Gaara gave a weary sigh and buried his face in his palms. "I can't believe I'm related by blood to you two," he told them in the restraunt.
"Gaara!" both of them exclaimed indignantly.
The youngest brother simply buried his face in his hands and groaned.
"I'm not that bad!" Temari protested, causing Kankuro to glare and exclaim, "Hey!"
Gaara said nothing, rubbing his eyes. They burned and imaginary paperwork swam before his aqua marine eyes. Rubbing his temples, the young Kazekage murmured something about 'home' and 'rest'. His siblings did not follow him from the restaraunt- something Gaara was grateful for.
Immediately, a girl with wavy black hair, brown doe eyes, tan skin, poofy lips, too much cosmetics, and a scanty outfit planted herself in his path. "Hola, Gaara. Cómo estás?" Not all people of her race dressed like this, the Kazekage knew, but women determined for a man did.
First off, Gaara didn't know the first thing about what in hell she was saying other than his name. Second, she appeared to be awaiting a reply. He gave her a nod. The girl was sent into a fit of demented giggling and puckering her lips.
Was she choking? Did she need the Heimlich maneuver?
Out of the corner of his eyes, Gaara suddenly realized he was surrounded by females and there were no citizens in the streets. Warm wind caressed his cheek. A sandstorm was coming. The Kazekage looked at all the wickedly gleaming eyes of the women.
There were so many…Were did they all come from? Probably hell.
Gaara did something he never did unless in a hurry. He ran- with a concerned expression on his face. Somehow, Gaara had to prevent all the women and himself from getting caught in the sand storm.
The Kazekage hurtled down the streets, using his ninja speed. Unfortunately, some of the newcomers were fast or trained. Gaara dodged a smoke screen that blasted in his path, leaving him disoriented for a moment.
A net enmeshed him from behind and Gaara fell with a grunt. Immediately, the females swarmed upon him. They screeched in dismay upon discovering it was a sand clone. One of the females pointed at a roof and shrieked shrilly, "Up there!"
The Kazekage took off and soon it became a roof-top pursuit. Luckily for Gaara, as obstacles were thrown into his path in made attempts to capture him other weapons were thrown to block those obstacles. Every female wanted the credit of catching him herself. Gaara made good time as the rabid women attacked each other, pursued him, while struggling to detain him.
The hunted Kazekage hopped off the building. The sandstorm was closing in on the village- fast. His only hope for saving the Gaara-hungry females was to lure them into a building and hide out in another. Although he wouldn't mind leaving them in the storm…
No. However tempting that would be, Gaara had a responsibility as Kazekage to keep everyone safe. The youngest brother leapt from a building and dashed into the Shifting Sands. His siblings were astonished to see him back so soon. The crowd of citizens was alarmed to see their leader's desperate, trapped expression. "I'll explain later. Don't let any one out of this building until the storm passes," he announced, producing a sand clone and exiting the building through the kitchen.
The winds had picked up and miniature cyclones of sand were forming and dissolving on the abandoned streets. Gaara forced his chakra into his feet to keep from flying away. He squinted as he saw a form push off from a building and ram into another as the wind threatened to pick the humanoid form up.
The Kazekage, resolved to protect his village, caught the figure as it skidded away, loosing its hold. He held onto the citizen –he hoped- in a death grip and froze. His hands queried warily. Savior and victim stiffened.
Gaara hoped the figure was male with a flabby chest. "Excuse me?" demanded an angry female voice. The youngest Sabako had few incidents when he was speechless. This ranked above Lee nearly beating him in the Chunin Exams.
"Oops." Gaara mentally smacked himself. What an intelligent response.
"May I have my chest back?" hissed the auburn haired female. What was her name? Hinata? Hime? Haya? Hai? Hannah.
He moved away from her faster than if Hannah had transformed into Rock Lee and offered him spandex. For the first time, Gaara discerned Hannah's head reached his shoulder as her accusing green-grey eyes glared up at him.
"Trying to get yourself killed?" he asked, arching a nonexistent eyebrow.
"Yes, I was," Hannah snapped dryly. "But I'd prefer to die back at my apartment!"
The storm was getting worse. They needed to get inside. "Where is it?"
"Around this corner and down the street," she shouted over the wind. "Second apartment from the last. It says Sand Monkeys on the sign." Sand Monkeys. What a name.
Gaara grabbed Hannah and shoved her face into his shoulder, leaping around the corner and exposing them to the elements. The wind carried his momentum farther than the Kazekage would have liked. Visibility was near nil. Gaara patiently walked down the street with his chakra stringing his feet to the ground, his back braced against the furious onslaught of sand and air. The Kazekage stopped when a thought occurred to him.
