Happy Birthday! This is a songfic for Christina Perri's "Arms", my best friend, RandomlySmokingWolf's', favorite song. It's for her birthday, which is today. Yay! Like my other story, I'm borrowing the characters and completely ignoring the plot. A bit of Gaakura (_ That can't be right…) fluff. Rated for a bit of violence n' language and, I guess, and… other stuff. I dunno, but I don't think kids can handle it.
Also: depressingly enough, this is completely NOT MINE. The song belongs to the fabulous Christina Perri, and the characters belong to the wonderful Masashi Kishimoto. Hell, even the GaaraXSakura idea isn't mine...
You should enjoy it even if I am a thief, though! :D
The red-haired, blue/green-eyed, tattooed boy walked through the empty streets in the middle of the night; a habit that had started when he was very young. It helped him organize his confused thoughts in peace. Even so, he kept his gourd of sand strapped to his back, as usual. Just because the streets were quiet did not mean they were empty. This he had learned at a very young age as well.
To an onlooker, it may've seemed that he stopped at a random point, but in truth, he was at his destination. The boy turned slowly and walked up the dirty brick wall of the building nearest to him. Once at the top, he circled the edge once, before sitting on the chimney in the center.
The moon above was completely full and seemed eerily large on the top of the roof.
The boy sat motionless, his calm façade betraying nothing of the turmoil going on inside of his pale head.
The one-tailed beast, Shukaku, that was sealed inside him was particularly loud and hungry that night. The boy tried, for the first time in years, to fight the feeling, the need to kill. As usual, however, the beast won. The trip from his sand village to the leaf country with his siblings had been draining, and it needed fresh sustenance.
So the boy, without any warning, set off, from the top of the roof, to the nearest scent of warm blood. In the new, unfamiliar setting, the boy was able to pick randomly from any unsuspecting families that he wanted.
A wonderfully sweet scent was coming from three or four buildings away. Their blood was practically singing to him, drawing him in. The boy inhaled deeper, letting the beast inside him prepare to attack.
The boy leapt from roof to roof, stopping where the blood's scent was thickest. He inhaled deeply, silently, again and the monster inside him roared.
He crouched and crawled down the wall, almost having fun, as he was pretending to stalk his prey. The only protection his meal had now was a feeble window. Before his eyes, the sand granules in the window began to disintegrate and melt, leaving a gaping hole and nothing more.
The sand made a very slight 'shhhh' sound as it cascaded down the wall.
The boy silently leaped through the window and stopped in his tracks.
His frozen heart stopped beating; he'd swear it did. The breath caught in his throat. Even the monster was silent, for once. His is were glued onto a spot a foot away from him; the face of a girl.
..::"I never thought that you would be the one to hold my heart, but you came around and you knocked me off the ground from the start.
You put your arms around me, when I believed that it was easier for you to let me go. You put your arms around me, and I'm home."::..
He stumbled. For the first time in his life, the boy did a double-take. His hand moved forward of its own will, towards the girl's cheek, whether to caress or ravage it, he was not sure. The hand stopped, mere inches away from the girl's flawless, pearly skin.
Her pink hair shifted in the quiet wind. His hand diverted itself from her cheek, and, rather, ran down the length of her hair, with a feather-light touch. It was as soft and fine as it was silky, and slightly wet; obviously from a recent shower or bath.
The hand pulled itself away reluctantly, back to a few inches away, and the boy watched –momentarily diverted– as though it was not his own. Another gust of wind blew its way in, and the girl unconsciously pulled her blanket further up her body. Her hand stayed above the blanket, so perfectly smooth and pure. So unlike his own.
His finger traced the outline of her hand, following the base of her thumb to the tip of her pinky. Again, the touch was unnoticeable to her, but for him, it changed his world. The hand, the first human skin he had ever touched without the intent of killing –save his siblings and uncle– had a sudden grip on his heart, thawing it.
It clenched tight with every beat, and he knew without a doubt, that it would never let go.
A third gust of wind announced itself, and the girl turned completely away from him. The moment was over, and the beast knew it.
There was a sudden shout, a gravelly voice, heard only by him. 'Not that that wasn't fun… But kill her. NOW! She will make a perfect meal.' The voice lowered, 'If you do, I may just let you sleep for the rest of tonight…' The beast whispered seductively into his ear. He knew it was an empty promise. The boy knew that he couldn't trust anyone or anything. Much less Shukaku.
'No,' He fought. 'This girl does not deserve to die. I will feed you elsewhere.'
