Standard disclaimers apply. I'm just borrowing these characters for a little while.

Author's note: Kishimoto-sensei's plan is to fit the entire 4th Shinobi War Arc into a matter of days in the Naruto timeline, but I'm taking the liberty of extending it since war is never so quick and clean-cut. Events from the manga will be added, removed or shifted around. Please pardon my impudence.

The title of 'Kazehime' is a fandom invention, which I'm going to borrow.

Sakura was once again lulled to sleep by the warmth of the sand-cat against her neck last night.

Privately, she argued with herself that Gaara's robes which she had once again wrapped herself in had nothing to do with keeping her toes nice and toasty.

She snapped awake the moment she remembered Gaara's words about the sand-cat last night. Turning her head to the side, she was fully expecting to see a pile of sand where Mr. Fluffy-kins once was.

She was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, when she saw that not only was the sand-cat still curled up against her, it had even managed to turn even more cat-like overnight. When the cat got up and placed a paw on her cheek, it was looking at her with glass-like green eyes where there was once mere sand.

Sakura sat up at once, startling the sand-cat. She beckoned it over, and ran her hands down the red tabby pattern on its back; some red sand or minerals must have been mixed into the cat. Then glancing around to make sure that Gaara was not in the tent, she promptly lifted Mr. Fluffy-kin's tail and looked hard.

You know, just in case its name had to be changed to Miss Fluffy-kins.

"Gaara-sama?" A female voice called from outside the tent.

Sakura immediately threw off Gaara's robes and gave herself the once-over, glad to see that she had at least worn her shinobi outfit to bed last night. She quickly ran her fingers through her hair a few times to tame the sleep-mussed locks as she made for the tent entrance.

It took Sakura a moment to place the kunoichi standing before her – she knew that she had seen the girl somewhere previously.

"Matsuri?" She ventured.

The Suna kunoichi nodded, and gave a slight bow in acknowledgement of Sakura's rank, "Good morning, Sakura-sama."

"Just Sakura, please."

"Is Gaara-sama around?" Matsuri asked.

It was then that Sakura noticed the tray that Matsuri was carrying. There were two covered plates on it, and a pitcher of what she assumed to be fruit juice.

"It the day we break camp and move out, so the Suna kunoichis decided that Gaara-sama should get a good breakfast," explained Matsuri, "We made this ourselves, and of course, we've not forgotten the Kazekage's personal medic."

Sakura tried to read Matsuri's body language to see if there was any hidden hostility against her, knowing how much the Suna kunoichis adored their Kazekage. However, there was surprisingly none.

"The Kazekage has gone for a morning walk, but I'll be glad to let him know what his kunoichis have done for him," Sakura reached out and took the tray from Matsuri, who relinquished it without any protest.

She was expecting Matsuri to leave now that her task was completed, but the Suna kunoichi lingered, shuffling from one foot to the other. There was definitely askance in Matsuri's eyes when she finally looked up.

Here it comes, Sakura internally sighed.

"Sakura, the other kunoichis and I want to know…" Matsuri had her hands clasped together in front of herself, looking uncertain if she should continue.

Ah, what the heck. A Suna kunoichi should always speak her mind, especially when it came to matters involving the opposite sex.

"Does Gaara-sama really have a python in his pants?" Matsuri blurted out just a little too loudly.

Sakura almost dropped the tray in embarrassment. This was not the most mortifying question she had even had posed to her in her entire medic career, but it certainly made the top ten.

Fighting the blush on her cheeks, she replied in as professional a tone as she could muster – "That's doctor-patient confidentiality."

It was a fib, of course – she had never seen Gaara that naked. But she really, really did not want to spend another second longer talking to a kunoichi that she barely knew about Gaara's… measurements.

Matsuri grinned, "So, does that mean he does?"

"Again, doctor-patient confidentiality."

Please go away, please, please, PLEASE go away...

Matsuri gave a little fangirlish squeal then was practically ready to skip off to share the 'news' with her fellow kunoichis when Sakura stopped her.

"Matsuri, I must admit that I'm a little surprised that you didn't ask me about the other rumours."

"The one about you being a Konoha bridal offering, the one where you are supposed to be messing around with Nara-san, or the one about you sleeping with the Kazekage?"

There goes that phrase again. And when did the rumour mill decided to spew out the one about her and Shikamaru?

"The first and last one," Sakura replied. She figured that if she didn't go off chatting with Shikamaru in private again for say, the remainder of the war, the rumour would die off eventually.

Matsuri gave her a dismissive wave of her hand, saying, "Gaara-sama is a man, and if he decides to have a fling here and there, it's only natural. By the end of the day, according to tradition, he has to marry a Suna bride."

Too surprised by her flippant attitude towards Gaara's lifestyle choices, Sakura could only stare open-mouthed at Matsuri's retreating figure.

