The Art of Politics/A Moonless Night

The palace of Sunagakure was on fire. The temple in the centre of the magnificent building was cast into burning white and orange flame, crackling and spitting, shooting sparks up into the air. The stars were obscured from view as thick dark smoke spewed out from the window above the shrine. The unbearable heat sucked out all moisture from the atmosphere, making the air barely breathable. It had started when a glass lantern, that had once belonged to a girl called Love, was tipped over by a frightful wind. It had entered the shrine behind a boy filled with the desperation and agony of heartache. That wicked breeze had followed the tail of his cloak and swept around the room when the boy's red-stained, hurt-filled eyes merely glanced up at the statue of Raijin and cursed the ancient god. Obscuring the hellish scene from those outside the temple, was sparkling, burning sand that spun around the figure of the boy; merely giving glimpses to a terrified audience, of the havoc he wreaked inside the holy room.

"Gaara, please stop this!" His elder sister, unable to use her powers to blow away the sand for fear of increasing the height of the flames, cried helplessly from the doorway. Beside her, one of Gaara's students tried to put on a brave face; Matsuri clenched her fists to her chest, closed her eyes and shouted through the tumbling sand and crackling fire:

"Gaara-sama, it will be okay!" But she was terrified of the sight of dark-rimmed eyes as they turned to her. She gasped, her legs trembling, knocking her knees together, as Sabaku no Gaara turned his head to her slowly. That look on his face, the utter pain of loss, gripped her voice in her throat and would not let her say anymore. Beside her, Kankuro watched on in horror along with other supporters of Gaara. From the small crowd, Temari called out to her brother.

"Kankuro, can't you-"

"Hmph." The crowd turned as someone scoffed from behind them. In the dancing shadows from the fire Gaara had started, Endo Yori stood with his supporters. Temari's eyes narrowed on him. "Let the child be. He knows no better than violent tantrums, after all!" The Kazekage's sister hoisted her hand over her shoulder to grab her fan, only to find her brother's hand resting there, a grave look on his face, telling her not to be drawn into confrontation. And so, with heavy hearts and barely suppressed repulsion, the Kazekage's family and friends watched the vicious man walk away from Gaara's ruination.

In the darkness of the hallways, a few minutes later, Yori found a quiet spot. Barely any light, only the one lantern in the corner, only the sound of a fountain nearby, he turned to his group of five men, all stood, eagerly awaiting to hear the next part of the plan. Yori stroked his beard and looked around at his men, his aged face half showing a smirk of triumph. "This is good." He huffed proudly, "that is Gaara's support he sets fire to and the wretched boy will burn as a result of his own self-destruction." The smiles on the faces of his men faded slightly as, from the darkness behind Yori, a strange sound issued. Like a heavy marble, something was rolling along the floor to them. They took stance, prepared to fight. The tension in the atmosphere eased as, out of the dark corner, rolled a bottle of sake. Yori tutted impatiently; probably a cat and a drunkard in the palace gardens. He turned back to his men. "We shall reclaim Suna by the Fall."

"That's a shame; I was hoping to re-decorate my office in the Fall." The men in front of Yori jumped as the Kazekage emerged out of the shadows. With red eyes and darker circles than usual, Gaara appraised members of the rebellion against him with a reckless, almost joking manner. This earned a shake of the head from Yori, who turned almost in disbelief before he realised what Gaara was up to.

The boy setting fire to the temple was a sand clone. A distraction put up as a faux-reaction from Gaara to convince the village he was upset. Which he was, there could be no doubt. But it had to be something big, something that could be over within a day before they could see things return to normal. Yori's gaze narrowed on the Kazekage; was he that smart? Was he that adept to politics that he knew the game was played subtly, over years? Gaara seemed to figure out what was on the elder's mind and so he bowed his head a little and smiled.

"Do not mistake my inexperience for naivety, Yori-sama," he growled. "Suspect it instead as the reckless and ambitious drive that will thwart any plans you have to overthrow me." Yori stepped forward aggressively.

"Foolish child-!"

"You think taking Love from me will work this time?" Gaara asked loudly, "like it did in my childhood?" The princely man scoffed. "I am no longer the man I was," he took a step towards Yori, feeling his own power brimming beneath the surface, the laugh of a forgotten Shukaku echoing in his head as he watched Yori's supporters step back in fear. Gaara leant forwards and whispered to his enemy: "I will not be weakened by her exile." Gaara shot the men behind Yori a look daring them to come closer as he moved towards their leader. "You would do well to watch the shadows behind you, elder, take notice of the floorboards that creak a little louder nowadays and the way your breath stifles in fear when you look at me-"

"Are you threatening me, boy?"

