Difficult Engagements
Chapter 16
Oases
Gaara POV
"What did you tell them?" We need to get our stories straight.
"Sound Terrorist Faction spotted around the capitol." Kyuubi said disinterested.
"Believable enough."
He looks at me disgusted as he reminds me, "Don't forget kid, you're just one of my failed experiments."
Let me kill him now.
Be patient. We're not strong enough, not yet.
Like you were a patient earlier?
"You know, I used to hate that, but then I realized, it's nice to be one of your few failures."
If everything goes right I can be another one of his failures.
And I'll fucking kill him.
"I wouldn't get a big head about it, the failure part came from your dad. He couldn't execute even the best of my plans."
"He always did like to get in the way."
"So that is why you did it… he got in the way." he grinned his twisted knowing grin.
I just shrugged. That asshole might not be right, but he's not wrong either.
"You like to act so cool and under control now, but we both know that's just a facade. You are one wrong move from completely losing control. Once that happens…" he trails off to leave the rest up to my imagination.
I motioned for one of my generals in the hall to come towards us, "General, The Kyuubi just informed me that there are some remaining Sound Terrorists potentially lurking around the capitol. We think it's best if we increase the troops around here to make sure they are safe and secure."
"Yes, Lord Kazekage." he bows to me as I look intently into Kyuubi's eyes.
Who's lost control now?
Fuck. Naruto. He's trailing up right behind Kyuubi with his handmaid. I have to make this look real, in case he overhears anything.
"I want an updated report of The Sound's most recent activities, as well. Have it sent to the first town we're going to." Kyuubi's grin widens, he knows what I'm doing.
Fuck.
"Of course, Lord Kazekage." my general waits for any other orders I might give him.
"That should be it for now." At my dismissal the general leaves.
Naruto doesn't say anything, he seems to be in some sort of daze again, but he does stand next to me silently. Kyuubi even seems just as confused by this new behavior in Naruto. I need to keep him safe.
I wonder if he'll let me touch him again.
Slowly.
Carefly, I move my arm, Naruto doesn't seem to notice the movement. He tenses quickly as my fingers graze over his lower back. Almost as quickly as he tensed he relaxed into my touch.
That's a good sign.
Keeping at the same pace, I firmly wrap my hand around his side, wait, then pull him closer to me. My fox melts into my side without saying anything. Good.
I say to him, "My troops will secure the capitol, but we still have to get you out of here. Are you packed up?"
Naruto just looks up at me, berly registering what I just said, but he nods nonetheless.
I guess it's a lot to take in. He thinks he just met me and he's already having to leave with me.
Boo-hoo, he'll get used to it.
"You're so eager to take him away… Aren't you?" Kyuubi's still taunting me trying to get me off guard.
"Of course, I care about the safety of my future mate. You're the one who let me know it wasn't safe here for him."
"I did, didn't I?" Kyuubi's caught in quicksand, the more he struggles against it the deeper it will drag him down.
"I'm very grateful you did."
"I think I'm just being a bit overprotective of my little one. He is my pride and joy, after all."
"Don't worry, Naruto is always safe in Suna." Away from you.
"I'm right here." Naruto grumbles out reminding us of his presence.
He's annoyed.
Fuck. I was too busy fighting with Kyuubi to notice I have exactly what I wanted in my arms ready to go.
If you keep letting Kyuubi take everything from you. You might as well hand Naruto back and give up.
"You are, aren't you?" He inspects Naruto's form, I slightly move him behind my form, before "You should go make yourself a bit more presentable for the Kazekage. He's just a nice man who wants to take you away and make sure you're safe."
Naruto fidgets under Kyuubi's gaze, "Fine."
"I don't think that's necessary, Naruto, I'd rather get going sooner. Wouldn't you rather arrive in Suna quicker?" I need to get him out of here, neither of us should be here any longer than we have to.
"Yeah," breathlessly escapes his lips as his soft blue eyes look into mine.
"I insist, Naruto, go change." Kyuubi's frustration is radiating off of him.
Naruto's handmaid tries to speak up to break the tension, "Come on, I'll help you fin-"
"He says I'm fine." Naruto snaps, "Come on Gaara, we have to get going."
He might be upset, but at least that reaction is normal and not directed towards me. His hand interlaces with mine as he starts to pull me away from all of this.
Surprisingly we got a lot further than I thought we would before Naruto motioned that he needed a break. I don't know how much he's changed since we last met, so it's hard to know what he's really capable of any more.
I hate that I did this to him.
At least it's just the two of us now.
The guards were split into two groups. One about a mile ahead clearing the way and the other the same distance behind making sure no one would be following us. I made sure of the distance to give us privacy. We don't really need them, there's no threat, but I don't want to have any surprises come up.
I made sure Kyuubi's guards were escorted alongside my own, just in case. I don't know if I can trust them just yet. There's a good chance they are spys, Kyuubi insisted that they come join to ensure Naruto's safety. I couldn't quite deny that request, so for now I'll just keep an eye on them.
We're about half way through the River Territories and if we keep at this good pace we should be able to make it to our first campsite by nightfall. I wonder if it's even a good idea to make that camp. It's too late, it's already on our itinerary, and I shouldn't be changing that last minute. Especially not when we're this close.
