The next couple of days have fallen into a routine. I spend all of my time at the hospital. Gaara takes me to lunch sometimes but most of the time I just go to their cafeteria. Then at night he takes me back to his place where we sleep to wake up to another boring day. I haven't seen much of Asuma since he is trying to find the location of the other two rogue ninja. Shikamaru and Choji haven't showed any sign of stirring and it crushes me more each day. I find myself telling them my whole day and asking what to do the more they sleep. And every time I am greeted by silence. The guards even know more of my problems than they do. Oro and Tausho haven't confessed anything to their interrogation group yet. If only they had the power of the Yamanaka Clan or Ibiki. I tried to ask Gaara about what their group uses as techniques but he wouldn't answer me.
I looked over at Zuko. He was one of the guards assigned to protect me in the hospital. I have found myself to get closer to him after he finally acknowledged me one night when he overheard my one sided conversation to Shikamaru and Choji. A blush crept on my cheeks as I thought of the embarrassing conversation and his answer.
"Shikamaru, Choji I am so lost. I mean every day is the same old thing. I'm always here. I never see Asum-sensei anymore. I'm also very confused. Every day I grow closer with Gaara. And I mean I think I may even have some… feelings… for him and I can't tell if he does or not. He's a freaking rock when you try to read him. And you guys know I'm a master at body language and such, but he's different. I don't know what to do." I was sitting down in my usual spot muttering my speech into my knees. "And it doesn't help that you guys aren't here to help out with anything either."
"He definitely feels something towards you." I looked up shocked at the guard. He kept his view towards the window. He had hair that reached down to his ears. It was brown that matched his brown eyes. He was very tall about six feet two inches. He wasn't bad looking but not someone I would immediately gush over.
"What did you say?" I laid my head on my knees.
He sighed then looked at me. "The Kazekage. You definitely have left some kind of impression on him. He seems more rested now a days and I believe you have something to do with it. He is trying harder to find these rogue ninja and also trying to fix a proper budget for the hospital. Which I believe was because of something you said. He also relaxes a bit more at work and during meetings. So to answer your question. Yes, I believe he feels something towards you." He mumbled and then turned his attention back to the window.
I took in this information and started to think of the things Gaara has done. I smiled.
"What's your name?"
"Zuko, Miss Yamanaka." He mumbled.
"Please, Zuko. Call me, Ino." He looked at me and gave a small smile and nod.
Since that night, Zuko has been my favorite guard. We have spent more time going out places instead of staying in the hospital. We have even spent some time training on my taijutsu. Today I dragged him along to grab lunch for Gaara and I. We walked into the Kazekage tower and I smiled at the girl behind the desk. She smiled back.
"Good afternoon, Miss Yamanaka!" She chirped. I smiled back in return.
"I told you to call me, Ino." I gave a small laugh. "Good afternoon, Sharin!"
We walked our way up the stairs and Zuko shook his head.
"What?" I snapped at him.
"You leave a great impression on everyone you meet don't you?" He laughed. I smirked at him and turned my attention ahead.
"Of course. That's how you make the best allies. I can see I left an impression on you." I purred at him and he shook his head with a smile on his lips.
"Oi, Ino. That you have." He muttered as we were facing the door to Gaara's office. I knocked and once I heard a brief 'enter' I walked in and smiled at Gaara. He looked up and frowned.
"You aren't supposed to be walking around unescorted." He commanded. I shook my head to calm myself before getting irritated.
"I'm not. Look." I motioned to Zuko as he entered. Zuko nodded at Gaara and he nodded back. "Zuko, took me here 'cause I wanted to bring you lunch! I heard you've been working so hard you have been neglecting your stomach!" I lifted the bags of food in my arms and began to walk over to him.
I saw him frown at Zuko and I was pretty sure Zuko tried to avoid his gaze. He was probably blushing a bit at knowing he ratted out Gaara.
"I'll leave you two. Ino, I will be back in an hour and a half to escort you back to the hospital." He nodded at us and left. I was behind the desk standing next to Gaara and I moved his papers out of the way. He watched as I took out the food in both bags and placed it in front of us. I could see he looked a bit surprise as he saw his favorite food sitting in front of him.
I grabbed my food and stood there looking at him with a raised eye brow. "Aren't you going to eat?" I commanded at him.
"Yes, but where are you going to sit?" I laughed and I propped myself up on the side of his desk. I crossed my legs and faced his way. He nodded and began to eat his food. I plopped in a fork full of my salad and turned my attention to the contents on his desk. I saw the letters of fan mail and I looked at him.
"How goes the fan girls?"
"There's mail from other villages too." He replied and I raised my eyebrows intrigued. He swallowed then put his food down and picked up a letter. "I like this one. She hasn't tried anything… odd." I raised my eyebrows higher and took the letter from his hand. As I read it over, I smiled.
"She's the vegetable marker's daughter?" I looked at him and he nodded. "She said one day you were in there and you bought something from her and you were very kind. Aww, Kaze-sama, she has such a cute crush on you. She said she's been too shy to say hi. You know this reminds me of Hinata and Naruto!" I looked at him and he looked intrigued.
"Hinata and Naruto?" He asked.
