Gaara stared.

"Kazekage?" The younger of the shinobi asked hesitantly.

"Go," Gaara ordered.

"Sir?"

"It's fine. She's fine. Go," he repeated.

"Yes, Kazekage," the older agreed, grabbing the younger by the arm and tugging him from the room.

We studied one another for a long moment, but I could handle the silence, now, and waited for him to speak.

"You left Konoha without permission," Gaara finally said. "You're technically a rogue ninja. And the Sand is allied with the Leaf."

I watched him calmly, dark eyes betraying nothing. "And what will you do about it?"

He folded his hands in front of his mouth contemplatively. "You will always be welcome in my Village," he finally declared. "Though I would like to know your reasons for leaving. There hasn't been sight of you for months."

My eyes darkened. "My reasons for leaving..."

He didn't speak, waiting patiently for an answer. But the silence which I had learned to live with on my own suddenly seemed oppressive with another human in the room. I stretched my hand out, fumbling for a chair and collapsing on it. "I," I opened my mouth, but ended up gulping at air; something I would normally consider an unacceptable weakness. But I had been alone for so long, my control on my emotions untested by others. "I..."

He was silent, but his eyes saddened considerably as he waited for me to speak.

"I was unsighted?" I finally asked abruptly.

Gaara watched me for a moment before allowing the change in topic. "There was no sighting of Cashile Kuroki," he corrected. "But, congratulations," he murmured, a hint of a smile at his lips, "You've made it into the Bingo Book."

"I have?" I asked, surprised.

"Well, not you, necessarily; they didn't know who you were beneath the mask. And you didn't make it into Konoha's," Gaara admitted. "Nor the Sand's. But every other village has added you. Quite the name, too: Shatterclaw."

My mind flashed to the broken Claw mask in my bag that I wore during every infiltration and assassination. "I suppose it's inevitable to be added to some Bingo Books when you kill high ranking officials in those villages," I conceded.

"Yes," and here, Gaara leaned forward, concern in his eyes. "Which brings us to the topic: why are you here?"

"Well," I replied, more comfortable with this topic, "I wasn't exactly frie..."

I trailed off, and Gaara raised an eyebrow. "You weren't...?"

"I didn't know the leaders of the other villages," I restarted slowly. Gaara's watching me closely, and I think he knew what I was going to say, but he didn't push. "So if I waltzed in there, told them, 'Hey, these people who you've known for the last twenty years are actually spies for the Rising Phoenix and they want to take over this country, so I'm here to kill them', I don't think it would have gone over very well."

Gaara's eyes widened ever so slightly in alarm. "So that's why you're here," he breathed. "There are spies for the Rising Phoenix in my Village."

I nodded shortly.

"And you're here to kill them."

I nodded again.

"I cannot let you kill them."

I nodded a third time.

"But you knew I would say that."

One last nod.

"And yet you still told me."

"Yes."

He stared at me for a long moment as though marveling at my existence. "Thank you, Cashile," he said.

"If you don't want me to assassinate them," I asked slowly. "What are you planning on doing?"

He raised folded hands to mouth once more, thinking. "Capture," he replied slowly. "And interrogate. Then, if they're a threat, execute them."

"You'll get nothing from them," I shook my head. "And chances are they'll either commit suicide or be assassinated by the Claw or escape before you could even begin the interrogation. The first is most likely, right now."

"Konoha managed to do it," Gaara replied. "You managed to break a Claw."

"No," I shook my head, the words spilling from my mouth. "I won't."

Gaara studied me closely, remaining silent. It was a tactic I knew well: I would feel pressured into speaking, into filling the silence. I didn't mind his (most likely unconscious) attempt at manipulation, though, and allowed the silence to be filled by my voice.

"I just," my voice almost broke, and I was forced to take a moment to composed myself. "I know how to break them, I know what to do; I know every single tool, every single step I would take to break them, but... I just..."

