The Heart of Glass
by: LI13
Rated T for surgery-related imagery
AN: Hiya guys, look who's back. Me... after promising new stuff earlier in the year, but not coming through. Well, Excuse me, I've been busy with the racing, and the dating, and the school, and the whole life thing. But, I found time during a boring Driver's Ed lecture to write this... A Gaara-Sakura oneshot fanfic. Gaara is most likely out of character, but if not, please tell me, so I can model all future Gaara's like this. Do me a favor, and enjoy it if you can. Warning though... this is like a dream within a dream within a dream. Transitions between actual reality and Sakura's reality are like this: qpqpqpqpqpqpq... okay?
As she stood above their graves, the sun's last rays cast pink and red shadows against the clouds. A mission thought too tough for her separated her from the only people she ever really cared about. They elected for her to stay in the village while they fought in the last battle between Suna and Konoha. She went to fight anyway, but at the cost of watching Team Seven die.
Naruto... He finally got to be Hokage. Sixth Hokage, but second to die before his predecessor did. Tsunade had to resume the office. Kyuubi was lost now; he fought alongside Naruto in the war... She set a sunflower over his buried body.
Sasuke... her first love, but died as her worst enemy. He died days after he killed his brother. She tried her hardest to save him hours before his death– when she found him. On his deathbed, she could only ask him for forgiveness before he passed on. His headstone was given a single rose.
And then there was Kakashi, the only man she truly trusted and loved the most. She lavished his grave with lilies and sakura sprigs daily— the same way he did for her when he was alive. She vowed to avenge his death at the least; before she joined her team mates.
He made the mistake of materializing out of the sand behind her. In a moment, she was straddling him with the blade of her kunai pressed painfully against his throat.
"What do you want!" she roared. She shook with fury not unlike his own.
"You aren't the only one to mourn." he said simply.
"Subaku no Gaara. What does the Kazekage have to mourn for?" she sneered. Sakura dug the blade deeper, but the sand dulled the edge.
"What's it to you?" Gaara looked blankly back, enjoying the play of emotions on her face.
"It's Sakura... and it's nothing!... I mean... you're nothing!... Forget it!" Sakura let up on Gaara and took a paced away.
"But you won't forget it, will you?" Gaara stepped closer.
"No I won't!" she spun around and stabbed at him. Immediately, the sand rose to restrain her. She fell silent and dropped her head. The hair she streaked in yellow, silver and black now covered her eyes. "Your people killed my only family. There's no way I can forget." She let the knife fall to the ground. Gaara blinked and the sand retreated. She wobbled for a bit and fell on a cushion of sand. She looked at the Kazekage and saw pain. He looked toward the sunset.
"What have you done to me? Sakura lifted her wrist and stopped short, viewing the scroll wrapped around it.
" I saw death the day I was born! I've lost my important people! Do yo think I forget! But what would you care!" The sand clenched around her waist, making her gasp for air.
"Gaara..."
"Do you think I sleep? My kills haunt me!"
"Gaa...ra..."
"The blood stains my hands— I can't wash it out!"
"G...gaa...ra..." Sakura was on the brink of completely blacking out when the sand vanished.
"I'm sorry," Gaara mumbled as he stooped down to unravel the scrolls around her wrists and ankles. "New thing the sand does to protect me..."
Sakura watched his lips move through the curtain of pink bangs. Why was he telling her these things? He was the enemy. "I believed 'sorry' was not in your vocabulary. I heard from Naruto that your big words were 'death,' 'die,' and 'love.' There on your forehead is a testament to your insanity." She brushed his rust colored hair from the tattoo.
He really wanted to slap her into check, but instead chuckled. "An insult?"
"Ho! So you can laugh now too?" Sakura stood up as best she could and threw her hands into the air.
"You're mocking me now." Gaara had to hide his anger with a smile.
"The world is ending! The scary Gaara has cracked a smile and let out a laugh!" Sakura stumbled.
"Be careful there." The Kazekage appeared behind the kunoichi and caught her. They fell back laughing. When they stopped, Gaara looked her straight in the eyes, dead serious. "Come back to Suna with me."
"What?" Sakura turned the faintest pink.
"Come to Suna with me. You will be my structure, an anchor for me to stay in the light." Gaara kneeled and placed his hands on the ground beside her head. "Please come to Suna with me."
Sakura could not believe what was happening. The Gaara she feared did not plead with anyone. Nor did he speak so much. It was a trick. It must be. But no one knew of this newly acquired feelings for him. Not even Tsunade. She didn't tell anyone.
"No! I can't!"
Sakura awoke in a hospital, hooked up to a respirator and was on a drip. The sheets were a sandy color on a white metal bedframe. She tried to sit up, but a fiery pain exploded in her before she realized her abdomen was completely covered in bandages.
"Haruno-sama! Don't! You will re-open your wounds!" A nurse around the age of fifteen ran in and injected a relaxant through the IV. "If you injure yourself further, Kazekage-sama will be very unhappy with me. Please calm down."
