The Spoils of War

by FallenInDreams

The ninja nations are at war, but Sakura Haruno finds herself in a unique position to end hostilities when Gaara Sabaku takes her prisoner. But no-one says no to him and lives and he wants more from her than she's willing to give. AU canon world. GaaSaku.

22. The Journey Home

Hiya.

Pretty sure this is the longest chapter yet. Maybe this'll make up for the lack of updates. All promises from last chapter are now fulfilled. Enjoy! ^_^

For reference:
Ganbaru roughly means "to slog on tenaciously through tough times" and Sato is "home".

…
Chapter 20: The Journey Home.
...

Something groaned. Explosions rang in the distance. The ground shook beneath them, in the aftermath. And yet his thoughts were eerily calm. It wasn't any of them, and Gaara felt a weight settle in his stomach, looking back at the crater that Sasori and Deidara had fallen into, in their death throes. Something was moving in there and he didn't like the sound of it.

The wind blowing in from the west swept across the battlefield bringing the smell of dust, sweat, and blood. Silence fell suddenly, in the wake of the external noise, as the gathered ninja watched on in varying degrees of horror or shock as the presumed dead shinobi in front of them began to move again. The last embers of life and chakra were flickering. They couldn't explain it. One was crushed under the weight of chakra infused sand while the other's heart had been pierced with a high concentration of lightning chakra.

The body of Deidara was laughing now, like everything had gone according to plan. Like he'd been expecting to die but it was no big deal. But that was indeed blood spilling out of his mouth as he went right on grinning at the group that had just killed him.

The body of Sasori twitched and convulsed for a few moments before stilling. "Well done," he said.

Questions swirled in Gaara's brain, but he was unable to voice them. Sasori of the Red Sand was broken. His weak spot had been trashed. Gaara frowned at him as Neji inspected it. The power source was flickering, like he was fighting to hold on. But hold on for what?

"You've killed us," Sasori said. "And for your reward for defeating—"

"Sasori, my man."

The feeble voice of Sasori's partner startled Gaara. The blood and bruises contorted Deidara's face so that Gaara couldn't tell if he was annoyed or angry.

"Why aren't you dead?" Gaara asked finally.

Sasori stared at him. "My end is near. But first, I'm going to do something. It's likely pointless because you, Kaze-heika, never do as you're instructed to do, do you?"

Gaara just growled at him, clenching his fists.

"You want to know about the spy, don't you?" Unable to hold his head up as his chakra faded, Sasori lowered his eyes to the ground. "Go, Kaze-heika. My puppet waits for you in the sands where you first met the snake."

Deidara groaned as the Sasori puppet stilled. Puppets were not alive, so Gaara hesitated to call it a normal death, but at least it was finally no longer moving.

Deidara grimaced. "You'll see. Sasori my man, we'll have the last laugh. Akatsuki always wins!" He grinned up at the Leaf members, ignoring Gaara. "We'll get you next time. And your death will be an explosion!"

The wind began to pick up suddenly, as though it was a part of Deidara's death rattle. Gaara's jaw dropped as the bodies of the now dead Akatsuki members began to flake, like they were covered in paper that was peeling away. The jaw drop was small; barely noticeable one second and gone the next. Nobody saw him do it. He clenched his teeth together and glared at remains of the formidable shinobi, barely paying attention to the leaf ninja as they debated back and forth about what had just happened.

Their bodies faded. They weren't their bodies. In the place of Sasori and Deidara, the dead eyes of strangers looked back at Gaara as he stared down at them; contorted and lifeless, their mouths hung open, frozen in a silent scream. But then… who had they just fought? What the fuck was going on? Some twisted jutsu had allowed them to not only control these bodies but perfectly mimic their own; like a second skin. Gaara had never met Sasori of the Red Sand or Deidara before, so he had no way of knowing just how accurate these fakes had been. That said, it was an incredible jutsu. Whomever created it was formidable indeed, having potentially replicated them down to the chakra network.

Gaara looked up as Kakashi, Naruto and Neji hovered closer to him. Kakashi looked tired and the Hyuuga had narrowed eyes on the dead bodies, as though he was trying to unjumble a puzzle.

Naruto, however, was pointing and gaping like an idiot. "How…" He pointed to the bodies. "That was just creepy!"

Regardless of how obnoxious it sounded coming from the blond, Gaara had to agree. His eyes inevitably drifted back to what remained of the corpses that Sasori and Deidara had used for this fight. He wondered briefly if this was only a sliver of the power that the Akatsuki had behind them. He wasn't ignorant of the potential of jutsu, and the way ninja could copy themselves, but copying their form onto another body was just… wrong. And he was pretty sure there were known techniques that had similar effects to this one but had been outlawed in every single nation.

Kakashi sighed. "They weren't the real ones."

Naruto rubbed his chin. "Uh… I don't get it."

Neji's mouth twitched. "Of course, you don't."

"What do you mean?!"

"Naruto, calm down." Kakashi glanced at Gaara, letting his own surprise show. "Gaara?"

Gaara didn't respond. All he could do was stare at Sasori's fake dead body, repeating Deidara's words in his head, as he tried to make sense of it all. He'd talked about a puppet. They'd teased him about what awaited him. Sasori said he'd find this person where he'd first met "the snake" which Gaara interpreted to mean Orochimaru.

Orochimaru.

Did that fiend have something to do with this? He closed his eyes, trying to remember where he'd first encountered the third Senkage. Prior to his appointment as the sixth shadow, they'd never officially met. But Orochimaru had snuck into his desert and attempted to kidnap him multiple times since then. The most recent time had been when Sakura was still in Suna. He inhaled deeply at that memory, pushing aside the emotions that bubbled to the surface.

Not now.

That had been on the outskirts of Suna. Previous encounters with the sneak had also been in the desert — from the Eastern Fortress to the region of the Dragon Oasis, but never outside the realm of Wind. Gaara spent a good deal of time wandering the desert when he wasn't needed for his duties. It was a luxury he knew would disappear once he took up the Kazekage mantle, so Gaara took advantage as often as he could. And Orochimaru had cottoned onto this, it seemed. That snake was a whore for knowledge and violated Wind territory in search of their hidden treasures and mythologies every so often; he rarely left underlings to roam the desert after Gaara had personally slaughtered several teams he'd sent out. He figured the Senkage had gotten tired of the wasted manpower.

Even in the height of the war — which hadn't been so bad for months — there were always traces of snakes in his desert. And Gaara was very adept at smothering them in the sands, which he supposed was what had drawn Orochimaru to his power in the first place. But which place had been the first time they'd met? And why couldn't he remember?

"What was that other redhead baka talking about?" Naruto's voice interrupted Gaara's silent contemplation and he frowned.

"Perhaps a delay tactic," Neji suggested.

"Those two were delaying us?" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "But why?"

"He alluded to Sakura," Neji said. "And a puppet waiting for Gaara."

"And the Senkage. Orochimaru had a spy in Suna," Kakashi said, clearly jumping to the same conclusions that Gaara had. If he was saying so to get his attention, it worked; the Kaze-heika's eyes snapped open. How had he forgotten this? Gaara had surmised as much back when Kakashi led that Leaf team to rescue Sakura.

"Say that again," he said dangerously.

Kakashi repeated himself once more and the redhead paled. Now it was all coming together. Orochimaru had a spy in Suna. Sasori spoke of a puppet. Gaara already knew that there was a traitor in Suna who'd poisoned his father. It had to be the stress of everything going on that caused Gaara not to connect these dots before now. This organisation that Deidara and Sasori represented had to be connected to the attempt on Arō's life. His old man was just one target. He had to be. Which meant this was a part of a much larger plot. Perhaps one with each Kage at the centre of it.

What does this have to do with Sakura?

Deidara had mentioned her — though not by name — before they started fighting. Pinky. Who else could he have been talking about?

He looked at me when he said it.

Something sinister was going on here and he didn't like it. He had to know what they knew. He growled lightly and Kakashi stared at him warily.

"Everything okay, Gaara?"

Gaara had their full attention. "We should rendezvous with the rest of our team," he said and all three of his companions nodded their heads.

He had no idea what to do now and needed more information. Mia had better have found something.

Gaara didn't wait for his companions but sensed them following as he took to the trees, heading toward Otogakure. They weren't far away, and it was only now that Gaara noticed the sounds of battle and explosions had begun to dissipate. Whatever was going on over there was finally coming to its inevitable conclusion. A light bird sound reached his ear and Gaara veered off, leading the team toward it. It was a Suna bird call: Takara. The ANBU called again and Gaara answered back. It was an ANBU tactic — of which Gaara was sure the Konoha versions were also well versed. In their own version.

The Leaf silently followed Gaara and landed behind him as he approached Mia and her team. He noted that the two Leaf in her group were looking more frazzled than before, but otherwise ignored them.

"Kaze-heika." Mia bowed and her teammates (sans Ino and Sai) did the same. "We could not get closer than this without giving away our position, but it seems an overwhelming force of ninja have invaded Otogakure. There is no way to determine who it is and from what little we could sense and see, gargantuan summons were used to flatten many sections of the village. Civilians were evacuated; we could see them exiting to the west. A few of the groups had people with chakra signatures but none we recognised." She cleared her throat, glancing at the Leaf in the group. "The village appears to have been decimated."

"I sent ink animals in further," Sai said, addressing both Gaara and Kakashi. His normally blank expression had been replaced with a disgusted kind of awe. "It seems that roughly seventy percent of the ninja population of Otogakure are dead. The rest wounded or critical."

"Do we help them?" Ino asked, staring straight at the copy ninja, biting her lower lip to keep it from trembling.

Kakashi sighed, rubbing the side of his face. "Sai, are all the ninja evacuated?"

"No, Kakashi-sempai. They've set up triage and most of the enemy have retreated. The only evacuees seem to be those escorting civilians out for some reason."

They'll be fine, for now.

