Chapter 4 – Between sanity and madness

Although it was never arranged, Gaara started waiting for Sakura (and her brown-haired follower) every morning in front of the shoe cabinets. He wished he could be the one, who walked to school with her each morning, instead of this aggressive fellow. But even more than that, he wished for the nuisance with glaring eyes to drop dead and since that obviously didn't work, he'll just be satisfied with waiting for her.

His guardian seemed to like taking him out of their provisional house early in the morning, and Gaara liked the silence the school ground provided, when nobody was there, so he was always an hour earlier at school. Sadly, humans seem to like coming to school earlier than what he would have preferred, because the school was soon filled with students. And, of course, with them also the noise.

"YO! Weirdo!" Gaara was pretty sure this blonde wasn't in his class, so he couldn't have done anything to him. Still, this one guy seemed to like picking fights with him. And since he wasn't the only one, Gaara didn't bother to remember his name. "What a nice pet you are. Waiting for your master aren't cha? HA?"

The crouching boy tried his best to ignore him. Just ignore them all. A little shovel here, a small jab there and they would be on their way. Sometimes they would try to punch him, but he evaded those easily. Nothing to worry about. Still, he was careful not to let his guard down. What annoyed him though, was the shouting. He couldn't do anything about that.

And sure enough, after poking him for the third time, the blonde assailant got agitated. "Why the fuck are ya here? Just 'cuz your daddy's the Kazekage?" And there it was again. The Kazekage-talk. Gaara didn't know why everyone always had to drag HIM into all of it.

He could feel his attacker was burning with insatiable anger and the best part of it, he didn't even know why the blonde was so furious at him. All of a sudden, the annoyance went quiet. Gaara slowly looked up, his hair slightly obscuring his view, but he still managed to detect the resentment in his cold eyes. Casually, the blonde bent down and whispered "Don't think you can play this act any longer. We both know what your father did and who knows where he fished you out… You seem to like Haruno a lot too. We wouldn't want her to be in trouble now, do we?"

Nobody could tell how it happened. One moment the blonde troublemaker was shouting at the red-haired imbecile. The next moment said-blonde was lying on the wooden floor, laughing madly, while the redhead was hunched over him, growling threateningly with ferocious wild eyes, hidden beneath his long hair. His paws were digging into trembling shoulders, deep enough to draw blood but that wasn't enough for him. Gaara saw red. And he wanted more of it. He needed to hurt him. He needed to!

Someone was pulling him from behind, but he wasn't aware of it. Another one came to drag him away from the bastard in front of him, yet he still didn't move an inch. Gaara could still hear his laughing voice. And it drove him insane. Saliva was dripping on the floor. Finally, a third person came to restrict him. But he could still hear it. This shrill voice. His vision was blocked, still he tried to lunge forward. Stop this noise! Stop it! STOP IT!

All of a sudden, his head was yanked harshly to the right. He fought to redirect his face, but those hands kept him strongly there. Briefly, he caught pink hair. And then large green eyes. His breathing hitched, his muscles relaxed, his whole body slumped forward, his eyes focused again. Intently watching her. Only her.

She was there. She was fine. She was alive.

The shrill voice disappeared to the background, and instead, he heard her crying his name. And he too was alive again.


Exhaling deeply, Hinata withdrew her shaking hands. Plumping down, she took a shaky breath in, halted for a second and exhaled once more. It ended. Finally.

Placing one trembling hand over her heart to calm down her heartbeat, she gave a small smile towards her cousin, and one to her boyfriend. Both looking worriedly at her. Luckily, Neji and Hinata came to the fight scene just in time. While Neji was attempting to restrict Gaara, Hinata tried to divert his attention. She knew it was dangerous and stupid, but she was full of adrenaline and she just wanted to block his view on the screaming student, so she placed herself in-between them. Somewhere far away, she heard her cousin shouting her name, shouting for her to go away, but she didn't listen to him.

Intently focused on the mad boy in front of her, she watched carefully for any sign of offensive movements towards the injured boy behind her. Her cousin wouldn't have been able to keep him there any longer, but thankfully, Lee and Naruto were next to him in a second. Gaara's eyes weren't focused at all, he looked like a wild beast rampaging for an unseen target and Hinata was at a loss.

