A/N: Beta'd by Errihu.
Chapter Five
'He will chase you.'
Sakura stared down at the angry eyes of the child.
'Do not run.'
It was her mind telling her to stifle her movements. Yet in her heart, there was an urgency to flee. She wanted to run away from this child and his familiar, dangerous eyes, wanted to hide from his cold stare. Her thoughts forbade it though. Her ninja mind spoke familiar words to not run, and also reminded her that she now had strength over this child. She had no reason to fear him like she did during the exams since her fists now were more than enough for his sand. So, remembering all this, her eyes softened. She no longer held hesitation in her orbs, her steps too marched forward without wavering, and it was Gaara's turn to look swayed by her approach.
"What are you doing in here?" Sakura asked, voice as soft as it could be.
She was given nothing. No answer, no movement, no indication that he had even heard her. In fact, her voice only seemed to make the child glare more venomously towards the rosette.
'I will not run,' Sakura told herself as she stared down at him. 'I can handle this task on my own.'
Determination coursed through her now, and she took another step forward. She was about to speak to offer Gaara food, hoping this to calm down the child, but as soon as she opened her mouth Gaara's eyes widened. It was a brief look of panic that Sakura was able to catch before he threw his head and body towards the toilet. Sakura watched him spill his sickness into the porcelain bowl while realizing that this was the ghastly sound she was hearing earlier. To the sight, Sakura's chest clenched. This had been the reason he looked so worn, why he had hid himself in the bathroom.
'He is sick,' Sakura thought.
As soon as Sakura came to that conclusion, events of yesterday transpired again in her mind. How beaten she had found this Gaara, how dehydrated he surely was, how hot his fever had been. She remembered how Rasa mentioned he had been missing for weeks, and it made perfect sense to her why the child was spewing. Every kid should be kept in the hospital for days over something like this, whereas the Kazekage ordered his return home after he awoke.
Gaara was still battling the effects his small ordeal brought, and as he spat into the bowl, sighing loudly and resting his head and back against the tub with a tired look, Sakura rushed over towards the sink and reached for a small cup. His look and dangerous aura now forgotten, the woman instead filled the small plastic full of water before kneeling next to Gaara. Weak as he probably felt, his head and eyes still whipped towards her the second she knelt to him. His gaze turned thin and stuck on her, even when she nudged the cup towards him again.
"Here," Sakura offered. "You need to drink some water."
Again, her words went past his head and the two simply stared at one another. Sakura was unsure what to say, how to convince him that he should drink and that she meant well. She had no idea what was going through the child's head. So instead, she took in his more than usual pale look, the way his eyes drooped more, the heavy, lethargic breathing, and surprisingly, an unpleasant stench. To the smell, Sakura glanced at Gaara's clothes. Torn and dirty, she noticed then too how greasy his hair looked, how dried blood still stained the side of his head. To this, Sakura's eyes widened and jaw dropped slightly. When her eyes returned to his, she held concern this time.
"They haven't even bathed you…" Words she hadn't meant to say aloud.
For Sakura, that information sunk more into her how much fear everyone had for this child. The medics that came to him after her work was done couldn't even find it in their hearts to clean him, let alone change him into new clothes. Fear had overcome cordiality, and the rosette's heart ached some.
He was just a child.
Or at the very least, if others did not want to touch him, his father should have taken the liberty. That was his duty as a parent, was it not?
Sakura blinked, these thoughts swimming in her mind while her and Gaara's eyes remained locked. She was only torn away from these ideas when an uncomfortable itch began drawing up her back. A foreign feel, and her gaze glanced down and behind her. Eyes widening, she gasped as sand began to slowly snake up her legs, and up her body. She bolted upright, dropping the cup to the floor with water spilling. She swung her body to and fro, sand falling off of her, yet it eerily kept trying to wrap around her, like a possessed vine.
She reminded herself not to panic, that the sand was not yet harming her, and that shaking it off would be easy for her. She spun on her spot, trying to eye when the sand would reach and grab for her, and before she realized it, she noticed that the sand had intentionally backed her out of the lavatory. As soon as she realized this, her eyes fell back to Gaara, and his cold gaze met hers still the same before the sand began to close off the entryway.
"Wait!" Sakura cried, racing back towards him.
The sand had been too quick however, and it now blocked her from entering. To this, Sakura sighed. She understood personal space, would have probably walked away had it been not for the fact the boy on the other side was battling sickness. She worried he would pass out from dehydration if he continued all day long like this.
"Hey!" Sakura cried at the sand, hoping Gaara could hear her on the other side. "I'm not trying to hurt you, I want to help!"
