Chapter 4: Have you ever felt love?
"Whew! I'm exausted!" Kitai exclaimed one dry afternoon, "And I'm hot! Sheesh, does the desert ever cool off?" The next day she and Gaara had begun training again, and they were both sitting on the dusty ground, taking a short rest after a whole day of exercise.
"Of course it cools down," responded Gaara with a grin, "But only at night."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you ask me, the desert is highly inconvenient." Kitai stuck her nose in the air, playfully acting like a snob. Gaara felt a funny feeling in his stomach, and before he realized it, he was laughing out loud. Kitai looked at him curiously at first, but then also started laughing with him.
"Hey," she said as he settled down, "That's the first time you've actually laughed at one of my jokes." Gaara scratched the top of his head gingerly, also realizing the strange truth.
"You know," she continued, "You should laugh more often. It sounds good." Gaara grinned happily. Every time Kitai was around, he didn't worry about wearing a mask. "Not only that, but a smile looks good on you too! Not like me, because with me it's like this..." She stuck two fingers in her mouth and stretched it to the sides, then crossed her eyes so she looked like a crazed, blue eyed, black haired toad. She and Gaara began to laugh again.
"But seriously," giggled Kitai as she lay back on the ground, "I really am thirsty. And hot."
"I think we may have gone out a little farther than usual," said Gaara as he got up.
"Oh, great," muttered Kitai. She also got up, and realized he wasn't kidding. The roofs of the village were barely visible. Kitai had been so absorbed in her sparring with Gaara that she didn't realize how far they'd gone. She sighed audibly.
"Hey, what's that?" Gaara pointed behind Kitai. She turned around and saw that he was pointing to what looked like a few clumps of trees.
"Trees? In the desert??" exclaimed Kitai.
"It looks like an oasis," answered Gaara.
"Then that means that there's probably water!! Whee! Come on!" She started running towards the out-of-place clump of trees as Gaara hurried to follow her. "Ha! Slow poke!" She stuck out her tongue at him as he gained speed.
Gaara sprinted into the trees as Kitai followed closely behind. They both leaned against the trees as they regained their breath.
"Oh, fine," gasped Kitai, "I guess you win..." Gaara grinned even wider than usual.
"Ahhh!" Kitai sighed, "How beautiful!" A large, clear pool of water sat in the middle of the high palm trees. Rough grass surrounded the pool with a few wild flowers sticking out here and there. Kitai ran to the pool and started drinking thirstily out of cupped hands. Gaara followed and also drank some water.
"This is nice..." said Kitai as she plopped down on the grass by the water. "We should come here more often." She lay down comfortably.
"Yeah," agreed Gaara as he lay down by her.
"Oooh, it's still too hot, though," she said as she got up. "And I know the perfect remedy." She threw off her shoes, her few kunai and shuriken, and then the top layer of clothes so that she was left with an under shirt and shorts. Gaara tried to avoid looking at her while she undressed, unsure of what she was going to do.
"Hey, come on," she said happily when she was done, "Aren't you gonna jump in?"
"Jump in where?" he asked, truly confused.
"In the pool, of course! Where else?!"
"Um, well, I don't know how to swim..." He looked at the water, deciding that he didn't trust it all that much.
"You have got to be kidding!" Kitai exclaimed. She hunched down to his height. "I guess I'll have to teach you. Not only is it a necessary shinobi skill, but it's fun too!"
"Um..."
"Get undressed; just leave your pants on."
A little while later, Gaara had finally stripped himself down to his pants. He looked around nervously since he had never been this exposed in front of another.
"Aww, don't be shy, Gaara," grinned Kitai. "This'll be fun, I promise." She stretched out her hand and he tentatively took it. She pulled him to the water's edge and began walking in. He slowly stepped into the water, walking along the floor of the pool until he was in waist deep water.
"Okay," said Kitai, "First of all, you've gotta trust the water."
"Trust the water?" Gaara asked with doubt and sarcasm.
