Chapter 24: How to Comfort for Dummies
(In which the Princess has a few intimate moments with a certain someone, asks a bold question and is shot down, and is given good advice)

The tension in the room was so tangible that I felt like I could reach up and swish it around. Lord Naruto was so agitated that he could not stay still, and was taking long strides up and down the room we were all seated in. I was sitting between Temari and Tenten and it seemed like we had been there forever.

Gaara sat across from us, a candle flickering beside him and illuminating half his face and making his face look like it was made out of stone. I could swear that he hadn't moved in the last three hours.

The door opened and Naruto was on the person before they could even step into the room.

"Is she-?"

The servant drew back in surprise, paused to recollect his thoughts, and then shook his head no. "No, milord, I'm just here to ask if you require food or blankets?"

Naruto rubbed his eyes and said, "What I need is news on my wife and child."

I was so thirsty that my tongue kept sticking to the top of my mouth, but I held my silence and let Lord Naruto shoo the man out and say that no one was to enter the room unless they had news on Lady Hinata.

I remembered earlier, the room had been lit by sunlight instead of candle light, Temari had told me that Lord Naruto's last child had died during child birth and had almost taken Lady Hinata with him. The chance that his wife could die was nearly driving Naruto crazy.

My eyes found the blonde man again, moving up and down the room again. His almost rhythmic pacing made me sleepy. Or it could just be the late hour that was making me sleepy. Or the early morning horse ride. Or that I didn't get much sleep the previous night either. Or maybe all of those combined. Who knows, right?

I thought about getting up and comforting the man, but I didn't know him very well and I knew the last thing I would want is for some stranger to try and sooth me. I spent several minutes internally fighting over whether or not to go and help him, when the next thing I knew Gaara was telling me to calm down.

I was face down on the castle carpet, with my arms pinned behind my back. Breathing heavy and sweating, I tried to figure out what was going on.

"Gaara, let go. You're hurting me," I said, trying to wiggle out of his grip. He let go and I sat up. Rubbing my wrists, I gave him a questioning look.

"You fell asleep in the room and Lord Naruto told me to bring you to your room. Then, you began to thrash around and scream," Gaara said. I noticed that his lip was bleeding.

"Ah, I'm sorry," I said, feeling embarrassed, but at the same time wishing he hadn't been so rough.

"Did…did you have a nightmare?" Gaara asked, swiping that back of his sleeve against his bleeding lip.

"I don't remember," I answered. Then, ripping off a strip from my underskirt – deciding that since it was out of sight, it wouldn't be missed too terribly - reaching towards him I said, "Let me get that…"

Gaara jumped back from my outstretched hand and bumped into the wall. I hid my smile with my unused hand while I tried again, "Oh, come on."

This time he didn't move away, though he just might not have been able to escape because of the wall, and I wiped the blood off and then instructed him to hold the cloth scrap there. I'm sure he could have taken care of it himself, but he was always looking after me – saving me from drowning and from Deidara – that I felt I needed to return the favor in any way that I could.

There was a heavy silence. I sat back and tried to arrange my tangled hair so it would lay right. I wasn't very successful and gave up with a sigh. Gaara and I were still sitting on the floor. I felt the need to say something, so I asked him, "Why did you pin me down?"

"Because you were flailing around and hit me in the face," Gaara said, his voice slightly muffled by the cloth held to his lip.

"Sorry about hitting you," I said. And, stopping another awkward silence before it could happen, I asked, "If you thought I was having a nightmare, why didn't you just soothe me?"

"Soothe you?" Gaara repeated. I nodded.

"Yes," I said. "If someone is having a nightmare, going through an emotional ordeal, or anything else along those lines, you comfort them. Or 'soothe them'. Like, for example, when I was having that nightmare, or when Lord Naruto was upset earlier. Do you want me to teach you?"

"Ah, that's not really my area. That is what Temari would do…," Gaara said, looking nervous. I smiled at this foreign expression on his face. I wonder how many times he saw it on my face. Then I nearly laughed when I thought about how my face would have looked when Deidara had cornered me in the barn. Probably extremely nervous.

