Have you guys watched Heeramandi on Netflix? There are so many things wrong with it but that the same time…what a visual feast, it is unbelievably beautiful! And if you want to understand more about Indian courtesan culture then please watch. Although it is a little more gritty and dark than I expected

She Divided a Star

In the lower planes of Tengoku (heaven), many thousands of moons before you were born, dear reader, a sacred tree grew from the tears of a god as he wept for his mortal wife. Over time, it grew, it's roots twisting and tumbling out the fertile soil in which it made itself a home. It bore a sweet, pink fruit that promised a divine gift, known only by the gods; chakra. The source of all shinobi power, the life force behind creatures untameable, the tree waited in yearning for the season of harvest. But gods had no interest, and mortals fumbled in ignorance in their short lifespans, ignorant of the gift that waited in the heavens above them.

In this realm of celestial dreams, the tale of two goddesses unfolded, their fates entwined like the roots of the sacred tree. Born the light of a pale star, Renai emerged as the embodiment of love, her essence a shimmering dance of warmth and affection. But, as keen readers will know, everything exists in a balance. In the grand tapestry of existence, equilibrium must be maintained and it is from the shadows of Renai's light, that another goddess took form, a mirror image of the goddess of love, yet steeped in the echoes of her opposing nature.

Kaguya was born of hatred and greed, a creature made solely to serve her own purpose, no matter the cost. She was not beautiful, like Renai, not charming, like Renai, nor beautiful as the moon, like Renai. The two, born from the same star, were the opposite of one another. And while Renai could embody the negative aspects of love; jealously, vanity, possessiveness, she was devoid of hatred and malice. Kaguya, her eyes white and hollow, could find no god to like her, no god to love her. Her tears went unnoticed by the gods who were so selfish and so lovestruck by Renai, that they could not bear to look at her sister.

Soon after her creation, Renai's heart was captured by the god of war, Sensō. Their love filled up the universe with its brilliance. Together, they formed the divine union known as the Blood-Love, a bond so powerful that it was said to transcend the boundaries of time and space. But their happiness was not the only story woven into this celestial tapestry, for Kaguya, in the depths of her heart, harbored a secret love for Sensō. She spied him one day walking through the gardens of heaven and upon approaching him to tell him of her love for him, he scolded her. He told her, with such ferociousness, that he would never be hers. That his heart forever, eternally, belonged to Renai.

Kaguya's love for Sensō consumed her, a fire that could not be quenched, and as she watched him find solace in Renai's arms, her heart grew cold and bitter. The pain of her unrequited love drove her to seek power, a means to prove her worth and to gain the attention and affection of the one she desired above all else. And so, driven by this all-consuming passion, Kaguya sought out the Divine Tree, on the lower planes of heaven.

In her quest, she waged war against the heavens, her armies clashing with the guardians of the sacred realm. The battle raged like a tempest, shaking the foundations of the divine world, until at last, the gods emerged victorious, and Kaguya was vanquished. In her last act against the gods, as Sensō turned his back with a triumphant smile, eager to return to his Renai, Kaguya used the last of her strength to grasp ahold of his cloak and curse him. It would be centuries, until he was able return to heaven. The god of war, young and arrogant, had laughed and shrugged the woman away, unaware that spells of hate are equally as powerful as spells of love. It would be many centuries until he was reunited with the goddess of love.

The deities, drunk on their triumph and blinded by their own egotistical brilliance, did not notice that Kaguya, before her banishment, had stolen a fragment of the Divine Tree's fruit, a seed of untold power. With this forbidden treasure, she fled to the mortal realm, planting the seed deep within the earth. There, nurtured by the blood and tears of mankind, the tree took root, and Kaguya's power grew, a malevolent force pulsing beneath the surface of the world. When the tree bore fruit, she consumed it greedily and became the first being outside of heaven to wield chakra. For eons, the gods paid no heed to the happenings on Earth, their attention consumed by the grandeur of their own celestial lives.

But Renai, who had taken up her position at the gates of heaven to wait for her love, had become fond of peering into the mortal world. One day, she saw the power that Kaguya acquired and could see the strands of fate weaving a new pattern, a destiny that would soon entangle the mortal and divine realms. No gods would heed her warning; why should they care about the affairs of mortals? But Renai did care for these creatures who loved so dearly, so sweetly, throughout their mortality.

