Temari came back and once again had the green haired medic. Quickly the medic looked over her patient and pulled out a syringe from her bag. Looking up at the elder sand siblings she said, "he really shouldn't have this more than two times every 24 hours so please make sure that he stays in bed and recovers or his symptoms will be very difficult to get rid of." Both nodded and the medic injected Gaara with the strange solution. Inspecting her work once more the medic left more medication and made sure the siblings knew to contact her with whatever problems that might come up during Gaara's illness. The two siblings settled in for another night watching their little brother. The night before had been anything but uneventful…
Gaara had been sleeping for a few hours when he woke up obviously in pain from the blisters on his back. "Kankuro get him to sit up so he can take his medicine." Temari ordered while she got the proper dosage of medication to give to Gaara. Turning she saw Kankuro's mistake and before she could yell a warning Gaara had backhanded Kankuro into the side table. Both could see that their brother was still half asleep but Kankuro, while trying to help his brother up had put pressure on Gaara's blisters and in pain Gaara lashed out. Grumbling Kankuro got up and carefully avoided the affected area while helping Gaara sit up again. After they had gotten the younger boy to take his medicine and lay back down on his side Temari inspected Kankuro's face. Gaara hadn't really hurt Kankuro but he had pushed Kankuro into the table in such a way that the older boy's cheek had a purpling bruise on it. Sighing Temari shook her head. "Go get that fixed so Gaara doesn't see it and then go get some sleep. We both know you're still recovering from that poison." Kankuro raised an eyebrow, "and you aren't tired from border patrol?" he asked slyly. "I am but I wasn't the one who was just backhanded into a table by our little brother." Temari said rolling her eyes. Kankuro smiled crookedly and then nodded his head and left. Temari would be able to take care of Gaara by herself just fine…
The next morning Gaara woke up and felt better but the lingering exhaustion still had its grip on him. It didn't help that he hadn't slept well despite his exhaustion. Gaara didn't have a lot of experience with sleep but he was almost positive it shouldn't be filled with memories he would rather forget. Toward the end of his rest his dreams had turned to more pleasant memories but he still hadn't had a restful sleep. Temari and Kankuro had fallen asleep by his bedside. Both of them looked exhausted and yet they had still stayed with him all night. Gaara gave a small smile when he thought of his small family. Things had certainly changed and he would never want to go back to the way they were. This was much better. Gaara got up slowly and quietly so as not to wake his brother and sister. He needed to do a few things and it wouldn't do to have his siblings fussing over him. He showered, got dressed and read the directions on his medication all without waking the older two. After taking what was prescribed he turned to the predicament with his siblings. Very carefully he picked them up with his sand and floated them down the hallway to their rooms. It wasn't as easy as it should have been but it was no surprise considering he was still sick. He tucked each of them in their respective beds and set off to the hospital after leaving them notes telling them where he was.
Kankuro/ Temari
I've gone to the hospital to check on Mai. Don't worry I feel much better. You both have the day off considering your fatigue. Rest today and then you'll be put on duty again tomorrow.
Gaara
-Mai-
Mai woke up to a presence in her room. It was somebody strong but familiar… they smelled of wind and sand… purely desert. Opening her unmasked eyes Mai awoke to see Gaara sitting next to her bedside. He looked tired but alive and that was all Mai cared about. She tried to sit up but failed miserably. It seemed as if she was still under the effect of the drugs that Naoki had given her. Gaara smirked and adjusted her bed so she could sit up. Turning serious Gaara looked Mai in the eyes. It had been over three years since he had seen her last. She had a few more tattoos but she hadn't grown any taller. In fact Gaara would've bet that he was taller than her now. "Are you alright?" he asked his tone leaving no room for anything but honesty. Mai paused, assessing herself. The pain in her chest was dulled and she was glad of the painkiller Naoki had put her on, though she normally refused them. "I'm fine." She reassured him. Gaara plowed on, unwilling to let things stay as they were. "I just recently was informed of your position." Mai raised an eyebrow. "How recently?" Mai asked. "Yesterday." Gaara answered his anger from the day before returning. Seeing his change in demeanor Mai tread carefully. "That explains a lot." She said ruefully. Now it was Gaara's turn to raise a nonexistent eyebrow and wait for her to explain. Seeing the unspoken question in his gaze Mai turned serious. "I sent some… personal letters to you, your siblings, and the Matsuri family but I never received any indication that you or the others got them in my contact with the council."