Suddenly, Hinata caught sight of Sakura, who just entered the school with Kiba in tow. But, to Hinata's dismay, for whatever reason, aside from those gaping spectators standing near the scene, Sasuke and Kiba were deliberately blocking Sakura's way. Even though she was desperately shouting Gaara's name, clawing her way to the frantic boy, they were fighting her, keeping her away from him. The hall was too loud with all those students – not to mention the howling student laying on the ground – for Sakura to be heard by Gaara.

Thus, on the spur of the moment, she grabbed his face with both hands and turned it towards Sakura. Gaara-san really was strong, he fought back just as stubbornly, but she didn't waver one bit. He wouldn't stop trembling. He wouldn't stop his assault. Not if he's this unfocused and out of his mind. He needed to calm down. And Sakura always had that effect on him. As if to prove her right, he stilled immediately. And just like that, it ended.

"It's okay now, Gaara-san. It's over now." Sakura was patting his head soothingly, while he was trembling and murmuring something inaudible, clutching desperately to her blazer like it was his life line. "That was pretty scary, huh?" From above his head, she gave Kiba and Sasuke a furious look, piercing them unwaveringly. They were so going to get it afterwards.

They are like mother and son. In a cute way. As if he heard Hinata's thoughts, Gaara suddenly turned his head and looked straight at her. Hinata's eyes made contact with his and unsure how to react – it was the first time he let her see his eyes intentionally – she gave him a small smile. In the next blink, his head was laying on Sakura's shoulder once more. Almost like it never happened.


"… Sakura-kun…"

"Yes. Gaara-san. I'm here. Everything is fine now."

Gaara was still clinging to her, muttering her name non-stop. She didn't want to force him to distance himself, although he was literally clinging to her chest. It terrified her a bit, she had to admit. What did the idiot Bakugo do to make him quiver like that? She hadn't ever seen him this scared before. Still, it was somewhat embarrassing to be seen like this in front of the whole school. But that wasn't what she was worried about now.

Shortly after the incident, Sarutobi-sama and Shishou appeared out of nowhere. Naturally, the latter was livid at the display and threatened with detention for everyone who gawked impudently. Bakugo was brought to the infirmary and Shishou ordered her to stay with Gaara in the headmaster's office, she would come and get them once she was finished with the injured student. "There is something I need to discuss with the both of you", she murmured absentmindedly.

Thinking about what she could say to the still distraught boy, she suddenly blurted out. "Bakugo-san lost his mother two years ago. She was working in Suna back then. After a while, the letters stopped coming and when he asked the authorities, they declared her as dead. Apparently, her body was never found, but yeah… His parents got divorced years before that, so his dad wasn't any help at all. That's why he hates Suna-citizens. You know? Her death was in Wind country, so the jurisdiction fell onto Suna. And you're the Kazekage's son… He's not seeing reason at all."

Sighing loudly, she continued. "I'm not defending him, and it definitely does not justify his actions, I just want you to understand a bit why he acted like that." Feeling his rustling, she watched, as he slowly sat up. His green eyes were so scared and confused and his face was contorted with sadness. It just hurt Sakura to see him like that.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" She asked in a whisper. Still clutching onto her blazer, he pulled on it lightly, signalizing her to come closer. Wordlessly, she narrowed the small gap between them. Which was harder said than done, with him huddled up and her sitting half-seiza style. Sakura leaned forward, her head leaning towards his. He closed his eyes and Sakura was surprised by his red eyelashes. From the black circles around his eyes, she never knew he had red eyelashes.

Watching him intently, she quickly closed her eyes, less she started having strange thoughts. She felt how their foreheads were touching, leaning lightly against each other. His breathing was even, and she could hear her own heartbeat resounding through her ears.

"He… He threatened to hurt you." Surprised, Sakura opened her eyes, only to close them again. She really didn't expect this answer. Or a reply in general. It was so peaceful, she fell into a trance-like state almost immediately and totally forgot she was waiting for an answer.

"Thank you. But don't worry about me. I'm stronger than you think. I won't let someone like him hurt me so easily." She smiled and he seemed content with her answer. But when he suddenly spoke again, it took her by surprise. Not because of him initiating a conversation, no. But the content of it shocked her.

"Does it make you a murderer when your parent murdered someone?"

He was looking at her with sorrowful big eyes. Focused solely on her, waiting patiently for her wise words. His eyes held so much hope and faith, so much trust and vulnerability, that she didn't dare to look away, in case he'd get discouraged by her. And she absolutely refused to let him down. To let him close her off as well, to see him suffering on his own. No. Absolutely not.