Nothing came from the other side, and she stood there in silence while staring at the thick sand in front of her. She pressed her hand against the grains, testing its durability, and as she thought it was as hard as stone.
"Gaara!" Sakura cried once more. "Please!"
Nothing. Sakura sighed, debating whether to walk away or beg the boy to let her in, or at the very least, ask him to drink water so he would not pass out. A dark image suddenly played in her mind, of one with the boy on the other side fainting, and the Ichibi coming out of his shell. To that thought, Sakura cursed under breath knowing she had to get in. She had people to protect.
"Alright," she growled at the sand wall. "If you won't move, I'll make you."
Sakura cracked her knuckles before drawing in a deep breath. She focused a small amount of chakra into her knuckles and then sent a fist flying at the sand in front of her. She managed a dent in the sand, but eyes narrowed when she could see and hear the grains slithering back up to reconstruct the damage she had made.
'Again!' she told herself, dealing another heavy blow at the barricade.
The dent grew, and sand now began to fall from the cracks she was creating. Crying out, she threw her hardest punch yet, and was rewarded when the sand in front of her went flying into the air. As she stepped back into the bathroom, she watched as Gaara's face fell from an angry look to downright fear. His bravado from before was now suddenly shattered, like his sand, and he sat frozen in his spot staring wide eyed at Sakura. She had no doubt in her mind now that Gaara didn't expect her to have this power over his absolute defense.
She stared down at him for some time, watching his eyes waver and his body begin to shake lightly. Either from anxiety or sickness, she did not know, and she said nothing as she studied this broken child. Never had one looked at her with so much fear, especially from that of a small one. In a way, it made her feel strong, that even though he was young now, she had been able to turn the tables. Where she once feared Gaara, now it was his turn to be afraid of her power. She knew this pride that was coming forth was severely misplaced, that though Gaara was once the enemy, he was Kazekage in her world. He had brought Naruto to her to save during the war. Without him, there would be no peace in the ninja world she came from.
He was the good guy now.
This child, no matter how others kept trying to paint him in her eyes, was not evil. She should not be getting satisfaction from his fear, he was a child. She was a medic; people did not come to her with the quivering fright this Gaara looked at her now. As she realized this, her hard face let up, and her heart ached once more to the boy in front of her.
Slowly, she drew near to him, mind a little more intent of her surroundings in case the sand decided to lace up her again. She could hear his breathing grow frantic the closer she came, and he held it in in anticipation as she reached a hand down to pick up the fallen cup. She focused her eyes away from him, hoping it would calm him some before returning to the sink and filling the cup with water once more.
"Please, don't do that again," Sakura whispered.
She got no answer, but as she looked back down at Gaara she could see his anxiety melt away. His angry eyes were back on her, but they were a little softer than before. Curiosity is what was in his orbs now, and they followed Sakura all the way as she knelt beside him again, offering him the cup. Like before, he paid it no mind and instead watched the rosette.
"If you don't drink, you're only going to feel worse," Sakura said.
Still, Gaara did not move his body, however, this time he let his eyes fall to the cup in her hand.
"It's alright," Sakura tried again when minutes passed. "I'm not here to hurt you."
Her voice earned her his eyes again.
"I'm a friend," Sakura smiled softly.
She wasn't sure if her words then had been a good or bad thing. His gaze had twitched slightly, and Sakura watched him as he lowered his eyes back at the cup.
"Remember?" she whispered again. "I found you in the desert."
She watched him take in a deep breath, unsure whether he was able to recollect all that happened yesterday. Perhaps he thought her a liar now, still just a stranger. It was more probable what happened yesterday outside the village was lost to him.
"I'm going to take care of you from now on."
To this, she watched as Gaara's body tensed and his eyes grew wide. Again, she was clueless as to what was going on in his mind, if he was perceiving her in a good, or bad light. Were her words comforting, or unsettling to him?
When she realized her talk was getting her nowhere, she took a daring move and brushed the cup against Gaara's hand while he was lost in his thoughts. She expected him to lash out, to swipe the plastic out of her hand. However, she was surprised to see his small hands grip at what she offered. Sakura grinned to this, though she could still see his eyes waver in front of him. It was if he hadn't even realized yet what he had latched onto.
"Gaara," she spoke, trying for his attention again.
Her quiet voice had reached his ears, and he turned his eyes once more back up at her.
"Drink," she mouthed.
Now he realized what he was holding, for he looked back down at the cup in hand. He trembled then, water threatening to spill, but Sakura leaned forward in anticipation when he began to draw the plastic towards his lips. Yet, as soon as the cup touched his mouth, he froze. His eyes were looking once again past the cup to something unknown and far in front of him. Sakura watched as his hands began to tremble and eyes shook. He would still not take the drink he so desperately needed, and as the rosette realized this, how lost in his thoughts he kept becoming, it dawned on her what sort of damage Gaara was now suffering.
