So, I felt bad about making you guys wait longer than seven days on the last update, so I decided to kick my butt into overdrive and get this chapter out a couple of days early. And it's long, too! So, here's my peace offering!
- Kodu
Note: I've decided to just keep Gaara's eyes blue in this fic. I've been doing some research, and found a couple fictions where they thought his eyes were blue, too, so I won't be the odd one out.
Thank you so much for the great reviews!
24
- Gaara -
It was so late that it was actually early, by the time I stalked back to our self-proclaimed campsite. The darkness engulfed me, as it had last night, yet with my heightened senses I could still smell the girl curled up in a ball near the crimson stake lodged into the ground at the center of this clearing.
Shifting quietly towards the cliff edge on the westward end of our camp, I settled myself atop one of the larger boulders adorning the rocky ledge and gazed out upon the shining moon.
True, the blackness of night crept into every crack and crevice atop Earth's good face, but the stars which lit my path twinkled like welcoming lanterns hung up in a backdrop of empty space. I was unafraid of night. If anything, it comforted me; afforded me with a time of peace, a time away from the nagging troubles of a humanity wich glared at me as harshly as the cruel rays of sunlight come dawn.
I could hide in darkness without having to admit that I was hiding, and I rather liked this freedom.
Slowly, softly, as if drawn downward by a waiting lover, the moon began to sink in the horizen, and the celstial heavens above faded from their robes of purple and navy blue to a lighter shade of sea green and turqoise.
The breif glimpse of pale morning light reminded me of her eyes, and in an instant, my moment of peace was shattered.
Today was the third day of our mission, the third day I had been stuck with that idiot kunoichi, and already she was driving me more insane than I usually was. Of course, it was illogical to blame her for my demon's thirst for blood, or for my body's craving for touch, but it felt nice all the same.
I stayed on the rock - one leg bent upwards towards the sky, the other dangling off the edge in a lazy manner - long after the birds began to wake and sing their joyous songs of morning mirth. Maybe, if I controlled my breaths and didn't stir, then the kunoichi wouldn't wake for another few hours, and I wouldn't have to suffer through anymore annoying rantings or - even worse - near-touch experiences.
The sun rose higher still, and the girl had yet to rise from her curled position by the stake. I waited a few moments, listening to the wind rustle the leaves on towering trees, to the distant trickle of running water, and to the nearly inaudible breaths of the pink-haired girl resting a little ways away. Breaths which, oddly enough, seemed to accelerate with every passing moment…
"I know you're awake," I grated out, my voice scratchy from disuse.
Seconds later, a rather frazzled looking kunoichi shot up from her resting position and gave me the dirtiest glare anyone had dared shoot my way.
"How?" She replied, her voice just as rough as mine had been. This was our first conversation since yesterday's argument, and to tell the truth, I was rather surprised she wasn't yelling at me yet.
"Your breaths are more drawn out - deeper - in rest than when you are alert."
Seeing as I had yet to turn and face her, I could only but feel the girl's fiery jade eyes piercing into my back.
"Stupid freakish senses…" she mumbled, and I assumed she hadn't meant for me to hear it.
"Get up," I stated, rising from my own position on the boulder to step lightly into the grassy area of the clearing. "We report to Konoha's main gates by noon."
Honestly, I had no idea what time it was, but if the position of the sun in the sky was any indicator, we were already pushing ten o'clock, and it took a good two hours of running to get from here to there.
"Let me take a bath first…" the girl began, but I cut her off.
"No. We don't have time. Bathe in your own home. Now pack up."
I was surprised at myself, really. Never before had I spoken so much to someone I knew so little about. The Haruno girl looked aggravated at first, but she would get over it soon enough. Right now, my priority was to get away from this girl's presence before I did something else I would regret.
She packed in record time, though I suppose my looming presence hovering over her shoulder helped motivate her to move faster. As soon as the kunoichi had slung the last strap of her pack over her shoulder, I set off into the trees, listening as the soft rhythm of Sakura's feet tapped lightly against the wooden branches; reveling in the thought that this girl would follow me anywhere.
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" - and then this rabid squirrel started chasing me around the stash of acorns we had picked up, growling and all that crap. I swear, the thing was possessed!"
The first thing I had the pleasure of hearing when we entered through the gates of Konoha, was my brother's excited voice as he retold the story of him and his partner foraging for food.
Ah, well; pleasure was overrated, after all.
