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Chapter 5

Gaara's sand whipped forward, incasing two Mist shinobi in his Sand Coffin easily. He managed to fight off most of them, but his chakra was running low, and there was still twenty left. Before he realized what was happening, a Mist shinobi had gotten past his sand and slammed his fist into Gaara's face. Gaara got a hold of himself and blocked attack after attack from the front as two more Mist attacked from behind. Gaara was outnumbered and loosing the battle. Out of Chakra and ideas, Gaara found himself being held in the air by his throat. The Mist shinobi who had him was sneering in triumph.

"Looks like you aint so tough after all little sand brat." The Mist nin said with a laugh. The Mist shinobi grabbed a kunai and brought it down towards Gaara's head. Gaara closed his eyes, he thought about his sister who was living in Leaf with the lazy Shikamaru, and his brother who would be the only one left in Suna to take over as Leader. He knew his brother never wanted that role, and as oldest was most likely to get it over Gaara when his father was alive. Kankuro was so relieved when Gaara took command, that he skipped around town for a week.

He thought of his friends in Konoha, and Naruto who saved his life so many times before. That loud annoying blonde was the best friend he ever had, and he was grateful to him for opening his eyes to the world of friendship. Sakura with the pink hair who was destined to become more powerful that her sensei Tsunade.

He held his breath for the blow, but it never came. Gaara opened his eyes and saw that the Mist nin had a confused look on his face. Around the Mist nin's wrist was a silver band.

"Get your filthy hands off of him." A deep growl came from behind the Mist nin before the Mist was ripped backwards, releasing his grip on Gaara.

Standing in the blazing sun was a figure glowing in silver and gold. She had a long whip which was now wrapped around the Mist nin's throat, choking the life from him. When he was dead, the girl looked up to the stunned Mist shinobi. She had bright blue hair, and pearly almost white eyes, and electricity was cackling around her in her anger.

"Kiera?" Gaara gasped, and the Mist nin attacked the girl. She handled her weapon like it was a living part of her arm, striking like a cobra and sending killing currents through her attackers.

"Tsunami distruction!" One nin screamed and made hand signals which brought a tidal wave of summoned water to come hurtling at her. She smirked and held out her hand, sending a pulse through the air, halting the water and pushing it towards the sky.

"Hey idiots, water is a conductor." She smirked and did rapid hand signals.

"Electric Rain!" she shouted and the water came crashing down on the Mist shinobi, sending currents through the metallic elements in the water. The remaining Mist nin were killed except one, there would be need for some answers after all. She shocked his body into an unconscious state and turned to find Gaara staring at her with a mixture of awe and gratitude.

"Why did you save me, after the way I treated you." Gaara stood from the ground and walked over to the now blue eyed Cloud girl.

"You may not like me, and that is fine. But I respect you and the way your village loves you, and when I felt the enemy so close… I got scared." She lowered her voice slightly and blushed.

"Not because you are my ticket to a non destructive life, but because you helped me when I needed it, no matter how awful I was to you. I respect you Gaara, and I couldn't live with myself if anything bad were to happen to you or anyone in this village because I closed my eyes." She turned to leave.

"Will you stay here Kiera?" she stopped suddenly and turned to face him.

"Do you want me to stay?" she asked slowly.

"You proved me wrong. I thought you were a shallow brat, but you're not. You would really give your life for this village and I couldn't marry anyone who wouldn't give their life to protect Suna. Even though I don't agree with marrying a complete stranger, you may stay, and become my wife if that is your wish." Gaara looked at the girl who was still blushing.

"Wow Gaara, how romantic." She laughed slightly, causing him to crack a smile as well.

"Lets get out of here shall we?" Gaara started walking towards Suna, with Kiera at his side.

"You are really going to marry her?" Kankuro asked bewildered. "I thought you made her cry?"

"I did, and then she turned around and saved my life. Strange how things work out." Gaara mused out loud looking at his older brother seated in front of him.

"So you are marrying her because she saved your life?" Kankuro asked confused.

