A/N – This is a collection of one-shots that are not related with one another (unless I post at the very start of them that they are, which is a slim possibility, depending on whether anyone requests a sequel). I'm still accepting requests, so if you have any, share them!

Somewhere I Belong

Story 1
Prompt: School shooting – my own prompt to get the ball rolling. Risky and a sensitive subject, I know, but it happens so often and I wanted to try and get across how such a tragedy can bring people together.
Rating: T

Sighing, she placed her head into her hand and stared out of the window. It was such a stunningly beautiful day. The sun was shining, boring down on them all through the opened windows, but the gentle breeze that blew in from said windows kept them all from overheating.

Summer.

Only a few more weeks and summer break would begin – Sakura couldn't wait. Oh, she had so many plans. She and Ino were going on holiday together with the blonde's parents, who had offered to pay for the entire trip as an early birthday present. Ino's birthday was actually in September, but because it was when term time started again, they were going abroad in the summer instead and she was allowed to take one friend.

Sakura had never been abroad before. Her family simply couldn't afford it on top of everything else. However, they'd done their best for her, putting small fractions of their monthly wages into a savings account that would be closed the day before they left. So far, she knew she had a decent amount of spending money.

But first she had to get through the rest of school. It hadn't even seemed that bad until Ino's parents told them about the holiday and since then, the two girls had been counting down the days, growing more and more excited. Ino had even put a countdown clock onto her phone and every day, without fail, the first thing she would do in the morning was show Sakura how long they had left.

The teacher was droning on, his voice almost lulling her to sleep with the aid of the summer heat. He was reading from a book with a tone that lacked any real emotion and it only served to make the class restless.

After a minute longer, Sakura raised her hand.

Lowering the book, the teacher gazed at her. "Yes, Haruno?"

"I need the bathroom," she lied. Really, she just needed to get up and stretch her legs, or else she really would fall asleep.

"And it can't wait until lunch?"

She frowned. "No, sir. I just finished the last of my water and I really need to go."

That was a half-truth, since she really had just finished her water and the empty bottle sat at the top of her desk as evidence. Perhaps she could fill it up on the way back from the bathroom. There was a water fountain right next to the doors to the library, which happened to be just down the hall from her class.

"Fine." He sighed and lifted his book once more, dismissing her. "But don't take too long."

Nodding, she hurried out of the class with her bottle in hand, sighing in relief once the door was shut. All the while, she felt eyes on her and knew it would be her classmates watching her with envy, wondering why they hadn't come up with the excuse first. Now it would be too suspicious to use the same excuse.

Speaking of suspicious…

Sakura frowned and eyed the corridor warily. It wasn't too strange for it to be empty during classes, but there was usually at least a couple of people wondering around. Either teachers, cleaners or the student council.

Creepy.

Shrugging it off, she made her way towards the closest bathrooms, smiling in acknowledgement when another girl left them, nodding once to her. She was in the year above, Sakura had heard. Sabaku Temari. One of the most intimidating girls to be around, but not actually that bad if you took the time to get to know her. The only reason why she knew that was because Temari was dating Ino's friend, Shikamaru.

Her non-identical twin brother, Kankuro, was rarely seen around school, for he preferred to stay in the art department. They had a younger brother in the year below, her own year, named Gaara.

Gaara was… Well, to put it nicely, he was a weird guy.

Like his older brother, Gaara kept to himself, but to an extent that made others feel unsure about approaching him. Something about him just seemed off, like it was wrong to try and start a conversation with him. Stupid, right?

Sakura looked at her reflection and sighed again. It was way too warm. Leaning down and switching on the cold tap, she filled her hands with water and splashed her face, trying to cool herself down, though soon rested one hand on the edge of sink and leaned on it, pressing the other hand to her forehead.

A bang caught her attention, startling her momentarily, but after a brief pause, she heard a quiet creaking coming from down the hall, from the opposite end of where she'd come from, followed by another bang. Probably a door, she guessed and grabbed her water bottle.

As she left the girls bathroom, Sakura looked in the direction the banging had come from, but again, the corridor was empty. It didn't stop goosebumps from breaking out across her exposed arms and legs, despite the heat and she frowned, glancing down at her arm. The hair was standing on end, kind of like it would before a storm. How odd.

