It was hard for Kakashi to believe, but after their return from their rather stressful mission in the Village Hidden in the Sand, Calixta seemed much more at ease and so did everyone else around her. She radiated an air of happiness and confidence that he had rarely seen in her and her positive attitude seemed to rub off on those who interacted with her. Normally, he would have been pleased, and taken the sense of ease as an affirmation of his gut instinct that he had done the right thing. However, his gut was also telling him that this was just the calm before the storm.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, which was why he only entertained the feeling in the back of his mind, but he knew better than to completely ignore it. So, over the passing months, as she was trusted with increasingly complex missions, Kakashi made sure to keep an extra close eye on her. This was also becoming more difficult because not all the missions she was sent on were with him or his team. This was why he partially blamed himself for what happened on Calixta's last mission for the Village Hidden in the Leaves even though he knew there was nothing he could have done to prevent it.
They made camp for the night at the hot spring that Calixta had stopped at with Kakashi's team during her journey to their village. Shortly after the moon started to rise, Calixta decided to take advantage of the natural spring and casually excused herself to do so. As she slipped into the steaming water, she felt every muscle in her body relax. It was rare that she felt that way but it was almost always around Guy that it had happened.
Guy poked at the fire for a while as he thought over the events of the last few days. They weren't terribly remarkable, which was nice for a change, but he couldn't help feeling closer to Calixta if only because they had spent so much time together recently. He learned that she had a deep respect for him and not just because he was able to resist any sort of attraction he felt toward her.
Feeling a bit lonely and more than a bit dirty, Guy decided that it would be okay to join Calixta at the spring. He knew it was large enough that they could sit at opposite sides and not risk seeing more than necessary through the thick steam.
She was almost asleep when he approached and didn't stir as he stripped down. Only when he tossed his things into a pile a few feet from the mouth of the pool did she bat an eye. If her skin hadn't already been pink from the hot water, she would have blushed profusely at what she saw.
She had never seen Guy completely naked before, though it was a thought she entertained from time to time, and much to her surprise, it made her nose bleed just a little to see him so suddenly exposed to her like that. She could see the sculpted shape of every muscle and as her eyes raked over his body, she didn't think twice before her gaze stopped at his flaccid length as it dangled out of the bushy hair between his legs.
Guy was oblivious to her gawking and only turned his attention to her when she turned her head to avert her eyes. "I hope you don't mind terribly," he suddenly apologized, having not really considered that he might make her uncomfortable.
"Ah, it's okay. You just startled me," she managed as he slipped into the water.
Once he was submerged past his waist, she could look at him again. "I didn't mean to. You were just so peaceful that I didn't want to interrupt so I didn't say anything."
"Thank you," she managed before dunking herself in an effort to both clear her thoughts and to wash away any of the blood that remained on her upper lip.
When she didn't say anything after that, Guy didn't think anything of it but when the silence was no longer comfortable, he felt obliged to break it. "Is there something the matter?"
Calixta rolled her eyes even though she knew he probably wouldn't be able to see it. "It is very warm," she complained as she pulled herself out of the water to sit on the edge of the pool. It allowed her to escape most of the extra heat but it also allowed her to see him a little better.
"Yeah, I usually prefer hot springs in the winter months," he agreed. "But I haven't showered in days and I didn't think you'd wanna keep traveling with me if I stunk," he teased.
She just laughed because she had thought once earlier in the day that the older man was in sore need of a bath. "It is understandable," she nodded, reaching for her towel to dab the sweat from her brow.
She was able to keep her thoughts to herself until he started to actually bathe, rather than just soak in the warm water. "Guy-sensei," she suddenly blurted out.
"Yes?" he distractedly prompted.
"Is this some kind of test?" she asked almost shamefully.
"A test?" he repeated as though he didn't understand the word.
Sensing that he was genuinely confused, she frowned and sank back into the water. He couldn't help thinking that she almost looked like a shark or a crocodile as she slowly swam toward him.
"You are truly puzzling," she informed as she snatched the soap from his hand and started washing his back.
"Ah, Calixta-san, I really don't think-" he tried to protest.
"You don't think you should have someone else help you clean the wounds you cannot see?" she interrupted challengingly.
He complied and let her wash his back and clean the few scratches that he had gotten there. To his surprise, she withdrew when she was finished. He could tell she wanted to keep touching him but for some reason, she didn't. "Thank you."
"Would you let me heal them for you as well?" she proposed through an intense blush.
"It's not that bad…I really don't think that's necessary," he managed but her disappointment was almost overwhelming.
"I know you can't see it, but my breasts are already leaking. Seeing your wounds triggered the reflex that lets that happen," she informed as even as she could.
"Oh…I didn't realize…" he replied, though he felt very foolish for having not made that connection. So, he grabbed her by the hips and set her on the side of the pool where he could stand and nurse her at the same time.
She was fortunate that he didn't see the way her eyes dilated with lust when his mouth first touched her. However, he couldn't help noticing how her limbs were slowly starting to snake around his body or the way her breath was starting to come in heated gasps.
"Calixta, are you okay?" he asked genuinely.
She tried not to whine at his withdraw and was reasonably successful. "Uh, yeah, please, continue," she panted.
He was reluctant but complied, knowing it was in both of their best interests to finish as quickly as possible, but before long, she couldn't take it anymore. With a great cry of frustration, she used both her hands and her feet to push him off of her. "Ugh, stop, please," she cried as he went crashing into the water.
Guy resurfaced a second later, obviously confused and disoriented. "What's the matter?" he asked as soon as he could.
"Don't come any closer!" she nearly shouted, trying to scoot away from the edge of the pool but largely failing because her body was still aching to touch him.
"Hey, it's okay, settle down," he tried to ease, slowing his advance but not stopping.
"Why are you doing this to me?" she fretted.
"I-I didn't realize that I was doing anything wrong," he admitted. "You've seemed so comfortable around me recently that I didn't think it would be a big deal. I'm sorry I upset you."
Calixta gave him a hurt little frown because she knew his intentions were nothing but pure, as they always were. "I know… I should be the one apologizing, if I were allowed to," she added with a grumble, "I should have said something when you approached but you startled me so badly…I guess I lost my head," she reasoned even though her head was still spinning.
