Black Roses666: wow…29 reviews? That's a…world record; in my book, anyways. Thank you people!
Greeneyedwolf: Well, I know it's sad but it's a part of the story. I cried while writing it!
Vibeke: Wahoo, a new reviewer! Thanks a lot!
Reiana: Thanks a bunch!
Lost Demon102: Hayayay…grabe ka naman…j/k! You know how much I hate speaking Tagalog XD Well, thank you friend…
Lonelyangel1413: Thanks a lot!
Animeotakufreak: Judging by your username…I'm honestly not surprised…
Kat: Don't worry, I didn't think of it as a flame. The weird thing is, I also felt weird whenever I used the word 'clamp' but then I couldn't think of any other word for it XP
Darklight03: Just say "I like this chapter" or "Update soon" and that is fine with me!
LooSUrxinxDiego: as I have said to CryOfTheGhost, it's okay if you don't cry.
DemonShadow Guardian: Well, it took me a while to think of that part, to be honest.
Pyro Hiei's-gothshadowdragonofhell: e…HERE YA GO!
Mina the Mischevious: Breathe, breathe you fool, breathe! Quick, we need CPR, but it's not gonna be me!
Animecrazy666: okay, first of all, it is all said on chapter 16 and if it isn't clear to you then it will show in the future chapters. Second, I didn't make her confess her undying love because it's too soon and because they were only starting to be friends that time. Third, there will be 33 chapters in here. Fourth, here ya go. –Deep breath-
Sailorkagome-chan: I enjoyed that scene as well.
YamiKitsuneKami: wait no longer!
White Alchemist Taya: I have noticed that as well XP
BloodHeron: Nice to see ya again! Also, yes, I cried at Gaara's past as well, and as for your soft spot for Olha, thanks for not being rough on her. You can't imagine HOW LONG it took me to think of her.
BrokenHeartAlchemist: Hey, I'm not the fastest typer around here, and besides, I enjoy taking my time.
Mizuki39andrea: Oh whatever, thanks for reviewing anyways!
Captain jimmy: Hurrah, now you may read and cry again XD
Adventurous Dream Girl: its okay to cry…it makes me feel happy to see people in pain! MWAHAHAHA! Ahem…yeah…
13thShadowKnight: Well, you've just made me feel special!
Paprika012345: Well, what's done is done and there's no use in shouting at him.
CryOfTheGhost: -sweatdrop- is it just me or do you make my circle of friends look…normal?
Silveprincess0001: Well, glad that you have your keyboard back. Oh, and you'll have to wait and see what happens.
Behind Crimson Eyes: -pat- -pat- it's okay…but hey thanks!
IceNight009: Actually, she did notice (read chapter 17 again)
Becomingthis: Don't worry its okay. It will be a happy ending!
AzArGuRl: Thankies!
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…plain and simple.
Warning: The next few chapters will be sad!
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21st Dance:Separation
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"Olha-chan, where are you? Olha-chan, stop hiding!" a small blonde called. Jue walked out of her home at dawn and searched the streets for the Mist girl. She looked from left to right, trying to find even a bit of the color blue.
Gaara watched her as she took a few steps on the streets, still wearing her small pajamas. He shook his head and jumped down in front of her. The seven-year old girl stumbled away from the Kazekage, but bowed right after getting her composure back.
He squatted down to the same eye level as her and ruffled her hair. She looked at him, eyes wide in shock.
"That girl you were calling…why were you looking for her…?" he asked, patting her head just how he had seen a mother do to her little child.
"Olha-chan…the Mist girl…told me to see her off today…" she stuttered, blinking her eyes. She was confused at the Kazekage. He was the notorious Gaara of the Desert, slayer of thousands, and here he was, acting like her older brother.
He felt his lip slightly twitch upwards as he resisted smiling at the little girl in front of him. He didn't know why…it was probably because Jue had the same bright blue eyes as the person she is looking for. "She had to leave on short notice…she'll come back eventually…don't worry…"
Her heart dropped like an anchor with a parachute (O.o;;;) "She left…already…? But she said that she'd leave at dawn!"
