Title: The Devil's Whisper
Short Summary:
Sakura is a Psychiatrist for a mental hospital for the Konoha Hospital who then gets moved to her dream job in the Suna Hospital for the Criminally Insane to take care of a very dangerous patient named Gaara. WARNING! Sasuke bashing!!
Pairings:
Sakura/Sasuke, Sakura/Gaara
Warning: Story contains implied and/ or scenes of: major language, torture, rape, angst, adult scenes, violence and probably more…
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.
Chapter XI
There was a light breeze blowing all around her and it felt very nice. The smell of salt swirled around her and it was very pleasant. It was so peaceful and she wished that it would last for a very long time. Sakura found herself walking down the black sand beach, once again, staring off at the gorgeous colors in the sky. The many reds, yellows and oranges filled their entire sky, looking almost like a tropical sunset for her to look at. It was like a paradise here.
It was that dream again, she realized.
Sakura glanced down at her body and found herself wearing the light green bikini with a white shawl tied around her slender waist and she was bare foot as she walked along the deep blue and teal waves splashing against the beach. She recognized the dream that she had been having for the past few nights. And when she looked down the beach, she realized she wasn't alone. Again. Down the beach, her emerald green eyes spotted the handsome devil, himself, Gaara. He was doing what he usually did in the dream. Staring at the sunset with a peaceful look on his face. That is until he realized that he wasn't alone and looked to see her watching him. He was wearing the black slacks and black silk shirt with the top four buttons undone, showing off his pale chest. His skin was almost the color of pearl against the black but his complexion was almost beautiful even to Sakura's opinion. He was so good looking and it should have been a crime. His devilish handsome smirk curled on his face before the red haired man turned and started walking towards her.
'This is it. I'm going to wake up before he comes too close.' Sakura thought to herself in a dreamy way, though she did feel disappointment to think that she would wake up before he reached her.
But......he did this time.
Gaara Sabaku actually walked right up to her and stood not more than two feet away from her, looking right into her wide green eyes. His arms hung down at his sides while his head was dipped down low to look at her. Sakura couldn't help but stare breathlessly up at him. She had never seen him come close to her like this. But here he was, standing close to her and looking down into her eyes. If that wasn't enough, he slowly reached up and moved his hand so close to her face, lightly putting his fingers against her cheek.
It surprised Sakura to actually feel those fingers. She could feel them against her skin, as if they were really there on the beach. She felt a tingle run through her body as he slowly trailed his fingers down her cheek towards her chin where he cupped it with his hand. It felt so real.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Sakura's eyes snapped open and she jolted awake from hearing her alarm clock and threw herself up into a sitting position. She sat there for a moment listening to the loud beeps before she groaned and reached over to push the button to shut it up. Groaning some more, she reached up and rubbed her eyes, thinking about why she set her alarm clock. She knew she didn't have work that day. It was Saturday.
"Sakura." Came Itachi's voice before he appeared in the door way with a pan full of scrambled eggs and bits of ham cooked in it. "Sakura, get up. We have things to do."
Dryly, Sakura looked up at him, knowingly. She knew who set her alarm clock now. She remembered that she hadn't set it last night so it must have been Itachi. She was feeling some regret for letting him move in with her now. "Itachi. It's Saturday. I get to sleep in on Saturdays. Remember?" She asked blankly.
Itachi, however, shook his head as he smirked at her and turned away a little. "Not today. You start your Self Defense classes today, remember? I told you that last night. Or weren't you listening? You concentrate way too hard on your work, you know that, right? I know you want to help your patients, but you really shouldn't push yourself so hard. You'll wear yourself down." he told her. He heard her swearing as she grabbed her pillow and covered her face so she could scream in it. He only chuckled. He knew very well that she wasn't happy about being forced to take Self Defense but he wanted to make sure that she could take care of herself. But he also knew that she'd get over it sooner or later.
Annoyed, Sakura laid back down and glared up at her ceiling. This was so not going to end well.
The Dojo Itachi had signed her up at was half way across Suna so it about twenty minutes to get there. It was called "The Green Beast Dojo," which made Sakura raise her eyebrow and give Itachi a look as if he had lost his mind. She was starting to wonder after seeing this place. Once inside she saw that there was a small store that sold weapons and equipment for Self Defense training. It was pretty much in the front of the store where there was a young woman sitting there, reading a magazine. She merely glanced up at the two before pointing to a hallway to the right. "If you're here for the new classes, just head down that way. They've started already but they won't care if you're late. God forbid that." She said rolling her eyes. "Just remember to take off your shoes before you enter the Dojo."
Sakura frowned but did as she was told with Itachi following behind her. They both took off their shoes and placed it on a shelf where there were quite a few shoes. So obviously they weren't the ones, not that they thought they were going to be. In fact as soon as they stepped into the Dojo area, Sakura froze. It was due to the fact that the very first thing she saw was Rock Lee doing push ups, yet standing up on his hands. He was there, wearing a deep green Gi.
"Oh, god. No." She groaned.
Rock Lee must have seen the flash of pink because he looked over with almost everyone else before his face brightened. He shoved himself upward and flipped over onto his feet. He stood up and hurried over to them, much to Sakura's disappointment. She really didn't want him to. "Miss Sakura Haruno! You're here! Did you come to see me then?!" he asked hopefully, grinning a sparkling smile at her.
