Onchou stood on the roof of the Kazekage's building her eyes cast towards the entrance of Suna. A gust of hot, dry, desert air whipped past her tossing her violet hair and a little smile touched her lips. "He's nearly home." She murmured. A voice calling her name caught her attention and she turned to see Ryuu standing behind her. "Hey there." She said smiling at him as he rushed up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "How are you doing?" she asked.
"Good." He replied. "Nami said I could eat lunch with you today."
Onchou smiled. "Very well then. Let's go home and see what lunch is." She said bending down so that the silver child could scramble onto her back. "Hold on tight." She reminded him before she took off across the roof tops towards the place she now called home. She landed in front of the building and pushed the door open.
"Father! Ryuu and I are home for lunch." She called out.
Tamiki walked out and smiled at her. "Ryuu gets to join us? What a treat." He said with a smile as he set out their food. "I take it your training is going well?"
The silver haired child nodded as he ate his sandwich. "Yes. I'm one of the only water users in my class and no one else can make ice either."
Onchou chuckled. "Actually, making ice is a very unique ability." She said ruffling his silver hair. "I can't even do that."
Ryuu smiled a little blush coming to his cheeks. "Oh yeah. I almost forgot." He said with a smile. "So is raccoon eyes coming back home today?" he asked. "I've only seen him twice since we got rid of Takuma."
The violet haired girl sighed. "You really shouldn't call him raccoon eyes." She chastised. "He should be home very soon though."
"What should I call him?" he asked.
"Lord Gaara or Lord Kazekage." Tamiki replied.
"Onchou doesn't. She calls him Gaara. How come?" he asked his eyes narrowing slightly.
The violet haired girl blushed. "He asked me to call him that." She replied quickly before becoming engrossed in her own food.
"Why did he have to leave?" Ryuu asked.
"He disbanded the council." Tamiki replied. "Of course that worried the dynamo so he called a meeting to discuss things."
"Uh oh. Does that mean raccoon eyes is going to lose his job?" The silver haired boy asked.
The older shinobi chuckled and shook his head. "I doubt that. Gaara is by far the most qualified person for the position. The only people that didn't like him were the old embittered council members."
Onchou bowed her head. "This is all my fault." She muttered.
"Don't be like that." Her father assured her. "He really should've done it after they abandoned him four years ago but he wanted to keep the peace and decided not to. Their days were numbered anyway."
The violet haired girl shrugged as she and Ryuu rose from the table. "I'll take you back to the academy." She said as she cleared their dishes.
"What will you do after that?" Tamiki asked.
The amethyst eyed girl glanced at her father. "I'm going to do some training." She replied as she raised her hand and touched the center of her chest. "Learning to adjust to this power within me has been difficult." She admitted.
The older shinobi nodded. "I can only imagine." He replied before his eyes narrowed slightly. "You aren't doubting him are you?" he asked.
She shook her head. "No it's nothing like that it's just…" she thought about all of the girls who claimed to be madly in love with the Kazekage. "I feel a little inadequate is all." She muttered.
"We're going to be late." Ryuu reminded her.
"Alright. I'm coming." She replied. "I'll see you later father." He nodded and waved as she dashed out the door.
"Silly girl." Tamiki muttered. "The Kazekage only has eyes for you."
#*#
"Is that really her?" a girl's voice whispered.
"They call her the Dragon Queen." Another one replied.
"What a show off!" the first voice repeated.
Onchou sighed and closed her eyes as she concentrated her lightning chakra letting it charge the air around her before she shifted her foot and tripped the traps rigged around the grounds. Kunai flew from the holes in the walls and she leapt into the air and pushed with her chakra knocking the blades off course. She landed and then back flipped as shuriken flew at her and she pushed with her wind chakra deflecting them from their path and landed lithely back where she started. She opened her eyes and sighed. "I'm still using too much." She muttered as she picked up a kunai flinching at how hot it still was.
"She's so hot!" one of the young men exclaimed.
"I'd hit that!" another whispered.
Irritation flowed through her at their words but she ignored it and instead gathered up the weaponry and put them away in the designated baskets so that the traps could be reloaded.
"Kyaa!" a pair of the girl's screamed. "Lord Gaara's back!"
"Let's hurry and go see him!" the first one squealed.
"Yeah before the Dragon Queen gets her claws into him. I mean who does she think she is?" the second one spat.