"Hey, don't use a tone with me, young man. Yeah, trust the water. If you splash around all wildly, not only will you tire yourself out and not accomplish anything, but you'll sink like a rock." Perspiration mounted on Gaara's head, although Kitai didn't notice. "You've seen birds fly, right? They have to flap their wings to stay in the air, and you have to keep moving your arms and legs to stay afloat. Also, always have air in your lungs, that way you'll never sink. Okay?" Gaara nodded as Kitai grinned at him.
She took both his hands and slowly led him to the deeper part of the water. Soon the water reached their chins.
"I'm gonna let go now," she said as she loosened her grip on his hands, "Just move your feet and hands, like this..." She moved her hands around her body, then paddled with her feet so that she was actually floating. Gaara copied her, and was amazed with the strange sensation. He couldn't help beaming as he followed Kitai into the center of the pool.
After a few more lessons and words of wisdom, Gaara felt completely at home in the water. He and Kitai had even ventured under water, to find different types of strange algae living in the pool. They were enjoying themselves so much that they didn't notice the growing shadows. For the first time, Gaara decided it was time to get out.
"It's growing late, we should dry off," he told Kitai as she floated on her back. She quickly resumed the doggie paddle.
"Aww, do we have to?" she gave an over dramatic puppy dog pout. Gaara suppressed a laugh as he turned away.
"Laugh if you will," she said ominously, "But you will pay." Gaara shook his head happily as he headed for the shore. He walked onto the bank to where their clothes were, then turned around to face Kitai. Instead, he got a blast of water right in his face. His eyes were wide with amazement as Kitai laughed hysterically.
"Told you!" she laughed as she wiped the tears from her face. Gaara grinned malevolently. A second later Kitai was on top of a wave of sand, being thrown back into the pool. This time Gaara was the one that was laughing as Kitai emerged on the surface of the water, looking slightly peeved.
"Ho ho, Mr. Sandman," she said as she walked back towards Gaara, "Very clever." However, she couldn't suppress a grin as she sat down, waiting to dry. They both sat in silence, looking at the different blends of colors in the sky.
"I remember..." she said dreamily, "how my family and I always used to go swimming..." Gaara looked at her. He had never heard her speak of her family, except for the night before. "After hours of swimming, we would dry out on the bank, looking for different animals in the clouds... This is the first time that I've gone swimming... since they passed away..."
"Kitai... could I ask you something?" Gaara asked.
"Yeah, sure," Kitai suddenly snapped out of her reminiscence.
"Have you... ever felt love?" Kitai looked at him with a surprised look on her face.
"Of course... haven't you?" Gaara shook his head sadly.
"Could you... tell me what it's like?" Kitai smiled sadly at him.
"Well, love is... that funny feeling in the pit of your gut you get whenever you look at someone. It's strange, but really familiar at the same time. When you look at your loved ones, you feel... like you're home. When you're with them, you know you can act however you want... because they truly accept you."
"It sounds confusing... I can't tell if I've ever felt it..."
"I'm sure you will... And it is confusing. There are different types of love. The worst kind is the love that you don't realize is there... so when you lose your love... it hurts so much..." Kitai's face looked so sad as she gazed at the sky.
"Did you... not realize you loved your family?" Kitai shook her head slightly.
"I'd always get in fights with my older sister... and my little brother acted like such a pain sometimes. I'd even fight with my parents sometimes... I wonder... if they know how much I love them... how much I miss them..." In the yellow light, a golden tear ran down her face from her crystal blue eyes. Gaara didn't realize love was so painful.
"So, you still love them?"
"Of course," Kitai's voice shook slightly as more golden tears ran down her face.
"Then, if it was that strong... then I'm sure they know that you love them." Kitai didn't expect that response from Gaara. She looked up at him, and saw that he was smiling reassuringly. "I didn't think love was that strong."
"You've got a lot to learn, kid," laughed Kitai as she dried her tears. "Well, I think I'm dry, and it's getting cold."
"Yeah, let's go," Gaara said as he began to dress.
"Gaara?" Kitai asked timidly. Gaara looked at her expectantly. "Thanks." He was surprised, but he smiled at her. Maybe, just like Yashamaru said, his heart was healing...
