A/N: Did something really dumb today. I was out on the front porch, shaking out the mat I keep under the cat's litter box. I ended up getting locked out. My keys were on the table, and my cell phone wasn't on my person. Oh, can we say, damn? I won't bore you with the rest of the story. Suffice to say, after a call on a neighbor's phone, about a half hour in the snow, somebody came with spare keys.

It was really cold outside, too. :(


It was nearing the end of the week before Sakura saw even a trace of Gaara. Of course, that didn't mean that he hadn't been there, on the training grounds, watching her and Naruto. And if asked, Gaara would have denied any and all idea that he hung back because he was a trifle…embarrassed to have been invited to train by some pretty girl. He would have defended the notion that he was merely watching Naruto, trying to get the upper hand and know the blonde's techniques before attempting to spar with him.

Sometime around noon Naruto left his companion, explaining about something or another he had to do. Gaara, who had been preparing to drop from his tree and join the two at last, paused. He would have been comfortable with Naruto there, someone he knew a little better, and someone he could spar with and not hold back. However, this girl; he could hurt her – as far as his knowledge went, she didn't have any demons sealed inside her or any blood limit to fall back on. She might be strong by normal standards, but she wouldn't be up to his level.

Sakura turned in his direction sharply, eyes scanning the foliage. She waved him over when she spotted him.

Damn. I didn't subdue my chi; of course she could find me. Knowing there was no way to slip away now that she had noticed him, he allowed the sand to swirl around him and transport him to the ground.

Her eyes followed him as he made his way towards her, seeing her smile when he was still some distance away.

"Hey," she greeted when he finally arrived, "Glad you could finally join in the fun."

"I've been busy."

She nodded, then gestured to the open, grassy area about them. "Naruto had to go, so that leaves just you and me. No else is here, so we've got the whole field to ourselves."

That's what I was afraid of, thought the redhead absently. She fell silent, and he realized she was waiting for an answer. He shifted from one foot to another. "What should we work on?"

She had an answer prepared. "Well…is there any way we could work on taijutsu? I'm a bit clumsy in that area, but if you can't because of the sand…then - "

"No, it's alright," he reassured her, unbuckling the heavy sand-filled gourd from his back. "I've learned to control when the sand reacts and when it doesn't."

She made a noise of acknowledgement, launching herself towards him, making a beeline right for his midsection. He caught her leg mid-swing, holding it in an attempt to knock her off balance. She, in turn, used her momentum to flip backward and bring the back of her free foot to catch his jaw, adding extra force to the blow by propping herself up on her hands.

Gaara managed to move backward and out of the way just before her foot would have clipped him. He watched her as her now free foot followed through with the other one, arching over her head and flipping her. She was faster than he had originally given her credit for, but still not fast enough for his tastes. It felt wrong to him to hold back, but he endured.

He didn't give her a moment to catch her breath, swooping in smoothly, engaging her in a rough match of hand-to-hand moves, trying to distract her long enough to get under her guard.

As the afternoon passed by in a wave of heat, he finally got his chance. Waiting until he had both her hands busy, he cocked his foot and slipped it behind hers, hooking their ankles together and jerking her leg out from under her. She wavered precariously on the edge of her balance for a moment or two before dropping onto her bottom with a thud.

Gasping, she managed a sly smile as he towered over her. In a flash, she repeated the same trick on him, and before he could react, he was on his butt facing her. She was laughing between deep breaths, obviously amused that the both of them could have been defeated by such a simple prankster's maneuver.

"I went down first; you win," she conceded, standing and dusting herself off. She held out a hand to him, but he pretended to not see it and got up on his own. She dropped her hand. I forgot. He doesn't really like to be touched.

"Well," she spoke at length, "I've got to get going. I really need a shower, then I've gotta head to work." She gathered up her belongings, unstrapped the weights from her wrists and ankles and tossed them in her bag. Heaving a gentle sigh to even out her breathing, she turned back to the red haired shinobi. "Thanks. You put up a real challenge, unlike Naruto. Maybe I'll see you again?"

She turned and walked away; he wasn't going to answer, and she knew it.


He did indeed come back, regardless of his silence after the first training session. He showed up when Naruto was still around, secretly enjoying the noisy blonde's competition.

The girl was proving to be a bit of a distraction. When he wasn't sparring with her, he found himself casting furtive glances in her direction. She'd be sitting under a tree while he and Naruto fought, and inexplicably his eyes would be drawn to her, watching her pink hair flutter in the breeze or her emerald eyes as they shimmered from the sun.

Maybe it was due to his limited knowledge of the opposite sex that caused his curiousness. He didn't really want to think about it. His mind found a loophole in that reasoning. He thought about her, instead of it. Frequently.

