And The Pain Ends

Chouji slipped into Taku’s room and sat on her bed. He brushed the hair out of her eyes and watched as her eye lids slowly lifted. He turned away before speaking. "Maybe we rushed this a little too fast. I mean what if Mitsumi expects more emotion than Gaara is willing to show? Does he even know how to act around girls?" Taku shook her head she had realized this last night.

"Now to initiate part two of my master plan. Muahahaha." Chouji got a frightened look in his eyes after the attempt at an evil laugh Taku made. Not because the laugh itself was scary but because it was coming from such an innocent looking girl. "Ok here is what we do. I’ll go to Mitsumi and help her get ready for the date while explaining a few things about Gaara. At the same time I want you to coach Gaara in the ways of women. You know them pretty well if you ask me, just remember to remind him about complimenting." Soon after Taku finished concocting her master plan they went down to get breakfast ready so they could start their day off right. After cleaning up the breakfast dishes Taku went up to her room to choose her outfit and do her hair. Taku threw on an off the shoulder red sweater that showed the black straps of her sports bra. She then pulled on a black pair of pants and slid a jean skirt over them with gold hemming and rhinestones decorating it. She then began to work on her hair. She tried curling it to give it a little more volume but it didn’t really take, unfortunately it seemed her hair always had a mind of it‘s own. Then she tried brushing it out and letting it stay down, yet again a complete failure. Her hair was just too straight and too flat. Finally, an idea popped into her head. You began to pull it back and twist it. She used bobby pins to hold it against the back of her head and let the top part spike around the back. She then used a colored hair gel to put a few pink streak in here and there it made a perfect contrast to the light blue that was her natural color. Looking in the mirror she were completely satisfied for once, she knew it was Chouji‘s influence that made her feel that way. "Now, for Mitsumi." Taku then left the house with her hair and makeup kit and feeling of accomplishment.

Taku slowly walked the streets headed for Ino’s house looking in the windows of all the shops she passed. Suddenly, she saw a small red photo album that looked like it would hold one picture on each page but it had a lot of pages in it. On the cover it was red with two silver colored hearts overlapping. It was perfect for all the pictures taken of Kohona’s various couples. When Taku went to the counter she looked at the displays and picked up a disposable camera. It never hurt to be prepared.. After paying and slipping both items in her purse, thank goodness she had opted for the bag instead of the clutch, she finished her walk. When she knocked Ino opened the door immediately. "Thank god you’re here. Mitsumi has been driving us all crazy this morning. She wants to look perfect for her date tonight and she has lost all confidence in her abilities to dress herself." Ino continued to talk as she pushed Taku down the hall to Mitsumi’s room. "Please, help her she wont let me!" Taku walked in to see the room in complete shambles. Clothes were everywhere and more were seemingly jumping out from the closet with a surprising amount of force as if wishing to escape the clutches of the one that was after them.

Avoiding the closet bombs Taku looked around the floor and picked up a red and black designed shirt. A more prolonged search uncovered, A black skirt with a rose and vine design on the bottom hem along with some fishnet stockings. Taku also picked up two red arm warmers and a pair of red shoes. Taku shouted at Mitsumi so she could be heard over the ruckus the nervous girl was making and calmly told her to pick up everything else she had found the perfect outfit. Ten minutes later the room was clean and Mitsumi was dressed but she still had no earthly idea what to do with he hair. Taku placed a hand on each of her shoulders and sat her down on the vanity stool. "Okay lets see short straight blond hair. Don’t worry Mitsumi, I know exactly what to do." Before beginning Taku quickly turned her around so she wouldn’t go crazy while watching the process it took to fix the girls hair. Taku then brushed out Mitsumi’s hair and started working on the back leaving her long bangs to obstruct her view of the mirror on the wall across the room. Taku then pulled her hair into a high pony tail on the left side and used a thin rubber band to tie it off. After that she took a section of Mitsumi’s hair and wrapped it around the rubber band using bobby pins to hold it in place so it looked a bit like her hair was tied in a knot. Taku also used a bit of gel to make the hair spike out from the ponytail. While doing this she continued to talk to Mitsumi. "You know you’re the first girl that has ever sparked Gaara’s interest. I have to warn you though he isn’t really one of the best people at showing his emotions, so I don’t think it would be wise to expect the kind of emotion you have seen other couples share. He is kind of new to this whole liking someone thing."

"That’s ok Taku. I know about Gaara’s past. I was born with a special ability even though I don’t make the best ninja I can see into peoples hearts and souls." Taku giggled a bit at that as she turned Mitsumi around to start working on her bangs. Taku parted them on the side leaving them down and pinned the left side back with two clips leaving just enough leeway for the bangs to fall to cover her left eye.

"I see, that power must come in handy a lot. No wonder you know exactly what to say to bring anyone to their knees." Taku then began working on her makeup using the minimalist approach, which means a tiny bit of light eye shadow and some lip gloss. "Ok we are done here." Taku turned her around to look into the mirror and Mitsumi gasped.

"Oh, thank you Taku! You are a miracle worker. I love it, I just hope Gaara does also." She looked up at Taku with a sparkle in her eyes that spoke volumes to the girl who had only seen the same sparkle in her own eyes when she was around a certain teddy bear ninja. This wasn’t just a crush on a cute boy, she was in love with everything she saw inside of Gaara, and she realized his faults and loved him all the more for it, this was true love, the kind of true love that only seemed to be possible in this world, once again Taku found herself thanking whatever powers that brought her here to stay whether it be lightning, the god she had prayed to her entire life, or a multitude of gods she had never heard of let alone spoken too.

"You had the beauty all the time Mitsumi. I’m not a miracle worker I just know some different styles that allow your own beauty to shine more brilliantly. I have a feeling you have nothing to worry about tonight." After saying that Taku realized it was time to go and meet the guys.

