Knights in Shining Armor

Two kunoichi sat in a cold, dimly lit hospital room; one furious, the other calculating and neither willing to back down.

Rin's breathing was sharp in her lungs. "I don't owe you enlightenment. I'm not one of your troops. You don't have the right to demand anything of me."

"Maybe not. You certainly don't owe me, but you do owe him something. Even if it's just an explanation. Gaara has been through too much to have you play with him."

"I'm not playing with him. I'd never do that."

Temari crossed her legs. "No?"

"No."

The sound of the chair's legs as they scraped against the floor, seemed too loud in the still facility. Temari sat so that she was mere inches away. "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Why do you need to trust me? Why are you pressing this?"

Rin's eyes turned to Temari and she did a little studying of her own.

She noticed the slight lines between her brows, evidence of a scowl that rarely left. There were a barrage of white marks, barely obvious to the naked eye, but proof of Temari's battle prowess.

She wasn't some delicate desert flower.

She was a warrior.

Her eyes were similar to Gaara's, but held such ferocity, it felt like they could cut without warning.

Rin could understand why men fell in line under that hawk-like gaze.

There was a part of her that wanted to rebel against Temari, tell her off, the way she had the council, but Rin noticed something, that made her voice still in her throat.

Those eyes were watching her so intently, but behind the suspicion and the hostility, there were two emotions battling for control; fear, and more importantly, hope.

The fire that threatened to erupt within Rin calmed at that expression. "Temari.... you're amazing."

"Excuse me?"

"You're amazing."

Her eyes narrowed. "Flattery isn't going to get anything from me."

Rin smirked. "No, I don't think it will. Please believe me, I'm not trying to flatter you. I wouldn't insult you that way, but I think I've finally understood why we've clashed so much. Why you've been so fixated on me since I've gotten closer to Gaara."

"Because you had the possibility of being a great threat. That's not difficult to figure out."

Rin made a face. "I'm one person, Temari. Hardly a threat to you or your village. We both know you could destroy me in a physical fight, even if I wasn't laying in a hospital bed."

"Yes."

"But that's not why I scare you, is it?"

Her mouth formed a hard line. "Scare me? You think you scare me?"

Rin nodded, her face open and honest. "I know I do. When all is stripped away; the posturing, the security risks, when it comes down to the bare bones in your soul, we both know, I don't just upset you. I terrify you."

The stern woman didn't move a muscle. "Why?"

Her stillness was dangerous.

Rin shifted so that her legs were over the bed and she was sitting up, facing Temari. "Because you're afraid I'm going to hurt Gaara. You can protect him from everything in this wide world. Whether it be enemy ninja, political mishaps or even his own inexperience at leading an entire village, you stand at his side. His valiant knight, always at the ready."

Her hand slid forward, resting gingerly on Temari's weathered grasp. To her surprise, she didn't pull away.

"But, you know in your heart that you can't protect him from me; a woman from the Sound, with a terrible past and a hold on his heart."

Rin thought back to the first time she spent the night with Gaara and how aggressive Temari had been the next day, warning that her job was to protect the Kazekage from all threats inside and outside the walls.

"That morning, after I slept beside Gaara, you were warning me, weren't you? I thought you meant protect him physically, but you knew, before anyone else, that he was falling in love with me. Before the council, before Kankuro, maybe even before Gaara himself."

Temari didn't move from her spot.

Rin's hand squeezed softly. "Of course, you knew first. Out of everyone in his life, you're the one who's the most concerned with his wellbeing and we both know why that is, don't we?"

The Captain swallowed the lump in her throat, when Rin said the words that made her want to break down.

"Because you love him so much."

There was a crack inside the stone face she wore, the smallest splintering in her otherwise perfectly composed expression.

Rin's other hand came to hold Temari's, grasping them both and her voice was warm. "That's why you're amazing. The amount of love you have for him... it's truly incredible."