The week finally passed, and she went back to her daytime work schedule. She assured him, that if he were still around in another week, she'd be having a vacation, so he'd be more than welcome to spend time with her again.

To train he corrected himself almost irately. The summertime heat must have been messing with his train of thought, he finally concluded.

Sakura tapped a pen thoughtfully against her lower lip, eyes drifting from the clipboard resting against her upraised knees to the bright day outside. That was why she preferred the nighttime shifts during the summer. She was missing out on some of the best weather of the season.

Huffing, she turned in the armchair until her legs were draped over the back and her head hung upside-down from the seat. Her pink hair stood on end and brushed the floor.

"Hardworking, my ass," came a voice from the doorway.

Sakura dropped the clipboard in surprise, eyes falling on a pair of high-heeled sandaled feet. She scrambled to sit upright. "I'm on a break," she complained. Tsunade dropped into a chair opposite her with a sigh.

"So, what's new?"

If Sakura was confused by the question, she didn't show it. She'd just seen her teacher a few days ago… "Nothing. Been working."

"Oh?" One blonde eyebrow raised. "Well then, what's this I hear about your meetings with a certain red-haired Sand-nin?"

Sakura fired back immediately. "Why do you make that sound like something dirty?" Tsunade only smiled. "He's just been training with Naruto and I."

"Someone told me you two ate dinner together, and trained alone…" Sakura knew the older woman was just teasing her now, but she couldn't help but rise to the bait.

"Hey!" she snapped, "We weren't eating together together. It wasn't like a – a date! And we only trained alone once, and that's because Naruto had to leave."

Tsunade smirked. Getting Sakura's hackles to rise were one of her favorite pastimes. "Relax, kiddo," she soothed, rising and heading for the door. She stopped just before exiting, looking over her shoulder playfully. "But you know, he could have gone home several days ago. I wonder what's made him decide to stay…"

Before Sakura could come up with a proper defense, the Hokage was gone. Making incoherent grouchy noises, she rolled back into her upside-down position and continued to stare at her clipboard.


She didn't see Gaara again for another month. According to Tsunade, he and his siblings had been needed at home for something, and had left quickly. She wasn't sure when they would be back.

It was one of those summer nights where it wasn't quite cool but it wasn't hot; it was the kind of temperature that didn't make you sweat, but made you not want to do much anyway. Sakura walked along the deserted streets, enjoying the late night silence. She wasn't all that tired from her shift at the hospital, knowing she would get tomorrow – and the next entire week – off, so sleeping wasn't an issue. She could sleep all damn day if she wanted.

Kakashi was due back from a several month long mission - possibly in the next few days. Naruto was also coming back from an escort mission he had gone on a couple weeks ago. She'd have to round them up for a few evenings of catching up. It'd been a long while since the remnants of Team 7 were able to relax and spend time together.

It's be nice to be with Kakashi – since he'd been gone so long, he wouldn't know anything about the rumors that were flying. She didn't know how much longer she could defend herself. People assumed things about she and Gaara of the Sand because they knew nothing about him; she'd bet her life on it.

She nearly groaned aloud. She wouldn't be safe for long. Kakashi was quite the gossiper in his own right; he'd probably know about it the moment he came through the city's main gates.

Her train of thought brought her to a larger issue. How did she feel about Gaara, exactly? Before the rumors, she would have said she liked him well enough. He was sweet, in his own quiet way, but she didn't really see him as anything more than someone she could spend time with enjoyably. Yet even the most secure person will begin to doubt when they must constantly defend themselves.

There'd been the day that he'd asked her, in his smooth voice, to stop with the "Gaara-san". He didn't use an honorific when addressing her or Naruto or anyone else, so he didn't expect it of her. She had blushed for no reason, and thought he had smiled, corners of his lips barely lifting, but smiling all the same.

And there were times… times when she was sure that his eyes followed her every move, but when she'd turn, his face would be turned away, or his eyes adverted. Their eyes met often enough – it was rude to not look at someone when interacting with them – yet sometimes there were moments when their eyes would meet for no reason at all. Then something would spark in her, fluttering warmth would grow in her belly and face and she'd have to look away.

The breeze picked up, whipping her hair about, blocking her line of sight. She moved her hand up to brush the offending strands from her face, and she gasped as soon as she was done.

Standing before her in a patch of moonlight, was Gaara.

He wasn't facing her, but turned to the side, his face tilted up to the inky sky. His profile was visible, and she nearly cringed at how pained it looked. The wind carried the acrid, metallic smell of blood to her nose.

"Gaara…?"

He seemed to jerk out of some reverie when her soft voice spoke his name. His head whipped around, his light jade eyes meeting hers. Suddenly his hands were on her arms, forcing her backward against the building wall she had been walking along.

