A/N: This note isn't really important; it's just me gushing about all of you and my thanks. So, if you want to skip and read go right ahead~

I feel like a milestone of mine has been achieved. No matter what the numbers signify, when it comes to a thousand, every step of the way there began first as only one. Between those two numbers is, for me, 998 of you expressing yourselves in some way about your feelings for this story.

My story just hit 1,000 reviews. To me, that thought is just amazing. Never, never, did I imagine this story would garner the responses it gets. Honestly, I don't think it deserves the love it receives-I don't even know what the f*** I'm doing! lol

I'm aware that not all of those 1,000 reviews are positive ones, and like most stories the most collected comment is the usual "update nao!1!", but I take all I am given and am thankful hearing everyone's opinions. As detailed and harsh as they come to the simple, pleasant comments. I can't please all, but I'll keep pushing myself to do better and maybe appease to more.

One of you has left a review for nearly every chapter and followed me since my last story, you don't realize what sort of encouragement you've given me friend.
Some of you are authors I admire, seeing your comments of encouragement knowing my writing is only a sparkle compared to the gems you write is inspiring.
A lot of you have become my dear friends just through a simple thank you message blossoming to more casual chatting, and I'm ecstatic to meet others who, like me, "-dig darker psycho stuff" or "You know just what I like! *sobs* angsty, frustrated men are the best...".
All of you, I am thankful to, whether you came and went, gone now, or continued to read, just the comments you left behind pushed me to keep going.

So, from me to you, an early chapter. As this is the only thanks I can give you right now. Thank you all so much for the 1,000 reviews and reading Mother's Song~!

Ha! I actually find it a little ironic that I hit my 1,000th mark leading up to this chapter's release…
This is the one you've all been waiting for lately. ;)


Chapter Forty-six


Where Konoha had dug deep into their mountain; make-shifting the rock to accommodate a home for all who went up against Gaara, the lush mountain here instead was used as a prison for those who fought against the very same man. The green and rocky beauty from a distance actually held something much darker inside it, both literal and rhetorical in Sakura's mind. When she was first dragged in by the guards, Sakura was blindly pushed down sets of stairs after stairs. With barely any light coming from the hanging lamps against the rock, Sakura could not make out any of the faces in the many cells. Even if she looked past the many bars, no eyes would look to meet up with her nor was any voice whispered. There was an empty feeling within the hot, damp mountain, yet Sakura could feel many, many bodies as they strolled past each cage. Even as they ushered her down halls to a flight of stairs and led her down the mountain more and more, Sakura could sense a tremendous amount of count within the mountain.

'Are they all rebels? Are they the ones Kakashi spoke about saving?' Sakura wonders.

A sweat breaks out on her forehead and the dewy humid feeling becomes heavier the farther down the travel.

'It's getting harder to breathe in here. Is there lava under this mountain?'

She takes a glance again within the shadows of the cells and can see people still shuffle lightly within them.

'How long have they been in here? This heat must be torture to most of them.'

Sakura says nothing, nor does she fight back once she is shown into a cell. She merely pushes herself forward with the knowledge that Gaara will see her soon.

"No talking. No crying, and no funny business," is all one guard tells her before the two march away.

Sakura watches them, wondering if they truly would place her in a cell and simply walk off like they are now. Even if they do just that, she does notice one lone guard. Still, at the sight, Sakura sneers.

'Just one guard?' she thinks. 'Is it that there's more, or are they negligent toeveryone they lock up?'

In the beginning, Sakura had simply explored her empty cell. She would trace the rough mountain in the back of her pen before looking at the cells next to her. It seemed they had placed her further away from others since she had no neighbors to look at. In the distance, as time passed, she could hear fits of coughs and light sneezes from time to time and narrowed her gaze when she realized something troubling.

"They all sound like women," she whispered to herself.

With time, Sakura takes a seat on the wet, rocky ground. She sighs as the dampness and thick air around her grows more uncomfortable. Even the smell of moist and rock makes her gag lightly as her body heat rises. Yet she remains seated while hugging her knees and staring angrily towards the ground. The mountain rumbles lightly from time to time, and light drops are heard throughout the mountain time to time as drops slide their way down formations. Another cough is heard.

'Do they only take women as prisoners?' she wonders.

Perhaps, it is those who know nothing of combat that are held captive. After all, it be a dangerous thing to hoard so many ninja in one place without better security than this. Even Sakura plays at the idea that she could probably break her way out if only her chakra would comply.

