A/N: I'm back! So I only got ONE review for last chapter, sad day! But that's okay. If you are reading this, please do review, I know it's a hassle but it really motivates us authors. Having that said, HERE IS A SPECIAL PRIZE FOR Ichibiluva for being the first reviewer!

To lovely Ichibiluva: Leave a review with one line you somehow want me to incorporate, and I'll figure out a way to have one of the characters say it and have it still make sense to the plot. Have fun!

"So, where are we headed first?" Sakura asked as the duo walked away from her house. It made her feel a little odd to be going on a journey with a man she hardly knew, but she pushed those thoughts aside in favour of happier ones. Although she was fairly tall, Sakura found that she was having a hard time keeping up with the other's obviously lengthier strides.

Gaara tilted his head towards her and with a kind smile, he responded politely, "Nowhere for now. I just arrived in Konoha. I had figured that we would recruit some students here. We might as well since I'm here."

Sakura blinked before blushing slightly. Well of course. If she thought about it more carefully, she could have arrived at that conclusion herself. Nodding to acknowledge that she heard him, Sakura glanced away from his gaze and turned to face the other side of the street. She should really think before asking dumb questions. As she was scolding herself, another thought came to mind.

"Wait, so if we're recruiting here…I could stay at my house, couldn't I?" She asked him openly. She wasn't sure how long they were going to stay, but if they were going to stay in Konoha, she would much rather sleep in her own bed.

"Ah, yes. I would assume so. Actually, I was thinking that myself. I had wondered why you brought such a large bag when you left, if you were only looking for me. I couldn't have gone that far," Gaara replied. He had no trace of humour in his voice, but something about the way he spoke caused Sakura to laugh.

"Yeah, I guess I wasn't really thinking. It was an impulsive decision."

Gaara turned to the girl and stopped walking. He placed a hand on her right shoulder. It was more toned than he imagined. Girls were soft, and delicate. But kunochi, like Haruno, were not. Her deltoid was defined and hardened from years of training. Although rigid, she felt warm. Gaara found it amazing that he could literally feel her being alive.

Sakura stopped in her tracks and turned at the touch. It wasn't rough, but it was firm. She had never been touched like that. It was as if he was completely indifferent to her gender, and treated her like an equal. A small part of her was offended, but she was mostly happy. To be seen as equal by someone as powerful as Gaara gave her a burst of self-confidence.

"What is it?" She asked.

"I know you say it was an impulsive decision. But thank you nonetheless. I am grateful you have decided to help me, but I just want to be clear about my objective. I do not wish to force you to help me, if you are choosing to do so out of obligation. If this is not what your heart truly desires, do not feel pushed." He said to her.

Sakura couldn't help but stare into his eyes. There was such an intensity with which he spoke, she felt humbled. The very thought of disappointing him terrified her. She wasn't sure if this really was what she wanted, but she wanted to try, at least. It wouldn't be fair to him for her to suddenly change her mind. She would look like such a flake. But what if she did change her mind? She would put him in such a dilemma. Regardless of how she felt, she knew what she wanted to say.

"You're welcome. I'm really not doing this for any other reason than my personal interest. I want to help, and I believe that the kids do need some sort of preparation. So, don't worry. I'm not going to back out on you."

Gaara smiled once more. Relieved, he dropped his hand away from her shoulder, and continued to walk. He glanced around the streets. It was a good thing he had found Haruno when he did. He was starting to get lost in Konoha's vast streets. Pausing when they reached an intersection, he turned to her to ask her a question.

"Do you know where I can find some interested kids?"

Sakura scrunched up her face in shock. Did he not have a plan at all? Was his plan just to ask around! Surely they would be found, and caught if they did such a thing. She quickly pulled her face into a more respectful one. So perhaps she had given Gaara too much credit. Maybe he hadn't thought this out as much as she had earlier assumed.

"To be honest, Gaara-san, I don't. Even if I did, I think just going around, asking kids would be a horrible way to recruit, and a very easy way to get caught. I don't really know how you do plan on finding students. The punishment for learning the craft is almost as severe as passing it down. I think the young ones are much too scared here." She answered truthfully.

Gaara paused, considered what she had said, before he nodded slowly.

"I see what you're saying. We should look for delinquents then. They will not be afraid of the law."

