Title: A Demon's Tale
Author: swiftstar85
Genre: Drama/Friendship/Romance
Rating: T for some strong language, violence, suggestive material, and crude humor.
~Chapter Six~
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, though I wouldn't mind if I did.
Never in Gaara's life had he been so embarrassed.
After the incident in the Hot Springs, and trying very hard to avoid Naruto's questioning, he quickly left the Hot Springs back to his room to change into his clothes. He ignored a few people who stared after him with surprise, as he was only wearing his towel around his waist. His pale skin was still slightly pink from blushing so much. As soon as he got back to his room, he slammed the door shut and started getting dressed, still cursing a laughing Shukaku within his head. If he wasn't so close to the demon now, he swore he'd find a way to kill him. But it was too late now. They were friends, in their own ways.
Not too long after he had gotten dressed and started meditating to calm his nerves, Gaara felt a familiar Chakra approaching his door, which made him sigh, more like groan. He really didn't want to talk to her right now. Not with him still in his embarrassed state. So he just kept quiet.
"Gaara, I know you're in there. Let me come in." Sakura's voice called through the wood of the door.
With a long drawing sigh, the young Kazekage closed his eyes to keep himself calm while he summoned sand out to unlock the door he had locked and slid it open for his beautiful girlfriend. He didn't open his eyes as he felt her come into the room and then let the sand close the door after her. He just kept his eyes closed and he tried to meditate. He could almost feel Sakura's smile though as she moved closer to him. He tensed as she came close enough to bend down next to him and let her knee brush against his. "Gaara, what just happened in there?" She asked, sounding a little amused.
There came a low sigh before Gaara opened his eyes and looked wearily into hers, seeing that she was smirking. She seemed to have found some amusement in the entire situation. It just made him scowl a little. "I don't find this very funny, Sakura. Shukaku was mocking me and now you are." He grumbled.
Sakura laughed but shook her head as she turned slightly and let her body plop down right next to his. She let out a little sigh before resting her head onto his shoulder, which he watched her. She just kept looking right into his sea-foam colored eyes, while resting her hand onto his forearm. "Gaara, I'm not mocking you. I'm just teasing you." She laughed a little before having to reach up and lightly grabbing his chin to make him look back at her when he tried to look away. "Look, Gaara. Ignore Shukaku. He's just being....well, himself. He always teases you. I'm just glad that....." She paused to think of a way to put it. "Well.....I'm just glad that you want me that much. I didn't know if you....aaaahhhh!" She gasped.
At her words, a devilish smile curled on Gaara's face before he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her halfway onto his lap, looking at her in his sly way. "Want you? Of course I want you, Sakura. You are so beautiful, outside and in." He then let out a low sigh. "I'm just trying to be careful. If I was to ever hurt you, I would never forgive myself." He told her in a soft tone. He pressed his forehead against hers, which made her smile.
"Gaara," Sakura began as she cupped the side of his face, looking into his eyes. "You will never hurt me. I know you won't. I trust you."
Gaara slowly shook his head as he looked deeply into her eyes, even though they were only inches away from his own. "I know you do. But I do not trust myself. Or Shukaku. Even if we are now at peace with one another, and even considering each other friends, I will never fully trust him with you. If he was ever to take over my body to take advantage over you......" He shuddered at the idea. "He wants you too. He wants me to take you. I can't do that. Not unless you are ready. And I don't think it's the right time." He told her quietly.
There was a pause as Sakura took his words into thought but nodded as she sat up a little on his lap but still touched his face with her hand. "I know you will never let him. He'll have to deal with it. It's your body he's living in. He will have to deal with it on your terms. If he can't, then let him whine."
Gaara grimaced at the sound of that. "You're just saying that because you don't have to listen to him." He grumbled.
Sakura laughed but shook her head as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing the Kanji symbol on his forehead as she let one of her hands run through his wild red hair. "Don't be such a baby." She told him before growing stiff when she saw the devilish look on her boyfriend's face. "What?"
"So, he'll have to deal with it on my terms, hmm?" The young Kazekage spoke as he tightened his hold around her waist before raising his hands until they met Sakura's wrists. He moved too quickly for her to register what he had in mind. But when she found herself pinned under him and her wild red haired boyfriend straddling her, she grew very stiff. "So if I wanted you now......"
