Monday came by a bit sooner than Sakura had anticipated, she quickly got dressed not wanting to be late on her first day. Excitement pulsed through her veins at the prospect of meeting the students she would be teaching. As she descended the stairs, she was visibly surprised to encounter Kankuro; she hadn't seen him since the day she arrived in Suna.

"I made coffee" he signaled to the jug of coffee on the dining table where he sat.

"Hmm tempting, but no" she smiled over her shoulder "Maybe next time?" She hastily grabbed water from the fridge, deciding she'd make do with the hospital coffee.

"Early start today?" He questioned over his cup of coffee

"Yeah, first day, have to make a good impression you know" she replied

"Well, good luck then," he gave a short wave. "But I'll have you know, the hospital coffee is shit. I make the best coffee, and you're missing out." A cocky grin spread over his face.

Sakura laughed genuinely, shaking her head softly as she hurried out the door "Goodbye Kankuro!"

A big smile adorned her face as she walked. The day was starting off well, and she was thankful for that. Gaara crossed her mind briefly, he'd been scarce since the day he was supposed to give her the hospital tour and she was a bit concerned. But she quickly pushed the thoughts away, reminding herself, "It's none of my business. He's probably not thinking about me, so why should I be worried?"

"And why do you want him to think about you" inner questioned slyly

I Do not!

"Mmhmm"

She navigated the route smoothly this time, grateful for the backdoor Keita introduced her to at the hospital. Just the thought of using the elevator again brought on a sense of vertigo, so, for now, she'd stick to the backdoor stairs. She understood that she'd have to get used to it eventually, but today was not that day.

Sakura hummed, a smile playing on her lips as she approached Keita's office, knocking softly—

"Come in" a deep voice resonated.

Sakura peeked her head playfully through the door, and Keita's serious expression transformed into a friendly one as soon as he caught sight of her. He stopped writing on the paper in front of him.

"You're here early" he said in mock surprise "thought you'd still be in recovery mode after Temari turned you into a party monster"

Sakura scoffed at this "Trust me I'm used to this life" Being friends with Ino meant getting used to partying until sundown and waking up early the next day for work.

Keita chuckled "Anyways" Keita started, his expression shifting to business mode "here's the list of students interested in learning medical ninjutsu".

Sakura took the list from him, raising one eyebrow as she went over the names. "That's... a lot of people," she sighed, already feeling a bit worn down.

"There was a lot of excitement when they learned that Sakura Haruno would be the Instructor. Also, the first class will probably eliminate half of them..." he added with a nonchalant shrug.

Sakura hit his arm playfully "You're so mean Keita" but he was right. The most fundamental part of medical ninjutsu was chakra control and being able to maintain that delicate control for a long period of time is crucial and difficult for just anyone to manage. She just hoped that at least a handful of students will pass, it's not the quantity but the quality that mattered when it came to medical ninjustsu. Stretching she got up to leave.

"I'll be on my way then, I've got my work cut out for me. Anyways, we'll see for lunch?" Sakura said with her hand on the door handle.

'Definitely, good-luck!" He thrust his fist in encouragement.

Laughing, Sakura swiftly exited his office, a mix of excitement and nerves bubbling within her. She took a deep breath before confidently striding towards her class.

"I heard our teacher is going to be Sakura Haruno" whispered a student.

"What! The Sakura Haruno?"

"Wow, wasn't she Tsunade senju's apprentice."

"Yes, It's true that's why mum made sure to enroll me in this class."

"I heard she's on par with Tsunade Senju now."

"I heard she surpassed her teacher."

"Impossible."

"I'm so excited."

All the murmuring seized as soon as the topic of discussion entered into the class, the pink haired beauty strode into the class with a confidence like never before, and the students gasped and stared in awe at her powerful aura and beauty.

"Good morning, everyone," Sakura started, addressing the packed class.

"I'll cut right to the chase. If you're not advanced in chakra control, then this class is not for you. Medical ninjutsu is not a joke. You hold the life of people in your hands; you're basically a mini-god. So, if you're not serious about this class or you know deep in your heart you don't have what it takes to be a medic nin, then I suggest you don't return for the next class."

