Chapter Nineteen: A Simple Kind of Life

Japanese Lesson: Hime means princess! Gomen Nasai means I'm sorry! Doshde means why?! Kuso means damn! XD

A/N: Chapter nineteen and still so many more to go!

Sachiko: YAY!

Author-Sama: Shh… story… time… fanfic… -drools-

Sachiko woke up bright and early to find that Temari was already gone. She sighed inwardly and then outwardly as if to emphasize her disappointment. She felt anxious and nervous. Today was the day Gaara wanted to talk to her. Sachiko honestly had no idea what it was he had to say to her and that frightened her.

Sachiko bit her lip as she rose from her bed and approached the room's window. She threw open the window shutters and let the sunlight love her. She breathed in deeply, enjoying the warmth. Sachiko shut her eyes and stayed by the window for a while. She finally opened her eyes and looked out to the village. People had just begun to wake up and set off to work. Children tugged on their parents' hands begging them to play and mothers rocked their babies gently in the arms, happy to see another day with their newborn. This was the kind of life Sachiko had wanted so badly for herself but could never have. The simple kind of life she longed for was the life that 'normal' people deserved, not people harboring malicious demons. And so Sachiko cried. She cried for the beauty that life was and she cried for not being able to obtain it. Her life was never meant to be simple, it was always being complicated by ridiculously bad luck and although last night she had said the words 'Sweet Serendipity' she now wasn't sure if she had meant them. Perhaps at the time she had meant them, but not in the long run. Life was not so sweet and serendipity was a cruel mother to her, barely stopping to nourish her own child from her bosom.

After the tears had been wiped away from worthless fingers, Sachiko went back to her bed to sit. She had a lot to think about that day. Sachiko wasn't quite sure when she was supposed to talk to Gaara. He hadn't given her a specific time; in fact, he hadn't given her any details whatsoever. Was he going to retrieve her or something?

"Maybe he'll fly right through my window," Sachiko said laughing at her overactive imagination. Then she imitated Gaara's voice and said, "Sachiko it's time to talk… If you don't talk to me… I'll kill you." She found herself lifted from her upset mood and now in a giggling fit. Although life could never be as she wanted it to be, Sachiko realized she had to enjoy what kind of life she did have to enjoy.

As soon as her laughter died out she decided to tell herself another joke. Her humor was her own best friend at times like these. "Maybe he will throw open the door and say something crazy like, 'I want you sexy kunoichi'." She sent herself into a howling fit for at the same time she told herself the joke, she pictured it. Now Sachiko was not attracted to Gaara at all. She had thought him to be handsome in his own odd way but not handsome for her; if that made any sense at all to anyone.

"Oh, I got it! I got it! Listen to this!" Sachiko cleared her throat as she prepared the joke for her audience, which was herself and maybe Chihoko too, if she was listening. "Sabaku no Gaara will come into my room and saylet's talk now. And then he'll say I secretly want you to be my best friend but it's such a secret that nobody else is allowed to know!"

"Stick to your day job."

"I knew you were listening to me! Hey… What's that supposed to mean? They were all funny! I laughed!"

"Well of course you laughed. You always laugh at your own jokes even though they are ridiculously annoying to listen to."

"Oh yeah? Well why don't you come up with a better one!"

"That redheaded brat will come into your room, ask to talk to you, and then you knock him dead… but not with your ninja moves, nor with my power. You'll knock him dead because he will over hear your terrible jokes!"

The black cat broke into hysterical laughter inside of Sachiko's head. Sachiko's face scrunched into the scowl as the cat kept cackling. Chihoko's joke wasn't funny at all to her. Surely Sachiko's jokes were much better than that.

"Shut up," Sachiko snapped to the cat, "Shut up you stupid kitty. That was awful!"

"Are you kidding me? Your jokes are so bad a rotten egg would feel good."

More laughter shook Sachiko's mind and Sachiko's face pulled into a tighter scowl. Sachiko was annoyed terribly with the cat and she wasn't in the mood to take it. Sachiko leapt onto the top of the bed. She stomped on the bed sheets, jumped up and down screeching, "Shut your stupid kitty lips! Shut your stupid kitty lips!"

