A/N: One of my worst problems with writing a multi-chaptered fic, is that I can never seem to stick to the genre much. "The Arrangement" is supposed to be a romance/comedy, but for some reason, it keeps on slipping a bit on the serious side. You'll see what I mean in this chapter. There are a few delicate parts about puberty and growing up, so bear with me.
The Arrangement
Chapter Three
The Sand was thrown into lively festivities that night, and the huge gathering area right behind the Kazekage tower was converted into a place of dancing and music and lots and lots of food and drinks and twinkling lights hanging overhead. The party hadn't officially started yet. All the delegates and their daughters were still in their respective quarters on one of the floors of the tower. They were to be called in an hour once the Kazekage himself comes down from his office.
If he ever comes down from his office.
Ino was standing at the edge of the square, leaning against one of the round tables they had set all around the dance floor. Her eyes traveled across the gathering place and noted several men and women setting up musical equipment in the darker end of the buffet table. She raised an eyebrow at the dishes set out on said table and noted that most of those dishes were merely an assortment of sweet and salty finger treats.
Of course. This is a political event disguised as a… As a what? A ploy to get Gaara to pick a wife? Yeah, that sounded about right.
Ino sighed as she crossed her bare arms over her middle. Those who had prepared this gathering must not have considered Gaara's opinion at all. It was obvious his councilmen have simply ignored his feelings altogether and made sure the gathering was loud and conducive for young people to drink and mingle. Ino knew at once that the daughters of those delegates were most definitely younger than they were. And judging from the variety of sweet cocktails and sours lined in the prepared ice bars in the corner, their ages may range from twenty to twenty-five.
Give me a good shot of rum any day.
Kankurou, minus the face paint and clad in a dark tunic, appeared behind her with two cups of something with him. "You look lonely. Where's your husband?"
"Working. Big wow there." Ino raised an eyebrow at him then looked down at the cups in his hands. "Rum?" she asked hopefully.
Kankurou shook his head. "Trust me. It would be better if you stayed sober the entire night." He offered her one of the cups.
Ino took it and sniffed it suspiciously. Green tea. She took a tentative sip then continued to scan the area lazily. She was still left in the dark about Gaara's council members. The way Kankurou was talking, they looked like they were going to give her a hard time tonight. "You have scary elders," she said under her breath.
Kankurou shrugged uncaringly. "We're used to them." He abandoned his own tea on the table Ino was leaning on and imitated her with crossing his arms over his chest. "Did Gaara run you through the possible insanity that could happen tonight?"
"Vaguely," Ino said, thoughtfully touching the mouth of her cup to her bottom lip.
At around six in the morning, she had woken up in that ridiculous sea of red silk and immediately made her way out of the bedroom to see Gaara sitting on the couch, his elbows on his knees, head in both hands. He had looked up the moment she stepped into the living room. It didn't look like her chamomile tea had helped him the least, but even with the obvious lack of sleep, he still looked sharp and alert, if not a bit weary and tired. And bored.
Very bored.
Ino had thought of suggesting he take home the work he had waiting in his office next time so that he could at least have something to do with those hours he should normally be using to rest. But Gaara had already invited her over to sit beside him and he had starting explaining to her what could take place later that night.
Ino had listened patiently, hearing about the delegates and their daughters having been briefed by the council that the Kazekage had a kunoichi from Konoha who claims to be his fiancée. Gaara had explained to her that although the council does not believe Ino to be anything of the sort, they were not about to openly embarrass her or be hostile to her because of their alliance with Konoha. This did not mean, however, that the delegates and their daughters would do the same. The council members had expressed their anger about the Kazekage having concocted this little plan to avoid getting married, and had outright asked the delegates' support in convincing him to stop his lies.
"What's the worst they can do?" Ino asked as she looked over to Kankurou in the corner of her eye.
That was when she saw them. Apparently, the guest's quarters were on the middle floor of the Kazekage tower that overlooked the square. Coincidentally, through the windows of the hall right outside the guestrooms, Ino saw a total of seventeen silhouettes of women all looking down at the gathering place.
"Hello ladies," Kankurou muttered, and he frowned up at the tower.
Ino sucked on her front teeth and watched the women by those windows. Gaara hadn't gone much with the specifics about these delegates and the girls. Their talk that morning only clarified three things: One, the council members have already talked to the delegates that they think Gaara and Ino's engagement was a lie. Two, the delegates have agreed to cooperate with the council. And three, tonight was going to be a very, very long and annoying night. Seventeen girls. All here to win Gaara's heart.
Sounds like a bad fairytale…
"So," Kankurou suddenly said. "How'd you like the bedroom furniture?"
"We're redecorating first thing tomorrow morning," Ino said as she took another of sip of her tea.
Kankurou laughed good-naturedly. "Didn't you think it was romantic?"
Ino stared at him steadily. "Do you really want me to answer that?"
"Silk and candles, Yamanaka! What could be more romantic than that?"
Ino closed her eyes in resignation. Given, she was a firm believer of romance herself, but this was just… ridiculous. "I'm sure you put a lot of thought into this, but it would have been romantic only if Gaara and I were really dating. I am getting rid of your red sheets and curtains, and you will stay away from your brother's vocabulary."
This time, the man was slapping his knee and laughing even harder. "I can't believe he actually used those lines in front of Ebizo-ojii and Baki!"
Ino was not amused. "Well, thank you for finding the humor in all this."
"You're welcome."
Ino stared at him, appalled. "You know what? If you don't stop teaching him those very tasteless remarks, I will personally make sure you have a very, very tragic accident very, very soon. Preferably when you're taking a bath."
Kankurou was trying to control his giggling. "Aw, come on Ino. If we don't give the guy some weapons, how's he going to fight back?"
