Sorry for the bad grammar in the last chapter. It was one in the morning and my brain was dead. This chapter will be better.
Oh, and thanks to all reviews of the last two chapters. I totally spaced.
Dustbunny3 – thanks. I'm always confused when it comes to quotations. Especially since every time I put them inside the quote, the computer marks them wrong. Thanks. And sorry for the bad grammar in chapter 2. Sorry if it's confusing.
FallingDarkStar
Green24 – yeah, I hate it when people don't finish their stories.
Gin-inu
Kaze-RyU – hehehe. Yeah, sasusaku aint my favorite either.
Tataiha
Skylara – yeah, there really aren't. It makes me very sad.
Monster Envy
em chan
EnV
moonscout11
Fiona McKinnon
kakashisninjadogs
And to the two anonymous reviewers. Thanks, though I will never know whom you are. How sad.
Disclaimer – I do not
own Naruto.
Don't burn me if you don't like Gaara's
personality. It isn't that bad. Just remember, it's been over
eight years since he was the psychopathic little twelve-year-old boy,
bent on the destruction of all who breathe. He still holds a little
unstableness, and in my version he still has Shukaku, but was
attacked by akasuki like in the manga. Keep that in mind. Now to the
story.
A smile was spread wide across Sakura's face when she had entered the shadows of the narrow passage. The temperature must have dropped at least 10 degrees from when she was in the sun.
As she walked, Sakura began to worry.
'I have not been to Suna in a long time. I hope I can find my way around' she thought warily.
"Sakura?" a female voice echoed from above.
Sakura looked up from the dark canyon to the ridge above her. There in the sunlight stood a shadow.
'I've heard that voice before'
A large gust of wind hit, blowing down into the valley. Shielding her eyes with her arms, Sakura could barley make out the shadow floating down towards her.
Turning defensive, Sakura stood still as a board. As second ticked on, the shadow slowly lit up, turning into a large fan. It slowly descended from the cliff, floating like a feather in a soft breeze. Sakura gave a smile at the fan as it gracefully fell, waiting to see the occupant.
About a foot from the ground, the fan flipped, revealing a young woman maybe a few years older then Sakura.
Her dark green eyes gleamed with relief as she smiled at the pink haired medic. Her four blond ponytails, seemingly electrified into place bounced in the dying wind as the kunoichi strapped her fan onto her back.
"Temari-chan. It been a while", Sakura said with a large smile adorning her face.
Temari smiled back, happy Konoha had sent someone that she and her siblings actually like. Someone they knew could deal with the situation.
"Well come on. You got to get to the village to help them out", Tamari said with a laugh.
Sakura followed, relieved to have someone she knew show her around.
High up, in the top most room of the Sunagakure palace, a very flustered red head sat in his squeaky swivel chair.
Because of the several disasters that had taken place, the Kazekage has had to work overtime to get it all in order.
Working for 10 day straight with no meditation time to rest was a strain Gaara hadn't experienced for a long time. His hand shook as he stared at the document in front of him, a useless paper about a pastry shortage due to not enough flour. It was a dire time of epidemics and possible war yet they wanted him to sign off on getting sweets instead of medicine or water.
He glared at the paper before moving it to his 'later' pile so he could work on the more impending issues.
Massaging a temple, Gaara turned his black ringed eyes to a small letter on his desk.
Kankuro.
Gaara felt his chest grow tight. His brother was in the hospital, and by the facts in this letter, was getting steadily worse. He was one of the first to contracted small pox and was still fighting to survive the deadly virus.
Gaara shook his head. He couldn't be thinking of that in a dire time as it was. Everyone in the village was looking to him, as he needed to put out.
Picking up a scroll, the young Kazekage continued his work.
As he worked, his mind began to wander again. This time, to the fact that the medic Konoha had sent was late. He hoped that the Hokage had sent someone who could get to Suna and not some amateur who would die in the desert. Or get attacked by bandits or…
Why was he thinking of this. He had work to do. Worrying would get the Kazekage nowhere. Yet the lack of any sort of mental rest was just as bad, wearing Gaara down.
Signing off on bills, picking missions, being the village leader, ect… all was his job. He couldn't just stop because he had no rest. He was Sabaku no Gaara. He hadn't slept for over 20 years and he has been functioning perfectly. Well… almost perfectly; if you count insanity and mass murder. Well, at the time, it seemed productive. So, what was he complaining about?
With a sigh, Gaara reached over to his extra strong cup of black coffee to keep him working. When his hand reached it, it also brushed against a large rough object.
'That's not a scroll' he thought.
Looking over, his pale aqua eyes caught the form of a cardboard box addressed to him.
Curiously, the Kazekage reached over, grabbing the box to see whom it was from. Printed in big bold letter on the top were two words.
UZUMAKI NARUTO.
Gaara let out an exasperated sigh. He did not want to know what Naruto had sent him, thinking back on the discussion they had held the last time Gaara had gone to Konoha.
"Train Train Train! Is that all you ever think about?"
Gaara growled at the blond fox before him.
