Chapter 16
The day after Sakura's return to Suna, Gaara got to work directing some bright-eyed genin into creating an office for Sakura in the Kazekage building. He would have liked her to have a desk in his office, but decided against it as there would be times he would need to have confidential meetings with his council or dignitaries. However, he did order blinds to be put in the windows of both offices and seals to be installed on the doors. He didn't want annoying people barging into either of their offices when they were in the midst of having a private meeting. Gaara grinned to himself at the thought of having private meetings with his Kazehime.
Gaara worked closely with Sakura for the next three months helping her get used to her new duties as the Kazehime. Besides her new duties, Sakura also managed Suna's hospital. It didn't take her long to reorganize the staff of the hospital and start making it one of the best hospitals in Wind.
Within those three months, Temari noticed how busy both Sakura and Gaara were and how little time they got to spend with each other. She politely took her brother to the side and suggested that if he wanted to get to know Sakura better, then he had better set aside one night each week to spend time with her. Gaara agreed with his sister. He had felt bad that the only time he got to see Sakura was during working hours. That was no way to build a relationship, he thought to himself. When Gaara returned to his office, he looked over his and Sakura's appointment calendars and scheduled once a week private meetings with just the two of them. He knew that after the first meeting Sakura would catch on to his ploy and would go along with it. Plus, he didn't have to worry about anyone questioning him about the meetings.
Gaara was pleased with how well Sakura was fitting into the Suna lifestyle. Everyone was accepting of her as the Kazehime and they made sure to keep her on her toes in the hospital. Five months into her role, it seemed as if she had always lived in Suna. She quickly picked up on the local dialect and was finding her place amongst the people of Suna. They loved her just as much as she loved them. She had even found her own friends amongst several of the kunoichi. Even some of those she had fought against during the trials. Gaara smiled at the thought of how fitting Sakura was for Suna. She reminded him of a small desert flower that seemed to blossom overnight.
As he was thinking all of this, he sighed to himself. For the past few nights, it seemed as if they kept missing each other. Either he would get home first, have dinner alone and then go to bed or she wouldn't even come home at all. Sometimes Sakara even opted to sleep in her office at the hospital. Gaara wondered to himself if she had been like that in Konoha. It was not good that she wasn't coming home at night. He decided he would need to talk to her about that. Maybe it would be the right time to ask her to change her sleeping arrangements and move into his room.
Since they had started to have their once a week private meetings, they had started to get closer in their relationship. Some of their meetings would end up in some heavy, heated make-out sessions. There were times he felt he had a hard time controlling himself around her.
There had been one instance where he thankfully had the foresight to have seals put on their office doors. It was a particularly memorable private meeting when he and Sakura were interrupted. She was sitting on his desk while he faced her, standing between her legs. As she leaned forward, he was nuzzling her neck and starting to trail kisses down the left side of her chin. Suddenly, there was a knock at his door. He growled at the interruption and hung his head on the shoulder of the same side he had just been kissing her on. Sakura just giggled.
She slid off of his desk and told him she was going to return to her office. "Have fun with Naruto and Lee," she chuckled while walking away from him.
"Don't leave me alone with those two," Gaara whined like a petulant child. Sakura just kept walking away, waving her hand at him while he watched her walk through the door that joined their offices. Another thing that he had taken advantage of was knowing that he would have complete access to her whenever she was in her office without anyone being the wiser. He grinned to himself as he called out "enter" to the person on the other side of the door.
A young genin entered and bowed to the Kazekage and announced, "Naruto Uzumaki and Lee from Konoha are here to see you, sir."
Gaara stood up from his desk and told the genin to let them enter. Naruto entered first with Lee right behind him. "Welcome back to Suna," Gaara said, nodding in acknowledgment of their presence. "What can I do for you?"
"Hi, Gaara," Naruto said. "We came on a diplomatic mission," he continued while handing a scroll over to Gaara.
"Where is Shikamaru? He usually handles these things, does he not?" the redhead questioned.
"Well, when we got here, we met Temari first and she kinda dragged him off before we could say anything," Naruto answered while rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "Your sister is kinda scary," he nervously chuckled.
"I see," Garra responded. He just pretended to ignore the comment about his sister. Then, he sat back down at his desk while he visited with Naruto and Lee for awhile.
