The sun was setting over Konoha. Nikomi could feel the temperature dropping as she sat staring off into nothingness. She knew that her day of semi-freedom would soon be coming to an end.
"I suppose we should be headed back." Gaara said.
"I guess." Nikomi agreed disappointed.
"We can stay out longer if you want." Gaara told her.
Nikomi looked up at him a little confused. "But I have a curfew."
"Don't worry about it. I'll deal with Tsunade." He assured her.
"I hear tonight is a full moon." Nikomi stated. "I've never seen the moon…or at least not that I can remember. But on a full moon I swear I can feel it. The atmosphere is just…different."
Gaara agreed with a simple, "yeah."
"I like to sit outside on full moons and just…think." She told him. She had no idea why she was telling him these things, but she just felt she could.
"Me too." He told her, staring into the sky.
"Really?"
He nodded. "Uh huh. On full moons…I can feel Shukaku's excitement. I…I sit under the moon and meditate to try and simply quell the beast."
"Shukaku?" She asked intrigued. "Is that like your other personality or something?"
Gaara let out a pretty sincere laugh, which didn't happen very often. "I guess you can call it that."
"Oh perfect. I've got a guy with split personality disorder watching after me." She said sarcastically.
Gaara couldn't believe it, but this girl made him smile. He wasn't even sure how to handle it. He fought it at first but then couldn't resist.
The sun was almost completely set now and the moon could be seen rising into the sky. The lights in the village were beginning to switch on and everyone was settling down for the night.
Gaara looked up at the moon. He could feel Shukaku creeping out just a little. So he closed his eyes and attempted to suppress him.
Nikomi sighed. Her eyes felt heavy. It had been a long, but over all nice day. She couldn't believe she was already getting tired, but she still didn't want to go back.
Without thinking she leaned over and rested her head gently on Gaara's shoulder. It startled him at first then he relaxed and closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her body consume his neck and shoulder.
"Fool." A voice called out to him.
Gaara's eyes shot open and he looked back up into the moon.
"It's no use. You really think she cares?"
"Shut up," he said under his breath.
"What?" Nikomi asked, disturbed by this little out burst.
"You know that nobody loves you. It's just you and me, and that's all. Nobody can possibly care about a monster." The voice told him, now getting louder and louder.
"Shut up!" He said a little louder this time.
"Don't you remember?" The voice asked him.
Gaara was then sent into a flash back of the children when he was growing up and how they all ran from him. He grabbed his head and cringed. "Stop!" He yelled.
Nikomi sat up and looked at him a little concerned and a little frightened.
"Look. She's already afraid of you. Can't you see it in her face?"
Gaara looked up and saw Nikomi's expression. She did look afraid. It was true. She was just like all the others.
"No!" He yelled out, grabbing his head with his other hand. "Shut up!"
"Even if she did seem like she cared, the moment she found out about you she would run away. Don't you remember the last time someone said they cared about you?"
Gaara suddenly had another flash back of his childhood, of that horrifying moment when Yashamaru tried to kill him.
Gaara cried out and stood up, still doubled over. Sand was beginning to pour out of the gourd and swirl around his feet. He couldn't control it anymore. It was doing it all on its own.
"Gaara!" Nikomi yelled out, reaching out for him. "Gaara what's wrong?" She asked.
He didn't answer, he just continued to claw at his head and holler.
Nikomi quickly tried to touch him to calm him down but was thrown to the side by the sand. She landed on the ground with a large thud and struggled to stand back up.
"Gaara!" She yelled out, trying to get through to him.
But there was no getting through to him. He was lost in his own internal conflict.
Nikomi stopped and thought for a second then realized exactly what she had to do. She snatched up her walking stick and ran towards him, her body fighting her the whole time.
She raised the stick and in one strong thrust, attempted to hit him with it. Without flaw, the sand rose up protecting him from the attack, just as she had expected.
"Ha! You see! You've shown her your true self and now all she wants to do is hurt you!" The voice pointed out.
Gaara yelled out again, clutching his head as if he were in serious pain.
Nikomi's walking stick was being engulfed by the sand. But then again, that was her plan all along. She charged her stick with negative chakra, grinding her teeth to endure the pain. The strange purple chakra seeped into the sand, and the sands chakra flowed out. After only a few moments the sand began to fall. The negative chakra had done its job.
