Sakura watched as a group of children practiced flinging kunai at targets. Temari stood to her left, watching with a stern face as the children tried their best to impress their Kazekage's sister and the foreign diplomat with her.

"The academy is massive," Sakura mused, craning her neck to look up at the large building next to her. She squinted against the sunlight and looked back toward the training grounds where the children were still practicing.

"It was recently renovated to accommodate growing interest," Temari explained. "Gaara has had a profound impact on many of the children here. They are inspired to join the shinobi ranks because of him."

Sakura didn't want to talk about Gaara, so she redirected the conversation. "How many students are enrolled in the academy?" she asked.

"Several hundred at this point," Temari answered. "Good to know your allies are amassing a nice sized army, right?"

Sakura hummed her acknowledgment as she continued to stare up at the building. It was impressive, the size of it. Tsunade would be amazed to see such massive infrastructure. She wondered if that was the type of stuff Shikamaru dealt with when he came here for diplomatic purposes.

They spent the rest of the afternoon aimlessly wandering more than taking a legitimate tour. Temari led her through the market stalls, tented to keep the sands and winds away from the goods. They walked through the civilian district with its bright lights and little domed homes. It was quaint, Sakura thought, and she thought she could manage the tough weather and terrain if she could live in the coziness of the civilian district.

They toured the training grounds, the public parks, the bathhouses. They wandered through rows of restaurants and booths selling sundries. It was remarkably similar to Konoha, except somehow not.

When they climbed the wall that bordered the village so that Temari could show Sakura the guard towers, Sakura paused and drank in the beauty of the desert and the sun that was just beginning to dip down under the dunes.

"The desert can be cruel, but it sure it beautiful," Sakura said, watching the wind blow a curtain of sand over the dunes. Temari stood beside her and nodded in agreement. They were both silent as they watched the winds. Sakura cast a furtive glance toward Temari, who had propped her elbows up on the steel guardrail. The view wasn't out of the ordinary for her, so Sakura wondered about the pensive look on her face.

"Suna is really a lovely place," Sakura said, prompting Temari to glance in her direction.

Temari frowned and looked away.

"What's the matter?" Sakura asked, trying to have patience for the blonde giving her the cold shoulder, even though she felt annoyed.

Temari was silent for a moment, but Sakura could see that she was trying to come up with the right words to say. Sakura grew nervous, afraid to hear what might be bothering the Sand kunoichi.

"I can't stop thinking about finding Gaara's robe in your room," she eventually said, her voice icy and reserved.

"Oh, that's it?" Sakura asked, relieved that her problem was so innocuous. "I told you already. Gaara-sama gave it to me last night when he found me out on the dunes. He was just being nice. I was shivering."

"He only has two Kage robes," she argued. "He wouldn't let you keep one, even if he did let you borrow it. Why was it in your bedroom?"

Sakura scowled and crossed her arms, upset that Temari didn't believe her. "I'll give it back to him," she said. "It's no big deal. I was only borrowing it because I was cold."

"His Kage robes, though?" Temari asked. "It's highly inappropriate for you to wear that."

"Well it's not like he had another jacket with him to let me borrow," Sakura snapped.

Temari's frown deepened and she dragged her eyes away from the desert to look back at Sakura. "Just tell me," she demanded. "Is there something going on between you and Gaara?"

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up as she determined the best way to respond to that. Obviously there was not anything going on between her and Gaara. If anything, it was the opposite. Their relationship was tumultuous as best. And whatever friendship they were pretending they had was mostly based off their shared connection to Naruto.

Still, this was something new to consider. Sakura had already admitted, even if was only to herself, that she found Gaara attractive. And Temari had a point – Gaara had allowed her to borrow his Kage robes. Surely that was crossing some kind of boundary.

"Absolutely not," Sakura answered vehemently.

Temari sighed and turned back to face the desert, letting one arm hang over the edge of the railing.

"Would it really be so bad, though," Sakura asked, "if there was something between us?" Temari's gaze snapped back up to Sakura's face. "Not that there is," Sakura amended quickly.

