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Chapter Twenty-seven
Sakura could not take her eyes off of her. She stared while blinking fast, and froze in her spot looking at the lady who stopped short of her.
The old woman had ceased her charge and, like the rosette, stared hard at Sakura with a tilt of her head and a glance that was trying to place a name on the person in front of her.
'Is it possible?' Sakura thought. 'Even if it's the past, is there a part of her that recognizes me?'
It certainly felt that way, and Sakura straightened herself as the woman opened her mouth to speak up.
"You-" she began, but was cut short by the call of another.
"Nee-chan!"
An older man was now racing towards them, pushing through the crowd that had stopped to watch as soon as the older woman raced towards Sakura. Some of them had moved on after the sight of Gaara, yet some of the thrill-seekers lingered in hopes of a fight.
"Nee-chan," the man said again as he came to the old woman's side, "please don't be so reckless."
The man gestured towards Sakura then.
"Take in her appearance and remember our location. There's no possible way she would locate herself here."
The older woman grimaced to her, supposed, brother's words. Her eyes fell harder towards Sakura as she scrutinized her all the more.
"I know that!" the woman spoke to defend herself from her brother's accusations. "Don't treat me as some senile, old woman."
Even if she said these words, her eyes stayed solely on Sakura, more specifically, the mark on her forehead.
Sakura realized then the connection the older woman was making with her now. Her seal resembled her teacher's own, and the rosette was well aware of the past Tsunade and this woman had. Again, the older woman opened her mouth to say something to Sakura, but stopped when her eyes fell to the little boy who peeked behind Sakura's legs.
"You!" the woman exclaimed, surprised at the sight.
She glanced back and forth between Sakura and Gaara, perhaps trying to understand the connection before her shocked features fell back to a heavy frown.
"What is Kazekage thinking?" she mumbled before turning away from the two.
Along with her followed the old man.
"Nee-chan, let's try not to make a spectacle while were here," the old man reminded her.
The old woman countered.
"I know that, I was just pretending you know."
Sakura watched them, still frozen and silent, but as the two figures passed through crowds and began to disappear in the distance, she realized how blurry her vision was getting. It would be long after the older pair was gone would Gaara dawn onto her as to why her vision was so hazy. He left her back to come to her side, wrapping his hand slowly into Sakura's own before pointing out-
"You're crying."
His voice made Sakura's mind jump, and she slowly brought her free hand up to wipe away the flowing tears.
The little boy brought his head up more to watch Sakura, tilting his head back and forth and trying to understand the problem. Before, he would blame himself for her tears, this time however he fell back to Sakura's teachings and past events.
"Do you miss your friends again?" he asked her.
Sakura forced a smile for his behalf.
"Always," she whispered to Gaara. "But these are happy tears."
"Happy tears?" he asked her, bewildered that such a term existed.
She nodded at him, wiping one last drop from her cheek. Instead of asking her to explain to him the meaning, he asked another question instead.
"Why are you happy?"
"Because I got to see an old friend again."
Gaara eyed her with confusion, but said nothing as Sakura turned her head to stare back at the sibling pair who was far gone down the street.
Even if she was now gone, even if the thought never occurred to her until now, Sakura vowed that she would eventually take up the opportunity she could here to speak to her old friend.
"Chiyo-baasama."
Days would begin passing again for Sakura in the blink of an eye. Routine fell back into place, lingering inside Gaara's room, but the previous mishaps from before seemed left in the past. Gaara behaved, he came to Sakura for answers when questions arose. He came to her for reassurance when frustration got the better of him. Best of all, for her, he came to her with more smiles on his face.
"Sing me Mother's song," Gaara would ask from time to time.
And Sakura would happily oblige, whistling the familiar tune for him. The notes would now calm Gaara down on his baddest of days, and the reminder of Karura's love would send Gaara to his most serene state. He always had a question ready for Sakura about his mother, even the repetitive ones on the daily, and she would answer as best as she could.
"Do you think Mother was nice?"
"She had to be."
"Do you think Mother would have loved me even though I have a monster in me?"
"Mothers love you no matter what."
"Do you think Mother would have let my brother and sister play with me?"
"Of course, she would have. She wanted you all to play together."
"Hey, Sakura."
"Yes, Gaara?"
"Do you think Mother was nice?"
At one point, Gaara had come to Sakura, tying his arms around her for an embrace.
