Sunlight shined down in his sea foam green eyes as he looked out over the Village Hidden in the Leaves. After requesting a meeting with the Hokage, Tsunade, he began to look forward to coming here. It had been too long since he saw all his old friends in Konoha, even if he was here for much darker reasons than just saying hello. He had come here on strict business, with a strict plan in mind. As the new Kazekage of Sunagakure, he had to keep all serious matters in mind. No time for anything else now. But, yet, this place... It's where she lived...
"Gaara," His older brother voice sounded from behind him, a hand landing on Gaara's shoulder. "You sure about this?" His voice seemed worried, unsure. It was sort of out of character for him. But Gaara knew the discomfort was genuine, that his brother and his sister were both unnerved by what was happening the three days' journey back home. He didn't blame them, though; the whole entire dark matter was unsettling enough. But that's why they came here.
At first, Gaara disagreed with the idea of leaving his Village in the time of need. But after listening to the Sand's council, he was convinced that going to the Konohagakure and requesting the meeting with the Hokage Tsunade was for the better. With the accompaniment of his older brother, Kankuro, and his older sister, Temari, he was off and running to get to the Leaf Village.
As they all stood on the cliff that overlooked the village, Gaara sighed and closed his eyes. If only he had come under better circumstances, then he might actually be able to stop and see old friends. But he couldn't now, not with all he was being forced to deal with. Maybe if he snuck out one night while he was here, he could meet up with her, but when he remembered who her brother was, he immediately dismissed the idea of even trying to see her. He had forgotten her brother was over-protective...
"Ready?" He asked his two older siblings, who both nodded confidently. He took a deep breath and opened his eyes. "Let's go."
~~~ ^-^" ~~~
"Please, Nii-sama! Please!"
Shikamaru just rolled his eyes at her childishness, but didn't uncross his arms. "No, Tsuki." He wasn't about to give in, even though he always did in the end. She was so troublesome, always begging to do things that were so dangerous... He wished she would just stay home so she wouldn't get hurt.
"Shika, it’s just shopping! She's not going to die..." Tenten sighed heavily, placing a hand on her forehead and shaking her head pitifully. "Stop being so overprotective of her! She's only a few years younger than you, its not like she's an infant or anything!"
"Shika-nii! Can I please go? Please!" She begged him, getting down on her knees and clapping her hands together, shaking them every so often. He shook his head sternly, and turned to trudge back inside to get something to eat, but as he did, something latched on to his leg and tripped him. Veering his head to look over his shoulder, he saw his little sister had clasped onto his leg.
"Tsuki! Let go of my leg, baka!" Shikamaru yelled at her, trying to shake his leg free of the oh-so-troublesome girl. He hated when she did things like this, which was pretty often enough. Most people always said that they were so alike, but the two siblings didn't see it. And, at the moment, Tenten couldn't see it either. She stepped back as she watched Shika hold up a hand-sign. "Kagemane no jutsu!"
"N-no! Shika-nii!" She complained as Shika pried her off with his Shadow jutsu. Though it was quite awkward looking as Shikamaru attempted to move her off of him in this manner, considering he had to imitate her movements to get her off in the first place. It was like watching some Twister game gone bad. Tenten shook her head when the girl just reattached herself to the boy's leg as soon as she was released from the jutsu. "I'm not letting go, baka~!"
"You might as well just let her go, Shika. She'll keep pestering you anyway..." Tenten said, shrugging at the both of them. "So, what's it going to be? Let her go shopping with me, or have her die of boredom here?" She meant it jokingly, but it was clearly dead serious under all kidding around. Tsuki was still clinging to her older brother's leg with tiny fists, face scrunched up in determination. The sight made Shikamaru smile softly, he placed a hand on her black hair, causing the girl to open her eyes and look at him hopefully.
"Shika-nii?" She asked innocently, hands loosening their grip on his pants as the hopeful look floating in her big black eyes. "Can I please go?"