Hannah weighed practically nothing to him. She had the weight of a child. Gaara wondered if she starved herself to stay thin. It angered him. Women shouldn't have to take such drastic measures for beauty. He would have to lecture Hannah later.
If there was a later.
The Kazekage shouldered his way forward until his arm was lanced by a jagged wooden point. His head went down and he squinted, seeing Sand Monkeys written in crude lettering. He carried Hannah inside, ignoring the pain in his left arm, and set her down in the lobby.
She seemed ticked.
A hand shot out and latched his wrist. His arm was around her shoulder in amazing time. Gaara had little time to be astonished as his world turned upside down in a smear of color. He found himself on his back, staring in a daze at Hannah's calm, flushed face.
"Whoops," she told him, glaring.
Gaara no Sabaku was shocked that someone –much less a woman- had him on the floor and had the audacity to not only glare at him, but not even apologize. All he could think was: ow. His ego suffered a catastrophic blow.
The insulted Kazekage sat up and trailed after Hannah. He shot her an annoyed glance. "What was that for?" he inquired with a hint of a growl in his voice.
"For groping my breasts, you pervert!" Hannah whispered angrily, returning his fierce expression. She sped up but Gaara caught up easily. "Why are you stalking me?" she asked.
"I have no one else to follow."
Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Hannah made a strangled, irritated noise and hunched her shoulders. Arnol materialized on her left side. "I see you found love in our Kazekage-sama," he smirked.
"Unless sadism has become a form of love," Hannah shot at him.
"You two will fall in love," he assured them.
"Arnol, please don't curse me," Hannah moaned. "I have enough issues already."
"I see your 'pleasant demeanor' is a façade," Gaara said dryly as they stopped before a recently painted white door.
"Please, Kazekage-sama, I don't anyone to get the wrong impression or hopeful," Hannah snorted, unlocking her door. They entered darkness until his hostess flicked a light switch. Gaara watched Hannah remove her shoes by the door- as was polite Japanese custom.
Seeing his stare, Hannah kept her face, blushing, averted. "I like walking barefoot," she explained, wiggling her multicolored toenails. The Kazekage deemed it civil to remove his own shoes.
Hannah strode confidently into the dim- and stubbed her toe. Stifling an "ow", she pressed a button and a tambourine began to play alongside an invisible orchestra.
"Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place where the caravan camels roam. Where it's flat and immense and the heat is intense; It's barbaric, but hey, it's home. When the wind's from the east and the sun's from the west, and the sand in the glass is right, come on down, stop on by; hop a carpet and fly to another Arabian niiiigghht.
Gaara shuffled forward until the small hallway ended. The music was closer.
"Arabian nights like Arabian days, more often than not are hotter than hot in a lot of good ways. Arabian nights 'neath Arabian moons, a fool off his guard could fall and fall hard out there on the duuunneesss."
The Kazekage found the catchy Arabian music rather appropriate for his homeland, Suna. Gaara, however, did not expect the male singer to say, "Ah. Salam and good evening, my worthy friend. Please, please come closer."
"Who is that?" Gaara asked, tense, attempting and failing to pierce the gloom.
Hannah gave a laugh. "That's a sound track from one of my favorite children's movies, Aladdin. The other is Beauty and the Beast. I take it you've never heard a recording before."
Gaara stayed silent, feeling like a fool. A curious fool. Hannah turned on the other lights as the Kazekage listened to 'Friend Like Me' from Aladdin. Gaara was stunned.
Hannah's apartment was nothing short of creative extraordinaire. Her ceiling transitioned from day to night. The walls changed from desert, forest, swamp, beach, and back to desert. Her kitchen had multi-sized polka dots littering everywhere. One kitchen wall said 'Twister'.
The floor was carpeted and several assortments of furniture were placed in her living room. It was…wow, all of it. Gaara had trouble breathing. His breath might desecrate the gigantic master piece surrounding him.
"You can take the bed, Kazekage-sama." The red haired boy saw Hannah smiling in a way that read 'you know you like it'. "Especially for your latest move and my apology."
"Excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb! You honked-" She coughed and couldn't look at him. Her hands gestured around her chest region.
It was Gaara's turn to blush. Only a faint pink. "I didn't honk your-" He stopped.
"Yes you-" Hannah was so flustered she didn't make it to honk. "did," she finished lamely.
The Kazekage summoned his dignity and cleared his throat. "I wouldn't have grabbed-" He made a vague gesture at her "if I hadn't thought you were someone in trouble."
"I was doing fine without your so called 'help', Kazekage-sama," She scowled, wielding his name like a dagger. Damn her.
"Then don't expect me to save your butt," Gaara snarled. But for the record he would. It had been so long since someone had oppose him, Gaara could only remember Naruto being the only other.
