Loveless
Gaara watched the stars twinkle. He sighed as he shifted to a more comfortable position. His attempts failed, the roof was quite hard. Even after the Shukaku was removed he still had trouble sleeping. Eventually, though, the sounds of the night lulled him to sleep.
Sikata lay awake on the ground. The trees blocked her view of the stars. The ground was very hard so she moved to a patch of grass. If she hadn't been worried about being seen, she would have slept in the field. Despite the conditions, the sound of the wind blowing past her ears soon soothed her into a deep sleep.
"Gaara." Gaara twitched and waved his hand at the voice. The voice sighed.
"Gaara, wake up." Gaara groaned, but his eyes still snapped open. The teal eyes of his sister, Temari, stared down at him with a very annoyed expression.
"What do you want, Temari?" he asked, irritated that she woke him. His sister rolled her eyes. Then she grabbed his arm and dragged him kicking and fighting off the roof and back inside.
"Temari! I said, what do you want?" Gaara repeated angrily. Temari stopped.
"There is a letter for you and the girl won't give it to anyone other than you. Also, Kankuro is being an idiot and trying to impress her," she replied. Gaara laughed mentally at the thought.
When they got to the main room, their brother was failing miserably to even catch the girl's attention. For a moment Temari distracted her, never the less she ran up to Gaara. "This is for you," she said. Gaara looked her over.
She was very pretty, pale skin and short pine green hair. She wore a short maroon dress and black heels. The dress clung to her body and then flowed out at her hips. What caught Gaara's eyes though, were her own. The girl's eyes were a flaming orange, and they were fearless. She held out a letter to him, breaking him from his thoughts.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"Sikata," she said. Her voice was sweet sounding, but it was cold as ice. Gaara took the letter.
"Thank you," he said. She bowed. Then she left, her dress swishing around her legs. Kankuro made a whistling noise. Sikata turned around, her burning eyes hotter than ever. She thrust a hand out. Kankuro went flying backwards onto the wall. She closed her hand in a fist and lifted it a small bit. Kankuro was pulled up to his feet. Then she pulled her hand into her. Kankuro began to walk towards her. When he arrived, Sikata punched him square in the nose.
The letter had been a report from one of the towns, something Gaara could care less about. The town where he lived was relatively safe so when he decided to go for a walk, he left his sand gourd at home. After a while, Gaara began notice that he was out in the middle of no where. And soon after that a storm began. There were raging winds and beating rain. The lighting flashed and the thunder boomed.
Then a flash came down right on him. He waited, but he felt no pain. What he did feel was fright when an ear-splitting scream rang out. Then he felt something fall on him. He opened his eyes. Sikata lay in his lap, her back smoking from the jolt. She shook as she turned to look at him. Gaara's eyes widened a fraction. She was crying, and the fire was gone from her eyes. She seemed satisfied the he was all right and fainted.
Gaara carried the limp body home, trying his best not to get lost again. All the while he carefully shielded her from the wind and rain. When he got back home, his siblings stared. Their brother was soaking wet and he was cradling a soaking wet girl with a nasty wound on her back.
"What did you do?" Temari asked as she jumped up. Gaara glared at her.
"Nothing. She saved me," he said as he walked right past them. Then he carried Sikata to the bathroom. When he got a good look at her wound, he saw he was going to have to take her dress off. He turned to go find Temari, only to find her in the doorway. Then he left her with Sikata.
"Gaara! Wait! I'll need your help," she called. Gaara held up a finger, he'd be back. Temari frowned. Her brother returned with a blindfold.
"You have to take her dress off," he said as he fastened it around his eyes. Temari nodded and began to peel the fabric from the girl's body. Then they began to treat her wound.
"Gaara, look," Temari whispered. Gaara slowly lifted the blindfold. In the small of her back was seal, a demon seal.
Sikata opened her eyes. She remembered jumping into the bolt, protecting the boy. She looked around. She was lying in comfortable bed, in a room she did not recognize. Then all of the sudden, she was all too aware that her clothes were gone. She attempted to move, but had to stifle a scream as pain flooded her senses.
