Ange Clair
Chapter 21
Helpless
Today was sunny again in the Hidden Sand Village aside from a few dark clouds still lingering. Sune was going to work on her new jutsu, Kankuro was going out with Cholandra, Temari was supervising a project, and Gaara was in a meeting. This morning Sune got dressed in her Chunin gear and tied her hair back before she went to the training grounds. She had a lot of work to do today.
"Okay first concentrate on lighting…" Sune told herself as she gathered her lighting chakra in one hand, "Now earth while stabilizing the lighting…" she said gathering the earth element chakra in the other hand, "Then merge them together while keeping both constant and even at the same time…" she said as she put her hands together trying to keep the necessary focus by closing her eyes.
Sune stood there as nothing happened and she opened one eye to peek at her hands in front of her and saw the two chakras merging, she lost focus and the massive amount of energy between her hands started to spark and get out of control. Knowing what was about to happen, Sune quickly let go of her failed attempt just before it exploded and threw her back.
She landed about twelve feet away and felt something cut the skin on her arms as she shielded herself. Sitting up she hissed as one of the cuts on her arm stung badly and she clutched it. She looked around her to see many shards of a solid, sharp, clear material scattered on the ground. "What is this?" she asked herself as she reached for a larger shard sitting next to her. This one had blood on it, she had found the culprit of the wound on her arm. "This looks like glass…" she said before smiling. She thought of all sorts of techniques for glass, both offensive and defensive, and grinned happily.
"Sune?" A familiar voice said behind her, "Are you alright? You're bleeding," Gaara noted worried kneeling next to her.
"I'm alright, it's not deep at all," she smiled. "Look, I can make glass!" she said holding up the shard.
He inspected it silently before looking at her, "Interesting," he said calmly, "If you're all right, will you walk with me?"
She smiled, "Of course!" Then by taking her hand he helped her up before he guided her through the village still holding her hand. He must have just come from a meeting because he was still in his Kazekage robes.
"Where are we going?" she asked after they were silent and heading towards the village gates.
"We're going to take a walk around the village," he told her, "So we aren't disturbed."
"Oh okay," Sune said. "How was the meeting?" she asked.
He stopped and then started walking again, "It was fine," was all he said.
The two were walking around the outside of the village walls before she spoke again, "So what's up? You're being unusually quiet, is something wrong?"
He stopped and looked into her eyes, "Nothing at all," he smiled before kissing her.
When they were not pulling away after a while she took a step back breaking the kiss. She thought it was strange that he would take her all the way out here just to kiss her, or try to make out, or whatever this was. "Gaara?" she asked wanting an explanation of what was going on.
"I'm sorry, I know I probably shouldn't have done that," he said quietly, "But I don't want you to be hurt."
"What do you mean?" ~Is he breaking up with me?~ she thought horrified. It would explain why he was acting this way.
He shook his head, "I need you to come with me, we have to save somebody," he explained concisely.
"Oh okay," she thought relieved, "Just point the way, I've already got my gear." she said and he nodded before taking her hand again and leading her off.
~~~ The Kazekage Building ~~~
Gaara got out of a meeting and was waiting inside his office impatiently for the two head AMBU guards he called for. They quickly arrived and he turned to them, "Your report, how is the progress?" he demanded.
"We have found many destinations for the trees including a potential park, but we have run into some problems concerning the underground spring," one reported.
"And?" the Kazekage asked.
"Raven-san, Suki-san, and water teams One and Three are working on it now," the other reported. Gaara just looked at them and the guards cringed in fear. "Do you want water team Two on the scene?" he asked.
"What do you think?" he asked sinisterly. "I want this to get done as quickly as possible, do you understand?" he asked again, he enjoyed using his old reputation to get things done quicker.
"Yes Kazekage-sama!" the guards bowed before running off as fast as they could to carry out his orders.
Gaara turned and was about to go to his desk before he heard a familiar giggle behind him in the doorway. "What is it?" he asked turning to Sune.
She smiled coyly and walked up to him with a little more sway in her hips and then put her arms around his neck before kissing him, just a peck. "Nothing at all," she answered.
He blinked at her and pulled away to sit at his desk. From his seat he looked at her and realized she was wearing black, he wondered why, she normally does wears white, and blue or green. If fact, this might be the first time he had seen her in black.
Sune walked around his desk next to him, again with a little more sway in her hips, and she sat on the desk next to him. As she crossed her legs, he looked at the exposed skin of her thigh but quickly looked back to the mission report in front of him. She must have noticed because she giggled and put her hand on his over the papers, "You're allowed to look, Gaara-kun," she said sweetly.
He pulled his hand away, "Being allowed is no excuse when it is still inappropriate, I apologize," he said ashamed.
She giggled again, "Just looking isn't inappropriate so there's no reason to apologize, it's not like it's hurting anyone."
He thought about it and after he found his eyes wandering back to her legs he stood up taking the finished mission report with him to add to the stack of other finished reports on a table by the door. She had followed him and was now standing behind him, "I thought you were going to train today," he stated turning around, "To work on that new secret jutsu you would not even tell me about."
She looked at him surprised before smiling and putting her arms around his shoulders, "I decided I'd rather be here with you," she said sweetly before kissing him again. He put his arms around her and breathed in her scent, it was roses.
Suddenly he ripped away from the kiss and pushed her against the door, pinning her wrists above her head. She looked above her towards her hands and back at him smirking. "Now this, this is a little inappropriate," she said teasingly.
