"Miss Haruno."

I turn slowly, not quite sure if that's actually me being called. I don't think I've ever heard anyone call me 'miss' before. Well, it's been a long time anyway. My mother used to call me that when she was very angry with me.

Also I'm very tired. I'm afraid if I turned too quickly I would have fallen over.

"Have you been to see Takeo today?" It's Kimura, walking up to me, smiling in a friendly way. But I can see something behind that smile, something sinister. She knows.

"No not yet." I answer, trying to act normal. I tell myself I'm crazy. How can you she have any idea that I might be suspicious of her? She has absolutely no reason to think so. "But I was planning to go later today. Is he awake now?"

She shakes her head sadly. "Lately he seems so tired… I don't know what's going on with him, but he just doesn't seem to be getting any better. I worry about him."

I nod, but I just can't bring myself to try to comfort her. So I stand by awkwardly.

She looks up at me, and smiles a timid little smile. "I feel better knowing you're nearby though. It's like you're our guardian angel." She says. I feel a little sick. There's another woman somewhere in this city, lying unconscious while her organs heal, while she receives blood transfusions, because of the woman standing in front of me now.

Well, because of whatever organization she is part of anyway.

But I manage a smile somehow, and say goodbye as warmly as I can.

Once she is gone I turn to Luo. "I don't really feel like sticking around here until Takeo wakes up. Do you think he'll miss for one day?"

Luo shrugs. My shoulders sag a little as we walk away from the hospital, partly because I'm so tired, and partly because of my guilt. I should go see Takeo; I know he'll notice if I'm not there, after all, he told me so himself. But right now, I just can't handle it. I'm too drained.

"I just want to sleep." I tell Luo. He pats me on the back, none too gently, sending me stumbling forward a few steps.

"How about we get something to eat first?" He suggests. I agree, remembering Junko's advice about my diet.

We stop at a small restaurant for ramen. It was Luo's idea. He has no idea what it means to me, he couldn't, so I don't say anything; I just enjoy the meal. And it is good. When we're done I thank the owner for a delicious meal and we leave.

On the way to my room we meet Watanabe and his bodyguard.

"Sakura!" he calls me. I almost walked right past him. My vision at the moment was reduced to complete tunnel vision, and at the end of that tunnel was my bed. Nothing else mattered.

But once Watanabe stepped into the tunnel I couldn't ignore him. Besides which, I actually like Watanabe.

"How are you doing?" he asks.

"Just fine," I answer, "and you?"

"Good, good." he replies with a look over his shoulder at his bodyguard. I wonder at that. He turns back to me and smiles crookedly. "Though I don't feel like much of an ambassador, if you know what I mean."

I nod. "Oh, I understand completely. Seri has me working more than Tsunade ever did."

Watanabe laughs, and agrees. "Sakamoto is the same. A good man, of course, but demanding."

I smile. "You like it here." I say. It's not a question, I already know the answer.

He nods anyway. "Yeah I do. I mean, it's not the same as Konoha; it's not home, but it's nice all the same."

"You seem to me the type who would be happy anywhere he was." I tell him, making him laugh again.

"I guess you're right." he admits. He shrugs then and looks down the stairs then back to me. "Are you coming to dinner?" he asks.

"No, actually, I already ate. Luo took me to this really good ramen stand."

"Oh." Watanabe looks past me to Luo, who he just seems to have noticed. "Maybe someday you can show me where it is?" he asks. Luo just nods. It's funny, how differently he acts around different people.

I look from him to Watanabe. People can be so different, despite having backgrounds in the same thing. Both Luo and Watanabe have undergone shinobi training, but just be looking at them it's obvious that they are very different people.

Watanabe shrugs and he moves away. "I guess I'll see you around." he says then walks down the stairs, followed by his guard.

I watch them walking down the stairs and then walk the rest of the way to my room. I open the door, and let Luo in without even thinking.

"Did you see that look he gave her?" I ask him. "I think there's something going on there, don't you think?"

Luo shrugs. "It's quite possible. It's not unheard of you know." He sits down on the elegant couch arranged in front of the window, and I plop down beside him.

"That's not a real answer." I tell him, "What do you really think?"

He looks at me for a long moment. "I think she might have been encouraged to be friends with your friend. To get as close as she can."

I frown. "Are you saying that you guys are really spying on us?"

He shakes his head. "It's not that at all. Only that we want you to be as comfortable here in Suna as possible. And one way of doing that…" he lets his silence speak for itself. It doesn't take me much thought to realize what he's saying.

