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Chapter 3
She walked back to the Kazekages tower fully refreshed albeit a little hungry. She had been unable to find any stalls or restaurants and so had not eaten. Apart from that she had slept beautifully. The room had been the most luxurious one she had ever slept in. The bed was massive and completely soft. Even the bathtub had been amazing and she had lounged in there for hours after Temari and Kankuro had left. Looking around the town she noticed that it was actually built in a circular pattern. With the Kazekages tower built in the middle and rings of houses built around it. Making a mental note to ask someone about this she made her way down the hallway, nodding to the guards as she passed.
Knocking on the door she entered at a gruff invitation to come inside.
Gaaras POV
He wondered who it could be very few people were even awake at this hour much less harassing him.
"Good morning"
At the sound of a woman's voice his head came up swiftly, his pale green eyes meeting deep green ones.
"Good Morning"
"I'm here for my mission specifications."
"Isn't it a bit early for you?"
"It's never too early to start a job"
"Hmph …" This surely wasn't the girl he remembered. "… You're right. Well this is the time frame I expect you to follow. The first two months I will have you looking through the histories and talents of the Sand shinobi. You will be given almost complete access to medical records and family histories. You will use these to devise specific ways to deal with the medical issues that each family faces. In the third month you will teach basic medical practices to all those interested in becoming medic-nins. During that time you will hand select ten of the most talented ninjas to train for the last three months. Understood?"
"Yes"
"Needless to say because of the sensitivity of the documents you will be handling during the first few months and the fact that they are all a part of my personal archive you will be working in this office. Turn in a list of all the things you require and I will have them provided for you. You will report directly to me but all questions can be directed to either Temari or Kankuro. If you …"
He was interrupted by a large growling noise and the kunoichi in front of him turned the most adorable shade of red that he had ever seen.
"I'm sorry Kazekage. Please continue"
He looked at her with questions in his eyes.
"I could not find any shops or restaurants"
He sighed.
"There is no point in continuing if you are that hungry. We will continue this over a meal."
She looked taken aback and it occurred to him that she might not want to be in close proximity to him.
I can not blame her for not wanting to be around me. After all I did try to kill her once.
"If you would prefer I can ask Temari to take you"
"No. I just would not want to take you away from your work."
"I have not eaten either"
"Oh okay"
He got up from his position and walked out the door with her.
She might as well get used to being close to me. For the next two months I will be overseeing her every move.
Sakura POV
As they walked around she took in her surroundings. She had questions but he seemed like the wrong person to ask. Besides she really didn't feel like talking.
"Right here"
He stopped at what seemed like some ones home except instead of a sofa there were tables and chairs like in a restaurant.
"Old woman"
"Gaara-chan to what do I owe the pleasure of our Kazekage's presence so early in the morning?"
She marveled at the sarcasm in the old woman's voice. Everyone always cowered in fear of the man beside her. What was so different about this one woman?
"I brought a guest"
"I may be old but I am not blind yet. …. Well are you going to introduce her or not?"
"This is Sakura …Sakura this is my grandmother."
She almost had a heart attack.
GRANDMOTHER!
Somehow she had not pictured him with any family. Well any family that was normal that is. But I guess everyone had to have family.
"It's a pleasure to meet you"
"Trust me my dear the pleasure is all mine. My grandson has never brought any one here much less one so pretty."
She blushed, glancing over at the man in question. He was standing in a corner sulking.
This day is just full of surprises.
"Thank you"
"Old woman are you going to feed us or not?"
"Pay no attention to him he just like to pretend to be all surly and quiet he is actually a real softie on the inside"
She tried to hold it in but she was unable to. Especially not after an image of the Kazehage wearing a teddy bear suit floated into her mind. She laughed.
Gaara a softie! I could think of many words for him but softie would definitely not be on the list.
In the corner she heard him growl but that only made the bear picture even funnier. She laughed harder. With lightning speed he was in front of her, shoving her back to the wall.
"Is there something that you think is funny kunoichi?" he snarled at her
He was standing so close to her. His face just kissing distance from her own. She glanced down at his lips, carefully ignoring the hand clasped around her throat. The thought of what it would be like to be kissed by him floated through her mind and she shook her head to clear it.
Gaara's POV.
He was angry. It was unusual for him to get riled up this close to the old woman. But for some reason the thought of the kunoichi who had been so stoic and quiet breaking down to laugh at him angered him to no end. He watched her shake her head in answer to his question and was automatically chilled. There was a look of fear in her eyes, fear and something else. Something he couldn't put his finger on. The fear in her eyes made him realize that his hand was still on her throat. The other thing made him drag his hands to her shoulders where he started massaging in circles. The room narrowed down to the surprise in her eyes, the curve of her lips where the laughter had died so abruptly. He brought up his hand to rub a finger across her bottom lip.A strange sensation rolled through him.
I want to kiss her
He had never felt the pull of a womans body before. The feeling intrigued him.
"Ahem"
The sound of his grandmother clearing her throat brought him back to reality. He released the woman as if she had burned him and turned to walk out.
"We are leaving"
Did I just try to kiss this woman in my grandmother's presence? Maybe Kankuro was right about women having there purpose. Maybe I should explore this.
He walked out of the room without even glancing at either of the women.
AN: I'm bringing in the grandma character I don't know if she really exists or not she is a means to an end in my story.
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