Kakashi sighed again, looking at Ino's worried face. "I'll send a missive to Lady Tsunade to inform her of the situation; it'll be up to her to figure out how to help them. Unfortunately, our entire objective would be exposed if we do anything right now. She'll most likely send medics and support for those wounded."

Ino nodded, somewhat satisfied.

Gaara watched her for a moment as Sai comforted her in a one arm hug. Back when he was looking for someone to cure his father, Gaara remembered reading that she too was a medic. It had to be the medic in her that was so concerned. The Leaf in this group were either weird or boisterous (or both), but he refused to believe they were so weak as to get this emotional so easily. He felt for her, in a moment of his own weakness, but there were more important things to worry about right now.

Still, he couldn't help a quick, cursory glanced in Otogakure's direction as Kakashi began writing a short missive to his Hokage.

"Don't forget to mention the Akatsuki who attacked us," Naruto said, standing over the copy ninja obnoxiously, drawing Gaara's eyes momentarily. Though the blond did have a point about that. Gaara had forgotten the tidbit Deidara had spouted off.

Akatsuki.

Even the name bothered him. He turned his attention toward Otogakure again, worried about their capacity for destruction, in such a short amount of time. The full extent of the damage wasn't visible from here, but the rising smoke and size of the affected area made it easy to fill in the blanks on how bad it most likely was over there. He sighed internally. When Gaara was done musing on that, Kakashi moved his hands into position to summon Pakkun, but Sai stopped him short.

"Sensei, my ink bird will carry it faster," the former ROOT member said. The copy ninja nodded in agreement and Sai pulled out a scroll.

Gaara ignored them as the ink bird flew off with the message. There were still more puzzle pieces and he'd hoped that Mia's report could fill in some of the blanks, but he was left with even more questions. Who was this group that had taken out an entire hidden village in mere hours? Were they just out to destroy or was there some other agenda in mind? Was their path of destruction limited to the Sound? If they had ninja like Sasori of the Red Sand in their employ, then there was no telling how much damage they could do. He narrowed his eyes at the reminder that they'd made a point of mentioning Sakura.

I don't understand.

Maybe it had just been to tease him. There was a chance that Gaara's dalliance with a foreign shinobi was more well-known than he'd realised. Perhaps it had just been a coincidence, how Deidara had zeroed in on him, but he preferred to err on the side of caution. He glanced at the Leaf members as they began to talk about what to do next, then at his own team. They clearly didn't know, though. Mia was nervous; behind her, Maro, Kyo, and Takara were exchanging worried looks. They needed to get ahead of this before it was too late. Gaara could tell what they were thinking because it had occurred to him too.

What if this group goes after Suna?

Neji cleared his throat loudly to get the attention of the Wind ninja.

"We should return to Konoha with this new information," Kakashi said, and his fellow Leaf teammates silently agreed. He could only put so much information on a missive that was flying through the air on an ink-chakra infused bird. Even a cease fire was no excuse to get complacent.

"Gaara?" Mia asked.

"Head back with them and fill in Temari on what's happened," Gaara said, and she nodded. "Maro, Kyo, Takara." They stood to attention as Gaara addressed them. "Remain here. Remain hidden. When the dust has settled and you have the cover of darkness, search for as long as you deem necessary, then collect whatever data you can and rendezvous with Mia and Temari."

"What are you going to do?" Naruto asked, but Gaara ignored him. The blond looked concerned.

"You're heading back to Suna," Kakashi said matter-of-factly. "The puppet?"

Gaara nodded slightly, glancing at Mia as her eyes widened. She knew as well as he did that Sakura was most likely to head south-west instead of south, assuming she was aware of her traitor status. And if she was indeed free and clear of whatever had held her back from venturing out in the meantime. Mia's features softened and she smiled at her cousin. Sakura had no way of knowing, however, that the Leaf and Wind ninja had reached an agreement in her absence and were currently looking for her. It was common knowledge among the great nations that she was still considered a traitor but Temari's role in staying in Konoha during this mission was dual: to be an olive branch to the Hokage and to dispel that ridiculous notion that Sakura had betrayed her village.

It was the only thing they could do to help improve the situation.

Still, there were those who would not accept or believe this switch so easily, perhaps suspicious of how the very village she was alleged to have conspired with was the one that suddenly wanted a treaty. They could see it as a tactic from Suna to attack Konoha, with Sakura at the helm. Gaara had no idea how the average Leaf ninja would react to everything that's happened, so the safest place for Sakura right now would to not be in Konoha.

Though her heart would yearn for it as well.

He could only hope he was right about this. As for more pressing matters, Gaara had another hypothesis to test: Sasori wasn't goading him into a fight. He wasn't rewarding him for killing a fake. He wanted to show him something. And he wanted him to go alone. Gaara understood this quite clearly now. It was why his directions were so cryptic.

"Go, Kaze-heika. My puppet waits for you in the sands where you first met the snake."

And quite suddenly, he knew where to go.

"You should take someone with you—" Kakashi started.

"I travel faster alone."

His companions watched on as Gaara's body appeared to dissolve into sand and seemingly carried away by a sudden burst of wind.

"That idiot!" Naruto bunched his fist and waved it in the air. "Fine! Go alone!"

Kakashi watched Gaara go, a weight sinking to the pit of his stomach. This was not good. Not good at all. Gaara shouldn't be heading into an unknown situation set up by two powerful shinobi, alone. The copy ninja was torn about what to do. If they had an official treaty with Suna, Kakashi would split the group up again and follow the Kaze-heika. To make sure he didn't get himself killed.

But we're not.

However, this didn't stop him from worrying. It didn't stop him from hesitating and contemplating how he would do it. But the only ones that would go after him were Leaf as he'd given the Sand shinobi their orders and, like it or not, they were now talking amongst themselves about their orders. And Kakashi had gotten to know them enough to know they weren't going to defy these orders. That only left himself and maybe Naruto and Neji that would be willing to follow the stubborn redhead.

That idea wouldn't go down well.

The choices before him were limited. He sighed, rubbing at his face, and feeling more tired than ever before.

…

The sound of explosions and smell of smoke drove her on as Sakura ran through the thicket. She had looked back once and regretted it, so now she was determined to just forge into the woods and keep her eyes ahead of her. She would risk checking where she was in relation to Otogakure once she was sure nobody was chasing her. Maybe.

Sakura didn't want to think about what she was doing, or who she was leaving behind. If things had been different, she wouldn't have left without Sasuke. But he was right: if she had stayed, Orochimaru would've found them both.

And I'd be right back where I started.

But Sakura made a promise to herself to get him help. She was determined to do that at least. If Sasuke didn't get himself killed, she was going to find someone to drag his arse out of there, kicking and screaming if need be. If nothing else, Sasuke was still her friend. And if she could pinpoint the one thing Kakashi had done right by Team Seven it was instilling the "those who abandon their friends are worse than scum" mantra into them.

I am not abandoning him.

A screech that didn't sound like an animal echoed over the woods, and Sakura ground to a halt, pressing her body against a tree, and staring up at the sky, now feeling oddly out of breath. She grasped the sand sculpture of a cherry blossoms sprig that Gaara had given her, clutching it desperately in her free hand, and closed her eyes, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. It was difficult in a forest, with leaves, branches, trunks, and even the ground near trees bouncing the sound around. She'd been taught in the Academy that generally, trees were not sound barriers, but there were some species that did reduce noise well enough, since they were denser. Sakura had no idea if any of those types were in this forest, but it was best to presume they weren't, for her own safety and sanity.

The sound in question seemed to be coming from everywhere, though her guess would be from the direction of Otogakure. The pillars of smoke were so bad she couldn't even tell which direction she was going in. And that hadn't been any bird she knew of. She remembered that tracking units (and Anbu) often imitated natural sounds to communicate with each other over large distances, but not being an expert in it, she decided to err on the side of caution.

After about a few minutes she sighed in relief when no-one burst out of the bushes, ready to attack. Waiting around was beginning to feel like a quick way to get caught again, so Sakura pushed off the tree, supressing her chakra and moving as fast as the dense vegetation would allow. Her only chakra output was the miniscule amount she was pumping into the sand sculpture. She didn't dare jump along the trees and couldn't risk putting out too much chakra just to move faster. She felt like everything was moving in slow motion. One hand clutching the cherry blossom shaped bonsai and the other holding her small bag of scarce belongings; a twitch in her gut flared up her panic but she was more terrified of what would happen if she stopped moving.

Her head was pounding as her feet began to tire a while later however, catching up to her laboured breathing.

Am I really this out of shape?

The last few months hadn't allowed her the luxury of her usual training regime. Nobody had wanted to spar with her and every attempt to just do some training herself ended up in someone interfering.

I guess I just gave up after a while.

Sakura sighed. She had no idea exactly how much time had passed. It was still daytime, but the slight glow on the horizon reminded her that sunset wasn't too far away, and she'd spent a few hours holed up in a tree after picking a few berries and risking about an hour's sleep. She needed to keep going but her stomach wasn't satisfied with the lacklustre meal. She had no weapons and therefore nothing to make a trap with, so Sakura climbed to the top of the largest tree in her area, keeping her chakra usage to a minimum, to use its height to scout the area for running water.

From the top she could see the smoke of Otogakure, which meant that she hadn't been heading toward the land of wind like she'd hoped. Her emotional turmoil over Sasuke as well as her persistent headache, burning hunger and inability to use her chakra in case there were enemies nearby had distracted her enough to throw her off course. Not to mention that all this stress couldn't be good for the baby. She didn't want to go down the road of worrying if it would survive, again.

Which was why she needed something more substantial to eat. With little other options presenting themselves, Sakura decided to risk a little more chakra use. It would take an actual sensory type to detect her with this level of output, and she wasn't using enough to attract the attention of normal ninja. She found a small clearing that could serve as a campsite and hid her bag in some underbrush just in case, then trekked to what turned out to be a creek, nearby. She didn't have anything to scoop the water up in, so Sakura knelt at the edge of the water. Mimicking how Gaara had put it on her to begin with, Sakura tucked the sand bonsai into her cleavage, settling it tightly between her breasts. As before, the stem held it in place. The sculpture needed periodic bursts of chakra to survive, and her bare skin was the best conduit for an automatic transfer, but she was not in the mood to test the limitations of that time frame. Honestly, she had no idea how much water it could take but felt confident.

