I'm back from the dead! Well, okay, not the dead. Just piles and piles and piles of schoolwork. So, close enough.
Anyway! I'm sorry this was so late. It has been a little over a month since I last updated. I know, I suck. D:
Well, enjoy and review!
"The best proof of love is trust." - Joyce Brothers
"We'll stop here for the night," Gaara announced about two hours after leaving the village. The five of us came to halt to look around at our surroundings.
We were still in Fire Country territory, so there were still miles of foliage left to venture through. If I still hadn't been somewhat terrified of the redhead, I would've argued about stopping. The sun wasn't completely down yet, which left us more time to continue.
"No complaints here," Kankuro muttered, shifting his puppets on his back. "Besides, I'm pretty hungry."
"We just ate before we left their house," Temari scolded, jutting her chin toward Kyan and me. "How can you be hungry already?"
Giving her a quick eye-roll, the puppeteer turned his back toward her and placed the large, white-wrapped object against a tree trunk. "You know, Temari, some of us like to keep our figure, so we don't eat that much."
"Excuse me? You don't eat that much?"
While they bickered back and forth, I swung my backpack over my shoulder, searching around for the tarp we had used a few days ago. Frowning to myself, I began to pull everything out: my Courier-Nin outfit, a hairbrush, clothes I'd brought for the Suna heat, a toothbrush, extra socks, make-up, pencils, and identification cards. However, there was no tarp.
"Damn, Haketa, did you pack enough things?" Kankuro muttered, gazing at all my belongings from over my shoulder. I could feel the embarrassment on my face.
"Obviously not," I replied, standing up straight. "I forgot that tarp."
"That's all right," Gaara interjected, tilting his head back to look up at the trees. "It seems there are enough leaves still on the trees to cover us if it does rain."
I sighed, allowing my shoulders to slump, and gathered everything into my backpack. Kankuro chuckled as he stretched his arms over his head. "Don't look so upset, Haketa. Everyone can be forgetful sometimes."
I didn't reply to him. I was too upset with myself. If we truly had needed the tarp, it would've been my fault that we didn't have it. I should have checked, double-checked, and triple-checked that I had everything we could possibly need before we left. Looking at my backpack, though, I wondered if I would've even had enough space inside for it along with all my other things.
()()()
Only a few hours later, everyone (except Gaara) was beginning to feel somewhat drowsy. Kyan and Temari huddled close to the fire we'd started, using their body heat, Kyan's blanket, and the embers to keep themselves warm.
Gaara sat off to the side, staring into the blaze in thought. I couldn't help but watch him at random moments. When his expression wasn't completely emotionless, his mouth would press into an even deeper frown and his nose would wrinkle, as if something upsetting had crossed his mind.
Kankuro mimicked his brother in a way. He, too, stared thoughtfully into the fire, but the way he did it, well…I'm not exactly sure how to describe it. His mouth twitched to the side, telling me he was chewing on the inside of his cheek, a habit I figured out he had when trying to make a decision. He sat with his legs crossed in front of him, his back bent over, and his elbows resting on his legs. He rested his right cheek in his palm and chewed on his left.
I sat on the opposite side of him, closer to the other two girls. Trying to keep myself awake, I drew random animals in the dirt. My favorite tiny picture turned out to be a flower-like cat-thing. Personally, I thought it was adorable. Kyan had giggled at it, though.
As the night dragged on, parts of my memory started to go. I remember glancing up at Kankuro, meeting his gaze, then rushing to look back down at my deformed flower-cat. Then, I remember Kyan and Temari falling into each other, creating a small pile of sleep. The last thing I remember was sitting up suddenly, noting the died-out fire and an attractive-smelling shirt falling from my body.
"Kankuro?" I whispered into the darkness. The only reply was the snoring of two girls. "Gaara?"
I grabbed onto the shirt and held it up to my body. It seemed to engulf me, telling me that it belonged to Kankuro. But where did they go?
Pulling the fabric over my frame, I hurried to my backpack and gripped a few small weapons. I wasn't even sure where to start looking until I came across a footprint. I bent down and gently ran my palm over it, watching the grains of dirt fall into it. A fresh one, no doubt.
Cold, misty air painfully smacked against my face as I jumped from branch to branch, following the direction that the footprints on the ground had pointed to. The air filling my lungs stung, but I ignored it for the moment, quickening my pace.
Finally, I came across something, or actually, someone. A lone girl hiding behind a large tree trunk, gasping for air. I stopped suddenly to walk toward her, but when I got too close, she threw a Senbon at me, nicking my leg.
"Back off," she panted, glaring at me. Her voice punched hard at my gut.
"Serisu?" I whispered. "What the hell are you doing here?"
I squinted my eyes to get a better look at her. Blood peeked out from various cuts on her body and her lip had been busted open. Her clothes had been ripped and torn, leaving her in almost nothing. A neon green bra flashed out at me.
"Haketa, get away from her!" Kankuro's voice echoed from an unknown place. Distracted, I glanced around for any sign of him or Gaara.
Before I had a chance, Serisu let out a struggled cry and tackled me back onto the ground. Rocks dug painfully into the back of my head and body. She doubled her hand into a fist and pounded me in the temple twice before I grabbed onto her wrist.
"KONOHA SCUM!"
