And here we are! Chapter seven! People actually like this?
Yes! Now shut up.
...
Good, I do not own Naruto!
You wouldn't be able to handle it if you did.
Thanks for that. Really. It does so much for my confidence.
All my thanks! This chapter is for you:
nicksissy86 Annabelinda kallou RandomnessRuler95
danielle chee(anon.)
"Talking"
Thoughts
Inner Sakura
Shukaku
A Flower In The Sand
Chapter 7- Reuniting With Old Friends
Sasuke's and Naruto's eyes widened perceptively when Sakura openly showed Gaara affection when she added the -kun suffix to his name.
"Sakura-chan, what the heck are you doing?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke dropped down from his branch and stood beside his teammates.
"You know him?" Sasuke asked.
Sakura nodded.
"Uhm...Sakura-chan, how can I explain this?" Temari questioned.
"Tell Sakura-san the truth then, Temari," Kankuro answered.
"You see-"
"Stop," Gaara said holding out a hand.
Temari and Kankuro looked at Gaara.
Since when have Temari-chan and Kankuro-san listened to Gaara-kun? What the hell is going on?
"I know you. Right?" Gaara asked.
Sakura nodded.
"Prove it."
Sakura lifted her chin, ready to retort, but glanced around at all the other people. She pushed her fingers together as she became as shy as Hinata usually was.
"Well, I left my proof at my house..." Sakura said quietly.
Temari chuckled. "You still have it?"
Sakura nodded.
Kankuro grinned. "And the books?"
"Memorized them. Front to back."
"Temari, Kankuro, shut up. Konoha Kunoichi, I will meet you at the park. Eight o'clock tonight. Be there."
Gaara shot a look at his siblings, before he turned into sand and disappeared.
"Why are you here, Temari-chan?" Sakura asked, crossing over to her friend.
"Chunin exams of course. Don't you know of them?"
"I've heard of them, but Kakashi-sensei hasn't said anything about it."
"So, a Genin huh?" Temari asked smiling.
Sakura grinned. "It took a lot of work with my mom, but I managed it."
"That's great, Sakura-chan!" And with that, Temari enveloped her in a hug.
"T-Temari-chan...still...strong..."
Temari let Sakura go and she fell down to the ground.
"Oops. Sorry, Sakura-chan."
Sakura got up from the ground and dusted herself off.
"But I can get up by myself this time."
"And what about me?" Kankuro asked, opening his arms.
Sakura gave Kankuro a hug and laughed.
"Couldn't forget about you, Kankuro-san. You and that cat hood of yours."
"It's not a cat hood! Damn it, Temari. You and your gossiping."
Sasuke and Naruto watched with disbelief as Sakura easily associated with the Suna ninja.
"What exactly is she doing? She's talking with them as if she knew them her whole life!" Naruto exclaimed.
"I'll talk some sense into her. She may be the only Kunoichi in the village who doesn't have a crush on me, but I have my ways." Sasuke said. "By the time the Chunin exams roll around, she won't be conversing with those Sand shinobi anymore."
Naruto looked over at Sasuke. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"
"Sakura is the brains of our group. We need her focused if we want to enter these Chunin exams."
Naruto nodded. "You're right."
"Oh! Naruto, Sasuke!" Sakura called, turning around.
"Yeah?"
"What is it, Sakura-chan?"
"I'm going to walk with Temari-chan and Kankuro-san. See you guys later."
Sasuke and Naruto sighed.
"Are you sure you'll be able to convince her?"
Sasuke gave a reserved smile.
"Positive."
"So, Temari-chan, I thought Gaara-kun would've remembered me," Sakura said.
"Don't take anything personally, Sakura-chan. Things happened after you left and well, Gaara doesn't like to remember his childhood anymore. He makes himself forget it."
"What did happen Temari-chan?"
"It was a day after you left..."
Flashback "Let's go, Kankuro!" I said dragging him away from the gate. "But I want to continue waving..." "She's gone. Let's go!" I looked back at Gaara. He was still standing there, looking at the ribbon on his wrist. "You'd better head home too, Gaara," I called. Gaara didn't acknowledge me in any way. Then again, I didn't expect him too. Kankuro and I headed back to our home for some sleep. End Flashback
"But...how does that have to do with anything?" Sakura asked.
Temari grinned. "I just wanted to tell you that even when you left, Gaara treasured the ribbon you had given him. He wouldn't stop staring at it. Plus, I liked the part where I dragged Kankuro."
Kankuro scoffed, crossing his arms. "I wasn't very bright back then, okay?"