Sakura gave Itachi a very dry side wards glance. She wondered if he knew that Rock Lee was going to be here at the Dojo. But she frowned a little when she saw how surprised he looked. So he obviously hadn't known that the strange pizza boy was going to be there. But with a sigh, she turned her eyes back onto Lee and tried to smile. "No. Actually, I'm starting up Self Defense classes." She shot Itachi a look again. "Apparently, I need to learn how to defend myself." She told the black haired young man.
Grinning, Lee looked excited either way. He then turned and started waving a hand into the air. "Gai-sensei! Gai-sensei!! She's here! Here is the angel that I told you about!" He yelled, catching everyone's attention.
The pink haired girl's face turned bright red when she saw every eye turned towards them. She had not wanted to have everyone notice her. But it was a little too late to make Lee shut up. Because everyone was looking at her now. Most of them were guys, of course. In fact, it looked like all of them were. And what bewildered her more than Lee was a man who looked exactly like him, only bigger and stronger looking. He had the weird bowl cut hair and thick fuzzy eyebrows, only they were fuzzier than Lee's. He even was wearing an identical green Gi just like Lee's.
Behind him was a very large man, much bigger built than the man who looked like. He was much taller by a head and had very pale skin that looked almost blue like. His hair was very dark with a blue tint to it and his eyes were just as dark. He wore a black sweat pants and light blue muscle shirt with a bandana tied around his head, but he wasn't looking at Sakura. His eyes were on Itachi. Grinning, he and the weird Lee look alike walked right up to them and greeted the two. "Hey, Itachi! Glad you could make it!" He said in a deep voice. He then looked at Sakura, who was very much surprised by both of the men. "Hey, this the chick you told me about?" he asked, gesturing her with his thumb.
"CHICK?!" Sakura exclaimed through gritted teeth. She was really starting to get tired of being called that.
Itachi made a face as he placed a hand onto her shoulder and shook his head at the large man. He knew very well that Sakura hated being called a chick. "Kisame, don't call her that. She's a young lady. And her name is Sakura Haruno. And yes. This is her." He glanced back at Sakura. "Sakura, this is an old friend of mine. Kisame Hoshigake. We went to school together. He's also a master of the sword." he then motioned to the Rock Lee look alike. "This is Gai Maito. He runs this Dojo and he's a master of the fist. He's going to be teaching you, Sakura."
"Oh." Gai said, his eyes brightened a little as he glanced from Itachi to Sakura. "Miss Haruno, I've heard quite a bit about you. Rock Lee, here, for one." He nodded to Lee beside him. "I also run a Pizza Gallery and he hasn't stopped talking about you."
Beside him, Rock Lee was blushing bright red.
"But Itachi also informed me that you.....you had a little trouble a couple of weeks ago. He hasn't given me the details and I won't ask for them at all. He just said that you need to learn how to defend yourself. So he signed you up for lessons here. Don't you worry, Miss Haruno. We can teach you all of the basics and more, if you like what you're learning." Gai explained.
The tall blue skinned man nodded as he glanced over at Itachi then back to Sakura, who was making a face at the thought of Itachi actually telling someone that she had been attacked by his younger brother. The man, himself just folded his arms over his chest and shrugged. "Well, since me and Itchy's been friends for a long time, he gave me the details." He held up a hand when Sakura's face flushed hot red and she turned to glare at Itachi. "Hey, hey, babe. I made him tell me. And I can tell you one thing, I don't go for that kind of crap. When I find Sasuke, myself," He grinned rather wickedly. "He's going to wish he can take it back. A real man doesn't hurt a woman. So he's just a little boy who don't know how to grow up. Prissy little S.O.B." He remarked, rather evilly.
Sakura drew back a little. "Um, Itachi? Am I going to be okay learning here?" She asked, eyeing Kisame Hoshigaki uneasily.
Itachi, Kisame and Gai all chuckled and shook their heads, while Lee was just smiling as he reached over and placed a hand onto her shoulder. He looked as if he understood a little. "Do not worry, Miss Haruno. You will be safe here. Gai-sensei is known to be a little unusual but he takes care of his students. He will be nice to you. As for Kisame-sensei, he's crude but he means well. He makes me feel uneasy a little too. But he's a good teacher. And if he is a friend of your friend, then it's okay to trust him." He told her. "He has much honor."
"Don't worry about Kisame, Sakura." Itachi reassured her as he glanced over at Kisame then shook his head. "Rock Lee, here, is right about Kisame. He can be pretty crude but he's a real softie for girls. He's got too much honor to hurt a woman. If you trust me, you can trust him."
Sakura took a deep breath as she let everyone's words reassure her but then she nodded as she placed her hands onto her waist. She knew that if she could trust Itachi, then she'd have to trust his words. So she would go with this whole idea for now. If it didn't work out later on, then it didn't. But if it did, she would know how to fight. "Okay then. I think I'm ready then. What's first, sensei?" She asked, sounding amused.
By the end of the day, she was very sore and irritated.
The lessons that Gai Maito and Kisame Hoshigake started Sakura on was pretty tough on her. At first, it was easy. All they made her do was stretch out her muscles first and then run a few laps around the Dojo, which Rock Lee joined her in. He had wanted to stay close to her and get to know her. In the beginning, she had been pretty creeped out by him because of his eyebrows. She had thought he was weird. But as she talked to him, she was starting to like him. In a friendly way, of course. She learned that Rock Lee once had his own troubles, an abused child in a violent family and he had been picked on and bullied because of his eyebrows and sunny personality. But later on, he had been put in the Foster Care program, and that was how he met Gai Maito. Gai had become his foster father and they just clicked, becoming fast friends. Sakura also learned that Lee was the best student that the Dojo had, due to the strong determination he held within himself. He even encouraged her to take on a month's trial.
