I apologize for how long it's taking for the Gaara X O.C. to start up but I believe that it's important to establish a friendship before a relationship, especially for these two. Anyway, thanks for all the reviews and enjoy!
"You're coming off," I told the chains hotly, sawing at them with a chakra-infused kunai. I was sitting up in a tree a few yards outside of Konoha. My sandals and staff were laying on the ground below me. In the past half hour, I had only managed to cut myself. The bones were resetting nicely but it would've helped if I stopped slicing my arm open.
I switched my tactics around and shoved the kunai between my wrist and bracelet. Then I tugged hard, hoping it popped off. I was successful in ripping the bracelet but, as soon as the kunai was out of the way, the bracelet reformed. Suddenly, I launched the weapon at a floating eyeball. The last person I wanted to see was Gaara, or his third eye. The orb crumbled into sand and disappeared. That's when the cuffs tightened so that there was no room between my skin and their gritty surface.
"If Gaara doesn't want you to take them off, you're not going to get them off," a calm voice, which I recognized as Kankuro's, said.
"Watch me," I barked, pulling out a new kunai. I positioned the point over the kanji for fear, where it was weakest, and pounded on it repeatedly to no avail. Kankuro watched from below for an hour until he decided enough was enough.
"Nari, all you've managed to do is tear your wrist apart. Let's go back." I huffed and threw the kunai at the trunk of the tree. Then I pulled my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. All my life I had been free and then some stupid kid comes in and thinks he has the right to restrain me? Well, screw him. "Are you really going to punish me, too? I want lunch."
"You don't have to watch me, you know." I pointed to my Konoha headband. "I'm in my village." Kankuro didn't care. He wanted me join him and the siblings for lunch. I pulled up the memory of what he had found me eating this morning.
"Look, you're either coming with me or I'll get Gaara to drag you. Is that what you want?"
"You wouldn't dare…"
"I would." I puffed at my bangs and jumped down from my perch. I slipped my sandals on and picked up my staff. Then I whacked Kankuro in the back of the head with it. That should teach him not to threaten me. "You have a nasty temper," he commented.
"You haven't seen me angry," I remarked and it was true. When I got angry, people died. Kankuro didn't believe me though. "Let's go." He followed me back to the hotel. I walked in through the front door like a normal person and was surprised to see Kakashi there. "Hello, Kakashi," I greeted my old acquaintance.
"It's good to see you again, Nari. I was beginning to suspect that we'd have to hunt you down as a rogue. It's nice to know that's not the case."
"Never a rogue. I wasn't, technically, a ninja anymore. But I know you're not here for idle chit-chat. What do you want?"
"The Hokage wants to see you in her office. Along with a set of scrolls? She said you'd know what she meant." I narrowed my eyes. What did Tsunade want with my scrolls?
"Thank you, Kakashi." He turned to leave. "How are Naruto and Sakura doing?" I asked before he could disappear.
"They'll be alright," he assured me and then took off. I walked up the steps to mine and Gaara's hotel room.
"You're not going to accompany me to the Hokage's office," I told Kankuro. My tone showed that there would be no disputing the issue. Luckily, he got the hint. I knocked before opening the door but did not wait to be permitted entrance. I calmed myself, putting a barricade between my emotions and my expressions. I knew that Temari and Gaara were on the other side.
"Oh, Nari!" Temari exclaimed with some delight. She thought I might not return until late at night. "Are you alright?"
"Yes," I said serenely. I glanced at Gaara who was busying reading the scroll I needed. "Gaara, may I have my scroll back?" I requested pleasantly. The only sign that our little fight had occurred was the blood stains on my wrist. He glanced up at me but hesitated to comply. "Lady Hokage wants me to bring it with me when I go meet her. I'm leaving now." He made no move to hand it over.
"Gaara, give her, her scroll back," Temari hissed. He glanced at her before rolling the scroll back up and handing it over.
"Thank you." I placed it back into my weapon's pouch and then left the way I came. There wasn't anything else I had to say to any of them.
"I think you wounded her pride," Kankuro stated when he thought I was far enough away.
"She'll live," was Gaara's short reply. This is going to take a while, the puppet master thought. If it even works… I didn't want to hear any more so quickly focused on a different mind, Lady Tsunade's. She was sitting in her office, waiting for me. With her was the head of the Hyuuga family. She wanted him to inspect my chakra levels and flows to see just how dangerous I really was. She also wanted to have any additional information my set of scrolls presented.