It was after his visit with the two Konoha nin that he figured it would be a good time to find a way to ask Sakura to move into his room. After a few hours of thinking things through, he decided he would take her back to the cistern and ask her there and then.
When Sakura returned to her desk, she found the last scroll she had been reading along with a rare desert flower with a note attached that read it was from Gaara. She caught him winking at her through the blinds on the other side of the door that joined their offices. She winked back and then continued reading the scroll almost as if it didn't happen. She needed to get some work done.
Upon revisiting the scroll, she read that a diplomat from Iwa had requested a meeting with both her and Gaara. They had found out that she had accepted the role of Kazehime and wanted to learn more about her new role in Suna. She would need to mention this to Gaara the next time she met with him. Hopefully, he would keep his hands to himself next time they met and they could actually get something accomplished during their meetings instead of making out all the time.
Later in the evening, Sakura returned to the Kazekage mansion where she met Gaara.
"I have another surprise for you," he told her as he led her down to the cistern. When they came to the water's edge, he helped her into the canoe he had borrowed. He pushed the canoe away from the edge and jumped into it. He started paddling the craft till it was in the middle of the cistern.
When Sakura looked around her, she saw candles flickering in the water. She gasped at the sight before her. It felt like they were floating among the stars. "Oh, Gaara. This is just so beautiful. I feel like I'm among the stars," she told him.
Gaara was pleased with her reaction to the sight before them. Before she had returned, he had come down to the cistern and lit multiple candles and set them to float upon the the water. He hoped to give her a nice romantic night before he asked her his question.
"I'm glad you like it," he answered. "I do have a reason for bringing you here. There is something I want to ask you."
Sakura saw the slight blush on his cheeks and found herself to be a little nervous and apprehensive at what his question might be. Gaara moved over to sit near Sakura and pulled her into a hug. He nuzzled her neck and pushed her to lay down in the boat while he kissed her. Sakura was surprised by how affectionate Gaara was being, but she wasn't going to turn him down. She kissed him back.
After their kissing match, Gaara looked into her emerald eyes. "I want you to move your things into my room," he told Sakura. "I want to move our relationship to the next level and I want to share my bed with you."
Sakura sat up gradually as the blood rushed back into her head and was silent for the next few minutes. Gaara was afraid she was going to fight him on this and started to worry that he had set their relationship back. He didn't want to come on to her too strong, but he felt he wanted them to progress and thought this was a good way to go.
After thinking through Gaara's request, Sakura decided that it would benefit the both of them if she did move into his room. The nights did get cold in Suna and having another body next to her would keep her warm, especially those nights when she actually made it back from the hospital. She had shared a tent or a room with others in the past when she went on missions, so this shouldn't be that different. Sakura looked into Gaara's jade eyes and answered, "I'd love to. I'll move my things in when we get back."
Gaara smiled and returned to kissing her passionately. They stayed laying in the canoe for a couple more hours before they returned back to the mansion.
True to her word, when they returned, Sakura moved her things into Gaara's room. After they had finished, Gaara sat on his bed while Sakura pulled her sleeping attire from her dresser. "I'm going to take a shower before bed," she informed him.
When Sakura returned, Gaara was already in bed and watched as she nervously approached. "You don't have to be afraid, Sakura. We're just going to sleep in the same bed," Gaara told her as he tried to comfort her with a small smile on his face.
"Oh, I'm not afraid," Sakura bravely answered with her shoulders squared. She climbed into the bed and snuggled under the covers. She rolled over to face Gaara and gave him a hug before saying goodnight. Gaara returned the hug, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her to him while he kissed the top of her head.
"Good night, Sakura," Gaara whispered gently and closed his eyes. It would be the first night in a long time he was actually able to sleep.
XXXX
Nine months into Sakura's new role as Kazehime and staying in Suna, Gaara decided it was time that they both make an appearance in Konoha. He knew that Sakura was homesick by the way she had been acting distracted in both her public and private meetings. He hoped this would also be a good time for him to meet her parents and introduce himself properly.
At their next private meeting, Gaara approached the subject of traveling to Konoha and meeting Sakura's parents.
Sakura looked up to Gaara with surprise. She practically jumped up with excitement. "Really? I can't wait to go. I have been missing everyone lately," she said.
