A/N: Hey well as you should no (if you read the previous Chapters) this is gonna be multiple chapters long, the odd chapters(1,3,5...) are gonna be the story of Shika/Ino and the even chapters(2,4,6...) are gonna be the story of Kanku/Saku! Enjoy and PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE R+R! it would just really make my day if you did!!!

I'll try to write a new chapter every week or so. If i get behind please don't hate me, it probably just means im having some bad days - it actually happens a lot...haha!

I have footnotes now in these chapters so wherever you see (*) go down to the A/N at the bottom of the page to find out what I'm talking about (or if I just wanna say something but don't wanna interrupt the story.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, as much as i wish i did :(

Chapter 4

Flowers, Tears, and A Dream

Kakashi arrived at the memorial grounds and, realizing Sakura wasn't there yet, headed to the grave in the middle of the cemetery. It was unlike him to be early, but was glad of it this time. As he neared the grave of his old friend, his heart rate sped up and his visible eye grew a little blood shot. The copy-nin gazed down at the headstone that read:

Sarutobi Asuma

G'

Beloved son, lover, and father

(*) Kakashi held the red tulip in his gloved hand and looked at it. He had only realized a couple of months ago what this certain flower meant: undying love. Ino really knew how to say everything with no words and just her flowers. No, Ino wasn't in love with her old Sensei, she was just showing that she was still thinking about him and that his death would not break the bond between he and Team 10. Kakashi placed the flower on the grave, his fingers tracing lightly over Asuma's name. (**)

Sakura silently walked up behind Kakashi, linking her arm with his. He looked down at his old student; her face looked like it was carved from stone. She rarely let any emotion show while she was paying her respects, but he knew she would cry herself to sleep tonight.

Kakashi guided the pink-haired kunoichi over to her parents' graves, pulling a scroll from his Jonin vest as they walked. When they reached the headstones, Kakashi released the scroll. He placed the beautiful, flowered wreaths on the Harunos' graves and stood back up.

Sakura just watched him. When he stood back up, he enveloped her tiny body in his well-muscled arms.

After about twenty minutes of standing like this, an unspoken agreement came between the two of them. Kakashi turned them around and led the way back to her house, still holding Sakura with one arm.

Shizune came bounding up to them as they were leaving the grounds. "Kankuro-sama's condition is stable. He should be able to leave the hospital before dinnertime. You did a good job at getting the poison out of him, Sakura. All I had to do was put him on Morphine for the leftover pains in his chest."

Sakura thought it was funny how everyone called Kankuro 'sama' even though he wasn't really a leader; or very important for that matter. Sure he is the Kazekage's brother and all, but what makes him so special? Sakura asked herself. Nonetheless, she replied to Shizune, "Thank you very much. I'll be in later to sign him out."

"Hai." Shizune turned and started heading back towards Hokage Tower, with Ton-ton following close behind.

"Where's he gonna stay?" Kakashi asked the tired-looking, pink-haired medic.

"He can stay with me; it's the least I can do. After all, I was staying with him at his place for the past five months. I owe him for the generous hospitality; he could have made me rent an apartment for my stay, but he didn't, so I will do the same for him.

Kakashi just nodded as they headed for her home on the other side of the village.

Sakura walked into the hospital and headed for the stairs. She walked up two flights to the 'Recovery Unit' and grabbed the clipboard hanging on the wall; she scanned for Kankuro's name down the list. Her eyes lingered for a moment on the name Inuzuka, but didn't think much of it since this was the recovery ward, and he is a spirited fighter. He was probably sparring with Hinata and she used her 8 Trigrams on him. She would talk to Kiba tomorrow.

When she found Kankuro's name and room number, she headed for his room at the end of the hall. After knocking lightly on his door, she heard a quiet, "Come in." She slid the door open to find Kankuro lying in the hospital bed, his Kabuki face paint all smeared. His brow was still sweaty.

Sakura went into doctor mode and moved quickly to her friend's side. She felt his forehead: no fever. She checked his vitals: all good. "I'll be right back," she walked out of the room. A couple minutes later, she returned with a small basin full of water and a washcloth. "Here." She started wiping away the sweat and make-up.

When she was finished, she could tell he was much more comfortable. Switching back into friend mode, the two started talking about when he was allowed to be discharged. "I'm going to sign you out tonight and you can come home with me. I have a spare bedroom, plenty of space and food. Don't worry about a thing. Tomorrow you can meet with Gaara and talk about why he requested your assistance. So, I'm gonna go sign you out now, and then we can leave. You sure you're feeling okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Nothing you couldn't cure." He smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Okay, I'll be right back."