She continued to watch the desolation of her beloved earth as Kaguya, a force unprecedented in that world, tore it apart. Renai gasped as Kaguya's two sons, Hagoromo and Hamura, engaged in battle against their own mother's malevolent power. All hope was fading, fate seemed to be siding with Kaguya as her son's, try as they might, could not surpass her power. Now, Love is a reckless, rebellious thing; against the wishes of the Creator, she took her favourite star from heaven and divided it into nine pieces. Working quickly as she sensed the growing darkness, Renai breathed life into nine celestial beings, each embodying a different aspect of love's infinite nature.

These nine tailed beasts descended upon the earth, joining forces with Kaguya's son's. As the conflict raged, the tailed beasts merged their essence, forming the mighty Ten-Tails, a celestial entity pulsing with the combined power of love's myriad forms. With the Ten-Tails at their side, Hagoromo and Hamura vanquished Kaguya, sealing her away and restoring balance to the world.

Renai had wept, when Hagoromo refused to return her beloved tailed beasts to heaven. They were her creation, her love, come to life and being parted from them was an ailment. She was the mother of the ten tails and swore one day she would come down to earth and bring them home.

But the echoes of Kaguya's influence lingered, a testament to the enduring power of her unrequited love for the god of war. Not as powerful as her rival, she could not place an incarnate and earth. Instead, she placed the embodiment of her will to wait and watch for signs of Sensō and Renai's reunion. And if that ever was to happen, she would be waiting, patiently, unmoving, for her reawakening.

On the battlefield, Gaara pulled away from the kiss abruptly, his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and horror. He stumbled back, putting distance between himself and Ai, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. The realization of what he had done, of the weakness he had shown in front of his troops, his siblings, and his enemy, crashed over him like a tidal wave.

Ai, her lips still tingling from the intensity of the kiss, watched him with a knowing smirk. She could see the conflict raging in his eyes, the desire warring with the shame and the guilt. And all who know Love, know she is vain. She could not help but engage with her enemy in the only way she knew how to win him over. Slowly, she sauntered towards him, her hips swaying with each step, the battlefield fading away until it was just the two of them, locked in the all too familiar dance of temptation and resistance.

"Tell me, Kazekage," she purred, her voice low and seductive, "amidst the heat, the blood, the adrenaline of war," Ai whispered up to him, "you're still dying to own me, aren't you?"

Gaara's breath hitched, his body responding to her words like they always did, all those years ago. He clenched his fists, willing himself to stay in control, to not succumb to the desire that coursed through his veins like molten fire. He would not be fooled. He knew her better than anyone, knew the depths of her devotion, the intensity of her love that bordered on obsession.

"You think you have control here, Ai?" he asked, his voice low and mocking. "You think that because I kissed you, because I showed a moment of weakness, that you somehow have power over me?"

Ai laughed, the sound tinkling like shards of glass on the wind. She closed the distance between them, her fingers trailing along his chest, feeling the thundering of his heartbeat beneath his armor. "Who are you to fight the destiny of the blood-love, Kazekage?"

Gaara grabbed her wrist, his grip tight enough to bruise. "I am not that man anymore, Ai. I am the Kazekage, and I have a duty to my people, to my village-" his first love laughed, a vicious, condescending smirk spreading across her lips. It was as though the teenagers they had once been were meeting again and the temptation of flirtation was almost too overbearing to ignore. In any other legend, any other time or place, one could mistake the two enemies for lovers.

Gaara stepped closer, his sand swirling around them like a cocoon, cutting them off from the rest of the world. "Don't play coy with me, Love. We both know the truth. You've been waiting years for this moment, years to beg for my love again." The smirk was wiped from her face. "Tell me, Ai," he whispered, his eyes watching her lips begin to tremble as he brought her close, "how many nights have you lain awake, aching for the feel of me? How many times has he touched you, only to have you imagine my hands on your skin, my lips on your yours?"

Ai's breath caught in her throat, her heart pounding as Gaara's words awakened a serpent in the depths of her soul. "You are wrong," she whispered, but while her voice held conviction, her body was betraying her as she leaned into his touch.

Gaara chuckled darkly, his fingers trailing along her jaw, tilting her face up to meet his gaze. "Am I?

Ai shuddered, her eyes fluttering closed as shame and desire warred within her. "Stop it," she pleaded, but her words were a breathless whisper, a halfhearted attempt at resistance.

"You will always be mine, Ai," Gaara murmured, his lips brushing against her ear. "No matter how far you run, no matter how much you try to deny it, you will forever want me. And one day, when you can no longer bear the weight of your longing, you will come crawling back to me, begging for my love, for the touch of you the man who owns you."

