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His sheer strength slammed her to the wall, his hand a steel grip on her neck. With hatred and malice, he whispered, "I'll kill you..."
For any onlooker this wasn't just any husband-wife quarrel. Everything was much more complicated. Hearing those words, the threatened woman gave a low, bitter chuckle. "Please...kill me"
He wasn't surprised. In the few months since he met her, he would've guessed this was what she was going to say. "Kill me!" she screamed. He was taken aback. He had never seen this coming. She shivered, despite the beads of sweat on her forehead. As she closed her eyes to moisten her burning eyes, she had a faint membrance of falling into her husband's caress, and then a senseless sleep.
--
Three months ago
If only had his gourd. He hated to admit it, but without his ultimate defense he was feeling exposed and nervous. Even though he knew that right outside the bridegroom's parlor, Temari and Kankuro were taking turns holding his sand container. It still didn't calm him though. He allowed himself to hate the situation he was in, but for the sake of Sunagakure he had no choice. He dared not say that life was cruel, because it really wasn't. He was not unhappy, not like before. His Bijou was out, so he really didn't have anything to complain about. So why was he dreading?
Damn those old bastards…he thought. The Sand elders would not allow him to have his gourd during the wedding ceremony. They thought it was improper. Gaara struggled in his black suit, something he wore the first time in his life. The stiff shoulder pads weighed down on him and made him sulk. Numerous times he had to stand up and stretch just to crumple the suit and comfort himself. His white shirt was half buttoned down, his pants were a bit wrinkled and baggy, but he didn't care. He was going to be married.
He didn't really remember what the name of his wife-to-be was, but he knew she was Tsunade's niece. This whole stupid marriage was to bond Sunagakure and Konohagakure. After the Chunnin exams in Konoha seven years ago, both countries needed an ally. A marriage between the Kazekage and the Hokage's niece was arranged, much to everybody's agreement.
A frail male voice drifted to him. "Don't be so down, Kazekage-sama. Kuroi-san didn't seem so bad."
Gaara turned his head to glare at his male assistant, a young secretary named Hojo. No matter how hard he tried to achieve his goal of being kind to every folk in Suna, it was just impossible to ignore the pesky fly Hojo. Gaara turned around looked at himself in the mirror on the dresser. He rested his chin in his palm and closed his eyes. Kuroi. That was her name. What did she look like? Another thing Gaara didn't know. He wondered if she was one of those pretty ladies with no sense, or one of those sensible and boring types? He almost snickered as himself to think that he didn't even pay attention to her a week ago when she was first introduced.
Hojo peeked out of the curtain and gasped. "Kazekage-sama, the ceremony has started! You'd better hurry!"
The groom grudgingly stood up and brushed off his pants. Just as he was about to open the curtains he looked back and quickly swiped up a little black velvet box that held his bride's ring. He didn't even know what the ring looked like.
--
In he went through the door, after Temari and Kankuro. He turned around and was just about to close the door when he saw Kuroi. Oh what the hell, there's four people in the house. So he held the door for her, and turned around once she came in. Gaara immediatly advanced towards a wall mirror, checking his dark lined eyes. The dark lining didn't lighten. He felt Kuroi pass behind him and enter the bathroom to his side. He left the mirror, heading for the den. Gaara was abruptly stopped by the bathroom door, opened by Kuroi. She stepped out, her white stilleto followed by a lean leg.
Gaara shut the door for her, as she swished around. He supressed his annoyance and fell into step with her through the massive front hall they walked. "May I escort you on a tour of the home?" Gaara asked politely.
"Thank you, I wouldn't mind that."
"My pleasure." He murmured. He suddenly remembered the question he had been wanting to ask Kuroi. It was only proper for him to know her clan or family. "Kuroi" he started, feeling awkward pronouncing her name. "Your family name?"
There was a pause. "My family name would be best kept unknown"
"Why is that?" Gaara asked, surprised and hishgly suspicious. He stopped, causing her to stop and look back with her sullen black eyes.
