AN: Alright, sorry this took forever. No I'm not dead. A lot of things went down this summer. I got a job, so I was pretty preoccupied with that. And I fell in love, funny enough how we fell for each other is very similar to what happened to Cordi and Gaara. Haha. . He is another reader so yeah he's been nagging me to update too. . I'm getting it from all sides. Also, I have switched majors from Pre-Nursing to English. Now I just have to worry about long ass papers… BTW, over 9000 views! HELLS to the YEAH! Thanks so much for sticking with me. I know, I really should have been writing the entire time, but I just had no time. And now my writing is suffering, but I'll pick it back up. I promise.
And to Thomas Drovin, No, he has his reasons, but it'll be a little while before we get there… actually hopefully not too long from now. ^.^ as for the Akatsuki, oh we'll get to them later.
And to Melbookgrl, Here it is, finally!
And to NarutardKerry, Yes, I did. It wasn't fun.
And to Gaaras1girl, I love your reviews! And yes, my bestie wrote me that speech telling me to put that in. I told her I'd find a way to put it in… well she only gave me the Itachi bit… haha, but yeah my respect for Lynne ran through the roof too, especially because I don't like Sasuke. ^.^
And to Azura Soul Reaver, Well who else is Mi going to run after, hm? It's ok. Some stalkers aren't that bad, just rather annoying.
And to PyroRoxas, No, it wasn't a joke. I did get hit by a truck. A dodge ram oddly enough.
And to DantesFreezer, Nope. Lynne often shared that opinion with her friends before meeting any Uchiha. I mean the girl I based her on does that all the time and she got mad when I told her Itachi would not be alive in my story so she made me give her character the next best thing. .
And to Backlashbutton, Yes she is or was...
And to HyperZenaku, I'm glad you love this story. And yes, I got hit by a truck. .
And I to my fav.+ and alerts+, KoolKat14, sisukeMisuke- The Great, HyperZenaku, Checkitoutkagome, panda lover 1234, Kitiara Woodbane, Tsunade senju, Backlashbutton, scaaagirl, and ThePeopleStillSleeping. Thank you guys sooooo much!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or its characters etc. You know the drill. Oh, and Kirigi belongs to Thomas Drovin, which I'm very grateful he's letting me use. Thanks a bunch!
Chapter Fourteen: Silence and Regret
Naruto groggily ruffled through his paperwork early in the morning. 6:30 in the morning honestly did not work well for him, but it was a job requirement, otherwise he'd never get finished with paperwork. He let out a long tired sigh, fingering through the new batch of genin and trying to decide what strengths each one had that would work best with the others. So far, he had none. He didn't need to be omniscient to know today would be long.
The slow eerie creak of his office doors gave his creativity a small reprieve. He looked up to see the proud Neji Hyuuga somewhat strut into his office. He stopped just short of his desk and Naruto just gazed back at him absent-mindedly, wondering how on earth Neji could function at such an hour.
"You wanted to see me?" Neji asked, standing at attention.
Naruto looked confused for a bit, until he remembered that he had asked Neji to come to his office. "Right," Naruto muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. He gently slapped his face to wake him up, then gave Neji the most serious face he could muster. Neji couldn't help but cock an eyebrow at the Hokage. "I need you to watch over Lynne."
Neji just blinked at him. "If you don't mind me asking," he began, leaning slightly forward, "why does she need to be looked after?"
Naruto bit the inside of his lip before stating, "You've obviously heard of her pregnancy, right?" Neji nodded. He was at the Jounin exams when it was stated. "Well, she told Sasuke, the father, and he has rejected them." Neji went bug-eyed hearing that.
"That – that seems out of character," Neji muttered.
Naruto paused, pondering what Neji said. "Yes it does," Naruto agreed somewhat grudgingly. "But that's beside the point. I need you to make sure she doesn't do anything drastic. She's really vulnerable now, and I know you two are friends." Neji nodded.
"If I may," Neji started, pursing his lips as he wondered how exactly to continue. "Why did Sasuke reject Lynne?"
Naruto furrowed his eyebrows and shook his head. "I have no idea, something about her sleeping around with you or something else along those lines." Neji looked confused, obviously thinking of telling Sasuke that what he thought had happened wasn't what happened at all. "Neji, even if you told him that nothing happened, Sasuke isn't the trusting type. He most likely won't believe you," Naruto stated, ripping any thought of confronting him to shreds. Neji nodded, but he still looked somewhat conflicted by it. "Don't worry. It should work itself out. Sasuke will realize what really must have happened and see how foolish he was being. Until then, don't say anything to him." Yet again, all Neji could do was nod, agreeing with what Naruto said.
