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Shogi Anyone?	By : Shortcake Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 13931 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything Naruto related. I make no profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Gaara managed to avoid Sakura for all but the briefest greetings for the next two days. Nevertheless, thoughts of the pinkette ambushed his mind at every idle moment. She even haunted his dreams. And now they would be sparring partners. Such close personal contact with a woman he found attractive was disconcerting, to say the least. He spent some extra time in meditation Thursday morning in an effort to distance himself from his emotions before training.
Sakura was a bundle of nerves. It was just a spar; it was just Gaara. But Gaara was the kazekage. And he was a good-looking man now. She took a deep breath to settle herself as she headed to the training grounds. She was surprised to see Kankuro and Temari already sparring when she arrived.
Gaara was watching his siblings, a rather bored look on his face as Sakura approached. “I’m sorry Gaara, am I late?” She asked wondering if she’d put the wrong time on her calendar.
“No need to apologize, Sakura. You are on time. They are just early. Their matches tend to be long.” He shrugged nonchalantly. “Shall we begin then?”
Sakura nodded and took her defensive stance. “Still just tai jutsu, correct?”
“Yes,” was his curt reply as he threw the first punch.
The two shinobi exchanged punches and kicks, blocking or dodging all of them for the first few minutes. They broke apart briefly and Gaara asked, “Why are you holding back, Sakura?” as he breathed heavily. “Do you wish to lose?”
“It’s just a spar. I don’t want to hurt you, Gaara. And who says I’ll lose?” She taunted back.
Gaara grinned, he was enjoying a different opponent and Sakura had the skills to pose more challenge than most shinobi. He wanted to see what she could do. “You will definitely lose if you hold back. I’m the kazekage, Sakura. You aren’t going to hurt me.” With his last statement he dove back into the fight forcing her to back flip to avoid his assault.
Sakura responded with her own assault of kicks and punches. She put herself into the match completely, determined to wipe that smug grin off the kazekage’s face. She was not going to lose to this pompous man. She forced him to dodge her left fist and then came back around with a chakra laden kick of her right foot. She was surprised that he missed the block as her foot landed solidly in Gaara’s ribcage. But her joy was short lived. Gaara used that moment of surprise to grab her foot, throwing her off balance, and landing her flat on her back in the dirt with the wind knocked out of her lungs. By the time she could inhale, Gaara was on top of her, pinning her firmly down.
She gasped for air as he still had the grin on his face, “Yield?” he asked. Sakura only nodded as her lungs burned in shock. As she breathed in deeply, she smelled him and looked into his eyes as he held her down. Part of her wanted him to stay there, to lean his face in closer, to… she forced her thoughts away from such fancy.
Gaara loved the look on her face as he’d turned the tables and pinned her to the ground. He’d made her gasp for air and she looked positively ravishing beneath him. The feel of her body underneath him was arousing. However, he’d bought that opportunity to best her by allowing her to land a hard hit to his ribcage. And now that the adrenaline was subsiding, the pain was exquisite. He grabbed his left side as he rolled onto his back next to the pink haired kunoichi.
“Good match.” His voice held the edges of pain as he tried to keep his tone even, “However, Sakura, I think I may need you to heal me, please.”
Sakura turned and sat up in medic mode, noting absently that Temari and Kankuro were still going at it. She looked Gaara over, concerned at his sudden pallor and obviously severe pain. He was going into shock. “Look in my eyes, Gaara.” She held his gaze as her chakra laden fingers skimmed his torso in evaluation. He had two, no three, cracked ribs and some nasty internal bleeding. She went to stop the bleeding first and began to knit the bones together, trying to keep him from passing out as she went. “This might hurt some.” She told the kazekage, knowing full well it would be pure torture.
Gaara cried out in pain. He couldn’t help it. The healing was brutal. He only remained conscious by sheer force of will. This time it was Sakura with an arrogant grin on her face. “I guess it’s a good thing you’re the kazekage and I can’t hurt you.”
“Dammit, woman! What are you doing?” He yelled. Kankuro and Temari had called a truce when they heard Gaara’s cry and were now standing next to them in a state of confusion.
Sakura continued, still looking Gaara in the eyes to help him stay awake. “I’m healing you. I could anesthetize you for this part, but I just presumed you’d prefer to be able to function for the rest of the day. But if it’s too painful…” She was rather smug as she spoke.
Gaara growled, “Oh, I’m just fine. Please. Continue.” He gritted his teeth as she knit the bones together.
