Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sweet Surrender ~ Sands of Time ❯ From Afar ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: Ok, so I have decided to include the Sand-Leaf alliance in this story, I am not sure what difference it will make, and I am not sure how the manga-ka intends to continue the alliance in the future story of the manga.

Sweet Surrender ~ Sands of Time

Chapter Two ~ From Afar

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Ever since that day in Konoha when my battle with the Kyubi-cage ended in a stalemate, I have not forgotten my words to him. Even though Sand allied itself with Leaf five years ago, and almost six years since that battle, I cannot forget those words. I said that when I returned, I would take their lives.

I was told by my comrades that I needed to mellow out - if I killed them, the new alliance between Sand and Leaf would be destroyed. More war would ensue. I was told to think of others' circumstances, and disregard my own. It didn't matter to me if there was war or if there wasn't war. Life was all the same. People died no matter how they lived, with strength or with nothing.

My promise not to kill them, hence renege on my promise from years ago, did not want to make me fight them any less, I just needed to postpone my overwhelming desire to kill them… until a more opportune time would arise for me to do so. I never forgot that occasion, it has plagued my mind for too many reasons.

In spite of all the missions Temari, Kankuro and I have gone on with the Leaf shinobi, in spite of all the times I had to work side by side with Naruto and Sasuke during missions, in spite of all the effort it took to restrain my sand, nothing changed, well… except for one thing…

Sakura. Her presence embedded on me from that day through my sand has never left my memory. Her green eyes that bore into my soul from that day when she defended Uchiha Sasuke… that pink hair that reminded me of pastel blood…. Her determination... her love...

I couldn't leave her alone. I never let her know of my presence, and no one else was the wiser either. I have always been watching her from that day. I watched her pain when Sasuke knocked her out and left the village to go to Orochimaru. I watched her worry over Sasuke's and Naruto's conditions when they got back from battles. I watched her pass the chunnin exam five years ago and rise through the ranks again to become a jounin. One thing bothered me than anything else about her training to increase her strength… She wasn't committing herself to be a worthy opponent of me...

She was doing it so she could follow that Uchiha. She cried during some nights knowing that she could never be side by side with him in skill, so she was determined to be happy being a few paces back. She didn't need to be as skillful as the Uchiha, as long as when he turned around, she was the one that he saw.

Last year, when Uchiha returned to Konoha from his personal mission, successful but near death, she promised him that she would never leave his side. Sakura would heal his scars as long as he needed her. She didn't want to be a nuisance to him. She wanted him to love her.

Watching her one-sided love throughout the years has been amusing, and there were moments that only I knew about since I watched her from the shadows… I had the upper hand.

I used my special eye of sand technique and kept it tailing her years. At least that jutsu does not use as much chakra as the sand armor. When we were in proximity to one another, I would send out grains of sand to swirl around her so I could sense her breathing, her heartbeat, her body temperature, the moisture on her skin dampening my sand…

265 days ago, I realized that I was attracted to this woman. For 265 days I have wanted to be closer to her, wanted to know her more, wanted to touch her with not just my sand… but my fingers as well… I wanted to know what my mark really meant… if it did not mean I was to love only myself...

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KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Sakura put down her brush and rushed to her front door and opened it with a quick jolt. "Yes? What is it? Is it about Sasuke? Has he returned?" Sakura couldn't help thinking that this messenger was here about Sasuke, she just had a feeling.

"Yes Haruno-san, Sasuke returned to Konoha early this morning. I was asked by Tsunade-sama to relay this information to you. He is in the hospital with the godaime now. You have permission to visit him now if you wish." With that he bowed slightly and disappeared from sight. Sakura didn't even bother closing the door; she just ran upstairs to finish brushing her hair and quickly get changed.

Sakura didn't notice the eyeball of sand that conveyed the image of her body in all stages of dress and undress from the corner… nor could she see Gaara's face that turned down ever so slightly…

Sakura rushed to the hospital, using her chakra to jump from roof to roof to save her time. When she arrived at the hospital she asked what room Sasuke was in and didn't stop to sign the guest log. She had only one thing in mind, and that was him. She wanted to see him. She wanted to know that he was alive and ok with her own eyes. Sasuke had promised her that he would return. She hoped that once he did, they could finally be in a relationship.

Naruto had Hinata, Shikamaru had Ino, Kakashi had Anko, Asuma had Kurenai, even Tsunade had Jiraiya. Lee and Tenten, Kiba and Shino- everyone was pairing off and a few were even pregnant with the next generation of shinobi. She turned down the chance for love with Neji and the Byakugan line, hoping that her love for Sasuke would be returned by him someday, and someday soon.

Sakura slid open the door as soon as she came into the room and ran to his bedside. "Sasuke! Sasuke! What happened?" She turned towards the godaime, "Tsunade-sama, what is his condition? Will he be alright?" She kept turning her head between the guy in the bed and Hokage standing up.

She always shows concern over him… even though he has no family, he still has her…

Who is this person?

"Sakura, calm down. I know that you are excited to see him, however, Sasuke doesn't need the excitement around him right now." Sasuke turned away.

