Title- Desert Rose
By- Envo
Disclaimer- I don't own Naruto.
Note- To my friend Bob-geko who fulfills her end of the challenge, this is for you.
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Desert Rose
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Tranquility.
That was the picture painted before her as she looked out the window. Beneath the hanging red lanterns were forks of cobblestone-paved a path that formed a maze with its crisscrossing veins in the fortress-like village. The innumerable, orb-like buildings mounting along the paths did not even begin to represent the population of the village, and yet not a single soul was seen on the normally crowded and busy streets. All was calm; even among the wavering shadows, the only disturbance in the quiet night were the occasional dust clouds that accompanied the wayward wind into the air. As streaks of lilac warred with a persistent star-lit sky of indigo, the first rays of the day peeked through the row of looming dunes along the far horizon.
Even as she squinted against the sudden blinding light, the cold air giving way to the golden glimmer in forms of wavy shimmers was still visible in her eyes. Another new day was starting.
"Sakura?"
Pulled out from her trance, she turned away from the breathtaking view and eyed her compatriot. The bundle of hair tied together in a band with a characteristically gravity-defying tendency stood in the air as its owner faced her with a slackened posture. His hands lazily pocketed in the near invisible slit to the side of the standard shinobi attire and with an obviously uninterested gaze, the air of boredom was all too clear for her not to sense. Typical.
With a sigh, her hand dropped from the windowsill and she made her way back to her derailed route and her impatient partner.
"Shikamaru, remind me again. Why are we here?"
Their steps were silenced by the cushioning red carpet as they made their way down the seemly endless hallway. She watched on as gold sparkles spilled through round windows and sprayed the place with its glittering sparks.
"You are representing the Homage to attend the meeting that is crucial in establishing a common ground for Suna and Konoha." With a monotone voice, Shikamaru droned, "While I become your escort and," a finger pointed towards his head, he continued, "advisor."
"Oh, right."
The stolen gaze towards the window was not lost on her, nor did the begrudging low murmur 'troublesome' escaped her keen ears. And inwardly, she agreed wholeheartedly with the comment. Meetings like these were boring to start with. Arguing with elders had never been a favorite sport of hers, and with the amount of experience she had with these conferences, she would have refused the request if not for her mentor's strong insistence.
Approaching the heavily guarded door, two pairs of sandaled feet slowed to a stop as a uniformed attendant hastily made his way towards them.
"Konoha representative? Please come this way. The meeting will be held in this room. Before you enter, please ensure that you are not armed—"
To her side, Shikamaru snorted as their back pouches joined the many others on the wood table with a loud 'clunk'. Offended, the man opened his mouth to speak as they moved passed him, but Shikamaru was one step ahead of the game. The door slammed shut behind them, keeping both the man and his unheard protest out. Leaning against the shut door while messaging his temples, the shogi genius grumbled, "When is a shinobi ever unarmed?"
She elbowed her best friend's teammate lightly, but even she had to hide the smile that was threatening to break through her rigid façade as she faced the round meeting table already occupied with several advisors and elders. Nodding to her partner, they sat down and waited for the emptied seats to be filled in.
The sun continued to climb up the sky as robe-clad lords filtered through the double doors. Shikamaru sagged in his chair as the Kazekage finally made his appearance with his two siblings. The hushed chatter immediately died down as all attention gathered on the leader of Suna.
"This conference will begin now."
If luck was with them, it all could end within a few hours. But the true nature of such a gather would very well take up half a day at the very least.
As tones escalate and voices louder, she could only observe dazedly for the umpteenth time as Shikamaru took the lead and engaged himself in a heated debate with a borderline commander.
Pointing towards the map consisted of the five countries, Shikamaru explained, "Consider the country bordering with Wind and Fire country, it is better if we increase our defenses to prevent what had happened two years ago from happening again."
"With the threat already gone, it is not necessary to task such a man force to guard a mere border point."
"This is a crucial point that could make or break your line of defenses—"
"Our shinobi are highly trained. There is no need to fear pesky enemies such as Stone. And besides—"
"I agree with their plan." The rasping tone voiced its opinion as a silhouette moved away from the shadows of the door. Still cladding in the official robes, the elder tottered to the table slowly with a cane in one hand.
"Ebizo-sama!" Several lords and elders exclaimed with surprise while others bowed and saluted to the previous Suna's head elder.