'I wonder why they keep so many. Is Gaara more compassionate towards women? Does he actually use them all as hostages, or…?'

As her thought turns darker, the rosette quickly shakes her head. He looked to be well off in that department with his small harem ogling him in the town.

'Not Gaara.'

As time begins to slowly pass with minutes turning into hours, Sakura preoccupies her mind by trying to make a mental list of all she wants to ask Gaara, and tell him. She drags a hand on her back, trying to brush away the sweat, but stops her fingers when she recalls the blue mark on her skin that Chiyo had mentioned.

'I wish I could look at it,' she thinks while poking at her skin.

She recounts Chiyo's words that perhaps the mark is draining her power. Yet, as she sits here, she feels nothing different within herself except the exhaust that the body goes through while sitting in this humid heat. Hours pass again, and as the rosette counts how long its probably been, she realizes it is possibly late into the night already or within the early hours of a new day. To which, she sighs.

'I doubt I'll be seeing him soon then. Not until at least morning...'

Despite how uncomfortable she knows it will be, she lays her head against the wet, hard ground and seeks sleep. The task, as simple as it sounds, becomes harder for her as her thoughts begin to drift back to her recent times with Gaara.

'He'd probably be waking me up right now to get Kakigori,' she thinks. '...and he'd be so sad when I tell him Tsutomu would have closed shop by now.'

She smiles softly at the idea and lets her eyelids fall as she tries to visualize Gaara's toothless smirk. Yet, the more she dwells on Gaara, the happiness he once brought begins to turn into sadness. He is still with her, she tries to tell herself. That, soon, she will be speaking to him once again. Yet, at the same time, there's a constant nagging in the back of her mind telling her she has lost the little boy forever.

Gaara may be the one and same boy she held close in her arms, but there's an ache within Sakura knowing the man she waits to meet will not be the child she loved. As the thought lingers, she sighs. Perhaps, this was the tribulation she was bound to endure once she returned to her own world. That the redheaded man, in her world, would meet her gaze thinking very little of her when she knew him as a child so bound by her side through love.

'At least this Gaara has the same memories as I,' Sakura thinks.

Eventually, sleep does find her. It is a restless one with the faintest of noises, and the aches on her body from the ground, waking her to move from time to time. It isn't until footsteps draw closer and closer to her cell does her body and mind involuntarily rouse her from her deep sleep. She draws near towards the bars of her cell; watching a guard and another draw up towards her. Through the darkness, she cannot catch their faces, but thinks it unimportant as, instead of stopping at front of her own cell, they move on to one next to her.

'Another prisoner?' Sakura thinks, trying to look at her through the darkness.

"Ah!" a new voice suddenly speaks, and even if she can't see well, Sakura catches vibrant, blue eyes staring at her. "Looks like I made a new neighbor."

Despite the dismal place around them, this new girl speaks with a skip in her voice.

"Hush," the guard tells her. "You know the rules."

"Yeah, yeah..." the girl mumbles.

Before the guard locks this new girl in she is presented with a small basket. Though Sakura cannot see, the round shapes and citrus smells give away what the girl is receiving from the guard. Sakura's stomach growls with want, after all, it's been quite some time since she has eaten. Though Kankuro had made, Sakura did not touch his soup before he sent it tumbling over the table.

"You're lucky she likes you so much," the guard scoffs before passing off the basket and locking the cell behind him.

"Right?! I aim to please!" the girl quirks.

The guard's next words come out harsher.

"No talking," he reminds her.

It isn't until the guard walks away, passing by Sakura's cell, does the rosette sigh and return to the ground.

'Guess Gaara still isn't back yet,' she thinks with tired eyes and a tightening belly.

Through her lidded eyes does Sakura watch the shadow in the cell next to her move around before loud, eating sounds are heard. Sakura grimaces at the girl's grotesque and boorish-like noises.

'She eats as loud as Chōji does...' Sakura remarks in her mind, watching the shadow now drag her finger over one of her fruits.

Sakura catches those blue eyes again on her emerald orb. Through the bars does a mikan suddenly roll towards her and Sakura scrambles herself upright before quickly picking the fruit up. Sakura makes a nod of appreciation to the woman who simply gives her a thumbs up before continuing to down her other fruit.

Sakura's teeth immediately inch towards the citrus fruit, her stomach growling in anticipation. Yet, she stops almost instantly as she feels some light carving on the skin of the fruit. Sakura pulls the orange fruit back from her mouth and stares at it. The light from the lamps help Sakura none to read what has been etched onto the fruit. Yet, as she traces her fingers over and over the markings, she is able to decipher each character in her mind until an understandable sentence forms.

