I do not own the Naruto, for if I did, I would be a rich guy walking around with money by the pound; I would have also made Sakura and Gaara hook up.
Dark Attractions
Summary: Meet Sakura, a hyper, popular, and crazy girl who is hung up on winning the affection of one person: Sasuke. But to do this, she must be anything but herself. She tries to act cool, and relaxed, almost seeming like she has no feelings. Apparently, this is the kind of girl Sasuke likes, and after years of un-fulfilled dreams about him, she is finally asked out. Happy at first, she takes her time getting to know him, and as much as she hates to admit it, she doesn't like that fact that Sasuke likes this "false Sakura". That is, until a new boy comes into school, and she can't help but feel drawn to him and his mysterious past. As she later learns, this boy is just like her. Hiding who he really is. Will these two be able to cope through things, and accept their relationship? And will Sakura be able to accept this guy for who he really is?
Pairing: SakuraxGaara
Italic- Inner Sakura
Bold- Sakura's Debating
Chapter 10: A Drastic Change…
"Sakura, I know you can do better than that." "I'm only a beginner! Give me a break!" "There will be no breaks until you beat this level; for heavens sakes this is the easiest challenge we have." Whining, she glared at him. "This. Is. Only. My. First. Damn. Day!" Her arms waving on top of her, she stomped her foot onto the ground. "Um… Also. I have a question." "Shoot." He said, looking at her with no emotion showing at all. Blinking, she continued.
"Well. Um…" Flexing her hands in front of her, she continued. "How did you get such… High technology?" "I think you know the answer to that, Sakura." He replied. "Well gee! You're no help. Hmph." "Just get back to work, Sakura. The sooner you finish this level the more we can get done." "Fine, fine!" "And for once in your life, use my name. You're shouting is getting quite annoying as well, might I add."
"Fine! Orochimaru? Happy?" She yelled back at him. Turning around, she continued with her training. Jumping from one tree to the other, she remained her balance, trying to get to the end of the game before time ran out; you see, this was a virtual world. Right now, she was in the setting of a forest; her goal was to reach the end of it in five minutes flat, which would prove difficult considering how long the whole pathway was.
She was to jump from tree to tree as fast as she could, keep her balance, and stay at the highest speed; she had failed this level at least twenty times, and no progress seemed to have been made. Well… Maybe a little progress was made, but overall, the only improvement she had shown was by the sudden natural ability to flex her muscles easily, doing simple flips and landing from branch to branch, not to mention she didn't fall off the trees this time.
She was staying at a nice, reasonable pace; continuing on, she smiled as she saw the end of the forest; in front of her eyes lay a little space between crooked branches that formed a small circle; she was going to have to jump to reach the very end. Looking at her watch, the time read 10 Seconds. Quickening her pace, her feet thumping behind her, as the small circle seemed to get bigger and bigger; finally, seeing it in front of her, she dived, her feet floating behind her. The moment she thumped to the ground, the time read zero; she had made it at exact timing.
The man, sitting in the huge room, began to tap his pen on the table he was sitting on, papers scattered in front of him everywhere. Her abilities are quite promising. He thought, smirking. Finally, walking to the programmer on the left of him, he tapped a few buttons, making the whole scenery disappear. Sakura, crouching with one foot in front and one behind, with both palms laid flat in front of her, began to pant, taking in deep breaths, gasping in for more air. She had never ran this fast in her entire life! "It seems that you're slightly improving, Sakura."
Taking in one big breath, she replied. "How much of this do I have to do?" She drowsily said. He chuckled in response. "Sakura, this is only the beginning. I have much more to teach you; right now, you aren't even at the Genin level." "Genin… What?" She breathlessly said. Still wheezing in for more air, he answered at her questions. "We categorize people by the status that they are at; by labeling them with titles, we are able to find our strongest and weakest members easily; also, this insures us that we do not mix high level missions with low level thieves." "O…kay. So how many titles are there?"