"NO!" Sakura objected. She threw her hands exasperated into the air, before setting them back down on her hips.

"That's a stupid idea. I'm not teaching anything to someone who's already on the wrong side of the law," she added.

The young man seemed to be unfazed. Though, he was surprised at her outburst. Large displays of emotion still were foreign to him. He thought about what she suggested. She had a point. If he were to pass down his secrets, he would want someone with a strong character. And thus, Gaara, former Kazekage, developed a plan.

"Miho, did you hear?" a young boy's voice could be heard, whispering. He stood underneath the slide at the playground.

"No, what is it, Ikki?" a voice responded back from above him. The girl was lying down on top of the slide.

"Haruka's leaving. His brother's taking him with him on some trip. They aren't even going to tell their parents!" The boy spoke out excitedly. He would miss Haruka, but he was very excited on the prospect of Jasper not being around. He didn't like the way he treated Miho.

"What? Oh no! I didn't get to say bye! When will they be back? Why wouldn't he tell us?" The girl shrieked out, horrified at being left out of the situation.

"I don't know when he'll be back. And he told me, and I told you. Isn't that good enough?" Ikki responded, confused by her anger.

"Ugh, you don't understand anything." The girl responded with before angrily lying back down, crossing her small arms across her chest. Haruka, and his cute brother, were gone after all.

Somewhere not far from the playground, a thirteen-year-old and his eleven-year-old brother were walking towards the edge of their district, and towards an unfamiliar house. Both had small backpacks with them, though, the contents of which were completely useless in the long run. The boys packed a dinner for themselves, underwear, and then, their favourite possessions.

"Go knock." Jasper commanded his brother, shoving him forward slightly. Haruka looked back at his big brother and frowned.

"No, you do it!" He bickered. Haruka was nervous. He didn't even know what was going on. His brother had just burst through the door of their family home and explained that there was a big contest that he really wanted to win, and that they would have to leave, right away.

"Fine. You're such a baby. We'll never win if you act like this," Jasper snapped. On the inside, he too was nervous. But he was the big brother. He had to show Haruka how things were done.

One knock and the door opened. To their amazement, the house was rather small, and crowded. It looked like it was meant for a single, not a family, like the houses they were used to being in. The narrow entrance to the humble house was connected straight into the living room, where other children seemed to have gathered. Walking in with more confidence, Haruka shut the door behind him. There must have been at least fourteen other boys there. This prize must have been amazing.

Just as he was about to question his big brother, Haruka looked up and saw two adults, sitting on the couch, facing the crowd before them. Haruka pulled on Jasper's sleeve and the two squished themselves somewhere near the back of the couch, to hear what was being said.

"So basically, we're giving away two hundred ryo to whichever team can find us first. We will be going into the forest outside the edge of the east gate. Do whatever it takes to win. You may begin in an hour. If no one finds us by the morning, no one will receive the prize. Once someone does find us, we will sound two sharp whistles. Pair up; there should be an even number of you. If you are caught trying to follow us into the woods, you will be disqualified. Remember, although you can't see us, we will be able to see you." The man spoke out calmly. Excitement grew in the young boys' eyes. That was a lot of money, and how hard could it be to find two adults? One had red hair, and the other pink. It would be so easy to spot them in a lush environment of green.

Whispers grew louder as the man seemed to have finished speaking. Everyone was getting excited. That was a lot of money. Jasper had already planned out what he was doing with it. He was finally going to buy himself a sword! A real one! Getting pumped, he glanced over at Haruka, who looked less than impressed.

"What's wrong, Haruka? Didn't you hear him? Two hundred," Jasper asked him with a wide grin. His younger brother smiled back weakly. He was always the more pensive of the two, and the implications of this contest were starting to set in.

"Jasper…think about this. Those guys said, 'do anything to win'...doesn't that mean that you can do, anything? Jasper, this could get really dangerous. Some of those guys look bigger than us," Haruka whispered to his bigger brother. Jasper paused. He hadn't considered the competition just yet.

"Hmm…I'm sure it'll be fine." Jasper decided before he put his hands on Haruka's shoulders. "Don't worry, I'll be here. We can do this." He encouraged. With a smile, Haruka nodded shyly. As the two sorted out their thoughts, the woman stood up.