For the first time during the entire trip Naruto speaks, "I'm sorry."
"About what?"
"I'm slowing us down." he sounds so annoyed with himself.
"It's okay." It's weird being the one who reassures him.
"Thanks." he pauses for a second before saying, "I'll be ready in a few minutes."
"Take your time. We have a week to get there." I don't want him to worry too much about time. We're almost in The Wind, we're almost safe, once we're there it doesn't really matter how long we take.
"Doesn't it usually take three or four days?"
"Depending how fast you go. I thought it might take longer, in case we did take more stops."
"Oh…" He sounds so hurt by this.
"Here." I took a bladder of water from my bag and held it out for Naruto.
"Thanks." he takes a few sips from it before returning it to me.
"Naruto, when you're ready we need to pick up the pace a bit. I want to get to my planned rest stop fast. Don't worry it's not too far." we need to get out of here as soon as possible. I don't want to risk losing him again.
"Ok…" Naruto seems hesitant if he could really make it.
His body looked so exhausted already, but he's never been one to back down from a challenge. My fox starts to pump himself up for the last bit of road ahead of us. At the slight bounce in his feet he winced. The shoes he's wearing don't look good for walking at all.
He's wearing a larger loose knit red sweater and shorts that stop right above the knee. His shoes are a type of sandal that seems more impractically decorative than functional. It's not incredibly feminin, but it looks out of place on him. The ceremonial dress I can understand, but this doesn't make much sense.
So much about Naruto has changed over the years that he's almost a completely different person. Now he dresses a lot like his dad and he's not as loud or sure of himself. The boy I loved seems trapped in his own mind from years of abuse.
I should have come sooner.
Too late now.
"Do your feet hurt?"
"Oh… yeah." he glances down, forbidding any eye contact.
"Why do you dress like that?"
"Oh, I uh…" Naruto is embarrassed to admit this, "I'm forced to. My father has been making me do all this for as long as I remember."
"So you don't want to look like this?"
He doesn't look bad. It just doesn't look like him.
"No, I'd much rather dress like a boy." he scoffed, laughing just like he used to.
"Then why do you?"
"I don't really have a choice…"
"Oh."
True to his words, the rest was only a few minutes long before we started walking again. Naruto is not even trying to make small talk, it almost doesn't feel like he's really here. Maybe he just needs his own time to adjust to everything, there's a lot going on right now. Like…
What if the Uchiha were to come back?
Why the fuck would that matter? If you're so worried about him, you can always let me deal with him. I haven't been out in awhile.
Naruto probably wouldn't be mine any more, hell, he barely is now.
The blondes in a mood. You'll fuck him out of it in no time. That Uchiha Boy you're worried about, can be reduced into nothing between the weight of my sand, if you just let me out.
I'm not letting you out.
Oh? You wanna kill him yourself? You want to feel his bones crush beneath your power? You take after me, my boy.
What if Naruto actually liked him?
Memory loss or not, once Naruto cared for someone he would be on their side for all eternity. No matter what anyone tried to do. Even though my goal was to ensure Naruto's safety, there was a big part of me that just wanted the fox all to myself.
I mean, Naruto thinks he's dead, so you're pretty good on that front. Besides, I'm sure you can find a way to make sure he doesn't think of the other one again. It takes one little bite, and he's all yours again.
I'm not doing that to him… not like this.
You're always no fun. He'd like it. Show him what a big man you are. He's a little Omega, so why don't you appeal to his "biology." Be the strong Alpha you were born to be and mark him up.
Make sure no one can take him from you again. Because we both know Kyuubi doesn't want you to keep him.
Stop.
Now there's his old suiter thinking he's got Naruto in the bag. Didn't even bother telling Naruto in person. Pretty big balls to send a letter like that. Physical evidence that he doesn't respect your relationship. He thinks Naruto would lie to you to keep his secret.
Would he?
I meeeaaaannn… The little fox doesn't even know who you are. You think he might. It's why you're talking to me about it. Would he lie to you? Would he keep a secret lover from you?
He might.
You try to remind him who you are.
That might hurt him more.
Naruto reached for my hand, but didn't say a word. We continued the rest of our journey in the uncomfortable silence.
Naruto POV
"We're here." The Kazekage let me know.
"Beautiful." I couldn't help but to let this word escape my lips.
Even though our journey here was really awkward, it almost felt worth it to see this. We found our way to a large oasis on the edge of the River Territories and The Wind. It's a magnificent rest stop especially with the backdrop of the slowly setting sun. Camp had already been set up by the scouting troop and the perimeter was secured as well.
This seemed like the last bit of greenery right before a vast never ending desert. A lake in the center of all of the foliage cut through a cliff side with a small waterfall streaming down into it. Trees greedly took up any bit of water they could to survive the desert conditions. It is a perfect combination of both of our lands.
It almost felt familiar.
Using my last bit of strength I rush over to the lake. I plopped down to the sandy beach to dip my aching feet into the water. I take off my shoes, there's a small bit of blood crusted over the heels strap.
Gaara takes notice, "If they were hurting you for that long you should have let me know."
"I didn't want to keep slowing us down." dipping my feet in the water washes away any evidence of blood, "Ahh! So good."
"Still. You really should tell me these things."
