+++Part 6+++
Run
Chains creaked softly as a gentle wind blew by. Every now and then she would push off the ground to swing high, then stop, plant her feet, and continue to steadily rock back and forth. She raised her head to scan the deserted playground. Sighing, she lowered her head and continued to wait. He should be here soon.
Delicate little fingers wrapped around a small, clear, yellow whistle. Katy tugged on it while a bright green thread kept it secure around her neck. It was something her ma had given her after the "bear incident". She had to wear it.
That is, if she ever wanted to go outside again.
Katy didn't understand. She thought the bear was a rare and onetime occurrence. Her mother confirmed that but she still said, "Just in case." So Katy obeyed, even if it did irk her. In fact, she showed it to Gaara a couple days ago, and told him what it was for. He liked the idea despite the fact it wasn't needed. He could recognize her scream a mile away. Even so, he told her he'd listen for both the whistle and her cry...if he was ever apart from her long enough.
Katy lifted the translucent yellow object to her lips and blew lightly, earning a small squeak from it. She dropped it and let out an exaggerated groan. Wasn't his bloody training over yet? She sat there with her chin in her hands thinking, if he doesn't get here soon I'm going to...do something. Katy knew she'd soon be resorting to making farting noises to stave off both boredom and irritation.
"Hey," snapped an agitated voice. Kat looked up from her lap to meet the glower of another girl. "What are you doing hanging out with that Gaara?"
What...? That was the only word that went through Kat's mind. She continued to stare at the intrusive girl, giving no response but the furrowing of her brow.
"Answer," the girl barked, "Don't you know what he is?"
Kat's eyes hardened. This girl sure had an attitude! What was her problem? A group of other kids walked up behind her. Kat sat up straight in an attempt to look bigger; a defense that usually worked on nasty roosters...But would it work on people?
I guess I don't have the place to myself anymore, she said inwardly, clearly vexed. Who were they to just come up to her and start demanding things? Well, they'd get nothing out of her!
"Why won't she talk?" a boy from the group inquired.
Kat's eyes darted between all of them. Are...these the guys with the ball? Katy thought so. She definitely recognized the girl in front of her. Brown hair, high ponytail, dark eyes, and older. Yes, it was them. Why were they bothering her?
"Talk!"
"Maybe she's traumatized?" another boy added.
The girl kicked dust up at Katherine. "She doesn't act traumatized when she's with it!"
"Yeah, now that you mention it... She looked pretty happy around 'im!"
"Hey!" The older girl grabbed Katy's clean-cut bangs and pulled, forcing eye contact. "Pay attention," she ordered in a deep voice, trying to sound intimidating but failing. Kat had to double-guess her gender. "Answer my question. Why do you hang out with that freak?"
Shock rippled through Katy. Not only had this person harassed her, but she had also insulted her very best friend.
The answer the girl received was the jerk of Katy's leg and the foot that collided with her gut. The girl stumbled back and huffed. The next thing Kat knew she was yanked off the swing by her hair and pulled to the ground. Katy laid still, her little fists trembling in the sand. Something in Katherine was rising. One last remark about her best friend was all it took, the anger that rose in her burst. In a blind frenzy, Kat threw herself at the older girl. Before either knew it, they were in a wrestling match.
"Get her, Kashike!" one of her friends cheered. Another friend of this "Kashike" even dared to enter the fray. He grabbed a fistful of Katy's shirt and yanked her off Kashike. The latter then took the opportunity to strike. Katherine's blind fury was surging. She reached out and, with long uncut nails, scratched the boy across the face. She reared up her leg and kicked Kashike in the ribs. By now, all the boys and Kashike were ganging up on her. Katy continued to struggle on. However she was quickly overpowered. One last kick from Kashike sent Katy into the sand, face first.
"Pin her down, Abiru!" Kashike ordered and one of the boys sat on Katy's back. Kashike kicked more sand in her face. "What did you think you were gonna do, huh?"
"My friend," Kat hissed out. "My friend is good!"
The kids exchanged surprised glances before laughing.
"He's a monster!"
"No!"
"If you're with him, then you're no better!"
