--

Sakura had no time to wonder about Gaara's favor. As soon as she was able to leave the hospital, school had started. Between studying medicine, volunteering in the hospital, and trying to convince the police that none of her friends had stabbed her, Sakura's life was hectic and it had been a month before she had even talked to Ino. And when she did, it was over the phone.

"I can't believe Naruto wanted to let Sasuke off the hook like that!" Ino growled over the phone. Sakura smiled as she heard the angry blonde's fingers tap away on her keyboard.

"Well, he was his best friend and he was kind-of…crazy at the time." Sakura mumbled, reading a ten-pound textbook on endocrinology. She was lying on her side, trying to put as little pressure on her wound as possible. Even though it was healed, Sakura refused to do anything that would put her back into the hospital.

"But he stabbed you! He's lucky Gaara-san didn't kill him." Sakura shuddered at the name, a smile on her face.

"Oh, yeah, I heard you punched him. He was pretty calm about it." Sakura said nonchalantly, trying to retain all of the information while talk to the blonde.

Ino was silent for a while; even the sound of her tapping away had disappeared. Sakura hesitantly asked if she was still there when Ino screamed. "Oh, my, god, perfect idea!" Sakura groaned. Ino's ideas generally ended in pain, mainly for the pink-haired female.

"Please don't tell me you're going to try and fight Gaara. One punch was already too much."

"Psh," the blonde scoffed, tapping away furiously, "I have another book idea, but it needs one thing." The sly innuendo wasn't lost on Sakura who immediately sighed.

"While I know I'm not going to like this: what's the idea?" Sakura rolled her eyes as she continued to read. She opened a book titled "DNA and You!" and began to skim both books.

The grin on the blonde's face practically emanated across the phone lines. "It'll be a best seller based on you and Gaara!" She squealed, her typing (already a speed well above Sakura's 200 wpm) sped up to record speeds as she talked. "It'll be about a girl whose name will be…I'd probably make it "Blossom" or "Cherry", but I don't want to sound too cliché, so she'll be name..Sakuran." The pink-haired girl blanched at the name, but ultimately decided it was much better than 'Cherry'. "And she'll meet a man named…Subaku." Sakura almost stopped listening, but what Ino said next caught her attention. "And it'll be practically love or lust at first sight!"

"I'm not in love with Gaara." Sakura stated stiffly, books completely ignored.

"Yeah yeah," Ino said and Sakura pictured the girl brushing her off, "you might not love him yet, but trust me when I say I see chem-is-try." She sang the last words.

"You failed chemistry and therefore wouldn't know it if you saw it." Sakura said blankly, mind trying to overcome the news her friend was throwing in her face. Chemistry? Psh. Sakura was a chemistry major and she saw no such thing.

Ino scoffed. "But I passed Romance 101 with an A plus so there. When I say I see chemistry it means those people will end up in bed at some point making hot, passionate monkey -,"

"I get the picture, sadly." Sakura cut in. Inner Sakura was having a field day creating various…images of certain acts with Gaara that Sakura would rather not see.

Ino's grin widened. "Yes, imagine you and Gaara in a large, king-sized bed with black silk sheets. His hot mouth trailing kisses lower…and lower…and lower as you writhe, handcuffed with silk scarves. Your body, rising to meet his quicker so you can-,"

"Really, stop." Sakura ordered, putting her hot face in her hands. More than just images plagued her mind; an entire video seemed to be on loop.

"Fine, but you have to hear the rest of my plot." Sakura consented. "So, they, you two, meet and end up having a crush on each other, but there's a problem that the girl, 'Sakuran', has to overcome: Her new 'friend' is a Yakuza Boss."

"Shocker," Sakura mumbled.

Ino ignored her friend's cynicism. "After a few events, probably some serious soul searching and perhaps a make-out session or two, Sakuran relents and gets over the fact that he's killed people. Just as their relationship seems to be going well, though, a rival Yakuza group kidnaps her!" Sakura sighs as Ino overdramatically gasps as if it were the most shocking thing to happen. "Sakuran is fine while she's kidnapped though. Except for the fact that the Yakuzas are much more different than she thought they'd be and she even felt attracted to some of them." This hit too close to home for Sakura and she found herself cringing.

"Finally Sakuran finds herself with someone she knows by association. Her lover's ex-friend. He says that he wants revenge on Subaku and figures that having sex with her would crush the man. Of course, Sakuran doesn't believe it, but there is no way she'll go through with it. Luckily, Subaku saves her in the nick of time, beats his rival up, and they have sex on the bed that was in the room." Ino finishes in a gasp, having said it all in practically one breath.

"Sounds…horrible." Sakura stated, but even she couldn't deny the fact that she had listened intently to the entire story.

"You're just mad that it's relatively close to your own story." Ino said angrily. "But, like I said, there is one problem with my perfect story."

"If it's so perfect then there wouldn't be a problem."

