Chapter Thirty Six: Love Me Like You

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto but I wish I did; Believe It. I do own Sachiko Cloudishida, Katsura, Kentaro, Norihiro, and any other OCs in the story. I also own Sachiko's bloodline trait the Inazuma. Something else I'd like to say is that many of the titles are named after songs and the plot or the character's dialogue will often reveal lyrics from said songs.

A/N: Aw, now that peace is brought…

Sachiko: There will be peace right?

Author-sama: Sure.

"Pack your things," Gaara said to his wife one evening after they he had returned from a day at the office. She looked to him, confused. His lips pulled upward a bit, a smile struggling to place itself on his face. "I have a meeting in Konoha for three days. We are going to leave tomorrow morning. I want you to come with me… I know you miss your friends."

Excitement lit up her eyes like two lanterns as she threw her arms around his neck, embracing him. She was so happy with him at the moment and not just because she'd be going back to Konoha. She was happy because Gaara was putting forth effort. She could tell he was a bit shocked by her sudden outburst but he wrapped his arms loosely around her. His strong hands were placed strategically on the small of her back, holding her against him. "You don't know how much this means to me," she murmured to him, "Arigato."

He nodded, releasing his grip around her. She released her arms from around his neck and allowed him to do his paperwork before he went to bed. At first, she had thought that he would use the paperwork as an excuse for him not to talk to her but had later realized that it could all really pile up if left neglected. She scanned her husband's face as he sat down. She could tell something was bothering him, nagging at him. She waited patiently to ask her question until he finished his work.

"Something's bothering you," she said to him as soon as he joined her in the bed. He shook his head no but she knew he was lying. "What is it," she asked him, persistence prevailing.

He was quiet for many moments. He was thinking of what he could say to her. He could either lie to her or tell her the truth. She had once told him she wanted them to be honest with another. He knew he would feel guilty later if he broke that rule. "I don't want you talking to Inuzuka Kiba when we go to Konoha… I don't want him touching you. He needs to know who you belong to."

She pulled herself closer to him and placed a hand behind his head on the area where his neck started. She played with his hair for a moment and then said to him, "You." He nodded to her as he placed a hand on her waist, tugging her closer to him. The warmth of her body spread to his habitually cold one; the sensation was fantastic.

"Me," he breathed out as he gazed into her eyes longingly.

Sachiko could see what he wanted from her. She tilted her head slightly and pressed her lips to his. She pulled away faintly and then lifted her head slightly. She placed a soft kiss at the tip of his nose. The expression on his face as she pulled away was precious. His face was awkwardly happy. She almost giggled at the sight. Sachiko paused for a moment, wondering exactly what had gotten into her. She was never this excited to be affectionate with him yet she had the urge to giggle like a little school girl. She had felt funny all that morning. Her brow furrowed somewhat as she settled her head on her pillow.

"Goodnight," she murmured to him as she closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to reach its gentle hand to her.

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Sachiko breathed in the sweet Konoha air. It was the air she loved to breathe. She spread her arms out and twirled two times, enjoying being back home. Her husband had told her to go ahead and hang out with her old friends and he would catch up with her later. He had to meet with the council as a preparatory meeting before the actual meeting with the Hokage. What Sachiko didn't know was that her husband would really be following her that morning. He needed to know for himself if she would be faithful to her word; if she would go with Kiba.

Sachiko had decided to stroll around Konoha. She could visit her friends later on. After all, she would be in Leaf for three days. That was plenty of time. She ran across the streets of the village, dodging the hustling and bustling of the crowds. She had been wandering the streets for a while now. She was just enjoying herself when she bumped into someone, but for some reason, the bump didn't seem so accidental.

"I thought that was you," breathed Kiba as he grinned at her. Akamaru was wagging his tail as he sat next to his master's side. "Sachiko-chan…"

"Kiba," huffed Sachiko, utterly shocked. She was surprised to have run into him so fast. She had made a promise to her husband not to speak to him but Kiba had spoken to her first and it was so tempting.

