A/N: A new Sakura story with a Yakuza/Gang theme. More dramatic and romantic than any story I've tried so far so wish me luck.

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-AU- He saved her so she owed him. But to what extent would the emotionless Yakuza leader take her favor? -SakuraxGaara-

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This…this is so not cool. The 21 year old girl thought as she ran down the dark road. She didn't stop to see if they were still following her.

Who cares if they're still following you? Just get the hell away from here as fast as you can. Her dammed 'inner self' (as the therapist called it) barked as she kept running. She would have stopped if she hadn't heard the car screech behind her. Rolling her eyes at the cliché horror movie scene, she ran faster.

She skidded to turn in the small alleyway, a place the car following her couldn't go to. She had lived in the city only a few weeks though and didn't expect it to be a dead end.

…You were correct in you assumption that this is a bad horror flick. Her second personality stated a slight chuckle in her voice.

Shut up and left me think. She thought back, looking around as the car came to a stop. Two men got out of the car. Both were tall, but one hid his face and one had silver hair. She raised an eyebrow at their black cloaks, but said nothing.

She could use her strength to try and beat them up, but the outcome looked extremely bad. Most likely she'd lose in the first few seconds. She cursed to herself for her stupid plan, but decided to go through with it anyways.

"Hey, funny chance meeting you two out here, right?" She lied with a nervous laugh following. She backed up into the brick wall behind her.

"Heh, Kakuzu, the bitch thinks she's funny." The silver haired one laughed, pointing at her as he walked closer. She didn't want to know what the threatening scythe on his back was used for. He leered at her. "Don't worry bitch, Pein wants you alive for Jashin knows what." He shrugged, not breaking a step.

"I vote make her into a prostitute." The one called Kakuzu said. She shuddered as she felt both men look her over. "She'd make more than the ones we have now."

I think that's a compliment.

Yeah, sure sounds that way doesn't it? She had meant to roll her eyes in her head but accidently did it in front of the two men. She froze as the silver-haired man grinned.

"Nothing says I can't get her first." He licked his lips, still taking his time as he walked down the narrow corridor.

Great genius. Look what you did. If I controlled this body then that wouldn't have happened. Sakura rolled her eyes again.

That doesn't exactly help me, now does it? She thought stubbornly.

"Aww….come on. You seem like a nice guy; can't you just let me go?" She asked sweetly, batting her long eyelashes.

"Sorry sweetheart, but orders are orders." He would have kept walking if he had suddenly passed out. Sakura raised an eyebrow and cocked her head to the side in confusion. The other man was knocked out too.

"Uhhh, what just happened?" She asked out loud. To be honest, though she'd never say it out loud, she was secretly waiting for a hot vampire to pop out from the shadows. What she got was just as good.

"Are you okay?" She froze at the voice. It was deep and husky, but not in a 'wilderness man' way. She nodded, still a bit shocked at the sudden voice. A figure walked from the shadows, revealing her mysterious savior. He was as handsome as his voice, if not more so. Tall with lean muscle, even though he wore a loose black dress shirt and matching black slack, and bright red hair. His skin was pale like the moon and his eyes were jade green. He stared at her, one of his nonexistent eyebrows raised as she stared back at him.

Clutching at the sides of her pink evening dress she backed up closer to the wall. "Who are you?" She asked eyes wide as he took a few steps closer.

He threw her an annoyed look before answering. "Gaara." He bent over to check the silver-haired man's pulse. "He's alive in case you wondered." He said after a few moments of silence.

She breathed a sigh of silent relief. At least I don't have a killer in front of me. "Can I ask you for a ride? I needed to be at a party about an hour ago." She asked nervously, taking a small step closer to the redhead.

He looked at her emotionlessly before a small smirk formed on his thin lips. "Do you really think it'd be safe to ride with a stranger?"

…He has a point, you know. Didn't you just get almost attacked by those two thugs? Sakura blatantly chose to ignore her mind and shrugged.