"It's not a big deal, I'm not even hurt." I lifted my heels from the water, no evidence of anything happening in the first place. My injuries heal at weird rates, but it seems like anything involving cuts on my body heals almost instantly.
"I guess." He doesn't seem to want to let it go.
"Why isn't Haku coming over?"
My guards are on the other side of the camp, with The Wind Guards. Usually Haku won't leave my side, especially if we're outside of the castle. I mean it's literally his job not to, but I guess being with the Kazekage I'm safe. I think I've just become accustomed to the other Omega's presence.
"I told them to keep their distance unless absolutely necessary." The redhead sounds so serious.
"Why?"
"I'd like to have my time with you be a bit more private. Besides there's not many people I consider a real threat, especially not out here. So, we don't need them that close." He must be really strong… I mean that makes sense he's the Kazekage, of course he would be. Especially if people are calling him the next Kyuubi.
"I guess that makes sense."
"I've got some food." Gaara is shifting through his bag for a container, before handing it to me, "Here."
"Oh, thanks," I took it from him.
He sits next to me near the edge of the water with his own container. He doesn't really make a move to say anything. I don't either. I don't know what to say after that.
We ate our meal in the same awkward silence that existed since we left the castle. Things were going well for us for a bit in my room, but after he got that letter he's been acting strange. I don't know if I should bring it up or not, it seems to be plaguing his thoughts though. I wonder what's on his mind.
I don't think he'll tell me even if I asked. The Kazekage is not really that talkative and when he is, it's weird…
I just have to make the best of this situation. It is really pretty here, and it's been so long since I've been outside to see the sky at night. I really miss it, I wonder if I can get him to let us see them tonight.
"Hey, Gaara, I want to see the stars later... Can we do that?"
"Yes, but it's going to get cold soon, so let me set up where we're sleeping first."
"'kay."
He sits up, readjusting his position a bit.
Then the Kazekage holds out his hand before moving two of his fingers down, causing the earth to depress about two feet down in a perfect square. It's big enough for the two of us to comfortably sleep. Then he balls his hand into a fist lifting up, the earth follows creating walls around the depression in the earth. A quick turn on the hand made a roof.
"That's so cool!" I shout, "How did you do that?"
"This?" his face scrunches up confused, gesturing to the newly formed structure.
"Yeah… I've never seen anyone do anything like that before. Is that, like, a normal thing here?" Fuck, what if it is and I just look really stupid right now.
"Oh," He paused thinking again, "No. Not really. Only my blood line can do it."
"Then, it's cool that you can do that… if not everyone can do it."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." A puff of air signifies a slight chuckle.
"So, like, how do you do that?"
He stops and thinks for a second before saying, "Do you want me to show you?"
"Umm… Yeah?"
"Sit here." He spreads his legs open and motions for me to sit in between them. I have no idea what I just signed myself up for.
Not wanting to make him mad, I sit where he gestures. My back practically flush against his chest. Now exposed and vulnerable in between his legs, not knowing what he could be doing behind me. It's weird being this close to him… or at least in this position. His body is basically draped around mine without actually really touching me. I don't know if it's supposed to feel safe or threatening.
"So, you know about Sunagakure's Puppetry?" He asked this question as if I should know the answer.
I shake my head, "No."
"Oh… hmm." he hums a bit before saying, "Really?"
"Yeah, really… they didn't really tell me much about you or this place… and I didn't really have the time to research it… I've been… busy." I try to defend myself.
I've had two months to learn more about his culture and everything, but every time I tried to read up on it I just wanted to cry. I wanted to roll up into a big ball and never see the light of day again. So, I haven't been busy in the traditional sense… but I don't know. Being sad takes up a lot of time and energy.
I did eat some of the snacks Gaara had sent over, and some of them were really good and some of them were just…. Okay. And that's like research. It's nothing like research, but I have to give myself something here.
"That's fine. It's just one of the few things we're widely known for. That, and being mostly a desert. It's just odd."
"Sorry."
"It's not a problem. It just makes explaining how my sand works a little longer."
"... Okay…"
"So, we have puppetry as one of our major fighting styles here."
That sounds ridiculous, "How do you fight with puppets?"
"They're usually very large puppets. My brother could probably break down all the mechanics of the actual puppet portion better, if you actually want to know. It's his main style." right, Gaara has a brother, "But essentially, you use Chakra Strings to infuse the puppet with your energy. That allows you to control them in a more precise way than normal strings."
"Okay… So, what does that have to do with the sand?"
"My sand kinda works like a very intricate, yet simple, puppet."
"'Your' sand?"
"Yeah." he sounds offended or amused, it's hard to tell, "There's two different types of sand in the world: Mine and not mine."
I'm pretty sure there's probably more than that, but "Okay, so, like, what's the difference?"
"My Sand is tethered to me with tiny Chakra Strings. So in the same way one of our puppeteers can control a puppet, I can control the sand."
"Oh?" That's kinda cool.
"Yeah. Let me show you. Extend your chakra out of your hand." He instructs.
"... I don't know how to do that." I've done it before, but I don't know how I did it… and it didn't last long. I'm not embarrassing myself in front of the Kazekage.
"Oh…" He sounds so disappointed in me, like I should know this, he tries to hide it with "Okay, then, focus your energy into your hand."
