All I Ever Wanted Was Love
I Didn't Say All The Things
"Kazekage-sama…"
The man dressed in white robes looked up from his work.
"Somebody wants to see you…"
The assistant led in a young woman who was holding onto the hands of a young man.
He raised a brow.
'Is she going to ask for my blessing for their marriage?'
"Kazekage-sama," the pretty lady politely addressed the man in the white robes.
"Kimishu-chan…" the Kazekage stood up from his desk, "You know you don't have to be so formal."
Kimishu smiled pleasantly.
"I know, cousin," she turned and brought the young man to her side.
The Kazekage nodded in his direction.
"This is Kawamura Kyo," Kisa introduced for the exhausted, dark-haired man, "… he needs your assistance."
"… Is that so?"
Kyo nodded in deep sorrow at the end of his story.
"Please… please, Kazekage-sama," he begged, "Save her…"
The Kazekage was deeply troubled.
Truly, this boy's tale was sad- their whole family had died or gone missing in a terrible sandstorm a couple of years ago, leaving him and his younger sister as the sole survivors. However, now only more grief was about to be added to their misery. Kisa, the younger of the two siblings, was dying.
He walked over to the edge of his desk where two pictures rested- one of his deceased wife, the other of two of his children. His face was grave.
'Gaara…' he thought as he looked at the picture that was missing his youngest son, 'That dying little girl is the same age as him.'
"…Kazekage?" Kimishu questioned him nervously in his silence.
He turned his eyes to the young adults sitting before his desk.
"… I… I'm sorry, Kyo-san," he spoke sincerely.
Kyo bowed his head.
"For now…" the Kazekage continued, "There is no way to save her…"
Kimishu looked at her cousin, shocked.
"B-But… your son…"
The Kazekage gave her a harsh look, but it softened as he turned back to Kyo.
"There is no one that she can be kept in. I'm truly sorry, Kyo-san."
The Kazekage sighed as he collapsed into his chair.
He lifted his dark eyes to the picture of his wife again.
"I'm sorry," he whispered to her, "There just isn't any way…"
A knock came the double doors of his office. The Kazekage sat up, trying to gather himself into his usual strict demeanor.
"Kazekage-sama…"
The man looked up at the door again.
"An elder of the Akadou clan as come to see you."
'The Akadou clan?' he was surprised, 'What do they need from me now?'
The assistant exited as fragile-looking old man hobbled into the room.
"Ah… Kazekage-sama," a feeble voice came from the man.
The Kazekage stood in respect to the prestigious leader of the Akadou clan.
"Reiko-san," he made the motion for the elder to sit, before he did, "What brings you to my office? I thought the Akadou clan was sufficient on their own."
The elderly man looked slightly worried.
"That's not the case…" he began slowly, "There… is a problem."
The kage raised a brow.
"A problem?"
The elder said nothing, making the leader of the Sand even more conspicuous.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the princess, now would it?
Reiko gave a ragged sigh.
"She won't cooperate."
The Kazekage narrowed his eyes.
"Why," he questioned him, annoyed.
"She refuses to kill," the elder explained hastily, "She refuses to fight. She even refuses to eat or drink now."
"And?" the Kazekage was now standing, "What have you done to fix this?"
"We've tried everything, Kazekage-sama. Not even Yoroi can get her to do anything."
The kage calmed down a bit.
"Yoroi?"
The elder nodded his head.
"Akadou Yoroi, a young boy- the only other child we have left."
The Kazekage seemed to brighten a bit.
"And? Is he of any use?"
Reiko shook his head, sorrowfully, "No… His powers are insufficient. He is weak… compared to Yoshiko-dono."
The man's foul mood overtook him again as he slumped into his chair.
"It seems…" the elder cautiously continued, "It seems that she does not have the will-power to do anything anymore… if she continues to go on like this…"
The Kazekage listened carefully to each word.
"… She'll die."
Something clicked in the back of his mind.
"You…" he started, "You said she lacked… will-power?"
"Y-yes," the elder stammered in response, "One might say that her mind is… unable to comprehend her task."
The Kazekage and began pacing about his room, his brain formulating a plan.
"Her mind… her mind," he muttered to himself, "Her mind is in essence, her soul…"
He turned back to the Akadou elder.
"We must keep her body alive… but we don't actually need her."
Reiko blinked.
"What do you propose?"
The Kazekage looked thoughtful as he turned away again.
"I'll seal another soul within her body… a willing soul- a soul that wishes to live…"
The elder looked surprised.
"How…?" he asked, worried, "And who would be willing to take her place?"
The Kazekage spun back to the elder with a wild grin on his face.
"I know just the girl."
The Kazekage stepped into a small house in the section of the Village where the civilians lived.
"K-Kazekage-sama?" a confused voice floated through the interiors of the small home as Kyo popped his head out of a room.
Drifts of sand fell from the pure-white robe as the Kazekage made his way into the house.
Kyo followed the leader of the Sand as he hurried through the small corridor to a room with the door left ajar.
"Ah?" Kyo watched bewildered by the kage's actions, "Wh-what's going on?"
Suddenly the sound of a slamming door resounded from the entrance to their home.
"Eh?" Kyo hesitantly went to check on who it was.
The Kazekage moved towards a small sleeping mat in the corner of the room.
'This is her?'
The little girl had long black hair. She looked awfully thin, too thin for any girl of her age.
The kage knelt down beside her bed.
"Kisa…" he whispered, trying to rouse the little girl as he put a hand to her forehead.
'She has a high fever…' he frowned.
"Ah! Kazekage-sama!"
The man turned to see Kimishu panting in the doorway of the room- she had been running. Kyo stood by her side.
"I-I knew you'd come!" she spoke, relieved. Kyo, however, still looked as confused as ever.
"What's going on, Kimishu-chan?" he wearily asked her.
"I'm going to extract her soul," the Kazekage spoke monotonously.
Kyo stared at him.
"Wh-what?"
A pair of dark brown eyes opened to a dim room. A hand rested upon her forehead.
'Why… Why is it so hot?'
"K-Kisa!"
Kyo hurried to his little sister's bedside.
"Are you okay, Sa-chan?" the young man tenderly asked her as he took her hand into his.
The Kazekage stood back and watched apathetically as the little girl tried to smile and nod, but failed miserably as she fell into coughing. Her small body shook as she coughed. His eyes widened when he saw shining drops of blood come forth from her mouth.
"…Kyo?"
The young man turned back to the Kazekage, his head bowed.
"… The doctors don't know what's wrong with her…"
The leader of the Sand motioned for Kyo to join him outside the room. Reluctantly, Kyo followed when Kimishu reassured him that she would watch over his beloved little sister.
Kyo turned to the Kazekage with sad eyes, but something told him that the Kazekage was not affected at all by what he had seen in the room.
"There is a way to save her… if you're willing to take it."