As of 8/6/07: I've redone parts of the story, to make it flow better! Enjoy!
Author's Note: Hope you like it! My first attempt at a somewhat action-y, drama fic. Somewhat twisted fic. You have been warned!
Thanks to Jan (he doesn't have an account here) for your advice on writing action! I wouldn't have been able to write this fic without your advice. Thank you for your kind suggestions and input. You're awesome!
"Ascendere" means "to ascend" in Latin. XD
Bronze light slanted over dunes, throwing dappled patterns across the golden sand. It came in supple sheets, bending and sighing, pressing down into the ground. Overhead, the glass sky curved into a cathedral ceiling, unmoving, always watching. A slight breeze trickled by, strewing Temari's hair into her misty eyes.
She sat silently, watching as the sun sank into the horizon. The light was bending, soaring across the blue glass, creating something regal and sacred. Sprawling pink arms were stretched taut, kind and full. Temari grimly thought that she was not deserving of its warm embrace, and turned away, tucking her chin to her knees. She lifted her eyes and glanced at the body lying next her, the throat gleaming with blood.
He was a missing rain nin, his scratched hitai-ate tied loosely around his neck. Beautiful rivulets of blood ran down the cold metal, criss-crossing across like a crimson spider web. His eyes were open and blank. The last sputtering rays of light framed him in a golden glow. He looked almost holy.
Temari studied him, tracing the lines of his face with her eyes. He had probably seen so much death in those fading green eyes. Her gaze rested on his hands. They were calloused and rough, probably from years of labor. Temari's hands flew to her neck. She could still the cold bite of his kunai against her skin.
"Too bad I'm going to have to kill you, blondie," he said, grinning. His eyes were so full, full of mirth and cold determination. "I wanted to see you with your hair down." With that, a volley of shuriken came right at Temari, scraping and ripping through the air in a flash of steel. "This is the end!"
But something was wrong. His eyes went wide as he saw the shuriken lying uselessly in a half circle around Temari. Holding her large fan, she smiled grimly. It was fully opened, all three stars glinting in the bright desert light.
"Not quite," she said. "Kamaitachi no jutsu!"
A howling wind clawed its way towards the missing nin as he desperately tried to run. The wind was death, chasing after him in a frenzied bloodlust. He stumbled over the ground, the sand tugging at his sandals. The man swore as he realized that he could outrun it no longer.
The wind slammed into him, eagerly tearing through his body. But as it fully engulfed him, he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Shit," Temari hissed. "A bunshin."
"That's right," he whispered in her ear. Temari froze. Icy metal was pressed against her neck. "Too bad. You're such a pretty little thing."
Her eyes hardened, anger sliding through her veins. Her fingers tightened around her fan. Temari looked down. Her fan!
She would have to act quickly. Temari ran calculations through her mind. There were a lot of things wrong with her plan, but it was her only hope. She felt the man slightly loosen his hold on the kunai. He was hesitating.
Temari used his moment of weakness to her advantage. She twisted down and around, swinging the fan. Giving a little gasp of pain, she felt the kunai scrape against her neck and puncture her shoulder, lodged deep within her warm flesh. She grimaced, but shook her head. Victory was almost hers.
As her fan went flying through the air, the man leapt out of the way, barely escaped the path of the fan's blow. As he flew through the air, he heard Temari shout, "Daikamaitachi no jutsu!"
In horror, he saw a spiraling whirlwind head straight for him. He turned in midair, pelting straight for the desert sand. As he collided with the earth, he heard the wind whistle over him, barely missing him. Sand exploded over him as the whirlwind hurtled into the ground a few meters away. He was covered in sand, red grains dusting over his face like a mask.
The nin tried getting up, but was stopped by a kunai pointing straight at his throat. Temari tightened her grip, smirking slightly.
"Now this is the end."
Temari closed her eyes wistfully as the last rays of sunlight faded from her face. She sat in the sand next to a dead nin, watching as the sky finally exhaled, bleeding into a starry night.
Blood. Temari looked at her shoulder, which was tightly tied with bandages. The blood blossomed through the white bandages. It was almost beautiful, Temari decided. It was like a watercolor painting; soft brushstrokes, slightly blurred. She sighed, and felt herself looking at the dead man once more. She could paint his whole life out into the sand.
He had probably been unhappy with his village, wanting more. Temari gazed at his rough, calloused hands. He had probably come from a farming family, who worked hard to keep food on the table. As he grew older, he had dreams of being a great nin.
She closed her eyes, the man's life dragging across the starry expanse of her mind. He had probably left in the middle of the night, whispering his goodbyes into the darkness. She saw him traveling by foot, blindly running through the landscapes, not knowing exactly what he was searching for. Collapsing, exhausted. Knowing that death was coming by to claim him, sink its teeth into his flesh.
Lights. He woke up, confused. She saw him tangled in the crisp sheets of a warm bed, lights shining down over him. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, hobbling unsteadily to the door. A switch in perception, and Temari was him, peering through his eyes.
"Where are you going, young man?" a voice asked. Temari and the young boy turned and saw an elderly woman, staring at them pleasantly, her eyes full of mirth and life.
"Where…where am I?" they asked.
"You're in the Hidden Rain Village," the woman answered.
Temari found herself feebly following the boy, hurtling forward through the timeline of his life. She drifted behind his shoulder as she watched enroll in the ninja academy, determined and ready. He was used to such strenuous work, suddenly grateful for the long hours spent toiling in the fields. He graduated top of his class. He was proud. She was proud.
Temari felt herself being pushed forward into the boy's later years. She saw him grow bored with the village, his eyes dull and unhappy.
She followed him along into a dark, cloudless night, when she saw something shift in his eyes. He turned and briskly walked into the house. Temari waited outside, squeezing her eyes shut when she heard the old woman scream. When she opened her eyes, she saw rosettes of blood spattered across the window, and the young man stepping out of the house without a word.
He left the village that day, never looking back.
Temari found herself back in the present, the missing nin lying next to her in the sand. She solemnly looked at him, memorizing the lines of his face. Temari realized that she didn't know him at all.
But, at the same time, she knew him so well.
As Temari started the fire, she realized that she didn't even know his name. Once the firelight was bright, Temari reached into her pack for the bingo book, flipping through the pages. She found him, his face grinning meekly in the glossy photograph.
Tsuneo.
Temari half expected him to stir and sit up. She wondered if they would have ever been friends. She gave a short, bitter laugh.
Temari woke up as the sky was brightening. The fire was out. Groaning, Temari sat up, rubbing her eyes. She shook the sand from her hair, and glanced over at Tsuneo.
He looked peaceful, almost happy. For a fleeting moment, she could see the young boy with such ambition. She smiled slightly, then reached up, undoing the elastic in her hair. Her blond hair fell to her shoulders.
You wanted to see my hair down, Tsuneo.
Temari leaned over and softly closed the dead man's eyes. She grabbed her pack, and looked over her shoulder for one last look.
The sun ascended overhead, light spreading, whispering across the silent desert.
Tsuneo.