"Taiyo-sama!" Sarabi screeched, launching herself into the old man's arms. He caught her with a grunt and shifted himself higher up on his cot to accommodate her. Somewhat awkwardly, he patted the top of her head and Sakura found the pinkness in his cheeks charming.

Sarabi clung to him, her arms draped around his neck. She began to cry again, dramatic sobs that wracked her whole body. Sakura tried to put herself in Sarabi's shoes, to understand the magnitude of her pain. Taiyo was all she had left in the world, and that wasn't saying much.

"That's enough, Sarabi-chan," he said soothingly, smoothing her hair with a wrinkled, shaking hand. "It's okay."

Sakura smiled, affected by their touching moment, their shared pain and the consolation they found in one another. She glanced over at Gaara to see his reaction to this only to find him staring at her instead.

"So much for the script," he mumbled for only her to hear. She scowled at him and put her hands on her hips. He had interrupted her before she could get to the damn script, and that was his own fault.

Gaara looked back at Taiyo, watching their exchange with intense scrutiny. Sakura almost understood why he disliked Taiyo so much. The old man could certainly be abrasive and a little arrogant, and perhaps he wasn't the wisest leader to ever exist, but it was obvious that he cared about his people. It was strange to Sakura that Gaara wouldn't feel empathetic toward the old man given his own rocky past and road to leadership.

"I'm actually glad you're here, Gaara-sama," Taiyo said. Both Gaara and Sakura stiffened at the sound of the honorific. After hearing Taiyo dismiss Gaara's commands for respect, it sent off alarm bells that he would choose now to be respectful of Gaara's position.

"Why's that?" Gaara asked.

"I wanted to ask you about Sarabi-chan," he said. "I know you have lots of questions about the chakra and I will do my best to answers those questions on one condition."

Gaara sent a wry glare in Sakura's direction before glancing back to Taiyo. "What is the condition?" he asked.

"I'd like for Sakura to take Sarabi-chan back to Konoha with her and teach her how to use her new chakra to heal," he answered. He bowed his head when he was finished speaking, and Sakura was surprised by the amount of reverence he was showing to Gaara. It seemed that this was rather important to him.

Gaara shook his head, though he managed to look sympathetic. "I'm afraid I can't do that, Taiyo," he replied. "Sarabi and you are both cultural anomalies – I can't let either of you leave just yet. Not until I've conducted a full investigation of the catacombs and that chakra."

"Fine," Taiyo snapped. "Then let her leave when the investigation is over."

"Sakura will be leaving in a matter of days," Gaara said evenly. "The investigation will not be over by then."

"Oh, it's no trouble for me to wait, Gaara-sama," Sakura said. "After all, if Shikamaru will be aiding you with the investigation, then I should stay until he is finished."

The stony glare Gaara sent in her direction was enough to pebble her skin and make her take a step backward. "Shikamaru will not—"

He cut himself short and then sighed, a deep, heavy sigh that made Sakura feel only the slightest bit guilty for making things harder for him. His eyes landed on Sarabi, who still lay draped across Taiyo's lap. Her face was still buried I his shoulder, but her tears seemed to have slowed, her breath even as Taiyo's fingers curled around her arm, holding her close.

"Taiyo, you have my word that I will care for Sarabi," Gaara said. "I will teach her how to use her chakra – it's something only I can do. Her ability to move sand is unlike anything any other shinobi has, except for me. She has a specific set of talents, so she needs a specific teacher."

"Who cares about moving sand?" Taiyo demanded. "What good will that do anyone? She needs Sakura's skills, Sakura's ability to heal. That is what will be useful to her."

"She could have saved your home with the proper training," Gaara insisted.

"And you're the one to give it to her?"

Gaara nodded.

"Then why didn't you save my home?"

Silence settled over the room. Sarabi sat up, rubbing at her eyes. She now looked worried, a look she passed between Gaara and Sakura for a moment, unsure of what to do, what to say.

"Perhaps I should be the one asking you that, Taiyo," Gaara said, and the aura that was radiating off of him was absolutely terrifying. "I lost my ability to control sand when I was down in the catacombs. Saving your home and your people was my goal, but I was thwarted by the loss of my chakra. Sakura and I were trapped down there. We nearly died, too."