"Bunch of...bloody butt'oles! That's what you are!" Kat retorted before another spray of sand met her face.
Abiru yanked on her hair. "Hey, what's that around her neck?"
"Get it." The yellow object was forcibly removed from Kat's neck.
Abiru looked it over before saying, "It's just a stupid whistle"
"Let me see it, " said another. "I like it."
As her face was being pushed into the ground she could hear it. The boy was lightly blowing some random tune on the whistle. It made her so angry- all of it. She tried to jolt up, throwing the nuisance on her back off balance.
"I don't think so!" Kashike's foot landed on Kat's head, keeping her down. They all laughed. The boy that had the whistle crouched down and played a mocking tune in her ear.
She hissed, frustrated with herself being unable to do anything. She had failed.
The boy got closer to her ear, blowing in the whistle as hard as he could.
She had failed to defend her friend's honor.
The eerie screech of the whistle filled the air.
They were all laughing- laughing at her and laughing at her friend. So angry... it made her so, so angry! Gaara... she said in her mind what she could not say out loud, I'm sorry... I can't defend you. I can't even defend myself.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to unleash all the rage on them. She wanted to teach them a lesson. To teach them not to say such things about Gaara, her friend. The sweetest kindest friend she had ever known.
"Let's go," snipped Kashike. "Leave her for the monster."
"He's better...than you!" Kat shrieked.
"What was that?"
"Kick her, Tsuchino!"
Katy felt the blow to her side but muffled her pained cry.
"I liked her better when she didn't talk!"
"Hey...!" Abiru tensed. The weight of the boy vanished from her back.
Now, instead of their laughter...she heard their screams.
"Please, no!" Kashike's deep voice turned high pitched with her plea. Sand rose up all around Kat. It swirled and brushed against her gently. For the others however, it was as harsh as a hurricane. Sand had slammed into Abiru, catapulting him off Katherine. It crashed against Tsuchino and grabbed Kashike by the arm, flinging her into a wall. Terrified screams filled the air, alerting everyone within half a mile. Katy raised her face from the ground. My friend... Yes, there stood her friend just a ways from her. He wore an expression of such wrath she had never seen before.
"Stop, Gaara! Enough!"
It was that man. The blonde man that Katherine did not dare trust. The sand became still. After the group of kids limped away like dogs with tails between their legs...it was quiet. Kat hesitantly pushed herself up to sit. Running footsteps quickly approached her. Her red haired friend knelt in front of her, taking her face in his hands. Now instead of rage, pain lay in those pale, pale eyes.
"Katy...?"
She had trouble looking him in the eyes. She felt shame and embarrassment. She did not know what to say now.
"Katy? Does it hurt?" He sounded like he was going to breakdown. "How much? Do... they need to die?"
The footsteps of Yashamaru came closer. "No one is going to die. Are you all right miss Katherine?"
Kat looked between Gaara and his caretaker before she started off in a small, shaky voice. "Uh...you, they said bad things about you so I had to kick her then she pulled my hair then I totally went and turned hulk on 'em 'cept I'm not green and, and they were being jerk-monkeys so, so..."
"Slow down there. It's okay now, let's get you two inside." The caretaker continued, "I think we've cause enough of a scene here today."
The scarlet haired boy nodded before helping Kat up. He took her hand as they followed the medical nin. Along the way, Gaara returned the little yellow whistle around her neck. The companions traded looks. He smiled softly, taking tighter hold of her hand. She was stunned for a second but shortly smiled too. He had heard it, and he had come running. Just like he said he would.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, lord Kazekage. The sand did no damage to her whatsoever."
"So he can control it...to a degree." His eyes hardened in thought before he continued, "We will test this. I want you to conduct a scenario. Use whoever you deem fit and report back to me immediately afterwards. Let's see how far he can control it...until she becomes a victim as well."
"As you wish, lord Kazekage." The fair-haired man bowed before he took his leave. His ninja sandals tapped quietly on the floor as he made his way through the corridors of the Kazekage's mansion (though it was more formally called the Administration Building). Finally he stopped by a slightly ajar door, listening to the voices inside.
