Aoi-tori pinned her younger sister down. "Kori, understand that we cannot stay in the land of dreams. Makarvru's attack has rendered my chakra control useless for my hands. Plus, times have changed. Now more than ever, the ninjas have to be careful who they kill. If this were five years ago, almost no one would raise a shrunken to a village attack. The shinobi alliance has changed the world. For the better, who is to say? Dear sister, we must disband. On this reasoning."
Kori's eyes threatened tears. "Aoi, no. Wouldn't it be best to stay together? The Osaka is still after us. My entire life, this is what I have known. Do the good times have to end? You would miss me. I think I already mentioned the Osaka."
"They have been for a good four years now, Kori. We have been running from not only official forces but now a large organization that is up to no good. That is why we must separate. For fifteen years, I have helped you grow in so many ways. Even you to me. I have traveled from The land of Salt to the land of Magma, from our homeland of Mist to The Land of Dragons with you by my side. This is the last lesson: Let go and never forget the best."
"Let go? You just summarized our time together as friends, as family, living in this shinobi world."
"And that doesn't have to change," Aoi-tori offered a hug. "We will always be family. Mom and Dad were happy in the Mist. They found each other amidst all the war and hatred. I wish you can find someone like mom did. Find someone, settle down, make a new family."
"What about you?"
"I was thinking of gathering aid from a village."
Kori clenched her fist, "They would recognize you. You're the oldest in the business. Every account describes you as Sombra Fragments."
"That is why I must go. My record is scorched and scarred. You haven't a record. So, take up a record and make a name for yourself."
Aoi slowly backed away from her sister. Kori tried to keep the still far distance at a minimum. "I can help. Please, don't leave."
"You've helped enough. Live your life. Fight your own fights. Not mine."
Kori sped up her pace forward. "No, this has always been my life."
"It is time to move to a different canvas. Not many people get a blank or new one."
"I don't want to paint another picture. I like it how it is!"
Aoi-tori, for the first time, raised her voice to Kori. "Understand that I am giving you all I can. That is all I have done! Mom and Dad died in the mist! I raised you in their stead! I could have left you. Do you understand? I must take up this role, giving you a new life! The Osaka can not follow you under your own name. We didn't have to be shinobi running from everyone! That is all my fault! My stupidity in youth, my careless bloodlust. You are used to that now. Not everyone is. I made you this way! I failed."
Kori stopped moving. Aoi turned around but stopped walking. She whispered, "This is my way of saying sorry. I will miss you. Just, don't miss me. Let go, and never forget the best."
Aoi left. Kori couldn't stop her. The younger sibling whimpered, "I can't paint on a blank canvas without color. You are taking all the colors with you."
The older sister kept walking.
The younger's world had taken a sword to the heart. She ran. She ran because she didn't know what else to do. She was angry.
O O O O O O O O O O
Aoi sat that evening in The Land of Mint. She had run 1,000 miles to get here in six hours. She was still breathing heavily. The roof she sat on was angled just so that any ears open enough would hear those below. So she did.
"The Kazekage is asleep. Too kind to refuse offered food, so soon he will die."
"He got what he wanted, in the end."
"What do you mean?"
"That sand demon wanted The Mint and The Hell ninjas to unite. To stop this war, we have united at his death bed."
Kori was not swayed by their murderous intent. Rather, she was curious as to why the new Kazekage had enemies already.
If Gaara is the Kazekage, he should have many after his blood. Even my sister did not venture anywhere possible he be. I must meet him. Clear as this new canvas, as red it may be by my own brush. I don't take orders from you now, sister.
Kori gazed at the rising moon. How might I do this? I should try a new way. This time on my own accord. Not my sister's.
The ninjas walked into the inn. Kori slipped behind the last to enter the door. "Excuse me, sir."
The ninja turned, not expecting a kunai to his back. His companion was not a Hell ninja, but a Mint ninja. The Mint ninja tried to hide behind a clone. Kori saw him sign before she threw the shurunkin. "Pardon, I wasn't informed we would have a third wheel on this double date." She chuckled. The mint ninja felt cold. He scrambled to the ground before the weapon hit his back. "Earth Release: Mud Spore."
The ground near the steps swept around Kori's ankles. The mint ninja motioned for the mud to form a wave to sweep her back. Kori jumped and solidified the wave headed for her. The mint ninja forced the mud to swell up to her legs. Kori made a shadow clone to take her place. She left the clone to the battle while entering the inn through the roof of the building. A stairwell later, she found a list of guests. The clone's memories got to her.
