Adult-FanFiction.org : Naruto

Hatsu	By : dragonslover1 Category: Naruto > Het - Male/Female Views: 1420 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-One
- 2-Two
- 3-Three
- 4-Four
- 5-Five
- 6-Six
- 7-Seven
- 8-Eight
- 9-Nine
- 10-Ten
- 11-Eleven
- 12-Twelve
- 13-Thirteen
- 14-Fourteen
- 15-Fifteen
- 16-Sixteen
- 14
- 15
- 16
Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. I am not profiting from this fanfiction.

Hatsu

Chapter Fifteen

It was as simple as falling into a bed of feathers. No tension, no worries, no fears, no questions, no doubts. Things were much the same as before for Suzaki, but somehow, knowing he loved her too made all the difference. It was no longer a one-sided infatuation with a man she would never have. It wasn�t loving someone. It was being in love.

That one added word made all the difference.

Her priorities had always been shaped a certain way throughout her life: with Gaara always near the center, if not occupying that place completely. Now -- and she could tell -- he had his life shaped in a similar manner. Not exactly the same, and she allowed that without complaint; Sunagakure was also a high priority. But she felt if he was ever presented with a choice between his village and her, it would be a choice he could scarcely make.

She tried to make it so that day would never come. Between spending her time with him and on missions (of which there were less this season than the previous, so they all had more free time) she tried to occupy her extra hours with training. It was difficult to balance it all, given she also wanted to learn how to cook better for him -- going so far as to figure out how to make salted tongue and give it a try.

She shuddered at the memory. He told she didn�t have to; it didn�t matter so much to him if their tastes in foods differed. But she had her agenda, her plans, and she had to see them through.

For him. For them.

He was more affectionate with her behind closed doors, though he didn�t exactly hold back outside of them. If she had the time available, she liked to walk with him to the Tower in early mornings, and he always kissed her before going inside. If people were watching, well -- �They should know where my heart lies,� he�d said.

With me? she�d wondered, stunned. Then she�d blushed, smiled a shaky smile, and hurried back home to hide. Cowardly, of course, but she was so embarrassed by his words. . .

He was no poet, she knew, and they rarely talked without questions needing answers, but somehow he always had a line like that waiting on the wings, as if he was biding his time until the right moment to use it.

Or maybe she was the poetic one, coming up with such analogies.

There was something routine about the way they lived their lives from that point on. Weeks passed and it remained unchanged. He still slept much less than she did, a few naps here, maybe a full night�s sleep once a week. She worried about his health, as she always had, but contented herself with the thought that it was just how he ticked.

She tried to get to the meals so they were done ahead of time, but of course, a man who slept little was quicker at getting to these things. She rarely made it to breakfast first.

And then there was physical love. Almost every evening, before her bed time, they made love. And they were getting better -- not just in performance (she blushed thinking of those improvements) but in self-control, in making it last. Also in making sure they were being safe.

She�d said before that she�d give him as many children as he wanted, but that was a huge step to take, and neither of them were ready for it. She liked to think of it as �practicing for the main event.�

Blissful days, passionate nights, pleasant thoughts; these things added up to perfect love.

The only change happened when he came back at nightfall -- after spending two days in the Tower -- and didn�t look the least bit happy. Even the smile he greeted her with was strained.

�What happened?� she wondered aloud, thinking back to the last time she�d seen him: lunch. As she knew he could spend days working nonstop, she wasn�t surprised when he hadn�t returned like clockwork at the end of the day. Instead, she continued to bring him meals at the appropriate times. She�d been assembling a dinner bento when he�d walked through the door.

He didn�t come up to her and kiss her; that rose a red flag. Instead he sat down on the couch, looking weary. She wondered for a moment if he was tired, given bouts like these happened on occasion, and always randomly.

She came to sit beside him and he hugged her close. When he didn�t speak, she tried again.

