AN: I'm writing this note on Wednesday because this pain is fresh, as this just happened Tuesday night. It's also a warning to anyone who writes on a current Microsoft (Windows 11) computer. OneDrive is a monster, and don't trust it. I never used the cloud anyway, because honestly I don't know of any author who trusts their unpublished writing in the cloud. However, I didn't realize OneDrive was automatically designed to sync your files to the cloud THEN DELETE THEM FROM YOUR HARD DRIVE (so you can "access them from any device." And you know what? I doubly don't want that. I want to know exactly where my files are, thank you). I'm lucky this story was the only document permanently affected in the end (because ironically I was working on it), even though it tried to delete everything from my hard drive when I uninstalled the app, because it refused to stop syncing and demanding I pay for more space. And by everything, I mean it tried to delete my games (sims, city skylines, Civ. Not just the save files, but the games themselves). It tried to delete all my family photos, and all of my documents (which include several novels I've been working on with plans to actually publish). Thank God I was able to recover most of the files, put them back on my hard drive, and completely uninstall OneDrive.
However, the 3 chapters (40 pages) I lost of this story are gone gone, because I had it open when OneDrive started malfunctioning. I tried every recovery option recommended, but OneDrive deleted the previous save versions up to a month ago. I have to rewrite all of it completely. I was almost to chapter 11, and it deleted everything except 3 paragraphs into chapter 8. I went to bed crying. (If you've seen the movie Alex & Emma, I was essentially the scene when Emma tripped at the bus stop in the rain, and dropped all that day's pages in the puddle. Except a month's worth of work).
Please learn from my mistake if you are a creator. Don't save you creations to the Cloud. One, it's a lot easier to get stolen that way. And if you're using OneDrive, it will delete saves if you don't purchase more space or get a subscription. If you're worried about losing files or want to create on multiple devices, get a USB or external hard drive. Or use GoogleDocs. That's still a cloud service, but it doesn't delete your hard drive, because it's internet based and not an app. It's attached to your email, meaning it's not safe, however it is recoverable. Honestly, a USB is what I'd used for my documents for the past decade (and never had an issue going between computers). I only stopped, because after I started working from home, I was only writing on my personal computer, and thought it would be safer just keeping it here. But because Microsoft auto-installed OneDrive in all Windows 11, and I didn't know about this bug, I am so upset I thought that.
And before you defend it, this is a known bug Microsoft doesn't warn people about, to the point I found several reddit pages about it, because Microsoft's only answer to their app doing this is "Sorry about that. You can try to recover it from your history." Which, no you can't. Not if the app deleted the file's history to the app's last update because of syncing issues, which is what happened to this story.
I'm somewhere between absolutely livid and spiraling depression, and currently have my classical music I listen to while writing trying to calm me down so I can focus on getting to work.
Due to this "trauma", I'm taking a by-week next week to try and catch up. Enjoy the chapter.
Chapter 7
The second evening of the cruise came quickly, and Gaara was thankful his seasickness had completely subsided. He didn't always get seasick on boats, but it did sometimes happen. He remembered one mission with his siblings to the Coral Islands, where they were headed now, and he and Baki had both been seasick for the first half. Although Baki was sick the entire time on the water, whereas Gaara eventually recovered. Their mission to Sunafuki Island, which was one of his first ever missions, hadn't been as bad. That could be because the ferry started in Futen through Mikadzuki Bay, so the entire way there, land was visible and the waves weren't as bad as the open sea.
So, the second evening, Gaara joined Emika and the party at the cruise dinner. Emika had picked his outfit again, the same light linen blue suit she'd gotten the day before. She even wore a coral dress that matched his tie.
He'd been nervous going to dinner with the rest of the group. Not many people knew him intimately enough to know he was shy around new people, especially a whole group of new people. Most people just thought he had a prickly, stand-off personality, which was fine for him. It meant less people bothered him unless they really needed to talk to him. He wasn't sure he was going to make it through dinner entirely unscathed.
They were sat in the corner of the ballroom next to the stage stairs, at the largest table in the room, other than the opposite corner, which wasn't filled to capacity like theirs. It was almost impossible to escape the area without being seen, anyone leaving would have to walk out onto the ballroom floor, where he'd been told there'd been dancing after every dinner for anyone who stayed past dessert.
Kankuro had no issue with the group. Four of them had actually been his classmates in the Academy, so to him, it was just a nice reunion.
It was odd to be attached to Tenshimi's Posse. Throughout Suna, the ninjas she'd brought on had garnered a reputation as weak ninjas that couldn't hack it. But Gaara found out over dinner all of them had made chunin rank, and two even jonin. Gaara had actually handled the jonin promotions of the two present. Another two of the chunins, had turned out to have also been in Gaara's graduating class, and had made chunin in the first chunin exam Gaara had been a part of as a Kage. But almost all of them had the same story joining Tenshimi's Posse. They either had a friend or family member in the main family guard who recommended them to the post, or after either a serious injury or medical condition that meant they had to retire from active duty, or a team or family loss, or a mixture of the three.
