Sorry it's taken so long to update. It's the end of the semester crunch so I've had lots and lots of school work to do. Please forgive the slow pace.

Disclaimer: go look at the other chapters cause I won't say it again. (sticks tongue out)


Ch. 10: The 5th Kazekage

"We need a new Kazekage and the only person who fits the requirements is Him," one of the council members stated.

"Why in the world would we want to make Him Kazekage?" another demanded. "He's a monster."

"I don't think we have a choice," Baki put in.

"I personally think it's a good thing," Kaito Hayashi said.

"You would. Your daughter is friends with the monster," the elder commented.

"That should tell you that Gaara isn't the monster that you believe him to be. He has friends and he's done a lot during the last two years to serve his village. The only time's he's killed recently has been on the villages behalf. Jonin have even started to request him on their teams. We would be fools not to make him Kazekage," Kaito replied calmly.

Baki nodded his agreement. "And need I remind you that he was instrumental in taking down Orochimaru a year ago. Orochimaru was a wanted criminal and a danger to all of the shinobi nations, including ours."

The council members discussed this for a moment then the elder nodded. "We will discuss this and decide whether he is suitable or not. Kaito, tell the mons...I mean tell Gaara that we will with to meet with him tomorrow with our decision."

Kaito bowed, "Of course, elder."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gaara had no idea he was under discussion just then. He was waiting for Aya. In the two years that he had known her, Aya had become his closest friend. Hell, she was his only friend. The rest of the village still felt too nervous around him to consider him a friend.

He turned when someone called his name and saw her coming. Gaara had forced himself to keep his eyes on her face. She had also grown during the last two years. At fifteen, Aya had developed curves in the right places and it was hard to ignore. She was still small with the top of her head barely reached his shoulder. Her size should have made her look fragile but that was countered by the excited and energetic air about her. Her thick, dark hair fell to her mid back in waves. She gazed at him with amazing blue-green eyes that never failed to hold a smile for him. Needless to say, Gaara was starting to realize that his friend was attractive. That might surprise most people, but Gaara wasn't a naïve child that didn't know anything about physical attraction. That didn't mean he couldn't ignore it though and that's just what he was going to do in Aya's case.

Gaara released a mental sigh and shook his head at his own thoughts. Temari was right. He was not going to be able to resist having feelings for Aya that went beyond friendship for very long. Hell, his sister was already convinced that he was in love with Aya. Perhaps Temari was right. How the should he know? He didn't know anything about love. He was still learning about friendship, for crying out loud. How the hell would he know if he was in love or not? He didn't even know what love was.

"Hello, Gaara. Sorry I'm late," Aya greeted him with a warm smile.

"You got lost again."

The smile turned sheepish, "Yeah. Sorry."

He shook his head, "I told you to meet me an hour earlier than I intended to be here so that you would be on time. I've only been waiting for three minutes."

"That was sneaky and underhanded." Aya laughed, "And it worked. Let's go eat dinner. Temari and Kankuro will be waiting for us."

Gaara nodded and led the way. Aya happily fell into step next to him. She examined him out of the corner of her eye. Gaara hadn't changed much in the last year. His red hair spiked all over the place. He still had a calm, emotionless look in his sea foam eyes. She looked up and smiled, though he had gotten taller. He wasn't bad looking either if the reactions of the girls in the village was any indication. Some of them actually flirted with him now. It was amusing to watch, since Gaara probably had no idea what they were doing. If he did know that they were flirting, he showed no reaction.

"Hey guys," Temari said, when they joined them at the restaurant.

"Took you long enough," Kankuro stated by way of greeting.

"Aya got lost again," Gaara informed them.

"What else is new," Kankuro chuckled. He looked at Aya. "We need to get you a map, then maybe you wouldn't get lost all of the time."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "No one asked you for an opinion, Kankuro."

He grinned, "I know but I figured I'd give it to you anyway. Aren't you happy? It's not often I give an opinion for free."

"You can keep it, Kankuro," Aya informed him with a laugh.

"Alright you two. Behave," Temari interjected with a smile. The two of them were always starting another argument. It was very amusing to listen to but right now she had something important to tell Gaara. The looked at her youngest brother and became serious. "I heard from Baki today. He said that the council was going to discuss who would be the next Kazekage today. We all know that you're the only person who meets all the requirements."

