Infected

Chapter 7 :Close Quarters

Hearing the rumble overhead Mizu instinctively covered her head and closed her eyes expecting rocks to come crashing down on her. She vaguely sensed being thrown to the ground but when she didn't experience the crushing death that awaited her, she opened her eyes. Gaara was pinning her to the ground, she could just make out in the darkness a dome surrounding them. Gaara's sand gourd had disappeared from his back, and the noise of the falling rocks quieted down. He was close enough she could feel his breath against her face; she could seem him squinting at her in the near darkness. Mizu reached up and poked him in the cheek.

"You're a little too close Kazekage," Mizu laughed.

Gaara turned bright red and jumped back accidently slamming him head against his total defense wall. As pain shot thru his head he reached up and rubbed the sore spot tears welling up in his eyes. Mizu snickered as she sat up in the small enclosed space, reaching up she felt the top of the ceiling about her and realized that it was sand.

"Is this you're doing," she attempted to look at Gaara in the dark.

He'd never been so happy there was barely any light inside his jutsu before. Earlier when he tackled her to the ground to save her, he accidently stuck his face into her hair. He didn't mean too, but he lingered for a bit. She smelled like grass and wind, something that didn't grow a lot in his village. Her smell was calming and fresh. He thought she realized the weird thing he was doing, and that's why she told him he was too close. W-what I was doing?! His heart pounded and he couldn't think clearly.

"Kazekage?" Mizu asked again.

"What? Y-yes, this is my jutsu," Gaara answered trying to get his wits about him.

"Oh, it's quite useful though a little cramped," Mizu patted herself to make sure she had all her limbs.

"Usually, it's just me inside it," Gaara replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh? You've never invited Naruto in?" Mizu snickered.

"Invite him in? I only use this when I am under attack," Gaara tilled his head confused.

Mizu sighed loudly, "Sometimes you're hard to tease Lord Kazekage."

Gaara sat for a moment this blushed harder realizing she was expanding on her earlier joke, "I am not attracted to guys!"

... Huh, I've never really thought about that before but I guess I am really not.

"Oh? Then is there a girl in your village you fancy," Mizu chuckled.

"No," Gaara answered flatly and honestly.

Mizu looked at him awkwardly which was hard to do in the darkness. She found it hard to tease someone so forward.

"What about that pink haired girl? She's pretty," Mizu deiced to continue, anyway.

"Sakura? What about her?" Gaara felt even more confused.

"You don't think she's pretty?" Mizu rephrased the question.

Gaara frowned bewildered, "I've never thought about it."

"If she asked you on a date would you say yes?" Mizu teased.

"No, she's married," Gaara replied flatly.

Mizu looked at him stunned, "Seriously?"

"Anyway, don't move for a second I am going to unbury us now before we run out of air."

Gaara weaved a few hand signs in the dark and the ground rumbled. The sand shifted the rocks above them and pushed them to the sides. Once the rocks were off of them he released the sand and they both climb out of the pile and to the other side where the ground was flat. Gaara peered up at the top of the cliff concerned. Rock falls weren't uncommon, but they didn't happen without a reason. What made them fall? He noticed something at the top of the cliff that seemed off.

"Wait here a sec," Gaara commanded then ran up the cliff side, he hopped onto the top and inspected the area the rocks fell from.

The area was black streaks on the brown rock in some places and he found the remains of part of a paper bomb. This was done intentionally but by who and why? Whoever detonated the bombs where nowhere to be seen and he couldn't feel any nearby presences. Returning to the bottom Mizu looked at him concernedly.

"Find anything?"

"Nothing useful," he admitted.

We should return to the village but... I still need those herbs. Gaara crossed his arms as he debated what to do.

Mizu smiled at him knowingly, "Well, let's get going then. We still have a ways to go. I am sure if anything happens you'll protect me."

His heart skipped a beat again. He nodded and reformed his gourd to his back as Mizu turned and continued. I really need to have Sakura give me a checkup there's got to be something wrong with my heart. A mutation of the virus, maybe?