Day 16
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Key in hand, Sakura walked the outer balcony to the door of her apartment. Most of the visiting genin were being housed on this block, and her team for the exams was currently living in a two bedroom on the fourth floor. The breeze was nice up here, the view was too, but Sakura barely noticed any of it as she passed quickly by. Her mind was racing, her heart had only just begun to settle as she ascended the outside steps, and she was sure she had looked flustered as she walked through the streets to get here. She just couldn’t believe what had happened, what she had done, what he had done.
Unlocking the door and letting herself in, Ino and Choji were sitting in the living room, they were both staring at her as soon as she stepped inside.
Ino had a magazine on her lap that she flicked closed and tossed on the table in front of her before crossing her arms and demanding, “Girl, what the actual hell was that?”
It was harder to hide things from Ino, she had known her for so long, and Sakura instantly went red in the face. She didn’t really know what to say; she wasn’t the best at lying. Her old friend just gawked at her and Choji sighed, having seen all he needed to.
“Well,” Ino spoke again, now more like she was scolding her. “How did it go?”
Sakura laughed a little nervously and tiptoed her way through the living room. “Oh, I lost,” she admitted with a shrug. They didn’t seem surprised. “But it was good. I’m,” she looked down the hall. “I’m going to use the bathroom. Wash up.”
Watching her leave, Ino scoffed and crossed her arms, looking over at Choji and complaining, “She’s not even toing to tell me about it?” He just shrugged.
Having shut the door behind her, Sakura ran the faucet with cold water and stared at her reflection in thought. She looked the same, but she felt like a completely different person. Just who was that that had asked the Kazekage for a spar in front of everyone? It hadn’t been a version of herself that she recognized. Yes, they had some casual conversations on their journey through the desert and, yes, they had run into each other once or twice after he watched the sunrise with her, but what had it been that tempted her to such forwardness?
She had been a bit taken with how he looked when he no longer carried his field gear and wasn’t covered in an old cloak. There was something about the way he stood before a gathered group, addressing them as the leader he was, able seen the result of how far he’d come and the work he’d put in. It had moved something within her. It told her if she asked, he would answer, if she offered, he might accept; and he had.
He kept giving her those side glances, and he’d been watching her more closely when Shikamaru spoke to the group. It was impossible not to feel his eyes on her; his gaze was a heavy one. Then he’d approached her and accepted her challenge without waiting another moment, and he’d been smirking at her, too, making her blush and get her thoughts all out of sorts right before they started.
Sakura, not really knowing what to expect, hadn’t anticipated their fight to feel so thrilling, so freeing. She had better control now, more strength to throw around, and her opponent was sturdy enough so that she hadn’t needed to hold back. His sand could harden to the rigidity of stone, his shield could absorb her blows and deflect their power, and it had felt liberating to be caught up in the swift pace and relentless pursuit. Plus, she’d coaxed that look of surprise out of him, seen how his shock had crossed over his face when she was closing in. She had been bold, very bold. Looking back, she had been putting on quit the posturing and had things had certainly been…tense.
Gaara, however, had taken the gold in boldness when he had leaned down and kissed her.
Sakura cupped her hands under the running faucet and splashed some cold water on her face, her cheeks still burning, remembering how she had kissed him back.
She had been shocked then, but eager as well. She had returned his embrace, pressing herself against him and relishing in the way he slid his hands down her waist, grabbing her, keeping her close. Where had that passion come from? she pondered as she glanced back at herself in the mirror and touched a finger to her lips. It was like a dam of backfilled need had burst the moment he’d kissed her. He was fevered, she’d been caught up in the intensity of it, he’d slipped his tongue along her lip, and she drew his between her teeth in return. Their fight forgotten, the heat of the sun replaced with the heat of his touch, and the outside world falling away as she melted into him, Sakura had gasped when he suddenly pulled away.
“Shit,” he hissed; hands still holding her close to him, his body firm against hers as her mind caught up with her.
Gaara had noticed a crossover at the threshold of his perception and he had instantly remembered that he had a meeting to get to. He’d been late as it was, and the council had likely sent a messenger to fetch him. He couldn’t allow himself to be seen tangled up with Sakura like this, he could only imagine what people would assume.
He drew away from her then, the space left between them feeling like a void that he wished he could fill again. “I’m sorry,” he said, observing the dazed look on her face. “I’m late, I have to go.”
Sakura nodded; she remembered him saying he was a busy man. “Okay,” she agreed.
Gaara paused, studying her proximity and his feelings about it. Then, he bent down, forehead meeting hers, holding the nape of her neck in his hand. Sakura’s eyes fluttered closed, she thought he was going to kiss her again, but instead she simply heard him say, “You were incredible.”
Her heart skipped in her chest, and then all at once he was gone. His body had vanished, the presence of him was gone, and nothing but a fine trail of sand slithering along the ground gave any trace of him. She stood there in the training field; bewildered, excited, a little stunned at what her actions had gotten her, and then a young man had turned the corner around a store house and waved her down.
“Hello!” he called out to her. She raised a hand back. “Have you seen Lord Kazekage around here?”
She thought for a moment, and eventually responded with a flat No.
It had been a walk to remember on the way back to her apartment, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it, and here she was; stood in her bathroom with cold water splashed on her face, staring at herself in the mirror thinking Really? It just had to be him?
She groaned and couldn’t help but laugh at herself a little, shaking her head. Just what had she been thinking? He was the Kazekage.
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