#sandheir

Kiyoko over heard the deaths of the Sound Five while Orochimaru was speaking to Kabuto. She did not DARE peek her head into the room they were in. The poor girl didn't take it well and had left the compound to go see what had happened. Unfortunately for her, she had NO idea where they were at the time. The fights were near a forest and that's what she dashed into. Maybe they were wrong? Maybe they're not dead?

She rubbed her nose on her sleeve as she carried on through the forest. It didn't take her very long to find someone but she wasn't sure who they were. "H-hello?" They weren't exactly familiar to her so she kept her guard up. As long as she could use her bones she was fine. No one could hurt her. She learned everything her brother had taught her and then some. But even he could be defeated, so what were her chances.

she had struggled with the decision, unable to separate what she wanted from what she was afraid of. she had tried to have faith for once, trusting that this time, the universe would give her something instead of take something away.

ideally, she would have wanted to tell him this news in person, but she’d only lasted a few hours. the news wanted to burst out of her so badly.

@sandheir​ sent:  ❝ a tender heart is a courageous thing to preserve.  don’t ever be ashamed of having one.  ❞

Courageous. Sakura was honestly surprised that would be the word Gaara chose. 

A shinobi must never show emotion. One of the many rules drilled into her head from a young age, and the one that made her feel the most inadequate for the lifestyle. Toughen up. Stop crying. How will you ever become a strong kunoichi if you’re a crybaby? Sakura was unsure who she heard those words from the most, others or herself. 

For years, she did her best to learn to hide her emotions, but they remained. Even when she would cry quietly and away from prying eyes Sakura was ashamed of it, her tears reminding her that she was weak and too soft compared to her peers. Naruto fought through his pain with a smile, Sasuke turned to anger, and Sakura... Not only did she cry for herself, she cried for them both, too. 

The War shattered her heart to the point where Sakura felt it might be unrepairable. She hid it still, kept it to herself, tried to mend it on her own but it never seemed to work. Just when she thought she might be able to put the pieces back together it would all explode again with pain and guilt and this tornado of emotions that left her almost catatonic. Almost. 

For it to happen while she was in Suna was a cruel fate. For the Kazekage to find her on the balcony with red, puffy eyes and trembling still from the visions of blood and death that she saw behind her eyelids... Fate was just mocking her, at this point. 

Sakura offered him the same deflecting words she was used to giving just about anyone. It’s nothing. I’m okay. It’s not worth mentioning. Just a bad dream. Couldn’t sleep. None of her excuses really landed; Gaara was probably too accustomed to his own bad nights to buy it, even if it weren’t quite obvious just from looking at her. In the end, Sakura just offered him a sheepish, sad smile that acknowledged he was right, but silently told him not to worry. After all, it wouldn’t do either of them any good. 

She appreciated his silent companionship as she went back to staring off into the distance at the sand dancing in the wind. When Gaara finally spoke again Sakura startled softly, not only by the interruption of the comforting silence, but also by the words spoken. Don’t ever be ashamed, he said. Sakura held herself a bit tighter, feeling like she might just break again. Silently (seeing as Sakura didn’t quite trust her own voice right then) she just stepped closer to him. She didn’t take Gaara for being one that really cared for proximity in this sense, but Sakura would find comfort in just the slight warmth that she could feel coming from him where her arm touched his. Her eyes were still fixed in the swirling sand. 

Eventually, she stopped trembling. Her head would end up resting on the Kazekage’s shoulder ever so slightly. “Thank you.” 

     𝑨 𝑷𝑨𝑻𝑯 𝑻𝑶 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑷𝑨𝑺𝑻 - 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑳𝑰𝑭𝑬 𝑶𝑭 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑲𝑼𝑵𝑶𝑰𝑪𝑯𝑰

 砂-┊`𝒀𝑶𝑼 𝑾𝑯𝑨𝑻...?`

So Gaara wanted to visit *that* room.  He couldn’t really remember the last time he had touched that dusty old storage room.  Really, everything was a blur it had to be when he was little back when their uncle still watched over them.  The only time he entered it was when he annoyed Temari one too much with the pranks that he decided to pull, hiding the damn thing.  Of course, he always had a sneaking suspicion about where she would hide it.  After all, a place like that?  Was the perfect thing if you wanted something to get lost forever.  Though as he matured he never really thought about the place twice.  And there wasn’t much blame there, it was all just junk that they never threw out.   It was hot and humid inside that room… and it needed a key to open it which, where that might be, was beyond him.  So, it just simply phased his mind.  

❝𝑴𝒚 𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒗𝒂𝒈𝒖𝒆... 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑰 𝒅𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒔.   𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉, 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑰 𝒎𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒍𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒕.❞

 砂-┊𝑫𝑹𝑰𝑷 !

A drop of sweat ran across the side of his forehead as the brothers ran his fingers through his messy brown hair .  Of course, there was no true need for a key.   It was fairly simple to pick a lock if they wanted to.  But that ruined the sense of adventure that came with finding the past.  He knew that he saw a good few times where Yashamaru put it up.  Inside the drawer of a wooden desk.   That’s the most he could think of the whereabout... to be more aware back then, that would’ve been the dream.

█ ▌ @sandheir​ ¦ SHIP PROMPT

💚 - friendship

💙 - kinship 

❤ - romantic relationship

 Questions / comment meme // @sandheir

   A head tilted slightly once the question was offered, gloved digit prodded over her lip in thought. Day by day, she asked the same thing to herself. How does she manage to keep going despite everything? Despite the trials and tribulations her profession bought along throughout her mind? It was no easy profession; truly. Only an individual with a placid state of mind can manage to undergo such a thing, the string between life and death amongst her patients, and the amount of effort it took in order to save their lives becoming evident of this.

   “I just push through it, through anything that may cross my path.” The medical nin would muse, the corners of her lips curving a subtle smile  ; though forced due to the recollections and memories suddenly making way through her psyche. Not for nothing these thoughts seemed to haunt her in the worst ways imaginable; but putting these memories aside, there was still a shed of hope she felt regardless -- and knew there was no room for uncertainty.

   “It’s not easy believe me, but what is the point of dwelling on certain things, ya know? If I can be honest since learning medical ninjutsu, it is the only thing that has been keeping me by in this lifetime of mine. I have moments where I doubt myself, but towards the end of the day I put myself right back together.”