Onchou shifted getting more comfortable as she allowed her mind go back to the place she seldom visited anymore. The world of her past.
"I was born in a village called Heiwa." She said looking down at her hands. "It was located somewhere here in The Land of Wind but I couldn't tell you where. My grandmother was the village's leader and protector and had been for many years. Shortly before I was conceived our village was attacked by a large group of allied rouge ninja. During the battle many of our people were lost and my grandmother requested assistance from The Village Hidden in the Sand. Help quickly arrived and the sand ninja were able to help drive out the intruders. According to my mother, my father was among the warriors that had been sent to help them and she fell in love with him after he personally saved her life. He reciprocated her feelings and after spending a night with her, he left with the rest of his comrades promising to come back for her. What happened after that is a bit of a mystery. My grandparents and mother refused to talk about it much but it was clear that the circumstances following that night were mysterious. My mother ran away from home and gave birth to me alone."
She clutched the sheets. "According to my grandmother, my mother went into labor early and lost her mind during the ordeal and in her state of madness she buried me alive." Eyes around the room widened at the words and Sakura gasped. Onchou took a deep breath and then continued. "My grandparents made it in time to save me and I was brought back to the village with my mother. There I was primarily raised by my grandparents since my mother's mental state was still pretty fragile. She couldn't look at me for long before she'd start screaming. My grandmother was strict and began teaching me the ninja arts at a very young age as well as how to use my ears." She took a deep breath and shuddered as she remembered her grandmother's harsh teaching style and then continued.
"Anyway, when I was five years old our village was attacked again but this time our enemy was better prepared and was led by a man wielding the sharringan." She said glancing at Sasuke who met her eyes briefly. "We didn't stand a chance. Somehow, my grandparents, mother and I made it out but we were the only ones. Everyone else in our village was slaughtered." She frowned. "After that we became nomadic, traveling from village to village during the next four years. My grandparents assured me that they were just looking for a place to settle down but over time I began to sense an ominous presence just before they would pick up and move. It soon became apparent to me that we were being pursued by someone or something. When I was nine years old, we were living in a tiny village in the land of Ogres. One day a heard the song of death in our house and left my room to investigate. I walked into my grandparents room and found them both dead." She shuddered at the memory and felt Ryuu touch her hand offering her a small smile. Gaining courage from his gentle touch, she continued. "I ran from the room and into the living room where I found a man standing over my mother who was screaming for my father to rescue her. Obviously, he didn't come and she died in front of my eyes."
"How awful." Sakura said softly glancing at Sasuke who nodded and rested his hand on the medic's shoulder.
"Seriously, that's messed up, did the guy not see you?" Naruto asked.
"Oh no. He knew I was there." Onchou replied. "He looked directly at me right before he killed her and said 'This is all your fault'."
Naruto's hands balled into fists. "What kind of sick twisted person says that to a kid right before they murder their mother?" he growled.
"Takuma." She replied simply. "He also told me that it was my fault that my village had been destroyed because I hadn't been old enough to wield the power I carried within me to protect them."
"Power? What power?" Sai asked.
The violet eyed girl shook her head. "I have no idea what he was talking about. Regardless, he told me that if I didn't come with him, he'd kill the rest of the villagers and then he take me anyway. I was only nine years old at the time and I knew that I didn't have any way to take care of myself so I went with him." She lifted the sleeve of her gown revealing the number 269. "I received this the next day and from then on he began experimenting on me as well as putting me through rigorous training. I was the only female test subject he kept at the main lab with him and the youngest so the first two years were extremely difficult for me as I tried to adjust." She took a deep breath and noted that Ryuu was drifting asleep in her lap. She reached out and touched him on the forehead putting him into a deeper sleep before she continued.
"What I'm about to say now is something that Ryuu doesn't know. I don't intend on telling him any time soon either alright?" she said glancing around the room. Those gathered nodded and she continued. "After that, Ryuu was created in the lab. When he was fully formed, Takuma took me with him to The Land of Swamps and there he summoned a dragon."
Crow's eyes widened and Temari's jaw dropped. "A real dragon?" he stammered.
She nodded. "Yes, the dragon's name is Hisame." She said. "We battled it together with a few of Takuma's strongest test subjects but only Takuma and I survived. I managed to get it under control and was about to force it back when he brought out Ryuu who was just an infant at the time and forced me to help him seal Hisame inside of him." Naruto's eyes hardened slightly and Gaara's eyes did the same. Onchou gripped her hair in her hands pulling slightly as tears formed in her eyes. "It was awful. It nearly killed him. I had to continuously pour my chakra into him for almost a week while Takuma injected him with drugs to induce rapid growth to save him. She released her hair and lightly touched the child. "After that, I became responsible for his care. Takuma didn't have the time or desire to raise a child and I have the power to control Hisame in the event that the seal is broken. It's the only thing that made sense. We've been together ever since."
"I see. That's why you two are so close." Sakura said. "It's only natural given the circumstances. Ryuu's basically like your child right?"
Onchou chuckled and smiled slightly. "A mother at age eleven. Bet you never heard of that one before."
"That's a heavy burden to carry, particularly for one so young." Gaara said softly.
"Seriously." Naruto replied. "When I was eleven I was busy thinking up ways to get people to pay attention to me and how to beat Sasuke at school. I can't imagine having to take care another person at that age."
"You could barely take care of yourself." Sasuke reminded him with a sneer.
Onchou smiled at the exchange and then continued her story. "Around this same time, Takuma expressed a desire for me to start going outside the laboratory on missions to 'earn my keep' since raising his experiment wasn't enough I suppose. He tried to match me up with a team but he couldn't find anyone that worked well with me. Then he brought Akira in." she smiled at the memory. "He was handpicked by Takuma like I had been and taken from his family by force. Takuma threatened to track down and kill his older sister if he didn't comply so he grudgingly agreed. He was thirteen at the time and we got along immediately in spite of his quiet nature. As it turned out, he was a prodigy excelling at fire and earth jutsu the two elements I have the least amount of proficiency in and wind the element I'm the most adept in." she sighed. "The amount of chakra he had was astonishing and I've never met anyone who could wield a chain and scythe as well as he could. The two of us along with Ryuu were formed into a team. The ones in the lab called us team CR."
"CR?" Naruto said his brow creasing. "What's that stand for?"
"It depended on who you asked." She replied. "To those who thought we received special treatment because of our young age, it stood for Child Royalty. Those guys we fought tonight, they kept calling me Princess remember? That's why."
"Oh ok. Well that makes sense. What did everyone else say it stood for?" he asked.
Onchou smirked her eyes darkening slightly "Children Reapers." She replied.
"That's a pretty dark name for a team." Sai said.
The violet girl shrugged. "We weren't the ones that picked it." She replied. "However, we certainly earned it." She said her head lowering as she gripped the sheets. "Over the years we just got better and better and I sensed that it was beginning to make Takuma uneasy. During a particularly nasty battle where Akira and I ended up stranded inside a pitch dark cave with a bunch of blood thirsty cave people that could see in the dark, I performed the Soul Link jutsu on Akira and myself. After that, our power couldn't be matched by anyone, not even Takuma and he became increasingly paranoid. He began sending Akira off on terribly dangerous missions solo and his experiments on me became more and more sadistic. Procedures he used to perform after giving me an anesthetic he'd do without any pain medication at all. I think he was trying to prove that he was in control or something. Akira stumbled in on him during one of those experiments and attacked Takuma. He was locked in a cell after that I was forbidden to see him." She snickered. "As you all found out today, I don't really care to follow the rules so I went anyway. Akira told me that he'd found out where his sister was and that he wanted to run away with me and Ryuu. I agreed and we formed a plan. The day before our planned escape however, Akira was murdered in his cell." Tears dripped from her eyes at the memory.