Not wanting to stand in the open, in such deafening silence any longer, for her imagination was beginning to wander to creepy supernatural explanations (stupid television shows were to blame), she turned on her heel and headed back in the direction she'd come from. It would take her close to the library, but since it was down another corridor, she had to extend the journey back to class by an added thirty seconds or so.

Again, it was eerily quiet and it was starting to creep her out. With furrowing brows, Sakura walked over to the fountain, washing out her bottle before refilling it, but just as she did, another loud bang alerted her.

This time, it was not the sound of a door.

It came from her right and shortly following it were the screams of her fellow students, forcing Sakura to drop her half-filled water bottle and shrink back against the wall, eyes wide with fear.

What…?

Another bang. This one echoing along the empty halls. And then another. And another. And another. Until eventually the screaming began to fade out, growing so quiet that it had tears filling her eyes.

Her mind was running away with itself, replaying all the old news stories about school shootings and as it dawned on Sakura what was happening, she realised that she needed to hide – and fast.

The closest place was the library behind her, which was huge, so without a second thought, she slid through the double doors, wary about opening them too far and making the hinges squeak. It was only when she was inside that she slowly shut them, not allowing them to close with a crash.

Her eyes swept across the library, trying to find if there was anybody else with her. The section she was on was elevated, giving her an almost bird's eye view of the large room. It seemed empty, like she was the only person there and it made her heart stop.

What now?

Another gunshot caused her to jump into action, nearly flying down the stairs to hide within the vast number of bookshelves. A terrified sob broke from her lips as she ran through them, trying to get as far away from the doors as possible. The further away she was, the better the hiding place, right?

But suddenly a hand seemed to come out of nowhere, gripping her school shirt and yanking her sideways. She was about to cry out, to demand mercy, but another hand clamped over her mouth, shutting her up.

And that was when her eyes snapped upwards, wide and terrified and meeting an equally startled gaze.

Student.

He was a student.

Not just any student, Sakura realised when he slowly released her mouth, but it was Sabaku Gaara, Temari's youngest brother.

Wait, Temari! What happened to her? Had she made it back to class? She'd been in the corridors, too. Would she have had anywhere to hide? She would know to hide, right? Right?

"Stay quiet," demanded Gaara when she opened her mouth.

It was the first time she'd ever heard him speak. Usually Gaara stayed silent, sitting alone and refusing to interact with the other students unless they were his siblings.

"It's a shooting," he stated the obvious, unaware that she already knew. "We need to keep quiet."

Sakura nodded quickly and her hands gripped his arm. He was still clutching her shirt, still keeping her out of sight and behind a bookcase. Like herself, Gaara was breathing hard and his eyes were a fraction wider than usual, his pupils dilating with adrenaline and fear.

"It was eerie out there," she whispered to him, swallowing hard. "Like the whole place has been abandoned."

Just as he opened his mouth to reply, the sounder of the headmaster's voice came from the speakers on the walls. It was stern, clear, but still panicked.

"Code red. This is not a drill. All teachers are to lock classroom doors and remain silent. Do not let students out of classrooms and do not let anybody in. I repeat, this is not a drill."

The headmaster never lost his composure, even when he was incredibly angry, so hearing the panic in his voice filled Sakura with dread and tears filled her eyes. The hold on Gaara's arm only tightened and she shifted closer to him, like they would be safer if they were glued together.

"Stay away from the windows and stay away from the doors. I repeat, nobody is to leave the classrooms. Do not attempt to engage. Remain hidden and stay silent. This is not a drill."

The tears fell from her eyes and she looked up at him helplessly, trying to see if he had any plans. Apparently, he didn't, because Gaara's icy blue eyes were darting along the library, clearly trying to find somewhere for them to hide without attracting attention.

In the silent library, Sakura's ears felt like they were ringing and her heavy breathing only grew louder, forcing the redhead to put his hand over her mouth again.

"I know it's hard, but try to stay calm," Gaara warned her, his eyes on hers and deadly serious. It made the tears come faster, made them roll down her cheeks and onto his hand. "If we want to remain undetected, we have to hide and to do so, we need to stay silent."

She nodded, body trembling.

But all rational thoughts flew straight out of her mind when the doors to the library opened and a cry of terror came from her, muffled by Gaara's hand as it pressed harder against her mouth.

