Whirlwind
Chapter Seven
- Operation Day Three: New Arrivals-
Gaara pushed the glass door to the hospital open and walked in promptly. He looked around the lobby, seeing Sakura was not there. He went to the front desk where a young blond receptionist sat working diligently. "Excuse me miss, where is Sakura?" he asked, almost kindly.
The woman glanced up and went wide eyed. Standing sharply, she bowed her respects to the Kazekage. "Kazekage-sama, um, I am not sure, but I will go get her for you." She bowed once more before disappearing down the hall in a mad dash. Gaara decided to look around as he waited. Somehow the hospital looked much more vibrant than it had before Sakura's arrival. The girl came back quickly, leaning forward and panting. "K-Kazekage-sama," she took in a deep breath then. "Sakura-sama is on her way."
"Thank you," he nodded to her and then watched the hallway.
"Um…Kazekage-sama if you don't mind me asking." The receptionist gulped, looking away from him nervously. Gaara faced her once more, wondering what she wanted. He did not like to wait, after all. "I was wondering…is Sakura-sama your-"
"Gaara!" Sakura called from down the hall. She was stripping off a white lab coat and handing it to a nurse that was running with her. Sakura stopped in front of Gaara and smiled brightly, "Sorry about that Gaara, I was just finishing up a healing session." Sakura noticed the receptionist beside the redhead and gave her a beautiful smile as well. "I'm sorry Kyoko, am I interrupting something?"
Kyoko shook her head vigilantly, "Oh no Sakura-sama. It was nothing, have a nice evening with Kazekage-sama." She bowed to them both and went back to her post. Sakura looked up at Gaara questioningly, but he merely shrugged and led her out.
"Now I promised Naruto dinner tonight, so we're going to go meet him. Is that alright, or would you like to go home first?" he asked her.
"No that's fine," Sakura sighed, thinking about an unquiet and crazy dinner with Naruto. "So how was your day?"
He tried to suppress a groan, making Sakura giggle in the process. "That bad huh?" she asked.
Gaara nodded, "It was going well until my brother decided to pop in, along with my sister, and they had some secret that they thought I would care about. They were trying to get me interested in what they knew. All they said was that I would find out later…whatever that means."
"It doesn't mean anything good that's for sure. Temari is always up to something." The pink haired kunoichi nodded.
"That's what I'm afraid of," Gaara admitted, and then led Sakura over towards a nice looking restaurant. "This is the one," he told her, getting the door and holding it open for her. Sakura smiled at him. At least he was in a really good mood today.
He followed her in and looked to the host. He was a nice looking man, dark brown hair and brown eyes. When the man looked up he gasped, "Welcome Kazekage-sama. It's good to see you are well." He said sincerely, and then looked down at his Kazekage's attractive companion. "You must be the lovely Sakura. A friend of mine told me there was a very beautiful medic from Konoha taking charge. It's an honor to meet you." He came from behind his podium and took Sakura's hand, kissing it gently.
Sakura blushed lightly and tried to laugh it off, "Well thank you, but it's nothing, really. There's no need."
Gaara gave a threatening growl, placing his hand possessively on Sakura's shoulder. "Really no need." He informed the man, who immediately backed away. "We're here to see a really annoying blonde haired ninja."
"Oh yes." The man nodded, not looking at Sakura again, for fear of his Kazekage's wrath. "Your party has already arrived."
"Party?" Gaara asked in disbelief.
Both Gaara and Sakura looked over towards the dining area and went wide eyed. Their emotions quite the opposite, horror and delight.
"Sakura!" a high pitched voice called. A tall and slender blonde stood from the table Naruto was sitting at and ran to meet Sakura, hugging her tightly. "We've been waiting for you!" Ino smiled back. She then regarded the man beside her, "Hello Kazekage-sama." She gave a small bow, nervousness all over her face.
Gaara retracted his hand from Sakura quickly and moved past her to the table. Naruto sat at a collection of tables with Temari, Kankuro, and two other Konoha ninja. Naruto occupied one end of the table, the one named Hinata sitting on his right, and Kiba on his left. The redhead sat on the opposite end of the table with Temari on his right. He made eye contact with his blonde friend, his glare screaming at Naruto.
Ino and Sakura came to the table laughing with one another. Ino took a seat by Hinata and Sakura sat down beside her and to Gaara's left. Hinata glimpsed down the table at Gaara and immediately looked away. She focused her white eyes on Ino and gave her a small nudge. Then she leaned over and whispered into the girl's ear. Ino stole a glance at Gaara as well and then tugged on Sakura's arm. "Sakura," she spoke softly. "Is Gaara ok?"
Sakura gave Ino an odd look and then faced Gaara. He looked royally pissed. He took the folded napkin in front of him and tore the silverware from it. His grip on the cloth was so tight that his knuckles were snow white.
