Shade of the Leaf by Ravyn

Chapter Four

Sakura lowered her hands, panting a little with the force of the motions she had used to snap the jutsu into place. Feeling the way the air hummed, she finally relaxed. Even Sasuke would have been impressed with that particular security measure. The jutsu wasn't very economical if you wanted something that would do more than warn you that someone was in hearing distance before dissipating. It was short lived; she would have maybe five minutes. That was okay. She didn't need more than that. Squaring her shoulders, she stood in the middle of her living room and finally gave words to the thoughts that had been plaguing her for days.

"I'm falling in love with Uzumaki Naruto."

She wasn't aware she had tensed every muscle in her body until her shoulders started to relax. She wasn't sure what she expected to happen, but Naruto didn't fall out of a closet and Ino didn't appear in her door. Her roof didn't fall in and there wasn't any sign of Itachi coming back from the dead, smelling a bouquet and quoting bad poetry. Kakashi hadn't appeared to tell her that he had sworn off his Ichi Ichi; the world was obviously not coming to an end.

"I'm falling for Naruto." The words were softer this time, more of a groan. Raking her nails through her hair, she stared at her ceiling. What was she going to do? Rubbing her temples, she found herself going back over her pitiful circular logic. The answers weren't appearing out of thin air and there wasn't a textbook to tell her what to do. In the past when she had had trouble with her fear for Sasuke she had drilled her anxiety into her training and sometimes into sparse conversations with Naruto.

Naruto.

Oh gods. She could just imagine having this conversation with him! Blanching at the thought, she tugged fisted her hands into her own hair and tugged. This wasn't working. What she needed… what she needed… what she needed was a mission.

A mission.

Perking up at the thought, Sakura quickly pulled on a pair of sandals and headed for the Hokage's office. Surely Tsunade would think getting some exercise and some mission pay into her account was going to be a great idea.

X

Sakura hefted the bundle of medical scrolls she had decided to return to the library. It was on her way to bullying Tsunade into letting her on a mission, and now as good a time as any to deal with the large stack that had been accumulating on her bookshelf. Laying the pile on a table, she rolled her neck as she attempted to decide which scrolls she should put back first.

"Sakura-san, I didn't expect to find you here."

Hinata's quiet voice was a welcome surprise, and Sakura turned with a smile. The Hyuuga was standing with her own scrolls firmly tucked under her arm. She was in casual clothing and had a slightly uncertain smile on her face, but her expression was welcoming.

"Hinata, I haven't seen you months!"

"Things have been a bit busy," the other ninja agreed. Sakura almost snorted. Busy was an understatement. The Hyuuga had been waging a silent political war inside her clan, and for most of it she had had nothing more than the unwavering support of her cousin. Speaking of…

"Neji let you out of the house alone?"

"Not exactly," Hinata muttered, her voice exasperated.

"Hello, Sakura-san."

Sakura turned her head and found herself studying Neji's familiar, handsome profile. He seemed relaxed, but there was the faintest hint of heated air, which suggested he had been using chakra recently.

"Neji," Sakura murmured. Turning, tilted her head at Hinata's scrolls. "Do you need any help finding anything?"

"Oh," Hinata said. "No. I have everything I needed."

Sakura shrugged. "I have spent enough time in this place to know where most anything is. Let me know if you ever need help finding something, okay?"

"Thank you Sakura-san."

"Your welcome."

"Perhaps I'll see you around."

Sakura smiled. "I hope so." It was entirely unlikely that she would see anything of Hinata until the Clan issues settled. She nodded at Neji.

"Good day, Sakura-san." Neji murmured, tilting his head towards the door, his eyes locking on Hinata's. She shook her head in obvious amusement before bowing. Neji mimicked her movements and they turned and silently left the library. Sakura pursed her lips before returning to her own pile of books. There wasn't anything she could do at to help them at the moment. Best to handle her end with Naruto and then let things work out as they would for everyone else.

But first, she needed a mission so she could think.

X

"Sand?" Sakura repeated, her eyes wide. "You want me to go to Sand. With Naruto. To watch the Jonin trials."

Tsunade lifted a brow her arms crossed under her ample cleavage. "Do I need to have your ears checked out, Sakura?"

"My hearing is fine," Sakura said with scowl. "I just don't understand the request. You haven't let any of us further than half a days run from the village in weeks."

'Since my own trials,' she added mentally.