"I already know what you want," I informed her as I walked in after being granted permission. "You can look at my chakra system all you want; that doesn't bother me. But I refuse to allow you to read my scrolls. They're not for your eyes." The Hyuuga was slightly surprised by my directness but didn't comment. His face was stoic.
"Fair enough," she muttered. She has her own reasons for not sharing. "Hiashi, please," she gestured to me. Hiashi focused his attention on me and activated his Byakugan. His eyes widened, incredulous to what they presented. My chakra levels at half their maximum power and I was almost equal to him at his full. "Well?"
"Lady Hokage, the massive amounts of chakra she contains is strange for one her size and age. She has a much more complex chakra system and a cloud of chakra surrounds her. If I was to guess, I'd say she's not human," Hiashi analyzed. "Are you fully rested?" he asked me.
"No. I just finished sparing with some genin and I've not slept in four days. My chakra is depleted to about half of what I have when awakening."
"Then it is no surprise that small explosions might occur when she releases a nin or genjutsu." I pushed back a loose strand of my midnight hair and nodded in agreement.
"What about a blast with a fifty yard radius?"
"It is possible with the use of an explosive jutsu."
"Thank you, Hiashi. You are dismissed." Lady Tsunade studied me for a moment, glad that she had decided to send me away instead of keep me around. I was too much of a liability. Sure, I was powerful, but the risk of losing more ninja was too great to take. "Suna has accepted you as an ambassador. Here is your passport and identification card. I'm under the impression that they had you tailed during the day?" I bobbed my head. "They've agreed to allow you to walk freely since you are no longer a lone ninja. You, too, are dismissed."
"Thank you, Lady Hokage." I then did as I was bid, wanting to rest. Fortune smiled upon me because none of the sand siblings were present when I returned to the hotel. I put the scroll I was agreeing to let Gaara borrow on top of the single dresser and laid my staff and pouch down next to the mat. I laid down and closed my eyes, focusing on the dreams of a lazy merchant down the hall. Soon enough, I was asleep.
►§◄
I walk down the dark hallway slowly. On either side of me are doors. I try to open one but it is locked. Above each door is a symbol. I can tell that they are kanji but I cannot decipher them. Suddenly, I hear a click as a door opens. I turn towards the sound and watch, awed, as bright light floods the end of the hallway.
My eagerness to reach this door is unparalleled. I rush towards it and am about to go through when the door shuts violently in my face. I stumble back, confused and hurt. I look towards the top of the door. The kanji reads…
"Nari, wake up already!" I jolted up, heart pounding. I glared at Temari as she continued to shake me.
"What do you want?" I demanded hotly, a little upset that she had woken me. I wanted to know what that kanji had said, what was on the other side.
"We're going to go help teach at the academy. Then we're going to leave."
"This late?" I asked, incredulous.
"Nari, it's morning. You slept all through the night."
"Seriously?" I barely felt as though I had rested at all. I was still tired and normally only an hour or two of sleep was enough. I closed my eyes and concentrated on my chakra levels. Sure enough, they were full. "Um… Okay. Wait, you don't mean you want me to teach at the academy, do you?"
"Yes." She drawled out the word to make sure I got the point. She wasn't going to admit it to anyone but the only reason she had agreed herself was because Shikamaru had asked it as a favor. She's crushing on him, I realized. I glanced up and peered around my surroundings. Gaara was with us but Kankuro was nowhere to be found. I opened up my thoughts and searched for his mind. He was already at the academy. Surprisingly, he sincerely enjoyed teaching kids.
"I don't think that's a good idea. How about I scout our path and meet you guys when you're done." Temari glared at me.
"Nari, we're not asking you to teach them jutsu or anything. These are going to be simple lessons on ninja basics. Perhaps even some weaponry."
"Temari, I've never been to the academy. I don't know the ninja basics and the only weapon I'm any good at is my staff." Her mouth formed a small "o". Right, she was raised by rogues, the eldest sand sibling reminded herself.
"Well, I'm sure you could help with math."
"Math?" I saw in her head a series of foreign symbols.
"Numbers, Nari. You know about numbers, don't you?"
"Of course. One, two, three, four… I can count. But what's math?"