Diffusing the bomb before it exploded, Sakura reached over and placed her hand on his. He looked at her sharply, and she gently squeezed his hand while giving him a reassuring smile. Leaning towards him, she said "It'll be okay. Just take a deep breath and count backwards from ten."
He looked at her like she had just sprouted antlers from her head. But, she was the doctor, so he quietly took a breath, and began the countdown. When it was all over he had to admit that he wasn't as angry as before. Besides, he could always punish Temari and Kankuro later for not following the proper protocol. With that in mind, he smirked evilly.
Before Sakura had the chance to ask him what was going on in that devious mind of his, the waitress arrived to take their orders. "My name is Kiki and I will be your server this evening." She went to Gaara first, not only because he was the Kazekage, but because she wanted to gain his attention. Sakura had seen that look many times before when she was out walking with Gaara, and it was really beginning to piss her off. Could people just see that he was with company and leave him alone, or was it impossible for him to not get hit on? Then the twit of a girl had the audacity to blatantly ignore Sakura while taking everyone else's orders, even though the proper protocol would have been to ask her next and then go in a circle. Not ask the guys first and then the girls. Turning to her with a haughty look, the waitress asked, "What do you want?"
By now her eye was twitching. "I'll have a Cherry Lemonade please." She ground out. Completely missing the exchange, Naruto spoke up.
"So you were surprised right Gaara? It seems Tsunade-baa-chan sent Ino, Hinata, and Kiba here to negotiate Sasuke's release. Isn't that great?"
Before Gaara could throttle Naruto with his sand, Sakura interjected. "Naruto, let's discuss all the political stuff tomorrow ok? For now, why don't we just enjoy the evening?" Looking around, she noticed that one member of their group was missing. "Where's Kakashi-sensei?"
The loudmouth blonde gave her an incredulous look. "Where else do you think he would be?"
Remembering where he had been the night before, Sakura blushed. "Oh yeah. Sorry I asked."
Kiba scoffed, deciding to go back to the Sasuke matter, "Who said we were all here to negotiate for Sasuke? I just came to watch. I'm on Gaara's side for this one."
Gaara glanced up at the brunette with a spark of interest. "Really now? Nice to see someone is." he muttered, glancing at both Naruto and Sakura.
Kiki's arrival with their drinks saved Sakura from having to jump into that conversation, although she was sure it would be addressed later. And, unsurprisingly enough, Sakura was the last one to receive her drink, and was asked last what she wanted to eat for dinner. Her fist clenched underneath the table. She was so close to hitting this girl it wasn't even funny. She looked over at Gaara, who was attempting to cover up a smirk.
"What?" she asked, obviously not seeing what was so funny.
He gave her a knowing look. "Who was it that said to take a deep breath and count backwards from ten?"
She crossed her arms. "I don't care. If that little twit keeps this up, I'm gonna exchange more than a few words with her." she pouted, before returning her attention to her friends.
Dinner was a pleasant affair. Ino caught everyone up on the gossip of Konoha, Naruto and Kiba had a contest to see who could eat the most food, Hinata stared at Naruto and occasionally spoke with her or Temari, and Kankuro flirted with the girls at the table next to theirs. Gaara mostly sat there in silence, observing the interactions between his siblings and his friends. Sakura would occasionally engage him in conversation so that he wouldn't feel left out, but he didn't care either way. He hated people, and right now he was being forced to socially participate, another thing he hated.
Just as he thought things couldn't get any worse, Kiki came back up to the table. She had been coming by about every ten minutes to ask him, and only him, if he needed anything. Each time she came by Sakura would get a murderous glint in her eyes, for reasons unknown to him, and then she would glance at him, only to look away quickly when they made eye contact.
When they got up to leave, Kiki came by again. Grabbing Gaara's arm daringly she asked, "Can I show you to the door Kazekage-sama?" She purred, batting her eyes at him. Gaara simply stared threateningly at the offending hand.
Scowling, Sakura placed her hand on Kiki's, which was on Gaara's arm, and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "Actually, we can find our own way out thank you, since it's the same way that we came in, and the last time I checked, Gaara wasn't a moron." Then she squeezed the girl's hand hard enough for the bones to crack, effectively causing her to release the redhead's arm. Linking her arm with his, Sakura began to lead them off. Glancing behind her she smirked. "And by the way, I'll be exchanging a few words with your manager about your customer service. I found it to be terribly lacking." She huffed,
The rest of the group watched as Sakura led a willing Gaara out of the restaurant, mouths agape. They had never seen Sakura behave so menacingly to another, nor Gaara so willing to have someone touch him. Especially a woman. It was then Ino vowed to interrogate Sakura later so that she could find out what was going on between the two.
The duo walked ahead of the others, arms still intertwined. Gaara glanced down at Sakura, unable to wipe the smile off his face. "What?" she asked, noting his confident demeanor.
"Nothing Sakura, it's nothing. You simply make me laugh is all." He told her.
