Author: Cheza-chan

Rating: PG/PG-13

Summary: No one should try to hold onto the past. You cause yourself even more hurt and pain when you do. Look to the future and start anew. Non-Yaoi

Disclaimer: Alas, I do not own Naruto. I can always dream that I do though.

Author Note: I'm very fond of this pairing now! And if ya'll don't like it… well, I can't help that. Just don't let it be the basis of why you decide to hate my story… And to inform you, I think the last Naruto episode I really sat down and watched instead of skimming through was 100… (shrugs) So this story is being based off hearsay and spoiler information I found around the Internet.

Chapter One – Shattered

Team 7 would be reunited once again. It would take almost five years.

The Akatsuki had proven themselves to be Naruto's and Konohagakure's worst enemy, but the village prevailed—the losses were great. Uzumaki Naruto then set off on his own to personally bring back the one labeled as a "traitor": Uchiha Sasuke. Tsunade would allow him to do so, but if he came back empty-handed, she would send out the ANBU squads and the guarantee of the child coming back alive was nil.

The blonde young man paused just as he was about to take to the dense foliage and glanced behind him. Sakura stood just outside of the village gates, a determined expression on her face and her fists clenched at her sides. "Sakura-chan—"

"I'm going," she snapped, uncaring of the two guard shinobi watching her. "Tsunade-san said I was an exceptional medic-nin for my age and you'll need me more than anyone else."

Naruto turned back around and his shoulder slumped in defeat, but he was smiling. "You're so stubborn," he sighed. "Come on. And keep up."

Sakura sighed in relief as she ran out to join him. She had been a little worried that he would have taken off and left her. Even though she had improved tremendously, she knew she was still far behind when it came to her teammates. They traveled across branches in a companionable silence, keeping an even pace with each other. Sakura felt her heart begin to race the further away from their village they got and she tried to calm herself.

"We're meeting up with someone in a few minutes," Naruto said suddenly, his expression hard. "He has information for me." He also felt a rush of emotions as Sakura was, but it was anger; he was angry now that he took the time to think of how foolish and cowardly Sasuke's actions were.

The redhead's head rose slowly at the enormous pulse of chakra. They had both anticipated Sakura wanting to tag along and devised a plan. Gaara pulled the cork from his gourd and kept his narrowed green eyes locked on the trees. The signal—Naruto burst forth from them then exploded. A clone. The young Kazekage vanished and the real Naruto, followed by Sakura, landed in the clearing the redhead had previously inhabited.

The girl gasped as she found herself immobile and glanced down to see the whirlpool of sand that kept her trapped.

Naruto stopped moving and faced her with a sheepish grin. "Sorry, Sakura-chan. It's just… I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you if you came with me."

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, still struggling to free herself. She bent and tried digging through the sand but her fingers slid right through it and nothing was being misplaced.

"It's useless." A pillar of sand rose beside Naruto and took on the shape of the redhead, his arms crossed over his chest. As the years progressed, boys that were short always manage a growth spurt. That's how it was for Gaara and Naruto; they both stood at equal height and that height was almost a foot more than Sakura's, who was glaring fiercely at them both.

"Keep her safe," Naruto said softly as he turned away. "If anything happens to me… Well…" He gave a dry laugh and took off running into the forest.

"Naruto!" Sakura yelled after him. "Naruto, I hate you! If you don't return—both you and Sasuke, I'll never forgive you!"

"Urusai."

She turned her anger to Gaara. Six years ago they had been enemies, but now Sand and Leaf were building up an alliance. Sakura still hated him. Gaara didn't appreciate the looks he received and closed his eyes to them. He listened to the girl's startled and frantic cries and opened his eyes once silence settled. A dome of sand had been erected around the girl.

"Gaara!" she screamed from the inside. "Gaara, let me out! Gaara, you bastard!" She gave the inner wall a solid punch that caused a dent, but it soon returned to normal. Sakura sank to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest. Unable to tell how much time had already passed, she spent what she felt were hours drawing characters in the dirt. When she'd covered the entire area surrounding her in her sand prison, there were endless characters that spelled out "Hatake Kakashi", "Uzumaki Naruto", "Haruno Sakura", and "Uchiha Sasuke".

