I do not own any characters from Naruto.
Neither do I own Meg Akaniochi, that goes to my reader, evelynmegkuchikisalt6, who requested this story to be written.
Please Read and Review
"Meg, you have been ordered by your Kazekage to watch over his children while they head over to Konohagakure for the Chunin Exams." Father came into view and knelt down at the table next to me and started eating his breakfast. "Today is the beginning of your twelfth year and now your duties begin. You remember what you read in that file I gave to you last week?"
"Yes father, I remember everything in that file," I smiled. "I'll go get ready."
"Baki will be here soon to pick you up and escort you to where the siblings are meeting him," father called to me as I stood up and headed down the hall to my room.
I changed into my fishnet leggings and top then pulled on my skirt and a black off the shoulder shirt. I walked into the bathroom and curled my hair, leaving the beaded strand alone. After I was done with that, I applied my eyeliner and lip gloss and slid those into the pouch strapped to my skirt. I pulled on my boots and slid my sais into their sheaths and slid my white sleeveless haori on. The skull was red with a blue fire rose in its teeth. I picked up my katana then walked out of my room. My heels clicked across the wood floors as I walked to the courtyard where Baki was arriving.
"Miss Akanoichi," Baki bowed. He was from a lesser clan that protected the Kazekage and followed their orders.
"Baki," I nodded then we walked out of the manor. "What am I to expect from those genin?"
"Temari is the kind of girl who thinks she's always right and smug about it. She always keeps Kankuro levelheaded who loves to tease and play with everyone except Gaara. I've heard the youngest threaten his siblings several times when he got annoyed with them. He's the one you want to watch out for the most especially since I haven't seen him sleep for six years."
"So he's the Jinchuuriki?"
"Yes milady."
"No formalities Baki, Meg will do," I smirked and he looked flustered.
"Very well." I nodded and as soon as we reached the gates, the three siblings landed in front of us. "Temari, Kankuro, Gaara, this is Meg Akanoichi, she'll be coming with us to the Leaf.
"Are you from the main family?" Temari asked as se eyed me cautiously, her eyes landing on the katana in my hand.
"She is the only child of Akanoichi's main house," Baki spoke. "Let's head out."
I took the back while Baki took point and let the team out across the sand. I wrapped chakra around my heels so they didn't sink into the sand as we ran across the blazing desert. Baki wanted to reach the tree border of the Land of Fire before we set up camp.
As we traveled, I learned that Kankuro complained a bunch only to be slapped by Temari. When Baki asked him to do something, he'd complain but would do it right away. She acted stuck up like Baki said but all three of the older shinobi cowered when Gaara growled at them. It didn't affect me outwardly but inwardly I flinched slightly. I remember seeing him loose control of his beast when he was 6. That was a scary night for Sunagakure when the Shukaku raged across the village.
When we reached the tree line, the older siblings got a fire started while Gaara just sat against a tree, watching everyone. I stood against a tree and flared out my chakra seeing of there were intruders to worry about and game that I could hunt. I found a burrow of rabbits the second Kankuro complained that he was hungry and I dashed off into the forest, trapping the four rabbits in their burrow and suffocated them with my air manipulation.
I pulled them out of their hole and carried them back to camp. I handed one to each of the inhabitants, letting them prepare their own food and jumped up into a tree and kept my senses open. I watched them prepare their food and noticed that Gaara was the only one who kept the animal's gizzard. They skinned their food and stuck them on a stick and put them over the fire then tossed the skin and what part they had cut away into the fire. I pulled out one of my energy bars and ate it quickly and drank some water that Baki tossed up to me. They finally started eating then tossed the skeletons in the fire and got ready to sleep.
"Baki, I'll take the watch tonight," I called down to him and he nodded and laid down. Kankuro and Temari followed his lead while Gaara just got comfortable against his tree and stared at the fire.
'To not be able to dream must be hard for him,' I thought as I looked around. 'Dreams keep most people believing in hope and having faith that everything will work out in the end. How does he survive and keep moving forward?'
Half way through the night, I jumped down and added some wood to the fire for the sleeping inhabitants and felt Gaara's eyes on me. I looked at him in the corner of my eye and saw the fire dance across his teal eyes before I jumped back up to my tree and crossed my ankles. His gaze seemed to keep coming back to me every time I wasn't looking at him and I felt like rolling my eyes.
When morning came, I woke Baki and he woke the rest. They ate quickly and packed up camp. Gaara used his sand to extinguish the fire and I wanted to smirk, knowing that he did work after all. Finally everyone was ready and we started jumping through the trees. Baki and I taking point today.
"Meg, would you go ahead and see if there is a room we can rent for the duration of the exams?" baki asked me and I nodded. "Gaara go with her. I won't have anyone travel alone."
Gaara and I jumped ahead silently, leaving the rest behind. I felt Gaara's gaze on me a lot as he stayed a couple feet behind me but I brushed it off. In the file that I had read weeks ago, it was the will of the fourth, he wanted Gaara to become Kazekage one day but very few knew about his will. Most likely the reason Baki had Gaara come with me was so that he got used to my presence for when I took my place behind him to be his protector when we were older. Only Baki, the head of the Akanoichi clan, the fourth Kazekage and I knew about what was in the will. It was well into the night before I stopped us to rest.
"I'm surprised at your endurance Akanoichi," Gaara's rough voice spoke with little humor as we sat down.
"Your point?" I raised a brow at him, confused at his way of starting a conversation that he had little practice with. "We Akanoichis start training at age four so we are prepared to start our duties at age twelve."
"How is it that a female gets the burden of protecting the Kazekage?"
"I was the only child born to the main house and my mother died hours after I was born," I spoke coldly.
"You're like me then, handed to maids and relatives to be raised."
"Something like that," I mused. "Rest up; we're close to the village. We'll start moving in a couple hours to reach Konohagakure by morning."
"You know I don't rest," he narrowed his eyes.
"Meditation was created for a reason," I laughed before leaning against my tree with my katana in my lap.