This is the third chapter. I'm glad that you guys like the story so far. The title to this chapter isn't entirely accurate since there are two touches. But "A Single Touch" sounds better than "Two touches". At least I thought so.
I've finished ch. 4 but I won't put it up until tomorrow. I need to work on ch. 5 too. The beginning of ch 5 will be a short version of the chunin exams. No Aya will not travel to Konoha with Gaara (at least I don't plan on her doing so right now). Most of the chapter will take place right after the prelim battles and the fight with Naruto. Maybe I should have Aya go with them but I can't come up with a good reason for that to happen so it probably won't. Oh well, I'll let you read this chapter and worry about chapters 4 & 5 when I post them.
Disclaimer: insert standard disclaimer here because I just don't feel like doing it.
Ch. 3: A Single Touch
Aya was wondering about the marketplace. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, but she believed she'd know it if she saw it. Aya really wanted to find something nice for Gaara to thank him for saving her life that day on the cliff. What did one get a guy one barely knew as a thank you for saving one's life? She had no idea. Aya finally gave up and went for a walk. What to do? What to do? She didn't think he was the stuffed animal type of person. Aya couldn't see him decorating his room with anything like cute figurines or posters. Gaara also wasn't the type to appreciate gift baskets or anything like that. What do you get for someone like Gaara?
She paused when she heard someone shouting. Aya turned to see two people sparing. One was a boy wearing black clothes from head to toe. His face had purple stripes painted on it and he fought using a puppet. The other fighter was a girl with blond hair and wore a white dress. She was fighting with a large fan using wind jutsu. A man stood below them watching with a critical eye. He had one eye covered with a white cloth and wore a jonin's uniform. Off to the side stood a bored looking Gaara. She watched the match our of curiosity. It was actually very interesting even if she would never do it. Aya didn't see much point in fighting. It seemed stupid and pointless to her. Thought, she supposed someone had to do it. Otherwise the other nations would take them over.
In what seemed like seconds, the fight was over. The girl used a blast of wind to knock the puppet out of the way and immediately fired a second wind bullet. The next thing Aya knew the boy was flying across the ground. He landed with a loud thud. She tilted her head in consideration as she wondered how he had lost. The two fighters had seemed evenly matched to her. Then it was as if the girl had gained some advantage only a fighter would recognize. Someone like Aya, a civilian, would only see that the girl had won.
The man walked over to the boy and began to tell him something. Aya was too far away to hear. She guessed he was telling the boy what he had done wrong and how to improve. It had just occurred to Aya that this was Gaara's genin team. The man must be Baki, the team's trainer. That would mean that the other two fighters were Gaara's siblings. Aya couldn't remember their names right then. She just remembered that someone had mentioned that Gaara was on the same team as his older brother and sister.
She glanced over to Gaara. He was looking at her. She smiled and waved. When she turned to leave she stopped. Uh-oh. It happened again. She was absolutely lost...again. Aya let out a small resigned sigh. There was just no helping her. She always got lost. Aya scanned the area around her, looking for something she recognized. Nothing. Oh well, that just left plan B. Wonder around until some nice person took pity on her, or she accidently found her way home by herself.
Gaara had noticed her during the sparing match. He had watched her as she examined the match between Temari and Kankuro. Once the fight was over she had looked at him and he was surprised when she acknowledged him. Then she had turned to leave. He was about to dismiss Aya altogether but he noticed her stop. She looked around and didn't move. Gaara sighed. He knew that body language. The foolish girl had gotten lost again. Without really thinking about it, Gaara walked over to her.
"Aya."
She turned and smiled, "Hello, Gaara. How are you?"
Instead of answering her question, he said, "You're lost."
Her smile turned sheepish, "Is it that obvious?"
He merely nodded.
Aya laughed, "I guess I am hopeless."
"Where were you going?"
"I was going to go home, but I think I've changed my mind." She reached into her mailbag and pulled out her sketchpad. "That is...if you don't mind sitting still for a few hours?"
He knew she wanted to finish the sketch of him. Why she wanted to sketch him at all was still a mystery to him but he had nothing to do right now. She wasn't terrible company so he supposed... What was he thinking? Everyone was terrible. There was no such thing as a good person. His eyes narrowed as he considered her for a moment. But what did she gain by talking to him? There was no way this foolish girl was an assassin. So what could she want from him?
"You don't have to. I was just wondering," she told him. Aya wouldn't lie to herself. She was very disappointed that she wouldn't be able to finish the sketch. The suspicious look in his eyes told her that he wasn't about to agree to let her. She smiled, "Just point me in the direction of my clan's compound. I'll get there eventually."
He shook his head, "You'll get lost again." He surprised them both by saying, "I'll take you."
Aya's eyes widened in shock. She hadn't expected that, and by the widening of his eyes, neither did he. She shook her head, "You don't have to do that..."
