1Desert Blossom

The Sand-Castle Man

It was another blistering hot summer day in Konoha, with the temperature high over 100EF, and the humidity off the charts. Two days had passed since the river incident, and now the rivers too had become overrun with people. Gaara sat quietly in Sakura's kitchen. He was on one of three identical stools, all high rise wooden, legs painted white and the tops left raw. They matched well with the wooden table, small but useful. It was high rise to match the stools, left in its raw wooden color. The floor was white tiled, and the walls were also white, but with light blue accents that formed blossoms to one who cared to look hard enough. A single ceiling fan attempted to provide relief from the heat alongside the open window. Gaara had noted to himself over and over that there was no breeze, as the curtains remained motionless. As the kazekage sat to himself he thought about many things. He thought about his home, and about his siblings, Kankuro and Temari, he wondered if they had received any missions he would be needed for. After a while his thoughts turned to the only other person he could think of, Sakura. She had, much to his displeasure, gone out alone. He was irritated to be left alone after getting close, but he figured it couldn't be helped. He left the kitchen and walked into her living space, it was small but it served its purpose. There was a couch, and a single chair. The floor was partially covered by an elliptic rug, exposing the wooden corners of the room. On the wall that matched up to the kitchen he noticed a TV and a mantle above it. He walked over and began to look at the assorted keepsakes she had gathered over the years. There were many things, ranging from candles and candle holders to statuettes of many things. He noticed the centerpiece, surrounded by an untidy arrangement of flowers, was a picture frame. It was put face down, however, and Gaara assumed that she did not want to see the picture any more, but couldn't let go of it, and that the flower arrangement's upkeep stopped about the same time the picture was placed face down. He thought for a few seconds, not wanting to intrude, but still intrigued about what could possibly bind her memory like this. The moment he lifted up the frame and caught the slightest glimpse of the picture it housed, he knew. He quickly put the fame down and stood silent for a long time. Hoping to break the tense air he created he eventually muttered something, but it was all just mutter. Soon he spoke the first real word he could on it, the moment before Sakura came home.

"Naruto," he said to the frame, "and you," he said to the place where Sasuke's picture was, hidden by the frame.

"Hey Gaara!" Sakura shouted as she opened the door.

"What the?" he shouted as he jumped back in surprise, into the mantle, knocking the picture down. Sakura looked at him, laughing at how easily he was frightened and didn't notice the picture had fallen. Gaara quickly replaced it with his sand, and stood up not to make it a scene. "Welcome home," he said, snapping her out of a laughing fit.

"Hey," she forced out, tears of laughter in her eyes, she had never thought it possible to see him in such a state.

The two carried the groceries into the kitchen and set them on the counter next to the fridge. Sakura turned on the radio as she began to put everything away. Gaara grabbed and apple out of the bag and went to eat it, until Sakura grabbed it from him. He went to say something but held himself back, because he saw all she did was run some water over it. He smiled, never had anyone cared for him like this, about such menial things at least. When she had finished washing it she walked back over to him and held the apple right to his face. She took a large bite out of it, and then handed it to him.

"Consider it tax," she told him as she went back to putting things away.

You're kidding, he thought.

Soon all of the things were put away, and Sakura pulled a stool and sat next to Gaara. She couldn't help herself, as hot as it was she wanted to be next to him.

What am I doing? She questioned herself, what is this feeling?

She pushed the so called feeling a little further and leaned into him. Much to her dismay, instead of embracing her as she had hoped, he ignored her and continued to eat. She didn't feel like giving up, so she pulled in a little closer, so much that their entire sides were brushing against each others, and her head rested just underneath his shoulder. Again, he ignored her, and this time she let out a disgruntled sigh.

"What?" he asked, "did you want more, its yours I suppose so here," he said placing the apple he hadn't taken but a single small bite from back into her hands.

He got up and went into the living room again. Sakura was a little upset and didn't follow suite, but listened to the radio instead.

"... Also at Konoha's largest beach today, there will be a sand castle building contest held, all are welcome..." the announcer said.

Sakura loved the idea, and immediately went into her room, slamming the door so that Gaara would notice. She changed into her bathing suite and grabbed a small bucket and shovel. She stayed in for a while, wanting to let Gaara think.

Did I really hurt her feelings? He wondered, I don't see how, perhaps I should try and talk to her.

He walked toward the door, and went to knock on it, but Sakura opened the door at the same time. Losing the sense of balance, he fell onto her, the one arm wrapped around her for support, the other grabbed the doorframe as he realized they would both fall if he didn't hold her up. Sakura took advantage of the situation and pressed herself onto him, throwing him more of balance then he already was. She inched on him a little more, and, knowing he couldn't keep from falling completely, fell back so he would hit the floor, and she would not. Luckily for him, the sand still protected them, and he was not hurt as he fell to the floor. Sakura rested on him, tempting him by pressing herself into him.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked genuinely.

He won't even respond to me, he's so cold... She though, rather upset, "yea, I'm fine. Thanks."

"Just curious," he asked, still on the floor, "why are you wearing almost nothing?" causing her to blush.

"Hey!" she shouted at him, not able to hide her embarrassment, "it's the same thing I wore with you the other day! You didn't say anything about it then!"

"No, but I was expecting it then," he started, "I take it you want to go back to the water today."

"Well, sort of," she started, "at least the beach today."

"Sure, but why"

"Sand Castle Building Competition," she said with a great grin as she pushed herself up off of him.

"How clever," he said, not able to help himself from letting a slight smile escape him

Gaara got up and went into Sakura's room. He went over to her drawers, ignoring her shouts. He pulled out a black and red t-shirt and threw it to her. She caught it, and some of the confusion in her calmed down, and was replaced with a high level of embarrassment, but also a feeling of accomplishment, she had gotten THE GAARA to show a sign of compassion, and none the less toward her.