Wow, that was an interesting battle. The mint ninja has water and earth release. Both villages have chosen interesting assassins.
She found the room number. A single guard stood watch. A cloth covered half his face. "The Kazekage is in danger. The Land of Hell and The Land of Mint have united for his demise. A mint ninja is trying to break-"
The floor fell below the two.
The sand ninja gasped. The ice ninja was quick to act, "Ice release: Ice Maze frost capsule!"
Kori stumbled to her feet. A stair hung just low enough to climb onto. She took the opportunity. The mint ninja was a blurry color in the ice dome. He ran into the Sand ninja. Kori resumed her previous haste. "Kazekage Gaara?"
A sound asleep ninja lay on the bed in the room. His fluffy red hair stuck out. A gourd was near the baseboard. A large sand gourd. Kori shook the Kazekage. He didn't respond but was still breathing.
'The Kazekage is asleep. Too kind to refuse offered food, so soon he will die.'
That must mean they put a sleeping drug in the food. Accounting how much fear he gives them, the more dosage they must have put in the bowl. I wonder why they didn't just fatal poison the food.
Kori pulled Gaara from the bed. "Your heavy." She commented, knowing he wouldn't hear. The gourd almost tripped her with Gaara in hand. "I can come back to get you."
Kori jumped out of the building, smoothing her way down the roof. A clothing line made for rope. The air was cold and humid. Distant mountains held ice on the peaks. She set Gaara down near a pine tree. His clothing was layered but light. Kori draped a blanket from her travel pack and set that down too. 'Light refraction: Waterstyle wind mist Jutsu', there that should hide him for as long as the moon stays in the sky.
She stopped before casting the Jutsu. "You are kinda cute. Somehow I am missing the part where my sister was afraid of you."
Kori imagined what it would be like to run her hands through his fluffy, crazy, red hair. The light distorted, not even Gaara's red hair was visible now. The forest looked like a regular forest.
Kori went back for the gourd.
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Gaara woke up with a headache. "Lord Kazekage, you are awake?"
The Kazekage saw a silhouette in front of him. He panicked.
Sand swirled around the tent. Then, elegant waves of water swirled around, catching scattered sand partials.
"Shh, calm down. You are alright." The female voice comforted. "I brought some soup."
"Where am I?"
Gaara held his head. The pain was durable. It still made everything confusing.
"We are at the edge of the desert. I will assume the North West edge. That is where we should be. I never held the maps. But my internal compass is quite reliable."
"Who are you?"
"Kori Yuki," The female set the bowl down. It made a wooden clatter.
Gaara held his ears with a slight groan. Kori saw this as the same symptoms as a hangover. "Here, drink the soup. The Mint and Hell ninjas put eszopiclone in your soup. Luckily, I do know my medication."
Gaara sat up fully, crestfallen. He realized his escorts must be dead by now. "I failed." Gaara hugged his knees. "They died. I was not cautious enough."
"They?" Kori thought for a bit. "Ah, not all, one is with me. I wouldn't be able to carry you. Bikkyri is his name. I haven't a clue about the rest. When you get better we can talk about what exactly happened. I will be outside the tent. Your gourd is in that corner."
She left.
Gaara looked to the wooden bowl.
That is right. A little boy and girl offered me some food. I didn't refuse to be polite. It did taste strange.
Gaara did not know if he should trust Kori, if that was even her real name, or if he should eat the soup.
His throat felt dry. The pain throbbed in his skull. Gaara even felt like sleeping again. He decided he could risk eating the soup after an hour of tortuous internal/external conflict.
He took a bite.
He found himself taking another.
The soup was not thick like normal soups in Sunakugura. Nor salty. It tasted almost sweet. The warm, hydrating food calmed his senses. As he savored more, he tasted potato, carrot, and basil. Another bite exposed some fleshy animal bit. What he didn't know at the time, as fresh-water river fish.
He plopped down to what he could only imagine being a pillow. Gaara wanted to sleep.
But he also wanted more soup.
Kori stirred the pot. "Bikkyri, you have never had a soup like this before?"
"Dessert food is quite a bit different than any area with vegetation."
"Sorry, that makes sense. Well, I should collect some more ingredients before going into the desert. Oh, and thanks with the map."
"No problem." Bikkyri smiled. "It was my pleasure."
The sand bodyguard's first impression was of fear. During last night's scare, she threatened the Kazekage's life if he didn't follow along. This morning, Kori cleared the air. She exerted some kin aura that Gaara had.
