GARAA'S REPENTANCE

CHAPTER FOUR

The Kazekage & Kaze-Kid

Garaa was not going to stay in the Hidden Sand Village.

After the attempt on his life the night before, he had decided to pack up his things and visit his sister Temari in Konoha.

The men who had found him the previous night had agreed that leaving for awhile would be a good idea, because it would give him a break from all of his Kazekage duties that were stressing him out, and if he went straight away and told no one else what he was doing, then the assassin would probably not know where he had gone.

For his own safety, however, they would send one of their own men to accompany him to the Hidden Leaf Village.

Garaa agreed to this [even if Shukaku did not, and now he was standing at the entrance to the Hidden Sand Village, waiting for his travelling companion.

He had been sitting around on a dark brown desert horse, staring at the clouds, for some time now, before he saw another rider trotting towards him from the direction of the Hidden Sand Village.

At first, he could only make out the description of the horse – it was a funny-looking colour, white with black patches on it – a shade that didn't quite seem to fit its graceful and gentle physique.

Its rider, Garaa noticed when they stopped next to him, was a young boy, only about Garaa's age. His hair was covered up in a white head-dress that reminded Garaa of Baki's, and the boy was wearing an outfit similar to Garaa's, only in black.

He was also wearing a dark pair of sunglasses, that shielded his eyes from the bright sun, and reminded Garaa increasingly of Shino Aburame, of the Hidden Leaf Village, and he also had a black line painted across his nose.

Garaa couldn't help but saying: "You're late."

The boy, however much of a man he may have been, turned crimson. "S…sorry…" He stuttered, speaking in a rather raspy and high voice.

Garaa rolled his eyes. How old was this boy? Ten?

"I though they were going to be sending a man, not a little kid…" Garaa muttered, almost to himself, but the boy heard him.

He, if that was possible, turned even redder. "S…sorry…K…Kazekage-S…Sama…"

Garaa glanced over at him, and noticed how uncomfortable he looked. "Look, don't worry about it. And don't call me Kazekage-Sama – I don't really want anybody to know who I am. Just call me Garaa."

"S…sorry." The boy stammered. "G…Garaa-D…Dono. It is a p…pleasure to b…be escorting you t…to Konoha." His red lips seemed to tremble then, as if he was going to cry, and Garaa wondered how on earth he could have gotten such a strange escort.

"Do you know that way to the Hidden Leaf Village?" Garaa asked him.

The boy nodded. "I…I have t…travelled v…very much in t…the past f…few y…years…"

Garaa stared at him. "I don't recognise you." He put in, bluntly.

The boy sweatdropped. "B…because of t…the travelling…" He hastily said.

Garaa sighed, and pulled on the reins of his horse to turn the strong creature to face the open desert. He and the boy started their horses into a walk, and Garaa turned to the boy, and asked him the all-important question: "What's your name, kid?"

The boy fiddled with the mane of his spotted-coloured horse, before softly answering (so softly that Garaa could barely hear him): "I am called Kaze."