Konnichiwa konnichiwa, Planeshunter desu!
I forgot to mention it last chapter, but I drew an adult Hinata. It technically has nothing to do with this work, but I'm putting it in my profile anyway.
[Izanami] is now unlocked! Check it out in the Author's profile!
Now, without further ado, Mystic Eyes of Reincarnation 始まります!
He's not the kind of person who 'sighs', but there's definitely a release of tension as he feels her visitor's presence fade away in the distance and looks upwards to the barely visible moon. There's a brief moment of idle wondering, noting the finals will be held during the New Moon, where his inner demon is the most subdued.
It's been almost two weeks since their first meeting and the tournament almost here. Honestly, even after choosing to give Tenko-nee's way a chance (After a bit of negotiation, they had concurred in that name instead of the full-fledged 'Onee-chan' he had wanted), he remains unconvinced.
Oh, he accepts some of her advice has merit, and he can't ignore how warm it feels to be with her, or how much he looks forward to their time together, but he's had a first row seat to life's unfairness and has learnt the hard way good things have a price. His system works and he's hesitant to change for something new, no matter how shiny it looks.
Still it was hard to resist the allure of feeling wanted and not having to always be in high alert. It was becoming a vicious cycle, where he would decide to go along with Tenko-nee's path every night, only for the harsh reality to slowly sink back during the day, making him ready to return to his old ways before night came and she met him again.
For the umptenth time, he goes over his admittedly clumsy attempts at gaining his siblings' trust. At first, he had resigned to a long and frustrating endeavour. There was a long-standing precedent after all and at first both of them would treat his approaches warily. That had only reinforced his estimation so he took the patient approach.
And yet, once he had convinced his sibling that no, they hadn't done anything to incur his wrath and no, he wasn't feeling specially violent or bloodthirsty either, what Tenko-nee called the 'first steps' had progressed unexpectedly well. He had been dumbfounded when he realized both of them, specially Temari, had been waiting for a reason not to fear him, and wary as they were of the sudden change in his behaviour, they still jumped at the chance.
That's why it felt so frustrating the way the 'Crush the Leaf' operation looming closer piled anxiety on them, as he was sure he could've made more substantial progress in different circumstances. Speaking of which, Baki-sensei had warned them about an unknown masked woman he had easily recognised as Tenko-nee.
Gaara was unwilling to be wary of her and tried to subtly interrogate her about her allegiances during their following meeting, hoping to discover where she stood. What he'd gotten was a hint she already knew about their plans and encouragement to 'stick to his loyalties'.
He didn't understood her goals, after Baki-sensei's warning he was positive she wasn't from Suna, and he had never made an effort to show where his loyalties lied. What could Tenko-nee possibly stand to win by keeping him loyal to a power she herself had no ties to? Then again, not understanding her was nothing new, as even after two weeks he still drew a blank about why she would even bother approaching him in the first place, much less the displays of trust and affection and all the time wasted simply talking about whatever he wanted to or simply letting time pass in silence, enjoying how 'His' voice reduced to an indignant whimpering when she was around.
And such interesting things they had talked about... There was someone like him in Konoha, someone who could understand him even better than Tenko-nee could. She had refused to reveal their identity, but Gaara couldn't blame her. He might have been tempted to try and confirm his existence against them in one of his changes of heart.
Today there had been a different talk, Tenko-nee claimed was about history, history about Suna involving a monk who had imprisoned a desert spirit inside a kettle. He had heard a thousand versions of this already, understandably interested in anything related to the monster lurking inside and inevitably growing disappointed with every single one of them.
But Tenko-nee had names and dates, and it indeed seemed more a history lesson than a fairytale. Interestingly enough, the name of the priest, Bunpuku drew 'His' attention. Tenko-nee had then looked into his eyes and asked if he had forgotten about his lessons. Gaara was sure that wasn't addressed to him.
Since then 'He' had said nothing, not a whisper, not a taunt, neither veiled threat not attempt at showing discord. That was what had finally shaken him out of his indecision. He'll follow the path Tenko-nee suggests wholeheartedly, at least until the exams are over and he returns to Suna.
He doesn't delude himself, remaining firm on his choice without her around won't be an easy feat.
One of the things he's less enthused with about this new path is Tenko-nee's insistence in the wrongness of needless violence and the need to apologise. He can see the logic behind 'not overdoing in a friendly match', but he doesn't do 'apologise'. It requires interacting with unfamiliar people, words, lowering oneself before a third party you have previously aggravated and, most importantly, putting oneself at their mercy.
To top it off, for his first experience Tenko-nee had recommended the… unconventional boy he had tried to kill during the preliminaries. As he eyes him and his jounin-sensei train (and hug, and cry, and somehow project rainbows and sunsets everywhere), he can only wonder if this is really the best option.