'NO?! Her blood is perfect. Can you not feel its calling? The way it pulls you to her?' The beast was so persuasive, but, for once, the boy knew he was going to win that fight. He knew the girl was calling him for a reason very different than to kill.
A sudden, new monster sprung awake in his chest, knowing that the object of his desire was in danger, and it gave him strength. Strength that made his blood boil and his heart race. Before the beast could stop him, he leapt outside, regenerated the window, and ran off into the inky blackness of the night.
The next day, his siblings noticed that he was worse off than usual. Without a doubt, they knew he had fought against the beast. Although, when they asked him, he didn't answer. This they were accustomed to.
The three made their way to the training center, walking down the street in their usual formation. The eldest, a girl with sandy blonde hair pulled back into pig tails, in the middle, the red-haired boy on the left, and the middle child, their brother, on the right.
The training center was easy to get to, basically a single road from the house they were temporarily staying at. But, it passed by the girl's house. When they walked by, both the beast and the boy tensed. However, the scent of the girl was growing stale, a sign that she was no longer there.
The boy let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, though the monster within him growled in annoyance.
However, while the three walked nearer to the Training Center, the scent became stronger.
The small seed of doubt that the boy had, if the girl and her perfection were simply induced by his insomnia, was completely forgotten. The new monster in his chest raised its head and paced protectively around his heart, which wasn't as frozen, by then, but rather partially thawed. The boy could feel that the half that was warming was on account of the pink-haired girl.
The thought scared –no, terrified– him.
After nearly a lifetime of having no feelings but hate, and knowing he was created to be nothing more than a weapon, feeling (could it be?) love towards another person was quite a strange sensation.
As they entered the Training Center, the scent was strongest. Far stronger than the previous night, when his subject had been still and asleep. With her blood pulsing and rushing, it was almost overwhelming, even though the object of his desire wasn't in his line of vision yet.
Without noticing any difference in the demeanor of their brother and teammate, the two older siblings calmly walked through the opening gate, forcing the youngest to tag along, so as not to look suspicious.
..::"How many times will you let me change my mind and turn around? I can't decide if I'll let you save my life or if I'll drown.
I hope that you see right through my walls, I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling.
I'll never let a love get so close. You put your arms around me, and I'm home."::..
Yes, the pink-haired girl was definitely there. She was sitting with another kunoichi, one with long, sun-streaked, blonde hair. They were both watching a sparring match between a hyper-looking, almost animalistic boy and a very serious, deadly-looking one. The two seemed to be complete opposites, but were evenly matched. Both started very advanced jutsus, but were stopped by an older ninja, who looked to be of the jonin rank. For some reason, the boy could tell that if they hadn't had interference, it would've come to fatality.
The elder sister, who had stopped to watch the fight as well, rolled her eyes. "Those idiots do know that this is just training, right? Jeez."
Even as the two boys were being helped up –both bruised and sweating equally– they exchanged banter. The boy couldn't hear it, as it was across the large training room, but he could see the bodies lurching forward in turn, as though accentuating a point.
The boy had a sudden, absolute need to hear the girl's voice, or at least her name. He nodded slightly to each of his siblings in turn, then walked away.
He followed the edge of the room, passing weight lifting, hand seal training, and everything in between. Thanks to his anticipation, he felt as though he were walking miles and miles through a desert, in search of an oasis.
By the time he reached the sparring station, the two girls were resting on the side, watching another pair fight.
Standing less than twenty feet away, the back of the girls head was visible easily, clearly. Her pink hair was tangled and messy, but pulled back from her face using a black bow.
Although he had planned to walk right up to her, he was now unsure. What would he say? Surely she didn't feel the same for him. She didn't even know that he knew her.
After the mats were adjusted –and the boy still hadn't done anything, blast it– the jonin looked for new volunteers to spar. The pink-haired girl raised her hand.
"Okay, Sakura-chan, come up," He invited. Sakura… Sakura, which meant
'Cherry Blossom', sounded liked like a perfectly heavenly name for a perfectly heavenly girl. "Any other takers?" The jonin ignored the boy's sudden revelation.
He had to cross his arms to keep himself from running up to the mats. The jonin apparently noticed the movement from the corner of his eye. "You, young sir! Why don't you come on over?" The boy felt his eyes narrow, but otherwise his face betrayed none of the emotion he was feeling.
And there was a lot of it.
Although the beast inside him rejoiced, his common sense knew it was a bad idea. How could he fight this girl without making it obvious he was avoiding hurting her? He'd never be able to live with himself if he hurt her. And if Shukaku killed her, his life would be worthless.