"I noticed you were looking despondent lately. I also think it might be the right time for me to meet your parents and introduce myself, " Gaara said while brushing a strand of pink hair behind her ear.
"Oh, yes. That's right. You've never met them before. I'm sure they will love you, but be prepared. They can be a little overwhelming when you first meet them," Sakura said in a worried tone.
"I'm sure there is nothing to worry about," Gaara said when he noticed her uneasiness. "If they are your parents, they can't be that bad; at least no more weird than you," he teased.
Sakura poked Gaara in the side at his words. "I am not weird," she huffed out. "Besides, I thought you liked my weird side?" Sakura teasingly replied while she started pulling his red hair and twining it around her fingers.
Gaara gave a small laugh while he grabbed her arms and pulled her to him and gave her a kiss.
Two days later, Gaara and Sakura had packed their things. Kankuro was told to keep things going in the village and the Suna couple started their three day journey to Konoha.
XXXX
Back in Konoha, Kakashi had received a scroll from Shikamaru. He opened the scroll and read it to himself. Shikamaru saw the Hokage's eye crinkle while he set the scroll down on his desk.
"Looks like the Kazekage and Kazehime are coming to Konoha for a visit," Kakashi told Shikamaru. "We better let Naruto know so he can get things ready for them."
Sighing, Shikamaru looked at the Hokage and answered, "I'll send Konohamaru to find Naruto and tell him the good news."
"Good. I'm sure everyone will be looking forward to seeing Sakura again," Kakashi finished.
Shikamaru left the room to go find Konohamaru.
XXXX
Gaara and Sakura had made good time traveling to Konoha. They were met at the gates of Konoha by quite a few people. Sakura hadn't expected so many people to greet them. She laughed when she saw that even Sasuke was there.
Sasuke had seen the love in Gaara's eyes while he held Sakura's hand and the contentment in Sakura while they walked up to the gates. He was glad that Sakura was happy. Sasuke knew that he had only brought her pain in the past and he may only continue to bring her pain in the future. He also knew that she wanted him to be happy as well and that she still loved him in her own special way. They would always be friends. For the first time in his life, he did the most unexpected thing. He walked up to Sakura, hugged her and said, "welcome back home, Sakura."
Sakura was at a loss by Sasuke's hug and his welcome. She was left speechless. She looked Sasuke in the eyes and gave him her biggest, brightest smile. "Thanks, Sasuke," she whispered.
Gaara smiled at the sight of Sasuke and Sakura. He wasn't afraid to lose Sakura to Sasuke anymore. The aura surrounding the last Uchia was different and he could tell a change had taken place. He was glad for Sasuke, so he went over and shook hands with him.
Naruto was fidgeting the whole time he watched Sasuke have his moment with Sakura. When the moment was over, he ran over to Sakura and lifted her up in the air and twirled her around. Laughingly, he said, "Welcome back, Sakura-chan. I've missed you. I'm so glad your back." Sakura couldn't help but laugh at his exuberance.
"Naruto," yelled Ino. "Put Sakura down before you hurt her."
Naruto put Sakura down on her feet and apologized while rubbing the back of his neck.
"It's ok, Naruto. I've missed you too." Sakura answered with a smile and patting his shoulders. "Hi, Ino-pig," Sakura called out as she noticed the other blonde. She walked over to Ino and the other girls to greet them as well.
Naruto walked over to Gaara. "Sakura-chan looks truly happy, Gaara. I'm glad she decided to stay in Suna as well. You must be doing something right. I don't think I have ever seen her so happy in the last few years. I hope you are happy with her."
"I am," Gaara answered. "She is good for Suna. She is good for me." Naruto saw the look on Gaara's face and he nodded his head in agreement.
"It looks like the whole village came out to greet us," Gaara observed.
"Well, not the whole village - but once everyone heard you two were coming, we couldn't very well turn them away." Naruto turned away from Gaara and motioned him to follow. "I suppose you will want to rest after your long journey. I'll help you two find a place to stay or are you staying with Sakura's parents?"
"No. I reserved us a place to stay in the village. Sakura thought it might be a little awkward to stay with them. Especially since I have not officially met them yet."
