Chapter Twenty-five
"...Please."
Her voice was shaky, quiet, and laced with need. Everything about her now made the redhead behind her tremble with anticipation. Her submission meant she was his, always. He wasn't about to lose his precious rosette to anyone. Especially to that Uchiha. The lonely nights he dreaded were a thing of the past now. She would be with him. Forever.
Gaara bared his fangs more at the thought of Sakura being by his side, and at how easy she had succumb to him. His fingers were still on her body, but he had stopped his movements to listen to her begging instead. He nudged her head lightly with his before speaking.
"Tell me."
Sakura shivered to Gaara's dark tone. On her back, she could feel his drool seeping from his teeth and dripping onto her skin. She drew in a heavy breath, trying to calm her nerves, when she thought hard on what it was she truly wanted.
'Gaara.'
This intimacy between them had grown so quickly that Sakura felt her cheeks pink more with embarrassment. What had lead up to this point? She remembered now that all she had wanted was to ask him of the pills. Why did she let herself get caught up again to his sensuous advances? She had discussed the future with him before, and earlier into the night they both were unsure of the answer. She cursed herself, and him, for allowing their lustful emotions from clouding their more dignified side.
Slowly, she brought her hands to his arm, pushing him lightly away.
"Please," she began again, "let me go."
Immediately, she felt the consequence of her words. The man behind her drew a sharp breath in before gripping the skin of her hip. The hold he had on her tightened, differing her request, and she was quick to recognize this.
"You know this isn't right." She tried to shed light onto him.
"We shouldn't be this way."
Sakura grimaced at how familiar this all seemed. The night Gaara had become intoxicated, she had to reason with him for what felt like hours until she was left with no choice but to knock him out. His mind was sober now, surely he would understand her words and let her go. However, as the claw he had on her hip tugged on her skin harder, she began to think otherwise.
"Please..." She tried once more.
"Let me go."
The young woman began to unravel herself from his hold, the fingers he had down her pants grazed across her stomach as she began to pull away.
"No!"
Sakura's eyes widened when she felt Gaara pull her roughly back against his chest. His cry had been so loud, dripping with torment, that she did not struggle against his hold.
"Please." He whispered behind her.
"Please, don't leave me."
He trembled while holding her, sinking his head to rest on her back while his hands wrapped around her waist.
"I'm so lonely." His voice shook with his body.
"So lonely."
Sakura could feel her fingers resting against Gaara's arm now. Where she wanted to push him away before, she suddenly felt the strong urge to do the opposite. His shaking form, and anguish plight, made her heart sink. She had been so cruel to the young lord. She had made him feel uplifting emotions before trampling on his heart with the mention of Sasuke. She whipped her body quick to face him, bringing her arms up and lifting his hanging head to meet her own.
"Gaara." She whispered, surprised to see his eyes hold so much hurt in them.
"I'm sorry."
"The night is so quiet when you're not with me. I can't stand it." He pathetically mumbled.
Guilt washed over the young woman again when he spoke those words. She hadn't realized how short of time he had become dependent of her presence. In the dark, she tried to focus her eyes on him. To show him sympathy through her gaze, for her words were lost. There was only so much apologizing she could handle before she break down as well. She cupped his cheek gently, and the redhead embraced this touch by sinking his face into her skin, his eyes meeting hers. They studied one another in silence. Sakura gently cradled him while he stared down into her beautiful emerald eyes, trying to find the light in them that he always could.
In time though, she could sense something different about the young man in front of her. He seemed more, bold? She wasn't quite sure how to phrase it. The last thing she had expected from him tonight was the feverish way he had kissed her, touched her and demanded of her. Questions poured into her mind that she began to lose herself in, but it was his voice that pulled her back to reality.
"Don't look at me with those eyes."
Sakura jumped lightly to his sudden dark tone. What had she done wrong, she wondered. Her eyes remained glued to his, and even in the dark, the rosette could see the sudden anger in his gaze.
"Don't look at me like that." Gaara's speech grew louder.
Even at his obvious frustration, Sakura could not tear her look away from his. She studied him carefully, especially when he grasped her wrist hard and pushed her hand off his face. Somehow, his anger and sudden sense of danger, made her take in the redhead more.
