Chapter 7

It's good I'm not doing as many subjects this semester as I was last time, giving me more time to work on this story!

Disclaimer: I own nothing;Narutobelongs to Masashi Kishimoto &Avatar: The Last Airbenderbelongs toMichael Dante DiMartino&Bryan Konietzko.

Toph

It had been two weeks since her first lesson with Gaara, and to her it felt like only a day had passed. Toph was finding herself right at home in Sunagakure-even Aang was enjoying himself (though he pretty much enjoyed himself wherever their team were). Today she and Aang were spending the day together as both their teachers had given them the day off (ever since their first lesson, Gaara had been taking her out for training every day since, she loved it!). The two of them were strolling around the place; talking excitedly of the things Gaara and Temari have taught them.

"Yeah Gaara's going to teach me something really difficult during our next lesson" Toph explained, "Well what he thinks is tough" she scoffed.

"Well has he elaborated on what this new technique is?" Aang asked, curious.

"All he's said is that it's something only he's able to do and that there's a possibility that even I may not be able to do it! But as I'm the best earthbender in the world I'm sure it will be nothing I can't handle!"

Aang didn't answer; he knew Gaara wasn't one to pretend that something was easy. If he said it was going to be hard-then it most likely was.

"Someone's running towards us" Toph noted and just as they both turned to see who it was, Temari was fast approaching them.

"Aang! Toph!" she called out, "A letter's arrived from Konoha, it's from your friends!"

As soon as Temari approached them she handed the letter to Aang.

"Don't forget to read it out aloud so I know what's happening too!" Toph ordered.

"Oh hey cool it's from Katara!" he said happily and then proceeded to read the letter out aloud.

Dear Aang and Toph,

How is everything going over there in Sunagakure? Have you learned lots of new techniques? We're all fine back here; however we all miss the both of you. Kakashi has been teaching Zuko and I lots! I cannot wait to show you what we've learned! Remember those we met on our first day here-Rock Lee, Neji and Tenten? Well they're back from their mission now and Lee has joined with our training! Well mostly he's training with Sakura, Suki and Sokka and from what I know Lee's pushing them really hard. Sokka keeps complaining every time he comes home, but you know what he's like. I have to say Zuko's been acting weird lately, I know he's talked to Sokka about why he's moody (well more moody than usual) as those two are always staying up late (and Sokka wonders why he's running out of energy all the time). But whatever it is, Sokka will not say a word-not even to Suki! And judging by that yes I've talked to Suki about it. But anyway, enough of that, I don't want you and Toph to be worrying about us when you two should be worrying about your training. Anyway, I best be off now. Say hi to Temari for me and kindly remind Toph to not be rude to anyone over there! After all, you're both there thanks to their hospitality!

Love, Katara.

As Aang read out the part of Toph not being rude, Toph blew her bangs out of her face in her usual trademark style. Hmph, she thought she'd get away from Katara's lectures whilst she was over here! Obviously not! However, she was curious as to this whole Zuko situation-though she had a rough idea what it was. Most likely Katara was unintentionally making him jealous, and knowing just how irritable he got...

Sighing, she mumbled, "Dammit I'm missing some good entertainment!"

"Hmm what was that?" Aang asked, not catching what Toph said.

"It was nothing" she answered. Knowing Aang he'd be all 'Toph how could you think of something like that when your friends are having problems?' and then he'd give her some Air Nomad wisdom lecture about inner peace or some crap. Yeah she could skip that.

"So did you want me to show you where the eagles are kept so you can write back to Katara?" Temari asked.

"Sure thing!"

The two benders followed Temari around the city till they reached the eagles. There, Temari left them as she needed to help Gaara catch up with his Kage duties. Even though Toph wouldn't admit it, deep down she felt guilty for keeping Gaara from his duties.

Crossing her arms over her head, Toph said, "Yeah well, since writing and I don't mix. Tell everyone I say hey" she turned to walk off but she 'saw' Aang move to stop her before he grabbed her arm, "Alright what's up?" she asked as soon as he grabbed her.

"There's something else Katara wrote down."

"Ooh what?"

Lowering his voice to a whisper, Aang said, "First please check if there's anyone else around"

Checking the surrounding area, she reassured him that they were alone & then he proceeded to read out the rest of Katara's letter.

Please don't read this out aloud until you two are alone! It's not that I don't trust any of the Sunagakure people it's just that they may have no idea what's going on or if they do, I don't want them to worry about the both of you knowing this-they probably have enough on their plates already. I fear something is happening here-I'm not really sure what, but everyone here seems worried about a threat from a criminal group. Naruto has already left and I think we may have to leave soon, which is a shame. Before you leave don't forget to ask Temari, that person who's teaching Toph and anyone else that if they want to come visit where we live-that they're more than welcome to!

"Well that's something" Toph said, to be honest she didn't know what to think. She didn't want to leave so soon, Gaara hadn't taught her everything yet! What about that mega hard technique he was supposed to try and teach her? Minus their somewhat rocky start (even though it was all mostly on her account), they had been getting along really well! He always made sure that she had a technique down perfectly before they moved on. Gaara was a good balance of being a tough teacher and being gentle one, he pushed her during training-but never too hard. He was patient and never complained whenever her usual feistiness made an appearance and whenever she got mouthy with him. He was the perfect teacher for her!