With a final, anguished look, Gaara turned and walked away, his sand carrying him back to his troops, back to the battle that awaited him. Ai watched him go, her face a mask of cold fury. She had underestimated him, underestimated the strength of his resolve. But no matter. Her anger fuelled her convictions; the stage was set, for her final reckoning.

She had felt the flutter in the earth as another creature, dear to her heart, touched down on the sand.

As Gaara landed gracefully beside Temari, Naruto, and the Tsuchikage, he was immediately greeted by a chorus of stunned faces and awkward silence. The Kazekage could feel their eyes on him, a mixture of confusion, concern, and in Naruto's case, barely contained curiosity.

"I didn't know you had it in you, Gaara," the blonde shinobi teased, trying not to laugh.

Temari shot Naruto a withering glare, her fan twitching dangerously in her grip. "Naruto, I swear, if you don't shut up..."

Naruto held up his hands in a placating gesture, a nervous laugh escaping his lips. "Okay, sorry! Geez, you Sand siblings are all so intense." He turned back to Gaara, his expression growing more serious. "You know what you're doing, right, Gaara?"

Gaara felt the heat rise to his cheeks, his embarrassment only slightly tempered by the gravity of the situation. "I forgot myself for a moment," he admitted, his voice low and steady. "But I have not forgotten the task at hand, nor my duty to the shinobi world." The Kazekage said confidently. "I made a mistake. It changes nothing."

The Tsuchikage, who had been watching the exchange with a mixture of amusement and exasperation, cleared his throat. "Young love," he mused, a wistful smile playing on his lips. "It has a way of making even the most level-headed among us lose our senses," he shot Gaara a look of understanding before turning back tot he battlefield. "I am glad your priorities remain in order, Kazekage." Gaara let out a breath or relief as he heard the kind words from the older Kage. His actions on the battlefield could have put him in a very dangerous situation with his comrades. How could he possibly explain the bond of blood-loved to them? How could anyone?

Temari sighed, her shoulders slumping in defeat. "As if this war wasn't already enough of a mess." She stopped short as her heart clenched at the look of anguish on her brother's face. "I trust there is a good reason you did not capture her then and there, Gaara?" His sister pressed him.

The Kazekage turned to his sister, friend and comrade and nodded. "There would be serious strategic ramifications if we were to capture Ai at this moment, namely, there are multiple battles happening across the shinobi world at this moment. If we captured her, who knows the retaliation of the enemy on the other battlefields. And we do not yet know what Ai is capable of; she has reanimated the dead, tampered with forbidden spells, who knows what else she is willing to do? I would rather not have such a powerful, hotheaded child as a prisoner of war just yet." The Tsuchikage nodded.

"Her capture could escalate tensions and provoke retaliation too early in the war; we should wait to hear of victory on the other battlefields," the tsuchikage agreed. Temari seemed less persuaded but one thing remained unchanged:

"I trust you, Gaara," she said, adjusting her fan on her back as though that would do something to alleviate the heat of the sun bore the beach. She turned suddenly at an alarming sound behind them and stood ready to attack.

"Oh my goodness, did you see that!?" Temari rolled her eyes as Matsuri, Gaara's first student, squealed to a friend as they both stood, starry eyed at each other. "Gaara-sensei kissed her, in the middle of the battlefield!" She swooned.

"How romantic!" Her friend replied, her high pitched voice making Gaara wince as he hanged his head in embarrassment.

Naruto snorted, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "You know," he said, a hint of jealousy creeping into his voice, "in another universe, I am the main character in this story." (A/N: You'll always be the main character to me, Naruto.)

But before anyone could respond, Naruto suddenly stiffened, his eyes glazing over as he began to mutter to himself. Gaara recognised what was happening instantly; Naruto had the look of a jinchuriki battling on the inside, trying to calm the beast within. The Kazeakge exchanged alarmed glances with his sister, their hands instinctively reaching for their weapons.

"Naruto?" Gaara called out, his voice tinged with concern. "What's happening?" But Gaara could hear it to, her voice on the wind, sweet and inviting:

Kurama?

But Naruto did not respond, his body moving as if possessed by some unseen force. With a suddenness that left them all reeling, he leapt into the air, his body hurtling towards Ai's location with a speed that defied belief.

No reviews for the last chapter- come on, show the story some love! I have updated three weeks in a row!

I really hope you are all enjoying it and believe that this is the way to go with Ai and Gaara's story.