Disclaimer: Neither Naruto nor Gaara belongs to me. *sigh*
The tent flap opened and fell back quietly, but Gaara didn't bother to turn back to see who it was. Somewhere in the depths of his mind he realized that he should care who it was – he was the Kazekage, after all – but other things weighed too heavily.
The person stopped about a foot away from him and she cleared her throat loudly before speaking.
"Gaara."
He didn't lift his head. He just continued to stare at the ground, not seeing the dirt beneath his feet, but in his head, the image of his mother, the only photograph he had of her, over and over. It was the same one he had reviled for so many years, and now all he could see was her face staring out of the frame with love written all over it.
Love.
"Gaara…" The visitor tried again, taking another step closer to him.
Gaara fingered the tattoo on his forehead, reflexively tracing its lines before he looked up and finally acknowledged her presence.
"Yes?"
Temari's expression didn't belie her worry, but he could sense it there nonetheless. Both she and Kankuro had spent years teaching themselves to show little emotion around their younger brother, for fear that any small shift might set him off. They still hadn't broken the habit, even now that they no longer feared him.
"I just came to tell you…" She stopped, trying alternatively not to stare at his face and to figure out why he looked so strange.
Gaara saw the question in her eyes and stood, swiping a hand under his eyelids. "Tell me what?"
Temari hesitated, but she decided to continue with the news.
"We just heard from Hokage-sama and Raikage-sama… Naruto-kun succeeded. Uchiha Madara is dead."
Gaara's eyes went wide. "So soon?"
The battle with the former Kages had ended only mere hours before. After all were sealed and the casualties accounted for and taken care of, Gaara had retired back to his tent to think. It was his duty as a leader to help his people, but everyone needed time to nurse their losses, including him.
"Yakushi Kabuto as well. We're only just now getting the intel on the situation, but it seems that he was the one controlling the Edo Tensei." She practically spat the name of the jutsu.
"Hmm." Gaara couldn't say he was entirely surprised. He had been the apprentice of Orochimaru, after all.
"There's already been talk of a post-war council." Temari pressed, hoping that something would elicit more of a response from Gaara.
It seemed she had struck the right subject. "If they haven't already settled on a location, I would suggest the sand to host it. The Leaf is still rebuilding and the Cloud has already served as the venue for the council. We are the next most likely to accommodate such a meeting."
Temari nodded. "I'll make sure it's suggested."
"Was there anything else?" Gaara didn't intend to be overly brusque, but this news had given him many things to think about and even more plans to be made.
Temari shook her head and started to turn back to exit the tent, but she hesitated again, this time finding the courage to broach the subject she had been tiptoeing around ever since she entered.
"Are you alright, Gaara?"
Gaara looked at her, his stare strangely blank. After a few moments, a light came into his eyes, and Temari thought she saw the barest hints of a smile play around the corners of his mouth, despite the tears stains that she could now see clearly over his cheeks.
"Yes… I think I am." It was strange to say, but even with his emotions going haywire, Gaara felt strangely… whole. For the first time in his life, the wounds around his heart seemed to be healing.
Temari stared at him for a long moment, her green eyes softening just slightly. "Alright. We'll be finalizing the plans this afternoon, then it will be time to travel again."
Gaara nodded. "I will be there shortly."
Temari left her brother standing in the middle of his tent, the ghost of a smile lingering on his face.
"What color is this?"
Airi contained her sigh of exasperation. "It's blue."
"Good. Can you see my hand?"
"No…" Airi couldn't keep the edge out of her voice, and she heard the medic shift slightly.
"You seem to be getting exasperated. Do we need to stop?"
The girl's chiming, placating tone was no less than infuriating, and Airi had to clench and unclench her fist to keep herself from yelling out in frustration.
"If you don't mind." She answered carefully. "I don't think this is helping."
"It's just meant to test the extent of the damage." The girl explained as though she was talking to a child, and not a full grown adult who had been living with her blindness for bordering on two weeks now. "We only—"
"I know the extent of the damage!" Airi snapped back. "They told me when they first examined me and before we left the camp and I'm tired of being told! My eyes are damaged, I understand."
Airi couldn't see the girl's reaction, but the stunned silence that followed was enough to gauge it.
