Bozenjishitsu
Sorry for the wait! Kie-san said the last chapter was sort of filler, so I ran together a few chapters and got a couple longer ones and added a few things that will hopefully let it get to the point. Thanks, Kie-san!
Chapter Sixteen: Memories
Rynn yawned hugely. She really needed to get some sleep. She continued brushing her hair. Rynn smiled, remembering how Gaara had told her, on occasion, that her dark red hair and green eyes were what made them look alike, with vast gender-related differences. She set the brush down and examined herself in her full-length mirror.
Rynn remained the 'well-built one' of the "Three Sand girls," and the second tallest. Her blood-red hair wasn't as long as Kyu's, but reached about three-quarters of the way down her back. Her green eyes were greatly enhanced by long, dark, thick eyelashes and the occasional eyeliner. Her skin tone was naturally darker then Gaara's, and she had callouses and a few scars on her arms from training and missions where the sand protected him. Also, while Gaara's hair was the same red, she had a few black streaks here and there, since Kiba and Chuimaru (SNG scratchs at Chuimaru's name angrily) had taunted her because of her bright red hair while the rest of the Inuzukas had black or brown hair. She'd gotten the streaks a while ago so they wouldn't make fun of her anymore.
Rynn tossed herself on her bed and starred at the ceiling. Dammit, why does Konoha have to be so boring? If Kyu were here, at least she'd have someone interesting to talk to. And her cell phone was charging, so she couldn't call anyone. Maybe she should throw in the towel like Kyu and go back to the Sand village early. At there were things to do there. But, more importantly, she thought with a smile, Gaara's there.
Rynn sighed happily at the thought of her fellow redhead. Gaara had told her people were afraid of him, but she didn't really know why. Yeah, he used to be a sadist, psychopathic freak, but he was different now, wasn't he? At least... he was different around her.
Flashback
(Konoha)
Rynn panted, the ground behind her covered in sand. Gaara stood a good ways away, sand pouring out of his gourd, his arms crossed. (It's not what you think.) She looked down and saw the sand had stopped just inches from her feet.
"Move faster," he said huffily as even more sand flew towards her. Rynn yelped and dropped to the ground, rolling away (A/N: Stop, drop, and roll!), the sand missing her by inches. Jumping up again, she drew two kunai, one in each hand, and awaited the attack. Her objective was to get close enough to Gaara that she could cut his sleeve, then get away without his sand catching her. So far, she hadn't even gotten close. Focusing chakra on her feet, she waited for the wall of sand to get close enough, then jumped over it. Using the sand itself for momentum, she grabbed the edge with one of her kunai and spun herself towards Gaara, kunai at the ready. She came within inches of him before the sand blocked her, catching one of her kunai; looking up, Rynn saw he looked slightly bewildered. Smirking slightly, she reached around the shield with lightning speed and slashed at his clothes with her other kunai.
Gaara's face remained emotionless as he dropped the shield to show she had cut his shirt across the chest, exposing a small strip of pale skin. Rynn grinned as the sand came back up, holding out her kunai. Slipping it in her holder, she frowned slightly when he walked away. "Where are you going?" she asked.
"Home," he answered, not turning back.
"Why?" she asked, running after him, all weariness forgotten.
"To get a new shirt," he answered, still not looking at her.
"Can I come?" she asked, falling into step with him.
He sniffed slightly. "I thought you already were."
"Oh. Ok." Rynn patted her leg and whistled; her dog, Tsubasa, barked and ran after her.
At the Sand-nin's house in Konoha...
Gaara opened the door to his house, kicking off his shoes; Rynn followed suit, setting her sandals next to Gaara's. Kankurou glared at them from where he was still eating breakfast, on the couch, watching TV. "Who said you could go outside?"
"I did," Gaara answered, going upstairs with Rynn. Rynn didn't say anything to Kankurou, who she wasn't really familiar with, and therefore, he said nothing to her. Rynn looked around the hallway Gaara led her down. It was very plain, with nothing on the walls, unlike her hallway at home, which was covered in pictures of herself and her siblings. There were only three rooms on this hallway, one at the end of the hall and one on either side. The door at the end of the hall bore signs of things like "KEEP OUT" and "WARNING: POISONOUS GAS TO ALL WHO ENTER WITHOUT PERMISSION," and, towards the top there was written in permanent magic marker, right on the wood, "Welcome To The Hovel." The door to the left of that had a simple picture frame on it containing a picture of Temari and Shikamaru. That was obviously Temari's room. Gaara stood outside the remaining door, which was barren of all ornament, waiting for her.
