The next morning, Temari and Sakura headed back out into the desert, this time with a squad of Sand shinobi. Shikamaru had been summoned by Kankuro for some ambassador business that Sakura wasn't privy to, but she didn't mind. It was for the best that he wasn't with them, bringing down the group with his sour moods.
They combed through the desert together, raking through the dunes, the valleys, the crests created by the previous night's storms. It was still quite dark and windy, and the shifting sands made it hard to tell where they had already been. Luckily for Sakura, Temari and the squad of shinobi seemed to be able to navigate the desert without any trouble. She let them take the lead as she focused on looking for whatever it was that was poisonous.
By midmorning, when they'd still had no luck, Temari stopped to catch her breath, leaning onto her bent knees. Sakura stopped beside her, her hands lit with healing chakra and poised to help Temari if she needed it.
"Are you okay?" Sakura asked. "Do you want to take a break?"
Temari stood up a little straighter, smoothing down her slightly rumpled clothing. Her mouth was set in a determined line, but Sakura could see the jaundiced tone of her skin and a light sheen of sweat that was normal for a civilian out in the desert, but a little strange on a shinobi.
"I'm fine," the blonde insisted. "I'm just a little stiff, that's all. I didn't get a good night's sleep."
Sakura narrowed her eyes and reached out to rest her palm on Temari's forehead. Her skin was clammy and cold, even in the desert's heat. Temari shoved her hand away roughly, a scowl marring her features.
"I said I'm fine," she snapped.
Sakura shook her head as she shrugged her pack off of her back and tossed it to her feet. "You aren't fine," she said. "I think you may have been poisoned. Sit down. Let me take a look."
Temari looked like she wanted to protest this new authoritative Sakura's diagnosis. She hesitated, watching as Sakura knelt down into the sand, waiting for Temari to join her. With a resigned sigh, Temari shifted her weight down to her knees, kneeling down across from Sakura.
Refraining from a triumphant grin (because smugness was never a good thing to show to an ally), Sakura touched her hand to Temari's chest just above her breasts. She sent a current of chakra into her system, exploring in her lungs and respiratory system, searching for any trace of the poison.
And it took no longer than ten seconds before she came across a tuft of malicious microbes in Temari's lungs being spread around by her heavy breathing.
"Yes, you've definitely been poisoned," Sakura murmured. She looked over to where the shinobi squad was, still combing through the sand a short distance away. She motioned to get their attention.
"Temari-san has been poisoned," she informed them when they had come back to her side. "I'll need to check all of you for poison as well. If you are well, we'll need to go back to the last area we were in and look there again. We must have missed it."
They nodded in tandem, lingering at her side.
Quickly, Sakura set to work diagnosing the shinobi squad. Luckily, it seemed that the poison had infected only Temari. Sakura's own system also showed no signs of it.
"Sakura-san," said the squad captain, "With Temari-san poisoned and the storm approaching, I think it would be best if we head back to the village now."
Sakura peered up at the captain, holding her hands over her eyes to shield them from the sun, which had now begun to shine through the sparse clouds. "It isn't even noon," she said. "And if we were close enough for the poison to affect Temari-san, then we're close enough to find it. We can't go back just yet."
He shook his head, pressing his lips together in a thin line. Everything but his eyes were covered by his head wrap, leaving only the dark skin around his eyes and the darker glint of his pupils visible to Sakura. She tried not to wither under his disapproving glare.
"With all due respect," he said slowly and patiently, but with a touch of restrained annoyance, "It will be difficult to traverse this terrain once the storm hits. Even harder with Temari-san out of commission." He glanced down to Temari, who was propped against Sakura's side. Her eyes were heavy lidded and her skin had grown even paler in the last half hour. The muscle weakness had set in by now and she would likely have to be carried back to the village.
"Fine," Sakura said tersely. "You can leave now. Take Temari-san back with you."
The captain's eyebrows flew up in surprise, but the expression was whisked away nearly immediately, replaced with anger. "We cannot leave you out here alone," he said, still exercising his willpower, though Sakura could see she had struck a nerve with him.
