Whirlwind
Chapter Eighteen
-Day Fourteen: Execution-
The redhead's eyes opened slowly. He didn't need his alarm today to know when to wake up. He glanced down at the sleeping girl in his arms. She hadn't moved all night. Slowly and carefully, Gaara pulled away from her and sat up on the side of the bed. He looked back, making sure he hadn't disturbed her. She remained fast asleep, a small smile resting on her beautiful features. He couldn't help but smile as well. What a pleasant image to wake up too. He got up from the bed and silently disappeared in a swirl of sand. Appearing in his own room, he began to undress and headed for the shower. This was going to be one of the most important days of his life. During his showering process he couldn't help but think of what would happen afterwards. Naruto would be mad, maybe even hate him, he wasn't too worried about the other three, they seemed reasonable. And then there was Sakura. What would happen to them after today? She said that she no longer loved the Uchiha in the way he thought she had, but she still cared for him, right? Wouldn't it upset her if he were to die?
Gaara shook his head, ridding himself of thoughts that would only complicate things. After he dried off and dressed, he went to the corner of his room, grabbing his large sand gourd and securing it in place. He felt the familiar weight and chuckled, remembering his younger days. How much he had changed. He then rummaged around his room, finding a pen and some paper. Quickly he wrote a note for Sakura so she wouldn't be alarmed when she found him gone.
Sakura,
Please don't be mad that I am not here, I had to go in and prepare for the day. I will see you there, if you so choose to come.
He went back to Sakura's room and left the note on the pillow he had used the night before. He stopped, admiring her beauty once more before leaving her to her slumber. It's for the best, he assured himself, before leaving in his normal fashion.
He materialized in front of the Kazekage Tower and walked over to the nearest training field, which was now the main stage for the execution. Some of the Jounin who were setting up took note of his appearance and bowed respectfully. "Kazekage-sama, good morning." They said in unison.
"Morning." He gave them each a nod before continuing past them. Just as he reached the doors, Temari pushed through them and jumped a bit in surprise.
"Oh wow, hi Gaara. Where's Sakura?" the blonde asked, truly intrigued that the pink haired medic was not glued to the stiff redhead.
"She's still asleep, I didn't want to wake her. She doesn't need to be here for the setup." He explained, getting a questioning glance in return. "What?"
"Nothing, nothing. So…" she smiled, walking with her brother now, "Did Sakura tell you anything interesting last night?" she arched a delicate brow, watching him closely.
"Um…no. Why?" he asked suspiciously.
Temari just laughed and shook her head, "No reason. No reason at all baby brother." She ruffled his hair and walked away, leaving the steaming Kazekage to himself.
"Whatever." He growled, focusing back on the work being done. It was only a matter of time before everything was complete.
"Hey Gaara!" a loud voice came from behind. He turned around to see Naruto and Kiba approaching him. "Hey man," the blonde smiled, but the sadness was clearly shown on his face.
Kiba waved, looking behind him and sighing. "So today's the day huh? It seems like it's been longer than two weeks. I've been having a blast in Suna." He shrugged, very indifferent about the whole situation.
"Yes, today is the day." he nodded.
"That Sasuke dies." Naruto added sadly.
Sakura groaned as the sunlight hit her eyes. Rolling over and feeling the cold sheets next to her, she sat up. Looking down at the pillow Gaara had used, she read the note he left for her. She couldn't help but smile at how thoughtful he was. Not wanting to be late, she got up and took a quick shower. She got dressed in her ninja gear, strapping on her waist and kunai pouches. She grabbed her gloves and put them on. For some reason, she felt that she needed to be ready for the unexpected. You never knew when Sasuke was planning something, or even if he was expecting someone to come and rescue him.
Locking the house behind her, she made her way towards the Kazekage Tower, knowing that that would be where the execution took place. As it came into view, she saw that all of the preparations were complete. Scanning the crowd, she spotted a flash of crimson hair. She wanted to be there for Gaara, not wanting him to think that she would be upset about it all. Sure, she was sad that one of her childhood friends was being executed, but as long as Gaara was with her, she would be okay.