'Not just physical,' she thought, seeing the cup shake in his hold. 'Psychological too.'
For a child, it was probably to be expected after being lost in the desert. Yet, Sakura grimaced while staring at his lost eyes and listening to his heavy breaths. Was yesterday's ordeal truly that traumatizing to him, she wondered. Had this emotional scarring come from something else? Someone else? Her frown deepened. Wounds of the body she was taught to heal. Scars of the mind, of the heart, emotionally, she wasn't trained in. She was unsure what to do with the boy in front of her.
'Perhaps I should mention this to Rasa,' Sakura thought. 'Gaara needs help.'
Looking again at his torn clothes, how sick he still was from yesterday, how no one but her had come to him, it made her wonder if Rasa would truly care. Her heart ached again while she reached for the cup Gaara still held.
"It's alright," Sakura whispered.
To her voice and movement, Gaara's eyes whipped back to her. He still held the cup, but he watched as Sakura brought her own hand to wrap around the colorful plastic. She drew closer to him, bringing her own mouth down to the cup before tilting it lightly against her lips, taking a small sip of drink. She looked back down at him after she drank, letting go of the cup that he still had a tight hold on.
"See?" she asked with small smile. "It's alright to drink."
Gaara looked back down at the water. His eyes had narrowed, but his shivering had stopped.
"If you don't drink, you'll only feel worse."
Again she waited on him, watching him still staring at the cup in his hands. Minutes passed once more in silence and small movements, and Sakura opened her mouth to speak again, to reassure him that everything was going to be alright. She shut her mouth quickly though as Gaara finally brought the cup up. He tilted his head back, finally taking a small sip of water. To this, Sakura's smile turned into a grin, though, while he drank, his angry eyes turned towards the side of him and watched her as if he worried she may strike him down while he was preoccupied. Yet, the more he drank, the young woman could see him relish in the taste and feel of fresh water sliding down his dry throat. Soon enough, his desperation to drink all of it down overcame logic, and he threw his head back more trying to get the water down quicker. From that display, small trickles ran down his chin and on to his shirt.
"Not too fast," Sakura said. "You'll choke if you drink too fast."
He paid her no mind, drinking like you would imagine someone lost in the hot desert would. He let out a hearty breath as soon as he was finished, and his eyes narrowed at the empty cup before he shoved the plastic in Sakura's direction. He didn't look back at her, simply staring out in front of him while wiping his wet chin with his hand. Sakura reached for the cup and slid it back into her own hand.
"More," he whispered, harsh and raspy.
Sakura was quick like lightening, to the sink before settling back down next to Gaara. His hand had been much faster this time snatching the cup back from her, and no longer did he need consoling before he downed the water again. Like before, he was desperate in his drinking, trying to take all in as fast as he could, and it didn't take long before he did the same action as before, handing the cup back over to Sakura. He needn't say anything, for the rosette understood what he silently wanted, and was quick still to bring him another cup of water.
By his third drink, his desperation to quench his thirst had died down, and instead he sat while sipping the cold water from time to time. His eyes were still narrowed, still angry while staring out at the nothing in front of him, but Sakura was happy to see some color back in his face.
"Feeling better?" she asked.
His only response was another sip; he didn't even grace her with a look. It was as if he was completely ignoring her again. Sakura allowed the silence though, for she, too, was falling back into her thoughts the more she stared at Gaara. His presence, his entire being in front of her, had both a calming and unsettling effect on her. Knowing he was here, someone she knew, made her feel a little more secure in this lost world. He was someone she knew, a friend she could even say, a being whose presence made her know her life wasn't suddenly a fantasy. Yet, it was unsettling to look down at him too. The fact that she had to look down at him; he was someone she knew. Yet, he was a child now, not the Kazekage she knew him to be. What did it mean, she wondered. Was she really stuck in the past? Was this an illusion? A dream? Maybe she had fallen ill since departing for Suna. Maybe this was some sort of vivid dream or hallucination she was having in the desert. Or, maybe it really was some sort of powerful jutsu.
She blinked a few times at Gaara while he still sipped time to time from his cup. Another thought coming to mind.
'Maybe it isn't just me…'
A bold move, she thought it to be, for she didn't want the child to notice even the slightest hesitation she had in her. She did not want Gaara to notice any weakness about her, for she worried he would use that knowledge to his advantage. She didn't want their roles of authority to be switched, not when people around her treated him as that type of person. Regardless of the protest in the back of her mind, she looked down at him with wavering eyes, and a small hope in her heart.
