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Chapter Twenty-one


"A-Annaisha?" Sakura murmured, turning her head slowly to meet with the woman.

Sakura lost her breath as she locked eyes with the fallen, and now-smiling, cook. Annaisha had managed to pull down her mask as Sakura was distracted healing her. Both were silent for some time, the brunette allowing Sakura to absorb her before the silence broke with a loud cough from Annaisha. Sakura flinched when she saw blood trickle down the brunette's chin.

"Annaisha..." Sakura repeated, stunned completely. "Why? Why Gaara? You two were…"

Sakura fell silent as Annaisha's smile fell to a hard frown, and Sakura wasn't sure how to suddenly feel. Sad, angry, confused? Yet, she made the decision to bring her healing hands back down against the assailant while questions poured into Sakura's mind.

'She was an elite,' Sakura thought. 'She didn't say anything. I had left Gaara alone so many times with her before. Why now? Why tonight? Why Gaara? Why? Why? Why?!'

"He said you wouldn't be an issue. That your knowledge was simply medical. He said Gaara would be worn out tonight..."

Sakura's thoughts were interrupted by the brunette and she turned once more to look at Annaisha's pale face.

"Who?" Sakura asked. "Who told you all that? This was planned?!"

Sakura waited for an answer, but the brunette simply stared straight at the stars above, lost in her own thoughts as her mouth went back and forth opening and closing. It be a few moments longer before the girl regained some more consciousness and looked back at Sakura in a panic.

"Stop, Sakura-sama! Don't heal me!"

Sakura stilled her hands that moment. Taking into account the assailant's, now patient, wish. It was examples such as this that made Sakura falter once every so often. She had been taught by the best, told that a patient's consent always came first. If there was a wish by someone not to be treated, Sakura knew to keep her hands steady at her side.

But…

But still…

This was Annaisha.

Someone still so new to Sakura, yet the bubbly brunette was the first to welcome her with a smile. She offered help, offered guidance, gave Sakura words of encouragement and above that, Annaisha offered hope to a little boy who just wanted some friends in his life. If Sakura didn't heal this young woman now, she knew what the untimely outcome would be. Those thoughts alone made Sakura's eyes suddenly burn wet.

"You will die," Sakura muttered, hoping to convince her otherwise.

A small chuckle came from the girl as she continued to stare at the stars above her. Her breathing had began to grow rapid again since Sakura stopped her ministrations, and she spoke now with a wheeze.

"Exactly," Annaisha answered.

Now it was anger coming to Sakura. Why should she allow Annaisha this? Why was she after Gaara suddenly? What was it she was talking about before? Was this a request from someone?

"Why?!" Sakura barked, a few tears leaking. "Why do you suddenly want to die?! Think about Baki! Think about your friends now!"

Sakura paused for a moment, hushing her voice some before finishing.

"...Think about Gaara. What you mean to him."

Annaisha said nothing while Sakura stared and waited for the brunette to speak. All Sakura could see was Annaisha's lip quiver before a tear trickled and painted the side of her face. At the sight, Sakura hung her head, upset at Annaisha's decision and the outcome of all of this.

"Why did you do this? Why were you attacking him?" Sakura mumbled. "I know he wants to be a better person. He's just a lonely boy looking for people to love him."

Still, nothing came from Annaisha.

"Wasn't it you who said I was doing a good job with him? Wasn't it you who told me it was a sad thought that Gaara would be all alone without me? Why did you say all those things when this was your intent? Why did you do this? Why him? Why now? Did someone make you?" Sakura's voice questioned, rising more with every word.

"..."

"Why Annaisha?!"

The brunette blinked rapidly, her voice barely a whisper as she answered.

"Because I miss my mother so much."

Annaisha's voice shook while saying those words and finally her many tears, the ones she had held in so hard, spilled. It was Sakura's recollection that Annaisha had lost her mother not too long ago, that it had been the night of the last full moon. There were clues and pieces that led Sakura to believe who the culprit behind Annaisha's mother's death came from. Yet, this declaration now solidified her answer.