"Yes, Hinata is this really shy girl and she's always gushing on Naruto but she is too shy to talk to him. It's hard for her. It's cute really. But sometimes it's annoying because she really needs to just tell him. But then again, Naruto is crushing so hard on Sakura, I can see why she gets nervous. This also kind of reminds me of-" I was interrupted by a knock at the door and it opened.
"G-Gaara I brought you lunch!" Matsuri ran in excitedly while holding a bag up in front of her. She stopped when she saw Gaara and I eating. "O-oh, I can see you are already eating." She muttered.
"Thank you, Matsuri. You can leave it here and I'll take it home later." He spoke to her. She nodded and set it aside then walked out without saying another word. I winced a bit at the pain she must have felt. Poor girl.
"Anyways!" I spoke to break the silence. "Zuko has been helping me with my taijutsu lately."
"You two have been training?" I can see he frowned a bit.
"Yes, I was getting very bored and so he suggested training outside of the hospital. We briefly train then return to the hospital to eat."
"I see you and Zuko have gotten quite close lately." He muttered and I looked at him. His eyes bored down on me and his mouth was in a straight line. Was he… jealous?
"Yes, he's the only guard who has actually acknowledged me. I'm always in the room, talking to Shikamaru and Choji about what's going on and how I feel. But they always ignore me and act as if I never said anything. So I seriously thought they had like ear plugs or something in. But then one night, Zuko overheard me and actually responded to a question of mine which was helpful. It's nice to be answered by a voice instead of silence." I looked away to the floor with a bit of sadness filling me. Gaara was silent and I stared at the floor thinking of the last time I heard Shikamaru and Choji's voice.
"You can… always talk to me." Gaara stated and I looked at him surprised. I smiled at him and he gave me a small smile back.
"Does this mean maybe you'll listen to me about being placed on the mission?" I squeaked and he gave me a stern look.
"Ino-"
"Gaara, I'm bored! I mean your interrogation group hasn't gotten anything yet-"
"Ino. It's too da-"
"Dangerous, I know. But still! I never see Asuma-sensei anymore and I feel useless Gaara!" My voice started escalating as his became stern. I was beginning to feel anger boiling in me.
"Ino, you're not-"
"Well then prove it! Let me do something. Give me something to do that will help this out!"
"Ino, I can't-"
"Why not!" I screamed at him enraged. I jumped off the desk and stood in front of his seat. I placed my hands on my hips and leaned over him, looking down at his face.
"Ino, please you're acting irrational-"
"Well, Gaara, I can't help it! I'm losing my mind in this hell hole! Do you know how crazy you go, talking to sleeping friends and you can't hear a single mumble or crunch." Tears began to form in my eyes. "No 'troublesome' this or 'this is a drag' or 'I'm hungry'?! Do you know how it feels? No you don't! Give me something to do! Why won't you?!"
"Because if you got hurt, I would never forgive myself, Ino!" Gaara shouted and I froze in my spot. He got up from his seat and looked down at me. He had an angry expression but I could see his eyes were filled with sadness. I swallowed the lump in my throat. I tried to extend my right hand forward to him but he grabbed my wrist.
"Gaara, I'm not going to get hurt-"
"How do I know that?" He looked at me angrily and he tightened his grip on my wrist. I winced a bit at the pain but he didn't stop. "They already went after you twice, for me. I don't want them to try again." He let go of my wrist and dropped his hands to his side. He looked at me waiting for my response. I softened my expression and he seemed to do so as well. I rested my hand on his right cheek and he flinched a bit but he closed his eyes and he leaned into my hand.
"Gaara, we don't know." I cooed to him. He opened his eyes and I had to bite my lip. He looked so scared, I didn't know how to handle it. "But that's a part of life. We just have to try anyways. Look I have an idea."
He looked at me a bit intrigued and nodded slightly for me to go on.
"Let me try talking to the two in interrogation. I think I might be able to get something out of them. At least let me do that. You don't have to send me out into the field or anything, just let me try getting something out of them." He closed his eyes as he thought. I gently rubbed the side of his face with my thumb and he opened his eyes.
"Okay, but I will be present during this." He commanded and I nodded in agreement and hugged him tightly. He stiffened a bit at the embrace but he didn't budge.
"Oh thank you, Gaara!" I shouted into his chest. I leaned back to look up at him but I kept my arms around his torso. He bent down and pressed a kiss to my lips. I responded eagerly and he kissed me back fiercely. Before I could get friskier he pulled back and out of my embrace. He sat back down in his chair and faced his attention to his uneaten food. I waited a moment for me to catch my breath and then I shook my head at him.
"You know, Gaara, you can kiss other times too. Not just when making up from a fight." I spoke softly to him and I took my seat on his desk.
"I know." He answered before putting some salted tongue in his mouth. He knew? That tease! I frowned at him and tried to punch his arm innocently but his sand stopped me. It moved across my palm and fingers for a few seconds then slowly left my hand and went back to his gourd across the room.
"You find me a threat, Gaara?" I teased him.
"No. I think my sand was flirting with you." He simply stated as he went for more food. I looked at him a bit shocked but decide to leave that for further questioning. I munched on a tomato and smiled at the thought I'm finally going to be able to do something useful.
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