With my hand pressed firmly against my throat, I sat next to Shikamaru and waited for Naruto to return. The Nara was downright exhausted, because he first had to grasp the things, I had just told him. The demon that lived in Gaara was dangerous. Similar to Naruto. Only that a seal protected the Kyuubi from breaking out. And with Gaara, as far as I knew, this was not the case.
„This is taking too long for me now.I should have left. Typically, Naruto," Shikamaru said angrily and was about to get up when all at once footsteps echoed in the hallway. There was a dark figure coming down the corridor, keeping to the shadows. It was still impossible to make out the face. Groaning, Shikamaru straightened up and drew the attention to us. I frowned. Hopefully, it was someone who didn't have a problem with us, otherwise we were really screwed.
Slowly I felt my way up the wall and leaned against it. My head was spinning and the bleeding wound on my throat was burning like crazy. Immediately the Nara was at my side and put my arm around his shoulders to support me. The other hand was still on my neck. Couldn't even tell if it had stopped bleeding yet or not.
„Tora?! What happened? Where did all this blood come from?"
I looked up and was about to exhale in relief. The tall, dark figure was none other than Kankuro. Shikamaru stood at my side and eyed the Suna-nin suspiciously.
„It doesn't matter now," I said in a gruff voice. „Do you have anything there to bandage?"
The dark-haired boy nodded, rummaged in his pockets, and finally unearthed some kind of bandage. With shaking hands, he held it out to me. I would have liked to take it, but since one of my hands was still...
I nodded at him.
„Can you maybe take over? I'm a little incapacitated right now," I said, trying a small smile.
He nodded in surprise, and I removed the hand from my neck. Sure enough, it had stopped bleeding. Dried blood stuck around the wound and gave off an unpleasant metallic smell. I screwed up my face.
„How about we wash out the wound first? Kankuro can do that. Meanwhile, I'll go find Naruto, because I'm really starting to worry about that guy," Shikamaru said, turning around.
„Don't worry. I'll take care of her," Kankuro replied with conviction.
The Nara turned on the spot and eyed him scrutinisingly.
„Tora liking you is the only reason I'm leaving you alone with her here. Because after what happened earlier, I don't trust you Sunas one bit."
A hidden threat resonated in the Nara's voice before he turned completely and disappeared around the corner.
Silently, I washed dirt and blood from the deep cut while Kankuro stared ahead with a scowl. Confused, I paused in my movement and turned off the water, then carefully dried my neck. Then I reached for the bandage and set about wrapping the wound. It was uncomfortable to have the fabric so tight on my neck, yet it had to be done. I didn't take my eyes off Kankuro all this time. He still had his eyes fixed on the ground. He looked indecisive and uncertain. Something I didn't really know about him. Often, he showed himself as self-confident, determined and a little arrogant. But the picture that presented itself to me did not match that at all.
Something was preoccupying him, not letting go of his thoughts. But that wasn't just from today either. The strange thing was that the more time we spent together, the more thoughtful Kankuro became. I wonder if it had something to do with the fact that Gaara had said we shouldn't become friends.
But why?
„Kankuro. Why should you stay away from me?"
The Suna startled and looked at me with a mixture of surprise and dichotomy. Didn't seem to be able to answer, I had taken him very much by surprise with that question.
„Do you know that feeling? When you don't know what to do anymore because you' re afraid of hurting others?"
I tilted my head. What was he getting at?
„Yes ... at least, that of dichotomy. Being in between right and wrong," I said slowly, watching his every movement closely. He exhaled. I could almost see the weight he was putting on his own shoulders. Still, I didn't know if I could handle what he was trying to tell me. For the burden he was carrying seemed very heavy. I wonder if it was...?
„Tora. Suna and Otogakure have joined forces to destroy Konoha. And Gaara is our secret weapon. I'm so sorry."
It took me a while to really take in the words, they overwhelmed me too much.
„W-what?", I stammered. "But why? What have we done to you?"
„Suna has become less and less important in recent years. Because instead of requesting shinobi from Suna for certain missions, our lords want those from Konoha. On top of that, our salaries have been cut. We couldn't survive for long with that. That is why the Kazekage has joined forces with Otogakure to destroy Konoha and restore Suna to greatness."
Like a bolt of lightning, these words struck me. I could not bring myself to move. The truth hit me too hard. Now everything made sense too.
„Now I can see the connections," I said quietly, looking up into his face. The dark eyes tried to avoid my gaze, but I held on to his with my eyes. Didn't give him a chance.
„That's why Gaara didn't want us to be friends. And Hayate had to die because he saw something he shouldn't have seen."
Kankuro nodded slainly and moved a little closer to me.
But I backed away and a hint of hurt entered his dark gaze. Firmly I clenched my teeth, could not weaken now. He was my enemy. He should be. So why did I have doubts when he had just admitted to wanting to destroy my home?
„Why the hell?", I asked, clenching my teeth so hard they began to grind.
He backed away a little. Was he scared, or what?
What was I little girl supposed to do to him, he had much more chakra than me at the moment? The puppet was on his back as a matter of course and for a moment my eyes darted to it.
The Boy caught it and he let out a hiss.
„How can you assume that I ...? I would never ... especially not you."
With compressed lips, I returned his gaze and tried convulsively to push back the welling tears that fought relentlessly to reach the surface. No, I shouldn't be weak. He was my enemy dammit. Should be and had to be.
„How ... how can I trust you? Tell me," I pressed out in an increasingly loud voice. "Give me a reason."
His shoulders slumped a little. He looked tired and beaten. I eyed him suspiciously, ignoring the tear that had managed to leave his eyes and was now running coolly down his cheek.
My fingers clenched into fists, trembling incessantly, with anger, fear and disappointment.
Yes, I was bottomless disappointed in him. Never thought he would commit such a betrayal. It hit me harder than I would have thought. That fact alone was terribly frightening. Never again could I trust a stranger like that. Now I saw where this would lead.
„In the beginning, I was very convinced of my father's plans. I wanted to contribute to Suna not going under. But then... you were there. You treated me like a normal genin from Konoha. Without reservations. And it didn't just confuse me ..."
A small sad smile crept onto his features, and I pulled a puzzled face. How could he still smile now? In this situation?
„You have changed my views. No longer did I completely condemn Konoha for its actions, knowing that not everyone has such intentions, let alone knows about them. Besides, you were the first person who dealt with me normally, who didn't see me as the Kazekage's son. That and much more changed my views. From the bottom up...
Torn, I looked into his eyes, desperately trying to detect the trace of a lie in them. But the fact that I found none made me all the more desperate. What could I do? I couldn't let him go and equally I couldn't betray him. But I had to. After all, many lives were at stake here.
My well-being or that of many people. Which was more important?
Kankuro moved closer to me and this time I let him. Carefully, the Suna-Nin put his arms around me, and I leaned my head against his shoulder.
I felt something wet and cool on my cheek and paused.
His grip had tightened.
„I'm sorry Tora."
Then everything went dark.