Disclaimer: Enlighten me as to how I possibly could own, hm…?
Chapter 56: 'Rei' of Enlightenment
Sakura awoke in the hospital to the sight of a little old woman she didn't know. Before Sakura's groggy mind could begin to wonder about the situation, the little old lady was speaking. "Ah, you're awake, are you?" Sakura could only blink acknowledgement before the old woman bustled over to her side, "Of course you are. You only hit your head a little, and the abrasion on your skin from the sandstorm were minimal, unlike little Rei's." Sakura's eyes widened in shock and confusion. Noting this, the old lady nodded sagely, "Oh, yes, didn't you know—oh, wait, of course not, you were asleep." Pointing a gnarled finger over her shoulder at a hanging curtain, the old woman added, "He's sleeping just over there." It was only then that Sakura realized that, for the first time, she was in a hospital room shared with someone else…shared with Rei.
As the woman had spoken, Sakura had been trying to make her tired mind think of something to say. As soon as the old woman finished her statement, Sakura slowly asked, "So…was Rei caught in the storm?" The old woman nodded as she grabbed at a clipboard attached to the foot of Sakura's bed. As the old woman looked over the clipboard, Sakura asked quietly, "Do you know why?"
The old woman actually snorted as she flipped a page on the clipboard, "Of course I do—I was the one who got him out of that storm and brought him here when it was over. Gave him first aid to—I might just be a volunteer here, but I know my first aid. Anyway, he and his sister are friends with my granddaughter, you see, so when I looked out my window to see what all the commotion was and saw him trying to get closer to the little fight that had broken out, I covered as much of me as I could, made sure I wouldn't lose my way in the storm, then hurried out and dragged him inside. The sand had scoured his legs by then, but I had to tie him to a chair to stop him from going back out. He told me he'd been looking for his cousin when he saw the fight…"
Setting the clipboard back down, the chatty old woman's eye returned to scour Sakura's face, making her feel awkward. She was shifting on the bed nervously when finally the old woman spoke up. "Do you know why he tried to go back outside again?" Sakura had to answer with the negative. She had been wondering that very thing. Even if Rei never knew when to back down, he wasn't stupid. People who lived in Suna knew that sandstorms were no joke. Even Sakura, who had only lived in Suna for a short while, knew that much, thanks to Karura.
The old woman looked her over once more before chuckling. "If you're asking if he told me, the answer is no; by that point the pain had caught up to him and he started crying—don't tell him I said that, by the way—but I haven't lived this long without learning a thing or two." When Sakura only looked at her in confusion the old woman made a tut-tut sound, then explained as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Little boys like Rei do stupid things when pretty little girls are near."
Sakura felt her face warm as she realized the little old lady was calling her pretty—she wasn't quite sure she agreed with the complement, too many people had called her ugly in the past, but it felt nice none the less. She also wasn't quite sure why the old woman would think Rei would do anything as dangerous as running out into a sandstorm because of her, especially when she had already said Rei had been out there in the first place looking for his cousin. As if reading her mind, the old woman chortled and patted Sakura's hand, "If you don't believe me, you could ask him yourself why he nearly went back out there. If you're persistent enough, he might even tell you the truth. Now, take off those covers and let me see your legs."
Sakura did as she was told, and in doing so realized that her legs stung a bit. It felt no worse than a sunburn, though, and when she let her legs fall over the side of the bed, free of covers, she saw that her shins looked pink, as if they'd been rubbed nearly raw, and there were a few cuts, but otherwise there was nothing too terribly wrong. Examining the rest of her extremities, Sakura found a few similar patches on her arms, but compared to the last time she had been in the hospital, she couldn't really say they hurt. Given how unimportant her injuries felt, Sakura was surprised she was in the hospital at all. When she mentioned this, the old woman nodded.
