Kisarei
Would I have married Hinata if I knew I was in love with Gaara? I couldn't get Gaaruto's visit out of my head. It was too damn weird. I mean, what in the serious hell? What wasn't he telling me? Not to mention, how in the hell did Gaara even find out it was him who took the necklace in the first place? Well, and have Gaaruto live long enough to give it back. A shiver run up my spine at the thought of it and pulled myself up to a seated position.
"Is there something the matter Lady Kisarei?"
I nearly fell off the bed. "Where the hell are you?" I looked around but didn't see the culprit. Soon, she rounded the bed from behind and smiled at me.
"I apologize, miss." She gave a small bow.
"You know, you can talk to me like a regular person, Chuyo." I sighed. I wasn't that intimidating, was I? Or was it who I was married to? "Can't drop all the formality crap can you?"
She shook her head 'no'.
I fell back onto my pillows. "Hey, I'm not used to all this, you know? Tsch. Take it easy on me."
A blush formed on her cheeks and her hands gripped onto a box in her hands. She cleared her throat. "I am to dress you today." She avoided what I said.
Wait. Dress me? "Why?" A lump formed in my throat and I looked away from her.
"I have been asked to dress my Lady in the provided dress."
Dress? "How come? I haven't left this room since I had Kimi." I spoke it to the ceiling, the spiral Gaara drew to replicate the one I drew years before. My heart fluttered, a strange nervousness taking hold of me. Dress me? In a dress? I swallowed down the nerves. I hadn't even looked at myself, not fully, since... ever. The last time I saw myself was when Shinki took me downstairs just before I had Kimi, and I felt even weirder since I woke back up. Other than the ghost memory I had from my clone, I didn't know what I looked like. I still hadn't gained enough courage to do a full inspection. I was petrified of what was beneath my clothes. Completely and utterly petrified. I wasn't ready to see yet. I didn't want to acknowledge it yet. It was hard enough to just accept the fact I was someone new, I didn't need the visual comparison. Not yet anyway.
When Chuyo didn't answer my question, I dared look back in her direction.
She shifted her weight and looked at the door. "I have no idea." A blush crept up onto her cheeks and her lips thinned. "You see, I have never had to dress anyone so..." She trailed off then took a deep breath. "I hope you don't mind I invited someone to come help me."
I stared at her, feeling speechless for the first time in a while. Help? With dressing me? "What the hell?" I cringed when she flinched, not realizing I voiced it aloud. I muttered out a sorry followed by a sigh.
She went to the table near the door and picked up a large, flat box then came over to my bedside. "Here, open it."
I stared at it a moment. Dress. I wasn't sure I wanted to see what was inside. I mean, I know I was a girl now, but I still wasn't sure I could embrace it all just yet. My hand hesitated over it, and I was stopped when there was a knock at the door. I breathed a sigh of relief when Chuyo took her attention from me and went to the door to answer it. I retracted my hand from the box and looked to see who was at the door.
Without introduction, hands grabbed onto Chuyo's shoulders and gave a firm shake. The poor girl squeaked and the perpetrator peeked around her, a large smile on her face.
I returned the smile, why not? "Hey, Yumi." I owed this girl for letting me know my daughter's name yet. I wasn't sure how I would repay her, but I would figure it out somehow.
"This person here asked if I could help get you ready for something."
I breathed a sigh of relief. At least I knew this person. Sort of. I eyed Chuyo who was still standing near the door. She was wringing her hands and looking at me as though she could pass out at any moment. I decided to ignore her, she was way too serious about her job and it annoyed me. So, I focused on the sane person in the room. "So how do you know her?" I pushed a finger in Chuyo's direction.
Yumi came over and sat on my bed, pushing past the girl. "We're sharing a room for now. Apparently, the servants quarters were the only ones out of the way of the Kazekage. Been hiding out in there since Lord Kankuro told me not to get anywhere near him. You know, because of what I did." She gave a half laugh.
My smile widened. "Serves the guy right." I smacked her back, eliciting a small 'oomph'. "Thank you for that."
She gave a small shrug. "You're her mother, thought you already knew. Shinki never mentioned it when we met here when he was watching her."
Shinki. I stole a glance at Chuyo who watched us in silence. I wanted to ask Yumi if her reason for staying was because she made her choice regarding him. With my babysitter from the council here, I figured it might not be a good idea. I cleared my throat. "So what's with all the fuss over that thing anyway?" I returned my attention to the box sitting on my lap. The one I preferred to ignore.
