Naruto 1. Chapter 1

I began to wonder if therapy really helped anyone.

I sat across from my therapist, Susume, my arms folded across my chest and my legs crossed. I brooded silently in the bright green chair I sat in. I was still angry as hell that my mother had gone through my stuff (again) and given what she considered to be 'problem areas' to my therapist. I was so glad I was starting school tomorrow. I didn't want to spend all day dealing with my mother.

"Haruno-san, would you like to talk to me about this?" Susume asked quietly, gesturing to the notebook in her hands. It was currently opened to a poem I had scribbled down a couple of days ago.

Mysteries are constant

_Hidden underneath_

_People are enigmas_

_And never what they seem_

_Emotions are relentless_

_Some fade away in time_

_But memories are haunting_

_You can't pretend they're lies_

I shrugged. "There's not much to say," I told her. "Its just some scribbles."

"It's pretty," Susume answered. "You must have spent a lot of time on it."

"Not really." Poetry was just a way to occupy my time when I was bored and had nothing else to do, which was most of the time.

"People are not what they seem…" Susume muttered idly. "Are you implying people are… bad?"

I sighed. "It doesn't say that. All it says is that people hide who they really are. It's simply the truth. I do it, and so do you."

"What reason do I have to hide who I really am?"

I sighed again. "I don't know. It's simple fact. Why do I hide my true self?"

"You're injured." I looked at her, and she put a finger up. "Mentally, I mean. Like it says here, memories are haunting. Clearly you don't want anyone to think that you are…"

"Look," I interrupted. "I don't need you to tell me. Why should I care what people think?"

"Do you?"

I fought back another sigh. The exasperation was getting to me. "I wish I didn't, but I won't lie. I do. To an extent." I could tell she was going to ask, so I continued. "I care what they think about me on the big scales. But little things don't bother me. And if I don't like the person, what they think generally doesn't matter, too."

Susume nodded. "I see." She began to scribble. I really wanted to know what she was writing, but it felt dumb to ask. Besides, the clock on the wall chimed, signaling the end of our session.

"Haruno-san…" Susume called to me just before I walked out the door. "I know school is starting, so we'll be rescheduling." She paused to shuffle through her calendar. "Fridays at 4 will work. Come right after school."

I nodded and left.

I dropped my notebook on the floor and sat on my bed, looking at my reflection in the mirror across from me. My hair reached my armpits now. It was a bright pink color and natural, which was, needless to say, strange. Susume first assumed this was the source of my antisocial status, assuming I was picked on. I _was _picked on a little, but I wasn't a social butterfly because I didn't know how to be. Besides, I wasn't really antisocial. I had friends, but they weren't preppy, so apparently they didn't count.

I rolled my eyes at myself. It didn't matter anyway. My parents had effectively dragged me away from those friends by moving halfway across the freaking country to live with my aunt and uncle's family for no good reason.

My musing was interrupted by a large clamor. My little cousin, Koishii, had thrown a fit over something. Probably something trivial, as was his style. And they sent _me _to the therapist.

Just then the door creaked.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were home."

I looked up to see my mother standing there.

"Sorry about that. If I had known you wanted to snoop more, I would've taken a longer route."

She looked away, shamefaced. "Sakura-chan… understand, please? I'm just concerned."

I narrowed my eyes. "There's still something called privacy. And for that matter, there is something called knocking, too."

"I didn't know you were home." And she left without another word.

I flopped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. Things were getting awkward around here. My mother and I used to be like… friends. Not best friends. We didn't have the relationship where we could talk about anything. No, it was more like casual conversation and laughing. But it was comfortable. Now…

I couldn't really explain it. Things had happened, things had been said… but I wasn't the type to get effected by such things. Over the years I had employed a 'tough it out' strategy, and it had proved to work fine. It wasn't me who started acting different. It was my mother. I wasn't mentally injured, like Susume insisted. But it was hardly fair to say my mother was either.

I closed my eyes. The situation was simple in some ways, but complicated in others.

It had all started with a boy I only knew in passing. An acquaintance, I suppose. I couldn't say what his issue was. Even his closer friends couldn't identify it. He was like me in that way, I suppose, not the type to make his problems public.

He seemed nice, I guess. But he been getting into trouble frequently, and everyone seemed only too anxious to point the finger everywhere else but at him. I didn't say anything, but I knew at some point people had to admit they were responsible for their own actions and own up to the consequences.

However, I didn't anticipate this result…

I was awoken by the sound of pounding on my door.

"Sakura-san! It's already 7:30! You need to leave soon!"

I grumbled and told my uncle to give me a few minutes. I changed quickly into my uniform. It was pretty standard, nothing special. A simple white oxford shirt with a black overcoat. The girls commonly wore skirts, but I got pants instead. I never liked the feel of skirts. No matter what the circumstance, they never failed to annoy the shit out of me.

After fumbling down the stairs, tripping over my own feet repeatedly (I managed to avoid falling flat on my face, though) and earning a few chuckles from my uncle, I grabbed my bag and left the house.

I estimated it to be about a 20-minute walk, and so arrived with five minutes to spare. The building was nice one, large and spacey. I wondered vaguely if they had tennis courts somewhere. We never got to play tennis back where I came from.

I walked past the entrance sign that read 'Konoha Uptown Academy, Honorary High School' and walked up the path surrounded by flowers. The place was loaded, I thought, as I noticed expensive-looking nametags, identifying the botany.

I walked to the office and immediately ran into someone.

"Oh! Sorry!" I cried.

I saw a woman with short, dark brown hair standing before me. She smiled sweetly. "Hello, how may I help you?"

"My name is Haruno Sakura, I'm a transfer…"

"Ah! Yes, I remember now." The woman reached over and pulled out a pile of papers. "Here you are! Excuse me for not leading you through them, I'm in a bit of a rush." And then she left.

I stared after her a moment or two, and then walked out of the office myself, shifting through the papers until I found my schedule. I pulled out a map before making my way to room 577.

I had to stand at the door in awe. I found it without much trouble, somehow. I practically needed to have my own personal GPS system installed to make it to the school without incident (and all I had to do was walk five blocks in a straight line). I quickly walked in. Unfortunately, I was still a few minutes late (maps always make right look like left, honestly…)

"Oh, you must be…" A man with gray hair and a mask-obscured face walked toward me. He wore a black tux, which seemed a little formal and somber for a classroom.

"Haruno Sakura," I supplied the name for him.

"The one day I'm on time and my new student is late," he mused before pointing to one of the open seats in the very back. I made my way over. I would be the only person in this row, save for one. I glance over and noticed a boy with blood red hair and pale skin looking out of the window, disinterested.

I turned my attention back to the teacher, trying to ignore the glances from my new classmates. I could already hear the snickering and insults which only people with IQ's lower then that of their shoe size would call witty. I smiled a little to myself, but it faded away. I didn't want to be made fun of and considered strange, but it was just another obstacle to get over.

I won't become like him, I won't.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: And now for chapter two of Vanilla. I didn't comment on the last chapter, and it was fairly disorganized, for which I apologize. I tried to do better on this one. I finished the in chapter in a little over a day, but I don't know if that will always happen or not. But I'd like to thank everyone who had read the story thus far, and especially those who reviewed. It meant a lot to me, really. Anyhow, without further ado…

*****

I dropped my book bag onto the ground and tried not to scream.

Somehow, by some bizarre turn of events (or turn of hallways, to be more accurate), I ended up in the garden instead of my history class in Room 623. Kakashi, the strange masked man, had told me to take a left and two rights. And sure enough, where do I end up but outside. Just as all hope fled, the bell rang. I resisted the urge to fall to my knees in utter despair.

I sighed, picked my book bag up and started my search back up.

*****

Almost a half hour later I finally found myself staring at the door of 623. A half hour was a long time, even for me. But some freakish architect who liked mazes and had a demented sense of humor must have built this place. I sighed. I could only imagine the field day my therapist would have over my inability to arrive at second period even remotely on time.

I shoved my feelings back, composed myself, and walked in.

The woman at the front of the room stopped mid-sentence to look at me. Her brown hair was pulled into a ponytail and she wore a long, white-tan overcoat. It was a pleasant change from Kakashi, who seemed like he'd just arrived from a funeral.

"Yes, what is the big emergency?" The woman asked, not bothering to mask the annoyance.

"Uh…" It sounded more intelligent in my head.

"Just what is important enough to interrupt _my _class?" She asked me, a little more slowly.

"Ah, I'm Haruno Sakura."

The woman didn't react.

"I'm new."

No reaction.

"I'm in this class."

The woman finally did something. She got up and murmured to herself as she checked certain lists and forms. She pick up one, read it over, and then turned to me.

"Well, Haruno Sakura," she spoke slowly. "It seems you are indeed in my class."

I nodded.

"And, you came here from Kakashi-sensei's class, correct?"

Again, I nodded.

"And generally that is a, let's say, two minute walk? At most?"

I hesitated, but then nodded once more.

"So please, Haruno Sakura, tell us, for we're all very interested," she gestured to the class, which was staring at me, "why you are late."

"I got lost," I spoke clearly, trying not to make my now red face too noticeable.

"Lost?"

I nodded miserably.

"Have you a map?"

I nodded.

"Enough with that, speak out loud, you were born with vocal chords for a reason."

"Yes."

"Yes…"

I stood there confused for a moment. Then I noticed someone in the class holding up a sign that read, in bright orange marker, 'Anko-sensei.'

"Yes, Anko-sensei."

The woman nodded. "Well, then, Haruno Sakura, you might want to invest some portion of your time into improving your directional skills. Until then, you may sit in the back."

I did as I was told and once again found myself alone in the row except for the strange red-haired boy. I began to wonder if maybe the two of us had some strange disease that the teachers hoped to quarantine by sticking us in the back of the room.

My paranoia was suddenly interrupted by a note landing on my desk. I didn't see where it came from. I unfolded it. The words were written in the same bright orange marker. I grumbled as I realized I hadn't noticed who held the sign up for me. I sighed and looked down at the note.

_Welcome to KUA, Sakura._

*****

The first half of the day passed in much the same manner. I managed to make it only a few minutes late to my other classes (maybe by graduation I'll actually be on time). Lunch was a kind of free-for-all, which was lucky, since I couldn't find the lunchroom.

I ended up in the garden again, and sat under the shade of a large oak. Things weren't going so well, but I hadn't anticipated much. I couldn't bring myself to be disappointed. Sometimes things just suck. After all, it has been said. "Life's a bitch, and then you die."

I pulled out my notebook and let my hand wander down the page absently. I needed inspiration to draw and write. I tried to remember something which had inspired me long ago… something which still confuses and haunts me…

He crossed my thoughts suddenly.

I remembered the day I learned he had run away. He hadn't been at school, but I had just assumed there was a perfectly mundane reason for it. An illness, maybe. When the teachers asked the class if anyone knew anything, a few people smirked and said he was on "vacation." I'm not sure who told me he had ran away from home, but it had done nothing more than pike my curiosity.

"He ran away really? Well, I hope he's all right." That was my mother's reply.

"I don't really care," I mumbled nonchalantly.

My mother had laughed at that. "That's nice," she chuckled lightly.

"Well, he chose to do what he did, now he has to face his own consequences."

My mother just chuckled a little more and left the room. I rustled up a little concern, but there wasn't much. I had spent two years in every single one of his classes and barely knew him. This fact made me more depressed than his disappearance had.

I wondered vaguely for the first time in a while how everyone else was doing. If everyone else was the same. I wondered if I was the only one who had gone through changes. Was I the only one who reacted badly? _Did _I react badly?

My mind was suddenly brought out of its daze when I was hit by something hard and plastic. At first I was just surprised, then hot anger ran through me.

'Why… why… why I ought just… who the…' As my thoughts became irritated and incoherent, my eyes darted wildly around to see who had kicked the soccer ball. I noticed a boy with blonde hair and wide blue eyes running towards me. His loose pants were held up with a bright orange belt. I began to wonder…

"Sorry!" He practically shouted even though he was close enough now to talk at a normal volume. "Are you okay?"

"Did you write that note?" I asked him, discarding the question.

"Oh, during history?" He asked me.

I fought the eye roll and rude comment and replied calmly, "Yes, that one."

"I guess, yeah?" He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "But are you really okay? Not bleeding or anything? Any breaks?"

Breaks? I scoffed at that. "No. It was a soccer ball, not a cannon ball, though I can see you might get the two confused."

He stared at me blankly for a few seconds. "Yeah, sorry." He chuckled nervously.

Either he was just really nice and not offended, or he was too stupid to understand.

"And there's our loveable idiot!"

Perhaps both.

I turned toward the voice and saw a girl with long, blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. Her eyes were bright blue. For a second I noticed a correlation, but the hair and eyes, while the same color, were a different shade than the blonde boy's, so I assumed they weren't related.

"Oh, Ino-chan!" He waved happily at her, beckoning her over.

"Naruto-kun, just what exactly happened?" The girl called Ino asked, jogging over, fallowed by two other boys. "What the hold up?"

He tried to explain. "Well, the ball hit Sakura-chan here…"

I tried not to look surprised. Chan? I barely knew the guy (I only new his name because Ino said it) and he was already addressing me so informally. I shrugged it off. I guess it really didn't matter.

Ino sighed. "If you'd just kicked it normally…" she trailed off and turned to me. "Sakura-san, was it? Sorry about this. You're okay, right?"

"You're not going to sue the school or something now, are you?" The question was asked by one of the boys behind Ino. There were red lines under his eyes and his brown hair was unkempt and messy. His jacket had a bulge, and I wondered what he was stashing in there.

"Kiba-kun… unless getting hit by a soccer ball is grounds for mental distress, she can't," Ino told him. "No physical harm done."

"Shit," I sighed, feigning disappointment. "And here I was looking forward to some extra cash. Say, you wouldn't be willing to hit me again, would you?"

The one that was Kiba laughed, and Ino giggled. Naruto laughed too, but it seemed more of an automatic response to the other's snickering.

"Are we going back to the game or not?"

I had barely even noticed the fourth person in the group. His hair was black and styled somewhat oddly. His eyes were black as well and seemed to project an air of haughtiness.

"Right, the game," Ino suddenly remembered. "Sakura-san, you wouldn't want to play, would you?"

"Not really," I sighed. Soccer wasn't my forte. Actually, I wasn't very good at much of anything except tennis and go-fish.

"Aw, come on! It'll be fun!" Ino said with more energy than I could ever hope to have in my lifetime.

I was prepared to say no again, but I found myself being dragged toward a soccer field. 'People at this school are weird,' I said to myself. It was true. Everywhere people mostly ignored my presence. I faded into the background, like some kind of social chameleon. I was easily overlooked, but never quite fit in anywhere.

On the plus side, maybe they could show me where Room 148 was so I wouldn't have to spend half the period searching for it.

Each of the four formally introduced themselves on their way to the field. I learned the name of the black-eyed boy to be Uchiha Sasuke, and apparently he and Ino were dating. But despite the affection she seemed to show him, he barely returned any of it. At least, as far as I could tell. Of course, I knew next to nothing about anything involving this subject, so I decided not to make any premature assumptions about their relationship.

"You can play defense for our team, okay?" Kiba told me.

"If you really want to loose…" I took my position, and the game restarted.

It was perhaps the most confusing thing I'd ever seen. I could barely register the streaks of color across the field and people began darting back and forth. I sighed hopelessly as the ball shot passed me. I didn't want to even try stopping it.

It didn't matter anyway. The goalie, by some miracle, had actually caught the ball and it was back in play.

This mass of running, kicking, yelling, and fighting continued for a few minutes. I had given up hope completely and lounged in my position. Then, suddenly, a flash of green came towards me, and my tennis instincts took over. I tightly gripped the stick I had previously been tossing about in my hands like a racquet. Then, I brought my arms back and swung with all my might.

There was a large 'thunk!' and a boy with a green sweatband fell back, rubbing his forehead, repeatedly saying "ow, ow, ow, ow, ow!"

I looked at the stick, then back at him.

"Well," Kiba said, stroking his chin thoughtfully, "that was interesting."

