(Kankuro) ~ 2 ~ Drown Me In Sand ~ 2 ~ (Story)

Five minuets later Hanako found herself in a bedroom covered in puppets. Puppets that were staring at her. She took a deep breath and made a face at one of them. He didn't move at all. He just kept staring. She didn't like puppets. It was decided.

She broke away from the creepy puppets lined against the wall and walked toward the bed and the boy in it. Maybe if he was asleep she would have a better time getting to his scar. Maybe he wouldn't notice if she just...

Hanako pulled at the bed sheet and then drew back. He was awake. Was he freaking always awake?

"You." He said.

She tried to play innocent. "Hiya." She lifted her hand and wiggled her fingers in a mutant wave. "Sorry to wake you."

At this point in time two thoughts entered Hanako's head;

One: She was screwed beyond all reasonable doubt of her own insanity.

Two: She would never get to see the stupid scar again.

At the same time two thoughts ran through the boys head;

One: He really needed to get this girl some help because she had just broken into his house and was officially stalking him.

Two: He really didn't want to be alone.

The boy looked up at the pretty girl who had introduced herself earlier as Hanako and a third thought slipped into his tired and pathetically sad head. He acted on the third thought.

"I'm Kankuro."

She stared at him. That had been totally unexpected. Mentally she was jumping up and down and throwing one arm into the air and screaming:

'VICTORYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!'

The thought never left her head.

"Sit down. But keep your hands where I can see them."

A simple enough request. He would still be able to see her hands if she was tearing the bandages off his chest, wouldn't he?

Hanako sat down making herself as comfortable as the creepy dolls that would not stop staring at her allowed.

"What do you want here?" He asked. He wasn't looking at her. He was looking out the window and over the village made of sand. The giant rounded sand castles filled with sleeping sand mites. The thought pleased Hanako greatly.

She moved so that she was facing the scar and pointed to Kankuro's chest.

"Your scar and I have something to settle. It is quite a rude scar you know." She looked at him a moment longer and then moved her gaze toward the world outside. How peaceful it looked in the still nighttime. The tall buildings with their rounded shapes.

"It is nothing like my home you know."

Kankuro looked at her, slightly taken aback. He had known that she wasn't from Sunagakure but to hear her say it out loud, and with such a sad voice. He wasn't sure what to think. He spoke anyway.

"What's your home like?"

Hanako looked back at him, making eye contact. She hadn't really been looking at anyone. And now, with this boy, she was.

How strange, she thought to herself.

"My home?" She closed her eyes and allowed herself to fall back into the memories that the sun had almost erased. She sighed.

"It was like a whale. Tall trees that could touch the sky with hands that spread apart." She lifted her hand and spread it above her head, staring into a sun that was not there. "The land is rimmed with white shores and surrounded by blue oceans that travel over the edge of the world. The sun is always seen during the day, unless a tempest blows by. There is tall grass all around our village, reaching past the head. It takes a true nathia to find ones way."

She looked at him quickly. "Nathias are the smartest people in our village. One never leaves the village without one.

She closed her eyes again and sank further into the bed. It was far more comfortable than she had thought it would be...

"We live near a tall mountain and it is said that once every hundred years the sky is covered in a grey rain of rocks and the mountain cries. Her tears take the weakest of our village with her and we are given a new life..."

She opened her eyes slowly and turned to look at the boy. She gave him a wispy smile. "That is all that I can remember."

Kankuro looked at the girl. She was quite stunning in the moonlight. She had dark skin showing the proof of her days in the sun. Her hair was a long, deep red that might have been mistaken for brown. Her eyes glowed in the moonlight like a like the purest lake on a clear night, with the stars reflected in the calm waters. Her lips were a dark pink and perfectly shaped. She really was beautiful. She could almost make him forget...

Kankuro turned away.

Hanako noticed the quick flash of pain in the boy's eyes before he turned and placed a hand on his bare shoulder. The poor giggle fish was still hurting. Had he been left out in the sun too long as well? She waited a moment hoping her would turn around and that she could make him talk. But he refused to turn around. He couldn't even see her cleavage.

"Who do you think of when you do this?"

Again he was startled. He wanted to yell at her, to tell her she knew nothing, to tell her to shut up and leave him alone, but he couldn't bring himself to yell at such a peaceful girl. It didn't mater how crazy she was. He knew she hadn't always been like this. So he gave in to her.

"The leader of our village is my brother."

She nodded. A good position for the brother of a boy. He must have been a strong giggle fish indeed.

"He was kidnapped a few days ago by two men. I tried to save him." His voice had become forced, pained. "I tried. But I couldn't!" He slammed his fist against the bed. Hanako rode the bounce like a wave. It didn't faze her anymore. "They took him away from me, my younger brother, and now I can't do anything. I- I just..."

He stopped talking, letting only a few short breaths escape through his clenched jaw. He wouldn't cry. Gaara wouldn't cry.

