Teach Me

The note Gaara received the next morning perplexed him a bit:

“Meet me in the Palace baths for our next lesson. Wear a swimsuit, and bring a towel or robe.”

This posed a problem. As Kazekage, he was naturally given as much privacy as he could want, meaning he had the luxury to swim nude. In short, he did not own a swimsuit. He’d never needed one. Before becoming Kazekage, he’d never wanted one, and afterwards he didn’t need one. Or so he thought.

He considered his options. He could have some swim trunks made by his tailor – no, that would probably take too long. He could improvise with some underwear – no, too many things could go awry with a soaking wet linen loincloth. He could go without – no, absolutely not. She told him to wear a swimsuit.

So, he decided, he would have to borrow a swimsuit from somebody. And he had a decent idea from whom. But then another thought occurred to him. Sakura had been so kind to him thus far, and quite skilled at helping him learn these techniques. He felt obligated to her, and he found he wanted to do something special for her. As he dressed, he thought about what he might be able to do, and by the time he left his quarters, he had an idea.

*****

“Kankuro.” The puppet-nin glanced up from his breakfast as Gaara approached.

“Whatcha need, otouto-kun?” Kankuro asked. [A/N: otouto-kun=little brother]

Gaara hesitated. “Two things,” he said finally, “First, I need to borrow a swimsuit from you.”

Kankuro raised his painted eyebrows. “You’ve never worn a swimsuit.”

“That’s exactly the point. I need one for this afternoon.”

Kankuro looked perplexed, but in a few moments it clicked. “For your lesson, huh? Sakura’s taking you swimming or something?”

Gaara folded his arms and glanced away. “I don’t know. She just said I needed to wear one. I imagine it’s relevant to the lesson.”

“Oh, man, I wish I were in your sandals today, Gaara,” Kankuro snickered, clapping his gloved hands in delight, “I mean, Sakura is pretty hot anyway – can you imagine her in a bikini?”

Gaara turned his attention back to his older brother, a white-hot death glare that scythed through Kankuro’s fantasies like a freshly forged katana. Gaara had calmed down since his childhood, and he was no longer the sociopath he was, but only a fool would forget that he was still a ninja, and a very effective one at that, with the discipline and chakra control for surgically precise attacks, and the will to execute them. Right now, one would not say there was murder in his eyes, but there was certainly maiming. The air crackled, and loose sand sighed across the floor around him, making jagged patterns like iron filings around a bar magnet.

“Shut… up,” Gaara said quietly.

Kankuro shut up.

“At the very least, have some respect for her. She saved *your* life once, I believe, after Sasori poisoned you.”

Kankuro continued to shut up.

“Now,” Gaara said, “I would like to borrow a swimsuit from you. Today. And as for the second thing…”

Kankuro waited.

“I want you to teach me how to dance.”

There was a startled silence.

“… You want me to what?” Kankuro finally blurted.

*****

Sakura smiled as she entered the Palace baths. The room was huge, the floor made of marble, and the air swirling with pleasantly warm steam from the hot water that was kept at a constant temperature by some internal workings that she had never quite discovered. She padded on bare feet over to one of the more central baths, setting her towel on one of the divans there, and untied the belt of her robe, hoping to have a bit of a soak before her student showed up.

She reflexively snatched the robe closed as she felt a chakra signature approaching, but when she looked she saw only Gaara, likewise robed, with a folded towel under his arm and his gourd strapped on his back.

“Oh!” she said, “You’re early! I wasn’t expecting you for another ten minutes.”

“I finished lunch early,” he said, looking her over with a speculative glance. In truth, he hadn’t yet eaten, his stomach in knots wondering what the lesson would be that required this state of dress. Kankuro drew a blank as well (or else declined to share his theories with Gaara) but had managed to find a pair of swim trunks that fit Gaara with only a little fiddling with the drawstring.

“Well,” she said, “We might as well get started early, then.” She had realized almost immediately after sending that note that she had no clue what sort of swimsuit (if any), Gaara would have, but she decided to trust his judgment and make the best of it. She returned to her previous task of disrobing, and noticed the slight change of expression this inspired in him, the subtle widening of the eyes, and the tiny catch of his breath as her robe settled over the divan. As bikinis went, Sakura didn’t consider this one to be particularly daring – it was red, true, but it covered everything that needed covering and left bare the parts she would be covering with the lesson, so it worked. And, to judge by Gaara’s expression, it worked on other levels as well.