Tsunade looked at her for a long moment before she nodded to the door. "Lock it."

Sakura blinked at her in surprise before moving to do as the Hokage had requested. Under her fingers the door warmed for a moment as the lock kicked into place.

"Sit down Sakura."

Sakura did as she was bid, her teeth tucked around her lip. She could only think of a handful of times Tsunade had locked the door, and only one other time had she been on this side of it. It was the day she had told her where to find Sasuke.

"I need Naruto to be out of the village for an extended period of time."

Sakura stared at her for a long time. There were two reasons that she could think of that Tsunade would rather have Naruto out of the village than in it and she didn't like either of them. "Sensei?"

Tsunade's long fingers folded together, and when she spoke again, her voice held a note that formed a knot in Sakura's gut.

"Do you remember the details of Gaara's capture?"

"Yes." How could she forget? They had been burned into her brain by the soft tones of his sister that night she struggled to heal Kankuro. The way the Kazekage had protected his own and in the process, had lost his life. Licking dry lips, she stared at her master.

"That would never work with Naruto."

Tsunade frowned. "Perhaps."

Sakura shook her head. "No. It wouldn't. The village might not like Naruto, all of them anyway, but they would never allow a single Akatsuki to humiliate them in that way."

"But what if they could draw Naruto out of this village and into another; another village that he felt strong ties to."

Sakura stared at her.

"The story of Naruto's bridge has done much good over the years, but I am afraid it won't do him any favors with the Akatsuki." Tsunade said in a calm voice. "Kakashi has reason to believe that they will strike soon, Sakura, and Naruto must be far enough that he will not know of the attack until he cannot try to help.

"Are you… are you certain?"

"No." Tsunade admitted. "Nothing in certain I am afraid. There is always the possibility that this is an elaborate scheme to attack Naruto while he goes to Sand, but I don't believe they know Naruto's friendship with Gaara well enough to suspect that I would send him to sand for this."

"Why me?"

"Because between you and Sasuke, the council will only allow me to send you. Sasuke may be suitable for hunting Sound, but they see no reason to send him to another village and risk you two leaving him there in some misguided sense of loyalty."

"Sasuke is ours."

"And you are Leaf's." Tsunade said firmly. Her expression softened a little. "Think of it this way, Sakura. If something happens out there, who better to have here to come after you?"

Lacing her fingers together, Sakura sighed. "Naruto won't forgive us if something happens to that village and he was deliberately taken away to keep from protecting them."

"Naruto is shinobi and he will take his orders the same as you." Tsunade said flatly. "The Council has demanded the right to see into this jounin class and I have no reason to turn them down. Naruto is my first choice to go to Sand and you are my second. This is a direct order and if either of you breech it, I will put you both in a holding cell for six months. Do I make myself clear?"

Sakura nodded.

X

"We're going to Sand!"

Sakura turned, fingers adjusting the straps of her pack along her shoulders. "You are the only person I know how is actually happy to go into the desert. Even if it is in the middle of winter, its still the desert."

Naruto laced his fingers behind his head and gave her his most winning smile. "Sand is very pretty, Sakura-chan."

She lifted both brows. "I beg your pardon?"

Naruto waved one hand along lazily. "You'll see. I'll show you."

Giving him a suspicious look, she shook her head. "Only you Naruto… how pissed was Sasuke at being left behind?"

Naruto paused from where he was adjusting his own back. A wrinkled formed between his brows. "He seemed okay with it."

Sakura blinked. "Huh?"

Naruto nodded, a curious expression on his face. "Yeah. Do you think he is planning something?"

Sakura gave him a dirty look. "Naruto. This is Sasuke. When is he not planning something?"

Naruto's smile turned sheepish. "Okay. Do you think he is planning something that has to do with us?"

"Always," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "The question simply becomes how much can he accomplish behind our backs in the time we are going to be gone."

Naruto was silent for a long time. "Do you think we can get back home before a weeks out?"

"Not even if we ran ourselves into exhaustion."

His crooked smile spoke volumes. "We'll maybe we should try."

Sakura considered his words before shaking her head. "Even if we could get back in time to spoil his plan, you know he will have figured out several contingencies to keep us busy until whatever he has finished is over. Best to just hope for the best and figure out why exactly Tsunade wanted us to go on this mission." She turned her eyes away from him.

"Yeah… about that…"

"We better get moving," Sakura said firmly, meeting his eyes with hers. "It's a long run to Sand."