The room Gaara led her into was as blank as the door leading to it. There was a simple futon, with a few pillows and a dark blanket, which he indicated her to sit on, setting his gourd on the pillows, and, across the room from that, there was a closet, which he opened to reveal several rows of black clothing. Taking out a shirt identical to the one he had on, minus the cut, he took off the torn one, revealing a pale chest, gently toned in all the right places (A/N: Drool!). Before Rynn had time to enjoy it, however, he pulled on the other shirt, and prepared to toss the other one in the depths of his closet when she spoke up.
"I can sew that rip, if you want," she offered. "It's my fault, anyway."
He shrugged slightly, tossing the piece of clothing over to her. She caught it, taking a needle and thread out of her back pouch (why does she carry these sort of things?) and, drawing the necessary amount of thread, she threaded the needle and began to sew the ripped cloth together. Gaara stood watching her for a moment, then turned to the door.
"I'll be back," he said plainly, closing the door behind him.
Rynn shrugged and went back to sewing. She had always been pretty good at sewing, and had even started making her own clothes, or adding things onto the ones she already had (Oh... so that's why...). Sewing a simple rip like this was nothing, although she noticed the material was different then what she was used to working with; it was very thick, probably to serve as a wind-breaker during sand storms in the desert; the material was surprisingly silky, even though it was so thick. She didn't really know why Gaara would have something this nice, since he didn't seem to care about clothes in the slightest. She held the shirt up to the light pouring through the window, examining the craftsmanship, when the door suddenly opened and Gaara stepped in again, looking slightly annoyed. He raised a nonexistent eyebrow when he saw her examining his shirt.
"What?" she asked offensively, and went back to sewing.
Gaara shrugged slightly. "Kankurou and Kyu are having a face-sucking tournament in the living room," he answered, looking disgusted.
Rynn grinned. "Why?"
Gaara gave her a look. "I didn't ask."
She shrugged, holding the shirt up to her eyes so she could see better, and continued sewing. "How come your brother always stutters around you?" she asked.
"Because he's an idiot."
It was Rynn's turn to give him a look, which said, quite plainly, "I know that's not all." Gaara sighed and said, "Because he's afraid of me."
Rynn grinned a very Kiba-like grin. "Why would anyone be afraid of you?"
Gaara gestured to his gourd. "That sand doesn't come up because I want it to, you know."
Before Rynn could explore this further, however, they heard footsteps in the hallway. Gaara turned and opened the door, sticking his head out. "Don't be loud," he said to the people in the hallway. Rynn stood up so she could see who it was. Kankurou stood sheepishly before Gaara's door, with Kyu at his side. Rynn grinned when she saw Kankurou was shirtless (A/N: DROOL!!!!!!!!!); Kyu was up to something. "Hey, Kyu!" she called, waving.
Kyu, upon seeing her, gave a weak grin and said, "Hey, Rynn. Don't you two be loud either."
Rynn shook her head as Kankurou dragged Kyu down the hall to his room. "She's such a dork," the redheaded girl said, sitting down on Gaara's bed and going back to her sewing. "Anyway. Why does the sand come up?"
"I don't know," he said honestly. "I've heard a lot of theories, but I'm not sure which to believe. I think it had something to do with the demon, but I can't be sure."
"What demon?" she asked, looking up.
Gaara was silent for a moment, as if he were wondering whether or not he should tell her. "Before I was born, the Kazekage of my village sealed a demon inside me. It's called Shukaku. It's the living spirit of an elder priest of our village, sealed in a teapot for years, then inside me." (A/N: THE TEAPOT, KNK, THE TEAPOT!
K.N.K: AAAAAAAAAAH!!! -runs away-
S.N.G: Sorry, inside joke.)
"That's horrible," she cried, honestly disgusted by the Kazekage's actions.
Gaara ignored her comment. "When I was born, I killed my mother, because whenever I go to sleep, even for a little while, Shukaku takes over my body and goes on rampage, and I can't stop him."