"Oh, yeah. I guess that would be awkward," Naruto replied with a quirk to his lips.
Naruto walked with Gaara and Sakura to the inn where they were staying. Then, he left them so he could meet up with Hinata. The Suna couple made it to the room they were staying in and after getting settled, they decided to discuss what they were going to do the next day.
"I'm going to meet with Tsunade at the hospital tomorrow," Sakura informed Gaara.
"That's fine. I have a meeting with Kakashi in the morning. I'm not sure how long the meeting will last, though. I know the Konoha Elders will be at the meeting as well."
"That's ok," Sakura answered as she noticed the stress lines that were showing on his face. "I'll probably end up having lunch with Ino and some of the other girls. Why don't we plan on having dinner with my parents tomorrow?"
Gaara tried to ease the stress from his face and shoulders as he replied. "That sounds good to me. I am looking forward to meeting your parents."
Sakura walked over to Gaara and gave him a hug. "Here, turn around and let me give you a shoulder massage."
Gaara complied. He sat in a chair and let her have her way. He silently smiled at the thoughtful gesture and was secretly glad to have her in his life.
When Sakura finished the massage, Gaara called for room service and they dined together in their room. Exhausted from their long trip, they decided to get ready for bed and soon fell asleep in each others arms.
The next day, the Suna couple got ready for their outings. They again agreed to meet back at the inn around five in the evening and then they would go over to Sakura's parents home for dinner. They gave each other a parting kiss and headed to their own their destinations.
When Sakura entered the hospital, it seemed as if time slowed and had rewound itself. Nothing had changed and it felt like she had never left. She made her way over to the nurses station and said "hello" to the nurse on duty. The nurse, Toriyama, greeted her with a pleasant smile and asked if she could help Sakura with anything. Sakura smiled and asked if Lady Tsunade was available. Toriyama answered that Tsunade could be found in her office. "Last door on the right," she directed. Sakura thanked Toriyama for her assistance and then walked to Tsunade's office.
When she arrived at the door to Tsunade's office, Sakura felt a little nervous. It had been nine months since Sakura had seen her Shisou and wondered how Tsunade had been since she had made the decision to leave Konoha for Suna. Would she be angry with her? Would she be disappointed? Conflicting emotions ran through her, but Sakura shook her head and cleared her thoughts. Tsunade had said she loved her. She was precious to her shisou.
Sakura knocked on the door. "Come in," Tsunade called out. Sakura put a smile on her face and entered through the door. She heard Tsunade trying to hide something and knew it to be one of her sake bottles.
Some things never change, Sakura thought to herself. "Good morning," she told Tsunade.
"Oh. It's only you, Sakura. I thought it might have been Shizune. She keeps trying to hide my bottles of sake. She has even gone so far as to switching my sake out for water or tea. Now everytime I take a drink from one of my precious sake bottles, I never know if it's sake or tea I'm going to drink."
Sakura couldn't help but laugh out loud. It seemed as if Shizune would go to great lengths to make sure Tsunade was not getting drunk on the job.
"I've missed you, Sakura. You were always one to assist in keeping Shizune from screwing around with my sake."
"Oh, is that really the only reason you missed me, Shisou?" Sakura teasingly asked.
"Of course not, silly girl," Tsunade quickly answered back with a silly grin on her face. "How goes it in Suna?"
"I've done quite well in Suna. I've managed to reorganize the medical program at Suna and get the hospital up and running at acceptable standards. It will take a couple of years before Suna's hospital can meet up with Konoha standards, but I'm confident that the staff will get there."
"That sounds like quite a feat. Do you have any future plans for the hospital?"
"Yes, I do. Just like I started the children's medical program here, I would like to do the same in Suna. I also want to integrate basic medical programs in Suna's academy. I think it would be a great idea to make sure that each team of genin have at least one medic on their team. It's never too early to introduce children to medical ninjutsu. I know I'm taking some of your ideas and I hope you don't mind. But, I feel that in this time of peace, this kind of information should be shared between all the nations. Don't you agree?"
Tsunade looked proudly at her one-time student. "Yes, I heartedly agree. I am proud of you, Sakura. You never seem to surprise me. I can't believe how far you have come since the day you barged into my office and demanded that I make you my apprentice." Tsunade stopped here and wiped a stray tear from her face.
