Ai was paralyzed with fear as she knelt before what used to be the Kazekage. His calm green eyes were no longer there; instead she found that she could not tear her gaze away from the yellowing, manic eyes that swallowed her whole. The whites of his eyes had turned black as the night around them and the corner of his lips curved to a smirk. Ai could hear the growl, the purr, of Shukaku on the sea breeze.
The courtesan was not even aware that she had stopped breathing. Her bottom lip trembled as Gaara raised a hand slowly to place the tips of his fingers on her temple. A bolt of electricity seemed to pass between them as the Kazekage pushed his fingertips against her head so she could feel his nails on her soft, delicate skin. She winced as he dragged his nails from her forehead, down her face and across her cheek before they found her lips. Gently, watching her skin blush under his touch, Gaara's nails scraped across her lips, letting his thumb pull down her quivering bottom lip to open her mouth.
The biju inside the Kazekage shivered, as did what was left of Gaara, when he saw her lips open for him. She was entirely at his mercy and it was the fear in her, the innocence, the untouchable beauty, that rendered her unbearably seductive to them both. He placed his fingers beneath her chin and tilted Ai's face to his.
The dancer complied without hesitation for it was not only her fear that kept her rooted to the spot; the way he touched her, the way he, Shukaku, looked at her, made her believe she could still feel Gaara in there somewhere, fighting to be heard. Her desire to see him again, the boy she had first kissed, took her over and she let the monster kiss her.
Gaara liked how she did not move; she kept her mouth open as he placed a kiss on her bottom lip. Shukaku shuddered; her lips were soft, plump and red, he could smell the blood in her, he could taste the fear in the warmth of her mouth. Gaara had kept his eyes open, not out of inexperience, but out of the need to see what he did to her. Ai had her eyes closed and her face held a pained expression as though denying to herself what she really wanted. He liked it. The Kazekage closed his eyes, placed his hands on either side of her face and lowered himself onto her once more.
There was something so different in the way he kissed; something fluid, lustful and commanding surged through Gaara and when he opened his mouth to taste her a little more, Ai gasped and against her will, as though under some spell, began to return the affection. She could feel herself weakening for him as the shinobi ran his tongue along her lips and Ai could hear a deep rumble, a growl, issue from him. He withdrew from their kiss and they opened their eyes.
What Shukaku saw caught him unawares; there was something in her eyes that called out for Gaara. Some emotion he did not understand or know was pulling Gaara out of the darkness. Her big blue eyes were filling up with...was it sadness, grief? Gaara needed to see her, to ask her what that look was, why she looked at him that way. His vision was blurring again, the demon was clawing at his consciousness in a desperate bid to remain in control. The Kazekage swayed as if faint and closed his eyes.
"Kazekage!" Ai let out a gasp of relief for when Gaara opened his eyes again they were back to those piercing opals that she knew. He took her face in his hands and leant down to rest his forehead against hers; breathing heavily from the effort it took to calm Shukaku down to the depths of his subconscious.
"Ai," he whispered, "I cannot keep Shukaku at bay for long; return to the palace and tell them where I am-"
"I will not leave y- ah!" Gaara had grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled so hard her eyes began to water. Her head was being pulled back until she was facing the stars, tears streaming from her glittering eyes. Gaara took a few deep breaths, trying to keep his eyes away from her face; Shukaku was thunderous, another look at her could mean the end of them both.
"Do as I say." In an instant Gaara let go of her hair and with the other hand summoned the sand beneath her to move. Ai was thrown off balance as she brought her head back to face him but was lifted into the air and was forced to get onto all fours to look over the edge of the sand that was rising above the Earth.
"Gaara!" She held out a hand for him as she was swept away on a cloud of sand and wind, up into the night. Ai looked down to him as he became a silhouette on the beach and could see the Kazekage, shouting at his shadow, thrashing on the ground, trying to regain control. She looked around for some way to get to him but she was already too high. As she glanced from side to side she saw shadows move across the beach to meet the Kazekage. Ai looked on in apprehension until she saw one of the shadows move in a familiar manner, using strings at his fingertips to control what looked like another person. Her heart rate slowed; it was Kankuro, the puppet master. A more careful look and Ai could see the other shadows were shinobi. Surely the Kazekage could get Shukaku under control without the need for intervention from the other shinobi? He had managed fine for two years! Gaara had lived with the beast for so long, why, now, was Shukaku restless?
As she swept up into the night, her shoulders fell; Gaara and Shukaku were blended together so intricately it was hard to tell where one ended and where one began. Her fingers brushed her lips and all the way back to the palace her thoughts and wishes for Gaara to be safe, for Shukaku to be controlled, were marred by a more painful question; which one had kissed her?
The balconies of the palace were looming up ahead as Ai steadied herself on the sand, prepared to jump off at any instant for she could feel the sand loosening beneath her feet; its pace was becoming sluggish and jarred. As the Kazekage began to fade away for a demon, his control on the sand also began to weaken. In small trickles, the glittering mass Ai was stood on began to crumble. She prepared to fall from the sky as the sand approached a lower floor of the palace and just as the girl hopped on to the balcony, the sand crashed into the railing and fell into the courtyard.