"I kind of lost my spark after that. I locked away all of my feelings except for the affection I had for Ryuu and stopped living, I just existed. I did what I was asked and what was required to survive, nothing more or less." She sighed and touched a hand to her hair. "About a year and a half ago, I heard something that snapped me out of it."
"A soul song." Sia said glancing at her.
She nodded. "Exactly."
"What's a soul song?" Temari asked.
"It's something every living creature has." Onchou said with a sigh. "It's hard to explain but it's a pure, unalterable manifestation of someone's soul. I have the ability to hear it and translate it into a form that I can understand which is, song. It's a secret ability passed down in my clan. You can't hear it unless you have ears like mine." She said touching the point of her left ear. "Anyway, the Fourth Great Ninja War broke out and Takuma took Ryuu and I with him to observe it from a distance. During the course of the war, a stray shot flew from the battlefield and struck Takuma down. Ryuu and I took the chance to escape and we've been on the run ever since trying to get to this village to find out if my father is here and learn more about my past. I have a sinking suspicion that the fact that Takuma and I both have ties to this country isn't a coincidence."
"I see." Gaaara said touching his chin. "Do you have any proof that your father came from this Village?" he asked.
Onchou nodded and pointed to her sword. "Will you hand that to me?" she asked Naruto who was sitting closest to it.
"Yeah of course." He replied. "Here you go." He said handing the curved sword to her.
She flipped it over and pointed to a symbol carved into the silver handle. "This is the sword my father left with my mother promising to return for it and her. Look here. Isn't that this Village's symbol?"
Crow glanced at it and nodded. "That looks right to me." He replied.
"May I?" Gaara asked extending his hand to take the sword.
"Sure." The violet haired girl replied handing it to him. He pulled it from its sheath and examined the curved blade. "Interesting. Most ninja swords have straight blades but this one is curved." He said handling the sword carefully. "It's a unique design that allows the wielder to use as a midrange weapon as well as a close range weapon."
"How so?" Naruto asked examining the blade himself. Gaara took the sword and changed his grip on the handle and turned the sword so that the blunt edge of the sword was pressed against his forearm with the sharp curved edge facing out following the line of his arm to where it ended a few inches past is elbow.
"That's pretty interesting." Sasuke agreed. "I've never seen a sword like it."
"I have." Gaara replied.
Kankuro and Temari both nodded as well. "Same with us." The blonde said.
"You have?" Onchou replied her eyes wide. "Where?"
"This blade is something unique to the Buki clan who live here in the village." Gaara replied. "It is likely that your father was a member of that clan."
The girl's eyes widened and then softened. "I see. That's good news at least." She sighed as her head began to spin pressing her fingers to her temples.
"Are you alright?" Sakura asked getting to her feet to check on her.
"I'll be fine." Onchou replied. "I think everything is just starting to get to me."
Sasuke snickered. "I can only imagine."
"We'll get out of your hair." Naruto said with a smile scooping the sleeping form of Ryuu into his arms. "I think everyone here is exhausted."
"You can say that again." Temari said stretching her neck.
"Don't you dare get out of this bed or else I'll strap you to it, got it?" Sakura said glaring at the amethyst eyed girl.
Onchou sighed. "Yes." Her eyes widened when the pink haired medic wrapped her arms around her.
"I'm so sorry for what you went through when you were younger." She said softly. "No one should have to suffer like that at a young age."
The violet eyed girl blinked and then touched the medic's back. "Thanks." She said softly.
"I'll be here in the morning to check on you." She assured her.
"Don't make it too early. You need to rest too." Onchou replied.
"Alright." Sakura replied. "Goodnight." She said following Naruto out the door with Sasuke by her side. Sai brought up the rear glancing at the violet haired girl one more time before he left.
"Goodnight." Kankuro said smiling at her. "Thanks again for saving me. I owe you one."
The amethyst eyed girl nodded. "Yeah. Ok then."
"Get some rest. Thanks for all you did for my brothers." Temari said following her older brother out the door.
The dark skinned girl's heart pounded as she realized she was alone with the Kazikage. "Thank you, for all you've done for me and my people." He said softly. "I'm very grateful."
"You're welcome Lord Gaara." She responded.
He smiled at her and Onchou felt her heart stumble in her chest. His smile was heartbreakingly beautiful. No wonder he had a bunch of twittering fan girls. "Please, call me Gaara." He said.
She nodded and then sighed. "You want to ask me don't you?" She said softly. "About what exactly happened during my time with Takuma. What missions he conducted and things like that. "
He sighed and nodded. "Please try to understand-."
She held up a hand to stop him. "No, it's ok. I do understand. You're a national leader and part of an international governing body. It's your responsibility, I get it." She sighed and raked her fingers through her hair. "I'm afraid of Takuma. What he's capable of, how much power he has. The fact that he wasn't on your radar until I showed up is even further proof of his power and skill." She sighed. "All I can do is keep running and hope he never catches up. I'm not stupid enough to think that I can take him down alone."
"You won't have to." Gaara replied. "You'll have the support and protection of friends."
She glanced over at the Kazikage studying his eyes for a moment before turning away. "I just don't know." She replied softly.
"I understand." He replied softly. "I'll come to you when you're feeling a bit better and ask again, is that alright?"
Onchou blinked and then nodded. "Yeah. That sounds good. Thank you."
He nodded. "Good night Onchou." He said softly.
"Good night Gaara." She replied.
A little smile touched the Kazikage's lips as she addressed him by his name before he left closing the door behind him.
Onchou groaned and laid back against the pillows of her hospital bed flinging her arm over her eyes. "What are you doing?" she demanded of herself. "You're not allowed to feel these things anymore remember? Let alone for someone like him, he's way out of the reach of a murderer like you." A little tear slipped from her eye. "That's right. I'm a murderer, how could I forget."
Gaara walked through the streets of Suna nodding to the few workers still out and about cleaning up the streets.
"Thank you for all of your hard work." He said to a crew working near the Kazikage's compound where he lived with his siblings.
"It's our honor Lord Kazikage." The young man said bowing to him. "You protected our village with your life. This is the least I can do."
The red haired shinobi shook his head. "I did very little. I do appreciate your gratitude though." He nodded to the young man before mounting the stairs of his home and walking inside. It was much grander on the inside than it appeared from the outside with artwork on the walls and fine leather furniture. He'd grown up in the house until his father had died but it wasn't until he moved in later with his siblings that it lost its chilliness though it still did feel a little empty. He sighed and walked into the kitchen opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water drinking deeply as he sensed another presence enter the room. "Brother." He said softly. "I thought you'd be asleep by now."
Crow chuckled. "Naw, I couldn't sleep knowing my little brother was still out and about. It's way past your curfew you know."
Gaara shook his head. "I'm not a child anymore."
"True, but you're still my little brother. I can't help but worry about you. Today you survived an assassination attempt so you'll forgive me for being a little more worried than normal right?" the sand shinobi said his back free of the pack that held his puppet and his hood down revealing his messy brown hair.
The Kazikage nodded and leaned back against the kitchen counter glancing at the ceiling as he thought about the violet haired girl he'd left at the hospital. His eyes widened as he remembered their battle in the forest of nightmares and he bent down removing his sandal a little smirk coming to his lips.
"What are you smirking at?" Crow asked walking over to investigate. "What is that from? I thought you got out of the fight completely unscathed?" he studied the bruise closer. "That looks almost like a heel mark. Did someone step on your foot?"
Gaara chuckled. "Not stepped on, stomped on." He replied.
"What? Who did?" Crow asked.
"That woman, the one that came with the leaf shinobi." He replied.
"Onchou right?" Crow replied. "Why did she do that?"
"She did it to free me from the control of a genjutsu cast by one of those responsible for the attack on our village." He said slipping his sandal back onto his foot. His brother studied him and the Kazikage's brow raised. "What is it?" he asked.
"I've never seen you like this." Crow admitted. "You seem very interested in that girl."