The Hyuuga girl giggled as Kankuro gestured wildly with his hands, mimicking how he had so bravely fought off the horrid beast to save his milky-eyed companion.
"Idiot," Temari scolded, whacking the man in question across the face and nearly knocking his 'cat-hood' off in the process.
"Ouch! Hey! I don't hear about you doing anything worthwhile while we were gone!"
"… Being chased by a squirrel is worthwhile?" My sister's quirked eyebrow blatantly stated what she thought about this subject.
"It's guard duty; it's troublesome. We're not supposed to be doing anything worthwhile…" The Shikamaru kid was leaning lazily against a wooden fence, arms crossed as he tried with all his might to fight off sleep.
Kankuro wasn't one to pout. His 'pouts' looked more like death threats. But he still tried every once in a while.
"Well, just go ahead and take her side, why don't ya'?"
"Guys, guys," interrupted an older male with black hair falling across his right eye. "Calm down and wait just a little longer. The other's will be here soon…"
"Hey, there!" called another man standing beside the first, the strip of white cloth strewn across his nose and cheeks stretching as a smile found its way to his face. "Here they come," he shot back to the others behind him, even though it wasn't necessary.
I and the Sakura girl were now in earshot as we ambled up to the group waiting for us. The first four were familiar, but the two new men put me on guard.
"Uh…hello…?" said Sakura uncertainly as an uneasy silence fell between us.
That peaceful quiet was broken in the blink of an eye when the man to have spotted us stepped forward and smiled.
"Hey there! I'm Hagane Kotetsu, and this is Kamizuki Genma -" Here, he gestured at the other who had come to stand beside him. "We're the Chuunin you'll be working with for the next month or so."
"Oh," replied the pink-haired kunoichi, and I fought the urge to roll my eyes at her dense behavior. I opted to ignore the others' presence completely, and instead made my way back towards my siblings; towards familiarity.
"Well…" continued the one called Kotetsu, trailing off as I passed by him to reach my own team. " I guess you need to give us a full mission report before we allow you back into Konoha."
Genma turned around and presented each of us with a formal missions' paper, complete with binding contract at the top.
"The contract states that you won't lie on your report. Everything else should be easy to fill out. When explaining the mission, try to be as detailed as possible…"
"When you're done," cut in Kotetsu, "Just give I or Genma your paper, and we'll file it for you."
And with that the two Chuunin left us alone, stalking back towards the relative safety of the main gates.
Skimming through my paper, I grabbed the offered pencil from one of my siblings and began the tedious task of filling it out.
Signature? I thought, tapping the led tip lightly against the form.
My signatures were written in blood; a binding contract that ensured my existence by the death of others.
Though, I suppose they wouldn't much appreciate a splatter of blood across their missions' report…
Sabaku no Gaara it was, then.
Briefly, I wondered at the cultural differences between Sunagakure and Konohagakure, and how the inhabitants were christened differently. I had found it strange, at first, when the people of Konoha had introduced themselves with two names, and was still having a little difficulty in deciding which one I should use.
Baki had explained to me later, that in the Land of Fire, giving a child two - even three - names was a common occurrence, and that each one had a different significance. Take Haruno Sakura, for instance. The first name - Haruno -, he had explained, represented what family she came from; while her second - Sakura - was what she went by.
Suna operated differently. Instead of multiple names, most often than not, we used only one. Our family name was determined by our ancestry, or the father before us. Yondaime no Kankuro; Yondaime no Temari. Our individual name was just that - our individual name.
I, though, was an exception to that rule.
The Kazekage hardly considered me his son, nor did I consider him my father. The people of Suna didn't like calling me the child of the Yondaime, for they couldn't grasp the concept that their leader had sired a demon. They had called me monster, sand-controller, Sabaku no Gaara, and the name had stuck.
Skipping down a few lines, I tapped my pencil lightly against the space they had provided for a description of the mission.
'Detailed,' the Chuunin had said.'
We saw nothing.', I wrote out in a sprawling script.
There, that was detailed enough.
When my siblings finished, we gave our reports to the waiting Chuunin, and turned back to the Konoha genin who followed soon after.
"Hey," Temari said, her voice as cheery as I had ever heard it. "How about we all go to lunch together?"
"I'm in," stated Kankuro, placing a hand over his gut as if to emphasize his need for food.
"Alright…" whispered the Hyuuga girl timidly, giving the faintest of smiles to my grinning brother.
