late update. These chapters are becoming a pain in the ass to write. It's a little shorter than I'd anticipated, but at least it's finally here. :)

Thanks to filipinochick, Squisane, I'mASanctimoniousA, my-threesome, XBloodMageRikaX, Illusions11, Shadow-Assassin67, acetwolf94 and sazzy for reviewing chapter 24.

Enjoy! ^_^

'Character Thoughts'

'Inner Sakura'

–

Chapter 25 – The Spy in Sunagakure.

"…Matsuri has finally woken up."

Gaara stared at Sakura for a moment, not blinking, and then stood up, motioning toward her. Sakura allowed him to pull her into a tight embrace and immediately felt his sand swirling around her body. His version of Shunshin always felt different to her, like it was clinging to her body. They landed in front of the reception desk but instead of asking where Matsuri was, Gaara took Sakura's hand and pulled her gently along with him. It would seem he knew where he was going after all.

Sakura let go of his hand when they entered the emergency ward, and rushed over to check on Matsuri. She really didn't need to, but she felt like she had to. The head nurse – Mayumi Chinen – was seeing to Matsuri; she bowed slightly at the pinkette's approach, and then even lower once she noticed the Kazekage. The room consisted of Mayumi, Hana Kudamono, and Rokka Namura as Sakura and Gaara entered.

Matsuri's head jerked up at the pinkette's approach, her eyes drifting from Sakura before moving to Gaara, lingering, and then returning to their original position – the end of her bed. She was sitting up, but as Sakura stared at her, Mayumi Chinen spoke.

"She's ignoring me Lady Haruno. She wouldn't even talk to her team mate who came to see her. She's clearly in shock. Hana?"

The younger medic handed Matsuri's chart to Sakura. Hana had decided she didn't like the Chunin anymore than she liked that good for nothing grandson of the head doctor. She didn't much like Rokka either. She sighed as Sakura handed the chart back.

"She's recovering rather slowly," Sakura said.

Her eyes raked over Matsuri; she looked like she'd just run a marathon, not to mention been through a meat grinder and poorly put back together. It was very possible that whatever the girl had done to herself left her body more weakened than the initial diagnosis had revealed. Slipping into a coma was the body's way of dealing with injuries that were beyond the normal rate of its ability to heal naturally. Of course, this meant that by shutting down, the chances of the patient ever waking up decreased – even more so the longer the coma lasted. Matsuri may have done this to herself, but given her injuries, it was surprising she'd awoken at all. Sakura couldn't figure out why the girl would do this to herself, let alone how.

The last time she'd seen her, the Chunin had seemed a little preoccupied, but not depressed.

'This just goes to show how little I really know about emotional problems; other than my own.'

Tsunade always did tell her she was a "lame ass" at figuring out other people. Sakura mentally slapped herself when she realised someone had started talking, and the conversation around her centred on the common belief that Matsuri was the spy who had set explosive tags at the prison to let the Amegakure rogue escape – an explosion that had maimed sand Shinobi in the process, the resulting cave in killing a total of eight ninja.

Rokka, who was on the defensive, growled lowly – he was out of line, but he couldn't help the words that spilled out of his mouth. "Anyone who seriously thinks she's a traitor is an S class moron."

"So, you're not the idiot you look like?"

Sakura looked around at the voice. Honshu Uzunara, the grandson of the head doctor, was leaning heavily against the door to the nearby room – a supply closet, really. Rokka snorted at him, but didn't respond directly to his comment. It was Hana who glared daggers at him.

"What's the prognosis?" Gaara asked, speaking for the first time.

The head nurse smiled at him. "She will recover Kazekage-sama, physically at least. Haruno-san is correct: her recovery is slow. Her internal organs were severely damaged, but her life is no longer in any danger."

"Thank you," he replied.

The silence was deafening and, remembering she still had rounds to do, Hana left quietly – glaring at Honshu as she went. The head nurse also disappeared, into the direction of her office no doubt.

Gaara closed his eyes. Baki wasn't far away, and heading in the direction of the hospital, fast. He guessed his former Sensei had just come from the council. They pestered the head of the Interrogation Core whenever they couldn't find their Kazekage. The man arrived a few minutes later, and Gaara opened his eyes.

"Kazekage-sama," Baki bowed appropriately. "The council has been informed, and they wish for her to be interrogated as soon as possible."

The redhead nodded mutely at him as he stared at Matsuri, unblinking. She was doing a good job of ignoring everyone, but he saw the subtle twitches of her extremities, so he didn't believe she was in shock – if he had to hazard a guess she was both embarrassed and angry. He knew her well enough, so that was easy for him to see. It would seem that Rokka too, had noticed this, which was why he was defending her so vehemently. Sakura had told Gaara of her suspicions that the young Chunin had romantic feelings for Matsuri and now, looking between them, he could see it.

Rokka interrupted his thoughts, snapping his gaze away from the girl in the hospital bed to glare at Baki.

"She's not a traitor," he said fiercely. "I know Matsuri and she wouldn't sell us out Kazekage-sama."

