Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Given The Chance ❯ Return of the Moonlight Sonata ( Chapter 9 )

Chapter #9

Return of the Moonlight Sonata

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Co.

 

Sorry for the wait everyone, I know I promised to have this out earlier, but my internet stopped working and I have been sick most of the week. Hehe, so on with the show everyone!

 

ENJOY!

 

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Yet again Daichi had another late night and Hale was off doing late night small last minute missions around the village so it was just Cassandra and the dogs again. Being sick and all there was no way she felt like reading her study guides, cooking and cleaning definitely wasn't a good idea, which left the piano sitting in the living room by the sliding glass door. Cassandra really couldn't resist it; those ivory keys were calling her name, begging to be played after such a long period of neglect.

 

Cassandra pressed one of the keys thoughtfully before glancing up at a curtain picture sitting on top of the piano, an old family photo taken `back in the day', it made her eyes soften slightly seeing the four happy faces beaming back from behind the polished glass. Cassandra closed her eyes letting her fingertips touch the glass for an instant before they traveled back down to the piano keys and began to play. In her mind she could see her mom clearly playing those notes the way she used to, flawless and beautiful, just as she always did.

 

Kobi who had been lying by the piano bench with Cori listening to their master's music twitched and ear slightly and growled softly. It was something he did for only one visitor.

 

Quickly raking her brain for a song Cassie found one in her mind she thought he might like, it was an old favourite of hers, and she began playing not paying much attention to the opening and closing of the door.

 

“Just like you to be up when you should be resting,” Gaara's voice muttered.

 

Cassie pouted slightly in a playful way, “You really just have to ruin my fun now don't you?”

 

For a moment he didn't say a word but Cassandra could feel his gaze on her back, “What is that song called?”

 

“Moonlight Sonata,” she replied continuing to play the notes of the song, she looked at him with a teasing glance, “Why? Does Kazekage-sama like this music?”

 

“Stop calling me that it's annoying,” he answered flat out refusing to answer Cassandra's original question.

 

“Well what would you prefer I call you? Gaara-san or maybe … Gaara-kun…?”

 

“Do you have to be annoying with the suffixes,” he was obviously irked even if he tried to hide it.

 

Cassie smiled, “Well if you answer my question then I will.”

 

“Music is pointless, it's all the same to me,” he snapped making Cassandra hit a sour note and immediately stop in the middle of the song.

 

Cassandra always had that attitude that made Gaara snap no matter how hard he tried to stop it, and when he had said music was pointless he didn't think anything of it. Gaara expected her to protest or go on obliviously like she would do normally but instead she simply stopped playing and stared down at her piano keys with an unreadable expression. Gaara wasn't sure if he had said anything wrong.

 

“Ya I guess you're right, I could probably be doing something much more useful than playing this old thing now couldn't I,” she said with her smile returning to her lips. It was a soft serene smile as she ran her fingers along the piano keys but not pressing them down far enough to make a sound, “but if you had been able to hear the way my mother used to play this very piano she could make even the most skeptical and hardened man's eyes soften. It's kind of stupid and it probably doesn't matter to you but somehow I thought maybe I could become as good as she was.”

 

There was a long silence between the two of them. Cassandra sat there continuing to gaze down at the keys of the piano before finally looking up to Gaara and smiling as she got up from her piano bench, “I'm sorry but I really feel tired I guess I will go to bed.”

 

`That really was not like her,' Gaara thought watching her walk right past him toward the hallway.

 

“Goodnight Gaara,” she called, “try to blink once and a while.”

 

`That sounds like her,' Gaara gave an inward sigh and turning to the picture Cassandra had been looking at earlier.

 

It was an old family photo, he recognized Cassie's father and brother in it, and of course there was young Cassandra who looking no more than four with her dark hair up in twin ponytails. She was being held lovingly by a young woman with matching shoulder length dark locks. At first Gaara almost mistook the woman for present day Cassandra, aside from the hair length they looked identical, same eyes, same face, and the same playful smile.

