Got a chapter done! Yips and stuff! Anyway, this is the second last chapter, and after that, this'll be complete! Yay! So, anyway, enjoy!

Don't own Naruto.

Part Four – A Visit Home

Days turned into weeks, weeks into months, and soon Sakura had been at the palace for over six months. Everyday was basically the same, which was fine, since the place was so big that there was something new to do each day. Not once had she been bored in her time there, but there was something that was starting to get to her.

Sakura was homesick. While it was all well and good that she was enjoying her time here and being well looked after by the demon, she desperately missed her family. During the day was when she felt it the most, as she was on her own until dinner when the demon would dine with her. He'd seemed to notice that something was wrong, and had questioned her about it before she'd even realised what she was feeling.

Even her dream lover, Prince Gaara, had noticed and had been more loving in his caresses, as if trying to soothe her woes away. But they wouldn't leave. Sakura was lonely, and missed her family with all her heart. Finally, she couldn't take it anymore, and one evening, decided to broach the subject with her host.

"You seem especially melancholy tonight, Sakura," the demon noted.

"It's because I miss my family," she told him. "My mother, my father, my sisters. I miss my friends, too."

She sighed again and poked at the food on her plate, willing herself not to cry, though she desperately wanted to. The beast had become a friend to her, and she didn't want to hurt him by making him feel that she hated him or anything. She didn't hate him, though she still felt that she could not be married to him, no matter how many times he asked her.

The beast sighed then, a great rattling sigh, and Sakura looked up to see that his eyes had closed. He seemed to be deep in thought, and a moment later, she was surprised when he stood abruptly and the invisible servants began to clear the dishes away.

"I feel it is necessary to retire early tonight," he told her. "Go to your bed now, Sakura. In the morning I will see you, and give you something to help you with your homesickness."

He vanished then, and she couldn't help but wonder what he meant by that. Though she was slightly distracted by the fact that for once, he hadn't asked her to marry him. She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Once she fell asleep, she naturally returned to her Prince, and it seemed that she wasn't the only one who was melancholy. There was something extra in the way he made love to her that night, and once they were finished and she lay there curled up against him, she questioned him about it.

"It's nothing," he whispered to her, kissing her forehead. "It's just that... you're going away, and I won't see you for awhile. At least, not until you come back. Promise me you'll come back."

"I promise," she told him, not sure why he'd said that she was leaving. She got her answer the next morning when the demon greeted her in the main hall.

"I have a gift for you," he told her, and held out a ring.

Sakura gasped at the beauty of it. The ring was made of white gold, set with an emerald and a diamond, both of which were shaped like hearts. The emerald was slightly bigger than the diamond, and she was rendered speechless at the gift.

"This is a magic ring," the demon told her. "When you put it on and close your eyes, you will appear anywhere you want to be in the world. This way you can visit your family, and then come back anytime you please."

Sakura was overjoyed with the gift, and she looked up to thank him, only to see great sadness in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"Promise me you'll come back," he begged, reminding her of the fact that Gaara had asked the exact same thing. "I want you to come back. I'll die without you."

His words cut straight into her heart, and she rushed forward to hug him, something she'd never done before. He was startled at first, but then he hugged her back, enveloping her in his sandy embrace.

"I promise I'll be back," she whispered. "You don't have to worry about dying, there's no need for that!"

Pulling away from him, she placed the ring on her finger and slowly closed her eyes. Maybe she was imagining it, or just plain hallucinating, but she could have sworn at that last moment the beast had disappeared and Gaara had stood before her instead. But she shrugged it off. Her Prince was just a dream, wasn't he?

Opening her eyes once more, she found herself in the kitchen of her old home, and couldn't help but feel amused by the sight before her. There sat her mother, father and Ino, staring at her as if she were a figment of their imagination. Their jaws were slack and open and a moment later, the kettle her mother was holding slipped from her fingers and fell with a clatter to the floor.

"Oh. My God," Ino whispered, and slowly stood up.

She came over to Sakura and gingerly poked her, as if trying to see if she were real or not. After physically being assured that she really was there, she flew at her sister, embracing her roughly as she burst into tears. Ino's actions then spurred on Tsunade and Jiraiya, both of whom joined their two youngest in a group hug.

"Oh my god, Sakura! I missed you so much!" Ino wailed, and their parents nodded in affirmation.

Pulling away, Jiraiya tried to give her a stern look, failed miserably, and said, "That was a silly thing to do, little missy! Drugging me and going off to a demon? What were you thinking?!"

"I just wanted to save you," Sakura told him contritely, then looked around. "Where's Tenten?"

"She doesn't live here anymore," Tsunade told her. "She's married now."

"Oh, right! To that baron's son!" Sakura exclaimed.

"We can go visit her later," Jiraiya decided. "She'll be glad to see you. But for now, let's all get back to breakfast!"

All three of his girls sweat-dropped.

When they visited her later, Tenten was definitely delighted to see her, and it was only then that Sakura told them her story. Already she'd taken the ring off and put it on a chain around her neck, and her sisters had ooh-ed and ahh-ed over the whole thing. Their parents had been slightly less impressed, and tried to get their youngest to promise that she wouldn't go back, but Sakura shook her head.

"I've already promised him I would go back," she told them. "I won't go back on my word."

Much later, it was just Tenten, Ino and Sakura, and it was to her sisters that she confided in the existence of her dream lover. "He sounds wonderful!" Ino declared with a sigh. "If only he were real, then he could sweep you off your feet and take you away from the demon!"

Tenten nodded in agreement. "This Prince sounds like he'd be perfect for you, if he were real," she said. "Prince Gaara. I swear I've heard that name before."

"Really?" Sakura asked. "Where?"

Tenten just shrugged.

Later in the day, Sakura stopped by Hinata's place, and learned that her friend was getting married. "My father agreed to the proposal from Lord Uchiha," she told her. "In six months, I'll be marrying his youngest, Sasuke."

Sakura hugged her. "Congratulations," she told her, and it was then that she told her about Gaara.

"You wish he was real," Hinata stated, and Sakura nodded, fighting back tears when her best friend proceeded to hug her.

It was much later when she went to sleep that Ino slipped into her room. In her hand she held a ring that was similar enough to the one the demon had given Sakura, and the girl quietly swapped the rings. It hadn't been difficult to find one, as they'd become rich once more while Sakura had been gone. Ino made the switch then looked down at the face of her sleeping sister.

"I'm sorry, Sakura," she whispered. "It's for your own good. We can't loose you again. Please forgive me."

Miles and miles away, for some inexplicable reason, a great demon of the sand had a terrible feeling he'd just lost something precious to him, but when he searched, nothing was missing... except Sakura, of course, but she'd promised him that she would return, and he didn't doubt her for a second...

The next morning when she woke, Sakura didn't realise that her ring was the wrong one, and she went about her day completely oblivious to the fact that her way back to the demon was no longer in her possession.

That ring is a real one, I found a picture of it on the net! Anyway, I hope you liked it, and make sure you review! Bye!