I know it's been awhile but I've been really busy. Anyways here's the chapter. Enjoy
Disclaimer: see other chapters because I have no intention of repeating myself right now
Ch. 19: The Past
They were walking through the old house. The closer Kaoru got to the living room the more afraid she became. The more afraid she became the closer she got to Gaara. Gaara let her because he knew she was afraid. He knew that she needed the comfort his presence gave her. The group walked into the room were her parents had been killed. A layer of dust coated everything in sight. Several of the objects were broken from the fight that had taken place in the room. There was a red stain in the center of the room.
Kaoru was shaking visibly now. She really didn't want to be here but her friends were right. If there was a chance that she could remember what had happened that night she needed to try. Someone was trying to kill her and it was possible that it was the same person that had killed her parents.
As she looked into the room she could still see the bodies that had once been her parents. She could see the shadows and feel the same fear that had filled her then. It was like having the dream only she was awake instead of asleep. She couldn't look away from that red stain on the ground. Gaara reached over and made her look at him. She blinked when her eyes met his.
"Don't focus on that. We need to know what happened after," Gaara stated.
Kaoru nodded then looked back at the room. She avoided looking at the spot where her parents had died. Instead she looked at the spot where the man had come from. She could almost see the shadow that came towards her. Her voice was barely a whisper, "I can't see his face. Just that smile that sends chills down my spine."
Sasori's voice was calm as usual, "Didn't they catch the man who did this?"
"No. They did blame someone though. They thought that it was Kisame Hoshigaki. I don't know if they were right or not. Part of me doesn't think so because he didn't have a reason to."
Sasori considered what she had said. She was right. Kisame didn't waste energy. He wouldn't have attacked her parents without a reason to and from what Sasori had heard he didn't have a reason. The shark man also didn't kill children. He wouldn't have attacked Kaoru then like the shadow in her dream had. Children are helpless and couldn't give a challenge. Kisame loved a challenge and hated an easy fight. No, it wasn't the sharkface that had attacked Kaoru's parents.
"Why did they blamed Kisame?"
"He had been the one to take me to the Mizukage's. I was unconscious. He was also the one that had told Hayate-sama that my parents were dead. By the time they had confirmed their deaths he was gone and next thing they knew he had joined the Akatsuki. Everyone presumed he had done it and just let me live for some reason."
Kaoru tried to remember all she could. She remembered running in the opposite direction of the man in the shadow. So she turned and walked in the directions she had gone back then. Then she had gotten outside and someone had been there. She frowned. Who had it been? Kaoru grabbed her head as she tried to remember.
She had run out of the house and could hear the person behind her. He was calling her name. She had just kept running until she crashed into something. When she had looked up it was to see a blue face with spiked dark hair. The face had looked down at her with consideration. She had looked up at him in pure fear. Then he had smiled at her and picked her up. She could hear his calm voice telling her that she was alright now. After he had told her that she had passed out. The next thing she remembered was waking up while the Mizukage carried her our of her house.
Gaara walked up beside her and took her wrists in his hands. She had still been holding her head in her hands. He pulled her arms down and she opened her eyes and looked up at him. There was concern in his sea foam eyes and he didn't release her wrists. She gave him a small smile.
"I can't remember his face. I do remember that it wasn't Kisame. He was the one that brought me to Mizukage-sama and told them what had happened to my family. He wasn't the one chasing me through the house. He had been outside and I crashed into him. I think the only reason I'm still alive is because whoever killed my parents didn't want to mess with Kisame."
Gaara looked back up at the house, "That rules him out. That means we're probably right about the reason for the attacks on you. Whoever it was didn't get to finish the job. You were sent away to Suna before he got a second chance."
"What are we going to do, Gaara? Kaoru won't leave until the Mizukage has been healed and that man with continue to attack until he wins," Temari stated.
Kaoru didn't look away from Gaara. He looked worried and if she looked carefully she could see the fear deep in his eyes. Those same emotions came off of him in gentle waves as he considered all the possibilities. His sea foam eyes suddenly focused on her.
"You don't remember anything that can give us a clue about who it was?"
She shook her head sadly, "I'm sorry, Gaara-kun, but all I remember is a shadow running after me. No matter how hard I try I can't see his face. I remember his voice but that's it. I'm sorry."
"It's not your fault, Kaoru. Stop apologizing," Gaara ordered her with some irritation. He looked at the others, "We can't let Kaoru out of our sight. One of us has to be with her at all times."
They nodded. Sasuke spoke in his calm tone, "When I'm with her so is Sakura."
"I'm sure just one of us is needed at a time, Sasuke-kun," Sakura commented.
