Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Cupid's Lethal Arrow
Pleasant clatters of glass and plates clinked as waiters and waitresses served busily, running in and out of the kitchen to adhere to the demands of the guests. Traditional music lingered softly in the air as well as the sweet aromas of luxurious food and wine. Talking and laughter could possibly be heard from miles away, and yet Sakura Haruno, the disciple of the great Tsunade had not paid attention to a single soul ever since her arrival on the ballroom floor of Sunagakure's most extravagant banquet. Instead, she found herself lost in the presence of a man like no other.
"May I have your attention?" asked a powerful female voice. Heads turn toward the direction of the stage except one particular pink haired female. She failed to give the blonde woman her full undivided attention. She had not realize that the one speaking was Temari.
When everyone was silent, the blonde woman resumed her speech. Sakura found herself behaving utterly rude and tried tear her gaze from the said object to listen to what Temari had to say, but found difficulty in doing so.
"Focus," Sakura muttered to herself, slapping flushed cheeks. "Don't think about him. Think about the banquet. Pay attention to the speech! Don't look at him!"
And yet, she couldn't stop herself from eyeing the young Kazekage of Sunagakure every so often.
His jade eyes are mesmerizing, not forgetting to mention the fact that he was extremely handsome sitting across from her in his blue kage robes. Damn. The pink haired kunoichi mentally cursed herself for shamelessly ogling none other than Sabaku no Gaara.
She is so not in love with him.
"I'm not in love with him," she whispered in a miserable attempt to hide her truest feelings.
Even if she chanted the said statement over a million times, she knew it wasn't true. She was truly, madly, deeply in love with Gaara.
"I am not!" She hissed in denial through gritted teeth. She wasn't aware of the strange looks she was receiving from the occupants of the dining table. Fortunately for her, Gaara wasn't one of them.
She stole another uncontrollable glance at the young male and cringed at herself in disgust.
Right then and there, the female medic released a sigh of defeat and admitted to herself that she indeed felt a certain attraction towards the red headed sand prince.
"Why oh why?" Sakura whined silently.
She hadn't known what hit her. Out of all the suitable bachelors worth her attention, she had no idea why her affections were directed towards the Godaime Kazekage. Cupid really did have a way pairing up the most bizarre of couples however, there was a slight problem.
Cupid's arrow somehow missed the red head. He certainly does not feel the slightest bit interested in her, or so she thought. She wouldn't be surprised if he sent an annoyed glare her way any minute.
In fact, the said person was giving her a slightly questioning look. Sakura smiled weakly and proceeded to lift her hand to wave at him. He nodded once in return and offered a semi-smile.
The kunoichi visibly gulped at his acknowledgment. She had not expected it, nor was she ready for that response. To be honest, she'd pictured Gaara glaring daggers at her and perhaps flicking her off while at it. That would have been for the best if he was a insensitive jerk; it would have been easier dislike him. Why did he have to be so perfect?
Maybe his past wasn't so perfect, but the man currently sitting before her is.
Kami, he is so cute! She winced inwardly, scolding herself for thinking such girly thoughts. A fan girl was the last thing she wanted to be. She groaned morbidly in attempt to ease her growing frustration.
"I knew I shouldn't have come! I just knew it!" Sakura whispered harshly to herself. Her statement was drowned in the loud bellowing voice of Temari who proudly asked for a good round of applause as she introduced another V.I.P. guest onto the stage. Echoes of clapping filled the entire area as the blonde sister sauntered off the spotlight only to have an important man take her place.
He chuckled into the microphone and threw the crowd a wink. "Thank you for having me tonight. I would like to thank Sunagakure for…"
The rest could not be heard by Sakura. She paid very little attention to that old, hairless daimyo of some other country as he thanked a long list of people with Gaara being one of them.
Speaking of Gaara…
Sakura couldn't help but glance at him every few seconds. To be accurate, it was every few millisecond. He didn't notice her or so she assumed for he stared blankly at the old man who spoke chattily to his audience. Sakura was totally unprepared for what he'd done next.
He caught glimpse of her and their eyes met briefly. Her breath hitched at the sight of his enchanting jade colored eyes. She had not expected him to catch her looking at him! Gaara was first to break the eye contact and resume giving his polite attention to the daimyo on the stage. At least he didn't seem intimidated by her constant staring.
'Will you look at that?' Her inner self jeered with malice intent.
'Yes, I already know how great he is! No need to rub it in my face!' Sakura informed her inner self, greatly aggravated.
'What are you going to do?'
'Nothing. What can I do?''
