Chapter Eight: Stuck on You
A/N: Chapter Eight is complete… finally…
Sachiko: About time!
Author: I do have other fanfics to tend to you know so be grateful!
Sachiko: Oh, I am! I am! STORY TIME EVERYONE SHUTTT UPPP!
Author: Who is everyone? We were the only ones talking!
Sachiko: (glues eyes to fanfic) SHHHHH….
The next few days were not pleasant ones. Sachiko had been forced to stay within Gaara's shadow. The two shinobis had refused to speak to each other. Their only companions had been the demons they spoke to in the darkness of their minds.
"I hate this," Sachiko pouted in her mind.
"Here's an idea, strike up a conversation!"
"Your sarcasm is not appreciated," Sachiko warned the cat.
Sachiko sighed outwardly this time causing Gaara to glance in her direction. He had a scowl on his face and she didn't like the look he was giving her. Sachiko had been spit fiery when she first met him, grown quite timid and was basically sick of it. Still, Sachiko knew she couldn't be so abrasive with a boy that had been abrasive back and more than happy to have her blood on his unclean hands.
"Somebody," she murmured, "Wasn't hugged enough as a child."
Thinking he hadn't heard would be wrong. Thinking he hadn't detected the sarcasm or the insult would be wrong as well. Thinking the he wouldn't harm her for such a remark would be wrong too. Thinking that he wouldn't use his bare hands to strangle her would be wrong again.
Gaara seized her with furious hands. His killing intent had been so strong but never had he felt the urge to strangle someone like he was doing now. He had always relied on his sand to kill for him but right now; he wanted the kill to be his own and no one else's.
Sachiko could feel her lungs not being able to produce the precious oxygen she so desperately need at the moment and her mind was racing toward her little options she had. She performed some hand seals and suddenly her cloud was underneath her feet, pushing her up to safety. Gaara refused to let go, he wanted her to die there now.
Sachiko's black nails began grow black, long, and sharp, like the claws of some jungle cat. She dug them into Gaara's flesh, he could feel them beginning to penetrate through his skin; one layer of it was broken but no blood had been drawn yet.
Kankuro entered the room, getting a strange feeling that something wasn't right. The door was thrown open and his mouth was agape. He finally found the words to speak once Sachiko had dug her nails in.
"You guys are fighting," Kankuro sputtered out suddenly as he tried to rush to pull them apart.
Gaara and Sachiko released one another, Sachiko's fingernails never having the chance to break the second layer of skin. She was almost remorseful that she didn't draw his blood first; it could have been her victory.
"Does it look like we were fighting," Gaara hissed as he gave Kankuro a threatening glare.
"N-n-no Gaara," Kankuro stammered, "Sorry to have bothered you."
He walked out of the room but left the door open so he could watch to see if anything else would happen and also if something did happen, the Kazekage himself would walk by and see it.
Gaara was growling to himself and Sachiko kept her long nails out and ready to slash the throat of the being to attack her but the attack never came. She turned around to face Gaara and found him looking at her as well. His teal eyes, observing her as her deep blue ones observed his.
From that moment on, she and Gaara had wanted to kill each other a countless number of times but had given up on all attempts to actually do so. Neither Gaara nor Sachiko had known what the Kazekage meant by 'dire consequences' but both had a rough idea in their head and it wasn't pretty.
Sachiko had resolved to actually making an attempt in befriending the demon of Sand but had thought it utterly ridiculous. It was an impossible task that she knew she would fail at but still she wanted to make some sort of effort.
She recalled a particular connection with Sabaku no Gaara that she had made one day. They were out on a mission. Gaara had been surrounded by the enemy shinobi. Meanwhile, Kankuro and Temari had their hands full with other enemy shinobi as well. Sachiko had been at Gaara's side as instructed.
Predictably, Sabaku No Gaara had used sand burial on five of them but the sixth one had leapt up to a tree, missing the attack. The enemy shinobi moved swiftly, performed some hand seals, and used a water attack on Gaara the minute his sand shield rose up. The sand had clumped up and became nearly useless. The enemy ninja had a kunai in hand and was about to throw it at Gaara.
