Suna's Kekkei Genkai
Chapter 8: "I love you"
A/N: I know the italic talking has horrible puntuation, actually no puntuation. It's suppose to be like that.
Also I know I skipped over the date, I sorry. I'm not good at writing first dates (never been on one) Unless I later say otherwise, it went very well with many more to come on both sides.
After dinner and arriving back at the house, being constantly surrounded by people, Gaara finally found time to sneak out and have a few minutes of peace. Walking around a bit he found an old empty graveyard. He sat crosslegged in the middle, closing his eyes and his face screwed in determination. He could not yet control his own bloodline limit yet, it being the only thing Tsunade couldn't teach him. He did hear Kankurou saying that Neji told him to send the least amount of chakra as possible first to control it.
Hey kid. Gaara jumped at the sudden voice, breaking his concentration.
"Yeah?" (I've decided that Gaara talks to the Shukaku outloud so from now on he's always talking outloud to Shukaku)
You're not the best at controling your chakra. I'm warning you now, if you knock yourself out again, I wont hesitate.
Gaara swallowed hard and began to rethink about opening it. He remembered something Tsunade had said during one of their training session.
Flashback
"I can't do it!"
"You haven't tried yet!" Tsunade yelled at him. "How do you know if you can do it or not until you try?!"
End Flashback
He swallowed again and made the seal. Releasing as little chakra as he could, he held his breath and opened his eyes. What he saw was distorted vision (like when you didn't put your contact in right and everythings funny). his face twisted in confusion.
A little more, brat. Shukaku said annoyed.
He did what Shukaku said and his vision began to clear. A sudden ping of fear sparked from nothing and he stopped his chakra flow. He sat back, feeling squirmy like he was doing something wrong.
Shukaku sighed inwardly. The kid was so worried about messing up and having him take over his mind that he wasn't trying at all. Tell you what. I'll take a nap so I wont be tempted. You keep trying until I wake up. Shukaku told him.
"What?" Gaara paused and listened for the demon, but heard nothing at all. He waited for another few minutes, then tried to open the Kekkei Genkai again. An hour later he was begining to get the hang of it. He didn't notice since he was to busy, but Shukaku had woken up a long time ago and was watching him, smiling slightly at his progress.
Gaara took a deep breath then opened the kekkei genkai once more and looked around the graveyard. He could feel the people walking around in the streets on the other side of the trees and bushes blocking his view of them. He could feel their thoughts and emotions. He could see chakra signitures floating in the air brought by the wind or drifting off trees. There were also people floating through the air. He stared at these until some of them noticed and began whispering amoung themselves. The voices drifted to him in an echoy fashion.
The boy can see us
He's not of Konohagura...
He's a sand nin
I believe he can hear us too
Two drifted over to him. A man and a boy. Gaara had never seen either of them before, but the boy reminded him of Naruto slightly.
Good evening the man said bowing slight. Gaara didn't answer. How is it that you can see us the undeparting dead
"You're dead?" Gaara asked.
Many years dead the both of us the ghost said.
"How did you die?"
The both of us died on our own missions Nearly fifty years ago when the Third was still Hokage
"There's a new Hokage now, the Fifth," Gaara told him. "Tsunade-obaachan."
Tsunade both ghost stared at him in surprise and shock.
Tsunade is my sister the boy said. And Dan-san was her boyfriend
'That crazy woman had a family?!' Gaara never thought about it before. He didn't know anything about his teacher's past except that the Third had been her teacher.
Boy do you know Tsunade personally the man (Dan) asked.
"She's my teacher," Gaara replied.
Dan smiled. Please tell her that we love her for us The dead cannot speak to the living as well as we are now
Gaara nodded assuringly and they drifted away. He was about to close the bloodline limit when another came up to him. This one he recognized, in surprise though. "Hiashi?"
The man smiled at him. Hyuga Hiashi was my twin brother my name was Hyuga Hizashi I am Neji s father
"Why are you dead?" Gaara asked curious. Again, he never sat down to think about the Hyuga's family either.
I saved my brother from death Hizashi told him, smiling with that wisdom look that most Hyuuga's have. What is your name and how have you come to see the undeparting dead
"It's my Bloodline Limit, Kiokubun'ya," Gaara told him. "I'm Sabaku no Gaara."
Hizashi paused for a moment. Oh you are Sabaku no Gaara My Neji kun tells me a lot about you in his prayers (u know how japanese people pray to their deseased relitived to assure them how they are doing)
He likes you did you not know
"Huh?"
He s in love with you but I suppose that was not for me to tell
In his confusion, Gaara lost his concentration and his hold on the bloodlimit and the ghost of Hyuga Hizashi disappeared.
Gaara went home shortly after and noticed Kankurou going up the stairs. "Kankurou?"
"Yeah?" Kankurou turned and looked at Gaara standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"I need to talk to you."
"'Bout what?"
"....something.."
Kankurou gave him a funny look the followed him up the rest of the stairs into Gaara's not-so-newly decorated room. "What's up?"
"What does 'in love' mean?"
Kankurou stared at him for a while trying to let the words make sense, but nothing happened. "Huh?"
