Chapter 10

Only a couple of days later the sand siblings, Matsuri and Azazel were all comfortably seated inside of the Kazekage tower and facing the council. All of them were more than ready to tell their side of the story. Due to the fact that there was no current Kazekage at the moment, it would be the council's ultimate decision on who was right and who was wrong; Matsuri's fate ultimately lay in their hands.

"I thought those Leaf guys were coming," Temari whispered in Kankuro's ear.

"They'll be here. They said they would."

Truth be told, Kankuro was a bit worried. It wasn't like he didn't trust the Leaf, but it was already five minutes past the hour and they still hadn't come.

Like the first day he had to tell Matsuri the news, Gaara felt profoundly troubled. It was highly unlikely that anyone in the village, especially the council, would side with him in a heartbeat. They may not even believe his story like the first time, even if he was telling the truth. Thinking about the situation now, Gaara became deeply grateful that he had his siblings and Matsuri with him and in any minute now, perhaps Lee and Naruto too. With them it would prove that he was telling the truth.

Matsuri had to force herself not to cry. Since the day she and Gaara had shared their kiss, she had been feeling rather gloomy. Kissing was supposed to make you feel good and happy. Gaara had seemed aroused by their intimate contact at first. Matsuri distinctly remembered when she pulled his head down he had closed his eyes and parted his lips allowing her to enter. She really had thought that he was enjoying it due to that fact that he hadn't pushed her away. It wasn't until Kankuro interrupted them when he then started acting strange. After she heard Gaara shouting Kankuro, Matsuri decided to leave. Unthinkingly she had starting crying too. Her feelings had been hurt.

Suddenly, the council room doors burst open. Flashes of orange and green bounced through, "Sorry we're late! We couldn't find the right room, so we just opened every door!" Naruto shouted and beamed with excitement.

"Gaara, your room is fantastic!" Lee commented.

The pair took seats beside Gaara, glad to be next to their friend.

A councilman stood and suddenly the room became silent, "Finally, we can begin," he said, "Azazel," he paused, "Why don't you start?"

The atmosphere dramatically changed.

"Gladly," Azazel stood.

While sighing with grief he began his speech, "I tried my best to protect Matsuri. I did everything in my power to protect her from that ghastly beast, Gaara of the Sand."

Naruto was about to jump out of his seat with anger, but Gaara stopped him, "Wait, our testimony will come later."

Naruto slowly sat down, fuming.

Azazel continued, "Transferring her was the only option. I just couldn't let her remain with the demon host in suffering," he paused, "But even then I couldn't defend her from the monster. I was denied access to watch over her after Gaara stole her away from me in the middle of the night! Then I personally witnessed Gaara attempting to harm Matsuri. I have photographic evidence."

After listening to Azazel's gristly speech Gaara had heard enough; although knowing that he had been photographed got his attention.

But, I've never hurt Matsuri…

Azazel reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a flimsy white piece of paper. He handed it to the council with a desperate look on his face.

Kankuro raised an eyebrow.

The council carefully examined the picture for several minutes. Nobody said a word as they were evaluating the 'evidence.'

Finally a decision was made, "Yes, this photograph is valid. Gaara cannot be trusted around Matsuri. She will continue to train under Azazel."

"WHAT!?" Naruto jumped up, "You haven't even heard our side of the story yet! What does that stupid picture prove anyway?"

Naruto bounced over to the council's desk, "Let me see that!" He yanked the picture out from the councilman's fingers.

There was a long pause. Naruto's expression changed dramatically.

"Uh, Gaara," His voice was calmer. "Didn't you say that this Matsuri chick is your student?"

"Yes, she was. Why?" Now Gaara was very curious.

Naruto started to snicker, "Look at this," he handed Gaara the picture.

Gaara was prepared for anything. He had never in his life wanted to truly hurt Matsuri, but Azazel could take anything and twist it enough to make it look bad. When he finally saw the picture, Gaara was mentally thrown into a state of shock. He was holding a picture of himself and Matsuri inside of Temari's room kissing.

Azazel was been spying on us…!

Gaara sat with his eyes wide and his lips closed. He didn't want to say anything and he didn't know what to say either. Kankuro and Temari leaned over attempting to see the picture. Their reaction wasn't much different from Naruto's, although Kankuro had already seen it all.

"So she is your girlfriend," Naruto commented.

Azazel sat with his arms crossed and a big smile on his face; pride oozed from his posture.

Gaara hid his face in his hands from embarrassment. The council, Kankuro, Temari, Lee, Naruto and Azazel had all witnessed his private moment with his student. This wasn't something that he wanted to broadcast to the entire village.

A councilman sighed, "Why don't we take a recess."

That sounded like a good idea.

The sand siblings, Matsuri and the boys from the Leaf all sat outside of the Kazekage tower. Azazel was nowhere to be seen at the moment, but nobody cared what he was up to anyway.

Naruto was the first to speak, "Hey, Gaara. Uh, I don't care if you wanna girlfriend. Just let me know when you're not single, alright? We're friends here."

Gaara didn't respond.

Naruto nudged his shoulder, "Gaara?"

"No!" he shouted at his friend.

It was obvious that Gaara didn't want to talk to anyone at the moment, so everyone just kept their mouths shut. Naruto began to sulk.

Temari looked over at Matsuri. They were both girls, so they shared a special connection that the boys just couldn't understand. She knew that Matsuri had been deep in anxiety regarding this whole situation.

Temari laid her palm on Matsuri's shoulder, "Come with me," she gestured.

Matsuri quietly stood up and followed Temari. A few curious looks shot up, but nobody asked where they were headed.

Temari led Matsuri behind the Kazekage tower, away from the boys. She held both her hands the way girls do when they're about to share something personal with each other.

"Matsuri, you can tell me anything."

Matsuri nodded, "I'm okay," she whispered.

Her response was soon proven false. Fresh tears trickled down her cheeks and she began to whimper.

"Are you mad at Gaara?" Temari asked.

Matsuri shook her head.

"It's okay if you are. He can be really complicated sometimes."

Matsuri shook her head again.

Temari paused, "If…this is about Azazel, no matter what happens all of us will make sure you stay safe. We promise." She was serious.

"Azazel, he scares me," Matsuri forced herself to stop crying, "I want to train under Gaara-sensei, but he doesn't want me." She lowered her head.

"Matsuri," Temari raised her voice, "Don't ever believe even for a second that Gaara doesn't care about you. He does care. He just has trouble expressing his feelings sometimes," she paused, "He loves you, Matsuri."

Matsuri shook her head, "No."

"No?"

"When I left your house, I heard him talking to you. I didn't mean to hear…but, I heard him say that Azazel could have me."

Temari didn't say anything.

"He's also mad at me for kissing him." She hid her face.

Temari smiled.

How could any guy on this planet be mad if they got kissed by a cute girl, even Gaara?

"Matsuri, Gaara said those words out of self-worthlessness. He doesn't feel like he has the privilege of teaching you anymore. Once he realized that he had feelings for you, he mentally dragged himself into the bottom of a hole and refused to come out. What Gaara doesn't realize is that his feelings aren't wrong. It's okay to love someone." Temari paused, "Don't tell him I told you that."

Matsuri smiled; Temari's words had made her feel better.

"Gaara's not mad at you, he's mad at himself."

The two girls shared a hug and then started their way back to the front of the tower. The second half of the debate was almost underway, and everyone would need to gather as much strength as possible.