Shikamaru sighed, this was about the part he was about to give up. He was used to this same old play, he had repeated over a thousand times before and knew the outcome. Tenten raised an eyebrow at his smile, now just waiting for the word that she even knew he was going to say.
"Alright," He finally agreed. "You can go shopping with Tenten."
Of course, Tsuki didn't let go of his leg. Instead, she clamped her arms around in a hug so tight that he was sure she would break his poor leg. He tried to pry her off again, while Tenten just stared at the awkwardness of it all. But she was used to weird situations. She was on a team with Gai-sensei and Lee, after all. With them, every second was an uncomfortable weird moment, with the two Nara siblings, it was just every once and awhile, or when Tsuki wanted to go somewhere with somebody. Tenten didn't understand how Tsuki got to on all the dangerous missions she was sent of too, but then Shika wouldn't even let her go shopping with someone he knew personally. But she dismissed the thought, figuring she wouldn't get it anyway.
"Arigatou, Shika-nii!" She thanked him, still hugging onto his leg. "Arigatou!"
Shikamaru sighed heavily, leaning back against the sliding door frame of the Nara residence. "Such a troublesome girl..." But it didn't matter, he was used to it.
~~~ ^-^" ~~~
"I see," Tsunade said, her head placed on top of her folded hands. "So that's why you came and requested this meeting..."
"Yes. We've managed to keep it quiet, but back-up is becoming necessary. Many of our side are injured and we do not have enough medical ninjas to heal them all." Gaara stated, then closed his eyes and bowed his head in respect. "That is why, Hokage Tsunade, we have come to request for your assistance in this underground war."
"Hm..." Tsunade closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair. "Alright, I'll help you out. One of my three best medical ninja, Sakura, is out of the Village on an important mission; Shizune must be here with me to help with Konoha matters..."
"What about the third?" Gaara asked, opening his eyes again. "It does not matter who, anyone will do."
"Her name is Nara, Tsuki. You know her as Nara Shikamaru's younger sister. She has outstanding chakra levels, and can perform a wide-range of jutsu, including medical ninjutsu and the re-animation ninjutsu. She is also capable of the Shadow Possession and Shadow Strangle jutsu because of her heritage with the Nara family. Her weapon personal includes twin fans, one named 'Day', the other named 'Night'. She isn't the kind of girl that you would want to cross in my opinion." Tsunade took a deep breath and exhaled heavily after listing of the child's abilities.
"Re-animation no jutsu?" The three said in unison, all bug-eyed. Tsunade nodded, the three still maintaining their shocked faces as they just gaped at the Hokage.
"Lady Chiyo used that jutsu to save Gaara when...!" Temari exclaimed then trailed off, not wanting to finish. Kankuro crossed his arms and closed his eyes, releasing a sigh as the memory came back to him.
"Lady Chiyo taught her the jutsu, remember? When Lady Chiyo gave up her life to save Gaara's, she taught Nara Tsuki how to use it, so the jutsu wasn't forgotten forever." Kankuro explained, recalling Tsuki crying when Lady Chiyo passed away. Sakura and her were both attached to the elder in the short time they knew her. Lady Chiyo's death crushed them both.
"Correct. She's in town now, and she would be an outstanding aid for all of you-" Tsunade was interrupted when the door opened.
"Lady Tsunade, I have today's reports-" Shikamaru said as he waltzed in, then froze at the sight of more people than expected. "Oh, sorry, I didn't think there'd be people here." He apologized, but Tsunade waved him in.
"Step in here for a moment, there's something we would like to discuss with you..." Tsunade ordered and Shikamaru raised an eyebrow before doing as she demanded. "About your little sister, Tsuki..."
~~~ ^-^" ~~~
"Lady Tsunade, I object to this!" Shikamaru protested, slamming his fist down on the desk. "I will not have you put Tsuki in a war!"