Gaara had been the one to kill her, probably through his rampage as the sand demon.

It was Sakura this time who fell silent as Annaisha continued to speak.

"Do you see now? Can you understand my pain, Sakura-sama? There will never be a world where I can accept Gaara as a friend. He took away my most precious person. He stole her from me an in instant."

Sakura froze as she took in Annaisha's words.

'Does this mean all that happened before with Gaara had been an act? Did she despise him while he was beside her?' Sakura thought before hearing Annaisha's seething whisper.

"I hate him," she said through clenched teeth. "He took away everything from me. I will never forgive him. I just wish I had the chance to end his li-"

"Shut up!" Sakura suddenly cried, narrowing her eyes towards Annaisha.

The brunette obliged, swallowing her words and waiting to hear Sakura yell at her more. She expected to be hollered at, maybe to even feel the weight of Sakura's fist again to her malevolent words. What she did not expect was to feel Sakura's healing hands plant themselves more firmly against her chest.

"W-What are you doing?!" Annaisha asked, aghast that Sakura would still even consider offering any help after the way she spoke of Gaara. "I told you not to heal me! Just let me be with my mother now!"

Sakura's eyes were narrowed down at Annaisha's body, the healing process taking up most of her concentration. Still, she was able to speak with such resolve to the brunette.

"I will tell you what I told someone long ago, revenge will bring you no happiness. Gaara's death will not bring your mother back, therefore it will not bring you any peace. If death is the answer you believe in for seeing your mother again, then just wait it out. It's not like the time won't come, it comes for all of us. Think of what you have now, you won't get any of that back if you die now. You have a man who loves you, a place to call home. You have us! You have me, and Gaara as well."

Annaisha hissed.

"D-Did you not just hear me?! I hate Gaara!" the brunette cried. "I hate him for what he did to my mother! I hate him for all the destruction, chaos, and fear he brings to this village! I want that monster dead!"

If not for her hands preoccupied, Sakura would like nothing more than to slap some sense into Annaisha. The rosette took a few silent moments for regain her composure, for anger threatened her judgment, before she turned a soft smile towards Annaisha's growing eyes.

"People change," Sakura murmured before turning back to her chest. "I've seen friends turn to enemies."

Sakura winced at the thought, recollecting the time Sasuke had abandoned her, his friends, and village for Orochimaru.

"...and I've seen those who would put a knife in my back turn around and call me friend once more."

Again, it was Sasuke who came to her mind then as Sakura spoke.

She sighed at Annaisha's silence before mumbling under her breath for only her own ears to hear.

"I've watched a monster who tried to kill me grow into a fine leader. A man who, without his care or concern for his fellow men, would have not brought Naruto to me during the war, or brought him to his father…" Sakura's voice drifted to the thought of it all, it was then she was finally realizing how important Gaara's role truly was to her world.

If not for Gaara, surely Naruto would have died when the Kyuubi was extracted from him. No one would have been able to bring him to her in such speed. No one would have heard the request given by Kurama. If not for Gaara, and his love for his friend, the war would have been lost. If not for Gaara...

"...I wouldn't even be here right now," Sakura whispered.

The world would be lost if not for a man's decision to protect his only friend. A bit of guilt ate at Sakura then. Gaara's importance in the war had slipped past her mind, and she silently vowed then to thank him when she saw his older self once more. By choosing to fight for Naruto's life, Gaara had inadvertently saved the world by saving Naruto.

It was another harsh cough by Annaisha that erased Sakura's thoughts as she continued to heal.

"People can change," Sakura repeated. "And it's never too late to do so. To start doing good."

Sakura turned to the brunette then, hoping her words were sinking in for her. Whether they were or not, Annaisha showed no emotion as she continued to stare at the dark, starry sky.

"I watched you two together. I know he will always cherish those moments. If he's willing to change, to be a better person, I want to believe you can give him another chance. We can work past what happened tonight. Don't you agree?"