'He couldn't be…' She thought, his words and tone familiar from nights before.
Sakura flinched when his grip on her wrist sharpened, and she this time tried to pull away from him while he brought his face closer to her. He asked her to not look at him, but as his stare drew closer and intensified, a sudden fear washed over her, and her eyes could not tear away.
"Don't look at me," he cried again, bringing his hands to Sakura's neck, "with those eyes!"
"I don't need your pity!"
Sakura was in too much shock to react when Gaara began strangling her. The force he had around her was so strong, powerful, that he pushed her into the bed behind her. He drove his thumbs into the center of her skin and pushed her head deep into the mattress. The rosette had tried to call out to him, to question why, but found her voice lost along with her breath. As the clouds outside began to pass, and the moon's bright beams swam into the room, the young woman's eyes went round to the wild look Gaara had in his eyes.
'Those eyes…' She thought, still trying to pry his hands off her neck.
'It's those eyes again…'
Like the nights she swore were long gone, to never happen again, Gaara was suddenly mad and lashing out. How and why, she wondered. Surely there was some link she was missing to this puzzle.
"Yes." He hissed above her.
"This is the look I want..."
When Sakura's vision began to fade, and she felt drool pour out the sides of her mouth, she brought a fist up. She swung her hand hard towards the side of the man's face. She felt her knuckles immediately crack when they hit something solid. A loud, maniacal laugh hit her ears then, and she knew right away he was laughing to her distress.
'Again!' She told herself, swinging her fist hard.
Like before, instead of his face, her fist was plummeting into his defense of sand and it was beginning to look hopeless. However, as long as her heart beat and life was still in her, she was not about to give up. It wasn't just herself who needed to be saved tonight, someone very important relied on her.
'Gaara.'
She brought her fist up faster, rapidly beating at the small shield of sand that guarded its human. In no time, Sakura felt herself growing more dizzy while Gaara dug his fingers tighter around her neck.
"There are other ways I can feel the warmth inside you." Gaara spoke before laughing.
Sakura felt a burning slide across her cheek before warm crimson began to drip down from her face. She felt herself panicking all the more when she realized how thirsty of blood she had learned him to become, and how the night he attacked her he had licked her blood. As she brought her fist down, she focused as much chakra as she could muster into her tight fist. She didn't want the man who she had become so close and drawn to, who was now strangling and threatening her, to transform into someone he was not.
She swung her blue fist fast towards the redhead in front of her. Mentally she smirked when the defense of sand cracked to her strong punch. Her brute strength broke boulders into dust, she could only imagine what it could do to his bones the second she felt her fist hit the side of his face. He cried out as her punch sent him hurdling towards the side and hard into the wall, no doubt he was surprised at her strength to break his defense.
To his release, Sakura drew in a loud breath, rolling herself off the bed and to the floor. She tried to quickly regain her strength, oxygen, and vision while pushing herself off the ground. She knew the danger was far from over.
"Open your eyes, Gaara!" Sakura desperately cried while watching him scramble up from the debris.
"I don't want to hurt you!"
Gaara let out a wicked chortle when his gaze met back with Sakura's. Despite the cold shiver that ran down her spine, she did her best to intimidate the young man with her look.
"You?" He drawled, taking a step from the ruined wall and towards her.
"A weak, little thing like you, hurting me?"
He cackled again and Sakura rose her fists, showing him she meant true to her words.
"You're nothing." He growled, drool dripping down the side of his lips.
Sakura flinched lightly to those words. She knew Gaara wasn't in his right state of mind, but to watch him actually speak, to form those vowels on his lips, of her being meaningless in his eyes stung in a new way for the rosette. She never wanted to go back to being someone he simply passed a glance at and then move on. She wouldn't let him see her in a different light.
"Liar!" She countered, smirking when his face fell to her strong bravado.
"You were just begging me to be yours. To never leave you. You honestly think you can pretend that I am nothing?"
His snarl grew and eyes narrowed towards her.
"I don't know why you're like this. Why you become this way." Sakura spoke again, focusing her chakra back to her fists.
"You know deep down how much you mean to me."
