Chapter 5: Breakfast…with him!

The peaceful sleep of the red haired kunoichi was disturbed by her bed shaking.

"Wha…?" Myaaki grumbled, still quite asleep.

"Wake up, sleepy!" said a female voice loudly.

"Who…Temari?" the girl mumbled, attempting to open her gummed eyes.

"Well, ya! Besides you, what other girl is in this house?" the voice growing louder. "Get up already!" she encouraged, shaking the bed furiously now.

"OK OK! I'm up! I'm up!" hurriedly, Myaaki flung off the covers, and literally jumping out of bed, glaring at the blonde sand ninja who disturbed her peace.

"Ha ha. Good. It's breakfast time!" Temari said cheerfully, walking out of the room. "Be ready in 5 minutes darlin'." Laughed the young woman, closing the door behind her.

Changing into some light, airy, white clothes, the redhead bounded down one of the many staircases and entered the kitchen.

Around a small square table, sat Kankuro chowing down on some eggs and bacon.Temari was attempting to not burn the bacon while Gaara sat at the far side corner of the table. Bringing bacon to the table, Temari sat down next to Kankuro saying "Dig in!" leaving the only place left for Myaaki was next to Gaara. And the table was very, very small.

"Not like I'm already" mumbled Kankuro with his mouth full of toast.

"You're acting like a two year old!" said Temari scornfully. They argued as Myaaki sat down shyly next to Gaara. Red head next to red head. Taking a break from arguing, Temari saw the two, elbowed Kankuro and whispered "this should be interesting."

The long red haired kunoichi took small bites of her breakfast, her eyes wide, determined not to look at Gaara.

Getting up suddenly, Temari grabbed her plate, exclaiming "I'm done! I gotta go get some groceries. Kankuro, you coming or not?" She glowered at her younger brother.

"Fine." He said, before grabbing one more slice of toast and stumbling out the door behind his sister.

Left alone now, the female ninja shivered. Every so slightly though, but Gaara noticed.

"Why are you shaking?" he asked before he could stop himself.

Myaaki jumped, but with a bold look in her blue eyes, she mumbled "Nothing." And played with her food.

"You're lying." He seethed.

"N-nothings wrong." Insisted Myaaki, continuing not to look at him straight in the face.

"Stop lying." He growled, his words dripping with malice.

'She's scared of me.'Gaara thought. He smirked.

"You afraid?" he said with a deadly quiet air.

Shaking her head vigorously, Myaaki squirmed in her seat.

"Don't lie to me!" he roared, slamming her against the wall with his sand, flying at her in tendrils. His face was contorted with rage.

"AAHHH!" screamed the girl in surprise and pain. "Let…go!...please!" she mewed.

"Tell me you're afraid!" he yelled, his sand gripping tighter.

"Gaara! Stop! It hurts!" but the sand rotated around her, the grains of sand rubbing against her skin, wearing it raw.

"STOP!" she cried out in pain.

"This is becoming a nasty habit of yours, isn't it?" he asked dangerously, his eyes glaring at the girl he held up.

"Weakling." He said quietly, approaching her with slow, tentative steps.

Her face getting wet with tears, Myaaki shut her eyes, looking away.

"Stubborn little girl!" Gaara shouted, ending three inched away from her. "Look at me!" He roared furiously, annoyed greatly that she was ignoring him, or at least trying to. Taking his strong hand, he grabbed her chin, pulling it towards his face roughly.

Her eyes, glistening brightly, were just like when he captured her in Konoha.

His hand dropped abruptly, and the sand lessened, but was still holding her up to the wall.

"I-I-…" Myaaki fell silent.

"SPIT IT OUT!" he yelled.

"I-am scared…" she whispered, looking at her feet, sand encircling them.

"Of what!" he spat, getting impatient. "Look at me when you're speaking, girl!" he ordered again, taking almost her whole face and thrusting it around to look at his enraged features.

"What are you scared of?" he snapped.

"Trusting you." She said in a quiet voice, looking at him through teary eyes, her long red hair falling into her face, almost angelically.

Gaara's muscles tensed.

"W-what?" he couldn't believe her answer.

"I-I- don't repeat myself." She smiled boldly.

But Gaara didn't get angry or mad. He just stared at this creature. She wasn't afraid of him like many others do. Only afraid of…trusting him? He stepped back a couple paces and released the girl of her sandy bonds.

Slowly, ever so slowly, she stood up, leaning against the wall for support. Her legs were scraped up very badly.

Myaaki sank to the grounds, holding up her knees to her chest, whimpering slightly whenever she touched her cuts.

Gaara stood above her, still looking at the place where she had been held by his sand. The red head's chest was rising and falling quickly, like he had just run a marathon.

"Gaara?" she touched his feet with her fingers.

His whole body jolted at the touch. He just stared at her. The sand nin's head started shaking back and forth slowly, sand gathering at his feet. He was gone in a whirl of sand.

The door burst open, Temari and Kankuro running nearly into the fridge, looking around frantically and finding Myaaki on the floor, cuddling up to the wall.

"What, what happened?" asked Temari quietly.

"Gaara." Was all she could say before bursting into tears.

Temari kneeled down beside the frightened girl and hugged her, whispering words of comfort, while looking at her brother, Kankuro, worried.

"Mmhhup" mumbled Myaaki into Tamari's clothes

"What?"

"Why does he do this to me?" the tears finally stopped, "He gets so angry that I'm almost certain he's gonna kill me, then he freezes and just looks at me. Then disappears."

"H-how does he look at you?" Kankuro asked.

"I-can't-quite explain, "Said Myaaki slowly, "It's almost as if he can't believe what I had just said. Like I'm something completely new and unreal to him. But in a good way, I think."

Temari hugged the girl again. Her eyes gazed at Kankuro's again knowingly, with a ghost of a smile tracing her lips.

"I think I know." she mouthed at her brother.