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Chapter Fifty-eight


"Konoha is my home."

Her words echo in his mind. As soon as Sakura's declaration is finished does the aura in the room change. It's like darkness sweeps in and dims the setting. Even the room feels colder and makes the rosette shiver lightly. Tears no longer fall, but her face is still wet, and those dewy eyes look up a man whose eyes, and feelings, are hidden behind shadow.

If Sakura has anything to go on by how Gaara now feels, it's the hand that grips and tangles tightly in her hair. It feels like he has a hold on her while his fangs bare in her direction. As lightning continues on outside, Sakura also sees his gaze of abrupt bitterness looking down at her. Sakura understands the sudden animosity from him.

"Rebel," Gaara hisses as his hand tightens in her hair.

His obsession of Konoha has clouded his thinking, and he mistakes Sakura's admittance of her home thinking she reveals something harsher to him, like her being part of the resistance. After all, the man expects the worst of situations.

"I am not their spy!" Sakura corrects Gaara. "I was not sent here by Konoha."

"Liar," his spits and grabs her hair tighter. "You said your home was far! You said Konoha wasn't-"

"Yes!" Sakura spits backs while trying to pull away from Gaara's hold. "I lied, but you lied too!"

Gaara's eyes light up with fire and he grinds his teeth while looking down at her menacingly. His look tells her that he believes her words are fabricated.

"Now, how did you come to that conclusion?" he darkly whispers. "I'll admit I may have my secrets, but never have I misled you with false claims."

The fire dies out in his gaze. Sakura's tears return, but they are for the home she is worried Gaara will destroy in the morning.

"To this point you've painted yourself as a lonely soul, yet there is a woman in this house who still wears the jewelry you picked out for her years ago."

Gaara looks taken aback and his eyes widen in surprise at what Sakura tells him she considers a lie.

"If there is any part of you that cares for another, if you truly love her or another, then why can't you build from them and just leave me and my home alone?" Sakura seethes.

Sakura hiccups and lowers her head down when tears return. She is only silent when Gaara reaches to lift her chin. He stares carefully at Sakura's wet eyes. Even his teal orbs shake to her steady gaze.

"You will not find purpose rolling in bed with as many as you do. You will not find meaning to your life thinking many follow you when half of them probably do it out of fear. You can solidify your existence with a few close people in your life than deciding to kill those that refuse to see your views!"

As her words come to place so too does Gaara's eyes grow bigger. Bigger. Biggest she has seen. Until Sakura realizes she has rocked him of a feeling he has pushed or forgotten. He is man looking for guidance in Sakura like his child-like self did. Her words make Gaara swallow hard, but an angry, steady gaze returns to his face.

"You are wrong, Sakura," Gaara hisses while his fingers trace her chin again. "Seldom do I find Matsuri even tolerable."

Sakura looks angered by his words but Gaara's gaze keeps her silent while he continues as he stares into her eyes.

"If there was one person I wanted to spend my life with-If there was a choice I needed to make to love someone and choose them over others. If ever I wanted just one being then that someone was always going to be..." Gaara slows his words,

Sakura remains silent as she waits on Gaara to finish. Yet, the redhead seems suddenly lost as his eyes look away while his fingers continue to delicately play with Sakura's skin. He is thinking on something deeper, something meaningful. Still, the rosette can recognize the second Gaara thinks of something clever on his part. His eyes will always light up to his own plans and he even returns to look at Sakura with serene eyes and a small, growing smile.

"Sakura," Gaara whispers as his hands return to stroke through her hair.

She continues to let him do so. Sakura lets Gaara touch her now since this is her only means to save her home and friends now.

"I'm glad to have finally seen you cry, Sakura," Gaara murmurs. "Thank you for showing me that."

Sakura swallows hard; unsure of what he implies or where his assumptions lead to.

"When you show feeling, only then do I know you speak the truth," Gaara speaks.