Sakura waited on Annaisha's answer, but again saw the girl staring blankly at the sky above. Within time though, her eyes slowly narrowed.

"Sakura-sama," she eventually spoke. "You are the most loving, and accepting, person I have ever met. How foolish people must see you as..."

Sakura was silent, flabbergasted that Annaisha's words were still harsh after her small spill.

"One of us is going tonight, and since you won't allow me to..." Annaisha continued, suddenly leaping on her feet and towards Sakura.

It was without doubt Annaisha's specialty was speed, for Sakura only had time to scramble back as the brunette brought her knife up and slashed at Sakura's face. She missed the rosette's face purposely, they both knew, but achieved in making Sakura fall back to her bottom.

"I'll send Gaara instead!" Annaisha whispered towards Sakura before turning and sprinting from roof to roof.

By the time Sakura was back up again on her feet, Annaisha was almost out of sight.

"Wait!" Sakura called, racing for her.

Perhaps Annaisha's speed had faltered from her injury for Sakura since the rosette caught up to her easily. They took a giant leap together, aiming for the next roof while Sakura began her approach towards her, flexing her fist to bring Annaisha back down. Yet it would be Sakura distracting her, or maybe by her own choice, that allowed a tidal wave of sand to suddenly nab the brunette girl from the dark streets below. Sakura watched as Annaisha was dragged back down to the ground, and quickly followed suit.

"Don't, Gaara!" Sakura cried.

Her eyes went round when she landed on the ground and saw Annaisha struggling against a sandy encasement. As Sakura began to approach Annaisha, with a means of helping her escape, Annaisha looked back up at her with a misplaced smile.

"Sakura-sama, the future you wish for won't be the happy one you think-"

The young woman was cut off as the sand enclosed itself in a flash, and Sakura watched horrified as Annaisha's body was flattened with it. Her body made a chilling crack as her bones were crushed, and blood immediately spewed from her facial orifices. As quick as the act had happened, the sand cast the lifeless body aside like a broken doll.

"No!" Sakura screamed, racing for Annaisha's body.

Though in her mind she was certain the girl had died instantly, knew the damage she sustained was too severe for her to fix alone if Annaisha was still alive, Sakura raced towards the brunette with a means to revive her. She turned her body over, ignoring Annaisha's grotesque face, and limbless-like body. Sakura quickly checked for a breath, and pulse and, not surprisingly, found neither.

"Annaisha," Sakura murmured, beginning to perform compressions on her chest. "Please…Not yet."

Sakura could feel her tears beginning to form and escape her as she felt Annaisha's chest crack more under the pressure of her hands. So instead, she began to use her healing to fix the broken bones.

'No,' Sakura told herself as the situation became more hopeless. 'I can fix this. I won't let her die.'

Annaisha had been right to call her foolish, for the outcome Sakura was hoping for was already lost. Yet, the rosette told herself otherwise, to not give up. Especially for a friend. Especially for this bubbly girl who still had so much of a future in store for her. Especially because she knew people could change, knew Annaisha could change. Everyone made mistakes.

Sakura ignored the small footsteps, focusing entirely on Annaisha. She chose not to acknowledge the small chakra signature behind her. With time, she even ignored the small grains that began lacing up her body and wrapping around her arm. What she could not ignore, was when the small boy behind her used those grains to slowly pull Sakura's arm back and away from Annaisha and instead towards him.

Sakura faced Gaara with tears in her eyes still while the boy stared apathetically up at her. He was worn, she could tell. Still dirty, still sweaty, his eyes seemed to be even heavier now. Though his skin had no cuts from Annaisha's attempts at him, his shawl too was shredded and barely hanging from his shoulders. Staring down at him though, Sakura could hear the words of others suddenly in her mind. The way they defined him, was all too prominent on the act he had just done.

"Everyone here fears Gaara."

"He killed our mother. He kills whoever he wants. Father says he would kill us too. There's a monster inside his head."

"He has morphed that fear into hate. Because he is dangerous."

