Here's the update for this story ya'll. I hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: i no own naruto and no matter how many times i wish on that damn star i'll never own naruto

Ch. 6: A New Start

Team Baki all stood in the council's room. The council men were extremely surprised by the request Gaara made. All of them looked from Temari to Kankuro to Kaoru and finally to Gaara. Temari wore her usual white mid thigh dress with her fan strapped to her back using the red sash around her waist. She had her usual hair style and her headband around her neck. Kankuro also wore his usual clothes and face paint but instead of a fan, crow was strapped to his back. Kaoru wore a dress the same style as Temari's except it was blue with a white sash around her waist and she didn't have anything strapped to her back. Her head band was in her hair and to black locks of hair framed her face (A/N: like Sakura's hair only a blue black color). Gaara wore the same style clothes he always had except they were the same color as Kaoru's eyes. The council focused on him.

"Are you sure about this, Gaara?" one of them asked.

"Yes."

Yuri, who was on the council as chief medical nin, looked at Kaoru, "Does he really know what he's doing?"

Kaoru looked Yuri in the eyes, "Yes, he does."

"You know that the other's won't accept you. They'll either make life miserable for you or be too afraid to ask for anything," one of the other's said to Gaara.

"I know," Gaara responded.

"Even if you're a jonin now you'll have to take it without complaint."

"I know."

They talked amongst themselves for a moment. Gaara had come there to ask to be assigned with different teams. He knew they wouldn't like it but he had to make them get use to him as he was now. That meant being around them. The problem was no one other than his team would be around him voluntarily. So they had to make them put up with him. The best way to do that was to stick him on missions with random teams. Kankuro, Temari, and Kaoru were worried about him doing this but they didn't fight him. They had promised him support and he was right. This was the best way to start.

"Alright, Gaara. We'll start assigning you with other teams provided that you don't kill them just because they are breathing."

Kaoru glared at the councilman that had said that. Gaara, however, showed no reaction other than a nod of his head to show his agreement. They left the meeting room a little while later. Gaara was holding the information for his first mission in his hand. Kaoru looked at him worriedly. He caught her look and raised an eyebrow at her. She sighed, "Gaara-kun, I'm worried. You know the reaction they're going to have. First they'll be afraid but then when they realize you're not going to do anything they'll give you the worst jobs on the missions and you'll have to do it because you're trying to prove that you're not a killing machine. Even the slightest show of temper will put you right back where you started."

"I know."

"You're so articulate. I think that's the third time you've said that in the last hour."

He smirked then sobered, "It's the only way, Kaoru."

"I know I know. It's just that...you're my friend, Gaara-kun. I'll worry." He allowed a quick smile to appear on his face before it vanished. Gaara's personality has had several changes to it but he was still uncomfortable with expressing his emotions. She smiled at him without reservation. Then she gave him a stern look, "I'm going with you to see your team though."

"I know," he responded with a smirk. Kaoru shook her head at her friends rare show of humor with a smile.

They walked into the practice area and there stood the rest of the team. Kaoru knew them all by name. There was Yuki and Daisuke. They were decent as far as guys went and Kaoru had no doubt they would be among of the first to give Gaara a chance. Yuki had shoulder length dark brown hair and chocolate colored eyes. Daisuke was a blonde with calm ice blue eyes.

The last two in the group weren't so great in Kaoru's opinion. Hiroshi and Kaito were twin brothers and both were mean as snakes. They both had short choppy silver hair with narrow golden eyes. Hiroshi noticed them first. He smirked, "Well, hello Kaoru. Finally decided to go out with me."

"Let me think about it...ummm...no," was Kaoru's reply.

"Leave her alone, Hiroshi. You know she's never going out with you," Yuki said in exasperation.

"She will one day."

"When pigs fly," Kaoru snapped. She really hated Hiroshi.

Daisuke looked over Kaoru's shoulder. He was the first to acknowledge Gaara's presence. His tone was calm, "Hello, Sabaku no Gaara. Why are you here?"

Kaoru glanced at Gaara and saw that he wasn't going to answer so she did for him, "He's going on the mission with you guys."

"What?!" four male voices said at once.

"Gaara-kun is going to be on your team," she repeated.

Yuki and Daisuke were the first to get over their shock. They exchanged glances then shrugged. There was nothing they could do about it so they decided to make the best of it. Hiroshi and Kaito were not nearly as cooperative. Kaito glared at Gaara, "They want us to go on a mission with that monster. He'll kill us."

Kaoru looked at him coldly, "Gaara-kun is not a monster and if you ever call him that in my hearing range again you'll have worse problems to deal with than him."

Kaito flinched and took a couple of steps back. Kaoru was about to walk forward when a sand barrier was raised in front of her. She glanced over and saw Gaara. He calmly shook his head at her. She narrowed her eyes but stepped back beside him. Gaara looked at the other ninja. His tone was as calm as the rest of him, "I won't kill anyone from our village."

Yuki looked at Kaoru then back at Gaara. When he saw that Kaoru was perfectly calm around the red head he took a tentative step forward. Gaara's see foam eyes focused on him. Yuki looked Gaara in the eye, "I'm not going to trust you yet but I'm willing to give it a shot. This is an A ranked mission so I won't object to having the best on our team and you are definitely the best."