"Oh, yes, indeed; like I'd said, you got off easy. Youko-sensei was a little worried because of your head at first—you did have a concussion not long ago, according to your data—but it turned out to only be a little thing, and you didn't breathe in much sand either, so your lungs are fine; as for your legs, they won't even leave a scar. Youko-sensei said to let you sleep. She probably plans on taking you home once her shift's over…but, of course that's assuming that no one interferes…but you don't need to worry about that. Now, let's see…no signs of infection, that's good, but I think some aloe might help with the sting." Sakura could only watch wordlessly as the old woman shuffled around the room, digging in cabinets and drawers until she found a small green jar. Sakura had read about aloe but had never seen it before…somehow, she hadn't expected it to be so…gooey…but it felt nice once it was on her shins, so she quit complaining. As the old woman slather on the gooey substance, Sakura's mind started to clear of the sleep-fog.
Sakura waited to ask her questions until the old woman finished giving her instructions, which boiled down to 'don't move until the aloe's dry'. "Excuse me, uh, Miss…?"
The old woman grinned, "Call me Granny Miya, all the kids here do."
Not quite sure what that last part meant, Sakura shrugged, and did as she was told, "Granny Miya…how did I get here?" The last thing Sakura remembered, she had been trying not to focus on being trapped in complete darkness.
The old woman looked momentarily taken aback, but then she tapped her own head and said gaily, "Oh, silly me, I keep forgetting you were asleep when you came in—I don't see how I could keep forgetting, but then again, your friend made a bit of a commotion, so it sort of eclipsed your state of consciousness."
"My friend?" Sakura asked. She only had a few people she would call friends, but Rei was seemingly on the other side of the curtain and had presumably come with Granny Miya to the hospital. Temari and Kankuro hadn't even been there and were unlikely to have come looking for her, given the circumstances. And as for Gaara, although he was certainly the foremost of her friends, Sakura wasn't sure she'd ever heard anyone talk about Gaara so merrily. None of them seemed to be likely candidates.
Sakura was just beginning to wonder if the kunoichi had brought her here and was mistaken for being her friend when the old woman put the lid on the jar of aloe and said in the same chipper tone as before, "Yes dear, your friend. The little monster boy."
Sakura felt as if she'd been slapped by her mom—the words seemed so contradictory with the old woman's behavior—and the conditioned words were falling out of the child's mouth before the little girl even had time to think, "Gaara's not a monster!" If she had had time to think, she might have come to the conclusion that Gaara might have some monster in him after all—he had admitted to wanting to kill Bunta, and because of that she had started to doubt it had been Shukaku who had killed the bully after all—but the old woman didn't give her a chance to think.
"Of course he's not, dear, but what's the difference between being a monster and having charge of a monster—oh my!" Suddenly, and for the first time, the old woman looked taken aback at her own words. Swiftly setting the jar aside, the old woman patted Sakura's hair down gently on the uninjured side of her head, "I didn't mean that the way it came out, dear. It's all very good that you're here. You're doing a great service for Suna, and there's nothing monstrous about that." Sakura took the patting and near-crooning without a word. She was too confused to speak. It wouldn't be until later that she would realize what the old woman had almost insinuated.
Eventually Sakura gave up trying to decode the old woman's words, and instead found herself asking, "What do you mean by a commotion?"
This time the old lady gave a weak chuckle as she brushed Sakura's hair behind her ear, "You're little friend appeared with dried blood on one hand and what might be described as a floating, open sand coffin trailing behind him, with you inside." Then, as if that explained everything, the old woman shrugged and finished with, "He wouldn't let anyone near except Youko-sensei, and by the time she came, so had Yashamaru-sensei and his little guards. Your friend wouldn't listen to Yashamaru-sensei; he made everyone wait for Youko-sensei to give you the ok, health wise, before he so much as tore his eyes off of you. The little monster didn't seem to care at all that he'd been told his father was waiting for him and that the ninja in the room were getting antsy, but—Oh my, look at the time." Swiftly for her old age, Granny Miya grabbed up the jar and put it back where she had found it, then was halfway out the door before she said, "Sorry, dear, but there are other kiddos I need to see to. Bye." And with that, she was gone.
