One Day
A story by Songstone
Songstone: Okay . . . I kinda set
the bar pretty high for myself. XD I bet you guys are expecting some
awesome, mega, super chapter or something after the last one, right?
Well, I'm not that good with keeping up stuff like that. I guess it
was a one-time thing. XD Oh well. I hope that you all enjoy this
chapter. By the way, it starts off before the last chapter happened. Just so you all know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Chapter 7: Letters from Konoha
Gaara shifted through the letters on his desk and sighed, tossing out nearly half of them since they were from the young women in Suna. He had grown used to getting letters from the ladies, though he rarely payed them any attention. They all seemed to say the same thing; About how much they admired and respected their Kazekage and how handsome he was. That sort of thing. It was all quite ridiculous, really.
A heavy sigh passed Gaara's thin lips and he tossed three more letters away. He stopped at the very bottom, however, when he looked down and saw a rather massive letter. It had two stamps on the side, showing that the sender must have had to pay extra just because of the weight alone. Lifting it up, Gaara's eyes scanned over the address. To the Kazekage of Suna, from . . . A pause and then Gaara turned the letter over, ripping open the back of the envelope.
To the Kazekage of Suna from Rock Lee of Konoha.
Lee? Lee was writing to him? It had been three weeks since Gaara had written to him . . . The Kazekage thought that the older man had been upset at him or just in very bad shape. Thinking about such possibilities made the redhead worry, so he had been trying to occupy himself with other things over the weeks that had passed since Lee had left Suna. But getting a letter from his friend made him relax a bit. At least he was in good enough shape to be allowed a pen to write with without the fear that he would stab himself with it. That only made Gaara shudder, so he tried to stop thinking and only concentrate on the letter.
Gaara tossed away the torn and useless envelope into the garbage can and proceeded to open up the . . . six page letter? Good Lord, what was the man writing about? But maybe this was a good thing. If Lee was his usual talkative self, then he wasn't being as badly affected by the tanuki in his body than Gaara had thought he would be. At least, that was what he hoped was the case.
He settled back into his chair and leaned back a bit, catching a bright ray of light from the window behind himself onto the paper. Almost anxious to find out how the other man had been fairing, Gaara began to read at the letter from the top, where his name was written where Lee had signed it.
Dear Gaara,
I'm terribly sorry that it's taken so long for me to write you back. I just now got the time to settle down and put pen to paper and form words. It's not that I've forgotten about you! Heaven's no. But Hokage-sama was insistent that I stay in the hospital for a few days. She said that she wanted to check me again and make sure that I was handling the seal all right. The good news is that it's holding up and the Shukaku hasn't tried to escape. There is a bit of . . . well, not 'bad' news, but I think you'll understand.
Naruto-kun is staying with me in my home. It's temporary, though. He's here only to keep an eye on me and make sure that I'm all right. It gets a bit unnerving though, to have him watching me as I rest, but I've managed. Sakura-san comes by as well to give me a check up, so it isn't like I'm all alone here. So, I'll put your mind at ease with that.
Somehow, as Gaara read, he could almost picture Lee giving him a thumbs up and his award winning smile that always seemed to catch the light from the sun. He sure seemed well in this letter, his words and phrases overly positive, a sign that he was still the same old Lee and not being corrupted by the tanuki that was now inside of him. For that, at least, Gaara was glad about. However, when Lee had mentioned that Naruto was staying in his house, Gaara couldn't help but feel sympathy towards the taijutsu user. The blond ninja might have been Gaara's first friend, but he got on his nerves with his noise and constant blabbering.
The Kazekage blinked for a moment as he was thinking over Naruto's annoying qualities. He suddenly had a revalation; Lee was almost exactly like Naruto. They both loved to talk, were both so jumpy and active that it was nearly sickening to watch and it was almost exhausting to be around them and watch them move. They shared nearly the same determination, though Gaara easily spotted flaws in the theory that they were alike; Lee was hyper like Naruto, yes, but he was able to calm himself down at certain times while the blond was almost constantly chipper and loud.
Another big difference in Gaara's mind, Naruto had his friends who usually cheered him on, Lee being one of those people, but Lee himself had barely anyone. It was true that he had his teacher who treated him more like a son than a student, but Gaara doubted that his teammates were cheering for him all that much. Naruto was probably on his side in a battle, that had been the case when Gaara had fought against the ebony haired man . . . The Kazekage prefered not to think back too far, however, and cleared his throat, continuing to read.
The letter was long, but Gaara was glad that it didn't take as long to read as he thought it might. Lee had a way with his letters . . . they weren't quick, but they read easily. A person could quickly leaf through all of the words and comprehend it all. Not only that, but the way he phrased certain things and how he came across in the pages Gaara now held was almost comical, which made for an interesting and entertaining read. The redhead risked allowing his mouth to twitch upwards slightly in a near half smirk, though it wasn't quite there yet.
Gaara was proud that Lee seemed to be doing so well. Honestly, he hadn't been sure if the older man would have been able to survive at all with a tanuki sealed in hs body. It wasn't something one could get accustomed to overnight, and the Shukaku was a very taunting demon. He knew how to mess with a person's mind. Gaara really hoped that the seal Lee had gotten done would keep the One Tail at bay while Lee rested. If not, then the demon could easily have access to the other male's dreams and use Lee's memories against him. The very thought made Gaara's hair stand up on his neck and he shook his head. Lee was strong. He could adjust. Gaara had to believe that no matter what.
- - -
"Temari." Gaara spoke his sister's name once she was seated across from him at the table and had said her prayers.
