Chapter 2

"And you're sure about this?" Kakashi Hatake, sixth Hokage, eyed the girl in front of him with understanding. God, it's only just been a year and he felt like he's ready to be buried six feet under the ground. This was not his thing. Instead of piling up scrolls, signing peace treaties and attending council meetings with old and boring prunes, he should be reading his Icha Icha Paradise in a peaceful corner. Now, he can't enjoy his youth…

'Wait…did I just said youth.' He asked himself. This can't be happening. Now, he's a hundred percent sure that he's gone ballistic. It must be the boring-ness of this place…yeah, that must be it.

"Yes. Sakura was attacked last night when she was alone outside the hospital." Ino Yamanaka, fellow medic reported. She had just finished her shift and quickly, she ran towards the Hokage's tower. If there was a spy trying to harm her friend, then there's definitely something wrong with what they call peace today.

"What happened?" The former Team 7 instructor lazily asked. If what Ino said was true, that someone was after Sakura, then trouble was brewing right behind their backs. That can't be a good thing. If they so point the wrong finger at the wrong country, then a big possibility of another rift between the villages' alliances. However, overlooking this incident was also not something he had in mind. This was a direct threat towards one of their own and this kind of issues should never be ignored.

"Kakashi-sensei!" A flushed Naruto appeared at the window behind the seat of the Hokage, that startled both two from their conversation.

"What the hell, Naruto!" Ino exclaimed. Naruto ignored her and turned towards his former teacher.

"Kakashi-senseiSakura'sinthehospital! She's…she's'…" The orange-clad ninja rambled on.

"Calm down, Naruto. What exactly happened?" Kakashi somehow pacified the panicking kid.

"Sakura's in the hospital…" Naruto seemed almost like he would cry any minute. A whimper was slowly making its way towards his lips but he kept it tightly sealed shut. A teardrop was escaping his eyes but he wiped it with the back of his hands. "She's…she's…" He still continued on, seemingly unable to utter the next words.

Patience thinning due to fatigue and lack of sleep, Ino finally snapped. "WHAT?!"

"She…she…" Naruto stuttered between whimpers and sobs.

Seeing this, the white-haired man quickly stood up and walked towards the blond. He shook him out of his state of shock and looked directly in his eyes. "What happened to Sakura-chan?"

The tension in the air was certainly unbecoming that Ino suddenly felt that she can't breathe. If Naruto was in this state, then this one's definitely not a prank. Something might not be good. Sakura…could…could…Her breathe hitched at that thought. She quickly brushed it off away. That can't be, because Sakura was the most powerful kunoichi she had ever known. She can't possibly…

"She's not breathing…"

It was said in a low, solemn voice but the crystal clear clarity of it all, of that single statement sent shivers down her spine and unclogged her breathing pathways. She released air she didn't she was holding. "Okay, drop the prank, Naruto. It's fine, really. You got us." She laughed it off but the sheer, genuine way of the blond boy's words struck her that she can't help but crack her voice on the last word.

But Naruto gave no response. No 'just kidding!', no 'got ya-dattebayo!'. And in that one second of sudden realization, Ino jumped off outside the window, leaped in the high roofs and made her way towards the hospital.

She was in a dark place.

Sakura scoffed. Before, she was identified with the vibrant spring and the cherry blossoms but now, it seemed like everything faded to black, darkness and void. She should have been named Yami Haruno and her hair should have been as dark as night.

"Where the hell am I?!" She threw her arms up in the air with her exasperation, and only then did she realize that what she heard was not her voice.

"WHO'S THERE?!" Panicked, she spun around but saw no one but the combination of the dead silence and the eerie echo of her shout sent shivers down her spine. There it was again, that child's voice. Scared, she covered her face and eyes with her palms and sat down. Something wasn't right. Maybe she was under a genjutsu. Where the hell was Inner Sakura when you needed her the most? She should be here…blanketing everything with…darkness.

Bile rose to her throat at the fact that the place was already black and her inner personality was of the same hue. But she was outlined with white! She reiterated that but only found hopelessness growing in her chest when she can't found a single speck of the white color.

She looked up…none.

She looked right…nope.

She looked left…no.

