Thanks for the Reviews.
Chapter Two
The rest of the trip, Naruto was continuously trying to get Kei to spill what she knew about sasuke, if she knew where he was, what he was doing, how he was doing, DAMN IT anything! Kei had slipped into being mute again, which was fine because they had just emerged from Konoha's forests and into the desert, her eyes squinted slightly and she put a hand over them before pulling a tweed umbrella from her bag and holding it over herself. Naruto scoffed and crossed his arms over his chest… that was why she was so damn pale, she never got any sun.
How anyone would want to shield themselves from the sun continuously was a mystery to him. He couldn't quite place the feeling that she invoked in him, it certainly wasn't a good one. He felt a chill when she looked his way, as if she was composed of ice herself. Eyes so piercingly indifferent that she seemed to lack a soul completely. He let out a breath, which sounded almost like a low whistle. She was so pale. So pale, it seemed impossible.
She was so pale.
…Like Gaara. How he could wear all those clothes in such heat, he had no idea. Naruto let out a breath. Kei stepped up behind him, silently requesting to be carried. Naruto groaned and lifted her easily onto his back; she leaned into him, her umbrella shading both of them, well that was nice. Truth was, Kei wasn't tired, she just didn't like the way the sand felt under her bare feet. She never wore shoes, she refused to. The one thing Kei would not do for someone else was to wear shoes, wear shoes and tell him or her her secrets. She held too many to understand, most of them weren't even a big deal, her secret could be 'I like sushi' and she would never tell.
He was surprised when he felt the hardness of metal beneath her clothes, but didn't say anything. They would be in Suna in a matter of hours. Then he could rest, drop her off, and go home to sleep in a bed. That sounded the best of ideas, if Naruto just dropped her off, than he would just be able to rest for a few days, get a better mission, and understand what exactly he was feeling. Fear, he had no doubt it was fear that was gripping his insides. If he went home right after dropping her off, he wouldn't have reoccurring thoughts of sasuke... Then he would be sane again. Then he would be able to-
"Damn it!" he cursed glaring back at Kei who was grinning slightly. He rubbed the back of his neck, she had flicked him; there had been a bug on his neck. Naruto glared forward and kicked himself up into a run, Kei pulled her umbrella shut and leaned in closer to him, nuzzling into his neck. It could be clouded into affection, but … it wasn't. The sun greatly hurt her eyes. His hair smelt like grass. It was a relaxing smell after the dryness of the desert got to her. Her hands gripped at Naruto's upper arms and made a small sound of content. She felt like a child, snuggling into a larger man's back and begging for this safety.
She didn't need it, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, key didn't need this protection. Maybe it was the false hope of getting someone to follow her through everything and never give up on her even if she did betray them. She loved betraying people more than anything. Some say that she was born because of a betrayal of lovers. The mother slept with another man, betraying her husband and making it seem as though it was his instead of this other man's. Kei closed her eyes and allowed herself to relax, sagging on Naruto's back instead of sitting up like she had a stick positioned over her spine to keep her perfectly straight.
No one was perfect.
---
Another day of traveling and they reached Suna; the sun was going down and Kei slid from Naruto's back again, rearranging her robes. He glanced back at her and breathed a sigh when she smiled slightly and bowed to him. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun." She didn't sound like sasuke that time, more like Hinata. Her voice wasn't calm and smooth it suddenly sounded normal. The heat of the desert made her hands clench and unclench in her robes to wipe the sweat from them. The air was almost difficult to breathe, because of the lack of moisture in the air. She hadn't eaten in three days.
An eyebrow raised and she glanced at him, her smile fading slightly as Gaara started toward them, staring at Naruto. He didn't seem to notice Kei as he nodded his head in Naruto's direction. "Uzimaki, why are you here?" he asked suddenly and Naruto coughed slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. It wasn't the best greeting, but it would have to suffice. IT was hard to understand why Gaara refused to be friendly. Well, he didn't refuse, it just seemed to be a chore for him to be so. The static expression he always wore was a little unnerving.
"Eh, escorting a songbird to your village for your festival." Naruto answered pathetically, dropping his hand from the back of his neck and shifting uncomfortable. His feet kicked up sand and his shoes became covered with a soft layer of grains.
"Oh…" Gaara sounded confused, Temari must have arranged for it or… something. Gaara glanced at Kei and his eyebrows well if he had eyebrows creased. She stared up at him, drawing in a slow breath and falling forward into a bow to him, knowing him as Kazekage. It wasn't just a slight bow, she was on her knees with her face to the ground, she didn't want to look at him. Not…now.
