The Good, The Bad, and The Amnestic
Welcome! This is the second trilogy of my GaaraxKiele series. This will be much better now! I've thrown in many twists that I doubt any of you would have expected in this sequel, and it will finally be able to be called a romance. Last time, it was kind of one sided. Everyone was miserable. It was like an emo had been typing the series. No offense to emos, I have a lot of emo friends. But this series will not be so sad and anguished-filled! At least, I'll try not to make it like that...
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I still don't own Naruto. I highly doubt that I ever will, unless I am in some way secretly related to Masashi Kishimoto, something happens to him and I inherit Naruto. But I don't think that will happen in this lifetime, I'm having trouble juggling school and fanfiction, let alone school, fanfiction, and an entire anime series.
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"Temari, you should probably just leave her alone... it's been eight months, I doubt she's ever waking up again..."
Kankurou rested a hand on his elder sister's shoulder. It wasn't much comfort, but then again, what could he do? Nothing anyone could say or do seemed to be able to pry her away from Kiele's bedside. He stared at the inanimate shinobi, his eyes harboring the same pain that Temari showed. Kiele's hands were folded on her abdomen, and her head tilted to the side. Her eyes were closed, and her ebony bangs covered most of her pale face. Temari wiped her eyes dry when the door swung open. The red head refused to look at the bed, and instead spoke to the wall.
"The council of Konohagakure will be here tomorrow. You have preperations to make and a job to do if we want this treaty to be successful."
He didn't stay any longer; he didn't even wait for a reply from his older siblings. Gaara never stayed long in the same room as her. He crossed his amrs and Kankurou scurried up behind him.
"Gaara, the treaty isn't the only preperations we have to make," He reminded the beholder of Shukaku.
Gaara cringed, grasping his arms tighter. He knew where this conversation was going.
"...We have to get Kiele's funeral arranged. Temari may be conviced that Kiele will just rise from the dead one day, but it's been nearly a year, and she hasn't moved-"
"After the council leaves, we'll get something arranged. But I'm preoccupied right now. I have a debt to repay to Konohagakure after that assult, and I don't want other matters to interfere," Gaara interrupted curtly.
Kankurou nodded. He left Gaara, then headed back to the bedroom to try and persuade Temari to get to work on preperations. Gaara continued to his office, then sat down at his chair. He shoved aside a stack of papers that needed to be signed and stamped and placed his head in the palms of his hands.
"I can't... Kankurou may have been able to get over her death quickly, but, me... I... "
He shut his eyes, and her face swirled in front of him. Her sad, yet loving face. He could still see her grasping Naruto's jacket collar...
"If he wishes for you to stay away from him... then aknowledge that, Naruto..."
"I won't allow you... to hurt my important person."
"And I will kill you, Naruto, with my last breath, if this is want you're trying to say."
"Good-bye, Kankurou-nii-san.. Temari-oneesan... Gaara-tomodachi..."
Gaara pounded his fist angrily on his desk. He glared at the document Kankurou had given him last week. It was a permission form, allowing Kiele to be burried under shinobi funeral and custom. He crumpled the paper in his fists. Kankurou didn't want to let go of her, but he had stated simply at diner one night that he thought that it was better and easier to do do.
"If you really love something, I say you let go of it. It was nice while Kiele was here, but the truth remains. She's dead, Temari, and whether you like to admit it or not, she is. The best thing we can do right now is just get her funeral over with and reminisce her memory. We can't sit here and cry over what's dead and gone."
Gaara smoothed out the crumpled parchment, scanning over its contents.
"Perhaps, you are right, Kankurou..."
He slowly signed his name and his title of authority over the matter on the line at the bottom. Standing to his feet, he left his office, and handing the ruffled parchment to his secretary. She took it and promised to get it filed first thing in the morning. Gaara didn't respond, but merely returned to his office where his other papers awaited him.
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"So, how was work today, Kazekage?" Kankurou asked, poking the muck on his plate.
Temari's cooking had in fact improved since she had used Kiele's cooking cards, but since she had died, Temari's cooking skills slowly faded back to what it used to be- horrendous. Kankurou was positive that the orange and green slop on his plate was alive and still kicking.