Naruto's brows were tucked together, and she could read the suspicion in his eyes clearly, but she couldn't deal with it. Not now. Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself into the trees and pushed off from the branch.

Her fingers didn't relax on the straps of her pack until she heard Naruto behind her.

X

Tsunade drummed her fingers on her desk, studying the contents of her small teacup. Shizune had changed the cups out again. Surely she didn't expect her to drink less if the cup was smaller? Eventually she would just get bored and use the jug. Sighing, she poured as much sake as she dared into the tiny thing and watched the contents.

As Hokage, she couldn't start drinking out of the jug until the last of her appointments had finished. Scowling again, she didn't bother to look up when the door opened.

"You're late."

"Hn."

Shaking her head, she looked up and studied the Uchiha in front of her. "Where is the other one?"

"Surely you weren't about to compare me to my wayward student?" A voice from her right questioned.

"You'll be lucky if that's the least of my comparisons, Kakashi." Tsunade warned as she downed the contents of the small teacup. She studied the cup for a long moment before sighing.

"What do you have for me?"

"That Akatsuki are no where near Leaf." Kakashi said mildly.

"We knew that. Go on."

"Pakkun informs me that Sakura and Naruto will reach Sand by morning."

"Quick."

"Quicker than if they had been moving at a regular pace." Kakashi agreed. "It's almost as if one of them was worried about something."

Tsunade took another drink, ignoring his jab. "Sakura might be mine now, but she was yours first. I imagine she has developed a thorough dislike of being late."

Sasuke snorted.

"Do you have something to add?" Tsunade questioned, pinning Sasuke with her eyes.

"It is done."

Tsunade studied him for a long moment. "You are sure your information is correct?"

"Neji verified it." Sasuke said mildly. "When the time comes, they will vote as I asked." A faint smile curled the edges of his mouth.

Yes. Tsunade was fairly sure he was correct. They would vote the direction the young Uchiha had required, but only partially because of the information he was currently blackmailing them with.

It was the eyes, she decided. Not so much the fact that they were so dark it was difficult to read them, but the way he watched you from them. As if he could strip the flesh from your bones with just his eyes and was just waiting for the chance to do so.

"Good. Perhaps we can have this cleared up before Naruto and my pupil return." Tsunade sighed.

"Will you fight the council if we loose?" Kakashi questioned. His voice was at his most mild and Tsunade had learned a long time ago that it was also when he was his most dangerous.

"It will depend. But if things go that badly, I expect you two to get to Sand to stay there."

"Ah."

"That is a direct order, Kakashi." Tsunade informed him. "One that neither of you will be able to afford disobeying."

"Yes, Hokage-sama."

She snorted. "Don't give me that crap. I don't fully expect things to go that far, either. The young Hyuuga has her clan firmly in hand, and the rest of the council will be hard pressed to vote against my proposal without support."

"There will be trouble." Sasuke said.

"Yes." She pursed her lips. "Even when my proposal passes, there will be unrest. You had best watch your back, Sasuke. Yours' and your teams."

The young man nodded.

"Well, if that's all," Kakashi said cheerfully, pulling out a familiar book. "I have some reading to catch up on."

"Not in my office." Tsunade said firmly. "Both of you, out."

X

A shadow detached itself from the Hokage's tower, moving swiftly through Konaha.

A smaller, quicker shadow quickly followed.

"Don't worry. Pakkun will follow him easily enough."

"They will make their move soon. Tsunade is wrong. They will strike at you first."

"Perhaps. My reputation speaks for itself, so they will be wary. You are still young and stupid."

"Hn."

"Go home. Get some sleep. They can't touch Naruto where he is." Kakashi crinkled his good eye. "In fact, I doubt anyone would want to take Naruto and Gaara at the same time."

"I am not worried about Naruto." Sasuke said.

"Sakura will be fine. She had a nasty right hook, even without chakra."

"Hn."

"Ah, she got you with that one did she?"

X

The grass had given away to rocky sand hours ago and they were finally reaching the border of Sand. It stretched out in front of her for hours and she wondered once again how anyone could choose to live in this place. Tilting her head, she studied Naruto. There was a curious half-smile playing on his lips, as if something inside him connected to this… landscape. She wondered what he saw that she didn't.

"How is this beautiful?"

He turned, and behind his eyes she thought she some something wild. Then it was gone and she was facing her Naruto again. He smiled.

"I promised I'd show you."