"Yes." Gaara said, standing to his full height; delighted to hear a note of fear in Yori's voice. "If you do anymore to any one I love, I will kill you." He addressed the group, "if any of your men so much as glance at my sister I will remove their eyes. If any of you ask to meet Kankuro for a drink in the evening, you will meet me instead and I will bring upon you a most gruesome end. Do not take me lightly." His gaze travelled back to Yori who's wrinkled face was screwed up in frustration and fear. "I am no longer the demon child you created, Yori," the Kazekage sighed. "I even pity you. Living out the last years of your life pursuing the hopeless task of overthrowing me." Gaara almost laughed. "Stew in your bitterness; squirm in your failure and curse my success. I have learnt of strength outside of the battle field, test it if you dare." Standing straight, Gaara nodded to Yori with a smirk. "Goonight, elder."

As Gaara walked away from the group, he kept his ears open for any sign that they would pursue him. They did not; his attempt to shake them with fear had been successful. Yori was only powerful because of the men around him, there was no way he could take Gaara on on his own. Without followers, Yori was useless. It was much like Yori's own plan to overthrow Gaara; take his followers away and watch him fade to nothingness. The elder had tried to take Ai away in an attempt to get Gaara to destroy himself, but the young Kazekage was too courageous, too proud, to let such a thing happen. He would not let Ai's banishment be in vain. Entering his office, Gaara took a seat at his desk.

He had faked the temple fire, to the ignorance of the village, in order to give them a moment of fear. In the morning he would emerge calm and apologetic, sincere and young. And they would all breathe easy. It was a simple task of, for appearances sake, acting exactly how the village would expect Gaara to react, before showing them all that he had changed. He had taken Yori's attempt to overthrow him and used it to his advantage. Of course, Gaara, who was becoming more accustomed to the way politics worked, planned to remain so ahead of Yori's game that he even placed himself in the darkness of Yori's path that evening just to frighten him and his men. Just to show him exactly how in control Gaara was. Once Yori figured this out, it was a matter of days before his men abandoned him and joined Gaara. Leaning back in his chair, the Kazekage gave a smile of relief; Ai had given him a strength he had not known before. He was doing well.

That did not mean that the pain of her leaving was gone.

His hand travelled up to his chest and clutched at the material of his red cloak before his eyes closed tightly. Leaning forwards, the Kazekage cursed himself as tears escaped his eyes. The smell of sake swirled around him, making him angry that he had drunk in an attempt to numb the pain. He was so distraught in that moment that he couldn't even look up as his office door opened.

"Well?" He heard his sister say, "did it work?" But Temari stopped short of the desk as she felt another piece of her heart flake away. "Gaara," she spoke his name softly before holding out her arms to him. Gaara could just make out, in his bleary vision, Temari walking around his desk with arms outstretched. Through gasps of hurt, Gaara remained seated but turned to her as she approached and embraced her. With his head against her stomach, Gaara clung to the back of her dress and tried to calm down. "Gaara, you are loved here," Temari repeated Ai's words softly.

"I understand that it is not in my fate to be truly happy," Temari winced as she heard Gaara say this. She was going to protest, to tell him happiness would come his way but her brother would not hear it. "But I don't understand why I have to be tortured too; why won't the world leave me in misery? Why does it have to remind me of her?" Temari looked down at her brother's red hair, unsure of what he was saying.

"Gaara, wha-"

"No!" Gaara turned away from Temari, stood quickly and slammed his fist down on the table, making her jump. He looked around the room, his eyes dancing wildly as though searching for an intruder. He walked to the windows.

"Gaara?" The blonde shinobi spoke his name softly. "What…what are you doing?" She asked as he began to shut the windows of his office.

"Shutting out their voices!" Gaara shouted back, pulling the last window shut. "Their words travel in on a silken breeze and do nothing but cause me agony!" Temari watched, a weight sinking in her stomach as Gaara put his hands to his ears.

"Whose voices?" She asked, dreading the answer.

"Shukaku," Gaara grumbled, shutting his eyes as though it would help, "and Renai-"

"Renai?" His sister asked herself quietly. Her attention was snatched away as Gaara fell to his knees. She ran to him, watching the door, begging Kankuro to come in and help her.