"Nothing special," Gaara replied bluntly, picking through the mess.
He gathered a small portion of the glop with his chopsticks and attempted to eat it. It tasted slimy and mildly sour. It wasn't until he felt it move on its own that he spat it back out onto his plate. Temari sighed, not eating her own concoction either. She silently excused herself from the table and retreated to the back room where Kiele was laid to rest. Gaara found this a good time to tell Kankurou what he'd done.
"I got the papers signed..."
Kankurou perked his head up.
"I thought you were going to wait until after the treaty was over with?"
"I decided it was better... not to wait."
Kankurou nodded in understanding.
"Good. The sooner the better."
Gaara nodded as well. He wrung his hands together tightly.
"Her funeral will take place right after the Konohagakure council leaves. May 10th."
Temari exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her. Instead of returning to the table, she made herself comfortable on the living room sofa, switching on the t.v. Gaara stood up and bid his siblings farewell, as he had more work to do back in his office.
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There was a knock on Gaara's office door the next morning. The girl shuffled her feet and wrang her hands anxiously. She raised her hand to knock again, thinking he hadn't heard her, when Gaara spoke.
"Come in," He drawled.
"Kazekage-sama?" She asked, her voice quiet and soft.
Gaara nodded, not bothering to look up as he signed his name to one document, moving on to the next order of bussiness. The girl shuffled her feet again, then bit her bottom lip nervously. Gaara sighed. He thought she was another of those annoying women that stalked him whenever he left the building, but if that was the case, then why had his secretary let her in?
"Listen. I'm preoccupied right now. I have many things on my mind. State your bussiness, or leave," Gaara finally ordered.
"Umm... Gomen nasai to have disturbed you, Kazekage-sama... but I was just wondering... What am I doing here? I woke up with a sand hitaiate on my thigh, and a wristband that reads "Prisoner of the Sand"... how am I the prisoner of the sand? Aren't I a ninja of the sand? And, I have many wounds on my body, could you tell me where they came from?"
Gaara furrowed his brow, then gazed up at the strange rambling girl. His jaw dropped, and his pencil hit the floor with a soft clink.
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"The funeral is off, Kankurou," Gaara announced, walking into his home.
Kankurou furrowed his eyebrows, then glanced over at Temari across the room. He wondered if she had persuaded him into keeping Kiele's body above ground longer.
"Why?"
"Because I said it is. I highly doubt she wants to be buried alive."
Niether of his siblings understood his impertinent talk, but their breath was caught in thier throats as they saw the small framed girl clutching Gaara's arm.
"K-Kiele!" Kankurou breathed.
The ebony haired girl nodded, then ducked back behind the red haired Kazekage. Gaara frowned.
"She came into my office earlier this morning. I am ascertain that she is suffering from severe amnesia."
"Amnesia?" Temari questioned, standing up.
"I don't care what she has! She's alive! She's really alright-"
"No, she's far from alright," Gaara countered.
"She remembers nothing, Temari. Nothing. I had to convince her that her name was Kiele. She doesn't recall ever being a ninja, or going to Konoha. Nor does she remember anything from her childhood. She cannot even remember me."
Temari and Kankurou stared past Gaara at the girl in shock. It was Kiele all right, there was mistake in that. She had the same exact ebony hair, emerald orbs, even the same clothes, and the same wounds from the battle in Konohagakure during the Chuunin Exams. But this foreign girl that clutched to Gaara when she would usually avoid him, this girl that was cold and felt hated, was now timid and diffident. She clutched to the Kazekage's arm, who needless to say, looked slightly uncomfortable. The only Kiele he remember was one that held pain, sorrow, and sometimes anger in her eyes. Never head he seen such an immaculate look on her. Then, realization dawned on him.
"If she had never been a ninja... if she had never known me, or been the host of a demon... This is how she would have turned out."
"Kazekage-sama... who are these people?" Kiele asked innocently.
Gaara turned to the amnestic girl behind him. He would no longer know what to expect from this foreign girl. She would be quite irrational from here on.