Crossing her arms, she stared at him. The smile grew and he pointed. "We have company."

Turning, Sakura lifted a hand in greeting to the familiar faces. She hadn't seen Kankuro or Temari since they had brought Gaara back and she was pleased to see that they were both doing all right. They would have heard otherwise, but there was never a guarantee that the ninja you met would be around to see again after such an extended period of time. Of course, most of those ninja's didn't have Gaara as a brother, either.

"It's about time you got here. We expected you two days ago." Temari said as she approached.

Sakura and Naruto exchanged confused glances. "Huh?"

"Don't mind her," Kankuro said, fingers fiddling with something at his waste. "She's just bitter it's you two and not that strange haired nin who usually comes instead."

Sakura looked at Naruto.

'Shikamaru' Naruto mouthed, ducking to one side to avoid Temari's punch and wiggling his fingers in a way that was clearly supposed to represent something, she just couldn't figure it out. Rolling her eyes, she bowed.

"Thank you for welcoming us at your borders."

Temari returned the bow. "Sand welcomes you in friendship."

Kankuro bowed as well, a slight smile on his mouth. "Welcome to Sand, Naruto-san, Sakura-san."

There was a casual warmth in Kankuro's voice that hadn't been there at their last meeting and Sakura pulled herself out of her bow curiously, but he had already moved away. Shrugging, she adjusted her pack and went to follow. Tilting her head to order Naruto into moving, she was startled at the narrow eyed, faintly hostile expression on his face.

"Naruto?"

He jerked around, and offered her a careless smile. "Come on, Sakura-chan, I bet Gaara hasn't had ramen in weeks."

Temari turned, her eyes dancing. "You didn't really bring that stuff did you?"

Naruto's smile was bright. "Gaara said he liked it." He pointed a finger at Sakura. "Aren't you always telling me to make good diplomatic relations?"

Sakura opened her mouth and then closed it. "You know what Naruto? I just don't want to know." Widening her stride, she caught up with Kankuro. "I'll be over here. Having an adult conversation."

Kankuro kept walking, but the corner of his mouth twitched. "What makes you think my conversation is adult?"

Sakura leaned forward and offered him her best Sasuke smile. "Is that a dare?"

Kankuro's eyes slid over and his mouth opened but before he could open it a small pebble bounced off his head. Twisting around, both ninja looked at Temari and Naruto who were watching them with expressions layered in innocence.

Kankuro gave a long suffering sound. "So, Sakura-san, what would you like to know."

Her smile was sharp. "Why, Kankuro-kun, I though you would never ask!"

Naruto folded his hands behind his head and cut Temari a sly look. "Shikamaru huh?"

Temari's lips twitched. "You keep that up, and I'll be the first to tell my brother that she is single."

Naruto's teeth clicked together audibly. Reaching over, Temari patted him on the head.

"Good boy."

X

Sakura relaxed, starring into the bustling of the city. It had taken her most of yesterday to feel comfortable in the sand. Footing here was different. You weren't able to plant yourself and take a stand like at home. Sand-nin shifted about and around each other smoothly, as if they had somehow managed to incorporate the earth to their advantage.

To her utter disgust, Naruto had managed it to.

"It's like walking on water."

Sakura turned, her expression blank. "What?"

"Walking." He said, a slow smile curling the edges of his mouth. "It's like you're on water."

"You were terrible at walking on water."

"But I'm good at it now," he returned. Clasping his hands behind his head, he grinned. "You like it here, right?"

"Its… interesting."

"You can do better than that!" Naruto scolded, eyes laughing at her.

Sakura narrowed her eyes. Before she could speak up, a voice cut through their banter.

"Are you two always like this?" Temari asked, hand shielding her eyes as she walked over.

"Only when he is being annoying." Sakura said cheerfully.

Naruto made a wounded face. "I'm hurt Sakura-chan. I'm never annoying."

"Except when you are."

"If I was a lesser man, I would pout."

Shaking her head, Sakura turned her back to him and faced Temari. "How many will be taking the test."

"Enough to keep you here longer than expected." Temari said with a shrug. "Gaara has the list. Which is why I came down here. He would like to speak to both of you, in his office."

"Playing message-girl?" Naruto questioned, a cheeky smile on his face.

"Keeping the strange-nin out of trouble." Temari returned. "Tsunade feels that you need a babysitter and Gaara agreed. I just got stuck with the short stick."

