All I Ever Wanted Was Love

Healing Comes So Painfully

Gaara froze. He knew the voice. The voice he had longed to hear… It was her.

"Kume-jii-san?" she spoke as she approached the two figures in their odd poses.

Gaara turned to the voice.

"G-Gaara!"

"Kisa…"

Shock was written all over her features. She ran to him, embracing him tightly as if there were no tomorrow. Just as Gaara was beginning to enjoy the feeling of her being near him again, she pulled herself away. Taking hold of his hands, she looked like she was going to cry.

"Yos-" the elder paused to correct himself, "Kisa-sama…"

Kisa averted her attention from Gaara.

"Leave us, Kume-jii-san," she spoke with an authority in her voice, "Please."

The elder bowed deeply and retreated to the interiors of the estate.

For some reason, her hands felt wet and warm, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from hers to see why.

The brown swirls of her eyes weren't brown anymore…

'They've become… green…'

"W-Where… Why…?" she asked with a shaky voice, "Where have you been this whole time?"

Gaara stared at her.

"…What?"

"All these years!" she looked at him with wide eyes, "How could you leave me alone for all these years? And not even coming to visit me… not even once!"

Gaara stared at her incredulously.

"What are you talking about… I-I've…" he was confused, thinking about the past month they had spent together, "I didn't know where you were…"

"I've been here for that past six years!"

Gaara continued to stare as her grip on his hands tightened.

'Six years…?'

"How could you say that?" she asked him with tears in her eyes, "The elders told me that you knew that I came here."

She looked away as she let go of his hands.

Gaara brought a hand to her face, bringing to look back at him. That's when he noticed.

'Blood?' He stared at his hand that had touched her cheek. He looked down to see that her hands and most of her forearms were covered with blood.

"Kisa?"

The girl took her hands away from him quickly.

"Oh… I'm sorry," she said as a clear blue substance filled her hands and turned into a towel, which she used to wipe off some of the blood on her hands and cheek, "I was just on a mission- I guess I just forgot to clean up."

Gaara just blinked at her.

'She was on a mission?' he wondered, trying to fit the pieces of the puzzle together, 'She hasn't been back for more than a day… and she's already doing missions?'

"Maybe… I shouldn't have overreacted," she spoke quietly, "It's just… I was really shocked that you finally came. But it's okay that you didn't come to see me before… It's not like you can change the past."

She turned to him again, and took his hands and began wiping the blood off them for him.

Gaara took this time to examine what she was wearing.

Kisa had on a white, sleeveless kimono top with a long, dark blue cloth wrapped about her stomach and tied into a bow in the back. She wore a long, white skirt with gold designs that had two long slits on either side, exposing her tight dark blue pants. (Basically put Sheena, from Tales of Symphonia, and Fina, from Skies of Arcadia: Legends, together) The thing that caught Gaara's eyes the most were her arms. Though she had tried to clean off most of the blood, her lightly tanned skin was stained by the red substance. Not only that, she had on many more arm bands in addition to her usual two leather bands around her wrists. A metal band was about her left arm, above her bicep and a long dark blue sleeve below that that covered most of her arm until her mid forearm. Her right arm held a gold coil and three bands- one above her elbow and two below.

As he examined her new outfit, he noticed that there was a gold choker about her neck- a choker that held many small designs on it. He wanted to lean in closer to see what the designs were, however, he would end up being too close to another part of her body that he didn't want to be too close to right now.

"You know… I've learned a lot while I was here-"

"During the six years?" Gaara added in to test her.

She stiffened a little bit.

"Yes… six years…" she trailed off as she finished wiping his hands clean, "Actually… Gaara… it doesn't feel right."

Gaara looked at her curiously as she began to run her fingers over the palm of his hands.

"It's so strange… The last time I remember seeing you was when we were just children. You've grown up so much…"

Her hands closed around his.

"But the way I feel right now, it doesn't feel like the feeling of missing you for six years…"

She looked up at his eyes again.

"I… I don't remember being here for the past six years…" she looked as of she were searching for the answer in his eyes, "I know that the elders wouldn't lie to me- but its as if those six years… they feel so surreal."

"Kisa…"

Something lit up in her mind for she suddenly smiled.

"Do you want to come in?" she spoke, turning slightly red, "It must have been quite a walk to come here and here I am, not being a good hostess…"

"Oh…" Gaara said while he contemplated how the elders respected Kisa, "… Sure."

"Reiko," the elder called Kume, bowed slightly before the other old man, "The demon-boy, the son of the passed Kazekage, has come."

"Oh?" Reiko spoke, turning from the blossoming trees.

"He is currently with the girl in Yoshiko-sama's body."

Reiko stood.