"Hee, they blew the whistle on themselves."
"I know, Katy, you've said that fifty-six times already."
"Meow!"
"...What...was that?"
"Eee hee...!" The caretaker could hear the girl snigger and snort ecstatically, but as soon as he pushed open the door and walked in...she became as silent as the dead.
Gaara turned his head to the door. "Yashamaru..."
"Isn't it about time for you to be taking miss Katherine home now, Gaara?"
"...No," he replied shortly.
"Now, now. Her parents will be missing her. It's time to take her home." With the sour look he got from the boy he went on to say, "She'll be back tomorrow. Then you'll have all day."
"Fine," Gaara finally said. "Let's go...Kitty."
"Cluck?" she replied before following her friend out the door.
"So now you're a chicken?"
"I like chickens!"
"Yes...me too. They're good."
"Hey! Actually...yeah, they are. But that's not they only reason I like chickens..."
They're voices faded off. The shinobi knew he must now follow the orders of his Kage. And though he'd not say it out loud, he would enjoy making the demon child suffer.
Just like he had made him suffer...
"Let's race!" Katy chirped, nearly skipping beside her friend.
"No... The faster we go the sooner we have to say goodbye."
"Oh, yeah... But I'll be back tomorrow!"
Gaara looked up at the starry sky before he whispered, "Tomorrow's a long night away."
Katy didn't understand at first, but she soon came to a conclusion. "Mmm, it goes by fast once you fall asleep. Don't worry."
"Does it?"
"Yah."
"I see..." He mumbled, "Lucky you."
She frowned. "Does someone need a piggyback ride?"
"That's not it... I-" He halted his speech.
"What?"
"...Nothing. Just a bad feeling."
"Oh, okay. What was it you were saying befo- THE CHICK," she screeched as an odd shaped knife whizzed past her. "Oooh my, ack!" she yelped as Gaara pulled her to him. She could almost feel the mixtures of rage, fear, and confusion that were swirling in him.
"Why?" he started as his eyes locked with those of the masked assailant. Why me? Why my friend? Why my ONLY friend? Sand shot up to shield as more kunai were thrown. The scarlet haired boy let out an enraged yell, willing the sand to attack. He kept Katy close. He was not going to let them take her away from him.
But the shadows darted all around them. Two? Three? How many were there? Katy stood close to her protector. She didn't know what else to do. She stood shaking, but her friend stood strong. He was focused; she was panicking. She couldn't take it. She wasn't trained nor taught to handle such a situation as this. Her mind raced but none of the thoughts were clear. She couldn't even begin to try and understand why they were being attacked. What did they want? Now weird dark star-shaped things were being thrown! There were weapons she did not know, sand swarming everywhere...! She...she couldn't see! She needed to see! Katy could no longer control or comprehend anything. It seemed as if everything just faded to black- she couldn't feel anything except her legs nearly giving out. She stumbled back and she barely heard her friend call for her. Everything was spinning. A crushing pressure on her forearm was the only thing keeping her vivid. She slowly returned to herself, glad Gaara had snapped her out of her frenzy.
But something was wrong.
Why is he over...there? Katy's hazel brown eyes drifted to the pain on her arm. It was then she realized her feet were no longer on the ground. A man shrouded with a dark mask held her dangling beside him. When did...? Wait... The seriousness of the situation hit her hard. She did not recognize her own quivering voice.
"Pl-please. Don't hurt my friend...or me. W-why are you mean?" The man raised a kunai to her. "S-stop...stupid APE!"
Okay, so insulting the man with a knife wouldn't be considered a good idea. But what was she supposed to do? She couldn't kick him in the crotch; he was holding her to far away. Who attacks a five and six year old anyway? Katy tried anyway to kick at the man, but it was useless. She couldn't reach. But she kept on struggling; she was not going to make it easy for them!
"If you want to live," an icy voice spoke, "you will let...her...go."
It was a voice so cold. Katy couldn't believe it was coming from her companion.
