Suna no Mugetsu Re-ku
Immobilization of Fear
Fear...
Gaara knew he feared that person.
His mind knew that as soon as he looked up into that person's eyes, and he also knew his body could no longer take the stress. It wasn't just the stress of fear pounding in his heart, but also the pounding in his head. Everything was out of his control, and yet one thing the young shinobi had always been sure of was that he liked being able to control things, and know what would happen.
He didn't though fear Baki.
Baki came to his rescue, taking him from that person. Hanging limp from the older man's arms helped somewhat, but something told Gaara instinctively that Baki's control of the situation was also lacking. They arrived in a place, and Baki set him down. That person was still there, and they wanted him to take something. Baki however drank some as well, to prove it wasn't poison, and the boy took the drink.
That person though came into his view, and a hand reached out to touch him.
It happened more then once, and it seemed as if Baki were forced to back down despite his promise. The man however reached over to touch him again.
Fear.. to avoid one must kill.
Gaara tried forcing the thought to the back of his head, and jerked his head away as he felt the person's hand's touch the vest. The man's fingers pulled the piece of clothing that provided protection.
Kill...
The young shinobi darted up from where he sat, trying to get away from the object of his fear. A yelp escaped his lips as he put weight onto his injured arm.
Kill!
"Gaara!" The person spoke, and reached out to touch him again.
KILL!
Instinctively Gaara's hand raised up in the motion he used for his sand coffin, but nothing happened. Panic rushed through his body, and his breathing became raged. The next thing he knew something made contact with his face, and he found himself crashed against the wall, his entire body trembling. He could however hear Baki speaking. "Lord Rasa! This is why he fears you!"
"No, I don't want to kill. Not anymore."
Gaara's eyes snapped shut, and he tried to calm his breath down, remembering the technique Baki once told him long ago. He also felt his headache levitating, and tried to think of what he'd forgotten. His eyes snapped open upon as he felt someone removing his clothes, and not being at all careful of it. He felt his heart beat fast as he looked at the man. His mouth opened without realizing it, and the fear was evident in his voice. "Father..." The boy felt his throat tighten at that point. "I just want him to stop. He's hurting me."
"It will be alright, Gaara."
The young shinobi felt his eyes widened at these words, and his head tilted to the side. He felt a jolt again in his arm as the man tried to force his arm out of his upper clothing. Even though Rasa's attitude seemed different, his arm hurt. "Stop! Please!"
"Lord Kazekage..."
Gaara's eyes darted up to see that one of Rasa's man was speaking. "Not Baki?"
"Apologies Lord Rasa, but I think you're making the situation worse. His arm is injured." The young Shinobi watched as his father pulled away, and noted the look of displeasure on the man's face. The other man moved forward, and stopped short, a frown on his face. "Apologies again, but I need to cut this way."
The man pulled out a kunai, and cut away the sleeves of the coat, and shirt on the side where Gaara's arm was injured. The ripping sound made the young shinobi look away, and Gaara pushed his lips together. "Temari's going to be mad I messed up my clothes. Particularly since the coat she got me is wrecked."
The man removed the coat then by removing Gaara's good arm, and then carefully slid the coat over Gaara's arm. The teen looked down at his right forearm, and noticed the major bruising . He then winced when the man pulled up the under shirts, as cold air touched his mid section, and made him shudder. The man gently removed both arms, before touching the injury at Gaara's side. "I'm going to need to stitch this up, but I don't have anything to kill the pain. Do you think you'll be able to hold still on your own."
"Do I think so?" Gaara shook his head, and he felt his father move closer, while a frustrated sound left Baki's lips. He felt the man's arm press against his chest right under his throat, and he felt his back arch while Rasa placed the weight of his leg down onto Gaara's lap to prevent him from moving. The other person went to work, and the pain shot through his side as the man began to stitch up his side.
"Don't you dare cry Gaara. You are a shinobi, after all." Rasa's words stung.
"What's new about that though. He's always telling you things which put you down."
Gaara's eyes snapped shut as the man moved onto bandaging up his ribs, and hoped the pain would be over soon. "If I had my powers they wouldn't be able to cause such pain."
"Well, they wouldn't be able to heal your injuries either, but then you wouldn't have these injuries either."
The man spoke again. "Lord Baki, I am going to need you to hold onto Lord Gaara's right arm?"
"May I ask why?"
"Before I put his arm into a brace, since I can't put it in a cast, I am going to need to reset the bone."
