Naruto Shippuden Fan Fiction ❯ Healing a pained heart ❯ My lion with red mane ( Chapter 6 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Helping Gaara sleep became a habit ever since he abashedly asked her one night, if she can help him again. Ever since, she offered to help every night. Every night she fell asleep with her head on his bed. This morning, she woke up with her face in his palm. He was fast asleep, so he didn’t realize it. She rubbed her cheek in his palm with longing before she kissed it. She got up on her feet. Her knees didn’t hurt anymore because Gaara left a cushion on the floor. Sakura grinned when she remembered the first time she saw it on the floor, her smile immediately directed to Gaara. But he didn’t say anything. The small signs of affection pricked her heart like icicles. He had grown on her, but the more she cared about him, the more afraid she was he will reject her when he finds out she cannot offer him what a man wants from a woman. Sakura couldn’t bear being rejected again.

Gaara had no idea about Sakura’s inner struggle. He always woke up happily. Ever since he and Sakura became closer to each other, his relationship with his son also improved. He was colder with Shinki before, partly because he has no idea how to behave with a child. Rasa, Gaara’s father, has never showed any signs of affection towards his children; of course, Gaara knew he didn’t want to be anything close to his father, but he had no idea how to do that exactly.

Gaara was blind to see how Shinki got closer and closer to him whenever he asked a question, until Shinki’s right leg touched his father’s left one when he sat on the chair; or when Shinki touched his father’s knee with his little hand, while looking at him with big eyes. Gaara didn’t notice any of it until now, but when Sakura brought it to his attention, Gaara’s heart was soaked in streams of unshed tears. He grabbed his son from under his armpits and sat him on his legs.

At night, Gaara asks his son to climb on his back and give him a massage. At first, Shinki was afraid it was a trap and refused to come closer. But when Gaara’s sand grabbed his little hand and gently pulled him towards the bed, Shinki complied and climbed with his naked little feet on his dad’s back. He heard bones cracking and got scared. He wanted to get off, but then he heard Gaara’s pleased sounds: “yes, move to the left. It’s perfect.” Shinki started chuckling, obeyed and asked every 10 seconds: “Is it good like this, father?” Sakura could hear them laughing from her room.

One time, Gaara was with his son and Sakura approached them from behind Shinki. She showed Gaara through gestures to hug his son. Gaara felt embarrassed, but gave it a try. Unfortunately, he was so clumsy, Shinki felt awkward and moved away: “Dad, what are you doing?” Sakura laughed quietly and left the room in a hurry. That was the moment Gaara decided hugs are not for him.

Sakura swallowed 2 pills and entered the lab. She greeted her teammates and they got back to work.

“Tanaka-san, did you prepare the calibration solution?”

Tanaka showed Sakura his notebook, where he computed all the calculus and explained:

“For a 100mg/L concentration, we need a volume of 0.01 mL solution. We proceeded the same for the other solutions, thus we obtained the following data: for c2=0.1 mg/L -> V2=10 mL; for c3=1 mg/L ->V3=0.1 mL; for c4=10 mg/L ->V4=1mL. Then, we typed the data into the analysis program, which returned the graphs for each heavy metal. We compared each of the 6 samples with the control standard and we used water as a witness.”

Sakura: “That’s very good.”

Tanaka:” After we calibrated the ICP-OES, we introduced a hose in water to clear the tube, then into the first sample. The hose sucked in small droplets from the sample and turned them into spray. Then, the small droplets reached the hot Argon plasma and became steam. Ions and atoms were excited and the heavy metals emitted their specific wavelengths, which were then transmitted to the optical detection system. It further identified each chemical element according to its own unique wavelength.”

Sakura: “Good, well done. Now, turn this data into percentage concentration and give me the report when you have it.”

Kankurou: “Wow, this man really knows how this machine works.”

Tanaka mumbled: “I know exactly what to do; I don’t need this woman to tell me.”

Midori: “Don’t stress yourself too much. She is just here to help us. What do you need me to do?”

Tanaka: “Bring the notebook from my desk.”

Midori: “Don’t you mean Sakura-san’s desk?”

Tanaka grinded his teeth: “Just bring it!”

At noon, all of them went home to eat because the machine required several hours to finish analyzing the data. There was nothing more they could have done in the lab.

Sakura went home, washed her hands, and walked into the kitchen. She greeted Noriko and touched the door of the fridge to open it and check for food. She couldn’t grab anything because Noriko slapped her hand and closed the door right away. Noriko looked at her angrily and asked: “Does Kazekage-sama know you are here?” Sakura was shocked: “What do you mean? I live here, too.”

