Here's chapter 5. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: just insert a "i don't own anything' phrase here then read the chapter


Ch. 5: Chunin Exams

Aya was wondering around the village with Hana, enjoying the nice sunny day when they heard a commotion at the village gates. They exchanged a look then rushed to see what was going on. It was Team Baki returning from the preliminary matches for the Chunin exams. Aya watched Gaara as he walked through the gates. She hadn't seen or spoken to him since the night she had given him the painting. His team had left for Konoha just a few days after that night. Watching him now she knew something was wrong with him. Aya wasn't sure what it was but he wasn't the same. It was almost as if he was losing control of something inside of himself.

"What's wrong with Gaara, Aya?" Hana asked. "He seems…angrier than normal."

"I don't know. It's probably best not to ask."

"I thought you weren't afraid of him."

"I'm not. That doesn't mean I'm going to be stupid and question him when he's in a bad mood." She grinned, "I don't think he would hurt me physically but that doesn't mean he won't shout or something like that."

"I suppose that makes sense."

Aya glanced back and saw Gaara's eyes on her. She smiled and waved at him. Hana took her arm and dragged her away. Aya let her as the two of them wondered back towards the area their clans' lived in. They took their time since neither of them was in any hurry. Aya waved good bye to her friend and walked the short distance separating their compounds. She wondered about Gaara's anger. She wished she had known what had happened during the time he spent in Konoha. It worried her that he wasn't happy. Not that he was ever happy, she thought ruefully. Gaara was never happy but he hadn't been…whatever he was now. She released a sigh. She spent way too much time worrying about a boy that didn't care about her one way or the other.

She said hello to her clan as she walked in, and went straight to her room. Her room was large. Most of it was covered in canvases and other paint supplies. There were shelves full of books and sketch pads. On her walls hung finished paintings that would probably be given to a friend or a friend of a friend. Her bed was in a corner and was rarely made. In short, Aya's room looked like what it was…the room of a scatter-brained artist.

In the center of the room was an easel with a cover over it. She pulled the cover off to study her latest painting. It wasn't finished yet, but it wouldn't be long now. The brooding eyes were starting to come out now. A few more touches here and there and it would be perfect. She didn't know what she would do with it once it was finished. Perhaps she would keep this one. Aya rarely kept her paintings. If she did that then she wouldn't have room for anything else. Usually she painted at least one painting a week. There had been a few special paintings that she took her time on but they were few and far between. This painting was one of the special ones.

"Aya, it's time for dinner," her mother called.

"Coming, Mom." Aya covered the painting and rushed out of the room.

Meanwhile, Gaara was sitting in his room feeling annoyed. He glanced up at the wall where the painting Aya had given him hung. Some of his nerves calmed a little. He could feel the anger and rage eating at the edges of his mind. Part of him wanted to rush out and prove to himself that he was still alive. Another part wanted to go find something to soothe him. An image of Aya smiling at him appeared in his head. He shook it out. That wouldn't help. He didn't want company. He didn't want anyone. All he wanted was to remember what he was and that he was alive.

During their break from the chunin exames, he met with Sasuke and they had a talk. Just a few days before the start of the finals, a sound nin attacked him so that he could be the one to fight Sasuke Uchiha during the finals. Gaara took care of him with little regret. The problem came when he looked down to see Aya standing there watching him with wide eyes. She had seen him kill the sound nin. Now why in the world did that bother him? Gaara watched her wondering what her reaction would be. She would probably be terrified of him now. Why wouldn't she be? She had just witness him murder a man.

Gaara came down to where she stood and she placed her hands on her hips. Aya looked up at the roof then back to Gaara. There wasn't any fear in her eyes. "Did he suffer?" she demanded.

He shrugged. Gaara had never been the recipient of his sand coffin so he had no idea if they suffered or not.

"I hope so. He deserved it if he was willing to attack you over a fight. Why is fighting this Sasuke Uchiha so important anyway? He's just another shinobi. And you have enough problems to deal with already without that other ninja adding to them. I mean, you have a whole village that hates you. What more of a problem do you need?"

She began to pace and gesture angrily with her hands as continued ranting. Gaara couldn't hear her anymore. He was still trying to get over the fact that she wasn't angry because he had killed someone. She was angry because someone had attacked him. This girl…this foolish girl was someone he would never understand. Aya was the first for a lot of things in his life. She was the first to look at him without fear. She was the first to touch him. The first person to give him a gift of any kind. Now she was the first person to be angry on his behalf.

