"Kazekage?" Gaara looked away from the window as an advisor spoke his title urgently. He was sat in the usual venue for such meetings about war and politics; the Council Room was a room he particularly hated. It was one of the oldest rooms in the palace and was made of a very old brown clay that cracked and crumbled with age. Huge statues of the previous Kazekages were built along one wall and towered above the room's occupants as though listening in. Gaara often entered this room as a child and, while his father ignored him and spoke to his sibling's, would fantasise about Shukaku's tail splitting into hundreds of serpent-like creatures and snacking up the statues, pouring into the cracks in the clay and bringing them, and the room, to the ground. How he always longed to destroy this room. And now he was sat in it. Head of the circular table, discussing how to keep the shinobi world alive and, he supposed, this room from tumbling down around his councilmen.
The night was a beautiful black, studded with stars and a full moon which had been distracting Gaara with it's beauty. The fragrance of freshly made rice and torikatsu was drifting up from the kitchens making everyone impatient for dinner. A wonderful breeze drifted through the open window, inviting the Kazekage to eat his dinners in the peaceful quiet of his garden for one last time before war. Until then, Gaara sighed, this meeting had to be dealt with.
"Ai," he said her name slowly, reading it from the paper in front of him like the very word was foreign to him even though it was scarred on his forehead. " She can read, write and speak the dead language," his voice began to drag on as he felt he was discussing this for the hundredth time. As only he, his siblings and a few Sand shinobi had ever seen Ai use ninjutsu, the rest of the world, it seemed, were shocked beyond repair and demanded to discuss the girl in every waking moment. "She can use summoning techniques. She can talk to tailed beasts," Gaara's stomach grumbled as dinner played on his mind, "she can perform forbidden jutsu-"
"This is the woman you had banished?" The Kazekage almost jumped as a member of his council erupted a few seats down. "Why didn't you lock her up!?" Gaara almost rolled his eyes; the same discussion every time. He opened his mouth but someone beat him to the answer:
"This was a grievous mistake on our part." Gaara had to blink the tired away from his eyes before tilting his head forward in his seat to see who had spoken. There, a look of utter shamelessness, his bony elbows resting on the table, his white wispy beard falling like a waterfall from his chin to his mouth, sat Endo young Kazekage felt a slight pang of reckless disgust at the fool that started it all. He rubbed his eyes.
"Get out, Yori-san." The table sat stock-still in silence upon hearing the man, barely into his twenties, speak like that to an elder. Yori smiled a little.
"Gaara-kun-"
"Kazekage," Gaara corrected him and maintained a determined stare. Under his gaze, the most fearsome of men perished. Yori understood the instruction. He stood slowly, nodded to the council, bowed to the Kazekage and left the room. In his wake, a stunned crowd watched his white cloak disappear behind the door. Heads turned back to the Kazekage. All who appraised him saw a man not to be taken lightly, a fierce strength of a new generation set to expose of the out-dated. Gaara barely paid them any attention before turning to the council member who had first spoken, a meek and mousey looking man with curly black hair. The Kazekage spoke a single word: "Speak."
"C-c-," the man took a breath to compose himself, suddenly aware of the fact that he was in a room with one of the strongest men in history. "Can we not play on the girl's...affection?" Gaara sighed as he suggested this. It is exactly what the red headed shinobi thought would work previously but his attempt to get Ai to come home had failed.
"Do you know who Ai is?" Gaara asked the group aloud. When no one answered he scribbled the two kanji which made up her true name, his ink pen swirling and scratching at the parchment. "She is Renai. The goddess." A slow murmur of interest rippled around the table; they had thought this was a mere rumour. It was impossible! "What do you know of Renai?" Another member of the council piped up:
"She is the goddess of love, compassion-"
"She is a fierce and fiery opponent," Gaara practically spoke over the man. His manner was as though he were lost within himself; half remembering, half hating, half sick with himself, half in awe of her. "She scars easily and swears revenge in a heartbeat. If asked, she would tell you she created love and obsession in equal measure." The man sighed and looked around the room; how could he possibly articulate to them how Ai was? Describing her is an impossible task. "There is no getting through to her now," the Kazekage concluded. "She is lost to us. Move on." The group nodded.
"How can we fight an enemy we know nothing about?" It was a sincere question, not a challenge, so Gaara let the question's phrasing pass him by.
"Kankuro will lead reconnaissance missions in conjunction with Konoha," he announced to the group as the men began to scribble furiously. "Temari will secure defenses of the village."
"And you, Kazekage?" Gaara almost laughed at the question; amidst everything he had informed no one of his plans.
