Whirlwind

Chapter Five

-Operation Convince Gaara Not to Kill Sasuke and Take Him Back to Leaf: Day One-

Waking up that morning, Sakura felt a renewed vigor. She decided then and there that she would ignore Gaara's outburst the night before. She didn't like to dwell on things that upset her after all. That decided, she got ready to go to the market. Sunrise was the perfect time to buy groceries in her book. When she went downstairs, she found Gaara in the kitchen about to pour himself a bowl of cereal.

"Oh no you don't. We are going to the market today and you can grab something healthier while we're there." She said, taking the bowl out of his hands.

He paused and raised a brow at her. "Excuse me?"

She ignored the look he was giving her, and instead set the bowl away in the cabinet. "You heard me. Now let's go before all the good produce is gone." Then she grabbed his hand and began an attempt at dragging him to the door.

"Before what is gone?" he asked, resisting the pull on his arm.

She directed some chakra into her feet and pulled harder, effectively tugging him across the tile. "The produce. You know, fruits and vegetables?" she rolled her eyes at him. "Geez, you're gonna need more help than I thought." Impossibly enough, her smile brightened. "At least we'll have an early start!"

"An early start? But I have to go to work." Gaara challenged her. Unfortunately, his statement fell on deaf ears.

Sakura simply rolled her eyes at his attempt to escape. "Oh please, like the Kazekage can't take one day off? You forget Sabaku no Gaara, that I am Tsunade's student, and all she does is lie around and do nothing but drink sake." The perky kunoichi dragged him closer to the door. When she reached it she gave him a pointed look before saying, "And she still gets all her work done. So with that said," she smiled simply and pulled him out the front door.

Gaara stared wide eyed at the two orange spheres in his hands. "I…" he stopped midsentence, pressing his lips tightly together in a grimace. "I don't understand."

Sakura placed her hands on her hips and shook her head at him. "These are called oranges Gaara." She said, taking one of the fruits from him. "It's simple. Just lightly press on the fruits. If there are areas that are squishier than the rest, it's bruised. We don't want bruised fruit. So you put that back, and grab a different one."

Gaara followed her instructions and placed the fruit back into the box and examined the rest. He needed to outdo Sakura and show his superiority in fruit picking. "I know that they are oranges Sakura." He retorted, still looking for a prize specimen. "It's just…I've never seen an orange before. It was made into juice." He admitted a bit shyly.

Her eyes widened at his statement. "Oh." Before she could say anything more, Gaara pulled an orange out of the bunch. He held it out to her saying, "This one is perfect."

She took it from him and tried to stifle a laugh. "Um, this one is severely bruised on the other side." She turned it over, revealing a large, brown spot.

Gaara stared at the offending spot in disgust. "I see." Then he grabbed another orange, examined it, and handed it to her.

She looked the orange, which appeared to be totally fine on the outside, but it was as hard as a tennis ball. "Well, it would be perfect, except that it's not ripe enough to eat yet." She reached into the orange bin and pulled one out. After examining it she handed it to him. "Here, this is a good example of what we need."

He wordlessly took the orange from her and looked at it. It didn't seem that much different than the one he picked out. But Sakura was 'the expert', and he was not going to argue with her over something so trivial.

The day continued in a similar manner, with Sakura showing him how to tell which produce was the best or not, and where to look for it in the bins. She also tried to show him how to haggle with the merchants, but because he was the Kazekage, nobody would make him pay too high of a price.

As it neared ten o'clock Sakura dragged him into a bakery, where they had warm bagels. She even cut up some of the fruit they had bought earlier and put it on his bagel. When he looked at her questioningly she shrugged and said, "I told you we would eat something healthier, didn't I?"

"Yes, but I wasn't actually going to." Gaara sighed and looked away from the odd combination.

Sakura huffed and moved back into his line of vision. "Oh come on Gaara. Can't you just try it? You don't even know if you like it or not."

Gaara's gaze stayed on her now, his intrigue in her growing. She was definitely persistent, if not stubborn. "Fine Sakura, you win." He said simply, taking the bagel from her hand and taking a large bite into the bread and the fresh fruit. All Sakura could do was blink in surprise and watch the all-powerful and fearless Kazekage eat a, literally, fruity snack. He didn't say anything at first after he swallowed.

The silence was almost painful to Sakura, and without even realizing it she held her breath. "Well?" she finally asked, unable to keep herself quiet any longer.

