Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Given The Chance ❯ Where is Cori? ( Chapter 38 )

Chapter #38

Where is Cori?

 

 

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Co.

 

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Cassandra found herself very quickly beginning to hate mornings, along with most of the day. Other than her training sessions with Lee she didn't really seem very alive. It was like the lights were on but no one was home. She'd walk around with a vacant smile and a blank look in her eyes, do her normal chores, and go to work. The whole while she didn't even talk unless someone asked her a question directly, and even then she seemed to lack something in her voice. Even Gina found it useless to even try and talk to her anymore.

 

A few days after asking Lee to drop the package off at Gaara's things were still going by slowly. After pulling herself out of bed and pulling a random combination of cloths from her closet she quickly showered and stared at herself in the mirror as she brushed her teeth.

 

Ever since she walked out of the hospital her family learned to deal with the fact that she wasn't going to just sit back. She needed to do something, but that didn't mean they weren't going to keep an extra close eye on her to make sure she didn't overdo it. Even Lee was making sure she wasn't overexerting herself during training.

 

Cassie's stomach suddenly lurched and she instinctively leaned over the sink in case she got sick. It was so sudden she barely even had time to think before waves of nausea hit her. If she'd eaten breakfast before then she would have certainly thrown up.

 

`Just great, on top of everything I'm starting to get sick,' thought Cassie with a groan of annoyance. She had to wait through a few minutes of deep breathing before she could go downstairs and get ready to head to work.

 

She grabbed a piece of toast to help calm her stomach and poured more dog food into the dishes while she was in the kitchen. Kobi came trotting into the room at the sound, but Cori was mysteriously absent.

 

`Damn, I don't have time to look for her, I need to get to work…' thought the dark haired teen as she bit her lip. Even though she would have much rather look for her dog herself Cassie wrote a quick note to her brother asking him to make sure he found Cori before he went to work. It would have to do because with her nearly getting sick in the bathroom she was starting to run behind schedule.

 

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Gaara wondered around Suna that afternoon with nothing better to do. After several long days of work he finally had his one day off, and quite frankly he was bored. What else was he going to do anyway? He was tired of reading, he'd already been training, no one was around the house - Gaara preferred being alone anyway - because of the day's missions, and there were no other tasks that needed to be done.

 

He walked around like a ghost, no one paying him much mind, and he preferred that to people just running away from him. Over the years people still feared him, but at least now they could stand his existence, or rather they were forced to when he became the new Kazekage.

 

“You don't have to be lonely you know.”

 

The young Kazekage scowled, `I'm not lonely, I don't need anyone…'

 

The voice in his mind was really beginning to be a problem, and he felt he got way too distracted as of lately whenever he heard it, but then again … at the same time it was oddly comforting. That voice was always sweet, soft, and - dare he say it - almost loving.

 

“Ruff!” A dog's cold nose nuzzling against Gaara's hand pulled him out of his deep thoughts. He wasn't sure what was weirder, the fact that the dog was acting friendly towards him, or the fact that the dog looked familiar.

 

The tag attached to the collar read the name `Cori' which also sounded very vaguely familiar, `Now I'm thinking a dog looks familiar… This is just starting to get maybe just a little sad…'

 

Cori gave Gaara's sleeve a small tug before she ran a few yards ahead of him. She turned and barked at him a few times while wagging her tail anxiously.

 

`She wants me to follow.' Gaara considered just turning around and heading home, why would he care about some stupid dog anyway? The only reason he did end up following was for two reasons, one being that Gaara was still genuinely bored, and two was that he really was curious.

 

He ended up following her half way across the village, and the dog was pretty eager to make him hurry up about it. The dog was a lot faster than he expected so it was actually a little bit of a challenge to keep up with the animal. She didn't stop until she'd led Gaara all the way to the pet shelter.

 

Cori sat in front of the door, her tail thumping against the ground and raising dust, and pawed at the door as Gaara walked up. Gaara pushed open the door for the dog and it ran inside, barking happily, and jumping all over the girl sitting at the front desk.

 

“Cori? What are you doing here? How did you get out of the house,” the blonde asked as she tried to calm the dog. Not long after her eyes moved up to Gaara and she froze like a statue, “O-oh, uh, k-konichiwa Kazekage-sama... W-what brings you here?”

 

“The dog wouldn't leave me alone,” Gaara stated flatly.

 

“Oh, I am so sorry about that Kazekage-sama!” The blonde girl forced a laugh, “She's my friend's dog, and I guess she got loose! I'll just go take her to the back! Thank you for bringing her back Kazekage-sama.”

 

The fact that she was afraid of him was embarrassingly obvious, but somehow he could sense another reason behind the girl's extreme surprise.

