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Chapter Fifty-one


Sakura stared down the flight of stairs. The dim, hanging light did nothing to help show what awaited down below, and the ominous feeling that something treacherous waited for her below played in her mind. Sometime, in her young, young years Sakura recalled a nightmare like this. It wasn't the foreboding impression that kept Sakura in her place now but instead of the dismal thought that Kankuro placed himself in, what looked to be, the most miserable part of the home.

Kankuro resided down there, is what Gaara told her, but instead of stepping foot Sakura pauses for the moment to stare down towards the darkness and back up towards the doorway that is feet away next to her. The thought of escaping once again plays in her mind. Yet, the idea vanishes once she recalls the blonde who unwittingly became victim the moment she stepped in to relay news to Gaara. It was beginning to feel more and more like Gaara and her, Sakura, were playing a game, and of course it would have to be the redhead who would play dirty. Still, the thought does not not waver Sakura's undaunted nature. It matters to her not how he played, so long as no harm came to anyone, just as long as she makes it to the end first.

Shaking off her thoughts, Sakura picks her feet quickly and rushes down the stairs. As she had thought, the small, dark hallway is cheerless. With no windows or decor, Sakura thinks it more to lead her to a storage room. There is no way the space here would be a healthy livable spot. Yet, as her steps take her deeper down the hallway, she is eventually met with cell door and she grimaces at the hard, metal door the moment she comes close to it. She pushes on the metal frame, noting how there is no handle for her to grip and no movement comes from her hard push.

"What is this?" Sakura questions, now irritated that Gaara possibly sent her on a fools run.

To that idea, she mumbles under her breath before shifting on to her toes to peek through the doorways small window. Through it, she can see the dark hallway lead on and even spots another strong door along the way. Yet, what catches her attention most is the few barred-up cells that have been made past the door.

"This is another prison?" Sakura asks, wondering what reason for this place if they have an entire mountain devoted for keeping enemies.

Yet, as she stares at the lone four cells, she notices them empty and retreats the flat of her feet back onto the floor.

"Maybe it was once used but not anymore."

She shrugs off the wondering, trying to think of where to go or do next. Once her eyes and head turn back around the dark hallway she suddenly spots another metal door. It blended well within the hallway to appear like just another wall. Sakura retracts her steps back towards it. Like the other door this one has no handle but the little screen on the door, which was once probably glass, is chained with wire and Sakura calls out through it as she stands on her toes.

"Oi, anyone in there?" she asks, letting her eyes scan the dark room within.

Before she can make out any silhouettes, or instruments, a gaze suddenly slides by and appears to meet with her own. His look at first drips with suspicion and disinterest, yet as he realizes who it is he stares at, that expression quickly melts away before Sakura can interpret it, and his eyes round in surprise at the sight of her.

"Sakaasan!" Kankuro exclaims. "Wait, uh, wait one minute."

Sakura stands back, listening to the clatter of glass and metal shuffle around before she hears what sounds like a curtain being drawn. She is quiet as she listens, but she offers the brunette a smile once he opens the door and gives her one of his own nervous ones.

"Sorry, about...about the mess," he says while inviting her in.

"You didn't know I was coming," Sakura justifies for him and steps in to the dark room.

Yet, the more of the room she takes in, the more Sakura scowls while scrutinizing the area. It's a much bigger room than she anticipated but no less dismal than she expected. With no windows, and only one, flickering light, Sakura is disheartened to see a small futon lying in the corner of the room.

'Please tell me he doesn't stay in here,' Sakura thinks.

There a workshop bench one puppet now occupies, while a few others hang on the walls. Littered around the bench, and floor, are random weapons, scrolls and books. Her eyes slow when she spots one lone kunai on the workbench, hidden under the puppet's arm but she continues her gaze so as not to let Kankuro spot her line of sight. Yet, it is another thing that catches Sakura's attention the most. The closed curtain at the end of room, hiding whatever lays behind it. There is also a familiar odor, one people grow disturbed upon smelling, that lingers in the room and rouses Sakura's suspicion. Along with it, the scent of chemicals.