Gaara gave a slight nod of his head to let Yuki know he'd heard him and understood. Kaoru smiled, "When do you guys leave?"

Daisuke looked at her, "Tomorrow morning."

"Alright. I'll be there." Kaoru reached out and grabbed Gaara's hand, "Come one, Gaara-kun. We need to get something for lunch and Temari and Kankuro will want to know who's on your team."

Gaara allowed her to pull him along behind her with an amused look in his sea green eyes though the rest of his expression was blank. The rest of his team watched in amazement. Could that be the same Gaara that everyone had been afraid of just yesterday because he would have murdered them on sight? Here he was allowing the most timid girl in their village to tug him behind her without even a token protest. The other sand nin began to wonder what they were missing. Hiroshi was also wondering what was going on between Kaoru and the monster.

The next morning Kaoru came with Gaara to say good bye. She also gave the team one last health check beens she was there. None of them complained because they didn't want to find out they were sick when it was too late to do anything about it. Kaoru waved to them as they walked away. She turned to go back home and to bed when she saw a pile of sand waving at her. The medic smiled softly. No, Gaara wasn't comfortable with showing his emotions but he found little ways to remind you that he cared.

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After several months people got use to Gaara being placed on their team and they even stopped complaining about it. In fact, Yuki and Daisuke started to request that he be placed on their teams for missions. Gaara was solid back up and he never let his team down. It helped that he didn't complain and they could sleep all night because he couldn't sleep anyways. Most of them still didn't want to accept him but they tolerated him. Kaoru decided that tolerance was an improvement. Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro agreed.

Kaoru was at their house one night when a storm hit. The medical nin got up and looked outside. Sure enough is was solid dark outside. She would be able to see more than a few feet in front of her if that. Gaara noticed her nervousness and got up to see for himself. When he saw the storm and how dark it was he remembered that she had said she was afraid of the dark. Gaara looked over to her and said, "You'll stay here."

She looked at him in confusion for a moment then when she understood she smiled, "Thank you, Gaara-kun."

"Kaoru," Temari started, "Do you realize that you've started adding the -kun to the end of Gaara's name?"

Kaoru blinked in surprise, "Ummm, no. Is that bad?"

Gaara just shook his head. When Kankuro started to comment he gave him a warning look. Kankuro still liked to tease Kaoru mercilessly and Gaara wouldn't let him right now. She was already nervous. No point in letting Kankuro make it worse. The red head stood up and motioned for Kaoru to follow him. When they reached his room he opened the door and walked in. She followed because he hadn't told her where she was going yet. He turned to face her, "You can stay here."

"But Gaara-kun, this is your room."

"I know. I don't use it anyway."

Kaoru gave him a small smile, "Gaara-kun, I won't be able to sleep tonight. It's dark and I'm in a strange place."

Gaara looked at her in consideration then asked, "Would you feel better if I stayed in the room?"

The medical nin looked down and whispered, "Yes."

He reached out and made her look at him, "You don't have to be ashamed."

She smiled at him. What he had experienced gave him an understanding of others that no one else could have. He knew what it was like to be lonely and unloved. Gaara also knew how it felt to need to repent for something so bad no one would talk about it. He had been betrayed by someone he loved and he had killed someone that he loved. The red head would always have a basic understanding of people because he's probably already been there himself. So it didn't surprise Kaoru that he understood her fear. He was after all afraid to sleep at all. Kaoru thought all this as she pulled him towards the bed. She remembered that he had slept just fine when they had been kids. The medic hoped that hadn't changed.

Gaara blinked in surprise. He really wasn't use to people wanted him near them and kept forgetting that Kaoru was different. She always had been. When they were kids she was never afraid or even saw a reason to be. The new girl had walked up to him with a shy smile and asked if he had wanted to play. He remembered being surprised that someone had actually smiled at him. Then later she had been more than willing to let him stay the night at her house. It even became abnormal not to find him at her house sleeping.

Kaoru made him sit on the bed, "If you're not going to sleep at least rest, Gaara-kun. You have to leave on a mission tomorrow and you need your energy."

In response He made himself comfortable but remained sitting. Kaoru smiled in victory and laid down under the covers. She reached out and took his hand in case he thought about getting up. She wasn't a sound sleeper so if he moved she would know and if he tried she would knock him out for his troubles. It didn't take the medical nin long to fall asleep. Gaara was looking at her in slight amazement. He would never understand how she could be so comfortable around him. She knew he had killed mercilessly and without need. She knew what was inside him and yet here she was sleeping next to him. This girl trusted him so much that she relaxed this much around him. Even Temari and Kankuro had never been this trusting of him.

While these thoughts chased around his head he didn't notice that his eyes were getting heavy. He didn't pay any attention to his muscles relaxing one by one. His breathing deepened and he rested his head against the wall behind him. Gaara told himself that he was just resting his eyes as he let them close. For the first time in about seven years Sabaku no Gaara fell into a sound sleep.