"Ga-Gaara!" Sakura yelped while her face turned bright red. She even struggled a little which made him chuckle. She scowled at him for laughing like that. It creeped her out a little but she felt a little excited. "Stop it." She grumbled at him.
Chuckling, Gaara kissed her gently as he loosened his grip around her wrists and pulled slightly away, though still straddling her waist. "I'm just teasing you." He told her, though they both knew very well he was mocking her a little. He could only chuckle again as he moved get off of her.
Only to get thrown onto his back and it was her turn to straddle him, much to his surprise. Sakura had him pinned down under her and she had his wrists trapped beside his head. She was smirking at him like a little vixen she seemed to be. She just moved a little closer to him, giving him a sensual look. "Don't be mocking me, Gaara. You know better than to do that. Keep it up and I'll punish you." She said in a husky whisper before giggling while he looked wide eyed up at her with surprise. But slowly he slyly smirked right back at her.
'Boy, you are SO whipped!' Shukaku bellowed with laughter within the Kazekage's head.
The moment was now over, thanks to a certain sand demon. Groaning with disgust, Gaara shook his head when his beautiful girlfriend frowned at him. "Shukaku. He just had to open his mouth." He smiled when Sakura giggled but climbed off of him. They both just sat there, leaning against his bed frame while laughing a little about the demon within Gaara. They sat there for a little while, arm in arm and enjoying the little peace they had. They both knew very well that soon enough Naruto was going to......
"Hey!! Gaara! Hey!! You in there?! We're going to go eat dinner! Wanna come?! Do you know where Sakura-chan is?! Or are you trying to avoid her because you're having sexual frustrations.......!" Naruto was yelling from outside in the hall.
The door slammed open and the loud and obnoxious best friend found himself being glared at by both of his teammates and friends. They both did not look amused. Not amused at all. Laughing nervously, Naruto waved innocently at them before turning and trying to bolt away. He knew he was in trouble. He didn't get too far because Sakura caught him by the collar and clubbed him over the head.
Throughout the entire night, Gaara had sat next to his window and stared out into the night, wondering what was in store for them. He felt somewhat better than he had in the Hot Springs. Shukaku had been keeping his mouth shut the entire night. As for Naruto, to avoid any more bumps on the head from Sakura, he kept his mouth shut about teasing Gaara. It didn't help too much that a few people were whispering about the young Kazekage but he did his best to ignore them. After that night's excitement wore off, he found himself able to relax for a little.
However, his mind was still on one thing. He was worried about what would happen if they did find Sasuke and brought him back. True, he wanted his comrade back, but it was the fact that Sakura once was in love with Sasuke. What would happen if they found him and got him back? Would he try and take Sakura from him? And did Sakura still want Gaara? Those questions haunted Gaara throughout the night. He eventually used his Sand teleportation to get into Sakura's room and stood over her while she slept. He watched her most of the night, wondering how in the world would he ever live if he lost her. It brought a dull ache within his chest, something he was very familiar with. He reached up and placed his hand over his heart, clutching at the fabric. 'Please don't ever go back to Sasuke, Sakura. Stay mine.' he thought almost pleadingly. He was just glad that Shukaku kept his mouth shut.
Early morning, the young Kazekage had spotted their new teammate, Sai sneaking out of the room he was sharing with Naruto and Yamato. He could only frown as he watched him before he too left his room, though went straight to the roof to watch the ninja in black carefully. He wondered exactly what Sai was up to. Was he sending off a message to his master about the progress so far or of what was going on between the teammates? Maybe he was reporting to Danzo about Gaara joining the mission. Gaara almost smirked coldly to think of what Danzo's reaction was going to be for his interference.
However, Gaara was only too surprise that none of his suspicions was right. He was surprised to find that Sai was not sending off secret messages to Danzo.
Sai was drawing a picture in a sketchbook.