"It is a special dress for you." Chuyo straightened her back and started her way to my bed.
"By order of the elder council itself." Yumi stressed the word elder and gave me a wink.
"Does Gaara know about it?" I looked between them. Both of them gave me an odd look. "What?"
"It's just... You speak so informally of him, my Lady." Chuyo came and stood next to the bed behind Yumi.
"Well, I am married to the guy." I rolled my eyes at her, followed by a slight shiver. Married to Gaara. Saying out loud, so casually made it feel even more real. Everything was so weird anymore. I flashed a big smile to hide my thoughts.
Chuyo looked to the wall, gave an audible gasp and leaned over Yumi's shoulder. "You need to open the box."
I followed where she was looking and noticed the clock on the wall. I groaned. "I thought you said you had no idea what it was for." I looked past Yumi to the culprit behind her. "You lied to me. What is going on?"
"The Kazekage." The words were followed by a loud 'oomph' as Chuyo smacked Yumi in the back of the head with a small folder.
"You promised!" I wanted to ask if he were coming, but I didn't want to get Yumi into any more trouble than she already was with Chuyo.
Yumi rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry. I still don't get why it needs to be so much a secret in the first place."
"If you say another word, I will kick you out of this room. This job is too important for me to get fired on a technicality."
Yumi stood from the bed and raised up her hands in defense. "Fine. Can't imagine you can do this by yourself and I am halfway sure she's more comfortable with me in the first place."
The color drained from Chuyo's face and she looked over to me. "I..." She trailed off. "I'm sorry." She averted her eyes.
I eyed her then the box, happy I kept myself from the groan I could just feel in the back of my throat. I didn't want to deal with her even more than I wanted to deal with this stupid dress. I steeled my nerves, grabbed the box and pulled it to me, then hesitated. A heaviness settled into my stomach as I froze in mid-motion. I didn't want to open it. Dress. Would I be required to wear them from here on out? Did I want to? Did I have a choice? I swallowed.
"Hey, you alright?" Yumi sat back on the bed next to me, her smile gone.
I gave a nod, not trusting my voice as my throat tightened.
"Well then, open it. I'm curious what they gave you."
"Yumi!" Chuyo's voice was louder this time.
She shrugged and tapped the box. "Well?"
My hands tightened on it. What in the hell was I freaking out about? A stupid dress? Hell, I used to wear them undercover when I was a kid, so what was the difference anyway? Permanence. I knew the answer. I didn't want to think about it. I ripped off the top of the box. It was better to get this over with.
Inside was bright blue silk and white linen. I frowned at it. I started to pull it out of the box but it seemed... Shapeless. "Why did he send me just fabric?" I finished pulling out the linen, and it was in fact, just a large piece of fabric. Seriously, why did he send this? Was it some kind of joke? I pulled out the other piece, but it was the same. Soft, barely-there blue. The fabric itself was kind of pretty, but what in the hell was I supposed to do with it? I looked up to the person was now my official babysitter. "Well?" I held it up so she could see it was nothing more than a slip of fabric.
"Um... I" Chuyo stuttered, her brows pursed in confusion. "There... There must be a reason. It's the royal color, so it must be... I mean..." She trailed off. She was at a loss of words.
"Great."
It was then Yumi laughed. Outright laughed, so hard both Chuyo and I looked at her as though she grew a second head. "What the hell, Yumi?" I pointed at the fabric. "Something funny about this shit?"
My words only served to make her laugh harder. Laugh so hard she was to the point she had tears.
Chuyo sat heavy into the chair near the door then folded her hands in her lap, a definitive frown settling on her face. "What are you laughing about?" This time, her voice was lower, more annoyed.
Yumi wheezed and wiped the tears from her eyes. "Sorry, it's just..." She took a deep breath through her nose to calm her laughing down. "The council appointed attendant has no idea what's in the box, the person who is supposed to wear them thinks they are nothing but pieces of fabric and the shunned outsider knows exactly what they are." She pointed at herself with a smile. "Probably a good thing you brought me, huh?"
It was this exact moment Chuyo broke down into tears. A doubled over, heaving sort of break down.
Something about the sight before me made my heart twist in my chest. "Um, Chuyo?" I froze. I had no idea what to say. Why was she crying? I stared. I wasn't good at the whole girly emotions thing. What made girls cry anyway? How could I make it better? A numb feeling crawled over me. Would I end up like this? Did girls know why they cried so much? Would I end up a blubbering mess for no damn reason?
