LoveShinobi A/N: Ello, ello! So I convinced Angelv to go with something a little darker and it was really just a spur of the moment story that we kinda just went with. Since, there was literally almost NO planning what so ever. Which was different for us, because we usually have a thorough outline. So I hope you enjoy! And as always.

Angelv A/N: Okay guys, this is a story that LoveShinobi came up with one night, and once I heard the idea, we just went with it. I think this is actually the first story we've ever written that we didn't plan out fully and just improvised, but it turned out really great. So, as always, read and review!

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Deception

Chapter One

-Arrival-

"Where are Naruto and Sasuke?" Neji leaned back a bit, since he and Kiba had been sitting on a bench outside the ramen stand for nearly twenty minutes now.

"Who knows." the more energetic of the two said. "It's probably Naruto's fault."

Neji nodded, his long brown hair falling in his face. "Most likely."

"Well they better hurry…isn't Gaara supposed to get here around noon?"

The Hyuuga nodded once more and then glanced up to see an excited blonde running towards them, a calmer Uchiha behind him. It had been a while since the last Uchiha had returned from his lifelong mission of killing his brother. Surprisingly, he had calmed down and was much more tolerable than he had been in their younger years. "About time." Neji said, standing from his spot. Kiba stood as well, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Seriously what took you guys so long?"

"Naruto couldn't decide whether or not he wanted to bring shuriken or kunai." Sasuke said, rolling his eyes and glancing towards the blonde annoyance.

The other two glared at Naruto and shook their heads. "You're stupid Naruto." Neji said with a sigh.

"Seriously man! You want us to be late?"

"Well! I'm sorry, but you know it's been a long time since Gaara came and visited! I need to be prepared just in case he wants to spar!" Naruto smirked, rubbing under his nose with his thumb.

Sasuke sighed. "Idiot, you're the one always begging him to spar, and then you get your ass kicked."

"I do not! I ALMOST won, you know that time…a couple winters ago…remember that?" he urged, looking to the others for help.

"You mean when Gaara had that cold?" Kiba asked, scratching his head in thought.

"You know what! He didn't have a cold! He was just trying to play off his almost defeat!"

Neji arched a brow and tried not to laugh. "He could barely get out of bed and you dragged him out into the snow."

"Whatever!" the orange-clad ninja fumed, crossing his arms angrily. "I still almost won."

"Hey guys!" they all heard, glancing over to see a familiar pink haired medic.

Naruto gasped and held his hand up, stopping Sakura in her advance with a yell. She blinked and stared at him oddly. "No Sakura-chan! This is man time! No girls! Gaara is coming to visit! I know it will be hard, but you'll just have to live without this sexy stud for a couple days." He snickered, giving her a suggestive look.

She sighed and continued to walk towards him, hitting him over the back of his head. "Idiot. I finally get a day off from the hospital, and you want me to leave?" she crossed her arms in offense.

"Sorry Sakura." Neji said, shaking his head. "I even told Tenten it was man time."

"Yeah Sakura, no girls allowed." Kiba snickered, poking the pink haired woman in the stomach. "Besides, if our ladies can deal with it you can. You don't even have a boyfriend, so it's not like anything is really different."

Sakura huffed. "Fine, I can see when I'm not wanted." She said, turning and walking away. "And Naruto, the next time Kakashi-sensei sets us up to spar, I'm going to kick your ass all the way to Suna." She smirked, waving at everyone before leaving.

Naruto shuddered at the thought. "Man, why do I always get threatened by her?"

"Because you're an idiot." Sasuke said.

Gaara and Temari walked up to the gates of Konoha, followed by two Jounin from Suna. The blonde looked over at her brother and gave him a wave. "See ya bro, I'm off to track down Shikamaru." And with that she walked off.

The redhead sighed and tugged at the traveling cloak over his clothing. "Such a scary woman. Poor Nara," he grimaced and then glanced back at his escorts. "You may leave and take care of business at the Kage tower. I'm going to find Naruto and say hello." With silent nods the two disappeared, leaving the Kazekage to himself.

He walked forward and looked around the village. It always amazed him how cool in temperature Konoha was. He turned the corner and caught himself just before he ran into someone. "Forgive me." He said quickly, meeting an intense emerald gaze. "Oh hi Sakura." He said, righting his clothing from the near collision.

"Hey Gaara, did you just arrive in the village?" she asked, giving him a friendly smile. She was glad that she'd looked up before yelling the many profanities that were on the tip of her tongue. It would have been embarrassing to insult the redhead before realizing who he was.

He nodded, crossing his arms under his cloak. "Yup, in fact I was just ditched by my sister, who apparently finds Shikamaru far more entertaining than me." He smirked, trying to show he was making a joke.

She chuckled. "Can't see why, all he does is stare at clouds and sleep. Personally I find you much more entertaining than him."

"Yes well, I know how chatty I can be. She must not dig that." He sighed, feigning disappointment. "Anyways, how are you? Still excelling in the medical field?"