This was one thing that Gaara had not even imagined that Sai would even do. He had always believed Sai was hiding things but being an artist like this was not one of them. He hadn't even pictured this Root ANBU to be an Artist. As far as he could tell, the ninja in black didn't have any emotions at all. But here he was, drawing a picture with charcoal. The picture, itself, was amazing. It was full of dark and light colors, swirling around each other into two very large swirls. It was actually....rather beautiful in a sense. Just by staring at it, Gaara felt as if there were emotions coming right out of the paper. Staring at the picture, the young Kazekage felt sadness, anger, happiness, excitement, almost all kinds of emotions.
'For someone who doesn't seem to have emotions, he's sure letting them off.' Shukaku remarked.
Gaara could only nod in agreement. He had to admit it, but Sai was letting more emotions than he actually realized himself. He probably didn't even know that he was. The young Kazekage knew very well that art was a way of expressing your emotions. And it seemed to him that Sai was an artist as well as a ninja. "Interesting. A ninja who uses art. I'll have to keep my eye on him from now on." He murmured to himself.
His attention perked up a little more when he saw Sakura walking out of the building and moving towards the ninja in black. This only made him a little tense as he watched her go over to speak to him. He didn't like that too much. But he wouldn't say anything. For now.
"Kazekage-sama."
Gaara's head tilted a little but he didn't look at the ninja approaching him. He knew very well that Yamato had been watching him for a moment. He had sensed him even before he arrived on the roof. "Yamato-taichou, I would prefer it if you called me by my name. On this mission, we are equals." He said quietly.
Yamato smiled a little as he moved to stand right next to the young red head. "Forgive me.....Gaara. It just makes me a little uncomfortable to be called a Kage by his name and not his title. I'm not really accustomed to it." He told him, before glancing down at Sai and Sakura as they held a small conversation with each other. They were both quiet for a minute but then the ANBU captain turned his attention back onto Gaara. "Gaara, you are aware that someone has been following us, correct?"
"Yes." Gaara said very quietly, his head dipping low but he held a very serious look on his face. "I can't figure out who it is, but I have my suspicions. It could be someone else from Danzo's little department, probably coming to give Sai orders about me."
"But?" Yamato asked.
The young Kazekage turned his head a little to look at the ANBU captain. "But," He added himself. "The one who is following us seems to be an amateur about following us. They have masked their Chakra, yes, which is clever enough. That way we can't detect who it is. But they're not covering their tracks up very well. They are merely watching us. Observing our moves. It could only be that Danzo wants to see what we're up to and what we know. So I'm not entirely worried." He paused for a second. "Or, it could be that he wants to know who Sasori's spy is. Just like us."
Yamato slowly nodded in agreement but folded his arms across his chest. "So, we don't do anything for now, eh? Very well. It's your call. We'll keep a watch out for this spy." He glanced down at the scene below, only to see that Naruto was now with Sakura and Sai, and eventually not getting along with the pale ninja once again. He looked furious and was yelling at him.
And before it could grow into an even more serious fight, both Gaara and Yamato went to join them. It stopped the fight before it actually began.
Sai merely glanced at the two before starting to gather his things. Of course, Gaara was only mildly surprised to see Sakura move forward to help him. He didn't' say anything but watched through narrowed his eyes. He didn't approve her helping the Root ANBU but he knew better than to say anything about it. His eyes, however, caught sight of a small book that Sakura just picked up, looking at it with interest. It had a picture of a boy on the front, but it was clearly a drawing. "Oh! This isn't printed. Did you draw it yourself?" The pink haired girl asked, offering it to its owner.
"Yeah." Sai said quietly as he took the book from her.
Sakura smiled as she dropped her hand, still looking at the ninja in black. "Oh, really. Then it's a picture book." She kept on smiling at Sai, who was putting things away into his bag before standing up. "Hey, would you mind showing it to me sometime?" She asked.
Gaara frowned as he folded his arms but glanced at Sai.
Sai, on the other hand, shook his head as he looked at the small book in his hand. There was something about that look on his face though. Something that just made Gaara frown. For a brief second, he actually saw an emotion flicker across his eyes. Sorrow. "Actually, I would." The ninja artist said quietly. "It's not finished yet. I also make a point of not letting others touch this." His words surprised Sakura and Naruto a little but made Gaara's frown deepen. "Because it's my older brother's."