Before the blade had been raised to Katherine, Gaara had considered giving in to whatever demands they made. However, that consideration had gone as quickly as it had come. His panic stricken expression had changed. When Katherine saw, even she became nervous. His cold eyes leered at the one holding her captive. With deadly precision, he controlled the sand. It smashed into the masked man while more encircled Kat protectively before ripping her from the man's grasp. Her feet hit the ground. Not an instant had passed before the redhead was there with her. But she was frozen to the spot. Never before had she seen such cold fury, like the bitter, howling wind of the desert in the dead of night. He had to take her by the shoulders and shake her before she'd budge. Snapping out of her daze and looking around, she saw one of the assailants lying motionless far from them. The other was nowhere to be seen.
"Let's go!" He said with urgency, "Run!"
The two children ran all the way past the swing and to the tunnel. He told her to go and pushed her towards it before he turned to face anyone that may have followed.
Kat stammered, "But...I..."
"Run, Katherine!"
"...Leave you? NO!" She grabbed his arm and pulled. "We are getting outta here- BOTH of us- NOW!"
The redhead didn't have time to disagree. He cast a final glance over his shoulder, and after seeing no one he followed his friend through the dark tunnel and ultimately the tunnel made of light.
We'll run, run away from here, to a place where you'll be safe.
The two friends ended up on the floor of the old house. Acting as if they were still being pursued, Katy shot up and dragged her red headed friend with her. She didn't let up the pace until they were out of the woods and standing at the top of the first hill. They stopped and looked at each other.
"What," Kat breathed hard, "the crap...just happened?"
"I..." Gaara had already begun to regain his breath. "I...don't know."
"The people...of your village...are freaking..." She took a deep breath as she finished with the word, "...crazy."
The redhead only nodded in response to her assessment.
"Well," she continued. "It's dark and no way are you going back now. I think you'll be spending the night. Sweet, we can roast marshmallows and stuff! Let's go!"
"Wait," he spoke as he followed after her. "What do we tell your mother?"
Charlotte knew when Katherine and Gaara both came through the door that the scarlet haired boy was staying. But still, she folded her arms and waited for an explanation.
Kat sighed as she began, "We totally almost got killed by crazy ninjas so he's going to stay here so they won't get him."
"Uh-huh..." her mother replied disbelievingly. Well, she thought, if she wants him to stay so bad as to make such stories...I suppose it won't hurt to let him stay over. "Alright, as long as his parents say it's okay..."
"Yep!" Kat cut in quickly. "They did!"
"Thank you, Mrs. Watters," Gaara added as he was pulled into the living room and down the hall by Katy. Charlotte shook her head and smiled before she went back to fixing supper.
The two friends played random games until everyone was called to the table. The pale-eyed boy never felt quite so welcomed before. The Watters family talked to him like he belonged. And he felt as though he could belong, too, sitting at the table with them. Charlotte even gave him the duty of making Katy eat her brussel sprouts. She ate them grudgingly... only because it was her best friend that had asked her to, darn it!
Denim would occasionally show his food to his little sister but a glare from Gaara would quickly put a stop to that. It was when both Mr. Watters and Denim started making monkey noises at each other that he became a little...nervous.
"Dinner and a show, yah?" Katy chimed in beside the redhead, still heard amongst the two "chimps" at the table. Her mother only put her face in her hand and let out a long sigh.
When "bedtime" came around, Charlotte had two sleeping bags ready in the living room. It would have been cold to leave their guest on the couch and having him share a bed with Katy was out of the question.
"Now," Charlotte began after she tucked them both in. "I want you two to behave yourselves and settle down. No getting up and playing. Go to sleep. Both of you should have burned off enough energy running for the ninjas, right?" she added with a smirk but soon frowned. "...And the toothpaste incident."
"When someone squirts toothpaste at you, it's only right to squirt them back," Kat answered back.
"I said it was an accident," the redhead defended himself.
"Alright, alright. Sleep both of you. I don't want to hear a peep!" Charlotte turned and went down the hall to join her husband in the master bedroom.
When all was quiet and dark a voice whispered, "I don't sleep..."
"You're telling me," Katy whispered back. "It takes me, like, two HOURS to get to sleep."
"No, I mean I don' t sleep...at all."
