-Chapter Six-
One of the most beautiful qualities of a
true friendship
is to understand and be understood
_______________________________________________
~*~
"Taking refuge in a cave." Gaara murmured, setting a tray of food down before Emiko. "What were you thinking..?"
"Not about the chances of getting a scorpion sting." Gaara sent her a look and sat on the edge of the bed. "Don't you have a home?" he wondered. "I was evicted..." She explained,"I missed a day of paying rent."
"You are a skilled Ninja. You would make a great addition to the Sand's Anbu, Emiko"Gaara suggested. She shook her head. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama. But I have given up my job as a ninja long ago."
"As you wish. But my offer still stands. Now eat up, call me when you're finished" With a deep sigh, he had exited her room. "Oi! Gaara!" Kankuro called his brother over to the kitchen table."Is she staying?" he asked, eager to know. The former jinchuriki sighed, looking down to his feet in obvious frustration. "I'm not sure." he replied, uncertain. Temari, studied his expression and flashed Kankuro a look.
"You can't fix everybody, Gaara. You should know, since our last encounter with Sasuke Uchiha."Gaara lifted his gaze to his sister. "Emiko is different." Kankuro eyed him carefully, knowing full and well his brother was beginning to fancy the Leaf ninja. Then again, who wouldn't? He felt a smile creeping up to his lips, but had refrained.
" Have you forgotten I was once in her position?" He asked the two, "If it takes a toll on me then so be it. But I know one thing for sure..." He trailed off. "And that is that I will not let history repeat itself"Temari closed her eyes for a moment, and then nodded her head. She couldn't deny, she was proud to call Gaara her brother.
"So I need your help. Please...make her feel as welcome here as possible."
"Of course." Temari and Kankuro agreed in unison.
~*~
Ahh Team Taka.
Though each member was Sasuke Uchiha's idea of "The Perfect Team", one thing was for sure... they did not get along much. The Uchiha was nearly one hundred percent done with his teammates. Every second, every minute, Suigetsu and Karin would find the simplest of things to bicker about.
Where did he go wrong? Then again, he shouldn't have disregarded Hozuki's words when he told him who he didn't get along with. He let out a sigh, longing for their trip to Suna to go by faster than it had been.
Once they recruit Emiko, maybe he'll be able to tolerate his team a little more.
~*~
"Kankuro?" Emiko peeked around the door, to find the brunette working on a puppet. "Oh hey, Emiko. You can come in if you want." He invited her. The Crow wasn't in its best condition, and it's arms and legs needed mending pretty bad. "Damnit!" He cursed aloud, frustrated. He was unable to do such intricate repairs on his puppet due to his large hands.
"I could help, if you'd like" She suggested, stepping closer to the table."Sure, Emi. That'd be great."
"Emi, huh? Never been called that before..." She said while she took over for him. Just like that, she had fixed it on the first try. "Man! How unfair. That took me at least five times, how'd you do that?" Emiko shrugged,"My hands are a bit smaller than yours."
"That's an understatement." he teased. Emiko laughed as held out his palm to measure the largeness of his hand. "Hey are you laughing at me?!"
"-Sorry..." She backed away, flinching. "Hey there" his gaze softened, "I was only kidding." Emiko hesitated to look him back in the eye, deciding to walk back towards the door. "Sorry..."she apologized once more," A-anyways, I'm going to get some rest." She turned to the door.