And this freed up her hands to scoop water into her hands and drink. The cool splash of it sent a wave of pleasure through her body as she cupped her hands together to get another helping. She drank her fill then surveyed the body of water in front of her. Now she needed something substantial to eat and fish were easy enough to gather. The surface was clear except for the gushing of the water's flow but Sakura couldn't see any whether anything lived beneath. The creek was shallow but wide, and the light of sun gleamed off the surface, but there was no obvious movement. She watched for a while before remembering that not all bodies of water had fish, and given its size, this one might be too small to make for a good habitat. She might sit here for hours and never see any.

Surprisingly, Sakura didn't feel discouraged by this. The forest was sure to have game, and she didn't want to jump into the water and risk ruining the sand bonsai anyway. So, she gave up on the idea of fish on a stick for dinner. Her stomach growled and she sighed, moving back into the forest. There was only one thing to do now. It occurred to her to make a trap, like she'd done in her survival trials during Team Seven's genin days, but she didn't have the patience right now, and decided on the quick and easy route instead.

Sakura decided to risk more chakra again. If she didn't eat soon, she wouldn't have the energy to evade anyone chasing her. The last time she'd escaped someone who wanted to capture her she'd run headlong into a tracker squad.

Not this time.

She was beyond tired of getting captured.

Sakura searched for some sticks along the ground before finding some good ones and snapping them in half. With some rocks from the creek bed, she managed to fashion half a dozen of the thicker sticks into makeshift kunai. She would need to channel her chakra into them to give them any sort of piercing ability. For this job, she only needed one or two, but Sakura was feeling physically weak as well as peckish, and didn't trust her aim right now.

The sun was a few hours out from setting, so she moved quickly, from one tree to the next. The sounds in the forest didn't help with direction, but Sakura was counting on some animals that usually emerged during these hours to be popping their heads out of burrows right about now. And she didn't have the energy to go searching for them.

So, she settled into a tree and waited. At least this wasn't like the creek; there was game here.

Sakura stared out toward the direction she knew Wind to be in and her mind drifted to Gaara. She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he worried about her? Had he gone off half-cocked to find her or was he being prevented from leaving Suna by the council? She smiled at the thought of him trudging through forests looking for her. He'd go by himself, or at least try to. He was independent to a fault like that. She trembled slightly, rubbing her stomach lightly. She couldn't help the pang of longing when she daydreamed about his reaction to her condition.

Fifteen minutes after she got comfortable and the red of the setting sun began to trickle through the treetops, Sakura started at a sudden sound. She held the stick-kunai to her chest, resting against where the bonsai still sat in her cleavage, her breathing deepening as she forced herself to calm down. The crunching sound could be a critter or an enemy stepping on dead leaves or twigs. If it was the latter, they were hiding their chakra. If the former, well… she'd be eating tonight after all.

Please be the former.

She breathed out a sigh of relief as soon as the brown rabbit appeared on the forest floor beneath her. It was alone, and likely a scout, she surmised, checking for danger before the rest of its warren followed outside. Sakura didn't dare shift an inch, not wanting to create any sound that could make it scamper away. Holding one stick in her hand she channelled her chakra into it and aimed. If she missed, she'd have to quickly try again before it darted out of sight. Against the colouring of the forest floor, she could lose it completely in a matter of seconds.

Her first shot got it in the back, but it was still able to move. Cursing, Sakura channelled twice as much chakra into the second one and this time it skewered the rabbit straight into the spine. Excited, she jumped down from her hiding spot and darted over to it.

"Sorry," she mumbled as it took its last breath and picked it up by the ears.

Sakura gathered up sticks and stones from the creek bed and lit her fire, then skinned, gutted, and cleaned the rabbit. This was the part she usually left to her comrades to do. She was a medic, so her chakra scalpel came in handy, but she didn't like doing this to defenceless animals. She finished up quickly, not wanting to drag it out and settled in as the rabbit carcass roasted on the fire. There wasn't much to do about the fire, but she kept the flames low, just in case. But any shinobi worth their salt didn't travel at night in the forest unless the mission dictated it. She'd been on some high priority ones before, so she knew how rare it was to push through the night after having run all day, even in the height of war — it was mostly couriers that did that.

She sighed.

When the meat was done, she made quick work of it. Sakura hadn't eaten anything since before the attack on Otogakure, six hours ago. She devoured the rabbit like it was her last meal. The life growing inside of her had been very demanding in the matter of food. She forgot her vanity about how much weight she was going to have to put on for this pregnancy. She was just so damned hungry. She finished off the last of the berries she'd found and settled in next to the fire, falling asleep quickly.

Sakura dreamed of her crimson haired lover. She rarely went a night without dreaming of Gaara and she knew it was just her missing him, but another part of her wondered. Even the nights she didn't remember her dreams at all, back in Otogakure, she'd woken with him on her lips. She shivered as her body roused. The fire was out and there was a strange energy in the air.

Sakura bolted up right, suddenly alert. There was nothing obviously out of the ordinary nearby, but she wasn't going to risk it, given everything; she had enough good sense to quickly kick up dirt to cover the remnants of her fire, then grab a handful of leaves to smother it before scrambling up the nearest tree and duck her head down.

She heard it moments later: someone was coming, and they were moving toward her with purposeful strides. Too slow for a ninja contingent but fast enough to be looking for something so intently that it kept her from showing herself.

Sakura stuck her head out long enough to see who they were before darting out of sight again. They weren't directly underneath her so the chances they'd spotted her impromptu hidden camp was low, but she didn't want to risk getting seen, just in case. She waited until they'd moved further away before ducking her head out again.

They were from Otogakure. Some were civilians and others were genin or chunin, just walking through, on their way to who knew where. She was tempted to make herself known but the fear of their insistence that she joins them and that the Senkage could be at the end of their journey kept her hidden. Thankfully, none of the ninja seemed to have any sensory skills and Sakura was able to wait out their traversal. She kept her senses primed as they made their way toward the creek and continued in the opposite direction that she was going.

Why are they this far out from their home? Is Otogakure uninhabitable now?

It didn't matter. Not really. There were too many people she didn't want to run into right now, even with a cease fire between the ninja nations, but at least she knew which way not to go now. Forcing her anxiety down, Sakura spent the last hour before the sun came up huddled on the thick tree branch before jumping down and continuing on her way. She needed to get out of the forest and find a civilian village, where no-one was looking for her.

She needed to blend in.

.:.

It took her half a day to find a path that might lead to a village. Regardless of direction, Sakura was moving further from Otogakure and, short term wise, this was the most important thing. Away from the only place she didn't want to accidently stumble into. Away from the person who wanted to lock her up and experiment on… she shook her head, holding a protective hand to her stomach. She was still left the question of "where to now?" though. If she didn't know about her missing-nin status, Sakura might have made a beeline for Konoha. But as it stood, the only place she might actually not be locked up or treated like a criminal was, surprisingly, Suna.

Funny that, since it was Suna who captured me first.

There was nothing to be done about that, either way. Sakura decided to head west, toward the land of iron. It was the long way around to get to the land of wind, but ultimately safer. The border was going to be annoying whichever direction she took, but at least she wouldn't just be stumbling into yet another shinobi nation. It might not be the best place to go to, but at least the samurai weren't actively looking for her. Once she scouted out the borders between iron and fire, she could then head south-west and bypass more dangerous lands.

The war had engulfed all the smaller nations; the most notable change of all had been how Sound had expanded its borders by swallowing the two nations between the land of rice patties and the land of lighting. The first Senkage was the one responsible for the scattering of the samurai people. The proud anti-shinobi people still lived in their homeland, but it was in hidden and remote areas that even ninja didn't bother to tread.

They still maintained a public presence, but it was more like gypsies than a proud nation – they were looked down on and belittled as well. Gone were the ninja that remembered what the samurai were capable of. Sakura also, didn't know. She had always presumed they were stronger than civilians but weaker than shinobi.

Guess I'll find out soon.

If she kept heading the way she was going, Sakura would encounter samurai eventually. Despite their ragtag lifestyle, she still felt anxious at what that encounter might bring. Fortunately, and even with this new lockdown, the border to the land of iron was not as heavily guarded as the shinobi nations. It meant she might just be able to slip through without incident.

Sakura mentally went through all the places she could go to if the land of wind became impossible. And which ones Gaara would be more likely to search in.

And the leaf.

She also desperately wanted to see her friends again, but for now, all she had was the well-trodden path she'd found that led her to a village she'd never seen before, and never heard of.

Ganbaru Sato.

Interesting.

Sakura stopped at a tree cropping and hugged herself as she watched the village from the outskirts. She was going to need new clothes. Her current ones were giving her away as someone who had been traipsing through the forest and she was sure to draw curious eyes if she barrelled into the village without preparation. She couldn't risk using her chakra to scope the area out – there were some handy jutsu in her repertoire that would be perfect for this moment. If any ninja had made it here, however, her cover would be blown.

Impatiently blowing hair out of her face, Sakura scanned the small houses with her eyes, searching for something. A dress hanging on a clothesline, or a cloak, would be nice. The ear-piercing screams of a child made her cringe; a moment later, the kid in question came racing out of one of the houses, naked, an irate mother chasing after him. Sakura smiled despite herself, silently apologising to them before sneaking into their house through the open door. She kept an eye out for signs of other family members. The house was empty. She quickly found a loaf of bread but didn't think she'd have time to pick at the fruit and meat that was on the kitchen table. The priority was the cloak behind the door, so grabbing both items, she made a mad dash for the outside, rounding a corner away from the house as she heard the mother and son returning.

