Kankurou asked his brother what happened to Sakura after she left, whether they fought or not, but Gaara always said everything is still good between them. He heard people gossip about how the girl from Konoha left him which made Gaara feel humiliated and helpless. He did everything to convince her to stay, but if she truly wanted to leave, what was he supposed to do? Beat her? Tie her up? What is the point in forcing someone to stay with you? People had stayed around Gaara only because they were forced by the circumstances until recently. It wasn't a nice feeling. It makes you feel out of place, empty and abandoned. On a more thorough analysis, Sakura had no reason to remain in Konoha. There was nothing for her there. That was why she got sick in the first place. In Suna, Gaara gave her everything she wanted; he did everything she asked him to do. Only in Suna her illness backed down. In Suna, there was someone willing to take care of her. It is true that the desert is not the ideal scenery for her and the weather definitely didn't catch her skin tone, but can flowers and trees really compensate for Gaara's love for her?

When he received the next letter, he kept it in his hands for hours without opening it. He was lost in thought. The chances are high that she will come back to me and when she does, I have to make some changes around here to help her accommodate better. He looked at the bird and remembered how carefully Sakura held it in her arms when she played with it; he remembered Sakura's smile when the bird chirped. The more he thought about it, the more he realized the odds were in his favor. He only had to prepare everything for when the inevitable was going to happen. Meanwhile, he didn't say anything to anyone except Shinki.

Gaara arrived home, announced his entrance and Shinki suddenly appeared from behind the door.

"Father!"

The boy was happy. He wanted to get closer to Gaara, but he was ashamed, so he stopped awkwardly in the way. Gaara bent forward, held him by the shoulders and brought his son into an embrace. Shinki smiled. When Gaara took out the envelope from his tunic, Shinki's eyes sparked.

"Is it from mom? I want to see!"

"Let me sit down first."

To Shinki, it felt like Gaara moved two times slower than before. The boy's breathing increased in anticipation.

"Come on, dad!"

Gaara finally sat down on the couch and peeked in the kitchen.

"Gaara-sama, welcome home! Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."

Gaara nodded and waited for her to leave before handing Shinki his letter from Sakura. The kid almost plucked it from his hands and, when he opened the envelope, he accidentally ripped a piece of the letter. Gaara scolded him right away:

"Be careful! It is a precious letter from your mom. You must treat it with respect."

Shinki lowered his head

"I am sorry."

He unfolded the letter and read carefully.

To my favorite little bug

It was so hard to stay without you! Mother has good news for you. I will come back to you as soon as I complete this mission. Eat well and listen to your teachers at school. You don't want to upset mom, right? I want to find you healthy when I will be back. Mom asks you to take care of your father, too. He only has you now. Don't upset him. Listen to him and it will do you good. Mom prays for you and dad to be healthy.

Sakura

Meanwhile, Gaara read his letter, too. She is doing a mission with Sasuke. His stomach turned upside down at the thought. This machine...I've had subordinates in the hospital because of it. I need to gather all information from my spies right away.

"Dad!" Shinki screamed cheerfully as he jumped to sit on his father's knees. "Sakura says she is coming back! Look! It says right here. See?" And he pointed to the sentence.

"Of course she is coming back. I didn't have a doubt about it."

"Yes, you did."

"No, I didn't."

"I don't know when, though. She didn't say. Did she tell you?"

Shinki tried to stick his nose into his dad's letter, but Gaara held it above his head, so Shinki couldn't reach it.

"Please, father. Let me see. If she told you when she is coming back, tell me. I want to prepare something nice for her. And if it will be on a school day, I'll have to stay home..."

Gaara took him by the ear as he laughed.

"It it's a school day, then you go to school."

He let go of the boy's ear and caressed his head.

"She didn't write the exact date, which is very good because I have a project in mind and it requires time. It is a surprise for Sakura and I need you to help me."

"Waaa! Then I want to! Tell me what to do."