Ai glanced from side to side, listening for any commotion. It was the middle of the night; no lights were on in the palace, there was no one around. She spun around to look over the balcony but the courtyard was empty. After a moment, she turned back to the palace as she heard a door behind her open and light poured itself into the night. She shielded her eyes and in the same moment, Ai heard shouts from below; they were calling for medic ninja and Palace officials.
"Ai?" She lowered her arm from in front of her face and, as her eyes adjusted, she caught sight of Megumi standing in the doorway before her. "Speak, child," the teacher spoke comfortingly, "what is it that has you so afflicted?" But Ai could not speak, she could not think. She had to get to him. "Why is your dress wet?" But Ai was already running through the palace. They would take Gaara to the Sick Bay to be monitored, surely. So the courtesan ran. "Ai!" She heard her teacher call after her but did not turn back. She kept running and twirling and spinning through the palace to find him.
Ai suddenly found herself stood in the corridor that lead to the Sick Bay; beyond this point was shinobi territory. It was a world that courtesans sought to control from a distance, indeed, empires were built on the whispers of courtesans into the ears of enchanted Kage. It was not a world that they were welcomed into so openly; courtesans were seen in secret, in the reflection of water, in starlight. They never acted on their own will, nor did they actively seek the company of shinobi; Ai would defy everything the Tea House and the Palace stood for, if she went through the doors.
She took a moment to compose herself, fixing her veil, wiping her eyes; there was no mirror around to see how she really looked but she found she did not care. The Sick Bay was located in the basement of the Palace and as she approached the doors tentatively, she saw people rushing in and out, turning on lights, waking up the inhabitants of the Palace. Ai did not hesitate; she walked straight through the doors leading to the hospital beds.
The room was plunged in that fluorescent, unforgiving light and the sickly smell of hospital disinfectant lingered in the air. The bright white light shone on the busy room; everyone was too engrossed in the chaos to ask Ai what she was doing there. As her eyes scanned the scene she saw Kankuro, stood at the other end of the room, talking to an older shinobi, probably a medic. Ai moved forwards but had to narrowly dodge a group of shinobi carrying scrolls and candles. She glided through the chaotic ward cautiously, unnoticed.
"…The Kazekage has not had to control the Biju with such strength for over a year now." She could hear, as she got closer, what the older man was telling Kankuro. "His defenses were down and something triggered Shukaku to wake-" Kankuro and the fellow shinobi broke conversation to look down as someone on the bed beside them stirred. Her eyes caught sight of the hand of the person lying down and she moved forwards.
Ai was stopped immediately by someone holding out an arm in front of her. She followed the arm to the body of the person it belonged to. It was the Kazekage's older sister, Temari. The deadly female shinobi had her arms spread out to prevent Ai from getting closer.
The young courtesan, who would usually have held her veil and lowered her gaze, looked on at Temari defiantly. "You aren't allowed anywhere near him, Oiran (A/N: this is actually the Japanese word for 'courtesan' but, as keen readers will know, we aren't actually dealing with Japanese courtesans. Temari is using a common word to belittle Ai; it is as though she is calling her 'whore' but has too much pride to even say the word directly)." At the sound of his sister's tone, commanding and malicious, Kankuro noticed what was happening in the middle of the room and took a step forwards. Ai and Temari did not avert their gaze from one another.
"Temari," Kankuro came to stand behind his sister, blocking Gaara from Ai's view, "what's all this about?" He asked politely; Kankuro, known for being the most easy-going of all the siblings, saw no harm in a courtesan coming into shinobi territory. Temari felt otherwise; a woman can be a shinobi, a mother, a doctor, a friend, when she is none, she is nothing. The blonde shinobi held her head high and kept her arms fanned out.
"She was with him when it happened. We can't trust her." Temari said and gave a small smirk of triumph as Ai remained silent. The two women stood there at a deadlock; both acting for different reasons to protect the same man. The room stilled, watching, waiting; knowing that with words Ai could cut Temari down in a moment and with a flick of her wrist Temari could cut Ai into nothingness. The dancer and the fighter stood their ground.
"What is happening here?" A voice, aged and beautiful, spoke out like birdsong into the room. Ai kept her eyes fixed on Temari as Megumi spoke. The elder courtesan arrived in her finery, with other girls of the Tea House, to stand with their fellow dancer.
"Megumi-san," Kankuro began with closing his eyes, smiling and holding up he hands to signal surrender, "there is no need for such animosity between us."
"Indeed, Kankuro," Megumi, dressed in silver, white stones and pearls glistening around her neck and wrists, appraised the young shinobi. "The Tea House and the Palace have an alliance like no other." She was right, Kankuro knew this; the Tea House was the second greatest power in Sunagakure, housing women who knew not only secrets, but how to use them. It was as though two great families were meeting; the courtesans and the members of the palace. Both held significant power in the community and one could not function without the other. The two sides stood, opposing each other, Temari could sense the power the older woman had but was not backing down; she stood for the dignity of the palace. She would be damned to see it ruined by the actions of one childish courtesan.
