Ok, so i moved to Holland and entered a full time job...so dont expect updates more then once a week on any of my stories (just be pleasantly surprised when there are?)
Sakura blinked
Gaara blinked, then putting Sakura down slowly pulled paper ribbon from his hair.
"Um…" Kankuro said shifting the cake he was holding away from himself, the candles flickering in the draft from the door.
"Are we interrupting something?" Temari asked still holding an empty party popper. Baki quickly dropped the empty popper behind his back.
"No…" Sakura said "It's your birthday?" She asked Gaara
"YES!" Kankuro shouted his makeup looking slightly drippy "Now can we please sing so he can blow out these fucking candles!?"
Temari suddenly grinned and began "Happy birthday to you…..."
"Gaaaaaaraaaa" Temari sang sleepily and just a little drunkenly
"What" Gaara replied quietly, trying not to disturb the sleeping woman resting on him.
"You like Sakuraaa" She said singing again, she yelped when Kankuro flicked her on the nose
"Owww"
"Sleep time tem" He said swaying and offering her a hand
"but….." her eyes drooped "idunwanna…hrup!" Kankuro easily dragged her to her feet and leaning on each other moved towards the bedrooms
Gaara leant back into the comfortable sofa smiling at the sound of his siblings bumping into the walls and cursing at one another, there was a crash as Temari kicked the door to her room open, yelling goodnight to Kankuro and earning a sleepy complaint from Baki who was in the spare room.
Kankuro yelled night over Temari yelling back at Baki, then screamed as his puppets surrounded him for a hug.
Gaara chuckled and decided that he and Sakura should sleep in beds, not the sofa. Carefully, without waking her he managed to get her into the bridal style in his arms and made his way down the bedroom corridor. There he faced a conundrum Baki was in the guest bedroom – the ONLY guest bedroom. Gaara eyed his bedroom door, then back along the corridor to the living room.
That sofa is uncomfy as hell to sleep on….he looked down at Sakura's sleeping face she said no sex….that bed is big enough for two….that thought done Gaara happily carried Sakura into his room, removed her shoes and tucked her in before climbing in himself.
A few minutes later Sakura spoke "Gaara?"
"Mm?" he answered moving closer so he could hear her better
"Thank you" she breathed
He didn't reply but wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close into his embrace. Soon her soft breathing was joined by his.
Blood dripped onto the pure white roof of the Main baths for Suna. There was a noise as a kunai was cleaned and re-sheathed and another as a bandage was unwrapped.
Mika, invisible in her stealth gear cursed silently as she bandaged her hand, the lack in concentration has caused the kunai to dig into her hand and she mentally bereted herself for the laxness of her guard. But when she glanced over the top of the wall to the moonlit mansion across the street her thoughts stilled as she focussed on two figures asleep in the bed. She slid roughly down the wall biting back a sob, holding back hot tears.
Why are you crying Mika?
Shut up
Ahh I see…you've lost haven't you?
Mika ignored the voice, concentrating instead on retaining her tears and pushing the pain she felt in her heart down into her stomach where it made her feel ill, but don't cause so much pain.
You've done that a lot over the last few years
I told you to shut up
Aww poor little Mika, seduced and slept with many men, but never held in their arms….what a pretty whore you are….you hurt your sister for having things you never could
A fist smashed into the roof cracking and denting the tiles and causing some of the bones in her hand to scream in complaint I am not jealous of her for having things I could never hope to attain, I had no choice but to accept the mission I was given as a gift, A mission I did with PRIDE don't act like you know or care because you weren't there!
Hr inner voice snarled you never gave me a chance, you imprisoned me without fair hearing and expect me to go easy on you once I escape through YOUR weakness…..know this, I will make sure you're punished, you're a petty coward, just jealous of Sakura because she was you and turned out BETTER, and Gaara can see that.
What did you say? Red clouded her vision as Mika's lips snarled
YOU. ARE. A . JEALOUS. VIOLENT. COWARD. AND. Sakura. IS. WORTH. MILLIONS. OF. YOU!
Mika didn't reply putting her head in her hands and letting out a slow wail as her inner shadow berated her mercilessly. The wind picked up blowing a pink strand of hair across her face.
Sakura awoke with the sun in her eyes. Wincing she wondered if she was waking awfully late and looking around was disorientated by the room; and the fact someone was very close to her. Where am I? What happened? She spotted some distinct robes on the heavily laden desk and a gourd beside the bed and raised her eyebrows Gaara?
Gaara felt her stiffen in his arms and waited until she relaxed before speaking "Good morning"
She turned and smiled at him "Morning…Did you sleep well?" she asked sitting up
Gaara nodded emulating her motion and sitting "You look better today" he commented swinging his legs out of the bed and striding towards his robes.
Sakura bit back a complaint as cold air struck her and sitting began to climb out of the larger bed.
"What are you doing?" Gaara asked raising his eyebrow at her
Sakura raised hers back "I'm getting up?"
"You don't have to get up for another 3 hours" he replied pointing to where the clock read 4am "I am no longer tired"
"Gaara…." Sakura said dangerously
He paused "hai?"
