Beta'd by MindTrash
Chapter Sixty-two
"Kankuro?" A muffled voice asks after the knocking ceases.
Sakura picks up her head once she recognizes that it is Temari. The rosette is surprised to see Kankuro scrambling towards the door in disarray; his demeanor screaming that he is panicking.
'What's wrong with him all of sudden?' Sakura observes.
Still, Kankuro is an odd man that Sakura is still trying to figure out, and pushes her thoughts aside once Temari takes a step into the room.
"Sakura-sama," Temari nods in the rosette's direction as a greeting.
Stoic, poised, and distant, much like her youngest brother is towards others, but Sakura can still see the blonde woman tremble in front of Kankuro. Sakura turns her gaze away from the siblings as her weary mind settles back in, but Kankuro's worried gaze is set on Sakura's hunched figure.
"Hey, uh..." Kankuro mumbles to Temari. "Don't be so cold to her, you know?"
He whispers that last bit, but her ears catch every word he says. In the end, it does not matter to Sakura how Temari acknowledges her. The blonde is still the lonely girl she was when Sakura met her in the past. Temari has darkness in her, just like her brothers, but above that; she has a deep love and care for her siblings. Sakura can understand why the blonde has that love for Kankuro but…
'Why Gaara?' Sakura muses.
She can still hear the little blonde girl in her mind screaming and crying while wishing Gaara dead, and for her mother to still be alive.
'Maybe guilt brings her to Gaara's side,' Sakura continues to think. 'Temari loved Karura, and she learned of her mother's love for Gaara. Perhaps, Temari felt bad for how she had been treating Gaara up to that point, knowing their mother wished them to love one another.'
Sakura's eyes grow narrow as her thoughts continue.
"...but this far?" Sakura mouths to herself.
If this is true, Temari's guilt is incredibly heavy, and that weight falls onto Sakura as well. Just another person added onto the rosette's list to eventually help. Another thought does cross Sakura's mind; She witnessed Temari once suggest to Kankuro to hide her from Gaara for the sake of the brunette's safety.
'Does this mean she would choose Kankuro over Gaara?'
Without having to even ask, Sakura knows which two siblings are closer. They were inseparable when they were younger after all, as well as trained and taught together. Sakura's thinking is put on pause as she listens to Temari snap at Kankuro.
"I'm not being cold, just cautious. Have you already forgotten that she lied to us? She lied about Konoha. She may still be a spy sent by them."
There is almost a pause, as if they expect the rosette to speak up, and defend herself. However, Sakura continues to stare out weakly in front of her while listening to the two in personal silence.
"I'm watching her," Kankuro assures his sister. "She hasn't tried anything, if that's why you're here."
Another pause as Temari eyes scan Sakura's back before lifting to Kankuro's.
"Actually, no. I'm heading off to the prisons-"
'Naruto!' is Sakura's immediate thought.
A possible opportunity for the rosette to speak to the blonde again. At the mention of the mountain full of prisoners, Sakura's back straightens some. An act that catches Kankuro's real eye.
"-Would you be needing anything while I'm there?"
Sakura's eyes narrow to Temari's question as it's whispered under her breath.
'What would Kankuro be needing in those prisons?' Sakura asks in her mind. 'The only thing there are the guardsmen, and prisoners.'
At least that would be everything she knows of, and Sakura is aware of that fact. Behind her, she doesn't see Kankuro's gaze widen out of nervous fear. Still disheveled by Sakura's words from before, the brunette is looking frantic while his eyes are trained on the rosette.
Temari's eyes shift to the rosette when she catches Kankuro's frazzled demeanor.
"What's the matter?" Temari whispers her question.
When Kankuro's eyes return to his sister's, he speaks cautiously.
"You're going to pick up that blonde one again?"
Temari's face turns red from her heated blush, and her jaw drops from Kankuro's unexpected question. She clears her throat to keep her composure from her brother's intrusive query. Meanwhile, Sakura lifts her head more to listen in on the conversation.