Onchou's head hung slightly. In her life, she'd never really been around other girl's much, let along girls her own age. She'd hoped that living in a village would give her the opportunity to connect and bond with some but quickly found that most of them were either jealous of her abilities and closeness to The Konoha twelve and their precious Kazekage or straight up afraid of her. Her head lifted to the wind as she heard Gaara's soul song smiling at the sound before it faded. "I've caused him enough trouble." She thought to herself. "If he wants to see me, he knows where I am."
&#&
Gaara sighed as he entered the village of Suna with Kankuro by his side and nearly flinched at the screams as females from his village flocked to see him.
"Lord Gaara! How was your trip?" one exclaimed.
"Lord Gaara we missed you!" another one screamed.
"I miss Temari." Kankuro muttered as he struggled to push some of the more eager girl's back. "She could manhandle them and get away with it. I can't."
Gaara nodded and scanned the crowd looking for a flash of violet hair, or amethyst eyes. He frowned slightly when he didn't catch a glimpse of either.
"Looking for Onchou?" Kankuro asked as they neared the office building.
The red head shinobi nodded. "I've been worried about her." He admitted. "I had to leave so soon after the whole episode with Takuma."
"I can send someone to get her for you if you'd like." His brother offered.
Gaara thought for a moment and then turned as he heard someone call out to him. "Raccoon eyes! You're back! Onchou was right." Ryuu exclaimed jogging up to him flanked by Nami the blonde shinobi who had assigned herself to look after the silver haired child during his time at the academy.
"Ryuu. It's good to see you." The Kazekage said touching the child on his head. "Where is Onchou?"
The silver haired child shrugged. "I'm not sure. She said she's been having trouble adjusting and she was going to train."
The Kazekage nodded. "Very good." He murmured. "How are you doing at the academy? Are you doing well?"
The ruby eyed boy smiled and nodded. "Yes but I'm the smallest one in my class." He muttered.
"Don't worry about that." Kankuro said cheerfully. "Gaara was the smallest in his class too."
The silver haired boy cocked an eyebrow and then smiled. "Well, I guess it's ok then." He murmured.
Gaara nodded. "When you see Onchou again will you let her know that I'll come to see her as soon as I can?"
The child nodded. "Sure thing! See you Raccoon eyes!" he said as he jogged away.
Gaara and Kankuro smiled at the child before they continued their walk to the Kazekage's building. "We have a lot of work to do." Kankuro said as they entered his brother's office. "Assembling a new council will be a challenge."
The red haired shinobi nodded as he sat down in his chair and pulled out the roster of shinobi in the village. "It will but it is necessary for our village to move forward in a positive manner." He remarked.
Onchou sighed as she slipped her cloak over her shoulders as she finished up her training session. "It's later than I thought." She muttered as she looked up at the indigo sky. With quick strides, she walked across the training field and sighed as she heard a male soul song nearby.
"Hey there. You're the Dragon Queen right?" a man in his late twenties said from where he stood leaning against the gate that led out of the training grounds.
"That's not my name." she replied stiffly. "That's a label someone attached to me. Please let me pass."
"It's a touchy subject. I get it." The man replied putting his hands up. "I didn't mean to offend you. I just wanted to talk to you. I've been watching you and you're skill is impressive."
Knowing exactly where the conversation was going she leapt into the air and front flipped over the man and landed lithely behind him. "If you've been watching me, then you know that I'm late returning home." She replied walking up the stairs.
"Don't be like that." The young man protested jogging up behind her. "You're the prettiest girl in Suna you know." He murmured reaching out to touch her hair.
"Don't touch me." She replied as she leapt to the top of the stairs.
He chuckled as she entered the streets and walked quickly towards the home she shared with her father and Ryuu her teeth gritting as he followed her faster. "I just want to talk." He assured her.
"Liar." She snarled.
"What?" he asked confused.
"You're a liar." She repeated.
"What are you talking about?" he asked reaching for her. "I just want to talk really."
She whirled around. "I'm not as stupid as you think." She hissed glaring at the handsome man. "I know exactly what you're intentions with me are. Your grandfather was on the council that was disbanded and he blames me and Lord Gaara for it. He wants you to seduce me and then use that to get back at Lord Gaara."
The man's eyes widened. "How did you…" he suddenly glanced around noticing the curious eyes on them and laughed. "You're so funny!" he exclaimed nervously. "Come on let's go talk somewhere more private." He said reaching for her arm. Her brow furrowed as she prepared to defend herself when she felt a brush of chakra that felt like gritty but warm wind against her consciousness.