"So, you don't sleep because you don't want him to rampage?" Rynn asked.
Gaara nodded.
"Then people shouldn't be afraid of you," she said decidedly.
He looked at her.
"Well, I mean, think of it this way. You're not sleeping because you don't want the Shukaku to kill anyone, right? So, they should look past the fact that he killed anyone, and notice the fact that you're being nice to them, shouldn't they?"
Gaara just starred at her.
Rynn shrugged and went back to her sewing. "That's what I think, anyway."
Finally finding his voice, Gaara asked softly, "Why are you doing this?"
Rynn looked up. "Doing what?" she asked, confused.
"Aren't you afraid?"
"I just told you why I'm not afraid. I don't think someone who gives up their sleep to help other people is pure evil, like everyone seems to think."
Gaara's eyes widened. "You don't think I'm... evil?"
She shook her head. "I was raised to look at how a person acts instead of how other people treat them. I don't really give a shit about what you've done in the past, or what my brother told me about you. You seem nice to me."
Gaara continued to stare at her in awe as she held out the mended shirt to him. He took it silently and crossed the room to put it in his closet.
Rynn frowned angrily behind his back. How could people be that evil to someone as nice as Gaara? Sure, he did some messed up this in the past, but no one really gave him a chance!
End flashback
Begin a new one
Rynn yawned and rolled over, meeting a pair of pale green eyes belonging to the person next to her in the large bed. Gaara continued to look at her, his soft hand coming up to brush a few strands of her long red hair out of her eyes.
Was he watching me all night? she wondered, slightly bewildered. (A/N: Yeah, I know I made Temari say that in A.N.T.R., but I wanted to use it again. So shoot me. -is attacked by bullets- Jesus.)
"Rynn," he said quietly. "You said you hated the Shukaku."
She nodded, moving closer to him and laying her head on his bare chest. "I do. I think he's a selfish asshole."
"So, you feel alright about me and Kankurou sealing him?" he asked, rolling over on his back and pulling the sheets over her. "Things will be alot different then."
Rynn nodded. "I want you to be happy," she answered, rubbing her cheek into his chest. "I want you to be able to sleep at night without being afraid." She felt him smile against the top of her head.
"If that will make you happy," he said softly.
End flashback
Rynn smiled at her ceiling. Oh, yes. Gaara was very different around her. He told her things he would never tell anyone else, so she didn't complain when he went to Kyu for advice and not her. After all, Kyu gave great advice.
Sometimes.
Flashback
"Come on!" Kyu whispered, beckoning Gaara and Rynn down the hallway to Kankurou's office, where the young Kazekage was in a very boring meeting.
"I don't think this will work," Gaara whispered, following her and Rynn, who looked like a true believer to Kyu's scam.
"Of course it will," Kyu said with confidence. "Kan-kun is always saying how he gets really hot in those meetings, so we'll brighten his day!"
Gaara looked down at the dozen water balloons he was holding. "He'll be pissed."
"No, he won't," Kyu retorted happily, clapping Gaara on the back. "And if he does get pissed, I'm sure he'll be happier when he sees it's us."
"Correction," Gaara mumbled, glaring at the water balloons as if it were their fault he was such a sucker. "He'll be happy to see YOU. Us, he'll just chase around and beat with his hat."
Kyu shrugged, opening the door to the meeting room a crack, and peeked inside. "Good, no one's looking this way." She turned back to the two redheads, Rynn, who looked excited, and Gaara, who looked harassed, clutching the water balloons. "Gaara. Water balloon."
He sighed and plopped one of the swishing round objects in her hand. "Water balloon."
Kyu grinned, and Rynn held up three fingers. "One..." Rynn put down a finger. "Two..." Rynn put down another. "Three!" Kyu opened the door a little further and tossed the water balloon at Kankurou's head.
SPLASH!
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kankurou jumped up, picking at his now soaked clothes. He whirled around, looking for the culprit. Seeing the door opened a crack, he frowned and went over to it, yanking it open. "What are you guys doing?" he asked in an annoyed voice, glaring down at them (them: Rynn and Gaara) with the air of one who caught two puppies messing around in the trash.
Kyu and Rynn instantly pointed at Gaara, the only one out of the three of them who had water balloons. Gaara's jaw dropped. "Traitors!"
