Chapter 11

"Speaking in Japanese"

Thoughts

[Speaking in English]

Inner Sakura/Gaara/Sasuke/Pein

(A/N I'm so so so so so! sorry for disappearing on you guys but... I guess you could say I got lost on the path of life? LOOL no but really school was pretty hecktic but in about 2 weeks I'll be done exams so you guys will have more updates! Thanks again for being so patient with me and please R&R so I know if you guys are liking it~ Love you guys -Shinko

Sakura dreaded going home that afternoon. She had a feeling at a certain Uncle would not be too pleased to hear about her fighting incidents. She planned on sneaking into the house and bolting up to her room, only leaving when he was asleep to get some food.

As quietly as she could, the rosette slide her key into the lock and unlocked it slowly. She made sure to move the door so that it wouldn't creak as it opened. Closing it behind her she took off her shoes and tip-toed through the living room. She was heading up the stairs when she heard her Uncle's voice from the kitchen.

"Sakura sweetheart, I need to speak to you~" it was his sing song voice of death. Sakura hung her head as she trudged to her doom. I mean kitchen.

"Yes Uncle Kakashi?" She teen slumped into the chair across from her guardian.

"Principal Tsunade, who happens to be a colleague of mine told me that you were involved in TWO fights in the past two weeks!"

He slammed his hand on the table when he said 'two' making Sakura flinch. The silver haired man sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, taking deep breaths to calm himself.

"Look, I know it seems bad but the first time I was the one breaking up the fight and the second time well… he deserved it!"

Kakashi raised his one visible eyebrow at his niece.

"He DESERVED it? Sakura if I went around hitting every single person I believe deserved it well then-"

"I get it, I get it," Sakura grumbled crossing her arms.

"So I'm assuming that red-headed kid that was here the other day was one of the two guys in the first fight? Ino mentioned before the two most popular boys in your year fought over you."

Sakura sighed "She said it in such a misleading way! Gaara is just my… friend." She replied

Since when do friends make out? Inner Sakura chimed in

Quiet you!

Her hesitation made Kakashi wary, but he didn't bother asking a question he didn't particularly want the answer to. I'll interrogate her about her love life later. He thought.

"Alright so Gaara and who were fighting?"

"This other guy named Sasuke, before he was being a really big jerk and he was bothering me, and he and Gaara never got along since middle school and-"

"Wait, wait, Sasuke… as in Uchiha Sasuke?" Kakashi's visible eye widened

"Yeah that's his name. Why?"

Kakashi chuckled to himself a bit. So that brat's still causing trouble huh?

"I was his teacher in middle school until he transferred in his last year."

"Oh," Sakura had forgotten that Naruto was also Kakashi's former student. Come to think of it then so were most of the people in her group of friends. Since they all went to Konoha Middle School where Kakashi was a teacher and was now the Principal of.

"Anyway, so basically you stopped the two before it got serious." It was more of a statement than a question from her Uncle.

Sakura nodded. For a few moments Kakashi was silent, his fingers clasped together on the table as he was deep in thought. Finally he spoke.

"It's a good thing you stepped in, Sasuke is not someone you'd want to fight. He's an 8th degree black belt in 5 martial arts and he's as cold blooded as they come."

Sakura was shocked, her eyes turned as wide as saucers.

I pissed off that kind of guy once?! How has he not skinned me alive?! I just barely made it to 1st degree black belt in Tae Kwon Do!

Not to mention he could have beat the snot out of Gaara. Inner Sakura added.

Nah, when they were fighting Gaara was holding his own pretty well, he even looked like he had the upper hand.

Hm. True, but that must mean that Gaara is even more of a freak than Sasuke.

Well he does have more of a reputation around town, and he's a member of Akatsuki, I guess his street fighting skills can't be taught in a dojo.

Even more of a reason to stay on his good side. With that Inner Sakura disappeared into her subconscious.

"Well what about the second fight, I heard you kicked the shit out of a senior." Kakashi tried his best to hide the pride in his voice. She's just like her father this kid.

Sakura looked down at her fingers, playing with the hem of her uniform shirt.

"The thing is... he's my ex-boyfriend." Sakura replied quietly. Sneaking a glance up at her Uncle she saw his stunned expression.

"Y-Your what?! How is that possible we just moved here!" Kakashi was practically tearing his hair out.

"Calm down and let me explain!" Sakura shouted.

Kakashi leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Sorry, go ahead."

He knew that this wasn't the easiest thing for the girl to talk about. She rarely spoke of her life before her parents' deaths.

