[5th-February-2019 Edit: this chapter has been through the spring cleaning process and re-uploaded. The pre-existing author notes is a casualty of my inner war.]
Enjoy! ^_^
…
Chapter 9: Lifeline.
…
His dreams were clouded; spots of red and white streaked with sandy brown across the sky. Lightning storms weren't a common occurrence in the land of wind, and the rainless thunder turned into sandstorms before water could form in the lower troposphere. All deserts, whether hot or cold, were dry: and none as sandy as the Kaze No Kuni. Wind, intense heat (or cold), and rock worked together to form desert sand.
Gaara's thoughts remained on his dream as he slowly awoke. The night had been exhausting, even for him, and the leisureliness with which he finally shrugged off his sleep proved it.
He'd done this before, sleeping in another woman's room and waking before the sun came up, but this was different. Now, with the naked form of Sakura pressed against him and the hints of the coming sunrise peeking through the high window, he felt no compulsion to flee before the pinkette woke as well. She had her back to him, her head dipped forward, and the edge of her short hair tickled his face. He couldn't help the smile that drifted over his face. Even in her sleep, she bristled against him.
When he threatened her, she didn't back down, she didn't let him stop her from saying what she needed to say. She fought fire with fire with him and he enjoyed every minute of it, even if he wouldn't admit it at the time, and even to himself. The only thing he wished was different, was the fact that she was here against her will. He wanted to spark the fire in her that had drawn his interest, to banter with her and wake up next to her for the rest of his life. He had no desire to ever sleep with anyone else.
Sakura shifted, moving her head as she leant backwards into him; a soft sigh left her lips and he gripped her tighter, his thoughts dwelling on her very feminine scent before drifting away again.
He'd been looking into how that leaf group could've infiltrated Suna without raising any alarms and the thought that whoever had poisoned his father was in league with Konoha hadn't escaped him. It was no coincidence that they'd suddenly had a way into Suna shortly after the true nature of his father's condition became known to him.
And for his part, Gaara had discovered the dead body of the guard responsible for the hidden entrance; toxicology reports indicated the man had been dead for seven days prior to the leaf team infiltration, so someone had to have taken his place in the meantime. It stood to reason that this duplicate was also someone who had to have been let in the front gates in the first place; traffic into Suna was too heavily scrutinised for them to have snuck in. After all, if they'd had a way to sneak people in, the Leaf wouldn't have needed to replace that low ranked shinobi in the first place.
And then there was the other matter; there were no recorded missing person's case from the time the ninja had been killed, let alone when the duplicate too, had disappeared – permanent resident or not.
Gaara's sand detected fluctuations of unknown chakra throughout Suna at any given point, so the person who'd taken the guard's place would've had to have been in Suna for a while before taking on the dead man's role. It was baffling. And the jutsu that had been used confused him even more – there was nothing where his face used to be, as if it had melted right off or something. What kind of jutsu did that? How did someone steal another person's face?
His eyes drifted over to the window, to the potted plant on the ledge. Where the hell had that come from? It was too ugly to believe that Sakura had deliberately bought it; it had to be from Temari. He learned long ago that his sister had weird taste in flora life. His first clue was that she didn't appreciate his cacti collection.
Gaara's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door, and he sensed Sakura's handmaid on the other side. It would be improper of her to enter without permission, but she wasn't going to go anywhere until someone answered the door. Groaning softly, Gaara untangled himself from the pinkette and strode toward the door before pulling it open roughly.
He growled at her. That was all it took; the poor girl made a few squeaking sounds and gave a trembling curtsy before apologising and dashing away.
It was only after Gaara had closed the door and stalked back toward the bed that he realised he was still naked. That explained the girl's impersonation of a tomato; he didn't care, not embarrassed by how he looked, but made a mental note to make sure that handmaid either stayed quiet or went missing. He didn't need it getting out that some insignificant servant had found him in Sakura's room, not to mention naked.
Gaara sighed, running his hand through his hair as he debated getting dressed and just leaving the room; hunting down that blonde, slip of a girl and shutting her up was tempting, but something else caught his eye. Almost like a temptation sent by Kami to test his patience, the moment he spotted it, he couldn't look away.
And there was no way to excuse what he did next.