"It's alright. I understand," he tried.
"No! You don't!" she shouted. "You can't!"
"If you care to try to help me understand, I will listen," he insisted.
"You mustn't," she pleaded but found herself crawling back toward him once again. Every time she brought a hand forward, he could see her fingers tremble until they once again met the ground. "Please, it's too much."
"Please, forgive me," he bowed and exited the pool.
His sudden departure greatly disturbed her and she wildly chased after him. "No, please, don't leave me…" she pleaded desperately.
"I-I don't know what to do," he admitted through gritted teeth, keeping his eyes firmly shut so that he wouldn't watch her struggle. Hearing it was bad enough.
"I know…just-just don't leave, please," she bowed deeply when she realized that regaining her footing was next to impossible.
Guy gave a heavy sigh went back to the pool but when she started to sob, he couldn't help going over to her and holding her in his arms, letting her cry into his chest as she weakly grasped at his naked body. Luckily, to his surprise, it was more comfortable to sit with her like that than it had been up to that point.
"Why are you in so much pain?" he finally asked when the tide of emotions seemed like they were starting to wane.
She faltered at the question and pulled away. "I miss him terribly…" she sniffled.
"You mean Gaara," he assumed.
She nodded and felt a new flood of tears welling up in her eyes at the sound of his name. "It's been so long since I've seen him," she complained.
"I thought the two of you were in constant contact," he tried.
She nodded. "I don't know how I'd survive if it weren't for that…but it's not enough. It's just not enough."
"Shhh, it'll be alright. You'll see him again soon enough," he attempted to soothe but it didn't seem to be helping.
"And on top of that you come strolling up, all naked and sexy as casually as you'd walk down the street with me," she ranted, her eyes once again raking over his toned body.
Suddenly, Guy felt very exposed and shifted to cover himself a little better. "I didn't think you would care. I've lost track of the number of times I've seen you naked," he reasoned, with a blush. "I should just go. Thank you for healing my wounds," he scrambled away from her. He wasn't sure if she was doing it on purpose, but he could feel a lot of emotions from her and it was really starting to unnerve him.
"No, please," she scrambled after him, managing to grasp his ankle with a surprisingly sure grip. "You never ran from me before."
"I'm not running from you," he shook her off and stood, gathering his clothes and holding them over his groin. "I'm trying to help you. It greatly disturbs you to see me like this so I'm just going to let you be because I don't know how else to help you. I am truly sorry," he bowed and tried once again to leave her.
"No!" she suddenly stood and ran after him, tackling him to the ground. "I won't let you tease me!" she tried to pin him but she was so much shorter than he that it was extremely difficult.
"I'm not trying to tease you," he asserted a little more loudly than intended.
"I won't let you test me either!" she retorted.
Guy gave a sigh of slight annoyance at her persistence. "I'm not testing you either."
"Then why leave me so half-satisfied? Don't you know how torturous it is to be left wanting so desperately?" she pleaded.
"You don't really want me to act on you like that," he asserted surely.
She whimpered. "I don't want you to tempt me and tease me either."
He sighed again. "What do you want me to do?"
"Just finish what you started, please," she offered her still leaking breasts to him.
"That's it?" he tested.
"That's all," she assured.
"And you're not going to push me away again?" he continued.
Calixta blushed. "I did that so that I wouldn't just jump on you."
"What makes you think that you won't try to do that again?" he proposed warily.
She faltered. "I-…I can't guarantee that…but I'm willing to do what you wish if you can think of something that would prevent that and still allow you to proceed."
He couldn't help finding her stammering eloquence endearing. After thoughtfully pursing his lips, he nodded and led her back over to the pool, if only because it was warmer.
"Put your hands behind your back," he ordered after getting her to sit partially in the water with her legs folded beneath her.
She complied and soon found her hands fixed behind her. Before she could speak, he went back to finish what he had started. She couldn't help squirming against her invisible bindings but it didn't seem to faze him.
He had expected a bit of a struggle, even if it was simply the instinctive struggle against physical restraint. What he didn't expect was the way her knees slowly slid open beneath the surface of the water. He might not have even noticed it at first, if not for the feeling of the water moving between them. With a sigh of regret, he put his hands on either of her knees and pushed them back together.
Because Guy didn't stop nursing from her as he preserved her modesty, she didn't notice until it was too late that he had stuck her legs together. "Aaah," she gasped, "It seems so cruel…" she complained.
"You know it's for the better," he chided, only breaking contact with her for a moment to do so.
"Uh-huh," she whined and bit her lip but that didn't quell the little sounds of pleasure she was making for him. Normally, directly healing Guy like that, not that it happened very often, didn't have such a drastic effect on her but that night was different. She was terribly lonely and hadn't had a lover since they left the Leaf. On top of that, having him parade around in front of her like that, well, it certainly wasn't helping.
Before long, he noticed that her cries were growing increasingly desperate. He was just about to pull away to ask what was wrong when she spoke. "D-Don't stop," she stuttered harshly. "I have to so please don't stop."
Initially, he didn't know what she meant but when her cries became even louder and more heated, he knew what she on the verge of orgasm. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad but it seemed he would be able to get away with doing no less than giving her that. He worried that she might not be willing to leave it at that, that she would try to get more out of him.
It amazed him how easily she came once she had told him that was what she needed. However, it did bother him a little that he had to keep a hand on her side to keep her from falling over. He was also a bit unnerved by how when she did orgasm, it seemed like the remainder of the milk in her breasts shot out in various directions in thin little streams.
As she panted and tried to regain her bearings, Guy started to let go of her bindings. He watched her relax significantly, though he could tell she felt more than a little foolish. "Thank you," she bowed.
"Think nothing of it," he dismissed.
"I…should probably go to bed now…" she informed.
He didn't like the way she didn't really look at him anymore. It was almost like she was looking past him, her eyes obviously unfocused. But, once he realized that she was doing it intentionally to help quell any further attraction to him, he breathed a sigh of relief and let her go. "Sleep well, we have quite a ways to go tomorrow," he called after her.
She nodded and disappeared around one of the bushes. Once she was out of sight, she snuck around to watch him finish bathing by himself. She even touched herself a little as she watched him. She wasn't sure if he could tell whether or not she was still lurking around but he didn't show any outward indications of his awareness.
