A/N: Don't hate me! I know I said it wouldn't take long, but I got sick and my creative gears ground to a halt. I got better for a little while only to get sick again. That's why you had to wait so long. I did my best to make it worth the wait. That's all I can do. One last thing I have nothing against gingers and if you must know I am one. Don't take the title of this chapter personally!

Disclaimer: I wish.

Chapter 4

Gingers

Sasori stood there behind the corner to the hallway that Itachi was standing in, waiting to see what the Uchiha would do. Ugh, he hated to be kept waiting. Why was Itachi waiting so long? Was it because he knew Sasori stood there waiting for Itachi to make a move so that he could swoop in and take Sakura for his own? No, Itachi wouldn't realize that with Sakura right in front of him. He was simply incapable of focusing on anything other than Sakura when she was around.

"Would you like to join us Itachi?" Sakura questioned sounding like an exasperated angel. Sasori's eyes narrowed in jealousy. This wasn't supposed to happen. Itachi was suppose to get possessive and start another brawl where Sasori would employ the strategy of her kidnapper and whisk her away in the chaos.

Like many of the men in the house, Sasori didn't come here because he was promised a beautiful fiancé. He came simply because he was looking for a model for one of his paintings, and when Sakura's grandmother showed him her picture, he knew he had found his model. Falling in love with his model is what made him stay. Itachi making his way towards Sakura brought him back to the present and his current dilemma. It's time to improvise.

"May I join as well Sakura?" Sasori requested in his gentleman voice. It was the voice he reserved for Sakura alone. She was the only real match for him. Instead of flinging herself at him when she first met him, Sakura had been angry. In her anger she positively radiated barely contained power and beauty. He became enamored with her then and there.

She was the one who taught him that you didn't have to be eternally beautiful to leave your mark on the world. She taught him that what remained eternally beautiful in art was the heart and soul that artists put into their masterpieces. She had the most beautiful heart and soul of anyone he had ever seen. That's how he knew that she would always be beautiful to him.

"Of course you can Sasori. Besides even if I didn't want you to stay, I'm sure you would find a way to do so anyhow. You can be quite the bully when you want to be." Sakura grumbled.

How right you are, my love. Sasori grinned while Itachi glared. Mission accomplished.

Gaara sighed in frustration. How could he lose someone he was usually so aware of? Was it really so hard to suppress his violent side? It shouldn't be after getting to know Sakura. Yet the moment he saw the first punch excitement had coursed through him. He still couldn't completely contain his inner sadist. Sakura might hate him for that. At the thought of his pink haired love too horrified to have anything to do with him, it felt as if a fist had somehow gotten past his muscle and bone to strike his heart directly. It was not a pleasant feeling.

Gaara clutched his chest practically despairing. That was one of the problems that came with not being able to accept yourself. You became depressed and occasionally violent whether it was towards yourself or any person who caused you pain. Naruto had been the first person to accept him and became his best friend. Sakura had been the first and only girl who wasn't scared of him and stole his heart. He would do anything for Sakura. He could no longer say the same about Naruto because there was simply no way in hell he would let that blonde idiot have Sakura.

Even though the pain was beginning to pass Gaara still grasped his chest as if in agony. Wouldn't you know that Sakura chose that moment to come by? He didn't want her to see him like this. He would look weak. He turned away to try and compose himself before facing her. He sure as hell wasn't about to leave her again in this house of lust driven males. Besides that, it would look like running and make him seem even weaker.

Sakura instantly went into her nurturing doctor mode the second she saw Gaara with his face twisted in pain. Gaara was a rare case where the link between his emotions, mind, and body was so strong that negative emotions could cause him physical as well as emotional pain. It was like when a woman wants to be pregnant so badly that her body responds to that desire by giving off symptoms of pregnancy. The only difference was that Gaara didn't want this pain so naturally Sakura had to help.

Sakura rushed over to him despite his cry to stay away. She had a horrible feeling that this pain was somehow caused by her so she simply had to do something to ease it. With gentle hands she turned his face towards her. Gaara was panting like he had just run a marathon. She carefully wiped the sweat from his brow, sweeping his bangs aside in the process to reveal the "love" tattoo on his forehead. She didn't say anything knowing that whatever she said had a high possibility of having a negative effect, especially if it wasn't what he wanted to hear. Instead of using words she leaned forward and tenderly kissed his tattoo.

Gaara's control broke then and there. He pulled her into a tight embrace, holding her like he never wanted to let her go. He really didn't, but he knew he would have to eventually so he savored every moment she was in his arms. He didn't know how long they stayed like that. He just knew that occasionally he would attempt to further convey his adoration by kissing her neck or cheeks chastely yet still passionately.