Although the kunai wouldn't have hurt him, Sachiko had stepped in front of him, performed her own hand seals and aimed her fingers at the shinobi that held the dangerous kunai. An electric bolt came from her fingers and struck the shinobi in the chest, stopping his heart. The enemy shinobi dropped his kunai and fell to the ground dead.
Even though Gaara wouldn't have gotten hurt, it had slightly impressed him that Sachiko had been willing to take the hit before he would. It was almost like self-sacrifice and though he hated her, and lusted for her blood, this action had lessened those things but only by a slight margin and he refused to show her this. After all, she could always do something to really irritate him and that would make him hate her some more.
It was unimaginably effortless and easy for Gaara to hate but exceedingly difficult for him to tolerate. It was something he barely mustered up when it came to his siblings; tolerance, that is.
Another time Sachiko had noticed a bit of a breakthrough with the deadly shinobi it had been a morning when Gaara was doing his Kazekage-in-training duties. Still, without words being spoken, the two enemies had stayed with one another throughout all of Gaara's obligations.
Sabaku no Gaara was standing watch at the Sand Village's front gate. He had found himself particularly thirsty that morning but he said nothing. The guards usually would fetch him some water if he gave them a look and they read it properly but unfortunately for Gaara the guards selected for the morning shift were all incompetent morons.
He gazed at the Cloud girl and saw her sitting at the top post of the entrance. He looked to see if their shadows were touching just out of curiosity. Her shadow ran along and became one with the shadow of the pillar she was sitting on and the pillar's shadow had become one with his. He scowled because no matter what, she had always figured out a way to make sure she was within range of him constantly.
Gaara wasn't sure what it was but he really wanted her to fall off of the pillar. It wasn't that he wanted her to hurt herself if she fell off, although that would be a bonus, but he just wanted her to mess up; he wanted her to make the mistake of not staying within his shadow.
He grabbed an apple out of one of the guard's hands. The lookout guard nervously stepped away from the demon boy and allowed him to keep the apple. Gaara nearly squished the guts out of the apple as he gazed up to Sachiko. He aimed the apple accurately and threw it with the same force he would use if he wanted to knock her out. Unfortunately for Sabaku no Gaara it missed.
The watchman who he had taken the apple from was gawking at Gaara's actions. Gaara let out a growl because he had missed and scowled at the guard. The guard was frozen in place and knew his time on this earth could very well be ending at that moment.
"Get me another apple," Gaara hissed at him as sand poured from his gourd to intimidate the poor guard further, "Do it now."
The guard nodded and ran off to the sentry's break room at the other side of the gate. He came stumbling back to Gaara with two apples in hand. If Gaara had an eyebrow to raise, he'd have raised at the guard.
"I asked for one apple you moron," snarled the teal eyed boy, "Are you suggesting that I'll miss?"
"N-n-no Gaara," the guard spluttered out, "I just thought you may like to eat one… that's all"
The guard cringed and awaited Gaara's sand. It would just come pouring out, snatch him up in the air and squeeze the life out of him. The guard waited but the sand never came. The helpless sentry opened his eyes to see Gaara taking aim at Sachiko again.
This patrolman had heard infamous rumors about Gaara but could never imagine this demon beast trying to hit someone with an apple. Gaara was about to throw the next apple when he turned to the guard and said in a low voice, "What the hell are you gawking at? Go back to your post, or I'll kill you."
Swallowing the hard lump in his throat, the sentinel took off to his post knowing that it had been a miracle for him to have survived that encounter with Sabaku no Gaara. As he stood at his post he craned his neck a bit and lifted up his head slightly to see the Cloud girl in the corner of his eyes. He wondered what it was she had done to make the malicious Gaara actually want to throw an apple at her. For fear of Gaara noticing him gawking, the guard forced himself to look forward and not look at either of the shinobi again.
Gaara cranked his arm back and took aim at her. He used a greater force than last time as if to redeem himself from the first failed attempt. The apple flew from his pale hand and hit the Cloud native right on the back of the skull. He could see that the impact of the apple had sent her forward. A puff of smoke appeared around the girl and then she was gone.