"Gaara?" she called to him softly.
He simply drank, ignoring her.
"Do you remember me? Do you know who I am?"
To her question, his eyes now turned to her. That falter in her voice, the apprehension, the hesitation she knew they both could hear, had been the reason he finally looked up at her. His eyes locked with hers, and they stared at one another in silence. Sakura wanted to fully believe that he took notice of her at this moment because of her question. She held onto a hope that maybe the Gaara of her world was tossed back like she had been. Familiar as this all seemingly was, she did not want to be a stranger in this familiar new world.
She did not wish to be alone.
Yet, as Gaara's eyes remained locked on hers, while minutes continued to pass between them in silence, she began to doubt he even took her question to heart. It had probably been her unconfident voice that made his head turn. He was probably trying to sense whether her bravado from before had all been just an act. Perhaps it was him who always had the upper hand, Sakura thought. Possibly most people here treated him like he made the calls.
'He has given you no reason to think of him in that way,' Sakura told herself.
Despite everything, Sakura still painted him as an innocent, shy, little boy. Nervous of her because she was new, and confused by her questions, that's what she wanted to believe he was. Despite the warning Rasa had given her, Gaara had done nothing yet to prove he was what his father claimed him to be. Gaara was not a bad person. Her thoughts went back to the proud redhead of her world, one who protected Naruto and his village with his life. To those thoughts, she smiled softly at the child in front of her. Her eyes were apologetic to her random questions, but she couldn't stop herself from whispering to him.
"You'll be a great leader one day."
His eye twitched before he turned his head slowly back down and away from Sakura's peering gaze. He took another drink of his water, ignoring the rosette once more. To that, her smile fell some. Again, she wasn't sure if her words, that sort of praise, bothered the youngest lord, or not. She also began to wonder if her small hints to his future were not wise. Would it somehow affect the outcome of the life she was accustomed to if she revealed too much?
'This isn't your world,' Sakura tried to justify in her mind. 'This is...just a dream. A jutsu. A…'
She sighed. She didn't have an answer, and had no idea where to start looking for one. She didn't know what this was. She rubbed the side of her eye, feeling a headache coming on. There was no use dwelling on these thoughts at the moment. She could look later, but her priority was still set on the child next to her.
"My name is Sakura."
Her introduction fell on deaf ears, to which she sighed. Earning a child's trust was a lot harder than she would have imagined. Or perhaps it was because this was Gaara, even she knew his older self to be cautious of new ones. However, she was determined to break through his defensive walls since she had a selfish wish that Gaara would not give her the hard time Rasa said he would.
She pondered for a moment, thinking back at her own childhood. What was it exactly that made her open up to new people in her life? She let out a heavy sigh when she couldn't remember a certain time. Not to mention, she was a pretty warm child, greeting new ones with a smile. Nothing like the boy in front of her. She plucked up some strands of her hair up, hoping the notion would grab Gaara's attention.
"See?" she asked with a smile. "My parents named me Sakura because my hair is the same color as a cherry blossom."
She waited, anticipating for Gaara to look her at her hair.
Nothing came.
The young woman hung her head when it dawned on her where she was exactly. The desert was not flourished like her home was.
"You've probably never seen a cherry blossom, have you? There's no way they grow around here."
Silence still before another sigh from Sakura. Like the boy, she rested her back against the tub, staring up towards the yellow ceiling.
"They're really pretty," her voice had become so soft she was unsure whether Gaara could hear her. "When I was your age, I didn't like my name. Kids made fun of it and my hair. I use to cry to my mother asking her to give me a new name."
Sakura blinked a few times.
'Kids can be so cruel.' She thought back to her childhood before meeting Ino.
"But you know," she began again, "when I became older, I realized how beautiful my name really was. It began to make sense why my parents named me Sakura."
Her soft smile returned, and Sakura closed her eyes.
"Everyone loves cherry blossoms. They're beautiful, and that's exactly how my mother and father felt when they looked down at me for the first time. They knew how beautiful I was."
The was no reply from the young boy next to her, and Sakura even glanced at him to see if he acknowledged her story at all. Like she had guessed, he was unmoved, simply staring in front of him while sipping at his water. To this, the rosette took a moment to study him a bit longer, wondering what was currently going through his mind. When she noticed his dirty clothes again, she reprimanded herself for just sitting there and trying to converse with the young boy.
"Sorry," she mumbled before standing herself back up. "I promise not to tell you boring stories about me again."