"You look sort of like you're going where I was headed." She eyed his clothes. "Plus, I figure you're safer than walking all the way through town." She smiled up at him, happy for the little light that reached the alley.

He didn't say anything as he turned, beginning to walk away from her. She stood there, miffed that he didn't even say goodbye, before he looked back her, eyes still emotionless. "Are you coming or not?" He asked blankly.

She grinned, happy that her dress stopped above the knees, and skipped towards him. He raised an eyebrow at her shoeless feet and she gave him a sheepish grin. "I can't exactly run away with three inch Jimmy Choos, now can I?" She reached into her pursed and showed him the pink heels before closing it again. "I'll put them on in the car since walking in them has to hurt more than walking barefoot." She added as an afterthought.

He barely looked down as they stepped over the man called Kakuzu. Sakura didn't care about them either, just happy to be away from them both and standing next to the – smoking hot – redhead. They passed the two men's car and Sakura took out her many keys, making sure to leave a nice mark for the unconscious men when they woke up. Gaara didn't say anything as she left long white lines in the black Mercedes.

Once they arrived at his Aston Martin Vanquish, Sakura whistled low. "Nice ride, redhead." She got into the passenger side and pulled out her designer shoes, making sure to slip them on carefully before closing the door. He got in next to her.

"Where are you headed?" He asked stiffly.

"Hyuuga mansion." She said with a sigh. He just nodded and drove off silently.

Not too talkative is he? He Inner Self joked with a dry laugh.

Apparently not, Sakura frowned, glancing ever-so indiscreetly at the redhead next to her. He did save me though, that's what matters.

As long as he doesn't kill you on the way there, until we're safe I say we be on guard.

Too Inner Sakura's surprise Sakura and Gaara arrived at the mansion, alive and well. Sakura smiled, turning to the redhead. "Do I look as bad as I think I do? I don't want to look like I've just been attacked." She cringed at the thought of her friends pestering her about what had happened.

She felt his eyes scan her quickly. "You look as if nothing happened." He said before leaving the black car. Confused, Sakura followed him up the steps of the Hyuuga house.

"Where are you going?" She asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she combed through her long pink hair with her fingers.

"You're the one who said I looked like I was going where you were headed." She nearly tripped at his words.

"So you're going to the party too?" He nodded simply. "Not to be rude, but how do you know a Hyuuga?" She asked as she tried her best to keep up with his long stride.

He slowed down, obviously noticing her struggle. "Her cousin and fiancée work under me." She made a small 'O' with her mouth.

...Where do Naruto and Neji work anyways? Sakura thought for a minute as Gaara rang the doorbell. Come to think of it she didn't know where the two men worked.

"Hello and welcome to the Hyuuga Mansion, may I ask who you two are?" The stiff butler asked after opening the door.

"Haruno Sakura and," she turned to Gaara, shrugging, "and Gaara." The butler nodded and let the two inside the large mansion.

Upon entering the large mansion, the two met a flight of stairs leading to the ball room where the party was being held. Soft waltz music floated up and below them hundred of miscellaneous people danced to the slow music.

Sakura smiled at Gaara as the descended the stairs. Immediately he was met by Neji and another man that Sakura didn't recognize while Hinata greeted her.

"Sakura, you made it." The shy girl said, smile on her pale face. Sakura hugged the girl before her, missing the worried glance she sent her fiancée.

"Sakura, you came with Gaara-san?" Sakura frowned at the worried tone in her friend's voice.

"Well, we met about half way here." Sakura waved it off. "He saved me from some thugs and then drove me here." At her words the pale girl's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. "Hinata, what's wrong?"

"No-nothing," she started before jumping at the sudden hand on her shoulder.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto, a loud blonde haired man, yelled. "Let's dance." He led his shy fiancée to the large crowd and slowly began to waltz, leaving Sakura to wait for dinner.

"Sakura-chan?" She heard the familiar voice from her left. Turning she met the eyes of the one and only Inazuka, grinning goofily she went up and hugged her old friend.

