J A D E

Chapter Thirty-Two

"It was you, right?" Gaara asks me in a low voice, confusing me. I raise my eyebrows at him in question, waiting for him to continue talking and explain what he means. "You were the one that stopped Uchiha from going berserk in the Chunin exams." He adds calmly. I nod. Slowly. "Do you still love him?" There is something in his voice, that breaks my heart. Something that speaks of disappointment, hopelessness.

"I don't know." I admit and push my pink bangs away from my face. He does not say anything, but I feel that he needs explanation on what I mean. "I really don't know what I feel about Sasuke, anymore." I whisper through gritted teeth. "I... I feel angry, because he tried to kill me several times." His eyes widen, but he does not interrupt me. Yet, I can feel rage inside of him. "Yet, I still see him as my teammate, with whom I have been through a lot." I whisper in lower voice. I feel ashamed.

Gaara just looks at me, not saying anything. And I don't know what to make out of this silence. I have gotten closer to him during the two years of the war. We were friends even before the war, ever since I had to visit Suna constantly per Tsunade-sama's orders and then after saving Kankuro, I just loved going in there. And he was always there, greeting me with open arms and slight, gentle smile playing on his lips.

But now, as I look at him, I can feel that we are more than just friends. And his silence is slowly suffocating me. Instead of saying anything, he takes my hand gently, slightly squeezing it.

We stop by the Tower, both scrolls in our hands. When we open them, Iruka-sensei appears in front of us, surprised look plastered on his face. He looks over the three of us, sighing out tiredly.

"Why am I not surprised?" He chuckles and ruffles Naruto's head. They still have close relationship with one another. "Sakura, what happened to your hair?" He asks concerned. I touch the ends of my messy hair and shrug my shoulders. I can feel tensed look of Sasuke on my back.

"Got in the way." I smile at sensei, who only nods. People are already used to my weird behavior and they stopped questioning it long ago. "Are there any teams?" I ask with raised eyebrows as we step inside the Tower.

"Only a team from Suna." Iruka answers and leads us towards one of the many resting rooms. "Take a shower, sleep... You still have one more day in reserve." He informs us with a smile and turns around. "Kakashi will be here in five minutes." He leaves the room and closes the door behind him.

"You can't be serious, Ino-Pig!" I exclaim as I shove her away gently. We are walking from one tent to another, holding boxes in our hands, filled medical herbs.

"Why not, Forehead?" Ino smirks at me, wiggling her eyebrows. "Just think about it... You two spend a lot of time together..." She trails off, smirking even wider when I blush. "He is always around you, helping you and holding hands..." Her smirk widens even more. And she giggles, when she notices Gaara coming in our direction.

"Do you need help?" Gaara asks concerned. I look up at him and shake my head with large smile plastered on my face.

"No." I giggle and ignore, Ino's knowing smirk. "But thanks for the offer, though." I grin at the redhead in front of me, who nods.

"Well, you did great." Kakashi emerges in our room and looks from me to Sasuke to Naruto. He sighs as he sits on one of the chairs. "What happened to you, though?" I smile at his concern and look over boys, who nod at my direction.

I tell him everything, from Orochimaru to Sound nins. He listens to me carefully, telling me that cutting my hair was smart move. I wince, but nod. I truly hoped that I could cut my hair in different circumstances, but somehow it is significant to me.