Affection Blooming From A Desert (Gaara x OC)

Chapter 1: Meeting

The great elemental nations of the Shinobi world were in relative peace three years after the 4th great war. There were still groups of bandits and rogues that sought power and control. Aside from that, the great nations were all at a union with one another. Since the war ended, Gaara has cemented his position as the greatest Kazekage there ever was.

Suna had developed greatly under his leadership. Suna had gotten larger and the citizens were content with their Kazekage. Gaara was now 20 years of age, and though still very young, the council pushed for him to wed. They worried for their Kazekage since he was alone most of the time. However, the council knew not to push this topic further in fear of angering their Kazekage. It was mentioned enough times that Gaara knew where the council stood with the matter.

It was difficult; he was just not interested in any girls in Suna. Most, if not all, would fawn over him because of his position and his looks. His mysterious and quiet demeanor just made it all the better. He also felt that there was just no time for him to be involved with a girl. As the leader of an entire village, he had many responsibilities and far too little time to provide a female with the attention that would be needed if he were to engage in a relationship with them.

Speaking of responsibilities, Gaara was unfortunate enough to have a pile of paperwork dumped on him. And with Kankuro in Konoha visiting Temari and Shikamaru, he didn't have anyone to help him. Now he sat in a small tea house that he had come to like, with a pile of paperwork.

Normally, he would do this in the privacy of his office but it felt a bit stuffy lately. Gaara was quite thankful that the owner of the tea house understood his need for privacy so he had closed up shop early, only allowing the Kazekage to remain. In addition, he had sent most of his staff home aside from one of his most experienced waitresses.

Gaara was reading over a mission report when a cup of tea was placed beside him. He glanced at the waitress.

"Thank you." Said Gaara.

The waitress merely smiled at him and nodded before walking to the back of the tea shop.

Admittedly, Gaara had thought that the waitress was somewhat cute. Her large green eyes were captivating and her elegant face was perfectly framed by long, soft, brown hair and bangs.

It made him think about his previous meeting with the council where they had once again, subtly mentioned how he should find a woman.

Putting the matter out of mind, Gaara focused back on the report at hand. There had been some trouble in a nearby village. There were reports of a group of rogue ninjas bringing havoc to the poor farmers of the village. In a small place like the rice village, there were no shinobis, only farmers. The rogues were burning crops and stealing rations from the villagers. However, there were rumors that they weren't just the run of the mill rogues who did petty crime. It was thought that they were simply finding a base of operation in preparation for a much larger threat. To ensure the protection of his village, Gaara had dispatched a group of jonins to scout the village. The report didn't provide much other than the already known stealing and burning. Although there weren't signs now of growing danger, Gaara was never the one to put something out of mind this quickly.

Gaara was so engrossed in going through reports and signing them that he did not notice the waitress had returned until he felt a tap on his shoulder. Averting his eyes from the current report, he looked at the waitress waiting for an explanation.

"I'm sorry to bother you Lord Kazekage-sama, but it is late and you have not eaten for awhile. Would you like something?" Asked the brown-haired waitress a bit timidly. It was a given that she would be so shy. Gaara was the Kazekage and his personality did not make approaching him all that easy.

"Yes. Thank you." Replied Gaara, just above a whisper. The waitress had turned and walked away. Curiously, Gaara's gaze lingered on her back until she disappeared behind an entrance covered by a curtain.

Gaara turned his gaze to his paperwork. It had been 2 hours since he first came to the tea house and since then, his pile had drastically decreased. Only several more reports were left unfinished. Once he was done he would be able to put this paperwork out of sight and be finished for the day.

A few moments later, the waitress had returned with a plate of salmon onigiri.

Gaara, being a man of few words, nodded at the girl in thanks.

The girl took a pause, wondering if her Kazekage needed anything else before she went back to help the owner clean the kitchen.

Just as she turned to leave, Gaara stopped her.

"Wait." He had said, the girl halted abruptly.

She turned her head to look at Gaara, with a worried expression thinking that she had done something wrong to displease him. What he had asked next shocked and confused her.

"What is your name?" Asked Gaara, with the signature impassive look of his.

The girl did not respond for a few seconds, not understanding why the Kazekage had asked her name. She finally snapped out of her wonderment when she realized the Kazekage was still waiting for her answer.

"Ima-imamura A-Akina, my Lord." Stuttered the girl.

Without further response, Gaara redirected his attention back to his last bit of paperwork. Taking this as a sign, the brown-haired waitress named Akina walked a bit faster than normal to the back of the tea shop.

'Imamura Akina...interesting.'