"D-don't worry…she told me that she's sorry and that…if you need anything, you can tell me…" he lied, thinking, why would Olha tell her to come out a dawn? It was probably because she knows that he knew Jue…or something similar to that…or maybe she's helping him with one of the things she asked him to do: redeem his name.
Jue's eyes sparkled. "Really…? Wow; thank you, Kazekage-sama!" she smiled at him.
If only Gaara was raised by a family that accepted him, he would've smiled back, but instead, his lips twitched upwards. Jue bowed once again and asked him to see her after her lessons in the academy so that he could train her. At the sight of his nod, she went off, back inside her home.
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It was dawn when both Olha and Ur arrived at the gates of their beloved village…or moreover, Ur's beloved village. The two stumbled as they arrived at the gates, proud of what hey have accomplished; running from Mist to Sand at midnight 'till dawn was the best record yet.
Some of the village watchers saw them coming and told everyone of their arrival. Everyone celebrated, holding out a feast for the Mizukage's son. As Ur was being interviewed by an uncountable number of fan girls, Olha slipped away from them all, stumbling on her feet, ignoring every glare and scowl from multiple passers-by.
She continued to walk, feeling eyes burn themselves in the many portions of her soul. She held the light blue book tightly in one arm as she unzipped her gray vest ad slid it from her shoulders, revealing the cursed Kanji wind symbol on her abdomen.
Throwing her vest into the nearest trashcan, she entered the gates of the one and only place where she could get away from all the hatred and sorrow. It was the first place that came to mind at her arrival in the Mist village; the cemetery, home of her dead friend.
Her eyes scanned around, thinking, does Sand have as many graves as this village?
She scowled at the sight of the grave of the man who attacked her when she was five, and started this whole mess (chapter 15). The man was buried like a martyr, like a hero, killed by a monster because of trying to save his village from harm. It disgusted her.
At last, she arrived to her destination…the grave of her best friend. She grabbed the nearest shovel and struck it into the soil. With that, she began to dig.
She went deeper and deeper until she heard the sound of wood hitting metal. With a smile, she cleared the rest of the dirt and laid her eyes upon a wooden casket with her friend inside.
Olha got her sky blue hat and placed it on top of the casket then began to shovel the soil back in the hole.
'I hope you're happy…'
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The genins sent to a D-rank mission had finally left the Kazekage's office. Gaara looked out of his window, at the village, taking a break from his work. It was noon, and he was hungry.
He stood and walked to the nearest place to eat, not expecting to meet his two siblings there as well. At the sight of him, the two ran to Gaara with four pieces of papers that seemed to be important documents.
"Gaara, we found something interesting!" Kankurou said, snatching the papers from Temari and properly arranging them.
"What…?" Gaara lazily asked, taking the papers from him brother.
"They are facts about Olha…" Temari continued, banging Kankurou on the head.
"I'll look at it, now, allow me to eat in peace…" the red head growled, not even bothering to scan through the papers until her took a seat.
The only time he read the files was when he was waiting for his meal. He narrowed his eyes slightly to see that the first page was a family tree…the Livarte family tree. He scanned through it until his eyes stumbled upon Olha's father's name.
'Olha's father had two wives…once gave birth to Olha, the other gave birth to Ur…the two aren't directly related then…but why would this be important…?'
Gaara placed the first paper down. The second one had the profile of the mother who gave birth to Olha.
'This woman is…from Sand! She was a Sand kunoichi who specialized in wind techniques…she was also a dancer…she was executed five years after giving birth to Olha because of the what…? The Livarte clan tradition…?'
He placed the data down and found the third page was the research paper on the Livarte clan, and their traditions.
'It says here tat a male Livarte must marry an outsider from his clan who specializes in other techniques. If the offspring of the wife follows her footsteps, the mother shall be killed and the child will have a doomed fate. On the child's eighteenth birthday, a ritual will take place and the child's abilities will go to the father, afterwards, he or she will be beheaded…wait…Olha's the offspring of the Sand kunoichi…and she specializes in her mother's abilities…not to mention she's seventeen meaning…shit…'
Resisting the urge to slam the table with his fist, he went on to the next sheet.
