I do not own any rights to Naruto (story or characters). Just the characters I make up along the way! I have full love and respect for Masashi Kishimoto!
While this isn't my first story it is under my pen name, Aubrei Seraph. I hope you enjoy it and feel free to ask me any questions or offer any suggestions!
Have fun!
UPDATE: It's been awhile. I've had a lot of stuff happen since I originally published this but my heart has never left this story. I am working on editing chapters 2-4 and I've got through chapter 8 written. Please let me know what you think! :)
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I've never had dreams before. Most of the time my sleep was darkness and faint sensations that I could no longer remember. This time thought it was different. I was a little girl again small and weak lost in the dark tunnels that wound under the desert. I could feel fear coursing through me like the ocean ebbing and flowing against the sand. All logic seemed to leave me and I sobbed into my knees. The constant drip drip drip of water along the hanging rocks was the only source of sound besides my cries. I cried for my father, for Shiba, for anyone who could save me but I was alone once again.
When I woke it was sudden, leaving me blinking up at the ceiling in confusion. I could feel tears streaming down my face soaking my pillow. God how I hated crying. I have spent more tears in the past six months than I have my entire life. Frustrated I tried to wipe the wetness from my skin but my hand stopped, fingers hovering over my eyes. I let my fingers dance across my cheeks and up to the trail that my tears left behind. In an instant, I was up searching the bed sheets around me in desperation. Maybe it fell on the floor? I turned to check but I was in too much of a panic and not paying attention. I landed on my side rolling to my back with a huff as I sat there with my feet still tangled in sheets on the bed.
Champagne strands of hair covered my face some slipping into my mouth as I breathed. Usually, I had it in a bun, my turban protecting it from the elements but it was missing. Instead, I was in gray scrubs that pooled around my calf too big for my body. The shirt was the same color and hung around my breast barely concealing them from view. All I could do was lie there breathing while I tried to think. Ok, I wasn't home but I was definitely in someone's house. I remember the sick people at the hospital and Gaara lying there dying. I remembered everything except how I ended up here.
Rationally the first thing to do was try and find out where I was. Looking around the room I couldn't recognize anything scattered about the sparse space. The bed was the center of the room set against one wall and massive in size. The sheets were soft against my skin unlike the rough fabric of my own bedding. Turning to my left I could see a small table sitting next to the bed holding a lamp and a stack of scrolls and notebooks. Three small windows were along the wall above the bed round and giving me a view of the world outside.
I could see the sandstone buildings of Suna so I was still in the village. That at least offered some comfort. Untangling myself I pushed off the floor trying to adjust the clothing from falling. I could feel the chakra of those in the city around me but not much else. There was pressure behind my eyes that meant I was still drained.
How long had I been out? A day or two? With a groan I let my head drop to my hands rubbing my eyes before looking at the room around me once more. From this angle, I could make out more of the room including the desk in one corner that took up much of the space. Tools, polishing cloths, and sharpening stones covered the desk. It was the desk of a Shinobi.
I let my fingers run across the smooth metal of a kunai feeling the care that went into each one. Sitting against the back of the desk were a row of photos. I recognized the faces in some of them while others looked older, from before my time. One of the oldest pictures was a beautiful woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.
She was smiling out of the photo like the person behind the camera was the love of her life. I've never seen a person look so happy before and I couldn't seem to look away from her. Never have I ever experienced anything in my life that gave me the amount of joy that I saw on her face. It was like there was this light shining in her eyes that nothing could extinguish.
That same light was reflected in her daughter's eyes. Temari was her name. She was Kaiyo's childhood friend that moved to Konoha to be an ambassador for Suna. None of the siblings looked alike. Temari favored their mother and Kankuro favored their father. Gaara was somehow a mixture of the two. His eyes were sharp like that of the Yondaime Kazekage but his face was soft like his mothers. Like most of the time, he was standing in the photo stoic while his siblings smiled at the camera. It was a nice photo of them.
Moving away from the desk I opened the wardrobe. By now it was fairly obvious whose room this was. I didn't know whether to feel relieved or concerned. Gaara's clothes were hung with the utmost care like everything else in the room. Hanging up were casual clothes in varying colors and the white robes of his office. I refrained from digging through his drawers out of principal but I did pull out a piece of cloth that was out of place. It was folded but put in a spot where no one would notice it if they weren't looking. The fabric was a stretchy material and colored a god awful green. Putting it back the way I found it I shut the doors letting my head rest on the wood for a moment.
So I was in Gaara's room, without my goggles, and after I had pretty much ousted myself to the entire village. Great, that was going to go over well. I wasn't being arrested but I wasn't home either so there was no hiding away like normal. I looked once more around the room trying to find anyplace that he may have stashed my goggles but I came up empty. This left me with few options. Either I wait here until someone came to check on me, hopefully with an extra pair, or escape. "You're awake."