"Onchou. Where are you?" Came Gaara's voice in her head. She instinctively opened the soul link and sensed the Kazekage's concern as she dodged the man's attempt to grab her arm.
"I really just want to talk." The man assured her. "Please come with me. You don't want to make a scene." He said stepping closer to her and lowering his voice so that only she could hear. "You're still an outsider here." He whispered. "If anything happens they'll believe me over you." Her eyes widened at his words and he took his chance wrapping his hand around her arm. "I've got you now." He hissed.
"Onchou, I've been looking for you." Came a low deliberate voice from behind the man.
The man's eyes widened and sweat immediately formed on his brow and slid down his face. "Lord Kazekage." He murmured. The amethyst eyed girl quickly pulled her arm from his grip and stepped around him.
"Lord Kazekage." She said walking up to him and bowing. "I'm sorry to trouble you. I lost track of time while I was training."
The red head shinobi's brow furrowed slightly at the formalness of her speech until he realized that she was shaking her eyes darting back to the man who had been holding onto her arm when he arrived.
"That's quite alright." He assured her. "Will you come with me for a bit?"
"Of course." She replied with a slightly forced smile.
He nodded and led her down the street at a brisk his eyes narrowing slightly. Instead of taking her home as she'd expected, he walked with her to the Kazekage's residence and let them both inside.
"Gaara?" she questioned him. "Why didn't you take me home?" she asked.
"He was following us." He replied.
The violet haired girl nodded. "Yeah…"
"I don't want him to know where you live." He explained.
"I can defend myself just fine." She said crossing her arms over her chest.
"That may be true but avoiding the conflict all together is best." he replied. "Please come into the kitchen. I really did want to talk to you."
"Ok." She replied slipping her cloak from her shoulders and hanging it on a peg on the wall before following the Kazekage into the kitchen.
Kankuro glanced up as they walked inside and smiled. "Hey Onchou." He said with a smile. "It's good to see you. How have you been?" he asked.
"Alright." She replied. "How did your trip go?"
The puppeteer sighed. "As well as it could have I suppose. Assembling a new council is going to be troublesome."
"I'm sorry. This is all my fault." She murmured.
"Don't say stuff like that." Kuro argued standing up and walking to the fridge. "I'd been praying for that day for ages."
"If you say so." She replied. The sand shinobi smiled and then pulled out a small cake on a plate and handed it to her.
"This is for you." He said. "Just think of it as just a tiny way to say thank you for helping out with that mess with Takuma and saving Gaara."
"Oh. You didn't have to." She replied looking at the pastry with wide eyes.
"Don't worry about it." Kankuro replied as he handed her a fork and motioned for her to sit down at the table. "It would just go to waste here. Temari was the only one of three of us to like sweets."
"I see. It's sweet then." Onchou murmured.
"What do you mean by that?" Kuro asked. "It's cake. Of course it's sweet."
"I've never had cake before." She admitted.
The sand shinobi's eyes widened at her words. "Seriously!?" Kankuro gasped. "How old are you again?"
"Sixteen." She replied quickly.
"How have you not had cake!?" he demanded dumfounded.
She blushed. "Well, in Heiwa even though I was a member of the village head's family and we received things like this, my mother seemed to like it so much I always let her have mine. It was the same way when we were moving around too." She looked down tucking her hair behind her ear as she studied the confection. "Takuma never gave me anything sweet even when we were out on missions and after I ran away with Ryuu the opportunity just never presented itself." She admitted.
"Remarkable." Gaara murmured his eyes softening as he looked at her.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked blushing under his gaze.
"Just go ahead and try it." Kankuro encouraged.
She nodded and carefully took a forkful and slipped it into her mouth. Her eyes widened as she chewed and then swallowed her hand lifting to cover her mouth. "It's so sweet!" she exclaimed a smile touching her lips before she took another bite. "I like it." She admitted as she grinned. "Thank you so much!"
"No. I should be thanking you." Kankuro murmured. "I now know what pure joy looks like. It looks like a sixteen year old girl eating cake for the first time." He glanced at his younger brother who was watching her carefully his lips turned up into a little smile as he watched her enjoy the sweet treat. "I'm going to head to bed. When you two are finished, see her safely home Gaara." He instructed.
"You don't have to tell me that." The red head replied.