One of the chunin from Gaara's class, Mikata, had lost their entire team in the War, having been in the First division, and wounded on the beach. She apparently was a puppeteer, and had been outfitted with puppet prosthetics for her leg and arm she'd lost. Both of the jonin had also fought in the war in the same division under Kakashi. The rest of the group had stayed on Tenshimi's detail during the war, citing the pay to be a cushy bodyguard rather than a ninja was decent with a lot less risk. It also meant they could retire comfortably and safely.
Dinner seemed to go normally. He noticed among the posse of seven bodyguards, couples had formed between a few of them. Mikata was dating one of the jonin, Saichi. The other chunin from Gaara's class, Kotaro was dating one of the other chunin from Kankuro's year, Yumi.
The conversation lulled a little when Mikata asked Emika, "So, how did you and Lord Gaara meet? Because, obviously he agreed to marry you on the spot, so you clearly know each other. But I wasn't even aware you two were even acquaintances. I mean, apparently Ryuki knew, because he recommended it. But …" She trailed off, gesturing between them confusedly.
Gaara bristled at the comment, because the mission six years ago wasn't public knowledge, however he had no idea how much Emika had told Tenshimi or any of the others present, given the familiarity she had with them. They also hadn't discussed a cover story, so he could only assume they knew to some extent. It also wasn't exactly a secret either. Just off the books, as was the nature of The Final Trial.
Emika pursed her lips, then answered her, "Well, I had to sign him in as Kazekage. Remember my father died right before his election."
"Right," Mikata murmured. "But that's hardly a relationship." She scoffed as she turned to one of the jonin and said, "I mean I wouldn't agree to marry someone I barely talked to for an hour six years ago. Would you?"
"Absolutely not," Saichi answered before sipping his beer.
Kankuro straightened nervously, earning a careful glance from Gaara. Emika placed her hand on Gaara's comfortingly, not removing her gaze from Mikata's. "Well, we ran into each other again that second year I was traveling the world. It was a couple months before the war. Where were we again?" She turned to him and smiled evenly. Just like at the Fox Den Inn all those years ago.
A part of him was shocked. He couldn't believe how easy lying to her friends came to her. The Inn, they didn't know anybody, and it was a matter of preservation to a point. But now, why did she lie about the mission to this extent?
He cleared his throat, then said, "Oh, we were on our way to the Five Kage Summit. So we were somewhere in the Land of Fire."
"Right," she smiled. "We were at the same inn, and ran into each other outside the tea shop. I offered to buy him some dango, and we got to know each other. After that, we kept in touch."
Suddenly, the other jonin smirked knowingly, and said, "Oh. Is he who you'd run off to visit in Suna whenever you'd come to Central East Palace? Sort of like forbidden secret affair?"
Emika smiled to herself, then sipped her drink, letting them think whatever they thought.
Mikata gasped, covering her mouth. "That's why Ryuki agreed to it. You two must have been trying to get married for a while. He was always a sucker for happy endings." Several of the other posse members nodded sagely as if it all suddenly made sense.
"Is that true?" Tenshimi asked, her eyes wide on Emika. "Is Gaara the guy you've been in love with all this time?"
Emika cleared her throat. "Ehm," she breathed.
"Oh my gosh, that makes so much more sense now!" Tenshimi laughed, lightly tapping Kankuro on the shoulder with a fist. "And of course, you knew the whole time."
Kankuro shared a look with Gaara that was confused, but unsure if he should admit that. Gaara pressed his lips together. Kankuro scoffed muttering, "Guilty," into his drink.
Gaara decided not to add any details either, sipping his own drink as he looked at her. Last August hadn't been the only time she'd come to visit Suna the past several years. She had regularly come to Suna, seeing someone. If Gaara had known where precisely she was when he was in Futen the past several years, or when she'd been in Suna, he didn't think he'd have been able to keep himself away from her. Apparently, she hadn't felt the same pull.
That did leave the question: who was she visiting?
Out of Gaara's periphery, he saw Kankuro take a sip with an expression on them that was clearly asking the same thing. Did she have another lover in Suna? Someone she wanted to protect over Gaara?
Clearly this new Emika was an enigma Gaara didn't entirely know. And some mysteries needed to be solved before he committed to pushing their country to the brink of war.
Emika excused herself to the bathroom, and Tenshimi offered to go with her, and the three other girls in the posse stood, which caused Gaara to frown, yet Kankuro looked bored by the concept.
"I never understand why one girl goes to the bathroom, they all go to the bathroom," Saichi grumbled to the other men at the table.
"Time honored tradition," Kankuro scoffed, earning a clink of his beer bottle from the other jonin.
While the women were gone, the men mostly ate, commenting a little on other things. If anyone had caught the soccer game that afternoon. Had anyone tried out the pool yet, or sauna. What did they think of the movie that afternoon.
