Chapter 6 - Discussion and a Revelation

"Gaara-sama, breakfast is ready."

Gaara walked downstairs, Kazekage robes in place. Temari and Kankuro had been gone for a week now, leaving the two of them alone in the house. Akara was in the kitchen, dressed in her normal clothes. But something was slightly off...

"You're wearing a skirt."

Akara looked at him, puzzled. "I beg your pardon?"

He looked up from his toast and eggs. "You're wearing a skirt. Why?"

She flicked her red bangs out of her face. "I can be feminine too, you know. It isn't a crime."

Gaara was silent for a minute. True, it wasn't that big of a deal, but the skirt was really short on her, and though she did wear fishnet leggings underneath, it didn't help much.

"It makes you look too feminine. That is a disadvantage."

"Looking like a woman is a disadvantage? That's utter crap."

"Women in themselves are the weaker sex."

"That's where you're wrong. Men are the weaker sex."

They were walking toward the tower now, continuing their debate as they walked.

"Women are infinitely superior to men in every way."

"How? Women have a low pain threshold, and they have little to no control on their emotions. Face it, they're weak."

"You're stupid. Women go through childbirth, and I'm not even going to mention what happens if they're shinobi..."

"Men also have superior strength and knowledge.

"That's crap and you know it. The two most knowledgeable and strongest shinobi in this world are women."

She had him there. As she smirked in triumph, he only scowled.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You cannot possibly be serious," said Gaara incredulously.

"I'm afraid so, Kazekage-sama," said Baki.

"This is impossible...it has to be a genjutsu or something," said Akara angrily.

"I can assure you both that this is very real."

"Baki, for your sake, the council better be joking."

"Unfortunately no, Kazekage-sama," said Baki, ignoring the death-threat, "The council specified that Akara-san accompany you to Konoha. Because of her ability to finish her C- and B-rank missions quickly and efficiently, they have decided to allow her to take on A-and S-rank missions. In essence, she is an unofficial Jonin."

"I'm flattered by the council's decision, but unfortunately your Kazekage is a heartless bastard."

"And this particular kunoichi is a cynical, selfish she-beast," Gaara shot back.

"The Kazekage is also a self-centered, self-serving, and completely maniacal egomaniac," she said, surprisingly calm and collected as opposed to Gaara's visibly rising anger and frustration.

"May I say that this kunoichi is an evil, sarcastic, and sadistic cow?"

"I want to remind Kazekage-sama that not only is he spoiled and arrogant, but he was also beat by a kunoichi standing in this room right now," she intoned, smirking.

Gaara opened his mouth, but closed it again after finding himself unable to find a retort. Baki, who had been watching the verbal battle in amusement, smiled proudly.

"It seems you have been owned," Akara said, smirk now a full-blown grin. Baki laughed.

"She's right. You got served."

Gaara looked at the woman before him in contempt. Not only had she beat him in battle, but she'd also beat him verbally. TWICE.

"Touché, kunoichi, touché,' he replied.

~~~~~~~~~~

Akara looked around in surprise.

"Konoha is enormous!"

"Isn't it," said Gaara as he made his way through the crowd, Akara following closely behind.

"GAARA! YOU'RE HERE!"

An orange and black blur tackled Gaara, nearly knocking him to the ground.

"Good to see you too, Naruto..." he grunted.

Akara frowned. "Gaara-sama, are you alright?"

Gaara straightened up. "Yes, I'm fine. May I introduce you to my good friend Uzumaki Naruto?"

Naruto grinned at the frowning kunoichi, who glared down at him wearing the tradition garb of a Sunian citizen.

"Charmed, I'm sure."

His grin only grew wider. "Hi! I'm Naruto, dattebayo! What's your name?"

"I am Yashara no Akara, Kazekage-sama's bodyguard."

Naruto looked over to his friend. "Damn, Gaara! Where'd you get this one? She's scary!"

Her voice grew dangerously soft. "What did you say, you insignificant little worm," she asked, switching to her bloodline.

Naruto eeped and hid behind Gaara, who sighed.

"Akara-san, deactivate your bloodline. Naruto can't help it he's an idiot."

Naruto peeked out from behind his friend. "Yeah, I can't help it I'm...HEY!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Akara had an interesting day as Gaara's bodyguard. She met all of his friends, including the medic Sakura, Neji, Shikamaru, Ino, Lee, Hinata, and others. She was suprised to see Gaara so relaxed and free of speech. It was extremely startling; he'd even chuckled occasionally. Very soon, they found it was time to go home.

"Promise to write?"

"I promise, Naruto."

"Don't forget to eat regularly...and don't overwork yourself! And don't forget to drink lots of water! You don't want me to go to Suna and force you to!"

"Alright, I'll keep it in mind, Sakura..."

The duo left the Konoha gate behind, traveling quickly through the forest. But the entire journey, all she could think about was one thing: friends.

~~~~~~~~~~

They returned home to find that Temari and Kankuro had returned while they were gone.

"'Kara-chan! Gaara! You're home!"

"So," said Kankuro, reaching over and tousling Gaara's hair playfully, "Were you a good boy while we were gone?"

"Kankuro, don't mess with my hair. You know that bothers me."

"I know!"

Temari turned to Akara. "So how was Konoha?"

"It was okay. I'm going to go shower."

~~~~~~~~~~

Gaara had finally escaped the clutches of his brother and sister, and was now walking down the hall to the restroom. He opened the door, and froze.

Imagine, if you will, a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. Gaara was that proverbial deer at the moment. Of course, Akara had the same look on her face. She had been wrapping a towel around her waist, and was now frozen as she stared fixedly at Gaara. After a few seconds, people as far away as the Land of Waves heard an earsplitting shriek.

"GET OUT!"

~~~~~~~~~~

"'Mari-chan," said Akara a few minutes later, "enlighten me: why is Gaara-sama such a jerk?"

"Well," Temari began tentatively, "He had a very troubled childhood..."

"So what, did it make him gay or something?"

"No...He has a problem. You see, when he was younger..."

"When he was younger, he had a demon, named Shukaku, sealed inside of him," said Kankuro bluntly.

"Yes...and if he ever fell asleep, he would be taken over by the demon and kill everyone in his way."

"It caused everyone, even our own uncle, to hate him. Our uncle tried to kill him."

"Now, he can't trust anyone. He's afraid to show affection, because anyone who ever said they loved him ended up betraying him."

"Oh," said Akara sheepishly. "Wow..."

"Yeah..."

"Y'know, for a smart girl, you're pretty good at playing stupid," said Temari pointedly.

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