The blonde woman and her younger brother were having a meal, something that all three of the Suna siblings enjoyed doing together. That was the time when they got to talk about their day, or complain about certain things, but most importantly, they could all just sit around the table and be a family. It was something that they all had missed out on for twelve years, but now that Gaara had started seeing his older siblings as his family and not just two more people to destroy, they had begun sharing some fond memories with each other.
Kankuro and Gaara would talk together while the puppeteer downed a beer or two (Gaara didn't drink, and for a good reason!), and there was even the one time that Gaara allowed Temari to cut his hair, which had begun to grow too long in the back of his neck and over his eyes. Yes, the three siblings were catching up on lost time and enjoying it as much as they could with their busy scheduals. This day would have been nice for some family time since Temari had just returned from leading a cell of Genin on a mission and Gaara had finsihed up most of the work in his office, but there was once thing standing in their way of a 'family moment'.
Kankuro wasn't there.
The puppeteer was out on a mission that Gaara had assigned him and wasn't expected back until a week later. He was leading a squad of Jounin and Chunin out to scout the desert for any signs of what might have happened to Lee. Gaara ordered his brother to go a bit out of Suna and maybe ask around in some neighboring villages. Kankuro had been out for nearly a week and a half, and Gaara was getting anxious.
"What's on your mind?" Temari's voice called Gaara from his thoughts and he blinked up at her before he started to eat his food at his usual slow pace.
"I was only wondering if I had gotten any other letters. Specifically from Konoha." Gaara was never one to beat around the bush when it came to something important to him and he felt that Lee's letters were something to be considered 'important.' He looked up at Temari while he took a drink of the water in his glass, careful not to spill even a drop. Water was very precious in Suna and he didn't want to waste any of it.
"Konoha?" Temari echoed Gaara's words and thought them over while she ate. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "Not that I've seen. All the letters you got today were on your desk. Why?" Of course Temari would ask that. She was a female and as such, she was curious as to why her younger brother seemed so anxious to get mail from Suna's allied country. Usually, Gaara hated having to sort out mail. He would complain that it was taking up all of his spare time and that most of his letters were from the girls in Suna anyway.
"I wanted to know if Lee-san had written me back yet. It's been over a week and he has yet to respond to my letter." Gaara's brow furrowed a bit as he spoke, reminding himself that he was a bit worried about Lee and his well being. Had something happened? Maybe he had a replapse and the Shukaku was trying to break the seal? The possibilities were endless and they were all swirling around Gaara's head, making him dizzy.
Now, Temari knew that her brother had been writing to Lee nearly every week, but it was still new and wierd for him to actually be writing to someone and seemingly enjoying it. It seemed that whenever he found one of Lee's usual novels (Temari called the large-browed boy's letters novels because of their size.) on his desk that Gaara would get just a little bit more relaxed and even a bit talkative. It was odd. The blonde female had also noticed that Gaara's own letters had gotten longer. At first he wrote one page, front to back, and then as the weeks went by and formed into a month, his envelopes to Konoha held up to three or four pages of words. Temari often wondered what the two boys talked about but didn't bother asking the redhead since it wasn't her bussiness in the first place.
"Sorry to say, no. I haven't seen any other letters besides the ones I put on your desk." Temari informed her youngest brother, taking another bite of the sandwich she had fixed herself. She sipped at the warm tea in her cup after she had replaced the food on her plate and looked up at Gaara, watching him as he ate slowly. "Any news from Kankuro? Have they found any leads yet?" She asked, trying to change the subject though it didn't work well since this new topic dealt with Lee, on some level.
The redhead only shook his head before he looked up as well, lacing his fingers together before he placed his chin over both of his hands. "None. They can't find any places that might have been sheltering an enemy or anything that might be a clue as to what happened. But then again, we're in the desert and she's rarely kind to anyone. She's hiding the evidence, I'm sure. And if Lee doesn't remember . . ." He sighed and closed his black ringed eyes, seemingly exhausted just by thinking over the situation. "I've asked Lee-san if he can remember anything. At all. He says that he only remembers running towards Konoha, hearing voices and then waking up in Suna again." A shake of the head sent strands of red falling over Gaara's forehead, consealing part of the scar over his eye as well. "He's missing a rather large piece of his life and now he's stuck with that thing in him. He doesn't even know why." It all seemed so unfair and wrong. This shouldn't have happened to Lee.
"I know. But he's a strong guy. He's made it this far. He'll pull through. He won't go down so easily." Temari spoke as if she had know the Leaf her entire life and nodded her head to strengthen her statements. Lee had persevered even when Gaara had been the one to shatter his arm and leg. The damage was horrible, she knew that much, and he had nearly had to quit his career as a Shinobi. And yet, the next time that the Sand Shinobi and Lee had crossed paths, he was recovering from a surgery that would have killed most others and was on the battlefield. Drunk, if she remembered the description correctly. He had become a Jounin and had worked so hard to get where he was now. He wasn't going to just throw that all away. Temari wanted to say all of that aloud, but know a certain part about her summary of Lee's life would only upset the redhead.
And Gaara did feel bad for what he had done to Lee, but he felt as though his debts were payed. Lee had told him when they met again on the battlefield that he held no grudges against Gaara and the Kazekage repaied him by saving his life. It was almost a form of apology for what he had done and he hoped that Lee knew that. Gaara had never been good at saying that he was sorry. Even now, after he had changed for the better, those kinds of things came very rarely. So in answer to Temari's words, he gave a gruff nod and a grunt of agreement.
Yes. Lee was strong. Yes. He would make it. That's all there was too it.
Gaara only hoped that he would get a letter soon, else he start growing gray hairs from all of the senseless worrying he was doing . . .
Songstone: I just had the mental image of Gaara with gray hair. O.O Kinda creepy when you think about it for too long. XD Anyway, I hope that you guys will keep reading! I think I'm actually on a roll here. XD R&R please!
