All I Ever Wanted Was Love

So How Would I Know?

Gaara fell silent at the ending of her story.

'So… that's what happened,' he concluded in his mind.

He realized that her pain was comparable to his, the pain that they had felt throughout the years while they had been apart… except for the fact that his pain had been suspended over the years while hers was shoved into less than a day, but the effects lasted forever.

Her swirled brown eyes were still lost in the memories- and pain was evident on her face. Something inside him didn't want her to be pained, he wanted to take away those pains from this person who meant so much to him. However, the other thing inside him screamed for her to suffer just as he did. After all, if he had to suffer without knowing how things would turn out, why couldn't she? And so he did nothing and he said nothing.

Instead, he turned and left through the cabin door. However, he didn't where were he was, much less what he was going to do while he was out there. Kisa stepped outside of her cabin.

"You might want to take a bath- three days is a while…" she said not looking at him. He turned to speak to her.

"Ki-"

"There are some robes and towels in the cabin, in the back. You can use them if you want."

With that, she jumped off into the trees leaving Gaara in his unspoken thoughts.

Kisa quietly landed on one of the upper branches of her favorite tree.

She had always liked high places. Was it because she had spent many happy days with Gaara on the roof of the highest building back then?

Maybe.

Her tree wasn't too far from the cabin, probably around 50 yards away. She had found it on the first week of staying at the cabin as she wandered about in the circumference of the genjutsu's range.

Kisa propped herself against the smooth bark of the tree trunk and slid down.

From here, she could see pretty far over the tops of shorter trees. To her right, she could make out the mountain range where the Hidden Leaf Village laid at its base. To her left she faced northwest, towards the Hidden Village of the Sand. Where Gaara had always been…

Til now.

Gaara stood staring after the way Kisa had left.

'She wouldn't just leave me here alone… would she?'

He decided to shrug off the thought rather than contemplate it. It would only hurt, after all.

'I guess a bath would do…'

He headed back inside.

The Sand nin relaxed a bit, letting his constantly tense shoulders drop a bit.

The hot water was soothing… a feeling he really never got to experience much since he was always so busy killing everything in his way.

This whole place had a soothing feel to it…

'If I stay here long enough… I wonder how much relaxation I could get from everything…'

He looked towards the sky, which had a yellow-orange tint due to the setting sun.

'Then again… how much longer will I be able to stay here?'

He let out a quiet sigh- one of the few he had ever let out.

Kisa had said that he had been asleep for three days. Apparently, Temari and Kankuro hadn't come looking for him.

'Wait,' he thought, 'But Kisa said that this place had a genjutsu protecting it…'

He smirked inwardly at the thought of Temari and Kankuro circling the forests of Konoha for days and weeks in search for him- it would finally get Kankuro off of his lazy fat butt.

Suddenly, a light of hope dawned upon him.

'Maybe… just maybe… I could stay here forever… with her.'