Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ A Matter of State ❯ The Meeting ( Chapter 3 )

Chapter Two:

Gaara flicked his gaze toward his reflection in the full-length mirror that made up the closet door of his temporary room in Konoha. He felt a bit odd, almost queasy. Temari had come back to Suna just over a week ago with a self satisfied smirk and announced that everything was arranged. She had only been gone for three days, and assuming that she had spent at least one day with her boyfriend that meant that everything had been resolved rather quickly. Too quickly. He wasn't ready.

When he had finally summoned up enough courage to ask his sister who he was going to marry (even now the question still seemed odd) she had smiled broadly.

“She's perfect,” she'd stated. Now Gaara respected his sister's decisions and to have her proclaim a girl was perfect for him was slightly disconcerting. He hadn't really thought any girl could be perfect for him; he'd never even thought he'd be able to have a relationship with anyone. People were too frightened. He sighed; his sister was probably wrong, or just too excited about the whole plan to think clearly.

“Who is it?” Kankuro had interjected, curious.

`Yamanaka Ino,” Temari had replied with her smirk still glued to her face.

“The blonde?” Kankuro had asked, sounding awed. “No way! I - ah, I mean way to go Gaara!” Turning to his younger brother with a bit of a leer he added in a quieter voice that Temari wouldn't hear, “That girl is hot! Lucky bastard.”

Gaara had felt himself blush a light shade of red, unused to this sort of attention, even from his siblings.

“We're heading down to Konoha so you can meet her in a week,” Temari had informed them. “We'll spend a week there so you can get acquainted, and then we'll have the betrothal ceremony. After that we'll head up here for the wedding.” Temari paused to smile sadly and wipe a fake tear from her eye. “To think, my baby brother is all grown up and getting married in two weeks.”

“What?” Gaara had asked, shocked. “Two weeks, but - that's so soon...”

“Why waste time?” Kankuro had said a trifle lecherously.

 

Sighing Gaara pulled his mind back to the present. He was on his way to meet Ino and her parents now. He tried to remember something about her, but he hadn't really been the most sociable person on his last visit to the Leaf during the chunin exams. Actually, he'd tried to kill most of her friends. He remembered that she was pretty and that she'd cut her hair in a rather clever attempt at ensnaring that annoying pink-haired girl... He would have killed that one if it hadn't been for Naruto, but man had she ever been whiny. Mind you, Sakura did help save his life and she'd gotten a lot better, so he probably ought to be a little nicer to her . Yes, nice. He had to be nice not just to Ino, but all her friends and family. He really didn't want the woman he was going to be spending the rest of his life with to hate him.

 

Ino stood in front of the full-length mirror in her room, critically turning from side-to-side as she examined her appearance. This meeting was supposed to be informal, so she was wearing her usual purple outfit - but maybe she should try something a little dressier? No. She needs to be relaxed and comfortable around him, or else he'll never relax around her. Briskly looking herself over one last time she efficiently pulled her long hair up into its usual high pony-tail before exiting her apartment and heading to her parent's house. After picking them up, they would all head over to the Hokage's office to meet the Kazekage and his siblings. Oh, this was going to be so awkward.

 

Tsunade sat behind her desk, eyeing the three sand ninja nervously standing in front of her.

Temari actually didn't look that nervous, mostly self-satisfied. Her worry only showed through the quick glances she kept sending to Gaara, as if to reassure herself that he was still there and going through with the plan. Kankuro's nervousness was perhaps better interpreted as awkwardness, he had flirted with Ino an awful lot in the past and now she was going to be formally introduced to his younger brother as his future wife...how the hell was he supposed to react to that? As for Gaara, well let's just say that it wasn't often one got to see the Kazekage fidget. His hands would tug on his robe, or reach up to check his hair, and his feet were constantly shifting from side to side. If Tsunade hadn't been just as worried, the sight would have been comical, now it just added to her anxiety.

Finally the door opened to reveal the Yamanaka family. As they stepped into the room Tsunade could tell that Inoichi was not pleased.

