Whirlwind

Chapter Nine

-Operation Day Five: Loss-

"Get him to a room! Hurry!" someone shouted.

A small group of nurses came running down the hallway, a stretcher in between them.

"He's lost consciousness! Someone check his pulse! Quick!" one of the nurses said.

Lying on the stretcher was a small boy. Probably only eleven years old.

"Someone get Sakura-sama! She's the only one who can save him now!"

Everyone scrambled into the room, and began prepping for surgery as the pink haired medic was sought out.

Six hours later a completely worn and dejected Sakura left the hospital. There was nothing she could do for the poor genin, and she felt completely useless, once again. Gaara wouldn't be there to get her for another hour or so, but she couldn't stay any longer. With the guilt that she had let a young boy die, someone who wasn't even from her village, she began to walk around town aimlessly.

Eventually she reached the Kazekage Tower. Not wanting anyone she knew to see her, she directed what remaining chakra she had left and ran up the side of the building, not stopping until she reached the top. The pink haired woman walked to the center and lay on her back, staring into the sky. She let out a sigh. If only she could fly away like the birds, and leave all her troubles behind.

Gaara shut his office door behind him and started down the hallway. It was already five o'clock, and he was late picking up Sakura. He really hoped she wouldn't be upset about it, but there were always things to be done at a hospital, so maybe she wouldn't be upset after all. Gaara came up to the large brown building and went inside, expecting to find Sakura waiting for him. She was nowhere to be seen though, so the redhead walked up to the receptionist desk and cleared his throat. "Where is Sakura?"

The girl looked up and tried to hold down the smile that came across her face at the sight of the Kazekage. Then his question sunk in and she shook her head, "I don't know Kazekage-sama, she left about two hours ago."

He looked distraught, Sakura had left? "Did she say where she was going?"

"No sir, she just said 'I cannot be here anymore. I have to clear my head.' And that was it." She informed him. Gaara felt a cold chill run down his spine. It almost felt like he had been punched in the stomach. This was the second time he didn't know where Sakura was, and it was even worse than before. He turned to leave, in order to go and search for her no matter how long it took, when someone called his name.

"Hello Gaara-sama!" Yoko waved and jogged up to him. "How nice of you to drop by, I was just thinking about you." She flashed him a smile and attempted to get closer to him. Gaara immediately backed away from her. She was too close to his personal space.

"I was actually looking for Sakura, have you seen her? Or know where she went?" he asked, not wanting to talk to this cougar any longer than needed. She did after all have a good fifteen years on him.

Yoko's smile fell from her face and was replaced with a look of contempt. "No I haven't. She just left all her duties without even a word. She even let a patient die because she decided she was too tired to perform the surgery. Just up and left she did." She looked down, attempting to look distraught over the loss. "I don't think she even cares about what happens to the people in this hospital Gaara-sama." She moved closer to him once more, only to have him back away again.

Now he looked angry, but it was most certainly not at Sakura. "Just shut up Yoko. Instead of being a bitch to one of the greatest medics of our time, why don't you sit back and take a couple notes." He glared, his voice filled with malice. "If I ever hear another disdainful comment about Sakura uttered from your mouth, I will shut it for you, personally." With that he made an about face and walked out of the hospital, leaving an astonished Yoko standing in the lobby.

Gaara paced down the streets, looking ever vigilantly for his missing medic. What had really happened at the hospital, he wondered? Something must have upset Sakura for her to just leave without waiting for him and he was determined to find out what was wrong and help her fix it.

Naruto scaled the Kazekage Tower, jumping back and forth between the buildings to make it to the top. He landed at the top and smiled, then noticed the other being up here. "Sakura-chan?" he blinked, she turned her head to the side slightly to see the energetic ninja behind her, but did nothing to acknowledge his presence.

Naruto's face fell into a frown, he walked over to the edge and sat next to Sakura. "Are you ok Sakura-chan? What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Naruto. I just want to be alone right now." She answered in a monotonic voice.

"Oh come on Sakura-chan! I know you! Something is bothering you and I won't rest until I figure it out! Like I always say, turn that frown upside down!" he cheered, giving her two thumbs up.

She merely closed her eyes in consternation. She loved Naruto. He was like the brother she never had. But right now she wanted nothing more than to strangle him for his cheerfulness. Before she could say anything to him however, she felt another presence join them on the roof. Without looking up she immediately knew who it was.

"Sakura." A deep voice said.

"Gaara! Something's wrong with Sakura-chan! Usually by now she's punched me! Fix her!" the blonde man yelled, pointing to his friend.

At this she got to her feet. "I'm not some doll that you can just glue back together when something is wrong Naruto! I'm a person! And right now, all I want is to be alone! Is that too much to ask?" she shouted, glaring at him.