Sakura moved to her feet, placing her hands on her hips. "I'm here for one reason and that's to find a cure for this poison," she said. "I won't have you impeding my progress. Now you can stay with me or you can leave, but I'm not leaving until I've found the source of the poison."
The other two squad members seemed to perk up at Sakura's frustrated tone, drinking in the volatility of her posture. Surely they were used to such behavior, Sakura thought, because Temari was nice, but she certainly had a temper, too. They looked to their captain for guidance. The captain jerked his chin toward Temari and one of the shinobi dipped down to pick her up and tossed her over his shoulder.
"Be careful with her!" Sakura said. "She's still conscious, you know. She's probably nauseous."
"I will be careful with her, Sakura-san," said the shinobi. Sakura was not mollified. She glanced over at the captain, who had turned his face to the sky and was watching the impending dust cloud that brought the coming storm behind it.
"We need to leave now," he said, though he was speaking to his squad mates. They nodded to him and set off toward the village in a brisk run. The captain took one step toward Sakura, grabbed her roughly by the waist, and tossed her onto his shoulder.
"What the hell?" Sakura shrieked. "Put me down! I'm a diplomat. You can't manhandle me like this!"
"I'm sorry, Sakura-san, but I cannot leave you out here," he said as he followed his squad back toward the village. "It's too dangerous and you aren't well-versed in these lands."
Sakura struggled against him for a moment, contemplating whether or not she should use her chakra-enhanced strength to break free from his grasp. She didn't want to hurt him, though, because it could reflect poorly on Konoha. Instead, she relaxed herself against him.
"Okay, okay," she said. "Put me down. I can run on my own."
The captain paused, dropping her back down to her feet. He hesitated for a moment, watching to see if she would bolt before he resumed his pace behind his squad.
The moment he had his eyes turned away from her, she sprinted back off toward the direction they had come from. They were so close to the source of the poison. They had been close enough for Temari to inhale it. If she didn't find it today, now, she might never find it again in the bleak expanse of desert dunes. No, the only way this mission could be a success was if she located the source of the poison today and put all her efforts into creating its antidote.
Not even the storm would stop her from completing her mission.
Then she felt a hand around her wrist, yanking her backwards. "Do you cause this much trouble in Konoha?" the captain asked. A dramatic wind swept over the dune they were standing on, blowing a cloud of rough sand into Sakura's face. She winced, bringing up her arms to shield her eyes. Using that opportunity, the captain lifted her up again and hoisted her onto his shoulder, this time keeping a firm grip on her thigh should she try to kick him.
From her perch on his back, Sakura could see the blackening of the sky, the swirl of ominous sand that was hurtling its way toward them. She no longer felt the compulsion to stay. Instead, a fear crept into her throat, tightening in her chest. The storm looked nasty, she thought. She could see why the Sand shinobi were so afraid of being caught out in one.
"The storm will blow away the poison," Sakura mumbled aloud, more to herself than to the captain. Perhaps this had been why they hadn't found it yesterday. With the constant storms, it would be much to hard to locate something so small, something that had been narrowed down to a specific location. The storm could have carried it anywhere. And they had still managed to get so close to it.
"Better the poison than you, Sakura-san," the captain said.
She didn't necessarily disagree, but she still glared holes into his back the entire way back to Suna.
Back in the village, Sakura hovered over Temari, her lips pursed as she tried to extract as much of the poison as she could. It was much harder to isolate an inhaled poison, so it took a decent amount of concentration. The medical ward was usually fairly empty, but today, a host of medic nin hovered around Sakura, watching as she extracted the poison in much the same way she had done with Kankuro just a few years prior.
Sakura had gained a bit of a reputation after that, so it was only natural for the Sand medics to want to study her as she worked. She found herself annoyed, though, as they asked far too many questions, interrupted her thoughts, and pestered her as she tried to work. She wasn't here to teach. She was here to create an antidote.
But so far, all she had done was go on a wild goose chase and get the Kazekage's sister poisoned.
Shaking the disappointment from her head, Sakura doubled down, focusing her chakra in Temari's lungs.
"Temari," said a tense voice behind her.
