Romancing the Kazekage- A Gaara Love Story

The Art of Politics/A Moonless Night

The palace of Sunagakure was on fire. The temple in the centre of the magnificent building was cast into burning white and orange flame, crackling and spitting, shooting sparks up into the air. The stars were obscured from view as thick dark smoke spewed out from the window above the shrine. The unbearable heat sucked out all moisture from the atmosphere, making the air barely breathable. It had started when a glass lantern, that had once belonged to a girl called Love, was tipped over by a frightful wind. It had entered the shrine behind a boy filled with the desperation and agony of heartache. That wicked breeze had followed the tail of his cloak and swept around the room when the boy's red-stained, hurt-filled eyes merely glanced up at the statue of Raijin and cursed the ancient god. Obscuring the hellish scene from those outside the temple, was sparkling, burning sand that spun around the figure of the boy; merely giving glimpses to a terrified audience, of the havoc he wreaked inside the holy room.

"Gaara, please stop this!" His elder sister, unable to use her powers to blow away the sand for fear of increasing the height of the flames, cried helplessly from the doorway. Beside her, one of Gaara's students tried to put on a brave face; Matsuri clenched her fists to her chest, closed her eyes and shouted through the tumbling sand and crackling fire:

"Gaara-sama, it will be okay!" But she was terrified of the sight of dark-rimmed eyes as they turned to her. She gasped, her legs trembling, knocking her knees together, as Sabaku no Gaara turned his head to her slowly. That look on his face, the utter pain of loss, gripped her voice in her throat and would not let her say anymore. Beside her, Kankuro watched on in horror along with other supporters of Gaara. From the small crowd, Temari called out to her brother.

"Kankuro, can't you-"

"Hmph." The crowd turned as someone scoffed from behind them. In the dancing shadows from the fire Gaara had started, Endo Yori stood with his supporters. Temari's eyes narrowed on him. "Let the child be. He knows no better than violent tantrums, after all!" The Kazekage's sister hoisted her hand over her shoulder to grab her fan, only to find her brother's hand resting there, a grave look on his face, telling her not to be drawn into confrontation. And so, with heavy hearts and barely suppressed repulsion, the Kazekage's family and friends watched the vicious man walk away from Gaara's ruination.

In the darkness of the hallways, a few minutes later, Yori found a quiet spot. Barely any light, only the one lantern in the corner, only the sound of a fountain nearby, he turned to his group of five men, all stood, eagerly awaiting to hear the next part of the plan. Yori stroked his beard and looked around at his men, his aged face half showing a smirk of triumph. "This is good." He huffed proudly, "that is Gaara's support he sets fire to and the wretched boy will burn as a result of his own self-destruction." The smiles on the faces of his men faded slightly as, from the darkness behind Yori, a strange sound issued. Like a heavy marble, something was rolling along the floor to them. They took stance, prepared to fight. The tension in the atmosphere eased as, out of the dark corner, rolled a bottle of sake. Yori tutted impatiently; probably a cat and a drunkard in the palace gardens. He turned back to his men. "We shall reclaim Suna by the Fall."

"That's a shame; I was hoping to re-decorate my office in the Fall." The men in front of Yori jumped as the Kazekage emerged out of the shadows. With red eyes and darker circles than usual, Gaara appraised members of the rebellion against him with a reckless, almost joking manner. This earned a shake of the head from Yori, who turned almost in disbelief before he realised what Gaara was up to.

The boy setting fire to the temple was a sand clone. A distraction put up as a faux-reaction from Gaara to convince the village he was upset. Which he was, there could be no doubt. But it had to be something big, something that could be over within a day before they could see things return to normal. Yori's gaze narrowed on the Kazekage; was he that smart? Was he that adept to politics that he knew the game was played subtly, over years? Gaara seemed to figure out what was on the elder's mind and so he bowed his head a little and smiled.