Knee Deep in Sand

Chapter Five

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Last chapter, so don't expect more from this particular story. Also, the sequel-type-thing Weather Patterns will be updated soon after this for sure, so be on the lookout for it. Thanks for all the support, everyone! Even if you don't review, I'm always delightfully pleased to see all of those who have this on their Favorites and Story Alerts lists.

By the way, a reviewer pointed out that s/he wasn't quite clear as to the plot or timeline of this. Well, it's pre-time-skip, and after the exams, of course, though that wasn't necessarily a main component of the story. The plot…basically, it revolves around the beginnings of what could very well be a relationship (whether romantic or not) between Gaara and anyone, though the members of Team Seven in particular. This was more about friendship and acceptance than romance. I figured if anyone were to accept Gaara for who he was, it'd be Sakura and/or the other members, and thus you have Knee Deep in Sand.

I apologize for a) the long author's note and b) any confusion that might have surfaced. If you have any other questions, feel free to ask—I won't bite your head off!

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The gates of Konoha had never looked so beautiful, and the members of Team Seven had never been so relieved to see them. Tired sandal-clad feet trudged ruefully through the forest, still shedding sand from their previous "adventures," all the while trying to ignore the nagging presence of Gaara just to the left of them.

True to nature the four of them had grouped together, Sakura being in the middle of an irate Naruto and a sighing Kakashi, whilst Sasuke did the best he could to huddle inconspicuously.

"Hey, Naruto?" Sakura asked suddenly as the gates to their beloved hidden village began to draw closer and closer, though still not as close as she would have wished.

"Yeah?" the blond boy answered, trying to keep a cheerful tone and failing miserably.

"You know when we were in the desert and I said I'd give anything for just one rain cloud?"

"Yeah."

Thunder rumbled somewhere overhead through the sound of the rain, and she grimaced. "Well I take that back."

Kakashi managed to laugh, despite the circumstances. "It's been raining for two hours straight, none of us thought to bring warmer clothing, and my book is getting soggy. This is just wonderful."

"Stop complaining," Sasuke snapped.

He chuckled yet again. "Actually, I'm trying to get my mind off of the fact that I still need to report to the Hokage." He shot a glance to Gaara, who was staring straight ahead of him, arms crossed. "And you have to come, too, so don't think your suffering is over just yet."

Gaara just scoffed and shifted as he walked. "It doesn't bother me."

"Liar," Naruto whispered slyly. He looked to Sakura and grinned awkwardly. "Don't you agree?"

Sakura laughed, too, because she knew it was the only thing she could do in a hopeless moment such as this. "I agree. Sasuke, do you agree?"

With a dragging groan, Sasuke grunted an "I agree." He glanced to Kakashi. "Kakashi?"

"I agree," Kakashi replied, smiling behind his mask.

In the course of a few seconds and at the fault of a mere statement, Team Seven began to laugh at their conditions, cursing the rain and yet playfully catching drops on their tongues as they did so. Even Sasuke, the ever anti-social one of the group, decided to join in, though with less zeal than his teammates.

And all Gaara did was stare at their antics, facial expression contorting into one of disbelief and annoyance. "Hey," he grunted. When none of them answered him above the dull roar of their attempts at fun and the downpour of precipitation, he scowled. "HEY! You're acting like children!"

Sakura heard him and turned to him, peeling herself away from splashing Naruto with a small puddle. She laughed and pushed back pink hair from her face, uncaring about displaying her forehead to him, and held out a sole hand. "Want in on it, Gaara?"

He shook his head slowly, sneering. "Never."

She grinned. "Oh, you know it's fun! Just come on! Let loose for once and forget about everything!"

"How can you stand there and say that with a straight face?" he questioned, clenching his fists. "You want me to forget? I never forget! I—!" A stray splash of water soaked whatever was left dry on him, though, and he seethed.

Sakura whistled in feigned innocence and put her hands behind her back, rocking on her heels. When she didn't hear a response from Gaara, she glanced at him to see if perhaps he was going insane like in his preliminary match with Lee, only to be met with a face-full of mud. She sputtered and wiped the mud from her, hearing the distant, deep laughter of Gaara. When vision was once again granted to her, she stared at him. "I thought you didn't want to join in?"

He looked away from her, coughing to conceal his light laughter. "I'm not 'joining in,' I was just returning the favor."

"Oh, yeah?" She smirked devilishly and kicked more water at him. "Well return this! It looks like your sand shield doesn't protect you from a little bit of water!"