Noriko moved away from the fridge and mumbled something in her language that Sakura didn’t understand. Sakura was pissed, but she didn’t want to cause trouble in somebody else’s home, so she left without saying anything before she decided to find another place to eat.

Sakura wandered on the streets of Suna, when a slightly purple building caught her eye. It was made of stucco, like all buildings in Suna, but what caught her attention was the sign at the entrance: the name of the tea house poured from a green teapot: Bohemia tea house. On the ground floor were chairs around tall tables, the walls were painted in purple and white, while on the first floor, there were green and purple cushions on the floor, and small tea tables. Stanchions decorated the place. The walls were white. There were stairs that led to the bathroom. Sakura chose to sit on the first floor, at a table with 2 cushions. She ordered chamomile tea and something crunchy to eat, and then focused on the music in the background.

She was sinking in her bitterness, when she overheard an interesting talk from another table, close to hers. It seemed that a girl around Sakura’s age, with a mouth as big as Naruto’s, was bragging about her coming back from Kumogakure.

“I cheated on him with A. and now I am afraid he smelled something’s wrong.”

“I am sure he doesn’t know anything. It’s just in your head.”

“Why do you think he knows?”

“You better tell him the truth, then.”

Sakura smiled when she heard the last comment. The group seemed eager to please the story teller, but the last comment came from the only girl who still had a spine. Sakura sipped from her cup and listened again:

“Does your lover know you have a boyfriend?”

“Yes, I told him I will leave my boyfriend, but I lied. I realized I love my boyfriend more then I love A.”

“Oh.”

“Ah.”

“But he will find out, even if you don’t tell him now. It’s better if you just tell the truth.”

Sakura started to grow fond of this brown haired girl with matching eye color. Nobody listened to her, though. All the girls in the group supported the cheater.

“Why should she tell him the truth? Her boyfriend will only break up with her.”

“Yes, it’s better if I wait for him to find out by himself. I will start crying and maybe he will forgive me.”

The other girls nodded.

Sakura shook her head in disapproval while taking another sip.

“The problem is that I think I am pregnant.”

“Do you know who the father is?”

“I am not sure. I will tell A. that it’s my boyfriend’s child and I will break up with him.”

“But if it isn’t, A will know and he will want his baby. How will you explain this to your boyfriend? Things only get more complicated unless you tell the truth.”

“Don’t listen to her. I say you should keep quiet. Better act like nothing’s happened.”

Nobody listened to the brown haired girl, but Sakura really liked her. She is wearing a Suna headband. I should ask Gaara about who she is. She finished her meal, swallowed 2 pills, paid the check and got up to leave. She could use a shower, but she didn’t want to bump into Noriko again, so she went straight to the lab.

Once there, she looked over the graphs Tanaka computed with help from Midori. She grabbed a red marker and drew a horizontal line at the maximum allowed limit for each chemical element in soil and water. Only the first sample contained Cadmium, which was alarming because the limit was 0. None of the samples were supposed to contain Cadmium. As for copper, the first sample exceeded the limit by 19% and the second sample by 13.44%. The sixth sample was right where Sakura drew the red line.

Sakura: “Tanaka-san, Midori, please check sample 6 again for Copper. This value you obtained seems inconclusive.”

All samples exceeded the Zinc limit by values that made Sakura frown. First sample by 240.468%, fourth sample by 134.288% and so on. Now it became clear in Sakura’s mind that Suna was under a biological attack. Same increased levels were obtained for the other heavy metals.

I need to tell Gaara. Kankurou didn’t come back to the lab after lunch.

She helped Tanaka and Midori finish with their analysis faster, and then compared the final result with the first one they got. They were approximately the same. Sakura let the crew go home and she left for Gaara’s office.

Sakura knocked on the door and walked in:

“Kazekage-sama, excuse me, do you have a minute?”

He was a little taken aback by her formal way of speaking; they were alone in his office, after all.

She shut the door and Gaara replied:

“Yes, of course. And you can call me Gaara when we’re alone.”

Her face was blank, he couldn’t read her. Did I do anything wrong?

Sakura made him a summary of the results the research team got in the lab. He listened carefully and a dark cloud blurred his vision. It was the fear that he was right from the beginning. Suna was under attack.

“Start measuring how much and how fast the environment is affected. We have to think about possible ways to counterattack until my soldiers find the culprit.”

“Yes, of course. I will write my report and bring it on your desk.”

Gaara exhaled and tried to calm down. He noticed she wasn’t leaving. There must be something else.

“I am listening if there is something else you wish to tell me.”

Sakura boggled and bit her lip. After a short moment of silence, she opened her mouth to speak:

“I want to move.”