"Shut up." Ino sang. "It's nearly perfect, happy? And before you ask: The problem is what should the favor be?" Ino asked.

"Favor?"

"Yeah. You of all people should know what happens when a yakuza boss saves you." Ino said with a roll of her eyes. "I was thinking something sexy, like strip, but I want him to be at least semi-classy. Then I thought of various other acts she could do, but they all became warped into some sleazy book and Yamanaka Ino doesn't write sleaze."

This realization was what brought Sakura back to her issue: What would Gaara's favor be? It was then that she received the fated call…

"Oh, hold on, an unknown number is calling me." Sakura said as she stared at the blocked number.

"If it's a telemarketer tell them that they ruined a perfect conversation." Ino grumbled as she typed away.

Sakura laughed as she clicked "Talk". "Hello?" She asked warily. You never know who owns a phone these days. Some psychopathic killer could be calling you asking if you checked the children.

Well…she was half right.

"Hello." The deep voice replied. She shivered as she realized who it was.

"Oh, Gaara-san." She said, feeling her hot face with the back of her hand. Hearing his voice brought back all of her memories from Ino's conversation and there were certain images she really would rather not see while talking to him.

"Come to my home immediately. Ino will tell you where it is." And he hung up. Sakura frowned as she pressed Talk again to speak to Ino.

"Where does Gaara live?" The flustered pink-haired girl stuttered as nonchalantly as possible.

"Why?" Ino asked, a sly grin forming on her face.

Sakura almost wished she had asked Hinata instead. Scratch that…she really wished she had asked the quiet, shy girl instead. "I don't know, he told me to just go there." Sakura said.

He wants to get busy. Inner Sakura said with a cackle.

Who says 'get busy'? Are you stuck forever in the 90s? Sakura replied angrily. She couldn't help the thought that maybe the redhead would want to…to…

"He lives near the Hyuuga's, here," Ino proceeded to give Sakura the directions. It was fairly close to her own home so, making sure to hang up with an 'I'm not going to be a character in your book' lecture, she left as soon as she could.

The home was not what she expected. It was only a little bigger than her and most likely one-third the size of the Hyuuga Mansion. The only sign that he was much richer than he appeared was the gate, stone walls, and security system. She slowly drove her car into the parking lot, surrounded by more expensive cars than she could name, and walked up to the door.

The home itself was only two stories. The outside was stone with a large front door and many windows. The garden was virtually empty except for the grass and a tree that Sakura bet had been there before Gaara had moved. Hesitantly, she rang the doorbell.

The large door opened to reveal a wet Gaara. His hair hung in his eyes, water occasionally dripping onto his nose. His jade eyes stared at her emotionlessly and Sakura felt the urge to bolt, run away as fast as possible. He looked scarier than she had probably ever seen him, but that didn't stop her from walking into his home.

She surveyed his quaint home. Practically empty, it contained a television, a coffee table, one couch, a lounge chair, and a white rug that was probably a gift from Neji or Hinata. "You don't spend much time here, do you?" She asked, giggling as he raised an eyebrow. "Thought so."

He ignored her odd self-talk and sat down on the lounge chair. He propped his long legs on the table and visibly relaxed. His cold eyes even closed. Sakura, confused, sat down on the couch and stared at the man in front of her. He looked calm in the light, almost heavenly.

"You know why you're here?" He asked, voice as emotionless as she believed possible.

She bit her lower lip, tasting the cherry lipgloss she had applied in the car. "The favor?" She asked, honestly hoping that wasn't the cause. While she might have been brave in the hospital, her demeanor had changed. He wasn't locked up here. There were no security guards nearby, at least none that would help her.

"Yes." His voice echoed in the stillness and Sakura suddenly found it hard to breathe.

"H-have you figured out what you want me to do?" She asked, voice cracking. She probably would have laughed in any other situation.

He was silent again. Finally… "After much deliberation and council, I have come up with an idea." Sakura swallowed hard, feeling like her mouth was suddenly dry, but Gaara didn't divulge.

"And the idea?" She asked hoarsely, honestly worried.

His eyes opened and a slow smirk formed on his face at her question. Sakura froze, getting the familiar feeling that she was just a prey to him; something for him to eat. His eyes scanned her petrified form and Sakura irrationally wished she had worn cuter clothes. She was only in her 'college outfit' of sweatpants and a tank top. Inner Sakura brought up the fact that the last time she had worn sweatpants in front of the man she ended up kidnapped.

"Kiss me." Simple. Sakura's mind couldn't grasp the order.

"Kiss you?" She asked, eyes wide in shock. Her body had moved on its own to face him fully.

His only answer was a simple nod. That word again…simple.

"And you were counseled for this favor?" She asked, dumbstruck. The thought of Neji telling Gaara that a kiss would make a good favor was ridiculous and most of the others, mainly Ino, would tell him to ask of something much worse. Or better, depending on the point of views…

"Not exactly." He mumbled, seemingly ashamed. Sakura held back the giggle that grew in her throat at his expression.