"Uh..." Kankuro murmurs, catching Sakura's eyes drift towards the curtain. "Were you needing some-something, Sakaasan?"

Sakura turns her eyes towards Kankuro. His nervous nature shifts his gaze from hers to the side as he taps his fingers lightly together. In that instance, Sakura recalls the comment Gaara made that made her heart tremble.

"I'm not the mad one here. Kankuro has killed more men and women than I!"

'That can't be true,' Sakura thinks as she watches Kankuro continue to shift nervously under her gaze. 'Not Kankuro. Not the boy who pushed himself to become closer to Gaara. Not the boy who was so happy to be my friend.'

Sakura's smile turns sympathetic towards the man then and it's a look Kankuro can't look away from.

"The house shook earlier. I was told it was because of you?"

Kankuro's face drops to Sakura's words but he nonetheless forces a smile after some time.

"I was...experimenting on a new jutsu."

Innocent enough, Sakura thinks, but his eyes still shift nervously and a question comes next.

"He's not mad-upset with me, i-is he?"

Sakura swallows hard, but nonetheless quickly shakes her head. She watches as Kankuro gives a sigh of relief and he give a nervous, quick laugh before he glances around the room.

"Good," he exclaims. "I never meant for it to be big like that."

Kankuro waltzes over to drag a chair behind Sakura.

"Sit, Sakaasan," he offers.

As Sakura does this she watches silently as Kankuro begins picking the litter around his room.

"How have you been, Sakaasan?" Kankuro asks while he does this task. "Are you liking being here with us again?"

To his own question Kankuro picks himself straight up and stares hard at Sakura. For the rosette, she can see his tentative stare in his real eye as he waits for her answer.

"It's...like old times, right?" he offers, pushing, almost trying to convince her that her place is here, with them.

"I am a prisoner, Kankuro," Sakura reminds him. "I was brought here against my wishes. Here I continue to stay with Gaara telling me I am not to come and go as I please."

Kankuro returns to his cleaning and seems to brush away Sakura's accusing, and bitter, words.

"Give it time, right? He just doesn't want to lose you again, you know? I'm sure he'll lighten up and give you more freedom soon. I know he really cares for you so it probably wouldn't take you much to turn him into a complete pushover."

Sakura's eyes widen to Kankuro's words. Despite how wrong Gaara has been acting, how he treats her now, there may actually be some truth to Kankuro's words that Sakura has already sensed.

"A pushover..." Sakura repeats in a whisper.

As much of a game as she is sure Gaara views it, Sakura thought it more her duty to do everything in her part to stop Gaara than treat this as a game. Yet, in a sense, it is the scenario of a psychological sport Sakura now plays in her mind. Just how far exactly can she push Gaara? Could she get him to cater to her and in turn at least have a reason treat him kinder and thus build his trust in her? Could she push him to reveal more to her, where vague questions and conversations become more in depth in her presence. Does she just have to repeat what she had done in his child years? The idea is interesting to ponder, but one Sakura isn't sure she is willing to do.

To trick Gaara would mean to mislead the boy he once was.

"I don't want you to disappear again either, Sakaasan," Kankuro murmurs while storing books away. "I feel like your place is with us, don't-you...you agree?" Kankuro asks, turning to face Sakura again as he asks this.

Meanwhile, the rosette narrows her eyes in thought and ponders Kankuro's question. His drive to make Sakura view him, and the whole situation, in light makes her think of Gaara doing just the same. They share that same aspect, to convince Sakura that her place is alongside them and that this war and fighting should be looked at with proud eyes. Yet, there is something drastically, characteristically different about these two Suna men. Their eyes spill out hidden emotions, and where Gaara's has changed incredibly over the years, Kankuro's feel exactly the same as when Sakura first met him as a child.

