Love's Misconstruities
Chapter 15
Sounds echoed in the all-encompassing darkness. '…Who… …Who are they…calling?' Soon a dim light pierced through, allowing the recognition once again of a hand. '…Whose hand…is this? What? It's just my hand again,' came confused thoughts. '…My hand… …Me…?' the entity realized, lowering his fingers to reveal a small boy, in pain and crouched all alone, crying in the midst of a vast nothingness. 'I… Who am I…?' The image of the boy approached closer and closer, and with it came clarity. 'I am…'
A grinning blonde-haired boy now entered the picture and put a hand on the crying boy's shoulder. 'I am…not alone,' he realized as he opened his eyes to see a familiar face.
"…Gaara…" the blonde uttered with a small, fatigued smile.
He looked a bit different than Gaara remembered, but it was definitely him. "Naruto..." Gaara's gaze moved from the boy's to all around him. He was shocked by what he saw. "…This is…"
"Everyone ran here to come save you!" Naruto explained with a chuckle as he blinked away the tears in his eyes.
It was true. A large group from Konoha were present, but they were vastly outnumbered by the few dozen Suna shinobi. Kankurou and Temari both were present as well.
'I really… I really am wanted…needed!' he realized as he gazed around at all the smiling faces. A few were even in tears, so grateful that he was alive. …There was just one face which he looked for that he could not find amongst his Konoha saviors.
"Gaara-sama! Are you okay?!" Matsuri called, running through the crowd toward him.
Though it took a moment for him to answer, the wide-eyed Kazekage slowly nodded, causing the crowd to cheer in mass.
"You sure caused us a lot of trouble!" Naruto chuckled.
"I'll say," Kankurou joined in. "You had me worried, little brother."
"Who do you two think you are! Gaara is the Kazekage! Show some respect, you lowlifes!" Temari yelled, sticking up for her younger sibling before leaning in toward him, concern replacing the tenacity in her voice. "Gaara, how do you feel?" The Kazekage, still in shock, tried to stand to show her that he was fine, but pain racked his body. "You shouldn't start moving around yet. Your body is probably still stiff," she instructed.
In the distance, a small quarrel was brewing amongst a group of Suna kunoichi about who would be the one to protect the Kazekage the next time something like this happened. 'I can never allow such a thing to happen again. Somehow, I must become even stronger than before. But without Shukaku, my power… No. I am strong. I will continue to defend my village…with my own strength! I am Kazekage. Everyone is depending on me.'
The kunoichi in the distance, Matsuri included, now charged their leader's way. "Move it, grunt!" one of them shouted as she pushed Naruto aside. Temari managed to barricade the unruly fangirls from her brother, but they were becoming quite a handful.
"Now that I think about it, I am just a genin, huh…" Naruto muttered, picking himself up from where he landed.
"Don't let it get to you," Kankurou consoled, kneeling down to his level. "The girls who drool over the cool and elite guys are always the weakest ones. That's how it goes."
"I think Shikamaru told me something like that once, too," the blonde recalled, glaring at the female mob now surrounding their Kazekage.
"Thank you, Naruto," Kankurou said, though he meant so much more than simply helping during this mission. Kankurou finally understood that Naruto hadn't just saved Gaara this time, but had rescued him from his loneliness as well all those years back. If this goofy blonde hadn't showed up all those years ago, Gaara may never have changed. And for that, Kankurou knew that he, Temari…maybe even all of Suna owed him. He truly was a remarkable boy.
"Save your thanks for Baa-chan over there. She's the one who saved Gaara with that amazing medical jutsu," Naruto explained, referring to the Suna elder kunoichi…the one who had sealed Shukaku inside Gaara nearly sixteen years ago...and the one who had made up for it by bringing him back from the dead.
Everyone became silent as they took in Naruto's words and watched the still figure which Sakura held in her arms. Naruto grinned and spoke once again, not quite understanding.
"She's just a little tired and fell asleep. But when she gets back to the village, she'll be good as-"
"No, you're wrong," Kankurou corrected.
"What do you mean I'm wrong?"
"That wasn't a medical ninjutsu at all. That was a tensei ninjutsu. Chiyo-baa is dead."
Naruto's grin promptly disappeared. "Wh…what are you talking about?"
"It's a ninjutsu that allows you to bring back the dead…in exchange for your own life," Kankurou said, going on to explain the development of Chiyo's forbidden technique. Naruto went utterly silent for a long while as Ebizou, Chiyo's brother, and Sakura shared a few words.
"Naruto…you really are a strange person. You have the power to change people," Temari began after another silent moment. "Chiyo-baa-sama was always saying that she didn't care what happened to the village. She wasn't the type of person who would do this for Gaara."
"Chiyo-baa-sama has placed the future in both your and Gaara's hands. A splendid end, befitting a true shinobi," Kakashi went on to explain.
"Yeah…just like the Third," Naruto sadly realized.
"…That's right," Kakashi acknowledged.
"Yeah… Her dream. I know exactly what she's talking about now!"
'Chiyo-baa-sama… I never blamed you for your role in sealing Shukaku inside me. You always seemed to hate the times and lived these past few years in seclusion, cursing the direction the council was taking the village and turned your back on it. You highly opposed my succession to becoming the next kazekage, yet you wound up sacrificing your life for Suna…and for me. Thanks…will never be enough for what you have done here today. All I can do is promise that your sacrifice was not in vain,' Gaara swore as he once again tried to stand.
"Gaara-sama-" Matsuri protested with worry, grabbing hold of his arm.
"I'm fine," he insisted as he shook off her hold, though his trembling body clearly contradicted his words. It was then that Naruto grabbed his other elbow and the two exchanged a quick glance. Had it been anyone else, Gaara would probably have shrugged them off as well, but this boy had saved his life in so many ways already...accepting this small bit of help was nothing compared to that. Assuring himself that he would somehow return the favor someday, Gaara allowed his friend to steady him. "Everyone… Send your prayers to Chiyo-baa-sama," Gaara requested.
Everyone lowered their heads and stood there for several silent minutes until their Kazekage raised his and ordered everyone back to the village.
The next day, they had a grand funeral for the fallen heroes of the massacre. After all was said and done, the Konoha shinobi, the Kazekage, and his siblings stood by the entrance to the village.
"We'll see you, then," Kankurou bid.
"S-sure thing!" Naruto awkwardly replied. He and Gaara stared at each other in silence for a moment before Naruto finally spoke up. "N-normally, I guess this is where you're supposed to shake hands and leave, but I'm, you know, not very good at that kind of thing! So, I'll just-" the boy stopped as the red-head extended a hand.
'I'm not quite sure what to do in these situations either…but if this is what is supposed to happen, it is the least I can do to show my gratitude.'
A small blush crept onto the blonde's cheeks, yet he still didn't reciprocate. Gently, Gaara urged his hand forward with a small gust of sand, bringing a shy smile to the boy's lips.
'Naruto… Thank you…for everything.' Gaara looked back to the blonde's companions and found that everyone was smiling at them…even Neji. 'Because of you, I was able to achieve what others had deemed impossible. Someday, I know you will, too. And when that happens, I will greet you in this same manner…as honored allies, one kage to another.'
Translations/Term Definitions...in no particular order:
- Tensei: "Revival/Reincarnation."