"Ahem."

Sachiko un-scrunched her face to see who the intruder was, even though she had been waiting for him all morning. She was met with a red head of hair, teal eyes, and a scowl. Sabaku no Gaara definitely didn't look too happy that morning; that was for certain.

"Ohayo Gaara-sama… uh… what brings you here so early," Sachiko asked him nervously as she finally settled down.

"You… were being loud… It sounded like you were killing something…"

Killing something. It was always about killing something with Gaara. Sachiko sighed and then blew a puff of air at her bangs in hopes they would land someplace besides in her eyes. "I was just frustrated…"

"I see," he replied stoically. He blinked a few times, allowing awkwardness to take hold.

Sachiko nervously began to glance around the room and remembered she was in her pajamas. They were the embarrassing kind of pajamas with little princess crowns, frogs, and castles on them. Not to mention her shirt read "Hime" in fuzzy pink writing. She turned a shade of bright red that resembled a boiled lobster. She held her breath, afraid to breathe or create any extra attention to herself, but of course, that's exactly what she got. Gaara couldn't understand why Sachiko was having such a tizzy fit for. She certainly was a fussy girl, and annoying. Gaara grimaced when he realized she was a weird red color and her face looked like a monkey. She was holding her breath for some unknown reason. He also didn't understand why girls wore stupid 'princessy' type pajamas. Sachiko saw the disgusted look on Gaara's face and she knew her embarrassment had reached its peak. She let out her held breath like a balloon with a tiny hole in it.

"So, uh," she said trying to pretend like nothing embarrassing had occurred, "Did you want to talk?"

He gave her the weirdest look he had probably ever given anyone in his life. He breathed out heavily; he apparently, had been holding his breath as well. He shook his head as if to rid himself of strange images and thoughts. "Not here," he finally said to her.

"Where did you want to go…? I mean if we're just talking it doesn't matter if we talk in here… Temari isn't going to be back for a long time. She's out flirting with boys without me," Sachiko complained in a whiny voice. She didn't mean to be more irritating but she was just exasperated with Temari for always ditching her.

"Never mind then," Gaara told her as he turned to leave.

"No wait," Sachiko cried, her arm extending to reach his shoulder. They were both surprised to see that his usual sand wall didn't rise to push her hand back. Shocked, Sachiko removed her hand swiftly from his shoulder. "Your sand didn't attack me," she mumbled in awe.

"I… I…" Gaara couldn't think of any words to say. One of his hands had grabbed a handful of his red hair as if to subdue an oncoming headache. "I need to think… We can talk later…At night."

"But there's going to be a full moon tonight…" "Kuso! I didn't perform the Inazuma last night… Chihoko's power…" Sachiko cursed herself inwardly. She completely had forgotten. If she didn't perform it tonight, Chihoko would gain more and more control. Now Gaara wanted to talk to her and that wouldn't give her any time to do the Inazuma.

"So what," barked Gaara, incredibly agitated, "If you're lucky I won't kill you…"

"No… It's not that… I just have something to take care of every full moon," Sachiko replied softly, although her heart was beating fast against her chest.

He nodded, knowing what she was referring to. Gaara cocked his head to the side momentarily to think. "I will meet you for lunch at that ramen stand."

"Ichiraku Ramen," Sachiko said cheerfully.

"I know what it's called," growled Gaara, "Don't be late."

With those threatening words he vanished in his usual thick cloud of sand leaving Sachiko alone again. She slumped back on the bed. "I'm supposed to go eat lunch with Sasuke and Naruto… I'm supposed to eat breakfast with them too," Sachiko suddenly realized as she flew off the bed to change into her day clothes. "KUSO!"

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Gaara had reappeared on the roof of the Konoha Inn. It had become his new favorite spot to hang out on, especially at night time when his bloodlust had reached its peak. The red head felt a bit tense and uneasy. He didn't understand what was going on. It was about his sand. The wall always came up when someone tried to touch him. Perhaps she wasn't threatening him and so it stayed down or maybe he just let his guard down too low with her.