"Well, right now, you are at the Academic level; you are still being taught and trained. After completing a test, you then become a Genin. The title after that is Chuunin, then Jounin, as well as a Special Jounin. Now, the last title is given to the strongest person in the whole organization. In this case, there are two people with this title." "Who are these two people?" He grinned. "Well, I'm one of them. I've been given the title "Hokage" meaning that I am to be given the highest respect. The other person who has received such a title is someone I can't mention to you, yet. In fact, most people who work here have never seen his face. As for me, I see him everyday." Surprise evident in her eyes, she stared Orochimaru up and down. This guy is one of the top dogs? Who would have thought that such a freaky guy with no fashion sense could be so strong. That's my hint not to mess with him. He's your teacher; I'm sure he won't do anything to you. Yeah, well my "teacher" isn't exactly normal if you haven't noticed. His eyes… They look they're going to pop out of their sockets! No one' s normal these days; I mean, take me for an example. You realize that by saying you're not normal, you're implying that I'm not normal either? Of course I know that, silly! You and me are the same person!
"…train again in two hours." Snapping out of her thoughts, she looked up at him. "Huh?" "I said, that we are to train again in two hours." Growling, she crossed her arms and looked away from him. "Okay…" She sighed. Getting up from the floor, she followed him out of the room, shutting the lights and closing the door behind her. Then, walking to the same room she slept in before, she collapsed, letting herself doze off. You see, she hadn't really adapted to the idea yet of being a thief; in fact, she was against the whole thing. She wasn't the type of person to be a criminal; she was the type of person who appeared to be a goody-goody in another person's eyes. Of course, in truth, she was very wild.
Being a goody-goody was the act she had been forced to put on all her life; it all started when her mother got a divorce. She could still clearly remember that day, as her mother yelled, punishing Sakura for the poor effort she had been putting into her schoolwork. Only being in first grade at that time, she completely changed when she hit second grade. Her grades shot up, and she was the dream student every child wished of being.
Her childish tricks had disappeared, and she had separated herself from most people, not getting many friends in the process. She was ashamed of the break up her parents had with each other, and now worked her best to hide this factor. Who would think that such a perfect girl would ever have such a messed up family?
People would start to think good of her and her mother, as well as her father; of course, in truth, she really didn't have a father anymore. Her dad never really liked Sakura, and had abandoned his wife, as well as his only child. Slamming the door behind him, he was to never been seen again. Of course, the blame as to why her father left was put on her, and from that moment on, she had taken beatings from her mother. But now that she stood as the perfect child, her mother showed kindness, leaving her alone in the small world of solitude that she lived in. She had never questioned her, at least on most matters, and actually seemed to love Sakura quite a lot. But she still didn't believe it.
Her mother was putting on an act; that had to be the reason. Zoning off, but still keeping herself in reality somewhat, her thoughts began to drift off to a certain someone. "Gaara…" She whispered. It seemed like everyone was always going, leaving her. She had already lost all her friends because of that reason, and felt alone. But, ever since Gaara came along, her life seemed to improve. Then, he too, leaving, her life turned grim… Once again. Was she annoying? Was there something wrong with her? There had to be some reason why this always seemed to happen. Getting interrupted from her thoughts, Orochimaru opened the door and said her name. "Sakura." He stated. "Hai?"
"While you were training, I watched you, and came up with an idea that I think just might work. It seems that this method of training won't work that well on you. So, to speed up your process, I have a suggestion." "And that would be…?" "Even though it might seem early, I'm sending you out for a mediocre mission. One that's simple; I think you'll improve by experience." "You're kidding me, right? I barely know anything!" She yelled. He rolled his eyes. "I know that, but still. I promise to you that this is a very simple mission."
"Fine, then! What is this mission, exactly?" She whined. "You're going to break into a jewelry shop and take a few things. That's all. There's only one person that works there for the night shift, so this shouldn't be too hard for you. I'll provide you with the proper equipment; during your mission, feel free to test things out and see what works best for you." She glared at the man in front of her. "If I get arrested, I swear I'm going to kill you the moment I get out of jail." "I'll be watching you from afar, so the possibility of that happening is zero." Groaning, she obliged. "Alright, then. What time am I to do this?" "12 o'clock."
