Title: Be There To Love Me
Summary: The first time I saw my husband was on our wedding day. The first time we touched was when his lips met mine in a soulless, cold, life-binding kiss. The first time he spoke to me he told me I annoyed him. The first time I felt alive was when he said he loved me. AU SasuSaku
Disclaimer: Nope, Naruto still doesn't belong to me.
Author's Notes: Difficult chapter to write, but I think it was worth it. I hope Temari doesn't seem too out of character, but I'm really afraid she might. I haven't watched the anime in awhile (I read the manga 'cause of the fillers) so I haven't really encountered her character in a bit. So, yeah, tell me if she's awful.
Inspiration music: Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest. Weird, I know.
Beta Reader(s): Josie and the P. Cats
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Be There To Love Me
Chapter Five
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Waiting inside was one very pissed off Kazekage.
Sabaku no Gaara feigned serenity, but the anger and tension surrounding him would not be covered with a simple straight face. His eyes were ablaze with malice, and the second he saw Temari flung carelessly over the shoulder of the ANBU (who I had decided was definitely a fake) his eyes narrowed, nonexistent eyebrows furrowing. He was ready to kill someone.
"Ah, Kazekage-sama, I believe this is yours..." the fake ANBU said, stopping a good five feet away from the Kazekage and letting Temari slip from his shoulder and land on the floor next to him. Gaara made no move even after an unconscious groan slipped from his sister. However, behind him a subtle movement caught my eye. I realized that the Kazekage was not alone when my eyes lit upon Kankuro, who was clenching and unclenching his hands. One would have guessed that the middle child still had his purple face paint on, but the dark circles outlining the bottom of his eyelids were only from lack of sleep. He looked much more like his little brother because of it.
I was expecting Kankuro to say something, but he kept quiet by pursing his lips. I supposed he was waiting for Gaara to speak, but the redhead only sat there, his gaze locked onto the ANBU impostor who had held his sister so roughly. Kimimaro tightened his grip.
The Kazekage kept his glare as the fake ANBU slammed his foot onto the floor as a signal and a door opposite the one we had just come in slid open and two guards entered, each masked and cloaked as Temari's captor was. Both made their way forward and took a place on either side of Gaara and Kankuro. The duo was obviously there to make sure the Kazekage didn't try anything heroic.
"I want my sister." I cringed as those first words slid from Gaara's mouth. I wasn't even the one he was addressing, but I couldn't help but picture the Kazekage pulling out a sword and killing everyone in the room. His face was still as impassive as ever as he let his words hang in the air for a moment. I wished I could strike such fear by simply speaking.
A laugh came from the ANBU impostor before, "In due time, in due time. First, I need what I've asked of you."
Gaara's hand slipped into his robe and I hoped he was pulling out a weapon of some kind. The redhead only withdrew a stack of papers, along with a small scroll. He held them up, letting the masked man before him get a good look at them. Said man reached for them with greed and the Kazekage moved his hand away.
"My sister. Now," Gaara repeated.
The fake ANBU regained his composure and straightened his posture, "Kazekage-sama," he began, putting emphasize on '-sama' as he placed his left foot roughly against Temari's neck. She remained unmoved where she had fallen. "I really wish you'd cooperate..."
Gaara did nothing. Temari's captor did nothing. I saw Kankuro fidget, and thought I caught one of the other guards - the one on the Kazekage's right- shift positions. The blade at my neck pressed in further as the anticipation that weighted the air began taking effect on Kimimaro. I flinched and let out a whine despite myself.
Without glancing at me, the ANBU impostor pointed in my direction, "Two lives are on the line, Kazekage-sama. Obviously your sister means a lot to you, but what of Sakura-kun?"
Gaara's glare intensified as he moved the papers within the faux ANBU's grasp once more. The man took them quickly and glanced at the first few. His foot was removed from Temari's neck and he backed off a few feet. The Kazekage did not move except to flick his head back to his brother standing a few feet behind. Kankuro stepped forward and quickly lifted his sister from the floor. She groaned.
