Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto…

A/N: Sorry for the wait for this chapter…I was at my mom's house for the weekend and she doesn't believe in the internet. So glad that I'm back at my apartment with my handy dandy internet.

Chapter 7: Meetings and Such

By the time Gaara and Kina joined the others in the drawing room, Kankuro had managed to clear the debris of what was once a set of very nice, very expensive, tea tables from the room, Temari stood next to a now calm Naruto, and Jiraiya had just regained consciousness. Kina stood behind and slightly to the left of the Kazekage and looked at the boy that she knew so much about, but had never seen in person.

She almost laughed out loud. The orange jumpsuit wearing teen looked terrible. Sand was stuck to random places of his body, his hair was a mess and his forehead protector was on backwards. He looked like an angry cat—especially with his whiskers and the fact that his hair was mussed in a way that made him look like he had cat ears.

Naruto knew that the girl was staring at him. He felt his face grow suddenly warm. She was prettier than Ino and Lee said she was. She was tanned and toned, but living in Suna, he didn't expect anything less. She must've changed after the "training" session, Naruto realized. The girl was now dressed in a light purple kimono with a blue obi. He couldn't help but notice that the obi perfectly matched the blue on Gaara's Kazekage robes.

Strange, Kina thought as she continued to stare at the boy. I can't decide if he's blushing or if he just has a sunburn from the desert.

Gaara had noticed Naruto's redness as well, but had no illusions as to why the boy was red. He stepped closer to Kina and loosely wrapped his arm around her waist. "Jiraiya, Naruto. I would like to know your reasons for disturbing my household so early in the morning," Gaara calmly demanded.

Naruto looked at his sensei and realized that he wouldn't be able to answer any questions for a while. "Well," he said, scratching the back of his head. "Tsunade-baachan sent us here on a mission. We have some information to give to you."

"Will it take long for you to deliver this information?" the girl asked.

Naruto's blush deepened as he remembered her husky voice from the dojo. "It is a long report and Ero-sennin isn't really up for giving it to you." Naruto was shocked when the girl leaned into Gaara's side and whispered into his ear, her lips almost touching the Kazekage's ear.

Gaara grunted and gave a small nod. "Kina-chan has persuaded me to let you rest a bit before our meeting," Gaara smirked. "She's of the opinion that you would like to bathe."

"More like they need to bathe," Kina whispered into Gaara's ear. The Sand nin choked back a laugh at this and kept the frown on his face, but his eyes were smiling.

"Your Lady shows exquisite insight into the needs and desires of her guests!" Jiraiya, apparently recovered from the glomping he had received, said. He gallantly bowed to Kina and attempted to grab her hand. Gaara prevented the perverted hermit from doing so by taking her hand himself. "A more exceptional Lady Kazekage you could never have chosen!"

Kina was stunned by Jiraiya's assumption that she was Gaara's 'Lady,' but quickly recovered. She opened her mouth to correct the man, but Gaara spoke instead.

"Yes," he said simply, leading Kina from the room. "She is exceptional."

"Temari-neechan," Kina asked, turning slightly to face the older girl. She didn't understand why Temari refused to meet her eyes. "Could you show Jiraiya-sama and Naruto-san to Gaara-kun's office once they've cleaned themselves up?"

"Of course, Kina-chan," Temari replied. "Where will their rooms be?"

Gaara looked at Kina and nodded again. She turned to the two Konoha shinobi and smiled. "They will be in the Guest Suite across from the Kazekage's rooms," she answered. "Jiraiya-sama, Naruto-san, if you would follow us, we will show you to your rooms."

Jiraiya and Naruto gathered their belongings and followed the pair upstairs to a suite of rooms. As they were climbing the stairs, Jiraiya turned to Naruto and—in true Ero-sennin mode—whispered to Naruto, "Now that is a perfect example of soon to be ripened fruit."

Thankfully, Kina didn't hear the remark. Otherwise, the hermit would have found himself with a black eye—legendary Sannin or no.

Unfortunately, Gaara did hear the old man.

