Ink's Notes:

And now it's time for Chapter Fifteen! Again, thank you so much for all the kind reviews, and I'm glad you're enjoying the story! We have a pretty big development in this chapter (the very same one that I had an idea about and mentioned a few chapters ago), so sit tight~!

Chapter Fifteen

As it turns out, the group had been delivering medicinal herbs to help Suna's healers, and had decided to spend the rest of the day there to rest up for the trip back. Lee had gone off to train, and TenTen had met up with Temari, which left Marco and Sakura to go out and get lunch together.

This meant that it was a perfect time for them to discuss things that they couldn't with other people around.

"Say, Marco," Sakura was glad to be able to use his real name again. "You said that anyone could learn Haki, right?"

Marco nodded between bites of his sandwich. "Mmhmm. It's easier-" he paused to take a bite and chew- "When you have a teacher, though."

Marco saw Sakura's face brighten into a grin, and he knew what she was going to ask before the words left her mouth. "So- theoretically, while we figure out how to get you home- you could teach me how to use it?"

He smiled at her. "Sure. It's an essential skill to have when you're sailing in the Grand Line."

Sakura sputtered, and Marco's smile became a grin. "Y… you're still going on about that?"

"Well, you haven't given me your answer yet," Marco pointed out, before taking a sip of his drink. Sakura looked at the food in front of her to avoid eye contact, and the two were left in silence before Marco decided to break it. "Say, would it be possible for me to learn the basics of ninjutsu? Like that chakra thing, yoi." Sakura looked up to meet his gaze. "I'll need to know how if I'm going to use a jutsu to get back home."

Sakura nodded. "Usually, people can't learn chakra unless they start at a young age…" At Marco's frown, she quickly finished her thought. "But your Devil Fruit might be able to mimic chakra. Justu might work differently for you, but it's better than nothing. We can try a basic one when we get back to Konoha."

"Great," he grinned. "Looking forward to it." He took another bite from his sandwich, before pausing and looking up. Sakura followed his gaze in time to see Lee come charging up to their table.

"Hello Sakura-San, Edward-San!" he greeted, smiling and giving a thumbs up. "Look who I ran into!"

Sakura turned in her seat as Lee stepped to the side, allowing the Kazekage to approach their table. "Gaara!" she greeted. "Shouldn't you be working?"

"I decided to take a break when I heard some of our allies were visiting," he responded, nodding to her. He turned to face Marco. "You must be Edward. Lee's told me about you."

"Really…" Marco sweatdropped, worried about what the eccentric shinobi had told Gaara about him.

"My name is Gaara. I am Sunagakure's Kazekage," he introduced himself. Sakura watched as Marco mentally processed what this meant. "On behalf of everyone here, welcome to Suna."

"Wait, hold up," Marco lifted his hand. "If you're the Kazekage, then shouldn't you be doing paperwork? I don't think I've ever seen the Hokage out of her office."

Gaara gently smiled, amused by the comment. "Understandable. If you had come here about a month ago, then that observation would have been accurate." At Sakura's questioning stare, he elaborated. "About a month ago, I came across a young lady and her pet duck injured in the desert and brought them here for medical attention. She had amnesia, but nonetheless offered her assistance around the office to thank me for saving her life."

"I hope you're not letting her handle anything too sensitive," Sakura frowned.

"Of course not," Gaara shook his head. "Still, that's also why I came to speak with you." He continued when he saw Sakura's questioning gaze. "I was hoping to help her regain her memories, but I've had no luck so far. I was thinking that if she gets out of Suna and sees more places, she'd be more likely to remember things." Sakura and Marco both nodded. "I would therefore like to request that you take her with you when you go back to Konoha."

Sakura looked over at Marco, then back at Gaara. "Well, I'm okay with it, but we'd need to ask her as well, wouldn't we?" she asked, and Gaara nodded.

"Once you're finished eating, come to my office. I can introduce you to her then."

About an hour later, Sakura and Marco found themselves outside of Gaara's office. Lee had run off to go do some more training, while TenTen was still with Temari somewhere. Sakura lifted her hand and knocked on the door.

"Come in," Gaara called from inside, and the two entered the room.

Sakura's eyes immediately fell on the young lady and her large pet duck. The young lady had long wavy blue hair, with two bangs hanging down, one on either side of her head. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, revealing a pair of golden earrings, one on either ear. She dressed very casually, in a white tank-top shirt with blue jeans and white heels. She was tending to her pet duck, which looked big enough to carry her. The duck in question was yellow with his wing and tail feathers tipped black, and a spot on his bill. The duck also wore a blue chullo with a white pattern on it, as well as pink goggles with blue lenses.

"That's a…" Marco muttered, and Sakura glanced at him as the lady looked over at the sound of his voice. She gasped, and Marco quickly brought his hand to his mouth to motion for her to be quiet. She seemed to catch the hint, covering her own mouth as Gaara looked from one to the other.

"This is Sakura Haruno and Edward Newgate," Gaara introduced the two of them to her, and the young lady stared at Marco for a moment before quickly bowing.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sakura-San, Edward-San," she greeted, brushing one of her bangs off to the side. "This is Carue, and I am Vivi Nefertari."

Whoops~ I wonder how people are gonna react to this development? Well, see you next time!

-Ink