Ino slammed her cup on the table, sloshing tea on her hand. "Your brother is trying very hard to find himself in all of this," she said, gesturing at the food on the table, and the women up at the tower. "Have you seen him in his own house? He doesn't even know how he's supposed to act when he's home! He's like this working machine, defining who he is with his title. And then we have him attempting to break out of all that, trying to break away from what the council expects from him, and then we have you! You, who is supposed to be his ally, feeding him dirty words and masking the house he doesn't want to be in like a brothel!"
That shut Kankurou up. He started rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Sheesh! You don't have to be so mad. I was just having fun."
"Well, I'm not here to have fun," Ino said, rolling her eyes. Gaara was a client. A paying client. And he had hired her to make sure they convinced the people that mattered that they were engaged. Well, sure after hearing Gaara's heartfelt outburst last night in the meeting room, she may be letting her personal feelings get in the way of how she was seeing this. She had never been directly involved with the man before, and never in her life did she think that such an opportunity to work with him under closed quarters would come. He had simply been the Kazekage to her, and she had always thought him to be the reserved type. And aside from him being in very good terms with Naruto, she knew nothing more of him.
It had been a strange day yesterday, because she had seen so many things about the man in the mere hours they had spent together. He loved work, didn't sleep, hated tomatoes and bean paste jelly and loved liver. He was mostly stimulated by smell more than sight, though he was obviously attracted with the color yellow.
And he would walk around shirtless after a shower. And he had an amazing body hiding under the layers of those Wind country clothing.
Ino frowned. He sounded like a normal man to her. Couldn't he just fall in love like a normal man? It was evident that the girl, Matsuri, liked him, and with the way Gaara talked about her, he sort of had a soft spot for the woman, too. It bothered her, because even though Gaara had promised her that her contract was for a mere month, she could not help but wonder what Gaara was planning after that month was up. Surely, he wasn't thinking of running forever. Right?
"We find it hard to look for things to talk about with Gaara," Kankurou suddenly said seriously. Ino had almost forgotten that she had just told the man off about his out-of-control sense of humor.
"So what, you try to make him more comfortable by… teaching him those things?" Ino asked, genuinely curious.
Kankurou snorted. "Look, he's twenty-nine years old. Supposedly, this is a normal guy thing, but the mere fact that we're here talking about it as if I just handed a minor a dirty magazine is crazy. He's facing people who're forcing him to get married and have kids." The man was starting to get uncomfortable himself, perhaps it was because he was talking about this with a girl. "Let's just try looking at it this way: can you see Gaara being… sexually prepared for this?"
Ino raised her eyebrow. Was this how men in the Sand view these kinds of things? "Before we move on to the 'sexually prepared' thing, shouldn't we be worrying if he's emotionally prepared enough to enter a relationship at all?"
"Ah, of course you women always have to come from the emotional approach with things," he said sarcastically.
"Oh, I'm sorry I'm thinking with what's between my ears and not my legs. Enlighten me, then. How do you see Gaara's case?" She'd love to hear this.
Kankurou hesitated for a moment, looked over his shoulder as if scared to find someone listening to their conversation. When he saw it was safe, he motioned for Ino to follow him into a secluded spot under a tall cactus a few feet away from the now merry square. Ino trailed after him slowly.
Ino threw her shoulders back and watched as the older man shift from one foot to another. Whatever he was going to say to her, it was making him uneasy. She was starting to assume that Kankurou was not about to make lewd jokes or justify his humor.
"Gaara was… a very difficult teenager then," Kankurou started.
Ino narrowed her eyes at him. "If this is something that you shouldn't be telling me, maybe you shouldn't tell me? You sound like you're about to squeal one of Gaara's deepest, darkest secrets."
Kankurou's face suddenly turned a bit pink.
Ino raised her hands in front of her. "I don't want to hear it."
Kankurou gave a start. "Wha-? Are you sure? Because I actually talked about this with Temari, and she kind of agreed that we should just let you in on it… since… well… you are the 'fiancée'…"
She found out that she didn't trust Kankurou the tiniest bit. "Then why isn't Temari here to tell me instead. You know I'd believe her better than I'd believe you."
"You can be rude if you want to, eh?" Kankurou snapped, but started talking anyway. "Temari was uncomfortable of the thought of telling you herself. She said it would be better if I tell you about it. It's about Gaara's teen years…"
Ino shrugged nonchalantly and pretended that talks about Gaara's teenage days and puberty did not bother her at all. "If this is going to raise the success rate of this mission, lay it on me, then."
Kankurou swallowed hard. And this was supposedly the man who had taught Gaara to talk dirty. It looked like he was more worried of being the one to tell her about it, whatever it was.
"Should we sit down?" Ino offered jokingly as she gestured back to the table where their abandoned tea cups were.
Kankurou shot her an evil look before saying, "You're well aware about Gaara's history, about him being the vessel for the tailed beast, so I guess we're already half-way through the conversation."
Ino was taken aback. She hadn't been expecting Kankurou to suddenly bring up that part of Gaara's past. It had been something their batch had avoided talking about, if possible, in passing conversation, out of respect for Naruto and Gaara's friendship, as well as the Sand and the Leaf's alliance. This did not mean, however, that they were ignorant of it.
"Shukaku was a cunning monster, you know. And… well… it was… always hungry. For blood." Kankurou was scratching his eyebrow now, making sure his hands were doing something. He was easy to read. The uneasiness was rubbing in on Ino quickly. "When Gaara was a child, or at least as well as I could remember back then – were still very young – he had always been feared by the kids his age."
"That's… understandable, I guess." She could only remember Naruto's childhood vaguely at the back of her mind. She knew that Gaara hadn't been as lucky at controlling his own tailed beast. She had learned that Shukaku had been more than eager to make his presence known to anyone around Gaara then.
