#mandateofhell

Fugaku didn't even notice his own path. He was just walking around, trying to clear his mind. But soon he noticed that he was in a well-known place. The dock. A sad smile tugged at the corner of his lips. How many memories.. How many good things happened at this place. Maybe when it was time he would come back here to wait. Yes, it was a good place to wait for Sasuke... With a sigh, he walked to the edhe of the dock, watching his reflection on the water. Ah, it was impossible to ignore the bad feeling he had...

The younger of the two could understand the appointed silence that came when he spoke, as well as the words that followed despite Gaara not believing such a claim. Sasuke and he had been down a path most vile, cruel and torturous. He was well aware that both of them carried scars, but it would be those scars, mistakes, and hauntings that helped to craft them into who and what they were. Each their own man, but still mirror reflections in truth. “Redemption is found when it is not sought, for it is something you must be given from others, not simply because you wish to find it for yourself, or even for others.” While the other tensed, Gaara allowed his own arms to not press to his chest so strongly, the pen that moved dropping at the end of the scroll. “I believe you have already begun to receive it, even if it may not be the redemption you thought it would be.”

"I have, in the past, given you such benefit. Or has the Kage Summit slipped your memory?" he challenged, not truly wishing to instill an argument with the other. Kankuro had claimed that Sasuke was nothing like he, but… His elder brother could not be more wrong about the fact. "And if I did not give it to you now I would have had my sensory sand kill you before you even stepped foot in Sunagakure. But you… Have made great progress since we last spoke." But, progress or not, it would not change the fact that he would harm the other if ill intent slipped back into the youth’s heart.

"I could," he said with a slight shrug of his own, lips upturning to form an expression akin to amusement. "I seem to be getting plenty of that out of you as of late." Gaara’s comprehension of the matter was still up in the air, but he was fairly sure that the other would have known that already. He would be blind and stupid if he did not. "I will provide such when the situation calls for it. Otherwise, I would much rather keep myself composed. Considering your past actions you can understand that." His eyes looked to the hand that was now playing with that bit of hair, before he looked back at his face, still unfazed.

"I have always had wit, Sasuke. Whether or not I have chosen to use it is irrelevant." Having Shukaku within him did entitle him to have a certain sharpness to his tongue, though it would prove to be one of the greater contributors as to why Gaara kept himself so calm and reserved when under the public eye. They were two very different beings. Just, held home in the same human body with Gaara occasionally picking up some of his more… Interesting personality traits. Arms crossed over his chest, the Kage allowing himself to slump to accommodate the weight of the other. "If you were any taller this position might be deemed uncomfortable."

It really was not going down to a matter of if the other cared or not for Gaara - all he cared for was the other not breaking his concentration long enough for his sand to move the pen accordingly in place of Gaara’s own hand. “I don’t recall asking if you care.” he retorted. Sasuke was certainly becoming a… Strange one. But at the very least, Gaara could not feel that same intense darkness within him which was perhaps the only reason for the Kage not shoving the elder off of him entirely.

Blinks his eyes at the other before sand moves to take the pen from his hand, carrying it to the desk and writing across the document that had had Gaara’s attention. “What is driving you to constantly invade my personal space? I have work that needs to get done.”