THANKS! to A Demon's Flower for taking the time to polish my work.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
"Ga-ra!" she calls. "We're waiting Ga-ra!"
Gaara finishes hammering an anchor bolt into the wooden sill plate. He stands up and takes a deep breath. Usually she summons him two or three times a day, but this is the fourth time just this morning. He just doesn't know what the hell her problem is. Lately she's been ordering him to do menial tasks such as moving her sunglasses off her face or adjusting the umbrella so she has more shade. He gets the impression that she's just doing this to demonstrate the power she has over him. He suspects that she might be trying to humiliate him too, but he's not going to let that happen.
Gaara knows that he's not the type of person who can just bottle his emotions up. When he's feeling angry he doesn't hide it, he projects it. He has a reputation for being somewhat of a hothead and he himself can admit he's violent and aggressive. Another trait he is known to lack is impulse control. When his mind or body tells him to act he doesn't second-guess. Angry and impulsive can be a deadly combination.
He tells himself that the arrangement with Sakura is an exercise in anger management. Every time she tries to provoke him instead of lashing out he temporarily stores his anger to be let loose when he goes home to train. He is not going to let Sakura get the better of him.
He wanted to kill her when he found out that it was indeed she who ruined his blue prints. If he hadn't had a back up copy at home, jail and pool house be damned, he really would have killed her. He's supposed to be her nightmare, not the other way around.
Gaara wipes the sweat off his brow with the bottom of his shirt and slowly and calmly walks over to where Sakura is lounging on a beach chair. Today she wears a filmy white linen dress on top of her red bikini. He tries to resist looking at her legs, but this proves to be a difficult feat because they're impossibly long and seem to glow in the sun. He decides that she looks like a valentine, a beautiful but deadly valentine.
The valentine narrows her eyes at him. "Gaara, it took you two and a half minutes to come over here. Explain yourself." She demands.
He clenches his fists. She's gotten worse as the day has worn on. "I'm sorry." He says.
She sighs impatiently. "Apology accepted. Now-"
"That's not what I meant." He interrupts. "I'm not apologizing, I'm expressing my sympathy. I'm sorry that you have nothing better to do then count how many minutes it takes for me to get to you. I'm sorry that this is probably the most exciting part of your day."
Sakura glares at him. "New rule, slave: take baths regularly and wear deodorant. You smell like regurgitated road kill."
He reminds himself that she is full of crap. "Did you need something or were you just practicing your acceptance speech for the bitch of the month club?"
"Oooh, clever." She says sarcastically. "Is that what they teach you in remedial English class?" She puts up a hand. "Don't answer that. I don't want to know what goes on in those classes."
Gaara feels his patience wearing thin. "Again, did you want something…?"
She slips the white ribbon off of her wrist and ties her hair up into a messy bun. "I need you to put sunscreen on my back." She looks up at him beneath the lashes of her treacherous green eyes. "Can you do that for me?"
He's tempted to tell her 'no'. He's had two hundred pound men attack him with lead pipes and he hasn't so much as broken a sweat. The idea of touching her bare skin with his bare hands is… unsettling. He hates her yet he can't seem to fight this disturbing attraction to her. He compares it to wanting to eat a food he knows will make him sick.
"Gaara?" She holds out the bottle of lotion to him. The white dress lies neatly folded on the table next to her.
Gaara hesitantly takes the bottle from her hands. He stares at it. He knows that he is supposed to squeeze some lotion out of the bottle and apply it to her back. He doesn't think that there should be anything difficult about that.
Sakura turns around and unties the strings to her bikini top. She cups the triangles to her breast with her hands. "Don't use too much." She tells him. "I don't want to have a greasy back."
He pulls another chair over and sits behind her. He's seen naked women before. He's touched naked women before. But never before has there ever been anything as daunting as her long white naked back. Or does he mean tempting? His heartbeat noticeably quickens. He's angry with his body for having such a reaction to a girl who wholeheartedly despises. He decides he's just going to get this over with and go back to his work. He's not going to play her little games.