Kankurou growled, cracking his knuckles. "Gaara..."
Gaara looked up at his brother, ("Meep!") then disappeared, leaving the water balloons behind. (A/N: Very O.O.C., I know, but it looked so funny when I pictured it in my head!)
Rynn and Kyu looked at each other as Kankurou ran after Gaara, screaming death threats. "Wonder if anything good is on TV," Kyu mused, getting up and going down the hall with her partner in crime. Coming to the end of the hallway, she caught sight of Kankurou and Gaara. "Kan-kun, put the chain saw down."
End flashback
Sand
Kyu frowned in her sleep; she thought she heard music, but she wasn't sure where it was coming from. Opening her eyes, she heard a soft voice, accompanied by a gentle melody.
"Still enough, although I know you're not begging... Still as the thoughts running through your mind... Still enough, although I know you're not begging, Give me a reason to make you mine..."
Kyu looked around, though not moving her head, in case the music stopped. Her eyes widened when she saw Kankurou sitting on a comfortable chair, strumming a black, electric guitar with fire patterns along the edges, singing softly, so as not to wake her. (Too late for that, Kan-kun)
"I will devour you, Take all the pain away...I cannot stay my hand from reaching out so that I can empower you, for all eternity...It seems to ease my mind to know that you've brought meaning to my life..."
Kyu starred at him, totally amazed; she had no idea he could sing! (Course, she didn't know he could play guitar, either, but she'd always wondered what he kept it under the bed for.)
"Had enough, although I see you're not running.. Still are the thoughts running through your mind... Dead to love, The path that you are now taking, Show me the reason to make you mine..."
Kyu closed her eyes so if he turned his head, he wouldn't stop when he saw her awake. Plus, she was really tired, and his voice was beginning to lull her to sleep.
"I will devour you, Take all the pain away...I cannot stay my hand from reaching out so that I can empower you, for all eternity...It seems to ease my mind to know that you've brought meaning to my life...
"Run to where the smallest ray of light will never find you, Run to where you will not need to shield your eyes, Run away from all the soulless, heartless friends who hound you, Run away and let your memories go blind when I--
"Are you listening?" he asked suddenly, putting his hand over the guitar strings to silence them.
Kyu opened one eye. He was looking straight at her. "Only a little," she admitted, opening the other eye. "It was really good."
"...Thanks," he said, standing up and carefully setting the guitar down where he'd been sitting. "It's a song by Disturbed. It's one of my favorites." (A/N: This song is track 11 of the Believe CD. Go listen to it! It's really pretty! It's called Devour.)
"Do you have a music book, or something?" she asked as he slid under the covers next to her.
"Nope."
"Then how did you learn the music?" she asked, snuggling up to him.
He shrugged. "I listened to it for a while until I picked up the general notes, then filled in the blanks."
"You never told me you could play guitar!"
Again, he shrugged. "You never asked."
Kyu noticed this was true as Kankurou's cell phone rang. He sighed and picked it up from where it lay on his nightstand. "What is it, Temari?" he asked, after seeing the number.
"Gaara wants you to come over," Temari answered. "Now."
"Why?" He raised an eyebrow.
"He wouldn't tell me," his sister answered. "He wanted to call you himself but his phone died."
"Ok, I'll be right over," he answered, standing up and pulling on his black shirt with his free hand. Hanging up the phone, he pulled on the blue under coat of his Kazekage robes, followed by the white over-coat.
"What's wrong?" Kyu asked, sitting up.
"Nothing. Gaara just wants to talk, that's all," he answered, pulling his hair back with a pony-tail holder; he efforts were wasted, as usual, since his bangs were still short enough to torment his eyes (A/N: Mine give me this problem all the time. This guy in my history class laughs at me cuz while I'm writin' the drill, I use one hand to write and the other to keep my bangs back). "Go back to sleep," he ordered, leaning over her and pulling the covers up over her, and giving her a quick kiss before going to the door. Looking back, he saw her curl up in a tight ball, prepared for sleep.
At the hospital...
Kankurou opened the door to Gaara's ward, still slightly confused as to why his brother would want him to come back. Temari and Naruto sat at the table, playing Go Fish, which seemed to be the only game Naruto was any good at. Gaara lay in his bed, starring at the ceiling. He looked over when Kankurou opened the door, then looked at Temari and Naruto. "Leave."
