Kankuro sighed in content from the shade Gaara conjured up from the sand. The makeshift shelter Gaara made out of Suna's sand provided the shade necessary for himself, Gaara and Naruto to cool off under after their heated sparring that morning. They laid down, enjoying the shade.

"Damn Naruto, I can't believe you broke my puppet!"

The blonde laughed knowing how annoyed Kankuro got if anyone destroyed his only puppet. He knew Kankuro was still working on his other puppets so he only had one in hand at the moment but still, despite being a puppeteer Kankuro was still a scary opponent with his chakra strings.

"You made a crack in my gourd" Gaara says quietly but Naruto and Kankuro could tell the redhead was impressed from what the Konoha-nin had accomplished as his tone was less monotone than usual.

"What can I say? I'm a great ninja!" boasts Naruto proudly.

Kankuro rolled his eyes, "But still Naruto, you're really getting better and better. We've sparred against each other since the Sasuke Retrieval Mission but it's almost like every single spar is different. You keep doing new moves or changing the way you do things that it makes it hard to figure out what your attack pattern is."

Naruto grinned, "I'm not called Konoha's most unpredictable ninja for nothing!"

"For a ninja, unpredictability can be a really good thing. Makes you difficult to gauge" says Gaara. "It's a good quality to have."

Naruto smiled but Kankuro noticed that the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Is something the matter Naru-otoutou?"

The blonde smiled a little bit more at the address Kankuro called him but he shook his head.

"I'm fine"

Kankuro frowned, sitting up. "Your eyes are bloodshot. You kept looking over at Sakura during breakfast and only when she left to go shopping with the girls, you became more relaxed. What happened with you and Sakura?"

Gaara sat up, seeing his fellow jinchuriki form a more troubled expression, "You can tell us."

Naruto sighed deeply, slowly sitting up to take the time to gather his thoughts.

"Sakura confessed to me."

Kankuro blinked in surprise but before he could say anything, Naruto continued.

"I rejected her as gently as I could but I still feel guilty because her eyes looked puffy, I think I made her cry all night..."

Gaara put a comforting hand on Naruto's shoulder which made the blonde look at his friend in surprise but managed a small smile in return, feeling proud that Gaara was expressing himself more despite the fact his gestures were small. The gestures were a good start for the usually stoic guy.

"Naru-otoutou"

The pre-teen looked up and saw a firm look on the older male's face.

"You may have rejected her but you shouldn't feel bad for being honest. Wouldn't it be worse if you had accepted her when you didn't feel the same way? What you did was a good thing and Sakura just has to get over the fact she didn't get what she wanted. You need to stop feeling guilty. This thing should not interfere in your teamwork and cause a rift between you two. Got it?"

Naruto sighed at his words, "You make it sound easy."

"Matters of the heart is never easy" scoffed Kankuro.

Naruto laughed, "That is so cheesy to say!"

"It's the truth!"

"Still sounds lame!"

Kankuro scowled and Naruto just grinned.

"Are you feeling better now?" Gaara asks softly, squeezing his friend's shoulder.

Naruto smiled and moved his hand to Gaara's, "Much, thank you and thank you aniki."

Kankuro smirked, "Anytime"

Temari sighed for the twentieth time today. Shopping was horrible. Sakura had been moody and depressed during breakfast so she dragged the pinkette and Sasuke on a shopping trip to cheer her up but Sakura had just been unbearable to talk too. An aura of melancholy surrounded her figure and she said depressing things whenever anybody talked to her. Hell, even Sasuke looked worried for his teammate.

Speaking of Sasuke, Temari had to admit that the boy-turned-girl had a good sense of style and taste. She wasn't sure if Sasuke always had this fashion sense but she didn't seem uncomfortable giving Temari opinions on what she should match her clothes with. In fact, she seemed in her element.

Sasuke really had this female thing down.

Now, it was the afternoon and the three girls were in a cafe with handfuls of shopping bags. They sat down at a table and ordered what they wanted. After gathering her thoughts, Temari spoke.

"Sakura, could you please tell us what is the matter? It's your vacation but you're moping. Please?"

Sakura sighed heavily and said in a voice so quiet Temari had to strain herself to hear the pinkette.

"I confessed to Naruto and he rejected me."

Sasuke heard this too and pursed her lips thoughtfully, on one hand she was thrilled that Sakura was now out of the competition for Naruto's affections but on the other hand it didn't sit well with her that the pinkette was so upset.

Although this is a much less dramatic reaction compared to the one she had when I turned into a girl...

"Sakura...I get what you're feeling and hey I understand that you need time to get over it but please don't let this rejection ruin your vacation. You should be enjoying yourself and resting okay?"

Sakura sniffled and meekly nodded her head in response.

Temari moved her hand to squeeze the pinkette's own hand to comfort her causing the girl to sniffle.

Sasuke kept quiet until a sudden memory came to her.

Flashback

"Gomenesai Sasuke-kun"

The small boy of 6 looked upset at the girl's words.

"Why? Hina...I love you...I fell in love with you from the moment I met you..."

"I don't feel the same" the Hyuuga told him firmly. "I love your brother."

Sasuke froze, "W-what?"

"I'm engaged to your brother Sasuke" she tells him. "Didn't your parents tell you?"

The boy didn't say anything. He turned and ran away from Hinata who had tears in her eyes too.

Itachi...why?!

Why him?!

Why is it always him?!

This is unfair!

End of Flashback

Sasuke snapped out of it when water was thrown at her face.

"Get a hold of yourself!"

The pale-skinned kuniochi opened her eyes to meet Temari's.

"You okay?"

It was then when Sasuke realized she was lying on the floor. She slowly sat up and Temari watched her.

"You screamed and fell to the floor. You were holding your head in pain for a while. Remember any of that?"

The albino girl shook her head and her pinkette teammate held out her hand, casting a worried gaze as she helped her teammate to her feet.

Temari stood up and studied Sasuke as she sat down in her chair again, "What do you remember?"

"I-I had a flashback from my childhood. Something I think was buried in my head long ago."

Temari frowned, sitting down also, "Does this flashbacks ever happen before?"

"Yes but not like this...never this bad. It was a powerful memory."

"What was it?" Sakura asked, curious now.

"It's personal."

Temari sighed again for the twenty-first time today. It was Sasuke's business after all.

"Regardless, you shouldn't take whatever is going on with you lightly."

Sakura nodded in agreement but Sasuke didn't answer. Instead she stared into space. In a while, she finally spoke.

"When we go back to Konoha, I'll talk to someone."

For the first time that day, Sakura smiled. She was relieved her teammate was seeking help. Even though they had their differences, she did care about Sasuke.