"You have no reason to be afraid of them, Kiele. They are my brother and sister. She is Temari, and he is Kankurou. They are ninja, and you will have to get used to them because I refuse to babysit you, especially at your age. I have my own job to do."
Kiele nodded, then stood out from behind Gaara. She reluctantly let go of his arm, then brought her hands up to her mouth, as if trying to put a wall between her and these strangers. Temari smiled warmly at her, and Kankurou cracked his knuckles. Kiele felt like an intruder in this home... but somehow, she felt like this was where she belonged.
"Come, Kiele. You can help me fix diner tonight," Temari offered, heading to the kitchen.
Kiele quickly followed suit, feeling the eyes of the two boys' eyes burning into her back. Gaara and Kankurou looked at one another. Kankurou snickered. Gaara scowled.
"What is so funny?" He demanded, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Oh, it's just that this will be an experience to remember," Kankurou laughed.
"Just contemplating to myself... "
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Kiele washed her hands in the kitchen.
"So, what will we be preparing, Temari-san?"
Temari flinched.
"Temari-san?" She cogitated, a smirk on her face.
"You never called me Temari-san."
"I... didn't?" Kiele asked.
She had tilted her head to the side and her eyes were wide. In that instant, she resembled a confused pup.
"Then, what did I call you?"
"Temari. Just Temari. You never used any formalities, excpet when you spoke of the Kazekage," Temari responded, searching the particularly empty fridge for usable cooking ingredients.
Kiele gasped.
"No formalities?" She repeated in awe, as if she had commited some heinous offense.
"But- but you are the Kazekage's sister! Ruler of all of Wind Country! You and Kankurou-san deserve proper title! What kind of uncivilzed person was I?"
Temari laughed heartily at Kiele's ignorance. She hadn't laughed like that for a long, long time.
"You weren't uncivilized! Gaara wasn't Kazekage then. He only became Kazekage six months ago. Dad was the Kazekage. The only one you gave a formality," Temari explained.
"Your father was Kazekage? I still should have called you Temari-san!" Kiele insisted.
"You, Kankurou-san, and Gaara-sama were the children of the Kazekage! So why didn't I call you bu proper title?What should I call you?"
Temari pondered how to answer her without getting her upset.
" "Well, Kankurou and I paid little attention to you when you were small, and you and Gaara were hell-bent on trying to kill one another, so you didn't see it very fitting to call your enemies, the people who made your life miserable, san." Yeah, right. That'll go over real smooth."
"You see, Kankurou and I... we were too caught up in our nnja training, that we sort of... neglected you, in a way. You and Gaara were friends for a while... until... er, well, Dad didn't want you ahnging around Gaara anymore, and you had to listen, and the two of you split apart."
She apused, then smiled.
"By the way, you can call me o-neesan."
"You are my sister!" Kiele asked in awe.
Temari laughed, shaking her head.
"It just sounds nice to be called elder sister."
Kiele nodded, then returned to what she was truely interested in.
"Why did I have to listen to Kazekage-sama's direct order? Others defied him, didn't they? So why didn't I do the same?"
Temari asked herself why Kiele seemed to ask the questions that were the most difficult to answer. She strained up from the fridge, then grasped ahold of Kiele's wrist, guesturing to the wristband.
"You see this?" Temari inquired, running her fingers over the engraved kanji.
"Your parents betrayed Suna, so as punishment, they had to surrender you to the Kazekage. You are bound to the Kazekage, and all others proceeding him, until death."
"What happened to your father, the former Kagekage?" Kiele asked.
Temari's face became grim.
"He died. Right before you passed out in Konoha, he was murdered. Gaara became the new Kazekage soon after."
"Oh... Go-gomen nasai, Temari-san- I mean, Temari o-neesan..."
Kiele paused, until a thought struck her.
"Does that mean that I belong to Gaara-sama now, since he is the new Kazekage?"
Temari nodded.
"I suppose so. Yes, that is what it means. Now, enough idle chit-chat. We have a diner to fix."
Temari mushed the few ingredients together into a mush, and after a few moments, Kiele was shuddering at Temari's excuse for food.
