A week passed by, and Naoko became more and more withdrawn. She'd never faced her fear before, only fled from it. And yet here she was, preparing to face that fear. She realised how hopeless the situation was, and resigned herself to her bleak fate. She felt like she was simply waiting for death, and with every day that passed, her terror became more real. This wasn't a dream anymore. It wasn't a fairytale. The idea that her prince would save her and they'd live happily ever after seemed ridiculous now. This was real. There was nothing Naoko could do to escape it.
Her nightmares had become more vivid, so vivid that when the part came where her mother was strangled, Naoko felt those murderous hands around her own neck. She could feel the choking, the squeezing, the desperation for air. The sharp stabbing pains in her oxygen-deprived chest and the feeling of her lungs collapsing in on themselves. She would wake unable to breathe, screaming and drenched in sweat. It took her a few minutes to realise where she was, and that for now she was safe. It took her a few minutes to realise that the strong arms wrapped around her were Gaara's.
He did his best to comfort her, but she was almost impossible to reach in the depths of her panic. He'd look into her eyes, and she'd look back, but he knew she wasn't there. Her eyes would stare vacantly, not comprehending his words, while the real Naoko was somewhere within her mind, buried in turmoil and chaos. Her ears could hear his words, but her mind wasn't listening. It was too embroiled in despair. Gaara understood this kind of fear. He knew it well. He remembered the assassination attempts ordered by his own father. The first few attempts had left the 6-year-old Gaara petrified beyond words. The knowledge that people were seeking to extinguish his existence caused him to live in fear. It was this fear that had eventually driven him over the edge, turning him into a monster.
Fear is a powerful thing. It can transform a person's own anatomy into a torture chamber. It can turn even the steadiest person into a wreck, driving them to psychotic extremes in order to escape it. But it can't be escaped. It exists within the mind, within the awkward vehicle that is the human body. And a person can't escape their own body.
Even so, people try to overcome that fear. Some endeavour to BECOME the thing that is feared, perpetrating deluded and violent actions, the way Gaara did. Others simply wither away from the world, like a flower that is choked by a vine. This is what Naoko did.
Because of her nightmares, she rarely slept at night anymore, preferring instead to nap in the daylight hours when she knew she was safe. She knew that it was only a matter of time before the Saito clan decided to strike, and the knowledge of this weighed down on her heavily. It was a time bomb. Sometimes in the dead of night Naoko could almost hear it ticking.
Gaara began retreating into the Suna library, reading up on the history of the Saito clan: their strengths, their weaknesses, their battle tactics. He knew that the time would come when he would have to fight them. And he knew it would be soon. There was no point in negotiating with the Land of Lightning. Relations between the Land of Wind and the Land of Lightning weren't particularly friendly anyway, so it was more or less out of the question. Gaara would have to rely on his shinobi skills, not his political skills.
He began spending his lunch breaks training Naoko, partly in an effort to calm her fears, and partly to put his own mind at ease. It comforted him a little to know that she had some self-defense skills and wouldn't be completely helpless in battle. Naoko enjoyed the training sessions with Gaara. They allowed her to forget the mess she was in. She became her old self again, and had fun. She found Gaara to be a firm teacher, but not unkind. He trained her hard, and it had been 8 years since her days as a ninja, so it took her a while to get used to it again. Her respect and admiration for Gaara grew as she began to realise what a powerful ninja he actually was. She began calling him 'Sensei', much to her own amusement.
Today they were working on chakra control. Gaara was teaching her how to use her Kekkei Genkai as a weapon. Afterall, if anyone knew how to use chakra to control an external substance, it was Gaara. He was used to controlling sand, but roughly the same principal was involved in controlling electrons, the way Naoko did. The training was going well today and Gaara was impressed at her progress. She was a fast learner when it came to chakra control. Gaara untied his gourd and left it rested on the floor. He turned away to eat a rushed lunch.
"Thank God this is going better than yesterday. Your taijutsu was abysmal" he sneered.
"SAND COFFIN!!"
Gaara turned to see Naoko sat on the floor with her arms and legs wrapped around the gourd, cradling it. There was a look of extreme concentration on her face and one hand was outstretched towards Gaara. He stared at her blankly before sarcastically raising an eyebrow. God, she was a moron sometimes.
"Damn, it didn't work" she whimpered, sounding defeated.
He chuckled to himself, amused at her feeble attempt to imitate him. He sat down on the ground to eat his lunch.
"The sand only responds to me" he said smugly.
Naoko sidled up next to him, laying her head on his shoulder.
"Come on Sensei, teach me how to do it" she begged.
"No."
"But whyyy?"
"Because"
"Pleeeaase?"
"No…now go run a hundred laps"
"Fuck you" she said impetuously, stealing a rice ball.
After lunch it was time for Gaara to get back to work. He was about to stand up when Naoko grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back down. She knelt over him and claimed his lips in a slow, sensual kiss. Meanwhile, one of her hands wondered down his body, eventually settling on his crotch. He felt his balls being expertly massaged, and his body responded immediately. Before he could protest, he felt his newly erect member being unclothed and taken into Naoko's hot mouth. She traced a few firm licks along the length before swirling a wet tongue around the sensitive tip, sucking it hard. Gaara's hips twitched and buckled upwards involuntarily. She raised her head and smiled.
"I may be abysmal at taijutsu, but I know I'm good at this…right, Sensei?" she purred.
She went back to her task, sucking him deeply, hungrily. She emitted a soft moan that vibrated through her soft lips and against his throbbing arousal.
"Mmmnn… Naoko…we shouldn't do this here…" he glanced frantically around the training ground. It was deserted for now. They'd fucked on his desk in his office a few times before, which was moderately risky, but he always locked the door so they wouldn't be disturbed. If someone approached now, though, there would be no way to hide what they were upto. Not here, out in the open in plain view.
She ignored him and continued, looking up into his smouldering eyes. He watched her head bob gently as her hands and mouth worked on him. He allowed her to continue. Afterall, no one would notice if he was a few minutes late getting back to work, he decided. He smoothed her hair out of the way so he could watch. He knew he was powerless here.
That evening Naoko joined the Sabakus for dinner, as usual. She'd more or less been accepted as part of the family. Naoko and Temari prepared the meal while Kankuro hung around the kitchen cluelessly, getting in the way and trying to swipe unattended scraps of food like a human dustbin. Gaara kept out of the way. He'd never been much of a cook, and he didn't intend to start now.
They sat down to eat, engaged in small talk.
"So, how's the training going, Naoko?" Temari piped up.
"Oh, y'know, up and down…But I think I'm getting used to the in's and out's of it now". Naoko had to bite her tongue to keep from smirking at her cryptic joke. Temari and Kankuro were oblivious but Gaara had figured it out and he shifted nervously. He didn't want anyone to know he'd been screwing on the job. It wasn't very professional.
"I like having you here, Naoko. Gaara doesn't hit me as much when you're around" Kankuro announced.
After the meal, Gaara and Naoko retired to Gaara's room. They stayed up late, just talking. Over the past week Naoko had found Gaara to be surprisingly eloquent and articulate, and very intelligent. She loved to hear him talk, about his thoughts, his opinions, his hopes. He was very witty, albeit almost unintentionally, and he made her laugh. Every day she fell more and more in love with him.
Eventually, they tired of conversation and for the first time in days Naoko fell into a deep sleep.
The night was deadly silent.