:: Storm Warning ::17::

"That was a good load of bullshit, even coming from your mouth," Anko snorted, but Kakashi had long been accustomed to Anko's aggressive persona, as well as her potty mouth. "I can't believe ya got them to do this while thinking it's actually a team exercise. What a joke!"

"Hn... Well, I figured that if we were going to get them to do it anyway, we might as well give them a good lesson to learn from it." Kakashi patted his stomach, glancing at his watch briefly, and then looking back at the small stream full of boys. It'd been a while since he'd had some trout. When the camp cooks promised that they'd cook it if they caught it, he went right into plotting.

"Ya little vermin," Anko crossed her arms over her fishnet top. "And here I thought we were screwed as soon as Oonishi raised his hand and asked the question. I dunno whether to say you're a genius for coming up with that shit, or they're idiots for believing it."

Kakashi gave a vague shrug. "Can't say it was completely a lie. You can learn from any kind of task you put your mind to..."

"How long's it been? Ten minutes?" Kakashi grunted in reply to her question. "Huh. Well, no maggies have fallen in yet, I'll give 'em that."

Right after the words left her mouth, like a sarcastic prophet, a Konoha Flame let out a whelp and fell into the water with a humiliating splash.

-X-

"Ahhhh!" I cried, splashing the water in a fit as the trout in my hands got away. "I was so close! I literally held it! AAAAGHH!"

"Don't splash the water! So troublesome..." Shikamaru reprimanded and I pouted immaturely, still upset about my trout getting away as I sat in the cold lake on my bum. My competitive nature made it so that I obviously wanted to be the first one to catch one, but it had already been so long, and none of us were victorious! We didn't have watches on us, though, so we couldn't keep track of time. I was beginning to wonder if I shouldn't have kindled that fire of determination to catch ten. Kakashi made it look so easy: he waited less than two minutes! At our rate, we weren't going to catch any!

"Are you just going to keep sitting there?" Neji jeered, offering me a hand. I took it with a grunt to heave myself up, heavy with water. I sighed as I started dripping, frustrated with myself, but there was still a lot to be grateful for.

One, that my menstruation cycle was over;

Two, that I had the decency to wear a black shirt as a precaution if I were to get wet, or worse, thrown into the water by my trickster teammates (since I had thought we'd be fishing from a dock or something);

And three, that between falling on my butt and getting up, three other players had fallen, so at least I wasn't the only one.

If I were a trout, how would I get caught? I mused, knowing I sounded like a complete idiot. But I mean, here we are catching trout with our hands, so...

I peeked up to examine the rest of my team. Just a few meters away from me, Sasuke finally landed on his ass and soaked himself, and as if life were written by a sadistic author, Neji seemed to try and go for the exact same fish and fall a few meters away from him. In the distance, Shou was a statue with his eyes downcast, searching. Before I could feel admiration, he dove his hands once in the water, missed, and then chased after the fast-moving sea creature less than two paces before falling face first into the fresh water. I exhaled dejectedly. I could understand though. There weren't that many trout, so when you finally saw one, it was like you'd freak out and just wanna capture it right-

I froze.

Sasuke and Neji fell one after the other... As if they were going after the same fish... because they were going after the same fish!

And we all behave rashly out of excitement because we don't always see one, and when we do, we want to get our hands on it! It's like soccer! The fish is the soccer ball, and we all want to have playing time and have possession of it!

I smiled broadly, briefly smug with the kinda far-fetched but still valid relation I'd linked between the two. But how can I apply that to capturing the trout?

Just as the thought crossed, I saw movement around my feet, and my hands reached out, but I stopped myself. No. It's too sensitive to sound and movement. I can't even move without steering it away...

"...Shikamaru, Neji, Shou!" They all turned towards me as I cupped my hands around my mouth and whisper-yelled. "I've got a plan! Stand in a line and block off a section!"

The three mentioned players looked at each other, then back at me. Slowly, they complied despite not knowing what my intentions were. "If possible, get more people to join! Make a line like a goal net!"

