Chapter 3

Motives

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After pleasantries had been exchanged, Gaara reentered his office, with Sakura following close behind.

"There are a few small matters we need to address, before your official instatement." He'd explained, and the two of them were left alone, as Temari and Kankuro excused themselves to attend to other matters.

Behind the closed doors of the Kazekage's office, Gaara walked briskly to his desk, and gestured for Sakura to take a seat.

Gaara himself, remained standing as he sifted through papers, official documents and mission scrolls, in search of what he was looking for.

"I see the 'endless paperwork' is an occupational hazard for all Kage." The pinkette noted with a light smile in her voice.

The redhead glanced up, an airy almost-chuckle slipping from his lips, "you have no idea. I admit, this side of the job is not my strong suit." At last, he'd located a few documents and pulled them from the bottom of a pile, setting them in the center of the desk as he took a seat. "most days, I feel like a glorified secretary." He admitted dryly.

This elicited a surprised bubble of laughter from the green-eyed woman across from him, and he paused in his writing, arching a brow at her. "You find that amusing?" he asked, genuinely curious.

Sakura pursed her lips, looking a little sheepish. "A bit, I confess; the thought of the 'mighty Gaara of the sands" reduced to 'secretary Gaara'; well…it sounds a little ridiculous."

"Hmm. Well, you're not far off." He assented as his eyes scanned the documents text in great detail.

Silence stretched between them…

At length, jade eyes shifted from words on the page, to the woman sitting quietly before him, eyes trained out the window as if the owner were deep in thought.

"You look well." He commented offhandedly.

"Oh? Uh, thank you, I am." Her response was a bit stilted, and the smile she presented him with, looked a bit practiced.

He didn't comment however, and continued to read through the document, before passing it to her for her required signature.

"That simply states that you agree to our nondisclosure policy; during your 18 month stay, you may be privy to certain sensitive information, that you are not at liberty to discuss with anyone outside of Suna. Naturally this includes any correspondence between you and Konoha."

"Naturally, of course; I understand." Sakura bent over the document, reading through it carefully.

"This must be a bit disconcerting for you; pledging loyalty to another village, besides Konoha."

"Mmm, not really; but then maybe that's because Sunagakure is our closest ally. Our ties with you are more than amicable, and you are Naruto's best friend," she met him with an easy smile then, missing the glint of challenge that passed through his eyes.

"I admit, I was surprised at how quickly you accepted my proposal. Tsunade had warned me that separating you from Konoha – from your family – would not be easily done."

Sakura signed the first document, placed it on the desk for Gaara to retrieve, and moved onto the next. "Well, Tsunade-sama knows how deeply I form attachments; she's also very protective and…I think there was a part of her that worried and didn't want me to take this assignment. She may have thought I wasn't fully prepared." The young woman shrugged and continued reading. She was just about to sign when Gaara's next words completely bowled her over.

"Hm. I'd simply concluded you were desperate to run away, so I didn't give it much thought."

A deafening silence rang in the space between them.

Blood roard in Sakura's ears and her knuckles bled white, as her hands suddenly fisted the documents.

"I – I beg your pardon?"

Gaara seemed oblivious to her discomfort, but the redhead's eyes were keenly observant; he merely dismissed it in favor of a necessity to fetter out her motives.

"The situation with Naruto. Your falling out with Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sasuke; understandably, you were left at a significant disadvantage, therefore your readiness to leave seemed logical from my standpoint."

Thrown by his apparent apathy, a bit of indignation seeped into Sakura's voice. "You insinuate that I was – running away, but that's your conclusion, I – I don't mean any disrespect, but my personal matters are my own, Kazekage-sama."

"Does Naruto share your sentiment?" He prodded frankly.

That hit a sore spot. Paperwork forgotten, Sakura set it aside, straightened in her chair, and leveled Gaara squarely in the eye. "What does Naruto have to do with your opinion on the matter?"

"I understand you broke his heart." He stated matter of fact.

Sakura's mouth clamped shut, her green eyes sparked with vivid agitation.

"You were in a relationship that dissolved on account of personal matters; I'm simply trying to understand what brought you here, that is all." He continued matter of fact.

