"Why do you let her talk to you like that?" Aki asked.
"Like what?" Gaara wondered, only half listening. They were going over some documents at the moment, and he wasn't really thinking about what Aki was saying, so he had no idea what she was talking about when she suddenly asked him such a random question.
"That woman – she's so rude. She should treat you with more respect."
Gaara looked up at Aki. "You mean Sakura?" He asked. He considered for a moment. He supposed she did act rather rude, though he never really thought of it as such anymore. There was a time when he would have killed her for her behaviour, but that time was in the past thankfully. He kind of liked living with Sakura now, he kind of liked that she wasn't so respectful; she just treated him like a normal person. "That's just her way." He answered and looked back at his documents.
"But she knows who you are – it's unacceptable for her to-"
"Aki. Sakura is the woman responsible for my recovery." Gaara said, giving her a stern look. Aki was a smart girl, but she had a tendency to think too much of rules and etiquette. "I am grateful to her."
Aki looked shocked for a second, as if she couldn't even imagine Gaara being in debt to anyone, but she quickly recovered and frowned. "About that, I've been wondering..."
Gaara studied the writing in front of him. He had a feeling he wouldn't care much for whatever Aki would say next.
"It's just a simple matter of layers of seals isn't it? Why can't you come back to Suna – there are people back home who can help you just as well."
Gaara didn't respond. "I would like to get through all of this before this evening." He said instead, effectively silencing Aki on the subject, or so he hoped.