"I heard the Kazekage's coming to visit."
"What about this time?"
"Oh, just about the usual business I suppose."
"Haven't you heard? When he was nearly killed by assassins, it was a woman here who nursed him back to health. He's come to marry her, I'll bet."
Sakura snorted as she handed her coins over to the merchant in exchange for apples. "Ridiculous."
The gaggle of women turned to glare at her and returned to their gossip.
"Who is it? Who is this woman?"
"Just a regular woman."
"No, a nurse, I heard."
"I heard she's actually blind. She had no idea it was the Kazekage she was taking care of all this time."
Sakura grimaced. Maybe there was some truth to gossip after all. Had she ever really realized what it meant, that Gaara was Kazekage? In a way, she supposed she had been blind. Blind to reality.