My eyes slammed shut at the rough voice my body jumping. I made a rush for the door in my panic, my higher brain function no working at the moment. The arms that grabbed me were made of sand and I as halted before I even made it halfway to the door. I had to fight to keep my eyes closed and my body under control; he was too close. I could feel the plants around the room reacting to my distress; what little chakra I had out of control. A pot broke along the wall beside me sending the roots reaching across the floor. "Let me go!" I snarled putting as much coldness behind my words as I could muster.
The warmth of the sand and his presences left my skin flushing. He didn't seem to worry about the plants or the state of my emotions. He just stood there waiting in silence for something. I wanted to kick out but right now I wasn't quite sure his exact position. "Pup calm down." It was a command even if it was meant to be soothing. My body reacted on instinct hearing the order for what it was. Shiba was telling me she was in charge. When she nuzzled up next to me I let my fingers run through her fur gathering strength from her presence. Her muzzle reached up once I had slowed my breathing and she placed my spare goggles in my hand. When I opened my eyes, safely hidden again, Gaara was standing there with his arms crossed. His skin was a healthy color again no longer dyed to the color of failing kidneys. His eyes were sharp and focused and despite the dark circles around his eyes he looked well rested. "You look better," I said breaking the silence in the room. He raised a non-existent eyebrow but didn't say anything.
"Shiba where are my clothes?" I asked changing the subject. It wasn't like sleeping too much would kill me and I really wanted to get back home and forget this ever happened. "It's not that easy pup." The way she said it made me wonder if she was reading my mind. "Why don't we take this out into the living room?" Gaara suggested walking back out into the hallway without waiting to see if we followed. "Shiba…"
"Trust me pup." I did trust her, but this was so far from normal that I couldn't help but feel hesitant.
I found Gaara and Shiba in what I assumed was a living room. It was decorated like the bedroom. Scrolls and books littered the space with a few photos decorating the walls. A large sofa blocked off the area from the hallway. It was more modern than I would have thought the Kazekage's house would look like. A few pillows sat by the table that looked well used but other than that everything looked new, rarely lived in.
They were already talking amongst themselves as I walked in. "The chef didn't know anything. The man that he bought the mushrooms from, no one seems to remember what he looks like." Gaara said rubbing his temple. This must have been a conversation they were having before I woke up. Gaara motioned for me to sit on the couch while he took the chair. "And everyone that was sick?" Shiba asked from her position on the floor by the wall. Gaara had cleared enough space for her to be able to lie down. She took up most of the space but looked comfortable as she sat their paws crossed. "Completely fine. Kaiyo sent the last one home this morning."
After all the lives I lost yesterday hearing that everyone else survived was a relief. "There was something off about that chef," I mentioned thinking back to the twitchy old man. "He should have known what those mushrooms were it's not a rare mushroom." Gaara nodded in agreement steepling his hands under his chin at my words. "We aren't positive but we think someone used a mind control Jutsu on him. There are signs that his mind had been tampered with. "I tensed when he said that. Looking to Shiba she nodded signaling that she was thinking the same thing. Either this was an attack on the village or a way to flush me out. "I would check with Konoha to see if any of the vendors there sold a large quantity to someone recently. That particular mushroom is only found in that region."
Gaara's eyes were on me again after I spoke. He had that same curious expression that I had seen on each occasion we've met. "Well, I will just, go see if Kaiyo has your clothes cleaned." Shiba cleared her throat before standing. I tried reaching for her to stop but sand came out and trapped me to the couch. I looked to Shiba for help but she just shook her head. "It will be fine pup." And with that, she was gone in a puff of smoke. All I could do was sit there staring at where she had been feeling a little hurt that she abandoned me. "She cares about you. By the time I came around she was nearly biting off the heads of my Anbu." He chuckled a little and I felt my lips twitch and the thought of this big wolf appearing from nowhere. It eased some of the tension in my shoulders but not all.
The room fell silent once more. It seemed to always be this way with us, neither of us much of a conversationalist. I could barter a man out of his house and the clothes he was wearing but when it came to general conversations I was at a lost. Gaara didn't seem to fare any better. I moved a little trying to adjust my position on the couch but his sand was like iron around my body. "Could you maybe loosen this?" He turned his eyes down to the sand around me but did nothing. "Are you going to answer my questions?" He asked instead and despite my stubbornness, he had a right to know what happened in the hospital. How was I going to answer his questions without revealing too much? "Ok."
"How long have you lived in those caves?" He asked first sitting back in the chair with his arms once again crossed. "A long time." It was the truth or as much of the truth as I was going to give. He didn't seem satisfied with my answer and I felt the sand tighten around me. "Hey!" I yelped but he completely ignored me. "How long have you lived in those caves?" Gaara repeated leaving me trying to set him on fire with my mind.
