If looks Could Kill
The crowd jumped and cheered for the teenager standing on the giant podium in front of them. Screaming, chanting words of praise. Bumping into each other, only adding to the humid atmosphere. Banners with words sprawled on them. Kazumi looked around, as someone bashed into her. She glanced up at whom they were cheering. A flare of waxen crimson hair could be seen on the podium, bobbing around. The Teenager on the podium did not say a word. His mouth appeared to be sown shut. He stared at them with a set of blank ice blue eyes, his eyes encircled with dark obscurity. He had the eyes of an insomniac; he suffered through sleepless nights, haunted by nightmares of real monsters. A frown ample on his face. He clearly didn't like giving speeches, or he just wasn't used to giving them. This praise he was receiving alien and foreign to him, he seemed to be bleak and dead in front of the excited mass of people. Before she could see anything, get a proper look at this boy- no older than her someone stepped into her view, obscuring it. She breathed in the hot, dense desert air. Why was the crowd going wild? For some man, who wasn't even speaking? Someone yelled,
"WE LOVE YOU KAZEKAGE GAARA!"* The girl squealed in delight, almost paralyzed with glee by the sight of this boy. Kazumi's ears rang, deafened by her incessant screams and yelps but his name stayed, 'Gaara' echoing in her mind.
He leaded into the microphone, and rasped a few sentences, his words lower than a whisper to the crowd; the crowd went into a whooping frenzy. Kazumi seemed to be the only one not cheering. People shot her dirty looks. The boy, presumably named Gaara stepped away from the podium. The crowd's loudness didn't faze him nor how static they were becoming, but a gleam of happiness spread on his face. He cared for his village, and its people.
The girl next to Kazumi jumped up and screamed, "I WANT YOUR BABIES!"* Gaara didn't look at her, instead was led off the stage by an older looking teen, wearing full black with face-makeup on and a blond haired girl with three ponytails sticking up around her head at odd angles. Gaara disappeared, and soon as he did the rest of the village drained out of the arena becoming empty and barren, some litter swayed in the wind.
Kazumi merely shrugged, this was her first day in Suna. She needed a roof over her head before nightfall. It was already midday. Kazumi ambled further into the village, into a place that seemed to be a marketplace. Sweet smells stung her nostrils food was being cooked. It was the unmistaken able smell of fresh cooked food. She drifted around the stalls taking in the scents and sights of food being prepared; she noticed the hollow feel in her stomach. When was the last time she had eaten? It was a long time ago.
A familiar head of red hair was leaning over some of the food. He was looking at the food, a half smile on his face. He ordered some dango thanked the serving woman and walked further on. His shy blue eyes slid in Kazumi's direction, though his glare was cold and harsh. Making her almost feel all the pain that he had to endure in his short lifetime. His step was light, happy and floating, but those eyes…Kazumi shuddered, an icy chill slithering down her spine. She felt dizzy, light-headed as his stare was still on her; he was completely ignoring the dango in his hand. Kazumi swallowed and took a deep breath, her throat becoming dry. His glare was like a thousand daggers, if looks could kill. She would have suffered a thousand painful deaths. Kazumi looked away from him, hoping he wasn't looking at her anymore. She shook her head, her blond curls bouncing around her face as she did. Kazumi picked up some candy for herself, and bought it. She clutched the bag in her hands and started to walk faster, wondering if his gaze was still on her. The thought of it made her heart beat faster, but was it of fear of him or something else?
Kazumi hit into something, hard and flat, it was like a brick wall making her stumble backwards. She tried to regain her balance but instead tumbled onto the ground, her bag of candy flying overhead onto the dusty, sand covered ground. Kazumi dusted off her black gypsy pants, them being covered in brown smears. She looked up at what she had walked into. The sun was in her eyes she could make out a black outline hovering in front of her and a very distant muffled voice…
"I'm sorry…" An annoyed voice hummed to her. Kazumi looked up into a somewhat familiar face, covered in make-up. She had seen this boy before. At the speech the Kazekage made? His hand outstretched to her; Kazumi took it, mainly out of confusion. Had she walked into him? Another person was looming behind him, the blue-eyed Kazekage, Gaara. His arms crossed he had an irritated scowl on his face.
