Slow Poison
Chapter 7: Message Decoded!
Recap:
Just when he was about to tell her he was interrupted again. This time by a very winded, very glowing Seena as she rushed into the office, the trail of a scroll fluttering behind her.
Gaara rushed over at the sight of her, a small knot forming when his mind raced to the conclusion that something was wrong.
"It's done," she said laying it out on his desk for him to read.
He sat down in his chair and leaned over the long awaited message.
Gaara's eyes flicked back and forth across the scroll and as he read the message. His face never changed as the time passed. Temari stared at him before turning her gaze to Seena. She was now leaning the side of her hip on the edge of Gaara's desk, dangerously close to his arm. Both seemed unfazed by this nearness. Seena had her eyes closed and her arms crossed over her chest. She seemed to be thinking about something thoroughly. What did the message say?
Gaara set down the scroll and put his hand over his face. He rested it there for a moment as he sighed heavily with his eyes closed. This was a disaster.
"What is it?" asked Temari looking between the only two people who knew the contents of the scroll.
"Kusagakure and Iwagakure are planning to attack Suna," said Gaara without changing his position.
Temari was speechless. It was true that Suna had never gotten along well with Iwagakure and Kusagakure, but they had tolerated each other for the sake of peace.
"How?" she asked.
"They've created an alliance," said Seena now opening her eyes and looking at Gaara.
He hadn't removed his head from his hand and his elbow continued to rest on the desk. She could see that his eyes were open now and were moving slightly as if trying to factor out any possible actions that should be taken now that they had this news.
"When will they attack?" Temari asked becoming a little impatient that the two of them seemed to be off in their own little world trying to figure this out.
"Before the new moon."
Gaara sat up in his chair, his hand falling to his lap. He leaned his head back and gazed up at the ceiling. The new moon was eleven days away. He tried to take steadying breaths to calm himself, but it felt like his chest was shrinking in size. He couldn't get enough air as the thought of the villages attacking Suna invaded his mind. He had to do something to protect the villagers.
He glanced over at Seena who was looking ahead, not noticing his gaze. Lucky for him he had a master strategist with him now. Sure, Temari was good, but Seena was the best. If she could make a mercenary living with only two people, then she had to be a good strategist.
Temari caught Gaara's stare. She furrowed her eyebrows at the way he kept his eyes on Seena. She had never seen him stare at a person before. Temari was now becoming frustrated over her little brother's unusual actions, added to the fact that her home was going to be attacked by two Hidden Villages within two weeks.
Temari glanced at Seena. She was still perched on Gaara's desk as if it was the exact spot she normally sat in. She had now uncrossed her arms and placed her fingertips against her forehead as if she could transmit some intangible idea into her mind.
"Temari."
She turned to Gaara when he said her name. He was now looking at her seriously, his hands folded and placed in his lap. She waited, ready for any command he would give her.
"First," he said emotionlessly. "Alert Kankuro, Baki and the elders of what we've found out. Second, increase security on all borders and don't send out any Jonin for missions. We need our strongest fighters here for the attack."
"When will the attack happen?" she asked to be clear on how much time they had.
Gaara was silent for a moment. Seena opened her eyes slightly, waiting for him to answer her.
"We don't know," he said finally.
Temari was taken aback by his words. "What do you mean?"
"The message doesn't say the exact day of the attack," said Seena, cutting over Gaara as he was about to answer. "It only says that it will happen before the new moon. They could attack in an hour for all we know."
Silence fell over the office as they all thought of this crucial variable. Time was of the essence and they needed to act as quickly as possible to secure any chance for victory in the impeding conflict.
"Temari, you have your orders," said Gaara.
She snapped out of her thoughtful state of mind. "Yes!" She nodded and then quickly exited the room.
Seena and Gaara were now left in the room alone. It hadn't been but several hours ago that they were sitting on her couch sharing a cup of tea together in one of the last moments of relaxation they would both have for a long time.
During the time that Gaara had explained to Temari what was being set in motion, Seena had begun to think about where she fit into all this. This was as far as she had bargained to go. Her job was finished and yet, she felt a want to stay and help. Why? she kept asking herself. Not even a week ago she'd had no intention of ever setting foot into Suna again and here she was wanting to stay and protect it.
Seena flicked her gaze over to Gaara briefly. He had changed something in her. Somehow last night, he had made her see how much he truly cared about Sunagakure. He had changed from an uncaring beast into a compassionate leader. He might not show his emotions on his face, but they were no doubts they existent in his heart and soul.
