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Author’s Note: 4 REVIEWS – only?! Have you any idea how frustrating it is to receive a few hundred hits, and only four reviews?! Its madness, I tell you! Now, this story was merely updated out of the kindness of my heart, and my four wonderful reviewers, BUT, this is the last time I will do so. The next time I don’t reach a number of atleast 8 reviews, I shall NOT continue!
Anyways, read on. And review.
Chapter II: First Impressions
Okay, Haruno. You can do this. Breathe in. Its just Gaara, right? You’re a kunoichi, you should be able to do anything! After all, Gaara...
‘...did try to kill you,’ added Inner Sakura, a little too perky for her host’s own liking. ‘But, hey! That’s old news. All you’ve got to really do is stay on his good side, and maybe you won’t find yourself decapitated the next day!’
Sakura grimaced at the mental image her second half had given her before quickly pushing all thoughts of cowardice aside and forcing on a stern, practical face. ‘You can do this, Sakura,’ she chanted, softly to herself, forming a slow mantra as to ease her own twittering nerves. ‘Its just Gaara... just Gaara... Subaku no Gaara...’
Brushing away a few stray pink tresses from falling over her eyes, young Haruno Sakura took another deep breath before swiftly masking her fear with a confident, perky look – complete with dazzling smile and all.
‘You must be Subaku no Gaara, Kazekage of Suna!’ chirped Sakura, merrily, as she greeted her exhaust-ridden guest with the brightest of grins. ‘Welcome to Konoha! I’m Haruno Sakura, and I’ll be your tour-guide during your stay!’
From his worn-out, slumped over position on the ground, Subaku no Gaara inspected his assigned tour-guide thoroughly – she had, at the moment, breath-taking jade orbs, the same shade as his, albeit with a little more sparkle, and a lot more life. Gaara could tell, that just by looking closely at her, that this, “Sakura”, was one to put her heart to her sleeves. The twinkle in her eyes told him all; and, at the moment, she seemed to be masking a feeling of fear and awkwardness...
Gaara frowned. ‘Then again, who wouldn’t?’ he thought, mentally shoving the whispers of violence and gore that Shukaku had been sending him.
‘Where is your Hokage? I would like to deal with matters as quickly as possible,’ spoke Gaara, surprising the fake smile off Sakura’s face for speaking for the first time.
‘Gomen, Kazekage-sama,’ replied Sakura, politely bowing before him as a sign of respect. ‘But the Hokage is rather busy at the moment. She suggests you take your time and settle down, before jumping straight into business.’
‘Hn,’ said Gaara. ‘When then can we meet?’
‘The Hokage has scheduled your first meeting to be held early tomorrow, after breakfast, sir,’ Sakura replied professionally, her face still brimming with fake cheeriness, her eyes blinked shut as though reading through a practiced speech. ‘The Kazekage has also assigned you a tour during your stay here in our humble village.’
‘Are you my assigned tour-guide?’
‘Yep!’
‘I shall pass.’
At this he turned, unhindered by the feeling of Sakura’s sharp eyes glaring holes through his back. He had felt such a feeling before, by many a people. Upon accustoming himself to such looks, he had pretty much predicted what was coming next: she, just like the rest of the people, would perhaps spin the opposite direction and begin to stomp angrily away, muttering insolent curses in his favor. It was human nature to react such a way to something they did not...
BAM!
The ground shuddered beneath his feet, as if reacting to a violent force, and had almost managed to trip him if it wasn’t for Shukaku’s quick reflexes. Startled by the sudden turn of events, Subaku no Gaara, youngest Kazekage Suna had ever bred, whirled around, back to meeting the (now smug) gaze of the pink-haired young woman.
‘Oops,’ she said, with sheepiness she had purposely forgotten. ‘So sorry about that, Kazekage-sama, but sometimes I forget my own strength.’
If said Kazekage-sama owned an eyebrow, they would have probably been raised with suspicion by now – it wasn’t everyday you discovered a kunoichi daring enough to stomp her foot at him and not properly apologize about it.