Kankuro chuckled and then left the room Gaara sat down across from her. "How have you been doing?" he asked her.
"Alright." She replied. "It's been a bit hard learning to adjust." She admitted. "I don't seem to fit in very well." She admitted.
He sighed. "I understand. It'll take time."
She nodded and finished the plate and licked the extra frosting from her lips and then her fingers. The Kazekage felt his heart stumble in his chest as a large part of him wished he'd been the one to lick the sticky substance away. He blinked and shook his head to clear his mind and focused on her again. "So how did your meetings go?" she asked him.
He sighed. "Better than I anticipated. It seems I wasn't the only one fed up with the council's recent behavior."
A sigh of relief escaped her lips as some of the tension in her body visibly vanished. "Thank goodness. I was worried you'd lost your position because of me." She admitted.
He looked at her and then reached out to touch a section of her hair letting it slide between his fingers. "Remember what I told you?" he murmured. "I told you that I'd gladly give up title to protect you."
She blushed and nodded. "Thank you Gaara." She murmured.
"So why was that man following you?" he asked.
Her eyes widened and she glanced away. "Oh him… He was just an overenthusiastic admirer." She said.
"Onchou. Tell me the truth." He urged her. "Don't do everything by yourself."
The violet haired girl sighed. "Alright. His grandfather was one of the council members and sent him to try to seduce me or get me into a compromising situation with him and use that against you."
The Kazekage's eyes narrowed as a hit of something dark she'd seen before in the world of his memories briefly surfaced. "And they wonder why I disbanded them." He muttered.
"It's ok though." She said trying to alleviate his tension. "I wasn't about to just let him have his way with me."
Gaara shook his head. "If he tries anything like that again, let me know right away through the soul link." He instructed her.
"Ok." She replied.
He nodded and glanced at the clock. "I should get you home." He said as he stood.
She nodded. "Yeah. Ryuu will be worried."
"So will your father." He reminded her gently as they stepped out into the night. "Have you decided what you're going to do as far the village goes?" he asked.
The violet haired girl sighed. "I don't know." She admitted. "I'm not sure how well I would do in the military since I'm an outsider."
Gaara nodded. "Well, your skill is more than adequate. You'd make a great addition to our ranks."
"You think so?" she asked glancing at him. He nodded and she smiled. "Well, I don't really know where to start." She admitted. "I mean in my village I was a genin but that was years ago."
"Why not participate in the chunin exams?" he suggested. "If you don't feel up to that, you can always just observe them. I have to go anyway. They're held in The Village Hidden in the Leaves so you'd be able to see your friends again."
The girl's eyes lit up at that. "Really? I guess I could go and watch at least."
Gaara nodded and offered her a little smile. "Alright then. The exams aren't for a few months still but it's something to look forward to."
"Yeah." She agreed smiling back at him. Her brow furrowed slightly as she touched her chest and the sand shinobi noticed immediately.
"I heard from Ryuu that you're struggling a little with that power of yours." he said.
She nodded. "Just a little. I'm having trouble controlling the amount of chakra I expend at once. I always end up using more than I intended."
The Kazekage nodded. "I understand. Try to bear with it and let me know if things get any worse."
She nodded as they arrived at the door to her house. "Thank you for walking me home." She said bowing slightly.
"It was my pleasure." He replied.
Onchou blushed and then moved forward wrapping her arms around the surprised Kazekage's neck. "Welcome home Gaara." She said softly as she blushed darker. "I really missed you and I'm glad you're back."
He blinked in surprise and then touched her head as a blush of his own heated his cheeks. "Thank you. It's good to be back." He replied. Wrapped his other arm around her. "I miss you too." He whispered.
The pair jumped apart when the door flew open and Ryuu stood before them his eyes narrowing slightly. "I told you so!" he exclaimed. "It's Onchou and raccoon eyes!" he called back into the house.
Tamiki appeared in the doorway and smiled at the pair. "Good to see you Lord Kazekage." He said bowing slightly. "Thank you for seeing my daughter home."
"It was no problem." Gaara replied. "It was my fault she was so late anyway." He looked at the amethyst eyed girl. "I'll come get you when my work is done tomorrow so we can discuss things further."
She nodded. "Thank you again Gaara. I'll see you tomorrow."