"Trust me, Miss Haruno. It's worth it. You will learn so much here and you will never get attacked. If anything else, no one would dare to attack you, if they know better." Lee told her.
After running laps, the real work began. Gai instructed her to try and do some push ups and sit ups, which she did with ease until she reached a hundred. That was where she began to tire. Then came the fighting moves. She began to learn how to punch the right way, kick in the air. She even learned how to break out of a tight grip from behind. It was pretty tough though. She was pretty annoyed with Itachi though, since he joined the classes too. She found it irritated how he could do all of the moves that was being taught to her with ease. But then again, he had taken Martial Arts when he was much younger and he had a Black Belt. She just found it irritating that he wasn't getting as tired as she did. By the end of the day, she was pretty sore and she wanted nothing more than to go to bed.
On Monday, when she returned to work, she was still a little sore. She hadn't known how backbreaking learning Martial Arts could be. She couldn't move without wincing at least once or twice. It had drawn some concern from some of her co-workers and even Sasori had to pause in the hall to look at her with a raised eyebrow as she wobbled a little. He even took the moment to asking if she was all right, which he hardly ever did with anyone else. But she reassure everyone of why she was wobbling and they couldn't help but laugh or shake their heads.
As for her daily visits with her patients, she had, of course, brought an orange for Tobi, which he was very excited to receiving and even begged her to let him share it with her. So they sat together eating oranges and Sakura watched with a smile as Tobi tried to color a picture of her. She had to admit it, he was like a kid, even if he was a grown man. But she really found herself caring about him. Tobi was amusing and she wanted to make sure she could do anything to help him. She even wanted to find out who betrayed him and let him turn out like this. But trying to find out who did this to him would probably be nearly impossible. Only he knew that and when she tried to ask him about it, he got a little distressed which she immediately relieved by giving him another orange. So that was a no go. The visit with Hidan was very short, though. Sakura had entered his room and had only been in there for about a minute before having to leave because he was in a very sour and psychotic mood due to that the voodoo doll he tried to make of her had been taken away. The visit with Pein had been nearly as short too. She entered his room to speak to him and see how he was doing and all he did was sit in the chair from across her and stare dully at her. He refused to answer any of her questions, even though she asked several, trying to get him to talk to her. In the end, it grew a little frustrating for her and all she did was sigh and leave.
But she found herself looking forward to visiting Gaara. She hadn't forgotten about the dream she had the other night, and even last night and felt pretty uneasy about it. But she couldn't help but feel intrigued about it too.
When she arrived at the usual Visiting room, Sakura was surprised to find that she wasn't the only one who was going to visit her patient. Kakashi was there, looking rather serious and business-like. He was carrying a file in his hand that clearly stated that it was probably the ANBU records. She asked him what he was doing there but all he did was shake his head.
"If I'm going to continue this investigation, I need to ask Gaara Sabaku a few questions." Kakashi told her.
So Sakura would grant it. She sat with Kakashi in the room, waiting for Gaara to arrive, which he did in a way she was pleased about. He had just simply walked through the door with no problems at all. He was finally cooperating with them, which the guards were astonished. They had never had him work with them before so they weren't too sure what to expect from him. They had always expected him to be like a savage animal. But for once in years, he was being......well, human, in their opinion.
"Good morning, Doctor Haruno." Gaara said smirking as he walked over to the chair and sat down. His eyes flickered over to Kakashi and narrowed a little but he didn't seem surprised. "I must say I'm surprised to not see Naruto Uzumaki here today with you. I had been expecting him."
Sakura only smiled at Gaara and shook her head as she folded her hands in front of her. She was just happy that he wasn't glaring at anyone today. She could also see that he must have been getting better sleep because the dark rings around his eyes had lightened a little. They weren't so dark anymore. "Naruto is with the rest of my friends sight seeing. They haven't been to Suna before and so they wanted to do a little discovering today. They wanted me to tell you hello for them though." She shrugged before motioning to Kakashi beside her. "Gaara, this is another friend of mine, Kakashi Hatake. He's the ANBU from Konoha that I told you about. He's investigating your father's murder and trying to find his real killer."
"Hmm." Gaara hummed as he glanced over at Kakashi and then frowned when the silver haired man held out his hand as if to shake his own. He stared at his outstretched for a moment. But then he slowly took it and they shook hands, which made Baki's face brighten a little with his own astonishment. "I honestly think you're wasting your time. Even if you do find Yondaime's killer, what will it do for me?"
Kakashi and Sakura glanced at each other, frowning but the ANBU shook his head as he fingered the file in front of him. "We will bring your father's real killer to justice, Mr. Sabaku. And it will solve a crime that you were blamed for. If Sakura thinks you're innocent, then you must be. She truly believes that you are. And I have no choice but to believe her." He told the red head.
Gaara narrowed his eyes but shook his head. "How do you know what she believes is true? What if I did kill Yondaime and I'm just taking you on a wild goose chase." He asked rather blankly.
Both Sakura and Kakashi glanced at one another but the ANBU shook his head. "Then we would have found out the truth about who killed Yondaime Sabaku. We would know exactly what we're up against. Even geese can be caught, Gaara. Other wise, Sakura believes that you're innocent and I'm willing to help her find out the truth about you." He shook his head again. "Now, I've been to the Suna ANBU station and I have been granted access to the crime reports behind you. I've read the reports, read the statements made against you and I have come up with the conclusion that no one even asked you what your side of the story was. Everyone was too scared to asking about what you really did that night, and so," He reached into his ANBU jacket and pulled out a small hand held recorder. "I want to ask you those questions. If you're willing to, I would like you to tell me your side of the story of what really happened that night."