"No."
"But, Sasuke-kun…" she started to argue with him.
He interrupted with a rare show of temper, "I won't leave you unprotected, Sakura."
Kaoru looked at him with a smile. She knew how Sasuke felt about her friend. He wouldn't say it out loud but the feelings directed at the Konoha medic were stronger than any of his other emotions. Even his hate for his brother didn't compare to the feelings he had for his medic. Sakura on the other had hadn't expected that response from him. Her green eyes widened in surprise.
"Sasuke-kun…"
He looked away from her because he was suddenly very uncomfortable with the situation. He hadn't meant to tell her that but just the thought of not being there to protect her made him angry. There was a killer on the loose and she expected him to just leave her alone. She was insane. He still hadn't meant to tell her that though. Oh, well. It was said and he couldn't unsay it.
"You heard me. I'm not leaving you unprotected."
"I can protect myself you know," Sakura stated.
"I know that."
"Then why are you so stubborn."
His temper ignited again, "Kaoru can protect herself too but she still got injured by this man. I don't want to find out you were hurt when I wasn't there. Do you know what that will do to me? If anything happens I have to be there to help you. Live with it."
With that Sasuke turned to Sasori and Gaara to discuss the schedule for guarding Kaoru. It was his way of telling everyone that the subject was closed. Sakura looked at him in irritation she walked off a little ways. Kaoru sighed and went over to her pink haired friend. They stood there in silence for a moment. Kaoru kept her voice down low so that the others couldn't hear her.
"He's afraid you know."
Sakura looked at her and also kept her voice low, "Of what?"
"Of losing you. He cares about you. The idea of you getting hurt when he's not there both scares him and angers him."
Sakura's eyes darted over to Sasuke, "He could have just told me."
"You know as well as I do that it's not that easy for Sasuke. He doesn't know how to express emotions very well. He doesn't even like to express them. You saw how embarrassed he got when he let his temper get the better of him. You just have to learn to see what he's not saying," Kaoru told her friend with a smile.
The Konoha medic smiled, "I suppose you're right."
Kaoru smiled, "You know I am. I have an advantage over you."
"Right. Your kekkei genkai." Sakura looked back at Sasuke then her eyes focused on Kaoru, "Can you tell me how he feels about me, Kaoru? I…I really want to know."
Kaoru's eyes soften, "I can but I won't. It's not my place. You'll just have to do what I said. See what he's not saying. For people like Sasuke that's what matters."
Sakura nodded in agreement. It was true. With Sasuke it was what he didn't say that truly mattered to him. If he let you see it chances were he didn't care as much about it. Then a thought occurred to her and asked, "You know that Gaara is the same way right, Kaoru?"
Kaoru blinked, "What do you mean?"
"You told me that you can't tell what people feel towards you, right?"
"That's right," the Suna medic replied with a confused look.
"You love Gaara right?" Sakura pressed.
"Yes."
"Do you know how he feels about you?"
"No. He doesn't even know how he feels about me, Sakura. At least that's what he said."
"He's like Sasuke, Kaoru. He doesn't tell people how he feels. It's in his actions. You just have to see what he's not saying."
Sakura walked over to Sasuke before Kaoru could reply to this. Kaoru watched as her friend said something to the Uchiha. He nodded to her and replied. She smiled and stayed next to him and continued to talk about something. Kaoru smiled and looked behind her when she sensed someone there. She smiled at Gaara then looked back at her friends from Konoha. Gaara followed her gaze.
"You know that it's only a matter of time before those two admit how they feel about each other right?" he asked her.
"I know. Actually, Sasuke already knows how Sakura feels. And he tells her how he feels but not in words. His confession is in his actions. Sakura will just have to see it for herself."
Gaara looked at her, "What did she say to you before going over there? You looked shocked."
Kaoru suddenly started acting nervous, "Oh it was nothing important. Ummm, can we leave now? This place gives me the creeps."
"Sure. Let's go back to the compound."
As the group walked away Kaoru looked over her shoulder. She could have sworn that there was someone watching her. When she didn't see anyone she shrugged it off. It was probably just the house itself giving her the creeps. That place was her nightmare after all. It was understandable that she was getting that weird feeling from it. She looked forward again glad to have that place behind her where it belonged.
In the shadows a man watched the group walk away. He chuckled to himself, "So she doesn't remember who I am. That's good. It will make things easier. I guess its time I eat dinner with the family. Well, little Kaoru, we'll meet again real soon."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That night another man came to dinner. He looked just like Kaoru's father except older. He had golden eyes and hair as dark as her own. Kaoru could barely remember her father but she had known that he had a twin. That twin was actually one of the reasons the clans hadn't approved of her parent's marriage. Her mother had originally been brought to Kirigakure to marry her father's twin.