It's a bit of a surprise when they finish their laps and turn towards him, his stealth obviously insufficient. He chastises himself for making assumptions about them. They're Konoha-nin and appearances can and should be deceiving.
-"You are Gaara-san, right?" -The genin greets him extending his right hand in a fist with the thumb extended and pointed upwards. His perfect teeth glint and Gaara feels his own brow twitching for some reason. Not like it can be seen under his [Sand Armor]- "Can we help you?"
-"You are Rock Lee" -He starts after getting the twitching under control- "I tried to kill you."
-"You mean the match?" -He seems a bit confused, but the smile never leaves his lips- "We both let the fires of youth burn a it to passionately then. My [Reverse Lotus] is a deathly technique too, but I was confident you could survive it."
-"No, I honestly tried to kill you with all my might when you were already down, if your sensei hadn't intervened you wouldn't be amongst the living anymore."
That wipes his smile, causing him to frown. His jounin-sensei puts a hand on his shoulder, suddenly serious too. That's it, Gaara thinks, the moment when realization dawns that he's just a monster in human shape, when pointing fingers and accusations begin. Mother shivers at his distress, ready to pounce on the source, but he holds back. 'You extend your hand, fully prepared to get hurt. And hope against hope for the best'.
-"Well?" -The sensei interrupts his reverie, their faces are solemn, but they haven't reacted beyond that- "I assume there's a reason you wanted to talk about it?"
That's it? No recriminations or disgusted expressions? He dares to hope.
-"I'm here to apologize for my behaviour, that was an inexcusable excess of violence."
Rock Lee crosses his arms and closes his eyes in a frown, apparently deep in thought. When he looks at him again, his expression is still dead serious.
-"I'm afraid I can't have that, Gaara-san."
His heart sinks, it's like Tenko-nee said. You try and try and get hurt again and again, hoping at every turn that it will be different that time, because being alone hurts even more. He's failed this time, but...
-"There's nothing to forgive" -The sensei adds, with a big smile that catches him completely by surprise- "It was just a mistake brought forth by the flames of youth, right Lee?"
-"Yes, Gai-sensei!" -He does again that unfamiliar pose with the right thumb pointing at the sky- "I hope we can use this excuse to forge strong bonds of friendship!"
-"Lee!"
-"Gai-sensei!"
-"Lee!"
Gaara doesn't feel capable of cracking whatever secret code those exaggerated displays were supposed to be, but the idea of forming bonds seemed good enough. Funnily enough the thought of his mission getting in the way of this friendship doesn't even cross his mind.
Somehow and in spite of his better judgement, he gets dragged into a sparring match by sensei and student, and he surprises himself enjoying it and wisening up to some sobering facts. [Sand Shield] is indeed a formidable defense that has never let him down before the preliminaries, but now that he will use it in front of people he will not kill afterwards he should be aware of it's shortcomings, since future enemies will be able to plan around it.
As an automated reaction it has the problem of being predictable and such, easy to trick. Lee's speed was an important factor back during their duel, but being able to predict where and how the sand would move was the final nail.
By trial and error with a sparring partner he's quickly learnt how to reserve a small amount of the sand to manually handle, consciously covering the more glaring blind spots of his defense. He's always written off sparring as 'unnecessary' before, but that was under the assumption he could overpower any enemy under the safety of his own defense. The usefulness of an opponent willing to test your limits without the obvious disadvantages of desiring your death was something he'd never thought about before.
They also try to drag him into some physical training, but his condition causes him to suffer migraines when he exercises in excess, so he's never felt too comfortable moving his body around. After insisting for the umptenth time he'll be fine and that he doesn't wish to get in the way of their own training, they part ways and he makes to return home.
Is only then when whatever glamour the green-clad shinobi have used on him vanishes and he realizes the bizarreness of the situation. Here he is, in a village his Kage plans to turn into ruins in a couple of days, making friends with the most outlandish individuals he's met in his life all because a couple of weeks earlier he met a masked woman who turned his life upside-down.
Well, he reflects. It's not like his life hasn't been a bizarre thing from the start and at least now things will be interesting. He'll just approach the upcoming events with a wait-and-see attitude and decide how to react on the spot, this is all too new for him to truly try and plan things out.
As if to confirm his thoughts, once he returns to the team rooms and his siblings see the goodwill parting gift from his new friends, they react in a completely incomprehensible way.
-"It's explendid at maintaining moisture and allowing air to pass through" -He recites, stoically defending his gift- "It's also designed for maximum movement. It's perfect in form and has beautiful curves."
-"I don't care if it turns you into the embodiment of Rikudou Sennin-sama. As your big sister I ban you from wearing green spandex in public!"
This might be the shortest chapter up to date, in my defense things kept happening making me rewrite it again and again, and then I decided half what I had already written would work better in the next chapter and… well, a mess. But hey! Finals start next chapter, and I can promise next week will have some of the better fights I've written up to date. That's something to look forward to! Right? Right…