Sakura rolled her yes. "And you said we were bad."

"I can only speak the truth," Temari said pleasantly.

"I'll be sure to pass that along to Shikamaru," Sakura said as she followed the Sand-nin. "He appreciates… truth."

Temari smiled, showing off her teeth. "You do that."

"Sakura," Naruto whispered. "You sure that's a good idea?"

"Shikamaru could use a little excitement," Sakura returned with a shrug. "He gets bored easily."

"No," Naruto corrected with a laugh. "He just doesn't bother with anything too troublesome."

Sakura winked at him. "I think trouble might have just found him, anyway."

Naruto was silent before he grinned. "I win."

She stopped and stared at him. "What?"

"Neji and I have a bet."

"Neji and you?"

"Yup. And I win."

"Win what?"

Naruto just grinned.

"Hey! Are you two coming or not?"

"Yes, yes," Sakura called back as she grabbed Naruto's arm. "Win what?"

"It's just a little something between me and Neji." Naruto informed her, eyes dancing. "Don't worry about it."

"I'm going to beat you so hard…"

"That Tsunade has to put me in traction. I know."

Sakura lowered her lashes. "Are you mocking me?"

"We are here!" Temari said loudly as she opened the door.

"I would never mock you," Naruto said, eyes wide and his hand pressed over his heart as they walked into the room. "You hit too hard."

"Do I even want to know?" Gaara questioned. Sakura looked over at him, but his features gave nothing away.

"They have been doing this since we started walking," Temari informed her brother. "We should probably let them fight it out. Put them out on display for the village. Show off the strength of our allies."

Sakura took a deep breath before bowing to the Kazekage. "Thank you for the hospitality of Sand."

Gaara returned the motion with a half bow. "Sand welcomes you."

Naruto leaned forward, a wide grin on his face. "I brought ramen."

Interest sharpened his eyes and Sakura bit down on a groan when she realized Naruto had been telling the truth. It had to be a jinchuuriki thing. Lacing her fingers behind her back to keep from smacking Naruto in the back of his blond head, she took a deep breath. Reaching into her pack, she pulled out the scroll that Tsunade had requested she deliver.

Naruto tilted his head. "Did I know you had that?"

"No." Sakura said mildly. "You didn't."

Gaara accepted the scroll with a nod, before his eyes went back to Naruto. "You will have dinner with me."

Temari leaned forward and whispered. "You're with me."

Sakura's lips twitched. "You think it's a good idea to leave those two alone?"

"Better than being forced to sit next to them while they try to out eat each other in some of strange, male bonding." Temari muttered.

Sakura hesitated and then shrugged. "Sure. Better than ramen."

Naruto turned and faced the two women, his expression suspicious. "Nothing is better than ramen."

Sakura sighed heavily. "See what I have to deal with?"

"Right." Temari muttered. "I thought I had it bad!"

"Hey!"

X

"How was dinner with Temari?" Naruto asked as he joined her the next morning, his expression curious. She had already been asleep by the time he had gotten back to his quarters.

"How was dinner with Gaara?" Sakura shot back, adjusting the slightly large tunic that Temari had lent her. Naruto was wearing a similar shirt, and for once Sakura didn't feel like her skin was shriveling up and fleeing internally. Ah well. Such was the desert she supposed.

Naruto studied her out of the corner of his eyes. "You didn't do… girly things all night… did you?"

"Did you belch and scratch yourself and talk about all the strong ninja you had killed?" Sakura returned with a raised brow, the corner of her lips twitching.

"Right." Naruto muttered. Clearing his throat, he offered her his best "we behaved ourselves, really" smile. "Would you believe me if I said we talked politics?"

Sakura laughed. "Only if it was the politics of overtaking the ramen market."

"We're not that bad," Naruto scolded, his own eyes laughing. His eyes grew serious, even though his smile stayed the same. "We did actually talk about a few things."

"Other than ramen?"

"Other than ramen." Naruto agreed, shaking his head.

Walking over, Sakura slipped her arm through his and smiled at him. "I know. Sometimes it’s just too easy to tease you."

"You should be careful, Sakura-chan," Naruto warned as they began their walk to the testing grounds. "One day I might just take you seriously."

"I'm sure I'll think of something when that happens and surprise you." She teased. "You might be the number one unpredictable ninja, but I've had years to watch you."

"I'll keep that in mind." He promised. His eyes moved away from her smile and back towards the landscape in front of them. "We should probably figure out what we are both going to be taking mental notes on."

