The third chapter to this story emphasises a little more on the Gaasaku relationship, and I am intending to elaborate on the other couples later in the story.
As I am really really really curious about how you guys see this story, CAN SOMEONE PLEASE please please please give me a review of your thoughts? Pretty please, with icing sugar and chocolate syrup on it? -.-"
THANK YOU!
Ps: enjoy the story. Hehe.
Three figures stood at the gate of the Sand Village. They had been there for quite a long span of time, always gazing expectantly into the distance. The desert wind tore at their black cloaks that they tightly held. Sand that had been carried by the wind scratched at their faces but neither made a movement to conceal their exposed parts under the cloak. They were used to the capricious behaviour of the desert wind.
"Oi, Temari."
A teenage boy who was clad in black with a hood over his head muttered in a low voice, not trying to overcome the loudness of the howling wind.
"Hm?"
"It is already late evening and this looks like a sandstorm is about to stir up, don't you think...," began the boy.
"They will come in time. I trust them." The last figure who had blazing red hair spoke, however, this time, with sureness laced in his voice.
None of them spoke. They had no need to.
The wind that had lifted the sand into the air had masked all that was in the distance. The clouds darkened and the wind grew stronger. A sandstorm seemed to be descending. Just when the three were about to give up hope staring in the distance, nine figures sprinting at breakneck speed came into focus.
They had arrived.
It had been a year since the nine had last met the three Sand siblings and it was a joyful affair for all. As the sandstorm was brewing, and all nine were extremely tired from the three day trip that they had taken from Konoha to the Sand village, they decided to set off tomorrow at dawn.
Very soon, the nine of the Leaf Ninja along with the three sand siblings were in a cosy restaurant, with a sumptuous spread of food on the table.
The boys were busy stuffing their faces, as they had been surviving on food pills for the past three days. Chouji gobbled down the food like no tomorrow, as though he was terrified that the others at the table might consume his beloved food. It was not long before Naruto and Chouji began to fight for the last piece of beef on the table, and furious glares were shot between the both.
The girls gazed at them disgustedly, before tucking in. Sakura, however, did not touch the food at all. Ever since she had left the hospital, she had not been herself. Scenes at the hospital of the patients' horrendous screams raged in her mind repeatedly, and she was feeling nauseous. The blood, the flesh that was torn from the body in such a savage manner, everything seemed to be whirling in her mind.
Sakura bit her lip, tasting blood in her mouth. Her countenance blanched and she felt unusually weak.
"You do not like the food?"
A voice seemingly directed at her rang out.
Rapidly turning her face towards her speaker, she realised that it was Gaara. His face was pale, as usual but this time, there was slight concern in his voice. None of the others had heard him.
She took a quick intake of breath before murmuring, "No...I...I think I'll need some fresh air. Excuse me."
She walked frailly to the door. When she was about to turn the knob, she felt her legs gave way.
Everything went black.
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"Sasuke, please, don't leave me. If you leave me, even if I have my family and my friends...if you leave me, I'll still be alone. Please, I beg of you, don't leave."
"You are still as annoying as ever."
"AHHHHHHH! Save me! Please, I beg you, save me...you are a medic nin, save me, please. AHHHHHHH! I don't wish to die! My wife, my daughter, my family…Please, please don't let them take me away. Please..."
"I will try, please don't say these things...i will give my best shot."
"Please, tell my family...my daughter...tell them, I love them...Tell my daughter that she is always in my heart...Help me...t-to tell her..."
"Happy...Birthday."
A sudden burst of red jolted Sakura awake. She gazed into the eyes of Ino, who was bending over her, concerned.
"Did I just-"
"Yeah, you scared the hell out of everyone. Naruto freaked out and he carried you all the way to Temari's home. The hospital was filled with casualties from the Gateway of Earth, so we couldn't bring you there. I ended up trying to arouse you. Are you okay?"
Sakura smiled at this ridiculous question. What was she to say?
Ino took it as a yes, and chirped cheerfully, "It must have been your lack of proper food and sleep these past few days that caused this. Look, everyone's waiting for you downstairs. Come on!"
Sakura patted her hair, which was in a mess and followed Ino out of the room. The house she was in was humongous, with the corridors leading to many more rooms. The floors were tiled with mahogany wood and there was a faint sandalwood smell in the air.
"SAKURA CHAAAAAAAAAN! ARE YOU OKAY?" Naruto exclaimed, literally bouncing to Sakura.
"Yes. I must have been too exhausted," came her excuse, which was not really a lie.
Shikamaru then laid out a map in front of him on the table. "Since everyone's here, let's discuss our next step in this mission. Now, there are now 12 of us here. Our mission, again, is to infiltrate the enemy's lair and gather information. The Gateway of Earth is-" He circled an area with his red marker. "right here. We are now currently here." He circled another area with a blue marker.
"I assume that we might take around five days to get there. And according to my knowledge, the enemy's lair is right here-"he paused yet again to circle a random dark spot on the map with a white marker. "The Earth country has always been reluctant to allow people to enter their country to plot their land on maps, so the information we have to obtain on the exact position of the map will be much heavier. Hence, I suggest we split ourselves into groups and venture into different areas of the Earth country to determine the location. With these-" He rummaged into his backpack and removed 12 radio devices. "we can communicate. I have enhanced the radio devices so that they can communicate with a wider range of distances."
"You sure are well-prepared," taunted Temari who was leaning against one of the huge wooden pillar in the room.
"Yes, and this time, I won't need your help when I get into a tight spot because I won't get into a tight spot. That's the spirit a man should have." Shikamaru smirked.
"You mean you're still harping on what women and men should do. Now, that's a laugh."
Shikamaru rebuked, "There are just some things that I can do that you can't. Admit it."
"I can do anything you can do."