Gaara lay on the roof, again staring at the stars. Tonight he had no choice, his bedroom was occupied. Finally, he decided to sleep on the couch. Before he went to sleep, he couldn't resist checking on the girl. He tiptoed to his room, so his siblings wouldn't hear him and slid through the small space provided when he quietly opened the door. She slept peacefully still in the position in which Temari had placed her, laying on her stomach with her head facing the wall.
Gaara walked over and absent-mindedly reached out for a strand of her hair. It was black in the dim light, not the dark emerald color it had been that morning. Temari had successfully gotten all of the mud out from the storm. The lock that he had captured was soft and silky. He turned a bit and it slipped from his hand. Then he left, carefully closing the door behind him.
Sikata slowly opened her eyes, this time expecting the new bedroom. But this time, there were two turquoise eyes staring back at her.
"Don't move," they said. She screamed and attempted to get and from their penetrating stare, thus causing the pain to rush through her and make her scream again.
"I told you not to move. Did you listen to me? No," said the voice again. Tears clouded her eyes but Sikata could see the boy she had saved frowning at her from across the room.
"Are you alright?" she asked. He nodded.
"You might need this. Thank you, for saving my life," he replied as he held out robe. Sikata looked at him like he was crazy.
"How did I get here?" she asked as she watched him blindfold himself.
"I carried you. Can you stand up?" he said.
"Maybe, with help," she answered as she slowly climbed out of the bed. Her legs gave out when she tried to stand. Gaara handed the robe to her. From her position on the floor, she managed to get it on.
"I'm Gaara. My sister is Temari and my brother is Kankuro. You're in our house," he told her as he removed his blindfold. Then he picked her up bridal style and carried her out of the room.
The four ate breakfast in silence, Sikata glaring at Kankuro, who stared at his plate. After breakfast Sikata practiced walking back and forth across Gaara's room, Temari always waiting to catch her if she fell.
When night fell, Sikata became restless.
"Gaara?" she asked. The figure on the floor shifted.
"What?"
"Can you help me go outside?" Gaara rolled over to face her. She had asked him to stay with her that night; she was still uncomfortable in his room. He stood up and lifted her from his bed. Then he carried her outside. Then he shifted her to his back.
"Hold on," he said. She clasped her hands around his neck and her legs around his waist. The he began to climb up to the roof. He set her down and laid down with his back to her. Sikata couldn't resist. She poked Gaara. He twitched.
"Are you sleeping?" she asked. No answer. She sighed and looked out at the stars.
"Gaara?" she asked.
"What?" he replied.
"Can I trust you?" Gaara rolled over.
"Why? With what?"
"A secret."
"Sure."
"I, I have a demon, sealed inside me. Are you afraid?"
"No."
"You and your family are the first people to ever trust me, to offer me a place to stay. Everyone is afraid of me." Gaara stared at her, his gaze unwavering. To any other person, his stare would have been frightening, but to her, it was comforting.
"Sikata?"
"What?"
"Can I trust you?"
"Yes."
"I used to have a demon sealed within me." Sikata looked over at him. His face was expressionless.
"Which one?" she asked.
"The Shukaku."
"Oh. Is that why you aren't afraid?"
"Yes."
"I have the Ten-tailed tiger. She really isn't a demon, until you get her mad. She isn't happy inside me. She gives me headaches."
"She?"
"Yeah."
"The Shukaku didn't let me sleep." Sikata placed her hand over Gaara's. He twitched again. Then they spent the rest of the night staring out into the stars.
The next few days went as you would expect. Sikata was stronger everyday, and Kankuro was still trying to catch her eye. But her fiery eyes never took any glances at him that weren't necessary. She chatted with Temari, but at all other times, she was glued to Gaara's side.
"Would you stop following me?" he would ask her.
"Alright, love," she would answer. Then she would continue following him to listen to his ranting about how he hated that nickname and how just because it was printed on his forehead didn't mean she could call him that. Never the less, she would continue calling him that, and he would continue letting her.
Then one day it all ended. Sikata followed Gaara to the market; it was his turn to do the shopping. Then as they passed an alley, an arm reached out and pulled Sikata in. She tried to scream, but a hand was firmly placed over her mouth. Gaara had become used to her walking with him, so it didn't take long for him to notice she was gone. He remembered the alley and ran back. He arrived in time to see two black cloaked figures, one holding Sikata down and another shutting off her chakra flow.
