Story image by tariah23 . deviantart . com
I have her permission to use it.
No betareading.
© "Naruto" is created and copyrighted by Kishimoto Masashi, and owned by Shueisha Publishing Co., Ltd. and Studio Pierrot.
Enjoy.
o0o0o0o
Alive And Victorious
Chapter 15. Return of the old friend
The sky behind the office's window darkened and the spirals of sand rose from the ground, merging with the enormous clouds of the sand dust. The gusty wind was rattling against the solid windows, and Kashiko interrupted her work to take the closer look at what was going on outside.
Matsuri took out her obento and watched the older woman, who shook her head at the nature's rage. Kotori wasn't with them; she had been dismissed from the work three weeks earlier, right after the chuunin exam.
"I hope the sandstorm subsides fast," Kashiko complained with a slight wince. "I don't want to stay here until tomorrow."
Matsuri didn't comment on her words since she knew both of them were fully aware of the magnitude of the oncoming storm.
"It's pretty much powerful," she only said and ate her onigiri, while Kashiko sighed deeply and walked towards her desk. The office door opened and Kankurou went inside, shaking the sand dust off his hood.
"Seems we have hell of a sandstorm coming," he announced and switched the light on. "I can see you're keeping your cool, ladies. Excellent."
"What news are you bringing, young man?" Kashiko asked in a maternal tone.
"The village is secured but I don't think you'd be able to go back home right now," the puppeteer said and walked towards Kazekage's room. "Excuse me."
He went inside and the noise of the muffled conversation could be heard. In the meantime Matsuri finished her meal and approached the round window. The visibility was getting low quickly and the girl was sure it would be reduced to zero soon. All the villagers were certainly stuck in their houses or businesses, wherever the storm found them. Matsuri felt really sorry for ANBU guards who were on duty this afternoon. Actually, the possibility that any enemy would attack the village during such a huge sandstorm was rather low, but ninjas must never be caught off their guard.
"Matsuri-chan—" Kashiko uttered but the sound of the door opening interupted her. The Kazekage entered the room, Kankurou following him.
"The work's over!" the puppeteer announced, and Kashiko frowned at him. The Kazekage confirmed his brother's words with a nod.
"The power outage is only a matter of time," he explained. "Let's call it a day."
A jounin walked inside the office and greeted everyone.
"Kazekage-sama," he uttered, "the storm is still growing stronger. Please do not leave the Tower. The power outage—"
"I am aware," Gaara interupted. "Did Baki and Suname return already?"
"Yes, Kazekage-sama."
"I want an immediate report on every possible serious damage," Gaara demanded and the jounin nodded formally before he exited the office.
"Oh, my," Kashiko sighed. "I was afraid it would come to that. What are we going to do?"
The light flickered and they froze still, but after several seconds the flickering stopped.
"I can't go to the jounins' quarters now. I'll be downstairs with the guards," Kankurou said to his brother." And you? Are you going to stay here?"
"I'll be in my room in case you need me," Gaara answered. "Tell Komaza that I have left."
"Sure," the puppeteer confirmed shortly. "Kashiko-san, Matsuri, if the storm continues, guest rooms are at your disposal," he added, and the assistant smiled with relief.
"Thank you very much, Kankurou-sama. I think I'll take the reports to the archive then," she said, taking the documents from her desk. "Kazekage-sama, I will take the messages to the Aviary tomorrow."
Gaara nodded in reply and Kashiko left, humming quietly. Kankurou followed her, glancing at his brother over his shoulder, the devilish smirk curving his lips. Matsuri pretended not to notice, even if she growled inwardly at what she had thought wasn't funny at all. Since Gaara had said he was going to his room, she was the only one staying in the office. Excellent! Huffed, the girl turned to the window and watched the desert sand dancing wildly behind the plexiglass. The sky was growing darker and darker, and probably even the toughest ANBU ninjas had to seek shelter not to have their bodies minced and chafed by the swishing sand.
She could hear Gaara's light footsteps approaching her from behind, until he stopped next to her and glimpsed through the window as well.
"The storm seems not to subside at all," he commented in his usual aloof tone. "Let's go to my room."