"Yes, Shishou finally gave me a day off from work, not that I requested it or anything. But apparently it's not healthy to work every day, and I was told that if I even step one foot in the hospital before she tells me I can, I'll be stuck filing paperwork." She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyways.

He actually laughed, somewhat. "Yes, well I suggest you listen to her. Speaking from experience, paperwork sucks. And I don't ever get a break from it."

"Well, it's not like she still won't try and make me do it." She looked up at him then. "So how have you been? Is the Tsuchikage still being a pain?"

"Isn't he always? He's a grouchy old man who just can't seem to make up his mind and insists that I am a young whipper snapper who is still wet behind the ears." He sighed.

This made Sakura laugh. "Well, for someone who's wet behind the ears, you do a really good job of running Suna. Besides, he should be getting senile any day now."

"We can only hope right? Thanks though," he smiled slightly and then looked around. "Hey you haven't seen Naruto around have you?"

She sighed. "Yeah, he and everyone else are waiting for you at the ramen stand. Apparently it's a 'guy's day'" she made air quotes. "So I guess I'll see you later."

He gave her a curious glance, trying to hide his amusement. "I'm sorry, is it my doing that you don't get to hang with your punching bag today?"

Sakura crossed her arms and smirked. "Actually, yeah. Guess that means I have to be mad at you now." She said, although the humor in her eyes said otherwise.

"Well then," he glanced off, before returning his gaze to her own. "To make up for my terrible folly, why don't you allow me to treat you to dinner tomorrow night?" he said, actually sounding genuine.

"That would be quite acceptable." She smiled then. "What time should I expect you at my apartment?"

He gave it some thought before answering, but as he did he smirked. "How about six? I should be done beating the crap out of Naruto by then."

"I'll be ready by five forty-five." She smiled before stepping around him to continue on her way. "See you then." She said over her shoulder, waving goodbye to him.

"I'll be right on time." He waved as well and headed in the opposite direction.

Sakura hummed softly to herself as she flipped through a catalogue. She needed to get some groceries, and was trying to find any coupons she could use for them. Not that money was tight or anything, but she was very frugal with her money, and didn't like to waste it.

Not fully paying attention to where she was going, she was startled when she ran into someone. "I'm so sorry!" she said, stepping back and looking up in surprise. When she was met with a mostly hidden face, she smiled. "Hi Shino, sorry for running into you, I wasn't paying attention." She scratched the back of her head in embarrassment. "That's actually the second time I've run into someone today, guess that means I'm just a klutz."

"No problem Sakura. I am usually more vigilant. I apologize for not being so in this moment." He nodded, going silent then, but not moving from his spot in front of her.

"No, it's fine." She laughed awkwardly, wondering why he hadn't moved so that she could go on her way. Did he have more he wanted to say, was he waiting for her to say something…? She was never sure when she talked to the bug master. "So…um…what have you been up to lately? I heard your team just got back from a mission, did it go well?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back, still holding her catalogue.

"Yes it did." He replied.

"That's good." She said. Then she stepped to the side in an attempt to go on her way. "Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but I have a lot of things to get done before Shishou lets me go back to work." She said. He moved in front of her, stopping her once again.

"You have a few days off?"

She held in a sigh. It wasn't that she didn't like Shino or anything, but he gave her the creeps. He was just so awkward to talk to. "Just today and tomorrow. She wants me to relax a bit."

"Well." He paused, pushing up his shaded glasses. "Tomorrow I was going to go visit the larva, it would be wonderful if you'd accompany me. You could even hold them if you wanted."

"Oh, um…" she blinked. "That's a really generous offer Shino, since I'm sure your Clan doesn't really let outsiders close to the larva, but I already have plans tomorrow. Sorry." She said, although in reality she wasn't. She hated bugs with a passion, but knew that he would be offended if she said otherwise, and she didn't want to offend him. After all, everyone was allowed to have their quirks, however weird they were.

"You do?" he asked, actually a hint of an emotion in his monotone. "With who?"

"With Gaara." She smiled slightly. "He's going to take me out to dinner tomorrow night. And during the day Ino is making me go to a beauty spa with her, Tenten, and Hinata. Sort of a girl's day." She told him.

"Gaara?" he asked, sounding skeptical. "The Kazekage?"

She nodded, her smile widening. "Yup, can you believe it? He asked me earlier this morning when he arrived. I'm not really sure what to wear though, cause' I don't know if it's technically a date or not. But I'm sure Ino will help me find something." Her eyes widened and a light blush came to her cheeks then when she realized that she was truly excited for her dinner with the stoic redhead. "I'm sorry, I'm rambling. You probably don't care to hear about any of that stuff."

"It's probably not a date." He said sharply, sticking his hands in his pockets. "After all it is Gaara. I bet you're not even his type."

A hurt look came to her face. "Oh, well…" she wasn't entirely sure what to say to that, after all, she'd never considered it like that before. Not wanting to become depressed, she continued to look at it from an optimistic standpoint. "I'll still dress up I think. That way, if it's not a date, he can get a good look at what he's missing out on." She half-joked.