"How?" I feel like a fucking idiot.
"Oh," Gaara thinks for a second, holding out his hand and flexing it randomly before saying to me, "Close your eyes."
"Okay." I do as he says.
"Now I want you to flex your pinky first. You feel exactly where it is?"
With my eyes closed it feels like it's in a void. It's hard to know where it is, because I don't know what is around it. I can feel the movement of the flexing through my hand, and the movement it sends down my arm connecting it to my chest. So even though I don't know where it is in relation to the world, I know where it is in relation to myself.
"Yeah."
"Good." his hot breath whispered against my ear, "Now just your ring finger."
The same thing, I can feel where it connects to my own body. I can feel the movement of it tugging my skin on my palm as I wiggle it around. The same feeling happens as he instructs me to do each finger, until we get to the thumb.
"I feel it all."
The Kazekage presses his large palm against my stomach pulling me closer to his chest, "Good. Remember that. So, there's energy flowing through your body that starts from here. Focus your mind here now."
With my eyes closed I feel the pressure his hand puts against my stomach. The first thing I notice is the connection of our bodies at that point. But, I have to think about my energy, not his. When I take a deep breath in, I notice it moves against the exact position of his hand. That's how I'll think about my energy.
My breath expands and recedes in my stomach. Ebbing and flowing in and out like the waves against the shore. My energy comes from that movement stirring in my stomach. I feel the air help ignite a flame in my stomach.
"Good." Gaara said, I think he can feel it too, "Now use that energy you just formed and send it down the same pathways you did to move your fingers."
I do as he says, taking the waves of energy forming in my stomach and moving it down the pathway of my arms. Just like how I flexed my fingers.
"Open your eyes."
When I do, there is red chakra spiraling around an inch from my hand, "Wow."
It doesn't last long though, as soon as I stop focusing on my breath and hand, it erratically dissipates into the air. I had it, and I lost it. Just like before. I don't think I'll ever really be able to do it right.
"It's okay. You got it once. That means you can do it again." He comforts me in my slight distressed moment.
"Yeah." I don't know what else to say.
"So, the same way you were able to do that, is how the Chakra Strings work, more or less." the Kazekage makes it sound like there's a lot more to it, "Now imagine that energy, but more concentrated. Each concentrated string attaches to a point on the puppet. You move your fingers and hands while filling your Chakra with your intended purpose and the puppet moves."
"Okay… I can kinda imagine how that works."
"Good. Now for me, each grain of sand is a different node tha-"
"Node?" I asked.
"Conduit?" he tries another word in not familiar with.
"You're just saying another word I don't understand."
"Ah, well, a node is like a juncture point of flowing energy. Kind of… like a knot in a net."
"Okay… I kinda get it." I don't.
"It's not the best example, but my sand is already infused with my Chakra. That allows it to act as a juncture point for my Chakra Strings. By controlling each grain of sand this way I'm able to do a lot of things."
"So is your sand, like, special sand or something…" I add on, before he brings up, "You know, besides already being infused with your chakra."
He chuckles as if finding my questions amusing, "No, it's just normal sand."
"So you can do that to any sand you want… then why is there even a difference? Why even carry it around."
"It's a lot less work to carry around sand that's already infused. Especially if I need it fast."
"That makes sense."
"It's also a lot easier to infuse more sand if I already have some," he adds.
"How precise can you get?" I try to explain, "Like no offense, the tent thing is really cool, and everything, but can you do anything more detailed than that?"
"I can get very precise."
"Rea-"
Before I can finish my question he flexes three fingers and in an instant in front of us is a bowl of ramen constructed completely of sand.
All I can say is, "Holy fuck."
He chuckles to himself again, "I thought you might like that."
"Huh?" right, it's my favorite food, "How did you know my favorite food?"
"Lucky guess…" it's more than that.
I don't want to be calling him out, but I am going to,"Liar."
"Ummm… Yeah, well, when we were kids, it was one of the first things you asked me to make."
"Oh…" So, we've already done this before.
"Sorry… I probably shouldn't be using something you barely remember to impress you."
"You want to impress me?" I joke.
I can feel him shrug, as if he didn't just admit that. He already has me in his possession, it's not like he needs to impress me or anything. It's not like I can go anywhere. I don't want to think of that.
I chuckled this time, "So, do you have to focus to keep the shape or something?"
"Not once have I locked it in place."
"Huh?"
"Oh if you think of my sand like a web or a net, once I form the shape I use the outer layer to compress all the sand that's not mine. The quick pressure makes it keep its shape. That way I'm not wasting chakra on maintaining it."
"Oh…"
"It's pretty convenient with structures. It's not the most stable way of doing things. If I need it to withstand attacks I do have to continuously focus my chakra through it." Gaara explains.
"How do you do that?"
"Let me show you," the Alpha holds his hand out in front of us now. "It's called the Ultimate Sand Defense, nothing can get through it."
It looks like his skin is bubbling up, but on closer inspection it's just very fine grains of sand. Has he always had a layer of sand on him? It melts perfectly into his skin all the time. I don't think I could tell what is him or the sand barrier. Now that he's intentionally moving it, it's easy to see the difference.
Gaara adds on, "It takes me a lot more to be able to push my Chakra past my sand the way you can push it past your fingertips."
