New Characters in this chapter:
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Daisuke- Gaara and Sakura's dad
Carole- Step mom
Stephanie- step sister age: 16
Mark- step brother age: 8
Maddie- step sister age: 7
Tim- step brother age: 4
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"What! No! That can't be!" He yelled. "Mr. Haruno, I need you to calm down." The doctor pleaded. "Calm down? How can I calm down when I just found out that my sister needs surgery on her head?" Gaara
yelled. "I'm sorry, but that's how it is. If she doesn't get surgery on her head her memory will be completely erased that she won't be able to remember who she is and who anybody else is." The doctor
informed him. Gaara looked at Sakura who was looking around ignoring the whole conversation. "But we don't have any money to pay for the operation." Gaara told him. "Well then we can't do it, but you have to
figure out a way to pay for it or else her memory will be wiped out." Gaara fell to the floor crying. Why? Why did this have to happen to Sakura? I will find away to help her! "Mr. Haruno, are you alright?" The
doctor asked. Gaara nodded and stood up. He went over to Sakura and grabbed her hand. "Gaara? Are you ok? What's wrong?" Sakura asked. "Nothing, come on let's go back to school." Gaara forced a smile.
Sakura nodded. "Ok, were my test results ok?" Gaara nodded. He didn't want to talk about anymore. He led her to the car. The whole car ride was silent. Sakura didn't feel comfortable with it but she didn't want
to ask. When they got back to the academy it was late so Sakura went to her dorm and went to sleep. Gaara called Naruto, Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Tenten, Ino, and Hinata over to the lounge to talk to them. "What's
this about, Gaara?" Naruto asked. "It's about Sakura." He said with no emotion. "What about her?" Ino asked worrying. "I got her test results and…" "What?!" They yelled. "She needs surgery. And the bad thing
is there is no way I will be able to pay for it." There was long silence. "What will happen if Sakura-chan doesn't get surgery?" Hinata asked on the verge of tears. "Her entire memory will be erased." Gaara said
looking out the window. "What should we do?" Sasuke asked. Nobody answered. "I guess we have no hope. Sakura-chan will lose her memory and we'll have to help her!" Hinata said breaking down crying.
Sakura was a good friend of hers and now she won't remember her. "Let's not give up; I'm sure we'll think of a way to help her." Shikamaru said. "He's right, we still have time. We just need to think of ways to pay
for the surgery." Neji said. "What about you, Sasuke? You have money, do you think you can pay for it?" Tenten asked. "I guess." Gaara shook his head. "That won't work. Sakura won't accept your money. She's
always the type to earn her own money." Gaara said. Everything was silent again. Naruto then smiled. "I have an idea!" "Selling ramen won't work, dobe." Sasuke said. "I'm not talking about selling ramen, why
don't we have a fund raiser? I'm sure lots of kids will buy stuff there and then we can use the money to raise for Sakura's surgery." "That's a great idea Naruto-kun!" Hinata exclaimed. "Thanks Hinata-chan!"
Gaara was deep in thought. "I guess we could do a fund raiser." They cheered. "That's perfect! Now we'll be able to save Sakura!" Ino said jumping up and down. "Be quiet guys, Sakura's sleeping. And I also
have a perfect idea." Gaara said. "What is it?" They asked. Gaara motioned for them to come closer. "Next weekend Sakura and I are going to visit our dad in California for a couple weeks. You guys can hold the
fund raiser while we're gone and when we come back you guys can give her the money as a welcome home present that way it'll be a surprise." The girls smiled. "That's great! You're a genius Gaara!" Ino yelled.
"Hey, what about me? I was the one who came up with the idea of the fund raiser." Naruto complained. "Shut up dobe." Sasuke said. "Whatever Teme!" Gaara glared at the both of them. "This is no time for
fighting." Both of them shut up. Gaara was scary when it came to Sakura. "Ok, let's start planning on the fund raiser!" Tenten said. "Right!"