"I didn't—" Airi started, but she fell silent when she heard the medic shift again and stand up.
"Perhaps we should continue your evaluations when you are feeling better, Saito-san. Kenji-sempai should be over to check on you soon." With that, the girl left.
Airi fell back on her cot, punching a fist into the wall angrily. That didn't help anything; now her knuckles were radiating with pain and she was still as angry as ever.
This was the second time an examiner had tried to test her and the second time they had deferred to Kenji as the senior medic-nin. Airi knew she was being difficult – it wasn't really the medics' fault that she was the worst patient they had to deal with – but she hated being passed around like a rusty old kunai and she hated being treated like a child and, most of all, she hated being useless.
It was a wonder they even bothered to treat her at all. It wasn't as though she was going to get any better and she sure as hell had no future in the shinobi world. That was the sad realization she had come to over the past few days. While she was adjusting to her world of darkness, no amount of adjustment would ever get her back to the place she had been.
And worst of all, it meant that she was utterly useless to the one person at whose side she would have remained forever if she had been able.
"Saito-san?"
Strangely the sound of Kenji's voice had become something of a comfort to Airi recently. At least it was something familiar.
"I've heard the medics have been having trouble again." He intoned drily, taking a seat in the chair across from her cot.
"They keep thinking I don't know my diagnosis or something." Airi muttered, and Kenji let out a sigh that spoke of exasperation.
"What am I supposed to do, Saito-san? We're waiting on the experimental treatment, and they're just trying to help in the meantime."
"Well maybe they should stop trying." Airi suggested sarcastically, giving him a wicked grin.
"Or you could stop feeling sorry for yourself and not intimidate my medics." Kenji responded, and Airi's smile fell into a disgruntled frown.
"Or that."
"Kenji-san!" An unfamiliar voice shouted down the hall, and the person stopped in the hallway. Airi sat up, alerted by the tense tone.
"What is it?"
The breathless messenger sounded as surprised as Airi felt when the words left his mouth.
"The Kazekage is returning. The message we received said he should be back in half a day."
"What?" Kenji must have jumped out of his seat, because Airi heard the chair clatter slightly. "Run over to the hospital and tell them to start stocking supplies, I'll be there shortly."
The messenger's footsteps receded down the hallway and Kenji was about to rush out the door as well, but Airi made a guess as to where his shoulder was and reached out and caught it. He turned, slightly startled.
"What's going on?" Airi kept the panic out of her voice, but she couldn't keep her hand from shaking. "Is the Kazekage alright?"
"Did no one inform you?" Kenji's tone was calmer than she expected. "The Kazekage is fine. He's returning for the post-war council, but we also have to treat the wounded returning with him."
"Post-war council?" Airi wasn't sure she had heard correctly.
"Yes. The whole village is buzzing about it. I'm surprised no one…" Kenji trailed off, suddenly realized exactly how tactless he sounded. No one had informed Airi of it, because she had no way of seeing what was going on outside of her little room.
"Did you need to see the Kazekage about something?" Kenji tried again. "Perhaps I can have someone contact—"
"No, no." Airi stopped him quickly, shaking her head. "Don't bother him with something like that. There are much more important things the Kazekage has to handle. He… he won't have time to see me."
The statement sent an unexpected pang of melancholy washing through her, and Airi sat back on the cot.
"I'll try to be more patient with the medics." She added as an afterthought, and she thought she heard Kenji chuckle slightly.
"Alright then. I'll be back to check on your condition in a couple of days. And…" he paused thoughtfully. "I'll let you know what's going on in the village."
Airi gave him a wistful smile. "I'd appreciate it."
He left the room, and Airi traced small circles on the surface of her cot, ignoring the prickling sensation at the corners of her eyes.
So the Kazekage was returning to Suna…
A/N: So I rescind my statement about dental surgery and writing. It gives me the excuse to be a lazy bum and write rather than attend to the important things I should be doing right about now. Who knew? ^_^
Also, I kind of truncated Gaara's fight with his father. It wasn't turning out well any way I wrote it, so you get his mental deliberation instead.
And, as always, your reviews and comments are loved and appreciated.
(Don't worry, I haven't forgotten my promise. Gaara and Airi should be meeting again quite soon...)
- Senka Hitomi