Sakura was in class. She was sitting on the seat closest to the window because Gaara asked her to so he could look at her from where he stood on a tree branch situated in the schoolyard. All the kids elbowed each other and whispered about him. Some of them mocked Sakura:
"Your boyfriend is here. Kiss!"
Both Sakura and Gaara shared the same thought:
Eww. How gross!
Eww. How gross!
"Leave me alone!" Sakura screamed at her classmates and hid her face in the books and notebooks on her desk. Everyone shut up when Ino defended her.
"I am so happy you are my friend!" Sakura said before she dug in her bag to take out a paper vase that she drew on which she stapled big flowers also made of paper.
"Thank you. It's very beautiful!" Ino put it carefully into her bag so that it wouldn't rip or bend.
Iruka-sensei was teaching math, but all Sakura could think about was Gaara and how she couldn't wait for the lunch break to finally eat together and not from a distance like before.
Gaara-kun, it must be boring to sit there all by yourself.
It's alright.
There is no need to wait for me. You can go and come back at 12 when the lunch break starts and we will eat together.
I have nothing to do anyway.
Gaara smiled and Sakura couldn't help but look at him at that moment, with her chin resting on her hand.
Good. I am glad you are here.
"Sakura!" Iruka-sensei yelled to make her pay attention to him. She screamed because he startled her.
"Yes, sensei." Sakura regained her composure quickly.
"If you paid attention to everything I said, answer this question."
Of course Sakura didn't know the answer, but Gaara taught her what to say and sensei went back to teaching even if he still wasn't convinced. Sakura let out a sigh.
Gaara-kun, how did you know the answer?
I learned it two years ago. He said triumphantly.
Waa! Gaara-kun is so smart! Thank you.
Pay attention in class. I might not be able to save you next time.
Gaara-kun, did you forget that you promised to always take care of me?
The boy was surprised at her boldness, which was why he couldn't muster an answer for some time, before both of them burst out laughing in their minds.
Sakura-chan is smart. Of course I will always help you if you run into trouble again. This is your nature. You get into trouble and I get you out of it.
It's not like that.
Stop arguing with me and pay attention in class.
Sakura listened to him like a good girl she was.
Sometime later, during the lessons, Sasuke got tired of watching the insufferable red haired boy from the window, so he thought of how to get rid of him.
"Sensei, can I draw the curtains? The sun is blinding me. I can't see what you write on the board."
"Ok, hurry up."
Sasuke stood up and pulled the curtains. The class used artificial light then, so that Gaara couldn't see the girl and neither could she see him. She saddened, but Gaara was fast to cheer her up.
I will settle for your shadow now.
Sakura calmed down.
It won't be long now. Please hold on.
I am very resistant, don't worry.
Kankurou and Temari strolled together through the village. They laughed and grabbed each other around the shoulders while speaking loudly, making jokes. They took advantage of the fact that nobody knew who they were and therefore, nobody could punish them. Their father was off to see the Hokage from what they knew. But they didn't know everything. Rasa had somewhere else to be after the short meeting with the Konoha leader. He went to have an interesting conversation with the dumb pink haired girl's parents who spent time with his son.
"Kazekage-same, please come in. Don't waste time on taking your shoes off. Come is as you are." Mebuki kept ushering him in.
"Give me your coat to hang." Kizashi offered.
They're such small people! I'll easily make them eat from my palm. Rasa thought.
Sakura's parents went out of their way to make Rasa feel as comfortable as possible without realizing it transformed them into slaves. Their wish to become rich thanks to this man gave them the impulse to swallow everything Rasa said, fulfill his every request right away because they weren't supplications, but commands. Rasa didn't think of them as his equals, so he didn't ask, but command. However, he wanted to obtain something from them, so his tone was sweet like honey.
Rasa asked for a cup of tea after taking a seat on the armchair. S soon as he received it, they started talking.
"I stumbled upon hospitable and mannered people."
"We are not that great." Mebuki said.
"Dear, let him speak. If he says so, then it means it's true." Kizashi told his wife while he patted his stomach with contentment.
"In fact it is not my merit, but your daughter's that I came upon your house."
"What do you mean?" Mebuki asked and frowned a little.
"She chose to talk to my son and one day, when he asked me to come to Konoha, I couldn't refuse."
Mebuki and Kizashi smiled with understanding.
"Put yourselves in my place. If your child would ask for something, wouldn't you give it to her?"
"Yes, of course." Kizashi was quick to respond.
Mebuki would have wanted to say it depended on what Sakura wanted of her. If she wanted a tattoo for example, then her mother wouldn't let her. But Mebuki didn't want to contradict her husband in front of the guest and damage his honor, so she didn't say anything more.
"Family is everything for me. I look at you and I can tell we all share the same vision." Rasa said.
