Chapter 11
"Focus…Focus…Foc—"
"If you tell me to focus one more time, I'm going to drown you in black." Daagana's brilliant gold eyes snapped open and glared at Yuki. They sat crossed legged at Azumi's table. He had finally been allowed inside again, but only after he charged in, hearing what Azumi had said. Hearing what Daagana had said.
'Giia tried to kill me when I was seven'.
No one had ever told Yuki how Daagana had gotten her powers, and it wasn't his place to question his Kage. His orders were just to protect her at all costs…and to protect everyone else from her as well. It would seem the Sand Siblings had conveniently left out the part about her mother trying to kill her. In retrospect, everyone knew that Daagana was abused as a child, that piece of information was apparent by her obvious mommy issues but this…
"Well I wouldn't have to keep telling you if you would just do it." Yuki muttered. He sat on a cushion, holding out his hands about a foot from one another. Between his palms rotated a blue ball of Chakra. His family was not only famous for their 'Kyanseru', they were also known for being able to make their spiritual energy visible. So here he sat, with a radiant ball of Chakra between his hands, trying to help Daagana realize her Kekkei Genkai.
"Yes, because you telling me to focus over and over is going to help." She growled, but shut her eyes again in concentration. Azumi rummaged around in her back room, occasionally sticking her head out to see if her great-niece had made any progress. The point of this exercise, the grandma had explained, was for Daagana to manipulate someone else's Chakra, absorb and transform something other than her black, which didn't really count as spiritual energy anyway. Yuki always thought it had to be the opposite—irreverent energy, like Daagana alone was the Yin to a whole world of Yang.
For a fraction of a second, so quick he thought he imagined it, a whisper of black appeared in his Chakra and then disappeared. Yuki quickly looked up at Daagana but her eyes were still closed. In fact, her eyebrows were crashing down on her brow in an intense concentration. Beads of sweat slid down her temples and her lips were pursed into a pale line.
"Gana…" Yuki whispered, but it was like she didn't hear him. "Gana." He tried louder, but she didn't stir. "Daagana!" Yuki's chakra manifestation dissipated and he reached forward and grabbed her shoulder, shaking it.
For a brief moment after her eyes slid open, the entirety of her sclera was black. It covered her iris and descended into the black hole of her pupil…And then it was gone in a blink and she was staring at him, confused.
"What what what?" She shook her head and brushed his hand off her shoulder.
"You weren't answering." Yuki sat back on his pillow.
"Yeah," She jutted her chin out at him, "because I was focused." Yuki very much doubted that was the reason.
"Do they teach you in the sand to just give up when you are tired?" Azumi chided as she came back in the living room with a lacquered box in her hands.
"No!" Daagana snapped and crossed her arms. "I didn't give up. I just can't do it." Yuki gripped the hem of his pants to keep himself from saying anything. She could do it. She did do it. But the third part of Yuki's orders rang in his heart as he stared at his friend mutely: Protect her, protect others from her, and protect her from herself.
"Not quite as much natural talent as I was led to believe, hmm?" the old woman chuckled and sat the box down on the table. When I saw it, I knew instantly that: one, it was extremely important, and two, Azito had not been as big of a dick as I originally thought. The box Azumi placed on the table was identical to the box Azito had presented to me yesterday: Stained to a deep rich brown and engraved with the Arai clan symbol on the lid. "So you've seen one before." Azumi grunted as she sat down again, a bit more heavily than earlier. Her voice and her eyes masked the aging woman beneath. I smacked my hand of the table.
"Okay, enough. How are you reading my mind? Is that part of the Dark Release as well?"
"I'm not reading your mind, I'm reading your face, snippy child." She chided. "When your eyebrows shoot up like that it usually means something." I mentally checked my eyebrows and schooled my features into neutrality. "That's not going to help you either." Azumi chuckled at me.
"Whatever. What's in the box?" I crossed my arms with a humph. Her face still held the humor at my expense while she reached and lifted the lid of the laquered box. Inside, the lining was a crushed blue velvet and upon it sat a string of Hanasaka Lake Pearls. At least fifteen of them, strung on what looked to be fishing line. My jaw practically hit the floor. They varied in size, the front center being the biggest and grew smaller as they went back to the gold clasp.