"They do nothing but torture me," Gaara muttered into Temari's dress as she held him, "they won't let me rest! They ask me so many questions-"

"Questions?"

"Where is she?! Where has she gone?!" The boy looked up at Temari as her eyes filled with tears. "Do you know? Can you answer them?" Gaara pleaded with her, grasping tight onto the sleeves of her dress. As Temari shook her head, tears fell from her eyes lashes. She watched her brother look out to the night sky and frown as though he could see her there. "That pale rosebud? That heavenly light?" He asked. "Where has Love disappeared to? Why does she leave traces of herself in my life?" Gaara's gaze softened as he caught sight of the moon, his eyes unfocussed, his breathing heavy. "The crescent moon is Love looking over her shoulder and smiling at me. The tinkle of water from the fountains is the melody of her footsteps. She's in the sky, she is in the air." His lip trembled as he lowered his gaze to the floor. "I am here, living in pieces. Is she out there, living in pieces too?" Temari could not answer him. The girl was lost for words; how could she explain the voice of Shukaku? The voice of a goddess? What was happening here?

Temari waited for Kankuro to enter the office. He helped her lift up a swaying Gaara, unsteady on his feet, and escort him to his bedroom. The two older sand siblings stared at each other in what felt like the loneliest moment they had ever suffered. So many questions were going unanswered, so many thoughts were going unsaid. Was Gaara in control of himself? How did Shukaku's voice remain with him? Why should Gaara hear the voice of a goddess? How much had their little brother drunk?

But there was a more pressing question that lingered in Temari's mind as she loosened her hair free, walking away from Gaara's room after fighting him to sleep. She sighed, going to place her hair ties around her wrist, watching the elastic ribbon stretch and suddenly snap under pressure, she gasped.

Was the ruling of Sunagakure hanging by a thread?

***

The courtesan world is built, just like any another: amidst a cruel and unforgiving hierarchy. The class system there mirrors that of polite society; that way, customers and courtesans can be easily matched. Great Houses, present in each country, are the highest of courtesan society, catering to the rich and noble. The Tea House was one of the Five Great Houses of the Land of Wind. Below that are the Hachinosu (honeycomb) Houses which engage with the middle ranks of society and beneath them, at the lowest rung in courtesan society are the Chawan (rice bowl) Houses which take care of the rest of the shadows that wander through the darkest parts of town.

It was towards a hachinosu that Ai was walking; her carriage had pulled up outside a long cobbled driveway that led to the House. A few drivers and servants had gathered her belongings from the cart and were racing up to the building so she did not have to wait for them. Walking in a blue dress, wrapped in a grey, Ai glanced up to see dark skies. She paused for a moment and watched grey clouds sway, blocking out the sunlight. Being a girl from the desert, she had never seen such a strange sight. How odd, that the sky was not the colour of her eyes today and instead was the colour of the shroud Megumi had wrapped her in before she left.

Thinking about her teacher, Ai glanced down to the dark, rocky, mossy ground and fought back tears. Megumi, the other girls of the Tea House, had hid their faces behind their veils as they wept and watched the moon leave their home. Her sensei had packed Ai's belongings and, as is tradition when a courtesan is exiled, gave her a veil which resembled a funeral shroud and a single shard of a broken diamond. It's jagged and sharp edge had glittered inside the veil as Ai peered inside and removed it to keep it safely. Ai's face screwed up in pain as she thought about how Megumi could not bear to see her go and had to retire to her quarters, leaving a goodbye unuttered.

The moonlike girl looked up as she heard the doors of the House creaking open ahead of her. Ai had travelled to the edge of the Land of Wind to where it met the borders of the Village Rain. Here, the buildings were grey and motionless, unlike in Suna where everything was gold and warm. She could smell nothing but dampness, no jasmine flowers to ease the breeze which was chilling her to the bone. The sounds here were different too; no birds singing, no tinkling of wind chimes, just the harsh calls of cart drivers to one another as their horses' hooves thudded against the rocky roads. The building in front of Ai was intimidating and imposing; with matte grey walls, a darkened doorway and no signs of life, the place looked gothic and dreary; more like a prison than the one she had to endure in Sunagakure.

