The sun is placed high in the sky on the first day of the Chunin Exams. The new batches of genin have made their way to the Grand Hall of the Hokage's stronghold. A solid calm comes across the room as the Fifth Hokage stands in front of the group.
Next to her stands the Kazekage, dressed in his formal white robe and headdress. Behind them is the rest of the crew working on the exams in the following order – Shikamaru, Temari, Kiba, Naruto, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Hinata, and Ino.
"Man this brings back some memories, right Kiba," Naruto whispers as the Hokage addresses the young recruits. Kiba smiles and gives a nod. "Heh, yeah it is amazing how different things are now compared to when we were first here."
Gaara hears them talking and slightly turns his head back towards them and gives a little smile. The Kazekage's eyes then shift over towards Sakura. Her eyes lock onto Gaara's and she lowers her eyes and gives a little blush.
"Alright genin," Tsunade says as the people behind her snap back to attention. "Now that you know the rules, you will have a one hour lunch break before we start the first round of the exams. I am looking forward to all this."
As the genin file out of the room, Tsunade turns around to face the rest of the crew. "And I am really looking forward to what you all will bring to the exams as well." And with that the rest of them head out of the room.
As Naruto begins to head out the room he feels a tug on his jacket. He gives a little laugh and replies, "What can I help you with Hinat--" But as he turns his head around, he notices it isn't the violet rose … but the strawberry blossom.
"Oh, I am sorry Sakura, I didn't think it was you," Naruto says with a smile. The expression on Sakura's face shows one of nervousness. "Um.. Sakura? What is the matter?" Naruto asks as Sakura lets go of his jacket.
"Well I have made my decision and I was about to talk to Gaara," Sakura replies staring down at the floor. "But I was wondering if you could be there when I talk to him." Naruto lifts Sakura's chin so that she is looking forward and gives a smile.
"Of course I will. What are friends for?" Naruto then pivots himself towards the door. "But we better hurry before you miss your chance to talk to him." Sakura's eyes now beam of confidence as she runs towards the door.
They get down about two flights of stairs before they see Gaara getting ready to head down another flight. "Gaara! Gaara! Wait a minute… I need to talk to you, please," he hears behind him. Before he takes that next step he looks up the stairs.
Running down the staircase are Sakura and Naruto. They are moving so fast that you would think they were being chased. Gaara halts his pace and turns to face them as they meet up on the same floor. "So I guess you have made your choice?"
Sakura takes a second to catch her breath before speaking. She grasps a hold of the crystal on her necklace and takes one final deep breath. "Why yes, that is why I am here. I need to tell you about my choice."
Sakura begins to walk towards Gaara still clasping the crystal in her hand. "It took me a while to clear the thoughts going through myself and come to the decision of who I care about the most. Sakura is now standing right in front of Gaara.
"But thanks to the words of a good friend or ours, I was able to not think but go with the feelings in my heart. And my heart has finally decided…" Sakura removes her hand from the crystal as it now glows a bright pink color.
The strawberry blossom then gives a little smile to Gaara as her cheeks begin to blush. "This friend also once said that actions are stronger than words." Sakura then grabs Gaara by his cloak and moves herself closer to him and plants a kiss.
This kiss is so passionate and filled with the feelings Sakura fought with for the past two weeks that even Naruto begins to blush watching this spectacle. The strawberry blonde finally releases the kiss and draws back a little. Gaara gives a smile.
"So it is safe to say that I am your choice?" Gaara asks. Sakura begins to blush again as she replies, "Of course Gaara-kun. I love you more than anything in the world. I cannot see myself without you in my life. You complete me."
Gaara now moves closer to Sakura and places his hand on her cheek. "I could not have said it any better myself concerning how I feel about you. I love you Sakura-chan. I want to be with you forever."
Naruto gives a big smile as he views the flow of emotions. "This is wonderful," he says to himself. "Almost too good to be true, but I am happy for them both." Gaara moves in to give Sakura another kiss when suddenly…
Their passion is interrupted by a loud explosion that knocks Naruto and Sakura backwards and they both hit the wall. "Oh man, what in the world was that," Naruto asks aloud. He looks over at Sakura, "Hey, you ok over there?"
Sakura is sitting on the ground, her back against the wall. "Uunngh, yeah… I am alright, just a little woozy," the strawberry ninja says as she grabs the back of her head. "How about you, Naruto?" Naruto nods that he is fine. "Where's Gaara?"