Sakura scoffed, drawing three sets of eyes to settle on her – two with curiosity and one with ire. But Gaara did not let it sidetrack him.

"What happened down there in the catacombs, Taiyo?" Gaara asked.

"I believe I can answer that, Gaara-sama," Sarabi said. She stood up and straightened her clothes, bowing her head respectfully in Gaara's direction.

"No, Sarabi-chan, don't," Taiyo urged, grasping her hand with trembling fingers.

"It's okay, Taiyo-sama," she said, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "We can trust them. They only want to help."

Taiyo vigorously shook his head, but he remained quiet, crossing his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowed to mere slits.

"Every hundred years, the Sun Goddess chooses a human to be her mouthpiece," Sarabi said, sounding very much like she was reciting something from the page of a book. "The Day of Choosing was not supposed to be until a month from now and the ceremony had been arranged so that Taiyo-sama would be the one chosen."

Sakura opened her mouth to speak, to ask about how the Sun Goddess could chose, but her choice could be prearranged, but Gaara shook his head curtly and held up a hand for her to remain silent.

"The Sun Goddess will always choose someone who is able to sense the monoliths," Sarabi continued. "That is the test. Taiyo-sama, Daisuke-san, and I were the only ones who could do so, so it could only have been one of the three of us. Given that Taiyo-sama was our leader, we had arranged the ceremony so that Taiyo would be chosen and the chakra would be given to him."

Gaara blinked and looked to Taiyo, who had shriveled up on his cot, curled underneath his linens like a frightened animal.

"But Daisuke-san and a few others did not trust Taiyo-sama," Sarabi explained. "They planned to overthrow him and rig the ceremony so that Daisuke-san would be chosen. Only when they heard about the rescue and Taiyo had been brought to the surface, Daisuke-san and Toki-kun began to perform the ritual themselves in their haste to secure the Goddess's choice."

"I thought the Sun Goddess was dead," Sakura interjected, unable to stand how many more questions this was all opening up.

"Her corporal form is," Taiyo interjected.

Sakura and Gaara exchanged confused glances. Gaara turned around and rapped on the window. Hideki opened the door, poking his head inside, but keeping his feet firmly planted outside the threshold.

"Hideki, go fetch Temari and Shikamaru," he commanded. "Tell them to meet me in the council chambers as soon as possible."

Hideki nodded and speed off.

"Taiyo," Gaara said, turning back to face the room. "Are you well enough to walk now?"

Taiyo nodded and stood up slowly.

"We should move this conversation to the council chambers," he said. "Sakura, take Sarabi back to my office. Kankuro should be in there."

"What for, Gaara-sama?"

He shot her a look – one that actually frightened her a little bit with its vehemence. He certainly had an authority about him now and Sakura didn't feel compelled to question him further, even though she would much rather have gone to the council chambers with him and Taiyo.

"Just do it," he said, and though his eyes were still hardened, his tone was soft. "Please," he added. Sakura raised her brows in surprise. He was under no obligation to ask her nicely, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

"Yes, Gaara-sama," she replied, and took Sarabi's hand.

/

"This is so unfair."

Sakura sat at Gaara's desk, idly twirling a roll of parchment around her fingers. It seemed that Gaara had an actual reason for wanting Sakura to bring Sarabi here. She was currently sitting near the windowsill with Kankuro, drawing him a map of the catacombs on a massive sheet of parchment.

Kankuro looked up from the parchment sprawled over the floor, sunlight glinting from his eyes. "Don't worry, Sakura, I'm sure he'll fill you in on all the details later," he said cheerily. "Truthfully, you're better off in here anyway. He seemed pretty angry earlier this morning."

"Angry?" Sakura asked, spinning Gaara's chair around to face the window. "Why?"

"Who knows?" he replied with a shrug. "He's been pretty cranky lately. I have a suspicion it has something to do with Shikamaru and Temari, but I can't say for sure. Which is another reason why it's best not to be trapped in a room with the three of them."

Sakura rolled her eyes at that. She wasn't convinced that that was Gaara's problem, but she didn't want to say what she really thought it was.

"It's because he doesn't like Taiyo-sama, isn't it?" Sarabi asked.