Sakura didn't hang around to hear the woman's cries that someone had stolen from her and hurried into an alleyway to throw the cloak over herself. It was cotton and surprisingly comfortable; plain and easy to make, therefore clearly not a sentimental item. She took a deep breath, then started on her loaf of bread. It wasn't sliced, so she took her time pulling bits of it apart, waiting for her stomach to settle before moving again.

She couldn't detect any ninja in the vicinity and that knowledge made her shoulders sag in relief. Sakura ambled through the village, making her way slowly toward the marketplace – she could smell it and the aroma was making her hungry again.

My hunger is out of control.

Her morning sickness was over and that odd feeling of never being full had returned, full blast. If Sakura didn't already know that these symptoms were not the same for every woman, she might be concerned. She only hoped these cravings didn't stay with her for the rest of the pregnancy.

She didn't slow down though, mouth full of bread as she looked around herself; the hood of her cloak thankfully hiding her hair. In Otogakure, she was kept well fed and Sakura had gotten used to being able to just grab food whenever she felt like it. After hours spent moving through the forest on an empty stomach, her body was aching for food.

Taking an inventory of her belongings, Sakura morosely searched through her bag to find she had nothing of value to trade for some more food.

Guess I'll have to steal again.

She was a ninja. She knew how to do exactly that. But stealing the rations of an enemy camp while they slept or bathed nearby was one thing; taking from innocent civilians in broad daylight, in a crowded marketplace was another. The smell of skewered, barbequed chicken made her stomach ache, driving these concerns out of her mind and Sakura ignored her conscience as she moved closer to the stall in question. She looked around carefully, again trying to gauge if there were any shinobi in the vicinity. If this failed, there was no back up team to create a diversion if she caught the wrong eye while doing this.

Sakura was well-known for her insane strength, chakra control, and medical ninjutsu. What most people either didn't know, or skimmed over, was her affinity for genjutsu. She hadn't made that affinity a priority in her training, preferring to learn to break apart boulders and rip through the earth, but she'd learned some of the more underhanded genjutsu here and there. One of which worked equally well on civilians as well as non-genjutsu type ninja.

Unless you were freaky and in possession of a dojutsu like the Sharingan.

Kakashi and Sasuke saw through this jutsu every time, but she always had fun tricking Naruto.

Sakura concentrated her chakra into her hands under her cloak, forming it into several illusions that walked alongside her. They were different in appearance and to most people, it was as if they weren't even there. This was how they hid Sakura between them. It was draining to keep up, and not something she'd be capable of holding together in the middle of battle; this was an espionage genjutsu only. It also wouldn't last long, but she only needed a minute to duck in and pick out the food she wanted. She thought to take some money from the open cash register as she stepped behind the employees only line but decided against it. If push came to shove, she could always return to the woods to hunt. It would be annoying, but nobody would lose parts of their paycheck to compensate for the missing money as a result.

One of her ghosts flickered and the stall employee glanced in her direction, but she quickly strengthened it, sighing heavily, and berating herself. She grabbed a few choice morsels and a bottle of water before stepping out of the stall and moving away at a steady pace. When the jutsu finally broke, nobody looked twice at the girl scoffing down chicken skewers and a handful of grapes.

She was so drained. Sakura couldn't explain it other than to chalk it up to her pregnancy. And it meant she wouldn't be able to do that jutsu again for a good while. Normally, she could illusion herself several times before having to recharge.

Strange.

She decided to just use old fashioned stealth next time.

What am I doing?

Sakura was supposed to be heading over the border but here she was using up every last piece of chakra she had to steal food from civilians. It was like her hunger had a mind of its own. Deciding to be more constructive, she asked around to see if anyone was going her way, thinking that that might be a way to blend in, but no-one was. Several people even gave her a strange look for suggesting so. It was lunchtime by the time Sakura gave up. Her stomach rumbled loudly, and she groaned.

One last time.

She had seen a fresh food stall on the edge of the marketplace being looked over by a man whom she figured was gypsy. When she returned to the stall, he was still sleeping. Sakura took a deep breath and walked over to it slowly, keeping her eyes open. He had a small selection of fruits and her eyes fell on the bright red apples at the front. Unable to stop herself as her stomach rumbled yet again, she reached a slightly shaking hand out toward it. But just as her hand grasped the red apple, there was a chuckle from behind her.

"What's a kunoichi like you want with my apples, eh?"

Sakura was so startled she almost fell over. Her entire body had tensed at the adrenaline rush of her attempted thievery. The owner of the voice laughed and the kunoichi spun around to face her, flushed from head to toe. The woman stared her down, but not unkindly. She was elderly and her smile was genuine as she put the pinkette at ease. The woman wore the traditional gypsy dress that Sakura had seen the people wear on missions, and the caricatures in books she had in her apartment in Konoha. She'd always found it fascinating that someone would willingly choose to be a nomad in the middle of a war. They could have settled in one of the safer lands that had been abandoned in the territorial disputes. She supposed it was just in their blood.

The elderly woman watched her closely and the pinkette felt like she was being sized up for more than her thievery. Sakura expected to get some sort of reprimand for trying to steal the apples, but the woman maintained the kindly look on her face, her eyes scrunching up as she smiled at the pinkette. She couldn't help but smile back but forced herself to wipe it from her face. She'd just had a hand on her apples, after all.

Sakura bowed her head. "I'm sorry."

The woman waved her hand at her. "You're starving, by the look of you. All skin and bones. Not healthy at all in your condition."

"My… condition?" Sakura's eyes widened.

"I've had a horde of rugrats myself, did you think I can't tell a girl in trouble by now at my age?" The old lady chuckled at Sakura's light smile as her face flushed. She wiped her hands on her dress. "Go on, then. Take all you need. Oh, where are my manners? The name's Rupa."

Sakura bowed. "Thank-you, Rupa."

The older woman's eyebrows rose. "A polite ninja? Well, I'll be."

Sakura winced and glanced at the apples.

"Go on, then. They're not poisoned, and I don't bite. Well, I did with my third husband, but he deserved it."

Sakura couldn't stop herself from snorting as she tentatively took one of the apples. The sleeping man mumbled a little and squirmed in his seat but did not wake. She glanced at Rupa as she nodded at the pinkette, then bit into the apple. It was delicious. With permission, she had another. Then another.

"You need to get some meat into you too," the other woman said.

Sakura wiped at her mouth and swallowed heavily. "Why are you letting me eat these?"

"I told you already."

Because she knew she was pregnant? Sakura doubted that. But she didn't really want to get into an argument with her. She took another apple as Rupa stepped closer.

"Where you headed, girl?"

Sakura hesitated.

"I'm not going to follow you. But if you are who I think you are, I'm gonna guess you're heading over the south-west border. Perhaps to Wind?"

Blushing, Sakura nodded. She had no idea how the woman would know that but decided not to pry. She was just happy to find someone to talk to that wasn't telling her she couldn't go anywhere just "because". And she didn't need to tell Rupa everything, but the old lady seemed likable enough to earn some level of honesty. "Y-yes. But I heard there are patrols and I…"

"Don't want to get caught by the wrong nation," Rupa finished for her.

Again.

Sakura nodded again.

"I got ya."

"You… do?"

"If you're willing, we can take you there." Rupa motioned toward a large group of people in the distance. Sakura hadn't noticed them in her desire to steal the apples, but they weren't close enough to have spotted her. But she could clearly tell they were a caravan of gypsy, even from here. She felt a little self-conscious at that.

"We'll not force you," the elderly woman said. "But I gather you haven't had much opportunity for company that didn't want something from you, lately."

How does she know this?

She was too stunned and grateful to argue the toss, so Sakura nodded dumbly instead. "Okay."

Rupa smiled widely and opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted.

"Rupa bāchan!"

Two gypsy girls a few years older than Sakura were waving at them as they approached; mid-twenties and dressed in form fitting gypsy attire. They reminded her of the fangirls Naruto had back in Konoha as their waving became more enthusiastic and one of them whispered in the other's ear before they both giggled. Rupa even rolled her eyes at them.

"Who's the pretty girl?" The dark haired one asked as Rupa manoeuvred Sakura over to them.

Rupa looked at Sakura, the same question as before in her eyes. The pinkette nodded and the woman grinned.

"Let's call her Esma," she said.

The girl saluted, understanding right away. "Right." The dark-haired girl giggled again, then held a hand to Sakura. "You can call me Mireli and her Nadya," she stuck her thumb out toward her friend. "Let's get you dressed up."

Sakura gaped at her as Mireli and Nadya flanked her, gripping her arms with surprising mix of strength and gentleness.

Rupa nudged her softly. "Come on girl, get moving."

"But—" She had no idea why she was suddenly protesting.

"Like we're gonna let a pregnant lady travel alone. I don't need to tell you what'll happen if those border shinobi find you looking like a runaway, wanted criminal." She held a finger to Sakura's lips. "Mum's the word, eh?"

"Over the border, huh?" Nadya asked. "Luck is on your side. We're heading out soon ourselves. Wouldn't say no to a detour, though." She giggled again and Sakura let herself be led away.

She felt the urge to ask, "why are you helping me?" but Rupa's comments about her condition were answer enough. If the gypsy had another purpose, it couldn't be worse than what had awaited her in Orochimaru's clutches. Sakura shuddered at that thought. Mireli and Nadya led her into a large tent, the inside of which looked a lot like the dressing room of an entertainment troupe. It was ostentatious and well stocked for that purpose, including a few wardrobes, beds, dressing area and large tub for cleaning. The tent was clearly a permanent fixture and not the belonging of a people who travelled a lot. Sakura silently decided this was a rental tent, given that gypsy were nomads.

"Let's get started," Nadya quipped. "There's no polite way to say this so I'm going to just say it: disrobe, if you will, please."