"Whew! I'm exausted!" Kitai exclaimed one dry afternoon, "And I'm hot! Sheesh, does the desert ever cool off?" The next day she and Gaara had begun training again, and they were both sitting on the dusty ground, taking a short rest after a whole day of exercise.
"Of course it cools down," responded Gaara with a grin, "But only at night."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. If you ask me, the desert is highly inconvenient." Kitai stuck her nose in the air, playfully acting like a snob. Gaara felt a funny feeling in his stomach, and before he realized it, he was laughing out loud. Kitai looked at him curiously at first, but then also started laughing with him.
"Hey," she said as he settled down, "That's the first time you've actually laughed at one of my jokes." Gaara scratched the top of his head gingerly, also realizing the strange truth.
"You know," she continued, "You should laugh more often. It sounds good." Gaara grinned happily. Every time Kitai was around, he didn't worry about wearing a mask. "Not only that, but a smile looks good on you too! Not like me, because with me it's like this..." She stuck two fingers in her mouth and stretched it to the sides, then crossed her eyes so she looked like a crazed, blue eyed, black haired toad. She and Gaara began to laugh again.
"But seriously," giggled Kitai as she lay back on the ground, "I really am thirsty. And hot."
"I think we may have gone out a little farther than usual," said Gaara as he got up.
"Oh, great," muttered Kitai. She also got up, and realized he wasn't kidding. The roofs of the village were barely visible. Kitai had been so absorbed in her sparring with Gaara that she didn't realize how far they'd gone. She sighed audibly.
"Hey, what's that?" Gaara pointed behind Kitai. She turned around and saw that he was pointing to what looked like a few clumps of trees.
"Trees? In the desert??" exclaimed Kitai.
"It looks like an oasis," answered Gaara.
"Then that means that there's probably water!! Whee! Come on!" She started running towards the out-of-place clump of trees as Gaara hurried to follow her. "Ha! Slow poke!" She stuck out her tongue at him as he gained speed.
Gaara sprinted into the trees as Kitai followed closely behind. They both leaned against the trees as they regained their breath.
"Oh, fine," gasped Kitai, "I guess you win..." Gaara grinned even wider than usual.
"Ahhh!" Kitai sighed, "How beautiful!" A large, clear pool of water sat in the middle of the high palm trees. Rough grass surrounded the pool with a few wild flowers sticking out here and there. Kitai ran to the pool and started drinking thirstily out of cupped hands. Gaara followed and also drank some water.
"This is nice..." said Kitai as she plopped down on the grass by the water. "We should come here more often." She lay down comfortably.
"Yeah," agreed Gaara as he lay down by her.
"Oooh, it's still too hot, though," she said as she got up. "And I know the perfect remedy." She threw off her shoes, her few kunai and shuriken, and then the top layer of clothes so that she was left with an under shirt and shorts. Gaara tried to avoid looking at her while she undressed, unsure of what she was going to do.
"Hey, come on," she said happily when she was done, "Aren't you gonna jump in?"
"Jump in where?" he asked, truly confused.
"In the pool, of course! Where else?!"
"Um, well, I don't know how to swim..." He looked at the water, deciding that he didn't trust it all that much.
"You have got to be kidding!" Kitai exclaimed. She hunched down to his height. "I guess I'll have to teach you. Not only is it a necessary shinobi skill, but it's fun too!"
"Um..."
"Get undressed; just leave your pants on."
A little while later, Gaara had finally stripped himself down to his pants. He looked around nervously since he had never been this exposed in front of another.
"Aww, don't be shy, Gaara," grinned Kitai. "This'll be fun, I promise." She stretched out her hand and he tentatively took it. She pulled him to the water's edge and began walking in. He slowly stepped into the water, walking along the floor of the pool until he was in waist deep water.
"Okay," said Kitai, "First of all, you've gotta trust the water."
"Trust the water?" Gaara asked with doubt and sarcasm.