Temari shook her head. "No, it wouldn't be so bad," she agreed. "In fact, I think I'd be a bit relieved. Gaara has never shown romantic interest in a woman before. I honestly think it would do him a lot of good."

"You mean he needs to fuck someone," Sakura pointed out.

Temari gave her a wry look. "I wouldn't put it quite like that," she said dryly.

"Doesn't he have a whole fan club here?" Sakura asked. "He's attractive and he's the Kazekage. I'm sure he's not hurting for feminine attention."

Temari gave her a scrutinizing look, peering at her with narrowed eyes. "Gaara is the one who has no interest in women," she said. "That's why I found it concerning that his robe was in your room. To my knowledge, he hasn't let anyone else borrow his Kage robe before."

Sakura opened her mouth to point out that he had likely not been in a position like he had been that night. Of course Gaara would lend his Kage robe to anyone who needed it, Sakura had no doubt about that.

But Temari spoke again first. "And you guys had that weird argument in the courtyard earlier today," she said. "You explained the gist of it. I just think it's very odd that he would even deign to argue with you. He doesn't usually argue with anyone. He's mostly just silent."

"You know him better than I do," Sakura said. "What do you think that means?"

"It means I need to keep a closer eye on you."

"Me?" Sakura asked with a sardonic chuckle. "He's the one acting weird. Besides, I'm leaving soon. Everything will go back to normal."

"I suppose that's true," Temari said. "Still, he's my brother so I've got to keep a protective eye on him, you know?"

Sakura shrugged in response because she didn't really know that feeling. "Well, you don't have to worry about me," she said. "My claws are retracted."

Temari laughed, but there was an underlying bitterness to it. "That's right. You're still obsessed with that Uchiha brat, aren't you?" she asked.

"Excuse me?"

"You're waiting for him to come back, right?" Temari asked.

Sakura frowned and inched incrementally away from Temari. Sasuke was too sore a subject to talk about with her. She sounded to accusing, too judgmental. She should know better, shouldn't she? She had to have spent far more time than she wanted to defending her younger brother.

"I'm not obsessed with Sasuke," she said quietly. "But I do love him and I'll be happy to see him come back home."

Temari let out a huff a breath – a sound that could have been a laugh, but Sakura had a feeling it was at her expense so she pretended it was just an ordinary exhale. They continued to walk along the wall, letting their hands linger on the guardrail. Their pace was leisurely and slow, allowing Sakura to take in the scenery, the sounds of the village below.

But it also gave her time to stew, unfortunately. If Temari was concerned that Sakura was too close to Gaara… well, she would know, right? She was his sister. She would recognize the unusualness of his behavior. He hadn't done anything Sakura found to be out of the ordinary, but what if Temari was right? Did Gaara have some other reason to lend her his Kage robe? How had he even found her out there on the dunes all alone?

And was it true that Gaara rarely argued with anyone? If so, why would he choose to argue with her, and about such a mundane thing?

Sakura glanced at Temari, who was now gazing at the village below. She had a dazed smile on her face and a wistful look in her eye. Sakura followed her gaze down to the street below where she spotted Shikamaru and Kankuro walking toward the palace.

"You really like Shikamaru, don't you, Temari-san?" Sakura asked, flipping the tables around so that Temari was now the one on defense.

Temari straightened her spine and pressed her lips into a tight line. "Shikamaru-san is a fine shinobi," she said with a clipped tone. Sakura grinned. "Come on, tour's over," Temari said.

Sakura didn't bother to hide her amusement as Temari led her back toward the palace.

Sakura sat on the foot of her bed, belly full from the food she and Temari had stopped to eat on their way back to the palace. She held Gaara's robe in her lap, rubbing the sleeve between her fingers.

Both Temari and Gaara had brought Sasuke up to her and the realization why unsettled her. Her heart had always been on her sleeve – there wasn't a person in Konoha who didn't know of her affections for the sole surviving Uchiha.

