AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. Sorry it took so long to update. This one's from Sakura's POV, so it'll be a whole lot less depressing. Updates are probably going to be done every few weeks with three or four chapters at a time. I'm having trouble getting internet time. Sorry. Thirteen and unders who have ignored all my previous warnings and commands, I give up. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, which is why I'm writing Gaasaku on the internet instead of as part of the manga/anime.
Chapter Six
Project
Buzzzzz! Buzzzzz! Buzzzz! Sakura's alarm clock blares, reminding her once again, that school starts way too early to be practical. She extends one hand from the mess of tangle blankets wrapped all around her small frame to shut the annoying sound off. A very large portion of her wants to curl into a ball in the warmth of her bed and forget about her first period government class. She had perfect attendance so far, no would really care if she cut just one class, right?
Wrong. "Sakura, get your butt down here! And don't pretend you can't hear me, I heard your alarm go off! Fifteen minutes!"
Sakura groans. Damn her perfectionist mother. Stifling a yawn, she crawls mournfully from her king sized bed. Beginning the hurried frenzy she's so familiar with, Sakura rushes around her room. Ten minutes later Sakura is straightening her mini skirt, running brush through her bubblegum pink hair, and trying with limited success to finish buttoning her shirt.
"Five minutes!" Mrs. Haruno calls.
"I know! I know! I'm almost ready!" Sakura shouts back as she finally manages to force the final button through its corresponding hole. She turns and looks at her reflection. Her pale pink skirt rests comfortably above her knees. She's left the top three buttons of her white shirt undone and the short sleeves hang at mid shoulder. Her cherry blossom hair is pulled into a loose ponytail.
"Two minutes and your breakfast hits the trash!"
"For the love of Kami, I'm done!" Sakura shouts angrily. Sighing in aggravation, she grabs her backpack and storms down the stairs into the dining room. After she slides into her chair, her mom comes out of the kitchen carrying a plate full of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.
Shoveling food into her mouth, Sakura barely listens as her mother runs through the newest gossip. The town's richest member had returned for the weekend, but is supposedly going on a three month trip to New Zealand tomorrow. The Yanamaka's had finished building their new pool… just in time for winter. The Uchiha orphan is registered to fight in the next martial arts tournament, along with the Uzumaki kid. The Subaku children had withdrawn their names from the same tournament. The captain of the swim team had been mugged at the school, though he should still be able to compete in next month's meet.
That news, of course, sends her on a diatribe about how much she spends on Kohona and that it should at least be safe for the students to walk to their way home without getting jumped by thugs. Sakura barely manages not to laugh.
Suigetsu? Mugged? Yeah, right. The idiot had probably pissed off one of the school's more advanced martial artists, trying to act like he was a badass.
Advanced martial artist? Like Gaara?
Don't even go there.
Come on, you said he'd probably been in a fight.
You were so calm over the weekend, what happened to that? I liked that.
You started thinking about Gaara.
No I didn't!
Indirectly.
"Sakura are you listening?"
The generalization martial artist should not immediately bring Gaara to mind. Lunatic. Violent. Psychotic. Sadist. Those are words I'd associate with him.
You have to admit he's a good fighter. He won at Nationals.
Won? He nearly killed your beloved Sasuke. His friend had to put him in a choke hold until he lost consciousness. He's not a martial artist; he's just so unbelievably powerful, that it doesn't matter.
"Sakura Rin Haruno, pay attention when I'm speaking to you!" Mrs. Haruno scolds.
"Wha?" Sakura asks, confused for a moment before remembering that she was supposed to be listening to her mother when she'd begun arguing with herself.
"I said pay attention."
"Sorry Mom." Sakura says quickly.
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up. You're going to be late." She snaps, gesturing to the door. Sakura rises and grabs her backpack, rushing out the door.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sakura almost missed the bus, but now she's sitting in her customary seat in the front of the middle row. She's listening to Ino babble about how Sasuke is sure to win the next tournament. Sakura eyes dart back and forth between the door and Ino, unconsciously waiting for something.
The tardy bell rings and Iruka closes the door. Or attempts to, rather, as a pale hand wraps around it from the other side. He stumbles back a little as Gaara forces the door the rest of the way open. His back is ramrod straight and his left arm is hanging limply at his side. His breathing is shallow and uneven. His eyes are narrowed to slits rimmed by the usual blackness that Sakura half believes is eyeliner. Though Gaara doesn't seem like the type to bother.
Sakura mentally shakes herself, catching herself staring at the redhead again.
"Gaara, why are you late?" Iruka asks calmly, as he regains his balance.
Gaara lets out a cold, malicious chuckle. "I overslept." His dark sarcasm seems out of place with such a simple statement.
Iruka's eyes narrow, a small frown spreads across his face.
He looks concerned.
"I see…take a seat. You'll stay after class again, so we can discuss the importance of being punctual."
"Hai, sensei. Whatever you say, sensei." Gaara's words are harsh. Expectant, demanding. Sakura cannot begin to guess why he's acting so cruelly towards the nicest teacher in the whole school.
Ino, completely oblivious to the world around her, swings an arm out to emphasize a point no one's listening to and smacks into Gaara as he walks past her. He had been standing perfectly straight before, but now he spasms violently his back arcing slightly. A small gasp escapes from him. His eyes squeeze shut tightly for a quarter of a second, then snap open.
His already uneven breath turns ragged. He turns, a dark glare marring his features. His right hand whips out lightning fast and grabs hold of the front of Ino's shirt. He pulls her forward, lifting her straight out of her chair. "Touch me again, and I'll kill you." He snarls.
"Gaara, take your seat!" Iruka shouts, his hand suddenly on Gaara's left shoulder.
Gaara's whole body goes rigid. He makes a small noise in the back of his throat. Then faster almost than Sakura can see his right hand has moved from Ino's collar to his head. The hand knots tightly into his red locks. He pauses for the smallest fraction of a second, eyes looking first at Iruka then beyond him, to Sakura. He is gone, footsteps echoing as he runs from the room.
Iruka sighs deeply before motioning for Ino to get back in her chair. He sighs deeply
Once he is finished with that Iruka asked for their four page paper on the economic repercussions of Hitler's invasion of Poland. Sakura did it of course, more than did it in fact. She turns in six sheets of finely written essay.
"Okay class, we're going to be starting our semester project today. Remember, I told you about it at the beginning of the year? I'll be assigning you into pairs, and I mean I will be assigning. There won't be any switches." The class erupts in jeers. "That's enough! You will be assigned a partner, now SHUT UP!" They shut up. He pulls out a list of names and begins naming off the partners. "Ino and Kiba, Choji and Shikamaru, Suigetsu and Sasuke, Ino and Hinata, Neji and Karin, Tenten and Shino, Lee and Naruto, and finally, Sakura and Gaara. Any questions?"
YES! Are you trying to get me killed?!
CHA! The perfect opportunity!
AN: That took forever….I so suck at writing Sakura. Gaara up next!! Yayness. Shukaku makes his debut and Gaara has a minor/major mental breakdown. Poor Gaara. I make his life so miserable.