Before Sakura could establish whether Gaara understood her words, or if he was trapped inside the monster that now showed itself again, she raced towards him. Strong fists ready to break through his almost perfect defense.
"I won't let you become a monster again!"
Gaara clicked his tongue, annoyed at the woman's spirit. His sand poured out from behind him trying to trip her, to make her stumble before him, instead she jumped into the air. She cried out when again her fist broke through his sand and she sent the young lord flying into the wall. He was much quicker to his feet this time around, and shifted his hands in an odd fashion the minute he stood. Sakura recognized this and jumped back when his sand raced for her.
"Run, brave, little ninja, run!"
Gaara was mocking her again, something that made Sakura furrow her eyes even more towards him. If he thought her to run like last time, he was as blind to her as he was to what was now happening to him.
"I will not run!" She cried.
"I am not afraid of you!"
Sakura was caught off guard when the sand swam around her instead of grabbing for her. She brought her fists back up, ready to punch at the grains lest they try to wrap around and encase her. Instead, they reached for Gaara's drawers. The young woman stepped back when a giant claw formed in his grains, wrapping it's sharp fingers around the furniture and lifting it. The cacti and frames with pictures slid and crashed onto the floor as the drawers were raised into the air. The litter of his precious possessions on the ground, now broken, made Sakura grimace for a moment.
"You should be." He whispered.
Sakura's eyes went round as the giant claw began to twirl the large, wooden furniture, and in the blink of an eye, the drawers table was slammed hard into her. Like a ball to a bat, her back flew fast towards the balcony windows behind her. She cried out when the impact had her crashing through the glass and pass the balcony rails. Still, the new cuts on her were nothing compared to the rough landing. She couldn't even cry out when her back hit the hard ground below. Breath had left her because of the fall, and she choked for a minute before drawing in air. Coughing and sputtering, she rolled onto her stomach while trying to regain some of her strength back.
'Get up, get up, get up!' Her mind was screaming.
Easier thought than done, Sakura reminded herself when her hand slipped while pushing herself back up. She was tossed out from the tallest room, from this giant mansion-like home.
She sneered when his familiar presence came close, meeting her just feet away. He didn't attack, which made her scowl grow. He was just toying with her. Like a baby wolf with its meal, he was just playing with her before going in for the kill. She pushed herself up, and though her knees shook and threatened to fall, she stood herself and intimidating.
When her eyes met his they only narrowed more. This dark grin he had on his face made her scowl, for it reminded her how twisted he was in his head now. It also made her heart ache, to think the man who held her so sweetly in his bed yesterday now laughed at her pain and life. He had once said it pained him to think what he had done to her in the past, how would he handle himself now knowing he was intent on killing her? It only pounded into Sakura's mind all the more she had to help her friend.
"I will save you, Gaara."
The redhead's canines grew with his heinous smile, and a long chuckle from him filled the air. It was then the rosette also noticed his giant limb of sand. It resembled the one from their past, a giant claw that replicated Shukaku's own, and it was wrapped around Gaara's arm. This time though, the blue etchings, that were the Ichibi's signature, did not lace up his grainy sleeve. She wondered why Gaara formed the hand of the beast that use to torment his mind.
"Don't be stupid." Gaara spoke.
"I don't need saving. A weak, little thing like you has no power to stand up to me."
As if demonstrating his strength, he brought the giant claw up and smashed it towards the side of his home. The clay walls turned into brittle when his giant fist met with it, and Sakura grew more upset at the destruction of his own home. It was then she realized their obvious presence outside, at any moment someone could walk down the road and spot their Kazekage tainted into some sand limb, blood-thirsty, manic man. To this, she glanced at the alleyway behind and to the side of her. Hoping there that the darkness would conceal them and she could at least still try to speak some sense back into him.
'You'll corner yourself.' Her mind scolded.
Sakura shuffled lightly behind her, watching Gaara still. To her small shift, she saw him twitch lightly, read to pounce if she ran.
'I have no choice. Someone might see him.' She retorted.
Turning her back to him, she dashed down the street. She prayed that he would follow and not instead begin destroying the village. Behind her, she could hear Gaara cackling once again before calling out to her.