When Sakura returned, she helped Kankuro out of the hospital bed, letting him use her as a crutch. Luckily her house wasn't far from the hospital, but as they exited the front doors, Kankuro apologized for putting so much weight on her. She just brushed it off and repositioned her arm around his waist before assuring him they wouldn't be walking for longer than five minutes and he wasn't a hassle. That seemed to ease his guilt. "Besides, you're not that heavy. You can even put more weight on me if you want."

"Uh, no. I don't wanna crush you, Sakura"

He seemed to be acting more polite to her than he was in Suna. Probably because he's now the guest. Sakura chuckled at his response, "It would take a lot more than the weight of you to crush me."

Now it was Kankuro's turn to laugh. "Well thanks for that little tidbit of information, but I'm still not putting my full weight on you."

"Fine, just don't strain yourself, okay?"

He nodded and they continued their journey in a comfortable silence. When they reached her house, Sakura pressed her hand against the door. Her hand glowed green for a moment, then the door swung open. Figures; a chakra seal. Kankuro thought to himself, smirking.

After Sakura had gotten Kankuro settled into his new room, he went to take a shower and she went to cook dinner.

That night, Sakura lay in bed, thinking of her parents and how much she missed them. She felt a tears roll down her cheek and, before she could control it, she was sobbing all over her pillow. After a couple of minutes, there was a soft knock on the door.

Kankuro waits a second before entering her room. He had been in the room next to hers and had heard her quiet sobs through the paper-thin walls. He walked over to her bed, not even knowing what was wrong, and sat down and started rubbing her back.

After about ten minutes of her sobbing into the pillow and him rubbing her back, she calmed herself enough to sit up.

"I'm sorry"

"For what?!" Kankuro asked, bewildered.

"For crying all over you. And I'm sorry that you have to see me like this and comfort me. I'm not usually one to cry, but I always seem to be unable to hold it in on this day."

"Well, you didn't exactly cry all over me, and I chose to come comfort you…but why do you always cry on this day?"

"I got word of my parents' deaths four years ago on this day," she started in a just barely audible whisper. "Now, I don't show any emotion except sadness on this day, and really it's only at night, when it really sinks in and reminds me that I'll never see their faces or hear their voices ever again." Sakura turned and continued crying on Kankuro's shoulder.

Kankuro just held her, murmuring sweet nothings in her ear. "Shh, it's gonna be okay…don't worry…shh…you still have friends who love and care about you…shh…"

Sakura soon drifted into sleep on Kankuro's shoulder. He noticed that tears were no longer falling down his bare chest, so he turned and scooped the pinkette into his arms. He started to lay her back down on the bed but hesitated when he heard his name. "Kankuro." At first Kankuro thought she had woken up, but soon realized she was talking in her sleep. This didn't really bother him because Temari had talked in her sleep when she was little and then didn't remember she had had a dream involving what she was talking about the next morning. So, he figured Sakura would also not remember her dream of the puppet-master when she woke up. But then she giggled. This should be entertaining he thought to himself. Although, maybe I shouldn't be taking advantage of her while she's asleep…but, I really wanna know…if she feels the same way…about me… (***)

He made to continue bending over to put her in bed, but "Oh, Kankuro" she moaned in her sleep. This made him freeze. Oh, God! Is she having wet dreams about me?! Yea, I definitely should not be listening to this! Kankuro quickly, but gently placed Sakura in her bad and pulled the covers up to her chin. As he walked out of the room, she moaned his name again and he blushed a violent scarlet.

...Awkward...

Sakura shot up in bed, covered in sweat. Whoa! Did I really just dream about Kankuro? And a dream as sexual as that! What the fuck is up with me?!" She sat there for a few minutes pondering the dream she had just had and considering her feelings for the ninja in question. So, what does this mean? I thought I hated him…wait I do! He's so annoying and…but, I'm letting him stay with me, and he was so nice and comforting to me last…Wait! That's it! I dreamt of him because he was the last person I saw or thought of before I fell asleep. That's gotta be it!

Sakura was happy with her conclusion, so she decided to stop thinking about it and just go take a hot shower to drown away her thoughts and sweat. What she didn't realize was that Kankuro had just turned the shower off before she woke up and was still in the bathroom, dripping little water droplets down his naked, tan, toned body.

A/N:

(*)- The G' is my typed version of the leaf symbol. And the actual grave only says 'Sarutobi Asuma' but i wanted to make it a little more personal. :'(

(**)- Yup! the undying love is for Asuma! Isn't that sweet?! And no, just as Kakashi says, she is not IN love with him...duh

(***)- So, yup yup! Kanky loves Sakura...Aw, so cute! But does she feel the same?! (The reason he didn't want to escort her back to Konoha is cuz he was always awkward around him, hence the term 'confined' in chap. 2)

HAHA CLIFFY! i just love cliffys! you'll find out what happens between the two in ch. 6, so stay tuned ;)