Alive And Victorious Chapter 13: 13 You will not fail, a naruto fanfic

Dear readers, I'm so grateful for your comments, favs and follows. You make me want to write even more GaaMatsu stories. Actually, I have a few ideas for more stories, but I need to finish this one first.

Warning: This chapter contains no overly romantic scenes. You can skip it if you want :)

Betareading: Annabella Colt

Story image by tariah23 . deviantart . com

I have her permission to use it.

Enjoy.

o0o0o0o

Alive And Victorious

Chapter 13. You will not fail

Matsuri entered the office uncertainly, relieved at the sight of Kashiko-san sitting at her usual place. The older woman looked unbelievably calm, despite of some jounins who were obviously reproaching her for something.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen, but the Kazekage is unavailable at the moment," she said with a polite smile and turned to Matsuri, who stopped just after walking into the room, not knowing what to do. "Matsuri-chan, there's a lot of work awaiting you. Better start fast. Kotori-chan will help you."

Matsuri blinked at the sound of an unfamiliar name, and turned her head from left to right. There was another table placed just next to hers, already piled with heaps of documents. A young pretty woman was sitting at the table, giving Matsuri quite unfriendly scowl.

"Hello, Kotori-san," Matsuri greeted her politely, and the woman pouted slightly.

"Hello, Matsuri...san," she replied coldly, and Matsuri shrugged inwardly. Obviously the girl didn't feel like working here or just didn't feel like being nice this morning. Better leave her alone.

Eventually, the jounins decided to go out, muttering angrily under their breaths. The masked ANBU guard appeared in front of them and headed straight towards the door leading to the Kazekage's office. Kashiko didn't stop him. She only glanced at him, and he nodded before he quietly slipped inside.

Matsuri sat down at her table and began to shuffle through the papers scattered on it. Soon it appeared to her many of them ought to lie on Kashiko's desk, or even Kazekage's, and the girl glimpsed at the assistant questioningly.

"It's because of destruction of Konohagakure," the older woman explained. "From now on you have to take up everything concerning Academy's project, while Kotori-chan will work on preparations for chuunin exam."

Matsuri nodded, pondering. To be honest she quite forgot the devastation Gaara had introduced to her at night. After he had left she couldn't sleep at all, remembering everything they had done. Even if she felt sorry for Konoha villagers and ninjas, the happiness blooming inside her just didn't let her grieve for too long. Besides, Gaara had said that Hokage managed to save them somehow, and it was encouraging thought.

Sighing, the girl began her work when Kazekage walked out of his office, looking quite grimly.

"Kotori-san, I need you to find someone to deliver this message, and fast," he ordered, and the young woman took a scroll from his hand.

"Yes, Kazekage-sama," she replied sweetly. "As for tomorrow's afternoon meeting, it has been cancelled."
"Cancelled?" Gaara frowned briefly. "I suppose nothing can be done about it, considering the current situation. The meeting aside, please notify Sekka to prepare the list of herbs we're short on. It's urgent."

"Of course," Kotori said with the same voice, and Matsuri glanced at her suspiciously. Was it only her or the girl was just trying to flirt with Gaara? "Kazekage-sama, Iwagakure threatens to place embargo on us-"

"Jouseki will handle them," Gaara answered indifferently. "Please tell your father he'll be needed here before the negotiations start."

"I will," Kotori said and bowed slightly, walking out of the room gracefully. Matsuri shook her head to herself. That woman was five year older than Gaara, or maybe even more! What was she hoping to get from addressing him with this tone?

"Matsuri," the redhead uttered and she gazed at him with a nod, carefully avoiding his eyes. If she looked at him, it would be hard not to remember last night's events, and who knows what reaction it could cause in her. It would be a different story if they were alone, but there was Kashiko sitting near, not even mentioning that any councilman or jounin could enter the room at any time.

"Yes?" she answered hesitantly, not knowing if to address him by his title.

"Please, bring me the report after the meeting," he said.

"I will," Matsuri replied and nodded officially, realizing that Kashiko was eyeing them curiously. The older woman surely didn't miss her hesitation nor the fact that Gaara had already addressed her without any honorifics.

The Kazekage walked away and Matsuri followed him with her eyes, with the big happy grin threatening to force itself upon her face. When he finally disappeared behind his door, Kashiko cleared her throat. Matsuri glanced at her, to see the small, friendly smile adorning assistant's lips.

