Gaara sat in the receiving hall as a trader lavished praise upon him in hopes that he would be allowed to continue passing through Suna as well as the continued use of their oasis's scattered throughout the desert. Suddenly, a girl shackled with spell tablets was thrust at his feet.

The meaning was not lost on him.

She was a bribe.

A slave.

More of his father's business that he needed to clean up. But this…she…gave him the lead that was needed.

He turned his sight from the disgusting trader and towards the girl who was at his feet. Almost immediately, he identified her outfit as those of the Blue Tribe. Loose pants that hugged her hips and a thin, transparent skirt from which hung a belt, her midriff baring top only hung by one shoulder and she wore many bracelets and several necklaces, from one hung a single pearl in a golden cage. Raven curls reached past her waist and large, dazed almond shaped eyes stared up at him. He wasn't sure if they were blue or mahogany or somewhere in between.

She was beautiful.

Her head turned and he was graced with the view of a graceful neck the color of pale gold as she glared at the trader. Gaara did not miss the flash of enraged crimson in her eyes nor the smell of hatred and wrath that entered the girl's peculiar yet inviting scent.

He remained there, even after the trader had left far too pleased with himself and after the maids had taken the girl away. He knew that his siblings were already trailing and tracking the man, finding out everything about him and his associates and his…trade

Shukaku had been silent once she had come into view, having whispered only one word in his mind.

Precious

A strange feeling had overcome him, starting in his chest, when he saw her. Anger, he could identify, at the spell tablets that bound her movements, likening her to a wild, mindless beast. Such things were degrading.

Yet the other emotions?

The most prominent one among them being that of…hope?

When he retired to his chambers, fresh from his private baths, he was surprised to see her kneeling on his bed. She wore a simple dress without any sleeves and only wore the necklace from which hung the pearl and a few gleaming bracelets. Her hair was tied back at the nape of her neck with a ribbon.

"What are you doing here?" His eyes narrowed even more at the sight of the spell tablets that he could see peeking out from underneath the fabric of her dress.

"I am for the Kazekage-sama to do as he wishes." She kept her strange eyes downcast and spoke carefully.

"Why do you wear those?" He did not need to clarify, it was clear of what he spoke of.

"So that I could not use my power to escape."

She flinched when he moved closer to her in a single movement, his hand brushing against her soft skin and let out a small sound of surprise when he undid the spell tablets that had bound her power and kept her enslaved. In that moment, before she threw her arms around him, her eyes glimmered blue. A sense of satisfaction flowed through him.

After she resumed her spot next to him (while smugly staring at the spell tablets that were now lying useless on the floor) he spoke. His next words would determine her fate, she knew that and so he was sure of her attention even though she did not look at him.

"You will be my friend."

The girl cocked her head to one side and grinned. "My name is Kagome."

Author's Note: One-shot for now.