By now, Sakura's anger was stoked, yet she knew she couldn't afford to lose her temper in the midst of the Kazekage's office; Tsunade had drilled it into her head for years; 'When it comes to village interrelationships, you lose your head for even a split second, and that's all it takes to cause an international incident. One wrong word, Sakura, and its war.'

She drew in a deep breath, willing the boil in her blood to simmer down. "Again. I don't see how my personal matters should be of interest to you; you r-requested me here for a political mission. Renovate your medical program so you can turn Sunagakure's medical team into something you can be proud of; something that can adequately serve this village to the fullest capacity. That's why I'm here, Kazekage-sama, so why are you-"

"Do you presume to say that a Kazekage has no right to determine the motives of those he invites into his village?" he asked calmly. He could see her struggle to subdue her temper, and considering her anger was something of a legend, he admired her restraint.

'Though I must confess,' he thought darkly, 'to witness Haruno Sakura's temper firsthand, could be…fascinating.'

Taking this as an insult, Sakura's emerald orbs belied her true feelings "Are you implying that I came here with ill intent?!" She gasped.

At this, a bit of Gaara's indifference fell away, and he leaned forward in his chair, his voice dipping to a calmer tone in an attempt to appease her growing agitation, "I would never insinuate that, Sakura; I'm simply attempting to get a complete understanding of the situation… my intention was not to upset or offend you."

"Well, you did!" her voice hadn't raised, but it was shaking, as she fought against the urge to lash out.

While Gaara knew the basics of what had transpired between her and Naruto, she knew her blonde best friend wouldn't have divulged the details of what had caused their breakup. Nor would he have shared with Gaara the reasons behind her disagreement with Sasuke and Hinata. Naruto was a loud mouth, but he respected the feelings and privacy of his closest friends. Especially when it came to matters of the heart.

"I answered your request because I saw an opportunity for myself, that I've only ever dreamed about; and I knew this was a greater opportunity to strengthen the ties between our villages. W-What happened between me and Naruto is – "

She was trembling now, emotions surging high.

"It was painful. And I know how badly I hurt him; I saw it so I don't need you to t-tell me that. As for Hinata, she and I reconciled. Not that it's any of your business, but I regret my actions towards her and I was determined to mend things before I left."

By now, Gaara's senses were on high alert; as a result of Shukaku's presence for most of his life, he'd always been sharper than pretty much anyone he'd come in contact with, until the day he'd met Naruto, his fellow jinchurriki.

Even after Shukaku was removed, Gaara never lost his edge, particularly when it came to his sight, hearing and sense of smell.

In this moment, as he witnessed Sakura's spiraling anger, he smelled the tears long before the first one fell.

A visceral clench in his belly told him he did not like her tears; it was a testament to her pain and the redhead regretted that he'd pushed the matter to the point of upsetting her;

5 years since his redemption, yet Gaara was still so new when it came to relationships and human interaction – it frustrated him to no end.

"I came here out of a sincere desire to help; you asked me here, and I t-thought it was because you genuinely t-trusted me, respected me-!"

The redhead was on his feet and rounded his desk. "Sakura, please understand, I never meant to upset you…certainly not to this extent, I-"

It was then that Sakura's emotional dam suddenly broke, and she barely managed to shield her eyes with her forearm, before she choked out a strangled sob.

Gaara froze.

He couldn't see most of her face as she hid it from him, but her tears left tracks behind that were all too visible to his gaze.

Seeing her cry because of him, felt like a chakra-infused punch to the gut and an indescribable need to reach out and touch her, surged heavily to the fore.

Though his experience with physical contact was severely limited aside from battle and the killings of his past, Gaara craved human touch almost constantly. He hid it well; his father had practically beat into his head that any form of affection or compassion was weakness, and not to be tolerated or entertained… it also terrified Gaara to think of becoming so vulnerable with someone. Yet, the hunger remained, and it seemed to peak in this moment with Sakura in his presence.

"Please forgive me, Sakura; I didn't – I never meant to cause you pain…please. Don't cry anymore."