Kaoru examined the man that resembled her father so much. His name was Ken and he had been the older of the twins. In order to make an alliance between Suna and Kirigakure they had arranged for her mother to marry Ken. However it had been Kaoru's father that had escorted her mother from Suna to here. Along the way they had fallen in love with each other. From what Kaoru had been told by her parents they had simply told everyone that they would be together whether they had approved or not. As a result, the two clans cut off all ties with her parents. None of them had even come to see Kaoru after she had been born. A few months before the deaths of her parents died the Tsukino clan started to open up communications with them again. The Kawaguchi clan had remained stubbornly cold towards them. It didn't seem to bother either of her parents though her mother had been thrilled to hear from her family again. Kaoru remembered her parents talking about moving to Suna because the Tsukino clan had invited them to come stay with them.
She continued to watch Ken from across the table. There was tension between him and her grandfather because of something her uncle had done. Kaoru was trying to sort through that tension and the reasons for it when Ken looked into her eyes and smiled. She automatically smiled back and started to concentrate on what he was saying to her. It was nice to hear stories about her father from someone in the clan who hadn't hated him. Sure Kyo was kind and didn't seem to disapprove of what her father and mother had done but he hadn't known her father.
Gaara looked over at the man that sat across from Kaoru. Ken was looking at Kaoru with a smile but something told Gaara that he didn't want to leave his friend alone with this man. Maybe it was because his eyes held nothing but hate for the girl. Gaara knew that look well. He had seen it in the mirror several times in his life. Those eyes looking back at him with absolute hatred for what they saw. This man hated Kaoru. He could be a threat to her if they weren't careful.
A few more days past and Kaoru and Sakura had just finished the antidote for the Mizukage. The girls sat back with identical tired sighs. Kaoru looked over at Sakura with a smile, "We're done. After tomorrow we'll be able to go home."
The pink haired kunoichi let out another sigh but this one was from relief, "I know. I can't wait. The tension around here makes me edgy."
Kaoru nodded in agreement, "Uncle Ken said that he would walk with us to the Mizukage's home so we better hurry. He's waiting outside and I don't want to keep him waiting."
Sakura nodded in agreement. Kaoru turned to the medicine they had made for Hayate-sama and poured it into a bottle. She had just finished capping it when she heard Sakura gasp. She put the bottle in her pocket and turned to see what was wrong. A gasp escaped her when she saw what had happened. Sakura was on the ground unconscious and there was the shadow of a man standing behind her...a very familiar shadow. Images from her nightmares began to run through Kaoru's head. Then he smiled the same smile that he had all those years ago.
"Hello, little Kaoru. I've waited 11 years to see you again," he said as he walked forward. Kaoru tried to scream but nothing would come out. Tremors racked her body as she just stared at the figure that walked towards her with that evil grin on his face. He just kept walking forward and talking in that insanely calm voice, "You should have been my child but your mother chose him. They disgraced their families and yet were happy. He betrayed me but didn't feel guilt. We'll I bet they regret their decision now don't they, little Kaoru?"
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Makoto (A/N: just to remind you this is Kaoru's grandfather), Gaara, and Sasuke were eating breakfast. The room was silent since the more cheerful members of their group were all busy elsewhere. Gaara looked over at Sasuke. It had just hit him that the Uchiha was here but Sakura wasn't.
"Were's Sakura?" he asked.
"She's with Kaoru and Ken. They said that they would be able to finish the medicine for Hayate-sama today and wanted to get an early start," Sasuke answered calmly.
Gaara was about to ask how Sakura had convinced Sasuke not to come with her when he heard a crash at the other end of the table. Makoto had stood up and was taking his plate to the sink but had dropped it. The old man was now looking at Sasuke with serious golden eyes. Gaara felt mild concern for the man because he looked as pale as a ghost. Makoto's voice held an edge of worry when he spoke, "Who did you say Kaoru was with?"
Sasuke tilted his head in confusion but answered anyway, "Sakura and your son, Ken. Why?"
The old man didn't answer. Instead he rushed out the door and towards the hospital where the girls had been working on the antidote for the Mizukage's illness. Gaara and Sasuke followed. The rest of the group saw them rushing down the streets and ran after them. Gaara moved up along side Makoto.
"Do you mind telling us what's going on?" he demanded.
"Those girls are in terrible danger. I just hope we're not too late," the old man stated.
There it is. I won't be able to update until some time after tuesday. I'll apologize ahead of time. I'm sorry. Please don't hold it against me and send me a good review.