But what they didn't know what that Sakura had silently moved on. Of course she still loved Sasuke. She would always be there for him if he needed her. But her crush? That curse had passed. Whatever romantic feelings she'd had for Sasuke were long gone now, dried up from lack of attention.

Sasuke would always be her teammate and friend, but that didn't mean he had to be anything more than that. No, it hurt too much to think of that rejection, of the life she'd have with him if he ever did come around. She wasn't Naruto. She couldn't make Sasuke happy.

She had made her peace with this long ago. But it still stung to think that everyone still thought of her as the useless weakling that pined after Sasuke – especially here in Suna where her reputation should have preceded her.

She fisted the fabric of Gaara's robe in her hand and clenched her jaw. With a burst of determination, Sakura got to her feet and headed out into the corridor. She had only been to the Kazekage's office once before, but she remembered how to get there.

When she stood outside his office door, she relaxed her posture. Spontaneity had brought her here, but now that she was faced with the prospect of talking to Gaara, she wanted to carefully construct her words before she barged in. Irritated by the weight of the robe in her hands, she threw it over her shoulders and shoved her arms into the sleeves.

With more force than she had intended, Sakura rapped on his door.

"Come in," called a voice on the other side.

"Sakura," Gaara said once she had flung the door open. His eyes were still down on his desk, looking at whatever Kankuro, who stood over his shoulder, was pointing to. "How did the tour—"

He stopped abruptly when he looked up at her and saw her wearing his robe. Kankuro also had a confused look on his face, mouth gaping like a fish. Gaara quickly recovered, fixing Sakura with a disapproving glare.

"Why are you wearing that, Sakura?"

"I just wanted to return it to you, Kazekage-sama," she said, though she made no move to remove the robe. Instead, she twisted her fingers around the fabric of the sleeve.

"You let her borrow your Kage robe?" Kankuro asked.

Gaara gave his brother a reproachful look. "Take it off, Sakura," he said to her. Sakura complied, shrugging out of his robe and passing it to him over his desk. He took it and held it in his lap, his brow furrowed as he decided the best way to handle this precarious situation.

He turned to Kankuro and cocked his head toward the door. Kankuro took the hint, but not before he sent a smirk in Sakura's direction.

"Somebody's in trouble," he said, his voice sing-songy as he exited Gaara's office. Sakura glared back at him until he had shut the door behind himself.

"How was the tour, Sakura-san?" he asked. Again, Sakura felt annoyed by his lack of consistency when it came to the suffix attached to her name. "I imagine a kunoichi with a track record like yours came close to death at least twice."

Sakura narrowed her eyes before childishly stomping her foot. "Knock it off, Gaara-sama," she said, inflecting her voice with as much sarcasm as she could muster. "I spoke with Temari today and she was very concerned about the fact that you let me borrow your robe."

Gaara raised a brow. "How did she know about that?" he asked. "Did you wear it on the tour? That was very foolish of you."

"She saw it in my room."

Gaara frowned.

"She was very bothered by it, Gaara-sama," Sakura continued, her voice a little softer this time. "Why was she so concerned?"

"I don't know," Gaara answered, and Sakura suspected he was telling the truth if the furrow of his brow was any indication.

"It's not just the robe," she continued. "She was also concerned with the fact that we were arguing in the courtyard. She said you don't argue with people very much. And earlier this week she said I had gotten under your skin. Do I bother you, Kazekage-sama? Have I done something to upset you?"

Gaara blinked a few times, maybe trying to dispel how unsettled he felt. Sakura was sure she had never seen his pupils so dilated before. She realized just by looking at him that he was nervous now – a sheen of sweat on his brow and a paleness to his skin unfitting for someone born in the desert. She itched to reach across the desk and send a surge of healing chakra into him.

"Sakura-sa—"

"And why do you sometimes use honorifics with my name when a lot of the time you don't?" she interjected.

Gaara scowled and it looked wrong on his face. "You do bother me, Sakura," he snapped. "I don't know what to make of you. You talk back to me and you argue. You don't do as you're told."