Kina was busy wondering what could bring the two shinobi to Suna when a yelp and a loud 'boom' sounded behind her. She tried to turn around and help, but Gaara tightened his grip on her waist and urged her to their suite.

"It's nothing, Kinabuhi," he calmly stated. "He must've tripped on the stairs."

Kina knew better than to believe Gaara's lame excuse, but let it go. After all, he never used her full name unless he was either serious or angry.

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It was a very different Jiraiya that entered Gaara's office an hour later. Gone was the joking ero-sennin and in his place was a very serious Sannin. Naruto looked serious as well. Not the "I'm serious…seriously not understanding what's going on" act Naruto was known for, but the quieter, sadder demeanor that too often graced his features ever since Sasuke's betrayal.

Kina was shocked and saddened by the change in Naruto. She couldn't bear to have the normally energetic boy look so down. She offered the two tea, but they declined. She returned to her seat to the left of Gaara's chair. Temari sat on his right, while Kankuro stood by the door. Kina knew that two of Suna's ANBU stood guard outside and that the office had been sound-proofed and protected by a perimeter jutsu.

"Perhaps, you should ask your Lady to retire herself," Jiraiya suggested, a frown on his face. "The news I have is not for ears such as hers."

"You have information concerning Akatsuki, don't you?" Gaara asked. Kina stiffened at the name. Last month, Gaara had finally managed to get her to tell him what she remembered from the time before he saved her. The boy's eyes had hardened when she mentioned Itachi's name and his sand had reacted rather violently.

"Yes," Jiraiya answered.

Gaara took Kina's hand and gently pushed the sleeve of her kimono off her right shoulder, revealing the alibata characters on it. The yawa tattoo was a vivid red against her tanned skin. (1) "Itachi is the one responsible for this," Gaara growled softly. He gently raised Kina's sleeve to cover her shoulder once more. "He also performed some sort of justu that prevents Kinabuhi from molding her chakra correctly. If it is for the reason I believe it is, then Kinabuhi has more right to hear your news than any one of us. With the exception of myself and Naruto, of course."

Temari, and Kankuro were confused, but Gaara, Jiraiya, and Naruto were even more serious—if that was possible.

The frog hermit folded his arms over his chest and frowned once more. "Your fears are well founded, Kazekage-sama," he said. "But I would rather share this information with as few people as necessary."

The Kazekage nodded and turned to his sister. "Temari, Kankuro, please excuse us." Temari looked at her brother and nodded. She followed Kankuro out of the office and closed the door behind them.

"Now what is Akatsuki planning?" Gaara demanded.

"We're not sure," Jiraiya admitted. "But it requires them to collect as many demon vessels as possible."

Kina wasn't surprised to hear this. After all, that's what they were after in the anime as well. Too bad I was transported here before I knew why they need us. It had taken her two hours after she first woke up in Itachi's tent to figure out that—in this reality—she was a demon, or at least was a vessel for one. The tattoo on her shoulder only reinforced her suspicion. (2)

Now Gaara's comments and Jiraiya's news confirmed them.

"So Kinabuhi-sama is a demon vessel, too?" Naruto asked, catching onto the others train of thought faster than people would expect out of the former drop out.

"Yes," Kina answered for Gaara, surprising him. "Although, my demon hasn't spoken to me since Itachi bound her."

How does she know about her demon? Gaara asked Shukaku. She always seems confused whenever you talk to her.

It's probably because I can talk to her that she suspected, the raccoon-dog demon answered.

Gaara knew that this was most likely the case. Kina was smart and would have known that Shukaku wouldn't speak to just any person's mind. If he could, half of the household would have been insane by now.

"So you can't mold chakra at all?" Jiraiya asked.

Kina looked over at Gaara and he gestured with his hand for her to speak. As of this moment, it was her meeting—they were just using his office.

"I can use only a little bit," she admitted. "And it goes straight for my eyes if I don't concentrate correctly."

"Your eyes?"

"Yes," Gaara answered. "At first we thought that she had a bloodline limit."

