"How did you know which one was me?" Kankuro asks as the chain around him sinks back into the ground. "And why did the chains have blue streaks?"
I use my sand to lower myself to the ground and walk over to them, curious as to the answers to those questions myself. I hear Baki and Temari follow me.
Ri waits for us to reach her and Kankuro before she starts talking. "The idea to put blood inside one of the puppets was a very good one and would have seriously confused me if we had fought a year ago. Recently I have been working on perfecting my special jutsu, trying to immobilize or knock out my opponents instead of killing them and using less chakra to do so. Because of this I have spent a lot of time exploring my connection with iron in the bloodstream. I knew which one was you because one of the puppets had a greater concentration of iron inside of it than the other, which meant that it must be the real one. As for the chains," she rubs the bottom of her shoe on the ground, "there is very little natural metal in this sand. To strengthen the chains I imbued them with my chakra, which were the blue streaks you saw. My blood, or rather the iron in it, also helped to keep the chains from bending or breaking. Using wooden weapons was also an excellent idea. You should create more if we ever fight again."
"We will definitely have another match." Kankuro says, a competitive glint in his eyes. "We will fight once a week until I win."
Ri smiles. "That sounds alright with me."
Hope spreads inside my chest. It doesn't look like Kankuro is going to be able to defeat Ri anytime soon so this hopefully means she will stay for a while.
"Lord Kazekage!" the voice comes from above us, from one of the sand shinobi that's supposed to be making sure that no one comes down here.
"Yes?" I say, looking up at him.
"We have urgent news from Konaha. They have reason to suspect The Village Hidden in the Mist is planning an attack against us. They have sent Nara Shikamaru with a message."
Temari squeals with delight at the prospect of seeing Shikamaru and leaps onto the balcony, racing to the elevator. I sigh quietly. I was hoping to spend some time with Ri, but it looks like I am going to be very busy for the next couple of weeks. I turn to say something to Ri but find her deep in a conversation about chakra levels and potential puppet ideas with Kankuro and Baki. With a mental shrug, I follow my sister to elevators, mentally preparing myself for the tedious discussions soon to follow.
Almost fourteen hours later I step out of the council meeting room and walk slowly to the stairs that will take me to the top floor where my room is. If it were possible for me to get stress headaches, I would surely have one now. We hadn't even reached a conclusion on whether we should take the information Shikamaru brought seriously. Shikamaru himself isn't allowed in the meetings since he is from another village, but I, as Kazekage, am allowed to tell him all that transpires. He thinks we should take the threat seriously, which is proof enough for me, but the rest of the council doesn't know if we should waste our energy on a threat that might or might not be there.
Shaking my head to get rid of annoying council thoughts, I step into my room, wanting to see if Ri is still awake. The lights are off, but the bed is empty. I switch the lights on and notice the door leading to the roof is cracked open.
Ri lays flat on her back on the roof, staring at the stars. Her hands, bandaged, lay folded across her stomach. The night is cold, colder than usual, but she lays in just small shorts and the leather band.
"Aren't you cold?" I ask, sitting down beside her.
"Yes." She looks at me out of the corner of her eye. I'm confused. If she's cold, why doesn't she just put on actual clothes?
"Why indeed." She murmurs and I realize I spoke that last thought out loud. I think I've offended her until she says "I haven't been able to feel anything for the longest time. No emotions, no physical sensations, nothing." She smiles. "But now I can feel, and I want to experience every feeling. Even the cold."
So it seems she and I are back to the half-answers that just raise more questions. I frown at her and she looks at me guiltily. "I'm sorry. That really didn't tell you anything." I think she's going to elaborate or clarify her first statement, but she remains silent, contemplative.
A thought strikes me. Maybe I'm not being fair. As attached as I feel to Ri, we have known each other for less than a month and I'm expecting her to tell me her life story without revealing any of mine. While she knows my name and title, I doubt she knows everything about me. Maybe I should open up first. Years of hiding my feelings and emotions make me wary of trusting someone with all my insecurities. After all, everyone I completely trust ends up betraying me. I don't even fully trust my siblings not to turn on me.
If there was someone, anyone, who I would place that trust in, it would be Ri. I can't explain why. Hesitantly at first, but with more confidence, I begin to tell her of my childhood. I want her to know exactly what kind of a monster she is dealing with. If there is hope for any sort of relationship between us, there can be no secrets, not on my part.
At some point throughout my narrative, Ri sits up and curls up against my side, resting her head on my shoulder. Almost of its own accord, my arm loops around her waist, pressing her closer to me. My sand turns into a low wall, protecting Ri from the worst of the wind. I talk more than I ever have before while Ri leans into me, tracing shapes lightly over my knee. I finish my tale as the sun begins to brighten the horizon and we sit in silence.
"Oh Gaara." Ri finally says. Throughout my story, when describing all the people I killed in such horrible ways, I was afraid she would look at me with revulsion and anger, like everyone else, but I wanted her to know everything. She lifts her head and I look down, away from her face, steeling myself and tightening my arm around her to remember how she felt beside me. Surely she is going to leave me now. No one could love such a cold-blooded killer.
I feel her cool finger under my chin, lifting my head so she can look into my eyes. Instead of the loathing I expected so see, there's a look of such tenderness and compassion that I almost cry out.
"You have suffered so much." Ri murmurs. I decide that a lightening of mood is in order. "Yeah, and I'm about to suffer some more. I have meetings with the council all day today.
She laughs and uses her shoulder to nudge mine. "Oh you poor dear." I smile at her, unbelievably happy that she hasn't run away screaming, and Ri's eyes widen and her jaw drops.
"What?" I ask. "What's wrong?"
"Did you…" her tone is disbelieving. "Did you just smile?" Huh. I guess I did. Ri is the only person who makes me want to smile. I smile again, enjoying the shock on her face. The sun is almost fully up and I need to get back to discussing the potential invasion that seems so unimportant right now.
"I have to go. Would you like to come to the meeting?" I ask.
Ri shakes her head emphatically. "No way. I hate meetings. I'm going to go practice some techniques I've been wanting to try out." She stands and stretches, then disappears down the steps into my room. By the time I follow her down she is already dressed in pants and a corset. We walk to the meeting rooms together and up to Shikamaru who stands in front of the door looking incredibly bored.
He gives Ri a once over, then looks at me. "Where's Temari?"
I shrug. "I'm not sure. Shouldn't you know? You're her boyfriend."
Shikamaru scowls at me. "I only saw her briefly yesterday. I was hoping she would be coming to the council meeting."
"She's not interested in politics." I say, shaking my head. "She never attends the meetings. She prefers to go out on missions with the other shinobi and Kankuro."
"I can help you look for her if you like." Ri offers. "I'm at a bit of a loose end myself and could do with some exercise."
"What a drag." Shikamaru moans. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to go looking for her. I'll take you up on your offer to help. If you're ready, let's go."
Ri gives me a kiss on the cheek, then turns and continues down the hall towards the stairs with Shikamaru in tow. "Where do you think Temari will be?" I hear him ask. "No idea." Is Ri's sunny reply.
"What a drag."