"And what of the other?"
That sentence brought me back to the situation with Hyuga Hinata. Her rescuer had asked the same exact question before-
"One betrayal; one captive. Leave."
"Wait! What about me?" I cried out, lurching forward in Kimimaro's grasp and feeling his knife back off in order to keep me from killing myself. I tasted salt and realized I was crying. "Y-you're not going to leave me here, are you?"
Gaara's gaze shifted to me before he turned, nodding at Kankuro. Kankuro made his way from the room, Temari held like a new bride in his arms.
"Pl-please! I don't want- I don't want to die!" I cried again, the blade at my neck becoming more and more frightening by the second. Gaara began walking from the room. The two men guarding the Kazekage moved after their charge. "Please don't leave me! P-pl-please!" I was sobbing now and the retreating figures were blurry. Kimimaro kept his blade at my throat. "I don't want to-"
My last plead turned into a gasp as I was flung to the floor. I didn't realize what had happened until I looked up to see one of the men assigned to guard the Kazekage attacking my captor. The blade that had threatened my life was blocking the katana aimed for Kimimaro's throat. I could see my blood glinting off it.
I smiled widely when I realized what was going on. The two guards, the ones I figured were here to make sure the Kazekage was no threat, were here to help! They were more than likely Konoha ANBU! They weren't going to leave me! I was going to live! They'd-
My thoughts jumbled as the masked man who had held Temari grabbed my hair with his gloved hand. He hoisted me to a standing position and I felt as if my head was being torn off.
"Let go of her. Now." I turned toward the source of the voice with blurry eyes and found the second of the Konoha ANBU holding a katana, its point directed under the chin of my captor. The man's mask lay on the floor at his feet. My eyes widened when I caught sight of a gray ponytail and glasses. It was the guy I had met in the Uchiha District.
Nothing happened for a few heart wrenching moments before the grip on my hair tightened and I was flung into the arms of the Konoha ANBU, the katana once at the masked man's throat slipping from the ANBU's grip as he caught me.
"Kimimaro!" screamed the gray haired man. His partner parried an attack from the first of the Konoha warriors before hurrying out of the room behind his counterpart. The guard attacking Kimimaro did not hesitate to run after the duo, which left me alone with my savior.
"What the hell were you thinking?" he snapped, turning me around roughly to cut the ropes that bound my hands. Once they were free I brought them quickly to my chest. The feeling of dried blood cracking off my wrists made me want to gag.
"Do you know how awful you sounded? Whining for your life like some pathetic child," continued the guard. My voice abandoned me when I tried to defend myself. The man went on berating me and I could even hear him growling like some angry animal as he removed his mask. Black hair, dark eyes.
It was Sasuke.
He looked angrier than I had ever seen him, with his brow furrowed and an unpleased glint in his eyes, but it was still Sasuke.
The second his mask was fully off I wrapped my arms around my husband's waist and buried my head in his chest, shoulders shaking as I sobbed. The smell of cinnamon was never so wonderful as it was during that second.
He never moved to hug me back, but I didn't mind. I was content to just stand there and drink in the warmth of another human being. I had never been so afraid as I had been when I'd watched the back of the retreating Kazekage. I'd believed in my heart and soul that I was being left for dead, and that feeling was awful.
"Sasuke-kun..." I mumbled, feeling his ANBU cloak dampening from my tears.
"They managed to escape." Sasuke's hands landed on my shoulders and pried me off roughly as the other Konoha ANBU appeared in the doorway through which the two kidnappers had made their escape. His left hand was clenched around a piece of metal. "But I found this."
He was holding a forehead protector with Otogakure's symbol on it; a single musical note.
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Yakushi Kabuto had been a citizen of Konohakagure from his infancy through his fifteenth birthday. At sixteen he was presumed dead after his party had been ambushed crossing the border into the Waterfall Country. He had shown very few skills when it came to combat, and was therefore placed in a small group of people who acted as liaison between countries. Silent and unconcerned to everyone but those extremely close to him, Kabuto had been a perfect choice for Otogakure's spy. He was familiar enough with Konoha and the surrounding country so that slipping in and out was an easy job, but very few people would be able to remember him, let alone place his face or mannerisms.