"Someone said 'in love'. What does it mean?"
"It means that you like someone and you wanna go out with them, like on a date," Kankurou said, still confused. "Where'd you hear that?"
"Someone said Hyuuga Neji was 'in love' with me," Gaara replied, confused himself.
Kankurou: O.o "Who told you that?"
"A Hyuga," Gaara replied deciding that he'd explain the ghost thing later.
"O......k.....Um....esh--yeah Neji likes you a lot," Kankurou said, not quite sure how to put it. He realised Gaara probaby didn't understand the whole gender love thing on top of the actual process, which would make things a little easier. At least Gaara wouldn't freak about it. "He wants to spend time with you, be your friend...a good friend."
"...why?"
"I have no clue."
"Naruto is my friend," Gaara stated.
"Esh...Neji wants to be a different kind of friend."
"There're different kinds?"
"Sure, Naruto, I guess is your 'best' friend. Neji wants...to be your," Kankurou stumbled as he spoke the next phrase, " 'boy'...friend."
"Oh," Gaara said in the way people do when they still don't understand something but they don't think the other person could explain it so they don't ask anymore.
"Kankurou! Gaara! Dinner's here!" Temari called up the stairs.
"Great idea," Kankurou said grabbing Gaara's shoulders, "ask Temari, she could explain it better ok?"
"Temari, what does 'in love' mean?"
Temari looked up from her rice, then looked thoughtful. "Being in love is a feeling you get when you like someone a lot and you want to spend more time with them," she said smiling. "Why?"
"(cough) he knows (cough)," Kankurou said before taking a drink.
"Oh."
"What?" Gaara asked.
"(cough)Neji(cough)," Kankurou answered.
"Oh," Temari said her eyes widening. She turned to Gaara. "Are you ok with this?" she asked kindly.
Gaara: Blank look.
"Cause it really doesn't matter to us if you are," she assured him. (blanker look) "Cause we're your brother and sister and we want you to be happy." Kankurou nodded his agreement at Temari's kick under the table.
Gaara was now dead confused. They weren't acting like this before he left. "What happened to you all while I was gone?" he asked.
"Huh?" Temari and Kankurou asked.
"Everyone is acting strange," Gaara said, deciding to speak his thoughts. "First, you all hugged me when I got home--"
"We missed you! Hugging is a thing friends and family do when they miss each other!" Temari said frowning (more like pouting but pouting doesn't work on Gaara).
"Second," Gaara continued not paying any attention. "Neji was acting weird at dinner, and then you," he turned to Kankurou, "started acting weird too."
"Kankurou was just trying to make Neji nuts," Temari assured him. "Teacher-student thing, like what we use to do with Baki."
"Then what was wrong with Neji?" Gaara asked.
Temari sighed and sat back. "Ok, you know how Shikamaru and I go out together to see movies, or go to dinner and such?" Gaara nodded. "Well, that's called dating. It's something you do with another person because you like them."
"So you can date lots of people?"
"Well, it's preferred that you only date one at a time," Temari said, glad to see he was paying attention. "You should be in love with someone to go out with them first."
"I thought love was something where you wanted to protect someone," Gaara said, repeating what Yashamaru had told him.
"You do. It's a feeling inside," she said, placing her hand on her heart, "where you feel as though you would do anything for that person. The things you do for that person to make them happy or show that you care, is giving them love."
Gaara's Flashback
"Love is a troublesome medicine. It must be given to you."
End Flashback
Gaara's eyes widened slightly. "Oh."
"You can love many people at once," Temari continued. "Not just one. For instance, I love Shikamaru very much, but I also love Kankurou..and you, Gaara. I may be nasty to you guys sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't love you. You are my only brothers and I'd do anything for you." she smiled at both of them as they had a moment of silence.
Kankurou was biting his tongue to keep himself from crying. '...not gonna cry..not gonna cry...' It was a very touching speech and Temari had never said that she actually loved him. I mean, she was his sister and therefore forced by the forces of nature (god that sounds lame) to have some feelings for him, but she never actually came out and said it.
Gaara stared at nothing in particular lost in his own thought. He knew love had to be given, that was why, when he decided that he was alone and always would be, he loved himself. But the whole time, Temari was loving him and giving him love and he never notice. His chest suddenly felt very tight and a knot formed in his throat.
Temari continued to smile, but inside she was frantic. 'oh, my god!! I just said out loud that I loved Shikamaru! Kankurou will never let me live that down!' She didn't know that her little speech had made him completely forget all of that part.
When the pain in his chest and knot in his throat dispersed, Gaara looked up. "But what about Neji?"
Temari smiled again. "Neji wants to give you love, like I give to Shikamaru," she told him. "And he wants you to give him love back."
"But I don't know how to give love," Gaara said.
"It's not that hard, it comes from here," she reached over and patted his chest over his heart.
Gaara sat and thought for a while then stood and began walking out of the kitchen to go upstairs. He stopped at the door. "Kankurou, Temari?"
"Yeah?"
"....I love you, too," he said before going upstairs.
And that was it for Kankurou. (sob)