"Reflexes," I shrugged.

The boy got up and looked at me with wide, wide eyes, underneath bushy eyebrows. He stared at me for a couple moments, and I looked at him, unsure weather to look away in embarrassment or just laugh it off.

"Sorry," I said simply. And that was that.

But it wasn't.

"Do not apologize, fair one!" He cried, grabbing my hand. "A beauty such as yourself must never be worried about the likes of me!"

I did a double take. "Huh?"

"My beautiful, pink-haired girl, what it thy name?"

I had to concentrate in order to remember. "H-Haruno Sak-kura…"

"Oh, majestic Sakura!" He cried. "Your sweet, tentative smile shall always embrace my heart as I think of you, my love."

"Uh…"

"I am Rock Lee! The youthful, pure-hearted warrior, driven by his love for his princess!" He threw off the sweatband ceremoniously and turned back to me.

This was the single most bizarre event of my entire life. I've seen my fair share of strange things, but nothing quite this… weird.

"Uh, yeah, okay…" I couldn't think of anything better to say.

"Come off it, Lee-kun," Ino giggled.

The warning bell rang just then, and suddenly there was a mad rush inside.

"My dove! Please tell me what class you have next, so that I may escort you!" Rock Lee pleaded.

I was in no position to refuse any escorts, despite the fact that his 'flattery' was getting on my nerves.

"Room 148," I told him. "Pre-Calculus."

"Alas, I am not in that class, but I shall escort you all the same!" With this declaration, he grabbed my arm and led me off.

"Actually, Lee-kun," Ino interrupted. "I'm in that class. I'll take her for you okay?"

Before Rock Lee could protest, my other arm was grabbed and I was dragged to my next class.

"So what do you think of Lee-kun?" she asked me.

"My knight in shinning armor," I grumbled bitterly. I didn't want to have this conversation.

"He's nice," Ino giggled.

"Yeah, but he's clearly rocky road," I grumbled.

"What?"

"It's just some weird thing my old school did," I told her. "Everyone was categorized by ice cream flavors."

"Why?" Ino asked.

"I don't think there was a reason," I said, shaking my head. "But he's just… rocky road." I hoped the rest would just explain itself.

She seemed to understand. "What am I?"

I thought about it. "Strawberry," I decided. Girly, so pink, but not girl enough for bubblegum. And she seemed pretty popular. Seemed logical.

"And what about you?"

I gave her an amused look. "Vanilla."

Ino nodded and walked into a classroom. I fallowed after her and thought about the ice cream categorization. I had been vanilla, because while everyone accepted it, it didn't stand out. Plain, boring, and simple. At first I thought it odd because of my hair. I stood out, didn't I?

One of the less sympathetic students in my class kindly explained it to me.

"You stand out at first, but once we get to know you, you just kind of fade into the background."

And that settled that. I was a little disappointed, but I pushed it aside like everything else, and decided it didn't matter. Though, I don't remember ever being nice to that particular person again…

I introduced myself to the new teacher, who told me her name was Kurenai. Once more, I was apparently considered a health hazard and sent to the back. And, once more, the red-haired boy was there. I began to seriously consider the possibility this was done deliberately.

"Well, just yesterday we were discussing…" I began to tune out. The class was boring, but it wasn't the teacher's fault. It was just impossible to make math interesting to me. I began to doodle in my notebook.

That didn't last long. A loud crash brought me back to earth. I grumbled to myself. I noticed the door was on the ground. That wasn't right. I looked to the doorway.

A big man was standing there. He was muscular, much like a wrestler. He gave the entire room a once-over before spotting who he was looking for.

Raising a fist, he made a beeline for the redhead next to me.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: And now for chapter 3 of Vanilla. I would have updated sooner, but I wasn't allowed on my laptop this weekend. Anyhow, seeing as it's my spring break, I'll probably be updating frequently as ever. But now, on with the story.**

*****

Neither of us blinked. Susume and I were locked in some kind of staring match, and no one seemed to be winning.

"Haruno-san," she (finally) spoke, "would you please tell me what happened?"

I wanted to roll my eyes. I hated when she tried to turn something completely not about me into my problem. But that's what therapists do, it seems. Besides, if I didn't tell her, she'd just get one of her 'boys' to get the information she needed (this isn't a joke, I once saw one of them harassing a librarian I found tolerable… she didn't talk to me after that).

I began to tell her what happened during my first math class as KUA High School.

The could-be wrestler wasted to time in making it over to the redhead, despite his running into desks and chairs. When he made it, he grabbed the boy's collar and sneered and growled in a low voice.

"Where's the girl?"

At this time I was staring at the two with the same look of shock on my face as everybody else. Everyone immediately started whispering about the strange man's question, but that didn't interest me. What I found odd was that his grip on the redhead's collar was slack, almost as if he was a little afraid.

"How is that any of your concern?" The redheads voice was low and had a slight rasp to it. His eyes were the color of jade, and unnaturally cold and calm.

The man's grip grew a bit tighter, but was still hesitant. "Just tell me where she is, Gaara."

The redhead, apparently named Gaara, narrowed his eyes. "You have no further business with Temari. I suggest you leave. Now."

Despite the coolness in his voice, there was still a threatening edge to it.

"Look, you…"

"I told you, you have no further business with my sister." Gaara stood. "Now, leave, or I'll remove you."

The man growled. "You don't scare me."

Apparently, Gaara got fed up waiting for him to dismiss himself and decided to throw him across the room.

"Is that what happened?" Susume asked me.

I shrugged. "More or less. After that, Gaara got up, dragged the guy out of the room, and I haven't seem them since."

"You mean to say Gaara hasn't shown up at school for the past couple of days?"

"That's right."

"Hm." Susume tapped her pencil on the paper. "Are you curious as to where he went, Haruno-san? Do you want to know where he is?"

"I'm curious, yes," I agreed.

"Are you concerned?" Susume asked me, and I glared at her.

"I never spoke to him, and I only knew him for a few hours, so you can't get mad at me for not being upset about it."

"No one's mad at you, Haruno-san," Susume calmly reminded me.

"The hell they aren't," I mumbled, to quiet for her to hear.

*****

I wasn't sure what to do with myself. I had finished all of my homework for the weekend and now rested on my bed, staring at the ceiling, bored. I could still feel the residue of the anger I felt earlier. It didn't seem to matter much at all what the circumstances were. Susume, my mother… all they cared about was labeling me.

"Sakura-chan!"

I sat up at the sound of my name.

"Phone!"

I walked out of my room with a confused look on my face. My mother handed me the telephone, looking equally surprised. But she didn't say anything, just turned around and went back downstairs.

I went into my room and sat on my bed. I stared at the phone like it was some kind of strange, alien device before finally putting it to my ear.

"…hello?"

"Sakura-chan?"

I recognized Ino's voice instantly. She called me san for all of two days before getting fed up and reverted to chan. I didn't mind.

"Ino-san, why are you calling me?" I didn't even know she knew my number. I didn't know I _had _a number.

"Want to come over?" She asked excitedly. She totally ignored my question.

Perhaps it's hypocritical of me, but I really hate it when people do that. I tried to remain calm and collected.

"Why?"

"Just get over here." The line went dead.

I didn't particularly want to go. And I wasn't about to go to make her happy. But I was curious. So I pulled on some shoes, had my uncle write down some very detailed directions, and left.

*****

I could hardly hear myself think. And that was not an over exaggeration. My thoughts were quite literally overshadowed by the noise and delirium. Ino had called this a 'party.' Parties are supposed to be fun, as is the general assumption. There was no fun in the situation.

I'm not normally agoraphobic, but the number of people as well as the heat (it's like they've never heard of air conditioning) was making it difficult to breathe. I stumbled around for a little while and ended up in the backyard.

There were lights, like the ones hung as Christmas, scattered around, and a few people lounged about. The noise from inside lingered in the air. I noticed Sasuke on the porch.

"So you're here, are you?" He didn't seem very happy to see me.

"You figure that out all by yourself?" I retorted. Something about him irked me. I couldn't place it, he just made me angry.

Sasuke snorted. "You shouldn't be such a bitch."

I hadn't been called a bitch since the seventh grade (I didn't really deserve it then, either). I was prepared to slap him, punch him, or commit some other act of violence when Ino appeared.

"Sasuke, come on! Let's go dance!" Ino called to him, pulling his hand. Sasuke let himself be pulled in after her, smirking at me as he disappeared into the crowd.

"Son of a…"

"Sakura-chan!"

I saw Naruto running towards me, the same goofy grin on his face as he always wore.

"Hey."

"So, I guess Ino called you over, huh?" He said happily. "Cool. I thought it would be more fun if you showed up."

I didn't understand how my presence made the situation any more 'fun,' but I felt a little warmer at his comment. I actually smiled at him.

"You should smile more often," he commented before dragging me back into the party I had just escaped from.

*****

It has been a couple months since 'that day.'

It hadn't started off particularly significant. Mother had told me to go downtown to get some things for dinner. She figured since I lived in this town since my birth I could manage it without getting lost. Unfortunately, such was not the case and I spent the better half of my afternoon wandering around the city.

Evening soon arrived and I was no closer to home than I was as the beginning. I sighed and sat down on a bench to relieve my legs and contemplate the trouble I would be in when I got home. Then I noticed someone.

Had it been just anyone, I would've glanced away without much thought. But I recognized him. The boy from my class who ran away, the person the rumors revolved around, spreading like wildfire. The boy I hadn't seen for a week or two.

I didn't know what to do.

*****

Monday came soon enough, and the morning classes passed quickly enough. Math was as dull as ever. It barely registered the redhead hadn't returned to school until he suddenly walked in.

Kurenai whispered to him for a minute or so, then sent him back to his spot. I eyed him skeptically. I wondered why he was gone for so long, but didn't want to ask him.

I sighed and returned my attention to my work, only to soon space out again.

The bell rang not long afterwards, and as I gathered up my things Kurenai called, "Gaara-san, please bring Haruno-san to Room 312."

Kurenai decided last week to tackle my directional issues head on. She had before chosen Ino to guide me, but she had already left math. Ino had been acting less than normal today. I sighed at the pathetic nature of my predicament, but didn't protest.

Gaara didn't say a word. It would have been awkward, had the walking not overshadowed it. We made it to Room 312 in no time.

"Thanks," I half-mumbled to him.

He nodded in reply and was about to walk away.

"That guy, who was he?" I was surprised I was brave enough to ask him. I would have thought I'd be too embarrassed to talk to him. I was embarrassed, actually, but it wasn't enough to stop me. I was curious. That never turns out well.

He looked at me without the slightest change of expression. "They say curiosity killed the cat."

I rolled my eyes slightly. "Cryptic replies aside, who…?"

He just looked at me silently.

I stared back at him, trying not to get irritated. He had a right to his own privacy, I of all people could attest to that. But it was difficult.

Then the bell rang, echoing slightly through the now-empty halls in an eerie manner. Gaara didn't move a centimeter. I sighed and gave up, walking into the classroom, not wanting to have to explain to Kurenai how I was late even with a guide.

*****

I walked to school Tuesday a little happier than usual. My first tennis practice was today.

When I saw that the school offered tennis, I made a mad dash for the instructor's office. The program had started some weeks ago, but they let me in because I was new. I practically flew home, I was so happy. Tennis was the only sport I could actually do without looking like a total idiot.

Of course, that elation died when I found my mother reading through my notebook.

But that was yesterday, and I hastened to forget about my other issues. Finally I went to a school that offered tennis. Nothing was going to ruin my day.

I should've known that optimism is never a good sign.

"Well, if it isn't Sakura-_chan,_" Sasuke sneered at me.

"I never said you could address me that way," I retorted.

"But, we're friends, aren't we, Sakura-_chan_?" This boy was seriously making me mad.

I was ready to do something stupid. I should probably be glad Naruto interrupted when he did.

"Sakura-chan, want to walk to first period with me?" he asked, the same grin on his face as always. Naruto was in all of my morning classes, it seemed.

"Sure." He looked a little surprised, so I figured my irritation was leaking into my voice.

I left with Naruto after giving Sasuke a parting glare. The boy should thank his lucky stars he's not in any of my classes.

*****

I hesitantly stepped into the sunshine, only after smothering myself in sunscreen.

I needed some special SPF 75 sunscreen. I was very pale. Actually, back in early elementary school, a boy actually accused me of being a vampire, on account of my white skin and avoiding sunlight (I didn't have my special sunscreen at the time). I thought I handled the situation well by hitting him over the head with a broom. My mother, who had been normal at the time, scolded me severely but was laughing about it a couple days later. If that happened now, I'm sure she'd start crying and call Susume up to talk about what a deranged sociopath I was becoming.

Anyway, I didn't need to worry about such an incident occurring again.

I stood with the some other students on the courts. Some older, some younger. I looked around and my eyes stopped dead. I noticed a familiar redhead on the other side of the net.

"Well, then," the instructor, named Gai (he was also the gym teacher), called. "Who wants to start of this practice, on this glorious day of spring, with a little friendly combat with our Gaara, here?"

No one volunteered. I didn't see what the big deal was, so I raised my hand hesitantly,

"Sakura-san! Lovely, such bravery!" He said with exuberance.

"Bravery?" I was still a little behind.

"Gaara-sama's the best player here," a girl whispered to me.

"Yeah, no one can beat Gaara-sama," another boy added.

Shit.

I walked on the courts. I wondered a little about the whole 'sama' thing (everyone here talks to people so causally), but I was too nervous to give it much thought.

I shook my head. So I'll get beat, no big deal. I'll still put up one hell of a fight.

And so it began.

I served. I managed to hit his returning shot, but missed the next ball that came my way. 'How pathetic,' I growled to myself, and began again.

He was good, no doubt about it. But I'm not supposed to be this bad. I felt like such a looser when another two balls flew passed me. I could see his smirk from over here. I suddenly felt pissed. I was mad at myself before, but now I was mad at him. 'So you think your so great, huh?' I thought. 'Well I'll show you!'

He was obviously surprised when I got the return this time, but quickly returned hit it back, and so did I. I wasn't going to loose so easily. I got in a good twenty shots before I finally missed, ending the game entirely.

Despite the fact I lost, everyone seemed impressed, including Gaara, who looked surprised I did so well. I wasn't angry at him anymore, and even gave him a smile. I was sure I was glowing.

*****

The news that I managed to last so long up against Gaara yesterday spread fast. Naruto told me how impressed he was, and Ino just giggled and asked if I thought Gaara looked good in his exercise clothes (I didn't know how to answer that). Sasuke rolled his eyes, but I just ignored him.

I was smiling all the way to first period, until I remembered I forgot something at my locker. I told everyone to go ahead, assuring them I'd make it back on my own. I believed I could at first, but felt disappointed when I realized it took a good five minutes to find my locker.

After locating my folder, I began to run back. The halls were emptying, and I was going to be late.

'Dammit!' I quickly turned the corner, only to run into someone.

"Ow." I tried to get up until I recognized the redhead. Oops.

Gaara just looked at me as I got up. He didn't even try to help me. "I guess chivalry is dead, after all…" I mumbled under my breath. I hadn't meant for him to hear, but judging by his smirk, I guessed he had.

"Sorry about that," I grumbled.

He shrugged. "Only you got hurt."

"So, I guess so long as you come out unscathed, it doesn't matter, is that it?"

He smirked again. "Of course. We've all got to protect our own interests."

"Am I to assume I don't interest you?" I tried to sound crushed. I mentally told myself to shut up, before I did something dumb. But my mouth and my mind were no longer connected.

"Not much, though I was impressed by your performance yesterday."

"Yes, because you are just so awesome, how can someone so lowly as me possibly manage?"

He looked at me for a few seconds in silence before responding. "You're really not afraid of me, are you?"

I looked at him confused, but then the bell rang.

"Dammit!"

I was about to sprint headfirst down the hallway, but I was stopped.

"You're going the wrong way."

I sighed and turned around just in time to see him disappear around another corner. With another sigh, I reluctantly fallowed him to first period.

*****

I just stared at him.