Poor Gaara probably thought I was laughing at his expense. "Nonsense," I said, "everyone needs to learn how to comfort. It's a useful skill and can actually be used diplomatically. I'm sure you would use it often when you become King. Plus, you will need to know how to comfort your wife someday."

"Kankurou is the Crown Prince," Gaara said. I noticed that he completely ignored the wife part.

"Well, you can still use it," I said, already deciding that I would teach him, whether he consented or not. I had to repay him some how, and what else could I do besides teach him what I'm an expert at, but he lacks?

"Hm," He said and I could see the resignation in his face and body. He probably realized that once I got something in my mind, I wasn't going to let it go. Everybody had to learn that someday, and the sooner a person learned it, the better it was for them.

I clapped my hands together with a triumphant smile and said, "Let the comforting lessons commence! The first step is to give the hurting person some advice or to say something soothing."

Gaara merely nodded. After a moment of nothing, I sighed, exasperated, and said, "When you learned to sword fight, did your instructor tell you what to do and you learned it perfect without ever lifting your sword in practice?"

"No," Gaara said.

"Well, that's the same for other things. So, come, scoot closer and practice what I tell you. I want you to take this as seriously as sword practice. You never know when it will be useful," I said.

Gaara balked at this, but, with a determined expression, humored me and scooted closer. Completely serious he put down the bloody scrap of cloth and said, "Ino, before you fall asleep next time, you should clear your mind of all foul thoughts."

"Good!" I praised. "The next step is patting the person's hand or back – you should pat their hand only if they are very close male friend or a familiar female – and asking them if there is anything you can do to help them."

He mechanically patted my hand and I struggled not to laugh. "No, like this," I said, patting his hand as an example. He tried again and he was right. "Don't forget to ask."

"Uh, is there anything I can do to help?" He asked.

"Then the final step varies on how well you know the person and their age. If the person in need of comforting is a stranger and an adult, then you would end the conversation naturally after the last step. But, if they want to talk about their problem, you should listen to them. If the person you are comforting is a child or a friend, then you should hug them at this point." I instructed. Gaara nodded and I stopped him before he could choose which action to take. I was secretly worried that he would pick the first option. Did he consider me a friend? "Ok, let's try it all together."

"Ino, clear your mind next time before you sleep. I…I noticed that you, uhm, tend to have nightmares," Gaara said.

"Thank you, Gaara. You are right, ever since Deidara kidnapped me, I've been having nightmares. The ones that I remember usually revolve around him killing me or my father somehow. Though, I guess he already killed my father…," I said. At the start of my response, I felt giddy that Gaara had thrown in that more personal statement. But, towards the end my spirits dropped at the remembrance of my father's death.

Gaara patted my hand the way I showed him, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Thank you for your generous offer. I think just thinking of me and cheering me up close to when I head to sleep would help a lot," I said.

"I will," He said. I wondered if he really meant it, or if he was just saying what he thought he should. Then he paused and I paused. The next part was a defining part in our relationship. Did Gaara consider me his friend, or someone he 'knew'.

He leaned halfway and then hesitated. I smiled and said, "Here." I grabbed his arms and showed him where to place them. Good Lord, was this his first time hugging someone? There was so much space between us, that it was less a hug and more him placing his hands on my sides. Laughing I grabbed his shirt collar and pulled him closer. The lost look on his face was adorable and priceless at the same time.

When we were in a proper hug, I felt a warm and tingling sensation in my stomach. I never imagined that Gaara would hug me. And, I now knew he considered me a friend. Then, to make his lesson more complete – at least that's what I told myself – I said, "In the event that the person starts to cry, you rub his or her back."

"Like this?" He asked, moving his hand sideways and against the flow of velvet on my dress.

"I find it works better if you move in a circular motion, like this. And, try to go in the direction of the material," I said. Gaara changed his hand motions as I instructed and I showed him that he could also go up and down and the area he was allowed to rub.

With my back tingling pleasantly, I looked up to see Gaara's expression, wondering if he was uncomfortable or not. He looked down at the same moment, and our faces were only a whisper apart.

