I wanted to give Saylin more back round in this chapter and show why Ki is the way she is. Hope you like it! Please RxR! Thanks!

Ch. 10 Secrets of the Past

When Saylin awoke the next morning, Gaara was nowhere to be seen. She slowly looked around and heard noises coming from the kitchen. Lazily, she snatched her crutches and hobbled into the kitchen, trying not to make much noise. When she got there, she was surprised to find Gaara at the table making a list.

"Morning." Saylin grumbled.

"Good Morning." Gaara replied softly, manipulating the sand to bring Saylin a chair. It shuffled across the floor like ants stealing a piece of food and stopped in front of Saylin. When she sat in it, the sand pulled the chair over to where Gaara was sitting.

"What's that?" Saylin asked, staring perplexed at the list he was writing.

"Grocery list, you're completely out of food." Gaara answered, showing the list to Saylin.

"How'd you know that?" Asked Saylin.

"Last night, you said you wanted something to eat in your sleep, so I checked your cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer with no success. It wasn't till after I went back to tell you that I didn't find anything did it occur to me that you were sleep talking again." He chuckled as he spoke, giving her a kiss on her nose.

"I warned you!" Saylin exclaimed, "I said that anything I said beyond this point was sleep talk!"

"You were very convincing, you kept saying it over and over again! I got a headache!" Gaara cried, "So anyways, here's the list. Besides, the town needs to know you're alive sometime soon."

"Alright, we can go in a few minutes." Saylin rolled her eyes and smiled as she spoke.

She hobbled into her room, locked the door, and proceeded to follow her daily routine. When her parents were still alive, they always told her to do the BBD in the mornings- brush your hair, brush your teeth, and get dressed. Saylin added in the shower part when she got older, but the BBD basically covered her morning schedule.

When she came out, Gaara was waiting for her at the table, in the same position in which she left him.

"Hi again!" She cheered as she sat down next to him.

"Ready?" He asked, holding the list as he stood up.

"What's on the list anyways?" Saylin asked, peering over Gaara's shoulder to scan the list to see what foods he had in mind.

"Fruits, rice, bread, seasonings, milk, pre-made ramen, herbs, and…" Saylin squinted at the last word in disbelief, "Veggies? You want me to eat veggies?" Saylin glanced at Gaara in fear as she spoke.

"Yes, Saylin. It's about time you learned how to eat salad." He said strictly.

"B-b-but they taste bad!" She protested, rummaging through a can of pens and pencils, trying to find one that worked so she could scratch the dreaded word off the list.

"Saylin, you're sixteen years old! You need to learn how to eat vegetables!" Gaara rationalized, "I'll buy them." He said in a final attempt to make her consider the evil food.

Saylin squinted at him for a few seconds. In return, Gaara sadly stuck out his lower lip and cocked his head to one side while blinking a few time with pleading eyes, his version of a puppy dog face. Saylin sighed and grumbled, "Fine, but if I don't like them this time, you must promise to never buy them again! Ever!" She ended, grabbing a handful of coins from her money jar and stuffing the money into her pockets.

"That works, lets go." Gaara said, opening the door for Saylin as the two walked out into the day.

"I don't think you need those anymore." Gaara said, eyeing the crutches.

"I can balance now, but I'm still limping." Saylin murmured wishfully, wanting to run in the breeze or jump over the sidewalk again.

"Lean on me." Gaara suggested, using the sand to take the crutches and move them back into her house, which was a few feet away.

Saylin blushed and leaned heavily against Gaara's chest. His arm slid around her back, resting on her waist. He pulled her closer so if she fell, he would be able to catch her. Saylin's heart pounded as fast as a hummingbird flapping its wings.

With help from Gaara, Saylin found she could easily move around and walk on her feet, even with occasional pangs of pain from her leg. The wound had healed quickly, and felt much smaller in depth and in width than it originally was.

"Say, is that you?" A voice said from behind.

"Oh… my… god…" Saylin thought unbelievably, "I ignore them, I yell at them, I run away from them, I tell them I don't want to be their friend, and yet look at who has come back to ruin my day…"

"What?" Saylin demanded as she turned around to face them with help from Gaara.

