AN: This chapter was by far less painful to repair than the last, thank God for that! Anyway I hope you enjoy, and if you spot any mistakes please inform me and I'll make the necessary corrections. This chapter has been rewritten: 1-10-13

"If you are patient in one moment of anger, you will escape a hundred days of sorrow."

-Chinese Epigram

Chapter 4: The Flower Kunoichi

I awoke to a gray, chilly, mist that clung to my camp. Blanketing the damp ground like smoke it muffled the echoing cries of the morning birdsong. Shivering, I sat up and rubbed at my arms to fight back the raising goose-flesh. My toes ached from the frigid air, stiff and almost numb. My feet had stretched out past the reach of my old blanket with only a pair of shabby wool socks to protect them from exposure. Pulling them back under the blanket I crossed my legs beneath me, so that I was sitting on my half-frozen appendages. I watched my breath puff out in front of my face in little white clouds as I tried to get my bearings, blinking the sleep from my eyes.

As I sat there, waking up, the sun's slanted rays began to cut through the thin fog, casting the trees back into sharp relief. Now that I could see better I craned my head around looking for Shadow, making sure that he hadn't wandered off during the night. It didn't take long before I found him standing by the river, still eating. Did he ever stop? The pig, it's no wonder that he's so fat. Shaking my head I raised my eyes to the pinkening sky above, but the dense trees blocked most of it from my view. It was a shame to be up this early and not be able to at least watch the sunrise.

I stood, groaning, as my back cracked from the night of sleeping on the cold, hard, ground. Pulling the blanket up with me, I wrapped it around my bare, shivering, shoulders. I had stupidly washed what few pieces of clothing I owned in the river yesterday before my bath, and consequently had nothing dry enough to wear during the night, beside my socks. Which had led to the half-frozen state I was now in.

Running a hand through my now clean, and mercifully dry hair, I stepped from my cot and quickly tucked my feet into my dirty sneakers, wiggling my toes to work out their frozen stiffness. Walking over to the low branches where my cloths hung to dry I found, to my disgust, that almost all were still damp. Settling for the long suede-coat that had been the driest of my clothes, due to its wool interior, I tugged it on quickly, letting the blanket drop to the ground where it pooled around my feet.

The coat was, as expected, almost unbearably itchy and only covered down to my mid-thigh, but it was also very warm. So who cared that it made me want to rip my very hide off? I was warm and that was all that mattered, at least until my other clothes were dry. Oh but it is so itchy! It felt like fire ants were crawling all over my body, biting cruelly at my poor exposed skin. The only wise thing to do would be to start a fire, as soon I had one going not only would I be able to hang my clothes over it to help them dry faster, but I could also make some breakfast.

Once that's done I can throw this damned thing into the fire and let it burn. Sure, the coat was great for when it was cold out and it was over other articles of clothing, but against my bare body it was almost unbearable. Its old, matted, insulation scraped against my bare flesh with all the tenderness of an SOS pad.

Argh, it's so itchy!

I sulked, trying to ignore the careless abrasion against my sensitive skin. My lot in life isn't going to get any better by just standing here. With that thought I left my camp to search the surrounding woods for suitable kindling. Mumbling quiet curses to myself as shivered my way through the damp underbrush.

XXXXXXXXXX

After swallowing the last bite of my breakfast I sat back with a content sigh.

It's funny how a full stomach and dry, non-itchy clothes could change a person's whole outlook on life. Toying boredly with my plate I stared absently at my small campfire, watching the flames as they curled about the charred twigs. Ash rose from the embers, dancing on invisible currents of air. There was nothing left to keep me from going back to the village now. I had not only washed my clothes and myself the day before, but I'd also cleaned every speck of dirt from both my tack and Shadow. Leaving no more reasons for me to procrastinate.

Sighing I rubbed the back of my neck, "Well, I guess I'd better get on with it then." Standing with a reluctant groan I kicked dirt onto my fire, extinguishing it. With slumped shoulders and dragging steps I slowly started making my way towards the village, kicking at rocks on the path as I went. "Maybe I won't even be able to find him. He probably doesn't even remember what happened yesterday and I'm doing this all for nothing," I lied sarcastically to myself.

XXXXXXXXXX

After four long, tedious, hours I had finally spotted him standing alone under a tree in one of the Leaf village's many parks. I have found the boy who could not be found, I think I should get a freaking medal. Taking my own sweet time I walked up to him as nonchalantly as I could. All the while I desperately racked my brain for something, anything, to say. I should have used the time I'd spent marching back and forth across the village to rehearse my apology. Now that I finally had Gaara in my sights my mind was drawing a complete and total blank.Well here goes nothing. Chewing on the inside of my cheek I closed the remaining gap between us.