What was the 'runaway boy' doing around here? Everyone was under the assumption he'd left town. Of course, it was all just gossip.

Neither of us said anything at first. Then he took a step closer. I could feel the fear in my racing heart. It felt stupid. I didn't know why I was so scared. He took another step.

I gulped.

"S-Sai?"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Hooray! New chapter! Last night I realized that over all of Spring Break I hadn't done shit… Well, I did get one chapter for Vanilla up on Monday, and chapter one on Et Cetera, Et Cetera, but still. For Spring Break I though I could've done better… Oh well. Enjoy.**

*****

I just can't understand what is so great about weekends. In my opinion they are extremely boring and dismal, making them just like any school day. I sighed as I found myself staring at the ceiling again. It was just as boring today as it was yesterday and the day before that.

I finished all my homework at record speed. Once again my classmates mystified me. Who in their right mind would spend hours upon hours on homework I could do back in the eighth grade no sweat?

The phone rang. After Ino called me last weekend, my mother instantly got me a phone for my room, probably so she could avoid talking to me or interacting with me in any way. The woman has serious issues, I tell you.

I eyed the phone with suspicion. Hopefully it's not another party invitation. That one party was enough to last me a lifetime or two.

"Hello?" I was sure I sounded more wary than I felt.

"Sakura-chan!" I know that loud cry.

"Naruto-san, how did you get this number?"

"Ino-chan gave it to me."

Just freaking great. Where did they get this information? I had no idea what my number was.

"Anyway, Sakura-chan, wanna come over?"

"For what?" Not a party, I hope.

"Dinner. My foster parents are making ramen!"

I didn't understand what was so significant about this, but I decided to go anyway. Naruto said to 'stay tight, your escorts on the way.' I decided that was a bad, _bad _omen.

I pulled on a sweater over my shirt and headed downstairs. My mother was sitting on the couch, her nose buried in one of those generic romance novels (which completely lack any originality) that middle-aged women seemed to love so much.

"Hey," I said absently, not giving my mother any more excuses to believe I was an antisocial loser.

"Sakura-chan, are you going somewhere?" She spoke quietly and sounded as though she were sidestepping whatever she really wanted to ask.

"Yeah, I'm going to Naruto-san's house," I said with a sigh.

"Naruto Uzumaki?" She asked.

I nodded and sighed again. Suddenly, there was a terrific banging on the door.

"Sakura-chan, my love!" Uh-oh. Uh-oh. Shit, shit, shit. "I am here to escort you my princess, so please come out and allow me to do so! I shall protect you with my life!"

I just glared at the door, hoping my gaze would pass through the wood.

My mother stood up in surprise and walked over to the door. She looked at me in utter shock and back at the door. "What did you do?"

"I hit him in the head with a stick," I said with a small smile, before realizing this was my mother and not any normal person, who would find it entertaining.

"You…" My mother looked positively horrified. I chuckled nervously and opened the door.

"Sakura-chan!" Rock Lee was wearing a tight green shirt, dress pants, and nice shoes. It made me feel very informal. "How glad I am too see you." He opened up his arms, inviting me to hug him. I decided not to.

"H-Hey Rock Lee," I said with a fake smile. "We should get going now. Uh, bye, mother." I quickly grabbed his hand and made a dash for his car. It was a fairly new Lexus.

"This is a nice car," I offered as I climbed in.

"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" Rock Lee grinned. "Alas, it is not mine but my father's. I do hope you do not mind that, my love."

"N-No, no, that's… fine." I was in a constant state of confusion when I talked to him and always found it difficult to form a coherent sentence. I still didn't get why he liked me so much, or seemed so eager to impress me. It was utterly mystifying.

The rest of the drive was filled with Rock Lee's chatter over any random thing that crossed his mind (including, but not limited to, running shoes, soccer practice, hair gel, and Gai-Sensei). We finally pulled up at Naruto's house.

It was nice, not too big or too small and it was clean but slightly shabby in a homey way. I found myself liking the atmosphere here, easy-going and natural.

When Rock Lee and I entered we were instantly rushed with people. I recognized Sasuke, Ino, and Naruto, but there were three others I hadn't met. Naruto smiled and introduced Hinata, a small, shy girl to me, as his girlfriend. The other two were a couple, Neji and Tenten.

I suddenly realized then that everybody here was a couple except me. Oh… and Rock Lee. They were going to pay for this…

*****

There was a loud crash at the front of the room. I was caught off guard (because I was busy cursing my 'friends' to burn in Hades for their little date party) and nearly fell out of my chair. I looked over and saw two guys standing there. One was the wrestler guy from before. The other was a much more subtle character, with a thinner frame and long blonde hair pulled into a ponytail.

Instead of waiting for them to come to him, Gaara stood and walked calmly to the front of the room. "You shouldn't be here."

"Listen, you…" The wrestler-guy was cut off by the blonde one, who had put a finger up in warning.

"Calm yourself, Goki," the blonde guy warned.

Gaara glared at Goki before turning to the blonde. "Deidara, what do you want?"

"You're a reasonable person," Deidara began.

Goki snorted. "As if…"

"Goki!" Deidara put up his finger again, effectively silencing the man. Goki glared in response, but said nothing.

"Perhaps we can discuss this, make a proposition of sorts…"

Gaara snarled. "Temari is my sister, not my property."

"Just tell us where the girl is…!"

"Goki, if you interrupt one more time I won't hesitate to stand aside and let him kill you!"

The blonde turned back to Gaara, thoroughly annoyed. "Let me ask you this. Why are you withholding her location?"

"Temari wants nothing to do with the Akatsuki, or anyone affiliated with it." Gaara glared at Goki. "You should get over this silly infatuation."

Goki was about to say something (presumably forgetting about the blonde's warning), but Deidara beat him to it. "If this is indeed the case, it would seem you are abiding to her wishes? How protective and brotherly of you."

Gaara didn't reply and in fact seemed to have calmed himself.

"I can see we won't be getting any information from you." Deidara turned to leave, directing Goki to do the same. "But make no mistake, we won't give up so easily. Just to give you fair warning. You may be powerful Gaara-_sama,_" his tone was mocking. "But so am I." And with a teasing grin, he and Goki left.

Gaara just glared after them for a few moments. I watched him intently. What was that all about? Apparently Goki wanted Gaara's sister… for what reason? Because of his 'silly infatuation?' And what was Gaara supposed to do now? Shrug it off and just sit back down, even though everyone is staring at him as though he sprouted a second head?

He seemed to think that sitting back down was not an option as well, because after some seconds of silence, he left without a word.

*****

"S-Sai?"

He just looked at me silently while I practically had a heart attack. I didn't understand why, but his presence was enough to frighten me. It appeared my subconscious knew something I didn't.

"You are… Haruno Sakura." Sai's expression didn't change as he spoke.

I couldn't do anything but nod. My pounding heart tried to tell me not to speak, warning me not to do anything stupid. But as usual, I didn't listen.

"Why did you run away?" My subconscious screamed at me to shut up. "Why'd you go, Sai?"

He narrowed his eyes. "And why fucking not? I can do what I want."

"True enough, but that doesn't explain anything. Why choose to do this?" My head began to clear and my voice grew stronger as my curiosity overpowered my common sense.

"I'm sick of it." I looked at him curiously. "All you people and your shit, always putting labels on everything and sticking your overgrown noses into everyone else's business."

"Maybe you should get over your self-pity," I growled. "We're all tired, but we don't give in like you."

"You wouldn't understand," Sai growled back. "You can say that because you just waltz through everything, like your fucking special."

"You're just a coward!" I should have known better, but I didn't. And the next thing I knew he was closer. And then he slapped me.

My hand flew to my cheek, which was now red. The fear, which had been suppressed until now, suddenly came over me. What was he going to do next, I didn't know. I could feel my heart pounding at the base of my throat. _We're alone… there's no one here… I'm alone…_

"Sakura!"

*****

Gaara remained in my thoughts for the rest of the day. I knew it wasn't any of my concern, but I couldn't help wondering who those people were and why Gaara was involved with them. And what are the Akatsuki? And what's this Temari like anyway?

I growled in frustration. I always had to try and figure out everyone else's problems, as if I don't have enough of my own. I felt the sudden urge to bang my head against the wall, but I knew from experience that doesn't help much.

My mother was on the phone when I got home.

"Oh, Susume-san, I just don't know what to do anymore," she cried into the receiver, not noticing my return. "If anything she's even more violent."

I glared at her back. I only hit him once, and with a flimsy stick. My mother always over-exaggerates. She only sees what she wants to see.

"She even seemed to think it was funny." It _was _funny, if you're not a hysterical nutcase.

"I've had it up to here with your nonsense." I didn't speak very loud, so she wouldn't hear what I said. But she did here the hiss of my voice.

"Sakura-chan, you're home."

"No shit, captain obvious." I stomped up the stairs without giving her a second look. I might've done something I'd regret later.

I made sure to slam my door loudly and fell onto my bed, my fists clenched. I charged through my homework only half paying attention. I knew I might be overreacting somewhat, but I didn't care. As long as I didn't punch or break anything, I could feel free to brood as much as I saw fit.

Unfortunately, the phone rang (it does that a lot). I looked and saw a familiar number. Because of my less-than-happy mood, I was a little meaner than necessary.

"What!?"

"Ooh, bad time?" Ino asked hesitantly.

"Just, it's… never mind. What do you want?"

"Well, I was wondering if you were free on Saturday."

"Yeah, I guess," _Unfortunately, _I added to myself.

"Cool, than you can come over to Naruto's house!" I thought it was strange for _Ino _to invite me to _Naruto's _house, but after all, it's Ino.

"If Rock Lee is coming, I'm not going." I decided seeing him at school was more than enough.

"No, it's just a birthday party we're throwing."

"It's Naruto's birthday?"

"No, Hinata's. Sasuke's coming too."

Ick. I wanted to refuse, but I would've felt bad about hurting Ino's feelings. She was my friend, after all, strange as it seems.

I sighed. "Alright. Fine, whatever. I'll be there."

Ino squealed. "Awesome! I just know you and Kiba will click!"

"Huh? Kiba? What?"

Unfortunately, she didn't hear my confusion on account of the fact that she hung up. I put the phone down before I could throw it across the room. _Damn them…_

*****

"So, how was your week?"

I sighed and looked over at Susume. It suddenly occurred to me that she must be the most boring person on the planet. All she ever did was ask mundane questions in her mundane voice in her mundane outfit. In a way, she's like me, which explains the whole boring thing.

"It was super."

"Is that so?" What the hell is she writing? I'm going to get those damn notes if it's the last thing I do…

"Do you have any plans for the weekend?"

I sighed again and rolled my eyes. "Yeah. I have to go to this birthday party. My 'friends' (air quote) are setting me up with Kiba this time."

"I thought they set you up with…" she looked at her paper. "Rock Lee."

"They did. I feel like I'm on some kind of dating show."

"You don't like them setting you up on dates?"

"Are you kidding? I love it!" The sarcasm in my voice was heavy and blunt.

"Why don't you like it?"

I looked at her. "Who does?"

"Part of my job is to help you understand your feelings."

"I thought it was to make sure I don't murder anyone."

"Just try to explain."

I groaned. This goes beyond irritating. "I don't know. I guess it's annoying they seem to think I can't choose for myself who I want to date or… or that I even want a boyfriend at all!"

"Do you?"

"No!"

Susume scribbled something down that was much longer than 'no.' I really, really want those notes…

"Why is that?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I just never felt I needed one, I guess…" I hated talking about romance. It was always awkward, and I didn't want to explain to Susume that my chances of getting a boyfriend were worse than a snowball's chance in hell (to be cliché).

Susume nodded. The clock chimed, and I practically jumped to my feet. The atmosphere in here was getting very uncomfortable, and I couldn't wait to get out.

"Just a minute, Sakura-san."

Arg! Weren't therapists supposed to be really anal about not going overtime? Why can't I have that kind of therapist?

"Your mom called me…"

I glared hatefully at her.

"Just ignore that."

"Are you hitting people?"

"Good God! It was a freaking accident! I didn't do it on purpose, and he's perfectly fine so just get over it already!" I stomped out of the room in a huff.

*****

I heard a little chime.

I looked toward the computer. It was still on. I must've forgotten to turn it off. I also forgot to sign out of the instant messenger.

I never disliked instant messaging, I just never needed one until Ino insisted I got one. She had been talking to me this morning about something which I couldn't remember.

I sighed and walked over to the computer to see what Ino sent me now. But it wasn't from Ino.

Princess Iron Fan_._ From _Journey to the West?_ Who was this person?

_Are you Haruno Sakura?_

I looked at the keyboard hesitantly and sighed. Maybe it wasn't the smartest idea to reply to person X, but I figured I might as well.

_Yeah, pretty much. Who the hell are you?_

I waited patiently for a minute or two before the reply came.

_My name is Temari. I have a favor to ask of you._


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Okay, so I just have a few things to say here. To clarify, the parts with Sai are flashbacks. Sorry if it wasn't clear. It's background information, basically, on Sakura before she moved to Konoha and why. Also, it might have taken me a little longer to finish this chapter, but school this week has been… eventful, to say the least (long story short, two students were expelled and three suspended, and I go to a small school so this is historically big news for us). Anyway, on with the chapter.**

*****

I simply stared at the computer screen debating weather or not this was a good thing. I was curious about this Temari person, and so this was a good opportunity to figure out the situation with her and her pursuers. On the other hand, I had no idea what the hell this person was like or if it really was Temari.

Oh, who am I kidding? Since when did any survival instinct stop me from being stupid?

_What kind of favor?_

Princess Iron Fan responded faster this time.

_I need you to go to the brick building at cross-section of East Wood and Montreal._

She needed me to go somewhere? East Wood and Montreal were fairly deep downtown. Why would I need to go there? And what did she mean, the brick building?

_Why?_

_Gaara's there, and I need you to get him for me._

This was just getting weirder. What was Gaara doing downtown? And why can't she get him herself? That was hardly the most pressing matter. Why ask me? I hadn't met this person, and I barely knew Gaara. And god knows I'd be the person most likely to get lost on the way there.

_Okay…_

_Thank you._

Before I could ask her why, she signed off. I growled angrily. This was a bad idea. Nothing good could come of this, but I did say okay. And besides, I'm already being a total idiot, why stop now?

*****

My throat hurt, and I didn't know why. It was the same feeling I got whenever we did one of those warm-up runs at school. But I had hardly moved at all. But the dry ache in my windpipe seemed to suggest otherwise.

The fear was less severe now, as I watched the police huddle around Sai (they were quite relieved to find the runaway. Sai's mother had been a big pain). It was less severe, but still there. I was still shocked, and my cheek still stung slightly.

My mother, who had been the one to find me (fallowed by the police who, once they saw Sai, completely forgot about me), took me into the car and drove me home (probably breaking several speed laws).

"You must be so frightened, Sakura-chan." My mother looked at me with concerned eyes.

"Not really." Okay, that was a lie. I was still scared, but she didn't need to know.

"I hope Sai's going to be fine."

I shrugged. "I don't really care."

"Don't be so silly."

"I really don't. The idiot should've known better. Now he has to deal with whatever comes next." I wasn't even curious, which was very unusual for me. But I was still bitter over the whole thing, and just could bring myself to give a damn.

My mother looked at me strangely. "He's your classmate. You should be concerned."

"I don't know him _that _well," I replied. I could barely keep track of the conversation. My mind was somewhere else.

My mother just sighed. She just didn't seem to understand how I operated. Worrying isn't going to get you anywhere, so why bother?

I thought the whole thing would just blow over like it always did. Of course, nothing ever seems to work out the way it should.

*****

I had managed to convince my uncle to give me his car. He had wondered why I could take my mother's, but my logic was undisputable (uncle's car has GPS, my mother's doesn't, enough said). Avoiding my mother was an added bonus.

I drove slowly, my eyes constantly flickering back and fourth between the GPS screen and the road. It didn't help that I was so distracted. I just couldn't get my head around it. It's not like I was the first person Temari ran into who knew Gaara. She had _deliberately _sought me out. Temari must have decided that I would be the best person to ask. But why? Why, dammit, why? The curiosity was driving me insane.

