A/N: A continuation of chapter 11. Like, literally. I broke up the chapter because then it would have been WAY too long and felt drawn out. So, enjoy!
Gaara glanced at her, seeing the fresh tears slip past her eyes. This was probably going to be the wrong thing to think but, even in her saddened state there was a beauty about her that was foreign to him. Well in all honesty, women in general were foreign to him. He didn't know how to act, or what to say to them. They had never been a priority to him. Just three years ago he was a mass murdering psychopath who only cared about himself so it would only stand to reason that he didn't really care about women, at the time. Also, it probably was no help that he had Temari, of all people, as a sister. She was way to tomboyish and angry to even really consider a woman; plus she was his sister. It might be weird if he started considering her a woman. Even though she is, it just felt wrong to think of her like that. He felt a disgusted shiver run up his spine at the thought; yes, it was really weird.
Looking away from her, he wondered what it was like to love someone. What true love was. For most of his life he had only loved himself, never giving any to other people because he knew they didn't love him in return. Things were different now, weren't they? He was a different person and he loved his village and its people. But, was that true love? Was that the same kind of love shared between two people? It's not like he would know, he had never experienced such affections before. How could he really compare the two when he didn't know how either of them worked or felt? Leaning forward and resting his arms on his knees, he allowed himself to look at Setsuko again. It looked as if her tears had stopped for the most part, but to feel so much pain for someone. Was that love? He tried to wonder what it would feel like to lose his brother or sister and found himself simply unable too.
"What about your Captain Hui?" he found himself asking suddenly.
Setsuko wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and looked at him, "I'm worried about her also but…she's a very capable woman."
He was silent at her response, taking in her words. Hui had definitely seemed capable when he met her. Her imposing, yet exotic beauty had been breathtaking. She carried herself with such confidence and poise that the air around her was deadly. He had felt himself a little on guard when around her. The look in her eyes also spoke volumes of the kinds of things she's seen and done. Wait, what was he thinking? If he didn't know any better, and he probably didn't, it seemed like he might have a crush on her. Was that even possible for him? No, impossible. And on someone he doesn't even know. He somehow couldn't help the way his thumbs fidgeted together as he thought about her and her disappearance.
Setsuko stared at him, watching him. Her eyes traveled to his hands and noticed him twiddling his thumbs, then looked back at him with a smile creeping on her lips. Breaking Gaara from his thoughts, she suddenly began laughing, loudly. "What?"
She continued to laugh, taking in sharp breaths so she wouldn't suffocate, "I'm not laughing at you I swear!" There was a pause as she continued to laugh and think about what she just said. "No, no, never mind. I am laughing at you."
He gave her a look of befuddlement, "I don't-Why?"
She waved her hands as she tried to settle her laughter, "You've got to be the only one in existence to have a crush on Hui! I think that's hilarious for so many different reasons."
His look of befuddlement never left his face but it was now accompanied by a blush, "Why?"
"Wow! Mmm, how old are you exactly?" she asked, finally calming down enough to be able to carry on a conversation that didn't involve random sentences that confused the poor man.
"Seventeen. What does that have to do with anything?" he asked, almost immediately after his answer she was laughing again. Women really would confuse him for the rest of his life.
Setsuko placed a hand on his knee, smiling as she tried to hold back her laughter, "Oh Gaara, she's like…ten years older than you, if not a few more. You have no chance."
The blush grew a little deeper as his brows knitted together, "I never said I had feelings for her."
"Uh huh…" the hand that rested on his knee removed itself and she poked his blushing cheek. "That's why you're so red in the face, because you don't have the biggest crush I've ever seen on her." She giggled, "Besides, why would you have a crush on her anyways?! She's a grumpy, temperamental old lady. Wait, actually I could see that part, you two have the grumpy thing down."
Gaara stood, "This subject is done." He felt embarrassed to say the least, but he would never let it show as his impassive features returned once again.
She looked up at him, "What? Oh come on! Was I really that harsh?" Quickly she stood, dusting herself off and latching onto his arm, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I just think it's really funny is all because I know the woman. You have no chance, you should go for someone more your age."
