Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto
Sakura Haruno stared aghast at the Fifth Hokage behind his desk as he waited for her response. The tension in the air was tangible. Her Anbu escorts stared impassively behind their beast masks, despite the outlandish mission that was just offered to her. A picture of Sakura's intended target was held tightly in her left hand, obscuring the visage so only the familiar rusty red hair of Gaara of the Desert made his image recognizable.
"Suna has entered into a state of instability. With the death of the fourth Kazekage, their own traditions dictate that a trial of candidates will compete for the prestigious title of the fifth Kazekage," Danzo Shimura patiently explained, his sharp gaze all but cutting into the thirteen year old before him as he assessed her.
...
Sakura ran across the sand silently, her black kunoichi uniform shrouding her in darkness against the pale moonlight of the desert. Without her hitai-ate, the pink hair from her bangs whipped freely in face, but it was a necessary evil if it meant avoiding recognition. Before her, Suna's looming lights grew ever larger as she grew closer to the hidden village. Her heart beat fast and heavy in her chest as she thought of what she must do and once again cursed the Hokage, Sasuke, and her own poor judgement for getting her into this mess.
...
"Sir, I-I don't understand why this has anything to do with Gaara," Sakura protested weakly, mentally cursing Naruto and his tardiness. Three months had already passed since he had left to find Lady Tsunade and there had been no word from him as of yet. If only he had found the Slug Princess and returned. It would be her sitting behind the Hokage's desk instead of the shady, bandaged man before her coercing her into a guaranteed suicide mission. Six months had passed since the Chunin Exams and Sakura still had vivid nightmares about the demon that had nearly crushed her under his chakra infused sand.
...
Since the village was almost entirely surrounded by the walls of the desert, Sakura was forced to use the main gate without detection. The entire process took far too long for her tastes but if she was to succeed, there could be no evidence of Konoha's interference. The odds of being caught were staggeringly against her, but Sakura forced such possibilities into the back of her mind.
...
"Suna's jinchuuriki is one of the candidates eligible to compete in the trials. Recent reports indicate that since his skirmish with Naruto Uzumaki, Suna's jinchuuriki has attempted to reform his behavior," Donzo continued, oblivious to Sakura's mental woes.
"Gaara wants to become Kazekage?" Sakura murmured in disbelief. She remembered his maniacal sneer, and drool, and wild black eyes. How could such a thing be possible? He couldn't have reformed in such a short time could he? After all, the guy had craved blood! What was Suna's Council thinking?
...
The building structures of Suna were much different than Konoha's, with their large, round stone structures shaped like domes. It was all very strange and if Sakura had allowed herself to be distracted, she knew she would have been overwhelmed by the strange setting. The buildings all looked nearly identical if not for the labels that decorated some of the more prominent structures. According to her intel, the Sand Siblings had yet to move out of the former Kazekage's residence which was located directly behind Suna's central office of command.
...
"Even the potential of a jinchuuriki becoming a Kage of one of the Five Great Ninja Nations cannot be allowed," Danzo finished, his voice grave.
"So you plan to assassinate him!?" Sakura demanded, both incredulous and appalled. Despite the vicious bloodshed of her previous encounter with red head, Sakura couldn't help but think of Naruto and how hard he had tried to reach Gaara during their battle, and how hard Naruto had suffered growing up. Without her, Sasuke, and Kakashi-sensei, he may have very well turned out like Gaara had: violent and unstable in his loneliness and need to fill the void of his painful existence.
...
At the rate she was going, the sun would rise before Sakura found Gaara. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to be patient as she watched the sentries and memorized their walk patterns. It was the only way she could ever hope to slip inside the residence without confrontation. With the stressed importance to remain anonymous, Sakura knew she would have to kill any who crossed her path.
The concept of killing, of truly ending another's life, was something that Sakura had never experienced before. She knew that once it happened, that person would become a stain on her soul.
Red hair and pale eyes flashed unwilling in her mind before she was able to suppress it.
...
Sakura closed her eyes, troubled by her thoughts.
What if it had been Naruto? After all, he is a jinchuuriki and he does want to become Hokage…
"You aren't in any position to refuse this mission, nevermind object to it, Miss Haruno."
...
Suna's patrol pattern was ridiculously complex. It took nearly a half an hour for to memorize their movements and then another ten minutes to maneuver around them before she was confident enough to scale the building. As Suna's jinchuuriki, the fourth Kazekage had kept Gaara's housed in quarters at the very top of the structure. It was a long climb and Sakura took that time to meditate on what she must do.
Could she take another life? As a kunoichi it was something that she knew she would have to do someday, but at the same time the concept of eliminating someone she knew had never crossed her mind. Gaara wasn't her friend by any stretch of the imagination, having only encountered him once; but he was Naruto's or so the blonde had claimed.