Whoever had entered, hadn't entered in the same fashion as herself and allowed the doors to swing shut with a loud slam, effectively causing her entire body to shudder and flinch.

It seemed Gaara reacted completely on instinct when his arm suddenly came around her, shielding Sakura's head and he kept her tucked into his side as they fell back against the bookcase, crouching low. His other hand was still on her mouth, muffling her cries and whimpers.

A gunshot.

The sound of plaster falling from the ceiling.

Her hands clawed at Gaara's arm and she shook almost violently against him, pushing back against him harshly and turning, shoving her face into his chest.

"We're going to die," she whimpered. "We're going to die!"

"No we're not," he replied harshly into her ear and had she not been so scared, she would have sworn that she felt his teeth on her ear.

There was the sound of heavy footsteps descending the stairs, taking them slowly one at a time and it was like the person was intentionally being loud. Were they trying to draw them out? Trying to make them react and give away their position? Sakura kept her face hidden, using not only his hand, but also his chest to try and muffle the sobs threatening to escape her.

We're going to die.

It was so strange how, before that moment, she and Gaara had never exchanged a single word with one another, but now here they were, huddled close together and seeking comfort from each other, trying their best to remain silent and get through the traumatic event alive.

He could have ignored her. He could have let her run straight through the library, desperately trying to find somewhere to hide. If that had happened, Sakura had no doubt in her mind that she would have drawn attention to herself.

She lifted her head slightly, eyes darting over to the windows at the top of the bookcases. They weren't very long, but they were wide and opened outwards, though she had never seen them opened in all her time at the school. If Sakura had to guess, then she was willing to bet that they were at least ten inches long and forty inches wide.

It wasn't a possible exit, though. First of all, they would have to climb the bookcases in order to reach the windows and by doing so, they would capture the gunman's attention.

The sound of feet landing firmly onto the tiled floor at the bottom of the stairs had her flinching and once more burying her face into Gaara's chest. His arm was still around her head, but slowly, the hand covering her mouth slipped away, soon gripping her shoulder.

"We might have to move."

The whisper was almost silent, but she heard every word and it had dread knotting tightly in her stomach.

How were they supposed to move? If they did, he would find them. The gunman would find them and he would kill them and-

"What's your name?"

She blinked back her tears and lifted her head again, unconcerned with how close they were. The situation didn't allow for modesty or self-consciousness. "Haruno Sakura."

"Uzumaki Naruto's friend." The words surprised her, but Gaara didn't let her comment on it. "I'm Gaara."

"…I know."

"We're going to go around that way." He gestured behind himself with a nod of his head. "I'll go first, but keep close to me. Hold onto my ankle if you need to."

She shook her head, visibly trembling. "I-I can't."

"You have to. We're out in the open here."

When her limbs continued to tremble, making it obvious she was too frightened, Gaara wrapped an arm around her waist, dragging her along behind him. They continued to crouch low even though the gunman wouldn't be able to see them through the bookcases. They didn't know how many there were, or if it was just the one-

"What if there's more than one?" she breathed, a new terror washing over her. "What if there's more out there, waiting for us-"

"You need to calm down," he warned her quietly. "If you keep this up, it'll escalate into a panic attack – it'll give away our position."

It was easier said than done. Sakura had never even entertained the thought of this kind of thing happening to her school. She had never wondered what it would be like to be in such a predicament. In fact, Sakura was the kind to feel eternally grateful that it wasn't her. Now that she was thinking about it, however, she thought she would be of more use, but fear was threatening to make her immobile. It was hard to think or control her own breathing, let alone manage to crawl across the floor to find a better hiding place.

Gaara peered around a corner, eyes narrowing a fraction before he quickly hid behind the bookcase again, breathing deeply through his nose as quietly as possible. In his chest, she could feel his heart racing and it was going just as fast as her own. It only proved that people reacted differently to situations. Whereas she was useless and a quivering mess, he was strong and determined.

She wished she could be more like him.

His eyes glanced to the side before reaching out, grabbing Sakura's thigh and bringing it closer. Before he had, her foot had been sticking out. The widths of the bookcases weren't all the big, so the next move he made was pulling Sakura in front of himself as he rested his back against the wood.

