A/n: Hello, hello! Yay! An update! Please no one shank me __ All there is to really say is…enjoy. Please review it makes me go to my happy place…and I don't own Naruto. –Cries.- But I do have a Gaara plushy and for now, it's good enough…for now….
"I'm tired!" Sakura whined aloud, walking behind Gaara haggardly.
"Well you should have gotten some sleep last night," Gaara replied, his arms tightly crossed over his chest.
"Will you carry me? I'm too exhausted to walk," Sakura pouted, giving Gaara a pleading look.
He glanced back at her, letting out a skeptical laugh. "Yeah right. I'll carry you when you collapse from exhaustion."
Sakura groaned and slumped forward, yawning loudly and rubbing her tired eyes in attempt to get the sleepiness out. Ino stared wide eyed at the two, she looked beside her giving Naruto a questioning look. "I know," he said softly, "I think it's weird how they act too."
"Why do we have to get up so early?" Sakura asked, but her voice was tired and annoyed.
"Because," Gaara began, sighing as he looked back towards her. "I would like to spend as little time on the road as I possibly can, if we leave at day break we get more light for the journey and thus more ground covered." He explained, rambling on about other things that would help them get home faster. Sakura rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in rebellion.
"What if I don't want to get there so soon?" she smirked, eyeing the back of his head and waiting for a reaction.
Unfortunately Gaara gave her exactly what she wanted. He stopped and turned halfway to see her smug face. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" he asked, trying to remain calm and handle this situation as well as he could.
"Exactly what it sounds like, I'm not all that thrilled about marrying some guy I've never met before. So if you want to get there with as little problems as possible I think we should have a little bit of fun on this journey." She said simply, resting her hands on her hips and holding her head high.
Gaara laughed and shook his head, actually smiling at the thought of her trying to control him. "I don't think so Sakura, you're not in charge here. I am and we're not making any detours." He stated, as his smile turned to a victorious smirk.
"So you just want to get me there and married as soon as you can?" She arched her brow, waiting for a reply as she moved her hands from her hips and crossed her arms. Gaara's smirk disappeared, he was dumbfounded for once in his life. He actually had no answer for that. In fact he could even feel the thought of her marrying Sasuke as repulsive, even jealousy seemed be gnawing at his insides. No that was impossible, he told himself. Sakura's stubborn look softened as she watched Gaara's expression change. He was really thinking about it, which meant she did mean more to him than a delivery and even though he didn't know why, he was still clinging desperately to his past. "Gaara?" Sakura spoke up and finally broke Gaara from his mental fight. He looked up at her, for a brief moment there was an innocent and confused look but it was soon replaced with his normal stoic face.
"Come on," he ordered, turning his back towards her and walking off. Sakura looked down at the ground, her hands forming into tight fists. Why wouldn't he remember anything? She knew it was him, it was impossible that anyone resembled him so intimately. Naruto and Ino passed her to follow Gaara and she could vaguely hear Ino's call for her to catch up. Sakura looked up, seeing their backs and grit her teeth together in anger. She was going to make him remember no matter what she had to do. She glanced over towards the trees, they were pretty close to the road. She could probably make it before Gaara would have a chance to react. Sakura started walking forward, slowly making her way closer to the trees. Maybe if she put herself in danger Gaara's memories would reawaken, his promise from the past might just get something to surface. She craftily slipped her shoes off, walking bare foot now. No one seemed to be paying attention, it was the prime opportunity. As quietly as possible Sakura took off towards the trees, making it past one before she heard Ino yelling after her and then Naruto's loud shout. She could only imagine Gaara's angry face and how pissed he was going to be when he caught her. Hopefully some of his memories would return before then. She could still hear the shouting as she dodged through the trees. She glanced back to make sure she wasn't near being caught, which had been a fatal mistake. Sakura yelled out as she slid down a steep hill and landed down on the forest floor. She groaned loudly, reaching behind her and rubbing her back to try and sooth the impact shock. She helped herself up and looked around for any sign of the others but now she didn't hear anything, she backed up slowly and bumped into a large figure. Sakura gulped, knowing it was probably Gaara "to the rescue". She turned around ready to apologize but was horrified to see it wasn't Gaara at all.
