Bam bam bada bam bada baamm! Bada bam bada bam bada BAM BAM!
Lol its just my little celebration on getting the 10th chapter out. Gosh its my first fanfic and I already got it up to the big 1-0 !!!
I actually don't know how long the story is going to be, depends on how my brain works its stuff. But I'm sure it'll continue on for quite a bit don't worry :D
Ok, so I'm kinda new to the fanfic stuff, and when I first went around reading stories I didn't know most of the lingo like OC, otaku, lemons, fluff and flames (seriously, for the first timer you all sounded like crazy people). SO I thought I'd give it a shot in telling you now from this chapter on there is going to be some serious FLUFF. Lol hope that makes you happy.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Frightful shrieks and howls of horror filled the air.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
The sight of burning flesh, congealing blood and rotting carcasses met her innocent eyes. People desperately ran in every direction but she paid no attention to their cries of help, too distraught by the events unfolding.
Walls were caked in blood. Iwa nin ran around hunting down their prey with malicious expressions upon their murderous faces.
No, this can't be happening.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
It was Suna's marketplace, she pieced together, catching one shinobi monster shove his hands straight into his victim's chest and prying out their heart. She could only look on helpless, frozen in fear.
Which side am I on?
The lifeless body slumped to the cold ground, of no interest any longer.
Takamura-san?
Breathe in. Breathe out.
She heard a recognizable scream, and turned around slowly to find Aiko being speared against the wall of a familiar restaurant she use to eat at during her breaks. The poor girl's eyes rolled around in their sockets and a stream of blood poured from her mouth like a deathly fountain, her hair hung limply from her skull which framed the haunting image and engrained it painfully in her memory.
She felt a scream build up but it never quite came, she was too scared to scream now.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Just then the scenery changed, the battle cries were now in the background. She was in a room guarded by Iwa nin and right in front of her stood the Tsuchikage himself smiling at her warmly. Proudly. Thanking her on behalf of her village. She had done well.
Before him kneeling hopelessly on the hard floor was the Kazekage, his distinct dark red hair fell over his face in despair, shielding his expression from her.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
The Tsuchikage turned his attentions to the disheartened ruler and unsheathed a katana she had not seen when first arriving. His expression turned as cruel as his minions wreaking havoc down below and he raised the hilt manically. The Kazekage stayed completely still, awaiting his death like he had already given up hope.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Just as he was about to strike, he halted midair and slowly, lecherously latched his possessed eyes on her.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
He beckoned. She came. He placed the cold katana in her terrified, incapable hands, urging her to do what they had all been waiting for. She deserved it.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
Facing the man kneeling before her she shakily lifted her hilt.
I can't do it.
I must do it.
Breathe in. Breathe out.
It was above her head now.
Breathe in.
She hesitated. He lifted his head in a split second, facing her fully so she could see the sadness in his eyes. They were no longer sharp and piercing. They were dull and grey. They taunted her, questioned her lifelessly. He gave one final and most heartbreaking look and she could feel the lump build up in her disloyal throat.
I'm sorry. I deserved it.
Breathe out.
"Kumiyo stop. Wake up. Shhh it's ok." a deep, even voice rang out in her consciousness.
Kumiyo's eyes flew open in a frenzy and she clung on even tighter to Gaara's bed sheets, her grip on his hand also intensifying. Her breath came out in pants and her heartbeat was racing, a lone tear found its way out of her panic-stricken eyes.
Unsteadily locking onto his eyes, her mind registered his presence.
"I'm so sorry" she whispered, remembering the helpless look scarred on his face.
Gaara's expression clouded with concern and he continued stroking her hair reassuringly.
"It was just a dream" he calmly comforted.
Kumiyo blinked for a few moments and seemed to pull herself together, wiping away her tears hurriedly and soothing her troubled breath. However, she made no move to pull away from his embrace.
That's right. Just a dream. Not real
Looking at him now collected and slightly embarrassed she sniffed.
