So...not dead. That's good news. More good news, a new chapter! yay! So it may not be my longest, but hey you guys only have to read it.
I hope you guys enjoy, more notes at the bottom is you care ^_^
Chapter Nine
When Gaara left Isakso's, it was with a feeling of agitation. He knew she wasn't telling him the whole truth. She was lying to him about something. She was probably terrified of him now, thought him a real monster, and understood why the rest of the village hated him. It was the damn shop keepers fault! That damn ignorant piece of trash, Gaara had half a mind to go back and finish killing him. He let himself rage over the thought briefly.
He couldn't do that though. Despite what kind of person that man was, he was a citizen of Suna. Gaara had already decided to move forward and accept everyone, even if they didn't feel the same. Most of the villager still despised him and many of the shinobi would kill him on orders without a second thought.
It was one thing when those feelings and killing intent were directed towards him but another when his blond haired companion was involved. Seeing her become the target
of such aggression triggered his anger and interfered with the level head he had been trying to maintain.
It would probably be best if she stopped associating with him. The villagers would leave her be and she wouldn't have to stand his company. After today he wasn't sure if she even wanted to be his friend anymore. He knew that it would be better to keep his distance, but he was selfish, and that simply wasn't going to happen. Isakso had been the first person outside his family to accept him. She had given him what he had wanted more than anything; she had given him a comrade, a friend.
At the thought of comrade's Gaara looked up at the position of the sun. He had been wandering the streets of Suna aimlessly since leaving Isakso's and realized that it was time to go meet his team. He actually felt nervous at the thought. He still hadn't fully calmed down from the encounter earlier and knew that whatever happened with these shinobi could potentially be a lot worse.
He recalled that Baki had told him to meet them at training field four. There were only going to be two other shinobi on his team but Gaara had no doubt that there would be others hidden in the shadows to watch the interaction. His feet shuffled through the sand, in no hurry to arrive at his destination. But, arrive he did.
He entered the training area soundlessly and was able to hear some of the conversation between the two figures.
"Ahhhh, Yaoki-san wh-why are we doing this again?" He was visibly trembling; Gaara could almost hear his knees knocking together.
"You heard what the council said; this is a reeeaally important mission." The other one wearing the turban type headwear responded in a voice pitched with fear.
"But," His voice lowered to a whisper, "you know what they say about him..." He trailed off at the end of his sentence, imagining all the gruesome deeds the sand demon must have committed.
Gaara decided to make his presence known before the conversation could go any further. He was already having a horrible day and if he had to listen to these two fools talk about him any longer he might end up shedding someone's blood.
Gaara enjoyed the two men's little shrieks of terror when he materialized right in front of them in a flurry of sand. He didn't let his amusement show on his face as he stared at them, one of which had fallen on the ground. He had almost forgotten how good it felt to scare people on a whim. He was trying to change, but he wasn't without his vices.
The one who had fallen to the ground picked himself up under Gaara's stony glare and shared a look with his team mate before smiling nervously.
"H-hello Gaara-sama" He waved his arm awkwardly before dropping it to his side and bowing low instead. "I am Kurobi."
The other one followed his example, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly while introducing himself. "I'm Yaoki, it's nice to meet you."
Gaara didn't answer immediately, assessing his new team mate. While he liked to refer to them as team mate they were really his subordinates, the council had placed him in charge of this three man cell. At first glance the two shinobi were indistinguishable from the multitude of others around Suna. They wore standard issue vest and pants along with the headgear. They also didn't seem to have any special abilities or qualities. Gaara came to the conclusion that the council had sent their least distinguished shinobi to team with him. On the off chance that he killed them, they would have not lost anyone of any specific caliber.
Gaara realized he was intimidating the two men and cleared his throat, making them jump again.
"I am Gaara, I will be leading this team from now on" he said awkwardly in monotone, not sure how to follow up. He let his mind wander again and came to the conclusion that he would have to get some idea of their capabilities.
He turned on his heel, briefly looking over his shoulder, "follow me", were his brief instructions before continuing forward to his destination.