Sakura, personally, thought that was very polite. She took the offered privacy screen and wondered if she was going to be allowed to bathe before getting into whatever outfit they had in mind. Unsure what to do with it, Sakura placed the sand blossom Gaara gave her on a stool next to the tub, with her bag. She made a note to keep an eye on the sand, but she was sure it would be okay for a while without her chakra. To her relief, Mireli and Nadya let her get into the tub she'd spotted beforehand without any prodding from them. She hadn't felt any chakra spikes, but the water was already hot, and she marvelled at the readiness of these people. She'd heard many rumours about them — mostly bad, as it often went. Regardless, she found herself admiring them. The girls left her to bathe for ten minutes before returning with towels and clothes. They allowed her privacy as she stood from the bath and dried herself, wrapping a clean, dry towel around her body.

"I'm ready."

Turning back around to face her, the girls wore identical, mischievous grins.

"Come on," Mireli said. And they advanced on her.

Sakura's privacy went out the window as they began to dress her. But, turning into a tomato aside, she decided it wasn't too bad. She'd never been doted on like this before. The ninja in her knew they were going to ultimately want something in return for helping her out like this, but she was feeling magnanimous. They were quite literally saving her life, so she felt indebted to them. If they could help her over the border and under the oblivious eyes of the border patrols, she was sure they deserved whatever they were going to ask for at the end of it all.

Unless it hurts people.

But Sakura didn't think that would be the case. As Mireli and Nadya hummed and giggled at each other, she felt they were genuine. Her instincts told her they meant her no harm. The clothes they were squeezing her into were clearly of gypsy make, and Sakura admired the handmade material. Sakura glanced at the sand blossom in the corner of her eye, watching as she contemplated at what stage in her dress, she should put it between her breasts once again. Thoughts of Gaara flittered about in her head, as they were prone to do, and she wondered how to use her current position to get in contact with him. She thought about that.

"Is it too dangerous to send messages?"

Nadya nodded as she tightened the pinkette's bodice. "The ninja are everywhere, even in villages like this one. Seen some disguised ones recently. Better watch your step."

"How do you know they were disguised?" They'd have to have a high level of understanding of how shinobi worked to see through such disguises.

"Rupa bāchan taught us how to spot them. Not through chakra or anything," Mireli added, when Sakura gave her a disbelieving look. "There are more ways to see through disguises than just those that ninja use."

"And we hear things, too." Nadya said. "Don't underestimate the Sanka."

Sanka, not gypsy. Okay.

Sakura nodded thoughtfully as they helped her. She didn't need aid to get dressed, but her hair and features were well known in the shinobi world, so her disguise was going to have to be more thorough than a simple, form fitting Sanka dress. The one that Mireli and Nadya picked out for her complemented her body, pushing up her breasts and hugging the rest of her nicely, without crushing her. But it was in two parts — one for her chest and one for her hips — and left a gaping hole over her stomach. It was Rupa's idea, apparently, that she should wear a false belly (made of cloth, she was sure), strapped across her midsection. And her hair needed a trim to help the scarf to hide her pink hair; some fake hair poking out of it made her look like a brunette. According to her new travel companions, married women in the Sanka tribes always covered their head with a scarf or tied it back.

She had to hand it to them, they really knew their stuff. Sakura stared at herself in the full-length mirror once they were done, surprised by the transformation. She looked like one of them. Her eyes rested on the believable pregnancy belly now covered under layers of satin. It was so peculiar to her that one day, she was going to get this big. It only made her look about six months in, but it was a portent of things to come.

Sakura smiled though, rubbing her stomach gently, imagining Gaara's reaction if he saw her like this.

Gaara.

She sighed deeply fighting the tears that threatened to fall and not paying attention as Mireli and Nadya shared a knowing look.

"You'll be reunited," they said in unison.

Sakura frowned, wiping at her eyes. Was she really that obvious?

"Come on," Nadya said, and they started ushering her out of the tent. "The caravan will be underway soon. You don't want to get left behind."

"Wait." Sakura grabbed her bag and gathered up the sand blossom, then held it tightly in her hand, running her chakra through it before tucking it between her breasts once more. The girls wore identical smirks but said nothing further on the matter before leading her outside the tent.

Sakura would've guessed the other tents were coming with them, but clearly most of the Sanka were staying put. It had to be because of her, which made her feel guilty, but there were no glares or stares as she was steered to the main wagon. The children playing in the central square waved to her and she waved back, smiling widely. The adults smiled or just didn't look up at her, busy with whatever they were in the middle of. A few paused what they were doing to do the former. It made her wonder what Mireli, Nadya or Rupa had told them.

Oh well.

They weren't the abrasive, angry, or rude people she'd been taught they were. At least, not this tribe.

"Esma!" Rupa came running up to her as Mireli and Nadya kissed Sakura's cheeks before leaving her alone with the older woman. Rupa hooked her arm around Sakura's and pulled her gently along. "You'll be riding in the cart with me. Don't want to aggravate your condition." She patted the pinkette's fake belly. "Let your púridaia take care of you."

Mireli and Nadya had moved to the head of the cavalcade, so Sakura was stuck with Rupa, sitting in the back of a cart (which smelt surprisingly nice), listening to her tales of her younger years. The older woman acted like Sakura really was her granddaughter, giving doting life advice as she detailed an escapade of her own younger years. Sakura started to feel sleepy an hour into the trip, realising just how exhausted she really was. All the tension from her time in the forest, and uncertainty from her acts of thievery fell away.

Her dreams were vague and nonsensical. When she woke, they were forgotten. The hours whittled by as the caravan of Sanka moved slower than Sakura was used to travelling. Rupa had settled in for a granny nap when the pinkette roused so she entertained herself by watching the greenery as the forest passed them by. Slowly. It really wasn't that interesting, so her mind drifted, inevitably. The sounds of her escorts rambling about some patrols nearby made her tense. This meant they were getting closer to the land of Wind. To Gaara. It sent a thrill through her that didn't release the tension in her body.

Not much longer now.

…

It only took Gaara a day and a half to traverse an area that normally took most ninja the better part of a week. But when he got to the sand, the spy wasn't waiting for him. It was a desolate, remote area that he'd guess Sasori was hinting to, but it was either wrong, or a lie. He contemplated heading straight for Suna instead, and forget about this but decided to check, double check, and then triple check the rest of the places he knew he'd encountered Orochimaru. After another couple of days scouring the desert, using his sand to hasten the search, he still came up empty.

"Go, Kaze-heika. My puppet waits for you in the sands where you first met the snake."

Again, he wondered. "The sands" was clearly the desert. And "the snake" was Orochimaru, right? There were no others that fit the snake synonym. And certainly, none that had been in the Wind desert in any impactful way. Whom else could Sasori possibly be talking about? Sitting on a large dune and using his sand to search for chakra signatures had yielded nothing. Gaara moved closer to Suna and sent a message to Kankuro. If his brother was compromised, he didn't know. The use of the word puppet had implied, to Gaara's ears, that the spy wasn't complicit. He just hoped this was true.

And he didn't know what else to do. He'd started this to look for Sakura and hopefully get to the bottom of whatever secret had been kept from him. But as the days wore on and he had only the sand and the sounds of circling birds to keep him company, Gaara began to wonder if he was going about this backwards.

He was out of rations and this area of the desert only yielded scant food and water, which he used to wash and feed himself. It was getting ridiculous, even for him. He would have to get moving at some point but the stubborn side of him refused to acknowledge that he might have just made a huge mistake. When the sand finally started to shift, three days on from when his mind had determined that it was bereft of all hope, and chakra began to spike around him, Gaara decided Sasori had just been fucking with him. The chakra was familiar and inviting, even though it was fluctuating — probably due to the worry being exhibited by the ninja in question.

Perhaps they hadn't really been expecting him back this early, but he'd sent a missive.

The council probably delayed them. The idiots.

Wiping at his parched mouth, Gaara eyed them suspiciously, frowning and shaking lightly. He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was a mirage or not. Two painfully familiar faces broke out in respective smiles at the sight of Gaara. But the redhead remained frozen to the spot, not wanting to open himself up to whatever emotional or dangerous plot they had in mind. Sasori's words swam in his head as did the questions regarding the two ninja before him.

Kankuro and Yashamaru were running down to meet him. Both fighters; one was a medic. It made sense to come together, especially if the council were indeed giving them trouble over Gaara's message and refused to send anyone officially. (Whether out of annoyance at Gaara or because of the lockdown, he didn't know.) Nothing inherently suspicious about this. What were the chances that the puppet wasn't aware of his arrival? Perhaps the spy was a member of his family. Perhaps they were a certain former Anbu captain of his. Perhaps neither. Sasori of the Red Sand was a master puppeteer so the spy could literally be anyone. They didn't even have to have a grudge against Gaara's father or any kind of relationship with foreign ninja to be a suspect. They didn't even have to know anything about the poison that ailed his father. Or know Gaara at all.

That would make a shit spy.

Regardless, they would be unaware of the danger they presented.

Perhaps it is both of them.

Or there was no spy at all. The possibilities were doing his head in.

"Gaara!" They called to him but stopped six feet from him, noting the glare on their Kaze-heika's face. Tired, thirsty, and wary, he gave off a dangerous aura. Gaara dug his nails into his arms, forcing his stirring sand not to lash out and attack them.

"Who…" His voice was raspy from lack of use, and Gaara realised it had been the better part of a week since he'd used it.

"Gaara?" His uncle frowned and looked on the verge of moving toward him. It was only Kankuro's hand that stopped him.

"What's wrong, Gaara?" His brother asked. "Your message said you were nearby and that there was a problem. What's been going on? Have you found the battalion? What about Sakura?"

"Indeed."

Gaara cursed and turned at the sound of the new voice. It was Sasori, and under the carapace like the duplicate had been. Deidara stood beside him, that idiotic grin on his face. The redhead clenched his fists. They had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, no trace of their chakra along the sands that Gaara had been searching. Dust billowed around them for a moment before settling, and the sight of a white bird answered all his questions.

It's official. This blond is more annoying than Naruto Uzumaki.

Whatever this thing was made from, it had carried them over the sands, and they'd somehow snuck up on him. Why they hadn't ambushed him he didn't understand, but whatever they were planning, it clearly didn't involve trying to kill him. Yet.