Sikata was scared. Gaara wasn't here to protect her, and she couldn't protect herself. Then one of the figures was gone. Then the other disappeared. She heard a scream of agony, then another. She curled into a ball and willed it to stop. Then she heard Gaara's voice.
Her eyes shot open. Gaara was there and the two figures lay motionless on the ground. They were still alive, but they wouldn't be for long. She could see the blood pooling around them. Gaara had done this. Sikata looked up at him in horror. Then she ran away as fast as she could. She didn't bother to collect her things, she just kept running.
Gaara ran after her, but he couldn't catch her. He finally stopped running and dropped to his knees. And so he sat there, as if waiting for her to come back. He tried to remember what had happened. He remembered Sikata disappearing, seeing her trapped, then the terror on her face. Then he went back. Those figures had looked familiar. When he got back to the alley, he looked at their cloaks, black with red clouds. They were Akatsuki members. They were after her demon.
Gaara ran home as fast as he could. He ran in and gathered a few supplies, then left a note for Temari and Kankuro. They wouldn't be happy when they found it, but he didn't care at the moment. After he had gathered what he needed, he paused. He walked down to his room, just to see if she was there. She wasn't. So he left, and he didn't stop running until he arrived.
He arrived some time after dawn, exhausted from running all night. He surprised himself with the fact that he knew where he was going. Temari had told him that when the Akatsuki removed the Shukaku from him it killed him. He was lucky, she said, that a woman had been willing to give her life for his.
Please don't let her die, he thought as he rested. Please. In the few days she had known him, Sikata had become close to Gaara. She was the closet, actually. When she called him names and followed him around, he put up with it. He wouldn't have let anyone else do that. Was it because she saved him? Or was it something else?
Sikata opened her eyes. She momentarily expected to see Gaara sleeping on the floor below her, but then she remembered. After that she realized that he couldn't have been below her anyway, she was already on the floor. She sat up and tried to calm her aching head. For the life of her, she couldn't remember how to calm her demon. In an attempt to ignore her, Sikata looked around. Two more cloaked people had captured her while she was running. Then they had brought her here.
Ever since they arrived, Sikata's demon had been going crazy. Occasionally the tiger demon let Sikata talk to her, so Sikata tried.
Hello?
Yes? replied a rough voice. It was soothing and frightening at the same time.
Do you know what is going to happen to us?
No, but it's going to be good.
What do you mean?
I can feel it. I don't know how you'll fare, but I'll be great. The statement was more of hissing than speaking.
Two more people came in and injected something into her. Sikata's body began to feel numb and soon she couldn't move. Then one of the people picked her up and carried her out. She couldn't stop the tears from falling. These people were evil, but this one was gentle. The way he held her reminded her of Gaara. At that moment, she realized what they were going to do. They were going to take her demon, and she would never see him again. She was going to die.
Gaara carefully navigated through the iron hallways of the compound. He couldn't remember the way to the certain room where the extraction would take place, but he was determined to find it. Then he found it, and wished he never did. Sikata lay on the floor in front of a large statue. The statue was frightening, but her screams of pain and the beast coming from her were horrifying. He stared in terror until the beast was completely brought out. Then it was sucked into the statue. Sikata's body lay limp in one of the figures' arms as he carried her out of the room. Gaara silently followed behind.
"She's not dead yet," the figure said to himself as he laid her back on the floor of the empty room. Gaara impatiently waited for him to leave. When he finally did, Gaara rushed in and straight to Sikata's side. He grabbed her wrist and breathed out a sigh of relief. She still had a pulse and no matter how faint, that meant she still had a chance. Then as quickly and quietly as he could, he carried her out.
As he was running he felt her stir. He stopped and stared at her. She was staring right back, but he could tell that she wasn't really looking at him. Her orange eyes were clouded and her mouth was hanging slightly open. Then she shocked him when she attempted to move. It was a feeble movement and he couldn't tell if she was trying to get away or trying to get closer. Then he noticed her lips were moving. He placed his ear over her mouth.
"Let,"
"Me,"
"Go," she whispered.
"No," he said firmly. Then he continued running, only faster. She wanted to give up, but he wasn't going to let her.