The Kazikage blinked in surprise and then nodded filling the now empty bottle of water and putting it back in the fridge. "I suppose you're right." He replied. "Her life story is tragic one yet she seems so compassionate. Her relationship with Ryuu intrigues me as well. He seems to be a jinchuritki like I was yet she doesn't show an ounce of fear. She cares for him with infinite tenderness." He bowed his head. "I guess I wish I'd had someone like her by my side as a child. Someone who wasn't afraid of me or thought of me as a weapon to give me the kind of affection and care she gives him. I'm sure that I would've been much happier that way." Crow nodded and looked away. Gaara knew his brother was feeling guilty but it wasn't his fault that he'd been treated the way he had. "I also wonder, if she was once like me." He said softly.
"What do you mean?" Crow asked.
"A child that was isolated, feared, and hated because of something she had no control over." Gaara replied glancing at his brother. "I just get the feeling that she's carrying a much larger burden than she's willing to reveal."
His older brother nodded. "That's always a possibility. So what are you going to do?" he asked.
"I want to find out more about her village and its history with ours. I'm also interested to see if she really has any connections to the Buki clan. If her father truly is among them, then I'll have to see about getting them reunited." He said.
Crow stared at his younger brother. "Do you want her to stay in the village?" he asked.
"It's much safer for her to be here than out there." Gaara replied simply before leaving the kitchen. "Sleep well brother." He called back. He walked up the stairs to the third floor where he slept and slipped out of his rust red jacket revealing a black tee shirt underneath. He unsnapped the brown belt at his hip and laid the gourd containing his sand on his bedside table and then sat down on his bed resting his forearms on his knees as his muscles throbbed with fatigue. He looked at his hands and remembered how the hands that had once killed complete strangers for looking at him the wrong way, had only hours ago protected his village and in particular a woman he barely knew. He'd even carried her from the battlefield. "Look at me now father." He said softly into the darkness. "I bet you never imagined that these hands would come to rescue a fair woman like that one." His eyes widened at his own words. Fair woman? His mind conjured her up in his mind and he studied her. Bronze colored skin, vivid amethyst colored eyes with flecks of green, blue, pink and violet scattered near the pupil, and waist length violet hair. She was slightly taller than the average woman standing just a couple inches shorter than himself with long, slender limbs and a narrow waist. He'd never seen another woman like her. "I must really be tired." He muttered shaking his head to dispel the image in his head. "Better sleep now before another disaster strikes." He said slipping out of his pants and under the covers of his bed too exhausted to bother changing into his sleeping clothes. As he gave himself over to sleep, Onchou's musical voice drifted into his mind. "The duty of the Queen is to protect the King not admire him." He smiled a little in spite of himself and drifted into a dream where he was fighting side by side with the strange girl with violet hair again.
Sakura groaned as the light from the window came streaming in hot and bright even through the curtains and tried to turn away from the offending source of discomfort. Realizing that it was only going to get worse she sighed and sat up looking at the clock. It was nine in the morning, she couldn't remember the last time she'd slept so late. With a little groan of frustration she stood up and staggered to the bathroom hoping a shower would clear her mind and blow away the cobwebs of tiredness. As she stood in the water her mind drifted to the events of the night before. The battle with Ember, getting hit by the landmine and how Saskue had held her begging her not to go where he couldn't follow. She blushed at the memory and smiled. She's never imagined that Sasuke would say such a thing to her. She stepped out of the water and wrapped a towel around herself as she remember how he'd carried her back to the village and how she'd mentioned that she almost felt like he loved her. Her mind then raced forward to when he'd trapped her against the wall angrily and then when she'd tried to run away, terrified that he'd reject her again, he'd pulled her back and kissed her. Sakura's eyes widened her finger tips going to her lips as she blushed darker than before. Sasuke Uchiha, the boy she'd loved since childhood had kissed her and then told her that she wasn't like any other girl, that she was special. The thought of it made her heart pound in her chest and her body tremble. A knock at the door made her jump.
"Sakura, is everything ok in there?" came Sai's voice.
She cursed herself for getting caught up in her memories and took a moment to steady her breathing before she answered. "Yeah, I'm fine Sai." She replied. "I'm a little slower with my feet still healing. I'll be out in a second." She replied quickly.
"Alright then." He said. "I'm going to pick up breakfast, do you have a preference?"
She thought for a moment as she started pulling on her clothes. "You know what I like Sai." She replied. "Get whatever you think is best."
"Very well. Be back soon." He said through the door.
Sakura sighed and pulled a brush through her blush colored locks and then stepped out of the bathroom. Scanning the room she found that Sai had indeed gone and that Naruto, Sasuke, and Ryuu were all still sleeping. She approached Ryuu and brushed his silver hair from his face noting tear stains on his cheeks and his hand that was wrapped tightly around what she recognized as one of Onchou's shirts. "You miss Onchou don't you?" she murmured. "I'm sorry." She move to check on Naruto next rolling her eyes as he muttered in his sleep about how he was going to beat Sasuke for sure. Finally she moved to Sasuke's bedside noting how he curled up on his side his arms tucked close to his chest. She knelt down beside him and rested her arms on the edge of the bed watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. She reached out and brushed his ebony spikes out of his face and smiled. He looked so beautiful while sleeping, the normally hard lines of his face were much softer and his lips were slightly parted. Her gaze focused on them blush coming to her cheeks again as she remembered the feel of them against her own. Without really thinking, she reached out with her fingertips towards them wondering how they felt against her fingers. Just before she touched them however his breathing changed and his eyes fluttered open. A little squeak of surprise escaped her lips and she started to fall backwards but he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist steadying her.
"It's not nice to spy on people while they're sleeping Sakura." He said softly.
Sakura blushed, not only at the sensation of his hand on her which seemed to electrify her more than usual but at how downright sexy his voice first thing in the morning with its little hint of roughness. She gulped and nearly glared at the lazy smirk he gave her as though he could her just how hard her heart was beating in her chest. "I wasn't spying." She replied. "I was just checking on you, that's all."
"Are you sure?" he replied pulling her closer to him until she was nearly on the bed herself. "I get the feeling you're not being honest with me." He said softly his eyes burning with something she'd seen for the first time last night when he'd kissed her hand in the desert and after he'd kissed her just inside the Village. He trailed his hand up to her face and ran his thumb over her lips and she felt her body tremble as heat leapt to life in her veins. A cocky smirk spread over his mouth as he pulled her closer. "Shall I make you tell me the truth?" he murmured gently tugging her head down towards his own. Her breath hitched in her throat and her eyes closed in anticipation.
"Damn it Sasuke!" A loud familiar voice cried out. "Get your hands off of her!"
The two jumped at the sound and Sakura scrambled off the bed and whirled towards the sound of Naruto's voice. Her hands balled into fists as the whiskered boy rolled over his eyes closed obviously still in the throes of a dream.
"Naruto!" she hissed in frustration as she staggered back until she hit the wall and slid down to the floor. "I swear, you're going to be the death of me." She groaned pressing her hand to her chest as her heart raced out of control.
"Not If I kill him first." Sasuke replied sitting up and running and hand through his hair. "That freaking idiot!" he looked over at Sakura and slipped out of bed kneeling in front of her reaching out to tap her in the middle of the forehead a gentle smile that she'd rarely seen on his face. "How are you feeling?" he asked moving back to examine her feet.
"Pretty good. They're a little sore but that's to be expected." She replied blushing as his big, calloused hands handled her feet with care sliding up to examine what was left of the burns on her calf.
"Good. I'm glad." He replied with a smile.
"I'm back!" Sai said coming nearly silently through the door with two bags in one hand a caddy filled with coffee cups in the others. His eyes widened and he blinked in surprise at the scene in front of him. "I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?" he asked taking in their position. Sasuke kneeling in front of Sakura with her leg slightly bent as his fingers trailed up her leg.
