"Arigato," she murmured. Gaara nodded, then looked away, staring at the floor.
The two remained in comfortable silence until a badly-stifled yawn escaped Kotori's lips. Gaara turned his gaze on her to find her looking sheepishly at him.
"Sorry," she laughed awkwardly. His lip twitched upwards in amusement and the two fell into a comfortable silence again, "you know, fighting you is pretty unfair; you don't have to run about, or anything, because your sand protects you. You're like a..." Kotori thought for a moment, while Gaara stared at her with hidden curiosity, "a princess...because you get your little puppets, as in your sand, to do your work for you," Kotori murmured seeming thoroughly pleased with herself.
Gaara's eyes narrowed ever-so slightly, so much so that Kotori missed it.
"Gaara-hime..." she murmured, then smirked.
"Don't call me that," he replied.
"Why?" she questioned innocently, then added, "Gaara-hime," the smirk never leaving her face. His eyes narrowed ever-so slightly more, then he shook his head, getting up.
"Go to sleep," he stated monotonously, not looking at her. Kotori raised an eyebrow.
"Don't get moody, now Gaara-hime, it's an honour to be given such an honorific," she said teasingly. Gaara sighed.
"Go to sleep, Kotori-san," he said again. Kotori huffed.
"Fine, fine," she murmured, lying back down on the bed and staring at the dragon that was staring right back at her, "I'm glad I can paint; it's the only thing I can do, besides fighting." she mumbled absently, already falling asleep.
Gaara turned his head to look at her over his shoulder, then, when he found her snoring, he looked ahead of him, walking out of the room and leaving the door slightly open, in case something were to happen again.
Outside the window, an owl perched on the roof of the adjacent building. It hooted eerily, the white feathers glinting silver in the moonlight. It turned its head all the way around, then opened its small wings, flying off to find its prey.
During the darkest hour of the night, while everything was calm and still and only the few insomniac people were out and about, a meeting of great significance was held, one that would shape the world.
Morning arrived with the chirping of verdins and the cawing of parrots. Kotori yawned and stretched underneath the bedsheets, not willing to get up just yet. Sunlight hit her hiding frame with warm, intensely bright light. A quiet knocking on the door was heard and, when Kotori didn't respond to it, whoever it was behind the door opened it, a creaking sound echoing through the room. The scent of boiled rice and grilled fish flooded the room, causing her stomach to grumble, yet she chose to ignore it, since she felt she had not slept enough yet.
"Go away," the muffled voice of Kotori called out lazily.
"It's afternoon now, you need to get up; I can't have you sleeping all day. Especially since you haven't eaten anything since yesterday evening," Gaara's monotonous voice travelled through the air, seeming to fail in reaching Kotori's ears.
The scents of breakfast reached her nose, causing her stomach to grumble even more, yet she continued to ignore it, to which her stomach responded to by grumbling even more, as if to say "why do you do this to me?".
"Go away," she repeated, curling into herself. Gaara sighed quietly, then threw off the covers from her to find her small figure curled up in the tightest of balls. He easily lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder, Kotori going limp and still refusing to open her eyes.
"Whatever you do, I'm still going to sleep," her drowsy voice mumbled from over his shoulder. She pressed her cheek against his back, causing Gaara to stiffen at the contact for a split second, then relax again.
"We'll see," he simply replied, walking out of the room and down the brightly lit pale white corridor. The journey to wherever it was he was taking her was not in the least comfortable, but Kotori didn't care, she wanted to sleep.
It wasn't long until Gaara stopped walking. He opened a door, from the sound of things, then walked inside. Kotori was then dropped into something strikingly cold. She sat inside this cold thing and rested her head to the side, feeling the biting sensation on her cheek.
"Cold..." she mumbled, still not opening her eyes.
"Take a bath. I'll be back to get you soon, seeing as you didn't pay attention to where exactly in my house you are. If you've not bathed before I come back, you'll regret it," he stated, walking out of the bathroom and letting the door close behind him.