"I know she's your sister, but she won't actually be fighting, Shikamaru." Tsunade tried to reassure him, or in the least bit, quiet him down. "You have nothing to worry about."
"I have plenty! What if she was kidnapped or something?!" Shikamaru exclaimed. "You cannot put her in such a troublesome mission!"
"Nara Shikamaru!" Tsunade yelled, banging her fist down on the desk with a heavy, angry fist. Shizune sighed as the desk cracked down the middle, splitting in half. She would have to get a new one later on, again. Tsunade didn't pay any mind to the broken furniture. "She will be placed on this mission, got it?!"
Shikamaru sighed angrily and nodded. He should have known better then to yell at the Hokage. Moreover it was Lady Tsunade, who could probably crush him in half if he got her angry enough. He knew better then to test her patience; she had little of it. Watching her smack down on Naruto time and time again gave him a pretty good idea on what he would be in for if he got her nerves.
He handed Shizune the reports with an annoyed grunt before shuffling out of the room. He knew he had no choice in the matter; the Hokage had made up her mind.
~~~ ^-^” ~~~
“A war?” Tsuki echoed, looking at Tsunade with uncertainty. “You’re going to put me into a war?”
Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples and warding off the headache that was coming due to too much sake on her part. “You will not be fighting, Tsuki, you’ll be helping medical-wise. Stop acting so worried, it’s not good for a kunoichi to show any kind of weakness.”
“Oh, hai, Tsunade-sama!” Tsuki nodded, erasing her worried look with one of confidence. “Who will I be accompanying?”
Tsunade’s eyes moved over to the other side of the room and Tsuki’s followed to meet the three Suna shinobi. Tsuki practically jumped out of her skin.
“Gaara, Kankuro, Temari! When did you guys get in here?!” She asked, incredulously.
“We’ve been standing here since before you came in. In other words, we’ve been here the whole time, baka.” Temari shook her head at the girl, before walking over and ruffling up Tsuki’s hair. “Been awhile, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah! I haven’t seen you guys in forever!” Tsuki agreed, nodding after she tried to fix her now overly fluffy and poufy hair. “How’s it been?”
“Excuse me.” Tsunade interrupted, coughing to get their attention. “We really don’t have time to be discussing how everybody has been and exchanging hellos. We have business to attend to here, people. No time for these kinds of things…”
“Well, I believe we are ready to head off anyway. We just needed to request a good medical-nin then head back to Suna as quickly as possible. The war will not just simply pause while we’re away, you see.” Gaara reminded them, turning to leave. His white Kazekage robe fluttering ever-so-slightly as he began to walk out of the room. Tsuki stole a glance at him from the corner of her eye, watching him with a slight pink on her cheeks. She did like Gaara, but she doubted he returned it. Despite the fact that Gaara wasn’t as rigid and emotionless as he used to be, she was sure he only thought of her as a friend, if not an acquaintance. She highly doubted also, that her brother would even let her anywhere near a guy if she felt something for, Shika-nii would drag her away by her hair, or become very defensive. Both were uncomfortable and awkward situations that Tsuki wanted to hover away from.
“Alright, we’ve got to head out. Thank you for your help, Hokage Tsunade.” Gaara said as he looked back over his shoulder, nodding in respect and appreciation. “We might be able to get through this with your help, now.” He said, giving a small look of relief and hope. The underground war had been spanning for weeks, and he had known that his side was the losing one. With help from the Hokage and Tsuki, they had a better chance of making it through and maybe even coming out victorious. All he could do now was hope, because he had her with him.
She had always given him hope, never really afraid when they were younger and in the Chuunin Exams, she was afraid of him when he lost control. In fact, he was one of the people that were worried and tried to snap him out of it. She had pleaded with hi, he remembered, even when he had her at his mercy and intended to crush her with his sand. She had always stood up for him when he visited Konohagakure, keeping anyone who wanted to mess with him away. She was like an umbrella in a heavy rain, a cold drink of water on a scorching day. She was the sign of relief, of hope for him. And it if weren’t for her over protective brother, he would have told her how he felt. But if he did that, he knew that Shikamaru would cut off all connectivity of her to him and he would hardly ever see her. So he decided to not tell her and keep the feelings inside, figuring it would be better to hide the feelings and see her more often than tell her and almost never see her again.