Sakura nodded. "There isn't going to be a lot of genjutsu used, I don't think. It's possible they have a talented chunin or two, but we would have heard of something through the rumor mills."

"Yeah. But they are going to have a lot of precise chakra use," Naruto pointed out. "Kankuro is a good example of what they can do. Maximum bang for minimum effort."

"They are a lot better at it than we are, the village as a whole." Sakura admitted. "I'll be able to follow what they are doing with their chakra and how it’s different than what even Sensei and I do, if you can make some mental notes on what techniques they are using that we haven't seen before."

"I can do that," Naruto assured her. "Shall we compare notes on our way back to Konoha?"

"We'll have to." Sakura said. "We can't write anything down, even to give it to Sensei. Everything has to stay here," she tapped his temple for emphasis. "Or else we breech our treaty."

Naruto blinked at her. "Then why send me?"

Sakura tilted her head. "Because you need the practice."

He stared at her for a long moment before blinking and smiling, his eyes lighting up bright enough that her chest tightened.

"Thanks Sakura."

"For what?"

"For believing in me." He said simply.

She snorted, wrapped her fingers around his and squeezing. "Sasuke and I both believe in you, Naruto."

"I know. It's just nice to hear it sometimes."

"Well, don't expect it often. Your head would get so big it would explode if we told you all the time." She poked him in the ribs. "Then what would happen?"

"Naruto-slime." His tone was solemn.

"Ew!"

"It wouldn't be that bad, Sakura-chan! I bet I would be very nicely colored slime. I could even live in your bathroom, free of charge."

"Naruto!"

"Awe, don't… ooomp." Naruto leaned over his gut where she had punched him.

"Sa-ku-ra!" He gasped.

"You better hurry," Sakura informed him as she continued to walk, "or you're going to be late."

"Sa-kura!"

She just waved over her shoulder.

X

Sakura sighed, running her fingers through her damp hair. Diplomatic status had given them longer shower time, but she and Naruto had been switching who had a shower on what day to keep from taxing Sand's resources. They could always drown themselves when they got back to Konoha after all.

Leaning against the window in her room, she studied the streets of Suna at night. It wasn't home, but Naruto was right. There was a strange, almost alien sort of attraction to the place. Although she would never actually tell the blond that; a half smile lifted the edges of her mouth into a smile and she pressed her face against the glass and closed her eyes.

The quiet of night here was relaxing, but it did nothing to distract her from the insanity of her thoughts. Naruto had questioned her that morning if she was sleeping, and she had stubbornly ignored him. If she said no, there was little chance her would believe her if she sited the new location of Sand as the reason. She had slept fine the last time she was here. No. This entire problem was quite squarely Naruto's fault!

She just couldn't stop analyzing every movement she and Naruto had made around each other since Sasuke came back. Opening her eyes, she stared blindly down at Sand.

'Logically Sakura; go about this logically!' Lowering her hand, she smiled somewhat ruefully. It wasn't like she was going to be getting a lot of sleep tonight anyway. At least tomorrow she could just tell Naruto she had been over analyzing the Jounin trials they had been watching. That was truth enough.

Settling her shoulder against the wall, she stared at the window. Was he in love with her? She knew there was attraction, those half kisses and real kisses had said enough. The way his eyes would sometimes burn, as if he was holding something back and that it was almost too much for him… well, attraction meant lust and she had already admitted she wanted to jump his bones. She also knew she was far too emotionally involved to sleep with him without some assurances that he was serious about this. A rueful smile curved her lips. Not that Naruto wouldn’t be serious about it, when it came to his friends and those he cared about he was ruthless in making sure they were happy. It was why he was going to be such a good Hokage.

Pushing her hands through her bangs, she stared gloomily through the night. So that meant that her problem were her rules and not Naruto. Her carefully formed and decided rules that had been in place for years on how to deal with Naruto. She wasn't willing to break them. She had already made that mistake with Sasuke, giving too much of herself where it wasn't wanted until she had to dig her heels in and fight to earn the trust she deserved as his teammate. She loved Sasuke. She really, truly did. She just wasn't in love with him. She didn't regret where she was with him. His friendship and his quiet confidence at her back were wonderful. He made her happy the way he was. Naruto… with Naruto she wanted more. Yet, she was so terrified of loosing him to her stupidity.