He growled and shook his head vigorously to try and rid himself of the water, but to no avail. "My sand shield protects me from what it perceives as a threat, and you are definitely not a threat." He made a deft hand motion before sand rushed from his gourd, allowed itself to get wet and turn to mud, and then slapped Sakura's once clean side.

She laughed and pointed to where the rest of Team Seven was currently having the biggest mud-fight in the history of Konohagakure. "Well then, Mister Invincible, why don't we test out that theory?"

Gaara heartily agreed, this time raising both of his hands to summon the sand.

- - -

It was assumed that the mud coating and dripping from Gaara's wet form had served to slightly conceal his identity. Sakura supposed that when people thought of Gaara, they thought of him as clean and pristine—as if he was a primadona of the sort.

The five of them stopped at a small fork in the empty, raining streets of Konoha, and Kakashi nodded to the left street. "Gaara, this is where you and I go report to the Hokage."

Gaara nodded solemnly as a single drop of mud fell from his chin to the ground. He heard Naruto and Sakura laugh somewhere behind him. "How long will this take?"

Kakashi shoved his hands in his pockets. "Not long. After we're done, I'll take you to a nearby hotel and you can get washed up."

The Sand boy nodded, following the much older man down the path.

"Hey!" Sakura shouted after them.

Kakashi turned to face her, but Gaara didn't give her that luxury.

"Gaara," she said, addressing him. He turned around, then, facing her with a filthy face.

"What?" was his solemn reply.

She smiled a little, despite the obvious dirty appearance she carried. "After you get cleaned up, do you want to meet me at the ramen bar next to the hotel? There's only one hotel in Konoha, so I'm sure you'll be able to find the—"

"No."

Her smile disappeared, and Kakashi's damned chuckling wasn't making it any better. "N…no?"

"No." And with that he continued on with the taller man, leaving Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke to stare after them.

Naruto whistled low and elbowed Sakura softly. "I don't think he likes you, Sakura."

She harrumphed and turned her back to where her teacher and Gaara had walked off moments ago. "See if I care! He's just a stubborn little brat."

"He'd kill you if he heard you say that," Sasuke commented, heading off towards his apartment. "I'm going home."

Naruto waved, and Sakura bid him a frowning farewell. "So…" Naruto said, rocking on the balls of his feet. He peeked around to face his mud-covered teammate. "Are you still up for ramen?"

She snorted and shoved him away. "Is that the only thing you eat?"

He shrugged. "It's the only thing that tastes good."

"Anyway," she said, silently disregarding him. "I've got to home and take a shower. I doubt these stains will come out."

"Can I walk you home?"

"It's raining; you're going to get sick."

"I don't care."

"Whatever."

The two of them set out, Sakura holding her arms around herself and Naruto keeping his hands in his pockets for warmth. Rain drummed around them, creating a grey glow on everything, even though it was barely mid-afternoon. Soon they came to Sakura's street, and only then did she speak. "Naruto, what do you think of Gaara?"

He shrugged. "I think he's an arrogant prick."

She rolled her eyes. "That's obvious, but what else do you think of him? Like, why does he act the way he does?"

"I'm not sure." He scratched his blond head, dislodging some caked-on mud in the process. "He's just moody, I think."

"But why is he moody?"

"I don't know." He laughed a little then. "Maybe he was picked on as a kid?"

Sakura chuckled, too. "I doubt it. Everybody would be much too afraid of him to even get near him."

The two shared a brief moment of silence before they had come upon Sakura's front porch. She smiled at Naruto. "Do you still want to go eat at the ramen place by the hotel?"

He nodded vehemently. "Yeah! What time?"

"I guess in about an hour." She glanced at her surroundings once more before putting her hand on her doorknob. "But you're paying."

"Okay."

She nodded and walked inside, softly closing the door behind her.

---

The ramen bar was empty from what she could see through the windows, but Sakura didn't exactly mind. The last thing she wanted to deal with was people. So she walked slowly towards it, holding her umbrella above her head as raindrops pattered against it, running rivulets down the taut material of it.

Everything was still bathed in grey since the rain hadn't let up in the slightest, but it didn't matter to her. The bar was inside anyway, and her umbrella protected her just fine.

"You'd better have showed up," Sakura muttered to herself, scowling. "I'll throttle you if you haven't." She entered the little place, smelling the delightful scent of cooked ramen noodles and steamed dumplings, plus a few more things she couldn't quite identify. She kept the door open as she shook out her umbrella and closed it, and then ambled to an empty booth against a dotted window. She picked up a menu and began to read it, scanning the items carefully. Several different types of ramen littered the pages, and she could only find one meal that she wished to have. Sighing, she mused that she probably should have expected this. It was a ramen bar, after all.

