Chapter SEVEN

Sakura stared at the box that was currently being held out to her. Her eyes then trailed up the hand holding the container, traced the pale arms and up the person's shoulders and neck, finally meeting pale green eyes. The owner of said eyes shoved the box roughly into her hands. She took it.

Sand swirled around them, and opened the lid, revealing a several sticks with round things stabbed through them. She sniffed curiously and decided that it must be food. She was proven correct when Gaara’s next order followed.

"Eat."

Without hesitating, Sakura picked up a stick and stuck it into her mouth. She quickly chewed and swallowed, then moved on to the next, not really understanding where this was going.

"You should slow down," Sasori called from where was fiddling with his puppets. "You'll choke."

As soon as he heard this, Gaara's hand flew out, grasping Sakura's wrist. "Slow down," he ordered gruffly.

Sakura dipped her head, eating at a more normal pace. 

Gaara nodded in satisfaction. He stood up and vanished in a swirl of sand. Sakura closed her eyes for a second. Once she was sure Gaara was out of hearing range, she turned to Sasori.

"What is this?" She asked, holding up the stick.

Sasori sighed. "You ate without even knowing?" He asked, though he wasn’t really surprised.

Sakura glanced down. "Gaara-sama gave it to me," she said, as if that was all the reason she needed to eat something she had never heard of before. It probably was, to her anyways.

"It's called dango," Sasori explained. "It's a sort of snack."

Sakura nodded. "Dango."

Sasori watched the girl carefully finish the box. Perhaps that had been the Jinchuriki’s  way of apologizing?

Soon, it was the day of the exams. Sasori watched the Suna siblings make final preparations, and called out to them. "We should head out now,” he said. "We don't want to be late."

Temari checked her fan one more time before strapping it onto her back. "Okay."

Kankuro jumped off his bed and grinned. "Let's go kick some ass!"

Gaara looked as impassive as ever. "You are coming with us?" He asked Sasori.

The puppet master nodded. "Just until the entrance. After that, you are alone."

Gaara blinked, like it did not matter to him. "And Sakura?"

"She will be coming with us too, until the gates,” he answered. “While you're at the exams, I'll watch her," he added like a second thought.

Gaara nodded, looking satisfied. "Did you hear that?" He turned to the pinkette beside him.

Sakura nodded. "I did."

"Good." Gaara turned and his siblings automatically stepped up behind him. Sasori smirked and took the lead as they slipped down the street towards the hall where the Chunin exams were to be held.

Sasori stopped in front of his team and turned around. He said a few words about working together and about not underestimating their opponents. Gaara just closed his eyes while Temari and Kankuro nodded. At one point, Sakura had appeared from her hiding place and she stood beside Sasori.

Sasori then stepped back with a faint smirk. "Good luck."

Gaara stalked right past him, but paused in front of Sakura. The girl bowed politely. "Gaara-sama," she said.

It was just his name, but Gaara felt a sudden rush. His name. Her voice. He took a deep breath and pushed away the feeling. He nodded at her, then marched into the hall.

Temari and Kankuro moved to follow when Sakura stopped them. She held out a vile containing a blue-green liquid. Temari shot Kankuro a look before she took it and looked at the girl quizzically.

"My healing chakra," Sakura explained. "Liquefied healing chakra. That vile should be enough to heal a fatal wound." She looked at the ground. "If you are injured or something, just a bit..."

Temari understood and she smiled. "I see,” she said. “Thank you, Sakura."

The first part of the exam was boring. Gaara inwardly scoffed, wondering how a written test was going to help one become a stronger shinobi. It certainly wasn't going to help him achieve what he needed to do to exist. He dispersed his third eye after he had written an answer to all the questions on the page and sat back.

It only got worse, because apparantly, the entire test was simply a way to reduce the number of competitors. Gaara watched the blond from a few days ago declared something about his Ninja path and almost broke his mask of indifference when the proctor passed them after his speech. A woman then crashed through the window and led them off to another location for the second part of the exam.

The moment they had stepped out of the room, Gaara felt eyes on him. Eyes he knew he could sense only because the owner let him. He glanced up and caught a flash of pink in the trees nearby. He was half temped to call her to him, so that he could have her in his arms, but he refrained himself. No matter how bothersome, he was in Konoha for a reason. 

