Sakura's POV

I was strolling through the city in my long sandy dress with a hat on my pink head. I would never wear sandy attires in Konoha, but here, in Suna, I just blend in. I had just passed one of the wind towers. They're small towers with long rectangular holes on top, where hot wind enters the tower from the top and exits cold on the ground, by my feet. Gaara-kun invented them to keep us cool during summer, which lasts for 6 months here.

I saw a man staring at the window of a shoes store. I wonder if he'd like to buy anything. His trousers were clean, but old. His back pocket was unripped at one end. His brown shoes looked worn out. Should I ask him if he wants anything from that store? I stopped in place as I was staring at the back of that man, fidgeting. I bit my lip to try to muster courage to talk. When I saw the man leave, I ran after him. I think he was around 70 years old.

"Excuse me, sir."

He turned around scared. His right hand was shaking in front of his chest.

"Yes."

"Did you want anything from that store?"

I realized I was standing too close to him so I took a step back. He gained a little confidence.

"Why do you ask?"

Maybe he thinks I am trying to sell him shoes.

"Well…I noticed you were looking at shoes and I wanted to buy a pair of shoes for you, if you'll let me."

"Why?"

Why? What should I say? I don't want to lie. He was preparing to leave.

"I have a feeling that something bad might happen to me and…(Gaara-kun) so I thought God would be merciful if I offered something in return for my life and…(Gaara's)"

"I see. Thank you."

He smiled. I am so happy he accepted!

"Perfect! Let's go back and please show me which pair you were interested in."

This man's life is going to change forever thanks to my Kazekage. Gaara and I have talked about his plans for the future of the village. Right now, money is not easily earned and not in big amounts anyway because the daimyo and other rich people have bought all of our natural resources, factories, all good land belongs to foreigners who employ our people to sow and plough the little land they can sow and plough and pay them almost nothing. Gaara-kun intends to buy everything back and build factories for everything we need, so we will never rely on buying anything from other villages and Suna will be the first independent country with no external debt.

Of course, middle class and rich people have a good life wherever they are, but Gaara-kun wants the poor to lead a better life, too. For that reason, he commanded that every man, woman and child must be treated in hospital for free regardless of their status. Medicine is free and available to everyone. School is tax free for every child. Working became mandatory for every man above 18. My love said some people would do anything except work. So, Gaara-kun had sent patrols on the streets. Any man who is identified on the street as unemployed, will be offered a job or jail. If he refuses to work on his own accord, he will be forced to work in prison because Gaara refuses to let prisoners watch TV and play cards while everybody else works. He plans on using the prisoners in the construction field because in the future everyone will own a house rent free. I think this law is so cute! I could have used it back in Konoha. I could have lived alone in my own apartment instead of living with my parents.

These are plans for the future. I came up with some ideas, too. Ideas that Gaara-kun has already implemented since it wasn't hard to. There is only positive news on TV now. I complained to him about the forever rising prices in the market. Some seller tried to sell me cherries for 100 coins! 100 coins a kilo! That's insane! The whole market isn't worth 100 coins. The most I paid for cherries back in Konoha was 15 coins for 1 kilo. Gaara-kun passed a law that states it's illegal to sell a product for more than the price you bought it, since the sellers don't grow the fruits and vegetables themselves, but buy them from foreigners.

"What about restaurants?" I asked.

"You're right. I think there must be a maximum limit on their profit, otherwise they can buy a bottle of water for 1 coin and sell it for 10, even if market prices drop significantly. 20%?"

"That sounds reasonable. The waiters work and the restaurant owner, too. Wait…the sellers from the market also work. How will they live if they can't make any profit?"

"They'll get paid by the state."

"How?"

"For now, I will increase the tax for the rich to get funds. In the future, nobody will be neither rich nor poor."

"What about us?"

Gaara-kun gently caressed my fingers.

"Us included. Everyone will be equal. No more fights over power, money or fame. Of course, you are my princess and I will treat you best, just like any man will be able to treat his woman."

I giggled. My Gaara smiled. I love that I can make him happy.

I ended up buying a pair of brown shoes for that old man for 20 coins and I also offered some fruits for free to other poor people I encountered. After spending a quarter of my monthly salary, I said to myself: This is it! I can go home now. But, while I was walking, I asked myself: Are our lives worth this little? So I ended up giving all of my money to the poor before I reached home."

I sat down to take off my sandals and massage my feet after a long day. There was a light coming from the end of the hall. I noticed it because my room was above the lit room and I had to go past Kankurou's room to climb the stairs and get to my bedroom.

"Are you getting ready for war?" I asked Kankurou from the door.

He was sitting on the floor with the head of a puppet in his lap. Creepy!