"What's wrong?" Sakura had asked him, noticing his small pout.
Sakura's eyes followed Gaara's then, they both stared at the gourd in the corner of the room.
"Mother doesn't talk to me anymore."
The claim was as bewildering as the first time Sakura had heard Gaara call the inanimate object mother. Silently, she was grateful that dark voice was leaving Gaara.
"Do you want me to sing you Mother's song?"
Those words were not dark, those words truly came from Karura's heart, and those words were the only one Sakura hoped Gaara would fall back to, not the one from his dark imagination. Luckily, he would nod, troubles washing away from him as Sakura hummed the small tune.
And he wasn't the only one who came to Sakura begging her to sing. The other two siblings would sneak away when they could, leaping for the rosette as much as Gaara did.
"I brought her song," Temari always exclaimed. "You can read the lyrics!"
And Sakura would, smiling along with them as their own smiles grew. Gaara would utter no hum or word, Temari always tried to sing the lyrics while Kankuro hummed the small tune from time to time, but their eyes always lit up hearing what their mother left them and wished for them to achieve. Like Gaara, the other two children had their own questions.
"Do you think Mother is watching us now?" Temari always asked.
"She did say she would watch you always," Sakura told her, falling back to the words on the paper.
"Do you think she would be proud of me?"
"And why wouldn't she? You've achieved so much being so young."
Temari would always chuckle smugly hearing Sakura's praising answer.
The more the older children came to Gaara's room, seeking Sakura's attention while trying to comprehend and understand their little brother, a worry popped into Sakura's mind soon after. Would, no, could Gaara accept them for who they were, what they had done to him in the past? The rosette had tried to explain to the redheaded boy how important the two of them were to him, and how valuable their lives would mean for him.
"Why?" Gaara always asked. "They're just like any other person."
"There is something much deeper between you three," Sakura tried to explain. "You share the same blood, the same parents. You are family. One day you will rely on their guidance, and you will work together to protect one another."
He would lift his brow bone to her words, and chew on his bottom lip while he tried to comprehend Sakura still.
"You will see what I mean when you're older," Sakura said. "You will understand how precious they are to you."
"They're still afraid..." he murmured.
"Show them there's nothing to be afraid of," Sakura replied, lifting Gaara's chin with her hand. "Be kind to them, and they will be kind to you."
He would smile to this, though confusion still riddled in his eyes. He didn't understand family and siblings, he only knew of people in the world, and the world was afraid and hated him.
"Why can't I just learn from you?" he would ask. "I don't have to learn through them. Why do they have to be so important to me? I have you for that."
It was okay to have more than one important person to you, she told him. It was okay to learn the world through another persons eyes, she told him. It was okay to find guidance through his siblings, she told him. It was okay for him to turn to Kankuro and Temari one day instead of her, she told him. For she couldn't bring herself to tell him that one day she would be gone from this world. She would only be a memory one day to him, but as saddening as that thought was, no matter how her heart ached thinking of the scenario, her drive to return home never faltered.
Her only wish was that her teachings now would leave an impression in his mind. That he would let the world see more of the kindness and compassion she had seen in him. The world would recognize Gaara one day, hopefully Sakura would be able to let his ray of light shine for everyone to see now, than later. She hoped it would be his siblings next he fell to when she was gone.
She hoped.
Tried to believe.
Believed.
Gaara began to laugh along with Kankuro. They caused mischief in his room together, and showed off what little powers of their own they could. He was at first quiet to Temari's approach. The young girl tried so much harder now to understand her youngest brother, all for the sake of her mother's words.
"If Mama didn't hate him, neither will I," she declared to Sakura one day.
Yet, her approach was wary, and Gaara was always on guard of her. There was little common ground between them, except their personalities. Sakura was surprised to recognize the two more alike to one another than Kankuro to Gaara. They both had a tough exterior, and had no problem showing it off to those they felt threatened by. Deep within their hard shells, though, was a soft, gentle and kind side to them. There was a need within both of them to be accepted by those close to them, and eventually, they were able to break through each others tough shells.
Sakura had never laughed so hard seeing Temari pick up Gaara in a tight embrace and attempted to hold him for as long as he allowed. The blush on Gaara's cheeks had never glowed so brightly.
"Put me down, Temari," Gaara mumbled in protest.