And that was the exact position Gaara found her in when he approached their shared tent.

"Haruno-san," his voice snapped her awake and caused her to look to him, "Do you have idea why Matsuri was looking at me like I was a piece of meat just now?"

Sakura had to be contented with the fact that the blush on her face was not going to go away anytime soon, so she merely shook her head and headed back into the tent.

Setting the tray on the table and deliberately avoiding Gaara's questioning gaze, she replied, "Don't your kunoichis usually look at you that way? They are positively smitten by you."

"I do my best not to notice. Acknowledgement would only be misconstrued as encouragement."

"By the way, Matsuri and your other kunoichis made this breakfast for us."

Gaara did not appear surprised by the gesture – he merely walked around the table and took the lid off both plates. Breakfast looked to be stuffed omelette.

Then Gaara did the strangest thing: he touched his fingers to the tray and held them there, and Sakura did not need the Byakugan to know that he was channeling chakra for poison detection.

He trusts you.

… She really did not need to remember Shikamaru's words right now.

Finally satisfied that the contents on the tray were not tainted, Gaara withdrew his hand and gestured to an empty chair.

"Have a seat, Sakura."

She pulled the chair up to sit across Gaara and watched as he started to make short work of his breakfast. Despite his passive expression, Sakura could tell that he was really enjoying it if the rate that his omelette was disappearing was anything to go by.

"What kind is this?" She asked, poking her own omelette with a fork.

"Omelette stuffed with salted tongue."

Sakura dropped her fork with an embarrassingly loud clatter. Gaara gave her a puzzled look, unsure of why she was turning an interesting shade of green.

"It's… different from what we have in Konoha," she quickly explained in an attempt to cover up her disgust, and proceeded to start on the safer-looking salad on the side, "But I take it that you like it?"

Gaara nodded, and they continued to eat in silence for a while before Sakura's curiosity could no longer be kept at bay.

"Matsuri was telling me that your kunoichis don't pay attention to the rumours about us because you're expected to marry a Suna woman," she said, "And also, you're entitled to go around having flings, including with your personal medic."

It was a good thing Sakura knew the Heimlich Maneuver, otherwise the Kazekage would have been killed by a piece of egg that became mysteriously stuck in his windpipe. And Haruno Sakura would have gone down in history as "The first medic-nin to stand by idly while the Fifth Kazekage choked to death on an omelette".

When Gaara finally recovered enough to talk, his voice was controlled, "Whatever my predecessors chose to do, Sakura, I can assure you I'm not of like mindedness."

"Men of power automatically attract women."

"Well, this 'man of power' here does not believe in sexual exploitation."

"A Kage is expected to get married eventually, though."

Gaara frowned, "It's a ridiculous notion to entertain when I am not even of legal drinking age."

"Well, your kunoichis all seem very keen to become your Kazehime."

"To further one's standing in the shinobi world?"

"Actually, I think it has more to do with your good looks and personality."

Gaara blinked at her response, and it took Sakura a second to realise what she had just said.

"I mean… your hair colour is pretty exotic. Your eyes are an interesting shade of teal. Plus, you have that whole strong, silent personality type that a lot of women go for. Not to mention, you genuinely care about the welfare of your people. Girls are completely into that sort of dedication, but only if it's directed toward them."

Gaara only response was a snort of disbelief.

"I'm too young to think about marriage," he replied, "Besides, none of the kunoichis I've met so far have managed to meet my expectations."

"Oh, so you do have a type!" Sakura grinned mischievously, "Care to share what your ideal Kazehime is like, Kazekage-sama?"

Temari was so going to win her bet.

For a moment there, she thought Gaara was not going to answer her. He replaced his fork on his now empty plate, rose from his seat and strode to the middle of the tent, facing away from her. Sakura had to crane her neck to look at him.

"The Kazehime," he began, "Must be able to hold herself above all other women in Sunagakure. She will be the second most important person in the village, and will be expected to assist her husband in the smooth running of Sunagakure, which means stepping into the role of the Kazekage himself when he is away. Diplomatic skills are a must, as she will be in the presence of other Kages and their associates often. She is also expected to produce an heir, preferably within a year of marriage."

"Gaara, you only told me what sort of a woman will be suitable as the Kazehime. You didn't tell me the kind of woman you like."

Gaara smirked at her, "Why are you so interested in this information, Sakura?"

"Call it curiosity." Mentioning Temari and Kankurou's little bet would probably be a bad idea.

"Very well, 'curiosity'. She will have to be ambitious and studious, always looking to better herself. She will have to be able to take care of herself, but at the same time, she should not take offence at my desires to protect her. She has to get along with my impossible siblings," a pause, and finally, "Above all, she must be able to give and receive love unconditionally."