Baki, one of Gaara's advisors and a close friend to the family of the Kazekage, came to stand beside Temari who was relentless; she held up her arms to prevent Ai even seeing the Gaara. Being much older than the Kazekage's family, Baki knew of the alliance the Tea House had with the Palace and how valuable it was. Wars could be started and ended by just a few whispers from these women; villages fell to their knees because of the control courtesans had over men of power. It was a relationship that was best not to turn sour.
"Baki," Megumi said his name with a voice soft as silk, "we are, all of us, citizens of Sunagakure, are we not?" Baki stood as though to attention.
"Yes, ma'am." He turned to Temari, "Temari-sama, please-"
"Ai…" Everyone jumped as a feeble voice issued from behind Kankuro. After a heartbeat of silence, the puppeteer sighed and took a step back to let the courtesan pass and Temari, after a moment's hesitation, grudgingly lowered her arms. Ai stepped between the two ninja and looked on at their younger brother who lay, eyes closed, brow furrowed, whispering something. Temari looked to the floor, her back to the Kazekage, as everyone else in the room kept their eyes on Ai. The dancer paused between the sand siblings and seemed to be taken aback be the sight of him, alone and in pain, Gaara whispered her name. "…Ai…?" Her heart broke and she ran to him, on her knees, by the bed, she grasped his hand.
"Ga-" She felt the room freeze as though witnessing something blasphemous as she began to say the Kazekage's first name. "Kazekage?" She corrected herself. Gaara relaxed upon hearing her voice; his body was no longer tense and his brow no longer furrowed. Slowly, the Kazekage was able to open his eyes.
Ai swam into his vision, her face worried, biting her lip in suspense and those big blue eyes…those eyes with that look. Ai felt him tugging away from her so she released his hand and watched as he raised it to the side of her face. She closed her eyes and smiled into his palm. He felt warm and comforting as he stroked her face, his eyes blinking slowly as though on the brink of consciousness.
Her smile faded quickly, for she opened her eyes to find his hand slipping down her face. Ai looked across to him quickly to see that sickly, lustful smile that Shukaku had for her and within an instant Gaara sat bolt upright with a hand wrapped around her throat.
"Gaara!" Kankuro cried out as the Kazekage held Ai's throat with increasing pressure. The room erupted into chaos as shinobi and medics ran over to Ai. In a blur of colour and commotion, Ai felt Gaara release her throat and she tumbled backwards. She stood quickly to see the Kazekage writhing as though in pain whilst another shinobi took out what Ai guessed was a sealing scroll.
"Get her out of here!" Temari shouted at some ninja who took Ai by the arm and escorted her, dragged her, from the room.
"No, no listen to me!" Ai screamed and tried to free herself from the shinobi's grip. "He wasn't hurting me!" No one was paying her any attention. "It didn't hurt m-" Ai stopped as she caught the look on Megumi's face. The courtesans had all turned to follow her from the room and her teacher was fuming with anger; Ai was forgetting herself, her role, her place, her value. Ai quietened and let the shinobi drag her away; she looked past the following entourage of dancer to see Gaara shuddering and muttering in the harsh hospital lighting. Ai tried to protest; when Gaara had held her throat he had not inflicted any pain. She could see in his eyes the battle between Gaara and the beast. He had control. The Kazekage did not hurt her. The ninja let go of Ai once she was out of the room and without thinking she tried to re-enter but Megumi grabbed her arm, she turned to her teacher.
"I have to tell them; Gaara did not cause me any harm-"
"Do not forget yourself, Ai." Megumi commanded and Ai, the fire fading from her as she saw the cold, dead look in Megumi's eyes. "You are first and foremost a courtesan of the Tea House; do not treat shinobi as though they are your kin." Ai was about to retaliate but she saw the way everyone outside the room was looking at her. They had eyebrows raised, looks of panic and worry; they were looking at her as though she were mad. Ai resigned herself to being taken back to her quarters.
An hour or so later, the shinobi of Sunagakure had managed to get the beast under control through the use of a sealing scroll. Those closest to the Kazekage now remained at his bedside; Baki, Kankuro and a thunderous Temari. Kankuro placed an arm around his sister who shrugged him away before going to Gaara's side and placing a cloth in a small bowl of water and patting it on his forehead. Her little brother winced under the cold feel of the cloth and she noticed, as she looked him up and down, that Gaara's hand, clenched into a tight fist, had a small trickle of blood escaping between his fingers. When did he cut himself? How did anything cut through his armor of sand?
"Baki." She commanded.
"I see it." Her teacher replied before going to Gaara's side. The three gathered ninja looked on in curiosity as the eldest lifted the Kazekage's hand to see where the cut was but it seemed Gaara was clutching onto something in his hand. Without a second thought, Kankuro placed chakra strings on Gaara's finger tips and prised his hand open. Small trickles of blood left the Kazekage's hand to reveal, a shimmering blue stone. In fact, it was a ring.