"Well now," a rugged and harsh looking man smirked showing off his missing tooth. "What a great day I picked to take a walk," he laughed harshly, grabbing onto Sakura before she could take another step. "Now what's a pretty little flower like you doing all by yourself in a place like this? You could get into trouble here." He laughed loudly, slamming her into a nearby tree. She yelled out in pain, wincing from the new head ache that had just formed in the back of her head.
"Let me go." She ordered, glaring at him hatefully. Her glare quickly changed to shock as her kimono began to come undone. "Let go!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, trying to break free from his hold. She could feel his hand on her thigh and rising higher, "Please stop…" she cried now, shutting her eyes tightly as the tears flowed down her cheeks. This was horrible, why had she done such a stupid thing! Now she was in the middle of the forest with a rapist or worse. Suddenly the force was gone and Sakura heard something splatter on the tree right besides her head.
She slowly opened her eyes and screamed again seeing the decapitated man still holding onto her. The body was immediately jerked off and tossed to the side. Sakura stared in horror at the body, still shaking from the trauma. She looked back in front of her and saw Gaara, wiping the blood off his sword with a cloth. She felt tears swell up in her eyes once more, she had never been happier to see him with that angry look on his face. He finally sheathed his sword and met her gaze, the anger in his eyes not letting up. "What on earth were you thinking?" he yelled, now glaring at her.
Sakura didn't hear anything he said, she just fell into his arms and cried, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I promise I will behave and I won't do anything stupid ever again!" Gaara let his arms support her and looked down at the top of her head. She was still shaking and gripping tightly onto his shirt. His body reacted in a way he wasn't expecting, he pulled her closer, pressing their bodies together and rest his head on hers as she cried. Why was he doing something like this? She had done something terribly stupid. But she was scared and he wanted nothing more than to stop her crying. "I'm so sorry Gaara," she sobbed out again. "I was just trying to make you remember…I'm sorry it was stupid!"
"It's ok…" he said softly, feeling his own grip on her tighten. He pressed his face into her soft pink hair and closed his eyes, feeling at peace.
I will always protect you. From everything.
Gaara's eyes flew open as the words drifted through his head. "If you're going to keep trying…will you at least try without running off? How am I supposed to protect you if you are not by my side?" he asked, feeling her grip tighten.
"I'm sorry," she whispered again, nuzzling her face into his safe being.
Gaara held her tightly for one more brief moment before, moving away from her and trying to get a look at her face. He lifted her chin up with one of his hands and examined her with worried eyes. "You're not hurt are you?" he asked, staring into her wide eyes. She shook her head slowly, releasing her grip on him as she moved her hands more towards his chest. Their faces seemed to be inching closer until Gaara wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her against him once more and causing their lips to meet. Sakura's arm went instantly around his neck, bringing him down towards her, only deepening their heated kiss. As quickly as it had happened Gaara tore away from her, panting loudly and looking horrified. What had he just done? He literally hit himself in the head as hard as possible. Mostly just to make sure that stupid brain of his was actually still in there. Sakura stared at him, breathless and trying to control her flustered breathing. Her fingers traced over her tingling lips slowly as she lost herself in a daze.
Gaara turned around and punched the nearest tree with all his might. He glared hatefully at it as he pounded away at the bark, doing more harm to his knuckles than he was doing to the tree. "Why!" he yelled at her, finally facing her and focusing his hateful gaze on her. She stared back in shock, watching him approach her in an angry fury. "Why do you make me feel this way? Why do I want you so badly? I want it to stop! Your face, your body, even your scent is disgustingly familiar and I have no idea why! I just want it to stop!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, his angered face only growing into a more psychotic look. Sakura was scared stiff, her eyes wide and afraid of this new phase she hadn't seen before. She glanced down at his red hands and saw that the redness was blood that was leaking out from the fresh cuts on his knuckles.
"Gaara your-" she began, but his shouting started once more.