Or so said Sasuke, as he reported the mission quickly and efficiently to the big browed, bowl cut ravaged, middle aged man sitting in front of him. I discovered that his name was Maito Gai from listening a few paces behind Sasuke.
Upon returning to the Hokage Palace, after a quick medical checkup in which my neck and wrists were treated, we had immediately been sent to see the ANBU that was charged for civilian welfare. For any 'normal' kidnapping (and I use the term normal loosely) falling under the category of civilian welfare would have been the right move, but when it came to the kidnapping of three women who were all related (in one way or another) to some of the most important people in two of the most powerful nations in the world, I couldn't see how civilian welfare could handle the situation. Gai was nice and all, but I just couldn't see how he could help. Plus, he was over emotional in a way that made you feel uneasy and he wouldn't shut up about 'our youthful problems' and how much 'the fire in his soul burned to find the two criminals who had committed such a heinous act.' He wasn't taking notes when Sasuke reported the findings, and I highly doubted that the green clad emotional train wreck would remember any information.
Sasuke's frowning had only grown worse since meeting with Gai, and as of a few minutes ago he had handed the rest of the talking to his teammate, Hatake Kakashi.
Kakashi was one of the most elite in the ANBU force and I had met the white haired man before; he was my ever so uninterested bodyguard that had been assigned to me when I visited Konoha all those weeks ago. It seemed Gai had something personal against the masked Kakashi, although Kakashi ignored the occasional out lashings of his 'sworn enemy' and continued on with the report as fast as he could. I figured he just wanted to get out of there so he could go and read that smutty novel he was holding oh-so tenderly in his hand.
Gaara, standing just to my left, looked on with a sort of bored fascination, as if he was watching something so horrible it was in some way entertaining. Kankuro had left some time ago, lying about having to check on his sister. Gai let him leave and I could hear the sigh of relief when Kankuro made his way to the door. Lucky lucky boy, that one.
"...and the two had escaped," finished Kakashi, "A Sound forehead protector was dropped by Kabuto as he fled." Gai nodded, his titanic eyebrows furrowed.
"Nothing else?" he asked.
"Nothing else." Kakashi repeated firmly.
After listening to the entire mission report I had been able to learn a good deal about the situation. Kabuto had contacted the Kazekage and Sasuke via letters shortly after Temari had been taken. The Kazekage and Uchiha were to meet with Kabuto in an abandoned home in an older district of Konoha. No one had, as of yet, figured out how Kabuto had managed to get into the Palace and plant the letters unnoticed. A pile of dead guards found later cleared that question right up.
As a bargaining device, Kabuto had asked Gaara to gather blueprints and layouts of the Hokage Palace (and the areas surrounding it) in order to retrieve his sister. Sasuke had been asked for any treaty records that the Hokage had agreed to or denied in order to save me. Shortly after Gaara was contacted, the Kazekage had stormed into the main building and insisted on a rescue. I was sure that Sasuke had done no such thing, but the fact that he was here made my heart leap a little. He had helped in my rescue, at least.
After the Kages had argued for some time, a plan was formed. The Kazekage was to take fake layouts to Kabuto, who would take them in exchange for Temari's freedom. While there, Sasuke and Kakashi, after disposing of a few of Kabuto's lackeys and taking their uniforms, would pose as loyal Sound warriors, giving them a chance to retrieve me and hopefully capture the perpetrators.
'It's all very simple', Kakashi ensured Gai, to which I thought, 'Yea, right...'
The main thing that had been under question (and the one that had caused us to be kept here so long) was the subject of Hyugas Hinata and Neji. I had reported that someone named Neji had given something to Kabuto in exchange for Hinata's freedom, to which Gai had immediately responded to by calling Neji in.
