The day was long. Ino had taken on numerous other paperwork jobs for Gaara and her hand was killing her. Other than the breakfast incident and assignments, the two didn't share much more interaction. By six, Ino was fidgety. Offices and paper work were not something that she was used to. That's why Ino was grateful when the desert hawk landed by the window.
When the brown bird perched outside, Ino sprang up from her seat and rushed to the window. Gaara's head jerked up from the document he had been working on at her sudden movements. Gaara watched her throw open the window and grab a desert hawk by its head. The bird was by no means defenseless, it being the size of a small child, but when Ino grabbed its scull the poor thing looked helpless. Ino placed her forehead against the bird's and stared into its golden eyes. She remained in this position for some time before Gaara noticed thin chakra streams beginning to encircle both of their eyes. The hawk's eyeballs began to turn a shade of dark purple. When its eyes were entirely colored Ino released it from her grip. The two stared at each other for a bit more before the hawk finally took to the skies, soaring over the rooftops.
Ino turned around to find Gaara staring at her. The questioning look on his face told her that he had no idea what she just did. "The bird will…be our…watcher. It can now watch from the skies and search for demons. If it finds on, it will let me know." Gaara nodded and returned to his work. For Ino this had been a very useful technique. If she ever decided to sleep, and animal would serve guard, if she could find and catch on that is.
Ino finished her latest paperwork assignment just as the sun was hovering above the horizon. They had worked all day and were almost done with all of the paperwork. She handed in the assignment to Gaara, who took it and placed it in his now very full done pile. He picked up another scroll and was about to hand it to Ino. However instead of accepting the scroll, she turned around and leapt out of the window. She had decided that she was done for the day. Gaara was still holding the scroll out in front of him when she had closed the window behind her.
Ino wasn't really all that tired. She just had to get out of the office. The small lunch that Kankurō had brought wasn't enough, and she was still hungry. Ino made her way back to the market only to find everyone was closed up and had gone home. Ino was not discouraged by this fact at all. Instead she made her way to the rooftops and began scouting. When she came to a dark corner she found what she was looking for. A large rat sat in the corner alone. Suna didn't have many rodents, but if one did manage to survive they usually grew very big. Ino eyed her prey carefully before launching at it with only two fingers extended. A clean slice cut off the rodent's head. Ino picked it up by the tail and brought it back home. A fresh rodent meal was perfectly satisfactory to Ino, and she would enjoy it after she remembered how to work a stove.
The next few days were relatively uneventful. Ino and Gaara continued to work in the small cramped office every day. He only left when summoned for something or had an urgent matter to discuss with something. Kankurō had showed Ino the vendor that sold premade meals to go. She now would pick up and deliver proper courses. Although she would sometimes pick up obscure ingredients that she found interesting along the way. Gaara had become accustomed to her presence and assistance while Ino had become more and more restless. She had begun sleeping in different parts of the house. One night she would sleep on the couch and the next in the bathroom. She even curled up on top of the empty kitchen cabinets. Ino didn't know why she did this. Perhaps it was because she was so on edge, she needed change. However no matter where she slept, the nightmares would return night after night waking her up in violent fits.
It had been a particularly long day for Ino. There had been more paperwork than usual. Together they had practically extinguished the piles of work on Gaara's desk but every morning there seemed to be more. Ino received all the mindless documents that only required copying information, yet her brain felt fried. It was late and she had completed a particularly dull document of food prices. Her eyes and hands ached, so she stretched and rubbed her eyes. When she looked up she almost fell off the bench. There in front of her was one of the strangest things that she had seen since arriving at Suna.
The Kazakage himself was passed out on his desk asleep. Ino blinked and sat there for a moment before she cautiously crept over to where he lay sleeping. One of his arms lay extended on his desk while the other cradled his slumbering head. His hands and face would twitch and his features were scrunched up like he smelled something horrible. His breath came out in short puffs that blew some of the paper around his face to the ground. Ino stepped lightly over the fallen paper to get a closer look. The shadowed eyes looked less intimidating when they were closed. Ino extended her hand out, but quickly drew it away, what was she doing? She slowly reached out again and touched his soft red hair. The fiery strands made their way in-between her fingers as she continued to stroke his head. She let her fingers casually travel down his head to his forehead scar. It was surprisingly smooth. Gaara's breathing had leveled off into deep breaths and his lips had parted slightly to let escaping air out. His expression softened to an almost peaceful state. His hands ceased twitching and lay calm against the desk. Ino straightened up. She stared at her hand, the one she used to stroke Gaara's hair. What was wrong with her? Shaking her head Ino silently opened the window and prepared to leave. A cool draft made its way into the office. Ino looked back at the sleeping Gaara. Ino wasn't quite sure what she was feeling, but she played along anyway. Pulling a grey blanket from one of her pouches, she tiptoed back over to Gaara. She gently placed the fabric over his back and smoothed out the folds. The blanket hung loosely over his sides, and fluttered when the wind made its way into the office. This particular blanket was Ino's favorite. It would keep her warm at night, no matter what the weather conditions. It took her forever to make though.
Ino turned around once more to face the sleeping figure before gracefully leaping out of the window, forgetting to close it behind her.
I love this couple. I hope to shed more light on Ino's past in later chapters. For now i hope you want to keep reading. Please reveiw!