She paused for any objections, and when there wasn't any, she continued, "Now that we're done with that... my name is Sakura Haruno, and I'm pleased to meet you," offering a big smile before commencing with the class.

After oral lessons where she explained the basics of medical ninjutsu and recommended a few books for reading, she addressed the class again for the hands-on practicals.

"I'll call out your names from this list; indicate if you hear your name. You'll be grouped into groups of five for the training sessions." Sakura observed the students while she spoke; from their aura, she could already make out the ones that wanted to give up already and the ones that were very determined. Well, this is going to be very interesting.

It was finally time for lunch, so she headed to Keita's office so they could go to lunch together, but it turns out he wasn't around, she was a bit miffed but her guess was something probably came up. She decided to head out for lunch alone.

"Not even a week, and we're already loners. I can't believe," Inner scoffed.

"Shut up?"

She walked dejectedly, not looking where she was going until she hit a hard chest. The owner of the chest tried to steady her by holding her shoulders with both hands. She already knew, even before she looked up, that it was none other than him. Tucking her hair behind her ears, she looked up at Gaara. They held eye contact for a while before Gaara finally dropped his hands from her shoulders. That was embarrassing. Why did I look at him for that long? She wondered

"G-Gaara," she started, trying to compose herself, "what are you doing here?" Sakura cringed as soon as the words left her mouth. Really? He's the Kazekage. Of course, he visits from time to time to see how things are going. Why was she so stupid? Ugh.

"Did I miss the class?" he said, not bothering to answer her question.

"Yeah, but just the first half, we'll continue after lunch."

"Oh… then I hope you don't mind if I watch."

"Of course not. You're welcome anytime," he is really polite, she noted.

"You're headed to lunch?" he asked.

"Yes, I was supposed to go with Keita, but I can't find him anywhere."

Why was she going for lunch with Keita? Gaara thought, his expression glowering. Was Keita interested in her? He suddenly had a malicious intent towards Keita that shocked even him, and that was when he did something he probably would have never done before.

"Shall I join you then?"

Sakura was visibly surprised; he couldn't blame her. He was just as surprised too. Thoughts were running through Sakura's head. He wanted to join her for lunch? It probably doesn't mean anything. Best not to make it a big deal.

"Sure, I'd like that," she chirped. I'd like that? I'd like that? Of all replies, kami, she was hopeless. Sakura walked briskly, trying to escape from the embarrassment, not noticing the small smile that played on Gaara's lips as he followed behind her.

Lunch with Gaara had been surprisingly good and not as awkward as she had thought it would be. He took her to somewhere pristine and even pulled the chair for her. She wanted to scream into her pillow. They mainly talked about the hospital and her work, and then he asked about Naruto. She told him he was getting married soon to the Hyuga heiress, to which he just nodded his head. She had thought he'd be a bit surprised, but then again, everyone probably saw the marriage coming. They ate in comfortable silence after that.

She and Gaara walked back to the hospital after they were done eating. Apparently, Gaara was serious about watching her teach, which made her nervous that he would just be there watching the whole time. He stood by the door, observing while she continued with the class.

"You'll be using your chakra to isolate liquids in this lesson. I'll go first. On my table, we have a glass of coffee and a glass of milk, just like you do on yours."

The students watched intently as Sakura demonstrated by mixing the glass of coffee with the glass of milk.

"Then I'll separate them." Focusing her hands on both sides of the cup, she manipulated the contents with her chakra. It swirled a bit, and in no time, the milk was separated from the coffee. When she finished, she looked up at the students, who were staring back in admiration, making her giggle.

"Now you can try it. The Kazekage is watching, so do your best." She walked around the class to observe the students as they focused hard to separate the coffee from the milk.

"Coffee and milk are both liquids, but their composition is different," she said as she walked around with a clipboard, taking notes of those that were successful. "This lesson can be applied to extracting poison from the body, so work hard, guys. You can do it. Remember, the most fundamental aspect of medical ninjutsu is chakra control."