Kuroi advanced closer to her husband, her arms folded. She was looking at him straight in the eye, and he was standing his ground. Her dark eyes traveled to his chin, then to his hands in his pockets, and back to swallow his black-rimmed jade."There are spies, Gaara, hidden in crowds that were around us, who watched me marry you. They are on the streets of Sunagakure, on the streets of Konohagakure, and everywhere else you can think of." Kuroi started, soft enough to make Gaara listen intently. "They want my blood, and knowing my family name, they would know my weakness."
"There are Assasins after you?"
"You could say it that way."
"So what the hell was the reason I married you? I was looking for an ally, not a burden!"
There was it again, except this time more emotional. These words hurt Kuroi more than anything did. Burden. She's been trying to avoid being a 'burden' for half of her life, isolating herself so that she wouldn't be a 'burden'. Living by herself for a long time, she's been hiding many things for the fear of getting too close to someone. As the same, she hid her feelings again.
"I would serve as a reason for an ally, Kazekage, but having a burden would be the price you would pay. You didn't want a wife, no matter who it was. It doesn't really matter if I'm killed, does it? This is a pragmatic marriage, Gaara."
"Temari, show her to her room" Gaara commanded in anger. The last thing of Kuroi he saw was her sadistic pale face, her murky black eyes looking straight and confident. His siblings noticed the coldness in his voice that lasted. Temari did as he told, feeling sympathetic and sorry for Kuroi that she had to marry Gaara. Even though she herself loves her dear brother, sometimes she wonders if her brother really had warmth and occasionally doubted Gaara's feelings toward her or Kankuro. She and Kuroi silently walked up the flight of long stairs, finally reaching the second floor. Temari led Kuroi to a door at the end of the hall.
"This is your room, right next to Gaara's. I hope you like it, he picked the décor himself. See ya" There the door closed.
The room had suited Kuroi quite well, as she herself thought so. Almost everything was white, plain, and adorned with clean lines. Kuroi turned around and opened her suitcase after Temari closed the door of her room. The first thing she did was to take off her tight corset and put on a soft bra. Under her breath she cursed the corset, but she still hung it up in an empty closet along with her wedding gown.
She pulled on a pair of plaid shorts and a white tunic that hung above her knees and a pair of white socks. Kuroi plopped on the king-sized bed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was struck with the blinding light in the room. The lights weren't on and the sun had already dipped below the horizon, but the room was light. She seemed to lay there for a long while, until she was called.
"Kuroi! Gaara! Dinner! Unless you don't want it, I'll have your share!" she heard Kankuro holler. Right after that was the faint voice of Temari.
"You baka! I don't what to call you anymore that's worse than a total idiot!"
"Hello" Kuroi said softly, descending from the elaborate stairs. Temari smiled. "Hope you like pasta!"
Kankuro made a face. "Don't tell me its eggplant stuffing again."
"What? Gaara likes it. Oh, here he comes. I see you newlyweds changed to casual attires, huh? Well, look at that, we're all wearing white; except for Kankuro's face paint."
Gaara, clad in a clean white shirt, sat down at the simple four-seat table. Kuroi sat down beside him, eyeing his damp red hair after a shower. Gaara, staring back at her, tried to find something to say.
"Why is your shirt so big?"
It seemed to Kuroi that he had cooled down from his temper, so she eased up. She had thought that maybe she would make some friends. "I'd never thought the Kage would ask such a lame question."
Immediately this ignited Gaara's temper. "Just because you are my wife, it doesn't mean you can go around disrespecting me."
"Did I disrespect you? I was vaguely talking to myself, and therefore I conclude that I must question why are you eavesdropping?"
For a moment he had almost awed her reasoning and ability to communicate, when he bit back with another harsh insult.
"You are nothing but plain and mere folk, and fall far below my standards for a decent woman. I am fully capable of dismembering your body at this second. Someone as pathetic as you wouldn't stand a chance."