"Walk with me?" he asked her and she could only nod as her body took control of her. Her mind could only fret as she followed Kiba to a place only he knew, and she had left behind when she said the words, 'I do' to another man. Sachiko had asked Kiba where they were going but he had said, "Just wait and see… You know the place well." He had taken her to the swing set they were once so fond of. "Let's see who can jump off the farthest… for old time's sake?" Sachiko nodded as her mind was still screaming at her to obey Gaara's orders but her feet were firmly planted and didn't plan on going anywhere. She hopped on the swing next to Kiba's and began to sway on it. She gained height the more she rocked back and forth on the swing. She and Kiba were all the way up in the air. Kiba jumped off first and landed a good distance away. He waved to Sachiko, begging her to jump. She knew if she would make the jump he would catch her. He always would catch her and he had told her he would so many times before. Sachiko bit her lip and let her body glide from the swing into the sky. Gravity pulled her back down to the surface and she landed straight into Kiba's arms. They tumbled down the hill that had been tumbled on so many times before. She could feel giggles escaping from her lips like a school girl and she could hear his soft chuckling as she did so. The two finally collapsed on level ground, breathing heavily from the adrenaline rush.

Kiba had taken one of her hands in his, pressed it against the side of his cheek, and murmured, "I miss this… feeling." He kissed the tips of her fingers gently like he had done so what seemed so long ago.

"Kiba-kun," Sachiko said firmly, "Stop it… I'm married now."

"So what," Kiba replied sourly, not letting go of her hand, "You don't love him." To this, Sachiko made no attempt to deny the little detail. Kiba was right; she didn't love her husband. She only forcibly loved him and that wasn't true love. Kiba sighed as he took her other hand in his. "You're such an amazing girl," he murmured to her as he pressed her hands to his lips, "Married to a man that will never love you like I do…" Sachiko would have responded but she was utterly speechless as he continued. "Gaara would never understand… doesn't he know that just because he's Kazekage and married to you, it doesn't mean that he has got a clue about how to love you, my Sachiko-chan. It doesn't mean that you'll love him like you love me." He looked deeply into Sachiko's eyes. His honey orbs were just too much for her to resist. She still couldn't speak. "What makes you think that the two of you will last? Just because you're married to him… it doesn't mean you'll be his woman. Your humble husband probably doesn't even know where you are right now…" He positioned her hands on his face so that they were cradling his cheeks. "Tell me you love me… tell me please… Lie to me… Just tell me."

As Sachiko returned his gaze, she felt the hurt that made residence within his heart and his eyes. She could feel her eyes begin to water but only one droplet fell. That was the funny thing about tears though, she had thought bitterly. There may be more than one tear, appearing to be by itself. Her eyes let out the rainwater like dripping rooftop as she bit her lip to fight them back. "I made a promise to be faithful to him and I will not break that promise… ever… I may not love him and I may not like him either… I may be only tolerant of him but I will not be unfaithful… He deserves better than that. I won't hurt him. He's been hurt too much already," she finally said, letting it all out as her mind gained control again. She pulled back her hands away from Kiba and let them down at her sides, waiting for him to respond.

"So you'll hurt me instead?" asked Kiba mournfully as he tried to take her hands in his again but she withdrew, leaving him cold in his sorrow.

"If that's what it takes to protect him from being hurt… then hai," she answered back, almost angrily, "I cannot betray him like so many others have." She refused to subject her husband to the hurt of having an unfaithful wife. By marrying him, she had made a promise to be true to him whether she loved him or not and she would uphold that vow.

"He can never love you and you can never love him! I'm in love with you and you're in love with me still… Don't lie to yourself! You don't love him! Just admit that you're as miserable as you pretend so hard not to be," shouted Kiba as he grasped her shoulders, his eyes searching in hers for a sign; anything, "You hate him!"