"Kiba? I didn't expect Hinata to actually get you in a suit to go to one of these things!" She marveled at the crisp pinstriped suit he wore. He smirked down at her pink haler dress and she pushed him away from her playfully.

"Wow Sakura, you've changed since high school." He grinned down at her and she rolled her eyes. "When'd you get here though, I didn't see you when everyone was coming in."

"I came with Gaara." She looked around for the redhead, but turned back to the Inuzuka when she couldn't find him. She frowned when he had the same worried expression Hinata had. "What's wrong?"

He shook his head roughly. "Nothing, would you like to dance? My reputation will increase if I'm seen dancing with a beauty like you." She playfully pushed him again before taking his hand. He led her to the middle of the floor, just as a new, slow, song played.

His hand rested just above her hip and on her shoulder, pulling her closer than the dance called for. She raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything. "So, Kiba-kun, how's life been since high school?"

He looked thoughtful for a minute. "I have one more year of college before I go to the veterinary school, but until then I'm working for Gaara." Kiba had always strived to become a veterinarian and so Sakura, who was a striving doctor, always got along with him. Not to mention his happy-go-lucky personality.

Sakura smiled. "You work for Gaara too? Seems like everyone does now." She laughed for a minute before noting his worried expression. "Kiba-kun? What's wrong?" She moved her hand to his chest, stopping their dancing for a second.

He grinned down at her. "Nothing you need to worry about, sweetheart." He held her chin in his large hand and made her look up at him. He smirked, leaning down slightly and she stepped on his foot.

"Still the same old Kiba." She smiled as the dance ended, looking for Hinata. "What happened to those two?" She asked as another song started. Kiba's hands resumed to their position on her waist as they began dancing. He shrugged at her question, looking above her head with a frown on his face.

Before she could ask what was wrong (for the third time) he left go of her. "Gaara, do you need anything?" He asked, walking towards the man behind her.

"A dance," Kiba raised his eyebrows, "with Haruno-san." The redhead ignored the brunette as he took Sakura's limp hand, leading her away from the stunned Kiba.

She smiled up at the man before her. "This is…weird. Every time I mention you people seem to get worried." She laughed as the taller man twirled her around, matching the other couple on the floor. He raised one of his nonexistent eyebrows as he danced flawlessly.

"Did you take lessons?" She asked absentmindedly. "Neji told me I couldn't go to one of their parties unless I passed his waltz and foxtrot test."

The redhead nodded. "My father wanted me to know how to." She nodded, small smile on her face.

They continued to dance in silence, parting after two songs. "Thanks for the dance, Gaara-kun." She looked around, spotting the familiar sight of platinum blonde hair. "Oh! Found Ino," she turned to him, flashing a large smile, before walking off in search of her friend.

"Ino, finally. You got here later than I did." Sakura exclaimed, hand on the taller blonde's shoulder. Ino was the perfect six foot tall runway model – too bad for all the designers, she had sworn against modeling. Instead she was an award winning writer for a multitude of novels, including a few, more adult romance novels, under another pen name.

The blonde flashed Sakura a bright smile. "I was trying to convince Choiji that dinner would be served in thirty minutes." She raised a thin eyebrow at Sakura, eyes scanning her outfit before landing on her pedicured toes. "What happened?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. You can never hide a chipped nail, ripped seam, or broken heel from Ino, now can you. She thought cynically before smiling up at her friend. "I'll tell you and Hinata together, too much of a hassle otherwise."

Ino frowned. "You sound too much like Shika-kun." She scrunched up her flawless face. "Just give me a second to fetch Hinata and then we'll gossip." Before Sakura could stop her, the blonde was off in search of their friend.

Mere seconds later the blonde arrived, holding onto a reluctant Hinata with a large grin on her face, "Okay, spill." Sakura glanced at the dancing couple behind her two friends. No one was close enough to hear so she told them the story of being chased from her house to the alleyway.

By the time she had reached the part about getting into Gaara's car her two friends had wide eyes.