After an hour and a half passed with nothing to do, Sakura slipped back into sleep. That was when the dreams started. They weren't Walking dreams, but they might as well have been, for all the difference it made to Sakura
The dream was a nightmare she knew she couldn't escape—partially because Gaara really had killed someone…killed Bunta…and he really wasn't sorry for it, and partially because the dream was a dramatized retelling of what had actually happened, and she couldn't change the past—the nightmare only got worse when Dream Bunta's dead body rose up and passed Gaara to look her in the face. In reality, Sakura hadn't seen Bunta after Gaara crushed him, but this Bunta was covered in blood and looked as if he'd been beaten black and blue rather than crushed. His bloodied hands reached out towards her, as if they wanted to strangle her. Sakura wanted to run, but found herself rooted in place as he shambled nearer. Bunta's mouth opened to reveal missing teeth and bleeding gums in something that more closely resembled a snarl than a smile.
"It's your fault. You killed me."
And with that, his bloodied hands fell upon her, smothering her…
Sakura gasped awake, her hands flying to her thudding heart. Even though Dream-Bunta was gone, his voice still echoed in her head. Laying there, her hands still over her heart, Sakura mentally tried to argue with that voice. Gaara had been the one to kill Bunta, not her. It wasn't her fault! She had even tried to stop him… But the more Sakura thought about it, the more she realized that Bunta's voice in her head had a point…and that all she was doing with her argumentation was demonizing her best friend rather than accepting the truth. Yes, Gaara had killed Bunta…but only because of her. She was just as much, if not more, to blame…because she had had a chance to stop it from happening…and because Gaara had done it because of her. She now remembered that Gaara had said Bunta had wanted to kill them both, and maybe he had…but as the little girl lay there, her heart breaking, she understood an important truth…
She had encountered many people throughout Suna who hadn't liked Gaara, some of which had even wished him gone, but Gaara had never done more than defend himself against them. He hadn't needed to…because they couldn't hurt him. Between his father and his sand, Gaara was practically untouchable—for a moment Sakura felt a tickle at the back of her mind, as if she was on the edge of something important…but then she heard a gasp from the other side of the curtain, and her concentration was broken. Sakura only had time to make a mental note to revisit the thought later before she was hearing Rei's strained voice just managing to call out, "Granny Miya?" before he started coughing. From the painful sounds of those coughs and from what the old woman had said about her own state of health, Rei had likely breathed in more sand than he should have.
Before he could call out again, Sakura got out of bed, only wincing slightly when her raw legs protested the movement, and pulled the curtain aside as she said, "She already left." What she saw surprised her a bit. The boy's entire face was as sunburnt looking as her legs. Fore once it wasn't one of his unexplainable blushes, and she knew this because as she watched him sputter out her name in surprise, his cheeks swiftly started to turn red while the rest of his face stayed that same, unrelenting pink. Was this what the old woman had meant by saying he was worse off than her? Or was it even worse than simply being raw in the face and lungs? Hadn't the old woman mentioned something about scarring? And his legs? She couldn't see them for the covers, but could they be—?
Rei's scratchy voice cut off her thoughts, "What are you doing here?" Or at least, that's what Sakura figured he was asking. It was a bit hard to tell since he began coughing again in the middle of his question.
Looking around the room, Sakura quickly found a cup of water and gave it to the boy before answering, "The same thing you are, I'd guess." It wasn't until Sakura noticed Rei's eyes looking around the room in bewilderment that she realized he might have woken up thinking he was still at Granny Miya's house. "We're in the hospital." Sakura explained. When Rei's eyes snapped to hers and his face started turning red again, she knew he was about to bluster about how he had already known, or some other such nonsense as that, and he would probably do it a bellow despite his lungs' condition. Before he could, Sakura found herself adding with what she hoped was a calming smile, "Would you mind if I sit beside you on the bed? My legs are starting to hurt. We were both caught out in that storm, you know."