'Huh…? This is Olha's profile and…oh God…her birthday's next week! This is horrible…this is what she meant by dieing soon…she was going to be killed, and she would have no chance of coming back to Sand…she'll be gone from this world…'
That profile was the last of the documents given to him. He messaged his aching head as he read through everything one more time.
'I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner…'
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Olha wiped off the sweat dripping from her forehead as she piled up the last bit of dirt on her friend's grave. A family was passing by, probably heading off to see a loved one who passed away; then again, why else would they be in a cemetery? She acknowledged them with a nod and a small smile.
The family just gave her a mere glance and the youngest child amongst them stared at her.
"Mommy…? She's going to die, right?"
"Shhhh…don't say that in front of her…"
With that, the family left. Olha stared at her friend's tombstone and stood. After saying a short prayer, she left the cemetery and headed towards a place she was a bit too afraid to call 'home'. She accredited those who had a tiny bit of care in them to pass her a sad smile; but as for those who couldn't care less, a single tear would fall from her eyes.
"Stop it, Olha…" she whispered to herself, "You've wasted too many tears…"
Upon arriving outside her supposedly humble abode, she took in the scenery, knowing it would probably be the last time she'll ever see it, and went inside. She tip-toed inside the 'house-of-torture', hoping to her heart's content that no one was around; she went on hoping that everyone was still outside in Ur's party.
"And where exactly have you been, outcast?" boomed a female voice nearby.
Olha winced and froze before slowly turning her head towards her so-called 'mother'.
"It's none of your business, Tara."
"How dare you acknowledge me by my first name; I demand the utmost respect from you!"
"You aren't even my real mother you whore!"
"What did you say!"
Olha simply growled, did a courtesy, and disappeared into thin air (literally) only to reappear inside a dark, dungeon-like room with only a single barred window. She sat on a bed, not clearly seen by human eyes alone, but could be found by mere memory.
She knows perfectly well of her family's grueling tradition. It was sad, and she can tell you that first hand, but then she has to accept the fact that she must be the one to continue the whole thing. It was probably better for Gaara to allow her to suicide. She would rather die than to be sacrificed and give her power to the lowest form a human could be.
Now, she has to find a way to go back to Sand and run away from all this chaos, but much to her dismay, she is now going to be watched over on day and night. There was no escape from destiny, even if you hate it so much…
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Gaara looked out his window as he finished the last bit of his paperwork for the day. The sun was setting already and everything seemed to turn bright orange. He leaned back on his soft chair and stared at the wonderful sight.
He wondered; is Olha watching the sunset right now?
The red head shinobi shook his head, thinking, 'why am I thinking about her…? Oh, yeah, I couldn't answer her yes-or-no question and now she's gonna die…you are such a genius, Gaara. Why did you just make your life even more miserable than it already was…?'
He stood and started on home, regretting the fact that he did not answer her question when he had the chance.
Olha was going to die, and he hated it.
Most of all, he hated that fact that he was wishing that someone would smile at him the same way Olha did. Even as he trained Jue a few hours back, she smiled at him, but it wasn't the same as hers. No one had the same smile as Olha's…
No one would ever have the same, beautiful smile as her…
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The sun was setting as well in Mist, but Olha couldn't watch it. All she sees of the sunset is the orange ray of light coming from her window. Using it as her final source of light, she quickly whipped out her bright blue book and opened it underneath the orange glow in order to read, even just a tiny bit of the story.
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The orange glow of the setting sun was witnessed by both the sandman and the dancer. It didn't matter to them any longer how far apart they were. They still had the same sky above them, and there was still hope of them meeting once again.
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Olha remembered all those times with Gaara. She stared at the blackness that surrounded her.
'I have lived for 6567 days…and seven more until I celebrate my last day…I'm sorry I won't be able to keep my promise, Gaara…'
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Black Roses666: And this marks the end of this chapter. Sorry if there are typos but I am in a hurry. Tata! Please review! XP
PS: Hope you guys didn't cry!