Sikata opened her eyes. Everything was blurry, but she could feel something squeezing her hand. She turned her head as much as her energy would allow. She still couldn't see well, but she recognized the red hair and turquoise eyes. Gaara gasped in surprise as she slid her hand from his. Sikata sat up and climbed out of the hospital bed. Gaara attempted to stop her but she ran. When she remembered all that had happened, she got a sudden burst of speed. Then she tripped over a rock.
She lay on the ground cringing as pain rushed through her veins. Gaara arrived next to her in less than a minute. He picked her up and cradled her body in his lap. From where she was, she could make out a solitary tear running down his cheek.
"Don't die. Please," he whispered as he brought her closer to him. She fought with what little strength she had to get away, but she was too weak.
"Ssh," she said as she gave into him and wiped the tear away with her thumb. She fell asleep with the hint of a smile on her face. Then Gaara held her as close as he could as her heart slowed to a stop.
Gaara's eyes shot open. He was lying on the roof again. His breath was ragged and he was shaking. When he put his hand up to his face his cheeks were wet with tears.
"It was a dream?" he asked himself as he wiped the moisture off. Then his eyes widened and he jumped off the roof.
"You want me to what?" asked Temari.
"I want you to go out and look for a girl. She has orange eyes and green hair. Oh, and she's wearing a maroon dress with black heels," said Gaara. Temari looked at him worriedly and put her hand on his forehead.
"Well, I guess you don't have a fever. Are you okay, Gaara?" she asked. Gaara pushed her towards the door.
"I'm fine, just find her! If it helps, her name is Sikata," he replied as he shoved her out the door.
About an hour later a very annoyed Temari returned with a very uncomfortable Sikata.
"Kankuro! Where's Gaara?" she yelled. Kankuro appeared from around the corner.
"I think he's in his room. Who's she?" he asked.
"Shut up."
Temari led Sikata down to Gaara's room, although she didn't notice that Sikata already knew the way. Temari left Sikata at the door. Sikata looked at the door for a while before actually knocking. The door slid open. Gaara and Sikata stared at each other for a minute. Then Sikata rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his waist. Gaara froze in shock. Then he realized what was happening and hugged her back. She pulled him closer and held on tighter.
They stood there for a while, enjoying the each other's presence and closeness. Then Sikata loosened her grip and looked up at Gaara. He looked back expectantly.
"Gaara?" she asked.
"Yes?" he answered.
"Do you know why I always called you 'love'?"
"You had the same dream?"
"Yes."
"No, I don't know why."
"Because I love you." Gaara's eyes widened, not the fraction of an inch that was normal, but probably the entire inch.
"What?" he asked, his voice breathless. Sikata laid her head back on his chest and smiled.
"I called you that because I love you," she repeated. Then she laughed.
"It was convenient that it is written on your forehead though. It was a good excuse," she said. Then she gasped as Gaara bent a bit and kissed her. After she absorbed what had happened, her arms wound around his neck and his wrapped around her waist.
The two smiled as they kept their arms around each other. Sikata lifted her head and placed her nose against his. She laughed as he looked at her through crossed eyes. Then she gently kissed him.
"What do you think they'll think of us?" she asked. Gaara frowned.
"They?"
"Your siblings." Then he smiled again.
"As long as we love each other, I really don't care what they think."
"But to them we just met," Sikata pointed out. Then she laughed again.
"And I thought you were loveless."
"Well, we'll have to tell them won't we?" Gaara replied.
"About our dreams? They won't believe us," she said. Gaara kissed her and led her out of the room.
"Kankuro will believe anything. It's just Temari we have to worry about, especially since she's probably still mad at me."
"Merry Christmas!" shouted Sikata as she jumped on Gaara. Gaara rolled over and looked at his girlfriend.
"Was that necessary?" he asked.
"No, I just felt like it," she said. "Besides, you can't do anything about it anyway."
"And why not?"
"Because I've already done it, of course!" Gaara loved her, but sometimes she was just too weird. Sikata climbed off the bed, went across the room, sat on her own, and stared at him.
"Are you going to get up or what?" she asked.
"That depends, what do I get in return?" he replied.
"I guess you'll have to get up and see," she said. Gaara sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. Then he stood up. Sikata smiled and kissed him. Then she dragged him downstairs.
