AN: Sorry it took me so incredibly long to post this. I'm not sure I really like how I did the ending, but it'll do for now. I know I keep saying only a chapter or two left, but I actually expected this chapter to incorporate more, so who knows now. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 9: The Academy
Gaara lay propped up on his side, silently watching the blonde woman next to him sleep contentedly. This had become his new routine; falling asleep with Ino meant waking up before her – and he loved watching her for those few hours when she was all his. Of course, he did have work he ought to be doing, and he did it – sometimes.
Truth be told Gaara had not been as conscious towards his duties as the Kazekage of late. Before he met Ino his responsibility to the village had been all that Gaara lived for, and that was no longer the case. So now he had others who helped review documents and process paperwork. He had hired various people and placed them in charge of overseeing different aspects of the village. Ironically, the village ran better than ever. Okay, perhaps it wasn't really irony, but it seemed that way to him. All the time he had spent worrying about the village, and it got along better without him. Big surprise. Maybe that was why he had been so reluctant to delegate his authority before – the knowledge that Sunagakure would be just fine without him would have left him with absolutely nothing. Now the thought filled him with a sort of contented gladness. Then again, now he had her.
It was then that Ino began to slowly stir into wakefulness besides him. Every morning was the same. She would wake up and the first thing she would do would be look to make sure Gaara was still beside her. The sight of him watching her with a look of tenderness in his eyes made her smile and the fact that his presence made her happy was all Gaara wanted to know. This morning was no different.
"Hello," she said sleepily, still smiling at him.
"Hi," he said as he reached his hand out to brush her hair out of her face. "Are you ready for today?"
"Hmm?" She sighed, nuzzling her cheek into his hand.
Now that really wasn't helping. There was something that Gaara had wanted for a while now, but hadn't been sure how to go about it. He'd talked to Kankuro – who whatever else he may be definitely knew how to get a woman into bed – and decided that tonight he'd take her out for a celebratory dinner and see how things went. Of course, he really wasn't sure at all how Ino would feel about this, but moments like this one made him yearn for her more than she could possibly begin to imagine.
"For the Academy," he clarified, not wanting to end the moment but knowing that he must.
Ino froze. For the past two months she had been undergoing training and today was the day that she would finally meet her class and begin her career as an Academy instructor.
"Why didn't you wake me up?" she screeched at her husband before jumping out of bed and running franticly around the room. Gaara watched her with a bemused expression before she disappeared into the bathroom to shower and change. His wife really was quite entertaining. Fortunately he had predicted her reaction and showered before she woke up. He headed placidly down the stairs. He had decided this morning while watching her sleep that he was going to make her breakfast. After all, she made him breakfast all the time, and really, it didn't look that complicated.
---
Ino emerged from the shower dressed and ready to face whatever the day saw fit to throw at her. At least, that's what she thought until she smelled the smoke. Rushing out of the bedroom and down the stairs to the kitchen she was greeted with copious amounts of smoke and a panicked looking Gaara who was frantically fanning whatever was on the stove. Hurrying through the kitchen (and coughing on the way) Ino wrenched the frying pan out of Gaara's hands and took it to the sink. A few minutes of running it under cold water and the smoking stopped. The window she had instructed Gaara to open provided an escape route for the smoke, and so the room had mostly cleared. Warily eyeing the soggy black mess in the sink Ino attempted to identify its previous state. It was futile.
"What were you doing?" she asked, exasperated and confused.
"Making breakfast?" Gaara said a little timidly.
"Breakfast?" Ino asked as she eyed the unrecognizable substance in the sink. She looked at her husband. "What exactly?"
"Scrambled eggs," he confessed, refusing to look her in the eye. Instead Gaara became quite fascinated with the grains in the floorboards.
Ino held in a snort of laughter. Then gave up and collapsed on the floor, laughing uncontrollably in a heap.
"You-you – ha!"
Now Gaara was torn. On the one hand hearing Ino laugh was always an enjoyable experience, even if at present it was more of a cackle – or maybe a screech? On the other hand, he wasn't entirely certain he appreciated being mocked, especially in such a blatantly obvious manner, by his wife.
He settled on using his sand to help his wife upright and hold her before him as he glared her into silence. Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect and caused Ino's laughter to continue for a good ten minutes before she was finally able to calm down.
"Sorry," she sighed wiping tears out of her eye. "It was just – oh, I can't explain it, go sit down and I'll bring you breakfast."
Sulking, Gaara did as he was told.
Noticing the brooding silence coming from her husband, Ino giggled once more.
"Cheer up, I appreciate the thought. And laughter really is the best way to start the day! Besides, how about this? If you can go into work a little later on Saturday I'll start teaching you how to cook."