"I can't lie to you Kiba-kun… I am miserable… I'm unhappy, unwanted, and unloved… My life has taken me in the total opposite direction of the path I had wanted to take… All I wanted was happiness out of my life since I woke up in the hospital not knowing who I was or anything about myself. I had just wanted to start new and fresh. I wanted to be happy and here I am married to Sabaku no Gaara; demon of Sand and I am everything but happy…" Her lips trembled and her heart ached as her mouth wrenched out the last part in a quivering whisper, "But I do not hate him." She looked back into Kiba's eyes, determination in hers.

"You'll never love him," Kiba said coldly to her in a low voice that resembled Akamaru's growl. He would never be able to forget that moment if she didn't felt the same. All he wanted was to find a way to make it hard for her so he could get her back. But if she didn't love Gaara like she loved him… there could be a chance.

Sachiko slowly stood up and brushed herself off. "Maybe not… but I will never betray him either… I have to go now… You can never bother me again… never approach me again. Just leave me alone from now on…" She turned her back to him; turned her back to the man she loved. She had never felt such pain in her heart as she took those dreadful steps away from him. Kiba couldn't help but count the steps she took as she walked away; forty of them before she disappeared up the hilltop. His whole chest ached with pain the moment she was out of sight. She could never be his no matter how badly either of them wanted it to be so and the fact was that; never.

Akamaru's whimpering and low growl had alarmed Kiba to snap out of his shocked stupor and look toward the other end of the meadow. Someone was hiding within the trees. Kiba's first reaction was to get into his fighter stance, ready to battle. "Who's there?" he asked in a snarl as his hands prepared to throw a kunai. "Come out of your hiding place!" Kiba's heart beat against his chest like hail against a window as the fearsome Kazekage stepped out from the trees. Kiba had imagined that Gaara must have been watching him and Sachiko the entire time. That meant that Gaara had seen Kiba kissing her hands and heard their conversation. Kiba's face scrunched into a scowl as he dropped the kunai. Akamaru was still tense but his growling decreased as his master ambled his way up into a standing position. Feeling guilty, the wolfish boy stared down at the floor. "Gomen, I tried to take her from you… I only wanted her back but…" Kiba shot Gaara a miserable glance before continuing and said, "She doesn't feel the same… She doesn't love me like she loves you." Kiba slowly wandered away, Akamaru crying at his master's heels.

Gaara had decided on not threatening the boy Kiba. He could see that Kiba was already defeated after his little speech. Still, Gaara felt bothered by it all. It wasn't so much as the fact that Kiba had tried to win Sachiko over again. It was the fact that Gaara could no longer lie to himself. When she wasn't near him his heart ached like a dull pain caused by a stubborn spasm, creating a stiff knot that would go away but would continue to throb. Each vein that pumped blood through his heart seemed to close up when she wasn't speaking to him. But when she was near him, his lungs would shrink, making it hard for him to breathe around her and his heart would thump, thump, thump like running feet against the road.

The young Kazekage closed his eyes, his head and mind reeling. There was a time when he was six years old that he would feel pain in his chest. It was sharp at times and dull at others, but there was always pain there whether it be an ache or a twinge. He had asked his uncle Yashamaru what it was and he had replied by saying that it was his heart. Ever since Sachiko had returned to Suna the pain crawled its way back into Gaara's heart like a little monster; tearing him up inside. At first he hated her and had felt betrayed by her until he found out she had lost her memory. It hadn't been her fault for not returning to Suna; it was the amnesia. The redhead sighed heavily, air tickling the inner part of his lips. Yashamaru had told him about a feeling called love and Gaara had once believed him until Yashamaru betrayed him and tried to assassinate him. Gaara had never thought love could be real until Naruto had taught him a valuable lesson. Though the lesson made Gaara wise enough to allow himself to make friends, he hadn't allowed himself to love anyone. His bizarre emotions and peculiar feelings led him to believe one thing; he was starting to love her. Gaara had thought to stop it once he realized exactly what was taking place but couldn't help but fall into a cycle that had taken so many others before him captive. He was fated to continue the cycle until he was either hopelessly in love or dejectedly heart broken. The second result was something that no person ever desired.