Soon she could see Naruto walking towards the bar in the distance, and she grinned subjectively. He was a fun guy—she had to admit—if only a bit eccentric.

The door opened and he shook his head vigorously as soon as he stepped inside, flinging bits of water off of him. He had taken a shower, obviously, because all traces of mud were gone completely. He glanced around for a little while, finally spotting Sakura in one of the booths. He smiled wide, waved, and bounded over to her.

When he slid into the leather booth across the table from her, it squeaked loudly. He laughed a little, and that was when Sakura noticed that he was soaking wet from the toes up. She sighed in exasperation. "Naruto, don't you have an umbrella?"

He nodded. "I do, but I was running late and didn't want to leave you waiting." After this he laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, you'd better not get sick!" She wagged a finger in his face, pouting. "Because I don't feel like serving you chicken soup and orange juice all day tomorrow!"

"But you'd do it anyway, right?" he teased, smiling his closed-eyed smile.

She rolled her eyes, but agreed anyway. "So what're you getting, Naruto?"

"The usual," he replied, removing his outer jacket and revealing that his inner black shirt was dry. "What about you?"

"I'm not sure…" she said, pushing the menu towards him, "but I'm thinking about the steamed meat dumplings. It's a cold day outside, and this could be the thing to warm me up."

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but the sound of the restaurant door opening and closing caught both of their attention, and they turned to face it.

Gaara strode in through the door, gourd in tow as always. He was completely bone dry and clean, and there was no sign of an umbrella anywhere. He glanced around the small place, but otherwise didn't move.

Sakura looked at Naruto in question.

He shook his head. "I had nothing to do with this."

So Sakura pouted for a moment, staring at the red-haired boy with a mixture of confusion, anger, and reverence. Finally her hand shot in the air defiantly and she waved at him. She seemed to get his attention, because he stared at her with those green-blue eyes. "Hey, Gaara!"

Naruto sighed, giving her a pitiful glance.

She blinked. "What's wrong?"

"I thought this was just going to be me and you," he said, pouting.

She scoffed and threw a closed packet of chopsticks at him. "Don't be stupid! I had invited Gaara in the first place, anyway. I just didn't think he'd show up."

Soon Gaara was standing in front of their table, arms limp at his sides.

Sakura smiled and moved closer to the window, offering him a seat beside her. "Did you forget your umbrella outside or something? I didn't see you walk in with one."

He took the seat, removing his gourd and slipping it under the table at his feet. "I don't have an umbrella."

Her smile faded. "Oh."

"So, Gaara," Naruto began cheerfully, shoving the menu into the Sand-nin's face. "What do you want to eat?"

Gaara slapped the menu away. "I'm not hungry."

He furrowed his brow. "Not hungry…? Then why are you here? This is a restaurant."

"I was asked to come here," he replied, folding his arms as he watched a water droplet fall from Naruto's wet hair and onto the table.

A waitress appeared then, holding a tablet and a pen. "Good evening! What can I get you three?"

"Ramen!" Naruto triumphantly shouted, pumping a fist into the air.

"I'll take a steamed meat dumpling," Sakura said, sitting sideways in her seat to properly face the waitress.

The waitress nodded before pointing her pen to Gaara. "And you?"

He stared at her. "I'm not hungry."

"Well, would you like something to drink, then?"

"No."

She frowned, and Sakura quickly stepped in. "He'll…well, he'll take some curry." She smiled as the waitress walked away.

Gaara scowled at her, and she blinked. "What?"

His scowl deepened. "I don't like curry."

She slapped a hand to her forehead. "You probably should've told me that earlier, Gaara."

---

The evening progressed smoothly from there, with the occasional conversation exchanged between Gaara, Sakura, and of course, Naruto. Sakura had traded her dumplings for Gaara's curry—much to her dismay—and had tried eating the spicy food in small bites, allowing herself time to cool down her mouth afterwards. Naruto had, of course, gulped down his ramen in record timing, and Gaara had eaten the dumplings at a fairly regular pace.

Finally, Sakura couldn't take how hot the curry was, and she pushed it aside. "So, Gaara, when do you plan to head home?"

"Tonight," he replied, not bothering to look at her. "I can just teleport periodically, if need be."