Naruto was bouncing about in an annoyed manner as he talked to the red Tanuki.
Naruto pushed his face up close to the Kazekage's to accent his annoyance with the red head.
"You need a girlfriend," Naruto stated as he drew his head back to nod.
Gaara growled deep in his throat, displeasured at the Kyubi vessels comment.
"What? You've got a harem worth of fan girls in both Suna and KONOHA! Why don't you take advantage of it! I mean, ever since I found Hinata, life's been great"
"You also do train anymore" Gaara interrupted, not fond of the subject Naruto was talking about.
"What do you mean? I train at least an hour a day. AT LEAST! That just isn't my priority any more"
Gaara furrowed his brow at Naruto.
"Come on. You got to start acting like a normal guy. You don't even look at girls… or guys for that matter" a perplexed look crossed Naruto's face. "A mystery. Maybe that's why all those girls stalk you?" He said with a smile.
Gaara's glare was becoming steadily more dangerous as Naruto's rant became longer.
Gaara looked away from his blonde companion as they walked down main street Konoha. He didn't want to discuss his love life with Naruto. On second thought, he didn't want to discuss it with anybody.
Naruto brought a hand to his chin as he studied his red haired friend mope. Gaara's shoulders were slouched in a manner that might indicate his displeasure in the conversation. Naruto shrugged that thought off, thinking of what he may use to help his friend.
Gaara needed help and Naruto was determined to fix his troubled aka non-existent love life.
Gaara kept his vision to the right, looking into the shops with an uninterested stare. As they passed an intersection, a flash of pink caught the Tanuki's eyes.
The medic woman: Haruno Sakura.
She seemed to be shopping for fruit, picking out a particularly rip apple.
Gaara felt a tugged at his chest when a dark haired man took her bag as she bought the food. They walked away from the stand, smiles tugging on both their faces.
'Uchiha'
Gaara brought a hand to his chest.
'What was that? Hmm. Perhaps I am coming down with something'
Gaara wasn't allowed time to muse over these thoughts when Naruto felt like gabbing his attention.
"Ah ha. I know what to do!" the blond said in an overexcited voice, slapping his hands together as to show his accomplishment.
"What?"
"Have you ever heard of the book Icha Icha Paradise?" He asked in total seriousness.
Gaara blanched.
"WHAT!"
"Icha Icha Paradise, oro-sennin wr-"
"I'm not reading that book," Gaara hissed at Naruto.
"Why? Do you even know what it's about?"
A small blushed crept onto Gaara face, though, from his angered expression, Naruto didn't catch the change.
"I think I have a pretty good idea. I don't need that smut!"
"Come on. Just read a little"
"No"
"Please"
"No"
The argument turned into a small chase, as Gaara tried to walk away from the annoying fox.
"Come on. I bet you'll like it" Naruto said, raising his eyebrows in an insinuative way.
"I have an imagination Naruto. I don't need that book" Gaara replied, instantly regretting what he had said.
A grin spread across Naruto's face as he looked expectantly at Gaara.
"Really?" He asked in a suggestively.
Gaara just kept walking, not bothering to answer Naruto's indirect meddling. "I'm going to the training fields," he stated before running off.
"Come on. You can't just leave me hanging like that," Naruto shouted at Gaara's back before running off to follow his fellow Jinchuuriki.
Gaara still stared at the box in his hands, curiosity spiked with wariness.
'Well… It can't hurt to just open it' he thought.
Gaara reached his hand up to the box, sliding it over the tape. Cautiously checking his office, he pulled the tape off.
With the tape gone he brought his hand to the flap of cardboard, slowly, ever so slowly, pulling it open.
'Just a little more. Just a li-'
"Knock Knock"
In the privacy of his office, clenching the stitch above his chest, Gaara felt his life significantly shorten.
"Gaara?"
A blond head adorned with four pigtails poked its way around the door.
With his sand, Gaara slide the box away into his desk for another day before answering his sister.
"Yes Onee-chan"
"Oh" shaking the stupid expression she was sure was on her face, Tamari opened the door in full, striding into the Kazekage's office with a pink hair woman walking in behind her.
"The medics here", She said with a smile.
Gaara's heart quickened.
'Damn! What the hell is this? I got to get myself checked out' he thought with an irritated sigh.
Temari and Sakura looked curiously at the Kazekage. Sakura tried to keep the annoyed expression off her face. 'What! Was he expecting someone else?!'
Gaara looked up, his pale green eyes meeting her own darker shade. "You should rest after that long journey. Don't want you passing out on the job"
Sakura felt her fuse shortening with every passing second. He just had to sound so emotionless didn't he? Pass out on the job!
"Temari. Will you show her to her room?" Temari nodded to her younger brother.
"Oh, and Haruno. When your rested enough, come up so I can give you your orders"
Sakura nodded before she and Temari left the office.
Gaara pulse dropped once the medic left the room.
' Damn. What the hell is wrong with me' he thought.
Turning his head back to the work at hand, Gaara felt himself having a harder time working then before.
"Kami" he whispered to himself, slapping a hand on his face before taking a huge gulp of coffee.