"Get back in here its freezing!"
"Why would I do that…..I'm no longer tired….."
Sakura grinned and jumping out of bed dragged Gaara away from him robes and back into the warm bed. Forehead to forehead she grinned wrapping her arms around his torso and entangling their legs before speaking "I wanted you to get back in here so I could snuggle you"
Gaara's arms wrapped around her waist drawing her closer and tucking her neatly under his chin "I see….." there was silence and he could feel Sakura's warm breath through his clothes "….I like it"
They got up an hour later and Sakura smiled shyly at the Kazekage as they headed downstairs. Gaara paused "I will take you to the hospital after breakfast, then pick you up after your shift…."
She nodded tucking a strand of hair behind her ear "thank you Gaara…..koi…."
He smiled pulling her into his arms and kissing her forehead.
"ITAI!" Sakura yelped as a blinding flash of light appeared
"TEMARI!" Gaara snarled
Thus ensued a 30 minute get-the-camera-from-Temari battle and then Sakura found herself in front of Moya's office.
Knocking she quietly entered bowing to the tired man who grunted at her with bloodshot eyes "morning" he sighed rubbing his face "I don't know what to do for them Sakura……" he looked across the hall to the ward where the patients were
She ripped open the blinds and curtains causing the office to be lit with warm sunrays before turning and smiling brilliantly at Moya "I have great news….."
"You mean…." He looked at her dumbfounded
Sakura nodded "yes….."
"You can….!"
"I can…" she smiled
"Today?" Moya asked practically jumping on the spot
"As soon as you unlock the door"
He managed to drop his keys on the way to unlock the ward, but finally he opened the heavy doors and Sakura strode in. Sakura looked around sadly, of the 32 that had originally been here only 12 still lived. She pulled the beds into a circle and then got some mats from the side of the door and piling them in the centre began to make herself comfortable.
"Do you need anything else Sakura?" Moya asked seeing her begin to slow her breathing
Sakura opened one eye "Ile…..could you open that window though? Then please wait outside"
She slipped into her meditation concentrating on her breathing and clearing her mind Sakura
Hai?
Do you know what you are doing?
Hai
Fire would probably be best
I know……I'll call you if I need advice ja?
Ja
That short conversation over she allowed her awareness to slip outside of her body she felt the different heartbeats of the patients and crescendo in the silent ward. She could feel Moya leave the room. When her awareness began to filter outside to the birds in the trees she reined it in until she was attached to each patient by a strand of chakra.
Begin by neutralising the poisons and pollutants in their bodies
Sakura heard herself think in Tsunade's voice and smiled, she slowly filtered the patients body, moving molecules around and neutralising those that couldn't be moved to safer places man they're gonna need the bathroom when they wake up..
Focus
Shh
She carried on doing each of the twelve patients clockwise filtering and carrying on until finally they were clear of the pollution poisoning. Very slowly now Sakura stood up, ignoring aching joints she turned until she was facing the open window.
Ok here goes
She looked for the chakra of the patient at the 12 o'clock position and found it. A tiny flicker of green surrounded by silver light. Reaching with her chakra Sakura tapped the silver and felt the powerful chakra enter her body. At first it was refreshing and made everything tingle, but then it caused a pain to start in her legs and spread as the silver began to overload her body. Sakura took a deep breath forming seals.
An observing Moya was almost blinded when Sakura let out a huge flame from the window; she seemed to breathe out fire for a long time before stopping and returning to her meditative stance. Then she did it again, and again, and again.
He thought she was crazy and evidently so did some of the other doctors as one stepped forward to enter the ward. A gloved hand stopped him. "Do not enter this ward until I say you can"
"But Moya-sama!" The young man said
"But nothing, we will not enter there until Sakura is finished"
Inside the ward a very pale, sweaty Sakura gripped the windowsill and spat fire. She felt sick and dizzy; I used too much chakra again….
You did, tell the doctors they can come in and lie down…….quickly!
"Come in" Sakura managed to croak releasing her strings and making her wobbly way to an empty bed
Moya was in like a flash checking the patients and calling the other doctors to check them too. Sakura stayed awake just long enough to hear the shocked cry "She did it!"
Mika was at the training ground pulverising every training dummy she could find, her inner self goaded and taunted her to the edge of insanity and she tried to block it out to no avail.
"Go away!"
Never….
She let out a scream of rage and shattered a stone column before scowling at the shinobi in the next training ground and stalking away from the field to get changed.
"Twelve people! Just like that! She was amazing!" a nurse spoke to her colleague as they walked down the street
"I want to be like her…." The other replied stars in her eye
Oh looks like Sakura did something amazing today……what did you do? Beat up inanimate objects….
Shut up
How mature, you can't even take your anger out on real things
You want me to take out my anger on something real? Mika changed course stalking towards a new destination. She climbed the silent stairs and walked along a corridor. The door made no sound as she pushed them open and undid her top to reveal a bandolier with kunai in it.
What are you doing!
You wanted me to take my anger out on something real? Someone living? Mika released a kunai and held it high then I'll start with her!
Mika no!