Said kunoichi growled and leaned closer to the Kazekage, who it seemed allowed only her to touch him. "How come I make you laugh huh? Tell me." She tried to give him the 'puppy dog pout', but then realized whom she was trying to convince.
Gaara actually let out a small chuckle and pulled her a bit closer to him, "Your actions to other women, it really amuses me how defensive you get. Like a little puffer fish, innocent at first and then big and mean."
The group behind them was completely stunned, all except Temari, who was indifferent. Finally Kiba blurted out, "What the hell is going on?" getting the attention of the two in front. Gaara turned his head to see them, and at last comprehended just how close to Sakura he really was.
He pulled his arm from Sakura's grip and his stoic face returned instantly. "What?"
Hinata and Ino just stood in shock that Kiba was so bold as to challenge the Kazekage. Sakura stepped away from the sand master, looking as if she had just been snapped out of a trance. "Don't 'What?' me. What the heck is going on? Am I the only person who just saw Gaara laugh? Am I?" Kiba looked back at his friends, who simply moved away from him.
When he turned back around he was face to face with Gaara. "I meant what I said dog boy. What? Sakura is my friend, is that not what friends do?" he asked.
"No!" Kiba yelled, not backing down from Gaara's death glare, which actually impressed the redhead.
Before Gaara could speak another word Sakura was between the two, shoving Kiba back and holding her hand to Gaara's chest. "You two need to back off! Kiba quit being a jerk! Gaara is the Kazekage of this village and you will show him some respect!" she ordered.
Kiba steadied himself and stared in disbelief at the pink haired woman that was defending Gaara. This was just too odd, and it certainly was not the reaction he was expecting from his friend. Gaara was planning to execute Sasuke, the man Sakura was in love with, but what he had seen was too surreal. This was when Ino decided to end the dispute between the three, "Hey! I've got a great idea! How about you boys go and train and get more acquainted? That way Sakura, Hinata, and I can have some girl time!"
Naruto was the first to speak, well shout, "That sounds like a GREAT idea!"
Gaara and Kiba didn't look so thrilled, and Gaara especially didn't like the idea of being away from Sakura after last night's incident. Hinata spoke up for the first time that evening, "That actually sounds nice." She gave both Sakura and Ino a smile.
He looked down at Sakura. The word no was clearly written all over his face, but she looked excited to have a girls night. Before she could make eye contact with him, he glanced back at Kiba and Naruto, giving them a sharp nod. "Fine."
Sakura eyed Gaara with worry, his response odd given the previous encounters. "Gaara are you sure?" Before he could utter another word Ino was already cheering.
"Fantastic! We'll see you boys later!" she waved and grabbed Hinata by the wrist, as Temari did the same to Sakura, dragging them off and leaving a trail of dust. The spot on his chest where her hand had just been felt cold all of a sudden.
"Well, now that there are no ladies I'm off to meet Kakashi." Kankuro stretched and smiled deviously.
"Why are you going to go meet Kakashi?" Gaara asked suspiciously.
Kankuro just smiled, "Well you know where he goes. We're meeting up tonight to chase some tail."
Gaara, Kiba, and Naruto looked somewhat disgusted and in unison muttered, "Ew."
"Pft, whatever. It's not like I can try anything with Sakura or Gaara would murder me." The puppet master said.
"You're right. I would murder you." Gaara said darkly, glaring at his brother.
Naruto puffed out his chest, "I would kill you too if you ever tried anything on Sakura-chan!"
Kankuro laughed and looked at the younger blonde, "Yeah, but I'm not afraid of you."
"Kankuro," Gaara growled lowly. "Leave. Now. Before you make me really angry."
With that Kankuro made a hasty exit and dashed away. Gaara was seething by now. He really, really did not want to be out with Naruto and his friend. Then he remembered that this brunette had said he was here to watch the execution. His irritation died away a bit and he relaxed somewhat.
"Aw yeah! I'm excited guys! Training, shirts off, sweat! It's like a dream!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air with an energized cheer. Gaara and Kiba gave him an odd look and backed away from him.
"Naruto I don't know about a dream…" Gaara began, now very uncomfortable once again.
"God Naruto what are you? Gay?" Kiba yelled. "I don't wanna see your sweaty body!"
Naruto paled, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of his face. Everyone around them was now staring in astonishment. "I just meant that we could have some guy time with no girls, where we just train and sweat manly sweat!" Naruto tried to justify himself.
"Naruto!" Gaara shouted, feeling all the curious and anxious gazes of his subjects. "Stop talking!" he moved forward and placed his hands over his friend's mouth to keep any other odd words from spilling out.
"Are you stupid Naruto? You sound like a flaming homosexual!" Kiba growled, baring his canines. Everyone in the area was now focused on the spat between the men.