Yumi moved to comfort her but Chuyo jerked away.
"Don't. Please, I-" She sat up straighter in the chair and worked at regaining her composure. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." She looked up at me, her eyes puffy and red. "I'm trying, I am, it's just I have no idea what I'm doing." She wiped at her eyes. "I'm sorry."
I had no idea what to say. I just ended up staring at her like a complete idiot. I couldn't get up to comfort her, not when my legs gave out after only a few short steps.
"No, I..." She trailed off, heaved a sigh and stood up. "I should resign. I have no business doing this. I can't learn everything about custom and tradition this quick, I don't know what I was thinking, accepting this job. I am not from any prominent family, just the daughter of a diner owner who doesn't do well at anything. I'm sorry, Lady Kisarei, I failed you." She gave a bow and turned.
Something in me snapped. She was just going to give up because she didn't know how to put some crazy idiotic slip of fabric on someone? "What the damn hell, Chuyo?" I pushed the fabric back towards the box. I might not be happy about this whole babysitter thing, but in a way, I felt grateful for the company. I wasn't about to admit it though. "If you leave here, you don't deserve the job. Do you think I have any idea what I'm doing? I'm not even from this backward sandy shithole."
She stopped and turned to look at me.
"Do you see me, Chuyo? I'm a nobody. When I was a-" I cleared my throat. Shit. I need to remember my story. I'm my own twin. I don't dare blow my cover story already. "When we were kids, my brother was ignored, but he made them look at him anyway. Yeah, we ended up being the kids of the Fourth Hokage, but we didn't know that. Not back then. For him it was always fighting to be noticed, fight to figure out a way through. This might not be something as dire to the point someone would die if we don't find a way to tie up this creepy ass dress, but it's still a challenge."
She was silent a moment before she spoke. "What about you?" Chuyo took a step back toward me.
I frowned. "What?"
"You said for your brother it was a fight to be noticed. For you, what about you?"
I froze. What about me? I came up with the whole 'I'm my own twin sister' nonsense, someone was bound to question what in the hell I was up to since there was never any evidence of there being a twin sister to Naruto up until now. I scoffed then looked down to my hands. Two colors. They barely looked like my own hands, there were no calluses, they weren't as large. I would have to ask Sakura why my other hand changed as well, it made no sense to me why it kept up with the rest of me. I closed my eyes and I clasped them together then let them fall into my lap.
I knew the ninja world too well. If I were a twin, they would have hidden me, kept me alive 'in case'. I knew what my story should be. It was a disgusting one, but not as bad as some of the real stories I ran into when I was younger. I remembered Haku. I remembered his desperation to have a reason to exist. I remembered he was kept as a weapon. I took a deep breath. Come on, Uzumaki, this has to be the best story you have ever told. I opened my eyes and brought them up to meet hers. "I existed. I waited. They kept me is some room while the world went by without me. I knew my brother existed, they never even let him know I did. They would give me his memories, you know. Every time he wound up in the hospital, I knew because it was when they would come. I know everything there is to know about Naruto Uzumaki except for the last few months he was alive."
I looked away from her. Lace truth into the story. That much was true. What he did, how he did it was beyond me. "I was the last resort. The thing which could be used to keep the peace. I am the last piece of Naruto Uzumaki, the Hokage. The Naruto who was a close friend to your Kazekage. Through the memories, I feel as though I know him as well as my brother had." I took a deep breath. I didn't know what to add.
Chuyo came back to my bed and sat on the edge next to Yumi. "I see." She gave me a small smile. "I will do my best then. Please, be patient with me."
I returned her smile then looked over to Yumi. She was studying me, an odd look on her face. "Yumi?"
She blinked, cleared her throat and stood up. "Alright, how about we do this then? We are nearly out of time, so I think it's best if we finish this up, huh?" She flashed me a smile then held up the fabric. There was something fake about the expression, but I decided this wasn't the time to ask.
Instead, I eyed the thing she was holding. I groaned at the sight of it. "Yay..." I trailed off. I still wasn't all that ready for this to happen yet.
.*. .*. .*.