Now that she had an opening, Nikomi dropped her stick and went straight for Gaara.
Gaara looked at her with crazy eyes. He swung to hit her, but she quickly grabbed his arm and threw it to the side. In one small movement she managed to get both his hands out of the way and wrap her arms around his waist.
"Gaara! Please!" She yelled as she held onto him.
"What!" The voice yelled out.
Gaara looked down at her. The voice was fading away now, protesting, but fading. She hadn't attacked him at all. She was hugging him.
His hands went limp down to his sides. His body was relaxing with the heat of her body against his. His mind was calming as well. He was replaying the event over and over in his head. She could have easily had him once she negated his sand. But instead she hugged him. It didn't make any sense at all.
"Gaara." She said through tears. "I don't know what's wrong. But I know this isn't really you."
Gaara hesitated at first, his hand twitching, debating whether or not this was real. But once he decided it was, he gently wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in even closer to him.
Nikomi nestled into his chest, just like before. Except this time she knew who it was. Everything about this was so familiar. In the hospital he had sat by her making her feel safe even though he didn't really know her. Now she was returning the favor.
"Gaara…" She said once more, simply to make sure he was ok.
Gaara didn't say anything, he just held her there. This was the feeling from the hospital. He couldn't put a name to it. It was a warm feeling that made his entire being feel strange. He didn't want this feeling to ever end. The hurting he felt for all those years was somehow melting away. He wondered, is this love?
Nikomi looked up at him after a few moments. His eyes were closed and he too was cuddled to her. It was the calmest and happiest she had seen him all day. He didn't look like someone who used to be considered dangerous. He looked almost innocent.
The both of them didn't want this to end, but of course nothing can last forever. Nikomi suddenly felt the effects of what she had just done. She yelled out, causing Gaara to let go of her, and fell to her knees. She cradled her right arm, grinding her teeth and begging for the pain to stop.
Gaara looked at her in horror. What had happened? He knelt in front of her and without question picked her up.
"I'm taking you back." He told her point blank.
"No. Take me to my place. It's closer." She instructed.
"But your hand…"
"I'll be fine. I have some of the stuff to stop it from spreading. Just…go!" She said through clenched teeth.
Gaara didn't ask anymore questions. He whisked her off, taking her directions to get to her place.
When they arrived she told him to put her down and so he did. She opened the door and before she could go any further another bout of pain shot through her arm. She let out another yell and started to fall. Gaara quickly grabbed her and carried her inside, setting her on the bed.
The place was tiny. There was a bed against the far wall, a small kitchen area and a bathroom. It wasn't much to look at, at all. It was clear now that she really was an orphan trying to make it on her own.
"In the cabinet in the bathroom theirs a kit, grab it." She directed him.
He didn't ask questions, just did as she said. He searched for a moment amongst the clutter that filled her cabinet, but eventually found what she was talking about. When he came back out she was already half way done unwrapping her bandages, with a pillow held in front of her chest as not to expose anything.
As she pulled off the last bandage Gaara handed her the kit. She reached to grab it and Gaara saw what the problem was. Her entire right arm was being overcome with the negative chakra.
Nikomi opened the kit and pulled out a small needle, much smaller then the one Sakura had used. She then pulled out a vile of that substance and proceeded to pull the protective cap off the needle. Before she could do anything else her hand automatically released the needle, making her drop it onto the floor.
"Damn it. I can't hold on to it. You're going to have to help me." She told Gaara who was watching closely.
"Right." He bent over and picked up the fallen needle then grabbed the vile off the bed. "How much?"
"Fill it to the fourth line." She told him, still cradling her hand.
Gaara did as she said and prepared the serum exactly. He went to hand it to her but she shook her head.
"I can't. You have to. It'll work better that way anyway. You can put it into the base of my spine." She told him, pointing to the exact spot.
Gaara swallowed hard and sat down on the bed behind her. He scanned over her back, examining the scars with his eyes. They looked like tiny mountain ranges all along her back. He gave him a chill to think how painful it must be.
He shot a little of the serum into the air to get any bubbles out of it then gently placed his hand on the small of her back. He didn't count, he didn't want to prolong it. He quickly jabbed the needle in and as fast as he could injected the serum into her body.