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(I'm skipping to next weekend) "I'm going to miss you, Sakura!" Sonomi cried as she hugged Sakura. "It's ok mom, I'm only going to be in California for a couple of weeks. Not forever!" Sakura said. "I know, but
still!" A lot of Sakura's friends were there to say good-bye to her and Gaara. "I'll miss you, Forehead. You better be back in a couple of weeks." Ino said giving Sakura a hug. "I know." The small hug then became a
group hug. "Bye, Sakura-chan." Hinata said. "Later, Sakura." Tenten said. "Bye Tenten. Hope you don't go crazy anymore with the doctors." Tenten turned red. "We better go, Sakura." Gaara said. Sakura nodded.
She grabbed her bags and went on the plane. From the window you could see her waving. "Remember everyone, as soon as we get to school we have to get the stuff ready for the fund raiser." Neji informed
them. They all nodded. "Remember Teme, you have to do the stand I made for you." Naruto whispered in Sasuke's ear. He groaned. "Don't remind me." Naruto laughed. "Ok! We have to get started now!" Ino
yelled when they got back to school. "I can't believe we had to make her leader of this." Sasuke said to Shikamaru. "Well we had to. She is so troublesome when doesn't get her way." "Enough talking and lets
begin the fundraiser!"
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"We're finally visiting dad." Sakura said when they're plane landed in Palo City, California. "Yeah, it's been awhile since we've seen him." Gaara and Sakura got their bags and sat on a bench waiting for their
dad. "Shorty! Gaara!" A manly voice yelled. Sakura whipped around and smiled. "Dad!" She ran over to her dad. Some woman passing by stared at him with hearts in their eyes. For one thing, their dad was very
handsome. He had a muscular body, black spiky hair, charming smile, warm eyes, and tan skin. "Hey there, shorty. Hadn't seen you in awhile. Have you gotten taller?" Sakura was hugged. Gaara came over. "Hey,
Dad." He said. Daisuke (Sakura and Gaara's dad) looked at his son. "Well look it here, it seems that Gaara has been working out." "You bet!" Daisuke pulled him into a hug too. "I'm glad that I finally get to see my
kids again." They broke the hug. Daisuke picked up his kids' bags. "Let's go now. Carole is at home and she's cooking up a special dinner for all of us." Daisuke said getting in the car. "I can't wait to see
everyone else." Sakura said. Gaara smiled. He loved seeing his sister happy. When they got to the house which was near the beach they went inside to greet everyone. "We're home!" Gaara and Sakura both said
in unison. A woman came in. "Oh my! Gaara! Sakura! You're here!" She pulled them into a hug. "Nice to see you too, Carole." Gaara said. "The kids will be happy to see you guys again. They're outside in the
back porch." Sakura nodded. She went outside and saw Stephanie, Mark, Maddie, and Tim there sitting talking. "I wonder when Sakura and Gaara will come." The 16 year old girl known as Stephanie said. "Hey
guys." Sakura said. They all turned around. "Sakura!" They yelled. Sakura sat down. "I'm glad you made it, Sakura!" Maddie said. Sakura hugged her. "I'm glad too." Tim sat down next to her. "We're watching
the sun set." "I see. It's really beautiful. So Mark, how have you been doing with basketball? Have you beaten my dad yet?" Mark grinned. "Not yet, but I'm close. I just need to practice some more and then I'll
beat him." "I'm sure you will." Sakura laughed. "How long are you staying this time?" Maddie asked. "Only for two weeks. I have school to attend so I can't for a long time." "But in the meantime we can all
hang out and have fun!" Steph said. "Of course, we can all hang out." Maddie said. "So how are Temari and Kankuro?" Tim asked. "They're doing fine." Sakura replied. "Is Gaara here? I want to challenge him a
game of basketball!" Said Mark. "He's inside." Sakura pointed to inside. "Thanks!" Mark then went inside. "He's been talking about challenging Gaara non-stop. I had to cover my ears so I wouldn't have to listen to
him." Maddie said. Sakura smiled. "Is your heart doing you ok, Saku-chan?" Steph asked. "My heart hasn't been bothering me much." She told them. "Kids! Dinner is ready!" Carole yelled. They got up from their
places and went outside. Sakura turned around too look at the sun set for one last look. I wonder how my friends are doing back in Konoha.