Sakura removed her hands from Temari carefully and turned to face the Kazekage. He was in his full robes again, his eyes sharp, but his face haggard. It was a face she had seen often enough on Tsunade. Being a Kage must be exhausting, Sakura thought. It didn't help that he was worried about his sister. The tiny crease between his brows showed her his concern.
"She's fine," Sakura placated. "I put her to sleep because this procedure can be a bit uncomfortable. But like the others who have been poisoned so far, she will be fine."
He didn't seem mollified by that. He circumvented Sakura and took Temari's hand.
"She looks pale," he said.
Patiently, Sakura gave him a strained smile. "She's okay, though," she said again. "It's not serious."
He turned his gaze to Sakura, his eyes narrow and intense. It came flooding back to her – the things he was capable of, the demons of his past. She was uncomfortable with his scrutiny on her, but she didn't look away. He was different without Shukaku, she reminded herself. His eyes were different – that she could tell now as he gave her a roving glance with critical eyes, intense but not quite like they had been during the chuunin exams all that time ago. This Gaara was not the same one who had attacked her.
"Were you able to locate the source of the poison?" he asked. It appeared that he understood his demeanor was too intense for her so he softened his gaze.
"We came close," she explained. "Obviously close enough for Temari to get poisoned. But the squad captain we went out with refused to let me stay and continue searching."
Gaara glanced toward the window out into the village. The desert couldn't be seen from their angle, but the darkness of the sky told them everything they needed to know.
"Regrettable," he said. "But the storm could have killed you."
"I don't know about that," she said. "But I have a feeling that we were very, very close. Even just ten minutes more could have yielded progress. We were definitely in the right area. If I had only had just a bit more time…"
His brow furrowed. He glanced to the other medics still crowded around Temari's bed. "In any case," he said with deliberate slowness, "I'm glad you chose to come back. It isn't safe to be out of the village during a storm."
"I didn't choose to come back!" she nearly screeched. Instantly, she covered her mouth with her palm, her eyes wide as she realized she had just screamed at the Kazekage.
He didn't seem angry, though, merely curious. His eyes darted between her and the other medics in the room. They seemed to be ignoring their conversation, though Sakura was aware they were listening with rapt attention. Just because their eyes were still on Temari didn't mean they weren't just as curious about Gaara's opinion on the pink-haired foreigner.
"Leave," he said, his eyes still locked onto Sakura's. The word was uttered so quietly that it startled Sakura. There didn't seem to be any malice in the word, but that he would even command her to do such a thing was terrifying. A little nervously, she began to walk toward the door, bowing her head to the Kazekage.
But behind her, the rest of the medics began to leave as well. They shuffled their way to the door, trying to be as quiet as possible.
"Not you," Gaara said to Sakura. She froze in place, letting the medics filter out around her. Once they had been cleared out of the room and the door was shut behind them, she chanced a look back at his face.
"I apologize, Kazekage-sama—"
"Explain what you meant by that."
"The squad captain—"
"Hideki," Gaara supplied.
"Hideki-san," she continued. "He was concerned about the storm and decided it was best to leave. I told him I wanted to stay for just a while longer and see if I could find the source of the poison."
"He did not let you," Gaara said. It wasn't a question.
"He had one of the other squad members take Temari-san," she answered. "And when I refused to come with him, he slung me over his shoulder like I was a sack of flour!"
Gaara blinked. The corner of his mouth twitched. Sakura realized he was trying to hold back a smile. Furious, she tightened her fists at her sides.
"I imagine a kunoichi as accomplished as yourself would have been able to free herself from his hold," he said. Sakura was annoyed by the amusement she sensed in his tone.
"I didn't want to hurt him."
His lips turned up in a smile now, and the expression looked so different from the manic smiles she had seen on him before. He looked happy, which was preposterous at a time like this, Sakura thought. But her thoughts didn't linger there, because it was in that moment that she decided that Gaara was actually quite handsome and his smile suited him.
"I cannot fault Hideki for bringing you back here," he said, "even if he did have to manhandle you. If you had agreed to come back he would not have needed to do that."
"Excuse me?" Sakura asked incredulously. "You're saying it's my own fault?"