"Enough is enough." Gaara snarled, the sand around them going wild. It swarmed, wrapping around the three nin, causing them to vanish from the middle of the street.
Gaara appeared on the ground as Naruto and Kiba fell from high in the air, hitting the hard desert floor with a smack. "Ow!" Kiba yelled, rubbing his chin that was now bruised.
The sand master glimpsed down at the two and smirked, "Sorry about that. I must have lost my grip."
"Yeah right." Kiba grumbled angrily, getting to his feet. Naruto groaned and got up as well.
"Where are we?" the fox boy wondered, looking around the barren desert.
Gaara walked to the edge of the cliff and pointed down at Suna. "Now you two aren't causing a scene in the middle of my village."
"Now we can train!" Naruto jumped up.
Kiba and Gaara both glared Naruto down, silencing his idea. "No training, queer." Kiba said, crossing his arms tightly.
"I'm not a queer." Naruto pouted, trying not to feel too discouraged by his friends.
Suddenly Kiba perked up and a sly smile crept across his face. "Hey now, I've got a brilliant idea." The two stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "How about…we spy on the girls? See what they are talking about and whatnot? Huh?"
Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, "You just want to find out if Ino likes you or not."
"What if they say something about you Naruto?" the brunette asked, raising a brow.
This seemed to spark the man's interest. "Okay, let's go!"
Gaara decided he probably didn't have a choice. Sakura would get mad at him if he didn't participate in their childish antics anyways. "Fine."
"Well Gaara, would you do the honor of finding them and transporting us secretly?" Kiba asked. Gaara gave him a hard stare, but the sand around them rose and swirled around them taking them away to their doom.
They were back at Gaara's mansion, sitting outside the window to Sakura's room on a platform of sand. The girls were currently sitting in a circle on Sakura's huge bed. At the moment they were all laughing at something Temari had told them about Kankuro. When the laughter died down, a serious look came over Ino's face.
"Alright everybody, it's time to talk about boys."
The redhead almost rolled his eyes at the obvious choice in topic. Typical. Didn't girls have anything better to talk about?
"Yes! Maybe now I can find out who Sakura-chan likes!" Naruto said.
Kiba quickly put a hand over the loud boy's mouth. "Quiet you idiot! They'll hear you! And she likes Sasuke, remember? Although, now that he's gonna die she'll have to find somebody else…"
Gaara ignored this. He didn't need to hear Sakura gushing over the Uchiha. But something kept him from leaving.
Sakura merely rolled her eyes at the expected topic her best friend had suggested. "Really Ino? We can't talk about something more important? Like the starving children in smaller villages?"
The blonde merely crossed her arms. "Oh come on Sakura! You can't tell me you're not dying to know who we all like are you?"
She found herself rolling her eyes once more. "Oh please. We all know who Hinata is in love with, that much is obvious. Temari has a weird love-hate relationship going on with Shikamaru, and you're so hung up on Kiba you might as well be a jacket."
Outside, all Gaara could do to not throttle the two idiots beside him on the branch was to focus on Sakura. Dog boy pumped his fist into the air, "Yes! She does like me!" while Naruto was distraught. "Oh come on Sakura-chan! I don't know who Hinata likes! Why couldn't you say his name?"
Gaara couldn't believe this. Was he the only one who didn't realize that the quiet Hyuuga was in love with him? Personally, he couldn't understand why, but it had the potential to be a good match. His sand began to stir, and just as he was about to just disappear he heard Ino ask,
"So Sakura, what's the deal with you and the Kazekage?"
His interest was piqued now. Maybe this whole eavesdropping thing wasn't so bad after all.
Sakura began to turn red from nervousness. "What do you mean? We're just friends."
At this Temari piped up. "Don't give us that. My brother lets you into his personal bubble. He doesn't let anyone into his bubble, especially girls."
"And he acts differently around you than he does other people." Hinata said shyly.
The pink haired kunoichi raised her brow in confusion. "We've gotten to know each other pretty well over the last few days, and it has made us into better friends."
Ino gave her a sly look and leaned closer to her. "How well would you say you've gotten to know each other? On a more personal level?"
Emerald eyes widening at her friend's implications, she hit the blonde in the face with a pillow. "Oh God no! Ino! How could you say something like that?"
"Oh come on Sakura. You've got to admit that Gaara has it goin' on if you know what I mean. Right Hinata?" she said as she elbowed the Hyuuga heiress.
Said girl merely began to poke her fingers together, a sign that she was getting nervous. "Um….well….I guess so, but-"
"Nevermind Hinata, I want to hear what Sakura thinks of my brother." Temari interrupted, causing the lavender eyed girl to give a sigh of relief. She really hated it when people put her on the spot.
A blush began to creep up Sakura's face. "Well of course I think he's attractive. Who wouldn't? But that does not change the fact that we are just friends."
Outside, Naruto began elbowing Gaara. "Did you hear that? Sakura-chan thinks you're attractive!"