"I thought you said you weren't going to run?!"
Despite what he was saying, Sakura could hear a sinister amusement dripping from his words. She remembered when she had run from him before, how he thanked her for the chase. This is what he liked.
'Predator.' She thought, turning swiftly down the alley.
Her pace slowed once she came to the dead-end, and her eyes met with his glowing ones as he stared down at her from the other end of the back street.
"Sakura." He spoke, before slowly trudging his way towards her.
Sakura stared determinedly at him once again, and stood to intimidate.
"I've caught you now." He spoke while inching his way closer to her.
As he drew closer, he raised both arms up to the clay walls next to him, dragging his claws against them. His limb of sand was able to grade the wall with long scratches, while his other hand just laced it, leaving the wall unmarked. At his display, Sakura swallowed and let a heavy breath leave her before bringing her eyes back to meet him. She had to reach him.
"Please, Gaara..." She began, but stopped when the redhead snickered to her words.
When he spoke, she realized why he found her amusing.
"Begging looks good on you."
He grinned a giant, malicious smile, drool pooling below him and his eyes grew all the more wild as he drew closer to her. Sakura meanwhile did not share his smile, a frown was on her as she narrowed her eyes more to his odd speech. She could not let herself be deterred by him.
"Please, Gaara," she began again, "don't do this."
Her plea did not stop him. His fix and smile was still set on her, and his fingers traced the walls next to him still. As his form came closer to hers, she slowly began to raise her fists. She prepared herself to fight, but the anger in her eyes had left. Instead, she stared at the redhead with sorrow. How could he possibly walk towards her with the intent to harm or kill her? He had showered her these past days with nothing but sincerity, kindness, and had looked out for her in all the ways he possibly could. How could he change into this like a flick to a switch?
"Brave, little ninja went through the sandstorm." He mocked her.
The sorrow she felt suddenly burned in her mind, and tears threatened to fall from her. Had all of this somehow been linked to her? Was it because she had mentioned Sasuke that he now lashed out? If so, it still wouldn't explain the other nights of his attacks.
"This isn't what you want." Sakura tried again.
"Think of your brother, your sister."
Her words simply swept over his head along with the wind. He was unfazed as he marched towards her still.
"Your village!" Sakura cried, desperation dripping from her voice.
"Think of your people! Are you truly willing to sacrifice everything you fought so hard for? You are turning into someone they will remember from the past. You will be cast aside once again."
Gaara this time stopped in his tracks, her words affecting him finally. Sakura recognized this and continued to speak, hoping she was reaching to whatever sanity was left in his mind.
"Think how hard of life you had when the village resented you. Surely that should be more than enough for you to understand what you are doing now is wrong."
Sakura studied Gaara hard, seeing his eyes faltering ever so slightly. She knew a battle in his mind was ensuing, a right versus wrong ordeal. Her only hope was that he would wake his own self up. In time though, the sand claw he had on the wall gripped tightly, and his fangs bared ferociously towards her.
"Shut up…" He whispered hoarsely towards her.
To his angry look, she shook. She wasn't sure which felt the more threatening to her. The times Gaara cackled and spoke in an odd speech made her want to strike him down with a punch. When he was angry though, and stared down at her with a look to kill, her legs simply wanted to pick up and race far away from him. Still, she held her ground, even when her wavering eyes met his cold-blooded ones.
"Do not act as if you understand me." Gaara sneered.
"I know enough to know you would never want to harm any of them. To be shunned again would mean your downfall once more."
Gaara's eye twitched slightly, and Sakura wondered again if he was inwardly battling with himself.
"Despite how cold you once were, how dark your intentions are now, you know just as well as I that loneliness will threaten your existence once again!" Sakura said, shaking her head towards him.
"You can't possibly just want to rely solely on yourself again..."
"Shut up..."
Sakura took a step forward to the young man, surprised to see him flinch to her step before backing slightly away from her.
"Is it not something you still fear?!" Sakura cried again, desperate to make him understand.
"Surely you do not aim to live a life of solitude again. This is not what Naruto wanted of you!"
