Thank god some people have stuck with me! Sorry about the wait guys. School finals and all… …
Anyway, here's what I promised, 'My Thinking Spot'
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Thankfully, a cushion of sand absorbed most of the impact. Even being tossed from the top of the Sand Village wall isn't enough to deter Gaara's shield of sand, and he floated back to earth without a mark on him. Still, his head was once again swimming, something it had been doing a LOT lately since the arrival of the tribes. Rhyming words, his father's screaming, Mara's face…
MARA!
"GAH! I'm late!" His sandaled feet shoved off against the shifting sand, his already abused mind berating itself despite his speed.
Oh, I just HAD to forget! Why why why why WHY did those freaky brothers have to show up! I was about to head out, I swear! I swear!
Within his conscious, another voice rumbled to life, authoritive, and, most importantly, annoyed. Gaara didn't notice, his panic over being late overtaking all.
Are you ever going to shut your trap, boy? What in the sam hell could be so damn importan'…
Gaara's feet slowed to a stop, standing perfectly still as his eyes rose skyward. The icy green orbs circles slid out of focus. He had now sunk about three inches into the sand, but his attention was on the Shukaku instead. Hidden, blending in with a dune, a lock of blonde hair flickered about in the breeze, Mara's blue eyes intent on Gaara's form.
What was he doing there… She puzzled, her confusion solved for the most part by the sound of Gaara's one sided voice floating over the same breeze that shook her shoulder length hair.
"I'm meeting someone here." Gaara replied, keeping his voice level and calm. Years of experience had taught him the rules of speaking to the Shukaku involved keeping the tone even. One rise or fall could give him the advantage…
Stop being vague, boy. You haven't got anything to gain, and a lot to lose.
"…" He shivered, feeling a wash of ice over his gut.
Should I tell him…?
I'm getting impatient, b-
"She's a friend."
The sand priest was quick to respond, his tone disbelieving, dry, and blunt.
Bullshit. You don't have any friends.
Anger welled up within Gaara's little ribcage, the eye ridge arcing down. His indignant response violated his own rules and caught Mara completely off guard.
"What are you talking about!" He cried, passionate and animated.
"I have her! She's my friend, my best friend!"
There was a long silence from the beast held within Gaara's mind, and a twinge of fear alighted in Gaara's heart after the power from the outburst had faded. Did he anger Shukaku…?
Much to his surprise, the beast began to laugh, a ghastly sound. Gaara recoiled, biting his lip to keep it from quivering.
Wasn't your uncle your best friend too?
In a flood, his courage and audacity came back, his fists clenching up at his sides. Those guarding the gate watched the little fellow with a mixture of apprehension and curiosity, leaning on the upper lip of the wall to watch Gaara argue with himself.
"Mara would NEVER do that to me!" He screeched, his prepubescent voice gripped with his retaliation. "NEVER! I know she wouldn't! She could NEVER hurt me!"
He paused, a revelation bursting forth in his mind, bold, almost suicidal. At the moment though, anything seemed possible. Gaara felt victory coming, his own triumph spurning him on.
"AND YOU'D BETTER GET USED TO IT TOO! BECAUSE THIS IS MY BODY, NOT YOURS, AND YOU CAN'T COMMAND IT AROUND LIKE YOU OWN IT!"
Gaara's final echo came back to him, shock replacing the bravado as his face paled, the pupils contracting. His heart was pounding, a throbbing thing that made his chest jerk in addition to the hurried breaths.
Did…did I just say that?
Mara was just as caught off guard as Gaara was by his own outburst, but her reaction was far different. Her heart fluttered in her chest, gawking at the silhouetted figure standing in the sand with a warmth-filled mixture of admiration and shock. She sank back into the sand, barely even registering having fallen with her knees splayed out under her. Every muscle quivered, her entire physique tingling as she stared on.
He…he just called me his best friend…
Shoving off from the sand, she burst from her hiding spot, pushing through the dunes. Gaara only had time to turn his head before he was nearly bowled over by the flying tackle. He stumbled, managing to keep his feet despite the second body now latched to him. Mara squealed, her head shoved under Gaara's chin, her arms around his chest, and wholly ignorant of Gaara's flaming red cheeks. Even the guards were able to see, sniggering at his wide eyes and crimson face.
Gaara's panic wouldn't wait any longer!
"ACK!" Without another word, the little redhead took hold on Mara's wrist, pelting away deeper into the dunes and dragging her with and leaving the Wall Guards scratching their heads.
Now it was Mara's turn to get suddenly dragged somewhere.
"Wait a second, where're we goin-"
Before she could finish, the ground seemed to fly out from under her. The tribes girl was too shocked to scream, the brilliant blue watching the dunes rocket by under her. With a measurable amount of effort, she tore her eyes away from the rolling sand below, numbly turning them to her companion.
"….are we flying?"
"Sort of!" His cheerful tone let her relax a bit. Mara was still cautious, taking a seat on the cushion of sand below her, cruising along through the afternoon sky. Being in a few minutes of silence wasn't tolerable, and she ventured to finish her question.
"…Where're you taking me?"
"To my thinking spot!" He piped.
"Thinking spot?" Gaara's face fell, staring at the sand under their legs.
"It gets me away from my dad…"
"…you really hate your father, don-"
"We're here!" He squeaked, calling out her comment before she could finish it. A few boulders stuck out of the sand below, marking the spot. They leveled down, Mara apprehensive of the approaching ground, and cured of it as soon as the level touch down was completed. Her companion dismounted, however she was a little more interested in exactly where they were.