"Don't ever give up."

Encouraging words. Perhaps this girl sees Sakura as new and therefore her will weak. However, the rosette is quite the opposite, and does not return the woman's blue gaze on her before taking a large bite from the mikan. Even if she feels the stare long on her, and the sounds of eating only coming from her then, Sakura keeps her eyes away. It isn't until Sakura finishes the fruit does she spot the shadow of the other woman scoot closer towards the bars that separate them.

"Thank you," Sakura whispers, staring at the blue eyes still shining through the dark.

Sakura opens her mouth to ask more but stops when the shadow of the girl suddenly pushes away from the bars and instead turns her back towards Sakura. She quickly lays down, making the rosette confused by her actions. Yet, as Sakura hears footsteps approach close to them again she realizes the woman probably masks herself. Sakura even wonders if her soft voice was picked up by a guard and now they come to give her reprimand. She quickly stands herself as a guard stops by her cell and stares long at her. Sakura's heart races in anticipation, the man's silence helps none, she is eager to know…

"Come on," he tells her.

It's like her heart pauses and a breath is lost. Him unlocking her cell now could only mean...

'He's here,' Sakura thinks.

It feels like a dream as the door opens and the guards sandwich her as they begin marching her down the hallway. As soon as she is able, Sakura quickly recovers herself and turns to look at the woman who offered her that fruit one more time. She meets blue eyes again but they fall from Sakura's gaze in an instant and her back faces her once more before the rosette can give her any sort of thanks. Despite knowing she cannot see, Sakura gives the woman a nod of appreciation as her stomach no longer wails.

The walk back through hallways and stairs seems much longer, but Sakura again holds her breath as she spots the daylight through the mountain's entrance. As she passes through back towards the jungle, she blinks towards the morning sun slightly hidden by gray clouds. A mist has formed around the ground again and there is a slight freshness in the air that Sakura can both feel, and smell.

'It must have rained here last night,' Sakura thinks before her eyes begin to travel past the guard in front of her in search of another.

A distance away are two other figures, and Sakura becomes slightly disappointed to see that neither of them have red hair. Despite this, the brunette of the two offers her a small wave and a small smile while the blonde crosses her arms and sneers once more.

"We'll take her from here," Kankuro tells the guards in an authoritative tone that actually catches Sakura off guard.

Yet, if she recollects correctly in her memories, it is the same tone he used on her when she was captured back in that small town. Not to mention, the men there had called him captain. To stay in that home, as he described, would mean he has some higher rank and closeness to Gaara. Those thoughts dissipate the moment he takes a cloth and wets it with what appears to look like fresh water.

"Here," he tells Sakura while nodding the fabric towards her. "It was probably hot in there."

Sakura is hesitant at first. She remembers he is an enemy, she remembers that he has drugged her once before, she remembers his mind is is not stable. Yet, her hand reaches for the fabric when she remembers the little boy who was happy when she had told them they would be friends forever.

As Sakura wipes the dirt and stickiness off of her face, Temari speaks.

"Quit your baby bullshit, Kankuro. Let's get up there quick."

Sakura pulls away from the cloth as she feels cold hands clasp around her hot skin. She is dragged again by her arm but protests immediately against Temari's pull. To which the blonde scoffs.

"You're coming with us," Temari orders.

A smirk finds the blonde then but it is devious and intended with ill intent.

"There's someone who wants to see you," her grin grows.

That sentence alone makes Sakura's heart skip again, yet she keeps her narrow gaze set.

"I don't plan on running," Sakura reminds Temari. "I want to speak with Gaara, there's no reason for me to run at this point. So, there's no reason for you to drag me like that anymore."

Temari's grin falls and she instead bares teeth to show distaste. Yet, before she says anything, Kankuro takes a step closer towards Sakura's backside.

"I-I'll watch her, Temari," he offers. "You can lead the way."

Temari snorts before turning from the two.

"Whatever," she spits. "You'd be foolish to try anything now anyway. Take a good look around you, it's the last you'll see of anything."

Despite her words, Sakura only keeps her eyes set on Temari's hair once the blonde leads. In her mind is the recollection of the crying girl who only wanted to wear her hair down.

"You should wear your hair down," Sakura tells her as she follows her steps. "I think it always suited you better anyway. Or, is it you're still mistaken as your uncle by Gaara?"

