A storm of sand and blaze (Gaara fanfiction and The Love Story He Deserves)

Chapter 5: Dinner in Sunagakure

During their road back to the Hidden Village of the Sand Gaara and Feza barely spoke. Instead, their glances crossed several times. The Kazekage realized that sometimes the color of her eyes changed, but whenever he glared again she would notice quickly that he was staring and both had to pretend they were looking somewhere else to the boring landscape. During that time he also wondered how could Shukaku become a friend of her so easily. He didn't have a good character and she wasn't very talkative. Somehow he was impressed that the beast appreciated her so much that he would let her sleep normally. But, Gaara was not the type to form preconceptions before knowing someone, therefore he would have to find out by himself.

When the sun finally hid in the west, Gaara entered the Village alone. Kankuro and Shinki received him at the entrance. Some commanders were also there. Before anything else happened, the Kazekage spoke directly to them.

"Assemble a meeting for tonight with the council. I need to talk to them as soon as possible. I'm afraid I came back alone and there is important news I need to tell them".

The commanders nodded and quickly left the place.

"Are you alright, Gaara?" Kankuro asked once they were alone.

"I am fine." He replied, "I want you to come with me to the meeting, brother. I will tell you everything while we get there." Then, he turned toward his son. "Shinki, how did your mission go?"

"It was not a problem". He replied. He had a serious expression but his eyes looked happy to see his dad. "Is there anything I can do for you, father?"

"There is," Gaara replied. "I need you to do me a favor while your uncle and I go to the meeting".

Shinki nodded and then his father approached to his ear to whisper some words to him. The kid nodded after listening carefully. Kankuro frowned wondering what it was all about.

"Now let's go, big brother". Gaara said. "We'll meet for dinner then, Shinki."

"Yes, father."

The boy waited until both adults disappeared and later he climbed the walls of the city discretely as a ghost. Perhaps one or two guards of the city saw him sneaking out however, no one used to forbid anything or scold Shinki besides his father. He made some clones, just in case anyone could be spying, and then he walked towards the place his father indicated him. It was a cave, not far away from the entrance of the village. When the boy stepped in, a woman with blue and orange hair like burning fire stepped out of the shadows. Shinki immediately realized It was her who he had to bring secretly inside the Kazekage's residence.

Two hours later, the meeting finally concluded. Gaara had revealed the news about the guards being traitors and the possibility of someone inside the village being involved in the attack. However, he intentionally omitted the fact of meeting Kaji Feza on the way. And when the council asked for the One-Tailed Beast, he just replied by saying he hadn't found him free in the desert as he was supposed to be. He wasn't lying after all.

Kankuro and the Kazekage left the reunion office and silently walked towards the family dining hall. When they entered, Shinki was already sitting in one chair and, next to him was Feza. She looked much better now though. The girl had taken a shower and her skin and hair looked clean like snow. Her new outfit, a blue dress, a shawl around her shoulders, and sandals made her seem jovial and shimmering. For both Gaara and Kankuro's surprise, she was chatting with Shinki when they found them in the dining room.

"Father, uncle!" Shinki greeted them instantly. The woman made a bow with her head.

Kankuro sent a quick confidential look to his brother by noticing the kid seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood. The Kazekage was also impressed himself and discretely replied to the look when entering the room.

"I am glad to see that you already introduced". Gaara said after sitting. "Feza-San, this is my older brother, Kankuro".

"Nice to meet you, Kankuro-sama".

"Nice to meet you. Gaara just told me all about the trouble you two had in the desert. I'm glad you could come back safe and sound".

"I thought the Devil of the Desert was just a kids' tale" Shinki added picking some meat dumplings from the banquet. "Sounds absolutely eerie. I wish I had seen it too."

Kankuro and Gaara shared another quick look. It was obvious that in that couple of hours the two of them had been chatting a lot as the child knew already the whole story.

"Well, I hope that creature does not appear in the surface again." the Kazekage added after serving some food in his dish. "I wonder why that monster came toward us all of a sudden".

"I guess It was because of the fire". Feza replied. "Some bugs are blind but they use temperature to look for their prey, especially at night that the desert is cold".

"I see. Well, we got to be careful with the heat sources at night then".

They ate their dinner quietly. Kankuro had an interesting time noticing his brother's looks spying nimbly their female guest. He wondered why he would be so interested. Knowing him, it was highly probable he just felt intrigued by the fact she was now the jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast more than any other reason. However Kankuro had to admit that she was kind of attractive. Perhaps not with a reluctant beauty but more like a puzzling and energetic appeal.

"...Right, uncle Kankuro?" Shinki asked his uncle interrupting his thoughts.

"Uhh... Right". He replied having no idea what they were talking about now.

"Alright, so Kankuro will just escort you two to the train station tomorrow morning. But be precautious on your way to Konoha".

The kid and the woman nodded. Then, politely both stood up and said goodnight before they left the dining hall. Once alone again, Kankuro noticed that Gaara was concentrated in something that was inside his head.

"I would have preferred to go myself to Konoha. But it would be too suspicious". The little brother declared finally. He seemed quite conflicted.

"Don't worry, brother. Shinki is gonna take good care of her."

"I know. It is just that all this problem concerns me. I thought peace in these lands would last longer".

The Kazekage closed his eyes and sighed. Kankuro put his hand on Gaara's shoulder to comfort him a bit.

"By the way, you told me that that woman had a creepy look," Kankuro said after a while. "But she looked pretty good in my opinion".

Gaara tensed his lips.

"I didn't use the word creepy..."

"I remember hearing it!... Nevermind. She got along quite well with my nephew. That's very impressive already".

"She is also a close friend with Shukaku, can you imagine?"

"Oh god... Well, besides that mysterious fire jutsu and the eyes and hair that can change color, she must have something special. Unfortunately, we won't be able to know her since she's gonna leave tomorrow morning".

Gaara nodded and didn't add anything else. He felt somehow comforted that his observation about Kaji Feza's eyes was true. Sometimes the color of her eyes changed to a dark blue, just as her hair. Perhaps it depended on her mood. But just as Kankuro said, it would be hard to find out since she was going to leave the next morning for an indefinite time.