"No, I am marrying her because she would fight beside me, beside Suna. There aren't many girls who would put their life on the line to protect a village she doesn't belong to."

"No I suppose not, but really. Marrying her?"

"Does Temari know?" Gaara looked to the window, just imagining his sister breaking the door down wondering why she was the last to know anything.

"Yeah, sent a messenger out yesterday. She isn't going to be happy."

"No probably not. Kiera's sister and friend are coming tonight. They are going to stay in the hotel Kiera is at, I cant convince her to move into the house with us though. There are plenty of rooms, but she says that 'people will talk' if she moved in before the marriage. I think she was just giving me a hard time though."

"Yeah, I cant imagine Kiera caring about something like that." Kankuro cracked a smile.

"She is coming to dinner tonight though, with her sister and friend. You can make it, right?" Gaara looked as at Kankuro with the 'you have no choice' face and smiled when Kankuro nodded.

Suddenly the door was blown off its hinges and an angry older sister stood in the doorway with a crying baby in her arms.

"YOU GET ENGAGED AND YOU DON'T EVEN TELL ME THAT YOU ARE SEEING SOMEONE! I AM YOUR SISTER GAARA!" Kankuro and Gaara looked at Temari with jaws dropped. The blonde woman took a deep breath and handed her son to Kankuro to finish yelling at her younger brother. Kankuro took the baby awkwardly and slipped out of the room to avoid his or his nephew from getting hit by any flying objects.

"Kiera!" Kiera laughed as her little sister flew into her arms and her best friend wrapped his arms around the both of them.

"Come on, lets get you guys settled." It had been three days since the fray in the desert and her sister and Youta had come to visit. Naturally any other members of her family were prohibited from entering without expressed consent from the Kazekage. She showed them to their rooms and after they were done unpacking they came up to hers.

"So you are getting married." Youta said with a grin on his face. "Its about time you found someone you like, I was beginning to think you were going to be a fat old cat lady before you turned thirty." Kiera promptly hit Youta in the head, causing a fit of giggles from Kanea.

"Whats the Kazekage like?" Kanea asked, with a dreamy expression on her face, sitting at the edge of her bed.

"He is okay, you know just a normal guy. Well, maybe not normal per say, but he is at least a decent character." Kanea looked at her deeper, for more information.

"Is he a good kisser?" Kanea asked smiling. Kiera nearly fell over and Youta fell off the bed from laughing so hard. "What? It is an important characteristic you know." She defended.

"I don't know Kanea, why don't you ask him tonight, we are going to have dinner with him at his house." Kiera smirked at the look of horror on Kanea's face.

"Oh but Kiera, I didn't bring anything nice to wear." She buried her head in her hands. Youta snickered.

"Kanea, you brought enough clothes to last a year, I can guarantee you have something to wear." Youta said with a laugh.

"But its all old!" She whined.

"No one here has ever seen you in your nice clothes Kanea, I'm sure it will be fine." Kiera said soothingly to her distraught sister. Her sister sniffed and looked up to Kiera's face.

"Yeah, you're right sis!" Kanea smiled gratefully at her sister. But then another look of terror crossed her face. "But what about my hair!"

After Gaara explained the whole situation to Temari, and she stopped hurling objects at his head, they all went home to get prepared for dinner. The siblings had three cooks on their staff and were grateful to have all three of them cooking in over time to make the food for the gathering. Temari handed Gaara her son, Hirako, when she thought the table cloth 'wasn't right'. Gaara stayed stiff as a board with the baby in his arms. This was the first time he had ever seen his nephew and the very first time to hold a baby. The doorbell rang and everyone yelled 'get the door'. Since Gaara was the closest, he walked carefully to the door and used his sand to open the door.

"Hey, were here! Who's baby is that?" Kiera looked strangely at the Kazekage holding the infant like it was about to explode.

"Uh… come in, this is my nephew Hiraku." Gaara walked to the main parlor with the three guests behind him. Suddenly the baby started crying and wouldn't stop.