Surprised, Matsuri turned her head sharply. The redhead frowned at her expression.
"You can stay here, of course," he announced neutrally, and she quickly shook her head.
"No, I didn't mean that—" she broke off, her thoughts racing. "Um, let's go then," she added uncertainly, trying not to show her curiosity. "I didn't finish my work, though..."
"So didn't I," he said, glancing back at the door to his room. "Fortunately, there's nothing urgent to fix."
"Yeah," Matsuri nodded absent-mindedly. "Um, Gaara..." she opened. "I think... I think you don't really need my help in the office any longer, do you?"
The redhead glimpsed at her before he answered. They left the office and headed for the residential part of the building, where Matsuri had never been before.
"That's true, I don't," the Kazekage answered at last. "Actually, I was going to relieve you earlier, but I found this task hard to complete."
Her interest aroused, she shot a questioning glance at him. Before he could explain it further, a jounin appeared in the corridor and stopped in front of them, reporting the current situation to his superior. Gaara informed the jounin he would be actually staying in his room, and the couple resumed walking. Matsuri wished the redhead would explain what he had said earlier, but he seemed to ponder over something in silence. They entered the residential part of the building and went down the hall, not exchanging a word, and Gaara came to a halt in front of the door, opening it without hesitation. The girl was quite surprised since the hall they've been walking down, let alone the door itself, looked pretty much ordinary and she would have never thought they would lead to Kazekage's quarters. Probably, it served the purpose of misdirection, plus Gaara, as if she knew him, certainly didn't set great store by his living conditions.
The redhead switched the light on and Matsuri tripped inside, glimpsing around curiously, but at the same time pretending she didn't feel uncertain or nervous at all. The room would have looked quite ordinary, cosy even, as if not for noticeable lack of anything personal. There was a desk and a few chairs standing by the wall, but no books, no photos, no letters or papers, and no plants sat on it. There was only an empty mug standing on the window sill, and in the corner of the room the familiar shape of the gourd.
The wind rattled against the window and Matsuri came closer swiftly, only to notice the sky was even darker than before. Visibility was already close to zero, so the girl turned her back to the outer world.
"Well, I will stop coming to the office from now on," she opened, referring to their previous conversation. "Actually, I'm still surprised I managed to do the job properly, but maybe there is more to me than meets the eye..." She laughed shortly, and Gaara only glanced at her wordlessly, his look quite meaningful. "Okay, okay, it seems you've seen something in me, what I haven't," she defended herself in a light tone. "But the truth is, I'm not cut to work in the office, even if it was wonderful to see you every day—" she broke off, suddenly realizing the admission that tumbled off her lips all too easily. "Er, anyway, I'm—"she broke off again, uttering a short, high-pitched squeal, when the light flickered and the darkness fell.
"The power's off," Gaara announced calmly. "We need to turn on the power generator."
"Doesn't it turn on automatically?" Matsuri wondered aloud.
"Only in the public part of the Tower," the redhead replied, and Matsuri could hear his quiet footsteps. The door gave an almost inaudible creak when he opened it, and the girl left the room quickly. The corridor was even darker, but Gaara led her without hesitation. They entered a room and went down several stairs, then another door creaked, and they went into another room. From the sounds of their footsteps echoing from the walls, Matsuri could tell the room must have been rather small. Gaara stepped forward but before he could turn the generator on, the loud voices could be heard from the centre of the building. The couple couldn't distinguish the words, but there was something really alarming in them, and Matsuri felt her throat constricting. She quickly caught Gaara's hand and he squeezed her fingers briefly, still listening to the noises.
"Gaara? Gaara, where did you go? Damn it!" Kankurou's angry voice reverberated in the corridor. "This is emergency!"
o0o0o0o
Matsuri and Sari were waiting in front of the Academy building with several other chuunins, who were going to undergo a basic medical ninjutsu training. The girls sat down on the stairs and shared their whispered comments and beliefs on the last shocking events. Most of the missions were cancelled, number of patrols extended, security tightened, and on the top of everything, the Kazekage was going to leave the village and head for the distant Tetsu no Kuni, where something even the oldest ninjas hadn't heard of was going to happen; namely, the Five Kage Summit.
