It was dry, extremely dry. And it was hot. Was it possible for the weather to change so drastically, so suddenly? Her throat ached and she was drenched in her own sweat. It was a disgusting feeling. Molly slowly opened her eyes, only to cringe and the sheer brightness of her surroundings and make a pitiful attempt to shield her face from it.
After a few minutes of no movement, Molly lifted herself into a seated position and rubbed her eyes. Where on earth was she? She took a quick look around herself but the only thing in sight appeared to be sand. She stood up, hoping from this height she would see some form of water off in the distance to numb the unbearable pain in her throat. She attempted to clear it and immediately regretted that decision. She needed water. Some thing was weighing her down. She reached back and her hand connected with the gourd imitation she had worn to the convention. She slowly lifted the strap off her and let the gourd fall onto the sand with a THUD.
Completely out of options, Molly began to walk. She had no idea what direction she was walking nor did she know if there was even anything in that direction but she prayed that by some chance that she had managed to pick the right one.
The wind began to pick up but the relief lasted only a second before there was the unfortunate realisation that the wind was just as hot as the air had been. After a minute of walking through it she wished that it would stop, the harsh blows were whipping her hair around and the sand flew up and lashed against whatever was left uncovered of her small body.
Where did her friends go? Didn't Nicole say she was going to be back in a minute? Did they desert her here? Why was the sun so bright? Where did all this sand come from? Why did she feel so horrible? She should have said she had to go to the bathroom too and tagged along. She should have never let Nicole leave her side. Then this would have never happened and she would have never been put through this.
She felt alone. She was scared. She wanted Nicole to come and tell her there was nothing to worry about. She wanted Olive to pop up and laugh tell her that this was all some elaborate prank of hers. She would even take Ruby walking beside her telling her to 'Grow some balls and deal with it'.
It felt like it was just getting hotter and hotter. Her feet ached, her fake ninja sandals offered no support, especially while walking on sand.
After walking for what seemed like hours for her, Molly had reached her breaking point. She collapsed to the ground and hugged her knees to her chest in a foetal position. The sobs broke free and she let out all her anguish for being in this horrible place. The small amount of remaining energy she had after the long walk was now gone. She was physically and mentally exhausted, this was her wall. She could go no further. Her vision became blurry and her eyes began to flutter.
Everything went black again.
It was dark. And she was cold. Again with the weather changes? She was unable to see anything, the only form of light being a soft yellow glow out in the distance. It was silent excluding the soft dripping of water in the background, it was eery. She slowly stood up and began to walk in the direction of the light. There was something off about this place. For one, she could no longer feel the pain of her throat or feet which was strange and there was also the intense feeling of menace that encircled this place. Her gut told her to leave, to run far away but she could not shake the curiosity of the little white light.
The closer she got, the louder the water drops became and the brighter the light became. Her feet were soon submerged in water but she continued forward. She stopped in her tracks when a growl resounded, she was beyond fear now. The growl soon turned to a raspy whisper of her name. The pale yellow glow she had been staring at began to form the shape of a creature she couldn't identify. It's piercing eyes glared into her wide ones as it once more hissed out her name.
She did the only thing she could think to do. She ran from the monster, as fast as she could. Back into the darkness.
Molly could hear something. It was like a rustling from beside her. The redhead opened her eyes, surprised that she was in some form of room. She looked in the direction of the previous sound and her eyes met with an unfamiliar man, dressed in a medic-style uniform. His eyes widened when he recognised that she had woken up and not a second later he ran to the door of the small room. He proceeded to yell out to someone she was unable to see. From what she was able to hear, he was telling someone to retrieve something. How odd. She noticed her throat pain had returned, although it had definitely dulled.
It was obvious that she was in a hospital but it didn't look like any of the hospitals she had been to. For example, instead of off white walls this room had sandy brown ones. She saw a window to her right although the curtain was in the way. She slowly lifted herself, her muscles aching as she did so, and shuffled to the small window. She ripped the curtain to the side and cringed as her eyed adjusted to the light. A small gasp escaped her lips as she registered the sight of an unusual city. What shocked her most was the fact that this city appeared to be made entirely out of sand, she was definitely far from home.
Molly turned around and jumped at the man's close proximity to her. The man quickly took a step back, his eyes wide. She attempted to ask him where they were but found her throat would only allow a small croak. The man seemed to know what was happening and began to speak.
"You were found unconscious in the desert two days ago, severely dehydrated. You were brought here and we treated you then we were put under orders to keep you under surveillance." She was confused. Under orders? Who from?Another doctor most likely. It was still an odd choice of words. Speaking of odd, Molly noticed the strange way this man acted, he was so jumpy. Surely she wasn't an intimidating figure. He was twice her size! She gave up on that thought and once more tried to ask where she was but the dehydration had definitely taken its toll on her. Instead she attempted to mime her question to him. She pointed to the city through the window then lifted her arms, raised her shoulders and tilted her head to the side in what she hoped was an 'I-don't-know' pose. Despite her terrible charades abilities, the man seemed to understand.