"We're going to ask that all of you wait for us for one hour before beginning. The clock starts the minute all of you are out of this house. Feel free to grab supplies, or do whatever you feel is necessary. However, if any interference occurs before you are in the forest, the interfering team will be disqualified as well. Good luck," she instructed, before gently coaxing the boys out of her house.

Finally, as Sakura closed the door, she turned back around to face Gaara with a worried glance.

"Is this really the best way? I mean, did you really have to say, 'anything goes'? What if some of these boys aren't strong characters? I don't want any deaths or serious injuries on our hands," she murmured.

Gaara crossed his arms before walking over to the kitchen. He helped himself to a cup of water.

"Yes. Look, you and I know there is no prize money. This is a test of character. We're going to be supervising the whole time anyways. I will be in the forest, while you will be here, watching over them until they get into the forest, before joining me. The type of students we want will not go over the line for something as petty as money. Having that said, they would still do everything possible and to their own limits in order to win. This is the easiest way of sorting out who has potential and the right type of attitude for our school." He answered.

Sakura chewed on her bottom lip worriedly. Something about all of this just didn't feel right. What if they were pissed that there was no money? How could they gain their trust if the very first impression was based on deceit? But, she didn't want to question Gaara. Although it was not how she would have done things, she had to believe in him, and she had to believe in his ideas.

"Okay. Well, here's your ear piece. I've already got mine in. I'll come meet you once I'm sure that all of the parties are out of Konoha, or disqualified," Sakura replied. She walked over and handed him a small metal microphone and speaker unit. Taking one last glance behind her shoulder towards her partner, she walked over to the door and threw on her cloak. With light steps, she went up the stairs and out of the window of her second floor. Perching herself carefully and out of sight from every angle she could conceive, she waited for the hour to pass.

"Watch out!" Haruka shouted loudly, pushing his brother out of the way. A small rock shot past where Jasper stood a minute ago. The two fell to the hard soil with grunts. Breathing heavily, Jasper wiped away his nervous perspiration. The boys were getting vicious. It had already been three hours into the night, and it looked like no one had spotted the two adults. How was this even possible? There was something about the two that Jasper now wanted to know. What was their endgame? Maybe Haruka was right.

"Are you okay?" Haruka asked, sitting up from the bush where they hid. Jasper nodded. He was scared. He wanted the money, but not badly enough to jeopardize their health. He grabbed Haruka by the arm and dragged him over to a tree trunk. The two hid behind it and peeped over the top of the hedge. There was another pair of boys on the other side, armed with pebbles and sticks that they had fashioned into spears.

"We're going to distract them, here, I'm going to climb this tree and step onto the branch. That way, they won't be able to see where I'm throwing from. I'll throw this rock near us, but to the left, and you take that time to run in the opposite direction, okay?"

With a nod, the boys separated. Jasper skilfully climbed onto the large oak, and scaled across the branches until he found a spot that was hidden and gave him some space to aim. Clutching the rock with his right hand, he inhaled slightly, before whipping his arm forward, sending the heavy object lurching towards Haruka, but about ten or twelve feet away. Instantly, the boys below ran towards the sound, excited. From his angle, he could see Haruka's narrow body speeding away in the other direction. Breathing a sigh of relief, Jasper waited for the other boys to get deeper into the woods before he himself climbed down.

Jogging over to Haruka, the brothers grinned at each other before taking off once more. Where were those two adults?

Somewhere nearby, Sakura frowned. She had her binoculars out. From her perch in the treetops, she had already spotted several groups of boys that were looking injured. Nervous, she sighed and put down the binoculars. Turning towards Gaara, who was doing the same thing from the other side of the tree; she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped when rustling below them alerted her ears.

Instantly, the two of them glanced at each other and looked down. There were two boys, resting against the tree trunk. It seemed to be just a coincidence that they were at this particular tree. Staying silent, Gaara signalled for Sakura to continue her watch.

Below the two, Haruka and Jasper leaned against the tree trunk and were panting heavily.

"We should have brought a sleeping bag. There's no way we will find them anytime soon. I'm hungry!" Haruka whined out. Jasper nodded. The two had already eaten their packed dinner, but all that running around was exhausting them.