"Don't ask me that," She tells Kankuro, chagrined. "I'm just going to welcome our new prisoners from up north."
Temari swallows hard as her eyes fall to ground and she mumbles dejectedly.
"...But I'll probably be escorting her back here. Gaara is gone after all."
When Kankuro's shaking gaze remains on Sakura, Temari's poise returns, and she crosses her arms while looking back and forth between Kankuro and Sakura.
"Are you sure you're alright-?"
"No," Kankuro cuts Temari off while shaking his head. "No...I'm not."
As Sakura listens to Kankuro's answer she finally takes a moment to look back at the brunette. She is just as bewildered as Temari is with Kankuro's comment. Physically, Kankuro looks fine, but as the blonde had kept asking Sakura too can see Kankuro's gaze in acrimony.
'What's wrong with him?' Sakura wonders.
As their eyes stay trained on each other Sakura can't help but worry for the man in front of her. Concern paints her face in a way that makes Kankuro's stomach turn upside down before he casts his gaze away. He takes in a heavy breath before turning to Temari.
"You're... not alright?" Temari questions, baffled by how her brother acts now.
"I-I just..." Kankuro begins before shutting his mouth.
The two woman watch as Kankuro slides his eyes away from both of them, and scratches the top of his head.
"Can you... maybe take Sakura for a bit?" Kankuro mutters. "I need some time to straighten my thoughts out, you know?"
Sakura's jaw wants to drop to Kankuro's suggestion. It's almost as if he understands her unsaid hope to get another chance to speak with Naruto. Yet, with his mind now in light shambles, Sakura still wonders why this shift suddenly happened with him.
'... and what is contained in those prisons that Kankuro would need?'
Temari looks just as aghast as Sakura, but slowly nods her head in agreement. Quicker to straighten herself out, Sakura wonders if Temari is used to these mood swings with Kankuro once the blonde woman speaks.
"Aa, of course Kankuro," Temari speaks gently to him. "I'll be sure to check on you later."
Kankuro swallows again but nods his head as he turns away from his sister. Sakura tries to catch his expression, but he purposefully keeps it away as he turns from the two.
"I'll see you both later," He adds.
Still, this doesn't settle well with Sakura.
"What is wrong?" She questions as her eyes stare at Kankuro's back.
Sakura slowly stands, and waits on the brunette to answer her. When he doesn't Sakura's heart drops, and she looks to Temari who looks back at her passively. A heavy sigh eventually escapes Kankuro but his eyes stay locked on his desk before he presses his head against his hand.
"I'm just tired," He eventually answers. "You know."
Sakura's shoulders sag to the lackluster answer, but she can relate. She is tired as well, and Temari seems okay with his answer. The blonde woman ushers Sakura along with words.
"Some fresh air will do you good, Sakura-sama."
Her words are respectful, but all Temari does is nod towards the door when Sakura looks at her. A silent sign that the rosette should hurry up. Yet, Sakura is torn, and looks back at Kankuro who still keeps his head in his hands. An ample opportunity is presented to speak to Nartuo again, but her heart is swayed by a man who once was a loving boy towards her; her friend.
"Sakura-sama," Temari presses again, a bit more harshly.
'He's just tired,' Sakura convinces herself. 'Besides, Naruto...'
Her legs carry her in the direction of Kankuro, and go against her mind. At his back Sakura stands looking down at him with drained eyes.
"My friend," She whispers to Kankuro.
The brunette doesn't move despite Sakura's affectionate words and close presence. He continues to rest his head in his hands, but that doesn't stop Sakura from wrapping her arms around him suddenly. She holds him tight, even when she feels him tense.
"My friends and family mean the world to me," She whispers gently in Kankuro's ear.
She listens closely as Kankuro sucks in a deep breath, and expects him to speak. These were the words she spoke to him when he was a child, and she hopes the message has stayed with him even after fifteen long years. Still, minutes pass and the puppeteer says nothing as Sakura lays her weight onto him. Eventually the rosette accepts the fact that she cannot move him, and pulls away.