'Are you just gonna sit there and feel sorry for yourself?' Her inner spat in disgust.
'I'm just not going to do anything, okay? There's obviously nothing I can do..'
'Hah! What a coward!'
Sakura sighed. For once, her inner was probably right. She was being a coward.
'Okay. If you're so great, then what do you suppose I do?'
'Easy. Wait in a dark corner until he appears and BAM! Head for your prey. Drag him to your room, rip off his kage robes and ride him all night long!'
Trust her inner to have the worst possible ideas.
NO! Absolutely not!
Her face flushed at the picture inner Sakura painted for her. She could see herself kissing him, touching him in sensitive places and hearing his moans of delight.
'Oh, that would be nice…'Inner Sakura agreed mischievously.
"No! No! No!" She shrieked in a harsh whisper. At this point, some of the guests who sat around her stood up and left the table in hopes of escaping the pinkette's wrath. They do not wish to have anything to do with what seemed like a sexually frustrated female.
Sakura pinched herself hard on the arm and grimaced. She would do anything to keep her mind away from such inappropriate thoughts. Damn hormones. Not only is she attracted to him, but she was lusting after him. She was beyond repairable. The pinked haired beauty bit her lip in attempt to calm down her jittery nerves. She begged herself to calm down.
"Calm down," she pleaded mentally.
"Haruno?"
She half flinched. Oh God. That was his voice! His sweet, velvety, baritone voice and he was addressing her! She couldn't find her words to speak. She looked at his way without really looking at him. He would never notice how her right eye twitch slightly at the corner…but then again, he is Gaara. Nothing is missed by his overly observant eye. Lost in thought, she almost didn't hear the Kazekage say her given name.
"Sakura."
She was a second too early at answering.
"Yeah? Sir? I mean, yes?" She sputtered, and kicked herself in the shin for sounding like an idiot.
It was that half smile again. If anyone bothered to look at them, it would seem as if he was just staring at her piteously and she was just blushing like a mad fan girl, much to her utter annoyance. Her inner sighed dreamily.
Amusement was clearly written in those jade orbs of his.
"Are you all right?"
Was he concern for her well being? Sakura could've died and gone to heaven.
"No. Not at all…I mean yes! Yes! I'm feeling perfectly fine! Fine as fine could ever be!" She exclaimed and finished off with terrible bubble of fake laughter.
Great. What a perfect way to interact with the object of her affections. She felt a strong urge to turn around and dunk her head in the punch bowl behind her. What happened to the confident and strong Sakura?
"I see," he voiced, although it was quite obvious that he wasn't convinced. "You seem troubled. Do you not enjoy the banquet?"
"What banquet?" Sakura asked, blinking innocently and realized her mistake at seeing Gaara's puzzled expression. She had literally forgotten where she was! The woman coughed twice, fanning herself with her hand erratically.
Gaara did not say a word and waited for her to finish, or rather, calm down for that matter.
After a series of misfits and inner scolding, Sakura finally forced a smile on her lips and beamed at the red head with false cheerfulness. Now what was the question again? Banquet? Did she enjoy it? Ah ha!
"Oh! Banquet!" Sakura cried out with a chuckle. "How could I forget to mention a such thing? It is indeed the most elegant I have ever attended, Kazekage sama?" She exclaimed as happily as she could muster. "The decorations are exquisite and unique. I must say that I am greatly impressed." At least her voice did not fail her this time.
His expression remained indifferent.
"They are Temari's ideas."
He continued to stare at her unblinkingly. Sakura felt very self conscious, suddenly finding the floral arrangements on the table interesting. Giving herself something to do, she grabbed a tiny sandwich from a passerby waitress and deftly bit into its delicate goodness. She wouldn't dare to look at Gaara or risk turning into a human tomato.
"Uh…ha…Yes. That may be why the celebration's so lively tonight!" She answered a bit too belatedly. Her eyes flickered on and off him.
Gaara shrugged slightly in response. "I thought it was quite boring myself," he retorted, crossing his strong arms over his chest.
"Oh? You…do?"
He responded with a slight nod. Sakura released what seemed like a relieved sigh.
"Actually…I think it's boring too," she admitted, smiling sheepishly.
In truth, if she wasn't so busy staring at Gaara, then this celebration would be a pointless waste of time. She never enjoyed these things anyway and experienced them only because Tsunade would mercilessly drag her to one.
"Hn…"
Without thinking, she mentioned, "Your hair really stands out. It's very red."
Her goodwill attempt at a pleasant conversation failed.
Gaara frowned at what's supposedly a compliment.