"Is it true you're dating him?" The brunette from before screamed, pointing at Gaara's hand around Saylin's waist in horror

Saylin ignored the comment and smiled at Gaara. Confidently she said, "Yeah I am, got a problem with that?"

"Eww!" The brunette cried dramatically and fell on the ground, twitching in exaggeration, "I'd die if I were to pick between dating Gaara and death!" The girl's friends laughed at her display and Ki stepped forward, her arms crossed.

"Hey Gaara! I lost my parents when I was eight, I'm a show off in class, I don't have any friends, and I'm a poor loser who helps out the traders to earn a living, hey! I sound like Saylin. Want to go out with me, too?" She teased.

Saylin stepped forward, wobbling uneasily on her legs, her eyes blazing like fire. Gaara suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Let me go!" She cried, pulling away from Gaara, who released her arm hesitantly. The prisses smiled and laughed as Saylin moved unsteadily forward and stared at Ki, who snorted at Saylin's anger.

"You don't know anything!" Saylin spat, staring up at Ki who was trying to hold back her laughter, "My parents died sacrificing their lives protecting our village when they knew that was the only way to save it! As for being smart in class, if you paid an ounce of attention to anything in the room beside yourself, you'd learn how to be a ninja! I don't need friends that are as superficial as you; I have friends; friends and a family that you can't understand because your brain is too small to comprehend anything besides a biological family! In my family, I have a brother, a sister, over ten close friends plus one best friend! Lastly, insult me all you like but don't insult my friends or family! Those 'loser traders' are the reason I am not out on the streets today! They slaved extra hours to give me food and money so I could pay to live in my house and to eat something so I wouldn't go hungry every night!" Saylin yelled, her fists clenched. Ki and her gang, who had remained silent until this time, broke into hysterical laughter.

"You're funny, Say. In a little while you'll-"

"Shut up! I won't change and neither will you. You think you're always right, but your not, and you can't change me!" Saylin ended as she staggered back to Gaara who turned back to say something to the prisses before Saylin walked away.

"When do you want to go out Gaara?" Sneered Ki before he could speak.

"Whenever you want to die." Gaara said, his voice low and threatening, making the sand swirl quickly around him.

The prisses all stepped back, but Ki remained as immobile as a statue, a daring look in her eyes.

"He won't hurt anyone like he did after Saylin, so you don't need to be afraid of him. You people weren't there, but Saylin and I were." She started, smiling like the cat that ate the mouse. "I told you guys about it, but I guess I never mentioned how Saylin got hurt. Remember that incident about ten years ago when Gaara hurt some girl with sand? On the same day Saylin lost her parents?" She asked, her friends nodding.

"Ki, stop." Saylin whispered, her voice strangely horse, loosing its strength and anger when she remembered the event Ki was talking about.

"No, Saylin. This is why I don't want you hanging around that demon! I know he'll hurt you again like he did before!"

Gaara winced and closed his eyes, the awful event flashed into his mind.

"You know, Saylin, he almost used sand-coffin on you when we were younger." She said, then turned back to her friends, "Saylin and I, plus a few other people were playing ball on the playground. Saylin saw Gaara there and asked if he wanted to play with us. We ran off, but Saylin still offered to play with him. Gaara had a spaz. attack and his demon got out of control; it almost killed her. That's how he first met her, and I can guarantee that's how she'll die! Later that day, he went to her house to apologize with some medicines and she forgave him! Can you believe that?" Ki laughed.

"I never hurt her intentionally." Gaara said harshly, "Saylin helped me change. She taught me how to control my demon." He whispered meaningfully. The prisses ignored Gaara, who to Saylin. "Let's go, those people are a waste of our time. You don't deserve to hang around people as low as them." He encouraged, helping her turn around and walk away.

"Sure." Saylin grumbled numbly so stuck in the memories of her past, she didn't know what she said.

Saylin's parents last day of life were hard for her to remember, but impossible for her to forget. The old memories that she could recall were of her parents' strong arms lifting her up and taking her out of the playground to her home when Gaara injured her. The time when she cried for her mother and father, even though they were there with her the whole time. Memories of how they carefully healed her wound and compassionately bandaged the ones that they couldn't. She faintly remembered them tucking her into her bed, sung and warm. The memory was like faint traces of ink on a large paper, only barely readable. The part where Saylin's parents uneasily but trustingly letting Gaara in their house to give Saylin some herbs for her severe condition changed her life forever. Saylin faintly grasped the memory of Gaara offering a humble- nervous, apology for all that he did, and her light smile and acceptance at the end which her parents were so proud of her for. Saylin almost forgot Gaara sitting next to her while her fever burned. It was in that handful of hours when her parents answered the door to their doom. She couldn't remember what he said to her parents or his tone, but she knew a male ninja came to her house and begged for them to fight for their village. He asked them to end their lives to save hundreds on a mission her parents knew was suicidal.