Sakura blushed and then hugged her shisou. "Thanks for teaching me everything you know, Shisou. Thanks for taking a chance on me."
Shizune entered the office to see both women crying and wondered what had set the two of them off. "Is everything ok," she inquired.
Both women looked up to Shizune and starting laughing. Neither one said anything, but
Shizune realized she interrupted a personal moment. Sakura visited with both Tsunade and Shizune for the better part of the morning. She finally left the hospital and said she would try to stop back before she left to go back to Suna.
Seeing that it was already past noon, Sakura headed towards the Yamanaka flower shop. On her way there, she spotted TenTen. "Hi TenTen. I'm on my way to see Ino to have lunch with her. Did you want to join us?"
"Sure, Sakura." TenTen grabbed Sakura's arm, then linked their arms together. They both entered the flower shop giggling when they saw Ino. Ino heard the bell above the door jingle and noticed that the two girls had entered.
"Hey, Forehead. Tenten. Are you ready for lunch?" Ino asked as she took off her apron.
Soon enough, the three girls were headed to their favorite cafe. While they were there, Temari and Hinata came in and joined them as well. The quartet of girls talked and giggled. They all brought Sakura up to speed on the gossip of the village and Sakura shared her adventures of the past nine months of living in Suna and being the Kazehime. Sakura was enjoying the moment she got to spend with the girls. She had missed being able to spend time with them.
Ino got a mischievous look on her face. She turned her pretty blue eyes on Sakura and asked slyly, "so how is Gaara?"
Sakura immediately blushed and started stammering. "I-I-Ino. What do you mean by that question?" She knew what her best friend was getting at, but didn't know if she could answer the question without embarrassing herself. She didn't think she was ready to start gossiping about her love life just yet.
"Oh. Come on, Sakura! You know what I mean. We want details. How is Gaara treating you?" Ino huffed.
Still blushing, Sakura answered. "Gaara is fine and he has been treating me well. We've had a couple of dates. We're not rushing our relationship. Actually, the reason we came to Konoha was because he noticed how I was homesick and he wanted to meet my parents."
Temari nodded in approval. "Is he going to talk to your father, Sakura?"
"Yes. He did mention that he wants to formally introduce himself and then he wants to properly ask my father's permission to marry me." The blush on Sakura's face got even brighter at the mention of marriage.
Temari wrapped her arm around the pinkette's shoulders and said, "I'm proud of my little brother and I can't wait for you to be my sister-in-law. You two make a great couple. I'm glad everything worked out for you during the Trials."
"Thanks, Temari. I know I was angry with you before, but now I'm glad you did what you did. Gaara makes me happy and I'm glad I'm going to have you as a sister," Sakura answered with a smile.
After lunch the girls parted ways and Sakura made her way back to the inn. She decided if Gaara wasn't back yet, she would take a nap and wait for his return.
While Sakura was visiting Tsunade and having lunch with the girls, Gaara was having an intense meeting with the Hokage and the Konoha elders. They had wanted an update and list on Sakura's Kazehime duties. They had also wanted to discuss revisions to the alliance charter now that one of their own was going to be married to the leader of Suna. Gaara had expected some of their questions, but not the revision to the alliance charter. He responded to them that he would need to discuss the revisions with his own council before he could truly answer any questions in regards to the alliance charter.
The meeting had lasted about three hours. The elders left Gaara alone with Kakashi. He sighed as he ran his fingers through his blood red hair, glad that the meeting was finally over.
Kakashi looked over to the Kazekage. "I'm sure you are glad to have this meeting over with," he said to Gaara. "By the way, I'm glad that Sakura has taken well to the position of Kazehime. Tsunade and I always thought that if she had put her mind to it, she would have made a great Hokage. But, even when we approached the subject with her, she would say that that was Naruto's dream and she didn't want to take that away from him."
Gaara lifted his eyes to the Hokage as he spoke. "Yes, that does sound a lot like Sakura. Always thinking about others before herself. She has done well in Suna. Everyone loves and respects her. The medics, especially."
"Well, as her friend, I would personally like to know what your plans are now that Sakura has officially become the Kazehime. I know that you love her and she is starting to return those feelings. Have the two of you talked about marriage yet? Life is short and I know you will protect her with your life, but how do you intend to take care of her?"
