Previously on Shattered:

"It was Sakura…"

A single tear fell from his eyes and hit the windowsill unbidden.

'Thank you for giving me my brother back.'

Immediately she fell into the lotus position and closed her eyes, desperately trying to find her center. Breathing deeply, her pulse eventually calmed and her walls, that had threatened to crumble in Kankuro's presence, were reforged and strong as ever.

The ache in her chest renewed tenfold as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly, almost drawing blood from her palms as she asked herself that same question she had been asking wicked that fateful day. Just this once, she gave into her emotions slightly, a tear falling down her face and staining the rooftop below her.

'Why… Why couldn't I save you… Junsu?'

So long time no see. I've updated all of the chapters, including an added scene in the chapter "A Challenge". I hope you enjoy the fiction as I work to complete it in a timely manner. Thank you for your patience and support.

A special thanks to: Far2addicted, which without whom this would not be possible.

You make me look like a pro. Thanks for that.

Disclaimer: Naruto, in all facts and facilities belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. I just borrow them for a while. All emotional rollercoasters, heartbreaks, and pent up suspense, plotlines and what have you belong to me. Enjoy.

Scars

The ceiling. It was what had held her attention for the past five days when she was supposed to be sleeping, and what continued to do so now, fatigue from lack of sleep beginning to affect her mind and body.

Sakura had gone on missions where she had to forgo this luxury, but here, there was no need to go without sleep, especially when she and the Hyuuga traded shifts like they did. However, none of that crossed her mind as beryl eyes remained trained on the crème colored surface. No, it was something much more haunting than the ceiling held that held her gaze prisoner.

She had been avoiding the Kazekage, Kankuro, and Temari for the past five days. When they came home, she'd already be on patrol. When they got up, she'd extend her border patrols until they left. She took her meals to her room and ate them, but she'd done that before. The reason behind her actions was simple, really: she didn't want to explain her actions, or rather, she wasn't ready to explain her actions, especially when she could barely explain them to herself. However, that still wasn't the source of her restless nights.

The thing that plagued her most was another simple statement that held so much regret, pain, and guilt over her being. It caused her emotional turmoil and mental unrest, so much so that she couldn't sleep. She tried every day, and even if she did manage to fall asleep for an hour or two, it wasn't restful, and she awoke just as tired and fatigued as she was when sleep took her under. It was simple, really, and yet driving her mad.

For the life of her, Haruno Sakura couldn't help but ponder the 'what ifs' of her existence. She'd always been this way ever since her Genin days. It was the natural state of an intuitive mind, but right now that mind was slowly killing her.

What if she'd been able to save Jun?

She closed her eyes as the question which had plagued her for years, burning like an ever-present ember in her psyche. It was obvious that today, too, would find her no rest.

Rising swiftly from the lush mattress, Sakura strapped her weapon pouches to her hips and legs before leaving the room and closed the door behind her promptly. She was halfway down the hall before she realized her blunder: someone was home, and even worse, the sound of his or her footsteps were drawing closer to her. They knew she was awake.

Inwardly, she cursed as she turned her back, determined to escape out of one of the many windows that lined the hallway, when a voice stopped her.

"Sakura?" The quiet feminine voice sounded. It was Temari.

Sakura closed her eyes momentarily before opening them and inclining her head back to indicate that she'd heard her. A single beryl eye peered over her shoulder to regard the ambassador.

It was obviously her day off. She was in her normal attire; sans the giant fan and pouch she always carried with her. Her hair was void of the ever-present ponytails and cascaded down her shoulders, longer than Sakura would have imagined, making her look strangely tame in comparison to her normal appearance, almost softer.

Temari wasn't sure what she had expected to happen. Sakura had healed Kankuro and then attempted, to the best of her ability, to hide from them all. The only one who had really gotten to talk to her in five days was the Hyuuga, who always reported that she was doing fine, but nothing more.

Temari knew better.

