Before the chapter begins I would like to make something clear: sometimes Ai will say words in Japanese (to the best of Valentine's ability) in the middle of "speaking" English. I have done this because I think it is a good way of demonstrating that Ai traditionally speaks an ancient, more beautiful version of the language so dips in and out of either dialect. It is simply to add a little more realism to the story.
The Tempest & The Moon
The morning following the festival saw the village buzzing with excitement over a new Kazekage, over a new era of prosperity. The red headed shinobi that they were all talking about walked through the palace greeted by smiles and cheerful waves to which he had no idea how to respond. Gaara simply nodded thanks to anyone who greeted him and blushed as young women in the palace smiled at him in a way they had never done so before. Bizzarely, Gaara almost missed being feared; at least then he was not put under any pressure to interact with anyone.
The Kazekage approached his office and opened the door to find Ai, lying on her front on the chaise chair that lined the windows of his office. She was dressed in shocking pink with the embroidery of pale green and blue flowers twisting around her figure. It was the simplest Gaara had ever seen her dressed; with a thin gold chain around her neck, matching minimalist anklets and bangles and small gold studs in her ears. Her hair was tied up in a braid but she let a few loose curls frame her face as she lay, nonchalant and unaware of her discourtesy. She looked like a doll, almost, porcelain and ornate, lounging in his office as though it were hers. At the end of the chair she had put a small table on which she had placed playing cards. She did not look up as the Kazekage entered.
"What are you doing?" Gaara asked as he walked into his office. She kept her gaze on the playing cards in front of her, occasionally looking at the few cards she had in her hands. The pack of cards was decorated with flowers and golden numerals; Gaara eyed them with scrutiny.
"Winning a bet," the girl gestured to the cards laid out in front of her and continued to ignore him. Gaara sighed.
"What are you doing in my office?" Gaara snarled and began to grow impatient as she still did not look over to him. Ai sighed and blew a curl softly away from her lips.
"Growing bored of the conversation offered therein," she replied with such insolence that the Kazekage shut his door loudly, walked over to her and waited for her to look up, all the while trying to prevent his brow from furrowing in frustration. He would not respect her actions by reacting to them. "Do you need something, Kazekage?" Ai asked sweetly and looked up to him with a smile. Her electric blue eyes, full of mischief, caught sight of his face and for a moment she was paralyzed by him. He noticed the smirk fade from her face as she took in the sight of him. Unaware, as Gaara always was, of what he did to women, he shoved an envelope in her face.
"Take this to Kankuro," he said loudly and it seemed to shock her back to Earth. Her eyes widened and blinked up at him as Gaara nudged the letter towards her. After a moment Ai shot him a look of indignation before returning to her game. The Kazekage jerked in shock; "hey!" He shouted at her; how dare she ignore him? Ai continued to pick up cards and inspect them before smiling and placing them into the growing pile in her hand.
"You know, Kazekage, the uguisu (nightingale) only sings when it hears music," she responded. "Ask a little sweeter…and I will consider your command." In less than a moment Gaara flicked his wrist, a gust of wind issued forth, scattering her cards onto the carpet. "Goodness!" Ai exclaimed and sat up as he walked past her. "Upon hearing a 'no' you bring such a tempest to my doorstep?" The young Kazekage went to sit at his desk and looked at her with a bored expression; she spoke such an ancient dialect! Her riddles and poetry infuriated him as much as her actions. "You have a terrible temper." She giggled and answered his expression which clearly suggested he did not want to be spoken to so enigmatically. Gaara looked at her with bored eyes before deciding to treat her with the same disdain she had shown him; he took the papers on the desk in front of him and began to work.
The courtesan eyed him coyly from her robes of deep pink, her big blue eyes giving him sideways glances as she slinked over to his bookshelf. Holding her cards tightly in her hand she walked, alongside the Kazekage's private library, towards him until she came to his desk. Ai stood before him, opposing him, daring him to speak again but Gaara remained steadfast and kept his eyes on his work; trying to show her he did not care for her company. He refused to even ask her to leave.
"Come," Ai said softly, so softly in fact that Gaara looked up at her; wondering what had changed her attitude suddenly. She stood at the edge of his desk, her cards hanging loosely in her right hand. "If you can place the letter in my hands, I will do as you say." Slowly the Kazekage rose, accepting her challenge and the girl's eyes flooded with mischief once more. Quickly, Gaara snatched the cards from her hand and she gasped in offence. "Hey, give them back!" She exclaimed and went to grab them as Gaara extended them to her but he snatched them back in an instant.