Gaara gave his conscience a quick once over, deemed it a waste of time, and walked over to the desk he'd once seen Sakura hunched over, like she was writing out her last will and testament. He'd wondered then what she was up to, and now he had the perfect opportunity to find out.
He scanned the top of the desk, finding nothing of interest, before opening the drawers; there were letters inside, with one addressed to someone called "Naruto" sitting on top; Gaara fingered the edge of the unsealed parchment. It was obviously intended for posterity more than anything ‒ perhaps a journal more than a letter. But he was curious… A part of him didn't want to know who this mystery person was to the pinkette, while the rest of him was whispering how he'd just be making sure it wasn't some lover back in Konoha that he had to have buried somewhere, in a desert far, far away.
He glanced back at Sakura as she stirred, rolling toward his side of the bed, groaning and then rolling away from him again, all awhile murmuring in her sleep. Her breathing was deep and even, so she was definitely asleep. The sheets had fallen away, and he was awarded with an unobstructed view of her back; the bed sheet clung to her lower body like a second skin. He gazed at the sight for a moment before returning to the letters. If she didn't know he'd done this, there was no problem.
Gaara inspected the first letter in his hand, and almost didn't open it. Curiosity had always been his undoing.
Naruto,
I know I'm stupid to keep writing letters to you, since I'll never be able to send any of them, but it helps me think. I've been given parchment, writing utensils and some measure of privacy, so why not, right?
Hm. What else has happened? I finally have full access to a bathroom, and I've been given what I need to find a cure for their Kazekage. I shouldn't be putting this down on paper but, the fact that someone is trying to poison the man and not have him killed outright, like one would expect for an actual assassination attempt, is suspicious; not that I know much about what assassins really get up to beyond the obvious. It's your fault I don't have a very political mind. I blame you entirely.
What I mean to say is I think this isn't about killing Arō, or at least not just about killing him. He'd be dead already if it was. No need to try making it look like a natural death.
I shouldn't bore you with this. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell you this to your face eventually. Tell everyone I'm thinking about them, that I haven't given up hope that Gaara will let me go when I'm done here.
And tell Sasuke… tell Sasuke I still love him. No matter what, I always will.
Love Sakura.
Gaara stared at the parchment, struggling not to scrunch it in his hands. Never mind this Naruto; this Sasuke was a dead man. He pondered on how to achieve exactly that when he noted the date on the letter: it was shortly after he'd moved Sakura to this room. He rummaged around, looking for one with a later date. There was another one addressed to "Kakashi" and Gaara had a sudden image in his head of the copy ninja. Kakashi Hatake was one of the leaf Shinobi who had infiltrated Suna – a day he wouldn't forget. The date on it was the 15th of February – during the two months he'd ignored Sakura. Glancing again to make sure the pinkette was still fast asleep, Gaara started to read.
Kakashi,
I never really know what to say to you. I included a request for shishou in my letter to her to kick your arse for me because we both know she can, but other than that, nothing much else comes to mind. Is Sai home yet? He promised me a present when he came back next time, since he spends so much time away from Konoha these days. And Yamato?
When I have so little to do, writing to you guys is the only thing that makes me feel less lonely. But I wanted to say, Kakashi-Sensei, no matter what happens, I'll never regret our times as Team Seven, and replacing you with Tsunade; just kidding. I expect a hug when I get back – no backing out on this one.
Love Sakura.
He told himself to stop – these were personal and none of his business – but Gaara couldn't help himself. It was more than just invading her privacy; these un-mailed letters were a window into understanding the woman he had fallen in love with. A nagging voice in the back of his head told him if he really loved her, that he would put everything back, and confess his depravity to her when she woke up. But he was a coward more than anything else, and selfish – no matter how much he cared about her. Nobody was perfect, after all. He had a raison d'être, and reasoning beyond selfish insanity.
Gaara waded again, through the parchment, and one addressed to "Ino" caught his eye – it was dated for the 27th of March, three days ago.
Ino,
It's been almost two months. Why won't he come see me? I know what you're thinking: I sound stupid, hoping my captor will come and "rescue" me from my solitude. But I love him Ino, I really do. I know that's hard to believe and completely insane, but I can't help it. I want to rant and yell at him, but I can't. He won't come when I pull on the sand on my wrist. He didn't tell me that you tried to come find me, he didn't care enough to give me that much. It makes me wonder what he really does think about me, if anything at all.
