.

C3: i've had recurring nightmares that i was loved for who i am

.

.

.

She ignored him after that, putting away her coat into the closet and taking off her boots. Why did he have to be such an asshole? It wasn't like she had provoked him in any way. She gritted her teeth in irritation as she stepped past the sofa he was on to head into the kitchen. A glass of wine would do her some good, she thought as she pulled out a new bottle of red. As she twisted the corkscrew into the stopper, she wondered what did he do all day anyways cooped up in her apartment. Did he just make coffee and lie on the couch?

Her wonderings turned to horror as her hand gripped the neck of the bottle, ready to pour out the ruby liquid. What if he rifled through her stuff? Her drawers, her documents, her clothes…she opened her mouth to scream, but she snapped her jaw shut. She would not be rattled by the redheaded lord on her couch.

She finished pouring her glass, and stomped into her living room to question him.

He still lay prone on the couch, his hands folded on his stomach, his piercing eyes shut to the world. She shook his shoulder roughly as she placed her butt on the battered coffee table. "Wake up, you bastard." She hissed in his ear.

"No need for your horrid bedside manner, I am in all ways awake." he drawled as one eyelid was cracked open, revealing half of a bright green iris. "What do you want now, little Leaf?"

"Did you go through my stuff?" she asked sharply, her eyes sparkling dangerously. She gripped his shoulder tightly in her hand not holding the wineglass.

"I can answer better without your manhandling of my shoulder." he retorted back. So the little Leaf was concerned about her privacy. He snorted inwardly. As if he was in any state to utilize the very little useful information he gleaned from her medical notes and photo albums. He couldn't even escape this sorry place.

"Did. You. Go. Through. My. Things." she hissed as she clenched her hand tighter. Medical training weren't the only lessons she was taught from Tsunade.

He drew out a long sigh, as if the death grip she had on him was nothing but a friendly hand on him. "Only through your medical files and a couple photo albums. I was bored."

She slapped him so hard the ring on her finger scraped his cheek, creating a bleeding welt that marred his pale face. His head snapped to the side from the impact.

He let out a low hiss in anger, his teeth gnashing togehter.

She should not have touched him. She should not have hit him. That was the last coherent thought that went through his mind before his fury surged into the usually-dormant demon locked up inside of him. Gaara didn't have the energy to fight the anger-fuelled surge; his body was busy putting its energies into fixing his wound at the moment. He prepared to surrender his body to the demon, his consciousness already drifting into the deep, protective recesses of his mind, too tired to put up a fight.

"That stuff is private!" she shrieked in panic. "You aren't allowed to touch my stuff! I could have you arrested for it! My patient confidentiality has been-"

"You would do well to unhand me, little girl." A gruffer voice growled dangerously.

She stopped yelling to look down at the man she still had a grip on. Her emerald eyes widened in fear.

Underneath her lay Gaara, but not quite Gaara. The lucid look on his face was replaced with a maniacal, toothy grin that freaked her out. His canines were as prominent as a wolf's. His scleras were as black as his pupils, the only definition visible were his pale irises.

He slowly reached up and without a word, violently yanked her hand off of him. She tried to take a step back, but instead she found herself slammed painfully into her couch, one of his knees holding down her legs. He leaned into her, his frightening stare never leaving her pretty face.

"You would also serve yourself well if you don't scream, little girl." he murmured hotly against her ear.

Her blood ran cold in her veins. "Who are you?" she tried to keep her voice as flat as she could, trying to hide the tremble that crept in.

"You shouldn't be asking questions you don't want the answer to." He snorted contemptuously, drawing himself back so their noses barely brushed each other. "Especially since you hit me without my permission."

She tried to shrink back from him, but he only threw back his head and laughed at her. It was a raspy, animalistic sound that sent goosebumps across Sakura's smooth skin. "Not so brave, are you, little girl."

"Let go of me." She snapped, her courage returning as fight flushed back into her body. She used to fall into worse situations than this, and she always managed to figure a way out. She forced herself to meet his cruelly-amused stare.

God, his eyes…they were like bottomless pits with a small ring of green floating within. She held his malicious gaze, searching carefully for any glimmer of humanity. She found none, but she didn't let it deter from letting her mind run through possibilities.

"No wa-" she knocked into his forehead with hers. Without wasting another second, she shoved him off of her. He fell with a hard thud on the carpeted floor, too shocked to move. As hard as she could, she kicked him in the arm, an audible crack reverberating through the room.

