"You're back." Argan smiled widely at her. The old woman behind him smiled as well, but she smiled for other reasons.

"Yes. I guess I like it here too much," Sakura said, returning his smile. It hadn't been easy to find them this time; hopefully she would learn what she wanted. "This time I'll stay longer, I hope."

"Did you find your friend?" the old woman asked.

"Yes, thanks to your help."

"And?"

"And?" Sakura raised her eyebrows in response to the woman's question, "Actually, I was wondering if I could speak with you tonight."

The old woman smiled, her features disappearing in the deep wrinkles of her face. "Why wait? You may ride with me, and my husband of course." She gave the old man a fond pat on his hand.

"I would be honored," Sakura said with a polite bow. There was something about the old woman, something she hadn't seen before that commanded her respect now. She wondered how she had missed it before.

She helped the old couple onto the back of one of their giant beasts and joined them under the canvas stretched above it. The beast's back was flat, an ideal feature for riding.

"When I last saw you-" Sakura started.

"What of your friend? Where is he now?" the old woman interrupted. She may have been a bit awe inspiring, but she was still rude.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him since… For some months."

"Then what are you searching for?"

"For you, that's why I'm here. You told me to move on, but how do I do that?"

"What of the other one?"

"Other one? Sasuke?" Sakura asked and the old womannodded. Sakura felt so strange having this conversation with a stranger, but it was oddly comforting. "What about him?"

"He could be yours, and yet you will not have him. Why will you not stand in front of him and say 'I'll take you'?"

"Because I can't-"

"Will not."

"Sasuke is just a friend."

"Why?" the old woman tilted her head to the side, "What makes a friend?"

"There are no romantic feelings. I don't feel that for him anymore."

"Will not feel such things. It's not his fault; it is your own for locking yourself away and not trying to feel anything. Move on. Find someone and tell them…"

"I'll take you?"

The old woman nodded. Sakura sighed. It wasn't as easy as she made it sound. If it was that easy she wouldn't be here now. First she would have to find someone and there was no one.

"How about Argan?" the old woman asked, as though she had read Sakura's thoughts. "He will not be difficult with you."

As strange as it felt, Sakura took her advice and sought out Argan. She decided she would just talk to him, get to know him. That was what she needed right?

She could still hear the old woman calling her foolish as she sat down with Argan at dinner.

"I'm glad you came back." He told her.

"Me too," she said, and she meant it. Argan's kindness made her feel she was where she should be; it made her feel she belonged. "I never thought it would be possible, but I like this desert. Every time I return it feels more and more like home. More than my own house even."

"Not everyone can call one place home forever."

"I guess."

"And just think of the square footage our home has!" Argan said, spreading his arms to include the desert, the night air, and the people who called it home.

Running. Floating. Flying. Across endless sands and forests and water, never going anywhere. All to avoid her. To avoid thinking of her. Anything to stop seeing her in his mind, screaming, walking away. To stop replaying his cold reaction and her denial, her arguments. She was always there with her arguing and denying and he was always there with his coldness. He just let her go. He let her slip through his fingers like water. If only she was made of sand, he could have held on.

Why should he hold on? Why shouldn't he want to be alone? She was at fault here; she was the one who ran away. She was always running away.

'That's not true.'

She didn't run away this time; she came back. Well, he didn't want to see her. He was sick of being weak with herand sick of her pain, her energy, sick of feeling guilty. He was tired of seeing that scene in his head, again and again, over again. He hated everything but this feeling, this emptiness. This freedom.

Sakura woke up afraid, her heart beating furiously against the cage that was her chest, trying to break free. For a long while she didn't move; she lay there and waited for the fluttering in her chest to stop.

When her heart returned to its normal rhythm she opened her eyes to the night sky. The night in the desert was so open, so limitless, yet within the circle of the men and women of the desert it felt safe. It felt like home.

Argan turned over so he faced her. With their faces hardly inches apart Sakura felt like she was a child again, staying awake late at night whispering with Ino. Only, Argan was not Ino.

"What is it that scares you so much?" Argan asked softly, "You have woken up at night afraid very often."

Sakura smiled, knowing he couldn't see it. She could only see his outline in the moonlight, but he was a comforting presence anyway. "The usual. You know, one night it's a gang of murderers, the next it's a demon." 'And the next it's a boy.'

