Sakura woke up in a dark place. The sand beneath her was cold, and she sat up. She rubbed the back of her head, where someone had knocked her out.
She was just a poor farm girl. Sure, she was pretty, but why would someone kidnap her? Were they going to do things to her, like her mother had warned her of?
Sakura felt a hand on her arm, and she screamed.
The shrill noise was stopped by a hand on her mouth. She whimpered and tried to free herself from this person's hold.
Fingernails dug into her bicep, and she screwed her eyes shut. She opened them when she heard a sigh, and looked up to see a boy not much older than her holding a candle.
He had red hair cropped short, green eyes lined by kohl, and a frown. He moved towards her, and she instinctively kicked him right in the face.
He put a hand on his nose, and then looked up with a wicked glare, blood dribbling down his face. Sakura felt guilt creep up when he handed her the candle, then walked away.
"Please don't leave!" She cried, reaching out into the darkness with one hand and cradling the candle to her chest with the other. "I'm sorry!"
He stopped. He hesitated. Then he kept walking.
Sakura drooped. She was such a jerk. Maybe he had been kidnapped too. Now she had just broken the nose of the only person who had shown her kindness.
She curled up on the sand, and let out a little cry when something skittered onto her foot.
She froze when a quiet voice said, "Don't move."
Her eyes inched towards her foot, and she saw a scorpion. She held her breath as it crawled onto the sand beside her, then stilled.
Suddenly, a sandal came down, killing it. She looked up the leg of her savior and saw the same boy from before. He helped her up, taking her hand.
"Idiot," he murmured, then started walking, her hand in his.
He led her to a corner. From what Sakura could tell, the room was in the shape of a square, and not as big as she had originally thought. In the corner was a blanket, a jug of water, and a basket.
He crouched down and started rifling through the basket. She sat down on the ground.
"My name is Sakura," she said hesitantly. He didn't look up.
"Gaara," he informed her quietly. He found what he was looking for, and pulled out a roll of bandages. He came up behind her, and then kneeled down. She winced when he touched the tender flesh, and then sighed as he rubbed salve onto it.
"Why are doing this for me?" She asked, trying not to sound suspicious. He bandaged the wound, his fingers making quick work of the process.
"The scent of blood attracts things I'd rather not deal with," he said softly. Sakura gulped.
When she yawned for the fifth time, Gaara pointed to the blanket.
"Go to sleep," he ordered. "You're getting on my nerves."
She gave him a look and covered her mouth.
"I don't mean to be rude," she said with another yawn. "But I just met you. How do I know I can trust you?"
He looked down.
"You're going to have to," he said, setting down the crust of bread he had been eating.
Sakura made a face, but eventually lay down on the makeshift bed. She shivered, and she thought that Gaara must have been very cold, leaning against that wall.
Too tired to worry about what he might think, she held out her arms and said, "Come here."
He gave her a strange look.
"What?"
Sakura pointed to the place next to her.
"Come lay with me," she said. "I'm cold."
He blinked, and she rolled her eyes.
"I did this with my family all the time when it got cold. It's fine, really."
When he continued to hesitate, she grabbed the dagger sitting next to him and held it above the palm of her hand.
"I'll cut myself if you don't. We wouldn't want to meet those things, now do we?"
He gave her a look of hatred, then made his way over to her and lay down with a glare. She snuggled up against his back and smiled happily.
Gaara was not used to warmth. He was also not used to not being alone. This girl was annoying, with her shrill voice and bright pink hair. Yet she was not a threat, especially not to one such as him.
Against his will, he found his eyelids drooping. He bit the inside of his cheek and tasted salt.
He could not fall asleep. What if another scorpion came? What if she attacked him?
What if-
His eyes snapped shut, and stayed closed.
Sakura woke up with a gasp. She had had a nightmare full of dark hands grabbing her, strangling her. She buried her face in the back of the man lying next to her. Her father would keep her safe from the monsters.
That was when she remembered the previous day. It came rushing back in a wave of pain and fear. She sat up quickly, looking down at the boy she had slept with. Now that she was less tired, she had enough strength to be mortified.