The jarring pain yanked Gaara's consciousness to the surface, and he winced as he gingerly cradled his broken arm. He blearily looked up at her, exhausted from the energy expended to sustain Shukaku's mind. His mouth felt dry as if he had swallowed a carton of sand. "What happened?" he whispered hoarsely, his eyelids already falling shut from exertion.

"I should be asking you that question." she spat, uncaring that he was injured at the moment. She just wanted answers as to why he had suddenly…transformed. It was like he was possessed. "Who the hell was that?"

"Who…who the hell…was who?" he murmured, his voice barely breaking through the air. He felt as if his whole body was throbbing with his arm and he could barely keep himself from succumbing to the soft darkness clouding his mind.

'Let me take over, kit.' Shukaku broke through the haze with his wheedling but gentle tone. 'Let me handle this for you.'

He didn't want him to, but by Kami Gaara was so drained. Shukaku had better make it brief or his heart would give out like last time they stayed switched for too long.

'Of course.' the raccoon snorted derisively. 'Last thing I want is me and my favourite container dying.'

Of course not, Gaara echoed before slipping into the safe, familiar recess in his brain. He was Shukaku's only container. It would be a shame if both of them died.

Sakura watched him warily, hoping it wasn't some sort of trick. She did note that he dragged his ragged breaths in, and she immediately regretted breaking his arm. It just added to the list of things she had to repair for him.

So she was gobsmacked when Gaara suddenly shot up into a sitting position. She brought her fists up, ready to retaliate should he attack her.

He slowly raised one arm up. "Careful, little girl." he spoke with an edge, his canines flashing. "You don't want those fists in the wrong places, I assure you. I don't feel pain and it would be quite easy for me to crush you into nothing."

Her crystalline eyes shot daggers at him. "Who are you?" she snarled, baring her teeth.

"No one."

"You lie."

"It is the truth, yet the untruth." He paused. "Do you have any of those bags of fluids that connect to your arm?"

"Why?" she kept her guard up, observing him carefully.

"We're going to need several of them. And one of those beeping machines that follow your heart rate. I also hope you have one of those electric shocker things that jolt your body just in case. I'm not sure what else. I don't pay attention during the procedures." He shrugged nonchalantly, rolling his eyes in the process. "Such weak bodies. This one is about to collapse out of exhaustion. Do something about it. I will keep his heart beating for as long as I can."

"And why should I trust what you say?" she asked deliberately, forcing her medical instincts down as she watched him sway back and forth unsteadily.

"I don't think you want a dead hunted man on your floor, do you?" And with that, Gaara's body gave a shudder and crumpled ungracefully to the floor.

Thirty seconds passed before Sakura decided to inch towards him to grab his wrist. Fumbling for a pulse with shaky fingers, she felt it beat once. She counted the seconds, completely sure that he was dead and that the not-Gaara was lying, but it was an incredible full minute before it beat again. Swearing under her breath, she got up and ran for her medical supplies.

.

.

She worked through the night, trying to maintain life within the Kazekage's body. He flatlined once, but somehow there was the minute-pulse that managed to sustain him after she applied the defibrillator.

When she managed to stabilize him, she sank into a nearby chair, exhausted. She gazed off into the horizon, thinking.

She didn't know if she truly wanted to know what the hell was wrong with Gaara's mental state. The less she knew the better, but it was one of the scariest experiences of her life. It was like he had a split personality or something crazy like that. She felt shattered – she saved her enemy's life again when he was on the brink of death. What did that make her? A saviour? A traitor of her city?

She didn't want to make sense of it. She had already broken unspoken rules in keeping him alive and in her apartment. What if she was discovered? What would they do to her? What would her friends think? She was one of the most valuable people in the city – the only person who brought two rival families together. She didn't want to even imagine Naruto and Sasuke if they found out there was a man living in her apartment without their knowing.

She brought her knees up to her chest, trembling. It was hopeless. It was going to be all her fault. Her cleverness was for nothing. She was too soft. She didn't even have a plan if she got caught. The wrath of her whole city would be on her.

It was all because she just couldn't leave bleeding man alone to die in an alley.

Quiet sobs wracked her body as the sun rose over the skyline.

.

.

Chapter title courtesy of Hoodoo by Muse.

I'd love some feedback, so please review?

:E hypheniated