A/N: FINALLY! I got this chapter working. This chapter is a little longer than normal. Dunno how it happened, but it did, though I'm not really complaining all that much. Added stuff that I never expected to and now have to rewrite like four chapters just to add in the new stuff I put in here. All because I was starting (originally) chapter 24 and one dumb sentence made me go back and rewrite nearly this entire chapter so that ONE sentence had validity.
Anywho, the assassins are gonna start making their comeback in a few chapters which I can't wait for. Once they make their full return, there's gonna be action. Action yeah! Enjoy!
Setsuko had finally slowed her pace to a casual walk, timidly, but excitedly, looking at everything that was on display in the shops. The decorations were all spring themed which meant, soft pastel tones and lots of flowers. Looking up, each lantern was white with pink cheery blossoms on them and the streamers were a mix of gold, white, pink and green. Looking around, her eye was caught by a single shop with large bouquets on display in obvious celebration. There were lilies with baby bonnets, roses with lavenders, orchids with daffodils; the arrangements were endless. Yamanaka Flower Shop. She smiled to herself and walked in to take a look around.
Inside it was just as festive with even more arrangements than there were outside. Standing at the counter was a single girl with long, bleach blonde hair in a ponytail; bangs covering one eye. Her skin was fair and her eyes were blue. She wore a deep red yukata with a distinctive and contrasting sakura tree on it; blossoms falling from the branches like an invisible wind were carrying them away. The obi sash around her small waist was a corresponding pink to match the blossoms.
"Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop! I'm Ino, how can I help you?" she greeted with a sweet smile.
"I'm not sure actually. Although I love the arrangements, they're absolutely stunning," she replied.
Ino eyed the girl, someone she had never seen before. "Are you new in town?"
"Is it that obvious?" Setsuko blushed lightly, her fingers resisting the urge to fidget.
The girl laughed and stepped out from around the counter. "Kind of." She walked over to an arrangement of lilies, all of whom were in full bloom and showing off their brilliant white and yellow colors.
Setsuko watched silently as she cut the stem short and seemed to spruce it up just a bit. Ino walked over, standing eye to eye with her and slowly reach over to place the flower in her hair.
"It's in honor of the festival." She placed the flower in her platinum hair at an angle that only seemed to bring out her natural beauty even more. "There, now you look ready to enjoy the festival."
She held up a mirror, smiling and it only grew bigger when Setsuko gasped. "Are you sure?! I mean, I would feel wrong just taking this from you."
Ino set the mirror down. "But you're not. I'm giving it to you."
"Oh thank you!" Setsuko squealed happily as she gave a happy clap. Turning on her heel, she quickly made her way and back onto the street.
With her fingers absentmindedly playing with the ends of her hair, she continued to make her way through the festival to find Temari. There were so many stands where people could play games, most occupied by couples. Temari was right; this really did seem to be a festival of love. She had seen so many couples on her walk through the village and each stand seemed to be overrun by them. Watching as boyfriends tried to win prizes for their girlfriends, Setsuko felt a swell of loneliness hit her. Although it never showed on her face or in her demeanor, she felt it. It would have been nice to spend her time with someone special during this joyous time.
Almost as if a beacon to her, from a distance she saw Temari. Standing feet away from the group, she was surprised to see Gaara and his older brother Kankuro with the small group. She could see Kankuro standing a little ways away trying to pick up on a cute girl, Temari and Choji were playing some kind of game she couldn't make out, Shikamaru was standing behind them with a bored look, and Gaara was a little off to the side, his arms crossed defiantly across his chest. He looked utterly bored and unimpressed with everything going on around him, barely paying any attention to the people he was with. She watched as Shikamaru seemed to start a half hearted conversation with him; watching his head move in response to whatever they were talking about.