"I must look like a complete idiot now" she confessed, her cheeks flushing lightly.
He only smiled back at her, relieved that she had returned to normal.
Leaning back slightly to stretch out her sore muscles and rub the sleep out of her eyes, Kumiyo realized she had slept on Gaara's stomach and was half splayed out on his bed. Her amber eyes widened in distress.
"Oh I'm sorry, I used you like some pillow" she apologized, fumbling to straighten out the mess she made.
He just squeezed her hand in response, unable to wipe the smile off his face
"And I could have irritated your wound" she carried on, instantly moving to check on it.
Gaara watched her as she pulled back the covers to find his bare chest half wrapped in clean bandages.
"Oh good" she replied, averting her eyes hastily, obviously mortified with her brash actions.
Gaara had to resist the urge to chuckle at her early morning antics, but had to admit he liked her this way.
"It's healing up pretty fast thanks to you"
This time she really blushed.
"It was nothing. Honestly I don't know what came over me when I saved you. I guess we were just lucky" she finished, giving him the smallest of smiles.
He tugged on her hand, still clasped in his, to draw her attention. When their eyes locked he gave her a serious look, telling her that he was truly grateful.
"How much damage did it do to you?"
Panic flashed deep in her amber eyes.
"Very little, I'm fine now" she lied, shooting him a weak smile.
"The doctor said you nearly killed yourself"
Realizing he had her cornered she admitted ruefully.
"It was just… a lot of pain"
Gaara just looked at her, apprehension plastered over his somber features.
"You didn't have to do that for me. It was reckless and dangerous"
"Yes I did" she retorted resolutely, her amber eyes aflame.
A silence fell upon them as the rest went unsaid.
No longer wanting to stay on the subject for fear of having her feelings discovered, Kumiyo stood up quickly, unknowingly straining her unhealed muscles. A small wince escaped from her mouth but she stubbornly continued to stretch them out painfully.
"I can't have you working like this"
She gave him a look.
"Gaara, I'm a medical nin. I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, the muscles are just sore, it'll go away after a few more days."
Kumiyo looked at him expectantly, waiting for his response, but he just stared at her silently.
"What?" she asked confusedly.
Gaara didn't want to point out to her that she had called him by his first name without the honorific; he liked how it sounded coming from her lips. What he liked even more was the fact that it came so naturally to her, she didn't even realize it.
"Nothing" he murmured.
Suddenly he felt overwhelmed with feelings of want; want to know all there was about her, want for her to continue to depend on him.
Gaara had already deduced he was attracted to her, but this propelled that attraction to a whole other level he wasn't familiar with. It was much more than merely wanting to be close to her now and that thought scared him to no end.
At that moment, Gaara felt like he had crossed a threshold, one which would lead him on an unclear path. He didn't like not knowing where he was going, but there was something about Kumiyo which overrode all rational thought from him mind, leaving him with nothing but pure want for her.
A week had passed since she spent the night at his house, and Kumiyo had continued her nightly visits as often as she could at his request, though as hard as she tried to ignore it, she too wanted to see him.
Apart from the obligatory checking up on his wound, she would usually get drawn into one of many mindless conversations they seem to stumble upon with ease. Sometimes they were personal; about their pasts, their goals. Sometimes they were about the little, insignificant quirks in their lives, the topic was never the same. But that didn't mean that the conversation was always alive and flowing.
It was something they both took their time with like long, euphoric drags of a cigarette. Sentences were spoken in comfortable murmurs, Kumiyo curled up snugly in the chair whilst he was propped up on the bed.
The time spent had its share of laughter and reflective silences, smiles and frowns, but it was all shared at perfect ease, both of them just content to be in each other's company.
To Kumiyo it was much more intimate than normal, everyday chatter. Every time they spoke it was as if they were revealing parts of themselves to each other; slowly, contemplatively giving each other time to absorb.