Sakura's eyes widen in surprise. Is this the breakthrough she needed?

"Your feelings are real, and I believe you when you say Konoha is your home and that you are not a spy."

Sakura sniffs. Grateful for his words, but he still looks at her hungrily and his eyes still glow. Something else is swimming in his mind.

"I know nothing of their plans and I was not aware what strategies they were using against you, Gaara," Sakura continues. "You will garner no information from me if that is where your line of thinking is."

She wants to paint a clear picture for Gaara but the redhead seems uninterested suddenly.

"I am not part of the organization they lead now," Sakura tells him. "Despite it being my home, they treated me as a prisoner."

"And still, you wish to save that place," Gaara's smugness returns.

Sakura looks away from him then and shakes her head. She is willing to pour out some of her heart now but not in the presence of a man who will mock her for it. Gaara, it seems, understands this once Sakura looks away from him. He reaches to stroke her hair again and she lets him.

She will continue to let him until he releases a breath that tells Sakura that he will destroy Konoha. What she doesn't realize is that Gaara has suddenly figured this out as well.

"My beautiful, dangerous, thoughtful Sakura. You are a blossom amongst leaves."

His fingers trail, and Sakura shivers in distaste as Gaara begins trailing his claws down the skin of her neck. He pulls away the second she trembles and simply stares at her disheveled appearance.

"Let us retire to my room then," Gaara whispers.

Before Sakura can refuse, a hand grips her own and pulls her up to stand.

"We can speak more on the matter of your home," Gaara comments. "Plus...there is something I want to return to you."

It is a trap, Sakura knows. She was prepared for a scenario like this to happen when she begged Gaara not to harm her home. Sure enough, once pulled into his dark, cluttered room does the aura once again darken. Sakura is left standing while Gaara marches to the corner of the room. He fumbles with locks and jutsus to one door while Sakura stares up at the tall shelves of his many collected tea kettles. She blinks at the odd collection, but her eyes drift to a new item in Gaara's small assortment. A cerulean tea kettle catches her eyes as the gold that traces the pot glows with the dim lighting in the room.

The second Sakura reaches to inspect the tea kettle closer is the same second Gaara's voice speaks up.

"Do not touch," he warns her.

He stops whatever he is in the middle of doing to send Sakura a dangerous glare.

"Sorry," he rephrases once their eyes meet. "My collection is a delicate one."

An odd collection and an odd habit for a warlord, Sakura thinks. She respects his privacy with the pots, something she hopes he will learn from her, and keeps her hands at her side. Her eyes are not so still, and she looks up at the highest cubicle of Gaara's collection and spots a dirty, chipped kettle top. It's pot missing. She turns her head and draws in closer to inspect its old engravings but looks at Gaara instead the moment he speaks.

"Here we are," he murmurs as a final lock clicks.

Sakura draws to him and tries to look past him to see what his locked door has opened. She searches for secrets, but all in all it looks to be a cluttered closet. Gaara even leaves the threshold wide open as he turns to her with a new item in his hands. No matter what the closet may show Sakura, in his hands does Gaara hold a bag that nabs her full attention. Dirty, and torn, the bags looks as though its condition is a product of the environment it was left in. Still, Sakura's emerald eyes widen at the sight of it.

"My bag!" she even cries before scrambling to take a hold of it.

Surprisingly, Gaara allows her to snatch the item out of his hands. It is the same bag Sakura traveled with when her and Gaara visited Konoha in his younger years. She recalls leaving the pouch against a tree at the oasis she washed her hair in. He watches her, silently, as Sakura immediately opens the bag and begins scouring the pouch.

'The scroll!' Sakura desperately thinks while her face scrunches. 'Maybe it's still in here, maybe-!'

Gaara speaks the moment Sakura makes a dreadful realization.

"You will find nothing," Gaara tells her. "I came upon it years after your...abduction."