The more time Sakura spent in Konoha, the more she remembered why she left in the first place. Everything seemed cold and she wasn't part of the picture. Everyone moved on with their lives and she was the only one left behind. The only thing that moved her a little was the smell of green grass, the feeling of tree bark under her fingers, the tenderness and fragility of the petals of flowers. These things didn't exist in Suna. Her soul yearned for them. Matsuri was right when she said Sakura misses the green life in Konoha. This was the reason for moving plants from the greenhouse into Gaara's house. Girls are more attached to nature than boys. Still, just nature couldn't fill the hole that Gaara and Shinki left into her heart. She often looked at the sky and wondered: What are they doing now?

The mission turned out to be unexpectedly long. Sasuke came at night to report on the weaknesses of the place from the inside. There were many reasons for which it couldn't be destroyed all at once.

"Sasuke, let me go in there. I will crush them with my Rasengan! I will destroy every inch of this thing!"

"That's precisely why I can't let you go. They have a self-destruct system that activates automatically when it detects an intruder."

"Meaning?"

"Naruto! Sasuke-kun is trying to say that the machine will wipe out the whole village if we attack it. We have to find another way. Maybe if we convince the boss to hand over command of this thing."

"No chance. We have nothing to offer in exchange." Sasuke replied.

"You're doing that annoying thing when you talk what only you understand again!" Naruto expressed his frustration verbally.

While they were struggling to come up with a plan, days passed by. They tried to make a hole into the electric fence to observe the self-defense mechanism. Maybe if they created chaos on the inside, one of the employees will turn against the others and sabotage the machine without intervention from the outside. For that purpose, Naruto and Sakura used small attacks to agitate the hive every night. This way, the employees couldn't sleep because of the alarms; they were always tired form all the fuss. They had to patrol the yard and spot the cause for trouble before they eliminated it. Sakura threw stones or she sent small animals in there, such as squirrels and rats. It was easy for Naruto and Sakura because they slept peacefully. Nobody disturbed them with surprise attacks. They knew they were the only ones who attacked. Sakura was having fun watching the men running around like ants. Days went by and another letter from Suna arrived.

To the queen of my heart

Your love entered me

Into the cities of sadness

And I before you, never entered

The cities of sadness.

I did not know...

That the tears are the person

That a person without tears

Is only a shadow of a person.

I pray the day we meet again will come before I blow out completely. Your letters manage to keep the weak flame that burns the candle of my soul alive. If I didn't even have this, I'd be as good as dead. This is why I beg you from sky to earth to stay away from that machine. My ninja came back from there sick. One of them died. The others had severe damage to the digestive tract, headaches, nightmares, internal bleeding... Something unholy is happening there. Please think if it is worth risking our future for a mission. I am sure somebody else can complete this mission. If you want to work that much, you can do it in Suna, too. I will provide everything you need. Shinki already prepared a gift for when you will be back. He keeps asking me when that is and I don't know what to tell him. Please, think about him, too. We both miss you. When you were gone, Shinki said he eats the fried liver because it is the last meal that you cooked. I can't help but ask: Was it really?

I confess I would rather drink poison from your hands than stay one more day without you. I age one year in a day. If you don't come back faster, I don't think I will live the day you will be here.

Yours forever, Gaara

Gaara surely likes to exaggerate. He likes being dramatic, but the way he writes to me is so romantic and sweet. Nobody has ever tried to convince me to do something with such pretty words. The part where he wrote the effects of the machine frightened her. She knew Gaara wouldn't make up something like this. But I have already accepted the mission. What should I do? Sakura thought while biting her lip.

To my powerful lion

Your words worry me. Take care of yourself because if you die, I die, too. You and I share something we haven't given to anyone before. We became one before marriage. When I left, I realized my life and yours are one and the same. That is why I beg you to take care of yourself just like you'd take care of me because in a way, that's exactly what you do. I need you to be strong for when we will meet again, so you can hold me in your powerful arms, dominate, bite, caress and read to me. Oh, if you knew how much I miss your voice... I think I will pass out when I hear you again.

