It was only her third day in Kumogakure and there were no words to express how much she regretted accepting the Raikage's request – more like a polished demand - to help rebuild the village's health-care system. The only adversity Sakura hadn't considered was the Raikage's annoying, childish, most aggravating, ever present and nonstop (trashy) rapper younger brother: Killer Bee.
He was worse than her shadow, following her everywhere. He was there when she arrived, pestering her about why the "blond bro" – she could only assume the white haired pseudo musician was talking about Naruto – hadn't come; he was there when she reported to the Raikage, rambling about how he should be put in charge of the "pink little sis" safety – he had the audacity to give her a nickname and a ridiculous one at that - and she had almost kneeled at the kage's feet in a dramatic thankful display after he questioned who would be foolish enough to attack her in his village; he was there when she was neck deep in work at the hospital, forcing her to divide her attention between avoiding chuunin from getting themselves killed while handling a particular dangerous poison and the jinchuuriki's lame rhymes about some slutty nurse and he was there, in her room, in the middle of the night, after she got out of the shower wrapped in a towel, talking some nonsense about her becoming his second muse. Regardless of the unusual cruel punishment the kage's younger brother had endured – though he had deserved her messing with his nervous system with her chakra – it had been the last straw.
She had tried almost everything in her book to make him go away: politely ask him to "get the hell out of her sight", bribe him with whatever made his world whole – and slapped him really hard after he wiggled his eyebrows in a saucy way, punch him away as far as her chakra boosted arm could, threaten to rip that damned notebook he carried around. Nothing seemed to work on that dope.
There was only one thing left to try and Sakura was so not looking forward to it. The medic-nin had to talk to the Raikage about his brother. She feared the situation coming to this because she didn't want to be around the huge, older dark skinned man more than necessary. Both of them had somewhat quite the temper and it tended to get slightly out of hand. There hadn't been one single time Sakura had been in the Kage Tower and something hadn't been thrown out the window. Who did it was beyond the point.
Sakura closed her eyes and sighed deeply, summoning all her will power and what was left of her short patience and knocked on the door. A few moments later, the Raikage's gruff voice barked a very annoyed "Come in". "I wonder which I'll regret the most: coming here or knocking that moron into a coma."
The pink haired medic went inside and quietly closed the door behind her. Taking a quick look around, she noticed that his assistant Mabui wasn't there and groaned slightly. The white haired brunette used to have somewhat of a restraining effect on her boss' attitude, and when she wasn't around… Well, the man tended to get even more volatile.
Said man was sitting behind his desk, pretending to read some reports delivered earlier. If people thought he was busy, they wouldn't come bother him, or at least make it quick. As of late, A had been having some trouble focusing on whatever it was that wasn't even remotely related to the village's restructuring health-care system or that damned green eyed kunoichi. It had to be fate's way of mocking him. Of all villages, it was just his luck to be forced to beg Konoha for help. And of all medic-nin from that blasted village, she had to be the next greatest one. True, he had been more than impressed with her resourcefulness and ability during the war; she had even mended him a couple of times. A had even told himself that that strange warmth that would enclose his heart every time he saw her fight or give a surprisingly accurate reading on a tough situation was nothing. And it would be gone as soon as she was out of his sight. But of course it couldn't be that simple. So here he was, almost 3 months after the Fourth Great Ninja War, cursing the only person who was willingly helping his village.
-Raikage-sama. – Sakura spoke softly, trying not to disturb too much. A seemed pretty engrossed with those reports.
If the Kumo leader heard her, he certainly made no mention to show it. And as she felt her blood boiling beneath her skin, Sakura tried to decide what was irking her the most: the fact the he could be deliberately ignoring her or the fact that she was unable to draw attention from people – the fact that it was his attention that she failed to draw had nothing to do with it.
Silently stalking towards his desk, Sakura stopped directly in front of him, across the large wooden piece of furniture. Still no reaction. A vein throbbed in her forehead and, before the medic could think her course of action through, she slammed both her gloved hands on the table. The impact left two petite hand prints in the smooth surface and scattered the reports around the room.
A just sat there, still focused on the paper in his hands. After a few moments, he finally lowered the document and acknowledged her presence. There was a stare contest for the longest two minutes in her entire life. Sakura didn't even notice her frame leaning slightly over the table, but as she looked closer, she could see anger and a bit of shock mirrored on his dark irises.
-Have you lost your damn mind? - the low growl rumbling from his chest and the somber timber did nothing to hide the threat in his voice. Seeing she had the kage's full attention, Sakura withdrew her hands from the table and placed them in her hips.
-Now that I have you attention, Raikage-sama, - the stare contest was back on – I'd like to kindly ask you to keep your brother away from me. – there, Sakura had said it the most polite and level headed way possible. There was no way he could've taken it the wrong way, although the flash of outrage told her otherwise. Taking a deep breath, the pink haired kunoichi spoke again.