Gaara's hand twitched. Yet another thing the council had kept from him. He expected them on his desk when he went to go check and if they weren't he was going to have some new council seats to fill. Mai saw that she had set something off and decided to change the subject. "So how are your siblings?" She asked politely. She did want to know how they were but she truly wanted to know how Gaara was doing. "They're well. They're both jounin and rather enjoy their missions. "Really?" Mai asked. Gaara smirked and Mai saw the sarcasm in his eyes. 'Well it seems his sense of humor has come around at least.' Mai thought to herself. When they had first met it was rare for the red head to show any of the dry humor that he expressed so well.
The two talked quietly for a few hours until Kankuro and Temari walked in. Both were anxious to see the nomad that had been gone for a few years. After a happy reunion the sand siblings left when Mai fell asleep while listening to a story Kankuro was telling. "Well Kankuro," Temari said as they left the room, "you're story was so pointless Mai fell asleep on it." She smirked when Kankuro frowned at her. "That's not true and you know it!" Kankuro protested. The two bickered as they left the hospital and Gaara followed, smiling internally. It was good for things to be back to normal…
That night Gaara woke up in his bed sweating. He was alone because he had insisted that Temari get a good night's rest in her own bed and he would have done the same with Kankuro if his older brother wasn't doing border patrols for the night. They certainly couldn't stay with him every night and they both needed their sleep. However the nightmare he'd just had assured him that he wouldn't be getting any sleep the rest of the night. Instead of going to his office and doing paperwork like he usually would he went to the hospital. On the way to Mai's room he saw Naoki and nodded to her when he passed by. Gaara didn't see it but she smiled and shook her head after they had greeted each other. The young medic could see what their friendship was turning into even if neither of them could. It was obviously dark when Gaara entered the room but he quickly found the chair he had occupied earlier that day. In sleep Mai's tattoos moved slowly, some of them even slept but most were mindlessly walking around and interacting with each other. Gaara watched as Mai sighed in her sleep; her long hair was pushed to one side and was longer than it had been years ago. He remembered when he gone back to his room when she had first stayed in it. That morning, there had been thin black strands on the pillow. His room had smelled like forest pines and running water for a few days after. Once he had asked her why didn't cut it because of the heat. She had just smirked behind her mask and pulled her hair up. "I like it long." was all she said before she disappeared into the crowds of Suna.
Settling himself in Gaara started to get drowsy and before he knew it he was asleep. For the first time in his life Gaara of the Sand slept soundly. When he woke up it was morning and Mai was still asleep. Quietly he got up and walked out. He needed to get work done and Mai needed rest. He would visit her again when she was awake.
-Mai-
Mai opened her eyes to sun shining through the blinds. It was still morning but it looked like she had slept the coolest part of the day away. Propping herself up Mai swung her legs off the edge of her bed. She was tired of being left to sleep all day. Just as she was about to put weight on her feet Naoki walked in with a clipboard. The medic still looked tired but it was less severe than when she had seen her the other day. Naoki frowned and marched over to Mai's bed. "You weren't going to try and walk by yourself were you?" Mai looked at Naoki dryly, "No, of course not." Naoki dramatically rolled her eyes in response to Mai's obvious lie and set her clipboard down on the bed next to where Mai was seated. "If you wanted to stretch your legs all you had to do was ask." Naoki said with a smile. She helped the younger girl up and slowly they walked around the room. With a nod from Mai they headed out the door and down the hallway. "How are ya feelin?" Naoki asked, her voice full of clinical concern. "Good." Mai said, "Could I be discharged today?" She asked, unused to asking permission for doing anything it came out a little gruff. Naoki smiled again and replied, "if you can make it back to your room without any trouble then I will consider releasing you." Mai nodded and pulled her arm from over Naoki's shoulders and started to walk shakily down the hallway back to her room. Naoki watched carefully and walked beside her. When Mai made it back to her bed she was exhausted but happy. She was glad to have gotten out of bed and even though Naoki was very friendly she wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.