He nodded and waited until she was safely on the other side of the door before he walked towards his own home. In minutes he was ready for bed and slipped underneath the covers finally allowing his mind and body to rest. He stared up at the ceiling and sighed as he tossed an arm across his forehead. His meetings had been tedious and long and he'd been thankful when they finally ended. He'd been more anxious than normal to get home not just because of the lack of protection his village had, but because he was worried about girl with violet hair and amethyst eyes that he'd left behind only hours after what might have been to most traumatic experience of her life. He remembered how sad she'd looked when the leaf shinobi walked away and how she'd tried to smile in spite of her obvious discomfort when he'd told her he'd need to leave only hours later. His eyes began to close as he remember the joy on her face as she tried cake for the first time and the desire he felt to lick the frosting from her fingers and lips. "I must be more tired than I thought." He muttered as he pushed the distracting thought away and drifted asleep.
&%&
Onchou slipped the elastic into Ryuu's hair and nodded at her work. "All done Ryuu." She said with a smile touching the braid. "Are you sure you don't want to cut it?" she asked him as she walked with him outside.
"I'm sure." He assured her. "I like it long it covers up…" he touched the spot on his neck that had once been a port used to attach him to his glass prison.
She nodded and squeezed his hand as they walked towards the ninja academy. "I know. It's alright. I just thought it would be a little easier for you to deal with."
Ryuu smiled and squeezed her hand. "You're always like that. Worry about everyone else. Why don't you cut your hair?" he asked her.
She blinked and then touched her long violet colored locks. "I guess it's because my mother's hair was always long." She admitted.
"That seems like a good enough reason to me." He replied as they neared the gate and took the lunch box she handed to him. "I'm off!" he said with a smile as he hugged her. "I'll see you later Onchou!"
"Bye Ryuu!" she called out waving at him with a wide smile. He dashed inside the building and her face fell a little as she turned away from the gate well aware of the eyes on her and the whispers. Her dragons had clearly frightened the villagers. Not that she blamed them, they did seem terrifying.
"Look at how close she and that boy are! She's probably one of those teen mothers!" a woman whispered to her companion.
Onchou snorted at the comment and rolled her eyes. That was a new one, she knew that she looked older than her sixteen years but even if they thought she was twenty it was a stretch to say that Ryuu was her biological child. Feeling a little trapped on the ground she took to the roof tops dashing across the village until she landed in front of her own home and stepped inside. Immediately she could tell that the house was empty and she walked into the kitchen and picked up the note there.
"I'm at the shop today." It read.
The teenaged girl nodded and sighed. Never in her life had she had free time until now and she couldn't deny that it was boring. Not only that but it made her restless. Over the past couple weeks she'd read all of the books in the house and though she'd checked out more from the library, she needed to get out. Training was out of the question since the grounds had been reserved by the shinobi units.
"What to do?" she muttered to herself. Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her and she quickly dashed to the bedroom that Tamiki had prepared for her and she dove into her closet and pulled out the answer to her frustration.
"Nothing like chakra boarding to clear the mind." She said as she laid it on her bed. With a quick motion she pulled her robes off and changed into her ninja gear consisting of long black pants, tall shinobi style sandals, wine colored top and black vest. She wrapped the bandages around her leg and secured her weapon's pouch to it and then tied her hair up into a high pony tail. Then she strapped the board and her sword to her back and pulled the robes over her clothes again and walked to the kitchen. She quickly scribbled a note to her father letting him know she was headed to the sand dunes near the outskirts of the village, grabbed a water bottle and an energy bar before she left locking the door securely behind her. As walked down the street she felt a song filled with jealousy nearing her and sighed. It was Rika, a shinobi with long black hair and bright green eyes. She was a couple of years older than Onchou and was notorious for being two faced, particularly when it came to the Kazekage. She'd been sweet as sugar in front of him and then claw the eyes of any woman that he looked twice at the moment he blinked.
"Onchou." The older shinobi said smiling sweetly at her. "How are you today?"
"I'm fine thank you." The violet haired girl replied quickly.
"I imagine you're better than fine after seeing Lord Gaara yesterday." The black haired girl moved closer and stretched up to whisper in her ear. "I saw you hug him you dirty whore." She hissed.
"I'm sorry that you have nothing better to do with your time than stalk people." The amethyst girl said without flinching. "Now if you'll excuse me, I actually have a destination in mind."
Rika's eyes widened and she narrowed as she glared at the younger girl. "Stay away from him!" she snarled.