"I can see through genjutsu almost immediately," she added.

"And she can perform complicated taijutsu maneuvers at an almost blinding speed without using any chakra except for her eyes," Gaara said. "That's when we knew she was a freak."

Jiraiya and Naruto looked on as Kina laughed and hit Gaara's shoulder. "Better a freak than a bloodthirsty killer," she said.

Instead of glowering and retreating back into himself as Naruto expected, Gaara laughed back and rubbed his shoulder. "But that's what makes us the perfect couple," he joked and tugged on the long braid that circled her head like a crown.

Naruto couldn't help it anymore. First this morning in the dojo, Gaara was laughing. Then in the drawing room, Gaara had put his arm around the girl and smiled. Now, the guy that had almost killed him was joking about being a killer!

"Nani?" he screamed, pointing at the teenagers. "Almost two years ago you were out to kill me and now you have a girlfriend and you're joking and laughing and…I get it! You're a henge! You're not Gaara! Where is he?"

Kina was shocked when Naruto threw a volley of shuriken at them. Gaara's sand immediately flew up to protect them, but Naruto was too pumped up to see this and lunged to the side, kunai drawn.

She pulled out her favorite silver and black fan and released the blades from the fan. She stepped up to the leaf ninja and quickly disarmed him. Kina grabbed his outstretched arm and twisted it behind his back. She pressed the blade against his throat and growled at the blonde boy.

"We just finished telling you that I can see through genjutsus," she snarled. "What makes you think that I would allow someone to mimic Gaara with something as pitiful as henge no jutsu?"

"You're this guy's girlfriend; of course you'd go with whatever he says!" Naruto stupidly complained.

"I am not some fawning, clingy female, baka!" she muttered and pressed the blade closer to his throat. Kina felt blood on her fingers and realized that it was Naruto's. Her unusual purple eyes started to glow and brighten while her eyes became more tilted as she sniffed at the blood. Something about Naruto angered something in herself. She didn't notice it until the fox boy got close to her.

Gaara and Jiraiya watched with interest. Chakra was pouring off of Kina in waves now. Instead of the normal blue chakra, her chakra was a light purple. What is it with demon vessels and strange colored chakra? Jiraiya asked himself.

Gaara was ready to tear the two apart at the slightest threat to Kina.

"I can't believe that you of all people can't believe that people can change and find goodness within themselves!" She felt her back start to itch and let go of him. She dropped her fan and looked at Gaara in confusion. "Gaara-kun? I feel funny…"

Gaara and Jiraiya had only a second to prepare before purple chakra burst from Kina's body. Naruto wasn't so lucky. The chakra blast caused him to fly into the wall. Temari and Kankuro opened the door only to have Gaara shout at them.

"Close that door!" he yelled. "Reinforce the perimeter jutsu and don't allow any chakra to leak from this room!" The siblings stared at their brother for a second then nodded and shut the door. Jiraiya could hear Kankuro yelling at the ANBU team through the wood.

They looked to where Kina stood and gaped at the changes in her appearance. Her kimono had slipped off of her shoulders and her hair had unbound itself. The long coils of hair pooled over her shoulders and onto the floor. Gaara couldn't be certain, but it looked like it had actually grown longer.

Kina stared at Gaara and wickedly smiled at him. She let the kimono slip off of her body completely and stood in her black undershorts, a mesh tank top, and black chest bindings. Her hair covered her like some sort of strange cloak and she laughed at the stunned looks on the males' faces. She stared at them with slanted eyes and lifted her hand to her mouth. The Sand nin felt his heart lurch as she slowly licked Naruto's blood off of her fingertips.

Mine! Shukaku roared inside Gaara's mind. Gaara was about to grab her when Jiraiya's arm across his chest stopped him.

"I know what you're thinking, boy," the white haired Sannin said. "But there's no way I can handle all three of you losing control."

Three? Gaara looked over at Naruto and noticed that his eyes had gone red and that red chakra started to surround him.