It was when the girls returned to the table mostly looking annoyed that the dinner went a little sideways. Most of the girls look frustrated or angry while Emika looked tired. "What happened?" Saichi asked for the group just before they saw Tenshimi snatch her drink, chugging it down, and storm the stage. "What's going on?" he asked, as the female guards grumbled, "Oh no."
"Ten, don't," Emika tried, but she was already almost to the microphone, which was usually reserved for the Master of Ceremonies.
Gaara felt his stomach lurch as he heard Tenshimi snap at the ballroom, "Hey everyone! Some of you clearly watched the news this morning. And some of you have seen Princess Emika enjoying her evening here."
"Excuse me, Ma'am," the Masters of Ceremonies stepped forward, trying to wave her off.
She ignored him as she continued louder, "And for some reason that gave a few of you the balls to harass her about not being in mourning. Now let me inform you, everyone at this table," she pointed to their corner table, "was close friends with Ryuki and is here celebrating his life and sacrifice. And yes, I said sacrifice. Ryuki did not commit suicide, as the news said. He was killed. Ryuki was a great man who sacrificed his life to make sure Princess Emika covertly married the man she loved. And neither Ryuki nor anyone at our table would put up with the harassment she just faced for the princess enjoying her honeymoon."
Kankuro, who had been the closest to the stage, finally reached her, wrapping his arm around her waist and hoisting her up like a sack of potatoes. "Come on, feisty-pants," he grunted as she dropped the microphone with a loud mechanical ringing.
"YOU KNOW NOTHING, SHEEPLE!" she howled since she lost the aid of the microphone.
As Kankuro hopped down the stage, he grumbled, "I think it's time to go." Several of the other body guards nodded, leading the way out. Emika grabbed Gaara's hand, and they left, flanked by Tenshimi's bodyguards, who were now clearly not just a bunch of pretty ex-ninja.
As they got to the elevator to head back to their rooms, Tenshimi struggled to get out of Kankuro's grasp, howling, "Let go of me, you brute!"
"Are you going to behave?" he asked.
She only glared back at him, which he returned with a knowing glower. She growled, and slapped at his arm, which he withstood with an annoyed eyeroll.
"I guess it's out then," Gaara sighed.
Saichi shrugged. "Eh, not really." Gaara looked at him askance, and Saichi added, "It'll be scuttlebutt on the ship, sure. But no one except the captain has any off-boat communication. Nobody would be able to say anything until the Coral Islands, in which case, the news will report it as unconfirmed rumors. Which will be two days before the original planned release at the earliest. And they'd want photographic evidence before reporting something as insane as the princess marrying her kage. Meaning they'd need a paparazzi already in the Coral Islands, ready to send photos." He pressed his lips to the side, then sighed, "If anything, you guys might get swamped with paparazzi when we get back to Ao Nami. But that was probably already going to happen."
Emika nodded, clearly agreeing with Saichi's assessment. "It's alright Gaara. The paperwork is already done, anyway. If anything, this just helps our story."
Gaara wasn't entirely certain, but Emika knew more how the media worked around the royal family, so he decided to defer to her judgement. If she wasn't going to stress about Tenshimi's blurting, then he wouldn't either.
The elevator opened, and they all spilled out in the mini lobby on Deck 8. "So, what do we do now?" Kotaro asked. "It's only seven. It's way too early to call it a night."
Tenshimi held up a hand, which looked utterly ridiculous with Kankuro still holding her like a sack of potatoes under his arm, and said, "We hang out in my suite. Dip into the drinks. Maybe the hot tub. Play some party games."
Mikata smiled eagerly, sharing a look with Yumi and the other female bodyguard as she declared, "I think we should play some Truth or Dare."
Tenshimi pointed at her excitedly and declared, "Top idea!" She slapped Kankuro's leg a little too close to his family jewels, causing him to wince and huff, "Hey!" as she ordered, "Lead on, brute!"
"My name's Kankuro," he growled.
"Not while you're holding me like this, it's not," she huffed back. She clapped her hands as she said, "Chop chop. Time's wasting."
Kankuro rolled his eyes, yet carried her back to their room the whole way, instead of letting her walk. Gaara had a feeling he enjoyed it a little. Manhandling snooty nobility. It reminded Gaara of hauling Emika out of the springs all those years ago. Minus the frustration she had caused him that evening, Gaara always remembered that moment fondly.
They reached the room, and Kankuro dropped Tenshimi onto the couch unceremoniously, causing her head to bounce, and her golden curls to flop wildly around her. She scowled at him, and he scowled back, completely unintimidated by her status as a noblewoman.
Meanwhile, Kotaro turned on the radio while the kunoichi dipped into the kitchenette bar and began mixing a drink of questionable amounts of alcohol in a pitcher. By the time they were done mixing, it was a murky brown color that looked vomit inducing. Gaara grimaced at it.
As a new song drifted on, Saichi smiled and wrapped his arms around Mikata's waist, declaring, "They're playing our song." They danced in the little dining area, swaying back and forth as their hips swiveled with the beat.