She covered her own mouth to mute her harsh breathing, listening intently to the sounds of footsteps. It was gut wrenching, utterly terrifying, how close they seemed to be. Sakura shut her eyes, praying and hoping that they would go further away.

Once again, Gaara peered around the corner of the bookcase. It must have been safe to move, because he abruptly shoved her over to the next one, telling her with his eyes to stay down and remain silent.

Falling to her knees and copying his positioning, she watched Gaara's every move, waiting for his next order.

Just as quickly as herself, he moved over to the next bookcase. And then they moved to the next. And to the next. They kept up their dashing until they made it to the front desk. It was unusually empty, making her heart leap straight into her throat.

Gaara murmured, "The librarian went to class two-three with one of the portable bookcases."

"Were you the only one in here?" she asked, surprised despite now not really being the time.

He nodded and once again, his eyes narrowed, assessing the situation. "We won't make it to the desk."

"What? Why?"

"It's locked," he replied.

The hope that had been blooming in her chest died. "What now?"

Gaara held out his hand and when she took it, she was somewhat comforted to find out that it was as sweaty as her own. She wasn't the only one who was scared beyond belief. He simply had better survival instincts.

The footsteps were growing closer once more. The strides of the gunman sounding purposeful and long. Probably a tall guy. A proud one.

But who the hell would want to shoot up a school?

"We're going to take a risk."

Her heart stopped. "W-What kind?"

In the library, there was more than one front desk, since it was such a big place. The one they had made it to and were in three strides of distance from, was currently locked. If they wanted to hide behind it, they would have to jump over the desk, but there was the risk of knocking over the computers or whatever else was on there.

The other desk was…

Sakura suddenly caught on and she was certain that, had there been any colour left on her face, it would have drained. "No."

"We can't keep this up," Gaara told her simply. "We're at the end. If we go behind that bookcase," He gestured to the bookcase next to theirs, "we could be spotted by another gunman – if there's more than one."

The other desk was directly opposite the one they were close to and it meant running across the length of the library to get to it. It would attract the attention of the gunman. It already sounded like he was getting closer to them again.

"Sakura." He looked at her seriously and the hold on her hand tightened. "Trust me."

How was she supposed to be able to trust him? She didn't even know him!

But… They were in this situation together. Gaara had taken a humongous risk by allowing her to join him, by yanking her out of sight and staying by her side. He could have left her to die, but he didn't.

She took a deep breath, willing to calm her fear. "…Okay."

And only seconds later, they were darting between the two bookcases, coming to a stop on the other end as Gaara peeked around them, making sure it was safe to continue.

Her heart was in her throat. Her entire body was on edge. Sweat was running down her temple and Sakura swallowed hard, forcing back the tears.

They went for it.

The sound of a gun being fired didn't even register in her mind and for a moment, neither did the pain.

The force of the bullet hitting her had her staggering, however.

Suddenly glass was shattering from the very back of the library and Sakura couldn't stop the scream that left her as blood splattered across her face.

Gaara didn't seem concerned about that. Instead, he was falling to his knees in front of her, forcing Sakura to sit back. He tugged her knee high sock down, involuntarily wincing at the sight of her bloody leg.

It felt so surreal. Even though she caught a glimpse of her own leg, it didn't feel real. Staring at the now dead gunman laying mere feet away from them didn't feel real.

What even happened?

One second they were running, they were dashing across the break between bookcases and then the next, the man was popping out at the same time, a sadistic grin on his face as he fired the gun.

Grabbing an arm, Gaara heaved her up and onto her feet, but once again, Sakura staggered, finally becoming aware of the agony flaring from her leg. It was like white hot iron had been shoved straight through it. She couldn't look at it as everything seemed to speed back up to normal time. If she looked at it, she would vomit. Of that she was certain.

There was a pause before he leaned down and grabbed her legs, grunting softly as he lifted her and continued to walk as fast as he could in the direction of the desk. Like Gaara had told her, it was unlocked. It was obvious because the small door had been left open.

He put her down as gently as possible, hiding Sakura beneath the desk where the chair would be pushed in and once she was hidden properly, he reached for the phone, causing her to frown.

"The school is on lockdown," she murmured. "The phones won't be working."

Despite her words, Gaara still tried them, only to curse when it wouldn't ring out. He knelt down in front of her, asking, "Do you have a phone?"

