Chapter Two

Gaara approached the tent flap with utmost caution. It swayed in and out with the night breeze, and as it did, he could see into the tent for brief moments. Ah! It was her - Ayumi Sakamoto, eldest child of the traveling clan, and a captivating performer. Sitting in front of a mirror, she was brushing out her hair and humming a tune he remembered as part of their show. The glow of the lantern next to her embraced her lithe body as a close friend might, and he could see all of her features perfectly. It seemed almost that she emitted this soft glow, rather than borrowing it from the lantern. Slowly he curled his fingers around the edge of the tent flap, barely inching his way forward.

Ohhhh, no... how do I ask her? I never figured out how to ask!!

"Um...?"

With a gasp and a jolt, the hairbrush soared out of the girl's hand and landed with a clatter in the tin of decorative hair pins in front of her. She looked around wildly for the source of the noise, then gasped again as she saw who was standing in her doorway, and immediately fell to the ground in full kowtow.

"K-k-kazekage-s-s-sama...!"

Mingled with his surprise was a feeling that he should be the one bowing to her, as she would be the one to help him, or so he hoped. With a very slight sigh, Gaara bent down to her and touched her shoulder.

"Get up, please." he asked, extending a hand to help Ayumi up. She took it tentatively, attempting to make herself presentable as she stood.

"What, um, what can I do for you, Kazekage-sama?"

"Please. Here, and now, I am just Gaara to you," The slightly blunt tone worried her at first, but she calmed as he lowered his eyes to the rug, "I need your help. It may seem... foolish at first, but I need you to promise me you'll help, regardless."

"Yes, of course. What can I do for you?"

Gaara paused, then with another sigh stated, "I don't know how to sleep."

Ayumi blinked. "You don't know how? Or you can't get to sleep?"

"No, I don't know how."

She blinked again. "Excuse my rudeness, Gaara-sama, but how do you not know how to sleep?"

Gaara smiled ruefully to himself, his eyes catching the mattress she had lain out. The colorful silk blankets had a sheen that danced in the light of the lantern, reminding him of her own dancing. She followed his gaze, felt her heart rush slightly again as worried thoughts crossed her mind, then offered him a seat there. He thanked her and sat, looking at her expectantly. Ayumi removed the hairbrush from the tin and put it back in its place before joining him.

"Ayumi, you are not from Sunakagure, so it is expected you would not know," He spoke quietly, the low pitch of his voice drifting through inner emotions as easily, though just as mysteriously, as the breeze. "The Shukaku demon was sealed within my unborn body; my mother died giving birth to me, cursing me with the name of Gaara."

Here, he peeled back the edge of a rug, and drew three characters into the sand with his finger. Ayumi read them aloud, now calmed from her initial surprise, "Ga...Ai...Ra... Gaara..."

"The demon who only loves himself."

"That's terrible!" she said, before she could catch herself.

"It is. Or rather, it was. I lived it to the fullest. The only one who mattered was myself. I loved only myself, and I fought only for myself. Times are different now... things change."

"This... this demon... the Shukaku. It is not inside you now?"

"No; it was drawn out of me. Ah... it is a long story, and one you probably wouldn't believe, but that doesn't matter. The point I'm trying to make is this: When the demon was inside me, I could not sleep, for if I did, it would take over my mind. Now that it is gone-" he broke off as an unexpected yawn consumed him, "Oh, now what was that? Why did I do that?"

Ayumi laughed gently through her words, "You've yawned, Gaara-sama. You're tired."

"Yes," he agreed absently, as if still trying to understand the yawn, "yes, I am. So very tired."

"So, let me get this straight... you've rarely, if ever, slept up until this point in your life, and now that the demon is out of your body, you are afraid of sleeping, because you've adapted to function on no sleep... I assume this demon must have made up for it. But you need to sleep now, because you don't have the demon in you, but you're afraid to," she caught herself rambling and asked, "A-am I right?"