With a small gulp to calm her fear, our songbird looked completely out of place with her silk shoes becoming wet against the damp stone floor and her diamond jewellery being the only thing glittering for miles. Approaching the House, she could just about make out that the doors were open and giving view of a black corridor lined with silver lanterns. Ai jumped as suddenly two girls emerged on either side of the doorway. Their faces were hidden by raspberry-coloured veils, dark curls of hair and rose-red lips were all that could be seen. Ai, like a child seeing a china doll and being told not to touch, examined them as secretly as she could. She ascended the steps into the hallway slowly and noticed their fair skin and dark hair. The clothes they wore were very similar to hers except their blouses were cropped at the waist, giving a view of their midriffs. Ai had heard the courtesan clothing varied from House to House and wondered if she would be expected to wear the same.

"Come this way." Ai jumped as the girls spoke in unison. The doors behind her shut with a loud THUD that echoed down the passageway, shutting her away in the darkness. Locked doors, silver bolts and shiny key holes, lined the hallway but it seemed Ai was not needed in any of these rooms. The girls walked, perfectly in sync, the sound of their footsteps echoing in the hall. Out of habit, Ai took a moment to align the speed of her footsteps with theirs so their anklets chimed at the same time. But the sound of her anklets seemed to be the only thing breathing life into this place; it was dead as the darkness inside of it.

Ai's heart was beating a little faster, she could feel her skin beginning to burn with the surge of adrenaline caused by fear. The two girls took her into a large room, almost as big as the first circular hall Ai had danced in at the Tea House. But this room was equally dark as the rest of the place, barely lit by a few low-hanging chandeliers, giving light to a dark green tiled floor and a few mirrors on the wall. Ai was so busy trying to see through the darkness that she jumped as, in a melodramatic fashion, several chandeliers burst into flame and gave light to the room. Now, looking around, Ai could see other girls in raspberry-red, veils over their faces, stood along the edges of the room as though keeping watch over her. It gave Ai the impression of a cult initiation ceremony. At the head of the room, where all the cushions and low sofas were, presumably for customers during performance, was a black throne-like chair in which sat a very beautiful girl. With dark blonde girls and angled, green eyes, she sat in a raspberry coloured dress just like the other girls. Her status as owner of the House was given away by the thick, red velvet shawl she wrapped around herself. Gold embellishments of hand stitched leaves glittered on the shawl, sparkling in her eyes as they narrowed on Ai with a mischievous glint.

"Welcome," she exclaimed dramatically, sat with one leg over the other, a malicious, hungry smirk on her face and the air of someone arrogant, "to Suikinkutsu." (A/N: see end of chapter for explanation of House name). Ai was about to lower her head in a modest greeting but was jarred slightly when the girl gave her no time and delved into dialogue: "I am Lena, owner of this establishment." The girl's left leg bounced up and down as though eager to meet Ai, who stood, a little overwhelmed and unable to find her voice. This girl was, well, loud. She had manners the like of which Ai had never seen in a courtesan! "Well, let us greet you with the usual formalities. It is customary for us to interrogate a new girl whenever she seeks work with us. Is the agreeable with you?" Ai thought for a moment and had hoped she could speak privately with Lena in a bid to keep her private affairs out of the earshot of the rest of these girls.

"I-"

"Yes or no, pretty one." Lena twirled a blonde curl between her fingers and enjoyed the look on Ai's face as colour rose in her cheeks. Ai, deciding it was rude not to follow along, nodded:

"Y-yes."

"Your name?"

"Ai." As the dancer said this, her interrogator bowed her head and looked at Ai with a bored, almost mocking expression.

"A courtesan called Love?" Lena teased her, "how…original." Ai's skin was beginning to burn with embarrassment as she heard the girls around the room begin to giggle at Lena's words and melodramatic fashion. "It says here you perform khatak (A/N: this is Ai's dance style), correct?" Ai cleared her throat.

"Yes."

"How many bells on your anklets?"

"Fifty for performance, one hundred between them. And only twenty for-" but Ai was cut short as Lena gasped loudly, exaggerating her surprise.

"One hundred! My goodness, you could buy this whole place if a single bell were sold, I'm sure." Ai looked to the floor; she was coming from one of the Great Houses, where money was no issue. Here, in a hachinosu, money was harder to come by; the difference in wealth between Ai and the other girls was bound to find some grievances. It seemed this struck a nerve with Lena too, who shifted in her seat, her smirk gone, replaced with a look of disdain. "Your customers." She began, "how many so far?" It was Ai's turn to shift uncomfortably.

"Two."