Gaara perked up and nodded his head in assent as Ino slid a plate with buttered bread and scrambled eggs in front of him before plopping a jar of his favourite raspberry jam down and taking her seat across from him.
Comfortable silence filled the kitchen as the two hastily ate in preparation for their day.
"Are you going to drop me off on the way to work?" Ino asked as Gaara slipped their dishes into the sink where they would wait until this evening.
"Do you want me to?" he asked, this was a little unexpected.
Ino only nodded mutely, her eyes sparkling with hope.
Gaara sighed. He was already late for work, a couple more minutes couldn't hurt, right?
He nodded and held out his arm – which she eagerly latched on to – and they exited their home.
"Do you mind if I picked you up after work?" he asked hesitantly as they neared the Academy.
"I'd love it," Ino reassured, locking her gaze with his.
"I figured we could go out to eat – er, sort of like a celebration of a successful first day?"
"How do you know it will be successful?" A hint of nervousness in her voice hinted at the unsettling butterflies that were swirling in her stomach.
"Because I'm the Kazekage," he teased. The frown on her face made him add, "You'll be wonderful," in a reassuring manner, his gaze still not leaving hers.
She smiled at him and stood on her tiptoes to peck him on the cheek. Gaara swiftly turned his head and caught her lips turning it into what was – in his mind – a proper kiss.
"You forgot that before we left," he hinted, smirking a little.
Ino blushed faintly and smiled at him before turning away and heading towards the Academy. Gaara started the walk to the Kazekage tower, planning on just enjoying the feeling of his village.
That notion was trampled when he noticed how all the children still avoided him. Spending time with Ino – who seemed to accept him so easily – always made him forget that the villagers were still scared of him, no matter how much they respected him. It was always worse with children, those who'd left the Academy usually had a better sense of what it meant to be a ninja and were able to accept him more. But children, those twelve and under, tended to avoid him like the bogeyman. Hurt, though he would never admit it, Gaara gave up on walking and transported himself directly to his office. It was probably better that way anyway, he was running late.
--
Ino looked out at her class before nervously clearing her throat. Be confident, she reminded herself. Be confident and sure and you'll win their respect.
"Hi! I'm your new sensei, Ino Yamanaka. I'll learn all your names as the day progresses I'm sure, but right now I'm just wondering if you had any questions for me before we started?" she said cheerily.
The room was filled with raised arms in an instant. Ino nodded her head at one of the children – a stocky brown-haired boy who looked remarkably self-confident for a ten year old.
"Is it true you beat the Kazekage in a fight?" he asked curiously, eyeing her in obvious disbelief.
Ino narrowed her eyes at the boy. "What's your name?" she asked.
"Katimara Tazo," he said proudly.
"Well Tazo, I did beat Gaara – er the Kazekage – in a spar, but it wasn't a physical fight. Never forget that there are multiple levels to every battle."
Tazo looked confused and Ino said a silent prayer of gratitude to Shikamaru for giving her this exact same lecture.
"Are you really the Kazekage's wife?" a red-headed girl asked in disbelief. Ino held back a giggle – something about this girl just reminded her of herself as a child.
"Yes," Ino answered with a smile. She looked out at the crowd expecting to see – well, she wasn't sure what but not the fear tinged awe that she saw present in the children's faces.
"What?" she asked, confused,
"Isn't he – like – a monster?" the red-head said bluntly. Ino gaped at the girl in shock, inwardly seething. How dare she? She took back her earlier thought; she was never that rude or disrespectful as a child. Was she?
"What makes you say that?" she asked, assuming an innocent face of honest confusion. Gaara had been nothing but sweet and gentle with her, and she refused to let people speak of him like that. Ever.
"Well, uh," these ten year olds had never been told the reason Gaara was still feared, and they had been too young when Gaara was possessed to remember. Their parents, out of respect for their now undemonized Kazekage, had not told their children his past. However, the fear itself had still been passed on.
Ino felt an ache in her chest as she realized what Gaara still had to deal with, even now. It was no wonder it had taken him so long to open up to her. And she was grateful, so very grateful that he had.
"Exactly. Your Kazekage is an extremely powerful man, but he is also kind, and good, and he would die for any one of you," Ino said as she fixed a stare that bordered on glare onto her class.
Meekly submitting to Ino's forceful will the entire room bowed their heads with guilt. And that was all it took to appease Ino's anger. After all, it wasn't exactly their fault.
"Besides," she said in her former, cheerful tone, "he's really just like a big teddy bear."
Her wide grin was met with looks of complete disbelief. Ino however remained unfazed. "You'll see. He's coming after class today!"