When they got back to the room Naoki picked her clipboard back up and left the room after checking Mai's vitals and IV. "I'll start the paperwork for you to be discharged and you should be good to go later tonight. However you need somebody to come and pick you up." Mai nodded and frowned inwardly. Who would she get to take her to a hotel? She would have to go and see if her apartment was open but it would be too late to do it today so she would need a place to spend the night. Luckily at that moment Temari walked in. Mai quietly explained the situation and thankfully Temari agreed to let her stay in her apartment for the night. Gaara and Kankuro lived in the Kazekage tower but Temari had gotten a two room apartment. She needed her space and the tower held too many memories for Temari to live there comfortably anymore. The extra room was for anybody that needed a place to bunk and often times when shinobi of other villages needed a place to stay for the night she offered up her small guest room. Naoki left the two girls to hammer out the details and set out to start Mai's paperwork.
-Temari-
Temari waited with Mai and they talked for a bit. "How was it?" Mai asked suddenly. Temari looked up surprised. "What do you mean?" She asked looking at the younger girl. Temari waited patiently while Mai sorted out her thoughts. "How was it, these past few years?" Temari could hear her unspoken question and gave a small smile. "It was good but it could have been better." Quietly she added, "Whether he knows it or not he missed you, we all did." Mai nodded solemnly and looked Temari in the eyes, her tattoos' rapid movement giving away her rolling emotions. "Why do you not seem angry with me?" She asked. Temari looked away and said, "I don't know about my brothers but I knew you would come back and… I knew you wouldn't leave without a good reason." Smiling she looked back at Mai and said, "turns out I was right." Temari frowned though and added, "But you should have told us or something idiot. You had all of us worried." She huffed. Mai looked up at Temari and smiled slightly. Around 5 in the evening Mai and Temari left. Naoki hadn't discharge Mai herself but had left a different nurse take care of it.
When the girls got to Temari's apartment Temari quickly showed Mai her room and the nomad collapsed on the bed and quickly fell asleep exhausted. Sleeping through the night, Mai didn't notice when Temari left for patrol in the morning. Getting up she saw a letter on the kitchen counter addressed to her from Temari letting her know where she was and to help herself to anything in the fridge. Mai moved around the apartment slowly, letting herself get used to movement. She found the kitchen appliances and tried to start cooking with what was in the fridge. After a few moments she realized that Temari hadn't been to the market in a while and everything that was in there was covered in a strange bluish fuzz. After pitching everything, Mai decided to visit Gaara and see if he or Kankuro wanted to go out for lunch. Putting on her mask and weapons she set out for the Kazekage's tower.
Mai took her time walking to the tower, she was hungry but it had been a long time since she had just strolled through Suna. She didn't like to think about it when she was away but she had missed the village and its busy bazars. The people seemed harsh and cruel but once you took the time to see beyond the surface you could start to see how compassionate they were. At first glance many would shy away from the mother that was fiercely scolding the children in the market but when Mai listened closer she realized that the mother was simply warning the children about the dangers of running off alone. Suna was known for its powerful sandstorms and they could come on suddenly without warning. If the children were too far from their parents or home it would be easy for them to get lost in the streets without a place to hide.