He shook his red head of hair, clearing his thoughts. He began to take a few steps in one direction and then paused for quite a while before turning to the opposite to continue his walk.

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Sachiko had gone back to the hotel room. Because Gaara was Kazekage, he had been given the biggest suite in the biggest hotel in Konoha. Tsunade had arranged such accommodations for the Kages of allied villages. Eyes wide open, like the doors to a harlot's abode, Sachiko stared into the open space. "Tears are never far behind and nightmares only wait to come again when you wake," she murmured to herself as minute droplets of water escaped from her tear ducts. She would refuse to call them tears. Instead she would say that they were merely the result of the sun being far too bright that morning. She laid herself out on the bed of her hotel suite and gazed up the ceiling, wondering if she could just say goodbye to the world she knew. Living life was just too complicated. If life could be lived with the dreams without fears maybe she'd be more enthusiastic toward the idea.

Alertness kicked in as soon as she heard the door quietly open. Her husband walked through the door. Sachiko turned her head slightly so he wouldn't see her rubbing at her eyes to remove the stains her tears had made. She wasn't in the mood for speaking with anyone at the moment and figured he would take the hint if she left the room. She slowly got up from the bed and went to the balcony, praying he wouldn't follow. She could feel him staring after her but she knew he hadn't yet moved from his spot. She leaned against the railing of the balcony and looked out to her Konoha, ignoring the falling tears. The village was so vivacious at the moment and it hurt her to see it so lively without her. She heard a noise from behind her, the sound of someone else coming out on the balcony with her.

"You're avoiding me," she heard her husband mumble from behind her.

Her head dropped down low as she stared at the floor of the balcony. Without turning around she said, "Do I murder when I forget you from afar?" Her words were a bit queer but Gaara had understood the meaning. She was asking if it hurt him for her to neglect greeting him; if it hurt his most essential part.

"Hn," he replied. Judging by where his voice came from, Gaara was directly behind her, watching her. "Right here." That made her turn around. She found her husband with a hand to his left breast. Could he possibly mean his heart?

"Right there?" she asked him breathlessly, nearly unconvinced until she placed a hand upon of his as they both lay atop his pounding heart. She nervously withdrew her hand back to her side and then their eyes locked. An unseen apprehension filled both their hearts as he nodded to her question. "Tension is to be loved when it is like a passing note to a beautiful, beautiful chord," she murmured as she stepped closer to him. It was a quote from a book she had finished reading before they left for Konoha. "Gomen nasai… I won't forget to greet you anymore. I wasn't feeling well…" She couldn't continue as a sob escaped from in between her lips and more rainwater trickled down from her eyes. He pressed something soft into her hand. She looked to see what it was and found his sash from his Kazekage garb. He had given it to her as if it were a handkerchief. "Arigato," she whispered as she pressed it to her eyes and then handed it back to him. "Why would you… be good to me?" she asked him awkwardly.

Gaara felt his body go stiff at her inquiry. If he hid the truth there was a chance he would perhaps lose her. He didn't want to lose her; he wanted her to love him like he did her. "Expect me to be finding out to see if you're okay when I'm not around… I want you to be happy with me." He stepped closer to her, only inches away. She grew a bit panicky and took a step back. "I don't bite," Gaara said to her, feeling a bit rejected by her actions. He sighed and pulled away from her slightly. She gave him a nod and then let her stare drop down to the floor. She watched as a little bug scurried across to the other end of the balcony and then took flight. After it flew off and she could no longer see it, she returned her gaze to her husband. His teal eyes had never left her even though her eyes hand wandered. "You need to rest," he said to her suddenly as he led her back into the hotel room. He sat at the edge of the bed and watched her intently as she crawled underneath the covers. "You've had a rough day," he murmured to her and it startled her somewhat.

"Excuse me?" she asked him, unsure if she had heard what she thought she heard.