I eventually made it to the cross-section of East Wood and Montreal. Just like Temari said, there was a brick building there. The old, worn sign read 'Maybaille.' I thought I might have heard of it once, but I couldn't remember much about it. Not surprising. This city was still unfamiliar to me.

I hurried out of the car and shuffled inside.

The moment I stepped inside the smell of plastic, latex, rubber, and some kind of antiseptic greeted me. It smelled like a hospital (at least, from what I remember, but it has been a while since I was last in one), and I knew this wasn't one.

The receptionist appeared to be out, as the desk was empty. I could hear numerous muffled voices from behind a door, some sounded like distant shouts, others like soft conversation. I glanced in the window of the door and saw a long hallway with more doors and a staircase.

I looked away from the door and glanced around the lobby and noticed, for the first time, Gaara.

He was sitting a chair, leaning forward. He was looking at me with a faint indication of surprise across his features. More dominant than that was the suspicion. I took it Temari didn't tell him I was coming.

"H-Hey." I couldn't really think of what to say.

"What are you doing here?"

'Good question,' was the reply I instantly thought up. But I assume he wouldn't understand anyway, so I sighed and told him. "I'm here to get you."

He looked confused for a moment, then irritated. "My sister sent you." He hadn't spoken it as a question, but I confirmed it all the same. "I guess Kankuro wasn't around, then."

I was about to ask who Kankuro was when he suddenly got up. Surprised, I took a step back. He just glared. "Well, are we going to sit around here all day or not?"

'I think we just might, I mean, ain't this place just the greatest?' I bit my lip and decided not to say that. He might get mad and my instincts told me to avoid that if at all possible.

Of course, as per usual, my instincts were easily overpowered by my stupidity.

"So why do you need to chauffeured everywhere? Did you fail Driver's Ed or something?"

We had just gotten into the car and drove off, and the much closer proximity made his glare all the more frightening.

"I don't have a car."

"Why not? Everyone says the Sabaku's net worth is enough to buy New Zealand."

"I don't believe my father has any interest in buying any countries," he said, and I smiled a little.

"Well, then you should still have all that money. So…?"

"I can't have one."

"You mean you're not allowed?" I smirked. I was suddenly reminded of the fifth grade ('mommy says we're not allowed to have any cookies…').

Gaara didn't reply.

Then I suddenly realized something.

"Uh… where do you live?"

*****

I just stared at the Sabaku residence with awe. And I had thought my uncle's house was big. It was like comparing a pebble to a mountain. The Sabaku's house was not a house at all, but a freaking _palace._ The lawns were perfectly manicured, the walkway perfectly set, surrounding the humungous mansion that, if need be, could easily house half of Konoha's population. I wondered vaguely if they had a butler (how cool would that be?). My gaping hardly went unnoticed.

"If you stand like that too long, you'll get flies in your mouth."

I glared at Gaara and began to shuffle numbly up the walkway to the huge door. I was about to knock when Gaara opened the door and let himself in. I fallowed behind. He glared and I realized it was probably rude to go into someone's home without being invited. But I had to talk to Temari,

"Gaara?"

I looked and saw someone walk into the room. No, scratch that, roll into the room. A blonde girl (with her hair in four ponytails) came into the room, confined to a wheel chair. I assumed her leg, set in a cast, was the reason for this.

"Temari."

So this was Gaara's sister. She smiled at her brother, who simply nodded in reply.

"Thank you very much, Haruno-san," Temari said, smiling lightly at me. "Would you like to stay for dinner?" She gestured to the plates on the dining room table.

I had already eaten, but nodded anyway. I needed some answers.

Once Temari and Gaara got situated, I sat in the seat indicated for me and looked at the food. It was horribly burnt in places and somewhat raw in others. I couldn't tell what it was. It had been mutilated beyond recognition.

"I made it myself!" Temari said brightly. "A little difficult, being in the wheelchair and all. Only three more weeks of that, though, and I'll be free. Dig in!" Temari looked at me expectantly, and I suddenly decided to be honest.

"Actually, I already ate."

Temari looked confused.

"Then why'd you stay for dinner?" Gaara asked, bored.

"Because I have a question I need to ask." I turned to Temari. "Why did you ask me to get Gaara? Why go to all that trouble."

Temari looked at her lap. "Ah, well, that is…" She sighed. "Well, I was looking at your file and just, I guess…"

"Wait, you have my file?" Shit. This was not good.

"Yes, well, we have contacts and…"

"You've been reading my file!?" Great, could this end up any worse? There was some stuff in that accursed manila harbinger of death that I _definitely_ didn't want people knowing about.

"I apologize." Temari didn't look away this time. She wasn't a very squeamish girl. "But when I saw the records, I figured you'd be the one least likely to be… judgmental."

"Huh?" Judg-what now? What did I have to judge?

"You know, about Maybaille…"

"What is Maybaille, exactly?"

Temari's eyes suddenly widened with surprise. "You mean you don't know?"

I didn't get why this was such a big shock. I just stared blankly. "Uh, no, I don't know. What is it? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, the less you know, the better." Temari nodded to herself. "Well, if you're all done, I'll have Jeeves show you out."

At first I smiled (they have a butler, and he's named Jeeves to boot!) But then, as I was being dragged out, I realized they hadn't really answered my question. And I didn't learn shit about the Akatsuki or anything else. The whole trip was just a big disappointment.

*****

I couldn't remember why I had bothered to have any friends. I began to regret that decision and hoped they would all die in some horrible fashion.

It was not Saturday, and this birthday party was definitely _not _fun. Having been dubbed 'the official date of Kiba' (against my will, mind you), I was constantly in his presence. I didn't mind that so much. Kiba wasn't so bad to be around. He had a rambunctious personality (much like Naruto, only minus all the blatant stupid cheerfulness) and a loud laugh.

No, it was Rock Lee who was bugging me.

Ino (who I would be personally saving a spot for in Hell) had apparently been unaware Rock Lee was invited. I didn't know if that was true or not, but either way, she _will _pay.

Rock Lee wasn't mean. He was still nice and very affectionate. Still, his sadness over not being my date had grown annoying over time. It wasn't my fault I ended up in this mess.

I finally escaped the two of them (their rather excitable attentions having been grabbed by a very public display of affection between Naruto and Hinata, whose blush had probably reached her toes by now) and went into the kitchen. Unfortunately, the world hates me and wants me to die.

"Why, if it isn't Sakura-_chan._"

I glared at Sasuke, damning him to eternal torment.

"What are you doing in here," he asked, an annoying smirk on his face.

"Sorry, I didn't realize it was your kitchen." I then opened the fridge and reached in to grab a soda. In the process, I felt something brush against my rear end in an extremely inappropriate manner. I straightened myself immediately.

He smirked as I tried to think of a good comeback, but I was out. No one had ever, in the history of my being, touched me in anyway that could be considered even remotely sexual.

I grasped for words. Something, anything. But to no avail. I just looked at him in utter shock. He smirked haughtily and left.

'God fucking dammit!' I wanted to punch something. That bastard won! He got my weak spot and he won! And he fucking knew it, too! 'Damn him to Hell! Damn him, damn him, damn him!'

I stomped into the living room (which was empty, since everyone was outside) and sat on the couch. I held my head in my hands and began to premeditate murder.

*****

It had gotten late, and the party moved inside. I sat on my couch, still brooding, though not so angry anymore. Rock Lee sat on one side and Kiba on my other.

"My princess!" Rock Lee cried over the music and voices. "I was wondering, what were you doing last night?"

"Huh?" I didn't understand why he would ask something like that.

"I asked…"

"I know, I know. But why do you want to know?"

"He's probably stalking you and noticed you weren't there." Kiba snorted, laughing.

"I most certainly did not!" Rock Lee stood as if to emphasize his innocence. "I merely went to my love's house to serenade her, but her uncle informed me she was not in!"

A serenade? I'm glad I missed it.

"Ha!" Kiba threw his head back and laughed. "That's so dumb. You should probably give up on it already."

"I will never surrender to a dog such as you, Kiba!" Rock Lee took his seat again, glaring daggers at Kiba.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Like hell I do!"

"You're on a date with my dove, are you not? You scoundrel! You just want my darling cherry all to yourself! You should be glad you can even consider yourself an acquaintance of hers!"

"Ha, coming from you? You're so clueless! Besides, I'm not trying to steal her from anyone!"

I rolled my eyes. I'd never been fought over before, and I found it rather ridiculous. My old teachers always told the class, when they were caught gossiping, not to make presumptions. These two were fighting over something they knew nothing about, assuming they had all the facts. What idiots.

"She is my sweet honey, my salvation! You cannot have her!"

"Get the picture! She's not yours and I'm not trying to steal her!"

"She is mine and mine alone!"

"No she's not!"

"She is!"

"Is not!"

"Shut up!" My head was pounding. They seemed to forget I was sitting in-between them. "I've had enough yelling, and my ears hurt like hell! I don't belong to anyone and you two had better cut the crap right now!"

Rock Lee looked repentant and contrite. Kiba looked sorry, but a little amused that I yelled at them. His dog (Akamaru, which he constantly sneaked into school under his jacket) jumped onto his lap at that moment and Kiba petted him affectionately.

"Anyway, where were you?" Rock Lee returned to his original question.

"Ugh, I was doing someone a favor and…" I suddenly remembered Temari's reaction when I told them I didn't know what Maybaille was. I wondered if the two idiots sitting by me knew anything.

"Say, neither of you would happen to know what Maybaille is, would you?"

Rock Lee looked surprised and Kiba looked confused. "Maybaille?" The dog boy repeated. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I didn't know what it was and someone thought that was strange…"

Rock Lee looked at Kiba. "No one really talks about it, but we've heard of it."

Kiba nodded and I gave him a confused look. He sighed.

"I don't know much about it. All I know is what is common knowledge."

"Can you be any more annoying?"

Rock Lee laughed and Kiba chuckled.

"Apparently, this Maybaille place is some kind of mental institution."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Finally done (finally). Walah! I really need to update Et Cetera, Et Cetera, but this story is easier to write. I decided to introduce Sakura's family a little more in this chapter, because they'll come in later. So, well, here it is.**

*****

One again I found myself staring at the ceiling. If I was going to be looking at it so often, I figured I should put something interesting up there.

Konoha must have designed to drive me insane. With every question answered, more questions popped up. So Maybaille was a mental institution, according to Kiba. Great, now I know. But what in the hell was Gaara doing there? Since the likelihood of him volunteering or working there part time were basically zero (or so I assume), he must be a patient. But, despite having some rather odd confrontations in school, he seemed perfectly sane to me. But then, so did I.

Maybe that was it. Maybe he was going there for therapy sessions, like me. Did they have sessions? And if they did, what made him so special he had to go there instead of a normal clinic? And how did he get there in the first place without a car? Did he take the bus or something? If so, why couldn't he catch one back?

I sighed and decided not to think about it anymore. Or try not to think about it, as the case would be. So many damn questions… I figured I wasn't going to learn much without asking Gaara, which I was hesitant to do. I would think he didn't enjoy people sticking their noses into his business.

I crawled under the covers and tried to go to sleep. It took some time, but eventually I managed it.

*****

Monday morning. Again. Eating mushy cereal. Again. Walking to school. Again. Driving myself nuts trying to figure out what the hell was going on. _Again._

I had spent way more time then was healthy trying to wrap my head around the evidence. I had several good theories, but it wasn't enough. I still didn't _know._

Whoever said 'ignorance is bliss' is a complete and total moron and should be shot in the head.

Once I arrived at English, I proceeded to bang my head on the desk until someone asked what in the hell I was doing.

That someone was Ino. Even though I had no rational reason to be (okay, so maybe I did, sort of), I was irritated at her.

"Maybe I just like hitting my head on the desk, ever think of that, huh?"

I knew I was an idiot, and now Ino knew too.

"Okay, what's the matter?" Ino gave me an amused smile as I glared at her with more anger then she'd probably ever feel in her life. "Something's up."

"I'm just going crazy, nothing new," I mumbled, vainly hoping Ino would die of a sudden heart attack or katana through the chest or… something. Okay, maybe not _die_, but at least get knocked out for a few hours. Is that too much to ask?

Once I get over my hysterical mental rant, I'll work on being less melodramatic.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Never you mind." Please go away and leave me to suffer in peace.

Still too melodramatic?

"You will tell me," Ino tried to look menacing (tried), but only looked lame as she threatened me before going to her seat. I banged my head once more but didn't bother lifting it up, leaving me to just stare at my desk.

I sighed and began to go over my ideas. I don't care if he crucifies me. I'm going to get answers from that redheaded enigma if it's the last thing I do.

Right, cut down on the melodrama. I'm working on it. And while I'm at it, I should probably stop talking to myself.

*****

I procrastinated (I'm good at that) until Tuesday. I decided right after tennis practice would be a good time to get some answers.

I walked to the courts slower than usual and fidgeted nervously. I felt nervous about the whole thing. Just a simple conversation and I was getting so worked up! I felt positively ridiculous.

It was hard to concentrate. I missed several easy shots thanks to my absent-mindedness. As annoying as this was, I could have survived it had my daydreaming not caught some unwanted attention.

"Sakura-san!" I sighed. Gai and Lee had the same loud, goofy tone in their voice, making them both easy to identify. I turned to face him.

"What is the problem? Your youth seems to be dwindling! Come, tell me what ever is the matter?" He struck some kind of pose, giving a blindingly white smile.

"Er…" I'm just planning to ambush some person who seems to be dangerous, involved with a gang, and, to top it all off, it possibly insane. No big deal, I do that all the time.

"Sakura-san?" His stance immediately changed to something that looked very much like a ballet form.

"Nothing, just thinking," I grumbled.

"'The thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts!'" He quoted to match the occasion before walking (ahem, prancing) away. I so longed to throw my tennis racquet at him.

Luckily for me practice was over soon enough and I quickly placed my racquet aside. 'Okay,' I thought. 'No passing out, stuttering, or doing something of an equally dumb nature. Right.'

I took a deep breath but it didn't help much. With a sigh, I turned and waited.

It didn't take long. I saw Gaara walk out of the building fairly soon. Mustering up some courage and stupidity, I rushed over to him.

"Um, hi." Not the most charismatic of openings, but it served its purpose.

"What is it?" He looked at me with faint interest, evidently not really caring what the answer to his question was.

"I was just, eh, wondering what you were doing."

"I'm walking."

"I meant, like, at that place?" I didn't want to say the name. "Or if maybe…."

"That's none of your business." True enough. I didn't look at him and just stared at my shoes. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"I'm curious."

"Yeah, when are you not?"

I'd barely spoken three sentences to him and I already felt sick. The pathetic feeling I put in reserve slowly rose up. 'This is sad, honestly, girl! Where's your nerve?'

"Well, you know what?" Uh-oh, what am I saying? "I had to drive all the way out there just to get you out of the goodness of my heart! So the least you can do is answer my god damn question!"

"I don't have to if I don't want to," he growled.

"The hell you don't! What if you need another ride? Then what? Who's going to come get you, huh? It's not like your sister can go!"

"What, do you want to give me a ride?"

"I'd be happy to!"

"Great. You can drive me there right after school Friday. Then pick me up at eight." And he walked away.

'Huh? Drive him?' I backtracked. 'Shit! _I'd be happy to?_ What on earth possessed me to say that? I most certainly would _not _be happy to! Just talking to him annoys me! Damn it!'

*****

"Would you like to explain why you're late?"

I looked as Susume. She asked if I wanted to, but really it was an order.

"I had to drive Gaara to… this place."

"Gaara?" Susume checked her notes briefly. "The same Gaara you mentioned before? This one who was having some sort of unusual guests at school?"

"Yeah, that one." I sighed.

"You voluntarily offered him a ride?" I nodded. "What happened?"

"Nothing much." That was the truth. I drove to school (my uncle's car) instead of walking, waited in the parking lot once school ended, and he came over. We didn't speak at all. It was all rather awkward.

