Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood ❯ Chapter 5

 

 

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

By: emeraldoni

CHAPTER V

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto, not me.

 

Gaara stared at the door in front of him, eyes flat, teeth grinding, the feeling of utmost frustration consuming him in every way. It felt as though his insides were going to squeeze and implode, leaving him just a hollow pile of goop that would bubble in resonant outrage every few moments. Of course, that was just nervous speculation, but just the same, emotions never made much sense. Not that Gaara had any emotions or anything, but still…

 

Running a clammy palm through his hair, he raised a hand to knock at the offending door. Really, was this so necessary? Couldn't he just leave and be on his merry way completely disregarding his emotionally unbalanced and obviously unstable neighbor?

 

Apparently not.

 

Banging against the entry with more force than he meant to give, Gaara restrained him from taking a step back when Sakura opened the door.

 

“Oh, Hey Gaara! What's up?”

 

Gaara blinked once, struggling to keep his face impassive at the girl's outfit in front of him. He had thought her to be a completely ridiculous character already, but this… this was just too much. He blinked once more, hoping that maybe the image would fade, but to no avail. Sakura really was wearing that disgustingly bright apron, with small frills and logo to make him sick, which made it all the worse.

 

“Sakura.” Gaara said, finally regaining his composure, “What is that smell?”

 

Eyes widening, Sakura whipped around to run back into her apartment, an echo of “Shit!” left behind.

 

Gaara tracked her course, small as it was, into the living room with the small kitchenette, which was currently belching out and acrid black smoke that stung his eyes. With a small shriek, Sakura lifted something up and dumped it into the sink, turning on the water, then opening the one window in the small space.

 

Gaara leaned against the wall, Sakura doing the same, though it was more of a slump.

 

“Damn.” She whispered, wiping loose hair out of her face and behind her ears. Green eyes glanced up at him, face flushed with exertion as she offered a weary grin, and strained laugh, “Oops.” Straitening up, she walked over to the sink, grimacing at the whatever-it-was now splattered on the off-white porcelain. Gaara followed suit, standing next to her as they both stared silently at the black on white mess that still smoked and steamed silently to itself with the occasional hiss and pop. Briefly, Gaara wondered if his earlier thoughts about goop had anything to do this, but pushed that away, being the down-to-earth person he was.

 

Yet though Gaara was down-to-earth and fairly silent and reclusive he couldn't help but ask, “What is that?”

 

“That?” Sakura replied, turning her back on the thing in the sink as she tried to ignore the pain in her hand, hoping it wasn't what she thought it was, “That was supposed to be dinner.”

 

Gaara was silent, before turning to face her as well, his face empty, but his eyes holding something akin to amusement.

 

“Shut up!” She said, softly hitting his shoulder with a laugh, but grimacing once again as she grabbed her hand, “Dammit!”

 

Gaara, being the observant person he was, immediately froze and, though he wouldn't admit it, grabbed her palm in concern. It wasn't that bad, but burns were painful all the same, and the bright blisters on her fingers were no cake walk.

 

Sakura laughed, though it was a bit high and even further strained, “Oh, that? That's nothing. I think I have some band-aids in the cabinet.”

 

Gaara resisted the extremely strong to roll his eyes, instead grabbing a cloth and getting it wet with cool water, “Come with me.”

 

Holding the cloth against the tear-rendering pain—which she did everything in her might to ignore, but couldn't help but let a few of the miserable drops slip past—Sakura followed Gaara out of the room as he grabbed a random jacket hanging from the back of a chair and pulling her into the hallway. He was about to shut and lock the door when he took another glance at her.

 

“The apron. Take it off.”

 

“What?” Sakura was more than a bit confused, “Why? Where are we going? Gaara?”

 

Sighing, which was the loudest emotion—not including anger—she had heard him express, Gaara slipped behind her, untying the loops messily knotted at her neck and waist. The `Shut up and kiss me' apron disappeared from her view as it was chucked into her apartment, followed by the slamming and locking of the door.

 

“Uhm, Gaara? I don't have my key.”

 

“Don't worry about it.”

 

“So, uh, where are we going?”

 

“The hospital.”

 

Sakura stopped, backing down the hall a bit, “What? No! I don't want to go to the hospital! It's not that bad!”

 

Gaara turned around, “Sakura, the skin is peeling and there are blisters. You need to go to the hospital.”

 

“No, I don't.”

 

“Yes, you do.”

 

Sakura turned to make a run for it, but was halted in her tracks as an arm wrapped around her waist, lifting her up and throwing her over an unyielding shoulder.