Gaara was pleading with her at this point, and it broke through the haze of Sakura's emotional high. Dragging the back of her hand across her eyes, she let it fall to her side, suddenly mortified at her outburst in front of Suna's Kazekage. "I – oh God, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I d-didn't mean to-"

She scrubbed hastily at her cheeks, trying to rid the evidence of her unseemly display, all the while mentally berating herself for having allowed her emotions to escalate so far.

For his part, Gaara agonized over her discomfort and wished she'd stop apologizing; he'd been the 'ass' as Naruto would say, and he felt horrible. "Sakura stop apologizing, you aren't the one who should be…" Before he knew it, his hand had found one of hers where it continued to vigorously scrub at her reddening cheeks; he pulled it away from her eyes, and engulfed her fingers with his. His free hand reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, square handkerchief and he wordlessly began to wipe away her tears, oblivious to the look of shock reflected in her eyes.

"I confess, initially I had meant to challenge you to a point. My intention was to decipher if my proposal was in fact an endeavor you took upon yourself seriously, or if it had merely provided you with a necessary means of reprieve…" he spoke quietly, attending to her needs in an awkward manner that was made obvious by his halting movements, and the minute trembling in the hand that gripped hers.

To say the least, Sakura found the reclusive Kazekage's stilted efforts shocking. Yet surprisingly, endearing.

"I understand. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. You just – surprised me, I hadn't been expecting you to ask about – what happened."

She caught Gaara's penetrating eyes, and forced out the words that hurt the most, "I hurt Naruto, deeply…and he's your best friend; so I really shouldn't be surprised – that you would challenge me because of your protectiveness of him…" She dropped her eyes away, catching sight of their hands that were still joined, and sudden heat rushed to her face and neck.

Following her gaze, Gaara spotted their hands, and he was overwhelmed with intense embarrassment. Dropping her hand as though he'd been burned, the Kazekage cleared his throat awkwardly, and turned away. "While I take no pleasure in my friend being hurt, I don't believe that you are the only one to blame in this situation." Gaara walked behind his desk, taking up the documents Sakura had already signed, and arranging them in proper order. "Naruto has many strengths; he's fearless, loyal, courageous…but one of his greatest weaknesses, is that he loves blindly. I have warned him numerous times, not to ignore the signs that are right in front of him." At this, Gaara raised his eyes to Sakura, giving her a pointed look. "…He's simply too stubborn for that…" His eyes skated the length of her form before dropping away once again.

"What does that mean, exactly?" She couldn't help feeling exposed beneath the redhead's wandering eyes; just what exactly was he looking for?

"I think we both know what I'm referring to." He answered pointedly. "You never returned Naruto's romantic feelings; you never had a desire to see him as any more than a friend, as your attentions were zealously focused on the Uchiha."

Sakura bristled at that; it was true, but that didn't make the implications sting any less, and her pride had been more than a little battered for quite some time. She still struggled to pick up the pieces and attempt to fit them back together. While she no longer held animosity towards Hinata or Sasuke, she resented the fact that one brooding boy had reduced her to behave so foolishly, for years. Now that the blinders were off and her vision was clear, she was only faced with the painful reality of all the time she'd needlessly wasted. Time she would never get back.

The scowl that turned her features, caused a little smirk to curve Gaara's mouth; with the final document in hand, he walked up to her and held it out for her to take. "Your desire for the Uchiha was hardly a secret; does it displease you to such an extent that even I know about it?" He tilted his head curiously.

She grudgingly took the offered paper, using the nearby end table as a writing surface. "…Not exactly; I just don't like to be reminded of that time in my life. I was – blind and foolish. Heh, ironically, in naming Naruto's weakness, you've unwittingly named one of my own…" finished, she straightened again and turned to pass the document back to Gaara.

She was startled to find him closer than she'd expected; he'd been directly behind her, causing her to nearly collide with him in her efforts to hand him the final document…

"…"

"Perhaps," he murmured lowly, jade orbs taking in her startled reaction to his nearness; he couldn't explain it, but there was a part of him that wanted to push her boundaries, just to see how far she'd let him go; could he possibly bridge the gaping chasm that now stood between Haruno Sakura and the rest of the world?

He sensed how tightly she closed herself off now; Naruto was right.