Susume nodded. "Is this a regular event? Do you plan on chauffeuring him in the future?"

"Absolutely not. I have to pick him up because I said I would, god knows why, but after that I'm going to pretend he doesn't exist."

"You don't like him?"

"No. He's… irritating."

"Then why are you being nice and driving him?"

"I may be driving him but who said I was being nice about it?" Hm, maybe I could use this to my advantage. But then again, maybe trying to get more out of him would just end up like last time and I would driving him around like, as Susume said, a chauffer.

*****

I felt the same uncomfortable feeling as last time when I got into the car. Gaara was his usual silent self. I decided to try my luck again.

"So, why exactly do you come here?"

Gaara just glared at me. "Because I have to."

"And why's that?"

"Stop sticking your nose into my business."

"Listen here, jerk. I'm trying to nice here and if I'm going to be driving you to this place I should know why!"

"If you're _going _to be driving me? So you're planning on taking me next week, too?"

"Why not?" As usual, it took my mind a few seconds to realize what I had just said.

'What!? You just agreed to drive him again!? Stupid, stupid, stupid!' My hands clenched around the steering wheel in an effort not to start mauling my guest.

He seemed to know he tricked me because I could see him smiling out of the corner of my eye. 'Stupid Gaara. I hope that someone murders you.' It seems I've gotten into the habit of wishing death upon people. But unlike Ino, Gaara deserved it, the bastard.

"Well, seeing as how I'm stuck driving you again, how about you tell me why you come here?"

"Because I have to."

"And why do you have to?"

"Because I do."

Must not kill, must not kill, must not kill… "I'm not getting an answer out of you, huh?"

"No."

Sigh. "Alright, but can you at least tell me how you got here last time?"

"I took the bus."

"Right, seems logical, but why do you need a ride home?"

He looked at me with a smirk. "Don't you know anything? The Konoha buses stop running at seven."

"Seven? Why so early?"

He shrugged. "Something about some kind of gang killings. They wanted to do a whole city curfew, but that was strongly opposed. This was all they managed."

"Gang killings, huh? Would you know anything about that?"

He glared at me with a devilish smirk on his face. "And why would I know anything about that?"

I just gave him a smirk in return and looked out my window. We had arrived.

*****

I can remember sitting on the couch that day. Things were pretty idle around the house. The normal boring atmosphere hung in the air dully. There was nothing to do.

"Sakura-chan, can I talk to you?" My mother's voice. I looked up to see her in the doorway.

I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

"I hate to say this… but…" she looked toward the wall and sighed. Her gaze flickered to me a few times, but it mostly remained averted.

"Yes?"

She just remained silent. 'Oh for god's sake,' I had thought.

"You said you wanted to talk to me, so spit it out already."

"Yes, you're right. I guess I just…"

"Oh come on, it can't be that bad."

My mother looked at me with concern. "I know this will be hard for you, but I'm here for you. So is your father."

"Good to know."

"Sakura-chan… Sai, he's dead."

*****

I felt rested on Saturday when I awoke, a pleasant change. I figured staying up thinking was costing me sleep. Not that I didn't still have questions. I didn't know why Gaara had to go to Maybaille, but at least some other things got answered. Of course, this is Konoha, and with answers comes a whole new question.

Those gang killings. Judging by Gaara's answer (or lack thereof), he knew something about it. It must be the Akatsuki, but I didn't know the extent to which Gaara was involved with them or with their manslaughter. But if they had guts enough to kill, they must be responsible for Temari's injury. Some of the members were looking for her, after all.

I would see him again on Monday, and I could wait. I felt unusually patient today.

I went downstairs with a bright attitude. My uncle gave me a smile and served me pancakes. I decided to actually sit with the others today.

My aunt was at the table. She worked so often I hardly ever saw her. Only my uncle seemed to be around. He was like a stay at home dad. My mother sat next to my aunt, looking at me suspiciously. To her everything was a warning that something was wrong. I could imagine being interrogated by Susume over this.

My father sat next to my mother. I didn't talk to him much, but I never really had before. He seemed to keep to himself. I used to like that quality, but not it annoyed me. Next to me was Koishii, who was to busy eating pancakes to yell or throw silverware or do other annoying things a seven-year-old would do.

"Hey, Nii-san, get me more syrup," he mumbled through the pancakes in his mouth.

Kiraji was his older brother. He was, as all his fan girls say, 'cool.' He's a year older than me and attends the same school as I do, but I never see him.

"Sakura," he said calmly, not bothering to use any honorific. "Would you like some, too?"

"Sure," I mumbled. It was nice to have one normal person in the family.

I ate in silence and listened to the conversations floating around the table. Nothing interested me and I left as soon as I finished. I quickly went to my room and I didn't notice I was fallowed.

"Sakura."

I jumped slightly and looked toward the doorway. "Kiraji, you surprised me."

"Sorry." He walked in. "I need to talk to you."

I nodded.

"Do you know Temari?"

"What?" I was startled, to say the least. It was hard to imagine him knowing Temari, but then again, he's lived her for much longer than I have.

"I've met her."

"How is she doing?"

"She's good, considering…" I stopped. "Wait, why would you ask me? Why do figure I would know her?"

"You're Gaara's friend, aren't you?"

"What?" Hold on, backup! Where the hell did that come from?

"That's what people are saying, anyway."

"What!? You mean… people think that? _Everyone _thinks that?" Never, ever, _ever_ again do I plan to talk to him!

But then again, why does it bother me that people think that? What's wrong with being Gaara's friend (other than the fact he's a total jerk)? But something twisted inside of me at the thought of being his friend. I didn't want people to think that.

"You're not?"

"Hell no!" I figured I should not be shouting, or my mother would start to jump to conclusions.

"Well, it's better than girlfriend, right?"

"I guess so…" The twisting feeling wouldn't leave. I shook my head in an attempt to clear it. "So why are you asking about Temari?"

"Do you know Nara Shikamaru?"

"Not really…" the name sounded familiar. "He goes to my… our school right?"

"Yeah, he's in your grade, but I'm not sure if he's in any of your classes."

I shrugged. I couldn't say if he was either. I had no idea who was in my classes, except for a few people. "Well, maybe he is and maybe he isn't. What about him? What does he have to do with Temari?"

"Well, he and Temari have some kind of… relationship." Kiraji choose his words carefully. "They're not officially dating, not yet anyway. But they can't make this public." He saw my confused look and continued. "Shikamaru will be seventeen soon, but it doesn't help much. Temari is twenty years old, and her father isn't the most loving of guys. Most of us couldn't care less about the age difference. Who gives a shit if they're four years apart? They love each other, so why the hell not? But that's not how everyone feels."

I frowned. I figured if they really liked each other so much, go for it.

"Temari's father won't let her move out," Kiraji continued. "So they can't even see each other, especially with her leg being broken and all. So he asked me to ask you how she was."

"Oh." I felt bad for Temari. I tried to remember something that might be useful. "Temari said she'll only be in the wheelchair for three more weeks, if that helps."

Kiraji gave a half-smile. It reminded me of Gaara somewhat. "I'll tell him that, thanks."

I sat on my bed and thought about it. Despite having never been in anything close to a 'boyfriend/girlfriend' relationship, I couldn't help thinking it was romantic. Just my inner girl, I guess. Still, maybe I could get some more details with this information…

Come Monday, I resolved I would find Nara Shikamaru.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Okay, just to clarify, Sakura lives with her aunt and uncle **_**and **_**her mom. He used to live with just her parents, but her family moved in with her aunt and uncle (and cousins). And the Sai parts are kind of confusing, but they're flashbacks. I don't think I make that very clear in the story… I'll put it in italics to separate it from the rest. Thanks for the feedback. I love reviews, which is probably unfair of me (I'm going to go out and review stories now). I hope I cleared some things up. Anyway, on with the story.**

*****

I began to regret asking for Ino's help.

I came to school with every intention of finding Shikamaru on my own, before realizing this would be impossible seeing as how I had no idea who he was. So, I decided to ask Ino to help me find him, which is how I ended up in this situation.

"So you're interested in Shikamaru?" Ino asked again.

"No," I replied.

"So then you do like Gaara?" She asked.

"_No,_" I told her.

"Who _do _you like?"

"No one. Just because I've hit puberty does not mean I have to have a crush on someone _all _the time!"

"…So then you _do _like Shikamaru?"

And thus my morning passed. Not only did I have to put up with Ino's constant thickheaded-ness, but I got no where close to finding who I was looking for. Which was wholly depressing, let me assure you.

But it would appear luck was on my side, for once math class was over, Kurenai (whom I shall now forever praise as the angel of perfect timing) called out, "Nara-kun, could you please bring Haruno-chan (again with the chan) to your next class?"

A boy stood up reluctantly. His hair was a dark brown and pulled into a spiky ponytail at the back of his head. He moved as though he was dragging a boulder behind him and appeared as though he really wished he could be sleeping right now.

"Nara Shikamaru?" I asked.

He scratched his head. "Unfortunately. Well, Haruno Sakura, let's get this over with."

We walked into the hallway but just before we entered the classroom, I pulled him aside. He was annoyed at first but then backed away slightly. "What's with that face?"

"You know Temari-san, right?"

He looked a little surprised. "Yeah. Kiraji told me already, so we don't have to talk."

"Oh but we do!" I smiled. I wasn't giving up this opportunity just yet. "So, what do you know about the Akatsuki? Did they cause her injury? How is Gaara-san involved?"

He sighed. "This isn't a talk, is it? This is an interrogation, isn't it? I should have just talked to Gaara-sama myself…"

"You can't."

"Why not?"

"You called him Gaara-sama. And from what I figure, if you call him that, it's because you're scared of him. So you won't have the guts to talk to him, let alone ask him how his sister is doing."

He smirked. "So you're not stupid."

I smirked back. "I would hope not."

"Look," he sighed, glancing at the clock. "Class is about to start, and if I'm not on time I'm gonna get an earful from Sensei. Here," he pulled a notebook out of his school bag. "Maybe this will help. But you have to give it back to me tomorrow, and don't show it to anyone else."

I nodded, elated, and stashed it in my bag. The bell rang and we entered the classroom. I knew it was going to be hard to wait until I got home to read whatever was in the notebook, but I'd make it.

*****

_I wasn't sure how to act, and the atmosphere of glom was nearly crushing. Everyone seemed sad. Even the people passing by on the sidewalk seemed to mourn. I felt depressed, but it just didn't seem to fit._

"_And now I ask for a moment of silence…"_

_The priest needn't have bothered. No one had spoken for what seemed like hours. It was unusual for me to be so negatively affected by the silence, but I found myself wishing it would just go away._

_How am I supposed to feel?_

_I looked at the tombstone. I would never see him again; I knew that. One of the faces I passed by in the hallways would no longer be there, the smile and lame jokes he would say would no longer be heard, and the annoyed feeling I got when watching him and his friends throwing stuff across the room would no longer be felt. But he wasn't just missing; he was gone. Dead. He was gone from everyone's lives now, gone from the world. I felt sad about that, but I didn't know if I would miss him._

"_Sakura-chan, are you alright?" My mother touched my shoulder._

"_Of course." What I stupid question. Here we were standing near a corpse and she wonders how _I _am._

"_I know this is a hard thing to go through…"_

"_I'm fine, it's all fine." I didn't really know if that were true, but I didn't want to talk about it._

"_Show some empathy."_

"_They have enough of it." If I were his family, the constant visitors and reassurances would annoy me._

"_Sakura-chan, it's okay to cry."_

_I bit my lip. I didn't cry in public, not ever. I always felt pathetic letting my guard down like that. I hated it when people tried to comfort me. I responded without thinking, in the only way I knew how. "Why would I cry? Why would I do something like that? There's nothing to cry about. I'm not sad at all."_

_It's a funeral, of course people cry. But I was just to defensive and stubborn to realize what I was saying before the words passed through my lips. I was too careless to understand what these words would mean to someone like her._

_The look my mother gave me was one that I'll never forget._

*****

I barely had time to respond to my uncle's 'welcome home' as I rushed to me room. I jumped out of my uniform, threw myself into a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, tossed my backpack in some random direction, and fell onto my bed in all of about ten seconds. The notebook I was given was clutched preciously in my hands.

I opened it up to the first page and realized that this notebook really doubled as both a notebook and a folder. Many pieces of paper were placed in-between the pages. I picked up the page stuck right underneath the cover. It was a clipping of a newspaper article, some years old.

_**Sabaku Charges Dropped**_

_Sabaku no Gaara, age fourteen, was declared innocent of all charges last Saturday. The youngest child of the Sabaku family was recently accused of assaulting a known criminal, Goki Shiburo, 20, to the extent that he was hospitalized and treated for numerous internal and external injuries. The victim was not present, due to unconsciousness, and the jury reported there was not enough evidence for conviction._

_"There was nothing but circumstantial evidence," Hoiji Garezuka, 46, says. "And besides, it doesn't seem possible such a scrawny kid could've hurt a healthy, fit young man, especially not so brutally."_

_"In my opinion, this case was a joke and never should've been brought to court," Judge Sarutobi states before exiting._

_"I remain convinced of his guilt," the prosecutor Ebizu testifies. "But I rest my case."_

_None of the Sabaku family was available for questioning._

I looked at the article. It wasn't front-page news, nor was it simply glossed over. I wondered it Gaara was guilty myself. He did seem to be on bad terms with the Akatsuki, and he was hardly a pacifist, but I really couldn't say. I put the clipping back and looked at the notebook page. It was written in a rather messy script. I felt like I was Indian Jones or something, trying to decode some encrypted message.

_Goki Shiburo_

_He doesn't appear to be much of a threat._

_More worried about 'senpai.'_

_Show muscles? Possible steroid use._

_Note: Bombs – defense systems - must check._

I looked ahead to some of the other scribbles.

_Senpai – Deidara_

_Control of Goki. Up on food chain._

_Powerful, very possible threat._

_Training more often now._

_Goki likes Temari_

_I need to protect her from him._

_I don't know where Kankuro is._

_Uchiha_

_Older in circle?_

_Younger clearly ignorant._

_Threat range high and low, respectively._

_Need more training._

_Father is insufferable._

_Kankuro is back._

_Temari had a run-in with Goki._

_She's okay. He isn't._

Another newspaper clipping fell out. I was about to read it when a knock on my door distracted me. I hurriedly put the notebook under my bed and opened the door.

"Kiraji!" I was surprised to see him. "What is it?"

"Shikamaru asked me to tell you something." I eyed him curiously. "He said to look at the 'third page, second column to right on 3-15.'"

"Huh?"

"Sorry, it didn't come with a translation." Kiraji raised his hand in a slight farewell gesture before walking down the stairs. I thought about Shikamaru's message. What was 3-15?

*****

_I stared at the suitcase stupidly._

_Everything I owned (minus all the junk papers I threw away in the packing process) fit in one suitcase. I always seemed to wear the same clothes in rotation. I would wear something one day, it would get washed the next day, and the day after that I wore it again._

_I sighed and sat on my bed. This whole moving thing was completely pointless. We weren't selling the house and my dad didn't get a new job (he was a writer, he could work anywhere). It was all decided on a whim._

_My mother had been acting so bizarre lately. She's convinced there's something wrong with me. She's actually thinking of getting me a therapist when we get to this 'Konoha' place._

_A therapist! Imagine me going to therapy sessions! I would laugh if it I thought she wasn't serious._

_I picked up my suitcase and headed downstairs. My father was engaged in a conversation with one of the neighbors and my mother was busying herself loading boxes into the car. I felt awkward just standing there, so I went over to help._

"_Sakura-chan," my mother said when she saw me. "You- are you finished packing?"_

_I nodded. "I'll help."_

"_Oh, no. That's not necessary."_

"_It's okay, I can help…"_

"_No." She took the suitcase from my hands and put it into the car. I sighed and sat on the steps, unsure what to do._

"_Come on!" My father called suddenly. He and my mother were already in the car. I quickly joined them. They were talking amongst themselves and started pulling out of the driveway._

_I tugged at my seatbelt. "Um, my seatbelts stuck in the door."_

_They didn't appear to hear me._

"_Wait, uh, a sec my, my seatbelt, it's…"_

"_Hm?" My mother didn't look back. She didn't even appear to be listening._

_I remained silent._

*****

Dinner was a rather anxious affair.