Well, if she planned on staying, she should start thinking of how they were going to defeat this enemy.
First, they would need more help if they wanted to defeat Iwa and Kusa. Seena glanced at Gaara who had his hands balled into fist and his mouth set in a thin line. This was a very difficult situation for everyone involved. Was it right to ask for aid in this harrowing and torturous battle?
"Gaara-sama," said Seena glancing over her shoulder at him slightly. "We can't defeat both the villages with our own strength."
Gaara stared into a corner, almost unblinkingly. "I know."
"Shall I send a hawk to Konoha?"
Gaara remained silent. This would be extremely difficult for anyone involved. He remembered the destruction the Sand and the Sound Villages had brought on Konoha. Because of that attack, Konoha had lost many ninja, parts of the village had been reduced to rubble and they had lost their Hokage. Gaara didn't want to see that happen to Suna.
"Request as many shinobi as they can spare, all Jonin level or higher," he said. "Give Tsunade a detailed explanation of what's been happening."
"Yes," she replied softly.
Seena stood up from the desk and made her way to the door.
"Seena," said Gaara.
She stopped and turned toward him.
"Before you go," he said slowly, taking a pause to think about his words. "I want to discuss something with you."
Seena felt something like an electric current run down her body as all her nerves went on high alert. What could he possibly want to discuss? Seena wasn't the type of female to run away with crazy ideas. She preferred to remain composed and clearheaded. Yet she couldn't shake the feeling that he was going to tell her that she wasn't needed any longer.
Did he think she wasn't able to help fight? Perhaps he thought that her time spent as a mercenary had lowered her performance as a ninja. Was he possibly thinking that she might not be trustworthy? Just because she had left Sunagakure years ago didn't mean that she was a traitor.
Seena stood across from his desk and waited for him to say what he needed to say. The intensity was killing her.
"I'm not the type of person who likes to make lengthy discussions before getting to my point," he said nervelessly. "Truthfully, I want to ask you to stay."
Every nerve that had just been fired now seemed to have gone into a coma. Seena couldn't believe what she had heard. Gaara was asking her to stay?
"I know we had agreed on your assisting with the cipher, but nothing else was discussed. We are short handed on high level ninja and your skills would benefit Suna's chances for success."
Seena had already made it up in her mind that she wanted to stay and help. Why, she wasn't ready to answer or investigate that yet. Though her thoughts and feelings may have changed, she was still the leader of Sil Ferrin. As a leader she had to take into account the feelings of the entire group.
"I would gladly help Suna in this fight," she said pausing after her statement. "But I must first consult Takamaru. We are partners after all and what one does the other does also. I would not want to make him stay if he wished to leave."
Gaara nodded slightly. "Of course."
Seena nodded. She rose from the chair and walked to the door all the while hoping that Takamaru would want to stay.
Takamaru and Seena walked side by side to the Sand Siblings' home. As usual, they'd been having dinner with the Sand Siblings every night. Of course last night Seena hadn't been able to make it after being caught up on deciphering the message. It would be good to finally have a nice meal again.
Takamaru seemed unusually happy. Maybe it was because Seena had asked him if he minded staying in Suna to help against the attack. He had immediately said yes and to tell the Kazekage that he too would offer his services in battle.
Seena couldn't deny that she had been relieved at the news. The problem was, when had her feelings changed and why? Had it been last night when she'd spent time with Gaara? Or could it possibly have been yesterday afternoon when she and Temari had been walking around?
Whenever it had happened, she certainly wasn't going to try and delve into her feelings. That was an area she had never been good with. Maybe that's why she was having such difficulty being here in Suna. Everything had changed and even though she felt unburdened now that she didn't hold old resentments toward the village or the Kazekage, she couldn't put her finger on what had caused the change.
Every time she found herself asking this question, Seena would try to take her mind off it by doing something.
"So, Takamaru," she said with a smile, trying to mask the inner turmoil.
He turned his face to her, acknowledging that he'd heard her. "Hm."
"What makes you want to stay in Suna? Normally you don't care where we go."
At this Takamaru did something very uncharacteristic. He blushed.
Two small pink spots appeared on his cheeks and he laughed nervously. He put a hand behind his head as he continued to laugh.
"Well, you know ... ha ha ... I've never been in Sunagakure and I'd still like to look around and stuff ... ha ha ..."
Seena quirked an eyebrow at him and then narrowed her eyes. "What are you hiding?"
"N-nothing. Ha ha."