Matsuri was surprised and worried by the news, and many more experienced ninjas saw a presage of war in all of this. The reason for the summit was unknown for most of the villagers and low-ranked ninjas, but she knew more than the majority because of her close relationship with Gaara. Naturally, she was bound to keep it secret, and that was why she pretended not to know anything.
"I can't believe he didn't tell you anything," Sari insisted in a whisper. "Something must have escaped!"
"From Gaara?" Matsuri shook her head. "Never. He knows how to keep secrets."
Sari narrowed her eyes.
"Aren't you curious?" she asked in accusatory tone.
"Of course I am," Matsuri replied quietly, rolling her eyes. "But he said he couldn't tell me anything, period." Before Sari could press even more, Matsuri added quickly: "If I learn anything, I will come to you immediately. I promise."
Sari snorted impatiently and straightened, spotting the jounin who was teaching them medical ninjutsu basics. Both girls stood up and joined the group, but Sari suddenly stopped right in front of the entrance. The chuunin walking behind her ran into her, and growled with irritation.
"What's wrong with you?" he chided, and shoved her aside. Sari didn't answer, all her attention drawn to a distant group of a few ninjas, walking down the street.
"Matsuri," he nudged her friend in the elbow. "Yakku's back!"
Matsuri stood on her toes, craning her neck to see her friend... well, former friend. It seemed it was really him, even though he slightly changed during last two months they hadn't seen him. His hair was definitely shorter, and it seemed his gaze became even more unfriendly and hard.
"They were probably called back from the border," Sari uttered in a quiet voice. "I wonder... does it really mean there will be a war?"
Matsuri didn't answer. With her cheerful personality, it was hard for her to picture herself fighting in the actual war, let alone see her friends dying.
"We have to go," she only said, drawing Sari inside the building. "You'll see him later."
"What about you?" Sari asked, taken aback. "You not going to see him at all?"
"I doubt he would like to see me," Matsuri said with a half-shrug.
They had to cease talking and concentrate on the lecture. The medical ninjutsu was rather hard to master, and after a few hours they were really tired. When they finally left the building, heading home, Matsuri decided to start the conversation which was put off definitely for too long.
"Sari, can you, um, go with me to my place?" she opened hesitantly, and her friend sent her a puzzled look.
"Sure," she replied shortly, still looking around; apparently, she hoped she would spot Yakku somewhere.
The girls reached the house where Matsuri lived, and went to her apartment. Even before they began to climb upstairs, Matsuri took a deep breath.
"Sari, I think we need... to talk," she stressed. "About... about Gaara."
"Do we?" Sari inquired, her eyebrow raised. "Is there a problem? Or did you just remember he had said something about the summit?"
"It's not about the summit at all," Matsuri sighed. "It's about you... How you... you know... how you used to be."
"Meaning you want to know if I still fancy him," Sari said bluntly, and Matsuri flinched a bit.
"Yeah, I think that's the point... but there is something more to it."
They reached the last floor, and Sari stayed silent until Matsuri opened the door. They walked into her apartment and she closed the door carefully. She didn't even do as much as unfasten her pouch. She only settled down on her bed and patted the spot next to her. Sari sat down by her friend, and watched her mutely.
"First of all, I wanted to say I'm sorry. I insisted I had no eyes for Gaara, and now you probably think I'm a liar." When Sari didn't comment on that, Matsuri continued nervously. "I want you to know I was not lying then. I didn't like him the way you did, really. But then... it changed." She swallowed.
"After you returned from the border?" Sari asked quietly, her voice calm.
"No... Yes. No!" Matsuri shook her head. "I definitely missed him, and I was disappointed he had just ignored me. I even started thinking he got advantage of me... of my endeavours to change people's minds. But then we fought on the training ground—"
"You fought?" Sari interrupted. "You've never told me about that!"
Matsuri blushed.