She looked down…what the! She saw her feet. But it wasn't hers. It was smaller. She looked at her arms. It was small too. What on Earth was happening now? She touched her arms. She touched her face. They were all smaller. Maybe she was in someone else's body? That was the only possible and logical reason that this was happening to her. maybe she was still in a genjutsu? But her hand finally landed on a long strand of her.

Pink.

Her hue kind of pink.

And that was when an epiphany finally dawned upon her. She was back into being a child.

She heard some sniffling. She looked towards the source of the sound with hope brimming into her eyes. Maybe she could get some help to return back into being her teenage self again. There! At her front was a child sitting on the ground. His forehead was on his knees and he was crying. She took a step forward. And then another. And then she reached him.

It was in that moment that she saw him. He had the distinct red hair she knew too well. This person. He was the one who pinned her to a tree and almost killed her. Gaara. He looked at her, his pale blue-green eyes flushing with tears. She was utterly shocked to find him in that state that it made her stumble back and silence her raging thought processes. Why on Earth that the indomitable Gaara of the Sand was crying?

She took another step forward, braving herself and the moment her foot touched the ground, color quickly oozed out of it and blanketed everything. She gazed as the void suddenly made sense. There was a background. It was night and they were in an empty street, sand was everywhere and she was with Gaara and other children were behind him, laughing at him.

"Monster!" One accused as he pushed the redhead on the ground, making Gaara kneel in the concrete, grazing the skin and making it bleed. Suddenly, regret and an unexplained feeling exploded in her chest. It was like everything clicked into place. Sympathy washed over her and she found herself slapping the bastard that pushed Gaara. The kid looked towards her, crying and holding his red cheeks and then all of the children around them scampered off.

She braved herself and walked towards the kneeling form and held out her hands, smiling encouragingly. "Let's play, Gaara-kun."

And as soon as those words escaped her lips, a whirl of images suddenly swirled her mind that it paralyzed her in her spot. These scenes…these scenes were unfamiliar to her, scenes that never clicked into place. There was her, there was her mother and father but one wrong thing about it all was the background. It just doesn't make any sense. There were a lot of sands, long cloaks and a house that she never lived in.

"ARGHHHH!" She screamed and she woke up with a start, gasping and gulping for air. It was all confusing that in a span of seconds, she found herself crying and struggling against the feel of cloth in her skin, flailing her arms and legs in the air.

"SAKURA!" Ino shouted when she was able to get some response from the previously breathless body that made her suddenly stop from her healing stance and hugged her best friend for dear life. Sakura was still squirming and still not relenting from her hold. Memories of their childhood, friendship, rivalry and finally, reconciliation suddenly flash-backed into her mind in a kaleidoscope tunnel vision. She can't let her budding flower wilt just for nothing. She can't lose her. Just when she was able to heal their broken bond, this happened. Just when…just when…Lost in her thoughts, she soon found herself bawling over with mixed emotions. Relief, happiness, worry and many other spectrum of emotions washed over her. "S-Sak-kur-ra…" Her voice was breaking with each stutter. "S-Sakur-ra, shhh. Everything'g going t-to b-be alright…" She tightened her hold against her, pleading with all of her heart. "I-I'm h-here…please…"

Her voice was barely a whisper but that was enough to calm her down. The squirming stopped and her patient's ragged breathing turned into a sobbing one. It was a start because no matter how ragged her breathing was, at least she was breathing. She was alive. Her friend was alive. Ino felt that there was something hugging her and she sighed in relief. Sakura finally snapped out of her panic. However, she was still sobbing and she hiccuped against the blonde. Ino gently rubbed the pink-haired kunoichi in the back. It was a while when the crying stopped and she was glad that her former rival finally settled down.

"Ino-chan…" Ino's eyes bulged out. Had it not been for the fact that Ino was hugging Sakura, she would have fallen down to the ground. It had been such a long time since she heard those two words from Sakura's mouth and most of all, it was the tone that had her doubting her hearing. It was all like when they were children when she was the fearful girl with no confidence she protected from the bullies.

Maybe she was hallucinating. Sakura would sooner slit her own neck than call her with that suffix and with such affection at that. Yeah, that must be it. Maybe hours of fatigue and chakra draining made her senses blurry. Yeah, that must be it. There's just no possible reason that Sakura would address her like old times.

"…"

"Ino-chan?" There! There it was again. She, Ino Yamanaka was not hallucinating. She drew away from the Fifth Hokage's apprentice. And stared at her like a hawk.