The red haired patient narrowed his eyes to nearly slits and his face grew rather dark. In truth, he did not want to relive that nightmare more than he already did. But his eyes saw the reassuring smile on Sakura's face. She was looking rather hopeful. "Gaara, please. We want to help you. I know you don't like receiving help but I really want to know the truth. Please tell us your side of the story. I've already heard what Temari and Kankuro had to say about it but I want to know what you have to say." She told him.
"......." Gaara grunted before he rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest. "Fine. But I'm cursing you from within, Doctor. If you weren't growing close to my brother and sister, I would ignore you."
His statement only brought a smile to Sakura's face and Kakashi smirked to himself. He was fully aware of why Gaara was being so cooperative. He wasn't stupid. He had eyes. But choosing not to dwell on it any longer, he just held up the small recorder and hit the small recording button. "This is Kakashi Hatake, Class B ANBU from Konoha recording the questioning and confession of Gaara Sabaku of the murder of his father, Yondaime Sabaku." He then carefully set it down on the table. "Now then, Mr. Sabaku. Here's the first question. I have information from your sister, Temari Sabaku that you had just been released from Corrections Facility and had returned home after a two years' confinement there. Is that true?"
Gaara rolled his eyes but he nodded. "Yes." He said, already knowing the procedure for questionings.
Kakashi nodded in satisfaction as his eyes flickered over to Sakura, who was watching her patient very closely. He knew she wanted to listen carefully to every word that Gaara said about this case. "All right. Next question. It was stated that you had a fight with Yondaime the day he was murdered and you were charged with the murder. What was the fight about?" He asked, simply.
The red haired patient looked away impatiently, looking as if he didn't want to answer that question. He even sucked in some air, sounding as if his patience was wearing thin but he let it out and looked Kakashi right in the eyes. "I wanted out of that damn house. I wanted to open up my own bank account and get my own place so I didn't have to deal with Yondaime. But unfortunately I was under aged and I needed a Legal Guardian's consent. So I had no choice but to turn to Yondaime. But he had so much pride up his ass that he didn't want to help me. I was angry and I told him that if he wanted to get rid of me so much he should just swallow his damn pride and help me open up a stupid account and get an apartment. He didn't like my tone so he tried to get a little violent." He stated dryly.
"What did he do?" Kakashi asked, prying.
Gaara narrowed his eyes but let them flicker over to Sakura, who kept a smile on her face. She was still looking pretty hopeful. Taking another deep breath, he turned his eyes back onto the ANBU. "He tried to punch me. But after spending most of my life getting beaten up by him, I got tired of it. So I stopped him and threatened him."
Kakashi tilted his head to the side, his own eyes narrowing a little but more thoughtfully. "How did you threaten him?" He asked, carefully.
"I told him if he ever hit me again, or my siblings I would break his fucking arm." Gaara said, dipping his head a little lower. His words, however, took Sakura by surprised. She knew she had heard him right. He had said Temari and Kankuro too. But they had never told her that they had been beaten by Yondaime. They hadn't said anything. Gaara saw the interest in both Kakashi and Sakura's eyes and he forced a smirk. "I'm not the only one that Yondaime used to hit. Of course Temari and Kankuro didn't tell you that. Whenever they stuck up for me, he got angry with them and he punished them for it."
No one said anything for a few minutes but slowly both the ANBU and the doctor turned their eyes onto the mirrored window, where they knew that Temari and Kankuro were watching and listening. Even though they couldn't see them, they knew that the two had looked away. But the ANBU took another deep breath before he turned his eyes back onto Gaara. "Next question. After your fight, what did you do? What lead up to the discovery of the murder?" He asked, prying again.
There was a very long silence as Gaara let the questions roll into his mind but then he sat up a little straighter and placed his hands on the table in front of him. He stared at the table for a minute then he looked up at the two watching him. "The night that Yondaime was murdered, after the fight, I went out to the bar and did some drinking. I was so angry with him. I wanted to try and wash my anger away with alcohol. I know that alcohol is not the best way to do it. It actually fuels the rage within one's self. Makes the drinker angrier. It did that with me. I grew angrier with each glass I downed. But if your next question is if I killed Yondaime, I wished I did. I had wanted to kill him. He blamed me for some natural mistake that happened to my mother. Something that can't be helped. He put my life through hell, more than I have had here at the Suna Asylum." He shook his head. "But I didn't kill him. I knew that murder would never be the answer. It only leads to more pain. So I chose the 'so called better' path that eventually lead me to becoming Suna Asylum's most dangerous and insane patient. I went back to that house that I was forced to live in with the intention to demand that Yondaime helped me help him get rid of me. I had the intention to actually talk about it. But when I got to the house, I found him dead on the hall floor." He said very darkly.
Sakura was now watching him with pity in her eyes. She knew that this was probably difficult for him to remember. It was got him into this mess in the first place. But it also made her frown. She wondered if Yondaime had never been murdered and Gaara hadn't been convicted, would she have met him in some other way. Would there have been any chance at all that she met him outside the walls of the Asylum?
"If you would, explain what you saw that night. Please don't leave out anything." Kakashi told Gaara.