"I have never met anyone who has so many nightmares."

"I'll bet most people don't have as many reasons to have nightmares as me," Sakura said, and immediately regretted it. She sounded like a whiny brat. Other people did too have reasons for nightmares. So she had a few bad experiences, so did everybody, right?

Argan turned back over onto his back. Sakura slid over on her blanket so she was closer to him.

"I'm glad I'm here." She said quietly. 'I'm glad I'm here with you.'

Gaara watched the boy through the window. He sat in the room full of children, but he was alone. Gaara knew the feeling.

Sakura had taken the boy here, to this orphanage. A place for children who were alone in the world. Where was this place when he was a child? Not that it seemed to make much of a difference. The boy was still alone; he still didn't interact with the others.

Gaara watched him all day, until the children were sent to bed. All the boys slept in the same room, in rows of beds. The boy Gaara watched slept on the bed closest to the window.

When the others were all asleep, still the boy lay awake, staring out the window. Finally the boy opened the window and looked out. "I know you're here." He said.

Gaara went inside and sat on the boy's bed and coughed quietly, bringing attention to himself. The boy turned around and stared at him wide-eyed.

"What are you?" he asked. "You remind me of someone…"

"I'm no one." Gaara said, "A ghost. A monster."

The boy sat on the floor at Gaara's feet. "You don't look like a monster. You're not even slimy."

Gaara frowned at the boy, "You don't have to be slimy to be a monster."

"Sure you do."

"No."

The boy shrugged. Gaara glared at him, but the boy seemed unaffected. It was strange, but Gaara found it stranger still because he himself wasn't so very affected. As though he was used to not being feared. As though he was used to defiance.

"Why are you here then?" The boy asked, "You're not a ghost I know."

Gaara shrugged, "I have no reason to be here. The dead have no reason to be in the living world."

"What's your name?"

"Gaara."

"I'm Benji. Pleased to meet you Gaara. My mom is dead." Just like that. Hello, my parents are dead.

"I know." Gaara said. He was the one who had killed them after all.

"Will you teach me how to disappear and stuff?"

"No. That's a special ghost ability. But I can teach you other things."

Something was missing. There was an empty spot in her stomach. Sakura went to ask the old woman about it, but she only laughed and told her she should learn how to better follow advice.

Sakura left angry.

She was sick of that woman always thinking she was right. Not everyone needs a lover. Not everyone needs that to feel complete, and she was one of those people.

Argan caught her as she was storming away. "Hey you, what's got you so ruffled?"

Sakura breathed deeply. "Nothing, I just…" She grabbed Argan's face suddenly and pulled him towards her for a kiss. She stopped before their lips touched though.

"I don't want to do this." She realized out loud, andpushed Argan away. He almost fell backwards before recovering from the strength of her push. She walked away. "It's not you, and that old hag is wrong. This isn't what I need."

Argan walked up to her, "Are you ok?"

She turned to him; feeling lost all of a sudden, "Yes. I'm sorry about that. I just realized though, I have a job to get back to. I have friends who are probably worried about me. I've been gone a long time."

"You have to go back?" Argan asked.

'That's not it. I want to go back.' But she didn't tell Argan that. She didn't want to hurt his feelings after he had been so kind to her. "Yes. I'm going back. Want to come?"

"No thank you, I should stay here. This will always be my home."

"Ok." Sakura nodded, and they started walking back to the camp. "I'll get my stuff and leave tomorrow morning."

Benji laughed as he jumped from a tree. Gaara hadn't expected the boy to laugh so much, or he would never have told him he would teach him jutsus.

Benji didn't have much talent, except for doppelgangers. He was very good at making copies of himself, good enough that some days he would make a copy of himself to go through the day at the orphanage while he wandered around outside.

He was a strange boy. He didn't get along with any of the other orphans, but for some reason he seemed to idolize Gaara. No one had ever done that before, and Benji of all people had no reason to do so. Gaara was the reason he lived in an orphanage now. Well, it could be said that it was Sakura's fault; it was her idea to bring the boy here, but Gaara was the reason he needed a new home.

