A/N: Don't forget! Italicized sentences are thoughts! Also, does anyone read this? If so do you like it? Please R&R!
Evelynn looked him dead in the eye and said with assurance, "I will train to be a ninja."
"Then I'll place you in your team." Gai smiled. "Now since you are inexperienced, I'll put you in a team that you could learn a lot from. You will be in a team with Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara."
Evelynn was surprised, "Gaara, sir?"
"I know you have had your issues, but I think it's best; for both you and for him." He explained.
Evelynn gave him an unsure look, but he just smiled and patted her head, "Trust me."
Evelynn arrived home after school and saw both of her parent's cars in the driveway. She walked in and saw both of them waiting in the living room for her. Smiling, she dropped her bags and ran over to hug them. They had rarely been home since they moved there and it was getting to be really lonely in the house.
"Welcome home sweetie." her father greeted.
Her mother, a short woman with the same eye and hair color as her daughter, hugged Evelynn tightly. "We're so sorry we've been gone so much."
"It's fine." Evelynn said.
They began to get ready for dinner and as Evelynn was setting the table, she was debating on whether or not she should let her parents know about her training to be a ninja. Her father noticed the serious look on her face when he glanced up from the book he was reading. "Is something bothering you?" he asked.
"What? Oh. It's nothing." She said trying to dismiss it.
Her mother patted her shoulder, "You know you can tell us anything."
Evelynn nodded. Mom and dad are rarely ever home so they wouldn't be able to bug me about it too much if they disapprove. "At the school they're starting the final training for being ninja's. Since I hadn't had any training they let me have a decision in whether or not I wanted to do it." She paused for a moment. "I said yes."
"Oh…" her father stated, obviously displeased.
Her mother tensed up at the information, but relaxed quick enough so Evelynn would not notice. "That's… nice dear." She said forcing a smile.
"I don't like it." Her father grumbled. "Very dangerous." He said.
"I think… It's a great opportunity. You know, broadening your horizons." Her mother said, trying to be supportive.
Evelynn nodded, "Yeah that's what I was thinking."
Her father sighed, "Well if that's what you really want, I don't think I have a right to hold you back. Just be careful out there."
"We'd like to meet your team. Just to give us peace of mind that they'll take good care of you." Her mother suggested.
I can't let them meet Gaara. They'd never approve, but if that's what they want I can't say no. I'll have to figure something out. Wait a minute… Evelynn looked at her parents perplexed, "You know that they put us in teams?"
Her father cleared his throat, "We hear things at work. Our coworkers like to talk about the crazy, dangerous, good 'ole days."
"Oh. Okay." Evelynn said secretly not convinced after what she discovered in the box not too long ago. It's a good thing I put all that stuff back. I think it's too soon to ask questions. After all, we're still all recovering from what happened.
The next day she sat with her team after school as they got her up to speed on how things are going to go for them since they would not be working on the same things as the other teams. They were beginning to reach the end of the discussion and Evelynn was wishing it would last longer since she was feeling nervous for her first time out with the team.
"And since you're starting as a ninja later than we did, they'll give us slightly more advanced missions than they would've given you a few years earlier. They're not as advanced though as the other teams since, again, you're new to all of this." Temari explained.
Kankuro continued, "Normally they'd give the new additions one on one training, but there isn't much time for that since you're close to graduating. Also, for some reason, your teacher thinks it would be best if you learned through experience. The man must be mad to throw a newb into the action like that."
Evelynn tensed up, but Temari quickly reassured her, "But don't worry too much about that. I promise not to let anything happen to you."
"Don't make promises you can't keep." Gaara stated.
"I was trying to be nice." She said.
Kankuro half laughed. "Well that's news to me."
"What did you say, punk?" she growled.
I think I'll keep from saying anything. Maybe if they argue for long enough, we won't have time for a mission. Evelynn sighed as her thoughts made her realize how much of a wimp she was.
Gaara glanced over at her then at his siblings, "We should get going before it gets too late. Wouldn't want to postpone Evelynn's first mission for so long or she would get cold feet."