Continuing on Mai finally made it in relatively good time considering her still healing injuries. She brushed by the secretaries that were busy filing paperwork and went straight to Gaara's office where she knew he would be busy. Just before she opened the door she heard Kankuro's voice yelling about something. "Gaara, you have to take a lunch break! You just got back to work and you need to take it slow at first so you don't relapse." Gaara simply nodded and spoke with his normal dry tone, "Kankuro I never said I wouldn't take a lunch break I just need to finish a few things and then I'll leave with you." Kankuro sighed. He knew how Gaara was, a few things would be fine until one of his secretaries came in with another load and Gaara would stay to finish a few more things until it ended up being dinner time instead of lunch. Mai knocked gently and then entered. "Kankuro." She said nodding to the older sand sibling. "Gaara, I was hoping either you or Kankuro would be available to go to lunch with me. Temari is on a mission and since I've been eating my meals relatively alone for the past few years I was hoping for a change of pace." Gaara contemplated the offer and then put his pen down. "We would be glad to join you." He said tonelessly. Kankuro blanched, he had been trying to get Gaara to leave the office for lunch for the better part of an hour and all it took was a few words from Mai and Gaara was ready to go. "How did you do that?" Kankuro said his expression conveying his astonishment. Mai looked at Kankuro and smirked underneath her mask, "Kankuro you'd better close your mouth or you'll be eating flies for lunch instead of actual food."
Grumbling Kankuro followed after Mai and Gaara. The two were walking side by side down the hallways and although Gaara nodded at those who bowed when he walked past Kankuro could tell his attention was focused solely on Mai. When they got on the streets Kankuro was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he ran into someone.
Stumbling Naoki mumbled tired apologies as she bumped into someone on her way home from the hospital. She should have gotten off earlier in the morning but she had stayed later due to complications at the hospital. "Sorry," Kankuro grumbled when he noticed that it was the medic that had taken care of Gaara and Mai… Naoki, he remembered. Kankuro blushed as a certain memory came to mind but Naoki didn't seem to notice. Brushing herself off Naoki didn't realize who she had run into until Kankuro started apologizing. Gaara and Mai looked back, Naoki didn't seem to notice but Gaara saw that Kankuro was blushing faintly. Mai smiled underneath her mask, poor Kankuro looked like he didn't know what to do with himself while Naoki seemed so exhausted she could barely stand up straight. "Naoki," Mai started calmly, "would you like to join us for lunch?" Naoki stammered, "Uhh thanks, yes if it isn't too much trouble I would love to join you." Mai looked at Gaara and he nodded his approval. Mai turned with Gaara and they set off again to find one of the better salted meat stands that were in Suna.
Kankuro and Naoki trailed slightly behind making light conversation when they reached the stall they sat at one of the few benches that were under the shade of one of the umbrella's and ordered. Since Gaara had neglected to wear his Kazekage robe it took a few moments for the server to realize who he was attending to despite Gaara's unmistakable hair and the tattoo that hid underneath. When he did the poor kid could barely get a sentence out of his mouth. After they had all ordered they all talked quietly while they waited for their food. Mai looked at Naoki and noticed the shadows underneath the medic's eyes. Naoki looked like she was about to fall asleep at the table when an obnoxious giggle interrupted their conversation. Mai looked over and saw a group of girls gathered near the stall. 'Why were they just standing there?' Deciding she didn't care Mai sent a quick glare from underneath her mask at the girls and they all scrambled away. Kankuro looked at Mai for the second time that day with open mouthed amazement. "How did you do that?" He asked. Mai smirked from behind her mask, "that seems to be your favorite question today doesn't it?" Gaara looked at Mai and although he hid his astonishment better, he too wanted to know how she had gotten the group of girls to scatter.
"No seriously." Kankuro said, "I have tried everything short of throwing rocks at them to get them to leave but then they'll start giggling at me and blinking really weird. It's creepy as hell." Naoki snorted and coughed trying not to choke on her own spit. Gaara raised his eyebrows and looked at Naoki. "Are you alright?" He asked seriously not completely unaware of why the medic was choking. He could tell that she was amused by their behavior toward the annoying girls but he wasn't sure why. Quite frankly he had started to avoid going to his regular places to eat because they always seemed to be waiting for him. It was, as Kankuro had put it, creepy as hell. Thankfully their food came at that moment and they all ate in peace.
When they got up from eating Naoki stumbled from exhaustion. The others looked at her concerned and started to realize just how exhausted she was. Kankuro volunteered to help her get back to her apartment so the two split off and headed toward the south side of town. Watching them leave Mai spoke up. "I'm going to visit Fumio and see if the apartment is open for rent. Gaara nodded and decided to go with her. It wasn't like the paperwork on his desk couldn't wait and he really hadn't seen the couple for a while.