He let out a feral growl.

What was it he was doing talking to her? Why would he even give her the time of day? Yes, she was a demon too but that shouldn't matter. Sabaku no Gaara was the demon who loved only himself. Things needed to stay that way.

Another thing that puzzled Sabaku no Gaara was that he had asked her to speak with him last night. He wasn't even sure what he had wanted to speak to her about he just asked her. He had been spying on her from the roof of the Inn. He had seen her standing there with two new friends, both being boys. He had hoped that Sachiko wouldn't turn out to be a shameless flirt like Temari. Not that he cared.

All Gaara knew was that ever since the day he saw Sachiko standing under the palm tree and he had approached her was the day all these feelings began to boil up inside him. She gave him feelings he never felt before and they changed as if he were bipolar or had some psychological ailment. His mood would shift to the strongest feeling of resentment one could have for another, then to boundless curiosity, and then he felt a strange feeling he couldn't explain. He would get the feeling whenever he saw her with someone else. He'd get it when she was around Kankuro or even her new teammates. He wasn't at all happy about her new friends either. At the same time, Gaara didn't want to be her friend. He never wanted those silly kinds of things anymore. But at times he almost felt possessive over her. Was it jealousy?

Sabaku no Gaara shook his head to clear the thoughts away. He was not one to be jealous over girls just people. He was jealous of the types of people that would wake up every morning with their wives making them breakfast and taking care of them. He was jealous of the men that would come home to a nice meal and loving wife. That was Gaara's secret he kept to himself. He was secretly jealous of the people with simple kinds of life.

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Sachiko raced out from the hotel and as soon as she exited the main entrance she collided with someone. For some odd reason, the landing felt familiar to yesterday's landing. Sachiko pushed herself and found arms locked around her. She looked up to see the face of the person she was using as a cushion and was relieved to see it was the same as yesterday's.

"Gomen Nasai Sasuke-kun," she told him apologetically.

As soon as the two had gotten themselves off the ground and cleaned themselves off, Sasuke spoke. "You have a knack for landing on top of me."

Sachiko blushed a bit at the double meaning. She wasn't usually a perverted thinker but today wasn't necessarily a usual day either. Sachiko couldn't help it but a small blush spread across her cheeks. "Gomen Nasai," she repeated.

"Don't worry about it," said the Uchiha.

"So where is Naruto-kun," asked Sachiko as she scanned the area for a blonde haired, blue eyed, whiskered boy.

"That dope is probably still asleep," Sasuke told her, "We should go wake him up."

"Yeah, let's do that," said Sachiko cheerfully, "We can talk on the way!"

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As the two walked on through the Hidden Leaf Village, they looked like old friends. Sachiko told jokes and Sasuke chuckled his quiet chuckle. Sasuke told Sachiko about his teammates and Sachiko conjured up a story or two about hers.

"So let me see if I got this right… Every girl in this village has a monster crush on you," Sachiko asked in disbelief. Although, she had to admit Sasuke's cute features were beginning to affect her as well.

"Hai," replied Sasuke, "What strikes me as odd is that it is all superficial… None of them bother to get to know me or know about me… That includes Sakura. She is the third member of our team. She's one of the more persistent fan girls…"

"How fortunate for her to be on your team then," Sachiko said with a laugh.

"I know," Sasuke agreed, "All I wanted was a normal team with people who could careless about things as much as I do. Then I got stuck with that knucklehead Naruto and that annoying Sakura. Sometimes I'm not sure which of them is worse. But at least Naruto tries to be a good ninja. Sakura just stands there and screams or worries about me. Very annoying."

"Wow. I never thought having an admirer could be so… well… bothersome," Sachiko said as her and Sasuke rounded a corner.

"Well you should know what its like… Didn't you say that your two teammates fight over you," Sasuke asked, "By the way Naruto's place is coming up."

"Oh yeah… I try to forget," Sachiko lied. "I've got no clue if Kentaro and Katsura are willing to go along with this idea…"

"I wouldn't."

"Who asked you!?"

