A/N: okay, so I've read sooo many Gaara x Sakura stories so I thought I may as well try out my own, my first fic on this site so tell me what you think so far, hopefully this will be a long one, next chapter will probably be another Gaara-centric one, the one after will be more Sakura
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or these characters; I do however own a very cute Gaara plushie...(huggles).
It had been a year now since Shukaku had returned to him at the defeat of Akatsuki, and in the end it had been Gaara's decision to become his vassal yet again. He chose this not for the power and fear that the Demon radiated but because of his sense of duty…after suffering the demon for so long and going through such pain he could not bear to see anyone else carry the burden, could not bear to think of another soul twisted by it's inhuman rage. After all he had been able to control it, following his encounter with Naruto and the realisation that he was not truly alone, he had been able to quell the demons rage, been able to channel it, mould it into a force of protection to all those around him and the inhabitants of Suna, his people.
They had even come to trust him, and those that could forget the monster that he once was, learned to admire him, their leader, and their protector, their Kazekage.
And yet it had taken all his courage to allow Shukaku back into his soul, he feared that this time he would truly loose control disregarding all that he had learned and fall back into his old murderous self. His siblings, it would appear, shared these fears as they tried to dissuade him on many occasions, but in truth he really did have no choice in the matter. It was either; reclaim the demon as his tormenter, pass it on to another or set it loose to cause destruction in the world and of those tree options he knew which one he preferred.
And so he had travelled to the remains of the abandoned Akatsuki complex along with his siblings and a select few Jonin from both Suna and the strongly allied village of Konoha, among these Jonin were three that had once set out to save Gaara from Akatsuki when they had removed Shukaku in the first place, Naruto, Kakashi and the pink haired Kunoichi, Sakura. Since the time of his rescue, he had seen her several times as whenever she was sent on a mission to Suna he would be sure to find her standing before the grave of elder- Chiyo, sometimes weeping at her loss, sometimes smiling. Why she smiled he did not know. Perhaps Chiyo had helped her in some way before she had resurrected Gaara, taught her something of importance before she traded her life for his with the forbidden technique.
Although he often saw the Kunoichi there he rarely approached her, instead hiding in the shadows masking his powerful chakra and simply watching. Eventually however, he stopped coming to watch her stand there simply out of curiosity and a mutual respect for the woman she mourned, slowly and without truly realising it he began watching her for a different reason…
As more time passed she appeared less often, and hoping to keep whatever strange feelings that afflicted him in her presence at bay he began avoiding her when possible, after all, he reasoned, he did not need anyone. Further emotions would only act to distract him from his chosen path…solitude was all he had ever known within his heart and he intended to keep it that way, selfish? Perhaps. Juvenile? Quite possibly, but perhaps what it truly was that kept him from her, was fear…fear that he would again be rejected due simply to what he was forced into being upon his birth, fear that no-one could accept the love that such a broken soul had to offer.
Upon their arrival at the complex the accompanying Hokage began preparations for the ceremony that would re-unite Gaara with Shukaku. It was a highly complex ritual and had taken almost 3 days to prepare fully. It was Tsunade who would perform the ritual, as she was one of the few that knew how it was done. Being on an equal par with her Hokage when it came to healing, and Chakra educed strength of course, Sakura assisted her closely keeping a close eye on Gaara throughout the proceedings, much to Gaara's discomfort.
The pain had been immense, that was all he could really remember, a searing white-hot pain that coursed through his entire body sending his nerves into shock causing his limbs to spasm fiercely and a blood-curdling scream to rip from his lips, what followed was complete and utter darkness.
He had woken briefly as he lay on the floor of the complex, pain shooting through his body in the aftermath, his eyes fluttering open for a second to register a flash of bright pink above him and a soft hand caressing his cheek before the darkness returned.
When he awoke for the second time he was surrounded by white, …'dead?'… He thought briefly before realising that he was lying upon a soft mattress within his own Hospital.
A/N: yeah, one big flashback to set the story up for you all, next chapter will be in the Present tense...
Any pointers you can offer to improve, any mistakes you see please point them out!
