Red on Pink – A GaaSaku Fanfic (Chapter 1)
"Hey! What's up, Sakura-Chan?" Naruto said as he walked towards the pink-haired kunoichi.
"Hi, Naruto." Sakura responded, deep in thought. It had only been a few weeks since she and Gaara became close friends, but she couldn't get over the fact that there seemed to be something weird about him. She just couldn't quite put her finger on it.
-FLASHBACK-
One Wednesday afternoon Sakura was sitting under a tree reading a book when
Naruto came out of nowhere and started a conversation.
"Heyyy, Sakura! Whatcha reading?"
"Umm, it's about some – wait a minute, why are you even here?"
"Well, I thought you might want to meet Gaara."
"I already met him, remember? I don't want to see him again."
"But whyyy?" Naruto whined.
"Because he's creepy. End of story. Goodbye!" Sakura stood up and began to walk away.
"No! Wait, Sakura-Chan!"
She stopped and turned around, clearly annoyed. "I said I don't want to –"
"But he wants to see you." He interrupted.
"Well, why would he want to see me?"
"Just come on!" He grabbed her by the hand and started running.
They arrived at Ichiraku Ramen a few moments later. Naruto pushed Sakura into a chair beside Gaara and sat in the chair adjacent to her.
"Come on, Gaara, talk!" exclaimed an annoyed Naruto after a minute of silence.
"Fine. I talked. You happy now?" Gaara snapped, glaring straight into Naruto's blue eyes from a seat away.
"Well, it looks like you two are getting along." Sakura stated sarcastically, not enjoying sitting between them.
"Okay. Why don't we just start over? Sakura, this is –" Naruto began.
"I know who he is, Naruto!" She yelled, interrupting him.
"Sakura, calm down. I was just trying to properly introduce you two."
"You know what? I'm done with this." Sakura placed her hands on the table and stood up.
"Wait, Sakura-Chan!" Naruto yelled, then leaned down and whispered, "I'll leave, but please talk to Gaara. I want you two to be friends. Please?"
"Fine, but you owe me." Naruto left and Sakura sat tensely with a scowl on her face.
"Sometimes I just want to strangle him." Gaara commented as quietly as he could while still being audible.
"Same here, trust me. In fact, I do almost every day." Sakura laughed, then she realized Gaara wasn't laughing. Not even a smile. Slightly afraid, she asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"No, no, I'm fine. I must go. You know, I'm the Kazekage. It was nice seeing you and all, but I really need to fill out these papers, and –"
"It's okay, Gaara. I understand. You go ahead. Sorry for keeping you."
"No, it's alright. I'll talk to you later, okay? Call me." Then he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
Sakura looked down and noticed a small folded paper with what she assumed had Gaara's phone number written on it. She simply stuffed it in her small pocket and walked home. The next day, she called him and they conversed.
"Sakura, are you actually my friend, or do you just take pity on me?"
"Gaara, I care about you. We are friends." She said, though she wondered if it was only pity... She had only talked to him yesterday and now they were friends? Oh well. Gaara sensed her smile even across the phone; he couldn't believe she had really said that. "Gaara, you there?"
"Um, yes. I apologize. I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Umm, nothing. Nevermind."
-END OF FLASHBACK-
"Sakura, is something wrong?" Naruto asked, worried.
"No, no, I was just remembering something."
"What was it?"
Sakura sighed heavily. "Naruto, can you just leave me alone today?"
"Oh. Umm, sure, Sakura-Chan." Naruto walked away staring at the ground. Sakura felt a small pang of guilt for pushing him away when she knew how deeply he cared for her, but she needed some time to think about Gaara. She got a strange feeling when she was around him or talking to him, but she couldn't figure out what it was or what caused it.
"Hmm..." Sakura wondered aloud, "I wonder. I used to get the same feeling when I was around Sasu – Wait... No. No! I can't like Gaara! He's too creepy, and weird, and ... Hot. Wait, what am I saying?! Get ahold of yourself, Saku –!"
"Is something the matter, Sakura?" Kakashi had arrived in the middle of her talk with herself and decided that he should interrupt.
"Oh! Um, Kakashi-Sensei, I.. Umm..." Sakura blushed slightly, embarrassed by her apparently loud outspoken thoughts. "Nothing is wrong. I was just thinking out loud, I guess."
"Yes. Now, I heard something about Gaara?" Kakashi asked curiously, stifling a laugh.
"Umm..." Sakura was embarrassed and didn't know how to reply. She didn't want to tell Kakashi; she didn't want to tell anyone, really. She wasn't even sure about it yet.
"Well, Kakashi-Sensei, I am 17 now. I believe I have my rights of privacy."
"Okay, okay, Sakura. You're right. I won't ask again." Kakashi said. He wondered if what he heard was true. He didn't want to ask her, because he would invade her privacy if he did, but he still wondered.
"Anyways, Sakura, Tsunade wishes to see you. I'd recommend going now."
"Oh, okay. Thanks, Kakashi-Sensei."
"You know, I stopped being your sensei long ago. You don't have to keep calling me that."
"Well, I want to. It just reminds me of... the good days." She sighed.
"Alright, Sakura. Now hurry along, you know she doesn't like waiting." He smiled through his mask.
Sakura walked into the Hokage's office. "Umm, Lady Tsunade? You sent for me?"
"Yes, Sakura, there's something I need to talk to you about."
"Uhh, yes?"
"It's about Sasuke."