Gaara looked him right in the eyes before he slowly looked over at Sakura and stared at her green orbs. "The house was dark. The lights had all been turned off. It was pretty late so I figured that everyone had gone to bed. So I walked across the hall to the basement where my room was kept. However, along the way, I tripped over something and fell to the ground, only to fall into a puddle of something thick." He explained. "I stood up and looked at what it was I tripped over on. It was still too dark so I turned on the light and there he was. I had tripped over Yondaime's body. He was covered in blood and his throat slashed open. The blood was every where. I knew I should have called the ANBU but I also knew that I would be the one blamed for his death. Everyone knew that we hated each other. I would get blamed for Yondaime's death because of my already violent history. So I decided to bury his body in the old sand box. Unfortunately for my part, we have a nosy neighbor. She called the ANBU on me and I was arrested and brought here to the Suna Asylum."
"There wasn't a trial?" Kakashi asked frowning.
The red haired patient nodded. "Oh, there was a trial all right. But it didn't even last long. As it was, I had been blamed for murder of the one man I hated the most in my life. When it comes to someone like me, a violent, psychopath, there is no fair trial. The law simply looks at you, reads all of the statements and pictures of the murdered and then they make up their mind. I was submitted to the Suna Asylum, claimed to be insane." He smirked rather coldly. "And here I am."
Sakura frowned at what was being said but she took a deep breath and looked at Kakashi, wondering what was going through his mind. She wondered if he thought that Gaara was guilty of the murder. She wondered what he could be thinking about the whole case. She didn't know what to make out of it, herself. But she truly believed that Gaara was innocent from what happened to his own father. She knew that he hated his own father and had very good reason for it. The man had condemned his own son for something that happened that couldn't be helped. Hemorrhaging was something that happened. A newborn baby should never be blamed for it. In her opinion, Yondaime Sabaku had been childish by blaming Gaara for his wife's natural death. It had not been murder. So he shouldn't have acted like it was.
There was a very long silence as Kakashi looked right into Gaara's eyes, who stared back. They didn't say anything for a minute but then the silver haired ANBU reached out and picked up the small recorder and stopped it. He rewound it a little to get rid of the silence before hitting record again, but this time he kept a hold of it. "Mr. Sabaku, the day of your father's murder, did you see anything out of the ordinary? Any strangers in your neighborhood or people watching your house?"
Gaara's mouth parted a little as if taken back by the question but then he shook his head as he looked away, rather thoughtfully, yet was no doubt concentrating on the past. "Not that I know of. I wasn't really paying attention to the surroundings of my family's manor. Suna City is a rather popular tourist attraction due to the fact that we live in a desert. There are a lot of night clubs and private clubs. Suna City is also famous for our Belly Dancers. It tends to attract a lot of attention." He informed them.
Kakashi nodded as he looked down at the tape in his hand. "I see. But is there anything you can remember at all? Anything you think that might help us. Even if it is useless information." he said lifting his eyes up to the red head's again.
"......" The patient hummed as he thought hard but then he looked right at Kakashi, his eyes starting to darken. "There was one stranger who was constantly in my neighborhood. A white haired man. I only seen him once or twice near my manor. But it wasn't too suspicious. There was an elderly man living in one of the houses on the other side of the street from my family's manor and he was always in need of a home nurse. My siblings and I were under the impression that the white haired man may have been a male nurse for him." He told them.
The ANBU's eyes narrowed a little thoughtfully before he opened the file a fraction and took something out and then held it up to show Gaara. There was a picture of a white haired man clipped to a informal paper. "Was this him?"
Sakura saw Gaara's eyes light up and look very surprised. He had straightened up in his chair and was staring intensively at the picture. There was definitely some recognition in his eyes. So he must have known who that was. Gaara, however, stared at the picture but then he nodded. "That was him. He is who I'm talking about." He looked at Kakashi with confusion in his eyes. "Who.....?" He was asking.
"His name is Kimimaro Kaguya. He is a mercenary and a professional hit man." Kakashi just interrupted as he set the information down on the table and made a glance over to Sakura, who was frowning with surprise. "Unfortunately, he works with the Government too so if he was your father's killer, then it's going to be hard to touch him. He's highly respected by most. But that's because he's so good at what he does. However, no one knows where he is right at the moment so we can't bring him in for questioning." His head dipped down lower. "Gaara, are you certain this is who you saw the day of your father's murder?" He asked being very careful.
Gaara stared at the picture but he nodded. "That's him. I remember when I first saw him, I was thinking about how pale he looked. He looked pretty sickly when I saw him, but there was something about his eyes. He did see me watching him and all he did was acknowledge me with a nod before going into the elderly man's house. After that, I never saw him again." he told Kakashi.
Kakashi sighed as he reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose. He seemed a little frustrated but he also seemed calm at the same time. He was no doubt a little tired from the hard work he had been putting in for the last couple of days. "After the death of Yondaime Sabaku, there had been a call from the house near your own, Gaara. The elderly man you're talking about was found dead in the basement. Apparently, he fell down the stairs leading down to his cellar." he looked at Gaara. "I came across that report by chance, just last night. This report had been miss-filed and accidentally placed into your own. I looked into it just to be careful and that's how I came across this picture of Kimimaro. From the medical reports, the elderly man, your neighbor had been dead for nearly a week. Before your father's murder."
Sakura felt a gasp escape her and she clapped a hand across her mouth. Even Gaara looked surprised to hear that. He slowly shook his head as he narrowed his eyes in confusion. "That's impossible. That man, Kimimaro has been going into Mr. Sakewaki's house for almost two weeks, claiming he had been taking care of him. If Mr. Sakewaki had been dead for a week before Yondaime's death then......."
