AN: So I was re-reading this story after a couple reviews, and realized that a whole chunk of story somehow didn't make it on to the page. Hence the sudden inserted "lost chapter". It isn't much, but I don't think I can fit it into either the preceeding or following chapters because then they will be too long. It apparently wasn't necessary to understand the overall plot, but it might clarify a few things that Sakura says or notices later in the story. And it explains the story summary. For crying out loud, I'm an imbecile sometimes. Apologies!

Chapter 8 and a half

Inevitable

Sakura's mouth dropped open. What the - ?

"I've seen you up there with him, Sakura, at night. Before I left to run messages for Kankurou-san along the border, I saw you sitting up there talking with him, and I heard your voices. But Sakura, look –" Kenji paused, and sighed. He glanced over his shoulder, in the direction that Kankorou was steadily vanishing. Sakura kept her eyes on his face, but he didn't turn back to look at her. Instead, he seemed to lapse into a personal reverie for several minutes. At last, he closed his eyes and shook his head slightly.

"He'll kill you someday, you know."

Sakura felt her back tighten; the instant stab of pain caused by that movement forced her to concentrate solely on deadening the nerves and relaxing the muscles. The technique was difficult because it was in a place she couldn't see, but if she put all her concentration in it, she could stop the throbbing.

He'd said it so casually, so off hand and matter of fact. It was as if he were merely stating a random fact about the universe. The sky is blue. The cliffs are high. He'll kill you someday.

"You think you've got some sort of control over him," Kenji went on in that too-calm voice. "Because he hasn't really hurt you even when he was in the bloodlust. I saw him standing over you at the festival, and I fully expected him to rip your throat out. It's not like you're his responsibility here. To be honest, I don't know why he didn't kill you then." He sighed again, and shook his head. "And who knows, maybe you do have some bizarre hold on him. But Sakura – I've seen him fight. And it's not…he's not…there's a reason he's still feared in our village. He's respected, and many of us would die for him without thought. But that doesn't make him any less of a monster. Someday, he's going to lose himself, and when you try to reach him -" Kenji bit his lip. "He'll rip you apart."

Sakura shook her head violently, as if trying to shake his words away. "Why – why would he attack me?"

"That chunin I met," the Sand shinobi replied, running an agitated hand through his hair. "He told me that a group of Konoha ninja tried to get across the border, tried to get a message through to a spy they've got planted here. So everyone in Suna thinks that the spy is – "

"Me." Sakura knelt down, ignoring the heat of the sand as it burned through the material of her pants. "They think I'm a spy…"

"There's all kinds of wild rumors flying around – some even think that Konoha is backing the insurgents, if not directing them. This could get really ugly. Sakura, I don't know what you are," Kenji knelt in front of her, putting both hands on her shoulders. "But I like you, and I don't want to see you get killed. Especially if you're innocent. This may just all be rumor and misunderstanding. So look, Kankurou-san can still see us," he nodded to the dark figure dwindling in the distance. "So I want you to create a clone, and I'll pretend to walk with it until he's too far out of sight to even hope of seeing us. Meanwhile, I'll use my invisibility technique to hide you. It should last about twenty minutes after I'm gone. Go west until you reach the village of Hachinohe, there's some people who will let you stay with them if you mention my name. Hide out there for awhile until we either find the real spy or this uprising mess gets settled a bit. And Sakura," he lifted her chin up slightly and smiled into her shocked expression. "It'll be okay. Somehow, we'll make this okay."

"And Ga…the Kazekage?" She murmured, hating herself for asking, for needing to ask.

"He'll get over it," Kenji said quietly. "He's strong. And…well, he's been betrayed before. You can make it up to him when this mess it all sorted out, okay?"

"What…" her voice gave out on her, and she gave herself a mental slap. "What are you going to do when my clone disappears?" Sakura asked. "What will you do when they realize you let me escape?"

"Don't worry," he grinned slyly. "I'll just wander in with a few bruises and claim that you beat me up and ran for it."

Sakura felt something hot and wet press at the corners of her eyes, and blinked the tears back ferociously. I will not cry!

"Get ready," Kenji muttered, and made a quick series of hand seals. Sakura felt a faint shiver race through her body. She glanced down, and had to restrain a little whimper of surprise and disorientation. Her body was gone!

"Quick, the clone," Kenji prompted, and Sakura felt (somewhere that felt too far away to be her own hands) herself make the appropriate seals. Her clone appeared in a shimmer, like a heat wave rising from a stone. Sakura wondered briefly if this was what it felt like to be a ghost. She watched her fake body "lean" on Kenji, who smiled vaguely to the air just above her head before turning to follow the black figure far ahead of him.

Sakura stayed motionless in the heat of the desert for a moment after he started walking, shuddering violently.