"What do you mean, Tsunade-sama? What is wrong with Sasuke?" Sakura began to have this panicked expression on her face.

"Sasuke's condition is much better than expected. He has a lot of damage to his internal organs, and care must be taken to ensure that there is no internal hemorrhaging occurring. He also seems-"

"Hokage-sama, I am sorry to interrupt, but who is this person? I don't want someone I don't know knowing my business." He turned to Sakura, "Please leave."

"…to have lost some of his memory…" the godaime trailed off.

Sakura stood in shock for a moment, and then her fists clenched, fingernails digging into her palms. Suddenly she erupted. "Sasuke! Who do you think you are kidding? You honestly don't remember me? What about Naruto or Kakashi-sensei? Are you telling me that you forgot all of your important friends? ARE YOU?" Sakura couldn't contain her anger at this sudden, unforeseen turn of events.

"I don't know who you are, but I haven't forgotten about my important friends. I would never forget my comrades, especially my best friend and rival and my sensei. Now leave!" Sasuke yelled at Sakura and overexerted himself, falling into a fit of coughs.

"Who are you comrades again?" She wanted to make sure that she was hearing things correctly.

"Kakashi-sensei and Naruto- are my teammates. Now leave!" Sasuke was getting aggravated.

"There wasn't another person?" She began to shake inside. Was this his truth?

"NO- now leave. You have no business being here." Sasuke motioned towards the door with a 'shoo-ing' gesture.

"Sasuke," the Hokage started, "don't you think that you are being harsh to Sakura? She did come all the way to see you."

"I understand, and I am sorry for having bothered you." Sakura stood there for a moment, concerned at Sasuke's change in condition. She didn't want to make him worse, she wanted to make him better. But she was angry. He could remember everyone else but her. And she thought that she was going to be the most important one to him? She couldn't hold her emotions in anymore. "I AM SAKURA HARUNO. That's who I am." With tears welling up in her eyes, she ran from the room before the godaime could stop her.

"Sasuke, can you really not remember Sakura?" Tsunade looked very concerned.

"Am I supposed to remember her? Who is she to me anyway? She thinks that she can just come in here and poke her nose where it doesn't belong. The nerve. She's probably just some 'fan' of mine that I can do without."

"A fan? Sasuke-kun… if I tell you, then it won't mean anything. You need to remember whether or not she is important to you on your own." Sasuke made a surprised face and the godaime sighed. "Your condition is stabilized, so I am going to leave now. Remember, if you leave this room, you will have to answer to me. And don't think that you can defeat this Hokage who can cripple you for life in an instant… so I suggest you STAY PUT." Tsunade emphasized the last two words, smiled sweetly and left the room.

"Weird woman." Sasuke laid back down on the bed and looked outside from the corner of his eyes. He was left with an unsettling feeling before he closed his eyes for more rest.

"Kesanai-san," the godaime addressing the head nurse on staff, "make sure that none of Sasuke's visitors mention Sakura's name. For some reason he doesn't remember her, and I want to find out why first, or at least have him remember on his own without people telling him. This is very important, so make sure that no one that enters that room mentions her at all."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I understand completely. I will inform the rest of the hospital staff as well.

"Thank you." The godaime left the building and decided to look for Sakura. She had a mission to give her.

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That Uchiha bastard. How could he not remember Sakura? After all she has given up to be with him, she is the only one that he doesn't remember. What kind of game is that? Who does he think he is kidding. Couldn't he see her tears at the situation? Would some 'fan' cry for him with those tears? You've got to be kidding me.

Gaara was unsure what he should do. He never contacted Sakura or went to her any of those other times that she hurt by Sasuke. He would always caress her to sleep from afar with wind and sand. Warm, gentle, but afraid to touch her- breezes to dry her tears. Even if he had always been watching over her for these past years, she had no idea. It would be awkward for him to start comforting her in person now.

Maybe, just this once I should go over to her and see her and make sure that she is ok. The worst that she can do is call me a monster and send me away…

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"Sakura! Wait up, Sakura! I need to talk to you!" The godaime was running out of breath.

"What is there to possibly talk about? Sasuke doesn't remember me. Only me. I am the only one that he doesn't remember. What am I supposed to make of that? What am I supposed to do now…?" Sakura stopped next to a tree and slumped against it to the ground. "What am I supposed to do?" She couldn't hold back her tears.

"Sakura, how would you feel about getting special training from me?"

"Special training? What are you talking about?"

"Well, you have a type of chakra that can learn healing jutsus. You also have excellent chakra control and you learn quickly. This makes you the perfect candidate for what I am going to propose."

"Candidate?"

"Sasuke will need a daily nurse at home while he recuperates to make sure that he heals properly, and that there are no complications. I could assign someone from the hospital, but if you want to be there for him, this is one way to do it."

"Wait a minute... you want me to be Sasuke's nurse?" Sakura's eyes showed her surprise at this latest development.

"Like I said, you are the perfect candidate, and the right candidate given your relationship with Sasuke-"

"What relationship? According to him, he has no idea of who I am, let alone have a relationship with me." Sakura's tears were returning.