Kankuro was already waiting for them. He stifled a laugh at the sight of his brother being dragged down the stairs by a girl around half his own weight. Temari was at her boyfriend's house. Gaara, Kankuro, and Sikata all had bets on whether Shikamaru would propose to her sometime this month. Sikata jumped at the little Christmas tree they had and pulled out two gifts. She handed one to Gaara and one to Kankuro.
Kankuro savagely ripped his open. He opened the box and held up a twig with small white berries. He looked questioningly at Sikata. She took it and held it over their heads. It seemed to click in Kankuro and Gaara's heads. Gaara frowned. Sikata placed a small kiss on Kankuro's lips. Then she settled back down next to Gaara and kissed his cheek. This seemed to satisfy him.
"Well, come on! Open it!" Sikata said. Gaara looked hesitantly at his gift. Then he ripped it neatly open. Sikata grinned impishly. Gaara stared at the box, not willing to open it. Eventually he did though. He looked at Sikata in disbelief. Inside Gaara's box were a pair of tan slippers. The fact that had him puzzled though, was why on Earth were there cartoonish Shukaku heads on them?
"Try them on," Sikata encouraged. Gaara ignored his brother's laughter as he put them on. Sikata motioned for him to walk around. He took a step.
Squeak
He took some more.
Squeak, Squeak
He stared at her.
"You've got to be kidding."
Sikata and Kankuro were laughing so hard they could hardly breathe. Gaara cocked his head and crossed his arms. They laughed even harder. Then the phone rang. Sikata answered it.
"Hello? What? Congratulations! Did you like the holder? You're welcome. Okay, bye." She put the phone away and sat back down.
"You both owe me ten dollars, Shikamaru proposed. Kankuro owes me another five. Temari liked the fan holder I got her." The boys groaned and fished tens and fives out of their pockets. Sikata shoved her money in her shirt pocket.
"So what did she say?" asked Kankuro.
"Yes." Sikata felt a tap on her shoulder. Gaara was holing out a small box to her. She smiled at how messily wrapped it was.
"So, what do you say?" he asked. Sikata was momentarily shocked. Did he just say what she thought he said? She unwrapped the box and opened it. Sitting delicately inside was a diamond ring. She stared at Gaara. He sat next to her and gently pulled it from her grasp. Then he got down on one knee.
"Sikata?"
"Yes?"
"Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" she cried as she toppled him over in a kiss. The next year Temari and Shikamaru and Gaara and Sikata were all married. Kankuro, however, remained single.
Sikata was downstairs washing the dishes. She smiled and wondered how long it would take her husband to realize that she had switched his slippers with the ones she had gotten him for Christmas two years ago. Her smile widened. Until he had either some excitement or coffee, Gaara wouldn't notice anything.
Squeak Squeak Squeak Squeak Squeak Squeak Squeak Squeak Squeak
Sikata put her dishes down and turned to find a very sleepy Gaara and a very amused Kankuro coming down the stairs. Sikata smiled warmly at them, mostly at Kankuro, since Gaara didn't seem to notice she was there. She walked up to her husband, put her arms around his neck, and gently kissed him. She put her nose on his the way she did every morning. For Gaara, this was normally enough excitement to get him out of his sleepy state. And as always, Kankuro ignored the both of them when Gaara registered the events through crossed eyes and kissed her back.
"Morning, love. Happy Birthday," Sikata said. Gaara smiled lazily.
"Just because you're my wife doesn't mean you can still call me that," he said. Sikata cocked her head.
"Oh really? And who's going to stop me? You?" she asked as she walked back to the sink and picked up her dishes again. Gaara followed her and hugged her from behind.
"Maybe I will," he whispered. Sikata ignored him. Just then he noticed that his slippers had squeaked when he followed her. He looked down at his feet to find the dreaded slippers from two years ago. He frowned and squeaked up the stairs to find his other slippers. His wife laughed.
"So, Kankuro. Can I trust you with a secret?" she asked as she placed a plate of waffles in front of him. Kankuro smirked.
"If you let me live here and feed me like this every morning," he replied. Sikata laughed at him.
"We already let you live here. I'll have to think about the breakfast thing though," she answered.
"Okay, shoot. What's this secret?" Kankuro asked. Sikata walked over to his side of the table and bent over.
"How does 'Uncle Kankuro' sound?" she whispered. Kankuro sat, deep in thought, a very rare event.
