Naruto: Dominoes
Title: Dominoes
Fandom: Naruto
Pairing: Gaara/Sakura
Written: 4/28/07
Notes: This is just waste and fluff, I've never been proud of this one, so I figured I'd haul 'er there off of ye ol' fanfiction page.
Dominoes
Compassion was something she was familiar with; pity, yes, and she had decided a while back she'd rather help people than be a nuisance, so it was obvious when she went to Tsunade for help and was accepted immediately, she was ready for hard work. Grueling hard work, yes, but grueling hard paperwork was a completely different thing altogether.Therefore, it was no surprise when - yet again - after training, Tsunade suggested Sakura help her with her mounds of paperwork; having grown bolder over the course of four and a half months, Sakura immediately opened her mouth to politely (or maybe not so politely, because her mind was working herself into a rampage and Sakura didn't know if it would burst out or not) object, but one look at Tsunade's pitiful, puppy-sparkly hazel eyes made her think twice and stop before a sound came out.
Therefore, Sakura was handed a pile of paperwork and sent off to help Shizune while Tsunade cheerfully said she'd do paperwork in her office. Upon leaving, Sakura spotted the temperamental woman sneaking a bottle of sake, which did nothing to improve her mood.
...And so that was where she was when it happened. Sitting with Shizune-nee-chan, filling out paperwork in the hot afternoon sun in an overcrowded office.
"Shizune-neechan, what about this document?" The said older woman looked up with a tired start, quickly taking the paper from Sakura and reading it in record time, eyes flitting across the page so fast they were a blur, before confirming to Sakura that she should, in fact, go ahead and get the several other signatures required to complete it, because Shizune was a stickler for rules when it came to things like signatures and documents - this had actually surprised Sakura, because the woman had been in constant company of the not-so-honest Godaime, gambling and stealing money for Kami knows how long.
Shizune handed the document - along with several other things, including a few leatherbound and voluminous books to be dropped off at different places to 'hit two foes with one kunai' - firmly to Sakura and just about shoved her out the door in her haste to get more work done. Swearing under her breath, Sakura wondered why the hell didn't she just forge off signatures like Tsunade-shishou tended to do and completely ignore her sense of moral which stated that asking Shizune what to do with the empty spaces for signatures (they were just stamping the hokage title onto all the papers; signatures wasn't something that popped up too often) from the other officials of the village.
-
"We were the team who headed the attack. It's only right that you three go to deliver the formal peace treaty to Konoha - and for once, please be at least pretend to be polite. If you mess anything up - especially kill and or maim anyone - this could be disastrous. Get going."
'It's only right that you three go make peace with Konoha.'
That's what Baki-sensei said. And so there they were, going off to Konoha, and this time around it wasn't too bad, because Gaara was getting a little better and it was actually nice for someone not to act so guarded around him like everyone had all his life, even if it was just his siblings, who were still just a little uncomfortable in his presence from overexposure and habit; it was a step up, and that counted. That was all that counted.
Gaara had actually... started to see things differently.
Uzumaki Naruto.
He... triggered it, started it. Tipped the scale, started the domino effect - whatever you wanted to call it, the boy started it.
And it spread, and started to grow, and Gaara didn't mind.
Sunshine. Wind. Fun. Family... especially family, as something more than just a bond of hatred and blood. Family, as a unit who cared about each other. Something that Kankuro and Temari had shared all along, something that Gaara had desperately pushed away. Naruto started it, and Kankuro and Temari took it upon themselves - though still wary at times - to keep it going.
And it wasn't a bad thing.
"Okay, that's it." The sudden voice interrupted Gaara's reverie; he glanced back, as Kankuro did, and they both stopped simultaneously upon a branch or two ahead of Temari. The blonde gave an irritated look to them.