"NO! Do not speak to me! I can't stand your voice! I can't stand the way I want to hear your words! I want you to stay the hell away from me for the rest of this journey! Naruto will guard you! I won't let whatever this is destroy my life and all I have worked for!" he yelled even louder, grabbing the hilt of his sword and ripping it from its sheath, cutting straight through the thick trunk of the nearest tree. Sakura's eyes started to water and the tears fell in steams down her face. She had never seen him like this, he was breathing harshly, looking more like a wild animal than anything else. He looked as if he had finally snapped and everything around him was falling apart, which in retrospect was pretty correct. The world as he knew it was crumbling slowly around him and he couldn't handle it. Gaara sank to his knees, holding his head with both his hands and yelling at the top of his lungs. Sakura went to him immediately kneeling beside him to try and comfort him.
The second she touched him, his psychotic glare shifted to her form and before she even knew what was happening she was on her back. She tried to breathe but a strong hand was wrapped around her throat cutting off all oxygen. Gaara glared down beneath him at her frail figure and her thin neck. His grip tightened on her neck as he hovered over her, leaning closer with a psychotic but devastated smile. "I really just want to kill you. It would be so easy, I could make this all go away." He said to her with a malicious smile that soon turned to a pained grin. Sakura could feel her head getting lighter and tried weakly to claw his hands away from her throat. She stared up at his dulled eyes, water spilling from her own as she tried to make him release her. But she knew it was hopeless, he was overwhelmingly more powerful than she was and there was no way she could break his iron grip. Just before she thought she was going to go unconscious from the lack of air, his hand flew away like he had been burned. Now he looked horrified and he got away from her as fast as possible, stumbling back, eyes wide. He yelled again, grabbing his head with both hands again and falling back to the ground and trying to contain these chaotic emotions.
Sakura was coughing, rubbing her sore throat and trying to get as much air to her lungs as she could. Still trying to regulate her breathing she glanced over at Gaara who was having another episode. She gulped, she was actually afraid of him. She got up, moved over beside him and when he didn't try and get away from her she sat down and wrapped both her arms around his waist. His screaming started to die down, until he fell over into her arms completely. Sakura held him tightly, feeling his own hands grip tightly onto her legs. "Why are you doing this to me?" he asked, sounding pained. She leaned forward, getting a tighter hold on him and laying her head on his back.
"I'm sorry…" was all she could mutter out. She could feel her tears staining his shirt as she cried, she hadn't thought that trying to have him remember would cause him pain. At least not pain like this, it absolutely broke her heart. "Please forgive me Gaara. I am so, so sorry." She whispered once more, holding him even more tightly.
"I shouldn't feel like this." He told her in a muffled voice. She didn't reply, staying close to him and sharing his heat. She could feel his breathing start to regulate and as it did he moved from her grasp and sat up, refusing to look at her. "We really need to get going and find Naruto." He said sadly, getting up on his own and dusting the dirt off his clothes. He finally glanced at her face and let his hand down to help her up. She placed her hand in his and was pulled up easily by his strength.
Sakura looked down at herself and sighed, she looked like trash. Her kimono was dirty and wrinkled, messed up from her attacker and probably from Gaara as well. She took a moment to fix herself and ran her hands through her hair to try and look presentable. "Try not to wander off again." Gaara said simply, not giving her another glance as he started walking off towards the road. She was glad he knew where he was going because she had no idea which way she had ran and fallen. There hike was silent. Sakura was too afraid to say anything that might make him erupt again. Eventually she could see the road from the breaks in the trees and heard the calls coming from Ino. Once they finally emerged from the forest Ino let out a cry and ran towards Sakura, wrapping her arms around her tightly and crying.
"Sakura! I was so scared! Why would you do something like this? Look at you!" Ino tore her worried eyes from Sakura and glared at Gaara, "What did you do to her? She's a mess!" Ino accused and marched up to Gaara poking him harshly in the chest. Naruto, who had recently come out from the tree's paled at the sight of Ino taking on Gaara. He looked over at Sakura who looked fine, but ruffed up.
