Salt in the Wound

“I had dreamt of it for months. All the fire and the screaming, I saw it happen but did nothing until it was too late. Everyone died that night, I saw it firsthand. I couldn’t save anybody. Not even my sisters…I promised to come back to them, and I didn’t. They burned right along with the whole village. From then on I’m not quite clear on what happened. I remember the darkness pulling me under, I remember you-” I froze. It slipped out of my mouth before I could even think about it. His face distorted into a look of confusion.

“You remember me?” He inquired, his head tipped slightly to the side. “What do you mean?”

I shut my eyes, this was supposed to be avoided. Now, not only did I look like some blood hungry animal, I looked unstable as well. Sighing, I spoke. “Well, maybe not you. But I remember in my dreams and as I was dying a pair of eyes identical to yours staring at me through the darkness. You, or whatever the apparition was, spoke to me. It told me to open my eyes and to get up. Strangely enough, the voice was awfully reminiscent of yours.” I put my head down.

“Hm. Continue with your story.”

I knew he was tucking that information away for later. “After I opened my eyes, everyone was dead. It was only me and that’s when I heard him. The demon Hitsuchi of the earth. He fed off the life force of others in order to help himself heal. And it was only me alive so the only option of survival was to feed off of me. With it being so hazy, all I can assume is that my soul left my body before Hitsuchi could leave me. He’s now inside of me. A part of me.” I whispered.

“Interesting” is all he said.

I lifted my head up from my knees, looking at him. “May I know your true name Kazekage?”

His eyes found mine and a small nod was given. “Gaara of the Desert.”

“It’s…sad.” was all I could manage to say. He stared a while longer before standing up.

“Goodnight Ishiko.” And without a word otherwise, he left.

“Goodnight, Gaara.” I whispered. I put my head back on the sad excuse for a pillow and forced my eyes to open. Tonight was not the night for sleep, with all these horrid images floating about in my head anyway.

--From the point of view of Gaara--

She made me think.

She confused me, and I hated it. She knew of Shukaku and I haven’t the slightest idea how. Being once dead myself I wondered if she had seen the same thing I did. Simply nothing. Whoever this girl was, I needed to know. I wanted to open her mind and see her past for myself, like reading out of a book that was buried underground, seen by only the writer and myself.

Something about her, the pain she went through and the undying thirst for blood, brought me back to my own memories. A bittersweet thought for me. I passed through to my office, still finding it hard to sleep from the lack of it during all those years, I would read and research and plan. Considering, I still hadn’t decided what to do with that girl. I didn’t want to let her go until I was finished with my research. But even once I was done, how could I let go such a person? She was close to the same thing I was, maybe worse when I think about it. Uzumaki and myself carried the beast from birth, Ishiko on the other hand was cursed with a monster like a sudden bout of disease.

Becoming Kazekage took a great deal of sacrifice, and what sickens me is the thought of her wanting every answer handed to her on a silver platter. She needed discipline and a lesson in control. Something I was tempted to give her but again, she seemed to me a specimen. Something to be carefully tucked away and never touched. I closed my eyes, remembering what she said about seeing my eyes in her dreams. Not even I had an answer for that. Obviously, me being present at the time is impossible but then again, she could be insane and merely imagining my image being there. Even dying.

I suppose the only way to see if she was telling the truth was to unleash the demon inside her. It was surely something to consider. A knock on the door brought my attention back to my office. “Come inside.” I said.

“I’ve heard some things about you lately little brother.” Kankuro leaned against the doorway, a grin plastered on his painted face, like always.

“What things?”

“Oh I don’t know, things like you keeping a girl prisoner.” He raised an eyebrow and stepped in, closing the door. “You aren’t are you?”

I glanced up at him, a small smirk playing at the edges of my mouth. “I wouldn’t exactly call it ‘keeping her prisoner’. I’m sure she would rather be here than out there alone. It’s hard to explain.” His cheeks inflated in a dramatic manner making sure I realized he was viewing this as immoral.

“Where did you find her? I mean, come on, this is making no sense Gaara. And evidently, you’re doing a good job keeping this under wraps. The only reason I know is because I heard Kino talking about it to his partner.”

“She came here. Really, she was quite desperate for help, you don’t understand Kankuro. She’s, how do I say this. She’s a rarity.” I nodded to myself, pleased with my word choice. “I’m only keeping her under a seal until I’m convinced she won’t leave with her mind set on slaughtering the village.”

Kankuro laughed. “She must be quite the looker for you to be so concerned. We both know you could kill her in a second if she crossed that line. What is it Gaara? What does she have that you are so ready to take?”

I looked into his painted eyes, all seriousness. “I don’t know yet, Kankuro.”