It took a lot longer than any of us thought to get those bits of fabric assembled in any kind of fashion on my traitorous body. Had my limbs worked correctly, the procedure would have been much, much easier. Instead, I could barely stand on my own, and not for long before I lost feeling in my legs which made it interesting to attempt to get some old fashioned drapery dress on me. After the initial embarrassment of having to strip in front of two girls I barely knew, it became more of a battle and the fact that I was recently a guy turned naked girl easily slipped my mind after one or two attempts.
"I've never been happier someone has been late in my life." Chuyo gave a heavy sigh then collapsed on the bed next to me.
Yumi soon followed suit. "Same."
I laughed. "Well, do you think I will pass?" I never fully confirmed the fact Gaara was supposed to come, but everything pointed to it, so I left it alone. For some reason, neither of them were supposed to say he was, though why else would the council want me in some sort of complicated outfit in the first place?
Yumi leaned back, looked me up and down then flashed me a smile. "If the Kazekage doesn't give you that same creepy stare Shinki gives me, I will jump out of the window personally."
"You will forever be safe then." I snickered. "Even if he wasn't impressed, I am halfway sure he will give me that look anyway. He wears it constantly if you haven't noticed."
Even Chuyo cracked a small smile to that one.
"Now what?" I was tempted to lean back on the bed. A small knot formed in my stomach which kept me upright. I felt exhausted. I hadn't done much of anything, and I felt completely exhausted. Just from getting dressed. I idly pressed a hand to my stomach and swallowed. It was a glaring sign of the fact I wasn't the same. The fact I lost Kurama.
"The Kazekage should be coming in any moment."
I blinked to clear my mind, this wasn't the time to be thinking of him. "When was he due to get here anyway?"
Chuyo looked back to the clock. "Nearly an hour ago."
I bit my lip. "Why do you think he's late?" Maybe he didn't want to see me? Was our time together enough? Did he change his mind already? Did he regret-
"Let's do your makeup then. This thing is the royal dress worn in all the picture books I grew up with, so why not go the extra mile and do your make up too?" Yumi stood from the bed, a slight bounce to her.
"Do you have the right things? I still haven't gotten anything around for it, my first expenses list comes due in a few days and I planned to add it in for council approval. The traditional supplies are more expensive than I can afford."
"Eh?" I stared at Chuyo. Expensive? "Why even bother with it then? Isn't it just a waste of money?"
Chuyo gave me an odd look and Yumi held up her hands. "I've got it, I just have to head downstairs to grab it." She backed out of the room before I could say anything else.
I turned my attention to Chuyo. "Is wearing expensive makeup necessary?" I frowned at her. I only put lipstick on and maybe some eyeliner when in my sexy jutsu, so why? What was the big deal anyway?
"It's traditional. Remember, this isn't just about you or the person you are entertaining. It is about all of Suna. You are the wife of the Kazekage, and the position in the past was ornamental. The council is trying to use this opportunity to return some of the old traditions back to the way they once were."
"Something tells me you aren't the one who came up with that line."
Her lips twitched up into a smile. "I'm supposed to be your attendant. If I am still found suitable in a few months, this will become my permanent position." She folded her hands into her lap. "I have a lot to learn, but I will do my best. Thank you, my Lady, for earlier."
I stared at her. "Permanent?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. "According to the dockets I read over, the Lady of Suna shall have at least one attendant to look over her daily duties at all times. This law was revoked nearly a century ago and the elder council finds it an important one to bring back."
I frowned at her. I wasn't expecting to have a lifelong babysitter. "I thought all this was because Gaara wants to marry me or something."
She shrugged. "I only know this is what I am to do. Before this was a ninja village, becoming the Lady's head attendant was the highest position anyone could attain. I might not know much, but when I told my father about what I was asked to become, my entire family packed my bags for me to come here." She let out a nervous laugh.
What she said made my frown deepen. "You didn't have a choice, did you?"
Her face fell, followed by a small forced smile. "I'm not good at anything, you know. This job wasn't one I sought out, it just sort of fell in my lap. I'll get used to the idea of serving someone, the same as I am sure you will get used to the idea of having someone serve you."
I rolled my eyes. There was no way in hell I was going to let someone just be around to serve me. It felt annoying, knowing there was nothing I could do about it. "Tsch." I looked away from her not wanting to argue about it.
Muffled voices sounded at the door, getting louder every second. Soon, the things being said could be heard clearly. "We're over an hour late, what do you mean you're not ready yet?"
I cringed at the voice, recognizing it immediately. The door slammed open soon after that and Kankuro was in the doorway wearing his full ninja outfit including eye makeup and hood. I raised a hand in greeting. "Um, hey." I gave an awkward smile and he groaned.