“What the hell happened?” Kankuro asked, “Didn’t the sand protect you, Gaara?”
Sakura answered for him as Gaara barely suppressed another yelp. “It did protect him, or he’d be dead.” She said simply, “As it is, he has three broken ribs. Which, I’m fixing.”
Kankuro needed further clarification, “So, Gaara lost to you, Sakura?” he scratched his head, incredulous.
“No! I won!” Gaara found his voice at the suggestion of him losing a match.
Sakura explained further, “He surprised me by missing a block, then used that moment to turn the tables and pin me… So, he did win the match.”
Gaara grinned over the top of the excruciating pain from the bones in his side healing, “It hurts now, but the tactic did work.”
Temari put her face into her hand and shook her head. Kankuro laughed out loud, “brother, you are so damn competitive!”
Sakura finished up the healing and helped Gaara to his feet. “Oh, don’t worry. I won’t underestimate you next time, Gaara.”
Gaara took a deep breath and held his still tender side and nodded at the kunoichi, “I look forward to our next match then.” He smiled and then winced, “But not too soon. I need to recover first.”
Sakura chuckled, “Indeed. I’ll come by your room after you’ve had a chance to shower and wrap that for you; you’ll need some support for a couple of days.” The words had come out of her mouth automatically as she simply recited the standard procedure. It wasn’t until after she spoke that she realized she’d be in his room alone with him. A thought that made her blush slightly. She could only hope the others would think it was from training exertion.
Temari noticed the blushing medic and a slight smile came to her lips. “Well then, let’s head back and get some breakfast. I’m starving.”
…
Gaara managed to shower and put his pants on with some difficulty. He had underestimated Sakura’s strength. He’d managed to follow through with his strategy and win the match, but she had hurt him, and she was definitely going to rub that in. Oh, this woman! This beautiful, brilliant, strong and pig-headed woman! What was he supposed to do?
As his thoughts were mired in emotional chaos, there was a small knock at the door. “Come in, Sakura.” He kept his voice even and neutral as he covered his volatile emotions. It was something he’d mastered as a child with Shikaku.
Sakura opened the door and set to bandaging her patient, “You’ll want to put some ice on the affected area for about 10 minutes a few times a day for the next couple of days. Hot showers at night and morning will help with healing and stiffness too. And you’ll want to keep these ribs wrapped for at least two days.” She was doing her best to be clinical, but the freshly showered shinobi affected her senses. He was so… attractive. She was at a loss for how to deal with her feelings. She was doing her very best to just be professional. As she finished the wrap, she looked up at Gaara to find him looking at her shyly.
“Umm, Sakura…” Gaara was thoroughly embarrassed at this point, “Could you, umm… help me with my shirt? It really hurt to raise my arms up.” He hated to need assistance, but the pain was too real for his pride.
Sakura couldn’t help a small smile, “What is this? The mighty kazekage needs my help?” She feigned shock. She was not going to let him off easy.
Gaara turned red with embarrassment. Damn this woman and the way she called him out! “Please, Sakura?” He asked again.
She picked the shirt up off the bed and helped him into it gently. He winced slightly as she eased the garment over his still tender rib cage. “I’m sorry if that hurt, Gaara.” Her mood suddenly apologetic. “I really didn’t mean to break your ribs, you know.” She looked down, not wanting to see pain on his face.
Gaara used his right hand and lifted her chin, looking her straight in the eye. “None of that, now, Sakura. We are shinobi. We train hard to be strong. Getting hurt is just part of the process. Don’t you dare pull your punches with me. Is that clear?”
Sakura felt his eyes investigate the depths of her soul. She felt emotionally naked under his piercing gaze. She knew he was right. She took a deep breath, straightening her shoulders, “Yes, Gaara.” Her eyes shined back at him full of spirit at the truth he’d spoken. She knew he liked to win, but the fact that he wouldn’t count it a win unless she went all out touched something inside her; she was inspired.
Gaara held her gaze longer than necessary. Did she even know how enchanting she was? “Sakura, will you join me for tea after dinner this evening?” The words were out of his mouth before he had time to think too much.
“Yes, that would be lovely.” She replied hastily as the cheeks on her face matched the color of her hair. His eyes still held hers in rapt attention. “Shall we get some breakfast then?” She closed her eyes forcefully and turned to the door.
“Of course,” came his calm reply. He could hardly wait for tea time.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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Shogi Anyone?