Gaara watched in awe at the way she commanded the room and encouraged the students. There was a distinct change when she was in her element; the way she commanded the room, her aura was completely different from the usual nervous aura he got whenever he was with her. His eyes followed her movements as she walked to each table to give advice to the students who were struggling. She looked even more attractive, if that was even possible.

The class finally came to an end, and in no time, the classroom was empty, leaving just her and Gaara.

"You're really good at this," Gaara commended from the doorway, making Sakura blush a bit.

"You think so?" Sakura replied, tucking her hair behind her ears.

Gaara nodded his head in response, observing as her eyes light up and the tinge of red that decorated her cheeks at his approval. He liked that he did that to her for some reason.

"I'll take my leave now," he announced. "What about you?"

"I'll stay for a bit to help out with the patients."

"Don't overwork yourself." And before Sakura could comprehend, he was gone. Was Gaara worried about her?

"Omg he totally is" Inner chimed in excited.

Sakura sighed as she left the classroom, noticing an increase in patients today. Not much different from the first day she was here, but still a good sign—it showed that people were slowly becoming more trusting of the hospital. She smiled at the thought; in no time, this place would be booming, not that she was wishing for people to fall ill, of course.

She was currently talking to Mira, one of the nurses that worked in the hospital, the girl looked absolutely frightened.

"What do you mean you don't keep files for patients" Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in annoyance. They were more incompetent than she thought. She'd need to have a meeting with them later, but for now—

"From now onwards, open up a file for any patient that steps in here, I'll hold you responsible for any default regarding this, understood?"

"Hai!" she responded before scurrying away in fear

"So mean, Sakura-chan," came the familiar voice, and Sakura rolled her eyes as she turned to face the direction of the voice.

"You missed lunch," Sakura deadpanned with threatening eyes.

"Lemme explain." He put his hands in front of him in defense. "I had an emergency meeting concerning the hospital budget with those hags—plus your day went better than mine anyway. Word on the street is that you went on a lunch date with our handsome Kazekage." He mocked while folding his arms.

"What!—a date?!" Her eyes widened in shock.

"It wasn't?"

"Of course not! Is that what people are saying?"

"I didn't tell you before, but people in Suna are big gossips—plus our Kazekage is really popular among the ladies."

"I guess it can't be helped" Sakura replied. Gaara is really good looking, he literally looks like he dropped down from the sky.

Sakura's thoughts were going haywire at the date part. Was that a date? Can that be classified as a date? Maybe a lunch date? Gaara probably didn't think about it like that.

"But what if he did..." Inner added.

"Hey, don't overthink it; it'll be forgotten in no time." Keita tried to assure her with one of his bright smiles, and Sakura nodded her head at that, banishing any weird thoughts, it was just lunch between two friends. Besides, she had bigger things to focus on like running a hospital.

"When did it get this late?" She wondered, yawning as she packed up her stuff to go home. Actually, Keita kept pushing her to go home, plus the only thing she could think of was her bed at this point, so there was no point in staying in the hospital any longer.

Her eyes struggled to stay open even as she exited the hospital. As soon as she got to her room, she took a quick shower and changed into her nightwear. She didn't bother to check if Kankuro or Temari were around; she was sure Gaara wasn't around. He never was, hopefully he wasn't overworking himself. Laying gently on her bed, it wasn't long before she drifted off to a dreamless sleep.

It was Friday again in no time, the week had run by without incident. The training was going well, although almost half of the students had dropped out due to the difficulty. She saw it coming anyway. There was still a good number of determined students, and that was what mattered. It's not the quantity but the quality, she reminded herself.

"Okay, class, that's it for today. Have a good day," she waved at them as they filtered out of the class. She was just about to pack up and leave as well when she heard sniffles coming from the extreme back of the classroom.

It was a student of hers, Yuki, she recalled. She knew her name because she had been one of the most attentive students, always asking questions. She approached her carefully.

