Cold Eyes || Gaara x Reader

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"That'll do for today," Julie tells me as she pulled me off the foam mat that she'd just thrown me on not much earlier.

"You weren't joking when you said you weren't going to go easy on me," I groan as I get my balance.

"You're getting slow," she says bluntly like that was the reason she was so harsh on me, "but your senses seem to have gotten better."

That'll be because of Temari and Kankuro.

"Wouldn't know why," I lied with a shrug. She hummed and threw a water bottle at me. I took a drink and looked at her, she looks like she's been debating whether she should tell me something for the whole evening.

"What's the matter? You look like you want to say something," I asked, she looked at me and frowned before sighing and sitting down on the bench.

"Worlds starts next week, remember you signed up for it last year? Do you think you can still do it? You'll be in fight after fight for days," she starts.

The World Open Martial Arts Championship (or WOMAC). A competition that happens every year. It attracts hundreds of elite competitors from around the world who come together in New York City to compete for medals and cash prizes. They gain these through diverse martial arts styles including form competitions (open hand & weapons) in Modern Wushu, Northern Kung Fu, Southern Kung Fu, Karate, Taekwondo, Internal Martial Arts, and Taijiquan, as well as combat competitions in Kumite, Taekwondo Sparring and a bunch more. The judges are experienced in judging national and international level competitions and possess extensive knowledge in their martial art discipline, which ensures the professionalism of the competition.

I went two years ago and didn't really get a good place on the score boards, but that's when I made my debut in the martial arts world. Ever since, I've had cameras on me everywhere I went to compete and it wasn't strange to come across news articles or random story coverages of me.

"I'll be fine," I tell her. I'm actually unsure whether I'll be here for it. I have a theory that wearing the bracelet when I sleep sends me to the Naruto world, but it's just a theory so I don't know and I can't rely on that.

"I hope you're right because I'm certain this time you'll be able to get into the top 5 this year," she tells me, "if you do, you'll be even more recognised than before and you may even be enlisted for the Olympics."

(I'm aware there isn't an actual Olympics for martial arts so lets just pretend there is, yeah?)

"You're rating me too high, don't you think?" I asked her, she shook her head.

"I genuinely think you'll be able to pull it off," she told me with a completely serious face. I smiled.

"Then Yue and Sugina wont be the only people training for them," I muttered, she must've heard me because she replied with:

"They've been recruited?"

"Yeah, at the beginning of this year, actually," I replied, she gave me a surprised look.

"That's amazing, I've seen them on TV quite a lot and I have to say that I understand why," Julie wore a bright smile. I'd taken Julie to some of their practises a few times and they came to watch my competitions and practises as well so she'd met them quite a few times.

"Do you want to come to the rink tomorrow? I was planning on going down, we usually all go on a Thursday religiously," I asked. I checked my phone earlier, 5% left to live and a ton of notifications from Instagram and Facebook, the usual social medias. Text messages in my class' group chat and friend groups chat along with a few messages from people I'd met during competitions.

Most of my messages were just get well soon messages. Just a simple, open the message, read it, close it again. Just enough to stay civilised.

"What time? It'll be nice to see the two of them," she asks, pulling her phone out and looking at her schedule.

"3pm."

"I'm not free at 3pm but 4pm I'm free," she says.

"We usually stick around until 5 and then go out for dinner so that's cool," I replied, she smiled and booked 4-6 for us.

"I'll pay for dinner then," she told me before grabbing her bags, "anyway, I should go and you should sleep. But wake up in the morning."

"I'll try," I tell her as we walk through the halls and towards the front door, "thanks for training me so late."

"No problem," she nodded at me, "see you tomorrow then."

"Yeah. Bye!" I waved and waited until she got into her car before closing the door and going to my bedroom.

I took a quick shower and then flopped down in my bed, this time I threw my bracelet into my bedside table drawer and slept without the band on.

Temari's PoV

I can't help but to worry about y/n.

I know it's not just me.

Gaara hasn't been sleeping properly again and Kankuro has just been lingering around where we would train her. I don't really know what I've been doing.

"Temari!" Baki shouted, "Goddamnit don't make me repeat myself!"

"Sorry.." I mumbled, "what were you saying?"

"I was saying that you're going to the leaf village with Kankuro to deliver a message to Lady Tsunade," he repeated, annoyed and getting more annoyed.

"Alright, pass me the message and I'll grab my brother and we'll leave," I say pretty absent mindedly.

"Maybe I should get one of the jounin to go instead..." he trailed off, moving so his face was in front of mine.

"No! We need the distraction!" I exclaimed, taking a few steps back. He nodded.

"I'm sure you do," he agreed, "what is the matter with you three anyway?"

"We've lost our friend. What do you think is wrong with us?" I replied bitterly.

"It's just one girl. I'm almost certain you'll find another girl like her," he says, I just shoot a glare at him.

"No. No we wont. There isn't a single person in this world that's like her. It's the first time that Gaara's had a bond like this. It's the first time Kankuro clung to a friend. It's the first time that I've classed someone as my sister," I told him, "loosing her for the second time and knowing that we can't search for her this time just makes us all feel broken. I know you don't like y/n, but please refrain from talking bad about her or dragging her name through the dirt because she really is a wonderful girl."

He just stood looking at me in shock.

"Now the message?" I say bluntly.

He passed me and envelope and I turned around and headed towards where I last saw Kankuro.

"Temari?" he looked at me confused.

"Hey little brother, time to go on a distraction," I told him. He looked at the envelope and then at me.

"Alright," he nodded and we both went to get ready to go.