I was struck with a thought while I rewrote this… Are there even movies in the Naruto universe?

Spoilers for the movie "The Reaping"

Should Tell Her?

By Socially Suicidal

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song Should I Tell Her. I own Arina and this story, respectively.

Chapter Four: The Reaping

Naruto bounded into the living room just as Arina and Temari had finished cleaning up, "Arina! I got the movie. Hey, you really freaked me out, showing up in my mind like that."

Sakura was the only one that looked confused, but Kankuro cut in before she voiced it, "Naruto, where were you? I thought I lost you…" the puppet master trailed off, earning glowers from both of his siblings. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. Hey, it wasn't like he elected to play tour guide to the blonde jinchuuriki. It was his day off, damn it.

The whiskered shinobi shrugged as he tossed something to the white-eyed female who stood leaned against the couch behind Sakura. "I went off on my own, you weren't much help figuring this place out, ya know." Kankuro just shrugged uncaringly.

Sakura the puppet master to her left a playful glare and he smirked in reply, "You missed dinner, Naruto." Inner Sakura made a comment about the blonde causing all sorts of trouble in Suna left unsupervised and the medic entirely agreed, holding back the scolding she had in store for Kankuro's irresponsibility.

Arina glided around the furniture and squatted in front of the TV, "I asked him to pick me up a movie," she told them over her shoulder. Naruto nodded, as if affirmation was needed, as he swung himself into a seat across from Kankuro's, on the right side of the couch.

The Kazekage watched silently as Sakura's plump, petal shaped lips formed a circular shape in understanding and he swallowed thickly, preparing to make his exit.

'And where do you think you're going,' Arina's sing-song voice entered his mind, causing him to visibly cringe. Thankfully (or was it, really) his older brother had engaged both Konoha ninja in conversation and he was sure neither of them had noticed his blanched expression.

'Upstairs,' was his snapped reply as he pushed himself off of the wall.

Arina sighed almost inaudibly from her spot in front of the TV, pausing in her actions of putting the DVD in the player, 'I can't let you do that. You need to be more social… You'll forgive me for having to do this, right, Gaara dear…?'

The odd purr in her voice raised the maroon hairs under his armor on his neck. 'You won't…' He was wrong, however, as she proved she would as he felt his legs moving stiffly in the direction of the couch on their own accord. 'You're shitting me, take this off of me immediately.'

Arina leaned forward, holding the hand-sign necessary for her mind take-over technique as she hunched over slightly to remain unnoticed. Her lip lifted in a half smile as Gaara's body was forcibly placed on the couch and only then did she release her seal.

'Damn it to hell.' His new predicament irritated him and he attempted not to let his growing ire settle on his face. The redhead was now stiffly seated not a foot to the right of the roseate haired female, who turned her head and beamed at him, before turning her attention to Temari, who had settled on the floor leaning on Kankuro's chair. "What kind of movie is it?"

"Horror," Temari replied nonchalantly, grabbing a pillow from under a disgruntled Kankuro's head and placing it behind her back. Sakura's brow twitched as she swallowed audibly, earning her the attention of the fuming Kazekage seated next to her. After the redhead had been manipulated into a sitting position - with not even an attempt at resistance from his resident demon, he mused darkly- he found that he couldn't move. This time, he couldn't blame the force of Arina's mind technique.

Arina sat down on the left side of Sakura and the Konoha medic scooted over to allow her more room, accidently brushing against Gaara in the process. He could now feel her warmth radiating off of her creamy skin as she sat what must have been a mere three inches from his own person.

"So," Kankuro grunted as he shifted to find comfort without the pillow that had been so viciously stolen from him, "What horror movie is it?"

"The Reaping," Arina replied. It was biblical, or paranormal depending on how it was viewed, horror flick – being shinobi, it was hard to find a horror movie that could successfully scare the bejeebus out of them. The blood and gore on display in usual horror movies were child's play to ninja of their caliber.

Sakura quietly unfolded her legs from underneath them, opting to pull her knees to her chest and wrap her arms around them, "May I see the box, Tem?"