Sakura's heart pounded in her chest her blush deepening at the question. "I was just checking her feet." Sasuke replied easily.
Sakura snorted. "Smooth as always." She muttered softly earning a low chuckle from the Uchiha.
"I smell food!" Naruto said rolling out of bed. "What did you get Sai?" he asked.
"Breakfast sandwiches. They seem to be popular here." The painter replied.
Ryuu stirred and sat up rubbing his eyes. "You guys are so loud." He whined as he slid to the floor stumbling slowly forward.
"Sorry about that." Sakura said getting to her feet with Sasuke's help. "Are you hungry?"
The boy nodded. "Is Onchou ok? I don't remember saying goodbye last night." He murmured as he shuffled to the table.
"She's resting in the hospital." Sakura replied. "We sort of had an emergency meeting last night in her hospital room and you fell asleep. She didn't want to wake you up so she had Naruto carry you here. I'm sorry."
"Oh ok." He replied. "I can see her today thought right?"
"Of course." Sakura replied as she sat down between the child and Sasuke.
"Good. I need to protect her." The child muttered.
"Protect her? From what?" Naruto asked as he picked up and egg, sausage, and cheese sandwich from the middle of the table.
"That guy with Raccoon eyes." Ryuu replied crossing his arms over his chest.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Lord Gaara? Why would you need to protect her from him?"
"Yeah, he saved her during the battle last night." Naruto said. "He even carried her back to the village."
"Exactly!" Ryuu exclaimed. "That stupid ginger thinks I'm too young to figure it out, but I'm on to him. He definitely has a thing for Onchou." He said his brow wrinkling.
Sasuke chuckled. "Lord Gaara and Onchou? There's no way."
Ryuu glared at the Uchiha. "I don't want to hear anything from you Scary Eyes!" he shoot back. "You're as dumb as a sack of rocks when it comes relationships. I might be young but I'm not stupid."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "Listen you little brat…" he started.
"Boys, knock it off." Sakura said softly before she turned back to Ryuu. "I couldn't tell you about that, but I can tell you that Lord Gaara would never hurt Onchou so you don't need to worry about that."
The child opened his mouth to protest when a knock came at the door. Sai stood up quickly to answer it and Leo walked into the room.
"I'm sorry to disturb your breakfast." He said bowing slightly. "I just came to let Lady Sakura know that we were able to find the samples she was asking for."
"Really? That's great!" Sakura said smiling. "Thank you Leo. I really appreciate it."
"It was my pleasure Lady Sakura." the tall sand ninja replied. "I heard that you fought alongside Lord Gaara to protect our village. You strength and bravery never cease to amaze me."
"Thanks." Sakura said with a little smile. "I was actually quite happy to help out."
"Of course." Leo replied with a smile. "I'll escort you to the hospital when you're ready."
"You don't have to." She said nervously. "Everyone here is going to follow me over there anyway since they want to check on Onchou."
"Onchou… The purple haired young woman? I heard she saved the lives of several of our shinobi including Lord Gaara." He said touching his chin.
"Yeah she did." Naruto replied. "She's back in the hospital now though. That's what happens when you break out early."
"Like you're one to talk." Sakura shot back. "How many times did I have to drag you back in myself because you couldn't sit still." She glanced at the palest shinobi among them her eyes narrowing slightly. "You're pretty bad too."
Sai laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I just wanted to help my friends that were in need."
She sighed. "You're all so reckless." She muttered. "Anyway, this stuff is all portable so we might as well head over now. If feel weird eating in front of people while they stand around." She admitted.
They arrived at the hospital minutes later and she quickly assessed Onchou's condition.
"You took those hits well." She remarked. "Not a single lasting injury should remain."
Onchou nodded. "If I hadn't been sure of that I wouldn't have taken them at all." She replied.
Sakura snickered. "I did that once too. It hurt like Hell but well worth it to get the element of surprise."
Sasuke, Naruto and Sai all stared at the pink haired medic and then at each other. "When was this?" Naruto asked. "I don't remember you doing something like that."
"Me either." Sasuke agreed. "Sai?"
The painter shook his head. "I never saw anything like that."
Sakura's eyes widened. She'd never told them about what had happened to her while she was defending Sasuke and Naruto from the sound ninja in the forest of death.
"It's not important." She replied quickly. "Anyway, I need to run some tests on Onchou now so you boys are going to have to leave."
"Hey! This conversation isn't over!" Naruto declared as she pushed him and Sasuke towards the door.
"Common! You too Ryuu." She said looking back at the silver haired boy. "Go hang out with the boys for a while."
He sighed and gave Onchou a hug. "You'll tell me right away if Raccoon eyes tries anything right?" he demanded.
The violet haired girl blinked in surprise and then nodded. "Sure. Whatever you say." She replied. "See you later."
"Boys, they can be so troublesome." Sakura muttered as she slammed the door closed behind them.
Onchou chuckled. "Oh yeah. They say we're the complicated ones, but that's not true. They're the ones that make it complicated."
Sakura grinned. "Exactly!" she walked over to the counter and set up a microscope. "I'm going to take a blood sample." She said picking up a syringe. "Hopefully I'll be able to find a way to get this Black Water garbage out of your system."
Sasuke, Sai and Naruto walked down the streets of Suna drawing a small crowd of women as they did. The dark haired former avenger cringed as a woman with red hair gave him a look that screamed "Come hither." And groaned. "Let's get off the streets. If one more of these girls mentally undresses me I'm going to teleport to the middle of the middle of the ocean and drown myself."
Naruto nodded. "Yeah. They're really creeping me out." He admitted.
"Let's try there." Sai said pointing to a building that had the word Library printed on it.
"That works for me." Sasuke said picking up his pace. "Let's hurry."
The three ninja and their underage charge entered the building and Ryuu's eyes widened at the sight. "Wow! I've never seen so many books in one place before!" he exclaimed.
"Is this your first time in a library?" Sasuke asked.
The child nodded. "We weren't allowed out of the lab much and on missions we weren't allowed to come to places like this. Onchou said that she wanted to bring me to one but we hadn't gotten the chance to yet."
Naruto smiled at the boy. "Well today is your lucky day kid! Go ahead and check it out. We'll be waiting for you over here." He said motioning to round table and chairs.
"Thanks guys!" the child exclaimed dashing off into the book shelves his eyes wide with wonder.
"What a weird kid getting excited over a library." The Uzamaki remarked as he settled down in one of the chairs.
Sasuke took a set on his left and Sai sat on his right. "I really don't care. If he's this excited he won't want to leave for a while and then those stupid fan girls will leave us alone."
The other two nodded in agreement and visibly relaxed.
"So…" Naruto said after a few moments. "What's going on between you and Sakura?" he asked looking at the Uchiha.
Sasuke's eyes widened and he looked away irritated by the tinge of blush that came to his cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about." He muttered.
"Oh common!" Naruto protested. "I know I'm dumb but I'm not blind! There is totally something different about you two today. Everything you did made Sakura blush and you smiled more this morning than I've ever seen you smile. Don't lie to me!"
Sai nodded. "I saw it too. You two seemed different after returning from the battlefield." He said. "Closer."
Sasuke growled. For once he wished that his best friend was a little less perceptive at least when it came to him. The blonde idiot had always been able to see right through him. He'd come to appreciate it and even be thankful to the strange talent of his best friend but in certain situations like the one he was in at the moment, it pissed him off. "What's it to you?" he replied.
"You two are my best friends." Naruto replied. "All I want is for you two to be happy."
The Uchiha groaned and lowered his head. "This conversation is useless." He muttered.
"They kissed." Sai said in a matter of fact tone.
Sasuke nearly fell off his chair in surprise and gaped at the painter. "How did you know?" he demanded.
Sai smiled at him. "I didn't actually. I just guessed."