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"Step right up! Step right up and see The Sasuke Uchiha without a shirt!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke was on a stand without a shirt doing some stretches and poses. I can't believe the dobe made me do this. Every girl
from the school paid a wad of cash to look at Sasuke. They took pictures and fainted. "Sasuke-kun! You're so hot!" One of them yelled. "Be my boyfriend Sasuke-kun!" Sasuke ignored them all. Naruto was
laughing his head off. "This is definitely worth 20 bucks." A girl said taking a huge amount of pictures. "Get your fresh baked cookies made by our very own Hinata Hyuga!" Tenten said. A huge crowd lined up
to buy some cookies that were delicious. "We are making a lot of money. We'll be able to pay for Sakura-chan's operation in no time!" Tenten said. Hinata nodded. Neji and Shikamaru did battling. They fought
with each other to make money. Ino was in charge of counting the money and handling the stands. "Sasuke must be suffering. Doing those poses for girls." She said. Naruto then came up with another idea. "100
bucks to take pictures with shirtless Sasuke!" He yelled. "What?! There's no way in hell I'm doing that!" Sasuke yelled glaring at Naruto who was taking the dollar bills girls were giving him. A girl came up to
Sasuke and hugged him. Naruto took the picture and gave her the picture. "When this is all over, you better run." Sasuke threatened. Naruto gulped. "I'm going to check on Hinata-chan." The he ran away to Hinata's
stand. "Hi, Naruto-kun." She said. "Sasuke-Teme is going to kill once this is all over." Naruto said. "Don't worry, maybe he will forget all about it." Hinata reassured him. "Thanks Hina-chan!" Tenten then came.
"This sucks! I got a restraining order from Dr. Anita. Something about beating her up." Hinata rolled her eyes. She deserves it after what she did to that doctor. "Go Shika-kun!" Ino yelled from the audience where
Shikamaru and Neji were fighting. "Shika-kun? Oohh, it looks like someone has a crush on a certain lazy ass." Tenten said. Ino blushed. "Well I was just…um…supporting him." Ino said hiding her blush. "Yeah
right!" Hinata said. "Admit it, Ino. You like Shikamaru!" Ino turned even redder. "She's blushing! I knew it!" Hinata yelled. "Shut up! Just don't say anything to him. The last thing I want is for him to find out my
feeling for him." Ino said. Hinata and Tenten kept quiet. Sasuke then came and sat down. The weird thing was that he was wearing a disguise. "Um…who are you?" Tenten asked. "It's me Sasuke." He said.
"What's with the disguise?" Ino asked. "I needed a break from that stand Naruto made. I can't believe he made me do that." "Well we're almost done for the day so then you can rest." Hinata said. Sasuke didn't
say anything. Boys. Ino thought while rolling her eyes.
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"I'm going to walk on the beach! Bye, guys!" Sakura yelled grabbing her sandals to go for a walk. "Ok, bye shorty!" Daisuke said. Sakura walked along the shorelines thinking about some things. Gaara seemed
different when we got back from the doctor's office yesterday. He says my test results were fine, but I'm so not sure. Sakura looked at the horizon. "Could he be hiding something?" "Could who be hiding
something?" A voice asked. Sakura turned around. It was only Gaara. "Oh Gaara, I didn't see you there." Sakura smiled at him but He was frowning. "What's wrong?" She asked. "Sakura, I need to talk to you."
"Ok." Gaara sat down on the sand and motioned for Sakura to sit beside him. "Listen Sakura, when we went to the doctor's office the other day, I lied. I said that you're results were fine but they're not." Sakura
stared at him. "What do you mean?" Gaara didn't dare look at her. "They were bad. The doctor told me that you will have to have surgery. And if you don't your entire memory will be erased." Tears formed in
Sakura's eyes. "Why didn't you tell me before?" "Because I know you are afraid of operations so I didn't want to worry you." Sakura stood up. "But instead you lied to me! You told me I was fine so I believed
you! I thought I was able to trust you." Sakura retreated back. "Sakura, please sit down." "No! You lied to me and now I don't know if I'll be able to trust you again." Sakura ran back into the house. Why couldn't
she let me finish? Now she's mad at me. What should I do? Gaara didn't bother to chase her. He knew she wanted to be alone. He just sat there.