"If you don't feel better... come find me," Sakura offers.
It's all she can offer, given her powers are draining. Even she knows that some words are enough to heal a troubled mind or aching heart. For Kankuro, she isn't sure what it is that is troubling him now. It may even be the cold, dark fact that he is already missing the fighting that comes in a battlefield.
She follows Temari outside of Kankuro's room without any more interruptions. Like Kankuro when Sakura first visited, Temari walks behind her in the narrow hallway. Her tall body shields Sakura from those four lone cells that are next to Kankuro's room. The young woman still has no idea for their purpose, or if they were there before Gaara first commandeered the home.
Between the two women both are quiet. It isn't until Sakura steps outside that she finally decides to break the silence.
"Is this normal for Kankuro?"
Sakura tries slowing to match her steps with Temari, but the other woman has different ideas. Cautious, wary, mindful of Sakura's lie, Temari tries to keep her stride behind Sakura as a means to make sure the rosette does not run.
"Kankuro has good days," Temari mumbles, her gaze distant. "And he also has bad days."
Temari's eyes narrow with suspicion, now cautious of Sakura.
"Unless, this was something of your doing." Temari presses. "What did you say to my brother?"
Sakura almost wants to laugh; always a protective sister even fifteen years later is what she sees from Temari.
'Then where were you when all this trouble between them began?' Sakura wonders.
The rosette feels she wasn't the one to put Kankuro in his bleak mood, but she is too tired to repeat the words spoken to Kankuro earlier.
"The usual," Sakura says instead.
"Ah," Temari chimes in, knowing exactly of what Sakura preaches daily.
Surprisingly, Temari speaks up then to reassure Sakura, or perhaps even to soothe herself.
"Kankuro will be fine," Temari says while shadowing Sakura through the jungle. "He always pulls through. I'll be sure to talk to him later."
Sakura halts her steps for a moment, and gazes up to the lush, tall trees. She takes some time to collect herself from her exhaustion before continuing on, but also dwells on the blonde's words.
"Do you offer that same sympathy to Gaara?" Sakura whispers to the air.
Temari's footsteps halt behind her, and the blonde takes a moment before muttering an answer.
"Of course," She almost hisses, as if she were offended that Sakura would think otherwise.
Sakura's eyes shrink again.
'Then why? Why is he...'
"I had to stop eventually when his answer was always the same," Temari quietly adds.
Sakura looks back at Temari. Her eyes are a surprised one as the blonde stares at her passively.
"Why stop?" Sakura questions. "I'm sure eventually he would have wanted to-"
"Talk about it?" Temari finishes Sakura's sentence before an amused chuckle leaves her lips.
Temari hums and sighs heavily before revealing her answer to Sakura.
"A threat to my life I can handle, and so I continued to try to get Gaara to open up to me, but when he targeted Kankuro because of my pestering I learned to keep my mouth shut."
Sakura is silent as this information sinks in.
'She was willing to be killed by Gaara just to see if he was alright...'
Temari's love may be as exceptional as Sakura's, but it was disheartening to learn that Gaara was quick to figure out Temari's downfall; Kankuro's life.
'He was quick to learn mine as well...' Sakura thought dismally.
Along with Kankuro, Temari's life has been threatened when she tried to sway Gaara in a way he disliked.
'You turned him away from Konoha,' a voice whispers in her mind.
As if that example alone shows that Gaara has a nurturing side to him. The redheaded gifted the rosette something extraordinary, her home spared, but Sakura is still unsure if a cost is to follow.
"Will Gaara be back soon?" Sakura questions.
Sakura can recognize that she is growing anxious with her own doubts of Gaara's word. An unpleasant thought even comes to mind that Konoha is being destroyed as Temari and her converse that very second. Naruto was another who has made her apprehensive, given what he said the last time they had spoken.