Kakashi knew he shouldn't ask these type of questions, but over the years he had become a little protective of the pinkette and wanted to see her happy, even if that meant she was not living in the village anymore. He needed to hear it from Gaara's own mouth what his thoughts were about his favorite student.
Gaara was surprised by the questions Kakashi had asked. He would expect these type of questions to come from Sakura's parents, not the Hokage. He looked down at his hands and thought of how to answer the questions.
"I do love Sakura. I have since the war. I suppose my infatuation with her started the day she saved Kankuro's life from Sasori's poison. I do intend to marry Sakura. I told her we would not rush into marriage. I want to make sure she is ready before making a big commitment like that. The real reason we are here is so that I may introduce myself formally to her parents and ask for Sakura's hand in marriage."
Kakashi smiled at this answer, even if Gaara couldn't see it. "I'm glad to hear that. I know Sakura used to have a huge crush on Sasuke, but as time has gone by, she seemed to grow out of that. She seems to be happier now than when she was living here in Konoha. I do wish you luck in dealing with her parents. They can be a handful."
"Yes. Sakura has already warned me about them, but I am looking forward to meeting them."
"Well, I suppose I should let you leave. It is getting late and I don't want to hold you up from meeting your future in-laws," Kakashi chuckled.
Gaara left the Hokage tower and tried to shake the stress from his shoulders. Meeting future in-laws should not make him nervous. If he could face Madara, then meeting parents should be easy.
Gaara quietly entered the room that he and Sakura shared at the inn and found her still sleeping. He couldn't help the feeling of fullness and protectiveness that washed over him at the sight of her. She was truly a beauty and she was going to be his to love for the the rest of their days. He finally gave in to his instinct and walked over to the bed and ran his fingers through her silky soft pink hair.
Feeling someone touch her, Sakura finally woke up to see Gaara standing over her. She gave him a small smile and then stretched. She rose from the bed while pulling her top down. "I hope your meeting with Kakashi and the elders went well," she told Gaara.
"As well as it could have, I guess." he answered. "Are you almost ready to go?"
"Sure. Just give me a few minutes to freshen up and I'll be ready," Sakura said, running into the bathroom adjacent to their room.
A few minutes later, both Gaara and Sakura walked to the Haruno home. They both walked in silence, lost in their thoughts. Sakura was hoping that her parents wouldn't embarrass her too much. Gaara was thinking about how he should introduce himself. All too soon, they arrived at the comfy-looking home. Sakura grabbed for Gaara's hand and gave it a squeeze to help bolster his courage as she knocked on the door.
The door opened and Mebuki rushed through it. She made a beeline to Sakura. She grabbed her daughter in an all too tight hug while smiling with tears running down her face. "Oh, Sakura. It seems as if it has been an eternity since I last saw you," she told her.
Sakura, who couldn't breathe, tried to laugh and tell her mother that she was squeezing her too tight. Mebuki let go and gave a quick laugh. "Sorry about that," Mebuki told her one and only daughter.
Gaara watched the scene before him and figured that Sakura probably got her strength from her mother. He wondered what her father was like and what she got from him.
Mebuki was not one to leave another person out of her affections. Especially, if that person was going to become apart of the family. She turned to Gaara and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a motherly bear hug.
Gaara, not one used to being touched, was surprised by the action. With his ears and cheeks burning, he could only wonder if this was what it was like to have a mother's love, a mother's touch. He reciprocated the hug and wrapped his own arms around the woman silently fighting back tears.
Sakura grew warm at the sight and was glad that Gaara was accepting of her mother's overbearing affections.
Mebuki finally let go of the Kazekage and gave profuse apologies for hugging the leader of Suna in public. Gaara just waved her apology away while he felt disappointment that the hug had not lasted longer. Mebuki then pushed the young couple into the home while telling them that dinner was almost ready.
Sakura and Gaara entered the home at Mebuki's insistence. They toed off their shoes and put on the slippers that her mother had placed by the door for them. Mebuki passed them and made her way back into the kitchen to continue working on the dinner she was preparing for everyone. Sakura led Gaara to the living room where she spotted her father sitting.
