Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Given The Chance ❯ We Meet Again ( Chapter 40 )

 

 

Lee's reaction to the news was predictable. There was a small pause, a look of uncertainty, the goldfish gape, and then the bone crushing hug. He moved through these phases of acceptance in just over half a minute, not including the hug which lasted several minutes afterward.

 

Sasuke's acceptance took less time. He paused, gave a questioning look, and then shrugged it off. Behold Sasuke, the emotional wonder of the world.

 

In the few days after Lee was his usual enthusiastic self, and also as expect he was being unnecessarily fussy over Cassie. He took it upon himself to restock the fridge with fresh health food, he wouldn't allow her to do any lifting or overexerting chores, and he started pulling a lot of punches and shortening their training time during the day. The only reason training wasn't cancelled altogether was because Cassie insisted on it so strongly, and Lee wasn't going to deny the girl something that was obviously so important to her. Instead he focused all the extra fussing on everything else.

 

Training was cut short yet again, and Lee announced he had to go help Sakura and Sasuke with something. Cassie just gave a smile and waved him off, but she didn't head home. She wasn't quite ready to go home yet. It was still a while until dinner, and if she went home she'd have nothing to do.

 

`Ice cream,' Cassandra decided, `I'll go treat myself to some strawberry ice cream. I haven't done that in a long time.'

 

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After his regular meeting with the elders Gaara was finally able to head home for the afternoon. It was one of those rare occasions where the day was relatively uneventful and he actually had the luxury of leaving early for the day. Lucky him, or maybe unlucky…

 

Work acted like a firewall for the strange events in his mind, but as soon as he had a free moment they'd come back. The face of the girl he saw a few days before, a few obscure broken memories that were out of place, and a comfortingly gentle voice that whispered to him at every opportunity to try and bring forth memories. And the face that was always present … Gaara was forever tempted to reach out to it, but it was always just beyond his grasp.

 

That was the reason why he regretted spotting her yet again. This time she was strolling around in the market place, hands shoved in pockets, large deep jade eyes filled with curiosity grazing over the bustling crowd. It wasn't like she stood out or anything. She was just a normal girl, and if anything her diminutive height made her blend in more. Her raven hair was pulled back in small messy ponytail, and the loose strands fell over her child-like china doll face.

 

“You know Gaara-sama, even when I first met you I always thought there was something about your eyes that caught my attention. At first I thought it was anger, but to me now it almost seems like … loneliness.”

 

Gaara trailed the small female. There was just something way to strange out her…

 

She didn't do anything out of the ordinary at all. She bought herself an ice cream and then proceeded to wonder aimlessly around the busy marketplace and once in a while she'd go into a shop if something caught her interest.

 

“Oi, look guys, a little mouse,” a group of boys somewhere around Gaara's age stepped out from one of the shops and circled like vultures around the raven haired girl. “She's adorable isn't she?”

 

Two of the boys blocked her path, forcing her to stop, but she just looked over them with an indifferent expression, like she could care less that she was being cornered by men twice her size. She was either very confident, or very stupid, Gaara couldn't tell which.

 

“Look at how tiny she is,” one of them chuckled and patted her head like they were talking to a kitten or a puppy, “How old are you sweetie? Thirteen? Fourteen?”

 

“Sixteen,” she corrected bluntly and slapped his hand away. Somehow her tone was still even when most people would have been annoyed, she still looked like she didn't care. “Now, please, get out of my way.”

 

The leader of the group didn't like being brushed off so lightly, like he didn't even matter, something like that is a big bruise to the ego for a bruit like him. So he stepped forward, taking firm hold of her by her thin wrist, and forced her to look him in the eye, “Please doesn't get you anywhere little girl, so don't think works are going to work against us. You shouldn't act so cocky. Your attitude outweighs your abilities, pipsqueak.”

 

That was the last straw. Gaara's temper rose the instant he laid a hand on the girl, and the sand along the ground reacted with the sudden unexplained emotion. It created a wave, a barrier, that drove the group of boys back, and grabbed their so called `leader' by the ankles to lock him in place. When the boy realized he'd been nabbed he was to distracted trying to get away to even care about the raven haired female.