Unconciously, my hand slipped into my pocket where the pearl Isao had given me was warm from traveling with me the whole time. I pulled it out to compare and couldn't help but feel a bit smug when I saw that my pearl was still just as beautiful as the necklace gems.
"Ahh, I see you have one of our own." Azumi nodded approvingly. Probably the first positive I had gotten from her since I arrived.
"Maeda Isao gave it to me. What's so special about them?"
"These pearls form in the clams of Hanasaka Lake and as such are in close proximity to the Hero Water. Because of this, they are different from regular pearls. They are excellent chakra conductors. Wearing them doesn't necessarily do anything for you either way, but some say that they make reaching your spiritual energy easier…cleaner." I fingered mine again, still loving the iridescent shine. "These pearls were given to my by my grandfather—"
"Azuki the First." I nodded and she smirked.
"Yes, as I am Azumi the Second, and you are Azreah the Third."
Azreah the Third.
How strange. "I would like you to wear them while we meditate." Azumi gingerly picked up the necklace and put it over my head. The beads were heavy and the weight felt foreign on my chest.
"I already tried meditation. I just can't do it. I'm too late."
'Late bloomers, the both of you'—
"Just because Yuki did not tell you doesn't mean it did not happen." Azumi slid her golden eyes over to the blue haired boy who pale considerably. I did the same and couldn't help but notice how he gripped the hem of his pants.
"Yuki—"
"It was very small and gone in an instant but…yes, you did do it."
"Why didn't you tell me when it happened?" I yelled but his face turnd angry.
"I tried but you were so far gone that you couldn't hear me!" He yelled back. Azumi stroked her chin in deep thought before getting up and rounding the table to sit beside me.
"Face me child." She said as she knelt down on a cushion.
"But—"
"And quit arguing. Goodness." Obediently I twisted around to face her. "Now put out your hands, palms down."
"Why—"
"Hush!" She snapped. Annoyed now that she wasn't answering any of my questions, I did as she said. I reached my hands out palms down and she mirrored me, but held her hands palms up. About two inches between us holding hands, our palms faced each other.
"Now what?" I wrinkled my nose at her, daring her to cut me off again.
"Now, Suna nin. Go find Shibuki."
"What?" Yuki asked.
"Tell him I need him." Azumi nodded and closed her eyes.
"I'm not leaving Daagana."
"Both of you, so defiant. We are simply going to meditate. We'll be right here when you get back."
"I don't—"
"Yuki just go." I told him and his eyes looked so betrayed. I had to close mine just so I couldn't see them. There was a brief moment when he just sat there, his angry breath sending my hair flying, but soon after he furiously stood and stormed out.
"I should hope your Kazekage is not as irritable." Azumi muttered and I choked back a laugh. Gaara, irritable? Nooooo. "Now then," She sniffed and readjusted herself in her cushion. "You may want to sit cross legged. We could be here awhile."
"What do you—"
As if on cue, the walls and floor began to flicker again. Between our facing palms, a small light blinked into existence and started to create little fairies made of chakra. The little orbs shot out in every direction, swimming up and around. In their wake were trails of chakra that shimmered like diamond dust and I strained my neck to watch them in their dance. At one point I leaned a little too far away and the connection between Azumi and I's palms bristled painfully.
"Sit still. We're not there yet." Azumi muttered but even then, she too, began to ripple.
"Not where?" I asked. Her face was becoming more and more blurry and it seemed like the only thing that wasn't growing darker was our hands, bright and shining like two stars in the night sky. "Azumi!" I cried as I lost sight of her completely. I tried pulling my hands away to bring her back into focus but they were stuck, like they were welded to each other by the spiritual energy. The wind began to pick up as the darkness swirled around us and I felt like I was at the center of a tornado! "Help! Yuki!"
"Shhh, be still. You are alright." The old woman's voice echoed around me like a ghost. My hair was whipping and stinging my face. I desperately leaned away, and squeezed my eyes shut…
And then all the world fell still.