She had expected something like this of course; Yamanaka Inoichi had always been very protective of his only child. He didn't like that she had to have an arranged marriage. He didn't like that she was going to have to move to Sunagakure. Most importantly, he didn't like that the man his daughter was marrying was an ex-serial killer who had previously been certifiably insane.

Needless to say his objections were not unfounded. However, since Shukaku's removal Gaara had not killed except when necessary, and getting a few hours of sleep a night had helped with the insanity. Tsunade did not see her request as unreasonable, and since Ino had decided to accept it Inoichi was just going to have to deal with it. Preferably without glaring at the Kazekage like that.

Tsunade, who was acting as the go-between for this marriage immediately decided now would be a good time to make the formal introductions.

She stood up and moved to stand between the two groups, sending a glare at Inoichi on the way. “Kazekage-sama, may I present the Yamanakas. Inoichi, the head of the clan, his wife, and his daughter Ino. Yamanaka-san this is Sabaku no Gaara, Kazekage of the village hidden in the sand, and his siblings Temari and Kankuro.” Here Tsunade paused to gently take Ino's hand and tug her forward. “Gaara, your future wife,” she said as she inclined her head respectfully. Ino sunk into a bow, and Gaara responded in kind although his bow was not as low as Ino's.

As Ino resumed her upright position she caught Gaara's eyes and both of their cheeks flushed a light red - this was just as awkward as she'd feared.

After a few minutes of polite chatter Ino's mother kindly suggested that Ino take Gaara on a tour of the village since he hadn't been there in a while.

Gaara, after shooting a questioning look at Temari, quietly nodded his agreement and proceeded to the door, which he courteously held open for his fiancé.

 

As he followed Ino out the door he couldn't help but notice the thumbs up that Kankuro sent his way from behind his back. The corners of Gaara's mouth quirked up into what could possibly pass as a smile before the door closed and Gaara turned to face the blonde kunoichi waiting for him a few steps down the hallway.

She was definitely pretty - okay she was gorgeous. There was no denying that. And her good looks were only accentuated by her cheerful but slightly hesitant smile and general good humour. When she saw that Gaara was ready to proceed she turned and began to walk down the hallway as Gaara followed a few steps behind - there wasn't room for them to walk side-by-side unless they were uncomfortably close. Well, it would be uncomfortable for Gaara, Ino looked like she was used to physical contact.

He watched the way she walked down the hallway curiously. Her walk was more of a seductive sway, but he didn't get the impression she was doing it to intentionally lure him in. It was more like a habit that she no longer noticed. It definitely kept his eyes glued to her frame and he didn't notice they were outside until she turned to face him, a slightly mischievous look on her face.

 

Ino had been thinking about how she should behave. Should she treat him like she treated everyone else? Or would he prefer her to maintain her distance until they knew each other a bit better. They wouldn't really get to know each other very well before the wedding, she realized - a week was hardly sufficient. That decided her then, besides, if he was going to be married to her he should see what he was getting himself into... and who knows? Maybe being her normal annoying self would get him to open up a bit. It worked on everyone else.

 

“So Kazekage-sama,” she said, her eyes practically dancing, “where do you want to go? Konoha hasn't actually changed all that much these past few years.”

“Gaara,” he said quietly.

“Huh?” Ino cocked her head to the side in confusion.

“Please - call me Gaara,” his eyes were focused on the ground as he said this. “If - if we're going to be married it will get really awkward having you always calling me Kazekage-sama.”

Ino felt her face heat up. Of course. Geez, what was she thinking? Still, it was nice to know he wanted her to call him by his first name.

“Of course, Gaara,” she said with a genuinely warm smile. “Now, where did you want to go?”

Gaara was clueless. The only female he had ever been alone with was his sister and - well, this was an entirely different situation. Really, he had no clue where they should go.

“Wherever you think is best, Ino-san,” Gaara said respectfully.

All of a sudden Ino whirled from his side to directly in front of his face. He would have been disconcerted, but her eyes were narrowed in a glare. Anger was an emotion he was used to dealing with and placed him back in his comfort zone. Now, if he could only figure out what she was angry about...