"Do not run from him. Ever. If you run, he will chase you."

"All he does is kill everyone!"

"Maybe after speaking with Kazekage-sama, you'll see why our thoughts on Gaara are set the way they are."

"What's that monster doing out? We should go before it decides to attack."

It was a whisper Gaara had first told her when Sakura arrived here that drowned out those voices. Yet it was one that did nothing to diminish the dark case that was coming to her mind now looking at this little boy.

"I've killed a lot of people," she could hear him saying again in her mind.

They continued to stare at one another in silence, and even Sakura couldn't draw back to the image of the good man he would one day be. Instead, she was staring down at a little boy who had lost his way, who had just murdered the woman he was standing next to with a smile earlier today. The rosette just couldn't, at the moment, find it in her heart to reach out to the little boy. She ignored his silent plea then that looked for guidance and reassurance that everything from this point forward would be alright. So, she did the very last thing he expected her to do, something that made his eyes widen with anxiety and panic.

She turned her back on him.

He watched, still in shock, as she raced back to the very same person who was trying to kill him. Watched her attempt to save a life who wanted only moments ago to end his very own. He silently watched as Sakura broke a promise to him. Instead of being there for him, she turned to another, not even looking back. The hurt was heavy like a stone, falling deeper into the dark pit of his gut, and that unbearable pain the boy felt in his heart was all the monster inside of him needed to begin stirring awake.

Gaara ordered his sand once more to move, quickly this time, it wrapped once more around Sakura's arm and attempted to pull her away from Annaisha and back to him. It was a mistake, he kept trying to tell himself. She wouldn't ignore him just like that. At a time like this, when he needed her most, she wouldn't choose to go to another. The sand tried pulling Sakura back, once again interrupting her attempts to resuscitate Annaisha.

But Sakura pulled back.

And again, Gaara was left standing confused and hurt when Sakura used her strength to pull her arm out from his gentle, sand hold. If he had any doubts then that her actions to go to Annaisha, instead of him, were just a mistake, he knew right then and there what Sakura's choice was. He glowered at her, his pain morphing into anger and frustration, and he ordered his grains to swim back to her once more. So, if it wasn't a mistake on her part, he would make her see her the error of her way. His sand was a little more rough this time nabbing her arm and he moved much more quickly now, dragging Sakura slightly back before she broke loose once again.

"Stop!" she told him, not even gracing him with a look as she rushed back to Annaisha. "Not now, Gaara!"

He glowered at her then, teeth grinding. He gave her words no thought or respect, and this time sent his sand speeding towards her. Instead of wrapping at her arms, his sand slithered quickly up her torso and cast her in a bind. He roughly used his grains to pull her away from Annaisha before drawing her towards him. She struggled against his hold, tearing and dropping herself from his sand. There was a sense of accomplishment in him when he was able to bring Sakura back close to him, yet when he saw her eyes filled with angry tears turn to him, he took a small step back as her menacing figure began to approach him.

Sakura rounded at Gaara then, frustrated that he was trying to stop her attempts at resuscitating Annaisha. By now, Sakura knew it was a loss cause, yet still couldn't come to accept what Gaara had done. His bothersome hindrance sent her over the edge.

"How many times do I have to tell you to stop?!" Sakura cried angrily at him, towering over him.

Before Gaara could speak, Sakura brought her fist up and used her strength to break through his shield of sand that shot up to her approaching blow. She then flattened her palm across his face. The force was enough to make the boy's head whip to the side, and his cheek instantly reddened and stung. He did not move, did not turn his head back forward to face her. Instead he stood there, frozen, and eyes wide with shock. He couldn't quite fathom what had just happened, how this pain had formed through her. This impact from her hand now was something new. Something scary, and her reprimand was just the same. Before Gaara could come to terms with what had just happened, Sakura reached for his shoulders and shook him.

"Why?!" she screamed at him. "Why did you kill her?! You didn't have to kill her! She was our friend! She deserved another chance! People change! What can I do to make you understand killing isn't the answer?!"