"It's not too troublesome…" the lazy Nara kid yawned, pushing off the wall and glancing towards Sakura as if to ask her opinion on the matter.
Before she could even reply, I cut in.
"No." Gazing levelly at my siblings, I crossed my arms and waited for them to consent.
"But, Gaara…" my sister began, but the look I shot her cut her off.
Glancing back at the Konoha genin, I shot my siblings a quick, "We're leaving," before stalking off in the direction of our apartment.
Though the offer for food was tempting, I couldn't stand the presence of that pink-haired kunoichi much longer. My self-control was slowly waning, and I feared if I didn't get away, I would either rip the throat out of the nearest threat to come my way, or jump the girl the next chance I got.
Though the last option was appealing, there was something within me that said her touch would be so much more satisfying if she held me of her own will, and that if I continued treating her like a toy I could force into my arms at any moment, she would never come to me willingly.
It was annoying, really, how close touch was to love. Yashamaru had said that love can't be taken; that it must be given to you. Touch, I had come to find, was only satisfying when the giver gave of their own free will.
Yes, truly annoying, how I craved touch when such a feeling was dangerously close to love.
I didn't even want to consider how close, exactly, I was coming to another betrayal…
- Sakura -
Details…details… I thought distractedly, gazing in a trance-like state at the paper held in my hands. What kind of details are they talking about?'The hot, steamy kind,' cut in my inner self, and I growled at her to leave me alone.
Shaking my head as if this would clear my mind, I began.
'We arrived at the marker at around noon on the first day, where…'
'…Gaara continued to be an obnoxious ass…'
'We then proceeded to secure the perimeter. After a small disagreement, we settled our dispute and…'
'…The crazed red-head jumped me, threatened me, and pushed me to the ground.'
'The rest of the day I…'
'Played tag with a monster, argued some more, and ignored the other until we started heading back for the village.'
Shut up! I yelled inside my head, trying to get Inner Sakura to stop butting in.
'But it's true! And you signed a contract!'
Okay, so maybe being specific wasn't exactly the best idea I had ever had. Frustrated, I resisted the urge to crumple up my paper into a tiny ball and throw it in the trash, and instead opted to turn it in like the rest of my friends.
When they started talking about eating lunch together, I began to panic.
I had spent two and a half days with that Gaara kid, and I wasn't about to waste the rest of this bit of freedom spending even more time with him.
Stepping forward, I was about to protest when the red-head cut me off.
"No."
A small pause, and then Temari interjected a small, "But Gaara…", when the sand-controlled gave her one of the dirtiest looks I had ever seen.
"We're leaving," he stated after a few moments of awkward silence, then turned and headed back towards town.
"Troublesome boy," mumbled Shikamaru when they were out of earshot, then turned to us with arms crossed. "Well, are we still up for lunch? There's nothing better to do…"
I found myself nodding before I could think over my decision, and the three of us headed off towards Ichiraku.
There was no one there, for which I was very thankful, since the business was so small a group of three could be considered a crowd. Claustrophobia was never a problem of mine, but right now I just wanted to breathe.
Our little crowd of three took our seats on the barstools in front of the counter - Hinata in the middle while I and Shikamaru boxed her in -, and ordered a simple meal of ramen. It wasn't my favorite food, but it was cheap, and I was running out of money to spend. My mom had left me with enough to get by while she was away, but I knew if I wasted it all on eating out, then it would run out all too quickly.
"So…" Hinata began, and her timid voice was given my full attention. "How did your missions go?"
The Nara boy sighed, leaning so far forward on the counter that for a moment I thought he was going to jump over to the other side. "We didn't find anything suspicious, but that blonde-haired shinobi was troublesome to work with."
He paused, and only continued when I and Hinata shot him questioning looks.
"She wouldn't let us set up one, simple camp, but forced me to build my own in another clearing separate from hers. Something about women needing privacy… but she was just being a pain."
I forced down the giggle tickling the edges of my throat, swallowing loudly to stop myself from breaking out into a fit of laughter. That definitely sounded like something Temari would do! The Sand kunoichi was as harsh as the wind that eroded the rocks in her land, and her innate stubbornness matched my own. I almost felt sorry for the Shikamaru kid… almost… but knew that her pushy attitude was exactly what he needed.
Hinata gave a soft laugh and a shy smile. "That's what Kankuro-san did, too. Only, he said it was for my privacy, not his."
'Wait,' interrupted a very agitated Inner Sakura. 'We were the only one's to not set up some boundaries with our partner?'