He shows me this as well, a light greenish blue chakra escapes from the tips of two fingers for a few seconds. It doesn't last long, because the tiny grains of sand seem to climb right through at absorbing it back into itself. Almost like the sand is eating his Chakra.
"If I don't keep my mind focused on it, like you have to, the sand will just absorb it back into itself." He confirms my suspicions.
"So… is the sand like a part of you?"
"Yeah... kinda." He paused again, "It's hard to explain, but every grain of sand in this is connected to me… or at least my Chakra. It basically is just an extension of myself, which is why I can control it."
"Wow, that's so cool. You must have a lot of chakra to be able to do it all the time." I notice the small granules of sand he has flowing around us. It almost looks like the beginning of a sandstrom, but more controlled.
He does the weird soft breathless chuckle again, like he knows a joke I don't, before saying, "Yeah."
"Now let me show you what I really wanted to" Gaara instructed me, "Cup your hands."
I do what he says, curious about where it's going to lead. He already told me what I wanted to know, but he wants to show me more. I wonder what else he wants to teach me. Gaara pours some of his sand into my waiting hands.
"Your chakra vibrates at a frequency opposite of mine so you can seamlessly move it through my sand if you focus on it right." He explains something that I'm not sure how he knows or even if it's true.
"I thought you said nothing gets through your sand."
"I lied." I felt his chest let out a small breathed laugh against my back at that statement reminding me just how close we are.
This whole thing has been surprisingly more intimate than I thought a lesson on sand could ever be. This whole time I've been nuzzled away safely between his arms. Light feathered touches connect us time and again.
Gaara continues, "It's not a smart move to tell everyone the Ultimate Defenses one weakness. Someone might use it against me one day."
"Why are you letting me know it then?" The Kazekage lets me know a lot of things he probably shouldn't. I don't understand it, and it's weird. No one is that open to someone they just met. He didn't just meet me but… I don't know.
"I don't think you'll use it against me."
"Why are you so confident in that?"
"Am I wrong?"
I don't know, "I mean, I don't think so. I don't even think I could if I wanted to, I can't control it."
"I think if you wanted to you could.'' He sounds so confident in my abilities even though he just saw them fail right in front of his own eyes.
"So, you don't think I want to?"
"Yeah."
"You're weird." I'm still holding sand, "What did you want to show me anyways?"
"Oh right. So while my sand is the Ultimate Defence, it can be harder to attack when I'm using that ability to its fullest. That's where your Chakra can come in."
"Huh?" He supports my hands with his own.
"I want you to try it again."
"I can't… you saw what happened last time."
"You did it just fine, you just lost focus."
"I don't think I can."
"You can. Close your eyes.'' He's so blindly confident in me that it makes me want to try again.
"Okay."
"Focus on your breath again. Try to match it with mine."
I close my eyes again.
Feeling his breath on my neck match the rise and fall of his chest that my back is resting against gives me a peaceful metronome to follow. Pushing forward, my lungs inhale. My lungs exhale at heat rolling down my neck. This pattern follows as I get on beat with my future mate, until we are fully synchronized.
"Good. I'm going to go first so you can feel it. It will make it easier for you."
I don't really know what he's talking about, so just nod.
Heat starts radiating from the palms of his hands still supporting mine. It feels like his chakra is flowing through me, to reach the sand I held. It feels alive now, vibrating wildly with the movement of life. The humming gets louder like a buzzing of insects crawling over my hands.
"Try it again."
I focus on the heat building in my stomach, from the ebbs and flows of our combined breath. Leading the pressured system through the invisible pathways in my arms to meet the energy pulsing through my hands. It builds there, a steady stream of energy flowing through my body to my hands.
"Push through." Gaara's breath hits my skin, keeping me in rhythm.
Following the apha's command, I feel for the weakness in his energy, where his low points meet my peaks. When I feel the relaxed pause through the steady construction, I push through. My energy pulsates around his perfectly opposite making a near constant noise, what was once a hum is a high pitched screeching sound unhearable by anyone but us.
"Open." He pauses, "Keep breathing."
When I open my eyes, I see displayed before me, red flame chakra burning atop a mound of hardened sand. All of the heat and energy I felt building and growing inside of me now has a physical form that I could hold.
I try to speak without losing concentration, "So- uh, what… Does, th-s do?"
"With your Flamed Chakra and my Sand Defense combined neither one of us would have to pick offensive or defensive." Effortlessly he speaks. "If we worked together, we could be unstoppable."
My hand jerks, and with that my chakra dissipates again, "Sorry."
"It's okay. We should be getting inside anyways."
It was starting to get cold out.
"Yeah," I followed him into the sand tent he made for us.
Gaara is a lot more patient than I imagined he would be… he's also, like, really smart. It sounds like he was just teaching me the basics, but he knew a lot about the fundamentals in a way that could help him teach someone else. That's hard to do.
Itachi wasn't that good at teaching fundamentals… he kinda would just give me scrolls and expect me to know what I was doing. It wasn't too hard to get on my own. It definitely felt like he was the type of genius that expected everyone else to be on a similar level to him.
Fuck.
I hate that I just compared them.
They are two totally different people… and Itachi isn't here - to defend himself. I'm such a shitty person. I can't believe I just thought all of that.