"...Are you sure he means it?" Naruto had pressed.
'I'm not...' Sakura now answers Naruto's question in her mind.
"I do not know," Temari finally answers her original question, breaking Sakura's line of thinking. "Let's go."
The rosette nods, and turns on her heels to step towards the direction of the prisons. Although sluggish the entire way, the pair of women finally make it to the prisons. Yet, as Sakura tries to head inside Temari pulls her back by her shoulder.
"Sakura-sama, please stay here with the guards while I tend to some prisoners," Temari strictly orders Sakura.
The rosette huffs in displeasure.
"Why?" She snips at Temari. "I've been in there before, remember? You had me locked up in..."
Sakura slows her words to a stop while Temari shakes her head, then gives Sakura a thoughtful look.
"Sakura-sama, I can't bring you in there... It... will bother me if you're there," Temari confesses to the rosette under her breath.
Sakura is baffled, but there is a plea in the look Temari gives Sakura now. The blonde provides Sakura the same eyes she gave when asking permission to break into their father's room in search of their mother's song.
"Why?" Sakura cautiously asks.
Temari's stare is a hard one. Unlike Kankuro who breaks his gaze away, Temari is like Gaara where the look persists until the person they stare at is amenable. For Sakura, it is a foolish attempt on her unshakable spirit.
"Please, Sakura," Temari asks again under her breath. "It will be easier if you and Naruko stay out here with the guards."
'Naruto!' Sakura's mind screams.
Opportunity, answers, solutions; a means to fix all this. Enticing words ring in the rosette's mind at the mention of her friend's feminine name.
"Fine," Sakura quickly agrees.
Temari gives Sakura a faint nod in return, but in a way it's the closest thing Temari can offer her as appreciation, she thinks. At the end of the day, Temari is another sibling in this family she would like to help. However, seeing the blonde march into the mountain as two other guards stand off to the side watching Sakura, the rosette wonders if Naruto already plays a part with Temari's needed support.
'She seems more stable, unlike her brothers,' Sakura muses while staring at the dark entrance. 'She has a rational fear of Gaara. He threatens her, and the people she loves in life.'
Sakura still wonders why Temari uncontrollably shakes around Kankuro, and narrows her eyes in contemplation.
'What did Kankuro do to garner that from his loving sister?' Sakura ponders before her thought continues on. '...or what he still continues to do...'
Between the three, Temari is also the most mistrusting of Sakura, and is suspicious of her more now than ever.
"...She's a little more grumpy too," Sakura mumbles to herself.
In the end after all of this fighting is done and over with, Sakura would like to sit down with Temari, and speak to her to again meet that loving, cautious little girl she once was. To be her friend once more, and to help her overcome whatever it is that troubles her.
'She seems so stressed now,' Sakura dismally thinks. 'Will that stress worsen as time goes on?'
The bleak thought sours Sakura's face, but in an instant one person suddenly changes it all. A small smile forms on Sakura's worn lips once she spots Naruto's female self step out of the entrance with a grin shown off in the direction of Temari, who guides her to Sakura and the guards. It's clear Temari is trying to hide an amused smile or laugh. Naruto has lifted the woman's spirits to some degree.
"Sakura-chan!" Naruko chimes at the sight of Sakura.
It swells the rosette's heart with joy before she feels it shatter, and break into pieces.
'My friend,' she thinks. 'Who is a different person.'
Her heart aches for home, but Naruko's smile is a reassuring feeling that, yes, she will return home soon. Sakura greets the new blonde with a faint nod, still unsure if Temari is even aware that they know one another, or of their relationship. Looking at Temari, she seems unfazed by anything.
'Maybe Naruto told her we met here,' Sakura assumes.
As Temari brings Naruko to stand close to Sakura she quickly speaks under her breath.
"Behave."
"Hai, hai," Naruko whispers back nonchalant.