"Yeah, but not enough to do anything with him, if you know what I mean." Kiba said, giving them a knowing look.
Without looking away from the window, the redhead moved his hand and the sand beneath Kiba disappeared, dropping him to the ground. Kiba skillfully grabbed some solidified sand and heaved, pulling himself up and glaring at the Kazekage. "Shut up. Sakura is right. We are just friends." It took all of his willpower to continue to ignore the two idiots and listen to what the girls were saying.
"But it can." Ino emphasized. "I mean, if you two get along so well as friends, then you'd get along even better if you would just suck it up and-"
Face beet red now, she hastily interrupted her friend before she said anything that would embarrass her further. "I'm not going to say it again. Gaara and I are just friends."
"You're not just using my brother's feelings for you to get him to let you see where he's keeping Sasuke are you?" Temari asked, a look of pure seriousness on her face. "Because if you are, I will have to kill you Sakura."
His full attention was on Sakura now. He had considered poison, but this method sounded much more like something a conniving female would do. And he had met plenty of those in his lifetime of twenty years. He didn't want to hear anymore, he was already on the verge of breaking through that window and strangling Sakura himself. How could he have been so foolish? Of course she wanted Sasuke more, and she was a woman. She would use any means necessary to get what she wanted. Without any notice, Gaara disappeared with all his sand, letting the two leaf ninja fall into the bushes.
Sakura stared at Temari in shock. "What?" She looked between her three friends. "Do you all think this too?"
"Well, you're our friend Sakura, but Gaara is important to Naruto-kun, and therefore important to us as well." Hinata pointed out.
"We just wanna make sure that you don't do anything that could wind up hurting the both of you in the end." Ino said, a stern look on her own face.
Sakura's face set in determination. "I am so tired of people accusing me of plotting to do things to Gaara. First poison, and now this? What is it with you sand siblings and trust?" She stood on the bed and pointed her finger at her friends to emphasize what she was about to say. "I have never, nor will I ever stoop so low to get what I want. Never in my life would I consider using someone for my own means like that, especially Gaara. I value his friendship too much to destroy it on a traitor like Sasuke, who has done nothing but hurt the people that I love!"
By now silent tears were streaking down her face, her words having opened the box of emotions she'd been keeping shut for so long. Feeling bad about what she said, Temari was the first to put a comforting arm around Sakura's shoulders. "I'm sorry. I just worry about him. He doesn't have a lot of friends, and even though you may not think it, I'm glad that he has found one in you." She said honestly, hugging her more tightly. "The thing is Sakura, Gaara is still fragile. You know him…maybe even better than me sometimes…even if it wasn't true, if he ever even thought that you might do something like that…it would destroy him."
Sakura considered her words, and knew that she was right. Gaara was so guarded all the time with everyone. She had experienced him worry, probably for the first time, about someone outside his family.
That was when the girls heard a loud yell from the window. Ino jumped from the bed and threw the window open. She leaned out and gasped, "Kiba? Naruto? What are you two doing here?" she screeched, shaking her fist in the air to try and distract them from her beet red face. "How long have you been eavesdropping on us?"
Sakura walked to the window and looked out at the two sprawled in the bushes. Something struck her as odd though, and then it hit her, "Naruto! Where's Gaara?" she asked, her worry already growing.
Hinata gasped and Ino went wide eyed. Temari stood up slowly, her face filled with sorrow. "Oh no…"
Sakura couldn't even describe what she was feeling. She jumped out the window and landed next to the two boys, grabbing them both by the neck and slamming them against the wall, causing a huge crack to shoot up the side of the house from the impact. "What did Gaara hear!" she demanded. She wasn't a fool, there was no way Gaara hadn't been there with them.
They tried to speak, but all that came out were loud, rasping gasps. Sakura eased up on her grip only slightly, her glare rivaling Gaara's. "Tell me!" she screamed, fighting desperately to stop the tears from reforming in her eyes as she waited for them to confirm her fears. She already knew what he heard and when he decided to vanish, something he always seemed to do at the wrong time.
"He…" Kiba barely made out, "heard Temari's theory, but left before you…" he tried to breathe and finally Sakura let go, the both of them sliding down the wall gasping for air as they held their throats. "He left before you said you wouldn't."
"Damn it Gaara!" Sakura cursed and dashed away from the house. She had to find him and fix this. She didn't know why, but she wouldn't be able to stand having Gaara hate her.
She ran on the rooftops throughout the entire village. By now the villagers were able to recognize her, not only as the Godaime Hokage's apprentice, but also as the Kazekage's friend, and she did not want there to be any unnecessary questions or gossip about why she was running around the city in such a frenzied state so late at night.
She almost smiled at the irony of it all. Here she was worried about someone she had just recently come to know, who didn't have enough faith in her to believe that she would never hurt him, as they seem do to her so frequently. She and Gaara really were messed up people. But she didn't want him to think so badly of her, and felt a strong need to rectify this situation as soon as possible.
