Sabaku no Hana - Flower of the Desert - Desert Flower
Standard Disclaimer Applies.
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Warning: Unbetaed version, so there might be some or more grammatical errors here and there.
Implied NaruxHina
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Chapter 5: Pools
"What were these people thinking!" Inuzuka Kiba growled in frustration, scowling at the bushy and woody surroundings of the southern border of Konohagakure. "And what are we doin' here waiting when we can just attack them?" he whined.
"Baka inu…" he heard someone say and felt his head hit a low tree branch when he was shoved suddenly from behind.
"Not only do you stink like a dog, your ideas are just as bad too."
"Itai!" he shouted angrily turning around he saw a familiar blue eyed man laughing at him. "TEME!" He growled, pointing at the guy who pushed him before charging. "Hokage or not, you're going down Naruto!"
"Oi! You two!" A very annoyed Yamanaka Ino shouted at the now fighting boys with the huge Akamaru walking beside her. "Would you stop acting like kids? And I have news from the Godaime, Hokage-sama."
"He's not the Hokage now, he's being the usual Naruto the baka!" Kiba replied angrily trying to shove his fist inside Naruto's mouth.
"Mou, you two are getting on my nerves." Ino muttered under her breathe rubbing her forehead.
"Mine too."
Ino yelped in surprise. "Gah! Neji-san! Don't do that!"
Hyuuga Neji shook his head slightly at her reaction before focusing on the childish fight in front of them. "Uzumaki! If you don't stop acting stupid I'll make sure Hinata hears of this."
Naruto stilled for a second, hearing him, then three Kage Bunshin replicas appeared making Kiba quite busy that he was able to turn and cross his arms at Neji without being bothered. "You wouldn't dare…"
"Eh? You don't think I'll do it?" He replied with a smirk. "I'm quite certain Hinata will be happy to hear that you were starting a fight with her previous team mate.. Again."
"If he doesn't tell, I definitely will!" Kiba shouted before destroying one Kage Bunshin replica and fighting off the remaining two. "Just you wait you baka!"
"Urusai Kiba!" Naruto scowled. "All right, all right! I'm just letting off some steam." He said with a sigh. "This waiting is ticking me off."
"That's what I was asking about a while ago!" Kiba interjected before growling and pointing to Akamaru who was still beside Ino who was scratching his ears. "And you! What are you doing just watching me huh! Come here and help!"
Akamaru just gave him a small whine before slumping on the ground yawning beside Ino who continued scratching his ears. Neji on the other hand just shook his head, mentally asking why he was being punished by being placed in this group until he remembered that Lee was on the other one, the other group who was sent to the eastern border before them, and thought otherwise as he mentally pictured Lee crying and hugging everyone emotionally.
"You were whining not asking Kiba." said Naruto before dropping down to the fallen tree log at his feet to sit. "You still haven't finished fighting that two!" he asked in a very annoyed voice. "I'm going to really kick your ass if you don't destroy that! I'm giving you thirty seconds Inu-baka!" he shouted at Kiba with a scowl. "Don't make me regret bringing you here!"
"Geez Hokage-sama! It's not as if they're ordinary Bunshin from an ordinary nin!" Kiba mumbled with a frown before destroying another one and punching the last one but still was unable to destroy it. He was recently injured after taking a high ranked mission and was still a little out of shape and after having the Godaime's permission he was allowed to assist Naruto in this new mission.
Although Uzumaki Naruto will always be- well- Naruto he wasn't chosen as the Sixth Hokage for nothing. Years of training with Jiraiya and under the constant grilling of Tsunade has made him an S-Class nin even without the help of the Kyuubi and as time passes by he was looking & acting more and more like Konoha's Yellow Flash. He was still impulsive to some point, especially with his temper, but there was wisdom in his decisions now (much to the relief of the Godaime).
They were deep inside the forest in the southern side of Konoha. They were watching out for a group of Nukenin just outside the border. They learned that the group of Nukenin decided that they wanted to build a new hidden village in Hi no Kuni by taking over the rich forest that they were staying in at the present saying that since most of the southern land near the border is uninhabited they want to lay claim on it.
"What did Tsunade-baa chan said Ino?" asked Naruto looking up at her from the log.
Ino fingered the ends of long pale blonde hair thoughtfully. "From the letter, she said that you can go Sunagakure as soon as situation here improves and that she already sent the Kazekage one of her scrolls so you need to stop worrying about Sakura-chan." She said with a smile then handed him a small piece of paper. "Oh and here's the decoded letter."
Naruto nodded silently, his eyes scanning the small piece of paper. "This mission might take longer than usual though. We can't make a move unless one of those goddamn Nukenin steps even just on the border of Konoha." He sighed again then gave Kiba, who just destroyed the last Kage Bunshin, a look before grinning. "Did that answer your question?"
"Feh." He replied, irritated.
Naruto then turned to Neji questioningly. "What's the status on the eastern border?"
