Gaara had a fever.
He dreamed of many terrifying things:
One-Tail Shukaku, war, Rasa, death, blood, Rasa, falling...
His father's stern face appeared amid the nightmares. Far from comforting Gaara, it only made him tremble even harder.
"Dad..."
Hearing his son call out, Rasa sat beside him and felt his forehead, then said softly:
"I'm here."
But the moment he finished speaking, Gaara said again:
"Don't come any closer. Stay away from me."
Rasa froze.
A snicker came from behind him. When Rasa turned around, he saw Elder Chiyo at the doorway, munching on sweet beans. He had no idea when she had wandered over.
"He's delirious with fever," Rasa explained.
Elder Chiyo smiled. "Heh."
"You're old, so you might not know," Rasa explained. "'Heh' doesn't mean anything nice among young people."
Elder Chiyo gave him a sidelong glance. "I know."
Rasa fell silent.
Elder Chiyo said, "Heh."
Rasa shook his head, felt Gaara's burning forehead, and hesitated for a moment. In the end, he picked him up.
"I'm going to find Lin Qing. Gaara's condition is really strange. His Tailed Beast Chakra is incredibly unstable.
"Didn't they say the Uchiha can control Tailed Beasts? I'll have him try and see if he can suppress the One-Tail's power."
Elder Chiyo nodded. "That's right, that's right. For anything to do with Tailed Beasts, you have to go to the Uchiha."
The courtyard wasn't far from the Feudal Lord's Mansion. At a ninja's pace, they could reach it in less than ten minutes.
But just as Rasa hoisted Gaara onto his back and prepared to leave, all the lights in the courtyard went out.
It wasn't just the courtyard. As far as the eye could see, everything was shrouded in darkness. Only a few candles still glimmered faintly. In their flickering light,