When they arrived Gaara remembered how long it had been since he had last visited the couple. It had been hard to make time to visit when he had become Kazekage. It didn't help that Matsuri acted strangely now whenever he was around. Remembering the reaction that he had caused the last time he was there he decided to leave Mai to greet the family on her own after he had said hello. They knocked on the door and he stepped back as Fumio came to the door. The man's eyes were weary and looked much older than Gaara remembered him to be. Gaara was about to greet him when Matsuri came to the door and started weirding him out. Moving slightly away from her Gaara left Mai to fend for herself with the manic girl and the exhausted elderly man.
Mai smiled underneath her mask while Gaara politely made his excuses and left before Matsuri could start drooling. When Mai looked back her smile was quickly pulled from her face. Fumio looked exhausted, no more than exhausted. He looked utterly defeated as if only a small breeze could break him apart and he would drift away as if he were made of sand. Mai quietly followed Fumio as he made his way toward the back of the house. "I'm sorry the place is a mess but I haven't had time to clean properly in a while with Akari being sick. Mai held her reactions in check as she pushed her shock down. "I wasn't aware I'm sorry." Mai said in a quiet voice. Fumio smiled sadly, "I was just glad that you came. She's been waiting for you." Mai furrowed her brow, why would Akari be waiting for her? The closer they got to the back of the house the stronger the scent of death and illness got. "Why is she not in the hospital?" Mai asked. "The doctors said there was nothing more they could do for her and since there's a new disease going around they didn't want to risk our exposure to it so we came home and made her as comfortable as we could. Someone from the hospital had been coming and checking on her everyday but they've already done all they could.
Matsuri, who had followed them up to this point was quiet now. Her somber mood getting to Mai and she turned away before she got close to the room, a bitter look on her face. Mai followed Fumio into the room and had to consciously stop herself from grimacing. The woman in the bed was a shadow of the woman Mai had known as Akari. She was thin and the harden arms and hands that had helped Fumio craft the toys they had sold where thin and frail now. No one would have ever been able to tell what they had been capable of now. Her face was more than thin it was skeletal and her skin tone was yellowish. Mai walked in and sat herself by Akari. Fumio moved to a well-worn spot on the older woman's other side. The same sorrowful smile graced his mouth as he picked up her hand and quietly talked to her. "Guess who's here dear." Without pausing he said, "Mai's made it dear. Now you can tell her what you've been so insistent on saying.
Akari opened her mouth and Mai had to lean closer to hear what she was trying to say. "You came back." Akari gave a frail smile that shone with maternal love. "People always return to where they're loved." Akari said and closed her eyes. Akari final breath passed through her body and she passed on with Mai still leaning closer to hear her. Mai's eyes widened as she looked at the now dead woman. Fumio gave Akari's hand a final squeeze and bowed his head in sorrow. "I'm glad she finally got to speak to you, now she can rest." Mai got up quietly and left the room in a daze. When she made it outside she didn't register that Matsuri had pushed by her and ran to Fumio and Akari.
She felt a sadness weigh her down deep inside of her. She couldn't process anything else. Akari had died, and her last words had been about her. Mai coughed out a hollow sob. She had left to protect those that she loved and yet they all seemed to die anyway. What had she done to deserve that type of love that the others had shown toward her? When had these people burrowed themselves so deeply into her heart that when one of them left to never be seen again it broke away a piece of her that could never be retrieved? It was so painful that Mai thought she herself would break apart from the pain that was in her heart… "People always return to where they're loved…" Mai choked out another sob and tried to numb herself like she did when her clan died. However, this time there was no anger to focus on no revenge; just the aching loss of another person.
Mai shook herself and started walking. She needed some time to clear her head of the grief that had taken ahold of her being. Even though her recently healed injuries groaned in protest she started walking slowly, not paying attention to where she was. She didn't even hear the sobs that still racked her with every step. She didn't know how long it had been but she was close to achieving the numbness that she had so wanted. She didn't feel the pain of Akari's death or the blood that had soaked through her bandages. She didn't even feel the tears that ran freely down her masked face.