"This is a real shame" Aang said, "Just as we were having so much fun over here as well."

"What should we do?"

After a little thought, he answered, "I think we should not be bothered by this right now. We should just focus on our training. After all, Katara hasn't specified why Naruto has gone. He could just be on a mission or something."

"Yeah true that. Also, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro haven't told us anything and if anything had happened I don't think they'd keep us out of the loop."

"Good point!" and with that, Aang wrote a quick message back to Katara, with Toph making him read it out and suggesting additions here and there.

That evening the Sand Siblings were taking out the two benders for dinner. Toph, mimicking what she did when she and Aang were first taken out for dinner by the siblings, ordered whatever Aang ordered.

"So were you two alright with the messenger eagles and everything?" Temari asked.

"Yes we were fine, thanks for showing us what to do!" Aang answered.

"Ah yes Temari told me your friend had written to you" Gaara noted, "How are they all back in Konoha?" he asked.

"They seem alright, though I think that they're being worked quite hard" Aang laughed.

"They're not being worked too hard" Toph shot in, "Sokka's just lazy, always complaining about something..."

This made everyone laugh.

"Oh yes" Gaara started, "Toph will you be alright to start training again tomorrow?"

"Alright?" she asked, "I'D BE MORE THAN ALRIGHT I'M EVEN RARING TO GO RIGHT NOW!"

"But Gaara, what about all that work you still need to catch up on?" Kankuro asked.

"That can wait. When Aang and Toph leave I'll have plenty of time to do it then."

What Gaara just said stung Toph a little, she had to remind herself that Sunagakure wasn't her home (as she really did feel at home here). But why did she let that upset her a little? It wasn't like she didn't know that she and everyone else would eventually be going back home. After all, didn't she initially not want to come on this trip in the first place? Since when did she feel like she wanted to stay all of a sudden?

oOo

The next day Toph got up early so she could be ready for training with Gaara. Saying goodbye to Aang she all but ran out the door and to her and Gaara's usual meeting place. After impatiently waiting for a while, Gaara finally arrived.

"You're here early" he noted, "In fact this is the earliest you've been."

Grabbing him arm and dragging him along (she was that eager to learn this super hard technique), she said, "Less talking and more training! I can't be the best earthbender in the world if I can't learn this technique!"

"Please remember what I've previously said, this is something only I can do because of a...power...I used to have, a power that was sealed into me when I was born."

This made Toph stop, what was he on about?

"What do you mean?" she asked, curious.

Gaara

Two weeks ago he wouldn't have guessed that he would be telling this little earthbender girl his painful past. But here he was, ready to tell her his dark history. He wondered how she'd react to this. Would she think him a monster like everyone else used to? He decided to start somewhat from the beginning so Toph could understand it easier.

"Over here, there are extremely powerful beasts. They're called the tailed beasts and there are nine of them-each one having an extra tail than the previous one. The first beast is the one-tailed beast, which then goes on up to the nine-tailed beast. Understand me so far?

Nodding, Toph kept quiet and let him continue.

"Now, these beasts are very powerful. Many ninja tried to control them for their power. In the end they sealed them into people, these people then becoming jinchūriki."

"You're one of them, aren't you?" Toph butted in.

After a little moment Gaara answered, "I was one, yes."

"Was?"

"It was extracted out of me by this criminal organisation."

As soon as he mentioned criminal organisation a realisation went through Toph's eyes. Did she already know about the Akatsuki? He ignored it and continued, "A while ago now, I was captured by this group and they extracted Shukaku out of me."

"Shukaku?"

"That was its name, the one-tailed Shukaku."

"Why was it sealed into you?"

After another moment's silence, he answered, "My father sealed it within me in hopes that I would become the ultimate weapon for Sunagakure."

Looking appalled, Toph said, "That's outrageous! And by your father no less!"

"What was done was done."

"But what about your mother, didn't she do anything?"

"My mother died whilst giving birth to me."

Looking down, she said, "Oh, I'm sorry."

With a gentle smile, Gaara said, "It's not your fault."

"Well it's a good thing you had Temari and Kankuro by your side!"

"I didn't have anyone; everyone was afraid of me-even Temari and Kankuro. I was alone throughout my childhood; I never even had one friend, no matter how hard I tried."

Looking sincere, Toph turned her back to him and said quietly, "I didn't have anyone either."

"What do you mean?" he asked, curious by this.

"Being born blind, my parents were very overprotective of me. I lived a sheltered life; they believed my blindness made me fragile and incapable of looking after myself. They went to extreme measures to protect me-so much that people didn't even know I existed" she paused and continued, "Isn't it funny?" she asked, "That we both lived opposite lifestyles yet we both ended up extremely lonely?"

Suddenly feeling strong emotion towards her, Gaara put an arm around her, "Come on" he said, "I think it's time I teach you this technique."