Kizashi looked up to see his daughter enter the room followed by a young red-haired boy. He grinned at the sight. Finally his daughter had moved on from that Uchia brat and hopefully found herself someone who would love her for the right reasons and make her happy. He hoped that the young man was here to ask for his daughter's hand in marriage. If so, he was not going to make it easy on the lad. This was his only daughter and the boy was going to have to work to have the honor of marrying his only daughter.
Sakura saw the look on her father's face and knew he was up to no good. She mentally chided herself for thinking that her father would be on his best behaviour, especially since he would be talking to the leader of Suna. She let out a small sigh when she felt Gaara's hand land on her shoulder and give it a squeeze. He directed her to the couch and they both sat down.
Kizashi stood up and then bowed. "Welcome to our home," he said to Gaara. Then, turning back, "I'm glad you came home for a visit, Sakura. Your dear old father has missed you, daughter."
"I've missed you too, dad," Sakura answered.
"Who is the young man you have brought with you?" Kizashi questioned his daughter.
"Dad, this is Sabuku No Gaara, Kazekage of Suna. Gaara, this is my father, Haruno Kizashi."
Gaara stood up and held his hand out for Kizashi to shake. "I'm glad to meet you," he said.
Kizashi shook Gaara's hand and smiled down at the young man. "It's about time I met the man who has finally stolen my daughter away to another village. You have kept her away from us for quite some time. I hope you are prepared for the consequences of your actions," he told Gaara with a sly smile on his face. He was hoping to try to intimidate the young Kazekage.
Gaara grinned up at Kizashi ready to play his game. "I'm sure I am adequately prepared," he answered.
"Hmph," Kizashi said as he sat back down in his chair. Grinning he said, "why would you never starve in the desert?"
Sakura could only look at her father with horror on her face.
Gaara seemingly amused asked, "Why?"
Kizashi answered "Because of all the sandwiches there."
Sakura could only hide her face in abject horror.
Gaara only shook his head at the silly pun.
Kizashi was stunned that he couldn't get the boy to laugh. Well, if that's the case, he thought to himself, I may have just found a new purpose in life. One way or another he was going to find a way to make that boy laugh, even if it took him the rest of his living days.
Turning to his daughter he asked, "how has Suna been treating you?"
"It has been treating me well. I have reorganized the hospital and it's staff. Their standards are almost up to the same standards as here in Konoha. Gaara has helped me get situated in my role as Kazehime."
"Oh. He has, has he?" Kizashi asked with a slight grin on his face. "I hope you are not overworking my daughter," he told Gaara. "She is known for working non-stop and not eating well. I hope you can put a stop to that."
"DAAAD!" Sakura squealed.
"I have been making sure that Sakura eats well and is not working herself too hard," Gaara answered.
Kizashi nodded his head, ignoring Sakura's plea for him to stop.
Mebuki finally came out of the kitchen and told everyone that dinner was ready. Everyone made their way to the table. They all said thanks for the meal and began to eat. A light conversation was had at the table. After the meal was finished, Sakura helped her mother clear the table and wash the dishes. Gaara joined Kizashi in the living room.
"Well, now that we are alone and the ladies are in the kitchen, now maybe we can have some real talk," Kizashi started.
Gaara smiled at the man and wondered how soon he should approach the subject of marriage to Kizashi.
Seeing at how quiet the boy was, Kizashi decided to continue speaking. "I wonder, my boy, when did you start to fancy my daughter and what your intentions towards her are?"
Gaara figured that Kizashi wanted the truth and didn't like people to beat around the bush.
"I started to notice Sakura during the war. As you know, I was the Regimental Commander during the Fourth Shinobi war. Naruto was dying and your daughter kept him alive by hand- pumping his heart. She showed no sign of fear during this time or any time during the war. That is the first time I started noticing her. It took a while, but after some time, I recognized that the feelings I was experiencing was love. Behind the backs of my own council, I worked with Tsunade to find a way to court Sakura, but then my council took charge and started the Kazehime Trials. My sister got Sakura involved and with the assistance of a Tribunal, she won the Trials. I had no foreknowledge that Sakura was a participant in the Trials. On my last trip to Konoha, I had all but given up hope of having a chance to court your daughter. I was surprised and overjoyed when I found out that she had won the Trials." Gaara stopped for a bit, feeling as if he had answered his future father-in-law's question.
