Red Rose
Chapter 1: Birth
Screaming. That was all he could hear. Screaming.
He would have walked away from the noise if it wasn't
for one small detail. The one who was screaming,
was his fiancee.
Gaara of the Desert clutched at his pants to keep himself
from shaking as another scream ripped through the room.
He was sitting on a chair with his sand-filled gourd on the
floor beside him. Gaara shut his eyes tightly as another
scream was heard from behind the white doors.
He was stiff as a board and nervous as hell. And for a good
reason. On the other side of the white doors, was his fiancee.
She was giving birth to a child. His child.
"Damnit! How long is this going to take? She's been in there
for NINE hours already, goddamnit! Can't that
good-for-nothing medic-wonder Hokage do SOMETHING right for a change?"
Gaara swore loudly.
The cork in his gourd started to twitch as his sand responded to his
fierce emotions.
Gaara had never felt so powerless in his entire life.
The only woman he had come to love was suffering through sets of
severe pain and he could do absolutely nothing to help.
Besides waiting. Oh the waiting... It was enough to drive him
crazier than he had ever been in his entire life!
Who would have thought that the living weapon of the
Hidden Village of the Sand could ever be in this kind of situation?
Certainly not Gaara.
"Whow! Take it easy, buddy! Going ballistic won't help anyone!"
Gaara's eyes snapped open and he slowly turned to the one who had
spoken. A young brown haired man with a dog lying at his feet
was looking back at him.
The red haired ninja growled at him.
"If you value your petty life, Inuzuka, then I suggest that you
SHUT THE HELL UP!" Gaara barked.
The cork started unscrewing itself.
Kiba gulped and went silent immediately.
The other people in the room looked at the white doors.
A brown haired man sat on the other side of the room, right in
front of Gaara. He sighed and spoke up.
"This is just so troublesome... This is turning out the exact same way
as when Ino gave birth to our son! Man, how long did it take again?
Twelve hours?" The man mumbled.
Ino sat right next to Gaara. She grumbled at the brown haired man.
"Hey! This is a B-I-R-T-H, alright? It's supposed to take a long time!
Do you get me? Do you, Shikamaru?" Ino barked.
The people in the room twitched at her loudness and Shikamaru
merely sighed.
Ino sighed and turned to look at the white doors.
Worry was etched all over her face.
Everyone was there, all crammed together in the small waiting room.
Naruto sat with Tenten in his lap. He was worried as hell, as was his
soon-to-be-wife. Tenten tried to keep calm, but she failed miserably.
She knew the woman behind the doors quite well, and it was killing
her that she wasn't able to help her.
Neji sat with his wife beside him. He didn't know the woman who was
behind the doors that well, but he couldn't help but worry about her.
He tightened his hold on Hinata, who leaned into his shoulder. She
shook as another scream was heard. Hinata was a medical ninja and the
fact that she wasn't able to do anything for the young woman in labor,
was agony.
Lee and Gai were leaning against the wall. Surprisingly, they both kept quiet.
The Beautiful Green Beasts of Konoha kept their looks focused on the
two white doors. Lee was literally shaking in agony and anticipation.
Kiba didn't know the labouring woman at all. He had only seen her briefly
during missions and ninja meetings. Akamaru sensed his master's unease and
it spread to him. Neither of them knew the woman. Still, they were worried.
She was part of the Rookie 9, and it felt as if she was part of their family,
somehow.
Temari sat with Kankuro beside her. The two siblings cast worried glances
at their brother and then at the doors. Temari knew the woman better than
Kankuro, so she was a bit more worried about her than him.
Kankuro was more worried that his brother was going to rip the entire
hospital to shreds if the birth wasn't finished soon.
Chouji cast nervous glances at the two white doors. He knew that when a
woman gave birth, a lot of pain was involved. He knew the woman as well
as Kiba. Not at all, that is. He was still worried.
Kakashi was leaning against the wall with Anko sitting beside him.
The Copy Ninja kept his eye fixed on the white doors. It was usually difficult
to tell what the Jounin was feeling due to most of his face being covered by
a mask. However, right now, anyone could see that he was worried.
Anko squeezed his arm in an attempt to comfort her husband. It worked to an
extent. Kakashi never tore his eye off the doors, though. He knew that his
old student was strong, but that didn't stop his nervousness.
Kakashi knew that births could go wrong.
Shikamaru knew the woman quite well since his wife liked to spend time with her.