"That's because it was the first time when I saw—" She averted her eyes. "When I... Well, I suddenly realized what you had meant when you said that he was handsome. I just... couldn't take my eyes off him—" She broke off, her heart pounding at the memory. "I didn't know what happened. I was... confused... and scared. I was trying to get rid of those feelings, to no avail. I didn't want to stand in your way, but I kept... dreaming about him. Secretly. And then... Akatsuki attacked... and I finally realized—"
"That you love him," Sari finished, and Matsuri ducked her head, not knowing how to reply. For a time being they sat there in silence, until Sari uttered a small sigh and resumed speaking. "I've been aware of majority of those things you have told me. I could see your interest in him steadily growing. It was obvious that you didn't know what to do with it. That you were trying to resist your... whatever it was. And it was obvious his interest in you was growing either."
"I'm sorry," Matsuri caught her friend's wrist. "I didn't want to hurt you—"
"And you didn't. At least not as much as you thought you did," Sari explained at Matsuri's surprised expression. "Because..." The long-haired girl slowly looked away. "There is something about me you didn't know either."
Their fingers entwined, Sari continued.
"I liked Gaara-sama, yes. But then I kind of... noticed... someone more interesting."
"No one is more interesting than Gaara!" Matsuri argued indignantly, and Sari giggled at her.
"Actually, there are some who certainly are," she commented. "But I'm not surprised you didn't notice."
"And who was that? Do I know him?" Matsuri questioned, her curiosity piqued.
Sari scratched the back of her head with embarrassment.
"You do," she nodded, her cheeks flushed. "It's... well, it's Gaara-sama's brother."
Matsuri frowned.
"You mean... Kankurou-sama?"
Sari nodded, laughing nervously. Matsuri gaped at her, shocked. So that was why Sari didn't look bothered at all when she found out her friend was dating Gaara!
Someone knocked at the door and the girls jumped five feet high, Sari looking particularly frightened at the thought someone could have heard her admission. They got up and Matsuri approached the entrance carefully. The knocking repeated, and she finally opened the door, gasping at the sight of Yakku standing there.
"Hi," he grinned at her. "Can I come in?"
Matsuri could only nod and move aside to let him in. Sari threw herself at him and hugged him, laughing a bit too loudly to make it sound convincing.
"Long time, no see!" she beamed, stepping back. "I bet you have many stories to tell!"
He only smirked, and Matsuri thought to herself she had never seen that kind of smirk on him before. It was... cynical? Cold? She couldn't pinpoint it, but she certainly didn't feel comfortable while seeing it. The old Yakku seemed to be gone.
They started chatting, and the impression faded. Yakku was rather unfriendly from the very first moment Matsuri had met him, and she thought she must have just grown unaccustomed to his attitude while he was gone. During their conversation it was more and more obvious he wanted to talk to Matsuri alone, and eventually Sari took leave of them. Matsuri assumed they would go back to the casual talk, but just after Sari's leaving he inquired bluntly:
"So you're going out with the Kazekage, aren't you?"
Matsuri didn't answer, her mouth slightly open, when she considered her options. She was rather certain he knew the answer to his question, yet he still asked it. What did he expect?
"I am," she replied warily, not willing to elaborate on the topic.
"Are you happy?"
Matsuri sighed.
"Why are you asking such questions?" she inquired wearily. "I'm trying to avoid talking about Gaara with you."
His eyes narrowed ever so slightly at their superior's name, but he controlled himself perfectly.
"You don't have to," he said conversationally.
Matsuri slanted a glance at him. He probably wanted her not to feel guilty because of her refusal, but she still thought not talking about Gaara would be better in this situation.
"I... appreciate your consideration," she said carefully. "But we have plenty of things to talk about, and Gaara is not on the top of the list. Tell me, how was it on the border? Have you made any friends? Did you miss us at all?"
She reddened at the look Yakku had sent her.
"I can't say I made any friends, but I've certainly met some interesting people," he only said. "People who told me some things I did not know."
Matsuri waited patiently for the continuation.
"I'm sorry I'm going to hurt you," he said at last, even if there was no sadness in his voice. "But you have the full right to know. He should have told you. It's obvious he didn't, so I'm going to do that, even if you're going to hate me for it."