"Excuse me?"
Shit. She blew it. She had to think of something quick!
"Um…what I mean is, um…what type of shampoo do you use?"
Inner Sakura slapped her forehead and melted into a puddle of goo. How rude can she get asking a leader about what type of product he use on his hair?
"…Sakura. Your questions are quite strange," he mentioned, twirling the glass of champagne in his fingers. "Perhaps I've heard you wrong, but I could've sworn you've just asked me what type of shampoo do I use."
Her eyes widen in sheer horror and embarrassment. Was he giving her a chance to redeem herself? She brought her hands up before her and shook her head wildly.
"No! Nothing! I didn't say anything at all!"
"Hn…"
Sakura's heart was beating fast and she found herself breathing abnormally. This had to be her most embarassing encounter yet. She needed a distraction to save herself.
"Phew! I'm getting quite thirsty," she breathed, sounding more than unrealistic. It didn't help that she was aware of how fake she sounded.
Sakura groaned pathetically and proceeded to grab a glass of champagne, raising it immediately to her lips. The medic downed its contents in a single gulp and when she was through, she slammed the fragile thing onto the dining table. It was a wonder why the glass didn't shatter.
Gaara stared at her with distinct interest as her eyes searched hungrily for more of the alcoholic beverage. At seeing the damsel in distress, he slowly offered her his own untouched glass genuinely. Sakura's eyes widen in shock and surprise at seeing his clear intention. He was giving it to her!
"N-no thank you. I cannot just take-"
Sakura stopped mid-sentence at the forwarding motion of his hand and stared at the little glass of champagne within his grasp. His expression was tranquil and his lips were drawn in a harsh thin line. He wasn't smiling, nor was he frowning. It reminded her of a movie where a little boy was offering a lollipop to a spooked little girl who pondered whether to take the candy or not.
"For you," he informed her.
There was a long dramatic pause as she debated on her limited choices. Sakura really had no choice in the matter anyhow. Gaara would never take back a gift. She scratched her head, chuckling awkwardly in hopes of lightening up the mood.
"Well…thank you," the pink haired beauty murmured shyly as she slowly reached for his drink. Everything was fine until she made the mistake of accidentally brushing her hand against his. He felt so warm! Her control snapped.
Sakura couldn't bear to be in the same room as him any longer. If she didn't leave soon, every bystander would witness her voracious attack on the Kazekage. The next day newspaper and magazine's headline would be, "A Mad Konoha Fan Girl Attempts to Rape Kazekage at Suna's Banquet!"
That did not sound pretty and she definitely did not want to be known as 'the fan who tried to rape the kazekage.'
Sakura stood swiftly from her seat only to bump clumsily into a waiter carrying a tray of red wine. To her utter misfortune, the waiter dumped the whole tray of the drinks onto her knee length, white cocktail dress. She shrieked out of reflex due to the cold sting of the beverage on her skin and uttered a few apologies to the poor boy. His boss would probably yell at him later for her carelessness.
"Sorry, miss! I-it was an accident! I swear!," the waiter apologized shamefully, but she fled before those words could reach her ears.
Tsunade's disciple does not want to be anywhere near the Kazekage that moment.
"God, why do these things always happen to me?" Sakura hissed as she pulled out another long series of paper towels.
She was officially angry with herself.
She just had to accept his champagne. She just had to brush her finger with his. She just had to bump into a stupid waiter. She just had to get her dress stained by the worst stain possible. Today just isn't her day.
The woman no longer had the courage to face Gaara after that disastrous scenario. Sakura groaned disgustedly and tried to wipe off the wine on her dress as best as she could with paper towels, but it proved futile.
"Red wine! Ugh! I just had to wear white!"
Sakura threw the paper towel angrily into the wastebasket and brought a hand to her forehead. She felt a headache on its way.
She let out huff of breath and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Ugly splatters of red stained her cute attire from chest to hem. It was an expensive dress too and it took her forever to find the perfect one. Sakura decided that she'd take it dry cleaning the very next day and wondered briefly where Suna's cleaners located.
All she wanted to do now was crawl into bed and forget about everything that had ever happened. Gaara doesn't even like her the way she liked him. Probably the best thing to do was avoid social contact with the red head and forget about how she felt about him. She should just pack her things and go home already. Come to think of it, her mission was already completed and she extended her stay just to be with him a bit longer.
She had countless unsuccessful encounters with Gaara so far. Actually, their meetings were more or less, a complete embarrassment for the kunoichi.
"No!" She shrieked. Life's got to be kidding her.