From the wall and to his head, Gaara clutched the side of his forehead and hair in pain. He groaned in agony and shut his eyes as a new wave of feeling washed over him.
"Sakura…!" Gaara spoke, though his tone was laced with warning.
Instead, the rosette took it as a hopeful sign. A gesture that she was finally reaching to him, making him to understand his errors. Of course the thought of losing everything he worked so hard to obtain would shake him. She prayed that he would snap back to his former self.
"Please don't push any of them away." Sakura pleaded.
"Your siblings are here for you. Your village needs you."
Sakura's eyes widened when he brought his nails dragging down the side of his face, blood leaving a trail behind. To the self inflicted wound, the rosette stared at him with a lost of words. She had no idea what caused him to act so eerie. When her eyes fell back to his, she could see rage in them, though outwardly he stood impassively. She recognized it to be one of danger, he hadn't been able to fight off the monster inside of him. For her, she knew it was moments before he lashed out towards her.
"Don't do this..." She whispered as soon as he began treading towards her again.
"Your friends need you as well, and are here for you just as much."
Sakura found herself backing into the alleyway wall, the look Gaara had on her was disconnecting and hate-filled. She knew what his intentions were.
"Please," she begged, "we all need you. Naruto too."
Sakura cowered as Gaara stepped in front of her. His looming look settled on her figure before she spoke one last time.
"I need you."
Like lightening, his claw wrapped around her neck, slamming her hard into the brick wall behind her. Immediately, Sakura wrapped her hands around his wrist, trying to push him off. Peeking an eye open, she stared into his eyes while he studied her strangling because of him. His eyes were narrowed towards her with resolve that made her know he was not about to let her go.
"If you really meant that. You wouldn't be leaving me."
Sakura couldn't take the time to dwell on those words for she was losing her breath again, and quickly poured her chakra into a fist. With the attentive to strike Gaara back, she put all the power she could into her hand, knowing it was going to have to have the strength to breakthrough his defenses.
"Don't even think about it."
Before Sakura could even wrap around her mind to what he was saying, she felt him lift her up by the neck. The wall behind her gave some way when he slammed her back hard against the clay. As her vision swam, the rosette feebly tried to raise her arm towards the blurry silhouette in front of her. However, with her focus lost, it was a weak swing, and Gaara did not even have to step back to avoid her punch. With her sight going black, lungs screaming, and body strength draining, Sakura knew the end was near.
She forced her eyes back on the fuzzy shadow, trying to speak and reach out towards him. But no words could come from the tight grip he had around her neck. So instead, with whatever strength she could find, she formed the words on her lips carefully. Hoping Gaara would recognize.
'Don't.' She mouthed, saliva spilling from the corners of her lips.
'I-'
Though his gaze was hard, cold, they found her lips when he noticed her accentuating. A beg, no doubt, a plea, to spare her life. His grip tightened. He read her 'don't', thinking that was all the strength she had to spare on her lips. However, his curiosity lit up lightly when she continued.
'I love you.'
His heart stopped then, eyes going round. A gasp escaped the beast, and quickly he dropped the rosette. Her coughing and sputters, her struggling, did not stop him from asking.
"W-What did you just say?"
Her answer was simply a groan, her eyes far from his wide ones while he stared down at her. Sakura rubbed at her throat, desperately thinking how she needed to stand and fend him off. To her silent answer, Gaara mistook it as a dismissal. His voice was practically a roar when he tried for her attention again.
"Tell me what you just said!"
Sakura this time was able to bring her eyes to meet his. Where she thought she would be meeting a cold, death-glaring gaze, she instead locked eyes with that of a confused, scared, child-like stare.
"Gaara." She couldn't help but mouth.
They stared at one another, a desperate look in the redhead while the rosette took in his shaken appearance. In his eyes, another feeling of hope washed over her. Had he awaken from his episode? He didn't stare down at her with wild eyes. She opened her mouth to speak again, to finally answer, but she hadn't even uttered a word when a clattering noise hit her ears. Quick like lightening, Gaara jumped back from her and the sand from his claw raced to push back the perpetrator that chased after him.