She expanded her chakra, trying in vain to sense him. With luck not on her side, she went back to the house, knowing that he would eventually come home, as he always did. She began to pace, but after a few seconds of that pointless exercise, she looked at the clock. It was only eleven, and if she knew Gaara, he wouldn't be back until after midnight, as was his habit.
Not in the mood to train her worry away, she did the only other thing she was good at. She cooked. Having both ovens occupied, all four eyes of the stove in use, and the microwave running, Sakura cooked herself to the bone. By the end she had made brownies, chocolate chip cookies, chocolate cake, lasagna, pizza, salad, fruit salad, potato salad, and, in case she got tired of the chocolate, vanilla cupcakes with sprinkles.
Once that was all done she washed and put away all the dishes she had used. She didn't want Gaara to come home to a messy kitchen after all. Needing something else to occupy her hands and time with, she began to clean. Not that the house needed it much, but it was better than nothing. And since the house was enormous, it would take her at least thirty minutes to finish. That was thirty minutes she wouldn't have to worry about, or be angry at, Gaara.
Still in a cleaning mood when she finished, she decided to do some laundry. After all, she would need to do it eventually, since she only brought enough clothes for five days. Grabbing all of hers, she decided to go into Gaara's room and get his. What he didn't know wouldn't hurt him after all. And besides, she was doing something nice for him. Feeling a sense of foreboding when she entered his room, she quickly grabbed his laundry basket and left, taking no time whatsoever to look around. Her curiosity would just have to wait. She just hoped that Gaara came home soon, before she went crazy and did something stupid.
The only sound in the room came from the fuming redhead. Gaara stood in a large room beneath the Ninja Academy, that was once a training room for the students of Suna, but the place was destroyed. All the manikins and dummies were pulverized and unrecognizable. He was breathless, his shirt on the ground and torn to shreds. The clone of himself fell back into a pile of sand. His hand twitched, and blood from his knuckles dripped onto the floor. Another clone rose instantly from behind and attempted an attack on its master. Gaara swung around with a roundhouse kick, slamming his leg into the face of the clone and obliterating his opponent. The sand exploded and fell to the ground once more. Gaara looked around at the destruction and started laughing manically.
He looked up toward the ceiling, smiling evilly. "Ah, how stupid can I get?" he yelled at himself. The sand around him began to move in an agitated rhythm, causing the paint on the walls began to chip off from the swirling grains. "Of course." He laughed maliciously, looking back down and around the room. He grabbed his head with one of his bloody hands, smearing the crimson across his face. "She wanted the Uchiha. It was the only reason." He smirked and cackled, the sound coming out hoarse.
"YOU JUST WANTED THE UCHIHA!" Gaara shouted, and the sand spun faster around him, in sync with his emotions that were now a chaotic mess. "Sakura…Sakura…I HATE YOU SAKURA!" he seethed, clutching his heart.
He wished he could have a reason to destroy something, but Shukaku was gone now and he had a responsibility to uphold. He looked up swiftly and a psychotic smile crept up his face. "I am the Kazekage." He told himself and slowly began to laugh again. "I know who we can take this out on," he nodded, trying to hold in his insane laugher. The sand in the arena exploded and retreated back to its master, dissolving him into the grains.
The chamber was silent, not even the breaths its only occupant was taking were heard. There was a small platform at the entrance, but the room was just a giant pool of darkness, miles deep. The only object in the room was a large iron cage suspended from the ceiling, its inhabitant restrained in every possible way with seals and chains. The silence was disturbed by a dark laughter echoing down the only hall. Gaara emerged from the shadows, a sadistic smile plastered on his face. "Hello Uchiha, enjoying your stay here in Suna?"
The dark haired avenger focused his eyes on the Kazekage and let out a grunt. "What do you want now? Here to finally kill me?" he said coolly, not intimidated in the least. If he was going to die, then he wasn't going to show any fear.
Gaara's face fell instantly at the Uchiha's words. "Heh, not quite yet, but soon enough." He promised, forming his hands into fists. Sasuke watched the blood drip from Gaara's knuckles and hit the floor with a loud splat. Even he was set on unease by this appearance, because it reminded him of something. He looked just like he had when he was changing into the demon.
"I hope Suna knows their Kazekage is a psychopath." Sasuke taunted, a smirk forming on his face. "You look like you just came back from a bloodbath."
"Your stupid friend has come to save you from me." Gaara said.
Sasuke's brow arched as he laughed, "Friend?"
Gaara's eyes contorted into a glare as the stare off began. "Haruno." As he said the name his mouth curled up in a snarl.
"Sakura? Haha, she's here for me? When is she ever going to give up?" Sasuke watched Gaara's reactions. They were unpredictable to see with how he was standing. "If she's here, then Naruto must be here as well. I bet they hate you because you won't release me so that they can take me back to their precious village." He seethed.
