Chapter 4
Author Notes:
I have decided to start with my author notes at the beginning of the chapter, so as not to detract away from my ending.
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, followed and marked this story as their favorite.
Jacpin2002 I'm sorry you're confused by how Sakura will be a participant in the trials, but I am doing that intentionally. Keep reading and all will be revealed shortly.
I am still interested in a beta. So, if you're interested, please pm me.
Temari was awakened by the sun shining in her room and birds singing loudly outside the inn she was staying at. As she climbed out of bed, she chided the birds for being so loud. Couldn't they be a little quieter, she thought. She grabbed a change of clothes and made her way to take a shower and make herself presentable for the day.
When Temari was dressed, she decided to skip breakfast with Gaara and grab something quick before she met the girls. She made her way to the marketplace and grabbed an apple and a granola bar. After purchasing these foodstuffs, she walked to the Yamanaka flower shop, eating on the way.
The girls had decided to meet up at 9 in the morning at the flower shop. She was looking forward to being able to spend some time with them. Not that she minded spending time with her brothers, but there was just something about time with the girls that helped her feel more like a female.
As Temari got closer to the flower shop, she finished her quick breakfast and threw her trash in a local garbage can. She saw TenTen and Hinata standing outside waiting for her. When she approached them she asked, "Where is Ino and Sakura?"
TenTen responded, "Ino should be coming out shortly; she just needs to close up the shop. Sakura is probably running late as usual."
Just as Tenten finished her sentence, Ino came out and said, "Tch, Sakura is probably still sleeping. She may even have forgotten about our spa day already."
Temari had a wicked thought and decided to speak it aloud. "Why don't we just go over to her apartment and give her a nice wake up call." She couldn't help the evil laugh that came out of her mouth. Ino quickly caught on to Temari's thought and gave her a sly smile.
When they arrived at Sakura's apartment, Ino started looking for Sakura's hidden key. As the girls watched Ino, they were trying to stifle their giggles, so as not to wake up Sakura. Ino finally found the hidden key in one of Sakura's flower pots. Just as Ino went to pull the key from the flower pot, she accidently knocked the whole pot over the railing where it fell to the ground and shattered into a hundred pieces. All Ino could say was "oops." The others just laughed and told her to hurry up.
Ino finally unlocked the door and everyone walked into Sakura's apartment. Temari looked around the small apartment. She noticed that the living room was split off of the kitchen by half a wall. Then, down a very short hallway, she could see three doors. One door probably led to a bathroom, another to Sakura's bedroom and a third to either an office or a guest bedroom.
The living room was decorated with hanging bookshelves and pictures on the walls. On the floor stood a tv, coffee table, recliner and couch, which comprised the rest of the setting. The place looked quite comfy. Next time Temari came to Konoha, maybe she should ask Sakura if she could stay the night, she thought to herself.
TenTen made her way to Sakura's bedroom and, sure enough, Sakura was still sleeping. "A-are y-you sure we should do this?" Hinata asked. "I d-don't think S-Sakura would like whatever you have planned." she stated. Hinata really didn't want to be present when Sakura was angry. Sakura could be very scary at times.
"You can stay in the living room if you don't want to be a part of this," Ino told her.
Hinata didn't want to be left out of the fun, so she decided she would try to hide behind TenTen just in case she needed some protection.
Temari was already in the kitchen running the water to get it as cold as she could. Ino grabbed a bucket from Sakura's cleaning closet. They filled the bucket to about a third way full and then made their way to a sleeping Sakura. Since it was Temari's idea, she decided to let Ino have the honors of pouring the water on the sleeping girl. This way she could claim that she was just an innocent bystander if Sakura decided to dole out any justice.
Ino grabbed the bucket with a smirk and threw the water at Sakura's head. "Wake up Forehead Brow," she shouted. Sakura woke up with a start and was shivering. As she woke up, she heard loud laughter and saw four girls standing over her bed. Sakura wrapped her arms around herself and glared at Ino. "W-w-what d-do y-you think you are doing?" she yelled out to the culprits in front of her.
"Oh, we're just your friendly wake up service, forehead," said a laughing Ino.