Before Sakura could even glance at who it was that raced for Gaara, two people immediately jumped in front of her. Their bodies blocking her from the redhead. Sakura looked up to glimpse at the familiar blonde and black hood. As soon as she recognized them, her eyes winced with a new burn. The young woman's heart hurt for the two in front of her. She had not kept her promise, and the consequences of that were beginning to show. She never would have dreamed of quarreling these two siblings against their brother. She couldn't see, but surely their eyes held pain. The hurt of watching their own flesh and blood brother come so far towards the light, just to be swept back into the darkness. Surely all three had overcome so much to build their strong relationship, and it was now crumbling down.
From both sides perspectives stood that of someone who threatened to break that bond.
"Kankuro." Sakura whispered, watching the puppeteer summon Kuroari back to him.
"Temari."
Sakura's head hung low, guilt washing over her.
'I'm so sorry.' She thought of the words she had wanted to tell the two.
It was the older man who turned to look at her. His gaze was intent, clear, that of a ninja. Still, his eyes held something deeper in them. Something he was trying to hide from the world, and Sakura again thought of the heartache these two siblings were surely feeling.
"Are you alright?" Kankuro hastily asked.
"Can you fight?"
The second Sakura nodded, the brunette's eyes were back on his brother. His fingers twitched lightly and his chakra strings glowed in the darkness around them. It was Kuroari, and this puppet alone, that Kankuro manipulated. Next to him, his sister stood proudly. Chest prodding out to exuberate her strong spirit. Behind her, she balanced her usual giant, iron fan with one hand. Their looks alone was enough to make ninja run in the opposite direction.
"Sakura."
The rosette could feel her ears pick up to Temari's serious voice, and she studied the blonde's back for some time before Temari spoke again.
"I'm sorry I brought you into this."
Sakura winced lightly to her apology, her heart aching all the more when she knew it was her who should be apologizing to the siblings. To all of them.
'Forgive me.' She thought sourly.
'I cannot even bring myself to say it yet. I was wrong.'
The blonde did not wait on Sakura however, instead her attention back on her youngest brother as she hollered towards him.
"Gaara!"
In the alley, her voice and his name bounced, echoing into the night. Sakura was uncertain of her call, wondering why she spoke his name to only let silence follow. It wasn't until she saw the woman's form shaking lightly did it dawn on her why she did not speak. She was pained for what was to come next, but in time, come it had to. They all knew this.
"To attack your village, your friends, and your family is one of your olden ways! A manner that is not tolerated inside these walls! From anyone." Temari shouted towards him again.
"Please, show me my error! Speak to me in a way so that I may know you still have your senses! This is all your sister asks of you!"
The three watched as Gaara's lips peeled slowly back, revealing his fangs and heinous smile once again. It made the two siblings shiver with dark memories.
"If you do not, you will leave us with no other choice!"
Gaara crooked his neck slightly, his smile undeterred.
"I'll kill you first, Onee-sama." He drawled.
"Gaara!" Kankuro called out this time, repulsed by what he was hearing.
"Listen to us, to your big brother! You'll give us no choice but to bring you before the council to pass judgment! They will learn of these rampages if you do not stop! You'll be stripped of your title and locked away forever!"
Kankuro shook his head lightly.
"The path you created, the one you worked so hard for, is crumbling now under your feet because of you."
To the brunette's words, Sakura slowly raised herself from the ground. She cracked her knuckles and fingers. She had spent more than enough time with the monster in front of her to know that Kankuro's speech did not braze him. For her, it was no surprise to hear him say,
"I do not care."
The flinch the two siblings shared was evident to Sakura, and it hit her hard then as well to share the same knowledge as them. No matter the outcome of this fight, Gaara's name was to be soiled, and his title undoubtedly stripped.
'But if it's a means to save him.' Sakura reassured herself.
It was the chatter of Kankuro's puppet, and the click of Temari's fan, that brought Sakura back to her senses. The brunette next to her flexed his fingers lightly again, the strings of chakra from him to Kuroari brightened a little more. Sakura then watched as the blonde's weapon spilled out in front of her, showing off all three purple dots that were painted on it. It was evident in their eyes, and weapons, that they would hold nothing back on the man who stood so sinister in front of them.
"So be it, little brother." Temari whispered.