"What are you doing, Gaara? You know the Kazekage gets upset when you scare the villagers," someone interrupted.
Aya looked to see Baki standing right behind Gaara. The jinchuriki glanced back at Baki with cold eyes. It wasn't until right then that Aya could understand why the villagers were afraid of him. That cold look in his eyes was enough to scare anyone. Now why hadn't she noticed that before? When he turned back her, she saw it. The look changed. He was still distant and cold but something was missing. It was the hatred. Gaara didn't like her but he didn't hate her either. Somehow that made her feel very happy.
"You go home," Baki ordered her. "Gaara won't hurt you."
She smiled, "I know. Gaara doesn't scare me, sir." Aya looked at Gaara. She saw the anger burning in his eyes. He didn't like that Baki was treating him like he would harm anyone without reason. In an attempt to soothe his temper she said, "I really would like to finish the sketch if you'll let me."
Gaara had the pleasure of seeing Baki look shocked. Aya had just effectively shown him that the monster of Suna didn't bother her in the least. Gaara smirked and walked towards the cliffs. Aya followed hoping that meant he was going to let her finish the sketch. Baki watched them leave. He couldn't think of...well...anything. Did the girl have no sense of self-preservation. She had just walked away with a known killer. She had even volunteered to go with him.
Aya looked up at Gaara, "Do people always act like you're going to just go on a killing spree at any moment?"
He nodded.
"That's not nice," she commented absently.
"The world's not nice. It's a terrible, cold, and cruel place."
"No it's not. It's beautiful and full of life."
He gave her a look that said he didn't agree. She just smiled at him. The two walked in silence as they made their way up to the top of the cliffs. Aya immediately sat at the edge and pulled out her sketch pad. Gaara sat and looked out at Suna. He liked to come here to think and be alone. It was weird to find himself sharing his spot with anyone. At the same time Aya's presence didn't bother him at all. It was almost as if he trusted her. That was impossible. He didn't even trust himself, let alone a strange girl he had only met eight days ago. He looked over at her and saw that she was totally absorbed in what she was doing. It was hard to find anything threatening about her, especially since she looked so fragile. Gaara was willing to bet that there was a hint of steel in her though. Just enough that she wouldn't bend for anyone. Hadn't he seen it after all? She had stood up to Baki. Granted it wasn't a fight or an argument, but she had basically told the jonin that he was wrong. Yes, there was steel in her. She just hid it very well.
Aya worked in silence as she tried to finish the sketch before sunset. Gaara probably wouldn't sit with her like this a third time. Then again, she hadn't expected him to do it twice. Aya wondered if he had expected it. She had seen him surprised by his own actions several times during the short period she had known him. As she thought about the boy across from her time passed. Finally, her pencil finished the last line of the sketch. Aya sat back and smiled.
"Finished."
He tilted his head.
She shook hers, reading the question in his eyes. "Can't look yet. I've finished the sketch but that's just step one. I have to put it on canvas and paint it. Normally, I would have put it straight onto the canvas but I didn't think you would like that since it would require going into my clan's compound."
Gaara shrugged. It was done for him anyway. Now the girl could walk out of his life without looking back. Why did that bother him? It wasn't as if he liked her or anything. He didn't. Sabaku no Gaara hated everyone, including odd artists.
Aya stood and turned towards the path leading down the cliffs. "I better get going. The sun will set soon. Maybe I'll actually make it home before dark."
He remembered her tendency of getting lost. Gaara wondered if the girl got lost in her own compound. She started to leave but felt something stop her. When she glanced down, she saw that some sand had risen and wrapped around her wrist. She looked back to see Gaara watching her.
She tilted her head, "What?"
He made a motion with his hand and she saw sand come out of the gourd on his back. A few gestures had it forming a cloud of sand at the edge of the cliff. Gaara stepped onto it and waited. Aya understood and walked over. She glanced down a the sand then back at Gaara. The look in her eyes said it all.
"It's safe," he informed her.
She looked back at the shifting cloud of sand. With a deep breath, she stepped onto it. Aya immediately closed her eyes and waited to fall. She didn't. After a few seconds she risked opening one eye. Then both of them snapped open as the cloud began to move down slowly. Aya grabbed hold of the only stable thing near by...Gaara. When he felt something touch him, Gaara nearly jumped from the surprise. He looked down to see that Aya had grabbed hold of his arm and was as close to him as she could get. Gaara stared at her. No one had ever willingly touched him except Yashamaru. She was not only touching him. She was trusting him to keep her from falling.