Naruto rolled his eyes and picked up the pile of cards from the middle of the table and left with Temari. Kankurou watched them go, then sat down next to Gaara's bed. "What's up?"
"What do you know about dreams?" Gaara asked, starring at the ceiling.
Kankurou raised an eyebrow. "I don't know. What kind of dream?"
Gaara looked at him out of the corner of his eye, then looked up at the ceiling again. "My dream this morning."
"Oh..." Kankurou took his hat off and tossed it on the bed next to Gaara's. "You want to talk about it."
Gaara nodded, and was silent for a few moments. "I had it again, a few minutes ago. It was the same as before. Everything is dark, and I hear people talking. Then someone screams."
"And it's still dark?"
Gaara nodded again. "It's always dark. Then I hear Yashamaru," he continued darkly. "I try to run away, but I never seem to get anywhere, because the darkness is endless. Then I hear the children... from that day."
"The day Yashamaru--"
"Yeah. Then I try to cover my ears, but there's blood on my hands, and it won't come off. Then Yashamaru says it doesn't matter if I sealed the Shukaku, because I'll always be a murderer. Then, I try to run away again, and I call you guys, and you just sort of appear before me, but before I can reach you, you guys float away into the black, and then Kyu and Shikamaru join you. Then, I always trip, and keep on falling, like I'm in a black hole. Then, I see Rynn." Gaara stopped, looking pained.
"What happens next?" Kankurou asked, slightly interested now. He never had dreams like this.
"Then, I try to touch her, but she disappears, and Kazekage takes her place."
"Me?"
"No."
"...Oh."
"He says she can't hear me, and that she knows what I am. But before I can hit him, he disappears, and is replaced by Naruto, who says he's ashamed he ever compared himself to me. Then, he turns his back on me and then all of you stand next to him, and turn your backs on me, as well."
"Who does? Just to be clear."
"You, Temari, Shikamaru, Kyu, Rynn and Kazekage."
"What about Yashamaru?"
"I never see Yashamaru in my dream. I only hear him, laughing at me, or taunting me. After you all turn your backs on me, I see myself, as a child, cowering. Then, he says that no one will ever accept me, and I try to cover my ears so I won't hear him. Then, I hear glass breaking, and I wake up." He looked at Kankurou. "Well?"
Kankurou thought for a moment. "I think that, even though we sealed the Shukaku, he can still project images into your head, and probably will for a while. We'd have to ask the elders. Don't think too much of it, though," he added, seeing the look on Gaara's face. "I'm sure it's nothing. But you should still sleep. Sleep is good for you."
Gaara starred at him for a few moments of silence, his eyes expressionless, as usual. "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?" Kankurou raised an eyebrow.
"Being so nice. You never were before."
Kankurou shrugged. "I guess I never really tried before."
"I like you better like this," Gaara stated bluntly. "You were scary before."
"I was scary?" Kankurou didn't hide his scoff. "You scared me shitless sometimes."
Gaara shrugged. "You were always yelling at me."
"...Oh." Kankurou looked away, feeling slightly guilty. It was true, he almost always yelled at Gaara, especially during the Chuunin exam. He had always either tried to tell him what to do, or what not to do. He had a feeling it must have been really annoying after a while. "Sorry."
Gaara shrugged. "I must have been a pain, I guess. You had every right to yell, I suppose. It just hurt, that's all."
Kankurou bit his lip, looking back at his brother, who had gone back to starring at the ceiling. "Again, sorry."
"Kankurou?"
"Yeah?"
"Do you have a precious person?"
Kankurou raised an eyebrow. "What?"
"Naruto told me a while ago that you are only truly strong when you are protecting a precious person."
"Oh. Yeah, I heard something about that once."
"Do you?"
"Well, you and Temari, and Kyu, obviously," Kankurou answered, ticking names off on his fingers. "Actually, this whole village has become my precious people, now that I think about it. The villagers have changed a lot since we first came here."
Gaara nodded. "No one runs away from me anymore."
Kankurou grinned. "I'm glad."
Gaara actually grinned slightly. "You're a good Kazekage, Kankurou."
Kankurou grinned back. "I'm glad you think so."