It was five years later. The little girl had been well taken care of by a man named Akio, for the guard that she was given to, had children of his own, and was far too busy with them in order to father her himself. Things were rough in this little village hidden in the sand, and food was hard to come by for the most part, but Akio was a kind man, and made sure to keep the small five year old's belly full. She was named, "Ookami-Rose" because of her strange wolf-like obsession with the moon, and because of the odd flower that grew from her skull and out her head. Many thought that this attribute was odd, and sacred. Others called her "A rare desert flower". The reason for this was because if asked, she could heal anyone with the powers of this plant at anytime she pleased. However, with this being the case, Aiko found it necessary to protect her from anyone who had wished to kidnap her for themselves. Many believed that the flower also possessed the ability to grant wishes. Whether this was true or not, was yet to be determined, but for now, all the adopted father wanted was for Ookami to be safe. Something else strange about this girl, was the fact that she had never spoken a word to anyone. It wasn't that she was mute or stupid, but rather because she chose not to. Yes, she liked to sing, but never around people.
Ookami grabbed at her adoptive father's pant leg as she watched him cook. It was one of her favorite things to do besides draw quietly in her room. He was always so intriguing. Many of the villagers thought him to be younger than his actual age of twenty-five, because of his lean body and glossy tan skin. While concentrating, he rubbed his hand back against his sandy blond hair, messing it up even more than it already was. He was dancing to some sort of instrument that was singing next to him on the counter. It was made out of bamboo shoots and thin wire that he got from the village green house and market place. He loved that instrument so, because he had made it himself, and it worked on its own.
"There we go! Freshly diced and served with rice, we have...CACTUS A LA STICK!" He tried to make the treat sound fancy or silly just so that he could get one little giggle from Ookami, but all she did was bite her thumbnail and look up at him with a spacey expression.
"Well, maybe you would like a better view..." He hoisted her up in his arms and let look over the plain white rice and shaved cactus chunks on a stick. She just starred at it for a while and blinked, till finally, she pointed at it with her little fingers with an adorable serious face. She was telling him that she acknowledged the food's existence. Aiko laughed at this, and tapped the little girl on the nose. He didn't honestly mind that she refused to speak, so long as she was alive and happy. He put her back down on the floor.
"Just give me a few more minutes and it will be ready in a flash!" He smiled. Ookami, who was very tiny, nodded her little head and ran to the low level table where they would usually eat. Dinner time was always her favorite time of the day, because that was when her father did most of his creative cooking.
Akio soon joined her at the table with the food set and ready for devouring, and clapped his hands together happily. "Itedakimasu! Let's eat!" He passed Ookami one of his cactus on a stick thingies he made and she took it from him, already with open mouth. She was becoming "quite the young lady" in Akio's eyes! Her hair was becoming long and black like that of her mother's, and the flower in her hair was even more fragrant than when she was just a baby. She was also becoming very polite in her own silent way.
"Hey Ookami." Akio said after swallowing a bite of rice. "You do know that you aren't suppose to go out during the night time alone, right?" Ookami looked at him blankly while chewing, and Akio took another bite and swallowed. "Because I saw you last night. You sneaked outside thinking that I was asleep. You were being a good little girl in that you didn't go further than the look out view, so I didn't do anything about it that time." Ookami's large blue eyes looked to the ground. She was starting to get a little fidgety.
"But please..." Akio continued. "It is for your own safety that you stay indoors. Not only could you be kidnapped by strangers, but the Kazekage made strict orders that there be a curfew applying to most villagers besides that of his own house. You know, it's against the rules." He tried his hardest to translate what he just said into something a five year old would be able to comprehend, but that was hard for him, considering he didn't often have to deal with children. His gaze then drifted to the circular window shielding them from the outside world.
"Besides that, the Kazekage's son goes out at night...the wielder of the legendary Shukaku..." At this point it seemed as though Ookami was purposely ignoring him, too distracted with her food to really pay any mind. Akio took notice.
"Ookami...do you know what the Shukaku is?" The man asked quietly. His eyes were boring into the girl's distant eyes as he spoke, so she simply had to pay attention. She shook her head, and Akio sighed. "It is a very dangerous demon my dear...and I would hate to see you being destroyed by it...the raccoon will stop at nothing but to wipe out our entire village if not properly contained...Do you understand me now...Ookami?" His voice was gentle, and not at all angry, but very serious, so Ookami nodded. She seemed to understand now what he was saying.
"Good...I love you my flower...and you mean the world to me. After my wife and daughter died, I thought that I had nothing left, that I had failed them as a husband and father...but then you came along and well...I know you probably wouldn't understand this, you being at such a tender age and all, but..." He paused. "...I feel complete. Almost as though I've been given a second chance." The man put a hand on his adopted daughter's head and smiled. Truly, she was one of the best things that had happened to him after such tragic experiences. He let go.
"Well, enough of my rambling." Akio smiled. "After you finish your supper, I'll take you to bed...ok?"
Ookami nodded.
The next day, Ookami couldn't stop starring out her window at the children playing ball outside. They seemed to be having so much fun. She gazed at them, twirling her hair around loosely with her finger tips. From behind, her adopted father was glancing over her shoulder. She looked up at him, once again with her large blue eyes.
"Did you want to play outside Ookami?" He asked with a friendly smile. The girl nodded silently, making Akio chuckle some at her adorable enthusiasm.
"Well alright. I'll let you, but stay with the children where I can see you." He agreed gently. Ookami nodded again, then attempted to run for the door.