"He wanted friends as much as the next kid, you know. But yeah… he couldn't make friends. And you know how kids are when they don't get what they want, right?" The man smiled weakly. "Gaara had always been unstable then. And Shukaku had been the monstrous representation of any raw emotion Gaara felt. Pain, sadness, everything. So when Gaara threw a tantrum, Shukaku was there. It scared the hell out of Temari and me back then. Heck, I was six years old then! And then you see your little brother flinging sand everywhere… " He shook his head. "Well, he eventually grew out of it. But then, it didn't get any better after that."
Ino took a shaky breath. "Wh-what happened?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
"Puberty did." Kankurou shuddered.
Ino closed her eyes painfully, already knowing where this was going.
"If a child gets satisfied with toys and a bit of attention, well, a teenager is different. I guess as he grew up, he decided he didn't want any friends and became who he was like when we first came to the Leaf for the Chuunin exams." He laughed weakly. "Our father trying but failing to kill him six freaking times didn't help, that's for sure. By then Gaara was already a Genin, and so Shukaku's bloodlust was almost always satisfied with an assassination mission and the like. It had been good for Gaara to fall under supervision. Baki, you remember him from yesterday? He had been our squad leader."
It was starting to frighten Ino now. She knew what he was trying to say. And she did not know if she should stop him from telling him any more. Bile was rising at the back of her throat as Kankurou continued.
"Gaara and I were never really that close – I was scared of him, honestly – but there was this one time, when we were out on a mission together, when he asked me… things a normal teen at that age would. We were camping out for the night. It was one of those rare times he had fallen asleep for about ten or so minutes. He had woken up from a nightmare, screaming. Or laughing. I don't really remember. I nearly wet my pants then, thinking he'd gone out of control again. But he just looked at me with those dead eyes of his and he… well… he just… you know… " He gestured at her hopelessly. Ino nodded to encourage him. He shrugged. "It was a wet dream. I asked him if he was all right, and he said he dreamt of killing and blood and that he could hear 'mother' in his head. And that he felt… very good."
"Mother?" Ino asked.
Kankurou shook his head. "I'm not really sure but he had always confused the voice of the tailed beast for our mother… " He cleared his throat. "To make the long story short, I guess Gaara, during that phase, had correlated that… sexual pleasure with the satisfaction the monster got from blood."
Ino was staring at Kankurou, feeling sick to her stomach. "You… you're not making that up, are you?"
Kankurou nearly blanched at her. "You think that was tough? When Gaara lost the tailed beast was the most difficult of all! You think it was easy for me to explain to a sixteen-year-old that masturbating is normal? You think it was fun for me?"
For some weird reason, the conversation just took a turn for the worst. "What? Why did you have to teach him that?"
"Because he was asking me about it, dammit!" Kankurou said wildly, then covered his eyes with a hand. "He didn't like it. It… frightened him. One night, several days after he was brought back to the village, you know, when Naruto and Chiyo-obaa brought him back to life? He was screaming in his sleep again. Yeah, he was bed-ridden for a few weeks, and we had to use drugs just to make him sleep. Temari and I ran to his room half asleep to see what was wrong. With the way he was screaming, you'd have thought he was being attacked. Of course, we found him sitting on his bed. I walked in first, and when I saw what was up, I slammed the door in Temari's face and didn't let her in." He kept his hand clamped on his eyes. "He was scared of his own… yeah… it was just a normal... You don't mind me using 'dirty words', do you?"
Ino wrinkled her nose. "I'm a medic nin. I can say more dirty words than you could in your lifetime."
Kankurou seemed to find the humor in that. He dropped the hand and stared at her nakedly. "He had his first erection without the beast in him, okay? And it scared the hell out of him. And I mean scared scared. You ever heard Gaara raise his voice? You ever heard him scream? Trust me, it wasn't pleasant. I had to teach him how to… 'get rid of it'. It was a painful process for the both of us. He was shaking like silly while he relieved himself, and cried when he was done. I didn't know what else to do."
And the both of them were silent. Kankurou was now watching her with those sharp eyes of his, as if searching for a bit of disgust on the subject they had been talking about. Here, she had been wondering what it was that Gaara had been running away from. Right now, she had learned that what she thought of the Kazekage-sama had been but the tip of the iceberg, that Gaara was not just afraid of commitment with a woman, but he was afraid of one of the fundamentals that came along with it.
Smiling sadly, Ino stepped forward, reached up and around Kankurou's neck, and gave him a tight embrace. "You, Kankurou, have been a great big brother to him. You're amazing."
Kankurou had stiffened in her arms. "Wha-? Get… get off me! I didn't do nothing… " He pried Ino away from him, but Ino could see the small smile tugging at one corner of his mouth.
Ino squeezed his hand quickly before stepping back and looking up at him. "Thank you for telling me."
"Telling you what?" came a voice from behind her.
Ino practically jumped out of her skin. Whirling around, she found herself a few inches from bumping her nose on Gaara's chest. Again. She backed away from him. "Nothing."
No, Gaara. We weren't talking about how Kankurou had taught you how to masturbate when you were sixteen. Nope. Not that. Why would we want to talk about that?
She laughed nervously.
Gaara looked down at her blankly, then at Kankurou. "The delegates are on their way. Where is Temari?"
Kankurou had composed himself quicker than Ino had. He jerked his head to the square, where they could see Temari wearing her formal black kimono emerging from the back of the live band, which was now playing some weird music with their lyres and drums. "She was making the final preparations. Is there anything you needed? Seventeen ladies to check you out tonight. I hope you're wearing deodorant."
Gaara did not laugh. He didn't even blink. He turned to Ino. "I'm sorry for all this."
Ino shook her head quickly. "It's all right, really. I mean, how bad could it be, right?" She laughed loudly.
It was bad. Definitely bad.
Ino watched in resigned horror as another one of the seventeen women approach her and look her up and down. Gaara had been swept away by the delegates – again – to the beverage table, leaving Ino vulnerable for another round of bitch slaps from their daughters.