The Kazekage set our bags down and started to set up this room for us. He was lighting a small lantern, before the door shut behind me becoming a seamless wall. I'm trapped here with him, there's no way out.
"Naruto you should change into your nightwear. We're going to be waking up early." Gaara said in a tone that sounded more like a command than a suggestion.
It feels just like home, getting ordered around.
I don't know if I'm comfortable changing in front of him yet. I mean I don't think I'd have to get fully naked yet, and it's not like I really have a choice. If I do it right, I can hide parts of my body while changing.
Fumbling through my bag, is this really what I have for nightgowns? They all look like the smallest bits of fabric with suggestive lace. I don't think any of them could really count as clothes. What does Kyuubi want to happen between us?
I grab the least revealing one, "Can you look the other way, it's embarrassing."
"Oh." he pauses for a brief millisecond, "Yeah."
He looks away for now, but I don't know how long that's going to last.
I have to do this like a band aid.
I turn my back towards the Kazekage, just in case. Unbuttoning the shorts first, it should let the large red sweater keep me mostly covered during the process. I quickly remove both the undies and shorts in one movement. Before anything has any time to breathe, I replace them with the silky boy shorts part of my next ensemble.
I quickly glance back to see if the redhead is watching, but true to his word, he's looking away. His eyes even look like they are closed.
Letting out a sigh of relief, I do my next task yanking off the sweater leaving me almost fully exposed in this dwelling. He's still not watching… good. Slipping over the silk garment over my frame, I am now covered.
Besides my arms, I'm pretty much exposing the same amount of skin in this. I feel so much more exposed in this baby doll nightgown. I don't know if it's the way it hugs my curves, the material, or what it suggests we are supposed to be doing. Either way, I hate it.
It's stupid.
"I'm done."
Gaara just snorted out a small laugh when he looked at me, "Do you even want to wear that?"
"No…" I grumbled out.
He really just fucking laughed. I'm in slutty lingerie and the Kazekage's first reaction is to laugh at me. I didn't want him to have another type of reaction… but laughter. Who the fuck does that?
He barely gave me a second glance before going in his own bag, grabbing out clothes for the evening. Did he just want to embarrass me again?
"Here." he hands out his nightshirt to me.
Tentatively I take it. Instead of asking him to turn away this time, I just pull it over my head, it's so big on me. Once I know it's secure I slide my arms inside tenting his shirt around me as I fumble off the garment underneath. Once the silk garment is removed from my arms, I slide them through the shirt he gave me. Then finally I snake it from underneath, pulling it fully from my body.
He watches me more out of curiosity than anything else.
"I'm going to change now. You can look if you want." he says so, fucking, confidently.
"I'm good."
I move my head to look away, hearing only the fumbling of his clothes. Buckles from his maroon military uniform being unlatched. Weight of clothes falling to the ground. Slight movements. I glance back to see what he's doing. He doesn't notice me, but fuck, I notice him. I can feel heat radiating around my body, I'm surely flushed in a blush now. Fuck.
This is embarrassing, but damn, he's built different or something. Gaara is only in his boxers, his body is a bit smaller than most people like him, but it suits him. He's not that much taller than me. I mean I'm kinda tall for what I am too. Gaara just seems to be built of contradictions, but they work together so well.
I don't think I see a single scar on him, besides the decorative one on his forehead. He's supposed to be a great warrior, but besides his muscles, there's not a sign of that on his body. Gaara has never been hit. He wasn't lying about his sand defense.
I quickly move my head back before he notices I'm practically staring.
"I'm done."
The flush finally settled from my face only to return when I looked back. The Kazekage is just in some loose black pajama pants… Right I have his shirt. He seems to grin at my embarrassed state.
I quickly glance down to not meet his gaze… there's only one sleeping bag. He expects us to sleep together tonight. Of course he would. I am to be his mate.
"Why is there only one sleeping bag?" I don't know if I'm ready for it.
"Because I'd like you to join me. I'm not going to force you to. If you'd like, you can have it all to yourself."
Everything is riding on our relationship, I have to appease the Kazekage, "You can join."
"Thank you." he says sincerely.
"Don't mention it." I try to shrug it off, he's going to be my mate, I have to get used to it, "Besides, where would you sleep?"
"I don't do much of that, actually." I feel the pain oozing from him when he says that.
"Oh…"
"Don't worry about it." He tries to cover up his pain with a pitiful excuse.
"Why? ... I mean why can't you sleep?"
"Insomnia."
"Obviously, but, like, why?"
"I've always had it." he pauses again, he does that a lot, before "I'd rather not talk about it right now."
"Okay… we don't have to. I'm sorry." maybe I shouldn't have brought it up.
"Don't be. It's not you."
Gaara seems like he's always so sad and full of pain. It's pretty much the exact opposite of how I imagined him. Everyone said he's just like Kyuubi… But when I'm this close, he's almost nothing like him.
"Here." I hold out my wrist for him… I shouldn't just scent him without warning again.
He just looks at me confused.
"My wrist." I don't want to spell it out for him.
I think it finally clicks because he says, "You don't have to."
"Yeah, I do." I want you to stop being sad, "If I'm going to be your mate, or whatever, we're going to have to get used to each other's scent."
