I know it's been almost two weeks, but I'm back again with another chapter of Lion in the Desert!
Sorry! Anyways, I'm glad to see that Kohaku's still in a favorable light for you readers. I'm elated - seriously. So, I'm dedicating this chapter to both Gaara and Kohaku in light of their birthdays and to you awesome readers!
Special thanks to:
MidnightCherryBlossoms, my beloved beta who did her job even though she was busy doing food preps for CNY!
LadyAmazonRandomNinja239
ichigo1508
Jessluvswriting
Anonymous
Only a small band of readers, but I really cherish each and every one of your support! You are the reason for why I strive to better my writing!
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, a whole lot of characters would have more screen time.
This story will not have any relation to Naruto's dream of achieving Sasuke Uchiha's return or deafeating Orochimaru. This happens a little bit after the Rescue Gaara arc. In other words, kind of AU. Thought you should know.
"Chibi?"
Indeed, as the silvery stream of moonlight grew stronger, the beams illuminated Kohaku's features. She stood in front of a bookcase, hands seemingly frozen on the books. Slowly, Kohaku removed her hands and turned to face Gaara; her features were placid, void of any emotions.
"As usual," thought Gaara, wondering what was she doing in the restricted section of the library and how she got in.
"Kazekage-sama," Kohaku regarded Gaara's presence as she inclined her head slightly.
Considering the place and time of night they were in, it didn't come as much of a surprise as tension hung weightily in the air. The only sound was the slight rattling of windows, as gales of sand-laced wind beat against the window.
Finally, Gaara spoke.
"What are you doing here? This is a restricted section. I can't imagine having given you the permission to enter here," he asked, narrowing his dark-ringed eyes in suspicion.
"The door was open, so I helped myself inside," was Kohaku's quiet reply, "No one can deny the nudges of human curiosity,"
Only, Gaara had been convinced that Kohaku was probably no more human than a puppet. But still, that was his own opinion, as silly as it seemed.
"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Kohaku's eyes shifted away from Gaara's, turning onto the rows of books in front of her. The young Kazekage wasn't sure whether to peg this as a suspicious action or not, since it seemed to be neither to him.
"I was… in a state of insomnolence."
Gaara blinked. "What's that mean?"
Her presence seemed to get even more suspicious by the minute. Questions surfaced in Gaara's mind, begging to be asked; to demand answers from the secretive girl. Every action she made seemed to become more shifty in Gaara's opinion.
Kohaku let out a small sigh. "I was unable to sleep," she said quietly, running her fingers across the wooden shelf repeatedly.
"Unable to sleep?" the redhead echoed, confused. Somehow, insomnia was something that Gaara had difficulty associating with Kohaku. Rigid, strict Kohaku who seemed to be the kind of person who followed a schedule of precision; waking up early, eating three square meals a day, a nine o'clock bedtime regime…
"Exactly as it sounds," was Kohaku's cold reply.
"Why the library, though?" Gaara was curious to know, "I can't even begin to imagine how you got in here. If I remember correctly, the library's always locked up during the night,"
xxxx
Kohaku gave the Kazekage a brief, sideways glance before returning to look at the books lining the shelves. Why did this peace-loving Kazekage have to be so intrusive? Did he not know how to respect other people's privacy?
But then…
It had not been the entire truth when she had said she wasn't able to sleep. Her insomnia was no accident at all.
"You speak the truth, but the head librarian has kindly provided me with a key to be able to access the library any time I wish to,"
xxxx
Gaara had an expression of query on his face. "The head librarian did?"
He could distinctly recall the person that Kohaku spoke of. A strict woman, who always had her salt-and-pepper hair in a tight bun and dressed in beige, pressed robes, Gaara himself was slightly intimidated by the way her mouth was always set into a grim, thin-lipped line. She was fiercely protective of the library, so much that even the most badly-behaved didn't dare to deface anything within the vicinity of the library.
How was it possible that Kohaku was actually able to get a key into the library when she wasn't even a villager of Sunagakure?
Gaara wasn't going to insist that Kohaku give up her key - the power to do that resided within the head librarian herself. It only puzzled him that a woman as strict as her had easily given Kohaku access to her precious, sacrosanct library, since the librarian found young people as likable as roaches were.
"Of course she did. Who else would, Kazekage-sama? The books?"
Evidently, Kohaku could be sarcastic when she wanted, insomnia or not.