Slowly he nodded, the red splotches on his cheeks fading to a pink barely brighter than the rest of his sunburnt-looking skin. "Are you ok?" His voice cracked as she settled down beside him.
Rather surprised that he had asked—Rei wasn't the type to let on that he cared—Sakura stated briskly, "Of course I am. I'm up, aren't I?" And then, before he could realize he had let his nice side show and started picking on her—because she had noticed that's what he did when he slipped up and showed people he cared—she added, "What happened to you? Granny Miya said she had to tie you up to keep you from running back out, and that you were worse off that I am. Why's that?"
The red returned to his cheeks as he choked out, "Did not!" And then, when Sakura only gave him a look, he turned his face away before he said defiantly, "She didn't tie me…exactly." If he hadn't started coughing again, Sakura might have asked him what he meant by that. Instead, Sakura waited until Rei was done, then reiterated her question, since he hadn't answered her the first time. He avoided answering a second, and even a third time, but eventually she wore him down—that, or his frequent bouts of coughing did—and Rei finally admitted hotly, as if he were embarrassed and annoyed at the same time, "Fine! I saw you get hit. I—" Rei's voice cracked, but he managed to finish without coughing, "I wanted to save you!"
If Granny Miya hadn't hinted as much, Sakura would have been flabbergasted. As it was, she found it hard to believe…but the gleam in his eyes was no lie. Rei, the boy who constantly picked on her and had once been counted as one of her bullies…that Rei had cared enough about her safety to disregard his own. "Thank you…" Sakura whispered as unexplainable tears pricked her eyes. Wiping at them viciously—she knew her tears bothered Rei—Sakura added, "Don't worry, Granny Miya said my head was alright, and Gaara protected me from the sandstorm, so…" Sakura trailed off as she realized Rei had flinched. Unsure if his reaction had been due to Gaara's name or due to his injuries, she asked, "What's wrong?
Rei's face showed confusion. "What's wrong?" He repeated quietly, and then, when Sakura could do nothing but return his look of confusion, he added with something much like anger creeping into his voice, "What's wrong?! He killed Bunta and nearly skewered you and you're just like 'oh, but he protected me, so it's ok'!?" His tone at the end turned the jab into a question, but Sakura still felt as if he'd hit her. For once, she was grateful that he started coughing after his statement, because it gave her time to fight her threatening tears and think of what to say. He had a point—she knew he did—but still…
"He wasn't trying to hurt me…" Sakura began to explain weakly, only to be cut off by Rei.
"That's not the point, or are you trying to say what he did was right!? That it's ok to just forgive him—"
"No!" The vehement word flew out of Sakura's mouth before she had time to think, startling her and Rei alike. Both of them trailed into silence, and soon Sakura found her eyes drawn to her lap as Rei's eyes continued to stare at her heatedly. Finally Sakura continued more sedately, "What he did…it wasn't right…but…he's still my first and best friend…and he was trying to help…and…" Sakura could feel her throat tightening but she forced herself to admit, "…it was as much my fault as his, I think." Rei actually tried to argue with her, saying that not only was it not her fault but that she was just making more excuses to protect Gaara, but Sakura shook her head and added softly, "No. You're right that it's not ok to just forgive him…and I don't…I can't…not yet. What he did was wrong…and…but—" This time it was Sakura's voice that cracked as a tear trailed down one cheek. Rei silently handed her his half-empty cup. Sakura took a few sips, vaguely aware that the water was trembling as she tried to finish saying, what to her, was the truth.
"All of us were at fault. Him, me, and Bunta…but me most of all. Gaara went after Bunta because of me…and Bunta wanted to fight Gaara because of me…and I should have stopped everything from happening at all…but I didn't because I was too caught up in my own worries. If I hadn't been here, none of this would have happened…but…I'm also glad I'm here…with you and Gaara and my other friends and my family…" by this time, the tears were beginning to trickle down her cheeks against her will, "…even though I've realized that being here is what's made everything so bad…I want to stay, and in some ways, that makes everything worse…so, you're right. I shouldn't forgive Gaara for doing what he did…but I can't forgive myself, either, because I'm the cause of everything!" Now the tears were falling freely, so much so that she could no longer see the cup they were falling into as she poured out her heart.