Ever since we had all eaten breakfast together, my uncle suddenly decided we should always eat together.

"It'll be nice!" He said happily, ignoring the death glares we all gave him.

I sat with Kiraji on one side and uncle at the other. I always hated sitting in between people. It was cramped and uncomfortable. I wasn't very talkative, and I felt weird sitting in the middle of a conversation.

"So, how is school going, Kiraji?" My uncle asked over the small talk.

"Fine."

"How about you, Koishii?"

"Okay," he answered. "We're doing a lab tomorrow in science. I hope we get to blow something up."

"I don't get why they let such young children play with chemicals," my aunt added before returning to her conversation with my mother.

"Let's not blow anything up, okay, Koishii?" My uncle smiled.

"Whatever," Koishii mumbled in reply.

"So how is school going for you, Sakura-chan?"

The conversations stopped abruptly. I wanted to roll my eyes and tell everyone how idiotic they were acting, but I restrained myself.

"Uneventful," I grumbled.

"You've been busy on the weekends it seems. You're making friends?"

What is this, the second grade? You don't ask high schoolers if they're making friends! "…Yeah."

"Like who?" My mother asked, taking a sudden interest.

"I don't know, people?" I shifted uncomfortably. Why the hell did they care? "Um… Ino-san, Naruto-san, Kiba-san…" _Not _Sasuke. "…Hinata-san, er… Rock Lee-san, I guess."

"You're still on a polite basis, huh?" My aunt said skeptically. I wondered if calling them 'san' was weird. They always called me 'chan.' Was I being too polite? Or was it wrong to address friends that way?

"I guess so."

"What did you need my car for?" My uncle asked suddenly. He never bothered to find out before. "On Fridays you seem to be borrowing it."

"I, uh…"

"On Fridays? What's on Fridays?" I tried to ignore my mother's worried look.

"Just giving someone a ride."

"Who?"

My mood suddenly changed from awkward and uncomfortable to extremely annoyed. It was none of their business! "Why does it matter?"

"We just want to know."

"Why?"

"Why are you so defensive, Sakura-chan," My mother asked me. I turned to glare at her. Defensive? I'm mad! Why do these people only seem to care about controlling everything?

"I'm not being defensive!" I growled in a strained voice.

"Sakura?" Everyone looked at Kiraji in surprise, not expecting him to speak. He looked at me for a few seconds, and then shrugged. 'You might as well tell them,' he told me in body language.

I sighed. _Stupid, nosy… _"Sabaku no Gaara." There, you happy now?

The table got quiet again. My uncle and aunt exchanged looks, sending my mother into a state of panic.

My uncle finally spoke. "He's dangerous, Sakura-chan, you should stay away from him."

"Yes," my aunt agreed. "He's notorious for getting involved in gang crimes as well as fighting."

My mother looked shocked and overly worried. As if they knew anything. "Don't spend any more time with him, Sakura-chan. It sounds as if he is a bad influence. I don't want you around him at school or, dear god, _alone _with him. Under any circumstances."

I suddenly stood up. To hell with them. "Well, what you want doesn't really matter." I headed for the stairs. I could feel myself approaching my limit. My tolerance could only go so far. I was afraid I was going to snap.

"Stay away from him, Sakura." That was probably the first time my father spoke to me since we arrived here.

I turned to him and gave him my best glare. Then I stomped up the stairs and slammed my door. I knew no one would dare talk to me for the rest of the night.

*****

I spent a few hours going over the notebook. The notes were similar to the previous ones, semi-coherent and vague. There were many printouts of police reports, receipts, and hospital bills. I also found five newspapers, not just clippings.

How does this all add up?

I was looking over the front page of one of these newspapers when I glanced at the top.

March 10th, the date. 3-10-0… ah. So that's what Shikamaru meant.

I tossed the paper aside and picked up the other ones. April 30th, October 2nd , here! March 15th. 3-15.

I opened it up to the page and looked at the column Shikamaru told me to.

_**Unfortunate Turn for Young Sabaku**_

_Another court case was held this afternoon where Sabaku no Gaara, 15, made his fourth appearance since last year. The boy was accused of auto theft as well as assaulting a young man, whose name will not be printed in accordance with his wishes._

_The jury deliberated and decided that, on account of his four court appearances and 'mental instability,' they would sentence Sabaku to a seventy-two hour stay in an institution by name of Maybaille._

_"It is our hope that this stay will be beneficial to the young boy," an anonymous jury member reports. "It is hard being a teenager. We have also decided that if Gaara-sama is exhibiting any worrying behavior, his assigned therapist would be authorized to have him stay at the institution for as long as they see fit."_

_Sabaku was ordered attend regular therapy sessions at said institution with Susume Jogon, 23._

I gawked at the page. "Susume?"


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: And it is done! Sorry for the wait. I've been reading **_**way **_**too much shoujo manga and watching One Piece (subbed, since I heard the dubbed version was less than fantastic) lately, and I was also in this show thing. That combined with my general lazy attitude and, well… anyways, I now present chapter 8! Hooray! PS, you might notice things get a **_**little**_** overdramatic at the end. Well, in order for the story to get where I needed it to go, I had to have certain things happen. Enjoy!**

*****

I felt especially tired Monday morning, no surprise there. I had spent the better half of my night trying to figure out how to ask Susume about Gaara without, well, _asking_. Not an entirely easy thing to do and of course I came up with nothing.

"Time well spent," I grumbled bitterly at my reflection in the mirror. Even with sufficient diet and sleep I was far from the most pleasant of people, so my slightly stressed form was not doing wonders for my personality. Kiraji took one look at me before noticeably keeping his distance.

"Want some eggs?" chirped my uncle happily at our community breakfast. Using my best tired, annoyed voice I replied.

"I would just _love _some eggs."

Uncle, being too nice and cheerful, ignored the irritation and sarcasm and put some eggs onto my plate. They were too wet for my liking, but the rest of the family devoured their share contently.

"Do you remember what we spoke of on Saturday, Sakura-chan?" My mother asked suddenly. I dropped my fork in surprise.

A slow scowl came across my face. I remembered that sure enough. When my mother had suddenly decided that she was in control of my life and ordered me to stay away from Gaara. My stubborn (and also dominant) side instantly rejected this. I would go near Gaara whenever I wanted to. Not that I spoke to him much anyway.

"How could I ever forget?"

My mother narrowed her eyes a slight fraction. "Sarcasm is not very becoming, Sakura-chan."

I glared at her. "Really? And here I thought it was the shit."

"Don't swear at the table."

"Oh? Well then I'll make sure not to fucking swear any fucking more."

"Don't mock me, Sakura-chan. I am your mother, and there will be consequences."

"Why don't you take your threats and shove them up your-"

"We should be going," Kiraji said suddenly, standing up. "Come on, Sakura, we can walk together today."

"Peachy," I grumbled, grabbing my backpack and fallowing him out the door. Kiraji turned to me once we made it to the end of our street.

"Not that she's right, but you should listen to Shihai," Kiraji told me. He always called my mother by her first name when she wasn't around. Like with my name, he didn't bother with an honorific.

"Why would I do that?" I growled at him before stomping ahead. He easily kept up with me.

"Because she's your mother, like it or not, and you can't just go around doing whatever you want."

I swiveled around to face him. "I'll listen to her if, and only if, she actually says something reasonable for once! Otherwise, screw her."

Kiraji shook his head and sighed. "Look, I can't make you do anything you don't want to do, but you should seriously consider toning it down a bit. Especially with Gaara." I glared at him. "Look, I don't think you need to avoid him or anything, just be careful. You know as well as I do he _can _be dangerous."

I couldn't deny he had a point. I growled under my breath, but nodded.

Kiraji seemed satisfied, and we continued on our way.

*****

"Sakura-chan!"

I turned when I heard my name called and saw Shikamaru walking towards me. 'So even he calls me chan now? Maybe I am too formal…'

"Do you have it?" he asked me. I nodded and began digging through my backpack, finally producing the notebook I had thrown in carelessly. I handed it to him with a smile on my face.

"Thanks for letting me use it, Shikamaru-… kun…" It sounded funny to me, but he didn't even seem to notice.

"Thanks." He gave me a lazy smile before going off to his class.

I sat down in my seat in the back and rested my head in my hands. My eyes slowly traveled the room, eventually coming across Gaara. I wondered what I should do about him. I wasn't going to back down; I was far too obstinate for that. But I highly doubted my uncle would let me borrow his car from now on. I sighed and begrudgingly got up and made my way over to where he sat.

"Gaara-san…" I hesitated when he didn't look up. So I lightly hit the desk with my knee. He still didn't look up, but he spoke.

"What?"

I sighed. "I don't think I can drive you anymore, you see…"

"Kankuro's back, so I don't need you to," he cut my off, glancing up at me. "And I'm guessing your family doesn't want you anywhere near me, that's why you can't."

Bingo, right on the mark! "Yeah, pretty much."

He just gave a slight nod and looked away. I stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before returning to my seat. I sighed. He knew what my parents thought, so he clearly understood that he was generally feared by people. I wonder if he liked being feared, or if he hated it. Personally, it seemed kind of unfair to him. I started to feel like a jerk.

'It's not like it's _really_ my fault,' I thought to myself. 'But still, I wish I could've had something better to say to him…' I shook my head. It was doing me no good, getting overly upset, but I couldn't help myself. 'I must be developing some sort of wounded puppy complex.'

I didn't have much time to beat myself up over it, though, because the bell rang, signaling the start of class. Of course, Kakashi wasn't actually here. By now, this was no longer a surprise. In fact, Neji was instructed to be in charge of the class until Kakashi arrived. Neji may not be the most fun-loving guy ever, but he's still a teenager. So, as long as no one died or set anything on fire, we could do whatever we wanted. Thus, the first ten to twenty minutes of English were nearly always utter chaos.

"Sakura-chan!" Ino came up to my desk with a cheerful and somewhat mischievous smile on her face. "I saw you talking to Shika-kun!"

I groaned. I could sense where this was going. "For the last time, it's not like that. I am _not _interested in him."

"Well, seeing as how you immediately said that, I think you're lying!" She didn't seem to understand the reason I told her this was because she was so damn predictable. "You _do _like him!"

"Who likes who, now?" Kiba asked suddenly, coming over to our desk. 'Oh shit.'

"Sakura-chan likes Shikamaru-kun!" Ino chirped happily.

"What!?" Kiba's jaw fell to his sneakers in surprise.

"No, that's not true, I…"

"Did you just say Sakura-chan likes someone?" When did Naruto get here?

Kiba barely stuttered out a reply. "S-she l-l-likes-s S-s-shik-kamar-mar-maru!"

"What!?" I sighed quite audibly when Rock Lee suddenly joined in the conversation. "Absolutely impossible! My delicate cherry cannot possibly…"

"I don't! It's just that-"

"How on earth did that happen?" Not Tenten, too…

"I don't know…" Kiba's voice sounded distant.

"Not my Sakura-chan! I will never surrender! I will fight Shikamaru-kun in the name of love!"

"No! Listen, It's not like that!"

"So did he ask you out?" Tenten asked, ignoring me.

"What? No! Damn it, how many time's do I have to…"

"Sakura-chan likes Shika-kun! Sakura-chan likes Shika-kuuun!" Ino and Naruto chanted together.

This was going to be a long day.

*****

I sighed happily as sat on the grass with my lunch. Everyone was bugging me all day about my 'crush' on Shikamaru. No matter how many times I told them to "shut the fuck up," they continued their annoying blabbering. Normally I ate with them by the soccer field, but I was to pissed at them to stick around. Luckily enough, I came across the perfect spot on the outskirts of KUA's grounds.

I closed my eyes and leaned back against a tree. I wondered why no one else was out here in this great spot…

"What are you doing here?"

My eyes flew open at the sound of Gaara's voice. 'That's probably why,' I figured. He was giving me a strange look.

"I'm sitting."

"Why here? This is where I sit. You shouldn't be here."

My anger flared. It seemed to have a nasty habit of doing that whenever Gaara was around. "I don't see your name on it."

He stood there for a few seconds and then sat down. "Are you going to leave?"

"No!" I growled. Despite the fact neither of us were all too comfortable with this arrangement, we were both to stubborn to leave. So we resigned ourselves to the fact we would just have to tolerate each other.

"Why aren't you sitting by your friends?" He asked me once our tempers had ebbed.

I gave him a swift glare. "Because."

"Does it have anything to do with that racket they've been making all day?" I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you really surprised I noticed? I _am _in all of your classes, and your friends aren't exactly quiet."

I just shrugged. "They're annoying. Sometimes more so than other times. I decided not to sit by them until they wanted to stop talking shit and actually use their surprisingly small brains."

Gaara gave me a smirk. "Is that so?" I gave him another glare and his smirk only grew more pronounced. "I wouldn't hold your breath, if I were you."

"I'll be sure to remember that." I rolled my eyes, but I could help smiling. "Of course, I should probably appoint a lifeguard just in case I need CPR."

"Only you would need a lifeguard on _land_." I started laughing. Gaara just continued smirking at me. "Since when are you the laughing type, pink-head?"

I giggled rather girlishly. "Since when are you the joking type?"

Gaara's face suddenly turned stoic. I looked at him curiously, but before I could ask, I heard a voice from behind me.

"You stuck-up little brat…"

I tuned and recognized the big, burly guy who kept coming for Gaara (I think his name was Goki or something). Gaara gave him a frightening glare. I couldn't help being a little frightened of him myself.

"I thought I made myself clear, Goki." Gaara's voice was the same as it had been when I first heard it. Cold and calm, with just the slightest hint of anger in it.

"You… as if you could frighten me!" He took a step forward. I eyed him warily before taking a step back. I didn't think Gaara would have too much of a problem with him, despite the difference in size, but I was another story.

Goki looked at me. "Eating lunch with you girlfriend, huh? How sweet… I didn't know you had it in you, kid." He gave Gaara mocking grin. "You two are so cute together."

I knew it was dumb to let his comment bother me, but I had been in defensive mode all day (because of the constant teasing about Shikamaru). My instincts knew better than to talk back, but my unfailing stupidity didn't take orders. "We're not dating, okay? It's just that…"

_Smack!_

I heard the sound of his hand connecting with my cheek before I felt it. My hand flew up to the stinging spot and I felt tears behind my eyes. I quickly pushed them back. 'You can't start sobbing just because your cheek hurts! Don't be so pathetic!' I yelled at myself.

"Stupid bitch," Goki said with a smirk. "Talking when she shouldn't be."

He turned back to Gaara. "Why are you going out with her, huh? It's not like she's much to look at." I grimaced a little. I knew I wasn't attractive, but I couldn't help the hurt feeling I got at having someone point it out so bluntly. "She talks too much, too. And she's obviously not very smart. Hn. Must be one good fuck."

I couldn't help going red at that. The fear turning within my stomach, along with the pain and embarrassment, felt like a thousand pounds on my psyche. Despite my best efforts, one stray tear fell down my cheek.

Goki laughed. "And look at the pathetic girl now, crying just because of a little slap and come mean words." His arm rose to hit me once again, but it was stopped by a much more slender and pale arm.

"That's enough," Gaara said in his collected voice. "You're creating a disturbance."

I looked around and noticed nearly half of the student body staring at the scene, slowly migrating towards us. I realized everyone must know I was crying. I looked at my shoes, ashamed of being so weak.

Suddenly, I felt a harsh pressure on top of my head. A gasp escaped my lips as my vision began to blur.

'No,' I thought. 'I can't pass out… not in front of everyone…' But I was fighting a loosing battle. I started to fall forwards, and was unconscious before I hit the ground.

*****

My eyes opened, but immediately shut again when the blinding light stung them.

"How are you feeling, dear?"

I looked over and saw the school nurse looking at me. "I…" my voice was scratchy so I cleared my throat before I continued. "I'm okay."