'Gaara disowns his siblings,' Sakura thinks. 'Yet, Kankuro...'

Sakura swallows hard before she opens her mouth to ask.

"You love your brother still, right?"

Kankuro flusters for a moment to Sakura's questions, and even bumps his head under the desk he was trying to pick litter up from. Shying away, he turns his attention back to his scroll and book shelf.

"Why-what makes you ask?" Kankuro stutters.

Sakura is silent as she stares at Kankuro and wonders.

"Hey, I asked the question here first, didn't I?" he even tries to change the conversation.

'He would still love the man who disrespects him and has disowned him...'

Sakura's frown hardens and her thoughts return to Gaara. How could Kankuro's heart undermine his brother's so much? Gaara cared for his village back in her world. He even sacrificed himself to ensure his friends and family be safe, but in this world his eyes only care for whatever hidden prize he aspires for.

"I'm not the mad one here."

Gaara's words echo loud in her mind, and despite all that Gaara has tried to show her what to expect from Kankuro, she can't help but wonder where that statement had stemmed from. Yet, the smell that seems to grow empowering in the room does make her wonder and slowly she turns her eyes once again towards the curtain.

'I know that smell,' she tells herself.

She also realizes her mind is everywhere the minute Kankuro speaks up again. He reminds her quickly that she was indeed waiting for an answer. Yet, it is one she was sure she knew the answer to.

"He's my brother," Kankuro clearly says.

Sakura's eyes widen the minute they return to Kankuro's own solemn gaze. He even offers her a gentle smile.

"Doesn't that speak for itself?" he asks with clear speech.

Sakura's surprised stare must last longer than she thinks. After some time, Kankuro does begin to shift his gaze and bounce on his heels. Nonetheless, he eventually shrugs before offering Sakura another smile. He snaps his finger before pointing at her.

"It may have been long ago, but I remember you telling me not to hate him. Mother wouldn't want me to turn my back on him, even now, would she?"

Sakura's heart shakes then. As sentimental as Kankuro's words are, Sakura realizes she had spoken those words thinking Gaara's future more prosperous. He was suppose to be the man she had seen him already become. Despite all the damage Gaara has done, Sakura wonders if she would be able to tell Kankuro to forget those words.

"He has done awful things, it is alright for you to forsake him."

Words she has no heart to say and lets them only ring in her mind. For as appropriate as she thinks them to be for Kankuro, that sentence could be turned and told to her just the same. Yet, she is unwilling to let go. There is a little boy she wants to save in him. Brother's are suppose to be the best of friends, Kankuro once shared with Gaara.

'This world is all wrong!' Sakura thinks, her chest tightening. 'Do I really have to remind Gaara all over again?!'

Sakura stiffens as she feels a gentle hand rest on her back and she gasps before looking up at Kankuro. She hadn't noticed him but he had made his way quickly to her side upon seeing her distraught face.

"Sakaasan," he tries to soothe her. "It's going to be alright. You'll-uh...see. Gaara has no intention of letting anything bad happen to you. If for some bizarre reason he can't protect you, I'll be right there."

She is surprised to feel him tighten his hold on her, giving a gentle embrace from the side.

"We're family. We stick together to help one another. The secret to making all of this work out is by sticking together," he whispers.

Sakura leans in to his hug. Allows to let some of his comfort ease her heart. Yet, at the same time, she remembers what is wrong with this scenario. Family, Kankuro calls them, yet Gaara forsakes him. Protection, Kankuro promises, yet he is just as guilty of keeping her prisoner here as much as Gaara is. Trust, is his hidden message, yet deeper hidden is many, many secrets, and somehow she feels Kankuro keeps his own dark ones buried away.

"I'm not the mad one here!" Gaara echoes again as Kankuro holds her tighter.