Sakura's wide eyes look up at Gaara who simply stares and holds Sakura's emerald gaze. Sakura's hope for the scroll to be in there has her breathing hard with adrenaline, but she relaxes upon hearing Gaara and grimaces with the realization.

'Dumb of me to be hopeful anyway,' Sakura thinks back on the scroll.

Though, Gaara does tell her something curious.

"After?" Sakura asks while hugging the bag tighter. "Why did you not pick it up as a child?"

Gaara's eyes look above him while he recounts.

"At the time, I had a pet who needed tending to," is his answer.

Vague answer, but before she can reply Gaara asks his own question while nodding at Sakura's bag

"What exactly was in that bag that has you so feverishly searching for it today?"

Sakura chews at her lip before staring down at her bag.

"Probably something that disappeared along with me," Sakura comments.

Silence follows. Usually Gaara breaks this, but the two are just quiet as their eyes find everything but each other. The aura from before, Sakura's tears and plea, still plague each of their minds. For the rosette, she is still waiting on Gaara's answer about the decision on Konoha. She breaks the silence this time with a timid whisper.

"Why go back then?"

Their eyes finally find each other.

"What made you go back to that oasis? Did you remember that-"

"No," Gaara sharply cuts her off.

Sakura is wide eyed once again as he sighs and shakes his head. He looks away before admitting to the rosette with a soft voice of his own.

"As mad as I was, still am actually. As hopeless as I knew it be...I'm sure youknow why I went back."

And through all his madness so far, what he has displayed and told her, Sakura does know exactly why.

"You thought maybe you'd find me again…?" Sakura asks, hugging her bag tighter.

Gaara actually smirks, a genuine small smile. Even a small chuckle emits from him before he bounces lightly on his feet and tucks his hands into his pockets.

"My expectations were not set that high," he corrects Sakura. "But...to eventually find you again, yes."

Sakura is at a lost for words and turns hers eyes away while Gaara waits on her. He treads still for an absolute answer from her, but sighs when Sakura does nothing but cling onto her bag tighter. Gaara closes his eyes for a moment before his cold stare looks back at Sakura.

"Your bag, I return it you and apologize for the condition it is in. It obviously suffered through the years in that dry climate."

Still, Sakura says nothing. Without the scroll the bag is worthless and instead her mind falls back to Konoha and its fate. Gaara, meanwhile, stares at Sakura hard as his lips remain only a fine line. He is waiting on her, they both know. When silence lingers however, and drags on in uncomfortable silence, Gaara's hard stare begins to heat up. Anger, irritation, and frustration all return on waiting for Sakura to speak until finally…

"Damn it, Sakura," Gaara hisses.

The rosette looks up to see those angry eyes and Gaara's fangs appear as he balls his fists. Her eyes narrow at his display.

"What?" she asks.

"Do you truly have nothing to say to me now?"

Sakura swallows hard.

"What do you want?" Sakura asks instead. "A thank you for this worthless bag?"

Gaara's eyes let up some once Sakura puts a label on her bag. It's as if she has mocked his possession that is actually hers, and he is shocked by her outlook but he sneers as she continues.

"Why did you bring me into your room if I am not allowed to even touch a simple tea kettle?" Sakura asks while swinging her hand towards his collection.

Her voice rises as anger begins to burn in her chest.

"My heart is far from thanking you," Sakura spits. "And you know exactly why that is, Gaara"

This time, as neither are able to keep their cool, it's Gaara who speaks to her with venom in his voice.

"Call your your bag whatever you like, but your eyes lit up the same way mine did when I saw it again at that oasis. The bag may mean nothing to you, but don't try to hide the fact that something inside it was important to you."

Sakura opens her mouth only to shut it as Gaara's words sink in. She takes a deep breath and a voice in her mind becomes more clear.

'Control your anger,' she is reminded.

"You allege that I am simply playing a game with you when it is you who keeps biting your tongue in fear of what I may learn," Gaara mumbles towards her before turning his back on her. "Leave then if you have nothing more to say to me."