The Uchiha gasped and then sighed mortified that he'd fallen for such an obvious trap. There was no going back now.
Naruto's eyes lit up and he leaned forward. "No way! Really?!" he exclaimed. He hooked his arm around the Uchiha's shoulders and rubbed the top of his head. "It's about damn time! I'm so proud of you!" he grinned widely and wiggled his brows. "How was it?" he asked. Sasuke wished that he could teleport right off the face of the planet as blush came to his cheeks. He shoved his whiskered friend off of him and gritted his teeth. "Common Sasuke don't be shy!" The Uzamaki insisted. "You can tell me." He said nudging his shoulder.
"Get off me you loser!" he demanded as the blonde reached for him again. Frustrated and irritated he scrambled to avoid his friend's arms. "It felt a Hell of a lot better than kissing you!" he spat out. His eyes widened at his own words and he fell face first onto the table his face bright red with embarrassment.
"Did you hear that?" Naruto said to Sai clearly trying to suppress his laughter.
"Go to Hell." Sasuke muttered. "This is why I hate being around you. You always make me say and do the stupidest things."
"I'm sorry. Really." The blonde said touching the Uchiha's back. "I'm actually really happy right now."
Sasuke raised his head noting the sincerity her heard in his friend's voice. He looked the blue eyed man in the eyes and was surprised to see a little moisture there. "What are you talking about?" he asked.
"Well, Sakura's loved you forever. Even when she was by my side I knew that she was thinking about you. Even on the day she told me she loved me I knew it wasn't true." He said studying the Uchiha. "When you cast that genjutsu on her I was afraid that there really was no hope for her and it hurt me because I knew that she'd never love anyone else but you." Sasuke blinked in surprise as the Uzamaki continued. "I was also worried for a long time that you were never going to let yourself be happy after everything happened. I mean, I worked so hard to save you because I wanted you to be happy but it seemed like you were determined to say gloomy forever." He smiled at the Uchiha. "The fact that you're finally returning her feelings and letting yourself do something that will make you happy is the best feeling in the world."
Sasuke's eyes widened and then relaxed again. "You're an idiot." He muttered looking down. "I don't deserve to have a friend like you or the love of a girl like Sakura."
"Well it sucks to be you then doesn't it because guess what? You're stuck with us!" the blonde exclaimed hooking his arm around the Uchiha's neck. "Now then, out of respect for our brotherly bond…" he said grinning at Sasuke. "You have to tell us everything in great detail."
"I really will kill you." The Uchiha hissed knowing full well that whether he liked it or not, Naruto wasn't going to let him leave without hearing everything. A thought occurred to him and he suddenly smirked. "Alright, if you insist but I wonder what Sakura will say when she finds out you forced me to tell you everything."
The Uzamaki's eyes widened and sweat began to bead on his forehead at the mention of the medic. "On second thought, we don't need to know. I'll take your word for it." He stammered.
"Thank you for healing my feet." Sakura said as she worked analyzing the blood samples she'd taken from Onchou.
"Don't mention it." The violet haired girl replied. "I was happy to do it." After few moments Onchou spoke again. "Something good happened between you and the Uchiha last night didn't it?"
Sakura jumped and nearly dropped the vial in her hand as he cheeks colored. "What do you mean?" she stammered.
The bed ridden girl laughed. "That reaction right there is proof enough even if I didn't already know." Sakura looked at the girl who smiled and tapped her ears. "I can hear things others can't remember?" she said. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I'm actually quite happy for you. Finally receiving the affection of someone you've loved for most of your life must be a wonderful feeling."
Sakura blushed and smiled. "It is." She replied softly. "I was afraid for a long time that he'd never feel that way about me or that if he did, he'd never do anything about it because he was so wrapped up in atoning for his mistakes. The fact that he's finally letting me make me feel like all of that time spent waiting wasn't a waste makes me very happy." She said tucking her hair behind her ear.
"I don't think loving anyone is ever a waste." Onchou said looking out her window. "Even if they never return your feelings, love is a much better feeling than hate, jealousy or bitterness."
"That's true." Sakura said observing the girl. "So, is there someone you love like that?" she asked.
The amethyst eyed girl shook her head. "Not anymore." She said softly.
"Akira?" Sakura offered.
Onchou nodded. "Yeah. I still have trouble dealing with the fact that he's gone forever." She said softly.
"Tell me about him." Sakura said.
The violet haired girl blinked in surprise and then smiled. "Akira was a gentle soul who experienced a lot of hardship. He was a prodigy in the ninja arts but his parents refused to let him join the ninja corps because his father was injured during a mission once and never fully recovered."
"That's kind of a silly reason." Sakura said. "That's part of being a ninja. If Akira was willing to accept that, then his parents should've supported him."
Onchou nodded. "I agree." She replied.
Sakura worked in silence for a few minutes and then spoke again. "So what did Akira look like?"
The amethyst eyed girl thought for a moment. "He was a little taller than average with a thin build, long brown hair and amber colored eyes." She responded smiling a little. "He actually looked quiet plain but that never really mattered to me."
The pink haired medic smiled, nodded and jotted down a few notes. "So what do you think of the Kazikage?" she asked.
The violet haired girl's eyes widened and a little blush tinged her cheeks. "That was a pretty sudden change in topic." She muttered. Sakura chuckled noting the blush as she changed out the slides on her microscope. "I think that he's a very capable leader and powerful ninja." Onchou replied after a minute. "He's strong and it's clear that he's beloved by his people."
Sakura nodded. "Yeah. He's come a long way." She said. "When I first met him he was much different. He nearly killed Naruto, Sasuke, and I."
Onchou's eyes widened. "Did he now?" she chuckled. "So that explains it, the subtle dark undertones in his song, that must be left over from his childhood." Her eyes focused on Sakura again. "What happened to change him?" she asked.
The pink haired medic smiled. "Naruto and Gaara were both hosts to tailed beasts at the time. They'd both been treated pretty harshly because of it. They fought head to head and Naruto managed to defeat him and told him that he knew exactly how he felt and that he was his friend. Something about that changed Gaara and he decided to change the direction in which his life was headed."
The amethyst eyed girl smiled. "That Naruto, it seems he's full of surprises."
Saukra nodded. "He is." She turned back to her patient. "Anyway, about Lord Gaara, Ryuu seems to believe he has a thing for you."
Onchou chuckled. "Does he now? That little trouble maker." She looked down. "Even if that were true, there's no way I'm suitable for someone like him."
"Isn't that his decision to make?" The medic offered gently.
The bronze skinned girl sighed. "I suppose." She said glancing out the window. "Even so, I'm not sure if I dare walk that path again. It's brought me nothing but ruin in the past."
Sakura sighed. "You sound like Sasuke. Refusing to let yourself be happy over the past."
The violet haried girl blanched. "Ugh! You just had to go and compare me to that idiot." She muttered.
The pink haired woman chuckled. "Yup. Anyway, from what I can see here, the Black Water they have here is the same Black Water in your blood stream. A couple more chemical tests being run by the lab downstairs will confirm that. If the results come back good I'll be able to work on a method to draw it out of your body."
Onchou nodded. "Thank you so much. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome." Sakura replied gathering her things. "Is there something I can get for you?"
The girl shook her head. "I'm fine for now. I'll just watch TV for now. When you come back later though, I wouldn't mind if you brought me a book to read."
"No problem. Do you have a preference?" she asked.
The amethyst eyed girl shook her head. "Not really. I haven't read for pleasure in so long I'll be happy with anything."
Sakura nodded. "Ok, sounds good. See you later!"
Three days later, Onchou had a request for the pink haired medic when she arrived to check up on her.
"You want to train?" she repeated surprised by the request. "I don't know. Your body has healed up pretty well but I'm still not satisfied with the state of your chakra network."
"Please! I promise not to overdo it." Onchou said her eyes wide with panic.
Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "If I say no you'll just go anyway." She muttered. "Fine. I'll see if the training grounds are open. Give me a couple minutes."
An hour later the leaf shinobi accompanied by Gaara, Temari and Kankuro arrived at the training grounds.
"Was it really necessary for all of you to come?" Onchou muttered.
"Of course. I have to make sure you don't overexert yourself and the others decided that they wanted to train as well." Sakura replied. "Lord Gaara, Temari and Kankuro came to supervise."
"We don't need a babysitter." Ryuu grumbled glaring at the red haired man.
"Just bear with it." Onchou said touching the child gently. "We do need his permission to use the grounds after all."
"Whatever!" he hissed.
They arrived at the large stadium where they had decided to train and Ryuu's mood lifted. "Wow! Look at all that space! Takuma's training grounds were tiny compared to this."
"Yes they were." The violet haired girl agreed as they made their way to the open arena. "Ryuu, will you spar with me?" she asked.
The boy's eyes widened a smile coming to his lips. "Of course!" he exclaimed. "Am I allowed to go all out?" he asked.
She chuckled. "No Ryuu, there are others who use these grounds too but it's ok for you to push yourself a bit harder than usual."
The silver haired boy grinned. "I can totally do that!" he exclaimed leaping down onto the arena floor.
"Are you sure?" Naruto asked Onchou as she followed the child. "I mean, one of us can spar you instead."
Onchou laughed. "Don't underestimate us." She replied with a smile. "I do my best to keep Ryuu out of battle but it's not because he isn't capable, it's because I want him to enjoy being a child as must as possible. Trust me, he's not an easy opponent by any means."
She took the field and faced down Ryuu who grinned at her his leg bouncing slightly in anticipation. "Remember, others have to use this field too." She said as she shifted into a defensive position.
"Ready!" Naruto called out. "Begin!"
Sakura watched her eyes wide as the two clashed using kunai and shuriken. They each dodged one another's attacks with ease and landed on the ground on opposite sides of the field. Ryuu flashed across the space and threw a punch at Onchou who easily dodged the blow and swept her leg out to take out the boy's legs. He jumped to avoid her attack and aimed an elbow driven blow at the back of her head. She reached up and grabbed his arm and directed his blow away from her body but wasn't able to pin him as he pulled out of her grasp. They came at each other again and again neither one landing blow until one of Ryuu's punches connected with Onchou's chest and sent her flying back. The child however looked irritated.
"You let me hit you." He said glaring at his opponent. "Why?"
"I just figured that you were getting sick of tajutsu." She replied getting to her feet. "Was I wrong?"
He grinned at her. "Nope. You were right." He replied. "If you think that my attacks are going to be weaker because of this heat, you're wrong." He warned her.
She smiled back. "Prove it." She challenged.
He formed hand signs and then smiled. "Water style, water slicer!" he exclaimed swiping his hands forward. Blades of water exploded from his hands and Onchou quickly flipped into the air to avoid the attacks.
She smirked and formed hand signs of her own. "Wind style Divine wind!" she exclaimed knocking the water blades back with small wind twisters. She landed on the ground and then placed her hands on her hips. "I thought you said you were going to go bigger?"
He glared at her. "I was just testing things." He assured her forming more sighs. "Now eat this! Water Style! Water Dragon Jutsu!" he exclaimed.
"That child must have an incredible amount of chakra to create a water dragon that large in a place this dry." Temari remarked as the beast that was as wide and as tall as an average maple tree growled and slinked forward.
"That's more like it!" Onchou replied as she sprinted across the field away from the water creature. After a few minutes of playing cat and mouse she finally reduced the dragon to a puddle using a lightning attack.
The boy immediately began forming more seals and the violet haired girl studied him. "Are you sure?" she said. "You don't need to push yourself in this heat."
"I can do this!" Ryuu exclaimed his eyes closing in concentration. "I have to be able to do this in any environment!"
"What is he talking about?" Sakura asked Sasuke. "What jutsu is he using?"
"I don't know." The Uchiha admitted. "I don't recognize it."
Ryuu's eyes flew open as he stared down his opponent his brow creased in effort. "Ninja art Ice man jutus!" he exclaimed slamming his hands onto the ground. A seven foot tall man holding an ax made entirely of ice sprung from the ground.
"What the heck!" Naruto exclaimed. "I haven't seen Ice anything since Haku!"
"It's incredible considering how hot and dry the air is here." Sai murmured.
"He's much stronger than we gave him credit for." Sakura agreed.
"Nice!" Onchou exclaimed. "He's a bit on the short side but still!"
"That's short?" Temari remarked.
"I wonder what the full sized one looks like." Crow mused.
Ryuu grinned. "Yeah! So what if he's short! He'll still kick your butt!" he exclaimed spurring the ice person onward.
The amethyst eyed girl smirked and began to run dodging the swipes the giant took at her with his ax. The child growled in frustration and formed more signs. "Ninja art! Icicle Barrage Jutsu!" he exclaimed jumping into the air and swiping his hand forward. Sharp six inch long spikes of ice rained down from the sky aimed at the dark skinned girl.
Her brow furrowed in concentration as she formed signs. "Fire style! Phoenix wing jutsu!" she exclaimed jumping into the air. Two long streams of fire burst from her shoulders and extended down the length of both of her arms forming what looked like feathers made of flames. She flapped her arms forward reducing the icicles and soldier to puddles of water.
Ryuu groaned and fell to his knees breathing hard. "Ugh! It's too hot!" he grumbled. "You win."
The girl landed on the ground and walked forward extending her hand to the boy. "You did great!" she exclaimed. "Really! I can't believe you were able to make that much ice here especially without drawing water from anywhere."
The child smiled and blushed. "Thanks Onchou."
"That was incredible!" Naruto said as the pair mounted the stairs to join the others that were sitting down. He bounded forward and wrapped his arm around Ryuu's neck. "I've never seen anything like that."
Ryuu beamed and then smirked at the Uchiha. "Beat that Scary Eyes!"
Sasuke chuckled. "That was a pretty neat trick kid, I'll give you that much." He admitted. He turned to Onchou. "That fire jutsu of yours was pretty interesting. I've never seen it before."
She smiled. "I'd ask if you want to add it to you collection but I already know that you've memorized it."
He smiled and nodded. "What can I say? It's a habit I picked up from my old sensei. He was known as the copy ninja after all."
"Alright guys! Our turn!" Naruto said leaping onto the practice field. "Let's do teams. Me and Sai against Sakura and Sasuke."
"Why is it that you never team up with Sasuke during training?" Sai asked the Uzamaki.
"Two reasons." Naruto replied. "The first is that there isn't anyone that can beat us when we team up. It just isn't fair to the team that has to fight against us. The second is, the fact that he's still my rival and I will beat him one day!" he exclaimed. "You hear that Sasuke!? I'm totally going to take you down this time!"
"Keep dreaming loser!" Sasuke replied. "You'll never beat me!"
Onchou watched from where she was seated next to Ryuu studying the field closely as the four leaf shinobi began their match. After a few moments, she spoke. "Naruto and Sasuke are really evenly matched." She said observing as Naruto created a rasingan to counter one of Sasuke's fireballs. "Sasuke's movements are much smoother and precise but Naruto makes up for that using his speed and taking risks. Their instincts when it comes to battle are unlike anything I've witnessed."
Gaara glanced over at her and nodded. "It's true. They are truly gifted in the ninja arts."
"Sakura seems to be the best at hand to hand combat out of the group." She remarked as she watched the pink haired ninja slam her fist into the ground in front of Sai. "She also has the greatest amount of chakra control. I suppose that's to be expected from one bearing the strength of 100's seal." Her attention drifted to Sai who had conjured an ink bird and was rising into the sky. "Sai is very talented at long range combat. I imagine that he is or was at one point a very effective assassin."