�Talk to me,� she urged. �I want to know what�s troubling you, Gaara.�

He glanced up, then looked away. �The Council are making plans to force me to step down as Kazekage,� he said bluntly. �They want someone else to take up the mantle.�

�What?� she snapped. �How could they think that? You�re doing an excellent job.� No pun intended, she added dryly.

�Remember the first time we made love?�

She blushed but nodded.

�That was the biggest one. I shirked my duties to make my shoulder pain go away, and then spent several more hours with you.� He shook his head. �They�re saying I�m too irresponsible for the job.�

�I see it as just a lapse in responsibility,� she countered.

�I tried to make that argument.�

�They�re not listening?�

�No.�

�They�re about to,� she hissed. Her hackles raised. She wanted to get up right now and take the rising ferocity in her to every single wrinkled old man and woman who dared call her Gaara irresponsible.

�Don�t make things worse,� he chided.

She jumped, startled. He didn�t want her to come to his defense? But that�s what lovers do. She stared at him in bewilderment.

�But. . .� she argued weakly.

�No. I can handle this. I don�t want you getting involved.�

She narrowed her eyes. She could feel a fight building up. �You honestly expect me to sit by and do nothing? What in the world makes you think I�m that kinda girl?�

�Kankuro is my strongest defense,� he explained, �and he�s made my case for me more than once. I trust him to help me with this. He�s already started. You don�t need to get in trouble with them.�

She knew who he meant without any explanation. �No,� she snapped. �I�m not sitting idly by.� When he made to protest, she gave him a swift kiss. �Are we in this together or not?� she demanded.

He looked caught, then swept on. �I�m trying to keep you out of trouble, Suzaki. You�re making it very hard for me. You don�t know how the Council works. They�d pick you out as my weakness, and if you�re there, it�ll be like being fed to the vultures.�

�Vultures only feed on carcasses,� she argued, �and I�m far from dead.� She got up, crossing over to the kitchen. �By the way, I finished dinner. Are you hungry?� She asked only because she didn�t have an appetite anymore, and she doubted he did, either.

�No. You can eat by yourself,� he offered.

Her whole body was tense as she loaded everything up in containers and put it away. Her movements were jerky, laced with reigned-in anger. She had more than one reason to hate the Council now; not only did they want to remove Gaara as Kazekage, but it led to a fight between them. Their first ever.

�I�m not debating this,� she warned. �You�d have to lock me up to keep me from doing anything. So you might as well let me come along.�

�Suzaki,� he groaned. �Why can�t you listen this one time?�

�I obey everything else you ask me to do,� she pointed out.

�Except this,� he shot back. �You could ignore every other request I have and I wouldn�t complain. But you choose to fight me on this.�

�I�m not the one fighting.�

�You�re fighting me.�

�Because you started it! If you�d just yield --�

�What kind of Kazekage would I be if I yielded?�

�The kind who�s listening!�

�Fine. I�m not debating this either. You�re not coming.�

She bristled. �I�m sleeping in my old room,� she told him curtly, spinning on her heel to stalk down the hall.

�Suzaki. . .� she heard him moan.

It almost made her turn around and go back, to comfort him. Her words must have hurt him, but damn it, he�d hurt her, too. And there was no compromise to found this night. She said a �good night� before shutting her door, not pausing to see if he�d heard or returned the sentiment.

It wasn�t until the door had shut that she realized there wasn�t a bedroll or pillow in this room anymore. Swearing to herself, she resigned to her fate and laid down on the bare floor. It took a very, very long time to fall asleep that night.

When she woke up, guilt hit her like a battering ram.

She was on the bed, wrapped in blankets and comfortable. How he moved her in her sleep without her notice, she couldn�t say. But she had to smile; she should�ve known he wouldn�t let her sleep on the floor.

She felt worse when she found that his pillow bore a note. Nothing rash, it said. I don�t want you in trouble.

For a long moment she lay still, then snuggled further under the covers. What could she do now? All of her anger from yesterday was gone, replaced with yearning. Only. . .she couldn�t say what it was she was yearning for. Gaara, certainly. That went without say. But what else. . ?

