"Shadow and Sand"
(A/N): The last and final chappie! Hope you like it! GET READY FOR MAJOR OOC!!! I have warned you!!! Well, I hope I didn't suck that badly…
Disclaimer: (Time to use proper English) I do not own Naruto or any of its characters.
Chapter 7
"The last dance"
She was leaving tomorrow. She was going to go to God knows where, and I am pretty sure that she never wants to come back here again, after what she had been put through. I feel sorry that she wouldn't be able to see me become Kazekage. The elders decided to delay it since they realized that I was not doing very well. I was stressing out they say.
But unlike the first time, I don't want her to see me become Kazekage because I want her to be afraid; I just want her to see. Simply put.
It looks like tonight was going to be yet another one without sleep. I have been doing so since the words of my sister entered my mind.
She loved you once…
It was so confusing to me. I don't understand emotions. I don't get why she would love me, and when my sister said "once" it sounded like it was in the past. I am pretty sure I still had Shukaku in me then. Who would love a person like me with that thing inside me?
And also from that word, brought the painful realization that it was in the past AND it was over. If she still felt like that for me or not was something unknown. But knowing that some one loved me, even though I don't understand what it means really, it just brings this warmness to my body and soul. It's soothing.
I frown angrily at myself as I stand up and head towards my window. What do I feel for her? I wanted to answer that question before she left.
But I did know one thing… Whatever I felt for her was no longer… "Hatred."
I woke up early in the morning, quickly making my way to the rooftop to register one last memory of this place. I had no idea when I would be back in Suna, definitely not soon, so I wanted to keep something with me, something without Gaara in it. It was just painful to know that I still loved him, when he would never return the feeling back to me.
I breathed in the fresh morning air, free from sand for now. I looked at the horizon and smiled. Suna definitely had a beautiful view of the sun from here.
I thought of the next place I wanted to visit. I was for sure going to go back to Konoha and check up on Shikamaru, skipping everything that happened in the past month. I would just say that I was busy.
I would write another letter to both Ino and Hinata, anticipating a reply for the other one I gave Shikamaru 4 weeks ago.
I was about to return to my normal routine, and I was ready for it.
Her brown hair swayed with the calm breeze, her pure brown eyes glimmering with excitement. She wanted to leave soon, wanted to yet again; explore parts of the world she had not seen before. This was Nara Natsume. A mysterious, wandering missing-nin.
He watched her with his glazed green eyes. He watched in pain as he realized what he has put her through. All the pain and the useless emotions were all his doings, and he didn't even notice it. He never felt like this towards anyone. Not to his brother, his sister, his deceased father OR any of his family members for that matter.
He stepped onto the roof, making sure not to let the girl sense his existence.
He did not know what to say, but he knew that anything that was about to come out of his mouth was bound to be anyone BUT Gaara. So he figured he'd end it fast.
"Do you still feel the same?"
He asked, trying to keep his voice cold but failing, his voice only reaching the level of mono tone.
She spun around and kept her expression void from any affectionate emotion. She was smart so she knew exactly what he was trying to ask her. And to be honest, the brown haired girl was afraid. Afraid of saying her true feelings out loud and destroying everything in front of her. Gaara, and his emotions, those were the two things currently in front of the shadow user.
"Feel the same?"
She repeated the question, not knowing how to answer it herself. His response was a slight nod as he stood facing her, Natsume's back now on the horizon.
"It's all messed up, but yes, I do."
The brown haired girl replied honestly and confidently, her brown eyes staring down at the ground beneath her.
"Do you understand it?"
The sand shinobi asked right after her response, his voice still mono tone and free from coldness.
"No… I am still young to."
And she knew it. She knew the word "love" but she never actually knew what was behind the word. It was full of mysteries and secrets, and Natsume knew that it was early for her to understand it the same way grown ups do.
He smiled inside, satisfied with the girl's answers. Now, it was his turn to be truthful and open.
"Then we are not very different."
Her eyes widened with realization as his words registered in her mind a minute after it was said.
"Gaara…"
Her voice was cracking up again. It wasn't a sign that she was about to cry, Natsume never cried of such trivial things, but it was a sign that she was shocked with the boy's statement. Shocked with happiness and a whole lot of other emotions.
"Before you leave, let's do it one more time."
The red haired boy said calmly, now walking towards the Nara to stand by her side.
"It?"
She asked almost innocently, her brown eyes shining with shear happiness.
"Shadow dancing."
She smiled joyfully as she concentrated on her shadow, making it once again grow, and without him even having to tell her, she had stretched Gaara's sand shadow as well, making it over lap hers.
10 unforgettable minutes were spent with shadows dancing, one, with the figure of a 14 year old wandering girl, and the other, waves of sand surrounding the dancing shadow, adding a lot more effect to the picture than normal dancing.
This was how they showed their feelings for each other.
Nara Natsume and Sabaku no Gaara… who would have known?
"Suna won't be on your list for some time huh?"
The red head asked calmly, right after they had finished their small act of affection.
"No… one month has been long enough."
She replied, neither happily nor sadly.
He took a couple of steps towards her and took out some sand from his gourd yet again. He reached out and touched the girl's face with it, caressing her cheek ever so gently with his smooth sand.
She leaned into the touch, her brown eyes closing as the sand continued to brush her skin.
"Natsume…"
She smiled happily when she heard that. The first time he had said her name was as she anticipated, amazing. It seemed to roll over his tongue magically, giving no hardship whatsoever in saying such a pleasant name.
She opened her eyes and his sand left her face. It was time to leave.
"Until my shadow leads me once again to your sand, Kazekage…"
And with those last words, she disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving a satisfied yet sad Gaara to wait for her return.
To wait for the day they both understood what "love" truly was.
May: There it is! A Gaara X OOC fanfic! How was it? It sucked right? It's hard! What did you want me to do? The sappy, "I love you", "I love you too" ending??? Not in this lifetime amigos!!! Hehe… anyways, I liked doing it since it was a very big challenge for me to try to write Gaara as in character as I can… I hope I have succeeded. I would like to thank my sister for listening to me every time I read a chapter to her and for telling me if the story was going well or not… THANKS!
I shall remind you all that this is dedicated to Naveah, one of my best friends… EVIL PERSON!!! . I don't care about what you guys think. Everyone has a different opinion so, it's okay. What matters is if you, Nav liked it or not. I hope it was okay at least . Tell me what you think if what you're going to say is going to keep my alive… Nyaa!
See you in school!
Take care everyone, and thanks for reading!
-opens "word" and starts liu-san's fanfic-