Ghost in the Sand (Naruto Fanfic)

Sense of Belonging

Disappointment...

Gaara's feet shuffled across the ground slowly as he headed back to the family home. His sea foam green eyes didn't look up from the ground until he heard a soft flute like music playing. His head darted up from the dust ridden pathway to see the dark haired girl in front of him, with her doll clutched in her arms. He watched her gaze drift up to a window, and he saw a curtain open up. For a second he saw a flash of sandy blond hair, only for the person to disappear upon seeing him.

"Everyone is afraid of me, but that girl..." Gaara turned his head to look at the female, and saw that she was now gone. The young red haired shinobi headed on home, and the sinking feeling didn't leave even when he arrived with the knowledge Temari and Kankuro were waiting for him inside. His hand stopped over the doorknob, hesitating to open the door to go in. His throat swallowed, a tight feeling coming over him.

Finally though he opened the door. The main living area was empty, but the smell of food told him someone was in the kitchen. He headed into the other room, and saw Kankuro sitting at the table. The boy was lounging with his head rolled back, his eyes on the ceiling while his fingers played with puppet string in an absentminded manner, the chakra glowing lightly as the older of the two brothers waited for the meal to be finished.

Temari stood by the stove preparing her favorite food, and didn't notice the fact Gaara had come into the room. The young shinobi was quiet, and used to moving around in a silent manner around his siblings, thus allowing him to observe, but not understand. Temari finally glanced up. "Are you hungry?"

Gaara's eyes darted to the ground. "Father says he's staying late, so to put food aside."

His sister's lips fell from a smile, and pushed together. "He said that."

"I think..." Gaara let his hands hang to the side. "I think father's not coming because I'm here."

Kankuro's puppet thread snapped as his hands jolted apart, and the hooded puppet ninja jolted up. "What?" The teens fingers tapped the top of the table. "He may not want you here, but we do." The teen patted the table indicating Gaara should come sit next to him. "Don't listen to him."

"No thanks. I'm not really hungry. I think I'll got to my room."

"Are you sure?" Temari narrowed her eyes at her younger brother. "I could bring you something later."

"I guess so." Gaara slipped out the room, and headed to his room. Opening the door he found the place to be lonely, with little to no light in the room. The content of the room were also very sparse, and it felt as empty as his heart did. He didn't however want to go back to being in the darkness. His finger reached up to the light switch, and turned it on allowing a light to flood over the room. He flopped onto the small bed, and lay there looking at the wall.

Temari eventually knocked on the door, and she slipped into the room. The trey with food clinked as she set it down. "I'd like to say that you misunderstood father, but I know how he is. Kankuro is right though. You shouldn't listen to father. Could you eat something though? For your big sis?"

Gaara sat up, and looked at the food. "Did you put some aside for father?"

A smile flickered across the female shinobi's face. "Yes, though Kankuro threatened to eat it despite the fact he's not fond of that dish unless it's got meat in it." She watched as Gaara sat up. "I'm not exactly sure what to think. On one side, I'm mad that he hurt you again. On the other side I can't see how I can't be pleased with the fact you're actually thinking of others. I guess I just wish that father would see it."

Here eyes drifted to the food, and Gaara responded by picking up the trey of food. Eating though was another issue. "I can't."

"Why not."

"I..." The boy's eyes narrowed. "I've never eaten in front of anyone. Not since Yashamaru died."

"It's all right. Just be sure to eat plenty." Temari went to the door. "See you in the morning, little brother."

...

A soft music box played as a girl with sandy blond hair looked down at the item in her lap. The ends of her sleeves draped softly down. She let the music calm her as she watched the twisting female dressed in a kimono. Her fingers reached out to trace the kimono pattern, only to look at her legs while placing the beautiful doll on the windowsill. "As if I'd ever be able to do that, all things considered."

Her eyes darted out to the street below, and her breath stopped short upon seeing the red haired demon down in the street below. Her throat tightened as a memory flickered across her mind, and her lips pushed together wishing he would just disappear. She pushed the curtain back, attempting to brush away the memory. The doctors told her that the event wasn't real, that the pain I her legs was just her mixing up an event which occurred to someone else with her own self. Her memories though were real to her.

This also made the red demon a great fear for her, something she preferred not seeing. The Kazekage though lived nearby, and thus every so often the red haired demon would wander by, and her fear would crop back up, and she would find herself needing to focus on her music box to prevent herself from having a panic attack. She twisted the key for the music box, and let the music play hoping that the red demon would leave, and no longer be in the street below.

A soft sound came from outside of the window, and the girl's fingers went up to the curtain, but stopped short when she remembered who was outside. The sound came again, and she opened up the curtain. Someone stood in the shadows, and her lips curled down as she looked at the person. The person motioned for her to come outside, and she felt herself freeze up. Her head shook, but he beckoned again. She needed some reason to come out of the room, and something made her wish that someone in her family was there.

The person disappeared from down stairs, and she turned back to her room. The front door clicked

A knock came at her door, and a piece of paper slid under the door. She stood up, and stumbled over to the door, kneeling down to touch the paper. She picked it up as her body shook, and then opened it up before falling down.

"If you come outside I'll make the demon disappear for good." The girl felt her heart pound in her throat, and then she glanced up at the door. Fear kept her from opening the door to her room. Her room was safe, and her family got her nice things to make up for the fact she was afraid to go outside, and that her legs didn't work the way she wanted them to. However, outside meant seeing pretty things, and doing things she'd always dreamed of.

She opened the door, and looked out in the hallway to see no one. Slowly but surely she found her way down the stairs, and when she got down to the bottom, she found her throat tightening. She sat down on the bottom stair, wondering where the rest of her family was. She finally stood up, and opened the door. She noticed a pot was moved from the side, and she headed towards the place she saw the person. Her mouth open. "Promise?"

A wind instrument was in the girls hands, and she wanted back inside. She followed after the boy, hoping she would get to a place nearby, but soon she came to a place near a swing. Her eyes darted around wondering why she came to this place, but something then made her black out.