Chapter Fifteen: A Closer Glance

A/N: This is a bit of an intercalary chapter. An intercalary chapter basically means that it is unrelated chapter to the story but it has meaning to it. You can detect foreshadowing, symbolism, etc. This isn't a true intercalary chapter because it starts off with the main characters of the story but later becomes an intercalary chapter. It is also short.

Sachiko: Intercalary chapter? That's so cool!

Author-Sama: Thank you Sachiko-chan!! STORY BEGINS NOWWW!!

The pitter patter of the falling rain fell on Gaara's pale face. The sun had just barely begun to rise into the sky. Day was near. Droplets fell upon Gaara's red hair, creating moisture within his flaming tendrils. Teal eyes looked up to the sky, and they wondered. The eyes wondered if they would always feel this leaded and weary for the rest of the master's lifespan. Gaara tilted his head toward the tent where Temari and Sachiko slept in. He closed his eyes a moment, breathing in to calm himself. He could feel the red color rising to his cheeks. He felt angry at her. He felt angry at him. But he didn't know why.

The sun finally raised high enough to be called daybreak and so Gaara leapt off of the branch he had claimed to be his own. As his feet hit the ground he could sense someone stirring awake.

He turned his head swiftly to meet the other human being as it approached him in the quiet.

"Good morning," Sachiko mumbled, unsure of why she would greet him.

"Hn," replied Gaara, unsure of why he would reply.

He followed her movements with his dark rimmed eyes as she made her way to sit on a log. She removed her hair barrettes for a few minutes to brush out her hair. She ran her fingers down her black blue hair, occasionally coming across a tangled spot or two. A cascade of black and blue fell across her elegant shoulders as it collected some raindrops. She placed her hair ties back upon her hair. Sachiko could feel Gaara's cold stare on her the entire time. It made her nervous and afraid.

"Is he trying to scare me…? Maybe he wants to kill me again… I should probably go back into the tent until everyone else wakes up…"

"I don't sense the bloodlust so much…"

"That's strange," Sachiko muttered back to the black cat but Chihoko didn't say anything more.

Sachiko's sultry eyes looked Gaara over. It was at that moment she realized the rain. His red hair was wet from the raindrops and his face was moist as well. Her hand flew back up to her tresses and suddenly felt the dampness that had been made by the crying sky. She could help but think to herself that he wasn't truly a monster like he had given everyone reason to think. Gaara was a child; a sad, lost, and lonely child. She felt for the first time since she had met him that he was not as ferocious and sinful. At that moment, he seemed innocent in her eyes.

Gaara's teal eyes flickered to examine her face and immediately sent a message to his brain alarming him that she was staring directly at him. He stared back at her stoically, but not coldly; just stoic. Gaara could sense someone else stirring awake, but he refused to divert his attention away from Sachiko. Currently, his top priority was to return the Cloud girl's glare. Not to match her, but to somehow understand her.

"How can she appear so innocent… and be what she is…?"

"…"

He gave a low growl, startling Sachiko enough to make her jump a bit in her seat. He almost felt remorseful for surprising her. Almost. He growled more out of frustration than to frighten her. Gaara decided it didn't matter if he scared her or not and so he no longer felt almost remorseful but somewhat pleased instead. Yet thinking all this, he found himself still staring back at her and he began to notice her eyes in closer detail. Her round, hazy, purple, and dark blue eyes were pulled upward in a slant but maintained their bigness. Before she seemed to be wearing very dark and thick make-up but now he realized it to be a natural sultry shadow around them. He craned his neck to some extent, straining to not only notice the features of her eyes but to look to their interior, to look into her soul. A small scowl formed on Gaara's face, lips twitching slightly and eyes narrowing, boring into her eyes.

NARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARDNARUTARD

Overhead a sinister miasma pulled into view, hovering above the desert. Thunderous droning came from the dark vapors. The lively smog settled low on the ground, just touching the sandy dunes. The ashen haze surrounded a single palm tree. The haze lingered on the palm tree many moments before going to another one. The palm tree was eaten bare, torn raw, and left to wither away into the sand.

The buzzing noise was louder now, and the creatures were bustling within their own clouds of each other. Locusts began to disperse from the blackness and claimed several palm trees as a snack to satisfy them for the moment.

Once every palm tree was stripped of its glorious emerald leaves, the locusts became one again. The locusts swarmed to become dark smog, making the deafening noise as they hovered along together.

The traveled on through the desert heat, it didn't bother their hard and durable bodies. The swarm circled through the air, searching for a meal, just a nibble to appease them. Their buzzing grew louder as they found themselves hungrier and emptier. The hunger rattled within their rigidly stiff abdomens like a cautionary snake, forcing the noise of the buzzing.

The hunger would never be fulfilled. The starvation would never be contentment. Satisfaction could never be reached by the eternally famished.

A/N: This was a very short chapter. I finally got around to sticking an author's note at the end of it. I know I've been away very long…

Sachiko: Bad Author-sama!

Author-sama: I know… I know… Anyway… The purpose of the little weird story at the end is this… The locusts symbolize something that will forever follow Gaara and Sachiko; their inner demons. The locust's hunger symbolize that the demon's will never be satisfied and will forever lust the blood of others. The buzzing is the voice of Sachiko and Gaara's inner demons always begging to kill.

If you see any other hints of foreshadowing let me know. I just gave you a few. The others are secret! o.O