Looking down at him, Gaara's attention was back on her. Sakura smiled at him as soon as she noticed his eyes on hers, however he did not return the look. For her though, it no longer mattered at the moment, she could gain the compassion she knew his older self to have later. Right now, there were more important tasks at hand.
"Which first?" she asked with a happy skip in her voice, one she knew a child would warm up to. "Bath, or food?"
She placed her hands on her hips, trying to show off her authority when Gaara's eyes drifted away from hers. She gave him a moment, assuming he took his time because it was a hard decision for his kid mind. But when that moment turned into silent, long minutes, Sakura began to grimace, and her arms fell in defeat over time.
"Hey," she mumbled. "Aren't you hungry at least? You'll feel better once we get some food in your stomach. They made us rice porridge."
Gaara said nothing, did not even look back up at her, he instead tilted whatever water was left in the plastic before smacking his lips lightly.
"Are you even listening to me?"
The boy was like a statue now, gripping his cup while sitting in his place. Again, Sakura wondered what was going through his mind.
"Gaara."
She had whispered his name, and was finally given a response that he had heard her, though, his angry look and narrow eyes weren't exactly the comforting answer she had wanted from him. She wasn't sure how to perceive this, perhaps he didn't like her pestering. Maybe her voice irked him, and that he didn't want to hear her call his name anymore. She was possibly disturbing his thoughts, that's why he looked at her this way now. Whatever reason, Sakura took it as a warning.
Leave me alone, he was silently telling her.
Somewhat torn, she knew it was her duty to care for the child, and while uncertain how to approach this new task, she was pretty convinced keeping him fed and clean were the top priorities to care for a child. Something in her mind told her too that if she walked away now, Gaara would view this as a victory for himself. She knew she couldn't allow him to view her as someone he could walk all over; she was the authority here. And yet, another part of her mind told her she could never break Gaara when he was set in his way. At least, that's how she knew his older self to be, it probably didn't stray too far that his younger self was the same. Hell would have to freeze over before he would change his mind.
Sakura sighed, turning from him and heading out of the washroom.
"Fine," she called out behind her for Gaara to hear. "Stay in here if you like."
She eyed the table that held their food before noticing the cookie she placed aside for him. A wicked idea came to her mind, then.
"Someone left a cookie here!" she called out. "Must be for a good little boy who will come out of the bathroom and eat his food! Too bad I don't see one here."
She paused for a moment, staring at the washroom entrance and hoping her idea had worked. This was something her parents always had done to her when she was disobedient. Only now was she grateful that she remembered these sort of tricks from her childhood, and she would have to thank her mother later. If it worked on the stubborn redhead, that is. Again, minutes came and went, and she didn't even hear the boy shuffle from the washroom, let alone come running to her call much like she had when she was younger.
'Guess he doesn't like cookies as much as his siblings.' Sakura thought before nestling herself onto the floor, and reaching for her food.
A sigh left her and her body relaxed the second she swallowed the food Annaisha had prepared them. The porridge was still warm, and as bland as the meal was, it was both welcoming and comforting for Sakura's soul. There were people who had come into her life, ones she could easily say she did not care for. For food, however, she had yet to meet a meal she disliked.
She let her mind draw blank after that, simply enjoying the silence and taste of the food in front of her. She had gone so far into her own personal zone, that she had not even noticed the child who finally made his way next to her. She nearly choked when she saw his small hand slowly snake across the table for the cookie she promised to be there. However, when her gaze went to his, she smiled between her bites as he began nibbling the dessert before stuffing the delicious pastry in his mouth.
His hurried and messy eating made Sakura chuckle lightly, it was a cute sight in a way. Also one she thought she'd never see of Gaara. Then again, she wasn't exactly supposed to be seeing him like this. Not as a child. Still, she wore her smile warm as she watched him wipe the crumbs off his face before staring at his bowl of porridge.
"Sit down with me," Sakura offered. "We can eat together."
His eyes were back on hers, though he looked at her passively instead of his angry expression from earlier. He studied her for some time, and Sakura him, for she still wondered what went through his mind every time he glanced at her hard and long like this. Yet, with time, he turned away from her, and she was surprised to watch him stroll past her and towards the door out of the room.
"H-Hey!" Sakura called as he opened the door. "Where are you going? Your food is going to get cold."
His answer to her was the click of the door closing behind him. Sakura stared at the wooden frame, contemplating whether to follow or not. Gaara was a child she was told to watch, yet the child himself wanted time to himself right now, which the rosette could sympathize with. She was new to his life, it probably scared him in some way.
"He'll be alright," Sakura assured herself, taking another bite from her bowl.
That's when she heard a blood-curdling scream echo throughout the house.
