Note from the Author: Wari, wari, sorry I'm late folks. I'm preparing to return to America, so I've been busy packing stuff I'll probably never end up using. (lol)
Now then, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's the final chapter of this fic, and I tried my very hardest to make it epic, although I'll admit, the fight scene and the (spoiler alert...) fake death (spoiler over...) could have been better. I hope you all enjoyed this fic, and I will continue to support this pairing to the best of my ability. This fic was recently added to the C2 community "The few, the proud, the GaaMatsu Shippers", a group I was offered a staff position on.
This fic was definitely a grand experience for me, and helped me work on many of my flaws in writing. Everyones' wonderful reviews helped me keep updating, and seeing the 'Your story has been favorited' emails every now and then warmed my heart. I thank all of you who favorited, reviewed, or just plain enjoyed my first romance based fic. I have but 1 closing statement, and that is; GAAMATSU FOREVER!
Peace out, peeps. Wait, I just denounced the final statement. DARN MYSELF!
Disclaimer: Okay, this time I'm making a SERIOUS disclaimer...darn, already messed it up. I do not own Gaara, Matsuri, Kankuro, Temari, Baki, Karura, Yashamaru, Shikamaru, Sand Coffin, Iron Sand World Law, Genjutsu, yadda yadda yadda, ANY of them. They belong rightfully in the capable (but recently lazy) hands of Masashi Kishimoto.
One Last Thing: Yes, that IS Shikamaru narrating toward the end. (lol)
Final Chapter: Tears, Love, and Devotion; The Student Becomes the Dearest Person!
Gaara was starting to wonder why the stairs in this tower spiraled so tightly. Even though he was in full focus, and was determined to reach the top, the staircase just seemed to never end. ...that was just it! The stairs weren't ending, even though they should have!
"A genjutsu?! Damn. I must have left the range of the chakra seals and not noticed." Clasping his hands together, he thrust chakra through his body in reverse, and felt his mind surge. "RELEASE!" Just then, he felt his running become uneven, and opened his eyes. He'd reached the top floor, and was now looking down a long hallway, with a large door at the end, where he was now certain Gurumaru was holding Matsuri.
As he walked, he raised his awareness of the situation. Why would Gurumaru not place chakra seals in this area as well? Did he have a ninjutsu he was going to use? Things weren't adding up here. Opening the door, his suspicions raised further. No locks or traps. It was as though he wanted Gaara to find him.
"Come in, Gaara." called the elderly voice of Gurumaru. Gaara walked into the room, and spotted Matsuri laying asleep on a bed at the end of the room.
"Matsuri-chan!" He started forward, but then noticed the shadowy figure looming next to her...with a kunai over her head.
"One wrong move, and the girl will perish. I want to talk to you about something. Tell me; how did a monster like you, who along with the desires of his wretched father, killed both of my precious children?!"
Gaara thought about this for a moment, for he couldn't deny that he had indeed killed his own mother and uncle. But even still, his father was truly responsible. "It's not fair that you're doing this." he said. "I never intended to have that damned creature in my body to begin with!"
"Oh? Laughable. All those years you spent killing, you enjoyed every moment of it. You're no different when it comes to power than your father, or even the Third!"
If Gaara had eyebrows, one would be raised. "The...third?"
"Indeed. My children weren't the first victims of the shukaku, you know this. But my sister, who was married to the Third...she was the victim of the Third's obsession with that beast! She was destroyed by his technique, when it consumed his mind and warped it!"
"There's one major difference though. I am not my father. I am not the Third. And the shukaku is no more. So what is all of this about?!?"
Gurumaru may have been shrouded by the shadows, but his grin was as visible as it would have been in the light even. "This is revenge...and my penitence...for helping the Third develop the Shukaku Jinchuriki project to where it got! Now, I suggest you call off your sand."
Gaara's eyes widened. The room was so dark, so how did the old man know that he was commanding a small trail of sand to grab the kunai from his hand?! And there was only about an inch to go, too! Gaara clenched his teeth, and released his hold on the sand. "What do you want for her safety?"
"I want you..." the crone demanded "...to commit sepaku in the name of your crimes. Here and now. With your own kunai."
If it meant Matsuri's safety, at this point, he would have done anything. Still, embracing death...the ultimate end...was there no other way? Slowly, the scarled haired boy reached for his kunai. "...very well. But how...can I trust you'll keep your word?"
"Come now, Gaara." he said mockingly. "Would your own grandfather lie to you?"