Cordi slowly made her way to the gate, slinging the bag she had over her shoulder in a Santa Claus fashion. She huffed as she struggled each step to the gate. It wasn't too far, just a block away really. Gaara had wanted them to move out early so they would reach the desert at a reasonable hour. Aleera had offered to fly them all, but Cordi and Kankuro weren't sure having Yukina that high and not really secured in place was a good idea. Also, Gaara still had his Kazekage caravan there, which needed to go back to Suna. Aleera was obviously miffed by their dismissal, but she understood their reasoning. So, like the first trip, she would walk beside the group.
As soon as Cordi got to the gate, she saw Aleera waiting for their group indifferently. "Hey," Cordi sighed, dropping her bag in front of her. Aleera barely cast her an annoyed glance before turning her head back to the gate with a small grunt. "You're angry about something," Cordi stated.
"No, I'm just a little peeved," Aleera corrected, not looking at her. Over the two years they had been gone, the dragons had matured to become full-fledged adult dragons. And with that maturity, Aleera had gained somewhat of a head-strong nature – not that it wasn't there originally. It's just Cordi thought that when she had finally grown up, Aleera would have matured out of her fiery temper. But Cordi later realized that because Aleera also was a fire type dragon, that part of her personality would only grow.
"You know why we can't ride you," Cordi explained, tired of telling her again, slowly dragging her bag over to Aleera.
"Well, why not just you?" Aleera asked. A small smirk appeared on her smug face. "We could get to Suna in ten minutes, then relax for a couple days and meet them at the gate when they get there." Aleera looked down at Cordi only to see her glaring up at the dragon in disapproval.
"No," Cordi barked. "Now lift me up."
"But whyyyyy!" Aleera whined, adding a little pout at the end.
"So I can tie my bag onto your saddle. Why else?" Cordi asked.
"No, why can't you just ride me?" Aleera asked, snatching Cordi and her bag off the ground with ease and placing them on her back. "I haven't really been able to fly for the past couple weeks because it'd scare the villagers. So when I finally get the chance, you guys say no because of a toddler. And walking through the woods is way too cramped for me. I'd barely have room to breathe. And that's with no one around," she groused.
"Because," Cordi grunted as she pulled her bag over to Aleera's saddle. She quickly began to fasten it in place as she continued. "If I rode you, we'd be leaving them behind again. And need I remind you that we are guests, and that I also don't have the key to their house. And if I just had you fly, there is a possibility that you'd fly off way ahead of us. I can't have that considering my bag is on your back."
"You don't trust me?" Aleera asked, somewhat offended.
"About this, not as far as I can throw you," Cordi answered, fastening the last strap in place.
"You can't throw me," Aleera muttered dumbly.
"Exactly," Cordi stated, preparing herself to slide down Aleera's leg. She gently pushed herself down, gliding against Aleera's leathery scales.
"Well that's just great," Aleera grumbled biting her lip a little. She paused a little then asked, "Can't we come to a compromise?"
"I think you should listen to your master," a recognizable voice of the Kazekage rang out. Aleera turned her head to glare at him only to see him unfazed by her candor.
"I'd eat you if Cordi didn't like you so much," Aleera stated in a blank voice. Gaara just shrugged and walked on to stand next to Cordi. Aleera let out an annoyed growl, which he also ignored.
"You're up early," Gaara stated. He didn't look at her though. She got the feeling he was hoping he'd be at the gate alone. That something was weighing heavily on his mind.
"Yeah," Cordi stammered, looking away from him awkwardly. "You said early in the morning…" she trailed off.
"Right," Gaara stated awkwardly. It was silent for a bit before he added, "I say that because I know Kankuro and Temari, regardless of what I say will wake up at 8:30 and we'll end up leaving at nine o'clock. It's at least earlier than ten o'clock."
Cordi let out a chuckle, knowing exactly what he meant. She reached her hand out to his, but as soon as her fingers grazed his, he pulled his hand away. She furrowed her brows in confusion then asked, "Gaara, what's wrong?"
He crossed his arms and bit his lip. "It's nothing. Just a – political thing." Cordi kept looking at him expectantly. He shook his head and stated, "Don't worry about it. It's just something I have to do when I get back." Cordi nodded, letting the subject go. She wished he'd have told her what was going on, but she felt he should have some privacy.
"Well, I'm here if you need me," Cordi stated awkwardly before walking off saying something about grabbing some breakfast.
Gaara wished he could have told her. He knew he must have seemed like an ass just then stone-walling her like that, but he wasn't comfortable telling her about his predicament. He didn't want to hurt her like that.