"Matsuri-chan, congratulations," she said, and the girl swallowed, her cheeks immediately warming up. Matsuri briefly considered pretending not to know what Kashiko had meant, but she quickly decided it would be stupid. Probably, the assistant was more or less aware of their relationship, and even if she wasn't, there was no way she would ignore the casual way Matsuri was talking to the Kazekage.

"Um, thank you," she chose to mutter, and began to search for the report she had already finished, with her eyes sticking to the tabletop.

o0o0o0o

Gaara took a few letters, which needed his signature, from his assistant.

"Kashiko-san, please tell Matsuri to bring the report immediately," he said before she walked out. "I can't wait for it any longer."

The older woman inhaled deeply and stopped.

"There's a problem with it, Kazekage-sama," she stated. "It seems it's lost." Before Gaara could comment on her words, she added in a maternal manner: "Being Kazekage isn't an easy task. Especially when the Kazekage is young and handsome."

The redhead glanced at her, astonished. He had no idea what the connection was between Matsuri's lost report and his age, let alone appearances.

"I think the report isn't lost. It just inconspicuously went into someone else's hands," Kashiko explained and Gaara's chest rose with a long, heavy sigh. "If I could suggest something... it would be better to separate Matsuri-chan from Kotori-chan," the woman continued.

The redhead leaned back in his chair and rubbed his chin wordlessly.

"There is so much space in here," Kashiko added and bowed, ready to leave. "Excuse me, Kazekage-sama, I have many things to attend to."

Gaara nodded, wondering if it really would be the best action to let Matsuri work in this room until the chuunin exam ended. Actually, he asked her to be the Academy project coordinator to see her more often, but his plans didn't run that far. Unfortunately, Akatsuki's attack on Konoha turned the schedule upside down, and there was no other way than temporarily reinstate Kotori, who obviously decided to bring up her irritating attitude.

The gentle knocking on the door announced someone's arrival at his door.

"Come in," he said and dipped the quill in ink, getting down to the letters Kashiko had left on his desk. He glanced at the person who entered the room, and was surprised to see Matsuri holding some papers in her hand. It seemed she had already got her report back somehow.

"I brought the report," she said with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry it took so long-"

"Don't worry about it," he interrupted with an emotionless expression. "Probably someone accidentally took it. There's such mayhem in the office."

Matsuri looked stunned, and it seemed that she wanted to say something. The soft red tint coloured her cheeks and Gaara could say Kashiko was actually right about Kotori's messing. Maybe it was time to ponder over his assistant's idea to bring Matsuri and Kotori apart, after all.

The redhead rose to a standing position, waiting for Matsuri to approach the desk. She handed him the report and smiled brightly at him, easily getting him under her spell again. He could have never believed a simple smile could be as much bewitching as the one which adorned her lips at the moment. Moreover, he had never seen Matsuri giving anyone that kind of smile before, and it made him feel even more special. He left the spot swiftly and stepped closer towards his girlfriend, pinning her gaze with his, as if trying to gauge any sign of insincerity, but he didn't find any. Matsuri shifted restlessly under the scrutiny, and he remembered they were still in his office, where any displays of affection would be better withdrawn. He was already seduced into enjoying the prospect of repeating certain actions from the last night, and the notion made him realize that letting Matsuri work next to him wouldn't be the best option, definitely.

o0o0o0o

Matsuri rolled on her back and stared into the darkness, irritated and nervous. She needed to rest thoroughly before the exam, but she couldn't sleep at all. Too many thoughts were disturbing her, preventing her from relaxing and falling into nice slumber. She repeated to herself she would get the rank for sure. Even Gaara himself said so. She was surprised with his utmost certainty, while he was surprised with her lack of self-confidence. "I know what you're capable of," he had only said with the tone of finality, unintentionally putting fair amount of pressure upon her.

The kunoichi drew the covers away and slid to the edge of the bed, letting her feet rest against the smooth cold floor. With a sigh, she got up and slowly went towards the window, looking at the Kazekage Tower, which dark silhouette could be easily distinguished against the starlit sky. She imagined she could spot the familiar figure leaning against the balustrade on the top of the Tower, and the nervousness dwelling within her began to grow at the single thought nagging at her mind. What if I fail?