Everyone smiled, watching them dance until Tenshimi gasped, "The first dance!" She grabbed Emika's shoulder and said, "You never got your first dance!"
"It's alright," Emika said, shaking her head as if telling her friend not to worry about it.
"No, it's not," Tenshimi huffed. "It's a cultural staple. A tradition." She snapped her finger at the Kazekage. "Gaara. Dance with your wife!"
Gaara looked at her wide-eyed at such a command before admitting, "I'm sorry, but I can't dance."
Tenshimi looked at him offended, then said, "Then I guess it's lucky there's a dance class tomorrow. You're going. I'm signing you both up."
Gaara only pouted worriedly as Emika scoffed, "What?"
"Then you can have your proper first dance at the Masked Ball on the final night," Tenshimi declared.
Kankuro scoffed at Tenshimi's bossiness. "You can't just sign them up for a dancing class."
"I sure can. And we're going to make sure they go," she declared. She smiled at Emika as she added, "It'll be fun."
Emika scratched her forehead and muttered, "Yeah. I guess."
Gaara's heart pounded. Apparently, he couldn't argue his way out of this one.
Yumi held up the pitcher while the other woman held up a stack of shot glasses. "Who's playing?"
Several raised their hands, including Kankuro, and Emika. Gaara raised his hand as well, although he wasn't sure spilling his guts to Tenshimi's buddies was the best idea. However, he couldn't be the only hold out either. As the woman dealt out the shot glasses, Yumi explained, "Alright, the game is simple. When someone asks you Truth or Dare, you choose. If you don't accept the dare offered or answer the question asked, then you pour yourself a shot of this suicide punch, which has every mini bottle and beer can from the bar in it, stirred."
"Smells nasty. I would think twice," the other woman added as they gathered in a circle around the coffee table. And then the game started. Gaara ignored most of the ingroup drama reveals. He wasn't concerned with who was whose first kiss. He hadn't revealed much about himself. Someone asked him what he did for fun, and he said he raised cacti and did some gardening, which apparently caught some people by surprise. Also listed his top favorite movies. And that on late nights, he sometimes watched trash television reruns or read a book. Kankuro mostly accepted dares, much to Gaara and Tenshimi's chagrin. Mostly because Kankuro's dares tended to be something with Tenshimi's things. For example, one of the early ones was switch shirts with Tenshimi for the rest of the game, which was why Tenshimi was now in a baggy black button-up shirt and Kankuro was in a now form fitted glittering tank top that showed off his chest and clavicle. She pouted it would stretch out and be unwearable, to which Kankuro barked at her, "Are you saying I'm fat?"
"No. I'm saying you're bigger than me."
Emika split her turns fairly evenly between truths and dares. Although, when Mikata asked her exactly how long she and Gaara had been officially dating, Emika lied again and said not quite a year. Before that they were just pen-pals. The only one who would call her out on the lie was Kankuro, but he had Gaara's back. Beyond that, he learned very little except that she was rather good at staring contests, and drank the punch when asked what was the worst thing she lied about to a significant other. Yet she had no problem when dared to sit in Gaara's lap for the rest of the game, nor when Gaara was dared to grope his wife. She actually grabbed his hand for him and placed it on her breast, even though he was completely red from blushing.
Generally, he was having a good time, especially observing the others around him, especially Emika. He was also fairly certain Emika was doing the same with him to see how much he'd changed over the years.
That was until Tenshimi turned to Emika and asked, "Truth or Dare?"
"Truth," she said.
Tenshimi smirked then said, "Well, since the last time we played, you revealed you had sex with a total of 4 men …"
"Ten!" Emika hissed at her friend admonishingly.
Gaara's stomach twisted hearing that. He knew she'd probably been with her fiances in that capacity, but it was entirely different having it confirmed. But with the knowledge that she and Ryuki had never done anything, thanks to the actor's proclivity for other men, that left one man not on public record. One man he hadn't known about. Was he the one she'd been seeing in Suna mentioned earlier? He felt a lump appear in his throat that he gulped down, his jaw tightening to help school his features. If they had actually been dating as they'd lied, he'd already know all this, so he couldn't act shocked or surprised. Even though he definitely was.
Out of his periphery, he saw Kankuro picking at his beer bottle label, watching his younger brother's expression. Almost as if he were mentally telling Gaara he should have already known all this to some extent, but at the same time questioning Gaara if he was still sure about this path. Marrying Emika, who was an entirely different woman than the one he once knew and protected across the Wind.
Tenshimi scoffed defensively, "He's your husband, and the guy you've been dating apparently for a year. I assume he knows."
"Just ask your question," Kankuro said over her annoyedly before taking a sip of his beer.
Tenshimi scowled at him, then turned back to the princess and held up a finger and said, "How many men have you given oral to?"