"Why would she need an escort?" he asked, his eyes reverting back to Naruto, and the blonde shrugged slightly. He really didn't know. Maybe because she didn't know the way to Suna? All that he was told was that she needed to be protected when traveling through the Konoha Forests and the Desert of Suna
"Fujisaki Kei does not need an escort anywhere. She can take care of herself." He said simple and Naruto sucked in a sharp breath. Gaara knew who she was? "Ehh, um… why?" Naruto asked uncertainly and Kei glanced at him, still bowing toward the Kazekage. Her hands were planted firmly in the sand, fingers scratching away at the hardened ground beneath the loose layer.
"Because she can fight for herself." Gaara snapped, glancing down at Kei.
"No I can't." she mumbled and he sent a glare in her direction, Gaara's hand gripping her upper arm and yanking her up into a standing position again. She flushed slightly, the first time her skin wasn't as white as paper. Naruto glanced between Gaara and Kei, his arms crossing over his chest slightly, shaking his head uncertainly.
"Are you who I said you were?" he asked, his face hardened into a cold stare, arms crossed over his chest as he looked down on her. Ohh.. Kei looked like Gaara with her cold stare. Sounded like Hinata, acted like Sasuke. Interesting.
"Hai." She muttered under her breath, eyes flashing dangerously toward Gaara and her hands gripping her robes so they would not fall down her shoulders again. Her toes now curled into the powder like grains of sand as she stared at Gaara with her chin lowered slightly.
"Then you can fight."
"I can dance."
"You can fight."
"Eh, who wants dinner? I'm starving." Naruto asked, stepping between the two and they let out a sigh at the same time. He flashed them a Grin and put his hands on his hips defiantly
"I cannot fight, it is looked down upon in my village." She stated harshly, looking around Naruto at Gaara again.
"It's not looked down upon here." Gaara muttered under his breath and she laughed slightly. Naruto froze at that laugh. One could compare it to a gust of wind, light, low.
"This is not my village." She answered coldly, pushing Naruto aside with a force that he hadn't expected. He stared between both of them as she stepped up toward the redhead, it seemed as though all of her taught respect was gone. Kei looked like she would start to jab a finger into the Kazekage's chest at any given moment, ready to push him to the ground and stomp off like a stubborn child.
"You were born here." He answered and continued to stare down at her, they looked as though their bodies were up against each other, locked in a cold stare. Her lower lip puffed out slightly and her eyebrows creased, eyes narrowed even further. She looked furious.
"That has nothing to do with me." She retorted suddenly. Her voice was heavy, as if she had to strain to keep her tone steady.
"Everyone here knows how to fight."
"Except me. Why does it matter?" she asked, shrinking into herself again, stepping down and uncrossing her arms, tilting her chin slightly.
"It doesn't."
"Okay, so who wants to get dinner?" Naruto asked again, clapping his hands together and Kei glanced at him, looking startled that he was still there. She wasn't very hungry, even though she hadn't eaten in a few days, it wasn't even about …
"Hnn." Gaara rolled his eyes, and rolled his shoulders. Naruto took that as a yes.
The three of them walked in an extremely awkward silence. There was an unease between Gaara and Kei. Naruto, to put it simply, felt completely out of place. The two seemed as though they knew each other better than simple acquaintances should have. Kei didn't address Gaara by his name, but by Kazekage. Whenever the respectful term fell from her mouth, the redhead seemed to tense and threw a glare in her direction, which was mirrored. The sun had gone down, bringing the chill of the desert at night. The wind seemed to pick up as well, blowing around them harshly. All of them had to squint their eyes to keep sand from entering their vision and blinding them. Grains of sand in one's eyes were not pleasant.
She let out a breath and stepped closer to Naruto. The ended up at a small tea house, with walls surrounding it to keep the sand and wind out. Every shelter was closed off securely. Kei stepped within the building first, holding the door open for both of us. People's silence suddenly settled over the room as they set eyes on first Gaara, then Kei. They slowly resumed to eating as Kei pursed her lips and took a firm seat down at the closest table. Naruto sat beside her, and Gaara was across the table.
Naruto ordered some kind of Ramen for all of them. Kei made a noise in the back of her throat but she ate it anyway. The salt within it burned her throat and she swallowed heavily the first bite.