He took a step toward her, his eyes glinting. He was amused still, Sakura saw, which only served to annoy her even more. "Yes, Sakura-san," he said. "That's exactly what I'm saying."
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes, a witty quip hanging from the tip of her tongue. But before she could snap her retort, she thought better of it. Even if he wasn't the Kazekage, he was still a man who had nearly killed her before, a man who was known to have temper issues.
"It was your fault, Sakura-san."
Both Gaara and Sakura turned to Temari, who was awake now and trying to sit up. Sakura rushed to her side, her hands already glowing with her green, healing chakra. "Temari-san, please lie back down," she said. "I'm not finished with you yet. I'm still trying to extract the poison."
"That's not what it looks like," Temari said, glancing over at her brother.
Gaara dipped his head toward his sister and then gave Sakura a nod as well. "I see you're in good hands, Temari," he said. "I'll let you get back to work, Sakura." Sakura and Temari watched him leave. Once he was gone, Sakura sent a glare in Temari's direction. She said nothing as she used her chakra to put Temari back to sleep. And an hour later, once she had finished extracting as much of the poison as she could, Sakura left Temari on her bed in the medical wing instead of waking her up to go back to her own rooms.
The storm raged on well into the night. Sakura could hear the winds pelting sand against the roof, howling and wreaking havoc against the stone structures of the village. It was loud and distracting, and coupled with Sakura's anxiety over her lack of progress so far it was much too difficult to sleep.
A bit irritated, she tossed her covers onto the floor and stood up. Suna was hot – much too hot for Sakura's usual sleepwear. So she threw on one of the many silk robes that had been hanging in the wardrobe, tying it loosely around her naked waist before she made her way out into the hall.
Suna's open palace design was beautiful, but it seemed wildly impractical to Sakura. Out in the hallway, she was still covered by the roof above her, but down at the end of the corridor she could see the sand being blown about by the wind and a tiny sliver of moonlight that didn't do much to illuminate the village.
She had intended to make her way toward the bath again. Perhaps a nice hot soak would help clear her mind and relieve a bit of stress. But the path to the bath would lead her out into the storm, and she definitely couldn't do that.
Instead, she wandered down the opposite end of the corridor. She passed the medical ward and kept walking. She had never explored much beyond the medical facility in Suna. There was hardly ever an innocuous reason for her to come visit – asking for a tour seeming like an inappropriate thing to do. But this time, she would have to remember to ask Temari for one if she could spare the time.
She gazed in admiration at the beautiful marble textures on the wall, the sconces that shone brightly against that darkness that surrounded everything else. She wondered if the other nations had palaces as beautiful as this one.
Up ahead she noticed a large pane of glass that reflected the scant moonlight back toward her. Intrigued, she approached it and saw that it was a window looking out to the courtyard below. She pressed her palms to the glass and watched the storm. It was difficult to see much through the thick clouds of sand and dust, but that was somehow just as interesting to Sakura as the courtyard might have been had she been able to see it.
Idly, she drew circles on the glass while she watched. It was hypnotic in a way – the swirling sands, the lilting way it smacked against the window. For something that had prevented her from falling asleep just a few moments ago, it was doing a good job of lulling her into tranquility now.
"Not much to see."
Sakura whirled around, on guard because she hadn't sense anyone approach her. Gaara stood behind her, his hands clasped behind his back. He was looking over her shoulder through the glass.
"The view of the courtyard from here is beautiful," he continued. "You should come back once the storm has cleared."
"Kazekage-sama…"
He approached the window and stood beside her, watching the sand against the glass. "Although," he said, "I suppose I should have someone come clean the window first since you've smudged it with your fingerprints."
"Sorry, Kazekage-sama."
He glanced at her, eyeing her face first before noticing her state of undress. Perhaps she imagined it, but Sakura thought she saw the barest hint of a blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and returned his attention to the window.
"Can't sleep?" he asked as she tightened the tie on her robe.
"Oh," Sakura said. "Well, yes. I'm a little unnerved by my lack of progress with this mission. These storms are making it very difficult on me."