Guy knew she was still sneaking around and made sure to be as discrete as possible as he finished bathing. In a way, he couldn't help feeling bad for Calixta. If she were allowed to be with Gaara more often, then it was unlikely that she would digress into such a state. To a certain extent, he was more than willing to humor her and help her get through all that but their relationship was different from most of her relationships. He knew that even with the way she was behaving toward him, that she still wanted him to resist her down to the bitter end, and it was sure to be bitter with as bizarrely as she was acting.
He was surprised that she didn't confront him when he got back to camp, or even on his way, instead opting to hide inside her tent when he approached and not emerging until after he had fallen asleep.
As Calixta ducked into her tent, she couldn't help feeling rather silly and more than a little embarrassed. She tried to sleep but tossed and turned and before she even realized she had exited her tent, she was stealthily crawling into Guy's. She was more than a little impressed with her ability to sneak up on him and bind his arms and legs to the ground without him waking, though he did stir once or twice because she had a hard time not touching him. Then, once she was sure he was secure, she started to focus her chakra on him.
Guy woke when he started to feel his member starting to stir to life. It was so sudden that it almost startled him and when he finally opened his eyes to see Calixta sitting at his side, he nearly jumped out of his skin. "Calixta," he gasped with worry, which doubled when he failed to sit up.
"Please, don't resist me," she pleaded, pulling his covers away.
"Calixta, don't do this," he tried to reason. "We'll be back in the village tomorrow. You can have whoever you want then. You won't have to settle for me," he tried to make it sound like it was really worth the wait and that he would be a waste of her time.
"Please, I need it now…or the pain will come back again," her trembling hands started to pull away his clothes now as well.
"You are stronger than that. Don't give into a mere desire," he continued but it earned him a harsh slap.
"Don't ever say that again!" she said, looking up with wild eyes as he blinked with confusion at her sudden assault. "To me, there are no mere desires! Every want, every need, every single desire comes to me!"
"You can block it out," he insisted.
"I'm tired, tired of blocking it out. The wall is crumbling. If you want me to crumble as well…then keep holding me back," she snapped.
"Please, Calixta, just let me up and we can work this out," he almost pleaded.
"You don't even need to move an inch to work this out. See? I'm even making it super easy for you," she rationalized.
"Being restrained doesn't make things easier," he griped, still straining against her bindings but finding that the more he struggled, the more sure her hold seemed to be.
"You should have thought of that earlier," she sneered but then her smile returned immediately once she had managed to free his partial erection. "Besides, now you can blame me for everything. No one will think twice to question your position here."
"I won't play your victim," he asserted and this time mustered up enough of his will through the fog she was creating in his brain to almost break free.
Seeing his shoulders raise off the ground made her uncomfortable and she slipped over to straddle his hips, pressing down on his shoulders with her hands. "Then you won't have to play…" she told him darkly, setting her open, dripping slit down on his half-flaccid length and rubbing herself on him.
"Calixta, what's gotten into you? Why are you acting like this?" Guy tried not to panic even though panic seemed to be the only thing keeping his erection in check.
"I don't expect you to understand. You cannot feel this the way I do…even if I wanted to, I couldn't share it," she retorted through a little moan.
"Why didn't you say anything?" he pressed.
"Because when others assume that I have full control, it helps make that closer to a reality. When they doubt me, I can sense it and it's very difficult not to be affected by it. It's sort of a self-fulfilling prophecy." She stopped babbling to moan as she started to approach orgasm from rubbing herself on him.
"Calixta, please, don't do this! There has to be another way!" Guy pleaded when he started to feel himself grow hard under her wet, twitching sex.
"The only other way is for you to take me yourself!" she insisted, whining because his resistance was impeding her orgasm.
"You know I can't do that," he complained, renewing his struggle.
"Then you will just have to suffer through this for me," she asserted but he continued to resist so she decided to take a risk and release his arms, which immediately went to dislodge her. Of course, she was ready for that and took his hands in her own. "Do you want to suffer?" she asked in a dark voice.
"Neither of us has to suffer," he insisted but his argument was cut off by a surge of emotional pain that rippled through his body. "Aaagh," he cried, throwing his head back in agony. "Stop! Please!"
"That is what I feel when you resist me," she informed, letting the wave of pain subside in favor of indulging her pleasure instincts.
"No, please…" he pleaded.
"Sensei," she whined rubbing herself harder until she came.
Guy used her moment of ecstasy to reassert control over her. The hardest part now seemed detangling their fingers so he could throw her off. This time he was successful.
"Aaah! No! Don't fight me!" she nearly raged and pounced on him again but her control over him had been mostly severed and he was able to easily pin her to the ground.
"Go back to your tent now and I will forget this even happened," he bargained, pinning her face down with significant force.
"No! I won't give up on you!" Her chakra surged again, causing another ripple of pain through Guy but this time he was more prepared for it.
"I won't let you take advantage of me," he asserted.
"I won't let you tease me anymore!" she struggled.
With a sigh of regret, he put her into a choke hold and forced her into unconsciousness. Then, he redressed himself, scooped her up into his arms and carried her home, leaving their camp behind, and hoping that no one would see fit to disturb their meager campsite in the meantime. When she first started to stir, they weren't even halfway to their destination so he stopped for a moment to put a sleeping ward on her forehead so that she would remain unconscious until arrival.
It was about midmorning when he arrived, out of breath, at Kakashi's doorstep. He set her down on the swing and forcefully knocked on the door. "Kakashi! Open up!" He heard some shuffling from inside but decided to reassert his presence. "Hey! Open up! It's important!" he continued to knock loudly.
"Ugh, what is it?" Kakashi finally answered. Apparently, he had decided to sleep in that morning.
Guy motioned to the sleeping young woman on the porch swing.
"What about her?" he slowly drew closer.
"There's something wrong with her," Guy curtly replied.
"Like what?" he nudged her but she didn't stir, speaking to the strength of the ward that Guy had stuck to her.
"She's…overly aggressive," he managed.
"She does have an aggressive streak but I don't think I've ever seen her go overboard with it. Did she come onto you?" Kakashi asked, obviously a little amused.
"This isn't funny. I traveled all night, carrying her, to get her to you so that she-" he suddenly stopped himself and looked away.