The silence between them went unbroken as she stared at Gaara intensely across the table. Silence, As always, very unnerving.
"Your eyes are dying." Gaara commented, and Kei shifted slightly, shutting them for a moment, as if to feel some sort of deathly plague scratch across her eyelids. "What have you been doing." He asked and she didn't answer. Her hands gripped her chopsticks a little tighter and tilted her head toward Naruto, as if addressing the question to him instead of her.
Naruto shifted.
Kei cleared her throat and raised her chopsticks to her mouth, lips closing over the ends of them as her dark eyes rose to meet Gaara. He placed his hands on the table, knuckles suddenly turning white at that gaze. She never answered his question, or acknowledged his comment on her eyes. "And you're not acting like yourself." He continued when she refused to provide him with an answer. Gaara didn't talk often, but when he did he expected his questions and acknowledgements to be answered.
"Eh… this is good." Naruto muttered, trying to break the tension between the two. Kei's eyes slid to Naruto again and she offered him a weak smile as the porcelain chop sticks slid from between red lips. "The food is… I mean." He added uncertainly and Kei let out that same breathy laugh.
Gaara tensed.
"They aren't red anymore." He added, completely ignoring Naruto and referring to her eyes once more and she let her gaze slip back to him, straitening herself as her robes fell down her shoulders again. The Kazekage drank in the sight of her skin, and glared at the curse seal. "It's a spell, to make them look harmless." She muttered in a voice that Naruto couldn't place. It didn't sound like the smooth watery voice that he had heard before, or the shy, timid voice that sounded like hinata's, or the dark, cold, impassive voice of sasuke.
It was purely kei. He bathed in the sound, shutting his eyes and soaking it up. It sounded real, she sounded real. His blue eyes opened again to watch her lips draw into a frown, her deep blue eyes slowly shifting into a soft pink. His eyebrows creased.
"Hnn." Gaara stared into her eyes and watched as they swirled into black again. "A spell? You mean a jutsu?"
"I am not a ninja, I cannot perform jutsu." She mumbled, the same, pure Kei sound. Naruto found himself drawn to that voice, enticed by it. A smirk tangled itself on the redhead's lips. He looked like he was going to laugh, and Kei raised her eyes threateningly to Gaara.
"Did someone else cast it on you?" Gaara asked, seeming amused by the way she struggled with herself. She didn't know what she was thinking. "Are you still controlled."
"I am a respected Geisha."
"So you've sold yourself." He answered curtly, his cruel voice making Naruto twist uncomfortable in his seat. The restaurant seemed to be holding their breath, and Kei slid her eyes to a man on her far left at the table next to theirs. He was staring, along with the others in the restaurant.
Her hands clenched slightly, but she knew he was just trying to get her to answer to him, silence. She kept silent again before thinking something up. "You already know the answer to that."
"So you have?"
"Geisha are not prostitutes."
"On the contrary, some-." Naruto started up, but was cut off.
"Naruto…" she growled softly and he made a noise, she sounded like sasuke again. " Stay out of it." That same noise fallowed the first and he shrunk away from her.
"Now that's cruel, Kei-sama." Gaara muttered and she stared at him, his own aqua depths showing what her own mirrored. Admiration. Interestingly enough, it was produced from their extreme hate for each other.
Naruto wasn't as stupid and naïve as people thought. He knew what that look was and looked even more immensely uncomfortable. Her eyes narrowed and she leaned on the table rather rudely and tilted her head slightly toward Gaara. "You're calling me cruel, Kazekage?" she asked, raising her slender eyebrow toward him and he sighed slightly, glancing at the terrified looking blonde before standing up. "I think it's time to retire for the night, Naruto, you may stay anywhere you like, as for Kei, I'm sure Temari has made arrangements for her."
"Good night, Naruto-kun." She mumbled in that timid voice that made most men's knees week before brushing her lips over his whiskered cheek. He didn't flush, he wasn't attracted to her, he could only think of Sasuke, and how uncomfortable the air between the two of them was. It was like he could cut the tension between them like butter it was so thick.
Naruto did as he was told, walking off through the city to find somewhere to stay that night. His first plan was to leave as soon as he dropped her off, but when she made it clear that she knew about Sasuke, maybe she knew where he was, but it didn't matter. He would get home as soon as he could.
Or as soon as he wanted to.
Kei and Gaara went their own way, They were bickering about something or another, possibly what had happened in the past, he didn't hear, nor did he care to hear. He was done listening to their constant quarrels.