"This isn't some stupid infiltration mission. We're carrying a peace treaty, for Kami's sake. The gate is coming up, and if they see three ninja - Suna ninja, especially - running to the gate at full speed they might not let us in. Drop your chakra veils. We're walking," Temari said after her short explanation; Gaara, having spent time actually learning of his siblings in effect of not wanting either of them to be completely horrified of him, decided to listen to them once in a while; Temari soon began treating him as a brother, and along with sisterly affection came 'older sisterly advice' - Kankuro had explained long ago what the 'no-nonsense, listen-to-me-or-I'll-hit-you' voice of Temari's was, and Gaara had come to respect and slightly fear it.
Not that he feared it that much. Or at all.
Really.
"Come on," Temari's voice rang and though she was walking ahead of him, Gaara could imagine her lips pursed and set in a thin line.
He decided it'd be best to go with what sister-says for once.
-
"Finally... every single signature... and in less than an hour!" the cheerful humming accompanying this statement was made by none other than Haruno Sakura, who had not only gotten the document signed, but dropped off one of the (lighter) books to it's reciever and or owner. Though she still had a half dozen or so books that were admittedly heavy (thankfully, Sakura was already increasingly stronger with the Godaime's relentless training), the fact that it was only three thirty brightened up Sakura's day enough; the document that had started the trouble was delicately balanced at the top of the book stack, which, though tall, allowed Sakura her sight unhindered by book binding when holding the stack low enough.
"Sakura-chan!"
The kunoichi stopped and turned a little to the sound of her name; Konohamaru waved energetically, his two other little academy friends trailing close behind. She smiled.
"Konnichiwa, Konohamaru, is there anything you need?"
She later learned to throw all politeness out the window with the boy, and later regretted asking so politely. Unfortunately for her, that wasn't until later.
"Hai, hai, Sakura-chan!" Konohamaru trotted up to the older girl with a pleading and eager smile. "It's just, ever since Naruto left for training, we've all been alone, and well, we were just sorta-wondering-if-you'dliketoplayninjawithus." This all came out very fast towards the end, and Sakura blinked for a moment, trying to understand the question; after sorting it out, she smiled apologetically.
"Gomen, Konohamaru, I'm busy with work," she lifted the books a fraction of an inch to show her case; the document fluttered down to the ground innocently.
But the instant Konohamaru picked it up, she knew that blasted, godforsaken piece of paper had something against her.
-
"Konnichiwa," Temari said respectfully. The guard for the gate that she had approached returned the gesture with politeness, but he was obviously on guard against the sand ninja; his slit eyes were above a nose with a long piece of cloth strapped around it, with dark spiky hair that stuck out in all directions. The aforementioned eyes grew a little less untrusting, thankfully, as Temari politely showed her passport - her brothers doing the same - and asking for permission to enter the village and deliver the official peace treaty to the Hokage.
The man nodded in confirmation and let them pass; the three sand ninja walked silently into the village for five minutes, until they were far enough from the gate for Temari to suddenly let out a large breath she'd seem to have been holding and her stance to visibly relax from the rigid, boardstiff position it had been in before.
Kankuro laughed at her; Gaara didn't really get it, but he smirked a little anyway.
-
"Konohamaru, can you please hand that to me? It's important and I need to get it to Shizune-neechan... I'm sorry, it... slipped..." her sentence died away as the boy suddenly had a very Naruto-ish twinkle in his eye.
Naruto-ish is bad.
Repeat:
Naruto-ish is bad.
Konohamaru grinned toothily at her. "I'd give it back, but my friends and I really, really want to play ninja. It'd be so much more fun with a real ninja." Moegi, behind him, made a slight noise of protest in favor of the other kunoichi, but it died quickly as she and her other teammate watched in worried apprehension.
Sakura watched the boy in front of her, comprehending the situation slowly because she didn't want to believe this was happening to her after her day, her godawful day that began at five a.m. sharp of grueling taijutsu training and ended with rip-your-hair-out irritating seatwork for the HOKAGE who was supposed to do it herself.
After a full half minute of silence, in which Konohamaru's grin became a little weary and he shifted several times in anxious anticipation, Sakura was contemplating whether to ask nicely for the paper back which would take Kami-knows-how-long or pummel the little boy in front of her to get that damned sheet of paper back.
She settled for the latter.
Books in hand, Sakura marched toward the boy who grinned nervously and ran away.