"Okay, mind explaining to me why you suddenly decided to call me…" She can't even say it. "…I-Ino-chan-n...Did you have some near-death revelation that somehow turned you into a saint?" She rambled on, eyes shifting from different angles in her discomfort. This was way weird.

"I-I'm s-s-so-o-r-ry…" Sakura's eyes started to water again. She must have taken some huge blows to the head for her to act this way.

"Okay, spill it. What are you planning, Billboard Brow?" Okay, if coaxing wasn't going to work, then goading and teasing her would definitely do the job. Ino watched as the stranger creature in the bed suddenly cringed. Wait, cringed? Last time she checked, Sakura would throw her kunais if she ever so mentioned the word brow. But now? This? God, there must be something more serious going on inside that wide forehead of hers.

She just sat there, twiddling with her fingers like a shy and innocent child she was. Ino's patience finally snapped. Here she was, desperately trying hard to bring her back into life and what? As a repayment, she will be tricked? Na uh! She internally scoffed. If Sakura was the person she was, this was nothing but a mere trick to fool her into doing something.

Ino marched towards her foolish patient and raised her hands in the air. Then she slapped her right across the cheek. The sound of the skin against skin echoed across the whole room and only then did she realize from the gasps and murmurs that they were not alone. But enough of that, she will deal with then later.

"Stop it." She accused, glaring at Sakura. The bitch had it coming. And any second now, she will reveal her true colors and stupid schemes. Sakura will definitely retort something that would grate her nerves as revenge.

But she didn't.

Sakura paused. She just stared at her with genuine shock in her eyes, lips pursed but her throat whimpered. Her eyes were screaming the betrayed and hurt as it started brimming with tears. She bowed down her head and said what probably another shocker to Ino's life. "I'm sorry, Ino-chan."

Something clicked into place. Sakura wasn't faking it. She wasn't faking anything. And for the life of Ino, it had been her that was the bitch to her best friend. Sakura really had that life-changing near-death realization. Regret tugged at her chest and with no holds barred, she wrapped the slumping form in the hospital bed, muttering apologies.

"T-Thank-k y-you…" God, Sakura could make Hinata run for her money with her stuttering.

"No, thank you…Sa-ku-ra." And Ino spoke her name with the affection of a loving best friend.

"Okay, can we please stop all the theatrics?" Shikamaru suddenly cut in. This display of overly dramatic near-death reconciliation was truly a drag. Troublesome friendships. Troublesome women. Troublesome Ino and Sakura.

Ino, feeling the sudden urge to defend the female species, suddenly stood up and politely withdrew herself from her best friend. She steeled herself to antagonize the so-called genius lazy ass. "Oh, you, Shika…loves." She said in a sing-song, teasing voice.

The Shadow Imitation Technique user grimaced in such a way that he looked like he was punched directly in the stomach. Ino smirked in triumph. She won this round. Everybody knew that he cursed that term with all of his heart, the term Temari uses to address him like a puppy. Honestly, what does that prudent and serious four-pig-tailed Suna kunoichi saw in him? The laziness? Guess Ino overestimated her standards.

The door swung open and everybody froze from their spot. There, standing by the white hospital door was none other than Uzumaki Naruto, holding a cup of instant ramen and parading behind him were a dozen or so giggly girls vying for his attention. No wonder Sakura was stressed. And no wonder Hinata was nowhere within the ten mile radius.

"SAKURA-CHAANNN!" The idiot blond jumped towards the girl sitting on the bed. Ino quickly stepped in front of him and stopped Naruto from ruining all of her efforts taking care of Sakura. Come on, she used almost all of her chakra putting this girl in one piece and no way in hell that she will allow some ramen-inhaling idiot ruin her job by squishing the life out of her.

"What, are you missing Sasuke? Don't worry, Foxy, he'll be back for you and you can do the cutesy stuff. Believe it!" She smirked.

Naruto stopped from his tracks and stepped back, balancing his cup of sodium in his hand. It seemed like he has forgotten all about it. And that was a good thing, really. But it could soak them in a soppy, sticky and tangy noodle mess. And that was a bad thing.

"That Teme! Leaving all of a sudden!" He stomped his foot on the tile floor, throwing his arms into the air. Luckily, that idiot was a ninja with keen senses or his ramen would have spilled on the pristine hospital floor, thereby spill his ramen-induced blood if the news reached the ears of Lady Tsunade.