He was staring at the food in his hand and then finally looked back into her eyes. "It's delicious," he informed her, his tone and face the same as they always were. But his answer was enough to make Sakura break into a smile and clap her hands together.

"See I knew you would like it! And from now on I will prepare your dinner so that you get some healthy food in that stomach. Quite honestly," Sakura laughed haughtily, placing her hands on her hips. "I don't know how you're not dead from the junk you eat."

Gaara sighed, he wouldn't feed her ego this time. He watched Sakura walk to the counter and followed her absently. No wonder he made Temari do the shopping, it was so boring, but for some reason Sakura seemed to enjoy it. He looked around the bakery at the people who were buying bread and rolls. They were all staring at him wide eyed, whispering to each other. But smiles were crawling up their faces, unlike before when his presence spread whispers of fear. A couple of girls around the age of sixteen attempted to walk casually behind him, but their giggling was a dead giveaway.

Of course, Sakura was oblivious to the background and focused on paying the woman who ran the bakery. "Here you go," she smiled, holding out a couple of silver coins for the bread and pastries. Her smile fell quickly and annoyance replaced her kind expression. The woman at the counter was clearly focused on the redhead behind her.

"Hello Kazekage-sama," the store owner blushed, giving him a small wave. At the sound of his name, Gaara moved his focus from the iced cakes to the dark haired woman at the front. His attention quickly fell on the steaming Sakura. Just like a woman, he thought with a small laugh, always mad unless the spotlight is on them. He couldn't help but link the similarities between Sakura and his sister.

Fortunately, Gaara knew how to handle the situation just right. His angry friend would win, as she did seem to love winning. He walked up to the counter and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, standing close behind her. "Hello," he gave a warm smile to the villager, who could do nothing to hide the disappointment on her face.

"Go ahead and pay the woman Sakura, we must be going." He leaned down closer to her face to let her see his smirk. Sakura raised a confused brow, but when she caught the woman's stare she could feel her own frown twisting into a grin. She set the money on the counter and turned with Gaara towards the door.

"Keep the change," Sakura called over her shoulder with a sly smile.

Gaara escorted Sakura outside. Once they were out in the sunlight his hand moved from her shoulder and back to his side. "What now?" he asked uninterested, all playfulness now gone from his face.

She was truly astonished at how fast he could change his mood. What was he? Some kind of manic depressant? "I don't know," she shrugged and looked around the market. "We could just browse since we're done with all the shopping for now."

"Do we have to?" Gaara asked making it sound like she had asked him if he wanted to strip down and jump into a pile of cacti.

"No we don't have to," she glared, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. "Do you have a better idea Mr. Buzz-Kill?"

"No." he replied, crossing his arms as well. The standoff had begun yet again.

Sakura brushed some of her bangs from her face and held his gaze with her own. "Well then looks like you don't have a choice." She challenged, daring him to try and defy her.

"I guess not," Gaara let his arms fall to his sides once more and walked towards the marketplace. Sakura was actually confused. Had that just happened? Sabaku no Gaara had given up so easily? She turned around and ran to catch up with the calm redhead. "Hey! What the heck? Why did you give in so quickly?" she asked, obviously confused.

He glanced down at her and shrugged, "I really don't wish to fight with you Sakura. At least not in public." He added, knowing it was hopeless to stop fighting altogether. Plus he just liked to piss her off sometimes.

She blinked and looked forward, still unable to process his actions, "Well alright then." She then led him off to the shops and began to browse through all the little trinkets. Suna was so amazing! It had the cutest knick knacks and stores. Gaara just followed her around, holding their things so she could look through everything Suna had to offer. She compared necklaces and bracelets, not knowing what she liked the most. That was until she saw it, a beautiful glass orb with a petrified cherry blossom inside. Sakura gasped and picked it up carefully. Gaara followed close behind her, trying to peer over her shoulder to see what it was.

"Wow! Gaara look at this," she turned and held it higher for him to see. He stared down at the small item. It truly was beautiful. He took it from her and gave it a closer look.

"I really like it. I wonder how they did that though." Sakura tapped her chin, getting lost deep in her thoughts.

Gaara didn't realize it, but a small smile crept up his face. He placed the orb back in her hands, "They probably buried a cherry blossom beneath the sand and used iron to attract lightning to trap it. This glass is made from sand struck by lightning." He told her with a small shrug.

Sakura's excitement only grew with the details he told her. Although the truth quickly dawned upon her, she didn't have the money to buy this. She sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. Gaara couldn't help but notice the sudden change in her attitude. "Is something wrong Sakura?" he asked, wondering what could have possibly changed her so quickly.

