A/N: So I was informed AFTER I posted the first story of this series that I am supposed to put in a disclaimer stating I don't own any of the characters from Naruto. I know I probably should have noticed that when it made me read through the rules and regulations of posting, but I'm so scatterbrained sometimes that I'm not sure I saw it...and if I did, I honestly don't remember. So this is my disclaimer. I don't own it. But if I did, I'd be rich and that would be cool.
It was a well known fact that it was hard to make a kunoichi blush. Most were battle hardened women with no interest in the numerous males vying for their affections. They were more interested in their missions or in practicing. Well, most of them were at least. If there was such a thing as a 'romantic' kunoichi, it was Yamanaka Ino. And her current victim was her best friend, Haruno Sakura.
Sakura had not dated since an attempted relationship with Naruto that had fallen through when the youth had been thought to be dead. She'd reluctantly tried to move on with her life, but after five years, Naruto had returned, banged up and mangled, a goofy grin on his face as always. Sakura had been so relieved that he was alright that any romantic feelings she may have had for him had dissipated. All she could think of was how thankful she was that he was alive.
So now, as she stood at his side, she couldn't help but wonder what Ino was up to. Ino had tried to hook her back up with Naruto, but that had backfired when the two best friends had refused, stating that they were too much like brother and sister for such a thing. But the look in Ino's eyes told Sakura she was in trouble. The blonde kunoichi was planning something.
And there wasn't a thing Sakura could do right now because she was currently escorting Naruto, the newly appointed Hokage, to a banquet celebrating the peace treaty that Konoha had signed with Suna and Kumo. The Kazekage was old friends with Naruto and the Raikage had a great deal of respect for him.
Sakura kept her eyes on Ino as the woman made her way around the ballroom. Her purple dress hid numerous weapons, as did Sakura's own emerald one. However, Ino's dress was more risqué than Sakura's, so the placing of the weapons was…strategic…to say the least. In order to properly protect Naruto, Sakura had to take her eyes off of Ino for several seconds at a time and eventually, she lost track of the blonde kunoichi.
The party was eventful and the Raikage even asked Sakura to dance with him while Naruto danced with the Kazekage's sister, Temari. After that dance was over, Sakura found out what Ino had been up to. A hassled looking Kazekage came up to Sakura and asked her to dance with him. Sakura arched one bubblegum colored brow and looked over the red head's shoulder to see Ino smirking. Sakura sighed.
"I apologize for her behavior, Kazekage-sama." Sakura whispered as she danced with the slightly taller male. Unlike the Raikage, the Kazekage did not tower over her. The red head closed his eyes and shrugged.
"It was no trouble. I had planned to ask you to dance, as you are Naruto's closest friend and it is considered strange to dance with another man, even in celebration of an achievement. Most of the men dancing with you are doing so as a sort of congratulation to Naruto, as they are dancing with Temari for Suna and that girl that never leaves the Raikage's side for Kumo." Sakura arched a brow and gave the Kazekage a dry look.
"And here I thought it was my good looks and charm." She noticed Gaara look up at her abruptly, as if just realizing what he'd implied.
"I did not mean that as an insult. I tend to look for rational topics when I am uncomfortable. I am not accustomed to such large crowds, nor being bullied into dancing with people when I clearly have no idea how to dance." Sakura stopped moving and looked him straight in the eyes.
"You don't know how to dance? But you're doing such a wonderful job!" Her surprise was obvious and it made the red head a bit happy that she was being completely truthful with him, not out of fear, but out of genuine shock.
"Thank you. But if my partner were not such a good dancer, I doubt I would seem so graceful." For the first time since she was a child, Sakura found herself blushing. She put her hand to her cheek and looked away as they continued to move to the beat of the music.
"That is very kind of you to say. I learned to dance from watching at several events we've worked security for. I'm not the best, but at least I know enough not to seem so foolish." She could feel her blush getting deeper now and she wished it would go away. However, nothing prepared her for what happened next.
There was sudden screaming and Sakura looked up in time to see glass shattering. She looked around and noticed people with Iwa headbands on. Figures that they'd be so rude as to crash a party when she was finally having a bit of fun. Sakura looked around, trying to find Naruto. She noticed his head being ducked down by Ino, who called out to several other shinobi to protect the Kages. The Raikage had already disappeared, as Iwa and Kumo were bitter enemies.
Sakura looked at the Kazekage before her eyes widened and she grabbed him, jerking him away from an Iwa shinobi who was trying to stab him. She reached under her dress and pulled two kunai from under it and fought off their attacker, ending his life quickly. She looked around and noticed that the Suna bodyguards were all the way across the ballroom from them. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the red head by the sleeve of his robes.