Gaara hadn't been gone but a few seconds when one of said daughters had walked up on her, fuming.
"It took us two whole days to get here, only to find the Kazekage-sama with some blonde who claims she is his fiancée," the woman hissed. She was a foot taller than Ino, and she was using every advantage she had to intimidate her.
Ino of course was not intimidated. But she was tired. The women were tiring, all of them fighting over each other with their eyes on who Gaara would like best.
When Sakura and I were fighting over Sasuke, were we this pathetic?
She thought for a moment, then shook herself. Yeah. She and Sakura must have looked this pathetic…
She stood her ground. Again. And launched into diplomatic explanation mode. Again. "Gaara and I are really very sorry for the misunderstanding. We've hardly seen each other over the past year. Both of us have been very busy with our own village's affairs. He already tried to tell the council about it." She smiled sincerely. "But I guess I don't blame them for not believing us. Gaara was never very vocal about the relationship, you know."
"No, I don't know," the woman snapped, and she shifted to the side, just enough for Ino to catch the small throwing knives she had hidden under those thin robes of hers.
Ino cocked an eyebrow up. So all of them had come equipped. One woman had bragged about her senbon. Another had flapped at her a sharp fan made of blades. Several of them had shuriken hidden under their belts. Women carrying weapons were not new to Ino. Most delegates and representatives were required to have at least something up her sleeve if ever anything happened. She was a bit surprised, though, to have them actually flaunting those weapons to her as if daring her to show hers.
Which was one of her bigger mistakes tonight. She didn't even have a single kunai with her.
Not that she needed one.
"I have my eye on you," the woman hissed, and in a whirl of flailing skirts she had left Ino gawking after her retreating back.
"Oh, I'm so scared," Ino muttered under her breath and rearranged her face into a worthy enough smile. That had been candidate number fourteen. Three women hadn't come over to make her feel their wrath. She scouted around the square, looking for them just get to things over with. She spotted one of them near the buffet table, holding her plate timidly in front of her and looking down at the food but never picking up anything.
Ino studied the woman curiously. She was about a head smaller than Ino herself, with copper-colored hair tied back into a very disheveled bun at the left side of her head. She was pacing around the table, as if deep in thought.
Straightening down her skirt, Ino decided to at least make her way to the lady, introduce herself, let her say her peace, then move on.
"Hello there," Ino greeted as she stopped right behind the woman.
The woman jumped a foot from the ground, squealed and dropped her plate on the table noisily. She whirled around, her huge blue eyes wide as they landed on Ino's face. "Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry! You startled me! I, oh dear – " She laughed shrilly and collected her plate from the table again, then held it in front of her like a shield.
Ino smiled uncertainly. "I didn't mean to startle you. I just thought of coming over and introducing myself. My name's – "
The girl brightened. "Yamanaka Ino, of the Leaf, yes?" She took a step back, then as if realizing that she was being rude, stepped forward again and extended her hand out to her shakily. "I know who you are. The Kazekage-sama's fiancée, yes? My name is Masami, from the desert colony Pippu. That's south west of here. Far, far south west."
Ino shook her hand softly. "It's nice to meet you." She was surprised to find someone who was actually nice among the daughters of the delegates. It could be that this Masami was dragged by her father against her will for a chance at getting chosen by the Kazekage. It did not occur to Ino that some of the women that had come here didn't want to get married to begin with. Masami looked like she was barely twenty years old.
Masami looked over to the table, and that worried look crossed her face again.
Ino followed her gaze. "Is something wrong with the food? You don't like them?"
Masami jumped for the second time, and she hurriedly shook her head. "N-no! It's not that! I'm sure they all taste great. It's just that… " she bit her lip before turning to Ino again. "I'm allergic."
Ino waited a moment before Masami continued. When she didn't, Ino asked, "Allergic to what?"
Masami ducked her head. "To a number of things, really. Tree nuts, peanuts, sesame… uhm, soy and wheat… I think I may be allergic to milk… or maybe I'm just lactose intolerant? I'm not really sure… "
Ino looked down at the table, then pointed at a plate of fruit. "Well, I'm not that familiar with the food they serve in the Wind country, but maybe you should stay on the safe side and stick to fruits and food that you know by glance."
Masami's mood lightened evidently, nodding. "You are right. I should just pick the food that I know won't do me any harm…" and she started picking a variety of the dishes, piling them on her plate.
Ino stared at her in disbelief. Oh, she knew these kind of people. These were the kind of people who knew what they wanted, and knew what was good for them, but needed someone else's opinion just to make a decision. She was probably here not because she wanted to get married, but because her father told her to do so. Deciding that although Masami looked like a difficult person to be with, she was better than the other girls who would slit her throat if she gave them the chance. Ino picked a plate herself, and spooned a few raw cherry tomatoes on her plate.
"So," Masami said as she brought a piece of plum to her mouth. "Uh, congratulations on the engagement, Yamanaka-san. We left Pippu a day ago, and so we just found out that Gaara-sama does not need to choose from us, because he is already in love with someone else." She smiled at her shyly. "I'm really sorry about this. My father doesn't believe your engagement, but I do. I think you two make a lovely couple."
Ino nearly dropped her plate. The last thing she was expecting was to get a congratulations. And… a lovely couple? She did not have to pretend to blush. "That's so nice of you to say. Not many people here want to acknowledge that fact, though. It means a lot to me."
Masami took a step forward, then in a small voice, asked, "Doesn't he scare you at all?"
Ino blinked down at the girl, and the two of them let their gaze wander to where Gaara was standing stiffly in front of three delegates who were talking animatedly about something that did not interest him at all. He had his arms crossed over his chest, his face grim and eyes staring straight ahead.
Ino shrugged. "He's not scary, is he? Look at him."
Masami swallowed heavily. "But… he's so serious. And he looks mean."