Gaara could feel eyes on him during his small talk with Shikamaru. The guy didn't say much so Gaara didn't have any problems with him and the sarcastic comments he made about the game he was watching his sister play. His eyes looked around, trying to find out where the staring was coming from when his body froze. Shikamaru looked over at his sudden rigid stance and followed his gaze lazily. Standing feet away from them, watching them, was Setsuko. Her long hair was a cascade of curls flowing down her back and just under her butt, a single white lily pinned in her hair to accent her pale beauty. Even though technically her eyes always kind of sparkled because of their shade, they seemed especially hypnotically mystical with the light bit of makeup that was barely noticeable on her face. The yukata she wore was short, coming just above her knees. Its beautiful deep, dark, navy blue color looked like the night sky which was only made even clearer with the sweet, light blue stars that lined the hem and sleeves of the outfit. The accompanying obi sash was a light purple color mixed with white to contrast the heavy darkness of the blue.
Even though he didn't know her and she wasn't really his type, Shikamaru had a hard time tearing his eyes away. Gaara was just, frozen. He didn't know what to say or what to do as she slowly made her way over to them. What he did know was that all the anxiety he had been feeling since she left the village had suddenly disappeared. Her beauty was something he had never seen before. He felt his breath hitch in his throat as he watched the bounce in her curls and the slight sway in her hips. No, he was being ridiculous! He didn't have feelings for people. He didn't like people. What he had felt for Hui was mere physical attraction that much he had figured out. He wouldn't allow himself to be swayed by her icy beauty. The thought of her chilling touch sent an unnoticed shiver down his spine.
"Thank goodness I finally found you guys! I've been running around this village all day trying to find you guys." She laced her hands behind her back and smiled at those that were paying attention, namely Gaara and Shikamaru.
"What took you so long anyways?" Shikamaru asked, wishing he had pockets in his olive green yukata.
"I accidentally ran into this really creepy woman and then I checked out the Yamanaka Flower Shop." She pointed to the flower in her hair.
Shikamaru's eyes wandered to the flower she was pointing to. "I assume Ino gave that to you then." It was more a statement then a question.
She nodded happily, "Yes, she did!" She turned to Gaara, giving him a perplexed look. His eyes were just focused on her, unmoving, unblinking. "Gaara, when did you get here? I wasn't aware you were coming."
He didn't say a word. It was like he didn't even hear her.
"I invited him." Temari suddenly cut in, hanging on her brother with a cheeky grin. "He was so lonely back home that I thought a nice outing with friends would do him some good." She playfully winked at Setsuko who blushed lightly and looked away nervously.
Again, he said nothing. He didn't even flinch when Temari slung herself around him.
"Well if Gaara isn't going to say anything, I will." Kankuro slid up to Setsuko who looked at him oddly, her eyes shifting from side to side rapidly. She wasn't sure what was going on. He took her hand gingerly, causing the tiniest of gasps from her and was about to say something when he was torn away by his sister.
"Oh stop it Kankuro, you're weirding her out!"
"I am not! I making the mood."
"The mood to want to slap you maybe."
"What do you even know Temari? You're too much of a guy to understand anything."
"Then how do you?"
Kankuro had no comeback for that. Even if he did think of one, he was seconds to late to deliver in and hurt her pride so he shut his mouth.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." She turned back to Setsuko who had an amused smile on her face at their sibling banter. "Besides," she paused and shoved Gaara hard enough to where he stumbled and toppled onto her. "We're gonna have to run for our lives now."
Setsuko shrieked as Gaara fell on top of her, blushing all the while. Temari and the others had already left by the time she was able to look away from his own startled eyes. Her gaze slowly traveled back to Gaara's face, swearing she could see red tainting his rather pale face. Was he embarrassed? It wouldn't really matter because she was sure she was embarrassed enough for the both of them. She could feel her face burning as she stared up at him. She didn't have to look to be able to know where each part of his body was against hers. His arms were on either side of her neck, right at her shoulders, one leg was between hers while the other was beside it, and his hips were almost square with hers, although with the few inches difference in their height he was just a little off. She could feel his breath against her face, the smell of spices, mainly cinnamon touching her cheeks.
