Chapter SIX
"And then the girl was all like 'I apologize for the trouble' and stuff and then this guy appeared with sand and Sasuke-teme asked for their names and the girl was like 'I don't have permission', and then the Gaara guy grabbed her and they vanished!" Naruto gasped out all in one breath.
"Don't let it bother you, Sasuke-kun! You're much stronger than them." Ami giggled.
The Hokage, Namikaze Minato, leaned on his arms. "I suspect that the people you are talking about are the children of the Kazekage, and the friend of the youngest son." He said after a while.
"You know them?" Naruto asked.
Minato nodded. "The oldest, Temari, the second, Kankuro and the youngest, Gaara."
"Who's the girl?" Ami asked after a while.
"She's Sakura." Minato said. "I've met her before when she accompanied the Kazekage on his visit to Konoha. I suspect she was still ten or eleven..."
"She's accompanied the Kazekage at the age of ten?" Sasuke asked.
Minato nodded. "She's very skilled."
"But how are they friends?" Naruto asked. "You said that the Gaara guy and Sakura-chan are friends. Gaara grabbed Sakura-chan very roughly! She didn't even say anything..."
"You'll have to ask them yourself." Minato sighed.
"Sakura-chan!"
Sasuke sighed. The blonde had been yelling the girl's name ever since they had left the office. Ami kept pestering him for a date, but Sasuke had shook her off. Ami was now tagging along at the back of the group, muttering under her breath.
After an hour, Naruto finally gave up. The moment the blonde had left for home, Sasuke quickly lost Ami and made his way back home as well.
Right outside his compound, Sasuke felt a flash of chakra. He whipped around but didn't see anything. He turned back and saw Itachi walking out of the gates. "Nii-san!"
Itachi looked up from his scroll. "Otouto." He offered a small smile.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he felt the pulse again. He turned to his brother and saw that Itachi had noticed as well.
"Who's there." He said. "Come out."
There was a flash of movement form a tree nearby and a second later, Sakura was in front of them.
"Sasuke-san."
Sasuke nodded, Itachi relaxing just a bit seeing that Sasuke knew the girl.
"I heard you were looking for me?"
Sasuke slowly nodded. "The blonde idiot was." He said.
Sakura dipped her head. "And what may I do for you?"
Sasuke relaxed. "What-"
Sand reared up behind Sakura, forming strands and it whipped in the air. Sakura whirled around and crouched. Itachi gripped Sasuke's shoulder.
"Sakura." A clear voice called out. The sand slowly came together, forming Gaara. "What are you doing here?"
Sakura dipped her head. "I heard them." Was all she said.
Gaara narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha. "Why were you calling her?" He asked.
Sasuke glared back. "Naruto was looking for her."
"And why would he looking for her?"
Sasuke glared harder. "That's none of your business, is it?"
"It is, because it is something that is involving my property."
There is was again. Was that girl nothing more than an object?
"She's a person."
Gaara turned to the girl like he hadn't heard. "Is the reason you asked to go out because you wanted to come and see this person?"
Sakura nodded slowly.
"Today was the first time I have ever heard you ask for something, so I permitted it, and this is what you go out and do?" Gaara scowled. "Have you forgotten what I said?" He snarled.
Sakura shook her head.
"You have a mouth. Use it."
"I must look at you. That is all I need to do." The girl murmured. "That is my only living purpose. That is the sole reason of my existence."
Beside his brother, Itachi stiffened. What was she saying?
Gaara nodded. "Good." He reached out, grabbing the girl roughly by her hair. He curled his fingers cruelly around the pink locks of hair and dragged the girl to her feet. He tugged the girl towards him, making her stumble.
The girl's face didn't hold a hint of pain, anger or annoyance. She just patiently stood there as Gaara glared at the Uchihas.
Itachi inwardly winced. It was like she was either immune to pain or the Gaara boy wasn't tugging as hard as he made it seem. Or maybe she was used to it. This thought made Itachi take a step forwards.
"Don't approach Sakura ever again." Gaara said, and sand curtained over them.
Sasori sat on his bed, inwardly scowling at two pieces of a puppet that didn't seem to link together no matter what he did. Temari and Kankuro were messing around in the room opposite his. Gaara and Sakura still weren't back.
As if on cue, the sound of footsteps appeared. Sasori looked up when he heard only one set. And whoever it was, they were limping and staggering.
The door handle turned and Sakura stepped through the door, covered in blood.
Sasori instantly stiffened.
Sakura took a step forwards and collapsed. Sasori quickly moved his fingers and one of his puppets shot forwards, catching the girl. He then made it carry her towards him. He put down the parts he had been fiddling with and slowly approached the girl.