If it was only about her, she would have coped with it. But it was also about Gaara. What people would say to him and about him if his student failed the chuunin exam? The thought itself was unbearable, and Matsuri bit her lip anxiously, embracing herself with her arms. She needed someone to comfort her, to ease her apprehension, but there wasn't anyone she could ask for help. Yakku was out of Suna for gods knew how long, patrolling somewhere far away on the northern border. Darui still didn't accept her relationship with Gaara, and sometimes it seemed to her that he wanted her to go out with Yakku instead. Not that he had been straightforward about it, anyway; he probably realized where her inclinations lay even before she did. The same went for Sari, who still seemed not to bear any grudge, but Matsuri couldn't talk to her like she would do in the old days. They needed to talk everything out first, and Matsuri couldn't actually bring herself to start such a conversation, not even mentioning she simply didn't have time to do that. She had been constantly busy during last several days, to the point where she didn't even have time to see Gaara after work, let alone her other friends. Being overworked made her forget her nervousness, but now it returned with the full force, and Matsuri sighed, remembering Gaara's words. He was absolutely certain she would pass the exam and her doubts seemed groundless to him, so she couldn't find the comfort with him as well.

Taking the deep breath, the girl glanced at the alarm clock. 1.15 and she still couldn't sleep, damn it. What was she supposed to do? Taking herbal sleeping pills before the exam wouldn't be a wise thing, to say the least. Not even mentioning she didn't have any. Going out and training wasn't the option as well, so she only cursed quietly and went back to bed. Lying down on her back with her forearms crossed under the back of her head, she closed her eyes and tried to relax. It didn't take long when Gaara's face appeared in her imagination, and she smiled dreamily to herself. They were going to see each other in the morning, before the exam would start, and she just couldn't wait. Even if she could see him on a daily basis in the office, it didn't satisfy her at all. She needed to be alone with him, just like before, when he came to her place at night. They would sit next to each other, talk and enjoy each other's company. She would look at him and secretly revel in the sight, and he would say her name with that voice...

Dreaming about her precious redhead, Matsuri slowly drifted to sleep without even realizing it. When she woke up, it was dawn already and she jumped out of the bed as if she'd been stabbed with a kunai. She wasn't supposed to oversleep for the date, damn it! Growling to herself, she dressed and washed herself swiftly. Then she jumped across the window-sill, dashing towards the place where Gaara was supposed to wait for her... if he didn't get angry and went back to the Tower yet.

Fortunately, he patiently waited there and watched her running, until she came to a halt right before him and panted, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees.

"I'm... sorry..." she choked out at last. "I... overslept—"

"I can say," he replied, and the spark of amusement lit deep in his eyes. Matsuri straightened up and pouted slightly.

"I've never overslept for a mission," she remarked, as if trying to confirm her value.

"But the date is a different story?" Gaara asked innocently, and she narrowed her eyes.

"You're trying to make me feel bad on purpose!" she accused, scowling at him. "I'm really sorry... but I couldn't sleep at night," she admitted, attempting to make it sound like it was something normal, even if unpleasant. The redhead shook his head at her.

"I told you that you have nothing to worry about," he said. "Matsuri, shinobi need to have faith in themselves."

The girl didn't answer, slightly irritated at how easily he had read her. Of course, she knew he was right, but even if she repeated the statement to herself, it didn't make her self-confidence grow stronger.

"Excuse me for a moment," Gaara said and walked away towards three jounins, who had been standing in a distance as if announcing they needed to talk with him without any witnesses. Matsuri waited until they finished talking, and noticed there were more ninjas were moving around, peeking at her with their curiosity piqued. Even if her relationship with the Kazekage became a common thing and most of the people grew accustomed to the novelty, the couple had gone out together in public only once before. Of course, people would be shooting glances at their direction, and Matsuri sighed at the thought, but there was nothing she could do about it, except for quietly accepting the nuisance.

Gaara approached her and they slowly walked towards the training ground where the exam was going to start at 12. Since Sunagakure didn't host any guests during the exam, except for a few people from other villages who happened to be currently staying there, the security measures weren't much stricter than usual. The only difference was the new pattern the exam was supposed to follow. The candidates were going to fight against each other in preliminaries, but the final fight would have those facing jounins instead of other chuunins-to-be. Matsuri wondered who she would be fighting with, and she had a bad feeling about this. Kotori was the person, who was assigning sparring partners to respective candidates, and she certainly wanted Matsuri to be defeated in a very spectacular manner.

"What is it?" Gaara asked, obviously noticing her uneasiness.

"Nevermind," she replied, shaking her head slightly.

"You won't fail," he stated, and Matsuri swallowed painfully, pushing away the image of Kotori's triumphant smirk.