As for me, please don't worry. I will stay away from the action. I will let Naruto and Sasuke take care of it. I am just handling surveillance. I want to stay alive so I live the day you and I will be married. Mom and dad ask about you and I don't know what to tell them. I'd invite you here to meet them, but if they saw you weak, hungry and sleepless, what will they think? That is why I ask you from the bottom of my heart to take care of yourself, rest, have a shower before you go to bed and don't go to work without having breakfast.

Your flower, Sakura.

If Sakura wants so much to be close to trees and flowers, I will give her a garden like she has never seen before. He went to the construction yard everyday to check the construction stage. It was a suspended garden, built like a giant pyramid; each floor had 30 cm tall walls made of stone which were empty on the inside. The empty space served for holding plants. All floors were connected through stairs all the way to the top. Gaara put a bench and an arched gate on the ground floor. He intended to plant climbing roses on the gate.

On the first floor, Gaara planned to plant common plants which didn't need special care. They could handle a lot of water and less light. As you climb, the plants became rarer, more delicate and more special. The ones on top of the pyramid would be desert flowers which didn't need a lot of water. And, being closest to the sky, they took in more light than others. He gave orders to plant trees among the flowers, only in the corners of each floor. On the upper levels, the trees were smaller than on ground level.

Everybody stopped by to watch and wonder. Everyone said the Kazekage has lost his mind.

Matsuri had the role of matching the colors of the flowers for the pleasure of one's eye. Gaara needed a woman's opinion on this topic. Shinki helped any way he could. He carried vases, he braided iron for the arched gates on all levels, to make iron roses and other flowers and leaves.

What Gaara wrote to Sakura was true. He didn't eat almost anything. He lost around 10 kg in weight. He couldn't sleep more than 2 hours a night, either. His expression was always tough and he was authoritative with everyone. The only day he was happier was when he received another letter from her.

To my darling with emerald eyes

I thought that I loved you months ago, nut since my separation from you I feel that I love you a thousand fold more.

God is my witness that I can't eat more than 2 bites, enough to keep me standing on my feet. I can't sleep from worry. Come and heal me! Give me food to eat from your hands. Let me drink life from your lips. Let me drink milk from your breast. Every day without you I ask myself if it is my last day. What is the point of waking up if you aren't there with me?

Listen to me, baby. Come back to me. I have faith that Naruto will destroy the source of your dark thoughts. If you stay there, you will only get caught between the hammer and the nail. You won't be able to act because you risk dying and you won't get away if things get out of hand. What if the enemy activates the machine while you are there? Do you realize what could happen? Is it worth risking your precious life? Have faith in me. Leave everything to me. My shoulders will bear your burden, too. You don't have to worry about anything.

Your lion, Gaara of the desert

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"You seem troubled."

"I don't know how we are going to destroy this thing. That's all."

"Sakura-chan, better leave it to me and Sasuke. We are very resistant. You know nothing can bring me down." Naruto said proudly as he pointed to his chest with his thumb. Then he became a little more serious.

"I can't bear the thought of something bad happening to you."

"Naruto, I want to be part of this. I can do things, you know?"

"But, Sakura-chan. I noticed how you cry when you think nobody is around. I saw your face when that man told us the machine controls thoughts. It controls yours too, right?"

Naruto looked to the side a little embarrassed. Sakura's eyes bugged out, she swallowed air and looked down at the ground as she hugged her knees to her chest.

"Am I not good for anything? He said weak minds..."

"Sakura-chan, that dude was an idiot. He doesn't know you are the smartest in our generation. You know, it's better to leave some fights to others. If you stay here, you put the mission at risk all while risking your life altogether."

"How am I endangering the mission?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head again, before he said:

"If they activate the machine and you turn against us, what do we do? Your power is frightening. You'll break my head and it's already useless."

Naruto laughed and Sakura smiled. He succeeded in cheering her up a little. Sakura took into consideration Naruto and Gaara's words from the last letter; she thought about them until morning when she made up her mind.

Note: What do you think is her decision?

Thank you very much for leaving reviews. I always look forward to reading them. About my other story, I apologize for the delay. I will post another chapter from my other story in a few days.