Kakashi's Teammate, the Lightning Goddess

The Chunin Exams: P.1

*edited*

Chapter 14: The Chunin Exams: P.1

                I awoke staring at the ceiling. This was my room; I knew that instinctively, and by the feel of the mattress and the blankets. I glanced to my right to see Gaara sitting there, staring at me. Smiling, I waved at him. “Hi,” I croaked out, coughing in an attempt to get my voice back. “Oh, that’s a bit better. How are you?”

                “Why are you so nice to me?” he asked. “Aren’t you supposed to be afraid of me?”

                “Don’t be silly.” I yawned, stretching. “Why would I be? Because you’re powerful? Because you have the power of a Tailed Beast? If anything, I’d want to get to know you. You’re strong, in many different ways.”

                He just kind of gazed at me.

                “It’s got to be dinner time,” I said, sitting up. “Go home, eat dinner, train hard. I’ll see you during the Chunin Exams, right?”

                He nodded mutely.

                “Good. I’m looking forward to it, Gaara.”

                He looked almost as though he wanted to say something else, but he just turned and left. I smiled after him. He was just too adorable.

                I found that it was nearing evening, which meant that I’d been out for less than half an hour. Gaara must’ve somehow lifted me up the stairs… probably with the help of his sand. I couldn’t imagine him allowing skin-to-skin contact for quite a while.

                I wondered if Naruto was ever like this. If Minato and the rest of my team hadn’t been there for me after my parents had died, things would have been far worse for me.

                I was just about to go out for a walk when there was a knock on my door. As I moved to get it, though, whoever it was unlocked it from the outside and walked right in.

                “Kira-sensei, will you train me for the Chunin Exams?” he asked, before waving the application form in my face. “Kakashi just gave these out. I’ve heard that they’re… challenging.”

                “Excruciatingly difficult,” I corrected him, and he just grunted noncommittally. “It’s getting late, but I have time if you want to just do a bit tonight.”

                He nodded at me. “Yeah, that’d be good.”

                I led him out to the training ground with the three posts, where we usually trained. “Anything in particular that you wanted to work on?”

                He shrugged. “Get stronger.”

                I rolled my eyes, before rummaging around in my bag and tossing him a pair of ankle weights that I’d brought just in case he had nothing in mind… which turned out true. “Here,” I said. “Put these on and run around for a bit. It’ll make you faster.”

                He frowned as he put them on. “How heavy are these?”

                “About a hundred each.” I beamed at his instant grimace. “Oh come on, Ducky, it’ll be fine. Go.”

                I sat back and watched as he struggled with the weights, before turning my attention to his application form. He had already filled it out and signed it, and I noticed with some amusement that he’d only put my name in the “Team Leader/Sensei” box. For some reason, he’d never respected Kakashi as a sensei; instead, he saw Kakashi more as a mentor and less as a leader.