They reached the bottom. Gaara's sand slid back into the gourd on his back at waited for Aya to calm down. When she did, Aya looked up at him then at his arm. She jumped back while apologizing. His eyes narrowed, but he didn't see fear in her eyes. Aya wasn't apologizing because she was afraid he'd hurt her. She was apologizing because she believed he didn't like to be touched. She might be right, but how would he know if he liked to be touched or not. No one had touched him in years. They were too afraid to...except her. Gaara thought about it for a moment and decided he didn't care. The touch hadn't hadn't been terrible, just surprising. He sighed. His life had been full of surprises since meeting Ayame Hayashi.
"Don't apologize," he told her.
Aya looked surprised but smiled, "Okay."
"Come on."
"Okay." She followed him as he led her home.
The two walked up to the compound just as he father was returning home. Kaito glanced over when he heard his daughter call him. The smile on his face faded when he saw who was walking next to his little girl. Sabaku no Gaara was watching Aya with what looked like confusion. Kaito could almost swear that the boy had no idea what to make of the bouncy girl next to him. Fear overrode everything else though. He didn't care that Gaara was confused or that there wasn't any fear in Aya. All that mattered was that his little girl was walking next to the monster of Suna.
"Ayame Hayashi," he snapped.
She stopped in front of him and tilted her head. There was fear and anger in her fathers eye but she couldn't figure out why. "What is it?"
"What are you doing?" he demanded.
She frowned in confusion, "Walking home?"
"With Gaara?!"
"Yes. He kept me from getting lost."
Kaito felt irritation war with relief. She wasn't hurt or scared. At the same time, she had been walking with the monster of Suna. Did she not think before she acted? What if Gaara had one of his insane moments? She would have been his target. He could have killed her. Kaito looked at Gaara. The boy was watching him with cold, hate filled eyes. The jonin winced and looked back at his daughter.
"Go inside, Ayame," he ordered her. Kaito did not want to finish this discussion in front of Gaara.
Aya's eyes narrowed, "Yes, Father."
He winced. She only called him Father when she wasn't happy with him. If she had her way, he would be the one getting the lecture when they got inside. Most people assumed that Aya was never got angry but they were wrong. She was angry just as frequently as she was happy. The difference was she would get her way passively. Most people didn't even realize they had lost an argument with her simply because Aya would win with a smile and sweet words. That wasn't always the case though. Aya was perfectly capable of tearing strips off of others with a sharp tongue. The look in her eyes now, told Kaito that she would be anything but passive towards him when they were inside.
She turned to Gaara, "I need to go. Are you going to want to see the painting when I'm finished with it?"
Gaara shook his head. Why bother? He saw the same face in the mirror. Besides, her father probably wouldn't let her come near him ever again. Aya watched him glance at her father and moved between the two. She reached out a hand until she felt Gaara's skin beneath her fingers. His eyes jerked to her face and widened in shock. She couldn't help the amused smile. One would almost think he wasn't use to being touched. She let her hand drop and waved good bye as she walked into the compound.
Kaito stood there looking at Gaara as the boy watched Aya walk up to the gates. Then Gaara looked back at him. The cold, hate filled look was back. Kaito had noticed that when the boy looked at Aya the hate wasn't there. The older shinobi considered this and wondered if maybe Aya was right. Maybe the boy just needed to be accepted. He looked back at his daughter who was waiting for him. Why not? The boy hadn't done any harm yet. If a twelve year old girl was willing to risk giving Gaara a chance, why couldn't he, a fully grown shinobi?
Kaito turned back to Gaara, "Have you eaten yet?"
Gaara's eyes narrowed in suspicion but he shook his head.
"Why don't you join us then? It should be ready by now."
He watched the boy's eyes widen in surprise then look over to Aya. The girl was smiling. When Gaara looked back at Kaito, some of the hate had left those sea foam eyes. The monster of Suna nodded and the three of them walked into the Hayashi compound. Gaara's presence made the rest of the clan nervous at first but they slowly began to relax a little. The clan's fear of Gaara didn't completely vanish, but something had changed. They weren't the only ones. Something had changed in Gaara too. He felt...he didn't know what he felt. It wasn't anger or hatred. Those emotions he was very familiar with. Besides the feeling wasn't unpleasant. It was...warm. He'd never felt anything like it before. What could it be? He wondered if he would ever know. Not that it mattered. The feeling would be gone when he left and he would probably never feel it again. It would be for the best. He was getting too use to the foolish girl that wasn't afraid of him. He was a monster and monsters weren't allowed to get attached to others...even if they were foolish girls that made the monster feel odd.
Don't forget to review
(and yes i know Gaara is ooc. That's intentional because if I didn't make him ooc there wouldn't be much of a story. This would be the story if he wasn't.....
"Hi, Gaara," Aya greets.
Gaara glares and walks away or Gaara glares and then kills her.
.....see isn't that boring. Now my ooc gaara suddenly doesn't seem so bad, does it? Again if it made you feel better he was annoyed by his oocness.)