"Two?!" Lena exclaimed; higher up in society, courtesans were expected to have long relationships with clients so it is not unusual for Ai to have only courted two men, but for a girl from a hachinosu, the idea of two men by aged nineteen was simply inefficient business etiquette. "What's wrong with you?" As she asked the question, she took in the sight of Ai wrapped up in diamonds and seemed to realise. "Oh, never mind. On top or beneath?" The smile returned to Lena's face. Even Ai smiled a little; it was practically a trick question. There was an elusive third answer all courtesans know:

"Whatever the client asks for." Lena smiled at her answer.

"Spit or swallow?"

"Whatever the client asks for."

"Chosen contraceptive?"

"Oral contraceptive." As Ai spoke, Lena's sing-song like teasing voice lost its melody.

"The pill? Only? What are you sleeping with virgins?" The blonde scoffed. Ai looked the girl straight in the eye and spoke softly:

"I retain clients with ease." Ai answered to Lena's surprise; this courtesan from high society was implying Lena's shock is due to the fact that she was no more than a prostitute. Ai was belittling Lena's standing as a courtesan, stripping it down to no more than sex. It is a grave insult between girls in their profession.

"Is that so?" Lena raised an eyebrow. "Name your longest client."

"The current Kazekage-" Flames around the room sparked as the girls erupted into fits of laughter upon hearing the word Kazekage. Lena almost fell out of her throne.

"Sabaku no Gaara?!" She threw her head back and clutched her stomach as she laughed. Eventually, her laughter subsided to a malevolent and smug smirk, she stood from her throne and gestured to Ai. "Your lips are mere unfurling blossoms, how did you survive the bites of the jinchuuriki? You breasts are supple and barely touched, how did you go unscathed by the claws of the keeper of the one-tails?" Lena raised her voice as the girls around the room all whispered to one another. "Your legs are but slender branches of a birch tree, how did they keep up with the vigour of a man who is said to be the strongest Kazekage in history? The demon, the rogue, he who murdered for the sheer joy of taking life. He whose strength and good looks are celebrated around the world! How did you survive, Love?! Tell me!"

"Barely." Ai breathed and, in a single movement, unwrapped her veil so it fell to the floor. The dress she wore had no sleeves, merely straps, giving view of her shoulders, arms and décolletage. Along her skin, dark marks, healing bruises, teeth marks, scratches. She stood, the room fell quiet, all looked on at the girl with glowing skin, the face of an innocent nymph, as she bowed her head and stood so vulnerable and delicate before them. Clearly she had endured worse things than their teasing. Lena gulped upon seeing the soft burning pink of Ai's flesh.

"That Gaara," Ai looked up as Lena's voice changed. She looked half impressed, half curious. "I'd let him take a bite out of me." The girl said almost to herself, earning a limp smile from Ai. Lena looked up at the girl from the Tea House and suddenly her arrogant smirk was displaced by a solemn and serious look. "Are you really the one they talk about?" She asked quietly. "The inori (prayer)? The poem come to life? The victim of the cursed blood-love?."

"I-"

"Enough!" Ai was stopped short as a loud voice echoed from behind her in the hall, she turned to see, in the golden light an older woman in the most shocking shade of pink Ai had ever seen. Her eyes wanted to blink in order to get the colour out of her sight for it was so bright.

"No need to look so frightened," Ai turned back to Lena as she spoke. Our dancer raised an eyebrow, why was Lena acting so differently all of a sudden? Like a surly child being told off? "Oh great Utsukushii (pretty one)! We are humbled by your visit." Lena bowed in an overly-dramatic fashion to a completely baffled Ai.

"I said enough," the older woman, who was fast approaching the pair, shouted at Lena who smiled mischievously at her. "Don't you have some poor village boy to emasculate, Lena?" The woman asked scathingly as she approached Ai. "And give me my shawl, for goodness sake!" Ai's gaze was fixed on the woman beside her, who was rattling some curse words off at Lena with great enthusiasm and snatching back her shawl in haste. But Ai was no longer listening to the words coming out of her mouth; her hair, her eyes, her lips, the way her single lock of grey hair flopped forwards over her eyes! The woman turned to her, glittering in gold and pink, she looked at Ai expectantly but the girl was having trouble getting any words out.

"M-m-"

"Maria." The woman nodded along as though encouraging Ai to speak. "But you may call me Ruby; it is how my customers know me." Ai gasped as the woman, who was a foot taller than her and a little round, winked at her. But Ai was still speechless. The woman smiled knowingly. "Do I remind you of someone?"