"Your day… has been trying?" he inquired, now regretting that he had mentioned it to begin with. He could have just kept it all a secret. He was relieved when she hadn't made a reply and laid her head on her pillow. She closed her eyes slowly and that was when he moved. He went to her side of the bed, bent over and brushed his lips against hers. Her dark purple orbs fluttered open like fresh butterfly wings; his course of action had certainly surprised her. "I hope you feel better," he murmured before giving her one last long gaze and then retiring to a desk to fill out some paperwork. Sachiko had given him a nod after managing to gulp down a knot that had made a home in her throat. After repeating the moment that had just occurred between her and her husband, and coming to the conclusion that she wasn't dreaming she didn't feel so love sick after Kiba. In fact she felt better than ever as she watched her husband do his work, a smile etching its way onto her brightened face.

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A small yawn crawled to Sachiko's lips as she stretched out her arms. She stretched her legs as well but felt awkward as they brushed against another pair of legs. Finally opening her eyes, she realized her husband was still intertwined with her the same way they had been when she fell asleep. His eyes were watching her intently as he murmured, "Ohayo."

"Ohayo," she replied back with a blush. The way her husband was staring at her with such interest was the same way Kiba used to stare at her when they were dating. "Don't you have to go to the meeting," she asked him as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"If you want me to but its not until tonight," he replied as one of his hands ran through her dark blue hair in a tender manner.

"I… I'd like you to stay with me," she said to him in a soft whisper as her heart thudded against her chest like a jackhammer. He nodded to her, still gazing into her eyes. She nervously fidgeted underneath the covers. "What would you like to do this morning?"

He shrugged and murmured, "Anything you'd like would be fine."

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The young Kazekage and his wife strolled around Konoha that morning. They were getting along finally and this contented both hearts. Sachiko turned to her husband, smiling up at him. He returned the smile with his lips upturned slightly into a solid half smile. It was the biggest smile she would probably ever receive from him but it was good enough for her. She stared out to Konoha's crowded streets and found no familiar faces. The people of Konoha gawked at the couple as they walked. Perhaps it was too much of a shock to see the monster that once disrupted the Chunin Exams to be the Kazekage of Sand spending time with his wife? Who's to point a finger at what's not understood? Every person was strange in their own way. Sachiko looked at her husband. He had had a difficult life; he deserved happiness, she thought.

Sachiko decided that since her husband had been repentant; she would forget the bad times and only remember the good. She wanted to please him and make him happy in any way she could. That had been her goal before but she had been distracted from it because of his bad temper or people from old memories that kept surfacing up. It was all to be put in the past; she had told herself that morning when she woke up.

A small hand slipped into Gaara's as they walked, fingers laced. Gaara looked down at his hand at the touch to find it had been Sachiko's hand that had found residence within his. Her fingers unlaced themselves for a moment but only to play with his fingers as they walked. Gaara felt amazed by the action; he had never felt any sort of affection such as that before. It was new and refreshing to him.

"I'm going to get something to snack on really quick," she said to him as she unfastened her hand from his, leaving his hand feeling lonely. He nodded slowly as she took off to a stand selling confectionaries and snacks. He looked down at his hand for a moment as the tingling sensation left it. He suddenly desired her affection as his heart thudded against his chest slow and hard, swelling with emotion as it gained speed. Her hand in his seemed just right. He missed her already.

"Gaara-sensei," said a voice. Gaara had not noticed Matsuri standing in front of him. Matsuri had been a part of his bodyguards that Temari assigned to protect him while he was in Konoha. Gaara hadn't been happy over the idea and had let Temari mention it to Sachiko. Sachiko hadn't said anything to reject the idea and that was why Matsuri was there. He must have been watching Sachiko and looking at his hand when Matsuri had approached. He looked down to the brunette. She had a smile from ear to ear and a blush on her cheeks to match it. He nodded to her as his greeting. "I see you are alone," she said all too cheerily.

"I'm not," he replied, thinking of what he could say to deter her this time, "My wife is getting something to eat and will return soon." Matsuri's eyes fell downward for a moment, disappointment in them. They were soon lighted up again with a new emotion.