"Wait!" Sakura stops him and drops the bag in the process.

Gaara pauses, but only tilts his head back instead of looking at Sakura fully. His stance tells the rosette that he's grown tired and irritated of her, but still she must…

"Konoha," Sakura breathes.

"What of it?" he sharply whispers.

Sakura clenches her knuckles before releasing them. He is right, she will admit in her mind. If she toys with him then he will do the same like he is now.

'Be honest with him,' that voice in her mind tells her.

Sakura takes a deep breath before stepping towards Gaara. There is surprise in his teals eyes once Sakura steps to face him face to face. Even she is surprised she did not run and retreat into whatever safety her room holds than remain in this lion's den.

"Please," Sakura whispers.

Her eyes steady once again on his before she articulates.

"Don't attack my home, Gaara."

She is surprised Gaara casts his eyes away with a groan of distaste.

"Konoha," he spits. "Your secrets. Your silence. How much longer will you tiptoe around me when…?" Gaara begins but slows his speech to a stop.

His mind delves him somewhere deeper and his eyes widen before he sharply turns his head to Sakura. His face is pale at the sight of her but as he stares he remains quiet. A trait of his that tells Sakura-

'He is thinking up something...'

Sakura keeps her eyes steady but takes a heavy gulp. Gaara's open mouth suddenly turns into a mischievous grin and his eyes light up fantastically while looking at Sakura.

'It's still a game with him,' Sakura thinks while narrowing her eyes at Gaara's smug look.

He begins to slowly approach her with open arms.

"Sakura," he purrs.

Instantly, Sakura realizes her situation has turned bad. He's thought of something new, perhaps a new strategy to his game, and Sakura steps back while trying to figure out where Gaara's mind has gone.

"Konoha does not view me as one their own," Sakura quickly tells Gaara. "You cannot use me as a bargaining chip if that's what you're thinking now."

Sakura knows she is instantly mistaken in her assumption as Gaara continues to approach her with open arms and a smile. The rosette shivers at his touch, but does not pull away once Gaara swings an arm around her shoulders. Her angry eyes watch him as he smiles and leads her into another room.

"Actually," Gaara murmurs. "I was thinking how ready I am to get out of these dirty, damp clothes."

The door behind them shuts with an audible lock. The room is dark and cramped at first, but the small space, smell, and small sounds tell Sakura she is in Gaara's wash room.

"I'm sure you feel the same," Gaara purrs while tightening his hold on Sakura. "Come. I believe a warm shower will calm our moods right now."

Sakura wants to slap Gaara for his audacity to suggest such a thing, but clenches her fists when she remembers her proposal. She wants to save her home and learn whatever it is that has Gaara smirking in her direction. She will play his game tonight without much fuss, but she has rules of her own.

She pulls away from Gaara's hold to face him. In the darkness, his silhouette is still clear in her eyes.

"Let me guess, you will be joining me in the shower?" Sakura speaks.

Gaara huffs a small laugh before his fingers begin unbuttoning his top.

"You know me all too well," Gaara begins.

Sakura refuses to look at Gaara past his face once his shirt drops to the floor and he begins the same process with his pants.

"I will join you, Gaara," Sakura speaks, trying to hide the distaste in her voice. "But you know exactly why it is I follow you in there."

And he does. He knows Sakura would never be this willing, would never be this compliant, but she has given him an upper hand in this game they play; she is desperate.

"And you know exactly what it is that I will do with you should you follow me," Gaara comments.

"We will only be discussing matters!" Sakura shrieks at him. "Don't think you can do as you please just because I agree to this. If I actually had a choice in the matter we would be discussing-"

Sakura's voice carries on while Gaara's mocking grin is carried all the way to the glass shower in his washroom and he says nothing before turning on and fiddling with the knobs for the perfect temperature. His pants hang loosely on his hips.