She heaved a sigh and got out of bed. Her face twisted in regret when she saw that she was in her pajamas, too -- if you could call a too-big t-shirt such.

She hugged herself for a moment, wishing for a different set of arms. Where would he be now, she wondered? In the Tower? That seemed likely, or else he might be in the Council room. She wanted to see him, to help him. What else was she good for? She was a ninja, after all. It was her duty to help her village, her country, her Kazekage. It was just that much more meaningful that she was in love with him, too. How could he possibly expect her to do nothing, with that fact hanging above them?

Now decided, she focused on doing things right. As she showered and dressed and ate breakfast, she was writing a speech in her mind, memorizing it. She listed questions that might be asked. She chose appropriate answers to those questions. And, most of all, she braced herself for the look Gaara was going to give her when she showed up unannounced.

Then she stepped outside and vanished in a darting movement. Although she briefly considered gathering more ninja to help make her case, she chose against it. No more fuel for the Council�s fire, she reasoned. Her presence was going to be more than enough of that.

Gaara wasn�t in the Tower, she found. So she swung around to the opposite side of the building, where the Council convened, hearing the talk through the gigantic stone opening before she�d reached it. They were being loud.

She clung to the underside of the walkway for a while, listening. Nothing good was being said at all, and very little by Gaara. Other than a yes or no, he wasn�t really talking. But Kankuro was. She could pick out his voice, second-loudest of the babble. Someone, much more vocal, was berating Gaara for his weakness to girls.

That was enough.

She zipped around to enter the chamber, not bothering to announce herself. She�d be recognized easy enough. She glanced at everyone in turn -- except Gaara, who had his back to her in the largest chair in the room. She came to stand on his left, since Kankuro was standing at his right. The only difference between her and Kankuro right then was that she had no chair; he�d stood up out of his.

Dead silence for a moment. She slanted a glance at Gaara.

His expression was not amused. There was no other way to describe it. It was probably the closest thing to a glare he would give her.

�Go back,� he said, and there was a kind of deadly ring to his voice.

�I have a question first,� she replied, smiling softly.

�No.�

�Let her speak,� Kankuro suggested. �We�re not doing much good here alone.�

Gaara shot Kankuro the glare he hadn�t given her.

�By all means,� one of the older men in the room said. Like Kankuro, he was out of his seat. She pegged him as the man who�d declared Gaara had a weakness for girls. Just now he swept his arms wide. �What have you to say, young kunoichi?�

�Even if you did win here,� she started, �who would you have as Kazekage�s replacement? Is there anyone in the village who would be nearly as successful at it, anyone who�d inspire as much loyalty?�

That caught him off guard. He blinked in surprise.

�Suzaki,� Gaara hissed, his tone full of warning. She could almost hear it now: Nothing rash!

�Suzaki!� a female voice said at the same time.

Her head snapped up in surprise. That was her mother sitting there, rising slowly.

�What are you doing here?� they both said, mother and daughter.

Suzaki scowled. �I came to defend my Kazekage. Why are you here?� She knew the answer as soon as the words left her mouth.

Furiko, her mother, frowned. �I�m here to get him off the proverbial throne.�

�Of course,� she sighed. �I should have known.�

�Go back home,� Furiko ordered.

Suzaki rose a brow. �No,� she answered.

Stunned silence. �Suzaki, you�re grating on my patience!�

�What�s next, mother? You going to count to three?� Suzaki mocked. Something about this situation felt entirely surreal, as if it were all a dream. She was saying things she would never have said under other circumstances. What was she thinking, anyway? Her clever speech was gone in the wind.

�If I must!� Furiko snapped. She stalked around the table to reach Suzaki, grabbing at her hands. It was too easy to evade the grasps, even to counter them. After a moment, Suzaki was holding Furiko�s wrists behind her back, the two of them face to face.

And Furiko was shocked. �Are you fighting me?� she asked.