"I have accepted the role of Commander-in-chief of the Allied Shinobi Forces. I will lead us into battle." The group nodded and Gaara sat a little straighter after catching Temari's glare from across the table. Her teal eyes turning to steel as they took in the manner in which he spoke and sat; so aloof, so uninterested! Gaara stood with a reassuring smile. "There is nothing to fear; together we are strong." He left, his smile stiff on his face; what could Ai possibly do?
"What exactly do you think you're doing, shōjo (little girl)?" Ai's electric blue eyes snapped open as she suddenly found herself in a familiar and frightening place. He eyes were flooded with that strange glowing white light that adorned the gates of tengoku (heaven). She stumbled back a little, stepping on the hem of her white dress that this place would make her wear, before she opened her eyes to see the goddess of love staring at her in confusion.
"Renai?" Ai's voice croaked as she spoke. Whenever she came to this place her body always felt as though she had never used it before. She was surprised she even materialised standing up, her legs felt like huge weights, even the soft silk fabric against her skin felt heavy. "Why have you brought me here?" She asked and was surprised when Renai clicked her tongue with impatience, her usual ethereal glow cracking and turning a light blue colour.
"I guard the gates to heaven; if you call someone from the Other Place they must ask me to return to the mortal plane," Renai informed her. The goddess sighed impatiently; he did not think she would be seeing Ai so soon. The girl looked much older, much more aware of herself, she even moved with more ease on this plane than the first time. "A mortal came to me saying he was being summoned back to the Earth and that I was the one calling to him," Renai almost smiled with appreciation for Ai's ambition but was irritated with how far this girl was straying from her charge. "That could only mean you were dabbling in forbidden spells," she spoke with such authority and power she almost seemed to grow in size as she approached her incarnation, "so I ask you again: what exactly do you think you are doing?"
"Why do you speak with such malevolence, Renai?" Ai asked softly, "we are one and the same," she smiled sweetly, "we should embrace one another." But the goddess seemed to click her heels and float up into the air above Ai, the white behind her turning dark, her dark ringlets of hair and white silk of her dress floating around her as though she were in water. She pointed a finger straight at Ai who felt weighted to the ground, unable to tear her eyes away from the beautiful, haunting face of Love.
"There are a few stark differences between the two of us, girl. Firstly," Renai informed her, "I am immortal, older than a thousand suns your world has circled. You are as old as twenty earth years, do you know what that makes you?" She laughed as Ai remained silent, biting her tongue as sparks crackled around Renai's figure. "Insignificant in the grand scheme of whatever it is you mortals determine time to be, a mere dot of ink on the story of creation! I possess power beyond your wildest dreams, little one," she stressed, "only I can determine their use; you are merely borrowing a fraction of what I can do. And you are my servant, charged with a task that I do not see you fulfilling-!"
"You want to know what love is, you selfish old relic!?" Renai almost fell to the ground as Ai rose up to meet her; it wasn't possible! "It is a ruse to help the weak through their suffering," Ai retorted, watching as Renai fell back to the ground softly. "It is the only plague that kills its victims and somehow lets them walk, soulless, through the world," Ai spoke a little faster as she felt something pulling her back to the ground. "It is the most painful, unbearable thing-"
"Ai-" Renai said in a warning tone.
"It is about as useful as you have been to me- OW!" Ai exclaimed as whatever had been pulling her gently, suddenly yanked her down to the floor, making her fall on her rear.
"Was I ever this stupid, I wonder-?"
"Look what it did to you!" Ai cried, standing to her feet with all her strength. "You're wasting away standing at these gates for him to come back-"
"Ai-" Renai's fingertips snapped small lightning bolts.
"BECAUSE THEY DON'T COME BACK!" The young girl cried, small tears forming in her eyes. "Senso, Kai, Gaara," Ai seemed to lose her fire as she thought about it. "They're all the same." She concluded quietly, staring at the floor.
"I cannot wait for you to age," Ai looked up in surprise as Renai's anger seemed to dissolve. "I suppose because mortals have such little time to live, they see ageing as a terrible thing. But it's the most wonderful gift," the goddess sighed, her perfect pout twitching into a smile of nostaliga for her youth. "The hindsight, the foresight, the reason, the steadiness you find in your feet are all gifts of ageing." She looked her incarnation up and down, seeing her vulnerability, her hurt, her refusal to back down was almost enough to make Renai falter. But should Renai push Ai out into the world? Should she let her cease her power? Should the girl be truly unleashed on the world? " You are still not ready to answer my question, Ai." The goddess smiled as Ai's face turned back to one of defiance. How strange; to think you are the one in control until you find that your equal is suddenly...more.
"Let him pass." Ai spoke with no trace of backing down.