"You wouldn't believe me." I snorted trying to gather enough chakra to break his hold. If there was one thing I was certain of it was him not believing just how old I was. "I've lived there since I was a child. My father brought me here to escape the war." It wasn't a complete lie and I hoped it was enough to appease him. The truth was something that I couldn't share with him even if I wanted to.
He seemed to buy my explanation and the sand loosened its grip. I kept shooting him dirty looks as I rubbed the skin of my arms. "Was he the one that trained you?" I shook my head. "No, he died shortly after we arrived. Shiba took me in and taught me to survive." Chuckling I thought about the time she tried to teach me the basics of chakra control. The cavern walls still bear the marks of my failed attempts.
"You care for her." He said it almost like he didn't mean to say it out loud. Startled by his comment his body tensed back up. "Why have you never revealed yourself to us?" Sighing I sat back further on the couch trying to get as comfortable as possible. "I wasn't exactly hiding. I came to the village all the time to trade herbs and salves with your vendors." It was the truth. I've been trading with some of the vendors since their grandparent's time. Most of them I watched as children tottering around the stalls smiling up at me as I passed. "I've confirmed that with them."
"Then why am I still a prisoner here? I'm not here to cause your village any harm. I just want to be left alone." I pleaded, trying to understand what he wanted from me. Was I an enigma to be solved or an enemy to be put down? Just tell me!
"What makes you think you are a prisoner?" I scoffed at that looking down at the sand still wrapped around me. "Wanna think about that again?" His shrug was not an answer. The sudden urge to hit him, a feeling I was starting to associate with the man, filled me. "What do you want Kazekage?" I finally asked too tired to play this game anymore. "Gaara." Staring at him I waited for him to clarify but he just started down at me. "I'm sorry?"
"My friends call me Gaara." Well, that was well and good but the last time I checked we weren't friends. In fact, the last time we spoke I basically told him I didn't want anything to do with him.
"What are you playing at Kazekage?"
"Gaara."
"Whatever! Just answer my question!" I finally snapped having enough of this game he was playing. "I'm not your friend; I'm not your ally. I just want to be left the hell alone!" I was panting by the time I finished my fist clenched into a fist ready to hit something, but did the bastard even care? No! He just sat there staring at me like we were having a normal conversation. "You've saved my life three times now. You let me and my team into your home. You risked your safety and your anonymity to save my people with no benefit of your own. Isn't that a sign of friendship?" I froze. "Wait, that was… I just…" I tried but my brain was running on overtime.
That wasn't right. I mean I just wanted to protect life, their life, all life. I wasn't trying to connect with anyone, was I? I mean Kaiyo invited me over to her place but that was just to ask me about herbs and remedies. Sure she made dinner and we talked about books, but they were medical books! But the more I thought about it the more I began to question my previous thought. Even the villagers would pass by and wave in greeting when before they noticed I was there. I hadn't even noticed the change. I had come to be a part of this village without even realizing it, my anonymity gone. It scared me, no it completely terrified me, but not because I didn't like it but because I did. The realization sent my body into the shock my hands shaking as they lay in my lap. "Friends only cause pain," I whispered repeating my mantra again but it felt hollow on my lips.
The sand fell away disappearing back to where ever it came from. I didn't even try to run away and he knew I wouldn't. I couldn't form a coherent thought. All my mind kept popping up was the pains of my past and the lives that I lost. How many loved ones had I buried? How many of them cursed me in the end because I was still alive and young while they were wrinkled and gray? What could this man possibly want with a cursed woman like me? "Why me?" I asked quietly. I was nothing but trouble he just needed to forget about me and everything would be ok, he would be ok. I wouldn't let him or anyone else die because of me!
I looked up to tell him this to make him understand but he had walked away. I watched as he opened a glass cabinet by the window pulling out a plant nestled in a rust colored pot. When he presented it to me I could see that it had fully bloomed. Its soft pink petals were dusted with gold and looked as fragile as most flowers do. The scent, unlike any other rose, was crisp and fresh. I found myself taking in the fragrance. "I asked every expert I could find but no one could tell me the name. Finally, I found a woman who told me it was a hybrid. Futatabime no Chansu is what people call it."
"Second chance." I recognized the plant the moment he sat it in my lap. I hadn't grown one in at least fifteen years. Not since I gave away the last of my seeds, but I would recognize the fragrance anywhere. I tried to say something but all I could do was choke on my words. My eyes closed and I tried to fight the tears threatening to fall. There was no stopping them. I opened my eyes to watch as they fell into the soil. "Someone gave me a second chance once when I was ready to die. It wasn't easy and a lot of the time I didn't think I would make it. I came close so many times to giving up, to falling into that darkness but your words would always save me. That's why Yuumei. That's why no matter how much you fight me I will always be your friend. Just like you have always been mine."