I want this to sound as utilitarian as possible. Gaara might not be the type to accept help if offered. And I just want him to stop being so fucking sad.
"I guess you're right." he lightly bites at his lower lip before asking, "Can I do you, too?"
If it will stop you from looking at me like you want to cry, "Yes."
Gaara tentatively reaches for my arm, as if making sure it's okay while I anxiously look at him ecpextaintly. Slowly he places my wrist over his neck, keeping it in place with his grip on my arm. All while slowly closing the gap between us.
He somehow manages to move closer to my body before I even realize it. His wrist hovers over the gland on my neck for a second, before pressing down, cupping my face in the process. His teal eyes look into mine.
Why is this way more intense?
It takes me a second, but I feel a shudder throughout my body as I experience him like this. His scent effortlessly mixes with mine again.
It's like I'm in a greenhouse at the beginning of spring eagerly waiting out the last frost. The smell of lush nutrition rich soil softly baking around me from the surrounding heat. Freshly formed blossoms permeating through the air impatiently waiting to be watered. As the soft hum of newly awakened bees can be heard outside ready for the season.
Before I know what's happening, it's me closing the little gap Gaara left between us. Quickly, I grab either side of his face, pulling mine closer to his. My lips are suddenly on top of his. His eyes widen for a second before I close mine.
Experiencing this sensation between us fully, trying to lose myself in the moment. The way his mouth desperately moves against mine, letting me in. The softness of his hair as I tangle myself closer to him. The warmth of his body against mine.
His arm wrapped around my head keeping me in place. A hand feeling around my body, dragging down my back. The taste of his tongue as he becomes acquainted with mine as we battle for who is more desperate for this.
As we keep getting closer and more desperate for each other's touch, it gets harder to breathe. I don't want to stop this just yet. I push through any discomfort to keep him close to me right now.
"Are you sure you want this?" he asked, breaking me from my impulse.
"... I don't know."
He tries his best to steady his breath while losing the grip he held on my body. "We have… to - have to stop this."
"Huh?" did I fuck up? Does he not really like me?
"You're not really ready." his breath is still haggard, but closer to a normal pace.
I don't think he wants to stop, "I'm fine."
"Then, I'm not ready." He leaves no room for debate. "We just scented each other. That can be a lot sometimes."
"Yeah." I'm kinda grateful he stopped it, but I can't help but to feel rejected.
"Are you still okay if I join you tonight?"
"Yeah." my voice comes out smaller than I want it to, but he seems to let out a sigh of relief.
"You still want to see the stars?"
I just nod, worried my voice may let out any unwanted emotions.
He just smiles. It's small but it's there.
Gaara gets into the sleeping bag first before motioning for me to join him. Fuck, this is real now. We just scented, kissed, stopped, and now I have to sleep next to him. I try to make myself comfortable laying next to him after all of that. I don't know if I'm too close or too far.
Gaara motioned his hand slightly to remove the ceiling from the enclosure. It's really cool he can do that, he makes it look so effortless, too. There's not a cloud in the sky tonight, we're really lucky to see it like this.
"It's so beautiful. Ya' know, I've always liked the stars ever since I was a kid." I told him.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, each group tells a story and if you know them all you can go anywhere you want in the world." If he's not going to talk, then I am.
I point to the one in the far left sky, "That one there is my favorite. Whenever I get lost I follow that one home."
"That one? But that's…" he paused, "Oh."
"Huh? That's the Tanuki. The old story goes, when Princess Kaguya was defeated by her sons they scattered 9 mighty beasts in the sky to protect us all. Each one protects a different region."
"Why is that one your favorite?" He asked.
"Oh, well duh, it was the first one. He had to protect the whole world while everyone else was still being made. So, it's obviously the coolest. He's also supposed to be really fun and clever." I let a big grin come over my face. "You know they say the only thing more clever than a tanuki is a fox."
"You don't say."
"I don't, it's everyone else who says that. At least that's how the legends go. The two have been fighting each other basically since the beginning of everything."
I point to the sky again, "See right there? The one right next to it. That's the last one the brothers made, he is the Great Kitsune. My father likes to say our family line comes straight from him… but that's just a story."
"What's the story?"
"Well, what he likes to say is that a beautiful maiden tricked the Kitsune to come down from the sky. They fell in love. Unfortunately, she was mortal so they couldn't be together for long. The fox had been so in love that he couldn't stand being away from her so he gave up his immortality. When she finally died, he sealed himself away in her heart so they would never have to be apart."
"So love tricked the fox, and you say he's more clever than the tanuki?"
"I never said that, other people say that. You're putting words in my mouth." I joked around with him, "Besides, the tanuki was tricked into a tea kettle by an old shopkeeper or something."
"It was a temple priest." He corrects me in an overly serious tone.
"Yeah, whatever. If something was going to fool me, I'd rather it be for love, wouldn't you?"
"No… I wouldn't want someone I love to trick me. I'd rather it be an enemy than someone I trusted." He says this so seriously.
"... You're weird. They are just stories." I point to the sky to change the subject, "Anyways, that one there is…"
Gaara lets me go off and tell each one's story as the night goes on. I practically took over the entire conversation. By the end of it I somehow found myself extremely close to him, perfectly tucked under one of his arms, my legs intertwined with his. I didn't even notice when any of that happened. I don't think I mind though.