Hanako felt something she could tell she hadn't felt in a long time. It was a pain in her chest that was nothing more than a trick of the mind. But for the slightest second she could feel that pain. His pain. This poor boy, man... Poor Kankuro.

She moved quickly, placing her arms around his neck, resting her head between his neck and his shoulders. He was cold. The desert was oddly cold itself. Unfeeling. She wanted to warm him up. She nuzzled into his neck and pulled herself closer to him. She pressed herself against him but in a way far different from the way that she had pressed herself against Q-chan. She did it carefully. Lovingly.

"Hush." She whispered in his ear.

She had done the same thing for her brother the night that his wife had died. He had been such a fragile man. But still the feeling was different.

Kankuro felt a rush go up his spine as she soothed him. It was odd being treated like such a child. But he felt so much like one. So helpless and scared. And suddenly this girl, a girl who shouldn't have been alive, was bringing him out of it. Taking him back into a world that he was more familiar with, but still one that was new to him. She was just a crazy girl.

Hanako let her hand move slightly across his chest and rest on the bandaged scar. She had won again.

Hanako: 69

Men: 3.75

٭٭٭

Sunlight passed through the open window warming Kankuro further. He had not gotten a good nights rest since even before Gaara had been taken. This was the first time that he felt so refreshed in a long time. She sat up and rubbed his eyes. Around him were the things that he cherished above almost all. The remains of his three favorite puppets; Karasu, Kuroari, and Sanshouo. A few others hung on the walls, imitations of the original and even some of his own design. None would ever replace his three best friends. The rest of his room was dark, and slightly gloomy, but still he felt better. Gaara was still gone but there was hope in his chest. His brother might come back to him. There was a slight movement on his lap. He looked down.

There was the head of a pretty girl; she could have been older than him or younger. But that didn't matter. The fact was that there was a girl on his lap!!! Was this why he had felt so much better when he woke up? Had he slept with a woman last night? He had no recollection of it. Maybe he had gone to a bar, or... no. He didn't recognize her.

Then he realized. This was the girl from the hospital. The girl who had followed him and talked him to sleep last night. He hadn't slept with her. He had only slept in the same room as her and in the same bed. Nothing else.

Kankuro wanted to move away from her. To slip out of the room and call someone to take the girl back to the hospital. He could remember little things that she had said that made him sure that she was still ill. The sun was still playing with her mind. But he couldn't take her back there. She was warm.

He lay back down and looked out the window. His thoughts returned to his sixteen year old brother.

٭٭٭

Hanako had slept as soundly as ever, though she could not hear the sea. She could feel Arata below her... or some part of him. She wanted to look and see where her head was laying, but she was warm and didn't want to wake up yet.

She opened her eyes.

There was a leg; a leg in black pants. At least she thought it was a leg. She tilted her head backwards. Yes. That was a crotch. But it was not Arata's. Arata's crotch was smaller. She propped herself up on one arm, careful of the leg and looked over a slowly rising stomach.

A boy.

A shirtless boy.

A shirtless boy covered in bandages.

At least it wasn't Arata.

She lowered her head once more into the boys lap. She wanted to sleep but remained with her eyes open. She needed to remember how this had happened.

She remembered falling... from a building. There was a man holding her. Q-chan. That is what she had called him. She remembered disappointment and coming into a dark house. She remembered the boy, awake but not frightened. She remembered crying. Who had cried? Had it been her or the boy whose lay she now rested on? She couldn't remember. But her eyes stung a little. She wanted to see if her eyes were puffy now.

She sat up again, slowly, hoping that the boy, Kankuro was his name, would not wake up.

"You."

Whoops.

She pulled her torso around and pressed her breasts together again. Cleavage would conquer all!

Her arms rested in front of her to support her. Balance was the key to everything.

"Hello."

She saw his eyes flicker to her chest and quickly draw back to her eyes. He was blushing again. She wondered how far he had gone with a woman. The men in this village seemed to be so very inexperienced.

"How... how are you?" He asked, propping himself up on his elbows. He very uncomfortable with her in between his legs. The giggle fish was so cute when he was uncomfortable.

She giggled and her smile widened. "I am quite happy. Giggle fish are so lovely at this time of day. And you," She lifted her butt into the air and crawled over him. He blushed more, encouraging her. She floated above him for a moment before continuing to speak. "You have brought me much happiness."

She pursed her lips in a flirtatious way and lowered herself on top of the boy; on top of Kankuro.

"Will you take me back today? It is so much nicer here."

He turned his face away, blushing more with each second. She giggled again.

"J-" He took a deep breath to regain his composure. The challenge was much greater than he was comfortable with. After all there was a beautiful girl lying on top of him. "Just until someone comes back."

Hanako lowered her face towards him until there was less than an inch separating their lips. "No longer?"

He couldn't respond.

She smiled, adding yet another tally.

Hanako: 361

Men: 2.169

She sat up onto his pelvis, tucking her feet under each of his legs. She could see the thoughts running through his head. Had he been Arata things would quickly have changed to him being on top and taking control. Shy though Arata may be he was still a very instinct bound man.