Did it ever. Gaara watched solemnly as Sakura unfolded her towel and spread it out on the marble floor near the bath. Once that was done, he sat down on the towel and looked expectantly for a few moment before he realized that she expected him to do something other than stare like an idiot, and he shook himself out of his reverie. He spent a few reluctant moments looking everywhere but at her (Kankuro was right, incidentally… she was damn hot in a bikini) while he set down his towel, unstrapped his gourd and set it aside, and untied his robe.

The swim trunks Kankuro had loaned him were simple and, like most of the puppet master’s wardrobe, black. Sakura watched, nibbling her lower lip, as Gaara shrugged out of the robe and set it aside on the divan, his general air of unconcern marred by the way he kept sneaking glances at her. She never expected him to turn shy around her, but she supposed that as the lessons progressed he might start to get nervous. He spread his towel on the floor next to hers, and sat down on it.

“What will today’s lesson be?” he asked.

“Today we’ll be covering the back, abdomen, and legs.” Sakura smiled. “We’re starting to move towards some sensitive areas, so I figured I’d hold this lesson someplace relaxing. Just bear in mind that after this, the touching lessons will have to be… differentiated.”

Gaara made a mental list of the areas covered so far and realized with a jolt that almost knocked him into the bath, when considering what remained after this – chest, hips, buttocks, genitals – that, yes, there would be some definite differences. In retrospect, this wasn’t so much of a surprise, but still. He glanced at Sakura. He was going to learn how to touch that. It delighted him and terrified him all at once.

“Where do we start?” he asked, a bit breathlessly.

“We’ll start with the back. This will be a lot like the back rub from our first lesson, and a natural continuation of yesterday’s shoulder massage.”

“… Only more so?” he asked, a quiet note of hope in his voice.

She nodded. “I’ll take the time to teach you some of the specific pressure points and what they do. Now, I need you to turn your back to me, and try to relax.”

Try to relax, he thought with some amusement as he shifted his position as requested, She’s teaching me techniques for gentle sexual arousal and she wants me to relax! He settled in, though, his seat resting on the towel between his feet in the formal fashion, and he rolled his shoulders to release some of the tension there, trying all the while not to think too hard about the fact that his sensei sat in a bikini behind him. He closed his eyes as he felt her hands starting to caress his back, starting at his shoulders and brushing their way downwards, like he was a man-sized cat. The tips of her thumbs traced the line of his spine, sending a delightful shiver through him. She reversed direction at the small of his back, caressing upwards again, and back down. He glanced at his hands and realized they were shaking. He clenched his fists to stop the tremors.

“The back is one area that many people overlook,” she said, continuing the slow passes with her hands up and down his back. “Not many people realize that there are a lot of nerve endings and chakra points through here. The lower back is particularly a key area. Stimulating these points, here and here, will ease the flow of energy to the legs and pelvis. That gets those areas warmed up for lovemaking – like this.” She started massaging these key points with her fingertips, and he inhaled deeply as he felt the paths of bodily energy shift slightly under her ministrations. He was aware that, while his back relaxed, circulation was increasing into the areas she’d indicated. Gaara glanced down into his lap, suddenly anxious that she might inadvertently cause him to have an erection. No… he was safe on that front. She was too skilled for such clumsiness. He raised his head again as he felt her press herself against his back, her hands on his upper arms and her chin on his shoulder. He glanced over at her curiously.

“Close contact like this can be comforting as well as arousing,” she said, “Gentle pressure at the back can give your bride a feeling of protection and intimacy, like the holding exercise from earlier, especially if you put your arms around her, like this.” She slid her arms around his waist from behind, clasping them at his abdomen. He bit his lip as he realized he could feel her breasts pressing into his upper back, just behind his shoulders. He could only guess that this was part of the lesson. She felt so warm against him, even in the steaminess of the baths…

“And don’t forget to explore her back with more than just your fingers and hands. Some women enjoy having their back kissed or licked while you give them a massage.”

“Licked?” he echoed, glancing back at her uncertainly.

“I know it might sound a bit silly,” she smiled, “But if you do it right, it can be very sensual. Like this.” She leaned back a bit, and he closed his eyes as he felt her delicately kiss him on the shoulder. She left a gentle, patient trail of kisses across the back of his shoulders, and then licked the spot on his spine just there between his shoulderblades, causing him to break out in goosebumps again – all this, while her hands continued to caress him, ever so slowly, her fingers lightly stroking from under his arms almost to his hipbones. Damn, but she was good at this…

“Would you like to try?” Her question snapped him out of the zone of bliss he’d fallen into again. He was no longer doubtful about her licking suggestion – clearly the mouth was a versatile tool for these gentler arts!