"Come feel. Tell me if it's to your liking," Gaara comments, cutting her off in her rambling while gesturing for Sakura to come closer.

Sakura does as he asks and says nothing once she feels the warm water against her fingertips. Though she won't admit it to him, the warmness compared to the cold rain they walked in does ease her tensing a little. Yet, her body goes rigid the second Gaara places his cold hands on her soft shoulders.

"Let's not waste anymore time," Gaara speaks before sliding down her shirt.

Sakura turns to face Gaara and her eyes shrink to his wicked smirk. She quickly tightens the shirt around her by grabbing at it.

"I will join you, but not in the way you wish," Sakura tells Gaara.

Her hand grips the fabric tighter when she remembers the seal on her back. The redhead's smile never falters despite what Sakura tells him.

"That's fine," Gaara comments, walking towards the shower.

Sakura watches him and only turns her eyes away when his pants drop to reveal his buttocks. He looks back at her and draws her emerald gaze back to his eyes.

"You hid your body from me when I was just a boy," Gaara adds. "I expected just as much now."

Sakura swallows hard and looks down at her garbs. Though her top must stay on, garments below will probably weigh her in the shower and make her uncomfortable.

"Don't be ashamed of your body, Sakura," Gaara ushers her along. "I love every part of you. Even those scars you try to hide."

Narrow eyes return to Gaara but Sakura is quiet while taking in his words.

'Trickery,' she mentally tells herself. 'He is just trying to win you over with words. He means none of it. He-'

'Loves you,' another voice in her mind tells her.

Sakura's eyes widen to her thoughts. Is this chaotic scenario suddenly making her go mad? She is grateful Gaara enters the shower before spotting the shift in Sakura's face. He leaves the glass door open for her. The minute Sakura believes she can just continue their discussion where they stand now is when Gaara's hand beckons her once again.

"Quickly, before the water cools," he calls against the flowing water.

Sakura sucks in her cheek before pushing herself forward.

'For Konoha,' she remembers while looking down at her garments below her belt. 'It's no different from when on a mission.'

Sakura has found herself stripping at crucial moments for a mission. Whether washing poison off her, or an acidic element hitting her skin, she has been taught in a young age that there are times where modesty needs to be cast aside for the sake of a mission; regardless of how she feels towards her assigned teammates. Her shirt will stay on, Sakura decides since it hides the seal. Gaara may mock her if she comes in fully clothed while also biting his tongue about the future of Konoha.

'Give a little,' Sakura thinks. 'His obsession over me is something I can use.'

Still, as she reaches for the hem of her shorts, her fingers shake lightly. She decides to leave her underwear on, hoping this amount she shows now will be enough to satisfy Gaara. Before having any second thoughts on the matter, she pushes herself into the warm water. For a brief second, as the warm water hits her, her soul feels eased. Sakura even brushes her wet hair back for a moment before remembering that another stands in the shower with her.

Her eyes instantly flash open and no surprise to her does she spot Gaara grinning while watching her. Her eyes remain on his and she refuses to look anywhere below his neck. In the dark room, it hardly matters as their silhouettes are barely visible to the other.

"Sakura," Gaara purrs.

Words after that do not follow. Gaara is silent as he stares at her, and Sakura wonders how much restraint he uses on himself now. She realizes just how much once his hand reaches for her and it trembles with an emotion only he could clarify to her if she asked.

"Don't touch me," she tells him before he can place a finger on her and she even backs away some with a threat to run away.

His hand comes down but he rocks his neck some before a plead in his voice shakes her.

"Let me," he tells her as his fingers spasm while he shakes.

A demand or a request, Sakura isn't sure what to think of it. Gaara continues to tremble in place, his hands and fingers are restless, and Sakura believes his eyes glow a little more brightly in the dark as he continues to crane his neck around. As he makes another slow reach for her again, Sakura takes another step back as a warning. Yet, what actually stops Gaara from laying a hand on her is his other arm reaching out to stop his hand. He pulls his arm back towards his chest and even steps back from Sakura.