"You can tell that just from watching?" Crow remarked from where he sat opposite Gaara.
"Not exactly." She replied. "I can tell by listening. Sai was trained differently from the other three and it shows. He briefly hesitates before each attack because he has to remind himself that he's not fighting to kill." She glanced at Sasuke. "He's similar but because of his visual prowess and because he received his original foundational training from pacifist ninja, it's much easier for him to push himself without harming his opponent."
"Interesting. There are some that believe Sasuke Uchiha is a blood thirsty monster just waiting for the right opportunity to strike." Crow remarked.
Onchou shook her head. "That's not true at all." She replied. "The only darkness in his heart that's left is the hatred he feels towards himself for all of the pain and suffering he caused. Even that is slowly beginning to fade." She smiled. "How could it not with Naruto's light to guide him and Sakura's warmth the heal him?"
Gaara nodded. "That man's light is definitely a potent one."
She glanced at him. "It sounds like you're speaking from experience."
The Kazikage nodded. "He taught me that I can choose my own path and that I don't have to be bound by my past or what people think of me."
She smiled at him and then turned her attention back to the arena just as Naruto unleashed his reverse harem jutsu on Sakura. Her eyes widened and her jaw nearly hit the floor. "What kind of jutsu is that?!" she demanded blushing.
Gaara sighed. "Naruto Uzamaki is a one of a kind Ninja." He muttered shaking his head.
Onchou sighed and smacked her palm to her forehead. "You can say that again." She muttered. "It seems that Naruto and Sai have won this round."
"Hell yeah! We totally beat them!" Naruto exclaimed dashing towards the stands.
"Shut up idiot!" Sasuke shot back. "I could've creamed you if I'd used my Susano!"
"Yeah right! You're just being a sore loser." The Uzamaki replied.
Onchou laughed at the exchange. "Who needs entertainment when you have these two around." She glanced at Sakura and Sai who were groaning as they dragged themselves up the stairs. "You two need help?" she asked.
"No. We'll be fine." Sakura assured here. "It's one of the side effects with sparing with those two."
"I think that sparring with Lee is more tiring." Sai countered.
The pink haired medic snorted. "You can say that again. I have to dodge his love attacks as well as his punches and don't even get me started on the time he showed up to our sparing match drunk. I thought I was a goner."
Naruto laughed. "I remember that one! Kakashi had to rush in and save your butt!"
"Hey buddy! You were right there the entire time! What was wrong with you huh!?" she demanded.
"He couldn't help you because he was laughing too hard." Sai replied.
The pink haired medic bowed her head. "So you saw it too Sai?"
The group laughed and Naruto shrugged sheepishly. And then shook out his blonde spikes. "Anyway!" he exclaimed. "I just remembered something." He turned to Onchou. "Didn't you say that you could fight with your eyes closed?"
The violet haired girl blinked in surprise and then nodded. "Yeah. What of it?"
"I've never seen it in action." He replied. "I'm curious."
She sighed. "You know what curiosity did right?" she muttered.
"Oh common! It'll be fine!" he urged. "I know I'm not that only one that wants to see."
"Even so, who am I supposed to fight?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.
The Uzamaki touched his chin for a moment and then grinned. "I know! How about you fight Gaara?"
Onchou's eyes widened. "Gaara?" she exclaimed looking at the Kazikage "Are you serious?"
"Why not? Who better to test your skills?" he asked.
"Someone much less important maybe?" She replied crossing her legs.
"Just do it!" Naruto encouraged. "We'll just do a quick one tap round, the first one to land a blow on their opponent wins."
"I really don't think this is a good idea." She muttered. "I'll fight you instead."
"I don't mind." Gaara said.
Onchou groaned. "Fine! Whatever! I need to get rid of a little more chakra anyway."
"Perfect!" Naurto exclaimed pushing the pair down onto the field. "Here!" he said wrapping bandages around her eyes. "Can you see?"
The violet eyed girl sighed. "No I can't."
"Excellent!" he exclaimed. "Just wait for my signal."
"Ok. Give me at least a minute to get ready though." She said as he walked away. She rested her hands in front of her face and focused her chakra. "Ok, let's do this."
"I'll go easy on you." Gaara assured her.
"Oh there's no need for that." She replied. Her eyes closed and she activated her power. The tattoos on her ears turned from black to silver and then silver to gold. As she focused her hearing and her chakra her mind was able to translate the sounds into a picture inside her head even clearer than they normally appeared with her eyes opened. She heard every breath her red head opponent took, the muscles clenching and releasing as he shifted his feet. His wind and earth chakra simmered close to the surface white and brown as he prepared to attack with his sand.
She moved one moment before he did back flipping away from the blast and then skidding to a stop outside the sand stream. The Kazikage moved his fingers and she slammed her hand to the ground. "Earth Style! Stone column jutsu!" she exclaimed. The stone shot into the air taking her with it blocking the sand. He moved quickly aiming the sand at her swirling it up the column. Using a push of her wind chakra she launched into the air and then directed herself downward quickly narrowly missing the sand shot. She threw a kunai at him testing his defenses and smirked as his sand moved and hardened without conscious effort on his part. "Not bad." She muttered. She listened carefully as the sand moved around him, she noted a small spot where the sand was thinner. "One hit is all I need!" she muttered. Knowing that his sand reacted automatically to create his defense, she focused her lightning chakra letting it take over her body completely. "I've got one shot at this." She muttered. With a push of her chakra she turned her body into lightning itself and struck forward rematerializing in front of the startled Kazikage. The sand barrier formed around both of them even as she knocked him onto his back. "I win." She said softly her voice more muffled that she thought it would be.
Gaara said nothing and she noted heat rising to his cheeks and his increased heartrate. Frowning slightly she released the power on her ears and immediately became aware that her mouth was touching something warm and soft. Her eyes flew open adjusting to the dim light filtering through the cracks in the sand shield and found herself nose to nose with the Kazikage her mouth pressed to his.
"Kyaa!" she exclaimed flying back against the sand wall blush staining her cheeks. "I am so sorry!" she exclaimed mortified by her actions. "When I use my ears like that it dulls all of my other senses especially my sense of touch. Ugh!" she groaned clutching her hair.
"I understand." He replied. "You don't have to apologize."
"Yes I do." She muttered. "That was your first kiss wasn't it?"
Gaara's eyes widened. "How did you know?"
"I just did." She groaned. "It was mine too but still."
"Let's return to the others." He said simply as the sand loosened around them swirling back into the gourd.
The observers of the fight were flabbergasted as they watched Onchou turn her body to lightning and disappeared into Gaara's ultimate defense.
"Wow! She's good!" Crow exclaimed.
"She actually made it in there before Gaara's defense took effect." Temari exclaimed.
"I think that makes her the winner but I wonder why they're not coming out?" Naruto asked.
"I wish I had a way to see through that sand right now." Sakura admitted.
Sasuke chuckled and then glanced at Ryuu. "I have a question." He said.
"What do you want Scary Eyes." Ryuu responded glaring at the sand barrier.
"Brat!" he hissed. "Anyway, why did Onchou want to train so badly?" he asked.
"Oh that." He replied his hand twitching as water flowed around it. "She has trouble controlling her chakra sometimes. If she goes too long without using chakra or uses too much she becomes unstable. Training gets rid of her excess chakra so she doesn't lose control."
Sakura's eyes widened. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "That's how she's survived for so long with Black Water in her system!" she said as Gaara's barrier fell. They watched as the two ninja emerged.
"Wait! Look at that!" Temari exclaimed. "Gaara! He's-!"
"He's blushing!" Crow finished his mouth agape. "What happened in there?"
Naruto chuckled. "I have no idea, but I can't wait to find out."
Onchou quickly leapt to the stands. "I won that round." She replied simply. "Do you believe me now Naruto?" she asked.
"Yeah! That was awesome!" the Uzamaki exclaimed.