"Sakura? Is something wrong? Come on Shorty! Please come out!" Daisuke pleaded. He saw something wrong when Sakura ran into the house with tears and locked herself in her room. "Go away!" Daisuke said.
What could've happened this time? "Did something happen?" "Leave me alone!" Sakura yelled. Carole came upstairs. "Is she still in there?" Daisuke nodded. "Oh boy, maybe we should just let her cool off."
Steph came upstairs. "I'll go and talk to her." She went over to the door. "Sakura? Let me in. I just want to talk to you." She heard sobbing. "Please leave me alone." Steph frowned. "No, this is my room too and I
want to talk to you. You can't just lock yourself up forever." She heard footstep coming to the door. The door opened and revealed puff-eyed Sakura. "Fine. Come in." Steph went inside and locked the door. "Tell
me Sakura. What's wrong that you were crying?" Sakura leaned on her shoulder. "Gaara just told me that I need surgery. But the worst thing is, he lied to me about it. He didn't tell me!" Steph hugged her. "It's ok,
I'm sure there was a very good reason he didn't tell you." Sakura sniffed. "But why did he have to lie to me?" "Probably because he didn't want you to get scared." Sakura stopped crying and looked at her. "Do
you really think so?" Steph nodded. "I guess you're right. Maybe I should've given Gaara a chance instead getting mad at him. I better go apologize." Sakura got up and wiped away her tears. "I'll be right back."
Sakura went back to the beach to see if Gaara was still there. He wasn't. "Where could Gaara be?" Sakura went back in the house. Maybe he is in his room. Sakura went upstairs to Gaara's room. She heard music.
It sounded like a guitar. Sakura opened the door just a crack to peek. Gaara was on his bed playing his guitar. His eyes were closed playing sad music. When he stopped he looked at the ceiling. "I'm sorry,
Sakura." "I'm sorry too." Gaara turned his head to the door. "What are you doing here?" He asked. Sakura approached him and sat down on his bed. "I came to say that I'm sorry. I should've given you a chance
instead running off. You had a very good reason to lie to me and I just was being…stubborn." Sakura had tears falling down. "I'm really sorry. And if you don't accept my apology I'll understand." She got up to
leave but felt a grip on her arm. "I accept your apology, but I don't hate you. I should be the one who is sorry. I lied to you when I could've told you the truth." Sakura smiled and tackled her brother in a hug. "I
forgive you!" Gaara smiled. "That's good. But can you get off me? You're squishing me." "oh, sorry!" Sakura got off me. Her brother sat up. "Now that that's all over, do you want to call the guys and see what
they are up to?" Sakura nodded. "Ok, race you downstairs!" Gaara ran. "Hey! That's not fair!" Sakura pouted running downstairs too. Gaara was on the phone already dialing a number.
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"I'm so tired! Thanks a lot Neji! You gave me a black eye." Shikamaru said looking at Neji who was putting ice packs on his head. "Too bad I don't care, Shikamaru." Ino brought an ice pack over to
Shikamaru. "Here you go. That fight was really big. But at least it was worth it. Sakura-chan will then be saved." Hinata was sitting cross-legged on the floor beside Tenten. "Where's Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked.
"He's hiding from Sasuke due to the whole stand he made up." Tenten replied. Sasuke then came in the room smirking. "Hey, Sasuke. Where's the idiot?" Neji asked. Sasuke sat down. "Somewhere…"
-Somewhere inside a closet-
"Hey! Get me out of here! Sasuke-Teme get me out of this closet right this instant!" Naruto was banging on the closet door of the basement. Sasuke locked him up in there. "I'm scared! I need Kyuubi! And maybe
some ramen." Naruto stopped banging and tried ramming the door down. But he has poor strength. "Here goes." He ran right into but he just fell. "Damn! Damn! Get me out of here! I hate the dark! Anybody? I
need to use the bathroom! Wait…never mind I don't need to go anymore.