"What's the plan, Striker?" Shou called over, but I couldn't explain it to him just yet. I needed to see if this had potential to work or not.

"Wait, Shou! Don't move. Everyone, you need to stop moving. The fish know we're here, and they can hear us shouting, too. Kakashi-sensei was standing for a while, and didn't make a sound!" I explained to them, and our team in the distanced glanced over at what was happening, but my hushed voice couldn't travel. Shou immediately twisted his body without moving his legs to whisper to the other guys, relaying the message. "All of you, put your hands under the water and don't move! I'm gonna try to pass the trout to you!"

"Wh-what?" he stammered, but he stayed still, looking at his feet. "Hayashi, a trout isn't a soccer ball, it's a living creature-"

"Here it goes..." I kicked my foot gently out in the opposite direction of Kiba, and surely enough, it avoided me and wiggled away towards him. "There! It's swimming towards you, Kiba!"

"Huh- Oh, I see it!" He caught sight of the fish approaching, and he grinned wide to show his canines. "I get it!"

"You get it?" I cackled. "It's kinda like playing hide-and-seek soccer with a trout! Kick very softly in the opposite direction you want it to go!"

"And it'll avoid it and swim somewhere else! You're a genius, Hayashi!" Kiba guffawed, and I very slowly moved my way slightly further, before noticing Sasuke's position to be ideal.

"But the people with their hands in the water have to be still, so they're not suspicious. We're going to try and bring the fish into your area, like you guys are our goal post. Kiba, pass it to... maybe Uchiha?" At my words, Sasuke furrowed his brows in concentration. Kiba gently kicked his foot out like I did. Through the ripples in the water, I couldn't make out the moving fish. "Where is it?"

"It's going back to you!" Kiba announced, and I looked down at the water. "You can't really control where it goes, just where it doesn't go."

Eventually, with some modification of our technique, we directed it to Sasuke. By then, our 'goal post' had expanded to five people: Neji, Shou, Shikamaru, Gaara and Max, with our main goaltender (with the fastest reflexes, somehow, despite his laziness) in the centre, all of them a few feet apart to cover the most area. Everyone in that line was mainly a defensive player, which I had no idea was a coincidence or not (but isn't that so cute?). On my side was Kiba, Sasuke, Ryuusuke, Shigeru, and Kei, while the other side had Hikari, Yuki, Takeru and Shinichi, making it so that there were trouts being directed from both sides. The goal post boys rotated facing sides for maximum efficiency, getting us to operate in two distinct areas.

"Come on, come on, come on," I chanted, when Sasuke kicked it over to Ryuusuke, and we all waited. It was up to our goal-post boys now. I could see them mutter to each other, communicating, not that I could hear. They were all squatting or bent low in the water, with their hands submerged in stillness.

I held my breath. I should've been looking for more trout already, but I was too caught up in the moment to take my eyes away... I wanted to see the first one get caught!

Not two seconds later, Neji and Shou hoisted a single trout into the air together, and we applauded in celebration. Finally! They stayed still because the other trout was probably still gathered in that area-

Gaara's hand shot up into the air like a rocket, his muscles tense just like Kakashi's had been when he demonstrated. In his hand was a living, grappling trout and he enclosed both hands around it. It was slipping out of his hands as he struggled to grab hold. Finally, he looked to have a good grip on the top and bottom half of the fish, as it struggled to wiggle still but his grip was just firm enough to hold it steady.

"Here!" Yuki from the other side had gone onto land to get the buckets, and we tossed them like an assembly line to Neji and Gaara, who placed their fish in the bucket, and Max took it back to shore, being the closest one from the line. They squatted back into the water, and I turned my head to find Kakashi and Anko. I hadn't even realized that my jaw was wide open like an idiot until I suddenly became aware of why my lips were so dry.

"Coach!" I bellowed, "How much time has passed?"

"20 minutes, maggots!" Anko shouted back, and I pursed my lips. We'd only caught two, and it was almost half the amount of time we were given.

"Relax, Hayashi," I looked at Sasuke, whose lips were lifted in a sexy lopsided leer.

"Yeah," Kiba affirmed, "How many did we say we were gonna to catch?"

