A/N-Thanks to those who have, thus far, reviewed chapter 7-Kagime and the Owl as well as Emily-The-Elemental...please forgive the evil cliffie last time...i don't do that...often...(evil Smirk). I decided to update soon because of my lack of updating for a week:) READ AND REVIEW.
Chapter 8
The little head of curly brown hair jerked up when she heard the front door open and close. "Mercy! Are you in here?" called a voice. Relief flooded Mercy's small body as she called "Mika….I'm in here…is…MOMMY!" At that moment Mika had come around the corner, supported by Kakashi and Sasuke respectively, one of her arms around each of their necks. She was healed but still very weak from blood loss. Catching sight of Mercy, she smiled gently. Naruto stood beside them, Violet in his arms. Mercy raced over and stared at her still unconscious mother, a look of horror on her face.
"Don't worry Mercy, she'll be fine." Slowly Kakashi and Sasuke lowered her into a chair. "Are…you okay Mika?" asked Mercy in a quiet voice. "I'll be fine. Just a little weak and kind of tired."
She was too distracted by Mercy to notice that Sasuke had kept a hand on her shoulder. She might not have noticed but Gaara and Sakura did. The expression on Gaara's face was one of faint fury while Sakura looked confused-and a little hurt.
At that moment, her mother decided to come home from work. As she walked through the front door and caught sight of the ninjas in the kitchen-one of them cradling her next door neighbor in his arms-she knew something was up. "Vi…is she ok Naruto?" "Don't worry. Sakura looked at her and she'll be fine." Mika's mother rounded the corner and saw her daughter sitting in a chair, looking utterly exhausted, two freshly healed scars on her legs.
"Mika…What's wrong, are you ok?" Asked her mother, the panic in the woman's voice rising with every syllable. "Yeah…I'm fine. Just….lost a little blood. A little rest and I'll be fine." "But you're not cut…"
"Sakura healed me. I got a kunai and a shuriken to the leg so…" Her mother sighed. "I knew that when you accepted this you would get hurt…I just never figured how much you could get hurt. I'm just glad you're okay this time."
Mika got up unsteadily from where she was sitting. While her mother had been checking her over for cuts and injuries, Violet had awoken and Naruto had set her back on her feet. As she went over to her neighbors she contemplated what to say. "Listen…Violet, Mercy, what you saw here…with everyone…" she gestured around the kitchen "And myself fighting…it's a huge secret. You can't tell anyone 'kay?" The two nodded in assent.
Mika smiled. "Then, Mercy, once I get some of my strength back, I'll show you some tricks ok?" Mercy nodded her head happily-she was fascinated with anything that would involve magic or tricks.
Mercy then gestured for Mika to bend over. The Kunoichi did so, reaching out a hand for something to steady herself by while she did and her hand connected with a calloused one-the hand of Uchiha Sasuke which she discovered when she glanced back to give a grateful smile to the Shinobi. Jade and emerald eyes alike both flashed at this contact and at the small smile Sasuke was giving to Mika. Gaara however was better at keeping his mask on-Sakura's hurt was visible. But no one noticed. Besides, Gaara felt more like throttling the Uchiha than hurt. But…he couldn't help reflecting…why did he feel this way…. this jealousy?
Mercy whispered something in Mika's ear, causing her to burst out into side splitting laughter. Both of the girls looked over at the Sand Shinobi and Mika managed to get out "You're right Mercy. He does." His eyes narrowed at her, his anger becoming more visible. Anger at the fact that she was talking about him…after he had old her not to…and at the fact that her hand was still attached to Sasuke's.
Mika leaned over again as Mercy whispered something else into her ear. "Why does the Panda look so angry?" Mika did a double take and looked back over at Gaara. Mercy didn't miss a thing. The fury behind his eyes was unmistakable.
"Is it because you are holding that other guy's hand right now?" At this innocent statement, Mika realized that she was still holding Sasuke's hand for support. She subtly looked at Gaara and realized that, indeed, he was glaring daggers at Sasuke, every once in a while his eyes traveling down to where their hands were connected. "I think that's probably it Mercy." "Do you like the one that looks like the panda?"
This made Mika pause. Did she have feelings for Gaara? As she gave herself an evaluation, she discovered that she did. She had feelings for…him. While it was something she had wanted, when she watched the show…now it was completely different. It was then she developed a plan, to test him and how he felt about her.
Gaara, on his own, would never approach her…even if he did feel something for her. He would be too afraid of rejection. But, if she did something to maybe provoke jealousy, he would….