Sakura angrily climbed out of her bed, muttering some choice expletives, and grabbed some clothes to change into while making her way out of the room. The other girls followed her. Sakura walked into her bathroom to take a warm shower. The girls waited for her in the living room. Soon, Sakura was ready to go and they left for the hot springs.
On the way to the hot springs, the girls chatted about what they could expect and what type of pampering they wanted to have done. They all agreed they wanted to enjoy the hot springs together. Temari and TenTen decided to have a facial and a manicure done. Hinata, Sakura and Ino decided to have both a manicure and a pedicure. After a lot of laughing and giggling, they finally made their way to the hot springs.
The girls entered the establishment and were immediately greeted by a young woman who said, "Welcome to the Ryokan Onsen. Please take a few minutes to look over our many different spa treatments. When you are ready, you can tell me your choices. I will be right over at the desk in the front of the room." The four women responded with a chorus of thank yous and then began to look over the menu board. They decided to enjoy the hot springs first and then have their spa treatments later.
They told the hostess their choices, who showed them to the bath house where they could store their clothes. She also requested that they use the showers first before entering the hot springs. They did as she asked and then made their way to the women's part of the onsen.
Temari and Hinata were the first to enter the onsen, followed by Ino and Tenten. Sakura was the last to enter. They found themselves alone in the onsen, which made them feel more relaxed and able to be more open with each other in their conversations. Ino started discussing her relationship with Sai. Sakura just scoffed at her. "Is that all you can talk about pig? Geez, you and Sai are almost connected at the hip. I barely ever see you two apart."
Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, if you didn't work at the hospital so much, then maybe ‑ you would see more of me without Sai, Forehead," Ino responded. Sakura just stuck her tongue out at her.
Temari, hearing the way the conversation was going, had a burning question that she had wanted to ask Sakura. She had refrained from asking Sakura previously, because she didn't want to offend her. Since it was just the four of them, she decided to put on a brave face and just asked. "Sakura, whatever happened to you and Sasuke?"
Everyone turned and looked at Temari with frowns on their faces. They couldn't believe she asked the question almost as much as Temari was surprised at her own courage in asking it. Sakura found her friends looking at her, waiting for a response. She really didn't think she owed them an explanation.
But, she knew she couldn't escape without the information they were after. Whatever happened between her and Sasuke was their business alone and no one else's, Sakura thought as she felt her friends' eyes on her. Both of them were very private people and she didn't feel confident talking about herself.
Ino finally butted into Sakura's thoughts. "Com'on Sakura. You can tell us," she almost whined. "We're your friends. You can tell us anything." The other girls quickly agreed with Ino's sentiments.
Sakura drew upon her inner strength and decided to tell them about the talk that she and Sasuke had about their relationship. "Sasuke and I talked about what we felt for each other," she began. "Yes, I did confess to him twice that I loved him, but after we talked, I found that I just wanted to see him smile again. I wanted him to be happy.
Sasuke told me that as much as he was thankful that I cared for him, he couldn't see himself in a relationship with any women. With all the bad things that he had done, he didn't think he would be worthy of being in a relationship with anyone. He just wanted to protect the village, but didn't think he could ever stay in the village for a great amount of time. I told him I understood and that I was happy that he had returned. In the end, we decided to just stay friends and we wished each other happiness."
Hinata came over to Sakura and gave her a hug. "I know that must have been hard for you, Sakura… I'm glad that you confided in us. We're all here for you anytime you need us."
The others nodded their heads in agreement. Temari gave a silent sigh. This put her mind at ease. She wouldn't have to worry about Sasuke coming around and ruining her plans to set Gaara and Sakura up.
After listening to Sakura's heartfelt confession, Tenten choose to steer the topic of conversation away from relationships and onto the subject of how Hinata was able to get Naruto to eat something other than ramen. The girls all laughed at this and started teasing Hinata. Hinata turned a bright red as she noticed she was now the center of attention.
After spending about an hour in the onsen gossiping and teasing each other, the girls opted to get out and get ready for their pampering. They took showers and then went to the different rooms for their spa treatments. Two hours later, they were found walking out of the Ryokan Onsen. Temari told the girls she was going to track down Shikamaru for a late lunch.