Ino nearly laughed out loud. They were talking about the Gaara who sticks his nose in cans and jars of herbs. "I think he's kinda cute," she said without thinking.
Masami suddenly squealed happily. "Oh! You two must be really in love with each other!"
Ino winced as she eyed the smaller girl. "W-well, we are engaged… "
Masami shook her head. "No! No! It's the way you look at him. Like… I can't quite put my finger on it… Like as if you want to protect him from something… "
Ino blinked again, then couldn't help but give the girl a rueful grin. Well, so maybe she was sort of trying to protect the man… maybe just a little. From getting exploited by Kankurou and such… "You would always want to protect the one you love, right?" She turned back to Gaara just when he was also turning towards her. Their eyes met from across the square and he raised his hand to acknowledge her. Then, he leaned over to the delegates who were still talking in front of him, as if to excuse himself, and started walking towards Ino.
Masami was dancing from foot to foot now, and she lowered her plate to the table. "Oh, dear! He's coming over! He's coming over! What should I do, Yamanaka-san? Should I leave you alone? Or would he think I'm being rude if I leave when I know he's coming over?"
"Stay. And relax. It's just Gaara." Ino left her plate on the table next to Masami's.
Masami did not look convinced, but nodded anyway, because Ino had decided for her to stay. "Well… all right… but… "
Gaara finally made it Ino's side, and much to her surprise, the Kazekage's arm was around her waist naturally, as if he had done it many times before, resting a hand lightly on her hip. So maybe Kankurou could be good a something sometimes. Gaara leaned his head closer to her ear. "I'm tired. They talk, and talk about camels and plum and trade."
Ino grinned up at him. This time, Ino knew Gaara was not acting. It was strange to hear him complain. "Well, what else is there to talk about?"
Gaara frowned. "They talk about their daughters as if they're selling cattle. And some of the women have been making advances. One ambushed me by the beverage counter. She tried to slip something in my drink." He really looked very disturbed.
Ino in turn wrapped an arm around Gaara's waist. "You should stay by me, then. I'll protect you from the bad ladies." She tried to stop herself from laughing. The look on Gaara's face was just too funny.
He nodded, believing her. He finally turned to Masami. "You. The daughter of the delegate from Pippu?"
Masami was petrified in her place when Gaara's eyes landed on her. She nodded stiffly, then as if remembering her manners, awkwardly bowed her head. "Masami, sir. I-I… Er… congratulations on your engagement."
Gaara stared down at the woman in surprise, then turned to Ino silently, as if saying, 'she isn't trying to come on to me!'
Ino gave him a meaningful look back. "We were just talking about you."
"About me?"
"Yeah, that you look kinda cute." Ino raised her eyebrows at him. "You already knew these women will be selling themselves to you. Why are you acting so surprised?"
Gaara did not answer, but instead tightened his arm around Ino, and pressed his lips on her temple lightly, sending Ino reeling.
Masami squeaked, then ducked her head. "Oh… I… just remembered… I'm thirsty. So thirsty! I think I am in need of a drink!" She hurriedly picked her plate up, then with a polite, knowing smile at Ino and Gaara, she scuttled away towards the beverage counter.
Ino turned to Gaara, whose lips were still on her temple. "What's wrong?"
Gaara sighed dejectedly, his breath warm against Ino's skin. "I was wondering how you were. They didn't try to… do anything to you?"
Ino shrugged, tightening her half-embrace around Gaara's waist. From an outside perspective, people would see a couple in an intimate conversation. Ino could practically feel the sharp looks that most definitely belonged to the daughters lurking somewhere around them. They had been following Gaara around all night.
"Well, they made sure I know they are capable of doing something to me. I was expecting as much." She turned to the table and gestured at the food. "Have you eaten? Maybe you should – "
"I'm not hungry," Gaara said stiffly, and he turned towards the delegates who were gathered at the other end of the square. All of them were whispering with each other as they looked over to them. "They've been here for merely three hours, but I'm already tired of them. They'll be here for a month… "
Ino used her free hand to turn his face back towards hers. She was surprised at the little resistance as she pressed her hand on his cheek and made him look down at her. Those green eyes of his betrayed nothing but frustration. "Listen. In the span of those three hours, fourteen women have bared their fangs at me, staking their claim on you. Masami was the fifteenth, but I think she's already given up. There are two others who I haven't seen, but chances are, they could either be like Masami, who's accepted the fact that we're all lovey-dovey, or they could be planning something that would take us by surprise." Using her thumb, she rubbed his cheek in sympathy. "Stay focused."
And that was when the strangest thing happened. Gaara had closed his eyes, nodded, and leaned his cheek in her hand. Ino found herself freezing in her place at the sight of that face. The weary expression he had been wearing since yesterday was gone at that moment, and he was breathing against her palm silently. It was like walking in on a private moment, and it sort of embarrassed her.
The moment ended when he opened his eyes again, and he looked down at her.
Ino nodded at him and let her hand drop to her side, feeling her face heating up a bit, not even sure why she was blushing. She covered her embarrassment with a laugh and slapped his chest playfully. "I'm not scared of those girls, so you don't have to worry about me. They should know better than to steal someone else's man."
Gaara looked down at the spot on his chest where she had slapped him, then said, "I am yours." It was a statement, not a question, and he said it as if to try to convince himself to get into the character. He nodded. "And you are mine."
"Ah…" Ino said suddenly feeling heat rise to her face once more. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm yours." She fanned herself with her free hand. "Whew, it's warm… I think I need a drink… "
Gaara was instantly alert. "I'll get you something cold, then. What would you like? Wine?"
Ino shook her head. "I think I should avoid alcohol tonight. Kankurou thought so, too. Do you want to go together? You know, to keep the women off you?"
Gaara shook his head and removed the arm he had around her waist. "I think it's the man's job to bring the lady her drink."
"And Kankurou taught you that?" Ino asked dryly.