Neji looked at him seriously before responding. "Shikamaru said that what we thought might not be what it seems." He handed him a piece of paper also before continuing. "He said that he just needed a little more time before he figures it all out." He looked down deep in thought. Even though he was a member of the ANBU team, and of course it wasn't public knowledge too, his mission now was to assist Naruto in the Southern Border.
Unlike them, the group of nin assigned in the Eastern Border was in a some state of war for a couple of days already with a group of nin from the nearby Otogakure and Shikamaru was assigned to lead a large team, he was now also having suspicions about the situation since Otogakure after the incident years ago with Orochimaru became a quiet village without much of their fighting nin. Unlike Sunagakure who improved, Otogakure with their people scared and somewhat labelled badly continued to worsen.
The Konoha ANBU was always asked each year to commence an investigation on Otogakure because it was one of the closest villages to them and to avoid what happened before but no suspicious affairs has ever been discovered until recently and it was already too late, there has been a lot of what they thought at first was only bandit attacks. It finally escalated into full frontal attacks on Konoha nin and foreigners on their way to Konoha.
"Sou ka…" Naruto muttered with a nod. "I've guessed as much." He stood up jumping. "Send a note to Shikamaru to give a progress report as soon as possible." He told Neji before grinning. "Oh and tell him to hurry if he wants to see Temari-chan soon."
Neji nodded with a slight smile before disappearing in a blur.
"All right then." Naruto stretched loudly before motioning to the two jounin with him. "Let's go check on the group of Tokubetsu Jounin that I placed on the edge of the forest." He sighed, rubbing his nose slightly. 'Yare yare, its times like this that I think being a Hokage's not so fun especially without a ramen in site.'
…
The loud sounds of the dessert crickets filled the room from the opened windows. Quietly closing the door, he walked in front of her bed deep in thought. Thinking of what he was about to do, he gazed at her sleeping form and unconsciously lingering on her pale face. He didn't know how, but he's sure that they share almost the same colour of eyes but hers were greener, deeper, and he didn't know too what was happening to him thinking of such nonsense.
'What the hell...' Gaara shook his head with a frown which deepened as he remembered his first thoughts. The image of the Godaime Hokage and the symbol he needed to draw flashed in his mind. The circular symbol will be drawn with his blood then he would need to write his signature inside it.
The gesture signifies a blood contract and it was making him rather uncomfortable. Although it's probably the one thing that would allow her body to accept his chakra without causing any problems, it'll also form a connection or some bond between the two of them, however temporary it may be.
If only he could do some research first but he or rather she doesn't have the time. Sighing, he lifted the medical scroll and eyed it with annoyance and started walking closer to the frail form of Haruno Sakura. He groaned inwardly before lifting his free hand to shift the blanket covering her.
His eyes narrowed seeing the scratches and bruises in her arms, a contrast to her rather milky white skin. Now why'd he notice that? He shook his head mentally; well no one can fault him. No one can deny the beauty of the kunoichi in front of him. He turned slightly to the door hearing some shuffling.
"Don't-," he said loudly enough to be heard outside the room. "even think of touching that knob." He heard a startled gasp.
"Kazekage-sama?" a female voice asked nervously in a squeak.
Instead of answering Gaara had a wall of sand form just outside the door, completely covering it. "Have my sister wait for me outside and the medical team." He ordered in a commanding voice.
"Ha-hai, Kazekage-sama!" the girl stuttered before running away quickly to do his bidding.
"Might as well do it now." He sighed again for the umpteenth time before starting to open the first three buttons on Sakura's white gown. Gaara let out a frustrated growl as he felt his cheeks redden when his finger brushed on her bare skin while removing the third button. "Kuso! What the hell is wrong with me!" he muttered distractedly.
He suddenly felt a strong urge to pull his hair out in annoyance instead though he did the only thing he thinks is best to do. He gave the kunoichi in front of him the strongest glare he could muster, never mind that she was unaware. This girl, even unconscious, was making him feel uncomfortable and nobody should be able to have that effect on him he thought somewhat angrily.
True their paths have crossed more than once in the recent years, especially with the good relationship of Sunagakure with Konohagakure but in those moments only nods and a couple of words were exchanged between them, simple acknowledgements despite his being close to Naruto, who's almost her brother.
'But that didn't stop you from memorizing the colour of her eyes.' A small voice said in his mind.
'Urusai. You don't know what you're talking about.'
"Shit. Now I'm talking to my self." He cursed under his breath. Ignoring the heat in his ears, he turned his attention back to his hand which was still on Sakura's gown. He parted the neckline slightly with a small gulp. He was acting like a child and Naruto would definitely have his head if he saw how he was reacting to his best friend slash blood sister.
The neckline of the gown was opened just enough for him to be able to draw the symbol properly and just enough for him to see enough of her to have his imagination running actively. His thoughts were getting shameful but seeing the valley between her breasts was not helping. Not helping at all.
'Tsk. This foolishness is proving to be highly unbecoming of me.'