A reddish-brown figure moved from the corner of the room. "No need to worry. I'm already here." Sakura recognized Gaara immediately.
"Kazekage-sama! Please forgive me. A thousand apologies!" The brown haired nurse bowed.
"There's another patient in Room 5. Found him in the caves. A bloody mess."
"Yessir, Kazekage-sama!" The girl flushed a bright red and rushed away. Gaara neared the cot.
You may not recognize me, but I am Subaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Sunagakure. I wish it were under better circumstances that we meet, but," Gaara turned and stepped out the door," welcome to Suna."
Sakura slid a sword through the loops on the back of her new vest. If she was to exact revenge on the ones responsible for Naruto and Kakashi's death, she might as well study their culture and use that knowledge against them. She had to look like them and learn their weaponry use. Her outfit helped with this.
The cloth Gaara ordered to be woven for her was as dark in color as the shadows, yet light weight as spider's web. It hugged her figure, but was loose enough for unrestricted movement. There were so many loops and straps for weapons, and she wondered how Gaara knew what clothing she liked and weapons she used. He even had boots made to match and a cloak to cover herself in.
The first stop was the school. She remembered Iruka-sensei's teachings and wanted to compare it to the things the children of Suna learned. As she closed in on a door, she heard a young male voice ring out.
"Class, we're studying mythology today. Lenlu! Stop cutting Meina. Tell me of a legend you know." A strong but quiet looking girl covered in tiny cut marks stood up. Sakura inferred her to be Meina.
"The Gourd of Tears, sir. A woman cried so much because her three sons were lost in war, famine, and flood. Her tears became a healing salve, and her body a gourd to contain it. The gourd is supposed to be on display at the Kazekage's office..."
Sakura left the building, heading for the Kazekage's office, taking a sudden peak of interest to see this legend for herself, and perhaps to have a visit with Gaara.
"Kazekage-sama, there is someone here to see you." The blond secretary said on the intercom.
"Send him in then," he sighed.
The kunoichi kicked the door open and said quietly, "I'm a she."
Gaara looked up from his paperwork with a blank stare. "Yes?" He said coolly. She closed the door and sand mounded up near the desk to harden into a chair. "Sit." She did, and before anything else was said, asked what was on her mind.
"What's the Gourd of Tears?"
"Something relating to my family." Gaara poured some water into his goblet. "Why?"
"No reason," she said quickly. "Just heard it around town and... can I see it?"
"Hn." Gaara handed the gourd to Sakura. "The legend was inaccurate."
"How?' Sakura opened the container and scraped some out. She pricked her thumb and smoothed the salce over the cut. Steam issued from the cut on contackt. "Apparently, the salve does work."
"The legend speaks of only three sons when there were four." He paused to sip some water. "My father was the youngest ans was lost to greed. The only reason he isn't mentiones is because he altered the legend record. But that isn't why you came. Is it?"
"No. I thank you for the clothes, Kazekage-san, but—"
"Gaara. Call me by name."
"Okay... Gaara. Thanks for the outfit, but I still need to know who killed my friends. And untill I kill them, I hold you responsible." Sakura stood up and poked the red-head in the chest.
"Fine by me. Now if you don't mind, I have work to do." The sand-made chair turned into a moving mound that ushered the girl out of the office. Gaara must have been working on how to control the sand.
Sakura was so completely upset that she was kicked out in such a manner, she overturned a few chairs on her way out. She was told she could look for Naruto and Kakashi's killers while she was there in Suna, and that's what she intended to do before heading to the room Gaara had prepared for her in his home.
Gaara finished his work early and decided to take the long way home. It would be a while before he had to deal with a certain pink haired woman– he knew it— and he had a lot on his... er, her... mind. This girl reminded him of Yashamaru. Hey both lost people they loved dearly, and were stuck with him. But... he still had to help her by playing her game. Still, she was a prisoner of war who happened to be a powerful depressant. How she managed to stay alive in this position was a wonder.
The few sakura trees they had in Suna were blooming. In all honesty, he hated the tiny pink flowers, but observed them to be the favorite to members of the female species. He decided to make peace with the one bunking in his 'house,' so he broke off a few sprigs and tucked them under his cloak.
Sakura got home just as Gaara put the finishing touches on the table. She stood at the door gaping at the settings she saw. The cherry wood table was covered in a blood red tablecloth and the plates were pale green with rust red engravings of the Sand's insignia. What really got her were the branches covered in cherry blossoms. Gaara realized she came in and ripped off the apron he was wearing and hid it behind him.
"Um... If I knew I'd be seated at a fancy table for dinner, I'd have dressed up." Sakura tentatively joked.
"I do not mind. I decided to apologize by cooking dinner. Come. Sit." Gaara once more sent the sand to retrieve the girl and hardened beneath her into a chair. "You must be hungry." Gaara reached into a pocket and produced a pale green box tied with a white satin ribbon, setting it down on her plate. He went to get the feast he prepared as Sakura unwrapped the gift.