Now that did surprise all three, Gaara, Naruto and Sakura. They looked at him with curiosity but no one questioned him anymore. Instead, they decided to move on.
The five ninja walked through the forest path in silence, though Gaara was watching Sai from the corner of his eye. He was very curious about this ninja now. After meeting him, he hadn't been the least interested in him but now, after seeing that he was a little bit of an artist, the young Kazekage wanted to know what his angle was. He knew that he was one of Danzo's lackeys but....Sai seemed kind of different. It was still a little curious of how much he looked like Sasuke. He wondered if there was a chance that they were related without even knowing about each other. After all, he spent most of his life without even knowing about Temari and Kankuro until he met them. Maybe Sai's history was similar to his own. The thought of it just made Gaara's eyes narrow thoughtfully. Maybe.....Danzo had done something that no one knew about. Something that dealt with Sai. It could have been a possibility.
Nearly the entire day he pondered that idea and finally night fell.
Tired and hungry, with exception of Gaara, Team Seven decided to stop for the night. Yamato used his wood manipulative power to create a large wooden building for them to stay in. It still amazed the young Kazekage that the new Captain for the team had that kind of power. He wondered if there was a possibility that Yamato was related to the First Hokage then. At that thought, he sweat dropped. He was sure doing a lot of wondering now.
"Everyone, come here for a minute." Yamato, however, said as soon as everyone had gotten settled.
Gaara was seated at one of the wooden windows, looking up at the moonlit sky with such a thoughtful look on his face. He knew he had been doing a lot of thinking lately and it seriously couldn't be helped. He was a little worried about the Sand Village but knew very well that Temari and Baki could handle it. He was also finding himself very worried about Quoi. He hoped his young apprentice was behaving Kankuro. But then again, he thought with a sweat drop, it was more than likely he was annoying the hell out of his older brother. So if he returned to Konoha Village only to find his young apprentice bruised and beat up, he wouldn't be surprised.
However, when Yamato started speaking, the young red head turned his gaze onto him, only to be respectful and listen to what he had to say.
"Sakura," Yamato began quietly, while staring at the wooden floor. "There's something I need you tell me."
Sakura glanced around the room at Gaara then to Naruto, who both frowned but watched carefully as she moved closer to Yamato who was sitting in the middle of the room. "What is it?" She asked curiously.
Yamato slowly shook his head as he turned his dark eyes upward and looked her right in the eye. "It's about Sasori of the Akatsuki." He dipped his head down a little. "I got Sasori's file from the Sand as a starter, thanks to our Lord Kazekage's brother, Kankuro." He merely glanced over at Gaara, who frowned but didn't say anything. But he looked right back at Sakura. "Tell me about him. His behavior, characteristics, and habits. Because you are the only one who has really seen Sasori and have interacted with him." He remarked.
"Why're you asking that?" Naruto asked frowning with confusion.
Yamato tilted his head to look at the blonde but he shook his head as he looked back at Sakura. "The spy for the Akatsuki in Orochimaru's ranks will probably be expecting Sasori when we show up at the Tenchi Bridge in two days. He'll probably see right through it, but I think it best if we have someone transform into Sasori and approach him."
Slowly Sai nodded in agreement, his whole being sitting up straighter. "Being a spy brings its fair share of risks, so he'll be most likely on his guard." He added his opinion.
Gaara glanced over at him but then folded his arms and dipped his head down as he turned his sea-foam colored eyes onto Yamato, who met his gaze. "Sai has a point. Sasori's spy will not be putting his guard down. Even if he is a spy for the Akatsuki, he might not trust them either. A spy for any side would trust only himself and himself alone." he said quietly. "And even if he does fall for our little trick with Sasori, we can't trust him either.
Slowly, Yamato agreed, his eyes narrowing a little in though. "I understand. And just in case this is a trap set by the Akatsuki, I will go alone onto the bridge to meet the spy. I want the rest of you to stand by and await for my instructions." He paused to turn his gaze back onto Gaara, almost uncertain if giving him orders was a good idea.
But Gaara nodded. "We'll do that then."
