So my update days are Fridays. If for some reason I won't be able to update I will let you guys know. Thank you to everyone who reviewed last week your reviews give me inspiration (:
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
The temperature in the room suddenly got to hot for her to handle. She felt like the walls of the hallway were beginning to cave in inwards making her feel trapped. This was the worst predicament she had ever found herself in and only she was to blame.
Sakura should have never lied. No good could ever come from it. The way that Hatsuo's lips turned into a smirk only caused her frustration to grow. It was Kankuro's voice that brought her back to reality.
"Engagement?" He questioned. He glanced briefly between Sakura and Gaara before his gaze landed back on her. Thankfully she wasn't the only one paralyzed.
The Kazekage of Suna had his arm in mid air. It looked like he was about to go in for a handshake when the words stopped him. In any other situation she might have found this comical if her own nerves weren't all over the place. To see his perfect pose look frazzled for even just a second was astonishing.
As if sensing her watching Gaara brought his arm back down. His eyes never once left the Daimyō's face.
"Yes Engagement. I ran into Sakura yesterday evening when she saved my life. I wanted to make her my wife but she said she was already engaged to your brother. What a lucky fella you are." He tapped Gaara on the back.
It was at that moment the redhead decided to finally look at her. Sakura could see the faint lines of confusion on his forehead.
"Hey Gaara can I have a quick word with you?" Kankuro once again spoke up. Without another word they both left her alone with the two men. At least they didn't rat her out. After they left she released a breath that she didn't even know that she was holding.
"You guys sure act uptight with each other. About my invitation…?" His eyebrow rose. If he didn't believe her he definitely wasn't showing it.
"Will get sent out to you." Sakura finished. Her lips pursed into a thin line as she rocked back and forth on her heels. His talking was beginning to grate her nerves.
"Around when will that be?"
Ok now she was starting to think he didn't believe her. "We can't seem to make up our mind. He wants fall but I'm thinking spring."
A smile replaced the smirk on his face. "Oh young love. You can't have a healthy marriage without compromise. Summer should work. You should mention it to him."
Sakura stood dumbfounded as they walked away from her. So did they believed her…..or not?
"Sakura.. you're late." Tsunade's voice rang out just as the pinkette stepped into her office. Shizune stood off to the side holding Tonton.
"My apologies Godaime." Her head bowed before her mentor who was more like a motherly figure to her. The bond that both of them shared was indestructible. If it wasn't for Tsunade her fighting skills would have never gotten to the point that they were now.
Even though the meeting had yet to begin she knew she was still late. Tsunade had taught her that if she was five minutes early then she was already ten minutes late.
"I need you to help organize the meeting room. It should begin in a couple minutes. You also need to stick around until after the meeting to help cleanup. Yamanaka is at the hospital and has informed me that it's uneventful at the moment so you have plenty of time to help out around here."
"Of course."
"Here's a stack of papers. Put one in front of each chair at the oval table." She added. As Sakura reached for the papers she couldn't help but catch a whiff of sake on her breathe. Shizune must have not noticed or she would be throwing a huge fit.
Once her task was complete she stayed out in the hallway and helped herself to a couple of snacks that were located on the table. That was twice now that her meals got interrupted. She needed to do a better job at finishing her food.
No one was allowed in the meeting room since it was official Kage and Lord business. The advisers and assistants all stayed outside. Some were on guard while others just casually talked to each other.
Hopefully Tsunade wouldn't send her on a new mission right away. She felt like she needed to talk to Ino about her current predicament. The blonde might have a solution out of this or at least some sort of advice.
"Sakura."
At the mention of her name she turned around to see Kankuro walking towards her. Heart heavy with dread she returned his greeting.
"Can I talk to you in private?"
"Yes." She led the way to a room at the end of the hallway that she knew was empty. The ac was on keeping the space cool and fresh. It was an abandoned office that no one used anymore.
Kankuro closed the door behind him before turning to face her. He was known to always get straight to the point.
"So….you're engaged to Gaara huh? I didn't know you fancied my little brother. Was it the teal of his eyes or the dark rim surrounding them that reeled you in?"
Sakura face palmed herself. This was so embarrassing. Her cheeks grew warm but she knew the least she could do was explain herself.
"No it's not like that. The feudal lord of the land of frost proposed to me and lying was the only way to get out of it."
Kankuro's eyebrow quirked up at this news. "Why did he propose to you?" He sat on top of the wooden desk while Sakura just leaned against the bookcase located on the far left of the room.