The boy was quiet to Sakura's words, not even gracing her with a look as he still kept his wide eyes to the side of him.

"Tell me!" she cried and shook him once again.

Gaara went unmoved, and Sakura found herself clinging onto him still while slowly dipping herself down to her knees. She lowered her head as tears trickled down her nose.

"This isn't what I wanted to happen," Sakura whispered to herself. "I just wanted you to show others that you can change too. I don't want people to be afraid of you anymore. I don't want you to feel lonely anymore, Gaara. Annaisha deserved a second a chance…Just like you do."

Yet, no matter her questions, orders, and words, her voice was already lost to him the moment she had struck him. It would be another voice that spoke to him then and drew in his attention, one that suddenly made all the more sense than Sakura's own did.

"She has hurt you," the deep voice in his mind began. "She has betrayed you. Everything that I told you would happen is unfolding right in front you now."

Sand was beginning to whisk again around Gaara, like a small, growing vortex, the wind began to swim the grains around his feet before Gaara hissed at the thoughts Shukaku was now placing inside his mind.

"She threw you to your father. She cast you aside to save your attacker."

It was at this point Sakura noticed the grains beginning to trace around Gaara's feet, and she whipped her head up. Her eyes widened, and with a gasp recognized the boy's shift to rage. He still was not looking at her, but at his grinding teeth, racing eyes and deep breaths were a signal to the rosette that the boy was now angry. She stood herself then, backing away from him. She did this not out of fear, but in hopes Gaara could control himself in this situation.

"Gaara," Sakura whispered. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hit you like that."

To her voice, her sudden apology, the beast in Gaara's mind became more keen. It could see now this was a chance, another opportunity to break the boy and carry out destruction to feed his sinful appetite this bright moon's night. He wasn't about to let the rosette steal that away from him.

"She lies."

Gaara suddenly cried out, placing his hands and gripping his head as a surge of hot pain shot through his head. It felt like claws in his mind, to set free whatever creature was doing this, all the while listening to the voices of others.

"Gaara!" Sakura cried, watching him struggle suddenly.

The young woman stepped towards him, had every intention of taking a hold of him. Yet as soon as she reached for him, her skin touching his, he swiped at her, and Sakura froze when she saw the limb of sand, with dark markings, now encasing his arm and legs. She could see the grains slowly tracing and threatening to close in on his body as the form of a monster while he struggled still. Sakura's heart raced then, the situation was becoming dangerous by the second. The boy she could stop, the Ichibi was a different story.

"She has deceived you," the dark whisper continued. "She cares nothing for you. What made you believe she was any different?"

Gaara winced at those words, still battling with pain that was now swimming through his head. Though, through the corner of his eye, he could see Sakura slowly approaching. He grounded his teeth more at the thought of her drawing near.

"Gaara," she softly spoke. "I know you're upset, but please, listen to me. Don't let it get the better of you. I know you're hurting still, but I just want to help you."

Her hand made a reach for him again, and his shaking eyes widened once more to her approach.

"Don't touch me!" he screamed with a shot of wind and sand knocking Sakura back to her bottom.

As soon as she looked back up at him, she could see his sneer and demeaning expression facing her.

"Leave. Me. Alone," he growled.

Sakura was silent, watching Gaara staring down at her with distaste as sand continued to travel around his body. Meanwhile, in his mind, a dark cackle was celebrating a victory he was sure to win.

"She's just like the rest of them," he laughed. "She hates you. She despises you. She wants you gone forever."

The boy's face contorted all the more as the voice continued.

"She's just like him."

Though his mind was with an endless voice, Gaara and Sakura were silent staring at one another. He looked down at her with hate, while she waited for his next action, trying in her mind to think of a way to calm him down.

"Let me," the voice continued. "and I can get rid of her. Let me, and I'll numb you from the pain."

"Gaara," Sakura softly spoke, hoping he would this time listen to her words.

"Let me, and I'll hurt those who have hurt you."

