If she could have sunk straight into the floor Sakura would have in a heartbeat. All 4 of the people in the room were giving her looks that ranged from incredulous to anger. The redhead in particular was giving her a death stare that was making her insides shrivel up. It was at that moment she realized she was still holding onto his arm and quickly let go. He made no move to stop her.

"Things just had to get complicated." The one with red markings on his face declared. He didn't say it to anyone in particular, but Sakura still fought the urge to apologize. "How long have you known?" He asked her.

"About thirty seconds," She responded honestly. "I was just trying to get to my apartment and ran into him. I've never seen him before then. Well, except when you were chasing him earlier today."

He let out a sound of frustration and began pacing around the room. The other two people with him just stood by and waited. Sakura didn't dare look at the redhead beside her, who was giving off quite a dangerous aura. Finally, he stopped. "What's your name?" He asked her.

She was a little tempted to lie, but she had a feeling that wouldn't go over well. "Sakura," she responded.

"Sakura," he said. "I'm Baki. This here's Zabu," he jabbed his thumb at the one with purple hair. "That's Hani." He pointed at the man with brown hair. "And that…man is Gaara." Sakura didn't follow his finger this time. "We're all from Suna." He placed his hands back by his side. "Gaara escaped from Suna's Oplo facility, damn near killing four people in the process. We were sent to retrieve him."

Based on how the redhead, Gaara, acted that wasn't surprising information. That said it still made the hairs on Sakura's arms stand on end. "Oh," she said.

"But of course, you being his match makes that complicated," Baki said. "Or more simple, depending on how you look at it."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"If you're really his match, we can't separate the two of you. That means unless you decide to relocate to Suna he's going to stay here with you," Baki said.

He's going to what?

"I just said he's going to stay with you," Baki said.

"Oh, I didn't realise I said that out loud," Sakura said, turning a little red. "But what? I literally just met him. I don't totally know how this works. And I don't want to live with someone who's come close to murdering people."

Zabu and Hani exchanged a look that did not make Sakura feel any better.

"Perhaps we should talk," Baki said. "In private." He turned to his companions. "Watch Gaara while we're talking, make sure he doesn't disappear again." They both gave a slightly nervous nod.

He and Sakura went to the building's small meeting room. "Tell me how much you know about the Host and Oplo bond," Baki said, leaning on the room's large table with one arm.

"I know that the bond is predetermined, that its destiny. Neither the Host nor Oplo can choose it, but both will know when they've met their match. Once the bond is set there's no going back and the two can always sense each other. Some can even feel each other's emotions. They can also learn to fight together, and will enhance each other's abilities. They will also qualify to go on quests together once they pass a test." Sakura explained.

Baki nodded. "Just the pamphlets say. Of course, life's a bit more complicated than that. Especially when it comes to the legal stuff. The important thing for you right is whether or not to accept him. As his human Host you have the power to accept or not accept him. And believe me, with Gaara I understand if you don't wish to. It's a big commitment."

He leaned back in his chair. "But there's something you need to know. This isn't the first time he's escaped. Or the first time he's injured other people. While he's incredibly powerful, he's been deemed a liability. We've been to retrieve him so that he can be put to death."

"What?" Sakura exclaimed, standing up out of her chair. "Can't he go to court?"

"He will," Baki said, looking up at her. "But these things rarely work out in an Oplo's favour. And Gaara's notorious in Suna. There's no way he'd get out without a death sentence. He's just too dangerous. The only way he'll avoid that is if you accept him as your match. The courts can't separate a Host and their Oplo. Of course, that means you'll need to take responsibility for him. As I said before he'll need to live with you. And you'll need to try and make sure he stays out of trouble."

She sunk back into her chair. Now she felt conflicted. She definitely didn't want to be around him, much less live with him. But she didn't want him to die either. "So there's no chance that if I say no he won't be killed?" She asked in a small voice.

He shook his head. "Unfortunately no. He'll be dead by this time next week."

Sakura clenched her fists. She really didn't know what to do. It obviously wouldn't be her sentencing him to death, but it may as well be. "I'm going to vouch for him a little," Baki said. "I'm not going to pretend he's nice or secretly has a heart of gold or anything like that. But he's a product of his circumstances, he's had a hard life. And he's never struck out at anyone unless they provoke him first. He's also got two siblings who care about him. Me and him don't have a strong relationship, but we have something of a respect for each other. That's why they sent me after him."

"Then what would you suggest?" She asked.

"You have one month grace period together before you have to set your bond," Baki said. "Give it a shot if you'd like. Though I'd suggest upping your security if you do. He can't hurt you directly, but you can never be too careful, especially with him."

She bit her lip. Maybe it wasn't her problem and she could just-ah forget it. She couldn't just let him die, it wasn't in her nature. Even if he was scary, her conscience wouldn't allow it. "I'll try," she said.

"Okay," Baki responded. He stood up. "You know, at first I thought this was going to be a problem but now I think it's more of a solution."