Sakura's words cause a pause in Temari's steps, and both Kankuro and Sakura watch as Temari stands still for a moment before she balls up her fingers.

"You better figure out how to keep stupid remarks like that to yourself. Gaara doesn't have a sense of humor."

'But then...he never really did,' Sakura muses lightly.

His child self was playful, but only occasionally, and the older self she knows has never cracked a smile in front of her. Despite this, Sakura keeps quiet and follows as soon as Temari picks her feet back up. Sakura takes a peek behind her and is offered a gentle smile upon gazing up at Kankuro, but she is a little disheartened to see that he has decided to adorn paint on his face today.

"Everything will be alright, Sakaasan," he tells her as her gaze lingers.

Yet, he swallows hard after his words, and within his real eye is a pool of worry as he looks at her. As her stare lingers, she recollects yesterdays events and allows her steps to slow and march closer near Kankuro.

"Are you alright? Is Gaara upset with you?" she asks.

Kankuro's eyes widen for the moment and he stares at Sakura with a troubled look.

"D-Don't worry about me," he says while forcing a grin. "Him and I will talk later. He's more concerned about you at the moment. "

Temari, a bit ahead them, scoffs.

"Concerned," she mumbles, finding humor in the word.

Kankuro speaks to conceal his sister's snicker.

"Just..." he begins, unsure of what to even say. "Don't run, Sakaasan. Do not run. If you run, he will chase you."

Familiar words, and they are so fresh still in her mind that her steps pause for a moment before continuing. Perhaps, some darker things from Gaara's younger self still manifests today, and the idea makes Sakura swallow hard. She had taught him to overcome it and had even watched him stop himself before.

So, why does Kankuro warn her like his father once had, and why does he do so with such a concerned face?

So many worry for her sake; meanwhile she worries for the man she is about to see again. She worries that he will tell her a troubling tale that Shukaku's voice had returned as soon as she left. She still worries for the little boy she pictures in her mind despite the world telling her to fear the man she is about to meet.

"Did he ask anything specific about me?" Sakura asks, looking at Kankuro again. "Does he think me an impostor?"

Kankuro's lips twist and he stares in front of him for a moment before whispering.

"Not to me..." he mumbles out. "As soon as I told him, he said to keep you here until he was back. He just got here this morning and asked us to bring you out."

Kankuro takes a quick sniff before his eyes narrow towards the mist that clouds around their feet.

"I think he didn't expect you to be up in the mountain. He looked irritated when Temari mentioned that we would go get you from there."

Though he may have tried to hide it from her, Sakura is able to see Kankuro cast the back of his sister a concerned glance. He must worry for her as much as she does him, and it makes Sakura speak out.

"I'll tell him not to be upset. I don't like being caged up, but I suppose I can understand the precautions you all use. I've heard about people taking up my appearance."

Kankuro's eyes widen to Sakura's voice and from Temari do his eyes slide back to the rosette. He quickly forces out a grin.

"Nah. Nah. Don't worry about us! He's probably just anxious, you know? I'm surprised you're so calm right now, Sakaasan. I gotta confess, even my heart is racing. I'm...glad Gaara gets to see you again."

Another smile and before Sakura can return it or speak, Temari calls out to her brother.

"Kankuro," she murmurs, warning in her tone. "Watch what you say from this point on."

"Ah!" Kankuro beams, his eyes scanning the cliff side they walk along. "Right."

Kankuro falls silent and any questions or remarks Sakura has after that is met with short answers or a smile and nod. She eventually takes the hint and allows herself to, instead, delve into her mind than speak.

'I wonder why they don't talk anymore,' Sakura thinks. 'Are we that close to Gaara that he can hear us?'

The sounds around her are of nothing but birds and distant cries of animals. As they travel farther up the rocky path of a cliff, the closer they draw near a giant waterfall and its loud, rushing waters drown about everything Sakura can hear. Still, she is led up in silence until they finally reach the top. Sakura's eyes widen when she is presented with a small meadow. Though not voluptuous in flowers, it homes nothing but green, and tall trees loom in the distance. It's a beautiful sight but Sakura recalls that under all this green and rock is a prison that may hold people from her home.

She, at first, doesn't notice that her next few steps go past Temari and the two siblings linger behind her while Sakura stares at her surroundings. In front of her is a green, open land. Next to them is the large, loud waterfall, and if she peers out behind her she can overlook the vast jungle and spot the giant house in the distance. Never in her life did she imagine islands such as this were within her world, and wonders what sort of fortune the family that once lived here had.