An in instant Gaara's fingers formed a seal, making Sakura's heart race. She watched his mouth open, but before he could utter a word, she cried out.

"Don't!" she screamed, scrambling up to her feet.

Surprisingly, Gaara did stop his voice but his fingers were still locked together. He watched her through narrow eyes, waiting for the next move that Sakura was still deciding on.

"Stop," she continued to murmur.

She stared down at the little boy, watching the grains still swimming at his face now, morphing a good side of it to look beast-like.

'You could knock him out,' a voice in her mind told her.

But then, she thought, where would that leave her when he regained consciousness? That would only be a temporary solution. That would make him despise her more so than he did right now. That would shatter more of the trust she had worked hard to build in him. That didn't guarantee he just wouldn't do this again later. She needed to know, that Gaara would have something to fall back on if this situation came to fruition again. She wanted Gaara to realize that whatever the Ichibi said in his mind, was just poison to his already fragile mentality.

She wanted to help him.

"Gaara," she whispered, taking a step towards him.

She stopped though when his sneer returned to her movement, and his fingers tightened his sign. She held up her hands then, silently telling him she would not come any closer.

"Can I..." she began to ask, still trying to think on the spot. "Can I tell you a story?"

He didn't reply, and still stood frozen in his spot watching her intently. She knew the Ichibi in his mind was more than likely telling him opposite of her. But Gaara had to be listening to her, right? She believed her small voice could still be heard over Shukaku's growls, for even if he was still forming a seal, he hadn't said a word, and his eyes followed her's like a predator. To his silence, she took it as an invitation to speak.

"Once, there was a boy," Sakura paused, eyes swimming and trying hard to think of what to say next. "A...A lonely, little boy."

She knew for certain he was listening to her now, for he growled to her words. He wasn't naive enough then to not realize this was a story about him. Despite his irritation, he said nothing, and Sakura continued to speak.

"A sad, lonely, little boy. Who was just simply looking for a friend."

Sakura took a small step towards Gaara then, only to see him step back to her approach. He narrowed his eyes thinner towards her, silently telling her to stay away.

"...And he was different," Sakura said. "He had something inside of him he couldn't control, and that made everyone afraid of him."

"Stop!" Gaara cried, his eyes now pacing in anxiety.

"It wasn't his fault!" Sakura cried over the now growing winds. "It wasn't his fault they put something inside of him. It wasn't his fault everyone was afraid of him. It wasn't his fault his family, his mother, had no love for him."

"Shut up!" Gaara called to her again, the seal he was forming was now broken, and he now instead played with his hands in apprehension to Sakura's words.

"It was his Father's. The council, everyone who decided his fate before he was even born..." Sakura whispered for her ears only.

To his jittery state, Sakura took a step forward to Gaara, happy to see he was too preoccupied in his own mind to notice her movement.

"He was all alone for so long, and he had no one to turn to. This happened for so long, for so many years, until one day the boy decided that no one would ever love him."

"I don't like this story!" Gaara screamed at her, desperation in his voice and eyes for Sakura to stop.

He didn't need to be reminded how painful his life felt. He had been trying so hard after Yashamaru to numb himself from the feeling. Now Sakura was here, putting those doubts back in his mind, bringing up old feelings he wished would just leave. She gave him hope, yet a great fear that she would leave him heartbroken, just like his uncle had.

"Even Yashamaru hated him," Sakura said.

She knew her words then would have a great impact then. Using his uncle's name just cemented that Sakura was talking about him, and as soon as she finished that sentence, a loud, shrill scream erupted from the boy. It was a loud, long cry that made the sand around them spike up before swimming fiercely around Sakura's feet. She watched as he gripped his head hard then. The monster in his mind was urging him on, telling him to kill her or to let him out to do the job, and Sakura could recognize this. She understood evil in a way, or at least Gaara's. To his scream, his distraction, Sakura drew closer to him with sand still swimming around her feet. She stopped as soon as the boy's eyes landed back on her. He had a menacing look staring at her, his anxiety had morphed to hate and distrust for the woman, and he spat at her with a gnarr.