"I can handle Kinabuhi-sama," Jiraiya ordered. "You take care of Naruto." Before Gaara could object, the older man jumped in front of Kina and grabbed her shoulders. He was a bit too late however, because three kunai were headed for the kyuubi vessel. Gaara reacted without thinking. Forgetting about his sand shield, he stepped in front of Naruto and took the kunai meant for him.

Everyone in the room froze.

Kina woke from the trance she was in and blinked.

"Gaara-kun!" Kina finally broke the spell and ran to the fallen boy. Her eyes returned to their normal color and she reigned in her chakra. "Gaara-kun, why?" she cried. She couldn't believe that he stepped in front of Naruto. She couldn't even remember why she was mad at the blonde.

Gaara gasped as she pulled the kunai from his body. "Don't worry," he said. "For a taijutsu teacher, you have terrible aim."

"I must be having an off day." Kina laughed weakly. Gaara was right…the kunai had only hit his shoulder, left arm, and leg. "I'm so sorry," she said, lying next to the redhead. "I don't know what happened."

"I have an idea," Jiraiya said. He stood over the couple, Naruto beside him, and shook his head. "But it can wait a few hours. You all need to calm down. Naruto," the boy turned toward his sensei and raised his eyebrows. "I hope you can see now that Gaara is Gaara and not a henge. Gaara-sama, Kinabuhi-sama, please, just rest. I will talk to you later. C'mon Naruto, we need to work out your punishment for attacking the Kazekage."

"What?"

The older man took the blonde by the ear and pulled him out of the room. Once outside, he addressed both the Suna ANBU and Gaara's siblings.

"The Kazekage and his Lady are fine. But they need rest. I suggest that they be taken to their rooms and not disturbed for any reason. They will know when they can be around people again."

Temari bowed to the Sannin while Kankuro rushed into the room. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama," she said. "How long will you be staying with us?"

Jiraiya looked behind Temari and saw Kankuro and a now dressed Kina help Gaara to his rooms. "Until they call for us," he answered.

The Sand kunoichi nodded and entered Gaara's office. Oh my God, she thought. It looks like a sandstorm came through here!

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Kina and Gaara were lying in Gaara's bed. Kina wore only her undershorts and the mesh top while Gaara wore only his pants. She remained silent as Gaara told her what happened in his office with short, gruff sentences.

"So my demon manifested itself," she murmured.

Gaara ran his hand down her hair and nodded. "She gave you some of her chakra, Kina-chan. Can't you feel it?"

She laid her head on his chest and sighed. "I feel a little stronger and my eyesight is suddenly clearer, but that's it. I don't feel any different. But…"

"But what, Kina-chan?"

"There was a moment when I could hear Shukaku," she admitted. Kina sat up and felt Gaara's hand trail down her back. "He screamed out 'Mine!' The only times I can hear Shukaku is when we're like this—together. But he talked to me when I was across the room." She turned to her friend. "What's going on?"

Gaara sat up and pushed her hair off of her shoulder. He traced the tattoo on her shoulder and shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "But it's not something we're going to figure out right away."

He summoned his sand to retrieve the hairbrush from Kina's dresser and showed it to the girl. "Your hair's a mess," he stated. "And it's longer than it was this morning. Let me brush it."

He moved so that he could sit against the headboard and waited until Kina sat in front of him, in between his spread legs. Kina knew that, besides sleeping next to him, brushing her hair calmed Gaara down the most. She didn't understand why her hair was so long. Before she woke up in this world, her hair barely reached her shoulders. Now she was stuck with locks that reached her ankles.

Well now they probably can drag on the floor, she thought.

Gaara brushed her hair for the next 45 minutes in complete silence. Kina couldn't take it anymore and said, "This is too much of a hassle. I should just cut it."

"Cut it and you will be punished," was Gaara's response.

"But it's getting to be too unmanageable!" Kina complained. "That braid is getting too damn heavy sitting on my head all day long. It takes too long to wash and way too long to brush. You're the only one I know who can stand to do either one…and it's my hair!"