She grabbed a fistful of pink hair and fought the urge to scream. She had to leave. The sooner the better. There's no way she could face Gaara ever again!
It is quite rare for the proud woman to feel this way and yet, Sakura Haruno felt completely hopeless.
Screw the cleaners. It's not like there wasn't one in Konoha. She decided that she'll pack tonight and leave first thing tomorrow morning.
Yes, that's what she'll do she decided.
Glancing humorlessly at her semi-formal attire, she straighten the silk material and patted the skirt of the dress. The red wine on her dress had begun to dry, leaving the dress more of a bloody dark color than a bright crimson.
"Red like his hair," she stated as her fingers brushed over the stained area. "God. Why does everything have to remind me of him?
Sakura knew that falling out of love with him would be hard and long since it took her forever to fall head over heels for him. She didn't even remember how she fell in love with him! Before she knew it, it had been too late to say, "I don't like Gaara that way," and sound convincing while at it. Her emotions became uncontrollable at the thought of him; even at the sight of him! She would tense rigidly like a board upon hearing his name and hearing his voice.
Never in her twenty three years of life had she felt strongly about another male other than Sasuke. She just fooled around with a few admirers afterwards. That was another story however, and she won't go into the details. Sakura shuddered, ejecting those thoughts from her mind.
Still, Gaara effected her emotions like no other male ever had.
Growling, she turned on the golden taps of the faucet and brought her face down closer to the sink. She rinsed her face vigorously, sloshing the water toward her.
What's up with her? Since when did Sakura Haruno became such a quitter? She'd die if giving him up meant that some other bimbo would become his lover. It meant that her efforts were for nothing. She'd rather have Gaara gay than have him spend the rest of his life happy with another woman in his arms and his bed.
"Urgh!" Sakura growled, combing the loose tendrils of wet hair behind her ears.
Could she give him up? Would she?
"Absolutely not!" she grumbled scornfully. Making up her mind, she shut off the tap of the cold running water and glared at her reflection with a newly born determination.
So what if he saw the worst of her? So what if he dislike her even more after what she planned to do?
Sakura plan to confess, of course. Even if he did not feel the same way towards her, she wanted to let him know. She had to let him know. It was the least she could do for herself.
Without thinking any further, she marched out of the bathroom without even bothering to make herself appear presentable. She didn't notice the other women who gushed cheerfully on how oh-so-sexy the Kazekage looked tonight as she walked by them.
BAM!
Twin doors of the grand entrance to the ballroom burst open revealing an indecently dressed and disgruntled kunoichi. Many gasped upon seeing the guards knocked out behind the pink haired maniacal woman. Silence followed the woman as she trudged inside the ballroom with an aura of confidence and annoyance.
Trust for the Entry Guards to reject one of Konoha's most respected shinobi upon seeing her unattractive side. She just had to give them a piece of her mind. Sakura muttered a colorful chain of words as she literally stomped her way towards none other than the kazekage.
She was not aware of how dramatic she appeared. Her face was flushed, her hair was wet and stains of red wine adorned her white cocktail dress. She did not care at that moment and her eyes were solely on the object of her intent.
He stared at her. She looked so out of place yet, she was in place like a focal point in a painting. He was fascinated by the fact that she appeared so determined to reach his table. Gaara hadn't even noticed how his eyes slightly widened as she moved closer and closer toward him.
Every single being, living and dead stared at the woman in sheer shock as she daringly stepped in front of the Kazekage as if she was queen of the world. There was a glint in her emerald eyes.
The kazekage calmly closed his eyes, resting his chin upon upright and entwined hands.
"Gaara," Sakura hissed accusingly. His many guards immediately encircled the dangerous kunoichi with kunais aiming at her throat at hearing her deadly tone.
Opening his eyes tiredly, he gave her his full undivided attention. "Yes?"
She chuckled. Sakura didn't know why. Nothing about the situation was funny except for the fact that everyone was staring at her like she was some sort of foreign animal. The kunais inched closer to her swanlike neck.
"Gaara…er…Kazekage sama," Sakura stammered, tapping nervously at the kunai pressed against her throat.
"Retreat. Now," the kazekage ordered icily to his ever so loyal shinobi. Upon hearing their lord's deadly request, they did as they're told and hesitantly stepped away.
The kunoichi cleared her throat.
"What is it?"
A short silence was brought upon his question.
"You're annoying," Sakura accused. The crowd gasped as if it was a taboo statement. She was not done talking yet. "And dense. What else, you might ask? Would you like to know? You're also arrogant. You're too confident. You're extremely and overly handsome, like a lot of womanizers I know. You're egotistical and you're intelligent. You're probably on the verge of being cocky too."