Gaara held up a hand and nodded slowly. "I understand," he assured. "I will not ask that of you."

"I've tortured people," I told him, somehow wanting to almost prove myself to him, prove that I wasn't changed. "And I'm still perfectly willing and capable to harm others for information, but... What it would take to break these people... They would be far more likely to go insane or die in the process."

"I understand," Gaara repeated, and, strangely, a part of me truly believed that a part of him truly understood. "We will make our attempt to gather what information we can, and we will kill them before allowing them even a chance to escape."

"Okay," I agreed, nodded, and silence fell for a moment. "What happened while I was gone? I left right after the attack on Konoha. I know some things, but it's impossible to keep perfectly up to date when..."

Gaara sighed, folding his hands in front of his mouth and resting his elbows on the table. "You've been gone for several months," he murmured. "A lot has happened."

"The Fourth Shinobi war," I replied, staring out the window. It looked like a normal day; nothing indicated that somewhere out there, people were preparing for what would no doubt be the greatest war of the generation.

"It's been declared, yes," Gaara agreed. "There's been no major attacks or battles yet. We're preparing. The five major Kage have agreed to the Shinobi Alliance."

I nodded. "From the little I know, war will truly break out in about two months."

"That's what we've predicted as well," Gaara nodded. "Preparations will be finished in about a month, maybe more, and they will probably attack only when we've gathered together."

"Danzo is dead, I've heard." I reached into my bag, pulling out a nearly empty bottle of stale water. Gaara noticed, and instead offered me a fresh, cool pitcher and a glass.

"That is correct." Gaara nodded, pouring and handing me the water. His eyes briefly focused on my missing fingers before returning to my face. "We haven't yet received word of who will be the next Hokage."

I drank slowly, knowing too well of the pain rehydrating too quickly could bring, and set the glass down carefully, precisely, before speaking. "I suppose it's for the best." Danzo had always been much too aggressive in his approach for protecting the Leaf. His methods would have led to a dissolution of the alliance—fast.

"Hm," Gaara mused thoughtfully, not disagreeing with me. "I would never wish harm on the Leaf as our ally."

I smirked slightly. He couldn't outright say he was relieved by the death due to the alliance, but that was about as close as he could come to saying he thought it was good for the Leaf that Danzo was dead. "And Sasuke?"

A dark look grew in his eye and he shook his head. I didn't push further; I could assume enough. Sasuke was now powerful enough to challenge all five Kage at the same time, and stand on near equal footing under certain circumstances. "I see," I retreated tactfully.

Gaara leaned back, removing his hands from in front of his mouth and regarded me thoughtfully. "What do you plan, now?"

"If you'd allow it," I began my entreatment carefully, "I would stay here for the night. I would see the spies captured, and then rest, and then, I suppose, it's time I returned to Konoha. Though I'd never assume to impose on you and your hospitality, of course."

"Cashile," Gaara replied, tone wavering somewhere between stern and affronted and compassionate. "When I extended welcome to you to my village all those months ago, I did not do so lightly."

I winced, realizing that my words could be taken as insulting the integrity of his offer and, by extension, himself, and began to apologize. "Kazekage, I would never—"

He raised a hand slightly, and I cut myself off. "Please, there's no need to be formal here. Of course you may rest here for the night; you may spend as much time in my village as you desire. And when you're prepared to return to the Leaf, we will provide all the provisions you need. I wouldn't have it any other way."

His kindness hurt in a way months of solitude failed to, and I pressed my lips together tightly before nodding. "Thank you."

He was still watching me, so I reached forward and took up the glass and pitcher again to avoid the silence. "How's your team?" He asked slowly, probingly, like pushing at the edges of a bruise to find out just how deep it went.

"All alive," I answered, focusing on pouring the water. "They were lucky to survive the Pain and following Claw assault."

He paused as I returned the pitcher to the table. "It must have been difficult," he tried again, "to witness so much destruction to your village. Was your home damaged in the attack?"