Emika blushed, and Gaara knew he felt tense next to her, eagerly waiting her answer. "One," she said. Gaara tried to remain pokerfaced as he realized that meant he was her only in that regard. He felt his heart leap inside his chest, almost as if it could fly. Only him. Momentarily, he wondered if that meant the other men she'd lain with hadn't been about love. Like the consummation ceremony. Had those moments turned sex into a business deal for her?
"One?!" Tenshimi half shrieked, half laughed. "What? All of my boyfriends always begged me to suck dick over actual sex."
"Well, apparently I'm bad at it," Emika murmured.
Gaara cleared his throat, because that wasn't remotely true. He knew he'd been silent when she did it to him, but that was because he'd been in shock. Not because it was bad. In truth, he'd actually really enjoyed it.
He felt Tenshimi glowering at him, and ask admonishingly, "Gaara, you didn't …"
"It wasn't Gaara," Emika said quickly. She sighed, scratching her brow, then segued easily away from the topic. "My turn. Yumi, Truth or Dare?"
Yumi smirked at the princess. "Dare."
Emika pursed her lips, then said, "I dare you to shotgun a can of beer."
Yumi's eyes narrowed on the princess, and said, "I'll get a beer from our room." Then she got up and left. She was back in less than a minute with a beer and a kunai. She stabbed the can in its side, then tilted it back, chugging it down in one go. She finished by wiping her mouth with her wrist before chucking the can in the trash. "My turn. Kankuro. Truth or dare."
"Dare," he answered boredly.
Yumi smiled. "Kankuro. Kiss your roommate," she ordered, gesturing to Tenshimi.
Tenshimi rolled her eyes, then reached forward for the shot glass. "Here's your sho—" He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers. Gaara's eyes went almost as wide as Tenshimi's. It didn't take a genius to see they went together about as well as oil and water. Yet, Kankuro readily planted a kiss on her lips, dipping his tongue briefly into her surprised mouth. As Kankuro pulled away smirking, Tenshimi glowered after him, sputtering, "I … You … How dare you?"
"Someone needed to shut you up. Gaara, Truth or dare," Kankuro said over her as he looked at his brother.
There wasn't much debate on what he should pick. His brother wouldn't hesitate to ask him to do something utterly ridiculous his reputation couldn't come back from, even from the bodyguards. Gaara cleared his throat and said, "Truth."
Kankuro tongued his cheek, then asked, "What happened in the glen?"
Gaara stared his brother down. He'd thought his brother had forgotten about it ages ago, but apparently not. He felt Emika bristle next to him, and he knew from everyone else's expressions she hadn't told anyone in this group about that. He reached forward for a shot glass and the pitcher, earning excited murmurs through the group. It was the fifth shot of the game, and the others who had taken the shot said it didn't taste good. But it was punishment for not playing the game as intended, so he guessed the taste was secondary to its function. He poured the drink, then lifted it to his brother before knocking it back. He winced as the drink burned down his mouth and throat. This drink was by far worse than the whisky Kankuro gave him last year. Actually, he was fairly certain he tasted a hint of whisky in it. He grimaced as he put his glass down. One shot, and his head was spinning a little.
He blinked hard, then said, "That's a bit stronger than I'm used to. I believe it's time I withdraw."
"Aw." "Come on." "Boo." The admonishments came all together.
"I agree," Emika sighed. "It's time." He was thankful she agreed and stood, allowing him up. She grabbed his hand and said, "We'll see you tomorrow." And they returned to their room. As soon as they got into their suite, she dropped his hand, yawned, and said, "Thanks for calling it. I was getting pretty exhausted. Goodnight."
"Goodnight," Gaara said, watching her walk to her bedroom, making a mental note of all the things he now wanted to ask her. He paused at her latest reveal. He had to correct her. "Emika," he said. She paused at her door, turning to look at him curiously. "The oral? You weren't bad at it."
She frowned, as if unsure where that was coming from.
He felt his cheeks flush from embarrassment, but she had to know. He gulped back his feelings as he admitted, "You'd woken me up with it, and my reaction was shock and confusion. I was dealing with a lot of confusing emotions, and that moment especially because it broke my mission." He paused to clear a lump in his throat, "But it felt amazing."
She blushed and looked at the floor, then chuckled, "I guess that's a relief," before returning to her room. He didn't move from his spot until he saw her close the door behind her.
The dance class was for two hours before lunch, starting at 10:30 in the morning. They found Tenshimi and Kankuro there immediately. Kankuro looked annoyed to have been dragged along. Surely, he had better plans for today's activities. Especially with tonight being the last evening before reaching the shores of the Coral Islands. Gaara walked over to his brother as Tenshimi signed them in behind Emika. "So, you came," Gaara said smiling happily. And he was. Both of the brothers loved to see each other make absolute fools of themselves. It wasn't even a year ago Kankuro was petitioning for Gaara to dance the samba at Naruto's wedding. Really, he was only comfortable being ridiculous around Kankuro, Lee and Naruto. And Temari a bit, but being his sister, there were boundaries. She liked to act like she was more mature than her brothers, but she still laughed when he and Kankuro would make dirty jokes, even though she pretended not to.