Sakura opened her mouth to reply, but she found she didn't have any words.

"I'm annoyed that you chose not to come back with Hideki your first day in the desert," he continued. "And more annoyed that you didn't allow him to escort you back the day we encountered the beast. It's irritating that you fell asleep on a dune when you could easily have been killed out there. You claim that you don't like people trying to protect you, yet you do things like that that force others to have to come to your aid. It's my job to protect you and you make it very hard."

Sakura swallowed. She was sure she had never heard Gaara say so many words at once and it was harrowing to know they were directed at her.

"You are capable of protecting yourself – I know that," he continued, his voice less harsh now. "But you are also capable of making smarter decisions."

Sakura narrowed her eyes and cocked her hip out in standard sassy uniform, but the look on Gaara's face prevented the words already forming on her lips.

"Don't," he said before she could speak. "I don't want to hear it. You owe me your respect. I am the Kazekage."

She wanted to tell him that she deserved respect too. She did and she knew it. She was the one who had saved his brother from poison. She was the only who had killed Sasori. She was the most accomplished medic nin in the world and she didn't need to be spoken to that way, even if it was the Kazekage talking.

But she felt a furious blush rising in her cheeks and she was sure that if she tried to speak her voice would come out as a whimper. This was not what she had expected when she came to Gaara's office.

That was exactly what Gaara had been talking about, though. She had come here with the intention of getting answers, of interrogating and understanding him. But what right did she have to do that? He was the Kazekage and she was a civilian born girl from another village.

"You don't respect me, Sakura," he said.

"I do—"

"You don't." He wrapped his fingers around the collar of his robe. "It's because I'm young, because I'm your age. I've seen how you are with Tsunade. Petulant as you are, you respect her. You may not respect me like you respect her, but I am the Kazekage and you still have to show respect, even if you don't feel it."

"Kazekage-sama…"

She paused, expecting him to interrupt her again, but he merely watched her. He hardly blinked as he waited for her to continue. Sakura marveled at the turquoise color of his eyes – they seemed so odd and stark against the black kohl around his lashes. Briefly her eyes flicked to the kanji on his forehead before she dropped them back down to meet his gaze.

"I am sorry, Kazekage-sama," she said, but she could feel the fire still burning in her eyes and she hoped he wouldn't take that as petulance – as he called it. "You're right – it is hard for me to accept you in this position when you are roughly my age. I view you as more of a peer than a superior. My behavior has been unacceptable and I assure you it is not reflective of Konoha's feelings toward you being the Kazekage."

Gaara eyed her skeptically. Sakura stared back at him.

"So you don't know why Temari was upset about the robe?"

Gaara glared at her. She knew she was pushing her luck, but Temari had planted a little seed in her. Just how odd was it for Gaara to have lent her his Kage robe? Why had she said those things about Gaara's romantic interests?

"I shouldn't have lent you the damn thing."

"But why did you?"

"Because you were cold!"

Sakura pressed her lips together. She felt too uncomfortable now – she just wanted to be back in Konoha and far, far away from Suna. Gaara was confusing her, which would be unsettling enough if he wasn't the Kazekage, but he was. She hadn't realized he was so perturbed by her behavior – she hadn't felt like she was acting any different than usual.

But there was some truth in what he told her. She had a problem with his authority, even if she didn't overtly show it. She wasn't going to make that mistake again, though. She couldn't risk damaging Konoha's relationship with Suna, so if she needed to be submissive or less petulant, or whatever it was that Gaara wanted her to be, she would do it.

"Okay," she said.

"Okay?"

"I was only curious – I meant no offense with my question. I was cold so you lent me your robe," she replied. "Anyway, my mission has been completed so I can be out of your hair by tomorrow morning."

"Out of my hair?"

"Or," she began, a little annoyed that that did not seem acceptable to him, "I can leave tonight if you prefer."