 

`He came here but he still doesn't remember what happened with Cassie,' Gina bit her lip as she led Cori into the back. `Shit, if she sees him she's going to get all depressing again, and then she'll start making me feel sorry for her… Damn, things were easier when we just hated each other's guts!'

 

“Chiba-san,” Fukui Daiki walked out of his examination room after giving a litter of kittens, “What's Cori doing here?”

 

(A/N: I'm not sure if it was mentioned before but Gina's full name is Chiba Gina. Just so that's clear.)

 

“Thank Kami, Fukui-san I need you to put Cori in one of the cages and could you please make sure Cassie stays in the back until I say the coast is clear?” asked Gina frantically.

 

Daiki took Cori by the collar, “What's this all about?”

 

“You've been told about what happened after we got back from Konohagakure right? Well we have a big problem! Gaara-sama followed Cori without knowing it, and he's out front right now. If Cassie sees Gaara-sama and he just walks away like he doesn't know her then she'll get all depressed again,” explained Gina. She looked at her boss with pleading eyes, but of course it wasn't necessary, Daiki was too nice a guy to say no to that kind of request.

 

“You don't have to worry about it,” Daiki nodded with a confident smile, “just make sure he doesn't come in the back.”

 

`Why am I working so hard to help Cassie of all people,' Gina sighed with an inward shrug, `I'm getting soft … hey wait, why didn't I make Daiki deal with Gaara?! Ah! I don't want to be near him, his stare scares the hell out of me!'

 

Gaara was still standing out in the waiting area by the front desk when Gina returned and took her place behind the desk, “I-Is there anything you needed, Kazekage-sama?”

 

“No.”

 

Queue awkward silence…

 

`If he doesn't want anything then why is he still here?' thought Gina with a slight twitch of her eyebrow. She studied that face of his, and even though he rarely changed expressions it looked like he was deep in thought. He wasn't even staring at Gina, his eyes were just dully scanning the area around him, taking it in, trying to fill in missing pieces of a puzzle. Gina almost felt sorry for the man, almost, and she was sure she'd be frustrated if she had his problem.

 

“Did you want to take a look around, Kazekage-sama?” asked Gina hesitantly.

 

Gaara shook his head and turned to leave, “That won't be necessary, goodbye.”

 

As soon as he was out of sight Gina collapsed into her chair with a long exasperated sigh, “Damn it, Cassie do you ever owe me big!”

 

In the back Cassie was finishing grooming the dogs, and as she put one of the large dogs back in its cage and went to put back her supplies Daiki walked in with Cori who bounced happily over to her. She knelt down to pet the dog, getting covered in a million kisses in the process.

 

“A nice man found her and brought her back here. Now, isn't that fortunate?” chuckle Daiki, he scratched the back of his head and a small smile.

 

“She was missing this morning, but I knew she'd come back to me one way or another,” Cassie thoughtfully scratched Cori's ear, “plus she'd be at a total loss without her brother. He's the brawn after all, and she's the brain.”

 

`She does seem so sad lately,' Daiki's brows drew together somewhat, but not enough that could really be noticed, “The back needs to be cleaned out as well, are you going to take care of that next?”

 

“Of course, right away.”

 

`It's so unlike Iwate-san, she's usually so cheery, and she was always like a little ball of sunshine when I was feeling depressed… It definitely has something to do with the Kazekage, even if he tried to kill her half a dozen times, she would be kind like he was any other person… I've never met anyone as kind as her…' Daiki followed Cassie out back and placed a firm hand on her shoulder, “Iwate-san, do you feel well?”

 

She looked a little surprised by the question, but she just smiled, it was an empty smile, “I feel fine, Fukui-san. Why do you ask?”

 

“You look a little pale this morning. Are you sure you're not feeling sick?”

 

“No…” Daiki's eyes bored into Cassie's with a stern `don't you lie to me' look, and she let out a small sigh of defeat, “Gomenasai, I felt a little sick this morning and I couldn't eat. I feel fine now, honest, it's just I haven't had time to eat quite yet. My lunch break isn't for another hour.”

 

There was barely even a second's pause before Daiki responded, “Go eat, I don't mind if you take a lunch break a little early. The cleaning can wait.”

 

“But Fukui-san-”

 

“Go.” Daiki ordered firmly, pointing to the door, “If you don't have the energy to work then you won't do a good job.”

 

She didn't want to show it, but Cassie couldn't help it. She felt like she was burdening others by feeling so sad, and he was making everyone worry, but even if she smiled she couldn't erased the fact that she missed Gaara. It was something that couldn't be helped…

 

Daiki sighed and placed a hand on Cassie's head making her jump a little, “You don't have to bottle things up you know. You can always talk to me, Cassandra.”