A wave of sand pulled her to the side and pinned her down next to me. I stayed on my back, trying to fight off the sense of dizziness that consumed me. Feet landed next to me and I was helped onto my own feet.
"Are you okay?" Kankuro breathed, holding me up with one hand and inspecting my face and head with the other. I nodded quickly, swatting his hands away.
"I'm fine. What's going on?" I demanded to know as I looked at Serisu's struggling body. As soon as Kankuro let me go, I started to falter, so I grabbed onto his arm for balance.
"She attempted a surprise attack while you were asleep," Gaara replied, coming from the darkness in a very creepy manner. "As of tonight, she has committed two crimes against Sunagakure."
"Two?" I repeated.
"Attacking us and…" Gaara trailed off, looking at his brother for what seemed like permission to finish.
Kankuro sighed heavily, holding me tighter to him. "She also attacked and killed a member of an allied village."
I stared at him for a very long time, listening to her grunts and name-calling. She had killed Seiji to lure us here. She had been waiting the entire time for us to show up. God.
"What is wrong with you?" I asked her, taking a step closer. My arm fell from Kankuro, but I kept my hand in his. It seemed to be the only warm thing at the moment.
Of course, she didn't answer. She just continued to glower at me. I wasn't quite sure what to say myself. I wanted to kill her right then and there, but I didn't. I had the perfect chance to do it and I was positive Gaara and Kankuro would've allowed it. But something inside me held me back.
"Gaara," I said, "what is Sunagakure's policy on people like her? Murderers, I mean."
"Considering our village is currently lacking somebody in the Kazekage position, it'll go through with the elders and the Hokage will be informed," Gaara answered, staring directly into my eyes. There was something terrifying about the way he watched me, but I knew I wasn't the one who should be terrified. "Because Seiji was a Konohagakure villager, punishment will be left up to whatever Lady Tsunade decides."
That fact sent some sort of happiness through me. Lady Hokage was a fair person, for the most part. She would give Serisu a punishment that best suited the situation.
"What'll we do with her?" Kankuro wondered.
"Aw, c'mon," Serisu cooed. "You're not going to let them treat me like this, are you, baby?"
His hand tightened around mine just enough to keep from hurting me. Pulling me away from her, he kneeled down, releasing my hand, and put his face only inches from hers. The sight pinched my heart and I bit down on my lower lip.
"Well, baby," Kankuro hissed, "after cheating on me, almost ruining my reputation, and hurting the person I care about more than I could ever care about you, I hope Lady Hokage strings you up for the birds to eat your disgusting body and I hope you rot in hell."
Both mine and Serisu's mouths fell open. Tears welled up in her eyes and spilled over instantly. It seemed his words had hurt her more than the wounds on her body. Panicked gasps came from her mouth, followed by loud wailing. Sand snaked up the back of her neck and suddenly, she was asleep.
Everything fell into a somber silence. I guess I should've felt happy after finding out Serisu was doomed to some kind of punishment for killing Seiji, but I just didn't feel that way. If someone were to ask me why, I wouldn't have an answer.
()()()
"They didn't move once," Kankuro remarked once we arrived back with Serisu's unconscious body. We placed her next to the puppets, wrapped tightly in a blanket of sand.
Temari and Kyan were in the same exhausted position they had been in when I left to find the brothers: curled up in each other, mouths hanging wide open, and snoring loudly enough to wake up bears. I wondered if we should've woken them up, but part of me decided we'd made the right choice in letting them be.
"You two sleep," Gaara ordered. "You'll need energy if we're going to finish the trip when the sun comes up."
I wanted to sleep, but I knew I was too disturbed to even try. Kankuro's hand was still holding mine with the utmost care and I was dragged over to a trunk of a tree. Only then did I realize his shirt was still on me.
"Are you okay?" he asked me, sitting down and pulling me with him. I shrugged slowly as I tried to ignore how especially heavy my eyelids felt. The night was lingering on forever.
"Y-Yeah," I muttered, hoping he didn't hear the crack in my voice. Gasping, I pulled the shirt over my head and held it to him. "I found it on me, so I just…you know, wore it."
"Keep it. It'll probably get a little colder tonight."
"Aren't you cold?"
A sarcastic smirk graced his face. "Men don't get cold."
I chuckled and shook my head, leaning against the trunk. "So, um," I started awkwardly, "when you were going off on Serisu, did you…um, well…"
"Did I mean what I said?" he finished, as if reading my mind. He stretched his arm out above my head, curling me in closer to his body. I didn't object. He seemed to be giving off more body heat than usual.
We fell into another welcomed silence. I gazed about the dark surroundings, telling that the sun was going to come up soon. Everything was getting lighter and lighter.
The cluster of three people caught my attention. Temari and Kyan had finally fallen out of each other, both now sprawled out on the ground. Gaara sat closest to Kyan, looking down at her restful face curiously. If I didn't any better, I could've sworn I saw a tiny smirk. But then again, that could've been my sleep-deprived mind playing tricks on me.
"Well, did you?" I eventually whispered to Kankuro. His head turned to look down at me. I pulled his shirt to my face, placing my head on his chest.
"I think you already know that answer."
A pair of lips pressed onto my head and a tender, familiar feeling filled my body. I closed my eyes, no longer sensing any sort of coldness on my body.
"Of course I meant it."