"No, Sakura, you can't leave tonight, nor can you leave tomorrow morning," he said dryly. "Shikamaru still has business here. He and Kankuro are working on a new infrastructure plan for Konoha."

"For how long?"

"A couple more days I imagine," he replied.

"What am I supposed to do in the meantime?"

"You're a guest. You can do whatever you want."

Sakura scoffed, earning another glare from Gaara. "See? This is what I'm talking about," he said.

She ducked her head. "Sorry."

With a sigh, Gaara tossed his robe around his shoulders and shoved his arms into the sleeves. He closed the file that was open on his desk and then stood up. "It's okay, Sakura," he said. "Truthfully, I understand. It took a while for Suna to adjust to me as well. I shouldn't be so surly with you for it."

She raised her chin toward him and cocked her head to the side. He circumvented the desk and moved to stand in front of her. He was nearly a head taller than her, so she had to angle her head upwards to see his face. She caught his scent – sweat and earth and something underneath, something uniquely Gaara. She blinked and looked away from him.

"I'll be honest. You being 'in my hair,' as you put it, has been the most interesting part of this week, even if it's been the most annoying as well," he said. The corners of his mouth were quirked up into an almost smile. "I don't mind you being in my hair."

Sakura opened her mouth, but again she found she had nothing to say.

"Thank you for returning my robe," he said. "Now I have some business I need to attend to."

He circled around her, much too close for comfort. Sakura recognized the intimidation tactic, and that coupled with what he had just said both annoyed and thrilled her. She watched his back as he walked out of his office. He did not turn back to look at her.

Sakura knocked on Shikamaru's door, tapping her foot impatiently. It was beginning to grow dark outside. Surely he was finished with everything for the day. She heard shuffling on the other side of the door, so she continued to wait, though she was irritated that he was taking so long to answer the door.

Eventually, a very frazzled looking Shikamaru flung the door open. "Hey, Shikamaru, I was just talking to Gaara-sama and he said you've got some infrastructure stuff to do with Kankuro," she gushed. She pushed her way through the door, nearly stepping on his feet in the process. "I was wondering how long that was going to take because I'm so ready to go back to Kono—"

She paused when she saw Temari sitting on Shikamaru's bed. They were both fully clothed, thankfully, but judging by the furious blush on Temari's cheeks and the disheveled state of her hair…

"What the hell is going on here?" Sakura demanded.

"Nothing. Get out."

Sakura crossed her arms and glared at Shikamaru. He was stony faced as he stared back at her, but he said nothing.

"You gave me all that shit about Gaara-sama lending me his robe, Temari" Sakura said through clenched teeth. "You're such a hypocrite!"

Temari stood up, flushed and angry. "I never said I had a problem with it," she said. "I was concerned because it's out of the ordinary for Gaara to do something like that. And that has nothing to do with this."

"Wait," Shikamaru said. "Sakura, is something going on between you and Gaara-sama? You know that's highly inappropriate. He's the Kazekage."

"There's nothing going on between me and Gaara!"

"So she says," Temari remarked dryly.

Sakura clenched her fists and her teeth. This trip had turned out to be far more irritating than she had imagined and now all she wanted was to be back home in her own bed, far away from Gaara and Temari and Shikamaru. Even Kankuro had managed to grate on her nerves.

With a frustrated groan, Sakura stomped her way across the hall back into her rooms, slamming both Shikamaru's door and her own in the process. No, she definitely wasn't going to stay here any longer than she had to. Shikamaru could stay if he wanted, but she was going home.

A bit haphazardly, Sakura threw all her clothes and personal items into her pack and flung it over her shoulder. If she left Suna now, she would make it back to Konoha in a couple of days. She could travel faster alone, anyway. She certainly didn't want to make the trip back with Shikamaru now.

She flipped the lights off in her room, giving it one last glance before she shut the door. She should say goodbye, but she didn't know who to say it to. She should tell someone she was leaving, but they would likely only want to stop her.

Instead, Sakura made her way to the village gates with silent steps and her chakra masked.