If your grandfather would force you to kill yourself, then yes, it was likely that he would lie. But at this point...Gaara was out of time and options. Yet even still he hesitated. He couldn't trust the guy.
"You have until the count of three." Gurumaru stated, turning to Matsuri holding the kunai up to her neck. "One..."
This was it. There really was no time.
"...two..."
Pressing the tip of the blade to his heart, he lowered his head. "Goodbye...Matsuri." he said, plunging the kunai straight through his ribs, and falling to the ground.
Gurumaru smirked wickedly. "So, the beast had a heart after all. Well...it doesn't matter."
A moment of silence passed, and the elderly villain took in his victory. He walked over to Gaara's body, and kicked at it. "Hahaha! You really are a fool."
"And since when is it foolish to protect the ones you love?" came a familiar voice from behind Gurumaru. The old man froze, and began to tremble as he looked again at the body. In the spot where the kunai had plunged, sand was leaking out, and the entire body began to turn sandy brown and crumble. He then turned slowly to Gaara, who was holding Matsuri in his arms, keeping a sliver oh his right hand free to control sand.
"Y-you...A sand clone?! But when did you?!"
"When you got full of yourself and looked at Matsuri. Then I just applied the 'acting' skills I picked up from watching tonights play, and pretended to get all emotional. Truth is, if you had sealed chakra here too, that would not have been acting, and I really would have sacrificed my life to save her. However...There is no need to fret when the enemy is a vengeful power consumed old man, who probably has no significant skills left in his arsenal. You lost."
Gaara half expected Gurumaru to back down, and even beg for mercy. However, he did quite the opposite, and began to laugh. "Good show, Gaara. But its' only over...when I SAY its' over!"
Gaara began to notice that the entire room was starting to waver, and the ground itself was starting to become soft, yet retained its' density. What on earth was going on?
Temari wiped the sweat from her forehead, and clapped her hands together. "There. Now that these guys are all done, we can help Gaara." She kicked the back of one of the ANBU, and turned to Kankuro, who was tying up a few of the shinobi he had beaten on his own.
"Phew. We can take these guys in for interrogation later." he said.
"Wow, Kankuro." the blond laughed. "You're better at hand to hand combat than I expected you to be. So where did Gaara head for first?"
Kankuro finished tying the ninja up, and wiped his forehead. "He thinks Gurumaru is in the main watchtower, and ran ahead."
Temari blinked. "Um, you mean the east or south watchtower, right? The main watchtower collapsed years ago, and hasn't been rebuilt since."
A sweatdrop ran down Kankuro's face. "Th-then what was that large tower that I saw right up--"
Kankuro was then interrupted by a horrifying screech, that sounded like metal rubbing against itself.
"What was that?!?"
Gaara grunted in tremendous pain, realizing that he had not escaped through the window unscathed when the room had turned to iron sand and clamped in on him and Matsuri. Now on the outlook of the fortress, he turned to his side, and saw that Matsuri was unharmed. With that as a relief, his attention turned again to his arm, which had been ripped open in several places, rendering it a useless fountain of blood.
"I didn't realize he helped the Third Kazekage develope the Iron Sand Technique." Turning toward what had been the tower a moment ago, he rose to his feet, trembling from the wound he'd received. The tower had begun to morph into a different form, and Gaara spotted Gurumaru standing on top of it, commanding the form.
"Gaara!" Temari yelled, her, Kankuro and the others emerging from the stairwell up to the lookout.
"Stay out of this, everyone." Gaara yelled, clutching his arm harder at the shoulder, trying to stop the blood, if only a little.
"B-but Kazekage-sama!" said Baki.
"Stop being such a bother." yelled Shikamaru sarcastically.
"Take Matsuri, and GO!" the kazekage yelled. "That is an order from the Fifth Kazekage!"
Temari and Kankuro, who were closest to the fight at this point, hesitantly nodded. Kankuro picked up Matsuri, and the group reluctantly jumped down from the lookout floor, leaving Gaara to fight on his own.
"As I suspected!" yelled Gurumaru from atop his forming structure. "You, like any beast, lets pride get in the way of help!"
"You're wrong." Gaara said. "I don't want them to get hurt." Gaara rose his only good arm into the air, and sand from his gourd began to gather under his feet, and then formed a platform that rose him into the air until he was level with Gurumaru. "Now, come!"
"With pleasure!" The shapeless mass of iron sand suddenly began to fire a shower of tiny needles at Gaara. The kage flung his hand diagonally, and a small wave of sand rose to form a protective wall to block the needles. When he lowered the sand to return fire, he noticed that a strange formation was beginning to form around Gurumaru's body. His body was now begin completely covered in the iron sand.