Gaara would have rather be slapped in the face than hear these words from her. His mouth went dry. He pointed at her with his palm open, and asked why.

Pause

“I thought you liked staying with me and Shinki. Did we do anything wrong?”

He said as he got closer to her. Her face was hard as stone. She exhaled after a few moments with her eyes closed and answered his question.

“Noriko is the problem. She always misplaces my things. I feel like she is mocking me. I found the toothbrush I wash my shoes with, on top of my face cream in the bathroom. She put my boots in the box I keep my body lotions. She always places the outsoles on top of my clean shoes. She never does this to you or Shinki, I noticed it. On top of that, she slapped my hand today.”

Gaara’s face went from confused to angry in seconds.

“I came back at your place to grab something to eat for lunch. I took a hold of the door of the fridge and she slapped my hand and closed the door. <<Does Kazekage-sama know you are here now?>> ”

He was taken aback by Sakura's rattle. Of all of the things she enumerated none seemed like a big deal to him, except for the last one. Of course, he was smart enough to realize this was exactly what she didn’t want to hear. Sakura would be mad and perhaps leave for good if she heard “You are over reacting.” What Noriko did couldn’t go unpunished, though. Nobody was allowed to touch Sakura.

“I understand. I apologize for her behavior. I will talk to Noriko; I am sure she was already upset over something else and it wasn’t your fault at all for her outburst. I will talk to her and I can promise you it will never happen again. All the other things you mentioned will also be solved.”

While he talked, he got up from his chair, walked around the desk and stood right in front of her, grabbing her left hand in his.

“Please don’t leave. You have my word that everything will be fixed.”

Sakura couldn’t look him in the eye. She swallowed a lump in her throat and nervousness washed her face. Her breathing became erratic and her voice started to break.

“I don’t understand why she doesn’t respect me. I didn’t do anything to her. Being a foreigner is my only fault. I think this must be the reason she can’t stand me. I noticed the way she looks at me.”

Sakura’s tears shattered Gaara’s heart into a thousand pieces. He caressed her left hand that he was already holding while he brought his other hand to her eyes; he curved his pointer finger and captured a tear and asked her to stop crying. The right side of her abdomen started to hurt, so she tried to calm down to ease the pain. Gaara let her hand go and grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her into his chest. The clumsiness in his act was obvious and it made Sakura smile. It was clear he has never been intimate with a girl before. She grabbed his upper arm with her hand and squeezed. A hushed “Thank you” reached his ears and happiness took over him. She wasn’t going anywhere. He exhaled with relief and put some distance between them, so he could watch her face. A woman’s crying eyes are the most beautiful eyes. He grinned at her and said “Wait here for a minute.”

She nodded and rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands.

Gaara disappeared into a joined room and came back with a big wooden box. Sakura was curious. Gaara smirked and lifted the top of the box. Sakura dug her nose inside and noticed small triangular red fruits.

“Strawberries!” she screamed with her hands clasped together at chest level.

Gaara laughed at her reaction. She took one and ate it right away.

“Wait, you haven’t washed your hands.” He turned around with his back to her. She tried to reach around him and take another strawberry, but he wouldn’t let her. She talked with her mouth full from behind him:

“Gaara, give me one more.”

He laughed and continued to keep the box out of her reach. Her hand was trapped between his left elbow and ribs. She couldn’t move it. She resigned and rested her forehead on his back with a pout. Gaara let her arm go and turned around to face her.

“There are apricots and peaches for Shinki, too in this box. But all the strawberries are yours. I just don’t want you to get sick from eating with dirty hands. You came from the lab, who knows what kind of chemicals rest on your hands right now.” He said this while smiling with his eyes closed, head tilted.

Sakura brought a finger to her lips without realizing her lips were red from eating and thought out loud:

“You tried too hard to bring strawberries to the desert just for a random girl.”

It’s now or never. Gaara was all nervous. He placed the box on his desk, turned around to face her, bit his lip and said:

“Be my girlfriend.”

It was supposed to be a question, but he was too nervous to remember how to ask properly.

Her face was red like a tomato, her hands started sweating and, just when she was about to open her lips to speak, they heard a knock on the door. Gaara quickly positioned himself behind his desk, on the chair and covered the box. Sakura looked at the door and a ninja appeared from behind it. He just wanted to submit the report on a mission to his leader. Of course, he couldn’t have come in a more inappropriate moment. Sakura stepped to the side and waited for the man to leave. The mood was ruined and Gaara knew it would be embarrassing to open the topic right now. He would have to wait for the right time. It was already dark outside and a sandstorm began.