"…and the nerve of him to come to your own village…"

"Aya," he interrupted.

"…attacking you like that…"

"Aya," he said a little louder.

"…what was he thinking? The jerk…"

Gaara walked over to her. He took her face in his hands and forced her to look at him. Aya stopped ranting as she gazed at him with curiosity. When he was sure he had her full attention, Gaara said, "It's not worth getting upset about."

Her eyes narrowed, "Yes it is. He tried to kill you, Gaara. That upsets me."

"But it doesn't bother you that I killed him?"

She frowned, "Well, yes but that's different. I just don't like death. But you were defending yourself."

"I'm not always defending myself when I kill."

"Gaara, I'm not as naïve as you seem to think. I'm fully aware that you're a shinobi and as such are required to kill."

"So was he."

"That's different. He's not you."

He looked confused, "How does that change anything?"

"It changes everything, Gaara. Things that bother me about other people don't with you. Besides, you wouldn't kill someone without a reason."

An image of the leaf shinobi he had had fought during the elimination rounds of the exams flashed in his mind. "I wouldn't be so quick to say that, Aya."

"There's always a reason for you to kill, Gaara. You just don't always know what it is." Aya smiled, "You're still different from other's though."

"Why?"

She shrugged, "I don't know."

"You really are a foolish girl."

Aya could only laughed, "I know. My father tells me that frequently." She looked up at the lack of sunlight. "Speaking of which, I better get home."

He shook his head, "You were lost again, weren't you?"

She grinned, "Of course not. I was just...taking a walk."

He gave her a look that said he didn't believe her. She just continued to grin at him. With a sigh, Gaara started walking towards her compound. Aya understood the sigh and the movement. She followed behind him as he led her home. Gaara was leaving for the finals the next day. Aya had come to the village gates to say good bye. He promised to be careful, though he wasn't sure why he did. Team Baki left for Konoha once again.

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She ran through the village behind her father. Word had just reached their compound and she wouldn't stay in the compound. Her father had agreed to show her the way so she wouldn't get lost. They rushed into the building and through the halls until they reached his room. Kaito let his daughter go inside first. Laying on the hospital bed was Sabaku no Gaara.

"Gaara," Aya whispered as she brushed a hand over his forehead. "Is he going to be alright?"

Kaito stepped up and checked Gaara for any serious injuries. "I think he'll be fine. He seems to just be tapped out of energy."

Aya felt relief swim through her. She saw that he was still bleeding. Each wound was coated with dirt and grim. She looked around and there wasn't a medic in sight. "Why hasn't he been treated? Who's taking care of him?"

"I'll check." Kaito left the room. A few minutes later he came back and was livid. "Those rotten bastards. And they call themselves medical nins. They should all be beaten bloody and then told that no one can heal them."

"What's wrong, Dad?"

"No one is taking care of him. They're all to bloody afraid of him."

"Oh...what do we do then?"

"I'll take care of it," Kaito replied. He rolled up his sleeves and got to work. Aya stepped out of his way. Among other talents, Kaito was an experienced medic. He was often sent on high risk missions because of this. Unlike other medical nins he didn't work in the hospital. That had been his choice. More shinobi survived a mission if he went with a team rather than waiting till they returned to treat them. He put his skills to use now as he tended to Gaara's injuries. He glanced up at her, "Aya, go to him home and get an overnight bag for him."

She nodded and rushed out of the room, nearly crashing into Kankuro on her way. Gaara's older brother tilted his head, "What are you doing?"

"I was going to get some things for Gaara. Dad says that he'll have to stay here overnight."

Kankuro's eyes narrowed and then widened again, "You're the girl that came by our house a few weeks ago."

She nodded, "Can you show me the way to your house. I'm always getting lost and Gaara won't sleep forever."

Kankuro examined the girl in front of him and saw that she was really worried about his brother. That immediately put her on his good side. "Follow me. I'll even help you pack the bag."

She smiled and followed after him. They grabbed everything Gaara would need when he woke up as quickly as they could. Both of them wanted to be there when Gaara woke up. Kaito had already finished treating Gaara by the time they returned to the hospital. He looked over at his daughter with a smile, "He should wake up sometime tomorrow morning."

"He'll be alright?" Aya asked.

He nodded, "He'll be fine, Aya." Kaito glanced at Kankuro, "Hello, Kankuro."

"Thanks for treating my brother, Kaito. No one else would."