"So that she what?" Kakashi eagerly pressed.
"Let's go inside," Guy suddenly turned and entered the house, leaving Kakashi to carry her inside.
"What's the deal?" Kakashi asked as he set her down a few feet from the sitting table.
"She…" he clenched his jaw angrily. "She tried to force herself on me," he informed in a harsh, albeit awkward, voice.
"What?" Kakashi almost started laughing.
"I'm serious. It was bad. She wasn't herself," he insisted.
"Okay, okay," Kakashi eased. "What happened?"
"She…snuck into my tent while I was sleeping, bound me to the ground and tried to take advantage of me," he unwillingly elaborated.
"She tried to, so she didn't succeed," Kakashi tried to verify.
"Not entirely," Guy shifted his weight uncomfortably.
"How far did she get?" he pressed.
"I wasn't ever erect enough to penetrate her but she still managed to…orgasm at least once anyway," he managed even though there was a large part of him that was becoming increasingly angry that he had to divulge so much information due to the nature of her abilities.
"I see. That is unusually aggressive for her. I assume you resisted her every move?" he questioned presumptuously.
"I did…even when it didn't seem to do much good," he grumbled. "But that's not what really worries me," he added regretfully.
"What really worries you then?" Kakashi pressed with an almost morbid curiosity.
"She was willing to hurt me to get what she wanted," he reluctantly answered.
"I don't believe that," Kakashi sternly denied.
"It's the truth," he asserted indignantly, obviously greatly displeased by his comrade's disbelief.
"Guy, I have never had a reason to doubt your judgment but Calixta's abilities do not function that way. If her partner is in pain, then she cannot find pleasure from them," Kakashi argued.
"I realize that. That's why I think there's something seriously wrong and why I rushed to bring her here. She made me feel pain so intense that it made my vision blur," he contested. "I think the only reason I didn't throw up all over her is because she wouldn't let me," he added with obvious disgust.
That deeply disturbed Kakashi. "I'm going to wake her. I want to see if she can explain her actions."
Guy appeared apprehensive.
"Would you like to step out or even leave while I do so?" he offered as he moved over to the young woman.
"Thank you, no. I'd like to see this through as well as I can," he offered.
"As you wish," he nodded and pulled away the ward.
Calixta awoke slowly, blinking at the harsh daylight that streamed into Kakashi's house. "Sensei?" she asked, obviously bewildered as she tried to sit up.
"Easy now," he helped her sit.
"Where-?" she looked around, "Why am I here? Did something happen on the mission?" she started to fret, cradling her head.
"You don't remember?" Guy gasped.
"Were we attacked?" she assumed.
"No, we weren't attacked," Guy answered.
"Then what happened? Why are we here?" she questioned, still feeling a little dizzy.
"You really don't remember, do you?" Kakashi asked gently.
"Remember what?" she tried not to demand.
Kakashi pursed his lips, unsure how to deliver the news. "You…attacked Guy-sensei on the last night of your mission."
"I did what? That's impossible. I would never-" she tried to argue.
"You did," Guy suddenly asserted.
When he spoke, she finally turned to face the green-clad man. As soon as she made eye contact with him and saw the hurt he was feeling, the memories came rushing back to her. "Aaagh," she clutched either side of her head. "No!" she suddenly scrambled away, obviously distraught. "Oh god," she sobbed.
"She remembers," Guy grimly surmised.
"I am so sorry…that's not enough…I hurt you…on purpose…how could I-? The drive was too strong…but that…I should have just run away…but you wouldn't let me!" she ranted.
"You never tried to run away," Guy contested evenly.
"How could I? Oh god, why?" she sobbed. "How can you stand to even be in my presence?"
"Calixta, please, calm down," Kakashi coaxed.
"How can I possibly calm down? Do you know what I did?" she shook her sensei by the shoulders.
"Guy explained the generalities to me. I would like for you to explain to me what you remember," he continued.
"No, to relive it like that would be to do it all over again," she denied.
Kakashi continued trying to calm her but it only seemed to aggravate her further so, when she started sobbing uncontrollably, letting her torrent of emotions crash over them unabated, he slapped the ward back onto her forehead and caught her before she fell.
"Well, that was helpful," Guy grumbled.
Kakashi gave his friend a dark look over his shoulder. "I didn't want to believe you but you're right. There's something seriously wrong. Did anything else happen?"
Guy shifted and looked away. "Like what?"
"You know she's very sensitive. If she was already having an issue of some sort, anything could have set her off so whatever you can tell me would be helpful. I might be able to discern what the problem is if I could figure out what it was that set her off," he reasoned.
Guy regretfully rehashed the other relevant events and could tell that Kakashi was greatly displeased.
"You paraded around in front of her naked at the hot spring?" Kakashi demanded, slamming his fist down on the little tea table. "What the hell is the matter with you?"
"I told you. She hasn't made a sexual advance on me since the night she came to apologize to me. She seemed so completely comfortable around me that I honestly didn't think it would bother her," he tried to defend.
"How could you be so blind?" Kakashi accused. "Couldn't you sense that she was at least uncomfortable?"
Guy sighed. "I couldn't sense anything like that from her until she started to approach me," he admitted. "I really tried to both accommodate and deter her. I thought I was successful… I guess I was wrong."
"Even so…it doesn't really explain her attacking you. That's just a symptom to the larger problem. Did she say anything?" Kakashi tried to reason.
"She was lonely. She misses Gaara terribly," Guy barely replied.
"You are poor substitute for Gaara," Kakashi laughed. "Which might explain part of why she behaved as erratically as she did."
Just then, there was a knock on the door. They both nearly jumped out of their skin at the politely timid tapping.
"Sasuke-kun?" Kakashi questioned incredulously when he opened the door. "Is there something I can do for you?"
"What's wrong with Calixta?" he asked.
"Come in," Kakashi sighed. "There was an incident on the way back from her mission with Guy-sensei."
Sasuke walked right up to her and looked down at her sleeping form.
"Is there a reason you're here?" Guy rudely asked.
"I wanted to warn you…that she's calling for Gaara," he quietly replied.
"Gaara?" Guy gasped.
"Who else?" Sasuke almost snickered.