"He said something about it was time for him to find a bride." She began cleaning the dirt found under her nails. This was such an uncomfortable topic.
Kankuro clicked his tongue against the edge of his teeth as he thought deep in concentration.
"So him too huh?"
Sakura looked up in bewilderment. At the look on her face he further explained himself.
"The council has been pressuring Gaara to find a wife for some time now. We brushed it off at first but they threatened to set him up in an arranged marriage if he didn't meet someone soon."
She let out an audible gasp. "That's terrible."
He sighed. "We know. I talked to Gaara personally and he's nowhere near ready to settle down and get married. But I know him. If the council throws an arranged marriage his way he wouldn't say no and take it like any other mission."
His eyes closed briefly before continuing. "Temari and I don't want that. Gaara has never experienced love growing up as a child. We always hoped that when he was an adult he would at least deserve a true happily ever after you know? How can he get that when he's forced into a relationship without love? I've been stressing about this for a while now. Thinking about a solution or at least a way to buy some time…and I think I have."
His eyes popped open and he looked at her like he's never seen her before. A ghost of a smile lit up his lips. "So imagine my surprise when I hear that my baby brother is already engaged."
Sakura wasn't dumb. She knew where this was going. "How can I help?"
Kankuro's eyes lit up. "Are you really willing to help?" She gave him a nod.
"I have a plan. You both could help each other actually. After what happened earlier I pulled my brother to the side and talked to him. I think it would be a good idea if you both pulled off a fake engagement. That way my brother can have more time to find his lifelong partner and you can get away with your lie so you don't have to look bad in front of the Daimyō. Hopefully if it all works well my brother would have found someone and that Daimyō will already be married so you don't have to worry about it anymore."
Sakura thought it over carefully. It wouldn't be hard to pretend to be engaged to the Kazekage considering she never saw him. There was still something throwing her off about this situation.
"Will Gaara be ok with it?"
Kankuro let out something that sounded like a snort before quickly covering it up with a cough.
"He was ok with it the second after I brought it up. However he was very insistent that you wouldn't agree and it wouldn't happen." At that last sentence a sad smile replaced the look on his face.
Sakura felt her heartstrings pull. He was probably used to rejection. All of his life he was probably looking for companionship only for the door to be slammed in his face every time.
"I'm ok with it." Her voice replied. If she thought anymore about Gaara's childhood she would definitely burst into tears.
"Thank you. Temari and I couldn't be more grateful. You have no idea how much this means to us. It will do him good."
"What all will I..or we need to do?"
That sly grin crept on his face once more as he stood up off the desk.
"First things first. No one else can know that this is a hoax. Second of all you both will need to act like a normal couple in public. And third…"
He trailed off and looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "You might not like this one."
"What?"
"You will need to convince the council of Suna that this is real."
"WHAT! No.. NO!"
Sakura walked around in circles. Her arms flailing around as she began to think of all the possible reasons this wouldn't work.
Is he crazy?
There's no way.
She's a very bad liar.
Lying to a Daimyō is one thing. Lying to a whole council?!
Kankuro cleared his throat interrupting her thoughts. "Are you finished?"
"What if we get caught?!"
"You won't."
"How long will I have to stay in Suna?"
He stared at her as if contemplating telling her the answer.
"For all eternity. Nah I'm just messing with you but I would say a year at least. The Suna Council members are very observant. Almost nothing gets passed them."
If Sakura was hadn't eaten anything she was positive she would have fainted then and there.
"And what are we going to tell my Hokage? I can't just up and leave my village whenever. I'm a medic nin as well as a kunoichi. Tsunade would never.."
"Yes she will. Gaara has never asked her for a personal favor. I doubt she will deny his first request. Especially since he will have every single council members signature on it. Plus our hospitals could use some improvement. You could help out in your free time."
Sakura took in deep breaths. It was always wise to take a moment to breathe whenever life was difficult. No matter how stressful a situation can be you always have to remember to take some time to breathe. Inhale. Exhale.
She had to remember that this was a solution to a problem that she brought upon herself. If she had never lied in the first place she wouldn't be in this situation. Gaara was helping her out just as much as she was helping him.
"There's one more thing. This is something that you have to be ok with before agreeing to this. Gaara is a man of his people. He will always put his village before anyone or anything else. Including himself."
"Ok."