She doubted her self-worth – a result of the Uchiha's repeated rejection and her own refusal to accept what was – and likely hadn't realized how far she'd isolated herself, until it was too late.

Even Naruto's persistent love and devotion, failed to breach her sky-high defenses.

'Hmm. A challenge then.' The redhead mused.

"Weakness aside, I was always adamant in my opinion regarding you and Naruto."

"…what opinion might that be?" she asked timidly, chancing a look upwards into his face. 'my goodness, he's even taller up close…'

Gaara's jaded orbs heated, flicking down to her lips, before returning steadily to her own emerald stare. "You were never the woman for him. Nor he, the man for you. You are both exceptional individuals, but Naruto does not possess the strength of character to match your own. You need someone – who is just as passionate as you are…yet who possesses a calm steadiness to balance your chaos."

Sakura gulped, amazed by this quiet man's ability to read her so completely.

Suddenly, the air in the room had turned from 'business matters' to a heavily charged tension that had absolutely nothing to do with Sakura's previous outburst.

Something crackled between them; she could feel it, and it was terrifying. "Y-you say that as if Naruto isn't the head-strong, loudmouthed idiot that we all know him to be…"

Gaara's eyes sparkled at this, "I know precisely that; but you forget how often you and Naruto clash. On a daily basis, so I'm told. Point of fact, Naruto's brashness lacks the logic of your own; while the Uchiha for example, possessed plenty of logic, which is one of the things that – attracted you to him in the first place. However, where he made up for, in level thinking, he severely lacked in passion. That's why, you and Uchiha would never have mixed. In conclusion… you and Naruto are far too similar…and you and Uchiha…too opposite."

His logic made perfect sense; perhaps that's what made it so discouraging to hear, and Sakura's eyes fell downcast as the tightening returned to her chest.

"Well, I must admit…your deductive skills are spot on." She slipped past him, returning to the seat she had occupied, and gathering her things. The exhaustion was settling heavily upon her – both the trip here, and the bracing conversation, bringing it to the fore – and she wanted nothing more than to crawl into bed and forget her troubles.

"…None of that matters now. Sasuke's married and I'm truly happy for him, and Naruto…" her eyes misted, but she forced it down, and met the redheads gaze squarely, "…as you said; Naruto was never mine, from the start. It was foolish on both our parts to think we could pretend otherwise. But, if you don't mind I…I'd rather not talk about it anymore. I'm tired, and…I'm tired." Her green eyes dropped away from his, and Gaara sensed she'd descended into some form of despondency.

It bothered him, but the young Kazekage knew a closed subject when he saw it; he wouldn't press her on the matter any further, and decided he would make it his mission to ensure that Sakura's stay in Suna was fully to her emotional and mental benefit.

His best friend desired her to be happy.

And so, she would be.

'On my honor, Sakura…I will accept nothing less than to see your smile…'

With that thought firmly in mind, Gaara acquiesced her request, and escorted Sakura home.

"My siblings and I would be happy to host you in our home." He said as the two of them stepped through a connecting entrance that lead into the adjoining Sabaku residents.

Sakura's steps faltered, "Are you sure? I - that's such a generous offer, b-but I'd hate to impose…"

"You are not an imposition, Sakura," Gaara countered kindly. "You are my guest, a trusted ally… and a true friend." He met her eyes solidly, in hopes of communicating to her that he truly felt every word he spoke;

The deep look of appreciation mixed with fondness in her eyes, caught him completely by surprise, and his eyes widened marginally when she reached out and touched his arm, her smile bathing him in warmth.

"Thank you, Gaara… that means a great deal to me. "

Still reeling from the sensation of her touch against his arm, the Kazekage barely managed to scrape together a semblance of his minute smile, as he responded, "No need to thank me; the pleasure is sincerely all mine."

The answering blush that graced her cheeks as she crossed the threshold ahead of him, caught his eyes, and the redhead found himself smiling in smug satisfaction. He realised he'd do anything as long as she kept looking at him just like that; after months of meticulous planning, his endeavors to secure her for his village had not disappointed. After ask these years, Haruno Sakura still proved to be quite the enthralling woman.

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