A/N: AU Story differences:

Gaara won when Deidara tried to capture him. Suna was demolished and had to be rebuilt. Sakura was sent with others to help with the wounded and rebuilding efforts. Then she returned to the leaf. Sasuke Uchiha died trying to destroy Konoha, and it's now 2 years later, and Kakashi is Hokage.
And the most important detail… Gaara still has Shukaku.

In an effort not to be flamed: this is a darker side of Gaara that is influenced heavily by Shukaku – it is NOT some evil, rampaging Gaara! You'll figure out how and why as you read. n_n

…

– The Monster Within –

…

Sakura Haruno woke in the sand of the desert, her head throbbing, and her body weak. What had happened? Right, her squad had been on its way to Suna for a mission that supposedly required her medical expertise when they were attacked, and a newly formed sandstorm had eventually driven the enemy away. It was painfully coming back to her now. To think, she was only alive because of something as common place in the land of wind as a low level sandstorm.

She sat up slowly and looked around. There was nothing but sand around her and she could not even tell which direction Suna would be in. A familiar face would be good right about now. Another sand storm had kicked up (or was it the same one?); it abrasive against her skin, but only vaguely impeded her vision. She stood, trembling and looked up, trying to find the sun. It was almost at its peak and she couldn't tell which way was north, east, south or west, from here. She stood still (though still trembling) trying to decide what to do. Temari had told her that in a sandstorm, even the little ones, staying in the one place was the key to survival.

Sighing deeply, she sat back down and waited patiently for the sands to settle. Her body was in pain so she set about using her chakra to heal what she could. The damage was severe, but hopefully there would at least be no more trembling when she finally stood up again. She went over in her head the events that had led her to this place.

Her team was attacked in the desert, and in the ensuing sandstorm, she had lost track of the rest of them. She had brought only Anbu with her this time, but unfortunately, they had no experience in sandstorms, so she hoped they were okay. Kima had disappeared first, then Hawk and lastly Tonetsu. She knew they were fine ninja, the elite, but worried for them anyhow.

Sakura closed her eyes and decided to meditate while she waited out this storm. It hurt every now and then, causing her to flinch when miniscule grains of sand grazed her bare skin – mostly her face. But there was nothing she could do about it. She had no extra cloth with her to cover up any exposed skin. An hour passed by, then two, and three… She lost track of the time.

Finally, the storm dissipated and she could see clearly through the upturned sand. But the trembling was back. She had started to feel better, and then as the sands continued to rage, her body began to weaken again. Sakura stood shakily to her feet (it took far too much effort for her not to be concerned about any lingering, internal injuries) and then took a better look at the world around her. A faint speck in the distance looked like it might at least be shelter from the sun. She started toward it, shading her eyes from the sun once more. With her body weakened, she could only walk slowly, but methodically toward her target. The sun burned and she had to blink heavily a few times to clear the haze in her vision. Whatever this shelter was, she hoped it had water, possibly food, and maybe somewhere soft to sleep.

'Not long now,' she told herself. 'Just keep going.'

Sakura pushed herself forward stumbling every now and then, aware of her slow but steady pace, fighting her trembling, and fatigue. The strange speck on the horizon grew larger growing into a small one-storey building that looked more like a rundown temple. She knew someone from Suna had told her about this before, but she couldn't remember who it was, nor anything they had said.

'Sacred: it's sacred.'

She remembered that now. But surely, whoever was there wouldn't turn her away if she was in this condition, right? There was only one way to find out. On closer inspection, the building was clearly made of a kind of hard sandstone she had not seen in any of the construction of Suna. It was dry, of course, but smooth as though it had been placed in a kiln. A very large kiln, naturally.

Sakura ran her hand along its smooth surface, almost transfixed. It felt warm, inviting and somehow made her feel all the much better, at least in a spiritual sense. It had to be the temple she had heard about. No-one was supposed to enter without direct permission from the Kazekage, she remembered. Right, it had been Kankuro who had told her. Apparently, he had gotten the idea for his face paintings from some ancient monks who had once resided here. This sect of monks had been the inception of the architecture that had created the buildings in Suna. But for some reason, they did not use the same building materials.

Sakura stroked the stone for a while longer before realising what she was doing and hastily removed her hands. Sacred or not, she needed to see if anyone was home.

"H-hello!" Her voice was cracked and she coughed slightly after speaking. She had not spoken for what seemed like days.

She limped around the outside of the building, found the door, and knocked. After waiting for a few minutes, she tried the handle. It was unlocked. Okay, she knew she was trespassing, but as far as she knew, the rule about this place was only enforced on the people of this land. She just needed to find something to drink or eat or something. Suna shouldn't be too far away, and if the caretaker knew which direction to go, she'd be out of their hair in no time.