"What the hell?" Yashamaru groaned. Kankuro let out an expletive.

Gaara sighed deeply. He shouldn't have come out here alone. "Is this what you were after?" He asked the Akatsuki.

"Getting you alone?" Sasori asked. "No. We have a proposition for you."

"Save it," Yashamaru said at the same time Kankuro growled out, "fuck you."

Deidara glowered at them. "This is getting boring, un."

"Quite right," Sasori added. "Kaze-heika–"

"Get out." Gaara's voice was thick with anger. "Get out of my desert, both of you."

The ground began to tremble and the Akatsuki members jumped out of the way as the sand beneath their feet attempted to grab them; a large hand shaped form thrusting out of the ground narrowly missing them. Gaara wasn't done yet, though. The sand flew at them and again, they jumped onto the white bird without engaging.

These have to be the real ones, he thought, grinding his teeth. Though their chakra didn't feel much different from the last ones there was something off by comparison. He reasoned that if they'd created two more copies, they'd likely be identical. Maybe. He really had no idea. Gaara decided to go with the assumption that he was dealing with the real Sasori and Deidara.

He glanced at his brother and uncle.

I shouldn't have come alone.

Before the lockdown, Kankuro had been active on missions, while Yashamaru hadn't been out of the village in over a year, maybe more. The former on the frontlines in the war and the latter mostly in Suna's hospital. Clearly, Kankuro had been in the line of the sight of the enemy more. But then again, Orochimaru managed to sneak a spy into Suna, so perhaps the Akatsuki had targeted his uncle specifically?

Which one is more likely to have been grabbed and turned into a spy?

He hated that these were both very real possibilities.

"Well, well, Kaze-heika," Sasori said, watching the way the other redhead was glancing at his companions. "It seems you finally understand. It was really stupid of you to come alone after all."

"You have got to be kidding," Kankuro growled at the same time Yashamaru scoffed saying, "Gaara's not alone."

Deidara laughed and Sasori continued. "Who is it, Kaze-heika? To help you along with your deductions, Orochimaru wasn't the only one with a spy, and the last time dear Kankuro left the village, my personal spy had his own little fun with him."

Kankuro glared at the puppet. "Just because you're a legendary puppet master, doesn't mean we're going to go easy on you."

He made a move to pull out his own puppet, but Gaara caught his eye, shaking his head. Both his brother and uncle were glaring with equal levels of vitriol at their attackers. He couldn't tell which one had been turned. Which one had become a spy. They were both loyal to Suna. They were both family.

It doesn't matter if they had no choice in being turned.

A fact that didn't help him right now.

"Enough teasing," Deidara said impatiently. "More explosions, un."

"Very well," Sasori sighed, the heavy bulk of his carapace body moving with the effort of the inhalation.

For a few seconds, Gaara thought they were bluffing. He was already gathering sand underneath the ground, waiting for the opportune moment to strike at them again. But without knowing who was going to suddenly charge attack him to defend them, he'd be leaving himself wide open if he tried to strangle the Akatsuki members prematurely.

"Kill your Lord, puppet!"

Gaara's eyes narrowed, wondering what Sasori was talking about. Kill your Lord?

Puppet…

Eyes wide, he spun around, preparing to evade the attack that was coming, sensing the spike in chakra as his sand rallied to his side. But it wasn't coming for him. He almost didn't see his uncle move; he was a blur, faster than Gaara had ever seen him move, in all the years he'd known him. Kankuro cried out as the first kunai hit him. The Manipulating Attack Blades jutsu was a favourite technique of Yashamaru; it tore through his nephew's torso, kunai seemingly held up by thin air whistling as they sliced into his abdomen.

Gaara's sand flew at them both in his panic but was only in time to prevent further attacks. A wall of sand stood between Yashamaru and Kankuro's fallen body. Mere seconds had passed as Gaara stood stunned, his fingers twitching even as he commanded the sand to protect his brother. The violet eyes of the man he trusted looked back at him and neither man said a word.

He'd known it was coming. But even this foresight did nothing to numb the shock of it all.

Yashamaru smiled at him, as though he hadn't just tried to kill his nephew. His eyes were wide, and he reminded Gaara of the Oni demons of legend. "Don't worry, it's going to be fine. Death is…" He paused, tilting his head. "…fine."

Gaara swallowed heavily, forcing himself to calm and move into a more battle-ready stance.

Damn.

So much for getting a handle on the situation. Gaara shifted his sand again to begin gathering Kankuro's body, and surprisingly, nobody interfered. He didn't have the luxury of checking him himself, as he wasn't a medic and still had three opponents to worry about. He made sure to press his sand against Kankuro's wounds, where the blood needed to be stemmed. There was no sense in letting him bleed out. His mind whirred as he focused on this. Gaara wracked his brains.

Lord?

Why had Yashamaru attacked Kankuro and not Gaara?

Wait.

It was a reference to an old Sunagakure hierarchy system — one that, rumour had it, Sasori had used during his years in Wind, before his defection. Technically, because Kankuro was a part of the direct Kazekage line, he outranked their uncle. If he were beholden to that system, Yashamaru would have to call him Lord. And because Gaara was next in line for Kazekage, his title wasn't Lord. It was Kaze-heika. But nobody used that system anymore — the term Lord was just used for all in the family and carried no significant hierarchy within it. Not for over a decade.

It didn't make sense.

"Stand still," Yashamaru said, advancing on him now. "This'll only hurt for a short time."

Did they expect him not to defend himself? Were they counting on him not attacking his family? It was blood versus blood, the familial versus his desire for the literal. Many ninja had made the mistake of thinking Gaara wasn't capable of that. He'd done worse in the past, as Anbu. Heck, even when he wasn't affiliated with the Suna Black Ops. But the records of his transgressions were sealed. And Sasori had not been in the village then or since, so he wouldn't know.

As far as I know.

Gaara backed off, focusing his attention on his brother first. He was done wrapping him up and his sand was now carrying Kankuro away, toward Suna. Toward help.

Please, help him.

And now, he needed to help himself. Gaara jumped out of the way as Yashamaru sent kunai at him. It was nowhere near as lethal as his attack on Kankuro, which meant he wasn't trying to kill him. But why? He watched the Akatsuki, but neither made a move to stop him from sending his brother away. Even as his uncle continued to throw weapons at Gaara then move around him to pick them up and propel them again; faster and now fused with chakra. Sasori and Deidara however, were just watching. Why?

"Our Leader wants you to join the Akatsuki," Sasori said, surprising Gaara so readily that a kunai almost grazed his face. The redheads stared at each other; one with a blasé expression, the other with such a strong look of surprise that his face ached from holding the unfamiliar expression.

Why does everyone either want my power or for me to turn against Suna?

It was ridiculous. It was insulting.

"We know what you've been planning for the shinobi nations," Sasori said, making Gaara's naked eyebrows rise. "We can help. All we ask for in return is a little help with our own plans. We will both win. Akatsuki will benefit, and Suna will be under your control, with our support. You will have nothing to fear from us, unlike the rest of them. Your alliance with Iwa is over. This new attempt to ally with the Leaf has been ruined by the abduction of one Sakura Haruno." Gaara growled at the sound of Sakura's name and Sasori lifted his head, like he had expected that. "And you saw what we did in Otogakure. Imagine we wanted to do that to more shinobi villages. Join us and Suna will remain… untouched."

Silence. Even Yashamaru had stopped moving, waiting for his answer.

"I don't think he wants to, un." Deidara cocked his head.

"Neither did you, but here we are."

Gaara was shocked at their proposal. But even if he wanted to agree, he didn't have that kind of authority. Which was probably why his father had been targeted with the poison. If Arō was dead, Gaara would take over. And he'd be able to make these decisions, even against the will of the council. Assuming all these events weren't coincidental and didn't have nothing to do with each other.

Which means….

Deidara scoffed. "The sand is shifting."

They watched with detached fascination as Gaara shifted his stance. He was very good at creating sandstorms on cue. The sand picked up and he disappeared, seemingly into thin air. It was similar to how he'd left the leaf team and his comrades behind to come to the desert.

Gaara was outnumbered and couldn't fight this battle on his own. He made the attempt to cover his tracks, sweeping his sand around in a storm; its cries deafened even him. Nobody could track him through here.

But there was a niggling thought at the back of his mind: how had Orochimaru done it?

It made him doubt his own power. He ran through the desert, not knowing if he was leading them back to Suna or just running away from powerful enemies, with his tail between his legs. He should've taken the suggestion to bring someone. He had left them behind. Now, he just had to figure a way out of this. They weren't far from Suna, but it felt like miles. Gaara careened to a stop at the feel of multiple chakra signatures. In his desert, no-one could hide. He frowned as he narrowed his eyes, looking south-west. Did Akatsuki have a base near the border? He couldn't see the owners of the advancing chakra yet, as they were too far away, but if he had to guess, there were no Jounin level enemies in their number. They were powerful and could only be shinobi, but they felt… weird.

An army of average shinobi, really?

Gaara made to move again, cursing himself for being so distracted, but stopped when a large shadow formed over his head. Something was in the air and tracking him.

Deidara.

He was flying on that bird contraption. It spun around in circles for a moment, the arc of its flight increasing as it searched for him, before finally changing course suddenly when it spotted him.

"Going somewhere?"

Gaara spun around and dodged Yashamaru's attacked. He'd followed him. How? Anger and frustration took over and he sent his sand to grab his uncle. The man pivoted and jumped out of the way.

That's it. This is over!

Gaara schooled his features once again, focusing on his control over the sand around them. He had to go for the kill if he was going to grab him. Yashamaru knew his attacks all too well.

So be it.

Rage and shame built up inside him. This was his mistake. And he was the only one who could stop them.

Sand had a mind of its own, he'd long believed this; ultimately it was its own master. It didn't need his permission to break open the earth beneath him, nor to tear apart both enemy and friend. But he could feel it waiting for him, like he was its master instead of his slave; the key to wielding it was both psychological and emotional control, and a healthy dose of respect. These were things he'd learned the hard way, all by himself.