Mebuki's face lit again and she nodded in agreement.
"Our girl is the most precious thing to us. She is smart, beautiful and behaved."
"I don't doubt it. Her hair and eyes make her even more special. I wonder what you would say if we supervised the relationship between her and my son from now on. I am curious to see if it could lead to a unification of our families in the future, if you agree of course." Rasa said.
"Of course." They both replied at the same time. They were happy that they didn't have to be the ones to propose this.
"When the little boy came here, I instantly knew he is a good boy. He was so nervous when he saw me; he straightened his back like an arrow instantly and lowered his eyes to the floor to greet me. You raised him well. Sakura talked about him all night. She was so happy."
"My girl is very sensitive. This boy knows how to treasure a rare flower like Sakura. I hope you won't think I'm hurrying, but I think it's safe to say that Gaara already acts like a man." Kizashi praised Rasa's son.
"Your words can only make me feel proud because only I know how hard it was to raise him." Rasa became more serious as he spoke. "His mother died when she gave birth to him."
"Oh no!" Mebuki wailed with her hand over her mouth.
"It was very difficult for him to grow up without a mother, only having me. I am the Kazekage and I have 3 kids to look after, but I woke up 3 hours earlier than usual everyday to train Gaara. I hired the best teachers to cultivate knowledge."
"You are a good father. I think it was very difficult for you."
"It's not like that. Even a Kazekage has his limits."
"Don't be so harsh on yourself. You did a good job."
"Yes, it's hard without a wife. I know I couldn't do anything without my darling." Kizashi squeezed his wife's hand.
Rasa coughed to draw the attention back to himself.
"As I was saying, the lack of a mother left a print in Gaara's heart. He is sometimes upset and angry thinking about her and blaming me for not having Karura in his life. For a while he was very unhappy and refused to talk to anyone, he completely isolated himself in his room and studied."
Mebuki sighed and Kizashi listened carefully.
"Then, he started to talk to your daughter and I saw him smiling. He gets along better with his brother and sister, he doesn't push us aside anymore, he doesn't fight with me either. He started training more rigorously and I see determination in his eyes like never before."
"What a joy! Poor baby." Mebuki said with a smile.
"One day, one of his guards reported back to me that Gaara destroyed the walls of the house belonging to one of Suna's citizens. You can imagine how surprised I was. He didn't want to tell me why he did it, but I imagined that he and Sakura had a fight."
"We know nothing of the sort." Mebuki and Kizashi looked at each other.
"My son has anger management issues, but he is not violent. I can assure you that he will never touch Sakura, but I am afraid that he will never recover if Sakura decides to leave him and I wouldn't want to see him cry alone in his room again. If their bond breaks, I might never recover my son."
"Please don't worry about it. Sakura will never do it. I couldn't bear to know such a sweet innocent child like Gaara is suffering. We will let you know if anything changes between them and please do the same if you find out something. We can communicate through letters. You can count on us from now on."
"Thank you. You don't know how much this means to me."
It was a piece of cake. I convinced them so easily to write to me everything their daughter does, that I can't believe it. How can these people call themselves ninja? Now I will know what this Sakura talks about with my son and I can use her to convince him to do whatever I want. She is not a bad choice for Gaara's wife after all. Rasa thought.
"Let's eat together." Ino told Sakura.
Gaara-kun, does it bother you if Ino joins us?
I want to stay with you. This is my last day here.
But she will feel bad if I tell her no.
"Sakura? Do you hear me?" Ino asked.
Sakura got nervous and asked Ino without looking at her:
"Me, you and Gaara can eat together, if you want."
Ino looked at her through her eyelashes, she pretended to be upset and said jokingly:
"No, thank you. I don't like him because he picked a fight with Sasuke-kun. You go."
Perfect.
Gaara-kun, don't say that.
"Fine. I promise to have lunch with you next time." Sakura said happily while waving and running to where the sand pulled her closer to where Gaara was. The sand was like a magnet, it wanted to be in the presence of its master. Gaara was up in the tree when Sakura looked up at him from under the tree.
Gaara-kun, get down.
Gaara moved his hand, a sand plate formed under Sakura's feet and lifted her from the ground.
I think it's better if you come up here. Nobody will bother us.
Sakura screamed a little because she was afraid to fall.
Nothing will happen to you. Trust me.
He helped her step onto the branch and they both sat down.
We can see everyone from up here.
Look, I bought some cookies with poppy. I thought you might like them. Gaara handed her a paper bag.
"Waa! Thank you!"
Gaara was very happy that he was able to cheer her up every time. Sakura was pleased she had someone to spend every moment with and not one moment was boring. They shared the food and talked with their mouths full until the bell rang again.
Note: Thank you very much for all your positive feedback.:D Here is another chapter. I hope you enjoy:D
