A demons kiss is an angels touch
A demons kiss is an angels touch
Author: UniKoRn
Characters in this chapter: Temari, Gaara, Kankuro, Tsunade, Naruto
Wordcount: 1558
Ratings/Warnings: PG. one swear word! oh noes!
Summary: Gaara falls ill and is rushed to Konoha by his siblings in the middle of a mission.
Notes: Set in anime/manga timeline after the Chuunin exams & Rescue Sasuke arcs, later chapters will skip to Shippuden timeline (will contain spoilers if you only watch the anime).
Temari awoke to the sound of coughing. Rubbing her eyes, she looked over at the watch hanging from her backpack. It was 6.30am, and the sun was already rising. As the fuzziness of sleep wore off, she turned the other way and realised that it was her youngest brother making the coughing noises.
The blonde shinobi pushed off her sleeping bag and sat up. They would have to get moving soon; their team was escorting some important documents back to Suna. It was a longer mission than the usual ones they recieved from their country, and everyone was in need of a proper rest. Gaara had been on watch duty all night; it was usually no big deal, as he hardly slept due to the demon haunting his mind that whispered words of bloodlust. Even so, Temari knew that too much of no sleep at all was draining her brothers energy, even with the large amount of charka from the tailed demon inside him. She knew that he longed for his own bed, covered in the hand-written seals he'd scrawled himself, to keep the demon at bay while he slept for just a few hours a night to rest and recharge. He was fighting a daily battle in his mind: to stay in control, and to never let the demon free again.
Winter was setting in and the nights were cold, so the small yet deadly red-headed boy had huddled into a blanket, and sat by the now-dying campfire. Despite the dark markings of insomnia that surrounded Gaara's eyes, his vigilant sister noticed that he looked worse than usual as she walked over to sit beside him. He looked almost vulnerable, more like a child than a deadly killer, and he shivered from the cold morning air.
The rising sun whisked away the darkness and made the dew glisten on the grass of the fire country. Temari didn't notice how pretty this was, her attention focussed entirely on her youngest brother. "Were we attacked last night?" she asked him, too worried to even say good morning first.
It seemed like he didn't hear her, but eventually he replied, "...no." He coughed again; it seemed like he was struggling to catch his breath. Getting information out of Gaara is like trying to wring blood from stone, thought Temari, and sighed. She slid off the log they were sitting on and shifted around so that she was kneeling directly in front of Gaara. His head was hanging low, and he'd pulled the blanket up around his neck to keep out the cold night air.
"Look at me," she demanded, but the concern in her voice warmed the harsh words. Since the chuunin exams, Gaara had started allowing his sister to fuss over him, and so raised his head without complaint. Temari peered into Gaara's face and he stared blankly back; his eyes were glazed, pinkish and watering. "You're sick!" she exclaimed, and wondered guiltily if he had been unwell before they even took the mission.
Before Temari could ask however, the small boy's eyes closed. He swayed a little before falling forwards onto her shoulder and passing out. It was only his sister's honed reflexes that allowed her to catch him. "Gaara? Shit! Kankuro, WAKE UP!"
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The trio had planned to bypass Konoha on their way home to save time, but with Gaara unconscious it was only a matter of time before Shukaku would awaken to take over his body and run rampage, putting the siblings and all nearby places in serious danger.
They knew how desperately Gaara had been trying to stay in control of the monster; it had been a rather obvious change to their little brother's personality. They did everything they could to help without him noticing, like they always did as children. Sometimes he noticed and didn’t get annoyed like he used to and he would just ...smile. Slowly they were becoming more like a family; they’d do anything to protect that, so Temari and Kankuro had frantically grabbed their brother and hurried to Konoha, hoping to receive help before it was too late.
Temari and Kankuro stood in a hospital room as their brother lay in a bed sleeping, breathing with a raspy sound. There were four Medic Nins in each corner of the room, quietly concentrating, their hands formed in different seals, to keep the demon inside Gaara asleep as he himself got some rest. There was a gentle blue glow from the med-nin's jutsu that formed intangible walls between them, but despite the calming light, Temari and Kankuro shuffled restlessly.