"Sorry, would you like me to do something for you?" He asked with no trace of humour and extended them to her. Like a lioness hunting her prey, she narrowed her eyes on him and waited a moment before, in a viper-like action, she want to grab them but the shinobi was, of course, too quick for her and moved them out of her grasp.
"Hey!" She shouted and there was something in the way her lips pouted and her brow furrowed that made Gaara give a small smile.
"Sorry," he said after seeing her reaction and went to put the cards on the desk between them. As Ai went to retrieve her cards in a rush, Gaara snatched them out of her reach so that Ai's hand came down on the table with such force, that she withdrew her hand instantly and cried out in pain.
"Ouch," she gasped and looked up at him with a hurtful look, cradling her hand. "I was mistaken," she turned form him in a huff. "You are Raijin (A/N: God of thunder and lightning- she is likening Gaara to the tempest mentioned earlier) himself." She turned from him with a hurtful look and crossed her arms in frustration.
Gaara was unsure if it were out of annoyance or guilt, but he did not like to see her upset. He walked around the table to stand in front of her and handed her the cards.
"Please," he asked the nightingale, "will you take the letter?"
With an appreciative smile, Ai held out her hand. Gaara went to place the letter in her outstretched hand but her smile was replaced by one of malevolence and she threw the cards in his face viciously. Without his gourd, sand did not lend him shelter from her revenge and the cards scattered around the pair.
Ai had not even blinked before-
"Kazekage!" Ai gasped as Gaara moved so quickly she did not have time to register him put his hand up and grab a handful of her hair. She looked at him with wide, frightened eyes and he stared back at her. His face was passive and gentle, as though nothing unusual was happening but Ai could see that there was something behind his eyes that she had never seen before. A violent intent that flooded her with dread- before he had seemed playful but this, this horror was real. Ai put a hand on his where he was holding her hair and looked up at him in fear.
"Do you know what the tempest does to the moon?" He growled, looking into her fear-filled eyes, breathing in her scent. She remained quiet. "It clouds it in darkness. Swallows it in anguish." As she tried to wriggle free he pulled harder and shivered in pleasure as he saw the look of pain on her face. "Leave, whore." He snapped and let go of her hair, Ai recoiled and cowered away from him, her eyes watering from pain. "Women of sin are not fit to wander the same halls as a Kage." He spat at her and walked back to his chair. She remained with her back to him, her beautiful hair that she took hours to set for him, now askew with curls falling loose of the braid.
"Whore." She laughed as she said it, her shoulders shook, "judged by a title that was thrust upon me by forces beyond my control." She turned to him quickly, her eyes burning with tears of frustration. "Tell me, Kazekage- do the rain drops dodge me as I walk? Does the sunlight hide away from my face for the shame of touching me? Do the winds of the desert not offer me pleasurable salvation in the Summer months?" She paused and waited for him to respond. The Kazekage looked away and Ai, aware of her own vulnerability, dropped her gaze. "If nature does not discriminate, why do you?" A sickly smile adorned her face; "we are the same, you and I, Gaara." Upon hearing her say his given name he looked up to her, a feeling of guilt rising in his stomach. "Both put into positions that we did not ask for and then forced to play out that role. You escaped," she laughed and gestured to him, "because you are a shinobi, because you are the son of a Kazekage, because you are a man." Ai spat at him and shook her head in resignation as Gaara looked away. "A whore." She paused, her emotions flooding her. "I defy you, Kazekage- find another woman who speaks as though she were the daughter of Benten (A/N: Goddess of words, speech, eloquence etc.). One, who can tell you how to resolve political difficulties in a moment, who can recount the great history of our village, who can leave you as satisfied as I can." She stopped, taking pleasure in the colour that rose in his cheeks upon hearing her spoke so bluntly. "Bring this celestial creature to me and I will kiss the ground on which she walks." Ai looked at him in disgust. "Yes, I am a whore," Ai said, holding herself to her full height. "Do we courtesans not have hearts?" She asked him, "do we not bleed? Are we not human?" At her own words Ai gasped as a tear fell from her eyelashes; how did she let her emotions get the better of her? The fragile girl seemed to remember who she was talking to and bowed, "whatever your wish, Kazekage, I shall take my leave." She stated without emotion. The girl in pink turned away gently and walked to the door. She paused with her hand on the doorknob. "In case you are wondering; I won my bet." She cocked her head back to him and saw his face, full of incomprehension. "You are heartless." With the last word, she left his office.