The tactical mind her father had gifted her with allowed her to see the slight ticks of uncertainty the Hyuuga gave off when speaking about his partner, how he avoided the eyes when answering questions about how she was, and how he would nonchalantly change the subject once the questions were appraised. Looking at her now, Temari became aware of just how wrong something was with the medic.

Her eyes narrowed as she studied Sakura's back. Her shoulders were slumped slightly and her muscles tensed, as if she was jumpy or constantly on guard. No one else would have seen that. And her eye, the one eye Temari was able to see, spoke volumes. It was strained and glazed, almost looking resigned to an unspeakable fate. The kunoichi was exhausted.

Temari's brow furrowed. Sakura wasn't sleeping, and she wasn't sure why. Deciding not to push the subject, she continued with her original intention of catching Sakura.

"I wanted to thank you, for Kankuro. It means a lot to Gaara and me." Forest green orbs watched as Sakura's shoulders tensed at the mention of Temari's oldest brother's name, but it was gone as soon as it was there, like it never happened. Had Temari been anyone else, she would have assumed she imagined it, but the fan master knew better.

"Hn," was the only response she got, but the closing and reopening of Sakura's eyes told Temari that the other kunoichi understood before turning and walking past Temari and toward the door to an unknown destination.

Temari sighed softly as the door closed. "What's going on with you, Sakura?"

Gaara was sifting through one of the various piles of paper that lay upon his already overburdened desk. The context of the bundled packet he held seemed to be related to irrigation, once again. However, he barely took in the meaning of the elegant script on the parchment, as his mind had long since drifted elsewhere, to Sakura.

Before he had been unsure he could pull her back from this purgatory, this mindset she seemed to hold herself prisoner in, but now, after she had showed this impertinent sliver of the person she once was, the person he loved, he could not falter. She had given him hope, and as he had once thought he'd have to, for various reasons, he was going to fight for her.

Closing his eyes, he laid the packet down, his focus no longer on work, and as he peered around the room at the Hyuuga and Kankuro, who had joined him on the pretense that he was tired of sitting in a hospital bed, he decided maybe a break was in order.

"Kazekage-sama," came a voice from beyond the door, followed by a hurried knock.

Then again, maybe not.

"Enter," his airy voice sounded as a brunette kunoichi strode forth rapidly into the room.

"The Elders have called an emergency council meeting. You are to come at once," she said bowing briskly.

Gaara could feel the nerve in the bridge of his nose twitch slightly. Being ordered around by the Elders was not on his short list of "favorite things to have happen".

The Hyuuga had already moved from his position on the wall to follow him before Gaara turned his gaze to take in the form of his brother.

"I'll be fine, Gaara," Kankuro said, waving his hand as if reading the Kazekage's train of thought. "I was hospitalized, not killed."

"Recently released," Gaara reminded Kankuro before standing up from behind his desk, but he didn't move. He was about to call for his assistant outside the door when the Hyuuga spoke.

"That won't be necessary."

Gaara directed his questioning gaze toward the Konoha nin to see the Byakugan activated. Before he could vocalize his question, a flash of pink came through the open window of his office.

Recognition flooded seafoam but he only had seconds to regard her appearance before the brunette kunoichi was upon the entering figure with the intention of hostility.

"Rukia, no!" Kankuro called out, eyes wide, but there was no need.

The Suna nin was slammed with one arm against the wall effortlessly, a kunai lazily held against her neck in mere seconds. Rukia's blue eyes were wide as Sakura, in full black anbu-hybrid ensemble, stood before them, tilting her head back to gaze at the individual who had attempted to assault her. Tired but wary beryl eyes studied her victim briefly before she turned her head toward the Kazekage and nodded in greeting.

"Kazekage-sama." Her quiet tone sounded though the stark silence of his office.

Kankuro was the one to break the unsteady silence, "Whoa. Sakura...? When did you...? How...? ...Oh. Anbu."

The pink haired medic, turning her gaze toward him, raised one eyebrow slightly at his steady stream of half asked questions as they turned into an obvious observation. However, Gaara had taken note of something else, something with a much greater impact.

