Sakura and the Prince of Flowers
By Miss Angel Maxwell

Free Talk: Once again, a chapter has run so long that I had to break it up. So now my estimate for this story is 22 chapters, not 21. But the next one should come very soon because it is already started. You know, the manga never actually states that Gaara and Lee became friends after their fight with Kimimaro, but I really love to imagine that they did. They're just so adorably mismatched… like in a buddy comedy movie. I'm on winter break right now (sadly, my last winter break ever) and I really hope to complete this story during my month off. I also need to finish my X fanfiction. I have been putting it off because it has become very difficult for me to write. But I will finish it indeed. As always, thank you so much for the support. And please comment and tell me what you think!

Chapter 18: "I Definitely Would Remember Having Met The Two Of You"

"Sasuke…" Sakura breathed. "Is it really you? Are you really here?" She could see Sasuke above her, his familiar features illuminated by morning sunlight from the window, but she still had to ask and make sure her eyes weren't playing tricks on her.

"It's me," he responded, smiling gently. He closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath, then spontaneously pulled Sakura into a tight embrace. "Sakura," he sighed into her ear. "Sakura… You're here… You're safe… After so long, I've found you…"

"Ahem!" an irritated voice coughed, and looking over Sasuke's shoulder Sakura noticed for the first time that her other teammate was in her bedroom as well.

"Naruto," she said sweetly. "You… You're both here… in my bedroom… But… how did you find me?"

"It was really Naruto who found you," said Sasuke. "So I can't take the credit. He's actually pretty smart when he wants to be." Naruto frowned. "Gaara let us in, said you usually got up about now. We didn't mean to invade your privacy. It's just I… We couldn't wait to see you."

Sakura was stunned. "You guys were looking for me? Even after reading the note I left?"

"I know your note said not to come after you," Sasuke replied. "But… I guess Naruto and I are just selfish. The idea of being without you… and you being all on your own… It just didn't sit well. We need you Sakura. I need you."

Hearing those last three words, Sakura's heart quivered. She was about to say something, but Naruto interrupted.

"Yeah," he said. "About that note… It's not that we didn't take it seriously. But after reading it, we kinda got the idea that you were running away from home based on false information. Sakura, you gotta know… You weren't responsible for Rock Lee's death."

Sakura looked at Naruto's serious face with a bit of shock. "I… I know that," she said. "Gaara helped me to realize it."

"Gaara?" the blonde replied, wrinkling his nose. "What could he possibly know about the situation? He wasn't there thirteen years ago. And he's never met Rock Shin either."

"Thirteen years ago?" the girl in bed asked, her slender eyebrows furrowing in confusion. "What are you talking about, Naruto? And who is Rock Shin? One of Lee's relatives?"

Sasuke sighed a graceful sigh. "He's Lee's grandfather… It's a long and complicated story," he said. "And I think we should get some breakfast in us before getting into it. Gaara invited us all to eat with him and his siblings."

"Alright," Sakura answered, intrigued but still confused. As she climbed out of bed, her two teammates finally got the full effect of how much she had grown since they last saw her and their eyes widened from surprise.

"Good lord!" Naruto exclaimed. "You're as big as house! I guess you weren't kidding when you said you were pregnant. So how much of that bulge do you suppose is taken up just by the little tyke's eyebrows?"

"Out!" Sakura muttered through her clenched jaw as she pointed towards the door. "Now, I have to get dressed."

"We'll wait for you outside," said Sasuke. Then the two boys left, and although she had already turned around, Sakura could swear that she saw Sasuke smack Naruto on the head through the corner of her eye, presumably for the eyebrow comment.

Once her teammates had exited and the door had closed behind them, Sakura perched tensely back on the edge of her bed, shaking slightly, her mind racing. Is this a dream? How could it be that after eight months of wanting to stay hidden, the day after I realize that I'm ready to be found, those two show up at my bedside? In the midst of the overwhelming shock of it all, Sakura wasn't quite certain if she was happy or not at her teammates' arrival. Yesterday she had just broken through the surface of her damaged heart during her talk with Gaara. Was she really ready to go home with Naruto and Sasuke and rebuild her life in Konoha? And what would happen next?

It was like something that Ino had told her once. A flower has to know when the time is right to come out of the dirt. If it emerges too early, it will be killed by frost. A flower must wait for the proper climate before it can blossom. Though she thirsted for the sweetness of the spring sun, right now Sakura still felt buried in the winter's soil.

Then she remembered the feeling she'd had waking up under Sasuke's warm gaze, the snugness of his embrace and she felt excitement welling in her chest, bubbling onto her face in the form of a hopeful smile. It reminded her of the sensation she'd felt the first time she's ever seen the Uchiha when she was seven years old. Suddenly she had to look at him again, even if she wasn't prepared for the emotional consequences of the reunion. Hastily, she got dressed in a crimson velvet gown and dashed out the door as quickly as a very pregnant woman could.

