Date last revised: October 3, 2020
Author's Notes: I missed this story so so much! Please enjoy! Unbeta'd, you know how it is.
Part III: Departure
Significance
Sakura and Gaara moved through the list of families to visit after Gaara composed himself. She allowed him to talk to the families first, in stilted, halting speech. His heart was in the right place, but fear of him kept the families at arms' length. Whenever the encounters started to turn awkward, she'd swoop in and ease the families the best she could. He would watch, pensive, as she consoled the parents and offered sincere condolences.
Finally, after the last family thanked them, Sakura turned to leave only to find Gaara right in front of her. His arms were crossed, and on his face was a complicated expression.
"You're better at this than I am," he said. She wasn't sure if she imagined the sullen tone in his voice.
"We all have our strengths and weaknesses," she answered diplomatically. They were walking through the streets of Suna. With the sun high in the sky, the city was bustling, although the citizens gave them wide berth. Gaara paid them no mind, and Sakura tried to copy his unaffected air in vain. Her ears still burned. "You can't be good at everything."
"But that's exactly what they expect," he replied, staring straight ahead. She didn't need to ask who – she could see the Suna council in her mind from that first day, sitting in front of them. Eyes searching for his faults. Lips exposing his weaknesses. "I can't be anything less."
They were both still so young, and yet the difference between them was so great. He had been carrying burdens she couldn't even begin to imagine. And what pressure – to fulfil the expectations of the wisest and strongest shinobi in Suna. The thought was enough to have her palms sweating.
"It must be difficult," she said at length. Citizens avoided their path, avoided their eyes. The ones that could look at them, looked at them with hatred and disgust.
Pressured by the council.
Detested by his citizens.
Plagued by the monster in his head.
He grunted, lifting a shoulder in a lazy shrug.
"It's manageable."
X
He brought her back to the office, and she was half-wondering if it was going to be her room from now on. Indeed, as soon as they arrived, there was a smaller desk near the door, with her books neatly piled on top. Seeing the books laid out, she gasped and hurried to the desk, hands shaking.
Did they find out why she was here? Was her mission over?
"Don't worry," Gaara said, walking in behind her. "My clone arranged the desk. No one saw your things." He moved to sit behind his desk and steepled his fingers.
"We need to talk."
She clutched the books to her chest for comfort; she knew what was coming. Slowly, she moved to sit on the chair opposite him, dread creeping up on her.
"I'm hoping you can give me some good news," he started. With the sun shining brightly behind him, she could barely make out his face. But she noticed how his hands shook, and his laboured breathing. She doubted their spar had anything to do with it. But maybe it was still nerves left over from their encounter with Mamoru's parents.
She hesitated. Her original mission was to help Gaara tame Shukaku by meditation, which was something even a novice like her could supervise. What she was proposing was above her capabilities. Like a child playing a doctor.
Could she really do it?
Licking her lips, she took a deep breath, and looked at the boy in front of her. As soon as they entered his office, he'd taken off his gourd and placed it beside his desk. Without it, he looked smaller. Thinner. The chair was too big for him, like it might swallow him whole if he leaned too far back. The clothes he wore (unstained from their spar) didn't suit him and looked uncomfortable. Like a child playing a Kazekage.
They were two kids playing two roles they had no experience in.
X
This was Sakura's plan: she would administer anaesthesia to Gaara until he got enough sleep. Repeat this every night until he's fully rested and mentally strong enough to fight against Shukaku's influences.
Two sentences. It sounded so easy. But there were several logistical problems. Firstly, where would she get hold of anaesthesia? How much would be enough to knock out Gaara? What if Shukaku controlled Gaara once he's unconscious?
That final thought made her shudder, but she relayed as much of the plan and the challenges as she could to Gaara. She stammered and waved her hands vaguely, trying to find words. She jumped from point to point, going off on tangents as she reasoned with herself and then contradicted herself.
It was worse than a presentation in class, because his problem didn't have a clear cut solution. She closed her mind off from the possibility there might not be a solution at all.
"This sounds better than meditation, at least," Gaara said after she had exhausted herself with explaining. "I've never been poisoned, so I can't tell you how long it would last in my system." He paused. "We could always try."