Those thoughts in mind, she entered the arena.
It wasn't long after all the preparations were finished that some of the residents began gathering around the entrance and looking to see what was happening. There was a small platform built, so that Sasuke's death could be an example. Gaara stared at the craftsmanship, Naruto on his right and Kiba on his left.
Naruto cleared his throat and stared straight at Gaara, "I want you to know…even if you do this Gaara, it won't change things between us." The fox boy nodded, getting a sharp nod in return from the redhead.
Most of the Suna officials filed out from the tower to watch the prestigious event. It wasn't a large crowd, but it was well over twenty people. Gaara felt the familiar chakra enter the arena, but he didn't dare turn around to look at her. He didn't need to see the pain on her face. There was a loud gong that resounded throughout the entire village. It silenced the crowd immediately. Sakura pushed her way through the crowd in attempt to get to Gaara, but before she could reach him, he moved forward and got up on the platform.
"Bring out the prisoner." He ordered loudly.
Replacing Gaara between the two men, Sakura stared wide eyed at her love and then focused her eyes on the door that was connected to the Kazekage tower. Temari, Ino, and Hinata stood behind the other three, watching with sad eyes as two Suna Anbu escorted the chained Uchiha into the bright light of the morning.
Practically throwing the dark haired man onto the platform, the two shinobi stood behind him threateningly as Sasuke faced Gaara, a standoff that had been going on since the chuunin exams. "You know what you've done Uchiha. I don't need to explain myself before I kill you, do I?"
Sasuke scoffed and looked away from the Kazekage, "Just get it over with already."
Gaara looked over at the spot of pink in the front, making eye contact with her. He looked back at the person he hated most in the world and a hard glare set in place. "Uchiha Sasuke, you are released. As long as you return to Konoha, you are free." He gestured to the two Anbu guards to release the prisoner.
Hesitantly, they began to remove Sasuke's bindings until he was completely free of all the seals and chains. "Hm. I can safely say, I did not see that coming. It looks like that pink haired annoyance had you wrapped tightly around her finger the way I thought she did." The Uchiha smirked, his words only making Gaara frown in disapproval.
"Just leave Sasuke. I don't ever want to see you again."
"Fine." He turned his back to the redhead and began to walk off. The ploy was soon thrown off when Sasuke turned around, ripping a kunai pouch off a nearby shinobi, and sending one straight at Gaara. Without even one movement the sand around the Kazekage rose defensively, catching the kunai and tossing it aside.
Naruto and Kiba made a motion to go and join Gaara, but his hand rose, telling them to halt. "Do not interfere. Now…he really will die." He looked from the two males to Sakura, a pained expression flashing over his face. "I'm sorry," he said softly, before focusing on the raven haired man. "Come on Sasuke, let's finish this."
"With pleasure!" Sasuke laughed, running towards Gaara with unimaginable speed. Sasuke brought his leg up, having already avoided the sand barrier but soon shock exploded on his face. What had blocked his kick was Gaara!
"Whoa!" Naruto gasped, Kiba mouth agape.
"Gaara knows taijutsu?" the brunette stared in awe.
Sakura couldn't believe it, but now it all made sense. When he would come home damaged and broken, with bloody knuckles. He was training and perfecting his hand to hand combat, so that he wouldn't have to rely on his sand so heavily.
Gaara clasped onto Sasuke's foot and pulled the Uchiha towards him. With another hard tug he threw Sasuke into the wall of the arena. The impact caused a crack to climb up the wall rapidly. Not giving him any time to recover, Gaara ran towards him, attempting to hinder the rouge's next attack. But of course, Sasuke was no novice. He sent a kick straight at the redhead's chest, despite the sand blocking a direct hit he flew back a couple feet, regaining his stance quickly.