He pours a generous amount of the lotion onto one of his hands and sloppily slaps it onto her back. He feels the muscles under his hand immediately tense up and she lets out a hiss.
"You asshole!" she shouts. "That stuff is cold."
Gaara can't find a voice to answer. He doesn't trust himself to open his mouth. Her skin is like satin. It's softer and smoother than he would have ever thought possible. He realizes with a start that he wants to touch her with his lips. This is bad.
With his free hand he brushes away the hairs she missed at the nape of her neck. He lets two fingers caress the length of her spine from top to bottom. She shivers and he waits for her to tell him off but she is otherwise silent.
He wipes some of the lotion on his one hand onto the other and he begins to gently massage it into her skin. He can't stop himself. He kneads her muscles with the heels of his hands and traces the outlines of her shoulder blades with the tips of his fingers. He applies pressure with his thumbs to both sides of her spine starting at her lowest point and working his way up to her neck. He hears her sigh quietly and feels her muscles relaxing. It begins to dawn on him that, now, finally, he's the one in control.
For three weeks she's been bossing him around and treating him like a servant in front of all of her friends. For three weeks he's had to bite his tongue and take her abuse. For three weeks he's had to obey her rules, follow her instructions, and put up with her snide comments. He wants to smile. The tables have turned now. She's half naked and he literally has her in the palm of his hand.
Gaara puts more of the lotion onto his hands and massages the slopes of her neck. He rolls his hands over the knobs of her shoulders and allows his touch to continue to her upper arms. Sakura lets out a long breath and her head begins to droop.
He is aware that his hands and her back are now dry; yet his hands return to her back and he begins apply pressure with the pads of his fingers in slow circular motions. He rubs the entire expanse of her back with long slow strokes. He begins to wonder how far he can take this. He's startled by how far he wants to take this.
Gaara caresses her skin lightly with the knuckles of one hand and squeezes more lotion onto his other hand. He brings that hand up to the nape of her neck, and instead of moving down to her shoulders he moves around to her throat. He presses his thumb against her windpipe. With one move he could crush her throat and deprive her of air. He could kill her if he wanted to. He knows that she has to realize this too, but she hasn't done a single thing to stop him. She hasn't said a single word. He inches forward so his chest is centimeters from her back.
Gaara lets his hand drift lower and he lightly brushes the top of her chest with his fingertips. His entire hand tingles. He can't believe that this skin is even silkier than the skin on her back. He wonders about the other places on her body that must be soft. He is not at all disappointed when she leans back and rests against his chest.
He has to wonder what is going through her head. Is she confused? He doesn't understand how she could treat him like dirt for weeks and then let him touch her like he is her lover. He can't imagine what she must be thinking.
He snakes his arm around her waist and covers her hand with his. He gets a small thrill out of the knowledge that his hand is essentially on top of her breast. With his other hand he continues to tickle her chest with feather light touches and he traces the curves of her shoulders and collarbones. His nose is in her hair. He can smell her lavender scented shampoo. He can sense her breathing becoming more erratic. He feels her hand begin to slip out from underneath his, and she's taking the bikini top with her. His lips move to find her neck-
"Um, guys…" interrupts a soft voice. It's Hinata.
And just like that the spell is broken. Sakura immediately sits up and Gaara quickly backs away to put distance between them. He puts the bottle of sunscreen on the ground and wipes the rest of the lotion onto his shorts. He watches as Sakura ties her swimsuit back on with shaking hands.
"Sasuke just pulled into the driveway." Hinata finishes.
Gaara quickly stands up. Of all things, he's feeling disappointed. He curses Sasuke for showing up. Who knows where things might have lead if Hinata hadn't intervened. But of course, her duty is to protect Sakura.
When he walks past her he presses his index finger to his lips and silently asks her to keep quiet about what he and Sakura almost just did. She nods at him but gives him a thoroughly disapproving look. She's telling him that the dragon has no business touching the princess like that no matter how willing she may be.
