I'm revising and reposting this fanfic. I deleted the original, so if you still want updates, please add this to your Alert list. Thx, Evelyn
Summary: Sakura met Gaara when she was six while with her dad on a mission. Gaara 'marked' her as his. Six year have passed since they last saw each other and they meet up again, just in time for the Chunin Exams.
Chapter 1
"Daddy!" a pink-haired child called.
A man with matching green eyes and brown hair turned towards his daughter as she ran up to him. He saw tears streaming down her flushed cheeks, and sighed, knowing that she had once again been teased about her forehead.
He lifted her up when she reached him, hugging her small body close to his. He honestly didn't have time to comfort her. He had just been assigned a mission to Suna, but her mother was also on a mission, so the duty ended up falling to him.
"Daddy, where are you going?" Sakura asked when she noticed his ninja attire.
The brown-haired man smiled at his daughter, "I have a mission to Suna."
Sakura frowned. "I don't want you to go Daddy! I don't wanna be alone!" she said, her voice rising with each word.
Mr. Haruno smiled. "How about I take you with me." he said, slightly frustrated.
Sakura's face lit up. "OK!" she yelled.
"I'll have to ask Hokage-sama though," he said seriously, tapping her nose.
Sakura giggled.
"Ask me what?" the Hokage said kindly.
Mr. Haruno looked up at the old man. "Hokage-sama, may I take my daughter with me on my mission? My wife is on her own mission and I am not sure how long it will be until she returns."
The Third smiled down at Sakura, who in turn smiled up at him. "You can take her. Yashamaru can watch her. He watches over the Kazekage's youngest child, Gaara."
Mr. Haruno nodded. "Thank you Hokage-sama. Come on Sakura, we need to get you packed."
"But Daddy!" Sakura protested, "I don't have any clothes to wear in the desert!"
Mr. Haruno smiled, "Okay, we'll get you clothes there, but remember it's a three day journey."
Sakura's mouth formed and 'O' shape. She understood.
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Sakura woke up. She remembered a forest then a desert, then nothing. She must have fallen asleep during the journey.
"Daddy!" she called, wondering where her father was.
She frowned when no one answered. "Daddy!" she called again.
The door opened, but her Daddy didn't come through, instead was a man with blonde hair. "Hello Sakura-san. I'm Yashamaru. I'm going to be taking care of you while you dad is on his mission."
Sakura nodded and looked around, realizing that she was in a unfamiliar place. There was a bed (which she was in) a closet, a door (which she assumed lead to the bathroom) and a nightstand to the right of the bed.
She got out of bed and looked towards Yashamaru. "Are you hungry?" he asked.
Sakura nodded. Yashamaru motioned for her to follow him as he left. She walked out the door a few moments later.
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Sakura was walking to a park with Temari, one of the Kazekages children. Yashamaru had asked her to watch the pink haired girl and Temari agreed.
She chuckled when she saw Sakura looking around, her emerald eyes wide as she took everything in.
When they got to the park Sakura saw several kids playing, but one was alone in the sandbox. He had red hair and pale green eyes. The other kids were avoiding him, or glaring at him.
The boy looked sad, so Sakura went over to talk to him.
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Temari looked over at Sakura and saw that she was heading over to Gaara. She didn't do anything, because she was sure that the girl wouldn't appreciate it if she stopped her from talking with him.
Temari sighed and hopped that Gaara didn't lose control.
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Gaara sat in the sandbox, alone. He felt the stares of the other children and the adults. Tears came to his eyes, but he refused to let them fall.
He looked up and saw his sister, Temari, walking towards the playground with a girl his age. She had pink hair and emerald green eyes. She looked around, but her eyes rested on him.
Temari had wandered away to talk to her friends.
Sakura walked towards Gaara, who thought she was going to hurt him. Temari saw her walking towards him, but didn't do anything though she had a look of concern on her face.
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Sakura reached the sandbox. The redhead looked scared. Sakura tilted her head to the side. "Why are you scared? I'm not going to hurt you." she said.
Gaara looked at her. "Y-your not?" he asked.
Sakura shook her head and smiled. "Nope! My name is Haruno Sakura. I'm staying with Yashamaru while my dad is doing his mission. Kazekage-sama told Temari to watch me. Temari-san said that I would meet her brothers: Kankuro and Gaara. Are you Gaara?" she asked him.
Gaara nodded. "Nice to meet you Gaara-kun!" she said rather loudly.
Kids on the playground turned to look at them. One of the older ones walked over to them and said to Sakura. "You shouldn't be near him. He's a monster, a demon!" the boy said.
Gaara looked down, now the girl wouldn't play with him.
Sakura glared at the boy. "Demon? Monster? He looks like a 6-year-old boy with red hair and pale green eyes. He's looks sad and hurt. Not like a demon."
The boy looked surprised at this, but didn't give up. He leaned close to Sakura and said, "He has the Shukaku sealed in him, the one-tailed raccoon, a demon! That makes him a demon too!"
Sakura frowned.
Tears sprung to Gaara's eyes. He looked at Sakura. She wouldn't play with him now that she knew.
Sakura smiled and punched the boy in the stomach. He doubled over gasping for breath. "W-what w-w-was that f-f-f-for?" he stuttered.
"Gaara isn't a monster. He's the prison of one. Shukaku is the prisoner. Gaara is a hero for keeping a demon inside him. He's protecting the village by doing so. If Gaara-kun was a demon then there wouldn't be a Sand village. You should be nicer to Gaara-kun!" Sakura said, yelling the last part.
Everyone looked at her. Temari smiled when the girl stood up for her brother.
"Stupid girl..." people were muttering."She's going to die."; "the monster is going to kill her."
The boy that had been talking to her shook his head and walked away still clutching his stomach.
Sakura smiled at Gaara and sat next to him. "Can I play with you?" She asked.
Gaara's eyes lit up. He smiled and nodded.