It would be nice to rely on this man, Sakura thinks. His kindness almost masks the trauma Sakura has seen in him, but she only smiles at his gesture now before pulling away from his hug. In the end, the only one she can trust, for now, is herself. As she straightens herself, Kankuro comes back to face her.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

Sakura nods but grimaces when the smell hits her again. It's too much to ignore anymore, especially as Gaara's words keep repeating in her mind possibly because of it. She nudges her head then towards the closed curtains, watching Kankuro's face fall before she even asks.

"What are you doing with that cadaver?" she asks with stern eyes.

Kankuro's face falls more to Sakura's blunt question. Her own expertise helping her to identify the smell easily, yet it seems the brunette is surprised Sakura could figure such a thing out without her even peeking an eye over the curtain.

"I'm-I'm-uh..." Kankuro rambles before stopping.

The older man sighs before shaking his head to clear his thoughts.

"Fallen men from our army. Some of them have no family to be returned to. I prepare them for burial."

Kankuro's eyes are far from Sakura's instead looking sternly towards the curtain. Sakura is surprised by the answer, yet relieved as well. Gaara has placed a darkness on Kankuro's name for her, but she intends to keep an open heart for both of these men. If this is what Kankuro is truly doing with a deceased body, she can only trust him at this point.

"Lemon masks the scent well," she offers him some insight from her own work. "Just a spray, or a candle with a lemon scent can really-"

"Ah, Sakaasan," Kankuro whines lightly, pulling his hood down around his eyes. "I'm sorry! I guess I'm-I'm just use to the smell. I had no idea that-while you're just sitting here...I thought maybe you couldn't-or that it wasn't that strong of smell yet, you know?!"

As Sakura tries to make sense of his fast words, Kankuro suddenly reaches for her free hand.

"Please...you don't need to keep me company. You can leave now. I mean, I appreciate you visiting and-and I want to do it again soon, but now I'm so embarrassed and-"

Sakura's eyes widen once she feels Kankuro begin to push her out towards the door by her shoulders. As this happens, the reality of why she is even here in the first place comes back to mind.

"Kankuro, wait!" she tells him, pulling back her arm and hand from his grip.

His attention returns to her and he falls silent waiting on her as she begins to back up into the room.

"Gaara sent me to get you," Sakura tells him.

His eyes widen, looking past her in horror. It's enough time, and lineage, on his part for Sakura to turn around and face the brunette.

From this point on, Sakura will make it a mental note to not delay a message, or any sort of business, that comes from Gaara. She doesn't make this note for her sake though, since Gaara is someone she does not fear, but instead for others like Kankuro. The puppeteer's dropped, pale face tells her she has sent him to a world of worry and stress. Possibly, rightfully so, for his siblings show him that fear in front of her, and even Temari's life is threatened unless she returns.

Still, Kankuro's face morphs the moment he feels Sakura's stare on him, and the moment he turns to her, the rosette can't help but whisper.

"Will he try to hurt you now? Because of how long we've kept him?"

Sakura narrows her eyes the moment Kankuro forces a smile and what irks her more is the obvious lie that rolls off his tongue.

"I'll be alright. I'll-I'll be fine, Sakaasan," he says with an added, nervous chuckle. "Don't worry about me. Me-I mean I know my brother well. We should go though, nothing interesting in this...uh, room. You know?"

Kankuro's words stumble, and there is a rush in him Sakura senses with ease. His anxiety presses him to turn his back towards the rosette, and Sakura wonders if this erroneous display reflects Kankuro's ninja skills.

'No,' the rosette thinks, taking a step back towards Kankuro's work table. 'It's just he has trust in me.'

Her eyes are trained on Kankuro, and the only movement that comes from her next is her free hand reaching for the kunai Kankuro has left on his workbench under the puppet's arm. She slips the kunai into her long sleeve and takes a quiet step forward by the time Kankuro's eyes return to her.

'Kankuro,' Sakura mentally thinks. 'You say you'll protect me, but don't think I won't do the same for you. Even if it's against Gaara.'