"Nope!" Temari answered back. "I want to hug my baby brother."
Even if he found the gesture embarrassing, not once did he raise an arm, or use his sand, to push Temari away. He had learned to accept her, and she him.
Of course, Kankuro was the one to save Gaara from such affections.
"She always does stupid things like that," Kankuro would reassure Gaara before sticking his tongue out at Temari. "Boys don't like hugs, Temari!"
Gaara, of course, always sought Kankuro over his sister. Playing was more fun to him than hugs from his sister, but the girl simply skipped her way to Sakura instead, and the two eventually bonded in their own special way.
"Sakura," Temari asked from time to time. "Will you style my hair?"
"Will you read to me?"
"Will you draw with me?"
"Will you play with me?"
"Will you train with me?"
She had become attentive of Sakura as much as Gaara had, and unknowingly, Sakura had missed the jealous eye that watched the two of them interact together. It wouldn't be until one day, as Temari came giggling to Sakura, would the rosette understand Gaara's blooming envy. It would also dawn on her then what sort of impression she was starting to have on the children.
"I have something to tell you," Temari practically sang to her one day.
Sakura knew immediately it was about her brunette brother as soon as he reached for his sister and whined,
"Don't…Temari."
"Why not? She should know," Temari teased her brother back.
Sakura watched the two fight lightly with hands and words before she called out to them,
"Be nice to one another."
They had listened to her words and apologized, but Temari still skipped her way towards Sakura with a mischief glint in her eyes.
"Kankuro made up a name for you, Sakura," Temari began.
And again Kankuro whined in protest.
"Stop...please..."
Yet his pleas fell on deaf ears, for Temari could see the twinkle of curiosity in Sakura's eyes, and the rosette had lowered herself some to listen to the blonde child.
"He calls you Sakaasan now. He thinks your his mother now!"
The girl said no more as Kankuro jumped at her in a means to cover her mouth. The blonde girl simply laughed while leading Kankuro around the room, moving at just the right moments to escape her brother's grip. Meanwhile, Sakura's lips had pursed to the mixture of her name.
"Sakaasan?" she repeated to herself, trying to let the meaning sink in.
She often worried Gaara would come to view her as a mother figure, but was surprised to see it come first from the brunette. Understandably, she knew her attentions would be met differently with each child, yet still didn't think she had left that much of an impact on Kankuro nonetheless. It made her stem back to how lonely these children were, how clueless they were to parental relationships. Sakura didn't think of herself influencing the older children so much to the point that one would contort her own name, and the word mother, together. Thinking about it now, it made a little more sense since Kankuro was more like Gaara not truly knowing who Karura was. Temari was the only one who recalled moments of their mother while Kankuro doubted which memories of her were real and which were just a dream. It seemed Kankuro bordered closer to Gaara in the same light as there was little to no knowledge, or information, they knew of their mother. They only had the song, and Temari's words, learning who Karura was.
It made a little more sense then to Sakura why Kankuro labeled her mother. He looked for a living thing that showed him kindness unconditionally. He was still too young to understand that even if he could not see or hear her, Karura's love was still there and strong. He longed for a figure to guide him and hold him in his worst of days, and there was Sakura. The thought, name, Kankuro's affection, was all heart-warming.
...but it left Sakura with a sour taste in her mouth.
She wasn't their mother, did not even want to be a motherly figure to the three of them. She had been worried about this since Gaara and her grew close, and tried to remind him constantly that she was his friend. Karura was their mother, and whatever impression they had of the woman in her world, as well as her, she wished to keep the same in this world. She was their friend back home, here she wanted to be the same. It felt odd when she thought of their older selves, who were all older than her, to be considering her as a mother figure.
Gathering all this information in her mind quietly, she could still hear Temari and Kankuro running around the room teasing the other, but instead glanced at the quiet redheaded boy who watched the ordeal while sitting on the bed.
'Does he think of me like Kankuro does, like a mother?' she wondered.
Whatever his thoughts, Sakura had made a sharp gasp at the sight of him eyeing Kankuro with narrow, dark intent. She could never be rid of someone's jealousy, it was a human trait that would live on until the end of time. But it could be taught to be overcome, ignored, pushed aside. She was still teaching Gaara this, and while she would find a child's jealousy innocent, she worried Gaara's could still take a darker turn. As close as he had grown to his siblings, she still worried of his slip ups. Worried how far he could take his jealousy.