Almost an hour later a message from the Hyugas arrived saying that Hinata and Neji had been with Hiashi-sama, their clan leader, the entire time the ordeal was going on, and Neji had certainly done no such thing. I insisted that he had been there and said that Temari could account for it. Gai waved it off and said he'd send the issue to the Hokage. I had a feeling it'd be awhile before we heard about that subject again.
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After what seemed like eternity Gai said that we were free to go. Kakashi left more quickly than any of us, followed by Sasuke and me. Gaara had stayed to talk with Gai. I figured that Gaara was curious to find out why something so important as his sister's kidnapping had possibly fallen under the head of civilian welfare's jurisdiction.
I reached the main building without saying anything to Sasuke. I had tried to start a conversation once or twice, but each time my jaw snapped shut of its own accord. Finally, as we were making our way down the large walkway leading to the Uchiha Section of the Hokage Palace, I became fed up with myself and strengthened my resolve. I could strike conversation with Uchiha Sasuke no problem.
"Thank you for saving me, Sasuke-kun. " I chirped, adding the suffix for the second time. I was amazed at how easily it rolled off my tongue. He continued walking with not so much as a 'hn'.
I frowned and pushed onward, only wishing for a 'you're welcome' or something of the sort. "I really am. I don't want to think about what would've happened if you hadn't saved me. So, thank you..."
Silence was too loud to handle before Sasuke responded. "I wouldn't have if the Kazekage-sama hadn't had his mind set on getting his sister back."
I abruptly stopped walking and stared after my husband as he continued to make his way to the Uchiha Section as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened. There was nothing I could say to that.
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I wanted to begin training.
I had decided the night before, as I lay in bed and listened to Sasuke's steady breathing. I decided that I wanted to show him that I wasn't weak, and I was worth protecting. Maybe I would even protect him someday.
It took sometime for me to fall into an uneasy sleep, and so I awoke more tired than expected and sore from the previous days (mis)adventures. I took a moment to gain my bearings and the second I did I was reminded of the promise I had made myself. With a determined look on my face I set out to find Temari. She had begun training, she could keep up with her brothers, and I wanted to do the same.
When I found her she was dressed in a loose fitting kimono. It was the first time I had seen her dressed as a woman, and I had to admit that she was quite pretty. Not delicate in the least, but pretty.
I knelt beside Temari's futon as she began mulling through a large chest placed at the end of it. She was getting ready to leave Konohagakure and head back to the Wind Country. I offered to help her pack, but she declined as she pulled out a heavy, bulky package and placed it on top of the wooden chest.
Inside were the items she had yet to inventory. I wondered why she hadn't just asked some of the servants to do it, but a moment later I realized, with wide-eyed fascination, that most of the contents were weapons of one kind or another. When she handled them, it was like they were just a temporary appendage of her own body. She twirled one of her throwing knives -a kunai, she said it was- nonchalantly around her index finger as she explained that Gaara had decided it would be safer if she returned to Suna. Her brother was protective of her, that was easy enough to tell, and she also seemed to think it was in her best interest to leave. I asked her the reason why her brother had insisted that Suna would be safer, and her kunai abruptly stopped spinning as she cast me an odd sort of 'what-rock-did-you-just-crawl-out-from-under' look.
"Sakura, you do know why I did all this?" she asked, placing the kunai beside the package from whence it had come.
I nodded. It was so that she could train with her brothers without any prejudice because of her sex, of course. I assured her that I understood that, and I'd be willing to go through the exact same thing if I had to.
She laughed at this and shook her head, "Look, what I did, the 'cross dressing', was because I wanted to train with Kankuro and Gaara, but that's not the only reason. Do you realize how much more freedom men have?"
Truthfully I'd never thought about it before.
"More than we girls have, and that's for damn sure," she said, answering her own question, "And do you know what would happen to me if I stuck around here? I'd be killed because those worthless Council bastards wouldn't be able to stand the fact that a woman was a threat. I'm protected in Suna because I'm the Kazekage's sister. Here, I'm just your average girl who'd eventually have to pay for her crimes."
