When emerald eyes met icy ones
Chapter one: The Existence Of Dreamworld – A Myth Or A Truth
As an apology for making you wait so long for your first surprise, I have written this Gaara story for you, Kacey, considering that I have already dedicated you a Hiei one. Hopefully you will enjoy reading this one as much (or more) as you did with the first.
'Have you seen the fight today? Kami-sama, the Sand Village has won the lottery with our powerful Kazekage! Not to mention deadly hot!' Matsuri said with love in her eyes. All the other girls sighed at the image of the red-haired ninja and soon they were all gone in the world of fantasy. All but you. Matsuri's obsession with your leader never helped you forget about your own. And the daily conversation of the kunoichi from your group about the amazing Lord amplified the burning desire deep inside your heart. You close your eyes and sigh. How many times you decided to leave the group, but you couldn't. They were your friends. Together forever, this was your motto. And you weren't that selfish to throw all your memories away because of a man. 'Kami-sama, but what a man!' you mentally say.
Sabaku no Gaara was like none other you have ever seen. Apparently cold, untouchable, but always caring when it came to the life of his people. Powerful in front of his enemies, but weak when it came to emotions. Good at organizing the village's life with all of its problems, but bad at expressing feelings. How strange! He carried the symbol of love on his forehead, but he didn't know the true significance of this pure feeling. But how could someone teach him its meaning? His constant indifference has frozen every woman's attempt to get inside his heart. This was the main reason why you wanted to forget about him, even with the risk of falling in a frightening darkness. Gaara was the one who unconsciously pushed you to progress. He was the one you lived for, the one you wanted to worship and serve until death. He was your Kazekage, your idol, your God. He was everything to you. You, on the other hand, were his humble soldier and servant. You were nothing to him. And this how you would remain: a no one.
'Hello, Matsuri calling Yume! Give us the coordinates of your current location and we'll come to save you.' Your bestfriend stopped and waved in front of your eyes. You were suddenly brought back to earth and started laughing nervously at the girls.
'Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away.' You stoop laughing when you see Matsuri's evil grin and you blush. In order to hide it, you turn away with folded arms and you state upset: 'What? Can't I have a break from time to time?'
'Of course you can. But how was it?'
'How was what?' You ask with a falsified indifference.
'You know- the Gaara break…' Her grin grew even wider much to your despair. You turn to face her with anger in your green eyes. Rage because of your incapacity of hiding your emotions like every other ninja.
'I DID NOT HAVE SUCH A THING!' But instead of being scared of your reaction, Matsuri laughs to the group.
'Oh, isn't she cute when she gets angry?'
Ayumi, Hikari and Cho wink at you as if they just discovered your biggest secret. You wish to scream, to destroy, to demand them to stop teasing you, but you give up at your rage for one good reason: they are right and you are acting like a silly teenage girl who realizes that everyone knows about her secret crush. So, you remain silent and look at them with calm and earnestness. You are a 21-year old medic nin, member of the famous and feared group called ANBU Black from the Hidden Sand Village, so you cannot let your feelings slip out even if your friends are the ones who enjoy it. Unfortunately, you are so childish and naïve when it comes to feelings that you sometimes think even a 10-year old genin is more mature than you. You sigh knowing that you won't change too soon. So, as you were told in the Academy, you try to hide your emotions away from the others.
'Well, Mrs. Omniscient, I'm delighted that I filled you with joy. However, I am not the hub of the universe so I would rather you eat that slick tongue of yours before the entire village finds out what you are raving about. Not that they cared. And before you continue ranting about my so-called Kazekage-sama-break, I'm happy to tell you that you got the wrong person.' After saying this, you close your eyes, cross your arms and smirk a little. Even if it is perfunctorily, the others immediately fall for it.
'You mean it wasn't Gaara?' Matsuri asked with a shocked expression on her face. 'I can't believe it. You must be the only single girl in the village who doesn't dream about him. How can you not like Gaara?'
You roll your eyes and look at the brown-haired girl. So typical for her to get the wrong idea. Sometimes she acts as the opposite of the word 'ninja'. 'Right, Yume, like you don't know that she is more like a kunoichi than you will ever be. But how can she be weak when Kazekage-sama himself trained her 11 years ago?'
'I never said I don't like him. As far as I'm concerned, he is our leader, the one we should think of with admiration and respect. And these are the only feelings I will ever have for Lord Kazekage. Unlike you, I'm not wont to indulge in illusions so that I can be hit by the cruel reality later. I am aware of my current state and I know that I will never be at his level. He's much too high for us, can't you see it?'
The girls suddenly look at the ground, pondering about what you have just said. Even though you know you hurt them, you wait for one of them to say something else, contrary to what you affirmed. This always happened when it came to this delicate subject: the irresistible Lord. You commiserated the girls for not even trying to give up at their obsession. But more importantly, you commiserated yourself for not having the courage to express your feelings the way they did. Instead of this, you were playing a slapstick with them, trying to act all mighty and brave when you were the weakest one in the group.