A life taken could not be replaced.
She ushered the two children away then. Away from her teachings, and the motherly figure one of them was clinging on to. She distanced them away from small, angry eyes that had looked down to those killed under him before her.
"Let's play again soon," Temari exclaimed before hugging Sakura goodbye.
"Bye-bye, Sakaasan," Kankuro had said, neglecting the feeling he had for the word before when Temari uttered it.
She waved them away, a smile on her face. They had first come for their brother, but they left looking up at Sakura. It wouldn't even be a second after Sakura closed the door would a little body be rushing up to her, leaping itself towards her for a tight embrace.
"Gaara," Sakura murmured his name.
He said nothing, burying his face into her.
Sakura sighed to this, coaxing his red hair with time. It didn't need to be mentioned that the boy's jealousy turned to anger. Anger towards her, towards Kankuro, towards Temari, or towards all them Sakura did not know. What she did know was that she was happy to see that he searched for comfort instead of letting that anger take hold of his fragile heart.
She knelt down to his level, pushing him back some before taking his face into her hands. He pouted, he looked away from her, but still leaned into her touch. His eyes told her much, where before they told her nothing. She once could not understand his silence, but now knew what little things made him upset, or happy.
"Sweet child," she murmured to him. "How proud I am of you, Gaara."
She referred to his restraint. Once where he would hold nothing back striking at his siblings, he now instead came to her for comfort and aid than letting anger control his mind. Still, his sad eyes went to her after her compliment, and the dreaded question she knew was coming finally broke free from his breath.
"Are you Kankuro's new mother?"
Sakura drew her hand back slowly from Gaara then. She was quiet at the thought, and watched Gaara's eyes darken from a tint of jealousy and confusion.
"You're not," he answered for her, almost as if he was trying to defend the thought himself in his mind. "He already has a mother. You can't be his mother. You're…"
His voice slowly trailed away, and he stared at Sakura while trying to process what her facial features and muteness meant.
"I'm what?" Sakura asked him.
Outside, a calm, collected woman stared at the child and patiently waited on him, inside, though, Sakura was nervous and impatient to understand how Gaara viewed her. If his claim of her was like Kankuro's, that she was like a mother to him, than the rosette worried for the child's view of her in the future.
"My friend," he answered quietly.
She smiled then, a small breath of relief escaping her too.
"Why can't I be your friend, and his mother?" Sakura teased him.
Gaara pouted once more.
"Because he already has a mother. You can't leave me to go take care of him. You have to stay here and be my friend."
Sakura smirked then, watching Gaara turn his eyes towards the side of him in a grimace.
'Spoiled one,' she called him in her mind. 'I need to show you more about sharing.'
Sakura chuckled softly, stretching her back some as Gaara's eyes went back to her.
"You're right," she sighed content. "He does have a mother already. You both do, and I don't think I'm meant to take her place."
Gaara said nothing, just stood and stared as Sakura spoke.
"I'm your friend," Sakura began before the boy interjected.
"Close friend," he corrected her.
'Ah, that's right," she suddenly remembered.
There were those close to her, she had explained to him once. Best friends like Naruto and Ino, and Gaara had proclaimed he wanted that immutable friendship with her as well. She had agreed, for there was always room in her book for one more of those. She nodded at him in agreement.
"Best friends," she corrected the term more fittingly before continuing on. "But I can be Temari and Kankuro's friend as well."
His eyes swept fast away from her, and his frown grew heavy over time. He contemplated her words, eyes swimming around the floor under him as he tried to think the thought through.
"Best friends too?" he asked.
Sakura shrugged.
"I don't get to spend much time with them like I do with you, but it is possible we may become better friends one day."
Gaara's eyes and mouth fell then.
"No..." he suddenly whined.
And Sakura was surprised to see him reach for her for another embrace. She tried to hold back her chuckles as the boy buried his head once again against her.
"That's not a bad thing, Gaara," Sakura tried to tell him. "It's alright to have more than one friend."
He nudged his head against her before turning his head to the side so his voice could be heard.
"Then how come I only have you?"
Sakura sighed, and the boy did not protest as the rosette lifted him to her sit on her lap. She nudged his chin gently up to look at her.
"It's alright to have only one friend, and it's alright to have many friends. Do you remember the little girl from the playground the other day?"