Stopping all thoughts and returning into giving the sleeping girl in front of him a death glare he brought his thumb to his mouth and bit on it enough to draw blood then had the symbol drawn on her chest not a second later, now he only needs his signature written too. Concentrating some chakra on his bleeding thumb he wrote his name inside the symbol. The symbol and his name glowed slightly merging with the chakra he released in time with the rise and fall of her chest as she took a deep breath.
He could feel his aneue's pissed off aura from the hallway now. No doubt irritated from being ordered to wait outside rather than inside the room and he know that he'll definitely hear an earful from her. Not to mention that Temari was most likely asleep already when she was called.
Gaara began drawing a large amount of chakra before starting the series of hand seals that he needed to perform. Finishing the seals, he placed the scroll on top of the symbol, his fingers touching Sakura's skin, securing it.
He stilled for a second, feeling her smooth skin against his calloused fingers. He mentally shook his head to stop his thoughts from threading into another of his 'hormone driven boy' mode. Shameful really.
He could feel his chakra pushing through her, adding another burst, the symbol glowed then started to absorb it. He noticed her slightly gritting her teeth as well. Then the glow died down along with the last of the chakra in his hands and Sakura started taking deep breaths.
He lifted his right hand and felt the scroll he was holding down loosen and then lifted the scroll too and noticed that the edges of the scroll started to blacken. His attention went to the girl in front of him as he felt her chakra reserve increase considerably before wondering how he was able to detect it. He frowned. It seems that his assumption was proven to be correct. He shouldn't be able to detect her chakra reserve level without exerting any effort. He realized now that he's more sensitive to her.
'It's temporary. A minor setback.' He reassured his self, starting to get annoyed with the Godaime for deliberately forgetting to mention that detail even if he suspected it. He saw her lips part slightly and unconsciously focused his eyes on them before he could stop himself –lips that should be dried but remained moistened probably due to his sister's instruction that the medics keep applying the sweet water of their dessert cactus to keep if from chapping. He can't help but take in its pinkness too however pale it was. His actions made him quite angry though, his eyes narrowed and he scowled.
Sakura tried to open her eyes but try as she might she cant lift her lids, she felt like Chouji decided to hang unto them with his weight. She tried to move her arms too but only succeeded in somewhat moving her fingers. Then she tried to groan from the stiffness and heaviness that she could feel from her body. She couldn't remember what happened to her and her brows creased unconsciously feeling how weak she was. She tried again. Pulling every strength she could gather to open her eyes.
'I'll give you lots and lots of chips Chouji just let go of them now.' She thought tiredly.
And finally, slowly, but surely, she felt her eye lids lifting. Although she now wanted to lift a hand to cover her eyes from the flooding white light that was blinding her but couldn't. She was getting so frustrated she wanted to cry. But with little strength she doubts she could gather enough water in her body to even produce tears.
Pushing her body further she finished opening her eyes but couldn't seem to see anything from the blurriness that was surrounding her. Feeling rather triumphant in her small feat she suddenly felt her strength increase then blinked to get focus. After a couple of seconds, when she could finally see better, although she was still disoriented and a bit dizzy too, she came to some realization.
She was in an infirmary. She recognized the smell and the feel all too well since she worked in one most of the time. Then the memories came flooding back and she gasped slightly. 'She was ambushed!' she thought angrily before remembering something and becoming confused because of it. She was sure she felt safe before she lost consciousness when she was being pursued. She remembered the lingering feeling was all she could think of before she gave into the darkness.
She tried to turn her head but still couldn't or wouldn't more likely. She was a little nervous of what she might see but she ignored the feeling and gathered enough strength that she could feel returning to her before she slowly turned her head to her side. She stopped herself from screaming then.
Wide pools of green met narrowed slits of aquamarine pools.
Sakura's eyes widened in surprise at the scowling face that was directed at her. Although she couldn't feel his chakra she was sure he was extremely annoyed if not spitting mad. Probably at her too judging from his gaze. The missing pieces in her memory fell in places next and she remembered where she was now as she recognized who the person giving her the meanest scowl she could remember is.
Sabaku No Gaara.
The Kazekage.
Her mouth opened in a silent 'oh' before she closed her eyes to calm her nerves.
'It had to be him didn't it? Of all the…' she thought with a sigh before cracking one eye open a little then closed it immediately after seeing his scowl again.
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Nihon go Vocab: None for now, will put it when I upload the betaed version.
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A/N: So sorry for the lateness of the chappy. I'll upload the edited version as soon as I hear from my beta. )
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Super thankies to the following:
gaarasminestayaway . GaaraXSakura-all-the-way .TrapedSoul.LynGreenTea. GambitGirl2008 . Jaime Snyder .Confuzzled239
Kyo-my-Love(haha. No prob. Me so glad to hear from you again. Hugs tew!) .
SabakuNoBrandye(not really that usual, chan can be used as an endearment too when used in addressing a male. It always depends on the situation. Thanks very much for the review. -)
And of course Crystal (where art thou girl? - hehe.)
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Please oh please review… onegai minna? O.O