"Yes," Gaara said. "I won't be long." He went over to the beverage counter.
Ino watched as Masami saw Gaara approaching and she jumped before arranging her dress self-consciously. Ino watched as Gaara stopped in front of the girl and nod at her politely. Masami backed away shyly and said something to him. She opened her mouth to say something else but immediately closed it when a tall, willowy woman in a thin, green dress sauntered over to where Gaara and Masami were.
Ino's back straightened involuntarily. That girl…
It was one of the final two Ino still hadn't seen that night. She was a few inches shorter than Gaara was, with raven-black hair cascading down her back like a glossy cape, her bangs swept to the left side of her face. She had a certain swagger to her walk, and pheromones were practically oozing out of her pores. At the sight of her, Masami grabbed her plate again, bowed to Gaara and disappeared into the crowd of dancing people behind them.
Ino's eyebrows rose as she crossed her arms over her chest, waiting patiently. She wanted to see what Gaara was going to do about this one, and if she saw he could not handle it by himself, she could always come to the rescue.
It seemed that Gaara did not even realize the woman had walked up to him. He had his back to the crowd and was busy with choosing a clean cup left on the counter. The girl stood right next to him, pretending to be busy herself, waiting for Gaara to notice her. She looked like the girl who was always noticed by men. After a minute, she flipped her hair, obviously annoyed that Gaara still did not look up at her. Abandoning female pride, she turned to Gaara and tapped his shoulder lightly. That was when Gaara finally looked up, stared at the place where she had tapped him, then finally at her face.
Ino couldn't help but smile as Gaara stood rod-straight, a cup in hand. The woman smiled sultrily as she touched Gaara's forearm with her fingers. Gaara's eyes narrowed slightly. The woman said something, then took the cup Gaara had in his hand. Raising it as if toasting for something, she brought the cup to her lips, licked the mouth of the cup, then downed whatever was in it in one gulp. Gaara said something to the woman, and she laughed gaily. Ino doubted Gaara had cracked joke, but the woman replaced the cup she had stolen from Gaara and picked up a new one, filling it up with what Ino thought to be tea. She leaned over close – very close – to Gaara's ear and whispered something. Gaara merely stood there. The woman handed him the cup she had filled herself, then picked up her own cup. She clinked their cups gently together. Gaara stared at her for one full minute before he turned on his heel and made his way through the crowd.
"Wait! Stay and drink – !" Ino could hear the woman scream at Gaara in horror. She looked like she was going to run after him, but immediately stopped herself when she realized she had just screamed out to the Kazekage.
Gaara let out a sigh of relief when he finally got back to Ino's side, looking terribly hassled.
Ino quickly rubbed his back and let her arm slide around his waist again, using that opportunity to let that girl have an eyeful of her and Gaara with their arms around each other. "You handled that pretty well."
Gaara shook his head. "She was a scary woman."
"I can imagine the trauma," Ino said and nodded gratefully when Gaara handed her the cup he had brought along with him. "Well, I did offer to accompany you there."
"I should have listened to you," Gaara said sadly, and he tightened his half-embrace around Ino when he saw the woman still looking at them in disbelief.
Ino shook her head then took a huge gulp of her tea, covering an amused laugh that threatened to bubble out of her. She did not want to embarrass Gaara. It looked like he was having a hard time as it was already.
"Well, that leaves one more candidate for me to see," she said to Gaara as he rubbed his nose with the back of his free hand. "And so far, she's the prettiest one. What did you think of her?"
Gaara shivered evidently. "She was… scary. She spoke of things that I don't think a woman should be saying out loud."
Ino had to laugh, and she took one more swig of her tea before putting the cup down on the table beside her plate, then fanned her face again. "Don't worry. Just stick with me for the rest of the night and you'll be fine."
Gaara nodded, believing her as he rested his chin on top of her head, shoulders relaxing.
Ino did not know if it was just the weather that night, or the fact that Gaara's side was flush against hers that was making her warm. She wiped a bit of sweat that had popped up on her forehead, brushing back the bangs she had hanging at the side of her face and tucking it behind her ear. She inhaled through her nose and her breath caught when she felt the vague cinnamon smell mixed with Gaara's natural scent she remembered from yesterday when Gaara lent her his robe. She swallowed hard and felt her own free hand reach up to her collar and tugged at it irritably. Why was it so hot?
"Are you all right?" Gaara asked, not moving his head from on top of hers. She could feel his voice rumble against his chest, and Ino watched his jugular bob up and down his slender neck, and she looked away instantly.
"I'm fine. But, is it just me, or is it hot tonight?"
"Tonight is relatively cold, though," Gaara said, and Ino was once again mesmerized by the way his Adam's apple moved.
She giggled. Giggled? "Ah, then it's just me…" She reached up and traced lazy circles at the side of his neck.
Gaara stiffened against her. "What are you doing?" he asked.
Ino swallowed hard, and she hurriedly snapped her hand back, wiping again at her brow. What was wrong with her? "I have no idea. Sorry. I guess I'm just… " So very, very hot…!
The hand Ino had on Gaara's waist suddenly had a mind of its own and she felt it move lower, lower...
Ino grabbed Gaara's ass. What is going on here?
Gaara let out a strangled gasp as he jumped an inch away from her, his startled eyes searching her face. "What – ?"
Ino giggled as she pressed herself against Gaara's front, her other hand grabbing his other butt cheek. She squeezed hard. "I'm sorry… " she said, feeling faint from the heat radiating from everywhere and nowhere. "I'm… God… "
It was like watching from a third person perspective, as if someone had used her own jutsu on her, and she was watching her make a fool of herself.
Let go of his ass, Ino! She thought to herself as her body leaned into a very confused and slightly frightened Gaara. He was at a loss, knowing that he can't simply push his fiancée away. No, that would prove to be very suspicious…
Ino breathed hard against Gaara's neck, fighting herself from licking that bobbing jugular as he swallowed repeatedly. Gaara's hands were on her face.