Suddenly nervous I stood there, staring at him awkwardly. Now what? Agitated, I shifted my weight from foot to foot. Come on Kida, anytime now would be good. In the silence that seemed to grow heavier by the moment I studied Gaara's back and the strange, bulky, object that was there. What is that huge, gourd like, thing strapped to him anyway? Was it there yesterday? And that smell...was that...was that blood? Why does it smell like blood? Was that stench really coming from Gaara? Why would he-

"What do you want?"

Gaara's low, raspy, voice startled me from my thoughts. "Oh, I…uh, just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I didn't mean-"

"I don't care what you have to say. Now it would be wise for you to leave."

Placing my hands on my hips I took a deep breath. Why did he have to start this already? "Look, Gaara, I just came here to apologize, you can take it or leave it I don't give a damn either way, but-"

"I told you to leave," he snarled turning around to look down at me with a bone chilling glare.

Narrowing my eyes I matched it the best I could, although I doubt it was anywhere near as menacing as his. What with him being so much taller, therefore looking down his nose at me. To be honest the contempt in his icy blue eyes was more than a little intimidating, but still I refused to back down. "What the hell is your problem with me?! I only wanted to say that I'm sorry and here you are snapping at me like a damn dog!"

His glare intensified. "I've been ordered not to kill anyone while I'm in the Leaf village, but that wont stop me if you don't go, now," he said slowly, tasting his last word as it left his mouth.

Did he…Did he really just threaten me? "You are just so un-be-livable!" I gritted through my teeth as both of my hands fisted at my sides. Furious I turned around and started back the way I'd come. That miserable, Bastard! How dare he tell me what to...Hey wait a minute…I'm doing exactly what he told me to do!

"Arghhh!" I turned back around and in a few steps was once more facing Gaara, who was no longer glaring, but looking rather stoically down at me. As though I were boring him. "I have had it with you Gaara! I'm not going to leave just because you don't want me here. I'm leaving because I want to, ya hear! Now I'm gonna say this as civil as I can for the last time. I apologize for my behavior yesterday, it was rude, and you didn't deserve it, then."

He looked down his nose at me in contempt. "Hn, are you going now?"

My mouth popped open and hung there for a second before I regained my composure. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Goodbye, Gaara, and good luck in the exams," I snapped in a last-ditch effort to be nice. For a moment his eyes showed a brief spark of something before dimming once more back to their lifeless stare. I turned to leave almost as angry as I was yesterday and marched back towards the gates of the village. Why can't I talk to him just once without yelling? Oh right, because he's Gaara and he started it first, that's why.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Argh!" I kicked at a pine-cone that had the sheer audacity to trip me after the day I'd just had, and almost lost my balance as I missed the stupid thing. Fuming I turned to Shadow, who had looked up from his grazing to stare at me, his eyes rolling white. "Oh don't you even start with me right now!" I snapped at him.

With a snort he went back to eating, but continued to watch me out of the corner of one paranoid eye.

How could today have gone so terribly, terribly wrong? Why couldn't just once things go as planned! Why? "That's it! I don't care if I never see that miserable sand ninja again so long as I live!" Pacing back and forth from one end of my little clearing to the other, much to Shadow's irritation, I ranted to myself. "Wait, I take that back. I hope I do see him one more time. In the finals, getting his butt whipped by some girl half his size! Yeah, that's right, and I hope she uses flowers to do it too. I want to see the pansy boy get his ass handed to him via flower."

In fact I hope she uses poison Ivy flowers. I don't know if poison Ivy even has flowers, but if there is any justice in this world they do, and my flower toting kunoichi will use them on Gaara. Then he'll itch like I had this morning, only he will be like that for weeks. I chuckled darkly to myself, enjoying the malicious thought of Gaara covered in big, red, oozing splotches. "Oh yes, karma is sweet," I hissed trying to hold back bouts of laughter.

Shadow looked back up at me with a loud snort, unaccustomed to the gleeful tone to my voice.

Glaring daggers at the plucky gelding I shook a fist in his direction. "Oh shut up, Shadow, this has nothing to do with you!"

He wisely trotted off a few yards before looking back at me over his shoulder. After a few moments he dropped his tense stance and went back to grazing, his tail whisking up and down in irritation.

I'm starting to think I should have named him "Old Faithful".

AN: Okay there it is…Well I know you guys were probably expecting them to 'kiss and make up' but with Gaara's social issues and Kida's spit-fire personality I just can't see them getting along just yet. Before you decide not to review because of ooc Gaara remember that if I wrote him in character Kida would be dead, and so would Shadow just because he could kill him too, and who wants that? (Ignores Gaara's raised hand)