Kankuro furrowed his brow and cast her a curious glance. "What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Gaara-sama is always very kind to me," she explained, "but he doesn't seem to extend that same kindness to Taiyo-sama."

"He can come off a little stoic sometimes," Kankuro admitted, "but that's just the way he is. It's not personal, of course. He's even cold with Temari and I sometimes and we're his siblings."

"Yeah," Sakura agreed. "It's nothing to worry about."

"It's hard to blame him for treating you nicer than Taiyo," Kankuro continued. "You're so pretty! Even an asexual like Gaara can see that."

Sakura rolled her eyes so hard it physically hurt. "Gaara-sama isn't asexual, you dumbass."

"I've never seen him with a girl," Kankuro said, and the accusatory tone he used told Sakura that she had better tread carefully now lest she out herself.

"I've never seen you with one, either," she retorted.

He glared over at her, his arms crossed. "Just because you haven't seen me with one doesn't mean I've never been with one," he snapped. "Besides, you don't even live here. How would you even know?"

"Well do you?" Sakura asked.

"Do I what?"

"Have a girlfriend?"

Kankuro scowled and turned toward the window. "Let's just focus on our orders," he said. He pushed the parchment closer to Sarabi, who gave him a cautious glance before she began writing again.

Sakura turned back to the desk and sighed. After all the weirdness between her and Gaara, she really just wanted to be back home, back in the normalcy of her everyday life. This mission had been exciting, to be sure, but now she just felt uncomfortable being in Suna.

And now she had Sarabi to think about too. She had already expressed interest in learning medical ninjutsu, and Sakura had promised Taiyo he would take her back to Konoha. Truthfully, Sakura was pleased that Sarabi wanted to come and that Taiyo trusted her when he didn't seem to trust anyone else. Sakura liked Sarabi and could easily picture herself teaching medical ninjutsu to her. It would certainly be nice to have an extra pair of hands around the hospital. And Naruto would certainly like Sarabi.

But Gaara had been opposed to that idea, or at least opposed to making that promise to Taiyo. Did he not want Sarabi to leave? Perhaps he enjoyed her company too much to let her go. With a painful stab of jealousy, Sakura glanced back over her shoulder at the pale girl, watching her draw lines on the parchment.

Kankuro wasn't wrong – Sarabi was a pretty girl and Sakura had already seen Gaara notice her.

Of course it wasn't Sakura's place to feel jealous. Her relationship with the Kazekage must be kept strictly professional and they both knew it. Besides, Sakura wasn't even certain of what exactly her feelings toward Gaara entailed. Did she have a crush on him? Was it just infatuation? Sexual attraction and nothing more?

Just thinking about it sent a sharp heat down to her gut, which she supposed answered her question. If what she felt toward Gaara was strictly a sexual attraction, then that was something she could work with. It would be easy to move on from and require little to no emotional stress.

Still, she wasn't exactly looking forward to leaving him and she wished she could kiss him one more time. Or two more times. Really, she just wanted to put the whole situation behind her, which wouldn't happen until she went back home.

Sakura pushed the chair away from the desk with a groan and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Kankuro asked her.

"To get something to eat."

/

Sakura strolled through the marketplace, munching happily on some chips. She sun wasn't quite so hostile today – the storm had cooled things down a little and she actually found the weather to be quite pleasant.

The streets bustled with movement and life as people flitted through with their shopping bags. She could hear a group of kids somewhere nearby squealing and screaming with delight. This was the part of Suna she liked the most, the part she would actually miss when she got back to Konoha.

She gazed off toward the village wall, up at the high guard tower where she could see two figures perched on duty. She knew Hideki was probably watching her from a safe distance somewhere, but even knowing so it felt nice to be alone, or at least away from the sand siblings.

Deciding it might be fun to play a little game, Sakura quickly ducked into a group of people, crouching down a little to hide the brightness of her hair. She didn't know where Hideki was watching her from, which would make it a bit of a challenge to lose him, but Sakura enjoyed a bit of a challenge.

She slipped into a nearby alley and jumped up onto a fire escape that ran across the length of the building. She hadn't explored much beyond the east wall and she figured she was due some leisure exploration time.