"I have to get you to safety. Your team is being held up by several squads, so we don't have a choice but for me to get you to safety. Stay close, Kazekage-sama." The red head nodded as Sakura cut her way through the enemy shinobi. She jumped back as a kunai with an exploding tag was thrown her way and she grabbed his hand, dragging him with her out of the ballroom and deeper into the tower.
She raced down the hall, this way and that, until she found a door that was locked up tight. She nodded and reached into the bust of her dress. She pulled a lock picking set out and deftly picked the lock. She shoved the red headed Kazekage inside and closed the doors behind her, locking them. Using her monstrous strength, she moved several cabinets so that it would be harder for intruders to get inside should they attempt to break in.
When she leaned against the furniture barricade to catch her breath, she spared a glance at the red head. He was sweaty from their mad dash and slightly dirty from the rubble and dust the invasion had caused. She sighed and looked around the room they were hiding in. She gasped as nervousness suddenly overtook her. They were inside a tiny apartment, with one room, no kitchen, and a bathroom. Well, at least they wouldn't embarrass themselves if they had to use the facilities.
Sakura pushed away from the furniture barricade and looked around. She realized that this was the room of the Hokage's personal bodyguards…one of many she would suspect. She looked at Gaara once more and noticed him looking around the room as well. When his eyes met hers once more, she felt a blush creep up onto her face once more. She mentally scolded herself…she hadn't blushed this much in over ten years.
To stop her nerves from getting the better of her, she went about checking how many weapons she had left. To do that, she walked into the bathroom and pulled up her skirt. She had three kunai left in the holster on her left leg and one in the right. She still had several shuriken strapped beside her kunai and a few tags for good measure.
As she was pulling her skirt down, she heard a noise. She grabbed a kunai and brought it up before she even thought about it. Standing before her, his eyes on the pale skin of her bare thigh, was the Kazekage. His eyes were glued to her shapely leg and she blushed as crimson as his hair. She hastily put her skirt down and cleared her throat.
"I th-think we'll be safe here K-kazekage-sama. I have enough weapons to protect us." She stated quietly, trying her best to control her pounding heart. She noticed him nod absently as he just stared at her. She blushed even deeper and walked out, trying to get away from that very burning gaze of his. Unfortunately for her, there was no escape other than leaving the room, and that was clearly not an option at the moment.
They sat in silence for several moments, waiting for the commotion to die down. After twenty minutes, Sakura couldn't take the silence anymore. "You mentioned earlier you were nervous. I thought you attended events like this often as the Kazekage." She noticed him look over at her before closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest.
"That is correct. I do attend many such functions, but it's mostly because my sister insists that I go. Crowds are not something I have ever been comfortable with. I can ignore it for the most part, but I do have a tendency to feel claustrophobic sometimes." She nodded and thought about the many functions she'd attended at Tsunade's side over the years and the more she will be attending as Naruto's personal bodyguard.
"I can sympathize with that. I don't like large crowds either, but like you, I can block them out for short periods of time." She looked over at him and noticed he still had his eyes closed. "So what is it about this event that made you so nervous?" She noticed him stiffen slightly and she arched a brow. Had she hit a nerve?
"I'm nervous because there is a certain woman here that makes me feel things I am unfamiliar with. That kind of vulnerability makes me nervous." When his eyes opened, they were focused so intently on her that she shivered slightly. Who could possibly catch the attention of the Kazekage in such a way?
"Do I know her?" It slipped out before Sakura could stop it. She blushed again and looked down at her hands. "Sorry, I shouldn't have asked that." Her attention was on her hands when she suddenly felt hands on her shoulders. She looked up quickly and her hands flew to his wrists as she noticed a lightly blushing Gaara staring intently at her.
"Yes...you definitely know her." He whispered as he leaned his body into hers and pushed her to the bed. She gasped and was about to say something when he rested the full weight of his body on top of her. A vibrant blush lit her body as she stared up at him. He stared down at her as his hands wandered, eliciting small noises from the kunoichi beneath him. He found her hidden weapon garter and gasped out an aroused noise.
Sakura, for her part, was aroused and slightly frightened. She'd never, in all her years, been in such intimate contact with anyone. She still held on to the girlish fantasy of saving oneself for that lifelong partner. Gaara clearly wanted her, and was taking the steps to get what he wanted. Her rosy blush turned crimson when she felt his finger toying with the elastic of the garter. He was breathless when he spoke to her. "I have never found a weapon holster so arousing in my life, but you have stirred something inside me best left alone. I cannot control what it is I feel for you. I do not want to frighten you." Sakura stared up at him, at the struggle she sensed inside him.