"…." he couldn't bring himself to say anything. Never in his life had he had a woman this closet to him. Even through his clothes he could feel the sting of her icy flesh against his and her heartbeat from between her…well he could feel it anyways. Slowly he pulled his arm away, getting no resistance from Setsuko. "…I'll walk you back…" he muttered, looking away from her as if not looking at her would stop the pounding in his own chest.
"Oh, okay." Setsuko smiled at him even though he wasn't looking at her.
Without saying anything to each other, the two teenagers walked down the canyon path that led to the village. The sound of their sandals crunching against sand granules was their only reprieve from the silence that enveloped them. Neither of them minded that there was a still silence around them, but it still helped to alleviate any tension there might have been. Setsuko folded her arms in front of her body, right hand over her left, and looked up at the night sky with its sea of stars. Gaara glanced over at her, watching as her eyes stared above her. A light breeze passed by them, rustling their hair and clothes. He watched as Setsuko's bangs moved out of her face, allowing his eyes to properly see hers and how they twinkled with each star they looked upon.
He shook his head. What was he thinking? She was beautiful and that was all, there was nothing else about her that should grab his attention this much. His thoughts flashed back to when she tried to slap him. Why, of all his memories, did he choose to think of that one? There was nothing special about that memory. His mind continued to wander through that night and a he felt his face heat up again. An image of a sleeping Setsuko, wet from playing in the ocean, held fast in his thoughts. Why was his mind suddenly being so perverted? He wasn't like that! Was he? He had never been with a woman before, never kissed one, and never…been intimate with one. It's not like he would really know if he were perverted or not. He was just being crazy. The sight of a crying girl always did strange things to men, or so he's observed.
By the time he had come out of his thoughts and back into reality they were passing by the small play area kids frequented. A tiny sandbox with a swing and extra room to play, that was all it was. He remembered it well. This was the place he would come to watch people and try, desperately try, to get people to be friends with him. The creak from the old swing brought his attention to it, same with Setsuko. It seemed that a little girl was sitting on it all by herself, looking very sad. The little girl looked up when she heard them walking by, her eyes seemingly getting wide as she looked at them.
"Oh my gosh! Mister Kazekage," she greeted with a respectful bow after having jumped off the swing and rushed over to them. Gaara said and did nothing.
Setsuko elbowed him in the arm and he looked down at her sharply, still not knowing what to say. "What's your name little one?" Setsuko had decided she would speak instead.
The little girl, with big green eyes, looked up at her and smiled, "My name is Tobari. What's yours?"
"Tobari, that's a beautiful name!" Setsuko knelt down so she would be on equal level with the girl and smiled. "My name is Setsuko. It's so nice to meet you."
"You're really pretty," Tobari sighed as she looked at her with awe in her eyes.
Setsuko couldn't help but giggle, Gaara saying nothing as he watched them interact. "Thank you, but I shouldn't get all the credit. You're beautiful yourself ya know."
Tobari seemed to drop her head and look down at her feet, "That's not true…"
"What? Of course it is! Whoever told you otherwise has been lying to you." Setsuko gasped as she heard the words spoken by Tobari, amazed that someone would tell such a little girl she wasn't pretty. "Why are you out here all alone Tobari?"
She looked up at them, glancing at Gaara before turning her full attention to Setsuko, "Um, my sister is out on a mission and I don't have any friends."
Setsuko let her head lull to the side in a curious manner, "What about your parents?"
Tobari shook her head, "I don't have any."
"I see…" she was quiet for a moment before smiling. "Well you're not alone Tobari! The Kazekage and I are orphans too."
The little girl looked up with wide eyes, "Really?"
"Yep! And he's head of your village and I'm a Princess. Don't get so down, I'm sure when you're older, you'll do amazing things too." Setsuko put a gentle hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She leaned in close with a mischievous grin, "Then you can rub it in the faces of everyone whoever hurt you." Gaara sighed and shook his head disapprovingly.
Tobari giggled. "Are you really a Princess?" she asked excitedly.
"You betcha! Princess Setsuko Ayani of Aisugakure," she beamed, saying her full title.
"Wow! I wish I could be a Princess!" Tobari sighed, daydreaming of what she would look like as a Princess. "By the away," she said suddenly, coming out of her daydream, "Are you guys on a date?"
