At the Turn of a Fan
Hello everyone. Here's another one-shot I've come up with late at night and with inspiration found in a place I never thought I would. I would like to thank SsAnImE for helping me turn the wheels of my mind when I was stuck this early morning at midnight. Thank you for all your help!
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Naruto; if I did, I would bring more spotlight to both, Neji and Gaara because I love them very much!
Explanation of important terms:
Shamisen- a Japanese instrument. It resembles a guitar, but it has nothing to do with it.
Kabuki dance- a traditional Japanese dance art. It uses subtle movements of the hands, arms and legs and, if desired, a fan as well.
Enjoy.
She spun around gracefully in her elegant silk kimono and caught the fan she had thrown upward in midair. She twisted it skillfully in an intricate pattern before flinging it up again and proceeding to do several movements with her hands prior to the fan's decent.
Dancing was her passion; it made her feel alive and relaxed. She enjoyed putting all her soul in her body's actions and the light tosses of the fan. It was soothing to her mind and heart, especially after a mission that had taxed her strength. She would always find a moment to dance the tension away.
Of all the moves she had learned of the ancient Kabuki dance, the most difficult one was, by far, heaving the fan overhead and then catching it without rushing to it across the dance floor. It had taken her almost a year to reach an acceptable level for such a dancing skill, what with her many missions and her own personal problems. But she had finally achieved it.
She extended a hand forward and caught the fan again. Subsequently, she closed it, did some simple steps to the side and flipped it open once more to continue with her invented routine.
Her Kazekage, she thought, was like a fan used for a Kabuki routine. So difficult to handle for someone who had no knowledge whatsoever of him, had to be handled with care due to his hidden frailty, stunning when he moved across the room or anyplace and waiting to be caught when life tossed him around… Yes, he was so much like the fans she used. Though, he had something else that her favorite diversion did not: her entire heart. She loved him very deeply, but since he was always so focused on his work and they rarely spoke words that were not related to her assignments, she dared not voice her feelings. She thought it best to keep quiet.
She twirled the fan in her hand over her head and spun around gently, in harmony with the sound of a shamisen she was hearing in her imagination. That night, she would dance away the ache her heart had for the young Kazekage.
She swung the fan over her head and caught it with her other hand just as the door of her family's dojo slid open. She didn't pay any mind to whoever had entered her present sanctuary; she was too concentrated on her choreography and did not wish to break the line she was following. However, when she was forced to look ahead in order to do a movement with her head and the fan, her eyes fell over familiar white robes and enticing aquamarine eyes below a blue and white hat. She stopped dancing in mid tilt of the head and straightened slowly under his intense gaze.
"Good evening, Kazekage-sama," she said softly as she nodded respectfully, "I deeply apologize for not attending you when you came in."
He didn't respond. He merely observed her with a slight hint of interest for a moment before his face returned to its usual apathetic mask.
"Don't let my presence interrupt you," he said impassively as he took a few steps in her direction, "dance."
She was slightly bewildered, but since he had not stated the true intentions of his sudden appearance, she decided she would do her best to dance while she waited for him to articulate his purpose. She took a deep breath to calm her rising nerves, turned so that she was giving her back to him and commenced a new routine.
She tried her best not to direct her eyes to him, as he would obviously divert her from her focus, and kept on developing the choreography. It was in the middle of a turn she was doing that she felt a hand lightly take her chin and turn her head cautiously to the side. She only had time to blink in confusion at her interruption, for warm lips pressed a light kiss to hers and detained the thoughts that would have formed should another second had transpired since her disruption. She barely reacted quickly enough to respond to his gentle lips and not miss him when he drew away shortly after. She kept her eyes closed while she collected herself before she opened them and searched for his. She found them very close to hers, glinting softly with some emotion she could not identify. She flustered and started to play with the now closed fan in her hands.
"…Would you like to watch me dance?" she enquired timidly as she fought to keep eye contact with him.
The spark in his eyes seemed to gain a little intensity at the offer and he responded faster than what she was used to.
"Yes," he said softly.
Her heart fluttered and on impulse created by her mounting bliss, she gave him a peck on the lips. She took a few steps back almost instantly and gestured to several cushions placed on the wooden floor to the side of the dojo. Her blush darkened when he remained unmoving for a split moment, staring at her with those new eyes of his. He carried on to one of the seats soon after.
She turned so that she was facing him and, with a grace she didn't think she was capable of possessing, began to perform the third routine of the evening. Though this time, she had an audience she had never imagined she would have.
The fans she used for a Kabuki dance were like her Kazekage. They had the ability to be open and closed, just like he himself was with others. They were unpredictable when they rose and fell, as they never did it the same way twice and, most importantly, they were unique and irreplaceable like his heart. Despite all the similarities the Kazekage and the Kabuki fan shared in her eyes, there was one crucial difference between them: in the end, Gaara was much more important in her life than her passion for dancing.
Please review and tell me what you think!