“Give me your hand.” He held her with his left hand and the box with his right hand. She obeyed, he pulled her closer, sand swallowed them and a few seconds after, they were home. Both Gaara and Sakura noticed the difference between the way her shoes and his shoes were settled in the hallway.

Sakura felt anger wash over her again, but Gaara squeezed her hand and calmed her with his voice

“Wait for me in your room. I will be there shortly.”

Sakura did as she was told without speaking any word. She went into her room and took a shower. She changed her clothes to warm ones. Nights in the desert were cold, she got used to it. A few minutes later, someone knocked firmly on the door. She opened it to find Gaara asking her to follow him. They walked into the kitchen and Noriko bowed before Sakura asking for forgiveness. She promised it will never happen again and insisted that it didn’t even cross her mind that Sakura was bothered by anything she did. Sakura didn’t say anything, but her heart felt at peace now. There was one less problem on her mind. The only issue left was how to answer to Gaara’s question from the office.

Gaara was also pleased of the outcome. Unfortunately, he couldn’t let the matter go unpunished. He had to cut Noriko’s salary for this month. He couldn’t encourage this sort of behavior.

Shinki appered from behind the door hugging his father’s legs happily. Suddenly, he smelled a pleasant smell coming from the wooden box on the table and screamed “Apricots!” He grabbed a handful and shoved them in his mouth. He chewed in a hurry, as if he hadn’t seen apricots before.

Sakura and Gaara laughed from the bottom of their hearts.

They all gathered around the table to eat. Noriko brought cutlery and food from the kitchen. They talked joyfully. Shinki started asking questions regarding Sakura’s strength and abilities. His father gave many details that made Sakura blush. She didn’t expect praise because she didn’t do anything extraordinary. Then, Shinki asked an unexpected question: “Do you think you can teach me, too?”

Sakura looked at Gaara. “I think your father is much more skilled and can teach you much more than I can. Plus, you have something in common: the ability to manipulate sand.”

Gaara’s fear that he would be replaced disappeared when he heard her words and a new feeling took its place: admiration. He knew then Sakura didn’t want to wound his pride nor take his place.

“I would actually like it if you have time and you wish to, please share with Shinki some of your knowledge. I wish I could teach him more, but my job as Kazekage eats up most of my time.”

Sakura nodded with her eyes closed.

Gaara continued to eat peacefully.

There was a different meaning behind Shinki’s words. He wanted to get the measure of her, to know exactly how strong she is, to see if she deserves his attention. Or is she another loser? Power is everything in the ninja world. You are respected if you have the power. This is the cruel reality in the ninja world.

Later that night, Sakura was resting in her room. She was wearing a long dark green dress that reached her ankles, with long tight sleeves and high collar. It was obvious she dressed nicely because she was waiting for him. She already knew he would wait for them to be alone again. She paced her room anxiously, thinking of what to say to him. She bit her lip until she drew blood, but forgot to heal the wound when Gaara’s knocking startled her. She opened the door and she found he wore a white buttoned up shirt with black trousers. He looked flustered, but she couldn’t tell because she felt the same. He had his arms glued to his sides.

“I want to show you something. I think you will like it.” He noticed her lip and offered his handkerchief.

She took it from his hand and pressed it to her mouth. “Thank you”

He turned and led the way to a room she has never been to. He opened the door and waited for her to enter first, then closed the door behind them. It was complete darkness. She suddenly felt scared when she felt his breathing in the back of her head and his hand touch hers.

“What are you doing?” She took her hand from his and brought it to her chest.

“Nothing, trust me.”

Gaara felt her fear and he tried to calm her down: “Wait here a little.”

Panic settled in her heart and her breathing was loud. Suddenly, the ceiling parted and the light of a million stars washed her hair. The room was filled with a white milky light. She spotted Gaara on the other side of the room. There was no ceiling anymore, just a big round piece of glass the stars shone through. Her heart came back from her neck to her chest and she looked at the sky in awe. The sky was never this pretty in Konoha.

“Does it mean you like it?”

“Oh my God, I thought you wanted to... But this is....wow. So beautiful.” She said it with her hand on her chest.

“What did you think?” he asked in confusion.

She got angry all of a sudden: “What was I supposed to think after what you said earlier today and now you brought me into a dark room where it’s just us?” She covered her eyes with her hand in shame.

Gaara started laughing. On a more serious note, he spoke:

“I would never do anything to dishonor you. I would never force you to do anything. I would never think of doing something bad to you. All I want is that you let me do good things for you. Let me give you everything you wish for. Let me give you everything I have.” He got closer to her with every word he said. When the last word escaped his mouth, he was standing tall in front of her. She couldn’t look him in the eye. She got emotional and started crying again.

