Note: I just wanna say that it has been two months since Tommy Leek died and even though I didn't know you all that well I wanna say that you are and were the cutest boy in our entire school. I hope you know how much your family loves you and I hope I get to see you again. So everyone who reads this chapter just knows that it is dedicated to Tommy.

When the tears fall from the eyes

And the rain falls from the sky

No matter in the end

Just know you always had friends

R.I.P Tommy Leek

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto nor do I own the Naruto story line.

Chapter Four:

Voices Remaining Unsure

Flower buds are strange things sometimes and I'm sure you'll understand what I'm talking about if you thought about it. Sometimes they die before they even bloom. It makes me sad to think about and honestly it almost makes me cry at times.

Is it weird to cry over a flower bud?

Do you think I'm crazy because I cry over a wasted flower?

It's a waste really, it is, and I can't seem to be able to comprehend why they die.

I guess it's the concept of the death of something that hasn't even started that gets to me...

The concept that they died before they could really embed themselves in to the world...

Before they could make the world a better place.

Before they even had a chance to show their beauty.

Before we could truly know them.

Before we could see their inner beauty.

The truth is sometimes people, like flower buds, die before we can truly see them. And the strange thing is that we could see the outside of them and we thought that we knew them but we didn't, we really didn't.

Well not actually see their beauty but more like in vision it, while that particular bud- say a rose bud- is still a bud, you know what I mean?

Probably not, but its not just flowers that die before they bloom, though I guess you already know that- we all know that.

It just seems like a waste really, and I've always hated wasting something especially something that has the potential to be beautiful.

Those that make sense to you, or am I just rambling?

But anyways, it doesn't matter, after the sand had fell back to the ground, that Gaara had pulled up, my eyes focused on a certain raven haired boy in the tree in front of us. I noticed, how big his eyes had gotten, I blushed, my immaturities whispered inside my mind.

Was he looking at me like that?

Was I gaining attention from my teammate that he had never shone me before?

Honestly I should have known better, but I didn't; I allowed emotions to rule me back then unlike I do today.

"S-S-Sasuke," I stuttered loud enough so that everyone around me could hear.

I felt an arm wrap itself around my waist, pulling me to the side some, I glanced at my former spot to see that a sword had sliced the air and the snake demon wielded it.

Sasuke jumped down from the birch on which he stood and advanced our way his teeth clenched and his hands balled into fists.

I remembered asking myself was he mad at me for something?

Was he mad that I had allowed the sand shinobi to touch me or had it been something else?

No, there was something else in his eye, annoyance maybe?

Hatred?

Honestly I can't remember, though he was my primary thought most of the time, this particular time he wasn't. My primary thought stood inches beside my redhead rescuer and me. I glanced to the east where the sun was now peeking through the dark trees.

Orochimaru seemed to notice as well, sheathing his sword he hissed, "I will kill you another time, but the people will be coming soon and I'm not in the mood for a battle."

With those simple, yet bone chilling words he disappeared without a sound. At the moment I thought I had gone crazy due to the lack of sleep I had gotten the past couple of days, but I knew that what had happen was real.

The only question that seemed to beat inside me with the rhythm of my heart was: why?

Why did he want to kill me?

"What are you doing here?" Sasuke snarled at the sand controller and I felt Gaara's arm tighten around my waist.

In the time that had gone by I had forgotten that he still had me in his grasps, and I shivered, after all he had tried to kill me that was something that could not easily be forgotten.

He must have felt me shiver because he let go of me and shove me some in front of him as if to say my debt is paid now go away.

I stumbled some as I almost fell to the ground and at the same time my teammate stated coldly, "Why are you here?"

The dessert native gave him this face that looked blank as if to say that he didn't have to answer to anyone, especially Sasuke, then turned on his heels to leave.

"Where are you going?" Sasuke had demanded he walk past me without so much as a glance.

"Heh," was the only reply Gaara gave him as he continued to walk on down the road, the sky broke into the warm colors of dawn.

His fists remained clenched when he yelled at the other boy, "Hey I'm talking to you!"

"Sasuke…umm," I butted in, in a low tone, "I think he knows."

"Shut up Sakura," he told me.

It stung to be talked to in such a way, but even more by him.

I watched as my teammate got into position to attack, only to be stopped by the grainy voice of the one he presumed to advance upon, "That wont do you any good."

"What are you talking you about?" he snarled.

Gaara turned half way around, his eyes shifted into my direction and then to Sasuke, "Your attack."

"We'll see about that," my crush hissed and ran at the redhead his palm lit up with white sparks of charka.

I closed my eyes, when I opened them in one hand the Hokage held Sasuke and in the other he repelled Gaara's sand shield to keep from being cut up by the rough, grainy sands that I had known all to well. He smiled pleasantly at me and informed us, but mostly in my direction, "I finally found you three!"

Sasuke struggled in his grasp for a while then quit.

Hokage continued as if nothing had happened, "All of you to my office please."

Then he disappeared leaving us alone again.

Once inside the large, cluttered office of the head of our village I noticed that the sand siblings were there as well as my energic, blonde friend, Naruto. I glanced at the hyper boy who sat in a wooden chair leaning it back on two legs, he smiled and waved at me.

"Alright as you know, you three," he said, he being our Hokage at the time, toward the team I had been put in charge of, "are on a mission to kill Shik, correct?"

"Hai," echoed in the room.

"Good, good, then listen up, you will be escorted by Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Temari, and Sabaku no Kankuro."

Even though back then I didn't see much coming, I knew that they would be our escorts due to Gaara appearance.

It only made sense.

The room remained silent, after all no matter what we couldn't oppose our leader. Not about such an important mission as the one we had; we had to trust that he knew what he was doing. Though I could tell by the manner in which Sasuke was glaring in the Hokage's direction he wanted to say something about it, but he held his tongue.

I'll admit though I was nervous about having Gaara traveling with us but that had to have been suspected.

"Who has been put in charge of your teams?" our leader asked with a serious look on his face, the wrinkles around his eyes tugging the outer edges of his face.

"I have," Gaara and I answered at the same time.

We glanced at each other for a moment and then back at the old man behind the polished oak desk.

"Very well listen up we are going to spilt you up into three teams-"

"Which means that there will only be two people per team," I finished for him.

"Very good Sakura, that's right there will be only two people per team. Your teams have already been selected so listen up-"

"Wait a minute," Naruto had cut in, "What do you mean we will be separated into three teams?"

I saw the confusion on his face and instead of making fun of his ignorance I explained before our Hokage could, "So that we can cover more ground quickly."

"Oh I see," he smiled again.

His smiles always seemed, in their own dopey way, to lighten his features making him look in his boy like demeanor appealing.

It's kind of funny to think about actually, like the rose bud.

"Sharp as ever Sakura," complemented the old man dressed in the traditional ivory robes, "Alright here are the teams so listen up because I wont repeat myself: Sakura- you and Gaara will be teamed together, then it will be Sasuke and Temari, and lastly Kankuro and Naruto. Your dismissed."