Sakura was somewhat skeptical but she knew the two shared a bond as jinchuurikis, regardless of the status of Konoha's and Suna's rivalry. If she managed to succeed in her mission, Sakura knew that it would be a betrayal to teammate. How would she ever be able to face Naruto afterwards?
Of course in the grand scheme of things, she really didn't have a choice.
...
Sakura's eyes opened and her head snapped up to meet Danzo's gaze.
"After all, was it not you who let Sasuke Uchiha escape from Konoha? In the eyes of the council, that makes you an accomplice to a rogue ninja and a traitor to the village," Danzo pointed out critically as he folded his hands under his chin.
"That wasn't my fault," she ground out, his words forming a painful lump of ice in her chest.
...
As Sakura scaled the dome's wall, she reflected that there was a very good chance she wouldn't be returning at all. As a Genin, her skills in Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were mediocre at best. Her mission's only saving grace was in Danzo's report that Gaara now slept. It was the only time he was vulnerable. Of course it was still a long shot, and with no back up as Danzo had 'suggested' that her mission remain off the record; if she failed here tonight, no one would be coming to her rescue.
...
"Up until that point Sasuke was a competent shinobi and dedicated member of Team 7. I had no way of knowing he was not going to come back," she spat out through teeth, doing her best to suppress the terrible memory. Danzo had the gall to smirk at her.
"Really?" he challenged before sifting through the papers on his desk.
...
Upon reaching the top floor, Sakura used one of her knives to pry into one of the windows. It was very dark inside and once she gained her footing, she was aghast to find that the top floor was nothing more than a small, roomed attic, bare of anything but a bed in the corner and several windows covered up with paper. It left her incredibly vulnerable with nowhere to hide.
...
"Ah here it is," Danzo began before scanning over the paper.
"According to the Anbu on duty, you begged the Uchiha to take you with him."
Sakura felt all the blood drain from her face and the ice in her chest spread to her throat as the Hokage recited the report. Her mind could barely wrap itself around the concept that his spies had caught her during her most vulnerable and intimate moment with Sasuke, nevermind that she had been caught red-handed in the midst of a lie…
...
Was this small room really Gaara's quarters? It was insultingly sparse and a clear testament as to how little the Kazekage and his village valued him. Even Naruto had more than this...
A small movement on the bed drew Sakura's attention and with growing alarm she realized that she wasn't alone in the room.
...
"I can't do this," Sakura argued, her voice quiet but firm. Truly there was no reason she should accept the mission. There were other, better shinobi and kunoichi more qualified for such a situation. She hadn't even made Chunin yet. Gaara was leaps and bounds ahead of her. He would tear her apart if she ever got close.
...
The red hair confirmed who he was, but the rest of Gaara was hidden beneath a twisted sheet. Sakura felt her grip tightening on the knife she had yet to put away. The pressure to finish what she started urging her into action.
'This is it,' she thought to herself as she carefully maneuvered herself closer to him. It would be just as easy as Danzo had said.
...
Danzo narrowed his eyes as Sakura's voice gained in volume.
"I don't think you understand the grievances against you," he told her and carefully slid a paper across his desk towards her.
...
Biting her lip. Sakura loomed over the slipping boy and raised her knife.
An image of Naruto flashed before her and her movements paused. Naruto was her friend. He was Konoha's jinchuuriki but he was her friend. He trusted her. He had nothing and no one and despite how terrible the village had treated him in his early years, he still wanted to be accepted by their peers. He wanted to be respected and loved. He wanted to be Hokage.
Swallowing thickly, Sakura took a hesitant step back. Wasn't that what Gaara wanted? Love and acceptance? Wasn't he competing to become Kazekage? He and Naruto were two sides of the same coin. Sakura looked at the knife in her hand. The mere idea of raising a knife to Naruto with killing intent was revolting. Slowly she lowered harm, realizing that she could not complete this mission.
...
Sakura frowned and picked it up.
"This is…" she murmured. Dread filled her lungs as she read the condemning words and saw the list of signatures.
"This is a formal complaint filed by Konoha's Council to have you prosecuted as a rogue shinobi for your actions. If you see, all twelve signatures have been added."
...
No, she would find another way to convince the council of her loyalty.
At that moment, the boy in front of her shifted and then the sheet was off and she was staring into a snarling face with wild, black and yellow eyes.
...
Sakura felt her vision narrow to the paper in front of her. This couldn't be happening. Her loyalty was being questioned. The council thought she was a traitor… She was at a loss for words.
"Fortunately for you, Miss Haruno, I'm willing to move past such grievances. The council however, has questioned your integrity and may need some convincing," he told her and looked pointedly at the wrinkled image of Gaara in her hand.
Author's Note: This is way out of my comfort zone. I've never written a Naruto fanfic before, so these are untested water. After Bleach's disappointing end, I lost my muse to continue my fanfics and needed a desperate distraction in a different category. Let me know what you think! Was it confusing? Too rushed? It's been awhile since I wrote anything so I appreciate any feedback.