"Lynne?" Neji called walking through the doorway of her apartment. She hadn't answered the first couple knocks on the door, so he felt it was ok to go ahead in and see if she was ok. He looked around, noticing the only light on was in the bathroom. "Lynne?" he asked again, walking towards the light. He opened the door when no one answered only to find Lynne in the bathroom, her hair poorly dyed a blackish color and her wrists cut in several places, most likely by the kunai in her right hand. She hadn't even noticed Neji enter the room because she was crying into her elbows, with her bloody wrists curled into her hair, her hands holding the bloody kunai knife next to her face. He had also noticed that her hair littered the floor. She had cut her hair poorly along with the dye. Her bangs were now at an angle. She had long and short locks of hair haphazardly strewn throughout her mane.
Neji carefully knelt down next to her, easing the knife from her bloody hands. Her grip tightened on it and she shoved him back, making him hit the sink, holding the kunai to his neck. She looked angry, but at the same time in deep, deep despair. "Lynne," he whispered, trying to pull her out of this depression somewhat. He pulled her close to him, embracing her in a hug whispering, "It's alright, Lynne."
Her arms slumped down, dropping the kunai at their side. He felt her body shake as her lungs racked with sobs. She put her limp arms in his lap and knelt her face to his shoulder, soaking his shirt with her tears. He sat with her awhile, letting her cry until she had no more tears left to shed. He calmly rubbed her back in soothing circles, trying to help her calm down and ease her pain, occasionally letting out a comforting, "Sh. It will be alright."
As soon as she calmed down, he helped her up and gently got her cleaned up. He washed her cuts and bandaged them with a couple rolls of gauze and bandaging tape from his pack. She sat silently through it, as if she didn't even notice what was going on around her. It was as if she was completely numb. The only indication she was still alive was that she was upright, her body was wavering a bit and shaking, but still upright. As he finished, he tied the bandages off and placed her hands in her lap, patting them lightly. He eyed her slowly. Her eyes still held their gaze at the linoleum floor as if the pattern on the plastic tiles were interesting somehow. Her hair that hung in her face was black in some places and brown in others, and chopped away at odd angles. The ends of each strange cut were sticky and spiked from the dried blood dripping through her hair.
He frowned at the pitiful sight. Naruto was right. She may have been putting on a brave face yesterday so as not to worry her best friends, but she was clearly hurting on the inside. He silently created a shadow clone, leaving the clone at the apartment to watch her while he went to the market down the street to buy dye to help fix her hair. His clone filled an empty basin with water and grabbed a couple towels. He set the basin down next to her head and soaked a towel, whipping it through her hair absorbing the blood, before placing it back in the basin for more water. As soon as he finished washing out her hair, he brushed it and dried it so when the actual Neji got back he could go ahead and finish dyeing her hair.
She remained lifeless as Neji dyed her hair, massaging her scalp lightly to fix the color into the roots. The thirty minutes waiting for the dye to take its hold seemed interminable. Neither said anything during the entire duration of it, there was no need. After the long wait, Neji quickly washed the sticky liquid out of her hair, running his fingers through each strand to make sure every bit of it was washed out. As soon as it was washed he pulled out a kunai and measured the mismatched lengths of hair. He frowned trying to figure out an appropriate length with the shortest length she had cut on the side. He held the knife at her earlobe and cut the wet hair swiftly. Long and short strands fell to the floor with a slight thud. Neji grabbed another lock of hair and cut it at the base of her skull. He continued with that length until he had reached the other side. He ran a hand through her hair, shaking it out a little to see how the cut fell in place. He walked around to her front, cutting her bangs in an angle, shading her left eye from the sun.
He brushed her hair out, drying it again for her. Her hair had gone from a platinum blonde to a midnight black, from a hairstyle that reached her mid back to extremely short. It definitely was a shock. He put his kunai back in his pouch, muttering a small, "Finished."
As he cleaned out the basin he heard Lynne stand-up, looking at herself in the mirror. She looked at Neji, biting her lip, before uttering a "Thanks," before leaving the bathroom for her bedroom. Neji silently followed her, watching as she rummaged through her drawers to find something to wear. She pulled out a pair of ripped jeans and a long chartreuse sweater. Lynne threw them on the bed and was about to strip, when she noticed Neji in the doorway. "Uhm, could I have a little privacy?" she asked, eyeing him warily. He nodded and turned his back to her. She pursed her lips, but continued getting changed. "What made you come over?" she asked as she pulled her jeans on.
Neji quickly tried to make an excuse, but he then remembered her mind reading ability and rethought his options. "Naruto wanted to make sure you were handling everything ok," he explained.
Her movement stopped for a minute and she turned to him. She stormed over to him, swiftly grabbing him on the shoulder and turning him around to face her. She had nothing but jeans, her bra, and bandages on. But the glare he was getting from her was enough to not even notice her outfit. "Don't you dare utter …"
He cut her off saying, "He didn't ask me how you were doing. He just wants to make sure you don't do anything rash, like kill Sasuke in his sleep." She was still glaring at him, trying to make sure of his intentions. "It's not a formal mission, so he doesn't want a report. He just knows we're friends, and with Cordi leaving for Suna today …"
"Crap," she muttered, "I forgot she was leaving today."