The redhead's eyes dilated, the sand around him formed so fast that Sasuke didn't have a chance to brace himself against the impact of a giant hand striking the cage. He fell forward and slammed his head onto the metal bars, splitting his lip in the process.
"What a terrible Kazekage!" Sasuke spouted, sneering against the cold iron. "You can't even control your anger. You're still such a child Gaara of the Sand, no matter how much you try to act any different." The Uchiha taunted.
"SHUT UP!" Gaara shouted, the sand hitting the cage once more, throwing the last Uchiha around the prison like a rag doll. "I HATE YOU! YOU STUPID UCHIHA!" the sand hand broke apart and the loose grains surrounded Sasuke, forming a cocoon around him. It moved closer and closer, threatening to end Sasuke's life.
Sasuke grit his teeth together painfully to keep from giving Gaara the scream he knew the redhead wanted. Suddenly the sand fell away and returned to Gaara. His red hair was covering his eyes and he looked lifeless. "Your days are coming to an end Uchiha." He said quietly, turning away from him and going back down the dark hall.
What was going on with him? He couldn't control himself at all. He didn't want to be like this. He needed to be strong for his people. Gaara walked wearily back to his home, not caring about the perplexed looks he was getting from some of the late night villagers. A small, sad smile came across his face as he imagined his appearance: half dressed, bloody and tattered, he couldn't even imagine the psychotic look that must have been on his face.
He really just wanted to go to sleep and forget this awful day. He looked up when he stopped in front of his house. Finally, he thought to himself. He could have transported himself inside in a matter of seconds, but his mind was so unpredictable right now that he didn't trust himself with his sand. He opened the door and walked in, shutting in behind him in the process.
Sakura was folding the laundry when she heard the door shut. Not caring that her hair was sticking up every which way from constantly running her fingers through it, or that she had smudges of food and cleaning products all over her body, she ran into the front hallway, only to gasp at what she saw. Running up to the haggard looking Kazekage, she grabbed his bleeding hands in hers and began to heal them.
"Gaara! What happened? Are you okay?" She looked up into his eyes pleadingly. "Gaara, you have to understand about earlier. You see I-"
He wrenched his hands away, preventing her from healing his bloodied knuckles. "What the hell are you doing in my house?" Gaara yelled. His body moved so quickly that the next thing Sakura knew, she was smashed against the wall, his bleeding hand wrapped tightly around her throat. She lifted her hands up reflexively, trying to move his arm just a little so she could get even a small gasp of air.
Anger overcoming fear, she began to yell at him as best she could with only half of her air. "I'm cleaning it you idiot! Waiting for you to come back so I can explain about earlier! You left before even hearing what I had to say! And while I'm on that subject, how dare you eavesdrop on our conversation! Don't you have any manners?"
He pulled her away from the wall and then slammed her back into it, his grip tightening so she couldn't even make a sound. "I don't need to hear your lies!" he seethed, and then began to laugh darkly. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you." He leaned closer, his face inches from hers. She could smell the blood that was smeared on his face. "Sakura, isn't this familiar?" he inquired, his smirk only growing. "Same situation, but this time…I'll kill you myself. I don't need a demon Sakura, I am a demon."
He moved his hand from her throat and pressed her whole body against his to keep her in place, "Did you think you could get away with that Sakura? Did you really think that you could persuade me into letting that idiot go?" he stopped and took in a sharp intake of breath. "I really don't want to hurt you Sakura," he admitted softly, almost sounding like his old self. "But," he laughed, and the demon was back. "I really want to kill you for what you did. I trusted you…and you betrayed me!" his eyes dilated and his grip on her tightened, bruising her skin.
Sakura winced at his words, and his actions. He was right. The whole situation did bring back memories. Memories of her defending Sasuke and almost being killed by Gaara. And now, almost being killed by Gaara again, because of a misunderstanding leaving him thinking she was defending Sasuke yet again, when in reality, it was him she was defending. Somehow, she always got punished for being nice. It was when this realization hit that something inside her cracked and she began to laugh hysterically in Gaara's arms.
Gaara blinked. Well that definitely wasn't the reaction that he had expected. He moved back, his hands still holding Sakura, but now by the arms. He stared at her, an odd look on his bloodstained face. She just continued laughing, not paying him any mind. It wasn't her true laugh though, there was something wrong with it. It almost sounded the way his did when he was younger, right before he killed someone. Suddenly Gaara became angry and insulted, "Do you think this is a joke Sakura?" he growled lowly.
She stopped laughing and sobered instantly, and stared into his eyes. "If you're going to kill me, please do it quickly." Then she squeezed her eyes shut and turned her face to the left. When the expected blow didn't come, she stole a glance at the redhead, only to see him staring at her like she was insane, which was funny considering the situation.