The payoff was that now, Gaara could see them all through it — the rogue ninja who now invaded the Land of Wind, the enemies and allies that entered his domain, every inch of the sands if he concentrated hard enough. And his enemies were plentiful; like cockroaches, their power rivalled the individual armies of the six great nations. Things were about to get very chaotic.

But they all blurred together as his anger transformed into power.

Everything he'd been doing lately, every shameful thing, and every honourable thing, had been leading up to this moment. His eyes tightly closed; he almost didn't detect the familiar chakra sneaking up on him. Yashamaru made a move to attack again, just as swift as the one before. But as Gaara's sand whipped up, the older man paused. Neither paid attention to the Akatsuki members watching on silently in the background.

Why him?

"It's no use."

Gaara looked up slowly, disappointment marring his features as he took in the fruit of his labours — the traitor. Like a mouse to cheese; the trap had caught its mouse. For so long, he'd been trying to lure out anyone who might have a grudge against Sand. Ever since Sakura mentioned it. But it was all failures. Nothing came of it. Nobody took the bait. And now Gaara understood why. His uncle had no clue what he was doing. Yashamaru was under a jutsu that hadn't activated until now. It was the only thing that made sense. But the redhead still felt like he'd had something to do with this outcome — even though they stood here today due to Sasori's machinations, Gaara took credit for the outcome.

"You can't stop this war."

War?

Of course. He refrained from scoffing. Of course, war was inevitable. The six nations were constantly bickering. But it sounded like the Akatsuki were preparing one of their own. Sasori had all but said they were planning to flatten other villages, just as they'd done to Otogakure. This could be bad. Especially if the level of destruction he'd been able to see in Oto was anything to go by. They could devastate entire hidden villages, and — he presumed — that hadn't even been the bulk of their manpower, given that Sasori and Deidara were here instead of there. He breathed deeply, trying to calm himself, but it wasn't working. The betrayal was all the more bitter because the man in front of him would never have done this of his own accord.

Yashamaru would never do this to me. To us. To his family. His wife and daughter.

Gaara clenched his teeth.

Mia.

His cousin was going to be devastated. He steeled himself against the rising emotion and Gaara's eyes shifted over to Sasori, who watched with such nonchalance one would think this had nothing to do with him. He glared at the man, shifting slightly, in case he decided to attack again. "Is this really what you wanted?"

"No. But that's war."

The redhead scoffed. That was just like him. An answer for everything. Even controlled; even under the influence of another's will he still knew exactly what to say. But Gaara still didn't understand his own part in this.

Perhaps his hesitance in killing this traitor had something to do with his inner fear. He feared turning into this man, into the kind of person who was just a pawn for someone else's design; the one who would tear him apart like he was some automaton, like a true ninja tool. He had no desire to let his anger, or blind loyalty destroy everything he held dear. And if he died, there would be no need to cry, no cause to worry and hate those who'd brought it about. Gaara would be free. The only problem with that scenario was that he'd die alone. Of course, everyone died alone, there was no disputing that, but if family was indeed waiting for him on the other side, that was a comforting thought; but he didn't want to go.

He couldn't bring himself to believe.

Gaara felt the anger he'd been holding back for months, first with his search for Sakura, dealing with stupid council members, and now trying to stop this new war. The Shinobi standing in front of him was to blame; the man had killed, maimed, and passed secrets to the enemy. And once Gaara was done with him, he would spill his secrets, of that the redhead was sure. Still, it bothered him. Was it someone like Orochimaru that ordered the Kazekage's death? Were there more spies in Suna, or even Konoha? Was the hidden leaf really the answer to all their problems? And what did the rest of the Shinobi nations think was really going on here?

None of that mattered right now, because Gaara had more personal concerns than mere politics. He growled at the man. "You poisoned my father."

"Yes."

"Why?"

Why? Why did he ask that? It was obvious why — his masters told him to. But Gaara desperately needed a reason. Or at least to hear it from his mouth, even if it was paraphrased from his Master. Deidara and Sasori were silent and refusing to spill. Perhaps Yashamaru would be different.

"…"

Perhaps not.

Gaara shifted, his fists clenching again. "And now you've followed me here, to do what exactly?"

"To finish the task that was set to me."

"To kill me."

Again, with his stupid comments. It was a mark of how unhinged Gaara felt that his thoughts kept circling that drain.

"No, Gaara. My leader said you would be spared. All you have to do—"

"No." Gaara growled. "I'd rather die."

The enemy army was advancing fast, approaching from the sand dune behind the traitor; every footstep they made was like a cavalcade of drums to Gaara's ears. They drowned out all his senses so that he wouldn't even know if someone else was standing right behind him. His fury took over, demanding his attention; after only a moment's hesitation, Gaara crushed the man he'd once trusted with his sand, but not enough to kill him. That would come later — when this fight was over, and once he dealt with the impending army. He needed more information. For now, he let the demon of the sand (the persona he was most known for) rear its ugly head. Aquamarine eyes turned dark, and Gaara forgot about family, about friends... even the Konoha Kunoichi who'd stolen his heart. He was left now, only with only hollow feelings — only anger, betrayal, and the desire to kill.

…

The closer she got to Wind the more nervous she became. Excited, yes. But also, extremely nervous. She had absolutely no idea what to expect. If she could send messages safely, with what was currently at her disposal, she'd send one to Gaara and one to her shishou. The less the better, and to the two people she trusted most.

My teammates would kill me if I told them that.

As would Ino. But that was neither here nor there.

Sakura was enjoying the ride, not having to expend chakra as she stayed next to Rupa, only stepping out to stretch when they stopped the cavalcade to rest. What she gathered from listening to the conversations, and what the children excitedly told her when they ran up to her, they'd been heading to a sacred site prior to her addition to the party. They were still heading there, just in a roundabout way. They were going to hand her over to her own people then head up into the mountains for some celebration that Sakura was not privy to.

Good for them.

One of the children also let it slip that many in the company thought Sakura was just a wayward girl, and though they knew Esma wasn't her real name, didn't know she was the protégé of the Hokage. Or, in their words, "we don't know who you are miss, but we know you're not our familija." They said it so matter-of-factly but without disdain that it took her by surprise. Their insistence on dancing with her eased her concerns about being called out and she humoured them.

She wondered if all expectant mothers were unusually motherly to other women's children. Sakura's life goals had included children, at the end of it. She was going to get around to it. So, the didn't make her uncomfortable or anything like that, but she'd never really bonded with kids when she worked at the hospital. These kids intrigued her.

Back on the road again, Sakura asked Rupa about them. These children were orphans. The shinobi war had affected them all. It made her heart ache, and she couldn't help the guilt that seeped into her. She fell contemplatively silent afterwards. The lands they passed through were broken. Due to the absorption of the smaller ninja countries when this war first broke out, the land of sound actually bordered both Fire and Lightning country — where Sound and Lightning met was more dangerous than most. They were underestimated as they passed by dying farms and ninja patrols, but they still needed to be careful. This trip was one out of necessity for them all, apparently.

She knew for sure that Fire no longer patrolled most of the areas in what used to be the land of rivers — so much so that it was still called the land of rivers. They just didn't have the resources to care about it anymore, so it had been abandoned to the wilds. She imagined it was the same for the rest of the nations across much of their newer borders. That was why she wasn't surprised that this small group of Nomads passed over the former border to the land of iron easily.

"Border patrol," Rupa told her, as the caravan came to a standstill.

Which meant ninja.

The older woman motioned for Sakura to follow her out of the cart. This was the moment she'd prepared her for – to pass as a Sanka in the eyes of shinobi. Sakura sighed as she stood to the side of the cart, leaning on it, and playing the part of a heavily pregnant woman. A ninja who hovered nearby, looking over the caravan as a particularly obnoxious looking chunin rifled through their belongings with obvious disdain. He wasn't being careful with them, but at least he didn't linger. When he got to Sakura, he paused, and she willed herself not to knock that disgusted look right off his face. The insignia on his headband said he was from Iwagakure, but his clothes were more nondescript. She supposed it was because of some regulation that had been passed in his village since the lockdown. He peered at her, and Sakura had to refrain yet again from pummelling him. It was incredibly rude and if she didn't already know that Sanka were hated, could be mistaken for lechery.

Is this how all Sanka are treated?

His eyes lingered on her deceptively large stomach.

"You eyeing off my grand-daughter?" Rupa snapped, barring her fangs to him. "She's spoken for, young man."

The shinobi backed off, his nose screwing up in distaste. "I would never—"

Rupa huffed at him. "Keep your eyes in your skull, boy."

He grimaced and waved them through, muttering under his breath about gypsies and scoundrels.

Sakura waited until he had turned from them before returning to the cart, and the caravan was again moving before letting out a deep breath she'd been holding onto. "I thought he was going to attack you."

Rupa shook her head. "Nah. Too much effort for the slip of a thing."

They moved southward, then headed toward the border between rivers and wind. Rupa said they would be stopping there for business, which explained why they'd be going so far out of the way of their original plan. She didn't bother questioning it. When they were finally at the northern border to rivers, where the unguarded terrain turned from the land of rain, they stopped to camp and Rupa let out a deep sigh that startled Sakura.

"We're out of the woods," she said.

"Good," Sakura said. "Can I take this off?" She patted the fake stomach and Rupa chuckled.

"Yeah girl, pull it off. No more shinobi patrols from here on out. The lockdown is on our side right now."

Sakura just nodded and reached under the contraption to start unbuckling the damn thing. She tugged a few times and let out a groan before Rupa motioned to Mireli and Nadya (who had just come over) to help her out of it. Embarrassed and frustrated, Sakura allowed herself to be manhandled, if only to get this infernal thing off her. She was grateful for it, but the damn thing weighed her down after a while.