"He will undoubtedly respond," Kakashi sighed. "Which means we only have a short amount of time to figure out what happened."
Sasuke gave an equally heavy sigh and sat down next to her. "Let me help."
"What can you do?" Guy tried not to scoff.
"We need to speak to her about what happened. Can you keep her calm enough for that if we wake her?" Kakashi asked genuinely.
"I can give it a shot," he agreed, leaning over and taking her hands into his own. "Just…give me a minute."
"Of course," Kakashi agreed and sat back down with Guy.
"You really think he can help?" Guy pressed.
"I think he's got the best shot out of anybody," Kakashi conceded.
"Let's hope that's good enough," Guy leaned back to watch the younger pair a few feet away even though they weren't moving.
"We'll see," he sighed. He had more to say but stopped because he could hear Sasuke starting to mumble to Calixta.
"Calixta," the young man began, his voice barely audible.
She gave no outward response.
He repeated her name a couple more times before saying anything else. "He's coming," he finally said and felt her chakra ease. "But before you can see him, you have to tell us why you sent for him," he muttered quietly. Again, she gave no visual sign of recognition. He turned back slightly to speak to the older men, "I think we can try it now."
Kakashi nodded and pulled away the ward. This time, she awoke much more gradually. "Sasuke?" she asked quietly. "I'm so confused…" she complained.
"I know," the teen grumbled. "And it seems your confusion has spread."
The two sensei sat back for a moment and watched as she screwed her eyes shut and clutched Sasuke's hands hard enough to turn both their knuckles white. "Aaagh," she cried in anguish.
"Hey!" Sasuke suddenly raised his voice. "Now's not the time for that."
"Take it easy," Kakashi put a careful hand on his younger student's shoulder. "Calixta, we just have to know what made you act the way you did."
"I'm so sorry," Calixta started to sob.
"This doesn't seem to be helping," Guy grumbled.
Kakashi gave a dismissive hand motion but before he could interject Sasuke's chakra flared. "You are not permitted to apologize!" he asserted.
"You're right; no apology could possibly make up for what I did to you," she desperately replied and even though her eyes were still fixed on Sasuke, she was obviously not speaking to him.
"Stop it!" Sasuke nearly shouted.
"Sasuke, just concentrate on keeping her a little calmer, please," Kakashi finally interjected. "Now, Calixta, please, just tell us why."
When she tried to tell them, her gaze grew distant and she started to shake a little. Sasuke was the one who actually formed the words and spoke them for her. "So lonely," he quietly replied as he fought the urge to pull away from her.
To maintain her contact with Sasuke, Calixta spoke the next part herself, "And you were always so unattainable, so resistant. I don't know what came over me. I couldn't hold it in any longer. My attraction to you was almost as overwhelming as trying to keep it from you," she rambled. Then, she stopped shaking and her eyes darted around the room in seemingly random directions. "Let me go," she pleaded.
Sasuke shot his sensei a questioning look.
"Let me meet him halfway. He needs to know the nature of my suffering," she pleaded.
Kakashi sighed. She was begging to leave but had yet to pull away from Sasuke. "If he's coming anyway, it might be best to simply wait for him."
"No! Please!" was all she could manage but Sasuke picked it up for her.
"Sensei, I will go with her," the young man offered.
Kakashi appeared pensive for a moment. "Okay, go, but come back as quickly as you can and bring both of them with you," he ordered.
Sasuke nodded and tried to let go of her but found she wasn't ripe that idea.
"D-Don't let go, please," she whispered.
Sasuke gave an annoyed little sigh and only let go with one hand, which she found acceptable.
"We'll go part of the way with you," Guy suddenly decided.
"What for?" Kakashi questioned.
"Because we didn't clean up our campsite from last night. I still have to go back and get all our stuff."
"I-I should help you…but I don't know if I can go back there," she offered weakly.
"Don't worry about that," Kakashi dismissed, "I'll take care of that for you but you probably will want to stop and gather up some of your things."
She gave a meek little nod and they all left together a short while later. As they traveled, she insisted on trying to keep a pace that was much faster than she would be able to maintain. Since she wasn't inclined to let go of Sasuke's hand, this was of great annoyance to the young ninja.
"Slow the hell down!" Sasuke finally ordered after the third time he thought she might yank his shoulder out of the socket.
"I can't," she protested.
Sasuke glared. "Yes, you can. You just don't want to," he sniped.
"He's drawing me to him," she confessed.
"I realize that but you want to go to him just as much as he wants you to come," he contested.
"Which only makes me want to see him all the sooner," she argued playfully.
"Which means you're only making a bigger ass of yourself by rushing to him like there's no tomorrow," he curtly demeaned.
"There is no tomorrow without Gaara," she barely uttered and then tried to let go of Sasuke's hand. To her surprise, he wouldn't let go. "Let me move at my own pace then, if you can't keep up."
"No, you're going to slow down so that you're not exhausted when we get there," he asserted.
"If you don't let go of my hand right now, I will share with you all the pain that I have felt since he and I have been apart," she threatened.
Sasuke interpreted that as, 'Keep holding on to me and I will show you why I'm acting this way.' So, he tightened his grip. When she hesitated, he scoffed, "I knew you couldn't do it."
"I don't want to because I'm worried that it might be particularly damaging to you. You understand loneliness and anguish and resignation and a lot of the other things that I feel and you've felt them more deeply than almost anybody that I know," she explained. It was much of the reason why she had wondered if he was the one for her during their first few months together.
Unfortunately, he took that more as a challenge than a deterrent. So, with a sigh, she let some of her emotions go for a moment before focusing them on him. If it had been a gradual display of her emotions, he might have been able to cope with them. As it was, as soon as he started to feel her pain, his breath hitched, his knees tried to buckle, and he could feel stinging tears forming in the corners of his eyes. Without thinking, he gave a growl of frustration and stumbled toward her.
She wrapped her free arm around his waist and buried her face in his shoulder, watching the little hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. "Come get me when you're ready," she told him in a quiet, gentle voice.
Sasuke tried to hold on, it really felt like he was holding her hand almost tight enough to break her fingers but he felt it easily slip down his side a moment later, just before she laid him on the ground. She knew he was absolutely furious with her and ran away as quickly as possible.