Tonight he didn't want to teach him anything, so he meditated while Benji ran around and jumped through the trees. Seeing as how Benji came out every night to learn from Gaara he didn't get much sleep. He didn't suffer at all from the lack of sleep unfortunately.

Benji crouched in front of Gaara; even in his meditative state he was completely aware of the boy.

"You're much too loud." Gaara told him. "While you're running around, why don't you practice doing so silently?"

Benji breathed loudly; he wasn't a very fit boy. He was kind of chubby actually. "You know something Mister Gaara? I don't think you're a real ghost."

"Oh really? Then what do you think I am?"

Benji shrugged, "I dunno yet. Maybe some sort of angel. An angel that takes care of orphans."

Gaara laughed. He laughed more than he had ever laughed in his life. An angel! Him! He, who had always been called a demon; demon of the sand, an angel! And this was coming from a boy whose parents he had murdered. It was too much.

Benji sat back and pouted, "Are you making fun of me?"

"I think you're making fun of me." Gaara said, still grinning a little. "Now go away."

"I changed my mind. You're too mean to be an angel." Benji said. Gaara ignored him and closed his eyes. Benji didn't move. After a while he lay down and went to sleep beside Gaara.

When Sakura came back it was raining. It always rained on her when she came back. "Yeah, yeah, I get it. It's a sign!" she yelled at the sky. She smiled as rain dripped down her face and into her mouth. "Trying to drown me now, are you?"

She went home first; the door squeaked when she opened it. Naruto and Sasuke's apartment looked empty.

When she got inside she had that strange feeling; like when you enter an old room, where everything is covered in an inch of dust. She felt like a stranger, looking into someone else's past.

She laughed at herself and walked into the kitchen, setting the kettle on to boil, and went to her bedroom to change into clean clothes. Anything that didn't reek.

While she was changing her door squeaked again. She quickly pulled her shirt all the way on and crept out to see what it was. The door was open, but no one was in the room. She had learned from her experience with Gaara not to trust that though.

"Sakura, you're home!" Ino squealed and bowled her over, back into her bedroom. Sakura let herself fall back, right onto the bed.

"I missed you!" Ino was saying, and nuzzling Sakura's cheek, "I was here all alone for so long with no one to talk to."

Sakura laughed, "I'm sure Mark kept you company just fine."

Ino was quiet, her face hidden against Sakura's collar bone. Sakura looked at the top of her head and patted her back. "Ino?"

"Yeah, we broke up." She said, "I broke up with him actually, but I still felt like shit." She looked up and smiled at Sakura brightly, "But now that you're home I feel all better!" She pulled her to her feet and back into the kitchen. "You know, not much else had happened since you left. Nothing happens here without you. Sasuke and Naruto go out even more often, Gaara never visits…" she glanced at Sakura out of the corner of her eye.

Sakura shook her head, "I didn't see Gaara at all this time. I haven't seen him for a long time."

"Oh." Ino looked strangely disappointed. She sat at the table and rested her chin on her fists. "So where were you then?"

"The desert."

"Wait a minute. You were in the desert… without Gaara?"

"Yes." Sakura shrugged, took the kettle off the heat and poured the water into a teapot. "I guess, he must have been avoiding me. Which is fine. I didn't really want to see him anyway." She said.

Ino snorted, "Liar."

Sakura set a cup in front of Ino with a loud clink. Ino looked up and met her eyes with a smile. "But if you're happy, then so am I."

"Good." Sakura took a long drink of tea, enjoying how it burned its way down her throat.

Ino eyed her, "You know Sakura, if you want a better burning feeling… We should go drinking!" She jumped up and pulled Sakura out the door.

Sakura smiled. She was home with Ino.

Dum de dum. I'll run away... now.

Hao'sAnjul: snicker

nishasha: You're right. The kid has got to be in the equation somewhere. My sister read it and said he and Gaara were like Seeshomaru and Rin. I laughed at her.

kanamey: Cliff hangers are my favorite, but I also hate them when I'm reading a book because I have to put them down sometimes... They're even worse on Heh. Thanks for your kind review!

blueberryprincess: I'm glad so many people like that I haven't rushed anything, because personally I very much dislike rushed relationships and whatnot.

Elisa Ardell: Thanks!