It was a small hourglass on a fine chain filled with bits of gold, ruby, jade, silver and onyx. She could only look at it lying on the pillow in the box as Gaara served the lamb and vegetables. He sat down and suddenly got back up. "Would you like me to put it on you?" Gaara asked from behind Sakura. He gently took the box out of her hands and took the hourglass out. The pendant fell just beneath her collarbone and sparkled as she breathed. "Do you know why you are here?"
Sakura shook her head. All she remembered was the war and burying her friends. After that, nothing.
"You fell comatose right before the war ended. Tsunade could not help you, nor could any healers from the villages in alliance with you. My best healers could only tell me you'd wake up ass soon as you realized you can't hide in your body forever. And that's just it. You sitll haven't realized it as of yet. You need to wake up. I'm here, playing out the role you gave to me, trying to help you, only because the hokage asked it of me. Wake up."
The longest speech Gaara ever gave to anyone, and it wasn't real?
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"We're loosing her!" Tsunade screeched. "I didn't come all the way to Suna to see someone die!"
Sakura's body jerked wildly on the gurney. Her mind was weakening from being shut in for days. Each passing day meant another tether being cut from her spirit.
"Get me restraints now! " a blue haired nurse yelled. Straps were passed to him and he tied Sakura's flailing arms and legs to the rails on the bed. The flurry around it continued at high speed.
"Demerol! Stat!"
"Her heart rate is dropping!"
"Respiration sky rocketing. What do we do hokage san?" A brunette female tugged at Tsunade's sleeve.
"Her heart is failing. We need to operate manually! Prepare the OR!" A team on nurses ran ahead to the operating room to gather the tools needed; scalpels, forceps, clamps, syringes, sponges, and power saw. "Give her morphine, not demerol. She's already in mental turmoil. I don't need her body going into shock."
Gaara was spiritually drained. A few hours in someone else's reality as well as his own and the real world at the same time can do that to a person. Whatever her mind was creating, her body could not handle.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Sakura, you have to wake up. You can't stay asleep any longer. You will die if you do." Gaara stated.
"No! I'm awake. See! I function perfectly!" Sakura stepped back. She was on the edge of tears and growing more hysterical by the second.
"Snap out of it!" Gaara commanded. The sand wrapped around her waist. She struggled against it, but it grabbed her wrists and ankles.
"No! I'm fine! I'm not in a coma! I'm right here!" Tears flooded from Sakura's eyes. "I'm fine..." Sakura grew quiet.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Tsunade took the scalpel and slit Sakura from the collar bone down to her nave. The chest and abdomen muscles were exposed as nurses pinned back the skin with clamps. The wall of muscles were gut and pulled away as well while the power saw was fired up. It cracked through the sternum and split it apart. Blood squirted everywhere.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Sakura went limp and the sand went away. Gaara turned to leave. She cried out and clutched at the sudden ache in her chest.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Now that the chest cavity was opened, tsunade confirmed her fears. Sakura's fragile state coupled with whatever mental images she was viewing was affecting the way her body worked. Her heart was beating just barely, and her breaths were shallow and too fast to completely register.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Don't leave me!" Sakura begged. Gaara remained stoic. "Say something!"
"Why? I gave up my shell. I can't help you with yours. I can't help you anymore." Gaara stepped further away.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Tsunade got the replacement heart ready. This was the most delicate part of the frocedure. The heart had to be replaced within a one minute window or the brain would starve for oxygen. The heart had so many veins to reattatch. But it had to be done.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"I love you!"
Gaara stopped. He heard it only once before, and it brought the same feelings of pain... lonliness... helplessness... fear. "What?"
"I..." Sakura swallowed hard. "Love you. Please. Don't leave. I can't be alone again."
Gaara laughed. "Hn. You have such a great timing." He turned back around. Sakura looked up.
"Please..."
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
The heart was in place and Tsunade connected the arteries with the aid of two other healers. She slapped the new heart and it began to beat perfectly normal. Everyone cheered.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Stay here... with me..." Sakura reached for him and he took her hand. In a fluid movement, Sakura was lifted to her feet and crushed into a wall of solid comfort. He hold her slender wais and buried his face in her neck.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Ther heart beat irregularly again.
"Crap!" Tsunade wiped at her sweaty brow with the back of her wrist and speared blood all over her forhead. They tried injecting adrenaline into her bloodstream— a risky thing to do in an open heart surgery— but the heart beat even slower. Her breaths were now coming in short ragged gasps. Nothing could save her now but a miracle.
"Close her up," the Hokage whispered. "We're done."
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
Sakura moaned as Gaara bit her gently, leaving a trail of small love bites behind him.
"I will never leave you. Never."
Gaara kissed her, sealing his own fate.
"Thank you." She sighed.
qpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqpqp
"Haruno Sakura and Kazekage Subaku no Gaara died at 7:45 today. They died together in spirit and in mind." Tsunade broadcasted throughout Suna and Konoha. "Do not mourn them... they are in a better place..."
AN: Yo. So, how'd it go? Good? Okay? Horribly? Review, or I shall get Gaara to hunt you down and crush you with Desert Funeral! And yes, I am obsessing over him now.