"No, it's nothing." She tried to smile at him as she placed the glass orb down. "Come on, let's go see if we can find Naruto." She said, walking away from the stall. Gaara didn't follow immediately, instead he looked back at the item that Sakura had admired. It was so small, and didn't seem very significant. He turned after her and followed, despite the fact he didn't really want to deal with the blonde fox. All Naruto ever did was yell loudly and annoy him to no end.

They found Naruto at one of Sand's training grounds, probably preparing to fight Gaara for Sasuke. Before she or Gaara could utter a word, Naruto charged at them, and pulled Sakura away from the redhead.

"How could you walk around with this bastard Sakura-chan? He wants to kill Sasuke!" The blonde yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Gaara. Gaara simply looked angry. Probably from Naruto calling him the same name he calls Sasuke. The last thing she felt like dealing with so early in the day was two temperamental ninjas.

Sakura sighed. "Naruto, Sasuke is not going to be executed."

At this declaration the redhead swiftly turned his head in her direction. "Did you not hear me yesterday Sakura? The Uchiha will die."

She crossed her arms and gave Gaara a half hearted glare. "Gaara come on, you can't really be serious about that."

Gaara's calm mood was now gone, and she could see the irritation and the hate forming on his face. His fists were so tight that his knuckles were stark white and the sand around him began moving in a menacing way. "Maybe you two should remember that he left you're sorry village to go chase after some pedophile! Every time you try and go get him he gets away because he doesn't want to be with you!" he shouted. "He does things to harm your people. He tried to kill a Kage, who is also your friend, Naruto, and nearly killed my sister! So if you two are going to put your loyalty to some renegade traitor and turn your back on all your other friends then GET OUT OF MY VILLAGE!"

The sand rose all around them and swirled angrily, scratching against the Konoha ninja's skin. Then it died down instantly and they were left alone, Gaara had disappeared.

Naruto stared at Sakura in shock. "Does he do that often?"

She threw her arms up in irritation. "How the hell would I know you baka? He's more your friend than he is mine!"

The blonde looked confused. "But Sakura-chan, you've been with him ever since we arrived. I thought you two had bonded or something." Her irritation died down at the truth in his statement. They had become better friends since arriving two days ago. But that didn't really matter right now.

What he had said about Sasuke hurt her. She knew that he spoke the truth, but he didn't understand. She and Naruto had made a promise to always be there for Sasuke, even if he didn't want them. They knew what was best for him, even if he didn't. Somehow, she would have to explain it to Gaara, in a way that he would understand.

"Well we better go look for him. You know how he gets when he's upset." Naruto looked downcast, and then the two went their separate ways to search. Before she left to begin looking for the redhead, she looked down at her feet. Her face contorted into one of anger.

"Damn him! He left me with all the groceries!"

Gaara appeared in swirl of sand at the top of Suna, staring down at the city in which he had sworn to protect. The buildings and signs blurred together, he couldn't believe how angry he was. The only time he could recall this feeling was seven years ago when he had been injured for the first time by that disgusting Uchiha. He lifted his hand and clutched his left shoulder where the scar still remained. Something he would never allow to be seen.

He removed his hand and looked back out at the village. He didn't understand why Naruto wasn't on his side. Were they not best friends as well? Sakura was a different story, he knew that she loved the Uchiha, the fact that she jumped in to defend Sasuke from him all those years ago was proof enough. He let out a deep breath he didn't know he was holding. He still did not know why she was on his side.

"I need to focus…" he said softly to himself, letting his sand rise once more and take him off.

Sakura was going to wear a hole in the floor at the rate things were going. She'd been pacing ever since the groceries were put away. Which was a long time ago, since it was already dark out.

Having looked everywhere for Gaara and seeing no sign of him, she had come back to the house to wait for him. It was now nearing midnight, and her worry about the redhead had reached new levels. She hadn't eaten anything since this morning, having lost her appetite.

Just as she was about to turn around again in her pacing, the front door opened.

The only other inhabitant of the house walked in silently, not bothering to look up at the fuming pink haired worry wart. He shut the door slowly and slid the deadbolt into place, not that anyone would dare break into the Kazekage's house, but he thought it would make Sakura feel more secure.

He looked more tired than usual, and was covered in sweat. For some reason, his hands were wrapped in bandages, similar to the ones Neji and Lee wore, but they were torn. This was all she noticed before her anger came to the surface and took over.