Kiss him. Just lean in and kiss him. He's right there, within reach, with his beautiful eyes and pale lips. Just do it. You'll regret it if you don't, my brain urged. But, I didn't move. How many times had I seen two people kiss? I had seen my parents kiss, royal couples on visit, Sasuke's Aunt and Uncle. I'd even seen some unsuspecting servants kiss when they thought no one noticed. So why couldn't I move that small distance and kiss him?

The answer was that I was terribly frightened and horribly inexperienced. I had never kissed anyone. Who was there for me to kiss? Sasuke? Shikamaru? It was hard to envision kissing them. My suitors? That would have been extremely inappropriate.

I hesitated for too long; When I had finally gathered my courage to lean in and kiss him, the moment was lost. A servant entered the hall we were sitting in, and the slamming door made Gaara leap back guiltily. When the servant made it around the corner and within sight of us, Gaara was standing on the opposite side of the hall.

"Are you alright, milady? Do you need help up?" the servant said, noticing me still on the floor feeling extremely disappointed.

"Yes, please," I said, offering my hand to him. The man, who I guessed was close to my father's age, pulled me to my feet, then continued on his way.

Gaara was already almost gone from the hallway, taking the opportunity of my distraction to escape. I chased after him and stopped him just before he left through the door.

"Gaara," I said, grabbing his silken sleeve, "I know you have done a lot for me already, and I owe you so much more than just teaching you how to comfort a person. But would you-"

"Ino, you don't owe me anything. I do my duty, and that's it. You don't need to repay a person's kindness," Gaara cut across.

"I still want to pay you back," I continued. "And, one way I would like to do that is to be able to defend myself so you don't have to."

"What are you asking?" His expression was stern and I felt intimidated.

"Would you train me, so I can keep myself safe? So I can be one less thing you have to watch over?" I asked.

"No." He said, "Absolutely not."

"Why not?" I demanded, angry that he shot me down without even considering it or giving me a chance.

"Because women are not to fight," Gaara said.

"What about Temari?" I demanded, but he was already gone, stalking down the next hallway and disappearing from sight.

.o0o.

I sighed and sank lower until the rose-scented water touched my chin. I had been trying to corner Gaara for three days since the night I asked him to train me, to persuade him into changing his mind on the matter. But, he seemed to be avoiding me, and I only saw glimpses of him from very far away.

Megumi ran her fingers through my hair, tugging gently on any knots. "Is something wrong, Lady Ino?"

"I think Lord Gaara is avoiding me," I said, scowling deeply at the water. I prided myself on being a confident person, but I couldn't decide if he was avoiding me because of our personal encounter or because of my request.

"Why would Lord Gaara do that?" Megumi asked. She scooped up some water and poured it over my head.

"I'm not sure, but I think it was because of a request I made," I answered, swishing my hands lazily and enjoying the feeling of the water streaming over my skin.

"If you don't mind my asking, Lady Ino, what request did you make?" Megumi asked. I glanced around. Some maids were busy washing laundry, others were preparing my next dress. Haya was staring intently at Megumi and me, but they were all out of earshot.

"I asked him to train me," I answered at last. I felt silly for being so hesitant about admitting something I wanted so badly.

Megumi's hands paused momentarily and she said, "Ah," before dumping a bucket of water over my head.

"So, you think women shouldn't fight, too? Why is it that Temari is allowed to fight and I am not? No one stops her when she heads down to the training grounds with Kankurou and the other men, leaving me behind in the castle. Why am I stopped?" I demanded, frustrated that no one would support me.

"It is true that many men believe that women should never step on the battle field unless they are gathering dead or dragged across it, but that isn't why I was surprised. You misjudge my shock for disapproval. It is merely hard for me to envision you fighting. You seem so dainty, almost like you're made of glass," Megumi said. "Temari, on the other hand, seems hardier."

"But, I do not have your support, too?" I asked, unable to mask my disappointment.

"Lady Ino, what is the significance of one servant's support? What you need to do is show Gaara how serious you are about learning to fight and that you can handle it." She said.

"Megumi?"

"I believe Lord Kankurou is heading down to the training grounds soon." She dumped a final bucket over my head and then began to wring out my locks.

"You are brilliant," I said with a fierce smile.