"Here, give me that." He reached behind him and snatched something out of Yumi's hands. "You probably don't even know how to use that shit anyway." He came to the bed and shooed Chuyo from next to me. "Move, he'll be here any second and you're right, it ain't complete without this shit."
As soon as Chuyo was out of the way, he sat down on the bed. "Now then, close your eyes and pucker up."
"The hell I am going to-"
He narrowed his eyes at me. "I'm not asking again."
I swallowed at the dark look in his eyes. I closed my eyes and puckered my lips. For a moment there, I remembered the fact I actually was petrified of this guy here. Both of Gaara's siblings were damn scary and now without a way to defend myself, it only made the threat stronger.
His hands were rough, but I felt a coolness on my lips and eyes, then on my cheekbones. "It's not quite perfect, but it's better than nothing, so it will have to do because there isn't any time."
I opened my eyes just in time to see a small box get tossed at Yumi. "Hey!"
"Out. I am not dealing with him if he sees you." Kankuro gave Yumi a small shove towards the bathroom.
"This isn't the way out!"
"It is out of the way, it's good enough." A final push and Yumi was successfully deposited into the bathroom. "Now shut your mouth unless you want a face full of sand."
There was a small yelp from the bathroom, but then it went silent. Kankuro gave a small sigh. "Why can't anything ever go smooth around here?" He spoke it to himself, then looked up to the ceiling. He pursed his mouth then blew air out, his cheeks puffing out some as he did.
I cleared my throat. "Don't get me wrong, but what in the hell is so important about all this?"
He looked over to me, a small pained look on his face. "You know, this is half the reason why this is so much of a damn pain."
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it, princess," a wicked grin formed and he stressed the word, "you'll figure it out someday."
I groaned. "You're an ass." I stole a glance at Chuyo who was looking at me with a horrified expression. I shrugged. I didn't care at the moment. I was who I was and no amount of makeup and dresses would change that.
Kankuro leaned against the wall and crossed his arms. "Just watch the door will you, I've been working my ass off for this so you better appreciate it."
I wanted to ask what it was he was working on but kept my mouth shut and watched the door. What was going on exactly? My throat felt dry and I swallowed. My heart began to race and I clenched the fabric of the bed below me. Nervous? Why in the heck was I feeling so nervous?
Before long, there was movement at the stairs just beyond the landing, and bit by bit red hair was visible, then his face. Then, his torso, then legs. He stepped into the room and I couldn't tear my eyes off of him. What in the world was he wearing? I wet my lips, ignoring the odd taste which followed from whatever it was which was covering them. His underclothes were a blood red and similar to what he wore normally except the top was so long it went down to his knees. A deep blue belt wrapped around his waist at his hips, loose and encrusted with sparkling blue gems. His coat was embroidered with white and silver gems which caught the light at every seam and was made out of the same silk fabric my dress was.
Damn though. The pale, nearly white blue made both his eyes and skin glow. Like this, he looked even more porcelain than before. I knew it was just his sand covering, but hell, I didn't care. This person in front of me was beautiful. There was a ticklish twist in my stomach and I shifted on the bed.
His eyes wandered the room, then settled on me. His face, which was blank since he came into the room, faltered a moment. His lips parted, then closed and as soon as the change of look happened, it was schooled back to his normal blank. He turned his head from me and his shoulders stiffened, then relaxed again. He turned back to me, then looked to Chuyo. "I see the traditional garb was not only extended to myself." There was an odd accusatory tone to his voice.
She smiled then bowed. "It was decided by the council both parties should follow the original guidelines for dress, Lord Kazikage."
His eyes flitted back my way, then back to Chuyo. "You will extend thanks to them for this."
My stomach gave a larger twist to the statement and I felt my entire face grow hot. I covered it with my hand in a quick attempt to cool it back down, but it didn't seem to work. I brought my hand back down to find his eyes on me. The look in them was something odd from him, something unexpected. I cleared my throat and looked away.
Well, maybe I could get used to wearing dresses after all if this was the reaction I would get from them. Hell.
Author's Note
Only a couple more chapters to go! At least for this part of the series. The next part is already getting outlined and I am halfway done with the first chapter of Ink already, so I hope all of you continue to read on. There is still a lot of ground to cover in this series and I am excited to be able to write it.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and as always reviews/comments serve to inspire 3