"I think the last condition is going to be a deal-breaker – unconditional love for just one person is hard enough as it is, and you're looking for someone who can love anyone unconditionally?"

"Not just anyone," Gaara's voice became a bit softer, "To me."

"Oh."

Sakura wasn't sure if she was expected to continue the conversation, because she didn't know what direction to take it in. Fortunately, Gaara spoke up before long.

"I am considering bachelorhood, actually. I really don't see what is so appealing about women sometimes, especially when they try to give me unwanted embraces."

Sakura giggled. Given Gaara's past, women would have been an enigma to him. He spent most of his childhood being shunned by everyone, but the moment he became Kazekage, he was suddenly the most eligible bachelor in Sunagakure. No wonder he was confused by the sudden change of attitude that women had towards him.

"What about you?"

"Pardon?"

"What is your ideal man like, Sakura?"

"Why do you want to know?" She asked suspiciously.

"Call it curiosity," he threw her line right back at her.

Well, it was only a fair exchange of harmless information. But in all honesty, Sakura had not given much thought about what her ideal man was like ever since Sasuke's deflection from Konoha – the Sasuke she met years later was a complete stranger to her. Oh, Ino tried to introduce her to a few shinobis and even civilians, but Tsunade kept her so busy all the time that she never really got around to knowing any of them properly.

So what type of man fit her ideal?

The answer came to her a little too quickly for her liking.

Sakura looked down and bowed her head, "I didn't just have an ideal – I had a specific individual in mind."

Gaara nodded in understanding, uttering that forbidden name, "Uchiha Sasuke."

"He was the Boy Genuis that every girl in the village went crazy over, and when I was placed in the same genin team as him, I was beyond thrilled. I thought we had a chance, even after Orochimaru placed the curse seal on him, but in the end, I think what Konoha and I had to offer him was just too little compared to what Orochimaru could give him. I tried to stop him from leaving on the night he deflected from Konoha, but all I got in return was a pressure point press to my back that knocked me out until the next day.

"Naruto promised that he'd being Sasuke back for me, but when that mission was declared a failure, I knew that I couldn't be that little girl who relied on everyone else for something I wanted anymore. I asked Tsunade-shishou to train me, so Naruto would not have to bear the burden of re-forming Team Seven alone. Three years later, we finally caught up with Sasuke, but all we got for our troubles was a severe beat-down."

Unconsciously, she clenched at her heart.

"And after I heard about his attack at the Kage Summit, I knew there was no turning back for him, or us. The Sasuke that I loved was gone, but Naruto was still so determined to bring him back to us. I tried to assassinate him on my own, but Kakashi had to come and save my sorry ass when I couldn't summon the will to deliver a killing blow."

She laughed bitterly at herself, "I guess when the guy you used to love tries to put a hole through your back, it's pretty much over, isn't it?"

Gaara let her relive her memories in silence, and when she had finished, her head remained bowed. The tension in the tent was thick enough to be sliced with a knife.

"Sakura," she still refused to lift her head, but Gaara continued anyway, "It was not failure on your part that led him to commit all these atrocities. He chose this path on his own. And when I fought him at the Kage Summit …"

Sakura's head shot up. She knew that Sasuke surely must have crossed swords with a few of the Kages when he burst in to kill Danzo, but to learn that Gaara had been one of those individuals was news to her.

"He could no longer see the love and friendship he had waiting for him all along. He claims that he has deliberately closed his eyes to even the slightest sliver of light," Gaara paused to look at Sakura, trying to read her expression, "Do you still think he can be saved, so blinded he is by his hatred?"

Sakura did not answer him; he didn't expect her to, anyway.

"The Sasuke I fought after five years was a completely different man – surely a different one from your once-ideal. Perhaps it is time to consider other possibilities."

Sakura nodded mutely, and Gaara was convinced that she had not heard the second part of his sentence. So he decided to give her a little test.

"Have you considered Naruto?"

Sakua blanched. "Are you crazy? Naruto is like a brother to me! A loudmouthed, ramen-chomping, annoying little brother! I'd rather date that socially-malfunctioned Sai!"

"That's the Sakura I know," Gaara smirked.

Sakura blinked, secretly impressed by how quickly Gaara had managed to turn her somber mood into something much lighter with just a single sentence. She didn't know if he was being crafty, or if she was just that easy to read.

"Consider a new ideal, Sakura, and perhaps you can tell me about him some other time."

"Really, Gaara, there are certain things you shouldn't ask a lady."

"At this moment, you are more a friend than a lady."

That was… flattering and insulting all at the same time.

"Very well, Gaara – I shall provide you with this ever so important information as soon as I can, lest we lose the war because you were too busy concerning yourself with your medic's personal life."

"Sarcasm does not become of you, Sakura," but he smiled at her anyway.