As Kankuro offers her another, mocking smile, Sakura returns one of her own. She is confident that, unlike the brunette, her smile is taken genuinely by him. After all, working years together with a man who was once nothing but false emotions has taught her better to look deeper past smiles.

"Ready?" Kankuro asks her, nudging his head for Sakura to lead them.

The rosette nods, marching along with Kankuro's steps behind her. Yet, after a few steps, Sakura halts her movements and turns her head back to peer over Kankuro's shoulder. The heavy door at the end of the hallway is a reminder for her of what lays behind it.

'What are those cells for…?' Sakura asks in her mind

Dead bodies need no cages, she recalls. As kind as Kankuro has been, even speaking to her encouragingly, Gaara's dark voice echoes once more in her mind.

"I'm not the mad one here. Kankuro has killed more men and women than I!"

Sakura's lips purse then, almost too afraid to ask Kankuro to reveal what those cages are for. Yet, as she opens her mouth, she feels a powerful grip on her shoulder. Kankuro towers over her, and even presses his body closer to her to shield her eyes from the door behind them. Instead of on her, his gaze is narrowed ahead of them, and there is a sudden dark aura Sakura feels as she looks up at Kankuro; a familiar one that she has felt come from his brother than him. Once she thinks about it more closely, the grip he has on her is a little too heavy for comfort, and there is just the faintest hint of force he uses on her to send her in the direction he wants her to go.

"Let's go," he speaks, his voice almost deep. "There is nothing of interest here. Gaara will be expecting us."

The fear of meeting with Gaara seems completely gone as Kankuro speaks. His voice is clear and deep, and his words and grip are authoritative. She had heard him speak like this once before. Upon her capture, he had spoken to her in the same manner. It must be moments like this that bring out the captain Gaara has put him to be, even if the redhead is quick to tell her the actions of his captains are deplorable at times.

The thought of Gaara, and how Kankuro's face had fallen moments ago to the mention of him, are what push her to face forward now. Though, the cells behind her are a question for Kankuro at a later time. Her steps continue once Kankuro's hand falls from her shoulder.

"Gaara threatened Temari," Sakura speaks.

It's not surprising for her to hear Kankuro's steps suddenly stop and she turns once again to meet his flushed, dropped face. For the moment, Sakura feels guilty. Even if she didn't force the situation, she feels partially at fault for these siblings lives to be in danger constantly because of her.

"I just thought you should know," Sakura says. "It's the only reason he allowed me to come get you."

She says these things not to just show Kankuro how twisted Gaara has become, but to also shed light on her own predicament. Kankuro had told her Gaara worried to lose her again, but she wants Kankuro to know she does not stay willingly. Sakura's words also make a realization dawn on her. It would have been no trouble to send Temari to fetch Kankuro while she wait with Gaara, and she realizes now Gaara had only sent her to unveil something secret for her.

'What did he want me to see?!' Sakura suddenly thinks, her eyes narrowing as she recalls all in Kankuro's room.

She despises that Gaara envelops her more and more into his game but also can't help herself but analyze for what purpose the redhead sent her alone.

'Did he want to see if I'd run? To see if I still cared for Temari and Kankuro?'

Her steps continue as Kankuro presses her to continue, more urgently now as he hears about his sister. Yet, with her strides does her mind fall back to what it was Gaara could have possibly wanted achieved in this moment.

'The dead body?' she thinks. 'Did he think something like that would frighten me?'

She stops the moment Kankuro rushes ahead of her and watches as he reaches to open the door to her room. He allows her in first out of courtesy, and she does take the next steps in while her mind continues to try to unravel a mystery that may, or may not, be there.

'The cells?' she thinks. 'Was there more I was meant to press on and see?!'