"Yes well." Shino said, moving around her, his shoulder bumping hers. She glanced over and went wide eyed seeing a large beetle sitting on her shoulder.

"Shino, your…uh…beetle is on me." She told him, proud of herself for not freaking out the way she normally would have in that situation.

He stopped and glanced back, making a slow advance on her. "Sorry." He said, lifting his hand from his pocket, cupping it over her skin and picking up the bug. "He tends to like smooth skin. I'll make sure he doesn't follow after you and burrow into your bed." He nodded and placed the bug in his pocket before walking off once more.

She swallowed hard, but waved to the bug master anyways. "Thanks! It was nice talking to you!" she called after him, turning to continue her journey to the marketplace. Inwardly she let out a relieved breath. Talking to him just got weirder and weirder every time.

About three hours later when she had finished her shopping and dropped her groceries off at her house, Sakura walked into the Yamanaka flower shop. "Hey! Ino-pig!" she called.

"Yo Forehead. What's up?" the blonde asked from the counter, not looking up from the magazine she was reading.

Sakura walked up and placed her hands on the counter. "You're never going to guess who I have a date with tomorrow night." She said conspiratorially.

Ino glanced up and then back down at the gossip column. "What, did Sasuke finally get a taste of his own uninterested medicine and come to his senses about how madly in love with you he is?" she asked, turning the page.

She rolled her eyes. "No, and I don't like Sasuke that way anymore, you know that." She leaned closer to her friend. "It's Gaara." She whispered, awaiting the blonde's reaction in glee.

The blonde looked up, slightly wide eyed. "Gaara? Like smoking hot fine Kazekage Gaara?" She asked, her grin crawling quickly up her face.

"Oh yeah." She nodded, smiling in a self-pleased way. "He's taking me to dinner."

"No way, you big fat liar." She smirked, stepping around the corner and flicking her friend in the forehead. "Did he ask you? Like initiate and all?"

Sakura crossed her arms. "Of course he did. I was on my way to the marketplace, and he and I almost walked into each other. We got to talking, and I kinda flirted with him a bit, and then he asked me if I wanted to go to dinner." She said.

"Sakura…do you know what a score that is?" Ino squealed, throwing her hands in the air. "He's totally gorge, he's rich, and he's a power ninja! He's like…a trifecta." She smirked, counting off the perks on her fingers.

"Well…" she hesitated slightly. "I'm not entirely sure if it's a real date or anything. I mean, it wasn't specified, so I don't know if I should dress up or not."

"Hm." Ino tapped her chin and then snapped. "Ah! Ok here's what you do, dress cute but casual. That way no matter what you have an excuse. Cause' you can be cute for a date, and if it's not you look cute anyways but in normal clothes, like you weren't trying."

She nodded. "Ok, so like, jeans and just a nice top? Or should I wear a skirt? A dress?" she asked out loud, becoming confused. This was why she had come to Ino for help. She would know what to do in a situation like this.

"No, jeans for sure and a cute top. Make sure you show off those boobs you finally developed, but not too much." She smirked, leaning back against the counter. "You don't want to seem too desperate."

"Ok. Thanks Ino. Do you think I should wear make-up?"

She shook her head quickly. "No, no, no! Only a little eyeliner and some mascara. Besides you don't really need it anyways."

"Alright." Then she bounced up and down a bit and squealed. "I'm so excited!" she stopped suddenly, as Shino's words from earlier came back. "What if I'm not his type? What if I do something stupid and ruin the whole thing?"

Ino rolled her eyes. "Please Sakura. If you weren't his type I seriously doubt Gaara would give you the time of day. Besides, you guys are friends. And you know how I know it's true? Cause' I know how he acts around someone he hates and someone he's indifferent to."

"Like who?"

"Well he totally hates me." She snickered, looking over her nails. "And he's indifferent towards Tenten, so trust me. I think you're in the clear."

"Really?" she asked, her smile returning to her face. "I'm so excited about tomorrow night, I hope it works out." She said, rocking back and forth on her heels. "So, what time tomorrow are we all meeting at the spa?"

"Let's just say noon, I don't know when I'll be getting up. Kiba's been pretty frisky lately." The blonde gave her friend a wink, letting out a content sigh.

Sakura sighed, feeling envious of her friend for knowing what sex was like. It wasn't that she hadn't had any offers or anything, but she hadn't met the right person. "Yes, well, as long as we're done by five. My date is at six."

"We'll probably be done around three." Ino nodded and picked up her magazine. "Well, it's almost time to close up so get on home." She shooed, pushing Sakura towards the door.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't let Kiba wear you out or anything." Sakura said with a smile, leaving the shop and heading home. She decided she'd better end her day early, since it would take her a while to pick out what she was going to wear. Smiling at the thought of her day tomorrow, she picked up her pace, wanting to be home before dark.