"DAMMIT, KONOHAMARU!"
-
Tsunade gave a satisfied smile.
"Konoha accepts Suna's treaty. The document has been signed, and is ready to be taken back to Suna to formally reform the alliance."
The three young shinobi nodded. Gaara wasn't particularly fond of the two day journey back, nor was looking forward to it, but he didn't really care.
"...However, it would be Konoha's pleasure to have Suna's ninja rest in Konoha before returning to their home village. Don't wear yourselves out." The woman smiled; Gaara was surprised how official she could be under the influence of alcohol, if the half empty bottle sitting next to her was any indicator.
Temari's relieved sigh followed the sentence while Kankuro muttered a sincere thank you; Gaara nodded before bowing and heading out the oak double door, his two older siblings following; Temari stretched and sighed, muttering it was nice to see something other than sand for once as Kankuro suggested they go find a suitable hotel.
"Okay, pony up the cash, I don't have enough to stay in an outhouse in the middle of the Wave country."
Temari peered at the amount of yen her brother held.
"...Must be a nice outhouse," she commented as she dug around for her own money, presenting it with a flourish. Gaara contributed his own amount; it'd be a cheap hotel - scratch that, motel - but they'd manage, so Temari and Kankuro dragged Gaara around the village, trying to find a suitable and cheap motel. Upon finding it within an hour, a pleased Temari, yawning Kankuro and indifferent Gaara strolled into their room, the two cheap queen sized beds customary to every hotel jammed beside each other, leaving enough room to walk around them but not do much else.
Temari complained a little, but Kankuro gave a shrug and a 'que sera' before jumping and landing with a 'plop' on one of the beds. Temari grabbed the other bed, telling her brothers in a firm tone they'd be sharing a bed. Kankuro snorted and snatched the remote from his sister to flip on the tube stuffed in the wardrobe across from the beds. Gaara sighed and decided he'd rather stroll around the village, slipping out the door as his siblings squabbled in the background.
-
"DAMMIT, KONOHAMARU!"
The name sounded vaguely familiar to Gaara.
Perhaps he had heard it on his last escapade through the village; the only real escapade he'd had was when he had entered with Temari and Kankuro for the Chuunin Exams, that undercover assault that got the ball rolling for him. Indirectly, of course. He had been angry. As angry as he usually was, those few months ago and a lifetime before that, angry at the world because Shukaku was pounding inside his head again, more and more unstable as the days rolled by.
It wasn't that bad, that day. He remembered ditching his two siblings - they seemed so much different now, much more human than back then; or maybe he was the more human one from what seemed like forever ago - and, finding he had nothing else to do, watched them from the background and sucking in the surroundings of Konoha.
Then that kid had come running out of nowhere, a little ahead of two other brats and a genin, being chased by an irritated kunoichi with the strangest hair he'd ever seen. Kankuro had gotten himself into a mess with the other genin, almost starting a fight with the Uchiha -
The Uchiha. That reminded him.
He remembered he'd been kidnapped or something; he'd helped out the genin he'd nearly killed before against the bone-boy. He didn't stick around long enough to know what had happened.
In any case, he'd like to see him. He had no doubt that they'd gotten him back if the black haired boy had been kidnapped. It'd be an interesting sparring match, in any case.
Which also reminded him of Uzumaki Naruto.
Yes, he wouldn't mind seeing him again, either. The fox container had gained Gaara's respect, rightfully so, despite the joke he made of himself at their first meeting, which was probably when he heard that strange name 'Konohamaru.'
Which brings us back to the present.
The angered and slightly inappropriate cry circulated from behind him; as Gaara turned, a small being barreled into him - or, rather, his sand barrier. It was definitely too slow to get to him. As Gaara willed the shield down, curious as to what had hit it - too small to see from behind it - a small boy that he immediately recognized as the one Kankuro almost beat up a few months ago was rubbing his head with a hand, face scrunched up before he seemed to remember why he was running and whirled around as a girl with pink hair came running up.