'OK, I see we have a clash of opinions here. Just because he's above us all, that doesn't mean we're insignificant. I know him better than you do, Yume, and I'm telling you that he doesn't care about ranks. He may seem indifferent, but he has a clear-sighted look and he chooses his friends by what's inside them. I am a mere ninja, but I'm proud to call myself one of his friends. Because I trusted him when no one else did. I listened to my heart instead of my head the moment I chose him to be my sensei. And that is why I'm standing here with you today. You talk about admiration and respect? I have these feelings for him like every damn citizen of Suna. But you, Yume, you have confusion and fear in your heart. And you're right! You'll never reach him if you remain a pessimist!'
Your eyes widen at Matsuri's confession. Indeed, how silly of you to tell her about Gaara. She, who enjoyed 2 years of training with him ad 11 years of friendship. You envied her for being so optimistic ad for achieving everything she wished for. She was everything you weren't, everything you wanted to be.
'It's not pessimism, it's realism, Matsuri. I simply deny living in Dreamworld where everything is peaceful and exactly how I want it to be. This is the difference between us. You live in a world whose existence I do not accept.'
'And this is your biggest mistake. Always thinking about what's real or not you'll end up not knowing what a dream really is. Your life will become so common, so boring that you will start thinking this is reality and you have to accept it. Well, look around you, Yume. This reality is the result of imagination. Our first Kazekages have dreamed of this place and have fought for it. As a result, we are now living in The Sand Village. But this is not our reality, this is their and our Dreamworld. Sadly though, some people don't see it.'
You are stunned about her statement. You wonder if Matsuri will ever stop amazing you. You rack your brain to find something which would make her shut up and in a few seconds she says something which makes you remain flummoxed. Never had you thought that the crazy and immature girl in front of you would be so pensive and complex! You close your eyes and nod your awkward approval. After all, how can you not? Everything she says makes sense and you know that if you continue the quarrel, she will start screaming and jabbering until you will be knocked to bits and have to give up. So you decide it is wiser to agree with her now instead of consuming your patience and energy waiting for her to stop explaining what's on her mind. To what avail? You sigh, looking like you're ready to faint from moment to moment.
'Matsuri, you will be the death of me.' You manage to say in a feeble voice which makes the kunoichi jump and hug you so tight from your neck that your eyes threaten to leave their orbs. You fight to push her away and eventually she complies with your request.
'I knew it would be good for me to read that psychology book. It sounded really cool, didn't it?' She asks while laughing with her lips almost touching the ears.
You remain dumbfounded. 'You…you said all those things from a book?' You barely say although the amazement from your voice doesn't compare a tiny bit to the shock from your face.
She stops laughing, but the grin never leaves her face. And, as a result of the many moments she has spent with Naruto each time he came to Suna, she rises her thumb while her left hand is on her hip and she says: 'Believe it!'
You gape, your mouth hitting the ground and then you fall down, one of your legs still remaining in the air, while the other girls sweatdrop. 'She…she…read…a…book…and…I…I… thought…she…'
While you ramble because of the shock, the others approach Matsuri and ask worried: 'Do you think she will be alright?'
The girl just waves them off. 'Of course. She's big enough to recover. Sooner than ever, she will be up, asking me to explain myself.'
But you remain in that position and you continue stammering for five minutes that the girls start wondering if you will ever recover. Matsuri starts laughing nervously: 'OK, maybe not.'
Everyone around you laughs at the funny scene wondering if the girl on the ground is really a ninja or pretending to be one. It was well-known that besides Sound Village, Suna had the most serious warriors, starting with Gaara of the Desert, the Lord who never laughed or smiled. In fact, no one else besides his siblings, Naruto, Sakura, Neji, Rock Lee, Ten Ten, Kakashi and Might Guy knew that he did smile for the first and only time when he shook hands with Naruto the moment the Konoha ninja was about to leave after Gaara's revival. But other than that, Gaara was thought to be one of the most emotionless and merciless ninjas in The Sand Village. Many Suna soldiers have taken his example and whenever a villager met one of them, a stoic and inexpressive face was the only one he saw. This is how you wanted to be. A person capable of hiding your emotions, with an intimidating seriousness and strength. But you were too childish for this to happen, so you gave up at this dream long ago. In fact, you knew you couldn't be serious when your crazy friends were near.
Despite your constant verbosity, you realize that the laughs around you slowly fade and that silence is the only thing which can be heard. You rise up and ask the girls what is happening, but they don't know the answer. As if trying not to disturb a sleeping baby, every villager says to the ones near him that 'Kazekage-sama is coming.' You suddenly tense at the mention of your secret crush and you consider leaving a solution, but you think it will be a sign of disrespect for the one who fights everyday for the peace of The Sand Village, so you take a deep breath and bend your head down like everyone else, waiting for the feared ninja to appear. Concentrating on trying to stop the sudden tremble of your body, you don't notice that Matsuri hasn't taken the position of respect towards the Lord, but she raises on her feet to see him better.