Naruko suddenly turns her glimmering blue eyes in Sakura's direction while Temari rounds back to the mountain. Sakura remains quiet, and Naruko mirrors her while the guards stand close by. Unsure if she should speak, Sakura instead swallows the building anxiety of knowing that her friend, another who strives to end this war, silently stands beside her.
"You look tired, Sakura-chan," Naruko calmly remarks while her eyes turn back to the mountain. "Is that why you're so quiet?"
Sakura's mouth twists and turns as she stares out in front of her. With two of Temari's men keeping watchful eyes on them, the rosette is unsure what to say. She doesn't want to draw suspicion to her blonde friend.
"I'm... not feeling well today," Sakura slowly remarks.
Naruko's eyes slide to Sakura's profile where the bright blonde studies her.
Despite Sakura's dismal words and weary demeanor, Naruko leaves the subject be while the two wait on Temari. In time, Sakura narrows her eyes in suspicion before asking Naruko-
"Do you know what Temari is doing in there?"
Naruko blinks a few times, as if surprised Sakura has yet to figure it out, or be informed of the situation.
"Temari..." Naruko hums in thought.
Like Temari, Naruko seems to want to hold back her words.
"I guess they try to keep you in the dark, eh Sakura-chan?"
Sakura turns her gaze to Naruko's, and sends the blonde woman an unpleasant expression. She's a little miffed that even Naruto, kept as a prisoner, knows more of the situation than she herself who is forced to be at Gaara's side.
"Well, Temari is in charge of leading the interrogation team," Naruko's puts it plainly.
Sakura's heart sinks to what she hears, but she knows a step forward towards Temari would have the guards nearby lashing out. Looking at Naruko, Sakura can see the blonde's mouth twist and turn with uncertainty.
'It bothers him too...' Sakura thinks. 'For all we know, it could be our friends in there.'
In a sense, Sakura is actually surprised to watch Naruto act so calm before her, given the circumstances. They have a shared mindset, but stay in their place with another shared knowledge of-
'This will all be over soon.'
As if her thoughts mimic Naruto's own, the blonde whispers something risky towards Sakura.
"You said he would stop, right? That Konoha is safe…?"
Sakura nods as Naruko looks at her.
"He promised me," Sakura murmurs.
Despite her words Naruko's frown is heavy, and her stare is hard on Sakura's profile. Sakura can recognize the doubt on Naruto, which is beginning to rub off on her.
"Gaara won't break his promise," Sakura hisses outwardly, still trying to convince herself.
"The other brother," Naruko begins to speak. "Kankuro… What of him?"
Sakura blinks confused before looking at Naruko for clarity.
"What... of him?" Sakura questions cautiously.
Naruko's eyes seem to widen in surprise, leading Sakura to believe that she is still very much in the dark out the situations going on now.
"Will he stop doing what he does?" Naruko asks.
Sakura isn't sure whether to laugh or cry with this information. What other scenarios are happening when her back is turned? She hasn't the faintest clue what Naruko is suggesting, and it's distressing to keep learning of more and more pain in the world.
The rosette sighs heavily.
"I do not know what it is he does," Sakura murmurs before stepping closer to Naruko. "Tell me."
Naruto's heart shows then, and quickly the blonde shakes her head before turning her eyes away from Sakura.
"Maybe-Maybe later. I didn't realize that you didn't know and-"
"Just tell me!" Sakura snaps at Naruko.
Her cry is so loud that the guards even shuffle on their feet while watching the two. Naruko casts her eyes out in front of her, and her lips turn to a fine line as she is suddenly fear stricken at this angry side of Sakura. Nonetheless, as the guards turn their eyes and ears away from the two, Naruko speaks up.
"Temari will sometimes bring him prisoners."
Sakura's eyes scan in front of her as she tries to process this information without Naruko continuing, but when the scenarios in her mind seem as innocent as when Temari brings Naruko back home, she can see no harm in what Kankuro does. That is, until Naruto speaks more.