"Not really."
"Yes I can."
"As if."
They huffed and turned their backs on one another. Kankuro snickered, "You must really like him to care about his ideas."
Temari turned around slowly and spoke in a perilously quiet voice," What did you say, Kankuro?"
"Nothing, I didn't say anything."
"He said you like Shikamaru," Tenten giggled, getting a glare from Kankuro. "Why you little panda bear..."
Tenten ceased her giggles and her face turned a flaming red. She hollered, "Who's a panda bear?"
"You."
"I dare you to say that again!"
"Panda bear!" Kankuro smirked, apparently pleased with himself.
"YOU!"
"OI! You guys, we are supposed to be on a mission! Not on a holiday," Kiba barked out, finally bringing order to the room again.
Shikamaru gave Kiba a grateful glance before starting to explain how they were travelling in four three man cells and that they were to head from different directions into the Land of Earth. "Right, the first group, which consists of Kiba, Sakura and Lee, will travel into the Land of Grass, which I understand, has already been invaded by the enemy forces. This will make your mission much more complicated. Be careful. The radio devices that I have provided will most probably work, in the event that it don't-" he looked at them grimly.
"You're on your own. Basically, we just want the enemy's precise location as well as some of their latest movements. Other than that, lay low."
He paused, glancing at his three friends. He realised the danger he was putting them through. But, a mission was a mission, nonetheless.
"Hinata, Naruto, Tenten! You three will be sneaking into the Land of Earth directly, under the cover of the great amount of mountains, and caves there. Spotting the enemy's lair is your prime goal."
Naruto nodded his head and mock saluted Shikamaru. The leader grinned in spite of himself.
"Chouji, Ino and me'll be also be attempting to infiltrate the Land of Earth directly, but we will be approaching at a different direction from Naruto, Tenten and Hinata. Finally, Gaara, Kankuro and Temari will have similar goals to the first group, because their mission is much of a risk and if one group fails, there will still be another to obtain what we require."
He balked at the last words. If one group fails...
"Any violent objections?"
The eyes that returned him his gazes were enough to quell his further questions. "Great! Have a good night's sleep everyone!"
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Sakura tossed and turned in her bed, she could not sleep. She was thinking of the man who died before her very eyes...his daughter, his last wish. The Gateway of Earth. It was there where he had been attacked by an enemy who impaled his body with kunais just when the man was under a genjutsu technique. The blood was spilling everywhere, Sakura was trying to stem the flow of it. She tried, she did. But to no avail.
Sitting up in her bed, she decided to walk out for a breath of fresh air. The roof top, she remembered. Temari had mentioned that earlier when she was showing them their rooms.
Sakura walked out of the room, barefooted, and before long, she had leapt onto the roof. She felt the cool night wind caress her cheeks, and her feet felt cold as it came into contact with the rough tiles on the roof.
The night sky was a dark purplish blue and there was a bright half moon shining in the sky. Only a few odd stars shined through the impending darkness. Sakura hugged her knees close to her and kept silent.
This war had resulted in too many sacrifices. Those shinobis in the hospital, and even the separation of families, friends...She was no help. She could not even help that man, that poor man with his wish to see his daughter. Tears began to form in her eyes and she sat there, allowing the tears to wet her face, not even bothering to wipe them.
"I see that you have found my favourite spot."
Startled, Sakura hurriedly wiped her tears with her hands. She turned and realised that Gaara was sitting on the opposite of the roof.
"I...I can leave now. I'm sorry to have intruded..."
"I never said you had to leave."
There was an awkward silence. The gale that blew made the surroundings intensely cold. Sakura who realised that she was clad in only a singlet and shorts felt the cold abruptly. She sneezed.
"Are you cold?"
"No, it's okay."
"You could have my cloak, if you want," offered Gaara, his back still facing Sakura. He removed his cloak and passed it to Sakura, not looking at her at all.
"Oh. Thank you." She took the cloak gratefully and wrapped it around herself. She felt relatively warmer.
"Erm. Do you come up here often?" Sakura asked, trying to break the awkward atmosphere.
"Yeah. On almost every night. The amazing view of the nightsky was the main thing that attracted my attention. What about you, what led you here?"
"Well, I was having a hard time sleeping."
"Why?"
Sakura was taken aback by his conciseness. There was no pretence in his voice, and he did not even try to avoid the subject.
"There are...some horrible scenes that I have witnessed at the hospital that truly scared me."
The wind began to howl, causing Sakura's hair to whip in her face messily.
"I see." He allowed a few minutes to pass before he responded again, "What do you think of this mission?"
"Well, it's a risk. But it's for my village, and that's all I have ever wanted...What about you?"
"Similar."
They did not speak for quite some time. Both wanted peace and serenity and this was more than they desire.
"Do you know the names of the stars?"
"No, I was never really into stars."
"I guess stars are not well-liked by many people. Although to me, they are a symbol of happiness. Back when everyone thought me a monster, I found solace amongst the stars...I think there are some people who still think that of me now."
"You're not a monster." Sakura hurriedly answered. "You helped Lee out when he was fighting Kimimaro and you saved your student, Matsuri. A person who has done these things cannot be a monster."
"Really? People still cringed from me whenever I approach them. Even when I am kazekage. But I must protect them, and fulfil my destiny as the kazekage."
"Destiny? This is love, Gaara. Love for your village."
There was no response from him. Sakura clutched the cloak around her body, feeling its warmth. She shut her eyes and began to relax, thinking of the beautiful stars that she had just seen.
Before long, she was fast asleep.
I know everything is going extremely slow right now. The plot is going to progress slowly. HEHE.
But what do you guys think about the conversation between Gaara and Sakura? PLEASE PLEASE write a review! I really want to know how to improve my story!!!
REVIEW PLEASE!