"Are you sure?" She examined the top of my head. "It was a hard hit, but normally wouldn't cause someone to go unconscious. I think it might have been some sort of emotional strain."

'Emotional…' I glared at the bed sheets. I was upset, not an emotional wreck. Were my hormones out of whack or something?

"I'm fine, really." I stood up and instantly felt a little woozy. I took a deep breath and stood perfectly still while I waited for the world to stop moving.

The nurse didn't look as though she believed me. "Well, alright," she said with a sigh and a shrug. "But if you feel sick or it hurts somewhere, you come back here, okay?" I nodded, despite the fact I had absolutely no intention of returning under any circumstances. I walked out of the office and into the hallway.

I sighed. I didn't know which direction my classes were, so I just started walking randomly, figuring I eventually had to end up somewhere. I passed various students along the way, all of them whispering and looking at me. I frowned to myself. This was the last thing I wanted. I was a vanilla girl. Boring, uninteresting, unnoticed. But now everyone was staring at me like I was the most fascinating thing they'd ever seen. But who hasn't seen vanilla before?

I started to feel slightly lightheaded. The mounting atmosphere was suffocating. I felt upset and relieved at the same time. I was annoyed and mad, but also careless and distant.

I walked for a while and eventually found myself next to the history room.

'Well, better here than no where.' But before I could make it to the door, I ran into someone.

"Oh, I'm s-sorry…" I stuttered, unsure of my own voice or words.

"It's okay, I don't mind." I gasped as an arm snaked around my waist, pulling me closer. I looked up at the stranger.

He was very unusual. He was dressed in some kind of weird black outfit with a black sock hat to match. There were purple lines on his face and something large and wrapped on his back.

I couldn't help but blush at the closeness. I never cared much for hugs, especially with a boy. I could feel our bodies touching. My skin felt like it was lit on fire.

"I am Kankuro," he introduced himself, leaning closer. The fact that this was the person Gaara had mentioned before barely registered when I felt his breath on my face. I wanted to be anywhere but here. "Who are you?"

"I-I…" The words wouldn't form. I couldn't even remember how to breathe.

'Red Alert!' My instincts screamed at me. I knew the recent events had left me emotionally unstable. And I knew nothing offset me more than sexual tension. I tried to break free from his grip, but my whole body felt weak. My muscles might as well not have existed from the amount of force they were able to put forth.

"Hmm? You're not going to tell me?" His face was closer, and I would feel fingers tracing down my spine.

I shook my head violently. Not only as an answer to his question, but also a silent plead to release me.

'Please, I can't handle this right now!' I never felt so lightheaded. Something bad would result from this, I could feel it, but I couldn't say anything.

"What a shame." He was closer now.

'Please…'

I felt pressure on my lips. I tried to hold onto myself, but I could feel reality slipping through my fingers.

What happened exactly, I couldn't say. All I remember was screaming bloody murder before slipping back into the dark abyss I had just escaped.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I didn't really like the last chapter very much. I'll try to rewrite it (provided I'm not too lazy to do so) once I finish this story. Until then, my goal is to update more frequently, which hasn't been going very well thus far (sorry for the wait!). Also, school is out! Halle-freaking-lujah! And on that note, please enjoy chapter nine.**

*****

My eyes felt heavy. I didn't want to open them. I could feel a slight pain in my head, but it was faint. I was lying down, and that was about all I knew. A familiar aroma surrounded me. The smell of a hospital. I frowned and opened my eyes before squeezing them shut again.

"Fucking lights," I grumbled before slowly opening my eyes again, this time shielding them with my hand. "I swear to god, if I ever meet the guy who invented fluorescents I'm going to pull his brain out through his nose."

"Charming visual."

My head instantly snapped toward the direction of the voice that I recognized. My mother was there, a look of disgust on her face (which really helped her image), along with Susume. I glared at them. My mother had been crying recently, I could tell. Susume looked as dull as ever.

"Sakura-san, you're finally awake," Susume announced.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Sakura," my mother hissed. She only dropped the 'chan' when she was really angry or upset. "Stop it with the attitude. Remember where you are."

"I'd love to remember, but seeing as how neither of you delightful women decided to tell me-"

"You're at the psychiatric hospital," Susume informed me. "Maybaille."

I raised an eyebrow. 'Well, that explains the smell…' True enough, but why was I here? I looked at the two skeptically. They must have brought me here… but for what reason?

"You don't say. As much as I love this place, you didn't have to go and bring me here."

"Don't think this is some sort of vacation!" My mother interjected. "Susume signed you in here for a seventy-two hour stay!"

I blinked. "Why?"

"What do you mean why? What did you expect, after that episode you had earlier!?"

"Episode?" What, were they talking about the whole fainting thing? I had to admit; it wasn't my most emotionally stable moment, not to mention embarrassing as hell, but honestly, overreacting much? "Is that really what you think?"

"What we think?" Susume looked at me, her tone perfectly even and face perfectly composed. "This is not what we think, Sakura-san, this is what we know. We know you had a psychotic break. We know you threw a hysterical fit before passing out on school grounds. This is what we know."

Hysterical fit? They had to be shitting me. So I overreacted a little, as if they never do that. "Stop it with this crap. I'm not psychotic."

"Evidence to the contrary," Susume stated simply. My hands balled up into fists, my nails biting into my skin. "And with your mental history, it is not unlikely for such to be the case."

I growled. "You bitch! How dare you say that!"

"Sakura!" My mother barked.

"And you!" I turned to her suddenly. "Always coming up with these ridiculous conclusions, blowing everything out of proportion! You've turned my life into hell with your constant idiocy and interference! And still you defend her! Still you ignore what I say and put your damn labels on me! Even now, after all that I've gone through because of your selfish feelings, even now you berate me! I'm so sick of this! I'm so sick of you!"

My breath came out in short, hollow gasps. I couldn't stand pushing this anger down anymore. I knew I was the one overreacting now. I was the one blowing things out of proportion. But I didn't care. I was sick of ignoring my feelings because they were wrong. Wrong or not, I felt the way I felt and I was going to make damn sure they knew the way I felt, too.

"Sakura-chan…" My mother looked at me with _that _expression. Disappointment, fear, judgment… I loathed that face. I didn't want to look at it anymore.

"Stop looking at me like that!"

"Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan…" Her expression didn't change.

"Shut up!"

"Listen to me." Those eyes…

"Get out!" I shouted, digging my nails even farther into my palms.

"Sakura…!"

"Get out! Get out, get out, GET OUT!" I threw myself onto the bed, stuffing my face into the pillow. I squeezed my eyes shut and refused to move an inch. Only when I heard the retreating footsteps and soft shut of the door did I relax my tense muscles.

"I hate this…" I mumbled, muffling my voice in the pillow.

*****

"_This will be your room," my uncle told me as he opened the door. I stepped into the unfamiliar space. There was a bed with pink coverings, a mahogany desk, a bookcase, a dresser… everything a typical bedroom would have. But it was wrong._

"_It's too… clean," I finally mumbled. My uncle laughed at that, patting my shoulder._

"_Oh, I'm sure you can fix that up," he chuckled. "Just throw some stuff over here, some over there, maybe hang some dirty socks on the ceiling fan… it will be a pig's sty before you know it."_

_I just nodded._

"_Would you like some help, Sakura-chan? Can I call you that?" I nodded again. "Thank you. Well, Sakura-chan, how 'bout it?"_

"_It's okay, I don't need any help."_

_My uncle glanced at my suitcase and then around the room. "You sure?"_

"_Yes."_

_He gave me a smile and left. I shut the door behind him and stood motionless for a few seconds before trudging over to my bed and sitting down. I couldn't explain why, but I felt so melancholy. I missed my classmates who didn't like me and the teachers who ignored me. I missed the roads that confused me and the neighbors who annoyed me. I missed that goddamned town so much. I hated this place with a burning passion._

_I felt like crying. I hadn't cried in the longest time, and it was no mystery why. I hated crying. Tears were the personification of weakness; that's how I always viewed them. I couldn't exactly explain it, but when I cried I felt like I had lost a battle with myself. Crying is the white flag our bodies raise when they can no longer hold out in the war with sadness and depression._

_I laid down and stared at the ceiling (which would become a rather dull habit of mine). I wouldn't cry. I refused to do that._

_The sadness hadn't defeated me yet._

*****

I glared at the ceiling of my prison cell (or, as the people here call it, 'my room'). It just wasn't the same as my ceiling back at the house. Out of all the things I could miss about that place, I missed the ceiling the most. 'How stupid.'

I wanted to get out of here. I knew there would be rumors flying around the school, and that I wasn't looking forward to (I can already hear Ino's obnoxious voice). But the sooner I dealt with it, the better. 'Not that I don't deserve it,' I thought. 'I cracked. I can't believe I acted that way. This is the punishment for weakness.' I curled my fingers into a fist. 'But this is the last time. If that ever happens again, I'll be prepared. I'm not giving up yet.'

I was distracted from my heroic vows by the opening of my cell/room. 'Now what?'

"Hello, Haruno-san, how are you doing this evening?" The nurse, whom I had never seen before, smiled brightly at me, like we were at freaking Disney World.

I opened my mouth to say something before pinching myself. 'Remember, Sakura, you're in a mental institution. Anything you say can and will be held against you.' I gave her the best smile I could muster. "I'm fine, thank you."

The nurse gave me another overdone smile before looking down to examine some papers. I glared at her until she looked up again.

"Well, I have your chart here," she told me. "And it seems you have a therapy session in about ten minutes. After that, you are free to visit some of the facilities lounges, provided you don't exit into the lobby area. Or out of a window."

'Do I look like I can fly to you?' "Alright, then." I wanted nothing more than to shake some sense into these people. Damn, I hate being cooperative.

"So, make sure you're ready in ten." She gave me a cheerful wave and left.

"Yeah, I'll do that," I grumbled to myself. "Oh joy, more therapy." Honestly, this was getting ridiculous. I hardly doubted that my problem, provided I actually had one (which I don't), would be solved by sitting in a room for an hour listening to someone poke their nose into every aspect of your life before coming up with the most idiotic conclusions (like they're _trying _to be stupid).

I sighed and glanced around. She told me to be ready in ten, but exactly what was there to get ready? What the hell was the point of that visit?

I took the time to examine my cell/room. There were only three things in it. A bed, a dresser, and me. I opened up the dresser drawers only to find them empty. I wondered why it was there. The bed was just a hospital-style bed. Single, white sheets, clean. I only then noticed what I was wearing. I wasn't in my uniform anymore, but instead some blue thin-cloth pants and a white t-shirt. 'Typical mental institution clothes, I guess.'

Because the ceiling here wasn't good enough, I spent the next ten minutes staring at the wall, going over what happened in my head. I knew I went all 'damsel-in-distress' and fainted (ugh, I'll _never _live this down). The only question was why.

"Okay then!" I was so startled by the excessively cheerful voice I fell off the bed and landed on my face, putting my nose in a rather uncomfortable position.

"Oh, my, are you alright, Haruno-san?" The nurse asked, far more worried than any normal person would be about a stranger's welfare.

"Peachy," I growled, just quiet enough for her not to hear. "Fine," I called out a little louder, picking myself up.

The nurse smiled with relief and opened the door. "Well, let's not waste any time, then." She walked out of the room with me fallowing reluctantly behind. We walked to the end of the hallway and up to a door that read _Dr. Susume Jogon, Therapist_.

"Susume," I muttered to myself. So she worked here as well, did she? Well, that explains how she met Gaara, if he had stayed here in the past.

"I'll be back to get you in an hour," the nurse told me as she walked away, waving. I sighed and walked into the room.

"Sakura-san, I see you've arrived," Susume said as I entered.

"Did you now?" I growled. There was no point in being friendly with Susume; she'll still be acting like she knows everything. I've never liked her, and now I hated her even more.

Susume, as per usual, simply didn't hear whatever she didn't want to hear. "Please, sit down."

I glared at her and complied, falling into the chair opposite her. As usual, the chair was very comfortable. Also as usual, no matter how comfy the chair I could never get comfortable in a therapy office. I always felt like I was on some kind of 'high-alert' while I sat there.

"Well, Sakura-san, why don't we begin with yesterday?" Susume said in that apathetic voice of hers. I glared at her some more but didn't respond. "Why don't you tell me what happened after you woke up the first time. In the nurse's office."

I shrugged. "I just started walking around."

"Going where, exactly."

"No where." Susume raised an eyebrow and I sighed. She knew all about me (okay, not really, but she knew me well enough), did she really have to ask? "I didn't really know where I was in the school, so I figured if I walked for a while I'd eventually end up in a familiar place."

Susume nodded and wrote some things down. I can't imagine she'd have anything new to write. We've already had a big discussion about just how poor my directional skills are.

"And then what happened."

Urg, now this was the new part. I didn't want to talk about it. It's just embarrassing, not to mention stupid (what kind of moron faints because of a kiss?).

"Sakura-san?"

"…" What the hell was I supposed to say? 'Well, you see, this guy kind of kissed me, and, I mean, I'm allergic to kisses, so, I could've died… but I didn't… I just passed out…' Yeah, right.

"Sakura-san?" Susume asked again, not bothering to raise her voice. She must've known I heard her.

I groaned to myself. "Some guy kissed me." There. Said and done. Can I go now?

"And?" Of course. And. And then what!

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yep. Nothing. Kiss, pass out, end of story." I glanced at the clock, trying to will it to go faster. Unfortunately my lack of psychic ability prevented that from happening.

Susume frowned just slightly more than usual. "His kissing you is what caused your fainting?"

"Apparently."

"I see," Susume muttered, writing some more.

'No you don't,' I thought. '_I _don't even see.' I slumped farther into my seat and fiddled with a strand of my unusually colored hair.

"So, Sakura-chan, who was this boy?" Susume asked, her pen positioned to write my answer immediately.

"Uh…" I actually had to think for a few seconds before I could remember clearly. "Kankuro." That's right! Kankuro is Gaara's brother! I never did wonder what he was doing at the school.

"Kankuro?" Susume repeated.

"You do know who he is, don't you?" I replied. "Gaara's brother. You are Gaara's therapist, aren't you? You know, Sabaku no Gaara."

Susume's facial expression actually changed slightly (imagine that!), portraying the slightest hint of confusion. "Yes, I do know him."

I nodded. "So why exactly do you work both here and the clinic?"

"I am not actually an employee at the clinic," Susume said. "I just do my sessions there for those who find it more convenient."

"More convenient?" What does that mean? The clinic is actually father away from the house than Maybaille is.

"Your mother didn't want you to feel bad by having to go to a mental institution every week," Susume explained. "She felt by having sessions at the clinic you wouldn't feel the situation was as serious."

Wouldn't feel the situation was as… What the hell!? My mother moved our entire family across the fucking country just because of my supposed 'problem' and she's worrying that I'm going to think it's serious!?

I growled under my breath and got up. "I'm done."

Susume looked up at me from her chair. "The time isn't up yet, we still have…"

"I'm done," I repeated, and let myself out.