"That's not for you to decide," Baki snapped back at him, his eyes narrowing at the Chunin – his gaze was intense, but other than averting his eyes, Rokka didn't respond to the intimidation. "She will be interrogated according to Suna law, there are no exceptions."

"He's right," Honshu said calmly, like it was a day in the park and there was nothing important going on.

Rokka just frowned at him, ignoring the weirdly calm man. "Kazekage-sama, I–"

"That's enough," Gaara said sternly. "I know how you feel. Matsuri is my friend too, but this has to be done. The rules apply to everyone." He hesitated, glancing in Matsuri's direction. "I'm sorry."

She didn't respond, choosing to pretend they weren't hovering around her, and closed her eyes heavily for a moment before lazily letting them flutter apart. He didn't blame her, but was worried about her mental state. She hadn't defended herself, offered up anything of value, nor reacted to their presence in the slightest – a small inclination of her head was all she'd made once Gaara entered, probably because they knew each other – but she'd yet to care that Rokka was defending her fiercely. Gaara was surprised at her for her nonchalance – didn't she understand what was going on?

"I'll leave the ANBU that are nearby on watch," Baki said. "And they'll rotate their shifts."

"Is that really necessary?" Rokka asked, the spark of defiance burning in him again.

"Yes," Sakura said softly. "Her wounds were self inflicted. Spy or not, she's a danger at least to herself."

The easy manner in which the pinkette said this stunned the young Chunin. He wasn't sure what to say to that, looking between her and the object of his affections. He'd known her for years: observing her from afar, and when they were put on the same squad, watching up close. She had a temper, a quick wit and was incredibly talented. It was all of these things and more that had drawn him to her, even back when she was timid about using weapons because of what had happened to her parents. He couldn't bring himself to think of her as some spy. She would never harm Suna. He refused to believe that.

But if he had to be completely honest with himself, he wasn't sure whether or not to believe the idea that she'd deliberately hurt herself. It too was out of character, but he was nagged with doubt and a side of guilt. Had she been unwell and he hadn't noticed? They were on the same team, they spent time together as friends (even though he wanted more, he was content to wait for her), and he'd told her things about himself that no-one else knew. He thought he knew enough about her to garner her trust when she needed a confidant. She had yet to tell him anything personal that he hadn't already heard about – the rumours about her parents had started shortly after she'd chosen Gaara as her mentor, perhaps out of jealousy from his fan girls.

But it had nothing to do with what was going on now, he was sure of it.

Rokka clenched his fists. "She isn't crazy."

"No-one's saying she is," Sakura said delicately, "but it's better to err on the side of caution, for Matsuri's sake."

Resigned to her logic, he only nodded, his face still rigid as he realised just how weirdly everyone in the room was looking at him. He moved to a chair near Matsuri's bed, taking note that yet again, she didn't react to his presence. She was breathing, her fingers occasionally twitched like she was aching to strangle something, but she continued to stare at the end of her bed as though sleeping with her eyes open and in an upright position.

"I have to insist that everyone except for the ANBU guard to leave," Sakura said. "She needs her rest. That means you too Rokka."

Surprisingly, he just nodded and did as he was told. He looked exhausted, so maybe he was just too tired to fight. Left alone with Matsuri, Sakura tried to talk to her: she moved closer to the bed, close enough to touch the Chunin without having to reach out over the bed and the brunette girl responded. Her head whipped around and she glared at the pinkette. The venom in her expression was unmistakable. This was the first sign of emotion Matsuri had shown.

Sakura inwardly pouted. 'What did I do wrong?'

X X X

The entire day had been wasted. Gaara had left the hospital, accompanied Baki to the council chambers, and spent the next four hours being bombarded by said council. He'd never had a screaming match outside of a ninja battleground before – not that he could remember anyway. His friendship with Matsuri was belittled, his ability to remain as Kazekage was questioned, and by the time lunch rolled around, he was a step closer to snapping and just letting Shukaku kill every single one of his council. The damned thing was whispering in his head, telling him he'll feel so much better afterward – just fuelling the side of him that wanted to relent.

Kankuro had conveniently turned up only moments before he could consider doing something to them and reminded him softly of the things he would lose if he let loose. It was his brother's words to the council that put the lid on his gourd… so to speak.

Kankuro snorted. "If you're going to draw and quarter the girl, at least do it knowing, without a shadow of a doubt that she's guilty. There is no proof, only circumstantial evidence, and that's being generous. Matsuri Hamanaku is entitled to a fair hearing, like very ninja or civilian."

So Gaara took the opportunity to get away from the idiots and decided, an hour later, not to return at all.

Baki had a full squad of ANBU looking for him in no time, but he knew all the best hiding places in the village and had no intention of returning until the afternoon had worn on.

'Let's see how the council likes it when I make them wait on me.'

He'd done this before, just not to such an extent. They knew he was angry with them, so they made no move to search for him – Baki bore the brunt again. Gaara reminded himself to look over the budget to include a raise for the head of the Interrogation Core.