"Oh! But she must actually like him too, if she is doing that, right?"

He shrugs. "I don't know her all that well; I wouldn't know."

With a small noise of annoyance I sit back into the couch as deeply as it will allow. I'm trying to think of something to say to Luo when another thought suddenly occurs to me, and I sit bolt upright. "You weren't… encouraged as well, were you?" Memories of Temari run through my head. 'Isn't he yummy?' she said, wanting me to agree with her. I nearly burst out laughing at my thoughts.

Luo does laugh. "You really are gullible, aren't you Sakura?" he asks between laughs. "You believed every word of it, didn't you?"

I glare at him, pouting maybe just a little. "You dirty little liar." I accuse him, and push him off the couch, putting a little chakra in it, just enough to send him flying. He lands on the other side of them, staring at me wide eyed. "One of these days… I'm going to get you. And maybe you'll be expecting it now, but trust me; there is no way you'll be ready."

He looks up at me, the corners of his mouth twitching, and I can tell he's about to laugh at me again. So I kick him out the door and slam it in his face.

"You can talk to me again when you've decided to stop lying to me!" I yell through the door.

Luo is silent on the other side of the door and then after a moment I hear him say, "Lover's quarrel." through the door, in an explaining manner. I peek through the eyehole to see him shrugging at a passing couple.

"He's lying!" I yell childishly, and see the couple look at the door in surprise, and then hurry along. Luo turns back to the door, looks right at the eyehole, and laughs.

"You're a bastard." I tell him, just loud enough to be heard through the door and no louder. Then I leave him standing there.

"I hate you."

I fall to my knees under the heavy truth of it. Of course he hates me. I guess I've always known it too. Sasuke.

"Why can't you just leave me alone? You good for nothing."

Something in me rebels. It isn't true. He can hate me all he likes, but I can't stand a liar. "No!" I punch the ground with my fists, tearing it to shreds. My aim is true, and the fissures spread towards him, exploding upwards at him, showering him with stones. I am not good for nothing. I am not.

When the dust settles he is gone, and I already regret what I've done. I never wanted to hurt him; I was just angry. And now I want him to come back, let me explain.

I don't love him anymore. It's been a long time, hasn't it? But I could never let it go, I've always been afraid of letting go of the past.

I look down at my feet, realizing that they're sinking. Underneath that tough exterior there was a layer of sand.

"But no water." I murmur.

"Good. You finally understand."

I look up sharply, surprised to see Sasuke back again. I stare at him and he stares back, then with a wave and a cruel smile he leaves. I try to run after him, but hands rise up from the sand and grab onto my ankles. I look down and see that the hands are made out of sand. Little mouths start to form from the sand.

"Don't go." They say, they plead with me. "Please don't go after him. Stay with me. I need you. He'll be fine, but I won't. Please stay, my love."

And it's so strange, but I don't feel any horror or revulsion at the sight. Instead I kneel down and pat the hands reassuringly. "I won't leave you." I tell them, and the mouths form smiles at me. A hand rises up above the others to stroke my cheek gently.

'Thank you…" It murmurs.

Suddenly there is a loud noise behind me. I turn sharply to see what it is, but there is nothing there.

"Wake now!" A small voice yells from the sand. "Live!"

I start awake to see Luo standing over me, bleeding from a wound in his stomach. Instinctively I jump back, fumbling for any weapon at hand.

There are three other people in my bedroom, two men and a woman. It's too dark to see their faces, and in any case they're wearing masks.

For a moment, everything is still. And then Luo turns to me, slow and agonizing.

"I'm glad you're finally awake, sleepyhead." he says, and as he speaks blood trickles from his mouth. He coughs then, spewing blood over the floor and falls over.

It doesn't matter that I have no weapons then; I'll kill them without it. I turn to the two who attacked Luo, already imagining the horrible ways I will make them pay.

I know that look I saw in Gaara's eyes that day in the desert; I imagine the same look is in my eyes now. I'm going to kill these two.

Two of them come for me while the woman goes for Luo's still body. I launch myself off the wall and aim for her face, infusing my body with chakra, ready to set it off as soon as I touch her.

She manages to dodge my fist mostly, but I still hit her shoulder, and the force of my chakra pummeling her sends her flying across the room to hit the far wall with a crunch.
She'll be down for a moment, enough time for me to take care of the other two. I swivel quickly and aim for the next man who jumps back just in time. I let my fist continue to his the ground, sending a tremor across the floor to explode at his feet. I don't wait for the dust to settle this time; I go in for the kill. My fist connects with his face, the mask cracking and falling away. I can feel bones crunch beneath my fingers, and it feels right.