Murmurs began to be increase in volume at hearing such horrid and absurd confessions. No one speaks to their kazekage like that and gets away with it.
"And, last but not least, you're a complete idiot!"
Gaara exhaled slowly through his nostrils. "I see. So, is this what you wanted to tell me?"
"No."
Everyone froze at the deadly tone emitting from her voice.
"No. I have something else to say."
He did not respond. She took his silence as a sign to continue speaking.
"Anyway, I just wanted to let you to know something."
"What?" he asked for the umpteenth time. Gaara was beginning to lose patience. What does it take for some woman to speak her mind? He just doesn't understand the opposite sex and hated how they like to beat around the bush.
"I love you."
His hearing must've been terrible. He could've sworn she just confessed her love to him. Without anyone noticing, he pinched his thigh hoping to wake up from this beautiful nightmare. He felt pain. It isn't a dream.
Gaara eyes slightly widened and slowly drifted up her form, locking gaze with her own emerald pair. He was quite shocked at the answer he had not expected. The murmurs became more violent as angry admirers of the Kazekage cursed and hissed angrily at Sakura.
"Now that I've spoke my mind, I'm going to take my leave."
And just like that, she was done.
Just as Sakura turned around to head for the door, a custard-like cake was thrown at her. Luckily for the Haruno, she had obliviously bent over to take off her painful heels and therefore avoided collision with the offending piece of dessert. Unfortunately, the food landed on another guest square in the face. It was the old daimyo from before.
He too angrily grabbed for the candied pear in his dish and flung it across the room. It again splatter all over another guest and the chaotic food battle and fighting began. Dresses ripped, war cries were screamed and curses roared as men and women grabbed for each others throat.
Gaara sighed as his guards crowded about him, guarding their precious kazekage.
Many minutes passed and the fighting did not look like it would stop anytime soon.
Temari was furious, slapping her palm into her face and Kankuro stared, dumbfounded and amused.
Sakura was as unaware as ever when she undid the last buckle of the cause-of-her-pain. Who knows why it took so long to take off a shoe? Hooking her finger into the ankle strap of the high heels, she looked up only to find every single man and woman fighting as if there was a UFC championship going on. Shrugging, she was about to make her way out the door until something under the table grabbed her foot and pulled her under.
She hissed in response, vowing to kill whoever it was. The said person grabbed her shoulders to keep her still as she fought, kicked and hiss viciously like a feline.
"Sakura."
She recognized that voice. Slowly, her resistance faded away as her eyes met his.
To say she was surprised was an understatement. There under the table was Sabaku no Gaara who had somehow disentangled himself from his guards the rest of the chaotic people. He was under the table. With her! The white table cloth had done a perfectly good job at keeping the two hidden from the outside world.
"Gaara!" she gasped. He put a finger on her lips to silent her.
"What are you doing?" Sakura said in a harsh whisper, pushing his hand away. He didn't answer her as he observed her.
Sakura froze at his intense stare.
"…For your information, I'm not as cocky as you think I am."
She winced at the memory of what she had said earlier, only to have his hand lock her head in place. His thumb gently stroke her chin.
"S-sorry. I didn't really mean that-"
"Sh." He interrupted her attempt to apologize.
"I'm not a womanizer either," he said, smirking. Sakura felt heat rising up to her cheeks as she recalled that too.
"Other than that, you're right about many things."
'That arrogan-'
"You-" she sputtered, but became still when she felt his thumb brush across her cheek. He leaned close to her and proceeded to tilt his head, inching closer to her mouth. He flicked his tongue out in between the seams of his labia and proceeded to lick her soft pink lips. He nipped her bottom lip, urging her to open for him and when she willingly obliged, he took advantage of the moment to thrust his tongue inside her mouth and kissed her like he had never kissed before.
Sakura moaned from the back of her throat as she felt herself being drugged deeper into his touch. She wrapped her arms around his neck and if possible, pushed herself even closer to Gaara. He ravaged her mouth hungrily as she clung onto him, moving against his kisses and responding to his sensual ministrations. When he broke the kiss, they were breathless and panting.
Sakura was speechless.
"Did you enjoy the banquet after all?" he asked smugly. Sakura smiled, nodding drowsily.
"Yes. I enjoyed it too much, I think."
End,
OWARI!!
First GaaSakua one shot! I might change it because it seemed rush. My stupid sister is rushing me. Damn sister! Review please? Constructive critism is probably needed. :D