Strangely, Saylin distinctly remembered their good-bye. She remembered them coming over to where she was, all clad in ninja gear, telling her this was the last time they would see her; how they each kissed her good-bye, telling her to be strong and wise when they were gone, and how proud they were of her for all that she has already done. Unknown to Saylin at the time, they would never return. Her last words to them were, "Bye, see you in the morning." Her natural response when they went on overnight missions. Her parents had cried upon seeing her do this, but had left, just the same.

Slowly, Gaara placed his arm around Saylin's shoulders, breaking her trance. She leaned in closer to him, and hugged him tightly with her right arm, the one closest to him. It was all she could do to keep herself from crying.

"Saylin… are you… alright?" Gaara's voice trembled slightly as they walked away, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I tell you all the time… I don't care about the past." She murmured, staring at the ground.

"It would be best… if we weren't friends. You should just forget I exist and find someone else… a human that can't hurt you." Gaara muttered after a few seconds, thinking deeply.

"Stop talking like that! That's type of talk that scares me! I don't want to loose you, I love you Gaara!" Saylin's voice cracked, uncontrollable tears washed down her face and shattered onto the sand like broken glass. Saylin buried her face on Gaara's firm shoulder, her tears washing on his cloak.

Gaara's breath caught for a moment, his eyes wide. He scooped Saylin up, holding her limp body close. He jumped to a nearby rooftop, carrying her bridal style. Saylin sat on his lap, crying silently. Her tears flowed like a river, washing away all emotions except for grief and sorrow. A tear suddenly splashed on her dry knuckles. It wasn't Saylin's tear; it was Gaara's. Saylin pulled away and stared at Gaara, but he wasn't crying. When she looked away, out of the corner of her eye, she could have sworn she saw Gaara wipe away another tear. It was only for a moment, and she couldn't be sure.

Saylin propped her head up against Gaara's chest, struggling to keep her breathing under control. She listened intently to his heartbeat. Not one heartbeat, she soon realized, but two heartbeats. The two distinct rhythms of the raccoon demon's heartbeat and Gaara's played a song of deep struggle and rising power. A song of hard earned freedom and ageless servitude. Smiling slightly, Saylin closed her eyes and wiped the trail of tears from her face.

"Gaara... I don't want the past to come between us. I love you." She eventually whispered, her frail voice traveling over time and distance. Saylin's hand moved to his face, dragged her knuckles across his features, wiping away the trails of tears he had tried in vain to hide from her.

"I feel so guilty. I don't want to hurt you again." Gaara murmured, his head hung low.

"You shouldn't be. You saved me from Akito and countless others, I owe you my life… for all its worth." Saylin reasoned, trying to make a joke and failing epically. Gaara smiled anyways, trying to brighten both of their downcast moods.

"You are worth so much more than you know." Gaara whispered, nuzzling her forehead with his. His soft red hair tickled her face and brushed against her lips. "Saylin, I love you. I won't let anyone hurt you ever again- including myself." Gaara vowed, shifting so he held her bridal style on his lap before standing up. Saylin squirmed in his grasp, attempting to stand on her own, but Gaara squeezed her slightly, still carrying her. He leapt down from the building and set her down on her feet. His arm crawled around her back and took its place on her waist. Gaara turned Saylin in the direction of the market.

"Are you still going to make me eat vegetables?" Saylin demanded slyly, trying to set a more normal tone.

"I never said I wouldn't." He teased, pulling her towards the market.

"Have mercy!" Saylin cried dramatically pretending to faint, leaning backwards.

"Careful, don't hurt your leg again." Gaara warned, shifting so his arm was now around her shoulders as they walked.

"I'll be alright as long as you're here." She said confidently. Gaara nodded in response and kissed Saylin on the cheek.