"You shouldn't walk around in almost nothing, even in this weather," Gaara stated, "there are a lot of people around this time."

"He-he, you were worried about me," Sakura teased.

"Is there a problem with that?" he said with a voice that commanded the air around it.

"No," she responded, trying to hide her shock.

"Good," he told her, "now lets go win."

Sakura let out a cheer as she hugged him tightly. The pair headed toward the door, Gaara still adorned only in his T-Shirt and shorts and no carry-ons, Sakura had the toy shovel and pail, and had put on the over sized shirt that came down to mid-thigh. The moment they stepped into the open air of Konoha they found it hard to breath, and noticed that no one was around. They eventually grew to stand the heat of the outdoors and headed toward the beach. The two spoke nothing, no sounds were made. Sakura felt they didn't need to talk because they understood each other in their minds already; Gaara didn't know what to say because he didn't know how to bear his heart. Soon they both reached the beach and walked through the entry tunnel. As they reached the end all their confused thoughts came to a sudden end as they were soaked to the bone with ice-cold water from above.

"HA-HA!" a voice cried triumphantly.

"Who did that!" Gaara shouted back to it.

The only response was a loud resounding bark as the perpetrators jumped down from above.

"Yo," Kiba exclaimed.

"Gotcha Sakura!" Ino cried.

Akamaru barked in agreement. Sakura turned from angry shock to a joyous laughter with her friends. Gaara, however, was angered by the joust. His own body could not contain his anger, and it started to swell around him in a vortex of energy, picking up sand as it went on. Very quickly a shield of sorts had formed, seemingly protecting Sakura and leaving Gaara somewhat unprotected.

"He-hey, it's ok Gaara it was just a joke, they're friends." Sakura told him.

After a few seconds the sand stopped rotating around the two and Gaara cooled down. Kiba and Ino were shocked, and had not expected a reaction as such, in fact, they had not expected Sakura to be with anyone else. While it was true that Kiba and Akamaru had sniffed out Gaara, they never knew his scent to begin with, so they assumed he was another passerby walking nearby Sakura.

"Anyhow, what are you doing here? Aren't you Kazekage now," Kiba inquired.

"Yea, I am. And as or me being here, that is my business, not yours."

"Alright, alright, just being friendly," he said in defense.

Gaara only shrugged him off, he couldn't accept the joke, nor would he offend someone Sakura called friend. Sakura nudged at him to make amends, and as much difficulty as the task posed, she succeeded. The four, Gaara included, began to make way toward the seashore with high spirits. As they neared they heard an announcer for the Sand-Castle competition. At that point Kiba and Ino broke away from Gaara and Sakura to go get ready. Gaara stood still, staring out at the vast ocean, wondering about its power. Sakura decided to let him be as she ran off to get some supplies for building her castle.

"The ocean is a wondrous thing," a voice said to Gaara, "is it not?" He waited for a response but none came. "Anything, no matter how large, or how powerful is nothing compared to the rage of the open sea. Its just like human lives. No matter who we are, or what we are capable of, we cannot escape or defeat fate." Still no response came, and the figure began to walk off.

"You," Gaara said to him without turning to face him, "you respect and fear the very nature of life, don't you."

"Yeah," he said. "I'll catch you later, if you're going to be at the sand castle competition I'll see you there. I'm one of the judges," he explained.

The judge walked toward the competition area, leaving Gaara to think alone. A few minutes passed before Sakura returned. She let Gaara know she was going to start building, and got right to work. It wasn't until she looked up at him to ask for help that she noticed he was lost in thought. She was mesmerized by his blank, cold stare.

"Sakura," Gaara said slowly, "stand back. I shall construct for you a castle fit for one who defies fate every day, one who already has."

Sakura backed away from where she had left her shovel and bucket and moved behind Gaara. He closed his eyes and thought about the few times he had been graced with one who broke the natural balance of life. He extended his arms, and concentrated on his inner strength. He tensed his whole body, letting massive amounts of energy flow from him into the sand beneath him. Minutes passed and he began appear weaker. All of ten minutes passed before he made any movement whatsoever. When he finally moved, he forced up his arms and pulled up on his chakra from the ground with his palms upward, bringing up all his energy and a magnificent life sized castle along with it. The ground quaked at his power, and everyone on the shoreline watched in total awe. Gaara was already breathing heavy. He still held his arms upright as if he himself was bearing the full weight of the castle. Although it was not nearly half a minute everyone felt as if hours had passed by, waiting for Gaara's next move. As a single bead of sweat fell from his chiseled face, another wave of energy surged through Gaara's body, and out into the world. A whirlpool of sand enveloped the magnificent castle. It picked up speed, forcing itself high into the air, far above the reaches of the castle. Suddenly Gaara shaped his tense hands into tight fists, and brought his arms into a cross that shielded his face. The fierce whirl of sand lunged into the castle with such force from all sides, both from the external and internal points, that by the time the remaining sand settled, all that was standing was a real castle, made of solid stone. Gaara, unable to uphold himself any long fell to one knee, gasping for air. For the first time in a long time, Sakura was afraid. She rushed to Gaara's side, throwing herself violently on the sand and skidding to him. His breaths were short and sharp, and gave every onlooker a sense of true pain. Even those who hadn't known the "old" Gaara, were scared to see him in such a weakened state, and those who did know of his demons, were frightened one hundred fold. As he felt the last bit of his consciousness fade from him, Gaara looked intensely into the eyes of the fearful woman at his side.

"For you," he rasped, "my queen."