"I can't believe she dragged me to this," Kankuro grumbled to Gaara, who only gave him a pursed smile. "You, I get. You just got married, and the first dance is a tradition. But …" He gestured to himself as an obviously single bachelor.
Gaara crossed his arms, letting out a small soft chuckle as he said, "Well, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one going to make a fool of myself here." Given the fact neither brother knew how to dance, at least Gaara assumed, this class would be mutually humorous and embarrassing for both of them.
As the women walked up to them, Kankuro whined, "Why am I here?"
Emika looped her arm easily through Gaara's as if the movement was utterly natural. Gaara only looked at her hand gently wrapping around the inside of his elbow momentarily, feeling his heart skip a beat.
"You're here on my dime and by my good graces," Tenshimi pointed out as she grabbed Kankuro's arm as well, and pulled him onto the edge of the dancefloor. "So, that means you do what I want."
"No wonder your boyfriend broke up with you," Kankuro grumbled under his breath.
Her head snapped to his, her eyes wide and angry as she hissed, "What was that?"
"Nothing," Kankuro corrected as Gaara chuckled behind him.
Gaara looked out, and saw several other couples waiting for the class. He'd seen as they walked into the ballroom that the class would be led by the dance choreographers of the cruise's opera show, which would be performed one of the nights while they'd be in Coral Islands. He wasn't sure if it was going to be while they were in Port Safin, the capital of the Coral Islands, or Minato Pāru, which was attached to Sangoshogakure, the ninja village of the Coral Islands. Both of which were on Yogan Isle, the largest island of the Coral Islands. Or if the show was while they were on Kamekojima, the smallest of the islands where the cruise-line had their own private beach and resort, which would be the last day they were in the Coral Islands.
Emika must have sensed his nerves, or maybe he was looking around the ballroom too much, because she leaned towards him and asked quietly, "Are you ok?"
He smiled a little ironically, then said, "I wasn't kidding when I said I couldn't dance. So, fair warning, I might step on your feet."
She patted his arm comfortingly. "Don't worry. I'll make you look good."
He gave her a sideways glance, then said skeptically, "You will." She only smiled knowingly at him.
Suddenly, the lights went out, and a few people gasped until a spotlight shone on the stage, where a couple appeared staring at each other, both dressed in black dancing gear. Suddenly, a guitar started playing, and they went into their first stances, then the beat kicked in, and they were dancing in well-practiced, fluid motion, coming together with perfectly in sync steps. People around the room clapped to the beat as they danced. They spun and swayed together perfectly, wrapping her legs around him in an intimate move, and grabbing his head as if meaning to kiss. Gaara blushed as the thought crossed him that they looked as if they were in the midst of an intimate act.
"The Ao Nami tango," Emika sighed. "I should have worn a more flowy dress. Or shorter."
Gaara's brow furrowed. Her outfit. That was her concern? Not the intricate steps or perfect synchronization. No. Her dress was the only problem.
The dancers parted for a second as the man spun, then jumped off the stage before popping up, stepping left, then right, and spinning to his partner who jumped into his arms, where he lifted her into a stunt that wowed the crowd before dipping her and spinning her, then resuming their steps, gracefully going around the room. They parted, walking away from each other in matching steps, only for them each to spin and turn to face each other, mirroring their movements as they returned to each other. They had an odd dancing fight where she pretended to slap him, but he caught it, then used it to direct the steps before casting her down, then picking her back up, and into a final flourishing spin, then down into a deep dip where she looked as if she was hanging off his arm.
The lights came back on, and the dancers straightened and bowed to the applause of their students for the morning. Gaara clapped as well, knowing fully well he could not perform that. He looked to his brother, who also looked nervously pale. If that was what they were going to attempt to teach in two hours, neither of them would do well.
The teachers introduced themselves and announced that the dance they just did was the Ao Nami Tango, which they would be teaching them the basics, and a few easy yet flashier moves if there was time at the end. And just before they started teaching the steps, they announced the important rule of ballroom dancing was that the man always leads. Gaara, having no dancing experience minus the occasional head bop in the solitude of his own room or study, immediately felt pressure to perform perfectly, yet knew that was not going to happen. He was not a dancer.
They taught the women's steps first. Gaara tried to watch Emika without being obvious about it, and he noted she seemed to know how to dance. She did the steps without issue, smirking at Tenshimi who was also performing the steps with ease, who only rolled her eyes at the princess.
Then they taught the men's steps, and Gaara knew he was going to be bad. What was the phrase? Two left feet? He did the steps as best as he could. He repeated to himself under his breath, "Slow. Slow. Quick, quick, slow."
"Other foot," Emika whispered helpfully.
Gaara's gaze shot up to hers, and asked, "What?"
"The men start with the left foot. Not the right," she said. "If we both start with our right, you'll kick my left shin."
