CRACK!!!! You were awakened by a sharp pain in your tiny ribcage.
"Wake up, loser!"
Blinking away tears, you searched for the source of the shadows lurking around you. Four kids, around your age, were glaring at you. The lone girl grabbed one of your ears.
"What kind of idiot wears cat ears? Going to a costume party?"
She tried to pull it off, only to find that she was dragging you across the ground with it. You split the air with a shriek of pain. The tallest, meatiest boy pulled you up by your collar to face him. You kept one hand on your ear and another on your bruised torso.
"Ew, look at this," he grunted as he pulled back your hair, "She has no ears!"
He quickly punted you, a disgusted look on his face.
"P...p-please...stop it..." you whimpered. You were already so weak from hunger, and dying slowly of dehydration. They ignored you. The third boy's face lit up in excitement.
"Let's rip those freaky ears right out of her head!"
The others nodded in agreement. You curled tightly into a ball, holding your ears and biting your cracked lip. Two of them pulled away your hands and held them behind your back, whilst the others each clenched a furry ear and yanked with all their might.
'Please kill me now!' you repeated in your head as a wild cry tore through your body.
"Hey, what are you doing to that poor cat?!?!"
The four psychotic children froze, then turned towards an unknown voice. You hit the ground with a soft *thud* as they turned tail and ran. You vaguely heard them shouting "Monster!!" and "Demon!!" as they scattered, then slipped quietly into the abyss of unconsciousness.
~~"My ears have two colors instead of one."
You were readying to jump in a giant puddle when you noticed this. You turned towards your father, whom you were spending the afternoon with.
"Papa, why is that?" you asked. He picked you up and put you on his shoulders.
"My ears are black," he began, twitching his ears as you poked at them, "And you mother's were snowy white."
There was a pause.
"Did you love Mama?" you asked guiltily. You pulled out one of your flower crowns, this one made of thorny roses, and hopped off your father's shoulders. He'd walked with you to her grave.
"I loved her more than anything in the world..." he murmured as he lit incense. You placed the roses upon the grave.
"I'm sorry..." you whispered, tears welling up in your eyes.
"Don't cry, little one. It's okay."
You scrambled into his arms.
"There, there...she loved you more than anything in the universe, did you know that?"
Shocked, you looked into your father's golden eyes and asked, "Even though I killed her?"
"You didn't kill her, Ai. She didn't have another path to choose. It was her time to go. It wasn't your fault at all." he assured, his gentle gaze meeting yours.
You sniffed and wiped your eyes.
"I love you more than the universe." you told him as you kissed his cheek. He kissed you back, saying, "And I you. That's why your ears are half black, half white - your mother and I loved you equally. That makes you doubly special!"
You finished paying your respects to your mother, then returned home. Suddenly, the memory flickered and distorted as flames erupted, burning everything around you.~~
"NOOO!!!" you screamed as you as you jolted upright. *Flop* You examined the damp washcloth that had fallen into your lap.
"Did you have a bad dream?"
You started as you turned towards the voice. A young boy was kneeling beside you, concern in his peridot eyes. He ran his fingers through his messy, mahogany hair, sadness emanating from his smile.
"Sorry, did I scare you? It's okay, I'll leave –"
"No, don't!"
You reached out and grabbed his arm as he turned to walk away. Rivers of tears flowed down your cheeks. You could see Yamigakure burning around you as you closed your eyes.
"Everything's gone! Everybody died in the flames! I'm lost and scared and alone and I don't know what to do!"
Sobs racked your battered frame. You pulled up your knees and wrapped your arms around them, afraid you might fall to pieces. The boy softly touched your shoulder.
"No...you're not alone..."
You took a few deep breaths and looked at him.
"You're not lost, either. You're in Sunagakure."
Suddenly, both of your little tummies rumbled. You apologized in unison, then began to laugh together.
"I guess it's lunch time. Wait here, and I'll get some...oh, wait, what if those kids come back? I don't want you to get hurt...and what if you get sick again? You're really pale! If I take you with me, though, your ears might scare people..."
"Don't they scare you?"
The boy smiled faintly.
"I have to see this face in my reflection every day," he chuckled, pointing at his eyebrow-less brows and dark, blackened eyes, "I think I can handle a pair of furry cat ears."
"It's not that bad. I think your eyes are really pretty!" you chimed.
His face turned redder than an apple.
"U...u-um, anyways..." he stuttered, "We need to cover your ears. Oh! Hey, what luck! One of those kids dropped their hat!"
He fetched it and brought it back, then fastened it correctly to your head.
"It kinda looks like my father's hat..." he murmured as he stood back to admire his work. He then offered you his hand. You took it, and he helped you to your feet.
"Oh!"
Your knees buckled, and you grasped helplessly onto the boy.
"I'm sorry!!"
Wordlessly, he wrapped your left arm around his shoulder, and held you around your waist with his right. He smiled a little.
"Shall we go?" he asked. As you walked towards the market, something hit you.
'Oh, goodness! This boy has been so kind to me, and I don't even know his name!'
"I'm sorry...I never introduced myself. My name is Ai. What's yours?"
He was quiet for a moment.
"My name...is Gaara."
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