She had shown emotion: the simple lift of her eyebrow. Although small and subtle, it was something she would have never done before, and, from the slightly shocked look on the Hyuuga's face, Gaara wasn't the only one to notice.

The right corner of Gaara's lips turned upward as he crossed his arms. There was still hope. However, his jubilance was short-lived as a slight look of concern briefly ghosted over his features. Sakura looked tired.

He had known her sleeping schedule was slightly off, due to the Hyuuga's reports, but he'd had no clue it had gotten to the point where she was visibly affected. This only lead to more questions: what was affecting her sleep? How long had she been like this? How could this be fixed? Steps would have to be taken to remedy this, but other matters, unfortunately, held precedence for the time being.

"Haruno, release Yamada, please," he spoke airily as his role of Kazekage fell back into place. "I have a council meeting to attend."

Sakura blinked as her gaze returned to him. He noticed, however, that she did not meet his gaze.

With a slight flick of her wrist, the kunai was deftly tucked back into its holder. As she moved across the room, away from Rukia, Sakura spoke steadily, her tone still quiet. "I will stay with Kankuro."

Gaara's gaze drifted from his older brother to the medic before landing on the Hyuuga, who nodded.

"Alright," he replied glancing at the shell-shocked brunette. "Yamada," he intoned, garnering her attention.

"Right," she said, still eyeing the beryl-eyed operative apprehensively. "This way, Kazekage-sama."

Gaara followed behind the brunette, but he paused one last time at the door to his office to look back. That's when he saw it: the slumped shoulders and tensed back, the slouched posture and unfocused eyes, and the slight sway of her body as she fought to hold it upright. The signs no one had cared to notice until now. Briefly, he wondered if it was safe to leave them alone together. He could just imagine them both falling over and passing out.

The brief urge to pinch the bridge of his nose swept through him before he bit it back and continued through the door, but not before beryl eyes regarded him one last time, and as Gaara headed down the hall, taking the various turns out of sheer muscle memory, he could have sworn he saw something hidden there in her green pools, something uncharacteristic of the woman he had once known.

These thoughts plagued him, but as he entered a sealed room to find several disgruntled looking Elders, he pushed those thoughts from the forefront of his mind. Whatever they held in store would require his full attention, if the suffocating silence that seemed to stifle the round table was anything to go by.

After the door closed with a sound click, Kankuro turned his attention to the pink haired nin, who had opted to lean against the wall his bench was adjacent to. Brown eyes studied her while her own eyes remained closed.

His memories from a few days past were blurry at best, but he did vividly remember it being she in his room that day, answering his uncertain, and rightly suspicious, questions. He also remembered the manner in which she had treated him: kindly, although the implications of his words had been anything but hospitable.

This was a trait of the girl - no, the woman - he had grown to know and see as family during the war, but the person he had awoken to was very different. Looking at her even now, Kankuro could see the change in her mannerisms. She was cold, closed off and quiet, reserved, a stark contrast to the bubbly, warm individual Sakura had once been.

Sakura had only ever radiated warmth and joy to all who were near her; even at her weakest, she had always been kind.

Once, he recalled having to drag her from the medical tents, half-dead due to lack of chakra, but the entire time she had smiled and asked him how he was doing, even going so far as to check his vitals while she was being hauled away from her duties. He smiled softly at the memory. Gaara had been none too pleased with the state she had been returned in on that occurrence. That was the first time Kankuro had even remotely considered his youngest sibling's feelings for the rosette.

On more than one occasion he himself had been under the mercy of those healing hands, and upon awakening he always felt the safety and warmth only she could provide. Where had that girl gone?

Chocolate orbs sharpened in concentration as he took in this being that now stood before him in Sakura's place. She was different; nearly alien in comparison to the woman he had considered a second sister before. What had happened to her?

Sighing, Kankuro broke his stare, his eyes turning toward the floor. He'd have to be patient. No doubt Gaara wanted answers just as much, if not more, than he did. He had to focus on what he did know. She had saved his life, so maybe she wasn't as different as they all thought.

