“I can only promise you pain,” he murmured, his eyes focused slightly lower than her own.

“Isn’t that all anyone can?”

Got the itch this past week to re-read one of my favorite Naruto fics from back in the day: randomsomeone‘s GaaSaku psychological romance fic How & Why. I know, I know–GaaSaku?? Kind of a crack pairing, I’ll admit. But the great thing about the Naruto-verse is that by virtue of the sheer size of the fandom there are AWESOME fics out there for even the most crackish of couples, and How & Why definitely falls under the awesome category to me.

Written alllll the way back in 2005, How & Why has more than stood the test of time. At only 8 chapters and ~25k words, this fanfic is a pretty quick read–but don’t let the small word count deceive you. The author packs A TON of sexual tension and–as you may have guessed from the title–intellectual depth into those 25k words. The end result is an emotional and psychological firecracker of a fanfic.

In terms of narrative scope, How & Why takes place prior to the manga time-skip and spans a time period of a few years, following thirteen-year-old Sakura’s fateful decision to reach out to Sunagakure’s notoriously violent jinchuuriki, Gaara. What begins as a small, though calculated, gesture of gratitude on her part escalates into a psycho-sexual battle for dominance and, increasingly, affection. In initiating contact with Gaara, Sakura quite literally provokes the beast and in doing so becomes the object of his dangerous, scintillating attention.

Sakura and Gaara’s characterizations in How & Why are absolutely fantastic. I’m a sucker for strong, realistic female characters, and I just love how randomsomeone portrays Sakura in this fic. Though keenly aware of her physical inferiority, Sakura uses a combination of emotional insight and shrewd thinking to match wits, defuse, and subtly maneuver the live grenade that is Gaara. Since the story is narrated from Sakura’s point of view, we see Gaara from her perspective–hostile, powerful, intelligent, and possessive. Like a feral animal, he’s dangerous and unpredictable, and as he circles closer and closer to Sakura, driving her to the edge of sanity and restraint, the suspense ratchets up deliciously, and like her, we are left on the edge of our seat wondering–can such a creature as he be tamed, or will he tear her apart?

The escalating physical interaction between these two main characters complements their mental contest perfectly. As hot as it is, this story is more a tale of intellectual attraction–which in my opinion is what makes it so unique and enduring. I LOVE a fanfic that makes you think as well as feel, and the questions that Gaara and Sakura pose to one another go beyond the bounds of fanfiction–or of fiction itself for that matter.

“What is it about power that breaks people?” She didn’t look at him as she spoke.

“Breaks?”

“Drives them crazy. Recreates them, warps them into a puppet of the person they were before.” She took a deep breath. “Makes them abandon everything.”

“Fear of pain.”

At its heart, How & Why is an exploration of power and its manifestations–and, most importantly, of its consequences. So if you’re into  deep thinking, tension-laden verbal repartee, and/or some clever!Sakura x crazy!Gaara hotness, give How & Why a read sometime. You won’t be disappointed. 😉