"You have started a war. Even I did not think the Blood-Love would come so far." Nothing passed over Ai's face as Renai said this. She merely stood her ground and lifted her chin in defiance.
"Let him pass." She said again and did not flinch as Renai walked up to her with an outstretched hand.
"Baka (idiot)." Renai whispered as she placed her fingertips against Ai's forehead and pushed gently.
"Ah!" Ai gasped as she felt a vaccum pulling her backwards mercilessly. The vision of Renai faded as Ai was pulled away from her and back into reality.
That mischievous moon was playing tricks on the Kazekage; while eating his dinner he could have sworn he saw it sitting patiently atop the pavilion and now it spied on him in his bedroom through his open window. He stared at it defiantly, wondering, if he stretched out his hand, could he touch it? Of course, as he reached out, he could do no such thing. The moon was too far. As, it seemed, was his privacy.
The Kazekage groaned in impatience as someone knocked on his bedroom door and proceeded to enter without him calling to the visitor. His elder sister walked in, clearly unimpressed by his antics in the Council Room that evening. But the Kazekage was too relaxed after a good meal and ridiculous conversation with Kankuro, to be troubled at this time.
"Gaara-"
"Has Taki left the palace yet?" He interrupted Temari with the one thing he knew would distract her. Temari took his relationship with Taki more seriously than he did; she was determined to find a good pair of hands to leave the village to when Gaara was away. She stopped short, a frown on her face, half guessing what Gaara was up to and deciding to give him the benefit of the doubt she said:
"No, she wishes to speak to you." Gaara paused as he reached out for a book from his library. He sighed.
"I don't have the time for this." He said but with his other hand waved at Temari to show her it was okay to let Taki into the room. Temari left in a huff but Gaara did not feel bad; brothers are supposed to annoy, aren't they? The Kazekage pulled out a book on foreign military and went to sit on the end of his bed just as the door to his bedroom opened once more.
"Gaara?"
"Yes, Princess?" As he spoke, he glanced out of his window to find the moon no longer there; it was playing tricks on him!
"I received your message this morning." His stood and appraised his sweet princess who was smiling at him, stood in a candy pink dress, looking entirely at home and utterly unready to leave. "Are we communicating by notes now?" She asked haughtily, clearly offended by his letter asking her to return home until the end of the war.
"War approaches, Taki." Gaara said seriously as he went to stand with her.
"And our wedding date recedes," she said to the floor, "why are you speaking so formally, Kazekage?" Taki asked, tucking a golden girl behind her ear, her grey eyes sparkling in the candlelight.
"There is much to do," Gaara replied with a standard 'Kazekage' reply he had been practicing before putting his hands on either side of her face. "Why haven't you left yet?" He asked softly.
"I wanted to speak to you about the wedding." The princess said seriously, pushing his hands away from her face.
"What about it?"
"It's postponed."
"Yes, I know," Gaara replied, returning to the bed and shutting his book which was lying open, waiting to be read. "Is there an issue?"
"I want to marry now, in the Spring."
"We will marry," Gaara paused as he turned as was surprised to find Taki right behind him, "on the agreed date," he finished slowly; why was she pushing this on him now? Taki turned away in a huff.
"Did you treat her like this too?" Gaara had to stop himself from going to his usual stance of aggression when it came to Taki's insecurity. He had to remind himself of how she was feeling, as Kankuro had suggested he do. The Kazekage took a deep breath and walked up to her, her back still to him, before he put his arms around her and leant down to kiss the side of her head. She relaxed in his arms, her adorable smile lighting up her face.
"Taki, I'm very stressed and very tired and I need you to do what you always do for me." He whispered to her.
"What's that?" The princess whispered back.
"Be the sunshine," Gaara told her, "flitter through space and warm everyone with your charm and grace. Can you do that for me?" He glanced her reflection in the mirror in front of them and saw her smiling, dying to give in to him.
"Can't we marry any earlier than July?" As she asked, Gaara's smile faded slightly. There, in the reflection of the mirror, in the window behind them, sat the moon. Gaara released her and turned to the window.
"Do you know how the moon looks after battle?" He asked and walked to the window. "It burns a bright red. Covered in blood," he flinched with distaste. "Scarred and broken. The moonshine no longer glitters, space is vacuous, it feels hard to breathe," he whispered and gasped slightly for breath as though he could already feel the pain of loss. "When the moon looks like death," he turned to her, "I shall marry you." Taki smiled with relief and ran up, into his arms as they smiled at one another.
"The night after battle?" She squeezed him tightly and looked up to the night sky with a dreamy look. "With the death of the moon?"
"Yes." Gaara turned to look out of his window, a breeze ruffling his hair as he held on tight to the princess. "Only then."