"Ga-Gaara-san, help-helped you?" Hinata stuttered, hands over her mouth.

Sakura nodded with a goofy smile on her face. "He was really nice about it all, even though he was pretty much silent about the whole thing. Is it weird for him to help people?"

Hinata shook her head violently. "Not at all. It's…it's just." She glanced around nervously.

"It's fine, Hinata. Sakura-san should know." All three girls jumped at the sudden male voice. They all turned to see the other Hyuuga, Neji, standing with his arms crossed.

"Know what?" Sakura asked.

"Well…well." Hinata started, twirling her thumbs as she searched for the words.

Neji rolled his eyes. "I'll explain everything after everyone has left. I assume that you two will be staying overnight?" Both girls nodded, it wasn't odd for them to crash at Hinata's since it was the largest house. "Then I will explain everything later."

They all nodded while Hinata breather a sigh of relief at not having to tell them the horrible secret.

What's this all about? Sakura Inner Self asked as the guests were called into the large dining room to eat.

I…actually have no idea. Sakura picked at the roast duck in front of her, suddenly not very hungry. Across from her sat Gaara who picked at his food also. The Hyuugas were well known for their lavish dinner parties, serving a multitude of delicacies. Delicacies that Sakura could have spent her entire life never even attempting to try.

Finally, after two entrées, three main courses, and two deserts, dinner was over and all the guests had left. All that remained were Naruto, Ino, Gaara, herself, and Kiba, and of course Hinata and Neji.

Sakura ran down the stairs an hour after the party had ended. Her long hair was wet and she wore an oversized black shirt and a pair of hot pink flannel pajamas. Ino came down in a pair of purple silk shorts and a loose purple shirt. Hinata came down in an outfit similar to Sakura's.

"Yo, why are you all still here?" She asked, pointing to the crowd of men that sat on the large couches that surrounded the large TV. She walked over and sat next to Kiba who sat alone on the large, four person black couch. Ino sat on the other side of Kiba.

Neji cleared his throat as Hinata cuddled up to her fiancée. "Now that you're here I will explain some things. First, we," he motioned to everyone, "all work for Gaara." Sakura immediately stared at the redhead. "Second, our business isn't exactly legal so to speak so I suggest you don't talk about this with anyone that isn't here tonight." She nodded, still confused.

"Finally, one of the rules is that if you receive a favor directly from the Leader that you owe him one back." Sakura frowned at Neji words.

"I know I owe him, but why are you all acting as if I'm cursed?" She asked hesitantly, looking at the worried expression on her friends' faces. The only calm was seemed to be Gaara. No one said anything and Sakura shifted under the tension. Finally, someone spoke.

"You are cursed." The redheads voice echoed in the large room and Sakura felt Kiba tense at the sound of his voice. "My favors are known to be…different." He smirked as their eyes met.

She smirked too. "Well," she nodded slowly, smirk growing, "what if I say I like different?" She challenged.

"Then I'll have to come up with something creative." The room visibly relaxed as the challenge was issued. Sakura had no idea what his favor would be, but as long as it was interesting she didn't really care.

What if it's perverted? Her Inner Self asked with a husky voice.

Then I'll have to fulfill it, now won't I? Sakura giggled inwardly at her own brash resolve.

No matter what he asked, she'd obey He only has one chance after all.


A/N: Not the most interesting chapter, but after 3 different plots (All of which I'll probably use in a different story), this was the easiest way to get the point across.

Next chapter will explain why they're all following him and why she owes him a favor, hopefully.

:D I tried really hard to make Gaara in character and most likely failed horribly, I know this, but I'll keep him like this since if he was kept the way he is in the manga then this story would get nowhere.

Also, on another note, I've never really had 'Inner Sakura' in my story. I understand that Inner Sakura doesn't really talk back to her in the series, but I wanted to play with the idea.

And thus, the traditional beg for reviews: Please review :D

Edit: I'm sorry to all the car lovers. I had accidentally named it 'Austin' instead of 'Aston' Martin :D It's fixed as on 8/28/08