"It's okay. I don't think anyone's found them yet. We would have heard something. I think we should try another strategy. I don't think they are on the ground, and I don't think they would have wandered too far away from the Konoha gate, if what they said about keeping an eye on everyone was true. I think they must be in the trees. So, we just have to find the tallest tree we can find, and climb it to get a better view. But let's do that in a little while. I need to sit for a bit," Jasper suggested, closing his eyes momentarily.

"Hey! You! Do you guys have food?" A boy's voice interrupted their peace. Alarmed, the brothers stood up and prepared themselves for a fight.

"N..no. We're out," Haruka answered, trying to sound brave. Jasper beside him gave him an inner strength that he found soothing.

"You better not be lying. We'll beat the truth of you if you are," another unknown's voice carried out. Jasper stood in front of Haruka.

"We are telling the truth, so get lost." He snapped. The two intruding boys glanced at each other. They were tired, hungry, and pissed that they hadn't found those two adults yet. Jasper was just another obstacle in their path.

With a loud yell, the two boys charged. Tackling Jasper to the ground, they threw small balled up fists, some connecting with his jaw, others at his nose and his cheeks. Haruka meanwhile, did all he could to pull one of them off.

"Get off of me, you assholes!" Jasper screamed, feeling thankful that he was so tired that his face was numb. He flailed around in vain. IT was then that from his angle, he spotted it. A shade of pink above him.

With widened eyes, he found new strength. Lifting his right arm up in a wild swing, he broke free of one of the boy's grasp and punched him away from him. With this new freedom of mobility, he used all the energy he had to twist his body and flip the other boy below him.

"HARUKA! THEIR ABOVE US!" He screamed out loudly. At this, his brother's face whipped up to the tree. He couldn't see the adults, but he trusted his brother. Running with all the speed he could muster, he took a grab of the tree trunk, and began to climb.

At his words, the other two boys stopped and jumped off of Jasper. Running towards the tree as well, they started to pick up small pebbles from nearby, ready to make the smaller boy fall.

Jasper let out another yell before chasing after the two. Tackling one into the ground, he could only watch as the other climbed up, catching up to Haruka.

His lungs burned. His legs felt like lead, but Haruka knew he had to keep going. He didn't go all this way to lose now. With everything he could muster, he reached for a tree branch and swung his body forwards to it, and kicked his leg over, before pulling the rest of his body on top of the branch.

Before him, the woman sat on the same branch, smiling brightly. She raised her hand to her whistle, and was about to blow, when the other boy caught up to Haruka. With a shout equal to a warrior, he lurched forward and tackled Haruka, sending the two flying off of the tree.

"HARUKA!" Screamed Jasper. He watched in terror as his brother came falling towards the ground. He got off of the other boy and ran forward, hoping desperately to be able to catch his brother. In the blink of an eye, he found himself on the ground, fallen over, with a large body blocking his view.

It was the man from earlier. He kneeled gracefully before him, with the two boys in his arms. Haruka's eyes were shut, while the other one was crying. Scrambling over, Jasper pulled Haruka into an embrace.

"Are you okay?" He asked him worriedly. He looked up at the man, and instead of feeling thankful, he felt nothing but rage.

Once he was certain that Haruka was fine, Jasper leaped forward to strike the adult. Surprised, but not caught off guard, Gaara easily deflected the shot.

"You fucking asshole. What kind of sick freak are you? Is this what you wanted? Is this what you wanted to see? I don't give a shit about your money. Do you know how many of us are injured? This is what makes you happy? Seeing us fight each other like this? Fuck you! Fuck you and that bit-," Jasper screamed out, but before he could finish his sentence, Gaara's hand was around his mouth.

"That'll be enough. Do not blame Haruno-san, this was my idea." He spoke out calmly. Jasper's heartbeat was so fast, that he thought he would burst. Haruka ran over, but stood before him, unsure of what to do.

In the silence, Sakura blew her whistle. Signalling the end of the game, she jumped down and tended to the other two boys, sending them on their way.

Walking over to Haruka and Jasper, she crouched down to their height and let out an awkward smile.

"For what it's worth, I'm really sorry about all that you've had to endure." She spoke out. Jasper pushed Gaara's hand off of his mouth and walked towards Haruka.

"Whatever. You guys are assholes." Jasper muttered out. Gaara glanced over at Sakura. This was certainly not what he expected.