"My apologies, Sasori-sama." Sakura breathed out. Her eyes were half closed. From pain or just exhaustion, he didn't know. After all, there was no sign of pain on the girl's face. "Forgive me for...disrupting your work." The girl took another deep breath.
Sasori narrowed his eyes. "What happened?" And where is Gaara?
"It...wasn't his fault, Sasori-sama. It was...me who broke the rules."
Sasori had already been guessing that Gaara had been the reason of the girl's injuries.
"Please do not trouble yourself over something like me. I am just out of chakra. I can heal myself later." With that, Sakura slowly began to sit up.
Sasori reached out his hand. "What are you doing?"
Sakura shook her head. "Gaara-sama would find it uncomfortable when there is so much blood around."
Sasori sighed. "Let's get you cleaned up." He said. "Where's Gaara?"
"He is up on the roof." Sakura murmured.
Sasori carried the girl into the bathroom and gently sat her down in the tub. "I'll go get Temari."
"Thank you." Sakura said.
Sasori quickly called Temari over, ignoring Temari's questions and Kankuro's curious looks.
"She's out of chakra. Help her." He said. He passed her a roll of bandages and then gently shoved Temari into the bath room. "I'll grab her clothes and leave them right outside." He called.
Temari cringed at the smell of blood, her eyes following the trail of crimson and landing on Sakura, who was leaning heavily on the edge of the tub, seemingly bleeding her life out. Temari let out a gasp and quickly put the two together.
"What happened?" Temari gasped as she quickly approached the girl.
"I just received the punishment for breaking the rules." Sakura murmured.
Temari winced and turned on the shower. She adjusted the heat before gently holding it towards the girl. "I'll wash the blood off." She told the girl gently. "Can you take off your clothes?"
Sakura nodded.
Between them, they managed to quickly wash the blood off the girl's pale body. Temari aimed the shower so that water gently ran over the girl's wounds, cleaning them of grains of sand. She dumped the bloodied clothes into a bag and gently ran her fingers through Sakura's pink locks, getting the clumps of blood and bits of sand out of her hair. She carefully avoided the wounds, which had stopped bleeding sometime ago.
"Sasori told me you're out of chakra." Temari said. "We should at lease wrap up your wounds, in case it starts bleeding again."
Sakura slowly nodded.
Temari helped the girl out of the tub and wrapped her up in a towel. Sakura gasped as the soft material wrapped around her. Temari gently helped her dry herself then crouched down and wrapped the bandages as best as she could.
She started with the countless number of cuts on her arms. Some were as shallow as paper cuts and some that were slightly deeper. There were an especially deep wound running from Sakura's wrist to her elbow. She then dabbed at the girl's swollen wrists and ankles with a towel. The skin was an angry red with a clear line circling around, a mark which Temari suspected to have been left behind by Gaara's sand wrapping around the thin limb. She wrapped them too.
Then there was something like what Temari suspected to be a stab wound on the area between Sakura's neck and shoulders. Temari carefully wrapped it as well, making a note to tell Sasori about it.
Temari passed Sakura her spare clothes, which she noted was exactly like the one she had been wearing before. Sakura slowly put it on.
Temari then helped the girl out of the bathroom. Gaara still wasn't back. Sasori was working on his puppets again, but he looked up when the two girls appeared. Temari helped Sakura onto the bed she shared with Gaara and turned to Sasori, quickly and quietly reporting the list of wounds on the girl. He softly thanked Temari and she turned to leave.
"I- Thank you, Temari-sama." Temari turned around. Sure, Sakura always added 'san' to the end of her name, but never had she added 'sama'. Something warm bubbled in Temari's chest at Sakura's sign of respect. Then it was chased away by the fact that, just because Temari had helped her, Sakura now considered Temari above herself.
Temari smiled gently then closed the door.
So, today, the 13th of March, is our birthday (Yes, both of us), and so, we decided to update!
:)
And here's chapter six.
Darque:...You know, I have a flute promotion test coming up on Saturday, IGCSE exams coming up in two weeks, and a flute grade exam coming up in August-November (I dunno exactly when)
Raven: Awww~ I feel your pain. Really, I do.
Darque: But really, I don't get why we need to know how plants make their own food, or why we need to know why the treaty of Versailles led to the Wall Street Crash (Germany between WWI and WWII).
Raven: Also things like how Chinese music usually uses the Pentatonic scale.
Darque: I know, right? I think musical terms have way too fancy names. I mean, why say Syncopation when you can just say off beat?
Raven: Questioning human behavior will not get us anywhere.
Darque: :)