A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! I hope you all like it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the other characters.

Summary: Sakura is sent to Sunagakure on a mission to train the medic ninja there. Yet, there is one little problem…She'll be living with the Kazekage and his family. Will she survive long enough to complete her task?

Chapter 10

Sakura just sat there, staring at him, waiting for his chest to move with the signs of breathing. But it wasn't happening. He was de—no, she wouldn't say it. Temari was sobbing in Kankuro's arms. Nobody knew except them.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to control the tears flowing down her cheeks. Crying wasn't going to help. Yet, she couldn't stop.

She began searching through her mind, trying to find something that would be able to bring him back. A memory began to replay in her mind.

Sakura sat on the floor, a rather large scroll in her hands. She was reading, an intense look on her face. Tsunade, her sensei at the time, walked in. She glanced at Sakura and seemed to realize what she was reading. Her eyes widened in shock and she hurried over to her, taking the scroll from her hands abruptly.

"Hey, Tsunade-sensei! I was reading that!" Shouted Sakura, looking indignant.

"This is a scroll that contains a very advanced jutsu that could kill you if used incorrectly." Replied Tsunade. She was closing the scroll and sliding it back into the shelf.

"I know that." Said Sakura. "It's a resurrection jutsu that uses your chakra and life force."

"You already know the hand seals?"

"Yep," Sakura was proud of herself.

"Never use it unless you yourself are dying." Said Tsunade harshly, surprising her apprentice.

"O-okay…" Was it really that bad?

"Promise me, Sakura."

"I promise." Responded the girl.

"Good!" Her teacher smiled. " Now, do you want lunch?"

The memory faded. She was trying to remember the hand seals, slowing forming them with her hands. After repeating them a few times, she had them.

"I think I might be able to bring him back." It didn't matter if she was defying Tsunade's orders. It felt as though she was dying inside.

"What?" Asked Temari. "Wouldn't that kill you?"

"I'm not sure but I'm willing to try. Please step back."

"Sakura, plea—" Kankuro began to protest but stopped at one glance from Sakura.

"Trust me." She insisted. The pink haired kunoichi smiled warmly at them. "Tell him that he better be grateful when he wakes." She winked at them and initiated the jutsu, her hands blurring with speed as she formed the hand seals.

She finished with the seals and slipped her hand inside his. Her chakra was so intense it was visible, a bright pink. It flowed between their linked hands, fueled by her life force. His skin began to regain some color and air flowed into his lungs.

She sensed Temari and Kankuro watching her intently, both ready to help if she needed it. But she wouldn't call out for their help. She had started the jutsu and needed to finish it…even if it cost her.

Her vision began to blur but she held on to his hand, which was now warm. She heard him groan and Temari gasped, sprinting to them. "He's coming to…" She whispered, taking in the sight with wide, scared green eyes, looking like a young girl again. Sakura fell to her knees, no longer containing the strength to keep standing, her head resting lightly on the edge of the bed.

"Sakura?"

She didn't reply. She couldn't. She was watching her chakra flow out of her, a few more minutes and she would not have any left.

"Sakura? Stop the jutsu. Gaara's alive now. He can recover from the rest by himself!" Temari was getting panicked as she realized the amount of chakra that had been drained from the girl that she had come to see as a friend. She couldn't lose her now!

She tried to detach their hands but they held fast although they were unconscious. "Damn it, Kankuro, help me!" The puppeteer tried but couldn't either.

Sakura's grip on his hand went limp. Gaara groaned again and Temari saw his eyes flicker open only to close a millisecond later. The hand that Sakura had held twitched as if searching for the missing warmth.

"Sakura!" Shouted Temari, shaking the girl.

"Is he…alive?" came the whisper from the pink haired kunoichi.

Temari was in tears now. "Yes… All thanks to you."

A smile appeared on her pale face. "Good…" Her green eyes slid shut and she was still. The sand nin hurriedly pressed her face against her chest and was relieved, for the moment, to hear the faint beating of her heart, which was rapidly fading.

She picked her up and shouted, "Let's get them to the hospital!"

They sped out of the room, past the guards, ignoring their shouts, and towards the hospital.

"Will they live?" Asked Kankuro, holding his younger brother in his arms, careful to avoid putting pressure on the gashes.

"I pray to God that they will."

&&&&&&&&&

The young Kazekage groaned and tried to raise a hand to his face but found he couldn't. He forced his eyes open and blinked slowly a few times. Rays of sunlight fell across the white sheets, coming in through the open window. A soft breeze filled the room, making him feel light.

He was in the…hospital? He could've sworn he had died and seen a beautiful angel that had held his hand.

He turned his head and caught sight of a head of pink hair. Recognition sparked in his mind.

Sakura… She had been the one who saved his life, giving him her chakra and life force after everything he had done to her.

Was she dead? No, probably not. They wouldn't have left her in a hospital bed if she was dead.

He sat up and winced at the sharp pangs of pain that shot through him at the movement. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and walked slowly over to her side. He looked down at her face and sighed.

The stupid girl had risked her life. Any more and she would have really died.

She looked peaceful. He reached out to trace her jaw, pulling back when she gave a soft moan.

What was he doing?

Her green eyes snapped open, shock and fear mingling in them. But both emotions faded as soon as she saw him, a smile appearing on her face. "You're safe." She whispered.

"Yes." He said stiffly, ashamed that he had been caught by her side.

She reached out and grabbed his hand, her grip still weak. He stiffened, unused to such physical contact.

"You shouldn't be moving around. Those gashes were what caused you to die." She gestured to his heavily bandaged chest.

"You shouldn't be moving either. You are still really low on chakra." He replied, removing his hand from hers, moving to sit down at the foot of her bed.

Silence fell over them as they really saw each other for the first time since she had arrived.

She studied the kanji tattooed on his forehead; how his hair contrasted with his skin, how obvious was the fact that he had been an insomniac, those dark lines would never fade.

He studied her pink hair, how it reflected gold when the sun hit it. Her eyes, which were so much like his, gazed at him intently. He didn't really know what was happening, just that it was.

Sakura moved forward until she was sitting cross-legged across from him, her legs barely touching his. She reached and grabbed both his hands and held them in her lap, her fingers idly tracing the scars on the backs, the results of many years being a ninja. He didn't feel uncomfortable with her actions, they felt normal.

She suddenly stopped. He glanced at her. She was staring down, her face hidden by her pink hair. He could sense her sadness. He didn't speak, however, waiting for her.

"I couldn't save you the first time. I saw you die…" She began; her voice was just above a whisper.

"I thought many times before, when you had hurt me, that I wouldn't feel anything if you died or got hurt. But this time my heart felt like it was being wrenched out of me."

He frowned. Just what was she getting at? She continued.

"I felt like I was dying." She looked up at him. "I never want to feel like that again." A sad smile hovered on her full, pink lips. "Never do that again, understand?"

He nodded, mute. These strange feelings were swirling around inside of him.

Strangely, he wanted to know if she tasted like cherry blossoms since her name did mean that. He found himself leaning toward her, taking her arms and pulling her dangerously close. She gasped softly, her eyes wide.

Their faces were inches apart. "Are you afraid of me?" He asked.

"No." She answered truthfully. She trusted him.

He smiled the ghost of a smile. "Thank you."

And with that their lips met in a hesitant kiss, each forgetting their worries and differences for one brief moment.

So, Gaara came back to life. I hope you're all happy. And I hope it didn't seem too rushed. Remember to review!