Naruto laughed. "You sound sure of yourself! What if you're attacked by rogue ninjas?" He began licking the bowl of his ramen.

"I'll kill them."

The blond boy blinked to look away from him. "Oh."

Silence fell past them, and Sakura found herself staring out the window at the rain. When the awkward moment finally dispersed, she began to speak again. "The rain hasn't let up much. Do you think it's raining in Suna?"

Gaara snorted. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because it doesn't rain in the desert." He took a bite of his last dumpling, now almost finished with his meal.

Trying to save herself some face, Sakura quickly dropped the subject. "So why did you decide to come here, anyway?"

"Because you asked me to."

Naruto chuckled behind his bowl. "If she asked you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?"

Gaara sneered. "No."

"Naruto, I don't think he gets it," Sakura commented, watching the two boys scrape what was left of their food. She glanced at a clock in the corner of the place, smiling gently. "It's already five."

"Wow, already?" Naruto asked, setting down the bowl at last. "I've got to get home." He smiled wide. "Got stuff to do."

"Yeah, me too," Sakura said, looking to Gaara and expecting him to jump in.

He shook his head. "I have nothing waiting for me there," he explained, reaching beneath the table to put a hand on his gourd. "Just like I have nothing waiting for me here." With that he stood, making a movement to leave.

"Wait!" Sakura called, and to her surprise, he did. "We have to pay the bill and leave a tip, right?" She watched Naruto set down money, grumbling about having to pay for Gaara also. "Besides, I'll walk you to the gates."

"That's not necessary."

She smiled and slung her umbrella over her shoulder, walking to him before finally standing next to him. Oh yes, he was definitely short. That much was painfully obvious. What would he look like when he got older? "It may not be necessary, but it's still nice."

"I don't need your kindness."

His reply had been so harsh; so biting. But she didn't pay heed to it, and instead shrugged. "Then consider it a favor you're doing for me. I need company."

Naruto appeared at that instant, chiming an "I'll go with you!"

They stepped outside and Sakura popped her umbrella open, motioning for the two boys to huddle beneath it with her. Gaara refused her offer, smirking haughtily as she watched a layer of sand form above him, blocking rain from falling on him. Naruto, though, shared Sakura's umbrella. And somehow, Sakura couldn't help but wonder why he hadn't used his "sand-umbrella" before.

They walked silently through the streets of Konohagakure, simply enjoying each other's presence. Rain fell all around them, creating a cold atmosphere and an even colder town setting. When the gates finally came into view, none of them had spoken a word.

"Well," Sakura said, taking a breath. "This is it." She stopped, and the other two stopped also.

Gaara nodded, turning to look at her.

She smiled, sort of crookedly, and outstretched a hand to him, reminding the both of them of their first encounter. "I hope to…see you again. I think."

He took her hand cautiously and shook it, noting the way it was wet from the rain it was being subjected to and how despite this it kept its warmth. "Probably not."

"Probably not what?" she asked as they both withdrew.

"We probably won't ever meet again," he said, turning to leave.

Sakura frowned and Naruto scoffed, rubbing his arms. "Well," she said, "I guess that's it, then."

Gaara gave her one more side glance over his shoulder before continuing forwards, into the forest.

"Bye!" Sakura waved, even though he couldn't see her. "Come back and visit sometime, okay?"

She heard him shout back a distant sort of "No," and huffed. "Fine then!" She pouted slightly, holding the umbrella close to her and ignoring Naruto's shivering stance. "Well, if you ever need anything," she called out, this time louder, "you can come see me anytime!"

This time he didn't answer. And before long, his form was no longer visible to Naruto and Sakura.

They stood there for a while after he left, Naruto chattering his teeth and Sakura just staring and frowning. Finally, Naruto tugged at her shirt. "We should go. I think I'm getting sick." He sniffled as if for emphasis.

Sakura sighed and let her shoulders droop. "Damn you, Naruto. I told you not to get sick."

He rubbed his red nose as they began to walk back, pushed together under the umbrella. "Let's just hope Mister Grumpy doesn't just take up your little offer."

"Offer? Mister Who?"

He jutted a thumb behind him. "Your offer to let Gaara visit. If he ever comes and sees you, you'll have your hands full."

She laughed and punched him in the shoulder gently. "Yeah, especially with you always on my tail."

He playfully whined a little, but the whines were cut short when he sneezed violently.

Sakura let out a tired puff of breath, pushing her bangs back from her face. She tugged him towards the street to her house. "C'mon, Naruto. I'll get you some chicken soup."