Gaara grabbed Ino's finger tightly, before she could get another jab at him. His glare easily trumped hers as his grip tightened. "I didn't-" he began angrily and then fell silent remembering what had happened after he saved her. He released Ino's finger and moved away from her, the beautiful blonde stared after him in confusion. "Naruto. I want you to watch over Sakura. I find that I am no longer able to do so." Gaara said solemnly. He adjusted his swords and started back on the road ahead of them all.
Naruto gave a long sigh and stared after him. He gestured for Ino to go ahead and follow Gaara as he escorted Sakura at the back of the group. He didn't want to pry, but Sakura noticed he was nervously biting his lower lip. "You can ask if you want." She said quietly.
"Well," Naruto began, looking at her pained face, almost deciding against asking. "What happened? Are you sure you're alright?" he placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. She closed her eyes tightly and let out a deep breath that made her shoulders sag.
"When I was running, some man attacked me and tried to have his way with me. That was when Gaara came and killed him. Everything was fine until…" she stopped, biting down harshly on her lower lip. She couldn't bring herself to go on. She shook her head and Naruto gave her an understanding nod. He moved his hand from her shoulder and rubbed her back comfortingly.
"It's alright Sakura, everything will be alright. After today we will be at your new home in three days. I promise you will love it there and Sasuke…isn't…that bad." He tried to manage a smile. He didn't mean to scare Sakura but he wouldn't be that excited about marrying the new Uchiha heir.
The rest of the day continued in silence, no one said a word. They continued down the road passing a few farms and farmers who waved kindly at the travelers. Ino gave them a friendly wave as they continued on, the sun getting lower and lower as their feet carried them closer to their destination. The sun was hiding behind the trees by the time they saw light ahead. "Finally," Gaara breathed out. The closer they got to the town though, the more unnatural noise they heard. That was when Gaara stopped and his emotionless face set into a hard frown.
"A circus!" Naruto exclaimed, his joy apparent on his face. Te word circus definitely got Ino and Sakura's attention. The two girls looked up and Ino smiled as well, she tugged on Sakura's sleeve.
"Look Sakura we can have some fun here to lighten the mood!" the blonde tried to seem upbeat which worked a little because Sakura smiled and nodded. Ino looked at Naruto who then looked at Gaara. He growled in reply, not liking the idea of fun. But by now they were already walking along side of the festival.
"But the town…it's just there…" he finally pointed to a near-by town, the one he had mistaken this horrid, colorful place for.
"Come on Gaara," Naruto smiled and nudged his friend. "We could all use some relaxing and like you said. The town is just right there, we can have some fun and loosen up. Then head for bed at the nearest inn." He suggested, leaning his arm on one of his swords and flashing him a hopeful smile.
Gaara seemed doubtful, he really didn't enjoy things like this but when he looked at Sakura and saw the sadness she was harboring he decided he might as well let them have fun while they could. At least nothing seemed too bad about this place. "Fine," he agreed. "Go on," he gestured for them to go wild.
"Aren't you going to come?" Sakura had finally found her voice and immediately regretted uttering the words. She pressed her lips together in attempt to look as if she hadn't spoken. Gaara simply stared at her, about to decline when Naruto spoke for him.
"Of course he's coming Sakura, no need to worry about that. In fact Ino and I are going to go off and explore the place. Take good care of the princess Gaara." Naruto waved, grabbing Ino's wrist and dragging her off before she could get in a word of protest. Sakura watched Naruto drag Ino off, literally kicking and screaming.
Gaara stared after them as well, mouth agape. There was no way that had just happened, he finally looked back from the crowd the two blondes had disappeared in and let his eyes fall on Sakura. She glanced at him as well, seeing he was staring at she quickly averted her eyes. "Well," he began softly, it was awkward speaking to her for the first time since their tussle. "Would you like me to escort you around?" he asked deciding to leave out the fact that now he simply had to.
"You don't have to Gaara," she said just as quietly as he had. She looked back towards him and let her eyes linger with his. "It's ok, I don't mind going to an inn and calling it a night. It has been…quite a day." She breathed out, choosing her words carefully.
"No, no. It's really alright. Only if you want to I mean. I don't want to force you. It has been a pretty long day as you have said." He countered, trying to make sure he did what she wanted. She deserved it after all, since he had tried to kill her earlier.