The two chunin glanced at each other before nodding vigorously and jogging to catch up.
For the next couple days Gaara trained with his new team. Kurobi and Yaoki were not the very best shinobi but they were not the worst. Both of then used puppet techniques. Nowhere near the skill of his own brother but in battle against any chunin level opponents it would suffice. In fact, if they were with Gaara they had little to fear in battle besides him.
The two chunin were odd to say the least. They didn't scorn or glare at the young redhead as he had expected, but did more cowering and shaking. Every time he used nay of his sand jutsu he would turn around, only to find them hidden behind a rock or sand dune. They always trotted back out to the open with numerous stammered apologies but it didn't hide the fact that they were scared of him. They were scared of the sand that was soaked in the blood of so many people, shinobi from their very village.
He couldn't blame them but after a few days his patience was waning. These men were supposed to be shinobi, used blood and violence, ready for action. They had no reason to be sniveling like cowards. More than once Gaara had to resist the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh in frustration.
Now was one such time, Yaoki was slowly emerging from behind a boulder. He had scampered there after Gaara had demonstrated how to do a certain move.
"S- sorry Gaara-sama," He bowed before straightening back up to look at Gaara for instructions.
Kurobi looked over from where he was throwing kunai and grinned, "Hiding again?" He joked with a big grin. Honestly the man smiled too much.
Yaoki was flustered for a moment before retaliating, "I-I was not, I was practicing evasive maneuvers. Plus, I've seen you run away plenty of times with me!"
He spoke as if he had won the argument, not realizing that he had inadvertently admitted to running away. Gaara let them squabble for a bit before clearing his throat to gain their attention.
"We have a mission in a few days." The council had sent a hawk to inform him earlier that morning. "We are to assist Konoha with bandits running around the borders."
"A mission already? We've only been a team for a few days." Kurobi spoke in a flustered voice, face scrunching in concern.
"They believe we are ready. We have a few days, so we should train harder" both shinobi looked at each other before nodding eagerly.
And so they trained hard. As the days went smoothly so did the wrinkles of mistrust. Kurobi and Yaoki were still scared of Gaara, trembling slightly every time he used his sand but they were also warmer and more accepting than they had been at the beginning. Now that he thought about it, Gaara couldn't recall when they had ever been hostile towards him or shown him any negative emotion. They seemed eager to please most of the time, running to fulfill his every order, even if they did it upon shaking legs.
The morning they were expected to depart from Suna to meet the Konoha team Gaaara decided that he had to make a stop beforehand.
Isakso hadn't seen Gaara in days and the worry was starting to weigh her down. She knew she had done something wrong. She had tried to reassure Gaara that she was ok, that she wasn't scared of him but, she bit her lip in thought, he hadn't been around at all since the other day.
She couldn't shake the feeling that she was being punished. Her wicked thoughts about wanting the man dead had led her here. They had led to losing her only friend and waking in cold terror every morning. She looked in the mirror of the small bathroom to check the stated of her appearance. The bags under her eyes were evidence of her distress and lack of sleep. If she had been in a better frame of mind she would have laughed at the thought of her looking more like Gaara.
She sighed noisily and glanced at the clock on the wall. She had a half hour to get to work. Tearing her eyes away from the mirror she turned on the faucet and splashed her face with cold water to try and startle her-self awake. Slipping into some baggy clothing Isakso grabbed her keys and made to rush out the door.
As soon as she opened it she came face to face with none other than Gaara. She gasped a little in surprise and gripped her chest. The erratic heartbeat had more to do with the fact that Gaara had come to see her than being scared.
"Why is he here? Does he want to talk about what happened? Why hasn't he been around? Why is he just suddenly showing up?" Her thoughts were jumping from question to question, trying to solve the mystery of his sudden arrival rather than simply asking the young man.
Gaara continued to stare at his questioningly; oh he had asked her a question.
"Sorry what?" she asked meekly, smiling apologetically.
"Are you well?" He asked again, looking at her with more concern. He no doubt had noticed the bags under her eyes and slightly slumped posture.