Gaara was about to say 'no' when Setsuko cut in before he could, "Yes, we are!" At her answer, he crossed his arms across his chest and looked away from them, almost in a huff.
"I'm glad," she said, smiling up at the two of them.
"Why is that?" Setsuko asked, curious as to the girl's answer and romantic smile.
"Well, I know Mister Kazekage is always so lonely. Whenever I see him, we always have the same eyes. They look lost, lonely and desperately crying out for someone. It's nice, when people can see past titles and mistakes, and see who you really are…" she replied, her eyes traveling to the sand and a look of sorrow on her face. To say the two teens were surprised by her answer, would be an understatement.
Setsuko watched her for a minute before reaching around her neck and pulling off a necklace. She held it up for Tobari to see. It had a silver chain with a matching silver pendant, and in the middle of the pendant was a dragon seemingly made of ice. "This is the ice dragon, the official crest of the Princess." She paused as she placed it around Tobari's neck, "Now whenever anyone makes fun of you, you can show them this and say the Princess of Aisugakure has made you into an honorary Princess. And if they want to keep their lives, they shouldn't disobey a Princess."
Tobari's eyes lit up and a giant smile spread across her face, "Wow, you meant it?!" Setsuko smiled and nodded. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Tobari hugged her and ran off.
"Why did you give her your necklace?" he asked, watching the little girl's form get smaller and smaller.
Setsuko shrugged, "My mom gave it to me before she died as a way of remembering that she's always there for me. I think, Tobari, needs it more than I do. She's still really young, and with only her older sister to take care of her, she needs to be reminded that she's not alone."
Gaara looked over at the smiling teen, amazed that she would give away such a precious gift to someone she didn't know. The way she talked to the little girl and handled the situation; he was impressed. He had never been good at talking to children; they always asked such difficult questions. She handled it like it was an everyday occurrence. Maybe women were just born with the gift of talking to children. No, that couldn't be true because Temari was terrible at it. Setsuko finally turned to him, ready to continue their way back to the inn when she noticed him just staring at her. Gaara blinked and immediately looked away, earning a small chuckle from Setsuko.
When the two of them finally made it back to the inn, it was too close to sunrise for Setsuko. She had been yawning the whole time they were walking back, while Gaara was fine without sleeping. He walked her back to her room, having her practically falling over from exhaustion. It was painfully obvious that she wasn't used to long nights. Thankfully she was awake enough to open the door on her own, and he wasn't left having to do everything for her. Gaara didn't bother walking inside because he knew she was going to go straight to bed with the way she had been ready to fall over and sleep on their way there.
He was turning to leave when an icy hand caught his. He could feel the sting of their different temperatures and looked down at his hand, seeing her pale skin against his slightly tanner skin. Slowly he let his eyes wander up to her face, "Gaara, wait please."
He was as silent as stone.
"I…" she paused, taking the time to look up at him and then back to the floor. She seemed to be wrestling with something internally. "Sorry…never mind." She let go of his hand and gently closed the door in his face.
It only took a few steps before he heard Setsuko crying. Soft whimpers came from her room and he felt his feet stop dead in the middle of the hall. What should he do? Should he go back and comfort her? She did just receive terrible news and parted with her most valued treasure, she must be in so much pain. Even if his body somehow moved back to her room, how could he comfort her? He didn't know the first thing about comforting someone. His body had just reacted when he went searching for her earlier in the night, but now, he was actually thinking things through. There was nothing he could offer her that might help her feel any better. A hand came to his chest, gripping at his clothes tightly in the area where his heart would be. Forcefully, he made his way out of the inn, blocking the sounds of her crying from his mind.
Setsuko rested her head against the door, her eyes closed. Now that she was alone again, she could let her pent up feeling free. And freed they were. Without any effort, tears dripped from her eyes and her whole body began to shake. She had played the well poised Princess enough for tonight; she just wanted to be herself now. Slowly removing herself from the door, she made her way into the bedroom, tears still falling, and let her body just collapse. Her face lay in her pillow and the sky began to turn orange. She would probably sleep most of the day from being up all night with no sleep. It was something she hadn't done before and the moment her head hit the pillow, her crying stopped and she had passed out.