Gaara's Vulpix (Naruto/Pokemon crossover)

Visiting Lee - 1/18/2017

Sakura took a deep breath, noticing the two sand siblings standing nearby. She couldn't fault Lady Tsunade in attempting to make connections with Suna to rebuild the trust between the two hidden villages. However, she wasn't sure she liked the fact those three came back, as she remembered quite well how creepy all three were.

Also, one was missing, doing who knew what.

The worst part was it was the worst one to be visiting just about then.

Letting out a sigh, she headed to the flower shop to get her usual flowers for Lee, noticing how disappointed Ino locked. That meant Ino had not seen Sasuke today. She bought her usual flowers, before stopping short. The other girl raised one eyebrow up. "What? We have no missions or training, so I'm stuck helping out at the shop."

"Those three are back. You know, the shinobi from Suna."

"Oh. Thanks for letting me know. I guess. Not that I'm scared of them."

Sakura sighed, knowing Ino was lying. She headed to the hospital, hoping nothing strange would occur. The thought of "strange" running through her head was yet another disaster. The nurses were normally happy to see her due to the fact her flowers tended to cheer up Lee. For some strange reason, they were instead nervous. She headed down the hallways, no answers seeming to be forthcoming when she stopped short.

Hinata stood outside of Lee's door, looking in much in the same manner she did when she stalked Naruto. Sakura let out a sigh, wondering exactly what her fellow genin saw in her yellow-haired teammate. Shaking her head, she crept closer, thoughts of Hinata's crush transferring to Lee and becoming even more strange. Sakura arrived nearby and leaned into a whisper. "Hinata..."

The dark haired beauty jumped, turning to look at the other girl, stammering as she did so. "Um... Sakura..."

"Are you here to see Lee as well?"

"Um, not really."

Sakura sighed, wondering what Hinata meant by this. The idea the other girl meant stalking instead of visiting seemed odd, as there wasn't much difference. Both resulted in seeing the person after all. Sakura started in, only to freeze upon seeing her worst nightmare.

Visiting Lee was Gaara, the person who caused the injuries

Even creepier was the fact Hinata was staring at Gaara, making Sakura suddenly think the auburn-haired shinobi was her new interest. A shudder ran down her spine, her thoughts on how creepy this was.

"Ah! Sakura! You're visiting me as well today! The surgery went well, but I am unfortunately banned from training by both Sensei and Lady Tsunade, so I am very bored."

"Ga... Gaara's here?" Sakura stepped forward, pulling the other girl with her. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hinata blush slightly.

"Oh. Neji's cousin is here too. And yes, Gaara came to apologize. I told him I will be fine in no time. He happened to bring his friend with him."

"Friend?" Sakura's curiosity got the better of her, and she stepped forward. She latched onto the sleeve of Hinata's clothing, pulling her with her. Having the girl with her wasn't a bad idea. If anyone might stand a chance to punch through should Gaara go nuts, it was her? Stepping forward, she saw the most adorable little fox creature she'd ever seen sitting in the auburn-haired shinobi's lap.

Sakura couldn't help but stare, wondering why the creature had taken an interest in Gaara, let alone was letting him hold onto her. In fact, was the thing even a she. Hinata began to stammer. "Um, what is... the name?"

"Rasa."

The pink haired preteen brushed a lock of her pink hair behind her ears. "Rasa?"

"That's the Kazekage." Gaara lifted up the creature to show her off. Sakura could tell the creature was female then.

"Isn't he dead?" Hinata asked.

"Yes."

"Leave it to Gaara to be morbid about such things." Another thing bothered her, though. "Isn't the Kazekage a he, and that fox thing she?"

"So?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "And you named her after him."

"She reminds me of him."

Gaara seemed proud of the name as if it were some kind of achievement. Then again, the fox thing growing attached to him was also an achievement in itself. He was actually smiling, and happy. The smile reminded her of a little kid who just learned their first jutsu, and yet he was the same age as her.

"I think it is rather nice that Gaara named her after her father."

"Oh." Sakura wasn't sure what to think of that particular revelation, and instead watched as Gaara placed the fox back into his lap and began to pet the creatures head. Seeing someone who didn't care about life suddenly cares about life seemed odd. "Were you close to your father?"

The smile faded into a frown. "No."

"That just makes this even odder."

Hinata began to stammer, her comment coming later than it should have. "I think you naming it after your father is nice. I'm sorry you weren't able to get close to your father."

"That's the way things are in Suna."

Sakura's heart melted a bit. "There is a reason he is the way he is, or was."

"May I pet her."

Gaara's eyes widened, almost as if he wasn't sure. "If she'll let you. She doesn't let Kankuro touch her."

Hinata very timidly reached out to touch the creature, and soon she was stroking its head. "How soft!"

Sakura leaned forward. "And me?"

The auburn-haired shinobi said nothing, and soon Lee and she were petting Rasa as well. The idea of petting the Kazekage creeped her out a bit, and yet she couldn't imagine what he might have looked like while he was alive. Her eyes widened slightly, noting the auburn color to the fur. "Gaara, does she remind you of your father because of the color of her hair."

"Yes." Gaara piped up. "She also gets mad at Kankuro. A lot."

A slight laugh escaped Sakura's mouth. There was something childlike about the young shinobi, and the way he acted now made her wonder how he could ever hurt someone. It was also odd that someone her age acted like a child, something she'd never encountered before. "You know, I rather like this side of you."

"I don't follow."

"Um..." Hinata paused in her petting, looking at Gaara. "You were rather scary before."

The small aburn-haired shinobi looked her in the eye, tilting his head. This made Hinata dive behind Sakura. Gaara looked away. "Sorry."

"You're just misunderstood."

"Temari said that, but I'm not sure if I believe her."

"No. If this is the real you, I like it."

"Those in our village didn't."

"You shouldn't let what your father said to get to you." Lee piped up.

"Yes. You should never give up. That's my ninja way." Hinata piped up, trying to encourage Gaara from behind Sakura. Soon, she couldn't resist and started petting Rasa again.

"It wasn't just him."

"The other children." Sakura somehow knew, remembering how the other girls would pick on her for her big forehead.

"Yes."

"Well, they were wrong. I would have loved to have been your friend."

"I choose how I reacted."

Sakura wasn't quite sure of that, remembering how little children weren't in control of how they acted. Instead, her focus returned to Rasa. "She is adorable."