"Temari... are- are you positive that... food... is safe for Kankurou-san and Kazekage-sama to eat?" She asked cautiously.
Temari stared intently at the muck.
"What's wrong with my sushi?" She demanded.
Kiele gazed uncertainly at Temari's, "sushi". Something bubbled up from the mass, and Kiele took a step back.
"I'm not certain Gaara-sams will eat that," She murmured, reacking for a pair of prongs.
Temari rolled her eyes.
"Gaara rarely eats anything anyways."
Kiele prodded the substance with the prongs.
"Kankurou-san will not either, I don't think..."
"Well, you try to fix it," Temari offered, outstretching ahand towards the food.
Flaming criticism on her cooking was what Temari handled best, though not so well with her brother. Kankurou always was incredibly insulting when he dared to try her food.
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After a long hour slaving over the stove, the girls were finally finished with thier sushi. Kiele proudly wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.
"Not bad for someone who's been out cold for almost a year," Temari admitted, popping a small bite into her mouth.
"Was I a good cook, Temari o-neesan?" Kiele inquired, setting the table with plates and silverware.
"Yes, very. My dad always loved your cooking, and so did everyone else."
"Was I complimented often?"
"No. Not once. The only people that ate your food were the ones who were too stubborn to actually give you a compliment."
"Didn't you eat my cooking?"
"Yeah. But I'm stubborn, so I fall under that category."
"But you just complimented me a moment ago," Kiele pointed out.
Temari grinned.
"I did, didn't I? Well, I guess that I'm just so happy to see that you aren't dead."
"Was I missed?"
Temari's smile was wiped from her face almost immeadiately.
"Of course you were! Kankurou and I adored you, we just realized that too late while you were unstable, anf I think Gaara secretly missed you-"
"I was unstable!" Kiele gasped.
Temari made a mental note to slap herself later on for that slip-of-the-tounge incident.
"Well, I said that wrong. You weren't unstable, just... confused, I guess."
"Confused about what? Confused as to why I was alive?" Kiele asked, setting the sushi onto the table.
"Ummm... Yeah, I guess so. You were really distrusting, some things happened that made you feel loathed and despised... but that's another day's story."
Before Kiele could ask what had happened to her that made her that way, Temari called for Kankurou to come down for diner.
"Great, Temari's cooking again... couldn't you just for one night let me starve, just once?" Kankurou taunted, bracing himself for the beating he knew would follow his smart-aleck comment.
As if on cue, Temari picked up her giant fan from the doorway of the kitchen, and thwacked Kankurou upside the head. The poor ninja fell to his knees with swirls in his eyes. Kiele gasped, horrified.
"Temari o-neesan! You killed Kankurou-san!"
Temari laughed as Kiele rushed the the puppeter's aid.
"No, he does that at every meal of the day, even though he knows he'll get hurt for it," Temari explained, glaring down at her brunette brother.
Kiele helped Kankurou to his feet, and he gazed at the table. His eyes traveled over the various types of sushi before him, and he stared at Temari. Then at the perfected sushi. Then back to his sister.
"You made this?" He asked disbelievingly.
"There's just no way."
"I helped!" Kiele piped up proudly.
She looked around the room, then noticed that the family was short one individual. A certain red head was absent.
"Where is Gaara-sama?" She questioned.
"Oh, Gaara?" Kankurou replied, sitting down at the table.
"He's still at work. It's a busy life, you know, ruling an entire country."
He cast his eye upon the food before him. He nearly drooled over the norimaki sushi, until Temari slapped him in the back of the head.
"No drooling on the food," She snapped, closing her eyes.
"I simply refuse to eat anything that has marinated in your slober."
"When will Gaara-sama be free to come home?" Kiele asked, still worried about the Kazekage.
"Probably not until early tomorrow morning," Temari replied.
She noticed Kankurou trying to swipe s few rolls of sushi, and she swatted his hand. Kankurou retreated his hand as if he had touched a blowtorch.
"What was that for!" He demanded, rubbing tha back of his hand gingerly.
"Ladies first," Temari replied bluntly.
Kankurou pouted, crossing his arms childishly.