Without even knowing her for twenty-four hours, the girl was already his reason for living? The beast sneered at him in disgust.
The boy walked up to the mat, knowing that every sparer had their eyes on him. Whispers made their way through the crowd gathering. He and his siblings seemed to be the only non-Leaf villagers in the whole town.
As he climbed onto the mat, the only eyes he could feel on him were the girl, Sakura's. He slowly looked up from the ground and met her sparkling green eyes, which widened childishly for a moment.
He felt as though they were truly windows, so that he could see into her mind. Only, her thoughts maintained themselves as a mystery. The green saturated itself throughout his mind, and he felt as though he was losing himself in it.
..::"The world is coming down on me and I can't find a reason to be loved. I never wanna leave you but I can't make you bleed if I'm alone.
You put your arms around me, and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go...
I hope that you see right through my walls, I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling."::..
He felt dirty and stained with the blood of all those he had killed, while he looked into her innocent, soul-filled eyes.
That annoying jonin just didn't stop talking. "So, young man, what's your name? I don't think I've ever seen you around here."
"Sabaku no Gaara," The red-haired boy replied lowly.
"Well… Okay then… Anyway, good luck to both of you and may the match begin!"
The girl, Sakura, slowly circled the boy as though she was examining him. He stayed completely motionless, listening. There was a short pause between her steps, before they stopped completely. He took notice, but did not react. The crowd burst with whispers again.
There was a swish sound, of the girl's dress, as she prepared to attack. Again, the boy didn't move at all, but stayed with his back to her. There was another faint sound and a pair of shuriken whizzed toward him. Neither were aimed to kill, but rather to test his defenses.
The top of the gourd popped off, seemingly by itself, and a few gallons of sand poured out, immediately forming a wall between the shurikens and the boy. The boy did this without even moving. The crowd collectively gasped.
The wall, as quickly as it had formed, fell apart, showering the sparring circle in sand and the shuriken. The girl's eyes narrowed.
The crowd was silent as the pink-haired girl figured out what to do.
"Kick his ass, Sakura!" The blonde girl suddenly shouted, along with a few more cheers from her teammates.
Apparently drawing strength from the support, the girl took a running start and leaped at the boy.
He creating a hovering wall of solid sand right were she was aiming. Stuck with too much momentum, the girl couldn't do anything but push off the wall. Or so she thought.
The moment her hands touched the sand, it manipulated itself in the blink of an eye, sending her crashing down. The sand on the bottom of the circle was manipulated too, in the same second, and grabbed onto her ankles so she didn't fall.
The result was the equivalent of shackles, binding her hands and feet together. It was a lesser version of his Sand Coffin jutsu The interesting part was that she landed mere inches away from him, with their noses nearly touching. The boy, of course, had planned this.
The second the girl landed, her eyes widened for the second time. The boy could clearly see specks of gold and dark green in them. An unexpectedly deep friction caught between the two's eyes. He waited a long moment before breathing, "I don't want to fight you." It was so low that he knew only she could hear.
A blush colored her cheeks, so that her skin tone matched her hair color.
The crowd was stunned by the sudden closeness of the match. As usual, the whispers picked back up after a moment.
The girl was so close, and the scent of both her blood and just her, made him heady.
After another long moment, the sand melted off her wrists and ankles. The boy took a step back, waiting for the girl's reaction.
..::"I'll never let a love get so close. You put your arms around me, and I'm home.
I tried my best to never let you in, to see the truth, and I've never opened up."::..
The reaction was a simple one. She simply raised her hand and shouted, "Sensei, I withdraw from the match!"
Both kept their emotions carefully controlled, but the red-haired boy knew that he could see something different in the girl's eyes. The two were told to shake.
And so they did. The boy noticed how much warmer, how much softer it was than his own. The girl, in turn, noticed how weathered the boy's was, even for a ninja.
The girl walked past him, brushing his shoulder, without so much as a glance, back to her seat. Or so it would seem to an outsider. While her body was directly beside him, she murmured, "Meet me outside," barely moving her lips.
The boy didn't need to acknowledge her. She already knew he'd be there, as well as the boy himself did.
After a moment, the boy himself exited the sparring ring. He walked slowly, taking his time to see what his siblings were doing. Unsurprisingly, his brother was up in the rafters, controlling a puppet of his. His sister was standing on the sidelines of the gym, nonchalant, but obviously assessing the strength of the Konoha warriors. She ignored the boy when he walked by her, as he did with her.