The position forced them face-to-face, and Sakura stilled at the wild look in his eyes, at the blood that covered his clothing. How long they remained standing there, she didn't know, but her mind worked furiously to find a way out of the situation. She decided that reasoning was her first option.

"Gaara? Are you all right? …Gaara? What happened? Whose blood is that? Tell me!" Her sharp command brought a measure of sanity to his gaze; he seemed to finally become aware of his surroundings.

"I've got to go see the Hokage." He released her, pivoting on his heel in the direction of Konoha's strongest's tower of business and residence.

"Right this moment?" Didn't he know what time it was? Sakura caught his sleeve, not caring about his preferences towards contact with other beings.

"Yes," he nearly hissed, eyes bright and cold as they caught hers again.

She marched ahead of him. "Then I'll take you there. I'm her student, I know where she hides the keys."


Tsunade rubbed at her eyes blearily, robe wrapped over her sleeping clothes tightly. She eyed the two standing before her unhappily. "Ok, so you woke me up. You better have a good reason for banging on my door at this god-forsaken hour, or so help me I'll boot both your asses all the way to the ocean."

Sakura looked over at Gaara. She hoped that what he had to say was really important. She didn't particularly feel like taking a midnight dip. Yet she knew it was bad. The blood that soaked his clothing was proof enough. He hadn't gone on a killing spree in a long, long time.

He began speaking, dragging Sakura from her thoughts and Tsunade from her lethargy.

"My siblings and I returned home, as commanded. Everything seemed normal after our arrival. A few weeks into our time there was an attempt on all three of our lives, as well as on those of our other brothers and sisters. It was a step in a major coup that's been brewing underground for quite some time. A great deal of both civilian and shinobi blood was shed, and I'm not sure who survived and who didn't. Temari and Kankuro and I were all separated at some point. I've no idea of their current state or location."

He continued to recount the tale with vivid clarity, not leaving out details to spare the women's imaginations. Tsunade dropped into the chair behind her desk at some point, laced her fingers and rested her forehead against them. Sakura stood rooted to her spot, suddenly not too sure if she had wanted to escort Gaara to the Hokage's Tower and find out what was so horribly wrong. Gaara continued on, staring at the wall, the reek of blood rolling off him in waves.

"I don't even know if the overthrow was successful. All I know is the ringleader; the man who made it all possible."

His next sentence struck hard.

"Apparently, Orochimaru wasn't as gone as we all thought."

Barely an hour later, Tsunade had requested that Gaara situate himself in the apartment he inhabited when staying in Konoha, and sent a team of ANBU to surround the area. Not for his protection – he was more than able to take care of himself – but to make sure that, if Sand-nin showed up to finish what they started, Gaara wouldn't slaughter them all. Tsunade needed informants, and it would be easier to use the enemy rather than contact any of her own ninja stationed in Sand. They were probably busy enough as it was.

Sakura stayed through the early morning hours with her blond teacher, sketching out a rough plan of action. She listed which staff of the hospital was trained in fieldwork, offering to lead a small group of medic-nin along with the handful of elite shinobi that would be tracking back to Sand.

The sun was well into the sky when Sakura finally stumbled out of the Hokage's office. Bleary-eyed and yawning, she ran tired fingers through her hair, opting to transport herself in a swirl of smoke rather than walk the way to her apartment. She tumbled into her bedroom and kicked off her shoes, falling onto the bed and glancing at the clock. Groaning, she rolled over.

She glanced out her window and did a double take. Gaara was sitting on the roof of the building across the alleyway, dangling his legs over the edge, elbows propped on his knees. His eyes were closed, and the lids looked like smudges of coal from the distance she viewed him at.

Furrowing her eyebrows, she unlatched and opened her window. "Hey," she called tiredly across the way. The noise of the city seemed so far away, and her strained voice carried easily. "You alright?"

He looked up, eyes opening and settling on her. She thought he nodded faintly. "Just…thinking," he answered after a long while.

Sakura took a deep breath, cast a glance back at her bed, and changed her mind about her agenda. The guy's country is in chaos, and he's possibly lost his siblings. It'd be real rude to leave him alone, even if he is anti-social Gaara. She didn't even go into the Orochimaru issue. That was a painful train of thought.

"I can forgo the sleep if you want to come over for some coffee or something," she invited. "I could use a little company, myself."

He looked uneasy, and she became less confident as the minutes ticked by. Hey, at least I offered, right? She hadn't expected him to stand, barely jumping back from the window before his sand was swirling there.

He stance still projected his slight discomfort, so she smiled reassuringly. "How do you like your coffee?" She began the trek to the door.

"Black." He followed slowly.


Er...Yeah, I know. "Trifle embarassed" Gaara? Slap me, if you like, but I really don't feel like reconfiguring the sentence now. It's how I wrote it, it's how it'll stay. Such is the greatness of my sloth.

I need a nap...