Hinata said, "I am going to go home and make a bento for Naruto. He wanted to go do some training today"
"I need to go clean some weapons and make sure Lee and Guy Sensei are not causing any trouble," Tenten stated with a laugh.
Ino said she would walk with Sakura back to her apartment. She found out that Gaara was coming over to Sakura's tonight and wanted to help her get ready for her dinner date. Sakura frowned at her and waspishly told her, "It's not a dinner date. Gaara is only coming over, so I can talk to him about the Children's Medical Facility."
"Sure, Forehead, that's what you want us all to believe." Ino said, rolling her eyes. Sakura could do nothing, but shake her head and started walking to her home.
Temari watched the girls leave, walking their separate ways. She took a few minutes to think of where she could find Shikamaru. A couple of places she knew he could be found were either at the Hokage tower or the Nara fields. She chose to check out the Hokage tower first.
She arrived at the tower and walked inside the building, taking the path that led her to the receptionist's desk. She recognized Shizune and asked her if she had seen Shikamaru. Shizune told her that she hadn't seen him. Well if he is not here, then he must be at the Nara fields, Temari thought. She thanked Shizune for her time and made her way to where she thought Shikamaru would be.
When Temari made her way to the Nara compound, she was granted easy access since most of the Naras recognized her. The path she followed led her to the forest that was owned by the Naras. She followed the trail that was lined by oaks, birch, and ash trees. At the end of the trail, it opened up to a huge meadow. The meadow was made up of flowing green grass and various flowers that seemed to just have been thrown haphazardly in the field. She always enjoyed coming here for its great beauty and the offering of relaxation it seemed to give.
Temari made her way into the meadow searching for the young Nara. After a few minutes of searching, her eyes fell upon a small rise of grass and saw him there. He was laid out with his left leg hanging over the top of his bent right leg. As he lay out in the sun, she could see that he had taken a drag of his cigarette and started to blow smoke circles. She recognized this as his favorite pastime, something other than watching the clouds go by.
She approached him as quietly as she could, so as not to disturb him too much. When she was right next to him, she nudged his foot to get him to acknowledge her presence. He shielded his eyes as he looked up to her and asked, "How's it going, Temari?" He could tell by the look in her eyes that she had something heavy on her mind and wanted to talk about it.
"Things could be better," Temari said. "Do you mind if I join you for a while?"
Shikamaru patted the grass next to him while he squashed his cigarette out in the ground with his other hand. He knew that she didn't like him smoking around her. Temari laid herself out next to him and looked up to the clouds. She took her time as she contemplated whether she should tell Shikamaru about the trials or not. She knew she could trust him to keep his mouth shut, but she wanted to err on the side of caution.
Shikamaru absently twiddled with the cigarette butt, while he gave Temari the space she needed and waited patiently for her to speak. He knew she would when she was ready. He would never rush her as he was certain she needed the time to think things through before she spoke.
Temari felt the calmness of the meadow settle on her like a comfortable blanket. She organized her thoughts and started to speak. "The council has decided it's time for Gaara to be married." She drew in a deep breath after saying this and then sighed. "They suggested an unusual marriage arrangement called the Kazehime trials." She looked over to see if Shikamaru was listening. He nodded his head for her to continue.
"Gaara is not happy about this, of course," she continued. "I told him that I would try to find a way to stop the trials, seeing as how the council ‑ of course ‑ put me in charge. I tried looking through everything, but I couldn't find a way to stop the trials. I feel like I let Gaara down."
"I don't think you could ever let Gaara down," Shikamaru interjected. She thanked him with her eyes.
Temari saw some violets next to her and started picking them. "I told Gaara that we should go ahead with the trials and that I had a plan." She started twirling the little flower in her hand.
"Oh, what's the plan?" he asked.
"I've started noticing that every time Gaara is near Sakura, he blushes." She didn't know why she was telling him this. She knew if Gaara found out, he would probably be angry with her, but she needed someone she could confide in. The trials were beginning to stress her out and she hadn't even started notifying the participants yet.