He nodded, glancing over his shoulder at her as she shifted her position to sit facing away from him.

As he likewise turned, his eyes fell on the red strap of her bikini top, resting across the middle of her suntanned back and held closed with a single clasp. At the base of her neck, another clasp held the rest of the garment in place; between the two fastenings, her bare shoulders tantalized him. I wonder… he thought, and hooked a fingertip under the strap across her back, pulling the strap away to see if she was tan underneath—she wasn’t, he noticed in the next split second—but he was clumsy, and the clasp snapped open under the tension. His heart jumped into his throat and his hand flew to his mouth as fashion calamity nearly struck.

“Gaara!” Sakura yelped in alarm, her hands flying up to secure the front of the bikini top as she stared back at him, wide-eyed. She seemed more startled than outraged, he was glad to note, but even so, he felt he needed to say something, to acknowledge his error.

“Oops,” he said, a bit helplessly. There was really nothing more he could say – it had happened so fast. And he wasn’t about to tell her that he was checking for a tan line. That was simply unbecoming for the Kazekage… ah, dammit, what could he do about it now?

She shut her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. “Not yet, Gaara! Don’t be so impatient.” She reached back and refastened the clasp. “You don’t need to rush into these things – we still have more than a month and a half. Just have a bit of patience.”

“I’ll… just continue with the exercise, then,” Gaara murmured, at once mortified by his blunder and relieved that she didn’t attribute malice where there was none. He saw her fidgeting as she resettled, and hesitated, his hands hovering uncertainly in the air near her back.

“Okay,” she said, “Go ahead. You’ve been doing really well so far, I know you’ll be able to relax me again.”

He grimaced. His blunder had made her tense – how awkward, starting such an exercise from that!

“I’ll start with your shoulders,” he said, “to make up for things.” He started massaging her shoulders, kneading the muscles there with gentle movements of his fingers as she had shown him. He closed his eyes, watching the energy paths with his inner eye, how bunched up they were when he started, and working to restore proper flow. As the tension eased in her shoulders, he was rewarded with a content sigh from Sakura, so he moved down her back, following the chakra paths to her shoulder blades and caressing her with spread palms. A major conduit in particular opened up along the line of her spine in the wake of gentle pressure from the pads of his thumbs, and when he opened his eyes he could see that she was visibly more relaxed. He brushed his fingertips over the strap of her bikini top on his journey downward and, feeling brave, he deliberately teased the clasp again with the tips of his thumbs.

“Remember what I said about that,” Sakura said, her tone lightly chiding.

“I’ll be good,” Gaara replied quietly with a small smile, leaving the clasp as it was, but leaning close to her as he continued his downward journey and lightly kissed her on the shoulder.

From his vantage point he could see her reaction as he caressed her lower back with fingers, then palms. He stroked her along her ribs, feeling the lean muscle between the band of her bikini top and the waist of her bikini bottom. After a few passes like this, he located the pressure points that she had indicated, just above the waistband of her bikini bottom, and started massaging them gently. Her eyes slid closed and she leaned back against him, biting her lip in a way that he found to be very arousing. He closed his eyes, feeling for the change in chakra patterns, and saw that, indeed, the energy was flowing freely now through her lower back and into her pelvis. And from there…

Ah. Indeed, this was why he had chosen a medic-nin to teach him.

He slid his arms around her, gently drawing her close; one hand slid around to caress her toned abdomen, feeling the tight musculature there, while the other caressed her throat, drawing her chin upward. He could feel her pulse pounding in the side of her neck, strong and rapid. He inhaled deeply at the side of her throat, and as his cheek brushed against hers she turned her face towards him, lips parted softly. He closed his eyes, and would have been perfectly happy to lose himself in the moment, but…

“I don’t wish to interrupt,” he murmured against her mouth, “But I believe it is time to teach me about the other topics we are to cover today.” She gave a startled gasp, shaken from her state of bliss, and blushed as she sat up straighter. “Although,” he continued, “I am happy to see how well I am doing thus far.”

Kami, but those pressure points were deceptively potent, she thought. Tsunade had impressed upon her the benefits of a good back massage, but this?

“I see you’ve taken initiative and started exploring the abdomen,” she said with a slightly breathless laugh.

“I was not under the impression that I was disallowed from reading ahead,” he responded.

“No! It’s okay. I was going to cover that today anyway.” She cleared her throat. “Now, pay attention, please.”

