Affection Blooming From A Desert (Gaara x OC)

Chapter 4: A Step In The Right Direction

The sweltering heat beat harshly down on the village. Akina saw her destination in front of her and hastened her pace. When she pulled the door open, she let out a relieved sigh. The moderate weather in the green house provided her the reprieve she so desperately needed from the scorching sun.

Her boss had returned from his vacation and as a way to thank Akina for her terrific work, he gave her two extra days off. She had spent her first two days off relaxing at home. She had plenty of time to catch up on her reading and her sleep. But now it was her third day, the last day before she had to go back to work, and she found herself with nothing to do. Normally, she would help out at the greenhouse on her days off so that's what she decided to do today.

She walked the familiar tiled path in the greenhouse to a back office. She knocked on the door she sought and pushed it open when she heard a faint "come in." Standing by a counter in a white lab coat and holding a clipboard was the head of the medical research department, and her aunty, Hana Tanaka. Well, not really an aunt by blood but she was a very good friend of Akina's parents. They had been there for each other when their families passed during the bleak war.

Ever since she was a little girl, Akina accompanied her parents to the green house. The beautiful greenery she saw captivated her. Whenever Hana babysat her while her parents worked at the hospital, Akina would always come to the greenhouse and follow Hana around while she did her research. When she got older, her fascination with medicinal plants and herbs motivated her to ask Hana if she could help. Hana happily obliged and taught the girl how to care for the plants. Since then, she has been a big help in keeping the plants healthy. The girl ended up becoming so knowledgeable that she would even help train new herbology students in the care and maintenance of the green house.

"Hey, Aunty."

"Oh, Akina! What a wonderful surprise. What are you doing here today?" She set her clipboard down and pulled the girl in for a hug. Akina happily returned the embrace.

"My boss gave me an extra day off and I was feeling a bit bored today so I thought I'd stop by and see if you needed any help."

"Oh how sweet. As a matter of fact there is something that you could help me with." She pulled away from Akina and walked towards a filing cabinet. She rummaged through different drawers pulling out several folders. Once she had what she needed, she neatly stacked them and handed them to Akina. "Could you take these to the Kazekage for me and tell him the folders with a blue tag are the newest data we've collected for the new poison antidote and the folder with a red tag is a research proposal to breed a new plant that we can make new balms from."

Akina nodded. "Sure! Is there anything else I can do for you, Aunty?"

Hana shook her head. "Unfortunately not, dear. We are short of in a lull right now, the rounds of plants we have now are doing just fine. Though do come back if that research proposal gets approved! The new properties of our hybrid plant are fascinating, I'm sure you will love it."

Akina grinned at her aunt. "Will do. I'll see you tomorrow for dinner?"

"Yes, I can't wait. Have a nice day, Akina and thank you again for the help." Hana gave Akina one last hug before turning back to her work.

Akina left the greenhouse and was immediately hit by a heat wave. She had no issues helping her aunt but gosh darn she was really hoping that it involved tending to the plants rather than delivering documents. She was quite upset to be back in the heat so soon and slightly dreading the fact she had to go to the Kazekage's office.

Alike, many of the girls in the village she thought the Kazekage was quite the handsome guy, though she was not as psychopathic as the fan-girls. She heard many stories from her co-workers about how some fan-girls had tried to sneak into his personal quarters to seduce him or how they tried to send him cookies and chocolates laced with a "love potion." When Akina heard those stories, she couldn't believe that they were so delusional. She felt bad for the Kazekage, having to deal with the mentally deranged admirers.