"Exactly. That is why you must not tell anyone about my coming here to you. I'm the head of this village; I can't be seen with such a weakness."

"Fear isn't always a weakness, you know. But I think I can help you," she said, turning to face him more fully, "How long has it been since the demon's been gone?"

Gaara closed his eyes to think, and found it difficult to reopen them when he had found the answer. "I've been back here... three days... but it's been gone nearly a week now, I think. My brain feels sluggish; is that normal?"

Instinctively, Ayumi wrapped her arms around the Kazekage and pulled his head down onto her shoulder. "Yes, Gaara-sama. You're falling asleep. See? It's not that hard."

At hearing that all of these sensations were a part of falling asleep, he tensed for a moment. He extracted himself from her arms and stared intently at her. "What will happen when I fall asleep?" The innocent child of his distant past spoke through these words.

"Well... usually not much. Your body rests itself after the day's activity. Your mind, too. Sometimes, though not always, you'll dream. That, unfortunately, is something I cannot properly explain to you, but it will seem like you are awake, though everything is surreal." Some dreams are bad, she thought, but it would probably be best not to worry him about it. I wonder why he came to me?

Gaara processed the information slowly, through the descending fog in his brain. "You said I'm falling asleep on my own, Ayumi-chan?"

"Well, yes... How else would you do it?" It took her a moment to realize he honestly did not know, and she silently cursed herself for sounding somewhat condescending.

"I do not know. I am, however, sorry that I have bothered you this late in the night. I thought you might be able to hypnotize me into sleeping."

Both parties blushed, Ayumi moreso.

"I'm afraid I don't know any dances to put people to sleep. I could sing you a lullaby, though, if you like."

"It won't be necessary, but I appreciate it; once my legs decide to- (another yawn) Oh my, there I go again. Once my legs start listening to my brain, I'll be on my way..." Gaara stared intently at his legs. Why did they feel like they were made of lead, and not flesh? And this yawning... it seemed like every time he did, the fog in his head grew thicker.

"Gaara-sama," Ayumi said with quiet authority, "I do not think it wise for you to leave. You are seconds away from falling asleep; if you attempt to walk back, I doubt you would make it past the enterance to the fairgrounds."

He turned to face her, mulling this over, muttering incoherently something about not wanting to be a burden. His eyelids were half-closed at best, and his limbs hung lifeless at the joints.

"I-i-it may be o-out of my place, Gaara-sama," she began, trying to conceal the timidness in her voice, "but I believe it best if you, uh, stayed here. You may sleep in my bed, and I will stay on the floor here, in case you need anything."

She had him halfway standing as his muffled protests started, but the limbs lazily did their part to shrug off the cloak she was making shy attempts to remove. His garb underneath was simple and undyed, and it contrasted somehow with his rust-colored mess of hair and the darkened rings around his eyes . Pulling back the blankets, she eased his wearied body into the center of the mattress, where he settled himself easily with a content sigh. Almost without realizing, a slight smile was creeping in through the corner of Ayumi's lips as she pulled his feet free of the socks. She folded them together and put them, along with his cloak, on the back of her chair.

As she pulled the blankets back up to cover him, his hand weakly protested hers. Forcing his eyes open again, he half-whispered, "Stay with me... here. I'm so afraid..." and trailed off into slumber. Ayumi stood over him, frozen as she was, and contemplated the request.

She was normally an early riser, so there was little fear of being caught in a compromising situation. And it was hard to deny she liked the idea of the Kazekage coming to her for help specifically. He seemed to be about her age, maybe a year older or so. The more she looked at him, the more butterflies flew inside her stomach.

With a slight shake to the head, she dispelled the frivolous thoughts, and blew out the lantern. In the dark, she changed into her nightgown and cautiously slipped under the blankets. Ayumi looked at the boy lying next to her. This is odd, she thought. Nice, but definitely odd.