Sakura had just finished eating the last of her dumplings and was currently in an intriguing conversation with Kankuro, who had finished eating about 30 minutes ago. He had been watching as Sakura ate her food very slowly, something he never expected from someone with such a demanding job; aren't doctors always on the clock? Luckily, Sakura was not averse to multitasking, engaging in conversation while eating. To his surprise, he found himself engrossed in their amusing discussion.

Sakura was laughing so much from how funny Kankuro was that she was sure the whole restaurant must be wondering about her mental health.

"Come on, you don't expect me to believe that!?" she said in between fits of laughter. "You mean to tell me you have been dating one girl for five years!?" Her face was positively shocked.

Even the kindest person in the universe would find that hard to believe. Back in Konoha, Kankuro had the reputation of being a womanizer. Ino was so sure of his 'philandering' ways that she warned Sakura against him some time ago.

"We broke up last month and I've been single since then but yeah… Geez, I can't believe my pain is funny to you, Sakura… You're so mean to me," he joked, feigning hurt by holding his chest.

Sakura laughed some more, then shook her head before replying, "No, no, it's not that, it's just—your reputation precedes you."

"And pray tell, how does my reputation precede me?" Kankuro asked with a curious smile on his face.

"You won't be getting an answer from me this time," she giggled. "Anyways, so what happened with your girlfriend? I mean, breaking up after five years? It must have been pretty serious." Sakura really just wanted to know; dating for five years was a big deal, and even though Kankuro may not show it, it must have hurt a lot.

He simply shrugged, averting his eyes for the first time. "We simply grew apart, wanted different things."

"Was she shinobi?"

He shook his head, "Nope, a civilian."

"Ohh…" Sakura muttered, feeling a pang of empathy. It usually never worked well that pairing, she was surprised they lasted five years; they must have really loved each other.

Then, shaking his head, Kankuro let out a smile. "Enough about it, which Suna man has caught your eye so far, excluding me of course."

Sakura chuckled, appreciating how he could change up the conversation so smoothly. "Oh, wouldn't you like to know?" she teased back, feeling a bit lighter.

Sakura was intrigued by Kankuro's love life. She rested her left hand under her chin while taking slow sips of her drink, listening as Kankuro went on and on about various Suna citizens. Getting the gist straight from the source—Ino would die for this.

Suddenly, Sakura had an idea. Gaara's secretary—surely, Kankuro would have some information about her. Sakura's eyes twinkled with curiosity. Who was putting up with that snobby girl?

"Hey, so what about Matsuri?" she asked.

As soon as she mentioned her, Kankuro started coughing violently. Sakura had to offer him some water.

"M-Matsuri?"

"Yeah, Matsuri, you know, Gaara's secretary. She was so snobby to me the other day, I wonder who is putting up with that."

Oh, you wouldn't believe it if I told you, Kankuro thought to himself, relieved Sakura didn't know anything deeper. "Matsuri is just a bitch to everyone, don't think much about it," he commented, slyly eluding the question.

It wasn't until later, when they were seated in comfortable silence that Sakura looked at her watch and realized they had stayed out for too long.

As if he read her mind, Kankuro said, "Damn, the sky is almost too dark already." He was looking outside at the sky. Sakura smiled softly, her eyes drifting outside as well. It wasn't that dark that you couldn't see anything, but yeah, if they kept sitting here, it would be. She turned back to face Kankuro, who was calling out to the waiter, probably to get the tab.

"Why don't you wait for me outside while I get the tab?" He was trying too hard not to seem obvious.

Sakura scoffed in amusement. "Just say you want to talk to the pretty waitress, goofball." Geez, he had been stealing short looks at the waitress since she took their order. If it had been someone else, Sakura might have gotten jealous, but she was actually hoping it worked out for him.

Kankuro scratched his neck, obviously embarrassed at being caught. Sakura almost felt bad for teasing him. "I hope you don't mind," he said.

Sakura shook her head vehemently. "Of course not, carry on. I'll be waiting outside," she said as she grabbed her purse and made her way softly outside.

Sakura was standing just outside the restaurant, waiting patiently for Kankuro to be done. She really hoped he wouldn't take too much time—how hard could it be to ask a girl out?

Her attention was diverted as she stood watching some restaurants bring out more seats for their evening crowd. Some stalls were closing up, while street lights began to turn on. It was pretty. She could see why Suna's nightlife was popular among tourists. People hardly stayed up late in Konoha except on special days or weekends.

