Silver Sand (Gaara Love Story)

Chapter 06

(Yeah, I'm skipping back into the series, so everything that hadn't happened in the series yet didn't happen.)

Gaara walked into the living room from the kitchen.  "When the hell did I let you in?!!"  I yelped as he walked over towards the couch I was occupying.  Instead of a response, he only stared at me with sad, tired eyes before sighing deeply and looking away.  "What's wrong?"  The break in eye contact was very unusual for him.  Gaara would be glaring at me or just staring at me with an annoyed look on his face by now.

"We have to continue the Chunin Exams."  He said as he suddenly found interest in the farthest wall in the room from my eyes.  A pitying smile slowly formed on my face. 

"Well, I know that you're going to do great!"  I hugged him.  Crimson formed on his face as he blushed at the contact.  A giggle escaped my lips at his reddening face.  He attempted to glare at me, but just didn’t seem to be able to, so instead he did the next best thing and turned away with a hmph.  “I’ve got to go talk to the Hokage, see ya later!” 

After jumping off of him, I sent him a wink before disappearing from the house and reappearing in front of the Hokage’s building.  The halls were long, as they have been for the last million times I’ve been to the dreary building.  As usually, it took a few backtracks to find the stupid room that held the Hokage and about a million pieces of paper that visited his crowded desk. 

Seeing no need to announce my presence, I strolled into the room and stopped dead in my tracks.  An older ninja from the Sand Village stared me down, probably Baki from what the siblings had been telling me.  His hands were clenched into fists and pressed forcefully to the table in front of the Hokage. 

A few pieces of paper were strewn about on the floor, probably a result of a pair of fists being slammed down onto the overflowing desk.  Finally seeming to realize that everyone was watching him, Baki straightened his stance and bowed to me.  When I returned the gesture, he stepped to the side. 

"Ah, what can I do for you today Miss Hachi?"  The Hokage smiled warmly at me. 

"What do I hear about the Chunin Exams being started up again, and I wasn't informed!?"  I demanded with a quick smile.  His smile disappeared and the elderly ninja sighed to himself quietly.    

"Well, the first part was already completed, so only the fights and the forest are left.  I was going to ask you to be one of the guardians and healers at the forest and I also wanted you to step in at the battles, just in case it got out of hand."  He said as you straightened up.  With a bow, I waited for the old man to finish his train of thought.  "They're happening tomorrow at noon."  I disappeared when the words left his mouth. 

***

I turned my ear bud down in an attempt to keep my hearing safe from the eminent screeching and squawking. 

"Here they come!"  The radio screeched.  Guess I hadn’t turned it down enough. 

"Damn things, they still haven't fixed them."  With a grumble, I listened for the young ninjas.

Some of them were loud enough that I could hear them running through the bushes and jumping off of the tree branches over the sound of my almost muted radio.  The conversations happing over the radio had nothing to do with me, or the Exams to be frank.  So, I turned mine off and jumped higher up the ancient plant. 

Thus, the day continued at a slow rate. 

No one got hurt bad enough that would require my immediate attention. 

***

At day break of the next morning though, something was different.  Something was off. 

The uneasy feeling had me moving constantly, trying to find the source of the sensation.