Aya tilted her head, "This is a good thing, right? I mean, Gaara wants to be the Kazekage. That's what he's been trying to achieve these last two years."

Gaara nodded, "That was the point of all of this work."

"If they even offer it to you," Temari replied. "They could decide to wait until someone else is qualified."

"There's no one more qualified than Gaara," Aya stated with some irritation. It still annoyed her that some people hated Gaara merely because he had Shukaku living inside of him.

"Thanks for the defense, Aya, but it doesn't really matter," Gaara told them. "If I don't become Kazekage then I'll survive."

"I don't think he should be the Kazekage," a familiar male voice interjected.

Aya glared over at Hajime. "Go away. No one wants your opinion."

He gave her a friendly smile, "Sure they do, Ayame. Everyone liked to hear my opinion."

"Not everyone," Temari grumbled.

"Call me Aya. No one uses my full name," Aya snapped at him.

"But Ayame is such a beautiful name." His eyes hardened just a little, "And id hasn't been soiled by Sabaku no Gaara."

Aya stood. Her eyes seemed more green than blue with temper. "What do you mean soiled?"

"Exactly what I said. He's a monster, Ayame. Do you really want him as our Kazekage?"

"Why you no-good, rotten, piece of...."

"Aya," Gaara interrupted in a warning tone.

Aya continued to glare at Hajime but didn't finish the insult. Instead she gave him a razor sharp smile that was all teeth. "Go away, Hajime. We don't want your company at this table nor did we ask for your opinion."

"I was just saying that the council should choose someone more suited for the job," Hajime said with a shrug.

Temari gave him a withering look, "And I suppose you think that you could do a better job than Gaara?"

"Anyone could do a better job than Gaara."

"You don't even know him," Kankuro commented with deadly calm.

"I don't need to." Hajime looked at Gaara with disgust. "Monsters like him are all the same and they never change. Gaara is and will always be a monster."

SLAP!!!!

Everyone stood in absolute shock. Aya had been standing there listening to Hajime's words with growing anger. Then she looked at Gaara and saw the absolute belief in his eyes. Gaara believed what Hajime was saying. That pissed her off even more. When she heard Hajime say that Gaara would always be a monster, she lost her temper. She hadn't thought about it really. All she knew was that she had never been so angry in her life and Hajime had to pay. So she hit him with every ounce of strength she had.

Hajime lifted a hand and touched his cheek. He could still feel the sting and knew there was probably a red mark there. He looked at Aya. If looks could kill he would have dropped dead from the look she was giving him. What he found interesting was that her eyes were now a solid green. "What was that for?" he asked calmly.

She wasn't calm and didn't bother sounding that way. Instead her voice vibrated with her rage. "Don't you ever say that about Gaara again. He's not a monster or have you forgotten that he hasn't killed anyone in this village recently? Have you forgotten that he had save the lives of almost every shinobi here during at least one mission? Did you forget that he is one of the people responsible for bringing down Orochimaru, an S-class criminal? Gaara is ten times better than you could ever hope to be, Hajime, simply because he never judged you based on things you can't control. He didn't ask to be the host of Shukaku. This village made him the host. He didn't ask to have to kill in order to survive. This village sent assassins after him." Aya paused and took a deep breath. She was beyond angry and needed to calm down a little bit. Her eyes were still green when she opened them but some blue had begun to creep back into them. "You know what, you don't care about any of this anyway. Go away, Hajime. I'm sick of looking at you."

Gaara stood and placed a hand on her shoulder. Aya was still shaking with rage. He gently led her outside without even looking at Hajime. Kankuro and Temari followed, each giving Hajime one last glare. Aya began to relax again once they were outside.

"I'm sorry, Gaara. I know you didn't want me to react but I couldn't help it. He pissed me off and I've never bothered controlling my reactions before." She looked up at him with worry. "You're not angry, are you?"

"No. I'm not," he replied calmly. He stopped and turned to face her. It still surprised him that she had been so quick to defend him.

Aya released a sigh of relief. "That's good."

Gaara leaned down so that he could whisper in her ear, "Thank you, Aya."

She blinked at him then smiled brilliantly. "You're my friend, Gaara. That's what friends do."