To her surprise, she ran into Gaara by nightfall. "Ai-sama!" she called when she first caught sight of him in the distance.
He knew she was close and once he could see her, he redoubled his pace, catching her in his arms and falling to the ground a moment later. "What happened?" he asked before giving into the urge to kiss her.
"I hurt someone very dear to me…" she confessed.
"I can tell. But why?"
"Because I can't stand to be away from you any longer. I know I said that we have obligations to our villages but…I can't take it anymore. I have to be with you," she desperately replied.
Gaara knew, deep down, that he was at least partially responsible for what had happened, whatever it was, because he had missed her terribly as well, almost to the point of depression. "I know," he petted her hair. Then, with relative ease, he was able to get her to tell him, in rather painful detail. "I can't believe I did that…and to do it so intentionally," she sobbed into his chest.
"I know. It'll be okay though. That man is wise enough not to hold a grudge like that. He may be wary of you for a while but that is to be expected," he eased, with rather startling success. He understood what it was like to be so incredibly frustrated and the drive to violently take it out on others, which was most likely what gave her the extra edge to do what she did.
A few quiet moments passed before Sasuke finally caught up with her. He was still furious but glad that he didn't have to travel as far as he thought he would to get to them. Apparently, Gaara had gotten a head start on them.
"Calixta," Sasuke called from a few feet away. "We have to go back now."
Gaara gave a defensive look and held her a little tighter.
"All of us have to go back," Sasuke qualified, which seemed to ease the sand ninja. "Let's go," he motioned and to his surprise, the pair stood rather promptly, brushed themselves off, and followed.
"Thank you," Gaara told Sasuke once they got going.
He shot Calixta a suspicious look before replying. "Whatever," he dismissed.
"Do you intend to tell Sensei how we got separated?" Calixta asked suddenly.
"We didn't get separated," Sasuke was quick to correct. "You ditched me."
"Regardless of exactly what happened, do you plan to tell him?" she pressed.
He could tell she really, really didn't want him to. She felt that she had caused and was in enough trouble as it was that adding that on top of it was only going to make matters worse. "Why shouldn't I?" he countered. "Do I get something out of keeping your secret?"
Gaara took up a more defensive posture but allowed her to answer.
"Well, I was just thinking that the whole matter was rather embarrassing…for both of us," she mused with overt casualness. "I was thinking that it was of mutual benefit for us to keep it our secret."
Sasuke sneered at her for a moment. That had been the main reason why he wasn't planning on saying anything to anybody about what she had done to him. He didn't want to admit, even in his own mind, that she had so quickly and completely overwhelmed him. Just the same, he had been hoping to get something out of her for it. "Fine," he grumbled.
She gave a little bow of genuine thanks that he tried to ignore.
Because Calixta was so exhausted from the events of the last couple of days, they decided to take a few hours that night to rest. However, only Calixta slept. Sasuke watched from a few feet away as the couple settled in next to the fire. They sat on the ground but he allowed her to rest her head in his lap, affectionately stroking her hair until she fell into a natural sleep.
"Thank you for bringing her to me," Gaara said once he was sure she was sleeping soundly enough not to be woken by their conversation.
"I did it for Sensei," Sasuke resolutely replied.
"Of course," Gaara placated. "How's your training going?"
Sasuke gave a grumble of indignation at the question but if anyone but Kakashi had a right to ask, it was Gaara. "Well enough," he replied simply.
"Well enough for what?" he pressed.
"Well enough not to stop," Sasuke curtly replied, a slight smirk dancing across his lips as he looked up to see the other's reaction.
Gaara simply gave an approving nod and then looked back down at her, admiring her relaxed features. "Then I'm sorry to say that you won't get to do it nearly as often anymore," he mused.
Sasuke could hardly believe that Gaara was actually sorry about that fact but the tone of his voice reflected a certain level of sincerity that he didn't expect. "Why's that?" he questioned evenly.
"Because I'm taking her back with me. Though, you may still visit her if you like, of course," he conceded.
"What makes you think they'll let you take her like that? She still has several months of work left to do in our village before she can go," the older teen was quick to point out.
"They will just have to understand that for as much good as your village has done for her, keeping her there like that is now doing more harm than good," Gaara reasoned.
"Why don't you come to live with her then?"
"It sounds like you don't want her to leave," the sand ninja pointed out.
"I just don't think that you alone should dictate what's best for her. She has far more friends here than she does in your village. Taking her away from all of them could do just as much harm as what you're talking about," he argued.
"It's what she wants as well," Gaara informed.
"Is it? Or does she want that because it's what you'd rather? It would be much easier on you to have her move rather than do it yourself," Sasuke pointed out.
"I think you'll miss her," he mused with a gentle smile directed downward at the woman asleep in his lap.
Sasuke scoffed. "This isn't about me!"
Gaara made a sudden motion to keep his voice down. They hadn't been settled for more than twenty minutes and he didn't think that was enough rest for Calixta before traveling the rest of the way. "You are right about that but she is less obliged to stay in your village than I am in mine. And she is quite adept at making friends. I doubt that she will have any problems with that. Besides, I'm not going to take her right away. She'll need at least a few days to pack and get her affairs in order."
Sasuke sighed, feeling very defeated and didn't continue his argument. It was obvious that there was no convincing the sand ninja so he stopped trying. He figured that if he was right, he wouldn't be the only one to raise the kinds of objections he had and perhaps then he could persuade the other young man.
When Calixta awoke just under two hours later, they quickly resumed their journey. They went first to Kakashi's house. By that point, Guy was gone. He didn't want to face Gaara, at least not right away. At that point, Sasuke was permitted to leave, though he knew he would be called upon again before too long to discuss the affair.
Once his remaining two guests were seated, he sat down with them. "I'm glad that didn't take as long as I anticipated," he mused. "Gaara, you had a head start, didn't you?" he playfully accused.
"So it seems," he agreed with a slight nod.
Kakashi looked at Calixta for a second. "Does that mean that you didn't realize you were calling him to you?"
"N-No," she put her hands up defensively. "I'm sure I wasn't. I didn't start that until after I woke up here the first time. I got really freaked out and when I couldn't wake up, it was the only thing I felt like I could do," she admitted.
"But you left even before that," Kakashi pointed out, looking back to the young man.