“Gaara,” she said and her voice was unexpectedly kind - too kind. “If I'm going to call you Gaara don't you think you ought to call me Ino? After all, don't you think it's a bit odd to go around calling your wife `-san'?”

Gaara gulped. Something about this blonde was intimidating, even if he knew he could easily best her in a fight.

“Sorry - Ino,” Gaara said quietly.

“That's okay,” she said happily as her mouth curved up into a grin. Wow, Gaara thought, her moods change really fast.

“So Gaara, where do you want to go?” she asked for a third time. All of a sudden her stomach let out an audible growl. Ino looked down in acute embarrassment, her cheeks flushing.

Gaara did his best to hold back a smile, she was pretty cute looking when she blushed. “How about we go get something to eat Ino,” he said gently. “I'm pretty hungry and I haven't eaten since we arrived this afternoon.”

The look of gratitude on her face when she met his eyes again made him feel special, and important. People weren't usually grateful to him for anything.

“Perfect,” she said. “Come on, I know the perfect place.” With that she grabbed his arm and started leading him down the street.

Ino hadn't really been thinking when she had latched onto the Kazekage's - Gaara's arm. One of her hands held his while her other arm was wrapped around his arm. Her hand holding his hand wasn't really holding his hand though - it was holding sand. Of course, she thought. His sand armor - it was only to be expected. Even with his gourd on his back he still needed his armor for protection, especially in another village, even if they were allies. Still, a part of her wished that that extra barrier wasn't there. It was like a wall, keeping her away.

Gaara was completely thrown when Ino had snatched up his hand and arm. He could still feel the pressure of her grasp, even if he couldn't actually feel her due to his sand armor. When she held his arm and hand like that she was so close to him. It made him uncomfortable and he instinctively tried to pull his arm away.

Ino felt him try to tug his arm away and subtly tightened her grip. If he was gong to be her husband he could hold her hand when they walked down the street! She turned her head and arched an eyebrow at him with a look that was half plea and half challenge. Gaara, who had no clue how to deal with girls after all, was unable to think of a proper response and merely conceded his arm to the kunoichi's grasp as she led him down the street.

 

The walk was peaceful and the night was warm and beautiful. The tranquility of the evening had Gaara relaxing in spite of the physical closeness of the blonde girl. At least, he was beginning to relax - until the peace was brutally shattered.

“GAARA!” a loud voice exclaimed from behind them.

Ino and Gaara stopped and turned only to see that three of their fellow shinobi had just returned from a mission; Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. Of course, it had been Naruto whose shout had pierced the air and drew their attention.

“Hey Gaara!” Naruto called again as they drew closer. “Who's the gir...” Naruto's voice trailed off as he recognized Ino wrapped around Gaara's arm. His dumb-founded gaze moved back and forth between Ino, Sasuke, and Gaara.

Sasuke, in his typical speechless manner shot Ino a look that said `huh?'

Ino responded in kind with a slight shake of her head that clearly meant `long story, I'll explain later.'

Sakura just stood there in shock, her mouth opening and closing like a fish. It wasn't until Ino noted this out loud that Sakura was able to (somewhat) recover her senses. What was with Ino? When she had left on her mission she and Ino had had another of their friendly fights over Sasuke, and now she was clinging to the Kazekage like he was her boyfriend? She'd only been gone a week, and she hadn't heard about the Kazekage coming, so he couldn't have been here that long...

“Gaara, I didn't know you were coming! How long have you been here?” Naruto asked. He in no way understood what was going on between Ino and Gaara, but he'd caught a hint of desperate pleading in Gaara's eyes and decided not to comment. He'd find out later.

“We arrived early this afternoon,” Gaara said.

Now Sakura was really confused. He'd only just gotten here? What the hell was going on between those two?

“Gaara and I were just going to grab some dinner, if you wanted to join us?” Ino asked politely. “That is, if Gaara doesn't mind?” she hastily added, looking at the red-head for approval.

Since when did Ino wait for anyone's approval on anything?

Gaara nodded in agreement and Ino barely managed to stop herself from sighing in relief. Having others there might make everything less awkward.