Followed by ten ninjas who Matsuri recognizes as some of her colleagues from ANBU Black, Gaara appears in the wonderful orange light of the sunset, looking as handsome and powerful as a God of the Desert. His bright crystal-clear blue eyes look only straight ahead, their gaze as cold as ice. His red silky strands of hair move from right to left, as if following a mysterious dance on the melody of the wind, his bloody love sign in contrast with his snow-white skin. Tall and intimidating, he moves with such accuracy that anyone may think that he's calculating his steps. His sand gourd is present on his back, only that its size seems smaller. Of course, the now 23-year old Kazekage is way much imposing than the 12-year old genin. Not to mention that he is more powerful and alluring than ever. The sound of his steps on the sand echoes in the silence which seems loaded with electricity. No one dares to make the tinniest sound. Nothing can be heard but the wind blowing and the crunching sound of Gaara's footsteps on the sand. Until…
'Konnichi wa, Kazekage-sama!' Matsuri screams and waves at the flame-haired ninja who turns his attention towards her. Everyone rise up a little their head to look at the crazy girl who dared to stop their leader from his surveillance. You can't believe what Matsuri just did and, as you loose your temper (although it doesn't happen too often and Kami-sama protect those who are near you in that moment), you rise up and hit her in the head so that it bends down as it should be in the presence of the Sand Lord. Then, you resume to your earlier position and say through your teeth to the girl: 'Aho!'
Matsuri caresses her head while sighing:'Geez, there was no need in getting in the warrior stance.' But she immediately closes her mouth when she sees your death glare.(and it is pretty frightening, believe it!) All the people gathered there sweatdrop at her boldness which came in the most portentous moment.
'Matsuri…' Everyone froze when they heard Gaara's serious and commanding voice. You couldn't help but feel shivers running down your spine and pins and needles through your whole body.
'Come.' He simply says and continues walking, still followed by the ten ninjas. Matsuri rises and pull her tongue out at you, then runs after the Kazekage. As soon as they are out of sight, everyone turns back to their previous act and the girls approach you:'She sure is lucky, isn't she, Yume?' Hikari asks.
'Indeed, it is an honor and a privilege to serve directly Kazekage-sama.' You approve.
'Well, we'd better get going. You know Wakamaru-senpai always gets furious when we're late.' Cho says.
'There is no need in justifying your rush. Go on!' You assure them with a smile.
'Oh, by the way, Yume, my brother asks me if you-'
'Ayumi, you know my answer. As much as I value our friendship, I'm sorry to hurt your feelings, but you know I don't love Ayumu. At least, not the way he wants.'
'It's OK, I don't mind. I hate him for being so insistent and as stubborn as an idiotic donkey. Anyway, see you later, OK?'
'Sayonara!' The girls say univocally and you respond smiling and waving at them, not getting the chance to say goodbye back since they disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Now that they're gone, you give up at your poker face and sadness takes control over you. With small and slow steps, more like going to a funeral, you head to your apartment, waiting to grab your pillow and let the tears fall over your cheeks. Once you get there, you do so.
Right, left, on your back, on your stomach, and again right, left… You open your eyes. There's nothing but darkness in your room. And the annoying tick of the clock. You sigh. It's 1 a.m. and you can't sleep. You look at the wall from your right and the image of the Kazekage materializes before your very eyes.
'Matsuri…come.' Annoyed, you throw the pillow at the vision and it disappears into thin air. The headache returns, soon followed by the same sensations caused by the image of the redhead. 'Stupid butterflies…' you think as you put on a pair of black jeans and a green blouse which emphasizes your bright emerald orbs. You shut the door in annoyance and leave to an unknown destination.
A half-moon and lots of sparkling stars, something you could not see from the town, threw a silver light and bathed everything in a mystical shine. You were laying in the desert, far away from the village, with your eyes closed, enjoying the feeling of the wind and the sand caressing your skin. There was nothing but peace. Only you, the moon, the stars, the wind and the desert. Or this is what you thought. Each time the desert welcomed you, you couldn't help but go to another world. Shamefully for you, it was Dreamworld whose existence you did accept, but refuse when it came to becoming something else (such as Fantasy World). So, focused on the feeling of peace which soothed your suffering soul, you don't hear footsteps coming in your direction, nor you sense chakra approaching you. However you abandon completely Dreamworld and return to reality when you feel two warm fingers on your neck as if trying to take your pulse. You snap your eyes open and your eyes widen at the sight in front of you.
'Are you alright?' You hear his unique voice and once again hundreds of sensations take over your body, making you melt and freeze at the same time under his intense ocean look. You can't help but notice that although he seems cold and distant, his hand is warm. More importantly, his eyes don't look idly as you've seen them for so many times. They look at you. You realize the awkwardness of this situation and you want to move or to speak, but you can't. You're too perplex for it. All you can do is stare at him and blink several times, wishing for him to disappear just like it did in your room. But he remains there, his eyes locked with yours and the touch of his hand on your neck as real as possible. Time passes by, but none of you dare to break the silence. You continue to stare at each other until you finally decide to test him: illusion or real person? So, you rise your hand for his head and sink your fingers in his fire locks. What amazes you more than the pleasure of feeling them is that you actually do feel them!
'Kazekage-sama…' You manage to say before your world turns black.