"You say that like I'm the one that went looking for him." She replied. "Besides, isn't what Lord Kazekage does in his private life his business?"
"Bitch!" Rika hissed.
Onchou just shrugged and continued to walk forward leaving the older shinobi in the dust as she made her way to the sand dunes. "Her song is so tainted by jealousy it's making me sick." She muttered as she tossed off her robe and folded it laying it and her water on the ground. She pulled the board from her back and laid it down on the sand. With confidence, she stepped onto the board and focused her chakra bending her knees as it rose into the air and hovered. She took a deep breath closing her eyes briefly before she shot forward crouching slightly as she glided across the desert. Her eyes focused on an upcoming sand dune and she shifted her body and rode up it shooting into the air. She flipped and then landed gliding down the hill a smirk on her lips as she picked up speed. Her hair whipped in the wind as she approached another hill and she pushed her board faster launching even higher into the sky and whipped her body backwards to flip again in midair and then straightened her body just in time to land and glide down the embankment. She crouched low on her board and pushed herself event faster as she neared the canyon wall that marked the edge of the village her fingers trailing over the sand a little grunt escaping her lips as she kicked her board up and began to glide up the sheer wall.
After going as high as she could, she used her wind chakra to push away from it and began to fall headfirst back towards the ground. She brought her arms close to her body and began to spin and twist as she fell before she flipped at the last possible moment, released her board, grabbed it in her hand and tumbled into the sand. She grinned and laughed at the exhilarating feeling as she stared up at the sky at the blazing sun. "Gaara." She murmured as she conjured up his face up in her mind a little smile coming to her lips before she sensed a small group of angry songs nearing her. "Now what." She muttered as she got to her feet. A sigh of annoyance escaped her lips as she saw the group of young women nearing her. "Here we go again." She muttered.
%#%
Gaara went through the list of names written on the scroll in front of him one last time before pressing his seal onto the paper and finishing it off with his signature.
"That takes care of that troublesome project." Kankuro said and he rolled up the scroll. "Now it's just a matter of assembling them together."
The Kazekage nodded and then sensed a familiar chakra coming towards his door and sighed. "Speaking of troublesome." He muttered as the knock sounded at the door. "Come in." he called out quickly picking up a mission report to read to distract him from the black haired woman that entered his office.
"Lord Kazekage, it's so good to see you." Rika said bowing low.
Gaara's shoulders shifted forward slightly. The woman had probably been one of the nastiest children he'd ever met when they were growing up. He'd been the only one she was afraid of so she hadn't bothered him but he knew how she'd treated all of the other children around her. When he'd become Kazekage, she'd quickly changed her tune and sung his praises though he also knew she hadn't been among the shinobi who had rushed to meet him after his capture four years ago. In short, her affections thought fierce, were shallow and he wasn't interested.
He nodded in response to her greeting without looking up from the mission report. "Was there something you needed Rika?" he asked.
"Yes." She replied. "I was wondering how long you were planning on letting those two outsiders that arrived with the leaf stay here." She asked.
Kankuro raised a brow and Gaara glanced up from his paperwork. "They've been accepted as official citezens of Suna." He replied. "They can stay here as long as they would like."
Her green eyes widened. "Lord Kazekage! They're dangerous! You saw all of the damage those dragons of hers did!"
"I did." He replied. "They were a great asset to us during that battle. Our casualties surly would have been higher if it weren't for them."
Rika's brow twitched and she balled her hands into fists even as she plastered a sugary, sweet smile on her face. "Don't you think it's a possibility you're being deceived?" she asked. "That girl has been acting very suspiciously since you left."
Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly. "I don't recal asking you or anyone else to watch her."
"I apologize." Rika said bowing. "I know I overstepped my bounds I just worry for your safety and the safety of Suna. She's an outsider who had prior history with our enemy after all. How do you know she's not just tricking you? Maybe she was with that man willingly?"
Garra felt his anger flare at the woman's words. He knew exactly what Takuma had put her through. All of the pain, agony, and torture. The woman's ignorance was the only thing saving her from his sand blast.
"I suggest you mind your tongue about things you know little to nothing about." Kankuro said his eyes narrowing slightly. "Do you really have that little faith in your Kazekage's judegment?"
Rika blushed slightly and lowered her head. "No. It's not that. I just know she's up to no good!" she exclaimed. She glanced out the window and her eyes widened. "Look! Near the sand dunes! I just saw a blast! That girl was headed there when I was on my way here. I'm sure she's causing trouble."