"Then that means Kimimaro Kaguya knew that he was dead." Kakashi said, his eyes narrowing darkly. "And yet he still went into his house." he quickly hit the stop button and pushed his chair out. "Thank you for the information, Mr. Sabaku. Your information has just made us hit a break. If my suspicions are correct, Kimimaro Kaguya probably killed Kinryū Sakewaki and watched your manor for the right moment to murder Yondaime Sabaku. Now, we're going to have to track him down and bring him in for questioning." He smiled tightly at Gaara, who still looked bewildered. "Looks like Sakura might be right about you. You are innocent of murder. And if we can find the proof, you won't be needing to stay in the Suna Asylum any more. Or going to prison. You will be free if I have anything to say about it." He told him before looking at Sakura, who was smiling brightly up at him. "I'll keep you both updated with what I find."
"Thank you so much, Kakashi!" Sakura said happily as she stood up and grabbed his arm, giving it a light, thankful squeeze. Then she looked brightly at Gaara, who still looked bewildered with what just happened.
Kakashi only nodded to both of them before he headed towards the door while pulling out his cell phone and speed dialing a number. He was just barely pulling the door open when his call connected. "Ibiki, I want a man found immediately. I don't care how you do it or whatever red tape you have to cut, but we have to bring Kimimaro Kaguya in." he paused in the doorway, making a face. "I don't give a damn if there's a red light on that man. I have reason to believe he murdered a nobleman from Suna City. Just find the bastard and bring him in now. Yes, I know you're my boss but we're talking about murder and I don't give a shit that Kimimaro is just a hit man. He's still a murderer, no matter what the damn Government says. Just bring him in, god damn it. I'll take full responsibility for it later." He said grumpily before he was out of view.
Sakura just shook her head as she smiled brightly at Gaara, who looked as if he was in a daze a little. The visit with Kakashi and all of the questions and revelations had caught him off guard. "Gaara! Did you hear that?! We might have found your father's murderer!" She said happily.
Still somewhat dazed, Gaara looked up at her with wide eyes.
The door to the mirror room opened and two smiling older Sabaku siblings came in, looking as if it was Christmas. They have, of course, heard and saw the entire thing. In fact, Temari looked as if she was going to start crying with happiness just by what was revealed. She knew very well that they were probably getting their hopes up for nothing but it couldn't be helped. There was a good chance that her little brother would be freed soon enough. "Gaara! I can't believe you didn't tell us about that guy before!" She said full of emotion before grabbing his shoulder and making him stand up. She threw her arms around him and hugged, which he still seemed dazed.
"Man, Sakura!" Kankuro said grinning at the pink haired doctor. "I think I'm in love with you now! You might have saved our brother's ass!"
From the corner of Sakura's eye, she saw Gaara's head jerk over and he started glaring at his older brother while trying to peel his sister off of him. He didn't look particularly happy with Kankuro. But she wasn't too sure. All she knew was of how happy she felt that Gaara might be off the hook pretty soon. "Please, Kankuro." She remarked rolling her eyes and folding her arms across her stomach. "Whatever happened to that girl you met at that club? The cute dark haired one that you were dancing with and seemed to have taken off with." She said smirking.
Kankuro blinked a few times before he suddenly got a grin on his face. It was true that he had met a pretty girl at the night club the other night and they had hit it off pretty well. He had been dancing with both Sakura and Ino next to him when he ran into her. After that, they started talking and then an hour later, they left to do what was no one else's business. "Oh, yeah. Chihiro. And I can't believe I actually remember her name. Usually when I have one night stands, I forget their names. Might not be a one night stand after all though." He just kept on grinning. "Gotta say, I think I might like her more than you though, babe." he told Sakura, looking a little smug. "Sorry, but I have to admit, but I'm cheating on you."
"Shut up, Kankuro." Both Sakura and Temari said but they were both smiling while Gaara rolled his eyes.
It was at that moment, both Chiyo and Madara came in, both smiling as if they were just as happy as everyone else. The old woman looked very pleased, actually. She was no doubt pleased about the results that was starting to fall into place. "Well, well. Gaara, I must say, I was wrong about you then. I had always believed that you did murder Yondaime, but it looks like I was wrong. I realize that I have been foolish to believing anything bad against you. Please, forgive me." She asked of him.
Gaara stared dully at her for a minute but then looked at Sakura, who smiled at him. He felt his face soften a little. He had to admit it but she was something. She was putting full trust in him and he knew he was going to have to trust her right back. She was fighting for the truth behind him and Yondaime's murder. For his freedom and sanity. He had never guessed that anyone would ever try this hard just for him. His lips curving just a little, he lift his head and looked directly into her eyes. "Doctor Haruno, don't we both have an engagement you promised to keep?"
Sakura blinked in surprise, as did everyone else.
But the red haired patient just grinned smugly at her. "Did you not promise Tobi to read to us in another group session?"
"Oh!" Sakura breathed, her face brightening. She had almost forgotten about that. So much had happened that she did forget the promise that she would read to them. She reached up and ran her hand through her hair, trying to think. She hadn't even come prepared for a reading session with her patients. She hadn't even chosen out a book to read to them. She didn't want to make it too childish because these were full grown men that she was reading to. But she also wanted to capture their attention. And that definitely included Hidan and Pein. She knew very well that they would be pretty hard to get their attention. 'Oh, boy. Why couldn't I have remembered about reading to them?' She thought bitterly to herself. But then an idea popped into her head and she smiled brightly at Chiyo. "Ms. Chiyo, can I get some help with getting my patients in a vacant room where I can have my group session?" She asked.