 

The girl took one small step back, slightly startled by what was going on, but not completely shocked or frightened like most people would be.

 

“Oh, hell…” the leader struggled with all of his strength but the sand was much stronger. His face was plastered with fear when he saw Gaara standing not far behind Cassie like a deadly shadow. He fell back on his butt, feet still cemented to the ground by sand.

 

Gaara scowled and ordered his sand to release the boy as he uttered a short, “Leave.”

 

The group obeyed without another warning.

 

Bright green eyes finally met Gaara's sea foam eyes, and both of them froze for a few minutes. Then something unexpected happened … she smiled at him.

 

“Arigato, Kazekage-sama,” her voice was very soft and pleasing to the ear. Just like a curtain other little voice Gaara had been hearing a lot of lately.

 

He wanted to leave, move, breathe, blink, something. Anything but stand there and stare at her like an idiot. His feet were rooted to the spot like a tree, and for probably the first time in his life - that he could remember anyway - that the Sabaku No Gaara was struck dumb by a girl. That fact made him feel all the more idiotic.

 

(AN: We all remember the last time even if he doesn't, Teehee…)

 

The girl blinked a few times, waiting for some type of response with curious, hopeful, looking eyes. When Gaara still didn't respond there was a little bit of sadness in her eyes, and it wrenched at Gaara's heart further.

 

“I should head home,” her soft voice finally broke the silence, and she turned to leave, slowly.

 

Gaara's hand moved on its own, it reached out and caught her wrist, forcing her to stop. He wasn't sure why he did it, and he still wasn't sure what to say, but after a few seconds he was finally able to mutter out something. “I've seen you somewhere before, I know it, how do I know you…?”

 

“Possibly.” There it was again, that hopeful look behind saddened eyes.

 

“Where have I seen you before,” Gaara's head throbbed, making him loose his patience with the girl, “Who are you?!”

 

The girl winced, “You're hurting me…”

 

“Say my name.”

 

“Who are you?” he insisted through gritted teeth, `I should know her name, I've seen her before! Her hair, her eyes, her voice, everything about her, its all so familiar!'

 

“Come on Gaara you know it, I did introduce myself formally - well kind of anyway - and if you need a refresher course the name is--”

 

Gaara suddenly released the girl, forcing her away from him, and making her trip while he rubbed his throbbing temples. His head felt like it was splitting in two, and it was all because of her. He cursed and growled, trying to do anything to alleviate the pain, but nothing was working. He was trying to hard to remember and something was trying to stop him…

 

The girl was still sitting on the ground where she tripped, massaging her sore backside, and not daring to stand again while Gaara was in such a state.

 

His eyes wondered to her neckline where something tied around her neck reflected the light from the sun and caught his eye. At first he could make out what it was, but when the glare disappeared he could clearly see the kanji for `love' on the exposed side of a coin. The sight of it made red hot pain sear behind Gaara's eyes, “W-where did you get that necklace?”

 

“It was a gift,” her thin slender fingers toyed with the coin a little, making it glitter in the light, “from someone very precious to me.”

 

Gaara screwed his eyes shut to try and fight back the persisting migraine. He almost wanted to scream…

 

A warm hand grazed gingerly along his cheek and then rested on his forehead. Gaara leaned into the touch instinctively, the heat from her hand somewhat soothed the pain of the headache.

 

“Are you alright, Kazekage? You don't look so well…”

 

His eyes opened and the female's eyes were so incredibly close… He could feel her warm breath on his cheek and see deep into the swirling shades of green in her eyes. Gaara was too distracted to wonder how she was able to get on her feet and close to him without Gaara sensing her movement. He didn't care.