-He's been interfering with my work. – "And being a pain in the ass, but let's just leave at that."
A crossed his arms on his chest, making his heavily muscled upper limbs seem even more powerful. His ever present scowl seemed a little deeper and his left brow was slightly arched.
-And that's my problem because? – the kage unceremoniously stated.
She should've known his answer would something like that. But his attitude was getting to her last nerve. The only purpose of her presence on this goddamn place was to work on their hospital and work on training their next generation of medic-nin and that blasted jinchuuriki was letting her do anything but work. And apparently, she had been foolish enough to think that their leader would help her in any way he could.
A hadn't moved one muscle while he watched the girl sigh impatiently and rub her forehead in a desperate attempt to soothe a forming headache. He could be a little more helpful, she had volunteered to come to their aid. But he just couldn't help himself. The mini-Tsunade was just so testy and feisty. Seeing her get all riled up usually took his mind off things. And he would die before admitting it out loud, but if being uncooperative would make her stay a little longer, so be it. "The longer she stays the better. The village needs it." Besides, it was comforting to watch someone else have a taste of what he had to live with, being Bee's brother.
Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, Sakura raked her nimble fingers through her pink tresses. Why was this man so difficult to talk to?
-Look, just keep him in check, okay? I can't work properly when your… - she paused, looking for a word to describe the dark skinned jinchuuriki, while under his older brother's questioning gaze that clearly said "I dare you." – clown of a brother keeps pestering me everywhere I go.
She shot him a sheepish look, along with a small playful, cheeky smile. A tried to give this pink haired temptation his most stern, scolding glare, but couldn't help the small wayward smile that found its way to his lips. He waved his head lightly, stubbornly agreeing with her. His brother was a clown, he would give her that much.
Their eyes met again and neither looked away. Although the kage was no longer smiling – she could've sworn that smile vanished quicker than it had appeared - and his ever present frown was back in place, his demeanor was clearly less tense and he seemed to stop that menacing aura from radiating off of him. Sakura held her smile, feeling it change from playful to warm and breezy.
-I'll talk to him. In the meantime, stop being such a lazy ass and go to work. Be useful and turn that useless, spineless bunch into fine medic-nin such as yourself and that old fox you call shishou. – the last part wasn't intended to sound so much as a compliment as it did. "To hell with it. It's the truth." He silently watched – secretly mesmerized – as her smile widened and she turned to leave. She had just reached the door and touched the doorknob with her right hand, opening it slightly when she said something the she probably shouldn't have.
-Well, I'll do my best, Raikage-sama. But please, do talk to Bee as soon as possible. If he keeps disturbing my rest, I'll be just as useless. – she shot him an amused look over her shoulder – Last night he was in my room and caught me just getting out of the shower. – Sakura had turned to the door again and missed the annoyed twitch on the kage's left eye. – Luckily, my towel didn't drop while I screamed and- -
She didn't get to finish that sentence. Before Sakura could even blink, a lot of things happened around her. First, she couldn't believe how quickly the doorknob had escaped her hand. The Raikage had crossed the room, from his desk to the door, in a fraction of a second. His right hand had slammed against the wooden door, making its hard material crack slightly on the edges. She could feel the electricity around her, prickling her skin. She shivered from head to toe, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand. The smothering feeling of being trapped between the door and the impressive kage's body was not something she was prepared for. Turning around agonizingly slow, the first thing her eyes met was a solid, rock hard pectoral. Unable to stop her wandering gaze, it drifted further down until she saw the most defined abs her jade eyes had ever seen in her entire life. Even further down, her gaze landed on that huge golden belt on his waist. "Wait, what? His waist? Up up up, Sakura!"
Feeling her face flush bright red, Sakura turned her gaze up, to meet his. His deep frown and hatred aura were back on full force. And it could be mind playing tricks on her, but why did she have the feeling that the Raikage was closing in on her? Her answer came when she felt the lower portion of his chest press hers not so subtly even tighter between him and the door, making her draw shorter and faster small breaths.
-That baka did what? – there was no hiding the rage dripping from his words. His little chat with his otoutowould be sooner than he thought. But judging the currently trapped kunoichi's reaction, he could keep the physical part a little lighter. Seeing her face gain that pink shade – that he secretly thought made her hair stand out even more – and her breath become labored had just earned Bee the privilege to chose between a Drop Kick and an Iron Claw.
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Thank you very much for bearing with me till the bitter end. :D
First, I apologize if I ended this piece without an 'actual end'. It's just that I couldn't write past that last sentence without ruining it. So I decided to leave it at that.
As you can see, I'm a huge fan of out-of-the-blue-uncannon pairings. So sue me.
Second, I apologize for the weird OOCness.
Anyway, you guys know how it works: R&R.