"I have no idea what you're—"
"I'm talking about your grandfather," Yakku explained calmly, and Matsuri's eyes widened. "About his death."
"Grandpa's death?" she repeated, unable to solve the mistery behind his puzzling words. "What about it?"
"Your boyfriend murdered him."
Matsuri blinked at the words. She couldn't comprehend what this was all about. Eventually, she felt the disbelief and anger rising from within her. Such an awful allegiation! How dared he!
Yakku raised both hands at her expression, as if trying to stop her.
"It's understandable you're shocked and disbelieving. I would be the same if I was in your place," he recited quickly. "But this is all true. I've met an old jounin who told me this. He told me that everyone was surprised you had no qualms about associating with... him. They couldn't believe you simply didn't know the truth."
"Grandpa died on the mission," Matsuri protested, her fists clenched. "And you... how dare you— She trembled with fury. "You come here, babbling some nonsense, and all of that because you're simply jealous! I can't believe that!"
"It's all true," he insisted. "Ask Mukade or Reki! Ask the Kazekage himself! It might be, of course, that he don't even remember your grandfather's name or face, if he was out of control—"
Matsuri jumped to her feet. A few steps, and she was next to the door already. She jerked at the doorknob and flung the door wide open.
"Go away," she seethed, her breathing hitched.
"But I'm talking the truth—"
"Go away!" she echoed hoarsely. "You just... I've never—"
Her voice broke, and she only shook her head in silence.
"Just ask the Kazekage," Yakku pressed, slowly retreating towards the door. "You have the right to know. You can't turn away from truth!"
Matsuri slammed the door just after he went through the threshold. She kicked the door and groaned when her foot hurt. Tears of pain and anger escaped her eyes. To think someone would fall so low... to use his knowledge of Gaara's past misdeeds against her... It was just cruel.
Unreasonably cruel.
o0o0o0o
Gaara didn't know what to do. Since the date had started it became obvious Matsuri's mind was wandering somewhere else. She tried to hide it, but from her distant gaze and unusual reticence he could easily tell she was thinking of something. Or someone.
At first he tried to ignore it, hoping it would vanish soon. His experience in drawing people into conversation was rather poor, but he tried his best, to no avail. Matsuri seemed not to even notice his efforts.
He scoffed at himself inwardly, when he felt the sting of the slight anger. Recently, they weren't seeing each other often, and it was their last date before he would set off to Tetsu no Kuni. He couldn't deny the fact that he hoped for some... more active rendezvous, but now it seemed this goal was rather far from achieving. On the other hand, he couldn't help but wonder what it was what rendered Matsuri to that absent-minded state. If she wanted to share it with him, she would have done it long before. Obviously, she preferred to keep it secret, but first she needed to learn how to hide her true feelings better.
"Matsuri?" he opened, deciding to come straight to the point. Her onyx eyes, blurried and perturbed, slowly gazed in his direction. "What is it that is bothering you so much?" Gaara continued, and her eyes widened, the confusion and trepidation momentarily flickering over her features.
"M-me?" she stuttered, blinking and leaning backwards a bit.
"Do you see anyone else here?" he answered calmly, and the soft blush adorned Matsuri's cheeks in return, when she lowered her gaze and shook her head. "What is it then?"
To his astonishment, and concern, her lower lip began to tremble. She tried to conceal it by biting her lip, but it didn't work. The redhead frowned, and put his palms on Matsuri's shoulders to make her stand face to face with him. It was apparent that whatever troubled his girlfriend must have been something rather big, so he decided not to let it slip.
He tried to lift her chin with his fingertips, eliciting a half-moan, half-cry from the kunoichi, who quickly turned her head aside, although not quickly enough to let him miss the suspicious shine in her eyes.
"Matsuri," he pressed, his voice sharper. "Tell me, what is it?"
Sniffling, she stepped forward and hid her face in his chest. Surprised, he stood still for a moment, before his arms wrapped around her in a tardy motion.
Sobbing into his shoulder and wetting his coat with her tears, Matsuri shook her head, and Gaara thought he knew what this particular gesture was meant to express, but he refused to comply.