Her class was unable to think of anything to say to that, and so they sat there, stunned.
"That's it for questions then? Great. On with the lesson!" she said exuberantly.
--
"Why not?" Kankuro asked his little brother. Gaara had been discussing his plan to – er – seduce – his wife this evening, and somehow Kankuro had turned it into a discussion about having a family. It wasn't so much that he didn't want to have a family with Ino, it was just that, well, wasn't it a little bit too soon to be thinking about that? He wanted Ino all to himself, was there anything wrong with that?
Besides, having children would mean that there would be kids in his home. His home had become his sanctuary, he didn't particularly want little brats running around who were terrified of him and would remind him of a past he was trying desperately to both atone for and forget.
"It's a bit too soon to be thinking of that yet," Gaara said authoritatively before vanishing from his office and the awkward conversation he no longer wished to be a part of.
He had been intending to leave the office a little later, that way he could avoid the children at the school. Not too late of course, he hadn't wanted Ino to think he'd forgotten her, but late enough to avoid the bulk of the students.
Resigned to the inevitably of arriving at the Academy while it was filled with departing students Gaara reappeared outside of Ino's classroom door. Drawing in a deep breath to calm his nerves he schooled his features and stance into their usual unemotional look. It was too easy to open up around Ino, and he couldn't afford to show weakness in front of all the children – he was their Kazekage after all.
Opening the door Gaara was shocked to see a barrage of kunai and shuriken flying directly at his wife...
The scene registered in an instant, and Gaara reacted instinctively to the danger that was threatening the woman he loved.
Sand flooded from his gourd encasing Ino in a protective sphere even as Gaara stormed into the room, his sand armor protecting him from any weapons that would have pierced his body as he walked unflinchingly in front of Ino.
He gazed fiercely and angrily into the crowd of students who all flinched back into their seats, cowering in fear.
Silence and stillness reigned for a moment, until it was broken by a muffled yell.
"Let me out!" Ino protested loudly.
"No," Gaara said firmly, still surveying the students and looking for any potential threats.
"Why the hell not?" she shrieked. Even through the sand the entire room flinched at her volume.
"Your students were attacking you, this is not a safe environment."
A dramatic sigh was followed by Ino explaining in a slightly calmer manner, "It's fine Gaara, I told them to attack me."
"You told your students to attack you?" he asked in obvious disbelief.
"Yes, look, I'll explain it to you as soon as you let me OUT," and her voice reached its previous ear-shattering volume.
"No," Gaara said, still calmly.
"LET ME OUT! I told you they won't attack."
Gaara only snorted. "That's hardly the issue anymore. If you are stupid enough to tell a room full of shinobi to attack you I should probably keep you back there permanently for your own protection."
"Gaara I swear that if you do not release me right now I will make you wish you had never been born."
The Kazekage remained unfazed. "I will not let you out until you promise to never again behave in such an asinine manner."
Silence.
"Fine," Ino snapped childishly.
The sand immediately returned to Gaara's gourd and a revealed a fuming Ino, fist still raised from where she had obviously been attacking the inside of her sand prison.
When Ino was freed from the clutches of her deranged husband – seriously, who does that? – she paused for a moment to take stock of the surrounding room. Her students were still cowering in fear, but many of them were also unable to hide smirks at their teacher's predicament. She'd had them throw weapons at her to prove that there was more to being a good shinobi then attacking, and she'd made her point quite well…until Gaara had interrupted.
She would have berated him on that point, but seeing the terror on her students' faces reminded her of the empathy she felt for her husband.
On the other hand, showing that she wasn't afraid of him might do wonders for the students. Making up her mind Ino whirled on her husband, silent fury simmering in her eyes.
"Just what exactly did you think you were doing?" she demanded.
Gaara was slightly taken aback. "Uhh-"
"You can't just interrupt my lessons you know," she continued.
"Yes I can. I'm the Kazekage," he reminded her.
"Well – ah – As the Kazekage you should have a good reason for interrupting my lesson."
"You were being attacked."
"No I WASN'T!"
"Well that was how it appeared to me."
"Do you not think I can handle myself?" Ino asked, eyes widening in feigned innocence and hurt. Actually, know that she'd had time to think it over, it was kind of cute that Gaara was so willing to protect her – as long as he knew she didn't need it.
Gaara stared into her big blue eyes, losing himself in their depths. Forgetting that he was in front of a classroom full of students, forgetting that he was angry with her for putting herself in danger, he stepped closer to her and pulled her into a warm hug.
"I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you," he whispered in her ear.
Ino melted.