Kaito's eyes narrowed, "Yes I know. I'll be having words with the head of the medical core about it too."

"Can I stay here until he wakes up, Dad?" Aya asked as she stood by Gaara's bed.

Her father nodded, "I'll check on him in the morning."

"Are you going to talk with the medical core leader now?" Kankuro asked.

Kaito nodded, "I want to do it while I'm still angry."

"I'm coming with you then. I have a few words for the medics."

The two of them left the room. Aya settled down in the chair next to Gaara's bed with a sketch pad. Around midnight the page started to blur so she decided to rest her eyes for just a few minutes. She folded her arms on the edge of the bed and rested her head on them. One of her hands was close to Gaara's, so she held his hand in hers. She closed her eyes. Just for a few minutes then she would continue sketching.

Gaara woke when the sunlight lit up his room. He opened his eyes slowly and took a quick survey of the pain he felt. It wasn't as bad as he was expecting. When he started to sit up, he felt something on his hand. Gaara glanced down to see Aya was holding his hand in her sleep. For a moment, he laid their completely dumbfounded. What in the world was she doing here? Carefully he sat up and scanned the rest of the room. He was in the Suna hospital. How had he gotten there?

The door opened and Kaito walked in. Aya's father looked decidedly smug. When he saw Gaara, he grinned, "So you're awake. That's good."

Gaara glanced at Aya's sleeping form.

"She stayed with you all night. I think she was worried about you waking up alone." Kaito walked over and placed a hand glowing with medical chakra over Gaara's forehead. "Most of your injuries are fully healed now. You'll still have to take it easy for a few days but you'll be fine. I need to go. Take care of Aya, Gaara." With that, Kaito left the room.

Gaara carefully pulled his hand out of Aya's and got up. He lifted her carefully and laid her down on the bed without waking her. The girl could probably sleep through a hurricane, he thought with a smirk. Gaara went into the shower and washed off. When he came out, Aya was still asleep. He sat on the bed next to her and shook her shoulder gently. Aya's eyes opened slowly. She sat up and scanned the area around her with sleepy blue-green eyes. When her gaze landed on Gaara, she stared at him blankly for a moment. Then memories surfaced and she came awake in a second. Aya threw her arms around his neck and just held on.

"You're okay. I was worried when they brought you in. I know Dad said you would be fine but still... I was worried."

"I'm fine."

"I know."

"You can let go now."

She shook her head.

"Aya..." He stopped when he noticed she was shaking. She really had been worried about him. No one had worried about him before. How...nice. He hesitantly, and awkwardly, wrapped an arm around her. It felt odd to comfort someone but what else could he do? He couldn't just leave her like this.

Her shaking finally subsided and she pulled back. "I'm sorry. I know you don't like people touching you."

He shook his head, "I don't really care one way or the other."

"Oh...Well never mind then." Aya looked him up and down, "You definitely look less beat up."

He shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed, "You've changed."

"What?"

"You've changed," she repeated. "That 'I hate everyone' look isn't there anymore. What happened?"

He looked out the window and stared at his village. "I've learned a few things."

"Like?"

He turned back to her, "The whole world isn't a cruel and ugly place."

She smiled, "See. I told you that you could see it too."

"Aya, I'm going to talk to Kankuro about this too but..." He debated on how to say what he was thinking. "I want to change. I don't want to be a monster anymore."

"You never were," she replied with a shrug.

Gaara decided not to argue the point. Aya would never understand what was in him. She saw the world too differently. To her, he had always been a human being even while the rest of the village saw him as a monster. "I've decided to become the kazekage."

Her eyes widened, "But I thought you hated the village."

"I did. But now..." He frowned. Gaara wasn't good at putting his thoughts into words. Probably because he never spoke very much at all. No one cared what he had been thinking before, so why tell them? He looked up at her and knew what to say. "I want to be the person you see. I want other people to see that person."

She blinked and then smiled, "You already are."

He shook his head, "But I will be."

"I'll do what I can to help."

"So will we," said a new voice from the door.

Gaara and Aya turned to see Temari and Kankuro standing there. Kankuro was grinning, "We'll support you, Gaara."

Gaara couldn't think of nothing to say, so he said nothing. His eyes said it all. It wouldn't be easy but that didn't matter. Gaara was use to hard work. He didn't care what it took or how long it took. He would prove to everyone that he wasn't a weapon or a monster. Most importantly, he would prove it to himself.


There it is. Let me know what you thought of it.