"My brother has seemed to forget his manners." He shot a dirty glance at Gaara. Kazumi learned something, he had a brother.
"W-what happened?" Kazumi spluttered, blinking as she took this boy's sweaty, clammy hand and he helped to pull her up.
"You two walked right into each other, and he knocked your candy out of your hands."
The candy was sprawled across the dirt-road of the market place. Most of the candy, coated in dust, and people had already started to tread on the pieces of candy, kicking and shuffling the candies about. She had used the last of her money to buy those as well. Gaara had finished his dango and moved closer to Kazumi, but there was still a massive gap between them. The boy dressed in black piped up, breaking the awkward silence,
"Um…Really sorry." He gave her a cheeky grin, "Can we do anything to make it up to you?" He blinked, looking at Kazumi for an answer. She could feel Gaara's gawk bore a hole in the side of her face.
"Well I need a place to stay and-" she was cut off a smooth voice interrupted her. And this time he wasn't speaking into a microphone which seeped out of speakers. His voice didn't sound irregular and larger than life. Not spoken trough a microphone or doubled by speakers. He was just a normal…person
"You can stay with us." Gaara said, calmly with a dark, cheery tinge hidden in his undertone. Kazumi picked up on his tone and her mood picked up instantly.
"I'm Kazumi Chiyoko" she introduced herself to the boy dressed in black. She may have made her first friend in Suna.
He pointed to himself, "Kankuro" he nodded his head towards Gaara, "And that's my younger brother, Gaara." Kazumi gave Gaara a tender smile; in return, she got a vacant expression and a series of blinks. Kankuro rolled his eyes, "He is shy around new people," Gaara's lips pursed in an irritated fashion. His brother was talking bull about him.
"We can go back to our house, it only a few blocks away." Kankuro pulled Kazumi along with him, not waiting for her reply. He swiveled through the streets and dodged in between houses. Gaara calmly following behind at a safe distance, Kazumi was being towed by Kankuro.
An enormous mansion came into view, Kankuro pulled her through the gates. Kazumi looked around the house- fancy, rich and lush. These boys where spoilt.
"This is our house, what do you think?" Kankuro asked, as he came to a halt at a kitchen.
"It's..." Kazumi paused, trying to think of a word to describe how she felt about their house "Awesome!" she chirped. Kankuro adopted a smug smile on his face; he poured himself a glass of milk, not offering Kazumi any. Gaara wasn't anywhere to be seen. Kazumi looked at Kankuro a stern look on her face.
Kankuro blinked in response, "I'll show you your room." He was off again, and led her to some passageways, that seemed dank and dirty. He pointed towards a door,
"That's Gaara's room, your opposite his room." He swung the door open. It looked like the rest of the house, crisp clean linen on the bed, curtains hanging by the windows. En-suite bathroom. Kankuro walked off. Kazumi wasn't bothered she wanted to see the rest of her room, the view was amazing, most of Suna could be seen from her bedroom window.
Kazumi hear a door slam, and feet rustling across the floor. Kazumi wondered who that could be, so late at night? It was close to 12am. Kazumi stood, and poked her head out of the door. There was a shadow moving, yet no person. She followed. Once again there was no sign of the shadow's owner. Kazumi crept behind the shadow, grinning. Who could it be? The shadow disappeared, and Kazumi looked around. All she could see was an open window. She climbed through it curiously looking around. Her eyes adjusting to the darkness outside.
"Hello?" her voice sing-song like, very cheerful and happy.
"What are you doing here?" A voice hissed, almost in her ear. It sounded abnormally close to her. Kazumi blinked, confused and somewhat scared. Panic rose in her chest and she stumbled backwards, an icy hand gripped hers pulling her onto he feet once more. She noticed the pair of blue eyes on her face, searching her face.
"Gaara?" she breathed. His hand was still clutching onto hers.