"Gaara it's really ok. Whatever you want is usually what's best, so…" she trailed off. This was going nowhere they were literally talking in circles. She sighed and Gaara, before she could even mutter a word misinterpreted it, blurted out and apology.
"What?" Sakura asked, wide eyed and astonished into a stupor.
"I'm…sorry. I didn't mean to harm you earlier." He admitted, though she already knew he had never meant to intentionally hurt her.
"Gaara that wasn't-" she began but was interrupted by his rant.
"It's just…" he paced back and forth in a small area. "Something about you sets me on edge and I don't want anything to happen to you…" he continued, going on and on. Sakura started getting a little aggravated that he wasn't giving her room to speak. He really didn't need to apologize or explain himself.
"Gaara. It's fine, really. I just-" she started again and was once more interrupted.
"No, no. It's not alright it was not my place to be harsh with you, I mean your royalty." He looked down and sighed, this was going nowhere.
"GAARA!" Sakura yelled at the top of her lungs to try and get his attention. He glanced at her to see her angry face, she was breathing harshly. "If you would be quiet for five seconds you could hear me tell you that it's alright. Now will you shut up and just escort me already?" she huffed, crossing her arms and waiting for his reply.
"Oh," he actually felt a little embarrassed. He had never actually gone into a rant before, he nodded letting Sakura take the lead as she walked off into the crowd. He walked beside her, looking around at all the stalls and games they had. There were large tents set up all over the place, housing who knew what.
"Let's go over to that one and see what's inside." She smiled and pointed to one of the largest tents that was made of a red and yellow fabric. They made their way over towards the entrance and gave the man two coins for admission. Gaara pulled the fabric back for Sakura and they walked in looking around at the enormous and colorful inside. "Wow," she gaped, it was definitely not a surrounding that she was used to. "Gaara look a juggler!" she grabbed the sleeve of his kimono, tugging lightly, as she pointed towards the oddly dressed man throwing object high in the air and making an art out it.
"Um…great." He said, trying to sound interested. Then a booming voice came from the center of the tent ordering the guests to take their seats. Gaara led Sakura over and they sat down in the front row. Sakura looked more than excited, Gaara just crossed his arms over his chest, hiding his hands in his sleeves.
Drums filled the background with their loud noise as people came out with painted faces and odd clothing. They tossed different objects around, like the juggler from before. Sakura's smile only grew as she watched the show like a small child. Gaara let out an inaudible sigh, he didn't want to ruin the moment for the princess. He glanced over towards the back of the tent to see the ring leader talking with another of the workers. Gaara's stare turned into an alert glare. The two were staring directly at Sakura. His hand moved instantly to the hilt of his sword, an overwhelming sense of foreboding washed over him. Why on earth had he agreed to let them roam around an extremely public area? It would only jeopardize the mission. "Sakura…" Gaara tried to start but the overwhelming boom of the ring leader's voice cut him off. Gaara focused back on the man who was captivating the audience, but his glances at Sakura did not go unnoticed.
"NOW!" the ring leader began, smiling wide to show he was happy to be there. "For the next act we need a volunteer," he stopped and looked around the crowd that was now going wild. Sakura held up her hand as high as she could. Gaara growled and grabbed her wrist, jerking her hand back down to her lap. "You there, young lady with the pink hair." the master yelled and Sakura's face broke into a smile. Gaara attempted another grab at Sakura but she was already up and out into the center.
"Sakura," Gaara tried to call without drawing attention to himself. Sakura looked back and gave him a warm smile.
"Relax Gaara," she said softly, continuing her stride to the man. "There's nothing to be so protective about." She assured him and stood beside the tall man who was now introducing the magician. The man who came out was the man that Gaara has seen talking to the ring leader. Gaara felt his stomach literally drop.