They begin to get up and gather their bearings and begin to look where Gaara was before the explosion, but all they can see is a cloud of white smoke that has filled the whole staircase due to the debris.
The smoke begins to lighten up a little and they see a giant hole where the outer wall used to be. "Man, what in the world could cause that much damage," Naruto thinks to himself. "Something doesn't feel right here, Sakura," Naruto comments.
More of the dust and smoke lifts and the two can see the Kazekage's headdress on the floor and his arm lying next to it. Sakura's mind forgets her minor injuries and begins to focus on her prone boyfriend as she yells out, "Gaara-kun!! Are you OK?"
"Unfortunately, Gaara is unable to hear you right now," a voice says. As the smoke fully lifts, Sakura can see Gaara lying on the floor, unconscious. Standing around him are three ninjas – one dressed in black, one in purple, and one in white.
"Who-who are you? And what do you want with Gaara-kun!" Sakura screams. "We are the Rouge Shinobi of the Painted Village," replies the purple ninja. "I am the leader, Dokuyaku and these are my associates, Sune-ku and Suto-ma.
"As for your Gaara-kun, we are taking him with us. You will not be seeing him for a very long time. Heck, maybe you won't see him forever," says Dokuyaku. "We have a debt to repay and this Kazekage is the currency, if you will."
"No! I won't let you take Gaara-kun from me!!" screams Sakura, her eyes filled with rage. "Right!" adds Naruto. "What makes you think we will let you get away with this," Naruto says while drawing a kunai from his weapons pouch.
But before Sakura and Naruto can make any offensive move towards the shinobi, Sune-ku and Suto-ma throw purple smoke bombs at the duo. "Damn it, this smoke is too thick!" yells Naruto. "Sakura! Can you see them?"
Naruto gets no response from the medical ninja. As the smoke clears, Naruto can see Sakura standing there, not moving a muscle. "Sakura… hey Sakura, can you hear me?" asks Naruto, but he now stops as he looks at her face.
The strawberry blonde's face once filled with rage is now filled with sadness – water pooling at the bottom of her eyes. Sakura then drops to her knees, tears stream down her face. "No… not now… Gaara-kun …why?"
Sakura folds her arms over her chest, the crystal in her necklace now turning a shade of blue. Sakura's body begins to shake, and then she lifts up her head and lets out a large scream, "GAAAAARRRAAA-KKKUUNNNN!"
As she lowers her head back down, sobbing uncontrollably, she sees a shadow of a figure standing in front of the light from the hole in the wall…
"My, my, what an unfortunate series of events," the voice says. The medical ninja looks up to see Sasuke standing there. "Sa-Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Sakura questions. Sasuke gives a smirk and offers a hand to help Sakura up.
"Well I just came by to see everyone and now see this mess with Gaara being taken away," Sasuke replies. Naruto folds his arms and closes his eyes, "Oh really, well you wouldn't know who these guys were would you?"
As Sasuke helps Sakura up, he gives another cocky smirk. "Guilty as charged. I met those three during my training and I helped them out once, so I thought I would cash in that favor." Sakura looks up at Sasuke in shock, tears still pooling in her eyes.
"Now Sakura, please understand I did it for you," Sasuke replies. "I mean you shouldn't be spending your time with that monster. You deserve someone better. Someone who didn't try to kill you before. Someone like me. Trust me, I am doing you a favor."
Sakura places a hand on the back of Sasuke's head and pulls him in close so she can whisper in his ear. "Great, my plan worked," Sasuke thinks to himself. "She is going to see the light and come to me like she should."
"Sasuke," Sakura whispers. "Yes, my dear," replies Sasuke. "By you doing this…you… you…have become more of a monster than Gaara ever used to be!" Sasuke's eyes grow big as Sakura takes her right hand and punches Sasuke square in the face.
The force of the fist sends Sasuke flying into the wall behind him, knocking the wind out of him as he slides down the wall in a slumped-over position. "I never want to see you again Sasuke!!" Sakura yells. "Come on, Naruto we're saving Gaara."
As Sakura runs down the stairs, Naruto walks over to Sasuke and kneels down beside him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The blonde ninja just shakes his head as he says, "And people thought I didn't understand women well."
Naruto then stands up and heads off to follow the enraged strawberry blonde as Sasuke slumps over, unconscious. There is now a new mission afoot - to bring back not only the Kazekage, but Naruto's friend, and Sakura's love…