She feels Kankuro's steps follow behind her but her mind suddenly screams of danger the moment the door behind Kankuro shuts. It happens in a flash, and it wipes all of Sakura's previous thoughts and instead turns on her combat skills. Even if she is wounded, even if she can call no chakra to aid her, she turns just in time to bring that hidden kunai under her sleeve up against Gaara's neck. She blinks when his absolute defense shields the knife's sharp edge from touching his skin, and blinks again to evaluate what exactly Gaara's intent is here.

"You kept me waiting! For what reason?!" Gaara's voice bellows out as her eyes focus on him.

Even if his grains push against it, Sakura keeps the kunai firm in place and has stopped Gaara in his tracks, and his true intentions. Gaara's hand, almost like a claw now with sharp nails, has Kankuro pinned against the wall behind Sakura. Dark markings lace up his arm like a sleeve and it becomes clear to Sakura then that his intention was to harm Kankuro, maybe even kill had she not stepped in and placed her kunai, and herself, between Gaara and Kankuro. The fallen face, Kankuro had once Sakura had told him that Gaara called for him, returns.

Despite his focus first being on Kankuro, his eyes do fall to the kunoichi under him. He scowls at her kunai first before meeting with her narrowed gaze.

"Where did you get that?" he hisses.

Sakura, for the moment, glances at the arm that still reaches for Kankuro before speaking.

"I stole it," she tells him truthfully. "Let him go and promise me you won't hurt him. I'll return it if you do."

Gaara suddenly grins, her bravado exciting him and the whole situation viewed once again as amusing play in his eyes.

"Oh?" he asks, crooking his head and pressing his face closer towards Sakura.

By doing this, he also presses his neck closer towards Sakura's raise kunai. His defense of sand ripples and waves harder as the contact between neck and blade comes closer and more threatening against him.

"Are you sure about that?" Gaara speaks through his teeth. "This isn't just another promise you intend to break, is it? I can easily just take that kunai from you anyway,"

The comment makes Sakura scowl and she grinds her teeth as she thinks of the man in front of her as a child. The tears he must have shed from her departure, the twist Shukaku placed on her teachings and words, the hopeless abandonment that came through the years he went without her.

"I can break your sand," she threatens instead, hoping to wash away the hurt she knows Gaara must have gone through.

Even if it's a bluff now, she continues.

"I will break through your sand and cut your throat if you hurt Kankuro."

Her angry eyes narrow all the more as she watches Gaara grin. He learns then he has struck a nerve, and no doubt will he use moments like this against her. Still, he slowly retracts from Sakura, and takes his arm off of Kankuro. He brings his claw-like hand back to his side just in time for Sakura to spot the last of his dark markings disappear back to his normal colored flesh.

'It's just like Sasuke's cursed mark...' Sakura at first thinks.

She wastes no time on the idea and instead marches closer towards Gaara as the young man begins to inspect his arm. His eyes fall on to the object she now offers him.

"Here," she tells him. "Just keep your end of the deal."

Gaara stares at the object in her hand, uninterested while he looks at it. Yet, in time, a smirk finds him before his eyes lift towards Sakura.

"You think I fear such petty equipment? It's been years since I've felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade," he says.

He crooks his head again towards Sakura, a grin spreading.

"Keep it. It would be amusing if you managed to remind me what a cut felt like."

Sakura grips the kunai hard hearing Gaara say such things. Not only is his enjoyment in her severely misplaced, hoping her to harm him, but there's also another message he is telling her.

"I will make no such promise not to harm Kankuro."

Seeing the glint of amusement in his eyes, and the annoying grin he holds, Sakura is sure he knows her to know that hidden message as well.

'This is all a game to him,' Sakura thinks. 'He plays dirty.'

Gaara is learning what nerves Sakura, what irks her to the point of irrational. Worst of all, Sakura realizes as she watches Gaara approach Kankuro, he knows exactly now how to threaten her. With two lives being endangered twice today, Sakura is sure Gaara will use his two siblings against her if she acts out.