He stood outside, in the cool grass that he was so unaccustomed to, and waited. There was no one outside, even though it was a public space, so he watched a pair of birds dancing in the sky. The girl did not keep him waiting long.
Within minutes of his exit the girl came out, looking doubtful. She spotted him within seconds. Neither said a word, but she lead him around the building, to the side. There was less chance of someone happening to see them.
The boy found doubts in the situation. He wasn't afraid of the girl, but rather afraid for her. Still, the new beast in his chest paced around his heart, protecting it from Shukaku.
The girl, the Cherry Blossom, rounded on him suddenly and grabbed his shirt. Tried to. The sand protection from his mother was throwing her away in an instant, tossing her twenty feet to the side. The boy cursed himself, or rather, the many monsters inside him.
Unlike normal –wasn't everything that day unlike his normal?– the boy sprinted to her side. She groaned and stood up without his offered help.
"I… I'm sorry," He apologized. He had never meant it more in his life, in fact, he doubted that he'd ever said it before. The one-tailed beast was appalled.
"What was that for?!" The girl asked crossly.
'My mother thought you were trying to harm me,' The boy thought wryly. Outside he didn't know what to say. What was there to say? "I didn't," He spoke without thinking, yet another first. "I didn't mean to, I mean."
The girl looked at him incredulously. "Who are you?" She asked intensely. Something told him she wasn't talking about just his name and clan.
"Sabaku no Gaara, of the Sand. Son of Kazekage the Fourth," He told her truthfully. Another first.
The green eyes bloomed with understanding, "Didn't he…" She trailed off and looked at him with renewed interest. "… But I saw you. Last night. In my dream," She said slowly.
The boy blinked. No, he'd been sure that she hadn't woken up. Had she truly dreamt about him? The thought made him giddy and Shukaku see the girl with new interest.
..::"I've never truly loved 'til you put your arms around me, and I believe that it's easier for you to let me go.
I hope that you see right through my walls, I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling.
I'll never let a love get so close. You put your arms around me, and I'm home"::..
The girl sighed, leaving the boy to do nothing but cross his arms and wait for her to react. Everyone did. In Sunagakure they shamelessly ignored him, turning their backs. He closed his eyes, angling his head down, waiting for the one who held his heart to walk away.
Waiting for her to ignore him, too.
As he waited, he let himself feel hate again. The hate he'd been repressing since he'd seen her. He felt the closest to crying that he had since he killed his uncle.
Why hadn't he lied? Why did this girl, this stranger, provoke him to change and tell the truth? It wasn't that he was a liar, it was that he didn't talk enough to need to worry about it.
What was wrong with him.
Neither him nor the girl moved for several long seconds. He knew she was judging him, looking down on him. He just knew.
She stepped closer, and he felt the many beasts inside him tensing. Would she be violent, perhaps to make up for him embarrassing her while sparring? Would she be tender, like his uncle? Or would she simply walk past him, never saying another word?
He was unsure. Unsure up until the moment he felt a soft pair of lips touch to his cheek. They were as hesitant and cautious and confused as he felt.
But they were gentle and warm. The way he used to imagine a mother's would feel on top of his head, tucking him into bed. However, he hadn't had such thoughts in years.
In that instant, the hand around his heart tightened so much it hurt. It was a good pain, something that let him know that he was alive. Not alive for one village's purpose, but rather for one person.
His head lifted of its own accord. The beast in his chest danced, making his heartbeat quicken. Shukaku roared, making his head pound. The spirit of his mother, the spirit that protected him by killing others, readied herself to kill once again.
For the first time in his life –after so many firsts, he was hardly recognizing them anymore– he fought against her, using his newly empowered will. The sand she'd already raised above ground was instantaneously pushed back down.
The kiss was over in a second, as was his internal conflict.
The girl hovered an inch away from him for a moment, before tenderly wrapping her arms around him.
It was the first hug the boy had ever experienced. His uncle had not even permitted him to hug him.
The boy was, again, caught off guard, so, without knowing what else to do, he wrapped his arms around the girl's torso and back.
The hug was soft, but lingering. The boy never wanted to let go. He felt so… whole. Complete. At home.
..::"You put your arms around me, and I'm home..."::..
Corny ending, amirite? Oh well! Again, this was a birthday oneshot for my best-friend-in-the-whole-damn-world RandomlySmokingWolf! Yay!
Also, I saw a story that was based off of a song and it got deleted, which made me sad (it was one of the best stories I've seen on here) so it would mean a lot to me if ya'll didn't, like, turn me in. RSW freaking deserves this!