Temari and Kankuro kept silent, wanting to defend poor Kuroi but afraid of Gaara's reaction. Kuroi turned her eyes on Gaara again, except this time it seemed like pieces of coal, burning red hot.
"You're, right, Kazekage, I'm not a ninja, nor am I any kind of fighter. But just from your words I understand that you have the weakest mind, able to lose control and shatter with the right amount of pressure." With the corners of her lips curved, she smiled as if she gained an advantage. "In a battle with you, I have the upper hand."
Temari, for one, was amazed at Kuroi's skill of psychological and intellectual deduction. She looked toward to Gaara to see his reaction.Gaara was angered at first, totally confused at what she was saying. It didn't make sense, because she couldn't have the upper hand. For another moment, he reflected back, and realized what she said was true. He did lose his temper easily, and he remembered the times before he almost tried the kill his sister and his brother, the only people he knew loved him. Gaara looked up at Kuroi, who was pinning him with her eyes. He knew she was right, and he knew he underestimated him. He discredited her, and she showed him what she really was. He didn't know what to say now, but only to control himself and learn.
"You didn't answer my question yet." He finally said. He was surprised at himself at how fast he lost his temper.
Kuroi smiled, actually smiled a little. The black in her eyes turned back into a harmless hue, flat and depthless. "I felt my breasts needed air."
Kankuro, noticing the intensity had died down, chuckled in amusement.
--
"How big is the garden?"
Kankuro looked up. "You're still not asleep yet?"
Kuroi smiled. "I get on with little sleep."
Temari frowned, and answered her question. "The garden? One tenth of the wind country. Gaara requested it. If I were you, I wouldn't wander. Only Gaara knows the ways around that labyrinth."
"Someone like Kuroi wouldn't get lost in that; after all, she's got some tricks up her sleeve, don't you?" Kankuro asked.
"I'll be ok. I never knew Gaara was an avid gardener. Don't expect me back early."
Kuroi slipped her socked feet into a pair of black stilettos and exited the paper screened door. Kankuro turned back to Temari.
"Don't you think her eyes are kind of scary? The color of black seem to change with her mood, but all I can say is that it's still black. I've never seen anything like it."
"Talk about her eyes," Temari replied, "I've never witnessed anyone who's had a conversation with Gaara like that one at dinner."
"That was some nerve of her. It's a wonder she wasn't killed. And I was hoping that her blood mixed with sand would soak the eggplant pasta so I wouldn't have to eat it."
"Well, I sure didn't expect Gaara to just cool down after that insult. I mean, don't all males have an ego? Maybe Gaara thought what she said was right…maybe she would have the upper hand in a battle"
Kankuro thought about it. "She does seem strange, huh?"
"I have a feeling we'll discover more."
--
Gaara instantly sensed someone walking into his garden, and presumed it must be Kuroi. Extracting his third eye, he let it seek her out in the mass tangle of vines.
Kuroi's legs were cold, and she could feel the goose bumps crawling up her thighs. From behind her she knew there was something watching her, and it worried her that even in the surrounded stone walls around the garden, there were enemies. Though this time, her pursuer did not seem to hide itself. Kuroi stopped sharply and looked back. There, the sand eye was watching her.
"Gaara" she whispered, and continued walking.
Gaara felt a little exposed, but continued watching her. Kuroi lifted her shirt over her plaid shorts and sat down on a huge flat rock. The sand eye looked at her. Kuroi motioned with her hand to come. Gaara was confused at what she wanted, then he realized that she was calling him over to a conversation.
Out of air a figure of sand emerged, forming into himself. He gathered grains from the ground and make himself a levitated surface so that he was level with Kuroi. He sat down with one leg propped up and his arm rested there, his most comfortable position. Feeling more at ease, Kuroi brought her knees up and hugged them. Her long, black hair skimmed the rock she was sitting on.
"Didn't Temari warn that you would get lost?"
"I remembered my path. But if I were to lose myself, would anyone come to find me?"
