Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata
Chapter One: Shinsou Seppan-Hisakata
Author's Notes: This is my first fanfic, ever, and all my Japanese is obtained from anime episodes and This means that any Japanese words that are used are probably in incorrect grammar and possibly even the wrong words. So… criticism of any kind, as well as corrections, are welcome.
The title of this story, Omokage Taiyou, Metsuki Hisakata, is supposed to mean "Face of the Sun, Eyes of the Moon". This chapter title ought to be translated into "Half-Moon Truths". (More likely it's come out as Truth Moon Halves, or something.) And I'm pretty sure gommennasai is a formal or very sincere apology; hime is princess; and oba-chan means aunt.
The story is about, if you didn't read the summary (you did read the summary though, riiight?) several rivalries, two loves, one friendship, one sand, one water, one fire, and many other things that can't be numericized (not a word, I know). More directly, it's the larger-than-life story about a timid girl who finds a love she's never known, the impenetrable boy who awakens her heart, and the best friend who comes between them. It's also about a shady past hiding between an elderly caregiver, secrets, and the biggest betrayals of all.
Enjoy and, if you like, please read and review!
A laugh rang out under the blazing Konoha sun.
"Come on, Nari!" a girl cried.
Shielding her eyes from the sun's glare, Nari squinted up into the interlacing web of treetops. "Miko-chan, are you crazy? We just had lunch! And I'm afraid of heights! And I can't climb!"
Miko swung down easily from a branch, a cheeky grin splitting her tanned face. "Don't be so paranoid! You really need to relax sometimes, Nari." With that, she catapulted herself back up into the foliage.
Nari sighed and began to heave herself up after her friend, her ramen meal already stirring unpleasantly in her stomach. Why couldn't Miko ever do anything nice and safe, like… like reading, or drawing? Sometimes it was hard being best friend to the self-proclaimed Wild Child of Konoha, especially when you were used to pouring tea for and chatting about life with your elderly aunt, as was the case with Nari. I'm fifteen, she reminded herself. Soon I won't even be living with Auntie. I should be at home now, taking care of her.
Hopping onto a sturdy limb, Nari peered around for her friend. "Miko-chan?" Nervously, she shimmied to the branch's end, looking down … just in time to see Miko plummeting to the ground with a small cry of horror.
Nari couldn't stop replaying the terrible scene in her mind as she clutched Miko's hand tightly, the too-small hospital room seeming to spin before her eyes. I'm claustrophobic, a small part of her cried, but a larger part worried for Miko, whose eyelids fluttered faintly as she absorbed her surroundings.
"Nari," the girl mumbled painfully, "this doesn't look like my tree."
Nari was too scared to laugh. "Miko-chan! How are you feeling? You had a nasty fall."
"I feel like I was just run over by a truck and skewered over a bonfire," Miko replied honestly, if not a bit dramatically. Even in the worst of situations Miko couldn't keep her mouth shut. "Geez, these walls are the most hideous colour I've ever seen in my life," she continued conversationally. "Did someone –"
Her tirade was interrupted by the arrival of a nurse carrying a clipboard. "Miko! Back so soon?" she asked, recognizing the injured teen. "It's only been six months since you scorched yourself toasting marshmallows."
"Oh, you know how I love it here, Reika," Miko laughed.
Reika sighed. "According to the x-ray, you've fractured a bone in your right leg and dislocated your shoulder." She paused for effect and added, "You're extremely lucky you didn't break anything more than that."
"I always make it a point to land on anything but my neck," Miko explained semi-seriously. She turned to Nari, who was rolling her eyes, and smiled, "Hey, thanks for getting me here. I owe you one, okay? I'll take you out for sashimi some time – your favourite. Now, don't you have an aunt in desperate need of more tea waiting for you?"
Nari understood from Miko's pained look that she wanted some time alone, so, seizing her windbreaker, she made her quick escape. Out in the waiting room, though, she couldn't help but shed tears of relief as she sank into a stiff chair. Why didn't I stop her? she thought miserably, remembering the absolute terror that had overcome her as Miko had fallen past. She could have died. The word echoed agonizingly in her head and she shook her head to get it out. To her surprise, through her blurry vision she saw what looked like a tissue perched on a floating fountain of sand. I must be going out of my mind, she thought, rubbing her eyes.