Gaara ran his fingers through his thick red hair, sighing. Since it was the middle of the night, Gaara decided to let it pass. As used as he was to staying up during the night in his days when he still had the Ichibi sleeping within him, Gaara was weary from the multitudes of paperwork he had done earlier in the afternoon.
But the question he had still persisted. "Why would she give a key to the library to you?"
Kohaku frowned slightly; really, did the reason as to why she had been given a copy of the key to the library's main doors really matter that much? "Whether if the reason is profound or not, there is no reason for me to tell you,"
"There is," Gaara narrowed his eyes at her avoiding the question, "I am the Kazekage of Sunagakure - I command you to tell me how did you get a copy of the key. You aren't even a villager from here,"
xxxx
"When one knows how to properly appreciate the world of ink and paper," Kohaku softly quipped, recalling the words the elderly librarian had said when she had given the keys to her,"Differentiations do not matter,"
Indeed, the librarian had been curious to find the titian-headed kunoichi visiting from another village on a mission, to be a frequent visitor of the library.
At first, she assumed the girl needed some reference to better familiarize herself with the customs of Sunagakure that were foreign to Konoha shinobi, but then when she had started to take note of the books the girl favored, it was then that the librarian had figured that Kohaku was no mere ignoramus who didn't know how to treat books with proper care.
So, she decided to do the young girl a favor and provide her with access to the general sections of the library, twenty-four-seven, surprising many of the staff in the library. After all, it was rare to find a person below the age of thirty that the head librarian didn't find irritating.
xxxx
Gaara was slightly taken aback by Kohaku's sudden flair for poetic phrases. Bewildered, he said, "So, I suppose we shouldn't linger any longer here. You're not even allowed in here. Only authorized personnel and authorities are supposed to have access to this section,"
Kohaku steeled her eyes as they met Gaara's. She took her hands off the shelf and let them hang by her sides, stepping away.
"Please excuse my impertinence, Kazekage-sama," she started walking towards the exit, without even stopping to look him in the eye, "Good night,"
xxxx
Along the deserted street, the only sounds that could be heard above the softly howling wind were of soft footsteps falling against the sand-covered ground. The gibbous moon high in the sky shone as brightly as it could; unhindered by the many swathes of desert clouds cottoning the dark sky. Kohaku pulled at the forest-green cloak hanging around her shoulders, shielded from the gales of the desert winds.
As she continued on her way, her eyes shifted to one side, looking out from the corner of one eye.
"Kazekage-sama. I believe the mansion is situated on the opposite side of the village,"
Stepping away from the shadows of the surrounding shophouses and into the moonlight, Gaara arched a brow; so Kohaku was perceptive as he'd thought she would be, judging by the way she carried herself cautiously all the time.
"Not bad," Gaara said thoughtfully, falling into step with Kohaku in a few, easy strides, "Not many people can detect my presence with the way I masked it,"
Kohaku merely answered with a brief, insolent look; she was definitely not too pleased with the way Gaara kept popping up and disrupting her peace.
Why, though?
That was the question Kohaku always asked herself whenever Gaara rudely (In her opinion) interrupted or disturbed her. The number of times where Gaara had disrupted her when she'd been reading was lost to Kohaku already, for after the tenth time, she had decided to give up on caring about it.
Evidently, the Kazekage of Sungakure had a stubborn streak, one that could not be erased with one, well-practised glare.
He irked her more than Naruto did - a feat thought to be impossible by most; in fact, most people (A conclusion reached from a few day's observation) found an annoying Gaara to be unthinkable. In short, Kohaku was probably the only one who found Gaara irksome.
"You seem to think an awful lot," Gaara's low voice broke into Kohaku's thoughts.
"You seem to talk an awful lot," Kohaku snapped back, steeling her cold gaze as their eyes locked together briefly.
Gaara held back the smirk threatening to bloom on his face. "Well, I might talk less if you responded more," he reasoned.
"The only reason why I do not respond to your words is because I have nothing to say about them," was Kohaku's cold reply.
"I heard you called Naruto by his first name today,"
Kohaku paused, turning her head slightly to glance at Gaara. "I will avoid asking how that piece of information came to your knowledge," her tone was curt.
"Why don't you call me by my first name?" Gaara persisted.
The howling wind started to settle down, replaced by lonely, melancholy howls of coyotes in the distance. Their feet crunched through the grains of sand as they left imprints behind them. Kohaku seemed to be mulling over Gaara's question, with the way her brows furrowed together.
"Naruto-kun… he is a very interesting individual," her words were so soft; Gaara could hardly hear her.