Chiyo just nodded as she looked at Madara and Baki. "Yes. I think we can do that. Baki, you and Shikamaru gather Dr. Haruno's patients and take them to Visiting Room #13." She told the guard, who only nodded before he left the room.
Sakura just turned her eyes onto Gaara, who was watching her with a smirk on his face. She couldn't help but just smile right back at him. She was just glad that he was starting to trust her. Madara, however, smiled and tilted his head to the side as he watched the pink haired doctor. "I'm curious to know, Miss Haruno." He said, catching her attention. "What story would you be reading to your patients?"
Blinking, Sakura looked at him but then smiled as she shook her head as she folded her hands behind her back. She knew exactly what story she was going to tell her patients. It was a story that would definitely capture the attention she wanted. "Oh, I won't be reading a book, Mr. Uchiha." She revealed, surprising everyone. She only smiled even more as she thought about it. "The story I'm going to be telling my patients will captivate them and hold their interest. I know it will. It's a story about adventure, action and romance. It has explosions, and practically undead villains, and humor!" She told them brightly.
"Really? What story is that then?" Kankuro asked, sounding very interested.
Smiling, Sakura held up a finger and shook her head. "A good one! But if you want to hear it, you have to wait like my patients! And if you want to hear it, you'll just have to sit and listen in." She told him. She only laughed when Kankuro started pouting. Temari even joined in as she folded her arms across her chest.
Not too long later, Sakura was sitting in a comfy chair facing her patients, which Hidan and Pein looked highly irritated about the whole situation. They didn't want to be there at all but in their rooms. But both were glaring at the pink haired doctor, while Gaara was giving them both a look of warning. All the while, both Tobi and Deidara looked excited to see her. They were both sitting on both of her sides, looking at her appreciatively. Gaara was sitting only a few chairs away but was watching her with an amused smirk on his face. He looked like he was going to enjoy this and she really hoped so.
"Sakura! Sakura! Baki said you were going to read Tobi a story!" Tobi said excitedly.
Sakura smiled and nodded as she looked at the cheerful, masked patient. She even took his hand and patted it gently. "That's right. Well, I'm not reading you a story from a book. But telling you it." She told him, earning a happy squeal from her friendly patient.
Hidan made a face as he folded his arms and gave her a very dry stare for her words. He only shook his head as he glared at her. "Oh, why the fuck are you telling us a fucking story?! We're not a bunch of kids, you stupid bitch!" He growled at her. He returned the dark look that Gaara and Deidara both shot at the silver haired voodooist. Pein just blankly glanced at him but then turned his eyes back onto Sakura, who made a face at Hidan's foul language.
"Don't you be calling Sakura such bad words, you meanie!!" Tobi yelled as he jumped to his feet and jabbed a finger towards Hidan.
"Oh, shut up, you fucking retard!!" Hidan snarled.
Sakura frowned at Hidan but she grabbed Tobi's arm and made him sit back down, placing her hand onto his head and gently running her fingers through his hair, which he had seemed to like a lot. She just gave Hidan a very stern look for being rude. "Hidan, don't use language like that. I'm telling you a story that even you can't say no to." She told him calmly.
"Oh yeah?! Fucking prove it, bitch!" Hidan snarled again, his eyes very hard on her.
"That will be quite enough of that, Hidan." someone said very sternly, yet the voice was very low, almost like a whisper. But even so, dangerous.
For a moment, Sakura thought it had been Gaara who spoke because he always spoke like that. But when she glanced at him, she saw that he was looking somewhat taken back himself and looking at Pein. All of her patients were. She blinked in surprise before turning her eyes onto Pein next, who had not taken his eyes off of her. But it was clear that he'd been the one who spoke because he spoke again. "Tell your story, Dr. Haruno. Even though I find it childish to be telling insane criminals like us stories, it gives us something to do and think about." The orange haired patient spoke in such a low and dangerous tone. Even Hidan looked surprised that Pein had talked and he was about to retort but the man sitting next to him turned his strange eyes onto him and gave him the most coldest look that even sent a shiver down Sakura's spine.
"Oh." The pink haired doctor said quite taken aback but then she let out a light sigh as if relieved and smiled at Pein when he looked at her. She was just glad that he was finally talking in her presence. He had never spoken a word since she even arrived to Suna and apparently, he never spoke a word to anyone since he even came to the Asylum, according to his files. "Well, Pein. I'm glad that you're talking. I almost began to believe that you couldn't." She admitted, lightly.
Pein just stared lazily at her. "Your story, please, Doctor." He requested.
Blinking several times, Sakura nodded with a smile and took a deep breath. She glanced at Hidan to see if he was going to try and interrupt again but he just folded his arms and glared at the floor. So he was just going to sit there and keep his mouth shut so not to provoke Pein again. "Okay. The story I'm going to be telling you is a wonderful one. It's about one of the greatest adventures ever!" She looked around at all of her patients with bright eyes. "Action and adventure, romance, humor. It's the story," She smiled slyly. "About Pirates."
Now Hidan's attention perked up and he looked at her. "Pirates?" He asked somewhat surprised.