"What is he up to now?! ...I'd better not wait to find out!" Rising a large pillar of sand from the ground, he wrapped it around Gurumaru's body, and clamped his hand. "DESERT COFFIN!!!" With a tight bind, the sand surrounding the elder tightened to deadly levels. "...what?!?" Removing the sand from Gurumaru, he discovered that the elder was completely unharmed.
"Hahaha! This is the Armor of Iron Sand technique that the Third never lived to create!" the crone yelled. "Its' ironic that all of these techniques he and I created together to help the Shukaku's host will now be used to end it! Now witness the Iron Sand World Law, a technique originally created for the bearers of the Shukaku!"
Knowing what was next, Gaara wrapped himself in a thick barrier of his sand, just as the iron sad from Gurumaru's armor began to branch and vein out at bullet speed, covering the skies in a thick black bramble bush of metal. Unluckily, a branch of the sand pierced Gaara's barrier, and impaled right through the base of Gaara's other arm.
"Matsuri! Wake up, please!"
The blurry image of Temari, Kankuro, Shikamaru, and Baki filled Matsuri's eyes as she slowly regained consciousness.
"Wh-what? Where am I?"
Shikamaru was the one to answer this time. "You were kidnapped. You remember anything?"
"Y-yeah. I was...running down the street...and two ninja from the sand village grabbed me. They were jonin, and I didn't know what to do, and I--"
"It's alright." Baki stated. "Kazekage-sama has rescued you."
"G-Gaara-sensei?!? B-but...but why?!"
Temari shrugged. "He was worried, probably. People tend to worry when they're in love."
Temari's words just now confused Matsuri. Hours ago, she had thought that Gaara would never benefit from her own love or love her back. But as she looked up at the battle taking place in the sky, it wasn't long at all before her heart began to clear away the clouds of doubt. Useful or not, student or dearest person, Gaara needed her. That was now the situation at hand.
"Guys...Thank you." She stood up, and began walking towards the fortress.
"Wait!" yelled Kankuro. "It's far too dangerous for you to interfere! Even we can't hope to fight at the level they are! We'll only get in the way!"
"But there's always the chance that we won't." said the bolder girl. "Stay if you want. I'm going to go...and help the man I love!" Without another glance at her superior, she darted past him and began to approach the fight on her own.
"That girls' brave, but this is just stupidity!" shouted Kankuro.
"No." imputed Temari. "She'll be able to do more than us, I'm sure of it."
Silence followed again after the blow to Gaara's arm, and as his sand barrier began to fall, so too did his chances of winning. Impaled on the vengeful attack of his Grandfather, he could do nothing but curse his inability to act faster. If he had predicted an attack like this as he had from the start, he would still be able to move his arms. Now, he was literally hanging by one arm, the iron sand having impaled his arm all the way through. He could feel it. His shoulder was dislocated from the weight of him hanging like this.
"You..." Gurumaru started, the armor around his body spiking in his rage. "You are in pain? FOOL! You don't know what pain is! But now, I will have my revenge at last. And after I'm done with you...I will destroy the entire damned village of Sunogakure!"
Gaara's vision was starting to blur, and he felt a powerful poison flowing through his body. The iron sand grains were likely the cause of this. "I...failed." he muttered.
"You are not even worthy to be slaughtered by the divinity of iron sand!" yelled Gurumaru, as he commanded the sand to release Gaara, letting him plummet to the ground. "You are more worthy of being crushed by falling."
As he traveled toward the ground, he noticed movement below him. "Matsu..ri?"
And right before hitting the merciless sand, Matsuri leapt toward him, and grasped him tightly, canceling his fall, the two of them rolling across the ground. When they had stopped, Matsuri immediately helped Gaara to his feet.
"Gaara-sensei! Gaara-sensei, are you okay?"
Gaara looked at her with listless eyes, but managed to smile despite his obvious mortal injury. "Matsuri...its' great to see you."
"Gaara--sensei! We need to get you out of here! He's going to kill you in your current state!"
"N-no. My body may be damaged, but I can still channel my chakra. I do have...one technique...that can defeat him. But the problem is that...I require both of my arms to use it. Matsuri, I'm so sorry. I've failed, and now it's too late to say this."
The girls' eyes filled with tears. "S-say what? Gaara-sensei, it's not too late! Its' never too late! We can beat this guy! Just please, don't talk like that!"
Gaara just continued to smile, and looked straight into Matsuri's eyes. "Matsuri...I love you. I finally realized that."