"Oh, come now. We cannot be impolite to the princess," he said as he walked past Kume, "Her name is Kisa."

Kume nodded with a slight smile.

This was going to be fun.

Gaara couldn't keep his eyes from wandering. There was so much to look at, and in every direction, too. The word 'estate' certainly fit the description of the Akadou's place.

Upon entering through the large wooden gates, it seemed as if they had been transported into an entirely different world. Huge didn't even begin to describe just how big it was.

However, there was something that bothered Gaara about the whole place.

"Where is everybody?" he asked the back of Kisa as she led him through the estate.

"The elders are in the Elder's Chambers," she responded, not turning.

'Strange…' he thought, "What about the adults and children?"

Kisa stopped for a moment, causing Gaara to almost run into her.

"There are none…" she said, and then turned to look at him with a big smile on her face, "Are you tired? We're almost there…"

She took hold of his hand and began walking faster through the deserted hallways that seemed like streets.

After having walked for what seemed like half an hour, they reached large oak door that were elaborately decorated with gemstones and intricate designs.

"This is it…" she turned to her companion, smiling, "I hope you like it…"

She pushed the doors open.

Gaara stood amazed at the interior of the room. It was like a palace within an estate.

'It's like a royal chamber from a fairy tale,' he thought, gaping.

"This…" he said, turning to her, "This is your room?"

"Yep," Kisa answered, walking casually into the gigantic room, "This is my room."

Gaara followed her in slowly.

Looking about him, he noticed that despite the room was wonderfully lavished, it was terribly simple.

"So…" Gaara spoke eyeing everything around him, "Where is everything?"

Kisa laughed.

"Well," she spoke plopping down on her bed, one of the three items of furniture in her room, "I can just make anything that I want…"

Gaara turned to her.

"How about real stuff?"

Kisa rolled her eyes.

"I have that."

Kisa pointed across her room to a mirror. Gaara just looked at her funny.

"Back when Yoroi-nii-san was still here, we would talk to each other through that," she explained as a bright blue ball formed in her hands, "It works when I put chakra in it."

Kisa stood and tossed the ball at the mirror. Gaara stood amazed as the surface of the reflector began rippling then stopping to reveal a room that looked similar to Kisa's, except not as big nor as lavished.

The girl gave a shrug as chakra streamed back out and into her outstretched hands and the mirror returned to its normal state.

"I don't really need anything… since I'm out most of the time doing missions."

Kisa rolled onto her stomach.

"Which reminds me- I'm going to be leaving for a mission to the Hidden Mist Village in two days! "

Gaara's silence gave her permission to go on.

"I'm so excited! I can't wait to go… I've never been out of the Hidden Sand…"

Her words caught Gaara's attention.

'What did she just say?

"I think all I have to do is kill some nobleman, but I hope have enough time to go look around."

"But… you've been out of the Hidden Sand before…" Gaara tried explaining, "You've only just come back…"

Kisa raised a brow.

"The mission that I was just on was in this Village. I've never been out of the Village because Kyo-nii-san has never allowed it," Kisa said, "Oh yeah… I hope Kyo will be okay with me leaving."

Gaara stared.

"You… You don't remember?"

Kisa looked at him questioningly.

"Remember what?"

Gaara looked deep into her foreign eyes.

"Kyo-san is dead- he's been gone for the past four years," he spoke slowly as he came nearer to her, "And you… you've been living outside of the Village for the past six years. Do you not remember this?"

Kisa could only stare as she let his words sink in.

"What-," she said disbelieving, "What did you say?"

Gaara reached for her.

"Kis-"

"How dare you say that!" she exclaimed, flinching away from his touch, "Why are you lying to me?"

"Kisa," Gaara stepped towards her again, "It's the truth! The elders must have been lying to you…"

Kisa backed away, holding her hand before her defensively.

"They would never lie to me… Why should I believe someone who hasn't-"

"They would lied to you so they can use you!" Gaara said, pinning her to the wall with his hands on either side of her shoulders.

Kisa glared at him.

"What would you know about me?"

Gaara was speechless, but it didn't stop him from trying.

"I-I… I… I don't want them to use you…"

Kisa's glare bore right through Gaara as the green spiral in her eyes seemed to expand.

"I owe this clan a large debt- and I am going to repay it… whether or not they are using me."

Two slender, bloodstained fingers went to the boy's neck- lightly putting pressure on the pale skin.

"Kisa?"

Gaara stared as the green spiral melted into her brown pupils- making them mostly green with small brown accents.

"I was born to be an assassin. I live to kill- that is who I am."

The red-haired shinobi stared hard into the spiral-less eyes.

"You… You aren't Kisa."

The girl smiled.