"You have a temperature," Gaara said flatly, his own face nearly ready to burst into flames.
"I'm… so… very… hot…!" Ino purred as one of her hands let go of Gaara and was now trying desperately to tear at the buttons on her top.
Some of the delegates had gathered a few feet away, openly gaping at them as Ino tried to climb on top of Gaara's lap, which was virtually impossible because Gaara was standing up. The daughters of those delegates had started shouting in pure disgust and indignation. They were torn between watching the scene, and running away.
Gaara's hands were fast, and he grabbed her wrist before she started stripping in front of the audience that had formed around them. His eyes landed on the cup Ino had abandoned on the table, then he scanned the crowd angrily.
Ino grabbed Gaara's face on either side and pressed a sloppy kiss on his chin. It was the only thing she could reach of him, as he was just too tall. But Gaara was not about to be interrupted. With the strength Ino had forgotten he had, Gaara tore the hands on his face, pinned both her wrists together with one of his hands, then swung her over his shoulder effortlessly.
Ino gasped at the shock as her stomach landed on Gaara's hard shoulder, her legs dangling over his back. She panted as the heat started to throb all over her body, and she squirmed against Gaara, her hands trying to free themselves so she could tear at Gaara's clothes. Her fingers clutched a handful of the front of Gaara's shirt.
Gaara's other hand stretched out in front of him, summoning the sand he had in his gourd that was left in his office. The sand swarmed through the window and snaked around his arm, hand and fingers. When he finally found what he was looking for in the crowd, his sand shot out like a missile, and a scream erupted from the crowd.
Ino looked up to see the raven-haired girl in the thin green dress sitting on the ground of the square, her hands bound behind her by cuffs roughly made by swirling sand around her wrists. The crowd immediately broke away from her, and everyone fell silent.
"Let me go, this instant!" the woman cried as she tried to free herself from Gaara's sand. "How dare you treat a guest like this, Kazekage-sama!"
Gaara's eyes narrowed. "It is because you are a guest that I am showing you mercy. For slipping an unknown drug into the drink of the woman who is favored by the Kazekage, I would normally have you killed. Take your things, collect your father and leave the Sand immediately, before I change my mind."
And out of nowhere, two shinobi wearing the definitive Suna flak jacket appeared on either side of the woman. She did not go happily and was protesting all the way. Another pair of shinobi was escorting a man who was probably the woman's father.
The crowd broke into hushed whispers as the two disappeared from the square.
"That's the first time in years I've seen the Kazekage-sama lose his temper…"
"He's scary…"
"The woman deserved it…"
Ino's breathing hitched and she cried out when Gaara shifted his hold on her, still with her wrists pinned together with that one hand. She turned to the side, and she buried her nose into Gaara's hair, red strands entering her mouth as she murmured apologies to him.
"Gaara… Gaara… I don't know what's wrong… but… I just… want you so bad right now…!" Ino nearly blanched when she heard herself speak. Why couldn't the drug be something that could at least make her forget what the heck she was doing? She was making a complete fool of herself! Gaara was going to kill her!
Gaara pushed her face out of his hair gently, his face as deadpanned as always. He turned to the crowd again. Ino saw Kankurou, stiff as a board as he watched everything unfold before him. Temari was livid.
"I am very sorry to say that I have to retire early for the night. As you can see my fiancée requires my… services… at the moment and I cannot turn her down."
"Gaara…!" Ino cried as she nuzzled the side of his head with her nose.
Gaara frowned at the crowd. "My siblings shall take care of everything for you if you need anything. None of you shall step out of the Kazekage tower without an escort, and your belongings will be checked for any more objects that may bring harm to me or to my betrothed. Those who do not agree to be searched will be requested to leave the village immediately." His eyes met with Temari and Kankurou, and the two older siblings nodded silently.
"That is all. Now if you will excuse us," Gaara drawled as he turned around and pulled Ino from his shoulder, and she fell into his arms.
Her arms flew around his neck and she was kissing the side of his neck.
Ino, at that moment, wanted to just die. And the fact that Gaara didn't even try to push her away when she started sucking his skin hard was making it worse.
Of course, a part of her was happy when they finally made it to Gaara's bare house, and he gently laid her down on the sofa writhing and tearing at her clothes. Gaara had to summon a bit of sand from the garden to bind her hands on the wall behind her to keep her from undressing herself in front of him.
Ino panted against the backrest of the sofa as she looked up at Gaara, who was kneeling in front of her and examining her face worriedly.
"Does it hurt?" he finally asked, making sure to keep a bit of distance from her.
Ino shook her head, trying hard to reign in the effects of the mysterious drug she had taken in carelessly. "It burns. It burns so bad… In a bad way…"
"Was it some sort of poison?"
Ino shook her head again, annoyed that her hands were bound by sand against the wall when Gaara was standing so close enough to reach. "Probably some… some herb... Maybe? Gah… "
Gaara frowned, then said, "I'm sorry for this. That drink must have been meant for me… "
Ino took in a deep breath, the heat pooling in places they should not be, especially when in front of the Kazekage. "I doubt it. That woman didn't care who drank it…" Ino shifted in her seat, crossing, then re-crossing her legs uncomfortably. She felt a drop of sweat seep in the corner of her eye and she winced.
Gaara paused for a moment, then he reached out and wiped her forehead with the palm of his hand. "I'm calling for a medic, then. Maybe they know of some counter – "
"No," Ino said, leaned into his hand desperately. "That's what they probably wanted us to do. It's a trap to make us drop our act… " She pressed her lips to Gaara's palm before he hesitantly pulled it away again.
Gaara looked at a loss for words. It looked like he was trying to think hard on what to do.
Ino smiled at him weakly. "I'll be fine. This was probably just a concoction to boost libido or something." Only ten times worse. She clenched her legs together, fighting away the sensation taking over her.