"The threat may be gone, but that does not mean we can lower our guards. Commander, do not repeat the same mistakes as we had in the past. Strengthening the borderline defenses will be a wise move." Despite his age, the previous Suna's advisor still possessed the strong and steady voice that told of years' experience. Though his tone was mild, the underlying reprimanding notes were still evident as the commander's eyes went downcast in defeat.
"Of course, Ebizo-sama."
Nodding with satisfaction, the Kazekage stood. "And with this, we will conclude our meeting as we have come to the conclusion of our objective. Dismissed."
Without waiting, Sakura bolted towards the already wavering elder and steadied the older man. "Ebizo-sama, please take care."
"Sakura, is that you? I am quiet fine. I've only decided to dropped in the meeting on a whim." A wrinkly hand waved nonchalantly at her concern. But for Sakura, she could still feel exhausted limbs quivering as she supported him with her arm. Observing the older man, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
Behind, she heard the teasing mockery from the wind user of the three siblings. "Never thought you can argue like a girl, Nara."
"Quit giving me more headaches, woman."
Not able to contain her laughter anymore at her partner's expense, she turned and gave a groaning Nara a bright smile. "Could you please escort Ebizo-sama back, Shikamaru? I have some business I need to attend to. After that, the rest of the day is all yours to spend, just make sure you be at the gate tonight at six sharp."
And she was just in time to catch the infamous tactician smack his face with pure horror at the turn of events.
The pastel, marble-made dais slowly rose from her view as she treaded up the last few familiar steps leading to the raised platform. The half moon arcs formed by rows of arcade slowly rolled past her vision as she stopped before a towering obelisk. Intricate twirls of vines and leaves spiraled up the granite column to the pivotal point before winding down to the bronze plaque at the pedestal.
Light shot through large window of crystal and illuminated the spacious mausoleum with white as small particles of dust drifted in the bright rays of the sun. Knees bent, Sakura sat on her heels as she placed the colorful bouquet bought on her way here down. Slender fingers brushed against cold granite as they swept away fallen petals from the writhed bundle of flowers brought here a while ago. Fingertips then reached up to traced the words carved into stone mindlessly before a rough sensation started to dig into her callused skin. With a frown marring her face, her nose wriggled. Running her hands over the surface of the memorial plaque, her hands came away with a fine sheet of dust and small crystals. Wordlessly, she started to wipe away at the plaque, attempting to restore it to its previous spotless condition.
Satisfied with her handiwork, her hand reached back into her pouch to fish for a spare cloth to wipe away the grime on her hand when a small square of handkerchief suddenly dangled itself before her nose.
The corner of her lips lifted. Then without so much of an acknowledgement to the newcomer, Sakura took the squared cloth and proceeded to cleanse her hand.
"To think that you managed to wiggle yourself out of your advisor's grasp so quickly after the meeting, they must have been lenient towards you today, Kazekage-sama." Hands now toying the piece of cloth, Sakura voiced nonchalantly, though the silent laughter was still transparent in her tone.
"Your partner had kept them busy," was the bland reply.
"Tenmari-san and Shikamaru does make quite the entertaining pair."
The soles of a pair of shoes connected with the floor several times before she heard the echoing footfalls stopped beside her. No response. To that, she laughed inwardly.
"Still don't approve?" The teasing quality leaked through her playful tone even though the air to her side seemed to freeze in place. "He may appear useless, but he's a good guy, that Shikamaru."
"I am not aware that you take sides, Haruno." The icy tone mixed with a tint of resignation had done more than fuel her amusement, much to the Kazekage's chagrin.
"I don't. I'm merely stating the qualities of my teammate."
Peering from beneath her lashes, she could not help but burst out laughing at the perplexed and vexed expression on the ex-jiinchuriki's usually marble-like, deadpanned face. But even the laugh that had broken through with her relaxed mood froze before disappearing completely under a blank expression. "Stone is really planning something this time, aren't they?"
The solemn nod from a grim-looking Kazekage was all it took for her mood to plummet into nothingness.
"It is starting all over again." The mere thought of the terror created from a lone organization had her cringing against the memory.
"At this rate, I fear for our generation and the many more to come. Chiya-baa's sacrifice may as well be in vain."
Muscles tightened, Sakura picked herself up from her kneeling position and stood as she surveyed the memorial site built for the elder who had lost faith in the newer generation, but also the one who had given her life for the current Kazekage.
"Don't say that, Gaara."