Gaara appeared on sight, wooden bowl in hand. The guard saw him immediately and stood to bow in general respect. Kori slowly stirred the pot, got up and bowed briefly. "Are you doing better already?"
Gaara nodded. His hands loosened its grip on the bowl after seeing her.
Her dark sapphire blue eyes radiated energy like twin waterfalls nurturing a land. A polar opposite of her hair, which absorbed all the air around it. A black like moonless nights.
A whiff of the delicious soup brought some whit about him.
"You wanted more soup?" Kori asked laughing. She glanced at Bikkyri and remembered the red ninjas ranking position. "Lord Kazekage?"
Gaara stood in the same spot, squinting from the lowering sun.
"Lord? The bowl." Kori reminded him.
Gaara tried his best to fight the haze. He handed her the bowl.
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"Where did you sleep?" Bikkyri asked Kori.
She had a feeling sleeping in trees was a scarce thought of comfort. She had not the nerve to disclose it. "I found someplace and set down a sleeping bag. How about you?"
"I summoned a tent."
"So you hold only scrolls in your pack? Where are the weapons?"
"It is luck, all the other guards had only weapons. I happened to have the shift and the only one with summoning scrolls."
Bikkyri took a bite of the breakfast she prepared. "These are quail eggs?"
Kori nodded. "Great taste. I hope you don't mind, but I grilled the same type of fish as in the soup yesterday."
Bikkyri scarfed down his portion. "No problem. I didn't notice."
Gaara overheard the morning campfire talk. Somehow, he felt excluded. He was also exhausted. The headache was gone. He stood to get breakfast.
When Bikkyri saw Gaara walking to the campfire, he stood and bowed. Kori started serving the plate. "Sit with us this time, Lord Kazekage. Meals are to be savored in the company."
Gaara sat down reluctantly to eat. Bikkyri was amazed at how bold Kori was to The Lord Kazekage Sabaku no Gaara. Most people would tremble in his presence. Very few instances, they would speak to him.
Gaara was impressed at both her cooking skills and polite but direct comments. This made Gaara intrigued by how she interacted.
Kori became a bit uncomfortable. She was used to traveling. She was not used to two strangers and no sister. Even though she was mad at her sister, she also missed her. Kori found she would keep looking at Gaara. His red, fluffy hair. The turquoise beads unrestrained by a pupil, tamed by thick dark lines surrounding them. The tattoo caught her eye multiple times. It read love. What does it mean to him?
"Bikkyri," Kori whispered to the sand ninja. "The Kazekage doesn't talk much."
"He likes to see things unfold and learn. When an input is needed, he can give it."
That makes sense. Her heart thumped. Kori almost jumped. The feeling was unexpected.
After about two hours Kori was feeling a bit unwell. She wasn't used to the hot, dry weather. Aoi never went near the desert because of Gaara. Now I am traveling with the very person who my sister was afraid of. Ha! The unrelenting heat made Kori even more uncomfortable. She took a sip of water.
A large sand dune domed over the rest, allowing shade. A small gust of wind gave off some cool air. She wanted to sit under it. Gaara saw her eying the shadow. "It is about to collapse. Sitting under it would be dangerous."
Kori was shocked. "I didn't say anything."
A hot, strong wind blew. The towering dune leveled into nearby sand mounds.
Gaara looked away from her. Why am I feeling this way? He wondered. What even am I feeling? Maybe I am still sick. The drug's effects must have not worn off yet.
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Night had fallen. Bikkyri retired for the evening. Kori stirred cactus soup. She had taken all the spines off with trial and error. Gaara smelled the soup from his tent. His cheeks felt hot even though the sun was not up.
"What are you making?"
Earlier that day, Kori saw the Kazekage looking at an assortment of small cacti. "Do you want to try it?"
"Yes," Gaara sat down. "Please."
Kori's heart thumped again. Ah, he is too cute. "It is my pleasure, Lord Kazekage to serve you."
Gaara didn't like it. When she said his title, the air around them was formal, thicker, and distant. "Call me Gaara."
"Okay, Gaara. How much soup would you like?"
The Kazekage didn't reply. Kori poured a small amount.
The ice ninja examined how the flame cast light and shadow across the sand ninjas' face.
His eyes widened a bit.
"More?" Kori asked, amused in his shift.
"Please," Gaara realized she was attending to his expressions.
Kori obliged wholeheartedly.