"That is quite a tale indeed," Kizashi answered with. "But, what are your intentions? Will you love and protect my daughter until your last breath. I won't just give my daughter to just anyone who asks. I need to hear it from you that you will not hurt my daughter like the Uchia did."
Gaara heard the disdain in Kizashi's voice when he mentioned Sasuke. He himself was not particularly fond of the last Uchia, but he could understand Sasuke's motives up to a point.
"I am not Sasuke and I intend to love, cherish and protect Sakura with everything I can. I love Suna and there will be times that Suna may come before Sakura, but I intend to make her happy for as long I possibly can."
Kizashi nodded, pleased with what he was hearing. "So are you going to ask me or am I going to have to let Sakura ask?"
Gaara smiled at this. "Yes. I will do the asking. That is why i am here."
"So, go ahead and ask," Kizashi said.
Gaara stood up, bowed to Kizashi and asked, "Haruno Kizashi, I, Gaara of the Sand, request your permission to marry your daughter, Haruno Sakura."
Kizashi stood as well and looked Gaara in the eye. "I don't give you my permission to marry my daughter."
Flabbergasted, Gaara didn't know what to say. He had just opened himself up to the man, told him everything that was on his heart and he had rejected his request. No one had openly rejected him before. His heartbeat was rising steadily and he was thinking what his next move would be. He supposed they could elope. No one in his family had done that before, but he didn't mind being the first. He loved Sakura and didn't know if he could be happy without her by his side.
Kizashi saw the look on Gaara's face and started feeling bad for the boy. He decided to put the boy out of his misery and spoke up. "There is nothing to worry about, young man. I approve of you, but I think it is more important that you get my daughter's permission as she is the one you will be marrying. Don't you think?"
Gaara was again dumbfounded. Sakura had tried to warn him about her parents and their eccentricities. "Yes. I suppose that is right. Sakura would have to agree first, but I wanted to do the proper thing and ask you first."
"That is quite all right, my boy. You have done well and I believe that you love my daughter and will take care of her. You have my permission. I just ask that you not keep her a stranger to her own parents. We still love her and would like to see her from time to time."
"I will not keep her a stranger to you. Sakura has permission to come and go from Suna as she pleases and you and your wife are more than welcome to come to Suna anytime you want."
"Well then, my boy, I guess we can shake hands on this," Kizashi said.
Just as Kizashi spoke, both Mebuki and Sakura had entered the room.
Mebuki looked at Sakura with a knowing look. "Welcome to the family Gaara," she said as she walked over to Gaara and gave him a motherly hug.
They spoke together for another couple of hours and then it was time for them to leave. Sakura promised to write her mother when they returned to Suna. She knew that both her mother and Ino would want to get a head start on wedding preparations. In a couple of months she would be Sabuku No Sakura and Gaara would be her husband. It was almost an overwhelming thought, almost.
When they had returned to their room at the inn, Gaara turned to Sakura and gave her a hug. "I'm glad that I could meet your parents. It wasn't as bad as you thought it would be, was it?"
"No. I guess not," She answered. "But, now I'm ready to return to Suna."
"As am I," he told her and then he proceeded to kiss Sakura passionately. "Let's go to bed Sakura."
Author Notes: Well this was supposed to be the Epilogue, but it turned into another chapter. I keep saying the next chapter is going to be the epilogue, but then I keep thinking of things to add to the story. So, I am going to be honest and the next chapter will indeed be the Epilogue. My intentions were to always end with Sakura and Gaara's marriage. The next chapter will be the wedding and it will be the last that I will write for this story. I have two others I am working on and I don't intend to start posting them until some time next year.
I have enjoyed writing this and I am glad that some of you have stuck by me and been patient with me. Big thanks to those who have followed and marked this as their favorite story. I have enjoyed reading all your comments.
For those asking about Matsuri and her punishment, I feel that Matsuri losing the trust of the village and being abandoned by those who knew her well is punishment enough. Gaara no longer has time to spend with her as most of his free time is taken up with Sakura. My original goal was to have Sakura be like a big sister to Matsuri and I think over time that relationship could happen, but for the time being, there will be some distance between them.