But he did. He cocked his head to the side; Kohaku wasn't wrong about that. Out of the corner of his eye, Gaara could see that a very strange expression had appeared on Kohaku's face. An anomalous cross between confusion and fondness; it was like she was having a hard time deciding which of the two she wanted to feel.
He realized, as he looked into her eyes with discretion, that the cold chills he had felt when they had first met did not crawl down his back like they did before. Instead of the gelid, calculative gleam that gave the impression of a cruel dictator in a tyrannical reign of dominance, he could tell that the invisible frost had thawed out a little; like the end of winter welcoming the arrival of spring.
"So, Naruto got through to you?"
He noticed that he had become lost in the unfathomable eyes of Kohaku's. They weren't ones that gave of the impression of being a deep, soul-sucking abyss; how was that possible, if there was still the frigid shell that wasn't entirely gone? He had been trudging through the snow, trying to find… what exactly was he looking for? Gaara was uncertain.
"I do not care to comment on that question, and neither do I feel inclined to answer it," came the frosty reply.
Putting aside his thoughts, Gaara said, "I assumed that Naruto's influence would make you want to make an attempt, Chibi."
Narrowing her eyes in distaste at the nickname, Kohaku released her hold on the folds of the cloak around her shoulders, letting her hands fall limp by her sides. "I only said that he is interesting; I never insinuated to any evidence of his influencing me,"
"And yet, here you are, actually making an effort to be part of the conversation," a slight smirk touched Gaara's lips, "Before, you wouldn't even bother to spare me so much as a glance."
The auburn-headed girl made a small noise; probably a snort of derision of sorts. "That is hardly close to the real reason," she muttered under her breath.
Gaara's face held an expression of mock interest. "Oh? And what would that real reason be?"
"You are doubtlessly more vexing than ten of Naruto-kun put together," replied an irritated Kohaku, "Absolutely obnoxious,"
"Oh, so I mean something to you," Gaara raised his brows, tapping his fingers on his chin thoughtfully, "That's interesting,"
The dim glow of the street lamps lit up Kohaku's features, and Gaara took note of the clearly displeased look on her face. It was strange - Kohaku was reacting more passionately to Gaara's remarks; she was showing more emotion than he'd seen her display before. Was this Naruto's doing?
Not really, Gaara answered his own question. Kohaku was more prone to showing chagrin and being flustered when he dealt with her from Day One - he'd just never really taken notice of it before. But why now, though? When did he start noticing the little things about Kohaku that he'd never noticed before?
Perplexed lines imprinted themselves in between Gaara's brows - this certainly was a puzzling conundrum.
xxxx
Kohaku had decided to ignore Gaara's teasing. She was ashamed of herself - she had never let herself be affected by anything that anyone said. Never. What was it about the redheaded, lily-livered Kazekage with the peace-loving tattoo of 'love' on his forehead that made her let her icy shell crack?
She averted her russet eyes away from the jade depths of Gaara's eyes - any more of it would make her let her defenses down completely. The way the young Kazekage stared into her eyes was unnerving - she could almost heard the cogs clinking and whirring in his mind as he attempted to read into her.
It was definitely not a good thing.
But then again…
For some reason, the green-eyed boy affected her in a way that was almost harrowing to the copper-headed girl. Ridiculous, the way she had a difficult time trying to compose herself whenever Gaara successfully pushed all the right buttons to antagonize her.
Shaking her head - mentally, of course - Kohaku was determined to not let the Suna shinobi get to her. She had gone on for many years without deviating off the course of things she had carefully planned out. Now was not the time for foolishness and audacity.
Focus on the mission. The mission was all that mattered.
Not one of my greatest chapters, but I tried my best! It's pretty short, I do hope you'll like this, though, since it's a fundamental building block for Kohaku and Gaara. Hopefully, the next chapter will be longer. This is a pretty important chapter, where Kohaku and Gaara up one level of their unconfirmed relationship.
FAQ Time!
Kohaku's pretty shifty. What's her deal?
Shiftiness. Really. I can't really give away anything that could possibly mean spoiling the whole thing, so… guess you'll have to satiate your curiosity with extrapolations!
Gaara's so chatty! It's unreal!
I've always thought that Gaara was a chatty kind of person, since he's pretty opinionated. Opinionated people are loquacious, no?
Why is Kohaku so obsessed with her mission?
Because… you'll see. Or maybe she's just a hardcore workaholic. Yeah. That's it!
As always, don't forget that constructive criticism is greatly appreciated! Read and review!
Luv,
Pichuzilla