 

“What the hell? Gaara!”

 

Sakura struggled a bit but found her self to be completely entrapped, unmarked hand twisting into the back of his black T-shirt. Sakura growled as he stepped into the elevator, the little ding signaling her of their decent.

 

“You know,” Sakura said conversationally, “I can walk perfectly fine by myself. It wasn't my legs that were hurt.”

 

“Yes, you can.”

 

“So, why don't you put me down?”

 

“Because you'll run.”

 

Sakura pouted slightly, not that he could see, as it was his rear she was facing—which was quite nice, if she could say so her self—then said, “I won't run.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Well, then, let me down?” Sakura tacked on her last attack, “Please?”

 

“No, that's okay.”

 

Sakura just scowled, at least until a pained wince interrupted it.

 

Oooo000OOO000oooO

 

Naruto grinned over at the man next to him, lacing his fingers behind his head, “Sakura will be so glad to see you!”

 

“Oh, really?”

 

“Yeah! She's been so busy lately that she hasn't been able to hang out, but she's on vacation now!”

 

“Hm. That's good.”

 

“Yeah, I know, isn't it? I hope she's awake. She'd kill me if we woke her up.”

 

“Naruto, it's past four. I'm sure Sakura isn't asleep.”

 

Naruto just looked suspicious, “You never know with her. What if she's napping? It's right around napping time.”

 

“Really.”

 

“Yeah! And—Hey, Kakashi, is that Sakura over there?”

 

Kakashi shielded his eyes, seeing a very masculine figure carrying a smaller petite one down the street, “Yes, I believe so.”

 

“Why is that guy carrying her?”

 

Kakashi shrugged, “Dunno. Maybe he's kidnapping her.”

 

Naruto gasped, yelling with outrage, “What the fuck? We have to go save her! C'mon let's go!”

 

Kakashi followed the young man at his own leisurely pace.

 

Oooo000OOO000oooO

 

Gaara's first instinct was to gut the man where he stood, taking him out of this world as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the girl hanging over his shoulder excluded this plan, so he came up with another.

 

“Move.”

 

“…`the fuck? No! You fucking move! And put Sakura-chan down you pervert! Nobody molests Sakura-chan!”

 

Gaara glared at the annoying guy with his blond hair and bright teeth. What right had he to get in his way when Sakura was hurt? Even if the girl wasn't his favorite person in the world—not that he had a favorite or anything, but still—it was still his duty to get her medical attention, and this fool was getting in the way.

 

“Move.”

 

“Naruto?”

 

Gaara glanced in annoyance at the girl in his arms, or as much as he could look at her, considering it was her rear that was right next to his face. Somehow, even in the odd position, she managed to twist her way around Gaara's waist to catch a glimpse of Naruto.

 

“Naruto, what the hell are you doing?”

 

Naruto blinked, “What do you mean, Sakura? I'm saving you.”

 

“From what—pray tell—Naruto? The boogey man?”

 

“Well…uh…well, you know. This bastard here.”

 

Sakura rolled her eyes, “He's not doing anything bad, Naruto.”

 

“Ah. Then I guess we must have misinterpreted?”

 

Sakura was stunned silent for a moment, “Eh, Kakashi? What are you doing here?”

 

Kakashi smiled, turtle-neck shirt covering the lower half of his face as his hair covered another vertical half, leaving only a fourth to show one eye. It was rare to see Kakashi without his form-covering outfit and floppy silver hair.

 

“We might ask the same, Sakura. I never expected this kind of thing from you.”

 

Sakura blushed as much as she could, considering her face was already quite red from hanging upside down for such a length of time, “Shut up, it's nothing like that. Gaara was just being a gentleman and escorting me somewhere.”

 

Kakashi finally turned his attention to the stony young man, “Gaara, eh? Have I met you somewhere before?”

 

As luck turned out—oh, and Gaara had luck, even if it wasn't necessarily the good kind—Kakashi was an officer. He was a notorious undercover cop, though not recently because of his notoriety (and white hair), and though Gaara was (kind of) reformed now, he had done his fair share of bad things in the past. He was, in fact, shocked that he has gotten off on such a light sentence. It might have been the insanity defense. Just maybe.

 

Gaara shook his head in answer, not speaking to such people who had interrupted him and his task.

 

“Hm, really. May I ask why you are carrying Sakura over your shoulder like a bag of dung?”

 

Sakura looked extremely offended, “What did you just say?” What furthered her irritation was Naruto's response.

 

“Yeah! What gives?”