'In that case,' he thought, a slight smile tugging at his lips, 'I'll just have to be patient, like everyone else.'

Beryl eyes opened slowly regarding the room around her with near indifference. She could feel his eyes on her, studying her, and she didn't blame him. It was probably shocking to come out of a coma and see someone once familiar completely changed, unknowing of how much time had passed. Undoubtedly that experience would stick with him for a long time.

"Sakura," his voice sounded in the suffocating silence of the room, garnering her attention as exhausted beryl orbs took in his countenance. He was smiling sheepishly, she noticed, and had to stifle the slight twitch upward at the right corner of her mouth due to his discomfort. "Do you think you'd be able to help me out?" Taking her silence for confusion, Kankuro continued, "I'm still not moving that well. Help me to Gaara's desk?"

Wordlessly, Sakura lifted off of the wall and moved to his side, noticing that he strained to lift himself to an acceptable height, but his muscles were failing him in his endeavor. Without hesitation, Sakura stooped to his shoulder, grasping his left wrist as she looped his arm over her shoulders and neck before she stood to her full height, dragging him up with her, securing him to her right side. Beneath the mask, her teeth gritted due to the effort being exerted on her exhausted body, but the slight introduction of chakra to her system eased the pain enough so she could fully stand supporting the entirety of his weight.

Her struggle did not go unnoticed by Kankuro, whose eyes narrowed slightly in concern. Was she normally this…weakened? Had his recuperation taken that much out of her?

Reopening her eyes as they took tentative steps forward, her right arm tightened around his torso to keep him steady. He winced slightly at the pressure, and it did not go unnoticed. Subtly, Sakura pulsed chakra into his body, scouring it for any sign of residual poison or open wounds either she or the preceding doctor had missed. Her body relaxed a bit after she found nothing of great precedence, just weakened muscles. To stimulate healing, Sakura laced her chakra into the tender sinews and bruised cells, and, once she was satisfied with their condition, she retracted from him, believing he was none the wiser of her actions. She was wrong.

Kankuro lowered his head slightly to hide his smile. Maybe she had changed outwardly, but this was the same Sakura he had always known; her concern for others always superseded the needs of her own.

"Thank you," he said while smiling down at her genuinely, still slightly sheepish from having to ask for help.

Sakura blinked, unsure of what he meant in the end. Assuming it was for helping him to Gaara's desk, she intoned a mere, "Hn," in response as she sat him down gently in the Kazekage's chair behind the desk.

Ignoring her lackluster response, Kankuro instead focused on the piles of paper that littered Gaara's desk. "Right," he said, looking slightly lost for a moment. Apparently a lot had happened while he was comatose.

Sakura couldn't help the covert upturn at the edge of her lips beneath the black half-mask she adorned. It seemed she wasn't the only one in need of a distraction.

Gaara's posture was rigid as he made the trek back to his estate, the Hyuuga in tow. The Elders, possibly upon the suggestion of a single, unnamed member, had the audacity to question his motives behind his declination of their recent irrigation proposal that had, in Gaara's eyes, been more detrimental to Suna civilians than any other proposal. It would skyrocket taxation on citizens whilst lessening the blow on the shinobi rostered on active duty. Granted, there had been a reduction in high paying missions as of late, but Suna had undergone harder times during and before Gaara's time in office as Kazekage, of which Gaara reminded the Elders, and the village would also survive this one without such a drastic measure if at all possible. This, of course had lead to a long, heated debate about his capabilities as Kazekage, with Uso at the helm, which was unsurprising to Gaara.

Since his appointment as Kazekage, Uso had made it his mission, so it seemed, to broadcast his shortcomings in any and all ways possible. Gaara understood he was incredibly young for a kage, possibly the youngest Suna had ever had, but that in no way made him any less deserving or capable of the title he held.

