Chapter 25

She'd really spoken too soon when she told herself that all what was left in her work was to wait for the Chuunin Exams to start, and that she could justly enjoy a little break from all the hecticness. The lull in her schedule was short-lived. As all her job demands ramped up, so too did her caffeine consumption. And Sakura was again running between hospital shifts and these never-ending coordination meetings that an extra cautious Hokage kept mandating in the three days leading up to the grand event.

She couldn't blame Naruto though for his overly keen attention in every and any detail concerning the entire process. The stakes were high this year. They couldn't afford room for error or embarrassment, as host to the patrons of the exams—all prominent dignitaries of the five great shinobi villages. What also warranted the careful scrutiny of their preparation was the fact that among the test participants there were the children of their peers, including his and her own.

Even with her taxing workload, she managed to see Gaara once in her private time for what she could consider a late night dinner date at his place.

—And got through some sentences of an awkward, long-paused but candid admission about Sasuke…

"I missed you."

His deep whisper from behind stilled her, stopping her in the middle of transferring to a plate food that she'd picked up along the way. In the small kitchen of his hotel suite, she became only conscious of the hands that'd moved forward and fitted themselves at the curves of her hips, and her blood warmed to his closeness. This act, somehow, felt more intimate than anything they've done before.

"I missed you too." Immediately, she told him, just as so, not wanting him to wait even one second longer for her answer.

"You are leaving Sasuke..." the statement came after a quiet while, causing tightness in her chest. "Why?"

Sakura fell silent, unable to be quick in her response this time. Gaara's question, it wasn't so much a straight-up one about her divorce, and she sensed all the urgency and frustration in the low vibration of his voice that demanded to know why she did what she did to him. She absolutely owed him an explanation.

Freeing her lips from her teeth, she started, a little painfully, "I loved him."

And even as the grip from his fingers slackened on her waist, she didn't walk back what she said. It was a fact she couldn't deny, and she thought she ought to be truthful. She was learning again, after all this time, how to communicate openly and honestly. She trusted that he would help guide these infant steps of hers in conquering her flaws.

"But you know, love, without nurture, it can't last..."

Those sad memories were her teacher, and she shared with him the valuable lesson learned.

"Sasuke knows about us. Even then, he didn't ask for a divorce. I wanted it."

"I wanted it," she repeated louder, emphasized, her determination to herself. To him. To the world. "What I need to do now... It's the right thing to do."

"I had been stupid, scared. I couldn't do it, couldn't walk away from him, for Sarada's sake. But in the end, I just made everything worse..." She thought about the finality of her breakup with Sasuke, the love that'd faded along with it. Yet there grew in her cold and scarred shell affection for another, and thus hope to rediscover love in a new sphere.

Slowly, Sakura spun herself around, connecting with the red-haired man in an unwavering gaze.

"I thought about you. A lot. You were there for me when I needed support the most. You've given me so much. You made me stronger, braver, and..." Her gaze at him softened, as she spoke. Her hand had risen to cup the side of his face, a thumb gently sweeping along the contour of his high cheekbones. "...happier. What we had, I couldn't just forget it all."

With the way he was looking at her, patient and accepting of anything she had to confide in him, Sakura felt the words were flowing out easier; and she didn't have to hide, like she used to for so many years.

"Didn't want to." She smiled. So for Gaara, she'd try.

"And I couldn't help but wish... wish there was more to it..." She felt warmth in her cheeks, as she finally confessed. "...to us."

There was a distinct shine to his sea-green eyes that made her stare and suck in air. He leaned into her touch, followed by a light brush of lips against the pulse point of her wrist. Warm moist breaths tickled her skin. The rhythm of her heart sped up.

The beating of her heart in her ears was overcome by a string of noisy growls from her stomach—her reminder that she hasn't put any food in her system for almost 12 hours. Sakura squirmed. Heat flared up in her face, and she was sure the redness in it went beyond what was considered attractive.

Before she could laugh off her embarrassment, Gaara had already reached for the take-out container on the counter. After the microwave beeped at the one-minute mark, she was presented with a plate of reheated gyoza in the most efficient manner. Looking up from the steaming dumplings to the redhead who held out a pair of chopsticks for her, Sakura smiled...

