Gaara x Sakura

~Ep 9~

Welcome back Sakura, "Izumo greeted as he stepped out of the guardhouse. "Your late return worried Naruto."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Why was he worried? I swear he acts like I've never been on a solo mission before!"

The brunette gave her a warm smile before saying, "You were due back to Konoha seven days ago." He gazed at the male tossed over her shoulder. "Who's this?"

"Hideki Takahashi," the villain answered, flashing his pearly white smile. "Say, my dear, can I have something to eat before you rip my mind into pieces? I'm thinking grilled shrimp."

Izumo chuckled and brushed his dark hair out of his face. "He's a character."

Sakura rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Tell me about it."

The young woman could admit to herself that when she went on missions, she focused more on success than making deadlines. Why would she fail a mission to meet a timeline? Sakura refused to fail again. After her weakling days as a gennin, the medic would never return to such ineptitude.

"I need to get to the Hokage," Sakura spoke. "See you later!"

With the prisoner in tow, Sakura bounded towards the Hokage's office. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could go shower and eat. Her stomach was nibbling on itself and her skin had a layer of dried sweat. Sakura jogged up the steps and ran into the Hokage's assistant in the long hallway.

"Sakura!" she called with excitement. "So glad you're back."

"I am happy to be home," Sakura responded, beaming at the older woman. "Is Lady Tsunade in her office?"

"She is," the ebony-haired woman said as she walked towards the large double doors. She knocked and entered after a gruff "come in!".

Shizune held the door open from Sakura and she walked through, tossing her prisoner on the floor in front of her leader. Tsunade's gaze stayed hard as she looked at the man who landed on his stomach in an ungraceful heap. She got to her feet and walked around her desk.

"Hideki Takahashi," she stated.

"Yes ma'am," the slender man responded, turning his head towards her voice. "I am honored that such a beautiful woman-"

Tsunade cracked him across the back of his head. "Shut your mouth."

"You Leaf Ninja are so violent," he mumbled under his breath.

"What did you say?" Sakura hissed as she tugged the glove on her right hand into place.

Tsunade held her hand up signaling for her to stop and Sakura placed her fists down. "Brief me."

Finally, Sakura headed home. Her feet hurt, her hunger and exhaustion topped painful levels, and she was still looking forward to that warm bath. Tonight, she would just eat at home and go to her favorite steakhouse tomorrow. Once she got home, the tired female knew there was no hope of her leaving the house until she had a nice eight-hour nap. Sakura yawned and began the trip to her small apartment. Sakura knew if she hurried along, she'd get there faster, but she didn't have the energy. When she reached the door, she heard a familiar voice shout at her and frowned.

"Not now Naruto, I'm too tired for your shenanigans."

"I just want to make sure you're okay," came the taller male's response. He stopped next to her as she unlocked her door. "What took ya?"

Sakura grit her teeth in frustration. It was none of his business what took her. It was a classified mission! She didn't have the patience to deal with him questioning her. Deep down she knew it was just because he cared, but Sakura didn't stick with rationality.

"Go away Naruto. I'll tell you tomorrow," she said through gritted teeth. She moved inside and slammed the door behind her. "He's such a pain in my ass."

Gaara's eyes widened. His heart felt like it had stopped. These were too many emotions at once: anger, relief, betrayal. There he was, standing at the slammed door scratching his head in disbelief. Naruto was alive. How and why did he make everyone think he died? They were like brothers, but he abandoned him.

He is not your best friend Gaara. No best friend would just leave you.

"He died," Gaara said aloud, trying to rationalize a reason for Naruto's sudden appearance. "He had to stay in hiding so those wretched humans didn't take his power. Naruto would never leave me. There has to be a mistake."

There is no mistake. Naruto could have come home for protection. Or if he was going into hiding, why wouldn't he tell you, his brother?

The Shukaku's words seared Gaara's brain and pulling forth the most intense emotional pain Gaara had experienced once before: when he found out that the One of Determination had died. It couldn't be true that Naruto would just leave him. He knew Gaara had no one else in the universe that even looked in his direction. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he fisted his hair, almost tearing it out by the roots. He needed, no he demanded answers.

Sand seeped from his gourd and he took a shaky step forward, his rage running like fire through his veins. The beast inside him was irate and about thirty seconds from emerging. "Na-"

"Not yet Gaara."

The One of Rage stopped in his tracks and turned towards the voice. There stood another of the mythical beings. His armor glittered in the light as he gazed at Gaara through cinnamon-colored orbs.

"Loyalty," Gaara said, through gritted teeth. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm stopping you from making a grave mistake Rage," came the answer. "Madara does not want you to approach Naruto just yet."

Gaara's cyan eyes narrowed. "Did Madara know he was still alive, Han?"

"The time will soon come where you will learn everything."

With that, he disappeared in a flock of crows. Gaara clenched his fists together and grit his teeth, trying to get his feelings under control. It took everything he had not to storm up to Naruto and demand answers. If he didn't have a good reason for disappearing, he would kill him. Gaara took a deep breath and glanced at the darkened sky. This was the one sure way to calm his emotions. The cloudy abyss reminded him of himself.

"She can be so mean," Naruto muttered as he turned on his heel to head home.

Naruto detected someone's chakra again. It radiated warmth while sinister intention and power swirled around it. Had someone infiltrated the village? The blonde ran towards the woods only for the strange chakra to disappear, like it never existed. Naruto skidded to a halt and reached out for the sensation again, but it withdrew. Two foreign chakras within hours of each other. Were they enemy spies or were they working together?

"I need to go talk to Granny."

With that, he ran towards the Hokage tower again. That was the second strange thing that happened today. What confused Naruto most was the chakra seem familiar.