I sat in our room thinking. As much as I loved being out of school, I hated the fact that it left us alone with HIM. Reading my manga while locked in my room all day was fun right up until the hundredth time through them all. So instead I was working in my sketch book, drawing a landscape of a manga that was open on the bed before me, daydreaming of what I would do if I got there. I drew me as a child, yes, a fresh start that sounded nice. My silver haired best friend held onto one tiny hand, while a frightened looking Gaara held my other hand as we all walked down one of the streets away from the park.
The thought was both terrifying and euphoric, I hated my life here with a passion but my gut told me that I would not survive the trip there. My only friend here in this hell shared my ideas, we wanted out. We had dug for info, searched for a way out, but at this point we both had nearly given up, just hoping that maybe one day we would be free of this hell on earth that we had to call home.
She was sick, laying on the bed next to me, lack of proper food and water, or proper medical care will do that, her last beating had left small laserations that had become infected. I was getting desperate, I sent out a prayer out to, well whoever would listen to a nobody like me. Pushing into it all the longing and determination that I could, to help us get out of here.
"Please, anybody, save us, I'll do anything!" I cried clutching my sketch book to myself as I poured my heart into that prayer, my best freind was dying next to me and I had done all I could for her. So I laid down beside her and hugged her fever ridden body and sang my mother's lullaby, it was something we did for each other.
(A/N: If you want to hear it, it's Dark Waltz on youtube. I do Not own this song!)
"We are the lucky ones, we shine like a thousand suns, when all of the colour runs together.
I'll keep you company, in one glorious harmony, waltzing with destiny forever.
Dance me into the night, underneath the moon shining so bright turning me into the light.
Time dances whirling past, I gaze through the looking glass, and feel just beyond my grasp is heaven.
Sacred geometry, here movement is poetry, visions of you and me forever.
Dance me into the night, underneath the moon shining so bright, turning me into the light.
Dance me into the night, underneath the moon shining so bright, let the dark waltz begin.
Oh let me wheel - let me spin, let it take me again, turning me into the light."
(~Dark waltz~)
A tear escaped my eye hitting her hand and thats when the pain started. Like some one was ripping into my mind, no my very soul. A scream tore from my still bruised throat as the pain moved into my chest and then continued to spread, it was as if my blood was on fire. Back arching as it intensified suddenly, a familiar scream that matched mine met my ears and I knew she was in pain too, this scared me.
What was going on? I fought through the pain as best as my battered body could and grasped for her hand on the bed we shared. When our fingers met we both latched on to the other refusing to let go, no matter how much worse it got. I would not abandon her! The pain suddenly snapped back into my chest releasing a sharp spike of what felt like electricity as my world faded to black.
I floated there, the warmth wrapping around me. Was I dead? I didn't feel dead, that was not hard to gather. I mean come on, that would be too easy. It got hotter, my ears picked up on muffled voices at the edges of my perception but I could not understand a damn thing. Then a hand grabbed mine and I jerked into awareness, flinching harshly as if I had been struck. The area around me was filled with a loud thunder like rumbling, I opened my eyes. It stung a bit, but now I could barely see a hand firmly wrapped in mine. Looking up I was met with the silver eyes I knew so well, those were Lily's eyes. Looking around I noticed we were 'floating' in what looked to be sand.
"Very perceptive young one." Said a voice that seemed to come from everywhere all at once, it was distinctly feminine and gentle. I tried to respond but I could not get my voice to work. I wanted to ask who she was? Where we were? What we were doing here? But I could not for the life of me make my voice cooperate. She just chuckled, stepping out of the darkness a solid black body, a black on black silhouette, a light flashed from her hand making me gasp as I was suddenly looking at my reflection, it changed.
It still looked like me except the eyes were now a dark purple, the hair was now black, and She/I must have been what four? I watched with interest as I saw a 'mini' me running around back allies of what was obvously Konoha, ducking and weaving around people. She had a loaf of bread in her hands looking like she hadn't bathed in weeks. I felt afraid for her when the shop keeper seemed to catch up to her. She didn't run, she didn't cry out she just curled into as tight a ball as she could around that bread eyes squeezed shut waiting to be found...