In the hallway outside Sakura's bedroom Naruto and Sasuke were having some private conversation, but the blonde fell silent as soon as he saw the door open and he nudged his friend to turn around. The Uchiha's jaw went slack as his eyes fell on the beautiful woman now standing in front of him. Even Naruto noticed that he was staring, most un-Sasukelike.

"Sakura…" he uttered, awestruck. "You look… amazing… Your dress… your hair… wow…"

The girl's cheeks glowed. "I look fat," she said shyly. "But thanks anyway. Shall we go down to the dining hall now? I'm sure Naruto can't wait to eat."

The young man in question snorted. "What? You think I can't be awake for two hours without eating?" He posed the question as seriously as possible, but a loud growl from his stomach provided the answer and his two teammates looked at him pathetically. "Okay! I'm hungry! Let's go!"

"Here, take my hand going down the stairs, Sakura," Sasuke said, offering her his hand.

Seeing no real reason to tell him that she didn't need any help, Sakura grabbed Sasuke's hand and it felt good and warm in her palm. What's this? Am I blushing? I've never felt this shy around Sasuke. But then… he's never given me this much attention before… Why is he being so gentle towards me? It must be because I'm pregnant. But still…

Waiting for them at the bottom of the huge staircase was a diminutive old man with enormous gray eyebrows who was smiling cheerfully. As soon as Sakura saw him she had to do a double take. The resemblance to Rock Lee was uncanny.

"Bless my soul!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Miss Haruno Sakura! What a lovely young woman you've grown up to be!"

"You must be Rock Shin," she said, looking at him a bit oddly. "Um, excuse me, but have we met before?"

"Indeed! Indeed!" he chortled. "But there will be time to discuss that after breakfast. Come! Let us eat!" Bowing, he took Sakura's free hand and pressed a chivalrous kiss to her knuckles, before leading her away towards the dining hall. As Sakura's fingers slid out of his hand, Sasuke exchanged a wary look with Naruto. Both boys were silently wondering how a seventy-year old man who'd just traveled hundreds of miles through mountainous blizzard conditions could be so energetic.

-

Except for Shin's jovial comments on the exquisiteness of Suna-grown fruit, breakfast took place in silence. Not even Temari said a word, and she was usually a complete loudmouth at meals. Sasuke's gaze stayed on Sakura like a spotlight, until she would look over towards him and his eyes immediately shot down to his plate. The back and forth longing looks continued all through the meal, and only Naruto seemed to notice, rolling his eyes and snorting quietly to himself.

After everyone had finished, they moved over to the sitting room, a huge round room of polished marble, with mahogany fixtures and a high vaulted ceiling. An orange fire was already crackling in the mammoth fireplace, casting a flickering glow onto the framed portraits of past Kazekage. It was originally meant to be a discussion just between four people, but Sakura had insisted that the Sand siblings be included, as they had become like family to her and anything said to her could be said in front of them.

"So what is this complex situation you need to explain to me?" Sakura asked, sinking into an overstuffed leather armchair. "You say it has to do with something that happened thirteen years ago? And Rock Lee's grandpa here is involved?"

Everyone except for Sasuke, Naruto, and Shin found some place to sit before the Uchiha began to explain, his face as sober as Sakura had ever seen it. "Sakura, something happened to you thirteen years ago, something that altered your life forever, even though you will never remember it. When you were just a little girl, you were attacked by something evil while playing in a field of flowers near your home. Naruto and I were there, playing with you when it happened."

"No way!" Sakura interjected incredulously. "I definitely would remember having met the two of you! And being attacked!"

"Let me continue," Sasuke said patiently. "The thing that attacked you was one of a monstrous race called the Children of the Kyuubi, because they once worshipped the demon as their God. It probably would have killed you if Lee and his parents hadn't shown up. You see, the Rock family bloodline allows them to kill the Children of the Kyuubi when nobody else can. Lee's parents saved your life… but they lost their own in the process. That's the downside to their ability. It kills them. You were hurt very badly so Lee carried you back to his grandfather Rock Shin's house and Naruto and I went with you. Rock Shin was able to seal the wound the beast gave you, but it still marked you permanently as the creatures' prey and will become visible if one of them is near."

"You… you're making thing up," Sakura stuttered with a hint of genuine fear. She turned to the old man. "This is just a joke, right? I mean… This is crazy! I would remember!"

Rock Shin shook his head sadly. "I wish it were made up," he said. "But everything the young man has told you is true. The reason you don't remember any of this is that I sealed your memory, Naruto's and Sasuke's too… even Lee's. I thought it might spare you all some unnecessary trauma. I never expected the Children to show up again."