Gaara nodded.
"She really liked your sand. I bet if you saw her again that you two could be best friends."
"We could?" he asked with anticipation.
Sakura nodded with a glowing smile.
"Of course! Temari and Kankuro as well. Just remember to have patience," Sakura said.
The boy frowned.
"Well...How long does it take?"
Sakura hummed in thought, tilting her head to and fro before replying.
"Just depends," she told him. "It took you awhile to consider us friends, didn't it?"
"We've always been friends," Gaara tried to reassure her.
Sakura lifted an eyebrow skeptically towards the boy. She wasn't sure if he tried to joke with her, but his apathetic gaze told her he was serious of his words.
"Oh?" she asked. "Have we now?"
Sakura brought a hand up above him, and Gaara stared at it as Sakura mimicked a claw slowly reaching towards him.
"I guess all those times you told me to leave you alone, or go away, was just your way of showing what a good friends we were, huh?"
Before the boy could answer, Sakura brought her hand down, tickling Gaara as he struggled against her hold before bursting into a fit of laughter.
"Was this what you meant to do when your hand of sand came after me?" Sakura asked him above his cries.
"Stop!" Gaara cried through his laughs.
Sakura let up, and the boy rolled from her lap and away from her tickling fingers. As he turned around to face her he instantly charged at Sakura with a small cry of a warrior, mimicking her along with laughter as he brought his own digits to try and tickle her. From her arms, to her chin, and to small places on her neck did he try to reciprocate the feeling. When nothing emitted from Sakura, the boy took a defeated step back to look at her.
"Why doesn't it work on you?!" he asked, annoyed.
Sakura stuck out her tongue playfully.
"Ninja aren't ticklish," she told him. "I've been trained to overcome tickles."
In truth, the act didn't work because the woman had braced herself. She could also admit little Gaara was unfamiliar how to use his fingers for such an innocent act. Perhaps this had been his first attempt. Yet, she smiled at herself, finding her little, white lie humorous.
"Just goes to show how much more training you need," Sakura added.
She grinned when she saw Gaara pout and narrow his eyes towards her
"My sand will defend me," he replied, scowling still at Sakura's words.
The women repressed a chuckle to Gaara's attitude. He turned his back to her, about to walk away, but stopped mid-step. The rosette watched as Gaara whipped his head quickly back towards the door with wide eyes. Before Sakura could ask, Gaara told her,
"Someone is coming," he murmured.
He always sensed a presence heading towards the room before she could. Perhaps it came from years of confinement and solitude in the room, but she had become impressed with Gaara's detection. She glanced again at the little boy, his shuffled appearance from before reforming back to his quiet self, and he even turned his back on the door before the knock even came. Through his actions; that was how Sakura knew the person rapping against the door frame was not one to worry about. Yet, her face still fell at the sight of the man once she answered the knock.
"Baki-san," Sakura had murmured, a little surprised to him.
To his hard frown, the night of Annaisha's death replayed in her mind. Slowly, she brought her body outside of Gaara's room, shutting the door slightly behind so as the shield the boy from Baki's view. Looking back up at him, Baki's face was stern, frown hard, but stoic. He said nothing as silence lingered, and Sakura wondered if he too played in his mind the possibilities of what Gaara had done to Annaisha. Sakura's heart ached at the sight in front of her, though she wouldn't call him her friend, Sakura felt a connection to the man through both the sand siblings, and Annaisha. Never once had he mocked Gaara in front of her, and she was well aware of the future the two would have together, that it made Sakura's frown sink more.
Annaisha may have deserved what she had gotten for attacking Gaara, even if it wasn't the outcome Sakura had wanted. For Baki, he certainly hadn't deserved the pain of losing someone close to him, and Sakura hoped this incident didn't hurt whatever relationship came from Baki and Gaara in the future. Though they had told her once before that Sasuke would never return, that thought breaking her heart at one point, Sakura still couldn't imagine the unbearable hurt Baki was going through knowing he would never see Annaisha again.
"Sakura-san," he finally began. "Good evening. I come with a message from our great Kazekage-sama."
But he was also a ninja. He had been taught to overcome and overbear, even more strictly so in this country. He spoke to her with a straight back and clear voice, and Sakura knew then that the mention of Annaisha coming up in conversation would never come first from Baki.
Sakura said nothing to his words, still unsure how to approach Baki. So, the young man continued.