Oh yeah, and it was Kankuro that told me about you, Naruto, Kakashi-Sensei and Sasuke. Who'd have thought Sasuke of all people would come traipsing into Suna? I'd have thought he'd still be in Otogakure, on his precious mission. But I'm glad he did – I'm glad you all did.
Kankuro also told me that Hinata's pregnant; it's weird to hear it from him instead of Naruto and Hinata. I mean, he's never even met them! I wish that I had been there when she and Naruto decided to reveal that they were expecting. Every Shinobi nation must know if Suna does. I miss you all so much. I can't wait to see you.
Love Sakura.
P.S. If you've let my bonsai wilt and die, I'll personally rearrange your pig face.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, Gaara carefully replaced every letter, mentally chastising himself. He'd gotten so used to not caring how selfish he seemed to others that it had become habit to just give into every single one of his own whims. He wondered what a normal person would have done upon seeing those letters as he made up his mind not to leave the room after all.
Gaara slipped back under the sheets, wrapped his arms around Sakura's waist, his mind reeling.
Sasuke.
Sasuke.
Gaara wasn't stupid, and the answer was slapping him in the face: the raven-haired man in that leaf group had had the Sharingan. He was this Sasuke… Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura had a history with him.
'How could I forget that?'
Back when Arō had first fallen sick, and it became clear that no medic under his authority or within their alliance could cure him, Gaara had stayed awake for almost four days pouring through all the candidates that weren't necessarily on good terms with the land of wind. The apprentice to the Hokage was forefront in his mind, but he did entertain the idea of other well-known medics before finally settling on her. So, he got to work knowing his enemy, learning what he could through their contacts and running down her entire ninja career, which included dossiers on her team mates as well.
There had been a titbit of information regarding a long-standing relationship with some Uchiha, or a team mate, and Gaara saw now that it was both.
He glanced down at Sakura as mumbled something unintelligible. She looked so peaceful, so he decided to pull her to his chest and wait for her to wake up on her own.
…
The planned, diplomatic morning luncheon had failed miserably; Gaara had promised the council six months ago that he would attend. Past the point of proper decorum, he was now officially a no-show; as was expected from someone so delinquent, he'd been impossible to track down since that abysmal fiasco at the celebrations the night before. So, the council went right along like it was business as usual. Also, with Arō Sabaku bedridden for the rest of the day, they also decided to hold an impromptu meeting, to discuss the commotion the night before, not to mention the waning support from Iwagakure as their Kazekage's condition failed to improve.
If something wasn't done soon, they would lose their strength in the current hostilities. War was a way of life, and if they showed weakness by losing the Iwagakure alliance, Suna would suffer greatly. They would never recover from that catastrophic failure.
"If the Kaze-heika cared about our delicate political standing, he'd be here right now."
Councillor Rikuto was the resident genjutsu expert on the council, having been renown in his own right in his youth, and had even handpicked Captain Yura to lead the groups responsible for the genjutsu that hid their village from outsiders. It was a play on sandstorms and wind alike; nobody outside of Suna natives knew how infrequent it really was for such storms to actually linger outside the village.
It had also been his suggestion that Arō be deposed before his condition killed him.
There were no words subtle enough for such a proposal, but he had tried. What mattered was that Suna appeared strong, even when they could not honestly claim to be so.
"But if we are to survive, then Gaara must take his place as Kazekage," he insisted. "With our alliance with Iwa waning, it's only a matter of time before one of them slips up and the rest of the shinobi nations discover our Kage is unable to perform his duties."
"He too has been unreliable as of late," Sakyou said, not bothering to hide his frustration for the boy. "That Kunoichi is distracting him; this morning is a perfect example of his dereliction of duty."
Nobody commented on that. Gaara Sabaku was the Kaze-heika, and as such, he had a duty to his people. But it was more than just learning the ins and outs of politics, or actually gracing them with his presence when he'd said he would. This went beyond that, at least as far as many on the council were concerned. Arō had been through this and warned Gaara not to take it lightly, and the youngest Sabaku had been rather accepting of it. This Kunoichi however, could mess things up.
Silence fell between them until finally, Councillor Satsumi spoke up with what she believed a more immediate concern. "As for the other topic at hand, I believe we need to revise our current defences, not the least of which is the border genjutsu that guards our village."