Sakura was jerked from her thoughts when she felt soft taps on her right shoulder from behind her. What the…

She turned around slowly to see an unrecognizable man standing right in front of her.

"We meet again," the man said with a slightly amused smile playing on his lips.

Sakura arched her eyebrows in confusion. Was she supposed to know this man? She let her eyes surreptitiously scrutinize him from top to bottom. Damn, he was incredibly handsome with his blonde toffee hair and greyish-brown eyes, but she still didn't know him.

"There is definitely something in the Suna water," Inner Sakura interrupted.

Sakura nodded internally in agreement. The dude was good looking, alright. He did seem familiar, but her mind couldn't come up with anything more than that.

The man, who had been watching her try to figure out his identity, suddenly leaned forward to peer closely at her, the sudden movement making Sakura lean back a bit.

What happened to giving people personal space?

"You don't remember, do you?" he asked, a playful smile on his lips as his eyes searched hers. Sakura couldn't help but notice that his eyes were unnervingly beguiling, clashing strangely with his bright, innocent smile.

No shit, Sherlock. Of course, she didn't remember, Sakura said internally.

"The club, we danced. Remember?" he continued when Sakura offered no response.

Sakura looked dazed for a moment as her mind tried to sift through her jumble of memories for his face. Ten seconds…twenty seconds…Then it finally clicked. Ahhh, she remembered now—the nice guy she danced with at the club a few days ago. She had been drunk off her mind and barely remembered anything except for her embarrassing moment with Gaara for some reason.

Just the thought of his name already reminded her of what happened earlier. Ughhh.

"I barely remember anything from that night," Sakura said, smiling apologetically at him.

"Me and you both…but you're not someone who is easy to forget, you know?" he said, his eyes focused on hers.

Sakura blushed furiously. Oh my god, what a flirt! She cleared her throat.

"Do you tell this to every girl you dance with?" she joked with an eye roll.

"No…you're the first, actually."

"I find that hard to believe," Sakura retorted.

"Why? Because you think I'm hot?"

Sakura scoffed. "A bit of a narcissist, aren't you?" He seemed like the type of man who was well aware of his good looks.

He chuckled deeply at that. "Far from it, but anyways, don't you think you owe me an apology?"

He was funny, and Kankuro was nowhere to be found yet, so she'd indulge this pseudo-stranger for now.

"And pray tell for what reason?" An amused smile spread across her face.

"For abandoning me on the dance floor, of course!" He pouted.

Sakura chuckled at his attempt to be cute. "I didn't abandon you!"

He insisted that she did abandon him. "You can make up for it by attending my party this weekend," he concluded.

Her past self would have refused immediately, but she was trying to turn over a new leaf. Besides, this was why she had come to Suna—to try new things, have fun, and meet new people. Right?

The man seemed to take her silence as an approaching refusal. "You can come with a friend if you wish," he added in a bid to persuade her.

She was just about to reply before a heavy evening wind blew, sending her hair haphazardly into her face. She sighed in annoyance, reaching to push the stray strands back behind her ears.

She was startled when, instead, the man in front of her reached forward to push her hair behind her ears. Call her inexperienced with men, but wasn't this a breach of personal space? She barely knew the guy!

She felt uneasy but decided to ignore it as he didn't seem to think much of it either. "Maybe the men in Suna did this normally?" she wondered.

"So…are you coming?" he asked, a hopeful glint in his eyes.

She was still a bit rattled from what he just did and couldn't believe she was actually considering this. "F-Fine, I—"

"Great!" he said, cutting her off. He grabbed her hand, placing a rectangular card on it.

"Can't wait to see you there, Sakura," he said with a smile and a short wave. Before she could even blink, he was gone.

She was going to say she'd think about it.

He was crazy, that's all Sakura could think as she stood there, still shocked. Wait, how did he know her name? "Hey!" she tried to call out, but he was already gone. That was weird. She didn't even get his name.

Sakura was still standing there, confused, when Kankuro came barreling out.

"Finally!… took you long enough," she said, taking the lead on the way home as she plopped the invitation card in her purse, to be forgotten. An ecstatic Kankuro matched her steps. From the looks of the stupid smile on his face, it seemed like he scored a date.

Overall, it had been a nice evening, and she had Kankuro to thank for that. Her day hadn't started great, but she was glad it could have a nice end.

"Hey," she called to him.

He turned to her, a grin on his face.

"Thank you for today."

"You're welcome, Sakura-chan."