Then again, she remembers Kankuro's words. There is something about her Gaara wishes to keep. Perhaps, it is answers. Perhaps, it is a bond he wishes to replenish. Perhaps, it is confusion for him, she may be a mystery for him he wishes to solve. Nonetheless, whatever the reason, he keeps her. Even if he has threatened her not to leave his sight, he may be attentive to her needs like Kankuro had mentioned. A pushover, Kankuro had called him

'Just how far can I push…?' Sakura thinks.

Yet, the idea bothers her. In the end, she would just be playing as dirty as he is, and she finds it hard to do that to the little boy she knew him to once be. Still, she is curious. Maybe she will begin treading that water lightly, just to see if what Kankuro says is true. Not to mention, garnering trust can only benefit her from this point.

Sakura turns her head when she feels a gaze on her. Her thoughts vanish as her eyes suddenly meet with Temari's. The blonde remains some distance away, but nonetheless sends Sakura a plea then in her gaze. One that Gaara cannot see as his back faces the two women.

"What?" Sakura mouths, confused.

Temari turns her eyes towards Kankuro and Sakura follows. It is then she listens more carefully to their conversation.

"Gaara-sama, I-" Kankuro speaks, his head low.

"Just shut up," Gaara interrupts. "If I let you speak you won't get a sentence in until tomorrow. I'm sending you to help with the fight up North."

Sakura heart drops upon hearing that. Though she knows how strong and capable Kankuro is, it's always a concerning thought hearing of friends or family sent to a fight they may not win. It is at this moment Temari also stands herself and treads towards Gaara.

"Gaara-sama, if I may speak," she says, and Sakura watches that gaze of worry whiz by her before it falls as Temari looks towards Gaara in wait.

To this, Gaara rolls his eyes and lifts his head up. An annoyed grunt escapes him before he replies.

"No, you may not. I'm sensing a pattern here and you two are pressing on my last-"

"Let her speak," Sakura interrupts.

All heads and eyes turn towards Sakura then. Though not her place, it's an opportunity just to test the waters like she was wanting before. Does Gaara actually value her say, even if it goes beyond his siblings? Is he trying now to appease the rosette like Kankuro spoke of? Not to mention, there is a worry in Temari that concerns her as well.

'She is protective of Kankuro,' she recalls.

It is a trait the blonde has carried with her growing up.

There is shock in the older siblings eyes, one they try their best to mask. Gaara, as well, tries to send to rosette an apathetic gaze, yet behind his dull orbs is amusement once again, but above that, confusion. When no words are spoken, Sakura presses.

"I'd like to hear what Temari has to say," Sakura speaks, and feigns a look of concern as she steps closer towards Gaara. "Please."

Sakura studies Gaara carefully then, watches how a heavy swallow bounces in his throat before he narrows his eyes and turns them away from Sakura. Just like when he was a child, Sakura recognizes his confusion leading him into anger. Just when she thinks her idea a failure, Gaara turns his back on them all and finally gives his answer.

"Speak quickly, Temari," he orders.

"Uh-Ah!" Temari quips, off-guard. "My lord, I just wanted to speak and say my men and I are better off suited to help the fight up North than Kankuro."

"Temari..." Kankuro whispers under his breath. "Don't."

So, that was it then, just as Sakura had guessed. Temari only presses to be the savior she thinks her brother needs. The two press on with their reasons why they should be sent instead of the other, but their conversations fall on deaf ears while Sakura turns to look at Gaara's back. With his back turned to them all, he stands poised with his arms crossed. No doubt, Sakura assumes, that he cares not for what his siblings say but instead on what Sakura has achieved in making him do. Perhaps he is annoyed, amused, confused or garners all those emotions. Maybe he even falls back onto old feelings from the past, ones that Sakura may have been the only one to bring out in him.

Whatever the reason, it is Sakura's turn to smirk then. Even if she still believes it to be cheating on her part, she has taken one step closer in being victorious in this game.

'Well,' she thinks to herself. 'I just learned something new to use.'