"You are currently residing in Sunagakure, within the land of the wind."
Sunagakure. Did she hear that right? She must have been going crazy. There was no way she was ACTUALLY in Suna. It was a fictional city for Christ's sake! She sauntered back to her bed and sat on the edge of it. Maybe she was dreaming, that would make this insane situation a lot less crazy but it just didn't seem right. The pain in her throat was incredibly realistic and normally in dreams she is never rational enough to consider she might be asleep in the first place. She rubbed her face and sighed. Dream or not, she still had to deal with whatever was to come her way at least until she woke up.
"Kazekage-sama is here." A shrill female voice called into the room. The Kazekage was here? She was going to meet Gaara? She supposed that made sense since she was apparently in Suna but it still felt so surreal. She admired Gaara. The way he was able to completely turn his life around after being treated so horribly by everyone and feeling so deserted, it was inspirational. Excitement coursed through her veins at the thought of meeting him. The handsome face that had graced her television screen so many times was going to be here. She was going to be face to face with him.
At the sound of footsteps approaching, Molly stood up and attempted to straighten her clothing and flatten her hair. Her knees shook with anticipation and her nerves went into hyper-drive. There he was. The Kazekage in all his glory. His robe hung down to his feet yet didn't drag along the ground and his Kage hat added to the air of superiority that he seemed to radiate. He reached for his hat and slowly removed it, revealing the infamous mop of.. Brown hair?
The man she was facing was not Gaara. He was the Kazekage, yes, but he was most definitely not Gaara, that's for sure. It was the fourth, Gaara's father. He was still alive. This meant he had yet to be killed by Orochimaru which meant the Chunin exams had yet to happen which meant Gaara had yet to meet Naruto which meant that Gaara was still unstable!
"What is your name?" The calm voice of the Kazekage resounded as he scrutinised the young girl.
"Molly Adams" She managed to croak out, wincing at the pain. She wasn't sure whether it was understandable but it was the best she could do. This man terrified her, she wanted to make sure she did nothing to irritate or aggravate him. Even if that involved pushing through throat pain. He nodded at her and turned to the medic beside her, for some reason still keeping his distance from her.
"Thank you for your assistance Takeshiro-san. I trust that I'll be able to take her from here soon?"
"Despite a dry throat she is fine. I see no reason you cannot take her now. I have healed all her other injuries and numbed the pain in her throat. I recommend she minimises her speaking until it fully recovers." The Kazekage returned his gaze to the redhead and gestured for her to come to him. She was frozen with fear, she couldn't bring herself to go him.
She could see his eyebrow twitch with irritation and hoped he would remain calm.
"Come with me child. You will not be harmed." His voice had softened to accommodate the girl's obvious fear of him. Molly could see that this was not a request but an order. She supposed he had no real reason to hurt her in the first place and who knows what would happen if she were to refuse him.
She warily approached the Kazekage, stopping only a short distance from him. He reached forward slowly with one hand- as to not alarm her- and lifted her chin. His eyes narrowed slightly as he inspected her face then he released her.
"You will stay with my family- I will take you to my house now, when you are able to speak again you will be asked some questions concerning who you are and where you come from. You must behave during your stay." On this note, he turned and began to walk away. Molly briefly turned back to the medic who gestured for her to follow the Kazekage. She shyly reached for her shoes which were conveniently placed by the door and did as she was told, trailing behind the large figure of the Kazekage.
As they entered what appeared to be the reception area of the hospital, Molly began to notice the amount of stares she was receiving. She gasped when she realised she was still in cosplay, people might be confusing her for Gaara. She quickly reached up and attempted to wipe the eye make-up off her face. She looked down at her hands and frowned. Nothing had come off, perhaps it had already washed off? She tried to catch a glimpse of herself when she noted that it still looked exactly as it did when it was applied. Olive said it was smudge-proof, she just didn't imagine it was THIS smudge proof. She tried again only to see it was a wasted attempt and left it.
The Kazekage nodded at the lady behind the desk and they proceeded to the door. He slowly pushed it open and held it as Molly walked through. The harshness of the wind caught her off guard once more. She was thankful for the large buildings that hid the sun from their path. The sand was more solid here, her feat didn't sink into the ground as much although her muscles were still sore from her previous journey and the extra strain on her legs burned.
"We are almost there." He said, seeming to sense her discomfort.
He stopped in-front of another large building and opened the door, once more holding the door for Molly before entering himself. It was strange that a man of his rank would do that. As she entered an unusual smell graced her nose. Her stomach grumbled in response. The Kazekage inclined his head towards her.