He retreated to the place he'd taken Naruto to – innocuous and peaceful, it was the perfect place to calm down. Meditating helped as well. But Gaara's thoughts went to his arguments with the council nonetheless. They were furious at the lack of evidence that pointed to Matsuri, the lack of vigour in Gaara to rip the truth from the Chunin as though she was simply an inanimate object that wouldn't feel a thing.

It was almost sunset when he sensed Kankuro. Gaara could've escaped and pretended not to notice him, but by this point, he'd calmed down and when his brother silently indicated to him to follow, he relented. The council was waiting for him, and he could've sworn they hadn't moved an inch since he'd left.

"Kankuro," Gaara said. "You are excused."

The puppet master glanced warily between his Kazekage and the council before retreating.

"You are finally ready to hear our side?" Councillor Aumen asked.

"Discussion on that matter is pointless."

"Then why have you returned? Surely it's not to apologise."

Gaara shook his head. "Of course not. You all know I meant every word I said."

"Then what is it?"

The Kazekage smiled. "Now that Matsuri is awake, I want to discuss my plans to draw out the spy."

X X X

Sakura was giving Matsuri a wide berth, not quite sure yet how to explain the brunette's sudden anger toward her. They'd never been so at odds, with the young Chunin being one of the people from Suna she could count on one hand that Sakura trusted above all others: Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, Hana and Matsuri…

Sakura kept her in the corner of her eye, doing her rounds, volunteering to return to Matsuri's bed for the collection of blood samples when the nurses either got tired of going near her or simply refused to treat her. But she didn't touch her, noting how those brown eyes widened slightly as she got too close. The Chunin wasn't giving the evil eye to anyone else, and this upset the pinkette. That concern turned to anger, but she kept it in check. There was something going on with her that she'd missed, something to do with Sakura that no-one had noticed. She was sure of it.

But did it have anything to do with why she'd hurt herself?

Sakura let Rokka in to see her by the afternoon and he became her main concern – he would just sit there, half staring at Matsuri, and looking like a stone version of her.

"And I thought I had troubles," Temari said, shortly before sunset, when she and Shikamaru came into the hospital to check on Matsuri. Sakura had just told them about the Chunin's condition. "Gaara and Kankuro spoke with the council: they've dropped the more substantial charges against Matsuri, based on lack of evidence. But she's going to be under evaluation and may even loose her rank."

Sakura sighed heavily at that. At this rate, Matsuri would never be trusted as a ninja ever again. It sounded harsh though, and she had to remind herself that Sunagakure's laws were far harsher than Konoha's. Suna ninja were pushed harder and treated harsher; apparently, it was even worse before Gaara became Kazekage. For now, Matsuri had the sanctuary of the hospital to keep her from being grilled, but that would soon change. Just thinking about the possible punishments waiting for her made Sakura shivered.

Shikamaru interrupted her thoughts. "It's troublesome, but we're going to have to keep looking for the spy."

Temari growled at him. "You make it sound like you wanted it to be Matsuri."

He groaned. The woman was putting words in his mouth again. He couldn't help but worry over what he'd gotten himself into with her. But like his father had once said, it was the Nara way. He'd dug his own grave. He would just have to suck it up and deal with it. And as much as Temari got on his nerves, she was also an eternal source of comfort and contentment. He would never admit this to her out loud however, knowing she'd hold it over his head, even if only for a short while. The woman loved getting the last word in on everything.

But Shikamaru ignored Temari's comment, despite the annoyance rolling off of her. He didn't bother retorting, and after a few moments of glaring at him, Temari let it go. "Well, since Matsuri's asleep, I'll see her tomorrow. Coming Shikamaru?"

He sighed nodded reluctantly before following her out.

"They're so cute together," Hana said, having come up behind Sakura. She moved away quickly and the pinkette was left wondering what had just happened.

'Well, you're the one that was excited about returning to Suna in the first place.'

'True.'

Still, she was waiting on Gaara – they all were. It was just tedious, and she couldn't wait for all of this to be over.

Matsuri Hamanaku wasn't the spy…

Sakura was glad. She didn't want to think about what that would do to Temari or Gaara, who were both close to her in their own ways, not to mention Rokka. It didn't explain away herself inflicted wounds however, and the pinkette was beginning to think that was something more personal for the Chunin.

She was completely exhausted, with only half her normal chakra and was looking forward to a nice, long hot bath. So Sakura finished her work in the hospital and decided to walk back to the Kazekage's mansion instead of using a teleportation jutsu. She probably shouldn't be going at it alone, but it was just a short distance. She stopped, looked up at the moon, which was high in the sky above her and made a decision; she was about to jump to the nearest rooftop to get back faster, when something stopped her.

She let out an involuntary yelp of surprise which was quickly muffled by a rough hand to her mouth; a strong, heavy arm then wrapped around her waist and pulled her off the street.

X X X

A/N: Yay! I've been waiting to put that in there. Sakura is attacked by an unseen assailant, but who is it? And… I know I promised 30 chapters, but they're merging in my head and there are now only 28 with an epilogue. Love it or not, please tell me! ^_^

R&R.