When he moved she flinched somewhat, but what he did surprised her even more. Gaara pulled her closer with a more tender touch, and rested his head on her shoulder. He stayed that way for quite some time, just breathing in her scent. "Why are you here?" he finally asked.
She hesitantly reached her hand up and began to rub his back gently. "To explain. I couldn't just let you disappear thinking horrible things about me." She chuckled. "Although that plan backfired terribly." Becoming serious once again, she softly sighed into his hair. "I want you to understand something Gaara. I would never, ever, do something like that to anybody, especially you. I value your friendship too much to jeopardize it over a jerk like Sasuke."
She felt his sigh brush her neck. He seemed relieved, which was good. He didn't move though. He felt comfortable for the first time in a long time. Now he really wished he hadn't pulled one of his disappearing acts, it would have prevented this from happening. So he could trust Sakura, and somehow, even when he wanted to crush her body beneath his sand, something was holding him back. Of course he would never admit that aloud. He finally straightened up and looked down at the pink haired woman.
Gaara smelled the air and looked back at the kitchen, and then Sakura heard his stomach give a loud and ferocious growl. He laughed and looked between her and the kitchen, "Sorry, I'm very hungry, and I can smell something good." He pulled away from her grasp and went into the kitchen.
"What did you do Sakura?" was all she could hear from the living room, but he didn't sound happy.
She walked leisurely into the warm light and glanced over at Gaara. "What do you mean? I told you that I had cooked." She crossed her arms, daring him to say anything more. "I cook when I'm upset okay? So I made a few things. If you hadn't come home when you did I would probably be stuffing my face with the chocolate cake right now." She finished, giving him a sheepish grin.
He looked back at the filled kitchen, assuming she had used all their newly bought food to cook everything. This meant…his face dropped into a downcast frown. "Sakura, I don't want to go shopping again. I hate it, can't you just do that without me?" He whined.
She raised a delicate brow at him. "No. Now you can show me that you actually paid attention to what I taught you. That way I can know for sure that you will be able to do it on your own after I leave."
Gaara simply scoffed, "Yeah right. I'll kidnap you if I have to. I am not shopping."
She gave him an incredulous look. "Good luck with that. I may not be as easy to find as you'd think."
He mimicked her look and smirked, "A good quality you have Sakura is that…you always come back home." His sly smile only grew as he walked past her and grabbed a slice of the pizza she had made. He bit into it and leaned against the counter, just watching her now. It was then that she realized he still had blood splattered all over his body.
"Oh my God! How could I have been so thoughtless?" She rushed to his side once again and quickly began healing him. "Let me know if anything hurts." Recalling what he had just said, she looked into his eyes, giving him a sly smirk, she replied "If you really think about it, you're the one who always comes home Mr. Disappear When Things Don't Go My Way."
The redhead took her wrists tenderly and moved them away so she could no longer heal him. "Sakura I'm fine. I will heal, its ok." He assured her, bringing her closer to him. He brushed some hair from her eyes and leaned down. "It's my house, so of course I come here. But you're the one who always comes back and makes my dinner." He teased, a taunting smile forming on his face.
She huffed, not really having a comeback for that one, so she decided to ignore it. "But you could scar. Don't you want me to fix them so that doesn't happen?" Realizing her blunder, she quickly tried to cover it up. "Not that scars are bad or anything, but you know, some people don't like them, and-" she also became conscious of the fact that she was also staring at the only actual scar on his body. Again.
"Sakura stop freaking out, its fine. If it makes you feel better go ahead and heal me." He held his hands up for her to take. She placed her hands on his, a green glow emitting from them. The wounds on Gaara's hands began to close, leaving his skin unblemished. She looked back up at his shoulder and saw the mark once again. Her face flushed in embarrassment once more and she looked away. He took her hand and lifted it to his chest, placing her palm to rest on the scar. "I assume you've figured out when I received this."
She turned crimson at the feel of his warm skin beneath her hand. "Yes, but I figured that it was a touchy subject, so I left it alone."
"Do you remember what it feels like? To experience intense pain for the first time…" he stopped then, and looked off. "It's a constant reminder of the one person I hate in this world."
"I…understand. Why do you think I've kept my hair short all these years? To remind me never to be so weak that I can't help the ones I love when they need me." She clenched her fist. "I never want to be left on the sidelines ever again."
Gaara nodded with understanding. He looked over her head and then back down into her eyes. "It's very late Sakura. We should probably head to bed."
Sakura glanced behind her as well and saw the time. "Oh wow, our nights seem to be getting later and later as the week goes on." She laughed and took his hand affectionately, pulling him with her towards the stairs. Once they were at the top she went to her door and stole another glance at her Kazekage. She blinked, did she just think of Gaara as her Kazekage?
"Goodnight Sakura," he said softly before disappearing down the hallway and into his room.
"Goodnight…Gaara."