"They don't ever come back..." Naruko whispers in Sakura's direction. "Temari won't say, but she mentioned Kankuro does like to experiment with poisons and such."
Sakura's lips curl back when an obvious flaw to Naruto's suggestions doesn't come to mind. In fact, Naruko's tip offs only build Sakura's questions.
'The dead body he had that one time,' Sakura bleakly thinks. 'He has cells to keep prisoners near his room.'
The image of Kankuro cackling not even hours ago while mixing chemicals is fresh in her mind. Temari's words from before echo in Sakura's mind.
"I'm heading off to the prisons, would you be needing anything while I'm there?"
"She was asking if he needed people to experiment on," Sakura seethes through her teeth.
Sakura's breathing becomes heavy as she fights to calm the burning sting at her eyes.
"Sakura-chan?" Naruko asks with concern.
When blue eyes try to meet with Sakura's, Naruko is met with a red face of anger as Sakura begins to speak with disdain.
"He lied..." She mutters about Kankuro. "He lies!"
Sakura begins drawing attention back to her from the guards, and Naruko is quick to notice this.
"Sakura-chan, calm down," Naruko suggests. "I know it's a lot to process but-"
"He said he was preparing bodies for burial. He said they were fallen men and women with no families, but they were just innocents forced into cruel tests."
"Who?" Naruko whispers back.
Sakura is quiet, and blinded as a new evil appears in front of her. It makes her blood boil; he was doing this right under her nose. Worst of all, another awful realization echoes in her mind.
'If he has learned to lie to my face... then the one who taught him to was-'
"Gaara..." Sakura growls with shaking fists.
Morphing his brother into something wicked, Sakura isn't sure whether to scream now or save it for Kankuro or Gaara. The image of those happy, smiling children turning into cruel, sadistic adults is wearing her down, and making her emotions and thoughts chaotic.
'If Kankuro learned to lie from Gaara then Gaara is capable of lying to you too,' her mind reflects.
"Damn it," Sakura curses. "Damn him."
She wants to fight. She wants to break a face in. She isn't even sure now if these three siblings are worth salvaging. If anything, she should just rid this world of-
'No,' A womanly voice rebuttals in her mind.
Before Sakura can argue back in her thoughts a gentle hand suddenly touches her shoulder. Still angry, feeling fooled, and tired, Sakura aims her punch at the person who suddenly touches her. Sakura's eyes drop, and her mouth falls when she watches Naruko's neck and head fly back to her hit. Naruko groans loudly as tears well up her blue eyes.
"That hurt!" She shrieks while covering her red nose.
"I'm so sorry!" Sakura is quick to apologize. "Let me-"
Sakura stops short. As much as she would like to help Naruko, she knows her lack of chakra will not allow her to heal. Another subject that sours Sakura's mood. Nonetheless, the rosette is swift to go to Naruko's side as the other woman begins to sniffle and cross her eyes to exam her nose.
"It doesn't look broken," Sakura tells her sympathetically.
Naruko checks her hand to make sure there is no blood before eyeing the guards who watch them skeptically.
"I'll be alright!" Naruko comments loud enough for the guards to hear before lowering her voice back at Sakura. "For someone who can't use chakra you still have a heavy hit."
Sakura's mouth twists, and her eyes fall to that comment. She is full of thought as Naruko stares at the rosette's dismay.
"I'm sorry..." Sakura mumbles dishearteningly.
"Sakura-chan… are you alright? What's got you so down?" Naruko asks with concern.
Sakura shakes her head. There's so many answers to that question, but the young rosette knows that it's a very long and complicated story.
'And not one for the guards to hear,' she thinks in her mind as her gaze shifts to the men in armor.
Naruko unbeknownst follows Sakura's emerald gaze, and it dawns on even the dim-witted jinchuriki Sakura's reason for silence.
"Ah," Naruko chimes. "We can talk about that later then..."
Sakura nods to this.
"Aa," is all she murmurs before a silence falls between the two women.