She'd probably counted about fifteen bites of her food, before being unable to stop herself from nodding off into her dinner plate, her fatigue catching up with her.

Then she was awoken by dayshine in the bedroom, with some vague recall of Gaara's gentle ushering for her to sleep in bed but not exactly how she'd gotten there. Rather than his person, she was greeted by his writing on paper on the nightstand beside her. Admiring the redhead's neat and print-like texts that explained he'd gone to a business appointment with a footnote of the availabilities in his schedule, Sakura smiled and imagined that it was his voice instead murmuring these lines at her ear side.

With a satisfying stretch of her arms above her head, she rose out of the covers. Looking to her right, she noticed the wrinkled folds of the sheets in the space next to her, evidence that the now empty side of the king-sized bed had been touched during the night. Sakura bit her still smiling lips, as she felt the flutters in her heart.

Knowing Gaara hardly ever slept, she'd hope that they'd at least cuddled.

A haphazard glance at the alarm clock had her snap her full focus to the glaring red digits on the display a second time, and her flustered self was already bolting out of bed into the bathroom for a quick fix of her appearance, followed by her rushing out of the door in record time...

But now that she was mostly in between mending broken bones, healing ligament tears—and while doing all of the above—somehow part-time consoling young Genin who weren't able to advance to the semi-finals, Sakura regretted not having approached Gaara earlier to clear their apparent misperception of each other, of where they stood to one another. The first two stages of the exams were already complete, and the two of them have yet to find more time to dedicate to each other since her last visit to him.

She made herself patient, though, anticipating that they would have more opportunities later for heart-to-heart talks as the conclusion of the Chuunin Exams neared. She made herself at ease, already picking up hints and knowing the gist of what those conversations would be.

She was so positively elated—giddy like a teenager, even—to learn that she hasn't been alone in missing what they had, nor in feeling the way she did about their time together. The yearning was mutual, and her feelings have been returned. It was a kind of reciprocity she uniquely felt—a kind she, in reflection, never quite truly experienced with Sasuke in all their years of marriage, when all she did was give and give until she'd grown too numb to expect anything back or think there was anything inherently wrong with her husband's lack of commitment.

From Gaara, however, every small gesture of affection invigorated her. And every moment that wasn't spent in his company made Sakura acutely aware of the precious passing time, ticking away too fast to make his stay end soon but too slow to allow her the chance to collect him in an embrace at the finish of the day and tell him she missed him.

In the meanwhile, she'd have to settle for trading furtive smiles and waves in the hallways of the administrative building, as she often caught him and his counterparts about to head into another one of his many inter-village discussions that were also happening on the sidelines…

Sakura released a contented sigh. In front of the mirror, she stood and adjusted her uniform. After a determined nod to herself, she turned to her bed, where her EMS vest and equipment bag were neatly laid out side by side.

The day had come: It was the final round of the Chuunin Exams.

"I'm going!"

A spirited shout, the sound of pattering footsteps stirred the silence of the hallway outside of her bedroom. She automatically sought the source. Leaving her room then passing through the living room, she soon found Sarada in their apartment's entryway, her shorter silhouette against the early light of dawn that poured in from the open door. With a smile on her lips, Sakura followed her daughter outside.

"This is it," she chimed, as she watched almost a younger version of herself, with no shortage of pride but a small ounce of motherly worry. Balling her hands into fists and throwing a couple of pretend punches into the air, she showed her enthusiastic support. "Go get 'em!"

At her cheer, Sarada slanted her head back and didn't hesitate to comment, a light giggle added to it, "You sure are energetic."

Sakura blinked, mouth opening but not exactly able to return with words. "Eh?"

"Okay, I'm heading out!" In the time she took to let Sarada's remark steep in her head, the young girl was already waving her abrupt goodbye to her and jogging away and down the path ahead. Sakura leaned her weight on one foot and placed her hand on her hip, her expression went from mild surprise to delight.

Well. Sarada wasn't wrong about her good mood, Sakura thought, as she recognized the positive energy that burst from within and radiated through every part of her. She didn't have to wonder the cause for her sunny disposition, for the quickly disappearing girl before her eyes—her pride and joy—was one reason.

