What'dya know? Only one day and I wrote a new chapter! Ah well, one can only wish that I continue on the straight and narrow. But, hark! A faithful reviewer! -hugs-
Lindsay-chan: Yes, the red-headed one is Gaara... as you will see momentarily. Thank you for coming back and reading my new story! It makes me feel loved! ;-;
- Warning: this will have shounen-ai and probably suggested yoai. So all you homo-phobes can go... like... now. Oh by the way, this is an AU story in case you didn't notice-
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, but of course... what a funny world it would be if I did.
Her mother had always wanted the best for her. A true reincarnation of Gaia. She worked hard, and her daughter always appreciated it. But then the unthinkable happened. After she was shot by an angry stranger, she daughter wet to live with her sister Anko in Konoha. But can anyone really get her out of this fake shell she's created for herself?
Mesmerize n.
1. to hypnotize
2. to spell-bind; fascinate
3. to compel by fascination
-Gaara-
What a horrible night for this. It was snowing, big surprise in February, and my father had kicked me out again. I think it was scotch this time… last time it was rum. He could have at least let me grab a coat, but what could I do about it? He was twice the size of me, if not more, and god forbid Temari or Kankuro should help me. 'No don't get them into this.' I tried Naruto's door but he wasn't home, so I just kept walking down the street. Never the face; I always asked him never to hit my face. People can see them when they're on my face, the bruises. I can wear long sleeves to hide my arms, but I can't hide my face. I was always thankful, I guess, that he very rarely hit my face; it made the beatings worse, but it was a small price to pay.
I guess I had been distracted though while I was walking since I suddenly crashed into someone, nearly knocking the person over. "Watch where you're-" I was about to yell at them; curse, scream, get out all of my frustration on this poor soul like I normally did. But then I saw the most beautiful pale blue eyes looking back at me. They belonged to a girl, the one I had unfortunately bumped into. Or was it unfortunate?
I found myself being lost in her eyes. They were hypnotizing; cloudy, yet emotional. Her long black hair made them stand out even more, contrasting with her pale skin. Suddenly, I snapped out of it and realized I had been staring for quite a while. I tried to redeem myself, crossing my arms over my chest and trying to look like I wasn't affected, but my voice was gentler when I spoke again, "A… are you okay?" Damn, my voice had faltered. I had a minor mental spaz at this, wishing I hadn't done that, but then I looked down at her hands and noticed they were trembling. I felt my resolve melt away quickly and I reached out to touch her arm. "No seriously…" But then she suddenly pulled back, as though I had hurt her or something. I felt hurt. What had I done to cause a reaction like that from her? I was just being considerate! I jammed my hands in my pockets again, much to my sore arms' dismay. "See you around then I guess."
I walked off angrily, and steamed for a while. I had just been being considerate and she goes and jerks away like I had just slapped her or something! What does she know about pain?! But then I remembered her eyes again, and just the way she had looked. 'She knows pain very well,' I told myself. Something had just happened to her and I had only just realized how vulnerable and scared she had looked. I hadn't caused that fear, something else had. For the remainder of my walk I thought only about her. Why hadn't I seen her before? Maybe she had just moved there. But for some reason her hair had looked vaguely familiar; it wasn't quite black, but a darkish purple color. I shrugged and decided to ask Kankuro about it when he came to find me. Looking at my watch I found out it was 11:40. I had been out for around 4 hours, he should be coming soon.
-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
Right on schedule, Kankuro arrived in his old, black Subaru Outback. He drove along the side of the empty side walk for a moment slowly before parking, rolling down the window… yes, rolling. "Get in squirt!" As usual, his voice lacked any sort of authority, but it was filled with concern. I stopped, momentarily thinking about not getting in the car, but the thought passed and I opened the door, climbing into the heated interior and rolling up the window. Kankuro didn't move the car out of park. He knew I didn't want to go home quite yet, and he wanted to talk. "Why didn't you run…?"
I snarled, huffing. "Like that really would have helped? Oh yea, a thin piece of wood is really going to stop him!" I was being more sarcastic then I intended. He looked down, as though ashamed he hadn't helped me.
"Gaara… I-"
"Just drop it alright?" I crossed my arms over my chest and looked out the window. For a few minutes we just sat like that in silence. I could feel my stomach drop in guilt, noticing his upset look. Once I couldn't take the silence anymore I turned back to face him. "Do we know anyone with dark purple hair…?"
"I think Anko-sensei does… why?" He looked at me suspiciously as though I was some sort of crazy serial killer. Actually, maybe he had a reason to be like that. I didn't answer his question, just responding with another one.
"Does she have a younger sister?"
"I don't know."
Silence again. So maybe the girl was Anko-sensei's younger sister. Now that I thought about it, they did look quite similar, except for her eyes. I once again lost myself thinking about her eyes, but was jarred back to reality when Kankuro shook my leg, asking if I was alright. I nodded and said I was, mentally cursing myself. Why did I keep daydreaming about her eyes? Kankuro shifted the car into drive, with a mild grunt of complaint coming from the engine, before he sped off towards home. That night I could barely sleep. I kept thinking about what had made that girl so scared… and wondering why I cared so much.
-Anko-
I hadn't seen my sister in over a year, so the surprise I felt when I heard her voice was intense. But then the surprise turned into fear when I saw her. Where was our mother? Katsumi was only 16 years old, and our mother had never allowed her to walk too far alone. When I pulled back from the hug I had engulfed her in I noticed she was covered in blood. Whose blood was that? I immediately remembered every action movie I'd ever seen where the murderer shows up at their family's house so they'll hide them. I hoped to any god that would listen that this wasn't the case. I led her up to my apartment when she wouldn't respond to my voice, shooting a glare at the secretary to show her not to call the police. Sitting her down in my arm chair I looked into her eyes to see if she was guilty of doing anything, but what I saw scared me even more though. In my sister's familiar pale eyes was more fear then I'd ever seen in anyone, but they were also cloudy and distant. It scared me. My sister was no longer the same person. I shook her to try and get her to say something, say something familiar so I would know it was her, but she said nothing.
-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-!-
After the police station, I brought her back to my apartment with some of the things I had packed from her room. It wasn't everything, but we'd have to wait until the detectives were done to get the rest. I set her up on the couch, giving her two pillows from my closet and an old fluffy blanket that I had never used before. Before I went to bed I made sure she had everything she needed and hugged her again tightly. I didn't want to ever let her go, never again, but I did and gave her a weak smile before going to bed myself. I couldn't sleep all night, and in the morning I started preparations for her to go to the school I worked at; Konoha High School. 'As long as I can watch over her, nothing will happen to her.'
Alrighty then, send a review please and don't leave Lindsay-chan all alone in my review box! And pray I remember to post the next chapter tomorrow. -