"Then his arm is broken like I was afraid of."
"Yes."
"Apologies, Lord Gaara." The young shinobi felt Baki grab his arm at first in a gentle, soft manner, but the grip firmed up despite the fact Baki's movements remained much gentler then those of Rasa's. He then felt the man grab onto his lower arm, and then felt a twisting motion. The pain surged up his spine, and his body tried resisting the force Rasa placed on his chest, and upper legs, and a scream escaped his lips. Hot tears came unbidden, rolling down his cheeks, and his chin.
"Gaara..." Rasa seemed annoyed at the fact he couldn't stop crying despite the earlier lecture, and this tone remained as he continued to speak. "Never mind. There is no reasoning with you at this point in time."
The young shinobi felt his cheeks heat up from embarrassment, but his embarrassment grew as he found himself stripped of his clothing completely. Gaara's breath came out in a strained manner, as he attempted to not say anything in protest, lest Rasa give another negative remark. Baki however spoke to him. "Lord Gaara, they're taking your clothing to be cleaned, and you'll have it back after they're dried."
Rasa snapped at the other man. "Stop coddling him." A blanket hit Gaara in the face at that point, and the teen was sure it was his father who did this out of annoyance. "Get some rest."
Someone helped him lie down on the bedding, and Gaara closed is eyes. "Not that I can sleep."
"Come on. I no longer threaten to go berserk. I've given my word I won't take over."
"I've still got insomnia."
"What ever..."
Gaara's cheeks remained flared, and his anxiety didn't ease away as he knew that particular person was watching, and didn't know when Rasa would make some kind of remark. Somehow he managed to doze off, and when he awoke he opened his eyes to see his clothing sitting next to him, neatly folded. The young shinobi attempted to sit up on his own, but quickly found himself unable to lift himself up due to his injured arm.
His sea foam eyes glanced a bit farther, and noticed that Baki was sitting on his heels nearby, his eyes closed, but every indication that the man was remaining alert. The young shinobi reached out his good hand, and wincing as he rolled over onto his bad arm. He felt his dry clothes underneath him, and his pale fingers tugged at Baki's pant leg. The man's eyes darted open, and his hand drifted towards the place he kept his kunai, but seeing the young Kazekage made him stop.
"Lord Gaara?"
"Does father know? Did you tell him?"
Baki's eyes widened. "About what?"
"That the one who replaced him..." Gaara stopped short, before glancing away. Rasa was over speaking with a few of his men.
"No. None of your men have said anything, under my orders. That said, you remember?"
"Yes. It feels weird." The boy narrowed his eyes. "My head's kind of dizzy. I also think I'm going to need some help getting dressed."
"If I make the wrong move Lord Gaara, there is no telling how your father will react. His memories, well, he seems to also be having problems."
"Please. I don't want him touching me again. I just need help with the parts I can't do, including sitting up." Gaara glanced at the wall. "I'd rather do it on my own, but this is the first step I need help with." Baki let out a sigh, and reached over to lift Gaara up. The young shinobi felt a death glare sent their way, and he looked up to see Rasa wasn't at all pleased. "I'd definitely do the most I can on my own."
The boy reached first for his shirt, and gently pulled it over his broken arm, and over his head. He nodded his head over to Baki, and the man helped him to pull the shirt over his other arm. His hand reached up to touch the missing sleeve, before pulling his underwear and pants on as far as he could underneath the blanket, and he turned to look at Baki. "Could you lift me up a bit?"
Again, Baki complied, and Gaara felt his body relax once he could push the sheet away without any embarrassment about being naked in front of everyone. He wiggled his toes, wishing his shoes were somewhere, but he payed this no mind. The voice of his father drew his attention away. "Gaara?"
The teen looked up, and he let his mouth curl up slightly. "Lord Kazekage." His eyes darted away. "It is good to see you're well."
"You stabbed me in the arm awhile ago. I wouldn't exactly call that alright, Gaara."
"I'm sorry."
"What?"
"I said I'm sorry, for stabbing you in the arm. I didn't mean to." Gaara still couldn't look the man in the eye. "And that sounds like an utter lie to him, as I was never sorry for anything, and I meant to do a lot of things. What was I thinking I could accomplish by being the one to rescue him? I should have known that I'd never prove myself to him. Oh yeah, the monster, not wanting to get any of the people in Suna in trouble. And... he's still my father."