"I think I'll take some food over to Gaara-sama so he can eat," Kiele announced, piling a plate full of various sushi and heading for the door.
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"Enter."
Kiele balanced the plate in one hand, and carefully opened the door with the other. Gaara glared up at the intruder. Surrounded around him were elder, wise looking men and women.
"Oh... Kazekage-sama, I hope I am not intruding..."
She glanced around the room. The Kazekage was obviously in an important meeting of some sort, judging by the stern look he gave her whne she came in.
"Yes, actually, you are," Gaara replied honestly.
"State your bussiness, Kiele, and leave so that we may return to our treaty."
"Hai, Kazekage-sama... I-I... Temari and I fixed diner, and I thought you might enjoy a meal... G-gomen nasai... Had I known you were meeting with another country, I-"
"Nevermind it. Just give me that plate and leave."
"Hai, hai, of course..."
Kiele quickly surrendered the plate and scrambled from the room. The treaty with Konohagakure ended in success soon after, and Gaara was left alone... with Temari's cooking and a hungry stomache. He shuddered to think what the concoction tasted like this time, but he couldn't pick and choose. He picked up his chopsticks, and poked the substance. He sighed in relief. It was actually dead this time. He brought the substance to his mouth. His eyes widened. He swallowed the food, then dove in for more.
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"...It's hard to believe our luck. First Gaara, and now Kiele."
Kiele returned to her "new" home, when she heard her name mentioned. She pressed her ear against the front door, and listened to thier muffled voices.
"I know," Kankurou agreed.
"But we're lucky Kiele didn't wake up having her memory and see Gaara like he is now. She probably would have keeled over for another eight months. He's gotten so soft, I'm still having trouble getting used to it."
"She would truely be shocked. They were so hateful to one another. Rivaly is a good thing, it makes each other strive to become better, stronger. But not them. Those two bit at each other's throats so much, I was afraid that Kiele would really get killed. She was an exceptional shinobi, but against Gaara... she would have looked sick."
Kiele held a hand to her mouth.
"Were Gaara-sama and I really so putrid towards one another? He doesn't seem to hate me now..."
As if Kankurou had read her mind, he added,
"Gaara's gotten soft since we left Konohagakure. He's still cold, but he actually values the lives of others above his own now. I think he as kind to her because your wrong in that aspect, Temari. Sure, they hated one another for a long while, but you remember what she called him before she passed out? She called him tomodachi. Friend. I think that had a big impact on the way he looked at her from then on. I really think he was upset when he thought that she was gone, but maybe we'll see a light hearted side of Gaara now."
"But," Temari warned,
"One wrong move, and it's checkmate for us. Gaara could explode, and resort back to his old ways of residing in Shukaku, and existing to kill everyone else but himself."
Kiele gasped.
"Gaara-sama... he existed to kill everyone but himself? He... he was a monster? What is Shukaku?"
Kiele wasn't so sure she wanted to hear anymore. She opened the door, and put a fake smile to cover her pained thoughts. Kankurou shut up on cue, leaning back onto the couch.
"So. Did Gaara eat the food? I sure found it nice... for once."
This earned him yet another smack from Temari's fan. Kiele's fake smile widened.
"He was in the middle of a meeting concerning a treaty with Konohagakure when I got there. I handed his food to him and left so I wouldn't further intrude."
Kiele replied quickly, then retreated to the room she had awoken in. She sat on the bed, bringing her knees to her chest. There was still so many things she didn't know. She yearned for the knowledge that she once had but now lacked, such as why Gaara had been so cold. So hateful. Why she was as hateful as Temari had made her sound. Unstable. Confused. She wasn't confused now. She looked at her kanji wristband. Prisoner of the Sand. The Kazekage's own personal property. That was why she existed. So why had she questioned it before, and been so confused? She yearned to know, but deep down, something told her that she didn't really want to know.
Takai grinned in the back of Kiele's mind. She would hold her tounge for now, until Kiele was ready for the knowledge that habored in the back of her mind.
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And there you have it. The first in the sequel to "A Demon Called Death". This one's out super early, and it makes me happy! - I get a plate of cookies this time!