The one he had almost killed a few months ago, because he remembered her. Short pink hair. Green eyes. Headband tied strangely atop her head instead on her forehead; a strange red dress that looked uncomfortable to fight in.
Different, now, in the least. A much more suitable fighting outfit, white knee-length boy shorts with the same red zipper shirt. Hair pushed up in a messy imitation of a ponytail. Running towards the boy, holding a large stack of books that surprised Gaara she hadn't dropped them yet.
"Konohamaru - " she didn't seem to notice the redhead; instead, she advanced upon the boy with the intimidation of a predator against it's prey, the books precariously tipping from her hands, though never seeming to leave them - she shifted them all so she was holding each book in one hand, grabbing the boy by the too long blue scarf and pulled him off the ground. "-give it to me now."
He grinned weakly.
"Sakura-chan, you're not really mad, right? I just wanted to play ninja with you, ya know, and we did!" The girl looked at him, stupefied, realizing that the chase had been the boy's version of 'ninja.' She lifted him a little higher one handed and a little more angrily - Gaara was sure she wasn't that strong last time they fought, no, scratch that, he knew that she wasn't that strong. Training.
"Now or so help me I will gut you like Naruto, give it back. NOW." The boy eeped in silent fear and set a piece of paper - Gaara just noticed this - on the girl's stack of books. She dropped him, satisfied, with a smile as the boy jumped up and rubbed his rump, muttering all the while.
"Big foreheaded witch."
The pink-haired girl's smile slid off her face so fast it might not have been there at all, her stance rigid and her shoulders tensed.
The boy whimpered before she swung for him and sent him toppling backwards, bruised, battered, dizzy, and quite ready to sit on the floor for a while.
"Go bug your friends, I have to give these books back and get Tsunade-shishou to sign this damned thing - " Sakura turned around and almost walked into Gaara, who had been watching the whole scene blankly.
Konohamaru took the chance to scramble away.
"Gaara-san?"
The girl blinked at him, as if some of his sand had fallen into her eyes, noticing him for the first time.
"You... gutted Naruto?"
The amused voice made her face almost shocked that this was Gaara, Gaara who almost killed her.
Then she laughed.
Gaara watched her, stupefied himself for a moment. Did she not remember he almost murdered her? Wasn't she afraid?
"Gomen nazai, Gaara-san. I apologize for Konohomaru-no-baka slamming into you...r sand," she said briefly, balancing the large stack of books she had been carrying around into both hands.
"Ano, what are you doing in Konoha anyway?" Her curious expression was on a slightly cocked head to the side. Gaara smoothly held up his passport.
"The formal treaty of alliance between Suna and Konoha has been signed," he explained quietly. She nodded in recognition, but then her expression drooped.
"That means more paperwork."
Gaara raised an eyebrow.
"Ano sa, I mean, that's wonderful! It's just... well, Tsunade-shishou is wonderful, she really is, but in return for training me I end up doing paperwork with Shizune-neechan. That paper had seven signatures on it, an only copy, and Konohamaru stole it. And I have to hand out all these books Shizune-neechan dumped on me," she muttered, now more to herself than anything. Looking up again as if realizing he was still there, she flashed an apologetic smile.
"Gomen, you don't need to hear about my stupid problems. Nice to see you again." She bowed as much as the books held cautiously in her arms would allow before turning and walking off.
"...Why?"
She stopped and turned a fraction of an inch after a moment.
"...Why what?"
"...You're not afraid of me. After what I did to you, I smell no fear. You smile and say 'nice to see you again.'"
Sakura shrugged and turned around again, making a motion with her head for him to walk with her.
"It'd be easier with company to drop these off, anyway," Sakura stated. Gaara looked at her blankly, waiting for an answer. She beckoned him to follow her up the stairs of the dingy, rundown apartment building.