I turn to find the other man struggling with the woman, who is trying to rise to her feet.

"There's nothing for us to do now; they'll be here soon. Let's go!"

I jump at them, ready to stop their escape. I can take them both out together, with them standing so close. But as I near them the man starts to make hand signs, and the woman steps out in front of him just as I'm about to hit him, saving him. He disappears in a smoke bomb, and a moment later everything is silent. It's an unnatural silence; the same silence from the desert, when Gaara fought those unknown ninjas. I turn and look for Luo, nearly falling over his body in the smoke. Once I'm sure I've found him I kneel by him and close my eyes, feeling for anyone else in the room. There are only us, and that woman, lying broken on the floor on the other side of the room. I wait, but the other two have gotten away. Still I wait. I don't know exactly what I'm waiting for anymore, but I know to wait. Something is telling me too.

I open my eyes and realize the smoke has cleared. Luo lets out a ragged breath underneath me, and I take the time to really look at him now.

The knife he was stabbed with still sticks out of his chest. Blood oozes out around it on to the floor. I pat his cheek, trying to get his attention, but his stare at the ceiling, unseeing.

"Come on Luo, stay with me. I can fix this if you just stay alive a little while longer." When he doesn't answer I think my heart is about to explode. I see tears falling off my face onto his sleeve, but I'm not really sure how they got there. "Wake up Luo!"

He blinks once, twice, and his eyes clear a little as he turns his head to focus on me. "Sakura? Why is it so cold? It's never cold…" He ends his sentence with a plutter, as blood froths out of his mouth.

But at least he is alive.

"Just stop talking for once." I tell him, not really thinking about what I'm saying as I focus my chakra. "I do like the silent type, ok? So just be quiet."

He stops talking, and I'm afraid he might be dead, but when I crack an eye open I can see that he is smiling weakly, and I find his heartbeat, weak and broken, but still there. And then I don't think anymore, I just do.

I have to pull out the knife and heal his chest at the same time; otherwise he'll bleed to death. He's already lost too much blood. But I can do that, and I do.

Once I've finished I look up and realize that we're not alone. There are people crowded into my bedroom, many of whom I don't even recognize. They must be staying here too, and wondered what all the noise was about. I try to stand, but my legs won't push me off the ground, so I fall forward a bit, barely catching myself. I guess I'm all spent for the moment. Not much I could do now.

I look up again and recognize some of the people who have pushed their way to the front. There's Watanabe and Temari and Ito looking down at me, all with strange looks on their faces. I want to ask, "Is there something on my face?" But it's too much effort. My limbs feel so heavy.

I wonder why no one will come near me. Some of them are just standing there, staring at me, while others mutter things I can't quite pick up. There's a woman sobbing in the back somewhere; I can't see her.

The crowd parts suddenly, and Gaara walks up to the front. At the sight of him I feel so relieved, though I'm not sure why exactly. He looks around the room, and then turns to the crowd and tells them to leave him. Everyone leaves, except for Temari, and a couple of ninjas wearing their headbands.

Gaara turns back to me, and motions for the ninja to take Luo away, without looking away from my face. I lean forward, try to tell them to be careful, make sure he gets straight to the hospital, but nothing comes out of me. Temari is on the other side of the room, looking at something on the ground. It must be that woman. I wonder if I killed her.

I try to stand again, and by bracing myself against the ruins of my bed I manage it. Once I'm on my feet I find it easier to face Gaara.

But he says nothing.

"You should come look at this." Temari says. I turn to look her way, but the movement throws me off and I tip forward. I try to grab something, but there's nothing for my fingers to catch.

It is Gaara who ends up catching me. He holds me for only a moment before setting me down on a chair that has somehow managed to remain intact.

"We'll take care of this now." He tells me. I feel as though a weight has been lifted off my shoulders with those words. I sigh, and smile, wondering how Gaara manages to be so reassuring now, when the thought of him used to terrify me.

My eyes drift shut and I manage to open them only one more time before I fall asleep. In that short moment I see Gaara walking over to Temari, standing above that woman. Or what is left of her. I can see bones sticking out of skin, and blood everywhere. It looks like a scene from a horror movie.

I close my eyes. I don't want to open them again. As I lose my grip on consciousness I hear Temari's voice one last time.

"But… she's still breathing…"