"They're back?" Sakura stammered. "You mean to tell me that there is a tribe of savage beasts trying to kill me just because they failed to do so when I was a child? And that they're back? And how come Naruto and Sasuke seem to know all about this when I'm totally clueless?"

"Calm down, my dear girl," Shin said lightly. "It's not good for the health to get so worked up. Only one of the Children of the Kyuubi has ever been spotted since the day you were attacked, and it happened over eight months ago. These two young men here were the ones who discovered it."

Sakura gasped, but it was Naruto who spoke up. "It was that mission last summer," he said, uncharacteristically serious. "The one we left you behind for… It turned out to be a trap set up by the monster."

"The Children are beasts, but they can be quite clever when it comes to hunting down their prey," Shin informed. "And they have many mysterious jutsu that even I know little about."

"What this one wasn't counting on," Sasuke took over. "Was that Naruto and I would leave you behind out of fear for your safety. When just the two of us showed up, the thing went berserk. You see, they cannot attack you if you are in Konoha. That's why it tried to lure you out. If you had been with us, it would have gotten you on your own and killed you. It probably would have killed the two of us that day if it weren't for…"

"Lee…" Sakura breathed.

"That's right," Sasuke replied with a sad smile. "Lee showed up just in time and killed the monster, sacrificing his own life in the process."

Naruto continued the story. "He must have seen the mark on your back when he woke up in bed with you…" the boy paused as the next word seemed very difficult to spit out. "…naked… Seeing it must have spontaneously unsealed his memories and he knew exactly what he had to do. Do you know what this means, Sakura? Rock Lee saved our lives, but really he was doing it to protect you. He couldn't have been that mad at you if he gave his life to protect you."

Sakura's entire body was shaking as her sweaty hands gripped tightly onto the arms of her chair, her skin had become as white as magnolia petals, and although she wasn't crying, when she spoke her voice was squeaky and trembling as if she had been. "If what you're saying is true… then that means… If you guys hadn't left me behind, that thing would have killed me… And if Lee hadn't seen that mark on my back and gone into the woods… it would have killed both of you… And it would still be out there looking for me…"

She wasn't the only one who was completely stunned by all of this. The three Suna shinobi were just hearing these revelations for the first time too, and were almost equally baffled. "So," Temari said curiously, speaking up for the first time. "If you hadn't slept with Rock Lee, your teammates, and possibly yourself, would have been killed by a monster?"

All eyes turned to the ponytailed blonde, but nobody criticized her outburst. They knew that she had to say it simply because it sounded so ridiculous. In some strange way, however, it was true. The events of last summer had miraculously worked out so that nobody on Team 7 had gotten hurt. Only Lee had lost his life, and he made the decision on his own.

"I believe all things happen for a reason," Rock Shin said wisely.

Naruto nodded. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you the truth about what happened on that mission. We wanted to find out more about the situation before getting you involved because… Well, again, we didn't want you to get hurt. We went to Tsunade for answers about the monster and she pointed us in Rock Shin's direction. We were going to tell you everything we knew at that point and take you with us to meet him… but you had already left town."

"Ah but they still came to find me," the old man said. "They traveled hundreds of miles into the snowy mountains just to learn if there was some way to protect you. They had no idea that they were with you when you were attacked until I unlocked their sealed memories."

"Yeah," said Naruto. "We didn't know any more than you about the Children of the Kyuubi until Rock Shin told us. The past couple of months we've just been trying to get back to you to tell you all this… And to bring you back home to Konoha, where you belong."

Sakura's face had frozen into an expression of pure shock. It seemed remarkable she was able to make any sound at all, she was so tense, but she actually managed to speak. "I… I don't know how I'm supposed to react to hearing all this. How much threat do these things pose? Have… have I been putting all of you in danger just by being near you? Am I putting Suna in danger?"

The last comment seemed to make Temari and Kankurou squirm in their seats, but Gaara remained calm. "Haruno Sakura," he spoke slowly. "If I had ever thought that you or anyone else was endangered by having you here, I never would have asked you to stay."

"I have to concur that the risk of attack is very slight," Shin added. "The Children of the Kyuubi are a dying race. I dare not say that they are extinct… I've said that twice before and had it proven wrong. But they are rare indeed, particularly this far south. And they cannot survive in dessert conditions. So you are definitely safe as long as you are here."

"But you're definitely safe within Konoha as well," Naruto chimed in. "And that's your home. You're a shinobi of the Leaf, Sakura. Don't you ever forget that."

The girl's pale green eyes darted around the room from face to face, searching desperately for what she should say. When they finally connected with the eyes of the Kazekage, she felt a cold rush dance up her spine.

"You know that you are welcome to stay here as long as you feel you need to," he said. "So it is your decision alone whether or not you wish to return to Konoha with your teammates."

Sakura swallowed hard before answering. "I… I don't know…" she croaked. Then she tipped herself out of the chair and hurtled out of the door and up the stairs.

To be continued…