He hated it though. He hated the feelings that were locked up inside his being, hated the constant and non-stop anxiousness that came from being in love. The emotions he wouldn’t confess, the emotions that kept building up inside him. He felt like a ticking time bomb, waiting for the one thing that would set him off and let him spill everything; his feelings, the anxiousness, the way Tsuki made him happy and hopeful. He wanted to scream it out loud, which was oddly out of character for him. His normally calm and collected demeanor that he had obtained after his revival courtesy of Lady Chiyo, had been upset due to his recent onslaught of new and uncomfortable feelings.
He knew he couldn’t keep it in much longer. But what would he do when he did explode? It was almost like there was another war brewing, and his heart was on the battlefield.
~~~ ^-^” ~~~
“I still don’t understand how you did this.” Tsuki stated for the thousandth time as she stared at the wound on is shoulder. She had stopped the bleeding easily, but she knew she would find it a little challenging to heal the wound correctly. There was a broken arm on top of that, that needed to be set or she would have to re-break it. She closed her eyes and tried to think of a way to approach the matter at hand, going over methods of healing that Tsunade and Lady Chiyo taught her. She lifted her hand up, focusing the chakra until the soft green glow emitted from them. She stepped over to him, and gave him a reassuring smile.
“I thought you weren’t allowed to fight during war, Gaara.” She teased as she had her hand hover over the wound, taking a deep breath before beginning the healing process. “Okay, this might hurt a little bit, but bare with me okay?”
Gaara nodded, trying not to tense at how close she was to him. He had joined in on the underground war, figuring that it wasn’t fair if he just sat by and hid behind his soldiers. He had decided to join in and fight beside his people, but had forgotten how dangerous that fighting in a war was. One slip-up, and now he had to deal with this terrible and excruciating wound on his shoulder. If only he had not been so distracted and concerned about the Konoha medical ninja’s safety, he would have noticed the multiple kunai and shuriken that went flying at him. But, no, he was too concentrated on his ticking heart.
But now he was concentrated on the girl that was healing his shoulder, while he sat there, shirtless and somewhat tense. Tsuki didn’t even seem to notice the tenseness, until she looked up at him with her big black eyes.
“Are you okay?” She asked him, and he shook his head. He watched her expression turn to one of worry, examining him over to find out what hurt. “Where does it hurt?”
He could feel his heart pound in his chest and wondered bluntly if she could hear it. It sounded like a drum to him, loud and pounding. How could she not hear it? It was loud and clear. She looked at him, repeating the question when he didn’t answer. On an impulse, he snatched her hand and pulled her close. She stared up at him with those same large eyes, bewildered, innocent, and embarrassed due to the red tint that crept up on her cheeks. He turned her head and placed against the left side of his chest where his heart was pounding away wildly.
“Gaara…?” She whispered, still confused. “Something wrong?”
“No, nothing is wrong. But I want to tell you something,” He told her, listening as she fell silent. He could feel it now, his heart exploding as all the emotions and feeling that were locked inside, they couldn’t be contained anymore. He lifted her head, placing a finger under her chin. The next thing Tsuki realized was that she was being kissed, and quite passionately at that. He bit her lip softly, and she gasped out in surprise. She didn’t seem to be averted or uncomfortable by his move, returning by lacing her hands in his hair. Suddenly, the pain in his shoulder didn’t seem to matter anymore as the two became enveloped in each other. After some time, they detangled themselves from each other, and Gaara pulled her close once again, running his fingers absently through her hair.
“I wanted to say that,” Gaara started again. “That my heart has won this war.”