Doppelganger

Chapter Two

-Pit Stop-

"We're stopping?" Gaara groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. This was so not ideal. He could have been to Waterfall and back by now. Unfortunately, he could not just use his sand to transport himself to their destination because the others were with him. He sighed. This mission was turning out to be just as awful as he thought it would be. He had had to go through Naruto singing gay show tunes and man was that annoying. Sai had gotten uncomfortably close to him and started talking about odd sexual acts between a man and a woman and how they were supposed to act. And as if the trip couldn't get more uncomfortable, Sakura, in an attempt to hit Sai in the face for an 'Ugly' comment, missed and stumbled onto him, forcing his arms to go and catch her in reflex. Unfortunately what his hands had secured upon was her firm behind.

He sighed, rubbing his cheek where Sakura had smacked him. It wasn't even his fault, he was just trying to help her and she hit him. It's not like he wanted to feel her ass anyways. It had even been so powerful that he could feel it through his sand armor.

"Yes." Kakashi said, lowering his book. "It's getting late and we do need to rest. A tired ninja is a useless ninja." He said, holding a finger up. "Because without sleep we ninja would have…no…" he trailed off, seeing every word was getting a more threatening and annoyed look from the Kazekage. "Well. Most of us need sleep." He corrected himself and then turned his back to his group, heading into the village.

"Sakura, you can handle getting us the rooms, right?" Kakashi asked, glancing over at the pink haired woman from his book.

She rolled her eyes. "Don't I always?" The silver haired man just nodded, returning to his smutty pages.

"Can I go too? Huh Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, growing excited.

"No."

"Oh come on!" he declared, crossing his arms in a huff. "Pervy Sage took me to those things all the time! It's nothing I haven't seen before."

Gaara looked over at his friend with a slightly horrified expression. "That's disgusting Naruto, and so degrading. Besides aren't you in some sort of…thing…with that Hyuuga girl?"

"Not really. I mean, it's all very complicated." The blonde said, scratching his head.

"What's complicated about it? Hinata has been in love with you since we were children, used to follow you around, saved your life and confessed her love, and now you avoid her. Seems like you're just being a jerk to me." Sakura commented.

"You avoid her?" Gaara asked, seeming to take Sakura's side.

"Like the plague." Sai added.

"That's messed up Naruto." The redhead shook his head, looking disappointed.

"Yeah, well what am I supposed to tell Hinata-chan? I don't know what to say to that." Naruto said, trying to defend himself. Sakura just shook her head. Trying to change the conversation topic from himself, the blonde looked over at Sai. "You can come too Sai. I bet you'll learn tones of stuff about the opposite sex and how people interact with them." He said, giving the ebony haired man a suggestive look.

This actually seemed to spark the odd man's interest. "That's a fantastic idea. Research and up close and personal. Kakashi, wait for us." He called after the silver haired man, who had already started off, since the sun was now setting and the sky was a dark orange. The lights of the town were starting to ignite with the diminishing sun and people started to crowd, heading for dinner.

"Hey! Wait for me!" Naruto called out, running after the two.

"Well I guess it's just you and me." Sakura sighed, looking over at Gaara.

He glanced down at her and nodded. "I guess so. Well…do you want to check in and get something to eat?"

"Sounds good to me. Usually I'm left by myself when we go on missions." She said.

They headed towards the hotel and checked in quickly. The two walked out into the busy streets of the town, there were actually a lot of people in this small area. "Where do you want to eat?" Gaara asked, scratching his head and looking around at the different restaurants.

"Um…" she glanced around, trying to see which restaurant appeared to be the most appetizing. "What about that one?" she asked, pointing across the street to a quaint little café.

"I'd much prefer some sushi." He countered, pointing off in another direction.

"Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" she asked with a small smile, beginning to head towards the sushi place. He followed her wordlessly and they were sat down at a table for two. He picked up the menu and skimmed over the things they had to offer, not really noticing the stares that were being sent their way.

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, focusing her gaze on the menu. She hated it when people stared at her, it made her feel self-conscious. Finally finding something that sounded appealing, she set down her menu and began to tap her fingers on the table. "Why are you so fidgety?" Gaara asked without even looking up from his menu.

"I hate it when people stare at me." She said, glancing around the place before training her gaze back on the table. She stopped, tapping her fingers and clasped her hands together in her lap. "I can stop if it's bothering you."

"No you can't." he sighed, finally looking around. "Why don't you just ask why they are staring and then tell them to stop?"

She blinked at him. "Well…because…it's embarrassing."

"Why?"

