Title: Shukaku Love

Author: pawsbells

Beta-ed by: FallenTenshi, MelissaRose85

Characters/Pairing: Haruno Sakura and Sabaku no Gaara

Type: Continuous (InComplete)

Genre: Romance/Humor

Word Count: 4526

Rating: M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto-san.

Summary: She should never have extended her help to him. It was supposed to be a simple healing but it was anything but. Now he was chasing her around the countryside in his bestial form and she still had no idea what she had done to merit his attention.

Chapter Last Revised on: 16/08/08

Chapter Ten

His voice was quiet, patient, and seemed hardly demanding, but Sakura knew that he fully expected a reply from her. Still somewhat dazed, Sakura turned her full attention on preparing the explanation that Gaara wanted and less on the way he was subtly squeezing her hand to get her attention. Her bemused gaze focused on him for one brief, searching moment before she finally opened her mouth to explain the things that she had done so far, her progress with the village council, and most importantly, the things that she had yet to complete and desperately needed to finish in order to meet the elders' expectations tomorrow morning.

Almost as if a dam had burst, the words escaped her slowly at first, and then in a rapid rush as she grew more and more agitated, the stress that she had put on herself becoming more and more evident in the way she had actually expected to accomplish so much in the span of a few short days. Gaara listened to her without interrupting, and his calm demeanor rubbed off on her some, because her distressed reactions became markedly less so in his presence. Her furious self-reproach was harsh and entirely unnecessarily, but he allowed her to vent. Only after she had subsided did he choose to flatly remark upon his observations.

"You are being ridiculous."

Before Sakura could even react to her mate's callous statement, flinching away from him and giving him a good glare while she was at it, his hold on her tightened as he quietly compelled her to look at him.

"You are being ridiculous," he stated calmly again, much to her growing irritation. His eyes never left hers.

Sakura was rendered speechless by his seemingly insensitive comment. Then he chose to explain himself. "I doubt that it was the elders' intention to pressure you thusly. It is unrealistic to expect so much from yourself and you know it as well."

Technically, Gaara was right on the dot. But Sakura was not any normal (or relatively sane) person. It wasn't often noticeable, but she was a very obsessive compulsive individual, her quest for perfection so severe that it had even led to the manifestation of an alter ego, everything that Sakura secretly was but dared not reveal to the rest of the world so as to attain that high standard of outer perfection that she had set for herself when only at a very young age. Her subsequent meeting with her best friend Ino had helped change what had been the only defense for a very lonely, badly bullied child, but even though Sakura was now a full grown kunoichi, proud and confident on the outside, there would always be a small part within her who was the insecure little girl who always worried about the size of her forehead and was so painfully eager to please, to give her all, for all the people who had openly accepted her with such kindness.

In a way, Sakura figured that she was becoming exactly like Naruto. As long as she was granted acknowledgement, she would give her all to ensure that those who had chosen to put their trust in her would not be disappointed. A long time ago, she had been contented to remain behind, watching the backs of her teammates as they advanced further and further away from her. But she had grown quickly dissatisfied; why wait for someone to save you when you could do it yourself? Why want to act as the helpless, useless damsel in distress when you could save lives with your own two hands instead? And Sakura was no longer content to remain a deadweight, and now that she had learned to prove her worth, she never wanted to see disappointment and sadness in the gazes of all whom she cared for.

Despite herself, Gaara had somehow become someone whom she was completely unwilling to let down. Granted, Sakura was still not eager to figure out just how that had happened, but it had and she was now trying her best to prove herself capable—and worthy enough to lead his beloved village by his side, as a Kazekage's Lady.

Let it never be said that Sakura was one who did things by half measures. Her latest endeavor in working herself to the ground had just proven the opposite. Her mate was unimpressed, however.

"I shall inform the elders tomorrow to limit and reduce the burden of your responsibilities." Gaara spoke again, his tone decisive and final. Sakura stiffened imperceptibly in reaction. Her eyes flew up to meet his.

"You will not do that!" her demand was unhappy and surprisingly fierce. Her agitation was apparent, but the resolute expression in his hard jade gaze indicated that he wasn't about to relent just because she was unhappy—just looking at her exhausted features infuriated him inwardly; if he had been more attentive towards her this wouldn't have happened. As it was, Gaara clearly saw this entire situation as a result of his lack of oversight and was seeking to rectify his mistake immediately.