"Please, stop saying this," she pleaded, and the redhead gazed at her with a frown. "You're putting... pressure on me."

Gaara didn't comment on her words, only pondered over something in silence.

"I guess it wasn't good for you to train under me," he said at last, and Matsuri blinked, surprised. She wanted to deny it, but he continued. "The longer we trained, the clearer you could see the difference in our powers, couldn't you?"

The girl nodded slowly, knowing already where he was getting to.

"I never regretted choosing you," she remarked, slightly shaking her head.

"So didn't I," he said, and she grinned happily. He didn't smile in return, but the look he gave her was so warm that she had a hard time to control her spontaneous impulse of hugging him. "But it wasn't exactly my point."

"You think I lost my self-confidence because of you," Matsuri guessed.

"Yes, you could say that," Gaara answered, glancing at her from the corner of his eye.

"Well, I've never had much of it in the first place... but now, when I think about it..." The girl nodded to herself, rubbing her chin.

"You started comparing yourself to me and you decided you were weak. You only forgot most of the ninjas from our village are quite weak in comparison to me," Gaara said and Matsuri blinked, slanting an uncertain glance at him. The words would sound conceited if someone else had uttered them, but Gaara's tone was matter-of-fact and the girl knew pretty well that what he had said was the obvious, undeniable truth.

"I couldn't help it, could I?" she tried to defend herself. "Students always compare themselves to their teachers."

"That's why I said it wasn't good for you, nor anyone else, to train under me," the redhead said and Matsuri shook her head impatiently.

"You're wrong," she argued zealously. "You were the best teacher in the world."

"I think you're exaggerating a bit, to put it mildly," Gaara contradicted, and Matsuri rolled her eyes.

"Maybe. But only a bit. Don't you remember what I told you about your siblings' students? Seriously, they cried so much over not choosing you!" She laughed at the memory. "They really envied me!"

The Kazekage looked quite stunned.

"They... envied you?"

"Yeah," Matsuri said with a beam. "I told them you were always patient, never laughed at me nor mocked me, you just accepted that I was afraid of weapons, and you helped me to overcome that fear. And they envied me so much!"

Gaara stopped walking and gazed at her with unreadable expression. Matsuri stopped as well, bewildered. Eventually, she shifted uncomfortably under the stare he was giving her.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" she asked in a quiet voice, with a slight frown creasing her forehead. The redhead didn't answer her question, though. He only lifted her palm with his, and brushed the knuckles of her fingers with his lips, bowing slightly. Matsuri's eyes widened, and she instinctively put her other hand upon her heart, then pressed it against her lips to block the surprised gasp tearing out from her throat. The blood rushed to her cheeks at the thought of people passing by and watching the scene, but she would better not to look around to meet their avid stares.

"I will never be able to fully express how much I appreciate what you have done for me," Gaara uttered quietly, softly, raising his eyes at her and looking at her in a way that made her heart pound faster. Matsuri gulped and nodded swiftly, the corners of her mouth curving upwards with a timid smile.

"You were worth it, weren't you?" she replied playfully, but her smile faded when she had seen his serious expression. Actually, Gaara still looked slightly confused with her previous words, and the realization hit her that she wasn't the only one lacking self-confidence there. She was just lacking it in a different field than him, and oddly enough, she found the notion quite endearing. It was good to know he wasn't perfect either. "I admit though that I would have never thought you would become Kazekage someday," she added with an impish little smile, and to her amazement Gaara's expression reflected a sense of guilt.

"I'm sorry," he said seriously, and she blinked.

"For what?" she stammered, completely unknowing what he had meant.

"For hurting you," the redhead replied, and Matsuri held her breath, looking away when the pain and humiliation, which she had already managed to forget, went back into her consciousness. She shook her head, biting her lower lip, and definitely wishing the conversation would take place in somewhere private. She wanted to hear this apology again, followed by the detailed explanation; besides, she needed to express some of the sadness and anger she had experienced because of him, and ask many questions that needed answers from such a long time. Unfortunately, they had to part now. Gaara had to go back to the Tower before the exam, to put on his Kage robes and take care of many things she probably didn't even know anything about, and she had to walk back to her place and prepare for the exam. Then they would probably see each other after the exam has ended, but she already missed him.

The end of chapter 13.

The next chapter: Fights and explanations

A/N

Sekka=talented Suna medic nin appearing in manga ch.251 and anime ep.10 of Naruto Shippuuden