"What, wait a…Where's the village!"
"It's a ways off!" He replied, his voice chipper and happy. Mara frowned, taking a seat next to him. She had seen right through it.
"…you're not happy today, are you."
His façade died away as quickly as his smile did, pulling his knees up into his chest.
"…you could say that."
Mara bit her lip, scooting a bit closer. The sand pile appropriated by her wriggling kept their shoulders about an inch from each other. Silence reigned, Mara's courage faltering over her basis question.
"…is it because everyone thinks you're a monster?"
Gaara didn't answer, his eyes set on the sand below his feet.
"…."
His female companion ventured further, the growing apprehension growing in her throat.
"…why do they?"
Gaara didn't answer for a while, staring bitterly off into the sand before him wordlessly while Mara waited at his side for a response. The sun shifted in the sky towards its horizon home. A messenger hawk called out her hunting victory overhead.
But no response.
Mara's eyes hit the sand as well, guilty for asking and sensing the uncomfortable tension, her hands following to the space between them. Gaara blinked, glancing at the hand that had unintentionally covered his and quickly looking away, red tingeing his cheeks. The tribesgirl blinked, feeling the squeezing pressure on her set hand. Her eyes left the sand below, meeting the uncertain icy green in the middle. The hand gripping into hers shook and twitched, the owner of the hand nervous and uneasy.
"…Can…" He stuttered, the red of the sunset hiding his own flush. "…can you keep a secret?"
Mara, confused as she was, nodded with a fair level of certainty.
"I won' tell a soul!"
He masked the dread burning within his gut with a quick gulp. Even so, his voice trembled.
…She's gonna hate me…she's gonna run away if I tell her and then I'll… He bit his lip, trying to keep calm. I'll….I'll be alone again…
"…you promise you won't hate me?" He said, his abruptness taking Mara off guard. Nevertheless, she nodded, a little bit alarm growing in her gut. Gaara remained oblivious, absorbed in his own apprehension.
"…I've got a horrible thing…" He shivered, his voice reflecting his own attempts to plow through his anxiety. "My dad put it in there…"
Mara remained silent, leaning in as a prompt.
"…go on…"
"A…a big demon…" He paused, swallowing back his urge to stop there. "And no one likes me because of it…because…." Gaara stopped again, the hesitation in his eyes evident also in the shaking of his hand, gripping almost painfully tight onto Mara's for additional strength.
"Because I…I hurt people!" Gaara's gaze grew desperate and intense. Any barrier he had before was quickly broken, all 7 years of pent up social frustration pouring out into Mara's waiting lap and listening ear.
"I mean, everyone runs away from me and hates me and doesn't wanna' play with me, so I'm left all alone when I'm out! I have to sit on the swings or on the edges of the playgrounds 'cause nobody'll play with me! All I wanna' do is play with somebody like all'a other kids, but nobody'll play with me because they're all too scared of me! My dad hates me and my sister hates me and my brother hates me too and they won' play with me either! They barely even talk to me anymore, an' I can't sleep either, or the Shukaku'll-"
"Who's the Shukaku?"
Gaara paused in his ramble, feeling the jerking pain in his heart begin to throb again.
"…he's the demon…" He breathed, the sky darkening overhead as the sun disappeared. "…he eats my soul if I sleep at all…" His eyes lessened in their passion, remaining locked on the startled blue before trailing off to the ground again.
"…He…he likes it when I hurt people…" Gaara didn't lift his eyes from the sand, his heart plummeting into his gut feeling the sand shift nearby and Mara's hand slide form his.
"…You hate me now, don't you." He droned, his voice reflecting his coming sorrow and the shaking as the tears began to come, pittering over the darkening sand. "I didn' wanna tell you, 'cause I knew you'd-"
He halted in his words, feeling a brush of hair across his cheek and a weight deposited on his shoulder. His head turned, the side of his chin accidentally knocking against Mara's forehead. She stared on into the gathering twilight, serious as a heart attack and ignorant of Gaara's dismay.
"Gaara…" She murmured, the two silhouetted against the dying light. "…You're not the monster."
Gaara blinked, not really seeing the under glow of inter-cloud lightning or hearing the resulting rumble, too caught up in his own joyous astonishment.
"…I'm not?"
"…They are." She scooted closer, huffing a happy sigh in her own little comfort zone. Gaara stared on, the pang in his chest gone in an instant. Warmth surged his system, his entire body tickly with a bouncy sort of tingle.
…she….she doesn't…she doesn't hate me…
The splash of a raindrop on Gaara's arm ruined the perfect moment, he swinging his head up to watch the sky roll and shudder under the crackle of thunder overhead. Mara squealed at the splitting shriek, clutching onto Gaara's arm as the drops increased in both intensity and number.
"ACK!" He pulled his shivering friend out of the sand, a quick layer of sand deflecting the coming downpour. "It's raining! It never rains here!"
Mara paused, almost pulling back against Gaara's run.
"I can't go back! You're father said no!"
Gaara never stopped running, throwing back a rare crafty smile and a confident stare.
"You've got nowhere else at' go! He'll just hav'ta deal with it!
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oo Uh oh! Caught in a rain storm and about to butt heads with his father! This won't be pretty! Catch the results next time in 'Beauty and the Ichii-Beast'!