"After you moved here when I was 10, mom and dad were always busy as usual. So I spent most of my time in school or playing with other kids outside. One day this boy moved in our neighbourhood. His name was Yahiko, we soon became close friends."

Kakashi laced his fingers together and leaned in on the table, becoming more engrossed in Sakura's story as he saw the faint twinkle in her eyes as she spoke of her childhood.

"Yahiko would always defend me no matter what, he taught me how to skateboard and he was my sparring partner in Tae Kwon Do." The rosette smiled softly as she recalled the memories.

"As the years went by I realized I loved Yahiko more than like a friend, but not like a brother. And so I confessed to him."

Sakura swallowed and gripped the edge of her skirt, her knuckles turned white. She took a breath to steady herself as she continued.

"We dated for a few months, but then his brother Nagato died. He was always sickly, and his heart finally gave out. Yahiko took it very hard as expected. He began getting into more fights, he left the dojo and eventually he turned into someone I couldn't recognize. So I ended things."

Her eyes became dull and Kakashi could feel her whole demeanor begin to wither. Sakura's voice became hollow as she went on.

"Mom and Dad never liked him, said he was too hot headed and a bad influence. I guess they were right." She laughed but not in a happy way, it was more like a mirthless bark.

"About three months after my 15th birthday, I heard that Yahiko was moving back to Japan."

So that's how he was here, Kakashi thought.

"The night he was leaving, I caught him at the bus stop and asked him to stay, but he said…" Sakura fought back the tears in her eyes

"He said 'Hey man I love you but no fucking way'. And that was the last thing I remember before waking up the next morning on that same bench at the bus stop. That was the last time I saw or heard from him until he transferred to Konoha High."

Sakura exhaled shakily as she finished her story. Kakashi merely stared at his niece. Not only had she lost her first love, but a few months later she lost her parents.

What was he supposed to do at a time like this? There weren't any words for him to comfort her now. At least none came to his mind. The silver haired man sighed.

"Well I can understand your anger towards this punk, but please you cannot afford to get into any other fights alright? Leave that to Gaara," Kakashi chuckled at the last sentence.

He saw a ghost of a smile come across the younger girl's lips. Kakashi ruffled Sakura's hair affectionately. "I'll start making dinner, why don't you go rest for a bit, it must have been a long day."

Sakura nodded and headed up to her room. She was relieved that Kakashi hadn't been that upset with her. He was very understanding and that was why he was her favourite relative.

The pink haired girl brought her bag and skateboard up to her room, putting them against the wall.

She took off her uniform and hopped into the shower, letting the hot water wash away all the day's stress. She looked down at her bandaged hands and recalled the feeling of her fists knocking into Yahiko's face, her knuckles gliding over his cheekbones and the contours of his face. She clenched her fists in an effort to release those thought from her mind.

Then she remembered Gaara.

I wonder what he's thinking of me right now. He must think I'm a total psycho.

But wait. Gaara had held her back when she was fighting Yahiko… that must mean he's a member of the Akatsuki! Sakura felt something inside her chest clench. That means Gaara could be friends with Yahiko!

And speaking of friends, what the fuck was her relationship with Gaara?! She grazed her finger over her lips, remembering the feel of his against hers, the sensations of his touch and the trail of goosebumps he left on her skin that night.

Sakura put her head under the stream of the shower, blocking out all her thoughts. Sometimes she just wished she could shut her brain off.

Meanwhile in Sasori's house, Gaara was up in his room laying on his bed starting at the ceiling deep in thought.

After he had dropped Sakura off at the nurse's office, he was headed off to class when he ran into Sasori in the hall.

"We're taking Pein back to the house, make sure nothing goes wrong here," He said to his younger cousin.

"What could possibly go wrong?" Gaara snapped sarcastically. He was in a foul mood. There must have been something Pein did to Sakura in the past that had made her go berserk when she saw him, and Gaara was questioning his leader now. He felt as though he would have to choose between her and the Akatsuki. And leaving the Akatsuki was NOT an option for him.

"You know that those Sound High punks have been acting up lately, going in on our territory lately, and with Pein in this state we can't take any chances. Just watch your back, and don't walk around alone. Deidara's still here so go to him if anything comes up."

As he was about to turn the corner, Sasori turned to Gaara "Oh, and by the way, I'd get that little girl of yours in check, before she really pisses Pein off." With that the older red head walked off.

Gaara clenched his fists tightly and glared at Sasori's back as he walked away.