"Houses can be rebuilt," I waved off, and he narrowed in on the point.

"Homes are much more difficult, aren't they?" His question was cutting, and when it was met with silence he took it as his hint that he was drawing closer to whatever it was he was trying to discover. "It takes more than walls and doors and roofs to rebuild a home."

Realizing the glass was shaking in my hand, I set it down with a definitive clack. "I wouldn't know," I responded indifferently. "Would you like me to tell you who the spies are, now?"

After I had named the spies and watched the ANBU capture them, and was satisfied with their cells, Gaara led me to my room with the promise that he'd send someone with food, soon. I opened the door, but before I could retreat, he stopped me with a word.

"Cashile," he said softly.

I froze, clutching the door jamb tightly, then turned around. We regarded each other for a long moment, and then he spoke quietly, simply, without pity or judgment.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

Then, with a whisper of his robes on the sandstone, he left.

***...*.*.

"Still here, Cashile," Aiden's whisper echoed through the wind.

I opened my eyes, no longer startled by his voice that haunted me every night, painful tugs at my heart reminding me that he was no longer of the living. What had at first felt like a constant tearing, ripping of my chest had settled into a persistent, empty ache, with only occasional stabs of the original agony.

With a soft exhale, I pushed myself off of the floor, which had seemed more familiar to sleep on over the bed, and felt for my weapons, making sure that I had all my gear on me before crossing the room and exiting, making my way to the balcony. Opening the glass doors, I welcomed the harsh breeze that was normal for a night in the Sand Village.

Some time passed before a strong presence neared. We stood next to each other, still and silent, able to appreciate the serenity of the night in our own ways. While it was no longer required of him to keep the One-tail at bay, Gaara clearly still suffered from bouts of insomnia. "Nice night," I commented finally, making light conversation to instigate what the Kazekage's purpose for joining me out here was.

"Technically, it's morning," Gaara pointed out. Knowing that I was not one to make light conversation, Gaara naturally saw through this topic and went straight to his point. "Do you truly intend to travel back to Konoha after you leave this village?"

I allowed myself to let out a sigh. "You must know that I'll be facing consequences upon my arrival," I replied. "It's not the easiest course for me to take."

Gaara nodded slowly. Then, in his soft, pointed tone, "It's rare for the easiest course to be the one that should be taken."

I leaned against the railing, watching as the first touches of sunrise began to lighten the edges of the sky, not replying. Gaara stood tall, allowing the silence to envelop us as we gazed over the village into the desert. When I finally turned to face him the sun had just crested over the horizon, and his pale skin glowed in its light. His hair looked like fire.

"I'll take those supplies, now," was my answer, and Gaara responded with the slightest of smiles.

He walked with me to the village walls to see me off, and the only goodbye he offered was to remind me that I would always, always, be welcome for any reason, for any length of time. I smiled, and he looked vaguely sad and hopeful, and when I left, I didn't look back.

_-\|\_|~\\_||_\|~\_.|~~\_|~|\_|~\_\~~|\\~\\_|~\_|~~\

Hey guys! Look at us getting this update out in a WEEK and not making you wait too terribly long!

So now y'all know that there's been a time-skip. What do y'all think? Expectations?

Anyhow life has been going swimmingly aka I feel like there been a bubble of panic in my chest and I'm having a slow motion week log panic attack but not really just kinda low key yknow?

Also I watched One Punch Man's first 7 episodes all in a row yesterday instead of doing any of my homework and goodness I didn't realize it was actually a good anime someone put a lot of themselves into it it's truly lovely (but there's like no fan fiction of it anywhere and I stg saitama is low key depressed asgsjdlsirnf)

Also also reading periods for litmags are coming up and I'm submitting and I'm nervous but also know I'm gonna be rejected because that's the life of an author but wish me luck all the same I wanna be published

Anyhow make sure to comment comment comment! Give us that inspiration we crave~

Insomniac_Lullabies