"Given that there was an Akatsuki spy in the Sand, Yuura," Sakura began, making Gaara look at her. He knew very well of who she was talking about. He had heard about the Akatsuki agent, Yuura from Baki. He remembered how right after he had recovered, Baki had explained to him of how the Akatsuki really found out about Gaara being back in the Sand Village. Yuura had been one of the Sand Ninja that Baki entrusted the secret of Gaara's return with and he had went to the Akatsuki, Zetsu to confirm it. Gaara had seen Baki angry before but after that little betrayal, the Sand Jounin had come unhinged with rage. He, himself, killed Yuura, Baki had. "And he, himself said it when he was about to die, I don't think Sasori was lying or trying to pull a trap. Besides," Sakura added while glancing over at Sasori. "I really think it was Sasori who saved Gaara's life."
The young red head had to look away from her and out the window. He still had yet to tell his friends that it hadn't been Sasori who saved his life from his own people. It had been Itachi Uchiha who spared his life. Not Sasori. Gaara felt a tinge of regret for not telling them the truth. But he really wanted to find out for himself of why Itachi saved him before he admitted it to anyone.
"Still that spy," Sai now spoke up, blankly. "He must be very skilled. To be able to spy Orochimaru for the Akatsuki and not get caught...."
Gaara found himself nodding in agreement. He had to admit it but Sai had a point. If this spy could transfer information over to the Akatsuki and not rouse Orochimaru's suspicions, he must have been very skillful indeed. He knew very well from being told by Jiraiya, himself that Orochimaru did not trust anyone so easily with information. So if this spy had any info on the serpentine ninja, Orochimaru must have trusted him. Or her.
'Oh.....this just got good.' Shukaku suddenly remarked, almost grinning within Gaara's head.
It was like a light bulb had just turned on inside Gaara's head, for he felt a familiar Chakra signature starting to come close to where they were. Jerking his head towards the window, the Kazekage looked seriously out into the night. 'What is HE doing here?! Did something happen?!' He thought grimly.
"Right now, the real problem I've already told you the concrete plans for the mission up ahead." Yamato continued, not even noticing how serious Gaara was looking right now. He was still looking at the other three, who were watching him. No one noticed how still Gaara had just gotten and was staring out at the night with a serious look on his face. "Our objective is purely capture. Under no circumstances must the target get killed. Even if the results are in battle. If they are killed, we will have lost a valuable information source. This mission is more difficult than simply defeating the enemy. Given that it is a target mission, I will be the first to go in. And you all will stand as backup. The strategy is simple. First, I will restrain the target."
Gaara slowly stood up and fully faced the window, tilting his head to the side and staring out into the darkness, almost looking for any movement outside the wooden building. He gritted his teeth, looking serious and anxious at the same time. 'What are you doing here?' he thought grimly once again.
"Second, if I fail to restrain them and a battle situation arises, which is more than likely, you will prepare to fight. I will signal you just in case." Yamato continued. "And if we reach a situation as in part two, then we must fight via the Buddy system. When one person moves, the other will look after them. The principle of the system is mutual support." Yamato was trying to be careful of how they were going to do this. "Now, I'll decide on the buddies. First, Naruto and Sai. Second, Sakura and myself."
"But....." Sakura was saying frowning with concern. She was glancing over at Naruto and Sai. She knew very well that this wasn't a good idea putting them together. But then again, her eyes flickered over to Gaara, wondering why he hadn't been mentioned yet.
"Sakura, you are our only medical ninja. So that you are not injured yourself, I will be with you." Yamato told her.
Naruto, however, wasn't any happier than she was. He growled a little before jabbing a finger towards Sai, who put on his fake smile. "Yamato-taichou! Why the hell am I with.....why can't I be with Gaara?!" He demanded.
Sighing with irritation, Yamato shook his head as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. But then he looked right at the blonde with that creepy look on his face again, making him cringe. "Naruto, I know you don't want to do this but this is the only way. I would rather not depending on the one person who is the strongest out of all of us and could capture the spy easily." He merely glanced over at Gaara's back, who didn't seem to be paying them any mind as he stared out the window. "With the Lord Kazekage's permission, I want him as the last resort. I would rather try to capture the spy without his help unless we really need it. A chance to prove ourselves, so to speak. Gaara, you don't mind, don't you?" he asked, being cautious.