 

“Fuck you all.” She muttered, only to be ignored. The tense nature of the air was getting to her.

 

Gaara glared, wishing harsh and horrible deaths on the two men in front of him, “I was taking her to the hospital.”

 

“What?” Naruto looked slightly worried but still not content, “Are you saying Sakura's hurt?”

 

“Yes.”

 

It was a silent second, one that Sakura felt was all too short. The peace and broken, looming aura dissolving at the realization of an injured sister who wasn't really injured, at least in her opinion.

 

 

“What? Sakura!”

 

Naruto rushed over to her, hovering down by her face (which, Sakura thought, must have been extremely uncomfortable for Gaara, considering that was right next to his butt. Probably the reason why he growled and turned her away from Naruto) as she sighed then glared at him.

 

“Naruto. Naruto. Naruto! Fuck! It's just a small burn!”

 

Naruto had been following her around as Gaara twisted in a circle trying to lose the leech in an attempt that made her slightly dizzy.

 

“Fucking A, Gaara, stop spinning!”

 

Gaara stopped, but not before shifting her so that she was bridal style in his arms and he was backed against a good, solid wall. Cradling her hand, Sakura glared at the three concerned men around her, tears filling her eyes at the stress and pain and how life was a complete bitch and why couldn't she just be left alone?

 

“God, can't you just take me back to my apartment? I want to go home! Now!”

 

Tensing slightly, Gaara started walking, one Kakashi and Naruto trailing behind (Kakashi looking more than a tad amused).

 

“Hey! Where are you going? This isn't the way to my house!”

 

“No, it's the way to the hospital.”

 

Sakura did cry this time, “Why are you all so stupid? It's just a stupid burn! Nothing to be worried about!”

 

In a weak attempt to show she was in perfect health, she hit Gaara on the shoulder, with her injured hand. One nearly dropped girl, a scream and Gaara cursing they were back on their path. Sakura sobbed, looking at her hand spitefully as it now oozed from the broken blister she had hit Gaara with.

 

“Fuck, Sakura.” Muttered Gaara, noticing slightly that the two idiots with relations to Sakura (whatever they be) had dropped back a few more feet. Tightening his grip on her, Gaara sped up, knowing that the hospital was only a block or so away. It felt as though a vein would pop when Naruto's voice piped up.

 

“Hey, dude, why the hell are you walking to the hospital?”

 

“I don't have a car.”

 

“It's called public transportation.”

 

“-or money, and it's too crowded.”

 

The fact it would be near impossible to get Sakura to the hospital with her behavior in a subway or some such transport was first and foremost in his mind. What her aversion to the hospital was he didn't understand, but it didn't really matter considering she needed to go there. And she was hurt, there was no denying that. It was much worse than just a sunburn. Really, her hand at the moment was oozing slightly, catching the dim, cloudy light in a morbid display of attention-catching awfulness.

 

Quickly Gaara walked through the sliding glass doors, eyes hard as he searched for the front desk or the closest nurse.

 

Oooo000OOO000oooO

 

“Really, Sakura, I can't believe you would be so careless. This is your job—and your vacation—you're not supposed to be here.”

 

Sakura glared at the tiled floor, feeling as petulant as a child and trying not to wince as the nurse scolded her, all the while dabbing some icky substance on her hand. Her glare was nothing compared to Gaara's though, for he certainly had a gripe to complain about. The moment he learned she worked here his body had stiffened and froze, his voice low as he spoke.

 

“That's why you didn't want to come here?” It was closer to a statement than a question, and dangerously said at that. Not that Sakura would notice, of course, instead crossing her arms—as much as her hand would allow—and pouting.

 

“So what?”

 

Sakura's eyes shifted slightly, avoiding him as he let loose a low growl. Naruto and Kakashi had been at the desk, explaining the problem and trying to get her a doctor. Gaara had been in an even worse mood for the rest of their time there. Sakura sighed as she slid here eyes up to where he was sitting, the bright, sterile lights making his face seem ashen and pallid, eyes shadowed even more than usual. Trying to get more comfortable, Sakura cringed as the paper crinkled loudly under her (she always hated the paper, couldn't they get something more comfortable?) trying to avoid his eyes as they shifted her way.

 

With another pronounced sigh, Sakura spoke, “Okay, fine. I'm sorry.” Glancing under her veil of hair caught sight of a raised brow. She resisted the urge to role her eyes. Of course he would make this painful for her. She was bad enough at apologizing in the first place, and here he was making her explain. Great.

 

“You know, for you being all nice and taking me to the hospital and me being rude. I'm sorry.”