Loosing Naruto… Her breath hitched and she swallowed. Loosing Naruto was unacceptable. Sasuke… he was a missing piece that made her feel whole and safe and complete. It was like loosing a limb and finding it was suddenly there again, working and strong. Loosing Naruto would be much, much worse.

Especially if it was her fault; shoulder rounding with exhaustion, she admitted to herself that the crux of the problem. Naruto's ability to forgive was almost endless. Almost. If she managed to screw up in such a way he was forced to choose between their friendship and whatever was delicately growing between them…. there would be no going back. She wasn't sure there would be a second chance.

Yet… he had kissed her. He had watched her with those eyes that were almost starved… had held her hand and picked her up and slept on her couch for no other reason than it was her couch. Had given her his bed when she needed it and the comfort of his presence. He had been her best friend since before she had even realized who he was as a person. Rubbing her temples, she sighed.

So she had two choices. The first was to walk away from what was between them, to hide behind a façade of friendship and pray that Naruto would eventually let what was between them go. The other was to take the risk, to grasp it with both hands and find out what was going on and what she wanted.

Biting her lip, she took a deep even breath. She wasn't a coward, and she had sworn that she would never back out of battle ever again. If this was a battlefield… well, didn't they compare love to war?

Now all she had to do was figure out how to tell him that she was open to his advances…

Looking out the window, she physically started to see Naruto and Gaara standing in the street. One hand was behind Naruto's head and the other was waving to prove a point. The sight of the two ninja's had her breath catching in her throat, and Sakura swallowed.

Maybe she was just going to go blunt with this one. Naruto had never been too particularly good about picking up subtle messages anyway.

X

Naruto slung his hands behind his head, feeling very satisfied. Cutting his eyes to the man next to him, he considered the Kazekage. Gaara, for his part, was ignoring him, although the corner of one mouth twitched a little, as if he was attempting to hide his own amusement. Ha. Like that would work. He could read Sasuke, after all, and while the lack of eyebrows did manage to keep his expression bland, there were other ways to see things. Like that fact that his hands were loose at his side and the edges of his mouth were deep enough to be a smile. Sort of. If he squinted really hard.

"Your face is going to get stuck like that."

"Everyone keeps saying that," Naruto complained.

Gaara said nothing, but his shoulder twitched, as if he was laughing.

Bastard.

Turning his eyes back to the desert night, Naruto smiled to himself. "I told Sakura this place was beautiful."

There was a hesitation, a slight shift in intensity.

"Oh?"

Naruto grinned again. "She didn't believe me."

Gaara shrugged. "Not many see it."

Naruto gave his own shrug. "I told her I would show it to her."

Gaara's eyes cut over. "Did you."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto flung a hand out and drove a knuckle into the stoic's man's arm. "Just because you’re Kazekage and I'm the future Hokage doesn't mean I won't kick your ass."

Sand shifted around them, but Gaara's mouth had twisted into something resembling a smile. It was slightly creepy, but was a much better version of a smile than he had seen the last time he had talked to him.

"Is that a challenge?"

Naruto thought about it and then shook his head. "Nah. Sakura would kill me if she caught us brawling."

This time, it was a real smile, and Naruto narrowed his eyes. That wasn't exactly a polite smile, now that he thought about it.

"What?"

Gaara's eyes flickered over and above him, and Naruto lifted his head. To his surprised, he caught a flash of pink before the figure moved away from the window.

"Hey, I wonder what she is doing still awake."

Gaara was silent, so Naruto turned back and blinked at the expression on his friend's face. Well, the lack of expression.

"Have you told her yet?"

All the teasing left him, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, his eyes moving away from Gaara and back to the streets.

"No."

"Hn."

Trying for a smile, Naruto shrugged. "You saw her at the trials. Would you want to try something she didn't like with that punch?"

Gaara's expression didn't change. When he finally spoke, his words were careful. "I think I would be lucky to find someone willing to look past this." His fingers moved a little, and Naruto's shoulders rounded.

"Yeah. I know."

"Yet, you hesitate."

"It's Sakura."

"Perhaps you should tell her that."

"You know, between you and Sasuke, I really don't feel like I get to make any of these decisions on my own."

Gaara started walking again. "Try living with Temari."

Naruto was silent and then he grinned. "I see your point."

"Go away, Naruto."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto stretched his neck, feeling a few of the vertebrae pop. He hesitated for a moment, and then turned on his heel.

He wondered if Sakura was up for some conversation.

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