"We will eat now, then my daughter will show you around." They then came to a halt in what appeared to be a dinning room. She was shocked by the sheer size of it. The room was huge. The dinning table was so large it could have fit at-least fifty people, yet there were only six bowls placed on it. She was taken aback by the three people already seated. They were impossible not to recognise. The one furthest away was a man with cloth covering half his face, there were markings on the uncovered side of his face and that one eye was giving her a hard stare. It was Baki. She wasn't quite sure why he was here, he wasn't exactly a relative of the Kazekage. The next furthest away was a female. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled into four spiky ponytails and her eyes were wide when she looked at Molly. Temari was another character Molly was fond of, she was a strong female character and the show seemed to be severely lacking in them. The final and closest person to her was Kankuro unsurprisingly. His hood was pulled down, revealing his short brown hair but his face was still clad in his purple Kabuki face paint. He too, had wide eyes.
An unfamiliar woman came into the room and silently pulled the chair at the end of the table out and gestured for the Kazekage to be seated. She then pulled the seat to his left out and looked at Molly expectantly. She must have been their maid. Molly quickly sat in the seat. She was directly across from Kankuro. The way him and Temari were still staring at her was unnerving. She wished they would stop although she understood why they did it.
Molly took a peak at the empty seat beside her. She knew who it was meant for and she wasn't sure whether Gaara's absence was a good thing or a bad thing. She came to the conclusion that it was probably best he wasn't here. She wouldn't be able to have a conversation with him the way he was anyway. She just wanted to meet him face to face before this crazy dream ends.
"Temari, Kankuro, Baki. This is Mo-Lee." He indicated to the small girl. She wanted to come off less menacing so she let a small smile appear on her face and slowly lifted her arm, noticing Kankuro's small flinch at the action, and softly waved. She watched as there was a flash of confusion that crossed their faces before they seemed to calm down some.
"She looks like-" Temari started before her father interrupted her.
"I'm aware. Although it would be impossible for her to be carrying the one tail. She does not seem hostile, much the opposite actually. You will look after her during her stay. After dinner I would like you, Temari, to show her around the house and to her room. She is currently not meant to be using her voice so be mindful of that and try to observe her wants and needs for the meantime." Molly was somewhat annoyed with the way they were speaking about her as if she was somewhere else although she supposed they didn't mean to do it in an impolite way. Molly also noticed how formally they spoke to each other, it wasn't unusual to her since she was aware of their strained family relationship.
The woman from before had returned to the room, this time carrying a large pot. She placed it in the centre of the table and lifted the lid. The unusual scent from before wafted into her nose. It seemed to be some kind of foreign soup with vegetables. She assumed it was Japanese considering the circumstances. The woman then dipped a ladle into the pot and poured it into the bowls evenly. Molly inspected the food closer, there were noodles too, and meats. Despite the fact that she was unable to identify half of the vegetable used, Molly found she enjoyed the meal and her seconds.
They continued to eat in moderate silence, they weren't very talkative people which suited Molly fine. After finishing their bowls, Baki and the Kazekage excused themselves to go to a room that looked suspiciously like an office. They were most likely talking about her and what they were to do with her. Temari slowly stretched resulting in a quiet crack from her arm.
"I'll take you on the tour now if you're done." Molly nodded at this and the two girls slowly got up, Temari in the lead and Molly following behind.
They walked at a fast pace to ensure they got to see the whole house within a respectable time frame. The house was large, there were at least four unused guest rooms that were double the size of her bedroom back home and the rooms that WERE in use had so much excess space that if you tried, you could probably fit all the people of Suna in them and still have space left over! Temari lastly took her to one of the guest rooms, it was that sandy brown colour that these people seemed to love. Temari left but returned a minute later with a pair of her pyjamas. She handed them to Molly and with a smile said goodnight, then she left.
Molly looked at the purple clothing in her arms and walked to the bathroom to wash the grains of sand from her body. They may have a harsh environment here and they may seem like cold hearted people and they may have some strange obsession with brown, but damn they had great bathing equipment. Molly giggled inwardly as she let the warm water wash down her. She sighed when she noticed her fingers getting pruney and turned the water off before stepping out and grabbing a towel. The eye make-up still hadn't washed off to her dismay but rubbing her face seemed to do nothing but rub the skin off her eye lid.
The pyjamas were way to big for her, with every step she took her pants slipped down her bottom and the shirt itself could have passed as a night gown. She grabbed the waist of the pants and was happy to see her hair band had not fallen off her wrist during her escapade. She then tied it tight enough that it would star securely on her.
She decided before she attempted and failed to sleep, she would get herself a glass of water. Temari had told her earlier that if she began to feel thirsty during the night then it was fine if she went down to the kitchen and got herself a glass. She slowly began to walk out of her room, it was dark in the hallway and she didn't want to risk tripping and waking everyone up.
After a few more small steps, she felt more comfortable and made it to the kitchen. She searched for a clean cup and filled it with water before gulping it down and not minding the water that dribbled down her chin. If Nicole were to see her do that she would certainly have gotten a lecture on behaving politely at all time when staying at another persons home. Those lectures annoyed her before but now all she wanted was to here Nicole give her a piece of her mind for slurping down the glass like see hadn't drank anything in years. She felt a calming wave swell over her after thinking of Nicole. She turned around to walk back to her room and froze.
Pale turquoise eyes were glaring at her.
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