 

Gaara sniffed and for a moment there was silence, interrupted by his voice, “Apology accepted.” Relieved, Sakura let loose a soft breath, though still a tad annoyed at the haughtiness of Gaara's voice, she could deal with it as long as he didn't hold it above her head.

 

The door opened, revealing another co-worker with a slightly amused face. Sakura glared at him before offering her hand, if a little hesitant. She knew what was to come next and she didn't like it.

 

“So, Sakura, trying to cook were we?” Said the doctor, voice light and teasing.

 

“I guess.” Sakura's voice was the complete opposite.

 

“Bet that tasted great.”

 

“Yeah, bet so.”

 

“You'll have to bring some in to work tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah, too bad it's all gone.”

 

“Oh? Ate it already? That's too bad. You must have been hungry.”

 

Sakura knew he wasn't teasing her anymore. He was distracting her, from the delicate tweezers hovering over her crisped hand.

 

Sakura replied, only pausing a little, “Yeah, me and Gaara were pretty hungry.”

 

She prayed he wouldn't out her. There was no reason for her lie; she just didn't want to be mocked at work for eternity because of her less than respectable cooking skills. She liked to be more of a backdrop that the center of attention. She wasn't anti-social or anything, but she liked her privacy from time to time, and sometimes just needed to be left alone. An incident like this no one would forget and every time she passed someone in the hallway a comment like, “You're not going to the break room are you? I better warn the others first!”

 

Or something like, “Oh, so you have the weekend off, Sakura? Make sure to stay away from the stove, okay? I don't want to see you here before Monday.”

 

That would just annoy the hell out of her, and she didn't want to be fired for strangling a co-worker. She might get into a bit of trouble for that.

 

Sakura was suddenly pulled out oh her reverie by a sharp pain on her hand. With a small, strangled shriek Sakura whipped her limb away, “Fuck!”

 

“Sakura,” The doctor said, exasperation tainting his voice, “You know I have to do this and you know it will hurt. You'll have to deal with it for the moment. Now, give me your hand.”

 

With a fist clenched, wrapped into her pants leg, Sakura reluctantly gave her hand back, once again trying to blink back tears. The severity of the burn had left behind dead skin and such—even some unknown particles of melted plastic, though where that came from she had no idea—so they were going to have to clean it out. This was one of the reasons she hated the burn ward as a nurse. Burns were of the most painful to get and the most painful to treat. Being in the wing with all the burn victims left ones stomach churning. Even the strongest of men screamed under that kind of pain. There was always a shortage of nurses and that section because of the short work span and the many requests to be moved else where. Sakura had been one of those requests, and a lucky one at that, for actually getting moved to a general aid section.

 

The searing pain flashed through her once again, sharp jabs spreading up to her head and making her thoroughly miserable. Once again, Sakura jerked her hand away.

 

“Sakura…” The doctor said, frustration a close hint in the impatient tone of his voice. For a moment he closed his eyes, rubbing a temple, until he turned to Gaara.

 

“Could you hold her for me, please? This will make things a little less painful and much quicker.”

 

Nodding silently, Gaara stood up languidly, strolling over to out position, face impassive as he gripped Sakura's brachial and forearm, “Hold still.” He ordered, and Sakura attempted to listen.

 

Slowly the doctor started once again, working around her twitching digits as he expertly peeled off the dead skin and small particles. Sakura began to sob. Gaara, assured that she wouldn't try to pull away again, patted her back soothingly, if awkwardly, as he kept a tight hold on her forearm. Apparently he didn't trust her completely.

 

It wasn't until a particularly large swath of skin peeled away that Sakura felt the dizziness. She blinked, trying to clear her eyes of the swirling shadows, but to no avail. With grasping fingers, Sakura grabbed Gaara's shirt in an attempt to keep her balance. Briefly a thought flitted through her head, through what it was she couldn't say, and she fell into a faint.

 

Oooo000OOO000oooO

 

A/N: Forgive me! I know it's been forever since I last update, but I've been so busy, so, I'm sorry. I hope this chapter made up for it though, since it's about ten pages long on Word. Please review, it would be nice. I don't know, I think my inspiration for this story just dried up. I'm hoping with this chapter it will come back, but who knows?

 

Oh yeah, another excuse, I lost my second USB, the first one conveniently dying on me, so I'm not completely at fault. Oh shut up.

 

Until next time,

 

emeraldoni

 

PS: The Star_man: … I'm not sure how to reply, really. Can't a girl vent without being on the rag?...Thanks for the review… I guess…