And he can hardly believe how willing she was. He knows exactly what he wanted to do to her. He wanted to close his hands over those breasts and kiss his way down that neck. He wanted to take her hands and guide them over his muscles and help him pull down his shorts. He wanted her to cast off her own bathing suit bottom and then lie back so he could have a nice long look at her naked body. He wanted to crawl on top of her and make her moan and cry out his name.
Gaara decides that when she isn't busy being a horrible bitch, Sakura Haruno is actually pretty tolerable. Though he is somewhat concerned about how quickly he goes from fantasizing about pushing her off a cliff to fantasizing about pushing her into a mattress.
He eventually concludes that this is just another step on her list of ways to drive him crazy. He can't understand why else she would so innocently ask him to put sunscreen on her back. She probably knows very well how irresistible her skin is and was using it to taunt him. He thinks that the only reason she was letting him touch her like that was because she was trying to mess with him. She is probably laughing at him for being so foolish. She really is a conniving bitch.
This is just typical princess behavior. She mocks and ridicules the dragon until the prince arrives to save her. That's how the story goes.
Gaara goes back to his sill plates and doesn't look up again until after he is sure she is gone.
Gaara Sabaku is nobody's fool.
"Whoa, Gaara, buddy, if you keep that up you're going to break the bag… again."
Gaara decides that it's better that his fist hits the bag than someone's face. "I've got a lot of energy and I need to train hard. If the bag breaks, I'll re hang it… again." He says.
"I don't understand." Naruto says. "I thought you said she's started to leave you alone."
Gaara had to admit that he was right. "Yeah, she doesn't boss me around anymore, but she's still there. She and her friends just sit there sleeping in the sun, or sometimes she reads, or sometimes she lies on a pool raft. Shit, and she wears those stupid dresses. And sometimes that asshole Sasuke Uchiha comes and then they're all lovey-dovey. It's disgusting."
Naruto gives him a funny look. "I don't understand. What exactly is she doing that's so terrible?"
Gaara can't exactly put his finger on how or why she is making him so miserable, but she is definitely the cause of his misery. "She exists. Her existence is an annoyance to me."
Naruto shrugs, "whatever you say."
Gaara doesn't know if there is anything he can do about Sakura, but for now he's resolved to just keep focused on training and take his frustration out on the punching bag.
"Will you spot me?" Asks Naruto asks. "I want to use the bench press."
Gaara nods. He reminds himself that he too should lift some weights. He looks around and takes a deep breath. He is in his sanctuary.
Gaara first discovered the place three years ago when he had been fleeing the scene of a crime (that he committed). He had run into a condemned apartment building and headed straight for the basement to find a good place to hide. It was then that Gaara found the perfect place to train.
Fire had broken out in the building almost ten years ago, so most everything in the building was charred beyond recognition. The basement however had sustained very little damage, especially the metal exercise equipment in the gym. Gaara and Naruto pooled some of their fight money, (and Gaara made some purchases with his five finger discount), and together they turned the dark and dusty basement into their own training facility complete with punching bags, wrestling mats, weights, a rock climbing wall, a couch, and a big screen TV. It was a place they could train themselves and invite over other fighters for impromptu matches.
After Gaara and Naruto are done lifting weights they wait for one of Naruto's friends to come over for some sparring. Gaara doesn't usually allow Naruto to bring just anyone to their place, but they have both become serious since agreeing to take Pein up on his offer. Fifty thousand dollars is not a sum easy to come by.
"What do you think our opponents are going to be like?" asks Naruto. He lies on the floor in front of the TV and rolls a water bottle up and down his torso using his abdominal muscles.
Gaara throws himself unceremoniously onto the couch and sighs. "Big?"
Naruto lets the water bottle fall onto the floor. "I just don't get it. Why us? There are about a hundred street fighters in this city."
"We're the best." Answers Gaara simply. "We're the best fighters in the city."
"And the only two crazy enough to compete and win," says a voice behind them.
Gaara sits up. The Werewolf has arrived. Gaara narrows his eyes. It would seem that the enchantress has tagged along too.