His gaze returned to her face again, searching for something there that he didn't seem to be able to find. Sakura found she didn't particularly enjoy his attention. He seemed too critical, too curious about her. It unsettled her.
"Do you think the storms themselves might be the source of the poison?" he asked.
Sakura blinked as she considered that. It hadn't occurred to her before, but she supposed it could be possible. The winds could be carrying about all manner of things. That, however, would make the poison impossible to locate, which would severely hinder her ability to complete the mission.
"I hope not," she answered. "I'm not sure I'd ever find a substantial sample of the poison if that's the case."
"You were not able to get what you needed from my sister?"
Sakura shook her head. "Once inhaled, the poison is much too hard to isolate," she explained. "I think tomorrow I will work on creating some kind of elixir to permanently alleviate the poison's symptoms. It's not as thorough as an antidote, but it will at least give you an option if more of your shinobi end up being poisoned and we're unable to find the source."
Through the reflection in the glass, Sakura saw Gaara frown.
"But don't worry, though," she said quickly. "I'll head back out after the storm has passed and keep looking. I won't stop until I've exhausted every option."
The corners of his mouth tilted up into a smile and again Sakura was struck with the thought that he was handsome. She blinked rapidly to clear the thought from her mind.
"I can see why Naruto likes you so much," he said.
Sakura opened her mouth to respond to that, but she found that she didn't quite have the words she wanted.
"Don't fret over it, Sakura," he said. "I can accompany you tomorrow morning after the storm has passed. We will find the source of the poison."
"Oh, no, Kazekage-sama," she said. "You don't have to do that. I know you're very busy. I'm sure I can manage—"
He held up a hand to shush her. "You'll need someone to replace Temari since she'll be unable to travel in her condition," he said. "Besides, I need to get away from the palace."
She bowed her head slightly. It was understandable that he would want to escape from being Kazekage, even if it was just for the morning. Being Tsunade's apprentice, Sakura understood quite well the struggles and stress of protecting and running the entire village. Although, Tsunade's way of coping was to drink. If Gaara only needed to be outside the village walls for a while, that was a much more reasonable way to handle the stress.
"I understand, Kazekage-sama."
They stood together in silence for a few moments. Sakura again grew mesmerized by the sand on the other side of the glass. For a moment she felt like she was looking into a massive hourglass.
Again, she reached up and pressed her palm to the glass. It seemed as though it should feel hot under her skin, but it was cool to the touch.
"The cleaning crew won't like that."
She snatched her hand away, clutching it to her chest. She felt a heat flare up in her cheeks. She didn't like to feel admonished. It was the second time he'd made a comment about her touching the glass.
"I'm sorry, Kazekage-sama," she said.
But when she glanced over at him again, he was smiling. "Temari has the same compulsion," he said. "Especially when the winds rattle the glass. She presses her face against it."
Sakura smiled, too, because it was nice to hear that Temari had a side of her that was childlike and a little less severe. She wondered if Temari ever stood here when she couldn't sleep, pressing her face to the glass and watching storms.
Silence fell over them again. Sakura stifled a yawn, stretching her fingers to cover her mouth. She felt drowsy now, thanks to the cadence of the storm, the darkness that enveloped the corridor. Her exhaustion was settling in, finally. A bit belatedly, she realized she felt comfortable in Gaara's presence, in spite of her apprehension about him. Should she have been afraid of him?
No, this Gaara was trustworthy – she didn't even need to think about it. It was only natural for her to feel comfortable with his company.
"Perhaps you should return to your rooms and get some rest," Gaara said softly to her.
She turned to catch his eye. He wasn't looking at her, but there was a warmth on his face that had never been there before Shukaku had been removed. His cheeks were pleasantly flushed, his eyes tired but glimmering with vitality. It was a wonder that a man with a past like his, a childhood so miserable and loveless, could love his village so much in spite of everything they had done to him.
Sakura realized her thoughts were a little patronizing and possibly inappropriate. She was in no position to analyze the Kazekage's life.
"Yes, Kazekage-sama," she replied, bowing her head low. He gave her a curt nod and said nothing else while she made her way back to her rooms.