He exhaled heavily as his home came into view, but the tension in his shoulders did not lax in intensity until he caught the shock of pink hair in his peripheral vision. Stopping short in front of his home, he lifted his gaze to the roof where the black-clad kunoichi was observing their approach in a languid manner. His brow furrowed, however, when a dog came to her side moments later, and he watched, as the two seemed to exchange words quietly.

"Kakashi's ninken," the Hyuuga intoned as he stopped beside Gaara, also watching the curious exchange with his opal orbs. "Naruto insisted she have them upon his death."

Gaara remained silent, still watching her and the ninken interact. "You may continue on inside, Hyuuga-san."

Neji spared the Kazekage a curious glance before turning to enter the estate, an inkling of an idea as to Gaara's motives beginning in his brain. A smile ghosted across his features; Gaara was finally prepared to put the first step to gaining Sakura's trust into action. Neji paused at the door before taking the handle securely in his grasp, though, his eyes narrowing. Was she ready for that?

He activated his Byakugan as he entered the abode. Her chakra levels were extremely low, and to spar now would mean a loss and probable unconsciousness, but he would not stop the determined Kazekage from trying. A smirk flashed across his face as he ventured into the kitchen, where mouth-watering smells were emanating from. It would be good for her, and she might finally get some rest.

Sakura had observed the Kazekage and Neji approaching the estate, already set up for her evening patrol. Akino had come to address her prominent exhaustion that he had smelled coming off of her. He was concerned about her, it seemed, and she could understand why.

Lacing her fingers through his fur in a sign of mild affection, Sakura peered down at the entrance to the estate to see the Kazekage staring up at her and Akino with a near impassive gaze. Retracting her hand from Akino's fur, she stood, albeit a bit unsteadily against a wayward breeze that ruffled her hair, and addressed him.

"Kazekage-sama," she greeted, her tone even but weaker than normal.

"Sakura," he said softly, but she heard it, along with the softer undercurrent in his voice, and had to repress a shiver. Seemingly ignorant of, or not seeing, her reaction to his voice, he continued this time monotonously in his airy tone, "Spar with me." It was not a question.

He turned from her, walking off toward his personal training grounds and left no room for argument. Sakura stayed her position for a few minutes more, her brow drawn in concentration.

To spar now, in such a weakened state, was potentially dangerous. Exerting that much energy could drain her further, and prevent her from performing her patrol adequately. However, she had no real reason to decline his request.

"Sakura-ue," Akino warned, his tone laced with concern. Sakura extended her hand to the base of his skull, giving him a few scratches before she leapt down, managing to land semi-gracefully on the ground.

Gaara was waiting, albeit none too patiently, at the sparring grounds he'd had set up for his and his sibling's personal use, the same grounds Sakura and Temari had sparred at previously. In fact, the remnants of that battle were still visible with the ruptured ground and misplaced sand, but that was far from his mind at this moment. No, Gaara was currently focused on the woman whose dark silhouette approached him slowly.

The Hyuuga had given him the means of reconnecting with the woman, but he had neglected to tell him how. What was the spar supposed to accomplish? Was he supposed to beat her to gain some semblance of respect in her eyes? Or was it merely a bonding activity?

'Perhaps this isn't suppose to be strategic,' he finally decided, his posture relaxing and the moonlight igniting her figure, casting shadows across her face and setting her hair aglow in an ethereal manner. 'Maybe,' he continued in thought as he watched her tighten the grip of her wrappings on her arms, 'maybe it's just time.' And that was something he knew she needed in large quantities. Time and patience.

"Ready?" Gaara queried, his sand already pooling on his skin to form his infamous armor. He'd seen her spar with Temari, and knew she had improved, so he wasn't going to take any chances with the unpredictable kunoichi.

"Hn," Sakura intoned, taking a more aggressive taijutsu stance than she had with Temari.

In a way, Gaara took it as a compliment. She was taking his threat seriously. Allowing a smirk to ghost across his face, he too melded his body into an opposing taijutsu stance. Even if this was only meant for 'bonding', he was going to enjoy himself.