Soon seeing or not seeing the cup didn't matter, because she could feel hands—probably Rei's—taking it away. Sakura didn't really think much of it, and she wasn't really sure what reaction to expect from Rei after what she'd just said. In fact, she had hardly even thought about his reaction as she had spouted her view of things, so worried was she about getting it off her chest…and she had thought about it not at all once the tears started pouring—but even if she had thought about it, she still wouldn't have guessed he would react the way he did. As she sat there, drowning in her sorrows, no longer bothering to fight her tears, Rei upend the cup over her head.
For a few moments Sakura's mind went blank as her body jerked in response to the half-glass of water falling from the sky. By the time her mind was able to comprehend what Rei had just done, if not why, the cloud that had been raining on her had been banished, to be replaced by a slew of emotions that began with surprise and ended with annoyance as she stared at her now wet hands, arms, and nightdress. Finally, sputtering in shock as tepid water dripped down her face, Sakura's eyes shot to Rei's, her desire to cry forgotten.
Rei was glaring at her, which, for some inexplicable reason, made some of her annoyance with him abate a little. "Enough with this woe-is-me stuff." Rei said offhandedly, "You look ugly when you cry." If not for the red of his cheeks and his inability to meet her gaze bellying the statement, Sakura might have taken offense, or even been reminded that she had been depressed just moments before. Instead, she found a wet, wry grin winding itself across her face as she realize why Rei had really done what he had. He had been trying to help her feel less bad about herself, but of course he couldn't have done what any other sane person would have done, such as comfort her…no, that would have given away the fact that he wasn't heartless. Instead he had decided to distract her in what might have been termed a cruel way by an uninformed onlooker. Sakura knew better…she knew Rei…but that didn't mean that she was going to let him get away with soaking her. That one grin was all the warning she gave Rei before shaking her head at him like a wet dog, and like a wet dog, managed to get him as wet as herself in revenge.
Soon both of them were laughing (and Rei, coughing) so much that any remnants of the dark air that had pervaded the room vanished. What more Sakura might have said to Rei, or him to her, after that darkness was forgotten was not to be found out, however, because the door to their conjoined room was opened, stealing their attention. In the doorway stood a very unimpressed looking woman. Sakura didn't recognize the brunet woman, but a glance at Rei informed her that he did, because he was somehow managing to look pale despite being sunburnt-pink. Sakura understood his reaction immediately as he tried to hide the cup and stuttered out, "A-aunty?"
The woman's grey eyes—Sakura belatedly noticed they were puffy, as if she'd been crying, though her face showed no other such signs—moved first to Rei, then slowly panned to Sakura; after that her eyebrows narrowed just slightly before her eyes panning back to Rei. It wasn't until Sakura saw Rei shudder and shrink into himself that she realized his reaction was due to more than just having been caught red-handed with an empty glass and a wet girl. The woman was exuding an aura of pressure—an aura, Sakura realized, caused by Chakra. Sakura could feel it, but unlike Rei, it didn't bother her—if anything, it reminded her of safety…which made no sense, considering the stern look on the brown haired woman's face…but as the woman slowly walked into the room, Sakura was accosted by a memory from her time in the past. A memory of Aniki as he addressed Shin and Youko. She had felt this same sensation back then, too, though she hadn't thought anything of it then.
Since the woman had eyes only for Rei, and Rei now looked as if he were about to pass out, Sakura decided she should do something. After all, it didn't feel right to her for Rei to get in trouble for dousing her with water when he had done it for a mostly good reason. That that was the reason the woman was so angry seemed only obvious…as was the fact that she probably didn't realize what she was doing, as Aniki hadn't. Clearing her throat and pushing a wet strand of hair out of her face, Sakura said, "I think your Chakra's scaring him."
