Salt in the Wound

--From the point of view of Kankuro--

I jumped down from my shadow in the wall and landed in front of Ishiko’s unconscious form, picking her up gently and laying her flat. My fists clenched in anger as I turned towards Gaara’s angry face. “WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?!” I ran towards him at an unbelievable speed and jumped up towards his figure. I grabbed him by the strap of his gourd and pulled him up towards my face, growling. “She could have been killed, you’re lucky she’s still breathing!” I shoved him away from me, his face changed from angry to startled.

“I didn’t think she would sacrifice herself like that.” He whispered. I cut him off with a snarl.

“DO YOU SEE WHAT YOU ARE DOING?!” I straightened my figure and looked over at her body, she might as well have been sleeping. “You’re using her the same way you were used” I was panting as my anger left me. “Like a weapon. Do you remember how terrible that felt?! You’re murdering her Gaara!” He looked over at her, his eyes wide and shaken. I jumped down and ran back over to her body, when I picked her up I could feel pieces in her move slightly beneath my grip. I shook again with anger, my mind unraveling. I looked back over at Gaara as she sat limply in my arms, as soon as he saw me look back he darted off through the doors.

I took Ishiko to my room, making sure a medic came immediately and tended to her wounds. He cleaned her up and bandaged up her ribs again along with various other cuts. He told me nothing was broken except for her ribs again, since they hadn’t fully healed in the first place and that I needed to let her rest. He asked me to call for help immediately if I didn’t see her breathing pick up or if she hadn’t moved within an hour. As soon as he left I wandered over to her, sitting next to her on my bed. Her pale skin was bruised and cut, regardless, she was still as beautiful as ever. It pained my heart to see her in pain like this, what I wouldn’t give to stare into those brilliant silver eyes again. I found myself crying a little, I guess I hadn’t noticed how much I really liked the girl.

I brushed her short black hair off her forehead, watching for any signs of change. Nearly an hour had gone by and she still hadn’t moved. Panic set in and I gently stroked her face to try and calm myself down. Oh man, Ishiko please pull through this.

--From the point of view of Ishiko--

“Wake up.” Someone gently said from a distant place. “Wake up, please Ishiko.” A soft hand brushed against my cheek, sweetly touching my neck with the tip of their fingertips. I slowly opened my eyes, squinting in the sudden rush of light. “Oh thank you!” Someone gasped with relief, a vision of Kankuro holding his hand to his heart came into view.

“Kankuro-chan...” I whispered, my body felt like it was broken in every possible spot. I took a sharp inhale of breath as I tried to sit up next to him. His hand gently forced me back down as he shushed me sweetly. “What happened?” I mumbled. Then it hit me and everything that had happened flooded back behind my eyes. “Gaara! Where is he?” I growled lowly. The sudden burst of anger made Kankuro draw back slightly.

“Everything is fine now Ishiko. Gaara is…cooling off I guess. He knows he crossed a line and trust me, he feels bad about it.” When he saw the look on my face he smiled lightly, brushing my hair back. “Look, Gaara loses it sometimes but he’s still better than he was. He didn’t mean to hurt you in anyway, he’s not like that.”

“Could have fooled me.” I said bitterly. I was in an unfamiliar room. Pretty bland and dark. It was a gentle grey with white trim around it. It was rather messy and smelled like paint. “Where am I?” I said while crinkling my nose in disgust.

“Uh…” Kankuro grinned sheepishly at me and mussed with his hair. “I meant to clean it, just have been pretty tied up ya know?” I smiled back at his nervous attitude.

“And you expected me to stay the night with you? Who knows what I could catch in here!” He pouted at me before jumping at me again when I tried to sit up.

“Don’t do that! You’re hurt pretty bad, I’m just trying to help you alright?” He said softly as my narrowed eyes met his. I looked at his hands as they wrapped around my own, squeezing gently.

“It was you…” I whispered, remembering the puppeteers powers. “You saved me…” My wide eyes searched his face for any sign, good or bad. He looked away from me, staring at his floor.

“Yeah, that was me. I had to interfere though.” He said almost sadly. “Gaara wasn’t aware the extent of what he was doing.”

“Why do you defend your brother so?” He made a small noise and looked out the window.

“Why not? He’s my brother and if you had known him three years ago you would realize he might as well be called a saint now. He’s not that bad. He’s just…lonely I suppose.” He smiled at me desperately. “And to be honest, I actually have reason to believe he likes you.” His eyes closed as his smile read more than just envy. A part of me pitied Gaara, from what I heard he seemed to have a miserable childhood. He might have taken on the role of Kazekage but inside he was still struggling as that small, lonely boy.

“Honestly? All I see is resentment…It’s unfortunate.” The tone of my voice caught his attention. I looked into his eyes, small tears in mine. “You’re sweet Kankuro, silly, but sweet. Promise me you will be careful around Gaara-sama.” His face fell for a second into sheer disappointment, no sooner did it turn into that bright smile again.

“You don’t need to worry about me, I’m pretty tough if you didn‘t notice! Worry about yourself for once.” The orange light of the setting sun flowed through his room. I grasped his hand tightly, staring at the beauty of the dwindling sky.

“You think I could speak with Gaara-sama?” His concerned tone told me no. “I’m feeling fine. Trust me, Hitsuchi’s chakra and life force helps me heal faster than most.” I winked at him and stood up shakily.

“I’m not quite sure where he is…” Kankuro said quietly, sounding a little resentful.

“I’m sure I can find him.” I stood up and gave Kankuro a small kiss on the forehead, leaving him smiling at his empty hands. I left the room, clutching my stomach. Those ninja got me better than I gave them credit for, even with Kankuro’s help.

“You could have killed them easily, if you had only handed yourself over to my mercy.” A voice sounded out that I had almost forgotten. I scowled in the light and put my head down.

“I don’t need you to be strong.”

“Even the smallest amount of blood would help you walk steadier, help you fight harder, make you faster..” I shut Hitsuchi out, my heart aching at the thought I had less than two nights ago. I hadn’t heard Hitsuchi for a while and in the back of my mind somewhere I had managed to convince myself he was gone. I went to my room and looked over the edge. Sand swirled up in the air towards the roof, without a big enough breeze to carry it. It took a lot of energy to get myself onto the roof, especially when my ribs pressed against the shingles, aching and trembling. I stood up and spotted a distant figure on the west wing of the building. They were standing with their arms crossed, looking and not moving. I walked slowly over to the figure until I was behind the Kazekage.

“Gaara…” I whispered, my hand reached out and grasped his shoulder gently. In the end, I didn’t blame him considering he had been more kind to me than he could ever know, and for that I could nearly forgive him for anything. He turned his head towards me, revealing a deeper kind of struggle.