‘Now about that tour...?’
By now, Shukaku had dropped his state of mild shock to continue harassing his usually impassive host once again. Whispers of, ‘Kill her, that insolent fool’, ‘How dare she mock us!’ and the ever-popular, ‘The citizens of this stupid town wouldn’t dare flutter an eye if she were found dead!’ ran through his mind, but surprisingly, even after his tiring journey, Gaara did not feel moved by any of them.
Too preoccupied by the fact that such a weak looking woman had managed to almost make him fall, and even more startling the fact that he had managed to ignore Shukaku without feeling the slightest bit of temptation, Gaara did not realized he was being dragged forcefully by the arm by one satisfied-looking kunoichi, her chakra-infused fist practically popping one of his veins.
‘Hn.’
It had been like this for a while now. At first, he almost found her fake-enthusiasm rather amusing, but after having been forcefully tugged throughout the town like a human-sized Subaku no Gaara doll, he had to admit, it was getting kind of frustrating. The boulder-sized sand guard and the fact that he had hardly gotten any rest throughout the entire journey was just another one of those, “added bonuses”.
‘...they serve the best seafood...’
‘Enough, kunoichi!’ cried Gaara atlast, halting the blabbering woman mid-sentence. He was sweaty, grimy, weary, hungry and restless, and, by God, he deserved to cry out that last sentence! ‘Please... take me to my room so I can rest in peace.’
Sakura was surprised, to say the least, both by the fact that Gaara had used the word “please” in a sentence, and the uncharacteristic show of emotion. ‘Of course, Kazekage-sama, I will gladly bring you to your—,’ but something, bright and orange, with a head-full of unruly blonde hair had caught her attention, rendering her eyes from the stony-face Kazekage and onto her dear friend.
‘Naruto!’ she cried, leaving her assigned subject to stand, blinking, in his place. The pink-haired kunoichi squealed, embracing her fried and fellow team-mate in a warm, welcoming hug. ‘Its been a while! How was the mission?’
‘No sweat, Sakura-chan,’ said Naruto, hugging her with force to rival that of Konoha’s famous Green Beast. ‘...but, I still think it would be a lot quicker if you had come along. Kakashi-sensei isn’t exactly the talkative type, ne?’
The Haruno giggled, nodding all the while.
‘Ne... Sakura-chan...? What have you been up to?’
Gaara watched as the kunoichi before him seemed to jump in surprise, and spin both Naruto and herself to face him, as if just realizing his existance.
‘Gaara!’ cried Naruto, beaming at the red-head.
Gaara simply nodded.
‘What are you doing here?’ continued the happy, smiling-faced fox-boy, not bothering to lower his voice in public and seemingly oblivious to the stares focused their way. ‘And whatcha doing with my Sakura-chan?’
Gaara’s face remained impassive, momentarily forgetting his heavy guard and restless condition around the fox-boy. ‘I am here to discuss pressing matters with your Hokage, concerning the relation of our two countries,’ he said, before nodding stiffly at Sakura to properly complete Naruto’s questions. ‘She is my advised tour-guide.’
‘Really, Sakura-chan?!’ cried Naruto, sounding as if such a position was the most interesting in the world. ‘Oh, cool! I can help! We can start with--,’
Luckily for Gaara, his real tour-guide interfered with Naruto’s enthusiasm. ‘Sorry, Naruto,’ she said, raising a long arm to block his path, like a superior would his lap-dog. Gaara hid his amusement well beneath that cool expression of his. ‘but the Kazekage is weary from his trip from Suna. I have to assist him in retiring for now.’
Naruto nodded, still smiling, a agreement. ‘Okay, Gaara! I’ll just come over to help Sakura-chan with her tour tomorrow! It’ll be great, ‘tebayo!’
Gaara gave the two a sort-of crooked smile of reassurance, just as Shukaku hissed in his ears, ‘I told you we should have killed them...’, and, for a while there, Gaara almost agreed.
Something told him that tomorrow was not going to be anymore peaceful.
Review Target for this chapter: 8, at LEAST.
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