"I'll kill you!" he threatened. "I'll rip you apart until there's nothing left!"

Yet, Sakura was undeterred.

"Why?" she asked him, for she had warranted none of his hate.

And Gaara, it seemed, could even realize that as he tried to think of a reason. Sakura was just telling him a sad story; a tale of his life. It wasn't as if she was shedding some sort of new light onto him that would make him despise her. He was very familiar with this story already.

"Because!" Gaara cried at first, eyes wavering to the ground before he repeated in a whisper. "Because you..."

He stopped himself short, and Sakura again took another step towards him.

"Is it because your mind tells you to? Is it because I remind you of your uncle? Is it because your afraid I'll stop calling you friend?"

Narrow eyes again went to her fast, but they let up the longer they took in her words now. Sakura silently watched as Gaara winced and again gripped his head in pain.

"I am not your uncle, Gaara! Don't think I'll hurt you the same way he did!" Sakura called a little more loudly, hoping to drown out the voice in his mind.

Shukaku was desperate at this point, blood boiling that this woman's whispers could be heard over his loud speech. Yet, despite her words, Gaara sneered at her. Irritated by her constant voice now, he ordered the grains below to encase her, which they did, and Sakura did not fight back, did not struggle out of the grainy hold. She was confident in herself, in Gaara, that he would not harm her.

"He tried to kill me! Others too!" was Gaara's claim.

Maybe he thought Sakura trying to justify actions done to him before. She knew nobody was in the right trying to harm this poor boy, but by shedding some light onto him as to why they tried, the pain he caused them, he could learn better to control, hopefully.

"You want others to hurt the way you've been hurt," she called to him again, earning his angry look. "That thinking is wrong, and will leave you feeling empty with no one to sympathize with your pain. Annaisha only did this because you killed her mother. You killed someone who she loved."

Now his eyes held desperation again. Maybe guilt ate at him suddenly for what he had just done to the brunette, or maybe he worried of Sakura's view on him. Whichever reason, it gave the rosette hope that hate and despair were not the only emotions Gaara could feel.

"You knew she wasn't a threat after I hit her. If you had just waited, maybe we could have talked to her. We could have given her another chance! She could have been your friend!"

To Sakura's cry, Gaara again gripped his head.

"Shut up!" he screamed, banging his fists hard against his temple.

"People deserve second chances!"

"I told you to shut up!"

"Don't you agree?!"

The sand around her tightened suddenly. Her words weren't meant to irk, but instead enlighten him. At this point, if he wanted those who already knew him to view him in a better light, it would only come through changes and second impressions. Something that Sakura believed that many deserved, including Annaisha. She hoped the boy could see that too in himself and realize the people around him warranted the same. Hate, fear, and grudges would need to be cast aside in order for this fragile redhead to grow.

"If you talk again," Gaara hissed at her, "I will kill you."

Despite his threat, his unhinged mind, the troubled words Sakura told him, the young woman gave a small chuckle in her mind to his words.

'What?' she thought. 'He's actually giving me an option to live? Doesn't that already say something?'

To that thought, despite his loathsome look on her still, a small smile crept on her face.

"At least, let me finish the story," she spoke.

He blinked to her words, not following through with his threat. He was silent, and so Sakura continued.

"Even if he thought the world hated him..."

Gaara's hands began to slowly move, and the sand was now beginning to squeeze Sakura's bones to break and breath to choke. Yet, she continued.

"Even when he told himself no one would ever care for him, he found a friend."

His eyes widened, and he grated his teeth. It seemed her voice had finally made him snap, and he continued twist his hand slowly in a clockwise fashion. The sand that held Sakura slowly tightened more and more to his movement.

"He found a friend," she whispered, closing her eyes. "That friend helped him, changed him, until one day that lonely, little boy had many people looking for his guidance as a leader, and had nothing but respect and love for him."

Gaara said nothing still.

"He was selfless to those who needed him, put his people before his life, and even fought countless of enemies to save that friend who changed him for the better. He found his love."