"Sakura, you're putting that on the wrong way." "I don't care! Just help me, damn it! How the hell do you put this thing on?" "Well, you do have the pants and shirt on the right way, but you put the extra supply pockets in the wrong places." "Then help me, Sherlock." "Why are you so disrespectful?" "Because I can be." Answered Sakura. "Children these days have such big ego's." Re-arranging the strap-on pockets, he inserted supplies into the pockets and then stepped back.
"You're ready." "Finally." Remaining calm, he lightly glared at her. Then, making her follow him, they exited the building. Giving her the address of the shop, he told her what to do. Nodding, understanding it, she ran off. Walking in the opposite direction she was going, Orochimaru turned around and soon disappeared into the crowd.
"Okay… So, I take a left, and then a right." Following the directions Orochimaru gave her, she headed off to her destination. After walking a few blocks, she finally found the shop. Walking up to it, and then looking to her right, and then left, she entered the shop; she was going to do a forward approach.
Feeling for the rope she had on her belt, she released it from it's binding, and placed it on her arm. Walking into the shop, meeting the eyes of the woman, she walked up to the counter and did the job as quickly as she could. Walking behind the counter, much to the woman's dismay, she tied her arms and legs together, despite her struggling.
Though Sakura may appear as a weakling at first sight, she was actually somewhat strong. Though she did have difficulties with the struggling woman in front of her, who, indeed, was stronger then her, she managed to pull it off. Tying the rope on her wrists as tightly as she could, she placed a blindfold over her eyes, and smiled, satisfied. Panic could be heard from the woman, as she continued to struggle, though it was pointless.
Smirking, Sakura went outside and replaced the "Open" sign with the "Closed" sign. Then, shutting the lights off, she grabbed for one of her gadgets: the flashlight. Taking it from one of her pockets, she clicked the button, making the light appear. Walking behind the counter, a few inches away from the woman, she picked at the locks. Apparently, all the small, see-through glass cabinets had locks on them, not allowing anyone without the key to open them. But, to her delight, Sakura had been taught how to pick locks. She wasn't exactly sure if she would be able to unlock these, seeming that she had very little experience, but she could try, right? Sticking the paperclip in the key whole, she began to toss it and turn it inside, but no avail. So, then, she would just have to break the glass, right?
Looking in her supplies, she stared in surprise as she found the perfect thing; a hammer! But… Why did she have a hammer? Since when do thieves go around carrying hammers? She had no idea. Maybe Orochimaru put it in there, just in case; smart thinking. Taking the hammer, and slamming it onto the glass, she repeated the same thing over and over, slamming the hammer onto the hard glass before it finally shattered.
Avoiding any sharp edges, so that she would not get cut, she grabbed a few of the diamonds and rings that she found appealing. Stuffing them into her pocket, she turned around, and prepared to take the back exit… That is, until she heard something. Holding her breath, and looking at the front entrance, her eyes caught a moving figure.
Grunting, the boy walked into the shop. Quickly turning off her flashlight, trying to keep herself hidden, she began to crawl, slowly going towards the back exit… Only to have the figure follow her through the darkness; how could they see her, anyway? It was pitch black. "Caught ya." Sakura gasped. That voice sounded… Familiar? Clicking on the flashlight once again, and moving the ray of light to the person's face, her expression became utterly shocked. "N-N-Naruto?" She shrieked. "Sakura…?" He asked, dumbstruck. "What the hell are you doing here?" They both said at the same time.
And there we have chapter nine. CHA! Anyway, I finally updated. Sorry for the long hold-up. Anyway, I'd like to say that there is one person reviewing, who, so far, has been completely right on guesses. Keep it up! Anyway, I hope everyone continues to guess. It's fun to see what people think. Anyway, review! And tell me what you think of this chapter as well…! And, like I always say, please join my GaaraxSakura fanlisting.