He froze. He didn’t expect tears. Tears can’t be good. Did I misinterpret things? Does she not like me? His heart was in his neck and he couldn’t even swallow. He took a step back and asked in a low voice, bending to see her eyes: “You don’t want to?”

Sakura was scared of losing him and grabbed him by the sleeve with her trembling left hand. She still couldn’t look him in the eye, but she found some courage to reply in a desperate voice:

“I want to be your girlfriend, but I am afraid you won’t want me after you hear what I am going to tell you.”

Half of his anxiety went away. He took her left hand in his, while his other hand caressed her cheek lovingly.

“What makes you think that?”

“I am sick. It’s not something I can heal, I tried; it’s not transmissible either.” His hand froze on her face. “It’s a disease I have to live with all my life. I got it because of stress. Every time I am stressed, my stomach hurts here” and she pointed to her right side “and sometimes I cannot move because of the pain. Food often causes trouble. I still haven’t figured what I shouldn’t eat. Some food gives me pain the moment I swallow the first bite. I take 6 pills a day for 8 months, and then the disease leaves me alone and comes back 6 months later. I am afraid you won’t put up with me because my mood changes so fast, I cry over everything and I feel anxious for no reason. What frightens me the most is that I cannot offer you children. I can’t take pills while pregnant because the baby will be handicapped, and I can’t stop taking them during pregnancy because the illness will make holes in my body.”

“What? Handicapped? Where did you get that?”

“Sasuke told me 4 years ago he can’t have a relationship with me because I can’t give him healthy heirs.”

Gaara grinded his teeth when he heard this. He hugged her and kissed her left hand. He used his other hand to pet her head. His arms were strong and firm against her. There was too much information to process and he didn’t know much about this disease. I must look this up. Still, Sakura was untouched. It made him very happy to know she didn’t have a relationship with Sasuke. So I am the first to keep her this close. Pride washed his insides and he opened his mouth to talk again, trying to calm her down.

“You worry over nothing. I still like you.” Sakura started crying even harder and clung to him desperately.

“Of course, it pains me to know you are sick and suffering. I will help you get through this. I will try to find a cure, and even if I can’t find one, I still want to be stuck with you.” She laughed with her face pressed to his chest. ”I want you. I already have Shinki, so not having another child is not a problem for me. I just hope you can accept Shinki as your own in the future. Please, don’t cry, my dear. It’s only going to hurt you more. You stress yourself and I don’t want anything to hurt.”

Sakura fisted her hand in his sleeve and kept crying. He lifted her chin and kissed her tears. Her sobs shook her body and he didn’t know what to do to make her stop. When she felt his lips under her eyes, she closed her eyes and smiled. Her lips trembled. He wrapped one hand around her waist and the other was on her face. She dug her nails in his forearm and her left hand was buried in the back of his shirt. She opened her eyes and finally had courage to look at Gaara. The moon shone in her jade eyes and he could read happiness on her face. His face was partially in the shadow, making his features more ferocious, which Sakura enjoyed a lot.

“My dear with jade eyes, the only one who can both heal and kill with her hands, receive the heart of your worthless servant, let me live in the shadow of your light, otherwise I will wither and die. Be the only tablespoon of honey my lips will taste everyday for the rest of my life.”

His thumb traced her lower lip waiting for approval.

Through hiccups and sobs, Sakura managed to reply shyly:

“My dear lion with red mane, the source of my strength, stream of kindness, take my heart into your hands. You, clean soul and ferocious man, show mercy to your humble servant and don’t destroy what she desperately puts down at your feet. If I cannot hear your voice, then let me not hear anything again. Your word strikes me like thunder, your eyes are like rain. Wash my shame, uncertainty and sadness away with just one look. My body trembles when I see you. Your hands are the anchor to keep me on my feet. You scratched your name on my heart with your nails. Let your lips give me the honey I desperately crave and wipe the hot tears on my face, the result of my fear of upsetting you.”

One last tear rolled down her cheek, Which Gaara wiped with his right hand and kissed her lips hungrily. He finally understood why a man needs a woman next to him. Her words dug deep ditches within him, ditches that no one could cause even with an axe. The thought of spending his life protecting a delicate flower like her, filled him with pride and joy. He was capable of whipping anyone who dared upset her.

After the kiss, he hugged her to his chest tightly. You are under my protection now.

“Don’t cry anymore, my little cherry blossom.” And he peppered kisses all over her head.

Sakura giggled and took advantage of the warmth coming from this man’s strong arms. It was the kind of warmth that floods your heart with joy and peace.