"He asked me to regrettably inform you that Annaisha has passed. A serious illness had taken a hold of her a days back and she had been unable to overcome the sickness."
'What?' Sakura slowly thought.
What was this lie Baki was suddenly spewing, Sakura wondered. Surely, he… Surely, Rasa… Surely the men who had found Annaisha's body knew well what demise had come to her. Sakura slowly brought her eyes back up to Baki, his vision was unreadable but his stare was strong on Sakura.
'No,' she realized. 'This is a lie they want me to spread if asked. They don't want word that Gaara almost lost control again...'
And she realized then that she had heard this lie before.
"I'll take my leave now. Good evening, Sakura-san," Baki said with a quick, small bow before turning on his heels.
He marched a few steps before Sakura called out to him.
"Wait!" she cried, and he did.
He kept his back to her, silent, as Sakura scoured her mind for where she had heard these familiar words.
"Temari had mentioned the same thing happened to Shiori," Sakura said.
She paused, waited. Silence followed, and with it came dread in Sakura's heart.
"Both Shiori and Annaisha unfortunately shared the same sickness that took them both," Baki spoke, clearing up any of Sakura's confusion with loose words.
Sakura's eyes widened then. Had Gaara killed Shiori? Was this why the old lady had been gone from long ago? Had this been the reason Rasa called her to his office to tell her to watch Gaara more closely? Exactly how far did these lies go? To the world, Sakura could care less if these two deaths were spoken as ill-fated sickness. For the man in front of her though, Sakura wondered what truth he knew. He deserved to know what happened to the woman he loved, yet did he already know so? Or was his mind painted with lies as well.
"What are you saying?" Sakura asked him. "Do you know? Rasa had to have told you..."
"Shiori and Annaisha unfortunately could not overcome the illness that took them," Baki repeated a little more loudly.
Sakura's shoulders fell then.
"Baki-san," she whispered. "Please, tell me you know. Please, tell me they at least had the dignity to tell you the truth..."
The man went silent, still frozen in his place as Sakura stared at his back. It wouldn't be until her vision grew fuzzy did Sakura realize tears were beginning to form in the corner of her eyes.
"I'm a medic," Sakura began, trying to rephrase her words carefully. "I know sickness. I know poisons. I know how to save those from the brink of death. I could have saved Shiori and Annaisha, I have no doubt about that."
Still nothing came from the man as Sakura waited. So instead, she continued.
"What happened to them… Is something I could not save them from."
It was her secret way of telling him, letting him know that illness hadn't taken either of them; and it was her own way of knowing whether Baki knew what Annaisha's true demise had been.
"I tried to with Annaisha," Sakura began, and she blinked away whatever forming tears were coming when she saw Baki's back suddenly tense. "I tried so hard to-"
"Annaisha is with her mother now," Baki spoke sternly, cutting her off, and finally he turned to face Sakura.
And as professional and clear as his voice had been, just like he had been trained to be, his eyes gave away the heartache he felt within him. And Sakura knew then, knew very well, that Baki was spared no detail of how Annaisha truly met her end.
"There is some comfort knowing she is back with the person she loved the most, her mother."
Most surprising of all then, Baki offered Sakura small smile. Probably his own way of thanking the rosette for considering him and his feelings on the matter. No matter how much she smiled and defended the small boy, she considered Baki's feeling enough to reveal the truth to him, and mentally he noted to himself how caring Sakura must be.
Even if she guarded views on Gaara, she was kind-hearted enough to let him know the truth, no matter what outcome view he would have on the boy. Now, if only Gaara could have learned of that same loving kindness Sakura had before Annaisha was killed, he thought. Yet, his training through the years and few days of grief had led him to overbear the pain.
Time would heal, he told himself days ago. It was not a ninja way to hold on to the past.
So, instead of heartache, his instinct made him fall back to Sakura's words.
"I'm a medic. I know sickness. I know poisons. I know how to save those from the brink of death..."
The ninja side of him, the side that told him to do all he could for his leader and village shined instead in his mind that moment. And a twinkle of amusement lit up his eyes. Where the young woman was only aware of what happened inside the walls of this room, Baki was willing at this moment to shed a little more light onto what was currently the village's top priority.
"Sakura-san," Baki began. "Would you mind accompanying me? I'd like to ask your assistance in an important matter."