"Wait! Ookami, before you go, make sure you wrap this around your head and shoulders." He handed her some long cloth for her to cover her flower and face with. The last think Akio wanted was for her to be recognized by any greedy passersby. He helped her put it on, and she looked kind of adorable with the large amount of cloth wrapping around her body. The only skin that was showing now were her little legs that stuck out from underneath the attire and her hands. All in all she felt rather ridiculous.
"There you go! I'm sorry I have to put this on you every time you go out...but again, it's for your own safety..." Lucky for him, Ookami was an obedient child, otherwise, he may have gotten more of an argument out of her.
She stepped outside and waved a goodbye to Akio as she started to walk towards where the others were playing. She seemed so ready to join them! But then whenever she got close enough, she became a little frightened and shy, so she just plopped herself down on a little patch of shade and watched them play from a distance. It was so much fun seeing them run around and kick the ball to each other, that every time one team got a point, she would clap her little hands cheerfully. At one point, something else caught her attention, and she turned her little head to where there was a boy, swinging on his swing and ignored by the others. She stood up, and tried to cross over the game area to get to him, but was nearly knocked over by one of the balls, so she sat down to where she had originally been in the first place. A brief apology came from one of the kids as they kicked the ball passed her, but it was more of a reaction than an actual acknowledgment. The boy from the other side didn't seem to notice Ookami's attempts to move, and continued swinging while every now and then glancing up at the game as well.
"Kick it towards the goal! Kick it towards the goal!" One child shouted enthusiastically. The player kicking the ball did just that, only, it may have been kicked slightly too hard, because it flew upward, and landed on top of a very tall building. The children looked stunned. How were they suppose to get that down again? There wasn't much time for pondering, because not too long after the ball had been flung up into its seemingly eternal oblivion, a surrounding wind flowing with sand carried it down to the hands of the one controlling it: A boy with sandy red hair and dark circled eyes.
The children stepped back agape at the sight of the boy trying to help them. They were fretting for their lives! Ookami hid behind a rock from being tumbled over by the others who were now running for their lives. Honestly, the children seemed more dangerous than the little boy at this point. The little girl was tinier than they were, and fragile, so she had to crawl in order to get to her hiding spot in one piece.
The boy was strong. He didn't want them to leave him behind, and even asked them to stay, using his sand to grab one of the kids so as to stop them from running. The grip was too hard, and Ookami heard a spine chilling crack coming from the child's leg as it snapped in half. The raccoon eyed boy's expression began to change. It wasn't innocent and young looking anymore. It was enraged!
Another blunt rush of sand arose from the ground from beneath them, ready to finish off the child who was now already paralyzed with fear. Ookami stayed put behind her rock. Could this be the boy that Aiko was warning her about? It seemed very possible! She was shivering with excitement.
"NO GAARA!" A stranger man with sandy blond hair and soft violet eyes jumped out in front of the deadly sand to protect the already injured child. His breathing was heavy, and the child was able to get away.
"Yashamaru...?" Squeaked the young boy in surprise. He dropped the ball, realizing that he had hurt the man standing in front of him. They seemed to know each other quite well.
"I'm sorry Gaara, but I'm going to have to take you home now..." The man knelt down in front of his little friend and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder.
Ookami watched everything, and shifted behind the distant rock, trying her hardest not to be noticed. A little lizard scampered across her hand as she did this. It startled her some, so she fell backwards, and the sand puffed up behind her. Gaara's ear twitched, and he turned his head to face where the sound was coming from, but only saw the cloud of sand smog and the top of a stranger girl's head peeking out from behind the rock. When she noticed he was looking at her, she made sure to duck down quickly, but continued to watch him as he walked away with Yashamaru.
He wasn't that bad looking, he just needed a friend...if only she could just...talk to him, or something at least. She stood up carefully, and walked away, stepping over some of the collapsed children that were still too paralyzed with fear to say anything about it. Hey, she was polite, she even lifted up her long over skirt thing so that she wouldn't fall on top of them!
"Ookami! There you are! Oh god, what happened here? I came as soon as I saw that there was trouble!" Akio lifted the tiny girl off the ground. He was nearly in tears. Many other parents were collecting there children as well.. There were no fatalities, just some shaken up kids with wounds and broken bones was all. Many of the parents were crying, or enraged at the little boy who had just been there.
"That boy has gone too far!" Cried one of the fathers standing up from tending to his son.
"I say we just kill him on the spot! This village doesn't need a monster like him around! Our children are in danger!" Another parent said while holding her child close to her chest.
"Please..." Akio interrupted. "Can we not speak of killing in front of our own kids? What's important now is the fact that there were no deaths. We should continue on our way, and keep the children inside until we know for sure that it's safe for them to play again."
"Like that's ever going to happen!" Another woman complained. "With a monster like that around, there's no way in hell our children will be able to live in Suna peacefully."
"Are you saying that we should go against our Kazekage's wishes? I'm sure he knows what he's doing..." Akio argued. The woman was silenced. As much as the villagers hated the Kazekage's son, they could not go against their leader. They had been following him for a good long time now. That being said, most of the villagers departed and went on their way. Akio sighed with Ookami in his arms.
"I'm sorry you had to see all that Ookami...we are trying our hardest to keep things peaceful around here. I promise."
Ookami wrapped her arms around her father's neck to hug him. The man smiled.
"Well, at least you're still in good spirits." He put the girl on his shoulders, setting out to go back home. It would be dark in a few hours. "Let's go..."