Gaara was caught off guard as he was thrust into Setsuko's body by his sister. With no time to react, he was toppling over the girl and hearing them run away. He was able to brace her fall the slightest of bits by placing a hand behind her head so she wouldn't hurt herself. As he made his way to get up, placing his hands on either side of her, he was caught by her eyes. His own traveled over her face, noticing how her hair fanned out around her shoulders and the red color now replacing her normally pale skin. Her eyes glimmered with nervousness and something he couldn't quite make out. The exhale of her shaky breath mingled with his before the scent of spearmint hit his senses. In this position how could he not stare at her? He wanted to graze his fingers along her cheeks, feel that sting her touch always brought him, but he stopped himself. How could one girl do so much to him without doing anything at all? Did he love her? It was unclear at this point, but she certainly made strange thoughts run through his mind and cause his body to want to disobey him. He felt her shift under him, making it painfully obvious how close they were. Taking in a deep breath, he finally, and reluctantly, tore himself away.
"My sister is an idiot." His words were cold as always. He stuck his hand out, offering to help her up.
Setsuko hesitantly took the offer feeling all his muscles do the work to get her on her feet. "Uh…yeah, I uhm, I kind of gathered that."
There was a silence between them; an uncomfortable one.
"We should catch up to them right?" Setsuko couldn't stop the incessant pounding her heart was doing. Having been so close to Gaara just seconds ago really jarred her.
He nodded quickly, turning on his heels and following the direction they had taken. He need to put distance between them or his mind might explode.
"Oh, Gaara wait!" she called after him, running to catch up with him.
Catching up to him, she glanced at him from the corner of her eye. His arms were crossed across his chest like always and his expression was emotionless, like always. Even though his person gave away no hints, the air around him was anxious and confused. Something had to be bothering him. Although she wanted to know, she couldn't muster the courage to ask him about it; besides, he'd never tell her anyways. She let her gaze drop to her feet. She had come to the realization that she had missed him and indeed had feelings for him, but that they would never be returned. He wasn't the type of person to allow himself the openness of something like that. As her mind drifted from thought to thought that only made her more and more depressed, she slowed her pace to where she was now walking behind him.
He watched her watch him, discreetly. What was she thinking about while she stared at him? When her eyes left him, he wanted to ask what was wrong but he wasn't a man of many words or emotions. His mouth refrained from asking anything and just continued to watch her. Her pace had begun to slow, her eyes looking sad and strangely, rejected. What was she so upset about suddenly? He hadn't said anything to her so it couldn't have been his fault. Did something happen to her while he wasn't around; something bad? Why was he acting like she was a helpless child all the time? He rolled his eyes at his own question. Of course he knew the answer, he wanted to take care of her, make sure she was alright. He was confused again.
The two teens finally caught up to the others who were in the midst of playing a game involving fishing for magnetized fish to win a prize. Despite how simple it sounded, it seemed harder than it looked as many children walked away disappointed they hadn't won anything. Temari and Choji were once again the only ones playing, however Kankuro and Shikamaru were both cheering for them. In the end, Choji hooked a fish that had the number six on it, while Temari ended up with one that had the number one. Gaara watched with a blank look, not understanding their fascination with wanting to play simple games like these, and wondering how they could even be considered entertaining. Setsuko on the other hand, joined in the cheering rather quickly, jumping onto the two boys with exuberant excitement. His sea green eyes blinked in startled surprise at her sudden burst of energy.
"Oh, let me try! Let me try!" she exclaimed as she slid away from the two boys and plopped down next to Temari and Choji with a large grin.
The man that was running the game smiled at her. "Well hey there little lady! Want to give it a try do ya?"
Setsuko nodded her head of curls vigorously. "Yes sir!"
The man laughed heartily, "That's the spirit!" He handed her a small fishing pole. "Alright young lady, this is how it works. You get three tries. There is a number system of 1-15. One through five is the smallest prizes, six through ten are medium prizes and eleven through fifteen are the largest prizes. But!" He paused, holding up a finger and winking, causing Setsuko's breath to hitch curiously. "There are three special prizes marked by the red circles. Get one of those and you could win something even bigger!"
"I wonder what they could be!" Excitedly, she looked through the small buckets of fake fish, looking for just which one she was going to try and catch.