Ino liked to babble on and on about how things was like between them during
their younger days. Shikamaru sighed and continued to wait.
Births were so troublesome.
Sasuke was leaning against the wall beside Temari. He tried to look unconcerned,
but he failed miserably. He was worried sick about his friend and teammate.
The fact that his wife was sitting right beside him helped.
Temari glanced up at him and managed the ghost of a smile. Sasuke answered
with a smile as vague as her own.
Kurenai and Asuma were sitting beside Naruto and Hinata.
The two Jounin's didn't know the woman very well, but they still felt that they had to be there.
It was after all, a very special event.
Shino sat beside Kurenai. His face was covered by his grey trenchcoat and sunglasses,
but the worried glances he cast towards the doors showed his unease.
He had never experienced a birth before, and the screaming was unnerving to him.
The bugs in his body ran around like wild in response to his uneasy state. He didn't
know the woman at all. Still, he felt like he needed to be there.
Standing with his back to the wall, was Jiraiya. The white haired man didn't know the
woman at all. Aside from her being the student of his old teammate.
The female Sannin.
He knew how the Sand's weapon had changed during his contact with her, and that spurred him to
be there. Not only that. He wanted to be there as a kind of support. Jiraiya was pretty
clueless when it came to births, but he knew that all support that could be given was
needed.
Ino sighed. She turned to Gaara.
"She'll be alright. She's strong, a small thing such as childbirth won't be
enough to do her in! Not by a longshot! I mean, when I gave birth,
I just pushed and-" Ino began.
Gaara didn't even look at her. He was trying with all his might to remain
where he was instead of charging through the two white doors.
Gaara shut the blonde out after the first sentence. He shut out all other sounds as well.
Memories of their time together arose in his mind. Gaara closed his eyes and let the memories
consume him.
"Flashback"
15 years old Gaara was sitting on one of the wooden poles in the Konoha training ground.
He could still hear the music coming from the centre of the village.
The Fifth had thrown a party a week after the war with the Sound was over.
Gaara had never liked parties and so, he snuck away at first chance.
The red haired boy liked being alone. It was nice being with people sometimes too, but he
still needed to be alone at times.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps was heard.
Gaara turned and saw a young girl standing a distance away from him.
The girl looked at him with a curious and playful look on her face.
"What are you doing out here? The party's not over yet..." The woman stated.
Gaara sighed and turned away from her.
"I don't like parties. There's too much people." He stated.
"I see..." The girl mumbled.
The girl fidgeted with her red skirt as she tried to find something to say.
It was always hard to talk to the Sand ninja. Mostly due to his anti-social personality.
After ten minutes had passed without her leaving, Gaara finally lost his patience.
"You." He said.
The girl looked up slightly startled.
"Y, yes?" She said.
Gaara sighed.
"Why are you still here? If you came out here to get me, then you might as well go
back to the party. I'm not going back." Gaara stated.
The girl looked down into the ground again. She continued to play with the fabric of her skirt.
Gaara turned and noticed her slightly nervous posture.
"I just...thought that you were lonely, you know? No one should be alone on this happy day!"
The girl said, finally.
Gaara looked away from her.
"I'm never alone." Gaara stated.
His voice turned completely monotone at this. The girl quickly figured out the meaning behind his
words and tried to find something else to say. She finally sighed.
"Listen, I know about your past. Your sister told me. I am sorry for how you was treated back then,
but that's all in the past. You should try to get over it. Just like Naruto did.
If... If you need someone to talk to...then I'll be here, alright? Just say the word, and I'll listen."
The girl said.
Gaara's right eye twitched at her words. Unwanted memories resurfaced but he pushed them down
again almost immediately. He heard how the girl turned and started making her way back to the
village. Something inside of Gaara reacted at the girl's words.
"Wait."
The girl stopped walking and turned around. Gaara jumped down from the pole and stared into
the surrounding forest.
"Yes?" The girl said.
"Why do you care about me? I mean, I'm a ruthless killer. I have killed more people than
you can count. Plus, I tried to kill you once. Remember?" Gaara said coldly.
"Yes..." The girl answered.
"So why do you care, then? Why don't you hate me?" Gaara threw at her.
The girl went quiet for about 20 seconds. Then she finally answered.
"I...I don't care much about people's pasts. Your past as a killer doesn't mean anything to me.
And what happened back then in the forest wasn't your fault. It was Shukaku who controlled you.