Gaara was still asleep, curled up. His face was much gentler when he was sleeping, his frown a little less severe. Sakura realized she could see light on his face, and looked around. At the top of the room were very small holes with light shining through.
She turned her eyes from them and back to Gaara. It was much warmer now that day had rolled around. He must have been hot with that blanket covering him like that. Maybe she should take it off. Her hand inched forward, only to be grabbed by Gaara.
JuhHe stared up at her with milky green eyes, his frown back in full force. He tossed her hand away and sat up, rubbing his head with a pale hand. He was glaring at her from underneath his eyelashes, and Sakura was just about to apologize for the previous night when the door on the other side of the room opened, and a man stepped in.
Gaara was in front of her in an instant, pressing her against the wall with his back. Sakura peered over his shoulder, fingers wrapped in the fabric of his shirt.
The man was wrapped head to toe in bandages, save for his eyes, giving him the eerie appearance of a mummy. He held a plate in his bandaged hand, and on it were a few shriveled slices of fruits and a piece of bread.
Sakura recognized him. This man and his solders had been the ones who had taken her. She ducked behind Gaara with a squeak, and slowly, the man's eyes turned to them.
Gaara was pushed aside by the man's sudden kick, and Sakura pressed herself against the wall, shaking. She stared up as the man bent down, grabbed her chin with a rough hand, then twisted her head around.
He smiled when she winced, and he would have continued to do this if it wasn't for a huge wave of sand engulfing him.
The sand pushed him away from Sakura and out the door, which was as then promptly slammed shut. By sand.
Sakura stared as Gaara wiped at the blood dripping from his lip, then stood and walked towards her. She stared as he crouched in front of her, and frowned.
"Do you know why you are here?" He asked, his voice taking on an edge.
She managed a quiet no, and he scowled.
"You're a sacrifice," he growled, standing again. "And I'm the monster."
Gaara went and sat by the door, leaving a shaken Sakura to her thoughts. He was a monster? Sure, that thing with the sand had been pretty weird, but he hadn't been mean to her. A little rude, perhaps, but nowhere near cruel. Yet here he was, trapped in a little room. It occurred to Sakura that if he controlled the sand, why couldn't he just break through the wall and get out of here?
She realized with a start that this prison must have been of his creation. He had trapped himself here, in the darkness, because he had been called a monster.
She crawled over to him, and stopped right behind his back.
"You're not a monster," she whispered. A tear fell from her eye and onto the sand.
His shoulders tightened, and she leaned forward, tears coming faster now.
"You really aren't, Gaara!" She cried, grabbing onto his shoulders and shaking him. He turned his head around, his eyes narrow.
"I've been a monster since the day I was born, Sakura," he said bitterly. "I killed my own mother." Sakura stopped her shaking, and instead took his hands.
"Gaara..."
His eyes became cloudy.
"I was just a baby," he said, looking away. "I didn't know how to control my power. I didn't know what death was! I didn't know that the sand would suffocate her!"
He was yelling now, his eyes widening with grief.
"I didn't know Sakura!" He gasped, sinking into her arms. Sakura closed her eyes.
"I know," she whispered. "I know."
He did not cry. His tears had long since been used up. Yet he almost cried, and that was enough. He looked up into Sakura's face, her skin pale from the lack of sunshine. He had killed all the sacrifices up until now, pretending that they kept him at bay.
But the truth was, he couldn't stand their looks of fear. Or worse, pity. But Sakura's face shone with nothing but sadness, sadness for a boy who had locked himself away.
Sakura's eyes widened when he scooped her up.
He stared at the wall of sand blocking them from the world, and for the first time in fourteen hellish years, the wall broke.
He ignored the frightened screams with a practiced numbness, and hopped on the wave of sand that carried them out of the hole. He blinked up at the sunshine, his eyes aching.
Sakura jumped from his arms and laughed at the feeling of the warm rays on her face. Gaara blinked.
"You're going home now," he stated.
She smiled at him.
"Yes," she said, kissing his cheek, then his lips. "And you're coming with me!"
As she pulled him along, Gaara felt his face (metaphorically) crumble. He had thought his happiness had died a long time ago.
But really, it had just been sleeping, waiting for the right time to come out of hibernation.
Now, awake and uncertain, happiness gave a little yawn.