Gaaras pov

"Is that the kazakage?"

"But he's just an omega"

"What were they thinking!?"

"I heard he has a monster inside him. Maybe he threatened the sand to give him the position"

"That's disgusting!"

I lowered my head as the whispers rang through my ears. It seems I'm disliked no matter where I go. I suppose now that I'm kazakage I'll have to work on gaining their trust-

My thoughts were cut short by a man walking on his hands barrelled towards me. If it wasn't for the sand knocking him back he would have crashed straight into me.

"A thousand apologies" he sat up "I was too absorbed in my training to see where I was going. Please allow me to tend to your-" he stopped "you are uninjured?"

"Yeah my sand protects me" I explained "I carry this gourd around and the sand automatically comes out when I need it to"

"That is incredible!" He leaned towards me, causing me to blush "ah how rude, I had forgotten to introduce myself. I am rock Lee, the hidden leafs handsome devil"

"That's definitely true"

"Did you say something?"

"N-nothing!" I turned away to hide my blushing face. What's wrong with me! "My name's gaara"

"The kazakage" he took in my outfit with a gasp "it is an honour to meet you" he bowed respectfully. I blinked in confusion. That's a reaction I'm not used to "if I may I would very much like to fight you. You seem like a strong opponent that I can test my skills on" he gave me a thumbs up with sparkling teeth.

"You want to fight me? Even though I'm an omega" I blinked in surprise. After all he shouldn't know about Shukaku. Shouldn't he just assume I'm not worth fighting?

"Nonsense. I don't believe your class determines your strength or worth. Anyone can be strong as long as they're willing to put in the effort. That's what I believe" he gave me a thumbs up. I felt butterflies in my stomach. How could a stranger be so kind?

"Umm Lee" I played with my hands nervously. He gave me his full attention "would you like to accompany me to the kage meeting? It's my first time and I could really use some support"

"It would be my honour gaara-san" he grinned. I smiled softly as the two of us headed inside.