My eyes widened a wave of sorrow flooded over me as Temari's words sunk in. For women in this country, freedom was a crime. "But, why then? Why'd you do it if you were risking everything?"
She sighed deeply and answered softly, "I think I wanted to prove to myself that I was worth it, if that makes any sense."
It made more since to me than she realized. "Look, Sakura, if your resolve is set, then I can't stop you. I was the same. Just promise me you won't get yourself killed. If one whiff of this gets to the Hokage and his council-especially his council- than it's all over."
I nodded, fear creeping up behind my ambition. "Will you train me then?" I asked quickly, watching as she slipped three of her spiked fans into her loosely tied obi. I guessed she did so to allow easy access to her weapons in case of an unexpected fight.
"I'm leaving," she reminded me, "You'll have to find someone else, but you can rest assured that your secret's safe."
"Who else?" Temari was silent as she pondered over my question.
"Have you ever heard of the Legendary Sucker?"
I shook my head no and she elaborated. "The Legendary Sucker, Tsunade, is a woman that grew up in Konoha; your village. She was the first noblewoman to admit openly to training in any fighting style, and from what I've heard she's pretty damn good too. She stayed in Suna once, but that was only for a few days. From what I understand, she's always traveling around, jumping town whenever she feels like and leaving without any explanation. Sometimes she's even been denied entrance into a country for one reason or another. It's 'cause they're afraid of her."
I mumbled her name and it shook me to the bone when I thought of all the possibilities open to me with someone like Tsunade around to help me. "Do you know when she'll be in Konoha next?" I asked.
"It could be a months, it could be years, it could even be decades before she comes around. If you find her you're lucky, but that's a long shot."
"Then what do I do?" I whined despite myself.
She frowned at my whine and answered, "You can either wait for her or find someone else to help you." She flicked her head back and I saw that Gaara and Kankuro were waiting patiently at the door. The rest of Temari's bags (the ones without any dangerous objects, I presumed) were being carried by a few servants waiting patiently behind the Kazekage and his brother. "Someone you can trust with your life."
I stood quickly and bowed, hoping that Temari realized how thankful I was. The blond bowed also and then walked toward the door, her weapons bag in hand. She turned just before she left and smiled cockily. "Hope you find who you're looking for. And just to warn you, your life is about to be turned upside down."
And then she was gone.
I stood alone for a few minutes, gazing after the warrior woman with a sad frown. She had helped. A lot. But still, if what she said was true, I might be dead before Tsunade showed up, and I could only think of Sasuke when it came to the man department.
I left Temari's abandoned room a few minutes later and gasped when someone came bowling into me. "Oh, damn it, I'm sorry Sakura-chan!" It was Naruto.
I opened my mouth to assure him everything was alright, but Naruto had already hurried past me. "I'll make it up to you later!" he called back with a wave.
I watched as the blond rushed away from me, bright orange kimono opened sloppily to reveal dark blue pants and a tattooed stomach. The ugly looking rice ball (more like rice wad) he had been holding was quickly stuffed into his mouth, crumbling apart to leave a little rice trail behind him as he chewed. He was obviously in a hurry to get somewhere extremely important.
A smirk tickled my lips and an idea struck me, just as Naruto was fumbling with his sash belt and trying to close his kimono. He was failing miserably.
He said he would make it up to me later, and I'd hold him to that promise. That blond was the someone who was going to help me.
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End notes: Yes, yes, I realize Sakura sounds obnoxious during the whole 'rescue' scene, but she's supposed to. Her personality is taken from her beginning with Team 7 where she was regrettably annoying and cry babyish. No worries, she'll get better. Just like she did in the show :D
Also, this chapter was probably confusing to read. I tried my best to write it in a way that readers could understand it, but if you don't feel free to email me or contact me through a review!
Thanks so much for reading! Hope you enjoyed Chapter Five of Be There To Love Me! Now review! ;P