"Yes, you heard Gaara. We, men, must get to work."

"I can help, too." I said, entering the room. The door was open, so it was allowed.

"I doubt that."

"Hmpf!"

"No offense, but I am the master puppeteer. You don't know anything about…"

"I know a great deal about C4. You don't want to redecorate this room anytime soon, do you?"

Kankurou laughed so loud, that Temari came into the room, curious.

"What are you two laughing about?"

"Sakura wants to blow up the house."

"Not true!"

"Didn't you just send me to redecorate?"

"No. It was only a joke because you said…"

"Ugh, stop fighting. Please." Temari said annoyed.

Seeing that Kankurou wasn't going to let me help him, I asked Temari whether she wanted to train with me, to which I heard snickering from her brown-haired brother.

"Are you sure you want this? I am not going to go easy on you."

I hate how Temari-san always looks down on me.

"How bad can it be? Tsunade-sama taught me a few tricks."

Temari's attitude remained unchanged. How can she be this tough?

We trained at taijutsu, physical fight, in the back yard. I am surprised by how many hits and kicks I took before I almost passed out. I delivered some good blows, but Gaara-kun's sister must be made of steel. Each blow that landed on her (and there were a few) hurt me more than they hurt her.

"Oi, are you alright?" Temari asked because I had fallen on my back on the sand.

She must be thinking: This chick is too weak for me! I sighed in annoyance. We had been training for 2 hours. I was too exhausted to keep going.

"How come I didn't injure you at all? You broke one of my ribs and I have a twisted ankle. I am sure my body is covered in bruises. I can't even see you clearly with this eye! It must be swollen."

I wasn't scolding Temari-san because she didn't do anything wrong. I had asked her to train with me and do it mercilessly.

"Sorry about your rib. I didn't mean to."

"Don't worry about it. I can heal it." I said with a hand already glowing green on my side, where the damage was.

I saw Gaara-kun watching us from the top window. He seemed upset. Oh, no! I am in trouble. Temari didn't see him as she was standing with her back to him.

"I'll admit this to you, but if you tell anyone else…" she said to me as she was lifting her blouse. There was a purple swollen print of my fist on her stomach.

Gaara-kun must have seen it too, because his face became one filled with pain and sadness.

"Temari-san, let me check for internal bleeding. I'll heal you right now." I bolted up on my feet as my rib was healed. "I am so sorry!"

"It's not a big deal." She said, but I gently placed my hand on her wound to heal her and thankfully, she didn't resist.

How can she act this tough all the time? Are these people made of steel?

"Gaara-kun is going to be so mad with me!" I muttered out loud unknowingly.

"What?" Temari asked.

"Nothing. I am almost done. Thank God I didn't touch your internal organs!"

"Don't flatter yourself. You are not that strong."

I saw Gaara walking towards us from behind Temari. Temari turned to the side, so she could also see him.

"What are you two doing out late at night?"

"Training." Temari replied casually.

"Both of you are hurt. Couldn't you save it for the war? Now is not the time to be fighting each other."

"Don't be like that, little brother. Your girlfriend asked me to prepare her for battle. She says she is going to fight."

What were you thinking? You're not fighting anyone! I will be fighting and you stay right beside me, where I can keep you safe.

I can inflict damage to the enemy. You saw me fighting. I am not that bad. Please…

No.

But…

Sakura, do you have any idea how much trouble you'd put me in if you got badly hurt of God forbid, died as a foreigner in Suna?

There is no danger. Tsunade-sama…

My decision is final. You won't be training from this day on.

"What are you two talking about, leaving me out? I am still here."

"Thank you for lending a hand, big sister, but I will take it from here. From now on, please focus on the tasks that we discussed earlier today."

"Ok. Don't need to be so grumpy. Nothing happened."

"Gaara-kun, please wait until I heal both Temari-san and I completely before going back inside."

He waited patiently, not without discomfort seeing the many body parts I had to heal. I should have asked Temari-san to train with me while Gaara-kun was at work, during the day. Now we won't have the chance to do it again. Of!

Gaara-kun gently placed a hand on my lower back as he lead us back inside the house for supper.

...

Notes: Sorry this chapter took a little longer to post. I hope it was worth the wait.

I agree with Cupcake, praying always works.

Duck mafia, you are right. Gaara will survive, but not without a good shake. We know what happened to him in the anime. I am not going to that far, but present a twist instead.

I hope I made you happy today, Guest, as here is another chapter. :D

Veviev is also right and very intuitive. Sakura is the black sheep in this story. She will cause a lot of complications, but we can all agree that she is a sweet girl who will compensate her clumsiness with good deeds.

Thank you very much for your time to write comments and read my work. You are awesome!