�What?� Suzaki blinked, surprised. �Why in the world would I fight you? I don�t want you hurt.�

�I�m already hurting!� Furiko said with a hint of tears. �Ever since you left me for that -- that monster!�

Suzaki felt the hackles raise once more. �Don�t you ever call him that.�

Furiko was caught silent for a moment. Then she changed tactics. �I don�t want you hurt, either, sweetheart. Why can�t you come back? You know I�ll take care of you.�

It was mind-boggling that this encounter was keeping everyone else quiet, even though a heated debate had been going on moments before.

Suzaki narrowed her eyes, feeling a snap coming on. �I don�t need you, mother. I can stand on my own two legs. I can brush my own hair, take baths all by myself. I�m a big girl now.�

Furiko scowled. �You will not speak to me like that! You just don�t see how young you really are, Suzaki. You�re still a child. Fragile. Soft.�

Suzaki took a step forward, deciding to show her dear mother exactly how fragile and soft she really was. Furiko took a hurried step back, but there was no outrunning a ninja for an average human. Suzaki grabbed her shoulder, pushing her back to the wall with determined steps, her fist raising, poised to strike. . .

Furiko gave half a shriek, lifting her hands to cover her face. But Suzaki threw the punch to the wall half a meter from her mother�s head, nowhere near a real strike. She put all of her strength behind that hit, causing the wall to gain a new crack.

Behind her, there were a few murmurs of surprise and questions.

Then Suzaki withdrew her hand, showing her knuckles to her mother.

�Look,� she said. �No blood.�

Furiko�s eyes widened in disbelief, then understanding.

�I�m tougher than you think, stronger than you give me credit for,� she hissed. �You -- and father, for that matter -- you�ve always been underestimating me, my entire life. Everybody has. The only person who�s ever seen what I can really do is our Kazekage,� she turned to him as she said this. �That is what I came here to say,� she said pointedly towards the Council members.

�What makes up a good Kazekage, anyway? Can anyone answer that one? What does it take? Strength, yes. Skill, yes. Intelligence, yes. But there�s more to it than that. You can ask anyone from my generation, and we�ll all tell you the same thing: the biggest reason why we�re loyal to Gaara as the Kazekage is because he understands us, he sees us in our entirety.

�He gives us missions based on the teams� strengths, trusting in us to succeed. And so we do, to prove his faith isn�t misplaced. You can agree that this is needed, too, right?�

�You�re missing the point,� that angry man from before argued. �This isn�t about loyalty. This is about trust.�

�I trust him,� she replied without hesitation.

�I trust him,� Kankuro added.

�You two are biased,� he snarled. �What we need is another, someone unknown --�

�Good luck finding that in his country,� Suzaki hinted.

�Suzaki,� Furiko began, finally stepping away from the wall. �I understand about your infatuation.�

That�s putting it lightly, Suzaki thought with a smirk.

�You�ve always seemed. . .too interested in him. But you have to consider that it might not be good for you. That he might not be good for you.�

She could have laughed. Instead, she smiled. �Have I ever looked more healthy to you, mother?�

Furiko had no reply.

�Health be damned,� another council member spoke up, �we are discussing the Kazekage�s philandering ways right this instant. Of which you, Shiro Suzaki, are included.�

�Oh, trust me,� she chuckled, �if he was still philandering, there would be no need for this meeting at all.�

Kankuro cleared his throat, and though it called for attention, the sound was amused. The rest of the council members glanced at one another, and their eyes showed they believed her, or at least, believed she would make good on her threat.

�Before you make any decision, I should remind you,� she went on, �that it is mainly the ninja of this country who are so loyal to our Kazekage. And, as ninja, we have very specific professions, and little guilt for what we do.�

The angry elder turned red. �Are you threatening us?�

�I am simply suggesting,� she countered, �that it would be in your best interest to not have your homes vandalized or items taken, for you to not be blackmailed or worse. There are far more ruthless people in this village than me.�
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Hatsu