Words of Wisdom

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× Chapter Start ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

Sakura stood at the back of her team, all remaining teams were around her standing in rows. She could almost breathe a sigh of relief that she had gotten done rather later in the round. This provided her with time to think about her visit in the forest. She glanced at Gaara, he was standing in the front of his team. He had seen the same thing as her, before he had even come to the village he was told by another worldly creature to seek her out. She had seen the type of destruction he could create, the mass panic that ensued at his flares of temper, but she had also been shown how he fought it off for her. He struggled against something inside him like never before just for her sake. She couldn't help but let it touch her heart…even if only just a little.

Gaara however, was not pleased with her untimely arrival. He had known that it was going to take her longer than it would take him but when she didn't show up after the first day his patience quickly wore thin. He had been able to let out some of his frustration in the forest. The stupid team that challenged them were mere child's play, he could have done it in his sleep. The demon snickered at the faces of the ninja he killed. They had given up their scroll and begged for their lives but Gaara knew not to listen to them anymore. The Shukaku hardly even had to remind its host to do its bidding, until the girl came into the picture at least.

But even so, it hadn't been enough. His body still twitched and ached for another battle. He needed a fight again, and a good one at that. His siblings had seen the change in him much like they were accustomed to and kept their distance from him. He preferred it this way. Seeing the way Sakura was when she walked in didn't help his temper either. He knew it would be this way, she would be gone too long and she would emerge from the forest dirty and battered with her team looking the same. He came out without as much as a scuff of dirt on his clothes. She could have been the same if she hadn't told him to leave her be.

He had glanced over in her direction when the official asked if anyone would forfeit before the third round. All he wanted was to see if she would raise her hand, which she did try. Gaara knew it wasn't for her sake though, something had happened to them in the forest, they looked like they had gone through something much different than a normal battle. She was concerned for her team mate, which didn't sit too well with him, and when she attempted to raise her hand he swatted it down and seemed to speak bitterly with her. It made his blood boil. If anything he wished to fight two people, that team mate of hers she was concerned for and whoever had done that to her in the forest. At the thought of the battles soon to come the sand in his gourd stirred and caused its container to quake on his back. Temari and Kankuro noticed this and saw the people standing next to them give them skeptical looks. Gaara had the crazy eyes again and his siblings pitied anyone who had to face him.

….after Sakura's fight….

Sakura looked at herself in the mirror, her hands stroking through her freshly shortened hair. It didn't look too bad, she had shorter hair when she was younger and it seemed to work then. She was going to have her mom touch it up when she finally got home, she was good with hair and a scissors would be better kuni for hair any day. She sighed, maybe it was time for a change. This were going to be changing after all. She had lost her fight and when Naruto and Sasuke became chunnine's and moved on she was going to start her medical training as soon as she could. She wouldn't be with a team anymore and the thought made her heart ache. She wasn't entirely sure if wanted all the change.

After Ino had talked with her in the bathroom she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go back to the arena either. She wondered if anyone would notice, or care, that she just stayed in the bathroom until it was time to go home, but she couldn't do that, it would be too pitiful.

"New hair cut huh?"

Sakura looked up to find the woman from Gaara's team standing in the doorway. She must have been a few years older than him, she was taller, had more womanly features, and a smoother more mature voice. She gave Sakura a smirk and walked in the bathroom.

"Why's you get it cut?" she asked as she leaned against the counter next to her.

Sakura didn't really know what to say to this woman, especially after such a casual approach. "Well," she mumbled as she touched her short locks. "It just kind of happened. One of those spontaneous things, you know?"

"Oh yeah I know," she said with a smile, Sakura wasn't all too convinced it was real. "Your name is Sakura right?"

"Yeah," she said with a nod.

"I'm Temari." She held out a hand and Sakura shook it slight skepticism.

"I heard you were the first team finished with the last round," she said after a moment. "How did you guys manage to beat the record by so much?"

Temari laughed. It seemed more genuine than her smile at least. "Well passing stuff like that is a breeze with Gaara." She seemed almost proud when she spoke.

"Why's that?" Sakura asked, she had been curious after hearing that they had been the first ones to arrive at the tower and in such a record time as well.

Temari's expression shifted and she her voice became more serious. "That's what I came in here for. I need to talk to you about him."

Sakura felt her heart skip a beat. "Why would you have to do that?" she questioned, trying to keep an even tone.

Temari made it obvious that she wasn't buying. She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look, I know my little brother has been sneaking off to see you-"

"Little brother?" Sakura interrupted.

"Yeah, Gaara is my little brother. Kankuro is our brother too."

"Oh," she said as she thought back on all the times they had talked. She even brought up his family and he hadn't mentioned them "I guess he didn't say anything about siblings."

Temari gave a small laugh but there was an evident let down in her eyes. "Yeah, that doesn't surprise me. If he had it his way he wouldn't have any."

"So," Sakura began nervously. "What is it you needed to talk with me about?"

"I know that he thinks he needs to be around you for some purpose he hasn't quite figured out yet, which I never thought I would hear from him. I just thought I should check in with you."