Sakura's face was a mask of indifference as their bodies collided for the first time, her left hand grasping his right fist firmly in a block.

'Sakura.'

Her eyes widened as the voices from the past invaded her mind… as his voice rang in her ears.

"Sakura!" Gaara called sharply as the kunoichi ducked, tucking into herself, out of the way of his oncoming fist just in time. Throwing herself backward, Sakura rolled a few feet away from him before pushing off of the ground to land on the balls of her feet. Previously widened beryl orbs were now sharp with concentration. She could not allow the past to distract her.

Gaara's seafoam eyes narrowed significantly. Something had thrown her off when they had touched, and it had caused her to nearly take his following fist to the face. He was wondering if this spar was such a good idea, if they should quit for the day, when she charged him again.

Face hardened with resolve, Sakura charged the Kazekage, dealing blow after blow with her fists that he deflected with his own forearms as sand whipped up fiercely around them. Attempting to imitate the Hyuuga gentle fist, Sakura opened her palm to hit the pressure point in his shoulder when Gaara's much bigger hand caught hers gently yet firmly in his own.

'It's okay to be afraid.'

'I know, Gaara.'

Wide and soft beryl orbs lifted to meet seafoam eyes before they hardened once more, Sakura wrenching her hand from Gaara's grasp. Focused seafoam orbs narrowed as she drew a kunai and swiped at his image before it disappeared.

Gaara felt invigorated. It had been some time since he had actually sparred, since his duties, much like Naruto's, sapped the majority of his time. A smirk pulled at the corner of his mouth as he decided to kick his aggression up a notch, to expend more of his pent up rage at the council and use it as fuel in this mock-fight. It would be good for him, and, undoubtedly, be of no consequence to her, if her previous battle prowess was anything to go by.

Reappearing behind her, Gaara used sand to disarm her, sending the kunai flying across the training ground. Jerking around to face him, Sakura sprinted toward Gaara, taking a leap into the air and coming down upon him with an axe kick that he blocked with his forearms.

'If you need anything...'

The voice caused her to start, and she glanced down into his eyes that were staring into hers as the voice continued.

'Don't hesitate to ask.'

Taken aback by the tenderness in his voice, her defenses fell and he sent her sailing across the field as he pushed back against her leg. After unceremoniously slamming into the ground, Sakura pulled herself up shakily; she barely had time to turn around as he charged her again.

'I'll be right here.'

Her eyes weren't the only ones that went wide as his right fist collided with her jaw. The brute force of the impact sent her careening another forty feet, and she hit the ground several times along the way, her body twisting in a sickening fashion.

"Sakura!" Gaara called, horrified and frozen in place as the kunoichi struggled to rise to her feet. Obviously dazed, Sakura inclined her head to look back at him. The black mask that normally obscured her face from view lay behind her, and what was made evident in the moonlight shocked him.

Across the bridge of her nose, an inch or so below her eyes and extending to the outside corner of both of those orbs was a deep, nasty scar that looked as if it had been torn into her skin rather than cut cleanly.

Gaara only had seconds to study his new find before her eyes glazed over and she fell.

Falling backward, Sakura lost herself to the darkness, indifferent to the impact that was sure to follow. Before her eyes darkened entirely, however, she vaguely remembered looking into concerned seafoam framed by dark lines and a shock of red hair.

Bleary beryl eyes opened once, halfway, before opening slowly again in an attempt to clear the fog that clouded her vision. The faint beeping sound of a monitor resounded in her ears. Once focused, her eyes trained to a stark white ceiling before the realization hit her: she was in a hospital. Flashes of memories skirted through her mind and she subconsciously lifted her hand to touch her face, relaxing slightly to find her half-mask present upon it.

"You're awake."

Beryl orbs immediately scanned the room to find Gaara, whose seafoam orbs were studying her intensely, sitting in a chair in one corner of the room while the Hyuuga, who occupied the other, was seemingly asleep.

"You've been out for three days," Gaara intoned, his piercing gaze watching her for any kind of reaction.