"You are not like a man from my village." She said finally. He could not respond. "In a situation such as this," She gave him a quick smirk. "You would be taking the reigns and I would follow like a good woman. But it seems that you are either too noble for such an act or," She moved her legs and slid off of the boy "You are too afraid to do anything."

Again he did not respond. He lay on the bed, lightly awe struck thinking only of the woman before him. She was an island mink.

Hanako spread her legs and put her hands on her hips, gazing at the boy... was he a boy? She wanted to know if the boy was older than his infant scar.

"How old are you, young fish?"

Kankuro took a moment to process the question. He realized how stupid he must seem and pushed himself back up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, allowing him to regain his footing on solid ground. She could not pin him down now.

"I'm seventeen."

Hanako's face fell. "Seventeen?" She was only sixteen... She needed to boast. A smile returned quickly to her face.

"Ha! I am twenty four."

Kankuro looked her up and down. Even under the force of a powerful woman he could tell that she was lying. He could guess why.

He smirked at her, giving a short grunt. "You're younger than me," he leaned forward and poked the middle of her chest. The gesture was meant to be taunting. "Aren't you, Hanako?"

Color quickly rose to Hanako's face. He had touched her there. Certainly a woman could do that to a man, but for a man to do that to a woman!

"I did not think you would be so bold, my fish. And here you go, asking for my hand? You are a much greater man than I thought!"

Kankuro blinked. He had done what? Blood rushed to his face.

"No! I didn't! It's just- I mean- What kind of village do you come from!?"

Hanako smiled again at him. Men were so simple sometimes. Of course she could refuse him. And of course she knew that he had no knowledge of her customs. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her cheek.

"Sweet giggle fish. I see now why you are so strange around me. I should not have played with you so. But my dear-" She raised her face and looked at him under her eyelashes causing him to blush. She really had gone too far for the poor boy. "Kankuro, you are quite all right. I can refuse you." She raised her own hand to his face and stroked it lightly. "You know nothing of my customs and could not have known. I do not blame you for offering your hand to me. It must be a common thing to do in this village. I have been told our customs are odd."

She took a quick glace at him and noticed that he was blushing even more furiously. She was surprised that he could still stand with all of the blood in his face.

"My little fish, do not act so. I apologize for playing with you. It is of course our custom to reply a little mockingly to one who proposes, so I am not entirely to blame. But I could not wed you. If not because of your scar," She quickly glared at his chest and then resumed her speech. "Then it is because I am betrothed to another. Rest easy little fish."

Kankuro locked eyes with her for a moment before turning away and rushing out of the room. He stumbled outside the door. He was still unwell. He should not have let her stay in his house. Things would go awry and she would end up imprisoned under command of the village itself. Things would not end well, because Gaara would not return, and the village would turn to chaos as its leader. Things would not end well. They couldn't. Gaara was gone.

Kankuro fell against the wall and let himself sink to the cold ground. Life was unfair in so many ways. It had finally given him some hope and now his hope was taken away. But he would let her stay anyway.

٭٭٭

Hanako followed the boy out the door. She had upset him more than she had hoped. Men here really were far more innocent than on her island. She clapped her hands and gave a little hop. She could remember things. She giggled and then walked began to walk again.

She managed to find several empty rooms, a bathroom, a kitchen, and another empty room. For being an injured man he was very good at hiding.

Men and their stupid pride. "End of the world." She hummed to herself and continued her search. She took several steps before coming to an abrupt halt. What if he had gone back to the hospital and told the men about her grand escape via Q-chan? Hanako burst forward and ran through the house looking for the boy. No more hospitals. Not now that she had secured a place so close to the scar. Not to mention that the boy, Kankuro, was warm... of course the desert was warm too...

After several minuets of searching with no results Hanako gave up. She walked into Kankuro's bedroom and sat down on the bed, folding her legs and leaning back onto her palms. No more creepy puppets to stare at her. No more actual room. No more scar...

She turned around and crept onto the window ledge. She didn't like jumping. But if there was only one choice between no warmth and jumping from a ledge the ledge would have to do.

She leaded over the edge and looked down. She sighed. "I don't like heights..."

"What are you doing?!"

Hanako slipped and began to fall forward. She could see herself walking through the desert. See herself waving at a group of people; her family, her fiancé, her village. She could see the tall grass behind them and the palm trees around them. She could see the white beech becoming smaller and smaller and the ocean expand. She could see an empty flask.

She had had a simple life even before this. She had only made a simple journey to get her youngest brother from an aunt overseas. She had found him, she had taken him back to the boat and she had left. She was tired of her little island paradise. She had been a terrible girl. She was a flirt, had enjoyed the pain of others, she hadn't believed in the foolish lore of her people, she had been very smart, a nathia. She had pushed her fiancé to do many things that he never would have done and made him a great man. She had left a peaceful life, a family, a fiancé who loved her.

She was an idiot.