"Well, I don't know. But I don't want to ask, what if the reason they are staring is embarrassing?" she said, shifting once more.

He rolled his eyes and called over to one of the passing waitresses. She came over and kneeled down to them. "Yes sir? How can I help you?" she asked, going wide eyed when she got a good glimpse of him. "Oh Kazekage-sama! Anything, what is it you need?"

He cleared his throat and glanced at Sakura before looking back at the woman. "Would you please find out why we are attracting so much attention?"

The woman glanced around and noticed the stares as well. "Of course." She straightened up and went over to a few people talking to them for a few moments before coming back. "Well…" she blushed a bit, looking between the two. "Some are surprised the Kazekage actually has a girlfriend, and others are wondering how Haruno Sakura and the Kazekage got together."

Gaara went a bit wide eyed. "What?"

"Oh, well, I suppose that makes sense." Sakura said, understanding why some would come to that conclusion. "But we're not on a date or anything like that. We're just friends." She told the woman.

"Oh I see." She nodded, understanding. "Well, have you both decided what you wanted to eat?"

Sakura smiled and nodded, handing the waitress her menu and ordering a tempura roll. Gaara just sighed, getting himself some yakisoba. After taking their orders she left and came back with their drinks, assuring their food would arrive shortly. When she was gone, the redhead leaned back in his chair and gave her a once over. "So…how's Konoha…?"

"Pretty good. We've just completed the last restorations on the village. Shishou even had them restore the Uchiha District and add a memorial for everyone who died in that massacre." She told him, twirling her straw in her glass. "And I'm pretty sure Naruto is going to undertake training to become Hokage soon, once the Elders are convinced he's ready. But don't tell him, or he'll make a fuss. You know how he gets." She smiled slightly.

He nodded, "Yes. I do know how he fusses." It was then that the waitress returned, setting their plates in front of them and offering them chopsticks.

"Enjoy." She smiled, leaving them once more. Gaara broke apart his chopsticks and began twisting up the noodles, eating silently.

"So…how have things been in Suna lately? Temari had mentioned that you'd been really busy, but I didn't get to hear more before Naruto dragged us off to see you." Sakura asked, taking a bite of her food.

He gave a small shrug. "I'm just tired is all…without Shukaku, insomnia is wearing on me."

"I could try and work on something to help you sleep better, if you want." She offered, taking a sip of her water.

"My medics have tried everything." He said simply, grabbing another bulk of the noodles. "Nothing works. Not aphrodisiacs, not pills, I can't even be forced into unconsciousness. I've slept a couple times, but it's only every couple of weeks." Then he stopped, looking slightly perplexed. He had actually just spoken a lot and the thought made him uncomfortable, so he remained silent once more.

"That's interesting. Did they try any of the natural medicines? Perhaps if I saw the methods they used and went over them I might be able to come up with something." She tapped her chin with her chop sticks, looking thoughtful. Then a small blush came to her face as she realized she had entered medic mode. "Sorry." She said. She couldn't help it, when talking about medicine she got really excited, because it was her passion. And the thought of solving the mystery of Gaara's sleep problem excited her.

He stayed quiet, giving her a considering look before continuing to eat. The rest of the meal consisted of Sakura talking about odd things and Gaara listening, since he had shut down, unknown to the pink haired medic. The waitress came back and flashed them both a smile. "Well is that going to be all? Would you like any dessert? We have fried ice cream."

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "No thank you. But if you have any regular ice cream, that would be great." She said, her look of distaste sliding into a friendly smile.

"Fried ice cream is delicious." He assured her, shooing the waitress away and ordering some of the treat.

"I've never had it before." She admitted. "I just figured it was safe to stick with what I know."

Gaara gave her a skeptical look. "If you don't try anything new how do you know for sure if you don't like it?"

"I try new things." She said defensively. "But, what if I ordered the fried ice cream and didn't like it? Then it would just be a waste. Better to try some of yours to be on the safe side, unless you're weird about sharing."

He sighed for what seemed like the millionth time. "Sakura…you share fried ice cream. You don't just eat it by yourself."

"Oh." She said, an embarrassed blush making its way across her visage. He smirked, trying to hold in a laugh and glanced up when the waitress brought back their dessert. She set the fried ice cream between the two, it was vanilla ice cream wrapped in tempura and drizzled with chocolate. It was cut to look like a sushi roll. Gaara picked up his chop sticks and took hold of one popping it in his mouth and chewing carefully so he didn't get a brain freeze.

Sakura mimicked the redhead's actions, a surprised look coming to her face as the flavor of the ice cream exploded in her mouth. "This is really good!" she exclaimed happily, smiling.