"Sure," Temari replied, reaching over and handing the box to her friend.

On the cover were the large words written in an eerie font, "What Hath God Wrought?" The whole picture was in orange, red, and black shades, giving the picture a damned, apocalyptic, hell like feel. There was a river curving from the right side into the middle then back to the right, in a glowing scarlet shade. A church stood in the left, far off distance of the picture. Fire-like clouds plagued the higher skies, and black, small birds in large quantities infested over the blackened land.

The girl shivered, looking over the picture, and then bravely moved her eyes over the summary.

"The atheistic Katherine Winter is a former Catholic missionary that lost her faith in God after losing her daughter and her husband in Sudan, sacrificed by the locals that blamed them for the long drought. Presently she investigates religious phenomena with the intent of debunking them, finding a scientific cause for the event. She is invited to go to the small town of Haven, in Louisiana, where the river turned into blood after the death of a boy. After her arrival, each of one of the ten biblical plagues happens in the location dazing Katherine, who discloses the evil secret of the dwellers."

Gaara read the box quickly from her side, than looked over to see the kunoichi's reaction as she reread the summary. Her eyes looked nervous as she looked up at the screen, as if expecting something to jump out and grab her- like he would let it - if there was something, which was not noted for obvious reasons. She had missed the very beginning of the movie and was now watching as a woman, the main character no doubt, stood in front of a screen, seemingly explaining something.

Now the redhead wasn't paying attention; he was too busy being pestered by the demon that had successfully haunted him his entire waking existence.

'Boy, I can smell her fear.' Shukaku said slowly, shifting his massive body apprehensively.

Gaara didn't deign his demon with a response, still irritated by its lack of action when Arina had manipulated his body, focusing idly on some spot on the far off wall.

The Ichibi growled, never one to be ignored, and the Kazekage closed his eyes as his head was met with a painful pang, 'Do not ignore me. Do something about this.'

'What could I possibly do? She is a shinobi, she will be fine.'

'Regardless, her fear causes me anxiety.'

Gaara heaved a heavy inward sigh, but was distracted before he formed a reply.

Sakura stiffened rigidly beside him and his kohl rimmed eyes focused back to the screen, where he could see Katherine, the main character, walking through a swamp, randomly snapping photos of wildlife. She came to a tree with a hole in it which had fungi growing up the side, ready to take a picture, when a girl with short blond hair of about twelve jumped out of the hole in the tree.

Anticipating something like that, Gaara wasn't at all surprised.

Sakura, on the other hand, was not anticipating it.

The alarmed kunoichi jumped and clung onto his arm, burying her face in his shoulder. Her whole body was turned in his direction as she huddled against him in her frightened state. He stiffened immediately, encountering something he had not managed to anticipate. The sand in his gourd shifted against the wall in accordance to his surprise, but settled upon Shukaku's will.

Stunned, Gaara's thoughts sputtered, 'She… she's touching me.'

'Instincts, boy,' murmured Shukaku sagely in response to his vessel's panic.

Gaara hesitantly reached his hand onto her shoulder, lowering his face next to where her hair draped onto his shoulder, "The part is over… you can look up now." '…But please don't.' Gaara knew he was enjoying the contact, probably too much, a possibly he'd ponder later on in the night when his thoughts made sense and there wasn't a mass of warm, soft flesh pressed intimately against his arm.

The pink haired girl's head snapped up, her normally cream colored face flushing crimson. She pulled herself off of the Kazekage, "I'm sorry," she kept mumbling as she straightened herself out.

Kankuro gave a chuckle at her expense, to which she responded childishly by poking her small pink tongue at him.

Her face still burning, Sakura set her attentions back to the film. For the split second she wasn't terrified or mortified, she enjoyed being closer to him than most people have. Gaara was warm but he couldn't have been human temperature, more like room temperature. His arm was lean, but hard and toned. His scent was strongly brisk, like she would have imagined, but she couldn't pinpoint it exactly. She thought he smelled like the night air of Suna; crisp and potent.