Sakura waited, hoping her words would enlighten the boy, make him view the world around just a little bit differently. She wanted him to believe in redemption and chances, wanted him to know that his pain could be subdued. Above all, she simply wanted him to know that, one day, that love he was so desperately seeking would be found. Yet, his silence and squeezing sand made Sakura doubt her words impacted the boy at all.

'Naruto,' she thought to herself. 'I guess you're the only one who was meant to change him.'

After finishing that thought, Sakura's eyes opened and she held a breath in as the grip on her suddenly fell. The sand that threatened her was now falling off of her in retreat. She watched the sand around her disperse as if it was sliding away in distaste. She studied the mobility of her limbs as soon as she was able to before looking up to the boy in question. However, by the time she picked up her face to look at his, Gaara was leaping for her for a desperate, tight embrace.

"Gaara," Sakura whispered, stunned he would come running to her at this point.

She felt him cling to her legs, pulling her down in need. She knelt to his silent request, and was again taken aback when he locked his arms around her neck. Despair showed in his hold, and Sakura understood why as he pleaded to her.

"Don't leave me too! I don't want to be all alone!"

His voice was shaky, and if given the opportunity, Sakura would have liked to take a peek to see if there were tears in her eyes. To that thought, she bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back her own warm tears. Never in her life did someone depend on her like this, begging her not to leave them. It touched her heart then that this child, out of all the pain and distrust he had gone through, begged her for her existence. She had yet to move, yet to answer him, was instead fighting threatening tears, that the boy continued to mumble against her shoulder.

"Don't leave me, please. Don't go too. It hurts when I'm alone. Please, stay. Stay, Sakura. Stay, Sakura. Stay, Sakura...Please!"

His requests finally made Sakura's tears fall, and she thought again at how much they had damaged this poor child.

"I'd never leave you, Gaara!" she cried, finally wrapping her arms around the small boy.

She returned the embrace then, and Sakura wasn't sure how long they remained holding one another in the empty street. All she concentrated on was Gaara's light breathing as his fingers fidgeted lightly against her neck, though he dared not tear away from Sakura's heartfelt hold.

For the first time, Gaara felt the rosette's words sincere, despite the Ichibi's voice telling him otherwise, and his mind eventually grew calm upon hearing Sakura's promise now. He told himself then to do his best not to doubt her anymore, to take her words and teachings into consideration, and to welcome and relish in the new feelings she gave him instead of fearing them. He told himself that she would never abandon him. He told himself that she was nothing like Yashamaru. He told himself that she would not hurt him, ever. He told himself he could trust her. He told himself he would do whatever he could to protect her. He told himself that she was his friend.

He told himself that this must be love.

He rolled his head against her shoulder slowly, relishing in the feeling that she held him out of care. He was happy knowing that she did this act not out of fear, but because of love. A small smile found him then at the thought, and he sighed with content.

They stayed like that, silent, for what felt like hours into the night. Until eventually, fatigue hit Sakura, and surprisingly, the effects too had hit Gaara as well. Even holding onto the young woman, he began dragging her down, using her neck to hold up his weight. It seemed all that transpired tonight, along with the training done earlier, effected the boy.

"Let's go home," Sakura eventually whispered.

Gaara nodded in agreement against her, and rested his head against her shoulder as she picked him up to carry him. Even if he would not accept sleep to take him, Gaara closed his eyes, relaxing while he nestled against the woman and traced his arms back around her neck.

Sakura meanwhile was worn, she had no strength for a smile, and felt her eyelids sagging with every slow step she took. Still, she held onto the boy tight and lightly rubbing his back as she walked down the dark, sandy road. She continued to replay what had happened tonight, making note that Gaara had pushed away his dark thoughts on his own. Despite what he had done earlier with Annaisha, maybe Gaara could learn control, and peace, now instead of waiting on Naruto. She whispered to the small redhead one last time before continuing on home in silence.

"You're a good boy, Gaara."