"You locked up Naruto in a closet?" Ino asked. Sasuke nodded. Hinata got up. "I'm going to go help him!" She left the room. "That Hinata. I can't believe she's in love with ramen-lover idiot." Shikamaru said. Ino
smacked him. "Don't make fun of Hinata just because who she likes is an idiot!" Shikamaru rubbed his head. "Ouch! You troublesome woman. I was already in pain enough." "Like I give a crap!" "Can you
guys just fuck'n shut up! I'm trying to think over here!" Tenten yelled. Neji widened his eyes the angry woman. Is she having mood swings? "Are you pregnant?" Neji asked. "What the fuck did you say?!" Neji
gulped. Tenten raised her fist and punched him in the face. "That's what you get! So where was I? Ah yes, I was saying that we need to think of new ideas for the fund raiser." Wow, she can sure change her mood.
How did she learn to punch like that? Neji thought. Rrrriiinnngg! Rrrriiinnngg! Rrriinn- "Hello?" Ino answered the phone. "Hey, Ino. It's me and Gaara calling from Palo City!" A cheery voice said. "Sakura!
I'm glad you called. Hold on, let me put you on speaker phone." Ino pressed speaker phone.
(This is the phone conversation. Just so you know)
Ino: So how are you doing so far in California?
Sakura: Things are great. I met my step mom and my other step siblings. I took a walk on the beach.
Tenten: Hey, Sakura-chan! I'm so glad you called.
Sakura: Hi Tenten. Hey everybody!
Sasuke: Hn.
Shikamaru: Troublesome
Neji: Whatever. Ow! I mean hi. Jeez Tenten, did you have to pinch me?
Tenten: Of course! You need to say a proper hello to Sakura!
Neji: Ok, fine.
Sakura: -giggles- Sounds like you two are a couple fighting.
Tenten & Neji: What?! It's not like that!
Sakura: Uh-huh. Right. Where's Hinata? I don't hear her.
Sasuke: She left to find the dobe since I locked him up in a closet.
Sakura: Why did you lock him in a closet?
Sasuke: You don't need to know, Pinky.
Gaara: Uchiha! Don't make fun of my sister!
Sasuke: Hn.
Gaara: You're going to regret that.
Sasuke: Hn.
Gaara: When I get back I'm going to show you my true strength! Because nobody makes fun of my sister!
Sakura: Gaara lay off the sugar!
Gaara: Why? I'm hungry!
Ino: You sure have a freaky twin, Sakura.
Gaara: Want to try saying that again?
Ino: Never mind!
Tenten: Are the beaches beautiful?
Sakura: I guess so.
Naruto: Hi Sakura-chan! Hinata-chan finally got me out of the closet Teme locked me in.
Hinata: Hi, Sakura-chan. How are you?
Sakura: Hi Naruto, I'm doing fine Hinata.
Naruto: I was locked in a dark closet for a long time! I needed to go to the bathroom so bad but I don't need
to anymore!
-Everyone steps away from Naruto-
Ino: Naruto, I suggest you take a shower.
Naruto: Why?
Sasuke, Neji, & Shikamaru: Because you smell like urine!
Sakura: I'm going to go now. Bye! –Hangs up-
Naruto sits on the ground. "I'm not going to shower. And if you make me Teme I'll show everybody in school that picture of you from the third grade." Sasuke cracks his knuckles. "Too bad you probably won't be alive. You have a 3 second start. "Wait a minute Teme!"
1…
"Maybe we can sort this out."
2...
"Bye!"
3…
Sasuke runs after Naruto. "Too bad Naruto has no chance against Sasuke's great speed." Neji said. "What idiots." Ino said. "I heard that!" Sasuke yelled from the hallway. They all sweat dropped. "I'm going to
bed. Tomorrow we begin the next part of our funds raiser." Tenten said stretching.
"Goodnight."
"Night, Tenten-chan."
"Troublesome"
"Whatever. Ow! I mean goodnight!"
"That's better!"