Rikuto scoffed. "No-one's getting through the genjutsu."
"That illusion is only so strong," she reminded him, earning herself a grunt of annoyance from the prideful genjutsu master. She silently reminded herself also, that even the strongest illusion could fall prey to an equally strong enough opponent, not wanting to anger Rikuto – he would waste valuable time defending what he'd always seen as a superior form of jutsu. "We need to re-evaluate our alliances and if necessary, replace them before they do more harm than good."
"We have yet to be invaded by opposing forces, and you're acting like the enemy already has a strong foothold in our halls," Councillor Junichi hissed.
He wasn't one to jump to conclusions – people thought him too idle when it came to threats, but he believed himself cautious. It was an underrated instinct these days.
"Stop pretending nothing's going on," Satsumi snapped back at him, crossing her arms over her chest. "We all know the alliance with Iwa is faltering ‒ it's why we're here."
"Then what is it you propose?" Sakyou asked.
"I agree with deposing Arō," she said, "and beginning young Gaara's rise to Kazekage. But appearances aren't the only thing we need to be wary of. Is no-one else concerned that it's been two months and we haven't heard a thing about Konoha's reaction to the disappearance of Sakura Haruno?"
They were planning something, or already had; she wasn't going to sit on her arse and pretend otherwise.
It was clear to Satsumi then and there that she was the only one who'd realised this. What had they been doing for two months? Sometimes she wondered how most of these doddery men obtained their seats on the council.
But before anyone could rebuke or accede to her words, an ANBU appeared in a flurry of smoke. He was the only member of the ANBU black ops allowed to enter the council chambers this way, so no-one complained. His mask depicted a fowl and his codename was Capon.
"Excuse my intrusion esteemed councillors," he said, bowing appropriately. "But this communiqué arrived mere moments ago, for your eyes only."
Sakyou motioned to him and the man handed over a small scroll before using Shunshin to disappear. One by one, the councillors read the missive, with varying degrees of shock on their faces. It was signed by Orochimaru, the third Senkage.
…
Sakura hadn't really given any thought to what was going to happen when she woke up. That was her own fault for letting her hormones make the decision on whether or not to give in to Gaara's advances.
But the feeling of freedom to choose what side of the bed to sleep on paled in comparison to waking up next to another warm body. She was whole, complete and in stark contrast to what she'd felt before now, something akin to deliriously happy. The next morning after sleeping with someone for the first time, regardless of how many other lovers she'd had, was supposed to feel awkward. And yet, Sakura had never felt more at ease.
Gaara's arms were at her waist, wrapping her in a possessive hold; he was pressed so firmly against her that she was surprised she could still breathe. Sakura shifted, nuzzling his chest; an understanding had passed between them and before he had even realised she was awake, Gaara was already stroking her. His fingers slipped between them and she lifted her head to stare at him, riding out his little adventure. To say he was turned on by the involuntary sounds he was inducing was an understatement; moving his hips with hers, he leant in to kiss her as she instinctively grinded against him. The moment she'd registered that she was waking, her body had already caught on to the sensations being induced from the man lying next to her.
There was no resistance from her body as he entered her, sinking inside and as far as he could go. Gaara moved immediately, the previous teasing pace uninterrupted as he stared into her eyes. She let out a yelp as he pushed her onto her back and Sakura kissed him again, running her hands through his choppy crimson locks. He had been so rough last night that she braced herself for the inevitable, only to realise Gaara was taking it easy this time. He didn't quicken as she grinded him, merely shifting to get a better angle on her. He was taking control and seemed content to immerse himself in her body as lovingly as possible.
And Sakura found herself all the more aroused because of it.
The tension coiled through her, straining for release that wouldn't come, not yet. He slowed whenever he felt her edging near her end, dragging it out on purpose. And just when she couldn't take it anymore, she constricted around him one last time, her body moving of its own accord as she grew tighter and tighter before screaming out her lover's name; waves of wanton pleasure crashed over her, and the flushed body on top of her pushed her over the edge.
Sakura sighed, shuddering in the next moment, as Gaara emptied inside of her, and no words could describe the growl that emanated from him.
She was content to just stay the way she was, the Kaze-heika on top of her, still inside her, and fast falling asleep again. But Gaara rolled off her immediately, pulling her into his chest. The scent of his exhaustion was overwhelming, and the smell of sex made her hum softly.