"Ino." He scowls. "Shouldn't you have a date tonight or something? Shouldn't you be luring unsuspecting guys into your waterbed?"
Ino sits herself down on the couch and puts her hand on Gaara's knee. "When Kiba cancelled on me to come and play with you I thought I would tag along and see if I could give you a little… relief." She moves her hand up Gaara's thigh.
Gaara shakes her off and jumps off of the couch. He will never understand what makes Ino think that Gaara would be interested in her. He doesn't get why she would think he need "relief" in the first place. "What nonsense are you talking about this time?"
"You know," she smiles archly, "about your little itch."
Gaara wonders if he and Ino even live on the same planet. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asks exasperatedly.
"Oh?" Says Kiba innocently. "Gaara's got an itch?"
Ino nods solemnly. "He's got it bad."
Gaara stands up straight and raises his fist. "Somebody better explain to me what the hell the two of you find so damn funny."
"You," Ino points to him, "want to jump Sakura Haruno's bones."
Gaara can't believe what he is hearing. He didn't think it was humanly possible to be so stupid or to be so wrong. "This is what happens to you brain when you lie in the sun all day. You become delusional."
"So you're saying you don't have the hots for her?" asks Ino.
"I hate her."
Ino's smile widened. "But you're not denying that you want her."
Gaara turned to Kiba. Only a being half man half beast would hang around with Ino. "Tell your woman to stop talking. She sounds stupider and stupider every time she opens her mouth."
Kiba just grins. "You and Sakura?" He looks at Ino. "Does he even have a shot with that?"
"Well," she looks thoughtful, "Sakura is with Sasuke. But… I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the attraction isn't one sided. The sexual tension between those two is ridiculous. You should have seen the way Gaara's eyes popped out of his head that day when Sakura was sucking on a Popsicle."
Naruto's jaw drops and he stares open mouthed at Gaara. "You've been watching Sakura eat popsicles? You have a thing for Sakura?"
"I do not have a thing for Sakura." Gaara says though clenched teeth.
"And I really don't think it's such a coincidence that Sakura always puts on her big sunglasses when Gaara decides it's too hot outside to wear a shirt." Continues Ino. "But, I mean, shirtless Gaara is enough to get any girl hot and bothered."
"Sakura doesn't watch me and I certainly don't watch her. We hate each other. There is no attraction."
Ino snorts. "What do you mean you don't watch her? Every time she walks by you drool like a starving man lusting after a steak dinner. And then you come down here and punch holes in the walls because you're sexually frustrated. Face it Gaara, you need to get laid."
Gaara confesses that his last statement was stretching the truth. There is a tiny bit of attraction, but Gaara has vowed to get over it right quick. Sakura Haruno is pure poison. Everything she says or does is a calculated act to make his life hell. Even though she has stopped ordering him around, Gaara knows that she has some other plan to annoy him waiting to spring into action.
He hasn't yet decided how he is going to extract his revenge. He doesn't know enough about her weaknesses. He knows that her favorite drink is raspberry lemonade, and that she likes to read smelly old book, and that she can't seem to eat ice cream with out getting it all over her face. He's seen her stay in the pool for hours and her skin never seems to get pruney. (He figures this is just another perk of being a princess.) The only knowledge that he might be able to use to his advantage is that she's afraid of bugs. Maybe he will find the biggest bug in the yard and leave it on the table next to her drink. He imagines that what would come next would be a very satisfying scream.
And as for Ino? Gaara concedes that that girl is just plain crazy. He is positive that never in a million years would Sakura look at him in a way that would suggest anything other than feelings of distain. There is no way in hell that a princess like Sakura would have any interest in a boy who isn't a prince. Ino said it herself that Sakura has Sasuke.
"As always, Ino," says Gaara, "you have no idea what you're talking about. I'm not 'sexually frustrated' and I don't need to 'get laid', and if I did you would be the second to last person on earth that I would go to."
"Who's the last?" asks Naruto.
"Sakura Haruno. I hate Sakura Haruno." He spat. "Sakura Haruno is the bitch princess from hell. I wish she would just fall into the pool and drown."