Gaara glanced out the window his eyes narrowing slightly as he noted a blast of fire chakra. "Let's go." He said to Kankuro. He quickly climbed to the roof top and began to sprint across Suna and opened the soul link between himself and Onchou.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing important." She replied though he could hear the strain in her voice.
"Don't lie to me." He replied as he pushed himself faster with Kankuro and Rika hot on his heels. "I'm coming."
Onchou grimaced as the fire burned through her clothes to sear her skin. Her hand glowed green as she quickly went to work healing the burn.
"Get up and fight Dragon Queen!" Mei one of Rika's best friends snarled.
"Sorry. I'm not interested." The violet haired girl replied as she stood up now that the pain was under control.
"Bitch!" Rin another one of the black haired girl's friends exclaimed slamming her fist into her face a little smirk crossing her face. "Lord Kazekage deserves a warrior at his side, not a pathetic coward!"
"Says the girl who ambushed an innocent chakra boarder." The amethyst eyed girl muttered wiping the blood from her lip.
"Ugh!" Mei groaned. "This isn't getting us anywhere and I'm sure Rika already got Lord Gaara by now, let's just rough each other up before he gets here." She murmured turning to face her friend.
"Right but just singe me, don't actually burn me." Rin replied holding her arms out as the other girl conjured up her fire. Onchou's eyes widened as she sensed the wind change direction and dashed forward.
"Don't! The wind!" she exclaimed as she put herself between the two girls and gritted her teeth as she tried to deflect the girl's larger flame with her hands hissing as the fire burned her fingertips and pulled on her water chakra and struggled for form hand signs. "Water Style! Water Stream Jutsu!" she exclaimed as the water spewed from her hands dousing the flames.
"What happened?" Mei stammered. "My fire…"
"The wind." Onchou replied. "It changed just as you started your jutsu." She said wincing at the pain in her fingers.
"Wait! Does that mean that she just saved me?" Rin asked her eyes wide.
"I wasn't about to stand by and watch your friend here burn you." She replied. "It would've been painful for both of you."
"But we…" Mei started.
"Onchou!" Kankuro called out as he materialized near them along with Gaara and an angry looking Rika. "Are you alright?" he asked jogging up to her.
"Yeah." She replied quickly tucking her burned hands inside her pockets.
"You don't look like you're alright." He replied frowning as he took in her disheveled appearance and the bruises forming on her face.
"I just took a nasty fall while I was chakra boarding." She said motioning to the board that had been left where she'd laid it just before the girl's jumped her.
"What was the blast of fire then?" he asked.
"Oh that… Mei asked me to help her with a new fire jutsu." Onchou lied.
"You should've been more responsible!" Rika exclaimed. "You could see the blast from the Kazekage's office. How reckless especially with how unpredictable the wind is here!" she turned to the Kazekage. "See what I mean? She's not safe to have in the village."
Gaara ignored her and walked forward. "That firejutsu was a Fire Cannon." He said as he neared Onchou. "It's unique to one clan in this village and it's not the one that Onchou belongs to." His eyes flickered to Mei who flinched under his cold gaze. "Also, I can tell from the bruises that you were punched by someone with very small but powerful hands." He replied glancing at Rin who cringed before he came level with the amethyst eyed girl. "Show me your hands." She sighed and pulled them from her pockets and he took them in his own gently examining the wounds. "You deflected a fire attack with your bare hands which means that you weren't protecting yourself but someone else otherwise you would've doused the flames sooner."
Rin and Mei both hung their heads but Rika stepped in. "There must be an explanation for this! I'm sure they were all just training together when something went wrong right girls?"
"If they were training together, then Onchou would've put her chakra board with the rest of her things over there." Kankuro said motioning to the folded robe and water bottle sitting a short distance away.
Rika brow twitched as the two girls hung their heads lower. "Come." Gaara said motioning to the amethyst eyed girl. "Let's get you patched up. Kankuro will take your things home for you."
"Alright." She replied blushing slightly as he walked with her past the black haired girl.
"I would advise against you trying anything like this in the future." Gaara said as he passed by his eyes flashing dangerously at the girl. "I am not nearly as tolerant as I appear to be."
Kankuro watched his brother walk away with Onchuou at his side and glared at the three young women. "You should all consider yourselves lucky that my brother is the one in charge and not me. All three of you could be thrown in prison for assaulting her like that."