"Well, it's okay, but it's not like you're…" he said as he looked at her. She was smiling.
"Oh my god. You are?" Sikata kept smiling. Kankuro stood up and hugged her, completely forgetting about his waffles.
"Congratulations! Does he know?" he asked gesturing up the stairs.
"No, not yet. Soon," she said.
"I knew you would beat Temari to it," Kankuro laughed as he sat back down. Just then Gaara came back down the stairs.
"Beat Temari to what?" he asked. Kankuro looked around desperately for an excuse.
"Sikata makes better waffles than Temari. I knew she'd figure out how to make them right before Temari," he said. Gaara raised an eyebrow. Sikata sat down and put a plate of waffles for herself and for him. Gaara took a bite and agreed with his brother.
Kankuro washed the dishes and Sikata ran upstairs to find Gaara's birthday present. She handed him a medium sized box. He looked at her suspiciously. She smiled.
"You're cheery today," he said. She rolled her eyes.
"Just open it," she said. So he did. Inside was a white coffee mug. Gaara turned it over. In big, capital, blue letters was the word "DAD". Gaara stared at it for a few minutes. Kankuro and Sikata stared at him, waiting for some kind of reaction. Gaara turned to Sikata.
"You mean…" was all he could get out. His wife smiled wider and nodded. Gaara jumped up and hugged her. Sikata smirked at her husband.
"You're cheery today."
Nine months later Sikata lay in a hospital bed with Gaara right by her side. She smiled tiredly at him.
"I'm glad that's over with," she said. Gaara smiled knowingly and kissed her forehead. She squeezed his hand as they waited for the nurse to come back.
"Why don't you get the others? The nurse probably won't be here for another few minutes," Sikata said as she closed her eyes. Gaara looked at her uncertainly, but he left anyway. In less than a minute he gathered up Kankuro from the snacks and Temari and Shikamaru from where ever they were. Gaara wasn't really paying that much attention.
"That was fast," Sikata said when the four returned. Gaara had resumed his place at her side. Temari, Shikamaru, and Kankuro just stood there, wondering how it was that they got here so quickly. In about a minute or so, a nurse came in holding a bundle of pink blankets. Then she came over and placed it in Sikata's arms.
"Your daughter," said the nurse. Everyone crowded over Sikata until the nurse pulled them away a short distance. They could still see, but now they weren't suffocating Sikata or the baby. Gaara looked over his wife's shoulder. Cradled in her arms was a small baby girl. She had little tufts of blonde hair with hints of brown. And when she opened her eyes they teal, just like Temari's. Sikata smiled.
"She has your eyes, Temari," she said. Temari leaned over a bit to look and smiled with satisfaction. Sikata looked at Gaara and held out the girl to him. Gaara hesitantly took her. She was unbelievably light. When he looked at the bundle in his arms, it was hard to believe it was his daughter. He was broken out of his reverie when he felt something on his arm. Sikata was trying to tell him the nurse was back. Gaara reluctantly handed the baby back to the nurse. The nurse smiled and left.
"So, what's her name?" asked Shikamaru. Sikata and Gaara looked at each other. They had never decided. Gaara sat back down next to her.
"What do you think?" she asked in a hushed voice.
"Well…I don't really know," Gaara whispered back.
"Can you think of any important people in your life?" Sikata asked. Gaara could think only of his mother, who he never really knew.
"No," he answered. Then something seemed to click in Sikata's mind.
"Could we name her after my mother? She was killed when my demon first got loose, before it was sealed into me," she asked. Then she smiled absent-mindedly.
"I'm glad we're both free of our demons."
Gaara looked at her.
"Sure," he said. Sikata smiled. Then she turned to the others.
"Her name is Sukumari. It was my mother's name," she said. At first Gaara noticed how similar to Shukaku the name was. Then he noticed that the ending reminded him of Temari, whom his daughter looked very much like. In the end, the name comforted him and reminded him not to treat her like his father treated him. His father had ordered the sealing of the demon within him and used his mother as a sacrifice.
"Gaara?"
Gaara looked over at Sikata. She was looking at him worriedly.
"Are you okay, love?" she asked. Gaara smiled at the nickname. Then he kissed her cheek.
"I'm great."