Kankuro, content with her response, opened the door that led back out into the hallway. Sakura fixed her composure before following him out.
Wait. There was one more question she had to ask.
"When are we going to star-." Her voice was cut out by the door to the meeting room opening. All of the feudal lords exited out first. Their advisors met them in perfect unison. Some looked angry while others seemed contempt with the results of the meeting.
Sakura hid behind the door when she saw Hatsuo storm out. He barely acknowledged Fuyuki before both of them made their way out of the building. She wondered what that had been all about.
Just then the Mizukage and Raikage walked out. Both of them seemed to be in a deep discussion about something. The Tsuchikage made his was out as well and seemed to be reading whatever was on the document she had passed out beforehand.
The Kazekage was one of the last ones to leave. He strolled out of the room and spotted his brother with ease. His eyes glanced over curiously towards Sakura hiding behind the door. Kankuro noticed this and pulled her closer towards them.
"Is the Hokage still in the room?" He asked.
"Yes." Gaara replied staring at both of them quizzically. "Why?"
"Congratulations brother. You're engaged!" He wrapped his arms around Gaara barely missing his gourd. His arms laid still by his side as he began to process Kankuro's words. The weight of them finally settled in as his eyes went wide and he fully looked at Sakura.
"You said yes?" The way his soft voice sounded so sincere made her nerves calm down. She was worrying for nothing.
"Of course." Sakura gave him a small smile. Gaara didn't take his eyes off of her and still appeared to be astonished.
"What are we waiting for? First step, let's see how you guys can convince the Hokage."
"Wait...what!" Sakura choked out before being arburtly pushed in the meeting room with Gaara beside her. To her dismay the door shut loudly behind her.
Tsunade was the only person left in the room. She looked up as the loud noise vibrated the walls. Kankuro definitely had a hand on him like she did. The papers in her hand were placed neatly to the side before she spoke up.
"Sakura, Gaara, what are the both of you doing here together?" Tsunade was never one to beat around the bush either. Sakura felt her gaze burn deep into her soul. There was only one way to see if this whole hoax would work. If she could convince Tsunade, her mentor, then she could very well convince the council members of Suna.
A small pop sounded in the now quiet room. She felt a scratchy feeling somewhere near her hand but she ignored it for the moment and placed both arms behind her back where she clasped both hands together.
Gaara stayed still beside her as she worked up the courage to face her Hokage.
"Tsunade, I need to tell you something."
Her mentor's eyes narrowed slightly as she began inspecting them both now. "Very well then, go right ahead."
She knew the best way to take off a bandage was to rip it right off which was exactly what she was about to do.
"Gaara and I are engaged to be married." She heard him intake a large breath the moment those words left her lips.
There were very few times she ever saw her Hokage surprised. Once when her entire Sake stash was gone. Another time when a mission turned out completely different, and now at the words she just uttered. Her eyes searched both of their faces intensely before focusing her attention elsewhere.
"Where's your ring?"
Before she got a chance to open her mouth Gaara beat her to it. "Why don't you show her?"
She tried her best to keep the shock out off of her face when she brought her hands out in front of her. On her ring finger was a little strand of sand encircled around it like an actual ring. She lightly touched it and was surprised when it moved and slithered around her skin.
When did he? How.
Tsunade said nothing as she continued watching both of them.
"When did it start?" She was about to look at him for help when he again spoke for her.
"It started after Lady Chiyo saved my life. We've been sending secret letters through Temari. She could vouch for us as well."
Sakura faintly smiled as she remembered the memories she had with Lady Chiyo. Gaara's face remained stoic.
Tsunade kept her eyes squinted as she continued observing them. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she was in deep concentration. She seemed to makeup her mind as she gently shook out of her thoughts and a pleasant smile took over her face.
"I have to give it to you Sakura. You hid this very well and for so long too. I assume you came to me to speak about living arrangements?"
"Yes. I would like to know if I could borrow Sakura for a year not only to strengthen our relationship but to have her aide in our hospitals. The council would like to meet her as well."
Tsunade nodded her head and waved her hand. "Consider it granted. After the both of you marry we will talk about where your citizenship will lie Sakura. However I do feel like we might do an even trade sometime soon Gaara." A mischievous twinkle was in her eye.
This time it was Gaara who was left out of the loop. Sakura held back a chuckle as she thought about Ino's tiresome teammate.
"Thank you Tsunade." Sakura bowed her head before following her "fiancé" out the door.