The woman's eyes turned to meet Sakura's, and although her face remained stoic, Sakura caught the flash of surprise deep within her eyes. Rei's aunt rose one eyebrow. "Is it…" Her tone didn't quite imply that she was asking a question, but Sakura nodded anyhow. The brunet quirked a smile, then flashed her eyes back towards Rei, "Good. He should be." Despite her words, Sakura could see Rei uncurling and his color returning, although he still had a look of half-hidden fear on his face. That look was apparently warranted, because the woman walked the last few steps to the bed and then smacked him on the head. When Rei only grabbed at his head with a light hiss of pain, Sakura realized the hit had sounded worse than it was…the woman's glare could have peeled paint, though, as she ordered coldly, "Rei Akai Higa, tell me what you did wrong."
Still holding his head, Rei responded irritably, "I didn't do nothing wrong!" That earned him another thwack.
When Rei refused to admit to anything, the woman held up a finger, "First, you disobeyed the one rule I know I pounded into all of my nieces and nephews silly little heads. If you aren't a ninja, you don't run towards danger." Rei, of course, tried to argue, but his aunt cut him off, "No buts; I saw it for myself. You ran head long towards Shukaku of all things. I've always known Bunta—" here her voice cracked briefly as a flash of pain passed through her eyes before swiftly being hidden once more by a stoic mask, "Bunta was always one to get caught up in his emotions—I don't know what possessed him to strike out at Shukaku's host rather than turn and run, but…you should have known better. You're not that rash."
"I'm no coward!" Rei's exclamation earned him another buffet to the head.
"No, but you are a civilian, not to mention a child, and it's not cowardice. It's only logical that an untrained child such as yourself should have run at the first sight of a rampaging demon."
"But Sakura—" whether the rest of his objection was about Sakura having been brought there in the first place, her having not run away or his having felt the need to save her despite the dangers, Sakura wouldn't get to find out, because Rei's aunt once again smacked his head and interrupted him.
"I said: no buts. And since you've brought her up, perhaps I should remind you of the second thing you've done wrong…or can you suddenly remember what you might have done and want to share? There's something you should apologize for, isn't there." It was not a question.
Sakura was surprised that Rei actually turned to meet her eyes with a hint of guilt on his face. "I'm sorry…" despite his clear feelings of remorse, the words sounded as if they were being dragged out of him, "…I shouldn't have called you ugly."
For a moment, the stoic woman's mask slipped, revealing shock. "What!" Rei's aunt exclaimed, and then, after a moment's disbelieving pause, she hit his head yet again. This time even Sakura had to wince, because it was clear this hit hurt Rei more than the rest had. "Rei, if you weren't already hospitalized, I'd butcher you." And then, seeming to realize that she was starting to show emotions again, she took a deep breath and then let it out before adding dryly, "I understand that you're young and have rocks for brains—" Rei's protests once again went ignored as his aunt spoke over him, "but you should know better than to antagonize the one person who has repeatedly saved our family—let alone the entire village—from that monster."
This time it was Sakura's turn to protest: Gaara was not a monster. The woman merely gave a weary smile, one that Sakura realized held no happiness at all, as she sighed, "To you, perhaps…" and then, with a shrug, she placed one hand on Rei's head and made him bow as much as he could while injured and sitting in a hospital bed, and then she too inclined her head slightly as she said, "Forgive my clay-brained nephew..." With that, she released Rei and beckoned towards Sakura. "Now, I suppose we better dry you off and get you some dry clothes before Kaneko-sensei comes to take you to see the Kazekage." Sakura froze. If the woman noticed, she didn't care or ask why. Instead, Rei's aunt dragged her back to her side of the room and tossed her a towel. A few moments later the woman turned from pulling the separating curtain closed to find the little girl simply holding the towel and staring at her. "Well," the woman said blandly…in such a way that it almost sounded snappish, "dry your hair and get out of those wet clothes already."