Gaara seemed to understand on a far deeper level than Naruto could. The redhead's eyes moved from Naruto back to Sakura, and all he did was hold out his hand for her. She went to his side automatically and placed her hand in his. Naruto blinked, confusion written all over his face.

"Sakura-chan, I thought you said you wanted to be alone?" Naruto asked dumbly.

The Kazekage pulled her closer, setting his free hand on the small of her back. "She does." And with those final words the sand picked up, blurring Naruto's vision. When it settled, the two were gone.

When they reappeared, they were in the living room of the redhead's home. Gaara led Sakura to the couch and let her sit, "I'll get you something to drink." He said simply, disappearing into the kitchen. When he came back he had the strawberry drink she seemed to be in love with and a bowl of grapes. He set the food and drink on the small table, and took a seat next to her. "Would you like me to get you anything else?"

She merely shook her head negatively, not even bothering to touch what he had brought her. She felt so numb, that she doubted she would be able to move, even if she tried.

Seeing that she wouldn't make an attempt to eat or drink anything, the redhead did the only other thing he could think of. He picked up the motionless kunoichi bridal style, and carried her to her room. Laying her down in her bed, he pulled the covers over her body. "Goodnight Sakura." And with that, he left her to her dreams.

She was back at the hospital in the operation room. Looking down, she could see the young genin boy that struggling to stay alive. His eyes made contact with hers, and she saw the light slowly fade from his blue depths. Even knowing that he was dead, she immediately began to try and bring him back, but to no avail.

Knowing that she was reliving the events from earlier, her dream-self broke down and began to cry.

She woke up to the sounds of screams, and realized that they were coming from her. She stopped, looking around to see that she was back in her room. She didn't remember how she had gotten there, but she vaguely remembered feeling safe. Recalling her dream, she immediately broke down and began to cry, curling into a ball.

Her door was thrown open suddenly, and a distressed Gaara ran into her room. "What's wrong?"

She didn't know how to respond, so she continued to cry. Gaara was immediately by her side, taking a seat on the bed. "Sakura? What is it?" He asked once more, trying to calm her down. The only answer she gave was more sobs. He pulled her closer to him, not really knowing how to handle this very delicate situation. Maybe she had had another frightening dream and that was causing her duress. She probably did not want to be alone again.

Gaara slid his arm under her legs and lifted her into his arms once more. He made his way back to his room, closing the door with his foot, and then placed Sakura on the bed. He noticed she still had her shoes on and thought it might be best to make her more comfortable. He kneeled down and slipped off her boots and tossed them aside. He focused on her attire next and sighed, "I promise Sakura, I'm not doing anything inappropriate." He assured her, unbuckling her tan skirt. She had shorts on underneath, so he assumed it would be alright. Once the skirt was removed, he got in on his own side and moved closer to her.

"Sakura. Can you not tell me what has you so troubled?" He pulled her closer to him and her head fell onto his shoulder.

She sniffled. Well, he would find out sooner or later, so she might as well be the one to tell him. Sighing, she began to tell him everything. How a group of young genin had come into the hospital after just returning from their first mission. How one of them, a young boy, had been fatally injured saving a teammate, and how she couldn't prevent his death. Finishing, her tears picked back up again. "It's all my fault that he died. I couldn't save him, and now everyone will think that I did it on purpose, just because I'm from a different village." Looking into his eyes with her red rimmed ones, she asked in a quivering voice, "Are you mad?"

"Of course I'm not mad." He told her, pulling her even closer, so that she was almost in his lap. Face to face, he stared into her tear filled eyes, "Sakura, you aren't a god. You cannot save everyone. People die. So is the life of a shinobi." He explained leaning forward so their foreheads were pressed together. "Please do not let this trouble you so. I know you did the best that you could." Gaara moved his hand up and brushed some of her hair behind her ear.

She gave a shaky sigh. "I know. But it still hurts." She placed her head on his shoulder once more, content to just sit there in silence. Nuzzling his neck slightly, she murmured a soft "Thank you", and fell into a deep slumber.

Gaara remained still, left in another situation where he had no idea what to do. He knew she had fallen asleep, probably from the crying and the stress that she had carried around all day. Carefully, he laid her beside him, letting her stay in his bed for the night. If she woke up screaming again then at least he would be there to comfort her. "Goodnight. Again," he whispered, pulling his sheets up and laying down beside her. He closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.

He fell asleep faster than expected, but he hadn't expected to be plagued with his nightmare.

It was that same, black abyss. Gaara looked around, already knowing what was coming. He would fall, as he always did in this hell. But what had he heard last time? It was something incoherent, a mumbling of some sort.

Just like the times before, he took a step forward, shattering the dark ground. The only thing he felt was the air beating against his falling body. "No!" Gaara yelled, reaching up for something to hold but there was nothing but darkness.

"NO!" he yelled again, trying to reach further.

"GAARA!" a light voice cried out. And then everything went black.