"Gaara-sensei," she chirped, "Would you like to join me for lunch?" She began to giggle as she tugged on his hand. "Please?"

Sachiko had found a cute stand selling chips, pocky, and other things similar. She bought herself a box of strawberry pocky and turned to walk back to Gaara. She found her husband being pestered once more by the ever flirting Matsuri. Sachiko nearly wanted to throw the pocky at the girl's head. The brunette was more than persistent; she was relentless and pushy to a point where Sachiko would be happy to strangle her. Sachiko marched up to Gaara, forming a plot in her head as she walked to her husband. That little girl was to learn an important lesson; Gaara was Sachiko's territory.

Her fingers opened up the strawberry pocky box with ease and reached in for one. She stuffed one in her mouth and began to chew on it angrily. She just finished it when she reached her husband and Matsuri. She gave Gaara a small kiss on the cheek. He was a bit surprised but enjoyed it all the same. She then fed him a piece of the strawberry covered pocky. He chewed it over slowly, enjoying the flavor.

Sachiko grinned as Matsuri's eyes grew a bit wider; her resilience beginning to fade. "I'll crush your spirit," Sachiko thought to herself as she turned to her husband. He was gazing into her eyes fondly as she reached for his hand. He hadn't expected her to reach for it again but was pleased with the results; the tingling sensation returning. Sachiko, on the other hand, was pleased with other results from her simple action as Matsuri let a flash of shock pass through her eyes but said nothing and refrained from allowing her jaw to drop completely but was unable to keep her mouth from speaking.

"You're holding hands." Her eyes went from Gaara to Sachiko; Sachiko to Gaara. Her brown orbs fell to their hands.

"Do you need glasses to believe it?" He felt a bit angry that the little brunette found it impossible for his wife to have any feeling toward him. Sachiko was surprised that her husband had asked Matsuri the question. "Matsuri," Gaara continued, "You're crush on me has lasted long enough. You shall refrain from making your affections known and they will diminish completely." He looked over to his wife for a moment; something she had never seen before in his eyes flickered. It almost looked like attachment. "I am very fond of my wife and desire no one else," he finished, "You will apologize to her for being disrespectful and impertinent."

"Hai, Kazekage-sama," Matsuri said hurriedly, clearly bothered and fretting, "Gomen nasai Sachiko-hime… I was very disrespectful and impertinent… forgive me."

Gaara looked over to his wife, who nodded in reply. "You are dismissed," he said to Matsuri. She ambled away from the couple, in search of someone that could perhaps pinch her. She was sure she was dreaming at the moment.

"Gaara-sama," murmured Sachiko, "Arigato." Gaara's eyes went to his wife again. A small blush was on her cheeks as she gazed back to him. She seemed bashful suddenly, and shy around him. It amused him a bit. He gave her a nod. She lifted a pink strawberry pocky to his mouth and he received it. A flow of emotions seemed to be gushing through him like a geyser as he swallowed the confectionary. Her affection toward him was making him feel bizarre emotions. He unexpectedly felt engaging toward Sachiko; it was awkward but it made him feel good.

"You called me Gaara-kun once before," he said to her as they walked along the streets, "You should continue to do so." She shyly nodded to him. She wasn't sure of what had gotten into herself. She felt timid suddenly like Hinata and as for him; he was being a bit more engaging than she was accustomed to. Perhaps he was finally making an effort; that's what counted most.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. It took me a while to write this one. I was working on it for a bit before I was able to post it today.

Sachiko: Readers, expect a slower update rate on this fanfic. Author-sama has been pretty busy. And she's beginning to update her L&C fanfic so that's one reason. Another reason being that Author-sama started another GaaraxOC fanfic that I am not too happy about…

Author-sama: Oh Sachiko-chan you will always be perfect for Gaara. I made you to be that way. The other fanfic is more modern and less Naruto world like. So you are just right. Okay?

Sachiko: I'll take your word for it… Anyway, Review readers!