Thus, she stared just as intently into his eyes. Not wavering for a second, even though deep down, she was scared to say the wrong things to him. "Gaara-san. Your parents' action do not reflect your own action. You are you. Your dad is your dad. Never forget that. No matter what other people say, you are not a murderer. Did Bakugo say that?"

I'll kill whoever said that to him.

He shook his head and looked away, as if he was ashamed. Of what, Sakura didn't know. So she took his chin and faced his head her way, once again, deeply looking into his eyes. Searching for any sign. But there was nothing. "Don't be ashamed of who you are, Gaara-san. I know you. You didn't murder anyone. So don't doubt yourself."

Unexpectedly, Gaara felt how his heart was suddenly beating faster. It wasn't the first time it happened, but Sakura was always around when it did occur. He took her hand, which was still on his face, and placed it over his bare chest, right over his heart. Surprised, Sakura didn't know how to react to his commotion. But then she flushed lightly. For someone this skinny, he was still well-built. Feeling his heartbeat on her palm was embarrassing. However, when she saw his bright smile, she rewarded him with one of her own. They looked like two fools smiling at each other over a heartbeat. And even though her hand was cold, the place, where her hand was touching him turned warm and Gaara really liked how his whole body seemed to increase in temperature.

"Gaara-san… I think it would be better for you to befriend someone else beside me. I'm sure you'd like that as well, don't you?" Sakura broke the silence. Thinking back, although she introduced him to the class, things didn't look any better for him, sadly. Her friends tried to include him in their activities, but it wasn't quite as easy as they thought. He was nervous around everyone else and whenever Sasuke was around, it only got worse.

He stayed quite for such a long time, Sakura assumed he hadn't heard her, but that was almost impossible, with the office being this quiet. Maybe it's still too early for him. Just when she was about to take back her words, he responded. "Hinata… She was nice to me."

Sakura clapped her hands joyfully and gave him a cheerful smile. "Yes, she's one of the most selfless and generous people I know, if not the most. You have a great friend-sensor, you!" She smacked him him playfully on his upper arm. Not expecting the strength of it, he jumped back a bit and rubbed the aching spot. Still, Sakura praised him and that alone made him smile happily.

"She touched me on her own." Seeing his honest smile, Sakura felt her heart ache a little for him. She already knew that he was deprived of human contact, but not to this extent. Just how was his life in Suna? And in the wild?

"I wanted to thank her. But I don't think she understood me earlier. It always works on you." Perplexed, Sakura's eyes widened. She didn't know when he was trying to thank Hinata. Wasn't she with him the whole time earlier? Still, this just made her more determined to help him befriend her.

"You know, if you want to thank her, you should give her a present and then tell her directly how you feel. Like 'I would like to be your friend!', or something like that. Otherwise she wouldn't be able to understand you. As for the present, maybe something that she likes or needs. Self-made presents are appreciated the most, I would say, but…" While Sakura was rambling on and on about her opinion on presents, she didn't know that she had already lost Gaara during the first part of it.

However, he didn't intent to interrupt her talk. He would never dare to. He was absolutely content with hearing her voice debating on whatever it was she was talking about. Watching her attentively, he was captivated by her whole being. Never had he seen someone this beautiful. From her soft pink hair and bright green eyes to her graceful and determined movements to her stubborn and caring personality, she was the epitome of beauty. Whenever he got a glimpse of her, he was reminded of his beloved home in the forest and despite all the bad experience he had with humans so far, as long as she was there, he would not lose the sight of the beauty in them. After a long search for a new home, he finally found the right one.

A knock disturbed their respective activities and after waiting for a few seconds, the door swiped open and in came Tsunade. "Just wanted to make sure to give you enough time to separate." She smirked playfully at Sakura, who tried to ignore the comment but blushed, nevertheless. Meanwhile, Gaara decided he liked the sight of her turning rose and vowed to himself to make her blush more often too.

"How is Bakugo?" Sakura asked, redirecting the conversation. Swiftly closing the door, Tsunade strode purposefully into the room, her heels clacking on the wooden floor.

"He's fine. The wound on his shoulder wasn't that fancy. The problem lies here." Tsunade tapped her temple twice. "His therapist did say his outbursts are still heavy. But he knows it was his own fault, so luckily for you and for us Gaara, he isn't going to report it. But do me a favor and try to avoid him."