Ino's smile fades. "I get it now. It all makes sense to me."
Gaara is rapidly growing tired of this game. "What makes sense now?"
"Why she feels the way she feels about you."
"What the hell does that even mean?"
Ino sighs. "It means that don't for a second think that you're not just as bad as she is."
Gaara decides that Ino must be on drugs. He may be a violent street fighter but he's not a little bitch. He doesn't treat people like the way Sakura treats people. The princess and the dragon are incomparable. "Ino, you're full of crap."
"Hey." says Naruto, stepping in. It's time for the hero to smooth things over. "Let's just forget about this, okay? This place is about training, not Gaara's relationship with Sakura." He glances at his growling friend. "Or lack there of."
"Right." Gaara says. He can feel his anger boiling in every cell of his body. He reaches for the hand tape. "So Kiba, are you ready? I want to thank you for bringing over such a lovely guest."
Kiba laughs nervously. "No problem, Gaara. But maybe you and Naruto should go a round first."
"Kiba."
"Yes, Gaara?"
"Duck."
Gaara Sabaku shows no mercy.
Gaara can't remember the last time he felt so hot. It's not even midday yet and he's already sweat through his shirt. He would give anything to take a five-minute dip into the swimming pool. He looks longingly in the direction of the cool blue water. That's when he notices something disturbing.
Ino is talking to Sakura and they're both staring right at him. He knows that this cannot possibly be good. He can guess that they're probably discussing Gaara's apparent attraction to Sakura.
Gaara wants to punch something. He hates Ino and her stupid insights and her stupid big mouth. He tells himself that what Ino says is always bullshit and someone as smart as Sakura would know right away that Ino is lying. Sakura would never believe that the Gaara she enjoyed torturing so much wanted to get her naked and make some friction. Gaara is confident that she would laugh at the prospect. It was preposterous.
"Gaara!" Sakura yells across the yard. "Gaara, get over here!"
Gaara forgets about how hot it is outside because all he can feel is dread. She is going to eat him alive. He's been fighting in the streets for years up against men twice he size and twice his age, and now he was about to lose to a teenage girl in a string bikini. He debates whether or not it would be worth it to ignore her. In the end he decides it's not.
He approaches cautiously and tries to look unaffected.
Today's dress is a pleasing shade of heliotrope that Gaara feels really brings out the green in her eyes. Sakura fans herself with the matching straw boater hat and looks at him with a decidedly affronted expression.
"Yes, your highness?" he asks sarcastically. He has no clue how he's going to handle denying his attraction. If he can't make himself believe it how can he expect to make her believe it either?
Gaara's not a masochist; her attitude and behavior have nothing to do with it. He suspects that he's sexually attracted to her for two reasons. Firstly, Sakura is a very pretty girl and Gaara is a healthy red-blooded teenage boy with eyes and hormones. How could he not be attracted to her? And then there's the satisfaction that would come from dominating her physically. If it was a sexual situation he is confident that with all physically activities in life, he would be the one with control. He could do things to her that no one else could and he could make her beg for it.
But of course, this is Sakura Haruno he was fantasizing about, so it would forever stay a fantasy.
Sakura puts the hat down and her eyes scour his face. "Tell me Gaara, were you dropped on your head as a child?"
Gaara's face is a dark mask. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You told a roomful of people that I 'was the bitch princess from hell' and that you 'hoped I would fall into the pool and drown'?"
Gaara can't believe it. This is what they were talking about? They weren't talking about the unfortunate attraction? He wants to laugh out loud he's so relieved. "You are the bitch princess from hell, and I do hope you fall into the pool and drown." He says.
Sakura nods. It seems like she is taking this into some sort of consideration. "Okay then." She says.
Then, without any further warning, she leaps out of her chair, takes a running start, and dives into the pool. There is barely a splash.
Gaara doesn't know what to think. Is she angry with him? Is this her way of telling him off? He turns to look at Ino, but sees that she too is stupefied by Sakura's actions. A few moments pass by.