She could feel the pair of teal orbs looking her way. The hand that had lain in her lap lifted, and peering through her lashes, her eyes followed the faint blue veins in the middle of her palm. "You feel it too, didn't you? Her life was merging with yours when you woke. Even now, I can still feel her life chakra running in my veins." Arm slackened as she watched her hand dropped to her side, "Chiyo-baasama gave part of her life to save my life and later gave the rest in exchange for yours. She had faith in our generation to not make the same mistakes as theirs did. She knew."
Upturned face bathed warm glows, she closed her eyes slowly. "She trusts us enough to entrust the future in our hands."
The place was silent. Then a soft rasp came, "And do you?"
"I don't only trust, Gaara. I know. I know we can make a difference because I believe." A smile then touched her lips. "I know I sound like Naruto, but looking back, we've moved forward despite the obstacles. Naruto is on his way in becoming the next Hokage after completing rebuilding the village. You too, came a long way as the Kazekage, leading the people of Suna out of despair when Akatsuki ran free during the period of chaos."
Chuckling, Sakura turned towards the slightly taken back Kazekage and beamed, "We will make it through. I know we will, because I believe."
Coral and purple hues mixed with carnation spread across the sky like an ink palette dabbed with occasional puffs of scarlet-tainted clouds here and there. Ahead, among the chirping birds and chitterling crickets were outrageously, ear-piercing shrieks and bickers. As the silent and seemly out of place pair consisted of Kazekage and Hokage's apprentice made their way towards the three silhouettes, the one-sided argument only got louder.
"—and now you've went and done it. Way to go, Nara."
"Give the man a break, Tenmari. You are going to chew both of our ears out at this rate."
"I will chew your ears out. So if you feel like keeping that ear of yours, stay out of this!"
The hostile conversation took a small break as all three shinobi perked up at the approaching footsteps, and Kankuro's eyes lit up with glee. "Well, well. Who would have known our little brother would disappear a whole day and then reappear with a girl? And to think that you're late in returning Sakura here, you could have—Ow!" The puppet master of the three siblings did not get the chance to finish his sentence when his red haired brother delivered a sharp smack to the underside of his head and successfully planted an angry looking bump.
Rolling her eyes at the ridiculous suggestion sprouted from the man that was rumored to be a lady's man, Sakura turned towards the other and only kunoichi present. "What did Shikamaru do this time?"
"Being himself again." The human sized fan rattled angrily as Tenmari turned to glare at the shadow user, who had his attention captured by one extraordinary large puff of cloud drifting by.
She snorted. Turning her thoughts away from the number of ways her lazy partner could have earn the wrath of the Kazekage's elder sister, she proceeded to shake said partner out of his trance and urged him forward towards the gate.
"We will be leaving for Konoha then. Thank you for your hospitality."
"Haruno, wait."
Stopped in the middle of her step, Sakura turned around with curiosity as the Kazekage made his way towards her.
"Hands."
Blinking, she lifted her hands as her eyes searched his for any hidden intention; instead, she was pleasantly surprised. From within his grasp, Gaara slowly poured sand into her opened palms. And with a collective gasp of bewilderment, three pair of eyes watched as grains of sand compressed and slowly took form while the other pair gazed wordlessly into twin pools of emerald.
Moments later, a single rose-shaped crystal sat glittering in the middle of Sakura's palms as the silence stretched. And to his credit, Gaara's explanation was shockingly short and spoken in a coarse voice, "For saving my brother's life two years ago."
Sakura's lips formed an 'o' shape before she managed to recompose herself. Giving a heartfelt smile, she thanked the man who was once a stranger but now a companion with something in common thing, belief.
"It is my pleasure."
As they started back home with Sakura tailing an impatient Shikamaru who wanted nothing more but to return to Konoha, she couldn't help but wonder rather the heat in the desert had gotten into her and making her hallucinating things. It was first a soft murmur meant for only her to hear, and then it was a swift caress against her hands. Both were probably her imagination, but it had sent flutters to her abdomen nonetheless.
"For saving my brother's life two years ago… and for opening my eyes to what I've missed all these years."
A/N: First time writing Gaara, can't say I've done a good job at it. Advices are welcomed. For those who are wondering, yes, I'm currently traveling with my friend in the wonderful country of Taiwan. Therefore, I have limited time in both writing and online time. But seeing as the circle of challenge will not end anytime soon (if Bob-geko finishes her chapter within a week she gets an dedication story from me within a week, vise versa), there will probably be more updates coming up soon.
Therefore, review and stay tuned.