However, she had gotten so distracted by work, and their talks that she hadn't being moving forward with her mission. She wasn't even thinking like a spy anymore, every piece of information that got to her was no longer seen as possible intelligence to report or opportunities to gain valuable data.
Kumiyo hadn't noticed her change of mindset until a fateful call that afternoon brought the thoughts on the operation running back to the forefront.
"What is going on over there, you haven't been reporting anything for a while now. Have you run into trouble?"
She stumbled over her words.
"It's nothing I can't handle"
"Contact us if you run into more danger"
"Of course. Sir?"
"Yes?"
"What is the Tsuchikage planning to do with this information?"
A grave silence fell over the receiver.
"You know you are not authorized to hear that level of information. It goes against the very idea of having a spy, if the enemy were to find you…" the voice on the other end sounded cold, distant, suspicious.
But they aren't our enemies
"Hai, gomen. That was out of line"
The rest of the day passed much too fast and uneventful for Kumiyo to take notice of it.
She had dejectedly come to the conclusion that she should sever all contact with the Kazekage and get back to doing her job.
Going down that path could only end badly she convinced herself.
She knew it was true, not only would it jeopardize her mission but it would end up hurting them, and that would undoubtedly lead to a great tension between the two countries. Kumiyo couldn't allow herself to be responsible for the suffering of innocent people just so she could have a short-lived relationship.
You're doing the right thing she chanted in her head, trying to block out the aching hollowness enveloping her chest.
"Oh Kaori!" cried a weary doctor prepping for surgery.
Startled out of her thoughts, Kumiyo turned around to see said doctor walking over to her.
"Hai"
"Do you think you could go over and change the Kazekage's bandages for me? I'm busy for the rest of the night, plus it shouldn't be too hard" he instructed already walking away, leaving an unnerved Kumiyo staring after him.
"Oh and don't forget to check his vitals, thanks!"
Kumiyo slowly removed her nurse's cap, sighing deeply and shifting her eyes upwards.
Of all the possible punishments…
At exactly the same time on the opposite side of Suna, the Kazekage gave a similar sigh accompanied by a deep groan in irritation.
Gaara resignedly put down the same sheet he had been re-reading for the sixth time that day and his hands decided to try and rub the tiredness from his eyes as well as ruffle up his hair. Once he had tried that he blinked a couple more times before shifting his turquoise eyes to the matter at hand.
The spy.
It was Gaara's top priority at this point, as the village was regaining its equilibrium rather quickly. The sneaky mole had been cleverly lying low for the time being, making him especially hard to track and sniff out.
Lying in front of him was Masakazu's report basically concluding that none of the jounins stood out in particular as a spy.
Which leaves the hospital staff and my advisors.
Since Gaara had not been able to work and keep tabs on his advisors, he thought he could try going through their individual files to see if anything from their past behaviour and actions might point out the more likely suspects. However, that too had been drawing a blank.
Of course from personal experience he could pick a few who he thought were quite against him being Kazekage, however he also knew they would never betray Suna in order to get their way.
It doesn't matter. The most suspicious of all the possible groups would have to be the hospital staff.
He frowned, because although that was true, it meant that it would be especially hard to effectively find the bastard now. There were far too many medical nins, hygienists, receptionists and cleaners involved with the Suna hospital, each with the same probability of being the mole.
It never once crossed his mind that Kumiyo was one of them.
Leaning back in the chair and swearing profusely, Gaara decided to calm down by grabbing some food from his kitchen downstairs.
On any other night, Temari would have eagerly made him his dinner but he had finally convinced her to go home to her family that morning, she was almost due to give birth and he knew how important it was for her to be with her husband and children when that happened.
Making his way down the sandy steps, not even bothering to be careful with his wound now that it had practically fully healed, he caught a small knocking on his door.
Must be Osumo-san he thought absentmindedly.
Wandering over to the front door, not bothering to cover the rest of his chest with the robe, he opened it forcefully.
"Konbanwa Osu-" he paused as piercing turquoise met with a familiar warm amber.
"Kumiyo" he couldn't help but grin.