"Uh...why?"
"...I can't say."
"Oh...okay...I'll stay awake with you."
"You don't have to."
"I will."
"Katy...?"
"Yah?" When there was no answer she tried again. "What is it?"
"...Thank you."
"Aw...I thank you too."
"What did I say about 'not a peep'?" Katy's mother's voice sounded down the hall. Kat yelped and hid in her sleeping bag. But the one next to her didn't hide in his. Though she couldn't see it in the dark, for some reason...the one next to her couldn't stop smiling.
Late into the night, Katherine had stared at him...he stared at her. Neither of them were asleep. Darn it, she wasn't going to fall asleep until he did! After a while, when the girl's eyelids stated to drift up and down, the boy smiled and told her it was okay. After he had reached out and patted her head, she finally fell asleep.
When she awoke, it was with a slow start. Gaara had to roll her from side to side until she responded.
"Baaaacon," she groaned like a zombie.
"Your mother's making it now, Katy." He shook her again. "Just get up, already!"
With breakfast behind them and Katherine now fully awake, the friends embarked on a journey outside. But after the morning was up and the sun showed that it was high noon, the redhead knew he had to get home. Katy protested, of course. But she eventually gave in...on the condition that she was to go as well.
"Fine," he had said. "But you must stay close to me at all times. Don't do what you did before and flop away."
"I didn't FLOP away! I just...fell!"
"...Right."
"I didn't," she whined, following after her companion.
The blonde medic ninja was surprised, to say the least, when Gaara and Katherine came through that door. However he quickly recovered. "Thank goodness you're alright! When you didn't come back... What happened?"
The redhead explained the event that had happened last night in detail. Katherine remained silent. Somehow...she had a bad feeling that the man before them already knew all about it.
"So, you stayed at miss Katherine's house?" he inquired and Katy felt she knew it he was going. "If I may ask, where is your house, miss Katherine?" The little brunette said nothing. She only looked down and stood closer to her friend. He tried a few more times but came to realize it was pointless. So he sent them out to play and went on to report to the village's leader.
Moreover, Kat's feeling was right. He did know about the ninjas that attacked them.
He was one of them...
Upon her return home Katy was faced with an old enemy. That weirdo with the stick….and irrational paranoia. "YOU!"
The girl with a familiar evil grin tilted her head in confusion. "Does I knoweth you, kind stranger? Wanna make a dirt castle? Its like sand castles but with dirt..."
"I like the ocean," Katy replied still keeping her distance
"I like sand."
"I do as well… So a dirt castle you say?" Katy wondered if she could introduce her to Gaara. Maybe they could all be friends... as long as the girl kept her distance...and behaved herself…
"I am Anna. You may call me anything other then Anna Banana because I will be forced to kill you... And you will not survive."
"I like you. I'm Katy."
"Kitty, I don't want to rush this relationship. But by your speech words I can tell you also watch a very delightful TV show. I also enjoy this show."
And thus the "friendship" was born. So was a beautiful dirt castle. However that castle was destroyed only moments after it was finished... by Anna pretending to be Godzilla whilst looking for Lois Lane.
Katy decided it was safer not to inform her that Lois Lane was not in Japan with Godzilla... or that she was in fact Superman's woman. The castle had taken a very long time to make and she was very annoyed with its sudden destruction after they spent nearly TWO hours on it.
Katy's anger was only quelled when she jumped at the ruby haired girl, effectively knocking her down a slope. Anna rolled and came to a stop after bumping her head on a rock.
That is also the story of how Anna got to ride in the ambulance. As a result, the ruby haired girl and the chocolate haired girl now had matching staples in their heads. But Anna had actually enjoyed it. The crying, screaming, and eventually demanding that the people holding the needles for numbing her bleeding scalp die painfully by the needles...
Such a wonderful vocabulary for such a small child- Katy approved.
Indeed she did.
A/N: I'm still finding time to work on this, thankfully. I hate starting something and not finishing it.
The last bit was an extra scene I hadn't planned on putting in, but I think it worked out.
Reviews are how I improve. Let me know what you think.
Thanks for reading!