It may seem like he was being ridiculously overprotective towards Sakura, but it made perfect sense to him to prevent her from going into any sort of distress—she was first and foremost the mate that Shukaku had chosen, and barring that, was the representative that Konoha had so generously allowed to join Suna through marriage in a powerful show of faith in the alliance that both villages currently shared. Having Sakura fall sick not even a month after her move to Sand was going to reflect badly upon his village as a whole, not to mention that Sakura appeared to be very close to his fellow Jinchuuriki and Naruto was definitely going to be extra annoying than usual when he learned that Gaara hadn't been taking good care of the 'precious sister' whom he had entrusted him with.

Of course, that was not including the fact that the mere notion of Sakura falling ill or being hurt made a part of Gaara feel distinctly unwell as well, and although it clearly irritated him, the redhead indicated no outward reaction of his startling revelation. That demon of his was always complicating his life, and now, with the addition of Sakura, Gaara was willing to bet that Shukaku was having a grand time messing around with his mind using her as a catalyst.

Gaara was most determined to ignore what he quickly perceived as yet another one of Shukaku's irritating antics. The powerful Kazekage looked at his furious fiancée with cool, measuring eyes.

"I will not have you wear yourself out just because you have something to prove." His tone was low, and although his comment seemed hardly like a rebuke, he might as well have slapped her in the face and been done with it. Sakura was immediately stunned, and then hurt crept into her expressive eyes before she could properly hide it. The anger came next, and it seemed at the moment that it was the only emotion strong enough to conceal her apparent exhaustion and growing upset.

Her eyes flared; and then coldness seeped into those normally warm orbs as she seemed to steel herself mentally and gave him a good, frigid glare. Before his very eyes, it was as if the tired, weary female from seconds ago had disappeared completely, to be replaced by a righteously furious and unyielding entity that reminded him very much like himself.

For some reason, the way she was stiffening away from him, as well as the cold, almost callous manner in which that she was regarding him with made him just as displeased as she was, and the fact that just her body language was affecting him so made him even unhappier. Combined with his own dissatisfaction at himself for failing to take care of her like he had promised, as well as the fact that he had just returned from a tiring, stressful day's work from the Kazekage's office, Gaara's own anger showed just as well in his steely jade gaze.

Sakura was hardly intimidated. Her fury roared in her ears and lent her more courage than she knew what to do with, and how dare that arrogant fiancé of hers behave as if she was some foolish, inexperienced, bimbo of a kunoichi who was only working so hard just for her own satisfaction?

With a single, insensitive statement, he had just discredited all the hard work that she had poured laboriously into ensuring that everything would go smoothly for the alliance between Sand and Leaf. Was she being selfish, trying to claim all the credit for herself? No!! She was only trying to show Suna's respected elders that she would be more than capable of handling any pressure that they thought to put upon her, so that next time she would be able to help Gaara on her own terms, and with little protests from the aged council members as well as mutual respect, she would hopefully be able to help lessen Gaara's burdens somehow, someway.

But here he was, behaving as if he hardly needed her at all, and maybe it was true; maybe he really had no requirement of her aid whatsoever but it just wasn't Sakura's way to ignore those who were important to her. To do her best, to help those whom she cared about, to try to alleviate their burdens and individual responsibilities had been what she had always done and would always do, and more often than not, her hard work and dedication were appreciated, but even on those rare occasions whereby her loyalty and perseverance were rudely thrown back into her face, Sakura had never quite felt this amount of hurt before, now that Gaara had so easily dismissed her as a flippant and flighty individual.

Was that all he saw whenever he looked at her?

Sakura forcibly swallowed her upset and quickly became defensively angry.

"How dare you?" she whispered heatedly, her eyes aglow with fury. "You have no right to say that to me when you have no idea what I have been doing."

He appeared unfazed by her anger.

"I know that you have been working yourself to the ground." His voice was a calm contrast compared to hers. "This is not why you are here, Sakura."

Her eyes narrowed.

"I'm here to reinforce the alliance between Sand and Leaf—and that's what I have been doing." Sakura's answer was sharp.

"No." Gaara's reply was immediate. His eyes never left hers. "You are here for me."