"Is it because of that tailed beast that you're able to manipulate sand so well?"

"Yes, and it's partly why I wonder if you will be able to learn this technique or not. What I'm going to try and teach you is a sand shield. But not just any normal sand shield, it's going to be extremely hard that not even the strongest bone could pierce it" he explained, thinking of that fight he had against Kimimaro two and a half years ago.

Now standing with Toph opposite him, Gaara did the necessary hand signs to get his Shield of Shukaku happening.

"This is my ultimate defence" he said, "No force has ever been able to penetrate it."

And with that, he cried out 'Supreme Absolute Defence: Shield of Shukaku' and the infamous toy-like structure of Shukaku appeared.

Toph

Watching the sand structure with awe, Toph placed her hand against it so she could understand what and how Gaara was able to make it so hard. A sudden thought came to her, she voiced this to him.

"You said that because of that Shukaku you were able to do this, now he's not sealed within you anymore and yet you can do the jutsu just as easily as breathing."

"I'm glad you had finally thought of that, maybe now it will give you more confidence to learn it."

"Hmph, I'm always confident" she mumbled under her breath.

Walking around the structure, Toph was amazed at how hard it was, "You got these minerals from deep underground" she noted, "And then you grinded them with sand particles to make this, how on earth did you do it so fast?"

"Practise" he answered in which she was convinced he was being humorous with her.

Scowling, Toph manoeuvred the earth to copy the Shukaku structure. The result being that she got the structure down pat, yet it was no way near hard enough. This was trickier than she originally thought! What if she couldn't learn it? She couldn't be the greatest earthbender in the world then!

"I am not going to let that happen!" she cried out, setting her resolve.

"Now that you've got that settled" Gaara said and he pointed at the Shukaku structure.

Trying and failing for a few more tries, Toph started to grow frustrated. How in the hell does he get the sand so hard? She thought. There's got to be a way to do this without having a tailed beast within you! That's when she got an idea. Once again putting her hand on the structure Gaara made, she closed her eyes and concentrated on the earth minerals. After this, she took a few steps away and started bending the earth just beneath her feet to create a hole. She kept doing this, going deeper and deeper everytime until she found the particles she wanted. Brining them up to the surface she bended so that the minerals grinded together with the sand. The process took much slower compared to how long it takes Gaara but eventually Toph was standing proudly next to an exact replica of Gaara's sand shield.

"How's that teacher?" she asked proudly, grinning.

"Very well done, now you practise until you can make it as fast as I can."

She just knew that he was going to make her do that! Groaning, she got to work.

It took Toph most of the day to get the sand shield exactly how Gaara wanted it. Eventually, she was able to make it as fast as Gaara could, and to be sure of this, he made her make it over and over consecutively (in which he did along with her) so she got it just right. By the end of their session Toph was puffing, sweaty and tired, more tired than she had been in a long time whilst training.

"I have to admit" she puffed, "The sand shield was much harder than I thought it was going to be."

"Well now you can take pride in calling yourself the greatest earthbender in the world. You have just mastered my ultimate sand defence."

"That's because I have a great teacher" she admitted.

If she had known how much that had meant to Gaara right then, she would have fallen over in shock.

"So what next?" she asked, eager to move onto something new.

"Don't you think that's enough? The day has almost ended."

Blowing her bangs, she grudgingly agreed and followed Gaara back to the village.

"Oh yes I've asked Temari about having a fight" he started as they were walking back, "And she'd love to have one!"

"Awesome! It's going to be so fun! I also want to test my skills against what Aang has learned from your sister, I CAN'T WAIT!"

"We'll have to have it once you've both learned everything you can. I am quite interested to fight Aang myself."

"He's strong I'll admit, he beat me when I first met him at Earth Rumble. But I guess he isn't the Avatar for nothing!"

"Indeed"

"So we will be having another training session tomorrow right?"

"Of course, you must keep practising your newfound skills till they become second nature to you like your earthbending."

"GREAT"

Just as they arrived back at the village, they were surprised by Temari, Kankuro and Aang running towards them.

"What's wrong?" Gaara asked as soon as the three of them reached him and Toph.

Looking grim, Temari handed Gaara a letter, "As the Kazekage, you're summoned to a Kage summit in the Land of Iron regarding the Akatsuki and the tailed beasts."

I realised as I was writing this that in the Naruto series, Tsunade was unconscious at the time of the Kage meeting. And that the village would still be being rebuilt after Pein's attack when Aang & everyone arrived. But since this is the fanfic world...not everything has to be right ehehe. So please, do ignore my silly mistake & I apologise about it! Ah yes also, I'll be definitely going into Gaara & Toph falling for each other from now on so I may go OOC for Gaara (& most likely Toph) but to be honest I have no idea what Gaara would be like with the person he liked (& since Kishi hasn't really shown us anything about what he'd be like...), I will try my best to not make him (& Toph) too OOC.

On a side note, is anyone else excited about Legend of Korra? I'm DYING to know who Bei Fong's (Toph's daughter) father is! Maybe it's some random character who oh so happens to look exactly like Gaara... ;)