Love's Misconstruities
Chapter 3
The conference the following day had been utterly boring and drawn out. Even Tsunade had been fighting to stay awake, Gaara noticed with amusement, as the lords argued back and forth about such things that didn't concern him in the slightest. Still, he tried to feign interest but found his gaze drifting many a time to the Hyuuga girl across the room to his left. Several times, she had glanced his way as well and their eyes would meet for a split second before she would avert them as a blush crept upon her cheeks. Even more bizarre to Gaara, for some reason this stupid game of eye-tag amused him.
When the proceedings had finally halted for the day, Kankurou pulled his brother aside, waiting for the crowd to dissipate before speaking.
"Gaara, what's wrong?" he whispered, though the concern was still evident in his voice.
'Wrong? Nothing is wrong,' Gaara thought, surprised. "Why do you think something is wrong?"
Kankurou frowned, taking a step closer to him. "The last time I saw you this distracted was during the Chuunin Exams when you were struggling to keep Shukaku under control."
"I am in control of my demon," Gaara assured with a frown of his own.
"I know," Kankurou replied, eliciting a long stare between the two boys. "Your eyes are different from then. Right now, you look…confused; troubled somehow."
Leave it to Kankurou to be observant of his younger brother's moods. Ever since they were children, both he and Temari had always kept a watchful eye on him, and with good reason. Gaara was known for his violent mood swings, and their careful observations had saved both them and many others on countless occasions.
Eyeing his surroundings, making sure the room was empty and that there were no other presences nearby, he decided to confide in his older brother. "I had a confrontation with Hyuuga Neji last night."
At this, Kankurou's eyes widened with fear. "Gaara, you didn't…"
This earned him a cold stare. "I didn't lay a grain of sand on him."
The tension eased as Kankurou breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm sorry, I-"
"Forget it," Gaara interrupted, turning away and making for the door.
"Gaara, stop." He waited patiently as the younger boy halted and slowly turned to half-face him. Gaara met his eyes once more and could see that Kankurou truly did regret his words. "Talk to your big brother."
Why should we trust someone who doesn't trust us?! The little bastard should be punished! screamed his demon.
'No! We must have patience. If I can't trust my own brother, who can I trust?'
Wouldn't be the first time we've been betrayed by family… came a bitter reminder, dragging painful memories to the surface.
'Silence!'
"Gaara," came Kankurou's voice again, piercing his inner conversation. "Talk to me. I just want to help."
Fighting to control the twitch under his eye, he ignored Shukaku's warnings and confided in his brother about the events of the previous evening.
"That is a bit odd, but you shouldn't have been sneaking around spying on the Hyuuga family's successor. Why are you so intent on fighting her? Neji even admitted that she would lose to you, so what's with the challenge?"
"I want to…help her," Gaara admitted, with some difficulty.
"Help her? To do what?"
"Become stronger."
"Why? What concern is she to you?"
"…None. I just…want to help her. In here," he said, grasping the fabric over his heart. "It's telling me that I want to help her."
Enlightenment suddenly dawned on the older boy.
"Gaara… Heh," he chuckled, only adding to Gaara's confusion. "No wonder Neji was so pissed at you." To this, Gaara furrowed his brow, waiting for further explanation. "I should have guessed myself. All day long, staring at her…"
"What are you talking about?"
"It's okay! It's only natural. After all, you are thirteen, and she is kinda cute."
Now Gaara was becoming irritated, though he knew it was only partly from his confusion. Stepping toward his brother, he growled, "What exactly are you saying?"
Quickly, the grin on Kankurou's painted lips wilted.
"Er, well…Gaara, you…like her, don't you?"
"…I don't dislike her. I barely know her."
"Exactly! So you want to get to know her better! …Right?"
"I suppose."
"Then I think you have a crush on her, and Neji must have realized it, and he doesn't approve. Hell, for all we know she may be betrothed. To him, even."
Gaara found himself feeling quite unlike he'd ever felt before. Anger and fear pounded through his veins, similar to how he felt when he had fought Naruto nearly to the death, yet this time the fear was even greater and he had no idea why. He felt like he was on the verge of losing something great, yet he hadn't the faintest idea of what.
Hope, called a small voice from inside.
'Hope? Hope for what?'
What you desire most. What you fear you can never truly have, the voice answered.
Suddenly, the image of his uncle flashed before him, as he lay crushed and bloody at the hands of his younger self. He cringed, his eye twitching, and his hand instinctively reached for the mark on his forehead.
"Gaara!" Kankurou shouted, worry laced with fear. Before he could say anything more, the troubled boy disappeared in a cloud of sand.
Confused and afraid, he wandered aimlessly through the heights of Konoha in an attempt to calm his mind.
'What is wrong with me? Ever since I met that girl I've been feeling strange and acting differently. I've been careless…distracted…less in control of Shukaku… …But… But I still want to see her…to get to know her better, as my brother said… Why does the possibility that she's in an arranged marriage make it hurt? Do I have a 'crush' on her, like Kankurou said?'
Hours of deep contemplation went by as he wandered until he finally found himself atop the Hokage monument where a familiar face was waiting for him.
"Gaara," Temari called as she sat facing the village. With a bit of hesitation, he sat next to her. "Kankurou told me what happened," she began, earning her an angry glare from her younger brother. "He was just worried about you. Don't be upset. He won't tell anyone else." Gaara remained silent, his brow still stuck in a perpetual frown. As far as he was concerned, his business was his own and was not to be discussed by third parties. It aggravated him, but before he could dwell much more on it, his sister spoke up again. "I did some checking for you," she baited, leaning back and staring up into the late evening sky.
'Something she picked up from the lazy cloud-watcher,' he thought to himself. 'Maybe her advice is worth listening to. She does have more experience with this. Then again, she won't even admit that she and Shikamaru are dating.'
"She's not betrothed."
"She's not?" Gaara found himself asking a little too quickly, the tension in his heart finally finding the relief he'd been seeking all evening.
Temari smirked, earning her another frown. "Awe, my little brother has a crush!" she squealed, reaching over to tousle his red mop.
Though irritating, coming from Temari, he knew it was a sign of affection and let it slide.
"What should I do?" Gaara finally asked.
"Get to know her better. Go talk to her. Tutor her, if she wants. That's what your plans were from the start, right?"
"But Hyuuga Neji-"
"Screw him! If push comes to shove you'd wipe the floor with him!"
"Temari, we're not here to fight. I would never risk everything Suna has worked so hard for."
"Hm…you have a point," she admitted with a sheepish grin. "So…we need to find a way to get the two of you alone, and without Neji's knowledge. Knowing his type, he'll probably be keeping a close eye on her for as long as we're in town. Well, this leaves us no choice. We'll just have to be sneaky."
"Sneaky?"
"Ha! It'll be a true shinobi courtship! And I know just the person to help us come up with a plan," Temari said, grinning.
Gaara was suddenly nervous.
The next evening, after the long deliberations had been adjourned, three conspirators stood atop Mt. Konoha.
"Okay, all of the pieces are in place, Gaara," Shikamaru explained, Temari by his side, both wearing the same mischievous grin. They were having way too much fun with this, but strangely, Gaara found himself amused as well. He just hoped Naruto would find it in his heart to forgive him later.
Translations/Term Definitions...in no particular order:
- Mt. Konoha: ...I'm not sure if this is the correct term for it, but it's the giant cliff overlooking the village that displays the heads of all of Konoha's Hokages. I wasn't sure what to call it, so thinking of Mt. Rushmore, this is what I came up with. Creative, aren't I? .;