"What do you want to know?"

She looked Sakura dead in the eyes and spoke in a low voice, it demanded a truthful answer. "Do you know what he is Sakura?"

She hesitated for a moment but nodded her head. "Yes, I do."

"Did he tell you?"

"No, I encountered something in the forest, it said it was spirit or something. I don't really know what I saw, but it told me what he was." Her voice became hushed as she recalled the creature and the feeling it emitted; like she was basking in its very soul.

Temari breathed a sigh. "Sakura," she said as she moved closer and quieted her voice. "Gaara is very unstable. These exams only make his demon worse. Do you know what he's capable of?"

"I was sort of told by the spirit. It showed me."

Temari chuckled and shook her head. "Oh hunny, just wait till you see it first-hand. That kid changes into someone else, almost into something else. To be honest, I'm shocked he hasn't killed you yet."

Sakura took no offence to her blunt statement and just nodded in agreement. She couldn't help but agree after all. After seeing what he had done in the past she realized how close to death she had been the entire time without even knowing how easily he could have done it had how he wouldn't have cared at all.

"I'm serious Sakura," she said as her tone became more gentle, almost worried. "I wish he wasn't like this, Gaara shouldn't have had that happen to him and our village should have treated him better, they only helped mold him into the bitter person he is now. He's got a voice in his head that tells him to do things and he listens to it. He's crazy Sakura, I just wanted to make sure you were watching yourself."

"I'm sure he won't do anything with me Temari, but thank you for your concern."

"He says something is coming, has he spoken to you about it?"

She nodded. "Yeah, the first night he spoke to me."

"I've noticed some suspicious things around since we've gotten here. I can't say for sure but I plan on looking into them. I need something from you though."

"What is it?"

Temari took a breath before she spoke in a solemn tone. "Gaara has a nasty habit of doing a lot of impulsive things and it only digs him a deeper hole in the eyes of our leaders. For some reason, since we arrived here he hasn't done anything like that. I didn't see him get that look in his eye until we ran into a team in the forest. I don't know if it's because of you or what, but I need you to try and keep him away from things like that, kind of keep him out of trouble. I think it might be good for him."

Sakura thought about how Gaara had been hesitant to leave her alone in the forest and he seemed to not enjoy the idea of her being on her own. If she was a good enough distraction from his normal thoughts of carnage and bloodlust than maybe that was her purpose with him. While he was here at least…

"Okay."

Temari nodded and gave her a quick smile. "We never talked, got it?" she said in a stern voice. Sakura nodded. As she turned to leave she looked back over her shoulder. "By the way, he's been looking kind of rough since we got to the tower, I suggest watching him closely; it's good to have somewhat of an idea of what you're dealing with here."

With that she left and Sakura gave herself a minute to think through her encounter with his sister before moving back to the arena. She wondered who he would be up against, if it would be someone from her village or someone she had never seen before. Whoever it may be, she didn't envy them one bit.

….

After Sakura had seen Gaara fight she understood what Temari had been talking about and she believed the visions she was shown more than ever. He stayed true to Temari's word and looked like he had become someone else entirely. His eyes showed the turmoil that raged under his blank expression and casual stance. He was breaking with the need to fight when he entered the ring, and when Lee laid the first hit she saw him snap. His eyes became wild and demonic and his breathing was labored with shallow breaths. She had seen it in his eyes, he had intended on killing Lee, if his sensie hadn't stepped in than he would have been a dead man. The way he toyed with him and played with his raged body after Lee had exhausted almost all of his energy was pitiful and hard to watch.

She didn't know what to expect when the sand he used seem to take on a life of its own. It was like Gaara didn't even have to fight, the sand did everything for him. Sakura had no idea how in tune he was with his sand, it moved with him unlike anything he had ever seen before. It was beautiful and horrifying, a wonder to comprehend and something she dared not question. She thought back to when he told her he could do anything with his sand, at the time she had thought nothing of it but now, after seeing him use it battle she couldn't deny his statement. She envisioned him in the desert, surrounded by an endless expanse of sand to control. In the forest it was displayed on such a small scale, she thought with twisted fascination about what he could do if he was in his natural element; the possibilities were dizzying to try and think about. He was just one man yet he held the power of hundreds at his disposal.

Temari had warned her about the outcomes of the power she had seen commanded by such an unstable mind. Her warning was well placed and as Sakura moved back through the forest with her team she tried to figure out how she would confront Gaara later. She had avoided him as best as she could, she knew that he had noticed, and stayed as close to her teacher and team as she could. He would not attempt to talk to her around other people so she knew he would keep his distance for the time being. But nothing could save her tonight. He would come to her house and she would have no choice but to confess that she knew what he was and the type of power, and evil, that he possessed. She had until nightfall to figure it out, and until then she tried not to think about the look of evil in his eyes.

×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛× Chapter End ×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×▬▬▬×愛×

I know this chapter is short but I thought it would be nice to have a little time with Sakura and Temari, and of course Sakura needed to finally see Gaara use his sand and sort through her thoughts on that. What will happen next…?