His statement was quiet but forceful, and for a brief moment Sakura was taken aback by his matter of fact, possessive statement. Then her anger returned twofold. He was clearly acting as if she belonged to him, as if she was just an object, as if her only value to him was in her physical presence, and that was all. It was all Sakura could do not to lash out at Gaara in reaction, as much as she yearned to. Yelling and screaming and throwing a tantrum may have been extremely satisfying, but they weren't going to help matters at all and might even make it worse if Gaara chose to retaliate as well.

Although Sakura was no longer afraid of her fiancé, she was very well aware of what he was capable of, and although she was confident that he would never hurt her, the mere notion of pitting her currently volatile emotions against his icy temper upset her. She had always been so expressive, whereas he could be very cold and harsh if need be, and there was no doubt just who would emerge the victor if she was to engage him right now.

And so, the kunoichi chose to be smart. She forced herself to unclench her fists, and then forcibly reined in her fierce temper. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then opened them again. She would not argue with him, tell him how wrong he was to act thusly. Technically, she was all alone in Suna, and if word got out of her quarrel with Gaara, the villagers would realize that there might be something wrong with the alliance. As a kunoichi of Konohagakure, it would be her duty to ensure that peace would ensue between the two countries. Everything else, even her personal hurt and feelings, would have to be shoved aside.

They were not important—after all, wasn't this a mission that she had vowed to accomplish no matter the consequence? She had promised herself determinedly not to disappoint and worry her precious people anymore, and come hell or high water, she would keep her promise.

There was only one thing left to do.

Gaara noticed the moment she started to withdraw within herself. Her passionate, vibrant personality was immediately shielded over by cool professionalism that nearly matched his own expressionless jade gaze. Before the powerful redhead could react, Sakura stood up and silently started to gather a select pile of documents from the coffee table, completely ignoring him until she turned to him at last to retrieve the list that he had taken from her earlier.

"Please return the list."

Gaara did no such thing. Instead, he frowned imperceptibly as he watched the neutral expression on Sakura's face, lips thinning with growing displeasure as he realized quickly what she was up to.

"Sakura." His tone was considerably sharper this time around, almost dangerous. "Do not play games with me."

The pink-haired female gave no verbal response, but the way she jutted out her chin slightly with rebellious aggression made even Shukaku within him stir with growing discontent. But Sakura remained calm.

"Even if you do not approve, Kazekage-sama," her purposefully respectful, official address of his title made Gaara's eyes narrow with abject irritation, "As a kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato, I am obligated to do my utmost to ensure a healthy continuance of the treaty between Sand and Leaf. This includes publicizing to the world the great faith and importance that both of our villages hold in each other, with or without your consent or support."

In other words, she was making it perfectly clear to him that, while she was in Sand territory, she still did not have to answer completely to him. Gaara's lips flattened into a thin line.

"You are my mate, and my fiancée." His tone was hard, the only sign of his growing agitation.

Sakura deftly extracted the note from him, and then added the painstakingly created piece of paper onto the stack of documents that she had gathered. She looked at the irritated redhead.

"I do not belong to Suna, or even you," she noted quietly with perceptive cunning, "until our marriage is officially registered, and the Godaime Hokage-sama formally releases me from my duties to Leaf."

Then, as if to signal that she was done having this conversation, Sakura hefted the paperwork into her arms and prepared to turn away. However, before she could even move a step, he too, had stood up from the couch and was glowering in a rather intimidating fashion at her. Somehow, she wasn't at all surprised.

By now, Sakura barely had the energy to remain furious with her arrogant fiancé. She still had some ways to go before she could complete all that she had set out to do today, and staying mad at Gaara was completely unproductive—and Sakura was so very tired. She really should put some distance between herself and her redheaded husband-to-be before anyone of them said or did anything more that they didn't mean to, and she started to sidestep him.

He didn't let her pass.

"Where are you going?" he asked abruptly, clearly ignoring her earlier statement of how she was not under his thumb and did not have to do exactly as he dictated, as true as the matter was.

Sakura sighed. At least the coldness in his tone was no longer present, and he sounded genuinely curious as to what she was planning to do now. If he was being cordial again, Sakura was definitely willing enough to return the favor.

"I need to finish this proposal, as well as go over my checklist one last time before I'm done for today, so I'm going somewhere I can hopefully work in peace," she commented, pointedly towards the end, but generally she explained herself patiently, albeit in a somewhat worn out manner.