"I told you," he pointed at her with his chopsticks and went for another one, placing it in his mouth. "Don't knock it till you try it."

She pointed her chopsticks right back at him, a delicate brow raised. "Now don't go and start thinking that you're right all the time just because of this. There is nothing wrong with being skeptical." She teased with a smile, taking another bite.

He actually let out a small chuckle. "I'm the Kazekage. I am always right."

Sakura snorted. "You just keep on lying to yourself like that and see where it gets you."

The red head watched her carefully, slightly impressed with her vigor. "Just make sure you don't bite off more than you can chew Sakura." He warned and just as the words left his mouth she bit into the ice cream and winced, holding her head.

"Ow, ow, ow! Brain freeze!"

He laughed, slamming his hand on the table and then going wide eyed at the fact he had actually laughed out loud. That was only supposed to be in his head. Sakura peeked at him, frowning slightly. "It's not funny!" she said in a child-like way, sticking her tongue out at him. Gaara just looked at her with a wide smirk.

"Oh it's funny alright." He chuckled. "Just put your tongue to the roof of your mouth."

She did as she was told, but refused to acknowledge that he was again, correct. When the brain freeze passed, she looked at Gaara, placing her chin in her hand as she leaned on the table. "And don't think that in my moment of pain I didn't hear you laugh. I'm so telling Naruto, by the way." She smirked slightly. His whole body went rigid and his soft pale gaze turned into a fierce glare.

"Tell him and you die." He said seriously. "Don't make me regret actually trying to be human around you."

She frowned and crossed her arms in a pout. The idea of holding something over the annoying blonde's head had appealed to her greatly, as she enjoyed tormenting him every so often. But, she actually liked getting to see a different side of Gaara a lot more than that, and so would respect his wishes, although he didn't have to be such a jerk about it. "Spoilsport." She muttered.

"Eh," he shrugged, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his wallet. "You know me." He said simply, taking the check as the waitress set it down and paying for their meal. "Come on." He said, getting up and waiting for her to join him. She rose as well and they left the establishment, looking around the street at the stores. "Well what do you want to do now? I don't think that they will be done for a while."

"They probably won't be back until around midnight, and more than likely Naruto will be a pain in the ass to get up." She said, looking around. "We could just walk around the village. I've never gotten to before."

"Alright," he stepped aside and allowed her to take the lead. "Where ever you want to go, I don't really care."

She headed in the direction the shopping district appeared to be, wanting to see the different items made here. Not one for silence, she spoke up. "So, what do you ever do for fun? Or do you work all the time?" she looked up at him inquisitively.

He glanced over at her, from a small vendor who was selling handmade bracelets. "Oh…I work all the time." He nodded, ending his answer there since it was more than enough information.

"I thought so. Do you like being the Kazekage? I mean, is it everything you thought it'd be?" she asked, reaching a hand out to touch some silk that was on display at a scarf stall. He stood behind her, looking over her head at the colors.

"It's…different. Much, much…better." He said softly, staring off.

She smiled slightly, flicking some beads that were dangling off of an emerald green scarf that would usually be worn by a belly dancer. "Shishou always complains about the paperwork, and usually gets me or Shizune to do it."

"That's because she's a lazy old hag." Gaara said, rolling his eyes at the thought of the drunkard and walking over to another vendor who was offering things made of crystal. He picked one up that was shaped like a flower and examine the complexity.

Sakura followed him. "True enough, but she's still a great Hokage." She looked at the other items in the stand and then at the flower he was holding. "Pretty." She commented, moving off to look at a book stall. He placed it back down and followed her, simply looking around at all the things the small village had to offer. Finally, it started to get pretty late and the red head glanced back at his temporary companion.

"We should probably get back."

"Yeah." She sighed, heading with him back to the hotel. When they went upstairs to their separate rooms, Sakura already knew that the rest of her team was still traipsing about town. Looking down the hall, she made eye contact with Gaara, and gave him a small smile. "Goodnight." She murmured, opening the door to her room.

"Night." he waved turning his back to her. She watched him and grew a bit confused when he passed the room he and the other guys were sharing and continued down the hall. He pushed through a door with a sign above it that read 'stairs'.

It was then Sakura remembered that he said he never slept, and figured he was going to go look out over the village. Part of her wanted to go with him, just to keep him company, but unlike Gaara, she required sleep in order to function properly the next day. She smiled slightly to herself as she entered her room and shut the door. Perhaps the stick up his butt wasn't as big as she thought it was.