The sound of heels clicking against the floor echoed from the hallway and the siblings looked eagerly towards the door. When Tsunade entered the room, returning with Gaara’s examination results, they bowed politely. “Thank you, Hokage-sama" both Temari and Kankuro said, almost in unison. It was quite an honour to have not only Konoha’s Hokage but top medical ninja seeing to their brother.
Tsunade knew this, and used it to her advantage. She was actually quite interested in the healing abilities of a Jinchuuriki, and had insisted she see to Gaara personally when news of the Sand siblings making an emergency visit to Konoha had reached her office.
Tsunade nodded to acknowledge their thanks before flipping through the medical chart in her hands. "Gaara is quite ill," she said seriously. "Are you able to stay a week while he recovers?"
"Not really. We're on an important mission; we need to get back to Suna as soon as possible." Kankuro frowned and looked towards the window, feeling like they were getting in more trouble with their elders for every hour they were late.
Tsunade looked over at Gaara, who was beginning to stir. "You can't risk making him travel to Suna, especially now that it's winter. This could easily turn into pneumonia if he doesn’t rest for a while and stay out of the cold air." She spoke knowing that Gaara had woken up and would hear what she said.
"Go home," came Gaaras weary voice from behind his siblings. Temari and Kankuro turned to face their brother, relieved that he was awake. "Just go and finish the mission," he said, cutting them off before they could protest leaving him behind. Temari and Kankuro sighed and nodded; they knew it had to be done.
Temari wanted to stay but knew Gaara would be annoyed if they were late finishing the mission. Besides, they had a reputation to uphold. "We'd better get moving, Kankuro; we're already running late; It'll still take us two days to get home.”
Kankuro picked up their bags on the floor and handed Temari hers. "We'll come back as soon as we can," he said to Gaara, who just nodded silently.
"Get well, little brother!" Temari patted Gaaras head and he frowned. "Be polite to your carers," she added. Gaara sunk back down into the blankets, a little embarrassed at her mothering of him in front of Konoha’s Hokage.
As Tsunade motioned for the medic nins in the room to relax -- Gaara was now awake, and no longer a large threat -- the blue lighting faded and they quietly left the room. "Gaara, please stay in bed. I'll have someone bring you some books to read," Tsunade said with a smile. She followed Gaara's siblings heading to the door. They waved goodbye and then turned into the hallway, out of Gaaras sight.
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Tsunade walked Kankuro and Temari through the village towards the gates of Konoha, assuring them that Gaara would be taken care of until they could return.
Down the street in the distance, a blonde boy was running towards them, waving furiously. Bright orange clothing made his identity unmistakable. “Tsuuuunade-baaaachan!” His voice was audible despite the distance between them.
“Here comes Gaara’s ‘boyfriend’,” smirked Kankuro.
“Kankuro!” chided his sister, despite trying to hide a smile herself. She lightly slapped him on the arm.
“The only times Gaara opens his mouth is to talk about that damn kid,” Kankuro shrugged. His voice had a slighty annoyed tone, but his face softened to a smile. He was thankful that that crazy kid had knocked some sense into his brother.
Temari sighed in agreement. “Yeah I know, I know.”
"Well, he’s better entertainment than a book," chuckled Tsunade, “and I don’t think I’ll even have to request he visits Gaara, once he knows he's here.” The female Hokage thought, with relief, that it would also keep Naruto occupied and out of her office nagging for missions.
Naruto was now in earshot and they all went silent as he bounded up to them, talking fast. “Hey, hey! Sakura told me that Gaara is here!” He looked around the street as if he expected Gaara to be with them, even though Sakura had already told him she had seen Gaara brought into the hospital.
Tsunade told him what he wanted to know. “Gaara is still in the hospital, but he’s awake now. Visiting hours have started.”
“Okay then! I’m off!” he said, pointing dramatically towards the direction of the hospital, and hurried away before anyone could say another word.
Temari and Kankuro glanced at each other, smirking. Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad thing that they had to leave Gaara by himself in Konoha for a week, because he wouldn’t really be alone.
***END Chapter 1!***
Author notes: I assumed that Shukaku would be able to be kept asleep by a Jutsu, the same way that Kakashi and Yamato kept Kyuubi under wraps when Naruto is training in the time jump.