Everyone behind her, except Gaara, cheered for her. Their excited shouts drifting onto deaf ears as she thought long and hard about where she would place the fake fishing pole. Her eyes held fast with determination as they flickered through the many buckets and the many fish. There were only three with the red circles on them so she would have to choose wisely. That was easier said than done though. With, one, two, three, six buckets, her chances weren't good. Her eyes flashed a moment when she saw a kid throw in his pole and one fish bobbed to the side before correcting itself. It had a red circle on it! Her eyes were focused as she reeled back the pole and threw it in, watching the singular fish intently. She watched as it slowly bobbed closer towards her line before a wicked grin spread from ear to ear.
"Gotcha!" she shouted as she moved the line the tiniest of bits before pulling it out. Her face was beaming as she caught the little fake fish and held it out for the man to see. On its belly was a red circle staring back at him.
"Well what do ya know? We have a winner!" His face lit up almost as much as Setsuko's did when he spoke his words.
There was a childish squeal from Setsuko. Beside her, each of her friends was curious as to what kind of secret prize await her. Gaara stood off to the side, watching from the corner of his eye. She looked so happy; so carefree. Why couldn't he be that open with his emotions? He was no longer plagued by the murderous voice in his head and no longer thought of as a monster. So why was it still so hard for him? Temari was gently shaking Setsuko in blissful glee as she was surrounded by excited cheers. She looked so proud of herself. He watched as she talked to the man and he motioned for her to go around to the back of his stand where his wife would help her pick out one of the three prizes awaiting her.
"Hey Gaara!" She was suddenly in his face, something he did no expect.
His eyes looked at her with a bit of a startled look, blinking. They followed every movement as she bounced up and down on her heels in front of him.
"Come with me to pick out a prize!" She grabbed his hand and drag him off with her to pick out a special prize.
He was a little taken back by this apparent want of hers to have him join her. "W-wait!" his voice wasn't even heard as it stuttered out the word. Glancing back at the others, he saw nothing but smiles on their faces as they watched. Did they know something he didn't?
The teens rounded the corner and found themselves standing at the back door of this small stand. Gaara looked down, Setsuko had yet to let go of his hand. Shifting his gaze back up, he watched as an older woman opened the door with a joyful, warm smile. She welcomed them to follow her and Setsuko was once again dragging him against his will. Inside was nothing special. It was lit well but it was small; like a storage shed. There was another door that led to the festivities outside and just to the left there was a small table with three prize choices. Finally Setsuko let go of his hand and walked up to the table, peering down at them while he hung back and crossed his arms.
"Hm, which should I chose Gaara?" she asked curiously, a finger to her chin.
He grunted a response at her.
She giggled at him, amused by his attempts to ignore her. "So very informative. Lets see…" Her words trailed off as she continued to look from item to item. "There's…Oh! Two tickets to a resort in Shubuka Town!"
Gaara stiffened in embarrassment as he felt his face start to burn. Glancing over to Setsuko, he prayed that she wasn't looking at him right now. Thankfully she wasn't, too immersed in happily staring at the tickets and looking through the two other items. Staring at the look on her face, his mind began to race with thoughts that would make anyone blush. Closing his eyes, he scoffed and looked away from her, trying very hard to push the thoughts away.
"Hm…Oh?" He had heard the curiosity in her voice which caused him to turn back around. She was bent over sideways, looking at something but it was blocked from his view by her long hair. "Ma'am, what is this thing?"
The old woman came over to them, looking down at whatever she was pointing at. "Oh! That's actually not a prize. My husband found it in the pit of an inactive volcano back in his shinobi days. It was the sight of a graveyard from a long forgotten battle, or so I was told."
"What's with all the seals and stuff though?" Setsuko crouched down, placing her hands on her knees as she looked at it.
Gaara's curiosity was peeked. Seals? He silently scooted closer and peered over her shoulder. There was a small, wire, square cage covered in seals. Whatever was inside though was obstructed from his view by all the paper seals.
Glancing down, he could see intrigue played on her face. Setsuko tilted her head to the side and peeled off one of the seals. "What are you doing?!" the woman gasped.