Rika snorted and walked away her black hair fanning out behind her. Mei walked over and picked up the chakra board while Rin picked up her robe and water bottle and handed them to the puppeteer. "We're very sorry." Rin said bowing low.
"Very sorry." Mei agreed bowing. "We just went along with Rika's plan but it was still wrong of us."
"She didn't cry no matter what we did or said to her and she even protected me." Rin said looking down at the ground.
Kankuro sighed. "She's just like him. Too afraid to stand up for herself because people have labeled them monsters."
"I hate to admit it, but I can see why he might like her." Mei muttered. "She's actually a really good person."
The painted faced shinobi nodded. "She is. In fact she's saved his life twice."
Rin's eyes widened as Mei gasped. "She saved him? Twice?" Rin gasped.
He nodded. "You were really picking on the savior of the man you claim to love so much." He said as her began to walk away. "For future reference, I suggest you find out the whole story before you go off and try something stupid."
Gaara sat in front of Onchou in the infirmary of the Kazekage's building and wrapped her burned digits with incredible gentleness. He then pressed a cool, damp rag to her cheek that was starting to swell. "I'm sorry about all of this." He said as he pulled a twig from her hair. "I had no idea that the young women of the village were giving you such trouble."
The violet haired girl shrugged and smiled. "This is nothing compared to what I've experienced in the past."
"That doesn't mean it's alright." He argued as he pulled a dead leaf from her hair and studied it for a moment and sighed. "Perhaps it would be safer for you there."
Onchou's eyes widened. "If I'm a burden to you then I can leave." She said moving away from him. "I didn't mean to cause in trouble. I just went out there to chakra board."
He looked at her and sensed her pain and uncertainty through the soul link and reached out to her touching her on the shoulder. "That's not what I meant." He assured her. "I don't want you to leave. I'm just thinking about what's best for you."
"I can handle it." She assured him. "Please don't send me away. I'm happiest when I'm near you!" she blushed at her own words and looked down.
Gaara's eyes widened at her words and then his expression softened as he reached out and rested his hand on her forehead. "Same here." He replied softly. She raised her head to meet his gaze and suddenly became trapped. His normally cool and conservative gaze was now filled with warmth and a spark of something extra. She could sense his nervousness as he moved his hand from her head to her cheek and moved closer to her as his eyes drifted downward to focus on her lips. "Onchou." He said murmured as he began to lean forward.
"Lord Kazekage are you ready for the meeting?" Leo asked as he pushed the infirmary door open and walked inside.
The two jerked apart blushing and Gaara quickly stood. "Yes." He replied quickly before turning to Onchou. "Go straight home. I'll come get you after my duties for the day a completed."
She nodded. "Yes Lord Gaara." She said bowing to him. "Thank you for taking care of my hands for me." She walked away and bowed to the tall sand shinobi. "Sir Leo." She murmured before she left the room.
"What happened to Miss Onchou's hands?" Leo asked as he walked beside the Kazekage.
"A couple of girl's attacked her while she was out in the sand dunes today." He replied his mast of calm hiding burning anger swirling inside of him. Her burns were serious enough to need extended treatment and though her darker skin hid it better than his pale skin would have, the bruise on her face was darkening.
"I see." Leo replied. "Miss Onchou is very strong though, how were they able to get the best of her?"
"She didn't fight back." The sand wielder said as they walked.
"Why not?" Leo replied.
"I'm not sure." The Kazekage admitted. As he tried to come up with a reason, he remembered her in the panic room with Ryuu and how she'd told the council that the only reason she hadn't killed them was because doing so would stain his hands as well as her own. He sighed and shook his head. "I believe it's partially because she understands that she's still an outsider her and is under high scrutiny. It's also likely because she knows that her actions will inadvertently affect me as well since I was the one to authorize her acceptance into the village."
Leo's eyes widened and then softened. "I see. She's wise beyond her years."
"She was raised in an environment that force her to grow up for more quickly than she should have." Gaara replied.
"Perhaps we should assign someone to keep an eye on her." Leo suggested. "That way if something like this happens again, she won't have to defend herself."
"Good idea." Gaara replied. "I'll see to that personally."
"Lord Kazekage, how do you feel about that girl?" Leo asked. "You don't have to tell me." He added quickly.
"I care about her more than any other woman in this world." He replied quickly before entering the room where the new council had assembled.