Yashamaru

The dry desert wind rustled the edge of her dark cloak. Hidden beneath a shadowed overhang, her lip began to tremble, and she looked away from the funeral march beginning to cross the otherwise empty plaza. Ducking further into the tiny alleyway, she wrapped her arms tight around herself. Secluded and alone, the first few tears cascaded over the swell of her cheek and quickly turned into a flood. The taste of blood filled her mouth then, as she tried to silence the sobs wracking through her frame by biting the tip of her tongue.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…

A subtle shift in the air made her flinch. Pressing her back against the clay building, she tugged on the thick hood hiding her face in the hopes of remaining somewhat anonymous. Or, at the very least, unseen.

Luck was rarely ever on her side, though.

"Kagome."

Swiftly bowing her head, she tried to wipe at her eyes with the back of one hand.

"You know you're not permitted to be here."

"I'm not permitted to go anywhere," she snipped, refusing to lift her amethyst colored gaze from the sand beneath her feet. Shaking her head, she silently prayed that the wall behind her would swallow her whole when his sandals came into view.

"Your safety is my priority. It is my duty and my honor to complete that mission to the utmost of my ability." The monologue was well rehearsed and familiar, but it contained a twinge that made her shut her eyes tightly and clenched her fists. "You are a valuable asset to Sunagakure. You know this."

"'Valuable asset…'" Her face twisted into a grimace with the scoff. Biting the inside of her cheek, she jerked her head hard enough to shift the fabric around her ears. Several dark wisps of hair escaped with the movement, shadowing the soft edges of her face and shielding her all the more. "You and I both know that I'm just a prisoner," she nearly whispered. "It's because of that that you can't even watch your sister being laid to rest, and even worse it's… it's my fault that Karura-chan…"

"You weren't the one who doomed my sister." Though the masked ANBU did not outwardly display the surge of anger that seized him in that moment, the subtle shift of his aura betrayed him. He did sigh, however, recognizing when she sensed the change and tucked her head lower. His voice softened, meant only for them, as he quietly breathed, "You mustn't continue to blame yourself for the faults of the council and our Kazekage."

"But it is, isn't it?"

The resulting silence was like a dark and endless chasm, ready and willing to drown her in the stillness of it all.

"If I hadn't been so stubborn…" Kagome laughed for only a brief moment, before the soft, bittersweet sound was overtaken by another series of sobs. She pressed her knuckles against her lip in an attempt to quell the noise, and shook her head when the ANBU took another cautious step toward her. "If I'd just agreed, then maybe… maybe I could have fixed the seal they used." The words came in a rush, spilling out of her in between the wracking sobs. "Or… or I could have convinced them to wait… to… to maybe just wait a little longer… so that Karura-chan… my power might have been enough to act as some… buffer against Shukaku, and so maybe… maybe…"

His fingers were gentle, steady, as he wiped away her tears and lifted her head.

Finally meeting his violet stare, Kagome quietly whimpered, "Yashamaru-kun…"

"They wouldn't have waited," he told her just as softly. "Even with you here, they're much too afraid of Shukaku rampaging through the streets without a vessel to contain it." Holding her gaze, the corner of Yashamaru's eyes softened as he cradled her face. "My sister's death was a result of their cowardice, not yours."

Kagome's lip continued to quiver, as she said, "They won't let me see him."

"I know." Yashamaru sighed in response, shutting his eyes. "They fear you'll attempt to purify the great beast that took your dearest friend."

"But Gaara… he's all alone…" Reaching out between them, she tugged on his beige colored vest. Emboldened by the vacancy of the empty plaza, she closed the distance between them. Lifting her chin expectantly, the young priestess waited for him to finally lower his head once she had his attention. The symbol for Sunagakure engraved into the sleek metal of his forehead protector was a quiet comfort when pressed against her bangs, as well as a reminder that Yashamaru was at her whim so long as she remained a 'valuable asset' to the village. "Karura-chan…" biting into her lip once more, she shook her head, saying, "She wouldn't want him to be alone, Yashamaru-kun."

The ANBU's violet eyes cracked open, his eyebrows lowered in an obvious frown at the waver in her voice.

Kagome swallowed the lump in her throat and whispered, "If… if I just… go, then…"

"No."

"You don't understand," she snapped at his immediate response, "if I leave…!"

"No," Yashamaru repeated just as firmly. His fingers tightened around the gentle curve of her face, forcing her to focus entirely on him and what he had to say. "Karura would never ask for your life in exchange for her son's." His thumb pressed against her lip the moment she went to speak, causing her to silently gape at him in return. "Even if I entertained this madness of yours for a moment, I know that my sister was intelligent enough to know you would not survive in the desert by yourself." He paused then, before quietly confessing, "...that is why you are not allowed to leave the village, Kagome, even with an escort."

"...what?"

"Men are often fools when it comes to their wives," Yashamaru sighed, "and our Kazekage-sama is no exception."

Her eyes darkened a shade. "Karura-chan, she…?"

"She only ever wished for your safety." Frowning slightly, Yashamaru shook his head and closed his eyes once more. "She loved you like you were our sister in truth, Kagome. It's why she agreed for Shukaku's next vessel to be her son."

Staring up at him silently, the sudden twist of grief within his aura brought a new flood of tears to her eyes.

"Karura…" His strikingly colored eyes caught her with ease, as he continued after a moment by saying, "She told me that out of all the possibilities, the only person truly with a choice was her." Yashamaru's fingers slipped away from her face, settling on her shoulder when she attempted to bury herself further into the wall at her back. "That by protecting you… Gaara would be safe and loved, and that he would always have a shield against the beast inside him."

"But they won't let me see him!" Kagome nearly shouted in response, shaking her head at the implication that Karura had died... for her. "That's so… so…!"

"I know."

"They… they won't…"

"I know."

Unable to stop the sudden cascade of tears, the young priestess cried, "Yashamaru…"