And the other...

Under the rose-gold glow of the rising sun, Sakura felt her smile grow, her heart swell with warmth.

Do your best. She called out silently after her daughter, her soft eyes staying on her form until it faded into the distance. She then ducked back into her apartment in her own mission to get ready for the important task that waited for her ahead.

It wasn't long before Sakura herself had arrived at the stadium, where the last phase of the Chuunin Exams was taking place. With speed and efficiency, she accounted for every member of her EMS team and reviewed their checklists of protocols, equipment, and supplies. Her assignment for the day soon began, at the booming announcement from the PA speakers over the commencement of the one-on-one matches and roars of the audience.

A few rounds and intermissions went by. Much of her work repeated in the same pattern as the days prior, from nursing nasty bruises and burns to resetting dislocated joints of the examinees. Sakura was grateful to have not seen a more serious injury. With each treated shinobi she discharged from the medical service tent with aftercare instructions, she crossed her fingers that this case would stay so for all the young aspiring Chuunin for the remainder of the competition.

As Sakura reorganized her first aid kit, the speakers came on again. This time, she perked up to the broadcast.

"Next match: Sarada Uchiha versus Araya!"

Her gloved hand closed tighter around the roll of gauze. She sat, quietly staring into the content of the box.

"Sakura-san, aren't you supposed to be on break already?"

Sakura lifted her head to see her aide who'd stepped into the tent. With a small head shake, she replied, "No. I still have fifteen more minutes."

"Are you sure about that? Well. I'm done with mine early. I can station this shift now," the brown-haired girl spoke her magic phrase, as if able to read her inner wish.

Sakura blinked, then frowned slightly. She motioned to the supplies she was rearranging. "I can't just pile all this work on you."

"It's fine."

"But—"

"I got it. Just go. Plus, isn't Sarada-chan's match starting?" the younger woman insisted, a knowing smile on her face that convinced Sakura more than anything else.

Sakura nodded in appreciation. "Thank you."

Disposing her latex gloves in the trash bin and shedding her EMS vest, she hurried out of the tent and toward the nearest entrance into the stadium.

The rows of the main floor were jam-packed with spectators hungry for excitement, leaving Sakura only the hope of finding a seat in the upper levels that had thinner crowds. She sprinted up the stairs, passing by rows and selecting a sparsely filled area, situated between exits that she was always mindful of.

Sakura took her seat, her posture upright in her anticipation and anxious watching of the field far below. Minutes before Sarada and her opponent would enter into the field for the upcoming match, the referee was reciting the rules of the competition as a refresher, a formality that Sakura wished she could fast forward as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"So—"

She'd heard the voice before she sensed another presence taking up the unoccupied space next to her. Turning to her left, Sakura saw the blonde woman just about settled into her seat, arms folded and one leg brought over the other.

"Temari-san," she let out a mild gasp, and was swiftly cut short from forming a proper greeting at the start.

"You and Gaara."

Temari's words drilled sharply right into her as immediate as she'd spoken again, and Sakura forgot to breathe for a second. Despite her direct address of her, the older woman's focus seemed to zoom on the arena below, where Sakura had already pulled her attention from to rest solely on the unexpected company beside her.

Stern eyes forward and down, the blonde emitted a dry mirthless laugh that accented the displeasure and judgment that her taut tone no more concealed. "All this time, I had no idea..."

Sakura gaped. Her awareness of her surroundings faded, just as her brain brewed up a storm of questions over Temari's discovery of her own relation to her younger brother: Had she gotten wind of it from the village gossips? Had Gaara revealed it to her? If so, what exactly did he tell her? Sakura sat frozen, feeling tingles run down her limbs, and was never more at a loss on how to respond on such a delicate subject.

These next blunt words at her, lacking transition and sounding less question than demand, struck her and completely robbed her of what speech she had left.

"Just what do you want from him?"

From the profile of the woman who still refused to acknowledge her eye-to-eye, she whipped her head back and stared hard into her lap. Conflicted. It was a question that made rounds and rounds in Sakura's mind in her struggle to answer, as though it was the very first time she'd really reflected on a thought so provoking.