 

What he did next takes the cake on shocking. His free hand - the one not nursing his throbbing skull - wrapped around her waist and pulled her in to his chest just so he could feel her warmth and breathe in her sweet scent. It felt nice having the girl so close, and with his self control already slipping beyond imagination he tilted her chin up and placed his lips on hers. She offered so little resistance to Gaara's demanding actions that he found his tongue slipping into her mouth to taste her better. He wanted that sweet taste, the taste of strawberries…

 

`Why am I doing this,' reality suddenly began settling back in Gaara's mind and it suddenly dawned on him what he was doing. With common sense finally coming back on line in his brain Gaara promptly pushed the girl away, and he ran…

 

`There is something really wrong with me, for a minute I almost felt like … towards that girl … a complete stranger…' Gaara's mind continued to race as he put more distance between himself and the strange girl. `NO! It's impossible; I would never feel like that about someone like her, not me! I fight for myself, not for others! I don't love others! I'm Sabaku no Gaara!'

 

“What happens if someday someone really wants to get close to you, what if they want to be your friend, maybe more? If you can only love yourself could you ever return anyone else's?”

 

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If she kept falling down Cassandra was eventually going to bruise her tailbone or something. She only saw Gaara for a few minutes, and somehow she managed to trip over herself twice in that short amount of time. It nearly made her doubt she made any progress in regaining her skills at all, but she didn't want to think that way. She wanted to think she at least got a little stronger, and she wanted to hope she could be just a little useful in fighting. She had to be.

 

Cassie didn't bother getting back on her feet for quite some time. Instead she pulled her knees into her chest and closed her eyes for a few fleeting moments and whispered to herself, “They're coming for him soon. Very soon. They can't afford to wait much longer or they'll loose their grip on him…”

 

But no matter how she thought about it, it still hurt, and thinking that he came so close to remembering her hurt even more. When he kissed her it made her heart soar because for a mere instant it was like he loved her again. It was only wishful thinking. He wouldn't remember unless Faceless was driven out, and he would only keep his memories if he truly woke up…

 

“Gomenasai, Gaara,” she whispered and finally pulled herself back to her feet, “I'm going to try harder to be stronger…”

 

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Temper running short Gaara retreated to his room and attempted to find something, anything, that would distract him. He needed to calm down or the Shukaku would take his chance to wreak havoc on Suna, the stupid raccoon was already waiting in Gaara's mind to spring forth when ready.

 

`That stupid girl,' Gaara's fist slammed down on his desk, splintering the wood. `Her face, her voice, it's all stuck in my head and I can't stop it! What is going on with me?'

 

Gaara continued taking out his frustration on the innocent desk as he seethed out every curse he could manage to think up. It didn't take long for there to be a large number of dents and cracks in the wood.

 

Damn, he'd have to replace the desk…

 

One of the desk drawers was jarred open during Gaara's release of frustration. It was one of the lower drawers he rarely used - he wasn't in his room all that much period - and something glass reflected the thin stream of light slipping through the gap in the curtains. Odd, he couldn't even remember putting anything in that drawer.

 

He reached into the drawer and his fingers grazed over something smooth, silk, that mostly covered what was in the drawer. It was a deep coloured sash with a gold dragon pattern embroidered on it. The object was probably wrapped carefully in the sash until the point when Gaara nearly destroyed the desk. Someone thought it was important enough to put away so carefully where no one but him would find it, where no one but him would be able to see it.

 

Pushing the fabric aside, Gaara picked up the object - a picture frame - and examined it. It was painted to look like twilight, mostly dark blue and gold stars with some remnants of a deep red from the sunset, and the base of it was abnormally heavy. On the bottom was a little key to wind up a mini music box - that explained why it was so heavy. When he turned it the music box played a memorable song, the Moonlight Sonata.

 

When he saw the picture he nearly dropped the frame.

 

`It's that girl from town…' it dawned on him as he gazed upon the cheerful face framed with strands of dark hair. In the picture her lips were gracing his as they stood beneath a strange little plant tacked to the door frame.

 

“Its mistletoe Gaara, when two people are caught standing under it together they gave to kiss.”

 

The look on Gaara's face in the photo … he looked so happy. `Does this mean … does it mean that during those months I don't remember…?'

 

The new headache felt like someone caught him in the back of the head with an axe and it caused him to stagger. He used the desk to steady himself, but the pain pressed on and traveled down his back to the place where the seal was supposedly located.

 

“W-what's happening to me…?” Gaara managed to croak out.

 

 

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