The fire crackled. The log split causing the flame to die down slowly. "Lord… uh, Gaara, it is time to sleep."
"I am not tired."
"At least lay down in a bed."
"I do not have a bedtime nor do I need one."
"Yes, now you do. I haven't fully identified what other possible drugs were put in the food. You are already recovering by walking and eating. Sleep is the last factor."
Gaara looked to the sand below him. He shuddered remembering the words Shikaku use to whisper. He nibbled his cheek. "Do I have to?"
Kori tried to identify his expression. Was he sad? "You never had a bedtime."
The thought crossed Gaara's mind.
When I became Kazekage, Temari set me a bedtime. She wasn't always there to reinforce the rule. Kankuro followed it, and I guess I adapted somewhat. Regular work shifted the floor under my feet.
"I did."
"What happened?"
"I…" The odd feeling stabbed his gut. Gaara saw no point to argue. She was making a reasonable point. "I can't sleep anyway."
Kori tried suggesting something. "A group of ninja had attacked us at night and it traumatized me. I developed insomnia out of fear. My sister ran out of melatonin pills. We were afraid of visiting a nearby village for more medicine. My sister cured me herself."
Gaara was interested. "How?"
Kori wanted to take back the last bit. Her face became utterly flustered. 'My sister laid in the bed till I fell asleep' or 'I can lay with you till you fall asleep'' or 'wanna cuddle' all sound awkward. Not to mention the only physical contact I have ever had with a guy was before they died. Plus the time dad held me as a baby. Aoi has been the only person to hug me, ever. What would she say? 'Kori, I leave you for three days and you sleep with some man you just met. So dependant, so clingy.'
"Can… uh… You can stop listening to me. I tend to say weird things."
"I want to know how you got rid of insomnia."
"First… how did you gain insomnia?"
"..."
I met her recently. Would she think less of me if I tell her?
I should. People who ask questions expecting any answer possible but turn around and judge aren't worth their salt.
"The one tails was sealed in me from birth. He would threaten to take over my body if I slept. Throughout the day was constant torture. I became idiotic, impulsive, bloodthirsty…"
Gaara was shaking. Kori saw this. "Shh," She offered a hand on his shoulder. I want to tell him about being Sombra Fragments. How my sister and I would kill out of fun. Until, we grew to see our actions tearing our souls apart. We almost turned against each other. No, he already trusts me, if he learns I was Sombra Fragments… Could he ever see a good person? The good person I am trying to be.
"I am sorry, I know some about the Gaara before the great ninja war. I should have thought before asking."
"Can I be helped?"
Gaara sounded like he did something wrong. He spoke as a child had felt guilty about eating the last cookie.
"I can help." Kori's heart thumped. It skipped a bit.
Gaara laid down on the mat.
"I am going to wrap my arms around your torso. If you feel uncomfortable, say so."
Gaara's cheeks heated. He felt her arms snake their way around him. Her head resting on his back. Black hair cascading over his neck. Her body holding his. Instead of getting nervous, he somewhat got more relaxed. She was warm in contrast to the cold desert nights. The gourd lay in the corner of the tent. It was late. It was dark. Her breathing lulled him to sleep.
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Gaara awoke to Bikkyri worried. The Kazekage could smell a mix of copper and iron: Blood.
The half-cloth covering the sand bodyguards face was almost drenched in the crimson liquid. A red handprint lay on the chest of his uniform. "What happened?"
"Kori told me to check up on you."
Gaara stood, unsatisfied with his answer. "Where is she?"
Bikkyri looked to the exit of the tent. "Lord, it may be too late now. The bleeding was heavy and in this heat."
Gaara ran out of the tent. The blood on him was not his own. It was Kori's.
'...it may be too late now.'
How far away? I did not wake to hear fighting.
An ice spike the size of Gaara peaked out of an overhead sand dune. He willed the sand to lift him above the scene.
A crater was littered with ice, sand, and weaponry. Three bodies lay spilling blood. The sun evaporated the water, creating a detestable stench in the wind. Red splotches could be found everywhere.
The two bodies were so torn up, they were almost unidentifiable as humans.
Gaara hadn't seen such savage aftermath. Even he was not so… excessive.
"Gaa-rah-?" A voice coughed. "Are- Are you hurt?"
Gaara looked around, not seeing anyone. He looked to an ice spike. Beside it, was Kori drenched in blood. Her eyes were a void of pitch black. The waterfalls of energy had been drained. Her hair was a bit tangled. Breathing, ragged. Arms, twitching. She was in noticeable pain.