"Hey, Yuki, what's wrong?"

"I-I can't seem to get it right." Sakura sighed at Yuki's reply. Now she knew what the problem was. Yuki had been having trouble with the first test. She wasn't the only one struggling with that test, and she was doing great in the other tests. Sakura couldn't understand why she was so sad.

"But you're doing great with the other tests, Yuki."

"But I want to be an expert like you. If I can't do one test, what does that say about me?" she responded, sniffling some more.

Sakura sat down beside her, which surprised the student. "You know, I wasn't always the expert," she paused. "But I never gave up. I wanted to be of help to my teammates and my village," she added softly, looking Yuki in the eye.

"I want to be of help to my village," Yuki responded.

"Then don't give up." Sakura smiled before getting up, patting Yuki on the shoulder.

The student watched Sakura as she left the classroom, a new wave of determination filling her from the inside out.

"Thank you, Sakura-sama," she whispered.

"How does your arm feel now?"

"Wonderful! it's like nothing happened, you're really the best!" the man exclaimed, making a show of it by flexing his arms.

Sakura smiled as she nodded, taking down some notes.

"Still be careful though; just because you're a shinobi doesn't mean you should be reckless," Sakura advised sternly. This was his third visit already, and it hadn't been long since her work started here.

"Of course… plus I have to be fit; I'm going on a honeymoon with my wife, you see."

Sakura looked up from her note-taking, a notable smile on her face. "Congratulations! I hope you both have fun."

After handing him a prescription note to take to the nurse, Sakura watched from her office door as the man left with his wife who had been waiting outside. They turned to wave at her as they left, and she waved back before stepping back. Sighing, she slumped back in her chair. Everyone seemed to be in love except her.

Someone suddenly burst into her office, taking her by surprise. She looked up and was shocked.

"Temari!?... Is everything okay?" Sakura asked, standing up immediately.

"Oh, nothing, just felt like scaring you," she shrugged.

"Are you serious right now? I thought something bad happened to…Ugh, forget it." She sat back down. "So why'd you barge in like that?"

Temari looked at her questionably for a moment before sitting.

"Are you busy?"

"Well, no… but I will be soon."

"You know what today is though, right?" Temari asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Uh, Friday?" Sakura muttered distractedly as she organized the files on her desk.

"Exactly, so be ready at 8."

"Wait, what?" Sakura stopped mid-arrangement, but the door banged shut, letting her know Temari already left. Oh, hell no. She stood up quickly to chase after Temari, but the girl must be wind itself because there was no explanation as to why she was already turning the corner in the hallway.

"I did not agree to this, Temari!" she screamed into the hallway. Great, now she looked crazy...

Sakura held up two gowns for Temari to see. "Okay, which one, the red or the green?"

Temari studied both for a while from her spot on the vanity table chair. "Hmm, the green really complements your eyes and hair, but red really makes you pop. So, red for me."

She focused her attention back to the mirror as she fixed her hair. "You should definitely wear the green next week, though," she added.

Sakura scoffed in response. "Brave of you to assume I'm going anywhere with you next week."

"Mmhmm," Temari smirked.

Sakura admired herself in the mirror, liking what she saw. She was clad in a red satin body-con dress that stopped mid-thigh. It had a lace-up back and small slits on both sides that really accentuated her legs. Temari had done her hair really well; she loved the high wavy ponytail. She never did different styles with her long hair, and the simple makeup she had done suited her perfectly.

"See, I told you it would look good," Temari looked proud of her work while also looking stunning in her lavender Bardot body-con outfit with a plunging V-neckline.

"Yeah, I should have let you style my hair last time," Sakura pouted playfully. "Wow, we look so hot."

"Yeah, we do," Temari reckoned as she applied more pink lip-gloss on her already glossy lips.

"Come on, let's go," Sakura pulled Temari, who almost stumbled in her stilettos. "Before I get shy and change this outfit," she muttered under her breath for no one to hear, but Temari did anyway.

"Just like you did last time, you mean."

"Shut up."

A/N: Thank you for reading