'Maybe a Daimyo...' she thinks.

She takes a few steps forward towards the meadow before realizing the two that brought her here do not follow. Sakura turns to them with question in her look. Yet, as Kankuro offers her a soft smile while Temari is passive, a realization dawns on her.

Past the trees is nothing but mountain that leads to an ocean. A dead end so to speak, which could only mean…

"Don't run, Sakaasan," Kankuro whispers, stealing back her gaze.

The pair jump away then. Using their chakra now, Sakura senses them rushing back down the mountain and leaving her behind.

'Gaara is here?' Sakura quickly thinks, swallowing hard before turning towards the trees within the meadow.

Her senses pick up nothing and the only color she spots is green. The scenario doesn't seem to change for minutes that makes Sakura grimace.

'Another trap?' she wonders.

In time the thought is dismissed, and the amusement she had before meeting Gaara wears thin.

"Seriously?" she mumbles, irritated. "I'm not doing this all over again."

She approaches the trees and as her steps grow heavier, she calls out.

"I'm not here to play games!"

She stops just at the entrance of the many trees, eyes still glancing for another being. Yet, her senses pick up nothing.

"Come on," she whispers to the trees. "I just want to talk."

She stands there, waiting. The stillness of the world around her makes her heart beat faster while making the situation all the more puzzling in her mind. Perhaps, Temari had convinced Kankuro that they should just kill her and now she is just standing there waiting for an attack. Perhaps, she could use the situation as a benefit for herself; Find a way to escape and let Kakashi know where his men are held. Perhaps…

Her thoughts still suddenly. She is frozen in her spot and a gasp leaves her the moment a hand slides into hers from behind her. In that instant, memories flash within Sakura's mind.

"I'll let you hold my hand, if you can catch it that is."

Sakura can see herself saying this to a little boy who stands before her, guarding himself from her recognition. Another flash, and she can see his toothless smile brightening her spirits as he wraps his hand within hers.

"I caught it!" his young voice echoes.

She wonders if the same scenarios swim through his mind now since, like her, he does not move, does not speak, and only rests his palm against her own hand. It's as if he tests the waters again like he did at his young age. His hand is so much bigger now that it could overtake hers with ease. The skin of his hand is also more rough, which is obvious to come with any ninja, but it's just enough to make Sakura suddenly miss those small, soft, delicate fingers that would tie into hers. Despite all this, she knows exactly who it is his who reaches for her hand now.

"Gaara," Sakura gently whispers.

The man who stands behind her now is someone she has been warned about these past days. A killer, she has been told. A murderer, she has seen with her own eyes. A leader, his brother boasted. A monster, her mind tries to convince her. Fingers should not entwine with a monster's sharp claws for it will tear at the skin and dye a hand red. Pull away, Sakura's mind continues to warn her.

However, her heart speaks differently.

The man behind her is the boy she loves. He is the very same she shared laughter and smiles with. There is a bond between them her heart is not yet ready to break; A drive that she can fix him, that she can change him, that he is simply misunderstood just as much as his younger self was. That the man behind her is just, once again, looking for one person to understand him and his lonely plight. She wants to still be the friend that he saw her as at his young age.

Heart overshadows mind, and slowly she squeezes his hand.

She sighs, content, when she feels his hold tighten along with hers. The embrace between them is enough for her to cast aside all the ill she has heard of him. This is her friend, Gaara, and it seems he views her the same way as he keeps her hand clasp with his. He is still the good boy, and great man, she knows him to be.

She turns to face him and does so by not breaking his hand from hers. Gaara, it seems, is just as a keen at keeping their connection, for he maneuvers his arm gently along as she turns. As their eyes meet, Sakura can see Gaara's teal gaze widen briefly. Whether it is shock of her standing before him, or if it's her appearance that hasn't changed despite the years, that surprises him she is not sure. As his eyes linger on her, his mouth drops a little, as if there is much he wishes to convey, but instead drowns at the sight of the being in front of him

For Sakura, seeing his older self is a little disheartening. She knew it was a man who reached for her hand but had still hoped she would be turning to face a young child. With her hand still held by him, she studies his features with a steady face.

'He looks no different...' Sakura thinks.