A hawk cawed majestically over the arid landscape of the desert as Fugi sat meditating on a stone, overseeing the horizon. It was unusual for Hoichi not to send a message or be late, thus Fugi's delicately pointed ears were eager for any news. He embraced, for a moment, the thought of what would happen should his apprentice fail, but quickly buried the idea. Hoichi had been resolute, and Fugi had the upmost confidence that he would succeed in ridding the world of the menace that was now their Kazekage.
Suddenly, an unnatural swish of the sand brought his focus back to reality. He stood as, behind him, sand began to rise and form on its own. After a moment, the grains began to take shape and Fugi bowed as Sabaku no Gaara materialized before him.
"Lord Gaara."
"Fugi." The red haired boy acknowledged him and moved forward towards the edge of the cliff Fugi had been meditation on. "I would like to talk to you." The Kage said with his back facing the man.
"What about?" Fugi grimaced.
"I've always thought of you as a valuable citizen of the Hidden Sand." Fugi searched for the violence in Gaara's voice but found none as the desert hawk gave another lamenting cry.
"I am humbled." Fugi managed and even added a small bow for good measure. Where was Hoichi? What had happened?
"In the past, words like 'citizen' and 'friend' were just that…mere words that held no meaning to me. For a long time, even though I recognized these words, they were not part of my existence." Fugi wanted to close his ears and yell at this boy—this boy who was a monster! He should kill him here and now! But if he were discovered…his people would suffer at the hands of this beast until someone stronger could come along. So he simply said,
"Oh? And when did these concepts become real to you?" He tried to hide the venom in his voice, the sarcasm and the disbelief, and he feared he was failing, but Gaara did not seem to notice.
"Two years ago when I infiltrated the Hidden Leaf Village with the intent to destroy it. It was there that, for the first time, I met someone I could call a friend. Ironically, he was an enemy, a ninja from the Hidden Leaf." Fugi vaguely remembered reading Temari and Kankurou's mission reports, and the mention of such an encounter, but the boy's name eluded him. "Although he and I shared similar circumstances, he empathized with the pain of others and shared in their joy and tears. Meeting him made me realize how precious and important the word 'friend' actually is. It made me want to be like him…a human being who is valued and needed by others."
When Fugi looked up again, Gaara had turned around and was staring at him. He wasn't sure if the Kage was waiting for his answer or his confession, so again he played the safe card and said,
"Lord Gaara, you are and will always be a person who is essential to the Hidden Sand."
"And yet, all this time, I've been considered a military weapon to be feared."
"But that's—" Fugi tried to play the good advisor, to encourage him, but Gaara cut him off.
"There is no point denying it, I know the truth. If it were not so, my own father would not have tried to kill me six times." Fugi pursed his lips to keep from saying something he shouldn't. This whole conversation was beginning to feel like Gaara knew exactly what Fugi was going to do and say. Like the boy actually was something other than a weapon.
"I am also aware of the deeply rooted opposition to my tenure as the Kazekage. At first, I didn't know which path I should follow: Take the position or turn it down. It was a dilemma for me. But after my friend from the Leaf taught me about friendship, I thought it over again and decided that I wanted to heal the pain I had caused everyone. But it has been difficult to get the people of the Hidden Sand to believe that I am sincere.
For a time, I felt the wounds that I inflicted on my people would never be mended. I thought I should just disappear and then the fear would disappear as well…But I found that there were people who, without any prejudice, accepted my feelings. Matsuri…Shira….Daagana. These Shinobi have come to accept and rely on my guidance, and are maturing because of it." Finally Gaara met Fugi's eyes and he ultimately saw the truth: Gaara knew. He'd known all along. And that also meant Hoichi was probably dead.
"Those who wish to hunt me are free to do so, but do not involve my friends. I don't want them colored with hatred or vengeance.
There were times when I doubted myself as the Kazekage, but after meeting them, I realized that perhaps even someone like me could accomplish things. My goals are these," Gaara said and turned to walk back to where he had come into existence. "Erase the hate from Suna, create bonds with people I call friends and share in their joy and pain…
If you object, then take my head."