I blushed, embarrassed and ashamed that this crew had become so adept at reading my thoughts, though it must have been obvious because I was asking for the time. It was funny the way that even in situations like this, they kept taking care of me like a little sister. Even at my lowest, even when I was such a pain to be around - so much that even I knew it myself - or for something as trivial as catching trout in a lake: they were always there for me. It was heartwarming, and I truly appreciated it.

I wouldn't let them down.

"All the darn trout in this freaking lake!"

-X-

"I thought I'd never want to see trout again after this," I commented with a mouth full of fish, "but this is soooo good!"

"And once again, we are all emasculated by your horrendous, never-ending appetite."

"When was the last time you could still be emasculated, Inuzuka?"

"When was the last time you shut the fuck up, Hyuuga?"

"Ladies," I decreed, "no fighting at the dinner table."

So we'd ended up catching 12 trout, which was a lot considering the lake wasn't that big, but our strategy had allowed for significantly fewer ripples to form and for more trout to come swimming our way. When we had caught 8, 3 trouts were caught at the same time, and a few of us couldn't help but finally jump, hoot and holler out of pure gratification and celebration. We had

When we rose out from the lake, Anko looked like she was going to pop a vessel from how hard she was laughing. She was literally using Kakashi's shoulder to keep herself from keeling over in laughter before he shrugged her off. He congratulated us and gives us a little review of what we had learned about the teamwork, patience, and strategical thinking it took.

Anko sounded like she was nearing the next world by this time... but we didn't really think too much of it. She was always a little strange in the noggin'.

I still had one piece of trout left. I looked around at my teammates, who were all sitting in tables of five and bantering away, snickering and cackling at who-knew-what. I liked it best when my team was smiling. To think that just this afternoon, I was a wreck, just... Just fumbling.

Gaara scooted out his chair and took his plate. I watched him with wide, curious eyes. He never said anything before leaving the dinner table, though he was always the first or second to leave because he didn't eat much... which seriously didn't make sense, because his body and toned muscles really said otherwise.

"I'm heading out," he announced out of courtesy. I paused, registering the words and trying to think properly before scrambling to get up, pushing my chair out with a noisy squeak. I ignored the strange glances that my table-mates were giving me.

"I'm done, too!"

"You're not even done your-" I heard Kiba halt himself when he saw me put the fash in my mouth, and pull out the spine bone in one piece. I gave him a wink and a finger-gun as I threw it in the compost. "...Wow."

"W-wait up, Gaara-kun!" I caught up with him outside the cafeteria. Had he slowed down his pace just a touch to allow me to catch up? I let go of the thought, also trying to not choke on small fish bones. "Wh-where are you going?"

Gaara's azure eyes glided over to look at me, and like an instant reaction, I blushed beyond control. Focus on the trout, focus on the trout... "Why?"

"I just, um," I tried to find the words, finally done with my chewing."I was wondering if you, uh... If you had some time... like before you're gonna go and w-wash your uh... body."

I mentally kicked myself. Why couldn't I just say shower? Earth to Akira, stop being such a creep!

The blood in my cheeks was already far past the boundary of saving. I gave up trying to mask it and peeked sideways at his expression. He was still looking at me, pale lips turned up in a faint smirk. That was enough to make me lose it entirely.

"You're totally having a kick out of this right now," I pulled a face, looking away. "Look, I just wanted to talk to you before-"

"Let's go."

"H-Huh?" I looked around on reflex, only to see that no one was around. Gaara snaked his hand around my wrist and gently led me towards a staircase. I could never understand why I'd always get so flustered and out of my element with Gaara. I thought back to how each of our roomates had had a rude-awakening to my gender, except for Shikamaru who noticed right away with his keen memory. Something told me that Gaara had known for a while before he officially confirmed it, but he chose not to say anything. Maybe like how he secretly suspected why I was out of my element in soccer, but he didn't tell me until he thought absolutely necessary.

I stopped my train of thought when Gaara released me.

"Something happened between you and Nara."

