The Dust Devil [English Version]

Chapter ∞ - The Flower and the Sun

                   Night had taken possession of Sunagakure no Sato, wrapping its streets and buildings in a soft, muffled veil. The commotion of the festivities had quieted down, leaving behind the last exclamations of the villagers, still marveling at the fireworks that had illuminated the desert sky. The explosions of color had dissipated, revealing subtle luminous trails, like fleeting memories suspended in the air. Little by little, the stars reclaimed their place, piercing the darkness with their discreet yet eternal glow, as if they silently watched over the dunes.

At the top of the Kazekage's office, far from the noise below, Hatsu allowed herself to be carried by the moment, as much as by Gaara, who held her on his back with silent care. She could feel the reassuring warmth of his body against hers, a sensation a sensation that soothed her as much as it troubled her. Her arms rested around his shoulders, and she could sense the calm rhythm of the young man's breathing, each breath resonating like an echo in the night.

In the silence that had settled between them, Hatsu felt a wave of melancholy gently envelop her. Her gaze was lost in the celestial vault, as if those lights suspended in the infinite darkness could soothe her heart.

"The sky seems so vast," she murmured. "It looks like an ocean of stars. They seem so close... and yet so far away."

But her thoughts were no longer in that sky.

He was there, close to her, and yet he seemed just as unreachable as those stars. The distance between them felt infinite. Much vaster than the desert that stretched beneath their feet.

"Obaa-chan used to say that the stars and the moon watch over those who walk alone, offering them a path when everything seems dark," she added in a voice tinged with nostalgia, as if the words awakened buried memories within her.

Gaara nodded softly, his eyes also lifted toward the stars. "Indeed, the stars have always been guides for travelers," he replied calmly. "In the desert, they are our only reference when everything seems lost in the vastness."

Lost in the vastness...

That was exactly what she had tried to do, day after day: lose herself in her responsibilities, in her solitary walks, in her confused thoughts, and even in the starry sky. But no matter her efforts, everything kept bringing her back to this truth.

He was there.

Present in every one of her gestures, every one of her looks, every one of her words and silences.

He was there.

She briefly closed her eyes, as if to calm the turmoil rumbling inside her. But this simple attempt only amplified the suffocating weight pressing on her chest, reinforcing the truth she was trying so hard to push away.

"Despite their infinite number, I only see one," she murmured finally, almost to herself. Her voice, barely audible, melted into the stillness of the night, as if the stars themselves absorbed her words. When she reopened her eyes, she felt the vertigo of the confession she had just made.

"Which one is it?" Gaara asked, without turning his gaze from the sky.

That question, so direct, brought a faint smile to Hatsu's lips, a smile tinged with melancholy. She recognized in him this way of seeing the world, often different from her own. A sincerity, almost innocent, rooted in reality.

She lowered her head, then, in a soft voice, she responded, "Kazekage-sama... are you familiar with the Legend of Hana to Taiyō (the Flower and the Sun)?"

Gaara remained silent for a moment, as if searching his memory for an echo of this story.

"I do not think so," he said finally.