"There you go," the girls said in unison, and she thanked them, watching as they carted it off. She kept her wig on, though. These people may be helping her, but she was wary about too many of them getting the idea of who she really was, if they hadn't already. She patted her stomach. It was almost flat again.

For now.

She ran her hand over it as the people in the caravan moved around, setting up camp. After a few moments to collect herself, Sakura offered to help but she was ushered away. They knew what they were doing. She ended up on cooking duty though, stoking the fire they'd started and passing the cooked fowl between people as they came over to get fed. She didn't mind. Sakura didn't want to be a layabout tagalong. When Rupa insisted she take some for herself, Sakura piled some rice and vegetables alongside her share and went to sit next to Mireli and Nadya. The girls always seemed to be joined at the hip, so she wondered what their relationship really was. She was too hungry to care and didn't want to potentially offend them so instead, she dug into her food quietly.

They were on the edge of the land of rivers, a very familiar sight to Sakura, and Rupa warned her they would not be venturing much further.

"The Sanka are wary of the one you search for and have no desire to travel close to Sunagakure."

It was understandable. There was a town just south of their position and they'd be getting some supplies there before continuing on their previous journey. This was where Sakura would part ways with the majority of them.

However, that feeling that the Sanka were going to want something in return for helping her came back in full force shortly after Sakura woke the next morning to the sound of Rupa talking with some middle-aged man that the pinkette had not conversed with before. She woke up and shifted involuntarily, causing them to cease their whispers. Rupa looked over at her and ushered the man away, looking a little put out.

"A small group of us will be escorting you closer to Suna before returning to the main caravan."

She seemed distracted and Sakura frowned. She wanted to ask Rupa what was wrong but the looks the older woman was giving her said it wouldn't matter. So, Sakura just nodded and got ready to move out, making sure to keep her sand bonsai and bag close. Mireli and Nadya gave her very emotional hugs before leaving, obviously not coming with the small group.

"Tell that cute one-eyed leaf ninja of yours that we're still waiting for our reward from him," Mireli said, winking at her. "Both of us. He'll know what we mean." Nadya giggled with her as they returned to the larger caravan.

Sakura blinked heavily, surprised. They had mentioned encountering some disguised ninja recently. One-eyed leaf ninja…

Is she talking about… Kakashi-sensei?

The idea that her former sensei was out there, potentially with other Konoha ninja she'd recognise, was humbling. She'd been so caught up in wondering if Gaara was looking for her and what he might be doing that she'd forgotten her friends in Konoha would also be worried. She felt bad, waving at Mireli and Nadya absentmindedly as the larger caravan moved away. Rupa had only gathered a handful of what looked like gruff Sanka to accompany them. She looked determined to be coming along for the ride as well.

Rupa. Mireli. Nadya.

Sakura sighed. She really did owe them a lot. And so did Kakashi-sensei if he was indeed the ninja the girls were talking about. She pushed the cheeky grins they'd given her out of her mind, not wanting to contemplate what they'd be expecting from him, rolling her eyes at the inuendo, and falling into step beside Rupa as they left the forest and headed into the desert. She had more important things to deal with. Like, the fact that she was returning to Suna instead of Konoha. And the question of whether Gaara would even be there.

If he's not, I'm sure someone like Kankuro or Temari would be happy to see me.

They'd send for him immediately, right? She spent the next few hours going over scenario after scenario, and didn't notice at first, as the wind around them picked up suddenly. Sakura had no idea how quickly a normal sandstorm in this area could build, but this seemed unnaturally fast. Her wig was ripped off her head, but she paid it no mind. It was getting dangerous, and quickly.

And just as suddenly, Sakura sensed something familiar.

"Just our luck," Rupa mumbled as her kin rushed to put up the tents they'd apparently had stashed away in the cart until now. "Nothing to do about it, we'll just have to wait this out. Come now."

She tugged on Sakura's arm gently but the pinkette wasn't listening. The sandstorm had a mass of chakra running through it. It was so powerful she could feel it from half a mile away. Familiar chakra. Clutching at the sand bonsai still snuggled between her breasts, she felt a rush of elation run through her body, the tremble uncontrollable.

Sakura shrugged off Rupa's grip, having to use her enhanced chakra to get free. She started moving toward the sandstorm, but the gypsy grabbed her again, clearly thinking she had lost her marbles.

"It's a sandstorm, girl. It'll tear you to pieces!"

"This wind is unnatural, púridaia," one of their companions yelled.

Rupa glanced at him, but her eyes were set on Sakura, now wide, as though she had an inkling of what was really going on. "Wait!"

But Sakura was done waiting. She didn't care that it was a sandstorm. To Rupa it looked natural and dangerous. To Sakura, it was the powerful creation of a man who loved her and would never harm her. As well as being the only hope she had that everything she'd been going through was finally coming to an end. It was laced with familiar chakra. Chakra from the very person she'd been looking for. This was her chance!

Sakura broke into a run.

…

The way the wind was howling, one could be forgiven for thinking Gaara was transforming into a literal beast. The enormous spike in chakra that swirled around him had formed a physical construct around his body. This construct appeared like a second skin, but it reminded her more of a monster.

Sakura didn't understand the need for the sandstorm until she saw the small army being engulfed in it. This stayed her advance and she watched on in a weird, disconnected fashion as what looked like hundreds of bodies were funnelled into the air, spun about and then tossed away. If anyone had survived once the wind and sand died down, she'd be surprised. Sakura tore her eyes away from the macabre display, intent on finding the caster of the jutsu.

The sandstorm was very localised, so she was able to skirt the boundary, pushing chakra to her feet to help stabilise herself. If Gaara was blinded by his anger he might mistake her for an enemy, so she flared her chakra, pausing every now and then in an attempt to come off as less threatening. The dark shape in the distance set her heart racing and she had to stop herself from running to him, lest he unknowingly turn his anger on her.

Gaara.

The howling was more than the wind it seemed. He was screaming into the tornado he'd crafted, and her heart wrenched painfully at the pitiful sound. What had brought him to this? Abandoning caution, Sakura forced more chakra to the soles of her feet and called out his name as she ran toward him.

His head turned slightly but he wasn't looking at her, enrapt as he was in the carnage. Hundreds of chakra signatures began blinking out of existence; two larger ones in the distance vanished also, but outside of the range of Gaara's attack. She paid it no mind.

"Gaara!"

Sakura came to a stop. She couldn't move any closer until he killed the tornado he'd created. Familiar eyes blinked heavily and slowly as she called his name again. Realisation dawned on him, and she saw his body tense for a second before the wind and sand shifted once more, coming to a sudden stop. It was like the breath of fresh air after surfacing from a deep-sea dive. She inhaled deeply, not realising until now that she'd been holding her breath.

But as she stepped closer, not rushing her approach, Sakura felt oddly calm suddenly. His eyes raked over her body, and he tensed, almost like he believed her a mirage, or an enemy in disguise.

"Gaara," she repeated, and he let out a ragged breath before relaxing.

Sakura knelt in front of him. He trembled, exhausted and drained, as she smiled at him. Closing the distance between them, he ran a hand over her cheek almost like he didn't believe she was here.

"Sakura." His voice was hoarse, like he hadn't spoken in weeks. Gaara cupped her face in his hands, his eyes wide with surprise as they bore into hers. "I found you."

She was lost. Sakura leaned into the kiss. The soft, familiar touch of her lover broke her calm façade. She held onto Gaara for dear life, wanting to devour him as he kissed her reverently. He didn't press any heavier against her, seemingly wanting to take his time. As the tears began to pool in her eyes, Sakura pulled away slightly.

He was staring at her and for a moment, she felt like a monkey in a zoo. So many months away from him, Sakura thought he might feel like a stranger. But the warmth in his eyes made her feel at ease and she remembered how much she loved this man. All the memories of their time together came rushing back. But before she could say or do anything more, he began silently appraising her.

Gaara's hands fell from her face, running along her neck, her extremities, and down her sides until they settled on her hips. One hand moved to the space between her breasts and found the sand bonsai he'd given her, paused, pleasantly surprised, and then moved down to her stomach. Something had drawn his attention and she could guess what it was, but the loving way he caressed her had her tongue-tied, so Sakura said nothing.

His thumb ran over the slight bump and by the look on his face, she figured he was putting it all together.

But still he said nothing.

At last, Gaara ended his inspection of her person and lowered his head to the crook of her neck, his body relaxing against hers. The exhaustion overrode his curiosity and he let it take over. The weight of him pressed down on her and they slid unceremoniously to the ground, holding each other. His chakra was completely drained. She could feel it in his grasp. He'd pushed his body to its limits. She wondered idly if it had been the small army that prompted him to do so, or if there had been a larger battle beforehand. Those two powerful and distant chakra signatures, that had now receded, worried her. She needed to move Gaara from the area in case they came back, but he didn't seem to want to move.

He angled his head against her chest, right over her heart. The weight of everything he'd been through, looking for her, hit him and he shook lightly under her hold. She whispered soothing words as she stroked his hair. Whomever his attackers had been, Sakura's arrival seemed to have startled them into retreating. She decided to relax and took the opportunity to hold Gaara even closer. He mumbled softly, fitfully, and she closed her eyes to the single tear that had found it's way down her face. Chakra exhaustion could induce hallucinations and hysteria.

Sakura continued stroking his hair as he shifted. "It's okay," she whispered. "It's going to be okay."

…
XXX
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A/N:

And, that ends Arc 2. Next chapter is Intermission#2 then Arc 3 will begin. Thank-you everyone for sticking with me for so long. :)

ALSO: If you've looked at my profile recently, you'd know that I am no longer posting new fanfiction on this site. I am solely on AO3 now (except for my wips will also be updated on ffnet). I am also on tumblr (fallen-in-dreams). I am 99% done with ffnet. I hope you all can understand. But don't worry: The Spoils of War will be finished on ffnt too. :)

Sorry for anyone following me who doesn't do AO3. But there are a number of new one-shots I've posted over there if anyone is interested. Lotsa love. ^_^

R&R

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