"I think Gaara has a crush on Sakura," she confessed to Shikamaru.
He sat up quickly when he heard this. Shikamaru didn't know what to think. "S-Sa-Sakura," he stuttered. "Are you sure?"
"No, I'm not sure," she huffed. "I've only just started noticing his reactions around her. But, if he does, then she will be integral to my plan. I only want Gaara to be happy. I asked the Suna council and Tsunade to grant Sakura permission to come to Suna as a medic for the trials. They both agreed to my proposal." She took a big breath. Was she ready to confide the rest of her plan to him? she thought.
Shikamaru was surprised by how much she had already confided to him. He was still in shock about Gaara having feelings for Sakura. What else did she have planned?
Temari looked over to Shikamaru with a heavy heart. She plunged on with her plan, telling him everything. When she was finished, the only thing he could say was "Troublesome, but I'll help you in any way that I can."
"Thanks Shikamaru. I knew I could trust you," she stated.
They both stayed out in the meadow until dusk. As they watched the sunset, Shikamaru invited Temari to stay and have dinner with him and his family. She accepted his offer with a grateful smile on her face.
While Temari was busy confiding her plan to Shikamaru, Ino was at Sakura's apartment teasing her about her supposed dinner date with Gaara. "For the fourth time, Ino Pig, I am not having a date with Gaara," Sakura huffed out. "He is only coming here, so I can talk to him about the Children's Medical Facility."
"Sure you are, Forehead," exclaimed Ino as she smirked. "Since you know that you and Sasuke are not an item anymore, you should try moving on. Working yourself to death in the hospital is not going to help you with that and Gaara is a great guy. You should give him a chance."
"I know Ino, but I really don't have time for relationships. I have my hospital duties and the Children's Medical Facility to think about. Then, there are the missions I'm usually sent on. Come on. You can help me get ready for tonight," she sighed.
"Eep," Ino uttered and excitedly jumped up. "I know just how I want to do your hair and let me look through your closet. I know I can find the perfect dress for you to wear tonight. I'll also help you with tonight's dinner menu."
"Ok, Pig. Let's not get too carried away," Sakura said with an annoyed voice.
It took Ino two hours just to help Sakura get ready for her supposed date and to start the dinner. Sakura decided to make miso soup and garlic chicken with white rice for dinner. Ino suggested that they have wine to drink along with their meal.
Ino looked over to the clock in Sakura's kitchen and decided that she had stayed long enough. She bid goodbye to her best friend and took her leave. Sakura was just finishing setting the table when she heard Gaara knocking on her apartment door.
She walked over to the door and opened it for Gaara to come inside. Gaara toed off his shoes and held out a bouquet of flowers for Sakura to take. Surprised Sakura said, "Thanks Gaara. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate the sentiment."
"You are welcome," Gaara said. "You look nice tonight and everything smells great," he quietly said feeling the tips of his ears burn. He hoped she couldn't see how nervous he was.
As he stood in her apartment, he looked around. The place looked quite cozy and seemed to fit Sakura's personality well. Noticing that she was still working in the kitchen, he asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"No, no. I'm just about ready to put dinner on the table," Sakura nervously laughed. "You can come and sit down at the table if you like."
Gaara sat down and looked over the meal that Sakura prepared for the two of them. He couldn't wait to start eating. Everything looked so good. He started with the miso soup and then took a sip of the wine that was before him.
Sakura watched as Gaara started with the soup and hoped everything was to his liking. She couldn't help her thoughts going back to when Ino had teased that this did qualify as a date.
Sakura was always glad to see her friends from Suna, but she wasn't certain about how she felt about Gaara as an individual. Ino told her she needed to move on from Sasuke, which she was prepared to do. But, was she really ready to jump into a relationship? Especially, one with Gaara? He was the Kazekage of Suna for goodness sake. She knew how busy Tsunade was with her Hokage duties. The same could be said for Gaara's position. Ugh, she thought. Why did things like this have to be so complicated?
"I hope everything is to your liking, Sakura told Gaara.
"Yes it is," he said, taking a bite from his garlic chicken.