Gaara heard him but didn't look at him. Instead, his eyes narrowed a little as he looked into the night air. "No. I don't mind. Naruto," He finally tilted his head around to look over his shoulder at his best friend. "Yamato-taichou has a point in this plan. Yes, I can capture the spy without any problems. But this is your mission. I'm merely a support. Just go with it, all right?"
"Tech," Naruto said grumpily but folded his arms and pouted a little. "Fine."
"Keeping all that in mind," Yamato continued acting as if nothing happened. "This isn't exactly normal, but....tomorrow, we'll spend a day on a simulation for team playing. I know nothing about all of you other than what's in your files. I'd like to know about things like your fighting methods, battle skills, and array of Jutsu." He merely glanced over at Gaara again. "I know only a few things about the Lord Kazekage.....Gaara," He added when Gaara gave low sigh of irritation at his title once again. "And I know how dangerous his sand techniques can be. But I know nothing about the rest of you." He remarked turning his dark eyes back onto the other three. "And through getting to know each other, smoothen up your teamwork. You might think I'm being too serious, but that's how I do things. So put your all into it."
Slowly, Naruto, Sakura and Sai nodded. They all didn't like it but they knew he had a point. The teamwork in Team Kakashi had slipped a little due to the fact that Sai was the newest team member other than the captain himself. So with hard swallow, Naruto knew he'd have to mash down his pride and go with it.
However, at his point, Gaara's attention sharply returned to outside and his eyes narrowed a little. He didn't like this but HE was nearly right outside the wooden shelter now. And at this point, even Sai's and Yamato's shot up, sensing the approach. Even Sakura had but Naruto looked confused when he saw everyone grow a little tense.
"Gaara!!" came the shout.
"What the.....?!" Naruto now yelped as he shot to his feet.
Gaara, however, simply turned and went straight to the door, opening it and stepping out into the night air. He knew very well that the others would soon follow. But his attention was directly on his older brother as he stumbled right out of the darkness, looking right at the red head.
"Kankuro!" Sakura and Naruto both yelped in surprise.
The Puppet Master was panting heavily from running so fast but he stumbled towards them, his dark eyes right on Gaara, who moved a few strides towards him. "Ga-Gaara......!" he gasped for air.
"Kankuro. What has happened? Is it Quoi? Did something happen to him?" Gaara asked seriously.
Kankuro tried to stand up straight but couldn't because it only made him breath harder and faster so he doubled over with his hands on his knees. But he nodded as his face darkened and looked straight into his younger brother's eyes. "Oh, you bet something happened to him! Or something's going to happen to him when I get my hands on that little brat!" He shook his head as he was finally able to stand up straight, fists clenched. "The little gaki went missing right after you left the Leaf Village! I had just taken him to that Iruka guy you asked me to talk to about watching him and then almost an hour in a half later, Iruka shows up covered in paint and glue, stating that Quoi dumped a bucket of it over his head. It took him forever to get the stupid bucket off his head because it was some pretty nasty glue that your brat used! He said that Quoi did it and then ran off, stating he wasn't going to let, and I quote, 'His Master Gaara get hurt!' The little gaki left the Leaf........"
"QUOI!" Gaara now barked angrily, his eyes very hard as he jerked around and looked directly into the darkness. He had finally sensed the new signature hovering in the bushes and recognized it finally. He couldn't believe this! So it had been Quoi who had been following them this entire time! He didn't understand how the kid managed it, but because of Kankuro's sudden appearance had spiked up the boy's surprise, causing him to lose concentration on masking his Chakra energy like Gaara had showed him during their training.
Sand shot out of Gaara's gourd, missing Naruto, who jumped as it shot past him and into the bushes. A second later, there was a yelp of surprise and a low thud as if something hit the ground before the sand returned into the clearing with a cringing young boy by the name of Chiquoi hanging upside down as he was pulled into view. "Oh.....shit....." Quoi muttered, before attempting to smile innocently. "Uh......hi, Ma-Master Gaara......umm.......I'm sorry?" He offered an apology.
"Oh, you are so dead." Kankuro said sourly as he folded his arms across his chest, though he was glancing at the enraged red head right next to him, who was glaring right at his young apprentice.