"Again, I say: cut it and you will be punished," Gaara calmly said, completing another brushstroke. "I love your hair. The way it smells, the way it feels," Gaara—in an extremely un-Gaara like move—suddenly buried his face in the black strands and sniffed. "It brings me peace."

"Can't I cut it a little bit, Gaara-kun?" she pleaded. "A foot at least, I don't want to drag it around on the floor when I walk. I can braid what I cut and you can carry it with you if you like my hair so much."

Gaara considered this for a moment and nodded. "Alright," he agreed. "Tomorrow you can cut your hair. But I want that braid, Kinabuhi."

She nodded and again they fell into a comfortable silence. Gaara continued to brush her hair, even when all of the tangles were taken care of.

"Gaara-kun?"

"Hn."

"Why didn't you correct Jiraiya-sama when he called me your Lady?"

The brush in Gaara's hand stilled for a moment, but he didn't say anything.

"Gaara-kun?"

"Why didn't you?" Gaara whispered. "Correct the old man, I mean."

Kina blushed and looked at her hands. "I don't know…maybe because I wanted it to be the truth," she whispered the last part. If she expected an answer, it never came. Instead, Gaara patted her head once and gently pushed her away from him.

"I'm healed and Jiraiya will be waiting," he said. "Put on your chuunin clothes and let's go."

Kina rushed to do as he asked and wondered all the while.

Did he even hear what I said?

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They were all back in Gaara's office. This time, Temari and Kankuro refused to leave and there was an additional ANBU team in the hallway. Kina felt somewhat ashamed at the necessity of it all. If her demon hadn't manifested itself, then the meeting would have been over hours ago, instead of having to restart all over again.

"Since we've found out what Akatsuki wants and after today's events," Jiraiya said. "It would be best if you came to Konoha to talk to Tsunade, Kazekage-sama."

"I don't think that is absolutely necessary," Gaara answered. "I am perfectly capable of taking care of those bastards without losing control. Any and all planning that must be done can be completed through messengers such as yourselves."

Naruto frowned at being demoted to a mere "messenger" and immediately wished he hadn't. Ero-sennin's punishment for attacking Gaara had been to visit the Academy training grounds and provide a demonstration for the few kids and Sand shinobi practicing there. Only Jiraiya's definition of "demonstration" meant showing the kids exactly where and how hard to hit an opponent to stun him without knocking him unconscious.

It didn't take a genius to figure out who Jiraiya's "opponent" would be.

"And what of your Lady, Kazekage-sama?" Jiraiya asked. "Is she capable of fighting Akatsuki without losing her control?"

Gaara's hand tightened on his armrest. He badly wanted to take Kina's hand as she stood next to him, but refused to do so. "First of all," he started. "Kinabuhi will never be in a situation where she would have to fight Akatsuki members without me being there with her. Second, she is not my Lady."

Jiraiya, Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro gaped at the Kazekage. Kina just clenched her fists and stared straight ahead.

Guess that answers that question, she thought.

"You should all be ashamed of yourselves," he continued. "Listening to servants' jealous gossip should be above shinobis of your talents and rank. Kinabuhi and I were simply acting up to what you all thought."

Kina clenched her fists again and felt her nails dig crescent moons onto the palms of her hands. Gaara being friendly was all an act? I sure as hell wasn't acting

"But this morning, you two were laughing together in the—" Naruto was cut off by the look in Gaara's eyes and Jiraiya's hand over his mouth.

"Nevertheless," Jiraiya interrupted his student. "Tsunade must examine Kinabuhi-san to prevent any other outbursts."

Gaara knew that what the frog hermit said was true. If Kina's demon was able to manifest itself with Naruto's blood as the catalyst, then the great healer needed to see the girl. "We will leave for Konoha tonight," Gaara decided. "Temari, Kankuro, you will accompany us."

"Wait up, Gaara," Naruto said, holding up his hand. "You can't just show up at Konoha. You barely come to visit! If you all come all of a sudden, it will be suspicious!"