"Hey, don't use a tone with me, young man. Yeah, trust the water. If you splash around all wildly, not only will you tire yourself out and not accomplish anything, but you'll sink like a rock." Perspiration mounted on Gaara's head, although Kitai didn't notice. "You've seen birds fly, right? They have to flap their wings to stay in the air, and you have to keep moving your arms and legs to stay afloat. Also, always have air in your lungs, that way you'll never sink. Okay?" Gaara nodded as Kitai grinned at him.
She took both his hands and slowly led him to the deeper part of the water. Soon the water reached their chins.
"I'm gonna let go now," she said as she loosened her grip on his hands, "Just move your feet and hands, like this..." She moved her hands around her body, then paddled with her feet so that she was actually floating. Gaara copied her, and was amazed with the strange sensation. He couldn't help beaming as he followed Kitai into the center of the pool.
After a few more lessons and words of wisdom, Gaara felt completely at home in the water. He and Kitai had even ventured under water, to find different types of strange algae living in the pool. They were enjoying themselves so much that they didn't notice the growing shadows. For the first time, Gaara decided it was time to get out.
"It's growing late, we should dry off," he told Kitai as she floated on her back. She quickly resumed the doggie paddle.
"Aww, do we have to?" she gave an over dramatic puppy dog pout. Gaara suppressed a laugh as he turned away.
"Laugh if you will," she said ominously, "But you will pay." Gaara shook his head happily as he headed for the shore. He walked onto the bank to where their clothes were, then turned around to face Kitai. Instead, he got a blast of water right in his face. His eyes were wide with amazement as Kitai laughed hysterically.
"Told you!" she laughed as she wiped the tears from her face. Gaara grinned malevolently. A second later Kitai was on top of a wave of sand, being thrown back into the pool. This time Gaara was the one that was laughing as Kitai emerged on the surface of the water, looking slightly peeved.
"Ho ho, Mr. Sandman," she said as she walked back towards Gaara, "Very clever." However, she couldn't suppress a grin as she sat down, waiting to dry. They both sat in silence, looking at the different blends of colors in the sky.
"I remember..." she said dreamily, "how my family and I always used to go swimming..." Gaara looked at her. He had never heard her speak of her family, except for the night before. "After hours of swimming, we would dry out on the bank, looking for different animals in the clouds... This is the first time that I've gone swimming... since they passed away..."
"Kitai... could I ask you something?" Gaara asked.
"Yeah, sure," Kitai suddenly snapped out of her reminiscence.
"Have you... ever felt love?" Kitai looked at him with a surprised look on her face.
"Of course... haven't you?" Gaara shook his head sadly.
"Could you... tell me what it's like?" Kitai smiled sadly at him.
"Well, love is... that funny feeling in the pit of your gut you get whenever you look at someone. It's strange, but really familiar at the same time. When you look at your loved ones, you feel... like you're home. When you're with them, you know you can act however you want... because they truly accept you."
"It sounds confusing... I can't tell if I've ever felt it..."
"I'm sure you will... And it is confusing. There are different types of love. The worst kind is the love that you don't realize is there... so when you lose your love... it hurts so much..." Kitai's face looked so sad as she gazed at the sky.
"Did you... not realize you loved your family?" Kitai shook her head slightly.
"I'd always get in fights with my older sister... and my little brother acted like such a pain sometimes. I'd even fight with my parents sometimes... I wonder... if they know how much I love them... how much I miss them..." In the yellow light, a golden tear ran down her face from her crystal blue eyes. Gaara didn't realize love was so painful.
"So, you still love them?"
"Of course," Kitai's voice shook slightly as more golden tears ran down her face.
"Then, if it was that strong... then I'm sure they know that you love them." Kitai didn't expect that response from Gaara. She looked up at him, and saw that he was smiling reassuringly. "I didn't think love was that strong."
"You've got a lot to learn, kid," laughed Kitai as she dried her tears. "Well, I think I'm dry, and it's getting cold."
"Yeah, let's go," Gaara said as he began to dress.
"Gaara?" Kitai asked timidly. Gaara looked at her expectantly. "Thanks." He was surprised, but he smiled at her. Maybe, just like Yashamaru said, his heart was healing...