"I'm leaving tomorrow," he said quietly. "I need to be absolutely sure that the village - the entire village - is safe and sound." With those words, he withdrew from her, attempting to catch her gaze, but she resisted. "I need to know you are fine, and now you are definitely far from that."
"Oh, Gaara..." she cried. "Why people are so cruel?"
Baffled by her question, he thought it wasn't what he would exactly call a reasonable explanation.
"Who is cruel?" he demanded softly, gripping her arms. "Did someone hurt you?"
Matsuri wrenched away, her expression helpless and despondent.
"I can't talk with you about it!" she rejected, and the redhead crossed his arms over his chest.
"Who are you going to talk about it with, then?" he asked quite impatiently, masking the hurt with his trademark poker face. She did not reply; not that he expected her to. With a sigh, he stepped closer to his girlfriend, careful not to touch her again. "Matsuri, whatever it is, we will face it together," he stated firmly, hoping it would encourage her to share her concerns with him, but it was not the case, apparently. Matsuri shot a quick glance at him, but still didn't utter a word.
A few people passed by, glimpsing at the couple curiously, and Gaara decided he didn't like how the two of them must have looked like. Matsuri was crying, and he stood in front of her with his arms crossed, confused, worried and irritated. And her tears weren't even his fault, damn it!
"Matsuri," he said calmly, patiently, even if his patience was running out. "I don't know what to do."
The girl bit her lip, and her eyes finally met his for a time longer than a few seconds.
"I'm sorry, Gaara," she said, looking defeated. "But this is very, very hard for me to say."
She drew in the long, heavy breath, and he waited in silence for the continuation.
"What I said earlier about people being cruel... Actually, I meant someone I trusted, who told me an awful lie... a figment of his imagination," Matsuri explained, her lower lip briefly trembling. "He told me... well, that person told me that it was you who killed my grandfather."
Gaara nodded wordlessly, a small ache in his heart immediately suppressed with the power of his will. He couldn't say he wasn't expecting that at all. There were still many people in the village who held a grudge against him, who would like to see him hurt, devastated, and maybe even dead. Which way was better to attack him than hurting his most precious people?
"But you told me your grandfather died on the mission," he said, careful to keep his voice matter-of-fact. Matsuri nodded, and the redhead swore to himself he would get from her the name of the person who tried to mess their relationship. He needed to know if it was a personal revenge or a political matter. This or either way, he simply must have known his enemies, to deal with them in his own time.
"That's what I've been always told, but that person insisted that grandfather Aoba died from your hands," the kunoichi replied, rubbing her forearms as if she was cold. "An old jounin from our village told him so."
Aoba. The name didn't mean anything to him. It didn't bring any memories, any backflashes. However, if there was really a Sunagakure jounin involved, nameless one but still a jounin, the story began to look all-too-familiar.
"Gaara?" Matsuri asked, poking him slightly in the shoulder. "What is it?"
He shook his head ever so slightly, shaking himself out of his momentary reverie.
"Can you go with me to the Tower?" he inquired, taking a first step before she could even answer. "I need to... check on something."
Confounded, the brunette followed him in silence. She seemed to be scared a bit, and looked like she wanted to give him some questions, but not a word escaped her lips. After they entered the main hall, Gaara stopped.
"Please, wait here. I'll be back in a minute," he said, and the girl blinked. "I can't take you where I am going to go," he added before she could express her doubts, and quickly went away, with a strange sensation of coldness creeping up his chest.
He went downstairs to the basement of the Tower, than walked down the long corridor. Guards were greeting him officially, shooting surprised glimpses in his direction. Swallowing nevously, he entered the secret room.
It didn't take him long to find what he was searching for. His hand twitched instinctively, crumpling the paper, when he stared at a few lines, with the burden of his past speeding back at him with its full force.
Oh, the irony of it all.
The end of chapter 15.
The next chapter: Mission 1023098
o0o0o0o
Kashiko - obviously, one of my ocs
Suname, Komaza - Suna ninjas appearing in manga
Tetsu no Kuni=Land Of Iron