Gaara didn't look like he was convinced. "Is there anything I can do to… relieve you?"
Ino felt her stomach leap to her throat. Her body was screaming; Yes! Yes! Yes!
And then the conversation she'd had with Kankurou earlier sounded in her brain like a gong. She eyed Gaara, who was now looking at her expectantly. For someone who Kankurou had claimed to be afraid of… this… Ino could not believe he had handled himself like that back then in the square. But her predicament right now was a result of her carelessness, and she couldn't simply possibly ask this man… she couldn't possibly depend on a client for something so… embarrassing…
Ino smiled weakly. "I'm fine, Gaara. Thank you. Just… let me have the couch for tonight. I know you don't like your room, but I don't think I want to be in there tonight."
Gaara looked at her doubtfully. "Are you sure there isn't anything – ?"
"Really, I'm fine. It's been a long day. You should go sleep… I mean rest, since you don't sleep." Ino wriggled and used her upper arm to wipe more of the sweat that had once again appeared on her forehead. The heat would pass soon, depending on how strong the drug the woman used on her. What on earth did she use? It had been scentless, tasteless…
That drug could be a medical breakthrough, she thought to herself.
Gaara hesitated a bit before he finally nodded, then pushed himself up. "Do you want me to unbind your hands?" he asked, giving her a sideways look.
Ino bit her lip before saying, "For the sake of me not doing anything more embarrassing than this, I'd like to borrow your sand for the night, if that's all right with you."
Gaara did not look too happy with this, but he nodded anyway. Four long strides brought him in front of his bedroom door, which he opened grudgingly. "I'm not comfortable leaving you like this. I don't think it's proper to keep you tied like that."
Ino laughed forcefully. "Trust me, it's better this way. Good night."
Gaara was still looking unconvinced, but he nodded and said, "Good night," and then he close the door behind him.
Ino closed her eyes, feeling hot and sticky in places that were too delicate to mention, and she was annoyed at herself for having let her guard down. But at least now she knew how desperate some of the women could be. She still hadn't seen one of the seventeen – now sixteen – daughters who will be staying the Suna for a month. She should always keep her guard up from now on.
Her eyes snapped open when she heard the bedroom door slam open. A shirtless Gaara, and wearing only those billowy pants he had worn last night, stalked out of the room with a serious look on his face. He made a beeline for Ino, and with a wave of his hand, the sand binding her hands to the wall trickled slowly down the sofa.
"Gaara…!" Ino cried when the man immediately had her wrists pinned down to her side before she could lunge at him. He manhandled her roughly towards the shower like she weighed nothing.
Ino nearly stumbled when Gaara shoved her into the shower room before stepping in with her.
He grabbed her wrists again, his touch sent electric waves up and down her body. She was one big nerve, and she hated herself for it right now.
"Gaara, what are you doing?" she asked helplessly when he used one hand to pin her wrists over her head against the wall behind her. With his other hand, he twisted the knob to the far left for the cold water, then turned the dial of the shower. Freezing water rained down on the both of them like small ice needles, pricking her skin painfully.
Ino let out a loud squeal at the sudden drop of temperature. But after a few seconds, as the water cascaded down her body, drenching her in her clothes, she felt the heat subside a bit. She could not see clearly, what with water dripping down her face, plastering her bangs to her eyes.
Gaara's free hand gently wiped her face of her hair, and he tucked it behind one ear. Ino looked up to see Gaara, drenched hair sticking to his own forehead now the color of dark red wine, his eyes looking down at Ino with a sober look that didn't usually belong to a man who was taking a cold shower in the middle of a freezing night with a sex-driven woman who he was not even interested in.
Ino could hardly breathe through her nose and she concentrated hard on sucking air through her mouth. She did not realize when Gaara had let go of her wrists, but she found herself placing her hands on Gaara's broad shoulders and leaning her forehead on his chest.
"Do you feel better?" Gaara asked over the loud sound of the shower overhead.
Ino nodded faintly. Though she could still feel the desire tugging at the middle of her stomach, with her body temperature down several degrees, it wasn't as hard to tolerate now. "Yes, thank you. I feel much, much better…"
Gaara perched his chin on top of her head once again. "Good."
Ino dug her fingers gently into his shoulders. "It's not helping that you're here and half naked, and that I'm drenched, and we're alone in the shower, though." She laughed.
"You should get into dry clothes and rest. I promise you nothing like this will happen ever again while you're here," Gaara said gruffly, pulling away from her and looking down to meet her gaze.
Ino pushed her hair back and reached behind her to turn the shower off. The silence that followed the absence of sprinkling water was deafening, and Ino smoothed out her skirts, now heavy with water.
Gaara was also pushing his own hair off his face, revealing the mark on his forehead. It was probably the drugs, but Ino found herself touching the mark gingerly with the tip of her first two fingers.
Gaara reached up to clutch that lingering hand, pulling it down and away from him uncomfortably. He slid the door of the shower room open. "Let me get you a towel… "
Ino nodded. "Thanks." And she watched Gaara leave the bathroom, leaving wet footprints on the floor of the living room.
She blinked when Gaara hurriedly came back and peeked into the bathroom.
"Oh, and yes, I want the couch for this night, too," he said.
Ino closed her eyes and curled into a tight ball on the floor of the shower room.
Whatever.
A/N: The only thing I know about Gaara and Shukaku's relationship is that the Ichibi was this blood-thirsty monster who made Gaara crazy. However that relationship affected Gaara when he was between 12 and 16 years old in canon is beyond me, so the part of that in this chapter was all made-up for the plot's sake. Ho ho ho.
Please don't get used to these fast updates. I really do write just for fun, and depending on the flow of inspiration. Today, I don't know why but I was just… in the zone. I'll probably be able to post the next chapter after I update Protected again. So until then…
Leave a review if you like.