"You still aren't, Kankuro."
"What happened, Temari-chan? And don't try to downplay it either."
"Well, you remember that time when Gaara wasn't at the park?"
Sakura nodded.
"He was hiding. The night before, someone had tried to kill him. Again."
"Again?! What do you mean again?!"
"When Gaara told you his father hated him, well, he wasn't kidding."
"His father hired people to assassinate Gaara-kun?"
"Yeah. The night right after you left, our own uncle tried to kill Gaara. He carved the love kanji on his forehead, and from then on, he has been cold and ruthless."
"I knew I should've told my mom that we needed to stay for a little longer. Maybe if I had been there-"
"You probably would've been killed," Temari interjected. "And then Gaara wouldn't have been able to live with himself."
Sakura closed her mouth.
"Face it, Sakura-san. The little Gaara you knew is dead. In his place is a cold hard shell of human flesh. And sand. Lots of sand." Kankuro said.
Temari shook her head.
"So," Temari started happily. "You still have Gaara's bear?"
Sakura nodded. "Of course."
"And what's it named?" Kankuro smirked. "Maybe 'Little Gaara' or 'Snookums.' Am I right?"
Sakura frowned. "No! His name is Sprinkles."
Kankuro scoffed. "Of course."
Sakura punched Kankuro in the arm. "Shut up."
Kankuro held his arm in pain, inching closer to his sister and away from Sakura.
"God, Sakura! Just how strong are you?" Kankuro whined.
"Uhm...I suppose I take after my mom now," Sakura said, once again imitating Hinata. "I just haven't learned how to heal yet. We're still working on that when I'm not doing missions with my team."
"Yeah, who were those people?"
"The three little kids are the ones who hang around Naruto a lot. The one you picked up, Kankuro-san, is named Konohamaru. The boy with the spiky blonde hair is Naruto Uzumaki, and the 'oh I'm so cool' boy is Sasuke Uchiha."
"He's kind of cute," Temari remarked.
"He's cold too. He tends to avoid people. I don't think he's cute." Sakura said.
"It's only because you are infatuated with Gaara," Kankuro said.
Sakura blushed. "Is not!"
"Then why did little Saku-san turn red?" Kankuro asked, poking Sakura's cheek.
Sakura grabbed his hand and growled. "I have limitless strength, but not a limitless control. Don't test me."
Kankuro gulped and nodded. "Got it."
Sakura grinned and let his hand go. "So, Temari-chan, where are you guys staying?"
"The Hokage has given us a hotel room, free of charge. I have to share it with my brothers, but Gaara doesn't sleep so it's okay."
"Well, I have room at my house. Well, mine and Tsunade's house. You're welcome there if you want, Temari-chan."
"Thanks, Sakura-chan. I might take you up on that. I'll have to run it by Baki first."
"Is that your sensei?"
"More or less I suppose," Temari said shrugging.
Kankuro's eyes appraised the brown ribbon around Sakura's wrist.
"So, what's that?" Kankuro asked, pointing to it.
"Oh! I always have this with me. I gave Gaara my red ribbon that day, and my hair hung in front of my face. I made a friend when I went to the park. His name is Shikamaru Nara. He had his hair up and he questioned me about mine. I told him what had happened, and he gave me his tie. When I got my headband, I just tied it around my wrist."
"Where is Shikamaru?" Temari asked.
"Shika-kun is either watching clouds, playing Go, or training with his team. He has Asuma-sensei with his two teammates, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi."
"Or he could be right behind you. Troublesome."
Sakura, Kankuro, and Temari turned to be greeted by Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji.
"Hey Shika-kun!" Sakura exclaimed, smiling.
"How's it going, Saku-chan?" He asked, smirking.
"Tch. Stupid forehead-girl."
"What did you say about Sakura-chan?" Temari asked menacingly.
Temari and Ino got into a yelling match, while Kankuro and Choji stood on the sidelines.
"Chip?" Choji asked.
"Sure," Kankuro replied.
Sakura sighed and turned to Shikamaru.
"That's even more troublesome. So, what are Suna ninja doing here?" Shikamaru asked.
"Temari-chan and Kankuro-san are here for the Chunin exams."
"Wait a minute. Are these the same people you talked about six years ago?" He asked.
Sakura nodded. "The very same."
"So where's the other one? Gaara, I think?"
Sakura frowned. "He's different, Shika-kun. Something bad happened, and he's not the Gaara-kun I knew all those years ago."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Saku-chan. Asuma-sensei had something to do, so he let us go. It was really weird though. He kept staring up into the sky."