"Haha! Gaara you think you hate me? You know how tired I am of you?" Sasuke yelled running at Gaara with a kunai ready. He met him halfway, their collision kicking up the sand into the air. Gaara grabbed Sasuke's wrist, twisting it until the kunai fell free, then grabbing Sasuke's collar he threw him up and over the wall.
While in the air Sasuke's eyes changed from dark onyx to crimson red. He landed gracefully on the ground, rolling out of the way for the drop kick aimed at his head. Sasuke lurched forward, aiming a fist at Gaara's face, hitting the mark perfectly, causing him to stumble back into a wall. Not wanting to miss the opening Sasuke charged forward, a loud sound now emitting from his hand. Something like…a mass of birds. Gaara went wide eyed, dissolving quickly into sand as Sasuke's hand slammed through the wall, sticking a bit.
The redhead appeared beside the Uchiha, roundhouse kicking the dark haired man right in the face. There was a sickening snap from Sasuke's arm as it broke free from the wall and he fell to the ground. His sand quickly formed to daggers to impale the Uchiha, but Sasuke raised his hand to his mouth and took a deep breath. A giant fire ball formed between the two and shot towards the Kazekage.
Gaara slammed against a hard building, collapsing to the ground soon after. He could feel the heat still on his skin and his now burned clothes. Sasuke crawled up slowly, looking at his far off enemy. "Did I burn you Gaara? My bad." Sasuke chuckled darkly, beginning his advance on the still down Suna nin.
Taking a deep breath, the sand master slammed his hand on the ground and all the loose sand particles responded instantly. They swarmed around Sasuke, pricking at his skin, bit by bit. The sand from his gourd shot out, surging towards the trapped Uchiha. It formed quickly into a large hand and grabbed the ebony haired man, throwing him clean through a nearby building.
Getting up swiftly, Gaara ran through the newly made hole, searching for the man that was seriously going to suffer his wrath. "Oh Sasuke…come out, come out, wherever you are." He laughed maniacally, trying to spot him in the shadows of the building. Too late, Gaara sensed the presence beside him. He was swept off his feet and hit his head on the ground with a painful smack.
Looking up he saw the light that matched the sound of the chirping birds. His sand reacted faster than his body did and restrained all of Sasuke's limbs, throwing him against the wall to stall him. Gaara got up, running towards Sasuke and aiming a punch at his face. Sasuke evaded skillfully, making the redhead's hand collide with the wall. He cursed, trying to ignore the pain now aching all over his body. But looking at Sasuke he was reassured, blood was dripping down his face.
Controlling his sand with some hand motions, all the grainy, blood deprived sand surged toward Sasuke, knocking him off balance. It began its relentless smashing, until the Uchiha was all bloody. Unfortunately, Sasuke avoided the sand finally and rocketed towards Gaara, kicking him square in the chest and sending him back out the hole he had come through. Just like Lee, Sasuke appeared behind him and threw him up in the air, jumping up to follow him before slamming his heel into Gaara's stomach.
He fell exceedingly fast, his sand wrapping around him protectively so that the fall wouldn't do too much damage. The sand ball now around Gaara slammed into the platform that had just been built for Sasuke's execution, creating a crater in the middle of the training field. The sand fell away, revealing a bloodied and bruised Gaara. Sasuke came down with a chidori aimed right for the redhead's heart. Quickly, Gaara rolled out of the way, slipping a kunai from Sasuke's stolen pouch and held it high.
Sasuke turned just in time to avoid the stab in the back, but the cold metal sunk deep between his shoulder and his neck. Gaara smirked, glaring at the red eyes, until he felt the blood dripping down his left arm. Sasuke had managed to hit him with the lightning blade right between his arm and his collar bone. The Uchiha took up his other hand, another lightning blade forming in his free hand that was now aimed for Gaara's face. He couldn't believe it. He…lost?
Seeing this, Sakura remembered her dream, and jumped into action. This time, she knew who to save. Moving faster than she ever had in her life, Sakura ran forward. Grabbing the back of Sasuke's collar, she ripped him away from Gaara, tossing him away from her love. He flew through the air and slammed into another wall of the arena.