Sakura's eyes felt like they were bulging out of their sockets. "No," she said, shaking her head vehemently. "I'm not even sure if your body will rid the toxins quickly." She had read several scrolls on different subjects, working under Tsunade-shishou. All fascinating, if a little too wordy for her liking.
Not to mention it would entirely be her fault if Gaara died from something like that. Although that would solve his Shukaku problem.
She wondered when she got her dark sense of humour, and then she remembered she nearly died only a few days ago.
"Thank you," she blurted out. Gaara's eyes flickered to hers, slight surprise on his face. She fumbled for her words. "Thank you for saving my life. That time. I haven't thanked you yet. So, um. Thank you."
"You're welcome," he replied. He frowned. "Thank you, too. For helping me back there."
"It's the least I can do," she said. She meant it. "Am I – Am I supposed to stay here now?" She looked around his office.
He was back to doing paperwork. "You're free to move back to your room."
"…I'd rather not."
"Then you can stay here, if that would make you feel safer."
It did.
X
Kankuro had to hand it to the sentry guards. They were as gossipy as the women in the market, and soon word spread of the pink-haired girl who sparred with Gaara. By the time lunch arrived, half of Suna knew of Sakura Haruno.
"Did you know it would end up like this?" he asked his sister. They were eating lunch outside in the busy marketplace. He was wondering why Temari insisted on eating out. The busy market masked their conversation. They were nothing more than strings of voices amongst hundreds of others.
"Maybe," Temari replied, pulling a piece of skewered chicken into her mouth as they moved through stalls. "I told Gaara to keep Sakura close for two reasons." Kankuro glared at a child who were about to approach with a bouquet of flowers. The child faltered before scurrying away.
"Being?"
"One, this should keep anyone from trying to target her until we're ready for them." True. Now that she had become infamous in Suna, whoever wanted her dead would find it difficult to dispatch her quietly.
"And the other?"
Temari stopped looking at accessories to give Kankuro a smirk. "Whatever reason Sakura Haruno came here for," she said, grabbing an expensive fan and examining the intricate carvings on its edges. "She won't be able to keep it a secret for long."
Let it be known that Temari was as shrewd as they come.
X
"Tsunade-sama."
Tsunade closed her eyes and let out a quiet sigh. She knew the voice, and she regretted pouring herself another drink. Danzou stood before her, back as straight as he could manage, and with a perpetual frown marring his features.
"Danzou," she said, "Would you like a seat?" He looked at the seat scornfully and lifted a corner of his mouth in a semblance of a smile.
"No need, Tsunade-sama," he said, "I thought I was intruding on a meeting when I saw the drinks on your desk, but now I understand the entire bottle of sake was for you." You're an alcoholic.
"I'd pour you one, but you probably won't be able to handle it." Asshole.
Danzou smiled at her petty retort. He won this round. "Now, now, Hokage-sama," he said smugly, "It's one thing to be an alcoholic. It's another thing to broadcast it. You might embarrass Konoha to the other Kages, if they see you in this state."
"Isn't it your fault for placing me here, then?" she said, fingers itching to grab the sake bottle on her desk – maybe to drink straight from it, or to hit Danzou with it. She wasn't sure yet. "You knew I was an alcoholic before you made me come back."
"It wasn't my intention to make you Hokage, trust me," he muttered under his breath.
She scoffed. What Danzou wanted was someone who could be easily manipulated. "Jiraiya won't bend to you, either."
"A pity," he said, sounding not at all sorry. "Unfortunately, I'm not here to discuss what-ifs. A little bird has told me something interesting." Tsunade stilled for a moment before reaching for the bottle of sake.
"It must not have been that interesting, if you're willing to share it with me," she said, voice deceptively light. Danzou's spies were for his ears only. Which only meant one thing: the information he was about to share involved her, and involved him gaining a leverage over her.
Right now, she was leaning towards drinking the sake from the bottle itself.
"It has something to do with your pink-haired apprentice-" the bottle of sake smashed on the wall behind him.
Tsunade's smile was challenging. "What about her?" She stood up without waiting for a reply. "You know what? I'm not interested in what you have to say right now. If you want to tell me what your 'little birds' told you, then schedule an appointment with Shizune. Get out of my office."
"This is completely improper – "
"I said get the fuck out, Danzou. Don't test my patience. I've never been a patient woman." He harrumphed and left, slamming the door behind him. Tsunade fell back into her seat and placed a hand over her eyes.