"My garden is made for being lost. It lets me wander, and if you were to wander, nobody would stop you."
Kuroi sadly smiled and didn't look him in the eye. "So you wouldn't come and find me."
Gaara watched her, confused at her sudden behaviour. Throughout the day he had only seen her upbeat and fiery. Kuroi lowered her head, her hair glimmering onyx in the moonlight.
"If you don't search for me, my enemies will. Then the last place I thought was safe would be manifested."
"Who are your ememies?" Gaara was hungry for information, bound to kill those harming his wife.
Kuroi sighed. "Well, they are from a powerful rouge ninja terror organization, called Yoinokuchi. They are searching for me, my blood, and some other females to complete their dominion, their task. Gaara, do you know what my name means?"
He thought for a second, thinking over it's possibilites. "Kuroi…black."
"That's right. They need the sole-bearers of the colors, Kara, of the spectrum with the non-colors, Kara-resu, Kuroi and Shiroi. In total they need Kuroi, black; Shiroi, white; Niiro, red; Anzu, orange; Kiiro, yellow; Aoi, green; Miiro, blue; Puru, indigo."
Gaara sat silent for a moment, taking in all he had heard. Quietly he said, "I believe the Yoinkuchi contain some former Akatsuki members. They are indeed strong and even I can be easily defeated against all of them. You should be assigned with a ninja to protect you at all times. How many years have they been pursuing you?"
"Well… Tsunade informed me of this ten years ago, when I was merely nine. Then I did some intensive investigation when I was a little older and apart from Tsunade. Gaara, I don't need a ninja to protect me." Kuroi smiled. "What did you think I did all along in Konoha? I can endure, and the longer I do, the more defeated they are. As long as I remember, I've always been fighting…my whole life."
Gaara looked up and studied her. Truthfully she looked lonely, her bead bent sorrowfully and her eyes whimsical, a new murky black. Gaara asked, "Would you ever tell me your family name, as your husband?"
"I will tell those I love" And her pupils turned blacker than ever.
Gaara thought it was beautiful, and he will remember her words.
--
Kuroi didn't know how many members of Yoinokuchi there were in Suna, but she knew as she was looking out this window in her room, many have detected her and are secretly watching. From behind a ramen stand there was the flair of a shimmering silver cloak and a glimpse of long, onyx hair blowing in the wind. Itachi.
Spurts of miniscule green bacteria grew along the grounds, close to buildings and away from the main road. Zetsu.
Searching for others, she spotted the outline of a figure far away with an elongated object of large width. Kisame.
And there, high on the clouds swooped a brown-colored bird of some sort, larger than the others but viewed as an eagle. Deidara, the birdie.
Kuroi searched some more, but was unable to find anyone else. Turning her eyes back to Itachi's figure, the strongest of the group, she found him turning his body. Soon after, their eyes met. Pitiful, Itachi. Afraid to use your Sharingan on me? So It's just you four, making an appearance first. It means, Itachi, that you four are the weakest. Because I can easily manipulate your mind.
Kuroi smirked for Itachi to see. Her eyes turned obsidian black, representing her passion.
They were all in Sunagakure.
Itachi's body turned, and he left.
--
Strolling calmly on the street right in front of her new home, Kuroi was slightly smiling, her eyes remaining obsidian. Almost every villager that passed her nodded, showing her acknowledge. She barely noticed, instead, she was excited and anxious of the Yoinokuchi, eyeing her from every angle. This afternoon she chose a black tunic paired with her black stilettos to look especially noticeable. As she expected, not long after a handsome, tall man fell into step with her. His face displayed his essence of youth as his clear blue eyes shone with naivety.
"May I ask where this fair lady is heading to?" He asked huskily.
Kuroi tilted her head and gave a smile. "To purchase a bottle of vodka. Who may this gentleman be?"
He laughed lightly, running a hand freely through his long blue hair. He looked at her in the eye, "My name is Usotsuki, and yours?"