"You will not touch him ever again." She snarled, startling both the redhead and the Uchiha.
"Sakura, I said not to interfere." Gaara ground out, the pain in his shoulder becoming almost intolerable.
She glanced back at him, a small smile on her lips. "Since when do I ever do what you tell me to? Besides, I promised to always be your sword, as long as you would be my shield."
By now Sasuke had crawled back through the wall. "So, Sabaku, you have grown weak enough as to have Sakura defend you?" he asked, casually dusting himself off, as if he didn't think Sakura was a threat. That would be his downfall.
Before Gaara could answer, Sakura spoke up. "Actually Sasuke, I didn't jump in to defend him. He can fight on his own. I jumped in because I've been longing to beat your ass." That said, she charged forward, directing chakra to her fist.
Sasuke merely smirked. It was easy to predict people's movements with his sharingan, but even more so at her direct fighting approach. She had always been the weakest link of Team Seven, and now he would get to prove it in front of everybody, including that damned redhead. Drawing a kunai, he moved to counter her attack.
Unknown to Sasuke, Sakura wasn't trying to hit him. She formed a chakra scalpel, intent on severing the muscle in his arms, therefore disarming him. With her free hand, she took a kunai from the pouch on her leg and effectively blocked his attack. She aimed to hit the shoulder that wasn't injured with her scalpel. He saw through it at the last second, and twisted his body, landing a kick on her midsection. She didn't falter in her movements the way he expected however. She just somersaulted over his leg, in order to receive less damage. Flying away from the other, both stopped to look into their opponent's. One slightly impressed, and the other pissed.
"Still weak as ever Sakura. You can't even land a hit on me." He said smugly.
She snorted. "Stand still and we'll see how well that goes."
He smirked. "Is that the only way you'll be able to touch me?"
Deciding not to answer, she lunged for him again. It was time to take advantage of all those taijutsu lessons from Rock Lee. Meeting halfway, they began a deadly dance of fists, kunai, and kicks. In a move too fast for her to see, Sasuke whipped out another kunai, aiming for Sakura's throat. It was stopped however, by a hand formed of sand. Both froze for a second, before Sakura realized what was happening. Gaara was being her shield. Taking the advantage, she formed her chakra scalpel once again, but was only able to graze his shoulder. She cursed under her breath, but wasn't ungrateful. At least now it would be hindered somewhat.
Jumping away from the startled Uchiha before he could attack her, she smirked. "What was that about not being to land a hit Sasuke?" she said with a raised brow.
"Hn. It won't happen again. You were just lucky that Sabaku distracted me." He defended.
"You shouldn't have allowed that to happen, Sasuke. A good ninja would be aware that he has two opponents, not assume that one will stand back while the other fights." She said, shaking her head as if she were scolding a child.
This time it was Sasuke who made the first move. Creating the fire jutsu that the Uchiha are known for, he sent it sailing at her. She dodged to the left, which was just what he wanted. Appearing before her startled face, she heard the sound of chirping birds. Bracing herself for the attack, she held her arms up to block it. When nothing happened, she peeked her eyes open, only to find that she was completely covered in Gaara's sand shield. She stood as the sand began to dissipate, and, seeing a flash of onyx, she pulled out two kunai and renewed her attack.
Sasuke was ready for her though, and had out his own kunai. They fought each other, neither one gaining the upper hand. When their kunai locked together, Sasuke decided to try and beat her emotionally, in order for her to lower her guard. "I can't believe you were so desperate for attention that you went to a monster in order to get it. You really are pathetic Sakura." He sneered.
She grit her teeth in frustration. "If I wanted attention from a monster Sasuke, I would have come to you."
He blinked, not expecting her to say that. Suddenly he grew angry at the redhead. He had tainted his Sakura into something that she wasn't. She was supposed to be cowardly, weak, and completely dependent. So, he tried for a different approach. Leaning close to her ear, he whispered. "He's just using you. Once you leave it will be as if none of this has ever happened. He won't think about you, and won't care when he hurts you."