"The baka is right," Kankuro said, looking at his brother and then Kina. She hadn't said a word since entering the office and he had seen the hurt in her eyes when Gaara announced that she wasn't his Lady.

"Kinabuhi-san would also be required to stay by your side at all times," Jiraiay smirked. He too had seen the pain in Kina's eyes at Gaara's declaration. Stubborn bastard, he thought. Can't he see how good the girl is for him? "You can excuse Temari and Kankuro becaue they are your siblings. But an unknown girl like Kinabuhi-san will immediately be noticed. Especially considering her features and obvious beauty."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Gaara snarled, ignoring the old man's comment for now. "I will not allow Kina-chan to lose control like she did today! She could have hurt someone! She could have hurt herself!"

"Eh, eh, ero-sennin, isn't the Summer Festival coming up?" Naruto asked his sensei.

"You're right," he answered.

"What's the Summer Festival?" Temari asked.

"It's the festival we have at the end of every summer," Naruto explained. "It's a huge deal. I haven't gone for a while because I've had missions the past few years during it. But every one dresses up and parties for almost a week straight!"

"Many of the feudal lords attend," Jiraiya added. "What could be more natural than a visit by our ally: the Kazekage?"

"This also lets you bring an entourage," Temari said. "No official visit is complete without an entourage."

Gaara looked from one to another. He hated festivals, but knew the value of secrecy as well. If anyone found out that not one, but two demon vessels lived in Suna, the villagers would demand that they both be killed—Kazekage be damned.

"When is your festival?" he asked.

"It starts next week and lasts until the first of September," Naruto said.

"If we leave late tonight, then we'll be in Konoha in two days," Kankuro informed.

"It will take three," Gaara corrected. "Kinabuhi can't travel as fast as we can. We'll have to take the horses. Kankuro?"

The puppet master nodded and strode out the door. "Right away, Kazekage-sama."

"Temari, go home and pack whatever is necessary for you and Kankuro to make a 'formal' appearance at Konoha. Kina-chan, do the same for us. Even though you're not my Lady in truth, that is what you will pretend to be. Pack as many of your kimonos as possible. I want you to dress for riding, but remember to look feminine as well."

Kina nodded and turned to leave. Like she was going to dress like a girly girl when she had to ride a horse! He probably expected her to ride sidesaddle, too! She fully intended to ignore what Gaara said until he added:

"This is an A-class mission, Kinabuhi. Don't even think of disobeying me on this."

He watched as the girl's back stiffened and inwardly smiled. Since he gave her the rank of chuunin, she had only gone on a few C-class missions. And even then, Temari or Kankuro were always with her. From what Tsunade had mentioned to him in her letters, Kina was probably as bad as Naruto when it came to demanding "quality" missions.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama," she ground through her teeth and stormed out of the room.

Naruto whistled and looked at Gaara with respect in his eyes. "That is one pissed off looking female, Gaara. You sure you know what you're doing?"

Gaara nodded as he looked at the blonde ninja. "Kinabuhi needs to realize how serious this is," he told them. "If someone finds out why Tsunade needs to see her, the only political protection I can give her is if everyone thinks she's the Kazekage's Lady."

"So claiming Kinabuhi-san as yours is purely a political maneuver," Jiraiya concluded. "Nothing but an illusion to fool the others?"

"Yes," Gaara answered before he stood up and left.

Jiraiya smirked and leaned against the wall. Hmm…he thought. He actually sounds like he believes it.

"C'mon, boy, we have bags to pack and horses to check."

"Ano…" Naruto said nervously. "I don't know how to ride a horse."

Jiraiya's smirk widened into a grin and he laughed. "You'll learn soon enough."

A/N:

Sorry, I lied. They aren't going to go to Konoha yet…there are still a few things that have to happen before they get there. Be ready for some more seriousness, but don't worry! The funny will be back soon:)

Thanks to those of you that reviewed! I'll try not to let you guys down.

(1) Alibata is the phonetic alphabet of the Philippines. Yawa means 'demon' in Cebuano.

(2) Remember that Kina is really from our time and was transported into the "Naruto" world.