He was desperately trying to control his instincts-the mating instincts of the demon that had been sealed inside him at birth-for her comfort. She blushed prettily at him and cupped his cheek, making him purr and turn into the caress. Sakura moaned as she felt his hands running up her sensitive skin. She blushed again when she heard him whisper 'so soft' and she gasped as she felt him running his fingers up the insides of her thighs. She was about to tell him they shouldn't do this when she threw her head back with a small cry, his finger having grazed her most intimate spot.
She breathlessly stared up at him as he pushed himself up just enough to stare down at her. He had an ever deepening blush on his face as he shifted his clothes and her eyes widened when she felt his hot manhood against her velvety soft skin. Her mind went blank, she couldn't think, as she felt him shift her panties aside and then lightening struck her as he pushed inside her. It wasn't so much a sharp pain as it was an intense burning sensation. She gasped and clung to him, her nails digging into his back through his robes as he stared down at her, his face a vibrant crimson and hers matching it.
He moved against her, small groans and moans coming from him as he desperately tried to find what he'd been looking for all these years. Sakura gasped and arched against him, a cry ripping from her throat as he leaned down and nuzzled her collar bone. She was surprised when she heard him hiss and growl low in his throat and then felt scorching heat spread through her. She panted as she regarded him lying atop her, his breathing ragged and his face nuzzling against her breasts lovingly. He purred, which shocked her, and she could feel the heat of his blush against her skin.
When her mind began to stop spinning and her fuzzy senses began to clear, her mind pointed out she'd just had mind blowing sex with the Kazekage...a man who'd tried to kill her in the past. Her blush deepened when she felt small, tell-tale nips and licks against her breasts. She moaned as she started to become aroused once more. He whispered something in her ear and she gasped out a 'yes' as he gave a powerful thrust. She could feel his smirk against her breast and knew she'd just confessed to something irrevocable.
"She's what?" Naruto's eyes were wide with shock. Sakura, his Sakura, was pregnant? How? When? Who!? His sapphire eyes locked with Tsunade's as the previous Hokage shrugged nonchalantly.
"She's in the early stages of the pregnancy, so it's likely she doesn't even realize it herself. I wouldn't count on her remaining oblivious for long though. She's a smart girl. She'll realize something is up with her body soon enough. It would be best to figure out who the father is, and soon." She arched a brow as she heard Naruto grumbling he'd kill the bastard when he found out who it was. Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest and regarded him stonily. "Sakura is a full grown woman, Naruto. She's not a child in need of protection from a big brother figure. It would be in your best interest to leave well enough alone." She noticed Naruto about to say something when Sakura burst into the room, her face pale and her hands shaking.
"Naruto, I need travel papers, now." She looked panicked and Tsunade was certain she'd figured out she was pregnant. She looked at Naruto, who was fighting every instinct he had to demand to know who the father was.
"To where, may I ask?" He managed to get out between clenched teeth. Sakura bit her lip and started fidgeting her hands. It was obvious she was nervous. She didn't even seem to sense the tension in Naruto. Or the fact he'd used mannerable speech.
"Suna; I need to leave right away. I need the papers now, Naruto." Tsunade looked over to see a completely shocked Naruto. Both knew that after the attack at the celebration dinner, Sakura had showed up in the aftermath with the Kazekage in tow. Neither had looked injured, though both looked a little worse for wear. Sakura's evening gown had had a slight rip in it but she'd said nothing. Now they both knew why.
"Going to visit Gaara, are we?" Tsunade's head whipped over to Naruto, who was smirking. She looked at her apprentice warily, fully aware that despite only being about a month along, she was still volatile. However, a vibrant blush crept up into her face as she stared at them with wide, shocked eyes and a gaping mouth.
"I...I just need to talk to him about...something..." She blushed even brighter and started fidgeting more. Tsunade was about to say something when a mound of sand began to bubble up from the floor. Suddenly, Gaara was there, his eyes pinned on Sakura. His back was to Naruto and Tsunade, his attention solely on Sakura.
Both the current and previous Hokages watched as the two spoke volumes without uttering a word. Gaara nodded and turned to Naruto, his eyes glowing slightly. "I request Sakura's presence in Suna for an indefinite amount of time." Naruto arched a brow and looked at Sakura, who had a pleading look in her eyes. Naruto shrugged and leaned down, writing something on a parchment. As he did, he spoke.
"I expect you to contact me as soon as the baby is born. I want to come see my niece or nephew." He heard a gasp and looked up, a smirk on his face. Gaara's only giveaway was his slightly flared nostrils. Sakura had a full body blush. They both heard a small growl come from deep within Gaara's chest and it was the two Hokages' turn to blush. Apparently the Kazekage found Sakura's blush very alluring, and very arousing, because he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her soundly before disappearing, his sand grabbing her travel papers as an afterthought.