Kankuro walked in the next morning and saw Gaara sleeping. He blinked several times, "What the hell? Gaara doesn't sleep."

Kaoru had already been awake walked over and clamped a hand on Kankuro's big mouth, "Which is exactly why I'll beat you if you wake him up now."

Now Kankuro wasn't an idiot contrary to popular belief. He knew that when it came to Gaara Kaoru didn't make empty threats. Anyone that messed with Gaara suffered her wrath. Apperantly waking Gaara up fell under the messing with Gaara category. He nodded to his abnormally violent friend and she back up.

"Sorry. It's just...odd. I've never seen him sleep before."

Kaoru glanced back at Gaara, "I have."

Kankuro looked at her and began to understand. Gaara had disappeared a lot when they were kids and only their uncle Yashamaru could find him. The puppeteer believed he now knew where Gaara use to disappear to. Well, it looked like they found a way to get Gaara to sleep. Too bad it wouldn't work all the time. Kaoru wouldn't always be able to be around to help Gaara sleep. Oh well, at least while he was there Kankuro knew Gaara would get some sleep.

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Kaoru was at the gate doing the last health check up on them. The team consisted of Gaara, Yuki, Hiroshi, Kaito, and a girl named Aimi. Yuki was talking to Gaara about the mission. He was leading the mission but he knew that keeping Gaara informed was a very good idea. Kaoru walked up to the two with a smile. Gaara nodded to her in greeting.

"Kankuro and Temari are over by the gate," she informed him.

Gaara nodded then headed over to them. Kaoru turned her attention to Yuki, "Everyone's good to go."

"That's good. We should be back in a week so don't worry."

"Alright. Umm...Yuki?"

"What is it?"

"Bring Gaara-kun back safely please. Hiroshi doesn't like him so I'm worried."

Yuki's chocolate eyes softened, "Don't worry, Kaoru. I'll make sure Hiroshi doesn't bother Gaara too much."

Kaoru smiled at him then walked over to Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. A few minutes later the team headed out. Yuki walked beside Gaara. The two jonin kept a comfortable silence between them. The team leader was the one to speak first, "You're serious about proving yourself aren't you?"

"Yes."

Yuki glanced at Gaara, "Well, just so you know, you've got my support."

Gaara looked over at Yuki in surprise. Yuki chuckled, "I know Koaru and have since we were six years old. She's a really good judge in character and she likes you, Gaara. If she's your friend you can't be all bad. Just watch out for Hiroshi. He will hate you simply because Kaoru doesn't."

Gaara raised an eyebrow, "That's not very logical."

"It has noting to do with logic. He's had a thing for her for about a year now. Since shortly before the chunin exams. The problem is she won't give him a time of day. He'll hate you because she gives you more than that."

Gaara looked forward again with a smirk. To be honest he didn't like Hiroshi either. It would have bothered him if Kaoru had. But she didn't like Hiroshi and Gaara knew that the guy would blame him. Oh well, Gaara decided to handle it when it came. Until then he would just do what needed to be done.

That night at camp Hiroshi looked over at Gaara. The guy never slept and would even take guard duty all night because of it. Hiroshi refused. There was no way in hell he would trust the jerk. He did his best to make Gaara as miserable as hell. Hiroshi made Gaara do a lot of the chores and Gaara wouldn't let anyone argue about it. He just did the task and moved on. Kaito helped his brother in making Gaara as miserable as possible. Between the two of them Gaara was kept busy but the red head didn't complain and just did whatever needed to be done. There were a few occasions that Yuki and been afraid that Gaara would snap but the jonin surprised them and reined in his temper.

They had almost completed their mission which was to gather a plant in the territory of the Rain Village. The plant was a cure to a illness going around in Suna and the only way to get it was to send ninjas in to retrieve it. Yuki glanced at Gaara. The man was exhausted. If Yuki hadn't been paying attention he might not have noticed the small signs but he had been so he did. Yuki knelt beside his comrade, "Gaara, maybe you shouldn't take guard duty tonight. You look like shit man."

"Thanks," the single word was dripping in sarcasm.

"No problem," Yuki replied cheerfully. Then he sobered, "Seriously. You need to rest."

"I can't."

"Why the hell not?"

"I can't sleep. I've never been able too."

"You mean you don't sleep at all?"

"No," Gaara replied. He chose not to mention the only exception there was to the rule. He slept just fine when Kaoru was near by but she wasn't here now so that didn't matter.

Yuki sighed, "Alright but I'm not leaving you alone on guard duty."

Gaara just nodded in agreement. Yuki ordered Kaito to stay up with Gaara on guard duty. The minute everyone was asleep Kaito sneered at Gaara, "I'm going to sleep. There's no point in both of us staying up."

Gaara just shrugged. He refused to give Kaito or Hiroshi the satisfaction of hearing him complain. He would take their shit if only to spite them. They thought he wouldn't do it much long but he was determined. Neither of them was worth a fight. A few hours later Gaara stood up. Something wasn't right. He walked over to Yuki and woke him up. The red head opened his mouth to say something when the enemy attacked.

That's it for now. I'll try to update soon. Enjoy