Sakura pushed on the door gingerly and peered in. It was almost pitch black inside, so she opened the door as wide as it would go, to let some light in. A shiver ran up her spine and despite the warning, she continued inside, slowly.

"H-hello?" She asked again, her voice a little stronger this time. "Is anybody here? I know I'm not supposed to be here, but I was wondering if I could please have something to drink. You see, I've been out in the desert for too long and without water. Hello?"

There was no response. She left the door open and kept moving inward. She could see more of the structure now. She was inside a circular room that had adjoining doors, a central dais with a stone pedestal in the middle of it and the walls were lined with circular platforms that held all kinds of items, from unlit candles to what looked like floral arrangements and silver plates with decorative insignias. She wondered if they were supposed to be some kind of offerings.

'Weird.'

Sakura shivered, pulling her eyes away from the sight. There were also murals on the wall, and paintings that depicted the ancient order that once thrived in this area. She whipped her head around as she heard the distinct brush of cloth against the floor.

"Hello?"

Someone was behind the pedestal on the dais and she gingerly moved toward it. Her heart started to pound and she inched toward the cowering figure. Their cloak had a hood, so she could only see their feet as they kept their head down and turned away from her. But judging by their body size and contours, she guessed they were male. The shoes they wore were the standard open toed sandals of a sand ninja.

"Are you okay?" She asked, swallowing hard. "Can you hear me?"

"Go away."

She knew that voice. "Gaara?"

What would the Kazekage be doing all the way out here?

"I said go away," he hissed, not turning to look at her. "You're not supposed to be here."

This didn't sound like him. She thought she knew Gaara Sabaku well enough. He had a history in violence and destruction, but thanks to Naruto's influence, had put that behind him, and even earned the respect of his village. Over two years ago, Sakura had come to Suna to help when the Akatsuki attempted to capture him. They failed and hadn't tried since, but the sand village was left in ruins, so Sakura had spent months helping with the wounded, as well as the reconstruction efforts after Deidara's explosion had taken its toll on the village.

Gaara was not cruel anymore, nor unkind in any way. So what had gotten into him?

"Gaara, I –"

"I said GO AWAY!" He spun around to face her, jumped to his feet and had her pinned against the dais before she could move.

'Damn my injuries.' She was still weak, and could not push him off of her.

"Please, Gaara, what has gotten into you? You're hurting me!"

Sakura looked up into his eyes and gasped. The left eye had changed, looking more like the black and pale yellow eye of Shukaku. She suddenly wished she had not spotted this temple in the desert and tried again to push him away. Her chakra was depleted and her body wracked with pain.

"I can't stop it now," he said, growling at her. "You're not supposed to be here. I'm supposed to do this alone."

She coughed. "Do what?"

He sneered at her. "You have eyes don't you?"

"You intend to transform?"

"Don't be stupid," he snapped. "Why would I do that?"

He shifted an arm against her throat and held her still with his body. She was suddenly very aware of how toned the Kazekage was. She supposed he worked out between signing papers and attending council meetings. Ever since Deidara's attack, a new, younger council had formed. It was Gaara's idea, since most of the older ones had died in the carnage.

"Please Gaara, let me go," she begged. "I'll leave you alone. Please just let me go."

"It's too late," he said, now softer. "My meditation was interrupted and I need to expel the rush of endorphins."

"What are you talking about?"

He stared into her eyes and she watched, horror stricken as his right eye changed colour in front of her. It darkened, morphing into a replica of the black and pale yellow of the other eye. How could he do this and not be succumbing to Shukaku? He had been meditating! She realised with a sick wrenching of her stomach that he had been learning to better control the demon within. If only she had known! Some medic in Suna must have suggested this technique to him. It sounded dangerous.

"I've been thinking about you lately, Sakura Haruno," he whispered, almost lovingly. "I've been dreaming of you when mother visits."

'Mother? That's what he used to call Shukaku, right?' If Sakura hadn't been panicking before, now was the time to start.

Gaara pulled her away from the pedestal and dragged her toward the circular wall around them, forcing her up against one of the platforms. He started to tear at her clothes and she took the hint to start struggling again. The effort shot spasms of pain through her body.

"Stop it," he said.

"No, Gaara, you're not in your right mind. I won't let you do this. Please, stop."

She lashed out with her arms and legs, groaning with the effort, determined to stop him before he did something they would both regret. But with every fit of defiance and cry of protest, she grew weaker. Gaara was unscathed, clearly having realised she was not at full strength. He continued to tear at her clothes, but was now taking the time to undo buttons and ignored the silent tears now streaming down her face.