"Gaara!" someone shouted.

They turned to see Kaito rushing up to them. Kaito grinned at them, "Gaara, you've been ordered to come to the council meeting tomorrow morning. Don't be late." He turned to his daughter, "I heard you hit Hajime."

Aya began to grumble again and her father only laughed, "It's rare to see your temper explode like that. Usually you're much more smooth about winning your fights."

"He insulted Gaara," she told him with a shrug.

Kaito gave his daughter a knowing smile, "So I heard." He turned to Temari and Kankuro, "You two are also required to attend the meeting tomorrow." He waved and walked away, "I'll see you then."

"It looks like you're about to receive the offer to be Kazekage," Kankuro said. He suddenly grinned, "I can't wait to see the look on Hajime's face when he hears."

"You're a sadistic bastard, Kankuro," Temari informed her brother with her own grin. "Let's tell him ourselves."

"Why don't you both wait until Gaara actually gets the offer," Aya suggested.

"I suppose we should," Kankuro agreed.

"We'll make Hajime's day tomorrow then," Temari said with a wicked smile. She really couldn't stand Hajime.

Gaara shook his head at all of them. They seemed determined to make Hajime pay for insulting him. Gaara glanced at the three of them as they continued to plot against their mutual enemy and couldn't help but allow a small smile. He'd be lying if he said he didn't appreciate their defense of him. Gaara didn't believe he deserved the defense, but at the same time Hajime could acknowledge the fact that he was trying to change.

"Now one of you has to come get me tomorrow morning. I want to be there when they offer Gaara the position as Kazekage. I would go on my own but I'll get lost," Aya told them.

"I'll come," Gaara responded automatically. He shook his head at himself. It wasn't that coming to get her bothered him. It was that he was always volunteering to come get her. The proof was in everyone's reaction. Usually when he volunteered to help someone, they would all look at him like he had grown a second head. Yet when he volunteered to help Aya no one even looked shocked. In fact, they would probably be surprised if he hadn't said anything.

Aya smiled up at them as they stopped in front of her clan's compound. "Alright then. I'll see you in the morning."

So, just before dawn of the next morning, Gaara found himself standing at Aya's front door. She came out quietly and gave him a whispered hello. "My clan's still sleeping," she explained in a low voice. "It's hard to sneak out of a house full of shinobi without waking someone but I try anyway."

He nodded and simply began to walk towards the council's meeting hall. The large building was in the center of Suna and held all of the offices of the village, the Kazekage's included. Aya had never been there before. As a civilian she had very little to do with the people inside this building. With the exception of Baki, she didn't even know who all the members of the council were. The only time she ever heard anything from the council was when her father had a meeting with them. Now Gaara was leading her through the maze of a building to hear what the council had to say.

They walked into the room and saw that Temari and Kankuro were already present. The council looked at Aya then at Gaara. "You know that civilians are generally not allowed in these meetings," the elder commented.

Gaara merely shrugged. Aya was there and it was too late to change that. He also had not intention of telling her to leave. She was a big part of why he had come this far. Without her he probably wouldn't be here right now. It would be wrong to tell her she couldn't be here to see what was about to happen to him. Besides, he wasn't convinced that he was about to be made the Kazekage. Maybe they were only going to order his slaughter or something. Damn, should have left her at home. He didn't want her to hear that.

"Sabaku no Gaara, the council of Suna has come to a decision regarding your actions during the last two years," the elder began. "You have proven yourself to be a very valuable asset to our village and have become the most powerful shinobi in Suna. As expected we are promoting you the position of the 5th Kazekage."

Gaara remained silent as shock settled on him. Sure everyone kept telling him that he would get the position, but he hadn't actually believed them.

Aya smiled and hugged him; catching him by surprise. "You did it, Gaara! You did it!"

He felt the smile tug at the corners of his mouth. Temari and Kankuro were grinning broadly and came over to join the celebration. Gaara had done it. He had become the protector of Sunakagure instead of it's monster. More importantly he had proven to himself that he had changed. He had become the Kazekage.


That's it. I'm finished with this chapter. Hopefully it's a good one. Why don't you let me know in a review? Then I'll know if it's good or not. Makes perfect sense, don't it? Anyways, until next time.