PHANTOM OF THE SAND

ACT 1 – SCENE 2

Ino's protests to singing under such dangerous circumstances left the theatre company with very little choice. Before Sakura knew it she was being fitted for probably the most extravagant gown she had ever worn. Her head was still whirling with the whole predicament. Just a day before she was a dancer – a mere dancer among many other dancers and pretty much a nameless face to anyone who didn't know her personally. And yet here she was getting ready to take center stage without so much as an awkward attempt at doing so.

She sat in the dressing room in front of the mirror, rocking front to back a little in anxiousness. Her fingers grasped at the lace and silk at her knees and she had to stop the nervous gesture before she wrinkled the dress. The girl looking back at her in the mirror seemed foreign, her pink locks done up with delicate and well-placed glitter and white ribbon.

Sakura's head bobbed downward lamely and she chuckled to herself. "Look at you, Sakura… And just think, no Sasuke to see you all dressed up like a princess." A light blush overtook Sakura's cheeks as she tilted her head to the side and fell into a daydream.

"Who is that… Sakura?" Inner Sasuke said, approaching the elegantly clad Inner Sakura.

He took her hands in his and Inner Sakura blushed delicately. "My…. You certainly have changed since I left. So beautiful, so delicate, so filled out."

"Sasuke-kun, please…," Inner Sakura mused with a giggle. "Don't look at me like that…"

"You've even grown into your large and charming forehead. It is more charming then ever! I want to shower kisses all over it!" Sasuke replied with a very Sasuke sly smile.

Sakura's thought bubbles exploded and she pressed her hands to her red cheeks with a grin she just couldn't help.

"Ohhh, if only if only…!" she mused. Gaara rolled his eyes and promptly gave a quiet snort from his position in the room. He was very well hidden, as usual…so it appeared no one was in the room at all, but he had been watching her as soon as she had returned completely outfitted. He felt rather irritated at her watching her grow all fangirlish over Sasuke when she had much more immediate, important things to be thinking about.

"This is hardly the time for your fantasies," his voice echoed through the room lowly. Sakura jumped in her seat and whirled, grasping the cushion beneath her.

"Ano…," she took a breath and relaxed a little when she recognized the voice. It was just her usual visitor; if you could call a disembodied voice that. "You scared me." She grinned in embarrassment.

Gaara's demeanor returned to its usual indifference and he remained quiet for so long that Sakura began to look puzzled.

"You are there, right?" she finally asked.

"Yes."

"So… What br-"

"It's your opening night," he replied simply.

"Ah, right." She bowed her head a little and the same uncertain look on her face returned.

"Stop making those faces. You have no reason to act that way."

"It's just…well.. I'm nervous… What if I mess it—"

"You won't." Sakura lifted her head and blinked. He said it with such a factual tone she almost instantly believed it. She pursed her lips but said no more. There was no arguing with this entity. She'd had plenty arguments with him before but she'd failed to win any of them. The voice always stayed stern and immovable even when she got riled up and, to tell the truth, it was incredibly frustrating for her.

But she had to admit they had had some good conversations as well. The voice was strangely encouraging even in its lack of feeling sometimes. She still had no clue why he was talking to her of all people or who the hell it was but she felt no desire to scare him off by probing. On the other hand she kept feeling this tinge of remembrance, like the voice was familiar but she couldn't quite place it. So, inwardly, she was sort of eager to see if she could coax this phantom visitor to reveal himself. Up to this point he had been rather difficult in that matter.

She was also sort of disappointed that he had never manifested like on the first night when he willed her to sing. Since then it had been nothing but the voice talking to her when she needed to talk or when she was so down in the dumps she needed a swift kick in her head to jerk her back to a more uplifting reality. It was a rather good distraction.

Most of the time, however, he simply requested that she sing. When she faltered in key he would make her start over until she got it perfect from beginning to end. He kept leaving new songs in her room once she'd completed one to his satisfaction. He was really very peculiar but Sakura had quite come to enjoy singing for this invisible audience – not to mention all the practice over the course of a year had strengthened her singing abilities a lot.

He seemed to grow less talkative within the last few days, though. Now it was her debut night and he was determined to make sure she didn't screw it up. It wasn't her abilities he considered a threat to her performance but her wavering confidence and this irritating habit of drifting off into the world of Uchiha far too often. Gaara distinctly remembered the boy himself but still found it hard to find anything particularly entertaining about him. After all, he had barely stood up to Gaara in any of their fights. No, it had been the fox-boy that had prevailed there. The sand-nin hadn't seen Naruto in ages, but he certainly held him in far higher respect than he did Sasuke.

It was funny how someone could be a nuisance when they weren't even there. Gaara dismissed his annoyance and stayed with Sakura until she left to take the stage. He then took his own leave and retreated to his ideal viewing area in the theatre – one of the box seats that had yet to ever be filled.

Sakura sang in such a manner that she surprised herself and couldn't believe she'd actually done it without so much as one flub in her performance. She certainly didn't consider herself a diva, but as the flowers flew to the stage she could barely contain the grin from spreading over her face. Even though the lights were a little bright and hot and her costume was beginning to cling to her, these minor discomforts seemed like nothing at all.

"Bravo, Sakura!" Iruka applauded amidst the clamor. He and Kakashi resided in one of the boxes to the right of the stage to keep a close eye on things. A smile alighted Kakashi's eyes at the performance, it was a very good one indeed. Both the jounin's turned their heads at the sound of the door to their box opening. The instructors gained their respective surprised expressions.

"Well, here we are surrounded by ghosts and one steps right out of the past," Kakashi finally said with a quirked grin under his mask.

"Kakashi, Iruka..," Sasuke regarded them, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his shorts as he advanced to the edge of the box to share their view.

"It's nice to see you back safe and sound, Sasuke," Iruka said lightly.

"What do you mean about 'ghosts'"? Sasuke asked, looking back to his former teachers. Ever since he had re-entered the village he'd heard nothing but banter about the 'haunted' theatre. It was the only reason he'd entered the building in the first place before catching a glimpse of his ex teammate winning the lead role of the current performance.

"Ah, so you've heard about that," Kakashi said.

"Mmn," came Sasuke's trademark grunt.

"It just seems there's a lot of weird phenomena going on around the theatre for awhile. No one knows who's doing it but a lot of 'accidents' keep occurring," Iruka detailed.

"But we're keeping an eye on it," Kakashi added simply. His gaze turned back to the stage where the other part of the original Team 7 was receiving her first real bouts of theatrical recognition.

"You don't even have a clue who it might be?" Sasuke continued, narrowing his eyes. The gray haired ninja returned his eyes lazily to the Uchiha.

"We have some ideas. Try not to worry about it. You just got back in town after all…. I'm sure there's a few people who would be more than happy to see you're alright." Kakashi emphasized the hint with a tilt of his head to the stage. Sasuke glanced over the balcony and then at the two jounin's before shrugging his shoulders and pressing his hands back into his pockets. Turning, he departed down the hallway.

Once they were sure he had gone a safe distance Iruka looked to Kakashi a little confused.

"We have some ideas? You didn't tell me."

"Ah. I really don't have a clue, but its best to not involve Sasuke. He just got back and who knows what's running through his head….," Kakashi replied. "Besides… I'm sure we can handle it just fine."

"Yes. I suppose you're right."

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Author's note: Originally in POTO this would be the scene where Meg (Hinata) and Christine (Sakura) would have their little conversation but I decided to replace it with this. I'm glad everyone's enjoying this so far! Thank you for the reviews!