"I'm sorry," he actually whispers in her direction. "It's difficult for me. You're right before me and it's frightening."

Sakura's eyes narrow. She wants to ask him what has happened to his self-restraint. She wants to demand he learns self-control. However, that building anger begins to reside once she spots that tight hold Gaara has on himself. His eyes even begin to dance around her instead of on her.

"Sorry," he begins to repeatedly mumble.

Sakura's eyes widen to this sight and her heart even paces. He looks so lost and unsure now that it's enough to see that child he once was reappear before her. The one who was uncertain on morals that he once looked towards Sakura for guidance. Hell, his child self not even ask, Sakura knew when to step in and show young Gaara how to channel his feelings correctly. It pains her that her teachings were lost or buried deep underneath his wicked mind, and it hurts all the more when she doesn't know who to blame for the confused, wicked man in front of her.

Is Gaara this way through his selfish ways? Is Gaara this way because of his dark upbringing and neglectful father? Is Gaara this way because of the demon in his mind? Is Gaara this way because of another? Is Gaara this way because of her?

These questions shake her as they pass through her mind and she wonders how many more times she has to cry them out to the redhead before he finally answers her. It is the sight of him now, almost cowering from her, that Sakura focuses on. It's too much like his child self, and she loves her little friend too much to turn a blind eye to the man in front of her.

Sakura is the one this time to reach out to him and he stills the second she wraps her arms under his.

"Don't," he warns her this time. "I may not be able to-"

"Hush," Sakura soothes him like she did years ago. "I know you have more control over yourself than this."

She pulls him in for a tight embrace. Arms tight around him and reaching up his back as he stills himself. It isn't until she rests her head against his wet chest does Gaara heave a heavy sigh. It's one that tells her he is relaxing to her touch.

"Sakura," Gaara whispers as his hands begin tracing her wet shirt and up her back. "Do you remember the last time you..."

His voice trails and Sakura eyes flutter lightly as warm drops from the shower trickle down her face.

"Held on to you like this?" she asks, and before he can answer she finishes. "I can."

When she recalls the time, the little boy crying at her to just tell him she loves him, her arms around him tighten. It's also a reminder to why she is here now, what she does now. Gaara seems more tranquil in mind that Sakura begs him once more.

"Don't destroy the village I last held onto you like this. Don't destroy the place we share so many good memories and moments in..."

She nestles her head deeper into his chest when the reality of what damage Gaara could do to her friends and family in Konoha weigh heavy in her heart.

"Don't destroy my home," her lips quiver as droplets rain down on them.

Another heavy sigh from the man but one that tells Sakura that the decision is not so easy to make in his mind. He begins to trace his hands higher up her body and cradles her head in his hand while stroking her hair gently. He is silent for a moment before his own head slowly falls to rest on Sakura's own.

"If I do this for you, what do I gain in return?" he gently asks.

Sakura sighs this time. It's from exhaustion and the knowledge that she knew Gaara was going to ask this of her. It's also frightening that she has succumbed to bargaining because of a seal and that Gaara may just ask everything she has to give before promising not to harm Konoha. It's even more daunting when Sakura actually weighs in all that she is willing to forsake just to save a home that doesn't even recognize her.

A world she is stuck in. One she can't figure out if real or not. Just how much will she give, she even asks herself.

Sakura's silence and loosening grip on Gaara tell him all he needs. Through his dark mind, does he remember a teaching. Sakura's heart is heavy, his mind tells him. Something wicked in his mind tells him to take advantage of the situation, that he can break the woman that holds him now and put the pieces of her back together just to his liking. He could come out victorious right now with the game they play. He knows Sakura, knows her not to be one to go back on her word. She would do anything he asks right now.

And yet…

He gives it no thought as he places a gentle kiss on the corner of Sakura's head. He continues to stroke her wet locks before tightening back the embrace they had.