"Okay, girls scamper off or I'll skin you all alive." Speak of the devil. A loud shuffling of feet ran down the hallways. "Sakura, everyone, I'll get to the point."

Temari sighed.

Eight hours ago, she was within the confines of their home, trying to discover the meaning of life in the cold of the midnight in her room. She could still remember what she thought when she was shuffling about in her bed. God, this was way too peaceful. I almost miss the wars. But, she actually didn't wish that. She just missed the adrenaline coursing in her vines when she was fighting rouge shinobis or the thrill that went down her spine due to the excitement of another mission. After the war, she tried settling for the home life. It was boring and life-threatening. Life threatening in a way, that when she tried cooking, the stove almost fried the living daylights out of her. She tried sweeping the floor with the broom. It hurt her back, so she used her fan. The house ended up with more dust and sand, and the sofa went flying towards the toilet. She tried watering the plants only to realize that—damn—they're in a freaking desert. There were no flowers in their barely there garden, just lumps of prickly cactus that may or may not hold a poison. And she ain't doing it.

So...

When his oh-so loveable brother offered her something, she quickly agreed to it, thinking it was an exciting thing or any excuse of leaving this place, not knowing that she will face ten times the boredom she had at home. Back in the present, she was stuck in the Kazekage's office, being the temporary replacement she eagerly agreed being to. Damn that Gaara, tricking her into doing this—she momentarily shot a glare towards the mountains of paperwork—job. Just what, where, why, when and how did he learn to be a manipulative and a tricking prick? And where the hell was Kankuro when you needed him? God, men were nothing but lazy asses, with nothing in their balls but swelling pride and ego, that when insulted, had them ruffling their hairs.

'Hypocrite.' A voice inside her head suddenly told her. What, she's a jincchuuriki now too? Okay, calm down, Temari. You should know any better that you were the one having these weird googly eyes to the top tier, most lazy ass of them all. Shikamaru. She didn't know what on Earth did she ever see in that guy. Maybe the pineapple head. Nah, too fruity. The eyes? Nope, too droopy. The hell! How could she know! It's just there, okay?

And where the hell was Gaara going to? He woke her up in the middle of the night, clad only in his boxers and holding the freaking teddy bear, shaking like he's going to kill somebody and beads of sweat trickling down his face. Of course, being the martyred sister she was, she asked out of blessed concern but he didn't answer her. Instead, he changed the subject when he offered her this.

This…

Which got her back to her current position. Damn, she'll never forget this day. Those boys of hers will definitely pay the price for ditching her.

Gaara was travelling.

He didn't know what came into him but he just got the feeling that he should head to Konoha quickly. Something must have happened. After he had that disturbing dream of Sakura, he knew something was wrong with her. He felt it in his gut and the heavy feeling that down casted upon him the moment he sat up from bed, had him hugging the teddy bear and waking Temari in the middle of the night. This was it. This was the reason he didn't want to sleep. He just got nightmares. And…and…and…

He momentarily stopped and grasped his head with both of his hands. What was happening to him? Was he going crazy again? Has Shukaku repossessed him? No! No! No! That can't be. The Ichibi was extracted from him. But he could still hear something. There were whispers speaking in the back of his mind. They were incoherent but they were there, goading him into something. What was it? Why can't the voices stop? It was like they were talking with each other in a very fast way and he can't comprehend anything. Please, stop it! Stop it!

"Let's play, Gaara-kun." His eyes snapped opened and he stopped grasping his head. Those words again. It echoed among the voices and in that split second, everything was silenced. The voices were gone. He rejoiced on that fact. His mind was quiet and peaceful and he felt himself calm down.

Only then did he realize that he was still within the sand terrains. That can't be good. For some unknown reason, he has to reach Konoha as much as possible. This trip would last three days and the most he could got from this when he rush was two. That should suffice enough.

He has to reach her. He has to ask her something. Who was she to him? Why does she appear before him in his nightmares? Why can she stop those voices in his head? Was it a jutsu? Was it her medical expertise? Why did she do it, ask for him to play with her? She reached her hands towards him. She smiled with encouragement. Why was her eyes held both innocence and bravery? And why, why must be the mere sight of her had his breathes ragged and chest constricted?