“You are practically in my lap,” he replied, not unkindly, “I could scarcely ignore you.” He glanced up suddenly, sensing the presence of a third chakra signature. “Wait.”

“What is it?” Sakura asked. She saw his hand moving in front of her, and she soon recognized what it was doing – forming ninja hand signs.

We are watched, he signed, Distraction needed.

How many? She signed back.

One. My brother. Don’t look around. I have a plan.

Then I have a distraction, she signed, Follow along the best you can.

He had no time to ask for details, for as soon as he acknowledged her signs she turned in his lap and kissed him on the mouth, enthusiastically enough that he lost his balance and fell onto his back. He closed his eyes, taking a few precious moments to savor the experience as his hands slid around her. At her back, he formed the seals for his sand doppelganger jutsu.

It was an interesting exercise in dividing one’s attention. Over here, Sakura wordlessly guided him in the proper technique of a soul kiss, gently coaxing his mouth open with her fingertips on his chin, and he tasted her mouth in ways he never thought possible, while over there, sand poured from the mouth of his gourd and traveled in a roundabout fashion, with Gaara guiding it through his mind’s eye, to a position behind Kankuro (who probably thought he was quite cunning and well-hidden, crouched as he was behind some potted ferns) and formed a Gaara-shaped sand golem. Over here, he could feel her fingers twining into his hair as his free hand slid around the side of her ribcage, again teasing at the band of her bikini top (the temptation to fool with the clasp again was great, but he had other things to attend to right now), while over there, sand-Gaara tapped Kankuro on the shoulder. Kankuro glanced up in surprise, ready to offer an excuse to a random servant – and the expression on his painted face when he saw the sand-golem with its arms folded across its chest and realized that he was busted was so priceless that Gaara almost burst out laughing against Sakura’s mouth. Sakura shifted her position so she knelt astride Gaara’s waist, which distracted Gaara enough to make the sand golem shimmer, ever so slightly, as it waved a chiding finger at the puppet-nin, and then pointed sternly at the exit to the baths.

“Dude,” Kankuro murmured to the sand-golem, “How the hell are you able to pay attention to both things at once?”

The sand-Gaara scowled and continued to point.

“I mean, seriously. You’ve got a beautiful kunoichi in your arms, you’re completely making out with her, and you’re having an argument with me. I mean, seriously… ever heard of priorities?”

The sand-Gaara pantomimed a theatrical sigh before dissolving into its component sand, picking Kankuro up bodily, and ejecting him from the baths.

Sakura turned in surprise in the direction of Kankuro’s yelp of dismay, which was soon followed by a breathless cough as he hit the floor in the hallway.

“Sakura,” Gaara said quietly beneath her, “Perhaps I was a bit unclear. I wished you to distract Kankuro, not me.”

“Were you able to see him?” Sakura asked.

“I was,” he said, “through the sand doppelganger.”

“Well, did he look distracted?”

He considered the question for a few moments. “Indeed he did. I daresay he would have been quite incapable of sensing the attack from the rear.”

“Then it worked – right?”

He closed his eyes and nodded, conceding the point with a low rumble of laughter.

*****

Outside the baths, Kankuro lay on the floor, still slightly stunned. He saw Temari walk up and stand over him, leaning on her fan, without even a particle of sympathy in her smirk.

“I suppose you think this is funny,” he growled.

“Oh, absolutely hilarious,” he replied, “Especially considering that I warned you not to try peeping on them. Maybe you’ll listen to me next time. By the way, your makeup’s smeared.”

“Ah, dammit. He did that on purpose, I’m willing to bet.”

“Most likely,” Temari acknowledged casually, “One thing the Haruno girl is definitely teaching him is a sense of humor.”

Kankuro scowled and sat up. “And I have to teach that guy how to dance later on.”

Temari blinked in surprise. “Dancing? Are you kidding me? Gaara’s never been interested in dancing. We practically have to drag him to social events for the village nobles, and even then he just sits in the corner and looks imposing.”

“Yeah. I shit you not. Though I suspect that it’s less about him wanting to make a good impression on whoever he’s scheduled to marry, and more…” He smirked and inclined his head significantly towards the Palace bath.

Temari raised her eyebrows at the implication. “You think he knew that was going to happen?”

“It was bound to,” Kankuro shrugged, “She’s, like, the first outsider who hasn’t been scared shitless of him, and this after he tried to kill her once.”

“And what do you think of her?” Temari asked.

“She’s good at what she does,” he shrugged, then added, “And she’s hot.”

“BAKA!” Kankuro was forced to duck as Temari swung at him with her fan.