Sora was leaning against one of the Sunagakure gates posts, patiently waiting for the Kazekage. Sora wore her regular beige flak jacket that was worn by most Suna jonins, except she got rid of the sleeves. Those were annoying her. Long and baggy black pants and shirt accompanied it. She also had on a hip and thigh holster to hold weapons, her storage scrolls and medicine.

The escort had arrived early, having already packed the night before and finished the last few pages of her latest book.

She'd been standing there for about 10 minutes. She had been grimacing the entire time because she realized that she had been taken pity of.

The Kazekage gave her this trade because he knew very well that no matter how good of a shinobi she was, 3 860 000 ryo was way too much for her to have any decent amount of money left over. It was a thoughtful gesture, but Sora's pride took a toll. She could very well take care of herself, dammit. She didn't need someone like the cold, calculative and stoic Kazekage to be sympathizing with her. However, it was too late to go back on the offer; she had already accepted.

Thus, instead of fuming, she made a resolve. Sora had made a tally.

Kazekage: 1 Sora: 0

The table had to balanced before she was satisfied.

Right on time, she saw a tuft of crimson hair making it's way towards her. For a second, she didn't recognize him. He wasn't wearing the white Kage uniform.

As Gaara made his way towards her, navy eyes scanned his new appearance.

He wore full-length dark trousers that had laces at the bottom, stopping a few inches below his knee. He also wore a long sleeved crimson coat that had flaring hemlines on the front and back. A grey holster vest went over one shoulder and two buckled belts held his gourd. There were also two grey belts loosely around his waist and for what reason they were there, she did not know.

Fashion statement? Doubtful.

Her eyes roamed back to his face and they widened in disbelief upon seeing a red that wasn't his hair.

Is that…a tattoo?

No way.

But she stared and it wasn't a mirage. The Kazekage had a tattoo of the kanji love on the left side of his forehead. He also had no eyebrows.

The Kazekage cap had been hiding a lot. She may have to reconsider him having no fashion statements.

By the time Gaara reached the gates, Sora had composed herself back to her uncaring appearance.

"Ready?"

"Hn."

And just like that, they were off, on their way to Konoha.

They had been travelling in comfortable silence for several hours before the Kazekage raised a hand. The pair stopped simultaneously and he said, "Lunch."

Sora made no complaint and sensing that this area in the forest was clear, nodded her consent.

She took a storage scroll from her hip holster, opened it and poof! There was an assortment of containers she picked one at random. It encompassed sandwiches and a few stolen apricots.

Gaara also took out a storage scroll from his holster and picked out some bread and water.

Sora eyed his food with distaste and the words came out of habit, "That is not nutritious enough."

During the time Aika taught her to cook and medic jutsu, Sora learned the importance of a healthy diet. From then on, she practically shoved vegetables down Katou's throat. Whenever the boy ate something that lacked in nourishment, she never failed to point it out and fetch him something more suitable.

If her statement peeved Gaara in any way, he did not show it. "It will suffice."

She didn't care about his dismissive tone.

"No it won't," and she picked up one of her apricots and tossed it in his direction. He caught it easily, and gently enough not to bruise the fruit. "Bread is high in nutritional value because it's rich in complex carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, mineral, fiber and because of its bulkiness, it satisfies hunger longer and is less fattening. However, it's got nothing on these," she lightly threw her own apricot in the air, and it landed back into her palm. "They're low in calories, an excellent source of vitamins, carotenes, potassium and anti-oxidants. They're also one of the ingredients used in the Military Ration Pills." She took a bite out of hers and Gaara eyed his thoughtfully. "Out of all the food I could've stolen, I took those. Eat it."

His slender hand twirled the fruit with new consideration. Gaara didn't like being lectured and planned to ignore the babbling girl. However, the dislike was forgotten once realizing this was what Kankuro had been smiling victoriously about after discovering Sora Julius was a thief. Gaara had briefly wondered what a jonin like her would have to steal. Apricots. She was an apricot thief.

He had the unexpected and sudden urge to smile.

Gaara hid the slight tilt of his lips by taking a bite of the fruit. The honeyed taste wasn't so bad and so he took another.

Sora was smiling at her achievement. He liked it.

Kazekage: 1 Sora: 1

Ah, life was right once again.

And then it wasn't quite so well. "It is rude to stare."

Gaara's words broke Sora's little moment of satisfaction. She had been looking at the half eaten apricot and raised her eyes to scowl at him. "I am not-"

But then her attention had been diverted along the way to the pale lips, glistening with the fruit's nectar. Abruptly, she became very thirsty.

For the briefest of moments, she wondered how he would taste and her tongue licked her lips.

"You're doing it again."

Startled by her act and thoughts (what was wrong with her?), Sora averted her attention elsewhere, like her original objective: bored jade eyes.