Kankuro was surprised by the fact that his brother had spoken so much. Temari nodded, "You're right. Best to just throw yourself right into it or it'll never get done." She said standing up.
They headed over to the front entrance doors to the school to where the mission's wall was hanging outside of the main office. Half of the wall was papers containing missions that were of no rush and the other half were about a dozen digital screens with card readers attached to them. Those were the missions that are best done as soon as they are posted. The group approached the digital screen and Temari scrolled through missions then chose one and swiped the team card. "Since you're just a beginner, I chose a simple robbery mission. The information states that the small group is barely armed and they don't seem to be very skilled at combat. All we have to do is track them down, get the stuff back, and turn them in." she stated.
They never fail to remind me that I'm a beginner. As she thought that Kankuro smacked her on the back, "Let's head out newbie!"
After questioning the woman who was robbed, they learned that it was four men who had stolen all the money she had hidden in the cookie jar in her kitchen and a few rare knives she used as decoration. Temari listened closely to the description and smiled when the woman finished, "Thank you for your time ma'am. Judging by your description, we've dealt with these thugs before and I know where their usual hideout is at. You'll get your stuff back soon." She informed.
The woman smiled, "Oh that's great news. Be careful out there." She said as they began to depart.
As they left Temari told Evelynn where they were headed. "That group usually hangs in a certain area in the woods. They're pretty easy to deal with so just watch us. Take notes. And maybe in a few days we'll let you get a chance to come to the frontlines depending on how much you've learned."
"Gotcha." Evelynn replied.
The group headed into the woods with Temari at the front and Kankuro close behind her. Gaara was in the middle closer to the back while Evelynn was in the back of the group. Evelynn began falling behind never having traveled through the trees much unlike the others.
Gaara noticed Evelynn starting to fall behind; his siblings being so far ahead barely noticed. This should be fun. Let's see how she does on her own. He began to speed up causing Evelynn to struggle to keep up with him. Evelynn, being close to out of breath, tried calling out to him to slow down a bit. He sped up more and in just a few minutes the group was completely out of her sight.
They arrived at the area where the group normally meets and sure enough they were there. Only two of them were missing, but it was not their top priority since the stolen objects were with the two they found. The money, he assumed, must be in the black duffel bag and the knives wrapped in the cloth next to it. Temari gave them the signal to go without even glancing back, still believing Evelynn was there. Kankuro went around so that he was behind the two men while Temari and Gaara were in front of them. They jumped out and the men were taken completely by surprise. One pulled out a gun and fired, but completely missed. Not even having to use their weapons, the group subdued the men in no time.
As they had the men pined to the ground, they tied their hands behind their backs and checked for the stolen objects to make sure it was all there. Evelynn hasn't caught up yet. Must've stopped. No endurance, she's so weak. As Gaara thought this, Temari looked around. "Where's Evelynn?" she asked.
"I thought it was your job to watch her so I wasn't paying attention." Kankuro shrugged.
"Gaara, you were closer to the back weren't you? Why didn't you keep an eye on her?" Temari asked.
"I don't care." Gaara stated.
Temari sighed, "Well we better find her quick because the knives aren't here and the other two men can still be out there."
Evelynn saw Gaara getting further and further away, "Please slow down!" she tried shouting, but was more of gasping for air. Traveling through trees was faster, but a lot harder than it looked. Soon Gaara was out of sight, panicking and out of breath, Evelynn missed a branch and plummeted to the ground. She landed in a bush so the impact was not quite as painful, but it still hurt.
"I'd say I can't believe he left me behind, but then I'd be lying to myself." She muttered.
Evelynn heard voices in the distanced and struggled to get off of the bush and behind it. Staying as still as possible, she tried to slow her breathing so that it was not so loud. The men were within range and she listened to their conversation.
"Just a few more to go and the collection will be complete." One of the men said as he tossed a knife in the air and caught it. It was one of the knives that had been stolen, or it at least matched the description. It was a dull black with decorative engravings on the handle and writing engraved into the blade.