Just what I needed (a/n: I could just leave you here, and in any normal occasion I would. But since it's the 10th chapter I'll be nice :D)
Kumiyo hadn't expected him to be the one answering the door, so when he gave her that boyish grin all she could do was smile right back.
"Gaara, you shouldn't be walking around this soon. Where's Temari-san?"
"I sent her home to be with her family, and I'm fine, I've been walking around like this for a few days now"
She eyed him unbelievingly, suddenly averting her eyes when she caught sight of his bare chest. A slight flush tainted her cheeks and his mood lightened instantly.
"Um. Osumo-san sent me here tonight to take care of your bandages since he's preoccupied" she mumbled following him into the house.
"That's good. I was hoping you'd drop by" he said over his shoulder as he continued walking toward the main room, suddenly forgetting about food.
"Have you tried stretching a little, or is it still too sore?" Kumiyo questioned, putting on her nurse voice.
This has to stay professional.
Gaara sat down on the sofa and pulled his legs up whilst propping his back up with a pillow, making room for Kumiyo to sit on the edge and treat the sealed gash.
"Its sore but I can stretch pretty well" he replied getting comfortable.
Kumiyo got out her kit and plopped down next to his hips. Removing some of her equipment, she could feel his eyes watching her every movement unabashed.
"What about your bruises?" she asked, attempting to keep the conversation on safe grounds.
"Gone" he answered unflinching, never taking his eyes off her.
All set and prepped, Kumiyo's muscles stiffened at the realization of what she had to do. Looking back into his intense gaze, she didn't think she could manage saying another word.
So instead she went right ahead.
Tentatively moving her hands over his steady shoulders she carefully slipped the robe off. Complying with her actions, Gaara helped her shift it so that the bandage was in plain sight.
Breathing in, she looked at it nervously. Tension filled the air, and all Kumiyo could hear was the thump thump of her pounding heart.
Reaching out to remove the old bandages, her small fingers brushed over his skin and they tingled all over. Shakily carrying on, she slowly started unwrapping it. Every so often her fingertips would accidentally skim his smooth chest, and she was sure she looked like a right idiot.
The heat was rushing to her face, but she carried on with her movements, while he stayed calm and still, just observing her.
Once she finished unwinding it, Kumiyo dumped it on the floor and undid a roll of clean gauze, just glancing up at him briefly but immediately regretting it.
His dark crimson locks had fallen slightly over his face, it was messy but it gave him a rugged edge that she found overpowering. Quick to break the gaze, her eyes trailed down to his torso, taking in the sight of his wound.
There now remained a large scar over his chest and around it small blotches of pink raw skin which was still healing. Strangely, she didn't find it ugly or gruesome.
Unable to control herself, her fingers reached out once again to softly trace the scar. She then placed her palm right over it, as if believing it would make everything better.
Silently, she felt his hand encircle her, finally rested on the small of her back.
Reflexively, she pulled her palm away but he was too fast and caught it, gently guiding it back over his warm chest.
Kumiyo's eyes darted up to meet his, slightly scared. Her breath came out ragged and the only thing keeping her sane was the steady beat of his heart under her hand.
What she found in his pools of turquoise took her breath away. They were darkened and heavily hazed with desire, however it wasn't animalistic and powerful like she had thought. There was a touch of sincerity held within them as if he were asking her permission to continue, and when she nodded she saw the pair glaze over in pure want. Want for her which left her feeling exposed, bare. But she didn't care anymore as his lips glided over hers in a mind-blowing kiss.
Hehe, I thought it would be nice to have their first real kiss in this one, that's why it's so long.
I'm sorry for the wait; it's a combination of being busy and having trouble writing. yesterday it was all ready but my stories page was screwed up
I'll try to get in another chapter tomorrow, but after that I'm going on vacation for a week without the computer.
:D sorry. I probably won't be able to get you anything until the 20th. But don't forget about me!!
Read and review to your hearts content nudge nudge