I could feel my heart do a little flip. He had brought me to the east-side doors, opening to a view of the ocean as we passed dawn. It was just the right time, the sky a vibrant pink, orange, yellow.

I pressed my lips together tightly. "What... do you mean by that?"

"Nara is the one you always go to," he attested softly. "Since yesterday night, you have been uncomfortable around him ."

I was quiet, thinking. He didn't even state it as a question or guess. Gaara was sure. How was he so aware of everything around him all the time?

"You don't need to talk to me about it," he grumbled, hands shoving into his pocket as he walked. I linked my hand around his upper arm.

I escorted him to sit on the log with me. He did.

"You're both kind of similar, you know?" He glanced at me from the side when I spoke, and my heart did another flip. Why? Because we were talking about Shikamaru, or... "You both don't say very much, and people probably think you don't care a lot of the time... but you guys observe and ponder a lot, don't you? And spend a lot of silences just contemplating things?"

He continued to look at me, but then his azure eyes went back to ahead of him. "Maybe."

I looked down at the carpet-flooring pattern as we made our way up the stairs, my flip-flops clapping annoyingly at my heel. It was funny that for a guy who never talked, he spoke so much when there was no one else around. It was sweet, and I was grateful for his words. I wondered what else he knew but chose not to say. I wondered what else he kept secret. "First of all, I think it's really sweet that you would worry about others like this, Gaara-kun. Thank you."

"Worry..." he repeated. I blinked, glancing up at him. I'd almost heard a small phrase to finish his, said in his voice in my head, 'Is that what this is?'

"Uh... What, are you not worrying? Well, I guess you could just be stating an observation you made." He didn't react, and I stretched my neck awkwardly. So. Awkward.

"Maybe," he finally responded.

"Don't tell me," I snorted, not knowing better. "Have you never worried about anyone before?"

When I looked up at him, I realized just how accurate my words might have been. His usually expressionless features pulled into a frown, and I could see the creases where his brows would have been if he had any. I had so many questions! Why didn't he have eyebrows? Why were his eyes so naturally dark? Why did he have a blood red 'Ai' character on his forehead? How often did he work out? Did he have a girlfriend? What was his family like? Was he really Temari's brother, even though they were so different in personality? I had so much I wanted to ask, but with Gaara, things were strange. I wouldn't ask if he wasn't ready to tell me, and I didn't feel like I was close to him enough. Not yet.

I had never really paid Gaara any attention before. Among all of the roommates, I was the least close to him – he never started any conversations with me, he rarely spoke, and it didn't seem like he had many friends either, though I had seen him chatting with Naruto quite a lot outside of the guys in our room. I didn't even really notice him during practices – but he was my stop-backer: he was the one who was always by my side when I was dribbling.

I could never see him because he was behind me, fighting off the defense. He had found me during the dance, woken me up rudely when I insisted on sleeping in, teased me when it was obvious I was having a crappy day, and now... he was showing concern for my friendship with Shikamaru...

I had always looked over him; look past him. Slowly, the thought warmed up in my head. I should never have been so afraid of Gaara.

I owed him so much.

"Nara..." The look on his face was solemn as he stared out at the sunset, short red hair rustling in the breeze. "Is he the one you want?"

"The one I-... Huh?" Awkward that he'd draw that conclusion, I couldn't collect my thoughts. "Wait, what?"

I wasn't just staying for my love of soccer, anymore. I'd melted from a fearless tomboy into a blushing mess around these boys, but I somehow still felt like me. But still, with what Gaara was asking, I had to accept the fact that I was staying because of the relationships I'd built here. These boys had surrounded me like a pack of protective wolves, and I didn't feel like I needed to be protected... but the kindness of their actions had won me over.

"I don't... know if I see Shika like that yet, or if I will," I confessed, knowing that even if Gaara chose to tell Shikamaru (which seemed highly unlikely?), it was the truth.

Gaara picked up some sand to his left, and let it pour from his hand. He looked deep in thought. The sunlight caught the golden steam that released as he poured.