Gaara's shoulders fell, and he shook his head frustratedly. "I'm not a dancer," he huffed.
She grabbed his shoulder and said, "Follow me." Then guided him through the steps next to him. Just as he thought he was getting the hang of the basic steps with the princess's guidance, the teachers then showed them how to hold their partners. His right hand pressing against her shoulder blades while his left held her other hand out while her left hand held onto his shoulder. Apparently, the leading was supposed to be all in the arms, but Gaara didn't see how that worked.
Then the teachers turned on music, and Gaara had to find the beat to dance to, which he had no idea how to do. He looked at her, and gulped. This was going to be bad. She smiled and said, "You've got this." He wasn't so sure. She began counting the beat for him, "Slow. Slow. Quick, quick, slow."
He stepped on her foot, and she winced. "Sorry. So, sorry," he winced, looking at his betraying feet.
"Don't look at your feet," she directed. "It's counter intuitive, but trust how your feet move."
He tried to listen to her direction, but only stepped on her feet several more times. "Damn it. Why are they teaching this dance for a beginner's class? Isn't it one of the most difficult Wind dances?"
"Actually, no. The most difficult to learn is Suna Samba," Emika stated. "Mostly because of the syncopated rhythm two/four time, and that's a solo dance usually. And the hip movements. The Ao Nami Tango is actually the easiest, along with the Tsumi Shi Cha-cha and Coyote Village's Rumba. All three are four/four time. But the tango is slower, like the Land of Water's Waltz."
Gaara grimaced. "That's not encouraging."
"Honestly, it looks more complicated than it is, because you can pass off every mistake as part of the dance," Emika stated. She shrugged as she added, "At least, that's what my dance teacher told me. Plus, there are several flourishes where you won't move at all, and I dance around you. So, as soon as you've got the basic steps down, you're good." She looked over his shoulder and added, "It looks like your brother's got the hang of it."
Gaara paused, looking over his shoulder, not noticing Emika spinning around him to blend in his movement with the dance. She was right. Kankuro was moving fluidly with Tenshimi, both of them scowling at each other. He rolled his eyes and spun the noblewoman around quickly, still glaring at her. She clearly wasn't prepared for the spin, but fell back in step with him before quickly stomping purposefully on his foot. Kankuro made a pained grimace, then threw her into a dip, making Tenshimi's leg fly up, before snapping her back into place, raising his eyebrow at her challengingly.
Gaara frowned as he realized his brother could actually dance. He grumbled to himself that he should have known. Both Temari and Kankuro were forced to go to the cotillions Gaara's father kept Gaara from. They both learned etiquette, dancing, and social politics while Gaara's training and education had been hard-lined into battle only. According to their father's plans, Kankuro was supposed to become the next Kazekage, and Temari would have married into a family that better secured Suna's standing, while Gaara was to be the dutiful weapon of mass destruction that warded off Suna's enemies and rolled in the money for difficult, high-paying missions. His father clearly had no vision of what the future held. Kankuro didn't have the drive or patience for Kazekage. Temari had married outside the village, and was now a citizen of Konoha. And Gaara was the Kazekage, meaning he went to the balls and cotillions the Daimyos threw, using the skills he'd had to develop on his own in order to garner the funding Suna needed. He wondered if his father had been offered this glimpse of the future, Gaara dancing the tango with the Princess of the Land of Wind, would he have changed course? Tried a different parenting approach with Gaara?
He shook his head, realizing that was just another crumbled road of could haves he didn't have the time to ponder. He had to learn this dance, because if not, he'd be the only fool here, clearly. As he looked around the ballroom, most of the couples had the dance down already. It was just him struggling. "Damn it," he cursed. He began watching his feet again, and again, he stepped on her feet or moved wrong.
"Stop looking at your feet," Emika directed again.
"If I don't watch my feet, how will I know where to step?" he huffed.
"Trust your feet. You know the steps. Just look at me," she directed. He shook his head with disbelief, and she pushed, "Trust me. Talk to me about something. Clearly you have some questions you want to ask since yesterday. I've noticed your staring."
That brought his attention to her face. "You want to get into that now?"
She chewed the inside of her cheek, then said, "If it will help you, yes."
He sucked his teeth, then decided to get the first question, the most major question, out of the way. "You've slept with three other men," he more stated then asked.
He saw the way her lashes fluttered she was hurt by something in his tone. He felt her finger picking at the hemline of his shoulder as she asked, "Is that a problem?"
"No," he said, then cleared his throat which suddenly felt tighter now that he was talking about it. "I'd assumed as much, you being engaged three times. But you also said that you and Ryuki never did anything." He gulped as he finally got to his question. "So, who was the fourth?"
That thousand-yard stare was back, looking to a far-off moment in time.
He licked his lips, then said, "Is he the one you've been going to Suna to see? Is he the lover they were talking about?"
She let out a shuddering exhale, dropping her hands as they stopped. He saw the tears in her eyes as she said, "I can't do this." She spun on her heel and walked out.