The classroom full of students were all training to be shinobi, so the fact that Gaara had whispered did not affect their ability to hear them. Needless to say, they were shocked. The Kazekage was behaving like a man in love, not like the emotionless ice block he'd always seemed before!
"Ahem," a girly voice coughed, interrupting the moment between Ino and her husband. Guiltily, Gaara and Ino pulled apart. Gaara directed a glare at the red-headed girl who had made Ino pull away, but she just snickered at him.
"Class dismissed," Ino said, scooping her coat out of her chair and pulling Gaara out the door in one smooth motion.
It was Gaara's turn to be shocked. That little girl had laughed at him! He couldn't believe that Ino's student was so disrespectful… wait a moment. She'd laughed at him! Gaara repressed to the urge to crow his elation into the night air. She'd laughed at him and she wasn't afraid!
--
Gaara and Ino were comfortably seated in a private room at a very nice restaurant – Kankuro had recommended it. Ino hadn't wanted to come in, claiming she wasn't dressed right, but he'd persuaded her. Feeling very pleased with himself he watched Ino surveying the food spread before them with awe.
Noticing his gaze she looked up from the table and smiled at him, a warm smile full of genuine happiness and caring.
"Thank-you," she whispered. Then her smile flashed into a wicked grin and she stood up, rounded the table, and plunked herself down next to her red-headed husband. She quickly grabbed some food in her chopsticks before proffering it to Gaara.
Hesitantly he bent his mouth down and took the offered food. Ino quickly repeated the action, and he eventually got the hang of it. She would feed him a piece, and then he would feed her. It was actually rather nice… Kankuro had been right when he'd told him to let Ino take the lead. She really was much better at this kind of thing.
"You know," Ino said, smiling as she held a mushroom out for him. "When you first offered me the post of an Academy teacher I thought you were only doing it to keep me from leaving Suna because you still didn't think I could take care of myself."
Gaara almost choked on the mushroom. Fortunately, Ino was too wrapped up in what she was saying to notice.
"I guess I'm trying to say sorry for thinking that about you. It's just hard with you being so incredibly strong, and me just being, well, me. I mean, I know I can take care of myself and that I'm a good ninja, but you're just so powerful. And I want you to respect me," she finished lamely, trying to voice her feelings on the inequality of their marriage.
"Are you serious?" he asked her, bewildered. He continued before she had time to respond. "You're worried about what I think of you? You're the one who everybody likes, the one strong enough to gain the respect of the most powerful shinobi in your village. I can manipulate vast amounts of sand and kill people in an instant, so what? When has that done any good for anyone? You help people, you make people care about you…you helped me, you made me care about you," he admitted.
Ino's eyes widened in surprise. Sure, she'd suspected the Kazekage was beginning to feel something for her (she wasn't stupid), but she had never expected him to openly admit his feelings, it just wasn't in his nature.
"I love you too," she said quietly back, snuggling her head into his chest as she leaned against him.
Gaara froze in shock, could she really? The bubble of happiness that had been growing all evening was getting so big he thought he might burst.
"And I'm glad you weren't just trying to keep me in Suna. Akina – you know, she teaches the class below mine – told me about the field trip tomorrow."
"Field trip?" Gaara asked dazedly. Honestly, he wasn't really sure what she was saying. She loved him, and right now nothing else seemed to matter.
"Yes, the one to see the fortifications of Sunagakure. Where we take our classes outside the walls."
Gaara's bubble of elation disappeared and was replaced with a cold, desperate, slimy feeling.
"What?" he said coldly, pulling away from Ino to look her in the eye.
"The field trip," she said confused. "Every year the students in the Academy go-"
"I know about the field trip," he said simply. "I just…I didn't realize it was now."
"Really? Well I personally am excited. I've never seen the fortifications. I was a bit preoccupied when I first got here and I haven't been allowed outside the walls since."
"You're not going," he said.
"What?" Ino asked, shocked.
"You're not going," he said again. "I can't bear to lose you Ino," he pleaded.
"You know that excuse is getting awfully old," she said, standing and grabbing her coat. "I'm going home, and tomorrow I'm taking my class on that field trip."
"No you're not," he said, standing as well as his sand started to pour from the gourd he'd left by the door.
She turned and stared him down – an impressive feat. "Gaara I am going on this trip and I swear to you that if you stop me I will never ever forgive you."
Torn, Gaara had no choice but to let her go. It was ironic really, the one thing he felt he absolutely had to keep safe was the only thing he couldn't protect. He'd never felt more worthless or more broken. Despair, deeper even then he'd felt at the betrayal of Yashimaru, coursed through his body as he sank back to the floor.
Oh, you all knew it was coming. There are still some issues these two need to work out. Reviews are loved!