She didn't scream like she had before. She just winced and grabbed at the pillow she was holding in her arms.
Gaara pulled the needle out and almost instantly the negative chakra that was creeping up her arm stopped and began to fade. It didn't completely vanish this time, but it looked better.
Nikomi relaxed after a few seconds and her breathing steadied. "Thank you." She said without looking at him.
Gaara nodded, not saying a word. He continued to scan her back up and down, looking at each individual scar. He grimaced when he thought of how it must feel. He wasn't very familiar with physical pain, but from what he knew, he wasn't a pleasant feeling.
"They don't hurt. At least not anymore." She told him, having noticed his eyes looking her up and down.
Gaara set the used needle on the end table sitting next to the bed then hesitantly brought his hand up to her shoulder. He didn't want to be intrusive, but seeing this made him curious. He wanted to know what she felt.
He gently ran the tips of his fingers along the edge of one of the scars. The risen skin was expectedly rough. But as he moved his finger off the ridge of the scar the skin became amazingly smooth. It was almost like touching new silk, delicate and soft.
Nikomi closed her eyes and relaxed. Normally she would have stopped anyone who tried to touch her. Even when the nurses tried to apply ointment she would throw a fit. But for some reason his doing it made her feel calm.
Gaara continued to run his hand along her back, taking in every texture. It was the calmest he had felt in his entire life. Although he usually put on a false front, he always was fighting an internal battle. But this moment paused that battle.
Nikomi turned her head to look at him. Gaara immediately pulled his hand from her back and set it in his lap.
"I'm sorry." He said embarrassed.
Nikomi shook her head. "No. It's alright."
"I…I should get you back to the hospital." He said as he stood to his feet.
Nikomi reached and grabbed his wrist without realizing what she had done. "Wait!"
Gaara turned back to look at her. She looked like a child, begging not to be left alone. He could understand that.
Nikomi let go of his wrist and dropped her head. "Just…let me rebandage myself and…I'll be ready."
Gaara nodded and left the room. Moments later he came back in and saw her lace up the last tie of her bodice.
"Will you be alright to walk?" He asked as serious as ever.
"I'll be fine." She said as she slowly stood up.
Gaara reached out a hand and grabbed her arm, helping her to her feet. Again, he felt that feeling the moment their eyes met. He didn't know how to handle it. It was something he had never really experienced before.
Nikomi gazed up at him. Even if she could only see chakra, she could tell he was lost. She reached up with one hand and gently placed it on his face. Then without any hesitation she leaned up and kissed him.
Gaara's eyes grew wide. He didn't know what to do. His heart began to beat fast and his cheeks flushed.
Nikomi pulled away and looked away. "I'm…sorry." She said.
Gaara looked at her a bit confused. "Why in the world would you apologize for that?" He asked. He then gently touched her chin and moved her face to look at his. He looked into her blank eyes and for the first time could see some kind of awareness in them. He didn't know, but he felt that she was actually seeing his real face and not just his chakra. He wrapped his hands around her waste, pulled her towards him, and gently kissed her again, this time being much more prepared for it.
Nikomi closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tenderly played with his hair as she sunk deeper and deeper into the kiss.
Gaara could feel the softness of her lips against his and it made him forget everything he had ever been through. He felt as if the Shukaku had actually left him. That maybe she had somehow suppressed it completely, finally giving him real peace of mind.
Nikomi reluctantly pulled away, her eyes slowly opening. "I should go back. Tsunade-sama is going to be furious." She whispered.
Gaara looked down at her, still holding her close. He didn't want to let her go. It was the first time he had ever felt truly loved, but he knew she was right. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah." He said, back in his normal dark voice.
Nikomi hesitantly lowered her hands from his neck and he let go of her waist. Gaara bent down and picked up her walking stick. He handed it to her, and as their hands touched they again for just a second felt that same spark as before. She took it from him, resisting the urge to kiss him again.
Gaara turned, and without another worded, picked up his gourd and walked out the door. Nikomi caught up to him and grabbed his hand. It took him by surprise at first but then he relaxed.
The whole way back to the hospital Gaara and Nikomi walked hand in hand, not saying a single word. It was late and they knew their moments together were limited so they didn't want to ruin it with words.