Sakura slumped, held up now, only by the Kazekage. He was ravenous, the look on his face making her worry for his sanity, and her life. Gaara pressed up against her, his hands robbing her of her top, and all the cloth that covered her upper torso. He stopped for a moment and stared at her breasts. She moaned slightly as he lowered his mouth to her nipples, struggling against the sensation of pleasure his touch was creating.

She was not a virgin, having dated back in Konoha, moving on after Sasuke's death two years ago. She was also not stupid, and could see where this was leading. "Gaara," she said weakly, "stop."

For all the good it did.

He pushed at her again, his hands on either side of her waist, making her tremble. She started to squirm again and he shoved her against the hard stone platforms, hard. She cried out, sure something had just fractured.

"Stop moving," he growled.

He played with her breasts, his breath giving her goose bumps and his fingers started to grip too tightly to her skin. He lifted his head and she shivered involuntarily at the glazed expression on his face. Was he even Gaara anymore? The Kazekage hadn't let the demon out, had he?

No. This was something else entirely.

Gaara kissed her, forcing Sakura against the stone unable to move an inch. His left hand stayed on her waist, while the other one trailed down her skin, and started to pull away the rest of her clothes. She refused to open her mouth to him and he bit down on her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood. She gasped and he slid his tongue in when she parted her lips. The taste of her blood seemed to drive him on.

Cursing silently, Sakura tried to think. If she moved, he would hurt her, but she didn't have the strength to go very far, even if she managed to break free of his grip, which in and of itself was highly unlikely.

But she was no barn animal, just there for the slaughter. She was no weakling.

Sakura could not contain the soft sound of pleasure that erupted from her as Gaara's fingers danced over her clit. She moaned, naked against the Kazekage and despite her desire to run, to get away from him, he was arousing her in ways she had never felt before. No-one had ever made her feel like this before. But it was still rape and she grabbed his arms at the shoulder in a vain attempt to gain some sort of control.

If he was going to do this, she intended to fight him every step of the way, even if he broke every bone in her body as punishment. She groaned and gasped as his left hand clenched her throat. She could barely breathe, the pressure on her airway making her eyesight blotched, and her body threatened to pass out.

Gaara continued to finger her, gathering his own pleasure from the feel of her wetting his hand. He had pulled away from their violent kiss and was now looking down. He was watching his efforts as his fingers rubbed her clit, in circular motions. Ignorant of his captive's now silent pleading and her hands moving fruitlessly to the arm clutching at her throat, Gaara slid is fingers inside of her roughly. Sakura cried out as much as the clenching of her throat would allow and her arms fell to her sides.

She couldn't give in, never. But there was no way to stop what he was about to do.

Suddenly, Gaara released her throat and pressed his forehead against hers. She swallowed heavily and looked into those maniacal, Shukaku eyes. "Gaara," she said softly, trembling with every syllable. "Just do it quickly. Get it over with."

He threw his cloak off and proceeded to undo the bindings on his trousers. It was then that she realised he was wearing a simpler version of his Kazekage uniform under the travelling cloak he had just carelessly tossed aside. She braced herself, breathing heavily now as his erection rubbed up against her. She was too tired to fight, in too much pain to complain.

Gaara kept his eyes on hers as he entered her, thrusting with the same ferocity he had shown thus far. He lifted both of her knees to widen her legs, and her eyes drifted upward, to look at the ceiling. She did not bother to suppress the scream that escaped her lips. It was not of pain, but of rapture.

The tears came faster now as Sakura slumped forward and held onto the Kazekage for dear life. He grunted as their hips met and he kept pushing into her, every plunge more domineering than the last, and every whimper from her spurring him on.

It seemed to take forever, but eventually, after a final thrust, a warm thick feeling spread through her body, indicating Gaara had come into her. It terrified her beyond belief, that he had done this with no thoughts other than his own pleasure, and ignorant of the ramifications. She swore, as he softened and rested against her, that if anything had just resulted from this, she would kill him, ally, or no ally.

He didn't fight as she regained the strength to push him away. He stumbled backwards, looking dazed. Sakura redressed herself and went to leave when Gaara stopped her with that deep, monotone voice of his.

"Sakura, please forgive me."

X X X

A/N: Okay, so the sequel is called Dark Sands, for anyone who's interested.
There aren't many fanfics with Gaara raping Sakura, but I must stress that the sequel is not so much about the rape, but more on the consequences and the resulting Shukaku influences. For now, please review. ^_^