"Should we really be heading back to our usual meet up spot? They catch us there every time." The other man stated.
It is them. I need to keep quiet.
His companion shrugged, "Well we won't get caught if we leave quick enough."
"You say that every time and every time we get caught."
"Well if you have a problem with it, bring it up with the other two."
"I'm just saying that I'm sick of going to jail and having to wait to get bailed out."
"Why don't you just quit your whining? We just have a few more places to hit and then we're done. We'll turn in the stuff and we'll be rich beyond our wildest dreams."
"You need to get your head out of the clouds."
Evelynn leaned forward slightly to try to see them better through the bush. A twig snapped from the added pressure from her foot and the man that was tossing the knife grabbed quickly snatched her out of the bushes by her shirt collar and held her up so that her feet were no longer touching the ground. "Well lookit we have here." He said with a vicious grin as he tapped the blade under her chin.
The man that was holding the knife to her throat was tall and gruff with large muscles and a scruffy beard, while the other man was shorter, but still shared the same muscular and facial features as the taller man. "What should we do with this little birdy?" the shorter man asked. "Can't let her go, she's heard too much."
"Maybe we could keep her as a pet." The tall man smirked.
Evelynn glared at him and swung her weight back and put as much power as possible into kicking the man, but he threw her to the ground before her foot reached him. As she stood up, he came after her with the knife. Quickly, she ducked and brought her elbow to the man's stomach. He hunched over in pain and glared at her. While she was staring at him, trying to think of what to do next, the shorter man came up behind her and grabbed both her arms. He brought them behind her back and pushed her to the ground. "Well aren't you a troublesome little lamb?" he growled.
Evelynn struggled to get away, but to no avail. She was still sore from trying to keep up with her team. The taller man straightened up, "This bitch needs to be taught a lesson."
"Well we can do that when we get back with our group. If we don't get moving soon, someone will find us." His companion replied.
Gaara and Temari rushed back to find Evelynn while Kankuro remained with the captured men. Within a few minutes they spotted her being held against the ground. Temari signaled to Gaara to get the man holding Evelynn down while she would get the other one. They waited for a moment, getting into position.
"This bitch needs to be taught a lesson." One said.
"Well we can do that when we get back with our group. If we don't get moving soon, someone will find us." The other stated.
"It's too late for that." Temari shouted.
The men looked around trying to find the source of the voice, but they did not react on time. Within seconds, they were both pinned to the ground and Temari retrieved the stolen knives from them. "We apologize for leaving you behind."
Evelynn shook her head. "It's fine. Just glad you came back for me on time." She said glancing at Gaara who completely ignored her.
"That's the first and last time I'll leave it up to Gaara to watch you." Temari stated as she pulled out her phone to call up the local authorities.
Gaara finished tying up the two men and leaned against a tree, still ignoring Evelynn. Of course she would get herself into trouble. Why did she have to fucking join MY team? Evelynn approached him and he glared at her with his usual what-do-you-want look.
"Thank you for coming back for me." She said.
"You say that like I had a choice." He growled.
Evelynn looked down and backed away. She's finally starting to take the hint. It took about ten minutes, but the authorities finally arrived and the group returned the items and the money to the woman. After dropping Evelynn off at home they headed straight back to their house. Kankuro was the first to hop out of the car. Before Gaara could leave, his sister stopped him.
"Gaara, you know it wouldn't hurt to just… open up a little. At least try to let her in to your life. We are stuck with her after all." Temari said.
Gaara rolled his eyes and exited the car. I'm not letting anyone in, especially her.
Evelynn lied in bed, unable to sleep even though she was exhausted. Pulling out her cell phone she decided to text Naruto who always had a knack for cheering her up. 'Why do I still bother with Gaara?' she typed. Naruto replied within a few minutes with, 'Maybe you see that he needs someone even if he says he doesn't. I see it too. I just never tried.' Evelynn shrugged as she read this, still feeling doubtful. Naruto sent another message before she had a chance to reply. It read 'He's getting better. I can see it. I think he'll come around soon.'