She crossed her arms and raised an angry brow. "Do you know what time it is? Where have you been? No, don't answer that. I don't care! Do you know what I've been doing while you were gone?"

The redhead gave her a blank stare. Sakura raised her hand, signaling that she didn't want him to speak, which was fine with him. He wasn't really going to say anything anyways. "First, I had to bring home all the groceries, which you left me with by the way. Then, Naruto and I searched the whole city for you! I have been worried sick as to where you were, and if you were alright! What if you had been hurt and I wasn't there to heal you?"

She walked up to him and poked him in the chest. "I can't believe your insensitivity! You can't just run off and not come back home! Next time, at least come back at a reasonable hour!" She poked him once more for good measure, and then walked towards the stairs. Placing a foot on the first step, she turned to him once more. "Don't even speak to me. I am so angry right now I could spit. I'm going to bed." And with that, she stomped up the stairs, and slammed her door loudly.

Gaara simply stared after her, that wasn't exactly the reaction he had expected. He watched her disappear into the upstairs hallway. "Well. If I had known not saying anything would shut her up, I would have done so earlier." He told himself, heading towards the kitchen to get something to drink.

As he walked into the kitchen, he pulled his shirt over his head, wanting to cool off. Gaara tossed his shirt into a nearby chair and opened the fridge. The bandages on his arms went all the way up to his elbows, and were shredded to the point of coming completely off. He pulled out a water bottle and took off the cap, letting the cool liquid sooth his throat. "Ah," he let out a sound of relief and wiped away the drops of water that had spilled on his face.

That was when he stopped and really thought about Sakura's odd reaction. She was mad, yes, but she looked mad with worry. Why did that bother him so much? He scoffed and turned away from the counter. He would not linger on the look of her troubled face. He turned off the light to the kitchen, went into the living room, and then made his way to the stairs. He flipped off the light switch to that room as well and headed up the stairs. Gaara didn't even realize that he had stopped in front of Sakura's door. Why could he not get rid of this guilty feeling? He hadn't done anything wrong. He let out a small growl and knocked on the door harshly.

There was no sound at first, but then the door cracked open. All that could be seen of Sakura were her emerald green eyes that were puffy and red from crying. "What do you want? I told you I didn't want to talk to you." she mumbled.

Gaara had to hold in the retort that was about to burst from his mouth. He took a deep breath and tried to look as sympathetic as he could. "I'm…sorry…that I made you worry." he managed to ground out, the words obviously difficult to say.

There was a pregnant pause between the two, and Sakura just stared wide eyed at him. Finally she broke the silence, "Thank you. And, I'm sorry….for yelling at you and making you upset."

"Goodnight." The redhead said quickly before walking towards his own room and disappearing behind the doors. Sakura shut her door and walked slowly back to bed. At the rate things were going, she would have serious whiplash from all of Gaara's mood swings by the time they left.

"Where am I?" Gaara asked aloud. He looked at his surroundings, seeing nothing but a pitch black abyss.

"Hello?" he called out loudly, the sound of his own voice startling him. He moved forward into the darkness, noting that it felt like he had stepped on glass. It was followed by a loud cracking sound, and then just like glass, the ground that wasn't visible shattered.

Gaara began to fall downward. He reached up, willing his sand to wrap around him to transport him somewhere safe, but nothing happened. Now he was falling head first into the darkness. He looked at his hand, trying to see the sand particles on his skin, but all he saw was his own pale flesh.

He truly felt helpless. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the empty void before him. He'd only felt like this once before, when he was murdered by those two in the black cloaks. "Am I dead once more?" he asked himself.

He continued to fall through the black abyss, wondering when he would stop.

His eyes shot open as he bolted up in his bed. Disoriented, he held his head in his hands. His breathing was labored, and he felt a cold sweat dripping down his spine. What had happened? He tried to shake the uneasiness from his body by lying back down and focusing on the ceiling. It was nothing but a dream, right?

He shook his head and closed his eyes once more. "Nothing but a dream." He assured himself.

Sakura was walking down the streets of Suna, but something was different. People were looking at her with respect instead of completely ignoring her presence. Suddenly she realized that her hand was warm, and that she was holding something smooth.

She looked down, only to find that what she was holding was in fact a hand. A very pale, smooth hand. She smiled. That explained why she felt so content. This was the happiest she had felt in years, to be honest.

Suddenly, the hand began to fade. Knowing what was happening, Sakura tried to look up, but all she could see was white.