Sand and Snow

Chapter 21 - Kazekage's Return

Chapter 21

Kazekage's Return

Surrounding her was a realm of white.

The light murmur of an infant and a sobbing woman graced her ears, drawing her to the sight she saw within an old and worn doorway. Snow blanketed everything around her, leaving only the faint silhouettes of the people on the porch. Nomasaki could only see the back of the woman, noticing the long golden hair straight away. It is my mother, she realized, And the baby... it's me. Shocked, she tried to see why the woman was sobbing. A sudden glimpse of a hand touching the infant's cheek alarmed her. Soothing the infant, a man stood as still and silent as a shadow. She could not see his face through the falling gentle snows, but she caught a faint glimpse of his hair colour. Apricot. His voice was low, calm, and rich with promise, but she could not make out the words he spoke to his child and its mother.

It was him - my father.

As if in a moment, the snows blinded her vision and she could see no more.

She walked aimlessly in the realm of white, until the feeling of crunching snow beneath her feet turned to grains of sand. The air turned hot against her cheeks while she tried to search for a way out in the endless void of silence. Far away, she saw someone standing with their back turned to her. Striking her memory, she cautiously continued on. Pausing on the grains at her feet, she thought she heard a voice.

"I am a monster..." The voice kept repeating. "I am a monster... and my life held no meaning..."

The person became clear to her in her sights.

A sand-ridden wind passed, and she saw the young man with crimson hair only within an arm's length away. "G... Gaara-sama?" She asked, stunned. The figure gave no response. He appeared as if the last time she saw him, clothed in his burgundy jacket and grey flak jacket. His back was still turned in her direction, glancing down at his open palm as the sands flowed through his fingers and pooled to the white ground where they stood. "Is it... really you?"

Silence answered.

And the winds rose.

"I am alone, now." He said to himself, not even hearing her words. "I am alone... once again..."

Before her very eyes, Gaara soon disappeared within the rising winds. He became one with his sands and vanished amongst the infinite grains into nothing. Her eyes swelled up with tears, propelling herself to reach out and grab him before it was too late. But he was gone before her fingertips could touch him or merely graze his sleeve.

Gone.

"Gaara!"

Nomasaki shot up from her sleep, gasping in the forest air.

Feeling her racing heart in her chest, she slowly calmed down her breaths. It had been awhile since her last nightmare, but she was unsure if it was a nightmare or a warning. First, the image of the young family haunted her more than she could grasp. And second, the thought of Gaara crumbling away into nothing terrified her. Was it a genjutsu? She thought, trying to piece the faint memories together. For all she knew, it could have been a trick by Kenzō and his subordinates. The presence she sensed hours ago seemed to fade into the night, but she still held paranoia for when they would eventually cross paths. Startling her thoughts, she quickly formed the hand-sign to sense the Kazekage's chakra.