Chapter II: Tension Rising
AN: I do not own the rights to Naruto. Please enjoy!
----------
"Ahhh, it's good to be home!" Naruto shouted as he stretched.
The mission was a huge success. Team 7 was to gather information regarding Orochimaru and the probability of coming back alive was almost slim to none. Yet surprisingly, the mission went smoothly. Granted, they didn't come back unscathed, but at least no one died in the attempt.
"…It was easy. Perhaps too easy…" Kakashi thought. "No matter. We are home, and I promised Sakura an explanation."
Suddenly, a whirlwind of leaves announced a shinobi's arrival and automatically the team resumed defensive positions, kunai drawn and ready.
"Aa! Iruka-sensei! Did you come to welcome us home?" Naruto asked gleefully, gingerly putting away his weapons.
"No. Your presence is requested by the Hokage." Iruka replied.
Puzzlement was evident in the visages of the trio.
"I have barely written my report, Iruka. Has something happened while we were gone?"
"…It is better if you just go to the Hokage, Kakashi. I shall meet you all there."
With a clouded smile so unlike the cheerful sensei, he bode them farewell and disappeared.
"Um sensei, what's going on?" Naruto asked, turning to Kakashi.
"It could be that Orichimaru has planned an earlier attack." Sasuke considered out loud.
"Perhaps. In any case, let's go." Sakura… could this all have something to do with you?
----------
"Hokage-sama. We have thoroughly searched the entire village and even in the surrounding wilderness, yet there seems to be no trace of either Sakura or the attackers." An ANBU member reported as he knelt.
"And our allies? Have they given us any possible sightings?" Tsunade asked, eyes closed in meditation.
"Iie. The Water and Grass countries haven't seen a woman with pink hair or any foreign shinobi trespassing on their land."
"Then this is indeed a problem."
poom
"Ah… Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke. You came just in time." Tsunade nodded in welcome.
"Hey Obaa-san! What's going on?" Naruto asked, looking around at the various ANBU members situated around the room.
Tsunade sighed. Truly, there was no easy way to say this so she might as well bite the bullet.
"This may come as a shock, but it appears that Sakura was… taken against her will from the village a few days ago."
Their eyes widened in surprise. Kakashi was inwardly shaken. Have they moved this quickly! Impossible, the information was restricted to only a few members of this village!
"Sa-Sakura-chan? Kidnapped! WHAT! WHAT HAPPENED!"Naruto shouted.
Tsunade glanced at Kakashi. He turned away. "Obviously no one would be foolish to act against the Leaf in such dire circumstances, Naruto. There must be a reason why only Sakura was taken. We have reason to believe that she was forced to make the decision to leave. The heads of the gatesman and his family, along with a friend of the child it seems, was found in the Haruno's home. Therefore, it is very possible that the attackers were in position to attack the village at any given notice."
"However what eludes me is how the attackers were able to penetrate the village without raising the alert of the guardsmen, or at least the ANBU." Tsunade drawled, casting a wary eye at the masked figures.
A man with the mask of a fox stepped forward.
"Forgive us Hokage-sama. It appeared that the attackers used our ventilation system to their advantage by placing a sleeping gas bomb in the main directory. As a result, our entire squad was knocked out." He murmured.
"WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THAT? OUR SAKURA-CHAN WAS KIDNAPPED AND ALL WE'RE DOING IS TALKING!" Naruto screamed.
Kakashi placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Calm down Naruto. We need to gather background information before acting. Did you forget this basic already?"
Naruto scowled. "Of course not, sensei. But it just makes me so damn frustrated that while we're here, safe and sound, Sakura-chan is with some worthless scum and God knows what's happening to her…"
Kakashi's eyes softened. "I know Naruto. I know, but we have to be a little patient, ne? I'm sure that everyone is worried for her, but look at Sasuke. He takes this calmly."
"Pah. Sasuke." Naruto glowered at his rival and received a glare in return.
"Now Kakashi. Do you want to tell them or should I?" Tsunade asked, her eyebrow rising in invitation.
His students glanced at him questioningly. Kakashi sighed. "Yeah, I was just getting to that."
----------
Sakura stirred. Ugh…what a horrible dream I had. I dreamt I was stuck in this horrible room and I couldn't use my chakra… Worst of all, I was stuck with him.
She stretched and smiled. Oh Sakura, you foo--- Her eyes widened as she took in her surroundings.
"ARGHHHHHHH! IT WASN'T A DREAM!" Sakura began to beat her head against the wall. I must have been cursed in my previous life. I must have been a really, really awful person…
"Although it makes no difference to me whether or not you smash your head against the wall… stop it. You actions are annoying." His voice drifted to her.
Sakura whirled towards the figure sitting nonchalantly in the corner. Pausing, she took the second to point a finger and prepare her lungs for the screaming fest to come.
"YOU! What difference does it make to me if bashing my head against the wall annoys you! I'm stuck here! With you!" She shrieked. Argh…Sakura you really are an idiot. He'll kill you for sure! BUT HE CALLED ME ANNOYING. DAMN, I HATE IT WHEN THEY DO THAT!
"… Just shut up. You're wasting air."
Sakura's eyebrow twitched. Monster or not, he's still a jerk. "Well I'm sorry your grace." She simpered. "I'll try to breathe as little as possible! In the mean time, I'll continue to bash my head against this wall in the hopes that maybe those people will take me out of this cell and get me away from you!"
"Again, what difference does this make to me? It's win/win. I get more air, and never again will your unusually large forehead cross my sight."