"I'll knock… Naruto wake up!" Sasuke knocked three times, each pound a bit louder. "That dope could sleep through a tsunami." Sasuke sighed and then kicked the door. "NARUTO WAKE UP!"

A sleepy blonde boy came to the door and opened as he yawned loudly. "Sasuke, what the heck do you want?"

"We promised to meet Sachiko for breakfast. Remember," Sasuke said angrily, arms crossed.

Naruto's eyes were squinted cutely as he smacked his lips together a bit. "Sasuke that is not until… OHYE! We are going to be late!" Naruto grabbed Sasuke and pushed him toward the outer hall.

"She's right here dope."

Naruto whirled around and found himself staring at Sachiko. "Sachiko-chan," he said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I didn't see you there." He chuckled as he continued to rub the back of his head.

"Naruto-kun is so adorable," Sachiko said to him, causing Naruto to blush. He didn't get compliments from girls too often and was very happy to receive them from his new favorite girl.

"Don't get too excited Naruto," Sasuke whispered to Naruto slyly, "Examine your zipper."

"Nando?!" Naruto looked down and realized that his zipper, in fact was down. He clasped his hands over it and immediately zipped it.

Sachiko giggled for she noticed what happened to Naruto. "Let's go inside Naruto-kun. I will make breakfast for all three of us."

"A woman that cooks," Naruto squealed as he let his two friends in, "My favorite!"

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"Sachiko-chan, that was the best breakfast I ever had 'ttebayo!" Naruto was grinning widely and patting his stomach to emphasize his satisfied state.

"Breakfast was excellent," agreed the Uchiha.

"Arigato," Sachiko thanked them with a courteous bow. She anxiously looked to the clock on Naruto's wall. "Well since we had a late breakfast… It's almost lunch time… I have to go."

"Doshde?!" Cried out Naruto, clearly upset. He pounded the table with his palms to accent his feelings.

"I promised to meet someone so I'm gonna have to go boys," Sachiko said sadly, brushing her bangs away from her eyes.

"Your teammates," asked Naruto.

"No… Someone…"

"Who," Naruto persisted.

"Shut up dope… It's none of your business," Sasuke silenced the blue eyed boy, causing the blonde to scowl.

"Thank you guys for spending time with me again this morning," Sachiko said with a bow, "Perhaps another time we can do this again?" Sachiko stood up and started walking to the door when Naruto asked her another question.

"When will we hang out again?"

"I can't make any plans right now Naruto-kun… I can't be late! Don't worry I'll be around town so you'll find me," Sachiko said as she rushed out of the door. She knew that if she was late there would be dire consequences for her to face.

"Maybe she has a date," Sasuke offered with a shrug.

"Then we should make sure he isn't a jerk and go spy on her," Naruto grinned joyously.

"Naruto you are such a pain… We will probably see her tomorrow," Sasuke told him, "Besides; we are supposed to go meet Kakashi-Sensei at the bridge after lunch… Unless you are already forgetting…"

"Yes Sasuke but Kakashi-Sensei is always late. Unless you are already forgetting," Naruto kept a goofy grin slapped on his face.

Sasuke gave Naruto a clever smirk but it quickly washed away. "Naruto, we will not spy on Sachiko-san… I know you have a crush on her you dope but you have to leave her alone."

"Sasuke, you are saying that Sachiko-chan will come to realize she has a crush on me too," Naruto asked gleefully as he felt himself getting all pumped up over this.

"No you dope. I mean that if you stalk her she isn't going to want to hang out with you," Sasuke explained to him, very much agitated with the blonde, but that was usual.

"Sasuke… I hate it when you're right," Naruto admitted and then he banged his head against the table. "Don't tell Sakura-chan," Naruto grumbled, still banging his head, "But Sachiko-chan is much cuter than she is." Naruto grinned and looked up at Sasuke. "Sachiko-chan also isn't flat like Sakura-chan."

"You pervert dope," Sasuke breathed with a sly smirk, "You were checking her out."

Naruto, still grinning and looking up at Sasuke, broke out into uproarious laughter. His whiskered cheeks blushed a deep crimson. "Sasuke will not snitch on me or else he will find a wind shuriken up his—"

"—Naruto you are in no position to threaten me," Sasuke scoffed, "But I won't say anything… I was… looking too."

