"Do you all understand the mission?", Baki asked. The sand siblings and Sakura nodded. Gaara looked as uninterested as usual. He had his arm draped lazily around her shoulders, a scene that would seem romantic and friendly had it not been for his possessive, tight grip.

The group disbanded, preparing for the journey and task ahead. Sakura, of course, stayed by Gaara's side the entire time. Temari offered her a solemn look as she dissappeared further down the road.

Even after all these years, she thought of the small pink-haired child as a sister; And still loved her just as much as she did Gaara.

Whether Sakura didn't notice the look or chose to ignore it, she didn't know. Not that it mattered. They all knew of Gaara's possessive nature towards the girl and didn't want to risk their lives just to show her direct kindness.

Temari sighed through her nose and turned around.

There was much to prepare before the attack.
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"When we make it to Konoha, do not leave my side. Understand?"

Sakura looked up from her packing. Gaara sat next to the window, the sunset bathing his face in orange and red light. His head was turned slightly to look at her, eyes gleaming dangerously, even in his calm state.

Green met teal.

"Yes, Gaara-sama.", she agreed without pause. She sealed the last of her belongings in a scroll, finally finished with her packing. With everything done for the evening, she took a seat on the edge of the bed busting herself with brushing her waist-length hair. Personally, she thought it's length got in the way. It was only due to Gaara's orders to keep it long was it able to grow.

They sat in silence for a while. Sakura had gotten used to the quiet, but knew it never lasted long. The deafening silence drove Gaara crazy; It gave Shukaku more than enough time to scream into the young teen's head.

The only way Gaara knew to drown out the tailed-beast's was to comply with his bloodthirsty wishes.

Usually Sakura was on the receiving end. Her body was built for punishment, and punishment it did take. Even after all these years, she never complained. She knew he only lashed out because he was in pain. If inflicting pain on her distracted him from his own, then she would do it a thousand times over, every day for the rest of her life if she needed to.

After all, he was her first friend.

After all, she loved him.
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Love.

It was a word she had recently discovered in one her her few moments away from Gaara months ago.

Gaara had allowed her to accompany Temari to a bath house after a quick assassination mission in the Land of Bears. The rest of the team didn't do much, but Gaara's enthusiasm for blood had caked them in the blood of his victims. Not wanting to walk around covered in blood, they all agreed to go to a nearby hotsprings, the girl's section being sectioned further from the males than usual.

Temari didn't let that opportunity to speak freely with Sakura to pass.

The two talked, though Temari did most of the talking while Sakura listened. The talk was mostly lighthearted chat about local sights and what they planned on eating that night, but the older girl felt a weight on her chest that she had to let out.

"Sakura, about my brother..... how is he?", she asked quietly. They all knew how Gaara was on the outside: violent, full of rage, and impatient. But Sakura was the only one who was with him whenever he wasn't like that in the open. Those times where he would disappear in a whirl of sand, unable to be located for hours, she was always with him.

Sakura thought on the question for a moment. Gaara was a lot of things to her. Lonely. Broken. Angry. Sad. He was a stew of negative emotions which boiled over constantly. But what fit him the most?

"Tired.", she answered simply. Of course he was tired, he even had the permanent dark circles to prove it. He could never rest with that bloodthirsty monster inside of him and was in agony every night as the entire world rested. Every now and again, she would feel him sneak into her bed at night and rest his head on her stomach or chest, trying to find some sort of comfort from his pain.

It never worked. Not for long. He would grow agitated from his exhaustion and take it out on her before trying again once she was sleeping once again.

"Tired, huh?", Temari repeated. She sighed and ran her fingers through her wet hair. "Why haven't you run off? I know its borderline impossible, but you could actually survive an attempt like that. I miss the way my baby brother used to be. You know you're not a slave to us. Kankuro and I worry about you too."

Sakura thought for a moment. Why didn't she run from him? Was it because he was her master? Or maybe she would rather deal with him than be sold off to the next highest bidder. None of those were the answer. She wasn't sure why she stayed, it was hard for her to pinpoint and explain.

"I don't know.", she admitted. "I don't want Gaara-sama to be alone. He's just hurt. I don't like seeing him hurt."

Temari's eyes widened at the younger girl's admission. "You....do...do you love my brother?"

"Love?"

Temari rose a brow. She had forgotten that Sakura was still ignorant to most emotions. The complicated and abusive situation with Gaara most likely halted her progress in learning about those things. Her eyes travelled to the kanji on her chest. The very word that she was ignorant to was forever marked in her skin.

"Love is when you feel a certain way about a person. You want to protect them and be with them and support them. And.....well other things. I'm sure you'll figure that part out on your own. Do you get it?"

"Yes. Then I suppose I do.....love.... Gaara-sama. Should I not?", she wondered.

Temari pressed her lips together in a thin line. Sakura loved Gaara, regardless of the things he does to her and other people. For someone who has been abused by a person for years, saying that they love that person is concerning. But, perhaps her feelings is what keeps Gaara from killing her or going on a complete rampage.

"I have a request to make of you.", Temari started. "As an elder sister I want both of my brothers to be happy, Gaara especially. This is a selfish request, but please keep loving Gaara for as long as you can. For his sake." Temari's eyes bore into Sakura's, an aura of desperation and regret radiating into the air. Sakura still wasn't sure if she was supposed to love Gaara or not and Temari's reaction was somewhat confusing. Was this 'love' emotion that big of a deal?

"I will."