Without looking to see if Sakura obeyed, Rei's aunt turned and went out the door leading outside—presumably to find her new clothing. The woman had been gone a minute before Sakura realized she'd been staring at the closed door, but this realization simply made her transfer her gaze to the small towel in her hands as her thoughts started to tumble wildly though her head. Why would she have to meet the Kazekage? She didn't want to—that, she knew without a doubt. What if she slipped up and called him Meany-head to his face? Worse, what if her aunt heard her and got angry again? Sakura didn't want to get in trouble any more than she wanted to see Gaara's father…and now that she thought about it, she not only disliked him because of how he'd treated her back in New Suna, but also because he had ordered Yashamaru to—
Sakura dropped the towel with a gasp as the memory returned of her Walking dream. She had Seen Katsu order Yashamaru to do something to Gaara, something Yashamaru hadn't wanted to do but had agreed to do anyways. What had he been ordered to do? Sakura couldn't remember Katsu having mentioned it in her dream, if he ever had, but in trying to remember she unintentionally found a snippet of memory that answered her question.
A brief glimpse of an explosion tag hidden on Yashamaru's body, Gaara by his side, all on a background of white.
Sakura could feel her eyes widening, although she wasn't truly seeing anything just then, so caught up was she in her thoughts. That was the cause of the explosion, she realized, the one she couldn't remember. Katsu must have ordered it to happen. Yashamaru wouldn't have attacked Gaara otherwise. It was that terrible Meany-head's fault that Yashamaru was in a wheelchair. Why would he have done such a thing? Hadn't he realized that Yashamaru and Gaara could have died? Or did he think Gaara's sand would protect him…and Yashamaru? Even if that was so, what would that prove? That Yashamaru was obedient even when it went against his own wishes? Surely the Meany-head must have already known that, so why…?
Sakura strained to come up with an answer, and what she eventually dredged up was a vague memory of that same Walking dream. Katsu had said something about testing Gaara…and maybe something about his control…of what, his demon, his sand, his temper? Sakura didn't know, but the more she thought about it, the less sure she was that it mattered. The Meany-head had made Yashamaru try to blow up Gaara—his own son and Yashamaru's nephew! What kind of father did that? No wonder Gaara didn't seem to trust Yashamaru—he thought the man had wanted to kill him! But Yashamaru hadn't; Sakura could remember that much clearly. It was Katsu who had designed that nights events? Why, and why Yashamaru?
Sakura thought and thought about it and everything else she could recall as she unthinkingly picked back up the towel. In the end, she could only come up with one answer: the Kazekage had known Gaara might survive, and if her best friend did live, he didn't want Gaara—or more likely Shukaku—to seek revenge on him. He clearly hadn't cared about what happened to Yashamaru.
For a moment, Sakura was so angry she wanted Gaara to get that revenge—what his father had done not only to him but Yashamaru was too cruel—but the stark memory of what Gaara had just done to Bunta halted that desire. Gaara had killed him…and if he knew his own father was a threat, he might do so to Katsu too. Sakura suddenly had the strangest feeling that Gaara already knew. Even if he did, though, it didn't matter. She wouldn't let him kill his family. Still, she decided, it was something that needed to be addressed, but no matter how much of a Meany-head Katsu was, he didn't deserve that…and no matter how furious Gaara might be at his father, he didn't deserve the pain he would undoubtedly feel if he did hurt his only living parent…knowing her best friend, he was probably feeling that way already about having hurt Yashamaru.
That thought made Sakura suddenly blink in confusion. Even if it had been under orders, Yashamaru had blown himself up…so why did she think Gaara might have hurt Yashamaru or felt guilty for what he'd done? She didn't know, but the voice in the back of her head was telling her that Gaara did have something to do with Yashamaru's wheelchair-bound state…but what in the world that connection might be, she had no inkling. Worse, that same little voice was warning her that, despite what she thought, Gaara might not feel guilty at all. But that was impossible…wasn't it?