'Our future mate has to touch us sometime, I'd advise you to become used to it, boy.' Shukaku commented evenly, shuffling his body into a laying position.

'She is not yours nor will she ever be,' Gaara replied with a snarl, resisting the urge to grasp at his head as Shukaku responded with a threatening pang pain.

'You make me repeat myself. Whatever is yours also belongs to me. We are one, boy. Your preference is inconsequential to the matter.'

'I will not deliver her to a demon,' the Kazekage objected brazenly.

'That, boy, is a promise you will be unable to keep. For you are a jinchuuriki, a demon, deny it all you desire. However, when she is yours, she is inevitably mine as well.' Shukaku stated; his voice calm unlike that of the fuming Kage.

Gaara put his words under consideration before responding. The redhead already knew he was being selfish by even entertaining thoughts of her company.

Soon, the tankui demon became increasingly bored with his vessel's musings and laid its massive head down on its paws, allowing a fantasy to consume his vessel's mind.

Gaara was at his desk in his office, like any other day… Though he knew what Shukaku was doing. He prepared himself to lose all control when the pink haired medic walked through the door, which she surely would soon. He was completely prepared to be trapped within his mind as his subconscious body took over. Almost directly after he had completed the preparation of himself, there came a knock on his door.

"Come in," Gaara stated, stiffening his shoulders.

The door opened and as sure as his hair was red, the pink haired medic sauntered in.

"Konnichiwa, Gaara." Sakura greeted the Kazekage, bowing in respect. Gaara grunted and she rose from her bow, smiling of course. Gaara noticed her smile, and whole expression, was different, though he couldn't pinpoint in what aspect the distinction was.

Her smile contained its normal sincere warmth and strange happiness in his presence- her pale pink lips curved upward sweetly. Her eyes lacked none of their kindness or of their determination or steadfastness- her jade eyes polished in glittery emotion.

There was something… strange, though, about the curve of her lips and gleam of her eyes. There seemed to be another emotion in her eyes, another reason her smile was placed on her face.

It had to do with some emotion he couldn't place, a human emotion in which he was very unfamiliar with in personal experience.

The medic strolled up to his desk, sliding up and sitting on the corner nearest him. She crossed her long milky legs, placing her elbow on her knee and resting her chin in her hand. "I start teaching a class today and I was wondering if you could give me your opinion on one of my lessons, Gaara." The way his name rolled off her tongue made his insides shudder.

The, now intently curious, Kazekage grunted his acceptance. The girl's smile was now filled with more of that puzzling something that he couldn't place before.

"It's a lesson of how the body reacts under immense amounts of stress, pressure, or anxiety." She explained, her face lowering to his level.

Sparkling jade eyes stared intently into that of impassive sea foam green. Her face was so close to his that her warm breath splayed onto his mouth and chin. As she leaned closer, her nose brushed against his with every breath she took. He was so close to her, his whole body ached to touch her, thoughts that she wasn't really there gone from his mind. "How the body seems to act on its own accord." She whispered, sending more warm breath to blow against his lips.

The pink haired girl's hand left from under her chin and rested on his neck, and his whole neck suddenly felt warmth wash over it. "How the blood pressure rises," she whispered again, tilting her head slightly, allowing her face closer.

Soft skin of her cheek brushed against his, her lips still in front of his. Jade eyes watched carefully now slightly panicked sea foam green. He felt her finger on his neck run gently from his hairline to the collar of his robes and back up again in a continuous motion, and his skin was now hot. The thumping from his chest filled his head, "Or how the pulse rises."

The Kazekage was indeed feeling the things she listed, though they were not real. Shukaku was messing with his senses, the things he thought he was feeling mild to the real thing…

"How do you think this lesson will go on with the class, Gaara?" As her lips moved to form his name, he felt them brush against his and suddenly, she was gone.

Gaara was jolted back to reality, and he already missed the feel of her warm skin and lips, even though the feeling was not real. But, the thing was, it felt so real. So painfully, devastatingly, terribly real!