"Hello, hello." The magician waved, his black cloak billowing in the small breeze that seemed to blow through at the exact right moment. "For my first trick I am going to make this young lady…disappear!" he called out and the crowd applauded and cheered waiting to see the magic. As the crowd cheered him on, two other men rolled out a cage towards the center. Once the cage was in the center of the ring the ring leader and one of the helpers left the floor. "Now Miss…if you would please make your way into the cage." He asked, holding his hand out to Sakura and leading her over to the door. And uneasy look crossed her face but she went in anyway. The assistant took a chain and wrapped it around the iron, locking it in place. Then the assistant threw a red velvet curtain over the cage. Gaara's grip tightened on his sword, he really did not like where this was going. "And now I will make her disappear…" the man trailed off and waved his hands towards the cage and called out the ancient words. The curtain flew off and the cage was empty. The crowd went crazy, clapping and yelling for more. Gaara was out of the stands in less than a second, pushing off the seat with his foot and running at the magician with his sword drawn. He slammed the man against the metal cage and held his sword to his throat.
"Where is she?" Gaara demanded, pushing his blade closer to the man's neck. "Tell me NOW. Or you will die." He seethed, his glare becoming even icier. He got nothing but silence from the man, but a movement from the crack in the corner caught his eye. The crowd had gone quiet now and he could hear the muffled yells, he released the magician and ran towards the entrance for the performers. He sliced through the curtain door and slid to a stop. Gaara looked around, trying to spot Sakura but saw nothing.
"GAARA!" a shrill scream pierced the silent air. He turned in the direction of the noise and raced towards it. There was another exit from the tent and just as Gaara burst through it he saw the ring leader tossing a tied Sakura into the back of a carriage. The two men's gazes met and Gaara charged at him with his sword ready to slice his head clear off. The master of the tent smirked and smacked the back of one of the horses and they took off, the other assistant steering the carriage off towards the road.
"Sakura!" Gaara yelled after her, trying to chase after the speeding horses. He turned towards the man and grabbed him by the throat before he could even mutter a taunt. Gaara's glare was filled with so much hate that the man paled right before him. "WHERE?" Gaara demanded, placing the tip of his sword at the man's stomach.
Gaara could feel the man try and get a gulp down, he could tell just by Gaara's eyes that he was going to kill him if he didn't tell him. "Th-the Hyuuga prefecture. Neutral ground is the best place for trafficking…and ransom. It's the Cherry Blossom Princess…I know, she's even more beautiful than I thought she would be. Everyone knows she's out in the open, you're going to have a hard time protecting her from all the gangs that want her. Can you even manage to get her to the Uchiha manor?" he laughed coldly, having trouble with the action from the constriction on his throat. "A lowly samurai can do no-" he was silenced by the sharp pain that was sent through his stomach.
Gaara pulled his sword out and released the criminal. He fell to the ground with a thud, now gasping and trying to hold his wound. "You're going to suffer," Gaara promised and impaled his sword downward at the juncture between his neck and his shoulder. The man cried out in agony and Gaara once more pulled his blade from the soft flesh. He leaned down and ripped a piece of the man's clothes and cleaned his sword of the filthy blood. He sheathed his weapon and walked hurriedly through the seemingly normal circus. As soon as he saw the two blondes he grabbed Naruto by the collar and pulled him towards a quieter area.
"Where's Sakura?" Naruto asked dumbly.
Gaara didn't reply and Ino blew up in his face. "Where is she! You lost her? What happened! I can't rely on you at all you stupid samurai!" she screamed, going red in the face from anger. Gaara quickly threw her a glare which shut her up only momentarily.
"Don't you glare at me," she hissed, her glare now challenging his. "You LOST princess Sakura!"
"Look if we're going to point blame then this is all Naruto's fault. He made us stay at this stupid place." Gaara countered and Ino's glared quickly fixated on Naruto. Gaara let out a deep breath, "Ok, relax. At least I know where they are headed. We just have to make an unexpected detour. They said she was being taken to the Hyuuga prefecture. So let's just go there and get her." Gaara tried to sound calm but his insides felt like they were on fire. He needed to kill and he was going to. The man who had taken Sakura was going to suffer and anyone who got in his way was going to regret they ever met him. He stopped himself and thought deeply, this was unnatural to feel. He never felt anything like this before. "Come on," he said trying to tear away from the thoughts that were now haunting him. "Let's hurry," he nodded and started walking with the other two behind him.