Stealthily, she crept along the sides of the buildings, careful to keep mostly out of sight. Just to throw Hideki off, she often changed directions at random, or stopped moving altogether for a moment.

Once she had reached the wall, she climbed up to the top and hopped down to the sandy dunes on the other side.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Sakura squealed and spun around to face him. He stood with an arrogant smirk on his face, leaning back against the wall as if he'd been there the whole time waiting for her.

"Hideki-san," she said, a little out of breath. "What are you doing out here."

"My job, Sakura-san. You know that."

"I thought you were in the council chambers with Gaara and the others," she replied.

"I was."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. She had sort of expected this outcome, but it still stung that he had managed to keep up with her.

"Well, I'm going for a walk," she said. "You're welcome to join me."

"I don't have much of a choice."

"You mean you're not going to try to stop me?"

"There's nothing wrong with wanting to take a walk, Sakura-san," he said. "But even if I were not charged with your protection, I'd still advise you to bring someone along. It isn't wise to traverse the desert alone – especially considering you are unfamiliar with it."

Sakura thought that was probably true, but she glared at him anyway. "Fine," she said. "You lead the way then."

His smiled widened as he kicked himself off the wall and broke into a sprint.

/

Sakura kept Hideki's pace for a while, conserving her chakra in case something happened out here and she needed it. She had no idea how far out he would take her and she wanted to be certain she'd have enough chakra for the journey back to the village.

Unfortunately, this side of the desert was about as boring as the west side. The dunes looked identical, the sky was the same. The only real difference this time was which side of her the village was on.

"Where are we going?" Sakura asked, sneaking a peek in Hideki's direction.

"You'll see soon," he said. "We're almost there."

She turned her eyes forward again and watched as the dunes in front of them shifted. When they reached the base of a particularly large dune, Hideki began to climb up to its peak with Sakura following close behind him.

"Here we are," he said, dusting the sand from his clothes and standing up straight.

A little out of breath, Sakura joined him on the peak and looked down at what sat below them on the other side.

Beneath them at the base of the dune was a large pond, so bright and blue that it hurt Sakura's eyes to look at. Surrounding the pond was all kinds of vegetation – thick and lush greenery that made Sakura miss Konoha even more.

"An oasis?" she asked, unable to contain the elation in her voice.

"I thought you might appreciate some greenery," Hideki replied, smiling back at her. "I know it's not much, but it's the best we've got out here in the desert."

Sakura squealed with delight and bounded down the side of the dune to the edge of the water. She crouched down and dipped her fingers into the glassy water, surprised by how cool it was to the touch. It was so strange to be standing on sandy soil in the heat of the afternoon while wrist deep in the chilly water. Around the bank of the pond grew salt grass and arrowweed. Fan palms dotted the bank on the other side, providing a little bit of shade for a passing traveler.

Behind her, Hideki slid down the side of the dune and joined her near the bank. "What do you think?" he asked, dipping his own hand into the water too.

"This is pretty cool, Hideki-san," she replied, grinning from ear to ear. "Seems like a great thinking spot."

"Temari-san thinks so, too," he said. "She comes here quite often."

Sakura murmured her acknowledgment and sat down in the sand, leaning back on her elbows and closing her eyes. "I think this place might rival the bathhouse," she said. "I could take great naps here."

Hideki laughed. "You don't seem like the napping type." He sat down beside her, though his posture was a bit more rigid and he seemed to still be on high alert.

"Who doesn't enjoy a good nap?"

Hideki shrugged and a comfortable silence settled over them. It was kind of nice to be near Hideki. Her initial irritation with him had faded days ago and now she felt he was amicable enough. After all, he had only been following orders. It wasn't his fault Gaara had ordered him to guard her, nor was he wrong for being displeased with those orders.

"Hideki-san?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry I've caused you so much trouble this past week," she said. "I made things harder on you than they had to be and you didn't deserve that."

He was quiet for a moment, his eyes curious as they searched her face, looking for her sincerity. "I appreciate the apology, Sakura-san," he said. "I understand you weren't trying to make things difficult."

"Still, it's a little unfair that all this stuff with Turtle Rock and Taiyo and Sarabi is happening and you're stuck escorting me around the village," she said. "It sucks missing out on all the action."

