"So, I talked to father..."
Gaara, Temari, and I were gathered in Gaara's room. She's finally starting to open up to her brother a little. And now, she is going to tell us if we can attend the Academy.
"And? What did he say?"
I'm a little nervous about the answer to my question, but I really want to know if our request was granted. Gaara also looks eager to know. He's been fidgeting since Temari came in.
"He... didn't agree..."
No way... Gaara looks down.
"I knew it... He will never agree to letting me be around other people..."
"Gaara..."
I take his hand in mine. I look back a Temari.
"Isn't there any other way?"
"Well... He said that he wanted to meet you... then, he said that you might change his mind."
"Meet me...?"
"No!"
Gaara firmly says while frowning.
"But Gaara, it could be the only way."
"I won't let Kiu anywhere near him."
Temari lowers her gaze. She's kind of right, though. It could be the only way.
"I'll meet him."
"I won't let you..."
"Don't worry, Gaara. He only wants to talk. Besides, Temari is going to be with me."
"...Fine."
He's still frowning. I hate making him angry, but there's no better choice right now. Maybe I can actually make his father accept him? That would be awesome too! Temari gets up and heads for the door. She then turns around and looks at me.
"You're coming?"
"Oh! We're meeting him now?"
"Better get things done quickly, don't you think?"
"R... Right."
I wasn't expecting it to be so quick... I'm kind of nervous... I look at Gaara and he has this expression of shock and worry, while looking at Temari in disbelief. That's a lot of emotions in just one look. I wonder how I'm so good at reading his expressions. In fact, he's the only one that I can immediately understand how he feels. Well, this is not the time to daydream! I need to get this conversation with Gaara's dad over with. I go and follow Temari who leads me down the stairs. We go through a bunch of halls and then we arrive in front of a closed door.
"Now, Kiu. I want to tell you a few things that you should take into consideration when being around the Kazekage. First, you have to always address him as Lord Kazekage. Second, you can't interrupt him under any circumstances. Finally, you have to always agree with what he says and not openly oppose him. Got it?"
I nod, even though I completely blanked out at everything she just said. Mostly because it was too much information for my brain to take... It's probably also because I'm really nervous right now... But I have to talk to him... For Gaara's sake. Temari knocks on the door.
There's a short silence, until a voice comes from the other side of the door.
"Come in."
I gasp a little. I'm way more nervous than I thought. My hands are sweating, my knees are slightly shaking, and my mouth is dry. My voice will also be probably really shaky too. Temari opens the door and goes in first. I follow closely behind her. I look past Temari and I find some kind of see-through curtain that separates us from a man wearing a long white robe, with a white and blue hat. Looking at him more closely, he has similar features to Kankuro. He's sitting on a pillow, with two people sitting on each side of him. I bet those two are ninja.
"Lord Kazekage, I have brought Kiu here to you, as you requested."
Wow, Temari sounds so formal talking to her own father. Are they always like that? Do Kankuro and Gaara also act this way around their father? I bet Gaara doesn't even get close to his father. He doesn't like him very much with all those murder attempts.
"So... This is the girl who's been living in my house for the past few weeks."
He's talking about me isn't he... I feel like my tongue is stuck in my throat; I can't seem to be able to say anything.
"Yes, Lord Kazekage. Her name is Kiu."
"Kiu..."
"Y... Yes sir..."
I was able to say something! Man, that took so much energy... I look up at the Kazekage and find him staring right at me. I instantly lower my gaze.
"From what Temari told me, you are trying to attend the Academy with Gaara. Correct?"
"Yes..."
My voice is so small right now that I'm surprised he can actually hear it.
"Why?"
Why? I wasn't expecting him to ask me why! Now I have to actually give an answer that's longer than two words! Well, I want to say that it's because he has every right to attend the Academy, that I want to be able to attend it with him because we're best friends, and that it will be good for him so that he gets good control over his sand.
"Well... Why not...?"
Great... That's all I am able to say after all that thought process!
"You do know that he's a monster, don't you?"
A monster? That's one thing Gaara isn't!
"All I know is that there's a monster inside of him... That doesn't mean he's a monster."
I feel Temari nudging me. I look up at her and I see her putting her index finger on her lips. She wants me to shut up? But... I can't shut up if someone is badmouthing Gaara!
"Interesting. You are certainly the only person that thinks in that particular way. At least, the only person who firmly believes that."
The only one? I'm sure Temari also thinks like me, right? Maybe not before, but, now, she's actually less afraid of Gaara, and she tries to take care of both of us as much as she can.
"It will be quite interesting to see how you two try to fit in at the Academy."
Wait... Is he agreeing to let us attend the Academy?
"But I warn you, if I get any complaints regarding Gaara putting the life of the other students in danger, both of you will be... terminated."
Terminated? What does that mean? Whatever it is, it sounds pretty bad. But we made it! Gaara and I will be able to attend the Academy together, and become strong ninja. Then, we'll be best friends forever! This is exactly how I imagined it! Except the terminated part... I'll have to ask Temari about that.
"Lord Kazekage, are you sure about this?"
Temari's voice is shaking a little. Is terminated such a bad thing?
"Temari, I have made my decision. They will both start attending the Academy next season. Which is, conveniently, next week. I will talk to the Academy about letting Gaara attend, and ask them to relate to me every move he makes. It is all for the sake of the village."
"...Yes, Lord Kazekage."
"You are both dismissed."
Temari takes my hand and drags me out of the Kazekage's office. When she closes the door, she looks at the floor.
"Was this such a good idea...?"
"What do you mean, Temari? Isn't that what we wanted?"
"Kiu, you don't get, do you?"
"What do you mean? All I didn't get was the terminated part, other than that it all sounded pretty good!"
"It is that part that makes everything bad! He means that he's going to have you both killed if Gaara loses control and puts someone in danger! You know how easily that could happen..."
"...Kill us?"
Man, that's harsh... I didn't really get it at first, but now that Temari told me...
"Gaara won't do that."
That is what I firmly believe, though. I know Gaara won't put anyone's life in danger.
"How would you know? It's out of anyone's hands, even Gaara's..."
"Gaara can control it! He's stronger than you think!"
"...Kiu. I really hope you're right."
"Let's keep it a secret from Gaara, though. I don't want him to worry."
"Yeah, you're right. We can't have him lose control over his emotions."