"Yeah, I did," he conceded.
"Why?" he pressed curiously.
Gaara had been expecting the tone to be more accusatory. Since it was spoken so sincerely, it took him a little off guard and he was willing to indulge the intrusive older man. "I was coming to beg her to come stay with me," he admitted boldly.
Calixta gasped because she could feel how much effort it had taken him to say that. It almost made her tremble but she held it back for the sake of his pride.
"I see. So…you called her then," he mused with a slight chuckle. "Calixta, do you remember that feeling, that drive you mentioned earlier?"
She faltered for a moment and suppressed the memory of the feeling. She swallowed hard, "Uh, yeah, I do," she nodded.
"Good. Don't forget it," he ordered, which almost made Gaara smile.
"Yes, sensei," she vowed.
"But you didn't start to feel it until I got closer," Gaara informed.
She was a little startled by how sure he sounded. He wasn't speculating. He was sure. It made her wonder about her abilities. "Perhaps I'm not as adept at sensing you as I thought."
"No," Gaara was quick to argue. "You are adept but you have to filter through all the other garbage you deal with on top of it."
"He's right," Kakashi was quick to agree. "So…what are your plans?" he finally asked.
Calixta's gaze fell. "If it is at all possible, I would like to leave with Gaara and stay with him."
"Why don't you look at me when you ask that?" Kakashi prompted, a little irked.
She gave a heavy sigh and forced herself to make eye contact with him, "I wish to leave with Gaara and live with him," she asserted.
Kakashi swallowed hard. He had been expecting a feeling of some sort but he hadn't expected it to make his stomach turn. "I'll see what I can do," he told her as evenly as he could.
"I can't stay here too long and I'm not leaving without her," Gaara informed but then, after a chiding look from Calixta, he added, "…please."
Kakashi almost laughed but couldn't manage it. He almost wished he could because it had a chance of lifting his spirits. He knew that Calixta wouldn't stay in their village forever, even when she talked about making it her home, something about it didn't quite seem right. He didn't expect it to happen so suddenly and he found it very difficult to control the almost overwhelming disappointment that was starting to creep over him as he let them leave so he could go discuss the matter with Tsunade.
"That went reasonably well," Gaara commented dryly.
Calixta nodded but kept her gaze downcast.
"What's the matter?" he asked taking her hand as they walked.
She looked around and gave a great sigh. "I will miss this place."
"I know but you know you can always return whenever you like," he reminded.
"I know…" she sighed. "And I'm sure that I will learn to think of your village as my home…I could call any place where you are my home," she almost giggled, lightening the mood considerably.
That made Gaara smile. "And we shouldn't just up and leave right away."
"Oh? How long do you have before someone catches up with you this time?" she teased.
He laughed. "Actually, I have permission to be here this time."
That made Calixta beam.
"Father told me to take as long as you needed to get things in order," he informed with the slightest hint of pride in his voice.
"That's wonderful. I don't generally like long farewells but there are so many people to see and things to do…the extra time will be very appreciated."
"What would you like to do now?" he asked, looking around to find that it was just barely starting to get dark.
"I dunno," she shuffled her feet a little. "I'm tired…"
He nodded. "If you wanna to lay down, I'm sure I can entertain myself," he offered.
"I'm sure," she teasingly chided. "I think Lee-san has the night off."
Gaara snickered. "That's not what I had in mind."
"I am tired…but I don't want to go to bed just yet. My mind is still racing….though, I'm not quite sure what I do want to do at the moment," she giggled. "Ugh," she gave a tired sigh, "I'm just so tired of thinking…"
"Then let me think for you for a while, until you're ready to think for yourself again," he teasingly offered.
She smiled and moved in closer to him so he could wrap his arm around his waist. "That sounds wonderful," she closed her eyes and let him lead her wherever he pleased.
It was hard for Gaara to watch Calixta say good bye to all her friends. He had never experienced anything like that himself so he wasn't exactly prepared for how emotional those moments could be. There were several occasions when he actually had to excuse himself before he started to cry sympathetically. It wasn't ever too bad but even letting a few tears slip in front of anyone but her was something that he would not do. Naturally, she understood and let him be but others took notice. A few even told mentioned something to her about it but he never heard those conversations.
It also didn't take long for word of her departure to spread throughout the village and she had visitors by the following afternoon, many of them bearing some sort of gift.
"If you get any more going-away presents, we're going to need a second cart," Gaara teased, though he was obviously more than a little irked.
She laughed it off. "That's why I've started giving them something in return."
He had noticed that as well and wasn't quite sure how he felt about that but she seemed to enjoy it so he let it go. Even if he had intended to continue their conversation, he would have been interrupted by the knocking at the door. Since Calixta was in the middle of packing a box of the select dishes that she wanted to take with her, Gaara took the initiative and answered it.
"Hey Gaara, is Calixta home?" Naruto greeted as merrily as he could in spite of his disappointment at her sudden departure.
"Yeah, in the kitchen," he opened the door and let the other young man in.
Naruto didn't notice but he was one of the few people that Gaara didn't hesitate to let into Calixta's home. If it had been just about anybody else, he would have hesitated, if only for a moment, to let them in.
"Wow, it looks so empty already," Naruto awed sadly.
Calixta gave an empathetic nod as she taped up the box she had just finished packing. She knew that the last couple of days in the Leaf would be the most difficult because that's when her dearest friends would undoubtedly visit.
"You need any help moving stuff?" he offered as he watched her carry it across the room and set it in a small pile.
"I don't think so," Gaara dismissed.
"Uh, okay…well, I brought you these," he pulled three bento boxes out of his bag and set them on the table. "I hope you haven't had lunch yet."
They sat down to eat and Gaara was surprised at how well Naruto kept his disappointment in check. In fact, he hardly felt it at all and you certainly couldn't tell by looking at the blonde that he was depressed. As far as Gaara could tell, Naruto was trying his damnedest to make the most of what little time Calixta had left with them.
However, that feeling didn't last forever. As Calixta was throwing away the remains of their meal, Naruto finally spoke his true feelings.
"I'm really gunna miss you," he sighed sadly.
"I know," Calixta sighed as she sat down with a fresh pot of tea since it was obvious that her young comrade wasn't quite ready to leave just yet.