"I think Kakashi-sensei might've done that, but I don't know. I was busy."
"Hey, when do you think your mom will be done at the hospital?" Shikamaru asked.
"Uhm...later I suppose. Why?"
Shikamaru smiled. "I need her permission to take her daughter out for something to eat dont I?"
Sakura laughed. "How about we just go to Ichiraku? My treat."
"Done."
Shikamaru and Sakura turned towards the two blondes dealing it out.
"Ino...so troublesome..."
"Uh...Temari-chan? She's not worth it."
Temari smiled at Sakura. "You're right. She's not. Anyway, I'll see you later, Sakura-chan. Kankuro and I have to find Gaara before he kills us."
Sakura nodded. "Of course."
Ino huffed and crossed her arms.
"Ino?"
"What, forehead?"
"Sasuke went that way with Naruto."
"SASUKE!" Ino yelled running off.
"Uh...troublesome."
"Mmhm," Choji mumbled nodding, and eating his chips.
Sakura waved at Temari and Kankuro before they jumped off.
"Come on, Shika-kun. You can join us for Ichiraku too if you want Choji." Sakura said smiling.
"Thanks! That'd be great, Sakura."
Shikamaru stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked on the right side of Sakura, while Choji took her left side.
"You know, Saku-chan, I think Iruka-sensei messed it up. I think Ino was supposed to be on Sasuke's team." Shikamaru said.
"That would've been great, but then again, you're smart, I'm smart. Ino isn't that smart. It wouldn't be fair to Sasuke's and Naruto's team if our team had more intellectual skill."
"I understand your logic. Can I just say Kami screwed us then?" Shikamaru asked.
They all laughed.
"Yes, Shika-kun. I think that does it right there."
"Sakura?" Tsunade asked, entering her house.
"Upstairs!"
Sakura picked up Sprinkles and smiled at the little bear. Tsunade appeared in her doorway.
"What are you doing with your bear?" Tsunade asked.
"Temari-chan, Kankuro-san, and Gaara-kun are in the village for the Chunin exams. He doesn't remember me." Sakura said, frowning. "I'm hoping this bear will remind him of me."
"He doesn't remember? It's only been six years."
"Something horrible happened after we left, Mom. He forces himself not to remember his childhood. I want him to at least remember the good part of it." Sakura said, placing the bear in her pack. "I'll be back in ten minutes. I have to meet him at the park."
Sakura opened her window.
"Be careful."
Sakura smiled at Tsunade. "Always."
She jumped out her window, landing on the ground. She began running in the shadows towards the park. The scent of cherry blossom petals was in the air, and the wind began to blow. It shifted the trees that had cherry blossoms blooming on them. Petals floated around Sakura as she stood next to her favorite tree.
"Kunoichi."
Sakura froze and turned around.
Wow! He's really quiet...I didn't even sense him!
"First off, my name is Sakura Haruno. I am not just Kunoichi." Sakura said.
Gaaras face was as impassive as ever.
"If I wasnt so curious about you, you would be dead now. So I suggest you watch yourself."
Sakura nodded, her mouth going dry.
"...Sakura then. Your proof?"
Sakura took the bag off her back and opened it. She pulled out the bear and looked at it.
"You gave me this. As a birthday present." Sakura said, holding out the bear.
Sand drifted around Sakura, but she didnt flinch. The sand grabbed the bear and carried it back to its commander. Gaara held the bear in his hands.
"This is...a bear. A stuffed animal." Gaara said.
Sakura took a tentative step forward.
"In return, I gave you a ribbon and tied it around your wrist. It was the only thing I had left when my parents were murdered."
Sakura looked at his wrist, while she stepped forward again.
Gaara closed his eyes.
A flash of pink, eyes of emerald green, a red ribbon... Kill... Two crutches, a smile, a shield from the rocks... Death... A...a...friend.
Sakura frowned when she noticed the ribbon wasn't on his wrist.
"I see you took it off. Or maybe something happened that you-"
Sakura found herself shoved up against a tree. Gaaras eyes glared into her own as the sand whipped around them furiously.
"Shut up. Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now."
Sakura winced, closing her eyes before opening them again. Gaara's arm was crushing her chest and she could feel sand covering her legs and arms.
"Because...I'm y-your friend."
And....another chapter done! Gaara has a long way to go!
I'd say! He's positively evil!
He'll get better. I think.
You think?!
Aha...
*sighs* All right. Review, yes?
BulletGirl-Cherryblossom and Raven