Only four people knew about Sakura's mission. Sakura, herself, Shizune and –
X
A few hours prior
Kakashi knew Tsunade-sama didn't tell him everything. He fucking knew it. Staring at the mission scroll he nicked from Shizune after a clever distraction which involved one oblivious Iruka and two free lunch tickets, blood pounded in his ears as he read through the brief.
He knew Sakura had been sent to do an S-ranked mission in Suna. But this wasn't a mission. This was basically suicide.
An unranked mission to subdue Shukaku. What was Tsunade thinking? Didn't she see Gaara for herself during the Chuunin exams?
His hands shook in anger. Gaara was unhinged and dangerous. It had taken Kakashi nearly a month to train Sasuke just to even make a dent on Gaara's defence, and she sent Sakura alone. Tsunade didn't hold Sakura's hand, alright.
She grabbed Sakura's hand and threw her in the deep end.
In his mind, it was Sakura under the boulder, not Obito, green eyes staring back at him. In his mind, the boulder transformed into sand, wrapping around her arm and legs like it did to Lee during the preliminaries. In his mind, it was her bones he heard breaking and it was her green eye she offered to him. His Sharingan activated as his emotions flared and he closed his eyes, crumpling the mission scroll in his hands.
He had tried so hard not to be attached to anyone anymore, but all members of Team 7 had wormed their way into his heart. They were annoying, inexperienced and too much trouble than they were worth.
But they were his. They were the closest thing to family.
And now, was he going to lose someone important to him again? Now that he knew what he knew, could he turn a blind eye to it?
Of course not.
He placed the scroll back, a plan forming in his mind. He hated politics, but if Tsunade won't let him help his student, then he knew someone who would.
If Tsunade was worth her salt as a Hokage, then she would look underneath the underneath.
And she would see his threat, clear as day.
X
Author's Notes:
I MISSED THIS STORY SO MUCH IT PHYSICALLY ACHED. Here, have a juicy chapter! SIGNIFICANCE is the title of this chapter because that's the appropriate word to describe this chapter. Several things I want to point out:
I'm a bit hesitant again about Kakashi's characterisation, but I believe that it's justified. I'm exploring a darker side of Kakashi, and one of the things I want to explore is: what would be an event in which Kakashi would place Team 7 over Konoha? And I think this would be it. I just hope I've explained it well in the story.
It's not just Kakashi's darker side I want to explore. I also want to explore Tsunade's weaknesses and Konoha's fragile political situation.
I feel like the story is getting away from me because this is becoming bigger than I could ever imagine. But I'm really excited about this development. There are a lot of nuances, and balancing the story between both Konoha and Suna is difficult, but as Gaara said, it's manageable haha. I'm having a lot of fun though! I hope that you're liking it too!
Also, guys okay okay. I'm so excited. THIS IS MY PERSONAL FAVOURITE CHAPTER SO FAR. I don't know if people will notice, but I want to point it out because I was pretty proud of it:
There are a lot of parallelisms in this story. A lot. There are some reviewers that have noticed them, and I'm so thankful because most of the time, they are deliberate, and it makes me super happy to see people analyse this story – I love feedback and want to improve myself as a writer.
The parallelism I'm talking about in this chapter is between Gaara and Tsunade. There is ONE significant thing I've done my best to show in this chapter. I hope if you're reading this that you take a guess! I hope that knowing this thing will shift your perspective in the story, into a foreshadowing/redherring(?) I've hidden underneath the underneath haha.
The relationship between Sakura and Gaara is also progressing (I hope, in an organic manner). Temari's shrewdness and cunning is displayed, and Kankuro is just along for the ride. Haha, I really loved this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed reading it too!
Thank you to Sarah, Ilikeoldfandoms7, ShootingStarsss and RoseAnne21 for reviewing on FFN!
I have to say that I'm really surprised (in the best way possible) at the amount of reviews I received on AO3! Thank you to NDCtomato, Diane_LTGSF, Genmastone, indelibility, Sabrina, darthlokke and guest for reviewing!
I read all of the reviews a lot, and I'd love to know your thoughts on this chapter! Was this an improvement from the last chapter? Were they too out of character?
Thank you to all those who put this story on Alerts, Favourites, Bookmarks and Subscriptions! Please look forward to the next chapter!