"Adding, subtracting, multiplying, dividing." The look I received was incredulous. Surely, she's been taught at least simple math.
"Adding…," I muttered, rubbing my head sheepishly. "That's like two plus two equals four, right? What are the other three?" Temari sighed. And she's Konoha's ambassador… I blushed a little, shrugging my shoulders.
"Alright, you can scout for us. We're just going to take the main road."
"Okay… Will you be done around noon?"
"Probably." I nodded and stretched as Temari stood. My eyes instinctively trailed to Gaara, who was watching me with a cold gaze. I raised an eyebrow but didn't get a response. When his sister left, he remained, studying me. He'll catch up, the girl thought, leaving us to ourselves.
"Is there something wrong?" I asked, fixing my hair and headbands. Silence. I put my sandals on and stood, smoothing out my skirt. I bent over and retrieved my staff before staring at him, waiting for some hint of what he was thinking. "You know, a response would be nice."
"…" I glanced over at the dresser and saw my pouch. I quirked an eyebrow at that, distinctly remember putting it by my mat. That's when I figured out the message he was trying to get across.
"Which one did you steal?" I asked, walking over and counting the pouch's contents. I was missing "Important Information". Knowing he wasn't going to say anything, I quickly explained that I didn't care if he read the scrolls. I trusted him with the information. "I probably should worry though. I mean, you never stop talking," I mumbled sarcastically. I waited for some hint of amusement. He shook his head.
I turned my back on him to reposition the pouch and heard the door open and close. "You better be quick, Gaara," I said to the air. "Teamri's waiting on you." I walked down stairs soon after. The desk clerk told me that Temari had already checked us out so I decided to eat breakfast before going out to scout.
"Hello, Veske," I called out, hearing the thoughts of the ninja tailing me. I was walking down the main street, studying the different restaurants for one that appealed to me.
"That didn't take long," he observed, revealing himself. "Are you hungry?"
"A little," I admitted. "I'll be departing soon but I wanted to have breakfast first."
"On a mission?"
"Of sorts…" He knew better than to ask for details.
"Why don't you eat here? They have the best fishcakes," Veske offered, pointing to a small kiosk. I walked over and ordered a plate of fishcakes. He came up next to me and ordered the same, promising to pay for my meal. That I hadn't expected. During my time in Suna, I had acquired a small collection of coins doing odd jobs. It wasn't much but it was more than enough to pay for my own meal.
"Thank you," I told him. We waited for our food and then he said goodbye, saying he was needed elsewhere. He also wished me good luck on my mission. That was strange, I declared, but kind. He didn't have to feed me. Last time, as far as I knew, Veske hadn't liked me at all. This time, he wanted to help. Even he wasn't sure why.
I pushed the strange occurrence from my thoughts and headed to the gate. I ate my fishcakes by the wall, not paying any attention to the sentries, before walking along the path. Heightening my senses with chakra and scanning the area with my mind, I quickly discovered that the passageway was clear. All I had to do now was wait.
Trees were my preferred resting area. I jumped into a high branch and leaned against the trunk. I was in perfect position to see anyone who exited the village. I closed my eyes to better enjoy the sunny day, but soon fell back into sleep.
I am standing in the same hallway as before. It is still dark and every door I try is locked. I hear a door click open and stare at the blinding light, but do not head towards it. I do not want to feel the pain of it slamming in my face. I turn away from the door and walk the opposite way.
"You're going the wrong way," an annoyed voice tells me. I search the hallway but find no source for the sound. That's when I glance down at my wrists. The cuffs are there, squeezing tighter with every step I take away from the open door. They hurt and, finally, I am forced to turn around.
I see Gaara standing just in front of the white light. His arms are crossed and his face is washed of emotions. I smile gleefully, glad that there is someone here to help me out of this hallway. I start running towards him. He waits for me and when I'm only a few feet away, he turns and walks into the room. I follow after him but the door slams shut before I can go in.
"No! No! Let me in!" I cry, pounding at the door. Tears begin to stream down my face. I fall to the ground and watch as my cuffs begin to extend and the sand wraps around me. It engulfs my body and crushes me.
I bolted awake, shaken. I couldn't get over what I had seen. Gaara and the kanji above the door. The kanji… for love.
I'm sure you all realize what this means but does Nari? You'll have to wait a few more chapters to see. As always, thanks for reading and please review.