But when she opened them again, the mound was still there. Looking up, her eyes met those of a redheaded boy her age, staring impatiently at her. "Well, are you going to take it or not?" he asked, gesturing at the tissue.
"Oh!" said Nari in surprise, gingerly taking the tissue. "Thank you." She stared in amazement as the heap of sand reclined and shrank back into a large gourd strapped to the boy's back. She extended a shaking hand. "My name is Hikime Nari."
"Gaara," the boy replied simply, ignoring Nari's outstretched hand.
"Why are you here?" Nari inquired politely.
"I don't see how that's your business," Gaara answered curtly.
"Ah… gomennasai." Nari stood up quickly and bowed slightly, feeling snubbed. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Gaara-sama, but I'm afraid I've got to go. Perhaps I'll see you again another time?"
Gaara humphed noncomittically, but Nari, though she never looked back, could have sworn she felt a pair of turquoise eyes on her back as she walked swiftly down the street.
"I feel so terrible for Miko," Nari repeatedly distressedly through a mouth full of onigiri. It was slightly underdone, and she reminded herself to focus more next time she was cooking. If Auntie noticed flaws in her food, she'd complain.
Her aunt dismissed the comment with a wave of her ringless hand. "If you ask me," she snorted derisively, "That girl had it coming all along. Wild Child, indeed!"
Auntie had always maintained that Miko was a bad influence on Nari, never calling Miko anything other than "that girl", or to her face, "girl". According to her, Miko wasn't ladylike, or well-behaved towards her elders. Secretly, Nari agreed, but that just made her admire Miko all the more. Anyhow, it gave Nari a twisted satisfaction knowing that she was rebellious enough to defy her aunt in that manner.
"But enough about that girl," Auntie continued, never one to linger on a topic. "I have decided that you something more to occupy your time other than running around the city like some homeless fool. That's why I've signed you up to work this summer as an aide to the Fifth Hokage herself. The pay is meager, but hopefully you will learn something to put into that thick skull of yours."
"But, oba-chan!" Nari protested. "Don't you have to be a ninja to do that?"
"Pfft!" Auntie almost choked on her tea. "There will be no mention of… of those people in this household!" She calmed down. "You will help Tsunade-sama's assistant, Shizune-san, with paperwork. That is all, you understand?" Spittle flew from Auntie's parched mouth.
Nari nodded, cowering. "Yes, oba-chan."
Auntie sighed. "Now go on up to bed. Work starts tomorrow, and you need your sleep."
But long after lights were out and Auntie's snores wafted from the next room, Nari lay awake, staring out her bedroom window. Why couldn't she stand up for herself sometimes? It wasn't even like Auntie was her actual aunt. She was her father's aunt – her parents had been killed long ago, an event which Auntie always refused to discuss. And Nari wasn't her real name either – all it meant was "a sum of money"; what Auntie had hoped taking the child in would bring. It didn't, of course, and Nari became the breadwinner for the two, drilling holes into Auntie's dead husband's willed money.
Nari didn't want to work for the Hokage, however great a woman she might be, and however much she might need the work. She'd been looking forward for a relatively quiet, nice summer with Miko – whose own, absolutely biological name meant "sorceress", or "shrine maiden" – at her side. But Miko wouldn't be out of the hospital for another week, and what if she still couldn't walk or move her arm by then? Miko had promised a day at the pond to try out the small boat the two girls had built – dubbed the Hime – "Only the finest for the finest," Miko had grinned. Like everything else Miko prodded her to do it sounded scary, but Nari didn't mind this time. Water was one thing she liked; it was her element.
She thought about the boy in the waiting room, whom she hadn't told Auntie about. Likely her oba-chan would label him as a demon boy, but Nari disagreed. She was fascinated by the way Gaara could manipulate sand, the way it answered his call. Frankly, though, the enigma himself came across to her as rude and exclusive. Too bad I won't be seeing him again, Nari sighed as she drifted into sleep…I really would like to find out how he does that.