"Well, will you allow us to explain to you why we decided to do this?" He asked. Haruka put his hand on Jasper's shoulder. He was worried for his brother. It had been a while since he saw him that angry.

"Fine," Jasper spat out. He was still curious, despite his anger.

"The truth is, both Haruno-san, and myself are shinobi. I am from Suna, and Haruno is from your same village. You must know that it is now forbidden to be a shinobi, which means that your generation will never be taught the arts that were offered to us. This world is dark. You may be too young to understand now, but this world is not peaceful. Shinobi are here to protect people from harm, from the madness and violence that exists. We conducted this contest as a way of finding those we considered to have potential. I believe that your loyalty to the safety of your brother is a fundamental part of your personality, and for that, I think that you have the right attitude and the right mind to learn the arts. If you are interested, I would love to teach you what I know, and allow you to better protect those you care about."

Sakura watched from her position, trying to gage a reaction from the brothers. Gaara's speech was elegant beyond words, but she wasn't too sure if it was effective. After all, he had thrown in so much information all at once, it would be nearly impossible for such young people to just accept right awa-

"You think I have what it takes to be a shinobi?" Jasper asked quietly, with large eyes.

Gaara nodded, "your brother too. You guys make a great team."

The two glanced back and forth between each other. Throwing out twin victory signs, they both smiled and responded with freakish similarity,

"We're in!"

Sakura blinked. She slapped her forehead with her hand. Oy. They didn't even care about the consequences of what they would learn. All they cared about was learning something cool. She forgot how boys' minds worked.

Gaara smiled. Standing up, he motioned Sakura over.

"This is Haruno-san; she will be a fellow sensei. She's an incredible medic-nin, and an irreplaceable member of our teaching staff. You will meet the others when we have left Konoha, but for now, get acquainted with her. I am Gaara; you may be call me sensei, or Gaara-san."

Sakura blushed. She knew he was being polite, but still, flattery never hurt anyone. She bowed to the young boys.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. You can call me anything really, I don't mind. It'll be my pleasure teaching you. What are your names?" She asked.

Jasper and Haruka smiled. "I'm Jasper, and this is Haruka. We're part of the Nakamura family." Sakura and Gaara nodded. Then, glancing around them, Sakura let out a small sigh.

"It's going to be morning soon. We should all get back and try and get some rest." She suggested.

The boys agreed. As all four began walking back, Gaara remembered something.

"Oh yes. I'm not sure if this will change your decision, but we leave in the morning. Be ready to say your goodbyes. Oh and, do not mention this to anyone. Not even blood relatives. You boys must realize that this is a dangerous and illegal practice we are beginning," he instructed.

The boys stopped in their tracks. They hadn't realized that they would have to leave. Staring into one another's eyes, their silent conversation began. Sakura and Gaara stood, waiting for them to make up their minds.

Jasper frowned. He didn't exactly want to leave all his friends behind. But then again, when would an opportunity like this occur again? Haruka thought the same. He knew their parents were struggling to put food on the table as it was, and with the two boys out of the house, it'd be two less mouths to feed. He wasn't very interested in becoming a shinobi, but Jasper seemed really into it.

"What do you think?" Haruka asked Jasper. Jasper placed a small hand to his chin in thought.

"I think we should do it. I mean, it's a great chance, and think of how strong we'd become!" Jasper answered. Haruka smiled. Although the two bickered a lot, they cared deeply for one another.

"Yeah, I think so too." He added, and the two turned to face their instructors.

"We're still in." Jasper chimed.

"Oh, good. So then, we'll see you two in the morning." Gaara spoke out, as the foursome continued their way out of the forest.

"Gaara-san?" Sakura called out shyly from above the stairs. The two decided it would be safer for Gaara to stay at Sakura's, instead of staying at a hotel.

"Yes, Haruno?" He questioned, glancing up from his position on the couch.

"I think you did a really good job today…your plan worked great," she spoke out, feeling a little embarrassed.

From below, Gaara smiled. "Thank you."

Sakura turned away from the stairs once more, a small smile on her face.

"Good night, Gaara-san."

"Good night."

A/N: Another chapter done! Read and review please! Let me know what you think! I really do appreciate any comments. :)