Tsunade half-sat, half-leaned on the office desk and unfolded the documents on Gaara. "I've read your report, Sakura. Great job overall, some small mistakes we need to review, but otherwise a good report. Though, care to elaborate; 'Shows signs of being a victim of abusive treatment'?"

Sakura straightened up, sat in seiza position and switched into learning-mode. "He is easily surprised by loud noises and cringes away from it. Fast movements agitate him, he cowers and displays a defensive posture. He growls when he thinks he's threatened but doesn't outright attack the source. Somehow, he reminds me of a caged wild animal. And then there is also the fact, that he avoids all human contact. Well. Except me I guess."

Feeling left out, Gaara scurried over to her and nudges her lightly with his shoulder. Without halting her speech, she lifted her arm, so that he could lay his head on her thighs and patted his head, almost like it was on reflex. He gave a content purr and seemed to doze off. And because Sakura knew he felt easily ignored by his surroundings – and to avoid a repetition of last time –, they agreed upon this conclusion. Stunned silent, Tsunade tried hard to overlook the scene before her and instead let her apprentice finish her explanation first.

"Even though he craves for love, he still avoids humans… To be honest, I've been thinking about it for some time. There is a possibility, that, because he was deprived of love, he clung to the first person who deliberately approached him and let him near. Though I think he was abused by this same person and as a result he avoids humans. Still, that doesn't explain his behavior around me, so I didn't include this part in the report."

Looking deeply into her shishou's eyes, Sakura waited patiently for her reply, unconsciously playing with Gaara's hair. A couple of years more and you won't need me anymore, Sakura. Instead of a proper response though, Tsunade decided to let her solve it on her own. There wasn't anything for her to add anyway, she didn't know the right answers to her unasked questions. In fact, on reading Sakura's report, her apprentice was able to get more information out of Gaara in a single week than herself in a month. "Next time, I want you to include your thought processes."

Still observing them closely, her shishou decided to approach another urgent topic. "There's something I'd like you guys to try. I call it the couple-therapy." Tsunade didn't want to dwell on her strange habit to tease Sakura, especially with a certain redhead, and having fun doing so. But her apprentice was so easy to tease.

"It should help in calming people down and comforting them. At first, I thought it would be impossible for Gaara to find a suitable partner for this therapy, but it seems like you two are pretty close. You'll be able to do it. Of course, only if you want to."

Almost instantly, Gaara was wide awake and ready for everything and anything. If he could do something with Sakura, he would gladly do it. Sakura too, hearing that it was to comfort and to calm down Gaara, didn't waste another second. This therapy would definitely come in handy, what with Gaara's tendency to attract trouble. "We'd like to try it, Shishou."

Nodding approvingly, Tsunade resumed. "It's different for every couple, but basically, you'll just touch each other." This earned her another bright blush from Sakura. Unfazed, her shishou continued. "You should feel comfortable doing it though. Even in public, for Gaara's sake. For some people that means embracing intimately, for others it means kissing. There was also a couple, where it was enough for them to just look into each other's eyes and hold their hands. What works best for you."

Tsunade stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll give you some privacy, I still have to see how Bakugo-kun's doing. You've already been dismissed for the first period, so stay here until the school bell chimes and take all the time you want." With a last smirk her shishou left them.

There was a pregnant pause after her exit, but Sakura didn't need to fill it with unnecessary talk. Gaara was pulling on her blazer again, while his head draw nearer, and she mimicked him. Their forehead touched again, and she closed her eyes once more. He seemed to really like this game. She could feel his breath getting closer, and in response, her heartbeat was beating erratically. Just when it came too close for Sakura's liking, he stopped his advance. Their noses were touching lightly and just imagining how close they were, Sakura couldn't help but glow fiercely. She squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating his next action, but then she heard him snort.

Astonished, she opened her eyes and saw him laughing. He tricked her! And yet, she couldn't take her eyes off him. This was one of his rare laughter and she relished in it. Speechless, she tried to ingrate this sight into her memory. Sakura wished he would cut his hair though. It was so impractical, and it hid his handsome features. Such a shame. Gaara on the other hand, felt more accomplished than ever. He managed to make her turn red on his own! But then she made this funny face and from his view – with their foreheads leaned against each other – it looked so comical, there was no way he could contain his laughter. And so he didn't.


Author's note
I do not own Naruto. This is purely for entertainment purposes.
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