The silence doesn't last long with Naruto near, and Sakura can't help but smile when Naruko begins to grow impatient.
"Come on, Temari," Naruko whines while folding her hands behind her head. "She is so slow sometimes."
Sakura blinks as it dawns on her that she has yet to learn of the relationship between Temari and Naruto.
"Naruko," Sakura calls for the blonde's attention. "You and Temari...what are you two exactly?"
Sakura is shocked to watch a small blush spread across Naruko's cheeks, and the blonde begins to fidget and wring her hands.
"She says it means nothing, and it has to stay that way in case Gaara ever decides I should die," Naruko begins to mumble.
Sakura's nose wrinkles, and lips twist. The pair is an odd one, and it doesn't help Sakura that she has heard the moans of ecstasy escaping from Temari's room.
'Naruto and Temari huh...'
The idea is too baffling for her to consider in her own world, and she is quick to rid any lewd thoughts on the engagements Temari and Naruto share. Though, she can't help but wonder... Just maybe…
"Do you stay as a woman during?" Sakura whispers towards Naruko.
Naruko chokes before spitting out a loud laugh. Her hollers carry on for so long that Naruko grows breathless at times and hugs at her stomach. Sakura's friend carries a light, happy, mood amidst a world clouded with evil. Just like the Naruto in her world, the cheerful, carefree attitude is infectious. Sakura can't help but crack a smile. She didn't imagine the question to be that bold of one until she realizes once again-
'This Naruto and I know nothing of one another.'
For the minute though, as Naruto continues to explode with laughs, Sakura suddenly feels like she is home.
"I like you, Sakura-chan," Naruko answers through her laughs. "You're funny, and pretty, and strong!"
Settling down, the blonde throws a grin and a wink in Sakura's direction.
"If you really want to know, maybe I can convince Temari to let you join us-"
"Absolutely not!" Sakura screams at Naruto with her own blush spreading. "You're as perverted as ever!"
Naruko quickly puts her hands up in surrender.
"Joking," She nervously laughs. "I'm only joking."
Sakura rolls her eyes away from Naruko before drifting them back towards the mountain. She quickly shifts the conversation.
"Do you love her?" Sakura whispers.
She almost regrets asking that the second she watches Naruko's grin fall. The blonde also tenses, as if a knife just stabbed her in the side.
"I..." Naruko drags out that word before silencing herself.
The blonde looks towards the ground as if she felt shame for what she is about to say.
"I don't know. It's kind of hard to figure out right now, you know? I mean I shouldn't be, just because of who she is, and who she is related to but... It's hard to explain. I don't know," Naruko confesses on a low breath.
Oh, Sakura knows.
"Odd that we seem to attract the enemies affection," Sakura attempts to joke with Naruko.
All the while, the blonde doesn't laugh. Instead, she stares at Sakura's profile thoughtfully, and quietly.
"Temari tells me how Gaara sees you. Through the walls I've heard the things you two sometimes tell one another," Naruko whispers.
Sakura almost feels ashamed to what Naruko is saying, but the rosette keeps her eyes down, and remains silent. Yet, the blonde is curious in studying Sakura's reactions.
"I've never heard you tell him you love him back," Naruko continues.
Sakura's eyes narrow, and her teeth grind at the thought of the love everyone seems to be forcing her to believe in.
"I don't love him in the way he wants. I watched him as a child, but he wants the relationship that adults share," Sakura explains to Naruko.
Sakura's eyes remain down as Naruko stares at her.
"If you love him. You should tell him," Naruko explains.
Sakura turns to Naruko with bitter eyes. She doesn't want to believe her small ray of sunshine, finally found on this island, is also pushing her into something she does not wish for. Before she can cry, scream, or holler at Naruko, the blonde says something that makes Sakura choke on her words. With happy eyes, and a giant grin, Naruko sweetly offers Sakura something unexpected.
"Ne Sakura-chan, you want just to run away with me?"