He started to walk back. It took Sakura a moment before she followed him out. Everyone was standing exactly where they had been when she and Baki had left. "Good news, Gaara," Baki said to the redhead. "You've got a new home."

Gaara didn't look particularly excited about this new piece of information. In fact he looked rather emotionless as he looked at Sakura before settling his gaze back at Baki. His mouth never moved, just stayed in a flat line.

"We'll leave the two of you to it then," Baki said to Sakura. "I'll see if the Suna Oplo facility can send you some info on him when we get back."

"You're just going to leave me with him?" Sakura said without thinking.

Baki raised an eyebrow. "Well yes, it's not like we're his guardians. You'll be fine," he said in a tone that did make her feel like he completely believed what he said. "You err, have security for the building right?" She nodded. "There you go. Good luck." The three left before she could say anything else.

For a solid minute her eyes were trained at the door. Fear had creeped into her and it wasn't leaving. She was alone with a man who had injured several people. Whether they had instigated it or not that thought alone was enough to give her chills. That paired with the fact that he obviously didn't like her made her want to run away.

Come on Sakura, she tried to will herself, you can do this. She forced herself to turn and look at Gaara. His pale eyes were trained on her. "Umm," she said. "I guess we should go upstairs?" She turned and gestured to the stairs, eager to break eye contact with him. He didn't move.

"It's this way," she said, starting to walk towards the staircase. Again his eyes never wavered from her but his feet remained where they were.

She started up the stairs, unsure of what to do. She was technically the one in charge of him, but considering his sand magic she definitely didn't feel like the one with power. What was she going to do if he just stayed there? Ask again? Order him? Threaten him? She didn't feel like any of those would work.

Fortunately just when she was going to call on him again she heard footsteps behind her. She didn't dare look back in case he stopped, but she let out a silent breath of relief.

Her apartment was on the second floor, so once they got off the stairs it was only a few steps away. She reached out to get her keys but her hand stopped for a moment in her pocket. It dawned on her once again that she was about to let a very dangerous person into her home, permanently. This might not be a very smart decision. Yet what was the alternative? Going back and saying she changed her mind, which would ultimately get Gaara killed. And her conscience would never let her live with that. So she got out her keys and opened the door. "Come in," she said without looking directly at him.

After she walked in she heard his footsteps follow. Her apartment wasn't very pretty. It was small, filled with cheap furniture and very little decoration. The walls were still that tacky shade of blue that they were when she first moved into it. But it was home, and Sakura was proud of herself for saving up enough to buy it.

"Here's the living room, and the kitchen," she said, gesturing to the space around her. "Bathroom's over there. My bedroom's over to the left. The guest room, which I guess is your room now, is to the right."

As soon as the words left her mouth the redhead immediately went to his designated room and shut the door behind him. She stared dumbly at the door for a moment, debating if she should say or do anything. But what would she say? After a moment of deliberation she decided that there was nothing she wanted to say at the moment. She was still a little too intimidated by him to go over house rules like when to clean, so if he wanted to isolate himself that was alright with her. She retreated into her own room to mentally digest what had happened today, but made sure to keep her door a little bit open in case Gaara decided to leave.

More than 14 hours later he still hadn't. He was still in the room and it was time for Sakura to go to work. And she couldn't just leave him here alone in her home. Who knows what he would do? Not that she was really powerful enough to stop him if he did want to try something, but still.

She stared at the door to the room, as if she could will him out by staring at it. It didn't work. If she wanted him to go with her, she'd have to get him to do so directly. But ugh, he freaked her out. He was attractive, but he was also very scary. He just had this aura about him that made her skin crawl. That and Baki literally told her how dangerous he was.

You can do this, she told herself. You're going to have to talk to him eventually, may as well get it over with now. "Gaara,"she forced herself to say. The sound that came out was small and maybe a little squeaky, but he still should have heard it. There was no response. "Gaara," she repeated, saying it a little louder. Again, there was nothing. Now she was beginning to get annoyed. "Gaara!" She damn near yelled. Nothing.

She stomped towards the room and thrust the door open. Gaara was sitting on the bed staring at her. "Why won't you answer me?" She said. "I called your name three times. I need to go to work, and you need to come with me."

He continued to stare at her. If she wasn't mad, she would probably feel unnerved by his gaze. "Come on," she said. "If we don't leave now I'll be late. And Tsunade is going to get mad at me for being unprofessional. It was hard enough to get this position and I can't jeopardize it now."

He didn't have eyebrows, but if he did one of them would be raised. The redhead didn't seem to impressed by her speech. "Gaara," she said, starting to feel her chances of winning this confrontation slide away. "Please." After a moment of watching him sit, she turned away. Once she did she heard a rustle and the sound of feet landing on the floor. Unable to stop herself, she immediately turned back and saw him standing in front of the bed. "Thank you!" she said with a big smile. He looked at her with an expectant look, waiting for her to lead the way. So she did.