"I want this." She was blunt. She peeled off another seal, "I mean, the resort tickets are tempting and all but…but I want this." She paused as she removed two more seals. "I'll even pay you for it."
She had continued to remove the many seals that covered the cage, the entire time Gaara's interest grew. He knew it was probably a bad idea if it was sealed like this, but it had been sealed for about thirty years or so. Could it really be all that bad? He was fooling himself, of course it could. He reached out and grabbed her delicate wrist. She looked up at him perplexed.
"What?" she asked blinking.
"It's sealed. Do you really think this is a good idea?" He stared into her eyes without looking away, trying to be serious. He had to admit though, it was a little tough.
From his peripherals he could see her free hand unlatch the cage and reach in. her gaze broke from his first and she gasped softly. Turning around, she held out the object with a smile, her wrist still in his hand. "Gaara look! It's an egg!"
He was a little surprised to find something like that in a sealed cage. The shell was tear drop shaped with a pale yellow color, almost white. Smack dab in the middle of the shell was a small blue flame. What creature could lie inside?
Slowly he let go of her wrist, reaching out to touch the egg. His hand was hesitate and a little shaky as it drew closer. Gingerly he placed his hand over the small blue flame painted on the egg. It was warm. He looked at Setsuko, a look of purity on her face, like she had fallen utterly in love with it already. Suddenly her face was illuminated in a bright light. Swiftly looking back at the egg, the entire room was engulfed in the light, having to shield his eyes from blindness. When the light had died and he was once again able to see, his attention was turned to Setsuko when he heard a gasp.
Gaara looked to her face first. Her eyes were wide, her mouth wider with a smile clearly visible on it. She seemed taken over by an emotion he was unfamiliar with. Letting his travel to where hers were looking and seemed breathless at what he saw. In the palm of her hands was a tiny glowing light in the shape of some kind of animal. It looked to be about the size of a chipmunk, maybe a little smaller with a slightly longer body. Its eyes were big and pure white; there were no pupils, or irises, just sclera. It had long ears much like a rabbit, floppy like them too, and a small tail that twitched almost happily. Its fur was a mixed of white and blue, being whiter closer to the center of its body. What was the strangest perhaps was that its entire body was covered in blue flames, from the tip of the ears to the tip of the tail, but seeing as they weren't burning Setsuko, they must not have been hot.
"What is it?" he found himself asking in amazement, having never seen anything like this before.
"I have no idea," she replied with the same breath of amazement he did. She gently ran a finger long its forehead, the flames moving back and forth as she did so; just like real fur.
"This is amazing!" the woman gasped as she watched the teens interact with the strange creature. Gaara outstretched his hand slowly as not to startle the little thing. "It's a Shibokasai."
"A what?" Setsuko asked, turning her attention to the old woman. The little creature looked at Gaara's hand, sniffing it hesitantly. Its floppy ears perked up, the flames licking the air, and happily jumped towards Gaara.
Its body instantly turned into a tiny blue ball of fire and whirled around him quickly. "A Shibokasai are like Will-o'-the-Wisps, only for the dead." Its tiny body reappeared on Gaara's shoulder, happily nuzzling its tiny head against his neck. "It would seem, the two of you caused it to hatch."
Both teens looked at her quizzically. "So, we're like…parents?" Setsuko asked with mild embarrassment.
"It would seem so. Well, since we can't keep it now, I guess I have no choice but to give you the Shibokasai as a prize." The woman smiled at both of them and went back to the festival.
Gaara and Setsuko looked at each other before quickly looking away, both of them blushing. This was awkward. Setsuko risked a glance upward and giggled at the little creature still lovingly cozying up to Gaara. "I think he likes you."
There was a squeak from the Shibokasai as its body and flames turned red, obviously in anger. At least he could get animals to like him.
"Oh, excuse me!" She grinned cheekily at him. "Always so popular with the ladies Gaara." He seemed a little embarrassed by her statement, quickly looking away with a huff and a glare. She instantly erupted into laughter and made her way to the door, laughing the whole time she exited.