The realization hits me when I remember one of the books he gave me, "You already knew all of that, didn't you?"
"Yeah."
"You gave me a book on them, why did you let me tell you all that?"
He just shrugged, "The book was boring. It's better when you tell the stories."
"You're so weird." I like those stories.
"I guess. Naruto, It's getting cold. I'm going to put the ceiling back up. Okay?" I almost didn't notice how cold it was out here until he mentioned it. In one quick movement of his hand it's back up and we're perfectly sealed away together.
"I'm getting tired anyway." trying to dismiss the fact I wanted to see the sky more.
The same weird silence from earlier comes over us after he closes up the ceiling. I don't know if I should separate from him or not. Gaara seems so stiff again, like he was earlier. It's weird, it's like we have moments where we can talk freely, then he backs off. Once everything feels like going okay, it's suddenly awkward again.
I hate it.
He fidgets before he finally asks the question that seemed to be on his mind all day, "What was he like?"
"Huh?"
"Your previous sutor." Gaara clarified.
This has to be a test. There's no way this isn't a test. Why else would he ask me this?
"Why?"
"I'm curious."
"Ummmm…" I dont know how to respond to this.
"You can be honest with me."
Can I?
I guess there's only one way to find out, "I, uh, well, I really liked him."
"Oh." Fuck. That was the wrong thing to say.
"I mean.. That was.. Before I met you..." I'm panicking, I don't know what to say to fix this. He's going to be mad at me.
"No. Be honest with me. I don't want you to lie."
"Are you sure?" I make sure.
"Yes."
"You can't get mad at me. You said I could do this." I make sure again.
"Yes, Naruto, I won't be mad at you."
There is no winning this.
"I liked him a lot. He was really kind when I first met him. He didn't judge me and I felt safe with him. Okay?" I try to tell him just the basics.
"Oh." he looks upset.
"But then some stuff happened... and then he died… and everyone expected me to be over it right away. The same day I was told he was dead, I was told there was a replacement. Like he wasn't a person." I keep filling the air up with words hoping to find the right ones, "And yeah, everyone told me that I only knew him for a few months, but it still hurts."
The Kazekage is so painfully quiet.
"And I'm grateful that you helped, or whatever, but it was a lot. A lot happened at once. And it felt like everyone just wanted me to be okay with it." I still can't find them.
He just looks at me… or past me.
So I finally just say, "Sorry."
"I told you to be honest with me."
"Yeah, but I don't know, it's weird."
"You went through a lot in such a short time."
"Yeah." the word nearly leaves my lips.
He doesn't ask, but he wraps his arms around me, I don't care. I let him hold me. I need him to hold me. My body shakes as I let sob after sob into his chest. He just holds me closer with each one, allowing me to feel everything. I fully broke down in his arms for the first time.
It's the first time anyone's let me.
Dreams.
"Itachi! Itachi, where are you?!" Naruto shouted while running around in the void. Looking in every direction for his beloved. It was a black and white world with a blood red moon.
"Itachi, where did you go? Why did you leave me alone!?" I kneel down on a forest floor.
"Where did you go!? I need you Itachi!" I begin to cry.
"I'm right here, Naruto. You can stop crying now, there is nothing to worry about." The dark forest turned into a beautiful room with Itachi's voice.
Naruto has never been to this room before, but he loves the way it makes him feel. It has warm sandy walls and many homemade blankets. Cacti and other plants fill some of the shelves. The bed had my teddy bear on it. It was quite small for his usual surroundings, but it was still wonderful.
"Shut up! I'm not worried…" I lied, "My friend is gone."
"Your friend?" he sounds jealous.
Itachi reached out his hand to help me up. I grabbed it quickly, and then was pulled upward. He wanted to kiss his lover as soon as possible. It's been forever since they've seen each other.
"Yeah my friend, Shukaku, dummy." I point to the bear and laugh. He gets so protective when he's jealous.
I went onto his tiptoes to place his lips upon Itachi's. The raven haired wolf liked the bottom lip to give me the hint to open up. Like I was a starving man, and Itachi had a full course meal, I opened my mouth. My eyes shut as the wet tongue entered his lips.
Itachi didn't have to coax me into joining the tongue play. I was eager to join in. The wolf's hand went to the back of my head to give him more leverage.
Curse the air that they need to breathe, the two separated. When I opened my eyes, I saw the one thing I feared.
Itachi wasn't there, Gaara was. He looked younger… but he has these weird blue markings on him.
"Gaara?"
What's up demons? It's ya' boi.
Sometimes I originally write a chapter in 3rd person then switch it to whoever I think would be the most interesting to see the story told from. It just helps me get the actions right and it allows me to put something down so I have a placeholder until I know what I want there.
I did this for this chapter and the next, there's a big flash back in the next chapter, that I'm going to leave 3rd person. Just pretend it's from Gaara's POV. I want to get it out this weekend.
You're on chapter 16, we're friends now, so just do me this solid.
TigrezzTail. I think I only have Kyuubi's POV in like 2-3 more chapters, and they are much later on. There is an answer to why an Alpha changes into an Omega, it's either in the next Itachi Chapter or the one after that. The answer isn't good. We won't see that for a few more chapters, because we gotta get these two boys to get the show on the road.