She froze at what he was saying, but before her thoughts could take a turn for the worse, she grew angry. Gaara would never do that to her, she trusted him with her life, her very soul. She sent chakra into her fist and, snarling, pushed him away from her with all her might.
They began to fight again, but this time when he went to hit her, sand always got in his way, making it difficult for him to predict her movements. Eventually, he got fed up with the redhead's interference. Using the flurry of Sakura's blows and Gaara's sand to his advantage, he summoned a snake using one hand, sending it off towards the unsuspecting male. Then, he sped up his attacks, wanting Gaara to be fully focused on protecting Sakura.
Noticing the snake when it was too late, Sakura yelled, "Gaara! Watch out!", and, seeing his opening, Sasuke created another chidori, directing it at her exposed heart.
Knowing that if he didn't defend himself the snake would bite and poison him, he sent all of his sand to protect Sakura from Sasuke's hidden attack. Her life was more important after all. He winced as he felt the snake's fangs pierce through his sand armor and into his skin, feeling it inject the lethal poison into his system. Then it vanished in a puff of smoke, its task already completed.
When the sand shield formed around her for the second time, she realized what Sasuke had done. He had turned the battle so that Gaara would be distracted with protecting her, so he sent the snake to take care of him. Then, when she got distracted by the snake, he would use a chidori on her, effectively eliminating one of them.
Her vision became red in her rage. How dare he? Moving with a speed that rivaled Lee's, she swung her fist, connecting with the underside of the Uchiha's jaw. He flew across the arena, and, before he could recover, she ran over to him and leapt into the air, fist glowing blue with chakra. She landed on him with a thud, making the crater even bigger. Pulling away, she saw that he was now barely conscious, but she didn't care. She directed more chakra into her fists, and continued to beat him to a bloody pulp.
The beating continued as she pounded him further and further into the ground. She had absolutely no intention of stopping until Sasuke was no longer recognizable in this life, or the next. Suddenly both of her arms were grabbed, halting her movements. She looked to her right and left, only to see Naruto and Kakashi.
"Sakura-chan stop! You'll kill him!" the Kyuubi yelled frantically.
"Let go of me! It's what he deserves!" She screamed back, struggling against their grips.
"Sakura," the calm voice of her sensei interrupted, "If you really wanted to kill Sasuke, you would have used you strength to break free from me and Naruto. Besides, Gaara needs you right now." Kakashi, ever the voice of reason, stated.
Completely forgetting about her earlier fury, she stood up quickly, breaking free of their grasp. "Oh my God! Gaara!" she exclaimed, immediately leaping out of the crater to go treat the redhead's wounds.
Landing at his side, she looked into his eyes, hers filled with worry. "Where did the snake bite you?" she asked. He simply held up his arm, still stunned at what she had said and done to the now unconscious Uchiha. She immediately ripped away his sleeve and began to suck his blood from the wound with her mouth. Spitting it out she explained, "I need to save my chakra for your remaining injuries. The best way to get rid of snake venom is by removing it through the wound." She continued this until she could no longer taste the venom in his system. Then, wiping off some of the blood on her chin, she tended to his other wounds, specifically the one on his shoulder.
"Hey! He's waking up!" she heard Naruto yell excitedly from the crater.
Without a word she got up and walked over there. Jumping into the hole, she gripped Sasuke's shirt in her fist and pulled his bloody face to hers. "Consider that a taste of what will happen if you ever come near my Gaara again." She seethed, dropping him immediately and leaving the crater.
"But, Sakura-chan, aren't you going to heal Sasuke-teme too?" Naruto asked her, hope in his voice.
Without looking back she said, "That's what hospitals are for." And continued walking back towards Gaara.
The redhead stood once she was close and stared down at her, utter surprise still remaining on his face. He was looking at her as if her hair were green. She blushed a bit and gave a small huff, "What?" she demanded.