"A clone," Gaara nearly howled, "She used a clone and took off…"
Gaara was about to go on a rampage throughout all of Sand Village, kill anyone who got in his way, find her, and then kill her; painfully and slowly so she would suffer. Suddenly he felt his sand barrier go up. He turned swiftly to greet his enemy to find it was Sachiko. She had attempted on tapping him on the shoulder but his sand wall blocked her.
"I, uh, brought you some water," she murmured as she held out a flask of water.
The vessel of Shukaku had no clue what he should do with this small act of kindness. No one had ever offered him anything; ever. He stared at her with the look he often gave people he was trying to intimidate.
"You broke the rules," he finally said, "You drifted…"
"Only to bring you some water," she said quickly in her defense. She set the flask of water at his feet. "Well if you do decide you want some, here."
She performed her various hand seals that summoned her small cloud. It lifted her from the ground and placed her in the same spot the shadow clone had been sitting at.
"The clone is gone," she said to her inner demon.
"He probably tried to kill you and failed."
Sachiko gulped and stared at the ground below. She saw two apples lying there. One apple had a great gash in it and the other looked pretty bruised up.
"What the heck," Sachiko thought to herself.
"Maybe he hit your clone with one," Chihoko said with a throaty cackle.
"Sabaku no Gaara is not an apple thrower… He'd use his sand on me first, don't you think?"
Chihoko shrugged and purred, "Maybe he knew it was a clone… So he threw one to make sure."
"Yeah, I guess that's it."
Back on the ground Gaara stared at the flask of water at his feet. If he took the water it would mean he accepted the kind gesture and would have to be at least tolerable of her. If he left it there it would mean he denied the kind gesture and it would mean that Sachiko was still his enemy. His throat was so dry but he had been used to such dryness. He had lived his entire life in that desert and water did not tempt him.
He wasn't sure that it was the water itself that had tempted him to drink it or it was because of the fact that no one had ever offered to quench his thirst and bring them water that had tempted him. Either way, he was upset with himself for taking off the cap to the flask of water and taking a swig.
He wiped away the excess water from his lips with his arm. He set the flask back down on the ground and pretended he hadn't touched it or had even given a thought to touch it. He appeared next to Sachiko in a flash, giving her a small startle.
"We're leaving," he said to her in a voice filled with utter disdain.
She nodded as she noticed a small droplet of water on the left side of his cheek right below his lips. She glanced at the ground and saw that he had left the flask there seemingly unmolested. She followed the Kazekage-in-training through the Sand Village and she smiled inwardly knowing he had taken a drink. Although it was something he hadn't wanted her to know it, the small bead of water that stained his pale skin told her the true story.
XXX
As Sachiko and Gaara walked through Sunakagure many eyes were following them. The people of Sand feared Gaara greatly and were wondering if perhaps they should fear the girl that dared follow them. Sachiko frowned as she followed the red haired shinobi through the crowded streets. It was lunch time and her stomach was grumbling furiously but she knew Gaara still had many Kazekage-in-training matters to attend to before he would go on his lunch break. She wondered if he had to attend to them before lunch or if he just did that to torture her and make her starve to death.
Sachiko spotted the young man she had seen from the other night and smiled. She approached the young man, managing to still keep her shadow touching Gaara's.
"Hey," Sachiko said to him, "I remember you."
The youthful guy blushed a bit and said, "Hello… Yeah… You kinda saved me back there… that night…"
"I did," she asked cocking her head to the side, "How?"
"Well didn't you provide Sabaku no Gaara with a diversion so I could go home safely," he stated as he shyly twiddled his thumbs together.
"Oh yeah," she said with a small smile.
"Is that what my falling off the roof and nearly dying was?"
"What a stupid boy…"
"Be nice!"
Gaara had walked up to the two talking teens and leaned against the wall of a shop, listening to the conversation. The young man noticed Gaara and began to whisper.
"Looks like he's here to kill me for getting away," he said with a gulp.
"Oh no," Sachiko said, "He's just waiting for me."
The young man gave her an odd look and then whispered, "You are his mistress? I did not know Gaara had such… needs."
Sachiko face scrunched up in disgust as she said, "EWWW! NO!" She had hoped Gaara heard that part. "I got in trouble with Kazekage-sama and my punishment is to hang around him all the time for the rest of my stay here."
"I see," said the boy, pursing his lips, "What an awful punishment."