Okay so maybe she was reaching. And maybe he would be furious if he ever found out. But it was worth a shot. Turning back to Mercy, she whispered, "No Mercy, what would give you an idea like that?" She shook her head violently to emphasize her point. Even though she did, no one could know-or her plan was right out the window. To help her further her emphasis she stood up quickly, letting go of Sasuke's hand in the process. She had however, underestimated the blood loss and its effect on her. Even as she stood, she found herself unsteady and she started to fall backwards.
She could sense Sasuke reaching out to grab her…that would be perfect, it would provoke his jealousy but before she could blink or Sasuke could get to her…
A cloud of sand got there first. It acted as a wall and supported her so she didn't fall backwards.
"I got her." Came the anger-tinged voice from the other side of the kitchen. He glared at Sasuke, a cold threat in his eyes. Sasuke met it with one glare of his own. This went on for a minute or so, until Mrs. Fields, in an effort to break the tension, invited Violet and Mercy into the living room to chat. Mercy wanted to stay until Violet picked her up and carried her into the other room, not wanting her to stay in the tension filled room.
Mika picked herself up off of the sand and leaned against the wall for support. The sand retracted into the gourd and, as he corked it, he moved to come over and take the exhausted girl up to her room. She beat him to the punch. Reaching for the Uchiha, she took a hold of his arm and said, "Will you take me upstairs Sasuke? I need to get some…"
Even as she said this, the last of her strength gave out and she collapsed into Sasuke's arms. He scooped her up bridal style and carried her up the stairs, jade eyes and emerald eyes staring after him. Gaara glared at them as Sasuke walked up the stairs, growling under his breath. Sakura slid a glance over to him and muttered, "I know how you feel."
Sasuke gently set Mika down in the middle of her bed, stirring her out of her unconscious state. "Thanks…Sasuke-kun…" she said sleepily. "You gotta stop getting yourself in situations like this. I mean, Saturday, and now today…you'll get hurt even worse than you have." Mika rolled her eyes. "It's not as if I'm begging the Akatsuki to come after me. And if I hadn't gone in, Vi and Mercy would've gotten hurt or even died." "I see. Well, rest up. I'll see you in the morning." "Sasuke, it's three o'clock in the afternoon. I'll probably wake up sometime before tomorrow. But I'm glad tomorrow is a Half Day. No School. In the afternoon at least." Grinning, Sasuke pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her on the forehead. "See you later then." Ignoring the blush on her cheeks, he closed the blind, shut off the light and walked out of the room.
Sasuke was in the hall for all of three seconds when he was accosted by a pink-haired Kunoichi who was steamed at him. In her eyes was a mixture of anger, hurt, and betrayal. "What are you doing?" she asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously. "None of your business Sakura."
"LIKE HECK IT ISN'!" she yelled, startling him. "Shhh…you'll wake her up…" he hissed, clamping a hand over her mouth and dragging her into the bathroom. "Sasuke we've been together for this long…I can't believe you would do this to me." He rolled his obsidian eyes. "I can't believe you have that little faith in me. You honestly think I would actually cheat on you?" "If the shoe fits…" she retorted.
"You've seen the way Gaara looked at her. He even gave her the Salve of the Sand Aloe. But unless someone spurs him into action, he won't even consider pursuing her. A little push and he will." His face and anger softened. "You know I wouldn't do that to you Saku-chan." He said softly as he leaned in to kiss her gently.
Gaara appeared in Mika's room, in a swirl of sand. He liked the darkness in the room but the sunlight that made it though the blinds was shining on her face and making her look beautiful.
She was still awake. And very aware of his presence in her room. So she thought of something to provoke him. She stretched in bed and rolled over, so that she was facing him. Snuggling deeper into her pillow, she muttered-as she was known to do in her sleep (mutter that is)-"Stay with me…Sasuke…"
The sand exploded through the room silently as an outlet for his rage. He couldn't believe it. The first girl he had thought about in this way-and she was smitten with the Uchiha. He vanished amidst the exploding sand and made his way to the roof.
As he sat there he looked at the sun, which was creeping its way to the west. Judging by the position, he thought it as about 4 P.M or so. 'I feel this way about her…and she's in love with someone else. The Uchiha'. 'He doesn't deserve her….' Gaara was caught off guard when Shukaku decided to put in his two cents. 'You should know what Kyuubi told me last time you and Naruto let him and I talk.'
As Shukaku gave him this valuable information, a smirk grew on Gaara's face. The Uchiha would have what Gaara was going to give him coming. And he would enjoy every minute of it.
A/N-There you have it…just so you know….you'll find out next chapter what Shukaku knows that he told Gaara;) I'm the queen of cliffies, I swear (my friends gave me that…distinctive title.) I'm in the middle of typing out the first one-shot and it should be in place soon. The title of the series of One-shots is going to be 'Pieces of an Altered Reality'. I NEED ANOTHER TITLE...HELP
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