Both of them said nothing as they made their was out of the building that was deserted by now. It was a comfortable silence. His long strides were perfect and poise while she walked alongside him.
Gaara was a good friend to her. He was a great guy. Deep down in her heart she hoped that he did find someone that would love him and show him all that he's been missing.
Maybe along the way she would finally stop being head over heels for the Uchiha.
"So how did it go?" Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin at his close proximity. Gaara remained calm as he turned around to face his brother.
"She's been granted a year with us."
"Sister in law! I can't wait to have you in the village with us." He grabbed Sakura's waist and lifted her up only to spin her around. The action caught her completely by surprise which delayed her reaction.
"Kankuro put me down down!" She yelped. He set her down gently on the ground before facing Gaara once more.
"Now that you have a fiancée you need to stop sneaking all those women into your bedroom at night."
Sakura felt her face pale at his words. The last thing she needed was for people to feel sorry for her because her partner is cheating or for a bad image to spread about Gaara.
"Kankuro! That's enough. Stop spreading lies." The redhead's voice growled.
"What? I was trying to look out for you. If you want her to know the truth that you're a twenty one year old virgin by all means."
This was a moment in history. It was the first time Sakura had ever seen the Kazekage's pale cheeks have a tint of pink in them.
"KANKURO!"
It was at this moment that Sakura decided to walk away from the pair. She already dealt with enough by having Naruto on her hands.
Oh just what exactly did she sign up for. Next time she would think twice before telling a lie.
That night as Sakura was getting ready for bed she noticed she still had the ring on her finger. How strange. She would have thought he would have already dissolved it by now. It did stop moving so she decided to take it off only to put it right back on. After wearing it all day she was already used to the feeling of it.
Sakura walked down the village making her way to the hospital. Her and Ino switched jobs as it was getting pretty hectic in the infirmary.
She had bumped into Kankuro on her way down there. He was touring the village while the Kazekage attended the scheduled meetings. He briefly explained to her that they had sent word to Suna and were waiting to hear back from them.
Kankuro warned her that they were not going to buy it in the beginning and that it wasn't going to go as smoothly as it did with the Hokage. But he knew that their interest was going to be peeked and if all went according to plan she would be leaving with them to Suna by the end of the week.
She took in all the information and made mental notes in her head about finishing up things on her to do list as she would be away from the village for a while.
Sakura inquired on how Gaara was doing to which Kankuro replied with 'he's doing great, his dignity, not so much.'
That was where their conversation ended as he couldn't contain his laughter any longer.
She arrived at the hospital in no time and was making her rounds as usual. There were so many people thanks to a flu outbreak. This was common as a change in the weather was the cause. Especially when going from hot to cold temperatures.
This was something she was definitely looking forward to doing in Suna. The chance to meet and work with new people was always exciting. Especially when trying to find a remedy for an unheard of illness.
"Sakura! Glad to see you're back!" An elderly woman said to her as the pinkette checked her blood pressure.
This was one of her regular patients.
Her fingers slipped the cuff of the sphygmomanometer around her arm. She began pumping air until the circulation was cut off.
"Glad to see you as well." She didn't want to mention that she was leaving in a couple of days since she would be urged to give a reason. Sakura wanted to keep it her own little secret for now. She said nothing as she jotted down the information on her clipboard.
It was around noon when she decided to take her break. Thankfully there was a small cafeteria that she could get her food from. One of these day she would definitely need to learn to cook but she knew she would just keep putting it off.
After deciding on chicken and rice she made her way back towards the break room designated for the employees of the hospital.
She was the only person in the room since everyone else was still doing their rounds. The room was quite small. There were counters lining all the walls except the one that had a small table against it. The table had three chairs on the empty sides.
She took a seat and proceeded to take a bite out of her food. Her thoughts drifted back to all of the events that happened the past two days. She went from going on a regular c rank mission to saving a Daimyō's life to having him propose and somewhere along the way she ended up engaged to the Kazekage of Suna.
It took a moment to let all of that sink in. Life was crazy like that.
On the wall with the table was a bulletin board with papers tagged everywhere. As she was eating her food she noticed a flyer that she became familiar with. Only this one was in color. It was of the missing girl.
She let out a small gasp as she realized something. Something she hadn't noticed before on the other flyer since it was too dark to tell.
It was something the girl was wearing.
Something she had just seen recently.
Her earrings resembled the one found on the ground.
Was this a coincidence?