"I love you," he tells her. "And in so many ways."

Sakura stiffens to his voice.

"You're so strong, Sakura," he murmurs while looking past her. "You would never fall to anyone, so the thought of breaking you excites me."

As if to express his words, Gaara's hand in Sakura's hair begins to travel down her back,

"To see you fall, only to me, makes me want to simply take all of you right now," Gaara's voice darkens.

The second Sakura begins to retract is the same moment Gaara tightens his hold and places her against his chest.

"My beautiful blossom," he whispers before Gaara drags his tongue from the bottom of her chin to the corner of her eyes, tasting her and the warm water that drips from her face.

For Sakura, the moment becomes frightening once again. Stuck in his hold, she tries not to retaliate physically. She opens her mouth, but speaks nothing as Gaara leans his lips against her ear to whisper.

"...but then I think…you'd just be like the rest of them."

"Eh?" Sakura murmurs, eyes widening as she continues to rest against him.

Gaara doesn't answer her, and the rosette has to wonder who he speaks of. His army? His family in this home? He praises her spirit one moment before revealing to her that he wishes her as dull as others. It's maddening in her mind. Instead of falling into one of his traps, she returns to the topic beforehand.

"For Konoha..." Sakura begins then stops.

Under the warm water she begins to tremble that her arms tighten around Gaara. She refuses still to look up at him lest her voice be still throughout the whole night. She seeks comfort from the man who brings her excruciating pain

"What do you want?" she asks instead.

Her body continues to shake despite the steady question. She readies herself to hear Gaara ask the most she has to offer in both body and soul. A deep sigh escapes him and he even gently nips the top of Sakura's ear before dragging his lips down to her cheek. There, on her warm, wet skin, does he delicately place his lips on her. Gaara gently kisses Sakura before whispering to Sakura his desire.

"I want the woman I love to never cry like that again."

'No,' Sakura thinks as her body shakes more.

She repeats the word in her mind as it dawns on her just what Gaara is telling her he wants for her request. Eventually her tight hold on Gaara has her hands clawing at his back slightly as a warmness comes to her eyes.

'No!' she continues to repeat in her mind as she sniffs.

He can't ask just that from her. He can't be one of the most cruelest men she has ever known just for him to let her slide by that easily. She can't accept the arrangement, especially one he knows she won't keep. He should be asking for more from her, Sakura thinks. Her tears now should come from despising what he will take from her instead of showing her-

'How much he loves you,' another voice whispers in her mind.

His arms tighten around Sakura, pulling her in closer to his body, once he understands that she trembles and cries. She wants to pull away, but relishes in the kindness, the affection, that she has lost so long ago. The man that holds her now is too much like the boy she held on to years ago.

"That can't be all," she finally voices, though it rattles. "That can't be all! You can't ask for just that!"

"Why?" Gaara whispers. "You ask what it is I want in return. This is what I want for sparing your home, Sakura."

"No! This...Because this-!" Sakura begins to cry, unable to finish her sentence.

Perhaps the man in front of her is still the cruel being Sakura paints him to be. How hurtful it is for her to think him bad before he shows her kindness; that itself is too heartbreaking for the rosette. It also cements something else in Sakura's mind. Something she was certain of, but now wonders if she was wrong.

'Does he really love me?'

In Gaara's shoes, is this all she would ask of Sasuke, Sakura wonders. It makes her cry and wail more into his chest. Warm tears and water washing his bare chest.

"It's an agreement," she tells him eventually while wrapping herself tighter into him. "After this...I promise after this...I will stop!"

She does not see, but Gaara smiles while stroking her hair once more.

"Sakura, I'll always hold you to keep your end of the deal," he whispers. "Always..."

An agreement between Sakura and Gaara, and only does it end when a small knock echoes in the bathroom. Before Gaara has any say, it is Matsuri's voice that comes through the door both cold, and wary.

"I've assembled my men for you, Gaara-sama."