"Nice to meet you, Usotsuki, but I'm afraid you already know my name"
"Why would you think that?" He asnwered, playing along with her game.
"Of course I would know. Apparently I easily outwitted you, someone of such lowly intelligence, Gekkou"
Gekkou's fists closed in anger, but held himself back from killing her. He had orders. All of a sudden, he chuckled to himself, thinking of all the things they were going to do to that body of the black-colored, Kuroi. After that, they would take her blood, and everyone in the organization would be renewed with great power.
"What's your little this time, huh? Is the little squad Yoinokuchi planning something together?"
"In fact dear, we are. It's a big plan."
"Oh? Tell me what it is that you're planning so big."
"Hn, you won't be able to do anything, Kuroi. All we need now are the Kara-resu, and rest…well…domination"
Black and white…he's an idiot to tell me all of this… "Domination over what?"
"Important villages."
"What important villages? Don't tell me Tsukigakure, that poor little one living far north?"
Gekkou growled. "The Yoinokuchi is deserves more respect from you. We're going to dominate over Sunagakure and Konohagakure right after a taste of all the Kara's blood. We'll be stronger than you can ever imagine, and immune to your little mind games"
"If you call my psychological violation 'little mind games', Gekkou, you're in for more. Oh, this must be the wine store. Do come in, and escort me back if you wish."
As they entered, the storekeeper immediately recognized Kuroi. "Welcome, Kuroi-Sama! Welcome to the best alcohol store in Suna, complete with vast ranges that will sure please you." The old man then studied Gekkou in an odd fashion. It was strange for a newly wed to be accommodated with any other male than her husband.
Kuroi began browsing the shelves of alcohol, searching for her desired liquor. Gekkou followed.
"Gekkou, can you please hand me that blue-tinged bottle up there?"
Gekkou reached up with ease and gave it to her. If the old storekeeper didn't know anything, he would've thought they were a couple purchasing wine for an anniversary. But to inform the Kazekage of this matter…he could be killed in the rage of the kage.
After purchasing her bottle of vodka, Kuroi, followed by Gekkou, emerged from the dusky little store and into the setting sun. At a sudden corner, Kuroi made sure that no one was looking, and entered the alleyway leading out of the main road. Gekkou followed, realizing that this was a chance to capture Kuroi and bring her back to Yoinokuchi's headquarters.
Quietly Gekkou withdrew his slim katana and quickened his pace from behind her. It was his chance, and as he raised his katana, his hand froze. His eyes were wide, locked into place with the mesmerizing glance of Kuroi's. The katana clashed to the ground and Gekkou's footing swayed. Kuroi's pupils were in an extreme expanded state in which once a moist white eyeball has turned completely ink-soaked. This was some kind of technique had learned herself, years ago in front of her mirror. She was staring into her own eyes, aweing it's dark allure. In a few seconds of concentration, she had completely scared herself when her eyes changed into the expanded state. Since then she had tested on a couple of criminals, and it seemed to a power of captivating the victim's mind. Kuroi advanced closer; using the time she has left to quickly finish this.
She whispered for Gekkou to hear, "You didn't know…there are insects crawling…in your skin, did you?"
Her simple suggestion caused Gekkou to scream, his eyes widening even more to see small lumps underneath his skin on his in motion, which in reality was indifferent from before;insectless. He scratched violently at it, causing his arms to bleed. He dropped to his knees in agony and pulled at his face, screaming in unadulterated fear and panic. His screams turned into moans, and then died down. The sun was completely out of sight. Gekkou laid there, his eyes still wide and his body stiff and scratched. Kuroi bent down to make sure he was fully dead, and then hurriedly untied his silver cloak to put it over herself. She got up and concentrated on her eyes. For a few seconds her vision fizzed and darkened, and then she blinked. From a reflection on the bottle, she sighed in relief to see her pupils contracted and back to normal.
With her bottle of Vodka in hand Kuroi made her way home.
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Next Chapter Latest due: March 25th 2007