Matsuri's eyes widened. He really did love her after all. All this worrying, all of this time, was all suddenly washed away. Her feelings, that had been dormant for all these years swelled. In an unexpected motion, Matsuri hoisted Gaara completely to his feet, and then reached around behind him, rasing his arms into the air, not once noticing the blood that was draining onto her. "Gaara-sensei..." She wanted to say to him the exact same thing, or even that in this fight, she would be his arms. But she needed say neither, as Gaara seemed to understand, and began to channel his chakra into his arms.
"What are you children doing this time?!? Very well. If you so desire, I will extract my revenge on the both of you now! TO THE END OF THE VILLAGE HIDDEN IN THE SAND!" A long skewer extended from Gurumaru's arm, stabbing straight for the two. It was just then, when the air around Gaara began to grow heavy, and all of the sand in the entire area rose into the air, grain by grain, until the air was thick with grains of sand. The grains then swiftly clustered around the attack of Gurumaru, and began spinning around it at an insanely fast speed, so fast that it couldn't even be seen. The iron skewer suddenly began to break apart into tiny pieces, and then crumbled completely before it even got close to Gaara and Matsuri. "Wh-what technique is this?!?" yelled the frantic old man.
"It's called Fuuton: Storm of Desert Fury." Gaara replied, Matsuri shifting his arms to aim at Gurumaru. "Using the elemental properties of the wind, and my ability to control sand, I can rotate each grain until it becomes a weapon that attacks on the molecular level. Which means...EVEN YOUR ARMOR CANNOT WITHSTAND THIS ATTACK!!!"
Before Gurumaru could notice, an enormous cluster of sand grains surrounded him and began to rotate as well. Fearful of death, the man gathered all of his iron sand upon his body at once, just as the sand began to clamp inward. This was to no avail, for the moment he felt the wind of the world outside his protective armor, he yelled in horror as the technique Gaara and Matsuri had worked together to use ended his life, once and for all.
Along with his life, the iron sand suspended in the air began to fall to the earth once more. As did the sand, Matsuri and Gaara both fell to the ground, completely exhausted. "Gaara-sensei..." Matsuri began. "I hope you know...I love you, too."
Gaara turned to Matsuri, who was in turn looking at him. He ushered closer to her, as did she to him, their eyes closing as they met together with a kiss, neither of them minding the cheers and claps coming from their friends. At last, after three years of wait and wonder, their feelings had surfaced, their doubts erased.
One week after the incident, all the rebellion factors throughout the village had been unearthed and punished for their crimes against Sunogakure. With their leader, Gurumaru, having been killed and unable to seek revenge on any 'rats', the captured rebellion nin sang like birds, making the whole clean up easier. Gurumaru sure did have his troublesome way with the village. Still, how could Gaara not have noticed the unusual activity? Sigh, I guess life was so much of a drag for him he couldn't focus, but whatever, its' not my place to pry. Matsuri and Gaara haven't really been seen apart much these past few days. Last time Temari and I checked up on them, they were asleep in each others' arms, sitting on that couch in his office. Made me wanna barf, too. I was about to wake them even, but that blonde fan-girl whipped me upside the head and dragged me out of the room, telling me to let them be or something. Bah, like I give a care. Anyway, today I'm heading back to Konoha. I'm gonna have a word with Tsunade-sama about this mission, because it really pissed me off. Still, I guess I'm glad I got to help Gaara and Matsuri out. Maybe a bit.
"Aw, do you really have to leave?" Matsuri pouted in her seat, which was of course placed right next to her beloved Kazekage. "Temari-sama seems to be so happy when you're around!"
Shikamaru gave a nervous and wary look at Temari, who lowered her head to hide her bashfulness. "Matsuri...That's ridicules." She muttered.
Kankuro shook Shikamaru's hand. "Thanks for helping us out with that stupid play, man. It was nice knowing I wasn't the only one stuck in it. And thanks for helping with the rebellion cleanup and all."
Shikamaru shrugged. "I just hope Tsunade-sama gives me a vacation after this one. I'm pooped."
In an unexpected twist, Gaara put down the documents he was looking over, and got up from his chair, walking over to Shikamaru and extending his hand. In all his life, Gaara had only done this out of sincere gratitude, and only towards Naruto. Matsuri, who knew her sensei more so than even his siblings at some points, noted that Gaara, despite his vast change of heart, was still to this day breaking away from the shell of his past. His gesture just now towards Shikamaru made her smile, for reasons she now understood.