 

`Her mother,' Gaara realized looking at the beaming young woman who had her arms wrapped around her precious child. He felt something in his heart when he realized there was never a picture of him and his parents. There was no young Gaara staring back happily through picture frame glass from a still shot of the arms of a loving mother; Gaara had never had that privilege. Gaara couldn't exactly sympathize with her feelings because he had never known love of someone who would never betray him (AKA his bastard uncle). His siblings feared him, his father despised him, his mother merely wanted him to carry on her hate for the village, and his uncle tried to kill him. No, Gaara could not relate to her feelings about her lost mother at all so he decided it best not to try.

 

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Cassandra'stiny feet tip toed down the cold stares of her house as sheheaded down to the living room where she could hear the piano music. Cassieshyly stepped into the dim light coming from a single lampsitting on the piano where hermother sat trying to work out a tune for a new song. Shehesitated stepping out, and when shedid the floorboards creaked catching the attention of the pretty raven haired woman looking down at herthrough a pair of slightly dusty reading glasses.

 

“Cassie honey,” Ritawhispered in concern, “Why are you crying?”

 

“Mommy I had abad dream,” the childwhimpered whipping the pearl sized tears from the corners of hereyes.

 

Removing her reading glasses Rita motioned for Cassie to come sit next to her on the piano bench. Cassandragladly accepted the invitation, and sitting next to her mother she buried her face in her mother'sside. Tears were still rolling down the young girl's face, “I dreamed you were gone mommy you weren't here, neither were Hale or daddy, I was alone.”

 

“There, there Cassie its ok dreams aren't real you don't have to cry,” Rita hushed Cassandrawrapping her arms around the crying child, “I'm here and I'll never leave you.”

 

“Never ever?”

 

“Never ever,” Rita assured picking her daughter up in herarms for a moment while she retrieved something from inside her piano bench and handed it to Cassandra. It was a stuffed golden retriever puppy with a big red bow around its neck and a tag that said `Kobi' tied to it, “This was going to be a birthday present for you but I think you need it much more now. He'll always protect you no matter what, whenever you feel alone, there isn't any force on earth that could tare him from your side … just like me Cassie honey. I want you to grow up to be strong and have the courage to smile and be happy no matter what.”

 

“Arigato mommy,” Cassandrawhispered hugging the stuffed dog for all she wasworth and snuggling close to hermother as she began playing a soft tune to help calm Cassie before she took her back up to herbed. That song was the Moonlight Sonata.

 

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Cassandra's eyes drifted open and for a while she just stared at the shadows moving across her ceiling with no readable emotion on her face. She could still hear the almost somber tune in her head and almost feel her mother's arms around her. She had never admitted it to anyone, not even her father or brother, but she missed her mother so much it hurt.

 

The Iwate family had all taken it badly when Iwate Rita died and they all had dealt with it in different ways. Hale had been dangerously violent when he practiced at the academy hurting more kids his age and older than thought possible. Daichi developed a drinking problem passing out on the couch every night. Then there was Cassie who would sit alone up in her room in her closet with that same old stuffed dog clutched in her arms. And for months the house had been dead until the day when Cassie finally emerged from her own little safe haven she had created in the back of the closet.

 

The day Cassandra decided to change things back to normal Daichi and Hale had come home to the smell of a fresh cooked meal. Daichi had ran into the kitchen calling Rita's name since he was to drunk to remember she died a few weeks before, and instead he saw little Cassandra cooking supper for the family. The disappointment in his eyes crushed Cassie's heart because he had hoped to see his wife there smiling instead of his daughter. It did hurt Cassie a lot inside, but she just smiled and told them to wait a little longer for supper because she had to climb onto the counters to be able to reach anything from the cabinets.

 

The Iwate family had learned moved on after incident. Daichi stopped drinking, Hale calmed down, and Cassandra was smiling again. Of course nothing had been the same after that, it never would be, but at least they learned to live again no matter how painful the memories were.

 

`Gaara has seen much more pain over his life than I have. No matter how bad someone thinks they have it there is always someone worse off and that's why I can't just feel sorry for myself,' Cassandra thought. Grabbing an old worn down stuffed dog from the top of her bookshelf and crawling into her little closet safe haven. It had been a while since she had used it but all the old blankets she had fashioned into a little nest/bed were still there and she eventually able to get comfortable and closed the door, `If I sometimes feel this lost imagine how he must feel.'