Gaara's Wolf - Thrust into the Naruto World

Chapter 34

Gaara woke me up early the morning before the first official Allied Shinobi Forces gathering. We were going to hang out and chill for the day before Gaara showed me his surprise in the evening. We hung out around the house most of the day (air conditioning can only be found indoors, after all), mostly watching movies and playing games. Gaara is surprisingly good at Uno, but, strangely, I beat him in poker.

When dinner time rolled around, he took me to Mikawa Zezankyo, a high end restaurant with good food. I decided to try something new (if you don't know how long you have to live, you tend to make rash decisions), so I ended up ordering Gyutanyaki: a type of cooked beef tongue. Fortunately, i ended up liking it, and so didn't wind up having to reorder because of my impulsiveness.

After we ate, he took me for a walk in the Kage greenhouse, a garden created by a past Kage as a gift to his plant loving wife. It was dark by then and the only way we could see was from the twinkling lights set up around the path. Gaara led me to a bench near a rose garden before gesturing for us to sit down.

"Kira, I know you see the future, so can you guarantee me that neither of us will die in the war?" He asked, watching me closely.

I glanced away from him. This was the same thing I had been worried about. I wasn't sure how my meddling would impact the war. For all I know either one of us or possibly both of us would die.

"No, I can't. I don't know how my actions might change what I saw happen. At this point, there are few certainties." I answered softly.

"Well then, I don't want any regrets. Kira, I know we haven't been dating long, but I know that I have loved you for much longer then we've been dating. Because of that, I want to ask you if, after the war, you would be willing to marry me."

I turned back to him, shocked beyond belief. Gaara was asking me to marry him? I hadn't imagined ... I didn't even consider the possibility of him doing this.

"I understand if you want to wait and not decide now, but can you answer me by the Kage War meeting tomorrow? I'd like to know before the war begins."

This wasn't a dream, Gaara was really asking me to marry him! I can understand why he would, with the war so soon and a high likelyhood that we would die, but I honestly thought he wouldn't be able to ask me until later. I guess this just goes to show how comfortable he is around me, to be willing to risk such a painful rejection. Not that I was going to reject.

I smiled softly at him, an expression I'm told (mostly by Temari) that I only make when around Gaara (which is why Kankuro tend to leave when we start being to 'lovey-dovey'). "Yes! Of course I will!" I flung my arms around his neck, kissing him. "I'd love nothing more than to be your wife!"

After I said that, Gaara pulled out an engagement ring and slid it onto my finger. It had a beautiful gem in the middle, as well as a carved and decorated dragon and pheonix, one on either side of the diamond.

"It was my mother's. Kankuro said that he didn't want or need it, and so let me have it to give to you. The dragon and pheonix have special meanings as well. The dragon represents the Emperor and yang (masculine) energy, while the phoenix represents the Empress and yin (female) energy. When these two come together, they represent balance, harmony, and matrimonial bliss. It expresses my hope that our time together will be as the dragon and the pheonix."

"Gaara, it's beautiful!" I choked out, touched by the thought he had put into it.

Of course, Kankuro had to ruin everything. "Hey Gaara, are you guys some in there! What did she say? If she said no, I want the ring back."

I looked incredulously at Haara before bursting out laughing. "Sorry, Kankuro, but you'll never get it back! I'm going to wear it until I die. You should think twice bad or giving stuff away next time."

I smiled at Gaara before getting up. "Ready to be bombarded with questions?"

"I'd rather avoid all this fuss if I could."

"I though you'd say that. Come on, let's sneak back home and pretend to be asleep."

And that was how we ended up breaking out of the greenhouse. A broken window and a few cursing shinobi later, we were back home. This time, instead of sleeping in my bed or with him in wolf form, I just layed down next to him. He wrapped his arms around me, and I could feel the warmth and happiness surrounding us like a protecting barrier, staving off the worries of tomorrow. However, even the best barriers will still let some thoughts through, and I ended up thinking about my life since I came here.

It was a rough road, full of death, danger, and decisions, but coming here was totally worth it. My past was a mystery and my future was uncertain, but I had many new precious people in my heart who I knew will help me if I need it and I would sacrifice everything for. This fantasy I was thrown into had become my reality, and I resolved to do everything in my power to protect it and everyone in it.