"Heh. A handshake from the Kazekage, eh? How can I refuse?" Shikamaru shook Gaara's hand, and giving his final farewells, departed out the door, casual as usual.
Gaara sat back down in his seat, and looked at the door that their Konohagakure ally had just left through. "We owe Konoha yet another debt." He said, suddenly changing from a serious face into a genuine smile. "We're falling behind. We may as well call ourselves 'The Village Hidden in Distress'."
Matsuri laughed cheerfully at Gaara's joke, and hugged him. It was rare to hear him say anything that wasn't serious, and despite the fact that she loved his serious side, she couldn't help but love that small bit of humor he had as well.
Kankuro coughed into his hand, abruptly breaking Matsuri off of Gaara, the redhead giving his brother nothing but his upmost attention. "Anyway, I wanted to give you the final report on the rebellion." said the puppet master.
"Lets' hear it." Gaara replied intently.
"Well, Gurumaru apparently began this rebellion three years ago,a little bit before the chuunin exams. During that time, dad was the kazekage. It states in the report that Orochimaru had offered to support his rebellion by killing and impersonating the Kazekage at the time. Gurumaru was obliged, apparently. Fifty ryu says he lured dad into a trap for that snake. During your time as Kazekage, he'd been using his factions across the village to hinder your resolve. All those people in the council who tried to have you replaced as Kazekage when you were captured by Akatsuki were part of his little group, and were punished for rebellion a few days ago. Seems Gurumaru tried everything to overthrow you, and Matsuri was his last resort. His warning to you was probably intended so you would avoid her so she could be captured and--"
"Thats' false." Interrupted Gaara. Kankuro stopped speaking and raised an eyebrow.
"Eh? What do you mean?" asked the puppeteer.
Gaara took a quick glance at Matsuri and reached out for her hand, placing it in his and holding it tightly. "He wanted the opposite. He wanted me to stay close to her, so that when he kidnapped her, I would come to rescue her myself for certain. ...Gurumaru was a dark man, but he understood me well." He paused for a moment. "...I suppose that trait was his greatest weapon against me. However...despite his rebellion, he had his reasons."
This time, Temari, Kankuro, AND Matsuri looked funny at Gaara. The redhead, sensing the confusion, cleared his throat and continued his story. "Gurumaru was our grandfather, Kankuro and Temari. He was the father of Karura, our mother, whom uncle Yashamaru claimed died cursing the village. I think he wanted to continue with her curse, and get vengeance upon the man who sentenced her to her doom, father. Its' only fitting he'd so after me next."
A few moments of silence passed, and Temari spoke up for the first time in the entire conversation. "Gaara, is that what you've been told? If so...it was a lie."
Gaara's eyes widened when he heard his sisters' words, and his head spun towards the blond. "You...are not joking, are you?"
Temari shook her head. "No. I was present when mother passed away. I heard her dying words. I was only three or four, but I remember them as well as I remember the first fan I trained with. Its' true, her death was caused because of the Shukaku. But she died with a very sincere heart. She told me with her final breath that she hoped you overcome the power of the cursed Shukaku, and that you would be supported by those who loved you, and that you loved in return. Uncle Yashamaru...he was like Grandfather. He only saw the baby that brought about the death of a loved one."
"So then..." Gaara lowered his head towards his hands. "All my life...I've been basing my troubles...off of a lie."
"I'm sorry I never told you myself." Temari said regretfully. "I had thought you already knew, and it was a hard time for me to try and think about."
A teardrop feel onto Gaara's lap, catching the attention of Matsuri. Acting upon the impulse she had just recently begun to understand, the girl wrapped her arms around Gaara warmly, and pressed her head to his. "Gaara-kun...Your life hasn't been lived based on a lie if you look around this room. Despite the path that was set for you all those years ago, you have fulfilled your mothers' wish. Look."
Gaara rose his slightly teared eyes, and looked at the same sight that had been there all along. Kankuro, his devoted brother. Temari, his caring sister. And Matsuri, the person now dearest to his heart. They had been there all along, never giving up on him, and caring for him, loving him. "Everyone..." His upcoming speech was interrupted when his former student did somthing quite unexpected, and gingerly touched her lips to his. Time seemed to stand still for a moment when she did so, pulling the Kazekage into a passionate kiss.
No more needed to be said. Kankuro and Temari quietly walked out of the room, just as Gaara's realization had struck him. Gaara was loved, and that was all that mattered. And right now, embracing Matsuri in his arms and melding into the kiss, he was loved by the person who cared for him the most. One who was once his student, had become his dearest person.
Student or Dearest Person...End