It was then that I noticed how far he was sitting from me when I finally looked over at him. I was so used to be being protected because someone had always been by my side. Kiba, Sasuke, and Neji - as much as they were over the top sometimes - never hesitated when it came to lending me a hand or throwing an arm around me. Heck, even Shikamaru sat close to me and wouldn't mind me lying on his shoulder when I was tired.

But not Gaara. He tried his best to stay away from me. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that I had never even noticed until today. I'd been spoiled.

Why hadn't I ever tried to reach out?

I mustered up the courage.

"Um, Gaara," I said with some determination. "I actually wanted to talk to you today... and say thank you. Without you, I don't think I would have gotten myself back together today. Heck, I might've drowned myself in that tiny lake of trout just to end my shame!"

He cracked a smile, and I noted it duly in my list of achievements.

"I think you're a really cool guy, Gaara."

His cerulean eyes were so piercing. With as much courage as I could summon, I continued to gaze at him, wondering if it would make up for all the times I hadn't.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this right now...and I'm not just saying that to throw it out there! I really think you're a great guy, and I'm really glad that you're my friend." I reassured, courage running out as I looked at the ocean instead. "I don't think you hear it often enough if you were that surprised to hear it..."

"It's not..." he began, his voice sounding a bit forced and almost... Upset?

"That's kind of what I wanted to say," I concluded when I realized he wouldn't finish his statement. "Oh! And don't worry about Shika and me. We'll get our shit together."

Gaara smirked again at the way I phrased it and I felt a hint of pride again. "And thank you again, because you really saved me back there today when I was just a complete and utter-"

"I've never met anyone like you before."

I paused, considering his words deeply. An overcoming heat buzzed in my cheeks. "I've never met anyone like you before either, Gaara."

The sun was just shy of being completely gone. I looked around, noticing how empty the place was. Guess none of these guys didn't like to take strolls by the ocean.

"Shall we head back?" I bounced up to stand, in a good mood after our little chat. Maybe he'd say yes! Maybe I'd offer him my hand to help him up. Maybe he'd take it! Maybe...

"I want to stay here for a while." My face fell, but was almost immediately replaced with an understanding grin.

"Then I'll be heading back first!"

He answered with a 'hn'. I bobbed my head up and down in a robotic nod, sucking in my lips as I slowly trudged away.

After all, he was Gaara.

...

-X-

"... Do you mind if I stay here with you?" Gaara glanced up at Akira, the epitome of anxiety and uncertainty etched into her facial features. She'd taken about five steps before she abruptly spun on her heel and tiptoed back right next to him, kicking the sand beneath her heel.

His lips parted in surprised, unsuspecting, not knowing how to answer.

"I'll take that as a yes," she answered for him and plopped herself so closely beside him, that the skin on their arms were flush against each other. Her tone and actions came out confident and unruffled, one hundred precent contradicting the undiluted crimson color of her face.

"And honestly, I feel like I still haven't said it enough, so..." she stammered rapidly, and he could almost hear the tremor in her voice.

"Thank you... Gaara."

Gaara's lips tugged faintly upwards, yet again. He had no idea when he'd stopped suppressing it.

He leaned in close to her ear so that his lips were less than an inch from her skin, just like he'd done that day in math class to tease her. Except for this time, he didn't even intend to tease her, and yet her heart was pounding louder than a freight train traveling during a thunderstorm.

At that moment, Akira understood that it was the perfect way to describe how she felt when she was with Gaara. She had been covered in the grime of doubt, stained with insecurity and thoughts of worthlessness. He had been a storm, far and looming but pulling closer each day. She'd been scared of him, not sure what to expect when it arrived, her mind overthinking of all the ways it could drown her, freeze her in its icy temperatures.

"You're welcome, Akira."

Now, he was finally here. She was finally clean.

End of Chapter Fifteen.

-X-

I know, lay off the cheese, but if you're lactose intolerant to LOOOOOVE (lol jk) then you better stop. But in all seriousness, I hope you guys don't think the progress was too fast. Akira still thinks of Gaara as a friend, after all, though he's is a very, very (hot) flustering friend.

So how about it? The Cloud vs The Storm. What's Akira, then?