For once Sakura wasn't nervous from the displays of affection mostly because she knew Gaara just wanted to hold her. She knew he wasn't trying to force himself on her. He was seeking comfort from a loved one, pure and simple. How could she refuse him that much after the many times she had seen firsthand how much pain rejection caused him? Simple, she couldn't. Instead of pushing him away she tentatively wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his back.

This reminded Gaara so much of how he first came to love her. Naruto had just told him that they shouldn't be too friendly with each other since they were rivals now. Gaara had felt like he had just lost his best friend and he didn't even like Sakura at the time! Her Grandma had threatened and blackmailed him to become her fiancé. Without Naruto to keep him under control he slowly became more and more hostile towards a woman who he had been trying to avoid previously. He didn't beat her or anything like that. It was more like bullying really. He would make her late for work by taking files she brought home and hiding them. He wouldn't cause her pain but he took pleasure in getting her frustrated and in trouble. That's when she caught him red handed and confronted him.

-Flashback-

Gaara had just picked up the file he intended to hide when the door swung open. Their stood a furious pink haired girl that all the other guys were drooling over, looking as ferocious as a kitten. If Gaara had eyebrows, one of them would have risen.

She stomped right up to him and poked his chest in accusation. "Look here, buddy. I don't care how much you dislike me and my grandmother, but taking it out in these childish pranks is no way to handle it. Do you not realize that I'm a doctor and if everything isn't kept organized it could be terrible for a patient. If you keep doing this not only will you get me fired, but it could end up being terrible to the patients who are suffering because of your little game! The other day a prescription that was supposed to go to an adult patient almost went to a child. That child could have ended up in the ER due to overmedicating!" She shouted at him. By this time Gaara was glaring hard at her but she had yet to show any sign of backing down. "It's obvious you have a problem with me, and I'm sorry for whatever upset you but you need to grow up and confront me about it! Leave my job and my patients out of it!"

"Do you really want to know what problem is? FINE! My problem is that you took away the only friend I ever had! You and your damned Grandmother took everything! If I contact my family or try to back out of this engagement thing I go to prison! If that isn't bad enough you took my only friend from me by having him fall for you!" Gaara hissed as he doubled over from emotional and physical pain. He was way too worked up. His heart and head were pounding and the pain was borderline unbearable. The edges of his vision darkened and he felt like he was about to vomit.

Sakura was there in an instant. Her hands took his right hand that massaged his head and began rubbing and pushing on certain spots. When she used one of her hands to press spots between his thumb and forefinger the pounding in his head and the nausea both eased. With her other hand she gently rubbed circles on his back. Gaara looked at her suspiciously.

"What did you do?" He inquired calming down.

"That was acupressure. I pushed certain points in your hand to ease the pain in your head without the use of medication. As for why I was rubbing your hand that was to ease the immense tension in you." Sakura sighed getting up to leave. Gaara caught her hand before she could get very far.

"Why did you help me?" He questioned.

"I became a doctor because I hate seeing people suffer. I don't like you, but that doesn't mean I want to see you in pain. If I'm a real doctor then it's impossible for me to be picky about who I want to treat, because I don't want to see anyone in pain. That's what I believe at least." Sakura retorted. Gaara smiled. He was starting to see why Naruto and the others were so attracted to her.

-End flashback-

Gaara had realized now that the moment when she came to help him that first time was when he had fallen. He had been pitiless towards her yet she treated him as if he were one her patients. She really was more compassionate than an angel. Not to mention she was a damn good doctor.

It had only just occurred to Gaara that Sakura didn't have anyone else with her. What's up with that? Wasn't she kidnapped?

"Sakura what are you doing here? I thought you were dragged away from the fight by someone. I know that they wouldn't leave you alone so what's going on?" Gaara verbalized.

"Oh, everybody fell asleep watching while watching a movie so I was going to see who else was awake and then maybe go to sleep myself afterwards. I'm glad I found you. Who knows what would have happened if you were just left like that?" Sakura stated as she moved away, or rather attempted to move away since Gaara did not appear to be letting go. She looked up at him only to find him smirking. Just as he was leaning forward to claim her mouth something big and black came bounding down the hallway and tackled Gaara then just kept on running. Gaara wondering what just hit him as he looked up only to find Sakura had disappeared without a trace. With a growl of frustration he ran after the creature to find out what it was and who sent it. If he figured out that much maybe he could get a clue as to where Sakura was now.