"Anyway," Neji stated, "he just wants to make sure you don't do anything you'll regret later. And he thinks that if I keep watch over you, since we are friends, that you'll be less likely to do something so drastic."
She eyed him once again to make sure. She let go of him as soon as she was sure he was telling the truth. She swiped the sweater off her bed and quickly put it on. Neji eyed her as she quickly grabbed a bag and waltzed to the door at a brisk pace, wrenching the door open. She would have continued, but stopped in the doorway asking, "You coming?" Neji quickly nodded and jogged over to the door, taking the doorknob out her grasp gently and shutting the door himself.
Temari, Kankuro, Yukina, Aleera, and Gaara all waited in the main square, waiting for the last straggler of their party before they headed out to the desert. Several of Cordi's friends had shown up to say their goodbyes. Rox stood with Shikamaru, hand in hand. He gently rubbed her arm reassuringly. As much as Rox hated it, she had to say goodbye to her sister for a while again. Ronni stood there with Fred. Kiba was apparently still passed-out at his house.
Fred had awkwardly been inching her way toward Kankuro, not sure exactly what to say to him. She didn't want to say goodbye, but she didn't want their relationship to be uncomfortable and understated with vague letters back and forth between Suna and Konoha. Temari had noticed the eldest Butler's slow and self-conscious movements. She nudged Kankuro, taking the sleeping Yukina from his arms. Kankuro blushed and walked over to Fred, startling her a little.
"H-hey," he managed, stumbling over the words a little.
A smile brightened her features as she let out a small, "Hey."
They stood there awkwardly staring at the cobblestone road. "Well…" Kankuro started just as Fred began to say, "So…" They stared at each other, open-mouthed until both giggled uncomfortably. They both smiled, then tried to talk again at the same time. Kankuro smirked slightly to himself, inwardly laughing at them trying to talk. Fred bit her lip, holding back a huge grin. "G-go ahead," she offered.
Kankuro let out a small chuckle before licking his lips uttering a small "Thanks." He paused for a bit chewing the inside of his cheek. "Do you want to talk somewhere a little more private?" he asked, gesturing to their friends and family eyeing them with interest. Fred nodded after seeing Temari, Rox, and Ronni beaming at her. She could have sworn she saw Shikamaru give Kankuro a wink, but she ignored it. Kankuro gently placed his hand on her shoulder and pointed to a small out of the way corner out of ears reach. Fred nodded again and they both walked over together. They stood there silently for a moment while Kankuro collected his thoughts. "Alright, here it is," Kankuro started, snatching Fred's complete attention. "The past week dating you has been the most fun I've had in years."
"Same here," Fred smiled, taking his hand in hers.
Kankuro stopped and gazed at her, searching her eyes for sincerity. It was weird. No woman he had dated after Matsuri's death had ever thought he was interesting, much less wanted a second date. Something about moping and feeling sorry for what happened. As much as he searched in her expression, she seemed to be truly heartfelt with what she said. He smiled at her, his heart feeling as if a weight had been lifted. "That's great," he laughed.
"So – ," Fred started, eyeing their hands clasped tightly together. "How are we going to handle this?"
"I don't know," he sighed, squeezing her hands lightly.
"We could try for missions near each other," Fred offered.
"No, Gaara took me off any missions going outside of Suna because of Yukina. I'm mainly his body guard," Kankuro stated, "or as he puts it, Fan-girl patrol." Fred let out a small laugh, then bit her lip, pondering more scenarios.
"We could always write letters," she laughed. It seemed so archaic to her. "And if you want a date I can always ride Cherokee over and be there within ten to twenty minutes."
Kankuro chuckled, muttering a small "You could do that too."
"So it's settled," Fred smiled, "letters and an occasional ride to Suna."
"Oh, and you're getting students," Kankuro added, "correct?"
"Yeah, well I'm hoping I get students. I know how rare it is," she stated.
"Yup," Kankuro nodded. "Anyway, the Chuunin exams are being held in Suna this year in about three and a half months, so I guess I'll see you then."
"Yeah," she agreed, "Definitely."
They stood there uneasily a minute, just nodding their heads until Kankuro leaned in, stealing a kiss from her lips. He quickly pulled away and turned to go back to the group, grumbling small curses to himself for his awkwardness. Fred quickly reached out, grabbing his hand and pulling him back to her. She brought her other hand up cupping the side of his face and pulling him to her, landing her lips on his. Off to the side they could hear Ronni whooping. They both laughed and pulled away, smiling at each other then walking back to the group.
AN: Alright, I hope I didn't disappoint you guys. I know it's been a while.