Sakura almost laughed when she saw that everyone looked interested now. Even Pein's eyes had lit up a little as he hung onto her words. She nodded as she folded her hands together, trying to hold in the excitement. "Yes! Pirates of the Caribbean!" She paused for a second as she glanced around at everyone before smiling rather slyly. "Yo, ho. Haul together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die. The king and his men stole the queen from her bed and bound her in her Bones. The seas be ours and by the powers where we will we'll roam. Some men have died and some are alive and others sail on the sea – with the keys to the cage... and the Devil to pay we lay to Fiddler's Green! The bell has been raised from it's watery grave... Do you hear it's sepulchral tone? We are a call to all,
pay head the squall and turn your sail toward home! Yo, ho, haul together, hoist the colors high. Heave ho, thieves and beggars, never shall we die." She recited what seemed to be a code before she tilted her head to the side, glancing around to see if she still had their attention and when she saw that they were still looking interested, she lift her head higher. "A long time ago, when civilization was still rather young, there were stories about pirates roaming the great span of oceans and ruling the wild seas."
And the story she continued with was about how a boy had been found in a ship's wreckage after being raided by pirates, rescued and befriended by a young girl whom he'd fall in love with when they grew up. She told the story about how the boy who became a man was forbidden to love the young girl because was merely a blacksmith while she was a noble lady, even though she loved him in return. The story went on about how she later on was kidnapped by vicious pirates who were cursed and could not die. The young blacksmith eventually had to ask the aid of another pirate, who was clearly not right in the head and even though they had their many differences, they somewhat became friends and joined forces to steal back what was rightfully the pirate's and rescue the woman of the young man's dreams.
The story was really exciting though as she told it. Deidara was particularly excited because there was a lot of explosions as she told them. He even started cheering with Tobi when she told them about a part where both sides had a cannon party, blowing holes in each other's ships and causing explosions from within. They both were pretty excited about that part. Hidan, however, loved the part about the somewhat immortal pirates. Pein didn't look like he was enjoying it but his eyes said other wise. There was just that general interest in them, almost as if he was smirking from within. All the while, Sakura kept glancing at Gaara, finding that he was just as entranced by the story as everyone else. But there was something different about how he was looking at her. Whenever she met his eyes with her own and found him looking deep into her own, she felt something strange. It was like he was searching for something within her green gem like eyes. Perhaps it was her soul he was looking at. It sure felt that way. But there was something else about the way he was looking at her.
As Gaara looked at her, the pretty pink haired doctor felt as if her skin was burning yet it didn't hurt. She felt somewhat flushed as she told them the story about the strong love that the young blacksmith and the lady shared for one another. And as she told them the story, she was picturing herself as the lady and Gaara the young blacksmith.
In a dark office, the man had picked up his phone and started dialing the number that was written on a small paper next to it with a name above the numbers. Once the phone started ringing, the man sat down in his chair and leaned back, staring at the oil lamp he had set out on his desk. He stared at the small orange flame with his dark eyes narrowed. He listened to the rings in the earpiece, waiting impatiently for who he was calling to pick up. And finally someone did.
"Hello." came a smooth young man's voice, yet there was a cough on the other end. The young man on the other end sounded a little sick.
"Kaguya, it's me." came the dark voice of the caller. "We have a serious problem. You've been found out. There is an ANBU from Konoha City who's investigating the murder of Yondaime Sabaku. And yes, I know that case was closed years ago, blamed on that wretched boy, Gaara. But we have a nosy doctor here who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong. She's requested that her ANBU friend finds out who really killed Yondaime."
"Hmmm. I still don't see why I should worry. Why don't you just kill her and be done with it?"
The dark man snorted violently but shook his head as he began tapping his fingers against the wood of the desk. "Because they've already figured out that it was you. The ANBU found the miss-filed information on the old man that you murdered to infiltrate his home and he pieced it together after asking Gaara Sabaku about his side of the story. They don't know that it was our friend who hired you to do it. Yet. But they will find out if this keeps going on. The ANBU has asked for your capture and questioning. I suggest that you disappear completely to the underground. Because if you are caught, I don't trust you enough to not tell the ANBU who it was that paid you a million to assassinate Yondaime and plant the false evidence that it was the boy. You're HIS man, after all. Not mine. And if you leak it out about him, it will only lead right to me. And if that happens, then my plans will be ruined. So you better disappear for a while before I really do make you disappear." the dark man said rather threateningly.
There was a long silence before the called, Kimimaro Kaguya hummed as if amused but didn't seem offended. "Fine. I shall disappear. But what about the ANBU and the nosy doctor? If they keep digging for information, your plan will probably be found out."
"Don't worry about them." The man said very darkly. "I will deal with them myself. If they tread way too close to discovering the truth about me and our allies, I will kill Doctor Sakura Haruno and Kakashi Hatake. And then I will kill the Sabakus. You just make sure the ANBU don't find you." And with that said, he hung up before folding his spider like hands together and glared off into the darkness of his office.
Author's Note: I think the whole lot of you probably already know what story Sakura told them, don't you? Lol. Okay, honestly, I had no idea what kind of story Sakura was going to read to everyone. I was thinking for hours about what story she was going to tell until I started listening to my Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack CD. While I was listening it, I was thinking about the story in POTC and it just hit me as a perfect story to tell. It was full of adventure and action, romance and explosions. And of course, practically immortal pirates just for Hidan. So I thought it was perfect. I only hope that you'd agree. But I did the best that I could. *shrugs* There was at least a little fluff between Sakura and Gaara. But I can guarantee it, in the next chapter, that's when the fluff really starts to pop out.
In the next chapter, Sakura gets a very inappropriate dream. *Grins*