"What the hell is she doing?" Asks Ino asks. "Why isn't she moving?"
Gaara stares at the pink and purple girl lying on the bottom of the pool. She's unmoving. There are no bubbles rising to the top of the pool. "Is this some sort of joke? Tell me that she does this all the time."
Ino shakes her head fervently. "Sakura hates the water. That's why she'll only stick her legs in or lie out on the raft. I don't understand what's she's doing. Why isn't she coming up for air?"
Gaara feels his heart begin to hammer. He realizes with a start that she's drowning herself. He doesn't know why, but she's drowning herself. She's going to drown.
He feels a sudden spurt of adrenaline coursing through his veins. He doesn't think twice. He doesn't even stop to take his shirt off. He dives into the pool and swims straight to the bottom. His vision is blurred but he can just make out Sakura's dress and hair. His heart is beating so fast he's surprised it just hasn't stopped. She's really not breathing. He grabs her by the waist and holds her to his body with one arm as he uses his other to furiously swim upwards.
As soon as they break through to the surface Gaara holds Sakura upright with her face to the sky and hopes that she'll start to breathe again. "Sakura." He shakes her a little. He can hear Ino crying in the back round. "This isn't funny, Sakura." When he gets no response he tries hard not to panic. He is not going to let Sakura Haruno die.
He paddles to the side of the pool and lifts Sakura and himself out of the water. He pushes her hair out of her face and lays her on her back. Ino rushes to his side.
"What's wrong with her?" she asks, her voice tinged with hysteria.
"She's not breathing." He hits her face lightly in the hopes that this will some how snap her out of it. "I need you to give her CPR."
"I don't know how! I skipped that day in health class to make out with Shikamaru."
Gaara runs a shaking hand through his hair. He sees that her lips are turning blue. She's not faking it. "Okay, go get your cell phone. Call for an ambulance. I'm going to try to get her to start breathing again."
He pinches Sakura's nose shut, seals his mouth over hers and gives her a breath. When he gets no immediate reaction he tilts her head up and gives her another. Still nothing. He puts the heel of his palm just under her sternum and pushes down.
As soon as her chest rises she begins to cough and water streams from her lips. Her eyes flutter open and she tries to sit up. Gaara helps ease her up and she continues to cough up pool water. He hits her back gently.
"You're alright." He grabs a towel off of the chair next to them and uses it to wipe her mouth. "You're fine now."
Gaara isn't quite sure how this happened. How could he have saved her? Why did he save her? Where was Sasuke? Wasn't that his job? Gaara is the one who puts her in danger, not the one who saves her from danger.
He's torn. Half of him wants to pull her close to him and wrap his arms around her until she stops shaking and the other half of him wants to slap her across the face for being such a crazy bitch. He settles for just sitting and staring at her. He can't understand why she would really try to drown herself. He asks himself if it was really over something he had said.
"Why did you?……?" he asks.
She rubs her eyes. "I thought I could pretend… but then I was afraid, and I tried to breathe, and I couldn't move…"
He can't believe how terrible she looks. Her dress is soaked and the weight of the wet fabric is pulling her swimsuit down. Her eyes are red and puffy from rubbing and crying and her hair is sticking up in all directions. She's trembling and her breaths are still labored. Gaara always thought that the damsel in distress is supposed to stay beautiful even when she almost dies.
"That was the single stupidest thing I've ever seen someone do." Gaara says. He wishes his tone were colder. He wants to make it sound as if he isn't worried and doesn't care.
"I know." Tears flow freely from her eyes. "I didn't even think. I just jumped. I was too impulsive."
"Yeah, well you're lucky I'm so impulsive." Says Gaara. "If I hadn't gotten to you in time…" his voice falters. He can't seem to say it.
"I didn't really think you would jump in after me." She stares at her lap. "This wasn't supposed to happen like this."
Gaara couldn't agree more. "This doesn't change anything. I still think you're the bitch princess from hell."
