Chapter 13

He wondered what they were talking about. His siblings had left a while ago, albeit satisfied it seemed. If his sister's smirk and brother's proud air could be described as such.

It could have been the outcome of him opening up to them - if only slightly - that caused them to act like this. It wasn't any concern to him.

But what did concern him was the fact that his session with Haruno had begun twenty minutes ago, and the women had failed to show.

Of course, he didn't much care. It was odd though, out of character for her. The one that was always so determined and straight foreward on 'curing' him. If she didn't show, it had to be because she was ill. Or dead.

Or it could be because she finally snapped to her senses and realized that she, no matter how hard she tried, couldn't fix him. Thinking this almost made him smirk. It would be smart of her to drop his case now, considering how far she had come.

She was playing with fire, and without the knowledge and experience on how to contain this particular blaze.

The red-headed male leaned back slightly in his chair as he folded his arms over his chest. He would give her two minutes. If she wasn't here by then, he was leaving. He had better things to indulge in than listening to her ramble on and on about things he could care less about.

.....

He growled low in his throat. Patience was not one of his finer qualities, and this not being an exception, not even half a minute into the wait, he was already subjected to tapping his fingers impatiently on his elbow.

His glare did nothing to the door across from his place at the metal table. Though, if it could have an affect, it would have melted long ago.

With another snarl of irritation, he stood from his seat, and headed toward the exit.

His plan was to go back to his room and endulge himself in one of the worn out books that resided on his shabby shelf, something that was an effective time killer. However, that plan was shot down the moment the handle turned and in stepped a pink haired doctor.

His steps immediatly halted and he eyed her blankly.

He could feel the new tension in the air. The uncertainty that surrounded her person. His fingers twitched at his sides at the realization. This was... unexpected. Sensing this around her quickly set him on edge, not being able to cope with it so quickly.

His cold jade eyes narrowed as she walked past him, not saying a word, and gently set his file on the table before seating herself.

Standing for a moment more, he watched her carefully from the corner of his eyes. Was she trembling? Not to mention, she was stiff, tensed, as if waiting for him to attack.

His curiousity peaked, he walks back to his chair, but doesn't sit down. Instead, he stands behind his chair, folding his arms over the backrest, and watches her intently.

She wasn't usually so silent. It made him nervous and unsettled. Never removing his gaze from her, he stared at her warily, waiting.

If looked at from a predatorial view, it would be seen as Gaara waiting, hiding, in the shadows as he eyed his prey, that normally would be attentive and alert, but was now standing dumbly in the open. Almost as if she was asking him to kill her.

She wasn't that stupid was she? She should know not to provoke him, taunt him. It was a death wish.

But it seemed like she was doing that now, with her silence. Dragging him out of his comfort zone and into her own battle field. He felt blindsided and exposed, something he wasn't used to in the least. And despised.

His frustration and anger began to build. It irked him that, without her even really trying, she was braking into his mind.

He snarled low and stepped away from his chair. She didn't react in the slightest. Without missing a beat, he walked swiftly around the table and gripped the back of her chair with his strong hands. With a slight heave, he yanked it back and swung it slighlty to the side so she was facing the wall instead of the tabletop.

He planted himself in front of her and glared harshly. Her emerald orbs locked with his bright jade eyes, and he thought he could see another tremble shake her frame. He exposed his abnormally sharp teeth in a sadistic grin.

It annoyed him though, that she still did not speak. Again, the creeping feeling of unease was crawling through his veins and he inwardly cringed.

Fine, if he couldn't intimidate a reaction from her, he would do what she was unconsciously doing to him. Break into her own thoughts.

He sneered at her and snatched the red file from the table. The file that contained her notes on himself.

"Okay," his dark voice growled. "how about we get in your head?" he said as he flipped open the file and skimmed over the neat writing.

"Antisocial, violent, belligerent, arrogant..." Gaara's solitary finger paused it's run down the list on the word 'arrogant' as a feral smirk dawned his lips. "Arrogant, huh? You psychologists have a field day with that one, right?"

She didn't answer, or flinch at his predatory tone of voice. Merely continued to stare at him blankly. He hated that, not knowing what she was thinking. Her eyes always gave away her thoughts. Now, though, they showed nothing.

His anger boiled again, and he began to pace.

"So I'm a narcissist? That is, of course, what you would conclude from that. Not like all you doctors aren't." his steps paused slightly before he started again, fixing her with a mocking glare. "Oh, yes, you believe you're Jesus, curer of all ailments, everyone is eminnantly fixable. Fools." he spat before returning to himself, back from his tangent.

"I'm one of those children who took their teacher to seriously when told I was 'special'. I believe I'm God's greatest gift... no, scratch that, I believe I am God. Right? Of course." His pacing rant began to become focused back on her, and with an arrogant saunter paired by the worst of down cast looks brought him back to her, an aura of danger seeped through his skin.

"Yes, I must believe I'm God. Close enough, at least, to be interchangeable."

Upon reaching her, he leaned a hand on the seat of her chair next to her thigh, action emphasized by the flop of the folder returning to the desk as his face came an inch from hers, eye to eye.

Despite her nearly flawless facial control, she couldn't keep the anxiety from flashing through her eyes and moving back an almost subtle millimeter. But, Gaara's sharp eyes caught it, and he reveled in what he saw. Fear.

"After all," he brought up his free hand to trace a finger from the base of her neck to the tip of her chin. "... I can play God. I can create life... " He began to whisper, moving to her ear as his hand moved from her chin to softly caress one of her hands. "... or destroy it." he finished, the hand on hers clenching into a painful death grip that earned him a shocked yelp, at which he chuckled.

"I perfer the latter." he muttered darkly, as he strode from the room, leaving, as usual, a shocked and confused Sakura.

As he walked away, down the dull hallway that led back to his room, it suddenly dawned on steps slowed and his brow furrowed as he frowned at nothing.

The difference of the fear he saw in her eyes today, and the fear he saw everywhre else so often before, the answer to why it made him feel guilty father than satisfied.

He was used to selfish fear, but her fear wasn't for herself. It was for a him, a stip above pity; empathy. After such a revelation, it wasn't simply Sakura who left slightly confused.

The red-head glanced over his shoulder as he picked up his pace again, glaring at the door of which he just exited. How was she doing this? She hadn't spoken a word and she had managed to set him on edge.

A guttural growl reverbrated from deep in his chest as a sign of his frustration. He was wary of the spot she had put him in. The feeling of being completely exposed, without defenses, he hated it!

Without even knowing it, he had been thrown into her game. How and when the tables had turned, he didn't know, and it was nerve wracking. They were playing by her rules now.

As he turned the corner in the hall, a sadistic grin played on his lips. Yes, they were playing by her rules, but who said that he couldn't turn things back in his favor? Use her rules to his advantage? He would get control back, and when he did, he would have her fall to her knees. He would win the game.

He always won.