*****

_I looked around the clinic skeptically. I had been to several clinics for check-ups when I was younger, but I had never gone to one for mental therapy before. I wasn't sure what the protocol was. I took in a breath and walked up to the front desk._

"_Um, hi," I mumbled to the receptionist. She looked up to me._

"_How may I help you?" She asked politely._

_I swallowed. "Well, I'm here for, uh, therapy…" The receptionist was still smiling, but you could tell in her eyes she was judging me. "I'm Haruno Sakura."_

_She nodded and typed on her keyboard, clicked several things, then typed some more. "You may have a seat. Dr. Jogon will be ready in a few minutes."_

'_Dr. Jogon,' I thought to myself, trying to remember that name for future reference. I took a seat in the waiting area and played with my fingers._

'_What are we supposed to talk about?' I wondered vaguely. I had seen therapists on television, but I was pretty sure they did more than ask 'and how do you feel about that?' Because honestly, you could train a monkey to do that._

_But then again, maybe therapists really were just as skilled as a trained monkey. I'd never met one. And therapy always sounded kind of stupid to me. But who knows, maybe it really helped people._

_But there's the million-dollar-question. Did I need help? I didn't think so, but would I really know? Maybe I'm crazier than I think I am. Do crazy people _know _that they're crazy?_

"_Haruno Sakura?"_

_At the sound of my name, my head jerked up. A nurse was waiting there with a clipboard, searching the room for some response to her call. I stood up hesitantly and walked over to her._

"_I'm Haruno Sakura."_

_Again, the slight tinge of judgment was evident in her eyes. She'd know I'm going to therapy because she had to lead me there._

"_Fallow me," she instructed. We walked passed a few turns until we reached a door. "This is it, Dr. Jogon's office."_

_She nodded to me and left._

_I knocked on the door and waited until it was opened._

_I woman was standing there. She was my height, maybe slightly taller, with short-cut black hair. Her face was rather blank and void of any genuine expression. Ever her smile seemed expressionless._

"_Haruno Sakura?" She asked, moving aside so I could enter._

_I nodded and walked in. "You're Dr. Jogon, right?"_

_The woman smiled. "You may call me Susume."_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Well, I was hoping to do this one faster. But I failed miserably. It's been over two months (I think) since my last update *hides in the corner in shame*. I really ought to work on my story more, since school is out and I have so much free time (so, so much free time). But I don't, because I'm such a lazy person. Well, I did go camping last weekend, so I was busy then, but otherwise… Anyway, now for Chapter Ten!**

*****

After I left Susume's office, I ran into the nurse again. She assured me, with her far-too-cheerful smile, that I was free to wander about the institution lounge (as long as I didn't jump out a window, which actually sounds more appealing now). The words "free" and "institution" should never be put in the same sentence, unless prefixed by a negative of some sort.

So I "freely" loitered around the institution lounge. Well, actually, I was trying to find my way back to my room. But instead I got lost (what are the odds of that happening?) and ended up in the lounge instead. So, I figured, I should probably just stay put for a while seeing as how I didn't really miss my room much anyway. It was no more or less bland than any other room in this place.

The lounge was actually rather bustling. Now more than ever I wasn't really up for talking to anyone, so I chose a seat in the corner to brood privately.

Two more days. After this one, that is. I've got to spend two more days in this god-forsaken hellhole and I'm already sick of it. I don't really belong here. I over-react to simple things and sometimes faint for no good reason, but I don't _really _belong here. The guy over there talking to the wall belongs here. So does the person trying to gnaw off their fingers (ouch) and so does the girl who keeps asking the person next to her if the goblins have found their rainbow yet.

I was out of place. I was too weird for the normal world and too normal for the weird one. I felt crushed by the realization I just might not fit in anywhere. I was indulging myself in self-pity when I first noticed it.

I saw a deep blood red color, over in one of the other corners. My eyes fallowed the red down to where it attached to a head and down to the face on that head.

_Gaara? _I thought in curiosity and surprise.

Just then, like he sensed my gaze, he looked up and stared into my eyes. For a slight second my insides felt suddenly weightless. But the next second they felt ten times heavier and cold, like someone poured ice water all over them.

I decided then, filled with raging stupidity, to go and talk to him.

_Bad idea, _my brain told me as I hesitantly got up. _This is a very bad idea. _

Ignoring my brain, my feet began to move.

_Hello? Are you listening? I said bad idea! Stop that! Stop that right now!_

But my feet just kept moving, whistling a happy tune to drown out my poor mind's frantic warnings.

_Hey! HEY! You dumb feet! Listen to me! Spleen, back me up here!_

_What do you want me to do? I'm just a spleen._

Wow, maybe I am crazy.

Anyhow, as my brain and spleen argued, I made my way over to Gaara and plopped myself in the chair in front of him. "Hey. Been a while huh?"

He just stared at me for a few seconds longer. "One day."

"Oh." Right. It was just yesterday that everything happened. But to me it felt so far off.

"Are you alright?"

"Hm?" I was surprised by the sudden question. It wasn't often Gaara volunteered to speak without being prodded, much less ask someone if they were alright. "…Yes?"

"Should that be a question?" That very irritating smirk was back on his face. "Don't you know if you're alright?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. I wish they made a pamphlet for this kind of thing. Like some kind of _How to Tell If You're Crazy _for dummies. I could really use that right now."

I sighed gloomily before remembering why I ambled over here, ignoring my better judgment, in the first place. "Why are you here?"

"That fight with Goki. Whenever he's involved with anything that happens to me I get sent here." Gaara glared at the chair next to me as if it were to blame for all his problems. When I shifted a little he turned his gaze back to me. "I suppose you were unconscious for the actual fight, though."

My cheeks stained red. Right, if anyone, Gaara noticed my whole spaz attack. On the ever-growing list of things I really don't need right now, getting a hard time from Gaara was pretty high up there. "That's… that's not… shut up."

Gaara just smirked some more. God, how annoying. Damn redhead. "And that happened after the crying."

I blushed even more (I wouldn't have thought it physically possible, but…). "That doesn't count! I mean…"

_Whoa, calm down, time bomb, _my brain told me, sensing my distress.

'Help me, will you?' I pleaded.

_Oh, now you listen to me. You shouldn't have come over here in the first place, dimwit. This is all your fault._

'Oh, come on, please?'

_Nope. You're on your own now, pinky. Right, spleen?_

_Can't talk right now. I'm doing… er… whatever it is spleens do. Like… ooze and stuff. Hey, I'm a spleen. What do you expect?_

I sighed again. "I'm just… gonna…" I didn't bother to finish, but just got up and hauled my ass out of there.

*****

_I swung my legs lightly as I sat on the park bench, amusing myself by watching my clean, white shoes move back and forth. Mother had put me in my favorite dress: a light baby blue with white lace and a pink ties which matched my hair perfectly. I had been so excited for the birthday party. Megumi was one of the few girls who didn't tease me about my hair color._

_But here I was, sitting on the bench, watching everyone else play. I was getting a little bored, and I couldn't help feeling a little left out. It seemed like almost every seven-year-old in the city was here, but I was the only one sitting out._

_I sighed and decided to try and get myself in the game. I stood up and walked over to them, my cheeks pink. _

"_What d'you want, strawberry?" One of the boys asked._

"_C-can I play?"_

_Some kids gave each other exasperated looks. Others seemed confused, and a few just shrugged. Finally, Megumi spoke up. "Sure, Sakura. Udan has to leave anyway, so you can be the new defenseman. Or woman." She giggled and everyone resumed his or her positions._

_I wasn't really good at soccer, but I found it kind of fun at times. I hurried over to the empty spot as the game started up again._

_For a while the ball never really neared me, so I hung back. I wasn't really doing much more than I had been on the bench, but I felt better now. Included. Then, the ball came over to our side of the field. I trotted forward to give it a good kick._

_When I reached the ball, I happily swung back my leg. Unfortunately, I forgot I was wearing a dress, which means there isn't much room for such things. So when I propelled my leg back, it slammed into the back of the dress fabric and knocked my entire body off balance, causing me to fall belly-flop into the mud with and echoing SMACK!_

_For a second everything was quiet. Then, suddenly, laughter erupted among the group. Some of the kids had to hold their sides laughing when I looked up with a mud-covered face._

_I started to cry._

_Not because of the fall itself. It hurt, but not so much to bring me to sobs. But everyone laughing at me made me feel horribly sad and alone. As the tears streaked down my face, the crowd was torn between two reactions. Some of the kids looked more concerned now. Maybe even a little upset for laughing. The rest, however, just sneered._

"_Oh, come on, crybaby!"_

"_Geesh, you're gonna get all whiney because of that?"_

"_How dumb!"_

_Megumi came forward looking upset, but I didn't bother to look at her a second time. Instead, I got up and rushed off the field and over to my mother, who had been talking to some other parents, not noticing the whole incident. When she saw me, a worried look instantly came across her face._

"_Momma!" I cried, grabbing the hem of her shirt._

"_Oh, Sakura!" I could tell she was very upset, since she didn't say 'chan.' "Sakura, baby, what happened? What's wrong?"_

"_I-I fell, momma," I stuttered out in between sobs. "E-Everyone was l-laugh-ghing."_

"_Oh, Sakura!" She put her arms around me and I cried. She carried me to the car and brought me home, cleaning the dirt off my face with her sleeve._

_When we got home, I changed out of my dress. But instead of giving it to my mother to wash, I threw it out. Stupid dress, it was all its fault. _

_I sniffled at the memory of everyone laughing at me. I decided, right then and there, never to let anyone see me cry again._

*****

I glared at the clock on my wall, this time trying to make it go slower. Still, the clock kept on ticking (perhaps faster than it should have) despite my efforts. Six o'clock was approaching faster than I would have liked.

At six was dinner. That wasn't so bad. As much as I doubted the cuisine would be up to the 'edible' standard, I wasn't so worried about the possibility of obtaining E. Coli. No, it was what came after dinner that made me feel nauseous.

Two words: Group Therapy.

Perhaps the most awful of the devil's many horrid creations (some of which are: school, Mondays, cliffhangers, and pheromones), group therapy operates under the assumption that public humiliation will somehow help the recovering from mental illness process.

So here I was, hoping time would go slower, even though I couldn't wait for the next couple days to be over with so I could get out of here.

Still, my lack of supernatural power prevented any real progress from being made. So, pretty soon, the all-too-familiar nurse with the bright smile entered the room to come and chauffeur me to the cafeteria. I sighed and grumbled the whole way there.

It was surprisingly easy to find a good spot. In the corner of the room was an empty table. Every other table in the cafeteria was filling rapidly, but for some reason this one didn't have a single person. As I sat there I began to wonder why this was so.

"What are you doing here _again?_"

I looked over and saw Gaara standing behind the chair opposite me. Then I realized it was just like the spot by the tree at school. No one was here to avoid Gaara. Honestly, is everyone to afraid to sit near this guy?

"You don't happen to have, like, the plague, do you?" I asked.

Gaara just glared and sat down, looking thoroughly annoyed. "Why do you keep showing up in _my _spots?"

"They don't belong to you," I retorted angrily. "And I don't mean to. I just go where everyone isn't and, low and behold, there you are. Surprise of all freaking surprises."

Gaara just growled in response and glared at the table.

When they started handing out plates filled with food, I noticed even the staff were a little jittery around Gaara. The woman who brought us our dinner practically dropped the plates when Gaara looked up at her. I pondered this as I poked my serving of Unidentifiable Substance X.

"So what's up with Kankuro?" I blurted out unthinkingly.

Gaara looked up from the table. He hadn't eaten anything either and seemed to have grown comfortable with the semi-awkward silence. "Kankuro?"

"Yeah, you know, your dumb brother." I wondered if Gaara would mind me calling his brother dumb…

Gaara looked at me. "What of Kankuro? Did he do something _wrong_?"

I looked up, half-surprised. "You mean you don't know?"

But judging by the smirk on his face, he did know. He knew exactly what I meant. Then it sunk in, how he placed particular emphasis on _wrong_. He didn't just ask me if he did anything; he knew Kankuro did something. But something wrong, that was the question. I decided to take the defensive route.

"Well, yeah!" I said, putting down my fork. "You can't just go up to some completely random stranger, a stranger you've never met-"

"That's what a stranger _is_."

"-And just… j-just…"

"Kiss them?" He was smirking so much now it almost looked as if he were genuinely smiling.

I gave him a glare before looking down at my barely-touched food. "Well, yeah." I shook my head and looked back up at him. There could be no doubt now that he was smiling. It was very smirk-like, but still a real smile. I just stared at him, surprised, until he dropped the expression.

"You can't just… kiss someone, it's an invasion of privacy," I half-mumbled, looking at him, grimacing.

A small muscle tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Well, I don't think he expected you to pass out." I glared. "That startled him."

"What did he expect to happen?" I growled, clawing at the table.

Gaara shrugged. "Probably to get slapped or something. That happens a lot. But not for you to go and faint on him." He started to smile again, very amused by my pretty pathetic situation.

I just gave an indignant huff and looked over at the clock. Dinner would be over soon, which meant it was almost time for group therapy. I wondered if feigning sick would be an option. They probably get people sick all the time when the stuff they serve doesn't even resemble food.

"Alright, everyone!" One of the nurses called out. "Dinner is over, and it's time for your group therapy sessions. Everyone, into your groups!"

Many of the patients shuffled about the room to crowd around their designated doctor. A few of them needed to be forced to go to their group (I could emphasize with that). I just stood around, looking lost, until my friendly neighborhood nurse came over to help me out.

"You're with Orochimaru-sensei, dear," she told me, leading me over to a fairly creepy-looking man with long, black hair and very white skin that looked as though it hadn't seen sunlight in years. I was actually a little glad this was group therapy; the thought of a one-on-one session with this guy was scary enough.

I looked over the other patients in my group that would be enjoying the misery with me and noticed Gaara among them. He didn't seem to notice me, as he was too busy glaring at everything.

"This way please," Orochimaru called, seemingly satisfied the entire group was there. We all fallowed him down the hallway and into one of the many boring rooms. Only this room has various beanie bags, chairs, couches, and mats for people to sit on. Orochimaru himself decided to sit on the love seat, and was shortly joined by one of the patients, a boy who was prematurely gray and wore glasses.

"Alright," Orochimaru called, his quiet, snake-like voice easily carrying through the room. "We'll start off as we usually do – I will ask a question and everyone will take turns giving his or her answer."

Seemed simple enough, but also fairly pointless.

Orochimaru shuffled through his papers. "Today's question is… what do you want to be if – when – you become healthy again?" He turned to the boy next to him. "Kabuto, you're first."

"Right, Orochimaru-sama," the boy said with eagerness. "I want to be just like you, Orochimaru-sama. I want to be a person who studies the mind."

No one really seemed surprised or interested in this. Many of the patients were doing their own thing, a few actually talking to each other. Only someone seemed to be paying enough attention to snort at Kabuto's answer.

Orochimaru just nodded and scribbled something down (I hate it when they do that, it drives you nuts just wondering what they're writing). He turned to the next person. "Next, Hidan."

"I'll be killing people in honor of Lord Jashin!" the man proclaimed. "And I sure as hell won't be stuck in this fucking institution any longer! Kakuzu won't just leave me here. He better not fucking leave me here, or I'm gonna shove a fucking stick up his-"

"Oh, shut up, Hidan," Orochimaru hissed, writing something down.

"Why don't _you _shut up, mother fu-"

"You're next, Yura."

As the dark-haired man pondered his answer, Hidan tried to make a lunge for the doctor. A man with black hair and black eyes restrained him and murmured something to him before going back to his seat.

"I want to be a police officer," Yura eventually decided. He seemed pretty normal. I wondered why he was here.

Orochimaru continued down the list. Sora wanted to learn how to fly (good luck with that), Tayuya just ranted about her flute, and Itachi, the man who stopped Hidan earlier, didn't say anything at all. He actually looked very similar to Sasuke. I wondered if they were related. And, like Yura, he seemed pretty normal (not too talkative, but still) and I grew curious as to how he ended up here.

"You're turn, Gaara."

The room went quiet. Well, except for some guy who kept punching the wall and Hidan, who was muttering curses under his breath.

Gaara sighed. "I don't know."

"Come now," Orochimaru prodded, sounding annoyed he had to do so. "Just say anything you'd like to do or be."

"Free." I looked at him, surprised by that reply. The mental visits were a bitch but he wasn't shackled up all the time. I didn't understand his meaning. Gaara met my stare for a few seconds before glancing away.

A couple moments passed before anyone said anything. Orochimaru sighed and scribbled something in his notes before continuing the drill.

After the next four gave their answers, it was my turn.

"You're new here," Orochimaru commented.

"Er, yes."

"Haruno Sakura, correct?" I nodded, and he poised his pen, ready to take notes. "Well, answer the question."

I hadn't really bothered to come up with an answer while everyone else went, so I was forced to stop and think about it. And, truth be told, I had no idea whatsoever what I wanted to do. I began to wonder...

What was to become of Vanilla Girl?


End file.

Naruto, Angst, Mystery