"Well she is mine Sasuke! Believe it!" Naruto folded his arms and scowled at his teammate.

Sasuke rose from the table nonchalantly and casual. He walked to the door and opened it. He stood in the doorway, a competitive smirk on his face. "We'll see." With that, he left.

"SASUKE!!"

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Sachiko zoomed past Naruto's neighborhood. Lucky for her, she was paying attention when Sasuke and she were walking to Naruto's house. She had made sure not to forget so she wouldn't be late to meet Gaara. She knew he would be angry with her if she was late. As Sachiko ran around the corner she bumped into something or someone thick. She had a knack for running into people. The person's stomach had bounced Sachiko back a few steps. She looked at the stranger's face and saw a funny looking and chubby boy.

"Gomen nasai," Sachiko quickly apologized, "I'm in a rush!" She moved around the big boy and continued running shouting back to him, "Gomen nasai!"

"Tch. She could have bought me some chips or something if she was really that sorry," the chubby boy complained and then went on his way.

"I must be cursed to forever bump into people in this village," Sachiko thought to herself.

"Watch it," said a rough but charming voice. Two arms caught her by the shoulders, firmly but gently.

"Kuso, spoke too soon… How many times will I bump into people today?"

"Gomen nasai," Sachiko had said, her tongue already being accustomed to the phrase's sounds.

The boy had a wolfish grin and yet again Sachiko couldn't help but think how charming he was. One of his teeth poked out from the corner of his lip; it was pointed like a dog's. He had brown hair, almost like Kankuro's but messier and longer. He had to red marks underneath his eyes that had to have been something like Kankuro's war paint.

"Hello," Sachiko said embarrassedly. She could feel a blush coming on but pushed it back as much as she could.

"Hi," he breathed lightly. "Oh," he said suddenly, "Let me introduce myself… I'm… Kiba…"

"Kiba? That's a lovely name," said Sachiko feeling a bit overwhelmed. Of all the boys she had met and seen in the Hidden Leaf Village, this one was certainly the cutest so far. Sure, Naruto was incredibly adorable and Sasuke was "Thee Local Hottie" and mysteriously cute, but this one was gorgeous. "Mine is Sachiko," said she in a diminutive voice. She had clearly lost all her guts and nearly her heart.

A little dog poked out of Kiba's jacket and yapped loudly. He was a tiny puppy and he was white in color. "Oh," Kiba said feeling guilty, "Sorry Akamaru… I didn't introduce you… this is my puppy, Akamaru."

"How cute," smiled Sachiko as she extended her hand to pet Akamaru who welcomed her affectionately. "He's a real sweetie… I wish I had a puppy but you could say I've always been stuck with cats."

"Meow."

"Shut up! Not now!"

Kiba and Akamaru both scowled for a moment. Kiba's scrunched face returned to normal once he heard Sachiko giggle. "I've never seen you before… do you live nearby?"

"I'm from the Sand Village," replied Sachiko, the blush had won.

"Oh, I see," said Kiba, "How long you here for?"

"Until after the Chunin Exams," answered Sachiko, trying hard to get rid of the blush.

"So, uh… any of the guys here hit you up about a date yet," Kiba asked her nervously, Akamaru barking encouragingly.

"Dates… no… Omigosh!" Sachiko had forgotten again and now she only had two minutes to get to Ichiraku Ramen, which was a good ten minutes away, even running. "I have to go," she said frantically, "I'm so very late… Oh… Gomen nasai! I didn't mean to bump into you. I hope to see you sometime soon Kiba-kun… uh… Goodbye!"

The strange girl claiming to be from the Hidden Sand Village ran off toward Ichiraku Ramen, clearly on a mission. Her dark blue hair flailed in the wind as she ran and it was quite a sight. Anyone who saw her had to admit her legs were definitely built for speed. If only such obstacles as people and possible love interests wouldn't appear suddenly.

Akamaru barked a high pitched sound.

"I agree Akamaru," Kiba said with a toothy grin, "She's cute."