As suspense in the movie he was now blatantly ignoring (as he was mulling about his fantasy in his head) built, he saw out of the corner of his eye Sakura's fist clenching. Redirecting his eyes, he saw Katherine walking into a poorly kept wooden house. The suspenseful music increased as she walked around a kitchen area and finally walked into a walk in pantry. Blood droplets were on the floor, and she pushed open a secret passage in the pantry, revealing a cross symbol with a hook at the bottom, curving up right into a three fourths circle.

She suddenly turned around and there was the blond girl, with piercing blue eyes, in an orange dress. She talked to her in hushed tones, the girl not responding.

Sakura watched as the two walked onto the porch of the house, but was frightened, again, as Katherine touched her blood and there was a flashback scene. The Medic jumped, and Gaara thought she was going to jump to him once more and he readied himself.

She jumped again as the screen returned to the porch and Lauren, the girl, was gone.

Katherine walked into the house and Sakura gasped as someone snuck up on Katherine. They spoke in hushed tones for a moment, until the woman was jumped on by Lauren. She jumped and unconsciously leaned towards Gaara as the woman and Lauren wrestled.

Gaara eyed her startled face, preparing his arms, at his sides, to catch her if or when she pounced on him. He was ready and would not be nervous or too surprised by her touch again. The redhead was ready to feel her warm skin and soft body for a second time.

Sakura gasped slightly as the dead boy was revealed. He was puke green, his mouth was wide open and his eyes wide. Sakura, in her time as a medic, had seen such things so wasn't too surprised. Gaara found himself relieved and a little disappointed in that fact.

The redhead did a double take on his own thoughts. He wanted her to be afraid? That wasn't right, and he knew it. What he really wanted was for her to willingly touch him again, but in order for that to happen she had to be frightened. Ironic, really, he wanted her to touch him because no one ever willingly touched him because they were afraid. Yet he wanted her to be afraid so she would touch him. His life was just a ball of irony.

By the time Gaara set his focus on the TV from mulling in his thoughts, Katherine was back in the poor kept house, descending down some dark steps. She entered an eerie room; it looked like a torture chamber. He heard Sakura suck in breath as the music intensified going over the weapons and torture methods. The woman from before sat there, holding a small gun. She shot it into her mouth, killing herself, and Sakura squeaked, turning and pressing her face into his shoulder briefly.

The redhead's eyes flickered to the pink head against his shoulder. He could feel the details of her face pressed against his arm… the arch of her nose, the imprint of her eyes, the softness of her lips even through his shirt… then she pulled herself off of him, mumbling an incredibly sheepish "sorry" as she straightened herself out.

Lauren descended the steps and Katherine hid under them. Blood oozed on the floor. Katherine's radio went off, alerting Lauren of her presence. She was then distracted by police sirens.

Gaara looked at Sakura who was biting her lip as Katherine opened the front door, revealing the outside flooding with locusts. Lauren stood in the middle of the front yard, amidst the bugs. One of the men cocked his gun, and the locusts attacked.

The people writhed as the locusts attacked and Katherine ran back into the house, running from the bugs. Her partner ran from the house, taking shelter in a graveyard crypt. The walls were made of skulls, and, shining small light around, hanging dead bodies of children were suddenly revealed. Sakura yelped, all but throwing herself on Gaara's lap, pressing the side of her face in his chest and keeping one eye on the TV screen.

Gaara tensed, but prided himself on his lack of reaction – unlike the previous time she had thrown herself at him (Shukaku gave a throaty chuckle at that particular thought). He placed his right hand on the small of her back and reached his left to her shoulder. The kunoichi had her calves against his thigh, kneeling almost on his lap.

Shukaku offered an approval, 'Much better.'Gaara ignored the demon's comment and focused his attentions on the girl holding onto him.

The pink haired girl knew the part that was startled her was over, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of the redhead. He was extremely comfortable for her tired body to rest itself on. The day at the hospital had worn her out more than she made known to her friends.