"I don't regret anything," Kotori mumbled to her self, "nothing at all," she repeated in the same tone. Memories of blood and torn flesh flashed in her mind, causing her to immediately open her eyes. Kotori stared down at her clothes, not wishing to know who changed her into them. She wore plain loose-fitting white trousers and a plain loose-fitting blood red shirt, probably because it was too hot to wear the reasonably tight clothing she normally did. She didn't want to think about anything. Why on earth would her mind do this to her? At least Gaara wasn't here to witness this, she thought to herself...
She got up and got out of the tub she was so rudely dumped into, then took off everything she wore, taking in the splendour that was Gaara's bathroom. It was a strange shape; opposite the door, the wall curved to meet two straight ones. The bathroom itself was a stark white, like most of his house and the ofuro she had been sitting in earlier was situated right in the middle of the room, it taking up most of the space, due to its size. Plain white shelves were randomly situated around the room, intricately floral designs carved into the wood. It wasn't that the bathroom wasn't impressive; it definitely was, it was just that it was plain, which put Kotori on edge.
Pushing the feeling aside, she turned on the hot and cold water taps of the ofuro and, too impatient to wait, walked down the steps into it. While the water rose, she turned the taps up and down to adjust the temperature (and also because she had nothing better to do). When the water was filled to the top, Kotori dunked her head in and started waddling and wading in the mini swimming pool.
"I hate boredom," she murmured to herself, "I hate waiting, I hate people, I hate Konoha...I don't hate Gaara-hime...not as much as everyone else," she thought aloud, "but I fucking. Hate. EVERYTHING." she screamed the last word, the frustration starting to get to her and she had no idea why. It was as if her angst was now coming out, after all those years of shoving it aside. She wondered why this was so, yet didn't think for long, because she became grouchy with herself for thinking too much. Suddenly, she realised what she'd said, "I don't hate Gaara, huh," she murmured.
Suddenly the door burst open, slamming loudly against the wall.
"I kne-" Gaara started.
"GET OUT NOW," Kotori screamed, hugging her chest. Gaara's eyes widened, before he stumbled out of the bathroom, awkwardly closing the door behind him.
Outside the bathroom stood a blushing Gaara. He didn't mean to walk in on her bathing; he didn't even expect her to listen to him! She didn't even lock the door; what person doesn't lock the door?! Kotori, his mind answered immediately. He sighed, then walked away.
Inside the bathroom, was a fuming and blushing Kotori. What person enters the bathroom without knocking, when they know someone is inside?!
...Maybe she does hate him as much as the rest of the human population, she thought.
"Why me?" she asked, her voice angst-filled, yet embarrassed. She punched the side of the ofuro, causing her hand to throb, "baka," she murmured, not entirely sure whether she was calling herself or Gaara that, while she held her throbbing hand.
Kotori bathed for another several minutes, then got out and, finding no towels available, formed hand seals and dried herself off using the air element. She grabbed her clothes and put them on again, then opened the door and walked out.
"Oi, Gaara-hime," Kotori called out, but got no reply. The door slammed close behind, Kotori staring at it from the corner of her eye, but not being able to see the door. She sighed, then walked down the corridor, hoping to find him on the way. With a start, Kotori realised she could walk again, causing her to grin and walk faster. As time went by and she found she had taken so many twists and turns, Kotori broke into a jog, then, a few seconds later, a run. She decided that she'd be able to comb the house faster in order to find Gaara if she ran. Besides, she felt good being able to use her legs again, even though it was only a day.
"Gaara-hime!" Kotori shouted, continuing to run down the endless corridor.
As she rounded a corner, a figure appeared and, because she couldn't stop herself, she came colliding into said figure, both falling to the floor.
"Ouch..." Kotori mumbled, resting her hand on something firm, yet soft, in order to help her get up.
"Why were you running?" A voice from underneath her questioned monotonously.