I don't hate you, Gaara. I care about you because..." The girl stated.
Gaara didn't move a lip as she talked.
"Because?" Gaara demanded in monotone.
The girl shifted slightly, then she answered.
"Because... You have been hurt in so many ways. Mentally hurt, that is. More so than anyone should.
You have always forced everyone out of your life and you have always put your past suffering on your
own shoulders. That's not good for you. I care because... You're only human, Gaara."
The girl exclaimed.
Gaara's eyes went wide at the girl's last statement. "You're only human, Gaara"
The statement repeated itself over and over again in his head.
No one had ever said anything like that to him before.
Gaara found himself lightly trembling. That small girl before him, that fragile thing, had just looked past
his demonic outer self, and into his own self.
Before he knew it, he had crossed the distance between them and grabbed her.
The girl's eyes went wide as the boy hesitantly hugged her close.
Gaara leaned in close to the girl's ear.
"Thank you." He wisphered.
The girl shuddered for an unknown reason.
"What for?" The girl wisphered back.
Gaara actually smiled.
"For calling me human." Gaara answered.
The girl stared at the red haired boy in shock for a few seconds, then she smiled warmly at him.
She returned the embrace and put her forehead against his shoulder.
For the next few months, the two of them saw each other everyday.
The girl coaxed Gaara to come out of his shell. The red haired boy gradually started opening up to her.
They met at restaurants, café's, and at other random places in Konoha. There, they talked.
They talked about everything that had happened in the boy's life, and the girl comforted him as bad
memories resurfaced.
Gaara was fascinated by the girl. Never before in his entire life had he met anyone so open-minded and
carefree. Except for a certain loudmouthed blonde Genin, that is.
Gaara was utterly fascinated. Because she was the first one who had referred to him as a human being.
And not a monster. Before he knew it, his fascination had grown to become a feeling of trust and
friendship that he shared with the girl. Their friendship grew stronger and stronger.
Untill he suddenly found himself experiencing a feeling that he never would have thought possible
for him to experience. A feeling that he had only been told about.
Gaara of the Desert, had fallen in love.
His shell that held the outer world away from him, was breaking apart.
Gaara experienced many new feelings.
Anger, frustration, sadness, irritation, and nervousness. Among others.
After debating this back and forth in his mind for several days, the girl suddenly came up to him
and confessed that she actually loved him too! Gaara felt another unknown feeling in that moment.
Happiness.
A while later, he moved into an appartment in Konoha.
Gaara had found his place and he was determined to stay there.
His siblings had been shell-shocked when he flatly told them that he wasn't going to live in the
Hidden Village of the Sand anymore, but in Konoha instead.
Temari told Gaara that she wasn't going to let him go all alone. So she dragged the half-willing Kankuro
with her to live in Konoha as well.
The fact that Temari had taken a liking to a certain raven haired boy there, helped her decision.
Gaara was relieved by their support.
During the next couple of years, he felt that he could actually start to notice the world for what it was.
And not just a place to be in.
Gaara of the Desert, was happy. And it was all thanks to her.
"End flashback"
Gaara's eyes snapped back open as the screaming suddenly stopped.
Everyone in the room stopped talking and they all faced the white doors.
Then, it happened. The doors opened, revealing a sweaty but also happy looking Hokage.
Tsunade looked at Gaara and smiled. The red haired boy stood up and stared at the
Hokage as if he was bewitched.
"Sakura Haruno...has given birth!" Tsunade announced.
Everything was quiet after her statement.
Everyone cheered loudly the second after. Several of the guys went up to the red haired boy and
grinned at him. They would have patted him on his back if it wasn't for his automatic sand-defence.
Gaara stared at Tsunade as if he couldn't believe what she had just said.
The red haired boy stared blankly into space.
"I'm...I'm a...a father?" Gaara wisphered to himself.
Tsunade smiled warmly at him and nodded.
"Yes, Gaara. You're a father." Tsunade confirmed.
Gaara shook his head in order to get the idea into it.
"C, can I see her?" Gaara asked.
Tsunade continued smiling.
"You can't see Sakura, Gaara. But you can see them." Tsunade said.
Gaara quickly made his way past the Hokage and disappeared into the room behind her.
Yahoo! Chapter 1, done! It was kinda long, I know. But there was a lot that I felt needed to be in the same chapter.
Let's head on to Chapter 2!