The fatigue hit her at its full force, hard and fast; she hadn't realized it was as strong as it was, which quite frankly, embarrassed and enraged her a little. She was the apprentice of the Slug Princess, damn it! Of all people, Sakura should have been in tune with her own bodily needs. Gaara wasn't helping the matter, either. He hadn't pushed her off of him, but in fact shifted and allowed her more comfort. The pinkette felt her already heavy lids being pulled down by the gravity of her fatigue.

Gaara heard the girl's breathing steady, and her body became slightly limper. He looked down at the side of her face visible to him, for the left side was pressed against his chest, and sure enough, her eyes were closed. Gaara shifted her again just slightly, gently making sure she didn't wake, so she was more comfortable against him.

'I'm impressed with you, boy… and a little proud.'

'Well doesn't that just warm my heart…' Gaara retorted sarcastically.

Shukaku dismissed that comment, 'She trusts us enough to cling to us when she was frightened and then to fully let her guard down enough to relax herself into sleep, boy. That not only proves that she is not afraid of us, which we have established, but she is fond of us. So you must have donesomethingcorrectly.'

Gaara blinked, surprised, at the logical words of the demon, 'Well, I guess so. But I lack understanding regardless, she didn't look so tired before.'

'Hm…' Shukaku hummed in deliberating, pausing for a moment, 'It seems our mate tired her chakra out today at the hospital.'

The Kazekage grunted in reply, not liking the idea at all, but silenced his thoughts from becoming even more selfish. She was strong, he knew from Naruto's ramblings and Shukaku's acceptance of her, so he had no reason to be even the slightest bit upset. Even through the logic of his thoughts, he couldn't help the nagging thought in the back of his head. This emotion was unfamiliar to him, like many others, and he didn't understand it in the slightest.

Arina rolled her eyes at the far off distance in the redhead's eyes. The pink haired girl slept soundly against his chest, huddled against his side while his left hand on her shoulder absentmindedly slid through the ends of her hair. She smiled at the scene before her, and was disappointed to have to put it to an end. She signaled Gaara to wake her, for the movie was almost ended.

He caught Arina's signal, and shifted the girl in his arms. The Kazekage hadn't realized the movie was over, being otherwise occupied with his musings, as he was wont to do these days. The redhead was cautious about waking Sakura. He decided on the method her used when she first was frightened. He lowered his face to her ear, shaking her shoulder gently with his left arm.

Sakura felt someone shaking her very gently, so gently she thought it was a dream, disturbing her from her comfortable sleep. She lazily blinked open her eyes. The hand on her shoulder stopped moving; and regaining her senses, she noticed for the first time breath at her ear.

"It is almost over…." The voice said from her ear. Emerald eyes widened with realization as she recognized the voice. Did she seriously fall asleep on the Sabaku no Gaara? Moreover, he allowed her to?

The, still admittedly drowsy, girl sprang herself off him, only to be pulled back to his chest, by his hands that he hadn't moved from her.

'Shukaku, I should have known, she doesn't want me touching her!' Gaara shouted angrily in his head.

'Calm down, boy!' Shukaku barked in response.

As Gaara loosened his arms from her, Sakura sat up, though still pressed against his side. Gaara still had one arm around her waist but his right hand had slid to her left shoulder. "S-sorry," She mumbled quietly.

The redhead shook his head slightly, "It is fine."

Emerald eyes peeked to the side, to the hand on her shoulder then to the hand on her waist, staring there the longest, finally landing on his impassive face. His dark-rimmed eyes flickered down, meeting hers with his stony expression fully intact, for just about the longest three seconds she had ever experienced in her life. Soon after, as the credits began rolling on the screen, unnoticed by Sakura, his arms around her loosened before letting go all together.

After staying still against his side for a second after her release, the pink haired girl sat up straight. Everyone got up and stretched, besides the medic, who stretched on the couch, and the Kazekage, who sat motionless next to her.

Go forth and Review.