"Temari!" Gaara shouted nervously. "He is crying."

"Astute observation master of the obvious, just hold on a minute." Temari looked down at them from the second story and smiled at the guests. "Please make yourselves at home."

Gaara looked as though he was going to loose it if the baby didn't stop crying. Kiera snicker slightly and went to Gaara with her hands open.

"Let me see him." Gaara happily obliged and handed off the wailing child. Kiera gently rocked and cooed to the baby until his cries stopped completely.

"What a handsome little man you are." She said softly, tickling the baby slightly, making him laugh. They all went to sit in chairs and sofas, Gaara took a seat next to Kiera who was still rocking the baby gently. It was then he realized she was not in her metallic gear. She had on a long white dress that showed her curves and had a gold cord wrapped around the middle. She had her short hair pinned up with soft wisps down framing her face. She wasn't wearing makeup, but she never needed it to begin with. Gaara could safely say she was beautiful, and having a baby in her arms, with the maternal instinct swirling around her made something primal in him stir.

"Wow, I have never seen him go to sleep in a stranger's arms before. Gaara, she is a keeper." Temari smiled at the scene before her. The blue haired girl smiled at the blonde woman and softly introduced herself. She kept her voice low to not wake the baby.

"Hey, dinner is on." Kankuro came around the corner, not wearing his usual face paint and black suit. He had on black pants and a plain white shirt. Kiera could hear her sister sigh and mumble something along the lines of 'he's cute' in her ear.

Temari took Kiera upstairs to put the baby in the crib.

"So, what are your intensions with my brother" Temari asked as they were leaving the nursery. Kiera laughed and nodded, knowing the sister act too well, being a sister herself.

"I want to perhaps one day, be his good friend if nothing more. I am attracted to him, and I know he would be good husband but I don't think he thinks I will be a very good wife. I am not used to being submissive and chasing after men, its really not in my nature, but if I don't marry Gaara I will be killed. He is taking pity on me I think, that is why he is trying to make it work." They descended the stairs, and Temari placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I can tell you aren't going to make his life hell, but be aware he had a hard life. Don't push him farther than his willing to go, and that includes love." Kiera nodded and they went into the dining room.

"…So then I said to him, that isn't a puppet." Kankuro told cheesy joke after cheesy story that had Gaara and Temari rolling their eyes, Kiera smirking at his antics, Youta enthralled with memorizing as many jokes as he could, and Kanea laughing sweetly, laying on the sugar.
"Kanea dear, you must stop inflating his big head." Temari said at last, causing a ripple of laughter around the table.

"I am sorry Temari-san, we don't have much laughter in my home. These jokes are wonderful." She said with a smile, wiping laughter tears from her eyes. Kankuro puffed up his chest with the complement and made a mental note to invite this girl to many more parties.

"So, any wedding plans yet?" Youta asked seriously. Kiera and Gaara both blushed and shook their heads in a 'no'.

"Are you kidding me?" Temari asked, raising her voice. "We got to start right away! First we need a caterer, and a florist, and oh goodness the invitations!..." she started listing the many various things they needed to do to the startled couple. "…You need to make a public announcement and invite dignitaries from allied villages…"

The supper was over and Kiera, Kanea, and Youta made their way to the door after saying thanks and complementing the food. Kanea gave a huge smile to Kankuro who grinned back.

"Oh Kankuro-san, if only I were a little older, perhaps it could have been a double wedding." Kanea said wistfully to a deeply red Kankuro before she left the house with a skip to her step.

"Oh man, you got Kanea's eye. Hope you're ready for a die hard fangirl." Youta laughed as he left the house. Kiera laughed and turned to Gaara.

"See you tomorrow?" she said softly. Gaara nodded and she left as well.

Gaara couldn't help the strange feelings he had rising in him. 'I shouldn't have made her hold that baby.'

A/N: Update for you… I don't know if I can update EVERY day but I will try to get it out there as often as possible. If I do update it will be from about 7-9am eastern standard time, so check then. PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks!