𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐊𝐀𝐙𝐄𝐊𝐀𝐆𝐄'𝐒 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐄𝐑 | gaara

Part 9

After about a week of going through the so called coupling activities from the workbooks, the village elders and Baki called you and Gaara in to check your progress. The man who read out your personal info last time beamed as you and Gaara sat comfortably beside each other, looking much more relaxed than the first time you had met.

"Splendid! I take it we're going well, then?" he asked cheerfully. You and Gaara exchanged looks, then realised how close you two had been sitting next to each other. You both casually inched away so that there was a reasonable distance between you two, making the elders sweatdrop.

"Anyways, to the point," said Baki gruffly. The elders nodded at him in acknowledgement, but before he could continue speaking, another eager council member spoke up.

"We believe it's time for you to move in with the Kazekage," he said, nodding seriously at you. You leaned back in your seat, exhaling a long breath.

"Already?" Baki put his hands forward as you and Gaara exchanged wary looks; although it was true that you two had made some progress over the course of the last week, the thought of being thrown into each other's personal space seemed a bit too... much.

"Not necessarily sharing a room just yet," added Baki encouragingly, reading the distrustful looks on your faces. "We're taking baby steps, after all! Just even living in the same house will do for now."

You resisted falling off your chair, and made a noise of annoyance.

"Is it really... necessary?" asked Gaara, breaking the short lived silence. "After all... we're practically still strangers."

"Scouts have said otherwise, my Lord. They say you are both utterly comfortable within each other's company. I see no qualms whatsoever in why you two cannot reside in the same home." You and Gaara sweatdropped now, and you gave him an uncomfortable look.

"Wait, you had people following us?!" you exclaimed, taken aback by the revelation. "That's so not cool, man!"

"Well, how else did you expect us to track your progress? Do you really think we made this decision lightly? Do you think we'd let any stranger into his home, his one and only refuge from the hustle and bustle of daily life? Do you think we don't know what we're doing, [Surname]-san?! We're doing everything we can to secure the safety and wellbeing of the village, and the Lord Kazekage himself!"

As the council members glared at you intensely, you felt so embarrassed you wanted to curl up in a ball and have someone kick you all the way to the Land of Fire so you could hide from your humiliation in a little hut in the woods as an isolated hermit.

"That's enough, Baki," says Gaara. Baki let out a loud "hmph!" and took his seat, crossing his arms. At that point in time, you didn't know what to think.

How can I move in with Gaara if I'm still lying to him about who I am?

Would you eventually tell Gaara that you weren't Risa [Surname]? Would you ever tell him that you're actually [Name] [Surname]?

"I'll move in tomorrow," you said in a dull voice.

"Right! We'll have people over in the morning to organise and move your belongings! At this rate, we'll have a wedding in no time!"

You glanced at Gaara, and he shot you a small grin. You tried your best to return it as brightly as you could, but you couldn't shake off the feeling that you were betraying him.

*

Usually, after each coupling activity (which were actually dates now that you'd come to think of it), Gaara would take you to your home halfway across the village, but today, he stayed back with the elders.

"See you tomorrow, Risa-chan."

When you got home that night, Ichiro and Risa weren't home, as usual. Risa was probably at Shinji's house and Ichiro was probably out getting his own dinner. You sighed, and after bathing and eating whatever you could find in the fridge and cupboards, you went straight to bed with a heavy heart.