It seemed so, and suddenly I felt all the more idiotic for it. In my struggle to avoid, then befriend, then avoid the red-head once again, I had forgotten that things would be a lot simpler if I just sat down and talked to him.
Of course, it was hard to blame myself for such a mistake, since those chilling blue eyes always seemed to pierce into my very soul every time I caught him looking at me. Any sane person would see the threat in the boy, and avoid him naturally. Heck, any dumb animal would do the same!
But, not matter what excuses I made, it was still foolish of me to begin a mission without coming to some sort of agreement with my partner. Shikamaru and Hinata had done it; why couldn't I do it, too?
And that's when it struck me.
Had Gaara already set up these boundaries without my knowing? My friends said that their teammates didn't sleep in the same area as they did, and it just now hit me that not once had the red-head fallen asleep in my general vicinity. In fact, in the two nights I had stayed with him, he always wandered off into the woods as I was settling in for the night.
But that couldn't be right. Every time I had woken, he was there; watching me with an alert expression that told me he had been awake long before I even began to stir.
Just the mere thought that the sand-controller might have some ounce of decency overwhelmed me. Shaking these thoughts from my mind before I got a headache, I tuned back into reality to find someone had been talking to me.
"Sakura-chan! Helloooooo? Anyone in there?"
Apparently, in the course of my blatant zoning out, my teammates had found us and had decided to join us for lunch. It was annoying how I could so easily lose myself in thought.
Naruto moved to tap me on the shoulder when I intercepted his wrist before he could make contact.
"Don't touch me," I growled, then widened my eyes as I realized I had said the exact same thing to Gaara just the other day.
"Uh, okay…" he said, brushing off my slip-up as if it were nothing. He was about to take a place on the empty seat beside me when Sasuke cut him off.
Dropping down with the grace of an agile killer, my crush turned his dark eyes to me for a brief moment before confronting the now-fuming Naruto.
"Hey, Sasuke! That's not fair! You don't even like Sakura-chan!"
The enigmatic blonde looked ready for another fight, but the black-haired boy replied with a calm smoothness I had only ever heard from his mouth.
"Idiot, just sit down."
Grumbling, the boy in question crossed his arms and lowered himself onto the seat next to Sasuke, mumbling something about 'stupid, arrogant know-it-alls.'
I didn't miss the blush which lit up Hinata's features when she looked over at Naruto, and he glanced back at her.
"Hi, Hinata!" shouted my teammate from across Sasuke and I, and the girl's blush deepened.
"H-h-hello, N-naruto…"
I also didn't miss how her stutter came back when around Naruto, but ignored it for now. What mattered was that Sasuke-kun had chosen to sit by me, when he could have easily sat on the outside like he usually did. Was he starting to like me? Was he actually acknowledging me? The mere thought made me giddy with excitement.
When our food came out, I had to beat Naruto over the head to keep him from stealing my meal. Hinata offered to share hers, but he - surprisingly - declined, saying he didn't want to eat all of her hard-earned food.
Which is just stupid, I thought incredulously while gathering a helping of noodles onto my chopsticks to slurp them down in a rather unladylike fashion. Because you were willing to steal my hard-earned food not five seconds ago!
When we were done, and everyone was dispersing, Sasuke surprised me by taking me off to the side and whirling me around to face him."How was your mission?" he asked with piercing eyes, and I instantly knew that the real question here was, 'What can you tell me about Gaara?'
I was about to answer him - to spill everything that had happened on the mission to the boy I admired - when a tap on the shoulder stopped me. I whirled around to find the single eye of my sensei smiling down at me.
"Sakura," he stated softly, glancing at Sasuke for a moment before returning his attention to me. "Sasuke has a lot of training to do…"
I was about to protest - to offer that I go along with them - when he stopped me once again.
"The Hokage and his council requested you meet with them, immediately."
All thoughts of my crush flit out of my mind as my body filled with tension and apprehension. The Hokage wanted to speak with me, in front of his councilmen, nonetheless?
I gulped, and nodded softly before heading towards the Hokage's tower.
I felt, rather than saw, the glare of my dark-eyed teammate piercing into my back, and had to suppress the shudder which rose in my flesh at the feel of such an icy gaze.
Sasuke was not warm, and I found myself reminded of this fact with each passing day.