"Onchou! We need to get you back to the hospital!" Sakura exclaimed.
"What? Why? I feel fine." The violet haired teen replied confused.
"Just listen to me!" the medic exclaimed grabbing a needle from her bag and plunging it into the girl's arm drawing a blood sample.
"Ok! Ok!" the amethyst eyed girl muttered. "I'm coming." She turned to Temari. "Please tell your brother that I'm sorry, really. I didn't mean to… surprise him like that."
"Ok… but what happened?" the blonde asked.
"I don't want to talk about it.' She muttered blush tinging her cheeks.
"Let's go!" Sakura demanded grabbing the girl by the wrist and dragging her out of the arena.
"What's up with that?" Naruto wondered aloud. "Hey Gaara! What happened?" he demanded.
The Kazikage sat down next to his brother and sighed. "I was defeated." He said simply.
"We can see that, but it doesn't explain the blush on your cheeks." The puppet master countered.
"I don't think it's something that needs to be discussed at the moment. Where did she go anyway?" The Kazikage asked.
"Sakura took her back to the hospital. Something about needing to run a test." Sasuke replied.
"I see. I'll have to talk with her later." Gaara replied. "Anyway, I have work to do so I'll take my leave now. Thank you for spending time with me." He said rising from his seat.
"Any time!" Naruto exclaimed with a grin.
That evening, Sasuke arrived at the hospital intent on dragging his pink haired teammate out of the lab she'd shut herself in since Onchou's fight with Gaara.
"If you won't come quietly, I'll throw you over my shoulder and drag you out." He threatened crossing his arms over his chest.
Sakura sighed in defeat and bowed her head. "Fine! You win but I'm coming back first thing tomorrow." She insisted.
"What happened to get you all fired up?" he asked her as they left the hospital. Sakura pulled him away from the path leading to their hotel and instead followed the path that led to a park.
"When Ryuu said that Onchou needed to train to moderate her internal chakra levels I realized that, that was how she was surviving with the Black Water in her system. She's found an equilibrium and works to maintain it at all times to counter act the damaging effects of the drub." She explained. "I'm hoping that her blood work will be able to give me a hint as to how to draw it out of her body." She said sitting down on a stone bench.
"I see. That does make a lot of sense." Sasuke said sitting beside her. "She's pretty incredible. Losing everyone she cared about, being taken in by a mad scientist. It's hard to believe she didn't turn out like me." He admitted.
Sakura sighed and swung her feet trailing her toes against the sandy dirt before she spoke. "I'm not surprised." She replied. "Onchou and you might have similar circumstances but they're different enough that there's no way she'd end up like you."
"How so?" he asked.
"Well for starters, it wasn't someone close to her that destroyed her village. It was a bunch of strangers. That's not nearly as painful." She explained. "She was also forced against her will to follow Takuma."
"That's true." He admitted his thoughts drifting to his late brother. "Even so it would've been so easy for her to give into the darkness, so why didn't she?"
"That's easy." Sakura replied. "She had Ryuu's warmth and Akira's light to protect her heart." She explained.
Sasuke's eyes widened and then he chuckled. "I guess that's right. I purposely left my light and warmth behind didn't I?"
The pink haired medic reached out and grabbed his hand threading her fingers through his as though she could sense the guild rising within him. "You did, but you had your reasons." She said softly leaning her head against his shoulder.
The Uchiha couldn't deny how comfortable it felt to have her near him, having her touch him. Her warmth, her love truly was a gift he didn't deserve. "Sakura." He said softly. "Did you know that the night I left the village, I didn't leave right away after knocking you out?"
The rose haired girl glanced up at him. "I didn't." she replied.
He sighed. "I laid you on that bench and sat with you for a while debating on whether I could bring you with me or not. I knew that unlike Naruto you wouldn't try dragging me back to the village right way." He bowed looked down at their linked hands and lightly stroked the top of her hand with his free hand. "In the end I didn't because I knew that not only would you keep the darkness away but I was afraid of what Orochimaru, Kabuto and the others would do to you. I didn't care about what happened to me as long as I had the power I wanted but I didn't want you to be hurt or killed over me."
Sakura's eyes widened. "Sasuke." She murmured.
"I really regret being away for so long." He said softly. "I was so selfish and cruel to you." He sighed. "I want to thank you, for everything. For loving me, for believing in me, for never giving up on me and chasing me all over the world with that blonde haired idiot." He looked down at her his heart pounding in his chest as she lifted her face to look at him. "I don't know where I'd be without you." His gaze fell to her lips and his breath hitched in his throat as he leaned towards her. "Sakura." He breathed just before he closed his eyes and closed the distance between them. It was as sweet, unhurried, chaste press of lips that had him sighing contentedly. After a moment he changed the angle ever so slightly to suck softly on her lower lip. She sighed in response and slid her arms around his neck as his own wrapped around her waist. "Sakura, I love you. I can't say it out loud yet but please, let my feelings reach you." He thought as he moved his lips against hers slightly igniting flames in his belly. His grip on her tightened at the sensation and he softly swept his tongue out to trace her bottom lip. He heard her little gasp of surprise and his eyes opened meeting hers. The heat in her gaze changed the flames to bolts of lightning and he knew that they needed to stop at least for the moment. He broke the kiss and laid his forehead against hers steadying his breathing as he took in the blush on her cheeks and the sight of her lips a little darker and a little swollen from his ministrations. "We should probably get back before that blonde knucklehead comes looking for us." He said standing up and extending a hand to his pink haired companion.
"You're right." Sakura said taking his hand.
He threaded his fingers through hers and held her hand tightly as they navigated the darkening streets heading back to their hotel. He was happy, truly happy and he knew she was too by the way she held herself, the little smile on her lips and the light blush on her cheeks. An annoying sound broke the spell and he cringed.
"Sasuke Uchiha!" a sand shinobi called out bounding forward. She seemed to be around Onchou's age with shoulder length orange hair and green eyes. "It's such an honor to meet you!" she exclaimed. "Are you free right now?"
"I'm not." He replied. "I'm actually on my way back to my hotel."
"That's ok! Can my friends and I come with you?" she asked motioning for a couple of others girls to walk forward. "We won't be any trouble."
Sakura tensed at his side and he squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I'm sorry but that just isn't possible. I'm not staying alone. My companions wouldn't appreciate all of the extra people in the room."
"Please!" the girls whined.
"He said no." Sakura replied quietly.
The girls were startled by her voice and glanced at the pink haired ninja. "Wait? Who is this? Is she your girlfriend or something?" the orange haired girl demanded.
Sasuke smiled. "As a matter of fact, she is." He said releasing her hand to slip his arm around her shoulders. "She's also the jealous type and has monstrous strength."
"Hey!" Sakura protested but he silenced her with his mouth.
"You get the picture right?" he said grinning at Sakura's blush.
"Right…" the orange haired girl stammered. "Let's go."
"What the Hell was that all about?!" Sakura demanded as he pulled her towards their hotel.
"I was just getting rid of some annoying flies." He responded as he entered the lobby and led the way to the elevator.
"Well yeah but you didn't have to drag me into that mess!" Sakura protested as the door opened and he pulled her inside quickly pushing the button for their floor.
"Don't pretend you didn't like it." He said trapping her against the wall. He leaned down and skimmed his nose up her neck smirking at the goosebumps that covered her skin at the motion. "I thought you wanted to be mine." He whispered planting a chaste kiss just below her ear.
"I do." Sakura murmured softly.
"Then get used to it." He replied softly pressing his lips to hers once again.
The door opened and the two pulled apart just in time to catch a glimpse of Naruto staring at them. He grinned wickedly and the two shinobi groaned. "I caught you!" the Uzamaki exclaimed.
"That's what's going to take getting used to." Sakura muttered as they left the elevator and listened to the reincarnated brothers go at each other in the hallway.