He didn't answer at first, but finally found his voice. "You…chose me…over Sasuke?" he asked, looking as if he didn't believe it, even though it had just happened.
She crossed her arms, slightly annoyed that they had to keep going over this. "I will always pick you over Sasuke, Gaara." Uncrossing her arms, her face turned to one of worry. "Are you mad at me? For interfering?" she asked, fearful of the answer.
"Of course I am." He said giving her a small glare. "But," a small smile formed on his face. "Watching you beat the crap out of Sasuke was amazing. Of course until, well Naruto and Kakashi jumped in, what a shame." He sighed, crossing his arms and looking past her at the two. "But I suppose we don't always get everything we want." He looked back down at her, moving his hand to her face and holding it tenderly. "I'm glad you aren't hurt."
She leaned into his hand, glad to finally be able to touch him. Then, she looked down at her herself and grimaced. Her arms and hands were covered in blood, and her clothes were splattered in it. Great, this would never wash out. "Can we go home now? I need to shower off the stench of Sasuke's blood." She asked, humor evident in her gaze.
"I dunno," he smirked, placing his free hand on the small of her back and pressing her body against his. "It's kind of hot seeing you covered in blood," he leaned closer to her face, showing his more sadistic side.
She blushed furiously and leaned backwards slightly. Now that she knew she loved Gaara, it was more difficult for her to repress her urges. She didn't want him to find out about her feelings in public, since she didn't know how he was going to react, or how she would react to his reaction. "Um…well….that's not one I've heard before." Regaining some of her composure, she smiled at him. "Is it also hot when I rip clothes off people?" she asked, meaning his shirt sleeve.
He arched what would be a brow and glanced down at his now bare arm. "I think it might be hotter," he paused, his hand tightening on the back of her shirt. "If your clothes got ripped off." He whispered seductively into her ear.
"Hinata-chan shield your ears!" Naruto cried out, tackling the poor girl to the ground and holding his hands over her ears. This being too much for the Hyuuga, she fell unconscious from all the blood rushing to her head at once.
Sakura pressed herself into him fully, so that she could feel every inch of his body. Leaning next to his face, she whispered in a seductive voice, "In your dreams." and immediately pulled away from him, going to check on her passed out friend.
Gaara growled and glared after her, her actions not exactly what he was expecting, but he decided to just let it go. Kiba stepped beside him, his arms crossed, watching Kakashi and a couple other Suna shinobi carry Sasuke off to the hospital. "That was pretty amazing, huh?"
The redhead turned his head to the brunette, "What? Sakura?"
"Yeah. I've never seen her act like that before." The brunette said.
"Like what? Fighting?" Gaara asked, now growing confused.
Kiba sighed and focused on the Kazekage. "Gaara…you didn't see her face. I've never seen Sakura that close to killing someone, ever."
He glanced back over at Sakura, who was fanning Hinata with her hand. "Just think about it man," the dog ninja smiled, setting his hand on the large white dog that walked up and sat at his feet.
Gaara nodded and Kiba went to join Sakura. He stood behind her, trying to view the Hyuuga, who was still a bit light headed.
Sakura plopped down on one of the couches, exhausted. "Whew, what a long day." Turning to the silent redhead at her side she asked, "Don't you agree?"
"Yes. Quite a day." He agreed, sitting down in one of the plush chairs across from her. He seemed pretty preoccupied with the carpet.
Quirking a brow at him, she asked, "Is everything ok? You seem a bit distracted."
He looked up, his undivided attention now on her. "No. Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine. Sasuke got what he deserved, you still get him alive, Kiba is annoying as ever, and Hinata's in a love coma. Everything is completely normal." He sighed, closing his eyes and leaning his head back to try and sooth the ache.
Knowing that he wasn't telling her everything, she got up and walked behind his chair. Leaning over the back of it, she brought her hands down, and began to massage his shoulders, slowly easing the tension she felt there.