"I'm sorry. I should try not to feel this way…" the blonde muttered when he caught a slightly disapproving glance from Gaara. "I know how it affects you."
"It can't be helped," she dismissed. "Just keep trying to smiling as long as you can," she suggested hopefully and was pleasantly surprised when the small grin that danced on his lips wasn't the least bit forced.
He stayed a while longer and chatted as they packed up the last of her things that she was going to take with her. He felt a little useless like that but with as quickly as Gaara dismissed his offer for assistance earlier, he wasn't going to push his luck.
Gaara said very little during Naruto's stay and when he did speak, it was mostly to Calixta. However, as Naruto tried to leave, he had a strange little tugging in his belly that made him speak his mind. As the blonde started out the door, he turned to Calixta, " Why does he feel even more disappointed now than when he arrived?" he questioned curiously in a hushed voice.
Calixta gave her love a sad little smile. "He wanted a goodbye kiss," she admitted.
Gaara only hesitated for a moment before replying, "Then give him one," he shrugged.
With a flash of a grin, Calixta hurried out the door and caught up with Naruto, catching him in a warm embrace. Before he could speak, her lips were on his and he was melting in her arms.
That was what Naruto had been craving, whether he realized it or not, but was held back by the notion of a disapproving Gaara, something he'd rather not deal with at the moment. However, when a bit of his sense returned and he started to kiss back, he felt only a strange sense of approval from the little tyrant, a feeling that was almost as unnerving as the fear of disapproval.
When they separated a moment later, both were blushing and panting lightly.
"Come visit me whenever you like and I will do the same," she vowed to him.
"Yeah, okay," he managed and was finally allowed to leave.
Calixta skipped back up to her house and scampered back inside. Gaara just shook his head in exasperation and closed the door behind them.
Kakashi was the last visitor she received before leaving the Leaf with Gaara and he arrived late the evening before her departure. Unlike her other visitors, he actually asked Gaara to leave so they could speak privately. The sand ninja was initially reluctant but acquiesced with only a slightly pleading look from Calixta.
"Thank you," Kakashi said once Gaara was gone.
"I know he makes you nervous," she replied almost sadly.
"Not as nervous as he used to," he admitted.
"So it seems," she giggled a little but then turned serious again. "I will miss you very much." He was, unknowingly, the only person she had said that to first. "You took such good care of me while I was here."
"I helped you take care of yourself," he corrected.
"I was wondering, if it was okay, since I won't have anybody like you where I'm going, if I could still call you Sensei?" she asked hopefully.
He hadn't really thought about what kind of relationship they would have after she eventually left their village. He knew that for all practical reasons, he would no longer be her sensei but he also knew that she was too sentimental to let that kind of relationship die like that. "I think that would be fine," he agreed.
At that, Calixta leapt upon him, knocking him to the floor, and pulled away his scarf so she could kiss him. To her surprise, he didn't resist her at all, even out of surprise. She smiled into his lips when she realized that he probably felt it coming. When they finally parted, she spoke, "I used to make you a lot more nervous too," she pointed out.
"I suppose so," he agreed with a slight chuckle. "And that goes both ways," he pointed out.
She continued to smile and went back to kissing him but a moment later withdrew with a slight frown. "What's the matter?"
"I'm not sure we should…" he trailed off as he looked down at the way her body laid on his.
"Isn't that why you wanted Gaara to leave?" she asked mischievously.
"You know that's not why," he scolded.
"Oh…" she sighed with mock-disappointment and started to withdraw from him.
Kakashi rolled his eyes and pulled her in for another kiss. They didn't do much more than that but when he left, he still felt oddly satisfied.
Gaara returned a short while later and didn't bother saying anything about her sensei.
"Good, you're back," she said when he returned.
He nodded.
"I want to leave tonight," she informed.
"Oh? Did Kakashi say something that bad?" he half-joked.
"No…it's just that…I know that everyone wants to see us off tomorrow morning and-" she began but he cut her off.
"Say no more. I understand. I'll start loading the cart," he agreed and started working.
They had originally wanted to borrow a horse to pull their cart but even with Calixta's empathy, the animals were too skittish around Gaara that they opted to pull it themselves since it wasn't too heavy of a load. That meant slower traveling but it was worth it for not having to tend an animal other than Satu, who was reasonably self-sufficient.
Once they were sure they had everything, the couple set off under the cover of darkness. Just as they reached the village gate and thought they would escape unnoticed, Sasuke's voice suddenly spoke to them from the shadows.
"So, you're just going to sneak away in the middle of the night? I guess I shouldn't be surprised," the teen taunted as he emerged from his hiding place. He knew Calixta wouldn't be able to handle the formal send off and would try to avoid that kind of emotional outpouring if at all possible.
"You know why we're leaving now," she replied simply.
"Yeah, I get it. You can't handle it," he scoffed.
"None of you would be able to stand it either," Gaara was quick to point out.
Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to you but you never tried to say it either," she informed.
Sasuke fumed for a short moment because he didn't think he should have had to be the one to make that move. "I'm not going to say goodbye because I know I'm not rid of you," he managed to sneer.
Calixta smiled brightly at him through the archway, dimly lit by a series of torches. "Yeah, I'll miss you too," she replied.
"Whatever. Just go," Sasuke dismissed.
She was about to when she received a strangely urging look from Gaara. It seemed her teammate's displeasure had spread. So, with a slightly challenging look, she quickly closed the distance between herself and Sasuke. He seemed to still revel a little in the significance of their height difference but she was unfazed.
"Thank you," she told him seriously as she looked up into his eyes. Then she lightly touched the back of is hand. "If you ever need anything, you know how to find me."
He was a little startled by her thanks and then just laughed at her offer. For a moment, that was all he could do even though the warmth from her touch was only slight because it made his breath catch. "Uh-huh," he rolled his eyes again and pushed her away. "Just go before anybody else sees you," he stepped away.
The dark-haired young man acted as though he was going to walk away but really, he was just looking for a better place to watch them leave. He had intended to watch them until they disappeared into the forest but didn't manage to stay that long because he could feel the pangs of sadness getting worse so he had to leave.
THE END
but not really...i have a couple of chapters that were fun to write that didn't quite fit into the overall story that i plan to publish very soon. then it will be over.