The bread man hollered into the night "Where did that little heathen go!" All he had to do was look around the corner to find her and he did. Smiling a dark twisted smile he raised a thick hand reaching out for her. Panicking she sank into the shadows beneath her tiny body. A look of fear and shock clear on her tear stained face.
The vision before me melted away and I looked over to the woman questionly. She just smiled and pointed to the shadows at my feet. "Her name was Iris, and she unlocked her bloodline only to die trapped in her own shadows. You will enter the shadow's merge with her spirit and give my daughter a new chance to live through you. My sister is doing something simmilar for your friend. Now go this is your price for our help."
I smiled and nodded as I looked, I focused on the shadows thinking about what I had just seen and sure enough, I slipped into the shadows like a hot knife into butter. As I entered the blackness I was overwhelmed with a series of memories I could not remember having experienced. Of being a orphan, hated and feared cause my mother was believed to be a demoness.
Then I panicked, as I had no idea how to get out of the silky blackness that was caressing my skin, fear built up in my stomach like a cold rock. I felt a hand squeeze mine making me look over, I still had a hold of Lily's hand. She smiled at me and I realized it didn't matter where we came out, we were together, we were alive, and most importantly we were free of HIM!
I smiled and looked at the blackness that was laid out all around us, what better way to go than forward?
We awoke together gasping for air, my lungs burned from lack of use, sand flooded my airways making me cough loudly as the sand whipped and stung our skin. My hand coming up automatically to shield my face, only to find that my hands were way too small to do the job very well. We stood up staggering forward bare feet digging deep into the sand dunes beneath us as we struggled for balance in the ever shifting gales, our shirts up over our mouth and nose. There were no shadows here to seek refuge in, the hot sands leaving tiny abrasions and burns on our feet as we pushed forward.
We had just peaked a particularly large dune when the wind changed causing the dune beneath me to shift making me fall, taking Lily with me as we were still death gripping each other. We tumbled down the side of the sand dune a tangle of arms and legs, each letting out a startled shriek as we rather painfully connected with something hard. I untangled myself from my best friend, and pulled her to her feet.
"Are you hurt?" a soft voice spoke up from behind us, making me whip around.
No Fucking WAY! I knew that voice, a smile stretched across my face and lit up my eyes as I looked at the tiny form of my favorite teal eyed red head. We locked eyes for a second, then I looked over at Lily, she had noticed too if her slack jawed blushing expression was anything to go by.
"My arms and legs hurt from the storm. What about you Lily?"
"Same for me but... my ankle hurts a little too." she whispered nervously smiling.
He just looked at us not sure what to do next. I smiled and decided to take the lead with the social outcast. "Thank you for asking if we were okay, my name is Orchid! And this is my best friend Lily!" I said smiling and holding out my hand not surprised when he flinched and just looked at it.
"What are you going to do?" he asked as he looked at my hand like it was going to bite him. The sand around him becoming agitated, he was frightened, thought I was going to hurt him or try to. My eyes widened for a second and I fought the urge to take a step back leaving my hand outstretched.
"THATS SO COOL!" I squealed pointing at the sand at his feet. "Are you doing that?"
He just nodded, he clearly had no clue how to handle someone who thought the sand was cool and not scary...
Lily giggled, she knew what I was doing and so she spoke up in a kind but quiet voice "If you want to be friends your supposed to take the hand into yours. Then your friends for ever!" She said with a grin, emphasising forever wrong to make it sound more like a child.
"I. See. What are, friends?" he asked hesitantly.
Lily and I stared at each other, it was a good question and not one that we had ever been asked or thought of, "Well we are!" I said to him with a smile, "We play together, we help each other when the other needs it, we protect each other, we tell each other everything, we never hurt each other... well not on purpose anyway and we comfort each other when we need to cry." I looked over to Lily "Did I get everything?"
"Yeah I think that about covers it."
"Oh. I think, I would like that." He said taking my hand with a shy smile, and leading us excitedly towards the village gates. Thats when I noticed the storm was still in full swing but was just warping around us as we moved. "My name is Gaara. I'll take you to my uncle he can help you." He said pointing to our now gently bleeding arms. Thats when it hit me, I was holding Gaara's hand and it didn't feel course or gritty. It was his already calloused skin, his real skin. I was so excited I beamed at his back!