Sakura smiled in satisfaction as she watched her students leave the classroom. Her classes were going so well; a handful of her students could now revive the fish! They were actually so talented, she thought as she made her way to her office. She didn't have much on her schedule for the day, and her research with Keita was basically on hold for the time being. It had nothing to do with Gaara, okay maybe a little, but it was really because of Keita's busy schedule.

A few days had passed since the incident, but things with Gaara were still quiet. Although he did seem to be in the house more often than usual, much to her surprise.

She kept running into him at random intervals. She could be eating and talking with Kankuro, and he'd appear and sit with them at the dining table. She could be grabbing something downstairs, and there he was as well. It made things awkward, and she'd try to find some silly excuse to leave.

Kankuro was probably already suspecting something was wrong, but he never asked her. Thankfully.

She had been in the library once when he showed up. She grabbed her books and left so fast. It seemed like he had wanted to talk with her, but she wasn't trying to hear it.

She really did miss talking to him, and a lot of times she wanted to find out how his sleep was since he started the medication she had provided, but her hurt feelings would win over her concern, and she would just leave. Obviously, she had overestimated her value to him because of a kiss and a few glances, but as usual, it was her fault for assuming anyways.

Even though she tried to deny it, it was now clear to her that she felt something for him. Maybe it was just a crush. She didn't know what it was yet, but she could just feel its oh-too-sweet stems budding in her heart, slowly taking root.

So, the plan was to nip it at the bud before it became something bigger that would definitely cause her pain, and she was doing that by avoiding him and drowning herself in work. She figured that was enough to curb her persistent thoughts about him.

Her plan was proving to be futile, especially since she kept seeing him every day. Regardless, she was determined to keep things professional between them from now on.

Luckily for her, Temari was taking her shopping today after her shift. She couldn't wait; shopping would certainly help to clear her mind!

Gaara was seated back in his chair, seemingly focused on signing off the huge pile of papers on his table. His lips were set in a grim line, and anyone who saw him now would probably think he was intensely focused. But he really wasn't. Half his mind was somewhere else—specifically on someone with pink hair. Still, he kept signing paper after paper, barely reading through them. Most of them were routine; he knew the writings like the back of his hand.

He raised his head to look at his brother, who had been seated across from him for almost twenty minutes. Gaara had every intention of ignoring Kankuro, but his annoying brother had resorted to tapping his feet noisily, clearly intending to make Gaara acknowledge him.

"What do you need, Kankuro?" Gaara's eyes were dark, and his voice had a chill to it.

"OH! He speaks."

If it were possible, Gaara's eyes darkened further at his brother. Kankuro wasn't scared; the worst Gaara could do was kill him, but he was here with a purpose.

"You know how I hate playing middleman during any one of you and Temari's little fights?" Kankuro tsked.

Gaara sighed. He could already see where this speech was going.

"Exactly, so I'd like you to be the bigger person and stop whatever childish fight you have going on with Sakura."

"Nothing is going on," Gaara replied icily.

"Right, so Sakura is suddenly so repulsed by your presence she has to make up the most outrageous excuses to leave anytime you arrive? Wait, wait, what was the last excuse..." Kankuro tapped his jaw as if trying to remember.

"I don't have time for this," Gaara said, annoyed. Frankly, he didn't need a reminder. He kept trying to approach her, and she kept avoiding him like the plague. At first, he had tried to be indifferent about it, but he couldn't fake it for much longer. He was just plain annoyed at her behavior. How long was she planning on ignoring him? Did he really do something so heinous? She was the one that was trying to keep things from him in the first place! And she even had the audacity to go on dates with other men. Anytime he thought about what he saw on that day, he got mad all over again. Who even was that man with her?

It didn't matter anyway. If Sakura thinks she can successfully avoid him after giving him a taste of what it would be like to have her, then she's got another thing coming.

"Gaara!"

Gaara snapped out of his thoughts at his brother's loud voice. Again. He looked up at Kankuro.

"Look," Kankuro sighed and raised his hand as if in surrender. "All I'm saying is, you did something wrong. Everybody fucks up. Just fucking apologize. I'm tired of being in the middle of it. I know you have the hots for her, so you better fix it before some other dude snags her up."

Gaara's eyes turned hard as ice chips. No man was stealing Sakura from him.

Kankuro chuckled. "Hey! I'm on your side here. And I know you don't like it, but just apologize. I know whatever happened was your fault anyway."

Forget about apologizing. She didn't even want to hear him out. This woman was doing his head in.

"Also, what are your plans with Matsuri?" Kankuro asked, leaning against the wall with crossed arms.

Gaara rubbed his temples. "What do you mean, Kankuro?"