He let out a deep breath, already feeling her medical hands at work. This was oddly comforting, he had never been touched like this before, and it seemed to just take all his aches away. But he knew most everything Sakura did was because she was trying to find something out. One of her more annoying habits, she just had to know what was wrong with him all the time and try to fix it. It was sickeningly sweet, but then it was one of the things that made her…her. And how he enjoyed her. "What do you want Sakura?" he finally sighed, keeping his eyes closed so her beautiful emerald eyes could not work their magic.
Not pausing in her ministrations, she began to massage the base of his neck. She decided to play innocent. "What do you mean?"
He stifled a laugh, her attempts at hiding her intentions were humorous. "Don't play dumb Sakura," he smiled, still trying to keep his eyes closed so she could not hypnotize him. "You play nice, so you can find out what's wrong. But's there's nothing wrong," he assured her with his lie.
She huffed, and added more pressure, to ease his deeper muscles. "I don't know what you're talking about Gaara. I always play nice, you just try and bite me, so I have to reciprocate."
"I don't try and bite you!" he opened his eyes, to glare up at her. Too late to realize his mistake.
She widened her eyes innocently. "It's just a metaphor Gaara! Technically, what you just said is a clear example of your animalistic behavior." She said with a cheeky smile, moving her hands back to his shoulders. Leaning closer to him, she whispered, "But, maybe you should try it sometime, and see what happens." Most of the humor now gone from her eyes.
"Sakura…" he sighed, trying his best to fight the smile that was forming on his face. He moved his hands and grabbed onto her delicate wrists, stopping her massage. "You know better than that…" he tugged at her arms in a suggestive way, like he was inviting her. Sakura laughed, not going to give into him so easily. Suddenly Gaara jerked her forward and she tumbled over him, landing in his lap with her legs up in the air.
He moved his face down to hers, so close he could feel the heat radiating from her cheeks and her staggered breath. "You know what happens when you antagonize me." He whispered, taking her hand and moving it to his mouth. Before she could even react he bit her hand softly, their eye contact never breaking.
She whimpered softly at the feel of his mouth against her skin, licking her lips slowly. She definitely wasn't expecting that. Suddenly she felt really hot, and not only on her red-stained cheeks. Becoming embarrassed, she jerked out of his grip, and made a mad dash for the stairs. She needed to splash cold water on her face and she needed it now!
Gaara stared at the spot she had just been. What had just happened? He thought things were going smoothly and then…she was gone. He looked over towards the stairs, seeing her rush into the hall. Was that too invasive of her personal space? Confusion settling on his face, he sighed, not knowing what to do now. He got up and decided to try and find something edible in the kitchen. Unfortunately, everything was destroyed from the night before. What was he going to eat for dinner?
Despite his dilemma, he couldn't help but think about Sakura. He couldn't find what he had done wrong. He stared off, replaying the whole scene in his head.
Sakura snuck back downstairs a few minutes later, somewhat back to her normal, pale self. She would have stayed in her room for the rest of the night, had it not been for the insistent growling of her stomach. She walked into the demolished kitchen, not really paying much attention to her surroundings, too focused on food. Humming to herself, she opened the fridge, accidentally ripping off the dented door. Reaching in, she pulled out a chunk of watermelon. She shrugged to herself. Fruit would just have to do, since she didn't feel like cooking, and there wasn't really a functioning stove at the moment. Shutting the door, she froze as she realized that she wasn't alone. Blushing once more, she met Gaara's intense stare. Holding out the large chunk in her hand, she hesitantly asked, "Watermelon?"
"…No thanks." Was his only reply before heading for the doorway. He didn't know how to act around her for the time being. "I think I'll just go ahead and get to sleep. Lots of things to deal with tomorrow…you know since that idiot kind of destroyed parts of my village." He left quickly, not leaving her room for a comment. Why had she just up and left him and then acted as if nothing happened? He growled softly, women.
She stood there wide-eyed and watched him leave. She shook her head as she ate some of the watermelon before heading up to bed. What was his problem? First he's all bold and flirtatious, and now he's cranky? She let out a frustrated sigh as she flung herself on her bed. Men.