After they had finished their dinner, Sakura suggested they move to the living room where they could enjoy the dessert that she had made. Gaara sat down on the couch and waited for her to come into the room. She walked over to the kitchen counter and uncovered the desserts that she had hidden.
She handed Gaara his dessert. He was surprised by what she had made.
"It's my favorite secret recipe," she said with a cheeky smile. "I hope you like my Sakura kanten jelly dessert. I don't just make this for anyone, you know."
The whole desert was in the shape of a sakura blossom. She had cut a wedge-sized shape for herself and one for Gaara. The jelly was made so you could see a sakura blossom placed in the middle of the dessert. It looked too nice to eat. Gaara appreciated all the effort Sakura placed into making this meal quite enjoyable. He couldn't help, but give her a smile as he took a bite of the beautiful dessert.
When they had finished eating, Sakura took the dishes and laid them in the sink. She was going to do the dishes later, but Gaara said, "Since you cooked, I'll do the dishes. It's the most I can offer, since you worked so hard and everything tasted so wonderful."
"Ok," Sakura said as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her left ear. Gaara watched her and couldn't help but think she looked cute whenever she did that. He again tried to hide his growing blush.
After the dishes had been cleaned and put away, Gaara made his way to the living room and sat down next to Sakura on the couch. Sakura started to tell Gaara all about the Children's Medical Facility. She told him how she came up with the idea and what her future plans for the facility were.
As he tried to listen to her excited speech about the facility, his mind started wandering. He loved listening to Sakura talk about the things that were important to her. Sakura had a big heart and she was always looking for ways to help everyone. Even those people she didn't know.
Gaara remembered the times when she came to Suna and saved his brother from a poison that almost killed him. She had fought alongside Lady Chio and defeated Sasori, and she also worked hard to heal everyone during the fourth shinobi war. She was an exceptional kunoichi and he was glad that he could consider himself one of her friends.
"Gaara, are you listening to me?" Sakura asked.
"Umm, I'm sorry. Did you ask me a question?"
"I did. Do you think that Suna's council would go for a program like this?"
"Oh, I'm sure of it. Anything to improve the health of Suna's children would be a great benefit. You'll have to come to Suna with your proposal. I will definitely support you all the way," he said with a confident smile.
"Thanks, Gaara." Sakura said as she continued going over all of the benefits that Suna could see from the program. As she did so, Gaara was reminded of the council and their decision to have the Kazehime trials.
Inwardly, he grumbled to himself. He wanted to have a pleasant evening with Sakura, not think about his council and their idiotic marriage plans for him. He saw the big smile on Sakura's face and fought with himself. He didn't want to ruin the night for her and tried to keep a smile on his face, but his inner turmoil was winning out. He knew the evening was going to come to a close soon and he would have to return back to Suna. Back to his responsibilities and away from her. Back to a place where a future bride, one that he didn't want, would be waiting for him.
He couldn't help the sudden sigh that crossed his lips. He hoped that Sakura missed it, but she had heard it.
"Is everything ok, Gaara?" Sakura asked after she heard him sigh. She knew she had problems with rambling and she sometimes could get carried away when she talked about things. The last thing she wanted to do was bore him to death.
"No, everything is fine. I think I am just tired," he said with a fake yawn.
Seeing as how it had been a long, busy day for herself as well, she quickly agreed with Gaara's sentiments and chose to call it a night. "I'm glad you could come for dinner and I hope you enjoyed yourself," she said, ducking her head with a shy smile. She didn't want him to see the blush that was creeping up her neck.
"I did enjoy myself and I look forward to seeing you come to Suna with your proposal for the Children's Medical Facility," Gaara stated.
Sakura walked Gaara to the door of her apartment. "Well, goodnight Gaara." She squeezed his hand and gave him a bright smile that lit up her whole face. Gaara gave her a small smile, trying to hide his sadness. He said goodnight to her and walked out through the door.
After the door closed behind him, he stopped. With heavy hands hanging by his side, he gave a heart-rending sigh and looked up to the stars. With a heavy heart he said, "Goodbye, Sakura." And slowly, he walked back to the room at the inn where he was staying.