Before she could come to a conclusion Rei's aunt returned. Even as the woman chided her for still being wet, Sakura found herself coming to a decision. Although she didn't want to, she would have to See the past, the explosion. It was the only thing she could think of to quell her fears…because she was starting to dread that the reason for Gaara's change in behavior might stem from more than just her having vanished for two weeks…and if that was so, the explosion was the most likely culprit.
When Rei's aunt grabbed the towel out of her hands and started rubbing vigorously at Sakura's head, the little girl found herself unable to continue her introspection. She tried to push the rough hands away, but Rei's aunt was having none of it. "Oh no you don't," was the woman's stern reply to Sakura's actions as she rubbed even harder at Sakura's damp hair, "I am not going to let your aunt find you sopping wet. She's already near enough to having a fit as it is…and for goodness's sake, I know you were out in a sandstorm, but how much sand can one child's hair possibly hold?" Sakura didn't know the answer to that, but she was certainly glad when the woman gave up on trying to out all of the sand and instead ordered Sakura to shuck her wet clothes—now—and change into the dress she'd been brought. Sakura rushed to obey. She didn't want to be clouted over the head like Rei had been, and the woman was already starting a countdown.
She had just finished dressing when the door to her and Rei's room opened again, this time to a very agitated looking Youko. The mahogany haired woman nodded curtly to Rei's aunt, but otherwise said nothing as she directed Sakura out of the room. Throwing a quick glance over her shoulder as the door closed behind her, Sakura just caught sight of something she found rather surprising. Rei's ever stoic-looking aunt was actually pulling Rei into a hug…and Rei was hugging back.
Despite the fact that the little girl knew she was being all but dragged to a meeting with one of the few people she had hoped never to see again, she couldn't stop a smile from forming. It was nice to be reminded that no amount of anger or fear could erase the love between two people.
Well, I hope this chapter was up to everyone's standards. Next time you will be seeing (well, reading) the meeting with the Kazekage, and something that I've been hinting at will likely also finally come to pass, so I hope you look forward to it...and I wonder if any of you can guess what that foreshadowed event might be.
I'm still busy...big surprise, I know, but I will continue to strive to update on a regular bi-monthly basis. If I succeed, I should be updating on Friday, August 7th...and I certainly plan to succeed. I know pretty much know exactly what needs to happen next, so I at least shouldn't have a problem on that front...the free-time front, however, as has been the case, is likely to be questionable. Still, I should hope I can update on time...and so should you.
Not to rant, but one thing I can't help but find strange is how many people are reading this, and keeping so up-to-date with it that they read the first day the chapter is out...and yet so few people review. I am very thankful to my reviewers—especially my repeat reviewers—and their words, whether praise or constructive criticism. Reviews give me a lot of encouragement and joy to receive, let alone read...and so let me express my thanks to all those who have reviewed...
Thanks to: general zargon (You were correct about what way the story was going. By the time I read your review I had already written part of this. Just for you, I changed the wording a bit to better fit the concept you asked for), BriEva (You are right about how Sakura is starting to grow up more. As to Gaara, I had always thought that Gaara thought of his sand as a manifestation of his mother's love, rather than the sand, but I don't recall if it was ever directly addressed, so either could be possible. Either way, Gaara's view on such things has now changed greatly. You explained perfectly well about Sakura and Gaara, and indeed, that is the path you will be seeing in the upcoming chapters. You'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out how the Kazekage will react to Bunta's death. As for becoming a ninja...I'm not going to give that away. All I'll say is that it will happen and that I have sprinkled hints throughout the latter half of this story as to how she will do so. So far only Gaara has seen her Eyes, and I know of at least one other who will as well in the future, but beyond that, I can't say. That is something that will likely be very situational), Guest (Yes, jealous Gaara is cute...and I think a lot of people are looking forward to Sasori's return. You're also right about Bunta's death. It was a necessary life-lesson for Sakura), & XxTaintedxDaggerxX (Glad to hear it. I hope I didn't disappoint) for reviewing! It really means a lot to me.
