A storm of sand and blaze (Gaara fanfiction and The Love Story He Deserves)

Chapter 4: A woman called Kaji Feza

It was, perhaps in a brief dream, where Gaara found Shukaku in front of him. He was surprised to see him and in his face, a smile got drawn.

"Old friend." He said as a greeting making a soft reverence.

"I see you can sleep now". Shukaku laughed quite evilly.

"It has become better, indeed".

"That devil worm almost got us inside its mouth! Your sand has lost speed".

"I'm afraid I haven't been training so much these days. More than ten years have passed since the war and I have been focused on restoring all the damages it left behind". Gaara explained.

"It has taken a lot of effort from all the villages, but we have finally found peace".

"Not in these lands yet!" Shukaku mentioned.

"What do you mean?"

"This is the reason I had to get sealed inside her: someone is trying to hunt me. It started some months ago. I always felt a presence but I couldn't see anybody around. Until two nights ago a shadow attacked me with a black whip and tried to leash me. I used my sand defense but he was persistent. If it weren't for Feza's flames I would have been captured".

"Feza's flames?" The Kazekage repeated. "Why did you seal yourself inside her? I thought you wanted freedom more than any other tailed beast".

"Freedom and loneliness are so similar that it's confusing to distinguish them after so many years". The One-Tailed Beast's voice sounded somehow sad. "I wandered through desert and forests for many years until one day, while watching the red twilight, I met her as a casualty. Without saying any word we stared at the sunset that day and many others. She didn't seem to be afraid of me and I was also kinda comfortable. After some months, I started to miss her the days she didn't arrive, and so when she appeared again I felt joyful and grateful for her presence. Six moons later, we introduced ourselves. She told me her name and offered me a bit of her beverage. We could talk for many hours while drinking gin or just share the night view together. Our friendship grew like a unique desert dandelion and that's why I taught her how to seal me inside her when we found the shadow that night. She also has a great chakra amount and she can defend us fiercely when it's necessary".

"However, I noticed she doesn't know how to control all that chakra". Gaara replied crossing his arms. "Right now she's unconscious because of the huge amount of fire she generated for the explosion".

"That's true. She never went to an academy. I guess all she knows is because she learned it by herself".

"I think the best would be to go back to Sunagakure as soon as possible and watch over you two there. Nevertheless, there is always the possibility of someone inside the village being an infiltrate." The Kazekage made a pause for some seconds, putting his thumb under his chin to think. "Shukaku, did the shadow followed you anytime when you were with Kaji Feza?"

"No, as far as I can remember. All the times I felt observed I was alone. The only moment when they met was when she helped me flee. But she was transformed into the firebird back then".

"If that's the case maybe we can still have an advantage. I am convinced now that there must be someone trying to get rid of me and trying to capture you for some reason. So I think it would be cautious to enter the village discreetly and then take you to a safer place for a while. No one can know Feza is a jinchuuriki".

"And where are we gonna go?" Shukaku asked quite offended. "I thought no one would be stronger than the Kazekage in the Land of Wind".

"This is a precaution, old friend. I need to investigate who the enemy is first. In the meantime, I think Konoha is the safest place to be".

Shukaku growled in a lower voice to express his disagreement.

"I will make sure you travel to Konoha safely and I will solve this problem as soon as possible".

Gaara tried to smile to the beast but Shukaku remained frowning. The dream, however, began to fade. Both of them turned into gray quickly and the next thing Gaara saw after blinking were the sunbeams of the morning entering through some holes of his sand spheric protection. It took him a couple of minutes to realize he was awake again and to recall with precision his conversation with Shukaku.

It was until the Kazekage sat down and looked around him that he discovered that the girl was not laying in the ground anymore, but sitting down at the very edge of the sphere staring at him with her big black eyes open.

"Good morning" She finally said after an awkward moment of silence. "You were mumbling a lot while you were sleeping".

"Is that so?" He replied politely but feeling a bit embarrassed. "Well, I was probably having a very vivid dream".

"I heard Shukaku's voice too" She continued. "But I just couldn't listen to the conversation. I was just a spectator staring from far away".

Gaara didn't know what to say. She seemed a bit conflicted.

"Well, I think I can speak with Shukaku because we share some chakra. I used to be his jinchuuriki in the past. But don't worry, it's normal. It takes time to get used to him and learn how to listen to his voice, especially because he likes to be sleeping almost all the time." He explained. "I am Gaara, the Fifth Kazekage. I'm afraid we introduced ourselves in very unfavorable circumstances last night. I am sorry for attacking you with the sand on the first instance".

Feza nodded not giving much importance to the sand attack.

"Those guards of yours seemed to be the real problem, though." She said. Somehow now that they were speaking she seemed to be quite nervous. "I hope you don't mind that I... well... that I burn them alive".

"Sometimes people get what they deserve". Gaara tried to sound politically right. She was still looking at him with some uncertainty. "But, how is your leg?"

"The flames burned the wound and now it's almost healed".

"By the way, I've never seen a jutsu like yours before" Gaara mentioned after vanishing the sand protection.

The sun was at the top of the sky again. However, they would need to hurry up to get to the Hidden Village of the Sand as soon as possible since he didn't have much water and food left.

"It's family heritage". She replied standing up and looking around to the horizon from the top of the sand dune. "But just women can activate the fire feathers".

"So, your family comes from the Land of Wind?"

Kaji Feza's eyes expression changed drastically from being very energetic to be thoughtful and retracted. She didn't reply to his question either. Gaara noticed the silence was becoming uncomfortable again, so he decided to take out the lavender band he has rescued back in the Demon Desert.

"I think this is yours". She mentioned extending his hand to her.

"Ah! I thought it would be lost by now" She replied becoming quite optimistic again. "Thank you, Kazekage-sama." She looked around swiftly "..And... So...Are we gonna unseal Shikaku here?"

"Oh no," Gaara replied. "We cannot unseal him. That would kill you".

"But you are alive. How can that be?"

"That is a story for another time". Gaara concluded. "For now, we will move to Sunagakure first. I have to find out who is behind last night's attack and the shadow who tried to capture Shukaku. Then, tomorrow I will send you to Konoha while I solve all this mess".

"Sunagakure" She repeated with an unsure grin. "Why can't I just go directly to Konoha? I can find my way from here".

The Kazekage shook his head crossing his arms.

"I cannot let you do that I'm afraid. It would be too risky".

She didn't seem convinced but she accepted ultimately. Kaji Feza put the lavender color band as a diadem in her head and got ready to start the quest. Gaara gave her a quick glance before she jumped from the top of the sand dune to the ground. He wondered why she would feel resentful about going to Sunagakure.