To her surprise, the Captain didn't break under her words, like she'd seen others do when she got to them.

Temari would continue to be composed up until the very end, even though she hadn't pulled her hands out of Rin's grasp. "I didn't always love him."

Rin blinked, remaining quiet, while Temari spoke her truth.

"There was a time, and I'm sad to say, it wasn't that long ago, that I didn't love him at all. I was afraid of him, just like everyone else. He wasn't even a little brother to me, not the way Kankuro was. He was a weapon crafted by my father and, even worse, he was the monster who killed my mother."

Rin's thumb gently stroked along Temari's hand. "That must have been hard, losing your mother at such a young age."

"I know now it wasn't his fault. None of it was his fault. When Mother died, I took on the role for Kankuro and, even though I feared him, a part of me wanted to be there for Gaara too. I knew in my heart, it wasn't his choice to have Shukaku placed in him, but Father made it clear, he wasn't welcome in the family. The Chunin exams were the most time I'd ever spent with my youngest brother."

Her eyes turned up to meet Rin's and there was a deep sadness within them. "We ostracized him, just like the village, just like our father. Even when Gaara reached out to be loved by us... be loved by me, I pushed him away out of fear. I can't imagine how alone he must have felt."

"You feel guilty?"

"Yes. I do. I should've been there for him. Even if I was afraid, even if Father would have punished me, Gaara shouldn't have been alone."

She looked so determined.

Rin knew that face well, it belonged to someone who was used to dealing with hard things.

"I've been trying to make it up to him, ever since he rose to Kazekage. I've worked myself to the bone, trying to make his life easier; build a functional schedule, so he's seen in a positive light, squash rumors in the village, make sure he eats breakfast. God, he's terrible about eating breakfast."

There was a small laugh in her voice.

Rin thought about how lovely she was when she smiled. It wouldn't surprise her if there were many secret admires, who were too afraid to get close to the dangerous woman.

Temari took a breath, her words coming to an end. "You're right, Rin. I am afraid of you, but not for the reasons you think. I don't think you're a bad person because of your past or your village. That would hypocritical of me."

Rin wanted to agree, but felt it wasn't appropriate. Not when Temari was being so open with her. "What are you afraid of, then?"

She inhaled. "I'm afraid that you don't understand the gravity of the situation you've fallen into. That you don't realize how strong the man you're courting is and..."

Her eyes captured Rin's, her voice broken. "How fragile his heart is. You're holding something precious in your grasp and if you break it, no one will be able to heal him. I can't bear that. I can't bear to see him alone again, not while I can do something to protect him from that."

Rin's mouth opened slightly.

This raw form of emotion wasn't what she expected to see from Temari tonight and she knew enough to understand how rare it was. She doubted it would happen again.

It took her a moment to find her words. "Thank you for telling me that, Temari. I understand."

"Do you?"

Rin nodded. "Yes. Love isn't easy for me. You've looked into my past. You understand why that is. The closest thing I've known to it, was ripped away from me, only to be brought back, tortured and taken again because of my love for him."

She released Temari's hands, but didn't break her stare, so the sincerity of her words shown through. "I can tell you this, I've never been dishonest with Gaara, not for one second. I don't know how I feel right now, everything is too chaotic, but I do know I care for him."

"Do you love him?"

Rin looked down. "I'm not sure I even understand what love is. I know I respect him. I value his feelings over mine. I want to protect him, just like you. That's really all I can offer, right now."

Temari stood up from the chair and walked to the door. "If that's the truth..."

Rin stared at her in the hallway light.

Temari's face was shadowed, but her voice was clear. "Then maybe I can bring myself to trust you. Just know, Rin Ito, I have my eyes on you. Stay in that bed until morning and I'll give you a treat for your honesty with me."

"What kind of treat?"

Temari looked to the right, where Yua's room was and back at Rin, her smile cold. "The kind that's fitting for dangerous women... like us."