"You are an imposter," he scowled.
"What are you talking about?" she said hurt.
"You smell like roses," he told her.
"Yes, so?" she asked frowning, "Don't you like it?"
He shook his head, "Sune doesn't smell like roses," he told her, ~'She always smells like vanilla and raspberries.'~
"I AM Sune," she tried still being pinned to the door. "What's wrong with you Gaara-kun?" she looked like she was about to cry.
"Another thing, she never calls me that," he told her keeping a firm hold as he made sand wrap around her wrists and ankles to take his place. "Just give it up and show yourself," he demanded stepping away. He thought something was fishy from the moment she walked in and he was sure this was not Sune. Sune made his heart feel light, his stomach feel weird, and his face get hot as he blushed, but none of those things were happening.
"But Gaara I-" Tears began to spill over.
"Save it, I am the Kazekage, not some idiot you can play with," he said sinisterly.
The fake tears were gone and she smirked, "Very well," she said before a poof of smoke appeared around her and quickly dispersed to reveal an young woman with wavy light brown hair and clothes that did not quite cover everything in a tease fashion.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"I'm Yura, nice to meet you," she smirked, "Now that we now each other, will you let me go?"
"No."
"Want another kiss in exchange?" she said coyly and then giggled when she saw him scowl at the idea.
He couldn't believe that he had fallen for a simple transformation jutsu, or had he? "How did you cover your chakra signature while performing that jutsu?"
"I'm just that talented…" she smirked, "Now it's your turn, tell me something about yourself."
Suddenly he realized that this is not an assassination attempt or an attempt to steal information, "Where's Sune?" he demanded. It was really a distraction.
She laughed, "You catch on pretty quick Cutie, little helpless Sune is probably long gone by now, I wonder if she's even figured out that he isn't you yet."
Gaara glared and she stopped laughing, "It is Yoshiko again, and he iss pretending to be me just like you disguised yourself as her…"
"Well aren't you smart," she stated and he ripped open the door and took off after Sune before it was too late.
The sand around Yura's hands and ankles came apart by the force in which the door was opened and then closed, and she was thrown to the floor. "Humph, that was probably enough time to stall anyway, unless Yoshiko screwed up again," she sighed.
~~~ The Desert ~~~
"Hey Gaara," Sune started, "I decided that I'd like to work in the hospital and do that training like you were telling me about," she told him after they had not said anything to each other for a while as they sped across the desert. She had no idea where they were going but trusted that he did. She would blush as she thought about how she was technically on a mission with him, just the two of them going to save somebody.
"That's good, we'll take care of that when we get back," he told her.
"Who are we saving?" she finally asked. ~'Did a Genin get in trouble, a council member get abducted, something S-rank, or a secret mission with another kage?'~
He was quiet a while before answering, "Um… uh… a girl," he finally said.
"A girl? Who?"
"You're asking too many questions," he snapped at her impatiently.
She was confused, he never speaks to her like that, he had an answer for everything, "What?" she asked.
"You heard me, and you're still doing it."
She stopped moving and stood there in the middle of the desert, he stopped too and looked at her. "What is your problem? And where are we going and why?" she demanded. "I'm staying right here until I get some answers!" she said standing her ground.
He looked at her, "Don't you trust me?" he asked.
"Of course I do, but you're scaring me," she told him looking into his eyes searching. He rolled his eyes and sighed before bluntly ignoring her and ordered her to follow him. ~'Fine, have it your way,'~ she thought irritated with his attitude and used her telepathy on him.
~'Does she know who I really am? Should I just use 'that' on her now?'~ she heard his thoughts and his thoughts were also in a voice that did not belong to Gaara.
She stepped away from him and glared, "Imposter," she spat. She felt like she should've know, even the way he spoke was in a different manner than Gaara.
He glared back, "I see, did you use your ability on me?" he asked.
"Yes," she said frankly. She was nearly shaking with rage, he had kissed her! "But it's your attitude that gave it away, Gaara is quiet, yes, but he's also kind and would never act like that towards me," she said.
"I heard that monster even came back from the dead. Are you sure you aren't just deluding yourself into thinking he's some kind of knight in shining armor? I bet he's perfectly pleased with the fake you, who is probably throwing herself at him by now."
Sune had it. She appeared in front of him so fast he could barley register when she punched him across the face and sent him flying into the sandy ground. As she punched him forcefully, the jutsu was dispelled and he quickly sat up in the sand and rubbed the side of his face. She glared at him, recognizing that blue hair anywhere, "Yoshiko, what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm doing what I have to do, will you just cooperate?"
"Are you kidding me?" she glared and pulled out a kunai.
"I'm completely unarmed," he told her while standing up, "If you won't come with me, why don't you just turn around and go back to that dump you call a village?" he muttered and she threw the kunai at him, cutting the side opposite side of his face from where she punched him.
"I'm going back alright," she said turning around. She took a few steps before she stopped, not because she wanted to, but because she could no longer move on her own. Sune barley had time to wonder why before she heard Yoshiko laugh quietly behind her.
"You are so gullible," he told her and she glared at the desert as she still stood frozen, "You're coming with me no matter what," he stated and Sune felt her limbs moving by themselves to turn back around and walk over to him. "You don't have a choice," he said before turning and continued to dash across the desert. She followed beside him, he was right, she didn't have a choice. Tears began to leak from her eyes, she hated this feeling of helplessness.