In truth, it was. And only because somebody had gone and brought it up. Otherwise, she'd still be continuing in her happy temporary state, unburdened yet as to what a path with Gaara might lead to, what commitments that required, and how much she was capable of giving...

After all… —after all the emotional ups and downs she'd been through, didn't she deserve to indulge in a bit of ignorant bliss, spending her days in satisfaction thinking about the other person thinking about her?

But suddenly, it was all too real. What did she want from Gaara?

"Sakura."

The forbidding voice at the side of her did not give her a break, droning in her ears and pricking at her self-esteem more with each set of syllables.

"I have nothing personal against you, but I will not allow anyone to hurt my brother and take everything that he's built away from him. Do you understand?"

She felt hot resentment first, at every over-pronounced word of accusation that was fired out of Temari's mouth. But the harshness aside, there was an evident trace of protectiveness in her declaration that she begrudgingly understood. Her anger didn't boil over before it gave way to a terrible sting in her chest, then the weak feeling from the cold wash of reality that poured down on her and took away the oxygen she needed to breathe.

It hurt. Bad.

It hurt because it was the truth.

It hurt because she'd been simple and naive, living her time with Gaara in optimism. The feasibility and practicality of a relationship—especially given her status—with the leader of another village hasn't so much crossed her mind.

Down and below, Sarada walked into the center stage.

Too late Sakura began to dwell on the circumstances that depressed her, in such a ill-suited fashion and such ill-suited time. The tips of her nails dug into her palms over her thighs.

There would always be a stigma affixed to her among the public eyes for the decisions she made with regard to her marriage with Sasuke. Her association with Gaara, if made common knowledge, could very well stain his record and undo all the accomplishments he's labored to achieve. And she was too afraid to think further about the potential fallout he'd have with his government and his people.

Her head throbbed. She persisted in her painful muteness outwardly, while the fierce spirit in her cried unfairness. The exhausted fire in her system once again revived, flames coming alive and threatening to erupt into an emotional volcano at the person who dared to make up poor opinions of her character, her intentions, without showing any sympathy or consideration of her life situation. She had no right... no right.

Sakura gritted her teeth, a mouthful of defensive words pushing against her hard-pressed lips and an instant away from being spilled out, impulsively and unkindly.

The impact was loud, shock waves shot tremors through her.

Sakura jolted to her feet, just as a deadly shower of broken concrete and steel came down. Heart racing, she felt immense energy amassing at her hands in an instinctive act and punched her right fist into the air with all her strength. The falling slabs shattered into fine fragments. Out of the corners of her eyes, she saw the swift swing of a large fan, and she instantly channeled all her chakra to her feet, grounding herself to the floor and arms bracing in front of her face before a blast of wind cleared any remaining debris from plummeting down on their heads and sent nearby villagers tumbling backwards.

Her brain buzzed from the onslaught of noises, the rumbling of collapsing stadium walls, the howls of people, and the rushing feet all around her. Adrenaline burning in full force, Sakura shook as she widened her eyes with fear at the center of the arena below. She shouted in panic.

"Sarada!"

A flash of black swooped in, whisking the stumbling girl away from the strike of an unknown attacker.

Her fearful eyes struggled to keep up with the fast movements of Sarada and her rescuer. When they landed in safe distance, Sakura finally breathed. Relief came to her suspended heart, just as surprise overtook her at the recognition of the person shielding her daughter. Sasuke!

There was not a minute to process her shock over his reappearance. Time unfroze for her. The stadium was in chaos. Explosions, smells of smoke, and screams flooded her senses again. The attack was happening all too fast and sudden. Trusting Sarada in her father's protection in her split-second decision, Sakura tore her focus away from the two to the VIP viewing deck. Pillars of sand supported the weakened structure, where large bites had been taken out.

Exhaling, Sakura forced balance to her center and analyzed, as her decades of training had ingrained in her. She was quick to reposition herself, back-to-back with the female fan-wielder to compensate for her vulnerable spot.

Alert eyes flicking to and from every angle, then back to her companion, Sakura instructed, firm and clear:

"Our first priority is to evacuate the civilians."

Their earlier exchange now long behind them, Temari gave back a curt nod, before they both leapt away from each other.