"I…"

"Megumi does not mention her twin sister at all, I'm sure." The woman rolled her eyes and picked up Ai's shawl before wrapping the girl in it. "She keeps company with such lofty heights of society that I think her head is in the clouds!" Megumi's twin sister threw her head back and laughed, her booming cackle echoing in the hall. "I am the fun one, my dear." Ruby said sweetly. "Now, let me look at you." The woman took Ai by the shoulders and guided her into the light. Once by a tall candelabra, Ai attempted to smooth down her hair and brush it away from her face. Ruby's smile faded; this girl, she mused as she looked at those big blue eyes and rosebud lips, was so, incredibly young. Had she even felt the harshness of the heat of the sun against her fair skin? A small smile of nostalgia played on Ruby's lips as she thought of her sister and how Megumi would speak so fondly of Ai. "You are beautiful, just as she said." Ruby began to walk around Ai and look her up and down as though inspecting her. "Small waist…full lips…hair like dark clouds of the night." She came, full circle to face Ai again and put a hand gently against the girl's face. "You look like the mould the Creator made the first woman from." Her hand dropped from Ai's face and she wrinkled her nose in thought, inspecting the girl closely. "Of course, that means you were made before he invention of eyebrow threading, or hair dye." Another booming laugh which made Ai jump. She looked over to Lena who was stood in the background, smiling a little. "Not to worry, we'll see to it you're taken care of." The owner of the House seemed to notice Ai's face fall a little at her last comment. "Oh, please don't take my criticism so harshly, pretty one! You must know our business runs on our looks?" Ai nodded slowly, her fatigue getting the better of her. Ruby smiled at her fondly. "You are tired and it seems you have come wrapped up in rainclouds; are you the one who brought the storm?"

"Storm?"

"Oh yes, you were raised in Suna." Ruby's smile widened. "Would you like to see the rain?"

"Rain?" As Ai spoke dreamily, Ruby raised an eyebrow.

"For the one they talk so highly of, you sure are a little slow, my dear." Ai simply looked at Ruby with unfocussed eyes. "You are tired. Then I look forward to meeting you in the morning when we can become properly acquainted with the skylark of the Tea House. Sleep a little, won't you?" She asked sweetly. "Yes?" Ai nodded and Ruby gestured for her to follow two girls out of the hall. The girls came to stand on either side of her and Ai prepared to walk out of the room.

"Ai?" She halted as Ruby called her name. "One moment." Ai turned back to her. "May I see it?"

"See…?" The girl asked slowly.

"Kizuato." Ruby smiled softly, "the mark of the blood-love." Ai, who wore her hair with a side parting in an attempt to hide the scar in the middle of her forehead, pushed up her dark locks away from her face to reveal the diagonal cut Gaara had scarred her with months ago. "My goodness." Ruby gasped and breathed heavy as though witnessing some king of divine miracle. Ai let down her hair. "So it is real." Walking up to Ai, the elder courtesan put a hand on Ai's shoulder. "Do not for a moment let sadness dampen your day. Heartache is what ties us courtesans together." The young girl's eyes danced around Ruby's face as though waiting for the older woman to start laughing at her. When Ai saw that Ruby was sincere, her bottom lip trembled and she fell into the woman's embrace. Ruby put her lips against Ai's head and kissed her. "I am sorry. We are your family now. You are home and safe here." Ai cried a little against Ruby's bosom before standing straight and wiping her eyes. After a quick thank you, Ai was escorted out of the room. Ruby and Lena watched her go.

"None of you are to trouble her." Ruby announced to the room at large. "If I hear a word of it, I will kick you out faster than the wives who follow their husbands here."

"Why does she get special treatment?" As Lena asked this, Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Only you, Lena, could mistake kindness for favouritism. She knows nothing of the world. Look at her!" Ruby gestured to the doorway through which Ai had disappeared. "Have you ever seen someone so naive? We are her family now. Treat her as delicately as a new born child. She is your younger sister."

"She was banished from the court of the Kazekage." Lena scoffed.

"Be that as it may, she reminds me of her father." Ruby smiled sweetly.

"She has the luxury of knowing a parent too?"

"Rumour is she was not born of this world," her sensei spoke dreamily, "Ariwara no Kai chanced upon her-"

"Where?"

"Where a star fell into the sea."

"Do all courtesans speak with such tiresome metaphor?" Lena shook her head with impatient.

"They speak the language of gods. You would do well to appreciate her eloquence." Ruby shouted back to Lena as she began to walk out of the hall, but Lena, who stood with her arms folded, tutted quietly.

"I have no time for cry babies."