"Sakura?"
"Hm?"
"Don't ever leave me."
"Hm."
She was too tired to respond properly, her eyes closed and a small smile on her face; but he kissed her softly, deciding the ensuing, soft moan was one of compliance. "Go back to sleep," he whispered.
Sakura did as she was told; it was easy, the hammering of his heart effectively lulling her to sleep.
She woke up again what seemed hours later; Gaara was moving off of her bed and the sound of rustling clothes confirmed that he was indeed leaving. Again, she was too tired to react, and through hazy, heavy lidded eyes, she watched him disappear in a swirl of sand as she drifted off again.
…
Temari thrummed her fingers along the windowsill, glaring at the sun and fidgeting. She was worried about her little brother – that idiotic redhead had gone and done something, she just knew it. No-one had seen him since last night's debacle with that ridiculous Iwagakure dignitary, and he really knew how to hide.
Come to think of it, he'd left with Sakura…
She glanced back as Kankuro sighed and flopped ungracefully from his standing position against the doorframe, onto the floor. They were in Gaara's room – he couldn't avoid this place forever.
"Where is he?" Kankuro whined.
"Why don't you go creep around the other hallways and domiciles and look for him," Temari said.
"Nah, he'll come back here."
"You just don't want to go looking for him."
"True."
Temari sighed. "Idiot."
He didn't answer, closing his eyes and letting himself drift away – not to fall asleep, but enough so that the distant humming of outside noise (from outside the main house of the Sabaku family) soothed instead of annoyed him. He knew Gaara would be back; he just liked to torture them with his disappearing acts. But after that mess the night before, this was troubling. Kankuro had a bad feeling about it. Someone had deliberately gone after their father with a strangely overdone attempt at inconspicuous assassination, the Iwagakure delegates were one senbon short of a survival kit, and Gaara had decided to fly the coup shortly after the party. It bugged him, but what he needed right now was uninterrupted and deep meditation, not the crazies, as Temari had been like all morning.
Funnily enough, said Kunoichi had grown quiet after her slight on his intelligence. He decided to count his blessings and not retort. Best not to fan the flames she was so talented at creating.
His calm was short lived as Temari started pacing. Out of the two of them, she was the smarter, the stronger, and the most likely to get married first (drawn out engagements not-withstanding). But one thing Kankuro could proudly boast to do better than the oldest Sabaku sibling was keep his cool; even when he did lose it, it was usually long after Temari, or Gaara had. He'd learnt from the best – their mother.
"You're going to wear a hole in the floor," he said, not opening his eyes.
"And you're going to fall asleep," she retorted. "Aren't you worried?"
"Very, but I'm trying not to let it affect my blood pressure."
She groaned. "You're right."
Kankuro opened his eyes, surprised to find that she'd gone and lain down on Gaara's bed. "You do know that Gaara's had sex in that bed, right?"
He chuckled as she jumped up, darted away, and settled on the one-person settee instead. "Shut up," she snapped.
"Alright, alright, calm down." He continued to smile. "I think he doesn't use his own bed anyway – can't sneak out of the room before the random girl wakes up if it's his room. Well, I guess he could, but he'd have to come back eventually."
Temari eyed the bed. "Are you sure?" It was very comfortable, after all.
He shrugged. "Ask him when he comes back."
Temari frowned at him. "Maybe…"
She didn't want to voice the thought that had just popped into her head, considering that Kankuro had a thing for Sakura, too. Gaara hadn't come back to his room – the maids had confirmed as much, since they hadn't been allowed in to clean, and the bed was still made. To top it off, the last time anyone had seen him, he'd been with Sakura. She bit her bottom lip, wondering if it had occurred to Kankuro that Sakura had finally given in to their little brother. All worries seemed a distant concern for the puppet master – he'd closed his eyes again, and a small tug on the corner of his mouth told her he was at least mildly happy. He'd just made her feel better, which had probably been his intention all along.
Temari passed the time recounting the last set of proper etiquette she'd learnt as preparation for her wedding, despite that the whole affair still made her depressed. It was something to do. She'd just checked the clock by Gaara's bed for the eighteenth time when he finally arrived.
"What are you two doing in here?"
Kankuro climbed sleepily to his feet and wiped at his eyes – he completed the image with a stifled yawn.