 

It was a little surprising he'd used her first name, but it'd always been obvious he was just another one of those people that would be there for Cassandra. Cassandra didn't like leaning on people, but it was nice knowing that someone was there. “Thanks Daiki, you're a good friend to have.”

 

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There was still something Gaara felt he was missing when he was standing inside the animal shelter. Something inside of him was calling him a big idiot for not seeing it, and it wasn't the Shukaku. He didn't want to leave, but then again he wasn't about to stay standing around like an idiot without an excuse to even be there. So he decided to investigate, even if it was just a stupid feeling of déjà vu, he needed to find out what he forgot because he knew he was missing something important.

 

Gaara went around back to where there was a fenced in area for all the dogs in the kennel set up. He could vaguely hear voices inside through the window, but he could only catch bits and pieces of what they were saying. All he really knew was that it was a conversation between a guy and a girl…

 

The back door opened, and someone stepped out. A young girl with nearly shoulder length black hair… She turned, she was talking to a man, and Gaara could clearly see her face. She had a rounded almost child-like face, rather pale skin for someone who lived in the desert, and the largest deep green eyes he'd ever seen in his life.

 

Gaara's hand rested on his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly, `My heart… I feel like I've seen her … somewhere…'

 

The dark haired girl continued talking to the man with a calm smile, but Gaara couldn't hear any of the conversation. He was to preoccupied studying the girl's face, trying to memorize it, trying to remember where he'd seen it, and trying to figure out why his chest felt like it was being torn. Something deep inside Gaara was screaming at him and telling him that he should remember.

 

Then the man she was with placed his hand on her head. It was a friendly gesture, almost like they were siblings or best friends, but for some reason it particularly caught Gaara's attention. His sand subconsciously swirled around his feet and crept along the ground toward the man.

 

If the man hadn't walked inside with the girl it would have been at it feet, and once they were out of sight Gaara snapped back to his senses.

 

“What am I doing?” he muttered to himself. Gaara shook his head to rid his mind of any of those insane thoughts that previously occupied his mind and took off back towards his home.

 

`Things are going from stupid, to foolish, to just plain sad,' thought Gaara with a small groan of annoyance, `She's just a stupid girl, nothing more, and I've never met her before in my life.'

 

For some reason Gaara could distinctly hear the Shukaku giggling like an idiot in a far corner of his mind. It annoyed Gaara even more that the stupid raccoon was getting a kick out of Gaara's problems.

 

 

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Cori is a lot smarter than she seems, lol, good job puppy dog! (Shukaku sits laughing hysterically in corner) …ok I think we'll just leave him alone for a little while… Squeeee!!! It's the first time since the hospital he's seen her, and this time he actually kinda-sorta recognized her. We're makin' progress … (glances at clock) very slowly…

 

Lil_Pix

 

To my reviewers:

 

Wolfram01- I LIKE TO SCREAM TOO, AHHHHHH!!!! Hehe, sorry, couldn't resist. I think I finally accomplished my life's goal … to make someone have a complete and total mental breakdown! Oh man, do I ever love being an authoress/Gaara fangirl…

 

Hiei81- O_o I would soooo wear that jacket! Right on! Keep reviewing my fellow Cassie/Gaara fan! (Sits in crowd twirling noisemaker)

 

Gaara_Freak- Happy sweet sixteen!! Ah, damn it all, I don't turn sixteen until October… (Cries) I won't be able to wait that long to get my driver's license!

 

MoonAngel8- (Shrug) I'm sure the CD didn't hurt any, but Gaara is just so deep in denial that you couldn't get him out with a crane. Gaara: Will you give it up? You're the idiot writing the story! Pix: (scowls) Fine, I won't write anymore lemons for you in the future. Gaara: …Well let's not get to hasty now…

 

Dudekiller: Hehe, just imagine if he came to this world! He'd be like WTF stop glomping me!! We'd break his brain or something!

 

Gaara252- Whoa, there is enough energy to power a small city for a month in these reviews… Cassie: That's exactly why I am going waaaaay over here, away from the computer screen before it swallows me alive…

 

Amique- Thank ya' kindly! We all know Gaara is the best, that's why we're all here with our popcorn and strawberry ice cream reading this fiction in the Gaara fangirl stadium…

 

Fightingpheonix36- Well I'm glad to see you're getting a little more mentally stable! Cassie is getting stronger so she can kick Faceless's butt!! We all know we want to see that happen! Cassie: Oh, Faceless is soooo going down! I'm going to punch her so hard Yin and Yang will feel it!!! Faceless: (shifty eye thing, and walks away slowly) Pix: …I think Cassie may still hold a grudge…