"Sakura, I know that you are hurt because of this, but I assure you I will find out why. In the meantime, this is perhaps your best option."

Sakura paused, considering the godaime's offer. "What type of training would this be?"

"You would be training for a week straight, at least, or at most, depending on how quickly you learn. You would need to learn how to restart and direct chakra flows, and how to distress muscles so they don't contract. I might also teach you chakra transference, but that is very advanced and will only be necessary if Sasuke's chakra levels don't return to their normal levels in a few months."

"Can I think about it?"

"Get back to me tomorrow. I await your answer." With that, Tsunade disappeared.

"What am I supposed to do? Sasuke, why don't you remember me?" Sakura heaved a heavy sigh. "I might as well go home; nothing will be accomplished by me sitting outside this late. I might as well try to get some sleep and think this over." Sakura couldn't shut her mind down on the way home.

Will he even accept me as a nurse? How am I supposed to face him? What if I can't master the training? Can I possibly be more hurt than I am now? What am I supposed to do?

Sakura's questions took her out of her surroundings. She wasn't even aware of the presence that she was approaching as she approached her home until she was less than a house away. She took out a shuriken and threw it towards the shadows. "Who's there?" The shuriken was repelled back to her and ripped through the top of her dress, and plunged into her chest. She pulled it out and fell to her knees, clutching her chest, whelping in pain.

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I wasn't expecting a shuriken to come flying towards me - I had my back turned to the direction she was walking from and before I even detected it coming, the sand had already stopped it and sent it back at her. Now what was I supposed to do? I stepped out of the shadows, approaching her crouched form slowly. "Hey, are you ok…" I hurt her. Blood. I could smell it overwhelming my senses. I couldn't resist. The scent was so delicious I wanted to let my sand drink it all… I needed to restrain myself from that - I had already hurt her, unintentionally, but I had hurt her… What am I supposed to do? I reached my hand out. "Here, let me help you…"

Sakura knew that voice, there was only one person she could imagine it to be, but she didn't want to look up. She was afraid that her fear would be reality and then she would have no where to run. Why was he outside her home?

"I'm sorry I was just walking this way-"

Sakura looked up at the figure in front of her through strands of petal pink hair. "You! Gaara! What do you want from me? Aren't we supposed to be allies… ugh…" Sakura started coughing-

"The sand reacted on its own, it moved before I even realized that a shuriken was thrown, I'm sorry… What were you throwing weapons for anyway?"

"Wouldn't you try to preemptively defend yourself against a potential attacker in the shadows outside your home this late at night?" Sakura cried in pain. She was losing more blood by the second.

He reached his hand out to her again. "Let me help you up to inside your house…"

Sakura slapped his hand away. "Get away from me!" Gaara recoiled, taken aback. The worst possible scenario had occurred. There was fear in her eyes and her clothes were becoming more and more stained with blood. "I can help myself up. You have no reason to be here so just leave!" She didn't trust him. He couldn't blame her.

Sakura started to get up and took a step forward only to lose to the blackness that was overtaking her vision and fall to the ground face forward with a thud.

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Did that just happen? She's bled too much. I have to stop her bleeding… I can't just leave her here.

Gaara picked up Sakura's body and carried her, princess hold, into her house. Luckily the door was unlocked otherwise there would have been more delay. Gaara went to work trying to save the girl his curse had wounded. He came to her house to try to console her, not kill her. At least this time. He knew where all the medical supplies were in her home thanks to his surveillance. He had never treated another person though. One thing was for sure, he had to get her out of that dress so he could bandage the wound properly.

He put Sakura down on her bed and quickly gathered up bandages, ointments, towels and water. He took her dress off and stopped for a second. He had seen her in this state before, but never this close, it was arousing something in him that he never had experienced before. He pushed the feeling aside and got down to the urgent task at hand. He dipped a towel in water and wiped all the blood that he could off of her chest and pressed down over the wound to slow the bleeding. The blood was beginning to cloud his better judgment so he wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible.

After he cleaned the deep slash out, he applied the ointment and then sat her up so he could wrap the bandage all around her. Once he was finished, he secured the bandage, and put her under her covers. He checked for her vital sources, she was breathing, and her heart rate was picking back up. Gaara sighed with relief. He put her under her covers and tucked her in, like he remembered his uncle doing for him when he was young.

The red haired, green-eyed man stroked her hair and caressed her face with his fingers until her condition was stable. He realized what he was doing and moved to a corner of the room and watched her from afar, the way that he was supposed to be watching her. He showed weakness although she wasn't awake to know. There was only one conclusion that Gaara could come to. He was drawn to her…

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Like? Dislike? It's hard to have a romance story with Gaara as the main character without going a little 'OOC', but this part of this story takes place five years after the present story, so this very well may be behavior that is in his character. People can change, right? Who'd've thought that Sand would have aided Leaf in the mission to take Sasuke back?

I also decided to do a Sasuke/Sakura pairing in this fic as well. The Sakuga pairing is great (imo) but, I have a soft spot for Sasuke and want him to get it on…

Please review!!!

The..ahem-uh…good stuff..err..lemony stuff…will be in the next chapter or so...

AstroVixen