She glared at them. "I wasn't staring."

An inconspicuous, naked brow rose in doubt of her obvious lie.

Knowing she wouldn't win this argument, Sora backed down to eating the rest of her lunch. Gaara caught the submissive act and went back to eating the rest of his fruit with a tiny smirk.

This could be fun.

This was not fun. The damn Kazekage was messing with her and Sora did not appreciate a speck of it.

Arrogant asshole.

There was no possible way that he was in this much of a rush to get to Konoha. The speed was near impossible and Sora just knew he was doing it to push her. Why? She hadn't the slightest idea; she never even knew the Kazekage could be playful. The idea itself was unsettling and Sora didn't know what could've happened to trigger this side of him. She was quickly realizing there were many things she didn't know about the Kazekage.

The kunoichi knew one thing though: she refused to lose whatever game he was playing.

Sora laced even more chakra into her legs and in several minutes, passed him.

Gaara was impressed. The girl was not only able to keep up with the speed he'd set, but even exceeded it. Her determination was admirable…and idiotic. Surely, with her medic knowledge, the girl knew her body wouldn't be able to handle such labor without consequences. The Kazekage expected her to stop after an hour at most, but now they were at three and she was still going.

The girl was completely irrational.

He should've stopped and let her win rather than setting his speed to be the same as hers; the kunoichi's hurting body would be a hindrance the rest of the journey, but the Kazekage was far too curious. It was like being a kid with a new toy and his sadistic nature was resurfacing. How far could she go before breaking?

The more rational side of his brain reminded him that this was still a bad idea. She would get hurt and perhaps even injure herself.

Gaara waved it off.

If she gained any injuries, the girl knew medic jutsu and could heal them afterwards. She was a jonin; her idiocy had to stop at some point. Surely, she'd stop before her condition became so dire that she couldn't even heal herself.

Half an hour later, Gaara realized he'd been wrong.

The soaring figure next to him that was the kunoichi suddenly fell, plummeting to the ground. The Kazekage's sand swept out from his gourd and caught her in a bed of sand. He stopped on a thick branch as the sand lifted the panting girl to him.

It was clear from her state of collapse that Sora couldn't even stand, let alone heal herself. It was all she could do to drink in those lungful's of air. Yet, despite her exhaustion, she managed to look the Kazekage in the eye and wheeze out, "Jerk."

Gaara made no visible response to the insult, as he was too busy with hiding his own fatigue. "Fool."

Her glare said that if she could've punched him, she would've. However, her one word insult took a lot of effort to say and Sora was low not only on chakra, but also stamina.

She blinked and felt the lead weight of her eyelids. They fluttered from her struggle to stay awake before closing in defeat. Sora was asleep.

Gaara let his tiredness show after. He was winded, muscles sore and sat down on the branch. Jade eyes glared at the sleeping form. This girl was a nuisance, making him as reckless as her. This was what he got for trying to be considerate of someone's financial situation. He'd gotten too soft.

After catching his breath, the Kazekage and his sand carried the unconscious girl down to the ground. There was no other choice but to set up camp. Sora was laid on a patch of comfy looking grass as Gaara's sand dispersed around the area to detect intruders with his Sand Sensing abilities. Were any of the grains disturbed during their rest, he would immediately be informed of the individual's location and if need be, annihilate them.

Gaara set up a fire. He unraveled his storage scroll, picking out a dinner to eat. He laid his soup over the fire to heat up. The aroma of roasting, snake soup wafted through the air and Sora stirred.

"…Aika?" She asked the air groggily. She tried to sit up, in search of one of her favorite foods. However, the protesting muscles refused it. "Ow…"

Mystified as to what was happening, Gaara watched her tired struggle. Sora attempted to lift herself up from the ground two more times before giving up, falling back to her bed of grass in defeat.

"Never mind," she sighed, curling up to sleep. "Save some for me…later."

Silence as Gaara waited for more movement. Sora's deep breaths assured the spectator that she was once again asleep. It took a few moments for what happened to sink in, but when it did, a resistant Gaara smiled.

It looked almost painful but the amused expression wouldn't falter. In fact, once Gaara grasped that he was in a forest with no one else around but the sleeping Sora, it escalated to a deep, rich chuckle. The opulent sound lasted only a few brief moments before jade eyes assessed the slumbering girl with new awareness.

How utterly amusing this girl was. Her determination could send Naruto running for his money. She was an insolent and prideful creature. They were characteristics Gaara found distasteful but they fuelled her willpower, which he thought commendable enough to counteract. She also seemed to care for others or at least, their diet. Then there was the act that had just occurred and it was the first time Gaara thought something… adorable. Truly, the word made him cringe but he was not one to run from actuality.

Sora had sparked the Kazekage's interest, and because of this, was now in a rather dangerous situation.