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"KUSO," Sachiko practically screamed as she ran down the street, causing many innocent bystanders to stare and gawk.

There was no way Sachiko could be late to this. She simply wouldn't allow it. If she was late to this meeting with Gaara she honestly didn't know what she would do. It wasn't so much the consequences that Gaara might bestow upon her so kindly, it was the mere fact that she couldn't fathom what Gaara would think of her. It was as simple as that. She didn't know what Gaara could possibly think of her for being late, especially after she promised.

"Simplicity," Sachiko reminded herself, "Doesn't exist for people like me."

"But that's okay… I have other methods…"

"Inazuma," Sachiko breathed out slowly as her hands set to work as fast as lightning strikes. Two clouds formed near her feet, both splitting in half. Each small cloud formed a single bird wing. The bird wings surged with miniscule jolts of electricity and flapped together like a newborn bird would try to flap its own wings. They flapped slowly at first but as more electricity surged through, the wings picked speed. "Here we go."

The wings took off at a gallant speed. Sachiko's grin was nearly flapping in the wind as she flew through Konoha like hell on wheels. She could barely see the scenery as she whizzed past it all but she knew she was almost to Ichiraku Ramen. She probably would have been wise to use it a long time ago but then decided it was good that she didn't. Kiba was too cute to pass up. He reminded her so much of Kankuro but Kiba was better than Kankuro. Kiba wasn't related to a redheaded brat. She halted immediately with a click of the heels.

"No Sachiko… Gaara isn't a brat… He's just lonely," Sachiko told herself as she walked the next few steps to the ramen place without the clouded wings.

Sachiko took a seat at Ichiraku Ramen and she waited with less than one minute on the clock. Sabaku no Gaara had wanted to talk to her about something. He made it seem important. Now she would see what it was he wanted. As the clock in her mind rang she readied herself for him. He wouldn't sneak up on her this time. This time she would be ready and after they had there little talk Sachiko thought about wandering around Konoha. Hopefully she would find that boy Kiba or even Naruto and Sasuke. And at least for that moment, Sachiko would feel like she was living a simple kind of life. Even it was only for a moment. Sachiko smiled dreamily in her reveries, but she let her guard down and that was the end of that.

"You're on time," said a voice she knew all too well, "Hn…"

Sachiko, yet again, had allowed Gaara to sneak up on her. She turned to face him, a smile on her face. "Konichiwa, Gaara-sama."

"Hn."

"Should we eat lunch first and then talk, or talk and then lunch, or we could just talk… whatever you want," she told him.

"I'm not interested in having lunch with you… Follow me," he said to her coldly.

The smile disappeared from her face instantly. Sabaku no Gaara didn't have to put things so rudely all the time. "Jerk! Maybe I should have arrived late or not arrived at all…"

"You know he would have found you either way."

"I know."

Sabaku no Gaara lead Sachiko to the roof of a deserted building on the outskirts of Konoha. It seemed to be falling apart as they sat on the roof. Pieces of wall flaked off and wooden planks fell to the floor. Gaara's teal eyes were staring at her intensely. What was it he wanted from her?

A/N: So what do you guys think Gaara is going to tell her? Let's see if you guys are right! Well I enjoyed writing this chapter. As for Sachiko having so much fun with Naruto, Sasuke, and Kiba but I remembered what girls were like at that age. Boy crazy. XD lol. Besides, Sachiko is just figuring out what kind of person she is and is trying to figure out what she wants out of life. She is eager to meet new people and try new things. Sachiko doesn't exactly want to limit herself to just one person yet. She wants to flirt with boys like the way Temari does, but don't worry she's not a slut. Lol. Goodness no! She is just seeing what kind of boy she will like. Later this will lead up to an important decision she will have to make.

Sachiko: Please review! Don't you guys want the new chapter quickly? Then REVIEW!

Author-sama: Yes REVIEW! And lay them on thick! But no flames! -holds fingers up like a cross-

Sachiko: What Author-sama means by laying them on thick is for you guys to write lots of constructive criticism and any ideas you may have! -Mimics Temari- Ta-ta!