He had been nearly frantic when she'd passed out on him at the training ground, her breathing shallow and body trembling. Initially, he thought that she was having some sort of attack, but upon arriving at the hospital - in dramatic fashion, no less- he had been informed that the trembling was merely a sign of extreme fatigue.

Gaara had chided himself for days after the spar, knowing well that he probably shouldn't have pushed her. He had noticed that she had been in bad condition that day, and the stress and built up anger had gotten the better of his judgment. He was just glad, this time, there were no dire consequences for his rash behavior. He was a Kazekage; he'd have to do better in the future.

Sakura swore softly under her breath, realizing that she had left the Hyuuga to pull double shifts for three days without her. She attempted to sit up, but her body protested, her muscles screaming at her.

"He's been pulling double shifts for three days," Gaara stated, pausing to allow his disapproving stare to pierce her beryl orbs. "We were informed by the head medic that you've been doing the same thing for nearly a week straight."

Sakura had nothing to say. It was true. She had pushed herself to her limits and then exceeded them, knowing all the while that she was. The stifling silence in the hospital room continued as the Kazekage stood moving swiftly to her bedside. His eyes scanned her face and rested where he knew the scar on her face to lie, and Sakura inwardly chastised herself for allowing such weakness to be displayed so openly.

Sea foam softened slightly as his hand reached toward her, his fingertips lying gently on the bridge of her nose, directly on the scar. "A facial scar, especially one as new as yours, is often considered a disgraceful mark." He paused to gauge her reaction, and when there was none, he continued. "A medic of your caliber should easily be able to erase such a wound." He paused again, his brow drawn in confusion as his eyes met hers. "Why didn't you?"

Rising from her prone position on the hospital bed, Sakura moved her legs to hang over the floor, trying to assess her muscle's recuperation. A moment or two more passed by as Gaara watched her until he was sure she wouldn't respond to his question. Repressing a sigh, he moved his gaze to the whitewashed wall, a thousand thoughts speeding through his mind.

"It is a reminder." Her voice was quiet, but it seemed to echo throughout the room and yet, at the same time, cause a deafening silence.

Gaara's brow furrowed again. No one had told him what exactly had 'destroyed' her. With his logical mind, he had deduced the 'incident' had taken place the night of the invasion, but nothing beyond that, and this was the first time she'd ever indicated that something did happen that night two years ago.

He knew he was pushing the boundaries, but Gaara continued, his seafoam eyes trained to her figure. "A reminder of what?"

Sakura stood before seizing her self-designed vest and sliding it over her shoulders, clasping it together quickly and making her way toward the door. All this talk about that night was making her uncomfortable; she needed to leave, but she felt that Gaara deserved something. What caused the feeling, she wasn't sure, but the notion compelled her to respond in some way.

"The night I failed."

Without another word, the kunoichi was gone.

Intense eyes watched the door long after her departure, minutes after she left, trying to decipher her cryptic answer, but he was left with more questions than answers. From his time speaking with Naruto, he knew her parents blamed her for the loss of something precious. Their village? Or something more? What had she failed? Why did her parents blame her for it?

Gaara raised his hand and pinched the bridge of his nose, his other arm wrapping around his torso and his eyes closing in thought. Sleep deprivation was surely interfering with his thought process, for he could not connect the dots that he knew had to be right in front of him.

"It's going to take some time, Kazekage."

Sea foam opened and regarded the once sleeping Hyuuga, who was staring at the now empty bed. Gaara sighed, knowing the Hyuuga was right, but hating that fact nonetheless.

Irritated and in need of a relaxing activity, Gaara headed toward the door, but the Hyuuga's voice stopped him one last time.

"She mentioned it, Gaara." Neji's opal gaze leveled on him thoughtfully, his arms crossed in a relaxed manner from his light nap, eyes intensifying with something Gaara had never seen from the Hyuuga before: a mixture of hope and unwavering faith in him. "She hasn't mentioned it to anyone since it happened. That's something."