While Taku had been helping out Mitsumi Chouji had been talking to Gaara on a subject they both knew very little about, the inner workings of the female mind. (They shouldn’t feel bad though no man gets it. To be truthful though they do better than most) "I really don’t know myself how they think. Just compliment her because women like hearing nice things. They also like it for some reason when we talk about our feelings. Just remember everything we talked about so far and the date should go decently well. Taku has been with Mitsumi since this morning."

Chouji had said this while walking to the meeting place they had appointed that morning. Gaara chose that time to speak up. "I wonder what girls talk about when we aren’t around." Chouji agreed and then all of a sudden they stopped in their tracks and their jaws hit the ground. Standing less than ten feet away were Mitsumi and Taku looking like they were ready for the hippest party anywhere.

Taku saw the two boys first and grabbed Mitsumi to pull her over to them. Gaara was the first to speak up. "You both look wonderful especially you Mitsumi."

Mitsumi blushed, "Well, Taku actually did all the work I just kind of sat there."

Gaara turned to Taku, "Then Taku I must thank you for allowing me to see Mitsumi’s beauty in such a breathtaking way." He turned to Mitsumi and held out his arm. "Shall we head to the picnic spot?" She smiled still blushing and placed her arm in his. As they began walking Taku and Chouji hand in hand followed. After a short pause Taku leaned over and whispered in Chouji’s ear, "Did you coach him to say that?"

He leaned over to Taku to answer, "Nope, he came up with that one all on his own." The date was going to consist of a picnic in a grassy meadow, all the food had been cooked by the boys earlier that day. Following that would be a movie at Chouji’s house. From there Gaara is supposed to walk Mitsumi home. When they reached the meadow the boys sat out the blanket and then Taku and Mitsumi sat down while they sat out the food looking it over as they did so. The meal was absolutely delicious. Both girls complimented the boys on all their hard work as they gathered up all the leftovers and empty dishes. Each couple walked hand in hand to Chouji’s house where the guys were the best of gentleman and put everything away allowing Mitsumi and Taku to pick out a movie. They looked through the collection and the ones Chouji had rented and Found "Song of the ninja" it was a love story, with enough action for the male pride, and Mitsumi hadn’t seen it yet.
The story goes something like this. It begins with a girl named Tarini dressing in all black with the mask that covers everything but her eyes. She was a great ninja and nobody knew her true identity. She was hired to be an assassin. One night she is forced to assassinate a wealthy landowner for his crimes against the local village. Afterwards she leaves behind her signature by standing in a tree nearby the house and singing a song of death. (More than likely one she made up just like I made up the story of this movie.) The son of the wealthy man wakes at the sound and hears a beautiful voice outside the window. He falls in love with the ninjas voice and spends months searching for that ninja. Two years later he has almost given up the search. Then one day he is walking to the local village to do some charity work like his father never did he hears a familiar sound. Even though he hasn’t heard the voice in two years he recognizes it instantly. Haku, the landowners son approaches her and says, "I heard that voice two years ago to this day and I instantly fell in love with the ninja who sang by my window the night she killed my father. Since that day I have been searching for her to ask her to become my bride." He stands in front of her and kneels down. "Will you please become mine?" From there they get married, but he does not force her to quit her job because that is how they first fell in love even though every time she is on a mission he waits by the door praying for her safe return. Then one night a local villager, who felt cheated because he wasn’t allowed to kill the man who killed his family, came to Momiju’s house to punish the young man for his fathers deeds. That night when Tarini got home she found her husband lying on the floor blood splattered around the house. It seems her weaponless husband had fought to the very end. A week later she leaves a note and her broken hearted body on his grave as her spirit flies to the heavens to meet him. The last scene shows the note written by the ninja that died from a broken heart. It read:

My song of death was heard far and wide for only those who needed to die. You my love did not deserve the evil turn of fate that gripped you. I only wish that those with pain could let go and not blame the innocents who were connected to the cause of that pain in ways they had no control over. Until that day the song of the ninja shall be heard no more.

When the movie was over the two girls were in tears while the guys like usual were holding their emotions in. Gaara looked down at Mitsumi, "Why are you crying Mitsumi? It was only a movie."
Mitsumi buried her head in his shoulder and said, "It was just so beautiful. The love between too people as strong as that could change the world." Soon Gaara and Mitsumi left so he could escort her home and Taku put your female ninja techniques to good use. Taku followed them to the front door of Ino’s house. Just as she has suspected they stood there talking for a minute then Gaara leaned in for a kiss. Taku took your opportunity then she slipped the camera from the pouch and made sure the flash was off before snapping off a few quick pictures. (There was enough illumination from the porch light.) After Mitsumi had walked in the house and Gaara headed for the hotel he and Temari were staying at Taku silently snuck out of her hiding place and hightailed it to the photo development place. An hour later she walked out with enough copies of the picture for everyone she and Chouji knew. Taku walked home and split the pictures with Chouji writing on the back of each one "The newest couple. Sorry single people."

After all the pictures had the message on the back Taku took half the houses and Chouji took the other half. You put each picture on the doorstep and knocked on the door before sprinting away. The picture showed Gaara holding Mitsumi close right before the kiss. The cheeks of both the teens were tinted pink. When they both finally got home it was close to midnight and after their showers they decided to sleep on the couch in case Gaara tried to sneak in and kill them in their sleep. Taku spent the time Chouji was in the shower putting the pictures in the photo album she had bought. On the last page was a copy of the picture she had taken that night. Taku could tell they were just as much in love as she and Chouji were. When he got back they both laid on the couch looking over the pictures ohhing and awing. After another hour they fell asleep anticipating what would happen in training with Gaara and Temari the next day.