Gaara watched her leave, and as the ballroom door closed, he felt everyone's eyes on him. He sucked in a breath, turned to the teachers and gave a small bow. "Excuse us," he said, before brusquely walking out. He followed her back to their room, standing on the deck. He saw her arms wrapped around herself as if trying to hold herself together. "Emika, I don't want to fight."
"Then don't," she said. Her voice was low as if she was trying to hold back tears.
"Emika," Gaara tried.
"Gaara," she said, turning to him. She shook her head with a scoff, "Don't stand there and act like I was the only one who tried to move on. That you didn't get with other women."
"I didn't," he answered. She rolled her eyes, clearly not believing him. "The engagement in August was an arranged marriage the Council set up. I'd never met her before then," he explained. "As far as sex, it's only ever been you." She looked away, looking a little guilty. Gaara pressed his lips in a thin line. He didn't want to fight. "But I need to know, if there's another man …" Gaara started. If this was August all over again, he needed to know. It would break his heart if it was Emika setting him up as the cuckhold, rather than Hakuto, who he barely knew.
"There isn't!" she snapped, cutting him off. She rounded on him accusatorily, "I've been in love once, and it was you." She blinked away tears as she added, "And you broke my heart."
He looked down ashamed.
Her tone dripped with vitriol as she hissed, "What do you want to know about the other men? Hamaru was one time, and besides you, he's the only one I really count as sex. Then there was the one you didn't know about, a man named Genkei, who I only saw the one time. I don't even really count him, because he barely got two pumps in when I told him to stop and leave. I was just so desperate to feel something, and as soon as I felt him inside me, all I felt was regret. And the last was Touma, and …" She shook her head hard as if she was trying to suppress a painful memory, "… well, I don't like to count the times with Touma either because he never exactly had my consent."
Gaara stared at her frozen, trying to process everything she'd just thrown at him. Mainly that the second fiancé might have raped her, repeatedly, which made him angry. Unbelievably so. Gaara had never been thankful for someone else's pain or misfortune, but Gaara was happy Touma was dead now. The other thing was that the only men she had sex with really were Gaara when they were fifteen, and Prince Hamaru a few months later. Then the consummation ceremony, if one could call that sex. If what she said about the fourth man, Genkei, was true that is. He wouldn't classify that as sex either. Neither was rape.
But that still left the question. "Then, who have you been seeing in Suna?"
"Chie and Rinri," she answered as if the answer should be obvious. "Chie's the closest thing I have to a father, now. Who do you think helped me through the heartbreak you put me through? Who do you think helped me find myself and remember what was important? Of course, I see them whenever I can."
Gaara was silent a moment, then said, "It wasn't just your heart broken six years ago."
She frowned. "What?"
"I broke both of our hearts," he said sadly. "I let us both fall in love knowing it was doomed from the start. But my heart was no less broken than yours." He licked his lips. There was something in her answer that told him he was missing something. That she wasn't being entirely truthful about something, or keeping a secret hidden. Maybe it was the lie she told her friends. He pursed his lips, then asked, "Why did you lie to your friends? It's not like the mission was classified."
"Because I was ashamed," she finally said. He didn't want to admit it, but her answer hurt him. She'd been ashamed of being with him. "I went on a fake journey and fell in love with an idea," she explained. She turned her back to him as she whispered, "And there are some secrets no one can know about. Not even my friends." She looked at him sadly, and said, "You didn't even tell your brother about what we did. Or your sister, I'm guessing"
"I promised not to," Gaara said, as if it were easy enough. "I said not a soul." Maybe he should have told them, but he was a man of his word. And he said he wouldn't tell anyone.
She closed her eyes as if she were thankful, yet bittersweetly. "Thank you. Clearly, you're better than I am at all this."
Gaara frowned, but reached for her, and pulled her against him. Not for any reason other than he felt he should, and he wanted to feel her in his arms. What was more surprising was she let him. She wrapped her arms around him and cried into his chest. "Why is all of this so hard?" she asked.
He lifted her face by her chin and looked down at her, wanting to give her an answer that would make her feel better. But the only thing he could think to do was kiss her. He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. His tongue licked along her lips and she let him in. For a moment, it was as if no time had passed. He was holding her in the tent again, and with nothing between them but their love.
Before the kiss could get any deeper, about the third time she kissed him back, she seemed to finally regain her sanity and pulled away. "No," she breathed, stepping out of his arms. He looked at her sadly, because he hadn't wanted to let her go. "We can't." Before he could say anything, she walked around him and closed herself off into her room.
He licked his lips, still tasting her lip gloss on his lips, staring at her door. But he knew one thing now. The woman he loved was still in there, but trauma and heartbreak meant she had difficulty trusting people. Probably him more than others, since he was the source of her first major heartbreak. As for the trauma … he walked back to his room doing his best not to waste his energy on angrily thinking about Touma. It was no use thinking about killing the dead.
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