"Stay here."

Before she could think to protest, he had somehow relieved her of her paperwork, and had set the small stack back upon the coffee table. Then, he sat back down upon the expensive settee and looked at her calmly, clearly waiting for her to join him. Sakura started to frown at what he was attempting to do, but at last, she decided to throw caution to the wind and sank back down onto the sofa weakly.

Just this one time, she would give him the benefit of doubt.

As for Gaara, the choice was really simple for him to make. She was proving to be immovable and obstinate when it came to the subject of her work, and he had been right; she took fierce pride in her duties and clearly did not care at all to be interrupted or forcibly removed from her responsibilities, as evidenced by how she was even willing to pull rank with him and remove herself physically from him all for the sake of completing her tasks. In a way, her dedication had just proven to him that Shukaku had chosen well; she would make a great co-regent. On the other hand, the fact that she had so very easily relegated their mating bond to the obligations of a mere mission displeased him, even as a part of him silently applauded her for doing something not many had successfully accomplished before—jerk his chain and aggravate him into seeing things her way, and then force him to make the choice of either helping her or leaving her alone to handle the stress of her overwhelming responsibilities.

Logically, he shouldn't let her have her way. To do so would give her the impression that he was weak and therefore could be easily manipulated in the future whenever she wanted him to do something. He ought to be firm with his errant mate, but it was impossible to do so when she was being so determined and working hard for the sake of both their villages. In this case, it would be wrong of him to not help her when clearly she could use a helping hand, even though she was too proud to ask it of him. Everything else he had tried to force her away from her duties had failed, and since she would not budge until she had fulfilled the impossibly high standards that she had put up for herself to accomplish, the only way left was to help her out by lessening her burden.

Sakura watched with more than a little bit of bewilderment as the powerful redhead reached out, took a small sheaf of papers from the larger stack that she had gathered together earlier, and began to read through them. She tensed slightly when she realized his intention, and then opened her mouth to ask exactly what he was trying to do.

That jade gaze of his was no longer imperious, cold. He had reverted back to his normal, impassive self, and as he glanced at her confused countenance, he could not help but sigh inwardly. Of all the females that his bijuu could choose, it would have to be this particularly strong-headed, obstinate kunoichi.

A part of him quietly questioned if he would have accepted any other woman as easily as he had Sakura if they weren't anything like her, and as much as he did not like to admit it, Gaara doubted that would be the case. She was probably one of the few who would dare to stand toe to toe with him, and had done so even when they were but Genin; he a murderous rampaging demon bent on destroying her teammates and she only a weak and powerless young girl, barely even a teenager, intent on protecting those precious to her even if she had to stand up against one as fearsome and as deadly as he in order to do so.

And now that same fiery female, brave to the point of absolute foolishness, was his mate. Admittedly, Shukaku could have chosen far less worthy candidates to be his consort, but this beautiful pink-haired kunoichi was now bound to him and he was responsible for her wellbeing whether she liked it or not, and that meant he would have to ensure that she would not stress and overstrain herself.

"I believe that I have mentioned this repeatedly before, Sakura; you are my mate, and therefore you are most important to me." He spoke calmly, almost as if he wasn't revealing his weakness to her. "I will aid and protect you in any way I can, although I would appreciate it if you could meet me halfway in that particular endeavor."

Sakura could only stare at him. For all his polite and formal speech, he had just made an astoundingly similar promise to her that Naruto once had a long time ago.

"I will always protect you, Sakura-chan! You are one of my most precious people, and I will always protect you! That is the promise of a lifetime!"

Granted, her husband-to-be didn't sound entirely enthusiastic about it, compared to her heart brother's cocksure grin and happy squint, but for some reason or another, his firm, quiet claim warmed her heart.

It really was getting harder and harder to remain angry at Gaara for long periods of time the more she got to know what he was really like. Underneath that cold, seemingly emotionless visage was a man who worked so hard to prove to everyone that he was not the bloodthirsty demon that he housed, that despite being a Jinchuuriki, he was still human and he would protect everyone who was important to him. No man was an island, and it had been a lesson that Naruto had taught to him well. The will to defend and nurture would always be a Kage's prerogative, definitely a prerequisite, if you may, to holding the title of the village's most powerful guardian, and Gaara had certainly proven his ability in spades, when he had fended off the Akatsuki intent on taking his bijuu, his birthright, albeit an entirely unwanted one, as well as destroying his village while they were at it. Not to mention how he had singlehandedly saved Suna from economic and financial ruin, and had also destroyed Sand's helpless dependence on a flighty and fickle Daimyo.