Of course she did. However, it was…

"It's in my blazer, back in the classroom." She watched him curse again and lower his head, running his hands through his messy red hair. "Do you think… there's more than one?"

Gaara sighed. "There's no way of knowing unless we're told something." Before she could ask anything else, he was reaching forward and ripping the arm of her shirt off. Sakura could only stare in stunned disbelief as he wrapped it tightly around her wound, too surprised by his sudden movement to make any complaints. There was no stopping her cry of pain, however. "That will have to do for now."

"What now?" she asked for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Now… We wait."

But… But she'd been shot! It was only because of the shock that she was handling the pain so well, why it felt muted in comparison to what it was probably supposed to feel like.

"But-"

"They know we're in here, Sakura," he told her calmly. "That would have been the police who shot the gunman. They will know that we are in here."

Despite how calm he sounded, Sakura could tell by the look in his eyes that he was shaken. Was he trying to stay calm for her sake? "Gaara…" When he looked to her, Sakura found herself dropping her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry that this is how we've been introduced to each other."

There was a small wry smile on his lips and he shook his head. "Nothing like a tragedy to bring people together."

Such a dark humour, but at that moment in time, she found that it didn't bother her. If it meant he kept her distracted, kept her calm, then he could say whatever the hell he wanted to say.

"Why did you help me?" Sakura asked quietly. "You could've left me…"

He sighed, his head falling back to the desk. It was only then that she realised he was tired. It made his startling appearance stand out all the more. Pale skin, dark circles around his eyes and an expression that was more than likely passed off as boredom, but was actually exhaustion. He was just misunderstood, wasn't he?

Everyone made Gaara out to be some kind of loner, but what if that was because he was forced to be? What if he was only alone all the time because nobody wanted anything to do with him? What if he had tried to reach out to people but they ignored him?

"I couldn't let somebody die when there was something I could have done to prevent it."

By now, the white arm of her sleeve was dyed red and the sight of it had her fighting back the bile rising in her throat. She was losing too much blood, too quickly.

An artery.

The bullet had hit an artery.

Her Godmother was a doctor, one of the best there ever was, so it was safe to say Sakura knew her fair share of injuries and how to deal with them. It wasn't often she got to see Tsunade, but when she did, she always asked the woman to teach her more about medicine and whatnot. She was someone she admired greatly. Being a doctor, taking after Tsunade, was something she'd hoped to do.

"I'm glad I didn't die alone."

His eyes snapped back to hers, narrowing dangerously. "You're not going to die."

"There's a bullet in my leg, Gaara," she told him blankly.

"Yeah, in your leg. Not in your heart or your lungs or your head!"

He was panicking. She could see it in his eyes and it stunned her to see such a reaction from him. "I'm losing too much blood-"

The words were cut off by the sounds of the doors to the library slamming open, by the sounds of heavy boots hitting the floor as whoever it was jogged into the library. The appearance of another had Sakura holding her breath, fearing for sure that it was a second gunman.

"There's more than one," Gaara informed her, listening carefully.

"Paramedics!" somebody yelled out. "Show yourselves, kids! We're here to help."

Her eyes met Gaara's, wide and filled with distrust and she found that his were filled with the same emotion. How could they be so sure that it was actually paramedics? What if it was the other gunmen trying to lure them out of their hiding spot?

"We know you're injured," a different voice stated.

They already knew about her.

Heart heavy with dread, she exchanged another glance with Gaara, uncertainty obvious on her face.

He must have caught on, because his hand was wrapping around her arm faster than she could keep up with. "Don't you dare."

"They don't know about you," she whispered seriously and shifted, prepared to climb over him. "I'm holding you back, Gaara. You could make a run for it!"

"I don't care."

Why was this guy so stubborn? "Gaara-"

"I've found them!"

The voice came from directly above them and too late did Sakura notice the blood stains on the carpet from where she'd slipped under the desk. Gaara had only been able to get her halfway under before she had to make some effort herself. Damn it…

Her hand sought out his, holding it tightly and Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, preparing herself for the worst.

It wasn't until hands were on her face that her eyes snapped open once more, petrified that something else was about to happen. But then the sight of uniforms entered her vision until it blurred once more, relief overwhelming her as she sobbed loudly.

It was over.

They were safe now.