"We're only missing out on some of the action," he argued. "Besides, it's an honor to protect you. I'm pleased that Gaara-sama would trust me to protect someone who is so important to him."

Sakura felt her cheeks heat up and she turned her head away. "I know you don't believe me," she said, "but there's really nothing going on between Gaara-sama and me. What you saw was… just a moment of indiscretion. Our emotions were high. We thought we were going to die in the catacombs."

Hideki didn't respond and Sakura was too afraid to look at him to confirm from his expression that he didn't believe her. It didn't matter whether he believed her or not, the truth was the truth.

"I'm glad that you don't resent me, though," she continued, a little unnerved by his silence. "I know I'm probably not your favorite person, but I appreciate your kindness."

"You're actually quite pleasant when you aren't disobeying orders or getting yourself into trouble," he mused. "It came as no surprise to me that Gaara-sama would want you to be kept safe."

Sakura scowled. "I don't believe that had anything to do with how pleasant he finds me," she snapped.

"Oh?"

"It was obviously because of my propensity for finding myself in danger," she muttered sarcastically.

"Yes, I'm sure that was a factor of his decision," Hideki said. She could hear the good-natured humor in his voice. "But it's obvious that he finds you charming. To my knowledge, Gaara-sama is not so easily charmed."

"You're reading too much into it, Hideki-san."

"Maybe," he agreed. "If you say there is nothing going on, then I believe you."

She peered at him through slit eyes, trying to determine whether or not he meant that. The look of sheer amusement on his face made it difficult to tell whether he was joking or just amused with her reaction.

Annoyed, she shoved him roughly, using just the tiniest hint of chakra and knocking him into the sandy dirt. He laughed as he sat back up. "For Gaara-sama's sake, I hope you're telling the truth," he said, rubbing his shoulder.

"Don't be such a baby," she said, watching him roll his sleeve up to glance at the bruise forming beneath the fabric of his shirt.

Without warning, he shoved her back with enough force to knock her face first into the wet sand in front of her. She squealed, spitting out a mouthful of sand when he shoved her again, harder this time.

"Spar with me, Sakura-san," he said, glee evident on his face.

"You're on."

/

Sakura lost, brutally. With Hideki's long range, wind style jutsus and his intimate knowledge of their terrain, she didn't have much hope against him. But she put up enough of a fight to leave him limping slightly as they traveled back home at a leisurely pace, enjoying the early evening's cool air.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take a look at your leg, Hideki-san?" she asked as they climbed over a particularly steep dune.

"Perhaps when we get back," he said. "It'll be dark soon and I'd like to be inside the village walls by then."

"Are you sure?" she repeated. "You're slowing me down."

He glared at her and she giggled, amused by his reaction. She followed close on his heels as he led her back to the village. She felt refreshed after spending some time away from the mess of everything in Suna. She needed a little recreation, a little break from all the Taiyo business.

But now she was tired and couldn't wait to get back to her rooms and take a nice, hot bath before crashing for the night.

When they reached the base of Suna's wall, Sakura helped Hideki to sit up against it while she funneled her chakra into his leg, alleviating some of his muscle pain and fatigue. When she had finished, she gave his leg a pat and smiled.

"Good as new," she said. She extended her hand to help him up, but he quickly stood up on his own, coming to attention.

"Gaara-sama," he said sharply, bowing his head low.

Confused, Sakura turned around to see Gaara standing behind them, sandwiching them between him and the wall. His arms were crossed and there was a tightness to his features, a clenching in his jaw that indicated he was irritated.

"Where have you two been?" he asked quietly, not quite a demand, but the intent was somehow understood.

"We were sparring," Sakura supplied.

Gaara looked to Hideki, who nodded respectfully. The last time she told someone she had been sparring, it was a lie – one both Gaara and Sakura were aware of. She wondered if he would think she was lying now.

"Who won?" he asked.

Sakura looked to Hideki who looked right back at her with a sort of bemused expression. "I did, Kazekage-sama," he said.

"I see," Gaara replied, a faint smirk on his face. "You're relieved of duty, Hideki. I can take it from here."

"Yes, Kazekage-sama."