But I want him to be…
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"Haruno Sakura." The Hokage's voice seemed to echo around the walls of the room with a tangible authority. Before me stood an oval table taking up the majority of space in what I could only assume was the Sandaime's private meeting room. He sat at the head of the mahogany table, furthest away from me, and was surrounded by a group of elderly councilmen and women.
"You have been assigned a dangerous mission to protect the wellbeing of your country by gathering intelligence on the weapon from Suna. Tell us, what have you found?"
Somewhere, in the pit of my stomach, I had known this meeting pertained to my forced contact with the Gaara boy, but I hadn't been confronted with that fact until just now.
What have I found, indeed, I thought, going over the last few days I had spent in the woods, and trying to organize the little bits of his personality that he had revealed.
"He speaks little, and keeps to himself. We haven't really talked much…" I remembered our first real conversation, and quickly added, "But I think he's just not used to much social contact."
Before I could continue, the Hokage interrupted in a strained tone.
"Haruno, we asked for intelligence, not the Sand Shinobi's personality quirks. What is his history? What is his objective?"
"I… I don't know."
Holy cow, was I failing my mission? Was my inability to act with civility towards my partner threatening my country? Would my own fear and inhibitions be the downfall of Konoha? These questions unnerved me, and suddenly I felt the hot shame of failure choke my throat.
The room went silent, and I felt my face heat up as such failure was made known.
"Sakura," Sandaime-sama began, his voice soft and soothing - the voice of a father comforting his child. "Sabaku no Gaara is a monster, a killer, and a threat to all of Konoha… But he is just a child. A child which - by rumor's mouth -, was cast off from society to become the weapon of his nation."
He sounded almost sad as he said this; as if he pitied the boy.
"Show him compassion, show him friendship, and I am certain your job will much easier for you to bear. We need you, Sakura. All of Konoha is counting on you to protect us from this child."
I was shocked, true, but far from speechless.
"But, Hokage-sama! You… you don't understand! He's frightening… and possessive… and he's constantly forcing me into his arms, and… and…"
A light seemed to spark behind the leader of the Leaf Village's eyes, and I suddenly regretted ever having spoken out.
"So, he can touch you?" The question was rhetorical, as I could practically see the wheels spinning inside the Sandaime's head. "Sakura, have you ever thought of using that to your advantage?"
"I… what?"
"The rumors say he can't physically come into contact with another human being, but he can with you. Not only that, but by what you have said, he craves your touch."
"I don't understand where you're going with this…"
What was this old man getting at, anyways?
Smiling, the Hokage spread his hands wide. "Why, you should make a deal with him! If he wants you to hug him so much…"
I hardly consider that crushing embrace a hug, I interjected inwardly.
"… then make an exchange. Contact for information."
I wasn't stupid, and I knew what he was implying. "So, you want me to sell my body for a few simple words?" The mere thought made me bristle, and I couldn't mask the bitterness in my tone.
Sobering, the Sandaime shook his head. "Sakura, all kunoichi must be willing to do such a task at one point in their lives, but you are still too young and inexperienced to understand the complexities of such a mission. If things become sexual…"
I blushed.
Well, we both knew what he was talking about, but did he have to go and say it out loud like that? This only served to make me even more bitter.
"… then back down. But it's a good plan, nonetheless. I expect you to act on in tomorrow."
Stuttering, I tried to protest. "B-but… I… Well, you see… I…"
I had nothing.
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
Great, I thought, as I was dismissed from the council and led back to the streets. Not only do I have to befriend Gaara, but I have to… hug him, too.
Tomorrow would be a long day.
First off, I apologize for the lack of fluff, but this chapter was needed to set up for greater things to come. I'm actually plotting out my own outline of what has happened each day, so I can have their relationship move at a realistic pace. It puts it into perspective when I have something like "Day 1 - First contact, second contact, first kiss, third contact" to let me see just how fast their feelings are moving.
BUT, there is something I would like to point out which I think was WAY too vague for anyone to catch (And if you understood it, kudo's to you!). The last lines from Gaara's perspective,
"Yes, truly annoying, how I craved touch when such a feeling was dangerously close to love.
I didn't even want to consider how close, exactly, I was coming to another betrayal…"
are meant to be sort of a subtly life-changing realization for him. He states that touch is close to love, and then, seemingly out of the blue, says he's coming close to another betrayal. Let me explain: He once loved Yashamaru, but his uncle betrayed him. By "coming close to another betrayal," he's actually coming close to love. So there's your extremely vague fluff for this chapter!
Review, please, and tell me what you think!
-Kodu