"Kori, what happened?"
"A-" Her lips kept moving. No sound came out. Gaara got closer. He saw a few cuts around her arms and legs. A tear waited in her eyes till they blinked. The moisture evaporated halfway down the cheek.
He wasn't sure what to do. She tried to sit up. No luck. Her back hit the sand, causing her to choke back a scream.
Kori saw a scared and worried expression on Gaara's face. As in pain as she was, she didn't want him to worry about her. She was more worried about him. Itsuki said… 'Your precious Kazekage is no more.' Yet, he is here. Gaara is unharmed. Bikkyri is fine. Itsuki is dead. They are both alright, so, I am happy.
Bikkyri had arrived. Gaara turned away from Kori to look at his guard. "What happened?"
Bikkyri looked low in spirit. "These ninjas were Hell's Assassins trying to kill you. Kori intercepted their attack, leading them further from the campsite. She made an ice cage and I couldn't get out." Bikkyri looked to Kori's now unconscious body, "Now I know I would have only gotten in the way."
Gaara gazed at the hell ninja assassin corpses. "She did that."
"Yes," Bikkyri admitted "Killing them. Not the shredding."
"That one." Gaara pointed to the intact corps. "Was he the last to be killed?"
"Itsuki was what she called him. He did that to her." Bikkyri motioned to his eyes.
Gaara loomed over Kori. She was breathing. He checked her pulse. It was uneven, speeding up and slowing down.
"Bikkyri, she… why... " Gaara caught his breath. "Why does she save me?"
Bikkyri picked Kori up. "I don't know."
"How about you? Why do you work your job?"
"It has been both my work and something I have learned to enjoy. Young Kazekage, my line of work is to protect what is important. Suna is important to me, it is home. You protect Suna and preserve its well being. Therefore I protect what keeps my home My Home. In your being safe, my mind is at rest. As for her. Who is to say? The past drives her. She can't stop talking about her sister."
Gaara looked at the blood-drenched Kori. "Itsuki, would you say she hated that ninja?"
"A burning passion of hate."
"Any conversation during the fight?"
Bikkyri sighed. "It was hard to hear inside the ice."
Bikkyri took her into his arms. Her head was resting on Bikkyri's chest, while he carried her bridal style. Something in Gaara knotted. A twang of despair caught the desert heatwave. Knotted hair flowed in the wind. "Bikkyri?"
"Young Lord."
"Can I hold her instead? You have the scrolls and can carry her pack."
"We should be cautious about the drug still. Besides, you already carry the large gourd around."
Gaara forgot about the gourd. He had carried it almost all fifteen years of his life. Most times, it felt almost non-existent. "Right."
The campsite was a relieving sight to the bodyguard. "Bikkyri."
"You are chatty today, Lord."
"Yes, um…" Do I really not talk this much? "Back there she had some sort of bag left in the ice."
Bikkyri turned his attention towards the ice ninja in his arms, "She moved the water like you do sand. I never saw the container, I assumed she drew the water from the air. Isn't it surprising her Kekkei Genkai has to do with ice while traveling today the desert?"
Gaara thought about the situation. So she is desperate enough to escape a situation to be a fish out of water. [Literally!] Gaara has always been curious. He keeps in most questions while voicing only the ones that catch the occasion. Right now, his interest levels were as high as the sun in the sky. "Bikkyri," Gaara said, "Can we make a detour to the oasis?"
"My, Kazekage." Bikkyri put the puzzle pieces together carefully. Kazekage is blushing. He wanted to hold her. "You are chatty today. Has something come up?"
Gaara noticed the uncomfortable heat in his cheeks. His tone became more hushed. Bikkyri was twenty years his senior. Gaara had respect for him, as Bikkyri wasn't loyal to the title rather the person. "Nothing has come up. I have questions."
Poor young Lord Kazekage. Bikkyri kept a subtle eye on Gaara the way back to camp. "Tell you what, Lord Kazekage, I will put up the tents. Meanwhile, you tend to her wounds. The main goal is to not get her cuts infected. You can help by keeping the sand particles out. Try wrapping her with the first aid gauze."
The red cross glared on the face of the white box. Bikkyri carefully handed Kori to Gaara. Before Bikkyri totally left Gaara in business, he glanced back.
Gaara's face was relaxed, relieved. Gaara stared at Kori with wonder. Bikkyri tugged his blood-drenched veil off.
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