Sakura twitched. Unusually… large… forehead! Christ, when he hits those buttons, he smashes into them! "YOU POMPOUS ASS! Like you should talk! My forehead is perfectly fine, unlike that freaky tattoo you have on yours!"
Gaara's eyes narrowed. No one, and he meant no one, ever poked fun at his mark and lived to repeat it. Sakura stiffened at the look in Gaara's eyes. Well...this is it. I've stuffed my feet into my mouth and now he's going to make me choke on them. Goombye world.
But before he moved to strangle her to death, the door opened and their food was hastily shoved in. Gaara sighed.
Death could wait. Food was important.
---------
"So..." Sakura drawled while munching on some unidentifiable food item. "What happened to you? Why are you here?"
Gaara completely ignored the fact that ten minutes ago, she was turning all shades of purple and red screaming at him and he was very willing to squeeze the life out of her. Why is it that food makes everything better? This must be kept in mind…
"It's none of your business."
"Well, its appears that we're gonna be stuck together for a long period of time, so might as well try and make the best of it by being friends."
"I have no need for companions. They only lead to betrayal and destruction."
Sakura's eyes widened. Well, that's a chipper of an answer if I ever heard one. What happened to you…? She sat quietly for a moment, absentmindedly biting her lip. "Damn it!" she hissed. She had accidentally bitten too hard, causing blood to pool in her mouth.
Sakura spat it out, grimacing at the coppery taste in her mouth. Gaara's eyes widened.
Blood…
----------
Kakashi leaned against a wall. At once, Naruto could sense that the tale was going to be exhausting on their sensei.
"Sakura's mother came to me after training one day. I was surprised of course, since I hardly encourage parent-teacher conversations. However, she came to me for a different reason other than to inquire about Sakura's progress…"
----------
Flashback
"Kakashi-san, may I speak to you for a moment?" Tomoe Haruno whispered, appearing behind Kakashi.
"Aa, Tomoe-san. What is it you wish to speak of?" Kakashi asked, tilting his head in acknowledgement.
"Not here. Someplace more private. I'd rather talk at my home, if you please." Kakashi raised his eyebrow, questioning the slightly nervous woman before him.
"Very well… Lead the way."
The Haruno's home was well furnished. Comfortable. Cozy. Kakashi mused briefly on the benefits of taking a wife and raising a family. Sighing, he shook his head of such impossible thoughts and focused his attention on Sakura's mother.
"So Tomoe-san. What is it that you wish to speak to me about?"
Sakura's mother glanced around the room before looking at Kakashi's partially hidden face.
"It's about Sakura."
"Oh? Well, don't worry about her Tomoe-san. She's still the top member in the team when it comes to chakra control, and the most intelligent. It seems that she is also picking up faster than her teammates on several new jutsus that I've introduced."
"No…that's not what I want to talk to you about."
Kakashi frowned. This could be serious. "Is something wrong?"
"Kakashi-san, I've been meaning to tell the council this secret for many, many years now. However, it was the failure of personal courage or unfavorable circumstances which prevented me from doing so. Right now, I fear that I do not trust the council enough. There could be possible spies."
Kakashi nodded. Yes, that possibility was true. They were certain it could be one of the senior ANBU members, however they needed more evidence before taking action. Well, Neji and Morini were on the case. Never was there such a powerful interrogation team so efficient like that pair.
"Yes, I understand. Please continue." Tomoe took a breath.
"Kakashi-sensei, surely you must have noticed that Sakura has become quicker in battle, more efficient at target throws. I heard even that she was able to beat Sasuke-kun in a particular type of jutsu."
"Hai. It was really only for healing purposes, however. Just in case they were stranded in a place where natural medicinal herbs were lacking. To be honest, I didn't think Sakura could handle that difficult jutsu. Granted, she has excellent chakra control. But it's a jutsu which requires a certain skill level. I do not mean to offend, Tomoe-san, but neither you nor Hideki-san has a high enough level of ninja skill…"
Tomoe looked up sharply. She searched into his eyes. Does he suspect…? As if he could read her thoughts, Kakashi nodded.
"Aa…then you already know that Sakura is not truly Hideki's daughter."
"Yes, I have suspected for quite some time now. I have only a few questions…"
Tomoe hung her head. So he knows. How many others have figured this out? Kami-sama…
----------
Sakura noticed Gaara staring at her. Ugh… he's freaking me out. Why is he staring at me!
Gaara stood up and started to walk towards her.
Damn, is he really going to kill me after all!. Alarmed, her body backed into a wall.
He was six paces away from her now. Five. Three. Now he was close enough for her to smell him. She shook her head. Good God, what kind of things was she thinking about? Suddenly Gaara was in front of her. He bent down. Sakura's breath quickened. They were face-to-face. Sakura could feel his warm breath on her skin. The moment seemed to stretch on for hours.
Unexpectedly, Gaara traced her lip with his finger. Her blood smeared onto his finger. He continued to trace her lips with a soft, yet firm pressure. Despite herself, Sakura shivered. His body's proximity with her own created a heated feeling, deeply coiled within her.
What…what is he…
He leaned towards her. His hot breath seemed pleasurable on her hyper-sensitized skin. Sakura let out a little moan. Was he…was he going to kiss her?
Gaara's lips moved toward her ear. Sakura closed her eyes in half anticipation. She could feel his lips parting.
"You're bleeding…"
And then abruptly, he moved to his corner and sat down. The body heat was gone. Sakura took in a shaky breath.
What… what the hell was that…?
----------