"I'm fine." She lied, putting on a brighter smile for a believable effect, "I've just had trouble sleeping, nothing to be overly concerned about. What are you doing here?" She asked quickly to change the subject.
Gaara did not believe her for an instant, he was trained to see past lies and deception, but if she didn't want to talk about it he wouldn't force her. She had actually reminded him of his original purpose of coming there.
"I'm leaving on a mission for a few days. I won't be around." He turned his head and looked away from her.
"Oh," That was saddening, "Where too?"
"We are to assist in disbanding some bandits. Konoha called for our assistance." He replied.
"Do you think you'll be able to meet with Uzumaki-san?" Isakso asked, mood brightening considerably at the thought of Gaara being able to meet with the boy who saved him. He had told her all about it and Isakso had almost cried with joy for him. At the begging it was tears of empathy for his suffering but after he related to her all that had transpired her tears were ones of gratitude for Naruto Uzumaki. If he had never reached out to help and understand Gaara, she would have never been saved by the boy trying desperately to change himself.
"I don't know. We were not informed of who we will be working with." He replied. He too had wondered if a meeting with Uzumaki Naruto would be possible.
Isakso reached out to grab his hand, "Well, either way, I'm sure he would be impressed with you and all the changes you have made." She truly smiled at him, not having to communicate that she was proud of him. "When are you leaving?"
"Noon" Gaara was grateful for Isakso's support, it was not something he took for granted in anyway.
"Would you like to walk with me to work? We can catch up on the last few days." She also didn't want the conversation to end. It had been days since they last talked and she honestly missed the redheads company.
The redhead in question dipped in an affirmative nod before his pale hand gestured for her to lead to the way.
Instead she reached forwards and grasped the hand that was gesturing before leading them both down the street. Isakso was aiming for normalcy. After what had happened the last time they had spent time together she wanted to make sure everything was back to normal, to show him she was ok. She felt that the past was better left forgotten and gotten over and she felt much better with Gaara by her side.
"How is training with your team?" She asked, remembering that he had mentioned going to meet them for the first time the other day.
Gaara looked pensive for a moment as if thinking about something difficult to put into words.
"They are interesting." He replied finally, in a tone of voice that suggested confusion.
"That's a good thing right?" She asked looking over.
"I suppose, they are not bad. They do not run away." He said simply. Isakso had to smile at that; it was so simple, not run away.
"That's great Gaara. I hope your mission goes well, you'll be alone with them for a few days so it's crucial for everyone to get along." He nodded in agreement.
They continued to walk in silence for a few minutes. It was cooler than usual in Suna and there was even a small breeze. It was a nice relief from the usual baking heat, even for those used to it. The sun was almost at its highest point and little shade was offered leaving both occupants of the street extra grateful for the mild weather.
A few times during their walk Isakso would think about bringing up what had happened the other day. It seemed like such a long time ago and past its prime as a conversation topic. And if she brought it up then she would have had to reveal why she was actually upset over the events.
She looked down at their connected hands and decided it was better to not mention it first. If Gaara wanted to talk about it then she would, she wouldn't be the one to pop the comfy bubble they had settled back into.
All too soon they were at the shop and it was time to say goodbye.
"Good luck on your mission." Isakso doubted he would need it but a bit of luck never hurt anybody.
Gaara nodded in thanks. He looked at her for a long moment as if wanting to say something. Isakso waited patiently, knowing that he would say it whenever he was ready. Finally he reached forward; pale fingers extended and brushed the area under her eyes.
"Take care of yourself." Then he was gone.
Isakso looked around in wonder for a moment, still unused to his sudden disappearance. She smiled slightly before heading into work in a considerably better mood than she had been when leaving her house only a half hour earlier.
I know, i know, hold the applause. I actually managed to create a chapter that wasn't complete sad or depressing! GO ME! So it wasn't exactly fluffy, but it's getting there.
Sorry this took so long guys.
Love all of my followers and reviewers.
Become one of them and let me love you! Review and follow ^_^