"Waiting for you," Temari said, standing up. "Where have you been?"
Gaara gave Kankuro a slightly uneasy glance before disappearing into his bathroom.
"Gaara!" Her voice was drowned out as the shower came on, but she wouldn't be deterred, pacing again and waiting for him to finish. When he finally emerged, she left him be to get dressed (all of their bedrooms had an impressive en suite walk-in wardrobe). "We were worried about you," she said. "You disappeared, Gaara."
She didn't expect an immediate response.
"I was busy," Gaara said, finally emerging, fully clothed. He wore his usual trousers and overalls and looked completely at ease. She was getting a nagging feeling she'd been right about him being with Sakura.
"Busy with what?" She asked.
He frowned at her. "I was busy," he repeated.
"Doing what?"
He didn't respond, glancing at Kankuro warily before moving to the window. Sometimes, if he ignored them long enough, they left him be.
"Gaara?" Temari asked, worried. "What did you do?"
He continued to ignore her, preferring to pretend he was more interested in the sight before him; from his window, he could see children playing ninja and a group of teenage girls talking in huddled whispers. This unremarkable sight wasn't one he was unaccustomed to, so it was easy to distract his thoughts by staring impassively at such a lively scene. He suddenly found the humdrum of the world below a far more interesting sight than it had been a day ago.
"Gaara?"
It was Kankuro this time. His voice was even, but Gaara heard the barest hint of curiosity, nonetheless. Both of his siblings had caught on pretty quickly to the fact that Gaara was physically attracted to the pinkette, but neither would have guessed he would find himself drawing her into his bed; or him into hers. If he had slept with her last night, it had to have been in the bed that had been hersfor two months. How were they to know he would give anything to be there right now, perhaps forever, and keep her all to himself? They weren't to know he'd hand Suna over to the enemy to keep Sakura from leaving his side. What would they know of how he could barely breathe in her presence, and when she wasn't around, he could still feel her?
Nothing.
And he was well aware that his love for her was entirely selfish.
Temari touched her younger brother lightly on the shoulder, worried about him.
"Were you with Sakura?" She asked.
Unable to lie to her, Gaara nodded his head softly, but avoided eye contact all the same.
"What did you do Gaara?" The question was a moot point, as it was clear what he was going to say, if he ever came out and just admitted it.
'I fell in love with her.'
He wasn't one to mince words, but at the same time, he found the words difficult to voice. He had tried to keep himself away from her, to avoid the temptation of mixing business with pleasure – she was supposed to be a means to an end, that's all. But he'd proceeded to fuck her senseless instead. How did one say that without sounding crude or ridiculous? He trusted that neither Temari nor Kankuro would sell him out to the council, but there were so many other factors to consider, not the least of which was Sakura's position as an enemy prisoner and not consort to the Kaze-heika. Sighing, he knew that he couldn't keep this from them, not successfully anyway, and they'd be more annoyed with him if he lied.
'And I still have a handmaid to deal with.'
Gaara turned his head to look at Temari, noting that she was calm while Kankuro was a little fidgety (it was usually the other way around). The redhead had suspected the brunette had grown fond of Sakura, which made this confession that much more difficult. But there was no getting out of this.
"I slept with her."
Kami that was… weird sounding, coming from him. He could hardly believe the words were his.
Kankuro's reaction was as he'd predicted; he looked embarrassed, shocked, and incredibly jealous. No hint of anger yet, but Gaara wasn't holding his breath on that outcome. Temari however, seemed to have gone blank. Her face was emotionless except for those calculating eyes of hers and, uncharacteristically, she didn't seem to have anything to say to him. And the silence dragged on. Eventually however, the blonde broke said silence, a soft look of concern now shadowing her features.
"It was consensual?"
Gaara hated the way she said that, possibly even more than this conversation itself. He didn't want to be talking to either of his siblings about sex. It felt so… unnatural. His expression grew rigid and he nodded his head slowly, conveying without words how annoyed he was with her half-hearted accusation.
"I had to ask Gaara," she said, her voice light and indifferent now. "Frankly, every time I see you two in the same room together, I worry you're about to jump her right then and there. You haven't been very good at hiding your feelings lately, and she's chaotic at best: I worry my little brother might suddenly decide to rape the only person who might be able to heal our father." She raised her hands in a surrendering motion as he growled at her. "I only mean to say I'm glad you two are getting along so well."
Temari was saved from his wrath by a knock at the door. The medic's name was Kokoro Shimizu – she was the most recent apprentice of their uncle. He was more of a teacher lately anyway and hadn't been involved in anything otherwise since Arō's first symptoms, but no medic within their grasp was spared from that.
"Kokoro?" Kankuro asked. "Is everything okay?"
She shook her head. "Your father has taken a turn; I came to ask the Kaze-heika to fetch the leaf medic."
They knew her well enough to know that they'd already tried to help Arō and now Sakura was the only hope left. Temari turned around to tell Gaara he should fetch Sakura only to realise he had already disappeared.
"We'll meet him there," she said instead, dragging Kankuro with her as she followed Kokoro.
Gaara had shunshined out the moment Kokoro mentioned his father and was surprised to find Sakura already awake and dressed (though there was no reason he should be). But before she could tend to his father, he had to do one last thing. Screw the council and fuck the rules: Gaara took a hold of Sakura's wrists, ignoring her widened eyes, allowed the sand shackles to release their grip on her, and pushed his chakra into her body. She trembled at the invasion, the searing heat of his chakra threatening to overload her; there was no time to allow her chakra to come back naturally. He ignored her silent, questioning eyes, relaying Kokoro's message, and didn't wait for her to acquiesce before teleporting her with him and directly into his father's chambers.
Sakura pulled away immediately, moving forward as the medics in the room made room for her. She hadn't scrubbed up, but the pinkette had done emergency surgery in all kinds of conditions, regardless of hygiene. Arō was flat on his back, thrashing and screaming unintelligibly – she didn't have time to worry about anything else right now. She vaguely sensed several more people arriving but didn't dwell on it.
Sakura ran her borrowed chakra over Arō's body, looking for the poison and cocking her head slightly to the side as an indication to the nearest nurse who had seemed to have anticipated her needs; the woman had clean towels, and a basin of water laid out. The Kazekage's condition had gone beyond the hydrous paste she'd created in an attempt to stave off the poison, and there was no getting around it: this was going to hurt.
"Hold him down!" She snapped, as Arō broke away from her gasp.
Gaara's chakra, though powerful, was too foreign and she struggled to control it. The medics strapped Arō down, his newly strapped bonds consisting of chakra enhanced cords and fastenings.
Without warning, she shifted chakra roughly through his torso, moving directly to his pelvis where the majority of the poison had been the last time she examined him ‒ there was no time to make this gentle as possible. The newest build-up of toxin was lower than last time, but his system was weaker than she'd ever seen it, having little to no time to recover from every application.
"Damn it."
How the hell was he still being poisoned? Didn't Gaara have someone personally supervising what he ate and drank? If they didn't give her everything she wanted after this, she was going to kill that red head herself. This was downright infuriating!
"Arō," she groaned, foregoing the honorifics. "Get your arse in gear old man."
She needed him to stop thrashing, to hear her voice and help her. Gaara's chakra was finally synching with hers and she sighed in relief as her control aligned the way she was used to. Sakura syphoned as much of the poison as she could, using the water and cleaning her hands periodically; his skin had ruptured, and blood adorned her hands more than once before he finally settled down.
Once the Kazekage stopped struggling, Gaara came closer, close enough to hear Sakura murmur in his father's ears "I'm sorry: I'm sorry, I can't do anything more."
Almost immediately, the other medics ran from the room once the sand started to form. Terrified of their own Kaze-heika, they didn't hesitate to flee the moment they saw his unearthly weapon even begin to appear. Somewhere behind him, familiar voices tried to soothe him, but he ignored his siblings.
"Gaara," Sakura said, taking his arm; he stopped and stared at her. "Get out of the room."
The order was so audacious, he was too shocked to respond. But Temari and Kankuro moved forward to help. Once they were gone, Sakura eyed her patient, feeling as exhausted as he looked. It wasn't over, not by a long shot.
And even though Arō was no longer thrashing, his body having lost what little energy it had left, he was still straining against his bonds. His eyes pleaded with her and it was all Sakura could do not to put him out of his misery herself.
…
X X X
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A/N: Bad Gaara! Bad, bad, bad Gaara! Naughty. Shouldn't invade Sakura's privacy like that. He'll get his… ;P
Lotsa love! ^_^
R&R.