In a twisted manner, Gaara was Naruto's mirror in every way. The darker, quieter, not-so-shameless version, anyway.

If said blonde was here, he would have kicked up a ruckus over his Sakura-chan's so called 'favoritism' and then proceed to pout like an overgrown baby.

Sakura's spirits rose somewhat at the thought of her sworn sibling, and then she focused back upon her fiancé again. Both of them really were similar, and yet so very different at the same time. Furthermore, Sakura was reminded of her own silent promise to herself, to always watch over Naruto's back now that she was able, and after hearing Gaara's calm reiteration of how he would watch over her as well, Sakura could no longer deny the revelation that she had just very recently realized.

Her redheaded mate was very important to her as well, and like Naruto, she would protect him to the best of her abilities, come hell or high water.

The sure, emphatic notion that he had ascended the ranks to become one of her precious people did not alarm her like she had thought it would. There was only a quiet acceptance, a small ripple of growing awareness towards the man who was her mate, as well as this sense of natural rightness, that she was doing the correct thing, and that made her even more confident of this decision that had just occurred within her.

And that was it.

Gaara's fate was sealed from henceforth, even though he still had no idea whatsoever.

The Godaime Kazekage could only look at his mate with something akin to wary skepticism as a small, entirely self-satisfied smile bloomed slowly on the face of his previously upset fiancée. Suddenly, it was as if her exhaustion had been temporarily banished, and she looked so very pleased with herself that he wasn't even going to bother wondering what was flitting about in that head of hers right now.

"And I have told you before as well, Gaara; I too, will protect you with my life, so I believe that we are about even."

That said, Sakura reached out and took the remaining stack of papers, put them on her lap, and started to leaf through them distractedly. At the same time, she leaned back fully on the couch, heaved a deep sign and relaxed completely despite the fact that she was sitting so near to Gaara that they were almost touching. All of a sudden, she was at ease with him again, and her action confused him briefly. Wasn't she supposedly furious with him but moments ago?

She sure wasn't acting that way now, judging by the way she seemed content to remain by his side, her legs pulled up and curled under her as she continued to look at the sheaf of papers on hand, the very picture of informality. Not to mention her completely absurd statement…didn't she know that he was the one who had to look after her, and not vice versa? The notion that she actually wanted to protect one such as him was a rather novel concept to Gaara; she had mentioned something to that effect in passing before but he had not taken her seriously then. And now she had as much as declared it again, and he was privately surprised by the conviction behind her tone.

…truly, she possessed such an appalling ability to distract him without even knowing it, and when he realized that he had been staring at her for at least an entire minute, he started to scowl with irritation.

"You know that was not what I meant." The redhead spoke eventually, though the hint of exasperation in his low tenor was rather obvious to her.

The small, pleased smile on her face widened slightly to form a tiny smirk as she turned her head to regard her somewhat irritable mate.

"That's just too bad for you, Gaara," she retorted back in an annoyingly serene manner, so much so that one would hardly believe that she had been close to losing her temper just minutes ago. "I will protect you even if you don't like it, because you are one of my precious people now."

:tsuzuku:

Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:

Yes, Gaara is precious to Sakura, and she finally admits it! I hope you guys drown in the fluff, ohohoho!

P.S.: So sorry, if this authoress is being a little out of character and undignified; that's simply because she has just bought over fifty volumes of manga from the comic shop earlier today. She is currently very giddy and not thinking straight, and would be back to normal by the next update. Hopefully.

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I know that some of you have mentioned that Gaara may be OOC. I cannot really justify my reasons for making him this way, safe for the fact that this is how I perceive his character; overprotective but impatient, he is still icy and emotionless most of the time, but only those closest to him would get to see that detached composure of his slip—occasionally that is.

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Last but not least, a very warm 'thank you' to all the kind readers for the very warm reception upon my reentry into the GaaSaku fandom. I know that I don't mention this enough, but I really do appreciate all of your support and wonderful reviews. Thank you all, once again!

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Your reviews fuel my passion for writing. So please leave a comment if you like this fic, thank you.

--paws