Seena continued to give him that I-don't-believe-you look, but decided not to push the matter. They reached the Sand Siblings' home and Seena knocked. Behind the door she could hear Temari's muffled shouts. There came a few more from one of her brothers, probably Kankuro since Gaara didn't really shout. More yelling came from Temari and then there was a tense silence. The door opened and Gaara stood in the doorway wearing a black t-shirt and black pants.
"Come in," he said calmly as he stood to the side to allow the other two in.
Takamaru immediately left Seena's side and made his way down the hallway to the basement. Seena put her hands on her hips and stared at him in disbelief.
"Thanks," she murmured under her breath.
She looked around, not sure what to do. Normally, Takamaru and her would sit and chat with Kankuro and Gaara in the living room, but since those two decided not to attend at the moment it seemed that she and Gaara would have to make do with each other's company.
Oddly, though, Seena felt eager to spend time with Gaara. Ever since last night she had enjoyed being in his company, as if his presence soothed her. Again she didn't try to analyze her feelings, but this new reaction she was taking on wasn't like her at all.
Seena followed Gaara into the living room where she sat on the couch and made herself comfortable by pulling her legs up beside her as she sat. Gaara, taking a cue from Seena's comfortableness, sat on the chair with his legs stretched out before him, making them look longer then they really were. He leaned his head back against the chair and closed his eyes.
Seena took a moment to study the Kazekage. It was odd seeing him in a way that only the people closest to him had seen him, relaxed. The life of a ruler was one that couldn't be taken lightly. Days and days of endless paperwork and discussions and signing must really get to someone. Seena could only imagine the things that Gaara had to do every day.
He lifted his head up and Seena averted her gaze.
Gaara looked over to her and saw that she seemed preoccupied with a loose thread on her tunic. He took a moment to notice that she had freshened up a lot from what he was used to seeing her. Her hair was extremely light and it fluttered with even the slightly movement from Seena. A strand of hair graced her cheek and for a moment, Gaara imagined he was in the place of that strand as he gently brushed her cheek.
Gaara tore his gaze at the realization of his thoughts. How had things shifted so quickly in such a short amount of time? He had never thought of something of that nature before. Where had it come from? Gaara wasn't even sure what this meant. Was he ill? Every time he was around Seena he would get this fleeting feeling in the bottom of his stomach. Otherwise he didn't feel out of the ordinary.
Gaara always found that it helped to talk about something that didn't require him to think about Seena other then as a collaborator.
"Seena," he said quietly, but evenly. "Have you had a chance to speak with Takamaru?"
Seena breathed easily, although her heart was going a million miles a minute. Say something, she thought to herself.
"Yes, I was," she said looking at him, trying to keep her face calm.
When she didn't say anything after that Gaara became a little nervous. Was she trying to tell him that Takamaru had disagreed with staying? Is that why she had gone quiet? A knot formed in the middle of his chest and he was unaware of the reason, but knew he must hear her answer.
"And?" he asked, also trying to appear calm, opposite of the inner confusion he was feeling.
"He said he'd love to stay. He also offers his fighting skills to you in any way you need them."
Gaara nodded and his face softened.
"I'm willing to do whatever it takes too, Gaara-sama."
Gaara looked at Seena. She sat on the couch with one leg bent underneath her now and the other draped over her ankle. She looked at him, unaware of the cognitives she was stirring in his mind. After so many years, here they were now two completely different people. He was having a hard time remembering what she had been like in Suna now.
"Thank you, Seena," he said giving her a nod.
"Come get it!" yelled Temari from the kitchen.
Seena stood up and brushed the wrinkles out of her tunic. "Finally, I'm starving."
She walked ahead of Gaara to the kitchen and he followed behind her. Unthinkingly his eyes began to follow the curve of her body as it came in at her waist and then flared back out across her hips. She had grown into a woman, surely.
Gaara again blocked his mind from these thoughts. He couldn't understand where these thoughts were coming from or why. As he sat down at the table across from Seena, he resolved to figure out what was causing him to react this way.
Preview Ch 8:
"Seena," he said. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Are you sure this is the best plan of action?"
Seena blinked as she calmed down. So he wasn't angry?
"Yes," she said. "Why? Is something wrong with it, Gaara-sama?"
"Why not do what the council said? Why not try and surprise attack them?"
"A surprise attack will only work if we know the terrain and surroundings. Trying to pull off a surprise attack in another country is foolish! You know this!"
"But what about the village? I can't let anything happen to it. It's my responsibility as Kazekage to keep it safe."