"Aa, all right, all right. Well, after helping Lee-san with Kimimaro-san-" her politeness, seemingly bipolar to her earlier attitude with the underclassman, was strange, aimed towards an enemy -"Lee told me you weren't too bad after all and that after meeting Naruto, you lightened up a little. I was actually pretty freaked out by you - no offense! I mean, I guess anyone would if someone almost crushed them to death with sand," Sakura explained quickly, flushing because of her own rudeness, "But Lee told me to give you a chance if I ever saw you again and you do seem really different which is a good thing and I'm sorry." She hung her head a little in a dazed manner. "I'm rude, gomen nazai, Gaara-san."
"...Where is Naruto? I would also like to meet Sasuke," Gaara said after a few moments of silence. Sakura glanced up at him, startled, before telling him to wait for a moment as she walked up to room 121, knocking on the door with a little difficulty while pulling out a book in the stack from the middle, nearly toppling the whole thing.
The girl certainly was clumsy.
After a moment, a rather strange woman answered; Gaara immediately recognized her as the proctor from the Chuunin Exams, the second test. Her rather feral grin at the girl confirmed it as Sakura handed one leatherbound book to the purple haired proctor, explaining briefly it was covering the Waterfall-nin interrogation case, or whatever it was.
"Thanks, Sakura-chan. By the way, we should go on a mission together again sometime, I haven't seen you in ages," the woman stated dramatically, "And we both know how you're my absolute favorite genin." Sakura smiled with a mostly unnoticable wince and said maybe another time. She backed away from the door before letting out a breath as she turned back, expecting Gaara to be gone.
He was still there.
-
He was a little tired of waiting, and he didn't really even know how he had been roped into helping the annoying girl - not so annoying now, actually, than before - but Baki's words (he didn't like the man, but they were true, nontheless) that patience is a virtue flooded to Gaara's mind.
Another door opened to reveal the third proctor. He grinned at the girl in a more lazy manner than the last, and invited her in for some tea or something, but she declined politely. She was obviously well liked by the Konoha population.
Gaara noted this to her. She shrugged nonchalantly.
"I help when I can. I'm Tsunade-sama's apprentice, so I have the privelege-" the word dripped with sarcasm, "-of training with just about anyone I can find when Tsunade-sama's drunk, hungover, busy, or I'm sent off to do busywork for her and have the fortune of meeting people."
"They like you."
Sakura seemed struck by the fact he said so little but got the point across and laughed. "The last proctor took himself up as my older brother. No big deal. Not everyone likes me. I don't want everyone to like me."
Gaara mulled this over as they continued their short journey, now walking in the semi-crowded streets of a lazy Konoha afternoon, the sun's rays growing orange and bolder to shine down even more.
Sakura tripped over a rock.
How the hell did she become a kunoichi?
Anyway; it was much later she gave him the answer he had wanted to know since three thirty that afternoon, the current time bordering five.
Sasuke? She gave a derisive snort that was only half hearted, less than that, but her try to show a strong front was admirable. "He went off with the snake man."
"And Naruto?" Her expression softened at the next question.
"Off with Jiraiya to find him." She gave a silly grin. "I'm the only member left of Team Seven." She spread her arms open in a carefree throw, the paper clutched in her right hand, the books all gone. "Sorry to burst your bubble, and sorry I dragged you all over the place. I get sidetracked easily."
"...Obviously." She winced a little and half scowled, half smiled.
"You're not too bad. It was nice seeing you, really. It was a good way to break up my own little monotonous life, anyway." She grinned and gave him a friendly hug, something Gaara was not accustomed to; she didn't seem to be, either, but grinned anyway because life went on, que sera sera, what will be will be.
And then she kissed him on the cheek, thanking him again for coming with her; he watched, dazed, as she waved goodbye, clutching the paper that seemed to have caused so much trouble for her earlier to her chest and heading off to hokage tower as the sun beat down on Konoha in a suddenly much more friendly way.
Gaara watched her disappearing back.
Team seven.
Naruto and Sakura.
He started the dominoes, and she threw it for a loop that helped it get a little more on track.
Gaara headed to the air-conditioned hotel to join his siblings, probably still bickering over channels to watch, fanning themselves in the heat, and decided that, tomorrow, he'd go find her again.
"Hey Gaara, guess what I found?"
"Kankuro, he doesn't-"
"Let's play dominoes!