"I mean, when are you ending things with her? It's not going to look good if you want something with Sakura," Kankuro said matter-of-factly. "Matsuri's already acting weird towards Sakura and she doesn't even know you like her yet. She's gonna lose it when she finds out."

"For Kami's sake, can you shut up already?" Gaara groaned. "But what do you mean, acting weird?"

"Sakura mentioned Matsuri being rude to her," Kankuro shrugged.

Damn Matsuri. Gaara had already been planning to break things off with her, but this pushed it to the top of his list. The past few days had been overwhelming, from the bombshell Sakura and Keita dropped on him to his own issues with Sakura and now Matsuri. He couldn't catch a fucking break.

Not a day went by when he didn't think about what they had relayed to him. After going through the documents, he realized how wrong everything could go if it wasn't contained quickly. It was eating him up because for once, he didn't know what to do. Some Kazekage he was—unable to protect his people.

Kankuro could sense something was off with his brother. Gaara was hardly ever unfocused, even in discussions he disliked. His brother was usually the epitome of concentration.

"Gaara, is there something you're not telling me?" Kankuro's eyes searched Gaara's face for answers.

Gaara looked up at his brother. So far, only three people knew about the situation, including himself. Kankuro was his special advisor, aside from being his brother, and Temari was as involved as Kankuro. If he couldn't trust his own siblings, who could he trust?

"Send for Temari," Gaara said, his eyes serious.

Kankuro nodded, sensing this was a delicate matter.

Sakura and Temari had just entered the cool, air-conditioned shopping mall. Sakura reveled in the coolness; the heat outside was overbearing. She gazed around the huge mall as she followed Temari's lead to the clothing section.

As they entered the clothing store, Sakura marveled at the pretty clothes until Temari suddenly hissed, making Sakura look at her.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

"I just realized we have no party to attend, so what's the point in shopping for new clothes?"

"Geez, you had me worried," Sakura shook her head at Temari's theatrics before going back to checking out some clothes. Party, huh? Why did that ring a bell?

"So…what do you think about this?" Temari raised a lavender mini gown to her.

Sakura nodded as she scanned the dress. "It's pretty. You should try it on."

While Temari went to change in the dressing room, Sakura continued browsing. She held a white, silky mini gown to her body in front of a mirror. She liked it, but the neckline was a bit too low. Maybe I should check for something else—

"That white would suit you so well," Temari said from behind her.

Sakura turned to see Temari clad in the lavender gown. Wow, the gown was made for her.

"I love it, Temari. You should definitely take it."

"Ugh, I just wish there was a party to show it off at."

Party—party. Why did it feel like she was forgetting something? Wait—birthday party!

Sakura gasped loud enough for Temari to hear. She had totally forgotten about the invitation.

"What is going on?" Temari asked as Sakura frantically searched her purse.

Sakura smirked victoriously as she pulled out a black card. "Maybe our shopping won't be in vain after all," she squealed.

"Wait, is that—"

"An invitation card. Yes! I totally forgot about it." She slapped a hand on her forehead.

"Not just any invitation card, it's an exclusive one." Temari took the card from Sakura's hand for a closer look. It looked very familiar. "How did you say you got it again?"

Sakura narrated her encounter with the hunk from their first meeting to the unexpected recent encounter.

"And you know the crazy thing is, I don't even know his name!" Sakura giggled from the changing room.

"What does he look like?" Temari asked, having a hunch but wanting to be sure.

"Tall, brown hair, gray eyes? I'm not too sure, it was evening," Sakura said, stepping out of the changing room now clad in the white dress. "So?" She asked as she did a little spin.

"It's perfect," Temari said, though her mind was still on Sakura's story.

"You'll be coming, right? He told me I could bring a plus one." Please say yes. She needed a distraction badly.

"Do you even have to ask?" Temari said, making Sakura squeal in excitement.

Oh, she couldn't wait to see the look on her brothers' faces when she told them that the Ren Satoh had invited Sakura to his birthday party.

Temari and Sakura were walking side by side, shopping bags in hand, when an Anbu member suddenly appeared in front of them. He bowed in greeting before his eyes moved to Temari.

"The Kazekage has requested your presence," he said simply before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Geez, why can't they just be normal?" Temari said with a sigh.

"Tell me about it," Sakura chuckled as she took Temari's shopping bag from her. "I'll drop this at home for you, then."

"Thanks! I'll see you at home!" Temari said, taking off hurriedly in the opposite direction.

Sakura sighed as she started her walk home alone. She couldn't help but be curious about what Gaara wanted to discuss with Temari.