"That's me." Sakura smiles weakly and then looks up at him, her eyes are bright and watery. "You know, I don't think you realize it… I don't think people tell you this…" She reaches up as if to touch his face but her hand quickly recoils and returns to her side. "You're not a villain in this story. You're not the evil one."
He'd be lying if he said her words didn't unnerve him. He doesn't get what she is trying to say. If he's not the villain then who is? He can't imagine what would cause her to say such a strange thing. If he wasn't the evil one then why did she treat him as such?
"I think you swallowed a bit too much chlorine." He tries to stand up until he realizes that Sakura's holding his hand.
"Thank you. I know it may seem-"
"Sakura!" A familiar male voice shouts. "Sakura, are you okay?"
Sasuke comes running up followed by Ino. He pushes Gaara out of the way and covers Sakura's body with his own.
Gaara is not amused. He tells Ino to get an ambulance and instead she gets Sasuke Uchiha. Of all the stupid things this girl has done this is the worst. He glares at her. He doesn't know what would have happened if he really couldn't start her breathing and an ambulance never came. He doesn't want to think about that.
"You're late." He tells Sasuke.
Sasuke kisses Sakura's forehead but his eyes stay fixed on Gaara. Gaara realizes that Sasuke is marking his territory.
"Did he hurt you?" He asks Sakura. "Is he the one who did this to you?"
"Yes." Gaara says before Sakura can answer. "I pushed her into the pool."
Sakura's eyes widen and she shakes her head. "He-"
"I wanted to watch her drown."
Sasuke fits one hand under her arm and the other under her legs. He lifts her off the ground and carries her back over to her pool chair. He covers her with a towel and sits by her side. Ino starts to follow but Gaara reaches out and grabs her wrist.
"She needs to go to the hospital. She's not okay; there might still be water in her lungs."
Ino nods. "Okay. We'll take her right now." She tries to walk off again but Gaara still has her arm.
"And when I say 'hospital' I don't mean Sasuke Uchiha's house. Got that?" He asks, deadly serious.
Ino looks at him slyly out of the corners of her eyes. "Maybe you should take her then…"
"Stop that." He grinds with words out between clenched teeth. "I don't know what you're trying to do, but whatever it is, you're going to stop it right now. She almost died because of something you told her." He releases her arm. "Stop meddling and start taking care of her, okay?"
Ino gives him an unreadable look and then joins the happy couple. Gaara doesn't know what she says to them, but soon the three of them stand up and start to walk over to Sasuke's car. Sasuke leads the way and lets Ino support the fragile Sakura.
Gaara can't comprehend Sasuke's actions. He wonders how he could take the news that Gaara tried to kill his girlfriend so calmly. Sasuke didn't even blink in Gaara's direction. Gaara knows for sure that if the roles were reversed and Sasuke had tried to drown Sakura, Gaara would have ripped him to fucking shreds.
The prince is supposed to slay the dragon for endangering the welfare of the princess. Gaara can't think of a single thing that should have stopped Sasuke from trying to avenge his girlfriend.
Nothing makes sense anymore.
Gaara Sabaku is losing grip.
Holler if you want mouth to mouth from Gaara. I should mention that I know NOTHING about drowning or CPR.
Yep, this story definitely has a mind of its own. I think I have a plot and then I go to write and something else entirely appears on my computer. It's nice to have that kind of freedom. So THANKS SO FREAKING MUCH for the reviews and support! And a special thanks to everyone who helped me think of roles for the characters (Kallou and WinterLuvNaruto for werewolfin')
I know a lot of you are PWK readers and are probably furious that I didn't update that story first. I guess all I can say is that I've been having some difficulties with the chapter but an update is in the very near future.
This week I faced my arch nemesis Meg the TA. The following encounter occurred when after I gave Prof. H a gift, a poem I had written about swine flu.
Meg: You should stay in school forever, CJ. People just aren't ready to give jobs to people like you.
CJ: Your boyfriend looks like Fiona from Shrek and your fly is unzipped.
I think I was the victor there. Applaud me dear readers. I resisted the urge to hit a bitch.
School is out guys. So leave a review.