By the end of the day I'm exhausted, but pleasantly so. Most of the day was spent with my new students, all of whom are very bright. Mai is the second oldest, after the boy, Suzuki Kenta. They're very attentive students, and I don't actually feel much like I'm babysitting them at all. Mostly I just have to do my job, and explain it while I go.

I think I'm going to like it here. I'll always be busy it seems, but I enjoy having something to put my mind to, instead of having to think about my recent failures. The only problem is Luo, and after work I decide to make a visit to Temari to do something about that problem.

When I ask to see her though, I'm told that's she in a meeting, and has asked not to be disturbed at all for the rest of the day. I guess she would be busy, what with being an important political figure and all, but still.

I'm quite put out. I trudge up the stairs to my room, followed by Luo until I reach my door. When I walk into my room he doesn't follow, so I close the door on his face and lie face down on my bed. With my face in the pillows like this I can almost imagine I'm all alone in the world, and I can almost stop my thoughts for a moment.

But soon enough I fall asleep, and I dream again.

"I never expected you to be here." He says, and he laughs a little. I don't know what's so funny, and why shouldn't he expect to see me in my own dream?

I never expected to see Naruto in the desert.

"I've missed you Sakura." He says. I shrug, even though I want to run to him, to punch him, to hug him, even though I want to cry.

"What are you here for?" I ask him.

"To help you."

"Why? What am I supposed to be doing? If you're here to help me, then tell me that."

"You're supposed to save us."

"Oh I'm supposed to save you now, am I? What about before Naruto? Why couldn't I save you then?"

Naruto shakes his head slowly. "That was different." I realize now that this can't be Naruto; he's far too calm and vague. Naruto hates that kind of person.

"Fine, whatever. Just tell me how I'm supposed to save you this time."

"Don't give up. You have to keep searching. Don't get too comfortable – that's dangerous, and you might get lazy."

"Oh come off it. I'm not Shikamaru."

Naruto smiles. He looks like himself again, and I feel like crying all of a sudden. I turn away. "Is that all you're going to say?" I ask. "If you're just going to give me vague directions like that, then you might as well leave me to my own devices."

He says nothing. I wait for a little while, staring out into the distance. The moon is rising over the desert, and it's bathed in a silver glow. It really is beautiful. I can see forever, or at least, I feel like I can see forever. I feel a strange stirring in my gut.

When I finally turn around Naruto is gone, and I'm greeted by the same sight as behind me.

I wake up feeling tired, but strangely at peace. I never feel at peace, not like this. Especially not lately. When I get up and look out the window Sunakagure is still covered in a gray light, just before sunrise.

I dress quickly, and sneak out the door, and then out of the building. I make it out without anyone noticing, and once I'm on the streets I start to run. I'm not running with any purpose or direction in mind, but soon enough I'm running in a straight line and I end up at the edge of the city. The desert stretches out before, like it has in my dreams. I sit on the edge of the building I've reached to watch the sun rise over the desert.

And while I'm sitting the strangest thing happens. I'm overcome with that small feeling of peace I had inside my belly, until it completely envelopes me and I feel like I'm floating in an almost happy feeling. And then I stop thinking, and all I feel is calm.

For a while I float away from my body, and I become part of the desert almost. It's strange to leave my body, but I suppose I've done it once before, the day I died. But this is completely different. Last time was all darkness and pain and then nothing. This morning I feel like the air, like the sand itself, and I'm bathed in the golden light of the sun, inside and out. I feel pure. I feel endless.

I'm woken up by shouting below me. I stand up to look over the edge and see three sand ninjas approaching. Two of them are carrying the third between them, and they all look to be in bad shape.

I jump down to them, and ask them what happened.

"We were ambushed." One of them gasps, "Not far from here, they almost killed us."

"I can see that." I answer, and take the weight of the third from them. "Let's get you to the hospital quickly." I say, and lead the way to the hospital. They manage to keep up with me, even though one of them is bleeding heavily. This is bad.

The hospital is already busy when we get there, so I have no trouble getting help for them. I had thought that I would help them myself, but once they're in I'm told to leave them. I do as I'm told and watch as they're carried away to be operated on.

I'm left standing in the waiting room, feeling lost. I should be in there, I think; I should be helping those people. That's what I'm here for isn't it?

I look around at the people waiting around me. Some of them are staring at me, some after the ninjas who were just taken away, and some aren't even paying attention; they're too absorbed in their own emergencies.

I take a seat next to a small man. He tears his gaze away from the door the ninjas were just taken away through to stare at me.

"What happened?" he asks me.

I stare at my hands. They're covered in blood from the wounded man I carried here. "I don't know." I answer him, "I don't know." Somehow, being here in the waiting room I feel worse than I did when I was first confronted with their problem. At least then I had something to do about it – what am I supposed to do now?

"What do I do?" I whisper, mostly to myself. "What do I do now?" I feel small and unimportant, and useless. I hate feeling useless most of all.

"Sakura!"

My head jerks up almost involuntarily at the sound of my name. Luo is there, standing at the door looking right at me. He looks relieved; I wonder why. I shrug helplessly at him as he walks across the room towards me.

"What are you doing here?" he asks. "It's still so early; you should be in bed."

"I know. I just woke up; I went for a run. There were these three – they were wounded."

"What happened?" he asks. He looks… not concerned exactly, but not angry. I'm not sure that there is a word for the expression he has now.

"Three nin, wounded, they came from the desert while I was sitting there. They told me they were ambushed, so I brought them back here." I stare at him, watching his face for a sign, for a clue as to how I did. "Right?"

He nods and looks around. He's not really paying attention to me anymore; I don't think he really cares. The corners of my mouth turn down, and I start to feel better, having something to focus on now.

"They've already been taken care of." I tell him. "I was told to leave them here."

He looks down at me. I stand, not wanting to be below him anymore. Unfortunately he's still taller than me. "Are you here to bring me back then? So let's go back."

He nods again, and I start to leave, but just then Seri comes in and spots me.

"Sakura!" she says happily. "I'm so glad you're here. Figures you wouldn't be able to stay away, right?" She rushes over to me and puts an arm around my shoulders. "I have this little itty bitty favor to ask you."