The remaining participants were led towards what was called the 'Forest of Death'. Gaara felt a shiver of excitement run up his spine at the name. The woman, who called herself Mitarashi Anko, explained the second part of the exams before she gave them the time to gather for the following day before she dismissed them. He was gone in a swirl of sand before the words had left the woman’s mouth. 

He had been deprived of Sakura’s company long enough.

The next day did not come fast enough for him. The moment the bell rang to start the second part of the exam, Gaara shot forwards. He could sense Temari and Kankuro keeping in step with him but that did not matter. 

He had spent days on his best behavior; he had not killed anyone in ages, and the voice in his head just would not shut up.

He would crush the first opponent that entered his vision.

Sasori glanced around the room that had been set up for Jounin teachers and other shinobi responsible for security. Several shinobi looked up as he walked past them. Some tensed as they recognized him but Sasori ignored them all. He had killed many during the war; if he took the time to remember and address each and every shinobi he had fought at some point, he would never get anything done. 

Sakura trailed after him like a lost puppy, and she got a lot of attention too. Sasori reached behind him and pulled Sakura to his side. He found a pair of empty seats and sat down on one. Sakura wordlessly sat at his feet but when she did not look even a little uncomfortable, Sasori decided to let her.

A while later, someone else entered the room. Uchiha Itachi, Sasori noted. The brother of the boy Gaara had been snarling about for the past few days. He had worked with the Uchiha once before, on a mission that had affected both Konoha and Suna. He was easy to deal with and seemed to appreciate silence, just like he did. 

He watched the man look around, catch sight of him, then casually approach. He blinked lazily. "What can I do for you?" Sasori asked. He placed a hand gently on Sakura's head as she made the faintest of movements to draw a weapon. "Itachi-san?"

"Sasori-san." Itachi blinked questioningly at the seat beside his. Sasori gestured with his head in a wordless reply and the Uchiha sat down.

The two sat silently next to each other. More than one pair of eyes glanced their way before quickly turning away to continue a rushed conversation. Sasori would have messed with his puppets, but he did not like to rush with his work; Gaara and his siblings would not take long. A while later, Sakura quickly sat up. Sasori glanced up as well. Itachi's eyes flicked to him for a second.

Sasori stood up. "I have to go collect my team."

Hatake Kakashi, who had wandered over to leaning on the wall beside the two, glanced up. "Already?" He asked without looking up from his orange book. Sasori decided that he didn't want to know it's contents, especially when he considered the girly giggles that erupted from the Copy Ninja. He simply nodded. "Yes,” he said. "Sakura?"

"They're out," Sakura murmured. "Waiting."

Sasori turned towards the doors leading towards the stadium. "If you will excuse us."

Gaara looked up when he sensed familiar chakra signatures approaching. He raised his hand and Sakura was instantly by his side.

"One hour and thirty seven minutes," Sasori noted. "That is very impressive. However, that is a very awkward number. Could you not have settled on thirty five?"

Gaara glared at him  the older redhead in annoyance but ignored the man’s smirk. He ran a hand through Sakura’s hair an closed his eyes, breathing in her scent.

"It was so easy!" Kankuro bragged. "They don't even deserve to be called Genin!"

Temari groaned. "Now we have four days to waste."

"We could always train." Kankuro suggested. "But I doubt we'll need to."

Sasori muttered something about overconfident brats and the likes. The moment he dismissed them, Gaara teleported Sakura and himself away.

They spent the rest of the day on the rooftops of Konoha, just overlooking the people of the village go about their day. Soon the sun had set, but Gaara did not feel like returning to their inn just yet. He blinked when he sensed movement coming from beside him.

"I’m sorry,” Sakura murmured, shuffling around almost uneasily. “I thought I sensed something.” Gaara raised an arm and Sakura settled into his warmth again. "Something dark."

Gaara tightened his grip on her. "Doesn't matter," he said. He ran his hand over Sakura's soft pink locks and massaged her scalp, relishing in the soft sound coming from her throat. "Don't focus on anything other than me," he said. "Nothing else should affect you."

"Of course, Gaara-sama." Gaara let a small smirk grace his face as he felt Sakura's breathing slow, a sign that she was now asleep. Only he was allowed to offer her enough comfort that she could fall asleep in his presence.

He carried her back to the inn a while later.

Chapter EIGHT>

<Chapter SIX

Let’s start with a tricky one; what is the real reason you are confused right now?