"I don't," Hannah returned coolly, turning around dismissively.
Gaara swallowed the urge to retort, listening to the soothing music that seemed omnipresent but came from speakers.
"Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young prince lived in a shining castle. Although he had everything his heart desired, the prince was spoiled, selfish and unkind. But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold.
"Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the prince sneered at the gift and turned the old woman away. But she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful enchantress.
"The prince tried to apologize, it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart. And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast and placed a powerful spell on the castle and all who lived there.
"Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle with a magic mirror as his only window into the outside world. The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose which would bloom until his twenty-first year.
"If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, the spell would be broken. In not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years past, he fell into despair and lost all hope. For who could ever love a beast?"
Gaara felt humbled- slightly. It was like his life. He forced his fingers not to trace the Kanji (love) sign he had tattooed on his forehead. The Kazekage choked down his memories and wandered into the bathroom.
The floor was strewn with colored glass covered by a later of thick glass. The walls were gentle pastel colors that made the light yellow sink and toilet stand out. Stacked on one another, cramped by the shower stall, were the washer and dryer.
"Dinner!"
P-p-P-p-P-p-P-p-P
Hannah set the cheese pizza on the table. Unfortunately there was no such thing as 'pepperoni' in this country. When she had asked, all she received was blank expressions and blinking.
The American paused to listen. Outside, the sand storm still howled and the clock on the newly installed oven read seven o'clock. The Kazekage would be spending the night at her apartment. Hannah exhaled deeply.
Ever since her…Incident with the red haired boy, Hannah felt warier around him. Yet more comfortable. Wait where the hell did that come from? Was being violated supposed to stimulate desires of being violated again?
She plopped down and grabbed a slice, burning her fingers. As Hannah sucked on her burnt digits, her eyes wandered to the bathroom where her guest stood. Gaara-sama appeared to be appreciating his figure in the mirror, or whatever he was doing.
As Hannah prepared for round two with her edible target, the bathroom light switched off. The hostess glanced up, again defeated by her condiment foe. Gaara came towards the table staring at her with the bizarrest expression on his face.
Curiosity? Sickness? Stomach ache? Head ache?
The red haired guest sat himself on the chair and gazed at the pizza. "What is this?" he asked politely, but Hannah could tell he meant 'What the hell is this junk?'
"Pizza."
"I've never heard of it."
"Really? It's a favorite from my country, along with fries and burgers," Hannah chattered, slurping up a strand of cheese that seemed to stretch forever. "Try it."
Gaara withdrew his burnt fingers. Hannah smiled, a glimmer of evil in her green-grey eyes. "I forgot to mention it's fresh out of the oven," she smirked, ignoring his glare.
The Kazekage sampled the tip of the flat pie-like slice. He could taste the tomato sauce sliding away from the melted cheese and the sticky crust in his mouth. It was delicious. Gaara took another bite. "How do you make this?" he asked, swallowing.
The cook was satisfied. "I'll show you sometime."
They chowed in silence, listening to the raging storm. Hannah lit a candelabra in the middle of the table as the lights winked a few times, turning off all the lights. The American thought, with a groan, what a cheesy romance scene in a movie this would make.
Hannah burst out laughing at her unintended pun. Cheese pizza and cheesy. Wow.
Gaara seemed to think she was mentally unstable. "What is so funny?"
"Nothing," Hannah shook her head, grinning. Her smile melted to seriousness. "You can take the bed tonight, Kazekage-sama. My treat."
He had different ideas. "You may have the bed, Hannah," he refused graciously. "I am accustomed to uncomfortable sleeping surfaces."
Not only is he a pervert, but a sexist! How dare he insinuate I'm a china figure on a pedestal! "No," Hannah told him stiffly, "Would you deny me the right to play hostess, Kazekage-sama?"
His ringed eyes narrowed. "I am fine with the couch."
"You're not sleeping with me."
"I have no intention of sleeping with you," Gaara growled, leaning on one elbow.
Hannah crossed her legs under the table and folded her arms. "Then I guess you'll settle for the bed." She stuck out her chin. It was battle of the feminist and sexist.
Both glared at each other, tension sizzled like lightening in the air. Sparks were hurled back and forth between them. Ice cracked in Gaara's aqua marine eyes contrasting the incensed blaze consuming Hannah's green-grey eyes.
"I'll prepare the bed," the hostess said, frost rimming her words. Hannah snatched a candle and strode away from the table, smoldering.
Disclaimer: don't own Aladdin, the song Arabian Nights, the song Friend Like Me, or the prologue to Aladdin or Beauty and the Beast,
(Spanish) Hola...Cómo estás?- Hello...How are you?
Kanji- love
Ai- love
Aijin- lover