"Seriously," Sachiko agreed, "It's so boring… I have no one to talk to…"
"That's not exactly what I meant," said the young man with a confused look, "Aren't you afraid of him?"
"He is pretty scary at times but he's on punishment too," Sachiko explained to him, "So I know he won't risk killing me. Kazekage-sama wouldn't like it if he went to war with Cloud over his son killing the daughter of the Raikage."
"You're the daughter of the Raikage," asked the boy, feeling a little bit less tense.
"Mhmm," Sachiko replied, "So what's your name? Mine's Sachiko."
"Yabuki…"
"Yabuki-kun, it's nice to meet you!" At that moment Sachiko's hungry stomach let out a loud grumbling noise.
"Nice to meet you too," he said to her with a laugh, "Hungry?"
"Yeah, starving," Sachiko told him, "But I have to go with Sabaku on all his duties before we can go on a lunch break… It wouldn't kill him to eat first then finish up his duties… but no."
Yabuki nodded and stepped away from her a bit. Sachiko turned to see what it was he was so worried about and saw Sabaku no Gaara with a very displeased look on his face.
"It's probably best for you to go back to… it," Yabuki said with a laugh as he said 'it.'
"It? Gaara's not an 'it', he's a person," Sachiko said with a small frown.
"Well he's a monster," Yabuki whispered in a very low voice in hopes Gaara wouldn't hear him and unleash unwanted fury upon him.
"Monster," Sachiko repeated, "Oh…"
"He kills anyone that gets in his way or anyone he just feels like killing… its fun for him," Yabuki murmured still in a hushed tone.
"Maybe it's just the demon," Sachiko said defensively, "It isn't him that wants to do it."
Yabuki shrugged and said, "They're the same thing."
"Well I've got to get going… I'll see you later Yabuki-kun," Sachiko said as she began to walk back to Gaara.
Yabuki gave her a short wave goodbye and took off in the opposite direction to make sure Gaara wouldn't kill him for his remarks. As Sachiko followed Gaara she noticed they were going the opposite direction from the route they usually took to get to the village's hospital.
"Where are we going," Sachiko asked him as they headed toward a market. This place had never been included in their routine before and she had been stuck with Gaara for about three weeks now.
"To eat," he said in his low voice.
XXX
Sachiko and Gaara took a seat at the table of the restaurant her and Kankuro had eaten at so many days ago. It was decorated even nicer then when she had first been there. The waiter came and handed them a menu then sped off as fast as he could to get the drinks they had ordered. It was always best to serve Gaara in a speedy manner because he didn't appreciate bad customer service.
Just as Sachiko had placed a finger in between the menu to open it up the waiter had come back just as quickly as he left and placed the water on table.
"Ready," the waiter asked as he pulled out a pad and pen to write the order down.
"We just sat down," Gaara growled at him, "What makes you think we're ready, you idiot?!"
"Oh sorry," the waiter mumbled nervously, "I'll come back in five minutes to check on you."
"Don't be late," Gaara commanded him, waiter nodding his head like a bobblehead doll.
Gaara glanced at Sachiko and she looked down fast to avoid his gaze and pretend that she was really staring at the menu the whole time.
Five minutes later, on the dot, the waiter came back to take their order. Sachiko had ordered a couple of rolls to split with Gaara and he ordered two Miso soups. When the food came Gaara slid her Miso soup toward her with his sand and took his share of the sushi. The two ate in silence.
Sachiko looked around the restaurant nervously and noticed all the stares that she and Gaara were getting. She gave some a dirty look back that she thought were being particularly nosy. She even stuck her tongue out at some kid. Gaara had cleared his throat and that had caused her to stop being childish. Sachiko went back to her food and behaved.
Once the two were finished they exited the restaurant. Sachiko couldn't help but ask him, "Why did we eat first today?"
Gaara had said nothing for a long time and finally decided saying, "You're nothing but a nuisance… shut up."
Sachiko sighed as she followed the young Kazekage-in-training. All her efforts had been useless and utterly futile. She could not change him into being the least bit nicer. It was simply an impossibility and she accepted this.
A/N: Yeahhh, the end. Review! And thank you for all your support and reviews as well! I really appreciate it!