"Why a kiss though?" She asked, leaning back into the couch.

He stared at her for a second and took in her questioning look. It was more innocence than anything else. Even the subtle, unspoken question: "Why me?" was innocent in his opinion. "It'll be interesting."

Sakura made a noncommittal noise. "If it's so interesting than get it from someone else." She stated with a shrug, making a move to leave. Gaara's hand grabbed hers and he pulled her close to him, still not moving from his spot on the chair.

"It has to be you." He growled out, almost angrily. Sakura didn't bother to hide her shock and Gaara chastised himself for his blatant mistake. "I need to know something and this will tell me." He said in a pathetic attempt to explain his odd behavior.

Sakura frowned. Inner Sakura was throwing various explanations as to what he probably wanted to know, but Sakura chose to tune her out. She pursed her lips in an attempt to help her brain function correctly. All answers pointed to: Kiss the damn man already.

She hesitantly stood up, already a foot away from him anyway, and sat down on him. He watched her slow movements with a blank face, but Sakura could tell he was amused. Her legs dangled off his and her arms wrapped loosely around his neck. She looked up and saw something she had never seen before. Touching it lightly brought forth a growl of disapproval from Gaara.

"Love?" She asked, smile playing on her lips.

"Something from my past." He said lowly, staring into her eyes.

Sakura grinned, happy the mood was lightened a bit as she brought his head closer to hers. It hadn't been their first kiss, but it was probably the quickest. As soon as their lips touched she jumped off of his lap and returned to the couch.

"You never said how long the kiss had to be." She said with a wink as she walked to the door. As soon as her hand touched the doorknob she felt her body roughly thrown back. She never hit the ground since Gaara immediately lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder. He began to walk silently up the stairs.

"What are you doing!?" Sakura yelled in between laughs.

"That was hardly a satisfactory favor and I plan to make you work until I feel like you've paid me back." Sakura's face turned red as his message went through.

"What?!"

--

"So, how was the favor?" Ino asked as she took a drink from her martini. The blonde's boyfriend rolled his eyes before closing them completely, obviously hoping to get a nap in before he had to drag his drunk girlfriend home.

Sakura kept her face as calm as possible. The group was loitering in the Hyuuga's living room as Gaara, Neji, and Naruto had a conference in another room. It had been only a day since Sakura had completed her 'favor'. She ended up staying the night and morning in his house before being forced to go to Hinata's home. There she showered and borrowed the shy girl's clothes. "Not telling." She said coyly, blush forming on her cheeks.

"Oh my god you guys had sex!" Ino yelled, hand to her mouth. The entire room turned to stare at the girls, even Temari and Kankuro who had just met Sakura an hour earlier.

"Shut the fuck up, Ino!" Sakura said with a playful push that ended up too strong for the slightly tipsy novelist. She ended up falling off of her position on the arm of the sofa and fell on the ground. Everyone once again turned to stare at the two females, some with knowing smirks and others with hushed gossip.

"Not my fault you can't hide your nightly activities." Ino said with a smirk as she sat down on the couch next to Sakura.

"Not just nightly." Sakura said with a larger smirk. The blonde choked on her alcohol and ended up with some of it on her purple dress.

"Tell me more!" She begged. "I'm running on a dry streak right now and need some ideas."

Sakura shot a glance at Shikamaru who was busy trying to hide his confusion behind closed eyes. "I thought you and Shika-kun were…fine." Sakura mumbled awkwardly.

"OH! Of course!" Ino said loudly. "I haven't produced a book in a while so my publisher is getting cranky though."

Sakura had no time to think about Ino's work problems because the three men they had been waiting on suddenly appeared. Gaara immediately went to her side while Neji and Naruto went to Hinata.

"And the verdict?" Sakura asked in hushed tones. The couple turned from the crowd of friends.

"They're fine with you joining." Gaara said, face stone-like. Sakura smiled before hugging her boyfriend.

"And you?" They had talked briefly about his opinion on her joining his yakuza. She was interested in the idea of dressing like a traditional Yakuza female, chest bandaged, dragon tattoos, yukata half on, half off, and one hand on a knife. Gaara had been a bit more cautious and made sure to bring up the dangers of being part of Suna.

"If it'll make you happy." Was all he said in reply. Sakura took it that he was fine with her joining. "But you have to finish school before we'll let you do anything." He said harshly, eyeing her eager expression warily.

She smiled up at him before placing a kiss lightly on his lips. "Fine." But even with her 'promise' both knew that would most likely disobey him more than once.

--

The last part was more of an epilogue.

I hope everyone enjoyed "The Favor"!!!

I really liked writing the GaaraxSakura part near the end. It's really fun making Sakura worried and Gaara evil :3

Please give me feedback since this is the last chapter!

:D

G'bye everyone!