It's been some time since she had an opportunity to see the Gaara of her world. Yet, the resemblance is exactly the same. Alas, it also makes her wonder what she was expecting. Perhaps it was the view people told her of him that made her wonder if she was going to turn to face a scarred up militant. Looking more closely, perhaps this Gaara is a tad bit bigger in build, and the wrinkles above his nose are a bit more visible.

'He's kept those angry eyes,' Sakura sadly thinks as she stares more at that vivid wrinkle.

Yet, in the end, he is much the Gaara she remembers him to be. It is then Sakura offers him the smallest of smiles; something that makes Gaara's eyes widen all the more.

"Gaara," Sakura begins. "I-"

She stops suddenly, breath stolen away, as Gaara leaps for her and wraps his arms around her frame. He pulls her into a tight embrace; resting his head against her shoulder. In a flash in her mind, the young child appears again, pulling and holding her for a desperate hug.

"Do you realize how much I've wanted to see your smile again?" he whispers. "I've missed its brightness so much."

Sakura's eyes widen to his voice, and the story Kankuro had told her, about a boy wandering lost in the desert looking for her, comes to mind. The image, along with Gaara's desperate hold, is enough to make the corners of her eyes wet. Sakura tries to free her arms from Gaara's hold, to return his heartfelt hug, but stops when she feels Gaara's grasp only tighten to her small squirms.

"I knew you'd come back to me one day," Gaara says; lifting his eyes and face up from Sakura's shoulder to her chin. "There's no way you'd break what we once shared."

His hold grows constricting and Sakura's struggles become stronger as she tries to break free from his grip.

"Gaara," she hisses and winces at the hold. "Let go, you're hugging me too tight."

Yet, her request is ignored, and Sakura's eyes narrow as Gaara begins drawing his face ever closer towards hers. As soon as Sakura looks into his gaze now there is a mockery in his look and he shifts his mouth over hers while holding her close still.

"Look how young you still look," he coos while tilting his head to gaze into her eyes. "It's been so long. What will you give me for making me wait?"

Sakura gasps and eyes widen when she spots the direction Gaara's mouth is now moving towards. For the moment she is in shock at Gaara's intruding approach.

'What the hell…?!' she thinks.

Quickly, she brings a leg up an attempt to kick Gaara back. She doesn't manage a hit, but what she does manage is a sudden wall of sand to explode between her and Gaara, and its force is strong enough to send her flying out of his arms and back away from him. In that moment, as she pushes herself back up against the ground do the warning and stories she has heard about this Gaara suddenly resurface and brush away the clouds in her mind. Her hopeful wishes turn into dreadful facts, and Chiyo's words ring in her mind.

"He's not the child he once was, Sakura. He's a grown man now. He no longer needs someone to tell him what he is doing is wrong. He chooses this path, he chose to harbor the Shukaku's darkness."

'No!' Sakura thinks, pushing those thoughts aside. 'There has to be some good in him!'

She narrows her eyes towards Gaara but gasps when she sees his body gone.

'He's fast!' Sakura finishes that thought with her hair suddenly gripped tightly from behind.

She cries out as she is pulled upwards by her hair. She grimaces as a malice laugh suddenly echoes in her ears before Gaara rests his cheek against her own.

"That copy ninja is getting pretty desperate, isn't he?" Gaara speaks, his mouth's movement rocking Sakura's face along with his. "How many of you do I need to kill before the message becomes clear to him?"

Sakura gasps again and her eyes widen with realization.

'He thinks I'm a fake.'

"Wait!" Sakura cries, her hands reaching and holding Gaara's own that are tangled in her hair.

Her eyes meet with Gaara's own the moment he pushes his face forward and tilts his head at her. For the moment, as they lock eyes once again, Sakura falls silent in thought.

'There is good in him,' she repeats in her mind, trying to convince herself.

Her silence, however, seems to say something else to Gaara, and her eyes go round when an uncharacteristic grin spreads across his face.

"Well?" he ushers her along. "Let me hear it. I want to hear it."

Sakura says nothing and only narrows her eyes in confusion at his words.

"Your life," he answers her her silent questioning. "Beg for it. Ask me to spare you. Tell me you will join up with me and reveal all those useless secrets you claim to know."

With one hand tangled in her pink hair the back of his other hand gently traces down Sakura's cheek.

"I wonder," he snickers. "Just how far you'll go. The last one was willing to-"

Sakura pulls her face away from his touch before angry eyes return to Gaara. Her actions must be a rare one he is not use to, for he stills himself as his eyes widen to her movement.

"Gaara!" she quickly speaks. "It's me. It really is me. I'm the real Sakura!"