Looking over her work, the young woman's brow furrowed as she came across kanji different from the others. "Gaara," she read softly.

The narrowed green eyes slid open. Darkness had fallen hours ago and he had taken to resting atop the dome. They would probably be here for days—Naruto had also provided sustenance for the girl. After a week and Uzumaki didn't return, he was to take her back to her village. He heard his name called again and he silently slipped into his sand dome. "Nani?" he muttered, staring down at the pink head.

Temari was hardly around and there had been no female interaction in his life such as this, so it bothered him. "Hey." Gaara placed a hand to the girl's shoulder. She slouched against his leg and he realized she was fast asleep. 'Calling my name in her sleep?' With a sigh and a scowl, he dropped onto the ground and allowed Sakura's head to fall into his lap. She moaned softly.

If Naruto perished, Temari would officially handle all negotiations because there was no one else in Konohagakure he wanted to speak with. She was already a liason so it should be no problem for her to continue and expound on that job. Gaara crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes.

§§§

Sakura opened her eyes after fully resting and pushed herself away from the warmth. The Kazekage had been her personal pillow. She frowned then looked at the oversized calabash; the cork was still missing. If she plugged it, the sand might go away and there was a slight possibility of escape. 'A plug. A plug…' The young girl kept her excited cry to herself as she found a sizable stone that would work. Sakura leaned over the boy to reach the gourd's opening. She gasped as a ribbon of sand snagged her wrist. Nothing would stop her. She switched hands and stretched further.

Gaara's eyes flew open at the overwhelming sensation of flowing sand and he found himself staring straight into the Chuunin's chest. "What are you doing?" he snapped.

Sakura yelled as a wave of sand knocked her to the ground and pinned her. "I have to get out there!" she continued shouting as she struggled. "They'll kill each other!"

"And you think you can stop that?" Gaara retorted icily as he stood over her. "You might have a fighting spirit but you're nothing more than a bedside nurse with the ability to heal. I doubt Uchiha would care if he ended your life." His eyes widened slightly and he took a step back, away from the tears streaming down the girl's dirty face. The excess sand retreated into the gourd and Gaara left Sakura alone with her tears. "Uzumaki," he snarled up at the now bright sky. "You better come back."

Three days without a sign. She had waited six years already—six long years, but now that they knew they were closer than ever, several days' time was killing her. Sakura rarely touched the food left for her and spent the remainder of the time damning Naruto and cursing Gaara, who was beginning to wish he had killed her years ago.

Being away from Sonagakure since his father's untimely demise and since his becoming the new Kazekage was something he'd never anticipated. Being stuck with an overemotional kunoichi for a week was something Naruto had begged him to do. Gaara had to admit it was slightly better than sitting around and approving missions for the Genin teams. He'd sent three teams out on A-rank missions and they had yet to report in. The redhead smirked and figured they were probably dead.

"Gaara!"

'Here we go again.'

The dome of sand fell, swirling around the girl's ankles to keep her still. Sakura scowled at the boy's back. "I have to use the bathroom," she said caustically.

"Then go." She launched two kunai at him and Gaara glanced over his shoulder to stare at her through the wall of sand that had risen to protect him. Sakura stumbled forward as she was released. "Don't try anything stupid," he instructed as she stomped into the trees.

She found a small pond and was washing her hands when she stopped and stared at her reflection. She was pale from not eating or receiving sun and there were bags under her eyes from lack of sleep. Why? Why was she slowly killing herself? Sakura raised a hand and touched her cheek. She no longer felt hope. In four more days, she'd be going home empty-handed.

The Chuunin splashed her face with the cold water and stood, running a trembling hand through her hair. Team 7 would never be reunited again. Turning, Sakura made her way back to Gaara with little delay. The earth shifted behind her as she was spotted then receded at the shake of her head. "Don't bother," she said softly. "I want to go back."

Gaara's eyebrow rose slightly. "But—"

"I want to leave," Sakura repeated, never breaking his unwavering gaze. He stretched out his arm and created another cork in his hand, which he replaced in the opening of the gourd. Sakura stepped closer to him; she didn't have the strength to make it back on her own. Gaara lifted her easily into his arms and, with a soft sigh, he set out for civilization.